* * * * * * * * * * *
“I heard that they have chefs aboard the Starsong,” Sam Dixon said, glancing across the long table before looking down at his plate of replicated food with a sigh.
Next to him, Aimee Maguire twisted a strand of her blond hair around and around. “I doubt it. There hasn’t been a chief aboard a Starfleet ship in seventy years.”
“So what do you think we’re going to do now?,” Keitsev asked them. Dixon followed his gaze out the front window to what the Starsong majestically dominated the view. “I heard that the captain’s not saying anything,” he continued slyly, turning towards Maguire.
“You’re right,” she said coldly. “She’s not saying anything. So leave it.”
Keitsev shot a look at Dixon. “Did I catch you at a bad time, sir?,” he asked the Chief Engineer.
“You want to know why I’m angry? I’m angry because Pozach refused to put that psychopath zh’Tali in the Brig!”
Keitsev frowned at her outburst. “Why would she do that?”
For a few moments, Maguire simply stared at him, dumbfounded. Dixon slowly shifted away from her, attempting to intervene with a hesitant,” Sweetie?”
“She should do it,” she interrupted him,” because that woman is insane. She isn’t what a Starfleet officer is supposed to be.”
“I think you’re looking at her in the wrong way,” the ops officer said, leaned back in his chair easily. “She killed a Cardassian. So what? It’s because of Commander zh’Tali and people like her that the Federation made it through the war.” He paused contemplatively before adding,” If you ask me, she’s a hero.”
Maguire buried her face in her hands before fixing him with a disgusted look. “Think about what they taught us at the Academy. We explore strange, new worlds. We seek out new lifeforms and new civilizations. None of that includes killing people!”
“See, that’s where you and I differ,” Vasily told her,” about the role of Starfleet. I mean, yes, it’s great for us to find new species, explore new worlds, and all of that. While we’re off becoming enlightened, what about the rest of the Federation? Do you know what I was taught at the Academy? That those of us in these uniforms are the only line of defense between the citizens of the Federation and whoever would harm them. Whether they’re Jem’hadar, Borg, or whatever else is out there in this Galaxy. This is our job.”
He rose from his seat and dropped his napkin onto his plate. “Davi zh’Tali has done more to defend the Federation than anyone else on this ship.”
With that said, he turned and stalked his way out of the Mess Hall, leaving Maguire and Dixon to sit there in silence.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Captain,” I’m reading them again,” Lieutenant Keitsev announced, breaking the uncomfortable silence on the Bridge. “Sensors are detecting disturbances on the edge of our sensor range.”
zh’Tali’s eyes slid over to Pozach as the captain let out a measured sigh. “Have Lieutenant Maguire run another diagnostic on the sensors.”
Keitsev paused for a minute before saying,” Captain, this is the second time in the last forty minutes that sensors have picked up these things. I don’t think that they’re sensor ghosts.”
“What would they be, Lieutenant?,” zh’Tali asked him, standing on the right side of the command chair.
“Cloaked ship,” the operations officer said, raising his chin at her challenge,” or vessels at the extreme edge of our sensor range, following us and attempting not to be seen.”
“Maybe they’re ghost ships,” Polcheny said before she blinked. “Do ghost ships have treasure?”
Pozach turned to face Keitsev. “Personally I doubt that cloaked ships would randomly follow us halfway across the sector. Don’t worry about it, Lieutenant.”
“Sir,” he began to say.
“Don’t,” the captain repeated herself,” worry.”
Ensign Polcheny frowned at Keitsev who fidgeted with his console. Captain Pozach went back to drumming her fingers on her chair’s armrests, and even zh’Tali seemed to be restless.
“Captain,” the Andorian zhen began to say,” we’ve been on this course for a week now with nothing … out of the ordinary. Perhaps we should…”
Pozach stood up from her command chair and began walking circuits around the Bridge. She swiped the helm console for dust and poked her fingers through the holographic image of the viewscreen. “Commander, I was once told that all things come to those who wait.” She paced around a little more before she murmured,” and we will wait.”
She wandered over to the dedication plaque mounted on the starboard bulkhead. “Did anyone know that this ship was built at the Antares Shipyards?”
“Fascinating,” Keitsev said drolly.
“And the man who designed her security systems now commands the Surefoot?” She traced a finger along the bottom-most line of text on the plaque. “‘There’s the known and the unknown; in between there are doors,’” she read.
“New sensor readings,” Keitsev interrupted her.
“More ghost ships?,” Polcheny asked him.
Keitsev shook his head. “No, it’s a Cardassian freighter and it’s putting out a general distress signal.”
zh’Tali caught Pozach’s eye. The captain walked back to her seat with more vigor than she had shown in the past several days. “On screen.”
“Audio only. I’m patching it in.”
The speakers crackled with static. “To any ship that can hear us, we are the Cardassian merchant freighter Bokmal, out of Cardassia Prime. We have been attacked by Maquis raiders and our drive systems are off-line. Please assist.”
“Bokmal, this is the Federation starship Cayuga. We will arrive at your location shortly. Hold on.” “Pozach tapped her armrest as she sat down in her chair. “Put the ship on screen.”
The cargo ship appeared on screen, spinning end over end and spilling plasma from its warp drive into space. “Negligible damage to the outer hull,” zh’Tali observed with a suspicious glare.
“Too bad,” Keitsev said coldly before he remembered himself,” but that is real plasma that they’re venting into space.”
“Dropping out of warp…,” Polcheny announced,” now.”
Pozach sat up in her seat. “Helm, bring us within thirty thousand kilometers of them. Mister Keitsev, steady them with the tractor beam.”
“Captain, energy readings aboard the Bokmal just shot through the roof.” Keitsev’s voice was tight with stress. “The Cardies have their warp drives back on-line and I’m reading a serious buildup--”
“Red alert,” zh’Tali said, interrupting him. “Raise shields.”
The deck buckled under a weapons strike. Pozach gritted her teeth but she held on.
“They fired on us,” Keitsev yelled after checking his board,” before we got our shields up! They’ve damaged the shield generators!”
“Bridge to Security,” Pozach said, quietly after tapping her combadge. “Prepare to be boarded.”
“Boarded?,” Polcheny asked her. “Why would they --”
“Reading transporter signatures!,” Keitsev interrupted her. “Intruders have been detected on Decks Four, Nine, and Eleven!”
“Captain,” her Andorian first officer said, turning to face her captain,” I believe now would be an appropriate time.”
Pozach nodded and she rushed off of the Bridge.
Keitsev looked angrily when he turned from his board to face Pozach. “Captain, aren’t we going to return fire on the Cardies?!,” he demanded to know because the heat of battle was upon the young operations officer and in his blood.
The Red Alert klaxon sounded twice before she spoke. “I would thank you not to use racial slurs on my Bridge.” She turned to face the lieutenant and continued with,” And no.”
“But,” sputtered the lieutenant,” they’re Cardassians! Why the hell not?!”
A faint smile spread across her lips. “Because, Mister Keitsev, there are better ways to resolve conflicts than fighting.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sam Dixon flattened himself against the bulkhead as another disruptor erupted near him. The Cardassians were laying down a barrage that was thick enough to keep anyone from getting near the cargo bay that they were holed up in. The security officer swore to himself as he failed to line up another shot with his hand phaser. Over the scream of phaser fire, he could hear the whine of a transporter as the Cardassians stole more of the relief supplies.
A Cardassian leaned past the carbon-scorched doors. The barrel of his disruptor was questing for a target, only for its owner to fall to Dixon’s expert marksmanship.
Taking advantage of the break in the weapons fire, he yelled,” Ntannu! Cover me!” He charged into the cargo bay, rolling through the door and coming up with his phaser ready.
There was a moment when the Cardassians did nothing but smirk. Because at that moment, they and the last of the supply containers disappeared into the golden mist of a transporter effect.
The security officer swore and slammed his fist into the wall. He grimaced in pain for a moment before he tapped his combadge. “Dixon to Bridge. The intruders got away, Captain.”
He expected anger from her, perhaps yelling of some sort. Instead, Captain Pozach simply asked him,” Did they capture all of the cargo containers?”
Dixon surveyed the empty room. “Yes, sir,” he said, quietly.
“Good.”
He looked up in surprise. “Sir?”
The line clicked off.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When there was no one there to greet them as they stepped off of the shuttlecraft, Sean Pasko began to realize just how bad things were. Shouldering his travel carryall, he left the shuttle bay while Doctor Moru headed for Sickbay. He joined the press of the ship’s crew streaming through the corridors darkened for the ship's night.
Engineering was in better shape than he would have expected, given the air of general panic throughout the ship. Chief Engineer Maguire was standing, waist-deep, in an access panel in front of the warp core. She was tugging out isolinear chips and bio-neural gel packs, tossing them aside. She didn’t notice him approaching until he plunked down next to her with a grin.
“I see that you all had some fun without me,” he said, lightly.
Maguire was startled at first by his presence. But then she glared at him as she shifted a strand of hair out of her face. “While you were out, having fun, the rest of us were being ambushed.”
“Ambushed?”
“Yes, by the Cardassians and it wasn’t fun either. They boarded us and stole all of the supplies that we were carrying,” she said as she began to separate the piles of isolinear chips and gel packs. “They took out our shield generators and one of their boarding teams hooked up a device to the power distribution system that kicked a lot of systems out of whack, including the warp drive. That, I can tell you, certainly kept us from chasing after them.”
“Well,” Pasko said as he stood up from where he was sitting,” look at it this way. Now you’ve got plenty of opportunities to use your fancy techno-babble.”
“I would appreciate it,” Maguire shot back at him, grimly,” if you didn’t refer to what I do as ‘techno-babble’” An alarm began beeping from the access panel. “Oh, for… Zehna, I told you! Ramp up the magnetic constrictors to shut off the matter and antimatter flows, then run alignments checks on the dilithium crystal articulation frame. You’re never going to get a clear reading on it if you’ve got deuterium and anti-deuterium flying around!”
Grinning to himself, Pasko left Engineering. Shadows failed to hide the carbon scoring around the cargo bays. He whistled quietly and tapped his combadge,” Commander, locate Commander zh’Tali.”
The computer beeped for attention before saying,” Commander zh’Tali is not aboard the Cayuga.”
He frowned at this information. “Okay, locate Captain Pozach.”
“Captain Pozach is in the Mess Hall,” replied the calm voice of the ship’s computer.
Pasko turned away to find a turbolift but he paused to say,” Thanks,” before heading off.
The Mess Hall was deserted. Its tables cast long shadows over the piano where Pozach sat. her fingers danced across the keys and the pilot cleared his throat. She stopped playing, only to turn to face him.
“Sean, welcome back.”
The lieutenant straightened to attention. “Permission to come aboard, sir.”
“Granted. How was your trip home?” She straddled the piano beach and Pasko turned a chair around to sit across from her.
“It was… enlightening… especially after listening to Doc Moru tell me about his father. But it was good to be with my family for a bit.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Ran into Aimee on the way here. She was pretty angry about all of the extra work that you seem to have picked up.”
“I would imagine so.” Her tone wasn’t sharp but he still shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Pozach sighed. “We got tricked by a fake distress call from a Cardassian freighter. They jumped us and stole the relief supplies.”
“I tried to report in to Commander zh’Tali, but the computer said that she wasn't aboard. Do you know where she is?”
The ship’s chimes quietly declared the midnight hour and Pozach chuckled to herself before she turned back to the piano. She searched its top for a moment before she pulled down a sheet of music. “Sean,” she said, placing the music in front of her and running her finger across the title,” I know exactly where Commander zh’Tali is…”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The base’s cargo bay was Cardassian in design. It was colored brown and gold with arches that stretched up to the ceiling. Federation cargo containers were spread across the floor with the top off of one of them popped open. Silently, a figure dressed in black climbed out, carrying an ax.
Down the hallway, a voice drifted in from the operations center. “The starship has crippled the Bokmal! Their shields are down to seventy-six percent from one hit. One hit!”
“Did the distress signal get through to Toret?”
“Yes, but…”
“What?!”
“He says we’re on our own.”
“That’s an Excelsior-class starship! What does he think we’re going to do?”
There was much swearing and the black-clad figure strode into the operations room to say in a harsh Cardassian dialect,” You are all under arrest. Lower your weapons and put your hands in the air.”
A dozen Cardassian soldiers looked up from their monitors in surprise.
“Who the hell are you?,” one of them asked, the rank markers of a Glinn on his uniform.
“My name is Davi zh’Tali, and you’re all under arrest. Lower your weapons and put your hands in the air.” The Andorian stepped forward, her kar’takin held loosely in front of her.
The Cardassians traded incredulous looks with each other and a few smirks appeared. “Yes, of course,” the Glinn said with a sinister smile. “Harrek, Duni, would you kill her?”
“Thank you,” zh’Tali whispered and with a slight pop of her neck, she began to move.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Excellent,” Wintamba said before she deactivated her combadge. She turned towards T’Phera Pavlova and the squad of security officers that waited with her on the front lawn of the mansion. “Starsong tracked the ship that attacked the Cayuga back to its base and they’re capturing both now. The distress signal from the base was directed to this house.” She gestured towards the mansion. “Go.”
Pavlova led her squad to the front door and rapped on it sharply. The aged butler opened it and looked at her with surprise. “You are not expected.”
“I should hope not,” Atlantis’ security chief said, pushing the door open to allow her and her security officers inside. “We’re here for your master. Where is he?”
“What is the meaning of this?!,” Toret’s voice boomed down from the staircase.
Wintamba stepped forward, framing herself in front of the lit fireplace. “Sir, I have reason to believe that you are somehow involved in the theft of Federation relief supplies.” She motioned towards Pavlova. “I’m sure that if you don’t mind chatting with my Security Chief about it, then all of this can be cleared up in no time. After all… we’re all civilized individuals.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
To say that there was blood everywhere was something less of either an understatement or an exaggeration. There were portions of the ceiling that still retained their original color. Along the walls lay the Cardassians, dead, maimed, or otherwise pacified.
zh’Tali looked up at the three Starfleet officers who had beamed into the operations center. They looked at the carnage around them and then at the woman who knelt untouched at the center of it all.
Hideo Namachi took in the corpses stoically and asked,” Is the base secure?”
“Yes, Commander,” replied the zhen.
“I see,” the Starsong’s first officer said,” and the stolen cargo?”
zh’Tali nodded towards the door. “Down that hallway.”
Namachi sent the security officers to secure the containers before regarding the Andorian. “Impressive work. I thought that only Klingons and the Jem’hadar were this… savage.”
zh’Tali stared at him before she rose to her feet. “Beam me aboard. I wish to return to my ship.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
It seemed that even on the decimated world of Sorrot Minor, there could be a celebration. From her perch atop a container, Captain Pozach watched the Cardassians’ first moment of joy since the black market had come with a smile on her face.
“Captain Weynik is looking for you,” said a voice from behind her. “There is a celebration among the command staffs of the successful completion of the operation. He was surprised that you didn’t attend.”
Pozach turned and watched zh’Tali for a long moment. “I am celebrating. Here.” She motioned at the crowd of Cardassians. “I helped distribute the supplies. It seemed like a better use of my time.”
“True,” the Andorian said evenly.
Neither woman said anything for a very long time. zh’Tali, because she had nothing to say, and Pozach, because she had to find the words inside herself. Finally she opted for the simple approach after considering and dismissing numerous rants and speeches.
“You killed.”
zh’Tali nodded sheepishly. “Seven fatalities. The remaining Cardassians are expected to make full recoveries within the next three weeks, according to Doctor Moru.”
Pozach closed her eyes and a hint of steel worked its way into her voice. “I asked you not to kill, Davi.”
“An unreasonable request that you shouldn’t have made, Captain.”
“All right,” the captain said, sliding off of the container,” let me ask you this, Commander. What makes us, as Starfleet officers and citizens of the Federation, morally superior to the Jem’hadar?”
zh’Tali’s eyes lowered into slits as she rose to the bait. “The predisposition to act in a manner consistent with the morals of the Federation, presumably.”
“Virtues like mercy apply. You didn’t have to kill any of them but you did. How can you claim to defend the virtues of the Federation when you refuse to exercise them?”
“A good question. Allow me to pose a similar question to you. Was it the Federation’s morality or its mercy that allowed us to defeat the Dominion and their Jem’hadar?”
“I…,” Pozach began before pausing,” I suppose not. War tests our virtues not supports them.”
“Exactly,” zh’Tali said with a hiss, surprising the captain with her sudden intensity,” the Federation’s lofty ideals cannot survive their encounters with the Galaxy around them. That’s why there will always be people who stand aside from those ideals, ready to protect them.”
“We can resolve our conflicts before they result in death.”
“Spoken like someone who has never fought before,” the First Officer said, icily. “Will mercy towards a Jem’hadar convince it that peace is the proper path? No.” She cut the air with her hand. “It will give it another opportunity to kill you and it will take it.”
zh’Tali stepped closer to her and the captain could feel the other woman’s body vibrating with repressed rage. “The society that you’re so proud of would not be possible,” she continued,” if not for individuals willing to damn themselves to ensure that you can keep your… virtues.”
Pozach tried to lock states with zh’Tali and failed miserably. She looked down at the ground and listened to her start to walk away and then pause in her stance.
“Although,” the commander said,” without those virtues, the Federation wouldn’t be worth damning oneself for.”
Pozach looked up in surprise at this admission but zh’Tali was gone.
The End...
