ROCKS AND SHOALS

 Part III

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“As we will be docking at Deep Space Nine in fifteen minutes, we request that you please return to your seats.  As a special treat, the captain will maneuver the shuttle so that you may all have a view of the Celestial Temple, the Home of the Prophets.”

Her head jerking up as she heard the automatic voice of the shuttle’s computer, Lieutenant, junior grade, Sito Jaxa looked out the small observation window next to her seat just in time to see the majestic sight of the wormhole opening up right on cue.  Watching in rapt fascination as an Oberth class starship exited the wormhole; Lieutenant Sito ignored the shuttle’s computer voice as it once again spoke.

“And just a few degrees from the Celestial Temple, you’ll see Deep Space Nine, the former Terek Nor.  Once a symbol of oppression for the Bajoran people, Deep Space Nine now serves as the Guardian of the Temple and a symbol of pride and hope.”

Her blood freezing as her eyes took in the Cardassian built station, Jaxa took a deep breath as she suppressed the voices rising in her head.

“I’m scared.” The Little Girl cried as the structure grew larger in the window.

“Shut up!” The Huntress spat out, “Just shut up!  The first Cardassian pig who tries to touch me…”

“Awww…you like it and you know it.” The Junkie chimed in, purring, “The beatings…the punishment…the acid…”

“All of you…” Sito commanded, “Be quiet!  Don’t forget—I’m in charge here!”

“For now, Dear…” The Junkie replied before going silent, “For now…”

******************************************************************

“There she is!”  Chief O’Brien exclaimed, jerking his head towards Lieutenant Sito who, at the moment, was just emerging, along with a score of other passengers, from the shuttle airlock.  As he and Lieutenant Commander Worf approached the Bajoran officer, the Irish veteran of the Setlac III Massacre gave her an appraising look.  Immediately spotting the physical changes the young officer had made since he had last seen her before his transfer from the Enterprise to DS9, as well as the haunted look in her eyes, the chief saw at once that he had made the right decision in talking Keiko out of joining them in meeting Sito. 

“Lieutenant Sito.”  Worf, as senior officer, formally greeted the young Bajoran, “Welcome to Deep Space Nine.”

Breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of her two escorts, both combat veterans in their own right who had experienced their own horrors, Lieutenant Sito replied with a shaky grin, “Thank you, Sir.”

“It’s good to see you again, Sir.”  Chief O’Brien added, “If you’ll come with us, we’ll take you to your quarters.”

“Thank you.”  Jaxa replied as she fell in with the two men, again breathing a sigh of relief as the two men subtly made sure to stay far enough away from her so that she did not feel crowded as they walked down the corridor.  Turning her head towards her former mentor, Sito addressed the Klingon warrior, “Sir…I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been keeping up on my Mok’bara.”

“Very good, Lieutenant.”  Worf answered back in his usual deep voice, giving no betrayal as to his true emotions, “Perhaps we can spar later on.”

The Huntress within her flashing a sly grin as she sized up her prey, Jaxa responded, “I’d like that, Sir.”

“Here we are, Lieutenant.”  Chief O’Brien interjected as they approached the door to Jaxa’s temporary quarters.

“Thanks again, Chief.”  Sito simply replied as the door swooshed open.  Addressing Worf once again, the Bajoran woman inquired, “Would this evening be a good time for our bout?”

Nodding his head once, Worf replied, “That would be good.  I’ll meet you in the gym at 1900 hours.”

Turning away as the door closed behind their young former shipmate, the Irish chief turned his head towards Worf.  Regarding the Klingon warrior with a quizzical gaze, Miles asked, “Sir?  Why did you challenge her to a bout?  Do you really think she’s ready?

“That’s what I intend to find out.”  Worf replied laconically as the pair walked down the corridor.

“I see…” the perceptive chief of operations nodded his head knowingly before sounding a cautionary note, “Be careful, Sir.”

**********************************************************************

As both sparring partners slipped smoothly into their on-guard positions, Worf gazed into the fiery eyes of his opponent.  Remembering that his former protégé always left herself open to the vIlInHoD, a feint named after the bird that mimics speech, Worf suddenly struck out of his vaD, or flexible stance, only to find that his Bajoran adversary had sidestepped him, counterattacking with the very aggressive toq strike, barely stopping her strike before it made contact with his body.

As the pair broke from combat, returning to the vaD stance, the Klingon warrior bowed formally, “Very good, Lieutenant.  I was not aware that you had mastered the toq school.  Prepare yourself!”  He called out as he lunged suddenly, his fists striking rapidly in the Qin vagh maneuver.  Momentarily taken aback by the suddenness and ferocity of Worf’s attack, Sito instinctively blocked and parried her opponent’s strikes, the Huntress asserting herself more and more as she countered each blow, her blocks and parries now turning into ripostes as she watched carefully, waiting patiently for the opening that would give her the killing stroke.

At once spotting the change in his opponent’s technique and manner, Worf gazed into the young Bajoran’s eyes as the pair exchanged blows.  The fiery intensity they had possessed earlier was now replaced by a steely, icy cold purpose.  Grunting as he barely dodged a leg kick from his Bajoran sparring partner, the Klingon warrior deliberately dropped his guard pach just a touch, giving his adversary an opening for a sudden QIn pup strike that, should the blow strike home with enough force, could potentially kill him.   Now we see.

Spotting the opening left by her Klingon opponent, the Huntress flashed a cold grin as she launched her blow.  Striking with blinding speed with her closed fist at her opponent’s vulnerable opening, the Huntress licked her lips in anticipation at standing triumphantly over the body of her hated opponent until she heard Sito’s voice call out with a resounding “NO!”, checking her blow just centimeters from its target.  Breathing heavily as she once again suppressed that most violent of her split personalities, Lieutenant Sito looked up into the eyes of her opponent.  Her own eyes moistening, she apologized, “I’m sorry, Sir…I didn’t mean…”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Lieutenant.”  The Klingon warrior responded approvingly. 

“But I lost control.”  Sito replied shaking her head, “Maybe it’s too soon…”

“You are as ready to return now.”  Worf interrupted, fixing the younger woman’s eyes with his, “As you ever will be.”

“But I almost…I nearly…”

“But you didn’t.”  The Klingon interjected, his deep baritone voice carrying a compassionate note.  “You proved to me just now that you have the strength to control your inner demons…”

“For now…” Jaxa protested softly, “But what about the next time?”

“You will always have to control that part of yourself.”  Worf replied in a sympathetic tone.  “It will always be with you.  But you must not make the mistake of viewing it merely as a weakness.  See it as what it is…a part of who you are.  Your inner rage can be a powerful tool…or it can destroy you.  What you do with it will be up to you.”

“Yes, Sir.”  Sito acknowledged in a low tone as she took in her mentor’s words.  “I’ll try.”

“Good.”  Worf responded, nodding his head in satisfaction, “That is all one can do.”

**********************************************************************

“Everything is proceeding according to plan.”  Gul Rejak gloated as he poured kanar from a decanter into a crystal goblet.  Inhaling the fragrance of the thick amber liquid, the corrupt Cardassian gul declared, “Our processing plant will soon be producing enough Corillan acid to flood the Federation if we should want, and we are nearly ready to carry out our biggest operation yet.”

“Careful, Gul…” The human in the room, Rejak’s Syndicate liaison, Dmitri Cherenkov, cautioned, “Lots of things can still go wrong.  In any event…” he grinned, “…it wouldn’t be in our best interests to flood the Federation with our stuff.  Right now, we want to keep the demand high and the supply low.”

“Of course…of course…” Rejak replied airily as he sipped his kanar.  Setting his drink down, the gul inquired, “Is everything ready from your end, Dmitri?”

“Yes.”  The Terranovan replied in a thick voice, “When you’re ready to move the acid, we’ll have the weapons and latinum.”

“Good.”  Rejak replied, his lips curling up in an evil grin.  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to contact our ‘allies’ to make sure that they’re ready to carry out their part in our plan.”

“Be careful.”  Cherenkov again warned, “I don’t trust either Tabar or Ayenga.  Don’t forget, deep in their core, they are still idealists and I’ve found that it is never a good idea to trust idealists.”

“Oh…I quite agree with you, my friend.”  Rejak affirmed, the cold smile still on his lips.  “But don’t worry; I’ve made the necessary contingency plans should their hearts get the better of their greed.”

*********************************************************************

“We’ll be ready.”  Daras Tabar declared.  Then, the Kon Ma’s leader’s voice taking on a threatening tone, he added, “You just be sure to live up to your end of the contract, Cardassian—or else!”

“It’s late in the evening and I have no desire to listen to empty threats, Daras.”  Gul Rejak responded in a bored tone, “I have been told by our mutual friend that everything will be ready on their end—you just be sure that when it is time that you are ready to act.  I want Starfleet’s attention focused on Diaz and her gang.”

“It will be.”  Tabar growled, staring malevolently at the Cardassian image on his monitor screen.  “Once they finish analyzing the gift that Ayenga left them, Starfleet will have every resource they’ve got chasing after Diaz.  They won’t stop until she’s either captured or killed.”

“Good.”  Rejak replied, his sneer turning into an icy grin.  “That’s what I wanted to hear. Tell your people to be ready to move soon—very soon.”

********************************************************************

“Cardassian vole!”  The Kon Ma leader growled as his screen went blank.  “If we didn’t need him and the Syndicate and the latinum and weapons they’re giving us…”

“I know, Tabor.”  Ayenga replied as, approaching her leader slowly from the back, she began to gently knead his shoulders.  “But remember, once we get what we want from them and we liberate Bajor from its Federation puppet government…”

“Then we won’t have to rely on those barrowbugs.”  Tabor agreed as his tense shoulder muscles began to relax under his second-in-command’s ministrations.

“And we can finally get our revenge once and for all against the Cardassians.”  Ayenga added, the venom with which she spat out the final word being especially strong.

“Of course.”  Daras grinned, pleased at how easy it was to push the former medical technician’s buttons, “But for now, as you said, we must be patient.  Our time will come.  Now…”  He said as he rose from his chair, the insincere grin still on his face, “It’s time for you to return to Diaz to put the next part of our plan into motion.”

**********************************************************************

Rematerializing in her converted Peregrine scout-fighter, Ayenga was met in the tiny transporter room by her second in command, Ral Omkar.  Walking up to his leader, the attractive auburn haired Bajoran asked in a voice touched with just a twinge of jealousy, “So…how did your meeting with Daras go?”

Smirking inwardly at her subordinate’s suspicions, Ayenga replied in a nonchalant tone, “As expected.  He put up an act that he was merely using Rejak and the Syndicate…that once we get what we need, we’ll move to free Bajor…”

“So…you think he’s lying?”

“Of course, I do.”  Ayenga replied bitterly.  “Daras has sold his soul to the Syndicate and the Ferengi.  All he cares about now is wealth and power.  Oh, I have no doubts at all that he’ll take what we’re getting from this and will use it to overthrow Shakar.  But afterwards?”  She spat out, “Will he take revenge against the Cardassians for what they did to us?  Or against the Federation for just standing by and watching while we died?  No!”  She shook her head vigorously.  “He’ll just turn Bajor into another Velix III.  A home for pirates and smugglers who’ll end up eventually taking over.  I’m not going to let that happen.”  She declared angrily.

“So…” Omkar asked, “What do you intend to do about it?”

An icy grin crossing her face, the Bajoran terrorist replied in a low, dangerous voice, “Don’t worry…I have a plan of my own.”  Her grin vanishing, she then instructed as the pair walked out of the transporter room, “But it’ll have to wait for the right moment.  For now, we’ll let Daras think that we’re doing exactly what he wants us to do.  Put us on a course for Diaz’s base…maximum warp.”

*********************************************************************

“I just got off the comm with Ayenga.  She said that her and her people will be here in twenty four hours.” Larkin reported as he walked into the tiny living quarters that he and Sabrina Diaz shared together.  Seeing that his lover’s attention was focused on the padd in her hands, he quipped, “Latest video from Risa?”

“Not quite.”  Diaz replied as she shook her head.  “I was just checking up on our newest recruit.”

“So…?”  Larkin asked, his voice taking on a low, dangerous quality, as he sat down in the chair next to the former Starfleet captain, “…is he a plant?”

“That’s just it…” Diaz answered, shrugging her shoulders, “…what I’ve got here doesn’t give any indication one way or another.  “Almost everything he’s told us so far has checked out with what I’ve got here.”  She remarked as she set the padd down on the tiny table that served as desk, card table, and dining table for the pair.

“Almost everything?” Larkin inquired, raising his eyebrows as he became surer of his suspicions regarding the New Kauaian.

“Darling…” Sabrina chuckled, “I’d be even more worried if there weren’t any inconsistencies.  Too good to be true almost always is.  The thing is…” Diaz noted, shaking her head, “…prior to Leyton’s coup, nothing Atoa said or did pointed towards any sort of sympathy towards us—or any bad feelings against us for that matter.  If he had any opinions where the Maquis were concerned, he kept them to himself.”

Larkin, reluctantly playing devil’s advocate, pointed out, “True…but remember, he did say that it was the results of the trial of Leyton and his gang that pushed him over the edge.  What about Ro Laren and Cal Hudson?  They originally didn’t have any intentions of joining us.  In fact, they were sent by Starfleet to bring us down.  But after having their eyes opened up to the Federation’s hypocrisy…”

“Yeah, I see what you mean.”  Sabrina interrupted.  “All right.”  She decided, “We’ll see how he does at the depot.  If he’s ok…great.  But if he proves to be a snake…well…there’s  a barren rock a few light years away where we can leave him. And then I might or might not leave a message for Liz to pick him up.”  Pausing for a few moments as she regarded her lover, the former captain’s face softened ever so slightly, “Oh…and thanks.  I appreciate what you just did.  We have to be able to think flexibly if we’re going to survive and one part of that is not giving in to paranoia.”

“Trust, but verify?”  Larkin quipped with a twinkle in his eye.

“Exactly.”  Diaz rejoined with a laugh.

*********************************************************************

Ignoring the curious glances and suspicious glares coming from the members of Diaz’s cell, Manuele gave the appearance of reading intently the padd containing a limited selection of novels and light reading that he had been given.  In actuality, the undercover security officer was carefully studying his surroundings, especially the locations of entrances and exits and making estimates of how far he was from those exits and how long it would take him to reach one of them should events take a sudden unfortunate turn for the New Kauaian.  As his eyes surreptitiously scanned the room, he spotted the man named Danyor Krakke, apparently involved in conversation with Nura, the Bzzit Khaht, and two others, both humans, carefully watching him while giving the appearance of not doing so. 

Immediately recognizing what the newest member of their cell was doing while he appeared to be reading his padd, Danyor Krakke frowned as he studied the New Kauaian.  Krakke, whose real name was Ivan Cherenkov, a member of the Special Missions Branch of Starfleet Intelligence who had been working deep undercover as a member of the Maquis for months, had concluded early on that Atoa had to be one of two things, he was either a plant or a traitor.  Neither possibility pleased the deep cover agent.  If he was a plant that meant that he was part of an operation that most likely did not know of Cherenkov’s mission.  Atoa, in attempting to carry out his mission, could easily put at risk the long term goals of Ivan’s own mission—something the more experienced Cherenkov decided he would not let happen.  Better to expose him and then trust that Diaz will simply strand him on some isolated planet rather than just killing him out of hand.  The spy decided.  And if he’s a traitor…Ivan postulated, his stoic outer mask hiding the anger and contempt the Terra Nova native felt for those who betrayed their oath…then he’ll get everything that’s coming to him.  I’ll make sure of that.

“Didn’t you hear me?”

Shaken from his reverie, Krakke muttered a confused, “What?”

“I said…” Nura repeated in an exasperated tone, “Why don’t one of you big strapping heroic freedom fighters go over and say hello to the new guy?”  As Krakke and Rof, a burly Alshain, looked away, the Bzzit Khaht snorted in disgust, “Well, if you two are too chicken to talk to him, then I guess I will.” 

Walking over to their newest recruit, Nura smiled as she looked down on where he sat reading his padd, “Hi.”

Glancing up at the source of the greeting, Manuele saw the leathery skinned Bzzit Khaht woman he had saved earlier, “Huh?”

“I never got a chance to say thank you for saving me and Larkin from being handed over to the Cardassians.”  Nura said in a friendly voice, “I don’t know about the others, but I’m grateful to you for pulling me out of that brig.”

“Ummm…don’t mention it.”  Manuele stuttered as he looked up at the Bzzit Khaht.

Taking the seat next to the burly New Kauaian, Nura remarked, a calculating expression behind her smile, “That was some pretty good seat of the pants flying you did.  You a pilot?”

“Not really.”  Atoa responded, “The computer did most of the work, I was along for the ride.”

“Well…” the Bzzit Khaht declared with what passed for a smile amongst her people, “…whoever programmed your computer’s one hell of a pilot.”  Looking up, she spotted Sabrina Diaz and her lover walking together into the group’s common area.  Placing a friendly hand on the newcomer’s shoulder, Nura commented knowingly as she read the expression on her leader’s face, “We better get over and join the others.  Looks like stuff is about to happen.”

“Ayenga and her team…” Sabrina began as Manuele and the rest of her cell gathered around her and Larkin, “…will be here in less than twenty four hours.  I’ll brief them on their part then, but for now, I want us to go over our plans for the depot.  Starting with defenses.”  Turning her attention towards the newest member of her resistance group, Diaz requested pointedly, “What’ll we find there, Mr. Atoa?”

Immediately recognizing the measuring and suspicious gazes given to him by all but Nura, who, surprisingly, was giving the New Kauaian a look that seemed to be supporting, Manuele responded carefully, “I can’t say for certain, of course, but…going from previous experience, I would imagine that there wouldn’t be any significant forces at the depot.  These places rely on staying under the radar for most of their security.  Starfleet Medical gambles that with space being so large, that by keeping them as inconspicuous as possible, these depots can remain under the radar.”

“I know all that.”  Diaz replied sharply, “I was a captain once, remember?  What I want to know is what sort of defenses will it have?”

“I was about to tell you before I was interrupted…” Manuele retorted, not giving an inch before the stern faced cell leader, “I’d say you’re probably looking at facing a doctor in overall command of the facility, maybe a few researchers and med techs and there’ll probably be a small security team—no more than three or four I would imagine.  Total numbers…hmmm…about ten…twelve at the most.”

“That’s about what I figured.”  Diaz agreed, nodding her head.  “So…here’s the plan.  All goes according to plan, we get away clean and no one gets hurt.”

********************************************************************** 

“Damn.”  Dr. Calvin Baxter cursed, shaking his head as he confirmed the test results appearing on his monitor screen.  “I was afraid that was what we were going to find.”

“I can’t believe…” Dr. Denise Murakawa remarked as she worriedly fingered the small gold crucifix hanging around her neck, “…that someone like Sabrina Diaz could even conceive of such a thing.  It’s just so…”

“Nevertheless…” the stoic voice of the Sutherland’s science officer, Lieutenant Commander Varok, interjected, unintentionally cutting off the young Japanese-Centauran doctor’s next words, “…the test results have been verified.  We should inform the Captain as to our results.”

“Of course.”  Dr. Baxter agreed, favoring his younger colleague with a paternal grin, “Since you’re the team leader, Dr. Murakawa and since it was you who tumbled on the gene sequence in question, you should do the honors.”

Blushing at the retired former Chief of Starfleet’s praise, Denise activated her intercom, “Sickbay to Captain Shelby…”

“Estimated time of arrival at Deep Space Nine in three hours, Captain.”  Ensign Maria Django reported from her position next to the senior helmsman and her lover, Lieutenant Sam Lavelle.  “That is, assuming that bucket of bolts we’re towing doesn’t cause us to drop out of warp again.”

Stifling the rising snickers coming from most of the rest of the Sutherland’s bridge crew with a withering glare from her piercing blue eyes, Captain Elizabeth Shelby promptly rebuked her outspoken junior operations officer with a curt, “Belay that talk, Ensign,” just as the comm light on her chair blinked.  Hitting the comm button on her chair, the petite captain heard, “Sickbay to Captain Shelby...”

“Dr. Murakawa?” Liz answered back, “Does your team have any news for me?”

“Yes, Sir.”  Doctor Denise Murakawa’s strained voice responded, “But I think you should come down here to hear it.”

Worried about the anxious tone of her Chief Medical Officer’s voice, Shelby replied as she rose from the center seat, surrendering it to her first officer, “I’ll be down there in a few minutes.”

Arriving in sickbay, Captain Shelby was greeted by the three grim faces of her chief science officer, chief medical officer, and the visiting physician from the Bluefin.  “So…” Liz asked as she approached the three officers gathered around Dr. Murakawa’s desk, “…what’s the bad news.”

“Bad news is right, Sir.”  Denise sighed as she pointed at the monitor display on her desk.  “That’s the biogenic structure of the components of the warhead that Chief Deryx defused.  It’s a designer variant of the Fostossa virus, only it’s been genetically modified to affect a wider variety of species. It’s extremely virulent and persistent and highly adaptable.”

“Whoever designed this…” Dr. Calvin Baxter declared as he ran a hand through the shock of white hair on his head, “…knew what they were doing and had the facilities to do it in.  I haven’t seen work this precise…this…complete…in years.”

“How long would it take before the symptoms would show?”  Liz inquired.

“Hmmm…normally, with Fostossa virus, the initial symptoms appear after approximately three days to a week.”  Dr. Murakawa replied.  “This variant, however, seems to have been designed with a longer incubation period—anywhere from a week and a half to three weeks before the first symptoms appear.”

“That explains why they weren’t interested in completely destroying that Lissepian colony.”  Liz concluded, “Had they have been successful in setting that bomb off—either on one of our ships or on the colony—it would have been devastating.”  As the others in the room nodded their heads in silent agreement, Shelby asked, “How long do you think it’ll take for you to find a cure?”

“I don’t know, Sir.”  Denise answered honestly.  “Like I said, the virus is highly adaptable…”

“We’ve tried several times already.”  Dr. Baxter added, “But within a generation or two, the virus develops resistances to whatever we throw at it.”

“Perhaps…” Varok observed, “…we are taking the wrong approach to the problem.  Instead of approaching the virus as something that must be attacked…” the elderly Vulcan suggested, “it might prove more advantageous to, in the words of the ancient Vulcan proverb, ‘Convince Nirak that Mount Celanya is, in fact, Mount Selaya.’”

“I get it!”  Baxter chuckled.  Then, seeing the look of confusion on the faces of the two women in the room, the elderly physician explained, “Instead of trying to kill the bug, we neutralize it…”

“By providing something else for it to bond to!”  Denise exclaimed, cutting the white haired doctor off.  Blushing red with embarrassment, the normally shy Dr. Murakawa apologized, “I’m sorry, Sir…I didn’t mean to.”

“Nothing to apologize for, Young Lady.” Calvin answered back with a toothy grin.  Turning his attention back to the Vulcan science officer, the former chief of Starfleet Medical asked, “Is that what you meant?”

Nodding his head once, Varok replied in his usual flat voice, “Precisely.  If a substance can be found that the virus would find more attractive than the body’s amino acids, then it would bond with that, rendering it inert.”

“But wouldn’t the person with the virus still be a possible carrier?”  Liz asked with a worried frown.

“For a time, yes.”  The Vulcan science officer confirmed, “But after a brief period the virus would be eradicated from the body as it would be unable to reproduce.”

“I see…” the captain responded as she chewed over her officer’s proposal.  “Very well.  Begin work on it.  We’ll be at Deep Space Nine in approximately two hours.  Coordinate with Dr. Bashir on our arrival—he might have some ideas of his own.”

“I’d suggest we start off with the guanine group.”  Doctor Murakawa declared as she sat down at her desk.  “Maybe we’ll get lucky and hit the jackpot right away.”

“The odds of doing so…” Varok recited, “Are approximately 863,642 to 1.”

Sighing dejectedly, Denise retorted as she ran the first sequence through the simulation, only to have it come back negative, “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“Well, Denise…” Dr. Baxter grinned as he entered in a new sequence on his computer, “…maybe this’ll cheer you up.  If you ever want to have some fun making Morgan Bateson squirm, ask him sometime about what happened on Stardate 1175.6 at Sloopy’s between him, Brooks Erdolan, and those Antarean strippers.”

************************************************************************

“Ever been to DS9?”  Lieutenant Commander Jadon Tol asked as he handed Lieutenant T’Ser a cup of coffee.

“No…” The Vulcan operations officer responded as she gratefully accepted the cup from the handsome Trill who took the seat next to her, “But I’ve heard so much about it.”

“Most of it’s probably true.”  Jadon responded with a chuckle.  “First thing…once we get shoreleave—I’ll take you over to Quark’s...” Pausing for a moment as he took a sip of his coffee, the dark haired Trill smiled broadly as he changed the subject, “I can see now why you rave so much about Cookie. This coffee’s really good.” His eyes taking in the oak veneer paneling and paintings of older aquatic vessels bearing the Bluefin’s name that lined the walls of the tiny cutter’s wardroom, the Sutherland’s chief engineer remarked, “This place definitely has an Old School vibe to it.”

“That’s the way Captain Akinola likes it.”  T’Ser replied, her lips turning up into a warm grin at the mention of her commanding officer’s name.

“You like him, don’t you?”  Jadon perceptively observed as his eyes temporarily locked on to the sea-green eyes of his companion.

“Yeah…I do.”  T’Ser answered back with un-Vulcan-like warmth.  “He’s a good man.  He cares about this ship and its crew.”

“Yeah, I have to admit I’ve got a good one too…” Tol replied, a wicked grin forming on his face as he quipped, “It’s just too bad our bosses don’t get along.”

“Tell me about it!”  T’Ser chuckled, her laughter quickly vanishing as Commander McBride strode into the wardroom with one of Jadon’s engineers, the buxom blonde, Treasure Barrows, laughing beside him.

“And so…” Dale’s Texas accent filled the room as he spoke, “…he was yellin’ ‘Whoa! Whoa!’ at the top of his lungs, but that horse wasn’t payin’ any attention to him.  Took him right under that tree, branches smacking him in his face.  An’ then the horse went right back into the corral and stood right in front of its stall!”

“Ya’ll are puttin’ me on!”  The vivacious woman replied, the Southwestern accent of her Northstar roots providing a perfect match for the commander’s own drawl. “Ya tellin’ me you let him go on ahead and ride that horse even though he was jest a tenderfoot?”

“He kept on sayin’ he could ride ol’ Nugget, so we figured we’d give him an opportunity to put his money where his mouth was.”  McBride unabashedly replied as he guided his companion to the same table where T’Ser and Jadon were sitting.  “Mind if we join you?”  The Bluefin’s XO asked in an almost shy tone as he gazed down on the lovely Vulcan seated near the roguish Trill.

“Please, Commander.”  T’Ser responded with a nervous grin of her own as the other pair took the other two seats at the table.  “We were just talking about Deep Space Nine…” She added, hoping that her companion would pick up on her desires to return to the original subject.

Reading at once his escort’s wishes, the sophisticated Jadon smoothly remarked, “Yeah, I was telling her all about Quark’s…”

“Yeah…Candy and I are plannin’ on showing the joint off to Atris…” Treasure replied, her lips turning up into a wicked smirk as she regarded the Vulcan and Trill seated across from her, “So Boss, are you gonna introduce the Lieutenant to that new holosuite program ya’ll said Quark had just gotten?”

“New holosuite program?”  T’Ser inquired, raising her right eyebrow in an alluring gesture, “What sort of program is it—if I might ask?”

“Really it’s just a variation of a program that Jadzia—Jadzia Dax—an acquaintance of mine—has.”  Jadon explained, “It’s the baths on Trill—if you’d like…” the roguish Trill propositioned, “You’re more than welcome to join me…”

Glancing towards Commander McBride only to see him turn his gaze away as her eyes fell on him, T’Ser exhaled before replying, “Sure, Jadon…I’d love to.”  Getting up quickly, the lovely Vulcan woman announced before turning to leave the wardroom, “I hate to be rude, but I’d better go—I’ve got duty in twenty minutes.”

“We’d better get going too, Treasure…” Jadon, at once picking up on the tension between the two Bluefin officers, remarked several moments later, after T’Ser had left the wardroom, “The Captain’s going to want us back on the Suthy before we dock at DS9.”

“Right, Boss.”  Treasure acknowledged as she and Dale both rose to their feet.  Turning towards Dale, the voluptuous blonde ensign gave the Bluefin’s XO a playful wink, “Maybe I’ll see ya’ll at the station, Sir.”

“Perhaps, Ensign.”  Dale answered back, taking a deep breath as the ensign and her supervisor walked away, leaving him standing alone, with the sole exception of Cookie.

“Here, Sir.”  The Bluefin’s cook said, handing the commander a shot glass filled with an amber liquid, “You look like you could use it.”

Tossing back the liquor, Dale allowed it to warm the passages of its throat as it went down.  “Smooth…” the XO remarked, “Bourbon?”

“Yeah.”  Cookie replied, “Some of the best Kentucky sippin’ whisky this side of Antares.”  Seeing the troubled look on his superior officer’s face, the cook tentatively ventured as he set the bottle down on the table, “Sir…I know it’s not my place but…well…Momma told me something once—that there’s nothing worse than saying ‘I should have’. Good night, Sir.”

Nodding his head as Cookie left him alone with his thoughts, Commander McBride poured another shot of bourbon in his glass.  Swirling the liquid, Dale gazed intently at the glass as images of T’Ser and Treasure alternately appeared in the liquid as Cookie’s mother’s words repeated themselves over and over again in his head.  What if you don’t know what you should do? What if, no matter what you do, you end up saying ‘I should have’?

***********************************************************************

“That’s another thing I don’t like.”  Diaz groused as Ayenga’s ship docked, “I don’t trust Ayenga or her people.  I don’t care what Laren and the others say, the Kon-Ma are not our friends here.  Mark my words, Larkin—they’re going to screw us and they’re not even going to kiss us first.”

“For what it’s worth, Bri…” The Rutian answered back as he gave his lover’s hand a brief squeeze, “I agree.  But we don’t have much choice here.  She’s the best we’ve got where it concerns anything biomedical.  She’ll know right away whether there’s anything of value in that depot or not.”

“Yeah…” Sabrina agreed, nodding her head slowly before countering, “But I don’t think we should go completely by what our Kon Ma friend says here—regarding either the depot or Atoa.”  Her lips curling up into an icy grin, the Maquis leader instructed her lover in a whisper, “Go ahead and bring Ayenga in to the common room with the others and brief her on what we’ve planned so far.  I’ll be along directly after I take care of a few things.

“Take care of a few things?”  Larkin asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah.”  His lover replied, the cold smile still on her face, “I’m going to take out an insurance policy or two…”  Waiting until Larkin had left the tiny quarters the pair shared, Sabrina turned towards the computer monitor, activating it.  “Computer…record the following messages to be sent to these individuals should any of the parameters to be designated be triggered—Admiral Samson Glover, Captain Benjamin Sisko, Captain Elizabeth Shelby.  Authorization code…Cuffe.”  Several minutes later, after the last of the messages had been recorded, Diaz then instructed, “Computer…establish a secure channel comm. link between me and Miriam Pierson.”  Within moments, Miriam’s face appeared on Sabrina’s computer monitor.

“Sabrina?”  Miriam Pierson inquired, a look of surprise on her face, “What’s up?

“Got a few minutes, Miri?”  Diaz answered back, “I need you to ask that ex-husband of yours whether he can do me a favor.”

“Ok…” Miriam responded, “But you know Lynn’s going to want something in return…”

“Doesn’t he always?”  Sabrina chuckled, “Here’s what I’m going to need him to do…”

Several moments later, after Diaz had outlined her plan, Miriam shook her head, “I’ll ask him, Bri…but…don’t get your hopes up—he’s got problems of his own right now…”

“Well…” Sabrina concluded, “If he can do it, it’ll be great and I’ll owe him one—but if not, that’s ok too—he’s just additional insurance in case Plan A doesn’t work.  Take care of yourself.”  She finished as she terminated the connection.  Content now that all bases had been covered, the former Starfleet officer walked out of her office.  Entering the common area, she plastered an insincere grin on her face as she drew closer to Ayenga.

“Hello, Sabrina.”  The Bajoran terrorist greeted with an equally false grin.  “Larkin was just filling me in on the plan.  It sounds solid, but there are a few things I’d like to go over with you in private…” lowering her voice, she added, “…especially as regards your new man.  I don’t trust him.  He reeks of Starfleet.”

“So did I once.”  Diaz responded in an equally low whisper, “For now…we need him.” Her voice now taking on a mildly placating tone, Sabrina added, “Don’t worry…we’ll find out soon enough whether we can trust him or not.”

Watching the two leaders talking quietly amongst themselves and having a pretty good idea as to the topic of conversation, Manuele turning towards Nura, flashed a sarcastic grin, “You guys don’t trust very easy—do you?”

Shrugging her shoulders, the Bzzit Khaht replied, “What did you expect?  For every legit defector we get from Starfleet, we get at least three phonies.  Take your pick—Starfleet Intelligence…the Obsidian Order…Tal’Shiar…Orion Syndicate…Klingon Intelligence…everyone’s got someone somewhere with us.”  She remarked with a snort, “Hell…I even heard that Janeway had someone in Chakotay’s cell…”

“She did.”  Rof, the Alshain interjected, deliberately flashing his canines at Manuele, “Heard it was the Vulcan.”

“Figures.”  Krakke chimed in, knowing full well that in fact it was Tuvok who had infiltrated the former Starfleet officer’s cell.  “Chakotay was always too trusting…” The Terranovan remarked as he glared at Atoa, “And look what it got him…killed in the Badlands…”

“At least he took Janeway with him.”  Rof growled.

“We don’t know that they’re dead.”  Nura pointed out, “No one’s spotted any sign of wreckage from either ship…”

“They’re dead.”  Krakke answered back, shaking his head, “Get caught up in one of those plasma eddies and not much gets left.”  Turning his attention back towards Atoa, the undercover operative leaned over as he growled menacingly into the New Kauaian’s ear, “I don’t like you and I don’t trust you.  Do anything out of line and I’ll kill you.”

Smiling as Krakke stomped away, Rof bared his fangs as he looked down on Atoa, “I only smell a little bit of fear on you—good.  That means you’re not a fool.  Doesn’t mean you’re not a traitor though.  You prove yourself honest—then I’ll gladly fight beside you.  But if you betray us—I shall enjoy hunting you down.”

“In other words…” Manuele muttered as he watched the Alshain stalk away, “…put up or shut up.”

“That’s about the size of it.”  Nura agreed with a smile.  “Still…” she said as she stood up, “…for what it’s worth, you’ve got one person in your corner.”  Her eyes pleading, she added as she walked away, “Just don’t disappoint me.”   

*********************************************************************

As he zipped up his stealthsuit, Lynn Pierson stared directly into the eyes of his two lieutenants, “I don’t want you two doing anything stupid like trying to play hero and come after us if we frinx up.  If you don’t hear from us in two hours or if you even think that Ershak is about to move on this place, I want you to get the girls, Alain, and the stuff in my safe out of here.  Get to my ship, and then hightail it to the rendezvous point.  No if…ands…or buts about it—got it?”

“But, Boss…”

“Got it, Dak?”  Pierson repeated with increased emphasis.

“Yeah, Boss…”

“You too, S’nurl.  I don’t want you going and getting yourself killed trying to take out Ershak’s entire syndicate on some vengeance quest.”  Softening his voice, he added, “I need you, old friend, to keep Alena and Bala safe.”

“I undersssstand…even though I do not like it.”  The loyal Gorn bodyguard replied, “I will do assssssss you assssssk.”

“Good.”  The roguish Pierson responded as he clasped a hand on muscular reptile’s shoulder.  Slipping a phaser one into his boot and knife into a sheath in the other boot, the ex-Starfleet officer turned towards Chief Brin who was similarly equipping himself, “You ready to go, Brin?”

“Ready when you are.”  The red Orion taciturnly replied as he shoved a phaser into his belt.

“Let’s go do this then.”  Pierson declared in grim tone as he strode out of his office.

*********************************************************************

“You’ll go in first, Atoa.”  Sabrina Diaz commanded, her voice coming through the Moselle’s intercom.  “If you’re as good as you say you are, then the depot’s scanners will read you as the Niger making its normal deliveries.  You, Nura, and Banan and Hanya…” she instructed, referring to the lean dark haired male and petite dirty blonde haired female Bajorans from Ayenga’s cell also on board the runabout, “…will then take out the flight control team and neutralize the depots shielding and weapons arrays.  Ayenga and I will then follow up with our teams.”

“Understood, Sabrina.”  Manuele replied in a grim tone as the Bzzit Khaht woman sitting in the pilot’s seat gave him a supportive grin.  “Don’t worry, it’ll work.”

“It better for your sake.”  Ayenga’s caustic voice interjected.

“Ignore her.”  Nura consoled, placing her free hand on the New Kauaian’s shoulder.  “Like I said, I trust you.”

Feeling just the slightest twinge of guilt as he regarded the leathery skinned woman sitting next to him, Manuele’s lips turned up in a slight smile, “Thank you, Nura.  Now…you ready to go in?”

“Yeah.”  The ace pilot grinned back, “Let’s do this.”

“Remember…” Diaz’s voice came through one last time as she further admonished, addressing all of the teams, “…we do this as quick and clean as possible.  I don’t want any deaths here.”

Hearing the Maquis leader’s instructions, Ayenga’s lips turned up into a cold smile.  Turning towards her second in command, the Bajoran terrorist inquired in a cold voice, “Do Hanya and Banan understand what they’re supposed to do?” Taking her lieutenant’s single nod of the head as an answer, the Kon Ma leader further instructed, “Make sure they understand that they’re only to act when they get the signal.  We have to make sure that the Fleeters are convinced that Sabrina is the one responsible for the package we’re leaving behind…right?”

“Understood, Ayenga.”  Her Bajoran underling responded with a cold grin of his own.  “We’ll make sure that Sabrina gets all of the credit she deserves for this one.”

*********************************************************************

Handing the ocular viewer back to Pierson, Solly grunted, “Sensor drones.  Just like you said.”

“Yeah.”  The ex-Starfleet officer whispered back as he peered through the oculars.  “And their patrol routes overlap so that no part of the perimeter goes unguarded.  Also, take one out, it immediately triggers a security bot with live guards backing it up.”

“So…” Chief Brin asked with a grimace, “How’re we going to get through?”

His lips turning up in a sly grin, Pierson took out two fist-sized objects.  “A little something I picked up from a friend of a friend.”  The rogue explained with a triumphant smirk.  “They have holo-emitters that fool the drones’ visual sensors and also a package that’ll cover our biosignatures.”

Shaking his head, the red Orion replied, “I’m not even going to ask how or where you got those things.  So…how much time will they give us.”

“Not much.”  Pierson admitted.  “Their batteries’ll give us two minutes—maybe two and a half.  We have to be over the wall and on the other side and out of range of the scanners by then.”

“What about inside patrols?”  Solly inquired.

“Got it covered.”  Lynn answered back, his crooked grin returning, “I’ve got someone on the inside.  All we have to do is get over the wall and past the inner perimeter guards.”

“All right.”  Solly exhaled, “Let’s do it.”

**********************************************************************

Activating his comm unit, Manuele spoke, “Sigma Three?  This is the Niger approaching on a heading of one-oh-two mark thirty.”

“Niger?  This is Sigma Three Control.  What happened to our usual guy?”

“Lieutenant Aiello is taking a few weeks of leave on Risa.”  Manuele replied, giving the cover story that had already been worked out.  “I’m Lieutenant Matt Ramos.”

After a few moments, the voice of the depot’s flight control officer once again came out from the speakers, “All right, Lieutenant.  Everything checks out.  You’re cleared for approach and landing on Pad Alpha.  You got some people here who are really looking forward to the care packages you’re bringing with you.”

“Well…” Manuele chuckled, “I better hurry up then—I wouldn’t want to keep them waiting longer than I have to.”

“Smooth.”  Nura praised as she glanced over at the human sitting next to her.  “Tell the others to get ready to move while I guide us in.”

“Right.”  Atoa replied as he got out of his chair.  Walking to the back of the runabout, he spied the Bajoran couple who made up the rest of his assault team cleaning their weapons.  Noting how professionally the pair had broken down, cleaned, and put back together their Klingon made disruptor carbines, the experienced security officer the female, Hanya, had  modified the focus crystal so that the beam from her carbine would come out narrower, increasing both range and stopping power.  The male, Banan, had also altered his weapon, adjusting the charge emitter so that it would put out an increased rate of fire, but at the expense of both accuracy and range.  Mentally filing what he had seen in the back of his mind, Manuele called out, “Get ready, you two.  We’re on our way in.”

Nodding their heads once in acknowledgement, the pair, after first slapping fresh power cells on to their weapons, stood up.  Maintaining their silence as they brushed past him, the pair took their place on the tiny runabout’s two transport pads.  Returning to the bow, Manuele rolled his eyes as he took his seat.

“Watch out for those two.”  Nura whispered, “Especially the woman, Hanya.  She’s what you humans call a ‘stone-killer’.  She kills for one reason and one reason only—because she loves it.  Don’t turn your back on her and whatever you do—don’t cross her.”

“Great group we’re travelling with.”  Manuele observed with a wry grin.

Chuckling in response, Nura quipped, “The Kon Ma aren’t exactly known for their sense of humor, you know.”  Her smile vanishing as the planetoid the depot was located on grew larger, the Bzzit Khaht remarked in a soft voice, “Get ready…it’s showtime.”

Calling out over his shoulder, Manuele alerted the Bajorans, “Ok…we’re beaming you over.  Energize.”

As the Kon Ma couple dematerialized, the New Kauaian turned his attention back to his companion, “I hope we didn’t make a mistake just now beaming those two over.”

“Yeah.”  Nura agreed, a grim expression on her face, “I do too.”

**********************************************************************

“Ok, Solly…” Pierson grinned as his thumb hovered over a tiny remote control button, “…the moment I push this button, the clock starts.  We have two minutes to get over that wall and past the inner perimeter before the emitters run out of juice.  You ready?”  Taking the red Orion’s single nod of the head as assent, Lynn’s thumb pressed the button, activating the two holo-emitters.  Nodding his head as the area in front of portion of the wall they targeted momentarily shimmered; Pierson slapped his teammate on the shoulder, “Now!”

Leaping to their feet, the pair sprinted towards the wall.  As he neared the obstacle, Solly spotted the sensor drone out of the corner of his eye drawing closer.  Picking up his pace as the drone approached, the red Orion said a rare silent prayer as he and Pierson, reaching the wall, began their climb.  The drone, apparently fooled by the roguish human’s devices, passed the pair in silence as they scampered over the wall.  Pointing at a small blockhouse thirty meters to his left, Pierson whispered, “Over there!  Go!  We’ve only got a minute left.”  Reaching the blockhouse, Pierson keyed in a sequence.  Sighing in relief as the door opened, the defrocked Starfleet officer flashed a roguish grin as the two men stepped inside, “We’re in.”

“Where are we?”  Chief Brin asked as he drew his phaser.

“This is a maintenance shed.”  Pierson explained, pointing at the various tools and devices hanging on hooks on the wall and lying on shelves.  Nothing much special about the place…” Lynn smirked as he revealed another keypad concealed by a gardener’s smock hanging from a hook, “…except for this.”  Punching in another key sequence, the rogue’s grin grew wider as a portion of the floor opened up to reveal a staircase.  “Ershak has a tunnel complex under his estate.  This’ll take us right to where we need to go.”

Shaking his head, the Bluefin chief commented dryly, “You’ve been planning this for some time, haven’t you?”

Nodding his head as he drew his own weapon, Pierson replied, “Yeah.  Figured that sooner or later it’d come down to something like this, so I got someone inside Ershak’s organization a while ago and kept her in my pocket until now.”

“Why are you doing this?” Solly asked, “You’re putting everything on the line here.  It can’t be just for Alena and the rest.  This’ll burn things between you and Ershak completely.  He’ll have no choice but to retaliate.”  The red Orion said knowingly, “Otherwise he loses face completely before his people and his Ahmet’sur.  And if you kill him, his Ahmet’sur would have to take you out if for no other reason than to avenge his honor.  Not only that, the other Ahmets and Ahmet’surs will want to take out contracts on you—if for no other reason than to make an example out of you.”

“Yeah…there’s more.”  Pierson admitted, his face now taking on a grim expression, “Ershak made a mistake—he made it personal between us when he brought my ex into this.  But you’re right…” He conceded, the roguish grin quickly reappearing, “My days here on Persis IV are over anyway.”  Shrugging his shoulders, the human remarked glumly, “Just as well…I’ve lived as long as I have out here ‘cause I know when it’s time to pull up stakes.  Things are going to get ugly in this section of space soon—uglier than they are now—and I mean a lot uglier.  I can feel it.  Time to get while the getting’s good.  I figure me, Dak, S’nurl and the girls’ll find us another place to set up.”  Jerking his head towards the stairwell, Lynn concluded the conversation, “Look…we can talk more about this later.  Right now…we’ve got work to do.”

“Yeah.”  Solly agreed as the pair descended into the tunnel.  “We’ve got an appointment with a fat green Orion.”

********************************************************************

“Flight control secure.”

Hearing Hanya’s icy words coming from the intercom speaker, Manuele took a deep breath.  “Bring us on in, Nura.”

“Right.”  The Bzzit Khaht acknowledged as she expertly piloted the runabout on to the waiting pad.  “We’re down.”  She said, reporting to Sabrina.

“Good.”  The Maquis leader replied, “Proceed with the operation.”

“Well…”  Nura remarked, cracking a sly grin as she got out of the pilot’s chair, “Let’s get to work.”  Her smile vanishing, she added in a more guarded tone, “I don’t like leaving those two alone for too long.  Between you and me…” she whispered, “…I don’t trust Ayenga.  I think she’s up to something.”

“Yeah.”  Manuele quickly agreed as he checked his phaser, finding that it had been locked to a mild stun setting as per Sabrina’s orders, “I know what you mean.”

Moments later, as the pair emerged from the airlock into the flight control center, both Nura and Manuele found, to their deepest regret, that their suspicions regarding their Bajoran teammates were justified.  Finding one Starfleet crewman, wearing the gold and black jacket of an operations/security specialist, lying motionless on the deck, a phaser in his hand, and another, this one wearing command red, slumped in her chair; the New Kauaian growled as he approached the fallen security specialist, “They’re dead.”

A pained look on her face, Nura flashed the Bajoran couple an accusatory look, “What part of ‘No Killing’ don’t you understand?”

“We don’t take orders from Diaz.”  Hanya replied haughtily.  “In any event, we didn’t have a choice.  That man…” she said, pointing at the human lying on the deck, “…was obviously going for his phaser, and she…” the Bajoran continued, jerking her head towards the gray-skinned, chestnut haired Bolian woman slumped over the console, “…was about to trigger an alarm.”

Glancing first at the fallen human and then at the Bolian woman, Manuele’s experience eye immediately told him that the Bajoran terrorist was lying.  Calling Nura over to him, Atoa whispered in a low voice as the Bajorans watched warily, their weapons at the ready.  “Nod your head and look relieved.”  Following his instructions, the Bzzit Khaht listened intently as the New Kauaian spoke in a low whisper, “Hanya’s lying.  That phaser was placed in the ensign’s hand after he was killed.  You can tell by the way he’s clutching it and by its position in his hand.  Also, the lieutenant’s hand is nowhere near the alarm.”

“So…what do we do?”  Nura asked, nodding her head and speaking in a low, level whisper as Manuele instructed.  “Call them on it?”

“No.”  Manuele replied, his lips turning up into a false smile, “That’ll start a firefight for sure and we don’t want that.  Follow my lead, ok?”

“Sure thing.”  Nura replied, placing her trust in the burly man standing next to her.

Turning his attention back towards the Kon Ma terrorists, Manuele said in calm, level tone, “All right.  You didn’t have a choice.”  Seeing the pair relax just a touch, Atoa continued to speak, “But from now on, we’re doing this according to Diaz’s instructions—understood?”

“I told you…” Hanya replied dangerously, her finger dangerously close to the firing stud of the disruptor she carried, “…we only follow the orders of Ayenga.”

“Ok…” the New Kauaian shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as he slipped unobtrusively into a combat stance, “…then I’ll just contact Sabrina and we’ll scrub the mission. Because, unless you agree, I’m not going to key in the access sequence and since I’m the only one who knows the correct combination...”

After a few moments of angry whispering between her and her partner, Hanya turned her attention back towards Manuele.  “All right.  We’ll do it your way for now.  But…” she added in a menacing tone as she jerked her head down at the fallen security trooper, “…give me one reason, and I’ll burn a hole through you bigger than the one through him.”

“Whatever.”  Atoa growled back in response as he moved towards the control console.  Moving gingerly so as to not disturb the deceased Bolian, Manuele not only keyed in the sequences that would permit access to the rest of the facility, as well as flood it with anesthizine gas, but also keyed in another code, this one programmed to send out a prearranged signal to the Sutherland.  Punching in the last code, the New Kauaian activated a comm signal, “Sabrina…you and Ayenga can bring your teams in now.”

“Right.”  The former starship captain responded, “Ayenga…you hear?”

“Yeah.”  The Bajoran replied, “We’re beginning our approach.”

“They’ll be at their landing positions in a few minutes.”  Manuele said to Nura as he slipped on his breathing apparatus, “So we better get going.  We need to get to the central facility and get what we can from there.”

“Right.”  The leathery skinned Bzzit Khaht, donning her breathing filter, answered back, adding in a whisper as she glanced back at the Bajoran couple.  “You did a good job with those two, but remember what I told you…watch your back—especially with that psycho.”

“Why didn’t we just gun ‘em down and be done with it?”  Banan asked his companion in a low whisper, his voice muffled even more by the mask covering nose and mouth.

“We move when Ayenga tells us to and not a moment before.”  Hanya replied in an equally low voice, “Besides, I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not lug around all that dead weight to the central core.”

********************************************************************

USS Sutherland

“Captain?”  Lieutenant Dryer called out from her position at tactical at her commanding officer, sitting in the center seat of the Nebula-class cruiser, “We receiving a signal—it’s faint…unknown origin.  Should I put it on the speakers?”

“No.”  Liz shook her head as she got up out of her seat.  “Reroute it to my ready room.”  Entering her office, Shelby immediately ordered, “Computer…download, decrypt and display on my monitor.”  Her face taking on a grim expression as the brief message appeared on her screen, the starship captain activated her comm unit, “Lieutenant Dryer? I want you to first contact Admiral Glover at Starbase Five and then Captain Sisko.  Tell the captain that I’ll need to see him as soon as we arrive at DS9.”

**********************************************************************

His phaser at the ready, Solly crouched down as Pierson keyed in the code sequence.  Smiling as the door slid open, the red Orion covered his human companion as the rogue stealthily slipped into the empty antechamber. Scanning the opulent space with his eyes, Pierson’s lips turned up into a grin as he saw the slender Bajoran woman standing next to an Elasian marble statue of the third Dolman.  Taking just a moment to appreciate the workmanship of the sculptor who, with artistic precision, had seemed to capture not just the woman’s beauty, but also her regal, haughty bearing, the former Starfleet captain approached his agent.  “Thanks Talysa,” he smiled as he signaled Solly that it was safe to come out.  “Where’s Ershak?”
 

“He’s in his quarters…sound asleep.”  The Bajoran slave replied with a smug grin before sounding a cautionary note

“What about Ershak’s Nausicaan and Red Orion hounds?”  Solly inquired as he joined the pair.  “They’re a matched set.”

“That’s right.”  Pierson acknowledged with a furrowed brow.  “Now that you mention it…the manned security here’s a bit lighter than I expected.  You know anything about it, Talysa?”  The roguish human asked, turning once again to his Bajoran plant.

“Hmmm…” Talysa murmured, “Kadrak and Sylak did leave here a few minutes ago with three or four of Ershak’s goons.  I don’t know where they were going though.”

“I have a pretty good idea.”  Pierson replied with a scowl as he activated his comm unit.  “Dak?”  The bar owner called out, addressing one of his chief lieutenants.

“Yeah, Boss?”

“Get the girls to safety.”  Lynn ordered, “Look’s like S’nurl’s about to have one of his dreams come true.  You two are about to have some company.  Ershak sent his boys over to play with us.”

“Good.”  As a reptilian voice answered back, Solly imagined the Gorn’s lips turned up into a feral smile.  “We will be waiting.”

“Don’t worry, Boss…” Dak replied, “We’ll take care of things over here.  You just watch your ass.  Bala’ll have my balls if anything happens to that red Orion CPO with you.”

“Hear that?”  Pierson grinned as he turned back towards Solly, “You got yourself a fan.”  Turning his attention back towards the Bajoran woman, a concerned Lynn inquired, “What about you?  Can you get out of here, ok?”

“Yeah.”  Talysa answered back with a sly smile.  “Just give me a few minutes before you go after Ershak.  The sensor drones know my biosignature so I can just walk out the front gate.”

“Good.”  Pierson replied, “Make for the spaceport and wait for Dak, S’nurl, and the girls.”

“Right.”  Talysa acknowledged as she gave the ex-Starfleet officer a kiss on the cheek.  “I’ll see you two later and…” she added with a wicked grin, “…give Ershak a kick in the ‘nads for me.”

“It’ll be my pleasure.”  Solly answered back with a grim chuckle.

“Ok…” Pierson declared, jerking his head towards the corridor that led to Ershak’s sleeping quarters.  “Let’s give our lady a couple of minutes and then pay fat boy a visit.”

***********************************************************************

“It’s going just like you thought it would, Bri.” Larkin grinned as he spoke to his lover, Sabrina Diaz, who was at that moment manning the transporter station on the converted freighter that she and the Rutian had flown into the depot. 

Smiling as yet another lot of medical supplies materialized on the transporter pad, Sabrina Diaz looked on approvingly as the other two members of her cell, the Alshain, Rof, and a human, Danyor Krakke removed the instruments and rare medicines from the pad.  Speaking over her shoulder, the former Starfleet captain responded, sounding a cautionary note, “We’re not done yet.  There’s a lot that can go wrong.”

Flashing a cold grin as her people likewise removed yet another lot of medical supplies from her ship’s transporter pad, the Bajoran terrorist Ayenga inquired of her lieutenant, “How are Hanya and Banan progressing?”

“They’re nearly there.”  The Bajoran, Omkar, replied in a flat tone.

“Good.”  Ayenga exclaimed, “Wait until we’ve finished loading everything and they’ve downloaded the information and then give them the signal.  I want to be long gone before Diaz tumbles on the fact that she’s been screwed over.”

*********************************************************************

“We’re in.”  Manuele declared as he and his group entered the medical facility’s central core.

“Great.”  Nura replied with a grin as the New Kauaian checked the slumbering crew slumped over their consoles.  “How’re they?”  The Bzzit Khaht asked, her leathery face showing her concern for the Starfleeters.

“They’re ok.”  Atoa answered back.  Making sure that their Bajoran teammates were otherwise occupied checking out the rest of the downed station crew, Manuele pressed a capsule into his Bzzit Khaht companion’s hands.  “Swallow this. Now.”  He urged in a silent whisper as he slipped his own tablet into his mouth.

A confused look on her face, Nura swallowed her own tablet as she heard him issue commands, Get to work downloading the computer, Nura; I’ll double check to see that we got everything we came for.”  Turning to the two Bajorans, the New Kauaian further instructed, “You two…why don’t you do something useful and get those packs over there.  They’re an experimental IV for use in the field.  They might come in handy for us.”

Walking over and collecting the packs, Hanya knelt down as she placed the packs in her backpack.  Glancing to her left, the Bajoran woman’s lips turned up into a grin as she immediately recognized her and her fellow terrorist’s true goal—a sealed container.  Recognizing the container at the same time, Manuele called out, “Hanya—be careful with that!  According to the manifest here, it contains some of those drugs I was talking about earlier—the ones that can’t be replicated.”

“Right.”  The Bajoran terrorist responded as her gaze dropped down to the chronometer on her wrist.  Seeing that a tiny light was flashing a steady green, a cold smile appeared on the auburn-haired woman’s lips as she stood up and turned to her partner, nodding her head once.  Receiving an answering nod from Banan, the auburn haired Bajoran took one of the hand phasers that lay near a fallen depot crewman.  Her lips turning up into a grin as she saw that it had been locked on stun, she aimed and fired first at Atoa and then at Nura, striking both of them in the back.  Watching in satisfaction as the pair slumped down to the floor, Hanya turned to her partner.  “Set the device up Banan while I get the container.”  She instructed as she removed the filter masks from her former comrades.  “That’ll keep ‘em from waking up before it’s too late.” 

“What about Diaz?”  Her companion inquired as he connected a small cylindrical device to the station’s air filtration system.  “What if she figures out what’s going on?”

“Won’t matter.”  Hanya replied with a smirk as she cracked open the sealed container.  “It’s here.”  She exclaimed triumphantly as she carefully removed the magnetically sealed bottle containing mutagenic gel.  Returning to the subject at hand, she explained, ‘Ayenga has it all figured out.  By the time Diaz tumbles on to what we’re doing, we’ll be long gone and if she waits around here too long—she’ll be as dead as these people soon will be.”  Watching as her partner completed his task, the Bajoran terrorist asked somewhat impatiently, “You done now?”

“Yeah.”  Banan answered back, “We’ve got a two minute timer.  That should give us just enough time.”

“Right.  Activate it.  It’s time we got out of here.”  Hanya responded as she tapped her comm badge, “Ayenga…we’re done here.”  Moments later, the pair disappeared in an orange glow as Manuele and Nura struggled to consciousness.

“What hit us?”  A groggy Nura asked as she stumbled to her feet, “And where are our ‘friends’?”

“Probably bailed on us.  Had a feeling they might try something like that.”  Manuele replied as he staggered to his feet as well.  Looking about, he grabbed a couple of filter masks lying on the floor.  “Put this on.”  He instructed his companion, “The pill I gave you was a temporary antidote to the gas, but it’ll be losing its effectiveness soon.”  Placing a mask over his face, the security specialist quickly scanned the room with his eyes, noticing at once the opened container and the device attached to the air filtration system.  “Damn!  That’s what I was afraid of.”

“What?”  A confused Nura inquired as she situated her own mask over her face.

“They took it.”  Atoa growled in a low voice.  “Mutagenic gel.”  Seeing the puzzled look on his companion’s face, Manuele added as his eyes fell on the other device, “I’ll explain later, but right now we’ve got another problem.”  Pointing to the tiny cylinder, the New Kauaian explained, “Looks like they’ve tied something into the air filtration system and I have a feeling it’s not a Risan aphrodisiac.”

“Can you disconnect it?”  A suddenly worried Nura asked.

“Yeah.  I think so.”  Manuele responded as he grabbed his tools, “But I’m going to have to hurry.  It looks like it’s set to go off in less than a minute.  Working feverishly as the seconds counted down, the burly security chief struggled with the connections until, with bare seconds to spare, he freed the cylinder from its place, tossing it rapidly into the empty container as his companion slammed it shut, resealing it.  “Whew!”  Manuele sighed with relief as he heard the container’s seals click into place.  “That was too close.”

“What was it?”  Nura asked as her partner shook his head in a mixture of disgust and dismay.

“Not sure.”  Atoa answered back, “We’ll probably need someone who knows what they’re doing with chemicals or drugs before we can get an answer, but I’ve got a feeling that it wasn’t anything good.”  Still shaking his head, he added, “Bitch also stole my tricorder with the information I downloaded.”

“Shouldn’t be a total loss…” Nura consoled, “After all, didn’t you transfer that information to Sabrina?”

“Most of it—yeah.”  Manuele replied, “But I wasn’t able to transmit the stuff I downloaded before Hanya stunned us—and that probably includes stuff on the mutagenic gel.”

“Damn.”  Nura cursed, “We better contact Bri.  She’s not going to like this…” The Bzzit Khaht sighed as she activated her comm badge, “She’s not going to like this at all.”

***********************************************************************

Waiting until they were sure that Talysa had cleared the compound, Solly and Pierson made their way down the long hallway to Ershak’s private quarters.  Spotting a silvery glint several meters ahead, the red Orion chief held his hand up.  Motioning for his partner to stay put, Solly silently slipped the long double edged war knife he carried out of its sheath in his boot.  Stealthily creeping forward, clinging to the shadows as he moved, the senior chief paused as he drew within a few meters of his prey.  A human bearing what appeared to be an Orion disruptor stood guard, pacing back and forth, a bored expression on his face.  Pausing, the guard took a deep breath before turning around.  Seeing his opportunity, chief struck, one arm closing around the hapless guard’s neck tightly as the blade plunged deep into the small of his back.  Squeezing tighter, Solly only relaxed his hold as he heard the man’s larynx snap.  Releasing his victim, the red Orion watched dispassionately as his prey slumped down to the floor.  Motioning for Pierson to join him, Solly grabbed the dead guard’s hands while Pierson grabbed his feet.  Moving quickly and quietly, the two hid the guard inside an alcove that Brin had spotted earlier.

Resuming their stealthy advance, Pierson held his hand up as the pair neared where the corridor made a turn towards the left.  Now taking the lead, Lynn easily matched his red Orion partner in furtiveness as he neared the junction.  Taking out a small, palm-sized instrument, the ex-Starfleet officer nodded his head knowingly as he signaled his partner, holding up first two fingers and then one.  Immediately understanding that Pierson was telling him that there were two guards one meter down the corridor, Solly nodded his head in acknowledgment as Lynn took out a sphere the size of a baseball.  His lips turning up into an evil grin as he recognized the stun grenade for what it was, Brin nodded his head once as Pierson chucked the object around the bend.  Moments later, the two men, seeing just the traces of a brilliant flash and hearing the thumping sound of two bodies hitting the floor dashed into the corridor, weapons drawn.

Smiling as he saw the two guards, both green Orions, lying on the floor, Brin clasped Pierson on the shoulder as he pointed at the large double doors.  “Ershak?”  He whispered in a barely audible tone.

Nodding his head, Pierson replied in the affirmative, “Yeah.  You ready?”

“Oh, yeah.”  Solly responded, flashing a feral grin.

************************************************************************

“Please, Ershak…” Lynn Pierson remarked with a thin smile as Solly Brin fired his phaser at the alarm button on the Orion’s bedpost, boring a hole through button and post.  “Give us a reason…”

“You’ve finally gone mad, Pierson.” The Syndicate ahmet growled as he glared at the two men who had intruded into his bedchamber.  “You’re a dead man.”

“Maybe.”  The disgraced Starfleet officer replied nonchalantly, “But the question you should be asking yourself is whether you’re going to be a dead man or not by the time we leave this room.”

Seeing the dark, blank expressions on both intruders’ faces, beads of sweat appeared on the corpulent green Orion’s face as he spoke in as game a voice as he could muster, “Pierson…Lynn…” He pleaded, his arms outstretched, a wide grin on his face, “Think about this.  You know that if you kill me the price my ahmet’sur will put on both your heads will bring out every bushak and mercenary between here and Velex.  You’d have to go all the way to the Delta Quadrant to know even a moment’s peace.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Solly remarked in a flat tone as he brandished his war-knife, “Might be worth it just to shut you up.”

“Hear that, Ershak?” Pierson chuckled, “My friend’s not too worried about your threat.  Now…” he continued, all traces of humor vanishing from his voice as his cheek with the scar given to him by a Cardassian neuro-lash twitched, “You don’t tell us what we want to know, I’m not sure I could restrain him…to be honest, I’m not sure I want to…”

“What do you want to know?”  A seemingly panicked Ershak pleaded.  “I’ll tell you anything.”

“Where’s Rejak manufacturing his Corillan acid?”  Lynn demanded.

“I don’t know…I’m telling you the truth!”  Ershak cried out as the red Orion CPO approached brandishing his double-edged blade.  But…” the ahmet pleaded as Solly scowled at him and Pierson flashed a feral grin, “…I know of someone who might be able to tell you where it is.  It’s Rejak’s contact with the Syndicate.”
 

“Who is he and where can we find him?”  Solly asked, leaning forward, his knife dangerously close to the green Orion’s throat.

“He’s a human.”  Ershak quickly answered, his eyes wide open as he gazed on the knife held inches from his throat.  “His name is Dmitri…Dmitri Cherenkov.”

“Where can he be found?”  Pierson further inquired.

“Jacanta III.”  The green Orion replied.  “I swear I’m telling you the truth.”

“You know…” Pierson grinned, “This time I think he is.”

“That’s because he doesn’t think we’re going to be able to make it out of here in one piece.”  Chief Brin replied with a grin of his own.

“You know…I think you’re right.”  Lynn riposted as he motioned for Ershak to get out of bed.  “Here, Ershak.  Ahead of us.  If there’s anyone on the other side of that door, you’ll get it first.”

“Wait!”  The ahmet cried out, holding out his hands.  “What if I show you another way you can get out?  One I guarantee that’s safe.”

With a snort, Solly answered back, “You guarantee…that’s rich.”

“Wait a minute, Chief…Yeah…” Pierson said, noticing the look on Ershak’s face, “…he’s Starfleet.  What…you didn’t suspect?”

“Of course I did.”  Ershak responded and then, seeing the red Orion’s glowering expression, quickly added, “I’m telling you the truth.  This way will get you out of the compound without anyone noticing.”

“I think he is.”  Lynn interjected, “Remember, I told you he’s got boltholes all over the place here.  Alright, Ershak…show us this way out.  But remember…” the ex-Starfleet officer warned, “…anything goes wrong, you’re the first one who dies.”

“No tricks.”  Ershak promised, “I swear.”  Walking over to a painting, the green Orion moved it aside to reveal a keypad.  After entering in a series of numbers, a small, door sized section of the wall slid open to reveal a narrow passageway.

Smiling, Pierson motioned for Ershak to take the lead.  “After you.”

********************************************************************

“Bri?”  Larkin called out from his console, “Ayenga’s ship just took off…” Pausing for a moment, the Rutian acknowledged the beeping comm signal.  His expression a mixture of anger and betrayal, Larkin added in a quiet voice, “You better take this, Sabrina…”

“Sabrina?”  Nura’s voice came through the speaker, “We’ve got a problem.  Ayenga’s double crossed us.  Hanya and Banan stole the drugs and the information on the computer about them, stunned us, and rigged a device to pump something into the air filtration system.  Thankfully…” the former starship captain could hear the relief in her Bzzit Khaht companion’s voice as she uttered her next words, “….Manuele managed to deactivate it just in time.”

“Lucky break.”  Sabrina responded tersely before commanding, “All right.  You two get back to your runabout and meet us at these coordinates…” after rattling off a series of numbers, the Maquis leader further instructed, “...we’ll meet you there.”  After receiving her subordinate’s acknowledgement, Diaz turned her full attention to her lover, “It’s Pallas V, a neutral system where Miriam Pierson keeps a small hideout.” She explained and then ordered, “Tell Rof and Krakke to drop what they’re doing and get back on board.  We’re getting the hell out of here before half of Starfleet lands on top of us.  After we get to Pallas V, I have some questions for our newest recruit and he better have the answers I want to hear.”

********************************************************************

“The way out.”  Ershak said as he pointed to a keypad beside what appeared to be a door.  “It’s outside my estate.”  Responding to Pierson’s nod, Ershak keyed in the sequence.  As the door opened with an almost inaudible whoosh, the ex-Starfleeter smirked as he pointed towards the exit.  “You first.”

“Of course.”  The green Orion, having regained a measure of his customary swagger, responded as he led the way out the door, with his captors following closely behind, their weapons drawn.  “See…” he declared with outstretched arms, “I’ve kept my word.”  His voice lowering, the Syndicate under-boss added in a voice half defiant and half pleading, “Now…you keep yours.”

Seeing his red Orion companion nod his head once, Pierson flashed a fat grin, “All right, Ershak, you’re free to go…”
 

“Wait a minute.”  Solly quickly interrupted, a big grin on his face as well, “Aren’t you forgetting something Pierson?  Didn’t you make a promise to someone?”
 

“Oh, yeah!”  Lynn grinned, “Thanks Chief.”  Turning back to Ershak, the roguish human declared, “Before we go…a mutual friend of ours wanted me to give you something.”  Lashing out with surprising swiftness, Pierson kicked out, striking the green Orion square in his gonads. 

As the pair walked past the kneeling, whimpering figure, Lynn easily heard Solly’s quip, “So…was it good for you?”

“You know…” Pierson joked back, “It was.”  His laughter disappearing, the human then remarked in a much more serious tone.  “We better hurry back to the bar—I just hope Dak and S’nurl were able to get the girls out of the way before Ershak’s thugs hit ‘em.”

“I’m sure they did.”  The burly Bluefin CPO, having developed a grudging respect and even liking for the roguish human, remarked with as much confidence as he could muster.  “If not…” he then added, his voice taking on a much more dangerous tone, “…then we can always come back here and finish things.”

“You can count on that.”  Pierson answered back in a tone just as grim as his partner’s.  Reaching his bar, the human shook his head in sadness as he saw the doors blown off their hinges, the charring from disruptor, particle beam, and phaser fire clearly evident.

“Dak?”  Pierson called out, “S’nurl?  You guys Ok?”

“In here, Boss!”  A gruff human voice responded.  Entering the bar, Pierson and Solly shook their heads in astonishment as they witnessed the scene.  Ershak’s red Orion bodyguard, Sylak lay face down near the bar, a hole the size of a Terran basketball through his midsection, while S’nurl stood over the Nausicaan, Kadrak’s body with a gleam in his eye and a feral grin on his face.

“I know what you’re thinking, S’nurl…” Lynn called out to his Gorn bodyguard in a voice half joking, half chiding, “…but you don’t really want to do it.  You remember what happened the last time you ate a Nausicaan?”

“Yeah, S’nurl…” Dak chimed in as he stepped out from around the bar, still wielding his particle beam scattergun, “You had a sour stomach and gas for an entire week…”

With a growl that quickly became a laugh, the giant Gorn stepped away from the fallen Nausicaan.  “Grrr…tasted funny anyway….like sssspoiled chicken.”

His smile vanishing, Pierson then asked his bartender, “What about the girls, Dak?  You get ‘em away ok?”

“Yeah, Boss.”  The husky bartender quickly replied, “They’re ok.  We got ‘em and the stuff in your safe to your ship just like you told us too.  And don’t worry about Talysa—she make it there too.”

“Great.”  The rogue sighed in relief as he addressed his next remarks to everyone in the room.  “Boys, our strings played out here.  We’re bugging out.”

“Where we going, Boss?”  Dak inquired as he cleared what little money was left from the cash register.

“Pallas V.”  Lynn replied, “The ex has a little hidey-hole there.  It’s also a nice neutral port—the perfect place to set up shop.”  A grim expression on his face, the roguish ex-Starfleet officer added, “Then, me and Solly have to pay a man a visit.”

**********************************************************************

Deep Space Nine

“Hello, Ben.”  Captain Elizabeth Shelby greeted as she stepped off the transporter pad and on to the station’s ops. platform.  “We need to talk.”

“I know, Liz.”  The chocolate-skinned station commander replied as he motioned in the direction of the elevator, “But first we have to wait for one more person.  I believe he’s on his way up now.”

“Who…” Liz began only to pause as she saw the captain of the Bluefin and his first officer.  Sparing a brief glare at the white haired border cutter skipper, Shelby turned her attention back towards Sisko.  “What is he doing here, Ben?  This is a classified operation.”

“He’s here because of Admiral Glover’s orders.”  Benjamin answered back in a no-nonsense tone, “I’ll explain everything in my office.”

“You bet your ass you will.”  Shelby muttered as she strode angrily towards Sisko’s office.

“Dale?  Stay here.  We shouldn’t be too long.”  Captain Akinola instructed as he followed his fellow captains into the office.  As Commander McBride watched his captain walk away, he heard a woman’s voice call out from behind.

“Who pissed off whom first?”

“Excuse me…” Dale automatically responded as he turned his head towards the speaker, a tall, exquisitely beautiful raven-haired Trill wearing lieutenant commander’s pips and the blue trim of a science officer.

“Dax.”  The woman responded with a friendly grin, “Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax.  I’m the station’s science officer.”  Her eyes twinkling mischievously, the lovely Trill explained, “I was just wondering who started it—your captain or my friend.”

Chuckling softly, Dale replied in his usual slow Texas drawl, “Ma’am, it started the moment those two first saw each other.”

“Well…I’m not surprised.”  Dax answered back with a shrug.  “From what I hear, your Captain Akinola can be a pretty stubborn man, and Liz…Captain Shelby…well…let’s just say when she gets a full head of steam going she can be a handful for anyone.”

“Really?”  The Bluefin’s XO asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Oh, yeah.”  Flashing an impish grin as she gestured at an empty chair, Jadzia suggested, “Looks like you’re going to be here for a while, so why don’t you have a seat and we’ll talk.”

**********************************************************************

Taking one of the seats before Sisko’s desk as Shelby took the other; Joseph began to speak only to have the station commander raise his hand first.

“Just a moment, please, Captain.”  Ben politely interrupted as he turned his attention to the petite, blonde captain sitting in the adjacent seat, “Captain Shelby…Captain Akinola is here because Admiral Glover assigned one of his men on a mission that appears to be related to our operation.  The Admiral thought it best to bring the captain fully into the loop so that we aren’t tripping all over ourselves and I agree.”

“Captain…” Joseph growled as he warily regarded the DS9 commander, “All I know is that there’s something going on involving my Chief of the Boat.”  Standing up and leaning forward, he fixed the younger man with the full force of his gaze as he demanded, “I want to know what the hell is going on and I want to know now.”

Matching the older captain gaze for gaze, an unflinching Sisko answered back in a steady tone, “If you’ll take your seat, Captain, I’ll explain everything to both of you.” 

Taking the measure of the shaven-headed, goateed man standing before him, Joseph nodded his head in satisfaction as he sat back down again, “All right, Captain Sisko…” He said, his voice reflecting a growing respect for the man standing behind the desk, “I’m listening.”

“Your senior chief petty officer…” Benjamin began, using the generally used regular fleet term for a ship’s chief non-commissioned officer rather than the designation ‘chief of the boat’ more commonly used by the Border Service, “…was asked by Admiral Glover to volunteer for a covert mission…”

“I knew it!”  Joseph growled as his fist struck the top of the station commander’s desk.  “Goddamned cloak and dagger crap.”  Pausing for a moment as he reined in his temper, the white haired cutter skipper nodded his head at the station commander, “Go on, Captain.”

“His mission was to try to find out where Gul Rejak—the individual responsible for manufacturing much of the Corillan acid currently being smuggled into the Federation—is manufacturing his product and then get word back to us.  The Admiral just received word from him that he might have a lead.”

“What or who is this lead?”  Akinola asked as Captain Shelby looked on interestingly.

“A man named Dmitri Cherenkov.”  Sisko replied, “Someone apparently reasonably high up in the Syndicate hierarchy who is acting as Rejak’s Syndicate liaison.”

“Cherenkov is also an interesting figure for another reason.”  Liz interjected.  “We think that he’s the Syndicate contact supplying weapons to the Kon Ma—that’s what my man, Lieutenant Atoa—is investigating.”

“So that’s how he and you just….happened…to show up as we were being attacked by Diaz.”  An outraged Joseph exploded, “It was all a setup!  You knew we were going to be attacked.”  Staring straight into Captain Shelby’s eyes, Joseph said in a low, dangerous voice, “Three of my crewmen were killed in that attack…more wounded…”
 

“And two more were killed by Ayenga’s people when she and Diaz raided a medical depot.”  Shelby interrupted in a somber tone.  Turning her gaze away from the wrathful figure looming over her, the petite captain addressed her next remarks to Captain Sisko.  “Manuele contacted us.  He made it clear that Diaz was not responsible for the deaths.  In fact he said that she made it clear that she wanted no killing.  It was all Ayenga.” 

“Damn.”  Sisko cursed, his voice barely above a whisper.  Speaking louder, he explained, “There’s something else—Admiral Glover informed me afterwards that there was a quantity of mutagenic gel on that station.”

“Frinx.”  Shelby interjected, “That means that that Ayenga’s got it.” Shaking her head, a wry chuckle escaped the blonde captain’s lips, “Daras and Ayenga are setting Diaz up—using her as a diversion while they set whatever plans they have in motion.  She’s being played here just like us.”

“Nice analysis.”  Joseph replied in an ironic, yet grim tone, “Fat lot of good it does for the dead, though.”  Akinola snorted in a grim tone as Captain Shelby wheeled on him, her fists balled.

Staring straight into Akinola’s eyes, Shelby responded angrily, “Yes, Captain, people were killed—good people.  You want me to cry for them, I will—later!  Right now though, we’ve got a bigger problem.  We’re trying to stop the killing of a lot more than those five people.  You have any idea how many beings will die if the Kon Ma get those weapons from the Syndicate?  Or if Ayenga finishes what she’s got planned with that mutagenic gel? Or how many lives will be ruined if we don’t do something to get this Corillan acid situation under control?”

“All right, Captain.  You’ve made your point.”  Joseph replied with a grimace, not wanting to give ground to the young firebrand sitting next to him.  Turning once again to the man behind the desk, he asked, “So what do we do now.”

“Now…” Ben replied in his rich baritone voice, “…we wait.  What we do next will depend on how Chief Brin and Lieutenant Atoa make out.”

“Agreed.”  Shelby affirmed.  “We also need to make sure that Ayenga, Daras Tabor, Rejak, and Cherenkov don’t know that we’ve tumbled on to them.  If they figure out that we have—they’ll go to ground and we’ll never catch them.”

“That means…” Sisko interjected as he saw how Shelby’s plan was coming together, “…we have to at least make it appear that Ayenga’s plan succeeded.  That we suspect Diaz of stealing the mutagenic gel and killing the people at the depot.”

“Exactly.”  Liz confirmed, nodding her head.  “We need time for our people out in the field to get us the exact location of Rejak’s facilities and where and when Daras and Ayenga are planning on acting.”

“A tall order…” Captain Akinola replied, a strong note of doubt in his voice.  “The slightest misstep…”

“Could result in us losing both our people.”  Liz finished.  “I know.”

“We’ll just have to be very careful…” Sisko interjected as he stood up, indicating that the meeting had come to an end, “…not to mess up, then.”

************************************************************************

As the captains exited Sisko’s office, Captain Akinola raised an eyebrow at the sight of his first officer, Commander McBride, laughing and talking in a low voice with a lovely raven-haired Trill woman.  Clearing his throat, the white-haired border skipper spoke, “I see you found a way to pass the time, XO…”

“Jadzia…I mean Lieutenant Commander Dax…” Dale grinned, “…and I were just swapping stories, sir…”

“Uh Huh…” Liz interjected with a wry grin as she regarded her best friend, “I’ll bet…”

“Come on, Dale…” Joseph said as he gestured towards the elevator with his hand, “I’ll fill you in on our meeting back on the ship over a cup of coffee.”  As an afterthought, the captain remarked, “We can also set up shoreleave rotations once we get back—looks like we might be here for a while.”

Watching as the two Border Service officers exited the ops center, Liz licked her lips lasciviously at the retreating form of Commander McBride as she remarked in a low whisper, “Now that’s what you call prime beef…”

Laughing, Jadzia replied with a gentle shake of her head, “He’s all yours, Liz…I’m involved…”

Giving her best friend a quizzical glance, Shelby remarked in a surprised voice, “This isn’t just a fling, is it?  You really are serious about him, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”  Dax answered back in a low voice as she nodded her head once, “I am.  And believe me, Betts…I’m totally verklempt.  One part of me is really happy—I don’t remember feeling this happy about someone since…oh…since Audrid, but another part of me is scared to death because I’m afraid that I won’t be able to give Worf what he wants most from me…what he deserves.”

“And what’s that?” 

“Everything.”  Jadzia replied softly.  “Not just my love or my body, but my soul.” Her face clouding, the joined Trill haltingly confessed, “I’m not sure I’m ready to make that sort of commitment yet.”

“No one says you have to.”  The blonde captain answered back as she draped a supportive arm around her friend’s shoulders, “There’s no rush—it’s not like either one of you are going anywhere in the near future.  Further…” she remarked with a grin, “…I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s feeling the same way about you.  You can be pretty intimidating to a guy, you know…”

“Ha!”  Dax laughed, “You’re one to talk, Betts.”  Her laughter dying down to be replaced by a wicked grin, the dark-haired Trill whispered conspiratorially, “What about you and Dale?  He looks like he’d be your type.”

“Normally, you’d be right about that…” Liz responded with a laugh, “But…” she shook her head ruefully, “…he seems to be involved with Treasure and I don’t think it’d be a good thing for me to get involved in a love triangle with a member of my crew and the XO of a ship whose bastard of a skipper I can’t stand…”

“Yeah…” Jadzia replied with a chuckle, “I can see where that might cause problems.”  Her laughter fading away, the wise Trill commented sagely, “I think you also might be a little too hard on Captain Akinola.  From what I got talking to Dale, he seems like he’s a pretty good man.  He’s very professional…cares about his crew…and did as good a job as anyone could handling himself in that fight with Diaz and Ayenga.”

“You’re probably right, Jadz…” Liz sighed, “It’s just that he reminds me so much of…”

“Your father?”

“Yeah.”  Shelby affirmed with another sigh, “And you know how well we get along…”  Reluctantly rising to her feet, the blonde captain smiled down on her friend, “I’m afraid I have to get back to my ship now, Jadz.  Lieutenant Sito and the rest of the replacement crew are coming aboard…”

“I understand, Betts…” Jadzia replied as the friends embraced, “Worf and I’ll see you at Quarks this evening for dinner…”

“It’s a date.”  Shelby grinned back as the pair parted.

“One last thing…” Dax admonished, lowering her voice, “You might want to keep an eye on Jaxa.  Worf told me that during their sparring practice together that for a moment he thought that she was actually going to try to kill him.  She might not be as ready as we’d like to think.”

***********************************************************************

As he looked out the picture window at the arid glacial plain, Manuele Atoa involuntarily shivered.  “Looks ugly, doesn’t it?”

Turning towards the source of the voice, the New Kauaian smiled as he recognized his Bzzit Khaht companion, Nura, the only member of Diaz’s Maquis cell who had been even remotely civil towards him since their arrival here three days earlier following the raid on the Starfleet medical depot.

“Yeah.”  Manuele agreed, “It’s too cold, too dry, and too lonely for me.”

“That’s right…” Nura smiled as she continued to engage the larger man in small talk, “You come from a tropical planet, don’t you.”

Nodding his head, Atoa felt a warm feeling flowing over him as he remembered the sound of waves crashing on to the shore as surfers rode the waves in.  He remembered breezy evenings as his father taught him how to fire dance while his mother taught his sisters the hula.  He recalled many hours spent with his brother and father hiking—the lush foliage…birds—both native and introduced species…and meeting and greeting fellow hikers on the trail.  Just as he was losing himself in his memories, Nura’s voice brought him back to the here and now.

“You were there just now…weren’t you?  Back home.”  Smiling at Atoa’s nod of his head, the ace pilot remarked, “I can’t say as I blame you—I was doing the same earlier.”  Her expression now taking on a more serious demeanor, the Bzzit Khaht finally revealed her purpose for intruding on her friend’s thoughts, “I’m sorry, but Sabrina wants to see you—see us really.”  As she motioned towards the door, she further cautioned, “The boss has some questions—and I think you better have some answers.”

**********************************************************************

“Come in, Mr. Atoa…have a seat.”  Sabrina Diaz instructed from behind her desk, her lover and fellow cell member, the Rutian, Larkin, sitting next to her, as she gestured at two empty chairs in front of her desk.  As Manuele made his way to one of the chairs, he noticed that Nura took the seat next to him.  “We’ve haven’t had much of a chance to talk since the raid, but now that we’ve settled in here and have some time…” she remarked in a deceptively polite tone, “…there are some things I’d like you to clarify for us.”

“In other words…” Larkin interjected with a scowl, “…you better have some answers for us or you’re going to be out there…” he jerked his thumb towards the wasteland on the other side of the window, “…all by yourself without food, water, or a parka.”

On hearing the Rutian’s threat, Manuele snorted, “Go frinx yourself, Larkin.  I’ve taken all I’m going to take from that big mouth of yours.”  Matching both of his inquisitors glare for glare, the security specialist spoke in a deliberately insubordinate tone as Sabrina placed a hand on her outraged lover’s wrist, not-so-gently restraining him, “And let’s drop the ‘good cop—bad cop’ routine, Diaz.  I’ve played this game often enough from both sides of the desk and probably know how it works better than either of you.  If you’ve got questions…ask them and I’ll answer them.  If you’ve got concerns—then let’s get them out in the open now, because I’m sick and tired of all this BS.”

“Fair enough.”  Sabrina replied, her lips pursed.  “All right, Manuele.  First question: did you know that mutagenic gel was being stored there?”
 

“No…” Manuele answered back honestly, shaking his head.  “I didn’t read, see, or here mention of any mutagenic gel.  As I told you when we first met, the communications I read stated that the depot was holding perishable non-replicatable drugs.”

“And those were there.”  Nura added helpfully, “Just like Manny said.”

“Can you tell me why they would be storing something as volatile and dangerous as mutagenic gel in an exposed depot like that?” Sabrina inquired, “I can see trying to slip in the non-replicatable drugs under the radar, but mutagenic gel?”  Shaking her head, the former starship captain remarked, “That stuff’s just too goddamned hot to take that sort of a chance.”

 “I don’t know.”  Atoa again answered truthfully.

“Make a guess.”  Sabrina prompted.

“Hmmm…” Running several scenarios through his mind, Manuele decided on sharing the one that was both most likely and less liable to risk blowing his cover, “I’d say whoever was responsible was working with Ayenga…”

“You have a gift for stating the obvious.”  Larkin sneered.

Ignoring the hot-tempered Rutian, Manuele continued, “Could be a rogue operation using Ayenga and the Kon Ma…”

“I don’t think so…” Sabrina replied, shaking her head.  Remembering her last mission on the Cuffe, the Maquis leader then qualified her statement, “Not that there aren’t people who wouldn’t consider it, but I don’t see them behind this.  Too many uncontrollable variables here.  No…someone else is doing this…”  Before she could finish her statement, a voice calling out from the doorway interrupted her.

“I think I have a pretty good idea who that might be.”

“Pierson!”  Diaz exclaimed with a sigh, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Why…the same thing you are…” the dark-haired roguish human answered back, “…hiding out.”

“Then, why don’t you go somewhere else?”  Sabrina quipped as Larkin stared daggers at the newcomer.

“Now…now…Sabrina…” Lynn replied, his arms out in a placatory gesture as he grinned broadly, “Is that anyway to talk to someone who might be able to help you?”

“How can you possibly help us?”  Larkin sniffed.

“I’m glad you asked.”  Pierson replied as, taking a spare chair and turning it around, he sat, his arms crossed over the top of the chair back.  “You see, Ducks…” he declared, now addressing his remarks to Sabrina, “I didn’t come alone.”

With a chuckle, the former Starfleet captain jibed, “Somehow I don’t doubt that.  I’m sure you brought at least one of your girls with you.”

“All of ‘em actually…” the dispossessed bar owner replied, “But they’re not who I’m talking about.”  Standing up, Pierson made an exaggerated theatrical gesture towards a tall burly red Orion male standing in the doorway, “I’d like to introduce you to Senior Chief Solly Brin of the Border Service and my friend.”

“A Starfleeter!”  Larkin growled as he started to get out of his chair, his hand going for the phaser on his belt.

“Uh…Uh…bad move, Larkin.”  Pierson cautioned as a large Gorn also appeared at the doorway, his lips turned up in a feral grin as he cradled a disruptor carbine tipped with a twelve inch long bayonet with serrated edges in his hands.  “Besides being my friend, he’s also good buddies with S’nurl—and in case you forgot, S’nurl doesn’t like you.”  His smile vanishing, the scoundrel turned to the woman sitting next to the angry