With her eyes closed and the room quiet, Sazra tried calming her mind and focus. She lets everything go, no thoughts, no problems, no concerns. Taking a deep breath and, after a few seconds, breathing out.  A lot has happened since the ordeal of the Blood Dilithium, even to a personal degree. The Damascus was in the docks, ETA was unknown due to its repairs as efforts were relocated to Frontier Day. 

“How long are we going to sit and wait?” 

A male voice came through, which Sazra recognized immediately as the previous host of her symbiont, Donam. Sazra had been trying to strengthen her bond with her symbiont to make the transition smoother. She let out a sigh, “As long as Starfleet deems it fit to let us wait” She opened her eyes, seeing Donam sitting in the chair. 

“Starbase 86 has its charms but wears off after a certain time. Damascus is still in docks, and its repairs have not been updated. What is holding you back to knock some sense into them?” He was agitated for sure. 

Letting out a shrug, “My first impression of you is how calm and professional you are, but it seems your personality is kinda impatient about doing nothing” Sazra smirks at that. “Starfleet is…busy preparing for Frontier Day, so I understand that seeing my predicament is to wait until they have enough engineers to focus on repairing my ship. After that, we can fly back to the unknown frontier Donam, don’t worry”.

“But that is not what you are worried about. Something is troubling you”

A new voice appeared from one of the previous hosts, occurring more often. Sazra looked at her side, seeing an older lady. “Jodra, nothing is bothering me. I feel conflicted about the events that have happened over the past few months”

Jodra looked at Donam, who lifted his shoulders and looked back. “The Blood Dilithium was an intense moment from what we have seen in your memories” 

“Ha! Conflicted, she said, you were downright reckless Sazra!” Donam spoke annoyed, “Exposing yourself to the Blood Dilithium knowing what it could do to your brain and, in the end, even let yourself be taken over” He shook his head. “That whole mission was a cluster…” 

He was interrupted, “….would you have done it anyway different, Donam? Be honest, you have seen memories of that time. She had no choice in the matter,” Jodra shrugs, sitting back on the couch. “I say she did the right thing by her actions. She saved her crew, she managed to survive a connection with a space creature barely…” 

“She had every choice given to her,” Donam spoke but looked back at Sazra. “But given the situation, I think I would have done the same,” Giving in to the recklessness of Sazra being the most logical path. “It doesn’t take away that she bombed a shipyard because she was taken over” 

Sazra narrowed her eyes. “What do you expect of me, I had been exposed to Blood Dilithium, and my mind was pudding after that creature connection. I had no barriers, and yes, I got taken over, an experience I never want again.” Leaning against the back of the couch and shaking her head while closing her eyes, “I just ….feel that Starfleet doesn’t trust me anymore after that event” 

“Oh girl, JAG already cleared your name, and your body’s actions out of your control. Starfleet deems it perhaps fit to let you ease it out after the Delta Quadrant experience,” Jodra spoke as she and Donam looked at the door. “It seems there might be an answer to your troubled mind” 

Sazra opened her eyes as her focus broke, and she was back in her room, sitting on the floor, trying to meditate. The chime went off again as her eyes redirected to the door and narrowed slightly her eyes “Come in,” She stated, getting slowly back on her feet. 

A man in a red uniform enters the room with a petty officer rank at his collar. He looked around, searching for the Captain, and quickly found her. “Captain Praugol, your attention is required at Captain Takato’s office immediately” 

Letting out a sigh of slight frustration as she grabbed her uniform jacket and looked at the petty officer. “For the last time, Kobahl, Petty Officer. I know Starfleet Administration made one mistake, but it doesn’t mean you can push your limits to find out where my frontier is” Putting on her jacket, Sazra looked at him. “That is my final warning. I will make a complaint to your boss now move”

The petty officer snaps to attention. “Apologies Captain Kobahl, but I have a lot of names crossing my desk, ma’am” He quickly leads the way out of the guest quarters to lead the captain to Captain Takato’s office.

Rolling her eyes, “Stop with the excuses, seriously, Petty Officer. If you ever want to make a career in Starfleet, you need to change your attitude and take responsibility for your actions rather than shove them into something else.” Sazra blinked a bit as she realized something. “Crap, I sound like Donam…” She mutters to herself while rubbing her template. 

Captain Takato Office

The petty officer leads Sazra into the office of Captain Takato and snaps to attention in front of her desk. “Captain Takato, I brought you Captain Pra….” He felt the intense stare behind him “Kobahl to you per your request” He stood there waiting.

“Thank you, Loid, you can go” She said informally, not looking at him. The man nodded and left the room with only Sazra and Ryoko there. “Please take a seat, Captain” Her eyes finally went up to see who was standing there. “I wish I could offer you something to drink, but I have to be going in a few hours, so kinda wrapping things up”

Sazra shrugs a bit, sits down per the request of the Task Force Commanding Officer, and looks at Ryoko. “So, Captain, am I finally getting some details about the Damascus?” She was wondering about her ship, and Donam voicing his concerns about the slow speed of its repairs was indeed bothering her. However, she kept her facial expression neutral yet focused on the Captain.

Taking a deep breath, Ryoko placed her PADD down, which had fine details on daily operations at the Task Force 86 operational areas. Without a word said, she walked to the replicator. “I changed my mind. Want something to drink?” Looking at the replicator “Coffee, black with some sugar” The bleep of confirmation made the whooshing sound of an appearing hot cup of coffee. Ryoko grabbed the coffee and looked over her shoulder toward Sazra.

“No, thank you” She waved it off with a hand and shook her head.

“Suit yourself” Ryoko replied while walking to the window and taking a sip of the coffee, looking outside and seeing a ship fly by. “Damascus is for now out of commission for an unknown period, as the docking master might already told you. In all seriousness, the Corps Engineers are still trying to figure out how the Damascus even got back from that space in its condition” Taking another sip.

“So what are you telling me, Captain? Is the Damascus never going to fly anymore? Am I grounded for life…I thought JAG cleared my name on that incident?” Sazra shrugged and looked annoyed down at her fiddling hands. “Please give it to me, direct Captain. What is happening to my crew, my ship and ….me”

A smile appeared on Ryoko’s face as she looked at Sazra. “You changed. That ritual changed you for sure. How is your bonding with your fellow partner in crime” Leaning against the window and taking another sip of her coffee.

Sazra looked back at Ryoko and tried to figure out what she was playing at. “I…am doing well. Kobahl and I have a good connection and even grew closer after many mediation sessions to restore balance to my mind” It was no lie. She had taken her time to mediate more to strengthen the connection with her symbiote. But she felt that Ryoko was avoiding her question, was the situation that bad? 

Looking back outside, Ryoko let it go quiet for a second or two. “I am relieving you of command from the Damascus” She raised her left hand to Sazra. “Let me speak” As if she knew that Sazra was ready to blast her with more questions. “This has nothing to do with the JAG case. As you said, they cleared your name” She looked back at Sazra, lowering her hand and taking another sip of her coffee. “The Damascus at this current moment is inactive due to the relocation of engineers for refits and resupplies for the upcoming Frontier Day, as you might already know”

Taking a deep breath, “Starfleet Command wanted you to stay on medical leave for a little longer. However…the situation has changed” Ryoko returned to her desk and placed the cup down. “We are having ….issues at and around Deneb system. Making certain orders to be revised, one of them is yours” She gets another PADD and shoves it to Sazra.

Grabbing the PADD, Sazra saw details in an overview of a reassignment request in command “I am being reassigned to a different command? What about my crew?” She was legit curious and worried at the same time, Sazra had no idea what was going on, and Ryoko stayed vague for a reason. 

“Yes, my final order as Task Force Commanding Officer to you is that you are being reassigned to the USS Mariner, the newest product line of the Pathfinder class. It fits your profile, Captain. Deep exploration with nifty latest scientific equipment would make any scientist go wild. Your crew will also be transferred to it. Not much will change in that regard.”

Looking surprised at the PADD, she lifted her head to look back at Ryoko. “Your final order? What is happening?”

“Due to the activities at Deneb by the Breen, the Fourth Fleet Command saw fit that I was needed there in a different capacity than I am right now. Your new TFCO will be Captain Barrington, who is already serving as TFCO. I believe, administration sucks” She sighs at that. “He is an experienced man that will help you with your upcoming mission it needs to be. However, your mission right now is marked classified, so share it only with your command team” Ryoko looked calm and serious simultaneously. 

 “What kind of mission” Sazra wondered what was going on and then looked at the PADD to see if something was there. 

“Not here. Go to your ship Captain and embark as soon as possible. There are factors in play that make it impossible for me to discuss this matter with you. So per the request of Admiral Beckett, read the mission at your ready room and travel to the Bajoran gate now. No questions asked” With that, she retook a seat. “You are dismissed, Captain, welcome back to command” 

Sazra didn’t know how to react to this direct order and stood up, giving a slight bow to Ryoko. “Thank you, Captain Takato, for everything you have done for the Task Force. I hope we shall see each other again in the future” She saw Ryoko giving a nod. Sazra quickly exited with the PADD in her hand that was now sealed with Captain’s access only. She halted, however, before the door as she heard her name.

“Sazra, be careful with who you trust. This is very important” Ryoko stated finally.

Suddenly she felt the universe’s weight on her shoulders, and thoughts were racing through her mind. She gave a brief nod but didn’t turn around to face Ryoko, but made her exit from the office. She suddenly had a new command but felt conflicted about it as it was tied to something important. She knew that Ryoko was the last person to be secretive about things, so this situation was very serious. Walking down the hallway, the words of being selective of whom to trust kept haunting her. 

She stepped into the turbo lift and commanded to travel to the docks. Before the doors closed, she mutters, “Only those I trust….” As the door closes. 

At the end of the corridor, walked Loid up, coming to a halt, and saw the door close. Then he narrowed his eyes and looked back toward Captain Takato’s office “Mmm” He let out. 

The room was dimmed in its lights, so dimmed that the wall console light reflections of moving statistic information would be noticeable. The stars were moving past the window as the Mariner had made an emergency departure with all crew accounted for. In the seat at the captain’s desk sat Sazra, fiddling with a pencil in her right hand, staring into the moving stars. In front of her was the PADD that Captain Takato had given her, which came straight from the Intelligence branch of the Fourth Fleet. It was still sealed, but Sazra had taken a glimpse of the given situation and the urgency of their mission. 

Thought the Mariner was a state of the art and might be the best that Starfleet had to give. To be given command of such a fine ship was beyond her. Did she earn this truly, or was it related to the mission at hand? But one thing she was sure off, the weight of this mission was very present, and she had to share it with those she entrusted her life with. 

Her train of thought was broken due to the chime that went off. She sighed briefly and stopped fiddling, placing the pen on the table. “Come on in” She stared out the window as Sazra knew who entered the room. 

The door closed as the two officers stood at attention, looking slightly confused at each other when one spoke. “Reporting as ordered, the Mariner is on its way to Deep Space 9 on warp 8 per your request” Silina spoke when looking back at Sazra, trying to figure out what was happening. 

“Good. What is your opinion of her so far, Commander Valerio?” Sazra still didn’t turn her attention to them as her facial expression gave away that she was trying to formulate something in her head. 

Adrián blinked and shrugged. “Well, she is a fine ship. Her engines are unbelievably durable, and she still smells like fresh from the shipyard even though she is already a few months old. The ship is a shining marble of incredible technology. She is designed for what she is supposed to do, which is deep space exploration with scientific end goals. Is that what we are going to do? Starfleet Command finally gave us something that we have fought for so long?”  

“What is going on, Captain?” Silina asked now in a more worried voice.

Her eyes looked at Silina as she turned to them. “Answer me these two questions, no questions asked Silina. When we met in the academy, what class did I always try to get out of? Second question, what did you tell me when you found me at the Broken Wing prison?” Sazra looked at her, waiting for the answers. 

Looking at Adrián and then back at Sazra, “What is….”  She saw that Sazra wanted to hear the answers that hit her deeply. Silina feels slightly uncomfortable about the given vibe but nods slowly. “You always tried to get out of first aid class and tried your best to convince me because you were too shy to do CPR on someone, afraid your first kiss would be taken”  

A small crack of laugh came from Adrián as he snapped back to the attention feeling the burning eyes of both Silina and Sazra at him “Sorry…” He mutters as he looks away for a second.

“The second one…”  Silina scratches the back of her head. “I was sorry that I took so long to get to you. If I were faster there, you wouldn’t have suffered so badly or even lost that eye. I still feel that guilt every day, and if this is some sick joke to get back at me for it, then I might consider reassignment”  

Letting a soft smile go for a second, Sazra looked at Adrián. “Commander, tell me what my original expectation was before I got the Jaxartes for my scientific mission to the Typhon Expanse. And secondly, what did you tell me before we arrived at the grid in Delta Quadrant when we had a moment?”

Adrián thought for a moment and nodded a bit. “The first would be that you expected to get at least a Nebula class ship to serve your needs. But was highly disappointed with the Raven class you received. When you told me this, I laughed my ass off and made you quickly realize that you were still a bloody Ensign, and they would not give such a ship to you at that time” 

“Really?” Silina lets out a good amount of surprise, confused, but snaps back to attention.

Giving Silina a smirk, and continues, “The second one is that I told you whatever happened. We face it together. For so many years, the rest of the crew, or I will follow you blindly, and I do not regret any of those words” Adrián stood more firm when saying that as if he wanted to bring over a point. 

“Alright, good enough for me. Computer seals the room on authorization” The computer bleeps on Sazra’s orders as she taps onto the PADD as it bleeps “State your authorization codes…both of you” She looked seriously at them.

Wanting to ask what was happening, she knew it would only happen after she agreed to Sazra’s terms. Nodding to her, “88-Delta-134- Bravo” Silina stated as the computer beeped. 

“71-Gamma-15-Omega” Adrián followed up as another bleep came from the computer, releasing the seal on the PADD. A holographic image appeared with various information on it. It stated the attack in the Deneb system, the potential theory of Breen and Dominion working together, and the return of the so-called Lost Fleet.

A voice came through, “Captain Kobahl, what you are about to hear is a classified mission briefing of the situation we are currently facing. About forty-eight hours ago, the mythical fleet deemed lost in the Dominion War reappeared and wreaked havoc in the Deneb system and surrounding areas. Starfleet Command has dismissed this intel and used the FNS to spread the lie that it is merely Breen Skirmishes” It showed various news sources in the holo view. 

“The Fourth Fleet” The logo appeared, “Is going against Starfleet Command orders to stand down and has relocated all available forces to the Deneb system to give support where possible. To put an end to this enormous force is to call in favors. You are recommended by your former Task Force Commanding Officer, Captain Takato, as trustworthy. Your records and current status of being joined also support this recommendation.” 

Another two logos appear, the Dominion and the Gamma Quadrant “We will trust on your judgment to whom you trust this full briefing. But to those you feel constrained or conflicted about, state the following. You are to go to the Gamma Quadrant to find likable allies that are known to the Dominion that could potentially help us slow them down”

“You have Commander Ruslanovna and Commander Valerio in your presence, that have confirmed their identity. Do you trust them with your true purpose of this mission Captain Kobahl?” The voice waited for final confirmation.

Sazra smirks a bit at that comment. “It would defeat the goal of this meeting if I didn’t allow them in. Plus, you just told them it’s not the true mission so that ship burned already. Anyway, yes, I trust them with my life and beyond that even” Sazra gave a reassuring smile to them.

“The true mission of the USS Mariner is to travel to the Gamma Quadrant and find the Dominion. Get in contact with them, explain the situation we are currently in, and convince them to come to Alpha Quadrant to stop this fleet from progressing any further. We must warn you that after the Dominion War, all communication with the Dominion ceased. They held onto their agreement and retreated further back. Good luck, Captain Kobahl” The voice cuts off as the display disappears with a simple wave from Sazra.

The room went quiet as Silina tried to grasp the situation. “Oh fuck…” She walked to the window and placed her hands in her hair, trying to calm her emotions. “This got to be a joke, they send a Starfleet ship into a region that has not been touched since the Dominion War?”  She puts her hands down. “Are they crazy…”  

Looking a bit surprised at Silina, “Never heard you curse before, new kind of experience, I say” Adrián blinked a bit, crossing his arms over each other.

Silina looked back at him. “Are you for real now….did you not just hear the briefing? We are being sent to the Gamma Quadrant, and we have no idea what to expect when we arrive there. But you are confused or enlightened about the fact that I curse?” Silina shrugs. “What’s wrong with you?” 

He raised a finger to her. “I can ask you the same thing, I am trying to break the tension here, Silina. We will not succeed if we are going to stress about it. Sure, it is a difficult assignment, but we must focus right now. What do you think? That our Captain is not troubled about this mission? Come on, we know each other longer than we care to admit”  

Feeling the stare of Silina, Sazra nodded to the confirmation of Adrián “He is right. I have been troubled about this mission since the moment I saw it. We must stay calm, seeing that this mission doesn’t come lightly and not from Starfleet Command. We have to face the music and get this done as best and quickly as possible,” Sazra shrugs. “Izar has already fallen. The Dominion and Breen are aiming at more planets.” 

“That is why you requested an immediate launch of the ship. But will we truly lie against the senior staff about this mission?” Silina now crossed her arms and looked at them. “I mean…we worked with them for years. We can trust them, right?” 

Sazra shrugs. “Yes and no. I understand your perspective, but, we can’t take the risk now. I go with the approach the fewer knows, the best outcome” Sazra sits back in her chair. “Keep an eye out for suspicious behavior, but do not act upon it. Rather, inform me about it. For now, you guys know about this, I will brief the crew as soon as I can” 

“What about Deep Space 9? They will not let us pass through the gate that easy” Adrián stated, an obvious concern.

Shaking her head, “We will face that hurdle when we arrive. It takes another day before we arrive there. For now, dismissed. Computer open room” A bleep was heard as the two officers nodded to her and left the room. The door closed as Sazra closed her eyes to take a deep breath and tried to calm down herself. 

Junior Crew Area – Deck 8

The hallways were buzzing with junior crew members. Talking among themselves, sharing the latest news from FNN, and getting ready for duty. These areas were meant for the Ensigns and Lieutenant Junior Grades as the Pathfinder class was not big, and thus sleeping quarters were differently arranged compared to bigger ships. It also didn’t matter if you were a chief or a specialist. This is how the Mariner rolled their operations. 

“See, I told you my globes never lie” Asipa rubs her right ear and smirks. The Ferengi showed the latest news article from FNN about the Breen skirmishes at the Deneb system. “They got this well under control over there, I say that is the reason we are not being sent there. Because we are not needed” She stated it for herself to feel reassured not going to a battle frontier.

Shaking his head, “You are looking at this wrong. Why would the big chief of the fourth fleet send all his ships to Deneb then? It doesn’t add up” Drata slapped his leg. “What if this is just one big cover-up, and Starfleet Command just wants to get Admiral Ramar out of the picture for Frontier Day? I heard he was one of the speakers for that day” Drata nodded quickly to that. 

“That doesn’t explain why the Marinerrr is being sent to Deep Space 9. The otherr senior staff doesn’t know anything, and the command staff is not telling us orrr well avoiding the question?” She lets out a small purr of thinking as K’Nala shrugs. A sigh came from another table as they looked at the direction of the sound, seeing a young Betazoid woman sitting at her table trying to read some PADDs “Oh Ensign Cho what is yourrr opinion about the current situation?” 

Placing down her PADD and looking over her shoulder at K’Nala. “That I am seriously questioning why you are a Senior Staff when you share sensitive information with junior staff members” Keeyiro shook her head. “You have to be more professional when it comes to this”

The ears of K’Nala go down as if a kitten was punished for her actions of stealing some snacks. “I am not sharing any information from the seniorrr staff…wait did I?” 

“You didn’t share any sensitive details, and if you would, we would keep it save for you” Drata spoke, trying to boost K’Nala morale. He looked at Keeyiro. “And how you are speaking to a senior staff member is also not good. We might be mixed up down here, but it doesn’t mean you can insult her like that. This girl saved our asses in Delta Quadrant” Drata points his fingers at K’Nala, who blushes a bit.

Keeyiro narrowed her eyes, looking at them. “She is a senior officer that is discussing what her fellow senior officers are saying to junior officers is a break of confidence in work ethics.” Looking at K’Nala, Keeyiro shrugs. “Look, the information that the FNN gave is sketchy as hell. Shoving it off as a mere skirmish while we lost contact with various colonies and ships in the Deneb area raises questions”  

“Wait….waiittt we lost contact with colonies there?” Asipa coughs after drinking her tea and hearing that. “But still if that were the case and there is trouble there, then it is not our trouble to begin with? We are going the other way?” She nervously took another sip of her drink.

Drata smirks at Asipa after hearing that “Are you afraid of some action?” 

A deadly glare was thrown back at Drata from Asipa “I am not afraid, I am merely stating that we are going to another way. Starfleet sent us to Deep Space 9, it must be a shakedown of this ship or something to get used to it. Maybe we are simply going to transport some cargo…yes that sounds more logical” Her eyes were looking away from Drata while drinking her tea.

“Did I really sharrre sensitive information?” K’Nala mutters to herself, starting to doubt her abilities in her chief duties. 

“See, that’s where you are wrong” Keeyiro spoke towards Asipa. “These orders didn’t come from Starfleet Command. They came from the Fourth Fleet, specifically the intelligence branch”  She gave the PADD a glare Keeyiro was reading. “Whatever is happening in the Deneb system is making our ship go to DS9”  

The four quieted for a brief moment “So….you think I am not good at holding secrets?” K’Nala looked at Keeyiro with some sad eyes.

Letting out another sigh and standing up, grabbing her PADDs “I wouldn’t trust you with my secrets, that is for sure, Lieutenant” Keeyiro huffs and walks away from the area without looking at the reaction from K’Nala.

“Pieeeuuuw POEF” A sound Drata made as if something was thrown and exploded. “Don’t worry Lieutenant, you are more than able to do your job as a pilot. It saved my ass back on the Damascus for sure” Drata noticed his attempt to create a better mood failed and felt the awkwardness and deathly stare from Asipa.

“Senior Staff report to the Conference Room ASAP” A communication came through from Commander Ruslanovna. 

Asipa looked at K’Nala, who was looking down at the table “Mmm K”Nala, I think they are requesting your attention at the Conference Room?” She smiles softly at her.

Looking back at Asipa, K’Nala just realized what Asipa was saying to her. “Shit, yes, I am seniorrr staff” Letting out a growl and standing up quickly to move to the exit and then returns “We still on forrr that pool evening right?” Looking at Asipa, who simply replied with a nod “Awesome, see you then” And she hush away.

“Pool evening…? A wet cat?”  Drata tried to envision it for his own amusement “I would love to see that” 

Letting out a disappointing sigh “No, don’t even think about it. This is a girl’s evening, and we are actually doing something that you are unable to do” Asipa stood up after finishing her drink.

Drata looked confused back at her “What would that be?” 

Asipa stopped in her tracks and smiled at him “Keep up with your sports schedule” With that, she left him stunned behind while looking at his own body, wondering what Asipa was referring to. 

Conference Room

“I don’t know if I am happy about it or not to receive full access to the reports coming out of that sector.” The Chief Engineer was tapping his finger on the table, looking at the PADD with the latest reports. Shaking his head, “The USS Valhalla is trying to reach Arkan II” He taps on the PADD. “Here, USS Alita is en route to Sevury to liberate it. There are even talks of rebooting the mothballed ships at Yadev II. Are we that desperate?” Adrian shrugged and placed the PADD down and put it offline. 

Taking a deep breath as Silina stood at the window looking outside, enjoying the stars passing by “A war of attrition is a tactic that the Dominion is no stranger to. The death toll and the wounded keep rising with every report. If the crew knew about these reports, then we have different problems at hand than only dealing with the founders or Gamma Quadrant in general”

Rising her finger to that, Sazra didn’t look away from her briefing report. “And that is the very thing we are fighting for right now. Silina is right. We fight to keep that morale in one piece. If they find out what we are truly doing, we might face an uprising as no one on this ship has faced the Dominion or what they can do. They will act on fear or if we have to believe the Fourth Fleet even worse…” 

“But we are lying to them. How will we ever get their trust after they know what we did?” Adrian bluntly pointed out the concerning issue that was on the table. “I believe the saying was something along the line. The Captain is as strong as its crew that supports him or her?” 

Lowering her finger, Sazra looked at Adrian. “We are straightforward with them when they get to know about it. This is a classified mission that is above their access. Stakes are taken into account. Our success is of utmost importance, and that brings me to something of a risk that we need to take”  Sazra leans back “Palema” 

Looking over her shoulder to them, Silina saw the questionable eyes of Adrian “Lieutenant Palema, assigned to our ship as the Diplomatic Officer. She has a long-standing record in diplomatic missions for the Romulan Republic and has been in service for Starfleet only a few years as an exchange program to strengthen our bond with the Republic.” Silina turned around, finally taking her seat at the table “I see the dilemma at hand” 

“I don’t? Do we not trust her because she is Romulan?” Adrian looked confused at them both.

“It is not that we do not trust her. We have to tell her about the diplomatic talks with the Dominion. She needs to know about it to be prepared, and I am not going solo into that conversation” Sazra defended herself. “I need an experienced diplomat at my side, but that means we need to lay the cards on the table and be honest with her” 

Leaning back, letting the idea sink in, Adrian eventually nodded to it. Followed-up by Silina, that agree with it as only mere minutes later, the senior staff arrived at the Conference Room. They all took their spots, some new, some old.

“Welcome all, let us start with the briefing of our mission.” Sazra spoke, “A few days ago you might have noticed on the news that skirmishes are going on in Deneb” Taking a deep breath. “That is a lie, a cover-up, a ruse” Sazra waited for a second to see the reaction from her staff before continuing. “In the Dominion War, a large fleet, known in the myths of our history books, disappeared without a trace. We called it the Lost Fleet. They have returned” 

Everyone looked at each other, concerned by this news “Why is Starfleet Command making fake news about?” Rami broke the muttering in the room and looked at Sazra curiously. 

“We don’t know. The only thing we know is that the Fourth Fleet has ordered its available ships to relocate towards strategic locations in the Deneb system and surrounding areas. The Dominion have taken out various key locations and raided our colonies, outpost, and ships” Adrian spoke in the direction of Rami.

Before Rami could respond, a 3D video was shown from the projector in the middle of the room. It showed the combat experience of the USS Caliburn as everyone looked with big worried eyes at it as the video stopped showing the Dominion ships. “The Dominion” Sazra looked concerned at the image “Starfleet Command is currently shoving it off the table as something minor, but we are dealing here with a full invasion force that has no sense of time delaying. They think we are still in war with them”  

“What does that mean for us?” Kossaal looked at his Captain. The Andorian was no stranger to battles, but this was a different level altogether.

Rami growls and sits back in his chair “It means war doctor” 

“What, but we are going to Deep Space 9? That is the otherrr direction of Deneb?” K’Nala was confused about their course now.

“Keen observe there. That is why we have Lieutenant Palema here” With a soft smile, Silina looked at K’Nala and then at Palema. “We are going to the Gamma Quadrant to get some allies there to support our efforts at Deneb.” Silina took a deep breath and looked at Sazra.

The Romulan looked into the room when her name was mentioned and saw the eyes looking back at her. “I have been assigned to the Mariner to give diplomatic aid in their operations. If that means we have to go to Gamma Quadrant for it and gain their support, I shall do my best to succeed” She was pretty straightforward with the answer. “Keep in mind, if my reports are right, we know barely anything about the Gamma Quadrant’s current state of affairs” 

Giving a slight nod to Palema, “That is one of the concerns that we need to appeal to your experience Lieutenant” Sazra spoke. “I also have no information on Gamma Quadrant itself, so I want medical to stand ready for whatever is going to come at us”  

Kossaal nodded to that while writing it down “The medical staff of both the old Damascus and the new Mariner is well experience in any medical situation. I would make sure of that, Captain” But at the same time, he had his concerns if the medical team being ready for battle or war-level injuries. 

“Good, I need tactical to prepare for any battle, be it space or ground battles. I rather am prepared then be unexpectedly surprised by whatever lies there. Lieutenant Shew get that Hazard Team set up, I expect a report asap” Sazra was giving out orders as quickly as possible without breaking character. She needed to remain calm, she saw the worried eyes, the concerns, and the questions troubling her staff.

“Yes, sir, I get Lieutenant Miki on immediately. He is experienced in these operations and takes the lead in it” Rami was quite firm in his response, feeling his blood boil. “What about the Dominion in Gamma Quadrant?” He gave the question that no one dared to ask.

Both Adrian and Silina looked at Sazra as she took a deep breath. “We have a treaty with them. For now, they are not to be bothered by our mission. We can’t risk becoming a sandwich from both sides.” Sazra answered quickly and decisively. 

It was a good enough answer for Rami to back off from the topic. Silina nodded. “We stay on course to Deep Space 9. They are the gatekeepers of the Bajoran gate, and there we have to do something that will put pressure on you all”  She sat back, looking at everyone. “We have to bluff our way into that gate….because Starfleet Command has not approved of this mission at any stadium. This is a Fourth Fleet exclusive mission in the dire hope we can break that balance in this conflict with the Lost Fleet” 

Palema shrugs. “I can help with that. I don’t desire to use my skills in such a matter, but seeing our condition. I am more willing to be used in this situation” 

Giving a smile at Palema “That is good to know, thank you. Dismissed, and keep me updated for now. Lieutenant Palema, could you stay for a moment” Sazra requested as the rest of the officers left the Conference Room, leaving only Adrian, Sazra, Silina, and Palema behind. Sazra waited for the door to be closed and let out a big sigh. “Well let us get the last hurdle out of the way” 

“What do you mean, Captain?” Standing there confused, Palema wondered why she needed to stay behind.

“It means that the briefing was not completely accurate,” Adrian spoke out of turn, looking at the Lieutenant. “We are actually going to have you prepare for something more…refined than what we just told the senior staff” 

Silina nodded and now looked at Palema “We need you to do all research on the Dominion, the diplomatic affairs we had with them, the interactions, and their cultural behavior. We need to stand in their favor when we meet them face to face”.

Looking a bit shocked at this revealing information, “What do you mean, we are going to the Dominion?” Palema didn’t enjoy this at all, it was dealing with a whole new level of a dominant force. A force that knew only violence. 

“To put it simply, Lieutenant, to stop the Dominion, we require a Dominion to order them. Other forces will be seen as potential traitors. We require them to say it. If we succeed, they will stop,” Sazra stated. “But we are dealing with a top-secret level of clearance for this mission. Only the command crew knows, and now you also,” Sazra shrugs. “We are asking you to keep this vital information to yourself, play along with our theater, and when the time comes, deal together with the Dominion to convince them that they are the only ones that can stop their people” 

It was a lot to take in, she needed to do a lot of research, and a lot of time would go into it, would she be able to learn enough before they would arrive? Palema looked back at them, and a certain level of anxiety was present in her facial expression. But she nodded to them “I will do my best and keep my lips sealed. Am I dismissed?” 

Giving a soft nod to her, Sazra saw Palema leave the room. “I hope I made the right choice to trust her with this….let’s get to work” Sazra ordered. 

Officers were doing their duties, tapping on their consoles, consulting with each department, and ensuring that the ship was operating in perfect condition. Sitting in the captain’s chair, Silina’s mind was somewhere else. The Dominion was doing hit runs at the borders and even boldly going deeper into Federation territory. Her eyes went slowly through the bridge with a PADD in her hand. She acted like she was doing her duty. Not many had seen conflict. To be realistic, before her trip to Delta Quadrant, she had not seen any real combat herself. 

The trials that her friends are constantly facing seem to have never stopped. Taking a deep breath, she gave a nod to Asipa’s report as Silina’s mind wandered off, thinking of the days of old. Life was much simpler, more defined, and with fewer worries about the aftermath of one deed. She had joined Sazra’s silly mission to get out of the dusty office and explore something unbelievable. Then she planned to go back and get a more serious job. Settle down on a starbase or something as their Chief Medical Officer. But she stuck around at Sazra’s side. Unknown what the future would bring, watching her friends take that extra step forward in the name of protection of the weak. In the name of silencing that hunger for exploring the unknown. 

Narrowing her eyes, Silina sometimes wondered if it was it justified to bring their idealism to other worlds? Sure, their intentions are well-meant. Explore the unknown, discover new life, and meet new species. It was not like she was against it. It was more that she started to question it after being on the Jaxartes, Damascus, and now the Mariner. Seeing the wonders of the Typhon Expanse, fighting a rogue Starfleet Captain, infiltrating the Romulans, and then facing the brutality of the Delta Quadrant. Starfleet idealism, in a nutshell, was so far the most dangerous experience that she ever had to experience. Silina shrugged at that but looked at the younger staff, smiling and excited about their mission. ‘Was I that naive also? To think the stars were cuddling objects always there to welcome us?’ Her focus was broken as she heard her name and looked toward the sound.

“Commanderrr?” K’Nala looked at her as some other officers looked at her also for not responding. “Are you okay sirrr?” 

Sitting up in the chair “Yea, sorry, my mind went off on something. What is wrong?” Silina recovered her posture and noticed the other officers going back to work. 

“We are arriving at Deep Space 9 within 15 minutes” K’Nala looked back at her console. “Actually, it is now 14 minutes” The young Caitian was not trying to be a smart ass. But she noticed the dozing off from her superior officer. Looking back at Silina, “I think the Captain wanted to be informed about it?” 

Giving K’Nala a nod in confirmation, “Yes, thank you for your heads-up. Lieutenant Asipa, please inform Captain Kobahl and Lieutenant Palema that we are arriving at Deep Space 9 on short notice. Their presence is required at the bridge as most likely the station will hail us soon at arrival” Silina leans back in her chair after seeing the acknowledgment of Asipa ‘On to our next mission of pure good will’ 

A few minutes later, Sazra was on the bridge with Lieutenant Palema, who was in her Romulan Republic uniform, at her side as the Mariner dropped out of warp close to Deep Space 9. Taking a deep breath, Sazra didn’t give off the vibe that she was concerned about what would come. But there were a few hurdles that they had to deal with. First to deceive Deep Space 9 to let them through into Gamma Quadrant. Fourth Fleet had made it clear that they give out the order and that would mean Starfleet Command was unknown of these orders and would make traveling to the Gamma Quadrant not logical. 

The second hurdle in this path was Opaka Outpost, the one that was the guardian at the other side of the Bajoran gate. Normally a journey through the gate wouldn’t make a challenge, but the Treaty of Bajor had restrained the Federation’s exploration details in the Gamma Quadrant. So flying straight out to Dominion borders was out of the question, as that would mean a full mobilization of Opaka ships to stop them. Mariner still had to return to Alpha Quadrant with the hopefully successful mission. 

There was also a third hurdle that Sazra had to face. She glared briefly at the bridge crew as the Mariner approached Deep Space 9. The crew didn’t know the full details of their mission. Only part of it was revealed to them and even the juniors didn’t understand what was happening. She noticed that her command staff was struggling with the details of this mission to keep it a secret. But lives depended on it. 

Lieutenant Shew, as a Bajoran, had a history with the Dominion. Lieutenant T’Path would use her logic against this mission and most likely give it a 15% succession rate, which was not a bad number, to begin with. Doctor Th’shrithel would have given her a straight-to-the-face answer on how suicidal this mission would be. But in the end, if she had ordered them to follow, they would without question. So was lying against them really the best course of action? Fourth Fleet was clear in their statement, more was going on than meets the eye. 

“Captain, your worry is starting to show through. Just relax and smile” 

A whisper came from her left side, seeing that Palema’s facial expression was warming, but she was not looking at Sazra. Sazra gave a nod fixing her posture. Her new diplomatic officer was right, the worries got to her and she broke her image.

“Captain Deep Space 9 is hailing us” Asipa spoke up while looking at her console.

“Here we go…” Sazra mutters “On screen Ensign” Within a few seconds the display changed to the Deep Space 9 operation center. 

“Captain Kobahl, an unexpected arrival of the USS Mariner here” A lieutenant spoke. By the looks of it human with some scars here and there. Calmly he continued “Are you here to resupply before going back to the Barzan Wormhole?”

Ah yes, the original mission of the Mariner was to travel back to the Delta Quadrant and not to the Gamma Quadrant. They would continue the exploration of the Delta Quadrant, even after the traumatic experience the Damascus crew had to endure. Starfleet Command wanted their best scientist out there to keep pushing the unknown. Sazra gave a soft smile. “Not quite Lieutenant. I am here to travel to the Gamma Quadrant per a collaboration with the Romulan Republic” She gestures to Palema. 

“A collaboration with the Romulan Republic?” The Lieutenant looked at a fellow officer, lifted their shoulders, and looked back. “Is that not a pet project from Task Force 17? Nothing personal ma’am” He directed at Palema “So far I know is that you guys are assigned to Task Force 86, the border defense joint” 

“We might be assigned to Task Force 86, but it doesn’t always mean that we are doing their primary mission Lieutenant” Sazra pointed out bluntly.

“Plus Lieutenant, if I might be so bold to say. The Captain has started her career in Task Force 17 and has a close relationship with the Romulans from back in her days when she was a Captain in the Raven Program” Palema stated with a smile on her face. “This collaboration is in honor of that” 

Sazra glared at Palema as she was peaking. She knew her history and was better prepared for this than Sazra had expected. Looking back at the screen to a stunned Lieutenant “This joint operation is by administration rights not yet processed by Task Force 17. As you might understand with some chaotic timing that Starfleet is going through now” It was no lie, that the Lost Fleet conflict was delaying the fake orders in administration. 

“Chaotic timing?” The Lieutenant narrowed his eyes in confusion and then slapped his side. “Oh, you mean because of preparation for Frontier Day?” He then nods. “Alright, I let you off the hook. Go on and get through the gate. Report to Opaka Outpost of your mission and safe travels Captain” With that, the screen returned to the DS9 in space view.

A sign of relief came from Sazra who nodded to Palema and then looked at her helmsman. “Get us through the gate K’Nala.” Sitting back in her chair looking at the screen.

“Yes, Captain” K’Nala moved her paws over her console moving the Mariner to the gate. 

“One hurdle did”  Silina leaned to Sazra “One to go” 

“The joint operation was an excellent idea, Captain. It makes sense that you requested me to be in my old uniform. But do you want me to have this uniform on the trip?” Palema looked at Sazra.

Giving a slight nod “We must hold up this ruse as long as possible, not just for Starfleet Command, but also for the crew” She whispers so that only Palema and Silina can hear it. The Bajoran Wormhole opens up as the Mariner moves into it. 

The light blue of the wormhole reflects in Palema eyes. “It will be a challenge to convince them upon our return home. Are we to succeed, we might be challenged by the fake orders that were given” She pointed out.

“As Captain Kobahl would always say, we will see that hurdle when it comes” Silina winks at Palema. The two returned to their comfortable seats as the Mariner was traveling through the Bajoran Wormhole. Then after a few minutes arrived at the other side. “Welcome to the Gamma Quadrant” Silina spoke with some relief.

“Opaka Outpost is hailing us” Asipa confirmed.

Sazra give a nod in the direction to Asipa as she looked back at the screen seen a Bajoran officer appearing on the screen. “Good day, I am Captain Kobahl of the USS Mariner. We are here on terms of a joint operation with the Romulan Republic to explore the Gamma Quadrant nebulas.” 

The officer looked at the bridge crew before focusing on Sazra. “We were not informed of any joint operations. Do you have clarification from Starfleet Command that you can send?” 

“Sadly no, because of the preparation for Frontier Day, the administration work of us lending from one task force to another is such a pain these days” Sazra smiled a bit awkwardly. “But we shall keep regular contact with you regarding our mission parameters” 

A brief pause came from the Bajoran side as he looked at some data and nodded. “I want to see a report every 24 hours from you guys. I will wait on the orders from Deep Space 9 and if something is wrong expect a call from me” He spoke.

Rising her hands slightly to give a sign of surrender “Totally understandable. Thank you for your leeway in this matter. I don’t want our Romulan Republic friends to be waiting on the data we promised them” Sazra felt slightly relieved when the channel closed. “Get us to a nearby nebula, we need to plan this carefully. Lieutenant T’ path gives them brief updates every 24 hours on this joint operation” 

“But Captain, the joint operation is a ruse is it not? Do you require me to lie towards Opaka Outpost?” T’ Path asked calmly but there was firmness in her voice.

Looking back at her Chief Science “Yes” Was the brief response “I know it is against your nature, but I need you to lie against Starfleet Command about this operation. We need time to get our allies sorted out” Sazra shrugged as she didn’t like lying to her good friend. But she couldn’t take risks in this mission. 

T’Path shrugged and nodded to her Captain. “As you command Captain. I shall….make something up as you would say. I will make it believable and acceptable for both Starfleet Command and the Romulan Republic that this is an authentic report”

“Good” Sazra turned her attention to Palema. “Lieutenant get ready for your part of this mission. I need you fully up to date as far as you potentially can get with the…” Sazra pauses for a moment “…situation in Gamma Quadrant. Use the latest details from Opaka Outpost to help with that”  

“Understood Captain. I will start immediately with the new parameter data on the species known to Starfleet Command. Thought it might be challenging all-in-all.” Palema would not beat the bush about giving her Captain a deceiving answer in the given situation. She nodded to the command team and stood up to make her leave to get prepared for their encounter with the Dominion. 

Everyone resumed their duties as expected of them. This was quite a hurdle for the Mariner to overcome, but convincing the Dominion to give them what they needed was another bigger problem they would have to face at the end of the day. Sazra felt the sudden weight of this mission getting on her shoulder as she felt a hand on hers that makes her look to her right seeing Silina looking at her.

“It will be okay…”  Silina gave those comforting words to Sazra that she needed to hear right now. 

“I know, but still with everything that is going on, I wonder what other challenges they will throw at us in this mission” Sazra spoke out her concern and noticed the other bridge members looking at her. “But I am sure that we will manage it. I got the finest crew in the galaxy that is up for some challenges” She saw a few smiles appear and gave her smile, a fake smile but a smile nonetheless. 

Silina could see the fake smile of Sazra and kept her hand on hers for a moment before pulling it back. They needed to keep their focus and show these distractions might work against everything they were trying to hold. Keeping up a fake smile might be the best solution for now. They would have to deal with the aftermath after this mission. Silina could only understand a fraction of the weight on Sazra’s shoulders. “Lieutenant K’Nala keep me up to date on the trajectory of our course. I don’t want any surprises” 

Personal log Lieutenant Hefaam.

 

We arrived in the Gamma Quadrant after receiving the urgent request from the Fourth Fleet to gather allied support against the sudden arrival of the so-called Lost Fleet. From my understanding, Captain Kobahl and Lieutenant Palema have misled true objections towards Opaka Outpost and Deep Space 9 to let them astray of our true goals here in the Gamma Quadrant.

 

My honest opinion is that I find evidence that the Fourth Fleet is presenting a lacking foundation. Showing a video and giving reports based on emotions from that objective point of view makes it difficult to judge the authenticity of the reports. Additionally, I do not see any reason for Starfleet Command to lie against us in the matter, that would go against their principles and beliefs. We should have resumed our intended mission in the Delta Quadrant when I was informed that I would be assigned to the USS Mariner. However, the Captain finds it important to follow up on the given assignment and has ignored my protest against this unlogical and sudden change of the mission parameters.

 

Enough of that, this log is also meant as a general update about my duties onboard the Mariner and I begin my report, brief as it might be on the senior staff. Computer the next segment of this log is locked and only visible for medical and counselor personnel. 

Captain Sazra Kobahl

A young and talented Captain in the field of science that has proven herself in the Typhon Expanse when assigned to Task Force 17. She has commanded three vessels, the Jaxartes, Damascus, and Mariner.  While she might be gifted, she has also had many traumatic experiences throughout her career. Her experience as a prisoner for the rogue group Broken Wing has made her endure long-term torture for information that has not been given in the end. Additionally, in the latest Fourth Fleet campaign, she had to endure the mental connection of a space creature known to the Starfleet database as a Crystalline Entity. Medical is still unsure how her body would even withstand such a connection, but it has happened as witnessed by various bridge officers. Miss Kobahl is currently in therapy in my care to talk about these experiences she had in the past. As the humans would say, she is a tough nut to crack. She will not open up about her experience easily.

Commander Silina Ruslanovna

Miss Ruslanovna is by origin, like myself, a Medical Officer and has been at Captain Kobahl side since the beginning of their career. The commander has seen her fair share of challenging moments and has been in temporary command twice as the First Officer. She was responsible for rescuing her Captain from the hands of the Broken Wing, though the mission report on what happened is a gray area in my reading experience. Miss Ruslanovna portrays herself as a calming and decisive person who can act on her command choices. I believe this trait comes from her years as not only the Medical Officer on the Jaxartes but also from her time as First Officer. 

Lieutenant Commander Adrian Valerio

Now I do not know if Captain Kobahl had her eyes set on certain talents, but Commander Valerio was one of them regarding his incredible engineering skills. Yet in my years as a counselor, I know that for one talented person, there are at least a few attributes of flaws added to it. Commander Valerio is no exception on that point, he is considered a stubborn person and his awful taste for humor has brought him only more troubles than what really is worth it. However, over the years while serving under Captain Kobahl, he has proven to be a steady and solving mind regarding engineering problems. Under immense pressure in the Delta Quadrant mission, he kept the Damascus in one piece and even got her back to Alpha Quadrant. Now my knowledge of engineering is limited, I did hear from Starbase 86 engineers that this was quite an achievement seeing what the ship’s condition was.

Lieutenant T’Path

The Chief Science Officer on the Mariner, is a quite skilled woman in her field of science. In counter to her fellow crewmates Captain Kobahl, Commander Ruslanovna, and Commander Valerio, she has not had much combat experience. This is mainly because the lieutenant kept her own skill set in check. I respect her for that humble choice on the path to recognizing her strengths and weaknesses. I do wonder where our conversations will bring us.

End counselor additional log. Computer resume personal log. 

I have only briefly been with the Mariner crew since we left Starbase 86. So my full review of the crew will take some time and reading. However, I do feel that this mission is tense. Facing the Breen and perhaps the Dominion in Alpha Quadrant is one thing. But being in the predator’s den is another. My conclusion thus far from the operation in Gamma Quadrant makes me believe that Captain Kobahl is holding back on something. Her facial expression might be in line, but her nonverbal movements make it questionable on what she is trying to sell us off. 

 

Are we truly here as stated within the mission briefing, or is there more than meets the eye? Rumors have started to spread throughout the ship and even to my counseling sessions that the crew feels excited but afraid of what they are actually going to face in this mission. I will continue to provide mental support to those that require it, calm them down, and see to it that they can perform their duties. However, I hope the command team will make the right choices. 

 

End Log

Shift Leader, Lieutenant T’Path.

 

It has been a few hours since I relieved Commander Ruslanovna from the gamma shift. The lower officers call this shift the graveyard shift as it is in condition with the late night shift and where nothing seems to happen. I find this shift enlightening to bring focus to my work. The arrival in the Gamma Quadrant has been interesting and fascinating at the same time. I have been able to gather more information while en route to our destination about this chaotic space. The reports from the Vulcan research group that entered this space before the Dominion War have greatly helped get a safe route. 

 

Many officers have used this unique and logical opportunity to gather information in their work field. I wonder how long we are allowed to conduct our mission in the Gamma Quadrant as I am certain that we can gain more insight into the living environment of the citizens of this vast region of space. I am looking forward to…

“Lieutenant, we have an object on ourrr path”  K’Nala looked at the screen showing the map in the right corner “Should I change course?” 

The senior officer on the bridge had stopped her typing on the log and looked at the data coming in. “You are unable to avoid the said object, Lieutenant?” T’Path looked at her helm as a course redirection would be quite invasive for just that.

“Sadly no, if the scannerrr logs are not malfunctioning, it is as big as a regula station” K’Nala looked over her shoulder to T’Path “I do requirrre a direction, ma’am. We will intercept it within seven minutes” 

“Ensign Cho, do old records state anything about the said object?’ Looking at her side to a young woman in a black uniform.

Shaking her head “Starfleet, Vulcan, and Klingon records state nothing of the given object. I would advise you to be careful upon approach. Long-range scanners indicate that we are dealing with a large structure base object. I will update more when I get more results” Keeyiro gave a soft nod to T’Path and looked back at the console to analyze the data. 

That said, T’Path nodded. “Lieutenant Miki please put us on yellow alert. Ensign Asipa inform the Captain and First Officer of the situation and that their presence is required at the bridge. Lieutenant K’Nala please drop out of warp at a safe distance from the object”  She was firm in her commands to her bridge officers. There was no time to underestimate any given situation, they were after all in the Gamma Quadrant. 

After a given minute the Mariner dropped out of warp, while the bridge was dimmed yellow in its light. “Arrived at a safe distance from the unknown object, awaiting orderrrs” She moved her paw over the console moving the thrusters downwards. K’Nala looked at the screen seeing the object from a far distance.

“Ensign Cho, please enhance the zoom-in of the object” T’Path orders as the screen focus on the object and zooms in. It showed a clear beacon structure with the top shining a purple given light. “Fascinating. Any idea what it might be?”  

“Scans indicate unknown results of the purpose for the structure” Keeyiro looked back at her console from the screen. “I will keep scanning” 

Miki tapped the side of his console while looking at it. “So far scans indicate that it is not hostile. Regional scans indicate that there are no defense or offensive materials present that could endanger our ship”

A hum came from the engineering console where Drata was standing. “The structure is indeed interesting, but the construction of it is pretty straightforward. It looks like a monument of sorts. When placing a reference point of the structure in our database, I get the Dominion logo as an answer” 

The tubrolift doors opened up as Sazra and Silina entered the bridge. Walking to their chair, T’Path stood up from the captain’s chair. “Alright give me an update. What am I looking at?” Sazra didn’t sit yet as her attention and focus went to the screen seeing the structure.

“I have given the orders to the bridge crew to begin scanning. So far the results are that Lieutenant K’Nala placed us at a safe distance from the unknown object. Ensign Cho concludes that the object doesn’t meet up to any data reference in our known database from the Gamma Quadrant. I ordered the ship to yellow alert upon arrival, Lieutenant Miki informed me that the area had no offensive or defensive material active. The structure in question has no danger to it as well. Ensign Drata also notice that the construction has a more monumental value. It reflects small bits of the Dominion” T’Path briefly summarized what the crew told her.

Nodding at the information, Silina looked at the screen. “What is your opinion about it?” 

Giving a brief moment to observe the screen, T’Path softly smiled before returning to her usual Vulcan facial expression. “It is unique and if the data is correct, it is built during or after the Dominion War”  

“I tend to agree with you, but our mission has priority to it. Is it safe to pass it?” Sazra asked looking around as she saw a few nods in her direction. “Alright helm, the distance between 15 and 30 km and get us back on course when we leave the system” Sazra wanted to walk off again as she nodded to Miki to turn down the yellow alert. Her eyes however stopped at Asipa who looked puzzled at her console “Ensign?” 

The young Ferengi’s focus broke when she noticed the Captain standing at her side “Captain…ahh yea…” She shrugged embarrassed to be caught in her work “I …well when zooming in on the structure I noticed a language that I kinda recognized” 

Sazra raises an eyebrow “What language?”  

“Overne…” She said placing her finger on a few letters on the zoomed-in image. She saw the questionable eyes “I did a script in the academy days on foreign languages during the Dominion War. The communication tactics and language of the Dominion members. Now the Overne is a key element within the Dominion.” She raises her finger. “They are responsible for manufacturing the starships and weapons for the Dominion. Now they are so amazing because even Dominion translators struggled with their language. They use sounds like clicks, snaps, or hums to do so. But they also have a written language and that’s what I believe on that object”

Looking back at the screen, Sazra narrowed her eyes a bit. “Can you….translate it?” 

Giving a big grin, Asipa looked at the image. “I thought you never asked… I am rusty in this and the computer needs to help me a bit” 

Remember our warriors at war,Fighting bravely amidst the uproar,Their courage and strength never falter,As they stand true, loyal to the altar.

 

They leave behind their homes and kin,To protect and serve, for us they win,The battles they endure, the scars they bear,Their selflessness, we must always share.

 

Their sacrifices often go unheard,Yet, their deeds remain forever preserved,In our hearts and minds, they’ll always stay,As heroes, we honor them every day.

 

So, let’s remember our warriors at war,And celebrate the legacy they implore,For their service and sacrifice, we owe,A debt that endlessly continues to grow.

The bridge went quiet for a moment letting the words sink in. “It’s a war monument to praise the brave warriors that gave up their lives for the Dominion” Silina sat back in her chair. “I never suspected them of being that kind of people to praise and remember what has happened” 

“The Dominion might not be like that, but it doesn’t mean a race like the Overne could be one. They built an entire fleet of ships that was let loose upon our people” Sazra stated. “Helm, resume course. Let us not provoke anyone by staying too long at a location we are not quite wanted at” Looking at T’Path. “I will see your report in the morning” With that said she pads Asipa on her shoulder. “Well done Ensign, we learned something today” Seeing the smile of the young Ensign, Sazra entered the turbolift again as Silina followed her in.

Turbo lift

The door closed as it started to move. “What do you think of this?” Silina looked at her uniform which she quickly put on after receiving the call to the bridge.

“That it might be dangerous to linger around too long at a war monument. Remember, Gamma Quadrant folk see us as the bad guys and praise the Dominion for the true force of the galaxy. Well some of them that is” Sazra leans against the back of the lift “But I am more worried about the crew with a history with the Dominion. If they see this monument ….it might endanger our mission by enforcing that tension that is already present” 

Giving a nod to her captain “When shall we change course?” Silina looked at her.

For a brief moment, Sazra struggled on how to answer that “Most likely tomorrow, shit is about to get real”  

The day was long. It felt long. The idea of being in the Gamma Quadrant was one thing that was difficult to swallow for the crew. Some feared the Dominion being so close and others had a history that was a black mark on their life. Be it losing a friend or family member, facing the horrors of what the Dominion could do, and more. But the tension worsened when the Captain’s announcement came over ship-wide communication.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you might have doubtfully noticed a change in our direction. We are now on a safe distance to start our real mission. We are heading to the Dominion borders. Please resume any of your duties, I advise anyone to refrain from asking questions. This mission is put on a classified level and thus the senior staff is not allowed to share any information. That be all” 

Fear, anger, frustration, and more were growing among the crew. The crew didn’t understand why the sudden change in their direction or mission. Did something happen in Alpha Quadrant? Was it a setup from the start? Is there are reasons why the Captain would have lied against them? The hallways became spots of rumors and tension. Adrian could see it in their eyes. The weight of blame was on his shoulders too. People looked away, showed respect where needed, but refrained from asking anything. They were scared and it was a rightful feeling. 

Adrian smiled back as he always did and greeted them. He tried to keep the humor in his Engineering as he was known to be a joker. But even now, he had difficulty cutting this tension. Entering the engineering, he noticed how empty it was. It was after all a graveyard shift. He wanted to get some distraction as his eyes wouldn’t close. He grabbed a tool from his desk and moved to the warp coil, jumping down onto the platform and opening the shaft seeing all the cables. “This will keep me occupied for a while…”  He bent forward to begin his work. 

After a while the door opened with two people entering “I am telling you, with the additional speed we are going now we will arrive at the Dominion borders tomorrow” Keeyiro spoke up while walking to a console. “But I was right from the beginning. I WAS RIGHT” She felt relieved by the feeling of being right. 

“Yea yea, it’s still mind-blowing that it just happened” Drata stops near the warp core and taps on a console. “I just am stunned that the Captain never spoke a word about it” He stopped for a second and looked over his shoulder at Keeyiro. “Why would she keep this information from us? We have a right to know about this” He blinked a few times while thinking about it.

“Not really”  Keeyiro replied without looking at him. “As the intelligence officer on this ship, I can confirm that holding out on information in the name of keeping the crew safe for example is within the rights of the Captain. Heck, she could be overruled by her leading peers for all you know” She points a lecturing finger up. “You may not speak about this mission. It will endanger the crew and safety of Starfleet” mimics a man’s voice as she laughs a bit. 

Drata shook his head. “Who is that supposed to be?” 

She looked at Drata. “I believe his name was Captain Barrington is his name I believe. He is that new hotshot of Task Force 86 Command. Actually quite cute I say. I wouldn’t mind smacking his ass” She giggles a bit as she slides a file to the side and looks at the next.

“Please keep your perverted ideas out of this area, Commander Valerio likes jokes, but those are not his cup of tea”  Drata shrugged a bit looking at the console. “I wonder if the Commander knew about this change before we did?” 

Meanwhile, Adrian was before Drata at the platform on his knees, hiding and listening. “Oh good grief why are they even here….I gave Drata free of this shift” He whispered as Adrian looked confused for a second “Why am I even whispering or hiding from my juniors?” 

A laugh came from Keeyiro’s side. “Commander Valerio is the biggest perv I have ever seen. He always checks me out” She looked at Drata. “If I am not allowed to make dirty jokes, he should stop with those perv eyes. I mean rumor that he had his sight set on the Captain. What the F*** is up with that?” She shook her head at that. 

Looking at his side “I don’t do that…” Adrian shrugs and now self-doubts it. “Do I?” Hearing the comment about Sazra made him look more confused. “I would never…” He gets flashbacks from moments he was too close to Sazra and such and rubs the back of his head.

“Additionally on your question, of course, he would. Seeing his service records, he has served with the Captain for quite some time. I would be surprised if Captain Kobahl didn’t blindly trust him already. Aside from his immature charms, he is a reliable force on the ship right?” Keeyiro crossed her arms. “You served with him with the Blood Dilithium Operation, so you of all people should know” 

A pause came from Drata’s side as a beep came from the console. “I know both his sides Keeyiro….his goofy side makes it very pleasant to work on this assignment. But …” Drata leans on the console “The moment the Damascus was in trouble, I became stunned by what I saw” 

Leaning against the wall, Keeyiro narrowed her eyes. “Well, it is understandable. From what I have read it was a terrifying experience. So no hard feelings man. You did great, and it got you a promotion” 

Shaking his head “I was stunned because of what was happening. The bridge was on fire. People were injured, and chaos was there. I had flashbacks of the horror stories that my uncle told me. Did you know that the Dominion slaughtered my parents at the Battle of Cardassia?” He shrugged and looked down at the console.

“I….didn’t know” She quietly replied in his direction.

“It is not something someone wants to talk about. But more crew members have this relationship with this curse quadrant somehow. But getting back to what I was saying” Drata took a deep breath. “I was not stunned because of that. Sure it was terrifying to be a young Ensign thrown to the dangerous animals. No, it was the calmness of the command team that stunned me”

Keeyiro looked confused. “What do you mean by that?” 

Feeling that moment of how it felt back then, Drata felt emotional “They were calm, focused, and experienced. Even though I am raging my feelings right now that I want to kill every Dominion member. I am furious with the Captain that she withheld the information from us and disappointed that Commander Valerio didn’t trust me enough to know about this. I…”  He paused as a tear dropped on the console. “I trust them with my life. I was not supposed to be standing here because of what happened in that mission. We should be dead….but they managed it, they saved us” 

Placing a hand on Drata’s shoulder, Keeyiro walked to his side. “Look I …understand how you feel. They have a lot of things to explain. When I arrived at this ship, I was prepared for whatever it would throw at me. My presumption of the command team was quite off. I felt like the Captain was too unstable after the bombing, the first officer had no experience in command and Commander Valerio has his record known to Starfleet that makes things questionable.” 

Noticing Drata wanted to comment, she raised her finger to keep quiet. “But, like I said. I was wrong so far. I also want to kill these Dominion. Heck if every one of them gets on this ship I will have to show some restraint regarding their presence”  She smiled trying to cheer him up a bit. Taking a deep breath “But, Captain Kobahl showed the professional image, handling the crew and making daring choices. Commander Ruslanovna might be a medic at heart, but she is a leader in the making. She showed courage against the Devore Imperium and even rescued her without question Captain from those Romulans. Commander Valerio…” Taking a deep breath “Might be a perv….but has his heart in the right place, and it kinda leaves a mark on you. Even on me”  She shrugs a bit feeling her cheeks getting red.

“Are you blushing?” Wiping away his tears as Drata gave a teasing smirk at her.

Giving Drata a hit on his shoulder “No I am not….I am trying to make a point here” Keeyiro smiles back while walking to her console. “They are an experienced command team. They know their shit. So whatever their reason is to withhold the information about the real mission and the Dominion is something we have to entrust them with. I have my doubts…sure, but they will surely have a reason” 

Giving the nod back as Drata’s eyes finally met that of Adrian slowly stood up from the platform as his jaw just felt open being in shock that the Commander was there all this time. 

“So yea, Commander Valerio is a piece of work for sure. I still think his googly eyes should focus more on his work than some female bodies. I mean did he ever have a girlfriend? I think he is sexually frustrated and thus giving us the looks”  Keeyiro puts the finger on her lip while thinking and turns to Drata. “Would his fantasying about others be considered a sexual harr….” Her words stopped as her eyes met that of Adrian who had already climbed out of the platform and passed her.

Not replying to that question, Adrian kept it brief and without looking at her “Carry out Ensign, your shift is almost over”  He waved and exited the engineering. 

Her eyes followed him out of the engineering and stayed locked on a closing door. Then breaks her focus looking at Drata who is also looking shocked. “Oh crap…he heard that right….he …oh shit”  Keeyiro rubbed her templates in panic. “He heard everything of our conversation….I am going to be reassigned”  

Drata blinked a few times and looked at Keeyiro. “Why….was he” He looked over his shoulder to the platform seeing the shaft. “The defective coils….oh I was supposed to do that” Looking back at the door “I was quite direct with my opinion also…but he didn’t comment? He just left” 

Looking up at Drata and then back at the door “You are right, that is even worse….we got a silent treatment”  She lets her head fall a few times onto the wall. “I am so stupid, I thought he was off shift! Why did you not say something? Oh shit this will be the end of my career….mom is going to kill me”  

“I just saw him myself….but”  Drata felt that his Commander’s reaction and facial expression were different. It was not anger, it was more sadness. He said some hurtful things about his Chief and his friends. “I think we hurt him, his reaction says pages by itself. He was hurt. We hurt him….I need to talk to him and clear this up” 

Drata wanted to leave but Keeyiro jumped in front of him. “Don’t if I learned anything from those useless social classes is that talking during high emotions is not the best moment. Let it sink in and we have to calm down also” 

He hated it that Keeyiro was right at the wrong moments. “Fine…but it is difficult with such hatred and anger present on the ship while we fly to the source of those emotions. I need to let him know I trust him. He saved my life and its the only reason I am still here” Drata bolds his fist. 

Placing a hand on his shoulder “I know, but as a friend of mine, could you help me pack my stuff” She looked with teary eyes at him “I am screwed…” 

Rolling his eyes back at her “Yes Keeyiro, you are…maybe a demotion to Fleet Cadet would suit you”  Drata smiled a bit.

Meanwhile…

Turning against the window and looking at the stars passing by, Adrian took a few breaths. That was more intense than he had hoped. So this was the painful truth of rumors that could make a man shake his legs. He had put an example image to show his crew, and his team that they could relax around him, trust him and work with him. But he didn’t expect that he would make some uncomfortable with the stares he sometimes does without realizing it. Or wrong jokes that make some folks upset. 

This mission was like a light beacon, shining the problems of what the crew was experiencing. Sazra had alerted him and Silina about the given announcement and to be prepared for the recoil of it. But still, he never expected it to be this bad. “And that were only two of them…”. The additional steps of gaining favor with the Dominion were the other part of what will be challenging. The crew would be put against each other in their opinions, thoughts, and feelings. Sazra was walking a slippery road and it was up to Silina and himself to keep her on that road with any support they could give her. He looked at his side seeing two female officers walking by and giving a nod to them. They respectfully gave the nod back, but again with those glaring eyes of disapproval. 

“The night before nights….tomorrow is going to be a long day” Adrian spoke to himself as he took a deep breath and returned to his quarters. Some sleep would be good for him now, but his mind was racing about what was happening around him. 

Sitting in the captain’s chair, Sazra held her right hand against her template, rubbing it slowly. Sleep has not been well for her the last few days. The morale took a heavy beating since she announced to change in the direction towards the Dominion borders. Crewmen were talking among themselves making one crazy rumor after another, and some even had the balls to complain right in her face about this choice. Sure she understood that everyone was holding a bag of emotions in their bag, a bag of family or friends lost to the Dominion, heck she lost her own father to them. 

But the weight of the secrets weight heavy on her shoulders and she noticed it had gained weight on Silina and Adrian also. Her eyes looked at her side to Palema who remained rather calm under the given situation. Is it some Romulan trick to get herself through this or does she not care? Sazra noticed a look back from Palema that broke her focus from her.

“Everything okay Captain?” Palema said looking at Sazra.

“Totally fine, helm ETA?” Sazra tried to change the subject. She had no lust for any of that kind of discussion.

“I just wanted to reporrrt to you Captain that we are arriving at the Dominion borderrs”  K’Nala looked over her shoulder to Sazra, who gave the nod to her.

The tension grew immensely with the mention of the word Dominion, it was treated like a forbidden word that was said out loud and now would curse them for their lives. A bad jynx or just bad luck? Rami narrowed his eyes and looked at the console “Activating yellow alert”  

“No” Sazra spoke simply to the statement of her Chief Security Officer.

Everyone looked at the Captain with some shock “Captain with all respect, we are entering the Dominion borders,  we should be able to defend ourselves?” Rami defended his point of view to make his Captain see reason with the foolish negelicting declining of his action. 

Taking a deep breath as Sazra looked at Rami “I said no”  She raised a finger. “One, we are not nor shall we ever enter their space. We shall not go further than the borders” Another finger raised. “Two, we have no reason to be hostile towards them. We have a treaty that dictates that we shall not do that” Final finger goes up “Three, we are the one that are approaching the Dominion borders. If anyone should be suspicion about our arrival it is them to us” 

“With other words Lieutenant, no shields or weapons. It will break our chances from the start”  Silina filled in the gaps. 

Shaking his head and slams his hand on the console. “Why would we be even here? We know the Dominion are at our doorstep, and now we are at theirs? That doesn’t make any sense. We should be prepared for a potential attack, keep in mind this ship is not fit for battle” Rami kept pushing his luck in pushing his protest against this foolish idea.

Before anyone could reply “Captain, dropping out of warp” K’Nala announced as the ship dropped out of warp near the borders. The borders were a direct line from point to point with beacons across part of space indicating the borders. But Mariner was met with the purple reflections of a large beetle-like structure. The other structure was a mix of dark and light purple lights. The firm body of the structure made it impressive to watch as every engineer would know. That shit is really tough. 

The bridge crew gazed at the screen. “Sir that base is packed with weapons that could blow us away without breaking a sweat” Keeyiro looked at the readings “I got to agree with the Lieutenant. Better be sure and not and raise that shield” 

“And give them a reason to make us fail, the answer remains no” Sazra said, even though she was impressed by the mere sight of the display that the Dominion had placed right in front of her. “Lieutenant Palema, you better get ready for what is to come. Fourth Fleet depends on your skills more than ever”  

The young Ferengi Ensign looked up from her console. “Captain we got an incoming hail request from the outpost” in mere seconds a few battleships jumped out of warp, but they didn’t cross the borders. They hover there in standby.

“See, they want to blow us up already” Rami was growling at the mere idea of being defenseless. 

“Lieutenant Shew, are you going to be a problem on this bridge while we talk with the Dominion? If so please leave the bridge and instruct Lieutenant Miki to replace your duty shift” Silina had enough of this behavior and was not going to let him do his thing simply.

Rami threw a cold glare in the direction of Silina and replied “No sir, I won’t be a problem” 

“Ensign Asipa, on-screen” Sazra orders as the screen changes and a Jem’Hadar face appears on it. “Good day, Captain Sazra Kobahl of the USS Mariner. I have come here with a certain request of your people that is urgently needed” She looked at her side to Palema and then back taking a deep breath. “I know very well the agreement we have made in the treaty. But this request both our people” 

The Dominion took a moment to take in what he saw and listen to a soldier at his side whispering in his ear then looked back at Sazra. “I am First Girad’Mex, Commanding Officer of this outpost and in service of the Dominion. We didn’t expect any Federation ships to be present in the Gamma Quadrant, let alone be at our borders.” 

His posture was formal and yet with a military glare. A man with gained respect. “I see you have no ill intention and come with open arms to ask your request” He referred to the shields and weapons that his fellow officers caught being down. “Ask what you wish, and we shall deem it a priority” 

Taking a deep breath as Palema took over from her Captain “Honored warrior of the Dominion, we are praised for your presence in your duty to protect your space. But as Captain Kobahl stated, we come in dire need of your help. Recently an anomaly has happened and a large armada of your people what was deemed lost came back. They still believed that the Dominion was at war with the Federation and was wreaking havoc in the Alpha Quadrant. We request therefore aid from the Dominion to help us let them realize that the war is over” 

The First narrowed his eyes “I will put your request to our gods. They shall deem it if it’s worthy or not. Wait for their answer or go home” He spoke.

Palema gave a nod “Victory is life” 

Before the First wanted to cut the signal, he gave the Romulan another stare “Victory is life” With that the communication signal cuts off. 

“That went better than we thought…” Sazra shrugs and nods to Palema. “Good work Lieutenant, but your work is not yet done” Giving a glimpse over her shoulder in Rami direction and then over to Keeyiro “Commander to arrange a senior staff meeting. Asipa let me know if they ….respond” Sazra spoke standing up “This will be the long wait” 

The sudden request towards the Dominion to help out Starfleet has begun to rub off on the crew. People didn’t know what to think of this sudden change of attitude or behavior from their command team. But Silina knew from the start that this was the thin line they would walk, and keeping it down in the hallways was difficult. Now she was being looked at as someone that is not to be trusted. She walked into the conference room and noticed a tension in the air already. The faces of her fellow officers were easy to read. They are frustrated with the outcome of what just happened. “Please be seated. Captain Kobahl is on her way” She saw Rami talking to Cailra their new Chief Operations Officer as he gave her that same distrust look and walked back to his chair.

Within a few minutes, Sazra did indeed take her entrée into the conference room. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice after what has just happened” She made her way to her chair, placing a PADD down. “I believe you have questions for me which are rightfully so to ask….so shoot away” Leaning backward as Sazra wanted to give her senior staff the room to vent.

The room however was quiet for a few seconds as everyone looked at each other unknown how to express their concerns, frustrations, or emotions in general. “I think the foremost question that pops up for everyone is why?” Rami finally broke the silence and looked directly at Sazra. “Why were we not informed of the true intention of the mission and excluded in such an important choice?” 

Taking a deep breath as Sazra looked back at him “Because the mission was classified by Fourth Fleet command. Thus, I could only give the details to my command team regarding this mission and our goals. But to clarify, the situation in the Deneb region is escalating with the Dominion’s so-called lost fleet advancing from world to world. Fourth Fleet is barely holding itself together of what is thrown at them.” Sazra sighs a bit. “I honestly would rather be at their side now than be here. But I understand crystal clear the importance of this mission that could end that battle”  

“Why not send a warship to do this mission? We cannot protect ourselves from the might of the Dominion?”  Cailra spoke out her concern.

Adrian shrugs. “Would you talk to someone at the door holding a gun at their side?” He gave a simple example, but the point was strong enough to understand their position “It is by itself a miracle that the Dominion even open communication with us. Seeing how we both uphold the Treaty of Bajor. So we still stand a chance to complete our mission and who knows…end the battle at Deneb” 

Shaking her head “Deneb is not even proven. Starfleet Command made that clear in the transmissions sent day-by-day updates. If there was truly a battle in Deneb, why would their reports be about preparing for Frontier Day?” Keeyiro awkwardly avoided eye contact with Adrian. “Plus FNN has not stated anything about the topic itself, Yes about some minor Breen skirmishes?” 

Her eyes looked at Keeyiro with a glare of pity “Ensign you might be the Intelligence Officer on this ship, but it doesn’t mean that your clearance is any different to others of your rank. But, I understand clearly that you were not present at the previous debriefing where I gave a …different explanation of the mission at hand and explained the situation in Deneb.”  Sazra grabs the PADD “But for your information, the Dominion fleet that was suppose to be the reinforcement back in the Dominion War, was ….relocated in time and space so to speak. We don’t know how, when or why. But it happened” 

Sazra leans forward and continues not giving a chance for a reply “A few reports from the Fourth Fleet Command that recently got published. Which makes it even more difficult for me to be in this space by itself” Sazra took another deep breath to calm herself down and began. “Contact is lost with the USS Higgs while en route towards Galadkail Manor. The last report from the USS Constellation got the Kholara Observatory up and running, but also reported six Jem’Hadar battleships changed their course to them” Shrugging at the given information she continues. “USS Valiant arrived at the last known locations of Battle Group Alpha Twenty-One finding ships in damaged condition. USS Alita and Resolute are preparing to retake or defend a planet…I can continue this for hours if that helps you to sketch the image Ensign” Sazra’s eyes diverted to Keeyiro who went quiet.

“So what is expected of us to do herrre?” K’Nala spoke with worry in her eyes.

It was the intentional question that was never asked. “Our purpose is to convince, with the help of Lieutenant Palema, the Dominion to let their comrades stand down on their actions at Deneb” Silina calmly looked at K’Nala. “We need to get proof from the Dominion to stop the Dominion so to speak” 

Rami looked at Palema. “So you knew also?” 

The ship’s diplomat looked back to Rami and gave a nod “I was informed of this mission after the previous briefing. In my opinion, it was a good move from the Captain as I needed time to know how to deal with the Dominion without disrespecting them.” Palema was not going to defend the standpoint of the command but more her involvement in her work.

“Lieutenant Palema is an essential key in the dealings with the Dominion. We lost many colonies, outposts, and ships to the lost fleet already. This needs to be done right in the first go” Sazra looked at Rami who was sitting there annoyed.

“So do I prepare the staff for potential injuries?” Kossaal spoke up. Finally, the Andorian looked at his Captain. “We might not be in a hostile position, but it doesn’t mean that the Dominion won’t act hostile if they need to” He spoke out of experience that much was sure. 

Shaking her head “No, I don’t believe it is needed to such an extent. But you can prepare the basics as you always would, ” Silina replied to Sazra seeing her agree with her. 

Kossaal nodded to that “I will get things prepared then” 

“So the question is, how long will we wait” Rami spoke up again with his arms crossed over each other.

“As long as needed, we will not push the Dominion to ask for their attention. We wait until they give us a proper reply” Sazra stood up. “Alright, dismiss we got work to do” She spoke and gave a nod towards her command team and then the rest of the senior staff before leaving the room. 

The tension in the ship was building, and the recent senior staff meeting was not making it any easier. A group of officers came together at the lower deck, whispering to each other and wondering what could be done, what could happen, and why they were there in the first place. Things were not looking good, but things would not get better either. No, they are about to get worse….

Rami walks into the midst of the juniors, and his eye meets up with Cailra and then Keeyiro, who was with him at the senior staff meeting. He placed arms over each other “Thank you all for coming, your concerns are not unheard, and we share them with you. Ensign Cho, Lieutenant Cailra, and I were at the senior staff meeting, and it is worse than we had hoped for” Rami shrugs a bit at that. “Captain Kobahl and the command team made it very clear that we are here to convince the Dominion to bring evidence back to Deneb to stop the so-called lost fleet”  

“Madness, they are endangering our safety!” A security officer spoke up.

Another followed “Why even go to Deneb? Nothing is going on there? This is delusional information from the Fourth Fleet?!” 

He raised his hand to calm them down. “I understand your frustration. That is why I am here to hear you all out. We have voiced our concerns and were shot down for opting our opinion”  Rami continues. 

“The Captain gave us a list of fleet reports that state the condition that the Fourth Fleet is currently engaging the lost fleet at Deneb. Various ships were either called in as lost, damaged, or in battle” Keeyiro added. “I have monitored all communications that came from Starfleet Command and Starfleet Intelligence, and I have not received any of these reports.”  

“Because the Captain states that she doesn’t have the right clearance” Rami added shaking his head. “That is strange. Our intelligence officer is not up-to-date with the operations in the Alpha Quadrant? Why the secrecy and not just telling what is truly going on?” getting a few nods and whispers in agreement. “We need to stand up to this madness, the command team is placing the ship in danger, and she doesn’t even take advice from her own Chief Security/Tactical Officer to go at least to yellow alert. No, then we would demise our changes in diplomatic talks with the Dominion. I say screw the Dominion. This is a mission that Starfleet does not even approve!”  

Giving a slight nod to that “When passing both Deep Space 9 and Opaka Outpost we were lying right to them of our operational goals in the Gamma Quadrant. Starfleet Command has never permitted a Starfleet vessel to go near the Dominion borders” Cailra looked concerned. “We are here based on dated information. Our last information on this space dates back before the Dominion war.” 

“Yea, it is dangerous!” A science officer replied with fear in his eyes.

Another followed “We need to get back to Alpha Quadrant, inform Starfleet what happened!” 

Rami gave a small grin before his facial expression returned to a concerned look. “That is why what I am now going to suggest demands many of you. We can go back home. We can go contact Starfleet and keep ourselves safe from the dangerous Dominion. We don’t want to cross their might and fury. We all know what the history books say about them or some of us have seen what they could do!” Rami took a deep breath. “It is time we take control back. We take control of the ship and get her back to Alpha”  

A pin could drop in the room as the suggestion was made. Everyone kept quiet looking at Rami and realizing what he was asking. “You are asking us to coup against the command team?” Some looked toward the voice as a Deltan woman in a teal uniform looked concerned back at Rami.

“Yes Ensign L’iera” Rami was direct with his answer. “Think about it for now, but keep it to yourself. But I advise you not to wait too long as we don’t know what will happen the longer we stay at these borders” Rami shrugs. “The Dominion is ruthless, yet our Captain has stated we wait until we get a proper answer.” 

Both Cailra and Keeyiro nodded in confirmation of what Rami just said. “I am not going to wait until their proper greeting is to bomb our ship that is not made for combat in the first place. We need to get out of here…” He nods to everyone. “But I will give you all time to think about it…consider the options and the situation we are in. For now, resume your duties and when you have made up your mind send me a message” Without waiting for a reply he left an unsure crowd behind. A mutiny was brewing. 

A few days had passed, and the tension on the ship grew daily. But Cailra’s mind was not so much focused on that. It was more focused on what was in front of her. The purple lights of the outpost were hard to miss on the view screen. She had not made up her mind about what Lieutenant Shew had suggested. It was a dangerous suggestion by all means, as it would be court marshal per definition. Her eyes glared at the command team, who were talking among themselves. She didn’t know about Captain Kobahl or Commander Ruslanovna personally, but their record’s speaker for itself. The Liberation Incident, the Broken Wings breakout, and the Blood Dilithium Operation. 

She looked back at her console to shove the next shift rooster to update all decks. The command team had endured quite a lot, and these two were a perfect match for each other to match their weaknesses and strengths. But they needed to realize that they were nothing without their crew. Cailra took a deep breath and hoped the Dominion wouldn’t return on the Captain’s outrageous request. But her wish was quickly crushed when the screen showed a battleship jump out.

“Captain, we have a Jem’Hadar battleship jumping out of warp. I advise you once again to raise the shields” Rami spoke out with his focus on his Captain. Would they disappoint him again?

“Once again, declined. Lieutenant I appreciate you are on your toes with this but raising shields will only provide a provocation to their goodwill to even talk to us” Sazra looked at Rami. “I remind you, we came to their borders and requested their aid. They have every right to ignore us or decline it. Ensign Asipa any hails?”

“No hail so far” Asipa looked at her console. 

Another decline, Cailra could see the frustration with Lieutenant Shew that his act to defend this ship, this crew was declined again. But was she so bold to react in offense to her Captain? She had a record of standing up against what was wrong.

“Lieutenant Cailra?” 

The wandering of her own mind broke off when she heard her name and looked in the direction of the Captain. “Sorry Captain, what can I do for you?”

“That is okay. Get Lieutenant Palema at the bridge asap” Sazra gave Cailra a soft nod and then looked back at Silina. 

“On it, Captain” Tapping her fingers onto the console she sends the request to Lieutenant Palema to report to the bridge. But her focus was dwindling at best. She was thinking of the steps that Dominion was going to take. She was there when the Dominion attacked the outpost. The brutal showdown was burned into her mind. 

“Captain They are hailing us” Asipa announced looking back at Sazra awaiting the command. 

Looking at the screen and then hearing the door open from the turbolift, Sazra looked back at the lift and saw Palema. “Perfect timing, they are hailing us. Ensign Asipa on screen” She nodded to Palema and gave her focus back on the screen as that changed to a different screen. A known Dominion bridge layout was seen, dimmed purple and green consoles with Jem’Hadar soldiers standing there to operate them. But now two Vorta stood there next to each other. 

Now it would come down to it all, what will they reply? If they responded to the Captain’s request how far would the Captain go in her plan? Cailra was concerned about what this would bring to the Mariner. She glared at Rami who was holding on to his frustration as she heard the voice from the Vorta that made her look back.

“Captain Kobahl I presume?” A male Vorta said with a grin on his face.

“I am indeed Captain Kobahl of the USS Mariner” Sazra replied formally and waved to her side. “This is Commander Ruslanovna my first officer and to my opposite side is Lieutenant Palema our ship’s Diplomat” 

The male Vorta gave a soft nod to them both. “My name is Dezod and this is my twin sister Rahis” Dezod points at his side to a female Vorta who also nods in confirmation of what Dezod says. “Our gods sent us to give you a response to your request for aid” 

“Does that mean you will listen to our request?” Palema might be a diplomat, but she was known to have a sharp tongue when it came to getting the information she needed without any delay. She looked at Rahis. “Because the reality is that we have been waiting for a few days and within those days we are losing lives to your comrades” 

Giving a slight nod “Of course Lieutenant, we understand your need for response to this is quite high. But you also have to understand that after so many years of not having any contact with the Federation is a bit of ….as a human would phrase it, walking on thin ice”

“So please give us your request, and we as appointed representatives of the Dominion shall give you a proper response,” Rahis said smiling at the bridge crew. “Because as your Diplomat spoke, you have an urgency to discuss with us” 

Palema looked at her Captain who gave a nod of approval and took a deep breath before looking back at the two Vorta’s. “A few weeks ago an anomaly happened within the Alpha Quadrant that has shifted our balance of attention drastically. A large fleet of Dominion ships appeared and start to attack colonies, outposts, and starships near and around Deneb. This fleet operates on the presumption that they are still at war with the Federation. We have reason to believe that these ships are the ones you lost in the Dominion War.” Palema took a second before she continues “We are sent here by Starfleet to request aid from the Dominion to stop them from fighting the Federation in a war that has already been concluded so many years ago” 

Both Dezod and Rahis looked at each other for a brief moment and then back at the crew of the Mariner. “Could you provide any evidence that these ships have appeared in your quadrant?” Dezod requested the information, rightfully so as they needed something to confirm this story.

“Lieutenant Cailra send them the latest data on Deneb Dominion ships” Sazra gave out the order. 

For a second she hesitated but nodded in confirmation of her Captain’s request. “Sending information right now…” She slides her finger upwards with a confirmation beep of the console that the data was sent “Transfer complete”

Rahis looked at her side to a console where a Jem’Hadar was standing and then looked with a serious glare back. “It is indeed our ship’s signature. We have indeed lost these ships during the Dominion War. It is logical to bring them back to their home and inform them that the war is over” She looked at Dezod. “I think it is in our god’s best interest to assist the Federation in their request”

Giving a solid nod to that “You are right, you are very right in your keen observation sister” Dezod replied and looked at the Captain. “The state of business that is going on in the Alpha Quadrant is not in our best interest. We are gladly willing to help you, Captain. We can provide your ship with an encoded order for these lost comrades to return to the fold” Dezod clicked his fingers as a Jem’Hadar started working on it immediately “It shall be ready as soon as possible Captain” 

Silina whispers to Sazra “Encoded or not….if we deliver that to the Lost Fleet, we have a 50/50 chance that they will make it out as forgery” 

“Could you give us a brief moment?” Sazra spoke up in the direction of the Vorta who both nodded as she gave the signal to Asipa to cut the audio. “Suggestions, please. Commander Ruslanovna makes a valid point. The chances that the Lost Fleet will state that its forgery to deceiving lies is likely there”

Then their mission would have been a waste from the start. It was a logical thing to assume as a problematic outcome to what the Vorta was offering. “But are we even able to forge something like a Dominion codec?”Cailra spoke up about what was on her mind.

“We have to assume the logical way of this problem Lieutenant, the Dominion might give us the correct codec. But it doesn’t mean that the Lost Fleet will accept it. Especially when a Starfleet vessel will be the one delivering it” T’Path pointed out to Cailra.

Giving a nod “That is it” Palema replied pointing at T’Path “She gave us the answer to this issue. When a Starfleet vessel delivers the message is the issue by all terms. We can change that if we alter our terms. Let them deliver it?” Palema gave out the suggestion that gave out some tension in the bridge.

“Are you suggesting that a Dominion ship will deliver the message? Starfleet will have a field day when we knock at Opaka Outpost doorstep and a Dominion ship is next to us. Keep in mind we have lied to them about our true purpose in this quadrant in the first place” Rami counters the suggestion with some logical thinking. “Encoded or not, we can handle it, and we should take the chance while we can get the hell out of here” 

The crew on the bridge got quiet for a second as K’Nala looked behind her “Captain, we shouldn’t think that big, why not let theirrr representative deliverrr the message? And we shall be theirrr escorrrt to Deneb?” K’Nala noticed the death glare of Rami and looked quickly back at the console.

Giving the signal to Asipa to resume the communication “I apologize for the wait. We have a concern with the suggestion you made” Sazra raised her hands slightly. “Now we are very appreciative that you are willing to help us. But your suggestion might pose a problem with an on-edge Dominion fleet alone. Forgery is one of those concerns” 

“Forgery? Mmm, that sounds like a basic tactic that a Dominion soldier would assume” Rahis replied rubbing her chin. “The dear Captain has a valid point on that brother” 

“Valid indeed” Dezod gave an agreeable nod to his sister. 

“Yes, that is why we have an adaptable suggestion to your original one” Sazra continues. “It would be more believable if one of you would deliver the message personally to this fleet. The words of the representative of your gods would be more acceptable by a Dominion soldier than that of a Starfleet Captain.” Sazra just hoped her choice was not going to fail right now. “Therefore we shall escort you to this lost fleet so you can hand the orders over by yourself”

The two Vorta’s looked at each other once more and then nodded to each other before looking back at the Captain. “We see the reason for your alternation of our suggestion. But we both come on your ship and shall provide the lost brothers our message” Dezod finally stated.

“We shall be transported to your ship within an hour. We have some preparation to do on our side” Rahis finished her brother’s sentence. “Until then Captain” The screen went back to the outpost view.

Sazra sat back in her chair. “We did it….now we just need to get these two back to Alpha Quadrant unharmed. The Fourth Fleet and the Federation depend on it” 

But Cailra was not so pleased with the outcome of this conversation. Being the deliveryman for the Dominion was one thing, but escorting two Vorta’s who slaughtered her people on that outpost was another. She looked down at her console and typed a message that sends to Rami without looking at him.

Rami looked down at the console seeing the message from Cailra that only stated she was in. He looked at his side for a brief moment until a few more messages started to pour in on his console with the same similar message and a small grin came on his face. Things were going to get heated on the Mariner, very soon. 

It had already been a good few hours since the communication with the Dominion had ended, and people were trying to get their heads around it. How far was their Captain willing to go with this mission? How far will she put her crew in danger to expose them to the potential savagery of the Dominion? Did the twins accept the offer to come on board to help them or to entertain themselves? Many questions were hanging around, but the frustration of the ways Captain Kobahl was handling was rising. 

“So I had to bind Kampola's hand again. I am starting to think he is hurting himself on purpose to get to medical by now,” L'iera spoke, taking another bite from her food. “What am I supposed to do? And no, Kee it is not because I am a Deltan. I have that under control" L'iera eyed Keeyiro, who wanted to say something, and looked back at her food.

Taking a bite from a purple goodie. “If it is perhaps profitable, you should consider the options of Petty Officer Kampola's intention, L'iera” Asipa takes another bite from the dish, and you could see her enjoy it from ear to ear. 

Keeyiro looked at Asipa's food which looked like insect parts were sticking out. It made her shrug and she looked back at her food shoving it forward. “I just lost my appetite. But Kampola is a nice guy. He might be …as tactful as Asipa said, be interested in you L'iera” Keeyiro leans back and hears another crack looking at her side at Asipa. “Just what the hell are you eating…”

“This?” Asipa looked at her food and held up a piece of insect parts. “Beetle purée, the best in the galaxy can give” She takes another bite hearing another crack of the shell break. “That juice that pops is the best” Asipa was in her happy space.

“Oh freaking disgusting” Keeyiro gags at it as she looks at L'iera trying to hold her stomach.

Patting her arm “There there…if it comes out it shouldn't be stopped” L'iera said with a reassuring smile “No pressure on holding back there Kee”

“Are you seriously using your medical skills on me there L'iera…." Looking annoyed at L'iera, Keeyiro blinks at seeing K'Nala approach. 

K'Nala took a piece of the beetle piece and ate it before sitting. “That is quite tasty, has a ground aftertaste thought" She looked at her food chow that made her drool before she noticed the other 3 looking at her. “What? Do I have something on my face?” She panics and touches her face a bit.

Shaking her head “It is not really that, but last time I checked the records you are not a junior K'Nala” Asipa bluntly stated. “You were promoted after your actions in that Blood Dilithium operation” 

“What Asipa here is trying to say is it is an unwritten rule that juniors sit with juniors, enlist with their enlist buds, and seniors sit at the high table.” Keeyiro nodded at her side in the direction where some Lieutenants were sitting. “So it is awkward for you to sit ….here?” 

L'iera shrugged and placed her hand on K'Nala's paw. “Don't Worry about it, hun. You can sit where ever you want. Your transition from junior to senior was quite sudden, so it takes time to get used to different settings.” L'iera looked t both Asipa and Keeyiro with a raised brow.

“Yea…just sit where you feel most comfortable” Keeyiro quickly recovered waving her hand a bit above the table with Asipa nodding.

Her ear lowered a bit as she took a bite of her chow. “Well, the events of Delta Quadrant were quite life-changing for anyone that was parrrt of it” K'Nala took another bite “So awards and promotions were given for people that acted in braverrry in the field” 

Giving a nod in the direction of K'Nala in agreeing “Damascus crew have faced odds that no other crew would have faced. I do read reports Kee” L'iera could feel Keeyiro surprised look.

“Well reports don't tell the whole story in my fair opinion” Keeyiro pointed out “So Lieutenant, tell us…what is the Captain like in the heat of battle?” Looking with curiosity at K'Nala who took another bite.

Nomming on her food, she carefully thought about the question. “Well, Captain Praugol …that was her name beforrre she had that joint symbiote thingy” K'Nala waved her spoon around. “Is by nature a true scientific …well nerrrd I guess" She blinked at her own answer. “But in the heat of battle, she can switch over to give considered orderrrs that would lead to the best outcome if that makes any sense” 

Another crack came from Asipa's side as all looked at her. “Well, Damascus had to endure some hefty load of stress. I heard you guys had to face a few Devorrre Imperium ships while being damaged” Asipa took another spoon as she felt a hand on hers and looked at Keeyiro.

“Please for the love of whatever god is out there, stop. I will barf this whole mess hall if you continue with this dish” She looked a bit greenish and not well.

K'Nala saw Asipa putting her spoon down. “Yes, that is correct. We have faced a few Devorrre ships. Commander Valerio's skills held the ship together and Drata had a piece of it also" Taking another bite of her food as the words of Keeyiro and Asipa were still plaguing her. 

A loud laugh came to Keeyiro. “Drata being useful, that idiot can't hold up his tools without lurking at women that pass him by” She suddenly leaned forward in agony as her eyes looked in the direction of L'iera and shrugged “Aww…”

A solid kick was given by L'iera who looked at Keeyiro. “Oh Kee dear, is your stomach hurting?” Her facial expression was quite pissed off in Keeyiro's direction. “I told you many times not to eat unhealthily”

But Keeyiro knew the reason behind the kick and shrugged again. “Yea…I am sorry….aww why so hard” She placed her head on the table. She took a deep breath. “But does ….pfff” Taking a breath out “Does it justify the behavior that Captain Kobahl is currently showing?” She moved her head to the side to see K'Nala. “I mean, she has us at the mouth of a beast waiting to be feasted on”

“I don't know. The Captain has been a reserved person afterrr the Blood Dilithium operation. It has taken a great ordeal out of anyone. No one was the same afterrr that” K'Nala pointed out. 

Nodding to that Asipa took another bite. “This mission is more than anyone could handle. There is no value in facing the Dominion here” The juices popped in her mouth as she enjoyed it. 

The three looked toward a chair shuffling as K'Nala stood up with her empty bowl. “Thank you forrr yourrr quality time. It has been enlightening forrr me. But duty calls” K'Nala gave a weak smile and nodded to them all before taking her leave. 

Hearing behind her them still talking. Another crack from Asipa taking a bite of her food, Keeyiro making barfing sounds and L'iera still trying to comfort her friend. Maybe time really had changed for K'Nala, maybe she needed to grow up. 

The room was dimmed in lights, and some calming classic music was in the background. The room looked warm, with dark brown furniture. The couch had forest green leather pulled over it. The walls gave the reflection of a Trill morning reflection, a drawing of a sunset. An aquarium was built into the wall from the door entrance to the bedroom. The bedroom was surrounded by the aquarium that went almost around the room and a bed in the middle with a brown-yellow color of blankets. 

The door opened as Silina entered the Captain's quarters and looked at her side taking in the setting. It has been a while since she last was in Sazra's room. Heck, it was even in the previous ship that she was. Taking a deep breath, getting flashbacks from that time. Silina had sent Sazra to confined quarters when the Blood Dilithium had taken hold of her mind. But a personal exchange happened when she retrieved her and asked her to take back command to finish the mission. They express their feeling for each other. 

“What can I do for you, Silina?” 

A voice came from Silina's side that made her look in that direction. What she saw made her look away and feel the warm blush on her face. “Mmm Captain could you please ….get yourself dressed” 

Sazra smirked at that comment and wore a mere robe as she dried her hair with a towel. Her Trill spots went down her face over to her neck and chest. She walked past Silina towards the bedroom. “We are alone Silina. You know you can call me by my first name. And you had seen me naked before” She walked around the corner out of Silina's view. 

Rolling her eyes at that comment. “Still if someone had entered your room that would be a different story” Silina pointed out as she noticed the robe being dropped at the door making her walk to the couch and sit down. Looking at a book on the table titled Love among the Stars. “I didn't know you liked romance books?”

“First no one can enter this room without my permission or grace” Sazra looked around the corner still obviously naked but covered by the door frame. “Second….it comes with the symbiote. My taste….changes” Pulling her head back into her room “What brings you here? Were you not on duty”

Holding the book in her hand read the summary and waved her left hand. “Nah, T'Path has it under control actually” Shaking her head at the summary and placing it back down. “The Dominion has not sent word yet about our two new visitors. Some crew members have voiced their concerns about their intentions"

Walking out of the room with her uniform on and yet her Captain's jacket open and a towel around her neck “Concerns? Let me guess, Shew has another complaint” Sazra walked to her replicator “Vanilla tea?” She asked and looked at the replicator. “Lida tea,” and out of nothing, a mock appeared grabbing the cup.

“Yeah, sure..” Silina confirmed the request. “Shew complaints are in my books redirected to a certain folder by now” Silina nodded to Sazra who gave her the vanilla. “No complaints about the mission, the things we keep our seniors in the dark about and the sudden plead from you to get them on the ship. Ship's morale is dangerously low as some people are not happy about this”

Taking a seat and scratching her neck while looking outside the window “Well everyone has their strings woven together that would lead ultimately to their personality over time” Sazra sipped her drink. “But as a Starfleet Captain, I can't abide by my personal feelings of what has happened in the past and be able to go beyond that to represent Starfleet as a whole” She shrugged and looked at Silina. “Our choices bind us, so these Dominions are not our enemy. They are a solution to a problem we are having” 

Lowering her cup, Silina looked at her “Donam?” She tilted her head to the side trying to understand where this speech came from. 

“Riazo actually” taking another sip of her drink “Captain Riazo Kobahl was in service in the 23rd century for Starfleet. Made some questionable choices also and yet made it through them” Sazra raised her cup. “Lida tea is her favorite” She smiled a bit awkwardly. “But you are right. The crew is on edge and I know I am pushing their limits. But are we in our right to dwell on the past? I mean the answer to our problem is now served on a golden plate”

After taking a sip, Silina placed the cup on the table. “I understand what you mean, what you try to go for. But keep in mind this is not Jaxartes or Damascus. This crew is not used ….to our command style and have no reason to fully stand behind us” Leaning a bit back on the couch as the leather cracks with the movement. “We have been dragged into this mission with every good reason, but I just hoped we gained some time with the crew to get to know them. This is showing a side of us that takes their opinion out of consideration and that is dangerous”

“Is that a medical or command opinion” Sazra teased back looking at Silina with a small grin.

“Maybe both…” Silina replied with a bit narrowed eyes. “Take this seriously, Sazra. It might blow right back into your face if you are handling it wrong” 

Taking a deep breath “I know, but this crew feels good. They know what has to be done and hopefully, understand my commands in this matter” Sazra dries a bit of her hair with the towel around her neck.

“Question…” Silina points at her towel. “You do know that you can let the system dry your hair” 

“Where is the fun of that? First, it is much more pleasant to shower with water. Secondly, it has a unique feel to have wet hair and third I made you blush” Sazra smiled as Silina wanted to reply but an interruption came.

“Captain, the Dominion is ready to send over the representatives to our ship” 

“Understood, I am on my way to the bridge” Sazra closed the channel and stood up. “Let us go. Duty calls,” Making her move to the bathroom to lay the towel away. 

Silina stood up from the couch and yet her eyes were locked on Sazra who disappeared for a brief moment into the bathroom. She still had not found the courage to talk about what happened on Damascus or in the prison. She wondered if the symbiote had changed Sazra so much that it was no longer an option. Them being together. Silina saw her Captain appear with her hair in a ponytail and closing her jacket.

“Let's go” Sazra exited her quarters followed by Silina. 

On route to Transport Room 1

Standing in the turbolift, Sazra had taken the task upon herself to welcome the Dominion representatives. She had ordered Silina to take over the bridge duty to leave when the transportation was done. Too many days were spent waiting like a good dog before the Dominion responded. 4th latest reports stated that they were in a bad position but slowly turning the tide. Standing relaxed with hands crossed over each other in front of her, she had various security officers at this welcoming party. Per the persistent advice of Rami, she finally agrees to his terms to have them with her. But her problem with the security detail was Mariner’s message on the representatives, intimidation, strength, or maybe fear? 

She looks to her right and sees Miki standing there, her new Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer with a hint of experience in Hazard operations. A person to keep on your good side, especially to know that he was the one that kicked her ass on the fleet yards after the bombing when she was under the influence of that alien. Looking back at the door, Sazra took a deep breath. “How is life on the Mariner treating you Lieutenant?” breaking the silence.

Surprised by the question, Miki wondered for a few seconds as his large eyes blinked a few times. “It is different from that on a starbase. But so far this mission has been uneventful regarding any combat.” He shrugs a bit. “I mean, that is good all-in-all” correcting himself. 

Letting a soft smile go on that answer as Sazra nodded to him “Good to know that Lieutenant. But as history dictates, victims can still happen outside the war zone. So you better be on guard for whatever might happen” She waited a few seconds and nodded. “Of course not saying that anything should happen. As a Captain, I am quite pleased with the results so far” 

“Right” Miki replied awkwardly, but appreciated the small talk to get to know his new Captain.

“Right” Sazra followed as the lift stopped moving. “Let’s get this show on the road” She exited the turbolift and walked towards the transport room.

The security team followed the Captain as Miki walked next to her. “Lieutenant Shew shows concerns about letting the Dominion enter the ship and letting them be transported to the Alpha Quadrant” Miki kept his hands at his side close to his phaser, something he had learned over time.

“What is your opinion about this situation Lieutenant?” Sazra replied and did not look back at the Lieutenant. She knew the number of complaints from Rami by now, but she wanted to hear different perspectives and opinions, not yes people. 

“My opinion?” Miki looked at Sazra and then over her shoulder to the other two security officers who looked at each other a bit confused. Taking his time to answer that question “I would say that the mission parameters dictate the situation. A Captain must make choices that don’t always benefit the crew but benefit the situation that is at hand. While the feeling of the crew might be troubled by the Dominion representative’s presence might be troubled. In the end, if it could end the situation in the Deneb region, it doesn’t matter what the crew thinks” 

Stopping at the door as it opens. Sazra looked at Miki with a serious look on her face “Yes and no Lieutenant. Because without the crew a Captain is nothing. However, the situation of the mission dictates above my own ….desires” Sazra felt troubled in wording it. “As you said, sometimes we just need to do what needs to be done. Which means also facing the past. Thought the well-being of my crew is and always be my top priority” She smiles at the three and enters the transport room.

Transport Room 1

The team arrived at the transport room Sazra nodded to the petty officer who handled the transporter. “Status” She made her way to the pad and stopped in front of it, her hands behind her back. 

“The Dominion outpost reports ready for transport of the representatives” The petty officer reported.

Nodding to that “Get them over Petty Officer, everyone I expect the best behavior. No acts of aggression as these are delicate times” Sazra instructed while looking at her team seeing the nods and finally looking back at the pad again. 

The petty officer pushed his fingers over the console as four figures appeared on the pad. Within seconds, the figures appeared two Jem’Hadar soldiers on the outside and two Vorta’s in the middle. 

“Welcome to the USS Mariner. We have spoken earlier on the communication. But my name is Captain Sazra Kobahl, and I am the Commanding Officer of this vessel” Sazra slightly bows her head to them before raising it back. “I appreciate your cooperation in this delicate situation” 

A smile came across Rahis’s face as she looked at Sazra. “Thank you for your kindness Captain Kobahl. It is a delight to be on your ship. We look forward to serving in this important journey” Taking her stepped off the pad as the Jem’hadar soldier on her side followed her footsteps. 

“A delight indeed. Our gods find it essential to keep our relationship of old in one piece. Plus we must bring back our fellow citizens to their rightful home.” Dezod took a step off the pad with his Jem’hadar soldier following. “We will ensure that the message is brought to their side.” 

Miki raises his hand. “Captain we have a protocol, they might be our guests but it means they have to play by our rules” 

Looking at her side and slowly nodding while looking back at the twins “My apologies, protocol states that your Jem’hadar have to turn in their weapons to ensure the safety of our crew. It is a policy installed by your people’s famed hospitality” Sazra knew it was a hit or miss to make that comment. 

The twins looked at each other “Well, it seems the Captain has a valid point brother” Rahis looked a bit troubled.

“Valid indeed sister” Dezod nodded and looked back at the Captain. “These Jem’hadar are our guardians. They are instructed to keep us safe from any danger. So it is difficult for me to ask them to turn in their weapons on an alien ship” 

Rahis looked at Sazra. “We understand your position in this Captain” 

They were weary of the request, which was understandable in Sazra’s opinion. Time to play her cards as she raises her hand and gestures to them. “But the famed Jem’hadar are genetically altered to be the walking weapon for the Dominion, well history is a bit vague about that”.

“That is true. These warriors can protect us without a given weapon in their hands” Rahis agreed. “Brother I believe the Captain made a keen observation about our guardians. I say we accept their terms” 

He nods to his sister. “And accept we shall, you two give your weapons to these kind security personnel” Dezod orders with a wave of his hand. The two soldiers didn’t give any resistance to the order and handed over their weapons and additional gear.

“Thank you, these will be stored in the locker and given back to you when you leave the ship” Miki instructed the guest. Meanwhile, the two other security officers locked the weapons and additional gear in a locker. 

Rahis smiled at Mike and looked back at Sazra. “We are here to help after all” 

“And help we shall” Dezod added to support his sister’s claim. “In the name of our gods of course and their eternal wisdom,” The lights flash dimly in the transport room. 

“Captain, we have warped and are on route back to Opaka station” 

Nodding to the confirmation and tapping her combadge “Thank you, Commander, I will guide our esteem guest to their quarters, Kobahl out” The communication channel switched off as Sazra stepped to the side. “Please follow me. I will take you to your temporary quarters for this journey.” With that said, Sazra took the lead to walk out of the transport room followed by the representatives. 

It happened. The very thing that was worked so hard to avoid happened. The Dominion was on the ship and making its way to a nice seat in its guest quarters. The crew had to accept the presence of these warmongers on their ship, even though their captain had ignored their pleads not to do so. Rami walked around the corner and nodded, seeing many people in the lower decks that had collected together. There were at least 20 or so people ready to do this. “Thank you all for coming. Your voices of concern are heard, and I will answer them. Our Captain's neglect regarding this mission makes it obvious that she is under the influence of the delusional news that the Fourth Fleet is providing. If anything, they cause this mission to go as far south as it is now.”

“Are we truly going to do this? We all know what is at stake if we do this” L'iera voiced her concern. The Deltan medical officer had rightfully clarified that the consequences would be heavily paid on them. 

Raising her shoulders, “Do we have a choice? The Captain willingly ignored our requests to deny access to these people. Well not only the Captain, the whole command team regards our complaints as void as the mission is more important.” Keeyiro pointed out while she leaned against the side wall looking at L'iera.

“Ensign Cho makes a valid point. The command team has been ignoring our plead. Now we have the people on board that have brought suffering to our people 30 years ago, and we are supposed to be smiling at them as if nothing had happened” Rami said. “Will we stand for this injustice, for a battle that might be very fabricated by the Fourth Fleet?” Seeing many people shaking their heads “Are we going to stand as we lie again to Opaka Outpost and Deep Space 9? Our colleagues that we swore to protect?”

Cailra shook her head. “What makes us better than the Dominion if we are going to lie against our colleagues…. We need to stop this madness and take control of the situation. Do damage control where needed” Cailra spoke out deep concerns on how the Command Team was doing their jobs as leaders of this ship.

The vibe was changing. Officers and enlisted raise their hands, motivated by the common goal of doing something about this. Rami had a small smile on his face as he nodded to them agreeing with the points that were made. They would soon see control back to the ship. “We need to take control of the situation, ”Ensign Cho, Lieutenant Cailra take five people with you and control the Engineering. As soon as we get the engineering, drop this ship out of warp if you do not hear from me. I will take a team to take control of the bridge. Ensign L'iera you come with me, and I also take four people with me on this. As soon as we got control over the bridge, we dropped the ship out of warp" 

“What will happen after that?” L'iera crossed her arms looking back at Rami with concerned eyes. 

Rami looked back at the Deltan and slightly narrowed his eyes. He found it annoying how many questions the Deltan asked of him in the given vibe that could easily be broken. “We take the command team in control to escort them to the brig, weapons to stun. And we escort the representatives back to Dominion space where they belong” Rami build a solid foundation for his plan. But in his mind, he was ready to airlock the representatives into space for all he cared. “If there are no further questions, the rest will spread over the ship to take control of any that resist. Now move out" He said that everyone needed to start this coup. 

Engineering

a team of seven moved quickly through the hallways as they arrived at the engineering and spread out. Cailra nodded to Keeyiro to stir the pot and take the lead even though she was a senior in the given situation. She was however more careful. Maybe she thought that while her actions were justified any aftermath would be milder if her participation was less to be mentioned. 

Keeyiro saw the signal from Cailra and shrugged rolling her eyes as she grabbed her phaser out of the holster. “Alright listen up! We are taken control of this engineering! Stop whatever you are doing. The Command Team will be relieved of their duties soon.” Seeing in her eye corner a person grabbed his phaser and aimed at him. “Come on kid, be smart, and don't make me shoot. Let us be civil and reasonable with the situation our Captain has brought upon us” 

“Reason? This is mutiny, Ensign!” A voice came from the second level of the warp core area. 

Looking up, Keeyiro saw Adrian standing there with two engineers standing ready to fire their phasers. “Well let's see what you are made off Commander, DEFENSIVE POSITIONS!” She ducked behind a console and opened fire. 

Bridge

Standing in the turbolift, Rami got his phaser ready for the go and looked at his side to L'iera. “You are not troubled with what is going to happen right?” He needed to get her on his side at any cost, or this might backfire if they were getting doubts right now. 

L'iera shrugs. “Violence is not the way. We should talk to the bridge crew before aiming at them” 

“How do you think that will go….Please stand down. We kindly ask you to drop us out of warp and help us relieve our command team from their position because they are following delusional ideas?” Rami looked back at the door. “No hostile take over is the only way, peer pressure and the element of surprise, if there are any wounded you can take care of them” 

“I just hope they are not going to resist us too much” L'iera was already starting to regret this insane plan. 

Rami nodded as the door opened, and he raised his phaser with the others spreading into tactical positions. “Please remain calm, I, Lieutenant Shew, take over command of this vessel. Lieutenant K'Nala do me a favor and get us out of warp right now” 

Some crew looked stunned at the people's aggression that they consider their colleagues or their friend. K'Nala looked carefully over her shoulder and saw the phaser aimed at her “Lieutenant yourrr actions imply that you are causing a mutiny on the ship. You do realize that?”

He noticed some crew slowly getting into defensive positions. “Lieutenant I am not going to ask you again” Rami locked his view on K'Nala who grabs to her phaser as she got a shot in her shoulder from Rami. “Take cover!” He orders as others start opened fire. 

The phaser fires across the room. Some people lay on the floor, stunned by the phaser that surprised them at the initial hostile takeover. Keeyiro and Cailra had taken cover and waited for their opportunity to strike back and take over the engineering. Meanwhile, on the other side, Drata had taken cover as Adrián took cover at the upper level. The situation was getting dangerous as a wrong hit on the cool cells, or even the warp core itself would have serious consequences.

“Valerio, give me a sitrep on your side” A familiar voice came over the com badge.

Adrián took a shot before ducking back. “We got six or seven people that walked into the Engineering claiming that the Command Team is to be relieved of their duties. I already ID Ensign Cho and Petty Officer McKaine” Another hit was near him, and he automatically looked away. “We need to make them stop. They are firing in a freaking engineering room….”

“Stay calm is key in this Adrián. You know what to do, and I trust your skills in getting the job done. You are right. We must act quickly as I am en route to the bridge.” 

To the bridge? So this madness was spreading throughout the ship. Adrián knew that there was tension with the whole Dominion ordeal. He could only guess that the Vorta presence escalated it to this amount “Are the representatives safe?” 

“They are safe. We placed two security officers at their door and assured them we would control the situation. I got Miki with me that is coordinating already with other security officers across the ship."

Nodding to that as Adrián fired another shot before he almost got hit himself. “Frak Keeyiro is good at aiming…” He mutters, "Captain, do we got news who the f*ck is behind this coup?” He wanted to know who in their bright mind dared to do this. 

“….Rami” Came over the communication.

His pupils widened as he heard the name echo. “What….Shew is behind this madness?” Adrián was getting emotional as they rushed through his head. Frustration, anger, betrayal, and sadness in one go. 

“Yes, he stated a declaration of our misconduct in command choices. Adrián I need to go. Stay safe and get me my engineering back” The communication closed off. 

“With pleasure…” Adrián looked at his side to a fellow engineer and gave hand signals to proceed to the other side carefully. He looked down to look at Drata and finally got his attention giving him the attention for supportive fire. Adrián saw his nod and moved into position also. “Hey Keeyiro, your aim is great, but you lack confidence in your shots”

That taunt made her raise a brow as her eyes pierced into the direction of the voice. “What is that supposed to mean?! I was the top of my class in shooting” Keeyiro aimed a bit more carefully and almost hit Adrián as he tried to get to another cover. “Would you mind not being so slippery pervert” 

“Pervert?” Taking a deep breath “Is that why you are doing this? As a payback, I rejected your offer for a holodeck session to spar with you?” Adrián looked at the others to see if they were in position. Not yet seeing them still move, he shook his head toward Drata. “Or are you angry that you are on a ship with all these wonderful and gorgeous looking men that you are still heartbroken single?" 

“You bastard..,," Keeyiro felt the anger boil in her as her aim became more reckless. “Come out of hiding, and I will show you my first-class charms, Commander”

“Ensign, keep your mind in the game. Commander Valerio is getting into your head and trying to taunt you so you make mistakes” Cailra said, firing into Adrián's position. “Now focus and get this done. We are operating on thin ice here”

Looking back at Cailra, Keeyiro nodded slowly realizing what Adrián was trying to do in the given situation. “That weasel is trying to get under my skin…” Keeyiro curses softly knowing it actually worked on her. 

Adrián smirked a bit and recognized the new voice. “Lieutenant Cailra is that you? What is the esteem Chief Operation Officer doing in my wonderful engineering? I didn't know you had problems with my way of leading the area. Or are you here to stop your fellow officer, because a court marshal is set on your head for this action you know that” 

“This is Lieutenant Shew, I have taken control over the bridge. We are about to drop out of warp to return to Dominion space to drop off our new guest. I would kindly ask Captain Kobahl, Commander Ruslanovna, and Commander Valerio to turn themselves in on breaking protocol and chain of command charges. You got 20 minutes” 

The ship dropped indeed out of warp as Adrián shrugged. Looking over at the team who got into position and nodded to them “I think a penal uniform for you both would look adorable” Adrián didn't give them a chance to reply “DRATA NOW” 

Drata opens fire with two phasers onto the position of Cailra and Keeyiro as others join in taking down some other accomplices. 

Sliding down the ladder and jump roll to a corner as he lost his phaser in the roll he stood before Keeyiro who looked surprised at him. Keeyiro quickly stood up, aimed only to drop to her knees, and looked over her shoulder, surprised that Cailra had shot her before dropping to the floor. 

Cailra lowered her phaser and looked at Adrián dropping her phaser to the ground before dropping to her knees and holding her hands behind her head. “I surrender to you Commander Valerio” She had regret in her eyes, played for the fool by Rami. 

Taking a deep breath and looking at Drata and the others “Take them in custody, but do not escort them just yet to the brig. We need to be sure that the ship is in our control” Adrián gave out the orders as officers walked to Cailra, Keeyiro, and others to chain them up. He taps his combadge “Valerio to Kobahl, the shed is empty” He breaks off the communication to take a moment for himself. Looking down at Keeyiro “Damn kid….”

VIP Quarters

Standing in the quarters, Sazra smiled at her guest. “We have two rooms that you can use, this one and the one on the opposite side. I will leave it up to you who gets what room. If you require any services, don't hesitate to contact me” She kindly offers. 

“That is a wonderful offer, Captain. I am certain the accommodations of this room will fit me wonderfully” Rahis gave Sazra a soft smile. “I do believe the other room will fit your needs as well, brother” She was given the vibe of being in charge of this mission from the start and was not going to bend for her brother on this. 

Dezod shrugged a bit but kept his smile up. “Of course sister, I do not require much for the journey” He looked at Sazra. “I just hope your ship will meet my requirements. I am kinda the spoiled one of the two” He grinned at Sazra.

“Right, well the room is open to bend to your desires. Just keep in mind there is a limit to what we can offer. As for food, you are free to use our replicators" Sazra smiled at them. “Other than that I would love to wish you a great journey and again in the name of the Federation thank you for assisting us in this delicate…." She got interrupted by direct communication.

“Captain Kobahl, this message is for you to hear. I am going to be blunt with you Sazra. I am going to take control of the ship. You have ignored our plead for too long. You ignored our feelings in this mission, and now brought them on our ship. Your delusional orders from Fourth Fleet can't stand any longer in bringing us in danger. I advise you to stand down as of now. The command team is relieved of their duties. Shew out”

While Rami was talking over the comm “That Mother f*cker…” She cursed softly and noticed the Vorta looking at her. Sazra raised a finger to the Vorta. “Please give me a moment” She turned around and exited the room where Miki and the other security guards stood. The reality sank slowly in that a portion of the crew started a mutiny against her and the rest of the command team. She looked at Miki. “Did you know?”

Looking in shock at Sazra, Miki shook his head. “I knew he was distracted with micromanaging everything. But I had no idea that this mission was hitting him that bad” Miki grabbed his phaser from his holster and held it downwards looking at his Captain. “I stand by your side…your orders" 

Sazra knew that he was at her side from the beginning. If Miki had agreed with her, he wouldn't have kicked her ass on the fleet yards. So his motives were pretty solid, however. Sazra looked at the other two security. “What about you two? Where do you guys stand in this sudden mutiny?” Sazra's tone was quite cold and direct. She was not in the mood for jokes or games.

The men looked at each other and then back at her. “We stand at your side Captain, he might be our Chief, but he breaks various codes that we swore in for” 

Before she could say anything, Sazra heard the door open and saw Rahis standing there curious “I believe your ship crew is having certain difficulty with our presence?” She placed her hands on her chest and looked troubled at Sazra. “I hope we didn't insult any of the crew by being here Captain” 

Of course, there were the representatives to worry about. She struggled slightly with a proper response but gave Rahis a soft smile. “Nothing to worry about representative. I am on my way to the bridge to sort this out.” She looked at the two security officers. “These gentlemen will stay here at your quarters to keep you safe. I personally don't think it will be needed as you got your protection with you after all” Looking back at Rahis.

“That sounds a delightful occurrence Captain” Dezod spoke with a smile. “I do hope you will get this situation under control. It would reflect badly on the Dominion if anything happened to us” Feeling the dead stare from his sister and chose to ignore it. 

“Right…I….” Sazra took a deep breath. “No need for worries. My crew is well-trained to take care of this kind of situation. Now my apologies, but I have to go" She turned around and started walking “Lieutenant with me” Walking in the direction of the turbolift with Miki. Sazra tapped her commbadge “Valerio, give me a sitrep on your side”

“We got six or seven people that walked into the Engineering claiming that the Command Team is to be relieved of their duties. I already ID Ensign Cho and Petty Officer McKaine” A brief pause came. “We need to make them stop. They are firing in a freaking engineering room….”

Sazra had her phaser out of her holster and moved forward also. “Stay calm is key in this Adrián. You know what to do, and I trust your skills in getting the job done. You are right. We must act quickly as I am en route to the bridge” She saw a few crew members taking shots at her as she ducked and signaled Miki to move forward carefully. So there were three teams already moving around. One at engineering, one at the bridge, and one was hunting for her.

“Are the representatives safe?"

A valid question in the given situation as she quickly reacted to a petty officer trying to move forward on their location. It was difficult for her to make a difference in friend or foe. “They are safe. We placed two security officers at their door and assured them we would control the situation. I got Miki with me that is coordinating already with other security officers across the ship."

"Captain, do we got news on who the f*ck is behind this coup?”

Her eyes narrowed at that question. She nods to Miki to move forward. She had difficulty admitting who was behind it as they were all close in one way or another. T'Path, Silina, Adrian, and "….Rami” With a swift move Sazra pulls an Ensign at his uniform and slams him in one move on the floor knocking him out cold. 

“What….Shew is behind this madness?”

“Yes, he stated a declaration of our misconduct in command choices. Adrián I need to go. Stay safe and get me my engineering back” With that she closed the communication with him as she tapped again while leaning on her right knee. “Silina you read me” 

“Loud a clear, I just exited the turbolift, and was on my way to your location when Rami informed me of my sudden state of operational status" 

Shaking her head as she saw Miki taking another one down. “Same here, we are getting close to the turbolift, secure the area and take those that are still loyal to…well us” Sazra slowly started to get a headache from this situation. Rami was going to pay dearly for this. 

“Understood, standing by to receive, stay safe Sazra” Silina replied before closing the communication. 

“We have to move….now” Sazra orders Miki who just nods to her and leads the way. It took them not too long to get to the secured area where Silina was waiting. Silina quickly hugged Sazra and Sazra accepted it before nodding to her. “Alright, we move to deck 2 because knowing Rami he will have the bridge turbolift under control.”

Miki raised his hand “I think I have a better idea, Captain” 

“Let's hear it, I am open to suggestions" Sazra replied quickly checking her phaser.

“We take the turbolift and the Jeffery tubes on both sides that pop up before the helm console. That way we have the element of surprise” Miki pointed out a dangerous but effective tactic that could work in their favor “I will take point at the turbolift”

Nodding to that idea, Sazra patch his shoulder “That is why I got you in the Hazard lead, lets do that” They entered the turbolift “Deck 2” as the door closes and moved upwards. Then another broadcast was sent, this time over the shipwide communications. 

“This is Lieutenant Shew. I have taken control over the bridge. We are about to drop out of warp to return to Dominion space to drop off our new guest. I would kindly ask Captain Kobahl, Commander Ruslanovna, and Commander Valerio to turn themselves in on breaking protocol and chain of command charges. You got 20 minutes” 

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Sazra looked at her side seeing Silina looking at her concerned. She placed her hand on that Silina. When the lift stopped, they exited it as Sazra looked back at Miki. “Be safe up there, don't hang out as the hero” 

Miki smiled at his Captain. “I won't, but I also won't stand for this mutiny. I will give you a minute” He held the door open as he noticed it was summoned to go elsewhere. “Go, I will be there” 

“Come on” Silina popped open a hatch and dived into it. 

Stepping away from the turbo lift, Sazra nods to Miki before turning around to rush into the tube. She followed Silina as she went right, and she went left. “Stay safe” She mutters softly and moves quickly to the stairs, climbing upwards until reaching the hatch. She slowly clicked the hatch lock open and pushed it upwards taking a peek into the bridge.

The Bridge

“Hurry up and change the course. We have to return the Dominion to where they belong” Rami barked out the orders as the turbo lift opened up. “What the…Miki!” 

Slowly placing her phaser in the right spot as a phaser shot was heard, Sazra pulled up, climbed into the bridge, and opened fire on those still armed. She noticed Silina doing the same thing “Surrender Rami, right now!” Sazra orders while aiming at him.

Rami jumped out of the way and shot back seeing he missed Sazra by an inch. “Stand down yourself Captain, you are breaching every rule in Starfleet” Rami felt in his bones he was doing the right thing. As another fire came from Silina that he also dodged, he hit Silina in the shoulder when he fired back.

Looking at her side, Sazra saw Silina fall backward against the wall. Her shoulder was burned, but he shot “What the live fire, are you mental?!” Sazra felt a burning anger boiling in her as she pushed herself into the open and sprinted in Rami's direction. Dodging his shots she gives him an uppercut in his jaw that makes him drop back onto the floor. Without realizing she had already jumped onto him and slammed her fist into him until he could not protect himself. 

A final slam came into the floor with Sazra's heavy breathing. She leans forward and whispers in his ear “Stay the f*ck away from my girl, traitor" With that said she managed to get onto her feet and looked at her side seeing the others already surrendered. 

“Captain, we have the bridge back under our control. Engineering also reports to have retaken control” Miki reports “What are your orders?” 

Looking back at Rami who was on the ground in pain “Do a shipwide fleet, catch those that are involved, and escort every signal one of them to the brig” Sazra orders. “I don't want to cause more panic than needed for this small ordeal and poorly executed plan of a coup”

Silina walked to Sazra's side holding her arm. “I am fine. It's just a burn…I will get that fixed as soon as this thing is over” Silina tried to reassure Sazra as best as possible and showed that she was okay.

“I can help her. Check her wound” A voice came from the side. There Ensign L'iera stood in her cuffs by the security officer. “I am a Medic…”

Looking with cold eyes at L'iera “Take her to the brig” Sazra wove her help aside and looked at K'Nala who was still in pain from the shot Rami had fired upon her. “You need to see a doctor. I will let someone take over your shift. Return to the bridge when the doctor clears you” She looked at Silina. “Both of you, now go" 

K'Nala didn't want to go, but felt that she was about the faint. She helped Silina to the tubrolift “Sickbay” The door closed and left Sazra behind as she tried to process the whole ordeal. More action than this the crew of the Mariner wouldn't see with this Lost Fleet problem. Or that was the general hope that Sazra had, no more foolish actions.

Entering her office, Sazra wanted to throw something or slam something. Waves of emotions were going through her of what had just happened. Yes, she managed to get the situation quickly under control, but at what cost? She is leaning against the window, her head hanging down and her eyes closed. Sazra needed a moment to let it sink in, let it be played over in her head. The feeling of her duty as a Starfleet Captain had overshadowed her judgment over her crew. 

The door opens as Silina and Adrián enter seeing Sazra standing at the window. Adrián leans into Silina and whispers “I told you that it would get to her…” seeing how Silina ignored it and moved more into the room waiting for Sazra to react.

She took a breath in and a slow breath out as she opened her eyes and stood back from the window looking at her colleagues and friends… family. Sazra narrowed her eyes and leaned against the window. “Give it to me, status report” 

Silina shrugs a bit and nods. “Security sweeps have been conducted and completed. Twenty-six people have been arrested in the attempt of a mutiny on this ship and escorted to the brig. Two people are in a chief position, and one is in an assistant position. The majority of the participants are new and enlisted. Security is digging up the regulations on how to deal with this the proper way seeing that their Chief is also arrested” 

“Engineering has sustained minor damage, same counts for the Bridge. So I have put Lieutenant Tarritt on it to fix what needs to be fixed. However, Doctor Th'shrithel is down on personnel and requesting either to review the medical personnel immediately and send them back or something else to fill the gaps. We have sustained injured people across the ship that is now booking the sickbay overtime” Adrián shrugs thinking back at his interaction in the engineering. 

Letting the numbers sink in made Sazra rub her face not trying to lose her composure over it. “Meaning that I need to find a replacement for the two departments, prioritize the medical personnel in their arrest process, and keep the ship afloat while going back to Opaka station” she said, touching her nose. 

“Well…” Silina gave out a bit and saw a piercing eye of attention coming from Sazra. “The thing is, protocol dictates that a mutiny is reported immediately to the nearest outpost” Holding her hand on her wounded arm. “But if we do that, then we need to explain why we have Dominion representatives on the ship” 

Letting her hands go down and biting her lower lip “F*ck….” Letting out the cursing word. “He knew this would happen, even if he would miracle succeed in taking control and do what he said he would. Rami would still freaking report it” Shaking her head, Sazra began to realize that the poorly executed coup plan was actually the diversion of the real goal. “He built himself a trap so that we are required to report it in.”

Crossing his arms “What if we bluff our way into Alpha? Do the regulations state when we need to do it?” Adrián blinked a bit trying to think along.

“I believe I just stated that we need to report it as soon as possible to the nearest station. That would be Opaka and not Starbase 86” Silina pointed out. “If we choose to bluff our way into Alpha. We risk as a Command Team taking the fall for neglecting our duties and making a stronger case to the appeal of the people that we now condemn for a mutiny to be validated” 

“Wait…” Adrián raised his hand looking at Silina. “Wait a second, what do you mean we would validate their reasoning for mutiny?" He felt a rush of frustration going up his spine. “Since when does Starfleet agree on those terms that a mutiny is validated?”

Shaking her head again, Sazra looked at Adrián. “Because if we ignore the principles of Starfleet regulations, we validate the actions of the mutiny. Remember that Rami stated that we are not holding onto Starfleet conduct and endangering the crew. If we tend to ignore the rules, their charges will be…. lightened or even discharged and they are free to get back into Starfleet services” 

"That is messed up. Would Rami think it so far ahead? I mean he doesn't seem like the guy that does such a thing, and we know him long enough to know him by now?" Adrián was surprised about it for sure.

“It doesn't really matter” Sazra replied briefly. “Because in the end, the damage is done. So we either tell Opaka station what has happened and risk exposing our true mission, or bluff our way into Alpha and lose a pip and maybe our position for it?” 

Those options hit the team like a brick, they played right into Rami's hand and their mission was now in danger. Not only was their mission in danger, but the lives that depended on it were also in severe danger because of neglecting and accepting one person's truth. Silina shrugged a bit. “I look at it differently. If we tell Opaka station about it, we will get towed into their docks and placed under arrest for deceiving them" She thought for a second. “If we bluff our way through this, we face arrest also because of deceiving and not following the chain of command regarding regulations. So another way, our current predicament in the given situation is that….we are screwed as a command team, but one leads to completion of the mission and saving many lives, the other risk that very outcome”

The other two stayed quiet for a second as Sazra nodded to herself. “Millions of lives depend on our completion. We got the representatives already on board and cooperating with our plan. I say screw the pips, I will sacrifice my career if it saves millions of lives” Sazra was quite blunt in her statement. Maybe the other lifetime memories of the previous host were rubbing off on her. 

Slowly nodding to the statement “I support that. Pips don't matter right now. We've all seen the reports of what is happening in Deneb. If this can end our colleague's suffering then I gladly put my career on the line” Adrián replied determined by his own words.

Before Silina could reply, Sazra raised her hand. “Before you state the same, you misunderstand my intent in what I said. I said, I will take the fall for this, you two have so much more to give to Starfleet and I would only feel guilty to bring you down with me for my choices” 

Narrowing her eyes a bit as she walked to Sazra and placed her left hand on her shoulder. “Don't sink with the ship just because you are the Captain. We are your command team and grown up enough to make our own choices. We were there when you made those choices. We will be obligated to intervene if your choice is unjustified. Most likely we will hear that also in the appeal if they would arrest us” She rolled her eyes and tilted her head to the right. “Plus you can hear Adrián's determination. No one can stop that level of stubbornness”

Seeing a proud nod from Adrián made Sazra smile. “You got the point on his stubbornness…” Placing her hand on that Silina “Thank you”. With that choice now made she took a deep breath. “Alright, Chief's problems?” 

Silina pulled her hand gently back and thought “We can put Miki in the acting Chief position. However, operations can be an issue” She bluntly pointed out “We don't have a direct experience assistant in that department. We could potentially put Drata in that spot as acting, though it is quite sudden” 

“Drata can pull himself together. Is he a Chief material ….not yet” Adrián pointed out. “Drata could step up for a while to ease the ship operations. But let's give Cailra a second chance. She did take Ensign Cho down when she tried to fire on me” 

Rubbing her face again, the fatigue of the hour-long shifts was catching up to Sazra. “I agree with Miki interim appointment as Chief. I can't entirely agree so much on the second chance part for Cailra” She looked at Adrián. “A Chief appointment is not only based on their experience or performance. It is also based on the level of trust the command team gives a certain individual and saying. Hey I trust you can do this without me looking over your shoulder” 

It was a difficult point to cross, but Silina didn't see many options. “We have to review a case by case with these people to see how deeply they are rooted in the coup. While I agree with you” Looking at Sazra “That a Chief appointment is based on the level of trust, we still are short-handed in the operation department. While Drata could fill the gap temporarily, I feel the man will get overwhelmed without any backup.” She shrugged a bit and looked back at Adrián. “So I agree with Adrián. We should give her a second chance” She raised her hand when Sazra wanted to object. “But after staying detained for at least 10 days and hearing her out on this mutiny. We need to stay objective which is hard I know, but she did end the siege in engineering, and that needs to be counted as a form of redemption” 

“So that means Drata to Operations temporarily and Miki as interim for Chief in security/tactical?” Adrián sums it up “I can handle engineering in that time of Drata's absence. What about the prisoners? We have to sort that mess up also" 

Sazra thought for a second and looked at Silina. “I got my hands tied with the representatives and found a way to bluff us through the wormhole. I need to keep delegating that issue into your hands.” Sazra felt guilty about doing this, but as her first officer, she was the person to deal with personnel. 

She felt the cloud hanging already and crossed her arms over each other nodding to Sazra's request. “I want to object, but seeing how you went down on Rami, I think it is also a safe bet for their safety" Silina joked a bit around that forming a soft smile on her face. “I will deal with these people and have Miki help out in the regulation part. If you need us, tell us. You are not alone in this whole ordeal” 

“Even if you think you are, you are not” Adrián pointed out with a smile on his face also “Let us bring this mission to a success and deal with Starfleet politics afterward” 

“Politics is indeed not the current concern. I thank you both for the vote of confidence in me. Adrián deal with the departments, Silina will deal with the personnel and I will deal with the command and the representatives. For now, dismissed, and Silina” Sazra points at her shoulder. “Get that checked before anything you do and that is an order” 

They both nodded and left the ready room leaving Sazra behind. She looked outside as stars passed and saw her reflection in the window. “I just hope this will get to a good ending” Mutters softly to herself. 

Walking through the hallways, Silina gave a friendly nod to some crew members filling in the gaps of those either in sickbay or in the brig. It has been a rollercoaster the last few hours, and lucky enough, ship operations were back to full capacity. She had to hand it to Adrián in the choices he had offered regarding the Chief Operations Officer, and Drata was managing it well so far. However, her duty was starting, as she needed to deal with personnel issues. 

Sickbay

Walking into the sickbay, Silina could already see the number of people waiting for treatment. The hallway beds were empty, so that was good. She walked to Kossaal who was tending to a patient. “Doctor, got some time?” Silina softly stated waiting for his response. 

Kossaal nodded to the patient and then looked at Silina. His eyes darted to the wound on her shoulder. “Hop on the bed” He turned his attention to get a medical tricorder. “I better not ask how you got that burn, seeing the indication is a potential phaser shot” He turned back to her who now sits on the bed and starts scanning her wound.

“Yea, it’s that particular event that caused this” Silina didn’t frown at the pain that her shoulder did. She was used to it kinda. “How are things down here?” 

He opens her uniform slowly and gently pulls the fabric off her skin as he grabs a sedative placing it above the spot. “It is clearing up. People are returning to their duties. However, I had to send some to our esteem counselor” He was not a particular fan of the Vulcan, but if it meant that it got the job done. “No deaths if you are wondering, though if those idiots are telling the truth that there was phaser firing in the engineering….it could have ended quite differently” 

Nodding in agreement with that last statement “Commander Valerio was well aware of the situation and got it quickly under control” Silina narrowed her eyes briefly as she felt a pinch of pain. “I heard from him also that you had a request. But it was based on the amount of work that was here, which is….lowering” She looked at him. 

Slowly scanning her burned tissue and repairing it as it went, Kossaal took a deep breath. “Well, it would have helped to get some of my medical personnel back. Including my assistant” He placed the device down and checked the wound carefully. 

“You do realize that she is not to be your assistant anymore after what she has done” Silina looked around careful with her words.

The Andorian gave a stern nod. “I am well aware of the situation she has brought upon herself. But…” Kossaal looked at her. “She is the most gifted officer I have worked with so far. Sure she acted foolishly. But I believe I have seen it were more the young officers and enlisted that got convinced of the felony the command team suppose to have done.” Kossaal shrugged a bit looking at his sickbay and seeing the mess. “Demote her from her position, do whatever you want but get her back to work” With that he taps on the bed. “You are clear to go. Rest with that arm for the coming days and if it hurts let me know”.

Hopping off the bed, she appreciated the feedback that Kossaal gave to her. She closed her uniform and her shoulder felt indeed better. Silina pats him on the shoulder. “I see what I can do doc” With that being said, Silina left the sickbay leaving Kossaal behind with his work to attend to. In the hallway, she was reflecting on his words. There was truth in his words. They were only young ensigns or enlisted starting their careers and acted on misdirection. Would this fall under the bias of leadership? She turned around in the turbo lift when entering “Brig” The door closed, and it started to move.

Brig

Walking into the brig area, Silina nodded to the brig officer and noticed some people in various emotions. Some are sad, depressed, and others angry or frustrated. Common reactions for those that break the rules and get caught in their acts. In her previous profession, she would have compared it with the cycle of death, extreme to compare but it made sense. 

Walking past the brig seeing a young petty officer talking to himself and shaking his head. First was the denial of what they did. They were not wrong. They were doing the right thing. Why would they be punished for something they were doing for the right reasons? A man slammed against the wall demanding to be let out. The second phase is anger. They were held unjustified in these cages. They acted to save their comrades and stop the tyranny of the command team. 

Silina kept walking as she stopped and looked at a young Ensign “Ma’am I think we can talk about this. This is one big misunderstanding Commander. Please listen to me. I have so much to offer” Ah the third one is bargaining, Silina forgot about that. A person with the slight hope to make the situation less painful for themselves or that they would be traumatized. Silina ignored her and walked on. 

Phase four, which most people in these brigs were, is depression. They state that what they did was wrong, and they overthink conditions regarding what it means to them and in some cases worse what it means to others around them. Silina noticed a few that were already in the last stadium, acceptance. She saw in their eyes that they were ready to hear what would happen to them. These officers and enlisted had grown up in these heavy conditions.

Her journey stops at the most secure brig of them all. Silina looked at the security officers and nodded as a signal for them to leave. She grabbed a chair and placed it before the flickering blue transparent field. Taking a deep breath “Lieutenant…” 

The man opened his eyes as he held his hands together, leaning on his knees with his head lowered. He glares slowly upwards at Silina. “I see the doctor did a good job of patching your shoulder up” Rami spoke. “But it makes me wonder why the XO is here to attend my arrest” He bows slightly. “I feel like this is a privilege by itself that you are making your appearance” 

“What happened to that sweet goofy man that was causing trouble on Deep Space 17? Where is that caring man that did anything for his fellow officers, friends, or even family” Silina felt taken by this attitude, more than she had expected. Looking at him “But to answer your question, Adrián is doing to keep everything going, and seeing your posture tells me that your ribs still hurt so having Sazra here would not benefit that pain” 

He laughs and grabs his chest narrowing his eyes and swallowing the pain. “You got a fair point in that observation. I could handle myself well enough to the good ole Captain…depending on how long she will be staying in that position that is” Rami had a grin on his face.

So that confirmed that they did play right into his hand. The mutiny was merely a distraction from the real goal of making the ship force dock at Opaka outpost. She looked slightly over her shoulder to the other brings where the other mutineers were sitting. Were they truly guilty of the puppet play of this man? She looked back as Silina didn’t show that in her emotions and placed her legs over each other and her hands on her knee. “So you realize that your career within Starfleet is over, not even regarding what will or will not happen to anyone else” 

Rami looked at Silina with contentment. “I do realize that Commander. Suppose it means that I would save the 120 souls on this ship from the delusional and fabricated information provided by the Command Team. Some minor skirmishes of Breen acting brave and hardy on the borders. The prophets destroyed the lost fleet. Or will you now tell a Bajoran that they are also a lie?” 

The state of mind that Rami still believed to his heart that the given evidence and everything said to him was still fabricated made Silina wonder. She needed to talk with Miki about a potential investigation into his quarters, office, and personal computer. “If that is what you are willing to believe, we have provided you with the needed evidence of what is happening in Deneb and Captain Kobahl gave clearly what it was a secrecy” 

“Why was it a secrecy Commander?” He boldly asked leaning back on the bench “Why would a Command Team keep valuable information that is key in operating this mission to themselves? It doesn’t make sense to keep the Chief Security out of the lope, let alone the intelligence officer” He looked in the direction of Keeyiro who couldn’t hear them.

Taking a brief moment to answer that as Silina shrugged “Because the principles of following orders stand before one need for information. We knew the information provided was a high risk and anything between Alpha to the Dominion borders could have gone wrong. Keep this in mind. We are on a new ship and barely know the crew as only a portion had transferred from the Damascus. So what other choices did we have?” 

“The choice to give the trust to us, making our fish for information and creating puzzle pieces that don’t fit the bigger picture doesn’t help. It built frustration, anger, and distrust in you” Rami looked at her with no compassion. “I did what needed to be done to stop the madness you guys are doing. I don’t care about my rank or position as Sazra held me down for all those years already so who cares now?”

Silina blinked at that statement. “She never held you down Rami. She encourages you to improve yourself. You were making basic mistakes at Jaxartes. You were harsh to your fellow officers on the Damascus…those elements held you back to …promote with us. Your arrogance to reflect on your actions held you down, not me, Adrián, or Sazra. You did that to yourself” She shrugged. “And now you dug your own grave by doing this”

A quietness came from Rami as he looked down to the floor, realizing the past things that had been done by himself and he was in no position to defend himself against it. “Get it over with Sil…” He leaned his head against the wall. 

Narrowing her eyes in his direction as she slowly nodded to the request “You are charged with leading a mutiny against the command team of this vessel. The penalty for this is that you will be detained until you are turned over to JAG officials. The penalty that hangs above your head is to be stripped of your rank and position, dishonorably discharged of the service of Starleet and you will most likely serve 15 to 20 years in a penal colony.” 

He gritted his teeth while hearing that. “What about the others?” Rami showed slight care for his actions and what they might have caused others. 

“Including yourself, we got 26 people involved in this mutiny. Potentially 6 of them will face the court marshal. 18 will get demotions in some way or form and the rest will get a formal warning. But we are still looking into the matter to see what is the damage of this mutiny” Silina stood up ready to get going to her next conversation “I am sorry to see you in this state of mind. If you just had talked to us this wouldn’t have gone down like this” 

“No Silina” Rami looked at her. “It had to go down like this…we both know that” Rami looked away.

Standing there for a second or two as Silina nodded to herself and left his brig area with the two Security Officers returning to the position of guarding. 

The Mariner was en route to Opaka outpost. The situation was under control on the ship. The required appointments were made to keep the operations and process of the ship moving along. However, the problems were far from over. The crew felt uneasy. Friends and colleagues were in the brig awaiting their fate. The transport of Dominion representatives didn’t fit well in this whole picture. The bridge, engineering, hallways, and almost everywhere it became quieter.

Sazra looked outside the window seeing the stars moving along. She felt conflicted about the entire ordeal. She obeyed the 4th fleet command orders, trusting nobody but the 4th. Enlarging her circle of trust to Silina and Adrián and keeping the truth from her senior staff. She placed her hands over her eyes and leaned back in her chair. 

Would the mission go differently if she had played her cards open to everyone? But what about the contradicting reports that came from Starfleet Command? Was the 4th truly playing their cards open to their captains? She took a deep breath and let her hands slide down her face. “On one hand I got both Starfleet Command and FNN speaking about Breen skirmishes and denying the involvement of any Dominion ships. On the other hand, I get reports from the 4th fleet that specifically state the death count, the wounded, and more about what is happening at Deneb.” She started to talk to herself to figure this out.

She brought up the timeline of everything on the Mariner since their departure from Starbase 86.  What made it possible that it went south so rapidly? Denial of information was a common practice among captains. Some information was classified for a reason. Sazra stood up and walked to the replicator “A glass of Pampero Seleccion” A small glass appeared in the replicator of a fine Earth rum as she grabbed the glass. 

“The question at hand is, was my reasoning to keep it classified from my crew validated enough? Or was I supposed to tell them because of their right to information so that they can operate within their duties?” Walking to the window and taking a sip of her drink letting the taste of dried fruit reach her taste template before swallowing it and feeling that burning sensation. 

Maybe she was approaching the problem wrong. She had been in the tunnel vision of being a Captain, but her heart was within science. So perhaps she had to look at it from that perspective? Sazra kept the glass on her lower lip letting the cold press against it. “Debunk the hypothesis” Pointing her finger up. “Which would be…. The order of the Captain is the direct cause of mutiny” Something didn’t feel right about that, and Sazra shook her head “No no… too vague…” 

She walked around her ready room with her glass still in front of her thinking. “The limited information provided by the command team is the cause of the mutiny?” Sazra could work that and gave a slight nod. Then the alternation of hypothesis came up for her “The limited information is not the direct cause of the mutiny, but other effects beyond command control were in play?” Nodding again “Behavior issues started around the moment we publically lied to Deep Space 9 and Opaka outpost for the sake of the mission” Still wandering around the room.

“Starfleet code of conduct dictates that it is our duty, to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. If we don’t do that we are missing the principle of what Starfleet is or should be.” Trying to remember her old lessons from her academy days. She takes a sip of her drink letting that burning sensation hit her again as she stops in front of the window again. “Code of conduct, that is what Rami meant with breaking the code of conduct.” She narrowed her eyes a bit.

How to formulate that into the hypothesis “So sub-question to the main question would be…is there a correlation to Rami behavior to act so rash on the limited information” The stars passing by reflected in Sazra’s eyes. “No, because he acted on limited information before at the Blood Dilithium mission and even further back on the Broken Wings mission. Has the weight of this mission something to do?” 

That was honestly a better question. The weight of this mission was different. It was loaded by all means. Rami’s family was involved in the Dominion War, and other crew members were also. That would justify her keeping the information limited; technically, she didn’t lie. She just told them what they required to know. A need-to-know basis “So what am I dealing with…Computer gives me data on the mutiny members onboard the Mariner? No names, just service and if they had any contact with Dominion. An extra query to this would be….if any of these members have a history with counsel session based on fear” 

[26 members have been involved with the mutiny on the USS Mariner. Their service records state that 23 members have been with Starfleet for less than 6 years, and 3 members have been with an average of 10 years. Of the 26 members, only 7 members have indirect involvement with the Dominion. The specifics can be related to family or friend losses. Counsel sessions related to these 26 members state that 24 members had sessions regarding fear. This can be categorized as anxiety, depression, or overthinking.]

Taking another sip of her drink she let the information sink in. “That would mean that Rami’s work affected emotionally unstable people.” She walked slowly around again as Sazra thought quite hard to fit all the pieces together. “Sub-question” she stated to herself as she stopped walking. “Would the members involved in this mutiny be a cause of the limited information or” Lifting her finger. “Be a direct effect of any kind of provocation” It didn’t make sense. Only Rami acted this way “

“Rami acted as the chain reaction in this situation. There is no other possibility. Or is there…?” Sazra leans at her desk. “Computer check Lieutenant Rami Shew’s record based on behavioral infractions from the moment he got on the USS Jaxartes till now. Based on this data, how likely is Lieutenant Shew’s behavior a risk of unstable emotional acts?” 

[Lieutenant Shew has received 7 infractions during his time on the USS Jaxartes. He received 4 infractions during his time on the USS Damascus and one during his time on the USS Mariner. Based on this data, his behavior would be unpredictable and shows acts of rebellion. Therefore, is the likelihood of unstable emotional act a 78% present]

Letting out a sigh “Frak, I should have known or at least noticed it.” She lowered her glass and held it now with both hands. “So based on that data, it means it beats the hypothesis, as the alternate hypothesis is proven right. Rami was the only one who acted on this. Wait…” Sazra blinks a few times. “Cailra also acted….Computer what is Lieutenant Junior Grade Cailra’s service record and has she any connection to Dominion or counsel sessions?” 

[Lieutenant Junior Grade Cailra has been in service for Starfleet for 7 years. She had no connection with any Dominion in her history. However, she is under counsel session for PSDT regarding the attack on Mars.]

Lifting her glass as she took a sip of her rum and closed her eyes leaning her head back and letting the alcohol sit for a moment before swallowing it. Then placed her head back down and opened her eyes. “Rami played on her feelings, f*ck that is messed up…” She placed the glass on the table. “Shit…” Sazra remembers all the times she had Rami on her side, the fun, the sad moments, and so on. But the man had dug his own grave with his arrogance. Sazra did her best to help him, and now he would drag 25 people with him.

Now that she had peace in her mind, she had to correct her actions, choices, and words. Sazra now had to carry out the conviction of duty. She sat down in her chair and tapped her console briefly as she hovered her finger over it before pressing it. A ship-wide broadcast alert came. 

“This is Captain Kobahl speaking”

Crew members stopped doing their work looking up.

“A few days ago, our ship was hit by something that should never have occurred in any Starfleet ship. We had to face our own in a mutiny. A mutiny born out of fear. A fear based on lies, rumors, and leadership bias.” 

Adrián stopped his work looking at his work and letting Sazra’s words sink in.

“While this act was made possible by someone I trusted personally for years, I am still shaken by what happened, and I believe every single one of you is affected by it also. I ordered my command team to act quickly and swiftly because it was against Starfleet regulations.”

The bridge crew stared a bit around at each other as Silina was sitting in the captain’s chair hearing what Sazra had to say. 

“However, I noticed the ship did not burst with energy anymore compared to when we left Starbase 86. We got tangled in a web of secrets and distrust. So the choices I made as a Captain were and always will be in the best interest of my crew. Because without my crew I am nothing. I need every single one of you to operate this ship and reach our goal.”

In the brig, Rami opened his eyes as he looked up. “You damn hypocrite” He muttered.

“So to mend these wounds, to stop the silence in the hallways, I am going to be blunt about our situation and what we face” 

Various nurses and officers stopped their work and looked at where the voice of their Captain was coming from.

“We are to deliver Dominion representatives to Deneb. Our situation is dire and if we fail in this mission. Countless more people will die for a forgotten war that ended so many years ago. So as the Captain, I will accept the consequences of command and my choices. There is some struggle going on between Starfleet Command and the 4th Fleet. I was told to trust only the 4th, my mistake was not to trust you, so I limited the information to keep you safe. I was wrong in doing so” 

In the VIP quarter, Dezod looked at his sister sitting in the chair with her hand on her chin. “What an interesting development, quite interesting” Rahis spoke.

“With that being said, I will complete this mission. I will lie against the Opaka outpost. Because if they realize what we are escorting, what happened on this ship? We fail to rescue millions of lives. So I will carry this weight. I will accept the punishment that Starfleet Command will give me. So I will ask you to stand one more time with me until the completion of this mission. If you desire to send in your resignation that goes active after completing this mission I would appreciate it much. But I ask you….to give me your trust and commitment again, and I shall be open to any questions you might have. Thank you” 

Closing the channel, she leaned back in her chair and deeply breathed. “Lies can break trust easily while honesty will mend over time that broken trust” A beep went off on her computer as her eyes looked at the title. Resignation of…She lowered her head and shrugged looking back outside. Now she did everything she could. She needs to finish this once and for all. 

Her scientific look at the situation concluded that based on what happened, who was involved, and what the results were not her fault. But as a Captain, whatever happens, you take responsibility for the actions of yourself but also that of your crew. You tell the truth, how brutal it might be, how painful it might be. Because the truth will be remembered and Sazra could only conclude that in the end, it was up to the crew to make their judgment as grown-ups.

Another ping came and another, and another. Sazra had sadness in her eyes as she looked at her screen and her look changed to confusion as a tear rolled off her cheek and dropped onto the desk. The titles of her inbox pour in.

I am here to stay

I will finish this with you Captain

You are my Captain

Whatever happens to you we will follow

Let us save our people

Then tension was not dropping after everything that had happened on the Mariner. Sure, the explanation of Captain Kobahl helped in this instant to maintain structure and dedication to the mission at hand. Everyone knew what was at stake. Everyone knew what they had to do. But it was against everything they were taught, everything they had done in their careers. They had to expand the web of lies to succeed in this mission. 

Tapping her console as she tried to listen to any messages out there. Asipa opened her eyes and felt like her thoughts were somewhere else. Keeyiro, her friend, was in the brig for participating in the mutiny. Keeyiro did try to convince Asipa to join the march for justice. Asipa shrugged, knowing now how that justice had rolled out for her friend. If she had joined this crusade, she would be in her brig. 

“You okay there Asipa?” Hearing a friendly voice from her side and seeing Drata standing there.

Giving a slight nod “Yea, just thinking back on what has happened, somehow the bridge and hallways feel more empty” Asipa tried to explain her feelings in words. But translating these type of words were not her strong suit. Opening up about how she felt or thought was a difficulty in itself. 

“Aye, I hear ya” Drata looking at his console. “One second I am crawling through dusty tubes and fixing plasma leaks, and then another you are the acting Chief of Operations” He looked slightly conflicted by his statement. “Yea, never thought that would happen in my lifetime” He gave a bit of an awkward smile in the direction of Asipa, but his mind was full of things he had to do. 

T'Path looked over her shoulder. “That seems like an improvement in your work environment Lieutenant” She stated in a monotone Vulcan voice and looked curious at Drata.

“Yea, I know….” Replying quickly to the current shift leader “But I joined Starfleet to get my hands dirty. Being in Operations is in my fair experience so far that I am keeping these" He holds both his hands up. “Very clean, and I always dreamed of being a Chief Engineering” 

Looking at her side at Drata who was glorifying engineering, she felt slightly jealous. Asipa felt a bit left out. Did she truly have a dream to fight for? To aim for? Maybe she missed the resolve to do what needed to be done and blindly followed anyone that gave her an order. Asipa looked at her console seeing some old Dominion texts from the war and smiled softly. 

“My dream is to become multilingual in the old texts of the forgotten empires dug in ruins. To help decode messages of unknown aliens or enemies that could benefit Starfleet in reaching their goal in their mission.” A beautiful dream that she had to fight for against her father. Her father wanted to have her partner up with a man she didn't know, and her function in Ferengi society was to carry the next generation and not play with words.

She noticed that it was quiet as Asipa looked up from her console into the bridge seeing some looking at her. “Oh…mmm don't mind me, just rambling” Feeling that burning sensation of a blush burning on her cheeks as she quickly looked back at her console. 

“That is perfectly fine Ensign. Everyone has a goal in their life. A goal that might not always be what others have planned or expected for you” T'Path knew the history of the Ferengi and could guess on the face Asipa was making what was troubling her. “But in the end, you are the one that can make a difference in what you want to achieve and that you feel accomplished in your life. You have the right to be happy” 

“Can't agree more with Lieutenant T'Path” A voice came from the turbolift door as Sazra entered and smiled at Asipa. “Follow your dreams and make them come true. As a Captain, it is my duty….." She thought for a moment when she stopped at Asipa's side. “No it is my obligation to help you achieve those dreams Ensign” Sazra gave Asipa a wink and smile before taking the chair back from T'Path “Thank you”

T'Path nodded to Sazra. “You are most welcome Captain. I was about to hail you that we are arriving at Opaka Outpost.” T'Path announced to Sazra while walking back to her console. 

“You do know that I am getting navigational data at my console in the ready room right?” Sazra grinned a bit at T'Path with a tease. She sat down and wanted to give out the orders, but not before Asipa interrupted her. 

“Captain, Lieutenant…everyone” Asipa looked at them all. She just realized that even though she had dreams to fight for, they joined Starfleet for their reasons. Their dreams to become reality. “Thank you for having fate in me and helping me support my dream” She meant it wholeheartedly.

The crew laughed and smiled giving Asipa the thumbs up, and it felt cozy for a second until K'Nala spoke up. “Captain we arrre arriving at the gate” She announced switching the mood back to tense as everyone looked at the screen with Mariner dropping out of warp. “We have arrived at the gate, making course to it right now” The Mariner didn't hesitate and responded to the commands leaving straight for the gate.

Asipa looked at her screen as a red flashing light went off. “Incoming hail from Opaka Outpost” She announced. Seeing Captain Kobahl nervous and placing her hand at her face sliding it slowly down. Asipa blinked seeing the expression of her Captain disappear as if it was magic when Captain Kobahl's hands slide off her face.

“On screen Ensign” Sazra ordered looking seriously at the screen. It changed with the Bajoran Commander coming on the screen “Commander, we are en route to the gate. We are in a hurry” 

“Captain Kobahl, it has been a few weeks since we have last seen you” The Bajoran crossed his arms and looked troubled. “What hurry would you possibly have? We have not received anything from the 4th fleet about your orders here in Gamma Quadrant or anything to be more precise” 

It was true, 4th fleet had no orders that would make Mariner operate in Gamma Quadrants. Asipa shrugged and looked at the screen of her console as she swiped up a document and started to write something.

“Wait …wait” Sazra raised her hand looking confused at the Commander. "What are you talking about? We just received orders to report back to the 4th fleet. Something about Dominion having invaded Deneb region?' Sazra was doing her best to put up an act as she looked at her bridge crew to find confirmation from some seniors as T'path gave her a nod.

“Invasion?” The Commander narrowed his eyes and looked at his side of the screen. Then back at Sazra “Right, that ridiculous news that the Ramar is blabbering about” He looked annoyed and shook his head.

That did hit a string for Sazra. “Keep in mind that a blabbering person is a Fleet Admiral in control of a Starfleet fleet and my superior. So I would mind if you correct that tone in your voice about him” Noticing some bridge crew looking a bit surprised at that reaction. A reaction that could be dangerous on this thin ice to walk on. 

The Bajoran looked more troubled and shrugged a bit. “My apologies. It has been a long day, and some faulty power grids have been a pain for the last week” He took a deep breath. “Alright, no harm done if the 4th wants you back. Who am I to complain” He smiled at the bridge crew. “So send me the orders that we can confirm, and you are on your way”

The bridge went from relief to very stressed in a blink of an eye. “Orders?” Sazra looked questionably at the Commander. “Why would we send you the orders that are meant for us? Did Starfleet update their protocols again?” Sazra felt a bit annoyed, but in reality, she was getting nervous. 

“Yes, orders. We need to process them in our administration and see that Task Force 17 never sends them to us. I thought it would be smarter to get a copy from you. That way my boss will be happy, and you guys have no problem going through the gate” He explained. “Are there any concerns with doing so? Because if I don't receive those orders I will be unable to let you through the gate without being tagged” 

Sazra poker face was about to break as Asipa spoke up looking at the screen. “Captain, I can send the orders without any issue,” She said. “Commander, do you wish to receive both orders?” 

The Commander's eyes darted at Asipa and smiled. “Please do so…” 

With a slide of a finger, the orders were sent. Asipa nodded to the Commander. “You should receive it any second now” She was trying to keep her cool but wanted to scream for doing something like this.

“Orders received” He replied looking at them both and nodding. “Alright, good to go. Safe travels Mariner” 

“Thank you Commander” Sazra looked at Asipa and then back giving him a nod as the screen went back to space approaching the gate that opened up. “Get us in there Lieutenant” She ordered as she heard sniffing and looked at her left Asipa would drop to the floor starting to cry “Ensign, you okay?”

“My career, my dream…. it's over” Asipa cried louder as she fabricated an order from old communication logs and put them together as best possible. But she knew it would mean the end of her career with Starfleet, a career she admired so much as it gave her the freedom to be who she wanted to be. “I did it for all those people….I did it for you guys. Sorry for crying” 

Sazra smiled softly and walked to her kneeling at her side and placing her hand on Asipa's shoulder. “Thank you, but remember what I said. As a Captain, it is my obligation to ensure your dreams are coming true. You will be fine” Sazra nodded to her and looked over her shoulder “That count for everyone here. I will take responsibility for your acts in this mission.” Helping Asipa back on her feet and wiping her tears away “Stay strong. We are almost done” 

She had never seen a caring person in her life before, well her friends, but never from someone she had worked for before. Asipa nodded as she saw Captain Kobahl walking back to her chair. “Thank you, but I do not know how long the message will hold as it was made in a few minutes” 

“Meaning we will be hailed at the other side” Sazra shrugged as she saw the ship pass through the gate. “Mission has priority….I am out of ideas. So K'Nala, I encourage you to test our warp engines to the max and see what this ship can do” Sazra saw the grin coming from her pilot.

“Captain we have an incoming hail from Deep Space 9" Asipa announced the moment the Mariner dropped out the gate. 

“I am not going to stick around. Make Way!” She points to the screen as the Mariner powers up their warp engines and jumps out of the system without Deep Space 9 able to react to it. 

The crew was struggling. The recent events were like a nagging Ferengi that didn't get his prize at some casino hitting them. Not having the proper staff to deal with this, not being able to hand them over to the authority just yet due to their mission and the weight it carries. It all came down on Silina's shoulders. The math was simple in this situation. Sazra was in no condition or mindset to deal with these mutineers. If she did, she would judge the nearest airlock to fall under the fair-condition terms of a judgment. Adrián might have been an option, but when it comes to a serious case like this, it will backfire on him as being too soft. 

She walked into the brig once again and had already concluded a few interviews with the prisoners of this little coup. The conclusion so far was that 6 people were certain of being court marshaled for their participation in this act. Of course, Lieutenant Shew was among those 6.  The others were weighted in the amount of involvement, the information they received, and their acts of redemptions. Walking to her first interview of the day, Silina shrugged knowing the discussion point of Sazra about redemptions, but the rules were firm in this case. Redemption was a thing to consider given the situation. 

Interview Cailra

Stopping at the Chief Operations brig, Silina had held her PADD to her chest looking into the brig. She saw a woman praying to whatever god she had hoped to come for redemption on her behalf. Silina could only figure out that she still had hope, but judgment would be harsh like any other. Sitting down and looking at the Lieutenant who finally noticed Silina “Lieutenant Cailra, I am here to have a chat with you about what will happen next” 

“What will happen next…?” Her voice was shaking, and her facial expression could write books that she realized what would happen. Cailra felt scared that fate was now catching up to her. “Ah yes, the mutiny”

Giving a soft and brief nod to her, Silina continued. “Yes, first things first. What made you do it?” As a doctor by practice and a first officer on duty, she needed to know what these mutineers thought. What makes them break their sworn oath to do this?

She looked away briefly as her lower lips trembled and quickly fixed her posture looking back at Silina. “Fear…” Cailra briefly spoke “The Dominion war had taken my family members, friends that died in the line of duty. Now have them on board the ship was a bridge too far for me. It was like looking at history being on a bridge that didn't matter anymore" Cailra clearly explained, trying her best to keep her composure together.

The act of fear was a common thing that she had heard a few times during her interviews. Silina could feel some level of understanding acting on that. But she was telling more than fear. It was unacceptable for Cailra to accept the Dominion onboard, unable to let go of what was and feeling insulted by what had happened. Taking a deep breath “But you have not been able to place that faith back in your command team? Because if you told any of us then we would be able to prevent what had happened”

“I don't tend to agree with you Commander, the words of Lieutenant Shew were comforting and believable that what we did was the right action in this whole affair.” Cailra replied with some sadness in her eyes “But I do believe that my actions were wrong. I acted on my emotions rather than my logical thinking and tried to correct it where I potentially could” 

Looking back at her PADD, Silina could see that Cailra shot down Cho to prevent Commander Valerio from being shot down. “An act of redemptions, or an attempt of it” Silina corrected herself and nodded slowly before looking back at Cailra. “But you were acting on your emotions and realizing that you were wrong in what you were doing is a good growth curve. But a curve that was expected when you were an Ensign and not a Lieutenant” Silina was harsh, but felt it was needed given the situation.

“I understand Commander” Cailra replied briefly feeling her world collapsing around her. 

“Do you now?” Silina narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the right. “In your actions, you have fired upon colleagues that have been transported to the sickbay. Some were unharmed by the mere fact that they were stunned, but others had light injuries due that they fell from height or against objects in their area” 

Nodding to that “But they are not death” Cailra concluded, “They are alive because I ordered my team to keep the phaser at stun. I can't get it over my heart to let my fellow officers die. That would beat the purpose of the mutiny. We just wanted to go home away from the Dominion" 

Not the thing she wanted to hear completely, Silina shrugged and leaned back in her chair. “So you still think that your actions were justified? That shooting your colleagues was the right way?” 

She shook her head. “No, don't get me wrong Commander!” She replied quickly “I struggled with the idea from the start. That is why I gave myself up when the skirmish in Engineering ended, and Commander Valerio stood next to me. We should have approached this more maturely and talked about it. Let our emotions be heard to the command team and realize the weight of the mission” 

A stare came from Silina as she let out a sigh. “Alright, that would be enough for me to conclude this interview. I will recommend the following to Starfleet JAG“ She sits forward again looking at the now scared Cailra who held her hands together. “Lieutenant Junior Grade Cailra is to be demoted to the rank of Ensign, with a probational time of 12 months before receiving another promotion. You are to be removed from your position as Chief of Operations and cannot regain this position for 24 months. You are to remain detained in this brig until we arrive at Starbase 86 where you will be handed over to JAG to receive my recommended judgment. Your career onboard the USS Mariner has ended” Silina felt the weight of her words but knew it was the right thing to do. ”Do you understand Ensign?" 

Tears started to roll down Cailra's face as she was hoping for anything but these words. “I….understand” Her voice trembling as she let her head hang. 

Standing up with her PADD, Silina looked at the broken woman. “As a Chief, you are a leading example for the crew. You failed to show that principle that a Starfleet Officer lives by every day. Duty, loyalty, and honor” Silina shrugged feeling a bit of a hypocrite as her actions can't be justified every time. “Learn from this, and go through Starfleet to get that trust back. Do any job needed, do not resist it…question it…make Starfleet believe in you again.” She turned and walked away. “Good luck Ensign” Hearing the woman cry louder as the next interview awaited her. 

Interview Cho

Walking to the next brig on her list made her narrow her eyes as she sat down. In the brig, a young Asian woman sat against the brig wall, and it was like she was waiting on something to happen. She showed no regret, not sorrow, or sadness. Silina wondered what was going through this Ensign's mind. “Ensign Cho, I am here for the interview that will be conducted to judge your actions"

Keeyiro looked in the direction of Silina and kept her facial expression neutral. “I believe I have the right to be judged by a JAG officer, Commander. You are the First Officer of this ship that was indirectly the cause of the mutiny. Thus, your opinion will be validated as biased by any JAG officer” Keeyiro explained and looked away. “I will await the JAG Officer.”

“You really think you are in a position to make any kind of demands Ensign?” Silina calmly spoke looking at her PADD. “You were part of the team that assaulted the Engineering together with Lieutenant Cailra, who in the end shot you down to end the siege" Silina looked back at Keeyiro. “What is your statement in this matter?” 

The painful memory of being shot by a fellow officer that was supposed to have the same thinking was not helping in her case. She felt anger, betrayal, and more “I ….don't understand why she shot me” She mutters crossing her arms over each other “We had a goal and ….wanted to bring the Dominion back. Make you guys see that …you were wrong”

It felt like educating a child to Silina. One moment she was rebellious yapping about her rights and the other she was confused and angry about the betrayal that Cailra had done to her. “How do you feel about that, that she shot you down?” Silina kept her posture in this matter. She was dealing with a young inexperienced officer that in her eyes still had hope of improving herself. 

“It felt that I was betrayed….” Keeyiro looked at Silina. “Like the command team betrayed us. Why would they withhold information from us? Why would you go to the enemy's front door while our people were dying on the frontline at Deneb? Why is STARFLEET NOT ACKNOWLEDGING WHAT IS HAPPENING” She yelled at the end breathing heavily and trying to calm down. “I have….so many…”

“Questions” Silina added and saw a nod from her “Mmm, what we do as Starfleet Officers, or Enlisted is to explore the unknown and perform our duties to help those in need. I can quote you the vision of Starfleet, but it doesn't help if you are missing the point” Silina shrugged. “The core is that we are in this together. We sign up for a journey of a lifetime. Unknown what will happen, unknown what we shall see or do” Calmly explains her vision on this matter “Curiosity right out there” She points to her side into the void. “But we need every single one of you to function. As Captain Kobahl said, what weight does a Captain have without any of you if she doesn't have her crew behind her?”

“So you are saying I pledge my loyalty to a Captain that keeps secrets from us?” Keeyiro defended her standpoint and still felt anger boiling her blood.

Shaking her head “You pledge your loyalty to the ship you serve on. You trust your Captain to make the right call. If they don't they are the ones that have to live with the aftermath that comes. Some Captains that made a bad call learn from it, some retire from their position, and others step down and resume their previous posting in their department. No one is perfect Ensign” 

Keeyiro couldn't argue with that statement. She felt like Starfleet was protecting the Captain from the lies she told everyone. “Will she pay for her crimes?” Keeyiro looked seriously at Silina, wanting an answer, not demanding it. 

“Yes” Silina said with sadness in her eyes. “As will I, and Commander Valerio” She added and placed her hand on her leg. “When you become a Chief of a department or join a command team you take responsibility of your actions and those under you. This mutiny…." She took a deep breath and struggled for a brief moment with it. Silina knew where the problem lays in this mutiny, a poor choice of Sazra but she couldn't say that to her. Sazra was naive to think that her crew was as loyal to her as those on any other ship. “Was the mistake that we brew over time based on lies that were meant to protect you” 

“Protect us? Protect us from what…why are you and Valerio taking her fall for her poor choices!” Keeyiro felt emotional.

“Because it is our responsibility to protect you. We felt that this information was so sensitive that someone would attempt to hurt you. Captains at the front of Deneb must worry daily if they live or die to protect the Federation. We have to worry about anyone trying to stop us. We don't know how Gamma Quadrant would react to our presence, we don't know what would have happened at the borders….but our mission, lives depend on it” Silina took a deep breath again. “As for the choices of Captain Kobahl, as we are part of her command team we are by justification rights responsible for the actions that she does. We must make the judgment call to say if our Captain is right or wrong. So if she made a bad call, we made a bad call. We accepted this together, and we will face it together” 

That was the weight of command? What were the implications that were going to happen? Their Captain would take her command team with her on this road of poor choices. Or did Keeyiro not accept what was happening? What if she did put her trust in them? It calmed her down. It made her think of what she had done. “What….did I do” She muttered.

“I think this is a good moment to conclude our interview. Ensign, I will make the following recommendation to JAG when we arrive at Starbase 86. We cannot demote you seeing your rank is the starting one. We can't dishonorably discharge you because of how fresh you are in service. So I can only conclude that your actions are based on biased information that made you act as you did. You are six months bound to your current rank without any attempts of redemption within that time to gain the favor of promotion. Your position as the Intelligence Officer will be removed as you are deemed untrustworthy of sensitive information. We can review your career at twelve months period.” Silina looked at a broken Ensign that finally realized what she had done.

Keeyiro had watery eyes and looked at her. “What….am I supposed to do?” 

“Learn from your mistakes. Your career options will be limited. Most likely I will advise a career tour of every department. Learn from their departments, learn from the Chiefs there, and find your path” Silina stood up. “You might have skipped the shot on this Ensign, and if it were Captain Kobahl you would have been transferred. But I see potential in you….don't disappoint” With that she left the young Ensign behind. 

Interview L'iera

Already a few had lost their ranks, their positions, or even discharged from their service to Starfleet. But Silina learned more from these interviews than the mutineers learned about themselves. The main issues are blind loyalty, leadership bias, and false information. But Silina also learned that the crew had their doubts about the choices that were made, choices that she agreed to and supported. Arriving at the last one was the one she had an issue with herself. Ensign L'iera, the Assistant Chief Medical Officer was involved in this mutiny.

Sitting down at the chair provided, Silina looked agitated at the Deltan woman. “Ensign, I am here to interview you to conclude your …crimes” Her approach was different, more loaded than the previous ones. This felt personal to her.

The Deltan jumped off her seat and walked to the force field “Commander Ruslanovna, I ….I wanted to apologize for everything that has happened. I acted on …misguided fear. I know I shouldn't have done that, but I have not hurt anyone in my actions” 

“Stop it” Silina waved her arguments off and stood up placing the PADD on the chair but not breaking her eye contact with L'iera. “How can you plead or beg for forgiveness….you are a medical officer sworn to protect and help those in need. To not harm anyone, but to provide aid to help them live if it's friendly or foe” Silina felt her blood boil. This was really personal for her.

L'iera took a step back from the field taken by the anger of the Commander. “I ….understand the ramification of my choice. I sided with someone with the wrong goal and played on my emotions" L'iera felt like she was slowly breaking apart. “I am sorry” 

Realizing how she stood there, Silina tried to calm herself down. “You know I am by nature a medical officer right?” She pointed out her service record. “I have seen shit out there that makes a Klingon shiver on the ground like a targ that got wounded” Silina shrugged at her comment. “I have heard all kinds of excuses and remorse statements from every single person that was part of this mutiny. But in the end….I can't put my finger on what you did” 

“What ….what I did?” L'iera felt confused.

“You swore to protect, you sworn to aid, you sworn to help those in medical need. Yet you ….sided without asking your command team with someone that had harmed in mind to your colleagues and potentially the Dominion Representatives….you know what would have happened if you won?” Silina crossed her arms looking at the shaking girl.

She noticed that her body was shaking against the harsh attitude of the Commander. “I don't know…”

“Millions would have been added to the list of death that Starfleet…that the 4th fleet and Federation is currently losing at Deneb. We lost colonies, outposts, and Starfleet ships to the Dominion” She raised her voice. “And what would have happened is that Lieutenant Shew would either bring them back or incidentally shove them out of an airlock!” Silina felt her anger boiling again as she tried to fix her posture. “But….now these people in Deneb have a chance, and you are f*cking lucky that I need every single officer to function in this mission” 

“I am sorry Commander. I swear I didn't know that this would happen” L'iera started her eyes swelling up as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Silina stepped to the console and tapped on it as the force field disappeared. She looked at L'iera. “Report to your Chief Ensign….a recommendation will be made to JAG when we arrive at Starbase 86. You shall remain an Ensign for the coming six months without any redemption to a promotion within that time. I will let our Chief Medical Officer deal with your punishment” She grabbed her PADD and looked at L'iera. “Make one bad move, and I swear I will drag you back into that brig myself” With that said she walked off leaving the young Deltan back alone.

Captain's log 141, this might be potentially my last log as a Captain. Almost a month ago, I accepted a critical mission that would potentially turn the tide of the ongoing onslaught from the Dominion in the Deneb system. But as a Captain, I made the mistake of not trusting my crew with the vital information. I thought I was protecting them from the potential dangers of the enemy lurking in the dark. However, a few days ago, I had to deal with a small mutiny because of all the tension, misinformation, and strict orders. Because of the urgency of this mission, I chose to ignore regulations and didn't report it immediately to Opaka Outpost. I fabricated a false report to bypass checkpoints, and now we are en route to the Deneb system to deliver the Dominion representatives. However, I am willing to sacrifice my career for millions of lives.

The chime of the door went off as Sazra looked at her side. “Computer end log” a beep of confirmation came from the computer. “Come in” permitting to whoever was at the door. She saw both Adrián and Silina walking into the room. “Something wrong?” Turning her body in their direction.

“We are here to give our general reports of the ship status and condition" Adrián stated. “The Mariner operational changes are flowing in well. Drata is taking control of Operation as if it was his department all along. I do miss him in my engineer” Adrián shrugged a bit, crossing his arms over each other “But every department is doing their thing. Miki is a born Security Chief. He got already the favor of his men” 

Silina follows up "The interviews are done with the prisoners. My initial report is sent to your computer. We shall lose six people to the court marshal. An additional eleven people will leave our ship with serious punishment, and the remaining people will stay on our ship. But bond to their punishment, and they will be under watch and limited in their freedom” 

The last news was something that Sazra didn't want to hear “You are way too kind….” Sazra walked to her desk and leaned on it looking at them. “I would have yeeted their ass off this ship” 

“I know” Silina replied with a soft smile on her face. “That is why I am doing this and not you. Lieutenant Miki has provided the required support in dealing with the process material regarding the mutineers. Remember we might lose more as my report is a recommendation to JAG. In the end, JAG is the one that will make the final call on what is, by law correct or not for these mutineers” 

“Mutineers..” Sazra softly replied looking out her window “Would their punishment not be softened because we failed to comply with regulations?” She looked back at them “Ignoring it for the sake of saving people. Meanwhile, these rats will be able to get back into duty not living with what they did because I am forced by the weight of this mission not to report them”

A shrug came from both Adrian and Silina. “We all agreed with those terms, and we all know what is at stake with this” Adrian was struggling with the idea of leaving the mutineers issue at a low tier in their problem list. “So we can only vow that they will get what they deserve” 

“Depending on that we are not the one in cuffs” Silina bluntly pointed out at Adrian. “We have some black marks on our record by ignoring regulations, lying against a Starfleet station, and now not responding to any for their hails” Silina shrugged. “We look like a maniac on steroids cruising to our demise"

She didn't want to agree with Silina, but Sazra knew she was right. “How long until we reach Deneb and any information on the best area to drop the Dominion representatives?” Sazra wanted to know the best approach.

Scratching behind his head, Adrian looked at her thinking about what she had just asked. “From my understanding of our current speed, we should arrive there within 24 hours. 4th fleet information dictates that Ciatar Nebula should be the best location to drop in. Patrols have swept the area a few times and noticed a patron in a battle group jumping in and out of that system” 

“Keep an eye on our movements. Well if we can drop in and send them the message we should be fine” Sazra sounded relieved. “We are almost done with this mission, and I am ready to take a day off. Be it at Starbase 86 bar or brig. I don't care now.” Sazra tried to make a joke out of seeing Silina grin. “When this is over, hopefully, we did our part by contributing to this forsaken war and potentially turn the tide” 

Silina wanted to reply as the chime went off, and the trio looked toward the door. “You…expecting someone?” Silina blinked a few times her eyes wondering who was there.

“Not really, besides you two” Sazra wondered if it was another rapport. “Maybe it is K'Nala with those navigational reports that I asked for a few hours ago” She looked at the door. “Come in” 

But to the trio's surprise, the Dominion representatives walk into the ready room and come to a halt before them as the door closes. “Captain, Commander, Commander” Dezod spoke to all of them. “You look surprised to see us right now. We did announce our request that we wanted to speak with you and your fellow command team members” Dezod looked a bit confused.

“I believe you didn't send that message dear brother” Rahis replied a bit playfully annoyed at the lack of knowledge of anything related to technology.

“Oh my….” Dezod replied shocked and looked at his sister “My sincere apology. I thought I sent the message. Federation technology is overcomplicated to function efficiently compared to our system which our gods create” He bows to the command team. “Well we are here for a good reason” 

Rahis nodded to them. “The first question, is the most important question Captain Kobahl” She placed her hands over each other “Do you trust your fellow command team members with your life?” 

Sazra narrowed her eyes and wondered what was going on in the first place. This sudden appearance was a weird occurrence. Maybe they were up to something like Rami told her over and over that eventually led to that cursed mutiny. Sazra shook her head a bit and looked at Silina and Adrián then back to Rahis. “With my life, what is this about?” 

“Good, very good to hear that Captain” Rahis tone was very demeaning towards them. “We have been part of this journey for quite some time and have seen the ship go back and forth struggling with its morale” Rahis spoke trying to explain their reason for being there.

“Our experience with Federation people is limited as we were sadly not part of the Dominion War but cloned afterward as servants of our gods” Dezod said glorifying the Founders more.  

A brow rose on Adrián's face as he looked at them with his arms crossed. “Yea, what a shame you missed out on that war. You missed some good parts” Adrián sarcastically answered as he got a hit in his rib by Silina and flinch at it looking at her. “What?” he muttered.

Dezod claps his hands looking happy at Adrián. “I am glad you understand our position in this prospect. But it has been enlightening to see how your vessel functions and operates in times of extreme pressure and stress” Dezod smiled at them. “We are impressed with you Captain that you are willing to lie against your colleagues to get this job done” 

“Please get to the point" Sazra felt that their attempt to give compliments was like rubbing salt deeper in a fresh open wound. She rubs her template feeling a headache building up.

“Of course” Rahis nodded softly to them “But what my brother wants to say, we observed you, your actions, your personality, your ambition, and your principles” She rubbed her hands calmly looking at Sazra. “Our gods have blessed us with sharing something unique. They guided us to make our judgment if you are worthy enough to have this” 

It caught their attention as Sazra's eyes kept looking at their soldier aids that stayed quiet and behind their masters and looked back at Rahis. “I am glad to be of service to the Dominion in our time of crisis. But could you come to your point as it is quite vague to me what you are offering"

Rahis gave a brief nod again to Sazra's request. “Alright, the Dominion has formulated a theory based on the endless knowledge of our gods on your current predicament"

“A nasty predicament for sure” Dezod added to his sister. “Based on the misdirected news reports from your FNN that the Breen are doing some skirmishes. Rather than saying that the Dominion Lost Fleet has invaded” 

“And that Starfleet is turning a blind eye and only the Fourth Fleet is taken action upon the arrival of the Lost Fleet” Rahis continued. “Our gods believe that something is at miss” She tried to formulate, and you could clearly see that Rahis was trying to find the words “….it doesn't add up right?” 

She started to look puzzled at Silina. Sazra also had that idea nagging in the back of her head. “Yea, we have noticed that ”Sazra pointed it out to Rahis. “But it is why our fleet has deployed to assist Deneb and the people there. We are still unclear why Starfleet is not bringing full support to our troops at the frontline" 

“Because the theory exists that reinforcement will never come,” Dezod said with a grin.

Narrowing his eyes as Adrián looked at Dezod getting annoyed with him “What do you mean?” 

“My brother means that the sudden arrival of the Lost Fleet should have been chaos. Stars not aligned, no battles to be seen on long-range scanners, and no contact with their fellow warriors” Rahis explained. “Think about it. The Lost Fleet did the opposite of what was expected of any fleet that went missing for so many years. It got organized, didn't stand down and without hesitation resumed its campaign” 

“Get to the point…” Silina repeated what Sazra and Adrián were saying as she didn't like the direction of what they were talking about. 

Giving a nod, Dezod continued “Our gods believed the theory is possible that there are separatist gods who have made contact and exploited the given situation that our lost brothers and sisters were in. If this might be the case, our gods do not approve of these actions,” 

“But understand our position in this situation also. We understand that the Federation is acting against the Lost Fleet in their best interest of defending themselves” Rahis pointed quickly out. “But if this theory is potentially true, we shall not act against our people to help you. We want to bring them home” 

The three were quiet for a few seconds realizing what they were saying as both Silina and Adrián slowly turned to Sazra who was flabbergasted by the announcement. She noticed them looking at her making her snap out of it. “Hmm…so what you are saying…and correct me if I am wrong. Your people think that there are rogue changelings in Alpha Quadrant responsible for the operational direction of the Lost Fleet?” 

“Ah changelings is what you people refer to our gods. How interesting” Rahis reacted curiously. “But yes, that is what our gods believe is a potential theory that is very applicable to the current situation” She confirmed once more.

“That is quite the news, even if its a theory” Sazra explained trying to get her head around it what was just told to her. “I…am grateful for sharing this ….vital information with us” Sazra tried to be diplomatic in her given situation. Still, she now understood the words Admiral Beckett said in his message. She needed to report this “If you excuse me I have to make a call to our people and…” But the ship shook violently as everyone tried to keep a hold on something. Sazra pressed her combadge “Brdige report” 

“Captain we have an explosion in the lower decks” T'Path's voice came over the line.

“Damage report, any injuries?” Sazra reported.

“The injured people are now coming in. It seems the explosion took down our communication system.” 

Narrowing her eyes, Sazra couldn't believe what she was hearing. She just got vital information that her fleet needed to know “How bad is it?” She continued looking at Adrián who was ready to move. “Give me something Lieutenant” 

“Drata here, the damage is quite extensive. We might need to divert our ship to the nearest starbase to fix this” 

Closing her eyes and leaning backward “Damn it…every second a life is wasted in this pointless war” Sazra muttered.

“Oh my another dilemma has arrived at our trip, sister” Dezod spoke a bit too eagerly. 

Adrián wanted to suspect them so badly but knew that they had been under surveillance for the last 24 hours in terms of protecting them, but secretly keeping an eye on them. They had a solid alibi. “Captain let me go, I will fix that system….” 

Sazra opened her eyes looking at Adrián and seeing her friend's determination. “Alright…if you cannot do it on time I have to pull out. You got less than 23 hours to fix it" She saw Adrián nodding and moving out of the Ready Room. “It would be for your safety to return to your quarters. I appreciate sharing the information” Sazra spoke to Rahis and Dezod.

“It is a delight to be at the service of you Captain. We shall return as requested” Rahis spoke and turned to exit the room.

“We shall contact you when we arrive at the given destination. You are required on the bridge then" Sazra saw a nod from Dezod who followed his sister out of the room. She tapped her combadge again. “I am on my way to the bridge” Looking at Silina “Go to medical and help where you can” With that, the two remaining officers left the room with the incredible and sensitive news, that would be kept on the Mariner longer until the communication systems were coming back. 

Starbase 86 – Task Force Command

The regional situation was getting worse by the minute. Task Force 86 was stretch thin with the so-called “skirmishes” of the Breen. The Federation had the guts to deny what was clear as water that the Dominion was knocking at their doorstep once again. The timing of Ryoko leaving was not well met, but her duties obligated her to go to the frontline at Deneb and support the Fourth Fleet in whatever capacity. That would, however, mean that someone else would be tied to the duties of TFCO. Taking a deep breath, Ryoko was standing at the window letting in the quietness before she was interrupted by a person entering the office.

“Captain, Captain Barrington has arrived per the addressed schedule”

A second or two it stayed quiet until she lowered her head slightly looking at another ship jumping into warp “Let him in, but leave the office Petty Officer” Ryoko didn’t turn around to Loid.

“Yes Captain”  With that said, Loud turned around and left the office per the request of his former boss.

Theo Barrington looked up as the petty officer returned to the outer office. It had been a long day, but then transits always were, and worse for taskforce staff in a way, since they were subject to hitching rides on ships going their way. But he didn’t let any of that show on his face as the petty officer announced, “If you would like to follow me, sir.”

Theo inclined his head and unfolded his tall frame from the chair, following as he was led to an office.

“Thank you,” he murmured and stepped through the door to find himself in the presence of Captain Takato.

“Good morning, Theo Barrington,” he said, crossing the distance between them and offering his hand.

The door closed at the petty officer leaving making it possible for Ryoko to finally move and yet only turned her head around to look over her shoulder. “I know who you are Captain Barrington, welcome to Starbase 86” She turned around finally and for a moment she looked at his hand then reached out to shake it “Please take a seat”

“Thank you,” he offered a smile as he folded himself back into the chair. They were always that little bit too low for him, and he felt like his knees were up around his ears, but this was not the time or the place to lounge and get comfortable. “And thank you for the welcome. It’s certainly a change of scenery from the stomping grounds of 47.”

Taking a seat herself her facial expression didn’t change, it stayed professional and calm “Congratulations are in order, this seat will be yours as of”  Ryoko blinks a bit and sits back in the chair “Well after this meeting. I am glad you could make time for me to hand over the current affairs of Task Force 86” She gave a soft smile “It has been a brief moment that I could enjoy it, but Starfleet engine keeps moving”

He nodded. “It certainly does, come hell or high water. Hopefully you’re happy about your new assignment though?”

That made her go quiet for a second and stare at the glass on the table as if she is carefully considering her words. Ryoko eyes finally meet that of Theo “Well, you heard Admiral Ramar about the Deneb situation, my expertise is required at the frontline. What is your opinion about it? I believe you are briefed about it?”

“We’re all being moved to where we can best serve,” he replied. “And yes, I’ve been briefed. Well… with all the information we have at present anyway. Which isn’t a lot. I think we’re in for the fight of our lives, to be honest, and we’re going to need every advantage we’ve got.” He added a smile. “But we have a lot of them, so I have hope.”

Taking a deep breath “I have worked with various Fourth Fleet staff members, Admiral Marshall-Bennet, Commodore Jori, Captain Kohl and so on. I personally find it troubling to know that Starfleet Command is ignoring Admiral Ramar on a serious matter like this and shoves it off as just skirmishes. In this line of work you require to be skeptical of your surroundings and need to be able to make choices on a moment of notice. But to ignore the principles that were learned the hard way over time is in my eyes outright reckless”  

He nodded, leaning back slightly in his chair. “It is exceedingly odd. Which makes me think we are not seeing the whole picture, or not being allowed to see the whole picture. Which I don’t like. Lack of pertinent intell causes issues, and issues get our people dead, fast. A warning to watch their backs might serve our captains well.”

She nodded to that “That is something we both agree on, there is a ….ruse going on within Starfleet Command and I tend to agree with our Fourth Fleet command. But such agreement has led me to a difficult path staying in the position I am in right now. Which brings you here, thread carefully where you step as Starfleet Command might cause issues if you go against their policy”  She tapped the table. “The task force is in good spirit” She looked outside seeing another ship jump to warp “But I am not going to lie, our condition is stretch thin. After the entire blood dilithium operations in delta quadrant, we had pirates wrecking havoc among the borders. And now we have Dominion working most likely with their old allies”  

He inclined his head in acknowledgment of her warning. It was a new world so to speak that they were stepping into and he had long ago learned to watch his step.

“In good spirit works,” he replied. “I’m assuming you have the last round of co reports in the handover packet?” He’d need to review them quickly, working in their contents with what he knew of the situation and then work out a rapid deployment program for the current situation. “Are there any captains I need to watch for particularly?”

The list had come to mind for her. “They are all talent in their own way, but the problem at the moment is that there is a lot of fresh blood that need guidance” She shoves the PADD to his side. “You will find it all in there. So far I know the USS Pandora, USS Valhalla, USS Brontes, USS Alita, USS Mariner and USS…” tapping her finger again to remember the name. “Ahh Resolute are on their way for operational details in Deneb or involved in the lost fleet campaign”  Ryoko smiled softly “Mason is a hand full, fair warning in advance”

“Is he now?” Theo flashed her a blinding smile. “Thanks for the warning. That ship name rings a bell though.” He opened the padd and scanned down the list. “Ah yes. My cousin is assigned to the Resolute.”

Nodding to Theo “They are all good officers, but their field of work doesn’t bring them kind experience. They are marked for life in one way or another”  Ryoko stated with some concern in her voice. She bites her lip for a second and spoke out “Computer seal off the room, let me know if someone is trying to take a crack at it”  The computer bleeped.

Ryoko looked at Theo “Captain, I am going to be blunt, I the situation that Starfleet Command has created in name of Frontier Day, the bigger picture that is not being showed to us by them as you said. Is very troubling, the latest reports at the front are dire and concerning” She rubs her template “I honestly don’t know what to expect there, but I will be leading search and rescue operations there. The ships I just named have specific orders that concern this so-called lost fleet”

He nodded, glad she’d sealed the room. The situation was unusual, so the less loose talk the better. And, as had already come down from on high, the only people they could trust were other members of Fourth Fleet.

“Indeed. I have those orders here as well. I guess command aren’t taking chances, eh?” That they both had a set of said orders was curious. Didn’t command trust them either? Or not all of them?

“Since that announcement of Admiral Ramar and Admiral Beckett I started to ….concern myself of my own staff. Observe their behavior and look at their duties. Normally you trust your fellow officers to do a proper job and get you the person you need”  Ryoko stayed vague and though carefully what words she would use “Just stay vigilant on what occurs here. There are members within the fleet that are taken risk to get this situation in control. I don’t know the details, Admiral Beckett never …shared them with me which is understandable in some degree, and honestly I don’t know if we can trust each other. But I follow the words of command and trust Fourth Fleet senior staff. So just know that what I know is all I got….Captain Kobahl is being sent to the Bajoran gate to travel to the Gamma Quadrant” She knew it was critical as that order was the one with the least words.

“Trust is a hard-earned commodity sometimes, but I don’t think we need to go jumping at shadows,” he said with a smile. “Which is exactly what I’d say if I wanted to gain your trust, isn’t it?” he added with a small chuckle. “But so far, what I see here matches with what I have, so I think we need to trust Fourth Fleet command. Until of course, intel changes, if it changes.”

He looked up from the padd, spearing her with a direct gaze. “I assume that you will be shipping out immediately? Given the speed I was ordered to report here for duty?”

“Sadly yes, the given situation at Deneb is more concerning then anticipated. I don’t…” She shrugs a bit “ know what to expect and I am trained to expect the unexpected. No one expected the Dominion fleet that was wush away by whatever force to be returning and on top of it all being ignored by the very power that is placed to protect us”  Ryoko shrugs and stood up. “You got any other questions?” She gave a small smile, but the concern in her eyes didn’t disappear.

“About a hundred,” he stood as she did, trying not to tower over her. “At least one of those was to ask you if you had dinner plans,” he added with a charming smile. “But other than that, no. You’ve covered everything I need to know. Thank you.”

Giving a smile at that “Computer remove restrictions” The room gets a bit brighter followed-up with a bleep as she moved from her former desk “I take you up on that dinner…”  looking outside “After our duties have concluded Captain. You seem like a charming and intelligent man” She winks at him as at the same moment the door opens, and the petty officer walks in “Yes?”

“Sir the USS Wakaba is ready for launch to bring you to your next assignment” The petty officer spoke.

It made Ryoko almost flinch and looked instead to Theo with the same concerning eyes muttering to him “Trust only the 4th” Her facial expression changed. “It was a pleasure meeting you, I know that task force 86 will be in good hands.”

“Likewise,” he said, offering her his hand again by way of farewell, not looking or concerning himself with the petty officer. But he’d noted Ryoko’s reaction. “And thank you. I wish you well with your next assignment. And… when we’re both in the same place again, I will hold you to that dinner.”

Gave that hand and shook it with that smile on her face then lets go walking to the door. “Lead the way Petty Officer. It’s your last duty to me” Ryoko stated as the petty officer nodded quickly and exited the room. Ryoko gave one more glare at Theo and then exited herself.

Theo watched the door for a moment, pondering the meeting and its revelations. Then he turned and picked up the padd again. It was time to get to work. 

– USS Mariner –

The situation was dire for the Mariner crew. They had to deliver the Vorta twins at any cost to end this mission successfully. But with the communication down, reaching out to the Dominion would be difficult. The choice to wait was not available. Starfleet had lost enough people already in this forsaken history lesson of war, and Sazra was not going to let more people die because of another setback.

The Mariner had already passed Galadkail system. “We arrre closing in on Ciatarrr Nebula!” K’Nala stated while keeping her console in check while flying the Pathfinder to their destination.

“Status on the communication system?!” Sazra looked at Drata.

“It is still down, but Commander Valerio is doing his best to repair it as soon as possible,” Drata reported it from the Operation console. “I am trying to redirect energy to dedicated systems to help reboot the system and bypass the current relays, but no success so far”

Nodding to him, “Keep it up, Lieutenant, Miki get the ship to yellow alert” Sazra was now barking the orders around as her eyes focused on the main screen. The lights changed to yellow, and the general alert went off throughout the ship. They were entering yellow alert, and everyone rushed to their stations.

The two Vorta’s, stood near the Captain while the Jem’Hadar soldiers stood more in the back. “I do believe that would be considered provoking the honorable Jem’Hadar Captain, I would advise you not to raise your shields right now” Dezod pointed out.

“If I do not raise my shields right now, we will be shot out of the space the second we arrive.” Sazra painfully stated the obvious.

“While that might be true, you do not expect us to believe they would fire upon a ship that holds the representatives of their gods?” Rahis smirks a bit with her glorifying her status a bit more.

Silina shook her head. “How would they even know you are on board if our communication systems are down?” It was a certain dilemma that the command team had to face and Silina saw the realization of the Vorta sink in.

“So what is your plan, Captain? Barge into their space? That would be suicide” Dezod shook his head “And your mission would be a failure if we would die” Noting how important they were and not giving care to the rest of the crew made some on the bridge shrug.

“This ship is great on holding out, maneuvering quickly. We need to give time to Valerio to fix the communication system and get closer to their battleships so that the broadcast can deliver the message that you guys are here” Sazra shrugged a bit. “But it would mean that other Starfleet ships might come to aid of us, confused of what we are doing. We are not fleeing but going deeper. They will fire upon your citizens”

Rahis narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms looking at the screen. “Then let us hope your engineer is as good as you tell him to be” She knew that the loss of these honorable soldiers would be bad, but a few more losses would not matter in the outcome. “Get it done Captain”

“Jumping out of warrrp in 4…3…2..1” K’Nala announced as the Mariner jumped out of warp arriving at the Ciatar Nebula. At the edge of the Nebula, a squad of Dominion ships started to respond to the Mariner's drop-in. Jem’Hadar fighters started to push for intercept course as two Battlecruisers got into position. The large battleship stayed in position, but every ship powered up for combat.

Drata looked up from his console. “They have definitely noticed us” He saw the ships approaching. “I got two squads of fighters that will hit our location in less than 30 seconds, followed by the two cruisers”

Taking a deep breath “K’Nala, I am counting on your skills….Miki keeps the shields up at any cost and keep weapons on standby” Quickly tapping on her combadge “Kobahl to Valerio, I know you are busy…but we depend on you to get the communication system back. We will hold out as long as needed Kobahl out” Sazra looked at Rahis. “Let's get this over with” She looked at the screen and motioned her hand forward. “Make her move Lieutenant, intercept course that battleship” The Mariner engines started to glow brighter as they pushed themselves forward toward the incoming forces.

The battle would be noticed on the sensors in surrounding areas that Starfleet sensor buoys would see.

– USS Valhalla –

Captain's log: supplemental.  The Valhalla Squadron has been ordered to reinforce Galadkail, located near the Ciatar Nebula. It has been a rough few weeks for this squadron. For many, Arkan II has been their first taste of combat. Captain Murphy and I have been leaning on our experienced senior chiefs, like Chief Charles Gibson. Only time will tell if our crews will bend or break under the pressure.  After seeing the worst of the Dominion War and Surviving Tyra, Betazed, Vulcan, and the Battles of Frakus Prime and Chin'toka I know not all will be able to handle the strain. However, I know the majority will adapt and overcome.   The problem is, they will be changed from it. I hate that for them. Once innocence is lost it can't be gotten back.

It was a coffee day. Captain Aoife McKenzie generally kept to one cup a day, and relied on teas to get through the rest of it. But, today was different. She long ago lost count as she sipped the hot bitter liquid that was as dark as her mood at the moment.

"Captain," Lieutenant Commander Abbygale Willis announced from the operations station. "A sensor buoys is picking up weapons fire near the Ciatar Nebula."

"Do we have operations going on in that area?" Aoife asked, setting down her coffee. The pit in her stomach that had been present all day suddenly gone.

"Nothing I am aware of," the operations officer responded. "Sensors are receiving a transponder signal from a USS Mariner: NCC-97607, Pathfinder-class."

"As I recall there's a sizable Dominion fleet in that area." Aoife stood and moved behind Abby.  Valhalla's executive officer,  Commander Nicholas Halstead moved to stand next to her as they read the display over Abby's shoulder.

"I don't get it. What's going on? One ship? Are they suicidal?"

"That ship matches a Federation Ship that had just returned from the Gamma Quadrant," Lieutenant Eduardo Villaseñor announced from tactical.

"What the hell is going on here?" Aoife asked, looking from face to face seeking answers and getting none. "Open channel."

The open hail sound chimed from the tactical console,  "Channel open."

"This is Captain Aoife McKenzie of the Federation starship Valhalla to the USS Mariner, do you read?"

"No response Captain," Eddie confirmed.  "We're transmitting,  but I can’t tell if they are receiving.  The Dominion could be blocking communications."

"Thank you Lieutenant," Aoife said, staring down at the operations display trying to make sense of the nonsensical sensor data.

"Captain,  the Mariner won't last long alone," Halstead urged.

With decision she turned and marched back to her seat, "Mr. Talon, lay in an intercept course maximum warp."

"Aye captain," Anthony responded from the helm. "Intercept course, aye. 010 mark 25 warp 9.985."

"Abby, inform Captain Murphy."

"Aye captain." There was a pause, "Andromeda acknowledges the orders and is ready."

Aoife pressed the all call button on the armrest of her seat, "All hands, this is the captain,  battle stations.  Red alert." Immediately the bridge dimmed and bathed the officers in crimson. “Engage.”

– USS Serenity –

The USS Serenity blazed through subspace, her engines at maximum, her sensors pushed to their absolute limit. Fast and light like the horsemen of Idanthyrsus, as Fleet Admiral Reyes had described it. That was how they’d been operating ever since departing Nasera, on the prowl hunting for any weaknesses they could find in the enemy’s line. The Duderstadt class was not a warship by any means. Fleet Admiral Reyes had marooned her warships over Nasera. But like the Scythians against the Achaemenids, they were using the Serenity’s speed and surveillance capabilities to disrupt the Dominion war machine any way they could.

Five days prior, the Serenity’s crew had stumbled upon a way to compromise the Dominion’s subspace communications network. They’d discovered that the Lost Fleet was relying on a hastily constructed hub-and-spoke multi-star topology where, if they compromised a half dozen key supernodes, they could gain access to a majority of the Lost Fleet’s subspace comms traffic. The opportunity to change the face of the battlefield so significantly had subsumed any other objective they had. So far, they had compromised two nodes, and now they were racing towards the third node, which lay just beyond the Ciatar Nebula.

“Admiral, we’ve got something on scanners,” Lieutenant Commander Ekkomas Eidran reported from the tactical station. His tone sounded more than a little confused at the information on his display.

“You’re going to have to give me a little more than something,” Fleet Admiral Reyes laughed. “What’ve you got?”

“Ummm, I’m not exactly sure,” Eidran replied. “It looks to be a single Pathfinder class vessel, ident USS Mariner, heading straight for a Jem’Hadar battle group in the Ciatar Nebula, bearing zero two nine mark five, twenty five hundred AU. I read two wings of fighters, two battlecruisers, and… a battleship.” That last word got everyone’s attention. A Jem’Hadar battleship is what you would get if you took every diplomatic, scientific, and humanitarian feature out of an Odyssey and replaced them all with more munitions. It was the biggest, baddest warship in the galaxy, save for a Borg cube.

“Maybe what they say about Captain Kobahl is correct,” chuckled Admiral Reyes as she tried to reconcile what Eidran was reporting. She’d read the notice from Deep Space 9 about the Mariner earlier in the day. “Maybe she has gone crazy.”

“Or she’s the only sane one,” Commander Lewis mused. “Think about it. Lone science vessel skips town, goes careening into the Gamma Quadrant, and now she’s here flying straight at a Dominion flagship. What if Beckett cooked up a plan to get this generation’s Dominion to stop last generation’s Lost Fleet?” It made sense to him because it was exactly the sort of thing he’d try. The Dominion of today had a vested interest in avoiding war and, if you were to initiate contact with them for the first time in decades, you wouldn’t want to send a squadron of warships. That would send the wrong message. Instead, you’d send a lone science vessel.

“That’s a reach, even for you,” Admiral Reyes cautioned. “But only one way to find out.” She loved a good mystery as much as the next person, and if there was a Starfleet crew at risk, that took precedent even over their pressing mission. “Conn, adjust heading bearing zero three zero mark five, and engineering, if you’ve got any more juice in the nacelles, now is the time.”

Sitting at the conn, Ensign Elyssia Rel’s fingers worked the controls, adjusting heading. Down below deck, the Chief Engineer who’d spent the last ten days just trying to keep the core from overheating now yet again rushed to find some way to get more power out of the already maxed warp engines. No one had any hesitation over their orders though. They were not going to leave a crew of fellow officers to their demise.

“Communications, any word from the Mariner?”

“Negative. She’s not replying to hails. But we’ve got another ship on the frequency, ident USS Valhalla, Captain Aoife McKenzie.”

“Raise her?” The communications officer nodded once the link was open. “USS Valhalla, this is Fleet Admiral Reyes, USS Serenity, responding to what appears to be a developing situation in the Ciatar Nebula. Do you read?”

The face of a red-haired woman appeared on the screen. "Admiral," she greeted simply.

“Captain, you have any idea what’s going on here?” Reyes asked, cutting straight to the chase as time was off the essence. The Jem’Hadar fighters would be upon the Mariner in under a minute.

"I wish I knew Admiral," Aoife responded.  "They aren't responding to our hails.  We're heading there now to back them up and hopefully pull them out of the pickle they are in."

“We’re en route, one five zero seconds out,” Reyes reported, although she had no idea what the play was. A Duderstadt and a Prometheus going in to help a Pathfinder against two squadrons of fighters, two battlecruisers and a battleship. “The numerical odds are not in our favor though. You all got any thoughts on a plan? Best I’ve got is fast and light, keep them distracted, while we hope Captain Kobahl comes to her senses.” Or pulls off whatever miracle she’s planning, thought Reyes. She wanted to believe Kobahl hadn’t just gone straight insane.

Aoife considered things for a moment.  "The Andromeda took heavy damage from a Changeling infiltrator. I suggest Captain Murphy backs up the Mariner while we go after and distract the bigger targets. Valhalla makes for three targets alone and she was built to fight the Dominion."

The Valhalla was built to fight the Dominion, and the Admiral came up fighting them. That would have to be enough. "Agreed, let's make it so," Reyes replied before they cut the link, hurling towards the melee that lay before them. 

– USS Mariner –

The ship shook a bit as it pushed through the fire barrage. “Shields dropping to 57%!” Drata yelled as the ship took another hit. “Make that 55%” The Bolian did his best to keep everything in check, but this was too much for him as the acting Chief Operation Officer. “Commander Valerio is only ¼ through the system. He states that the shaking is not helping!”

Sazra rolled her eyes. “Yea like I can help it…” She mutters “Miki I am going to pitch your advice and I bet you know what I want to hear….but is it possible to redirect power from the weapons to the shields to give us more time?” Another one almost hit them “K’Nala girl I am depending on your skills…”

The Caitian was doing her best to focus on this, but she did hear her captain and simply nodded to that giving another swing to avoid another shot. But a few people got dropped to the ground. Thought the Dominion team stayed their ground and were quite enjoying it.

“I would highly advise you not to do that Captain, but seeing that is not what you want to hear…I can advise redirecting fire to certain weapons to shields, just not all” Miki replied in a slightly demanding tone.

Nodding to that “Make it so…” Sazra was interrupted

“Captain…I got USS Valhala, USS Andromeda, and USS Serenity en route to our location” Asipa stated as she noticed the ping. “But I am still unable to contact them about the situation. Do you think they will help?” Looking at her Captain as another hit got the shields.

“That is 47%” Drata announced.

Narrowing her eyes “I can only hope they are not here to believe the words of Deep Space 9, Because that would mark me suicidal in the given situation” Sazra pointed out. “But the distraction is a welcoming sight if I am honest. It will break away the pressure on us…K’Nala focus on that battleship!”

“Well Captain, if you look at the given situation it is a suicidal situation to go up against the glorious powers of what these warriors are showing,” Rahis said with a smile on her face. “But I applaud you for your bravery in doing what you deem required”

“Indeed, I have not seen such courage in a long time” Dezod had his arms crossed over each other looking at the screen.

“Glad you are enjoying the entertainment,” Sazra said not trying to be distracted. “Well we are riding like thunder through this madness, and we shall hit the lightning at our destination as if we are the storm” Sazra felt a bit poem vibe for what was happening. The Mariner didn’t back down as it pushed further into the combat zone. A trail of explosions would be seen from a distance on the path the Pathfinder class took. Readings would expose that Mariner on this condition would not hold out for much longer or even reach its goal of the large battleship.

– USS Andromeda – 

Captain Órlaith Murphy stared down at the display before her as the battlefield opened up before her.  A single Starfleet icon surrounded by multiple Dominion icons.

“It appears for some reason the Mariner is trying to reach the battleship,” Órlaith observed.

“Yeah, and getting a beating for their efforts,” Lieutenant Commander Erin Hayden added. “Their shields are at forty-seven  percent.”

Órlaith frowned.  “We’ll swing in wide.   Keep us hot and fast.  Let us skim right over the Mariner’s bridge.  Hit the Dominion with whatever we got.  What can we use to signal them?”

“What if we illuminate the registry beacon? I think I can rig it to flash in Morse code,” Amanda Wheeler suggested from operations.

“Do it.”

“Aye captain.”

“Erin,  send our plan to Admiral Reyes and Captain McKenzie.”

Erin entered to plan into the system and transmitted the information to Serenity and Valhalla.  A bleep came back almost immediately from their squadron commander with just two words, “God speed.”

“Helm adjust course 214 mark 5.”

“Aye captain. Course laid in,” Ensign Vass responded.

The Andromeda thundered over the top of the Mariner and unleashed a full volley of phaser fire as quantum torpedoes launched forward and aft striking two separate Jem’Hadar fighters.  The Mariner had already badly damaged one and the Andromeda’s weapons finished it off leaving nothing more than a cloud of debris.

The second fighter veered away having lost the immediate numerical advantage.  As it did Andromeda fired one last phaser burst as it swung on to regroup with its fellows.  As it did so Andromeda fell in alongside the Mariner, its registry beacon flashing intermittently illuminating the name and registry number along the forward part of the saucer.

– USS Serenity –

The bridge on the USS Serenity was abuzz with crosstalk as everyone prepared for the hell that waited for them just seconds away. Yet again, they were engaging the Dominion, but the situation here was different. They weren’t playing a game of hide and seek, nor executing a hit and run. This time, they were charging straight at a far superior force, and the USS Mariner was a complete wildcard.

“Andromeda is right on top of the Mariner, splitting the focus of the fighters,” reported Lieutenant Commander Eidran.

“Fifteen seconds out,” Ensign Rel reported from the conn.

“Red alert,” declared Admiral Reyes. The bridge illuminated with the bright red hue that signaled it was time to fight. “Shields to full, all weapons hot.” She looked over at her old friend, Commander Lewis, who sat to her right.

“I thought you told Jori we were going to bring the ship back intact?” he said.

“Yeah, well maybe I lied,” laughed the Admiral.

And then the ship tore out of warp right on top of one of the Jem’Hadar battlecruisers, and the battle was on.

– USS Mariner –

On the view screen the Andromeda going over the bridge was seen as most officer’s eyes were distracted by it. “FOCUS PEOPLE, they are giving us leeway to get the job done” Silina tried to get them to focus on. She looked at her side “Serenity just out and opened fire upon the cruisers? They are not made for that kind of combat?”

“I think this is one of those moments that we are not going to judge a book by its front” Sazra pointed out. “We have no right to complain seeing we are not even meant to be here” Looking at Miki “What is the status of the Dominion…” Seeing Rahis raise a brow “The lost fleet I mean”

Looking from his console “Andromeda is firing upon the fighters, Serenity is taking the cruisers…” Miki reported that another hit got them “I have boosted our shields from almost all weapons” He was not happy about it, but if he didn’t do that, the cruisers would direct hit would destroy them.

“Confirm…Shields back to 59%, but not holding!” Drata stated as he saw a message coming in “Commander Valerio is halfway with the communication system” It was somewhat good news in the given situation. Another hit got the bridge crew shaken around “Shields down to 51%, getting reports from various decks of minor problems”

The Ferengi narrowed her eyes as she tried to focus and hold the ear device attached to her ear. She located the source, and Asipa looked at her Captain. “Captain, there is a beacon sending out some kind of code?” She tried to listen again and swiped her program aside writing on the console “R…E…A…D….” She spelled it out and looked up. “They are trying to communicate with us through morse code I believe”

Sazra narrowed her eyes and nods slowly to that news while turning her attention to Silina “Work with Asipa to get a message through them the same way….important mission, need to reach battleship go” She orders “K’Nala ETA?”

While the First Officer walked to Asipa to work on the morse code, K’Nala gritted her teeth “72 seconds if they clearrrr a path” She felt the frustration building up as she was moving through a wave of torpedoes and phasers. But the Mariner kept her course to the battleship and not changing course.

“Captain we only could sent partly the morse code! The beacon is destroyed” Silina reported while standing at the side of Asipa console and looking at Sazra.

– USS Serenity –

Ensign Elyssia Rel flew the Duderstadt class vessel at the limits of what its spaceframe could sustain, treating it more like a Valkyrie class starfighter than a half kilometer long cruiser. The inertial dampeners struggled to compensate for the intense g-forces she was exerting on the ship with each command, but pushing its structural integrity to the limits was the only way to keep the ship from being blown to bits.

“Vampire, vampire, vampire, two six three,” reported Lieutenant Commander Eidran from the tactical. Rel pitched the nose hard, a trio of torpedoes arced towards them. Two narrowly missed, skirting between the secondary hull and the nacelles, but one found its mark. The ship shook hard.

“DC central, dispatch teams to port side amidship!” shouted Commander Lewis.

“Forcefields in place and holding,” replied Lieutenant J.G. Morgan from ops. “Damage control teams en route.”

“Helm, bring us about bearing one four zero mark two one zero,” Admiral Reyes ordered. “Get me a firing solution on that fighter!”

“One four zero mark two one zero, aye,” replied Ensign Rel as she continued to dive the ship, flipping it completely on its axis, now heading straight for the fighter that had just taken pursuit behind them after the low pass it had made over the battlecruiser.

“All power forward shields,” Admiral Reyes ordered as a series of polaron blasts careened towards the Serenity. She didn’t flinch as they hit. She was completely focused on the target ahead. Take it out, and it wouldn’t be a problem anymore. “TAO, give me torpedoes, all forward batteries, kill track zero two zero.”

“Kill track zero two zero.”

“Fire, fire, fire!”

The Duderstadt class cruiser unleashed a full volley of torpedoes from all four of its forward launchers as it beared down on the enemy fighter. It was probably overkill, but there was no point in preserving munitions. Either they won this battle, or they’d all be dead anyway.

The Jem’Hadar fighter exploded in a bright light, but there was no time to celebrate. The ship shook again as two more Jem’Hadar fighters slotted in behind them. The Jem’Hadar fighters were like gnats, swarming them and their sister ships from every angle.

“We’re not going to be able to take much more of this Allison,” cautioned Commander Lewis from her side. “You know I’m all for going out in a blaze of glory, but what’s the play here?”

Admiral Reyes had no idea. The Mariner just continued to lumber towards the battleship, while the Valhalla, the Serenity and the Andromeda continued to take a beating.

– USS Valhalla –

The Valhalla shook as it was pounded by weapons fire. “Commander Halstead, would you kindly take command of Section Bravo and Ms. Willis take command of Section Charlie.” Aoife ordered.

The two officers nodded as they stepped away from their positions as they headed for the turbolift they were summoning the officers to fill their bridge positions.   Valhalla’s computer was more than capable of directing the two sections in concert with the main bridge, but Aoife liked to have actual officers in command of those sections in case communications were disrupted… or in the worst case scenario, the saucer section is disabled or destroyed.

After a few moments, the replacement operations officer, an Ensign, spoke, “Commanders Halstead and Willis report they are in position.”

“Initiate multi-vector assault mode,” Aoife ordered.

After a computerized warning and countdown, the USS Valhalla separated into three sections. An unlucky fighter flew into the firing arc of all three sections and was immediately destroyed.

Aoife gripped the armrests as another volley of weapons fire slammed into the ship from a cruiser.

“Shields are at eighty-three percent and holding,” the ensign reported.

“Mr Talon,  move us into ³,position to back up Serenity.   Eddie full spread of quantum torpedoes at…” she read the sensor data.  Admiral Reyes’ ship had weakened a section of shielding.  She grabbed the coordinates and sent them to tactical. “Concentrate your weapons on those coordinates Eddie.”

“Weapons locked.”

“Fire!”

With the Starfleet vessels giving some weight in the battle and the Mariner pushing forward to the battleship. Something unexpected started to happen. The battleship engines started to spin online, and it slowly started to move in the direction of the combat that was occurring. The battleship would soon enter the fray, and it’s Jem’Hadar First was intent on ending this puny suicidal act once and for all .

– USS Andromeda –

”They were responding,  but I only got a partial message before their beacon was destroyed,” Wheeler announced.

The ship shook and a console located at the back of the bridge exploded. “Shields at forty-five percent.  Hull fractures on deck nine and ten,” Tactical reported.

“Choi’s not going to be happy. He just got the hull repaired,” Erin quipped.

“What did you get from the Mariner, Lieutenant?” Órlaith said ignored both her XO and tactical officer. “Important mission stop Require deliverance. The message ends there.”

“Doesn’t tell us much,” Órlaith observed. “Forward that to the others.”

“Aye captain,” Wheeler replied.

– USS Serenity –

“Admiral, we’ve got an incoming message from the Mariner, forwarded by Andromeda,” reported Lieutenant Morgan at operations. “Not sure what to make of it though. Just four words: Important Mission. Required Deliverance.”

“Captain Kobahl talks like a spook,” chuckled Commander Lewis. “I can appreciate that.”

“I think it’s clear enough,” Admiral Reyes replied. “Let’s give the Captain what she needs.” She looked ahead at the Jem’Hadar battleship that was now powering up and moving towards them, the Mariner charging straight at it with the Jem’Hadar peppering it with fire from every angle. Their hit and run tactics weren’t going to work any longer. “Reyes to all vessels. Form up around the Mariner and take the hits for her.”

She just hoped her faith in her fellow Starfleet officer was well founded, because if not, this was a one way ticket to the afterlife. 

– USS Mariner –

Miki blinks “Serenity, Valhalla, and Andromeda are forming around us to protect us!” He was happy for the backup as their shields were dropping hard. “I got nothing to reroute to our shields!”

“Shields at 13%, I am getting hull breaches across almost every deck!” Drata held onto the console as another impact came.

“And we have a bigger problem…” Silina spoke up and pointed at the screen. “The battleship is incoming, weapons hot.” The information was pouring in on her console. “We will not hold if they hit us!”

Sazra looked over her shoulder to Drata waiting for something to happen and shrugged, looking back at the screen. She now had dragged three other ships in her madness attempt. “Come on…come on” She was almost praying to any god out there.

The battleship gets into position and in attack range as its weapons powered up and fired its barrage toward the tactical-formed ships. A few missed, but one hit the Serenity as another hit the Mariner right warp cell breaking it out of control in navigation. The Mariner was now open for clear shot.

The bridge had shaken quite heavily as some officers flew to the ground, and some consoles blew up. Even Sazra was thrown out of her chair and now lying on the ground. She looked up from her view and saw K’Nala with second-degree burns on her on the floor gasping for air. The helm console had blown up right in her face. She felt her last remaining hope drip away until…

“Valerio here, COMMUNICATIONS IS UP, I REPEAT ITS UP!”

Sazra pupils went wide as she looked at Asipa who was clinging on her console “OPEN CHANNEL NOW!”

With a swipe of the console a beep went on as Asipa nodded to her Captain.

“THIS IS CAPTAIN KOBAHL OF THE USS MARINER. WE ARE TRANSPORTING DOMINION REPRESENTATIVES FROM GAMMA QUADRANT, SCAN THE SHIP. HOLD YOUR FIRE!” Sazra looked back at the screen with the large battleship powering up its weapon as she saw in her eye corner Rahis and Dezod on the floor looking at the screen. Then…the ship powered down, cruisers pulled back, and fighters returned to the battleship.

“Incoming hail…” Asipa stated looking surprised at her console that had a blinking red light.

Crawling up from the floor, her uniform a mess “Open the channel now.” In the broken screen the purple dimmed sight of a Dominion bridge as a seasoned warrior was sitting in the middle and looked with narrowed and skeptical eyes at Sazra. Taking a deep breath “Captain…we are here to escort these people to bring a message from your gods” She waved her hand to her right side.

Rahis stood up, dusted her uniform off, and fixed her hair as she stepped forward and placed her hands behind her back. “First” Addressing the Dominion warrior “I am here in the name of our gods from Gamma Quadrant. We have a message from them to you, new orders and you can verify them”

“What trick is this? Why is there Dominion on a Starfleet ship? We are at war with these insects.” The First felt betrayed and furious, but he wanted answers.

“This is not a way to talk to your superiors First.” Dezod spoke and stepped at Rahis side. “Transport us to your ship, and we shall discuss the message that the gods have praised you. It is time to come home”  He was quite formal yet direct.

Hesitating on this command, he finally nods slightly.

“Captain,” Rahis looked at Sazra “It is time for us to say goodbye. It has been a …educational journey with you as a host. I would like to say I look forward to having another, but we both know that will never occur.” Rahis felt disappointed as she did enjoy the entertainment that Sazra had given them.

The blood drips slowly past her right eye, and she narrows her eyes a bit. “Yea, the pleasure was mine. Let’s see what the future brings. Now our fate is in your hands” Sazra shrugged and looked at Miki. “Lower shields…” the Mariner blue glow disappears.

The screen returned to space as a light purple transporting light came on the bridge. The Dominion team was gone from the Mariner bridge and Sazra felt a weight of responsibility lifted off her shoulder. She looked at the screen and saw the cruisers jump away, followed by the fighters and lastly the large battleship jumped out of the area.

– USS Valhalla, Section Charlie –

Lt. Commander Erin Hayden stared at the viewscreen.   The Mariner was above them, while Section Bravo was alongside Mariner and to her left.

“Mariner’s shields are failing,” operations announced.

“I always thought I would die doing something foolish. Move us closer to the Mariner and extend the shields.”

“Aye Commander,” Helm and operations responded.

“The Mariner has just transmitted a signal to the battleship,” tactical reported.

“What the hell?” Erin demanded.

“The Dominion is standing down.”

“Hold fire. Damage report?”

“Shields at diminished capacity with them extended,  but holding at forty percent.  Minor hull fractures on several decks.  Casualties are being reported on all decks, no fatalities.”

“Small mercies,” Erin muttered.  “Hold position and wait for further orders.”

“Mariner is lowering their remaining shields,” Operations reported.

Erin raised an eyebrow,  “Must be some transport about to take place.  She did say it was important.  Return our shields to normal.”

The operations officer complied and the section’s shields returned to normal.l

– USS Serenity –

The bridge was quiet besides the sounds of crackling EPS relays that had blown and the moans of crew members that had been injured in the fight.

The shooting had stopped as quickly as it had started, leaving Admiral Reyes, Commander Lewis, and the rest of the bridge staff staring at the strange scene before them, an empty vacuum of space where just moments ago the Jem’Hadar warships had been. 

“What the hell just happened?” Commander Lewis asked, his adrenaline still surging, his eyes still looking around as if an unseen threat was about to befall them again. He couldn’t believe it was over.

“Captain Kobahl did it,” Admiral Reyes replied. “Now what I’d like to know is what the hell it was.” She stood up and approached the main viewer. “Lieutenant Morgan, get me Captain Kobahl, and tie in Captains McKenzie and Murphy.” She waited for the link to connect.

The screen changed to the damaged bridge of Mariner it showed the crew getting attended to. Sazra looked at the screen, surprised to see Fleet Admiral Reyes aboard the Duderstadt class vessel that had just come to their aide. “Admiral”

“Captain,” Admiral Reyes greeted as she took in the scene of the Mariner’s bridge. “I hear you are persona non grata these days according to Starfleet Command, but you are persona grata to us right now. Mind explaining what the hell just happened?”

She didn’t react immediately as her posture stood stern and she had some wounds. Her uniform was ripped and a mess “That same Starfleet Command that has refused to accept that the Lost Fleet has returned and called 4th fleet call to arms a public stunt?” Admiral Reyes nodded. She had her issues with Starfleet Command’s stance at present. Sazra took a deep breath and continued: “Yea, a mission came down the pipeline in high classified levels that I was to get to Gamma Quadrant and convince the real Dominion. It was a web of lies that we had to crawl through with Starfleet watching our steps.”

Admiral Reyes looked over at Commander Lewis. The spook’s intuitions had been right. “Trust only the Fourth Fleet, right?” she offered, remembering Admiral Beckett’s words that had accompanied their mission briefing.

“Right, words that became weight by itself,” Sazra confirmed.

“So do you think this stunt will work?” the admiral asked. “Will the Lost Fleet at large heed the words you brought back today?” Whatever the Mariner had done, it had been enough to encourage this Dominion task group to break off the attack, but there were hundreds, if not thousands, of Jem’Hadar ships swarming the Deneb Sector at present time. It was hard to imagine that they would all take the message at face value.

The First Officer stood up from attending to a wounded crewmember and looked at the Admiral on the screen. “Well we just delivered a team of Dominion representatives. Vortas to be precise,” Silina confirmed.

Admiral Reyes quirked her brow at that. “How did you go about convincing the Dominion to send Vortas all the way here to bail us out?” The Dominion might have surrendered at the end of the Dominion War, but that was because their backs were up against the wall. She always suspected that one day the Founders would once more move against the Federation. This would have been the perfect opportunity for them to do so.

Letting her hand go past every pip on her collar, Sazra felt troubled with that question “I am wondering that myself till this moment. They had no interest in getting involved with us. They were willing to provide a secured message” Sazra shrugged and looked at the Admiral and Captains. “But if we did that, Dominion forces would see it as a potential forgery and our mission would have been in vain. Too many lives depended on this outcome. So I somehow convinced them to send representatives and it worked”

“Interesting,” mused Admiral Reyes. She still wondered if there was something else at play here. It all seemed too easy. The Founders played the long game. They always had. And, as much as she hoped Captain Kobahl had just brought an end to this conflict, she wasn’t ready to let her guard down just yet. They really should have just let the morphogenic virus run its course back in the seventies rather than accepting the Founder’s surrender.

The makeshift task group had just taken quite a beating. While they were all in one piece, and it seemed like they might have actually won, there was still an important item to tend to. “Captains, how are your ships and crews holding up after that dogfight?” Reyes asked.

“We’ll be fine Admiral,” Aoife responded, “Thank you.  Chief Engineer Washington reports Valhalla will be good as new in a week. Andromeda took the worst of it. She was already destined for a repair dock after a hole was blown out of her side destroying the starboard torpedo launcher and main deflector. More repairs won’t make much of a difference at this point.”

“And Captain Kobahl, how’s the Mariner doing?”

“We are leaking plasma from the right engine, hull breaches on most decks. I am getting reports from wounded and deaths” Drata spoke up as Sazra looked over from his direction back at the Admiral “There you go, we could use a drag back to safety if that is possible?” Sazra requested.

“I’ll assemble some engineering and medical teams to assist,” Aoife offered.

“I would appreciate any help, Captain.” Sazra couldn’t shake off the feeling of what was hanging above her after everything she had done, and she took a deep breath. “Let’s hope Mariner’s efforts were not for nothing. These Jem’Hadar are bred for war, so standing down won’t be easy. But I somehow have the hopes it does help us turn the tide”

Aoife nodded, “They stood down once before.  Are you sure you can trust  your… Vorta friends?”

“Do I have a choice? They could have backstabbed me when I was dealing with a mutiny on my ship.” She raised her hand to stop them before the obvious follow up question would come. “Don’t ask.” Sazra felt it was a heavy topic on her bridge. “Lets just say they have no reason to not be trusted after that journey”

Admiral Reyes shivered at the idea of mutiny. She wanted to ask, but she understood that would be a topic better discussed in private later. On the topic of the Vorta though, she still had her concerns. “There’s no assurance they don’t still backstab us,” she warned. “So let’s not throw a party quite yet. After what we’ve just been through though, let’s take a win as a win for now.” She smiled and her shoulders relaxed just a little. Maybe it was a win.

“I don’t know about you Admiral,  but I thought I had just bought the farm a few minutes ago. If that’s not a reason to celebrate,  I don’t know what is.”

“We’ve got a few too many hull breaches and fires to put out to share a drink at the moment, but when we’re all back at SB:B, I’ll buy us a round so we can toast to that,” Admiral Reyes replied, proud of what Kobahl and her crew had accomplished, and of the selfless way that McKenzie and Murphy had risen to the call and charged into battle against impossible odds to defend their sister ship. “A day’s work well done!”

“Thank you Admiral,” Aoife said with a nod. “I look forward to that drink as well. Admiral,  we can tow Mariner out of the hot zone. Hopefully we can patch her up so she can make it back to base under her own steam, if not we can take her into Bravo or 86.”

Sazra simply nodded to that as the screen returned to the space view. She wondered if she would truly be received as the hero they proclaimed her to be. She had to do acts to get the mission done. “Let us get Valerio some support” She stated finally.  

The Mariner arrived after a long tiring journey. Its first mission, its first flight out into the unknown, was met with challenges that no one should face. The crew was pushed over the limit. The command team was bound to rules that they regretted. The Mariner hull was damaged and left a trail of warp plasma from its right engine as it passed the docks. Passing other ships that had served in this battle, to this war that was not spoken about. An Akira ripped apart from side to side, a Saber barely kept together, and an Intrepid not recognizable. The cost has been paid, these officers and enlisted had given everything to protect those that needed it, but they would be scarred for life. The Mariner comes to a full stop at one of the docking clamps as the docking port clicks onto it. 

Docking Port 14

A few hours passed as the wounded were delivered to the Starbase medical personnel. Engineering teams rushed into the Mariner to assist with the needed repairs. Sazra held her hand before her eyes as the bright light of the promenade got in her eyes. Her vessel had operated on lower lighting with their travel back to Starbase 86. She slowly lowered her hand as she looked around seeing so many faces rushing around to do their work, to help and assist where possible. 

“Do you require help?”

She heard a voice from her side as Sazra looked in the direction of seeing a young medical officer. She smiled at the Ensign. “I am good, thank you” She said softly looking back into the promenade. 

“Mmm Captain, you kinda look worn out and beaten up” The Ensign looked at her in concern.

Sazra looked down at herself and noticed that her uniform was ripped, with old blood on her uniform, and cuts here and there. “Oh, right….I will manage Ensign. Please take care of my crew first” Sazra gave her a soft smile seeing the Ensign nod at her before leaving.

“What was that about?” Another voice came from Sazra's side.

Turning in the direction of the voice she recognized the voice already and smiled softly at Silina. “Just a warm welcome. I have never imagined that a Starbase would feel like a warm bath after a long journey” She looked at all the people. “So much has happened and still here we stand. I hope I get the time so my goodbyes to those we have lost” 

Looking down at Sazra staring into the crowd, Silina's eyes fell on Sazra's hands. Dirty, old blood, and bruised from the mission final they had to endure. She nodded slowly to herself and grabbed her hand looking into the crowd. “We might regret our actions, but in the end, we manage to save millions of lives. The crew knows now. They understand.” She makes her grip better. “I hope we can say goodbye to them…” 

Looking slightly down at her hand, Sazra could feel the warmth of Silina's hand, and it made her smile. She never expressed her feelings more than she did at that cursed Blood Dilithium mission. It took a passion for overstimulated emotions to make her confess her feelings. But what was going to happen next? Ahh don't think about it, enjoy the moment. 

“Why to sob moment girls” came from behind the two as they looked over their shoulders at Adrián who looked like crap. 

Silina smiled at him. “You look like crap, but you did an amazing job within those 23 hours” Silina complimented him, and she actually realized that it was the first time she complimented him. He was always the rash hyperactive man on the ship that would step on her nerves one too many times. But now she was glad to have him still with them. 

A big grin appeared on his face as Adrián nodded to that. “It was not easy, but I managed to pull it off!” His pride changed to sadness. “But, in the attempts to avoid the shots, I lost a few good engineers due to an exploding console or something else” He crossed his arms over each other thinking back at that moment. “I can therefore not take your kind compliment, because they are the heroes that saved us” 

“You have grown Adrián” Sazra said smiling at him. “But I am proud of you all” The touching moment between the command team was quickly over as a group of security officers and a JAG officer walked in their direction. Sazra looked at him.

“Captain Kobahl?” the man asked looking at Sazra.

“Yes, I am Captain Kobahl of the Mariner. How can I help you Commander…?” Sazra noticed the pips in his neck and the perfectly formed uniform with no dirt or rips in it. Ahh, this man had not seen the frontline in the last few weeks. Sazra wondered if he had seen any war in his career, but she kept it professional. She was too tired to argue about it.

“Commander Carlson, I am the JAG Officer in service of Task Force 86. I believe you have some prisoners for me?” The man smiled at her.

Sazra nodded slowly as she wanted to hit her combadge and noticed it was gone and looking for help at Silina who shook her head, and before she could hit her combadge a voice came from the docking port. 

“No need Commander, I am right here” Miki announced waving his hand to them followed by six in-cuff officers and enlisted. “Commander Carlson, we spoke briefly about the transfer of prisoners that have conducted mutiny on the Mariner” He stepped aside showing the prisoners that looked defeated.

Carlson wove his hand as two security guards walked to them and started to escort them away. One stopped and looked at the command team. The Bajoran narrowed his eyes. “It seems you have succeeded in your mission Captain. Congratulations on that. But it doesn't mean they will hold a hand above your head forever” Rami said with bitterness. “Your orders will get people killed” 

Before Sazra could reply to him, Silina stepped in front of her and looked angry at Rami. “She did her job, protected the crew, and had blind trust in everyone who served during that delivery. But you….you have the nerve to call her out without understanding the magnitude of what the f*ck was going on around you. Rami I hope you stay in that brig as long as possible to realize how messed up you are” She was done with his attitude and downgrading of every officer. 

Rami gave Silina a smile. “Comes from a woman that sleeps with the Captain” He grinned at her, and before he knew it he flew to the ground as Silina placed a fist right in his face that security had to step. Cracking his jaw back into place he smiled at her. “Point proven Commander” The security guards help him up to his feet as Carlson snaps with his fingers to bring them away. 

Sazra and Adrián were holding Silina back as the prisoners with Rami walked away from their sight. “Calm down Silina, please” Sazra was begging as Silina slowly calmed down and put her uniform straight. “I know what he did, but an officer should not react like that,” Sazra said and turned to Carlson but whispered to Silina. “But I appreciate you standing up for me” Before looking at the JAG officer “These are the prisoners you receive, apologies for this” 

“That is okay Captain, however I am not done yet” Carlson announced. The trio looked at the JAG officer as he continued “For not following the regulations of immediately reporting the mutineers to Opaka Outpost and giving them a fabricated order that was never stated by the 4th fleet. Captain Kobahl you are under arrest” Slowly it became quieter as people started to look in the direction of them.

Sazra raised her hand to Adrián who wanted to say something. “We knew this would happen. Let the man speak” It was enough to let Adrián back away from whatever he was going to try. 

“Starfleet JAG therefore immediately demotes you from your rank as Captain to the rank of Commander and reliefs you from your command as Captain of the Mariner" He reached out his hand to her. “Your pip please Commander” 

Sazra struggled with the request for a second and nodded, slowly grabbing her fourth pip and clicking it off from the collar looking at it. She placed the pip in his hand as he closed it and took it away from her. Sazra felt at an emotional breaking point, but held herself together. 

The JAG officer looked at his side and nodded as two security officers approached her and placed the cuffs around her wrists. Carlson looked at Adrián and Silina. “Commander Valerio and Commander Ruslanovna you are under arrest for the crimes that you have let your Captain do what was in every principle known in Starfleet to be wrong. Please accompany us so that we can escort you to the brig”. 

Additional security came to their sides to cuff them. Not a word was spoken, nor any action as the command team accepted their fate to be sealed. The three of them were escorted away from the docking port as suddenly a voice raised through the quiet promenade. 

“CAPTAIN….” The command team looked over at the voice seeing a young Lieutenant standing there. K'Nala looking emotionally at them. “ATTENTION ON DECK, SALUTATIONS TO CAPTAIN KOBAHL, COMMANDERRR RUSLANOVNA, AND COMMANDERRR VALERIO” She saluted them. The woman had been part of the journey under Sazra since Damascus. She was proud to be a member of her ship. So she showed it.

She didn't know that other officers and enlisted standing there slowly started to show their salutes to the command team. At the docking bay, in the pathway, at the shops, at the balcony. Everyone that was in their range gave them the proper respect they deserved. Sazra felt a tear rolling over her cheek as K'Nala was doing the same. She slowly whispers thank you to K'Nala and turned around to resume the journey to the brig. 

No one knows what is going on, why, or how this could happen. But the command team made a joint choice and accepted it.

The starbase was busy with people doing their daily jobs. Thought they were more energetic than normal as the Dominion war, battle, or conflict, whatever tag you would give it, was coming to a close. This event had cost Starfleet, more specifically the 4th Fleet, many lives that were the price for freedom and liberation. A team of two security officers were escorting a woman to the Task Force Commanding Officer in chains. They entered the office and stopped at the desk “Captain Barrington, you have requested Commander Kobahl to be present at your office” a security guard announced. 

Behind them was a woman without a Starfleet combadge, her uniform still ripped in some places or dirty after the last sacrifice she had to make to complete the mission. Her fourth pip was removed, and she looked down with her cuffed hands lowered. 

Barrington’s eyes widened as he took in the scene in front of him. “Oh, for heaven's sake, have you dragged the poor woman straight here?”

He stood, rounding his desk and gestured impatiently. “Get her out of these chains. Now.”

The security guards looked at each other as one looked back “But Captain she is to stay in detain as she has broken various regulations. This is a command from Starfleet JAG” He was surprised at the reaction from the Captain, yet Sazra didn't react. 

His expression was hard as he looked back at them. “Then Starfleet JAG can just come and call me to account for it. I’ll take personal responsibility for Captain Kobahl. Now release her, then you may wait outside.”

Willing to stand their ground, they choose not to and shrugged turning to Sazra and removing the cuffs from her hands and leaving the room. Sazra rubbed her writs slightly as she finally looked up to the Captain. “Commander Kobahl, reporting sir” She stayed formal, but even fatigue was hitting her hard. 

“Sit,” he ordered, gesturing toward the chair in front of his desk. It looked like they’d dragged the poor woman from her ship and right into chains. “Have they given you anything to eat or drink?”

Taking a seat where the Captain had offered as she took a deep breath “I arrived at Starbase 86, Starfleet JAG was waiting for us. We were publically arrested. Commander Ruslanovna and Valerio for obstructing the code of conduct and giving falsified information to Opaka Outpost” Sazra didn't answer his question about food or drink. 

“And you?” He asked, crossing to the replicator and ordering water and a mug of soup. It was light and easy, something that would keep her on her feet until she could eat properly. He put them down in front of her and resumed his seat behind the desk. “Tell me what happened.”

Placing the food and water in front of her made her wonder why he would obstruct the rules now. She then noticed she was staring at the water and sighed as she grabbed it and drank from it. “I am tired. The trip from Gamma Quadrant to here has been…quite eventful” Sazra felt guilty that she didn't even give the time to take care of the death that perished at the suicidal mission. “How much do you know Captain?” She was straightforward about it. 

“So I hear,” he said, watching her. He was a little surprised by the direct question, but then again, not. Kobahl was obviously exhausted, had already been through the wringer and had finally been dragged in front of him. To say her day was not going well would be an understatement.

“I know you and the Mariner were issued a priority mission during the recent conflict which took you into the Gamma Quadrant,” he replied. “And in the pursuit of that mission objective you had to be somewhat… economical with the truth, shall we say?”

Leaning back, he carried on. “I have already read Admiral Reyes combat report that lists you as having flown the Mariner directly into a Dominion battlegroup at Ciatar Nebula. And that, for your actions, Starfleet JAG decided to relieve you of your fourth pip and your command. Do you have anything to add that I missed?”

A brief but painful summary of her events. Sazra swallowed a bit of her pride in that and nodded “To be more exact we were sent to Dominion borders to convince them to help us with the …conflict in Deneb” Sazra refined the information further. “We succeeded in getting a Dominion representative on our ship, and we traveled back” She took another sip of her drink. “Then I had to deal with a mutiny that was based on false information and I lost my Chief Security Officer because of it” 

She placed the glass. “For Fleet Admiral Reyes rapport, yes I charged into the Dominion battle group because I had no choice. There was sabotage in my communication system, and I trusted my Chief Engineer Commander Valerio to fix that. He just needed time. We charged into the battle group, and I lost much of my people to this forsaken conflict. I am glad that USS Valhalla, USS Andromeda, and USS Serenity were there or the mission might have failed.” She leans a bit back “We manage to deliver the Dominion representatives and the Dominion ships….just left us behind” 

He frowned. “Left you behind?”

Giving a nod “Left us behind the moment the Dominion representatives beamed to their ship” Sazra took another sip of the water “I have not had the chance to see if it bares fruit. But did the activity of Dominion get less?” Sazra was more busy with her ship and crew then checking the news. 

He nodded. “Reports indicate that yes, Dominion activity has markedly decreased,” he said then leaned forward, hands loosely clasped in front of him.

“Commander, I’m sure you’re aware of the very serious nature of the charges against you. You not only completely disregarded protocol regarding reporting a mutiny on board your ship, you also brought the Mariner back… well, from the reports I’m surprised you actually got the ship back. I’d like to shake your Chief Engineers hand on that one. Have you anything to say?”

Looking at him “That I have a talented Chief Engineer who did this twice now” Sazra referred to the poor condition she brought Damascus back from the Delta Quadrant. She sighed and looked at her torn uniform. “But be honest with me Captain, what would you have done if the galaxy's weight was on your shoulders? The solution to potentially end it in your hands and yet you have to hold onto bureaucratic rules of a Starfleet Command that still denies the Dominion invasion” Sazra shrugged. “As I said to my command team, screw the rank. There are millions of lives depending on our mission's outcome” She knew the risks from the beginning, and she accepted the fate. 

“What would I have done?” Barrington considered the question for a moment, then his serious expression eased a little. “Said screw the rules and do what needed to be done. And believe me, your ship is by far not in the worst state they’ve been coming back in.”

He lifted his chin. “Fourth Fleet command disagrees with the action taken against you and your team. I apologize that it has taken so long to get you out, but with the chaos after such an event, getting orders through has taken some time.” And a minor miracle, he added to himself.

“Commander Kobahl, with the authority vested in me from Fourth Fleet Command, I hereby reinstate you to the rank of Captain, and to the command of the USS Mariner. You and your command crew are exonerated of all charges. Although,” he added with a small smile. “I will leave you in charge of recovering your crew from the brig, should you wish to do that personally. If not, I can issue the order.”

Was it for real? Did her ears not deceive her? Sazra couldn't believe what was happening and slowly nodded letting it sink in. “The…mutineers have been handed over to security upon arrival. At least the main team, some were granted second chances by myself as they are new and convinced on bias information” She had a hard time with the news for some reason as she looked at the Captain “I can give the death a proper salutation?” 

“Of course,” he inclined his head. “Please let me know the time and place so I can pay my respects.” It would be one of many such ceremonies he had attended and would attend. “Is there anything else you need or would like to ask?”

Thinking for a second as she stood up and stretch a bit and shook her head “No Captain, I do thank you for everything you have done and the fourth has done” 

“Don’t thank me just yet, Captain,” he replied, also standing. “Because your reinstatement comes with some conditions. Once you have honoured your fallen and your ship is repaired, you and the Mariner are returning to the Delta Quadrant on a deep exploration assignment.”

Sazra felt a sudden crawl up her spine when he said that and flashes of her mind being invaded returned to her. She sat back down and took a deep breath. “Why….would they want to send me back there? Did they forget to read the BDO after-action report? We barely survived that conflict, and I think it has not quite improved the situation?” She shrugged. Who was she to complain about something that could save her career “Delta Quadrant is not meant for a scientist like myself…”

“I’m afraid those were the orders that were passed down,” he replied, frowning at the change in her demeanour and the flash of… something in her eyes. “And they go way above my head. Is there a problem, Captain?”

For a moment she paused trying to muster the fear that had crawled into her “Blood Dilithium…for some reason they sent the USS Damascus to the epic center of activities. Very dense and strong. However, we faced the Imperium there that were using a cargo ship as bait to test their limits.” Sazra rubbed the side of her template “ They had a Blood Crystalline Entity under their control…during the mission, I was exposed to the Blood Dilithium powers and ….lets put it this way, it was not a pleasant experience” 

Barrington paused. He remembered reading through reports from recent events in the taskforce before he’d taken command, but he hadn’t made the connection until she’d mentioned it.

“The Blood Dilithium situation has been dealt with,” he reassured her. “And the Imperium have retreated well into their territory. I’m sure you will have no issues during your mission.”

The situation might have, but her pain didn’t. Sazra took a few breaths and nodded to herself “You are right Captain, I shall do what is required as I did before”

He studied her for a few more seconds, then nodded. “Then I shall wish you well, and let you head out to deal with your crew.”

Rounding the desk, he offered his hand. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Captain. And I look forward to your reports on your mission.”

Giving a solid nod to him “Thank you for everything. I shall return to the Mariner to give those that have fallen a proper send-off. I will inform you of their departure” Sazra spoke and with that, she left the office now as a free woman, but for some reason, she felt the weight of the chains still around her hands. She passed the security team that only could watch her leave. 

“Starfleet these days is more messed up than we are realizing,” One said shaking his head. “Letting people go after they broke the rules. What worth has our rules if no one abides by them” He pushed himself off the desk. “Mark my words. People like here will get us to a certain grave for sure. So stay away from that ship, the Mariner"

Ready Room

The ready room looked like a mess, the last mission took a lot out of them, and they succeeded in delivering the representatives. Leaning on her knees on the ground, she grabbed some broken picture frames and looked at them. Sazra saw the Jaxartes bridge crew in the picture as she wiped off the broken glass that fell onto the floor. Letting out a deep sigh as her eye locked onto Rami smiling face. “Where did I go wrong? When did I fail to notice your problems…” She spoke to herself, and for a brief moment, it was quiet when the chime went off. Broken out of her focus, she placed the picture on the table. “Come in” she said, not looking at the open door.

“What are you doing Sazra” The familiar voice came from Silina came from the door direction.

“Cleaning up the mess that we left behind” Sazra felt her line had a double meaning. Was it the mess she left behind in this room or the ship in total? Looking at her side to Silina and Adrián, that had followed her in “Status report”

“Well…” Adrián looked around the room and shrugged. “We got our rank and position back thanks to 4th fleet intervention.” His eyes looked at his Captain and saw she was waiting for something else. “Right right…mmm the ship. The leak at the warp engine is sealed, and we can warp again. Some deck hull breaches are closed, but I advise keeping deck 8 in the back sealed for now. The damage there was somewhat more severe that took time to repair” 

He walks into the room trying to watch out where he stepped. “Shields systems are back to 75%, and weapons are also back to full operational standards, so Miki will be happy about that” Adrián sat on the edge of the couch and looked at them both. “If everything goes as planned, we shall be operational and good to go within a week or two” 

“Personnel wise we still are about 52 people down taking into account the mutineer’s departure, the deceased, and critical wounded” Silina resumed leaning against the wall near the door. “Starfleet personnel and logistics state that we can get new people within a week or so. But It’s still very unsure seeing the state of the 4th fleet is more severe than expected” 

Taking a deep breath “It is a miracle that I am cleaning up the mess I left behind. If 4th didn’t intervene ….I would be in a brig or something” Sazra stood up from her kneeling position and dusted her pants off even though her uniform was still a mess. “Alright enough complaining, we got work to do…I have a few funerals scheduled” She said with a slight shrug and looked at Silina. “Could you focus on….”

“Bridge to Captain Kobahl” the voice of Asipa came over the communication.

“What is wrong Ensign?” Sazra had tapped her comm badge to give a response still looking at Silina. 

“We have received a call to arms message from the 4th fleet” 

The silence dropped in the room as Sazra’s eyes went from Silina to Adrián who both were caught at attention when mentioning a call to arms. “Location” She replied. 

“Fairpoint the message states. Dominion Fleet is on an intercept course to Fairpoint Captain. Your orders?” 

Adrián already shook his head to Sazra and whisper “We are not combat ready Sazra…” He knew her longer than today and could see where her mind was wandering. “We need the additional time to fix our ship….if we go into combat I can’t guarantee the safety of it” 

Narrowing her eyes “We need to respond. They need every single ship” Sazra whispered back and shrugged looking away and taking a deep breath. “Ensign get Lieutenant K’Nala to the helm and prepare for emergency undocking protocol. Recall all personnel to Mariner now. Commander Ruslanovna and I will join you soon at the bridge. Kobahl out” 

“Are you crazy?!” Adrián stated with his hands in the air out of frustration the moment the communication cut off.

Sazra moved past Adrián and stopped at the door as it opened. “Our comrades require us right now. Serenity, Andromeda, and Valhalla came to our aid. Who are we to deny the call to arms? Is the ship in your professional opinion worthy in a battle?” Sazra looked at Adrián. 

“You know what I just said?” Adrián replied 

“Is it worthy for battle Commander?” Sazra became more direct and strict. 

He crossed his arms and thought for a second “If we keep deck 8 sealed on the back, and focus on defensive duties then there should not be any problem” Adrián looked at a happy Captain. “But get me Drata to help me fix what needs to be fixed. I can’t pull miracles out of my ass constantly” Adrián walked past her out of the room to start the impossible task given to him.

Sazra didn’t look after he left. “Silina get it arranged. Get the personnel ready for launch” She saw her nod as they both left the Ready Room. 

Bridge

Walking onto the bridge, Sazra could see already the bridge crew there and ready “Sitrep” Sazra asked walking to her chair to sit down. 

“Starbase Operations approve the undocking protocol, the plot is set, and we are ready to move to Fairpoint at the maximum warrrp factorrr of 7.9. But Commander Valerio stated he could get me morrre while traveling” K’Nala replied letting her paws slide over the console.

Sazra nodded to that as she heard another voice continue “We got weapon controls operational at 89%, and shields are within an acceptable range. Lieutenant Taritt is focusing on giving me more on that front” Miki stated looking at the data coming in. “I have ordered my men to seal off deck 8 per the request of Commander Valerio” 

“Personnel are almost all onboard the Mariner. We are still missing 10% that have to report in” Silina stated standing at the operation’s console. “Ship-wide systems are between yellow and green operational parameters. We are good to go” 

With a simple tap on her command console, Sazra leans back in her chair. “Doc are you ready down there?” 

“As ready as we can get, I had hoped to have more personnel and supplies. But seeing the urgency of the matter I am battle ready. I have taken some scientific and counsel crew into medical duties” 

“Understood, you got my permission to use whoever you deem fit” With that Sazra tapped again and sat up as she froze hearing another voice. 

“4th fleet call to arms has been stated to all ships and a good portion of ships have responded to it. 4th fleet intelligence has not been able to estimate how much ….we are dealing with” Keeyiro spoke slowing down on the end seeing some bridge officers staring at her. The uncomfortable feeling was eating her up, and she looked back down at the console.

Sazra didn’t look at her. “Thank you, Ensign. Keep your lines and eyes open for anything coming in. Work with Ensign Asipa to deal with the communication planning.” Sazra stood up knowing that accepting her presence was the best choice. But her feelings of being betrayed have not settled. “Asipa ship-wide comm” 

Seeing Asipa nod “This is Captain Kobahl speaking. We have received a call to arms from the 4th fleet. At this moment the Dominion fleet is coming to Fairpoint station. Does it mean our mission was a failure? I honestly don’t know. But what I do know is that our comrades need us right now. I am well aware of the current condition we are in at this moment. I am aware that you are tired. But we have a duty to do and whatever happens Fairpoint shall not fall under Mariner watch! Red Alert and battle stations” The communication went off as the red alert on the bridge went on.

With that, the Mariner started to move out of the docks after the last crew members arrived. Slowly the damaged pathfinder that had already received its scars was heading back to the front. With a slide back into position, the ship gets into position. “Helm, make way!” Sazra ordered as the Mariner jumped into warp to aid the fleet at Fairpoint that will soon go into the history books as the Battle of Fairpoint.