Star Trek: Death of the Federation

[General Havoc]

"Understood, Captain," said Commander Kalpov, giving no sign whatsoever of his opinions on the matter. "I'll rendezvous with you and Commander Menmoth aboard the S'harien. Argonaut out."

The bridge of the cruiser fell silent again as the viewscreen reverted to its customary sight of the opposing fleets arrayed up and facing one another.

"Commander?" asked Ereshal, in that tone of voice that indicated she knew precisely what he was about to say, but was simply waiting for him to say it for form's sake.

There was no use pretending that she was wrong. "Walk with me," he said, standing up and walking towards the turbolift doors. "Lt. Luther, you have the bridge." He was out and on the turbolift before anyone could say otherwise, Ereshal right behind him. She waited until the turbolift doors had closed before bringing up what was probably inevitable.

"Ivan," she said, "are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"When was the last time I was sure of anything being a good idea?"

"I mean volunteering for this. It could be a trap."

"Which is precisely why I should be the one to walk into it. Whatever this Tyran guy thinks he's about to encounter, I'm not it."

"And the chance to study him at close range has nothing to do with it?"

Kalpov rolled his eyes. "What of it?" he asked. "If it comes in handy at some point, it's best to be prepared. I don't see any harm in having a contingency, do you?"

"I'm not worried about a contingency," said Ereshal, "I'm worried about you jumping the gun."

Kalpov shook his head and sighed. "I am not about to assassinate a pirate admiral in front of his entire fleet," he said. "And I would very much appreciate it if you all would stop waiting for me to do so."

"That's not what I meant," said Ereshal. She paused, as if for a reaction, before venturing further. "I'm worried about Cretak."

"What about him?" asked Kalpov. I seriously doubt he's fool enough to assassinate the pirate."

"I don't care about the pirate, but you're going over to his ship."

Was that it? "He's not going to try anything with me either."

"He knows what you are."

"Which makes it even less likely that he would try something."

"I think it makes it more."

Kalpov sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm perfectly capable of handling myself should that be the case."

"The Romulans fought the Dominion too, Ivan. They know how to deal with changelings. And now that Cretak's in on it, he knows what to prepare for."

"Maybe," said Kalpov, "but there's nothing for that now. I couldn't exactly shoot him, now could I?"

The implied rebuke was enough. Ereshal's antennae dropped slightly. "No," she finally said.

Kalpov smiled. "I'll be fine," he said. "Cretak has better things to worry about, and so does Anderson. If anyone tries something, I expect it'll be the pirates. And I'm not afraid of them."

"I wouldn't be so cavalier about the Orion Syndicate," said Ereshal.

"Which is why you'd make a terrible changeling," replied Kalpov with a grin as the turbolift came to a halt. Both officers stepped out and into the transporter room, Kalpov walking up onto the transporter pad, Ereshal stepping behind the control pannel.

"Remember to purge the buffer once I'm through," said Kalpov.

"Actually," said Ereshal with a hint of a smile, "I was planning on leaving it this time, just to teach you a lesson about complacency."

"You're funny," said Kalpov, deadpan. "Just be sure - "

"Remind me again and I'll beam you into deep space," said Ereshal in semi-mock annoyance. Kalpov elected not to test her, slapping his com badge instead.

"Kalpov to bridge," he said. "Drop shields for beam-out. Commander Ereshal has the ship." Moments later, the familiar sparkles of the transporter envelopped him, and he vanished into thin air.

[Marcao]

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien
Bridge and Ready Room

He had expected that Captain Anderson would see the reason beneath his request. He also expected that the human captain would acquiesce to his request. He was placing the S'harien in potential danger but he was easily the better choice when it came to handling the upcoming negotiations. When Anderson agreed that he the meeting would take place between the S'harien and the Saeihr he nearly smiled although he exerted enough control over his body to prevent such an overt act from occurring. He had no particular desire to start hostilities carelessly. Not when his ship was overrun with one thousand three hundred and fifty refugees. He did however have questions that he did not believe the Federation representatives would ask. They were questions that had to be explored and answers that needed to be obtained. When Captain Anderson went silent, his attention flickered towards Captain Kirk when she spoke. Ultimately, it became clear that the meeting was at an end.

"I will prepare for the arrival of the other members of the delegation. Once we are all here, the S'harien will dock with the Saeihr." He said. A moment later, the central view screen of the S'harien went blank as the connection between vessels was closed. Riov Galan Cretak hesitated for only a moment before he spoke.

"I want preparations made for the impending arrival of Captain Anderson, Captain Kalpov and Force Leader Menmoth. I want preparations made for our docking with the Saeihr, I am particularly interested in making certain that the Saeihr has no method at its disposal to gain access to our internal sensors or any data that would ordinarily be exchanged via the umbilical transfer protocols." When the Saeihr and her sisters had been designed, the umbilical protocols had been in place to allow a fleet tender access to data regarding the state of the docked vessel. Originally, the protocols had been intended to facilitate repair and resupply in the fastest manner possible. Riov Galan Cretak had no particular desire to allow the former IRW Saeihr to exploit those connections against his vessel.

He went silent for a moment and watched as his words caused the bridge to erupt in activity as each member carried out his or her duties. His sensor officer reached out to engineering, collaborating with Arrain Velal on possible ways to exploit the umbilical connection once it was established. His communication officer coordinated information between the USS Immortal, USS Argonaut and the IKV Riskadh seeking to determine the numbers of visitors and when they would be ready for transport aboard the S'harien. Pride blossomed in his stomach and rippled outwards as he allowed himself to marvel at the professionalism and ability of the men and women under his command. In the end, he forced himself to stand from his command dais and glanced towards his Erei'riov.

"Hanaj, walk with me." He said as he smoothly left the bridge and slipped into the ready room located on its side. He had barely made it to his desk when Hanaj entered behind him.

"What are you planning Galan? You should have allowed the Barbarossa to dock with the Saeihr. A D'Deridex class is far more suited to this scenario." Erei'riov Hanaj Dar said practically.

"I want to have the opportunity to ask direct questions Hanaj. I cannot guarantee that my line of inquiry would be followed to the letter by Captain Hzir let alone Khoal. Under these circumstances, the only way to guarantee that the questions that I want raised are asked is to be present during the negotiations. A D'Deridex class is certainly better suited to handle treachery if it transpires there is little doubt of that. However, the S'harien is a strong ship and we know where the tender spots of the Saeihr are if it comes to that." He replied softly. He had been there when the Saeihr and her sisters had been dreamed up. He knew the general locations of all the landmark features. It was possible that alterations had occurred since the Saeihr had been built, but he had seen the final design plan. Some changes were possible but others would be set in stone. He knew exactly where the Saeihr's four quantum singularities were supposed to be located. He doubted that those had been moved since the ship had been built. The Saeihr was a national treasure however, he did not wish its destruction on his hands.

"And what questions are so pressing that they require that you be present in order to ask them?" Hanaj asked.

"Where and how this Tal Aurian managed to procure his ships comes to mind. Why he is unwilling to go to Bajor when he is likely to be offered a reprieve and likely amnesty from the Federation if he chose to go there and fight. Is he willing to allow any one of his ships to accompany us to Bajor if they wish to do so. These are some of the questions that come to mind." Riov Galan Cretak responded.

"And if you don't like the answers to those questions?" Hanaj Dar prompted.

Galan Cretak hesitated for only a moment before he responded. "There are no right or wrong answers Hanaj. I am simply after the truth. I am not prepared to do the Borg's work for them. This exchange of information will simply cement what long term response if any this task force and its commander will receive from us. If I don't receive the right answers to my questions, I have a plan in motion that will get this Aurian to Bajor whether he likes it or not. I would prefer to use him up as a temporary ally rather than an enemy, but one way or the other I refuse to allow this task force to sit here hiding in the Badlands until the threat to Bajor has passed. One way or the other, this task force will fight the Borg." If he could think of a way to liberate the Romulan ships from his possession he would. The Saeihr in particular could be of immense use in his future plans for the Empire. If he could not however, then he would use them up in a manner suitable to their proud heritage.

Hanaj blinked for a moment, the sole fracture to his indomitable facade. "How would you accomplish this?"

Riov Galan Cretak smiled although the pleasure did not reach his eyes. "With words Hanaj. I can be very persuasive when I have to be." His eyes settled on those of his second in command for a moment before he took a step to the side and reached for a container recently delivered from engineering. Arrain Velal loved to solve puzzles and she had been working on a problem that had been identified to her several months in the past. "Now, help me with this."

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien
Transporter Room 4

Transporter Room 4 was the closest to the expected location where the IRW S'harien would dock to the Avenger formerly the IRW Saeihr. As such, it had been chosen as the point of arrival for all the expected members of the task force. Riov Galan Cretak waited patiently for the arrival of the other members of the task force in order to carry out the scheduled meeting with the so called Avenger. Around him stood at attention four security personnel, two Remans and two Romulans. Under normal circumstances, there would have been far more such guards but the presence of over thirteen hundred civilians within the S'harien had strained the internal security resources of the Warbird. The engineering deck remained as heavily protected as ever but the presence of civilians had strained security resources elsewhere. His left hand moved a moment before he spoke.

"Bridge, as soon as Captain Anderson, Captain Kalpov and Force Leader Menmoth arrive coordinate with the Sae...Avenger about establishing docking procedures. Once our approach is confirmed let me know and I will grant you final clearance to approach and dock." He was uncertain if Anderson wanted to set some ground rules to the meeting. As such, he would give the human a handful of minutes after his arrival to share any words of wisdom before the S'harien docked to the Avenger.

He went silent as his orders were confirmed and settled on waiting. Arrain Velal's harness was somewhat uncomfortable beneath his clothes but if it did what she said it would, it was worth the discomfort he was presently experiencing. He hoped he did not need to test or rely on its capabilities.

[Charon]

"Commander Othan, we just got the reports back from the lifescan search. It confirms our suspicions. Orion life forms on the Saeihr and the other military ships. But we got little if any on the civilian ships."

Khoal scratched his chin. "Very interesting. Slave ships perhaps? The Orions have never been known for their kind nature. Relay this information to the Riskadh, quickly, before the meeting begins. Encrypted and tight-beamed."

[Cynical Cat]

Transporting in the Badlands was a tricky dance involving shuttles or matching shield envelopes. So instead of appearing on a transporter pad, Force Leader Menmoth exited a shuttle after it touched down in the docking bay of the S'harien.

The Imperial Marine through a fist to the heart salute to the Romulan Centurian who lead the delegation there to great him. Four Klingon Marines followed Menmoth out of the shuttle.

Menmoth wasn't particularly tall by the standards of the Imperial Race, but Klingons are not a small people. He stood eye to eye with the Romulan Centurian but outmassed him by nearly half again. Menmoth built like a bulldozer and carried the scars from dozens of combats. A line went from beneath his left eye almost to his mouth and another formed a white streak on the right side of his beard. Shrapnel marked his left temple, half hidden in his hair. He was the spitting image of two hundred years of anti-Klingon propaganda; savage, scared, warlike, and imposing.

He was armed for war as well. A heavy disruptor pistol, a mek'leth and a dak'tag were on his belt. A utilitarian combat sash was worn over his body armour, marked with the insignia of the Empire and his now dead house as well as disruptor power packs and hand grenades. "Centurian," he growled in accented Romulan.

Menmoth had a lot of respect for Romulans. They were a warlike, pragmatic people with ancient traditions of honour and duty. They made fierce, intelligent, and disciplined opponents. Remans were individually formidable, but like all slave soldiers they were trained in obedience and individual initiative and imagination were traits that marked one to be culled.

He had killed Cardassians, Orions, Nausicaans, Jem'Hadar, Tarlac, Ellora, Son'a, Romulans, Remans, and seven different Federation species during the brief period of hostilities between the khomerex and the Federation. Remans had proved themselves fierce and capable combatants, but their lives had been spent carelessly by their Romulan masters and the Remans had gone to their deaths to a soldier.

Did that make them kuve? Menmoth was not sure. If they were Klingons he would have called them tohke straav, willing slaves, an insult only blood could erase. But the Remans were not Klingon. They had spent generations under the Romulan lash with privileges awarded only to the survivors of Romulan wars. How would a Klingon react to such a situation? The easy answer was that they would die with their teeth in Romulan throats and perhaps that was true. Certainly as a race Klingons would die rather than submit to slavery. That had been proven in blood and fire and the death Klinzhai.

That was the difference then. The Remans had submitted to the Romulans, but did that mark them forever as kuve or could they make their own destinies under the naked stars? Menmoth shook his head. Kadon was wearing off on him. Those were questions the Thought Captain asked, not those of a Marine.

Menmoth followed the Romulans through their ship and turned his mind back to the present. Humans were the only race he knew to be more devious than Orions, although Orions were more savage. They were an old species, one that had obtained star travel before the khomerex or the Vulcans and one that had culturally regressed into decadence and barbarism while retaining enough pieces of society to function. Cut throat trading, slaving, piracy, organized crime, and ruthless exploitation were the activities one expected from the powerful in the stars around Rigel. That was what the khomerex found when they had expanded into their space and found the Orions knew how to play the Great Game of Empire as well. They had feigned submission to the Empire and maintained their independence for a while before playing Federation against Empire and throwing off even the illusion of Klingon rule. This pirate king would have come to power among such a people and would play the game by those rules. He was not to be underestimated.

As the Klingons followed their Romulan escorts to the commander of the S'harien the last member of the column turned left at the next corridor. Morizon walked purposely forward, as if he was right where he was supposed to be, and drew forth a tricorder. He had seen few crew and many refugees. It was almost too easy.

Classified areas would be guarded, of course. Weapons bays, main engineering, the bridge, the cloak, the main computer, and so on. There were ways he could get access, but those would have unpleasant long term consequences if he tried and he had very little preparation time. There were other other ways of gathering data and the most important data wasn't there.

From a technical perspective the Valdore was a magnificent ship and the transwarp drive was tantalizing, but sort of an engineering team he wasn't going to gather meaningful data. No, the important data was elsewhere. It was in the way the ship was wired together, the structural changes that had taken place, and most importantly in the body language of the Romulans and Remans both together and when they were apart. There was no data more important to Captain Kadon than whether or not a mutiny might take place aboard Cretak's ship.

[frigidmagi]

Captain Anderson stepped off the shuttle, Gorn Assualt troops behind him, the Horta Malack and the Betazed Broshan beside him. This was one of the reasons he left Lt. Summers and Mak Than behind. Neither of the half crazed manics would have let Captain Anderson step off a shuttle first orders be damned. Lt. Summers had shown an initiative which should have had him a Commander and a tendency to ignore inconvient orders which explained why he was still a Lt. Captain Anderson wasn't going to show up on Cretak's ship and have a clutch of Gorn with small cannons storm his shuttle bay. He didn't need the Romulans in a mood to make trouble just yet.

Still he had brought the Gorn and the Horta.

"Malack wonders if the Captain had anything in mind for him, while he speaks with the Romulans." Broshan asked quietly.

"Yes. Look impressive and when I speak with the pirates move fast when things go down. I left a note with the XO. If I don't make it back you're not get promoted." Captain Anderson replied dryly. The Horta made a sound like glass scrapping, Horta laughter was something no one forgot.

[Marcao]

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien
Main Engineering

Arrain Arrenhe Velal frowned as she glanced at one of the several floating holo-screens which provided her a myriad of data pertaining to the current state of the S'harien as well as the work of the men and women under her command. Even as the frown blossomed across her features her hands seemed to dance and cavort over her keyboard as she placed the finishing touches on the program that she had chosen for the task at hand. As various engineering teams bypassed and rewired the connections that were intended to link the S'harien with the Saeihr and guided them towards a separate computer network whose sole design was to mimic the S'harien's own computer cores.

The idea had been simple. Rather than simply make it impossible for the Saeihr to engage physically with the S'harien and preventing their wireless signals from being recognized, a more elegant solution had been devised. The Saeihr would be allowed to dock but its sensor links and wireless signals would be guided to a dummy system a separate and self-contained computer network that could be manipulated by her to display whatever information she wished. In doing so, it was hoped that the Saeihr would be fooled into thinking that they had access to the Warbird computers when in actuality they would be snared into a sort of holodeck. It would all be an illusion, assuming of course that everything went according to plan. The frown that had threatened to become permanent faded when the final engineering team reported that its work had been completed and her computer system verified the alterations had been made.

"Engineering ready." She said a moment later informing Cretak that preparations on her end where completed.

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien
Transporter Room 4

Riov Galan Cretak hesitated for only a moment when Arrain Velal's update was heard. His left hand moved, what seemed like an ornamental piece of his uniform touched lightly. "Understood Engineering." He trusted his people and Velal in particular had never given him reason to doubt her abilities. Nonetheless, he was certain that as he was preparing his ship the Saeihr was preparing itself as well.

"Riov, we are having difficulties establishing beaming protocols with the rest of the task force. The badlands are generating enough interference that transport at this time is not advised." The words from the Romulan in charge of the transporter room was professional if laced with an undercurrent of embarrassment.

"Can we compensate?"

"Not easily Riov. The Badlands have always been unpredictable and we are having more difficulties than expected at this time."

Riov Galan Cretak paused for a moment. His lips parted and he had been prepared to speak when a communication from the bridge interrupted him.

"Riov, the Riskadh and Immortal have launched shuttles." The sensor officer said.

"Understood, I will meet them there." He answered before he glanced at the transporter officer expectantly. The Emerald field descended upon him less than two and half seconds later.

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien
Docking Bay

The S'harien had not been intended to being a carrier. It did however, had been built like all of her sister ships with flexibility in mind. Its docking bay while incapable of fielding the swarms of fighters that a Federation ship designed for that task could, it had been designed to carry a significant daughter craft complement. Under ideal circumstances, it could house eight Romulan shuttles and up to ten scorpion class fighters and possessed significant space to provide repairs and re-arming for these craft. Individually, a Romulan shuttle was larger than a Federation runabout. As such, they required larger facilities. With the current complement of craft, the docking bay was almost roomy. At least it would have been if not for the addition of two Federation runabouts claimed from the USS Heritage. The situation would have been worse if two more shuttles salvaged from the Heritage had not been given to the Immortal shortly after the destruction of the Borg Cube and before the task force had left the Nivoch IV system.

Due to the presence of the two Federation runabouts the docking bay was becoming increasingly crowded. The arrival of the shuttles from the Riskadh and Immortal was possible only by all but stacking the remaining 6 Scorpions in the repair area of the bay. When the Klingon shuttle arrived, two spaces large enough three spaces large enough to accommodate shuttles had been prepared.

Riov Galan Cretak and his honor guard of two Reman and two Romulan security personnel watched patiently as the Klingon shuttle made its way to its assigned landing zone with predatory grace. Aside from his honor guard, there were eight Romulan security forces led by a Centurion and four more Remans in the docking bay. When the shuttle landed and its doors leading to the outside opened it seemed that all activity in the bay ceased. As over a dozen eyes stared at the shuttle which represented one of the premiere fighting races in the Empire, a fighting force of myth that had been as much an enemy as it had been adversary for the Empire's quest to rule the stars. The S'harien had never had the opportunity to host a Klingon shuttle before.

There is a first time for everything.

Riov Galan Cretak watched as Force Leader Menmoth exited his shuttle. The Klingon moved powerfully and even though he was not the tallest Klingon he had ever seen, he projected an aura of self-confidence that few living or dead could replicate. The force leader saluted the Romulan centurion which led the delegation and the Romulan did not hesitate in returning the gesture. The Arrain Kalash was the senior Arrain in the security forces and had seen a great deal of action during the Dominion war. His respect for Klingon warriors had never been feigned after the many battles that he had experienced against the Jem'hadar. As Arrain Kalash saluted, the rest of his unit did so in near perfect unison.

Riov Galan Cretak watched as the Klingon approached and took notice of the many scars which graced the features of the Force Leader. He bore each scar proudly, a testament to his skill in battle and the sheer number of adversaries he had faced. Compared to the Force Leader, the Romulan Arrain looked almost wanting but looks could be deceiving. There were times when simple mass and superior strength were not overwhelming advantages. Nonetheless, they were useful tools regardless. Arrain Kalash glanced at the Klingon warrior as he spoke.

"Force Leader." The Romulan spoke in Klingon although it was halting and not nearly as practiced as the Force Leader's own heavily accented Romulan. The Klingon had come into his ship and treated him and his men with respect. He felt compelled to treat the Klingon in kind, although he regretted not having kept up with his training in the language of the Komerex.

Riov Cretak watched and only approached the Klingon Force Leader when it seemed that no more warriors were about to be disgorged from his shuttle.

"Force Leader, we are honored by your presence." He said allowing his translator to do its work. It was unfortunate, but unlike the Arrain his Klingon was quite poor. As a result, he saw no upside in offering to speak it. He hesitated for a moment, his left hand moving before he spoke once more.

"Bridge, status on the shuttle from the Immortal?"
"Two minutes Riov." Was the near immediate response.

"Understood. When they arrive escort them to meet with me and Force Leader Menmoth in deck 10." He replied.

A moment later his attention focused on the Klingon Force Leader. "This way, allow me to show you around the IRW S'harien." He said simply and turned. As he did so, the two Romulan and two Remans escorted him moved in unison around him. The Force Leader followed as the delegation exited the shuttle bay but not all members of his delegation did so. It proved to be almost trivially easy for Morizon to slip away unseen. As he did so, certain aspects of the Romulan Warbird became noticeable. The hallways were well kept and immaculately maintained but there were sections that were clearly newer than others which had been then artificially "blended" with older pieces. In essence, it was akin to seeing a master painting that had suffered water damage and then expertly restored.

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien

The hallways and panels of the Warbird all seemed to be all but brand new, the ship all but seemed to sparkle but it was a facade. Cosmetically, the S'harien looked akin to having been fresh from the assembly line but beneath the gleaming conduit covers and panels, it was a different story. In no less than three occasions, teams of four engineers worked beneath gleaming paneling revealing dozens of cables, wiring and bits and pieces of technology that was decades old. In many respects, the internal structure of the S'harien was an illusion artfully crafted to maintain the spirit of its crew. In one occasion as Morizon moved through the halls of the ship, simply presenting his tricorder allowed him to continue his quest without a word being uttered. The second time he was stopped and asked what he was doing, presenting the tricorder and a vague mention of an Arrain was enough to wave him through. It seemed that in a handful of cases, refugees from Nivoch IV had been assigned to perform some physical labor granting him a cover story to continue his explorations.

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien
Docking Bay

By the time that the shuttle of the USS Immortal arrived on the docking bay, Riov Cretak and Force Leader Menmoth had already left. As a result, Arrain Kalash and his force had stayed behind in order to greet Captain Anderson and the rest of his delegation. Upon their arrival, Arrain Kalash saluted as did the rest of his men and women. Captain Anderson was one of the commanders of the joint task force. As such, the Romulan had no particular desire to disrespect the human whose reputation preceded him. The Gorn troopers had not been expected but the Gorn were not all that the human brought.

"A horta?" A Romulan trooper whispered.

"I thought they were extinct!" replied another.

"The next person to speak is going to regret having left Romulus." Arrain Kalash hissed between clenched teeth. His squad went silent.

A mere moment later the Horta emitted a sound that was unique in the experience of both Arrain Kalash and his squad. No one seemed to breathe until Arrain Kalash took a step forward as Captain Anderson approached.

"Captain Anderson, we are pleased that you and your companions could join us. Riov Cretak extends his apology for not greeting you in person but he and Force Leader Menmoth went ahead. I am to send half my men with you to deck 10 where you will rendezvous with Riov Cretak and Force Leader Menmoth." The Arrain said. Assuming that there were no discussion, half of his squad four Romulans and a Reman would escort Captain Anderson and his associates to deck 10.

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien
Transporter Room 4

"There!" The Romulan transport officer called out as pleasure rippled through him as he managed to sequence the transporter sensors and buffer in conjunction with the sensor sweeps of the S'harien. His right hand moved, his right hand touching a button. "USS Argonaut, this is the S'harien. We are ready for transport, give us the coordinates of your representatives."

"Standby S'harien" The Argonaut responded.

"I will take it from here." A female voice said.

"What?" The transport officer turned and glanced over his shoulder. Riov N'vek stood near the entrance to the transporter room her eyes watching him closely.

"Riov N'vek, I was not aware that you were..." He went silent a moment later. N'vek was tal'shiar and while the order no longer existed the memories of its reach and power still lingered in the hearts and minds of many.

"I am here Eredh." She said softly taking a step and then another further into the room. "I congratulate you on your hard work and dedication. Riov Cretak will hear of this I promise you. However, I am relieving you of your post. You are temporarily assigned to transporter room 3 for the rest of the day."

"I..." The Romulan responded before he stared at the eyes of the Romulan woman opposite him and nodded. "As you command Riov." He saluted and left the transporter room without looking back.

"S'harien, are you ready for the coordinate?" The human voice asked.

Riov N'vek sighed softly and walked over to the console, her fingers pressing a key before she responded. "Confirmed Argonaut. We are ready for coordinates."

A moment later the data came through. It took here a mere four and half seconds delay to recheck that the calibrations were within standard parameters and a further eleven seconds to upload a program into the console that would alter the data in the pattern to better suit her needs.

A changeling. I always wanted to get my hands in one of those...

It was with that thought in mind that she increased power into the transporter and plucked Captain Kalpov and any other associates from the relative safety of his vessel into the S'harien. As her guests arrived she offered a beautiful smile and found herself speaking.

"Welcome to the S'harien. I am Riov N'vek and I will be your guide today. Riov Cretak, Force Leader Menmoth and Captain Anderson await in deck 10."

[Marcao]

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien
Bridge

"All sectors report green Erei'riov. All members of the delegation are present and accounted for." The sensor officer stated.

"Request permission to dock with the Saeihr." The erei'riov commanded.

"Stand by." The communication officer responded as a channel was opened with the ship that called itself Avenger.

Erei'riov Hanaj Dar waited patiently until his communication officer looked up roughly fifteen and half seconds later.

"We have been granted clearance to dock Erei'riov."

"Do so."

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien

The IRW S'harien accelerated with surprising grade for a ship of her size and crossed the distance between its previous location and its desired destination. As it did so, it followed the approach vector granted to it by the Avenger. In the end, the S'harien reached the Saeihr in little over four and half minutes. As the docking procedure began, the air within the Warbird seemed to change.

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien

Riov Galan Cretak took a deep breath and held it. His eyes glancing towards Force Leader Menmoth, Captain Anderson and Captain Kalpov. He had reservations about the upcoming negotiations but not about the quality of men that he had at his side. The S'harien seemed to shiver for a moment and he understood that the physical connections between the Saeihr and the S'harien were beginning to take place.

His head turned and he glanced towards his honor guard. The kinetic weapons which his men and women carried were imposing although the ammunition supplies were colored silver instead of gold. The gold bands indicated weapons tuned to maximum effect against the Borg. The silver bands indicated weapons tuned to deal with non-borg threats. The weapons of the Reman troops were particularly imposing.

If Kalpov had been hit by one of these rounds the end result would likely have been different.

[Cynical Cat]

Morizan moved through the public areas of the ship, taking the occasional tricorder scan and taking note of the the areas where heavy reworking was impossible to disguise and on the Remans. Discipline was tight, as was to be expected with Romulans. Getting intel out of the Federation was like gunning down rioters by comparison. Still, things could slip and they had been in space a long time. Without direct Romulan supervision things might slip and his universal translator could handle the rest.

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

Menmoth greeted the Romulan Commander. "I am pleased to be aboard your vessel. She is a fine ship and I have pleasant memories of conducting join operations with your empire during the Dominion War." Which was true. The Romulans were a stiff necked, troublesome people but they were also courageous and possessed of iron discipline and determination. No Klingon who reached the rank of Force Leader would disdain an ally so formidable. And after all, Klingons were not the most congenial species in the galaxy.

Tactfully, Menmoth did not mention the Romulans he had killed before the war. They had been worthy opponents, but many races were sensitive about such matters. "Kadon wished to make this pirate pay to get this meeting. This one cannot say such a course is without merit since that one is clearly treacherous and we have nothing clearly to gain to speaking to him, but if we are to speak with him there are ways to turn the situation to our advantage. This one is confident that your crews have prepared for whatever treachery he might plan using the tender's systems and connections."

[General Havoc]

Some of the people aboard the S'harien knew what it was that was beaming over. Some did not. In either case, Kalpov acted the same. When Riov N'vek welcomed him aboard, Kalpov returned the greeting with a simple, near-Romulan nod and a half-smile, all business, as befit the present circumstances.

"Thank you, Riov," said Kalpov, behaving as though nothing was at all the matter. If the Romulan knew, then she gave no sign, but then that was to be expected. There was nothing for it in any event. Without protest, he followed the Commander through the halls of the Romulan Battlecruiser. And if his attention seemed unwavering on his guide, it could easily be explained as a disinclination to get lost. Visibly unarmed, Kalpov appeared to be relying on the forces available aboard the S'harien, to say nothing of those brought along by the others, to make the difference should it come to blows.

Ten minutes, if not less, was all it took before they reached the docking bay, there to find a collection of dignitaries. Captain Anderson was there, a squad of Gorn at his back armed with weapons of great lethality and standing about in a manner that augured terrible violence for anyone who stood in their way. A Klingon, imposing as only Klingons could be, that Kalpov took to be Force Leader Memnoth stood to one side with a quartet of other Klingons, who appeared to be in competition with one another to see who could be the most imposing. Between the two groups sat a being that looked rather like a cross between a slug and a lava bomb, which it took Kalpov several seconds to even recognize. He'd heard of Horta of course, but had never had the chance to see one before.

The thought occurred to him that it was somewhat ironic to come all this way and run into another gelatinous creature...

Across the way stood Captain Cretak, flanked by Remans of exceptional size bearing nondescript weapons of what were no-doubt incredible lethality, superficially identical at least to the ones they had shot him with before. Perhaps the Captain had designed a welcoming committee with an eye towards being capable, if necessary, of bringing a Changeling down. Romulans thought in such ways. If so, there was nothing for it. Besides, even if he had gone back on his word, Cretak was unlikely to try anything in the presence of Anderson and the Klingons, and certainly not with a meeting of this importance about to occur.

And if not... well... then things might get interesting.

"Captains," said Kalpov, inclining his head and ignoring the fact that Memnoth was not one. Armed only with a hand phaser, Kalpov entered the antichamber and stood to one side. "Argonaut is standing by to support the S'harien as needed should anything occur during this little discussion." He glanced around again at the escorts in the antichamber. "I didn't think it wise to bring anyone here, but we have over three hundred security and tactical personnel ready to transport if a need should arise. Though given everything, I doubt it will."

As the airlock began its pre-connection cycle, another thought occurred to Kalpov, one he did not vocalize. Here was a horta, Gorn soldiers, Klingon shock troops, and Reman imperial space marines.

So much for coming all this way to protect them...

*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Shodar Tyran's philosophy on diplomacy remained to be seen. But for the moment, he seemed to be going with less being more.

Three people and three people alone emerged from the other side of the airlock. One, the central figure, was an El-Aurean, and he was unarmed, wearing only the uniform of an Orion guildmaster, unadorned with finery or emblems, the sort of uniform that, to anyone in the know, required nothing of the sort. Tall for a Listener, he was still dwarfed by the Klingon in the room, as were his two associates. One was a female Orion, of rank and purpose uncertain, though (wonder of wonders) fully clothed in a flowing golden dress of Tholian silk. The other was a human, or at least appeared to be a human. He wore a simple two-piece uniform of no particular affiliation, and of the three figures, he was the only one carrying a weapon, a disruptor rifle of vaguely klingon design but visibly modified to ends unknown.

Carefully, the three figures entered their side of the docking port, though they did not cross over to the far side, stopping at the threshold before Shodar Tyran spoke.

"Greetings Captains," said the Syndicate Commander. "I'm glad we could meet in person. I assume that I need no introduction."

*-------------------------------------------------------*

As the meeting began within the airlocks of the various ships, those paying attention found something else to concern themselves with.

Deep within the concentration of ships that formed the other armada, a single civilian vessel, a Cardassian bulk freighter of uncertain provenance, suddenly began to transmit a single, focused message to the giant Romulan fleet tender now called the Avenger. The message was brief, no more than seven or eight seconds long, but it repeated itself automatically, over and over again. Yet beyond that, there was nothing more that could be determined, for the message was encoded, and consequently its content was beyond the grasp of passive sensors.

[frigidmagi]

"Greetings Captains," said the Syndicate Commander. "I'm glad we could meet in person. I assume that I need no introduction."

"Good Evening Shodar Tyran. Allow me to introduce everyone here. This is Force Leader Menmoth representing the Klingon contingent of the fleet. Captain Cretak is here to represent the Romulan contingent. Myself and the good Captain Kalpov are here on behalf on the Federation of course. Might I know the names of your officers?" Captain Anderson asked courteously.

[Marcao]

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands, IRW S'harien

Riov Sindari N'vek gave no outward indication of a response as she led her guests towards their desired destination. She moved with predatory grade and the handful of crew members that happened to be sharing the corridors with the group as they moved towards deck 10 gave the Riov a wide berth. It seemed that even now, with the Romulan Empire in ruins the memory of the tal shiar still held strong in the minds of many of the crew. In the end, the meeting lasted far less time than expected. Upon their arrival on deck 10, as soon as Riov Cretak and his guests were visible Riov N'vek stepped aside and spoke.

"I hope the negotiations are fruitful." Her eyes lingered on Captain Kalpov for a second or two longer than anyone else before she turned on her heels and disappeared down a corridor. It did not take her long to make her way back to transporter room 4 where the system was involved in a looping diagnostic mode. A rare smile danced on her lips as her hands glided over the control panel and made the necessary adjustments. When she was done, the transporter room was back in full operation and she had what she had sought.

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands

Riov Galan Cretak took notice when Kalpov arrived. The changeling chose his words with care and he nodded his head in a silent acknowledgement. His eyes tracked the captain as he crossed the threshold which separated the antechamber and stood to the side. His words were met with a faint smile, the pleasure did not reach his eyes. "I doubt it will come to that." He said as if saying it aloud would make it true. The truth was of course that there was little way to predict what was about to transpire in this meeting. He did understand however that he would play an integral part in setting the tone of the discussion. If he came out aggressively and pushed Shodar Tyran into a corner, the end result could be an exchange of fire that would benefit only the Borg. The fire that swam menacingly in the pit of his stomach had to be contained.

I have to be ice.

Any further thoughts on the matter were dispelled when the airlock began its pre-connection cycle. Even with all the preparations that he and his crew had made, a part of him disliked the sound for he understood what it entailed. At that very moment, the S'harien was being snared into what would ordinarily be a tender embrace between two allied ships. The Saeihr could no longer be described as an allied ship and while he had made preparations he had little doubt that the crew of Shodar Tyran had done their homework as best they could as well. He took a deep breath and held it for over thirty two seconds before slowly releasing it.

I have the best engineer my people have ever produced. The S'harien is in good hands.

He had expected boldness from Shodar Tyran but his decision to bring only two escorts along with him surprised him. It was not the move that he had expected and as such he immediately began to consider his counter move. His left hand moved, a simple enough gesture almost trivial in comparison but its meaning was instantly recognized by his honor guard. He had expected to be escorted by two Remans and two Romulans. With the numbers involved, he would need only a single Reman being his guard. His hand motion had stated as much and indicated which of his honor guard would proceed with him. The Orion male who was known as Shodar Tyran spoke simply and he listened. His head turned and he glanced towards Captain Anderson as he offered the first response. He was one of the leader's of the task force, it was his right to speak first. His response was suitable if overly timid. He spoke to the Orion like a lost friend catching up on old times. The Federation had always prided itself on diplomacy.

He remained silent for a second and then another and another. His head turned and he glanced towards Force Leader Menmoth the Klingon warrior was silent as if gathering himself before plunging himself into the storm. Shodar Tyran allowed for silence to reign, as if considering the words of Captain Anderson as a request from a subordinate. His head turned and he glanced casually towards Captain Kalpov only to find him watching him closely. Their eyes made contact for a brief moment, a fraction of a second and Kalpov glanced away . When his attention drifted towards Shodar Tyran once more he could almost feel Kalpov's eyes staring into the back of his skull. In his mind, time seemed to slow down as he considered the moment that had descended all around him.

Here were are meeting in the Badlands in secret, scurrying around like rats while the Borg gathered their forces and chase after us. Every moment that passes is another moment that we will have lost when we reach Bajor.
In the end, he saw only one immediate solution to the conundrum before him. If he allowed the Federation to take the lead they would be here for days before they came to a settlement. He took a breath and savored it for two and half seconds, giving Shodar Tyran a last opportunity to introduce his guests. When that did not occur, he took three steps forward moving him past Captain Anderson as he spoke.

"Shodar Tyran, Captain Anderson, Force Leader Menmoth, Captain Kalpov." He said letting those words sink in before he continued. "I believe we all know why we are here. Under better circumstances I would be willing to indulge both sides on the proper decorum and the time necessary to make proper introductions. However, as I am certain that we all are aware of time is something this task force does not have. As a result, I will say what I came here to say." He hesitated for only a moment before his eyes focused on Shodar Tyran.

"I had originally planned on pressing the issue as to how you came to be in possession of the Saeihr and other ships of interest. I realize now that doing so would only poison the well and complicate these negotiations. That is a discussion that we will have another time, ideally under separate circumstances." It was a sacrifice for him to admit that. It was difficult for him not to demand answers from the Orion. However, if the Orion granted him answers that he did not like he may have been goaded into doing something drastic. He took a step to the side and then another before he came to a stop.

"The central point that we have come to discuss is this. We intended on going to Bajor, you have indicated a lack of willingness to do so as well." He went silent for a moment letting his words sink in before he continued. "It is a decision that I can understand. It is even something that I can admire. However, I want you to consider all the possibilities Shodar Tyran. Irregardless of our shared history, the Orion people have always proven to be adept survivors and risk takers. I will give you your due. To have survived and perhaps even thrived when so many have failed to do so is a testament to your skill and leadership abilities."

"However, I want you to utilize all of that leadership ability and consider what we are prepared to offer you. There are only two paths before you that I can see. The first, the one that so far you seem to favor has you staying here. I can understand the appeal of inactivity. The galaxy has become a dangerous place and all living beings seem to have an inherent predisposition towards inertia. In the badlands, you possess a mighty ship, a task force that follows your commands and a way for your whims to be realized." He was in essence a large fish in a very small pool . "Staying here is the safe choice. At least for now. When we leave you can choose to stay behind and I imagine little will change in the immediate future. You will continue to exist and the Borg should leave you alone. Oh they may send a patrol or two into the badlands but I am certain that you may manage a way to avoid them." Shodar Tyran was well informed. He had known of the destruction of the Borg Cube before the task force had reached the badlands. That was likely due to the either patrols or the powerful communication systems of the Saeihr itself. The Orion's task force was composed of ships from every major power. It was conceivable that he was eavesdropping on the communication networks.

"However, you must understand that the Borg are unlike any other adversary in the galaxy. There is no negotiating with the Borg and should Bajor fall, I assure you that life will become increasingly more difficult for you and yours. The Borg may not find you tomorrow or the day after that. You may be able to eke out a living for weeks if not months after the fall of Bajor should that grim fate come to pass, but sooner or later they will find you. And once they do, there will not be any ambassadors." The fall of Bajor would be catastrophic to the quadrant. Most importantly, all it would take is a single ship with data regarding this task force to fall to the Borg for the collective to be aware of its existance. Every ship of the task force had such data and it would only spread once they reached Bajor. He went silent for a moment allowing Shodar Tyran and anyone else to process the information he had just shared before he pressed forward.

"Then there is the risk. The second choice that we offer you. Come with us, come to an arrangement with Captain Anderson and Captain Kadon and fight not for us, but for a future where your name will be remembered and the power you will wield will not be based on subterfuge and opportunity but right. The forces in Bajor will not turn away a task force of the magnitude that you command. Arrangement will be made, rules will be bent, because frankly the forces of Bajor cannot allow this task force to slip through their fingers. I am not asking you to die in Bajor. We are all survivors here Shodar Tyran, I am asking you to look at the big picture. If we go to Bajor as a unified whole, your bargaining position is significantly increased. If Captain Anderson and Captain Kadon vouch for you, any agreement you make with them will be respected." He paused for a moment and concluded.

"These are your choices Shodar Tyran. You can choose the safe path, stay here with your task force and wait for the inevitable decline and eventual death at the hands of the Borg when they overrun the Galaxy. Or you can choose to come with us, come to Bajor and fight not for us but for your survival and the future legacy of your people. How do you want the Orions to be remembered? As a people who mastered deceit, subterfuge and piracy or as a race that fought for its continued survival and the establishment of a renewed star nation?"

He went silent then. Keenly aware of the decision before the Orion. The safe path was not always the most profitable. He could see that. The question was if Shodar Tyran and his associates could do so as well?

[White Haven]

This was hardly the first time the Scylla had ghosted silently through space to avoid detection. Without the adrenalin-spiking thrill of anyone actually attempting to kill her crew this time, though, the boredom seemed twice as intense as the hours stacked up.

"Start rotating the engineering and science staff. Get the ones who were on watch to start with some rack time first, and get everyone fed." Leyton's voice broke the silence of the bridge. With a wry smile, he continued, "As usual, Tactical is too shortstaffed to really indulge, so if someone could scrounge up some coffee and sandwiches for us I'd appreciate it."

Within a few minutes, relief officers began moving up to replace tired watch personnel all across the ship in a process so ingrained as to be nearly seamless. A crew operating independently with the omnipresent threat of Borg attack could never truly stand down, but stims and replicated coffee only do so much. Only a bare few tactical officers left their posts, though, and those that did were replaced with yellow-shirted engineers, crosstrained, but decidedly inexpert at their tasks.

Leyton himself never moved. His tactical department was tiny, his XO an engineer, and his ship in need of rapid reaction should the situation change quickly. At the sound of a paper plate settling down on the arm of his chair, he looked over and up with a smile and a quiet chuckle, "Should have known you'd take it onto yourself." Reaching out to take the proffered cup of coffee from the Andorian, his free hand pointed towards the turbolift in the back of the bridge, "Much appreciated, Lesschey...now I know you've been awake even longer than I have. Get some sleep."

Cutting off her half-formed protest, he shook his head back and forth, still smiling, "No arguments. You've got a staff who can handle without you for a few hours. Hell, I'll beam you to the bridge directly if it all hits the fan." He paused for a beat, his smile widening into a grin, even as his voice continued in a deadpan, "May I recommend sleeping in-uniform, though?"

A passing Andorian rating, one also dressed in an Engineering uniform, snorted audibly, then turned the sound into a cough to cover it. It was an idle threat, of course; senior officers and those with crucial responsibilities had been assigned secondary berths close to the command deck quite some time ago for just this exact reason. With an exasperated chuckle, Lesschey zh'Rethan inclined her head and departed the bridge.

[General Havoc]

The airlock was dead silent after Captain Cretak finished speaking. Even the machinery of the two mighty vessels seemed subdued. Whatever it was that the Syndicate admiral had expected to hear today, the likelyhood was that this was not it. The Orion and the Human that flanked the El-Aurian commander of the Romulan tender ship both turned their heads to their leader, as though silently asking him for his thoughts on the matter. Yet in the time-honored traditions of his species, he did not hurry to reply, seemingly turning the words over in his head for an uncomfortably long time before, at long last, he answered.

"Captain Cretak," said the Pirate Admiral. "I know who you are. And I know who your aunt was. And given that I know those things, I can guess what you must be thinking, having showed up here to find one of Romulus' most precious treasures in the hands of pirate scum. I can guess what questions you have to ask regarding how I came to be in possession of my flagship, to say nothing of the other vessels under my command." Tyran swept his gaze across the other officers present, focusing on each one for the briefest of moments. "And I seriously doubt, Captain, that you are the only one who has such questions."

The gaze returned to Cretak. "I appreciate your discretion in tabling conversations like that, but unfortunately, you can't speak for all of your fellows here, and even if you could, you certainly can't speak for what's left of the Federation, whom, I understand, are running the show at Bajor. I imagine, Captain, that they will have a great many questions about where I got my ships, and what became of the crews who were aboard them. And unless I miss my guess, they may not be as willing to table those questions, no matter how... prudent it may seem to a Romulan officer that they do so."

"The Badlands have served me and mine as an excellent base of operations for some time now, Captain Cretak, but we are well aware that the Borg, if they put their minds to it, could roust us out of here like a flock of partridges. Should Bajor fall, I expect that's precisely what they'll try and do. Since I've no intention of committing suicide by Borg, it was my plan to leave the Badlands ultimately, for parts unknown. The Gamma Quadrant, perhaps, or intergalactic space. The nice thing about space travel, Captain, is that you never run out of places to run."

He stepped back for a moment, smiling a bit, looking up and down the captains before continuing. "You've paid me the complement of a Romulan analysis, Captain, so let me pay you the one of an Orion Admiral, without dissimulation. I'm an admiral, a killer, and when chance affords, a thief, but I'm not a fool. I've got more than fifty ships under my command, but out there, you have enough firepower to reduce my entire formation to ash. And while I'm sure you've got a thousand reasons for why you haven't come out and said as much, I'm going to bet that one of them is the fact that your ships are presently packed to the gunwales with what my sensors tell me are people who have no business being on any of them. I assume, given where you all came from, that those are refugees, but whether they are or not, a fight here, even if you won it, would be prohibitively bloody, and thus we're standing here, talking."

Tyran took a deep breath. "My problem is that, even if all of that's true right now, it's unlikely to be true once we get to Bajor. By the last information I heard, Starfleet and whoever else is left has assembled well over six hundred ships at Bajor, at least a third of which are capital-class warships, with more streaming in every day. Now that may not sound like a lot to the Borg, but it's certainly does to me. I've got ships in this fleet from practically every major power in the quadrant. Given my affiliations, most will assume that I acquired them dishonorably, and once I'm at Bajor, I won't have anything even approximating the necessary fire to prevent Starfleet or whoever from repossessing the lot. I don't imagine the notion of taking back this tender of mine hasn't crossed your mind, Captain. You wouldn't be much of a Romulan if you put much credence in whatever story I told you about how I acquired it."

"I have a lot of people and a lot of ships to think of, Captain. And independent of whatever threat the Borg offers, my heading to Bajor puts all of them in question. My ships will be searched and requisitioned, my crew interrogated, my personal liberty curtailed. You know as well as I do that I would not be in the position I am in if I restricted myself to behaviors and actions that would meet with the approval of the Federation charter, or even with the Klingon and Romulan Empires. I did not survive when most of my fellows did not by permitting others to sit in judgment over me. It's not a habit I intend to break, Borg or no Borg, and none of you here have the authority to ensure that isn't exactly what's going to happen once we get to Bajor and the tender mercies of Starfleet."

Tyran fell silent, letting those words sink in, watching the assembled captains carefully, as though considering what course to chart next.

"I recognize one of the ships out there," he said at last. "The one that's gone to some lengths to be recognizable." He laughed for a moment. "The IRW Gannius, though that's not the name I know it by. The Romulan Empire doesn't make a habit of painting their ships that way. The Captain of that ship, I'm referring of course to the real one, not that prop he set up in front of the viewscreen, that Captain is known to me. He's a former member of my own organization who cut and run from the Syndicate under circumstances that were murky indeed. What he's doing with the rest of you, I couldn't possibly guess. But if you want to convince me that my best course of action is to head to Bajor with you, then might I suggest you ask him to stop pretending that I'm as stupid as he thinks I look, and to beam over here to join us for a little... chat?"

[Cynical Cat]

"You have no choice but to go to Bajor or die," said Menmoth. "Your ships cannot outrun the Borg and they are coming here. You are too numerous and too poorly equipped to hide from them. Even if you manage to escape for long, which you will not, your antimatter will run out, your quantum singularities will decay, and your ships will break down. Without a modern industrial base to support you, you will die. Dying slowly is the best you can hope for unless you come to Bajor."

Menmoth paused to let his words sink in, not just to Tyran but to Tyran's men. "Your only move is to make a deal here and now that will be honoured when we reach Bajor. A deal backed by command ranked officers of Starfleet, the Khomerex Klingon, and the Romulan Star Empire. Who commands the Gannius is irrelevant. Deal with us or die." He left out the 'probably by the hands of your own men'.

[General Havoc]

"This ship, Commander, has the industrial capacity of a medium-grade starbase. It can synthesize antimatter, replicate starship components, break down an asteroid and fabricate largely anything material from it. With the Avenger, I can disassemble an entire Battlecruiser and rebuild it in any image I require. The Romulans built her to be able to do that, and as your people were forced to acknowledge more than once, they knew what they were doing. I'll remind you, Captain, not that long ago, a lone Federation starship survived a seventy thousand light year journey by itself through Borg-infested space with far fewer resources than I have available to me."

Tyran frowned. "But say you're right, and that my options are dying slowly or coming with you to Bajor. What exactly do you think you're going to find there? Succor? Death and glory in battle? I have eyes and ears, Commander, two thousand Borg cubes are on their way to Bajor as we speak. That is not a theoretical possibility, that is hard fact. If I run, the Borg may come after me and kill me, I grant. If I go to Bajor, I am placing myself in a position whereby the entire Borg Hydra fleet is aimed directly down my throat. Even assuming that you people can speak for what's left of your respective governments, a headlong charge into the maw of the Hydra fleet is hardly a way to improve my odds of survival."

"So unless this is some oblique manner of informing me that you're going to incinerate this ship and my entire fleet if I don't accompany you to Bajor, I'm afraid you'll find I have plenty of choices. And that means, that if you want my assistance, either here or at this honorable last stand of yours, I need the answer to one, simple question: What is in it for me? Because it doesn't do me any good to go all the way to Bajor and get all my ships repaired the day before the Borg swoop in and kill everything in the entire sector."

[Cynical Cat]

Menmoth laughed. "You are bold in your bargaining, I give you that. You left out so many details." Details Menmoth was well familiar with as a veteran of more than one border dispute. Romulan fleet tenders were great prize and once their defending ships were neutralized they were the dream capture of every Marine. He had studied intelligence on them the way captains study the great warships of the enemy.

"The tender is slow. Antimatter production by it is both limited, and costly. You cannot replicate rare materials and you cannot solve your dilithium bottle neck. You can merely cannibalize your fleet to death. You just die slower with the tender than without it, that is all. Go to Bajor and risk death to gain life or certainly die elsewhere. As for killing you, why would we bother? If we leave you for the Borg you will at least cost them ordinance. There is certainly no glory to be had here."

[frigidmagi]

Captain Anderson held up his hand, the one that still made up of flesh and made a mental note. Cretak didn't get to be in on negations anymore if he was just going to cut him off.

"That will do Captain, Force Leader, we are not here to engage in a debate or to browbeat the Shodar. Shodar Tyran, I am not here to dictate to you your fleet operations, anymore then I would allow you to dictate mine. If you would accompany us to Bajor for direct talks with Starfleet command, I would be willing to guarantee your personal safety. Of course that opens the question of what do you want if you were to come to Bajor? That said, you are here with Romulan, Klingon and Federation property. My concern is to give an accounting for those ships and a debrief with any Imperial or Federation officers under your command. That I must insist on. I'm sure you understand our responsibility to our people even in times like this." Captain Anderson said quietly, his metal hand flexing at his side.

[General Havoc]

"All of the officers under my command are members in one regard or another of the Orion Syndicate, either from before the Borg War or after it. Some of them were once members of Starfleet."

Tyran seemed to think this matter over for a moment.

"I need to know, Captain, what exactly you mean by "accounting". There are half a dozen federation vessels in my employ right now. Starfleet probably would not account the means by which I acquired them all to be particularly honorable. I and mine have done, as I imagine most here have, what we had to do. And I did not do so with the intention of explaining myself to a Starfleet board of inquiry."

The El Aurian pirate admiral paused for a moment.

"Perhaps... a more amicable arrangement could be come to? After all, I'm certain your ships and crews have needs that are not presently being met."

[Cynical Cat]

Menmoth smiled, showing fangs. He knew the human's rebuke was just part of the Great Game. One did not become a Force Leader of Marines without knowing a few moves. Menmoth would be the one to snarl and state unpleasant facts, strengthening the group's bargaining position by letting the Starfleet Officer appear more sympathetic and reasonable. The Klingon version was rougher, but the moves were mostly the same.

[frigidmagi]

"I need to know, Captain, what exactly you mean by "accounting". There are half a dozen federation vessels in my employ right now. Starfleet probably would not account the means by which I acquired them all to be particularly honorable. I and mine have done, as I imagine most here have, what we had to do. And I did not do so with the intention of explaining myself to a Starfleet board of inquiry."

The El Aurian pirate admiral paused for a moment.

"Perhaps... a more amicable arrangement could be come to? After all, I'm certain your ships and crews have needs that are not presently being met."

"I will need to speak to those officers Shodar, on my ship. I imagine Captain Cretak and Captain Kadon will need to likewise speak to any officer of their service. Beyond that..." Captain Anderson lightly clapped and spread his hands... Well as lightly as he could.

"What did you have in mind Shodar?" Captain Anderson asked, his face remaining still. One thing he could say, the Borg had taken alot from him but left him one hell of a poker face.

[Marcao]

Alpha Quadrant
Badlands

His eyes watched Shodar Tyran and his associates closely seeking to read his adversary as best as his considerable skill allowed him. He was also prepared to respond to a sudden end to the negotiations. It was not difficult for him to notice that his words had surprised his counterpart. That had been the intention as he had chosen his plan of attack with care. He had considered many paths and this was the one that promised the most long term reward. It demanded a short term sacrifice, but he was willing to sacrifice for long term gain. He also expected that his offered path would be a middle ground. Force Leader Menmoth would press on the simple truths of their circumstances. The Klingon was a warrior born who would instinctively grasp the clearest path to victory. It was likely that Anderson would pick a hard line path as well, the human captain was all but legendary and his tendencies leaned more towards Sisko than Picard.

"It is good to be recognized." He admitted. He did not offer an overt response to his comment regarding the Saeihr although the truth of his words could hardly be denied. His words about his fellows was met with a nod. "You are right that I cannot speak about the others gathered here. I speak only for myself and my ship. This truth does not lessen the value of my words however." He went silent for a moment as Shodar Tyran continued and spoke of his desire to leave the Badlands. "Leaving the badlands in the near future may be more difficult than you expect." The Borg were going to envelop Bajor and would seek to prevent interference and escape from any neighboring location.

"I understand your concern regarding Bajor, but it may very well be the last chance you may have to secure your future and that of this task force." He said. It availed him little to try and push the Orion admiral. Ultimately, it was a decision that he would come to on his own one way or the other. His argument had been persuasive. A handful of seconds after his comment, Force Leader Menmoth spoke and he nearly smiled. The Force Leader had a way with words and seeing to the simple truth of things. When Captain Anderson finally spoke, he deferred to the Starfleet officer. He did not look in his direction. He did not need to do so. He expected that the human would be annoyed by his having seized the moment away from him, but he had also set the scene for the human.

Surely someone with his reputation could take advantage of the foundation that he and Menmoth had laid out.

[General Havoc]

"Several of your ships are sporting visible battle damage," said Shodar Tyran. "And while I wouldn't dream of making assumptions as to their functionality, I will guess that it's been some time since they saw the inside of a Starbase. My ship was designed to be the next best thing to such a facility, and my engineers have spent years familiarizing themselves with her systems. I can offer your entire fleet a complete overhaul courtesy of the Avenger. Your engineers can oversee the entire operation, keep us pirates honest and so on. I'm even prepared to offer as much to you in exchange for nothing more but a consideration for my position. I have a large fleet of ships and many thousands of men that I must look to. I cannot brook interference in the management of my own people, not by the Federation or anyone else.

"I assume, after all, Captains, that none of you would brook any such thing from me."

*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Outside, there was little occurring. The belts of flame from plasma storms were all that broke the monotony as the two fleets sat and faced one another.

When finally this state of affairs changed, it did so from nothing more dramatic than a minor sensor reading.

"Commander?" said Lt. Luther. "I'm picking up something a little weird..."

Commander Ereshal turned her head as Lt. Luther peered at his tactical display, as though he were considering whether to chew it out. "What is it?"

"One of the other ships, there's some kind of weird energy spikes coming off it. Pretty low level, hard to detect over all this plasma inter - "

Luther was cut off by a flash.

It wasn't a tremendously impressive flash, just a small one in the corner of the viewscreen, but it brought the bridge to silence, for all of them knew the distance that the viewscreen was operating from.

"Lieutenant?" asked Ereshal, probably un-necessarily.

"Magnifying."

The viewscreen flashed off for an instant and replaced the plasma field with a shot of a Cardassian bulk freighter, sitting quietly in space. No visible signs of damage marred its hull, beyond the usual wear and tear of any ship in space too long, yet as the crew of the Argonaut watched, another flash seemed to emanate from the starboard flank of the ship, much brighter this time, though cut by the polarization.

"What was that?" asked Ereshal, her hand on the tactile readout at her side, which told her by touch what the others had seen.

"Some kind of Neutrino pulse," said the sensor officer. "Big one. Came from somewhere inside the ship."

"A neutrino pulse?" Ereshal frowned. "What could cause..."

"A warp core breach?" suggested someone.

"I think we would have noticed a warp core breach," said Luther. "I'm picking up other energy spikes. All across the spectrum. Something's going on in there."

"The ship's signaling," called the Comm officer. "Some kind of encryption. I can't decode it."

"Where's it going?"

"Broad band signal, no defined target, but if I had to guess - "

"You don't."

He didn't. No sooner had the message been sent than one of the docking bays in the massive Engineering ship in the center of the pirate formation opened, and three squat, ugly ships that could only be what they were flew out. Stubby of wing and stocked with heavy shields and fork-mounted disruptor arrays, the ships were Romulan assault transports, designed to carry Imperial Romulan and Reman Space Marines into battle in extra-terrestrial combat. All three assault transports exited the docking bay, turned as one, and flew straight for the Cardassian bulk freighter.

[frigidmagi]

USS Immortal Bridge

"Sir, I'm reading something from one of the green fleet units" A sensor tech reported, using the ship designation code they had adopted.

Commander Sharan Tak was nervous, he was in front of a pirate fleet with allies that weren't really a unit yet and his Captain was on a fucking Romulan ship talking to an Orion! This was not a good day.

"What is it?" He asked, moving sharply over to the tech's station.

"I'm getting an energy pulse off of one of the ships. Barely cuts through the plasma." The young man reported.

"Magnify. Com alert the Empryean and the Vulcans, get their sensors on this." Commander Tak ordered.

"Aye, aye Sir" came the response from the tech and the com officer. The scans focused on the Cardasian freighter.

"It's a Neutrino pulse, some sort of... signal?" The tech suggested.

"I don't like," Commander Tak began only to get cut off by one of the other sensor techs.

"Sir, Green One is launching ships. Reading... 3 ships, CNC has identification as Romulan assault transports, confidence is high." The sensor tech declared stress cracking his voice. The Captain was over there and they had just launched assualt ships!

"Red Alert! Com, to all ships, opposite fleet has launched ships, reading as assault transports. Track opposing fleet ships and stand by. Get me a link to the Captain!" Commander Tak ordered.

Captain Anderson

Captain Anderson was about to point out that he could get repairs in Bajor to when his com badge chimed. He made no reaction but tapped it.

"Now isn't a good time." He said.

"Captain, this is Commander Tak, they've just launched assault transports. I repeat Shodar Tyran's forces have launched assault transports!" Came the XO's voice.

"I read you. Captain Anderson out." Captain Anderson stepped forward and looked the Shodar in the eye. His Cybernetic replacement was unblinking and unemotive.

"What is going on here, Shodar?" He asked in a quiet level voice. His metal hand flexed.

[General Havoc]

Of all the reactions that the question might have gotten, this was among the least expected. Shodar Tyran seemed to appear puzzled, of all things, for a second, before he turned to the man beside him. He said nothing, but pressed his hand to his ear and listened to what appeared to be a hidden earpiece. He was only turned away for a few seconds, but when he turned back, he was scowling, and cast a visibly ugly glance at the human before responding to the Commodore's question.

"It would appear there's been a security breach aboard one of my ships," he said, sounding unspecifiedly annoyed. "Our forces are dealing with the problem as we speak. One of my subordinate officers launched assault transports to support my security forces without checking with me. I apologize, Captain, for the start. Rest assured, we will launch nothing more, and the situation will be resolved in just a few minutes."

[Cynical Cat]

"Reading energy spikes," said Arikel. "Source is a Cardassian freighter."

"Tactical," ordered Kadon. The main view screen shifted, displaying a top down view composed of a grid of triangles. Flashing lines surrounded the freighter.

"Neutrino pulse," Arikel.

"Detecting an encrypted signal," said Aaveroke.

Three signals sprouted on the screen. Data lines identified them on the tactical display. They moved toward the freighter.

"Zan Kallor, establish target locks on the Rom assault transports but do not fire yet. Arikel, decrypt that transmission. Aaveroke, start talking to that freighter now. Action."

"Cardassian freighter this is the IKV Riskadh," sent Aaveroke. "Identify yourself and transmit current status. Three assault transports are closing on your position. Respond."