S2 M2: "Pursuit of Yesterday"

[Jada]

[USS Tigris]

Thankfully back aboard the Tigris and lifting off of the nameless planet, Jada didn't take the gunner's seat. Honest with herself, panting hard and punch-drunk, still riding high on adrenaline and aggression and her own sense of awesomeness, and probably concussed she didn't feel quite capable of operating a small starship right now. She offered the chair to Commander Hawk 'Sir?'

Afterward, stowed her weapons and her loot: a genuine Jem'Hadar kar'takin, still with its RFID dogtag and its owner's hand. 'Now that's paying the iron price.'

Afterward, she pulled and mostly tore off her shredded and blood-spattered uniform jacket, which she used to wipe her face largely clean of blood before tossing the rags in the corner. She affixed her combadge to her tanktop underneath and tallied the damage. Jada's bare arms and face, and doubtless the rest of her body, were a mess of bruises and cuts, the natural green mottled with orange, brown, and black and crossed with bloody orange cuts, including a split lip and black eye. Nothing seemed to be broken, though Á¢â,¬"œ fractured, possibly, but not broken Á¢â,¬"œ and her helmet with its miniature inertial dampers saved her from serious (sometimes self-inflicted) head injuries. She gazed down on these wounds with pride and satisfaction: these were marks of battle, strength, survival, and victory, they told her story and told her glory. 'Beautiful.' she murmured with a cocky, bloody grin.

Silently, she directed Bex and Park to flank their two guests. 'Welcome to Starfleet. Your home is now our home.' She quickly disarmed the Jem'Hadar Tenoxt'itlan and the Vorta Devs of their weapons; if they resisted, they could always join her collection.

[Klizh]

Ian chuckled as he replied, despite concentrating on the pursuit of the Dominion cruiser.

"Have no fear Sir, standin' by here ta jump ta full impulse as soon as the first torpedo is away!"

"Then do it, full impulse. Tactical, fire!" K'lizh exclaimed. Then, without pausing for breath,he ordered, "Viewscreen on rear view."

Before them, the viewscreen winked into an image of the Jem'hadar ship, slowed and struggling to emerge from the cloud of green-blue warp plasma. A spead of blue-white torpedos raced towards it, igniting the plasma and the ship enveloped within, causing a flash of blinding light that would have driven the bridge crew to blindness were it not for the viewscreen's automated filters. As the plasma burned away,the Jem'hadar ship was adrift, missing a nacelle and with several fires dotting breaches in its hull, drifting now toward's the planet's gravity well.

"Try hailing them again," K'lizh ordered. "See if they're more willing to talk now."

[Ian Galloway]

"Then do it, full impulse. Tactical, fire!" K'lizh exclaimed. Then, without pausing for breath,he ordered, "Viewscreen on rear view."

Before them, the viewscreen winked into an image of the Jem'hadar ship, slowed and struggling to emerge from the cloud of green-blue warp plasma. A spead of blue-white torpedos raced towards it, igniting the plasma and the ship enveloped within, causing a flash of blinding light that would have driven the bridge crew to blindness were it not for the viewscreen's automated filters. As the plasma burned away,the Jem'hadar ship was adrift, missing a nacelle and with several fires dotting breaches in its hull, drifting now toward's the planet's gravity well.

"Try hailing them again," K'lizh ordered. "See if they're more willing to talk now."

[Bridge]

Ian tapped his console and the Tempest jumped forward at three quarters of the speed of light as soon as the photons were still in flight. As the explosions engulfed the Dominion cruiser, he banked hard and came about as he came to a stop 30,000 kilometers from the stricken ship.

"Serves you right you bleedin' gits! Now all we need is some bloody Prophets ta send you to the center of the bloody Big Bang, that will settle that problem."

[James H. Hawk]

[USS Tigris]

James let out a deep sigh of relief once they were back on the Tigris. He was glad to have a breather but he knew they weren't out of the woods yet. There was still a Dominion Cruiser to deal with. James laughed slightly at Jada as he heard her murmur "beautiful". He often had trouble understanding her mannerisms but he was nonetheless always thankful for her always having his back.

[Space]

The Dominion cruiser was badly battered and burning. It was now caught in the planet's gravity well. It was defeated. Seeing no other option the Vorta finally answered the Starfleet ships hail.

"We surrender. We wanted only to rescue our soldiers. Leave this system now. The next ship that arrives here won't be defeated so quickly." After the brief statement the Vorta cut communications and the cruiser veered off closer to the planet and away from the Tempest.

[USS Tempest]

Fortunately, the Tigris and Euphrates were able to dock back on the Tempest without an issue from the cruiser. Once they were safely back on board, James had Jada escort and guard Devs and Tenoxt'itlan to his office while James ran to the bridge.

"K'lizh. Well done," he said as he stepped off. "You did well," the young XO smiled. "Now lets not test our luck with whatever they send at us next, eh? Mr. Galloway, get us out of here."

[Executive Officer's Log, Supplemental]

The discovery of the lost Jem'Hadar fleet is worrying to say the least. A fleet that size could seriously affect the already fragile balance of power in the quadrant. The Tempest has taken Devs and Tenoxt'itlan to rendezvous with another ship from that fleet. They plan on explaining to their superiors what the found and convince them the war is over. Hopefully they will join Odo's New Dominion and the Great Link. There are still more radical remnants of the old Dominion that may prove more alluring to some, however. Starfleet will be monitoring these developments carefully. One mistake and we could have another devastating war on our hands...

[Julia Rellek]

[Sickbay]

Julia's eyes opened slightly as a sharp beam of light penetrated her eyelids and caused her to recoil in shock. Her head moved slightly from side to side as she wiggled her fingers. As her eyes adjusted to the light she instantly recognized the lights on the ceiling, she was in sickbay. Everything seemed to slowly drip back into her memory. "Jem'Hadaar." She muttered as she tried to sit up.

[Jada]

[Sickbay]

As ordered, Jada escorted Devs and Tenoxt'itlan to Hawk's office, and guarded them intently until the commander arrived, completed his meeting, and dismissed her. She deposited her weapons (phaser rifle, machete, and looted kar'takin) and helmet in the Armoury, then, however reluctantly, headed to Sickbay. Her stated purpose was to check on her squad: they'd all taken a beating fighting their way first into and then out of the Jem'Hadar fighter. Her own injuries didn't really rate, though they were greater and sustained while protecting her SO and her team, because she wouldn't have it any other way. It was a matter of honour and responsibility. Her duty was to protect those under her care, at any cost.

'That'll be a sweet scar.' Jada complemented Bex, though privately she thought it made the Bolian's head seem even more split like a melon.

'Thanks, Chief, but I'm going to have the doctor heal it up.'

'That's good too.' Jada agreed, privately relieved.

She came to Lambe; although new and inexperienced (though essentially her own age), he'd fought valiantly to clear a path out of the fighter, and had taken a good few blows for his trouble. 'Hey, Daniel, that was good fighting down there. You did well getting us out.'

'Your training sessions paid off, ma'am.'

'So I'll see you this afternoon for more?' she asked with a grin, jabbing him in the shoulder and provoking a wince.

'Ah, maybe some light exercise?'

Jada laughed. 'Cruk lessons! We're having it in the mess! Drinks are on me! I'm cracking open my Orion stock.' she announced boisterously, exultant and ready to party.

She was too Orion to ask for treatment for herself. But if a doctor happened to ambush her, well, she'd have to accept it as a gift. But she'd wait until all her squad were seen to first.

At the other end of the Sickbay, she found Captain Julia Rellek on a biobed, and was a bit surprised. 'Captain.' she said, moving to support her as she sat up. To see her captain hurt and down here was as bad as seeing her ship badly damaged; starship captains were revered to Orion eyes. 'We gave those Jemmies a bloody snout, captain, don't worry.'

[Klizh]

Sickbay

"Not that we enjoyed it, Miss Jada," K'lizh said as the doors slid open to admit him into Sickbay. He had happily handed command of the Tempest back to Commander Warring as soon as he had been able to pry his fingers out of the command chair. "Many lives were needlessly lost today because the Jem'hadar could not simply communicate with us." The Caitian had been in combat before, but this had been his first taste of true WAR, and he did not like it. He planned to make an appointment with the ship's counselor as soon as he could.

"Captain, I'm glad to see you're recovering," he said as he drew himself beside her bed. "I'm on my way to Engineering to aid with repairs. I just thought I would drop in here quickly to let you know we repelled the other ship, and the situation is more or less resolved. For us, at least. It's a messy situation, but for now, it's the Dominion's mess to clean up."

[Solluk]

[Main Shuttlebay]

Once the Tigris had returned and unloaded her passengers, the rest of Solluk's job was at hand.  She'd been tossed around quite a bit on her last assignment, and it was time to put his extended training to use:

Hull patches.  EPS relay swaps.  Shield generator rebuilds.  Real meat-and-potatoes repairs and maintenance.  The flight deck crew helped out, of course.  Amburst, the eldest member of the current team, was particularly helpful.  He pointed out the hidden details of such repairs that classroom training couldn't entirely cover.  The off-the-books spec limits.  The shortcuts and tricks that one only gleaned after years on the job.

The work was so diverting that a whole new shift had passed him by before Solluk realized it.

Once the Tigris was restored to mint condition, the maintenance crew took Solluk to one of the separate maintenance bays.  There, the 8,942 components of a Type 6 shuttle were laid out in orderly fashion, along with all structural components that had been salvageable after the Vortex' unfortunate mishap nearly two months ago.

"We heard you wanted to do the rebuild yourself," Amburst said, and the other men and women of the deck crew all stood around with smiles and expectation.  Though exhausted, Solluk found that their smiles were mirrored on his own lips.

"So here's every scrap you'll need, Chief.  You come see any of us if you need anything else.  A tool, a part, a piece of friendly advice.  Otherwise... she's all yours."

Solluk nodded to Amburst, and turned to address the assembled crowd.

"Thank you.   Thank you all.  I couldn't have asked for better allies in my quest to advance my skillset.  I appreciate this gesture, and I appreciate all that you've helped me to learn."

There were friendly murmurs of encouragement all around.

"Oh," Amburst said, "and one of those pieces has a minor flaw that will cook the assembly when you put it together.  So have fun doing Level 1 diagnostics on about nine-thousand individual components."

Then Amburst laughed.  The crew laughed.  And Solluk laughed a little bit, too.

A few minutes later, the assembled crowd dissipated, and Amburst touched Solluk's shoulder.   "I'm serious, though, about that part.  You'd better find it."

There was a moment of silence and tension, and then Amburst laughed again.

Solluk grinned, and watched the man leave the maintenance bay.

Then he turned to look at the pile of parts.

He contemplated them for a long while.

His smile slowly faded.

"I'd better get the diagnostic kit," he muttered to himself, yawning.

His eyelids felt like they were made of lead.

"Hmm.  Tomorrow... I'll do it tomorrow."

fin

[Julia Rellek]

[Sickbay]

As ordered, Jada escorted Devs and Tenoxt'itlan to Hawk's office, and guarded them intently until the commander arrived, completed his meeting, and dismissed her. She deposited her weapons (phaser rifle, machete, and looted kar'takin) and helmet in the Armoury, then, however reluctantly, headed to Sickbay. Her stated purpose was to check on her squad: they'd all taken a beating fighting their way first into and then out of the Jem'Hadar fighter. Her own injuries didn't really rate, though they were greater and sustained while protecting her SO and her team, because she wouldn't have it any other way. It was a matter of honour and responsibility. Her duty was to protect those under her care, at any cost.

'That'll be a sweet scar.' Jada complemented Bex, though privately she thought it made the Bolian's head seem even more split like a melon.

'Thanks, Chief, but I'm going to have the doctor heal it up.'

'That's good too.' Jada agreed, privately relieved.

She came to Lambe; although new and inexperienced (though essentially her own age), he'd fought valiantly to clear a path out of the fighter, and had taken a good few blows for his trouble. 'Hey, Daniel, that was good fighting down there. You did well getting us out.'

'Your training sessions paid off, ma'am.'

'So I'll see you this afternoon for more?' she asked with a grin, jabbing him in the shoulder and provoking a wince.

'Ah, maybe some light exercise?'

Jada laughed. 'Cruk lessons! We're having it in the mess! Drinks are on me! I'm cracking open my Orion stock.' she announced boisterously, exultant and ready to party.

She was too Orion to ask for treatment for herself. But if a doctor happened to ambush her, well, she'd have to accept it as a gift. But she'd wait until all her squad were seen to first.

At the other end of the Sickbay, she found Captain Julia Rellek on a biobed, and was a bit surprised. 'Captain.' she said, moving to support her as she sat up. To see her captain hurt and down here was as bad as seeing her ship badly damaged; starship captains were revered to Orion eyes. 'We gave those Jemmies a bloody snout, captain, don't worry.'

[Sickbay]

Julia instinctively reach for Jada's hand as she helped her sit up. The room slowly stopped spinning and Julia slowly began to adjust back to her surroundings. "I'm glad to hear we got them." As she sat on the side of the bed she removed her hand form Jada's hand. "Thanks Chief." She looked to K'Lizh. "What's our status Commander?"

[Klizh]

Sickbay

K'lizh cleared his throat. "No significant damage to report, Captain. A few minor burnouts, but all major systems are operational. The biggest toll was the strain to our hull. I would like to officially lodge my recommendation that we return to the Alpha Quadrant for repairs and an overhaul. The ship, and the crew, deserve it in my opinion."

[Jada]

[Sickbay]

"Not that we enjoyed it, Miss Jada," K'lizh said as the doors slid open to admit him into Sickbay. "Many lives were needlessly lost today because the Jem'hadar could not simply communicate with us."

After helping Rellek sit up, discreetly wincing a little herself, Jada faced K'lizh. 'Jem'Hadar lives; that's their cost to bear. They were fools for not leaving their war in the past where it belongs, for refusing to talk and closing their minds to the truth after we forced them to listen. We have a saying: no one who can still speak is powerless. Those who will not talk or hear show only their weakness. We showed our strength today and beat back the Outer Dark.' she explained. It was Orion-flavoured moralising, but maybe it would translate well to Federation ears.

'And I enjoy our survival, sir. I wouldn't do it again otherwise.' Still riding a high of victory, she was grinning, a bright spot in her bruise-darkened face. She'd gone a dozen rounds with Jem'Hadar and survived; she'd earned her good mood.