Standard Disclaimer: All characters and situations related to Star Trek are wholly owned by Paramount Pictures. All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" TV series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
If there was one thing that Chris Larabee hated to be, it was wrong.
He hated it because being wrong meant that he was fallible and not as in control of his life as he wished to be. A starship captain could not afford to be wrong; too many lives depended on his ability to have all the answers despite the situation. The nature of things required him to always have alternatives, to foresee every possibility, no matter how remote and devise a solution to counter it, should it suddenly rear its ugly head to threaten any of them. When he had received the call from Ezra Standish informing him of what had taken place within Four Corners, he knew he had failed in that responsibility.
As Chris made his way to Alexandra Styles' quarters where he had ordered her confined for the duration, with guards posted at her door to ensure she remain there, he still did know whether or not he had been wrong in keeping her on duty. Of course, his guilt could be easily absolved by arguing that no one could have possibly foreseen this set of circumstances coming to bear. Unfortunately as he turned down the corridor and saw the two men playing sentry outside of Alex's quarters, he realised that absolution would do him little good.
What he needed now was an answer, which he did not have.
A part of him could hear Josiah now, telling him that he had precipitated this situation by keeping Alex on active duty but Chris still failed to see what good it would have done taking her work away from her. No one could have possibly imagined that Gul Lemar was once a warder of a Cardassian Gulag, where the rape camps they had spoken of with such disgust was under his authority to maintain. Unfortunately, because the Gul took a very hand on approach to his work, Chris was now faced with a crisis he could not possibly imagine. The more he closed the gap between his inevitable meeting with Alex, he found himself forced to make a choice between his duty to the Federation and upholding the honor of a friend who had suffered more than she ought, by any standards.
He had a feeling he was going to feel bad no matter which way this went.
Upon reaching the doors, the two security men who were taking up flank immediately snapped to attention and greeted the master of the vessel. Chris paused long enough to offer them a nod of acknowledgement before activating the panel that announced his presence. He waited for a moment to be invited in but no answer was forthcoming.
Glancing at Lieutenant Katovit, Chris found himself asking. "I'm hoping she's in there." He responded, unashamed of using just enough stern authority in his voice to indicate that if she had gotten past them, there would be hell to pay.
"She is Sir." Katovit nodded. "She's probably worn herself out." The lieutenant said uncomfortably, feeling awkward about having to reveal that snippet of information but it was necessary.
"Worn herself out?" Chris was almost afraid to ask.
"There was a lot of noise a while ago." The security officer responded, not needing to elaborate further because the captain would be able to see evidence of it when he walked into the room.
Chris took a deep breath and decided this was never meant to be easy before pushing down on the button that opened the door, choosing to enter even if Alex did not want company. Unfortunately, her actions in Four Corners had taken that choice out of her hands and she was getting a visitor. The doors zipped open and Chris stepped inside, feeling like a man about to take the walk to the gallows.
When he stepped inside the room, what he saw astonished him.
It appeared as if a tornado had run through the room, anything that was breakable was, everything else was upended. The room that was normally Spartan in its appearance now looked like the aftermath of a war zone. His shock was apparent as he stared at the upturned furniture, the smashed breakables on the carpeted floor, a creating a pattern where shattered ceramic had spread out upon impact. He treaded carefully, unavoidably stepping on some broken fragments of glass as he advanced into the room.
The lights were low, giving just enough illumination for him to see the destruction but little else. Shadows loomed and he could not see Alex, even though he could hear a soft, scraping sound that resembled metal against metal. Despite himself, he felt a little hint of fear, not for himself but for the state of mind that could have lashed out with such violence. For the first time, Chris wondered if Josiah had been right. That keeping her on duty had pushed her over the edge into an abyss without return, an abyss that could have been avoided if he had just listened to the Counselor.
"Increase radiance of illumination by 25 per cent." Chris ordered the ever obedient and vigilant ship's computer that immediately responded by flooding the room with light that filled out of the corners of the darkened space in a matter of seconds.
Chris found himself a few feet from Alex.
She was sitting at the base of the opposite wall, still clad in her uniform except she had discarded the blazer and turtleneck, having opted to wear only her gray singlet on her upper torso. Alex was seated cross-legged as she ran a sharpening stone against the blade of what appeared to be the ceremonial dagger carried by every Klingon who called himself a warrior. It took no feat of genius to guess why she was doing this now. Her eyes were still puffy and red from the tears that Mary had reported she wept when Vin had finally torn her away from the Cardassian but everything else about her face was a hard as the sharpening stone in her hands.
"Alex." Chris spoke first, wondering whether or not she was even aware that he was present. She had not given any indication that proved otherwise.
She did not answer and continued to sharpen the blade even faster.
"I thought you had to be a warrior to have one of those." Chris remarked, deciding to take a different tact.
"You do," Alex said coldly. "It was given to me by an old friend. It was returned to her with honor when her husband died in battle. She gave it to me because she had no children of her own. I suppose it was a compliment."
It was actually, Chris thought to himself. An extremely good one. Such weapons were considered heirlooms and those passed on by one who had gone to Sto-Vo-Kor were especially prized. Whomever this old friend had been to Alex, there was a great deal of affection behind the presentation of such a valuable gift.
"I think its sharp enough." Chris added, feeling his unease grow with each stroke of her blade against that stone.
"It's never going to be sharp enough." She said in a low voice.
"Alex, think about this." He spoke, trying to make her see reason, not to mention make some kind of argument against using that knife that she was readying for a purpose that was obvious to all. "You can't just kill him."
Her eyes raised to meet his. The look in them was menacing and he knew that he had better be ready for an attack because her body was poised to strike. Suddenly, he had the strangest feeling that killing herself was not on the agenda and that Josiah had been wrong about assuming such. Chris was happy to say that he had always thought Alex too strong to take that route but now as he saw the maniacal rage in her eyes, he realised that she was strong enough to take another path, equally damning.
"Watch me." She said simply.
"I won't let you kill him." Chris said just as simply. "I won't let you throw away your freedom, your career and everyone who cares about you because of revenge. Nothing is worth that."
"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? She screamed at him suddenly, her voice so sharp she almost made him jump as she rose to her feet, holding the blade up as if she were more than ready to start carving something up, starting with him.
Chris felt silent and rebuked himself for those choice of words. "I meant...."
"I know what you meant!" She barked. "I know exactly what you meant and I can tell you exactly what I mean and then we will understand each other." She began to pace, every muscle in her body tense as she glared at him and spoke.
"I am going to kill him. I am going to kill him slowly and enjoy every fucking minute of it and if that means that I get locked up in Federation prison for the rest of my natural life at least I'll finally get some sleep and not wake up screaming every night because of the dreams that bastard has put in my head!"
Chris could not blame her for wanting revenge as fiercely as she did. No human being could endure what she had and not. He was not so hypocritical as to make the mistake of saying that he knew how she felt either. He did not and Chris had the feeling he would never be able to either. However, Chris was not about to let her go either. Perhaps he did not know about hate but he knew enough about experiencing agony almost as overwhelming as the physical trauma she had endured as a Cardassian prisoner.
"I won't let you do it Alex." Chris stared at her firmly, not as a captain or a Starfleet officer but as her friend. "You mean too much to all of us for me to let you do that."
"It's not your choice." She retorted.
"It is if I throw you in the brig until he leaves." Chris replied coolly. "I am willing to do that Commander, don't ever make the mistake of thinking my affections for you will keep me from doing my job. As disgusting as it may be for me to tolerate that son of bitch in my SickBay, getting treated by my Chief Medical Officer after what he did to you, I have to swallow it. I have to because that man is all that stands between us and the Dominion taking the Alpha Quadrant. When I faced with the slavery of billions, you have to understand that I can make that choice."
Alex had stopped pacing and she stared at him for a long while, aware that what he had said to her came not from the man who was her captain but who had given her every consideration since she had come on board the Maverick. "Do you have any idea what it was like?" She asked after a moment.
"No," Chris shook his head. "I can't even stomach it, let alone try to imagine it."
"The day after you get there, after they strip you down and leave you naked, they put this device on your chest," she said lowering the knife and softening a little as her mind went somewhere she had not gone in three years. "Its small and its surgically implanted right over your heart. It has more than enough charge to kill you and its control by remote. When you don't play their game, they turn it on and it sends a power surge straight to your heart that stops it skipping a beat or two. It doesn't hurt then but it makes you pay attention."
Chris let her speak, having the impression that she had told no one this before and would not likely to after this, so he listened carefully because he cared and because she needed him to.
"The more you misbehave, the more they use it until you feel like your heart's going to burst in your chest. They use it very frequently that first week, just to condition you to become used to the thing, used to obeying their rules. The rape begins the second week. Three times a day, every day." She looked at him. There were no tears in her eyes and yet Chris could sense the anguish. Inwardly, he wished she would weep because seeing that pain was much worse then hearing her tears.
"Sometimes, three of them, sometimes four. Sometimes he would give the order, other times he do it himself. He liked to see pain and that's what it was for me for six months. Pain, three times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was always tied up, hands across my back, around the ankles on my knees where I couldn't fight. He'd have one of his men keep an eye on the remote for the charge device, so that if I struggled too hard or fought too much, he'd be able to pull me in line. That is when using me a punching bag wasn't effective enough. Do you know what its like to smell his stink on you after he'd taken everything that mattered and then know that it was going to start the next day all over again until you died or he killed you?"
"God," he whispered.
"There is no God," Alex said ruefully. "I actually prayed to God to stop it, to make it end. I begged and I whimpered for God to help me but he never did." She paused a moment and regained her composure, nearly breaking down at certain junctures of her tale but managing to keep control somehow. "I knew I was pregnant the moment it started becoming harder to keep my strength up. The whole aim of that place was to demoralise the enemy by striking at their women so I was not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that they had won, that they had planted their seed." Her lips curled in open hatred as she made that admission.
"I mad a decision Captain," she let out a deep breath. "I could either die in that place or I could leave. In the end, the choice became that easy."
"How did you do it?" Chris asked, wondering how she had managed it when that insidious device had been attached to her heart, keeping her submissive for so long.
"Can't you guess?" She met his gaze.
It dawned upon him what she was trying to say and realised that this more than anything was the part she could not speak out loud because it had been too horrifying to think that any being could be pushed so far as to use that to their advantage.
"You started pretending to like it."
"Yes," Alex nodded. "That animal was so arrogant to think that what he did to me was actually pleasurable that he believed me when I pretended to enjoy his touching me. Each time, I did for him what none of the others would do, it made me sick to my stomach but it also allowed him to take that fucking thing off me. The minute I was free, I headed to the station's engineering deck and built myself a beautifully simple but ultimately lethal surprise by dropping the containment field around their antimatter core. Then I got in an escape pod and saw the fire works from space. I assumed he had died there but I'm guessing the reason why he was stripped of his command recalled to Cardassia Prime as a paper shuffler has got a lot to do with that."
When she stopped speaking, silence ensued and for a long while neither of them spoke. The quiet lingered in the room, with only their breathing offering any discernible signs of life or reaction. Chris watched her as she was lost in that far away place, trying to imagine what it was to have endured what she had and could understand why she chose to tell him and not Vin. He could handle such horror, Vin would not. There was too much passion inside of Vin for Alex to hear it as she was telling to Chris now. The Vulcan would react in extreme and probably kill Lemar himself. Alex would not ruin Vin with the knowledge of what had happened to her.
"I still can't let you kill him Alex." Chris repeated himself softly.
Alex had dropped to her haunches again and looked at the blade in her hand before dropping it on the floor, making a soft thud as it landed. "I know." She sighed dropping her gaze and letting out a deep breath as she admitted it.
"We have a problem." The captain decided to be honest with her since she had offered him the same courtesy. "We need him Alex, as unfair and outrageous as that might seem to you right now, we need him to help us find this planet with what he knows. If the Dominion wins this war, it means the Cardassian wins too and what happened to you will have to every woman that a Cardassian occupying force takes a liking to, you know that."
"I won't let that happen," she responded softly, hating that fact more than any other, even more than her revenge, that someone else, someone like Mary or Julia or god forbid, someone like Casey might have to endure the hell she had been through. In the face of that, her revenge felt like ash in her mouth.
"The thing is," Chris looked at her, waiting for her reaction when he made his next confession. "I need you too."
Alex raised her eyes with gentle surprise.
"You're the best damn science officer I have ever served with Commander Styles," Chris declared sincerely. "You work so much on instinct that I am absolutely sure that you are almost as vital to our chances of finding this planet as that animal we got down in Sick Bay at this instant. What you did in Four Corners is a justifiable offence, I'll put my command up against anyone who says other wise. I'll resign my commission first before I let them remove you from your post but I have to have your guarantee that we do things my way."
"Your way?" Alex asked, giving credence to his words only because of his earnest statement.
"My way is that we ride this out. You do not lay one finger on him or go anywhere near him. If we survive this mission, I will have him in the brig so fast his head will spin." Chris assured her and meant it completely. "I'm guessing that he's counted on no one knowing about what he did when he came over to the other side. We'll make nice with him because we are allies but the moment the mission is over, I will arrest him on the charge of war crimes. He won't have any choice but to submit because going to a Federation prison is a lot more merciful than what will happen to him if he returns to the Dominion when his bridges are so well and truly burnt."
"Jail?" Alex stared at him. "You want to lock him up?"
"Yes," Chris said firmly. "That's as good as its going to get Alex. Now I know that does not seem fair to you under any circumstances and I'm not going to even begin to guess what is a suitable punishment for a man like this but I don't care about him, I care about you. You get to walk out of this with your life and your career intact. You escaped that prison because you made a choice to survive. Now you're going to have to make the same choice to live."
"He deserve to die!" She hissed angrily but her rage was more at herself because he was right, she had a lot to live for. There were friends now, some measure of peace in their company that had been lost for so long. After three years wandering through the wreckage of her life, some semblance of the person she had been was making a resurgence and Alex did not want to lose that, no matter how angry she was, no matter how terrible the memories. More than anything, she wanted this to be over with, to move on so that she could sleep without waking up screaming, without recoiling from every man who smiled her way and wanted to touch her.
Like Vin.
She cared about him, suspected that he was the threshold of something truly wonderful if only she dared to feel enough to let him inside her. He wanted in so badly, she could sense it. Alex was not blind to how he felt about her and as adamant as she was about how she felt for Vin Tanner, she knew that there was a part of her that was terrified of bringing down those walls and letting him warm the cold embers of her tortured soul.
"I am not arguing with you there but that's the deal." Chris returned, sensing she was very near to agreement and drawing upon all the power he had inside to say the words that would force her see reason. "I don't want you to throw your life away because of this bastard. He's already killed the person you were before you wound up in his prison. I am not letting him kill the person you are too."
Alex closed her eyes and wrestled with her conflicting emotions. She knew what she wanted. She wanted to take her dagger and sink it in Lemar's loins as far as she could bury it and watch him bleed to death in a visceral expression of agony but Chris was right, it was not going to happen, even if Ezra's security was lapse enough to permit it. However, the captain was right about something else. Three years ago, she had decided to survive and the consequence of that decision had allowed her to escape and regain some sense of self that was almost totally destroyed inside that prison. Now she had to make another choice, just as equally important. She had to move on because until she let her go of her hate and accepted justice as it stood, she would be forever trapped.
Trapped in the dark, afraid to dream.
"All right," she answered reluctantly, feeling as if the words had to be torn from her lips before she could believe that she was saying it. "We'll do it your way."
"Good," Chris replied, letting out a sigh of relief. There was a moment there when he was not sure that she would accept his terms. He was grateful that she had for he had no wish to pass judgement on her if she had carried out her threat and killed Lemar. "Now, I'm giving you a day off duty for you to sort yourself out." Instinctively, he glanced at the demolished room. "I suggest you stay out of his way and even if you still have the urge to kill him, Ezra has a security detail posted to him, to make sure that neither of you get within ten feet of each other."
"I can work from astrometics." Alex said softly, unable to meet his gaze. "I'll stay out of his way and you keep him out of mine. I'm doing this for you Captain and for me as well but I'm fighting a lot of instincts to do it. I wouldn't tempt fate by putting him in my sights."
Chris approached her for the first time and placed his hand on her face, raising her chin so that he would look at him. "This is the for the best Alex,' Chris responded. "I know it's hard for you to appreciate that but trust, this way is better for you."
Alex nodded and found herself saying. "I hope you're right Captain, I really do."
And to her surprise, Alex realised she really meant it.
"How is he?" Chris whispered in Mary's ear as he came up alongside of 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 was 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 had inflicted upon her, Mary was not mad. Considering what Vin had revealed to her about what had set Alex off, she could appreciate why the science officer had reacted as she had.
"Reasonable." Chris answered. "I manage to convince her that there were other avenues besides tearing 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 sensible." She sighed facing the Gul once again. "Ever since Nathan's 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 that she was grateful that he had asked. "It was just a scratch."
Chris nodded with a relieved expression on his face before he took a deep breath and took a step forward, allowed Mary to fall into stride with him as they both advanced upon Nathan and Lemar. Mary slipped flawlessly into the persona of Lieutenant Travis, Protocol Officer and prepared to make the opening introductions that would continue the rest of the dialogue between Captain and Gul.
Nathan was standing by the treatment bed, running over a dermal regenerator over the skin of the Gul Lemar, miraculously mending broken skin with the aide of 24th century medical technology. While all of the Cardassian's injuries had yet to be repaired, for most part the former Gul appeared healthier than he was when he had first been carried into SickBay. 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 that I've been able to eradicate with the dermal regenerator. I don't recommend that 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 that annoyance was due to the Gul's arrogance and ambivalence towards the physician or because Nathan had learnt about why the man had been attacked and was loathed to have 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 that 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 retorted promptly, sitting up in the bed and giving Chris a once over that clearly indicated he was not impressed with what he saw. "Considering how warm a reception I received at the hands of your crew, I would have though that 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 that neither Nathan nor Mary could read before the captain deigned to answer.
"Gul Lemar, circumstances have forced me to accept that we need you for the mission ahead." Chris said quietly. "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 that 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 that lunatic that 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 regards to how he had resolved the situation with Alexandra Styles. However, in all truth, Chris did not care and he meant what he had said when he promised Alex that he would put his command on the life for her. "She assures me that 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 that Chris' actions was not at all satisfactory. "You consider than an adequate punishment?" The man exclaimed in outrage. "She could have killed me with your assault and you return her to duty as if nothing had happened?"
"She gave me her word that she would not harm you." Chris' jaw clenched and he had to remind himself that spacing a man was illegal as he kept that 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!" He demanded.
Uh Oh, Mary thought to herself as she saw that glimmer in Chris' 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 as he saw the others leaving the room, assuming rather in his arrogance that the reason for Chris' 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 chose 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 had composed himself enough to respond. "We both know that 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 over estimate your importance to the mission," Chris said with perfect calm that belied his present actions. "A planet with tetracel white tends to stick out and we know this area of space pretty well while you have only guesses 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 let him go 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 fact for the circumstances they presently found themselves in. However, there was something deeper at work here, something that alerted Chris' instincts to trouble even though he could not imagine in what shape that peril might have appeared. Lemar's eyes were not just filled with anger and restraint but also calculation that made 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 sick bay, 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 that this inferior had put him very properly in his place human. However, he had one card 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 derision in his voice. "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 that 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 listen to this sick bastard describe in such vivid detail the pleasure he had 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 that when this was all over, he could derive similar pleasure when he threw the son of a bitch in the brig and left him to rot.
There was only one place that Vin Tanner wanted to go after his shift had ended and that was to see Alex. He had 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 had some idea of the truth, Vin was sure that not even they had the real truth about what Alex had endured. While he himself had no idea about the specifics, there was not a shred of doubt in his mind that Alex had been brutally assaulted while she had been trapped in that Cardassian prison. He only needed to hear her speak about the camps to know that she was telling her tale from experience.
Chris had been devoid from the bridge most of the time that 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 first officer, Buck worked most closely with Alex and though he constantly complained that she had not succumb to his charms, everyone on the bridge knew that 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 he had left the science officers in her quarters.
It felt like his shift would never end as the tension of worry ran through 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 that 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 had not eventuated 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 that 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's. Chris had ordered that security guards kept 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 for limb for brining so much pain to Alex. Lemar had caused all the wounds that Vin had sensed in Alex during their unintentional mind meld some weeks ago. There was such a black pit of hurt that Vin could not even began to fathom the violence and horror that must have created it.
When he reached her quarters, he noted that the security men had gone which only added to his confusion. He was certain that 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's it me." He spoke out.
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 that it was an invitation that 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 dimly lit room and could not hide his surprise at the destruction that had similarly astonished Chris Larabee a short time ago. Vin's eyes swept over the destroyed belongings and furniture in the room and to his surprise had to confess to seeing a similar scene to this when he had once lost his temper and went on a rampage of equal intensity.
"Holy shit." He exclaimed.
"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 close to her. "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 had been 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," she nodded. "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 with 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 that I had too much to live to sacrifice my life because of that bastard."
Wherever he was, Vin offered a silent note of thanks to the captain, saving him of 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 that Chris was able to convince Alex to consider another path and reminded himself to see him later 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 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 said softly, blinking tears away as she explained. "I have dreams that make me so scared I don't know what to do and I thought that if I killed him, it would 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 that?" She asked.
Vin held her hand against his skin, savoring the silkiness of her palm and thinking that he was at his best when he was with her. Somehow, all the insecurities of his life seemed to fade when he was with Alex. Before her, only Chris Larabee and the rest of the seven had made him feel so apart of something special. Vin had the inkling that with Alex he was always forming another bond that ran just 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, aware only it did and each time she smiled at him and touched him, his soul seem 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?" She pointed out. "You only call me that when we're in that silly holoprogram."
"Yeah," his eyes lit up with the same amusement. "Just like you call me cowboy." He said with a dry chuckle.
Suddenly Alex reached over and kissed him, cutting off anything else he was going to say with what sharp intake of breath. For a moment Vin had no idea what to do as he felt her lips brushing against his, her lips parting as her tongue gently slipped 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 tentatively and felt something extremely satisfying about feeling her so closely.
Just as suddenly as it had began, Alex pulled away and was mortified by her behavior. "Oh God Vin I'm sorry." She gasped, unable to believe that 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 had 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 had allowed herself to succumb to the needs of her physical body, to the deep cravings that been ignored during the past three years each time she though of making physical contact with a man and then revisited by memories of her ordeal. Vin was the first man who had been 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 not Lemar taken enough from her that she was so disconnected sometimes 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 that 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 seemed to mould against him and as he buried his face in her hair and started to whisper softly in her ear, Vin marveled at how right it all felt.
"Its okay," he said softly, amazed by his own ability at knowing what to do. "I didn't mind." He answered and it was the truth. He always liked it when she touched him and although a human male would be reduced to gibberish by now at the attentions 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 that you chose me."
Alex leaned into his body, enjoying how he felt against her and feeling her apprehension and embarrassment melt away as she felt his arm draped over her waist. "Don't you know I love you, you jerk," she said with a little smile. "I wouldn't chose anyone else." She let out a deep sigh and felt the weariness in her bones starting to catch up with her now that 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 heat of her body pressed up against his and realising that heaven must be a place where he could fall asleep with her scent in his lungs. Vin also knew that he would never again know another night where he would lie in his bed without wanting to Alex lying there next to him, just as she was now.
Alex knew nothing of this except that she was safe and that 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 had stated quite firmly that there were some things she had to stomach while the Cardassian was on board and it appeared this was one of those. 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 defence 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 sombre with everyone at the table being aware of what the man had been 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 had said about Mary and kept the protocol officer in reach at all times. Even though logic dictated that there was no possibility of the man making an attempt to harm Mary before an entire room full of people, the manner in which he had requested Mary be made an offering remained imprinted in Chris' mind.
"You're all aware of the present situation," Chris began the meeting, deciding to get down to business. Despite their personal feelings to 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 that there is a planet in the frontier that produces tetracel 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 Haddar warriors. This information come to us courtesy of Gul Lemar whom I have requested be present at this meeting so that 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 eye 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 move on the part of Cardassia, I was given a low level posting and 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 Shya of the Romulan Empire, the Obsidian Order was the Cardassian version of covert intelligence. Unlike Section 31 whose existence was still a rumor that 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 if, had they lived long enough.
"According to my sources on DS9," Ezra continued. "The bulk of Obsidian Order was wiped out when they joined forces with Tal Shya 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 that he was doing any more than just his job.
Lemar who was not so foolish as to know that he was being suspected of a good deal more than just defection, side stepped the question easily enough. "There are some still left. Gul Dukat our illustrious leader still does not quite trust the Founders completely and the issue of my loyalty in an internal matter that has nothing to do with the Dominion alliance."
"I stand corrected," Ezra said with a little smile but knew that 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 had liked most of us to believe in the beginning. Even now as we pushed nearer to the end of the war, it appears that 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 Cardassian Empire. Besides, he did not want this meeting to drag on longer than usual. Already, he could see Alex trying very hard not too 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 that you discovered documentation that indicates the Dominion believes there to be tetracel white 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 that a stray report to the space registry from one of the ships travelling in this area scanned a planet that had geological traits similar to that of one which is capable of producing the white."
"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 had asked of her when she had been prepared to throw her entire life away. Chris had kept her from making that disastrous reason and for that alone; she would not shirk her duty.
Besides, there was another reason she was not admitting to just yet even though it had most to do with her ability to remain focus even though the man before her was the stuff of nightmares. Last night she had slept the most peaceful night of life since her ordeal as Cardassian prisoner, she had done so because Vin had held her for most of it, with his strong arms keeping her safe from the demons inside her mind. This morning she had woken up and found him still there, looking just as contented as she must have been when she slept and some how Alex had become stronger for it. The memory of how safe it felt within his embrace had empowered her with a renewed interest in life.
"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 the 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 that 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 that one of these ships while registering their flight plans and log entries as it required by the spacing guild for private and commercial star travel, might have discovered this planet that the Founders are searching."
"So does this mean we're going to have to go through all these records?" Mary asked.
"Afraid so," Alex replied. "I've got double shifts on a rotating basis searching through the data we've accumulated since we've been out there. 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 of his 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. "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 white."
"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 that they might have installed the feature in several Jem Haddar 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 that the Dominion would launch an expedition like this, through enemy territory in order to chase a phantom." Ezra declared. "The Jem Haddar 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' 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 on 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 any one'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 that 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 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 that 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 at the table with them.
Mary who was used to pregnant pauses when two opposing factions had come to a stone wall such at 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 stare at each other.
"Right," Chris cleared his throat and continued to stare at Lemar.
The Cardassian was not about to jeopardise 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 that he was looking at Mary and immediately felt her skin crawl. For a moment the look of him was so familiar, Alex though she was going to be sick. She thanked god her colouring made it difficult to see that she was ashen with disgust and closed her eyes ever so slightly as she swallowed the bile that crawled 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 had noticed how much she was struggling to rein in her emotions. Vin was so proud of Alex, at how she had 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 that he had, destroying everything about her that was could feel with his brutality, Vin wanted to tear him apart. However, he had to force himself to keep control because if Alex could, then so could he.
"Alright," Chris decided that he had just about enough of this for the time being and the tension levels in the room was 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 that she was maintaining her control because of her determination 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 to catch up with her, 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 had offered her his solution to the problem of Gul Lemar being on the ship, Alex felt as if she might be able to abide by it and get through this nightmare for as long as it lasted.
"Yeah," she nodded somewhat surprised by her answer. "I think I am."
"Good," Vin said with a little smile. "You know I'm 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 had looked when she had slept in his arms and knew that 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 once again, able to see now what Chris had been so determined that she understand. She had friends who would help her through this, even if she did not want their help. It was good to know that she was not a lone. "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 staying 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 that Mary would have to grease the wheels of diplomacy between the Gul and the captain was one task that Alex would not have wished upon anyone.
Both Julia and Vin stiffened at the suggestion because the thought had never occurred to them that Mary might be in danger, even though now that they considered if more deeply, they realised that the Captain had foreseen the possibility even if they did 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 that 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 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 that its gonna be enough."
"Won't matter much anyway," Vin remarked believing that when the Jem Haddar 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 be do little in defense against that threat. The only way the Maverick was going to survive an encounter with a Jem Haddar 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 were 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 he was soon confronted with a larger problem, once the captain and the rest of the senior staff had dispersed, only Lemar, Mary and Ezra was 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 and did nothing which somewhat surprised the Vulcan because Ezra was just 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 go away.
Lemar was not afraid and he was not about to let her escape the sin of casting aspersions on his story during the briefing either. "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 say what he had. "If you call being close, fucking 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 that was almost trebled his own. "Mary, help Julia get Alex out of here please?" He ordered her and the blond protocol officer could only nod.
Alex's expression had been 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 into her mind once and knew that 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 up 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 made that remark with a loud snigger as the turbo lift opened and he 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 had 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 that 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 and 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 with 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 that they would not violate Chris' order that he was not 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, that he was willing to derive some sadistic pleasure in his taunts. "You will understand." He said looking Vin straight in the eye, having guessed that 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 chose 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 that not even the Gul could feign away as male posturing.
"You people need me, so let's not kid ourselves shall we, Lieutenant Tanner?" Lemar looked at Vin with a cold sneer.
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 in his mind. Vin was not probing for deep thoughts, just causing enough unpleasantness for the Cardassian to know that a telephathic 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 that 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 that 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 a sentient being. 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 that had been 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 don'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 mind torture he had 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 added as he made his way towards the door. "At least until the next time."
There was something wrong.
Alex could not put her finger on it but she could sense it as she examined the reports from the ship that had found the planets upon which the Dominion had based their entire invasion of the frontier. While the facts surrounding the routine mission of the ship called Morning Star could not be disputed, the vessel had indeed made a trading run through a sector of space not very far from here and had conducted some preliminary scans, the information it had garnered was very non specific. While all the characteristics of a supposedly White producing planet was possible in the information the Morning Star had gathered, there was no conclusive evidence that would 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 tearing the Cardassian defector a new one and she had a bad feeling that this time, it was more than just her personal feelings that were suspect. 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. She had spent most of the day at this table following the briefing inside astrometics, trying to find this elusive world Gul Lemar had send them in search of.
In the floor of the astrometics lab, she could see other officer engaged in the same activity as she was, studying the data they had accumulated over their entire time on the Frontier, trying to sift 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 must have been reached to make their deductions. Where did they find time and fight a war as well? Suddenly her ruminations reached a place that she had not expected to go and her eyes widened in horror.
"Oh shit!" She exclaimed and more or less jumped out of her chair and hurried down the steps from her work area that lead to the main floor of the lab.
"Everyone!" She hollered loudly, capturing their attention as her voice sliced abruptly to their concentration and caught her attention immediately. "Stop what you are doing immediately."
Lieutenant Charlotte Richmond with whom Alex was never on very good terms with anyway, even thought the woman was one of the best officers under her command in stellar cartography which was an extension of the Science Department, was the first to speak. "Commander, we have been working on this for hours, we've nearing an answer." Charlotte looked at Alex.
"I know that," Alex said pushing her personal feelings about Charlotte aside because the woman's questions had been valid. "But trust me, all of you." She let her gaze sweep across the faces of her staff to show them that she was deadly serious about what she was asking. "I have a good reason. I want you not to continue any work on this project until after I've seen the captain."
Charlotte seemed skeptical but she nodded in response. "Yes Sir." She answered first and kick started the others into doing so. 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 instance. She hoped she was wrong but if she not and what she suspected was the truth, then it would have been a realisation that might save them, not destroy them.
With that Alex hurried out of the lab immediately, certain that much would be said after she had 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 and in doing so could appreciate why the Dominion had been so successful in its desires for conquest over the Alpha quadrant.
It did not take her long after her abrupt departure from the astrometics lab before she arrived 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 that she was right. Almost everyone was on the bridge Alex noticed upon stepping out of it. 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 emerged from the turbo lift and walked towards Chris who looked at her with concern, wondering what was so important that 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 there 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 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 was Chris and Vin mostly because they knew how much in control she was 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 White when we couldn't. I mean we're out here and on the other side of the Alpha quadrant, it seemed improbable."
"That might simply means that 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 retorted, 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 the White. Suddenly, on the basis of one man's word and some documents, we're expected to believe that all the data we've accumulated is wrong, that we've missed something. Now we're turning every corner of this part space inside out 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 report about 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 was rich in ore deposits; there is nothing that indicates that there is reason to believe that tetracel white can be found in great abundance. It just looks like a possibility, something that might sweeten the pot."
"Sweeten the pot?" Suddenly Buck had an idea what Alex was trying to say and he did not like one damn bit what 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 word 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 grasp Alex's meaning. He knew something was wrong! The minute that Gul came on board and Ezra stared into the man's eyes, he knew that there was something amiss with the whole situation. No sooner than the captain had issued the order, the ship was screaming with klaxons that indicated that 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 that they had been tricked into entering.
"They don't need to find the planet Mary," Vin took the liberty of explaining to his some times 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 realised that was why they were so panic and that 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 tetracel white for us?" JD exclaimed. The ensign was still too new to appreciate their predicament and as he made his cry of understanding that was almost a hint of outrage in his voice.
"Why not?" Chris responded for those who still had their doubts. "We all know that the Dominion is getting cornered on all sides now that 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 is rapidly dwindling. The Breen are powerful but so are the Klingons and the Federation and the Founders cannot create more Jem Haddar 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 cloak ship, they're looking for a needle in a haystack and they can assume that even on silent running we won't pick them on sensors."
"But what about Lemar?" Mary asked. "Is he apart of it?" The Gul seemed so sincere in his belief that 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 to us actually 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 had 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 tetracel white, then he'll be leading the Dominion straight to it."
"Its not that simple," Chris responded, now that they knew what they might be 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 containing tetracel white in this sector, 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 that the sound of a pin dropping could have been heard if not for the screaming of klaxon across the ship that indicated yellow alert.
"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 Haddar 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 was odd to them but the Jem Haddar 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 spoken around the campfires by those who came before. They had only religion and for that they would kill and be killed because dying for the god could not be a terrible death. The Founders were their gods, the ones who gave them life and if that life required them to live as a soulless race without heart except in the spirit of the kill, then so be it.
For the Jem Haddar had been bred to be nothing else.
"Sir," the Jem Haddar warrior who had been manning the sensor array broke the silence on board the bridge of the Romulan warbird Tasleem as he addressed the Vorta commander who presided over the small invasion fleet that had been keeping the Maverick under surveillance for days now. "The Maverick just switched to yellow alert.
The Vorta considered the news. Starships did not move to yellow alert without very good reason. "Do they appear to be in any eminent danger?"
"No Sir," the Jem Haddar shook his head in response. "All operations were nominal until a few seconds ago. They switch to yellow alert for no discernible reason that we can tell."
"It is possible they might 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 believing that it was possible that they might have made some navigational error that allowed the Maverick to detect the presence of the small fleet of Jem Haddar and Cardassian warships being 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 that was known to be employed by some starship captains. After almost two years 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 brualisers or the Romulans whose ruthlessness often lacked imagination, the human 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 tetracel white had made failure a non-issue. Unless more Jem Haddar warriors could be created, there was an astonishing possibility the Dominion might be defeated and to the Vorta, that seemed like an act of sacrilege. They had searched far and wide for some evidence of the White in this sector of space and so far, none had been produced. They were becoming desperate and the frontier that faced the distant space of the Delta Quadrant seemed like the last hope for finding the white. 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 Haddar would go insane and turn upon themselves in an expression of genocide of, which there were no words to describe. Without the Jem Haddar, 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 Haddar answered obediently even though the Vorta was a species as subservient to the Founders as they were. Where the Jem Haddar 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 learnt 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 judgement would be corrected at the proper time in the future after the Dominion had taken the Alpha quadrant.
"I gather you have noticed that 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 that might have 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 before him started flashing in angry red colors. On the previously benign screen a moment ago, at least ten different energy signatures had appeared out of extreme sensor range and was 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 had suddenly become 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. Everyone did not speak 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 had 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 a 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 Haddar warships." Ezra continued, hiding the tension in his voice though everyone who knew him with any depth knew it was there. "Five Cardassian heavy battle cruisers."
"Jesus." Vin whispered under his breath.
"How long until intercept range?" Chris said not looking at anyone. He was seated on his command chair, his palms pressed together and bouncing lightly off his lips as if 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 that 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 that 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, that 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, the klaxons were screaming for a number of reasons. First and foremost because Chris had placed the ship under red alert status, which meant everyone on board the vessel, knew that there was danger. Fortunately, the nature of this mission from its onset had given the crew, even civilian to prepare for the advent of such an emergency-taking place. Drills had been conducted during 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 that at this moment, Josiah and Nathan were taking care of those formalities even as they spoke.
Inside the bridge, the bridge was bathed in colours 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 ship builders to do so, Chris could not be sure. All he could be sure of was the fact that the sensors were screaming at the large body of ships on present intercept course. Long range scanners had pin pointed the ships the minute they had 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 for the moment about what was coming.
Ten minutes seemed like an eternity when the Maverick was facing that 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 terra watt 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 keep her together."
Chris allowed himself a little smile, remembering that young lieutenant who had 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 great 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 on board to safety but also ensuring that should the Jem Haddar 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 making 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 that 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 that 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 some place we can hide for a good amount of time if necessary."
"I'm on it." Vin retorted 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 was not good and considering what Alex had been through, Chris' stomach knotted with disgust at the thought of such a fate befalling Mary. Still, although he wished her to be anywhere else but on this ship at the moment, there was a part of him that was glad that she was at his side.
If this were 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 that 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 that 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 focussed energy that allowed 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 and raising them early would be expending energy they would need later, whomever the transponder had belonged to was guaranteed a sure escape off the ship.
"Lemar!" Alex swore when she saw evidence of a transponder allowing the enemy to beam the Cardassian off the ship.
"Shields up!" Chris ordered but knew it was a wasted effort. Lemar was probably already beamed 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 that she had not killed the sorry bastard when she had the chance.
"Get over it." Chris retorted. "He's gone and we have bigger problems that 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 that thought in a nice safe place for the moment, Chris glanced at the view screen that was 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 that soon enough, they were going to be larger than life and 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 out numbered and chances are 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 war bird. She can cloak and she had firepower equal to our own. She'll come at us head on while the Cardassian warships pick at us and the Jem Haddar, keep us netted."
Chris took in a deep breath as he saw the sombre expressions on the faces of his subordinates and declared. "We have one advantage. They want to take the ship intact. They have to if they want what 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 is a big sacrifice then think in terms of the billions that will face 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 what he had asked of them because he was right. A thousand lives on the Maverick was a small price to pay for the security of 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 communication between the prey and predators were finally made, it was the commander of the war bird that addressed the Captain of the Maverick. Of course, it was not a Romulan that stared 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 battle cruisers took up flanking positions while the Jem Haddar warship remained at a fall back position, where they would join the fray should the need arise.
"Captain Larabee," the Vorta said with typical politeness that was 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 that it was one way to let themselves sleep at night.
"I don't 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 that 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 weasel. "I am here to offer you a proposal."
"A deal," the captain remarked, not at all fooled by this display by the 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' voice and the bridge crew found themselves singularly impressed by the captain's ability to bluff.
Not even Ezra was that good.
"Considering that we have to make our a 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 that the human was dancing around the issue just as the human was aware that the Vorta had gun aimed at him and was masking the shot with words that reeked of diplomacy. "The Frontier is such an unsafe place. We would like to offer you our assistance in returning your crew to a starbase."
Chris exchanged a glance with Buck who was just as nauseated by the syrupy 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." Fanaian answered. "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 surprised.
Even though they did not see the speaker, every member of the bridge recognised the voice and was frankly not surprised by the turn of events. Gul Lemar stepped into the path of the viewer, with a satisfied smirk on his face knowing that he was now in a position to demand everything that had been 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 recognise it for what it was. Calculation. There as 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." Chris glared at the man.
"Alas you did not," Lemar responded, still wearing that look of supreme confidence, now that he had the weight of a Dominion fleet around 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 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 that she was forced to go, she knew that she would never arrive on the Tasmeem alive to suffer any repeated brutalities at Lemar's hand. When she had said to Vin that she would die before she went through that hell again, she had 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 that must be running through the Vulcan's blood at this moment. Ezra's anger could be seen in the wavering of his calm demeanor. The disgust in his eyes was apparent and if it could been 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 had dealt with his second in command and showed no signs of being insulted even though 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 could be handle 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 my be able to negotiate for the information but I will not give any of my crew to that Cardassian so that he can practice his rather clumsily techniques at mating."
"I will see you beg!" Lemar snarled when suddenly the Vorta spoke up and silence 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 what was the price if he did not obey.
Behind Chris, the rest of the bridge crew was sniggering at the captain's masterful handling of Lemar despite the fact that 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 that 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 relaying those codes to the tactical station. When the time came, only Chris' authorization would make them of any value.
"Time?" Buck hissed out of sight of the viewer.
"Thirty seconds to complete upload." JD responded quickly.
"Ezra," Buck answered 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 Haddar 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 its 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 strategy was mapped out and decided while Chris continued his 'negotiation' with the Vorta and the Tasmeem.
"Its still gonna 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' 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 in turn, completely aware that 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?" Fanaian sneered.
Chris smiled coldly. "Catch us if you can."