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[BOOM!]

[Bridge | USS Discovery | Day 3 1630]

"œYeah. That might just work. If we make sure to also target their exhaust ports to disable them, we could fry them like rotisserie chicken. Or at least overload the warp core." Dem paused, ethically debating the question. He did take a hypocritic oath, but he also has a responsibility to the safety of the ship. He looked to Tekin for a nod of approval. "œOk- Alex, prepare the cocktail we are going to throw at them. I'm thinking proton torpedoes to disable the exhaust vents, and a wide beam phaser to cook the ship. Do you think that's good? You are the tactical officer after all" Dem winked, disregarding his professionalism. In times of crisis, he had always found that a lighthearted tone calmed his nerves. "œMoon, bring the ship about and prepare to run at their exhaust ports." The ship started to turn, making the pin pricks of starlight on the viewscreen turn into streaks as it started to pan across. Dem questioned the stakes of his decision. Moving to an aggressive attack posture would put the ship in considerable risk, but he hoped the rewards would be worth it. The ship must turn around at some point. Dem could feel his heartbeat getting faster and his fight or flight response kicked in.

The Breen ship fired 3 shots directly at Discovery, and while the sleek ship attempted to roll, two torpedoes glanced of the hull sending tremors through all decks. Dem winced, fearing the worst, letting a few Bajoran curses slip through his teeth. He hoped the captain didn't hear him. Dem didn't even know if Tekin realised he was not a "œreal" Bajoran. The shaking had subsided, meaning that they had survived it. An uncanny sense of relief filled Dem even though they had yet to achieve anything. The worst was yet to come.

[Bridge]

The ship shook again., sending one of Kinley's consoles dark.   Kinley looked at the damages the ship was reporting. The eps conduits weren't too much lower.  Several confirmed hits and hull breaches. All looked like they were evacuated at this point, thankfully.  12 reported casualties, so far. She tried bringing up the tactical scans. Nothing. It was dead. Probably hit in the last blast. This is fine. She thought.  "œ EPS is stable at the moment. We've got several hull breaches that have been sealed off for now, decks 5, 8, 9, and 16.  At least 12 casualties reported at the moment, but several more wounded. And we lost the primary tactical scanners. She took a breath, taking a moment to smile at the slight humor Dem was trying to keep, before focusing on the matter at hand.  " We're going in blind. Might as well make it count."

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

The last hit was one of the worst, and for not the first time in his career, he looked around the bridge, remembering his authorization code for the self destruct, or to prepare to abandon ship.  It would be the worst timing... the ship was recently refitted.  And now it was actually possible that he could lose it.  It was the Discovery-A all over again.

"Divert shield strength to the forward shields.  Use all auxiliary power.  At least we don't have to worry about a warp core breach.  Begin the run- wait!  Brace for impact!" he shouted, as he saw the torpedo sail right at them.  Too late he realized it was aimed up.. not right at them.  Which meant...

BOOM!

The bridge shook and console after console sparked.  He shielded himself the best he could, but the feel of wetness on his forehead told him what he needed to know... debris had hit him.  He was able to ignore the sharp pain at least, and looking around he made sure his officers were still alive.  There were at least one or two who were not moving.

Warning, structural integrity of Deck 1 is failing.  Complete failure in 45 seconds.

This time he gave an audible curse.. in Bajoran no less.

"Alright people, we're evacuating the bridge.  Let's go!" he shouted, standing up and gesturing to get everyone out.  He was not about to lose more crew than was necessary.

"Bridge to Engineering, I'm transferring command access.  We are about to lose the main bridge. Set a run on the Breen ship and get us into manual targeting position... now this is personal.  Tekin out."

"Come on people!  Move! Dem, Kinley, get down to comms and try to find a way to get a message out.  Alex, you and I are going to Main Engineering to kick those Dominion loving wraiths to the Temple."

With that, after making sure he was the last one on the bridge, he stepped into the turbolift just as the warning said structural integrity failed, and the doors closed just as the top of the bridge opened into space.

[Bridge | USS Discovery | Day 3 1630]

"œOh. Ah yes sir." Dem stated, pondering how he would achieve this task. Dem started to scan through the files on his screen, using the internal sensors to determine areas with no crew. After checking the readings a few times, to confirm his validity, he would shut down life support and power systems. Dem then started on shutting down secondary systems, like replicators.

While thinking of the best way to deactivate the replicator power grid without access to the EPS conduit on deck six, yet another explosion rocked the bridge. Dem barley flinched and would not have even looked up if Kinley had not cried out. Dem quickly stepped out of his chair and ran towards the downed ensign. Realising that we needed a post at security, Dem made a rash decision. "œAlex, take the security station. Moon, you will have to fly on your own". There was no time to wait for a replacement officer to reach the bridge, and flight control was already in excess. Alex was an experienced officer and should be capable to control tactical. Dem turned his attention back to Lowe. Normally his stark blonde hair and piercing features would be prominent on his face, but is handsome physique was covered by a mixture of burns, abrasions and dirt. Even as an experienced physician, Dem couldn't help but flinch. Quickly placing two fingers half way down his neck, a faint whimper of blood flowed through the scarred vein. "œGrab a med kit!" Dem shouted, temporarily discarding his usual politeness.

[as Kirayoshi]
[Breen Base]
Kirayoshi nodded. Maybe not his best ideas then.  As they began picking the locks, he kept an eye on his scanners inside his helmet. The Breen were milling about , still unaware of the team. For now. Hopefully it would stay that way.

[Bridge-Disco]

Kinley nodded and focused on the screen showing the deflectors. They were at 69%. It would be enough to hold on for now, but not enough if the ship kept pummeling them with those blasts. "œWe're at 69 percent now. It's stable, but I'm not sure how long-"œ"œ another blast hit them, exploding several consoles in a shatter of glass and computer. Kinley was lucky enough to avoid the explosion, but Ensign Lowe wasn't as fortunate, crumpling to the ground. Bolting to his side, she checked for a pulse. He was severely wounded, but still breathing. "œSecurity is down! "œ"œ

(I'll get everyone else quoted tomorrow)

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

Shields were unstable, and while deflectors were currently stable... they don't normally drop in combat.  A drop indicated power issues.. and solidified that this Breen weapon was definitely something worse than the old energy-dampening field.  They could protect against an energy drain; but if they couldn't transfer power, they wouldn't be able to sustain... anything.

An explosion followed by the sound of a crewman shouting and Kinley reporting the security officer was down. Dem jumped in with orders, and Nevir took the time to check what was going on in engineering.  At least to see if there were any updates.  A notification did come in, but not from Lek.

"Engineering to bridge!" 

"Bridge here."

"Impulse engines are back online, but we can't purge the warp core to restore it, not with the ship under assault.  Also, Chief Lek is down, sickbay is on their way." 

It took a lot to lose Lek, and that sent a chill down his spine.  But the results were clear; if they didn't stop this Breen ship, they were dead in the water.

"Helm, reengage impulse power.  We need maneuverability.  Bring us to course 302 mark 15.  Mr. Graham, divert thruster power to phasers with the tertiary relays.  Miss Garrison, I need an analysis on that ship.  We fight, or we die."

[Engineering - USS Discovery]

After the shooting stopped, Lek relaxed as the demands for power decreased sharply. Damage throughout the ship was trivial with repair teams already dispatched to take care of those minor issues.

One moment, all was well, the next found Lek's laying on his back with his ears ringing and him wincing from multiple strident alarms. As the lay there, he was confused, but he had enough of his senses to realize he was concussed because while he knew he was supposed to do something, he just couldn't quite remember what that might be.

When he opened his eyes, he wished he hadn't, but again the confusion set in as nothing was where it was supposed to be, to include his own feet which seemed to be above his head in a tangle.

"œDammit, why am I upside down?"

He growled as he untangled himself from the corner of engineering where he'd fetched up after whatever had happened.

"œWhy isn't important, what happened is the bigger question."

He mumbled as he staggered back to his feet and looked around engineering and staggered over to the ship's pool table and slammed his hand down on the mute function, silencing all the klaxons.

"œI didn't know it was possible for so many alarms to go off at once."

He snarled as he shook his head to get his eyes to focus on the main engineering console. He paled as he was finally able to process what was happening and he forced his hands to enter a critical set of commands. When he was done, several of the most glaring indicators shifted from red to yellow. Unfortunately, his actions had immediate impact throughout the ship as the primary systems shut down. He hit his combadge.

"œCaptain, we're down to the fusion generators. Whatever that was scrambled the warp cores and I had to take them offline before they breached.

"Impulse is also offline, so all we have for maneuvering is thrusters. Once I can string together what happened, I will let you know. Lek out."

Lek switched channels and added.

"œEngineering to sickbay, I have multiple casualties. Transporters are offline. I need a medical team here on the double."

He shut down comes and moved to the ware core intermix chamber.

"œWhat have the bloody Breen come up with now?"

He wondered as he began trying to sort out what, if anything, was possible to repair.

[Bridge | USS Discovery | Day 3 1630 Hours]

The relative calm of the bridge was disrupted with an ear shattering explosion which knocked everyone at least partially out of their chairs. Dem intuitively covered his ears when explosion reverberated through the ship, and everything was still vibrating in the aftermath of the damage. The tension rose once more. "œOne enemy ship is closing on us. We were hit with, something. Not too sure. Kinley could you run a scan on what was just thrown at us?" Dem asked, trying to remain calm when replying to the captains command. The com's system crackled to life, but a lot of interference filtered through. He surmised that primary communications was damaged. Dem keenly listened in to Lek's report on the engineering systems. That would explain what the weapon does. "œAlex, Moon, as you heard we're on maneuvering thrusters. You need to try to evade these ships for as long as possible, understood?" Dem ordered, concerned at their chances of survival up against this Breen warship so heavily damaged.

[Bridge, day 3]

It hit them out of the blue. Kinley had her back turned to the computer at the moment. By the time the tactical station had even begun to register a projectile headed toward them, it was too late. With a violent shudder, the impact threw Kinley, slamming her against the console. Shaking it off, she rubbed the side of her head that was still throbbing . Hopefully, that wouldn't be a concussion. she thought. Unfortunately, there was no time to get a medical person to look at it. "œYes sir!" she said, looking over the reports coming in from Engineering as well as the pursuing ship. There was a lot of damage on both the starboard and rear sides. Given the ship that was following them, it could possibly have been some kind of energy-dampener weapon, but this was definitely new. Nothing in similar records so far. "œI think we've been hit by some kind of energy-dampening missile. It's definitely bigger than what's on record, sirs.." Reading the files she was bringing up with well-honed speed, she noted the past encounters that were recorded in the databanks. " I'm reading that the Klingons could do a tritium intermix in their ships to better block Breen blasts, but I'm not sure we can do that. Can we?"

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

Nevir gripped tight as Lek's emergency actions to shut down the warp core dropped their speed rapidly.. almost too fast for inertial dampeners to keep up.  Luckily they had power, or the crew would have been a splatter on the viewscreen.  With no engine power and just thrusters, the ship was adrift with only thruster course corrections available.  It was an interesting sight seeing a Prometheus-class vessel struggle to realign itself with the galactic plane.

What was not so interesting was the Breen ship that dropped out of warp nearby.  It seemed the Breen wanted action.

"You mean from back during the war?" the Captain asked Kinley, while the ship shook violently from conventional weapons.  He had to admit, it was similar to the tactic used at the end of the war. It was a fluke solution that was then applied to the rest of the ships.  Or so Nevir thought...?

"The safeguards we developed during the war should have kept that weapon from affecting us.  No.. this is slightly different.  Maybe an upgrade.  We only lost power because Lek did an emergency shutdown... at warp no less."

The ship shook violently again and an explosion at an auxiliary station alerted him to the fact that their shields were not blocking all of the shots.  At least a few of those last shots had hit hull.

"We lost our warp bubble, main power, and shields are fluctuating despite reading at over 50% power.  Main power is clearly from Lek's shutdown, but we are having issues maintaining systems, and we don't have enough power to drive the impulse engines.  The deflectors... Miss Garrison, check the deflectors.  If they can't sustain a field, then that might be the clue we are looking for."

"All hands, this is the Captain, back to battle stations, we are fighting with a handicap.  Damage control teams on standby and evacuate all non-essential locations."

"Dem, try to divert power from any systems that respond.  Shut down power including life-support once locations are cleared of personnel.  At least as long as we have internal sensors. Divert power to defensive systems.  Helm, bring us about.  Load torpedo bays and set for proximity fuse.  Charge phasers the best you can and return fire."

[BOOM!]

[Bridge, Day 3]
They had done their jobs. The away teams were in position and they were safe for the moment. She could still see their general positions flashing on the simulated base maps pulled up onto the screen. They seemed to be going deeper into the base. None of them had been lost yet, but it was impossible to tell what they were really up to.  Breathing a sigh of relief, Kinley straightened her hair, which had slipped from her ponytail during the chaos of battle. Red alert was down for now, but there was no assurance that the threat was gone yet. "œI still have the general locations of the away team on screen, Sir. No sign of any enemies right now, though we're still scanning in case they pursue." she reported.

[Breen Ship]
[As Kirayoshi]

Kirayoshi couldn't hear half of what the Breen was saying, but he certainly got the gist of it, no universal translator needed. Nodding, he began picking up some of the fallen self-sealing stem bolts. It was lucky this crate only had hardware. He wasn't sure if the Breen would make him mop the decks if it was something liquid. He could see the other away team members moving forwards, deeper into the labyrinthine hallways. It worked. The Breen was heading away from them. As soon as he was sure he was out of view, he shoved the open crate to the side and grabbed a different one. Hopefully, he wasn't too far behind

[Bridge | USS Discovery | Day 3 1615 Hours]

Dem instinctively covered his face as an explosion emanated from somewhere behind him. It was far enough away, but his arms and face did feel the warmth of the blast. Tekin acted swiftly after this and eventually Discovery warped away from the numerous attackers, leaving the small infiltration team on their own. Dem swifty communicated to all decks for a damage report and status update. "œAll hands are reporting in sir. Minor injuries, 2 major from a plasma discharge on deck 6. All essential systems are running within normal parameters." Dem said, surprised that they did not take much damage. He did have to remember that probably a lot of the essential systems had been disrupted at one point, but that's why backups and auxiliary procedures exist.

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

"Understood." he commented, as soon as Discovery was away and all was calm.  At least for now while they warped.  With the away team started and their own ship not so heavily damaged, he could get damage control teams back on the bridge.

"We should be at the rendevous point within 36 minutes.  I want eyes on the mission chronometer before we-"

BOOM!

The ship rocked as if something hit it, nearly throwing the Captain out of his chair.  It seemed they didn't shake off everyone.  Sensor started to show a pursuing vessel, Breen in origin, and it had hit the ship with a proximity charge or unusual makeup.

"Report!  Red alert!" he ordered, as the ship shuddered again. The rounds weren't doing more than shaking the ship... except it wasn't the weapons that shook the ship.

Alarms went off in Engineering and the display showed an instability... the warp bubble was having trouble maintaining itself.  It was about to throw the ship out of warp.  If it didn't just collapse altogether and rip the ship apart.

Kinley nodded. "œYes Sir! They're taking heavy fire, but we have contact with them. We're in position for our teams so far. Now it's up to the away teams.

She turned to Dem as the ship continued to be rocked by fire. It was almost impossible to hear right now.  The Challenger was covered, but there still were some ships to deal with. Ideally they'd be getting the away team out soon, but suddenly,  Ensign Rajagopalan piped up. "œUm, I-I think we have a problem. We-We've got some more enemy reinforcements coming in! Fast! Kinley looked at the scanners. He was right.  Several small Dominion fighters were inbound and bearing closer.    "œWe need to get them off our tail. What's the status of the ships? "œ she asked. If they were going to keep taking this beating, they needed to have the ship running.

[As Kirayoshi]
[Breen Ship]
Kirayoshi nearly did a double take as he saw the Breen come out of the shadows of this base. That was not good, at all. He had to think fast. He could get delayed, but Lorut was the one who had the main keys. He nodded and hoisted the crate further. "œI will, in just a moment." he said, heading in the direction of the ship before "œlosing" his balance with the awkward-sized crate. The contents cracked out and spilled everywhere, tiny assorted parts flying across the hangar. If ever there was a distraction, this was it.

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

An explosion from the back alerted him that the weapons fire was starting to overwhelm defenses.  Nevir instinctively ducked despite the fact that he was seated and should theoretically be far enough away.  But it was the Bajoran in him reacting. Finally, he got the information he needed.

"Alright, I think we played our part well enough.  Prepare a spread of aft torpedoes, dispersal pattern Tekin-1.  Bridge to Engineering, prepare for emergency warp, take power from Alpha's core if needed.  Helm, set course for fallback point alpha."

Once he had confirmation, he gestured with his hand.  "Fire!"

The ship gracefully banked as it turned tail, and a spread of 15 or so torpedos was launched from the ship, exploding into a wall of plasma as the nacelles lit up and the ship went to warp. Once they were clear of the system, Nevir let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.  He looked around the bridge and tapped his comm.

"Damage control teams to the bridge.  Stand down red alert.  Tap into our nearest array and see if we can still see the group.  I don't like leaving people behind, and this is now the second time in as many months."

[Bridge | USS Discovery | Day 3 1600 hours]

After a relatively uneventful day, things started to get intense pretty fast. Discovery had launched into action very swiftly after detecting incoming ships. "œAlex, Moon, attack pattern delta. We don't want to be in one place for to long at a time." Dem stated confidently, even surprising himself. He turned to face the security station, currently operated by an officer that he didn't know. "œSecurity, fire weapons at your discretion". Dem ordered, trying to preserve his previous confidence. The ship took a sharp right turn, putting some stress on Dem's body. Even though there were inertial dampeners, you can still pull a few G's on a starship. Occasionally, the ship would rock, and sparks would plume from a ruptured conduit. Dem would always instinctively wince, fearing the worst, before launching back into action. At this point in time though it seemed like smooth sailing. No essential systems were damaged, and the small fleet was doing a sufficient job at carving though the Dominion forces. Dem was about to order the science officer to find weaknesses in the enemy ships, before realising that Kinley was technically a higher rank so he decided to use a calmer tone. "œKinley, would you mind scanning for weak spots in armor? There might be something we can punch through."

{Discovery Bridge, Day 3]

Kinley nodded to Dem, bracing herself against the bulkhead as the ship banked hard to begin interception tactics. The other ships were beginning to notice the Discovery now, shooting blasts of energy at them instead of the Challenger.  "œSure thing!" she nodded as the ship rumbled from several close calls. One of the blasts hit the ship pretty hard, along one of the nacelles, but they were still maintaining attack velocity. Running a different scan of the ships, she tried searching for some areas of weakness.  "œThe ships seem to be weakest at their wing joints." she said, skimming over her various screens. "œIf we can aim for them and hit hard enough, we might be able to stun them long enough to get something harder into their shields. If we needed to, maybe even could get the Multi-Vector systems going."

[USS Discovery-bridge (Day 3 ~16:00)]

"œUnderstood Lieutenant Broadshire." Alex had a feeling that things were going to get interesting and maybe not in a good way. He proceeded to do the moon attack pattern delta. Ideally it wasn't going to be ideal to stay in one place especially with things seemingly getting interesting.

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

Nevir gripped his chair as the bridge shook.  Dem was handling combat very well, and it made leading a bit easier.  Especially for what was quickly becoming a more serious issue than just a faux chase.  The Breen ships were never something to scoff at, and it would appear that the Breen have only continued to progress.

"We'll hold off on the MVA for the time being.  One solid target right now is better than three smaller targets.  Remember we are here to get the away team on board."

"Find that weak point and target it, Mr. Broadshire. Let's try to bat these ships away.  Miss Garrison, do we have an update from Challenger or other sources?"

[Bridge | USS Discovery]
Dem looked around, and no one motioned to continue or stop the tour, not even the Legate. "œWell, if you could come along this way, here are our science stations"¦" Dem continued to guide the Legate on a painstakingly boring and uninteresting tour, until finally he had reached the last station. "œThat finishes the bridge, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me." The Legate promptly left, which unburdened Dem of the annoying responsibility "" for now. Trying to keep his professionalism, he sat down of the visitor chair and sighed. Dem looked over at Tekin, calmy sitting in his chair, and it dawned on him that he hadn't really gotten to know the powerful figure. Making sure the Legate had left the bridge, Dem stated "œFew. Well, that was a nightmare. May I ask why exactly she is onboard?"

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

Nevir looked over at the other officer, and merely gave a small smirk.  "The Cardassian Union has a vested interest in this operation.  They are here to see it through, and the Legate is our representative.  That said, the truth is something you will come to understand very well... we were ordered to."

[[USS Discovery - Deck One - Bridge]]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck One - Bridge]  (PRIOR to Undocking from DS9)

With Rayek's attention focused on the unexpected arrival of the Caitian hybrid on the Bridge, the Romulan First Officer had completely missed the tense few moments that passed between Lt Jael's mother - the Cardassian Legate - and the Bajoran Ensign escorting her.

Rayek had been waiting for the Caitian hybrid in the flight uniform to answer him.   But it was security at the door that spoke first, clearly coming to the rescue of the 'damsel-in-distress'.   "She's the new flight officer, sir. Her transfer papers are signed by Admiral Gillespie himself. " The crewman sounded a bit in awe of the man, but then continued with his explanation.  "We checked with Chief Malloy and she's assigned Ensign Moon Dancer - that's her name - " the crewman pointed out while smiling towards the cat-eared beauty.   "- to 2nd chair at Helm.  Apparently, the Chief wants CPO Graham to familiarize her with the MVA protocols."

Rayek glanced over towards talkative security crewman.  "Thank you Crewman." The man's name was Edwin Clarke - normally a quiet man.  Given the man's sudden reaction, Rayek almost wondered if the other species in the woman's geneology was Orion.  The Romulan gave a slight sigh before turning towards the felinoid.

"Welcome aboard Ensign Moon Dancer." Rayek offered in greeting.  "You can take your seat.  Though for future reference, I prefer it if you respond yourself when asked a direct question, rather than getting information from your would-be suitor."

Rayek turned back towards the touring group and noticed that the Captain had arrived on the Bridge at some point without it being called out. Neither Captain Torngate, nor Captain Solluk had been partial to that archiac naval protocol.  Rayek had yet to determine if it was something that Tekin preferred to ignore as well.  As such he called out, "Captain on the Bridge!"

Rayek could see Dem and Vila keeping their Cardassian guest occupied.

"Ensign Lorut.  If you would... call the Away Team down to the Holodeck to resume scenarios.     They had anywhere from 6 to 12 hrs before the smuggler fleet were to arrive... he wasn't going to have his team waste that time.

Recalling that Garrison had tried to request the Bajoran Ops ensigns aid, he added. "You can join us after you've offered your assistance to Lieutenant Garrison and the Breen translator team."

With everyone present or on their way, Rayek waited for the Captain's orders to undock. The manuever was smooth and handled with expert care by the Flight personnel.

"You're just in time to join my team for a bit of scenario practice.  You and Ensign Lorut will be our key personnel in retrieving the data and implanting the virus into the computer." Rayek then looked towards Lt Commander Siska.  He was uncertain what role she intended to play in the mission.  Strategic Operations generally was a planning position not a field role; so, what was he supposed to do with her?

"Commander Sisko, I hope you'll join us as well."

Rayek gave a last nod to Dr. Broadshire, certain that the man had things under control.

[USS Discovery - Deck 6 - Holodeck] (4 hrs AFTER undocking)

A timer he had set on his PADD went off alerting him to the fact that the team deserved a break.

"Computer - pause program."

Over the course of the past 4 hours Rayek had run simulation after simulation with the Away Team and in each scenario their disguises were always questioned by the Breen station staff when the current Universal Translators failed to translate the Breen language completely.

During the last hour, Rayek had the holodeck computer bypass and ignore the communications flaw in their plan, just so the team could actually reach the base for once and practice beyond that part of the scenario.   The results were varied.

"Good work everyone.  Take a half hour break.".

Rayek, in the meantime, would check in with Lieutenant Garrison to see if she and her team had made any headway with upgrading the translators -  it was clear communications were a crucial element of this mission.

He made his way to the Science Labs.

=/\=Once more the doors to the turbolift open and he glanced over, noting the arrival of an unfamiliar felinoid... a Caitian hybrid he reasoned, given the mostly human features.  Distracted from the Legate, he watched as Security checked the Caitian woman's credentials and surprisingly allowed her entrance.

"Mr. Broadshire, if you would be so kind as to tour the Legate around the Bridge."

Rayek then stepped away and moved to intercept the Caitian.  "Who are you?  And who authorized your assignment to the Bridge?"

[Moon Dancer - Bridge - USS Discovery]

Moon eeped slightly at the angry words as a man walked into her way.

[Yeesh, Scare Master much?] Moon thought, suppressing a hiss.

"My name's Moon Dancer, Sir, and I'm for lack of a better description, second chair to flying this beautiful bird," Moon lowered her head respectfully, trying not to cause too much trouble her first day aboard.

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

With the understanding of who the Caitian on the bridge was doing there, Nevir relaxed, but internally he frowned.  The Admiral approved a transfer and apparently didn't tell him.  Just another example of the sudden micromanaging and ignorance of normal protocol that he had started to notice.  Still, he was sure the transfer file was probably in his Ready Room.  Either way, he didn't have the inclination, nor more importantly the authority to challenge it.

"Very well, Ensign please take the second chair."

Of course, Rayek had noticed him at that time and called out is entrance.  The Captain raised a hand to signal the entire bridge.

"As you were.  Commander, if we are ready to go I would like to get underway.  Prepare for undocking.  Helm, set a course for the first checkpoint and prepare.  Ops, obtain clearance from the station and pull out moorings and interlock.  All stations prepare for departure." he ordered, watching as the ship acted, returning them to their mission.

Some time later....

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main bridge]

There wasn't much for the ship to do.  It would take time for the civilian ship to get into position, and it wasn't like Discovery could convincingly run a chase for a few days without catching it. So instead, while his first officer handled the away team, the Captain was preparing the ship for combat.  That included running drills to get the crew back into the possible military mindset again.

"We are going to run another drill in an hour, and I want good results.  I want updates from all departments prior to the drill." he stated, in a comm to all department heads.  Closing the channel, he stared out into the star-filled void in front of them, getting comfortable again.

"This is the worst part.  The waiting."

[Lieutenant JG Jael Sherem | Captain's Ready Room | Deck One | USS Discovery NCC-78393-B]

Suddenly, Jael was wishing Tekin had yelled at her. The calm words hurt her a lot worse than his shout. The fact of risking removal from the mission was the worst blow of all.

"I understand, Captain," she said. "And, again, I apologize. This is a matter of bringing down my father. I have no intention of making this personal, not in this chance to bury the last of the Dominion's influence that's scarred the Cardassian union."

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Captain's Ready Room]

Nevir looked at her hard, and then finally stood up.  "Be sure you don't.  There will be eyes on you for this mission, and any chance of a jeopardy will be dealt with quickly.  I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, don't give me reason otherwise." he stated, shaking his head.

"Dismissed." he added, waiting for her to leave while he gathered his own thoughts and returned to a PADD with the mission details.  They had a role to play.  He had a role to play. A complicated role, but one nonetheless.

After a bit he left his room and stood on the bridge, looking out the viewscreen. They were well on their way. He glanced at the newer faces, including the Legate another familiar-looking young woman.  He gave a small smile as soon as he recognized her, and then turned to his position in the big chair.  He had just sat down when a newcomer he didn't recognize arrived on the bridge, and he turned to raise an eyebrow.

[Lieutenant JG Jael Sherem | Replimat >- Captain's Ready Room | Promenade >- Deck One | Starbase Deep Space Nine >- USS Discovery NCC-78393-B]

Jael decided to make her way back to Discovery. She took in enough of Deep Space Nine and felt that she needed to get ready for further drills. She had just gotten to the airlock when she got the call from Captain Tekin.

"On my way," Jael said in reply, already having an idea of why she was being summoned. Remembering what she had told Nira, she was ready to give her story again.

She saw her mother on her way in and indicated to her that she'll be out shortly. Sitting across from Captain Tekin, Jael said, "Hello, Captain. I can guess what this is about. And I wish to apologize on my behavior on that regard.

"If you're wondering what I have against Castellan Garak," Jael explained, "I'll try to keep it short."

And, in her best shortened version, she explained about her neighbor and friend Kel Lokar, how Kel's mother was in a relationship with Garak, how that relationship got him banished, and when Jael passed on Kel's regards, he pretended it didn't happen, that Jael, disappointed after being so in awe of this great hero, was disappointed that he still wouldn't acknowledge the truth.

"I don't mean to tell out a story, Captain," said Jael when she finished. "I just feel the need to explain to you why I have such strong negative feelings against Garak. In a nutshell, he's a disappointment to me."

And so, she stopped talking and braced herself for what the Captain is going to deliver from his mouth, and she was definitely expecting to be shouted at.

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Captain's Ready Room]

He remained silent as she started in with an explanation almost immediately.  Good, she realized she did wrong.  He leaned back as she finished her tale and then sighed.

"I sympathized, Jael. But you are not here as a friend to a wronged Cardassian.  As long as you wear that uniform, you are a Starfleet officer, and part of that means your actions do not just reflect on you, but on me and on Starfleet as a whole. Chewing out the diplomatic leader of a people for a personal matter, not even really related to their position, was wholly inappropriate.  And to be frank, it makes me question your duty in this mission." he stated, crossing his arms.

"Whether you like it or not, Garak is a leader to his people.  And you don't get the leeway of cultural understanding like the Klingons do with their Starfleet officers. If you can't separate your personal matters from the mission, then you will be relieved.  Is that understood?"

[Commander Nira Said | Wardroom | Starbase Deep Space Nine]

Nira and Jael were virtually flinching. The sight of Myne losing control at menton of how Old Man Sherem brands his victims certainly made Nira scowl at Jael and Jael to grimace nervously and apologetically, and right now, Jael was beating herself inside, wishing she had kept silent and not mention"¦

Fortunately, it looked like there was another crewmember on hand. Nira noticed her on the Engineering roster: Ensign M'Nia.

"œWell, I think we can replace Myne for the team," she said. "œPity, of course. I think Ensign M'Nia will be a good choice to replace her for the mission, but it'll mean we'll have two Caitians"¦"

A thought just occurred to her: "œSuppose that not just we "˜Breen' had captured a Captain's son," she said, nodding at Kyan, "œbut two Caitian ambassadors who were captured not just because they were protecting Vaughn's "˜son,' but will also have some bogus information? That way, neither Ensign M'Nia nor Mister Mrekrerhas, here"¦could go without Breen suits."Nira noticed Lahr's query in whisper. She was wondering if he wasn't liking the idea of pretending to be Cloten's partner.

"Of course, Chief," Nira whispered. "Let's discuss it at the Replimat after the briefing."

"œOkay, so if we're all good and there are no further problems with our teams," said Kira, "œWe can get moving. is expected to meet his smuggling fleet in orbit of Derna, one of Bajor's moons. Position your ships in Derna's gravitational shadow, that way, the fleet won't detect your ships.

"œAs for your suits," she added, "œCloten has reassured me they will be outfitted so that sensors will be able to give the impression that there are Breen inside, and they'll each be outfitted with transponders so you'll be able to beam away in an emergency.

"œIn addition, we're going to provide you teams each with officers from our own crew on Deep Space Nine," said Kira. "œThey'll provide assistance for the coming mission, especially to those who know the layout of Deep Space Nine enough to infiltrate Melek Nor."

She tapped her comm badge and said, "œCome right in."

Four officers then entered the Wardroom, but they remained at the door, considering how crowded it was.

"œWhat ho, what ho," said bubbly Commander Belvedere with a wave.

Commander Sisko stood at his side, still scowling at him, her lips pursed. Two officers flanked them, one in blue, one in gold, and they certainly looked to be brother and sister.

"œTo those who don't know," said Kira, "œthis is DS9's first officer, Lieutenant Commander Malachi Belvedere, and our Strategic Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rebecca Sisko. Yes, she's related, let's leave it at that," she added, forestalling the question of relation. "œThese other two are the O'Briens, our CSO Molly O'Brien and our Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Kirayoshi O'Brien. Molly and Malachi will be coming along with the team to Melek Nor, and Kirayoshi and Rebecca will join the Breen station infiltration."

"œThink nothin' of it," The O'Brien siblings said at the same time.

Nira nodded respectfully; they definitely were O'Briens, given the accents. Even despite the differences in gender, Nira could see who was the older sibling. Molly's smile was only slight but still kept a formal look, almost as steely as Sisko's. Kirayoshi, on the other hand, his smile was as wide and excited and...well, not as bubbly as Belvedere. At least it was upon greeting the teams, then his expression became neutral and formal faster than warp speed.

Belvedere, on the other hand"¦something was off with him. As much as he was expressing his bubbliness in his body language, she was puzzled as to why she can't sense him"¦then again, so many minds in the room, it was surprising. Was he trained to resist telepathy"¦?

As for Rebecca Sisko, she thought it would be a good half of a pair with Commander tr'Lhoell, regardless of how many years he had, considering her stern demeanor.

"œIf nobody has any more questions, you're all dismissed," said Kira.

"œExcellent," said Garak. "œI'm due for lunch."

And just like that, he was gone.

"œWe, on the other hand," said Rahab Sherem, "œWe'll wait on your ships until the smuggling fleet comes. I'll be on Discovery, Legate Nural has Challenger."

[Commander Nira Said | Promenade | Starbase Deep Space Nine]

As everybody was dismissed, Nira took her time walking back, and frankly, she wasn't surprised that everybody else was. Naturally, she informed Captain Galloway that she'll be conferring with Lahr about something and will be back on the ship later. Of course, she headed for the Replimat, planning on meeting Lahr there, but stopped upon seeing one of the outer tables. She noticed Garak was already at a table, calling to an elder Starfleet doctor in greeting, "Why, hello, my dear doctor! Glad you could make it to lunch!"

"Wouldn't be like old times if we didn't stop for lunch whenever you visited, Garak," the doctor answered in a smooth accent...and was that a hint of...?

Nira came in closer and was close enough that from a distance, she recognized Doctor Julian Bashir.

Nira was amazed at the sight of him. Of course, she had heard of Doctor Bashir. In fact, he was the most prominent veteran of Starfleet whose name she had paid attention to, aside from some Betazoid officers, at the Academy, chiefly because of the name. Bashir.

She had been about to drop by for a brief salaam when she saw Jael stopping at and leaning against a pillar across from the Replimat, scowling at Garak. Nira sidled alongside her and cleared her throat. Naturally, Jael jumped, and probably a meter at that.

"Hi, Jael," said Nira.

"Commander," said Jael. "Sorry about earlier, and I'm sorry if I'm loitering...I probably need to get going, unless a deputy calls me out..."

"œI'm guessing you have something against Garak, Jael? Hence the outburst?" asked Nira.

With a snort, Jael replied, "œJust that I was in awe of him when I was little"¦until I met him. Plus, I heard plenty about him from one of our neighbors, Kel Lokar. I know for a fact that Kel's mother and Garak were in a relationship, and that relationship was what got Garak exiled. I got to meet Garak a few years after the Dominion War, when my mother was welcomed back to Cardassia. I told him, "˜Kel and Paladine send their regards,' especially with the hope he'd know who they were. He just laughed it off, having no idea who they are"¦damn well pretending to, and believe me, I can tell. I also know how to read Tells, it's a talent I inherited from my father."

Along with his temper, thought Nira, remembering Jael's earlier reaction, but she continued to listen.

"œEven when I keep telling him Paladine was why he was exiled, Garak only continued to brush it off," continued Jael. "œThat is why I'm so disappointed in him, and thus disgruntled with him. Even after all these years, he still denies the reason for his exile. The real reason."

"Well, it's no excuse to flame old grudges on sight," said Nira. "Please remember that. Now, I'm sure both our crews are in no hurry to get back to their ships, and I have to meet with an officer or two to confer with something."

And she left Jael and headed into the Replimat. She picked up a sahlab, certain it was all she'll pick up, and kept her eyes out for Lahr.

[Deep Space Nine - Ward Room]

With his concerns... mostly eased, and the meeting completed, Nevir stood up with the rest, nodding to the elder Sherem as she announced she would be on his ship.  He looked back at Jael one more time, before turning and leaving the ward room, and in fact leaving the station.

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Captain's Ready Room]

Nevir returned to the ship and just sat in his seat, going over the events and the plans for the future.  He was troubled for a multitude of reasons, many of which he couldn't exactly put his finger on why.  Turning in his chair, he looked at the wall to the side of him, where golden models of previous ships named 'Discovery' were displayed.  It was funny... unlike some of the other legacy ships, Discovery seemed to change registry numbers frequently.  A maritime curse that seemed to thankfully stop with his ship, at least for now.  Then again, this period of time Starfleet vessels had a knack for having a shorter than normal lifespan, for various reasons.  Most of which involved the ship being lost to some other force.  And even with the period of peace following the Dominion War, he was very much reminded of it here at Deep Space Nine.  And if another war broke out, more ships would find their lifespan cut incredibly short.

He sighed.  He waited long enough.  He needed to make sure his entire crew was at their best.  Which meant he needed to handle what occurred.

"Tekin to Sherem.  Report back to Discovery, and to my Ready Room."

["What in the bloody hell are they teachin' at the Academy these days? If'n that ensign were on the Challenger, they'd be scrubbin' the hull with a toothbrush for a bloody month."]

[Lieutenant JG Jael Sherem | Wardroom | Starbase Deep Space Nine]

So this was the factor to have some of Discovery's crew's shore leave being shortened. Even Jael's. It was understandable, she had enough time to introduce her Bajoran brother Gid to Kina Nural before she had to go through some training exercises.

Once they got there, and being in the presence of Admiral Kira Nerys, Jael could see where this was leading. Though she was certainly taken aback by what was going on around the Badlands, why her father was so active in raiding, and, even more disturbingly, the presence of Changelings and secret Dominion bases in Breen space.

Still, the news that the Kalnak had come to Deep Space Nine, it meant her mother had something. Admiral Kira left momentarily and then returned with her mother and Legate Nural...and Jael was in for a surprise.

"œLadies, gentlemen," Kira said. "œI present Legates Nural and Sherem - well, Mrs. Sherem - of Cardassian Central Command. And joining us is the Castellan"¦"

"œActually, that is not me at the moment, Admiral," a voice said from behind the Legates, and an older Cardassian seemed to materialize between them. In spite of his age and graying hair, he bore a wide, amused smile, like he loved to live a life of, what they called on Earth, a troll. Not a mythological troll, but a troll that likes to make a mockery.

Jael perked up at the sight of the Castellan and frowned. "œSo, it's you," she snipped quietly.

"œThat's right, my dear," Elim Garak replied, nodding at Jael. "œJust plain, simple Garak."

"œPlain and simple, my [spoiler]ass[/spoiler]," sneered Jael. "œWe all know what you're really like."

"œI highly doubt it, my dear," Garak replied with a nod. "œEven when I was owing your mother dresses and fresh baby clothes for you before the general withdrawal."

"œYeah, and I know full well why you were in exile in the first place, Garak," retorted Jael.

"œCome now, must I give that story again?" Garak said with a shrug and a grin he flashed around, as if to say, "œcan you believe it?" "œThat tax evasion forced me into exile?"

"œOh, come off it, Garak," snapped Jael, "œyou know full well it was over a woman."

The exchange was cut short after Rayek and Tekin each made their piece to shut her up, although Rahab's expression certainly helped hold her silence.

"œI believe the Castellan and his associates have something to share with us." said Mrs. Sherem, once the reprimand was finished. She had a slight smile on her face, but her eyes becoming hard, staring at Jael. It was The Look, and Jael knew it all to well. "œI understand you'll have assembled what you know about Melek Nor?"

"œYes, but we'll need to make comparisons," Jael said, ready to give her piece, but she kept her silence as Garak gave his piece, though Jael contributed wherever she could."œMother and daughter alike," said Nira, looking between Rahab and Jael.

"œOh, we know Melek Nor very well," said Jael. "œMother knows it better than I would, even if Father was the Obsidian Order go-betweener under Gul Dukat during the Occupation."

"œAnd plenty more since Nural's man gave us these schematics and other things," added Mrs. Sherem.

"œIncluding what Worf got from Melek Nor's computer," asked Kira.

"œWorf had plenty of help on the inside," Garak said. "œAfter all, Nural's man helped him in."

"œThe primary focus on Melek Nor will be on the transwarp coil," Jael explained. "œIt's situated above the deflector array."

"œAnd it's one of the most heavily guarded parts of the station," Rahab pointed out. "œAnd the chambers built around the transwarp coil are made of neutronium walls, that's how serious protection is. However, since Borg technology is strewn about, however armored and advanced it is, the fact remains that if you know where to look, Borg technology can be hacked."

"œData nodes and all that?" asked Jael.

"œDepends on how old they'll be, and how well it can react to tricorders," said Garak.

And then, Garak listed the Breen station that Melek Nor called its neighbor. Jael furrowed her brow as she watched, and when Nira asked the teams, "What do you think?" Jael only looked around. Since she and Rahab knew plenty about Melek Nor, if they can give information, they can answer whatever questions they can give. Of course, it was understandable to Jael if she wasn't going on Melek Nor, chances of being recognized raised as it is.

[Deep Space Nine - Wardroom]

Everything seemed to go okay.. until the worst thing to happen did.  His own officer speaking out.  Not just a quiet quip, but finally actively being adversarial to a diplomat.  Regardless of who it was, it did not matter, and what was worse is that Jael did not seem to let up.  Discovery was being embarrassed by the second.  And the Captain finally had enough.

"Miss Sherem.. that's ENOUGH!" he suddenly shouted back, channeling his inner Emmissary as he tried not to clench his fist.  He didn't need to explain what or why, but the look he was giving his officer was quite enough; she was more than just out of line. He waited for the sound of his own voice to stop reverberating on the walls before he dared speak again.

"I will say this only once.  If you are too close to the mission to remain objective, then I will relieve you of duty now and let you sit this one out.  If you wish to remain on this assignment, you will remain seated and silent unless addressed directly.  Is that clear?"

Once that was done, he turned back to Kira and Garak as well as his group.  "My apologies, it will not happen again. Please continue."

He sat back, listening as they continued, while occasionally looking back at his officer just in case.  Very few people could remain objective in such a situation, but time and experience gave him the ability to restrain himself in such times... something that Jael seemed to lack.  He was not looking forward to the later meeting in his ready room.

[Wardroom - Deep Space Nine]

Ian was less star struck by Admiral Kira, but he was again unnerved by the arrival of Garak, the one time tailor, and yet another Legend of the Dominion War. He listened to the briefing and cringed, when yet another ensign spoke out of turn and wondered silently.

"What in the bloody hell are they teachin' at the Academy these days? If'n that ensign were on the Challenger, they'd be scrubbin' the hull with a toothbrush for a bloody month."

When Nira asked her question, Ian had a response.

"I can see chasin' this Cloten's ship easily enough, but what is the actual infiltration plan? We get close ta Melek Nor and beam the team in, drop them in a shuttle, stuff them in a probe casin', or knock and ask Sherem nicely ta let them visit?"

"On top of that... do we have a backup plan?  This mission is already looking like its going to rely on acting skills and trust of less-than-savory types."

[Deep Space Nine - Wardroom to Bajoran Temple]

With the orders and the leave given for him and his crew.  Nevir waited a moment before finally standing up and leaving with Ian.  With him not needing to cancel shore leave he decided to do something he hadn't done in years.  He took the lift back down to the Promenade and started walking slowly around, seeing the old and new shops.  He nodded to old faces, until he stopped.  He was in front of Quark's bar.  He debated walking in, but that wasn't his actual destination.  He looked across from Quark's, where nearby there was a familiar entry... the Bajoran Temple.

Walking in, he nodded to the Vedeks and younger monks as he made his way towards the Orb at the front of the temple.  Getting down on his knees, he sat and started praying to the Prophets.  With thanks and for guidance, he knelt, embracing himself and his spirituality.

["If the plan is ta be the hunters ta this Cloten's fox, then the only real question left is when are we ta depart? The battle with Melek Nor was very short and neither Challenger nor Discovery were damaged in the skirmish, so I know my ship is ready ta go on your orders. All I need ta ken is when ta call back the crew from shore leave."]

[Commander Nira Said | Ward Room | Starbase Deep Space Nine]

Nira watched as the Discovery's command officers each gave their, as was said on Earth, "œtwo cents' worth." It did also occur to Nira"¦

"œWell, blood screenings and phaser sweeps aren't the only means of detecting Changelings aren't there?" she asked.

"œWell, those were the most popular means back in the day, Commander," Kira answered. "œUnfortunately, blood screenings can be especially fooled. I do remember meeting a Changeling that impersonated then-General Martok, and we each confirmed our identities by drawing blood with his knife. He actually managed to simulate blood, which probably took a great deal of concentration for a Changeling"¦it still baffles me to this day."

"œOf course, telepaths can't read Changelings, can they?" asked Nira.

"œNo, they can't," said Kira, shaking her head.

"œWell, there should be more than one way to detect Changelings," said Gillespie. "œBut there are more pressing matters. There's the matter of the Breen and that Cardassian pirate with Dominion sympathies."

"œYou're talking about Sherem, aren't you?" asked Kira.

"œHow do you"¦?" Nira started to ask, but she shook her head. "œActually, you probably know him from the Occupation, don't you?"

"œNot just from the Occupation," said Kira with a wave. "œGul Sherem and his pirates have been attacking around the border for the past year, mostly around the Cardassian, Breen and Tzenkethi borders, but he's been all over."

"œLike when Cardassian pirates attacked Klingon space," said Nira. "œI remember from my Officer Exchange among Klingons"¦would it be possible that the old man would've brought ships with him?"

"œIt would be possible if those ships were docked at some pylons," said Kira with another shrug. "œAnyway, his first raids were near Tzenkethi space; however much he tried to make them look like Tzenkethi raids, they weren't. An officer who used to be in the Bajoran Resistance recognized Sherem's calling card instantly. How he had been getting around, that was answered by members of Damar's own resistance while they were rummaging through his files. From them, we discovered his studies on the Borg and his salvage operations of Borg technology. So, with help from friends in Starfleet Intelligence, we've deployed or modified arrays around the borders to detect Borg signatures. Not to mention Intelligence subcontractors have been keeping an eye on smuggling operations specializing in Borg technology, one of which leading us to one Deej Cloten."

"œThat backstabbing fleabag?" snapped Nira, but Gillespie held up a hand in a calming gesture.

"œCloten's useful," Gillespie said. "œHe knows all the crooks."

"œHe is one," retorted Nira.

"œWell, true, but he's handy for the right price," said Gillespie. "œWe are careful with him, of course, he does have a tendency to stab you in the back if he thinks he can go beyond his original price."

"œYou don't say," said Nira with grit teeth, recalling trying to get Cloten's help, only for him to turn on him.

"œLuckily, if one remembers to remind him of his debts and the wrath he'll have to face from his debtors," said Gillespie, a gleam in his eye similar to when a jackal has come across a dead horse. "œAnyway, we've watched the furball's operations for a while, and we noticed Cloten's biggest profits come from smuggling operations; he can smuggle just about anything, from weapons to drugs, but his best draw is from salvage. Specifically Borg salvage."

"œThere've been plenty of eyes on him since Quark pointed him out," added Kira. "œNot as good as Odo, mind, but it's been especially easy to keep an eye on him since he attempted a Quark's duplication on Katra Station, one of the reasons he tried to set up shop in the Gamma Quadrant. An investigation of his sales history has indicated that his biggest customers have been snapping up Borg materials as fast as they could, and they're mostly in or near Cardassian and Breen space."

"œGul Sherem," said Nira.

"œCorrect. He purchases Borg salvage whenever he can, though he tries to salvage the technology himself, but he only purchases Borg salvage if he cannot find derelicts to salvage."

"œSo you've been using Cloten to track Gul Sherem?" asked Gillespie.

"œAs best as we could," said Kira. "œOur arrays have been configured specifically to detect Borg signatures, but we've always found it disappeared when we get there. Which was why I had been figuring that Sherem had been using Melek Nor to jump around. There were at least a couple of instances when I get to one of his attack sites, but only in time to see him disappearing in a transwarp conduit. But that was how I could tell he was using Melek Nor, rather than Cardassian ships with transwarp coils."

"œWere you able to pinpoint where he goes to ground?" asked Gillespie.

"œOh, very much so," said Kira. "œFrom the results of the arrays, we were able to determine that the most instances of Borg signatures have been discovered around the Badlands, around the old DMZ"¦one of these planets the Maquis fought the Cardassians over, roughly between Veloz Prime and the Portas system, a Breen planet near the old DMZ, and since we couldn't find any Borg ships..."

She left the sentence hanging, but it was enough to indicate Sherem was there. As she did so, Kira pulled up a star chart and pointed to the Badlands, in the former DMZ.

"œThat's where you got off to when Captain Worf showed up," guessed Gillespie.

"œThat's right," answered Kira. "œAnd the most Borg signatures have been detected around here, not to mention the most raids Gul Sherem had engaged in. You see, the Cardassians in the last year had been negotiating the return of some Maquis worlds the Federation gave them back to the Federation, and Veloz Prime is one of them, even if the Maquis had long been expelled by the Dominion. There had already been colonists coming, and there had been so many deaths thanks to Sherem's raids."

"œThat's why the fleet is here?" asked Gillespie.

"œPartly. But the Breen have been making noises lately and the raids are growing more dangerous. And now that Odo has mentioned Changelings are still in the Alpha Quadrant, it's a matter of time before they strike," said Kira.

"œAnd to think, there have still been Changelings after all this time, since the end of the war," said Nira. "œWhy are they now making their move, with the Breen and their sycophantic Cardassian zealots like Sherem as their muscle?"

"œWell, you have to bear in mind, Commander," said Kira, "œwe won chiefly because the Federation and the Klingons had an alliance with the Romulans. Chances are, since the Star Empire dissolved into factions, thanks to the Hobus star, those Changelings are hoping to take advantage of the weakening alliance. Even if we had help from the Romulan Free State, even with a small portion than what they had at the height of the war, the Dominion could still deal quite a blow to the Alpha Quadrant."

Nira looked at Commander tr'Lhoell, given that he said the exact words she was about to say. She nodded in agreement with him and looked at Kira expectantly.

"Well, we're going to confront Sherem," said Kira, finished with her explaining. "We capture him and bring him back to Deep Space Nine. Some Cardassian officials are already on the way over here and will join us for the ride. Given Sherem's level of firepower, not to mention all the Breen and Dominion forces backing him up, that's why we have the fleet with us. But it won't be the only reason.

"Worf had infiltrated Melek Nor," continued Kira, "given the similarities to Deep Space Nine, typical of Nor-class stations, chiefly to get into the Changelings' database for information. He managed to get away with a good amount, but that's not enough. We learned that the Changelings keep their data activities in computer banks each in separate computers around computer cores on critical bases and flagships, and Worf could only get his hands on the data on one such computer.

"As such," Kira stated, reaching the crux of the matter, "the fleet's engagement will act as a diversion of sorts while we send one infiltration team back onto Melek Nor to get the rest of the Changelings' database, even if it means having to pry them from their connections. And that team is required to, while they're at it, to disable Melek Nor's transwarp coil and capture Sherem while he's occupied with the battle.

"Another team will infiltrate the Breen base down below to find the Changeling database there as well, just in case that team on Melek Nor can't get to the station's computer core. Both teams may likely have to star there, just in case Melek Nor is out raiding. We'll have plenty of Breen suits to disguise your appearances, but those who can't fit in Breen suits will have to come as prisoners."

"So how will we get onto either of those stations?" asked Nira.

"Simple," said Kira. "Cloten. A couple of ships, say, your own, Captains," she added, gesturing at Galloway and Tekin, "could chase Cloten's ship to that base, where he'll be transporting Breen customers that will be delivering Borg salvage to Melek Nor. Even if Sherem isn't there, chances are, since Cloten is known among Sherem and the Breen, they'll let him in handily enough. Then the two ships high-tail back to DS9 and return in force, though you'll have to see if Melek Nor will be there. If not, we'll wait at Veloz Prime until we get word of Sherem's return."

Nira pursed her lips. There could be so many things that could go wrong with that plan, and Cloten could be the worst problem of the plan. She looked at the Captains and Commander tr'Lhoell at what they thought.

[Wardroom - Space Space Nine]

Ian listened to the discussion and finally found his footing to be able to contribute to the conversation in a coherent fashion.

"If the plan is ta be the hunters ta this Cloten's fox, then the only real question left is when are we ta depart? The battle with Melek Nor was very short and neither Challenger nor Discovery were damaged in the skirmish, so I know my ship is ready ta go on your orders. All I need ta ken is when ta call back the crew from shore leave."

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Deep Space Nine "" Wardroom]

Nira's question about other means of detection had the Romulan hoping for an affirmative response.  Unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case.  When Admiral Kira stated there was potential for the blood screenings to be tricked, Rayek pull a frown.  However all was not completely hopeless.

With his telepathy, Rayek at least had the potential to check those around him.   The dilemma being:  was that morally sound?   Before he could ask the Admiral for her thoughts on the issue the topic changed back to the immediate issue.

Rayek listened attentively to the information provided by Admiral Kira.  That these raids had been happening for over a year was eye-opening for the Romulan.   It said much about how weakened Romulan Intelligence still remained with the splintering of the Tal'Shiar, that none of this had been picked up and passed on to the Free State Fleet Commanders and Subcommanders.

Hearing that there were already measures deployed along the Cardassian border to detect for Borg signature, Rayek nodded.   However, with transwarp technology, Gul Sherem and his station would still have the advantage of near surprise on almost any target he chose.   The 5, 10 or 15-minute warning that the station had crossed the border would mean little in mounting a successful defense.

No, the best way to deal with Sherem would be a discreet offensive.

The mention of an unfamiliar name drew the Romulan's attention once more.

"Who is Deej Cloten?" Rayek inquired but his query must have been lost in the vehemence in which Nira reacted to the name.

Rayek listened with interest to how the other characterized the smuggler.  His attention peaked however at the mention of Cloten's time spent on Katra Station  -obviously during the year and half that Rayek was either assigned to the Amalthea or the Valdore.

The mention of the station brought a slight smile to the Romulan's face.   Katra was where he and Tess had met, so the station was very dear to him, as was the planet it orbited.  He and Tess still had a home they had built on Meridian which they held in trust for their son.   Through the kind manoeuvrings of Keshara (Meridian's former leader "" a member of the council of three), Fvienn was born on Meridian "˜soil' and thus automatically granted Meridian citizenship.  This Meridian citizenship, Rayek at the time had hoped, would help hide Fvienn, and lessen any Romulan claim to his son.   Now with Rayek's service to the Free State paid off "" thanks to Starfleet loaning him out for a year "" Rayek did not need to worry "" as much "" about being hunted down for defecting.

Focusing back on Admiral Kira, Rayek listened as the explanation continued.

The Romulan could see how the truth behind Sherem's activities had been revealed.   But none of this answered his initial question.   What did the Admiral have planned to deal with the transwarp capable Nor station?
Nira's question about 'why now?' was also on Rayek's mind but he supposed the why didn't really matter.  What mattered now was what were they going to do about it?  When he asked directly for orders, Admiral Kira pointed out they were going to confront Sherem - capture him.  This seemed highly unrealistic until she pointed out that Worf had already infiltrated Melek Nor.  The Admiral detailed to the group about the role of the fleet, and the two infiltration teams.

Admiral Kira's plan was risky but that was rather to be expected given the situation.

Rayek nodded his acknowledgement of the plan.  "I will coordinate with Commander Said to prepare the needed away teams." The Romulan considered a moment.  He too was curious about the ships' timeline.  The ship's crew had JUST been given 48 hour leave. He'd hate to have to recall them so soon.

"Discovery has just returned to service today after extensive repairs, and while I respect the workmanship of the engineers at Starbase 153, I'm certain our Chief Engineer would appreciate 24 hrs to go over the work done."  Knowing Lek's habits, Rayek wasn't above using the Ferengi engineer to secure at least 24 hrs for the crew.

[Deep Space Nine - Wardroom]

Tekin remained silent during the conversation, wincing only when Nira gave an outburst.  She was a good officer, just young. But instead of saying anything, he watched the two Admirals speak on the situation.  But the conversation did go right back to their concern, at least in his opinion.  Gul Sherem and a possible second front in the Dominion War.

"To be frank, they don't even need to reopen a war with the Dominion.  Just the Breen and their Nor station alone is enough of a threat to this sector.  A mobile station that can slipstream and uses Borg tech is something that needs to be eliminated first and foremost."

He raised his eyebrow at Kira's suggestion of using his own ship as a decoy to get this criminal's ships to dock at the station.  "The main question is how we are going to sell this scenario.  The Discovery is a tactical vessel designed for the Dominion War.. How do we prevent them from guessing its a set up?"

[[Deep Space Nine - Wardroom]]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Deep Space Nine - Wardroom]

The scowl Rayek received from the Scottish Admiral at Rayek's remark to Commander Said, spoke volumes of the Admiral's bias.  Rayek had stated a fact - that investigators shouldn't be guessing.  But since his words had made the Commander look bad, HE was the bad guy.  Oh well.  Being disliked by others was nothing new to the Romulan, being a former Tal'Shiar.

Rayek glanced to his left to regard his Captain.  Tekin asked some valid questions and Rayek gave a nod to support this.

While Captain Vaughn made arrangements, Rayek opened his PADD and did a quick read through of the events of the Dominion War as a refresher.  Rayek was a teen at the time of the war, and though Empire did join in the offensive until late, news of the war was everywhere he went.  Though information about it was highly skewed by Romulan dogma.  He remembered his parents being concerned that he and millions of other young Romulan military hopefuls might be conscripted into the Star Navy early when it was announced that the Empire was joining the War.

That the Empire joined on the side of the Federation Alliance had been a surprise to many.  But then Humans had a saying for that - 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'.  Not quite true for Romulans but 'temporary ally' could replace friend in that statement.

The DS9 Commander at the time, Benjamin Siska - now the Emissary, and many of the station staff were key personnel in the War - including Admiral Kira.

Despite his time on Katra Station, Rayek had never met Admiral Kira.  The Admiral in charge of the station during his time was Admiral Julia Rellek and Admiral Kirok after her.  Rayek was certain he would have preferred a Bajoran Admiral over that of a Vulcan one.

That the Admiral had access to and was willing to risk such a long-range transport through subspace spoke volumes to Rayek over the perceived urgency.  Given the encounter of Melek Nor, the Romulan could understand why though.  It seemed this was but the 'tip of iceberg'.

Recently returned to Federation space after a year on assignment with the Romulan Free State, Rayek couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for the Captains and Commander to become suspicious of him given this new information.

Though the Admiral's focus was on the Breen involvement aspect, Rayek took note that she mentioned that Captain Worf was investigating Starfleet infiltration.   The paranoid Romulan couldn't help but wonder what results the Klingon had found.

As Admiral Kira summed up her briefing with a very valid concern, Rayek nodded.  For the first time since Admiral Gillespie's glower did Rayek speak up.  "Then our efforts should be done as discreetly as possible to avoid that situation," he pointed out.

Rayek continued on.  "In regards to the possible infiltration of Starfleet, is there not already standard practices in place from the previous generation to detect Changelings?  A simple extraction of blood was it not?  While obviously we can't state that we are requiring a blood test to look for Changelings, having some other medical reason would do the trick.  If nothing else, the process could highlight to us those who avoid the medical test.  As much as I am loath to resort to trickery and lying, there are limited options in this matter.  Perhaps 'recent hacks' into the Starfleet medical system has prompted the Headquarters to question the veracity of the information in the system and thus they have issued a directive for all personnel to submit to a mandatory medical - including bloodtest to confirm details in the database?"

If agreed to that could potentially deal with at least the infiltration part, though his paranoid mind quietly pointed out that medicals were a standard practice in Starfleet and that prior to now no rumor of Changelings being had been circulating.   It had been 20 years since this form of screening had been effective.  Had those Changelings that remained found some technology to trick the standard blood test?  It was possible but with no other means to test with presently, this was their best option.

Rayek then looked to Admiral Kira.

"Starfleet Command has obviously gathered us here for more than just an in-person briefing.  What are our orders?"

[Deep Space Nine - Wardroom]

Nevir had been about to speak in regards to Nira when things continued, and suddenly he was practically face-to-face with one of his people's heroes.  Someone he had met in passing as one of the first group of Bajorans post Occupation to graduate from Starfleet Academy.  There was a spectrum for his people... on one hand there was Ro Laren, the Starfleet Officer whose path lead her to help the ill-fated Maquis.  And on the other... Major, then Colonel, then Commander, and now Admiral Kira Nerys; the Bajoran who never lost her roots and used them to prop up the Federation and specifically the Emissary.  To say that Nevir was a bit awestruck at being in her presence again was an understatement.

Still.. he was a damned Starfleet Captain.  And he needed to act as such.

Instead, he turned to his First Officer.  "It's standard practice when there is a threat of Changeling infiltration, but it hasn't been widely used since the Dominion War.  Prophets, it wasn't until the New Dominion that we even realized there were Changlings still in our half of the galaxy. Until now, there had been no reason to assume the Changelings were going to start going against the Federation."

"Hiding in Breen space is a genius move, and it leaves a problem; unless they are ready to act now we can't do anything without violating both Cardassian and Breen Space.  We may be able to get the Cardassian Government to support us, especially to take down one of their own, but the Breen?  That is going to be a serious issue."