S2 M2: "Pursuit of Yesterday"

[Jada]

[USS Tigris]

There was a hideous squeal behind Solluk; at the airlock, a Jem'Hadar was grappling with Chav, the Tellarite already wounded ââ,¬â€œ it'd be serious if it weren't for his bulk. With a wrench, the Jem'Hadar tossed Chav aside, then raised a plasma pistol on Solluk. He meant to seize this ship.

[Jada]

[Nameless Planet]

Jada kept her phaser trained on the airlock, keeping the Jem'Hadar pinned down, but as their leader de-shrouded behind them, it was clear one or more had managed to slip out already. Cruk. She spun, covering Kokos'Ixun during the short but intense exchange, waiting for trouble ââ,¬â€œ which came much sooner than expected.

As Hawk and Kokos'Ixun brawled, Jada called out orders. 'Fire! Back-to-back defence. Rasdar: force grenade on that airlock!' Reacting lightning fast, the snipers fired phaser shots into the airlock, before the Andorian hurled a grenade as a follow up. The Jem'Hadar crew disappeared in expanding forcefields and twisted wreckage, sealing them in. The team hustled, putting backs together to guard each other's rear against shrouded Jem'Hadar surprise attacks. With rapid phaser fire, Lambe gunned down one Jem'Hadar as he de-shrouded to attack.

Jada watched Hawk wrestle with Kokos'Ixun, unable to get a clear shot. He'd already been thrown too far. Her phaser was set on kill; she couldn't just stun her boss. She wished she'd thought to bring a pair of sai to counter that axe-thing. Instead, she drew her trusty machete, took a step forward...

And swung to her left, hard and fast and straight, slicing through empty air.

Not empty. A Jem'Hadar appeared, head flying off in a fountain of amber blood and ketracel-white.

That did it; an Orion woman had a way of getting all eyes on her. Another Jemmie appeared, roaring, charging to destroy her, kar'takin raised high. So Jada went low, small and agile enough to kneel beneath his guard and rip her bloody blade across his belly. She spun, recovered; incredibly, the big Jemmie was still going, his tough hide mitigating his injury. The kar'takin hurtled through the air at her head; Jada leaned back, unswayed, swinging her machete for his arm and opening it up, already moving to evade. This was the dance of an Orion slave-girl like no other.

Thus the pair duelled, back and forth, brute force pitted against exquisite grace, cold discipline against wild passion, and bloody savagery on both sides. The Jem'Hadar with his faith fought to reclaim his life; Jada fought tooth-and-nail to hold onto hers. On that basis, it should be no matter to defeat one who was already dead.

The Jemmie chopped his axe again, Jada caught it by the haft, ignoring the dull thud that rang her arm-bones like a bell. The Jem'Hadar was shocked, that the small green woman had such strength. And she smiling under her leather skull-cap helm, half mad glee, half desperate rictus. Her blood was pumping, heart racing, senses on fire with adrenaline, she felt so alive at the edge of death. In the Thiratin, the Jem'Hadar had met his match. She stepped in, kneed him in the gut-wound, then leaped, swinging around his arm, catching him in a standing arm-bar and bearing him to the ground with her. They hit the dirt, gravel against her back, machete guillotining the Jem'Hadar across the waist, once, twice, thrice, delivering a grievous injury the Syndicate called the Orion belt buckle. Sitting up, Jada drew her knife and jammed it in his eye for good measure. 'Sorry, mate.' she sighed in regret as he gurgled blood and died. 'Good fight.'

Extricating herself from the mutilated corpse, splattered in amber blood amidst her own orange, Jada ran back to Hawk and Kokos'Ixun. 'Want some help, sir?' she called, though her SO was busy being slammed into a stone wall. She didn't want to intervene and have him feel dishonoured or embarrassed or anything. Did humans have pride like that?

[Solluk]

[USS Tigris]

Solluk had been studying the sensor displays on the runabout, it being his only way of looking after the members of the away team.   Weapons fire.  Scuffles.  There wasn't much he could do from here without orders.  He could tell something had gone awry, but he had no sense of the situation or what would be helpful.  Only the boots on the ground could give him that intel.

Suddenly, a life-sign appeared where none had been before.  Very close by.   A squeal confirmed that the tellarite assigned to guard the runabout was being assaulted.  What was his name?  Chevy?  Chaz?

Well, it hardly mattered now.

Solluk glanced over his shoulder, and saw the tellarite was in the midst of losing the conflict.  Turning back around, he placed a targeting lock on the Jem Hadar.  He could have turned and fired a phaser, but his hands were already on the console, and that console had a weapon system of its own.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and the tension was thick.  He could 'feel' the enemy pointing a rifle at his head.  Life and death were balanced on an instant of Planck time.

The characteristic whine sounded, and the Jem Hadar dematerialized in a sparkling fog...

And rematerialized again, ten meters above the runabout.

A loud thump on the outer hull could be heard a second later.

Almost immediately, the sensor panel lit up like a metropolis at sundown.  The crashed Jem Hadar ships were using their deflectors to deploy transporter scramblers- rotating EM interference patterns that would prevent transporters from working in a multi-kilometer dome around the crash site.  There would be no more beaming anyone anywhere until this conflict was resolved.

Solluk opened a channel to personnel both on the ground and aboard the Tempest.

Tigris to all personnel: Be advised, transporter interference patterns have been deployed by our adversaries. The runabout has been attacked, but is secure for the time being.  One casualty. I can observe fighting on the surface amidst the away team, but have no details at this time.  Tigris out.

With the threat attended to, he moved quickly to join the wounded Tellarite, ripping an emergency medkit from an overhead compartment enroute.

He was not a Doctor, but emergency First Aid was taught to all Starfleet personnel.   Flipping open a medical tricorder, he performed a scan to determine the extent of injuries and the best way to begin addressing them.

[Klizh]

Bridge

As the Tempest began its ascent to return to its intended environment, the enture ship began to shake violently. K'lizh struggled to compensate, but it was hard to accurately hit the buttons he needed.

K'lizh to all stations: Brace yourselves, as if that wasn't obvious already. Even his voice trembled from the thrashing his body was getting.

Once they had built up some momentum, the ship's protests lessened somewhat, at least enough for compensators to reduce the shaking to a slight vibration. But K'lizh did not like where the structural integrity numbers were at. "Neck section's down to 80%," he said, worry in his voice. Perhaps they should have detached the saucer section and left the nacelles in orbit.  He had heard the message from the away teams, but there was little they could do about it until the ship was safe.

[Ian Galloway]

Bridge

As the Tempest began its ascent to return to its intended environment, the enture ship began to shake violently. K'lizh struggled to compensate, but it was hard to accurately hit the buttons he needed.

K'lizh to all stations: Brace yourselves, as if that wasn't obvious already. Even his voice trembled from the thrashing his body was getting.

Once they had built up some momentum, the ship's protests lessened somewhat, at least enough for compensators to reduce the shaking to a slight vibration. But K'lizh did not like where the structural integrity numbers were at. "Neck section's down to 80%," he said, worry in his voice. Perhaps they should have detached the saucer section and left the nacelles in orbit.  He had heard the message from the away teams, but there was little they could do about it until the ship was safe.

[Bridge]

Ian watched the readouts from his console and winced.

"Deceleratin' ta five meters per second."

The slower speed caused the shuddering to lessen, but his expression still became pained as he replayed the maneuvers he'd forced the Tempest through.

"Sorry Lass, I asked too much of you." Ian muttered sadly and sighed. "A Galaxy is nae a P-40 and I have ta stop treatin' her like one. I can nae promise I won't ask you ta go past your limits again Lass, but I can promise it will only be ta save your life."

[James H. Hawk]

[NPC Post - Julia Rellek - Tempest's Bridge]

"We haven't communicated with them yet, no, Naga," Julia said. "The problem is that even if we could contact someone from what the Diplomatic Corps and Intelligence have gathered there is no unified group of Jem'Hadar anymore but many different factions. Even if we could contact someone we have no guarantee they'd help us or if our attackers would listen...still it could be worth a try. See if you can communicate with someone from the Dominion."

[James H. Hawk]

[Nameless Planet]

Jada kept her phaser trained on the airlock, keeping the Jem'Hadar pinned down, but as their leader de-shrouded behind them, it was clear one or more had managed to slip out already. Cruk. She spun, covering Kokos'Ixun during the short but intense exchange, waiting for trouble ââ,¬â€œ which came much sooner than expected.

As Hawk and Kokos'Ixun brawled, Jada called out orders. 'Fire! Back-to-back defence. Rasdar: force grenade on that airlock!' Reacting lightning fast, the snipers fired phaser shots into the airlock, before the Andorian hurled a grenade as a follow up. The Jem'Hadar crew disappeared in expanding forcefields and twisted wreckage, sealing them in. The team hustled, putting backs together to guard each other's rear against shrouded Jem'Hadar surprise attacks. With rapid phaser fire, Lambe gunned down one Jem'Hadar as he de-shrouded to attack.

Jada watched Hawk wrestle with Kokos'Ixun, unable to get a clear shot. He'd already been thrown too far. Her phaser was set on kill; she couldn't just stun her boss. She wished she'd thought to bring a pair of sai to counter that axe-thing. Instead, she drew her trusty machete, took a step forward...

And swung to her left, hard and fast and straight, slicing through empty air.

Not empty. A Jem'Hadar appeared, head flying off in a fountain of amber blood and ketracel-white.

That did it; an Orion woman had a way of getting all eyes on her. Another Jemmie appeared, roaring, charging to destroy her, kar'takin raised high. So Jada went low, small and agile enough to kneel beneath his guard and rip her bloody blade across his belly. She spun, recovered; incredibly, the big Jemmie was still going, his tough hide mitigating his injury. The kar'takin hurtled through the air at her head; Jada leaned back, unswayed, swinging her machete for his arm and opening it up, already moving to evade. This was the dance of an Orion slave-girl like no other.

Thus the pair duelled, back and forth, brute force pitted against exquisite grace, cold discipline against wild passion, and bloody savagery on both sides. The Jem'Hadar with his faith fought to reclaim his life; Jada fought tooth-and-nail to hold onto hers. On that basis, it should be no matter to defeat one who was already dead.

The Jemmie chopped his axe again, Jada caught it by the haft, ignoring the dull thud that rang her arm-bones like a bell. The Jem'Hadar was shocked, that the small green woman had such strength. And she smiling under her leather skull-cap helm, half mad glee, half desperate rictus. Her blood was pumping, heart racing, senses on fire with adrenaline, she felt so alive at the edge of death. In the Thiratin, the Jem'Hadar had met his match. She stepped in, kneed him in the gut-wound, then leaped, swinging around his arm, catching him in a standing arm-bar and bearing him to the ground with her. They hit the dirt, gravel against her back, machete guillotining the Jem'Hadar across the waist, once, twice, thrice, delivering a grievous injury the Syndicate called the Orion belt buckle. Sitting up, Jada drew her knife and jammed it in his eye for good measure. 'Sorry, mate.' she sighed in regret as he gurgled blood and died. 'Good fight.'

Extricating herself from the mutilated corpse, splattered in amber blood amidst her own orange, Jada ran back to Hawk and Kokos'Ixun. 'Want some help, sir?' she called, though her SO was busy being slammed into a stone wall. She didn't want to intervene and have him feel dishonoured or embarrassed or anything. Did humans have pride like that?

James did indeed have some sense of pride but not so much that he'd turn down help when he needed it. As much as he'd like to best his opponent himself he knew he was loosing and that adding Jada to the figh might make the outcome more favourable.

In between punches as James and the Elder continued fighting, James managed to answer Jada, "If you aren't to busy," he said at some attempt at dry humour.

[Solluk]

[USS Tigris]

The Tellarite's eyes fluttered open, and Solluk could see them gradually focus as the pupils contracted.  Then the tellarite suddenly recoiled, as though in witness to a monster.

Do they find my appearance as odd as I find theirs?

"I apologize if I have alarmed you.  You are safe, and without serious injury," Solluk declared as he closed his tricorder, "I have given you a mild stimulant on the premise that keeping you awake and able to defend yourself has a higher percentage chance of survival than allowing you to slumber, despite the miniscule possibility of inducing a stroke."

The tellarite blinked.  Perhaps with alarm?

"I must thank you for your efforts in defending the Runabout.  It seems unlikely that I would have survived had you not created a delay within which my reactions to the assault could prove useful," He added.

Then he nodded to the flight console, "I hope you might re-claim your rifle and continue your sentry duties while I return to the cockpit and monitor the ongoing situation."

The tellarite grunted, but dutifully reached out to take his rifle, and slowly shuffled to his feet.

"Thank you," Solluk said, "you are a... trooper."

With that, Solluk returned to the cockpit to monitor the sensor displays.  If the tellarite glared at him, he was too preoccupied to notice.

[Jada]

[Nameless Planet]

Reacting, Jada watched as another Jemmie appeared ââ,¬â€œ this time, high above the runabout, in a twinkling of transporter beam. The body fell, thudded against the roof. 'Huh.' Well, she guessed Solluk was looking after himself.

She marched on Kokos'ixun, who was raising a meaty fist against Hawk, and reached up and grabbed his shoulder in a strong green grip, jerking him back. 'Hey,  fight's over, mate.' she cajoled, and for her troubles earned a contemptuous back-fist, swinging comet-like past her guard and into her iron-hard jaw. It might have felled a lesser woman, but not the Thiratin Orion. Orange blood was vibrant on her green grin. 'Fight's not over then?'

Darting like a snake for the kill, she caught his wrist, wrenched it right around and locked it tight, exposing the elbow to the palm-strike that rose like a rocket from below, slamming the humerus. Kokos'ixun didn't find it funny. He swung a haymaker, wild and reckless, for Jada's head, but she ducked, jabbed a tiger punch into his groin; not really a viable target against a manufactured race, as it turned out.

The big Jem'Hadar reached down, caught the scurrying Orion woman like a child, and lifted her up in a crushing, back-breaking bear-hug. Jada's feet dangled, no longer touching the gravel, and her arms were constricted, pinned to her sides. She could see only Kokos'ixun's rage-filled eyes; how low was this group on their ketracel-white? They were marooned in time and space. 'Thanks,' Jada hissed, as Kokos'ixun began to squeeze, feeling her bones begin to pop. 'For taking me,' She could hardly breathe, her vision was going dark. She swore she would not die here and now. It was the Orion way: life, at all costs. She leaned back, far as her back and shoulders would go, 'Up to your level.' She slammed herself forward, a meteoric impact of her forehead into the Jem'Hadar's face, thick gray scales and spikes and all. Hence Jada wearing a good soft helmet. This was the devastating Iron Forehead technique of tatharoc, the Orion martial art, put to good effect.

Jada swayed in Kokos'ixun's grip, concussed and her world turning black, but wasn't about to stop. She headbutted the Jem'Hadar again, cracking his eye-socket. It got easier when she stopped feeling things, and she destroyed his nose. 'I've been working on the hover-way, all the live long day.' she sang an old slave work-song, punctuating each word with industrious use of her head.

[Klizh]

[Bridge]

Ian watched the readouts from his console and winced.

"Deceleratin' ta five meters per second."

The slower speed caused the shuddering to lessen, but his expression still became pained as he replayed the maneuvers he'd forced the Tempest through.

"Sorry Lass, I asked too much of you." Ian muttered sadly and sighed. "A Galaxy is nae a P-40 and I have ta stop treatin' her like one. I can nae promise I won't ask you ta go past your limits again Lass, but I can promise it will only be ta save your life."

"You're lucky I'm too good-natured to say I told you so," K'lizh said, tail swaying in good humor. The post-crisis euphoric state had set in. While they weren't out of danger yet, the worst of it was over and structural integrity had stabilized. It wasn't improving, but it wasn't dropping any more either.

[Ian Galloway]

"You're lucky I'm too good-natured to say I told you so," K'lizh said, tail swaying in good humor. The post-crisis euphoric state had set in. While they weren't out of danger yet, the worst of it was over and structural integrity had stabilized. It wasn't improving, but it wasn't dropping any more either.

[Bridge]

Ian looked at Klizh and sighed.

"Aye Sir, you didn't say it, but it needed doin' and it was bloody successful too, I might add, if'n I weren't so bloody charmin' myself."

Ian then went back to monitoring his console to see if any other Jem'Hadar showed up, but was more concerned by the short transmission from Solluk that said transporter inhibitors were in place, which meant the Away Team was completely on its own except for covering fire.

[James H. Hawk]

[Nameless Planet]

Reacting, Jada watched as another Jemmie appeared ââ,¬â€œ this time, high above the runabout, in a twinkling of transporter beam. The body fell, thudded against the roof. 'Huh.' Well, she guessed Solluk was looking after himself.

She marched on Kokos'ixun, who was raising a meaty fist against Hawk, and reached up and grabbed his shoulder in a strong green grip, jerking him back. 'Hey,  fight's over, mate.' she cajoled, and for her troubles earned a contemptuous back-fist, swinging comet-like past her guard and into her iron-hard jaw. It might have felled a lesser woman, but not the Thiratin Orion. Orange blood was vibrant on her green grin. 'Fight's not over then?'

Darting like a snake for the kill, she caught his wrist, wrenched it right around and locked it tight, exposing the elbow to the palm-strike that rose like a rocket from below, slamming the humerus. Kokos'ixun didn't find it funny. He swung a haymaker, wild and reckless, for Jada's head, but she ducked, jabbed a tiger punch into his groin; not really a viable target against a manufactured race, as it turned out.

The big Jem'Hadar reached down, caught the scurrying Orion woman like a child, and lifted her up in a crushing, back-breaking bear-hug. Jada's feet dangled, no longer touching the gravel, and her arms were constricted, pinned to her sides. She could see only Kokos'ixun's rage-filled eyes; how low was this group on their ketracel-white? They were marooned in time and space. 'Thanks,' Jada hissed, as Kokos'ixun began to squeeze, feeling her bones begin to pop. 'For taking me,' She could hardly breathe, her vision was going dark. She swore she would not die here and now. It was the Orion way: life, at all costs. She leaned back, far as her back and shoulders would go, 'Up to your level.' She slammed herself forward, a meteoric impact of her forehead into the Jem'Hadar's face, thick gray scales and spikes and all. Hence Jada wearing a good soft helmet. This was the devastating Iron Forehead technique of tatharoc, the Orion martial art, put to good effect.

Jada swayed in Kokos'ixun's grip, concussed and her world turning black, but wasn't about to stop. She headbutted the Jem'Hadar again, cracking his eye-socket. It got easier when she stopped feeling things, and she destroyed his nose. 'I've been working on the hover-way, all the live long day.' she sang an old slave work-song, punctuating each word with industrious use of her head.

[Nameless Planet]

The planet was hot and humid and overal not a very pleasant place to be. What I wouldn't give to be sitting on a beachfront on Risa right now... James thought. Fortunetly, he was no longer under threat of having his limbs ripped from his body by the rageful Jem'Hadar thanks to Jada's timely interverntion. I would not like to make tha one mad... he thought about his Security Chief.

Unforutnetly, Jada was still struggling against Kokos'Ixun and so James lept up once he had recovered. Hit hard, hit fast, hit often, he thought. While Kokos'Ixun had his back to James, James took the opportunity to get his attention away from Jada. James ran quickly towards and executed a skilful jumping kick. James knew this kick was really more flashy than effective but it got his attention and gave Jada time to breath. With both James and Jada beating down Kokos'Ixun, he eventually gave in.

[NPC Post - Kokos'Ixun]

The Jem'Hadar Elder let out a roar as he took a step back and took a knee. "You win," he grunted. As much as his pride was hurt and he was embarrassed to be bested by a human and a woman, Kokos'Ixun knew his objective was not to kill them and win...no he had to stall them. After all, he had an opportunity to kill the Commander earlier. "What do you want," he said in more of a growl than anything else.

"I want you to listen to me. Let me speak to your Vorta. I only want to help you understand what's going on," James replied.

Kokos'Ixun made a grunt seemingly of approval and led James, Jada and the Assult Team back into the fighter. The ships Jem'Hadar looks on with suspicion but ultimately did not attack. They arrived at the ships bridge where there was a Vorta and another older Jem'Hadar who looked almost tired, at least as tired as a genetically engineered super solider reptile could.

"My name is Devs. I am the commander of this squadron. This is Tenoxt'itlan, my First. I see you've met Kokos'Ixun," the Vorta said calmly. What are you doing in our quadrant? Is Starfleet attacking? What are you after?"

"You are mistaken. The war is over. It has been for decades. It ended in 2375...its now 2395. We are at peace. My crew believes that you somehow were sent forward in time. If you let my crew and I help, we can find out what happened," James said making the sincerity clear in his voice.

"Do not listen to him! He is Starfleet! He is spreading lies, manipulating us! The Dominion would not fall! He knows he is outmatched and so is resorting to treachery and lies!" yelled Kokos'Ixun with rage.

"You are not thinking straight. You have been without the White for too long. You need it. Our scanners and sensors as well as other scout squadrons have been giving strange reports. Is it so hard to imagine that the Commander might be telling the truth?" replied Tenoxt'itlan.

"We will hear the Commander out. What do you need?" said Devs after a moment of consideration. He was still suspicious. Kokos'Ixun was right to be suspicious but Tenoxt'itlan was also right that it might not be a lie after all.

"I need access to your computer and a teeny bit of trust," James replied. The Vorta nodded in response and beckoned towards a console which James accessed. He knew what he was looking for. Recent sensor logs and navigation logs. After a few minutes of searching he found the data he needed. "Look at this. Your timestamps think that list is still 2374. Latest navigation logs put you at the Wormhole but then here, two weeks ago the logs put you to around this area, far from the wormhole without any evidence of you reversing course and traveling this way.  I've checked your ships log and have a theory. Was your latest order to enter the Bajoran Wormhole for an attack on Deep Space Nine?"

The Vorta was hesitant to respond and even more hesitant to give this human, his enemy access to his orders but he decided to trust the human anyway. "Yes. You are correct. We were ordered into the wormhole but before we could emerge we were faced with a blinding white light and then thrown out of the wormhole. The fleets sensors were confused and we didn't recognise the quadrant anymore. Our fleet commander sent our squadron and a few others to see what has happened. You can access all of our logs." Kokos'Ixun was visibly angry that his leader was following this path but didn't say anything. Tenoxt'itlan was the opposite, he was loosening up and relaxing.

James went through the ships orders and cross checked it with Starfleet data from the time. He remembered reading about a Dominion fleet that the Bajoran's Prophets made disapear during the war. They were never seen or heard from again. Many people belived the Prophets had destroyed the fleet but most historians and religious leaders belive its more likley the Prophets simply moved the fleet as they are against killing. The data matched up. By this Jem'Hadar ships navigation logs and timestamps, this was the fleet that was made disapear and now we know what happened to it. The Prophets sent them forwards in time to prevent them from being used in the war. James then explained his theory to Devs, Tenoxt'itlan, Kokos'Ixun and Jada.

Tenoxt'itlan was relieved. The older Jem'Hadar seemed to have grown more weary of war. Kokos'Ixun on the other hand was furious and stormed off the bridge. Devs was silent, only nodding. He wasn't sure what to think.

James then tapped on his combadge. Commander Hawk to Naga. I'm sending you the Jem'Hadar ship's logs. I think that they are the fleet the Prophets made disapear during the Dominion war in 2374 as it entered the wormhole. Can you and the crew confirm this?

James was glad, if quite supprised that the Jem'Hadar and Vorta was willing to listen and even sort of belive him. It gave him some sort of strange feeling of hope that there may one day be peace.

[Ian Galloway]

James then tapped on his combadge. Commander Hawk to Naga. I'm sending you the Jem'Hadar ship's logs. I think that they are the fleet the Prophets made disapear during the Dominion war in 2374 as it entered the wormhole. Can you and the crew confirm this?

[Bridge]

Ian relaxed marginally when he heard the First Officer's voice, but his face scrunched up as he listed to his report on the Jem'Hadar.

"The fleet from Operation Return that Captain Sisko defeated? Bloody hell, I hate temporal mechanics."

[Jada]

[Jem'Hadar Fighter]

Freed of the Jem'Hadar's crushing bear-hug, undefeated (she would've been eventually, she was sure) but not too proud to be thankful for the assist, Jada gathered her weapons and followed Hawk and the Jem'Hadar she'd moments before been headbutting to death. 'Stand down, or something.' she muttered to the squad, flicking blood and white from her blade. The tough Thiratin was keeping up well, all told, bar the cuts and bruises, the concussion, the clouded thoughts, and the tendency to veer sharply to the right as she walked. It made navigating the corridors inside the fighter a tricky negotiation.

Standing firmly to attention inside the Jem'Hadar fighter, ever vigilant and wary of treachery, Jada tried to follow the discussion. Something something something, fleet lost in time from the Dominion War. It was all too complicated and her head was all too hazy. Something wasn't right here. 'Commander,' she approached Hawk, swaying and vacant, speaking uncertainly, first in Orion, then in Federation Standard 'Maybe you could ask them to switch off, um, transporter jammers, so we can, uh, beam down medical ... people?'

[Jada]

[NPC Post, Jem'Hadar Fighter]

Lambe and th'Rasdar had accompanied Jada and Hawk into the Jem'Hadar fighter, and waited outside the door to the Bridge to avoid crowding it any further. Naturally, the Jem'Hadar had left two of their number to watch them with suspicious and sullen intensity.

'What are you looking at?' th'Rasdar demanded, annoyed by the Jemmie giving him the eye. The old Andorian veteran remembered fighting them in the Dominion War, and had hoped never to have to do it again. Too many good people had died to these marauding monsters, from kin on the Odyssey to kith in Operation Return. To hear this was the very group who'd come to destroy Deep Space Nine then brought it all back again, the fear and desperation, the anger, and filled him with the cold fury he'd hoped he'd buried two decades ago.

'Warriors who would let a puny female lead them.' the Jem'Hadar declared contemptuously.

'She beat your arses, didn't she?' Lambe retorted hotly. The lad was a little smitten by his Orion chief, or else high on her pheromones. th'Rasdar knew he was too young to remember the Dominion War, let alone to have fought in it. He was almost jealous.

The other Jem'Hadar snorted. 'And she is the best of you?'

'She gets the best out of us.' th'Rasdar interjected coolly. 'We don't have to be made to serve.'