"How is he?" Chris whispered in Mary's ear as he came up alongside her where she was keeping watch on the Gul receiving treatment at the skilled hands of Nathan Jackson, following the treatment of her own injuries.

"He's better," Mary replied, meeting his gaze. "He was pretty badly beaten but there were no critical injuries, although you wouldn't know it from the way he's been complaining." She gave the Gul a look of pure contempt before turning back to Chris again. "How's Alex?" She asked with concern. Despite the injury Alex inflicted upon her, Mary was not mad. Considering what Vin revealed to her about what set Alex off, she could appreciate why the science officer reacted as she had.

"Reasonable," Chris answered. "I manage to convince her there were other avenues besides tearing him a new one."

Mary found a little smile crossing her face at the choice of his words and gave him a look of deep affection, far more than two officers serving together might display but the lovers they would someday be. "Unfortunately, I don't think he is going to be that reasonable." She sighed facing the Gul once again. "Ever since Nathan put him back together enough to talk, he's been screaming bloody murder for Alex's hide. I don't know if we can pacify him as easily as we have Alex."

"We'll manage," Chris replied with a hard edge to his voice that told Mary a great deal. He was tolerating this man on this ship by the barest fraction of patience and if Gul Lemar knew what was good for him, he would carry out the mission and put this incident behind him, because Chris Larabee was not a man to be made an enemy out of.

"You okay?" He asked with a hint of tenderness, touching her chin as he examined her soft skin for any signs of injury after running into Alex.

"I'm fine." Mary reached for his hand and laced her fingers between his long enough for him to know she was grateful he had asked. "It was just a scratch."

Chris nodded with a relieved expression on his face before he took a deep breath and stepped forward, allowing Mary to fall into stride with him as they advanced upon Nathan and Lemar. Mary slipped flawlessly into the persona of Lieutenant Travis, Protocol Officer and prepared to make the opening introductions to continue the rest of the dialogue between Captain and Gul.

Nathan was standing by the treatment bed, running a dermal regenerator over the skin of Gul Lemar, miraculously mending broken skin with the aid of 24th-century medical technology. While all of the Cardassian's injuries had yet to be repaired, for the most part, the former Gul appeared healthier than when he was first carried into Sick Bay. The man was lying prone on the bed, apparent in his dislike about being in the care of the human before him and judging by the thinly veiled scowl on his face, Chris could tell Nathan was nearing the end of his patience.

"He should be around in no time," Nathan announced, preempting the captain's question with a more detailed report than what he had probably received from Mary. "A couple of broken ribs which have been taken care of, some extensive facial injuries I've been able to eradicate with the dermal regenerator. I don't recommend he run a marathon but he's well enough to leave Sick Bay."

What Nathan did not add but seemed rather obvious was his unspoken desire to say 'good riddance' by those who knew him enough to read his expression. Chris wondered if his annoyance was due to the Gul's arrogance and ambivalence towards the physician or because Nathan learned about why the man had been attacked and was loathed to treat such a monster. If that were the case, Chris could appreciate Nathan's feelings because he was no happier about having the man on his ship either. As it is, he was fighting the instinct to throw the man in the brig for what he had done to Alex for the next millennia and was most chagrined circumstances required him to treat the man like a guest instead of the filth he was.

"Gul Lemar," Mary said politely, "this is Captain Chris Larabee."

"It is about time you made an appearance," the Gul promptly sat up in the bed, giving Chris a once over, clearly indicating he was not impressed with what he saw. "Considering how warm a reception I received at the hands of your crew, I would have thought it was your first priority to come here and explain yourself."

Both Nathan and Mary immediately looked at Chris, wondering what kind of reaction that response would garner from the Captain. However, the Captain did not make any vitriolic remark. Instead, his eyes narrowed with a completely unreadable expression on his face neither Nathan nor Mary could read before he deigned to answer.

"Gul Lemar, circumstances have forced me to accept we need you for the mission ahead.  I accept that and while you on board the Maverick, nothing of the like which happened in Four Corners will take place again. Those two men," Chris glanced at the entrance to Sick Bay where two security officers were waiting, "will ensure no harm comes to you, while you are on my ship. You have my word on it."

"Your word?" The Gul said derisively. "And what of the lunatic who almost killed me? Are you going to throw her into the brig or not?"

"I have spoken to Commander Styles," Chris answered with what he considered to be an amazing amount of restraint. Inwardly, he braced himself to hear much protest when he revealed his solution to the Gul in regard to how he resolved the situation with Alexandra Styles. However, in all truth, Chris did not care, and he meant what he said when he promised Alex, he would put his command on the line for her. "She assures me no further incident will take place. I have confined her to duty in astrometics and have ordered her to give you a wide berth."

Judging from the glowering darkness that fell across the man's face, Chris and the others in the room immediately guessed Chris’s s actions was not at all satisfactory. "You consider that an adequate punishment?" The man exclaimed in outrage. "She could have killed me with her assault, and you return her to duty as if nothing had happened?"

"She gave me her word she would not harm you." Chris’s s jaw clenched and he reminded himself spacing a man was illegal. He kept his indifferent mask in place. "That's good enough for me."

"Well, that is not good enough for me!" Lemar shouted. "I want her thrown in the brig for the duration of my stay on this ship. I make this request most strongly!"

Uh Oh, Mary thought to herself as she saw that glimmer in Chris’s s eyes that meant something had just snapped.

The Captain stared at the Gul and said very calmly. "Doctor, Lieutenant, I should like a moment with Gul Lemar if you please. Take the security men with you."

No one was about to question the Captain when he used that tone of voice and very soon, everyone was vacating the room, leaving Chris alone with the Gul. The Cardassian's expression was one of smug satisfaction when he saw the others leaving, assuming in his arrogance the reason for Chris’s s dismissal had to do with his saving face in front of his crew as he made a submissive gesture towards Lemar.

When the others had gone, Chris finally faced front again and said rather coolly. "Now let's get one thing straight, Gul Lemar of the Ninth Order. You are on my ship and on my ship, I say what goes. If I choose to ignore this matter, then that is how it's going to be. Don't give me an excuse to make a ship-wide statement about the real reason Commander Styles attacked you and then rescind my security protection when the hordes of outraged Starfleet officers come hunting for you, and trust me, rape tends to do that to people."

Lemar's face turned a shade paler Chris noticed, as he was clearly unprepared for Chris making a threat of that nature. However, he was not a man about to allow another the upper hand, especially another who was not of Cardassian extraction as he was. "You do not scare me, Captain," Lemar said after he composed himself enough to respond. "We both know at this moment I am in a position to demand quite a bit since I hold considerably important information regarding the mission. I am certain Starfleet will induce you to give me whatever I demand. If I require your protocol officer served to me on a platter for my evening's pleasure, you will have no choice but to comply if you wish my cooperation."

Chris grabbed him by the throat and shoved him against the treatment bed before the Gul could even think to attack. Glaring at him with calculating eyes, Chris kept his grip firm as his fingers tightened around the man's neck despite Lemar's best efforts to pry his digits loose.

"Don't overestimate your importance to the mission," Chris said with perfect calm that belied his present actions. "A planet with tri-nucleic fungus tends to stick out and we know this area of space pretty well, while you have only guessed as to where it might be. As for my protocol officer, if you so much as look at her cross-eyed, I will break every bone in your body. Do we understand each other Gul Lemar?"

"Perfectly," the man scowled, unable to do much else in the face of such a threat.

The Captain released him and stepped away from Lemar who sat up, rubbing his throat in discomfort, giving Chris a hate-filled glare as he withdrew. Chris had no doubt in his mind that Lemar wanted to kill him, would have done so if not for the circumstances they presently found themselves in. However, there was something deeper at work here, something that alerted Chris’s s instincts to trouble even though he could not imagine in what shape that peril might appear. Lemar's eyes were not just filled with anger and restraint but also calculation, making the Captain somewhat anxious even though he did not know why.

"When you are ready to leave," Chris turned away and started towards the door of sickbay, wishing this creature out of his sight for the moment. "I'll have Lieutenant Travis show you to your quarters and for your safety, I've assigned two security men who will accompany you everywhere. You have free run of my ship Gul, but I expect you will feel safer if my men kept an eye on you."

Lemar swallowed hard, obviously disliking the fact this inferior had put him very properly in his place. However, he had one card left to play and he was going to do so with relish. Before Chris could get out of earshot, Lemar suddenly spoke.

"She was very enjoyable you know," Lemar spoke up with a cruel sneer. "Of all my charges at that rape camp as you called it, Styles was my special project. I enjoyed taking her repeatedly. There is nothing more satisfying than allowing yourself the pleasure of thrusting into hot, tight flesh, especially when it's begging you to stop. It only made the thrill all the more worthwhile."

Chris paused for a second and knew Lemar was saying this just to get some measure of revenge upon him for their earlier confrontation. Forcing the emotions of outrage away as he listened to this sick bastard describe in such vivid detail, the pleasure he wrought from Alex at the expense of her sanity and her self-respect, he knew he was not to about to be baited. Ignoring the words, Chris continued his journey out of the room, reminding himself when this was all over, he would derive similar pleasure when he threw the son of a bitch into the brig and left him to rot.

******

There was only one place Vin Tanner wanted to go after his shift had ended and that was to see Alex. He spent what was possibly the longest tour of duty on the bridge, thinking of nothing else but how the woman he cared for so deeply was faring. The ship was buzzing with rumors about Alex's outburst and while only the senior command crew knew the truth, Vin was sure not even they had any real understanding of what Alex endured. While he himself had no idea about the specifics, there was not a shred of doubt in his mind Alex was brutally assaulted during her stay in that Cardassian prison. He only needed to hear her speak about the camps to know she was telling her tale from personal experience.

Chris was absent from the bridge most of the time Vin had been at the Con, probably because the Captain was forced to deal with the fallout of what had happened. Buck seemed to shift uncomfortably in the command chair as if he was just as anxious as Vin to know what was happening. As the first officer, Buck worked most closely with Alex and though he constantly complained she had not succumbed to his charms, everyone on the bridge knew Buck enjoyed his friendship with Alex, specifically because it was not sexual. On occasion, Buck would come up to Vin and ask in a low voice if Alex was all right when Vin had left the science officers in her quarters.

It felt like his shift would never end as the tension of worry ran throughout the bridge for the next several hours, considerably lengthened by Chris and Josiah's discussion a short time before Vin's duty was to end. Judging by the stern expression on the Counselor's face, Vin guessed the man was upset about Alex's behavior. As it was, the rest of the bridge was expecting Chris to make the announcement Alex would be relieved of duty and while all of them hated the idea, there could be no other alternative for the Captain. However, the announcement did not eventuate which only served to deepen their curiosity.

Josiah and Chris who had always been on good relations with each other seemed openly at odds over something and whatever it was, Vin was certain Alex was at the heart of it. The helmsman left the bridge at the end of his shift, not even bothering to return to his own quarters, making a beeline for Alex. Chris ordered security guards to keep her in her quarters after Vin had deposited her there, following her attack of Gul Lemar in Four Corners. A part of him applauded her actions towards the man.

Anyone who would treat another human with such intense degradation ought to be killed for the animal they were. Another part of him wanted to march down to Sick Bay and tear Lemar limb from limb for bringing so much pain to Alex. Lemar was the cause of all the wounds Vin sensed in Alex during their unintentional mind meld some weeks ago. There was such a black pit of hurt Vin could not even begin to fathom the violence and horror that must have created it.

When he reached her quarters, he noted the security men were gone which only added to his confusion. He was certain Chris would have kept the guard there and decided he did not care one way or another as long as Alex was all right. Reaching for the door panel, the soft chiming that followed swiftly engendered a response.

"Go away."

Vin was not about to do that.

"Alex it's me."

There was a moment of hesitation before he heard her answer again. "Come in."

Letting out a sigh of relief and having the sense to know it was an invitation, only he was privileged enough to receive, Vin did not waste any time entering through the doors as soon as they slid open to receive him. He stepped into the dimly lit room and could not hide his surprise at the destruction that similarly astonished Chris Larabee a short time ago. Vin's eyes swept over the ruined belongings and furniture in the room and to his surprise had to confess to seeing a similar scene to this when he once lost his temper and went on a rampage of equal intensity.

"Holy shit."

"I know, I know," Alex sighed and immediately drew his attention to her when he followed her voice and gazed upon her as she lay on her bed, hugging a pillow. "I lost my temper."

Vin approached the edge of the bed and looked down at her.

"No kidding." He said as he sat down on the edge surveying the destruction before him. Despite himself, Vin had to admire her ability to be extremely thorough and thought only he was capable of such chaos when his Vulcan passions got the better of him.

"You okay?" He turned his gaze away from the wreckage and looked at her.

"Yeah, I decided not to kill him." She said in a small voice and did not sound like a Starfleet officer at all but like a little girl making a rather troubling confession.

Vin nodded and responded with a smile, becoming accustomed to the idea of seeing her so vulnerable. It was usually the other way around and the nature of their relationship always had her being his moral support. "That's good to know. What changed your mind?"

"The Captain," Alex whispered softly, wiping the tears from her eyes since she had been obviously crying. "He told me I had too much to live for to sacrifice my life because of that bastard."

Wherever he was, Vin offered a silent note of thanks to the Captain, saving him the trouble of trying to use that same argument as was his intention when he had sought Alex out. Chris Larabee could be a hard-nosed son of a bitch, but Vin could say with absolute confidence that as a friend capable of coming to one's aid when it was needed, there was no one who could be more reliable than the Captain of the Maverick. Vin was glad Chris was able to convince Alex to consider another path and reminded himself to thank the Captain personally.

"He's right," Vin remarked and moved further up the bed so that he could see her face to face. Alex did not seem to mind his presence as Vin nestled next to her and they lay side by side staring at each other. "You do have a lot to live for. I couldn't imagine this ship without you."

"I close my eyes and I see him sometimes," Alex blinking tears away as she explained. "I have dreams that make me so scared, I don't know what to do and I thought if I killed him, I could make it all go away."

"It doesn't," Vin shook his head slowly. "Just makes it stay with you longer except you got another set of dreams to go with the ones you already have. I don't want that for you."

Alex reached for him and let her palm caress his cheek gently. "You make things so clear for me sometimes, how do you do that?"

Vin held her hand against his skin, savoring the silkiness of her palm and thinking he was at his best when he was with her. Somehow, all the insecurities of his life seemed to fade away when he was with Alex. Before her, only Chris Larabee and the rest of the seven made him feel so apart of something special. Vin had the inkling with Alex he was forming a bond almost as deep as his camaraderie with the men he served with and called his friends. He did not know why his heart felt so alive inside his chest when he was with her, only aware it did. Each time she smiled and touched him; his soul seemed to soar as magnificently as the ship he flew through the infinity of space.

"Because you make it clear for me." He replied and saw her eyes melt with emotion.

"I won't ever let him hurt you, Alex." Vin held her hand tighter, intermingling his fingers between hers as he held her hand. "You have no reason to feel bad because of what he did. I know that doesn't take away the pain or the hell you've been through since, but it's the truth. You're the victim and you have the right to feel pain. No one said you have to be that strong and no one said you had to do it alone." He paused a moment as he summed up the courage to say the right words. "You never have to worry about being alone, darling. Ever."

Alex smiled a little. "Darling? You only call me that when we're in that silly holo-program."

"Yeah," his eyes lit up with the same amusement. "Just like you call me cowboy."

Suddenly Alex reached over and kissed him, cutting off anything else he was going to say with one sharp intake of breath. For a moment Vin had no idea what to do as he felt her lips brushing against his, her tongue gently slipping into his mouth. He had no idea what to do and could say little in protest until he felt her running her fingers through his hair as she pulled him closer. The scent of her body had changed, it felt electric somehow and seemed to fill all his senses. She became his entire world as he felt her lips exploring his mouth tentatively and felt something extremely satisfying about feeling her so close.

Then just as suddenly as it had begun, Alex pulled away and was mortified by her behavior.

"Oh God Vin I'm sorry." She gasped, unable to believe she had put him in such an awkward position, not to mention embarrassing. It was just at that moment, she needed to feel him close, needed to feel his strong arms around her and that train of thought led her to this wholly unacceptable situation. "I don't know what came over me," she rolled over, her cheeks burning with humiliation and Alex wondered if it was possible for things to get any worse.

For an instant, she allowed herself to succumb to the needs of her physical body, to the deep cravings ignored during the past three years, each time she thought of making physical contact with a man, before being revisited by memories of her ordeal. Vin was the first man who was able to make her forget enough to do something about it and yet it seemed so terribly wrong to force him into this position when he could not reciprocate. Had Lemar not taken enough from her she was so disconnected she felt almost nothing but the torture of memory, for him to rob her of any chance to make herself forget with someone else?

"I am so sorry." She started to weep and rolled away, unable to face him.

Vin felt bewildered but he was not angry. He was chagrined he could not respond in the way she needed because feeling her so close was something he always enjoyed, and Vin wanted to make her feel good. He never wanted her to turn away from him and reacted the only way he could think of to make things better. Sliding his arm around her waist, he pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her as they spooned comfortably against each other. It surprised him how well she molded against him and as he buried his face in her hair and whispered softly in her ear, Vin marveled at how right it all felt.

"It’s okay," he said softly, amazed by his ability at knowing what to do. "I didn't mind."

It was the truth. He always liked it when she touched him and although a human male would have been reduced to gibberish by now at the attention of such a beautiful woman, Vin's inability to experience sexuality, allowed him to appreciate the intimacy of the moment beyond the physical act. It truly was a melding of souls.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You didn't," he shook his head gently. "You made me feel privileged and honored you chose me."

Alex leaned into his body, enjoying how he felt against her and feeling her apprehension and embarrassment melt away with his arm draped over her waist.

"Don't you know I love you, you jerk," she said with a little smile. "I wouldn't choose anyone else." She let out a deep sigh and felt the weariness in her bones starting to catch up with her now she was in such a safe and warm place.

Vin continued to hold her in his arms, allowing her to fall asleep in his embrace. When she finally drifted into slumber, he remained at her side for most of the night, holding her and delighting in the heat of her body pressed up against his. Vin decided heaven must be a place where he could fall asleep with her scent in his lungs. He also knew he would never again know another night where he would not lie in his bed without wanting Alex lying there next to him, just as she was now.

Alex knew nothing of this except she was safe and for the first time in too long, she did not dream.

The first briefing where Gul Lemar was required to make his appearance was one of great consternation to those who were present. Even though Chris had told Alex she was not required to be here, the Science Officer stated quite firmly there were some things she had to stomach while the Cardassian was on board and it appeared this was one of them. As she sat in her customary position at the table with both Vin Tanner and Buck Wilmington flanking her almost as if they were both ready to run to her defense at a moment’s notice, she did not meet her tormentor in the eye. If anything, she looked everywhere else but at the Gul.

The mood was somber with everyone at the table aware of what the man was to Alex and could view him as nothing else, not even an ally when the imagery of rape camps and brutality was so prevalent in their thoughts. Chris recalled what Lemar said about Mary and kept the protocol officer in reach at all times. Even though logic dictated there was no possibility of the man trying to harm her before an entire room full of people, the manner in which he had requested Mary be made an offering remained imprinted in Chris’s s mind.

"You’re all aware of the present situation," Chris began the meeting, deciding to get down to business. Despite their personal feelings towards the Cardassian, there was still a mission ahead of them, one of great importance that could not be viewed with anything but their complete attention. "The Dominion believes there is a planet in the frontier capable of sustaining tri-nucleic fungi, the key ingredient to producing Ketracel White. Unless we find it first and protect it from the Dominion, the Founders will have an unlimited supply of White to feed their Jem’Hadar warriors. This information comes to us courtesy of Gul Lemar whom I have requested be present at this meeting so we can fully assess the danger we will be facing." Chris glanced in the Cardassian’s direction and gestured for him to begin.

"Thank you, Captain Larabee," Lemar said smoothly, keeping his eyes trained on Alex most of all because he knew his presence bothered her and he enjoyed making her uncomfortable, even now. "As you know, I was stationed on Cardassia Prime following my government's alliance with the Dominion. Since I was one of the few who publicly opposed the idea of such a move on the part of Cardassia, I was given a low-level posting and was watched carefully by the Obsidian Order."

"The Obsidian Order no longer exists," Ezra Standish spoke up immediately. He did not trust this man, not simply because he found the Cardassian to be personally offensive, but his manner gave the security chief reason to be concerned.

Like Section 31 of the Federation and the Tal Shiar of the Romulan Empire, the Obsidian Order was the Cardassian version of covert intelligence. Unlike Section 31 whose existence was still a rumor no one could substantiate, there was no denying the fearsome presence of the Obsidian Order during its time. Its ability to strike terror into the hearts of those who came into its sphere of influence was unparalleled, just as anyone who encountered the Order had reason to regret it if they lived long enough.

"According to my sources on DS9," Ezra continued. "The bulk of the Obsidian Order was wiped out when they joined forces with the Tal Shiar and attempted to lead an attack against the Dominion before the alliance was struck." The security chief wore a mask of iron as he made that statement, allowing no one, save perhaps those closest to him to have any idea he was doing any more than just his job.

Lemar who was not so foolish as to know he was being suspected of a good deal more than just defection, sidestepped the question easily enough. "There are still some left. Gul Dukat our illustrious leader still does not quite trust the Founders completely and the issue of my loyalty is an internal matter that has nothing to do with the Dominion alliance."

"I stand corrected," Ezra said with a little smile but knew the thought had been planted into the minds of those around the table and from now on, they would be viewing the man with more than just revulsion, but also caution. "Please continue."

"Thank you," Lemar gave him a look that was next to murderous. "As I was saying, I knew the Obsidian Order was watching me closely so I could not make my move. The alliance between the Cardassian people and the Dominion is not really an alliance as Dukat would have us believe. Even now as we pushed nearer to the end of the war, it appears we are their foot soldiers nothing more."

"Tell us about the documentation." Chris urged, not wishing to hear a tirade about the once glorious reign of the Cardassian Empire. Besides, he did not want this meeting to drag on longer than usual. Already, he could see Alex trying very hard not to look at the man and considering how their last meeting had gone, he had to confess she was doing a rather admirable job of holding her temper in check. Still, Chris had no intention of tempting fate. "You said you discovered documentation indicating the Dominion believes there to be tri-nucleic fungi in this sector."

"Yes," Lemar nodded. "Those documents are in the hands of your Federation where they have been authenticated already so you do not need to question their validity." He made that statement looking Ezra right in the eye. "The information supposedly came from Founder spies who claim a stray report to the space registry from one of the ships traveling in this area, scanned a planet with geological traits similar to that of one which is capable of producing tri-nucleic fungus."

"It is possible," Alex made herself heard because this was her area of expertise and while she would rather be raked over coals than to agree with this bastard, she also remembered what Chris Larabee asked of her when she was prepared to throw her entire life away. Chris had kept her from making that disastrous decision and for that alone; she would not shirk her duty.

Besides, there was another reason why she was determined to maintain her focus even if the man before her was the cause of all her nightmares. Last night she slept the most peaceful night of her life since her ordeal as a Cardassian prisoner. She had done so because Vin held her for most of it, his strong arms keeping her safe from the demons inside her mind. This morning she woke up and found him still there, looking just as contented as she must have been in her sleep, leaving Alex the stronger for it. The memory of how safe it felt within his embrace made her realize she didn't want to throw what their friendship away by killing Lemar. It would only be allowing him another way to twist her life out of shape.

"Since we've been here," Alex continued to speak, ignoring the expression of mild surprise on Lemar's face as she corroborated this part of his story. The rest of the senior staff were relieved that the man's presence was not doing Alex any further harm as the Science Officer returned to some semblance of her former self. "We've kept this part of the sector relatively safe by patrolling what was previously uncharted space. Commercial ships can now move freely through the area without having to worry about getting into trouble when a galaxy class warship is guarding the main space lanes."

"As a result," Buck chimed in. "More territories are being charted, even without the official cartography we're undertaking."

"Exactly," Alex continued her momentum building as she explained, almost to the point of forgetting for an instant who was in the room with her. "It is possible one of these ships while registering their flight plans and log entries, as it is required by the spacing guild for private and commercial star travel, might have discovered this planet the Founders are searching."

"So, does this mean we're going to have to go through all these records?" Mary asked.

"Afraid so," Alex nodded. "I've got double shifts on a rotating basis, searching through the data we've accumulated since we've been out here. So far nothing yet but there's still a lot of ground to cover. It would help if we had more specific information."

"Yeah," Buck reaffirmed his support of that observation. "You got any more tricks to bring to the party, Gul Lemar?"

"I brought you what I know," he said stiffly, disliking being questioned especially by someone who was a former prisoner and whom by her actions had done irrevocable harm to his career in the Ninth Order. When she had first attacked him, he had not remembered who she was. Understandable of course, since his memories of her from that time, were a stark contrast to the reality of the moment, though not necessarily for the better. However, now that he knew who she was, his desire to make her pay for that trespass burned white hot. "The Dominion plans to launch a strike here, perhaps as early as in the next seven days. They intend to establish a foothold in one of the planets in the sector before beginning the search for the fungus."

"Is it true they will be coming with cloaked ships?" Julia Pemberton inquired because she was working with Ezra to formulate some kind of defensive perimeter that would alert them to the presence of such ships."

"I believe so," Lemar answered studying the redhead with interest and finding like the rest of the women at the table, she was just as pleasing. However, it was Styles he wanted and when the time came, perhaps even the Captain's woman. "There were rumors of a warbird being taken during one of the battles. The ship was intact, and I believed Vorta scientists were eager to examine its cloak. Considering how fast they work; it would not be unreasonable to assume they might have installed the feature in several Jem’Hadar warships for this engagement."

"Makes sense," Vin added. "If they go on silent running, they can move an entire fleet through Federation space without anyone having the least idea of them being there until they got to us."

"Yeah but we're still talking about a planet that is supposed to exist in theory." JD pointed out that fact and Chris had to admire the youth for doing so because until the location of this world was determined, their plans for defense would be disjointed.

"I seriously doubt the Dominion would launch an expedition like this, through enemy territory to chase a phantom." Ezra declared. "The Jem’Hadar are formidable, and they are not stupid."

"Perhaps desperate is the correct word." Josiah Sanchez remarked. The Counselor had remained silent most of this time, wishing to be present even though he could not offer much to a Council of war as this meeting was. He was here for Alex and while he disagreed with Chris’s  s assertions, he could not find himself to abandon a crewmember who might still need his assistance. While he chose to be a counselor to Alex Styles from a distance, he was still nonetheless watching over her welfare like a hawk. "They must be running low on their supplies of White. If they've turned to the Breen for assistance and are preparing to make a run through Federation space on the basis of a ship's log, then their strength isn't what we originally thought."

"Josiah's right," Nathan agreed. "When they first showed up, they didn't need anyone's help. When Ben Sisko caused the aliens to shut down the wormhole and they lost access to the White, suddenly they were needing allies. First, the Cardassians and then they launched a non-aggression pact with the Romulans and when that collapsed, quickly found new allies in the Breen."

"I would not underestimate the Dominion," Lemar spoke up. He apparently did not like the idea of thinking the Dominion had come to Cardassia only to use them as a substitute for the lack of white. The notion was outrageous. The Cardassian Empire was not the replacement for a drug. "Desperate or not, they have established a foothold in your territories."

"True," Chris agreed, not about to deny that but not about to allow the Cardassian to drag the Federation through the mud when his own race's record with the Dominion was no less stellar. "However, a foothold in Federation space is better than the chokehold they have around Cardassia Prime."

Lemar's eyes narrowed in barely concealed hatred and suddenly Chris saw the same thing Ezra did but with greater accuracy. Suddenly, Lemar reminded him of a cobra waiting in its basket, dancing the tune of the snake charmer when required but all the while waiting in the shadows to strike. Suddenly, Chris wondered if there was reason to worry about the danger out there when there was very good reason to fear the one within, more specifically one at the table with them.

Mary who was used to pregnant pauses when two opposing factions had come to a stone wall such as this, immediately spoke up as it was her duty to do as protocol officers. "Gentlemen, we are here for a reason and time is short," she reminded them both gently as both Chris and Lemar continued to eyeball each other.

"Right," Chris cleared his throat and continued to stare at Lemar.

The Cardassian was not about to jeopardize his standing on the ship just yet and broke contact first. "As usual Lieutenant," he smiled at her with sickly sweet charm. "You are right. We have a long way to go before we can ever be considered allies but for the moment, let us cooperate in the spirit of mutual need."

Alex noticed the way he was looking at Mary and immediately felt her skin crawl. For a moment the look of him was so familiar, Alex thought she was going to be sick. She thanked God her coloring made it difficult to see she was ashen with disgust and closed her eyes ever so slightly as she swallowed the bile crawling up her throat. How many times had he looked at her the same way before he...?

She felt Vin's hand tighten over hers under the table and looked up at him.

While everyone else was watching the furious eye contact between Gul and Captain, only Vin noticed how much she was struggling to rein in her emotions. Vin was so proud of Alex, how she managed to stay centered on the mission instead of letting the trauma of Lemar's presence hurt her any more than it already had. He himself looked across the table and found it difficult to keep his own anger in check. Each time, Vin thought of this animal touching Alex, using her in the way he had, destroying everything about her that could feel with his brutality, Vin wanted to tear him apart. However, he forced himself to keep control because if Alex could, then so could he.

"Alright," Chris decided he had just about enough of this for the time being. The tension levels in the room were escalating beyond acceptable limits and he wanted Lemar to be out of his sight and that of Alex before things reached breaking point. "Let's call it a day. I want a status briefing tomorrow morning for a progress report on the state of our operational readiness to face the Dominion. Alex, Starfleet had downloaded the Gul's entire report into the main computer, so you will be able to peruse the subject."

"Thank you, Sir," Alex replied, always keeping her eyes trained on anywhere but on Lemar. Chris had the feeling she was maintaining her control because of her ability to do that. He would not make it any more difficult for her than necessary.

With that, Chris dismissed the meeting and took it as a sign of good timing because Alex was the first one to leave the room.

******

"You okay?" Vin asked as he caught up with her a little further down the corridor from the briefing room. Alex paused and waited for him, taking a moment to catch her breath as he approached. Her heart was pounding as if she had been running a marathon and although she still was shaken, Alex had surprised herself by her ability to remain calm. For the first time since Chris offered her his solution to the problem of Gul Lemar being on this ship, Alex felt as if she might be able to abide by it and get through this nightmare.

"Yeah," she nodded somewhat surprised by her answer. "I think I am."

"Good," Vin said with a little smile. "You know I ain't gonna be too far if you need me, right?" He looked into her eyes as he made that statement. Suddenly, he thought of how she looked when she slept in his arms and knew he wanted all her nights to be like that.

"Alex, how are you holding up?" Julia Pemberton's voice broke through the tender moment and the chief engineer walked up to them, her radiant features full of concern.

"I'm okay," Alex responded and once again, was able to see what Chris was so determined she understood. She had friends who would help her through this. Even if she did not want their help, it was good to know she was not alone. "As long as he stays away from me, I won't have the urge to kill him."

"Poor Mary has to put up with that jerk," Julia muttered glancing down the corridor where Mary and Ezra were engaged in conversation with Lemar while Josiah seemed to stay close by as if he was observing Lemar like the Gul was some kind of specimen the Counselor had never seen before.

"Just make sure she's not alone with him." Alex found herself saying as she turned her gaze away from Lemar, unable to keep looking at him. The sight of him made her skin crawl and the notion Mary would have to grease the wheels of diplomacy between the Gul and the captain was one task Alex would not have wished upon anyone.

Both Julia and Vin stiffened at the suggestion because the thought never occurred to them Mary might be in danger, even though that they considered it more deeply, they realized the Captain had foreseen the possibility even if they had not. It explained why Ezra was remaining close to Mary during her dealings with Lemar and when he was not personally able to attend the situation himself, assigned security officers to take his place.

"He wouldn't dare," Vin said after a moment but he did not sound as sure as he liked.

"I need to get down to astrometics," Alex declared after a moment, deciding she needed to limit as much time as she could in Gul Lemar's presence and besides, the job at hand gave her mind something to think about, other than dismembering him limb from limb. "I have miles of data to go through to find this planet we're searching for."

"I know what you mean," Julia who was also the head of her own department could sympathize. "I've been working late shifts trying to boost power to the deflector shields, to the phasers, everything. I hope it’s gonna be enough."

"Won't matter much anyway," Vin remarked believing when the Jem’Hadar came, it would be in numbers. Even though he did not like to consider himself a pessimist, the helmsman was realistic. When the enemy arrived, it would be in force and all the preparations they were making now would do little in defense against that threat. The only way the Maverick was going to survive an encounter with a Jem’Hadar fleet was to find the planet in question and start screaming at Starfleet for all the reinforcements that could be sent after them. However, Vin did not voice that to either Julia or Alex who was more than aware of what could happen to them if they fell into enemy hands. "We're gonna find the planet before we ever run into the Dominion." He said with a smile of confidence he was unaware Alex could see straight through by now.

However, Vin need not have worried about that because soon he was confronted with a larger problem. Once the Captain and the rest of the senior staff dispersed, only Lemar, Mary, and Ezra were still in the hallway. During his conversation with Alex and Julia, the Gul had gotten it into his head to approach them. Mary was two steps behind him while Ezra held back, doing nothing which somewhat surprised the Vulcan because Ezra was just as aware of the history between Alex and Lemar as the rest of them. However, Ezra had been in quiet observation of the Gul throughout the briefing and when time permitted, Vin was going to ask him why. For the moment, however, he had bigger problems.

"Commander Styles." Lemar's sickly voice penetrated Alex's consciousness as she looked up and saw him staring inches from her. Instinct tore her in two directions, the first being the need to step away and the second to react violently to his hated face before her.

"She ain't got nothing to say to you," Vin said immediately, placing an arm on the Gul's shoulder to drag him away if the man did not take the hint to leave.

Lemar was not afraid and he was not about to let her escape the sin of casting aspersions on his story during the briefing. "Oh, I'm sure that's not true. There was a time when we were very close indeed, weren't we Alex?"

Alex felt her stomach clench in rage as she whirled around and glared at him, almost speechless with his audacity to make that statement. "If you call being close meaning you raped me while I was tied up like an animal, I suppose we were." She managed to say, her breathing harsh and strained. A red haze was descending over her senses as she saw that damn leer on his face.

"Okay we're going," Julia took her arm and started towing her away before the situation escalated any further. The engineer would have personally liked to stick the man in her warp core but at the moment, she was more concerned about Alex's state of mind. Allowing Vin to handle the Cardassian and taking note of Ezra's approach in the background, Julia forced Alex to turn away and began ushering her down the corridor hastily.

"Come now," Lemar called after her with triumph. "You weren't always tied up and towards the end, you were rather enjoying it!"

"That's it," Vin dragged him off in a different direction with the Cardassian being able to do very little to prevent his forced removal against Vulcan strength. "Mary, help Julia get Alex out of here please?" He ordered her and the blond protocol officer could only nod.

Alex's expression was ashen when Julia had forced her around and Vin could imagine the horror and humiliation she must have endured at the hands of this bastard, and the same nightmare she was going through now. Lemar's words had very little effect on Vin's opinion about Alex's incarceration because he had been in her mind once and knew nothing experienced was at all enjoyable. She was broken into a thousand pieces because of what this Cardassian had done to her and no vile words spoken by the man could ever convince Vin otherwise.

"Vin don't hurt him." Mary pleaded even though she felt the man richly deserved it. However, there were bigger issues at stake at the moment. The safety of the Federation depended on this soulless creature who had loyalties to no one except himself she was sure.

"I won't hurt him," Vin said sharply, still glaring at the Cardassian who appeared very unrepentant as the Vulcan urged Mary to go after Alex and Julia who were almost to the turbo lift. He wanted Alex away from this animal as Ezra finally reached them and grabbed the Gul's other arm and aided Vin in keeping the man restraint, at least until Alex was gone. Unfortunately, their guest was not done with his barbs yet.

"Maybe you can look me up while I'm on board Commander," he threw Vin a nasty grin as he was hauled in the other direction. "I'm sure we can get better reacquainted." He sniggered loudly as the turbo lift opened and saw Mary and Julia driving Alex into the small space. The woman was staring at him with nothing less than agony and dismay and he achieved some measure of vindication, even though it was not nearly enough as far as he was concerned. However, such tallies could be left for the moment until it was time to make the final accounting.

"I would suggest you remain silent about now Gul." Ezra retorted as Vin dragged him back to the briefing room and shoved him inside. "My friend is not as restrained as the rest of us."

In truth, despite his words of support at Vin's desire for a little privacy, Ezra was keeping a close eye on the situation. Despite the Captain's threats to him, the Gul knew he was in a position of advantage because the Federation needed him, but it was apparent he was going to take great pleasure in tormenting Alex as he had once done in that hellish Cardassian prison. Ezra was duty bound to protect the man, but he was also under the same obligation to Alex and truth be known, Ezra was somewhat curious as to what the helmsman had in mind.

Once they were alone in the briefing room, Vin released the Gul and Ezra took his cue to do the same. The Gul seemed unafraid, perfectly aware they would not violate Chris’s s order that he was not to be harmed. The smug expression on his face as he stared directly at Vin however, amused Ezra to no end because all it would serve to do was force the helmsman to become more creative in his pursuit of satisfaction while at the same time, keeping faith with the Captain's standing policy.

"When you had your fill of her," the Gul continued to say, so certain of how Starfleet officers comported themselves, he was willing to derive some sadistic pleasure in his taunts. "You will understand." He said looking Vin straight in the eye, having guessed Vin's interest was personal.

"Sorry," Vin shrugged. "I don't have the equipment for it." The Vulcan said with an expression so neutral, it almost did Ezra proud. The security officer had chosen to remain out of the way for the moment, allowing Vin to deal with the Gul in his own way. "What I do have, is none of the Vulcan restraint and all their telepathic abilities, so when I tell you that you will stay away from Alex, I mean it. You go one foot near her, and I swear, you'll be regretting it until the day you die." The threat in Vin's voice was clear and one, not even the Gul could feign away as male posturing.

"You people need me, so let's not kid ourselves shall we, Lieutenant Tanner?"

Suddenly, Vin's hand was clenched under the man's cheekbones and Lemar let out a startled gasp. For a moment Ezra was not certain what was happening as Vin closed his eyes and let the man feel the invasion of his mind. Vin was not probing for deep thoughts, just causing enough unpleasantness for the Cardassian to know a telepathic link had been established. As the Gul's knees started to buckle under him, Ezra debated getting involved but held back because he knew Vin would not hurt him, at least Ezra thought he would not anyway.

"Listen to me Gul Lemar," Vin lowered his lips to the Gul's ear. "I don't have any of the disciplines other Vulcans do, so when I go roaming around your head, I don't necessarily know what I am doing, I could tear you inside out, leave you a gibbering wreck. The possibility is unlimited really of how much damage I can do to your mind so now I got your attention and you can feel me in there, you'll understand this clearly." Vin paused and glanced at Ezra long enough to give the security chief a little smile as well as assurance that while Gul Lemar would not be hurt by this experience, it would have a profound effect on how he regarded Alex for the duration of this mission.

"If you go near her, I will find you and I will go into your mind and shred every thought, every memory and everything that makes you sentient. By the time I am finished with you, what's left won't even have the motor skills to know which way is up or down, let alone be a Cardassian Gul of the Ninth Order. You made Alex beg to die because of what you did to her but I'm telling you, when I'm done with you, you won't even know what that word means."

With that, he released Lemar who dropped to the floor, gasping out loud from the words sent straight to his mind and showed him how real the intent had been to visit such a living death upon him. Vin straightened up and looked at Ezra. "You better take the Gul back to his quarters, Ez," Vin said with a cold smile. "He doesn't look too well."

Ezra stared at the Gul who was trying to pick himself up, saliva dribbling from his mouth and looking most disheveled after the bout of mental torture he just received. With a smirk that was typical Ezra Standish smugness, the security man looked at the Vulcan and said with a grin. "I am certain a Gul of the Ninth Order will recover."

"I'm sure he will." Vin agreed as he made his way towards the door. "At least until the next time."

Alex could not put her finger on it. Yet she could sense it as she examined the reports from the ship that found the planet upon which the Dominion was basing their entire invasion of the frontier. The facts surrounding the routine mission of the ship called the Morning Star could not be disputed. The vessel had made a trading run through a sector of space not very far from here and had conducted some preliminary scans. However, the information gathered was very nonspecific. While the characteristics of a planet capable of supporting the ecosystem for tri-nucleic fungi was possible from the information gathered by the Morning Star, there was also no conclusive evidence to justify the Dominion launching an attack of the magnitude they were planning.

For the first time since Gul Lemar had come on board the Maverick, Alex was worried about something else other than killing the Cardassian defector. This time, her suspicions were based on more than just her personal feelings. Putting down the data pads she had been examining with such deep scrutiny for most of the day, Alex eased back into her chair and glanced at the chronometer on the edge of her workbench. Following the briefing, she spent most of the day at this table inside astrometics, trying to find this elusive world Gul Lemar had sent them in search of.

In the floor of the astrometics lab, she could see other officers engaged in the same activity, studying the data they accumulated over their entire time on the Frontier, sifting through all the information to find one planet. It was almost like a needle in a haystack. How the Dominion had come to the same conclusion with such scant information was beyond Alex's comprehension. Her mind started to drift into what scientific assumptions they must have reached to make their deductions. Where did they find the time and fight a war as well?  Suddenly her ruminations reached a place she had not expected it to go and her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh shit!" She jumped out of her chair and hurried down the steps from her work area to the main floor of the lab.

"Everyone!" She hollered loudly, capturing their attention as her voice sliced abruptly through their concentration and captured their attention. "Stop what you are doing immediately!"

Lieutenant Charlotte Richmond with whom Alex was never on very good terms with, even if she was one of the best officers under her command in stellar cartography, was the first to speak. "Commander, we have been working on this for hours. We're nearing an answer."

"I know," Alex said pushing her personal feelings about Charlotte aside because the woman was right to question the order. "But trust me, all of you." She let her gaze sweep across the faces of her staff to show them she was deadly serious about what she was asking. "But I have a good reason for this. No one is to continue any work on this project until after I've seen the Captain."

Charlotte seemed skeptical but nodded in response and kick-started the others into obeying. Alex gave the lieutenant a silent nod of gratitude, knowing Charlotte would have much fodder for gossip once she left the room but thankful for the cooperation at this time. She hoped she was wrong but if she was not and what she suspected was the truth, then it would have been a realization that might save them, not destroy them.

With that Alex hurried out of the lab immediately, certain much would be said after she departed but not really caring. There was only one thing on her mind as she made her way towards the turbo lift at the end of the corridor and that was getting to the bridge. Her mind was whirling with possibilities, thinking how elegantly manipulative the Founders were capable of being. She could appreciate why the Dominion was so successful in its efforts at conquest over the Alpha Quadrant.

It did not take her long after her abrupt departure from the astrometics lab, to arrive on the bridge. Chris Larabee would be at his command chair and at this time of the day, almost all the senior staff would be present. Good, she thought to herself, if what she suspected was true then having them all present when she arrived would save a great deal of time. When the doors to the turbo lift slid open, Alex quickly stepped out and saw she was right. Almost everyone was on the bridge. Instinctively, all eyes turned to her as she made her appearance, which was hardly surprising since she had been somewhat scarce since the Gul had arrived on board the Maverick.

This time, however, Alex hardly gave it a second thought as she walked towards Chris who looked at her with concern, wondering what was so important, it warranted her presence on the bridge personally. Alex was not about to leave anyone in suspense, especially if she was right. If she was right, then they were in more trouble than they could possibly imagine.

"What is it, Alex?" Buck asked first.

"We need to stop searching for this planet immediately." Alex declared and with that one statement captured the undivided attention of everyone present as all eyes turned to her.

"Why?" Mary exclaimed while Chris was more interested in hearing the science officer out because she would not make such a statement without a very good reason.

"Because there is no planet." Alex paused in front of Chris and saw the skepticism in all their eyes as she made her astonishing statement. The only ones who did not look at her as if she was insane were Chris and Vin, mostly because they knew how much in control she was in despite the Gul's presence on board, playing havoc with her insides.

"How can there be no planet?" Mary declared. "The Gul..."

"Has probably been lied to, like all of us," Alex said firmly and stared at Chris as she began to explain because he would be perceptive enough to grasp the conclusion, she was attempting to bring them all to gradually. "At first, I couldn't understand how they could find a planet with the fungus when we couldn't. I mean we're out here, on the other side of the Alpha Quadrant. It seemed improbable."

"That might simply mean we weren't searching for it as hard as they were. Founder infiltrators had been found in Starfleet Headquarters, it's not unreasonable to assume they've been monitoring our log entries." Buck was always quick to present alternatives. As First Officer, he could do nothing else.

"I agree," Alex replied not about to dismiss Buck out of hand but aware that Chris was listening closely to both sides. Thus, she had to make her explanation of why Buck's suggestion could not be so that everyone would understand just how much trouble the Maverick was in at this moment. "However, we've charted literally hundreds of worlds since we've been in the frontier and not one of them showed a planet producing tri-nucleic fungus. Suddenly, on the basis of one man's word and some documents, we're expected to believe all the data we've accumulated is wrong, that we've missed something. Now we're turning over every corner of this part of space looking for what we've never previously encountered."

"I don't understand." Mary stared at her blankly. "If we're not wrong then how could this ship have found what it did?"

"I've scanned the data, the information in the Morning Star's reports are not extraordinary," Alex countered, having thought this out deeply before arriving here on the bridge to make her claim. "In fact, as a scientist, I find them rather generic. It could be a description of any planet that might match the conditions needed for tri-nucleic fungus. There is nothing to indicate the fungus can be found in great abundance. It just looks like a possibility, something to sweeten the pot."

"Sweeten the pot?" Suddenly Buck understood Alex was trying to say and he did not like one damn bit where that revelation was leading to.

Chris caught on even faster than his first officer and remained neutral even when he swore out loud. "Oh hell!"

Alex's words began to have greater impact than just some phantom planet, it made their situation at this moment extremely hazardous. "Ezra put us on yellow alert now!"

The security chief groaned out loud as he too grasped Alex's conclusion. He knew something was wrong! The minute that Gul came on board and Ezra stared into the man's eyes, he knew there was something amiss with the whole situation. No sooner than the captain had issued the order, the ship was screaming with klaxons indicating the situation on the Maverick had suddenly become critical.

"Will someone tell me what's happening?" Mary demanded, not familiar enough with military tactics to see the cleverly built cage they had been tricked into entering.

"They don't need to find the planet Mary," Vin took the liberty of explaining to his sometimes teacher. "They just need to follow us until we do."

"Oh my God." The protocol officer exclaimed and stared at the officers around her and realized why they were so panicked and why there were now amber lights were flashing all over the bridge to indicate the status of yellow alert.

"You mean the Gul came here to trick us into finding a planet with the ingredients to make White for them?" JD exclaimed. The ensign was still too new to appreciate their predicament and as he made his cry of understanding, there was almost outrage in his voice.

"Why not?" Chris responded for those who still had their doubts. "We all know the Dominion is getting cornered on all sides now the Romulans are in the war with the Federation and Klingons. The Cardassians have been used as cannon fodder ever since the alliance and their strength is not what it used to be. If anything, their numbers are rapidly dwindling. The Breen are powerful but so are the Klingons and the Federation and the Founders cannot create more Jem’Hadar warriors unless there is a supply of White to keep them hungry."

"It makes sense." Vin agreed immediately because Alex's deductions were tactically sound. "They can't come this far into Federation space without us knowing what they are looking for. Even with a cloaked ship, they're looking for a needle in a haystack and they can't assume that even on silent running we won't pick them on sensors."

"But what about Lemar?" Mary asked. "Is he a part of it?" The Gul seemed so sincere in his belief at what came past his desk was genuine. Even though he was an odious creature, to say the least, did his complicity extend so deep?

"I don't know," Alex shrugged. "Odds are he's not. It would be more convincing if he truly believed he was defecting to the other side with valuable information."

"All they would have to do then," Buck explained and this was the part that scared the hell out of him and made him sound the yellow alert. "Is to track him while he's on board the Maverick. If there's a planet out here with the fungus, then he'll be leading the Dominion straight to it."

"It's not that simple," Chris responded, now he knew what they were up against. "We don't have to lead them to it. We have all the available data on board the Maverick for the Dominion to find this planet if it exists themselves. Remember that no one else has charted this part of space in almost twenty years. If there is a planet out here containing the ingredient, for ketracel white, all they have to do is to get their hands on all the information we've accumulated."

"But the only way they could do that...." Buck started to say when it dawned on him. "Oh, Jesus."

"Is if they take the ship," Vin concluded and suddenly, no one on the bridge could breathe easily. For an instant, the silence was so pervading the sound of a pin dropping could have been heard if not for the screaming of the yellow alert klaxons across the ship

"We don't have days or weeks before they come after us," Chris continued to say. "Chances are, they're here already."

******

The small fleet of Jem’Hadar ships had been following the Maverick for some days now.

They sat in the darkness of space, concealed within an illusion of refracted light and duranium fields. The cloak felt odd to them, but the Jem’Hadar were used to adapting quickly to new situations and this was no different than any other. As a race, they had no history. No songs that were sung. No tales were spoken around the campfires of those who came before. They only had religion and for that, they would kill and be killed because dying for their gods could not be a terrible death. The Founders were their gods, the ones who gave them life and if it required them to live as a soulless race without heart, except in the spirit of the kill, then so be it.

For the Jem’Hadar had been bred to be nothing else.

"Sir," the Jem’Hadar warrior manning the sensor array broke the silence on board the bridge of the Romulan warbird Tasmeem, addressing the Vorta commander presiding over the small invasion fleet, keeping the Maverick under surveillance for days now. "The Maverick just switched to yellow alert.

The Vorta considered the news. Starships did not go to yellow alert without very good reason. "Do they appear to be in any imminent danger?"

"No Sir," the Jem’Hadar shook his head in response. "All operations were nominal until a few seconds ago. They switched to yellow alert for no discernible reason we can tell."

"It is possible they may have discovered us," the Vorta said unhappily.

"We have been careful to remain out of their extreme sensor range," the warrior countered. He did not believe it was possible they might have made some navigational error allowing the Maverick to detect the presence of the small fleet of Jem’Hadar and Cardassian warships, led by a Romulan warbird. "There is no reason for them to suspect we are here."

The Vorta did not speak for a few seconds, aware of the duplicity employed by some starship captains. After almost two years of fighting the forces of the Alpha Quadrant, the Dominion had come to understand that one did not at any point, underestimate a starship captain. Such mistakes were costly. Those who wore captain's gold were a special breed and were the most formidable commanders on the field of the Dominion War. Unlike the Klingons who were brutalizers or the Romulans whose ruthlessness lacked imagination, the commander of a starship was never predictable and the intelligence regarding one Chris Larabee gave the Vorta reason to be cautious. Possessing a brilliant tactical mind, the Captain of the Maverick was not only ruthless but also imaginative and brutal if required. He was a man of great flexibility. Therefore, when the expedition to take Chris Larabee's ship had been mounted; the Vorta had opted to proceed with extreme caution.

The need for the White made failure a non-issue. Unless more Jem’Hadar warriors could be created, there was an astonishing possibility the Dominion might be defeated and to the Vorta, it was sacrilege. They had searched far and wide for some evidence of tri-nucleic fungus in this sector of space and so far, none had been detected. They were becoming desperate and the frontier facing the distant space of the Delta Quadrant seemed like the last hope of finding what they needed. No other ship in the Federation had the information contained in the Maverick and the only other way to acquire it would be to launch a full-scale attack on Earth, which was obviously impossible.

For the moment anyway.

In the meantime, the Maverick was the Dominion's last chance of replenishing its dwindling supplies of the White. Without it, the Jem’Hadar would go insane and turn upon themselves in an expression of genocide in which there were no words to describe. Without the Jem’Hadar, the Dominion had no army and there would be no war. The plan to take the Maverick was desperate but then desperation of the plan had just enough insanity in its methodology to work.

"Get me Gul Kumaris." The Vorta ordered the warrior once again.

"Yes, Sir." The Jem’Hadar answered obediently even though the Vorta was a species as subservient to the Founders as they were. Where the Jem’Hadar had been created to fight, the Vorta had been cloned to serve the Founders as its commanders.

After a few seconds, the harsh looking face of a Cardassian Gul appeared on the screen before the Vorta, looking impatient as all Cardassians did with any race other than their own. However, the Cardassians had learned much about humility lately and were perfect for the needs of the Dominion as foot soldiers, although they seemed to be under the misconception they were equals. Still, that particular error in judgment would be corrected at the proper time in the future, after the Dominion had taken the Alpha quadrant.

"I gather you have noticed the Maverick is now on yellow alert." The Gul said not expecting the Vorta to discuss anything else.

"Yes, I have," the Vorta remarked. "What do you make of it?"

"I think we have been discovered," the Gul guessed accurately. "There is no reason for them to go to yellow alert. There are no indications of any kind of spacial phenomenon and there is no other ship in the area to provoked them into this action."

"I was afraid of that," the Vorta sighed. "Well, it matters little anyway. It is a little sooner than I expected but not completely disastrous."

"Hardly," the Gul agreed with the Vorta wholeheartedly on this point. "We outnumber them ten to one and the nearest starship is almost two days away. By the time a distress signal reaches Starfleet, we would have done what we set out to do."

"My feelings exactly," the Vorta conceded. "Drop your cloak and order your ships to intercept on my mark. We shall take the Maverick now."

"Drop the cloak?" The Cardassian said uneasily. "They'll see us."

The Vorta raised his eyes to meet the Gul's with a little smile. "So?"

******

Perimeter alert!" Ezra Standish exclaimed the minute the console started flashing in angry red colors. On the previously benign screen a moment ago, at least ten different energy signatures appeared out of extreme sensor range and were closing in rapidly on the Maverick. What had been a theoretical discussion only a few minutes before about the presence of the enemy lying in wait for them suddenly became a terrifying reality. It was a suspicion no one was happy to see prove right.

"How many ships?" Chris Larabee asked coolly, a stark contrast to the security chief's excited voice. In the background, Chris heard Buck ordering the ship to red alert while the rest of the senior staff immediately hurried to their stations if they were not there already.

Ezra studied the console screen before him and took a deep breath before responding. "Ten ships."

The air went silent with that statement. No one spoke for a few seconds as the announcement hung over them before it registered in its entirety. Once it was absorbed, however, the bridge of the Maverick moved into action with amazing speed as officers began preparations from every station for what was going to be coming at them.

"What are we talking about here?" Buck asked as the red alert klaxons began flashing across the bridge, signaling the Maverick's escalation in alert status. Alex hurried to her position by the science station while JD began sending out the customary distress signal to Starfleet Command. Whether or not those signals would do them any good was something they would not know until after the battle was done.

"One Romulan Warbird - Raptor class." Ezra began the inventory of ships converging upon the Maverick like carrion on a carcass.

Raptor class. Chris took it in silently. The Romulans had built those vessels to take on Galaxy-class starships. "What else?"

"Four Jem’Hadar warships." Ezra continued, hiding the tension in his voice though everyone who knew him with any depth heard it. "Five Cardassian heavy battle cruisers."

"Jesus," Vin whispered under his breath.

"How long until intercept range?" Chris asked not looking at anyone. He was seated on his command chair, his palms pressed together and bouncing lightly off his lips as if he were contemplating the options before them. His crew needed to know he had them or else this was not going to be a battle but a slaughter. He did not need to look at the faces around him to know there was real fear in the air but fear in the air did not translate to blood in the water. They were not done yet, not by a long shot because one thing was for certain and on this point, Chris was absolute and intractable.

No one was taking his ship.

"Ten minutes," Ezra answered. "They will intercept us in ten minutes."

Chris tapped his com badge so he could address the entire ship with his next statement, not just the bridge officers in the room with him. He glanced at Mary and offered her a silent promise she could see in his eyes; he would not allow any harm to come to her. Mary reached for his hand on the armrest and squeezed it warmly before she took a deep breath and nodded for him to continue.

"All hands," Chris spoke up, paralyzing everyone on the ship with his voice. "Battle stations."

Okay, he admitted it. Things were looking pretty bad.

Around him, Klaxons were screaming for a number of reasons. First and foremost because Chris had placed the ship under red alert status. This meant everyone on board the vessel, now knew there was danger. Fortunately, the nature of this mission from its onset had prepared the crew and the civilians, for what to do in the advent of such an emergency. Drills were conducted over the past few days, which saw to it that no one would be at a loss over where they should be during an attack like this. Even though Chris could not see them, he knew at this moment, Josiah and Nathan were taking care of those formalities even as they spoke.

Inside the bridge, everything was bathed in colors of red as emergency lighting dimmed for the coming battle. Whether it was an effort to conserve power or some other tactic devised by Starfleet shipbuilders, Chris could not be certain. All he could be sure of was the fact the sensors were screaming at the large body of ships on present intercept course. Long range scanners had pinpointed the ships the minute they dropped their shields and began converging upon the lone galaxy class ship. Across the bridge, the tension was so thick, it could be sliced through with a knife, but no one made any comment. They were all too busy with their own jobs to worry about the enemy fleet.

Ten minutes seemed like an eternity when the Maverick was facing what was coming at them at warp speed.

"Engineering," Chris said opening a com channel to that particular deck. "Come in."

"Pemberton here Sir," Julia's voice responded and behind Chris, Ezra reacted long enough to look up before he returned his attention back to the crisis at hand.

"I want you to put all power to our shields, reinforce them if you like but I want every spare gigaquad of energy diverted. Power down unoccupied decks if you have to but get me every bit you can. We're going to have to keep our shields up at all costs. If I know the strategy, they will try to board us. We have to keep that from happening."

There was a brief pause as he waited for her to answer. "Just like the Rutherford Sir, I'll give you everything we've got."

Chris allowed himself a little smile, remembering that young lieutenant who kept his ship together long enough for him to help Picard defeat the Borg. Thanks to Julia Pemberton's ingenuity and sheer determination in Engineering, the Rutherford had fought her last battle with honor and distinction. Chris hoped it would not come to that with the Maverick.

"Understood," Chris answered. "Good luck Lieutenant."
"To all of us Sir," Julia responded automatically. "Pemberton out."

"Buck," Chris turned to his first officer who was conferring with JD at the communications station. "How are we going getting a distress signal through?"

"As anticipated," Buck looked over his shoulder long enough to respond. "They're jamming us on normal subspace. JD and I are trying to piggyback a signal on a tachyon burst. It will take a little longer to get to Starfleet but at least it will be able to get through their jamming net."

"I'll take what I can get," Chris replied and asked loudly. "How much time do we have?"

"Four minutes," Alex answered.  She had taken on the duties of monitoring the sensor array since Ezra was now required at the tactical station. He was not only coordinating his security people to get the civilians to safety but also ensuring should the Jem’Hadar attempt to board the Maverick; they would be ready. On top of all of this, he would soon be required to man the ship's arsenal when the attack finally came.

"Ezra," Chris swiveled around in his chair and faced the security officer. "I want a security detail to find Gul Lemar and put him in the brig. I wouldn't want him to make any separate deals when the fun starts." The Captain said with clear menace in his voice. He had no idea how far Lemar's complicity went but Chris wanted him out of the way where he could be of no further aggravation in the situation that was impending.

"Gladly," Ezra responded with a little smile, exchanging a look with Alex and feeling inwardly perhaps the day would not turn out so badly after all.

"Vin," Chris faced front again, running through all the preparations he had to make in those four minutes and knew it would never really be enough. "I want you to start plotting an escape route for us in case we have to make a run for it. We'll take on as many of them as we can but we're not coming out of this unscathed. Starfleet was recalling a few ships from the front lines to help us in case this happened but last I heard they were days away. We need to find someplace we can hide for a good amount of time if necessary."

"I'm on it," Vin stated and immediately began seeking out such enclaves of safety in the vast area of space they had charted and documented on record.

Chris took a deep breath and finally regarded the one person he had been avoiding since this situation had arisen. He wished she was not here because the chances of them surviving this were not good and considering what Alex had been through, Chris’s s stomach knotted with disgust at the thought of such a fate befalling Mary. Still, even though he wished her to be anywhere else but on this ship at the moment, there was also a part of him that was glad she was at his side.

If this was the end, then they would be together.

"Mary if you want to leave the bridge..." Chris started to say.

"No," she put her finger to his lips and shook her head in response. "My place is here with you."

Chris nodded and interlaced his fingers through hers for a few seconds because a few seconds was all they had really. Nothing else needed to be said and he knew it was pointless attempting to convince her otherwise. She would never listen and in truth, he really did not have the time to waste on such a futile exercise.

The bridge came alive with a new sound that was not so different from the klaxon's already wailing throughout the bridge like a banshee in the night. He did not need to be told what the sound was because it could only be one thing.

"Proximity alert," Alex spoke up and it was of surprise to nobody.

The convoy had breached what the Maverick considered minimum safe distance for an unknown ship. Normally by this time, appropriate hails and universal greetings would negate the necessity of the proximity alert. That it had sounded meant whatever purpose the new arrivals had in approaching them was almost certainly an expression of hostile intent.

"Captain!" Ezra shouted. "Someone just activated a transponder signal!"

"What?" Chris stood up and whirled around in his chair.

A transponder device was a single beam of focused energy allowing a person on a ship that was heavily shielded to be detected by another, to be capable of being transported safely through. The transponder was effective only once and since the Maverick's shields had yet to be activated because the ships approaching were beyond firing range, raising them early would be expending energy they would need later, whomever the transponder belonged to was guaranteed a sure escape off the ship.

"Lemar!" Alex swore when she saw the source of the transponder.

"Shields up!" Chris ordered but knew it was a wasted effort. Lemar was probably already off the ship before the thought had even occurred to them to put a stop to it.

"I knew that son of a bitch was playing with us!" Alex growled in anger, unable to believe she had not killed him when she had the chance.

"Get over it." Chris retorted. "He's gone and we have bigger problems than one Cardassian traitor."

Still, Chris did make a silent promise to himself that when this was all over, he and Gul Lemar were going to meet one last time. Putting the thought in a nice safe place for the moment, Chris glanced at the viewscreen showing the first signs of the approaching ships in the darkness of space. They were little more than specks of light at this point, but he knew soon enough, they were going to be larger than life.  There would be no mistaking them for anything as majestic as the stars among which they traveled.

"Alright," Chris stood up a moment later and let his eyes touch upon every person currently occupying the bridge with him, even Mary. "We're outnumbered and it's likely we're not going to have much chance to run. They'll almost certainly try to surround us so I'm giving you fair warning, prepare yourself. This is going to be bloody. Our biggest threat is the warbird. She can cloak and she has firepower equal to our own. She'll come at us head-on while the Cardassian warships will pick at us and the Jem’Hadar, keep us netted."

Chris took in a deep breath as he saw the somber expressions on the faces of his subordinates and declared. "We have one advantage. They need to take the ship intact. They have to if they want what's in the main computer. That, at this point, is our biggest asset. I am going to try and use it, but the fact of the matter is, in the end, to get the Maverick, they will have to collapse our shields and board us. As senior officers on this ship, we will not allow that to happen. I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve that will make that a little harder than they thought. We're not as outgunned as they think but we're still vulnerable. If they even attempt to take the bridge, we will self-destruct this ship and anyone on it before we let that happen. If you think that 1000 people are a big sacrifice, then think in terms of the billions facing slavery and death if the Dominion gets its hands on a new supply of White."

The others nodded in understanding of the order he had just given them, even if he did not come out and say it. They all knew what Chris meant and they all knew that if the time came, they would be equal to the task.  A thousand lives on the Maverick was a small price to pay for the security of the Alpha Quadrant and United Federation of Planets.

"Okay," Chris said as he lowered himself into his command chair and faced the view screen once more. "Hail them."

******

Not surprisingly, when communications between the prey and predators were finally established, it was the commander of the warbird that addressed the Captain of the Maverick. Of course, it was not a Romulan staring at Chris from the bridge of his ship through a viewer but rather a Vorta. Then again, Chris supposed than it was to be expected when one engaged a Dominion attack force. No sooner than the warbird had taken position directly at the bow of the Maverick, the Cardassians battlecruisers took up flanking positions while the Jem’Hadar warships remained at a fallback position, where they would join the fray should the need arise.

"Captain Larabee," the Vorta said with typical politeness, just a hint above groveling. Apparently, that was their natural state Chris was led to believe. They were not an overtly violent or aggressive race, always feigning subservience to the Founders when in the process of committing all kinds of atrocities against other species. Chris supposed it was one way to let themselves sleep at night.

"I don't believe I've had the pleasure," Chris said coolly, no hint of fear in his face as he stared at the enemy appearing completely indifferent to the odds his ship and his crew were facing.

"I am Fanaian of the Dominion Empire." The Vorta introduced himself with a sickening smile of courtesy and reminded everyone on the bridge of a weasel. "I am here to offer you a proposal."

"A deal," the Captain remarked, not at all fooled by this thin veneer of civility on display by both parties. It was only foreplay to the battle about to be wrought. "How interesting. You often conduct proposals with a fleet covering your back?" Once again, there was no hostility in Chris’s s voice and the bridge crew found themselves singularly impressed by the captain's ability to bluff.

Not even Ezra was that good.

"Considering we have to make our proposal in what is clearly Federation space, it seemed a necessary precaution," Fanaian responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world to bring an attack force behind enemy lines and attack a ship full of civilians.

"Naturally," Chris said skeptically. "However, I would prefer if your Cardassian 'allies' withdrew from the immediate vicinity. Considering the current state of war between our governments, I might take their presence to be a little provocative."

"Unfortunately, that is quite impossible." The Vorta replied, aware the human was dancing around the issue just as the human was aware the Vorta had a gun aimed at him and was masking the shot with words reeking of diplomacy. "The Frontier is such an unsafe place. We would like to offer you our assistance in returning your crew to a star base."

Chris exchanged a glance with Buck who was just as nauseated by the smarmy tone of the Vorta's voice as he was and quickly returned. "And what would be the payment for this little escort?"

The Vorta smiled like a child that had been caught out attempting to play a prank on someone who knew better. "Why nothing exorbitant. Perhaps let me say the entire contents of your computer core. The Dominion would find it very useful if we were allowed access to all your data involving stellar cartography and geological analysis of planetary bodies."

"And one other thing," a new voice entered the fray and the Vorta glanced sideways in a mixture of annoyance and surprise.

Even though they did not see the speaker, every member of the bridge recognized the voice and was frankly unsurprised by the turn of events. Gul Lemar stepped into the path of the viewer, with a satisfied smirk on his face knowing he was now in a position to demand everything denied him when he was on board the Maverick.

"You know Gul Lemar."

Chris looked at Alex for a second before he faced front again. The science officer's expression was unreadable but there was something in her eyes that surface long enough for the Captain to recognize it for what it was. Calculation. There was calculation in her eyes and considering their present situation, Chris wondered whether it was meant only for their enemy or only for Gul Lemar? At the moment, there was little time to consider the question of which because he had bigger problems to deal with.

"I should have had you spaced when you first came on board my ship."

"Alas you did not," Lemar responded, still wearing that look of supreme confidence, now he had the weight of a Dominion fleet behind him. "What the Vorta is too polite to say, Captain," Lemar's eyes narrowed. "Is that we expect your unconditional surrender, or we'll take your ship from under you. The only way you can save yourselves is to download the entire contents of the Maverick main computer into our ship or we will destroy you."

"Is that all?" Chris asked coolly, looking not at all bothered by the request since Lemar was good enough to put aside the cordialities and get to the point. "I seemed to recall that you wanted something else. Care to let me in on what that might be?"

"Yes," Lemar nodded and spoke. "You will transport the charming Lieutenant Travis and Commander Styles to the Tasmeem immediately or we will blow your ship out of the sky."

"Son of a bitch!" Buck exclaimed in rage as he saw Mary turn ashen. Alex held firm because she knew her captain and even in the unlikely chance she was forced to go, she knew she would never arrive on the Tasmeem alive to suffer any repeated brutalities at Lemar's hand. When she said to Vin she would die before she went through that hell again, she meant it.

"Stand down Commander!" Chris hissed.

Buck sat down on his command chair once again, noticing the same outraged expressions on the rest of the male officers. While no one could see Vin's eyes because his back was facing all of them, Buck could imagine the fury running through the Vulcan's blood at this moment. Ezra's anger could be seen in the wavering of his calm demeanor. The contempt in his eyes was apparent and if it could be sighted through that impenetrable poker face he always seemed to wear, then it must have been quite intense indeed. JD was biting down, his jaw tensing in bitter anger.

"Fanaian," Chris turned back to the viewer once he dealt with his second in command and showed no signs of being insulted although if Lemar had been within reach, the man would have felt his displeasure most profoundly. "I'll deal with you only. I have no desire to conduct these negotiations with your underlings. I think this situation can be handled more amicably if someone who is in actual authority speaks. Our current problem is fragile enough as it is without lackeys with delusions of grandeur making unreasonable demands that will not be fulfilled. We may be able to negotiate for the information but I will not give any of my crew to that Cardassian so he can practice his rather clumsy mating techniques."

"I will see you beg!" Lemar snarled when suddenly the Vorta spoke up and silenced him immediately.

"Shut up Lemar!" Fanaian remarked with enough force in his voice to let even one as thick headed as the Gul to know the price if he did not obey.

Behind Chris, the rest of the bridge crew was smirking at the Captain's masterful handling of Lemar despite the fact they were nowhere out of trouble. Whatever negotiations Chris intended to conduct with the Vorta would be short-lived for they all knew Chris would never give up the Maverick. Lemar seemed livid as he was more or less disregarded and shunted aside once the Vorta had reason to believe Chris might cooperate and hand over the ship peacefully. Of course, they all knew what Chris was doing, he was stalling for time. At this moment, JD was decrypting top-secret codes that arrived from Starfleet at the onset of this mission and was relaying those codes to the tactical station. When the time came, only Chris’s s authorization would make them of any value.

"Time?" Buck hissed out of sight of the viewer.

"Thirty seconds to complete the upload," JD responded quickly.

"Ezra," Buck spoke up as Chris continued the game of thrust and parry with the Vorta. "Remember, set it up and wait for the Captain's mark."
"The Cardassians are powering their weapons," Alex informed quietly. "They're targeting us."

"No surprise there," Buck answered. "What about the Jem’Hadar ships?"

"They're standing by." She replied a second later.

"They know we got to get through the Cardassian ships before they need to make a move," the first officer responded. "They'll sit back and watch until it’s time to engage."

"I can get us to the Vikaris Quasar," Vin announced under his breath. The bridge was a cacophony of silent whispers as a strategy was mapped out and decided while Chris continued his 'negotiation' with the Vorta on the Tasmeem.

"It’s still gonna be a bitch to break free of these guys." Buck remarked, glad that they had an alternative, but the truth was, escaping the fleet to reach the quasar was going to be problematic.

******

"Captain," the Vorta said finally. "We do not really need your permission." The man was attempting to appeal to Chris’s s sense of self-preservation. If he knew what it was to earn a Starfleet uniform, Chris thought silently, the Vorta would have understood what a futile gesture it was. "We can take your ship."

"And I can order her destroyed into a billion particles of dust before you ever got your hands on her," Chris answered back, completely aware things were about to get very ugly.

"You wouldn't dare," Fanaian responded, not at all liking that idea if the sour expression on his face was anything to go by. The destruction of the Maverick would mean a complete failure of their mission to the frontier and the Founders were not forgiving of such disasters.

"Before I let any of your Cardassians pets touch one woman on the Maverick, I will throw the switch and blow this ship to smithereens and there won't be a man on my crew who will lift a finger to stop me. So," Chris glared at the Vorta. "I have only one thing to say to you Fanaian."

"And what is that?"

"Catch us if you can."

Chris had concluded the playing field needed leveling.

Despite the tremendous odds before the Maverick, Chris knew he could get his ship and his crew out of danger if he had a little room to maneuver. Unfortunately, there was little chance of that with the Cardassians flanking them on all sides, preparing to close in on them with a phalanx of phaser blasts. Chris could not help thinking they would not be so bold if they did not have even more formidable allies to pull their fat out of the fire if they got in over their heads.

However, the fact still remained they did have rather powerful allies who would intervene at an instant's notice if required. For the moment, the Jem’Hadar were content to take fallback position, allowing their Cardassian brethren to handle things until their intervention was necessary while the warbird prepared to square off with the lone Federation ship. Chris could handle the Romulan and he could handle the Jem’Hadar but the Cardassians?

They were plain pissing him off.

"The Cardassians are firing!" Alex announced loudly a few seconds after Chris terminated their channel of communication with the Vorta and the Romulan warbird. The Cardassians had obviously decided since diplomacy was not going to work in convincing the Maverick to capitulate, they would have to attempt more persuasive means.

No sooner than those words left her lips, the entire ship felt the effect of her exclamation as the energy blast struck the hull of the Maverick. The initial blast traveled through the ship and allowed everyone to know the battle had begun. The force of it threw Buck and Mary to the floor. Chris barely managed to remain seated, digging his nails into the cushioned armrest. Others were not so lucky. Alex slammed hard against the wall while JD was nearly flung from his seat. Anything unbolted went flying and the clatter of beverage cups and other various items rained down around their ears. He covered his head with his arms, narrowly avoiding being hit by someone's mug.

Immediately, the white lighting shifted to a glaring red. Emergency klaxon shrilled across the ship and the status alert indicators began flashing crimson. Buck found it difficult to get up, unable to get his footing right. The explosion disorientated all of them and very quickly he realized he was off balance because he landed on his ankle badly. Chris immediately grabbed his first officer by the arm and helped him back into his command chair. Looking at Mary who brushed loose strands of her hair out of her face, she gave him a little smile of assurance she did not need any assistance as she took her place next to him again.

The others struggled back to their seats and knew the reason the ship had taken a hit so badly because all four ships had chosen to fire at the same time in order to frighten them and impress upon the Federation starship how hopelessly outnumbered they were. Bullies, Chris snorted silently to himself, that's all the Cardassians were, bullies.

"Our shields are holding," Ezra replied as he returned to his console.

"They did that to shake us up," Chris answered smoothly. "They're trying to scare us into surrendering. They think if we can be frightened by the numbers, we might save them the trouble of fighting for the ship." The Captain remained in his command chair and braced himself because from here on end, that was the last free shots the Cardassians were going to get at the expense of the Maverick. From this point on, they were going to learn the hard way, numbers or not, what it was going to cost to take on Chris Larabee's ship.

"Captain," JD said suddenly, studying the incoming signal on his console screen, "the Tasmeem is hailing us again."

"They probably think we're more ready to talk," Buck commented as he shifted in his seat, trying to take the weight off his injured foot.

"You okay?" Chris asked, noticing his attempts to become more comfortable with his injury.

"I'm okay." Buck waived away the inquiry. His foot was throbbing painfully, and he could feel the swelling already, but he was ignoring it because he was not leaving his captain under any circumstances.

"You'll get a chance to make it to Sick Bay, I promise," Chris said with a glint in his eye that Buck recognized as the Larabee hat trick. It could be scary as hell but well worth the effort if you knew how to ride it out. Buck felt his stomach hollow and suddenly had a premonition thing were about to get very rough and not because the Dominion was out there but because Chris Larabee was about to get very crazy.

"Are we gonna talk to them?" Buck asked instead.

"We are." Chris met his gaze with a little smile. "I doubt they're going to like what I have to say though." The captain turned towards JD. "Open a channel, Ensign."

"You're going to talk to them?" Mary asked incredulously, forgetting herself for a moment because the situation was critical, and she was more than a little afraid by the odds before them. She had never really been in combat like this before and she could not deny she felt a little out of her depth. She had remained because she was a bridge officer and despite Chris’s s feelings for her, she was not going to take advantage of his affection by being in a safer place to wait out the attack.

"It would be rude if we didn't," Chris gave her a little wink before standing up and turning his attention to Ezra. "First things first though, are we ready with our little surprise for the Cardassians?"

"Ready and waiting," Ezra answered automatically.

"They're firing again!" Alex warned and instinctively and this time everyone on the bridge braced themselves for the blast. It came no more than a second later, sending more klaxons screaming again through the bridge and lighting up more consoles. This time, however, they survived the blast with a little more balance and most managed to grab onto something to keep themselves from falling or getting thrown about the bridge like rag dolls. The ship heaved in protest and as the aftereffects of the blast dissipated, they knew the interval would not last indefinitely. At the very best they had less than a minute before the enemy would feel the need to encourage them to surrender once again.

"Shields are still holding." Ezra declared; his voice taut as he studied the readings. "They're playing with us, Captain."

"Oh, I knew that," Chris agreed without question. "They're trying to soften us up. Trying to make it easier for us to surrender."

Ezra almost snorted in derision at the ridiculous presumption of the enemy that led them to such a belief. Who did they think they were facing? Despite the Cardassians' show of force, the Dominion could not afford to damage the Maverick too substantially, not if they wanted the contents of the ship's computer core. For this mission in Federation space to be considered any kind of success, they would have to take the Maverick intact. While the phaser bombardment they were currently hurling at the Maverick, might serve to convince another commander surrender was permissible to save his crew, they were not dealing with another commander. They were dealing with Chris Larabee and where Chris Larabee was concerned, even Ezra was not fooling enough to bet against those odds.

Needing to take the Maverick in one piece gave Chris a lot of room to maneuver even if at the moment, that room was more figurative than literal. Ezra could guess Chris was going to use their need to keep the Maverick intact against them and in Chris Larabee's hands, that was a very powerful advantage indeed.

"Alex," Chris looked at the science officer who was keeping her eye trained on the console before her, ready to warn them at the first sign of incoming fire. "Take over from Ezra. I want you to man the decryption protocol." Without taking a breath, he turned his attention to the security chief. "Ezra as soon as we are in position, I want you to fire a full spread of quantum torpedoes at the Cardassians ships, no warning shots. I'm going to assume you that you know the best place to hit them. I want them out of commission permanently. We've got enough troubles without trying to swat the flies out of our face."

"With absolute pleasure Captain," Ezra responded, allowing himself a satisfied smirk and more than happy to comply with that order. He almost wished Lemar was here to have heard what Chris considered the five Cardassians battlecruisers in comparison to the Jem’Hadar and Romulan ships.

"Vin," Chris moved away from his command chair and faced front again before striding towards the helm. He came to a stop next to Vin's place at the ship's con. "We'll only have a few seconds between the Cardassians being hit and the Jem’Hadar moving in on us. I want you to break through the Cardy lines and put as much distance between us and this fleet as you can. We can't outrun them, but I want a little maneuvering room."

"I'll get her through," the Vulcan drawled and looked back with an expression equal to the calm being displayed by his captain. "You can bet on it." He said with damned unflappable expression, showing the others that strange ability shared between both men that allowed them to communicate without ever needing to put into words what they intended.

Mary who was sitting near both men wondered how these men could manage to remain so composed. Inside, she felt like a thousand bundles of exposed nerve endings and yet those around her, not just Chris and Vin were holding themselves together with ease it seemed. Even JD was keeping his fear reined and Mary could not deny she wished she had that ability. She had been a diplomat for most of her career and had not been involved in enough combat situations to evolve the same ironclad disposition as those around her.

"Engineering." Chris’s s voice snapped her out of her reverie. "Come in Engineering." The Captain spoke out loud, waiting for a response from the mechanical heart of the Maverick.

"Pemberton here," Julia's voice responded after a few seconds. There was more than a little tension in her voice as she answered him and, in the background, the low rumble of people running back and forth, working frantically within the deck could be heard throughout the bridge. Whatever damage the phaser bombardment had done to the ship, Chris was certain it was probably felt more prolifically in engineering than it was on the bridge.

"How are we doing?" Chris asked, not just for himself but also for Ezra whose rigid poker face was more damning about how he felt than any vocalization he might make in regard to the state of her present welfare.

"We're just peachy down here," Julia answered wearily. "You think we could maybe move the ship out of the way when they fire Captain? It just seems like a terrible waste of time for them if we just sort of sat there and let them blow us to pieces."

Chris felt the same wave of affection for Julia as Ezra did at that moment and both men exchanged a knowing glance before Chris continued with a little smile. "Suggestion noted Lieutenant. I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, I thought I might just warn you that in a few seconds, Vin is going to hit maximum warp to get us out of here. When that happens, I want you to divert all power to the front shields. We may have to punch our way through the Cardassian flank to get out of this net they've got us in."

"Understood Sir," Julia nodded. "When the time comes, you'll have all the power to the shields even if I have to go out there and push."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Chris smiled, not surprised the Rutherford had survived to fight her last battle against the Borg when she had Julia Pemberton in Engineering holding her together in one piece.

"The Vorta is waiting," Buck informed Chris who immediately terminated his conversation and turned back to the blank view screen.

Chris met his first officer's gaze and nodded. "Let's see him."

The viewer flicked briefly before Fanaian appeared on screen again. "Captain," he said as soon as he sighted Chris, once again that sickeningly syrupy voice contaminated Chris’s s bridge. "Your ship cannot take much more of our fire. Why not surrender? I give you my word of honor that no harm will befall any member of your crew."

"That's very kind of you." Chris met the man's gaze through the electronic medium before them and pretended to consider the man's words. "I give you my word of honor that when the time comes, I will pledge the same courtesy to you." Without drawing a breath as the Vorta's brow wrinkled in confusion, trying to understand what those enigmatic words meant, Chris changed the tone of his voice from cordial into menacing. "Computer, transmit frequency code Trojan - authorization, Captain Larabee, Christopher - Access Code, Nimrod."

"Transmission relayed!" Alex responded as she saw the computer recognize the captain's personal access code.

"What?" The Vorta was still staring at him through the viewscreen, bewildered at what had just happened. "What have you done?"

The Vorta did not understand and Chris did not expect him too. Since the end of the Border Wars, the Federation had been certain its troubles with Cardassia was not over. The Federation by nature did not make war and thus the technology discovered through a century of exploration had given it advantages it did not use unless in times of great crisis. Though many would not know it, the Federation code crackers had no peer anywhere in the Alpha Quadrant and since the end of the Border wars, every Cardassian ship had cataloged and stored in Starfleet memory, including the codes for its shield modulation. With access to the shield modulation of a Cardassian ship, torpedoes could be modified to pass through Cardassian shields with no trouble at all.

"Adjustment made for shield modulation!" Ezra announced. "Firing quantum torpedoes from all bays in full spread!"

"On screen!" Chris ordered as the Cardassians ships appeared on the viewer just before the volley of torpedoes Ezra launched caught up with them. The quantum torpedoes, designed by the Federation to pierce the armor of Borg ships, impacted against the hull of the battlecruisers. The view screen glared at them with blinding white light as the detonations flared across the ships' hull. Some were completely enveloped, others had managed to hold off, but most were taken completely by surprise.

"Now Vin!" Chris ordered. "Get us out of here, maximum warp!"

The helmsman was already starting to move the great ship forward, but Chris’s s order caused him to propel the Maverick ahead at full speed. The galaxy class starship surged through the cloud of heat and exploding plasma eruptions from the disabled Cardassians ships, leaving a streak of blue and gray as it pierced through the flares of white radiating from the enemy ships as a result of their little 'surprise'. The Maverick rumbled with power as it broke through the enemy line, barely avoiding collision in its haste to leave the scene of the battle. However, under Vin's capable hands, the vessel sailed through the obstacles placed before it, navigating its troubled path with expert precision of the helm.

"The Jem’Hadar are giving chase," Alex informed immediately. She could see the signs of their pursuit on the console screen before her. No sooner than they had realized the Maverick managed to slip through the Cardassian net, their thrusters had fired, and they began to give chase. The Romulan ship was still holding back, no doubt allowing the Jem’Hadar to do the dirty work instead. "Two Cardassians ships have been completely destroyed, the other three have sustained heavy damage. I doubt that they can even maintain life support without help."

"Two down," Chris replied, returning back to his command chair. "That still leaves eight and we are nowhere out of trouble."

"With your permission Captain," Buck glanced at Chris. "I'd like to give you a little more breathing room with Jem’Hadar friends."

"By all means," Chris grinned. They were already living on borrowed time and Chris knew perfectly well Buck was capable of surprising him now and then. He hoped this was one of those times.

"Let's slow them down a bit," Buck replied, turning in his seat to the science station now he had the captain's leave to act. "Alex, vent all our waste plasma."

"Aye Sir," Alex complied immediately and let her fingers fly over her console screen. In a second, the order was fulfilled. "We have vented all plasma."

"Ezra," Buck glanced at the security officer. "If you will be so kind."

"I am never one to turn down the request of a superior...well a higher-ranking officer anyway." Ezra grinned. "One torpedo at your service."

"Thank you," Buck gave the security man a look. "Fire at will."

The plasma once vented was easily ignitable and throwing a torpedo into a mix would create an explosion of monumental proportions. While the Jem’Hadar shields would survive the encounter well enough, the effect upon their sensors was another thing entirely. The resulting explosion would create such a massive influx of energy the sensor array of the enemy ships would be incapable of coping with the overload. For a few seconds at least, the Jem’Hadar ships would be completely blind, and the Maverick would gain enough time to acquire the distance the Captain required to make his next play for their survival.

The space around the Maverick flared with white energy as the plasma ignited behind them but Vin was the only one not paying attention to the brilliant display of light and color. Everyone immediately shielded their eyes, but Vin could only see the console before him as he pushed the Maverick harder and faster than it had ever traveled before. The ship was accelerating at Warp 9.98 and Vin knew he could not keep this pace up much longer without the energy requirements for such a speed draining vital systems to satisfy itself, systems such as the shields and life support.

"Captain, I'm reaching Warp 9.9!" Vin announced. Taking the Maverick to Warp 9.99 was a command decision that had to come from Chris.

"Captain, main power is starting to drain," Alex added her voice to his. "We can't sustain this speed and keep our shields at full strength."

"Where is the Jem’Hadar ships?" Chris asked quickly, starting to feel the pressure a little but refusing to allow it to affect him any further than that. His crew needed his faculties intact if he was to save them. "What's their status?"

"They're still attempting to recalibrate their sensor array," Ezra responded. "They are lagging."

Only one chance now and Chris had to take it. It was dangerous and he knew it, but the Maverick had no chance in hell of winning this by playing it safe. This battle was so stacked against them the only way Chris could think of surviving, to say nothing at all about winning, was to play against the house and to play it wild.

"Bring us about!" Chris ordered.

"Captain?" Vin was astonished by the order. The rest of his fellow officers shared his reaction similarly. They just spent considerable energy attempting to escape the battlefield and now the Captain was taking them back.

"You heard me!" Chris barked, "turn us around now!"

Vin need not make a second inquiry because Chris’s s tone of voice was enough to convince him it would not be taken well by his Captain. Praying that Chris had some secret weapon up his sleeve to allow him to disable the shields of the Jem’Hadar ship as easily as they had done to the Cardassians, Vin steered the Maverick to veer back the way it came in a tight arch. The great ship executed the move flawlessly even though the energy readings in front of him told the helmsman the Maverick could not keep this up for too long. She was accelerating at top speed nursing wounds caused by enemy fire while at the same time still trying to maintain full shield strength. Something was going to give soon.

"Set course directly for the warbird," Chris ordered once again.

"For the warbird?" Buck looked at Chris, not sure what his Captain was playing at and it was his job to know.

At any other time, Chris might have agreed with Buck's conclusion but not today. "You have trouble hearing me Commander?" Chris turned on him with a sharp glare. "If the Dominion wants the Maverick so bad, they can have her. Right down their throats."

Buck wanted to respond but Chris’s s gaze made him think better of it and he remained silent. Alex and Ezra were smart enough to keep quiet while Mary and JD hoped their inexperience was the reason why they did not understand what Chris was attempting to do.

"Ezra arm all phaser banks," Chris spoke as the Maverick changed course and began its suicidal run at the Tasmeem. "I want you to fire all phasers, I want so much firepower in the space between us and the Jem’Hadar, they'll have no choice but to get clear."

"Yes Sir," Ezra nodded mutely, able to perform that minor miracle but unaware of how they were going to survive when the Jem’Hadar came at them full throttle.

"Viewer on," Chris ordered.

The view screen before them revealed a terrifying scene as they headed back the way they had come originally. The wreckage of the Cardassians ships was floating in the air, drifting through space like flotsam after the sinking of a passenger liner of old. Except here, the bodies did not disappear into the depths, they floated through the darkness, their faces a sculpture of agony, causing those who viewed the carnage to hope that they had died from something other than explosive decompression. The other three ships were floating dead in space, no doubt their crews moving frantically to repair them as they saw several billion tons of starship bearing down on them.

"Captain!" Julia Pemberton's voice reached up from Engineering and cried out to Chris. "Captain, you have to reduce speed, I can't maintain shield strength at Warp 9.9. We're taking a heavy pounding from the enemy; the shields are going to buckle."

"Sorry Lieutenant," Chris said shortly. "Can't talk right now but you will maintain shield strength."

"But..."

"Bridge out." Chris cut off the channel. In the viewscreen, he could see Ezra's handiwork as volley after volley of phaser blasts were hurled at the Jem’Hadar ships who were weaving frantically to avoid being destroyed by the Maverick's formidable arsenal.

The Jem’Hadar ships were still firing though and every now and then their return fire manage to penetrate the wall of phaser fire Chris ordered Ezra to create. He could see Alex fighting to maintain shield integrity, sealing up the gaps Julia could no carry out in Engineering. He knew he was pushing his ships beyond safety limits, but they were not going to get out of this playing it safe. If they did not reach the warbird before she cloaked, they would be in serious trouble and heaven helped them if the Jem’Hadar figured that out as well.

The Maverick continued to shudder uneasily as it surged forward. The hits from the Jem’Hadar ships were becoming more frequent because phaser power was dwindling and soon, they would only have torpedoes to launch at the enemy. Each time the ship took a hit, it rocked precariously, and Chris could feel the floor beneath him drop for a moment before attitude control was regained. Every warning system in the bridge was sounding its alert, adding its voice to the human component to desist on the course he was embarking upon.

"One Jem’Hadar ship destroyed!" Alex announced.

Indeed, as she said that he noticed the flare of brilliance to the edge of the view screen. "One more has fallen back with severe damage. The other two are still maintaining pursuit." As she made that last statement, the console before her suddenly exploded outwards. Alex barely managed to leap out of the way as dangerous projectiles of glass came flying at her. Having suffered the injury once before, the science officer knew how to avoid injuring herself a second time.

"You okay?" Buck asked as she picked herself up from the floor. "Chris, whatever you're going to do, do it fast."

"Romulan warbird dead ahead." Vin declared almost as if he was answering Buck's question for Chris.

Chris looked up and saw the Tasmeem preparing to face whatever the Maverick had in mind. Chris doubted even the Vorta could have foreseen what he was about to say next.

"Vin," Chris took a deep breath and hoped he was right about this. "Take her to ramming speed."

"...ramming speed."

The words hung in the air for a few seconds because no one actually believed it was said. Even Vin found his fingers frozen over the controls that would make the order a reality, wondering if he heard wrong, that his captain had not asked him to do what Vin thought he just did.

Unfortunately, it was no aberration, those words had left Chris and as he stood behind Vin waiting for the helmsman to do as he had been so instructed, Vin knew he had no choice but to obey. It was obedience wrought not out of loyalty or the dedication to duty that refused to let a Starfleet officer deny his Captain but because of the friendship and explicit trust existing between both men. That alone told Vin Chris would never consciously force his ship into a position he could not pull it out of again. Taking a deep breath and taking a leap of faith because he could do nothing else, Vin keyed in the sequence for the request into the console before and felt the ship surge forward.

Emergency klaxons sounded again. This time they signaled the ship’s acceleration into Warp 9.99 and save a great feat of technological magic they did not possess, there was no way the Maverick could cross the warp threshold and reach the speed of Warp 10 without first tearing the ship apart.

"Captain," Alex called from behind Chris as she studied the readings wrought of the klaxons and the increased burst of propulsion as the ship continued on its direct heading towards the warbird in the viewer before them. "I am reading multiple fractures in the structural integrity of the ship. Sir, we have to slow down."

In response to her question, Chris responded coolly. "Maintain speed and course Vin."

Buck could see Chris was not about to be convinced of anything and immediately tapped his com badge, acquiring shipboard communication that would reach every single person on board the Maverick. Like Vin, Buck knew Chris had a plan but whether or not the ship would survive it was another thing entirely. It was a gamble this thing he planned but at the moment, Buck understood it was the only way. Playing it safe was not going to get them out of this, but he hoped playing it wild did not let the Maverick end up the same way.

"All hands," the first officer spoke loudly. "Brace for impact."

Without even seeing what was transpiring across the ship with his own eyes, Buck could imagine it well enough. At this moment, crewmembers were placing themselves in crash position. Parents were placing their children in safe corners of the room, padding their hiding places with cushions and other soft material to lessen the force of the impact if collision was eminent. At this point, Buck was unprepared to say whether it was or not.

"Engineering," Chris spoke up and the ship’s computer immediately opened a communication to the desired deck. He was the only one who seemed to be enduring this entire situation with a modicum of reason. Buck wondered how the man managed to rise above his fear until the first officer realized himself there was no room for the Captain to feel fear, he was too busy trying to save all their lives.

"Captain," Julia’s voice answered, sounding most anxious possibly because she knew how this present course of action was taking its toll upon the ship more than anyone else on board the Maverick. "You have to slow down. I can’t maintain shield strength if you push the ship this hard with all phasers firing! As it is, we’re having trouble maintaining structural integrity. The Maverick was not designed for this kind of stress!"

"Julia," Chris spoke again, sounding as if he had not heard a word she had just said. "I want you to take the phasers offline and deflect all energy to maintain this speed. I want you to power down all unoccupied areas and divert that extra energy to the front shields. The structural integrity will hold. We’re not keeping this pace for much longer. Can you do that for me, Lieutenant?"

Julia did not answer for a few seconds and those who knew the engineer with any depth understood she was acquiescing to the Captain’s request, even if she was not answering him yet.

"Alright Sir," she responded quietly. "I’ll do what I can but if the structural integrity goes, it won’t matter if we don’t have shield strength. She’ll crack apart like an egg."

"Noted," Chris answered and terminated the line.

"The warbird is hailing us," JD exclaimed, staring at Chris with the hope the attempt at communication might convince the Captain reducing speed might be prudent. "Shall I put them through Sir?"

"Negative," Chris answered abruptly, turning his attention to Ezra.

The security officer whose eyes were fixed firmly on the console before him because at this moment, he was all that was keeping the Jem’Hadar ships in pursuit from bombarding the Maverick with all the power they were capable of hurling upon the lone Federation ship. Ezra had some idea of the gamble Chris was attempting and while he was one who lauded playing the odds, he was not so certain this time fortune was in their favor. Particularly after the Captain ordered the phasers taken offline.

"Ezra, I want you to keep those Jem’Hadar ships off our back until we can lock onto the warbird. Use quantum torpedoes if you have to but do it. I want a clear path to the Vorta." Chris said firmly.

"Aye Captain," Ezra nodded, showing no signs the occasion was getting to him even if the urgency was pressing up against his spine like nobody’s business. There were three Jem’Hadar ships closing in on the Maverick with relentless determination as they attempted to sway the great ship from continuing its course towards its Romulan counterpart.

In the viewer before him, Chris could see the Romulan ship looming larger and larger on the screen. The disabled Cardassian ships had limped away, having seen what was coming and had no wish to be on the collision end of a galaxy class starship. The blast radius resulting from such a catastrophe had the power to destroy every one of the Cardassian ships with their shields presently disabled.

"Now I’ll talk to them." Chris looked at JD.

The ensign let out a sigh of relief and immediately patched a frequency of communication between the two ships. The Vorta appeared on the screen in less than a second, decidedly less calm than he had been during their earlier conversation. Even Lemar was in the background, appearing a little nervous and Chris felt some measure of satisfaction and considering what they were putting his ship and his crew through, he could still make them sweat a little.

"Captain, what are you doing?" The Vorta demanded upon seeing the human, his response being a little closer to genuine since the fear in his eyes was apparent. He composed himself soon enough though and the smooth voice returned once again as he remembered himself. "You cannot seriously think we would be tricked into believing you would destroy yourself and your ship by this action?"

"I am never anything but serious when it comes to my ship." Chris answered calmly, his aloof and indifferent manner a stark contrast to the noticeable urgency in the Vorta’s expression. "If you had any sense, you would be a little concerned yourself."

"You would not dare risk the lives of all those on board with this pathetic attempt at a bluff!" The Cardassian bellowed behind Fanaian, who looked over his shoulder and glared at Lemar to be silent.

"And yet I’m not the one who seems to be sweating." Chris smiled, wishing he could have two minutes alone with the Cardassian inside his brig. After the part he played in this hoax, Chris would have been delighted to let Alex have her revenge upon Lemar, the way she intended when the bastard had first come on board the Maverick.

"If you intend to frighten us," the Vorta said after a moment when he had ordered one of his Jem’Hadar to ensure Lemar did not intrude on his discussion with Chris, much to the delight of Alex. "I think you will find the Dominion does not scare easily."

"Romulan warbird 5000 kilometers and closing," Alex announced loud enough for the enemy to hear.

"And neither do I." Chris continued. "Either you and your Jem’Hadar ships withdraw, or I’ll give you the Maverick for however long it takes for the blast to vaporize all of us. Now unless I have your surrender, I'll keep my ship on this heading."

"Surrender!" Fanaian almost blanched at the thought. "We outnumber your vessel seven to one! Do you really think this pitiful attempt will make us capitulate?"

In truth, Chris did not think he had the faintest chance of forcing them to surrender but then surrender was not what this was about. The more time Chris kept Fanaian talking, the less time the Vorta would have to consider his situation clearly until the last minute when he would be forced to use the warbird's cloak as a means of escape. The ship was beginning to shudder as the Jem’Hadar continued its attack upon the Maverick with relentless determination. Chris could feel the vibrations in the hull and through the floor. On the seat beside him, Mary's fingers were dug into the arm rest of her seat, her knuckles turning white from fear. He wished he could take the time to reassure her they were not all going to die but unfortunately, at this moment he was sure of nothing himself.

The view screen before them showed the space alive with color flaring across the black canvas of stars, from the detonation of multiple quantum torpedoes to the energetic reaction of Jem’Hadar shields as they attempted to absorb the formidable arsenal being flung at them. The enemy was not simply taking fire but returning it with equal intensity. Each blast impacting against the shields caused a low rumble of sound to reverberate throughout the duranium platted hull of the Maverick, until everyone could feel for themselves the eminent structural collapse Julia Pemberton warned with every strained groan of the ship.

"Romulan ship dead ahead!" Alex exclaimed as the space between the Maverick and the warbird suddenly began to evaporate.

Chris held his breath in anticipation, feeling his heart pound in his chest because this was the moment of truth. In less than ten seconds, the Maverick would either emerge victorious in this most ancient strength between two opponents or be destroyed utterly in the collision that was almost certainly going to take out any other ships in the vicinity as well. Suddenly, the image of the Romulan ship in front of them began to shimmer and Chris found his voice escaping him even before the thought had formed any cohesive shape in his mind. "Ezra, forget the Jem’Hadar, fire all quantum torpedoes dead ahead! Full spread!"

"Oh, good Lord, yes!" Ezra realised in the split second it took for his fingers to comply with the order, understanding completely what it was Chris had done. It was sheer brilliance and pure Chris Larabee. "Torpedoes away!"

The warbird had barely time to complete dissolve before them on the view screen when the spread of torpedoes ejected from the firing bays of the Maverick met their mark. The explosion was spectacular and traveled across the hull of the enormous ship, sending heat and exploding gasses in all directions. However, Chris did not take time to enjoy the sight because, despite its dire straits, the Maverick was still bound directly for her.  It would not be long before those explosions reached apogee and Chris knew he did not want to be anywhere near the Tasmeem when she finally reached critical mass.

"Hard to port Vin!" Chris shouted. "NOW!"

Using more skill than Vin Tanner ever thought he possessed, he forced the Maverick to make that tight arch, pulling sharply away from the exploding warbird with a fraction of a second before several million tons of starship collided into the beleaguered vessel. The Maverick decelerated as she pulled away, dropping her speed from the perilous 9.99 to a more sensible velocity sure to ease their engineer's nerves.

"You crazy son of a bitch!" Buck laughed out loud, slapping Chris on the back, unable to help himself as the insanity Chris had forced upon them earlier had evolved into sheer genius.

"That was outstanding Captain!" Even JD could not keep his exuberance from showing as he stared in adoration at his hero.

Chris was not about to accept all their applause just yet. There were still three Jem’Hadar ships in pursuit, and they were far from what could be deemed as being anywhere safe. "Vin, get us to the Vikaris Quasar at best speed."

"What just happened?" Mary found herself asking. She knew they had scored a victory and the Romulan warbird shrinking in the view screen the more distance the Maverick put between itself and the vessel hurtling towards destruction. A few seconds later, the entire view screen came alive with the brilliant flare of that final conflagration when the Tasmeem met its fiery demise. The entire bridge came alive with cheers at its complete destruction and she could see friends cheering, lovers holding each other tightly and the universal feeling of victory permeated the bridge with the possibility they might all get out of this with their skins intact.

However, she still could not understand how that occurred. Being a novice to space battles on this scale and being on the front lines only added to her puzzlement at the expertise Chris had wielded so formidably to achieve this end. Mary had assumed that Chris’s s entire purpose in driving the ship towards the enemy with nothing less than ramming speed had been to unnerve the Vorta and send the warbird into retreat but obviously that was not what had taken place.

"The Captain just pulled a rabbit out of his hat, that's what!" Buck grinned.

"I don't understand," she looked at Chris, unable to be unaffected by the first officer's grin but still somewhat confused by what had transpired.

"By heading towards the war bird at ramming speed," Buck explained once he composed himself. "Chris scared Fanaian enough to make the Vorta order the Tasmeem into raising its cloak to escape and as most of us know when a Romulan ship raises its cloak...."

"It has to drop its shields." Mary exclaimed, almost feeling a wave of satisfaction when the light of understanding reached her as well and she stared at Chris with a broadening smile of admiration. "Nicely done Captain."

"Thanks," Chris answered abruptly, hardly noticing the compliment. His eyes were still fixed on the view screen and the three Jem’Hadar ships bearing down hard on the Maverick. "We're not out of this yet."

In achieving that little miracle, the ship had been pushed to its limit and while the Romulan ship was destroyed, the threat was no means ended. With three Jem’Hadar ships pounding the Maverick relentlessly during the time he had been attempting to force the Vorta's hand, the starship's energy reserves were dwindling rapidly. They did not have much time before the shields buckled completely. All it took was another massive show of force from the Jem’Hadar and they would be wide open to attack.

"Engineering," Chris called out again. "What's our status?"

This time Julia did not answer rapidly and while Ezra was paving the way behind the Maverick with a good number of torpedoes to force the Jem’Hadar to break off pursuit, the security man still managed to look up in concern at the continued silence.

"Lieutenant Pemberton," Chris saw the fear in his eyes and repeated himself. "Come in!"

"I'm sorry Captain!" Julia's voice was heard a moment later, followed by a loud series of coughs. There was hissing in the background and Engineering seemed in nothing less than a state of utter pandemonium. "We're losing power. The phaser bombardment from the enemy ships has weakened the magnetic containment field of the anti-matter core.  I am trying to prevent a core breach. We've lost forty percent of reserve power and there are hull breaches on deck 12, 27 and 31. We've also had emergency decompression in the main shuttle bay. There are fluctuations in our shield strength, I have my people trying to reinforce it or the Jem’Hadar are going to be able to transport straight through our shields."

"Noted lieutenant," Chris said quietly, expecting it to be this bad even though nothing took the place of having it told to him so starkly. "Julia, you did a good job. You held us together." He made that final offering of gratitude. Even though she was not on the bridge, the part she played was no less vital to their continued survival. If they were to be destroyed today, Chris wanted her to know that.

There was a slight pause as she considered his words and almost everyone on the bridge shared Chris’s s gratitude towards the young Chief Engineer who managed to hold the ship together while they had been so determined to fly her apart. "Thank you, Sir. Now I've got to get back to my ship. You've left a hell of a mess for me to clean up Captain." There was the familiar teasing in her voice as she made that last remark.

"I apologize," he grinned slightly. "Larabee out."

"Captain," Alexandra Styles spoke up the minute he had terminated the line with engineering. Something in her voice made him turn around immediately. Alex's expression when he faced her seemed disturbed and his science officer disturbed was never a good thing.

"What is it?" Chris demanded.

"One Jem’Hadar ship is maintaining pursuit. In fact, it’s put all its power into reaching us at any cost." Alex met Chris’s s gaze, not comprehending and if she did, what she understood gave her a very bad feeling. It was an emotion Chris could very well understand because the thoughts were coming together in his head even as she spoke.

"Aren't they all?" Buck asked, taking note of the troubled expression on both their faces and feeling this gnawing in his gut, growing in intensity the more he saw them trying desperately to figure out what the enemy was playing at this time.

"No," Alex shook her head in answer. "The other two have fallen back to safer speeds. They are still in pursuit but they're not going at it as hard as the lead ship. It's pursuing us at Warp 9.99, diverting all power to propulsions just to reach us."

"Can we outrun it?" Mary asked nervously, hating it when Chris went quiet like this because it only seemed to indicate the worse.

"No," Alex shook her head. "That stunt with the Romulan warbird has drained all our systems to critical levels. If we try matching its speed, then Julia is not going to be able to stabilize the core and we will have anti-matter containment failure and warp core breach. The Dominion won't have to finish us off, we'll go up like a Roman candle."

"Thank you for that colorful description Commander," Ezra winced as he tried to guess what stratagem the lone Jem’Hadar ship was attempting to carry out. Did it not know that the minute it came within sights of the Maverick's targeting screen, he was going to blast it out of the sky? "I do not understand what this vessel is attempting to accomplish," Ezra spoke out loud, hoping his Captain might have the answer he did not. "Surely the enemy must know we will be able to obliterate it out of our sky the minute it attempts to fire upon us? One Jem’Hadar ship does not have the fire power to incapacitate us."

Chris saw the Jem’Hadar ship closing and watched Ezra prepare to fire when suddenly, the vessel moved into a series of neat maneuvers, skillfully avoiding the torpedoes. The phasers were offline and in order to fire again, Ezra had to recalibrate the torpedoes to make another shot. It was during this margin of time the Jem’Hadar further accelerated, pouring so much speed into its acceleration, there was no way it would be able to keep it up for long and when its power reserves had exhausted itself, it would be lying dead in space.

Chris continued to stare at the ship, trying to understand what it was doing. It certainly did not have the fire power to cause significant damage to the Maverick as Ezra had said and unless the captain of the vessel was preparing to hurl itself into the galaxy class starship's path there was little it could do to halt their escape. Unless...a very ugly notion unfolded inside his mind.

"Oh shit!" Chris swore, "Vin, evasive maneuvers now! It's not going to shoot at us, it’s going to ram us!"

No sooner than he said it, Chris watched in horror as the Jem’Hadar warship used the narrow margin of time it took Ezra to realign the targeting scanner of the torpedoes, to close the distance between the two vessels. It seemed almost biblical, like David and Goliath, Chris thought absurdly as the smaller ship sailed towards the Maverick and slammed hard into the port nacelle. The impact of the ship against the pride of the Federation fleet was nothing less than devastating. If they had thought the initial blast the Maverick had taken at the onset of the battle was bad, it was nothing compared to the suicide collision of the Jem’Hadar warship into the Maverick.

Almost everyone went flying through the air as the ship surged sideways, Chris was thrown to the floor. He saw Alex hit the wall and Ezra rolling across the ground. Consoles exploded, raining glass around their ears. A length of conduit dropped down above JD and the ensign barely had time to leap out of his chair to keep from being fried by several thousand watts of power. The viewer in front of him shattered and Chris threw his body over Mary, covering her from the spray of glass raining against him like a tidal wave of sharp jagged pieces.

Vin dove beneath the helm controls and just in time to avoid from being injured severely since the con was right in the front of the bridge and he was positioned closest to the view screen. As the devastation continued, the bridge was bathed in the color of crimson as emergency lighting kicked into being. For a few seconds, all was quiet following the collision. Everyone was too afraid to move in the aftermath until a sharp shrill sound screamed loudly in their ears, cutting through their astonishment and reminding them if they thought things were bad now, it was about to get a whole lot worse.

Alex staggered to her feet, wiping the blood off her cheek as she returned to her console, one of the few not destroyed following the impact with the Jem’Hadar ship. She cleared the glass off the screen in order to see what was happening and then wished she hadn't.

"The two Jem’Hadar ships are closing." She answered with a strained voice as she saw Chris getting to his feet and helping Mary to hers. Vin returned to his position at the con but not before he had a chance to look in her direction to ensure she survived the impact. Ezra too was on his feet and returning to his station at tactical. The side of the security chief's face was red, and his cheek was swelling with discoloring from where he hit the floor.

"Damage report!" Chris demanded.

"The Jem’Hadar ship hit one of our nacelles, destroying…" she examined the readings on the console before her. "Three decks. Our warp engines are offline, and we are floating dead in space. By the looks of it, Engineering is attempting to reroute power so that we can have partial impulse."

"What about our shields?" Chris asked, his worst fears confirmed as he listened to the state of his ship. At this moment, he could not even bring himself to ask how many people had been on those three decks when it was obliterated.

"We have no shields." Alex looked up at him somberly. "Our shields are completely gone. The collision overloaded the shield generator and buckled it. I'm reading massive destabilization to the warp core so I'm assuming Engineering is attempting to correct that problem before attempting to deal with our shields and our lack of warp capability."

"Captain!" JD fairly shouted and brought all eyes to him. The young man was kneeling over Buck Wilmington who was lying on his back, unconscious. A piece of glass had embedded itself deep into the man's left side and his head was bleeding profusely from a gash incurred when the view screen shattered. "I think he's hurt bad!"

"Sick Bay!" Mary tapped her com badge immediately, trying to feel useful in the face of all this damage. "We need a medical crew in here right now. Commander Wilmington is injured!"

"I'm sending a team immediately!" Nathan Jackson's voice replied full of urgency. "We've got lots of hurt down here Captain!"

"He needs someone now!" Chris barked. "Get someone up here." The Captain said as he hurried to his old friend. Mary was already there, having some medical training in her past but not enough to give Buck the help he needed.

"How is he?" Chris asked.

"He's bad Chris," Mary replied. "If he doesn't get help soon…."

"What?" JD demanded. "What's going to happen?"

"Ensign," Chris spoke firmly. "Get to your station. Mary will take care of Buck. I want you to send a priority one distress call to any Federation ship in the area. We should be out of their jamming range now." The order was calculated to take JD's mind off Buck and Chris wished there was some distraction to allow him the same courtesy when suddenly, the computer's cool dulcet tones spoke up and granted him his wish.

"Intruder alert."

They were being boarded.

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