Star Trek: Athena
Unholy Alliance
by Chris Robato
(crobato@kuentos.guam.net)

Return to part 1

Klaxons went off blaring, red lights swirling. Pilots running across the corridors, suiting up, as they run to their respective fighters. Cockpits shutting, pilots putting on their headsets, giving the thumbs up.

"Begin bulkhead decompression!" The flagger said. "Launch Attackers!"

All along the wall of the Tumanjal, Cartel Attackers dropped off their embedded docking positions, folded their wings downward, and engaged impulse. As they leave the carrier, to assembled into V shaped formations, a swarm of dark bats ready to seize on their prey. Nearby, the Raiders and Bird of Preys under Cartel command, descended in battle formation nearer the asteroids, engaging their cloak systems. The Bird of Preys lowered their wings into attack position.

Aboard the Koxinga, the lieutenant said, "We got five Federation ships heading our way."

"Magnify on screen!" Oblan ordered.

"Just as I said," Admiral Shelton said. "Three Defiants, one Intrepid variant, and one Prometheus variant heading our way. They're trying to hunt down this ship."

"I'm going to back to my Raider," Gera said. "I'm not going to sit here and watch."

"I would rather that you stay, but..." Oblan said. But he knew better than to put a strong woman like Gera on a leash.

"But because I am your best fleet commander, you cannot afford me to stay on your ship. Don't worry. I got the shield frequency codes, and I've improvised my Raider with shield disrupters, along with members of my squadron and a few wings," Gera said. "Tactical, beam me back to my ship." She disappeared in a column of sparks.

Oblan noted a creamy gas giant on the screen. "Lieutenant, take us to that planet and put that planet between this ship and the Federation vessels."

"Aye, great Citizen." The Koxinga's impulse engines began to whir as the ship turned around, nose pointed to the giant sphere of the gas giant. Overhead, a flight of Raiders flew past.

Gera Khidan took to her captain's chair, while a wing of Raiders formed around her ship. "Pass the shield frequency codes to all ships carrying disrupters," she ordered one of her officers. "Tell the commandos to suit up. We're going to have a party when those shields are down."

When all fighters have launched, and the Tumanjal turned its cloak mode on. More than fourteen hundred meters of giant ship faded, while squadrons of Cartel Attackers hid just above the asteroid belt, their sensor profiles matching the deadly rocks that orbit below.

Gera pressed her hand into a closed fist and then opened them up again like a blooming flower. The movement exercised the talons on the back of her. Their blades were eager, waiting, hungry to cut. There was nothing like the sight of freshly warm bright red blood gushing out from open veins the smell and taste of it.

"Fleet status!" She ordered as she placed on her Command Headset, one of the Jem'Hadar like modifications done to the Raider.

"The Koxinga has retreated towards the gas planet. The Tumanjal has stationed itself deep within the safety of the asteroid belt. She's in cloaked mode. Five Federation ships haved slowed to sublight speed and heading for the gas giant," the officer reported.

"Excellent," she commented. "They have not spotted the carrier, and that ship would have been most vulnerable. Their attention is focused on the Koxinga. Once the Federation fleet is between us, the gas giant and the Koxinga, launch the attack."

"What about the Koxinga, sir?" The officer asked.

"She's more than a match to any of the other vessels except for the Prometheus variant," Gera said. "We have take care of that ship first."

"We have identified the Prometheus variant as the Ares class USS Deimos," her tactical officer said. "The Intrepid class is the USS Hainan."

The dots in the display of her headset showed the Attacker and Raider formations leaving their hiding positions in the asteroid and closing in on the Fed force.

"Attacker formations engaging the Defiants!" Another officer exclaimed. Concentrated pulse phaser fire ripped one, then another Cartel Attacker, their debris and pieces of burning wings still hurtling along their flight path.

But quickly, four Attackers and a Bird of Prey went behind the Defiant in hot pursuit. The Defiant class banked into one direction, then banked again into the other to dislodge its pursuers. But the Attackers and the B'rel kept on her tail, unleashing a stream of pulse phaser and disrupter fire, quickly dissolving away at the rear shields. The dorsal and ventral phaser arrays fired back, blewing away one of the Attackers. Then smoke appeared as sparks blew out of the Defiant's class impulse engines. Sensing a wounded animal, more Attackers and Raiders came for the kill.

The Defiant class unleashed its multiple torpedoes off from its aft tubes, blowing out the B'rel. But it was too late for the Defiant class, as a wing of Attackers unleashed a full spread of mini quantum torpedoes. The first impact blew off its dorsal assemblies and impulse engines the last four came simultaneously into the rear, and there was nothing left of the Defiant class except for a ball of fire and its deflector nose hurtling forward.

"Idiots! I don't want them destroyed when we capture them!" Gera shouted.

Two torpedoes shrieked out from the rear of the Intrepid variant, blowing out a Raider, its front head rapidly spinning out from the blast. Two Attackers made a pass at the USS Hainan, pulse phasers wreaking havoc against her shields. But one phaser beam, two, then three, from the Hainan's multiple phaser arrays blew one of the Attackers into five main pieces. As the second Attacker tries to get away, pinpoint phaser firing from the Hainan knocked it down and sent it spinning, finally to end in its fate in an explosive ball. Then the Hainan sent a single well placed torpedo shot against a Raider coming at it from the front, obliterating in a brilliant flash.

Two Raiders came in from behind ripping the Hainan's rear shields with streams of brilliant white pulses. Return fire from the Hainan severely left one Raider smoking these Intrepid variants pack a mean rear defense. But as soon as one ship dropped out, another took its place. As the Hainan's shields thinned out, the Raiders unleashed their shield disrupters, knocking out the rear shields completely.

"Board!" Gera ordered. "I want that ship captured, not destroyed!" On her swivel throne, her command headset gave her an unprecedented view of the battlefield from any of ships' sensors.

Sensing stricken prey, the other Raiders targeted the Hainan's other auxiliary systems, and the ship slowed down, moving forward only by its sheer momentum. Like a pack of wolves, more Raider ships converged on their prey. As a Raider swept pass the Hainan, it beamed a commando squad, then another, and another. Some of the Raiders beamed gas canisters to knock out the crew the Raider boarding crews wore gas masks with their personal armor and threw gas grenades from hand carried launchers or directly from hand. Brutal fighting broke through out the ship, now stricken, and floating without direction.

Gera could hear the excited shouts and screams from the transmissions of the commandos. She was ready with her boarding crew if she needed to, but the transmissions told her they have attacked the bridge of the Hainan. Several seconds later, the team sent a confirmation that the bridge has been secured. They may build nice starships, but in direct hand to hand combat, the Feds were easy fodder, except for a few races with great strength such as the Vulcans. Create a specialist boarding team from hunter and warrior species like Khosk or Klingon, and watch the havoc they do when you set them inside a Federation ship. The Federation security personnel lacked personal armor and were often under armed.

"The Hainan is secure, the Hainan is secure. She is in our control. An engineering team is beaming over!" A commando shouted over the comlinks as an Orion Privateer frigate beamed over an engineering team. "We got her running now!" The commando squad leader said.

"Get the other ships!" Gera ordered, swiveling in her throne, her slit eyes focused on her prey, one of the Defiant class ships left. Her Raider banked with her escort wing, sensors and weapons locked on a Defiant class ship.

The Defiant class cleaved through an Attacker formation, destroying two of the Attackers as it buzzed through. But the survivors of the Attacker wing kept their relentless attack and pursuit, hosing their Defiant class with its own medicine of pulse phaser fire. The agile dodging of the Attackers banking right and left prevented a solid lock in from the aft torpedoes, and whatever they fired missed into space. The defensive fire from dorsal and ventral phaser beams of these late model or refit Defiants damaged the Attackers, but could not sustain the beam enough for a more permanent damage.

One of the Attackers withdrew with heavy damage, smoking from wounded wings. But the persistence of the Attackers meant that as one withdrew, more than three would take its place. Agile against larger ships, but not against smaller fighters that tailed it incessantly, the Defiant class started to smoke from the accumulated damage against its impulse engines.

"It is mine!" Gera ordered. "Board it."

The Attackers disengaged as a wave of Raiders sensed and converged on their wounded prey like hungry wolves. Even a gallant and as mighty a warship as a Defiant class was unable to withstand wave after wave of shield disrupters that effectively shutdown its shields and drained its power systems. Waves of commandos beamed into the Defiant class, and with only forty crewmen, internal resistance went down much faster than it did with the Intrepid variant Hainan. The commandos quickly extinguished the screams of the Federation crewmen and Gera Khidan heard them all through her headset.

The last Defiant escort nailed yet another Raider, then two Attackers. But the captured Hainan was right behind her, burning her tail with phaser beams. The Defiant class fired a volley of aft torpedoes right at the Hainan, only to have the Hainan cut down the torpedoes with sweeping phaser beams on rapid fire defense mode. Max ECM blinded the rest of the torpedoes, causing them to miss the Hainan narrowly down her belly.

The Hainan fired a spread of torpedoes, but the combination of ECM and quick banking sent the torpedoes screaming into empty space. Able to escape from one situation, the last Defiant class escort flew headfirst into another the former USS Koxinga.

The curved horizon of the gas giant loomed ahead, the system's sun illuminating it into a thin crescent. There in the curved horizon, the Achilles class Koxinga waited for her prey, its large array of eight pulse phasers locked on against the hapless Defiant. A spread of torpedoes lashed out from the Defiant class ship towards the Koxinga, only to have a spread of mini quantum torpedoes from the Koxinga's Phalanx system intercept them, exploding them spectacularly in thin space.

The Koxinga's massive array of pulse phasers locked on to the Defiant class, and hosed a massive stream right into the Defiant class. Brilliant glowing fire in white and tinged with purple burned out from the tumbling escort, as the massive Koxinga swept over it.

"Don't destroy it when we can capture it!" Gera ordered. Tractor beams quickly held the tumbling Defiant class as Raiders converged on it for the kill, beaming commandos into the helpless ship. A picture popped up in Gera's headset, a comlink from the captured Defiant class. The commando leader in armor and mask raised his thumbs up, while the background were the corpses of the Federation crew, blood all over panels, the captain in his chair, half of his skull blown away.

"Excellent, but we will clean up the mess when you bring it to base," Gera said. Gera noted the names of the two captured Defiant class ships, now that the details of the hulls of the two ships can now be clearly seen the USS Sharktooth and the USS Halifax. "Get those two ships running so we can use them to take out the last one." An Orion Corsair light cruiser supporting the fleet dispatched engineering teams to get the two Defiant class escorts up and running.

But the last ship maybe the most difficult to kill. The powerful phasers on board the Ares class USS Deimos have made quick work on a dozen Attackers. Torpedoes from the Deimos blew an Raider, then another. This may be turning out too expensive in terms of the Raider inventory, Gera thought. The Deimos easily dodged the wings of Attackers, surprising agility for a ship its size. But the Attackers looped and relentlessly pursued the Deimos, paltering it with streams of pulse phasers.

"Get all Raider ships with shield disrupters. Set to the assigned frequencies and target the last ship," Gera ordered, her own Raider and squad wing in pursuit of the Deimos.

"The Deimos is powering up its warp engines!" Her officer warned. But the Koxinga was right in her path, letting loose a stream of pulse phasers. The Deimos responded with a volley of Type XII phasers. Not even the Koxinga's frontal shields could hold that level of concentrated firepower from the mass production Prometheus variant. The Deimos swept past the Achilles class cruiser a third larger its size, and continued a blistering barrage of phasers that trimmed out the Koxinga's shields to almost nothing. The Koxinga could make a meal out of the largest Jem'Hadar dreadnaughts, but not something packing the firepower and protection of a Sovereign with the speed and size of an Intrepid, and the agility and ruggedness of a Defiant. Still, the Koxinga's massive pulse phaser fire literally stripped off the shields of the Deimos. The pulse phasers scored some direct hits at the hull, but the ablative armor absorbed them. Each hit vaporized a part of the armor, the armor sacrificing itself bit by bit.

"Yes, we have our opportunity," Gera shouted. "Raiders! Fire shield disrupters!"

She glanced at the tactical screens to see the status of her target. "We got her shields down!" She shouted, watching her prey from the monocle of her headset. "Disable her energy systems and weapons. Prepare to beam commando teams. Prepare to beam me in," Gera ordered.

"But Captain!" One of her officers objected.

"I'm not going to end this fight without some personal kills," Gera announced, flashing her talons from the back of her hand. "I need to plunge these into live flesh."

As Gera's Raider looped and headed for another pass, the Deimos slowed, giant sparks arcing out of its hull, a wounded predator that has become the hunted for a pack of smaller, voracious creatures.

"Do not destroy the Deimos!" Gera ordered to all her attack squadrons. "She's mine! Prepare all boarding teams." Turning to her own crew, Gera ordered. "Beam me into the bridge with my commando team." She stood up, took off her headset, and her shoes, choosing to go in barefooted.

"Steady...steady..." Gera said as the Raider closed in on the Deimos. "Now!" She ordered and her body disappeared in a column of sparks.

She appeared right in the middle of a startled crew. Her talons flashed, slicing the neck of an ensign wide open, spilling blood all over the bridge. Crewmen fired back, but their phasers torched their own panels as their target swiftly leapt away. Three commandos appeared in the bridge; the crewmen immediately cut down one of the commandos but two of the crewmen fell to the commando's fire, their chests wide open, burning.

Gera picked one of the crewmen by her hair and smashed her skull against the console. As she tossed the limp girl aside, she leaped towards the captain of the Deimos, her talons plunging right under his rib cage. He grunted and croaked as she tore his heart out from under him, feeling his body quiver with the last strength of his life until all life ebbed away from his limp body, and all became still, his agonized face frozen forever. The last of the bridge crew fell on the floor, his chest a smouldering black cinder. But there was still one more...

"No please stop!" the admiral on board cried out, as the commandos aimed their rifles at him like an execution squad. He must have led this task force to hunt the Cartel fleet down. Funny, how table turned.

Gera opened up his esophagus with a quick slash of her talons. She stared at his horrified face as he drowned on his own blood, his blood filling his lungs. His horrified face could not scream, nor utter his pain and final moments of anguish. He fell to his knees, before he crumbled to the floor on a pool of his own blood. The scene could not have played better for Gera, who stood amused with a smile.

"Target bridge is secure," Gera said to her communicator. "Send in more commando and engineering teams to fully secure the rest of the ship."

"Roger," replied an officer from her Raider.

Gera surveyed her handiwork with pride. Four of the Federation's best captured in minutes. They should be shaking in their boots when their admirals hear of this. She licked off the blood from her talons clean and they felt warm and tasty. As she returned her talons to sheaths buried insider her hand, she sat on the captain's throne, relaxed and crossed her legs. This was big and comfortable compared to her old Raider. Yes, she will make this her new ship.

* * *

Aboard the Taciticus Shipyard, to the present...

"What do you mean my mother?" Tonya asked. "Where is she?"

"We still don't know where she is, but we know whom she is associated with," Hurst said. "During the Dominion War, she fought behind enemy lines like you did, extracting revenge against the Cardassians and the Dominion War. After the Dominion War, your mother never returned to the fold of the Federation like many former Maquis under a rehabilitation program. Instead, like other Maquis, they continued to blame the Federation for many problems involving the border worlds. After the war, insurrection actually increased among the border worlds, providing valuable feeding material to the Cartels."

"The last information we heard about your mother from our deep ranged operatives was that she had defected to the Cartels," Hurst said.

"The Cartels?" Tonya asked. "Are you sure?"

"Nothing is really ever sure, but that is what our most reliable information says," Hurst said. "Originally known as the Orion Pirates, the Cartels are their evolutionary descendants, meaner, deadlier, harder to fight. They have taken advantage of the uncertainty and weakness of the major powers after the Dominion War to rebuild their power base and create a new resurgence. The Section believes that the Cartels could not have gained this power without deep connections inside the major powers, the Federation, Romulans, Klingons, and the Cardassians. Section Command has now classified them as a Class A Interior Threat trust no one."

"The all too perfect Federation and Earth, with worms corrupting them from the inside," Tonya said.

"This is why it's a Section matter. We are meant to deal with inside threats with the utmost secrecy," Hurst said. "The news gets worst. Scouts have been monitoring and tracking Jem'Hadar Alphan forces consecutively meeting with Cartel forces. Something is going down big. The Cartels had already absorb what was left of the Maquis and the Orion pirates. A major alliance between the Cartels and the Alphans would obviously spell a major threat to the Federation."

"In some ways, the Cartels are worst than the Borg. They corrupt. They prey on human vice. There is no technological solution to that," Hurst said. "They assimilate technologies covertly. They work on stealth, on cunning. Like a cancer they grow. It is said that the greatest enemy is one that lies within our borders." "What do you want me to do?" Tonya said. "Apprehend my only mother? Kill my only mother?"

"Do what you always do as an operative," Hurst said. "Find, confirm, and assess course of action."

Tonya nodded her head in disbelief. "You really are serious, are you? Does anyone know you two were a couple before?"

"No," Hurst replied. "So far. They might still tie me and you. The Section might frown any connections that may have a treacherous implication. This is bad already as it is."

"After all you think the sacrifices I have made, and you, you probably spent your lifetime here, sacrificing everything, including your family, for this career, this thing you call the Federation and Starfleet," Tonya said. "And you think this fat desk jockeys you call admirals would know better..."

"Well, those fat desk jockeys like me are smarting bad," Hurst said. "A few days ago, a Federation task force in pursuit of a lead to a Cartel force were never heard of again. Out of five ships, we found traces of one of their Defiant class escorts, but nothing on the other four. We found wreckage of several Cartel ships, indicating there was a major firefight. But there is no confirmation of the wreckage of the other four ships, and which we must assume the worst that the Cartel has captured them. The other ships in that task force included two other Defiant class ships, an Intrepid A refit, but most worry some is the Ares class ship, the USS Deimos. Engineers designed the Ares class to be the general production model of the Prometheus class. You've heard of that ship, right?

"Yes, I've vaguely heard about it. Never seen it, just heard rumors about a ship that separate into different parts to commence an attack," Tonya said. "Pretty stupid if you ask me."

"Starfleet decided to put the ship into limited production but without the separation mode," Hurst said. "Even without its multi vector mode, it is still a formidable weapon, a ship with more firepower than the Sovereign for just over half the size and cost with a lot greater agility."

"Oh wow, and now the Cartels have this baby," Tonya said. "I can't imagine what the Federation will send on their way next."

"Our deep space sensor network picked up nadyion signatures for a variety of weapons, ranging from Federation pulse phaser, Klingon disrupters, and the Breen shield disrupter weapons," Hurst said. "Only one group could field such weapons, confirming Cartel presence. We have also picked up and deciphered subspace communications that sound like this..."

Hurst played a sound track from his terminal. Amidst the sounds of phaser fire, the screams and the cries of help, commandos shouting orders were heard.

"That's Cartel commandos boarding our ships and making short work of our crews," Hurst said. "That's nearly four hundred men and women, lost right there. And amidst the voices "

Hurst played more of the tracks. Tonya froze as she heard a voice she had not heard for years since she was a child, since her mother left on that Raider ship long ago in that one afternoon. "Mother..." She uttered, her head looking down. "Mother..."

"You know, things could have been different a long time ago, for all of us," Tonya said. "I remember a Federation captain, keeping a lover and siring an illegitimate daughter. Why didn't you just marry mother? Huh? Maybe if we did, all this would not happen! I can never imagine any reason why you want to kept us under wraps? Was it your career? That you had an affair with an alien while on assignment wasn't proper Starfleet protocol? That you had an illegitimate daughter as a result? That all these would jeopardize your ambitious rise in Starfleet ranks?"

Tonya began to shiver, her emotions falling apart. She had never felt that way for a long time. She had always been in control, and control was what kept her alive when she took command of the USS Fearless, preventing her and the ship's death. Control was what kept her alive in the few years as deep space infiltration operative. Control was what she was losing now.

She brushed her wet eyes with her forearm, her fists clenched.

"I was young then," Hurst said. "Being in Starfleet, being a Starfleet officer, was all that mattered to me most even over my love and my child. When you are much older now, you think back, and you see what you have done for the Federation and Starfleet, are only drops in a pond, and you're left with nothing for yourself. When you look back, all I see are the sins of the past, and a life I could have, and a legacy I should have left behind. I am not going to make excuses for the things of the past, Tonya. I am only here to make things right again for you and for me."

"But as for your mother, what she did are things out of her free will. She made a choice. Do not blame me for them. I loved her once, and I still think of her. And she will always be your mother. But I do not know what sort of person she has become."

"Tricky question, Tonya," Hurst said.

Tonya explained. "The Cartels have the entire Alpha and Beta quadrants to hide in. But as we noted, the Jem'Hadar Alphans have funny business going on with the Cartels. So our best bet is to find the Alphans. They will lead us to the Cartels."

"I will need a small ship. I think I can get Mother out of there, if I can convince her," Tonya said.

"What are you planning to do, Tonya?" Hurst asked. "Are you planning to go in there alone? Take the chance and convince your mother that what she is doing is wrong, and that she will come back to you willingly? She has years to think about what she is doing, and I'm sure, she's not about to give it up. Have you lost your mind? Tonya? As an operative I thought you would know better."

"I know better that there isn't much left in my life worth fighting for," Tonya said. "And one of those few things left is my mother. I don't know how you feel about her for all these years, but dammit, she's still my mother. I've offered and done my best for the Federation, and all I am asking from the Federation is to give back my mother. Is that too much to ask?'

"Four hundred Starfleet lives, with a major power shift in the entire two quadrants of an entire Galaxy, possibly a third, yes, that may be too much to ask," Hurst said bluntly. "Not to mention the fact that I don't want to lose you once more."

"That's the father in you talking, but what about the Starfleet admiral?" Tonya asked.

"The Starfleet admiral says that you are one of the best in the business, and we cannot afford to lose those talents either," Hurst said. "Not in a quixotic wild goose chase."

"Look, Dad, Admiral, whatever, what hat would you like to wear and from where we are going to stand?" Tonya asked.

Hurst sighed. "We are Starfleet officers first in this office, and in this mission, Tonya. I hope you understand that."

"I understand it too well, Admiral," Tonya said. The word 'Admiral' reverberated deep inside Hurst's ears. For the first time in his life, it pained him to hear it, something inappropriate for a daughter to say.

"Yes, Admiral, what do you wish to say?" Tonya asked.

Hurst nodded his head. "The only appropriate solution is to track down the Cartels, confirm if they had established an alliance with the Alphans, and eliminate all of them with a preemptive surgical strike."

"That is a tall order, Admiral, even for a Section fleet," Tonya said. "They got a Prometheus variant, two Defiants, an Intrepid variant and whatever they used to capture these ships is still out there. And if they truly had an alliance with the Jem'Hadar Alphans, that's going to be a lot more than the minuscule, guerilla like forces the Section could muster. If I remember, the last Borg incursion took a large bite of the Section inventory."

"How do you know, Tonya? That was pretty classified and sectorized," Hurst said.

"Oh, I have my means. Things are a lot more porous than they seem," Tonya said.

"I was thinking of using regular Starfleet," Hurst said.

"Yes, just like the force that got captured," Tonya said. "Uptight naive squares who have little comprehension of what they're dealing with. They're your 'I got better technology so I beat you' school of thinking, failing to comprehend or even imagine the guile and skill of their opponents. How can you explain how three Defiants, an Intrepid and Prometheus getting trashed like that?"

"Right now, Starfleet is spread out over a vast amount of space. By the time, a sizable force can be gathered, the Cartels have packed up, left and move to a new location," Tonya said. "Does regular Starfleet ever know how to fight a guerilla war? An opponent that fights and fades like a ghost?"

"Yes, something like the Romulans, which we are always having trouble with. Overwhelming force is still better than nothing," Hurst said. "I can assemble a strike force out of regular Starfleet to take out their main force. We're not just going to sit here and do nothing, while they can potentially ravage our shipping lanes. Section ships can scout, track and pinpoint the exact enemy location, and may conduct preemptive strikes against strategically sensitive points like bases, shipyards, research and resource centers."

"I still want Mother back," Tonya insisted.

"We already know where your mother stand," Hurst said.

"No we don't. Not until I get to talk to her," Tonya insisted.

"Four hundred Starfleet lives, and probably the tip of the iceberg after all she had done in the years. In the eyes of the Section and Starfleet, she's a wanted criminal, a target to be exterminated," Hurst said.

"Dammit, Daddy, don't you have any feelings left for her?" Tonya raised her voice. It took Hurst aback, as no one raised their voices towards him before.

He calmed down and collected himself, in the manner truly worthy as an admiral of Starfleet. In front of him was an angry Khosk, even if she was his daughter. But before he could say anything, she collected herself, her human side winning.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. That wasn't right to ask," Tonya apologized.

Hurst sighed. "Maybe a case can be made if we can capture her alive. She may be more valuable alive than dead with all the possible knowledge about the Cartels. Attempting to destroy the Cartels is like dealing with insects and bacteria. When you think you have destroyed them, they will pop up again somewhere to haunt you when you least expect it, and when you're most vulnerable. Unless you come up with a more fundamental way of handling them, they will be back again and again. Know their deepest secrets would provide us the means to cripple their foundations."

"But it's still a far shot and a dangerous one," Hurst admitted.

"Worth trying by any means. I would need a ship, a small ship," Tonya said.

"I can put anything you need under your temporary command. I even got a Prometheus A class protoype that can do the nasty tricks," Hurst said.

"Yeah, I saw that when I first came into the base. Really neat and slick. That's a far cry from the ship I remembered you with," Tonya said. "Speaking of ships, whatever happened to it?"

"The New Orleans class? The USS Holland?" Hurst said. "Yes that brings back the memories. I got promoted and transferred out of it. Near the close of the Dominion Wars, she got into heavy trouble, losing a lot of her old crew, but she survived. They refitted her after that, and she's chugging along somewhere. Would be nice to see her again."

"It would be nice too. I wonder if the drawings I made on the wall were still there. Anyway, what I need is a ship that I'm already familiar with. During the war, they assigned to me to a Defiant class ship. During that time, they were state of the art, and not as common as they are right now. I don't mind having one of those again. Nothing fancy like a Prometheus. We don't have time to learn the new things. A Defiant has proven itself well to me," Tonya said. "Give me a Defiant with a Venture class scout or a Type 11 shuttle, even with one of the new Delta Flyer class types."

"That's too bad because that ship can cloak, against the Algernon treaty," Hurst said. "However, the Romulans have warned us about using it without their notification, and has sprinkled the area with long range tachyon grid sensors to detect its phased cloak, so we hardly ever get to use it."

"But if you want a small ship, it's not problem. I got the USS Mage," Hurst said. "She's almost finished with her repairs, heavily damaged in her fight against the last Borg incursion. She lost her captain and half of her crew till a Borg containment team came in took the boarding drones out. Suffice to say, de-assimilation is a chancy process. Some get out it, some don't. Many of her crew didn't, including her captain. She's a Block 20 ship, you know, the definitive version, post Dominion War type. Got five tubes, three in the front, two on the back, four pulse phasers, two beam arrays, one in the ventral, one in the dorsal. We fitted her with above spec equipment exclusive to Section vessels, such as extended range passive sensors and energy signature suppressors. As you can see, she has a slightly longer and wider nose to fit that equipment. We call it an Anteater subvariant, because it looked like an anteater, and the first ship of this subvariant we christened her the USS Anteater. You know what I mean do you?"

"Not precisely, but if you mean a creature that consumes small prey with its nose on the ground, yes, there is a resemblance," Tonya admitted. "She looks like a neat ship."

Tonya added. "I also need one thing, a holo emitter, something that can bring this ship up to the Incursion variant specs. Something that I can use to disguise the ship. Other than that, you won't have a Romulan cloaking device, do you?"

"That's heavy stuff," Hurst said. "How did you know about the USS Incursion anyway? Nope, never mind, forget I asked."

"It dropped me a few times in selective missions," Tonya said. "I need a ship that can either cloak or disguise itself, to let me go close. When I entered Section, we used to have these old Bird of Preys, we used to sneak in. The last ship I had in my command was a counterfeit Jem' Hadar strike fighter actually built in a Federation shipyard to look exactly like the real thing. "

"Or so I heard," Hurst said.

"You don't suppose I could get those things again, like my old command?" Tonya asked.

"Not in our time frame," Hurst said. "You know the drill very well, Tonya, once those things get into an infiltration operation, they will stay hidden in silent running for long periods of the time, and they're not permitted to respond until they're given a properly encrypted message. And I can't pull out Section ships that are already in the middle of executing a vital mission."

"The best thing I can do with the Mage is to get either an Incursion type holoemitter, but I have might have to go through Section bureaucracy on that, or get the Romulans to loan me a cloaking device. Cloaking devices can't be put into any ship they have to be tuned, calibrated and specifically adapted to each and every ship class, taking account of its shape, energy signature, fields and so on. We never have a Defiant that could cloak since the original, but the Romulans may still have a copy of the same device with the cloaking calibrations they did on the USS Defiant. Which reminds me, since a certain Romulan owes me a favor..."

* * *

"There, that should do it," Riana said. Outside the IRW D'PakThau lay parked on a standing orbit next to the shipyard. A Romulan engineer bowed to the Romulan Major and affirming to her that the work had been done.

"I had to go through my superiors over this, and they told me there is a recent amendment to the use of cloaking by Federation vessels," Riana said. "I am ordered to repeat that stipulation every time the Star Empire lends a cloaking device to the Federation."

"Stipulation number one. The device should not be in any means used against the Romulan Star Empire or against any of her interests or current allies."

"Stipulation number two. The said device must only be used against a common enemy of both the Romulan Star Empire and the United Federation of Planets."

"Stipulation number three. The said device must not be removed from the assigned ship to be assigned to another ship."

"Stipulation number four. The device is only on loan from the Romulan Star Empire and must be returned when the mission has been completed. Is that clear?"

"Okay, Major Riana, anything more?" Hurst said.

"The device was taken from our older ships, a surplus component if you will. You don't expect us to provide you with our latest state of the art devices, do you?" Riana said. "You should remain invisible to anyone, except to Romulan sensors and scanners, obviously. We also made sure that the calibration information remains confidential from your engineers. A necessary precaution as you can see."

"Anything else?" Hurst asked.

"Nothing, just that we share a common enemy against the Cartels and the Jem'Hadar Alphans," Riana said. "However, I must warn you, we have not fully determined the technological capabilities of the Cartel, and their ability to detect our cloaks. We should add this to our list of stipulations----we cannot fully guarantee the effectiveness of our equipment against whoever you plan to use it against."

"Our job is done, and our little favor is paid off," Riana said. "I will be back for the device, if the ship ever comes back at all."

Garret passed by, with an angry look on his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here?" He accosted Major Riana. She bent close to his ear and whispered, "Does it still hurt down there yet?" Then she walked away to a clearing where she beamed back to her ship.

"What's up with her anyway?" Garret asked.

"Maybe she likes you," Hurst said.

"No, I'm serious, Admiral. What's up? Those are Romulan engineers working on that ship a while ago," Garret said.

"Yes, they were," Hurst said. "They're installing a cloaking device on this Defiant class vessel."

"Installing?" Garret asked. "Why do you need that for? We and the Athena can do any mission that requires a bit of sneaking up."

"Not this one," Hurst said. "My operative needs a small ship of her own."

"Operative?" Garret asked. "Is that the same girl we saw fight that Romulan Riana the other day?"

"You guess well, Garret," Hurst said. "Was she in anyway suspicious to you?"

"Oh yes, the whole shipyard is buzzing with rumors about her. Attitude worst than Athena, more mysterious than the Romulans. They say she comes from an awful alien race, and a bad family upbringing," Garret said.

"She does, does she?" Hurst asked.

"Yes. Personally, I think she looks quite hot, if you know what I mean," Garret said, nudging an elbow to Hurst.

"Oh yes, I think I know what you mean," Hurst said. "By the way, I do have a mission request for you. Come to my office, please."

Back at the admiral's office, Hurst explained the situation to Garret, regarding the Cartels and the Jem'Hadar, but never revealing his connection with the mysterious operative. "Garret, I want you and the Athena to shadow the USS Mage. No, never reveal your position to her or anyone. Keep a protective distance. If you get compromised, she will. Be ready to support her if she comes under attack, and retrieve the crew if she's in trouble. I will also have a standby fleet in case there is too much trouble for you. We will do a chain format here you maintain sensor contact with the Mage, and we will maintain sensor contact with you. This will keep the standby fleet at a respectable distance and still maintain some contact. The Mage lacks the sensor range to detect you, but the Athena, on the other hand, has the sensor range to keep in touch with her. Use this to your advantage."

"The Mage emits a certain encrypted signal that the Athena will be able to pick off. I would refrain from using phased cloak the Romulans have been netting entire sectors with long range tachyon sensors with the purpose of trying to catch us in the act and embarrass us in public. But Athena has external holo emitters that she can use to disguise herself into an asteroid or any ship."

"Sounds simple enough," Garret affirmed. "Your operative is quite valuable, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is," Hurst said.

* * *

There was some slight resistance to her from when she took command of the USS Mage. Scarred from assimilation, the crew were not exactly happy to see take the throne of their dearly beloved and late captain. For them, she looked a bit young, too beautiful and brash to be giving orders to those that appeared older than her. Even in the dawn of the 25th century, jealousy still abound, and so does suspicion. Did a woman gain rank because she appealed to the eye of those in the higher ranks? Her ears were sensitive enough to pick up the gossiping, which the gossipers never assumed she would have the ability to overhear. So they grumbled. They rumored. They gossiped.

But she could not care less. She had been in this situation many times before. When she was a child in the streets of Khosk. When she first went aboard the New Orleans class USS Holland. When she first entered the Academy. When she first became tactical officer, then first officer of the USS Fearless, then her acting captain. The Khosk called her the 'ape girl'; the humans called her 'cat girl'. There were times she would eventually earn their grudging respect, and friendship, as she did on board the Holland, the Academy, and the Fearless. But there were times she didn't have the time to cement bonds.

There were times when bonds were not convenient. When a crew mate dies, it would be easier to accept that finality if you don't know the person well enough. She doesn't expect to stay in command of the Mage too long, just long enough for this mission. There were just only slightly more than half the original crew here with only two dozen people, the Mage was certainly undermanned. Trained crew wasn't easy to get, especially when there were casualties bleeding at this valuable reservoir. Being pushed too early into a dangerous mission may leave this crew dangerously overstretched and over stressed.

Other than these details, she felt a glow inside her to be in command of a Defiant class escort once again. This was like the Fearless, with modern post war adjustments. There was the greater armament to begin with, the updated fire control systems and the extended sensors. Nice.

Her plan was to search for the Jem'Hadar Alphans first. She had made a list of places where they had the most recent sightings of Jem'Hadar ships and the time they were spotted. From this, she could gather a pattern of their recent movements. Some of the spottings were made by merchants ships or ships of other alien races, sometimes, chance encounters with regular patrols of Starfleet vessels. But reconnaissance and deep space scouts working for regular Starfleet or the Section composed much of the elaborate work of spottings and trackings. She also noted that the Alphans had retreated towards the less traveled spaces in the Alpha and Beta quadrant, often in star systems above and well below the galactic plane. Call them the hidden alleys or dark corners of the Galaxy. Anyone could hide there. Inevitably, those trying to hide will meet those that were already hidden. The encounter between Jem'Hadar and the Cartels were inevitable.

During the war, Deep Space Nine laid mines across the path of the Bajoran wormhole, cutting off supplies of Ketracel White and fresh troops. While older and smaller ships of the Federation took much of the brunt of the fighting and held the bulk of the Dominion Wars, the Federation began saving a number of their larger long range ships, such as the Achilles class, the Sovereign, the Galaxy, Nebula and Ambassador classes for missions striking deep within within Jem'Hadar territory in the Alpha Quadrant, destroying Jem'Hadar breeding centers and Ketracel White production centers. That's when the Jem'Hadar Alphans started putting their infant breeding and Ketracel White production centers into mobile bases called Super Carriers, which moved with the main fleets. The Super Carriers could also build some of the smaller Jem'Hadar craft. To make the larger ships, the engineers on the Super Carriers would build makeshift scaffolds in a system, and use the scaffolds as a temporary shipyard on which the large ships were made. After the engineers built the large ships, they would dismantle the scaffolds for recycling or abandon them altogether. Without stationary bases to strike, the Alphans became much more elusive targets. By bringing their production along, there were no supply lines for the Federation to sever, no production facility to disrupt. The Alphans actually grew in strength towards the end of the war, until the Cardassians switched sides.

After the War, much of the Alphans never returned home and choose to defy the edicts of the Founders. They became a new nomadic species of their own, gradually building strength, yet avoiding direct confrontation with the Federation and the surviving empires. Their mobile bases and infrastructure allowed them to live like nomads, moving from system to system, making it hard for the Federation and other powers to track them down. Yet at the same time, a nomadic life can be a stark one in terms of resources. The nomadic Alphans may have difficulty feeding their population or finding enough resources to maintain their fleet. They would end up relying another source, and one can guess how obvious the Cartel could fit this bill.

"We're receiving something. I got four ships in formation. I think they're Jem'Hadar according to their signatures," the Science officer said. "One larger ship and three smaller ships."

"Put them on screen," Tonya ordered. "There! A Strike Cruiser with three Strike Fighters in escort formation. Bad news! That Strike Cruiser is capable of detecting cloaked ships at an extended range. Engage cloak and reduce power signature to the minimum but pull the ship away from it." Outside, the Defiant class USS Mage faded and disappeared with the stars. Inside the ship, all lights went to the minimum, leaving the panels as the greater source of illumination. They had countless chances to practice cloaking, and she exercised this crew. The crew never had the actual experience of executing a cloak until this mission.

The bridge turned deathly silent. All eyes focused on their respective panels. Not content to sit down, Tonya walked over to the various panels, studying their displays and whispering commands to the officer in charge.

"Steady, steady, maintain silent running," she ordered. She hoped this crew knew that the execution of this vital concept can make the difference between success and failure, life and death.

"A Strike Cruiser is the one of the trademarks of the Alphan's fleets," she explained. "There is no record of its existence in the Gamma quadrant, indicating that this ship may be an Alphan invention, as well as their 900 meter Super Carrier class. This is surely an Alphan patrol, given the Strike Fighters in escort formation. Just follow the four ships and it will lead us to their main fleet. Maintain a safe range from their scanners, especially the Strike Cruiser, which you must give wide berth, and we'll be okay. This ship has extended range sensors use it. Conn, concentrate on maintaining that distance. Our lives will depend on it."

"Aye, sir," the Conn officer said.

Tonya stood near the bridge screen, studying the four ships carefully, keeping notes on their behavior. The pattern of movement was typical of a standard patrol, before the four ships made an about face, and headed towards a more central point in the system.

"Steady...steady...keep following them," Tonya uttered in the dark to the Conn officer, her face lighted from the panels below in a mixture of technicolor glows. Then she went to the Science officer's console to check on his displays.

"There, there!" She excitedly pointed out, but kept her voice low. Technically, no one can hear a person scream in space, but during silent running, old habits die hard, and people by nature tried to keep silence as much as possible. "There is something there!"

"It must be huge," said the Science officer.

"I bet you have never seen a Jem'Hadar Warship class before," Tonya said. "Because that's what that ship is. All 1600 meters of her. Slow down now. Those things have powerful sensors. You see those big things here and there. Those 900 meter ships are Super Carrier class; they're like mobile soldier breeding, Ketracel White production and ship building bases all in one. Now these 600 meter plus ships are as big as our Sovereigns, and they're the Battlecruisers. You can see these ships are in a protective pattern around the Super Carriers. What you all are seeing now is a nomadic tribe of Jem'Hadar Alphans, a legacy of the Dominion War that continues to live on. They are no longer interested as war for an end to itself, for conquest. Instead, they see conflict as a means to their survival. They are also known to trade services as mercenaries lately in exchange for raw material components to make their ships and their Ketracel White."

Tonya looked deeper at the ship scans. She could account for most of the ship types in the Alphan tribe, but there was something else.

"Magnify these ships and tell me what these are?" Tonya asked.

"Look like transports to me," the Science officer said.

"Yes, but the Jem'Hadar don't use transports of these designs," Tonya said.

"You're right, they look more like Federation transports," the Science officer said.

"Not really Federation transports. Cartel transports. They look similar enough because the Cartel get their transports by seizing them off Federation shipping lanes," Tonya said.

The freighter looked like a giant barbecue, like all freighters do. It was a standard three section design, with a head, followed by containers around a shaft like middle section, and finally, the third section with the engineering hull and four warp drives. One by one, the containers disengaged from their docked position. The Jem'Hadar Strike Fighters hovered close to the containers, then pulled down with a tractor beam towards the fleet of Super Carriers. A few giant Warships and Battle Cruisers jealously guarded the Super Carriers. A few makeshift shipyards and constructor ships

This was a large nest, Tonya thought. Enough firepower to invade a few sectors and wipe out entire Federation task forces. Since the time the Alphans went renegade from the Founder's control, the Alphans learned to create their own disciplined command structure, event though each fleet remained isolated like tribes and maintain their own separate command structure. It was only this disunity that prevented another all out war between the Federation and the renegade Alphans. If united, the Alphans can pose more than a major threat to the Federation.

Even though the Alphans were meant to be more aggressive and more powerful than their Gamma Quadrant counterparts, they also seem to be more intelligent, which seemed to counter their aggression with careful thoughtfulness. The relative lack of engagement between the Federation after the war suggested they were more interested in developing a power base first, and plans to lay low during the time, avoiding direct confrontation with the established powers. That was, until they were ready. Or perhaps they have moved the Federation down the ladder in the list of threats to themselves, and may consider others like the Dominion trying to regain control of them to be a more immediate threat. Their motives were not clear, but nonetheless, it's always prudent never to provoke them.

Things must not be going on well with the Dominion these days, Tonya thought. The collapse of Founder control over the Alphans was a sign that things may be breaking down in the Gamma quadrant too. While working as a scout, she heard rumors that units of Gamma Jem'Hadar had rebelled, while other races within Dominion rule have revolted. But the Founders themselves may be changing; Odo brought a new sense of enlightenment and humanity into the Great Link, and better days may lie ahead for the Dominion as an enlightened group, if it didn't collapse altogether from insurrection. Ironically, it was the war with the Alpha and Beta quadrant powers that could have brought the seed of destruction for the Dominion. Forced to concede the war, even temporarily, brought enormous damage to the image of infallibility of the Founders. Suddenly, they're no longer gods, but another alien race to be reckoned with. Suddenly they became vulnerable, and with that, they became suitable targets. Suddenly it became possible to defeat them, and with any possibility, there will be those that will try.

"Track that freighter," Tonya uttered from the dimly lit interior of the USS Mage. "But maintain some range from the main Jem'Hadar fleet. All power to cloaking systems. Maintain full silent running." Tonya paced up and down between the consoles, too agitated to just sit on the captain's throne. She relied maximum information of her surroundings, as she threaded a thin line between detection and escape. She understood the Jem'Hadar may have found a way to beat Romulan and Klingon cloaking devices, so she's not going to take a chance on it.

* * *

Not far away, the USS Athena dropped out of warp at the far edge of the system. "This was the last position we sensed the USS Mage here," T'Pak said. "We're picking up several large ships on our long range sensors. They're Jem'Hadar, sir."

"Have they detected us?" Garret asked.

"They don't appear to be. There are patrols all over the area, but they are maintaining their pattern," T'Pak said. "The large ships are currently inactive. Their shields are down, no power in their engines. They are in stationary orbit and they appear to be undergoing some sort of maintenance. My passive sensors are detecting every sort of Jem'Hadar ship in the area, from Strike Fighters to Warships. The smaller ships, the Strike Fighters and Strike Cruisers are in patrol, with Battle Cruisers, Warships and Super Carriers in stationary formation. Given time, I can make a count for the total number of ships in the fleet. "

"Don't go in any further. I have been advised not to use phasing cloak but I think I will use it anyway," Garret said.

"We have not detected Romulan tachyon grid sensors for quite sometime," T'Pak said. "I believed they only probed the area around the shipyard and the more common routes between Federation worlds. I don't believe they would waste their resources putting sensors this far out."

"On the other hand," T'Pak continued, "intelligence reports suggests that the Dominion have both improved on their own cloaking devices, while developing counters to Romulan and Klingon cloaking devices. It is very likely that the new classes such as the Strike Cruisers could contain such equipment."

"Suggests?" Garret asked. "What kind of an assurance is that? That means anytime we use a cloaking device on them, it's going to be like Russian Roulette."

"I'm not familiar with the term Russian Roulette, but I believe I comprehend your meaning," T'Pak said.

"Damn, I think it's about time the Federation scrap that dumb treaty with the Romulans," Garret said. "We are the only race in four quadrants who cannot cloak because of an artificial treaty. That's like going to war with hands tied around the back."

"If we strike those large ships, they won't know what hit them," Ka'nal said.

"They will wake up and swat us like a fly," Garret said.

"What if we use holo emitters to imitate an asteroid and sneak up on them?" Athena said.

"Well, the Jem'Hadar are going to get curious and ask why this asteroid sneaking up on them," Garret said.

"Wait, I am detecting an Intrepid class, no a variant. It's an Aegis class. We're getting an encrypted message. I believe it's from Admiral Hurst," Athena said. 'I think he's on the USS Kiev."

"Put him on screen," Garret ordered.

"I'm here with a task force," Hurst said. "I am on the Kiev right now, but I got the Vanguard and the Boise with me, plus a number of Sabres, Defiants and Novas. I got a second task force with the Hiryu, the Genghiz, the Lionheart and the Normandy in reserve."

"Whatever you have, it's nothing compared to what against inside this system," Garret said. "I advise not to get any closer or your fleet will be detected."

"Give me a status report then," Hurst said. "Whatever you have in that system is still beyond our scanner range, even for the Kiev and the Vanguard."

"Admiral, we've tracked the USS Mage entering this system, and the system is crawling with lots of Jem'Hadar, sir both big and small. Sir, I think we've fallen into a nest. We cannot make an accurate count but we're certain they got Warships, Battle Cruisers and Super Carriers."

"You're right about something, that's far more than what we can handle," Hurst replied.

"I cannot maintain tracking the Mage without going in. I'm considering going in cloaked, sir," Garret said.

"The Romulans compromised their phasing cloak technology, when Jem'Hadar boarded some of their ships equipped with such," Hurst said.

"I am aware of the situation, Admiral. It's a risk. But we can minimize the risk by keeping maximum distance away from their sensor ranges. We got a few probes here that we can use to lengthen the range," Garret said. "Once we get in, we'll switch to holo emitters to stop tachyon emission when we settle into a stationary viewing position."

Hurst sighed. This was going to be a tough one, but these were the jobs the Athena were meant to do, and he was increasingly apprehensive of knowing more what happened with Tonya. There had been no long range Romulan probes around the area to catch them cheating on the Treaty either. "Go ahead, but pull out at the slightest sign of trouble."

"Garret, out." The screen went blank. "Drudge, load probes into the torpedo tubes. Prepare to go in on my mark. All power into the cloaking generators, and cut all power to non essential systems," Garret ordered.

The lights dimmed. "Cloaking activated," Drudge affirmed.

"We're going in, engage half impulse," Garret ordered. "Athena, keep your distance away from the main Jem'Hadar fleet. Compensate for any variables, including enhanced sensor ranges from the newest ship classes, most notably Strike Cruisers on patrol. It's a good thing the Section has equipped this ship with the latest state of the art sensors."

"Aye, Captain," she responded.

The silence has a tension that can cut through steel. Garret stood up and walked over to the Helm console, where Athena assumed the role of the Conn officer. He bent over and watched past her shoulder. "Show me the ship positions," he said.

"Okay, Captain," Athena said, displaying a map in her console. "This is where we think the Jem'Hadar fleet is, and this is the direction where the Mage was heading, and this is the zone of the Jem'Hadar sensor range. This is the possible range where the Strike Fighters and Cruisers patrol, and this is their sensor range. I've detected a sensor network based around here, here and here, and this area here is the range of their sensors. Here beyond, this is the safe zone. As long as we stay around here, here and here, we should be theoretically safe."

"Theoretically safe, huh?" Garret asked.

"Yup! It's still open to unpredictable variables," Athena said.

"Kind of like life then, proceed," Garret ordered.

"Aye, Captain," Athena replied.

The Athena hummed, and then a ripple fell over her, and she became translucent, then disappeared.

* * *

Tonya watched the marker on the helm console that symbolized the USS Mage in a map. The map marked an area called the 'free zone' which was beyond the sensors of the nearest Jem'Hadar ship or free floating sensor probe. The Mage stayed within this safe area, while she launched stealth probes from her forward torpedo bay.

"The freighter is not going into warp. It's heading to a point in the system," said the science officer. "Here."

"That's where we should go then,"Tonya said. "Quarter impulse. Hold her steady, minimal power signature. I hope you know what I mean, do you?"

"Yes, sir," said the conn officer. Just to be sure, Tonya observed him press the controls on his panel if he would get his power configuration right. After being in the field so much, it's hard to trust a neophyte crew doing the right things in a dangerous uncover operation.

"There is something else out there," said the science officer. "I can't make of it. It looks like another giant ship, almost as big as the Jem'Hadar Warship class, but the power signature is different. Sort of like Federation."

"Cartel signatures are very close to Federation signatures," Tonya said. "Cartel ships have continuously pirated Federation technology since the beginning of the Federation, when Orion military factions broke away from early Starfleet to become pirate syndicates. Remember that if you wish to value your life. Just when you think it's Federation, wham! They get you. Another one born every minute."

"We're in visual range of the object," said the Conn officer.

"Put it on screen then," Tonya commanded.

"Wow, it looks like one of those big super freighters," said the Conn officer.

"Except it isn't. It's a converted piece," Tonya said. "Those are not standard container hulls. Not with those markings on them. Cut the impulse to zero. Hold the ship in position. Power out all unnecessary systems and maintain passive scans and sensors only. I want to be a listening post here. Find out what's their communication frequencies, and let's hear what they're talking."

Tonya continued. "Those markings and the cut outs on them are not typical of any container hull. These are like the aero-shuttles used in the Intrepid classes and variants. They pop out of the hull and dock back in. Give me a size estimate on that thing."

"12 meter length, 24 meter wingspan," the Science officer said. "Hmm. You are correct. Our sensors are detecting small fighters or ships of this size escorting this giant ship."

"Magnify these ships on screen," Tonya said. "A fair large amount of mass and equipment for a shuttle type craft. We're looking at a small assault fighter. Given the size of the main ship, it must be a carrier."

"Several ships are escorting the carrier," said the science officer "Energy signatures indicate either Cartel or Federation."

Now they're starting to realize that dealing with Cartel vessels can be quite difficult, Tonya thought about her neophyte crew. "Either eyeball the ships, or match the power signatures against any known Federation vessel," she ordered. Know your enemy.

"We got five confirmed Federation signatures two Defiants, one Intrepid, one Prometheus, and one Achilles class," said the science officer. "How is this possible?

"I believe we have managed to account for the Federation task force reported missing," Tonya said. "Apparently the worst has indeed happened. The Cartels captured them."

"Those are among the Federation's finest. How is that possible? What will they do with prisoners?" The Tactical officer asked. A Defiant class vessel was supposed to have two Tactical officers, but the shortage of officers made that impractical, so they have one Tactical officer for both port and starboard weapons banks.

"The Cartels have hardly any use for prisoners excepts as slaves they can sell to other alien races, or if they possess valuable technological knowledge," Tonya said. "We can assume the worst has happened, such as being tossed out of an airlock. As for the Cartels being able to defeat Federation ships, anything is possible with the right strategy," Tonya said. "Clever tactics prevail more often over technology, something the Cartels have mastered to a tee. The use of Federation ships in their fleet raises the stakes here. "

She turned to the Science officer. "What are the scanner equipment of these ships? Do we risk detection?"

"No, not one of these vessels have the necessary equipment to detect a cloaked vessel at this distance, at least not like a Jem'Hadar light cruiser. Close perhaps, but not at this range," he replied.

Phew, Tonya thought. She praised that this subvariant of the Defiant had a sensor suite not only superior to Defiants used during the War, but most post war production Defiants as well as her father said. The wider, slightly more elongated 'anteater' nose of the Mage housed the Section special sensor arrays used to eavesdrop and track target ships beyond their sensor range.

"But we're not sure of the Intrepid class there," the Science officer said. "Starfleet does not officially list the equipment variations they install on the Intrepid vessels. They did this to keep potential enemies guessing, and that leaves us guessing as well. An Intrepid is one of the few classes in Starfleet, that can equip with tachyon grids and other equipment that can detect cloaking or phase cloaking at long range."

"I have to admit, we're taking another chance here to assume she would or wouldn't," the Science officer added. "But if she does, I would think the Jem'Hadar would be breathing down on us right now.

"We will maintain our distance and keep observing them," Tonya ordered.

The Science officer reported. "The rest seem like Federation signatures but do not match to any known legal type. I would assume that these must be the main Cartel vessels. Wait there are more...signatures matching outdated Federation engine technology...a whole lot of them...Maquis Raider ships. We also got a number of Klingon signatures here, possibly Bird of Preys. Maquis Raider ships?"

"Yes," Tonya said. "You mean formerly Maquis Raider ships. Many of them have gone over to the Cartels since the war with the Dominion ended, and the Cartels have resumed production of the Raider class for their own nefarious purposes, all with updated weaponry. Maintain positions and passive scanners."

Turning to her science officer, she asked, "What is the projected range of the scanners of the Federation vessels

"I got their comlink frequencies," said the Operations officer.

"Play it to me please," Tonya ordered. "Let's overhear them." Her hands chilled at what she heard. She fought to control the mixed emotions that exploded in her, from joy to sadness to rage, at the sound of her mother's voice.

* * *

The standard Cartel procedure for dealing with prisoners was to either dump the prisoners in space, or work a profitable deal with the Federation for their return and safety. Usually they just dump them in space.

There were still blood stains along the floor of the USS Deimos no, now the CSS Deimos---but Gera Khidan didn't mind. They added to the ambiance and decor of the rather bland room. Tasteless and bland, the Feds were such a boring people. It was hard to imagine how they can become such a dominant power. But if things continue like they were, the insects will eat away at their foundation.

"This is Captain Gera Khidan to the CSS Koxinga. Hail the Great Citizen. Are you there?" Gera asked.

"I am here, Gera," Oblan said.

"What do you think of my new ship?" Gera asked.

"She is beautiful like you," Oblan said. "And as dangerous. She makes a nice addition to our fleet, more than the other vessels we have captured. The Deimos will back the Koxinga."

"We are getting used to mastering the controls and equipment aboard the Deimos," Gera said.

"Let us welcome our Jem'Hadar brothers to the Universal Fraternity of the Cartel," Oblan said from the bridge of the CSS Koxinga.

The face of a Jem'Hadar soldier flashed in their screens. Unlike the soldier armor a Jem'Hadar will only wear, he had robes different from all the other soldiers in his room. The robes denoted his rank and position. In a post-Vorta era, the Jem'Hadar Alphans had developed their own indigenous command structure, and began to adopt command ranks. With ranks, they began to distinguish themselves through manner of dress, pins and ornaments, copying ideas from other Alpha quadrant races.

"This is the First in command of the First Warship of the 42nd Fleet," the Jem'Hadar introduced himself.

Hmm, Oblan thought. Confusing ain't it? Apparently the Jem'Hadar Alphans still has to learn a lot more to give each and everyone of themselves and their ships a better self identity, and find a better way to express their organizational structure. Warship...warship... This must be the flagship of the 42nd, belonging to the humongous sixteen hundred meter Warship class of, ahem, warships. "We welcome you, great Citizen," the First of the First Warship said.

"And we welcome you, our brothers from the Gamma Quadrant, to our universal fraternity of souls," said the Citizen Oblan. "How do you appraise our new gifts for you?"

"Wonderful," the First of the First Warship said. "The quality of the taste is excellent compared to the life giving and holy Ketracel White which our Founders and gods have provided for us."

"False gods, your Founders," said the Citizen Oblan. "You will realize that, that you have a right to life as great and as equal as they do."

"Yes, False gods, Great Citizen. We have come to realize that, and yet old habits do die hard," said the First.

"Does it feel good? Does it feel right to seize your destinies for yourself?" said Oblan.

"Yes, indeed, yes, my brother," said the First.

"I am not your god, I will not pretend to be your god. I do not need Vorta to control all my soldiers. My brothers and sisters follow me out of their free will," said Oblan. "That is a far greater power than the dependency the Founders wrought upon their subjects."

"Yes, Citizen, yes!" The First said.

"I am but another humble being in this Universe. My body is weak, and I do not have the armor so many warrior races have bred into their bodies and skin. I am only armed with wisdom. My weapon is only the universal truth," said Oblan.

"Yes, Citizen, yes!" The First said. "You are the one! You are not a warrior. You are not like a liquid Founder. But you speak the truth. You are greater than the Founders. You are greater than all of us."

"And I offer life, my brothers," Oblan said. "Behold, my scientists have invented a hormone that will let you live for a much greater period of time, as well as any Human or Vulcan in this quadrant. With this medicine, we can enhance your life expectancy and we can reprogram you genetically. With longer life, you can experience more of the Universe, see and learn more of the truth so that you may pass them all to your brothers."

"Yes, Citizen, yes!" The First said. Now the rest of the Jem'Hadar had joined the comlinks and as a chorus have joined the First in saluting the Great Citizen.

"The Founders breed you for a purpose," said Oblan. "In other words they breed you to fit a bottle, no more, no less. You are but tools to an end. Dispensable. But I see potential your Founders never saw. I see each one of you, a living being, born into this universe with a far greater destiny and purpose than just being mere tools. It was too bad that the Founders bred your Gamma quadrant brothers with weak minds so the Vorta could subvert them. That was their mistake."

"But for you Alphans, they bred greater intelligence into your genetic pool to help you fight the powers and the warriors of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants," Oblan continued. "That proved to be a mistake for them, and a blessing for you, for with intelligence, you have begun to see your potential greater than being a mere expendable tool for the Founders. With greater intelligence, you could now see the truth, the truth of your shackles, and the truth of your liberation. One day, we shall pass the truth to your brothers still under the heel of the Founders in the Gamma Quadrant. We will free them as we have freed ourselves here."

"Yes, yes, yes!" The Jem'Hadar cried out in a great chorus among the mighty armada of the 42nd. They begun to salute in rhythm, raising their fists, up and down, up and down.

"Yes, yes, yes!" The Jem'Hadar cried out. "You are the One!"

The great Citizen spread his arms wide, his white robes hanging from his arms like wings of an angel. "Yes, my brothers....yes..." He cried out to all. "Life...life...life.."

* * *

"I've heard enough," Tonya said. She closed her fist, her nails biting her flesh, still trying to fight the mixed feelings inside her. "Prepare our plan."

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" The First officer asked. "There is tremendous risk. Despite what you say, I am not sure if Admiral Hurst would authorize it."

"Just tell him, I am going to be okay. We need to do this. The stakes are much too great to ignore. But I'm not going to take this ship and the crew further. You all have risked enough," Tonya said. "I need to take care of this myself. It's the best way. It's the only way."

"But you got to make it look real. Don't pull punches. Cause some damage, okay?" Tonya said. "Now get my scout ready while I go change my clothes."

* * *

Aboard the Deimos,

"Captain, we're getting a may day. Wait, now we're getting two ship energy signatures," the Science officer said. "Two ships, one is firing at the other."

Gera walked towards the screen with a steady and purposeful catlike grace. "Bring them on screen. Magnify."

"We got a Defiant class escort in pursuit of a Venture class scout," said the officer. "It's firing at the scout. The scout is sending a message to all parties. It's requesting help! I'm sending the message to the screen."

There was static that fuzzed up the image, but there was enough to see a smoking, burning cockpit, a girl desperately working on the controls. "Please help me," she cried. "I can't hold on any longer."

Gera froze at the sight of the girl's face. She raised her hand to touch the screen...

"Captain...Captain..." The voice of her officers woke her from the trance. "What are we going to do?"

"Go into red alert! Prepare to engage the Defiant class," Gera ordered. "Raise shields, full impulse, arm phasers, engage!"

"Gera!" It was Oblan's voice. "What is going on?"

"A Federation ship is pursuing a scout. Let me take care of it. Gera out!"

The Deimos swung around and locked onto the Defiant class. "The Scout has no more shields left," her officer said. "The Defiant class is within phaser range."

"Fire!" Gera ordered. Two beams stretched out from the nose of the Deimos, hitting the Defiant class, creating a glowing red bubble around it before the bubble faded. The Defiant class banked steeply and turned the opposite direction, then warped out.

"Captain, should we pursue?" The officer asked.

"Negative. Where is the scout?" Gera asked.

"She's limping. She's heavily damaged," the officer said. "But she's moving in her own power. I think she really needs help."

"Tell her to dock into our shuttle bay. I will go there myself," Gera said.

When she reached the shuttle bay, the Venture class scout sat there, smoking. Black burns mark her hull, and there was the smell of heavy smoke. The cockpit canopy was open. Two deck crewmen had placed ladders at the side of the scout, climbed to the cockpit, pulling out the pilot. Gera placed her hand over her mouth, her face stern and silent with concern. The crewmen carried the pilot down the ladder and to the deck. The passenger coughed, her face blackened from the smoke.

Gera ran to her. With both hands, she lifted the girl's face to the light. With the recognition, tears began to stream down her eyes. "Oh my god," she said. "It's my baby, my baby..." and with these words, she wrapped her arms around the girl. "Oh, my baby..." She cried.

Continue to Part 3