S:5 E:13 - Dominion Rising Part 2

[Aarwendil Cheizex]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

To Ian, the tension on the bridge was so palpable that he felt like he was trying to breathe water as one of the cruisers scanned and then began tractoring the escape pods into its cargo bay. As soon as the last pod disappeared behind closing doors, Ian said.

"Now!"

As sound could not travel in a vacuum, there was nothing to hear on the viewscreen, but the way the Breen cruiser swelled and was engulfed in fire was all too visible.

"Take that ya bloody git!"

Ian cried out in triumph before barking out a series of orders.

"Helm, intercept course for the second cruiser. Ops, brings us ta full power on everything. T'Kel, light the buggers up as fast as the weapons will cycle. I want ta burn these wankers down before Melek Nor can even get here. Science, continual scans for transwarp signature. Oh and Ops... play a music file shipwide you will find tagged in the system by Mister ch'Verret as 'battle one'. We're ta do this in full Highland style ridin' ta the skirl of the pipes."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NziNCnUR2cM

[USS Challenger-A - Bridge]

As the high level officers left the briefing room, the atmosphere of the bridge changed, being filled with an air of seriousness. Aarwendil noticed how the others around him became more focused in their stations, prepared to work on the plans that the Captain was going to pass to them. After all, they were still being hunted by the Breens.

Like his fellow officers, the young Betazoid would also work in his station. He had thought that the plan to deal with their pursuers wasn't very orthodox, but didn't think that it was a problem. During his time at the Academy, Aarwendil had learned that sometimes thinking out of the box could end up saving lives.

However, he was quick in fastening his belt. This plan seemed to be going to make the ship shake.

He also didn't question when the Captain ordered to play some specific music file, doing it obediently. However, the music ended up not being that much appealing for him. Aarwendil was curious to understand what could produce such a curious sound. As far as the Betazoid knew, they could be the result of the vocalization of some bird from Earth, modified in a war song of some type.

[Lina Knight]

Lina tried not to flinch at the sound of pipes and gunfire keeping to her tasks as her ears folded against her head tail curling around her waist "must we be so loud in our attack?" she sighs and notes a blip "sir something coming on our 4 o'clock." she shouts to ian as she taps away returning to focus as something caught her eye "coming in at due pace. might be a hostile." she flicks her tail in anticipation as she keeps up the work to make sure nothing goes wrong on her side

[M'Nia]

[Lieutenant Junior Grade Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas, posing as Mercenary H'Riss | Ops | Melek Nor | Panora System - in the Kuiper Belt | Badlands]

'H'Riss's' eye went wide as he saw Nira being smashed against an alcove out of the prefect's office, her disguise now eschewed by the figure that had turned into liquid. His fur rose, puffing up his tail and neck, as he instinctively pulled on his weapon, a modified Romulan disruptor pistol.

A Changeling? Here? Well, it couldn't speak for now, he supposed. Was only a matter of time before it divulged anything it could have learned from its scuffle with the Lieutenant Commander. But it would be good if he ensured it couldn't reconstitute itself. He knew little of these shapechangers, but he was sure that liquid was somehow, its body. Or whatever it made its 'body' - so theoretically, if he made sure to dispose of it, it wouldn't come back.

He was glad he had done some research into his task beforehand. Though now he wondered if perhaps he should have been more thorough. He did not expect to come upon a

Then again, where were Kyan and Beldevere? Had they also gotten knocked out by the creature? He was unsure, and that uncertainty made him nervous. He made sure to keep it buried down, though, as he lowered his weapon slightly, while the Jem'Hadar and the Cardassians brought Nira towards Gul Sherem and them. Still, 'H'Riss's' fur did not settle, much less so after being accused of being a collaborator by Gul Sherem.

He hissed, "What?! I would NEVER work with 'em FEDERATES!" He made sure to sweep his hand across the area in front of him, lightly lowering himself as he snarled over toward Nira, wondering whether he would require to aim the disruptor at her and reassure Sherem that he was willing to pull the trigger if he wished to prove his loyalty. Of course, it would only be a bluff, as he expected Sherem to stop him so that the captured individuals may be interrogated.

However, at the order of getting the helmets off from the Breen, and the subsequent shriek from Molly, disguised, he stopped. He couldn't help but cringe, the tone hurting his sensitive ears, his snarl turning towards her. It might just work, however, as he prepared himself to speak on Molly's behalf, sure that if he could vouch for them, and reassure him that they were actual Breen, the mission would not be compromised.

Too late, however, as Gul Sherem proved to be smarter, and instructed them to remove the helmets. 'H'Riss' kept his mouth shut, as he couldn't argue against his orders. He feared outing himself accidentally, so he just scowled. And then proceeded to be just as surprised as when Nira had been brought when Molly, Savar, and Fellows. He pointed his weapon at them, trying his best to channel sheer betrayal through his acting, "Impossible! YOU ARE ALL FEDERATES?!"

He hissed in their direction before he proceeded to sheath his weapon as they were undressed. He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the situation, even if he stared, frozen as the adrenaline in his body faded, unaware for a moment that he had to keep the illusion up. If he hadn't been exposed by proxy. He was getting more and more desperate inside, mind racing to try and find a way to act in case the worst came to bear. Could he fire against Gul Sherem and kill him before he was shot? Maybe try and arm his fellow comrades? Should he try and run into the bowels of the station?

All unlikely options for him to succeed, though when the shoe of 'Vaugh's son' was brought forth, it did offer some relief. He had escaped then, it seemed. Alright, maybe they could still pull this off, especially as he was not targeted to be arrested. He took a deep breath to internally calm himself, playing it off as him being just shocked at the Breen revelation. He fought the urge to groan once he determined that Beldevere was the Changeling. Dammit. Disposing of him truly was a priority.

For now, though, at least Savar's outburst had even been believable to him, making him step back, as he jumped slightly like a cat in an alleyway. It had helped to get him fully back into this mission. Now, it was just a matter of staying in character and finding a way out of this mess. Maybe meet up with Kyan. Maybe...

"Harr... harr... enjoy your time with the Ambassador, pointy-ears..." He went back to his smug demeanor, though he still projected anger with his bared teeth towards the Vulcan. "Soon, I bet, you'll never see 'er again~"

He huffed, glancing over at the 'Ambassador' to give her a grin that was meant to be uncomfortable towards her. He wished that he could be reassuring to her, however. This was her first mission, and this was a major hurdle to the plan. If he didn't play his cards carefully, all would be in jeopardy, he feared. But just as that worry began to creep into him, he just set it aside. He had to focus for all.

  Her insides were ablaze with nervousness and just plain fear that the cardassian would discover the truth. Then she saw the shapeshifter and the comdr unmasked. Not good. Bad! Not the end, not yet. They still thought she was an ambasador. he and Zhuks covers were still intact.Still a changeling! How had he/she/they/it? she wasn't quite sure how to refer to changelings, but how had they infiltrated the mission? She really had no idea at this point.

He approached Gul Sherem with his ears lowered, trying to appear as if he was almost groveling. He figured out that trying to appeal to Sherem's pride and sense of magnitude could be a good plan now.

"My deepest apologies, Gul Sherem...." He placed a hand over his chest, before looking down at the floor, "I did not know I was bein' trick'd by... them... Federates...!" He hissed, fur rising again for a moment, before he took another deep breath.

"I will not allow that to happen again. I swear on my honor as a killer..." He grinned maliciously, as he licked his muzzle, "Allow me to... to... make them pay... let me bleed them to get you what they know..."

He made a pause, as he then chuckled, "Ah... right... you Cardassian, you might... wanna do that yourself... heh. Well, uh... maybe let me chase after that brat. I will make sure he regrets escaping~"

He offered, wondering how he would respond.

"You barbarians. Leave her alone! You scum! She was trying to rescue me if it means anything to you which it probably doesn't! She has more guts in her little finger than you do between all of you combined! I appreciate her effort!!" she looked over at the commander. "Are you alright my dear? I hope you aren't seriously hurt?" The commander was a strong woman and she liked that. M'nia tied to take her strength from the commander. If she could hold up under the pressure, so could M'nia. She knew Zhuk would save her if worse came to worse! She focused on the mission and tried to drive the bad thoughts away!

[myne]

Lina tried not to flinch at the sound of pipes and gunfire keeping to her tasks as her ears folded against her head tail curling around her waist "must we be so loud in our attack?" she sighs and notes a blip "sir something coming on our 4 o'clock." she shouts to ian as she taps away returning to focus as something caught her eye "coming in at due pace. might be a hostile." she flicks her tail in anticipation as she keeps up the work to make sure nothing goes wrong on her side

[ Ensign Myne - Bridge - USS Challenger-A ]

Ensign Myne peeked back to make sure the new ops was safe as the ship shook. She was glancing about trying to keep check on a half dozen scans when she heard Ensign Lina mention the bogey.  Then the foul cacophany of music began to play and she cringed. Despite being from her 'Earths' version of Wales she was never big on bagpipes.

"Scan was distorted from the Atmospheric issues of the Badlands. Doing a more tight passive... Captain! Two Jem'Hadar attack ships, following the warp trail of the Valiant up ahead of us! Sending to your chair console."

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck two - Observation Lounge (staging area for Damage Control Team One)]

Having completed the task set to them with the torpedoes,  DCT1 was ordered back to their staging area... the Observation Lounge... to await further orders.   Lahr had hoped he might get assigned back to checking the bridge by in the time he'd been working on the torpedoes another repair team had finished up his work there.

The Andorian now sat at one of the booth tables looking out the observation window at the expanse of nebula as he stared through the gases intently - as if he somehow thought he could actually see any approaching enemy vessels early enough to warn the Bridge.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As nothing Ian had asked for was particularly difficult, the crew had everything done fairly quickly. Therefore, just twenty minutes passed before all departments signaled they were ready and he hit the com unit on the command chair.

"All hands, this is the Captain, we're about ta do some hard maneuverin'. If you can strap yourself down, now is the time ta do so. If'n you can't strap in, grab a hold of summat and hang on tight."

Closing out shipwide, Ian nodded to Rin.

"Take us in, leave paint samples."

The Challenger surged forward at full impulse and this drew the attention of the two Breen cruisers immediately, which in turn triggered their pursuit. On seeing how close to the plasma storm the Challenger was going, the Breen backed off and split up, which was the action Ian was waiting for.

"T'Kel, release those photons. Helm. All stop. Take us down, thrusters only. Steady. steady."

"Sir, torpedoes away."

"Acknowledged. Stand by ta detonate."

Ian waited for one of the Breen cruisers to close within 100,000 kilometers of Challenger's last known position.

"Detonate! Ops, wait ten seconds and deploy those escape pods and sent that distress call."

The half dozen unpowered photons all detonated at the same time, creating a large enough explosion to simulate a ship the size of Challenger being destroyed. Watching his display closely, Ian saw the escape pods deploy and heard the broken distress call go out. Now, they could only wait to see if the Breen would take the bait.

"Go on you frozen pillocks, get curious. You want ta ken who can track you. Go on, you know you do."

Ian crooned as he waited to see if the plan would work.

With the Captain's warning, Lahr activated the booth seat's safety strap - all ship's seating had to have one for exactly this type of situation.   From his vantage point he could just see the torpedoes released before the ship descended into a thicker portion of the nebula.

The flash of the detonated warheads lit up the cloud of gases.  There was no sound.  Even to this day, Lahr always found that bothersome.  Explosions should have noise... but nope not in space.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

To Ian, the tension on the bridge was so palpable that he felt like he was trying to breathe water as one of the cruisers scanned and then began tractoring the escape pods into its cargo bay. As soon as the last pod disappeared behind closing doors, Ian said.

"Now!"

As sound could not travel in a vacuum, there was nothing to hear on the viewscreen, but the way the Breen cruiser swelled and was engulfed in fire was all too visible.

"Take that ya bloody git!"

Ian cried out in triumph before barking out a series of orders.

"Helm, intercept course for the second cruiser. Ops, brings us ta full power on everything. T'Kel, light the buggers up as fast as the weapons will cycle. I want ta burn these wankers down before Melek Nor can even get here. Science, continual scans for transwarp signature. Oh and Ops... play a music file shipwide you will find tagged in the system by Mister ch'Verret as 'battle one'. We're ta do this in full Highland style ridin' ta the skirl of the pipes."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NziNCnUR2cM

At a distance of 100, 000 km... there was no way Lahr should be able to see the approaching ships or even the explosion... but there was specific optical engineering in the 'observation windows'.  They were designed to magnify distant phenomenon - much like a telescope.

So, when the nebula lit up again with the mined torpedo explosions... Lahr could 'see' the fireworks distantly.

The first wail of the bagpipes as he heard them, lifted Lahr's spirit.  Ensign Cheizex was playing his song!

Damn, he missed being on the bridge.

[Nira Said]

K'tals claws. Things were going south. Still Savar and Zhuk were keeping up the act. She really had no idea what had happened but The commander and Savar have been outed as federation and not breen. Still they were providing a plausible cover story and her and zhuks cover was still intact. "LT Savar, thank you for your efforts. I appreciate you trying, unfortunately you have failed. I will continue to pray to K'tal that there is a way out of this and we get out of this in one piece. If we do I will expect a full report on what happened!" She had to play this up like an ambassador would. She was ore nervous than ever now. Still she had Zhuk and would continue to play along with him. She looked at "H'riss" and the cardasian with disdain. What now? How would they get the commander and the the others out of here. She had no idea. Hopefully Zhuk did or the commander came up with something. Hopefully because right now she had no idea.

[Prefect's Office - Melek Nor] [Lieutenant Jessica Fellows]

When the plan came apart and Jess' helmet was pulled off leaving her feeling raw and exposed under the all to piercing eye of Sherem, she had never been more scared in her life. It took every fiber of her being not to whimper at that moment.

"In through the nose for a count of two. Out through the mouth for a count of four... In through the nose for a count of two. Out through the mouth for a count of four..."

She made the calming technique a mantra as she put on a brave face.

"I will not embarrass myself or the Challenger by showing fear, but this is bad. This is real bad."

[Lieutenant Junior Grade Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas, posing as Mercenary H'Riss | Ops | Melek Nor | Panora System - in the Kuiper Belt | Badlands]

'H'Riss's' eye went wide as he saw Nira being smashed against an alcove out of the prefect's office, her disguise now eschewed by the figure that had turned into liquid. His fur rose, puffing up his tail and neck, as he instinctively pulled on his weapon, a modified Romulan disruptor pistol.

A Changeling? Here? Well, it couldn't speak for now, he supposed. Was only a matter of time before it divulged anything it could have learned from its scuffle with the Lieutenant Commander. But it would be good if he ensured it couldn't reconstitute itself. He knew little of these shapechangers, but he was sure that liquid was somehow, its body. Or whatever it made its 'body' - so theoretically, if he made sure to dispose of it, it wouldn't come back.

He was glad he had done some research into his task beforehand. Though now he wondered if perhaps he should have been more thorough. He did not expect to come upon a

Then again, where were Kyan and Beldevere? Had they also gotten knocked out by the creature? He was unsure, and that uncertainty made him nervous. He made sure to keep it buried down, though, as he lowered his weapon slightly, while the Jem'Hadar and the Cardassians brought Nira towards Gul Sherem and them. Still, 'H'Riss's' fur did not settle, much less so after being accused of being a collaborator by Gul Sherem.

He hissed, "What?! I would NEVER work with 'em FEDERATES!" He made sure to sweep his hand across the area in front of him, lightly lowering himself as he snarled over toward Nira, wondering whether he would require to aim the disruptor at her and reassure Sherem that he was willing to pull the trigger if he wished to prove his loyalty. Of course, it would only be a bluff, as he expected Sherem to stop him so that the captured individuals may be interrogated.

However, at the order of getting the helmets off from the Breen, and the subsequent shriek from Molly, disguised, he stopped. He couldn't help but cringe, the tone hurting his sensitive ears, his snarl turning towards her. It might just work, however, as he prepared himself to speak on Molly's behalf, sure that if he could vouch for them, and reassure him that they were actual Breen, the mission would not be compromised.

Too late, however, as Gul Sherem proved to be smarter, and instructed them to remove the helmets. 'H'Riss' kept his mouth shut, as he couldn't argue against his orders. He feared outing himself accidentally, so he just scowled. And then proceeded to be just as surprised as when Nira had been brought when Molly, Savar, and Fellows. He pointed his weapon at them, trying his best to channel sheer betrayal through his acting, "Impossible! YOU ARE ALL FEDERATES?!"

He hissed in their direction before he proceeded to sheath his weapon as they were undressed. He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the situation, even if he stared, frozen as the adrenaline in his body faded, unaware for a moment that he had to keep the illusion up. If he hadn't been exposed by proxy. He was getting more and more desperate inside, mind racing to try and find a way to act in case the worst came to bear. Could he fire against Gul Sherem and kill him before he was shot? Maybe try and arm his fellow comrades? Should he try and run into the bowels of the station?

All unlikely options for him to succeed, though when the shoe of 'Vaugh's son' was brought forth, it did offer some relief. He had escaped then, it seemed. Alright, maybe they could still pull this off, especially as he was not targeted to be arrested. He took a deep breath to internally calm himself, playing it off as him being just shocked at the Breen revelation. He fought the urge to groan once he determined that Beldevere was the Changeling. Dammit. Disposing of him truly was a priority.

For now, though, at least Savar's outburst had even been believable to him, making him step back, as he jumped slightly like a cat in an alleyway. It had helped to get him fully back into this mission. Now, it was just a matter of staying in character and finding a way out of this mess. Maybe meet up with Kyan. Maybe...

"Harr... harr... enjoy your time with the Ambassador, pointy-ears..." He went back to his smug demeanor, though he still projected anger with his bared teeth towards the Vulcan. "Soon, I bet, you'll never see 'er again~"

He huffed, glancing over at the 'Ambassador' to give her a grin that was meant to be uncomfortable towards her. He wished that he could be reassuring to her, however. This was her first mission, and this was a major hurdle to the plan. If he didn't play his cards carefully, all would be in jeopardy, he feared. But just as that worry began to creep into him, he just set it aside. He had to focus for all.

He approached Gul Sherem with his ears lowered, trying to appear as if he was almost groveling. He figured out that trying to appeal to Sherem's pride and sense of magnitude could be a good plan now.

"My deepest apologies, Gul Sherem...." He placed a hand over his chest, before looking down at the floor, "I did not know I was bein' trick'd by... them... Federates...!" He hissed, fur rising again for a moment, before he took another deep breath.

"I will not allow that to happen again. I swear on my honor as a killer..." He grinned maliciously, as he licked his muzzle, "Allow me to... to... make them pay... let me bleed them to get you what they know..."

He made a pause, as he then chuckled, "Ah... right... you Cardassian, you might... wanna do that yourself... heh. Well, uh... maybe let me chase after that brat. I will make sure he regrets escaping~"

He offered, wondering how he would respond.

  Her insides were ablaze with nervousness and just plain fear that the cardassian would discover the truth. Then she saw the shapeshifter and the comdr unmasked. Not good. Bad! Not the end, not yet. They still thought she was an ambasador. he and Zhuks covers were still intact.Still a changeling! How had he/she/they/it? she wasn't quite sure how to refer to changelings, but how had they infiltrated the mission? She really had no idea at this point.

"You barbarians. Leave her alone! You scum! She was trying to rescue me if it means anything to you which it probably doesn't! She has more guts in her little finger than you do between all of you combined! I appreciate her effort!!" she looked over at the commander. "Are you alright my dear? I hope you aren't seriously hurt?" The commander was a strong woman and she liked that. M'nia tied to take her strength from the commander. If she could hold up under the pressure, so could M'nia. She knew Zhuk would save her if worse came to worse! She focused on the mission and tried to drive the bad thoughts away!

[Commander Nira Said | Ops | Melek Nor]

As M'Nia was dragged away, Sherem studied Molly a moment and then said, "Wait...I know the other woman...yes, the files on Terok Nor were accurate...the daughter of the Hero of Setlik Three. Out of respect, as most Cardassians are of him, she will join the ambassador."

He shooed her away and Glinn Luram and his party were gone. It was just Nira and Doctor Fellows imprisoned. The old man turned to "H'Riss" and said, "I don't think so. Our men will find him. A terrified boy shouldn't take long to join us."

He looked back at Nira with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He was making Nira nervous.

"We have time, especially as we wait for our friend to regenerate," he said, looking at the puddle that was the Changeling imposter of Belvedere. "Still, he has brought us plenty of excellent intel in the past about Terok Nor, like how we know about Miss O'Brien."

Of course he'd keep referring Deep Space Nine to Terok Nor, Nira thought to herself. Most Cardassians wouldn't call the station they abandoned "Deep Space Nine."

"But I've been studying you in particular, girl," the old man sneered. "Nira Said. Betazoid. First Officer of the Challenger."

"I guess that saves the trouble of my constantly giving you my name, rank and serial number," said Nira, sneering back.

"Oh, there's no denying you won't talk," said the old man, his voice becoming more and more gentle yet dangerous. "I won't bother asking the questions. You will talk when you're willing."

"Like hell I'm willing," said Nira, matching his cold tone.

"Your defiance is noted, Commander." And with a wave, his Jem'Hadar soldiers approached Nira in a surrounding way. To Nira's surprise, though, they briefly hesitated and approached carefully. It was as if they were afraid of her, and Nira wondered why. She certainly never met a Jem'Hadar in person before.

"Would they be afraid of me, by any chance?" asked Nira steely, confident in how afraid they were.

"Not of you, personally," Old Man Sherem said venomously. "But there have been a great deal of Jem'Hadar that are made nervous by the Betazoids since the Dominion was expelled from Betazed. Krell Moset had been attempting to genetically engineer telepathic Jem'Hadar, using Betazoids for experiments the same way he did for Bajorans back in the day. It transpired that Jem'Hadar had a huge vulnerability to telepathy, a vulnerability that was somehow discovered and taken advantage of. All the Jem'Hadar on Betazed were rendered catatonic thanks to them."

It suddenly dawned on Nira why the Jem'Hadar were afraid of her. But surely that had to be impossible...could it?

"Your people humiliated the Dominion that day, girl," the old man said menacingly. "I'm certainly glad to have a Betazoid for once."

With another nod from the old man, the Jem'Hadar brought Nira to one of the Ops pillars, her hands bound in cuffs and then brought up to be hung by some kind of hanging metal decoration. And then the old man came forward with a knife and sliced Nira's uniform from the back, ripping it from her lower back and making the rest of her uniform drape like an apron. He then felt a spot on one side of her hip, and finally settled, like he found a good place to...seeing as how his knife was in his other hand, Nira realized in shock of what he was about to do, that she couldn't prevent it, and she shut her eyes. Even bracing herself, she could feel the blade in the side and she screamed. The pain, the blade...it was pain she never knew before.

After she felt the blade carving in her enough times, it was mercifully withdrawn, only for something to be pounded in the cut she felt, and she screamed again.

Finally, it was over, and she dared opened her eyes and look down at her hip. A brand written in Cardassian symbols was carved in the flesh of her hip, blood seeping in one or two places. The biggest seemed be most prominent, like something had been forced into her hip as she was being branded.

She looked up and saw the old man leaning across from her, a remote in his hand. She looked around and could see Doctor Fellows and Zhuk, the latter disguising his true feelings under the facade of his performance. Then she looked back at the old man, in pain but defiant.

"You think this barbarism is going to make me talk?" she snapped.

"Girl," sneered Sherem, "my brand is only the beginning. It's a mark on those who defy us. Who defy those to whom the galaxy rightly belongs."

He pushed a button on his remote and then pain flared, the epicenter being from the brand. Nira screamed again a moment...and then the pain stopped.

"Remarkable little toy, isn't it?" said the old man. "It's a popular favorite among interrogators back in the day. I knew a Gul Madred; he often liked to use it to play mind games, to make his victim see something he demanded. I beg to differ. As an intelligence officer, if I want to play mind games, I'd use anything from hypnotism to drugs. No. This is pain. Pain that I enjoy bringing. I did mention before I won't be asking any questions. Any one of you will divulge, and be free to do so, at any given time. And you, Said, you will go first."

Judging from Doctor Fellows' reaction, Sherem replied, "Time enough for that later for you, my dear, but the Betazoid has greater priority..."

~ A little while later, in the habitat ring. ~

Gar Almor Malat was on the last leg of his shift, and looking forward to being off duty. He had plans with his brother Nakal, who had recently been promoted to Garresh, to celebrate in the makeshift bar that the enlisted men had set up on the promenade. Nakal had always been a better soldier than Almor, who had only followed his brother into the services of Sherem because he didn't see his career in the Cardassian military going anywhere. Working for Sherem hadn't been a lot better, but at least they were doing something.

Well, Nakal was. He was in ops. There was some big prisoner thing happening up there, some Federation ambassador and the son of a prominent Starfleet gul. Almor wished he was there, but instead he was patrolling the habitat ring"¦ for whatever reason. "œOh well." He thought as he passed another dimly lit corridor that looked the same as all the other dimly lit corridors in this part of Melok Nor, at least he would get to hear about it later.

A glint caught his eye as he passed and he turned to look at it. What he saw didn't really make sense. A Breen helmet sitting on the deck, looking at him. He looked back the way he'd come, and further down the corridor. No one was there. Curious, he walked over to the helmet. He shifted his disruptor rifle to one hand before tapping the comms box on the bulkhead.

Malat to Ops.

Ops. Came the gruff reply he knew to be his brother.

Nakal, I've found a Breen Helmet in the habitat ring, section 153"¦=/\=

Almor bent down to pick up the helmet. As he did so, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Before he could process what he was looking at, there was a Breen utility blade lodged in his neck. What began as a scream turned into a gurgle as the Cardassian crumpled to the deck.

Almor? the comms box called out. Then more urgently Almor! Respond!

Kyan stepped over the dying soldier an picked up his disruptor rifle. Not his weapon of choice, but better than the utility knife in any case. He grabbed that too, and wiped it on the falled Cardassian's uniform before retracting the blade and putting it back in the pouch.

He then went back to the comms panel.

Almor can't talk the now. Sure and he was a good fella though"¦he let me have his disruptor rifle.

Kyan pressed the button, ending the conversation before Nakal could reply.

Sherem heard Gar Almor Malat confer with his brother, Dalin Nakal Malat, the old man's right-hand- and virtually his hatchet-man, but he turned when the report was interrupted, followed by a young voice calling out.

"Give his...?" he said. "I trust it means little Almor has caught our little escapee and is binding him with the rifle. It could be a good stroke of luck for a man whose feet are smaller than his sister's."

Nira looked at Dalin Malat. The man was huge for a Cardassian; she could've sworn he was part Gorn. Or maybe a hybrid clone of Jem'Hadar and Cardassian, minus the horns.

"Inform Glinn Luram to investigate Almor's position," he said. "Meantime, I'm going have fun with the Betazoid."

And with the press of a button, Nira was brought screaming again.

[Commander Molly O'Brien | Habitat Ring | Melek Nor]

Molly, Savar and M'Nia were brought into ornate VIP quarters. Of course, at the moment VIP might as well stand for "Very Important Prisoners." It was comfortable as it looked for confinement, but the view of the Badlands certainly gave impression of luxury in hell.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Glinn Luram said. "It's a genuine honor for the ambassador, his chief of retinue and the daughter of the Hero of Setlik Three."

"Poot a suck in it," snapped Molly.

Luram smirked and then turned to the Jem'Hadar. "Men. Give us a moment with the three, if you please."

The Jem'Hadar nodded and departed the quarters. Molly noted that the Cardassian guards still had the bundled Breen suits...and helmets. Once they were gone, Luram lowered his voice in a quieter, yet more urgent tone.

"Jorem, Kimnor, make sure we're not interrupted," he ordered. The two positioned themselves on either side of the door, like they would be keeping an eye out. And they set down the bundles. Luram then approached the three prisoners.

"We're not going to have a lot of time," he said urgently. "If that Changeling has reverted, he could be out for almost a day, holding himself for so long as it is. Maybe less if the old man gets something to revert him back sooner."

"You're Legate Nural's man," said Savar.

"Yes," Luram said. "And I thought leaking the schematics to Castellan Garak was going to be hard. Now you all are captured."

"What's going to happen to Nira and Doctor Fellows?" asked Savar in concern.

"Knowing if they'll be a while, Prophets help them if the old man decides to bring out his toys," said Luram. "Seeing as your Caitian officer and the boy is on the loose, I'm going to make sure they can get you loose, and then maybe your First Officer and the other woman."

"Doctor Jessica Fellows, Chief Medical Officer," Savar said specifically.

"At least leave us with one of the helmets, we need them," Molly said.

"Oh, believe me, O'Brien, I intend to," said Luram with a smirk, gladly anticipating the trouble they have in store for the old man. "I gather the helmets will leave a surprise for the old man?"

"Of sorts," said Molly.

Nodding, Luram looked at his two men and said, "Don't worry about them. They're with me. Not all the Cardassians here are with the old man. They've long infiltrated this station, we had been watching the old man for some time. Now, we'd best get going, or else my...other troops will be wondering what's keeping us."

They then departed, but the three noticed that, conveniently, a Breen helmet was left behind. Molly and Savar looked at each other in an aside glance, knowing full well that the helmet was at least needed to activate the viruses.

[Glinn Gilgal Luram | Habitat Ring Corridors | Melek Nor]

No sooner than the Glinn had departed that he received a call Dalin Malat.

"Luram. Something's happened to Almor down in the habitat ring, Section 153. Investigate," he said tersely.

"Acknowledged," Luram said. "Joram, Kimnor, take those confiscated suits away. You two," he told two Jem'Hadar, "remain here to guard the ambassador and her party. The rest are with me."

A moment later, almost opposite from where the (lightly guarded) prisoners were being held, Luram found Almor's body. It was a good thing that he was at the forefront of the detail, because he was smiling grimly. The Malats were some of the old man's most ardent supporters, and Nakal was virtually Sherem's right hand, if not a potential successor; hell, Nakal was the closest thing to a son that Nehor Sherem had, his own family being a disappointment.

Still, Nakal was sensitive when it came to his brother, and the news of his death may come as a big blow to him. And, hopefully, he won't think well. He tapped the nearby comm panel and reported.

"Luram to Operations Center," he said, doing his best to sound perturbed. "Almor's dead. There's no sign of the boy...I think the boy may have killed him. How he did it is beyond me."

[AmatsaKitsune]

[Uss Challenger- Flight deck]

Rin would give a loud cheer as the first would explode however as the captain would yell to prepare movement for interception as she put the speed up to match the enemies ship. She had avoided the anger of the captain so far so she wanted to do her best right now as she would read the various meters and radar keeping a proper heading of interception. She was silent now focussing on the important work ahead of her doing calculations inside of her head and started matching and changing speeds to make sure they kept in an effective range while also making sure they wouldn't be shot to hell or killed by the plasma storms. "I'll do what I can captain."

[Ian Galloway]

Lina tried not to flinch at the sound of pipes and gunfire keeping to her tasks as her ears folded against her head tail curling around her waist "must we be so loud in our attack?" she sighs and notes a blip "sir something coming on our 4 o'clock." she shouts to ian as she taps away returning to focus as something caught her eye "coming in at due pace. might be a hostile." she flicks her tail in anticipation as she keeps up the work to make sure nothing goes wrong on her side

[ Ensign Myne - Bridge - USS Challenger-A ]

Ensign Myne peeked back to make sure the new ops was safe as the ship shook. She was glancing about trying to keep check on a half dozen scans when she heard Ensign Lina mention the bogey.  Then the foul cacophany of music began to play and she cringed. Despite being from her 'Earths' version of Wales she was never big on bagpipes.

"Scan was distorted from the Atmospheric issues of the Badlands. Doing a more tight passive... Captain! Two Jem'Hadar attack ships, following the warp trail of the Valiant up ahead of us! Sending to your chair console."

[Uss Challenger- Flight deck]

Rin would give a loud cheer as the first would explode however as the captain would yell to prepare movement for interception as she put the speed up to match the enemies ship. She had avoided the anger of the captain so far so she wanted to do her best right now as she would read the various meters and radar keeping a proper heading of interception. She was silent now focussing on the important work ahead of her doing calculations inside of her head and started matching and changing speeds to make sure they kept in an effective range while also making sure they wouldn't be shot to hell or killed by the plasma storms. "I'll do what I can captain."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Starship combat was like 3D chess, but with the added complication of never knowing how many pieces of what value were in play at any time. Initially, there were just two Breen and the Challenger. Now, the game flipped and two new unplanned pieces had entered the board.

Ian knew the Valiant was an excellent design built along the lines of the legendary Defiant-Class and could hold its own versus a pair of Jem'Hadar fighters, but they were already engaged with something else and Challenger was in a position to help, that changed the equation for how he had to deal with the remaining Breen cruiser. He had a moral obligation to help a fellow Starfleet ship and that requirement likely saved everyone aboard the second Breen cruiser.

"T'Kel, change of targetin' priority on cruiser two. Shift fire ta concentrate on her engines. I need her disabled as quickly as possible. Ops punch a signal through ta Valiant that they've got unwelcome company. Helm, stay behind the cruiser, dinnae give them a chance ta come about, you are now their bloody shadow."

The fire from the Challenger never slackened, but instead, narrowed focus as T'Kel at tactical went from firing with the intent to score as many hits as possible to a concentrated barrage against a single point on the Breen cruiser, specifically, her aft shields and engine nacelles.

The cruiser tried everything to elude Rin, but she refused to be eluded and T'Kel's lethal precision soon hammered down the aft shields and left both of the Breen's nacelles scored and rent from repeated hits. Crippled, the Breen's focus was now reduced to limping away and trying to avoid the notorious plasma storms of the Badlands.

"SÁ²nraichte!"

Ian purred as the cruiser lurched and turned to break off.

"Helm, hard over, we've a callin' on the Jem'Hadar ta do!"

[Kyan Mackenzie]

:: Community head | Habitat ring ::

As the toilet flushed, Kyan was relieved that he's been able to find a maintainence tube that happened to run past a bathroom. He wasn't lying when he told "œH'Riss" that he needed to go. And then before he'd gotten the chance, the Changeling made himself know"¦ there was some running for his life"¦ and then of course he'd done for the Cardassian. Then it was back into the tubes. By the time he'd managed to get the mesh grate thing off the wall and get into the head, he was about to say to hell with it and just do it in the maintainence tube. But then what if he peed on a plasma conduit or something?

Thankfully it hadn't come to that. He almost giggled at the thought of ole Sherem finding him deep fried in a compromising position in the maintainence tubes.

Now he had relieved himself, and was even able to wash his hands and face. Between carbon residue from the tubes, his and Almor's blood, and the sweat intermingling them, he looked like a proper hobo. It was hot in the maintainence tubes and his hair was wet with sweat and the afor-mentioned blood and grease. Of course it was Cardassians in charge, so really it was pretty hot everywhere. The tubes just made it worse. He decided to take one of the sleeves of his shirt and make a headband, to keep his hair out of his eyes, and to catch sweat. And since the metal grating was hell on his knees he decided to use the rest for some makeshift kneepads, since he'd be crawling around in there for the forseeable future. "œShoulda used the socks fer dat so!" he chided himself as he prepared to go back into the tubes. He grabbed the Breen belt and clipped it back on, and slung the disruptor rifle on his back.

He was just about to hop up into the ducts again when the door whisked open to reveal a Cardassian with his back turned. A voice called to him from a little further down the corridor.

"œSlet your yeso Heral! We need to find this Human boy or the old man is going to brand US."

"œI'll just be a minute!" the one in the doorway told whoever he was with. "œDoesn't matter anyway. When Nakal finds this little tizUt, he's going to rip him in half. He's going nuts in ops.

Kyan didn't chance the duct, instead opting to slip into a stall and perch himself on the toilet there. Thankfully Cardassian toilets weren't all the different than human made ones.

"œPlease be number one"¦." Kyan thought to himself.

Kyan heard the rustle of getting body armor up and off and then discarded onto the floor with a thud. Then the Cardassian plopped down on the commode. The Onlie boy's hopes were dashed when the foul noises started. Grunting....heavy breathing, the whole production. It appeared that Heral was waging an all out struggle with whatever he'd eaten. This was going to take a while.

And then the smell hit.

[Ian Galloway]

[Commander Nira Said | Ops | Melek Nor]

As M'Nia was dragged away, Sherem studied Molly a moment and then said, "Wait...I know the other woman...yes, the files on Terok Nor were accurate...the daughter of the Hero of Setlik Three. Out of respect, as most Cardassians are of him, she will join the ambassador."

He shooed her away and Glinn Luram and his party were gone. It was just Nira and Doctor Fellows imprisoned. The old man turned to "H'Riss" and said, "I don't think so. Our men will find him. A terrified boy shouldn't take long to join us."

He looked back at Nira with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He was making Nira nervous.

"We have time, especially as we wait for our friend to regenerate," he said, looking at the puddle that was the Changeling imposter of Belvedere. "Still, he has brought us plenty of excellent intel in the past about Terok Nor, like how we know about Miss O'Brien."

Of course he'd keep referring Deep Space Nine to Terok Nor, Nira thought to herself. Most Cardassians wouldn't call the station they abandoned "Deep Space Nine."

"But I've been studying you in particular, girl," the old man sneered. "Nira Said. Betazoid. First Officer of the Challenger."

"I guess that saves the trouble of my constantly giving you my name, rank and serial number," said Nira, sneering back.

"Oh, there's no denying you won't talk," said the old man, his voice becoming more and more gentle yet dangerous. "I won't bother asking the questions. You will talk when you're willing."

"Like hell I'm willing," said Nira, matching his cold tone.

"Your defiance is noted, Commander." And with a wave, his Jem'Hadar soldiers approached Nira in a surrounding way. To Nira's surprise, though, they briefly hesitated and approached carefully. It was as if they were afraid of her, and Nira wondered why. She certainly never met a Jem'Hadar in person before.

"Would they be afraid of me, by any chance?" asked Nira steely, confident in how afraid they were.

"Not of you, personally," Old Man Sherem said venomously. "But there have been a great deal of Jem'Hadar that are made nervous by the Betazoids since the Dominion was expelled from Betazed. Krell Moset had been attempting to genetically engineer telepathic Jem'Hadar, using Betazoids for experiments the same way he did for Bajorans back in the day. It transpired that Jem'Hadar had a huge vulnerability to telepathy, a vulnerability that was somehow discovered and taken advantage of. All the Jem'Hadar on Betazed were rendered catatonic thanks to them."

It suddenly dawned on Nira why the Jem'Hadar were afraid of her. But surely that had to be impossible...could it?

"Your people humiliated the Dominion that day, girl," the old man said menacingly. "I'm certainly glad to have a Betazoid for once."

With another nod from the old man, the Jem'Hadar brought Nira to one of the Ops pillars, her hands bound in cuffs and then brought up to be hung by some kind of hanging metal decoration. And then the old man came forward with a knife and sliced Nira's uniform from the back, ripping it from her lower back and making the rest of her uniform drape like an apron. He then felt a spot on one side of her hip, and finally settled, like he found a good place to...seeing as how his knife was in his other hand, Nira realized in shock of what he was about to do, that she couldn't prevent it, and she shut her eyes. Even bracing herself, she could feel the blade in the side and she screamed. The pain, the blade...it was pain she never knew before.

After she felt the blade carving in her enough times, it was mercifully withdrawn, only for something to be pounded in the cut she felt, and she screamed again.

Finally, it was over, and she dared opened her eyes and look down at her hip. A brand written in Cardassian symbols was carved in the flesh of her hip, blood seeping in one or two places. The biggest seemed be most prominent, like something had been forced into her hip as she was being branded.

She looked up and saw the old man leaning across from her, a remote in his hand. She looked around and could see Doctor Fellows and Zhuk, the latter disguising his true feelings under the facade of his performance. Then she looked back at the old man, in pain but defiant.

"You think this barbarism is going to make me talk?" she snapped.

"Girl," sneered Sherem, "my brand is only the beginning. It's a mark on those who defy us. Who defy those to whom the galaxy rightly belongs."

He pushed a button on his remote and then pain flared, the epicenter being from the brand. Nira screamed again a moment...and then the pain stopped.

"Remarkable little toy, isn't it?" said the old man. "It's a popular favorite among interrogators back in the day. I knew a Gul Madred; he often liked to use it to play mind games, to make his victim see something he demanded. I beg to differ. As an intelligence officer, if I want to play mind games, I'd use anything from hypnotism to drugs. No. This is pain. Pain that I enjoy bringing. I did mention before I won't be asking any questions. Any one of you will divulge, and be free to do so, at any given time. And you, Said, you will go first."

Judging from Doctor Fellows' reaction, Sherem replied, "Time enough for that later for you, my dear, but the Betazoid has greater priority..."

Sherem heard Gar Almor Malat confer with his brother, Dalin Nakal Malat, the old man's right-hand- and virtually his hatchet-man, but he turned when the report was interrupted, followed by a young voice calling out.

"Give his...?" he said. "I trust it means little Almor has caught our little escapee and is binding him with the rifle. It could be a good stroke of luck for a man whose feet are smaller than his sister's."

Nira looked at Dalin Malat. The man was huge for a Cardassian; she could've sworn he was part Gorn. Or maybe a hybrid clone of Jem'Hadar and Cardassian, minus the horns.

"Inform Glinn Luram to investigate Almor's position," he said. "Meantime, I'm going have fun with the Betazoid."

And with the press of a button, Nira was brought screaming again.

[Commander Molly O'Brien | Habitat Ring | Melek Nor]

Molly, Savar and M'Nia were brought into ornate VIP quarters. Of course, at the moment VIP might as well stand for "Very Important Prisoners." It was comfortable as it looked for confinement, but the view of the Badlands certainly gave impression of luxury in hell.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Glinn Luram said. "It's a genuine honor for the ambassador, his chief of retinue and the daughter of the Hero of Setlik Three."

"Poot a suck in it," snapped Molly.

Luram smirked and then turned to the Jem'Hadar. "Men. Give us a moment with the three, if you please."

The Jem'Hadar nodded and departed the quarters. Molly noted that the Cardassian guards still had the bundled Breen suits...and helmets. Once they were gone, Luram lowered his voice in a quieter, yet more urgent tone.

"Jorem, Kimnor, make sure we're not interrupted," he ordered. The two positioned themselves on either side of the door, like they would be keeping an eye out. And they set down the bundles. Luram then approached the three prisoners.

"We're not going to have a lot of time," he said urgently. "If that Changeling has reverted, he could be out for almost a day, holding himself for so long as it is. Maybe less if the old man gets something to revert him back sooner."

"You're Legate Nural's man," said Savar.

"Yes," Luram said. "And I thought leaking the schematics to Castellan Garak was going to be hard. Now you all are captured."

"What's going to happen to Nira and Doctor Fellows?" asked Savar in concern.

"Knowing if they'll be a while, Prophets help them if the old man decides to bring out his toys," said Luram. "Seeing as your Caitian officer and the boy is on the loose, I'm going to make sure they can get you loose, and then maybe your First Officer and the other woman."

"Doctor Jessica Fellows, Chief Medical Officer," Savar said specifically.

"At least leave us with one of the helmets, we need them," Molly said.

"Oh, believe me, O'Brien, I intend to," said Luram with a smirk, gladly anticipating the trouble they have in store for the old man. "I gather the helmets will leave a surprise for the old man?"

"Of sorts," said Molly.

Nodding, Luram looked at his two men and said, "Don't worry about them. They're with me. Not all the Cardassians here are with the old man. They've long infiltrated this station, we had been watching the old man for some time. Now, we'd best get going, or else my...other troops will be wondering what's keeping us."

They then departed, but the three noticed that, conveniently, a Breen helmet was left behind. Molly and Savar looked at each other in an aside glance, knowing full well that the helmet was at least needed to activate the viruses.

[Glinn Gilgal Luram | Habitat Ring Corridors | Melek Nor]

No sooner than the Glinn had departed that he received a call Dalin Malat.

"Luram. Something's happened to Almor down in the habitat ring, Section 153. Investigate," he said tersely.

"Acknowledged," Luram said. "Joram, Kimnor, take those confiscated suits away. You two," he told two Jem'Hadar, "remain here to guard the ambassador and her party. The rest are with me."

A moment later, almost opposite from where the (lightly guarded) prisoners were being held, Luram found Almor's body. It was a good thing that he was at the forefront of the detail, because he was smiling grimly. The Malats were some of the old man's most ardent supporters, and Nakal was virtually Sherem's right hand, if not a potential successor; hell, Nakal was the closest thing to a son that Nehor Sherem had, his own family being a disappointment.

Still, Nakal was sensitive when it came to his brother, and the news of his death may come as a big blow to him. And, hopefully, he won't think well. He tapped the nearby comm panel and reported.

"Luram to Operations Center," he said, doing his best to sound perturbed. "Almor's dead. There's no sign of the boy...I think the boy may have killed him. How he did it is beyond me."

[Prefect's Office - Melek Nor] [Dr. Jessica Fellows]

Throughout the ordeal of discovering Belvedere was a Changling and their capture, Jess remained silent. It was a sort of delusion she was holding onto in a vain attempt to pretend if she didn't say anything, somehow she'd disappear and not actually be a prisoner. It was a forlorn hope, but it was keeping her from screaming or curling up in a fetal position.

As Nira's ordeal began, Jess clinched her fists and trembled as she returned to her mantra.

"In through the nose for a count of two, out through the mouth for a count of four. In through the nose for a count of two, out through the mouth for a count of four. In through the nose for a count of two, out through the mouth for a count of four..."

[myne]

[Prefect's Office - Melek Nor] [Dr. Jessica Fellows]

Throughout the ordeal of discovering Belvedere was a Changling and their capture, Jess remained silent. It was a sort of delusion she was holding onto in a vain attempt to pretend if she didn't say anything, somehow she'd disappear and not actually be a prisoner. It was a forlorn hope, but it was keeping her from screaming or curling up in a fetal position.

As Nira's ordeal began, Jess clinched her fists and trembled as she returned to her mantra.

"In through the nose for a count of two, out through the mouth for a count of four. In through the nose for a count of two, out through the mouth for a count of four. In through the nose for a count of two, out through the mouth for a count of four..."

[Nirut Nori - Prefects Office - Melek Nor]

Nirut Nori was making her rounds on the station when there were potential new 'guests' both good and bad. That meant more people to bring food to in the cells and more people to dart around in the barracks and stay out of arms reach. She had been born in captivity to a servant of Sherem and well she was pretty sure her father was him. Not that would make any difference ofcourse but she was afforded no priveldge other then to know that she was Sired by a strong and powerful man. Her mother was a Bajoran taken during the Dominion War so she had never got to see her Mothers homeworld. But her Mother was gone and halfbreeds were not welcome often.

Bowing to each Jem'Hadar and Breen she passed the young girl on the edge of puberty brought the water bucket and cups to the room. She knew deep inside how much pain someone was having as the simple slave smock she wore was open on the side to display the brand her 'father' gave her. Prophets forbid she ever say 'father' he would likely beat her till she could not walk.

The guards knew her, lifted her red ponytail, and checked the obedience collar she wore before the door opened and she tip toed in. She was five foot even if not a inch shorter. The Cardassian Bajoran mix carefully stepped over to the woman trying hard to keep it together and offered a cup of cool clean water as she smiled sweetly.

"A drink Mistress?", she offered to Doctor Fellows.

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

[Lieutenant Junior Grade Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas, posing as Mercenary H'Riss | Ops | Melek Nor | Panora System - in the Kuiper Belt | Badlands]

  Her insides were ablaze with nervousness and just plain fear that the cardassian would discover the truth. Then she saw the shapeshifter and the comdr unmasked. Not good. Bad! Not the end, not yet. They still thought she was an ambasador. he and Zhuks covers were still intact.Still a changeling! How had he/she/they/it? she wasn't quite sure how to refer to changelings, but how had they infiltrated the mission? She really had no idea at this point.

"You barbarians. Leave her alone! You scum! She was trying to rescue me if it means anything to you which it probably doesn't! She has more guts in her little finger than you do between all of you combined! I appreciate her effort!!" she looked over at the commander. "Are you alright my dear? I hope you aren't seriously hurt?" The commander was a strong woman and she liked that. M'nia tied to take her strength from the commander. If she could hold up under the pressure, so could M'nia. She knew Zhuk would save her if worse came to worse! She focused on the mission and tried to drive the bad thoughts away!

"Haha! She was weak. And so are you, my dearest Ambassador," Was Zhukdra'shar's comment to the leaving M'nia. He hoped that she was taking all of this well and that she would be able to remain focused. He tried not too dwell too much on the worry he had for her, however, and returned back to Sherem and the captured Nira and Dr. Fellows, placing what he felt for M'nia away, "Buh-bye!"

[Commander Nira Said | Ops | Melek Nor]

As M'Nia was dragged away, Sherem studied Molly a moment and then said, "Wait...I know the other woman...yes, the files on Terok Nor were accurate...the daughter of the Hero of Setlik Three. Out of respect, as most Cardassians are of him, she will join the ambassador."

He shooed her away and Glinn Luram and his party were gone. It was just Nira and Doctor Fellows imprisoned. The old man turned to "H'Riss" and said, "I don't think so. Our men will find him. A terrified boy shouldn't take long to join us."

He looked back at Nira with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He was making Nira nervous.

"We have time, especially as we wait for our friend to regenerate," he said, looking at the puddle that was the Changeling imposter of Belvedere. "Still, he has brought us plenty of excellent intel in the past about Terok Nor, like how we know about Miss O'Brien."

Of course he'd keep referring Deep Space Nine to Terok Nor, Nira thought to herself. Most Cardassians wouldn't call the station they abandoned "Deep Space Nine."

"But I've been studying you in particular, girl," the old man sneered. "Nira Said. Betazoid. First Officer of the Challenger."

"I guess that saves the trouble of my constantly giving you my name, rank and serial number," said Nira, sneering back.

"Oh, there's no denying you won't talk," said the old man, his voice becoming more and more gentle yet dangerous. "I won't bother asking the questions. You will talk when you're willing."

"Like hell I'm willing," said Nira, matching his cold tone.

"Your defiance is noted, Commander." And with a wave, his Jem'Hadar soldiers approached Nira in a surrounding way. To Nira's surprise, though, they briefly hesitated and approached carefully. It was as if they were afraid of her, and Nira wondered why. She certainly never met a Jem'Hadar in person before.

"Would they be afraid of me, by any chance?" asked Nira steely, confident in how afraid they were.

"Not of you, personally," Old Man Sherem said venomously. "But there have been a great deal of Jem'Hadar that are made nervous by the Betazoids since the Dominion was expelled from Betazed. Krell Moset had been attempting to genetically engineer telepathic Jem'Hadar, using Betazoids for experiments the same way he did for Bajorans back in the day. It transpired that Jem'Hadar had a huge vulnerability to telepathy, a vulnerability that was somehow discovered and taken advantage of. All the Jem'Hadar on Betazed were rendered catatonic thanks to them."

It suddenly dawned on Nira why the Jem'Hadar were afraid of her. But surely that had to be impossible...could it?

"Your people humiliated the Dominion that day, girl," the old man said menacingly. "I'm certainly glad to have a Betazoid for once."

With another nod from the old man, the Jem'Hadar brought Nira to one of the Ops pillars, her hands bound in cuffs and then brought up to be hung by some kind of hanging metal decoration. And then the old man came forward with a knife and sliced Nira's uniform from the back, ripping it from her lower back and making the rest of her uniform drape like an apron. He then felt a spot on one side of her hip, and finally settled, like he found a good place to...seeing as how his knife was in his other hand, Nira realized in shock of what he was about to do, that she couldn't prevent it, and she shut her eyes. Even bracing herself, she could feel the blade in the side and she screamed. The pain, the blade...it was pain she never knew before.

After she felt the blade carving in her enough times, it was mercifully withdrawn, only for something to be pounded in the cut she felt, and she screamed again.

Finally, it was over, and she dared opened her eyes and look down at her hip. A brand written in Cardassian symbols was carved in the flesh of her hip, blood seeping in one or two places. The biggest seemed be most prominent, like something had been forced into her hip as she was being branded.

She looked up and saw the old man leaning across from her, a remote in his hand. She looked around and could see Doctor Fellows and Zhuk, the latter disguising his true feelings under the facade of his performance. Then she looked back at the old man, in pain but defiant.

"You think this barbarism is going to make me talk?" she snapped.

"Girl," sneered Sherem, "my brand is only the beginning. It's a mark on those who defy us. Who defy those to whom the galaxy rightly belongs."

He pushed a button on his remote and then pain flared, the epicenter being from the brand. Nira screamed again a moment...and then the pain stopped.

"Remarkable little toy, isn't it?" said the old man. "It's a popular favorite among interrogators back in the day. I knew a Gul Madred; he often liked to use it to play mind games, to make his victim see something he demanded. I beg to differ. As an intelligence officer, if I want to play mind games, I'd use anything from hypnotism to drugs. No. This is pain. Pain that I enjoy bringing. I did mention before I won't be asking any questions. Any one of you will divulge, and be free to do so, at any given time. And you, Said, you will go first."

Judging from Doctor Fellows' reaction, Sherem replied, "Time enough for that later for you, my dear, but the Betazoid has greater priority..."

Sherem heard Gar Almor Malat confer with his brother, Dalin Nakal Malat, the old man's right-hand- and virtually his hatchet-man, but he turned when the report was interrupted, followed by a young voice calling out.

"Give his...?" he said. "I trust it means little Almor has caught our little escapee and is binding him with the rifle. It could be a good stroke of luck for a man whose feet are smaller than his sister's."

Nira looked at Dalin Malat. The man was huge for a Cardassian; she could've sworn he was part Gorn. Or maybe a hybrid clone of Jem'Hadar and Cardassian, minus the horns.

"Inform Glinn Luram to investigate Almor's position," he said. "Meantime, I'm going have fun with the Betazoid."

And with the press of a button, Nira was brought screaming again.

[Commander Molly O'Brien | Habitat Ring | Melek Nor]

Molly, Savar and M'Nia were brought into ornate VIP quarters. Of course, at the moment VIP might as well stand for "Very Important Prisoners." It was comfortable as it looked for confinement, but the view of the Badlands certainly gave impression of luxury in hell.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Glinn Luram said. "It's a genuine honor for the ambassador, his chief of retinue and the daughter of the Hero of Setlik Three."

"Poot a suck in it," snapped Molly.

Luram smirked and then turned to the Jem'Hadar. "Men. Give us a moment with the three, if you please."

The Jem'Hadar nodded and departed the quarters. Molly noted that the Cardassian guards still had the bundled Breen suits...and helmets. Once they were gone, Luram lowered his voice in a quieter, yet more urgent tone.

"Jorem, Kimnor, make sure we're not interrupted," he ordered. The two positioned themselves on either side of the door, like they would be keeping an eye out. And they set down the bundles. Luram then approached the three prisoners.

"We're not going to have a lot of time," he said urgently. "If that Changeling has reverted, he could be out for almost a day, holding himself for so long as it is. Maybe less if the old man gets something to revert him back sooner."

"You're Legate Nural's man," said Savar.

"Yes," Luram said. "And I thought leaking the schematics to Castellan Garak was going to be hard. Now you all are captured."

"What's going to happen to Nira and Doctor Fellows?" asked Savar in concern.

"Knowing if they'll be a while, Prophets help them if the old man decides to bring out his toys," said Luram. "Seeing as your Caitian officer and the boy is on the loose, I'm going to make sure they can get you loose, and then maybe your First Officer and the other woman."

"Doctor Jessica Fellows, Chief Medical Officer," Savar said specifically.

"At least leave us with one of the helmets, we need them," Molly said.

"Oh, believe me, O'Brien, I intend to," said Luram with a smirk, gladly anticipating the trouble they have in store for the old man. "I gather the helmets will leave a surprise for the old man?"

"Of sorts," said Molly.

Nodding, Luram looked at his two men and said, "Don't worry about them. They're with me. Not all the Cardassians here are with the old man. They've long infiltrated this station, we had been watching the old man for some time. Now, we'd best get going, or else my...other troops will be wondering what's keeping us."

They then departed, but the three noticed that, conveniently, a Breen helmet was left behind. Molly and Savar looked at each other in an aside glance, knowing full well that the helmet was at least needed to activate the viruses.

[Glinn Gilgal Luram | Habitat Ring Corridors | Melek Nor]

No sooner than the Glinn had departed that he received a call Dalin Malat.

"Luram. Something's happened to Almor down in the habitat ring, Section 153. Investigate," he said tersely.

"Acknowledged," Luram said. "Joram, Kimnor, take those confiscated suits away. You two," he told two Jem'Hadar, "remain here to guard the ambassador and her party. The rest are with me."

A moment later, almost opposite from where the (lightly guarded) prisoners were being held, Luram found Almor's body. It was a good thing that he was at the forefront of the detail, because he was smiling grimly. The Malats were some of the old man's most ardent supporters, and Nakal was virtually Sherem's right hand, if not a potential successor; hell, Nakal was the closest thing to a son that Nehor Sherem had, his own family being a disappointment.

Still, Nakal was sensitive when it came to his brother, and the news of his death may come as a big blow to him. And, hopefully, he won't think well. He tapped the nearby comm panel and reported.

"Luram to Operations Center," he said, doing his best to sound perturbed. "Almor's dead. There's no sign of the boy...I think the boy may have killed him. How he did it is beyond me."

'H'Riss' offered a polite nod over to Sherem. Internally, however, he was seething. He could have used this opportunity to find Kyan and coordinate! Dang it! For now though, he was subjected to having to see his higher-ranking officer be subjected to threats and be threatened to be taken off to who knows where. However, at least he managed to discover something sensitive about the Jem'Hadar: they were apparently afraid of Betazoids. Strange weakness, but he was a firm believer that every piece of information, especially one as sensitive as this, could be employed in the right manner after some thought.

He crossed his arms, as he finally saw the Jem'Hadar taking her. Instead of being forced out of Ops, like the 'Ambassador', and Molly had, however, she was placed in cuffs, and then hung from a pillar within the room. He had to suppress the horrifying scene that came afterward, as her uniform was ruined, and she was branded with a knife employed by Gul Sherem. He stared on ahead, a cruel smirk disguising the sheer anger and pain that seeing Nira in such a state caused him. He had a new objective now.

He would make sure to eliminate Gul Sherem when able. He wouldn't live to regret this. Or if he did, he would make sure that he would at least suffer as much as Nira was at this point in time.

The pain that rocked her body was noted too. He was not too sure how he had done it, but that button on his remote, and the knife had something to do with it. Perhaps if he could acquire it... he would be able to employ it. For now, though, his dreams of vengeance were staunched by his need to remain in character, so he cleared his thoughts and focused on playing 'H'Riss'.

"Ah... that was just lovely~ I do love to hear Federates screamin'... hehe... well done, Gul Sherem~" He offered a soft, meaningful clap, hoping that kissing his feet would earn him at least a small modicum of trust.

:: Melok Nor | Maintainence tubes ::

It had been almost twenty minutes since Kyan had escaped from the Changeling. He was too far away to hear what was going on back in Ops, but it had been long enough that he knew no one was chasing him"¦yet.

"œSo what tae do the now?" has asked himself aloud.

If the Changeling was working with Sherem, then Nira's cover was blown, as was his, and probably everyone else's too. Even if it wasn't, then the commotion in Sherem's office was enough to draw attention. Nira's cover was still blown, which meant that Sherem knew Starfleet was here. So either way, the scared little kid routine was over. Which meant that Kyan was able to operate unshackled from the charade of his false identity. "œAnd thanks be to the Powers for that." He thought happily.

So the first order of business was to take stock of his resources. He had one shoe, which had parts that were useless now. He took that one off and pulled out the insert. The lower site of the palm phaser was lodged in a cutout inside the sole. He pulled it out and put it in a cargo pocket. The top half was in the other pocket. Even if he never got the other shoe back, or the emitter coil, he could replicate a new one when he went back to the ship. And since one shoe was useless without the other, he tossed the remaining one aside. After a moment he took off his socks too, since they might be slippery one some surfaces, or catch on others.

"œNow let's see what these Breen carry around in their belts." He wondered, picking up the belt he'd taken from "œBelvedere's" suit.

It looked as though the Breen from whom it had been taken was an engineer, given the tools that he found in most of the pouches. Most of them were useless to him. He did pocket the plasma cutter though, figuring it might come in handy. The last pouch had what looked like a multi-tool. Kyan turned it over in his hands until he found a button. He pressed it and a three inch, single edged blade sprang from the handle with a satisfying "œsniiikt" sound. The Onlie grinned as he checked the edge. "œWell Thanks be tae you Mister Belvedere."

Kyan put the blade back in and replaced the knife in its pouch. The belt was way too big for him, but he adjusted it until it was at least small enough not to fall off if he wore it. Now it just fell low on one side like an old west cowboy's gun-belt. Now that he had something to use, a plan began to take shape in his head"¦.

~ A little while later, in the habitat ring. ~

Gar Almor Malat was on the last leg of his shift, and looking forward to being off duty. He had plans with his brother Nakal, who had recently been promoted to Garresh, to celebrate in the makeshift bar that the enlisted men had set up on the promenade. Nakal had always been a better soldier than Almor, who had only followed his brother into the services of Sherem because he didn't see his career in the Cardassian military going anywhere. Working for Sherem hadn't been a lot better, but at least they were doing something.

Well, Nakal was. He was in ops. There was some big prisoner thing happening up there, some Federation ambassador and the son of a prominent Starfleet gul. Almor wished he was there, but instead he was patrolling the habitat ring"¦ for whatever reason. "œOh well." He thought as he passed another dimly lit corridor that looked the same as all the other dimly lit corridors in this part of Melok Nor, at least he would get to hear about it later.

A glint caught his eye as he passed and he turned to look at it. What he saw didn't really make sense. A Breen helmet sitting on the deck, looking at him. He looked back the way he'd come, and further down the corridor. No one was there. Curious, he walked over to the helmet. He shifted his disruptor rifle to one hand before tapping the comms box on the bulkhead.

Malat to Ops.

Ops. Came the gruff reply he knew to be his brother.

Nakal, I've found a Breen Helmet in the habitat ring, section 153"¦=/\=

Almor bent down to pick up the helmet. As he did so, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Before he could process what he was looking at, there was a Breen utility blade lodged in his neck. What began as a scream turned into a gurgle as the Cardassian crumpled to the deck.

Almor? the comms box called out. Then more urgently Almor! Respond!

Kyan stepped over the dying soldier an picked up his disruptor rifle. Not his weapon of choice, but better than the utility knife in any case. He grabbed that too, and wiped it on the falled Cardassian's uniform before retracting the blade and putting it back in the pouch.

He then went back to the comms panel.

Almor can't talk the now. Sure and he was a good fella though"¦he let me have his disruptor rifle.

Kyan pressed the button, ending the conversation before Nakal could reply.

His sharp hearing managed to pick up some voice that he surely recognized, speaking of him having acquired a rifle. He felt a chill run down his spine, as he suddenly feared that Sherem would realize that 'Vaughn's son' wasn't such an innocent little kid as he had been leading them to believe thus far. He internally admonished Kyan for such a rash action. Sure, eliminating the Gul's forces was fine, and was what he was expecting.

But he wasn't counting on him actually revealing he had done it, hoping that the element of surprise could throw off any preconceived conceptions that the Cardassians had about this mission. Maybe, realizing that some other Federation members had infiltrated into the station.

In any case, it seemed that Kyan was in the clear, as Sherem apparently believed that his soldier was doing a poor job communicating his capture. Lucky him, he supposed. Unfortunately, that sense of relief soon was washed away by hearing the cries of Nira once more. He was strong, however, and steeled his heart to them.

Things got even trickier when he overheard another conversation from a Cardassian reporting that this individual, Almor, was truly dead. He decided not to show much of a reaction, though, as Sherem didn't have to know he could hear the communications they were having. He waited for any instructions, or to just remain there, his emotions boiling deep within.

[Nirut Nori - Prefects Office - Melek Nor]

Nirut Nori was making her rounds on the station when there were potential new 'guests' both good and bad. That meant more people to bring food to in the cells and more people to dart around in the barracks and stay out of arms reach. She had been born in captivity to a servant of Sherem and well she was pretty sure her father was him. Not that would make any difference ofcourse but she was afforded no priveldge other then to know that she was Sired by a strong and powerful man. Her mother was a Bajoran taken during the Dominion War so she had never got to see her Mothers homeworld. But her Mother was gone and halfbreeds were not welcome often.

Bowing to each Jem'Hadar and Breen she passed the young girl on the edge of puberty brought the water bucket and cups to the room. She knew deep inside how much pain someone was having as the simple slave smock she wore was open on the side to display the brand her 'father' gave her. Prophets forbid she ever say 'father' he would likely beat her till she could not walk.

The guards knew her, lifted her red ponytail, and checked the obedience collar she wore before the door opened and she tip toed in. She was five foot even if not a inch shorter. The Cardassian Bajoran mix carefully stepped over to the woman trying hard to keep it together and offered a cup of cool clean water as she smiled sweetly.

"A drink Mistress?", she offered to Doctor Fellows.

An unexpected visitor made herself known within Ops as she was let through by the guards posted around here. What seemed to be a Bajoran/Cardassian hybrid, after a quick glance over to her. He saw her approach Dr. Fellows, offering her a drink meekly. He senses no malice from her, she was but a teen. She reminded him of himself when younger. He even could see a collar that kept her bound to the chains of these Cardassians. Not too dissimilar to the one he had with the Orions. Though his' was smaller.

Hm. Perhaps a test could be at hand.

'H'Riss' approached the girl as she gave the cup to Dr. Fellows, standing behind her, though giving her enough space to maneuver if she suddenly was to turn over to him.

"Ey! I also wanna drink, you hear?!" He spoke up, hoping that she would turn, and he could gauge her better. And perhaps, determine if she could be trusted.

[myne]

'H'Riss' approached the girl as she gave the cup to Dr. Fellows, standing behind her, though giving her enough space to maneuver if she suddenly was to turn over to him.

"Ey! I also wanna drink, you hear?!" He spoke up, hoping that she would turn, and he could gauge her better. And perhaps, determine if she could be trusted.

[Nirut Nori - Prefects Office - Melek Nor]

The girl eeeped hearing the command and immediately sat the cup within reach of the woman. "Please drink Mistress, You seem most distressed."

She then turned and knelt before the man calling out behind her. She did not know his voice, did not know his smell, the sound of his feet so he must be new. He was, and a Cat species. She had seen such in books her mother showed her but never petted a cat nor met a cat person.

Turning to a kneel on her knees before him she shifted to make sure the carved brand was in sight, she took a spare cup and dipped out some cool clear water and held it up for him. Her eyes looked up only long enough to show where to offer before she lowered them. She knew to meet eye contact with a better could warrant a slap, a kick, or something worse.

"Your water Master at once!", she said holding it up to him. "I hope the water refreshes and pleases you.", a tremble in her voice shown her fear of displeasing. She had no malice, only fear.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[Ensign Myne - Bridge - USS Challenger-A]

Ensigns Myne's face paled but she nodded, "Yes Ma'am my apologies Ma'am and I will do better next time Ma'am."

After a moment though she smiled, "But he is cute."

[Ensign Myne - Bridge - USS Challenger-A]

Ensign Myne's face brightened at the praise and the compliments, she didn't care about commendations or promotions but it was a sign she wasn't being gotten rid of anytime soon. So that brightened her to no end. But then a look of confusion crossed her face.

"What is a boffin?", she asked confused.

[Lt. Ruth Sigurdsdottir, CSO - Bridge - USS Challenger - A]

"Hey, if I'd been reprimanding you really you'd have known about it, this is just a mild observation, and don't do it again sort of thing." Ruth chuckled.  "You're right though, he is cute!"

The CSO considered Melly's other question put her head on one side and her eyes dancing with merriment answered "Boffins are people who are engaged in Scientific research.  It's our beloved Captain's favourite nickname for us because he prefers not to try getting his head around the quantum physics or whatever the way I barely know my way around a hyperspanner... I leave Engineering to the Engineers and he leaves the boffining to the Boffins!"

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge]

"Ops and Helm consoles are 100%.  I'll do Science station next."

However, no sooner had he begun the diagnostic check on M's console when Lt Commander Tharn's voice sounded from his comm badge.   It seemed she was recalling Damage Control Team One to work on another project - something to do with 'spiking' the escape pods with torpedoes.  Lahr wasn't sure he understood what the Commander wanted but specifics were being sent to his PADD for him and the others of DCT1 to work on.

Roozh, he'd have to leave his task here unfinished.
"Sorry Ma'ams." the Andorian addressed both Ruth and M.  "I'll have someone else sent up here to finish the check of the Bridge stations."

With a parting nod to both, and a mock salute towards the Captain, Lahr double-timed it down to the torpedo bay.

"Anytime, Chief.  We'll welcome you up here... go do what you do best! Well, second best!" Ruth winked as he left.  The last sentence was said more as a mutter that only Melly and Lina would have heard.  She'd explain away the giggles for them if they had heard!  "Kissing, I was deffo just talking about kissing! Or DJing... yeah DJing... def-in-ITE-elly DJing!" she said trying not to giggle herself.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As nothing Ian had asked for was particularly difficult, the crew had everything done fairly quickly. Therefore, just twenty minutes passed before all departments signaled they were ready and he hit the com unit on the command chair.

"All hands, this is the Captain, we're about ta do some hard maneuverin'. If you can strap yourself down, now is the time ta do so. If'n you can't strap in, grab a hold of summat and hang on tight."

Closing out shipwide, Ian nodded to Rin.

"Take us in, leave paint samples."

The Challenger surged forward at full impulse and this drew the attention of the two Breen cruisers immediately, which in turn triggered their pursuit. On seeing how close to the plasma storm the Challenger was going, the Breen backed off and split up, which was the action Ian was waiting for.

"T'Kel, release those photons. Helm. All stop. Take us down, thrusters only. Steady. steady."

"Sir, torpedoes away."

"Acknowledged. Stand by ta detonate."

Ian waited for one of the Breen cruisers to close within 100,000 kilometers of Challenger's last known position.

"Detonate! Ops, wait ten seconds and deploy those escape pods and sent that distress call."

The half dozen unpowered photons all detonated at the same time, creating a large enough explosion to simulate a ship the size of Challenger being destroyed. Watching his display closely, Ian saw the escape pods deploy and heard the broken distress call go out. Now, they could only wait to see if the Breen would take the bait.

"Go on you frozen pillocks, get curious. You want ta ken who can track you. Go on, you know you do."

Ian crooned as he waited to see if the plan would work.

"You still strapped in girls?!" she said quickly, looking to check before bracing herself.

Ruth was trying not to panic herself and had been using comedy to divert the feeling in the pit of her stomach that she always got going into battle.  Ian's comments however were contributing to the feeling that she wanted to giggle so it was becoming difficult not to laugh, she managed to control it to a smile... albeit she was probably grinning like a raving lunatic, it might be taken as a grimace at the turning of the ship and situation rather than she was finding the situation funny.  It wasn't the situation as much as she was finding humour where she could and utilising it to get her through it while she was trying to keep her head in the game while making sure the girls alongside her were fine.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

To Ian, the tension on the bridge was so palpable that he felt like he was trying to breathe water as one of the cruisers scanned and then began tractoring the escape pods into its cargo bay. As soon as the last pod disappeared behind closing doors, Ian said.

"Now!"

As sound could not travel in a vacuum, there was nothing to hear on the viewscreen, but the way the Breen cruiser swelled and was engulfed in fire was all too visible.

"Take that ya bloody git!"

Ian cried out in triumph before barking out a series of orders.

"Helm, intercept course for the second cruiser. Ops, brings us ta full power on everything. T'Kel, light the buggers up as fast as the weapons will cycle. I want ta burn these wankers down before Melek Nor can even get here. Science, continual scans for transwarp signature. Oh and Ops... play a music file shipwide you will find tagged in the system by Mister ch'Verret as 'battle one'. We're ta do this in full Highland style ridin' ta the skirl of the pipes."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NziNCnUR2cM

The CSO couldn't help but laugh out loud at Captain Galloway's outburst of triumph, proving that even seasoned officers could lose their composure at times.  Plus his order for Scotland the Brave in full pipe band going through the ship.

Turning and tipping the Captain the wink.  She grinned and said "Any chance that there's a Battle 2 file too, that can be played if we need to have more battle worthy music?!  Special request for your lovely boffins?!" she said knowing he would realise she meant Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries'

"As for the Transwarp.  Miss Pwllgwyngyll that's your job, Miss Knight just keep on doing what you're doing great at!  I find concentration on the task at hand means you're less likely to worry about what's going on outside the ship. Well... I mean the explosions and such rather than us knowing exactly where our enemies are!"

Lina tried not to flinch at the sound of pipes and gunfire keeping to her tasks as her ears folded against her head tail curling around her waist "must we be so loud in our attack?" she sighs and notes a blip "sir something coming on our 4 o'clock." she shouts to ian as she taps away returning to focus as something caught her eye "coming in at due pace. might be a hostile." she flicks her tail in anticipation as she keeps up the work to make sure nothing goes wrong on her side

"You, OK Lina?" the concerned CSO put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder as she noticed the ears come forward and the distressed flicks of the tail "Good spot!" she said as the girl noticed the blip.

[ Ensign Myne - Bridge - USS Challenger-A ]

Ensign Myne peeked back to make sure the new ops was safe as the ship shook. She was glancing about trying to keep check on a half dozen scans when she heard Ensign Lina mention the bogey.  Then the foul cacophany of music began to play and she cringed. Despite being from her 'Earths' version of Wales she was never big on bagpipes.

"Scan was distorted from the Atmospheric issues of the Badlands. Doing a more tight passive... Captain! Two Jem'Hadar attack ships, following the warp trail of the Valiant up ahead of us! Sending to your chair console."

Ruth almost chuckled when Melly also cringed from the sound of the pipes.  "You girls will have to get used to that, it's our battle cry so to speak.  Mine is Ride of the Valkyries." she shrugged.  "Anyhow didn't you know the bagpipes are officially proclaimed a weapon of war?  Scared the living daylights out of people hearing a full contingent coming over a hill, and then seeing 100 or more ginger madmen in plaid skirts, known of course as kilts.  Be very sure you are going to win if you want to pick a fight with a Scot!"  she thumbed over her shoulder "Point in case..never get on his bad side.  Outside of battle, loveliest person you could know, if somewhat gruff... that comes with being a Highlander!"

The CSO adjusted the atmospheric scans to be more detailed and added that data to the other Science consoles and Helm's navigational to compensate on autopilot.  "Captain, I'm doing minute by minute adjustments to the atmospheric scans so that should help, it would be like we are running in calm waters on a flat sea so to speak now." she said 'de-boffin-ing' it specially for Ian.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Starship combat was like 3D chess, but with the added complication of never knowing how many pieces of what value were in play at any time. Initially, there were just two Breen and the Challenger. Now, the game flipped and two new unplanned pieces had entered the board.

Ian knew the Valiant was an excellent design built along the lines of the legendary Defiant-Class and could hold its own versus a pair of Jem'Hadar fighters, but they were already engaged with something else and Challenger was in a position to help, that changed the equation for how he had to deal with the remaining Breen cruiser. He had a moral obligation to help a fellow Starfleet ship and that requirement likely saved everyone aboard the second Breen cruiser.

"T'Kel, change of targetin' priority on cruiser two. Shift fire ta concentrate on her engines. I need her disabled as quickly as possible. Ops punch a signal through ta Valiant that they've got unwelcome company. Helm, stay behind the cruiser, dinnae give them a chance ta come about, you are now their bloody shadow."

The fire from the Challenger never slackened, but instead, narrowed focus as T'Kel at tactical went from firing with the intent to score as many hits as possible to a concentrated barrage against a single point on the Breen cruiser, specifically, her aft shields and engine nacelles.

The cruiser tried everything to elude Rin, but she refused to be eluded and T'Kel's lethal precision soon hammered down the aft shields and left both of the Breen's nacelles scored and rent from repeated hits. Crippled, the Breen's focus was now reduced to limping away and trying to avoid the notorious plasma storms of the Badlands.

"SÁ²nraichte!"

Ian purred as the cruiser lurched and turned to break off.

"Helm, hard over, we've a callin' on the Jem'Hadar ta do!"

Following the turns and dives automatically like any trained pilot, Ruth still was aching at the sudden movements and vowed to get back to do some flight training if only in the holodeck so she would ache less in such situations.

"Here goes nothing and everything." she said when the Captain mentioned 'calling on' the Jem'Hadar.

Still trying to use humour to cover her worry for the battle at hand she said "Knock, Knock... hello can we interest you in some pamphlets about our organisation, Starfleet Command... we can leave them with you, they come free with blowing your asses out of the sky..." she said in her best 'Mormon missionary' impersonation.

[OOC: FYI this wasn't a dig at the LDS missionaries.  I used to be LDS/Mormon so it's poking fun a little at friends of mine, who themselves were missionaries and agreed you could spot them a mile off as parodied by 'The Book of Mormon' musical!]

[Ian Galloway]

[Nirut Nori - Prefects Office - Melek Nor]

Nirut Nori was making her rounds on the station when there were potential new 'guests' both good and bad. That meant more people to bring food to in the cells and more people to dart around in the barracks and stay out of arms reach. She had been born in captivity to a servant of Sherem and well she was pretty sure her father was him. Not that would make any difference ofcourse but she was afforded no priveldge other then to know that she was Sired by a strong and powerful man. Her mother was a Bajoran taken during the Dominion War so she had never got to see her Mothers homeworld. But her Mother was gone and halfbreeds were not welcome often.

Bowing to each Jem'Hadar and Breen she passed the young girl on the edge of puberty brought the water bucket and cups to the room. She knew deep inside how much pain someone was having as the simple slave smock she wore was open on the side to display the brand her 'father' gave her. Prophets forbid she ever say 'father' he would likely beat her till she could not walk.

The guards knew her, lifted her red ponytail, and checked the obedience collar she wore before the door opened and she tip toed in. She was five foot even if not a inch shorter. The Cardassian Bajoran mix carefully stepped over to the woman trying hard to keep it together and offered a cup of cool clean water as she smiled sweetly.

"A drink Mistress?", she offered to Doctor Fellows.

[Prefect's Office - Melek Nor] - [Dr Jessica Fellows]

Jess started in surprise when the young multi-species girl offered her water. She didn't trust Sherem to not drug the water and would not be foolish enough to assist the vile old man in her own interrogation. She merely shook her head to indicate she didn't want any and went back to her rhythmic breathing to keep her terror in check.