CHAPTER 13
Stardate: 53770.0 (8 October 2376)
USS Gibraltar, Sick-bay
Occupied Cardassian Territory
The light was bright to Sintina’s eyes. She covered them with her arm. She shot up, as the memories returned to her. She was wearing a patient’s gown. She was…in a sick-bay. She recognized members of her crew in the adjacent bio-beds; all still asleep.
A bald man…no…an EMH soon found her.
“What happened?” Sintina questioned.
“Lay back down, Captain,” was the response from the hologram.
She didn’t comply.
He huffed in annoyance and looked over to someone, “Lieutenant Taiee, Captain Aurelia has regained consciousness.”
A woman, about the same build as Sintina with short, brown hair, approached. “Captain Aurelia, you’re aboard the USS Gibraltar. You’ll be fine.”
“What happened?” she repeated, in a more urgent tone.
The nurse practitioner bit her lip and responded, “I’d better let the captain explain that, sir. He wanted to be contacted when you woke any…”
The Latina grabbed the medical officer’s wrist, “Tell me!”
She examined the offending hand. It wasn’t a violent clutch, but it did have force behind it. Taiee sighed, if she were in Aurelia’s shoes, she wouldn’t want to wait either. She explained only after the hand was withdrawn. “We’re not sure exactly what happened. I do know, you’re ship entered a field of hyperonic radiation with the shields down. The surviving members of your crew are being treated for radiation sickness. One officer is being treated for several broken bones and organ trauma. Another had a gun shot wound.”
Aurelia had several questions, but her immediate thought turned out to be, “A gun shot wound? Who had a gun shot wound?”
The lieutenant pointed to a bed across the rather large sick-bay. “That officer…I believe she was listed as Lieutenant Chase.”
Sintina’s eyes grew wide. She used Taiee’s shoulder to push herself out of the bio-bed. The captain made a beeline for the still unconscious Chase.
“Captain? Captain Aurelia,” Taiee said, “you’re still recovering, you need to…”
The former commander of the Independence reached the Section 31 agent and clamped both hands around her throat. She cursed as she squeezed her airway, “I told you…I’d kill you!”
Taiee tapped on her compin, “Security to Sick-bay.” She moved closer, “Captain, let go of her!”
Sintina was in a fury, “She tried to kill us! She tried to kill us all!”
One of the EMH mark I’s offered, “I believe I can take care of this.” He took a hypo off a table as he walked over to the assault. The doctor was easily able to close the gap, while the captain was focused on her victim, and pressed the device on her neck. With a hiss, the sedative was injected. Aurelia collapsed on top of Chase; her hands still locked around Nicole’s neck.
*****
This time, the lights weren’t nearly as bright and Aurelia’s eyes opened. Two people stood over her, Lieutenant Taiee, and light-skinned human male. His black and gray hair was cut very close to his head. He bore the rank of captain.
Sandhurst looked over to the nurse, “Thank you, dismissed.”
She turned and exited, what Sintina now realized was, a crew’s quarters.
The man then regarded his counterpart, “I’m Donald Sandhurst, captain of the Gibraltar.”
“Where’s Chase?” she demanded.
Sandhurst was tempted to say “Nice to meet you too,” but decided against it. Instead, he answered, “Still in sick-bay, under guard; unless you can give me a damn good reason to put her in the brig.” He added, “If you can’t give me a good reason, I do have a good reason to put you there, Captain. Assault is not something I take lightly.”
Sintina grinded her teeth, but was able to temper her rage…barely. “She overrode the computer somehow and drugged us with…something.”
Gibraltar’s commander looked unconvinced.
“She did it in front of my face! Search the ship, there might be traces of that chemical…or examine the computer. For that matter ask the other bridge officers. They’ll back up everything I’ve said.”
He grimaced and became more sympathetic in his tone. Donald wasn’t looking forward to this moment. He could only imagine what it was like to lose a ship. He knew of other captains that had done so: Awokou lost the Phoenix, and Glover lost the Cuffe. He even had to break the news to Awokou. The second time around wasn’t any easier. He decided it was best not to sugar coat it, “Your ship…it’s been destroyed.”
Sintina sat up, “What?”
“There was a core breach. We’re not sure how, yet.”
Captain Aurelia’s heart sank. Her breathing became heavy and her head felt like it was spinning. She managed, “How…how many didn’t make it?”
He felt for her. “Not everyone survived in the nacelle. We recovered 46 of your crew. Thirty-eight are alive now,” Sandhurst somberly stated.
She blankly stared, “Thirty-eight…Thirty-eight of one hundred-seven.” Sintina stood only to find her legs failed her.
Sandhurst was able to support her. She shook him off. Seemingly from no where, she found new strength. She headed for the exit. He blocked her.
“Where do you think you’re going, Captain?” he rhetorically asked.
“Let me see her.”
“Not a chance. Not like this.”
Sintina got in the taller man’s face, “She killed them!” Her fury was so complete that her eyes watered.
He maintained a diplomatic voice, “I believe you, but I have a feeling, you’re not going to help the situation.”
She attempted to keep her wrath. In her mind, it was better to be angry than in sorrow, especially in front of someone who hadn’t gained her trust. For several seconds, she stared right back at him. He wasn’t going to back down. Her jaw began to tremble, despite her best efforts to stop it. She felt drops forming. Her defenses against herself broke. Sintina burst into tears and started sobbing uncontrollably.
Her reaction took Donald off guard. The small, but formidable woman that was before him had transformed into a fragile and vulnerable human being. His first impulse was to hug her. He wasn’t sure if his attempts at comfort would be welcome or not. He decided to take the chance. He enveloped her in his arms. Luckily, she didn’t resist it.
Sintina continued to gasp for air between her cries and dampen Sandhurst’s uniform. He knew she would need more help than he could offer. The Gibraltar lacked a formal counselor, but he knew who helped him through times like this. After several seconds, he looked up and said to the computer, “Commander Pell, would you report to Captain Aurelia’s quarters, please.”
*****
An hour later, after Pell and Sandhurst had talked Aurelia down, the Gibraltar captain decided to hold a meeting in the conference room. There was something more going on here and he wanted all the information he could get.
Bin Nadal was still sore, but he was a crucial witness, and Taiee allowed him to attend. Beside Captain Sandhurst sat Captain Aurelia, in proper attire; then, Commander Ramirez; Diplomatic Officer Pell; and Junior Lieutenant Juneau, the ship’s operations officer. On the other side of the table, Shanthi, Lar’ragos, Taiee, and bin Nadal sat.
Aurelia and then bin Nadal recalled their experiences to the Gibraltar’s senior staff. Everyone listened as they recounted the events of yesterday.
The mention of “Section 31” caught the attention of Olivia Juneau, or rather, a part of her. “Talk about a sloppy job,” Juneau’s hidden persona commented. “I hate cleaning up after other people’s messes.”
Bin Nadal only made one minor omission to his testimony. He ended with, “We owe our lives to Lieutenant Jinal.”
Sandhurst nodded respectfully, but he had another question on his mind. He turned to his tactical chief. If anyone on his ship could confirm bin Nadal’s story about a covert agency, it would be the El-Aurian. He fought with the Starfleet Special Missions Teams during the Dominion War. “Have you ever heard of this 'Section 31', Pava?”
“I’ve heard the name,” he rejoined, “but not much beyond that.”
“Whoever Lieutenant Chase is,” Sandhurst declared, “She’s obviously committed crimes against the crew of the Independence.” Again, he looked at Pava, “Get her into the brig. I want her questioned.” He concluded, “Dismissed.”
Most everyone exited without comment. Only Sandhurst and Aurelia lingered.
Once the captains were alone, Gibraltar’s skipper spoke. “I understand how…delicate this situation is, Captain. But I’m obligated to bring it up…”
“You want to know if I’ll retaliate,” she finished for him.
He regarded her with a sigh, “Restraint doesn’t seem to be a characteristic you have in abundance.”
Sintina huffed. She got up from the chair and rounded the conference table. She gazed out into the void. Finally, she said, “I’ll make it very clear to my crew that Chase is off limits.”
“What about you?” he pressed.
She paused. Then, turned and said sincerely, “If I kill her, you’ll be the first person I tell.”
END OF CHAPTER 13
) signal got through - but will the Gibraltar arrive in time to help, or will they find a dead ship?
That is, if Sintina leaves anything left 
