Operation Paramour By C. David Sands, III The parade ground in front of Yuri Gagarin Hall in Starfleet Academy looked impeccable as always. It was a crisp sixty degree day in San Francisco. The aroma of grass cutting was in the air as Captain David "Charlemagne" Sands and his first officer, Commander Matthew "Seneca" Schneider walked the path to a briefing on their next mission. They didn't dress in their usual duty uniform for security reasons, but instead wore civilian clothing. Also they donned sophisticated makeup techniques to further disguise themselves. Vice Admiral James Greer had been quite clear in his orders: no residual trace of their presence here at such a public and surveiled Starfleet installation. Charlemagne did not disappoint. His surgery on them both was more than enough to keep them unrecognizable. Greer had been ordered to have his briefing here instead of his usual setting due to some of the notoriously viscous political maneuvering of someone in Starfleet to put more direct control over Special Operations. The two senior officers of the Apocalypse didn't know why yet for sure, but they both had a feeling who. Entering a service entrance to Drake Hall, home to the Exobiology Department, the two walked without speaking; never establishing eye contact with anyone they passed and staying away from any onlookers, they moved down a dead-end hallway to an unmarked door labeled simply, "Authorized Personnel Only". There Seneca felt his hands around the door frame till he found an ever so slight rise in the texture. There he placed his hand flat while Charlemagne kept watch at the corner for anyone who might be observing them. Seneca kept his hand placed on it, not saying anything until the door opened. He gave a thumbs up to his captain, then the two entered the door, and it automatically closed behind them. "Captain David Sands entering, authorization Sands-Omega-Alpha-2-4." "Commander Matthew Schneider entering, authorization Schneider-Chi-Papa-0-9" The two could feel themselves a bit weightless for a second as the turbolift took them several hundred feet underground. It opened to a narrow hallway leading 200 meters in front. Dimly lit and somewhat humid, the SO officers, like all intelligence agents, tried to keep their bearings where they were and get any details of where they were going by taking in their surroundings. Nothing would grant them anything, as the bare white walls were clean of any decorations or even visible security measures. When they were about three meters from the door, it opened automatically to a similarly lit room. But the parallels stopped there. This one was quite well furnished. At the front it had a huge desk placed on an incline a meter above the rest of the room. Below stretching toward them was a long mahogany table waxed beautifully so that you could see your reflection in it clear as a mirror. Dark blue lighting came up from the floor all around the walls. The two sat down at the two head seats. Then the lights behind the main desk came on. Behind it to the side was the commander in chief of Special Operations Command, Intelligence. That was when Seneca noticed who was sitting directly behind the desk, which he knew would be inevitable. "Well, Charlemagne, it appears as if Queen Nikki is holding court today." "I knew it. You were all behind this, weren't you?" "Don't mock me! Vice Admiral Greer, I'd appreciate it greatly if you exercised some control over those you command." "All in good time, my fair chuck. Now why don't you suck it up and get this started?" With Greer's obvious refusal to alleviate her indignation, she put her nose up a bit and pressed a button on her desk. With that a wide cylindrical holoemmitter rose out of the table and a planet with three moons appeared. Greer started the briefing. "Charlemagne, Seneca, what you have here is a high priority assignment I've been ordered by Starfleet Command to assign you, codenamed Operation Paramour. Frankly, I don't think it's one your crew is suited for with so few people, but I'm limited to using only one crew." "May I ask why?" replied Charlemagne. "Any other resources I would normally give you are currently unavailable at the time." Greer could see the disgust in their faces and felt like he was letting them down, but this time he had little choice with Viers next to him to explain. "What you are looking at here is planet LX-909. A class S planet with extreme radiation emission. The three moons are all class B and are the sites for the orbital based offices and laboratories for the Dominion Naval Research and Development Bureau and their drydock which you will be assaulting." Greer pushed a button of his own and the view magnified up to one of the moons. "This is the drydock facility for the Bureau. In it is contained several concept designs for the next generation of Dominion starships. Also, in one week, a formal inspection of the station will be conducted by several members of the Cardassian General Staff to examine some of the new technologies contained there. Starfleet Intelligence has already found many of the technologies that are being developed there; however, destruction of the drydocks was not accomplished in their operation. Now increased security measures are in place, and the inspection may be off. Needless to say, we've been asked to pick up the slack of others--" "Starfleet Intelligence did all it could with what it had--" Viers interrupted "Well, perhaps if you'd know when to stop making chicken-shit directives that protect yourself from any political ramifications that might follow you'd become a more effective member of the admirality, Nikki. Perhaps if you stopped using the foreign nationals you're so fond of, we wouldn't have the leaks in what we're doing in the recent past." Greer counterinterrupted. "May I remind you I personally oversaw that operations you speak of in such a improper manner? I was also using individuals highly recommended by several sources I personally regard as reputable." "Well, in knowing that, I rest my case." The three members of SO could barely contain their laughter at Viers's humiliation. Greer did not often resort to humor to get back at people he disagreed with, but after the initial chuckle, his deep-seated disgust at Viers took hold as he became very serious and refused to look in her direction. "The mission is as such: destroy the drydock facility, capture a member of the Cardassian General Staff, killing the rest if possible, and if the opportunity presents itself, secure any Cardassian data rods you can get, new or used." Charlemagne spoke up. "Admiral Greer, you taught me everything you know about how to properly conduct unconventional warfare, but to do this is to disobey the first thing you're supposed to do whenever undertaking a mission: limit the objectives." "I know; however, Rear Admiral Viers here has so kindly added the two other objectives through her inept handling of the last mission. Now, I can sense from the huffing and puffing to my left here that Rear Admiral Viers would like to try dressing me down. Everything else you will need are in the PADDs waiting for you on the way out. Now if you'll excuse us, I'd like to have a word with our CNO's executive administrative assistant here. Dismissed." Charlemagne and Seneca got up and left grinning ear to ear. The compartment that opened up in the hallway held the information Greer said would be there. As they walked to the turbolift, they could hear the shrill yells of Viers, no doubt trying to pull position and demand an apology from Greer, who would coyly point out he outranked her and that he was technically in command. And so he would have his fun for a few minutes then leave her steaming as he went back to the serenity of Reading, England. Later that day the USS Apocalypse received a pod from Earth Station McKinley attached to its overhead computer/cloaking array. On its way out the Sol Sector it docked clandestinely with a Sydney class express freighter bound for a sector close to the Dominion border. Maintaining cloak, the ship connected and tapped into the communications and sensor suites of the ship below to monitor information about the environment around them. While they piggy-backed, the team would plan and prepare for their upcoming assignment. When the freighter reached its destination, the Apocalypse would detach and seek the Fifth Fleet which was on patrol. It would undoubtably come under fire as it had for the past nine months almost daily. In the middle of a battle, when observation for cloaked ships would be lowest, Charlemagne had decided to break with the fleet and sneak past into Dominion space. The crew were all seated around their stations at the bridge. Everyone turned themselves around to view the Strategic Holographic Display. Starfleet Intelligence had procured a fairly detailed diagram of the station that was put up in blueprint. The complication was that with their own assault, they had alerted the opposition to the site's desirableness as a target. It could never be attacked again now unguarded. Though there were initially few defenses (it being in such unobserved, resource pour territory and, therefore, being considered relatively safe), in the few days since Starfleet Intelligence's attack, there were sure to be additional countermeasures. These included mines, added power to the defense systems, increased numbers of ships, and heightened security in the station itself. Charlemagne began his briefing of the crew with the same information Greer had given him in person. He then began with his plan to accomplish their mission. "Essentially, there are going to be two teams working on the objectives simultaneously. The first, callsign Echo Team, will be the demolitions team. That will consist of Seneca and Cicero. Hwl, you will be on the Apocalypse to monitor activity and provide egress security if necessary. Obviously, let's not let it come to that. Seneca, Cicero, you two are going to be the first to use a new toy granted us by CINCSOC-R&D. It's called the Semi-Autonomous Remotely Piloted Expendable Vehicle. Our's is the Special Operations version. It's built from the chassis of a tri-cobalt device and incorporates some of the items we have here in Prevaricates. A cloaking device is located in a module behind the pilot's compartment. Behind it lies the warp propulsion system and impulse drive. Watch out. This thing is incredibly fast for something its size. We're talking a max sprint impulse of over .99c. I don't think I have to tell you to be careful with this thing's relativistic limitations. You might throw your timing and synchrony off by using this thing, so take your time, and let's get there with time to spare if possible. Attached to it are two shaped explosive packages that will disrupt the maneuvering mechanisms that keep the drydock aloft in space. We knock them out, and in 30 seconds the station will be in a freefall to the atmosphere below. Nothing should be able to stop it, not even the ships inside. After your part of the mission is completed, you will split off from the Apocalypse, travel about four hours' distance, then double around, and meet at coordinates 3344.2, with backup location Red at coordinates 3439.0, and backup location Green at coordinates 4031.5. There we meet up, take a few last readings on your equipment for evaluation purposes, detonate the SARPEVS, and get out of Dodge. "The second part of the mission is a bit more up close and personal. Myself, Holliman, and Tacitus, callsign Oscar Team, will be responsible for snatching a member of the Cardassian General Staff that's supposed to be visiting. We'll all undergo some surgical alteration to get us to look more Cardassian. The neck ridges we're just going to do with plasti-foam, but skin, hair, and eye color can all be changed." "Uh, sir, you want to cut half my head off?" asked Tacitus, pointing to his Klingon scalp. "Well, you're going to be wearing a engineering diagnostic head-set and a wig over you to make you look like a Cardassian civilian. You'll also have a holographic projection device on you head that will put a slight darkening effect over the top of you head. Those should keep you looking not too suspicious. It won't be perfect, but I figured you'd be pretty uncomfortable in a SARPEV." "I'll think I'll take my chances in civvies." "That's the spirit! I knew you'd go along! Now, there is an executive docking port reserved for VIPs that they should be coming in. Our plan will be to hit them when the point of vulnerability is highest: just before they dock. About five seconds to be precise. Several hours before, the three of us will plant an explosive around the docking hatch to detonate, thereby preventing them from getting on the station in the first place. In fact, to be thorough, we will plant explosives at most every port on this side of the drydock. That way they can't go to another before we get to the shuttle pod. After planting the devices, we will get into Combat EVA Suits which we will have placed at this location here," he said, designating the location with a red dot. "These have also come to us courtesy SO Research and Development. We wait outside until time. Detonation will occur at every port simultaneously, then we jet onto the shuttle and disable communications and propulsion. We shouldn't have too much trouble from the drydock itself. After having so many hull breaches, they'll be busy enough trying to keep themselves alive. From there we will blow a hole open, sealing it also with a forcefield and snatch one member of the staff, perhaps two if things go well. We will then send a signal to Hwl who will beam us all onboard the Apocalypse. We then let the forcefield drop, killing all other personnel; in the best case, we could decapitate major portions of the Dominion forces by getting rid of them; worst case, we lessen the load of everyone else with those fewer men. From there we will egress to Federation space to a waiting escort that will safely convey us to a Starfleet Intelligence facility." Holliman spoke up, "How do we know they won't go to the other side?" "If we're fast enough, the jet packs on the CEVASes should be more than fast enough to get us to the shuttle and disable it. That's why the three of us all have to practice field-hacking skills till we get there. In case any one of us is incapacitated, the others must compensate. Loadouts will be just enough necessary for the mission. We're going stealthy, so no extraneous gear." "So I can't wear my lucky underwear?" Holliman sarcastically asked. "We'll see, Lieutenant. Echo Team, you will be piloting SARPEVS. You will each have two MARA adhesive explosive devices. They are self-propelled and guided by you to target. You only need to get 100 meters away. From there you can pilot them to destination. You also have emergency EVA suits and a Type I phaser you wear on board that can last you about an hour. If you eject, you know we'll try to get you, but I think we all know what could happen. Stout hearts. "Oscar Team, we will stash our gear at a docking servo and wear disguises while inside. We each carry Type I phasers as well. We also carry three explosives each in a belt pack with sensor dampening fibers to reduce chance of a detection before execution. Once we get into our suits, we'll carry laser scalpels, a conformal forcefield generator to place around our captive, a spare one in case that one fails, the cloak that's already in the suit itself, stun grenades, and armament. "Tacitus, this is our lucky day. We just got three of the new Mk I Sniper Rifles that the two of us have been working on. You and I will carry one. Holliman and I will also carry SOLRPPs for and CQB that might happen in the shuttle. The two of us will be on point getting the prisoner. Tacitus, you will be covering us. Any security that tries to stop us, you shoot down. Can you handle that?" Tacitus, beaming with the happiness a child has on Christmas day seeing his new toy, replied "Yes, sir!" "Excellent. We will also carry combat knives and garrottes for silent killing inside the drydock. Chances are we'll use them more then anything else. Probably phaser alarms all over in there. Now, let's get very serious here. This mission is as complicated as they come. Coordination is the key. We'll be communicating in static bursts over an unused channel, but only when absolutely necessary. Anyone starts early, we screw the whole thing up. I call abort, Echo Team, detonate anything already up, then everyone run and we'll get back together at the first location. Understood? OK, everyone get ready. Dismissed!" Seneca, Cicero, and Hwl busily worked on the SARPEVS. Seneca started out with his plan to assault the drydocks. "Basically, we're going to be trying to get in as quietly as possible, lay our stuff there and get out. The problem is getting in quietly. But we have some items here in our transportation that may work to our advantage. The first is the most obvious: the cloaking device already in the SARPEV. It's the same model and design as a Prevaricate's, just smaller and with less power consumption. "It also has what's called a phase-inverting-multiband-emission-spectral-system. Similar to what's used in the Katana class ship, although completely independently conceptualized and built. SO-R&D has found the PIMESS works a bit better in the SARPEV than larger more involved models of sensor masking. Besides, with so little room to spare, there's not much space to waste. This will come in handy if the cloak malfunctions or we're detected and we have to go to other methods of avoidance." Hwl spoke up, "Personally, if I was flying one of those things, I'd rather have a low-level phaser or micro-torpedo launcher to bloody their nose and run." "It's one possibility they're considering. I wouldn't mind that either, but R&D begged us to take this in for in-field testing. But remember, we're in a drydock, so isn't much room to maneuver into shooting positions anyway or to make straight run sprints, and these things aren't very maneuverable. The cloak is our primary edge. We'll just deal with it for now. Now getting on. Cicero, tell us about logistics." Cicero began his portion. "The SARPEV's power source is a quantum flywheel we power by injecting plasma into before mission. We'll fuel them up about an hour before separation. Hwl, you'll have to slow down the Apocalypse for about thirty minutes about an hour away from separation while I do so. That OK?" "Sounds good." Seneca spoke again. "Alright, approach vectors. Charlemagne and I have both been thinking about this, and this is what we agreed on. My suggestion is for you, Hwl, to bring the Apocalypse in from directly below the station up from the planet. It's the most dangerous way, but it's the least convenient for the Cardassians to scan and patrol." "Why do I have be the one to do this?" "Because this ship is more durable than the SARPEVS. Granted they're built for atmospheric operations, but not what you'll have to go through. Remember, they are expendable, hence the name. The B class moon below has wind gusts that are so high motion scans of the atmosphere are next to impossible. Also the temperature fluctuations make IR scans extemely difficult. Once you get higher and higher, you just keep slowing down till reach about one-eighth impulse. With the cloak on, that's slow enough to make leakage of impulse engines small enough they probably won't see you. "Cicero, you and I are going to come from directly above the station. Avoid any and all sensor sweeps. The cloak on these isn't as powerful, so it won't take as much to unmask us as on here. Just get to the maneuvering thrusters, get the packages on them, and get out. We won't be here to try and do backup. That's the Apocalypse's job. We're not equipped to handle that, and there isn't time to dock and unload us onto the Apocalypse either, so just leave, get to the pick up point, and wait there. A pre-made burst signal is already downloaded into the SARPEV, so at the predesignated time, send it, and anyone there will uncloak and beam you aboard. Any questions? No? Then, dismissed!" Charlemagne, Tacitus, and Holliman were all seated in the armory discussing their exact tactics. Charlemagne was displaying their assorted load out. "We'll insert at the top most deck from the HIPD on the Apocalypse and work our way down the drydock. As tight as security has probably become, we're not risking a straight transport. We'll carry our equipment in these standard Cardassian tool cases. Except for the hand weapons and the Type-I phasers, the weapons we're carrying we'll take disassembled. They will be in this false compartment with sensor opaque coating to hide what's inside. Once we're ready to go outside the drydock, we'll rip out the bottoms of the cases, and put them together. "For disguise we'll be carrying these identification cards Starfleet Intelligence Cryptography has so generously made for us. I got to say, this is one thing they do damn well. I thought these were hot intelligence pieces we needed to see, but they're made for us! We'll be wearing these clothes common to members of the civilian corps of the Dominion military. As I said before, Tacitus, you'll have this cloak with the cowl to hide your facial features. We will be posing as members of the Cardassian On-Site Safety Assessment Bureau. Our cover story is that we're there to ensure safety of all critical life-support systems before the General Staff's arrival. They don't know anyone is coming, and obviously we're going to be avoiding any interaction with anyone in security, so if anyone asks us, we'll just say it's a pop inspection ordered by the Dominion. "This data rod here was manufactured, again, by Starfleet Intelligence Cryptography and contains authorization to examine such things as power supply, emergency bulkheads, atmospheric production, and especially docking hatches. "Our explosive devices are also disguised should anyone decide to look over our work. The explosives will appear as monitoring devices designed to record performance of "suspect" airlocks that may have problems and alert station maintenance crews to any trouble that occurs. They're covered with sensor dampening casing to make counter-sabotage efforts difficult. In addition, Cicero has made a feedback processor to send signals back into the drydock's engineering network that everything is supposedly working fine. "The three of us will move together, taking out any trouble that may occur together. While on route we're going to practice security observation and avoidance techniques. Just to refresh you memory, one lookout, two workers at a time, one covering the other from behind to prevent anyone seeing exactly what we're putting in the hatchs' machinery. That's the first part of our mission." Holliman spoke up. "Charlemagne, we really need help for this. Can we handle all of this?" "Look, I've said it before, we don't have much of a choice. The rocket's been fired from the CNO's office and they want us to handle it all. I don't approve either, but that's the way it is. "Now, getting on with part two of the mission. After planting the last unit, we'll exit out of this personal airlock 80 meters down this hallway. One person will cover while the other two dress. Then we switch. After getting outside, we cloak, and walk up the side to near the designated docking port. Then we wait. When the shuttlepod is about 25 meters away from the port, we detonate. Then we get our jet packs going, get on top the pod, blow a contained hole at its stern to keep the opposition in one direction once we get in, snatch the general and maybe a second, then get the hell out of there. Holliman, you will be in charge of grabbing a general and getting a forcefield around him. All you're carrying is a SOLRPP. My hope is that the pod will be close enough that firing at any of us on it will be impossible without hitting the drydock or the pod itself. "Security is going to be challenging though. Tacitus, it's your job to shoot anything down that comes to help. That sniper rifle is powerful enough to make a shuttle hurt some kind of bad and doesn't emit light to show everyone where you are. Just get into a corner nearby, and stay hidden long enough to cover us. If you need backup, I'll be carrying a sniper rifle too. After Holliman and I get everyone stunned and he starts getting an officer ready for transport, I'll be free to get out and help if you need it. Any questions? No? OK, let's go put together some bombs!" The trip aboard the freighter was uneventful. The only news they could get was that of the normal engagements and casualty reports broadcast on the Federation news service. The ship's sensors only picked up the periodic passing of other civilian ships. A few Starfleet vessels would pass on their way from the front lines for repairs, but there wasn't any exchange of communications. At 0225, Hwl, on call for the night, sent a notification for whenever Sands woke up that, as ordered, he had detached and set course for the Fifth Fleet's patrol region. At 0730 Sands went to the bridge and read the electronic intelligence gathered that night. Nothing eventful or exceptional, he dropped it and did a round around the ship checking out systems and function with his own eye and tricorder before things got busy. Satisfied that his ship was in great shape, he returned to the bridge and the now awake crew to get the insertion operation started. The fleet was now detectable on long range passive scanners. Seneca was in charge of the general strategy of this part of the mission; it was to let Charlemagne concentrate on other matters, and to give the first officer hands-on experience with command of his own team. Sands hated to admit it, but Schneider would soon start to be noticed by SOCOM and proposed as a candidate for his own ship. His performance on the Apocalypse was exemplary, and with the casualties that SO always took, combined with the manpower shortages of the war, Commander Matthew Schneider was in all likelihood on the fast track to getting his own boat. The Apocalypse would sneak under the fleet and attach approach and dock ventrally to a ship likely to not be in the midst of battle, but close enough to the front line that everyone's attention would be focused forward. It give itself a minor push of the impulse engines, and drift away from the fleet when while the battle raged, they would go to warp under cloak and no one would be the wiser. The plan sounded simple enough, the trick was to keep the Apocalypse as silent as possible so no one would realize someone was getting into Dominion territory. The trip to the fleet was done under only 1/8 impulse. The timetable was tight for the mission, but the Apocalypse was not catching up to the fleet, but intercepting it head on, or rather, belly on. Seneca took the con and began his sequence with the watchful eye of his CO next to him on the bridge. "Mr Hwl, approach the USS Agamemnon and dock to the secondary hull's underside. Cut impulse engines; use only thruster quads." "Aye, sir." The ship slowly approached the Agamemnon and inverted. Hwl's gentle touch was responsive to every releasal of thruster propellant. He concentrated on using as little as possible while getting the ship in position fast enough to get docked without missing the point of contact. "Use only minimal tractor beams for attachment. Cicero, keep an eye on that cloak." "Aye, sir" And at the last moment, only meters away, the low level tractor beams activated positioning the Apocalypse right on bottom of the Agamemnon. "Computer switch ship to Dead Stealth Mode." The ship's lights and warp core stopped, and the control panels went dim for minimum energy consumption. The only systems that remained operational were the structural integrity fields, inertial dampening system, environmental control, and the cloaking device. Seneca congratulated the crew. "Good job, everyone. I guess we can sit back and relax now." Charlemagne responded, "Sounds OK. Seneca, Tacitus, Cicero, get some sleep. Holliman, you and I will patch into our host's computer network to see what's going on outside and bleed some power off to get us by on even lower power." The whirl of the HIPD cutting through the hull commenced as Charlemagne and Holliman checked their instruments' connections to the Apocalypse computer core. They only burned through the first outer layer of the Agamemnon to get to a power relay and a computer interface. "Oh shit!" With that Holliman vomited all over the floor below him, getting some on his captain. "What the hell was that for?" "I'm in between the two artificial gravity generators between the two ships. Since we're inverted compared to them, we're being pulling in opposite directions, so I'm partially weightless. Sorry, Captain." "It's OK. Let's just get the job done and we'll clean up afterwards." Once they connected the plasma interconnect between the two ships and put a hard line on the LCARS display terminal, Hwl began his work. Hwl talked over the comm with his cohorts. "You know, sir, we don't have to put a hard line into the Agamemnon. We could put a subspace relay in and just get outside info that way." "With all the counterintelligence measures that are probably in place, I don't especially feel like taking a chance when we don't have to." "Understood." "OK, Hwl, connection is up on our end. How's it over there?" "Good. I'm depositing the virus now." "OK, we're going to clean up and start surgery. You have the con. Out." The virus Hwl deposited was critical to their stealth in transit. When the plasma network was tapped into and used, the output as seen in engineering would go down, making anyone suspicious of what was going on. The virus would artificially inflate the readings in the Agamemnon's computer to show higher output then there actually was. The virus was programmed to self-delete after five days, so there would not be any trace of their presence. Hopefully, nobody would realize they were there until the Agamemnon went in for repairs. Sands started the surgery on his fellow team members an hour later. The EMH Mk II would assist. The first would be Holliman, easiest for Sands since he was human. After sedating him with a local anesthetic in the eye, Charlemagne gently sliced his cornea off around the edges with the laser scalpel and handed it to his assistant who put it in saline solution. After flushing out the small amount of blood that escaped cauterizing, he placed a retracted disk under the iris in the posterior chamber, then expanded it. It fit snugly under; then Charlemagne cut the iris out and handed that off as well. The EMH then gave a manufactured Cardassian iris to Sands who inserted it on to of the disk. A machine then dropped down over Holliman for Sands to use. Putting his hands inside two cavities, he began the micro stitching of the iris to his eye. Sensors on his hands in the machine gave direction to the near microscopic versions of the hands that tied the knots. For reference to what he was tying over, a holodeck-like room inside the machine gave an enlarged version of Holliman's eye. The procedure was actually quite simple: just cutting off what wasn't wanted, placing another on, and then connecting by using a holographic eye that the machine translated into movements too small for the human hand to do itself. Then the same procedure was repeated for the other eye. For skin color, Holliman would wear a skin tight suit containing liquid all around his body. Over time, the chemical, suspended in a non-solution for faster entry, would osmotically enter the cells of the skin. The melanin there would change its shape to reflect light in a different color, obviously, in pale greys and browns. For Samud, the ship's tactical officer, things would be somewhat different. The first order of business was his forehead. After replicating artificial adipose tissue, Charlemagne inserted them subcutaneously over his prominent skull and over his nose. Then he inserted some blood vessels coming off the supra-orbital arteries to feed the new cells. The softened his appearance quite a bit. The next order of business was the eyes. Again, he performed the same procedure. His settings were higher and he had to use more strength to tie the knots in his eye owing to Klingon evolution toward hardened warriors less susceptible to injury. Samud also wore the suit, but with a higher concentration of the chemical to speed his darker skin's recoloration. His solution also contained a moisturizer to help get the osmosis started faster since Samud as a Klingon had tougher skin than a human. Charlemagne also had the surgery performed on him. His eyes were modified and his skin was darkened to look more Cardassian. When all was finished, he and his team began preparations for the assault. Everyone was given a treatment that sped healing by putting an isolated subspace field around incisions; their surgery healed in less than several hours thanks to it. Echo Team, Seneca and Cicero, were busy with level 3 diagnostics of the SARPEVs to insure their working condition. No problems were found with them and told the computer to continue performing level 4 diagnostics on them every hour until they reached releasal point. The explosives' reactant tanks were in good condition as well. All that remained was to fuel them with deuterium and antideuterium. Satisfied everything was in excellent shape, they went to the bridge to relieve Hwl of duty for a while. For Oscar Team, the next few hours were spent looking over their Combat Extra-Vehicular Suits, Mk I Sniper Rifles, and SOLRPPs and performing diagnostics on them all. There were things that needed to be cleaned and parts to be replaced, but everything was in excellent condition. "Thou shalt never assume thy weapon will always function with the grace of God, and therefore we must prepare for when it may not" Charlemagne said to his team. The Agamemnon was kept unaware of anyone's presence by fast thinking by Hwl. While everyone was away in preparation, the BodyMural holoemmitter that hid the hole made by the HIPD. Hwl rushed to the HIPD only to hear engineers from the Agamemnon coming down a jeffrey's tube. Hwl ripped off his SO uniform replicated a standard operations/engineering Starfleet uniform, put it on, and climbed into the ship, positioning himself in front of the gaping hole in the hull.. As the engineers were coming around the corner, they saw Hwl from behind and asked what he was working on. Fortunately before Hwl left his station, he hacked into their computer and found out what problem anyone might be coming to fix in that area. "I'm just working on this plasma distribution diagnostic facilitator." "Oh, that's what we came down here to fix. Since we're down here, do you want any help?" "No, I'm just about done anyway. Wasn't that much of a problem. What's for dinner tonight at Ten-Forward?" "Some god awful concoction from Umlatt III. You coming?" "Yeah, I'll be late, but I'll try to catch everyone there." "OK, well, if you need anything, let us know!" "I will thanks!" Hwl concentrated for the first time on his surroundings and realized his uniform was soaked through. He was going to have to take a shower after this. He got back into the Apocalypse and started working on the holoemmitter and informed Seneca who was already on his way to the bridge for duty anyway. It was a very close call. After spending three days in transit toward a point near the border, the fleet was finally ambushed at 0330 hours. "Tacitus to crew, the fleet is being ambushed, RED ALERT!" Instantly the klaxons went off followed by the crew being rudely awakened and stumbling into their posts on the bridge. "Mr. Tacitus, reweld the Agamemnon's hull back in place. Mr. Hwl, plot course for the border for when we clear the fleet. Mr. Cicero, keep an eye on emissions. Mr. Seneca, monitor communication frequencies for any info on where everyone's headed so we don't run into anyone. Holliman, coordinate them and relay everything to the strategic holographic display back here." The Apocalypse drifted off leaving only leaving a faint circular outline where the hull had been secretly breached. As the fleet moved forward to engage the enemy, Hwl used the thrusters to stay out of the way of the ships rushing forward to meet the enemy. Other then that, there were no emissions Tacitus could detect. When the fleet had completely passed by, Charlemagne ordered 1/4 impulse to a nearby planet where they entered the atmosphere and went to warp 1 until they were out of range of long range sensors of the combatants they left behind. Now the flight was on. They only had one day left until they had to be at the drydock, and time was running short. The Apocalypse roared at warp 8 for twenty hours, the maximum speed it could sustain for that long, putting enormous stress on a hull that wasn't really designed to do so. It was a bit easier on the hull for a time as the quantum flywheels were fueled on the SARPEVs. But after the Apocalypse gained speed again, Cicero had to be up all that time keeping an eye on any macrofilaments in the skeleton that could be weakening. He had to replicate three different micro structural integrity field generators t attach to the hull at potentially buckling parts. But after the ship slowed to warp 2 and then to impulse as it approached the dry dock, the stresses lessened, and engineering returned to normal. Everyone was already prepared for their mission, it was just a matter of getting underway. It looked a bit strange having three Cardassian look-alikes on the bridge. Seneca and Cicero were in their pilot uniforms ready to go as well. "Mr. Holliman, put it up on visual." "Magnifying 300 times, sir." "Mr. Holliman, put us on yellow alert." "Aye, sir." The drydock was of typical Cardassian design, except it had been built to minimize its signature to sensors from afar. Thee was a huge tank running along the top that housed all waste gases and liquids. The sides of the dock also had sensor dampening sides to reduce detection in active searches. The station itself maintained orbit behind the moon to eliminate line of sight towards the Cardassians' nearest enemy, the Federation. The dock itself had two major walls with the interconnect over the top. It was quite a large structure. Bigger than most standard Federation docks of similar design. Usually two or three ships were built at a time here. "This is going to be very difficult. We've got a lot of hatches to work on" said Holliman. "We just need to get the ones nearest the executive docking hatch. Any others we can get are good, but we just need to keep them from getting out of the area of vulnerability. Just keep them in the shuttlepod." Charlemagne replied. "Chuck, it's time." Seneca said. "You're right. Commander Schneider, Chief Samud, good luck." "Thank you. Be careful out there, Charlemagne." The two left the bridge to board the SARPEVs. Tacitus and Holliman left to go take their equipment to the HIPD. Charlemagne stayed on the bridge to oversee the SARPEV releasal. Normally Hwl could have done something like this himself, but this was the first combat test of the system, and Sands wanted to be there if anything went wrong. He was not about to leave Hwl to do this all by himself and take any blame alone if this did not work out. That was what SO called "Leading from the front," and it was an important concept lost on too many officers in Starfleet. "Docking servo reads all normal. Team Echo is boarding, Charlemagne." "Run one final level 4 diagnostic on every SARPEV system." "Aye, sir." Twenty seconds later the computer read "All systems properly functional." "Snug in there, guys?" "No shit!" replied Cicero. It was quite cramped and he didn't especially care for such meager accommodations. Seneca replied to Charlemagne, "OK, I think we're ready. Begin exit procedure." At this point Sands just sat back and watched the show, noting everything for his technology assessment report he would have to file when he returned. Hwl began, "Echo 1, are you are clear for dispersal?" Seneca replied, "Aegis 1, Echo 1 is ready." "Aegis 1 opening outer doors. Echo 1 stand ready. Echo 2, stand by." "Echo 2 standing by." "Echo 1 activating engines, moving outside.... Echo 1 is clear of Aegis 1." "Confirmed. You are clear to go. Good hunting, Commander. Echo 2, Aegis 1 opening outer doors." "Echo 2 activating engines, moving outside... Echo 2 is clear of Aegis 1." "Confirmed. Echo Team is now clear of Aegis 1. Good hunting, Chief." "Hwl, good job. Take us into the atmosphere below." "Aye, Charlemagne. We are on heading 022, mark 10." "Engage. Holliman, Tacitus, how're you two doing?" "Good, sir. We're ready." "Strap in, we're going in. I'll be up here till we get out of the atmosphere then I'm coming to you. Understood?" "Yes, sir. I'm patching operations down here to me to help you all out." "Thanks, Eric, I might need help" replied Hwl. The Apocalypse descended to the violent atmosphere below into turbulence that almost threw everyone out of their seats. Fortunately, the Xs kept them from falling out. It did make for some nasty body whiplash though. "Charlemagne, we are inside the atmosphere and beyond the sensor capabilities of the drydock" reported Holliman. "OK, Mr. Hwl, take us out and straight up. I'm on my way to the HIPD. Keep me appraised of what's going on." "Good luck, Captain." "You too, Laup." The ship slowly approached the drydock and passed through the shielding thanks to the subphase cloak. "Captain, this is the bridge, we are past the shields and on our way to the designated drop off point." "Prepare HIPD for deployment. Holliman, Samud, get ready." With that Tacitus activated the holoemitter over his head to cast the shadow further disguising his features." "You know, you'd make a great Cardassian." Holliman remarked. "I despise these ridges on my neck. How could a species become good warriors if they can't even turn their heads around all the way?" "This is the bridge, we are docking now." Charlemagne replied "Activate HIPD, Oscar Team get ready." The whirl of the HIPD spinning precluded racing hearts and tense muscles. Nobody had any idea of what could be out there. With Starfleet Intelligence's botch of the operation before, they were all scared that they could be walking into an ambush. "Hwl, activate Forward Intruding Point System." The long probe dropped past the hologram into the level below to find nothing. No motion sensors, no subspace wave emitters, no nothing. "Hwl, where on the drydock are we?" "I'm getting into their computer just now. Looks like you're in a mess hall. All's clear. You're good to go." "Very well then. Oscar Team entering dock. After we get there, be ready to get going, Hwl." "Understood. Hwl out." The team dropped down to a dry dimly lit room full of tables and seats. The tool boxes were thrown down to Tacitus who caught them and hid them till everyone was down and clear. When everyone was in, Charlemagne and Holliman walked to the doors and watched for any onlookers. When Tacitus radioed back that the HIPD had successfully welded the hull back into place, Charlemagne and Holliman picked up their stuff and went looking for their first docking hatch while Tacitus would take the CEVASes down to a personal airlock complex and stash them there. He would then meet up with them at Deck 52, airlock 5. Seneca and Cicero were busy avoiding tachyon sweeps, mines, and sensor bursts designed to make intrusion difficult. Coming from directly above was a good idea. Most of the sensors were swept around laterally instead of vertically. That was, most were. The sensor avoidance gear was quite nice. It gave a mini-holographic layout of the optimal path in which to travel. After a good ten minutes trying to get past the heaviest sweeps, they got through the sentinels. "Echo 2, this Echo 1, what's your status?" "This is Echo 2, Ready to make our run." "Very well. Commence demolition run, Echo 1. From here on out keep necessary to talk to a minimum. Out." The two SARPEVs slowly maneuvered their way around the dock. Thee were four places to hit, the four closest to the moon. Hit those, and the dock would not be able to maintain distance away from the gravitational pull. The trick was avoiding the patrols, then getting out unscathed and undetected. Getting into the hatches was not very difficult. It was only a matter of time. The general staff would be coming in less then an hour. Getting into such a high traffic area of the station was going to be difficult to say the least. While Charlemagne and Holliman went in and put the explosives in, Tacitus would stay behind and cover them if a fire fight broke out, trying not to attract attention by opening a port and pretending to be working on something, all the while looking at the reflection behind in a smooth surface inside the wall. Charlemagne and Holliman were stopped as they entered the room by a Jem Hadar. "Who are you?" "Cardassian Safety Assessment Bureau. We're here to check over the docking hatches and environmental controls. Here's our clearance." And Sands handed the data rod to the sentry. He checked it and let them pass. As they were approaching the hatch, the most improbable happened, they ran into actual members of the CSAB. They were already checking some systems and were about to start on the hatch. "Shit. What do we do, Charlemagne?" "OK, think fast." "I got it. Just start after I leave." "Wait, what?" Then Holliman just walked right over to them and tapped one of them on the back. The Cardassian looked up and didn't know what to say. "Hey, buddy, we've got a problem with a system on the deck above. Engineering crews are busy with something else and I really need some diagnostic help. Want to come with me for a just a few minutes?" The first replied, "Hey, look, we've got to get this done. This is the most important one to look over you know." "I know, but the environmental controls for these two decks and the one below are linked. It'll just take five minutes. Just help me." The second one replied, "Well, OK, but let's make it quick, we're on a tight schedule you know." "Yeah, tell me about it. So what part of the empire are you all from?" "Both from Cardassia Prime." "Really? Me too!" And that was the last Charlemagne heard as the three men walked out the door. Charlemagne didn't know what Holliman was up to, but he just worked quickly on the hatch to insure it was rigged. And then something else happened he didn't expect. The computer would not let him hook the pseudo-explosive into the computer network. Somehow thee was a clearance algorithm required by all components for this section where the General Staff would enter for them to access the computer system. Charlemagne didn't have much choice. The place was beginning to fill with people and he had to get it hooked in lest those other CSAB workers came in and looked over his work. He opened the false bottom of his work chest, and began disassemble his tricorder, taking out the emergency uplink beacon, and connecting the download net processor to it, creating a crude computer modem connection. Then he did the most unthinkable, yet bold thing to do. "Charlemagne to Hwl, don't respond back, just listen. I'm trying to get into this computer network. I've uplinked to the Apocalypse. Get this connected and functioning with the dock's network. I'm leaving, so you'll have to work with what I've gotten you. Out." And with that Charlemagne closed the access, put his tools away, and left the room. Echo Team was having an easier time. They had already placed two of the four bombs. Piloting these SARPEVs was extremely cramped, and very uncomfortable, but they were small enough to get through holes no one would bother to check for intruders. After they finished this next part, they could start out for the pick up point. Charlemagne caught up with his cohorts after a few minutes. He found the two of them working on another hatch. "What the hell did you do with those guys?" "They are dispatched presently, Oh Captain, My Captain!" "OK, then. How're we doing?" "Just this one left. We accessed an engineering database and found that several airlocks have been welded shut for security while the General Staff is here." "OK, finish, and let's get moving." It did not take long. After two minutes they were on the move to get outside and wait. They still had a long walk up to the executive hatch, so they hurried. Seneca had run into a snag. His environmental systems were beginning to fail. Oxygen recycling had stopped, and the compartment was filling with carbon dioxide. Oxygen recycling had stopped, and the compartment was filling with carbon dioxide. More uncomfortable than that, with every breath he took, he could feel the humidity rise. His hands became sticky and left prints all over his displays whenever he touched them. Even inhaling was becoming a chore now. "Echo 1 to Echo 2. My sun is dimming, repeat my sun is dimming." "Echo 2 here. How long?" "Twenty minutes. Maybe less. Stand by until I light my candle." That was the code for ?putting on my EVA suit'. It was awkward to say the least, like trying to get a stubborn pair of jeans on in a very small closet. He already had on the pants to it, but he still had to get on the torso part of it, which he had not worn for greater ease of use of his hands. That and an emergency rebreather he had to find; he didn't bother putting his helmet on since his mohawk would have gotten in the way. But eventually he had everything on. The problem was that they wee now more than five minutes behind schedule. If the General Staff came early, they were going to get caught of a fire fight and all out headhunt for anybody nearby. The clock was ticking... They had to take out three more Cardassians and six Jem Hadar to do it, but they got into the airlock without getting injured. Putting on the suits was not too complicated as they had been practicing putting them on for speed all the past week in anticipation of getting behind schedule. "OK, everyone ready?" Charlemagne asked. Oscar Team gave thumbs up, and the airlock was opened. "Let's move. We don't have much time." The nice thing about the Combat Extravehicular Suits was that the graviton emitter in the feet were much stronger allowing for faster surface movement. Charlemagne would have liked to have just used the integral jetpacks, but emissions of any gasses might be detected and they could be followed. This was the least dangerous way of travel. They reached the hatch point about five minutes later, all quite out of breath. "OK, Tacitus, go over to there to that antenna complex and cover us. Holliman, stand ready to go as soon as we catch sight of that shuttlepod." Now another problem for Echo Team. The SARPEVs were beginning to overheat due to a malfunction of the quantum flywheel. The power regulator could not compensate for the reduced load of fewer bombs to regulate and was not lowering the power usage. Now the plasma distribution system was beginning to melt under the increased heat building in the lines. "We've got to get to warp speed soon or we're going to fry." Cicero thought to himself. He still had one more bomb to deposit. "Echo 2 to Echo 1, if you have completed run, leave theater immediately. There's an engineering flaw with our vehicles. Repeat, leave at once!" "Echo 1 here. Taking your word for it, Chief. Leaving theater. Out." Now Cicero just had to get the final bomb on and get out before he died of heat exhaustion. Thank the lord he was Andorian and more resistant to this kind of environment... The shuttlepod was now in sight. It was far off, and they needed their magnification glasses to see it, but they knew it was coming. They got the forcefield generator out and readied their SOLRPPs. Now Charlemagne just had to hope everything was ready on everyone else's ends... "Crap! Echo 2 calling Aegis 1. I am unable to complete my objective. I require your help to finish it as my craft is nearly inoperative. I am leaving theater. Out." "Shit! I was already in position!" Hwl yelled to himself. Now he had to maneuver out of the dock to the one thruster left. He just hoped he could destroy it in time to get in line of sight of Oscar Team so he could beam them aboard. The Apocalypse unlatched itself from the dock, blew its thrusters to get speed, and started toward the open space below the drydock. He had to avoid quite a bit of small craft, but he got through without being detected. He swivelled the craft around like it was an extension of his own body, and caught sight of the thruster quad a mile above him. He armed quantum torpedoes and locked them onto the target. "Ten seconds, Oscar Team, look sharp!" The shuttle pod approached the hatch. Inside the window Holliman could see the pomp and circumstance they were coming to. The dress brigade, flags everywhere, and all the station officials and researchers. "GO GO GO GO!" With that Sands and Holliman pushed off the wall with all their might and throttled their jet packs to full thrust. Sands shot a bolt into the communications node right above the cockpit. Samud blew the hatch door open as soon as they were out of range. Debris and bodies spewed out of the hatch as the station wen to n full alert. In the distance he could see other hatches being blown apart as well. "Damn, we're good!" he thought to himself. Hwl go the message and fired torpedoes. Their blue trails lit up the darkened side of the drydock and blew away the whole corner. As they hit the other bombs detonated. The whole station shifted a little away from the moon, but it would fall in a matter of minutes. Tacitus could already see Jem Hadar in space suits rushing around the shuttlepod, but he took them all out with his new sniper rifle. They had no idea what hit them. Undoubtably the warning klaxons for intruders were going off inside, but there was not anything they could do now. Charlemagne and Holliman hit the pod hard enough to get the wind expelled from them, but they did not let that stop them. They placed a shaped charge under the perimeter of the forcefield generator and blew the hull open. They pulled the hull piece out from under it where the forcefield could allow large solid objects to pass through. Then Holliman connected his suit to an interface, and jumped down into the pod. The interface connection would allow the shielding to give where his body went and let him pass. Charlemagne was busy disabling the engines to keep them stable long enough for Holliman to do his work. "Scan-in-front--seven-passengers--pilot-getting-phaser--acquire-fire--check-behind--nothing- there--stun-generals--acquire-fire--move-right--acquire-fire--target-behind--acquire-fire--move-right-- acquire-fire--general-coming-toward-me--break-face--smash-butt-into-him--he's-down--one-more-- acquire-fire." Scanning around the pod, there was nothing moving. He had successfully neutralized every person there. He said into the intercom, "CLEAR!" He looked around for the highest ranking one he could find. He found whatever the equivalent of a Vice-Admiral was and put the personal forcefield over him. "Holliman to Aegis 1; we have the package. Beam us up! Charlemagne, I am releasing the forcefield. Watch yourself." "Stand by, I'm on my way, I'm in a bit of a problem here." There were tachyon scans all over the place and he was trying hard to avoid them before he had one of several Galor class destroyers on him. "Hwl, don't worry about detection! Just get here and we'll try to outrun them!" "Understood, Charlemagne. On my way." As the forcefield released, several bodies were pulled out as the atmosphere left. "That's that many fewer generals to worry about" Sands thought. Charlemagne could see several small patrol craft coming to assist the pod. He got his own sniper rifle out, set it to full power, and aimed for the phaser strips, hoping to at least take away their bite. Tacitus was already busy fending off a squad of Jem Hadar that had come out looking for him and the team. Sands took aim, set maximum power, and started firing at the craft. Its shields took a beating, but it was going to take several shots. Sands lost no time trying to fend it off for a few more seconds. "Oscar Team. Prepare for transport!" And the team was lost in a blue flash of light. Sands, Holliman, and Samud joined Hwl on the bridge to several alerts flashing. "We've been detected and they are attempting to decloak us, sir." "OK, Tacitus, ready quantum torpedoes and fire at will. Hwl, set course for anywhere except here. Warp 1, don't worry about damaging stuff around us, they're all the enemy. We might just take out a few more as we go." "Yes, sir." And with that torpedoes streamed out of the ship hitting a Galor and tipping it over as it lost altitude and descended to the atmosphere below. "That's one, Charlemagne." "Engaging now." The Apocalypse was then off away from the site. Every ship was so busy evacuating the station, they did not even bother trying to catch the ship. "Mr. Hwl, set course for coordinates 3344.2 to pick up Echo Team, maximum warp!" "Aye, sir!" Picking up them up wasn't a problem. Before they beamed aboard, they made sure to take final readings on everything on the crafts for analysis back home. Maybe next time the SARPEVs would work better. The mission turned out for the best, but it was a close call. Back at Starfleet Headquarters, Vice Admiral Greer was immensely happy to see his team come back in one piece. The prisoner, Lieutenant General Morgar provided invaluable information on the 330th Cardassian Heavy Attack Wing, a thorn in the side of the Fifth and Sixth Fleets for months. With his information, the next week, a successful attack was launched resulting in few Federation casualties, and the near annihilation of the Cardassians and a Jem Hadar support fighter wing. Surgery on all members made Cardassian was performed putting everyone back in their normal state (Tacitus was becoming quite annoyed with having so much fat in his forehead!) For his continued excellence in operations, Lieutenant Eric Holliman was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and all members were decorated for their service. Many in Special Operations disdained those who actively sought out awards; however, Sands's philosophy of medals was very utilitarian: they did not matter much to him, but he was aware that some in Starfleet put great faith in them. So whenever he could, he seized any opportunity to award his team decorations in case the day came when their careers or advancement depended on their resumes. Sands in his report highly criticized the demands of the mission objectives, citing they were simply too expansive for a team of his size to take on. In his opinion, he should have had any where from one to three more people for redundancy. There were too many objectives, not enough time to rehearse use of the SARPEVs, speed in the Prevaricate was not sufficient for the egress (it was a miracle the Cardassians chose not to pursue), and surprise was extremely difficult given Starfleet intelligence's bungling of the operation before. Frankly, Sands was insulted that he was ordered to pick up the slack of others. The mission was successful, but only because it had worked almost perfectly. Sands also requested a new warp core, as the efficiency of the one present was questionable at best. Another subject broached by Sands was the size of SO crews. He believed that the missions now being assigned in general warranted new members. With the hostage rescue he had taken on he had needed an entire other crew. Eliminating that Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order alcove had been easy enough, though more members to cover security while they performed demolitions would have been nice. Sands knew there were times that the Shadow Horseman might have used more members also. In short, Sands asked that an expansion of the manpower of Special Operations be highly considered. Greer replied that the war had sucked up many candidates from their pool of applicants, and that normal Starfleet operations would probably not stand for SO taking their best and brightest. That was a story as old as unconventional warfare itself. But Greer did agree that Sands was right, and that eventually, the work load of SO was just going to be too large for their organization to handle. He said Sands's complaints were not falling on deaf ears. Rear Admiral Viers saw the success of Operation Paramour as justification of her further oversight of SO, and concluded in her report that they should be attached directly to the CNO's office. Naturally, Greer filed a contradictory report, stating that while the mission was successful, it was too much for the Apocalypse crew, and that on more than one occasion, the mission was saved only due to fast thinking by the operators themselves. Privately, he complained that Viers would have requested oversight anyway; if they failed, it would be reason for her to audit them and keep a tight leash; if they succeeded, it was proof her enlightened leadership was making good results. For the time being, her request would be put on hold, though not without her very vocal objections. It would come back to haunt one day... The battle over where SO fit in Starfleet's chain of command would rage on for some time, but that was another story altogether... Interested in the technology presented here? You can see diagrams and writeups for these and other items in SO's inventory at the award winning Starfleet Military Reserves at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/4124/index.html.