Jarret S. Ronning's Columbia Slow Convoy 17 "I can do this," Ramast said . Settle down, he thought. He took two deep breaths. He sat. He stood. He looked in the mirror. He sat again. He looked out the window, at the streaking stars. He had faced Romulans, Klingons with bat'tleths, angry Admirals. None of them made him as anxious as he felt right now. He was a 504 pound Brikar, and he was terrified of a 112 pound human. He'd asked Captain Rees if she'd like to come to his quarters to try some genuine Brikar food, the real stuff. Lots of Spinaar spice, maybe abit of grand corn. Not the pap the replicators spat out, for sure. He closed his eyes. Ohhh, he could taste it already. It had taken him 3 days, and lots of proding and encouragement from his new friend Dr Ortega, but he'd finally asked her. She said no. Not in so many words, but it was still no. Ramast thought he might die. Phasers set on anything less than level 6 were almost harmless to him. One two letter word from her was nearly deadly. "Can't have the crew thinking anything untoward is happening, you know." She'd said with a thin smile. Raj found it hard to speak, he was nearly whispering. "No, of course Captain. I apologize for acting so foolishly." He had turned to leave at that moment, because he didn't want her to see how profoundly sad he really was. She was right, and he'd just made a complete ass of himself. Then he heard her wonderful voice again. "However, I'm always willing to try exotic foods from time to time." Ramast turned and realized he was smiling like a lunatic, and tried his best to look more diginified. "I'll tell you what," she continued. "we'll do this publicly. In the galley. With at least two other senior staff. How does that sound?" She could've asked him to jump out an airlock, he would've said the same thing. "Fantastic!" Now he was on his way to the galley, hoping he still remembered how to properly fry a wennok. ******* As usual, Commander Davis ended up waiting for his Captain to finish getting ready in her quarters. Captain Rees felt no apprehension about this. As far as she was concerned, Mitch was a brother. "Who else will be there Danni?" Davis asked as he sat on the couch, and picked up an eskimo sculpture. Davis was the only one who was allowed to call her that, and never in = front of the crew, of course. She liked it, but tried to pretend not to. After a prolonged and suitably dirty look, Rees replied, "Just Lieutenant Ortega I think, and a roomful of crewmen and junior officers. Just the way I want it." She gave her hair a final look in the mirror, then turned back to him. "And put that down." He did. "You sound like you think you'll need protection." "From a 500 pound Brikar in love! I'd say I need protection yes." "Captain," Davis said, turning abit serious, "you'll have to disavow him of this if it interferes with his duties. Rees sighed. "I know that Mitch. Listen, so far it's been nothing but puppy love. For such a big man, he seems to be quite fragile when it comes to these things. If it gets to that point, of course I'll dress him down." She saw him smirk, and quickly put up a hand. "Don't say it, pervert. Look, like I said, it's not harming anything right now, so I see no need to hurt his feelings. Besides, it's kinda nice having a Brikar = bodyguard around." "Alright, you've convinced me. You ever had Brikar food by the way?" "No, why?" She asked as she pulled on her boots. "You like Mexican?" "You know I do," She replied frowning. "This'll make Mexican food seem like a big warm bowl of strained carrots." "Oh". Not for the last time that night, She wondered what she'd gotten herself into. Act 2 As they walked slowly towards the galley, Rees had an irresistable urge to check on the situation on the bridge. They were on the way to convoy duty, close, but not too close to the front. Shouldn't be any problems, it seemed to her like a milk run. The Federation was still strong in the area, and surely the Dominion would have more to worry about than a convoy of 30 freighters and a hospital ship. That's what she hoped, at least. She'd been told there would be 2 birds of prey, an old Ambassador and Miranda class as escorts. She kept telling herself there wouldn't be much danger, the Dominion seemed to be intent on destroying the fleet in grand battles, not going after small convoys. Rees was about to touch her commbadge to talk to the officer of the watch, when Davis stopped her. "Leave him alone Danni," Davis said. She feigned shock. "Whatever are you talking about!" "Please, just try to relax and have fun tonight." She grumbled and said something unintelligible as the walked through the doors to the large, bright galley. The first thing they saw was a huge fire on the grill, with Raj Ramast standing over it. He must've disengaged the safeties in here, she thought. No way a fire would be allowed to get that big otherwise. There were about 50 people, all suitably impressed with the conflagration. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, the sythehol was flowing tonight. Rees was happy with the whole thing. Let them celebrate now, there'd be no time soon enough. As Ramast looked up and saw his Captain enter, he stopped cooking whatever was on the spit. He was entralled for about 3 seconds. Long enough for his hand, which was now in the fire, to start smoking. A closeby Bolian crewman was the first to notice. "Lieutenant!" The Brikar didn't realize what was wrong. Until he smelled his armhair burning off. He yanked his arm out of the fire, not because he was in pain. Brikars had a completely different set of nerves for pain, and they were located under about 4 layers of hardened, leatherlike skin. He felt nothing, but didn't want to lose anymore hair either. By the time he got his arm out, it was smoking. Rees walked up to inspect the damage. "Are you O.K? Maybe the doctor should look at it." Ramast instantly turned a brilliant crimson color. "I'm really fine Captain. Thanx." Dr. Ortega gave it a cursory glance. "I have to agree with my learned friend. No harm done. Course a human would have second degree burns." Davis was shaking his head. "What else we having, besides Char Brikar?" He laughed hysterically at his own joke. "Dontcha get it? See, I said Char cause of his arm... it was in the fire, and.." he looked around and saw alot of sour faces. "Aww, to hell with it. What is that thing on the spit Mr. Ramast?" "Ah, that's the main course. Marrow root, with extra spinnar spice. It's my specialty." Rees rubbed her hands together. "Well, when do we start? I love spicy food, so I'm ready for whatever ya got Lieutenant." "Well Captain, we should really start off slowly. Since you've never had Brikar food before, I recommend the felcun leaf, and maybe..." Rees cut him off with two raised hands, "Nonsense, let's go whole hog on this thing! I'm ready for your worst." She wanted the crew gathered around her to relax. Some of them were just regular crewmen, from the bowels of the ship. She toured as often as possible, but she didn't get to see them as often as she'd like. Ramast was still hesitating. "Did you hear me lieutenant?" "Of course Captain, but you really can't expect to.." "Mr. Ramast, I'll make it an order." She gave him her I'm in Command glare. "Let's do it." Raj Ramast looked very pensive, but he wouldn't disobey his Captain. He ladeled out something that looked something like tomato soup. It had a very rich, pleasant odor. This was deceiving. Even his more cultured tastebuds were put to the test by this stuff. He handed the steaming bowl to his Captain. "There now, it smells wonderful!" She picked up here spoon and swirled it around in the soup. She had another sniff, then took a big slurp. At first, Commander Davis thought she really would have no problem. She was rolling the broth around in her mouth, looking at everyone. She even smiled. Briefly. Then it got ugly. It was obvious her first reaction was to spit it out. She looked around desperately for a few seconds, until she thought better of it. Mitch knew she wouldn't spit it out in front of the crew. She had to swallow it. She finally did, as Dr Ortega moved in. "Captain, are you O.K? Can I get you something?" Ortega asked. "I Otey" She slurred, as her tongue swelled. "Need malk, quit!" No one moved. What the hell? Malk? Rees saw they didn't understand. "Malk! Malk!" She tried to enunciate, = but couldn't. Her tougue was already twice it's normal size. One more try. "MALK!" She thought of something else. "MOOO!" A human crewman was off running to the replicator. "One extra large whole malk...MILk!" The replicator complied and the crewman ran it back to the now seated Captain Rees. "Dank hue" she mumbled, drinking deeply. She finished the half liter in 5 gulps. "Mo malk." The same crewman went back to the replicator. Ramast looked like he might have a stroke. His face and bald head were turning a bright blood red. "Captain, I'm sooo sorry. I shouldn't have given it too you. It's too much." He averted his eyes, staring at his boots. "S'ok, id's by fald." She said. Just then her commbadge beeped. "Lieutenant Thievin to Captain Rees." She just shook her head and started walking towards the double doors. She waved for Davis and Ortega to follow. When they got out of the galley, she indicated Davis should take the call. "Captain Rees' is unavailable Lieutenant, what is it?" "We just got a message from the Gaurdian ". It was the Ambassador class ship leading the convoy. "They're under attack by the Dominion." Rees looked terrible. "Oh shid." No translation was neccesary. Act 3 Rees and Davis exchanged a glance, and headed in different directions. Rees to the Sick bay, Davis to the bridge. He talked as he headed at a near run for the turbolift. "Lieutenant, increase to emergency warp, and sound red alert," He said as he entered the lift. "Bridge." The turbolift quickly complied. He tapped his commbadge again. "Engineering." The response was quick. "Dalhousie here sir, what's up?" The chief engineer asked in his = cockney British. "I need every cochrane you can squeeze outa that shiny new warp core of yours, we're about to get shot at." "Commander, are you saying you want us to hurry up, so someone can throw some torpedoes at us?" The turbolift arrived at the bridge. "Now you've got it. The convoy's under attack, they need us there yesterday." Dalhousie turned serious. "You'll have 9.65 in 2 minutes Sir." "Excellent." He walked to the Tactial station, where Ensign Singh was on duty. "How long?" he asked. "We should be there in 22 minutes." "Hell." So fast, and still not fast enough. "Did Captain Washington say how many ships were attacking him?" "Sorry Commander. It was just a burst transmission, saying they were under attack, and asking us to hurry." Davis's frown got deeper. "I don't get it, wasn't there supposed to be elements of the 7th fleet near the border? There's no way the Dominion should've gotten through." Twenty two minutes, he thought. Might as well be a year away. ***** "How long?" Rees asked without slurring as she walked on the bridge, Lieutenant Ramast close behind. Davis got out of the Command chair. "We're just now getting into visual range Captain, we've had no communications requests from the convoy." "I imagine they've been abit busy." "Captain," Thievin said. "I'm not picking up the Eisenhower, or the two Klingon ships." Not good. "Let's try not to jump to conclusions Mr. Thievin. They could be behind that moon." She was really grasping at straws now. "Aye Captain. In visual range." Thievin said. "Put it on, Lieutenant." He did so without a word. As the viewer came to a fine resolution, someone gasped. There were now 22 freighters left, although glowing bits and pieces of the others spun nearby. The hospital ship Jonas Salk was on the fringe of the scene, untouched. One remaining Dominion ship, an attack fighter, was targeting another freighter. It was followed closely by the Gaurdian. The old ship fired a torpedo. It was a grazing blow, but the fighter pulled out, wounded, and went to warp. "Hail the Gaurdian." Rees said immediately, trying to take control. "Onscreen Ma'am." Thieven replied. The scene on the bridge of the Gaurdian was not unlike that of the convoy. Wreckage was everywhere, as were wounded officers and crewmen. There were a number of blue medical tunics in the background, hurrying in and out of view. A very tall black man was centered in the screen. "Commander Charles S. Wilhite here." "Hello Commander, I'm Captain Danielle Rees. Where is Captain Washington?" She asked, though she was sure she already knew the answer. "He's dead Captain." Wilhite said flatly. "I'm sorry Commander." Rees replied. "Oh, don't be sorry yet. There's a whole lot more." Davis knew what he was talking about. "The other escorts. What happened?" "They jumped us. These freighters aren't exactly Soverign class ships, as far as speed goes. We were only making about warp 7." He paused to talk to a Lieutenant, then turned back. "Sorry. The dominion caught us pretty quickly anyways. A Battlecruiser and 6 fighters. More than a match for us. We decided to concentrate our fire on the big ship.Just as one of the Birds of Prey lost main power, it rammed the Battlecruiser. That helped us a lot, it lost shields for 2 seconds on it's port side. We got a couple of photons in, and it brewed up. The other Bird of prey was destoyed by 3 fighters. The Eisenhower lasted about 2 minutes. Which left the Gaurdian facing 3 fighters. As you saw, we got 2." He had to duck as he said the last, there was a small explosion behind him. "We'll send engineers over immediately." Rees said. "Captain, you'd better keep'em for yourself." he replied tiredly. "You'll probably need'em." Ramast spoke up now. "Captain Rees, I'm detecting a ship at the edge of our sensor range." She actually closed here eyes and wished for them to be Federation reinforcements. "What kind, Lieutenant?" Did she hear him sigh? "Jem' Hadar, Captain." Rees sat in her chair. Convoy SC-17 was still 2 days away from it's destination. She didn't think it would arrive. ***** The lone Jem' Hadar ship did not attack. It held it's distance, on the fringe of long range sensors. It was shadowing them, surely reporting thier every move. There was no way the escorts could chase it off. The Columbia was the fastest ship, but even at warp 9.65 it would take hours to catch the attack fighter from behind. Stern chases are long chases. So thier shadow would stay. The remainder got back underway, after the Gaurdian repaired its plasma injector on the port nacelle. The Ambassador class was hardly in fighting form, however. The primary plasma distribution manifold for the phasers had been damaged. Until it could be fixed, no phasers. Commander Wilhite, upon hearing the news, readily accepted the Columbia's offer of engineering help. Gaurdian's shields were at 45 percent, and slowly rising. Unfortunately so was the crew's tension, on all ships. Everyone knew there would be more attacks. Captain Rees checked her tactical console. The shadow remained, frustratingly out of reach. She sighed. They needed help, and fast. Perhaps the 7th fleet could spare a Miranda or two. Or six. She wondered not for the first time how the 7th could've allowed so many Dominion ships to bleed through... Her ruminations were interrupted by Lieutenant Ramast. "Captain, incoming message from Admiral T'Pon." T'Pon was the Admiral in charge of 7th fleet. Rees was already on the way to her ready room. "In here Lt." She sat, and looked at her monitor.The Federation's crest was replaced by the image of a calm, collected looking Vulcan. Of course, how else would she look? Rees got straight to it. "Admiral, I'm glad you got our message. We've got real trouble here." T'Pon steepled her fingers in front of her face. "Indeed you do Captain, however, you are not the only Starfleet vessel with 'problems'". She slouched, ever so slightly. "What exactly does that mean Admiral?" "It means the task force of the 7th fleet that was in your area was overrun by a force 3 times its size. That is why your flank is uncovered." She looked as though she were a Starfleet news reporter, talking about something as common as the Parises squares scores. Anger boiled in Rees. "Admiral, what assistance can convoy SC-17 expect?" "Expect nothing Captain." "Admiral, you don't seem to understand..." She was interrupted, "No, it is you who does not understand Captain." If Rees didn't know any better she could've sworn she heard a slight desperation in the Vulcans voice. T'Pon continued. "Today 7th fleet lost 45 ships. Including 21 cruisers, and a Galaxy class. I am recieving requests from one side of this front to the other. I cannot fill half of them. Almost all of those requests for help are more important than your small convoy. I have nothing to offer you. Continue on at best speed to starbase 112." With that she cut off transmission. Rees sat in silence for a moment, wearing a look of shock. Then came a sound she would grow to despise. The wail of the red alert klaxon. Act 4 Captains log, Stardate 51020.4. The chase continues. In the past 24 hours convoy sc-17 has been attacked on 6 separate occasions. The crew, from Captain right down to the lowliest crewman, is despairing. So far, the largest group of attackers had been 2 Jem' Hadar attack fighters and a Cardie destroyer. The ships cap off some torpedos, a few seconds of phaser and poleron fire, and then run. It's apparent the Dominion is trying to wear the convoys defences down, without losing any of their own ships. It's working. We've lost 4 more freighters, and another has no shields to speak of. The Columbia has destoyed 2 fighters. This is not a convoy. It's a death march. I've never felt so helpless... She ended her log just in time. Yellow alert had changed to red alert once again. She was on the bridge in seconds, despite have only 2 hours sleep in the last 24. "Report." "Same as always, Captain. I think it's the same bunch as last time." Davis said. Rees looked at the tactical display in front of Lt. Ramast. "Yup, 2 fighters, one Cardie destoyer." If they held to formula, the larger destoyer would strafe the two escorts, blocking the fighters from attack. The fighters of course, would target the helpless freighters. It would all last 10 -20 seconds. More than enought time to damage a freighter, but not enough time to knock down the shields of any of the attackers. Frowning, she studied the display. Something seemed different this time. "Captain!" Ramast yelled behind her. "3 Galor class cruisers dead ahead." She vowed to control her emotions. "How long to intercept?" "50 seconds. Exactly the same time as the chasers." "Let's mess with their timing abit. Mr. Thievin, open a channel to the convoy." "You're on." "SC-17, prepare for a radical course change. New course is 180 mark 0. Engage on my mark." Ensign Telar entered the change and held her finger over the "enable" pad. She understood what the Captain intended to do. Instead of having the convoy attacked at both the head and tail simultaneously, she would turn about to meet the closer enemy first, then hopefully have time to deal with the Cardassian attackers at the other end. "Now." Rees said simply. The convoy turned and was almost immediately amongst the enemy. Both the Columbia and Gaurdian managed to get 4 torpedos away before they went past, all targeted on the same Jem' Hadar fighter. Its shields were destroyed. This time, however, the ship did not run. All three turned and resumed the chase. "They want to finish us this time" Davis said. "Slow to full impulse. SC-17, continue on, the Gaurdian and Columbia will handle the Dominion." She said all that with a confidence she didn't feel. Dutifully the 18 freighters and the Jonas Salk moved away at impulse, while the escorts engaged the attackers. The first Jem' Hadar fighter had no shields, and so attempted to ram the Columbia. It didn't get close, as The Columbia fired phasers, and the Gaurdian let loose a volley of photons. It was destroyed when its port nacelle exploded. The Cardassian destoyer, however had full shields. Once again, while it engaged the escorts, the other passed them by and attempted to chase down the freighters. "How long till it catches the convoy, Mr. Thievin?" Rees asked. "28 seconds." "OK, fire on the Cardassian ship, Mr Ramast." He did, and it was quite a show. The forward shields of the destroyer crackled with enery, as both the Columbia and Gaurdian threw torpedoes at one specific point. Gaurdian was still without phasers, but Columbia's forward emitters were working overtime. The Cardassian managed to get 2 phaser bursts off on the Gaurdian, before her shields hit a critical level. "Mr. Ramast, load Quantums." Rees said. About 2 seconds later the Tactical officer replied, "Quantums ready." The destoyer was now attempting to turn tail, and expose its aft shields to the Starfeet vessels. It was too late. "Fire Quantums, one second separation." Ramast complied, and two staggered points of blue light shot from the Columbia. The first crumpled what was left for shields on the entire port side of the ship. The second caught the Cardies directly amidships. A large, glowing hole could be seen for a few seconds, as it listed, powerless. The following explosion was brilliant, and someone behind her cheered. There was no time for further celebration, however. There was still the one Jem' Hadar left, and more Cardassians on the = way. "Lt. Thievin, get me the Gaurdian." Commander Wilhite appeared on screen. "Well done Captain Rees. Why don't we get after the other one now." "I intend to. When was the last time you did the Picard manuver?" Wilhite smiled wildly. "Not for awhile, but it's like ridin a bike isn't it?" "Good," Rees replied, "Helm I want you to put us 5000 km off the Jem' Hadar's stern. Mr. Wilhite, put your ship 10,000km ahead of it. Got it?" "Understood, we're ready here." The fighter was just about in firing range of the convoy. Rees stood. "Engage." The Gaurdian and Columbia went to warp one, and both appeared to be in = two places at once, and the result was deadly for the smaller ship. It was caught in a hellish crossfire it's shields could not hope to absorb. It quickly engulfed in a brilliant orange = explosion. Rees was about to ask about the three Cardassian ships, when she was knocked to the floor. The Columbia was hit hard. "Report!" "The Cardassians, they're here early..." it was Davis, cringing as he picked himself up. "Return fire!" She screamed. It was obvious the Cardassians were tiring of these pesky escorts. They were going to finish them, and pick of the remnants of the convoy afterwards. As was the Cardassian way, they focused on the weakest ship first. Phasers hit the Gaurdian along its entire length. Columbia moved below and behind one of the Cruisers, as they were notoriously undergunned there. Cardassian arrogance, they assumed no one would be able to manuver behind them. Ramast gave the cruiser a full spread of photons, and it's shields finally started to weaken. A sustained phaser burst got through completely, and burned off parts of the outer hull. Rees was about to ask that quantums be loaded again, when she was hailed by the Gaurdian. Wilhite could barely be seen through the static. "...umbia, get ..ear," "Clean that up, Lieutenant." Rees ordered. It got slightly better. Everyone could see Commander Wilhite was severly injured. He sat in the center chair, a monstous gash across his forehead. Blood ran into = his eyes, and it was obvious he couldn't see the viewer. Smoke and emergency lights could be = seen in the background, but no one moved. "Captain, we're finished. We ..ill initiate a warp .... breach, and hope to ..atch the Cardassians in the ...plosion. You have 5 ..econds... Get clear!" Rees eyes were very large. "Helm?" "Do not worry Captain." Thank God for Vulcan calm, she thought and screamed,"Auxilliary power to aft shields!" just as the Gaurdian exploded in white light. The Columbia's shields strained against the debris, but held. The 3 Cardassian ships were not so lucky. They were very close, and were caught even as they ran. All were intact, but without shields, and mostly without weapons. One of them fired a weak phaser on Columbia. "Finish that ship." Rees snarled. One photon torp found the wounded ship, and it exploded, adding to the damage of the other two. Rees turned to Davis. "Start beaming thier crews aboard. Put the senior staff in the brig, and the others in Cargo bays one and two. I want level 4 force fields at the entrances, and maximum security." "Aye Captain." He paused as he looked at the viewer, and the debris of the Gaurdian. "Better than they woulda given us I'll bet." "That's why we're fighting them, isn't it Commander?" Davis only nodded. "Touche`". Act 5 They were almost there. Admiral T'Pon had been able to assist after all, however indirectly. The remainder of 7th fleet gathered at sector 114, and staged an attack on Cardassian outposts in the area. This had the effect of bringing Dominion and Cardassian ships from all around, and relieving pressure on other areas of the front. Of course, it put all the pressure directly on the 7th fleet. They had not yet gotten word on the outcome. There had been two more attacks, one Cardassian destoyer made a quick strafing run, then ran. The other was from the = shadow ship. Same thing, strafe and run. They managed to damage one freighter, the Estevan, = badly enough that it had to be scuttled. It was nothing like before, however. The Columbia, remarkably remained undamaged. Everyone actually managed to get 6 hours sleep. Rees stepped back onto her bridge after a nap in the ready room. She looked at the crew, in whom she was well pleased. They had performed admirably, and she had more than a few commendations to pass out. She was also proud of the convoy. SC-17. She knew the ships by name now. The Amagosa, the Dryden, the Fasnastonatronin. The last she shortened to Fas. She knew each ships quirks, thier strengths. She knew the Captains by name by now as well. She smiled inside. 15 minutes away. Commander Davis stepped out of the turbolift with two coffees, looking refreshed. "Get some sleep Captain?" He asked, handing his Captain a = cup. "That I did Mr. Davis, I dreamt of Vallarta again." She sipped her = coffee and made a face. "Ugg, you have mine I think." He inspected the mugs. "Oh ya, sorry." They swaped, and he took a drink. "After we finish with this Convoy, why don't we hit the holodeck and go Mexican?" She looked sour. "Because, I'm gonna be staying away from spicy food for a little while." Mitch looked devious. "If you think Brikar food is hot on that end" he said, pointing at her mouth, "wait till it gets to the other." She buried her face in her hands. "Oh...oh no." "Captain." Ramast said. "Incoming message from Captain Boone of the Adonis." It was another old Ambassador class. She perked up immediately. "On screen." Captain Boone was an imposing looking woman of about 60. She looked positively grumpy right now. The two Captains exchanged pleasantries. "Captain Rees, the Adonis needs your assistance. We've been attacked by two Cardassian destroyers, and are in dire need of a power transfer. We are without propulsion, or weapons, and crew is gettin nervous. Some of 'em have leave comin in two weeks, and they don't particularly wanna die and miss all that. Can you assist?" Rees knew they were the only ship of any size close enough to help. The Venture was over an hour away. She had to help the Adonis, but was loathe to leave her convoy. "One moment please." She looked at Ramast. "Get me Admiral Lothar at starbase 112." It took seconds. Rees filled him in on what the Adonis needed. Now she explained what = she needed from him. "Admiral, would you be able to send your peregrines to escort the convoy the rest of the way? I doubt there'll be any more trouble." "They're already on the way, Captain. You should have them on your sensors anytime." He was right, 12 peregrines in formation, were on the way. "Thank you Admiral. We should return with our prisoners to 112 in about 2 hours. Rees out. Mr. Ramast, open a channel to the convoy." He did. "SC-17. I'm glad to have been able to escort you this far. You should all be very proud of yourselves. Starbase 112's peregrines will take you the rest of the way. Good luck." The commchannel was filled with admiration and thanx for the Captain and crew of the Columbia. She'd stuck with them, and overcome some incredible odds. Most of the crew on the Columbia's bridge smiled. Except for Telar of course. Still smiling, Rees said, "Set course for the Adonis, maximum warp." ******* As the Columbia rendezvoused with the crippled ship, Lt. Ramast spoke up from his tactical station. "Captain, we're recieving another distress call." Rees looked heavenward, and asked cockily, "What now, does the Enterprise need to be rescued?" Ramast looked crestfallen. "No Captain, this distress call is coming from...Starbase 112." She turned in her chair, and stared at the Brikar. Lt. Ramast continued. "It appears the 7th fleet was flanked by another task force of Dominion ships. Starbase 112 is currently under attack by at least 12 Dominion Battlecruisers, 20 Cardassian Cruisers, 30 Cardassian destoyers," "Enough, Lieutenant. Put it on speakers." He did. It was as if they were listening to the tortured souls of hell. Any question of whether the convoy managed to get away was quickly put to rest. "This is the Amagosa, we have a warp core breach in progess, all hands are..." It ended in a burst of static, but there was more. "This is starbase 112 to all ships. Our shields have failed, we can no longer defend you. You must scatter, and hope.." Then he too was cut off. The last defiant messages from some of the freighter Captains could be heard as they tried to get away. None did. The last thing the Columbia crew heard was Captain Alex Ignikuk of the Jonas Salk pleading with the Dominion that his was a Medical ship, and should be allowed to go. The Dominion disagreed. It was over in seconds. "How?" Was all Captain Rees could manage. Lt. Thievin had the answer. He spoke quietly. "Their communications were probably jammed Captain. It would appear they didn't break through till it was too late." Rees looked at the Adonis, listing in front of them. She looked at it, but didn't see it. "Number one, take care of...this." She waved vaguely at the screen. "I'll be in my ready room. I'm not to be disturbed." Davis was looking at the floor. "Aye Captain." ******* She stood by the window for a long, long time. Her coffee untouched. She braced herself against the wall, and thought of her new friends. All those good people, with families, and friends of thier own. Dead. For the first time in 8 years, she wept. And for the first time in her life, Danielle Rees felt the slow burn of hate.