Star Trek: Death of the Federation

[frigidmagi]

"Commodore, we..." he hesitated. It had plainly been a long time since there had been anything positive for him to say. "We would all be dead if it weren't for your ships and crews. We can never repay you for that. News will already be spreading through the colony. Your crews will be the heroes of the hour. Any supplies we have that you need... just give us a list and we'll see what we can do."

Despite his words, the Magistrate did not sound celebratory. Something else was clearly on his mind.

"Commodore, we should meet as soon as possible," he said. "Your ship, someone else's, here on the colony, it doesn't matter where. Your ships will be moving on to Bajor soon, no doubt, and we have to talk before they do so. I imagine you can figure out why."

Captain Anderson felt a tinge. A tinge of what he was unsure of. For all he knew it was a cybernetic relay acting up. His face remained utterly still, these days that wasn't hard. Turns out that making a facial expression when half your face is metal and plastic and the rest suffered damage is a learned skill. Keeping it still using cyberware? Easy. He wished that was the worst that the Borg had done.

"Of course Magistrate, say on the colony in 3 standard hours? You'll have to forgive me but there is some cleaning up to do first. And Magistrate, it may be best that you call me Captain. " In a corner the screen, a damage control report popped up. Fire on deck 11. Bridge crew winced under the bad memories of past fires. Damn he needed to get the others on the line and now.

[Charon]

"The Barbarossa is replying," said Aaveroke. "They acknowledge our request to parlay and are willing to meet us. They do not acknowledge us having any jurisdiction over this matter."

A round of low chuckles greeted that response. "They are asking where and when we wish to conduct this parlay," continued Aaveroke.

"Ah," said Arikel. "This one is either not as intelligent as the captain believed or plays a deeper game. Let us see. Zan Aaveroke."

"Executive?"

"Inform the Barbarossa that the time and place will be chosen by the captains of the fleet. When that occurs they will be informed."

Hizir laughed some. "Proud enough to claim the wreckage as their own, but still need to ask their fleet for permission to hold parlay. Very interesting. I believe I begin to see this Klingon's game." He smiled just as another transmission cut through.

“This is Captain DuBois of the Empyrean. We offer our diplomatic chambers for the purposes of parley and salvage discussions. Also, as an advisory, the following areas are possible Borg communication systems, in your salvage operations, please disable or destroy these systems as you come across them. If you intend to salvage any, we request that you bring them to the Empyrean briefly so that we can prevent them from being used by the Borg in a harmful way. We of course welcome any who wish to take part in any such alterations to do so. Thank you,â€

[rhoenix]

Suddenly and without warning, Commander Inzeti's eyes snapped open, taking a deep breath as she did. On instinct, she began a physical inventory of herself to check for broken bones or bruises, a side-effect of visiting doctors more often than not, in her experience.

Finding none, her eyes narrowed slightly as she realized that she was in the medical bay of the Gilgamesh. Though she felt fine - great, actually - she had not forgotten how she came to be here. As if on cue, Doctor Melisande's voice carried from a few meters away. "Ah, glad to see you're awake. If you didn't wake up in the next five minutes, I was going to start electroshock therapy."

Turning her head slowly to face the doctor, Commander Inzeti gingerly sat up, checking herself again, finding that all her burns and bruises were gone, as if they'd never been. Even the pain she was expecting was absent, though her back felt slightly tender. "I'm sure you were, Doctor. Are we done here?"

Before the Doctor could answer, Swift walked jauntily into the medical bay, giving Doctor Melisande a grin. "Hey Doc, is she good to leave yet?"

To Commander Inzeti's surprise, Doctor Melisande gave Lieutenant Nevola a benevolent smile. "Yes she is, and she's all better now. Have a cookie - they're on the tray on top of the bioscanner."

Making her way over, Swift's eyes lit up as she saw the large stack of cookies, grabbing a few. "You made chocolate chip! Thanks, Doc, these are my favorite," she said, gobbling down one while closing her eyes, and making contented noises.

Curious, Commander Inzeti slowly got to her feet, and apart from a wave of dizziness, felt fine. After her head had cleared, she walked over to the tray, only to be stopped by a cold look from the Doctor before she could reach for a cookie. "What do you think you're doing, Commander?"

Feeling confused, Commander Inzeti answered honestly. "I was curious about those cookies, Doctor."

"Well, they're for patients that I don't have to knock unconscious to bring to my medical bay. In other words, hands off. You're cleared for duty, by the way," the Doctor said, turning back to her work, in a not-so-subtle dismissal.

"So Lieutenant Nevola gets cookies, and I get drugged, Doctor? Is that your version of a good bedside manner?" Commander Inzeti was feeling somewhat rankled by the whole situation. She did not like being in medical bays, and despite having never woken up in pain while under Doctor Melisande's care, she nonetheless still had a healthy distrust of doctors in general.

"Well, I look at it this way," Doctor Melisande said while turning away from her work, and giving Commander Inzeti a smirk. "My good patients come here voluntarily. As for the others, if I can't catch one of my patients, they're probably fine."

Commander Inzeti's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. "So you only ambush the sick and weak patients, doctor?"

"Exactly," the Doctor replied, her smirk widening into a grin as she leaned back into her chair. "And that's also why you don't get any cookies."

There was a short, uncomfortable silence that Swift merrily broke into after eating her third cookie, ignoring the looks Commander Inzeti gave her. "Anyway," she said, finishing off the last of the cookie with a sip of milk, "the reason I'm here is that the Captains are chattering about a post-op meeting. I figured you'd want to be there Commander, since otherwise it'll be the Captain and Lieutenant Adranis."

Shaking her head slightly, Commander Inzeti's face returned to all business. "Yes, there are times when a more delicate approach is needed," she said as she turned toward the door. "Are we finished, doctor?"

"Yeah, you'd better save those two," Doctor Melisande said as she turned back to her computer. "To both of them, 'subtle' means 'use snipers and explosives.'"

Suppressing a sigh, Commander Inzeti walked out of the medical bay, with Swift beside her, walking toward the single turbolift. They arrived rapidly at the bridge, to hear Captain Solheim and Lieutenant Adranis talking over the comm. "Yes sir, we can provide sniper cover on the planet if need be, but we'll need to coordinate with the other ships for proper coverage."

Commander Inzeti spoke up immediately, her eyes narrowing. She already had a guess as to what was being discussed, but she felt compelled to ask anyway. "What is this about, Captain?"

"Ah good, you're back on your feet," Captain Solheim greeted her with a smile. "We were discussing the possibility of riots on the planet, given the current situation, and how best to resolve that."

Upon hearing this, Commander Inzeti closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke after opening her eyes again. "Is there a Captain's meeting scheduled amongst the ships of our fleet?"

"Yeah," Swift said, between bites of another cookie, ignoring all glares she got for it. "The message came through a few minutes ago - it's why I came to get you."

Giving both Swift and Captain Solheim tolerant looks for a few moments, Commander Inzeti clasped her hands behind her back before speaking. "May I accompany you, sir?"

"Well, we have the tactical needs mostly figured out already," Captain Solheim said.

"Yes," Commander Inzeti said, restraining herself from glaring at Captain Solheim. "That would be exactly why I'd like to go. This situation will require far more finesse and diplomacy, and far less of the sort of diplomacy you're best at, Captain."

Captain Solheim looked briefly abashed, but nodded once. "Very well, Commander. I would value your input."

Over the commline, a stifled laugh barely came through, immediately followed by Lieutenant Adranis speaking up. "Speaking of which, I've some 'negotiations' and 'treaties' I'd like to discuss in detail with the remaining Borg on this ship. I'll send another message once we've reached the next stage of repulsion - Adranis out."

Swift couldn't help but laugh, but she did manage to keep her comment to herself. "I'll... uh, let them know we'll be there," she said, barely keeping a straight face.

[Marcao]

Alpha Quadrant
Nivoch System, IRW S'harien
Bridge

Erei'riov Hanaj Dar sat upon his chair and focused on the myriad of data which flowed through his screens. Within moments of his decision to take what they needed, the S'harien began its work as its transporter systems began to snatch the targeted systems. He allowed himself a smug smile as the data shifted, the Orions were predictable and he had allowed that predictability to allow for a situation that he could readily exploit. He had begun to bask on that knowledge when his sensor officer turned to face him.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Tight beam transmissions from the Riskadh Erei'riov. They want us to follow their lead." the communication officer responded.

"Follow their lead?" Hanaj asked a moment before the Riskadh played her hand and extended its shields over the salvage fields. The move immediately prevented access to a significant amount of salvage from the remains of the Borg Cube. He frowned, aware that his own systems were adversely affected. The S'harien itself had not finished transporting key systems to secure holds.

"Should we do as they ask Erei'riov?" A voice asked.

Hanaj hesitated for only a moment. If it were up to him, things would be different. Sadly, they were not up to him. Galan had submitted to the authority of the Riskadh and the Immortal in these matters. "Yes, extend shields over the following coordinates."

"On it Erei'riov." His sensor office replied. Within the span of seven breaths the S'harien began to move as it positioned itself in a new location that would allow it to more effectively extend its shields over an area currently unprotected by the shields of the Riskadh. The shields of the Warbird flared out and covered another large area of the Cube debris field coming within two kilometers of touching the field erected by the Riskadh. There was no Borg debris in the space between shields.

I will play this game. The Klingon did not specifically ask me to order my shuttles from seizing their operations. They will continue to do so until there is a clarification on what exactly entails a debris field. By then, I will have bought them some more time.

Hanaj remained sitting on his chair. In his mind, he wondered how much time it would take for the Klingons to clarify their intentions and force him to order the shuttles to seize their operations.

"Erei'riov, message from the Riskadh." His communication officer stated.

This Klingon...

"Yes?" Hanaj responded.

"Incoming message routed to us and the Immortal."

"I will take it on the ready room." Hanaj responded. If Captain Kadon was in a sour mood due to his deception then he would be better served not having the exchange played out in front of his men. Hanaj stood from his chair and slipped out of the bridge. The ready room was adjacent to the bridge, it took mere moments for him to reach it.

"Computer, access secured data channel." As he spoke the words he hesitated for only a moment before he spoke. "My name is Erei'riov Hanaj Dar. I am currently in command of the S'harien as Riov Galan Cretak is currently indisposed." He spoke in a manner of an officer that had served the Star Empire for the bulk of his life. If Cretak was in the spring of his youth, Dar was certainly nearing the winter of his own.

Alpha Quadrant
Nivoch System, USS Argonaut
Bridge

Galan Cretak could do little more than watch and listen as the changeling that called itself Kalpov answered his questions. When he spoke of his first officer and the medical officer being aware of the deception he nodded his head. They were the most logical members of the crew to be aware in a normal situation. The data that had been available regarding changeling had indicated that while they would be able to fool the senses and even tricorders and data pads, they would be unable to hide from a thorough medical evaluation. It was impossible to consider that in the years since the changeling had assumed command of the Argonaut that no such evaluation would not have taken place.

"I can understand why you would attempt to perpetuate that interpretation of events." He was a captain as the changeling was. The burden of command was ever present and he understood better than most how precious hope could be. There were times when hope was the only thing that sustained his own people. The hope of survival. The hope of a new beginning.

Kalpov stumbled and this time, he had the courage to take a step forward ready to offer support if necessary. The gesture was not necessary and a part of him was grateful. His eyes tracked the changeling as it sat down with a groan and he touched his com-badge. His eyes met those of the changeling for a moment as he began to speak before they drifted away. "My men are far from stupid Kalpov, but they are mine and they will do as I ask. I am aware of some of the possible responses to the knowledge of what you truly are Kalpov. I simply do not believe that it serves anyone's goal at this point to have to contend with them. In essence, while I have not exactly decided what to do at this time I can tell you this. You have served the Federation with distinction and the people in this ship seem to care for you. I am unprepared to risk losing an ally over a matter of little immediate significance."

He had fought in the Dominion war. He had seen men and women that he had trained with and fought with die in the conflict. He had been present for some of the most storied battles and had done his share of killing Jem'hadar soldiers. Nonetheless, he could not bring himself to hate the man opposite him regardless of his true nature. When the Borg had come and drowned his world in a flood of dead and dying? When he had seen his proud race battered and beaten to the point of annihilation? What did the memories of the Dominion War have to compare to the Horrors of the Borg? Any further thoughts along that line were interrupted when the air to his side sparkled and an Aenar materialized. The drawn phaser did not go unnoticed but somehow, he felt oddly at ease.

If the changeling has not tried to kill me, I doubt the Aenar will.

When Kalpov spoke his name, his head turned and he glanced towards the changeling once more. The smile surprised him, the weariness behind it did not. His head turned and he glanced in the direction of Lt. Commander Ereshal. "I do seem to recall this officer." He admitted and nodded his head. His eyes never once left the Aenar as he did so however, her cringe as Kalpov revealed that he was aware of the situation met without an overt reaction.

She thinks I am going to betray him. Betray them both.

The Aenar approached Kalpov and pointed ignored him. He allowed her to do her work, aware that in the situation the immediate needs of her commander vastly outweighed his own presence. With the Aenar in the bridge, he felt he no longer needed to be near them both. He took a step and then another, moving with uncanny grace for someone his size. As he moved away from the pair, he listened at their exchange. He came to a stop roughly ten feet or so from the pair and turned on his heels in order to look at them once more. The concern seemed genuine and that simply reinforced what he already expected. He watched the interplay between commander and subordinate wordlessly. It was rare to be able to see such an interplay.

Finally, Kalpov seemed to be satisfied that the situation aboard his ship was at hand. He turned towards him and began to extend his hand, he responded by taking a step towards him and then another before the hand lost its shape and fell to the floor akin to one of the delicacies he had grown fond of when he was a child.

I am not going to be able to replicate that for a while.

The thought came and went. His eyes focused on the changeling for a moment before he answered his words. "I have plans to live for quite some time Kalpov. We will have other opportunities to exchange words. You are my allies, I did nothing that I would not have done for any other ship in the task force." His words had barely left his lips when Kalpov shimmered and then simply seemed to collapse into a liquid. He forced himself to watch the scene as he melted and then slithered across the floor.

I don't believe I will get used to that.

He watched as Ereshal returned after the needs of her commanding officer had been met. He watched her eyes as they approached. He had never enjoyed looking at the eyes of the Aenar. They had always seem opaque, lifeless, devoid of the passion that so many of his own people had learned to embrace. The truth was simple to those aware of Aenar history. They did not see through their eyes. Nonetheless, of all the races that were part of the Federation he had found none so disturbing as the Aenar. They had in their own way reminded him too much of what the Vulcans tried to be. The Aenar it was said was what the Vulcans would one day become when the last feelings their race possessed were shuttered deep within the recesses of their minds. And yet he had seen genuine concern for Kalpov. It was something to consider. He remained silent for a moment letting her words hang in the air before he answered.

"I plan on keeping my ally." He paused for a moment. "Ereshal, it seems abundantly clear to me that regardless of his nature, the man that calls itself Kalpov has done a terrific job in keeping his ship and the people therein alive. We will need survivors in the days to come and I am frankly not prepared to turn this ship upside down without due cause. I am a Romulan, we are a pragmatic people." He let those words sink in before he continued. "Most importantly, I am not part of your Starfleet. As a result, I am not duty bound to report what I know to my superiors." His eyes watched those of the Aenar closely.

"I will debrief my men. We will hold your secret. If anyone is to ask, tell them that Kalpov did this. It will not be a lie, let his reputation grow. Support the idea that my men assisted in this and I doubt few will ask too many questions. If Kalpov is as competent a commander as he seems, fight for him." He paused for a moment and shook his head. "Hope is a precious thing Ereshal. This day, we may have found a little bit of it. I know that you and I are not friends, but given time we may be. I will keep an open mind about this possibility. Will you?" He let those words hang in the air between them for a few precious seconds before he sighed.

"I will see to my men. It was a pleasure." He nodded his head and turned. A handful of seconds later he left the bridge and met up with the squad that had been awaiting his return.

"Riov?" The Arrain asked.

"Contact the other squads, use the code kaleh. I will debrief them when they return to the ship."

"As you command."

Riov Galan Cretak touched his communication device and spoke. "S'harien, beam me to the bridge." A moment later, an emerald field enveloped him and transported him back to the ship that had become his home.

[rhoenix]

Once she sat down to her console, Swift immediately went over the incoming comm traffic, beginning replies to the Immortal. "Captain," she began to ask, still looking over her console, "the Immortal is asking for status updates on all the ships."

"Very well," the Captain replied, somewhat grateful for the interruption, as Commander Inzeti was still glaring at him. "Lieutenant Adranis, what's the status of the repulsion?"

The reply took a moment, punctuated by a few staccato shots from TR-116's. "We have 60% of the ship confirmed cleared - we are performing another full sweep now."

"Acknowledged," replied Captain Solheim. "Lieutenant Vela - what's the ship's status?"

"At this time, most damage is repaired, though the shields will take about another thirty to forty-five minutes before they're online," Lieutenant Vela replied. "The impulse and warp drives are online, and weapons are fully operational. Cometfall status is completely operational."

"Very good, gentlemen," Captain Solheim replied. "Swift, send our status to the Immortal via tight-beam comm."

"Aye, Captain," she replied, already typing out the reply. "Sending now."

"Well, now that our status has been taken care of, perhaps we can discuss diplomatic operations on Nivoch IV?," Commander Inzeti asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the Captain.

Captain Solheim sighed. "So I suppose we're trying to prevent riots altogether?"

"That would be the idea, yes," Commander Inzeti replied. "If this situation is handled properly, we as a fleet can get everything we need, and still avoid... issues planetside."

"And what happens when someone on one of our ships says the wrong thing?" asked Captain Solheim.

Commander Inzeti began massaging the bridge of her nose. "This would be why we should coordinate properly through our established command structure, Captain. It helps keep the chances of this sort of thing happening to a minimum."

"Yeah," Captain Solheim said with a sigh. "Until someone decides to be special."

[Cynical Cat]

"The Romulan shuttles are continuing to attempt to salvage the wreck," said Kallor. "Are shields and tractors are hindering their efforts greatly."

"Zan Aaveroke repeat the captain's message," ordered Arikel. "Zan Kallor strip the salvage from them with our tractors and push them out of the debris zone. Gently. Zan Aaveroke inform the captain."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Captain Anderson," said Kadon, "the Riskadh has suffered no significant damage during the encounter. We are acting to take control of the salvage zone. The intention is to prevent loss of valuable material in the chaos and prevent the Orions from playing one against the other over valuable material. Said salvage will be distributed by a meeting of the fleet captains, which should give the Barbarossa incentive to be cooperative and join the fleet."

The Klingon leaned back in his chair. The hard back was covered in the fur of a negattu, a beast that the Borg might very well have rendered extinct. "Given the importance of discipline and coordinated action and the failure at critical moments of in the last battle I believe a meeting of ship captains to discuss the disposition of the salvage would suit our long term and short term goals."

He cut the transmission and spoke to the S'harien. "Subcommander. Your presence on the other end of this communication explains much. I suggest you inform Commander Cretak of your actions."

[Charon]

"Message from the Immortal, sir. They want a status report."

Hizir looked up at the comm. officer and nodded. "Alright, patch us through." Once the channel was open Hizir spoke again. "This is Captain Rais of the Barbarossa." Hizir smiled a little. "The ship is fine, though my engineers are a bit put out by a certain Klingon laying claim to the salvage field and would like to get back to work before the Klingons break something important." He paused for a few seconds. "And I have a number of marines who are disappointed that they didn't get to see any action and I understand several vessels ended up getting boarded. If anybody needs assistance we are capable of lending it."

[General Havoc]

It was only five or ten minutes after Captain Cretak had left the Argonaut that the venerable Ambassador-class opened a transmission on a broad channel to any ship that might be listening.

Those who had anticipated seeing Commander Kalpov were to be disappointed, for the person who appeared on screen was an Aenar, a Lt. Commander, her milk-white vestigial eyes staring senselessly at a screen she could not perceive the light emissions of. Her fingers lay on a tactile board, relaying to her all the information that the screen would otherwise display to her, were she among the sighted races. Around her shoulder was slung, of all things, a large medical kit, though the uses that such a thing might be put to at this moment aboard the Argonaut were varied and obvious.

"This is Lt. Commander Ereshal, First officer, USS Argonaut," she said, sounding harried but in control, "we've contained the Borg incursion aboard our ship, with the help of Romulan and Klingon marine forces, and we are currently sweeping the ship to eradicate all remaining Borg aboard. Commander Kalpov was... he was on the bridge when the Borg attempted to take it, and was incapacitated in the fighting. Our doctor says he'll likely survive, but until he's able to return to duty, I will be commanding the ship."

"Our engineers report that we need at least eight hours to repair damage to the shield emitters, deflector array, and internal systems, not to mention complete our security sweeps. We have at least thirty-five serious or fatal casualties aboard that we're attempting to deal with as well. We cannot possibly leave this system for at least that time. We also have a number of crew... missing... we think. Internal sensors failed after the Borg boarded us, but localized backup systems said that there were transporter signals. If any of the other ships took some of our crew during the fight... please simply let us know. If not, we have to assume they were beamed away by the Borg."

She did not dwell, nor need to dwell, on what the consequences of that were.

"We're prepared to render any assistance regarding the division of salvage, but... before he was anesthetized, Commander Kalpov asked me to point out that by volume, there's three times as much Borg wreckage in this region of space right now than the mass of all of our ships put together, and that therefore there really should be enough to go around. His words, not mine."

This had the ring of a lie to it, and perhaps it was intended to.

"We await any instructions as to fleet intention," concluded the Aenar. "Argonaut out."

[Agent Fisher]

Gul Tarka looked to Datav. "Send the Immortal our status and willingness to continue talks." He said. The Dal nodded, setting about sending the message.

While his XO worked, a Gil stepped forward, handing over a damage report.

Tarka skimmed over the report, nothing too bad, though the nebula sensors were acting up again.

"Hmm, I wonder if our new found friends can offer advice on those systems." He mused to himself before nodding to the young cardassian and sending him on his way.

[Marcao]

Alpha Quadrant
Nivoch System

The four Romulan shuttles which had been launched from the S'harien had been forced early to withdraw away from the Borg cube once the massive vessel had removed from the equation the relative safety of their anonymity. With their cloaking devices disabled, the shuttles had retreated beneath a series of evasive maneuvers beyond the effective range of even the Borg's vaunted and highly feared heavy plasma torpedoes. With the destruction of the Borg cube, these shuttles had moved back into position to carry out their original objectives. Two of these shuttles intercepted the graveyard of the Borg Sphere that had for all intensive purposes been torn asunder as it had sought to enter the orbit of Nivoch IV. Upon arriving on their destination, they wasted little time in scanning the debris for useful technologies. As these scans yielded information, the technology was transported within the hold and catalogued.

The remaining two shuttles broke off and targeted the remains of two separate exterminator frigates. The coded burst from the S'harien had clarified what the data provided before the mission already hinted at. The S'harien was very much interested in the tractor beam technology that the vessels utilized to nullify incoming ordnance. One of the targeted exterminators had come to rest in several pieces near the second line of the task force, having sought to pierce through the front lines and assail the lighter ships of the task force. One shuttle had been drawn to near the Borg cube itself. It was the final shuttle that fell within range of the Klingon Vorcha's extended shields maneuver. Around the debris from the cube laid a borg sphere, and two exterminators. It was the most concentrated technological scavenging ground in the system. Between the Riskadh and the Valdore, their extended shields covered the entirety of the area.

The shuttle that had closed to this area had done so in order to scavenge what appeared to be a relatively intact tractor beam projector from the Exterminator frigate. This component was far too large to fit within the shuttle itself and as such, the Romulan shuttle scanned it and extended its tractor beam to secure the technology in order to prepare to carry it to the S'harien. The extended shields of the Klingon ship complicated the equation but the Romulan shuttle compensated. When the tractor beams of the Riskadh itself sought to remove the prize from the Romulan shuttle it was akin to a giant seeking to wrestle a toy from a child.

"We are being targeted by the Riskadh!" The sensor officer called out in shock.

"What?!" The commander of the shuttle responded, his eyes staring at his data consoles. If the Riskadh wanted them dead, well there was little that they could do.

The S'harien will avenge us.

"They are trying to tractor the Borg technology from us." The sensor officer stated a moment later his voice heavy with relief. It did not seem as if today was a good day to die after all.

"Alert the S'harien of our situation. Can you do anything?" The commanding office responded.

"I am trying." Was the response, the Romulan pressing a series of keys on his console as he sought to fight the far more powerful grasp of the Riskadh with mixed success. "I can't hold it off. It is a Vorcha Arrain." The Romulan sounded frustrated each trick that he sought adjusted by his counterpart within the Klingon warship within a few heartbeats. "I am losing it." He frowned, pressed another series of keys. "I think I got it." He smiled triumphantly and then glared at the console six and half seconds later when the Riskadh went on the offensive. " Its gone." A moment later, the shuttle rocked slightly as it was snared and pushed clear of the debris zone.

"Inform the S'harien of the loss and our status. Do not fight their moving us from the debris zone." The Arrain said softly. There were times when token resistance offered no benefit. The Klingon had come to realize that far too late in the war against the Borg and it had nearly destroyed their people. He had no desire to magnify his powerlessness for the world to see or to repeat the mistakes of old. The Romulan shuttle did not struggle as the tractor beam of the Riskadh moved it from the debris akin to a feline mother carrying a kitten by the scruff of its neck.

Alpha Quadrant
Nivoch System, IRW S'harien
Bridge

The familiar emerald field that had enveloped him faded and deposited him in the heart of the S'harien. He took a deep breath and held it, the familiar air drawing a faint smile to his lips. He had barely made it to the edge of his command dais when the communication officer turned to face him.

"Riov! The Riskadh has targeted one of our shuttles." The communication said with surprise in her words. The bridge went quiet as she did so.

Riov Galan Cretak sat on his dais and looked at his communication officer. "Ask for clarification. Sensors, what can you tell me about the posture of the Riskadh?" If the Vorcha wanted the shuttle destroyed, then nothing could be done about saving it. He doubted that was the intention of the Klingons however.

"Riskadh is attempting to wrestle the shuttle's borg technology away from it by using its tractor beam against that of the shuttle. Our shuttle is trying to delay this tactic and hold on to the technology." His sensor office responded. As he spoke, the sensor data from the S'harien was made available to him. The Riskadh herself did not seem to have changed her posture. There were no indications that its intentions were more than simply trying to stop the shuttle from keeping the prize they had duly salvaged.

"Riov, should we intervene?" His weapon officer asked in a soft tone.

Galan hesitated for a handful of tense seconds, his eyes focusing on the communication logs of the S'harien that had taken place while he had been aboard the Argonaut. When he found what he had been looking for he glanced upwards and looked at his crew. "You mean fire on what could very well be the last Klingon warship still fighting in the quadrant? Seek to destroy a vessel that less than an hour ago helped us destroy a Borg cube and attending ships?"

His weapon officer's eyes never left his own as his Riov spoke. Nonetheless, the concern in his eyes did not disappear beneath the words of his commanding officer. It was his sensor officer that cut through the silence.

"The Riskadh has secured the borg technology from the shuttle and is using its tractor beam to move the shuttle away from the salvage area. The shuttle is reporting no damage. It is attaching a detailed scan of the technology in question as well as the technology that they have secured on their cargo hold." the sensor office reported.

"Send a message to all shuttles in an open channel. Order our shuttles to return to the S'harien and to begin cataloguing the salvage they have acquired." Riov Galan Cretak said, his communication officer immediately began to work on the message.

"So we will let the Klingons bully our shuttle without repercussions?" His weapon officer stated.

"Not without repercussions khre'arrian. However, I am not prepared to risk open war with the last known Klingon ship over a piece of Borg technology. They did not cause any real damage to our people or our ship. They may have wounded pride, but I sent the shuttles with orders to perform salvage operations with this outcome in mind." Galan responded.

"Riov?" His weapon officer found himself asking momentarily confused.

"My duty and obligation is the safety of this ship and the people within it. However, if we are to be part of a task force then we have to start working together. I sent the shuttles to make sure that our needs were met and we had a fair share of the spoils of war. Individually no ship in the task force could destroy the vessels arrayed against it. I did not trust that the individual captains would not devolve into a free for all after the conflict was over. This concern was intensified when the Barbarossa presented itself. I had expected that by our shuttles initiating the salvaging operations, either the Immortal or the Riskadh would be forced to try and impose order on the situation. The Barbarossa played right into my hands in that regard. With two ships starting salvaging operations piecemeal, someone had to act. The Riskadh did so first. Regardless of the small amount of face that our shuttle may have lost, our other three shuttles have done their tasks without interference. It is no longer necessary for them to continue their operations as we are all but guaranteed a strong hand in the coming negotiations." Galan clarified.

The weapon officer hesitated for a moment considering the words of his commanding officer and nodded. "I see Riov."

"In the days to come we will be glad that we have the Klingons on our side." He added a moment later, the tension in the bridge seem to drain away. "Where is the Erei'Riov?"

"He is in the ready room. He is taking a call from the Riskadh and the Immortal." the communication officer responded.

I wonder if he is enjoying that conversation.

"I see. I will inform him of my return." He stated, leaving the command dais and making his way towards the ready room.

Alpha Quadrant
Nivoch System, IRW S'harien
Ready Room

Erei'riov watched the Klingon captain with no apparent expression on his face. His eyes glancing at the image and making his own internal estimation of the Klingon's ability. Ultimately, the words of the Klingon were met with a small nod of his head exactly what politeness required and nothing more.

"I will take your words under advisement Captain." His words left his lips smoothly. Erei'riov Hanaj Dar was a product of an older age when the Empire had split the galaxy into two factions. People to be used and conquered, and people to be feared and fought with. The Klingons had always fallen in the latter category. There were things that came naturally to Galan that he still struggled with. He was too old, to used to the old ways. His traditionalism had served him well throughout most of his career but after the Dominion war the world began to change and he was unable to change with it. His lips parted, more veiled words about to tumble past his lips when the sound of the ready room door opening dispelled his words and drowned out his thoughts. His head turned and he saw Galan stride into the room.

"Erei'riov, you stand relieved. Please coordinate with Riov N'vek as our men and women return to the S'harien from the Argonaut and Heritage." Galan Cretak said. His eyes showed little, he had learned to mask his emotions beneath a layer of professionalism but he thought he saw pleasure in his eyes.

Erei'Riov glanced at his commanding officer and looked past him and to the right where the image of the Klingon captain remained. His eyes lingered on the image for only a moment before he nodded. "Of course Riov. I am certain that Captain Kadon wishes to speak with you." With those words said, he strode past Galan and out of the ready room.

Galan moved deeper into the ready room and waited until the door closed after Hanaj had left the room before he glanced at the screen. "Captain Kadon, I am prepared to present a list of the technology which my forces have salvaged from Borg forces during the meeting of captains." He offered no apologies. He had always been of the opinion that one had to take what one wanted and then paid for it. His orders had led to a situation that had forced someone to take charge and impose order. He had expected Captain Anderson to have done so given the proximity to a Federation colony, but in some ways Captain Kadon was a better choice.

[frigidmagi]

"Sir, the Riskadh has targeted and tractored a Romanulan shuttle. They're dragging the shuttle out of the Borg debris field." Came the report.

Captain Andersen gritted his teeth. The shooting had just stopped, repairs had to be made and injured cared for and what was going on? Everyone was running around crazed after the salvage... Of which there was plenty of and it wasn't going anywhere.

"Contact both ships, inform the Captains that they should meet me on the Empyrean. The Salvage can wait. Contact the Captain of the Empyrean, request that he speak to me, I'll take that transmission in my ready room." Captain Andersen.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Aboard the USS Humboldt

"Captain, sensors are detecting a small fleet of combined Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian energy signatures engaging a Borg Cube and support vessels in the Nivoch system." said the Communications Officer, Lt. Sevrin told the captain in her usual monotone voice

"Helm, Increase to maximum warp and plot an intercept course. Initiate" the Vulcan captain replied

"Affirmative Captain" the male Vulcan--Ensign Kren replied

"Time to Arrival?"

"Sixteen minutes"

Captain Vlad'Stok sat back in his chair dispassionately. He brought his angry little ship--both angry in terms of its armaments, and in terms of its crew--a long way to take part in what could be the final defense of Bajor. They had been too far away to defend their homeworld, and were impotent to stop earth from being taken. They were Vulcans. They repressed their emotions, bottled them up and let them dissipate but by no means did they not feel them. The crew was in shambles, but they would never show it. They had so far channeled their unfathomable rage into the development and field testing of weapons against the Borg. Now though, they had been reassigned, and everyone was thankful for a heavy combat assignment. The chance to vaporize the borg, to make them pay for rendering the entire vulcan culture and homeworld into glass. Those thoughts however were rammed into a little box and forgotten in favor of rigid logic... but eventually the box gets full. Their boxes were almost full. Even with telepathic therapy, meditation, regular mating--the crew was close to snapping and reverting back to the pre-Surak. A combat assignment would give them all a chance to vent. To release some of that anger and sadness in a constructive way. Or a destructive way, depending on one's perspective.

He lingered in this reverie for a few minutes before Lt Sevrin spoke

"The fleet battle is over. One federation ship is destroyed, comm traffic indicates several other ships damaged and have had to repel boarders. Borg ships annihilated"

"Are we in range to pick up their transponders?"

"Yes sir."

"Anyone of note?" he stood up and looked at her display. "The Empyrean and Immortal. They are still alive" he said without affect. He was actually very pleased. He had known the science officer of the Empyrean Lt. Commander Dunok, they had attended the High Energy Physics conference on Vulcan prior to his posting to the Empyrean and their apparently not as ill-fated trip to the Gamma Quadrant. He had also served alongside Anderson command during the Derfense of Earth.

"Mr. Forsythe, I think we will be meeting old friends."

The only human on the ship beamed a giant smile.

"I heard" he said, coming over from his duty station monitoring all ship functions. "Thank god they are still alive." the captain looked at him quizzically "I mean that as a figure of speech of course, Captain."

The captain managed a tiny little smirk.

"We are arrived, coming to quarter impulse power Captain" Ensign Kren intoned.

The ship came out of warp just outside the combat zone.

"Communications, open all hailing frequencies, full visual. Initiate."

"Complying"

The ship came out of warp. Allied sensors would pick up a Nova Class science vessel, sporting two ion cannons obviously mounted to the dorsal and ventral hull. The main deflector was obviously modified, with trace anti-gravitons emitting from it. The escape pods were gone, with tendrils of what appeared to be improvised hull-sections wrapped over pathways leading to the phaser arrays. What would have been the torpedo tubes and shuttle bays were leaking residual power into space.

"This Captain Vlad'Stok of the USS Humboldt." he said, with the usual flat Vulcan expression. "I apologize for not getting here sooner, but we had to goaround some of our own" he paused "handiwork. However, we have a large compliment of technical crews for our size and offer our assistance in repairs to any ship that may require them. Captain Anderson, it is good to see you again. Truly, your ship has lived up to its name. "

[Cynical Cat]

"Excellent Commander Cretak. I'm pleased to hear it. I'm sure I don't have to explain how it is to our benefit that the fleet in which we are leading voices in has control over the salvage zone," said Kadon. "Squabbling and negotiating with Orion pirates over badly needed parts serves none of us. You may wish to instruct your subordinates that when I signal your ship to back my play it is to our mutual benefit that you do so. As I would were I to receive such a message from you. If you have need of the assistance of the Riskadh's engineers they are at your disposal."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"One moment Captain Anderson," said Arikel. "Captain Kadon is in conference with Commander Cretak. He has, however, left instructions regarding such a proposal. A meeting aboard the Empyrean is acceptable at whatever time you so choose."

"And you may want to invite our Vulcan new arrivals."

[frigidmagi]

"Hail for you from the new vessel sir. They're addressing you by name." The Com officer announced.

"On Screen."

"This Captain Vlad'Stok of the USS Humboldt." he said, with the usual flat Vulcan expression. "I apologize for not getting here sooner, but we had to goaround some of our own" he paused "handiwork. However, we have a large compliment of technical crews for our size and offer our assistance in repairs to any ship that may require them. Captain Anderson, it is good to see you again. Truly, your ship has lived up to its name. "

"Thank you Captain Vlad'Stok for the assistance and the compliant. I will pass it on to my crew and they will I am sure be pleased. We are arranging a meeting of Captain on the vessel USS Empyrean. Please join us and we can arrange for a logical division of resources and aide." The Captain replied.

[Hotfoot]

Alpha Quadrant
Nivoch System
Empyrean Bridge

Lieutenant Dirrina Kam monitored the chatter filling the void with a somewhat exasperated look. Seven years of desperate war had done little for interspecies relations, it had seemed. When she had been told that one of her duties on board the ship may involve managing communications, she had assumed it would simply involve relaying messages and feeding signals to the main viewscreen or more private communications areas. The truth was, of course, far more complicated than that. The computer logged and sorted the incoming messages, but sorting through them and making sense of them was a trying task at times, and particularly at the moment. Dozens of individual signals, back and forth, encrypted and not, confused accounts and reports, and at the core of it all, somewhere, what was really going on. It would have been the basis for an interesting psychological study any other time, but now the two minds both were expressing frustration at the chaos that had cropped up after the battle.


Captain DuBois had already left for the Diplomatic Chambers, leaving Commander Stone in charge of the ship. The command style between the two was significantly different, Stone was less interested in the details and the entire picture, preferring instead to let the officers handle things and report end results. The Joined Trill was keenly aware of the change in tone the bridge took under Commander Stone, and as a result when the transmission from the Argonaut, she sent back a quick response, letting the ship know that several of the ship’s missing crew were on board the Empyrean receiving medical care, along with several survivors pulled from the Heritage.

The remaining transmissions were sorted through in turn. The Immortal was sent a status report on the Empyrean, no damage of note on the ship, several dozen wounded were receiving treatment from other ships, a few fatalities, and some cases of early stage nanoprobe infection that were being contained and treated. The rest were sorted and organized for later review, but most were not immediately pressing.

Until the new arrival in the system appeared on the screen. For a moment, Dirrina felt her gut tighten, her eyes snapped to Lieutenant Maren, seeking guidance in her own way. As Maren’s face began to relax from her initial tension, Dirrina returned her gaze to her console, looking at the incoming transmission.

“New contact Commander, Federation signature, it’s the USS Humboldt,â€

[Comrade Tortoise]

OOC: Edited prior post for reasons of continuity

"I would be honored Captain." T'Lorn replied "Engineering teams are prepared and ready to send once the logistics are decided, or when individual ships give us permission--whichever comes first. Diagnostics, then repair as that becomes possible. I must say personally Captain, in addition to your ship, it is good to see you still alive." the Vulcan smirked, almost imperceptibly but it was there. Something Anderson, in his limited interactions with the man over the years, had never seen. The voice however, did not change "I suspect it is because you make death fear for its own health and well being. I will see you on the Empyrean Captain. I look forward to meeting the rest of the assembled captains. Vlad'Stok out."

It really was good to see him again, even if he had taken so much punishment that much of his body was cybernetic. The best way he could describe his memories of Captain Anderson were of a hard but noble man. Professional, and going over and above the requirements of being competent. He felt something in his throat, he found it difficult to breath, until he found that he was fighting back tears of joy. He closed his eyes, and fixed that problem with some slow and deep breathing, taking that emotion, packaging it and locking it into a place where not even the crows or a telepathic scan would find it.

"Lieutenant Sevrin, initiate a sensor sweep, lets see who we have."

"Initiating sir." said the young woman. She was only forty afterall, and vulcans tended to live much much longer.

"The USS Immortal, no damage. The USS Empyrean, Luna Class, no damage. The other Federation ships are the Defiant Class USS Gilgamesh who's shield capacitors have burned out and were boarded, the Akira Class USS Spector undamaged, and the Ambassador Class USS Argonaut,combat damage boarded. The remains of another federation ship. Lastly, the USS Vigilance, Galaxy Class, undamaged. Numerous salvageable parts in the debris field, including in-tact heavy disruptors, communications equipment and power relays."

"Thank you Lieutenant. Send it to my datapad if you would?" he asked. She did not bother to respond, he just heard the little beep of acknowledgment.

"We have permission from the USS Gilgamesh to send over diagnostic teams. Dr. Genetris is requesting permission to take his medical staff aboard the Argonaut. Relaying his request to the ship's command staff." said Lieutenant V'Tan, the communications officer.

"Good. Let Lieutenant Commander Vagel know that she can take her team aboard. However, give the Gilgamesh ten seconds warning before engaging transporters. It would be unfortunate if her crew became...startled." He stood in an at-ease pose and then tapped his comm badge. "One to transport directly to the diplomatic facilities on the USS Empyrean"

With that, the Vulcan dematerialized in a blue and silver shimmer. He reappeared on the Empyrean just as Captain DuBois and Lt. Commander Dunok entered the room.

...

USS Empyrean

"Greetings." he said to them both "Captain DuBois, it is good to meet you. For what it is worth, welcome home." for a Vulcan, that last bit was not as cold as it otherwise would have been. Warmth could be detected, however slight it may be. Then he saw, really saw Dunok. His heart rate quickened imperceptibly.

Seventy nine Vulcans I know for certain were still alive

"It is good to see you in particular Lieutenant Commander. When I was informed that the Dominion had closed the Bajor Wormhole, I had feared the worst. There are... too few of us left. Protocol however demands that I first offer my hand to the commanding officer"

He stepped forward, and offered his hand.

...

USS Gilgamesh

Lieutenant Commander T'Ran Vagel beamed directly to main engineering on-board the Gilgamesh, her and her subordinates armed in case they ran into random borg drones in some hidden passageway aboard the ship. They were also carrying cases of advanced diagnostic and repair equipment, much of it of their own design.

"We have been informed that you have had an overload in the power-relays feeding your shields, leading to cascading damage to the capacitors. Given our expertise with shielding grids, we can--more than likely--be of no small assistance"

This was said flatly, with no outward sign of emotion. T'Ran however was surveying the engineering compartment even as she spoke, her eyes going over every detail.

"Is someone willing to direct us to the appropriate Jeffrey's tube? We are unfamiliar with the layout of a Defiant Class vessel." as if aware of the possible lack of confidence that may engender she added "her sub-systems however are another matter."

[rhoenix]

USS Gilgamesh
Bridge

Captain Solheim nodded to himself after the messages had been completed. "Swift, did the Humbolt say when they'd be sending over the teams?"

There was a small pause as Swift smirked. "Yes sir - they're transporting now."

"Vulcan efficiency at work," Commander Inzeti said with a small smirk of her own. "Swift, make sure Lieutenants Dawson and Vela know."

Nodding absently, Swift opened a comm. "Bridge to Engineering - we got a message from the new arrival, the Humbolt, saying that they're sending over technical teams to help us with repairs. They should be en route shortly."

After a short pause, there was a dry response from Lieutenant Dawson. "Lieutenant Dawson here. So you're saying we should let them go?"

Swift blinked once in surprise, and then laughed. "Yes, they at least sent a message before coming over, even though it was only ten seconds."

"Fine," Lieutenant Commander Dawson replied with a sigh. "Engineering out."


USS Gilgamesh
Engineering

Lieutenant Dawson nodded tiredly to everyone in Engineering who had hurriedly armed themselves upon hearing the distinctive noise of transporters. "They're fine, we got the okay from the Captain," she said, waving to everyone to lower their weapons and stand down. "Lieutenant Vela, please escort them to the shield grid systems. Let's get our girl back in fighting shape again."

She then turned to the Vulcan engineers with a wry smile. "My apologies about the reception - we weren't expecting guests."


USS Gilgamesh
Bridge

Once Engineering had stood down from their alert, and work had begun on the shield grid systems, Captain Solheim and Commander Inzeti walked together toward the transporter room nearest the Bridge.

Commander Inzeti raised an eyebrow in a somewhat Vulcan fashion before speaking as they walked, a habit that still amused Captain Solheim. "That was... fortuitous, if unexpected. Do you think our luck will hold for deciding what to do about the colony?"

"I'd rather luck not be a factor," Captain Solheim replied with a smirk as they both stepped onto the transporter pads, preparing to beam over to the USS Empyrian. "But if it is anyway, I'd rather somehow arrange to give the colonists some pride in what happened before we leave, so we don't have to explain a planet-wide riot to Starfleet once we get to DS9."

"And here I thought you'd enjoy suppressing a riot," Commander Inzeti said offhandedly, while glancing at her Captain with a smirk.

"Not really," Captain Solheim replied with a sigh. "Just because you're trained for something doesn't necessarily mean you enjoy it."

"Understandable," Commander Inzeti said whole nodding somberly. She knew this all too well.

[Cynical Cat]

Three figures materialized in a haze of crimson light, accompanied by a soft hum. One was Captain Kadon, tall and powerfully built even for one of the Imperial Race. His hair, mustache, and beard were short and neatly clipped by the standards of Klingon warriors. He was dressed, as he had been for the previous meeting, severely in Klingon uniform and armour without sashes of ranks and house badges. As before he was visibly armed with a mek'leth and a disruptor pistol that was almost a carbine.

Next to him was his Executive. Arikel nearly matched her captain in height and breadth of shoulders. Her brow ridges were small and her dark hair fell straight to her shoulders. A d'ktahg and a heavy dispruptor pistol rode at her hip. Slung over her shoulder was a personal computer/tricorder.

The last officer barely reached Arikel's sternum. His build was squat and he walked with a waddling gate. Sulfur yellow scales covered his body and three lobed feet tipped with blunt claws protruded from the bottom of his pants. Seragal wore black uniform tunic and trousers with a sleeveless gold over tunic and the rank insignia of commander in the Imperial Klingon Navy. A com badge and translator unit was pinned to the front of his tunic because his beak like fanged maw simply couldn't pronounce most the words of most languages. He wore a blade and a disruptor as was appropriate, but was far more attached to the portable computing unit he carried in case hanging from a shoulder sling. The case contained numerous pockets, all closed but bulging with tools.

The light and the humming died and all three stood on the transporter pad of the Empyrean. "Permission to come aboard?" Kadon asked, in accordance with ancient human military custom.

[Comrade Tortoise]

T'Ran raised one of her eyebrows when people turned to her and her crew with weapons drawn. She responded flatly to the apparent commanding officer--one Lieutenant Dawson--who directed the other Lieutenant, a Betazed by the name of Vela, to escort them to the shield system and then apologize for the reception.

"I understand. You have recently been boarded, and the crew is easily startled. I will make a note to the Captain that ten seconds is insufficient warning for transport under such conditions."

The Vulcans followed Vela to shield grid system. There was a small console near a Jeffrey's tube. One of the engineers opened one of the cases and pulled out a data-pad with a cable attached to it, then opened a panel under the console, plugging the cable into a port while the other vulcans went inside the adjascent Jeffrey's tube.

"Thank you Lieutenant Vela. Switching to speaker mode on comms" T'Ran said as she closed the hatch, pulling her phaser out and putting it on maximum setting--just in case. "Ensign Velnic, begin diagnostic probe on my mark"

"Yes Lieutenant Commander" he replied expressionlessly

A few seconds passed as the other vulcans crawled through the tube and spread themselves out for maximum efficiency. There were several possible points of failure, and each one had a designated area to cover. The control circuits, the power relays from main power, the surge capacitors that provided the actual power to the shield system, the control systems from the capacitors to the emitters, and the power relay between the capacitors and the primary shield emitters.

"Begin Ensign"

Ensign Velnic covered the first point of failure, the computer control that regulated power to the capacitors. He tapped a few icons on on the LCARS console, and ran a short diagnostic. It was performed in seconds.

"MPTC Circuits are fully operation Lieutenant Commander. Initiating Photonic Plasma Conduit Relay Pulse One" He tapped a few buttons on his little pad and send a bit of power down the line.

The second ensign had his little pad plugged in to his own little port.

"Report Ensign Zerek" T'Ron said

"Pulse complete." Ensign Zerek replied "No failure in plasma conduits. Initiating Pulse Two." he sent his own little pulse down the plasma conduit toward the capacitors.

"Ensign Ganos?"

"Power Failure Reported."

She moved from her position to open the hatch to display the power conduits. She had to pull the manual override. Acrid smoke billowed forth and she almost choked. In unison, they all reached for their breather masks from their cases, and put them on without otherwise reacting. In almost the same motion, she pulled a visor from the same case and looked for the failure in the plasma conduit. There was nothing to see. It was slagged. With it slagged, the Primary Control Computer would keep sending power through for a split second before automatic shutoffs engaged. Everything down stream of that point would be inoperative. The Capacitors, the Capacitor Release Control Computer, the Post-Capacitor Power Relay. The only thing that would be undamaged would be the shield emitters themselves, and only because they were the ones that engaged the shutoff--which also included cutting the line up-circuit. They would need new Plasma Conduits, new Isolinear Chips, and new capacitors. Probably.

"Is the Capacitor Release Control Computer operational?"

"No Sir, it is destroyed."

"The Emitters?"

"Fully functional" replied the ensign on the far side of the tube

"I should inform the Lieutenants Dawson and Vela. Take care of the cleanup if you would."

She exited the tube, allowing her subordinates to get cleaned up, stood up straight and informed the Lieutenant.

"You had a cascading power surge that destroyed everything up stream of the

"You had a cascading power surge starting from the Pre-Capacitor Plasma Conduit up to the Emitters before automatic shut-down protocols engaged. The line itself failed. You will need to completely replace the down stream plasma conduits, your capacitors, and the downstream computer. Do you have the parts available or available from an unused subsystem, or do we need to inform Captain Vlad'Stok that some of the salvage outside is critical?"

[rhoenix]

USS Gilgamesh
near Engineering

Lieutenant Vela watched the all-Vulcan engineering crew of the Humbolt go to work, quickly reaching the same conclusions he and Lieutenant Dawson had. He looked somewhat crestfallen to see his worst suspicions confirmed. "That's disheartening," he said with a wry look, crossing his arms. "Yes, I think we should both inform our Captains of your findings. We can replace the downstream computer, but we simply don't have any parts to spare that can fix the rest. Lieutenant Dawson and I were entertaining the option of jury-rigging before your crew showed up."

He put his hand on one of the EPS conduits, frowning as he did. "I don't like to see this lady in pain," he said with a sigh. "Very well, I'll inform our comm officer about our findings. Thank you, Lieutenant Commander," he finished with a wan smile.

"Lieutenant Vela to Bridge," he said with a frown after tapping his comm badge.

"Bridge here, go ahead Vela," Swift's voice replied.

"Lieutenant Commander T'ran of the Humbolt engineering team confirmed our findings - we simply don't have the spare parts to fix this old girl's shields in-house. I think we're going to have to scrounge the wreckage," Lieutenant Vela said while reading the detailed findings from the visiting engineering team.

"Acknowledged Lieutenant Vela, I'll inform the Captain. Bridge out," Swift replied crisply. Her efficiency still seemed at odds with her rather relaxed appearance, despite the years they served aboard the Gilgamesh, in Lieutenant Vela's mind at least.


USS Gilgamesh
Transporter room

Just before Captain Solheim and Commander Inzeti were transported, they were interrupted by their comm badges chirping gently, just before Swift's perky voice carried across. "Bridge to Captain Solheim."

Captain Solheim and Commander Inzeti shared a look before Captain Solheim tapped his comm badge. "Go ahead, Swift."

"The engineering team from the Humbolt have confirmed what Lieutenants Vela and Dawson suspected - we know where the problem is now specifically, but we can't fix it in-house. We'll need to get some parts from the wreckage," Swift explained.

Captain Solheim sighed. "Figures. Alright, I'll bring it up at the meeting. Solheim out."

Turning to the ensign at the controls, he nodded once. "Energize."

Returning the nod, the ensign at the transporter controls tapped a few buttons, and both Captain Solheim and Commander Inzeti were transported away from the Gilgamesh.


USS Empyrian
Transporter room

Appearing out of the standard bluish-white starfield of Federation-made transporters, Captain Solheim and Commander Inzeti each appeared on one of the pads. At the same time, they saluted the ensign manning the transporter room controls. "Captain and Commander of the Gilgamesh, requesting permission to come aboard," Captain Solheim said crisply.

[SirNitram]

"Captain." Suvuc commed to the Captain as he was in the shower, trying to recover from another battle. "Be aware, we are in the prensence of a Vulcan-majority starship."

Turning down the water so the spray won't be the main thing heard, Markson grabbed his badge and tapped it. "Vulcans are allies, Suvuc. Try and relax."

"No, Captain. Be aware because they do not seem to be expressing themselves. The societal pressure is immense. An all-Vulcan crew would not tolerate it. Further, their voices over comms indicate no variance from pre-cataclysm cadence."

Markson was silent for a long moment. Bottling up all the emotions of their people could not be health. Worse, even Vulcans have limits. They'll lose their grip. He was like that for minutes, only realizing he was paralyzed in thought when Suvuc tried to confirm. "Yea.. Yea, brother. I understand. Look, let's not assume off the bat they're bottled up like a shaken can of cola. THey could run alot of cathartic sims. I'll be in my quarters for a few hours. Markson out."

[Charon]

The Debris Field

Adrek was staring despondently at the salvage that he'd been going to pick up, now being carelessly tractored away by the Klingons. All those useful parts, all that potential trade value, gone. The Ferengi sneered at the Klingon ship in the far distance. The shuttles were still sitting in the debris field, or what was left of it. Their scanners and their eyes still examining the debris and cataloging all the little useful bits that they could find. Some wires here, a console there, a heating tube. The little bits that every ship needed to keep running. It was going to be like a pack of rabid Piranhas on an injured animal the second they got the go ahead to finish their job.

The Barbarossa

Hizir got out of his chair. "Khoal, Danava. Go get your men and meet me at the transporter room in a few minutes. I need to go make myself presentable."

Khoal and Danava nodded and walked off of the bridge. The two glanced at each other as they rode the turbolift down to where the marines were stationed. Khoal was the first to speak.

"It's about time that we got back with a fleet. We should've done that months ago."

Danava smiled some as she glanced at the Romulan. "Considering what the Captain was doing, any body with us would have just been a liability. Already saw that the last time we got a fleet together." The smile turned into a smirk as Khoal's eyes flared in anger.

"Watch your tone, witch. At least I commanded a vessel. You're nothing more than a pretty lap ornament. Don't you forget it."

Danava winked at him. "And yet I've still gotten more glory in battle than you."

The Romulan snarled and turned away, his fist clenched tightly. "If you call attempted suicide glory, then you would be correct. But some of us plan to live through this war."

Danava laughed and leaned against the back of the turbolift. "A waste of time if you ask me. We're all going to die eventually."

Before Khoal could answer the lift came to a stop and the doors opened. The duo walked out and quickly separated to collect their respective guards.

By the time they got to the transporter room, Hizir was not yet there. Danava examined the marine that Khoal had brought. A pretty woman, but with the usual Romulan seriousness. The woman eyed her back for a moment before returning her gaze forward dutifully. The Orion that Danava had brought along meanwhile was one of the hulking men, with numerous battle scars. He held himself much more loosely, but was still quietly scanning his surroundings.

After a few more seconds the doors opened and Hizir stepped into the transporter room. He was decked out in his most ostentatious outfit, one that blended the old 18th century earth naval uniforms with the modern naval outfits of today, complete with a rather large and fancy hat. Hizir nodded to both of the marines, and smiled to his two officers before stepping onto the platform, followed by his entourage. "Lets go make so friends."

[LadyTevar]

USS Spector
"Bridge to Kirk, urgent."

Eoife winced, still staring at the empty bed where Capt. Ellison had spent the last few years. Until this battle. The one battle they'd WON, as part of a fleet of ships. A victory that should have been shared with the elder man. Dr. Ian Jones watched her carefully, not speaking but offering silent comfort should she wish to talk.

"Captain, please respond." Dr. Jones stirred, and Eoife knew she couldn't ignore the call without the doctor suggesting she sit down for a counseling session. Not that it would be the first time, for any of the crew....

"Kirk here. SitRep."

Serin, ever dependable, made it short and precise. "The USS Humbolt is joining us in-system and offering assistance. The other Captains are already beaming over to the Empyrean. We are awaiting your orders."

"Serin..." Eoife had to swallow hard, tears choking her. "Captain Ellison..."

"I have been informed," Serin answered quietly. "The doctor tried to reach you before you left the Bridge. Your orders, Captain?" The words were Vulcan-calm, but Eoife could read behind it. Serin was just as affected, but fell back on Logic and Duty.

"Inform the crew, Serin. I need to go to my cabin ... freshen up for the meeting."

"I'll do it," Dr Jones said, breaking into the communications so Serin could hear. "Doctors are used to handing out bad news." Eoife looked at him, and could only nod a wordless thanks. She was Captain... but this loss was beyond her.

"Acknowledged, Dr. Jones. Captain, I will wait for you at the transporters."

Eoife's lips quirked as Serin signed off. "Are you sure I'm the captain here?" she asked quietly.

"He's your XO, like I'm your doctor," Ian Jones answered walking closer to drop a friendly hand on the small woman's shoulder. "Now go have a short cry in your cabin, so you don't bawl in front of the Klingons. They expect Kirk's daughter." That got the response he wanted, a glare that chased the shocked pain of loss from Eoife's eyes, and he gave her a lopsided grin. "That's more like it, Eevie."

The Anglization of her name made her roll her eyes, but Eoife walked out knowing Ian was showing his support. She made it to her cabin before the death announcement came over the ship's intercom, dampening the victory dances.


+++++++++++++++++

USS Empyrean
Diplomatic Chamber
10 Standard minutes later

The Captain Kirk that appeared aboard the Empyrean stood straight and proud, her reddish-blond hair still slightly wet from the refresher, her uniform sharp but weaponless. She was shorter than average for a human female, but the short cut of her hair and the sharp intelligence in her eyes harkoned to every 3d archived image of The Great Captain Kirk. Those who had met her on planet could sense a slight change in her demeanor.

Slightly behind her stood the green-haired human-Orion crossbreed, her XO, Lt. Serin. Again, those who had met him before could sense his position was not submissive, but supportive. He literally had his captain's back, despite his lack of a weapon.

"Captain Du Bois, permission to come aboard?" Eoife said in the traditional greeting, despite the Empyrean's own transporters had done the work. She then turned to the other captains she'd met before. "Kai, Captain Kadon. A good fight, and a good victory. Captain Solheim, my crew is standing by, if you need any extra hands for repairs."

A long look swept Captain Hizir from boots to the top of his flamboyant hat, while seeming to casually ignore his obvious bodyguards. "Captain Hizir, a pleasure to finally meet you," Kirk said with a slight grin, without any sounds of irony or diplomatic flimflamery. Then again, The Kirk had been known for his charm and guile.

She then looked to the Vulcan, and humbly raised her hand, fingers V'd. "Prosperity and Long Life, Captain." Behind her, her XO did the same with far more ease, as if raised to it. To Vulcan eyes it was clear by his body language and name that Serin had been raised by Vulcan parents. The how and why would be an intriguing question to ask.

[Agent Fisher]

Katara

Tarka walked through the corridors, talking with his XO. "I'm heading over to the Federation ship to see what sort of fleet can be put together. While I'm gone, simply stand to, but keep your hand on the shield and cloak controls. If the borg return with more than the fleet can handle, you know the procedure. Cloak and scram back to Bajor." Tarka ordered to Datav. The Cardassian nodded.

"Of course, Gul." He said, looking to Tarka and Markat as they stood on the transporter pad. The Gil manning the controls signaled the Empyrean.


********

A haze of sparkles and the two Cardassians appeared on the transporter pad. A young officer lead them to the chamber, Tarka nodding to the assembled captains, a fleeting thought in his head was the hope none of them had relatives aboard the ships he had destroyed during the Dominion War.

[Marcao]

Alpha Quadrant
Nivoch System, IRW S'harien
Bridge

Erei'Riov Hanaj Dar returned to the bridge of the S'harien and sat down on his station once more. As he did so, his attention slid to his data console as he caught up on the events that had transpired when he had been away from the bridge. It did not take him long to realize that with their attention focusing on their shuttles and the recovery efforts of their crew from the destroyed USS Heritage they had as of yet not acted on a message regarding their status sent from the USS Immortal.

"Communications, there is a message from the Immortal asking for our status. I want you to send them this information." He said before he took a few moments to craft a brief if accurate status of the Romulan Warbird and personnel. The S'harien itself had not suffered significant damage, it had managed to not be overtly targetted by the Borg and its shields had withstood the fire that had been sent towards it. The casualties and wounded from the forces that sought to assist the USS Heritage were still been tallied however.

"Understood Erei'riov" As soon as the message was received it was sent to the USS Immortal.

"New ship arriving on system. Federation signature, Nova class. We are detecting significant modifications to their deflector dish and other systems. " The sensor officer stated calmly.

"On screen." The Erei'riov responded. The presence of another ship was fortuitous, they had lost a Federation ship and now they graciously provided another. The modifications were expected. He doubted a single warship remained in the quadrant that had not tried to some degree to tilt the odds in their favor or modify systems to allow for continued operations.

"They are hailing the fleet." The communication officer stated a moment later.

"Let me see it." Hanaj responded. A moment later, the Vulcan commanding officer was impossible to miss.

"Should we respond Erei'riov?" The communications officer asked.

"Acknowledge their arrival, politely decline their engineering assistance. I will let the Riov handle first meetings."

"Understood."

Alpha Quadrant
Nivoch System, IRW S'harien
Ready Room

Galan Cretak watched the Klingon captain closely as he spoke and nodded his head when he spoke of their current circumstances. Negotiations with Orions tended to be tense and delicate affairs under the best of circumstances. The Orions had tended to delight in pushing negotiations to their very limits and this was especially so once they felt they held a winning hand. Nonetheless, he expected that the Orions would at least understand their own best interest in this situation. Especially once it became readily apparent that they faced a relatively unified opposition.

Kadon and I are on the same ground, but I cannot predict what the others will do.

"It is as you say captain." He admitted. He could find no fault in the Klingon's reasoning at this time. "I will instruct my crew that your ship and ours will have a preferred relationship." They were after all, representatives of the greatest non-human powers in the quadrant. He could think of no one better to work alongside in the task force in order to keep the Federation forces cognizant of the fact that it was not purely a human led affair.

"I will see you during the meeting Captain. I am very interested in seeing where we will go from here now that the immediate Borg threat has been dealt with." He added a moment later, nodding his head in a gesture of respect before terminating the communication link between the two warships. He took a deep breath and held it. His communication officer had made it a point to stream data along the bottom of the open channel as he had talked with the Klingon captain. As such, he was aware of the arrival of the latest Federation ship and the status update that was sent from the S'harien to the Immortal.

He hesitated for a moment before he walked over to where his desk laid and sat upon it. He had a handful of precious minutes before he was obligated to be transported to the USS Empyrean. He took the time to catch up on his reading, scanning over the latest ship logs and communication logs until he found one from Captain Solheim. He paused for a moment and opened the message, a frown slowly gracing his features until the frown had turned into scowl.

Solheim...

He closed the message and shook his head. It seemed that the captain of the Gilgamesh would have to become acquainted with disappointment. His request had been ludicrous. He stood from his chair and shook his head muttering in the language of his people for no less than fifteen seconds. It took him a few minutes to prepare for his upcoming visitation to the USS Empyrean. A new uniform secured in his usual fashion. When the process was over, he was prepared to meet with the other representatives of the nascent task force. His steps carried him swiftly towards the door leading out of the room. As it opened, he caught sight of Riov Sindari N'vek waiting for him. Her eyes told him all that he needed to know as she strode into the room and the door closed behind her.

"You are not coming with me Sindari." He said flatly.

The eyes of the Tal'shiar officer rippled with anger before that emotion was subsumed into their depths. "You are not going alone Galan."

"I must. Hanaj has to stay behind in charge of the S'harien before a Federation flotilla finds its way to the system or the Borg decide to investigate why one of their Cubes met its end. That is assuming of course that they are not in the system already. You have to debrief our forces as they return from the Argonaut." Galan stated.

Sindari N'vek frowned for a moment before her expression softened. "You used the code Kaleh. Why?"

"Let's just say I found something interesting and I do not want the men and women that witnessed it coming to their own conclusions. We will work together you and I to craft a suitable subterfuge to satisfy our troops." It was a risk but Sindari loved puzzles. She also loved secrets and giving her an intellectual exercise was just what he needed to keep her in the S'harien. Sindari was competent, passionate about her work and arguably the most well informed Romulan in the quadrant. She also seemed to intensely dislike Samara. He expected her to be accompanying Solheim and that meant, that Sindari could under no circumstances meet with the Riov of the Vampaja. He had no doubt that Samara could defend herself in a physical onslaught. He also had no doubt that it would not come to that. The Tal'shiar had always preferred to work behind the scenes. Few Romulans that still drew breath could claim to match the ability of Sindari in the areas that had once been the strength of her order.

Sindari visibly blinked, her eyes narrowing slightly before she spoke. "I see. It would be easiest for me to begin working on the foundation of this subterfuge if I knew more of what transpired in the Argonaut."

He almost smiled but he managed to control himself. "This is sealed to us Sindari." He said needlessly. Sindari would never share a secret if it did not give her a significant advantage it was not her nature. She had never betrayed his confidence.

At least I have never caught her doing so.

"Galan, you wound me." She said softly. Rolling her eyes a moment later when his eyes did not budge from her own. "Fine. This is sealed to us." Her eyes settled on his own expectantly.

"Commander Kalpov is a changeling. When our forces made it to the bridge it was covered in Borg bodies some of whom were killed in very suggestive ways. I need you to start working on a way that he could defeat so many Borg forces without being assimilated as well as regenerating after a Reman fired explosive round went through him."

"A changeling. We have not heard of the Dominion for some time now. I...I can't imagine he is a founder. What would a founder be doing on this side of the wormhole? She frowned, shaking her head and nodded. You win Galan. The crafting of this subterfuge will require some research to carry out. I will meet with you when you return." With those words said, Sindari N'vek turned on her heels and took her leave. He waited over a minute before he left the ready room and began to make his way towards the transporter room.

Alpha Quadrant
Nivoch System, IRW S'harien
Transporter Room 1

When Riov Galan Cretak reached the transporter room his eyes searched and found what he had expected to be there. Idrakht, the highest ranking Reman officer in the S'harien awaited him patiently. When the eyes of the Reman caught sight of his commanding officer he bowed at the waist and offered a small smile.

"Riov, we are now ready to depart." The Reman said in a perfect rendition of the Romulan language.

"Idrakht..." Riov Galan Cretak began before he went silent and sighed. "Fine. You may accompany me." He shook his head as he spoke the last. He had already managed to divert Sindari's attention away from going with him to the meeting. He would have to accept that victory and be satisfied with that. To go alone would be his preference, but he knew that Idrakht would not allow him to leave the ship without some semblance of support. That the Reman had come personally indicated that he was committed to the plan of action and would not be dissuaded.

"Excellent. It is good that you will not fight me on this Riov." The Reman replied waiting for Riov Cretak to reach his side.

Galan Cretak glanced towards the Romulan in charge of the transporter system and nodded. A moment later, he watched as an emerald star field manifested around him and swallowed him.

Alpha Quadrant
Nivoch System, USS Empyrean
Diplomatic Chamber

An emerald star field within the specific coordinates that had been requested by the IRW S'harien and provided by the USS Empyrean. When the emerald field vanished, two beings were deposited within the diplomatic chambers of the Federation vessel. The first was a Romulan male, powerfully built and dressed in a naval uniform of the once mighty Romulan Star Empire. The Romulan possessed two weapons. On his left side, a highly ornate disruptor pistol of unusual design. It had been built in limited numbers and introduced a mere three and half months before the fall of the Empire. In his right side, a kinetic pistol whose sole task seemed to be to remove Borg from the presence of its owner.

Next to the Romulan male stood a Reman who was larger and heavier than the Romulan officer. He was dressed in a manner similar to the Romulan although the colors and patterns were those of the Reman people. Like the Romulan, he wore two weapons at his side. One was a kinetic pistol similar to what the Romulan wore. The other was one of the weapon systems favored by Romulan officers, carrying four highly specialized rounds designed to entangle their targets before removing them from creation.

Riov Galan Cretak watched the men and women gathered around him wordlessly. These were to be his allies and competitors and the safety and eventual survival of his ship would depend on how well he managed to work alongside these people.