Star Trek: "A Matter of Gratitude"

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From: ayis@chopin.udel.edu (Ayis Theseas Pyrros)
Subject: "A Matter of Gratitude" a short story by David Cardillo
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Date: Sun, 13 Feb 1994 03:06:18 GMT
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 I must first apologize if am posting this to the wrong group.

 The following is a short story by David Cardillo, based off of

 Paramount's STARTREK(tm).  The people and some events

 are non-fictional.  Now that I got past that small disclaimer,

 I hope that you enjoy this story.  Please note that I am not

 the athor of this story just a friend.  If you have any

 comments (good or bad) and you wish to direct to the author

 please e-mail them to me.  And finally this story is copyright

 1994 of David Cardillo.  You may read it and reproduce this

 story in any manner. But that catch is you cannot sell it, or

 modify it in any form.  Unless you have explicit permission

 from the author, David Cardillo.  If you distrubute this

 story please include this header.

-Ayis Pyrros


-E-mail  ayis@chopin.udel.edu
























                                 STAR TREK

                          THE CONTINUING VOYAGES

                           A MATTER OF GRATITUDE

                             By David Cardillo




   



















                                   
                                CHAPTER ONE

First Officer's Log: Stardate 47503.1  We are entering standard
orbit around Starbase 157 for a quick maintenance check and an
offloading of personnel.  Ship's Counselor Curran will be
transferring to the U.S.S. Friends.  Our former helmsman, Laura
Flohr, has completed her degree in xenopsychology, received an
honorary promotion to Lieutenant Commander, and will become our
new Ship's Counselor.

     "Entering standard orbit, sir," Ensign Latshaw said.
     "Message coming in, sir.  Admiral Straley," Lieutenant Claar
reported.
     "On screen," Commander John Pierce ordered.  The holographic
viewing area flickered and revealed the face of Admiral Straley.
     "Commander Pierce, welcome to Starbase 157," the admiral
said.  "I trust all is well with Captain Cardillo?"
     "He suffered an injury en route and is presently in sickbay
undergoing treatment," Pierce replied.
     "Nothing serious, I hope," Straley said with concern.
     "Just a small athletic accident.  He injured his knee
playing Parrises Squares on the holodeck.  He's been in sickbay
with a regen unit hooked up to him."
     "In that case, send him my regards.  The requested supplies
and the crew transfers are ready for transport."
     "Acknowledged.  Christian out."  The viewscreen flickered
back to the unusual purple and grayish colors of Omicron Gamma
where Starbase 157 was located.  John turned to Lieutenant
Commander Kara Crossland and said, "Commander, you have the
bridge.  I'm going to see to the transfers."
     "Aye, sir," Kara said as she turned back to her duties at
the Ops station.

     "I said I feel fine!" David said.
     "Regardless of how you feel, you still need another day of
muscle regeneration," Dr. Jenna Wadsworth argued.
     "Doctor, I've been in sickbay for five days now.  I think
it's time for me to continue with my duties."
     "You've been saying that for the past four days.  You're not
going to win this argument either.  And if you try to sneak out
again, I'll ask Lieutenant Claar to double security.  Don't think
I won't do it.  Lieutenant Fraser is still right outside the
door."       "Doctor, is all that really necessary?"
     "With you, yes.  Captain, you still have yet to learn to
slow down.  Amy told you that this morning when she came to say
goodbye.  And I'm sure you'll hear more of the same from Laura
when she gets aboard."
     "I still belong back on my bridge."
     "And you'll be there tomorrow.  Now John has everything
under control.  And rest assured, you'll be more than ready for the
first contact mission."
     "Humph," David muttered as he laid back on the biobed,
resigned.  He never had been a good patient.

     "So what did I miss while I was gone?" Laura asked as she and
John walked down the corridor between the transporter room and the
turbolift to the bridge.
     "Not much," John replied.  "We had two months of Neutral Zone
border patrol, four months of odd jobs, and the last six months
were spent exploring and mapping the Omicron Omega and Omicron
Theta star systems.  Plus, one of the planets in the Omicron Omega
quadrants has intelligent life.  Their civilization is already
pushing outward in space.  In fact, they contacted us.  That's when
we returned to Federation space.  Starfleet feels it's safe to
contact them again, let them know of our existence, and invite them
into the Federation.  However, there's one problem that the captain
is worried about."
     "If I remember my charts correctly, Cardassian territory isn't
all that far from the Omicron Omega systems," Laura supplied.
     "Right.  If the Cardassians have ventured out this far, they
might get defensive about our presence there.  Especially since the
threat of war is looming over us like the other shoe is about to
drop."
     "I can see why the captain may be worried," said Laura.  "Amy
mentioned that he might be pushing himself too hard."
     "Yes," John replied tersely.
     "And," Laura continued, "she said the same might be true of
you, too."
     "Well, in either case, it will have to wait a few more weeks
until this mission is over.  First thing's first."
     "We still have about a week until we reach Omicron Omega.
Spend some time on the holodeck."
     "That's what David was doing.  Look what happened to him."
     "That's not an excuse."
     "I know," John said.

     "Finally!" David exclaimed as he stretched next to the biobed.
     "Now I want you to take it easy for awhile," Jenna was saying.
"Give that knee a little more time to heal."
     "Whatever, Doctor."
     "Why do I get the impression that you're not going to listen
to me?"
     David only grinned wickedly as he entered a cubicle.  He
stepped into the sonic shower and enjoyed the feeling of the sonic
rays as they cleansed him.  After a few minutes, he stepped out and
quickly dressed in the grey jumpsuit which was hanging in the
closet.  He exited sickbay and went to his quarters.  When he got
there, he was pleased to see that John had already fed his pets.
He then entered his bathroom and shaved and combed his hair.  Then,
he went to the closet, took his uniform out, and put it on.  As he
checked to see that all four gold discs were affixed to his collar
correctly, he had to admit that it felt good to wear them again
after six days in sickbay.   Satisfied that he looked well groomed,
he decided to go to the bridge.
     David stepped out of the turbolift.  John got up out of the
command chair and turned around.  "Welcome back, Captain," he said.
     David simply stood there and surveyed the bridge.  He noted
the quiet efficiency with which his crew worked.  It felt good to
be back.
     David walked down the horseshoe ramp to the command center and
sat in his command chair.  "Ensign, what is our current velocity?"
     Ensign Latshaw consulted the helm and replied, "We are
presently traveling at warp seven.  We will arrive at Omicron Omega
III in approximately six point five days."
     "Thank you, Ensign," David said.  "I trust Counselor Flohr is
settled back aboard."
     "She is," John replied. 
     "Good.  I think I'll go visit her.  You have the bridge,
Number One."  David exited the bridge.

     Laura looked around her office.  No appointments were
scheduled for today, but she wanted to familiarize herself with the
existing cases aboard.  She called up the list of people recently
exhibiting signs of stress.  There were only three names: David
Cardillo, John Pierce, and Andrew Claar.  All of them had shown
signs of irritation, and this was diagnosed as a result of six
months of inactivity while the Christian was on its mapping
mission.  Laura figured that the work on the first contact mission
would cure the affected crew members of their boredom.  She deleted
the problem from her agenda.  Then, with time to spare, she left
her office and headed for Ten Forward.

     David walked down the corridor to Laura's office and rang the
door buzzer.  After a few moments of silence, he tapped the
computer interface panel on the corridor wall, "Computer."
     "Working," replied the mechanical, female voice of the
computer.
     "Locate Counselor Flohr."
     "Counselor Flohr is located in Ten Forward."
     A few minutes later, David entered Ten Forward.  He gazed
around the room until his eyes settled on two people at the bar.
He recognized them as his bartender, Dave Bailey, and Ensign Kate
Wilson from engineering.  Dave had apparently said something that
Kate took offense to because she took her glass and threw the
contents in Dave's face.  Kate stormed out of the lounge.
     David walked over to Dave as he tried to dry his shirt.  "What
did you say to her?" the captain asked.
     "I asked her out," replied the bartender.
     "And that's why she did what she did?"
     "Perhaps it was my style."  Perhaps it was.  Dave had earned
himself the reputation of a ladies man since the Christian was
commissioned a year and a half ago. 
     "You never learn, do you?"
     "She'll come around, eventually."
     "Provided she doesn't hear about your reputation first.
You're lucky.  She transferred only yesterday."
     "Actually, I think she's already heard about me.  That's
probably why she turned me down.  So, how's that knee of yours?"
     "Better.  They finally let me out of sickbay this morning."
     "I heard that they had to post a guard outside the door to
keep you in bed."
     "Is nothing secret aboard this ship?" David asked
rhetorically.
     "It's a small ship."
     "It's bigger than that."  With that, David surveyed the room
again and found Laura.  She was standing in front of one of the
huge viewports and the front of the room.  David walked over to
her. 
     "I think I missed this the most while I was planetbound,"
Laura said, gazing at the streaking stars. 
     "You have windows in your quarters," David said matter-of-
factly.
     "They're too small," she said.  "Here, I can lose myself in
the stars without feeling indoors."
     "I agree," David said.
     "So, what was that mission you were off to when I left?"
     "Admiral Ahlborn assigned two months of Neutral Zone patrol to
us.  Then, she turned to Captain Picard and assigned him a week of
shore leave."
     "Well, when you're the flagship of the Federation, you can
afford the life of luxury."
     "You got that right.  But, I feel that after a year and a
half, we're starting to get our fair share of recognition."
     "Is that what has you so wound up all tight?"
     "No.  It has more to do with the Cardassian situation.  You
heard what happened to Captain Picard about a year ago."
     "Who didn't?"  Everyone had heard about Captain Picard's
capture and torture at the hands of the Cardassians.  But, of
course, Captain Picard was released and went about his life.
     "Well, with that in mind as we're practically on the border of
Cardassian space..."
     "I wouldn't worry."
     "I would.  Do you know how far away the nearest starbase
facility is?"
     "If we're lucky, these people will want membership with the
Federation.  Then we can petition them to build a starbase in orbit
of their planet."
     "That's what I hope happens."

     At fifteen hundred hours, the senior staff was seated around
the table in the conference lounge.  "All right," David began,
"let's review what we already know.  Commander?"
     "The Kraws are at a technological stage equivalent to Earth's
late twenty-first century," Kara said.
     "They have achieved planetary unity and are working together
to venture out into space.  Their ships are equipped with a
rudimentary lightspeed travel," Jeff Veenema continued.  "They can
travel at point nine seven lightspeed, just under warp one.  Their
engines run on nuclear fusion generators since they don't know
about dilithium crystals."
     "Preliminary scans of their planet reveal a thriving
ecosystem," Kara said.  "However, more detailed scans showed that
there is scarring on the planet surface which could be traced to a
phaser bombardment.  Considering how close they are to Cardassian
space, I think it important to confront the Kraws about this topic
and see if we can render assistance."
     "I agree, Captain," Lieutenant Andy Claar said.  "From what I
saw of their defensive systems, their defenses are very
rudimentary.  They don't even have rudimentary deflector shield
technology.  Their lasers might damage a ship without deflector
shields, but even navigational shields would make a ship
indestructible against an attack from them.  If the Cardassians are
giving them trouble, their trying to defend themselves, but aren't
quite succeeding."
     Turning back to Kara, John asked, "Commander, do you have any
idea what the Cardassians could possibly want from the Kraws?"
     "The same thing the Cardassians have always gone after:
territory.  It would also fit their pattern of devastate and
conquer."
     Changing the subject, David said, "Doctor, please describe the
physiology of the Kraws."
     "The Kraws are basically humanoid in form.  However, they do
have a rather interesting ability: they can change color at will,
much the same as a chameleon," Jenna replied.
     "I contacted Starfleet Command a little while ago.  Admiral
Duncan agrees with my opinion that the Prime Directive is not
applicable here.  At least we won't have to worry about tripping
over ourselves," the Captain said, then tapped his communicator,
"Mr. Latshaw, what is our arrival time at Omicron Omega III?"
     "At our current velocity of warp seven, we will arrive in
thirty-six hours and forty-one minutes," Jason replied.
     "All right," David said, "you all have about thirty-six hours
to put an agenda together.  Dismissed."

     Ensign Wilson sat alone in Ten Forward.  Her thoughts were
interrupted when Dave approached her.  He was about halfway to her
table when she gave him a cold stare and started heading for the
exit.
     "Hey, wait," Dave said, catching up to her.  At this point,
they were already in the corridor, and Dave had to almost run to
keep up with her.  "I need to talk to you for a minute."
     "That's quite all right," Kate said, trying to quicken her
pace even more without running.
     "Look, I'm trying to apologize.  If you'd just let me--"  Dave
suddenly realized that she had stopped and was behind him.  He
walked back over to her and tried to ignore the icy stare he
received from her.  He took another breath and said, "I'm sorry for
what I said the other day.  I don't know what got in me.  Usually
everyone ignores my sense of humor."
     After a few moments, she finally said, "Apology accepted."
     "So, you just transferred over?"
     "Straight out of the Academy."
     "Have you seen the rest of the ship?"
     "I haven't had time.  I've been trying to get acquainted with
the way to my quarters and back."
     "When do you get off duty?"
     "I got off an hour ago."
     "In that case, permit me to show you the way around the ship.
After my tour, you'll never get lost again."  And so, another
victim fell prey to what the crew called "The Bailey Syndrome."



                                CHAPTER TWO


Captain's Log: Stardate 47510.3  We are now two days away from
the Omicron Omega III star system.  So far the trip has been
uneventful, but our proximity to Cardassian space is reason
enough for the crew to remain alert.
   
Captain's Personal Log: Supplemental  Despite the anxiety I feel
at being this close to the Cardassians' territory, I am rather
excited about our mission.  Even though we have been commissioned
for a year and a half, we have yet to receive a first contact
mission.

    David sat back in his chair in his ready room.  Since the
Christian would be a week in transit, David had decided to spend
some time reading.  But even that was trying on his patience
after awhile. 
     And then...
     "Captain Cardillo, please report to the bridge," Lieutenant
Claar said over the intercom.
     "On my way," David acknowledged.
     David walked onto the bridge and immediately noticed a
change of atmosphere.  "What's the problem?"
     "We're receiving an emergency signal," John replied, "from a
Kraw ship."
     "From a Kraw ship?" David asked.  "If that's so, then that
would mean that they departed from Omicron Omega III within a day
after our departure.  Where is the ship now?"
     "Approximately three-point-three parsecs ahead of us," Kara
replied.  "Their emergency signal barely reached us, but it's
signal intensity is increasing as we get closer."
     "ETA?" David asked.
     "Two minutes, forty seconds at present speed," Ensign
Latshaw replied.
     "Prepare to go to impulse power in about two minutes, then,"
David said.  "Yellow Alert."
     The aft alert indicators turned from an orange hue to a deep
amber.  Andy touched a few more buttons on his console and said,
"All decks have reported in."
     "Acknowledged," David said.  Now there was nothing to do but
wait.
     The two minutes seemed to stretch for an eternity.  Instead
of the normal bantering, joking, and plain socializing that
usually occurred on the bridge, in fact had been occurring on the
bridge just a few minutes ago, the bridge had a quiet eeriness
disturbed only by the beeps and whistles of the crew performing
their duty and the computer's responses.
     Jason's voice, when he spoke, shattered the uncomfortable
silence, "Slowing to impulse power...now."  His fingers touched
down on the board, and the stars changed from streaks of light to
fixed positions on a featureless black background.
     The Kraw ship with which they were intercepting was almost
indistinguishable from the stars, nevertheless, the crew were able
to spot the ship.
     "Magnify," David ordered.  Kara input the command into her Ops
console, and the Kraw ship suddenly loomed in the viewer, taking up
over half of the screen.
     David looked the vessel over.  There was no visible damage to
the vessel, however it was obviously drifting in space.  "Open
hailing frequencies."
     There was the familiar chirp accompanied by Andy's voice,
"Hailing frequencies open."
     "Kraw vessel, this is Captain David Cardillo of the Federation
starship Christian.  Please respond."
     Since the Kraws did not yet have the technology to transmit a
visual image to the Christian that the Christian's computer would
understand, the reply was only over an audio channel.  The voice
seemed to have a slight lisp as it answered, "Captain Cardillo.  I
am glad to hear your voice again.  This is Captain Almak."
     David remembered Almak's voice.  It was the voice which hailed
the Christian three weeks ago.  "Yes, Captain Almak," David
replied.  "How can we be of assistance to you?"
     "I have grave news to tell you, Captain.  The scaled ones have
attacked our planet.  There are three ships.  We were sent to seek
assistance from you," Almak said in an almost pleading voice.
     Before David could respond, Kara waved him over to her
station.  David signaled Andy to mute the transmission, and Andy
nodded in confirmation.  "Commander?" David asked Kara.
     "All of their power has been directed into communication,
Captain.  I've scanned their vessel, and they've crammed their crew
onto the bridge.  Their life support has failed throughout the rest
of the ship."
     "Open," David said to Andy.  After the beep that signaled that
the audio channel was open, he said, "Captain Almak, our sensors
indicate that your life support has failed.  I would like to have
you and your crew beamed aboard.  We will then use a tractor beam
to put your ship in one of our shuttle bays."
     "Tractor beam?" Almak asked.
     "An energy beam used to move massive objects and to tow
ships," David explained.
     "I'm afraid we have little choice but to agree to your
proposal," Almak said.
     "Stand by to beam over, then.  Cardillo out."  The channel was
closed.  Turning to John, David said, "Number One, please escort
them to the briefing room."
     "Aye, sir," John acknowledged as he entered the turbolift.
     "Mr. Claar, lock on a tractor beam on the Kraws' ship.  Store
it in shuttle bay three.  When you're done with that, join us in
the briefing room."
     "Yes, sir," Andy said.
     "Computer, alert all senior staff to report to the briefing
room," David said.  "Mr. Latshaw, you have the bridge."  David and
Kara exited the bridge as Lieutenant John Jones took over the Ops
station.
     The main briefing room was conveniently located behind the
bridge.  The room was rather darkly lit with a long table curved in
the same slight curve that the room itself was shaped.  There were
door on either end of the room, one leading to the bridge, and the
other leading to a short corridor at the end of which was a
turbolift.  Also, at either end of the room, were square
viewscreens linked to the small computer interface panels on the
table surface.  Along the forward wall was a large, picture of the
Christian sailing among the stars.  However, David was most
impressed with the viewports along the aft wall.  He walked over to
the windows and looked out at the stars.  The view was impressive,
but not as impressive as the view when the Christian traveled at
warp speed.
     The doors on the left side of the lounge hissed open, and
John, with five Kraws, entered the lounge.  Almost simultaneously,
the doors on the right side of the lounge opened, and Andy entered.
David gave him an inquiring glance, and Andy said, "The Kraw ship
is secured in shuttle bay three."  David merely acknowledged the
report and sat down, as did Andy, Kara, John, the five Kraws, and
Dr. Wadsworth and Counselor Flohr who had entered behind John and
the Kraws.
     This was the first face-to-face meeting between the Kraws and
the Federation.  Almak, although the average size of a human, even
the appearance of a human, seemed unusually alien.  David realized
it was because he was a deep shade of gray.  Despite the intense
biological profile obtained from sensor scans, David felt
unprepared for this meeting.  When described as chameleon, David
expected Almak to turn the blue or beige or even silver colors of
the briefing lounge, but instead he remained stoically gray.
     "Excuse me," Almak said, "but why is everyone here feeling
extremely amorous?"
     David almost choked.  "Pardon?"
     "Your color.  Are you feeling amorous at this instant?"
     "No," David said carefully.  Then it hit him.  "Do emotions
contribute to the color of your skin?"
     "Of course.  Emotions will color our skin before the
environment will."
     Another one of the Kraws spoke up, "Are you all the same
color?"
     "No," John replied.  "Humans can be several different colors.
Plus, many of the other races we have encountered are different
colors than us."
     "But," said another Kraw, "you remain the same color
throughout your life?"
     "Yes," said Dr. Wadsworth. 
     "I hate to interrupt," David lied, "but the physiology will
have to wait until later.  Captain Almak, please explain why you're
out this far away from Omicron Omega III?"
     Suddenly turning a deep shade of purple, Almak said, "The
scaled ones have returned.  The ones who raid and plunder our land,
then take nothing.  Our sociologists have hypothesized that they do
this to break our wills into submission."
     "Cardassians," John muttered.
     Recognition flared into Almaks eyes.  "You know of them?"
     "We've had a war with the Cardassians," David said.  "They've
always been after more territory.  They've forced people off their
own planets just to increase their empire.  Considering how close
you are to their border, these raids aren't too surprising."
     Shaking his head sadly, Almak continued, "It takes us years to
rebuild.  Then they come and destroy us again.  Captain, when we
first saw your vessel a few weeks ago, we thought our destruction
was guaranteed.  But you did not attack, and that is why we came to
investigate."
     David sat, as did the Kraws and everyone else.  "Captain,"
David said, "do you ask for our help?"  Despite the fact that the
Kraws already were pushing out into space, the laws of the
Federation and the Prime Directive had to be observed.
     "Yes," was Almak's reply.  A sigh seemed to go around the
table.
     "Then we will help you," David said.  "Please, tell us
everything."
     Almak took a breath and began, "The Cardassians, or whatever
these killers call themselves, have brought about destruction on
our planet for the last one hundred years.  Each time, they kill
and destroy without even accepting out surrenders.  At first, it
was only one ship which came.  We had build a fleet of five ships,
and we had devised a tactical plan after one of the raids.  It
worked.  We had destroyed the ship.  But within hours, three more
ships arrived.  Our fleet was destroyed.  Since then, they have
come in threes, orbited the planet for days, destroying
transportation equipment, not only destroying us, but making it
difficult to help the injured and dying as well.
     "This time around, our fleet of three was launched.  The other
two ships were to be a distraction.  My brother was on one ship; my
wife on the other.  We got away because of their sacrifice."  At
this, Almak turned a deep blue, and David saw a tear fall down the
side of his face.
     David's own expression remained impassive, as the rest of his
crew looked to him.  Turning to Jenna and Laura, he said,
"Counselor Flohr, Dr. Wadsworth, please escort our guests down to
sickbay.  Doctor, I want you to give them a thorough examination
to determine what their norm is.  Then, start converting the
shuttlebays into emergency triage centers, brief your planetbound
staff to the specifications of the Kraws, and prepare sickbay for
shipboard casualties from our conflict with the Cardassians.
Counselor, once Dr. Wadsworth is finished examining the Kraws,
escort them to their quarters and make your services completely
available to them."
     Jenna and Laura nodded as they and the Kraws left the
conference lounge.  Tapping his communicator David said, "Captain
to bridge.  Mr. Latshaw, at warp nine, what is our ETA to Omicron
Omega III?"
     There was a pause, and then Jason replied, "Two hours,
thirteen minutes."
     "Make it so," David said.  Within moments, the beautiful,
swirling colors of the formation of the warp field filled the aft
windows, then the Christian flew past the stars.




                               CHAPTER THREE

     David circled the bridge, waiting for the confrontation which
was now only minutes away.
     He waited.
     "Approaching Omicron Omega III," Ensign Latshaw said.
     "Go to impulse power," David ordered.  "Red Alert.  Raise
shields.  Arm phaser banks and load torpedo bays."
     Lieutenant Claar entered the commands into the tactical
station, then looked up at the captain and nodded.
     David turned to face the viewscreen.  The Earth-type planet
of Omicron Omega III filled the bottom right corner of the
viewscreen.  Three Cardassian warships filled the middle of the
screen as they approached the Christian.
     David tugged at his uniform tunic, and, straightening, said,
"Open hailing frequencies."
     "Frequencies open," Claar said.
     "Cardassian vessels, this is Captain David Cardillo of the
Federation starship Christian.  We order you to desist your
hostile activities and depart from this sector immediately.
Failure to comply will be interpreted as a hostile action."
     The Cardassians continued to approach.
     Cardillo looked at Claar, who shook his head.  Cardillo
looked back at the viewer and said, "Close channel.  Mr. Latshaw,
bring us to 214 mark 30.  Mr. Claar, lock phasers on the lead
vessel."
     "Phasers locked on target."
     "Fire."  The deep red phaser beam lanced out of the
Christian's upper phaser ring and scored a direct hit on the
Cardassian vessel.
     "Direct hit," Commander Crossland said, "Their forward
armament is damaged.  Shields down by two-thirds."
     The Cardassians retaliated.  A barrage of photon torpedoes
was launched at the Christian from the two undamaged ships.
     "Evasive maneuvers!" Cardillo said.  Latshaw's hands flew
across the helm, and the Christian banked to the left, avoiding
most of the torpedoes.  However, the remaining torpedoes shook
the ship as they impacted with the shields.  "Damage?" Cardillo
asked.
     "Minor damage to the secondary hull," Pierce reported.
"Shields down by ten percent."
     "Captain, the Cardassians are taking position around us,"
Claar said.
     "Mr. Latshaw, on my mark, execute the Two-Dimensional
Maneuver."
     Latshaw tapped his console and said, "Aye, sir."
     Within seconds, the three Cardassian vessels surrounded the
Christian in a triangle formation.
     "Execute!" David ordered.  Latshaw pressed the engage button
on the helm, and the Christian descended two thousand meters at
warp one, then completed a parabolic maneuver which placed it
outside of the Cardassians' triangle.  One of the as-yet-undamaged
vessels was directly in front of the Christian.  "Fire torpedoes,"
David ordered.  A spread of five red photon torpedoes shot out from
the Christian and impacted with the Cardassian vessel.  The vessel
then became a blazing fireball, which was smothered by the vacuum
of space.  Unfortunately, the fireball had provided cover for one
of the other Cardassian vessels, which promptly fired another
volley of torpedoes.  Latshaw couldn't even begin to enter evasive
maneuvers.  No one could.  The ship shuddered and buckled.
Cardillo had grabbed onto the back of Crossland's chair for balance
as the lights on the bridge flickered.  "Return fire," David barked
over the confusion.  The phasers were again activated, and the
beams contacted with the Cardassian vessel.
     "Damage report," Pierce said.
     "Shields are down to twenty-three percent," Crossland replied.
"Phasers reduced to one-third intensity.  Moderate damage to
primary and secondary hulls."
     "What about the Cardassians?" Cardillo asked.
     Claar looked up from his tactical station, "The first vessel
we fired upon is leaving at warp three.  I'm reading a power build
up in the vessel we just fired upon.  It also has a loss of warp
drive and defensive systems.  Captain, that vessel has set its
auto-destruct and has set a collision course with the planet!"
     "Phaser it!" Cardillo ordered.
     "We can't.  At one-third intensity, we can only blow it apart
a piece at a time.  Time we don't have," Kara said.
     "What about torpedoes?" Pierce asked.
     "The power couplings for the forward launchers have just gone
off line," Claar reported.
     "Lock on a tractor beam," Cardillo ordered.
     "Captain," John said, "With all due respect, you're crazy."
     "I said lock on tractor beam."
     "Tractor beam locking on," Claar said.
     "Full impulse power," Cardillo ordered.  "Mr. Latshaw, when I
give the order, I want you to bring the engines to a full reverse,
regardless of the strain on the ship.  At the same time, Mr. Claar,
I want you to release the tractor beam."
     After a few moments, Cardillo said, "Now."  The Cardassian
vessel, carried by its own inertia, continued to go forward, while
the Christian's engines whined in protest as the ship reversed its
direction.  The Cardassian vessel exploded, and the Christian
rocked gently from the aftershocks of the explosion.
     "Bridge, this is engineering," came Commander Veenema's voice.
"What the hell is going on up there?"
     "Nothing anymore, Mr. Veenema," David said.  "The battle's
over.  Begin repairs.  I'll be down in a few minutes.  Sickbay."
     "Sickbay here," came Jenna's reply.
     "Doctor, how many casualties?"
     "Amazingly enough, there were no fatalities.  However, Dr.
Hutts, Dr. Lisem, and myself are in the process of treating the one
hundred and fifty-three injured crewmen.  I can beam down to the
planet along with the nine teams of doctors and nurses I've
selected; Hutts and Lisem can treat the burn victims and perform
the surgeries on the three crewmen who need them.  Dr. Skonst, Dr.
Stak, and Dr. T'Lats, my Vulcan doctors, are ready in the triage
shuttlebays."
     "Stand by to beam down, then," David said.  "Number One?"
     Standing, John said, "Commander Crossland, Lieutenant Claar,
with me."  The trio entered the turbolift.
     "Standard orbit secure," Jason said.

     John, Kara, Andy, Jenna, and Almak entered transporter room
one.  John had decided that one of the Kraws should beam down with
each away team to explain to the other Kraws that the Federation
officers were there to help.
     "I have locations picked out for beamdown sights for all the
transporter rooms," transporter chief Jerry Nowasielski said.
     "Phasers on stun," John said.  "Don't even draw them unless I
tell you."  The away team adjusted their phaser setting
accordingly.  Then, they stood on the transporter platform.
     "Energize," John ordered.  The transporter beam sparkled, and
then the away team found themselves on the surface of Omicron Omega
III. 
     Through all his years in Starfleet, John had never been
greeted by such a sight.  Dead littered the landscape; fires burned
in the background, and the stench of blood filled the air.
     A moan was heard.
     Jenna took out her medical tricorder and traced the life form.
She stopped when she came to a giant sheet of metal.  Turning to
John, she said, "He's under here."
     John and Andy tried to lift the debris, but the metal wouldn't
budge.  "Whoever is under there, don't move.  We'll get you out in
just a few minutes."  John took Jenna's tricorder and motioned Andy
to stand next to him.  John quickly outlined where the Kraw was,
and he and Andy drew their phasers.  Adjusting the phasers to a
setting which would cut through the metal, they aimed and fired.
The metal began to turn red where the phasers sliced through it,
and a rectangle was cut.  Within seconds, a section of the metal
was cut away.  John and Andy tried once again to lift the smaller
section of the metal, and this time lifted the debris off of the
Kraw.  Jenna took her tricorder and passed it over the Kraw.
     "He has massive internal injuries, but nothing we can't fix,"
Jenna said.  She took out her hypospray and injected the contents
into the Kraw.  "That should stabilize him." 
     John tapped his communicator, "Pierce to Christian.  Prepare
to beam the injured Kraw to sickbay."
     "Acknowledged," came Nowasielski's voice.  A few seconds
later, the injured Kraw dematerialized.
     The away team spread out, looking for more survivors in need
of help.

     David walked into engineering, a little unprepared for what he
saw.  About half of the consoles were strewn across the floor.  He
looked around, but couldn't find Jeff anywhere.  Instead, he went
up to Jeff's assistant, Lieutenant Ahlborn, and asked, "What the
hell is going on down here?"
     "We're picking up the pieces of our little skirmish.  Jeff
says to tell you that the next time you decide to take on three
Cardassian warships to give him a little warning in advance."
     "I'll keep that in mind," David said, with a hint of sarcasm
in his voice.  "Where is Commander Veenema?"
     "Somewhere in his office," James said, not looking up from his
work.
     David went into the chief engineer's office and found Jeff
sitting on the floor with a stack of isolinear optical chips in
front of him.  "Up for a game of dominoes?" David asked.
     "Sure," Jeff said.  "Want to see all of our key systems go
down?"
     David got to the point, "How long will repairs take?"
     "A good couple of hours."
     "I was hoping for something a little more specific."
     "I can't give you anything specific.  We're still uncovering
the damage.  I can tell you this: if any more Cardassians show up,
we haven't got a prayer."
     "Exactly which systems are affected?  Engines?  Defense?
Communications?"
     "Everything seems to be in the defense systems, however a few
subsystems here and there have collapsed.  We won't be combat-ready
for at least three hours."
     "And then?"
     "Maybe fifty percent on shields and phaser intensity.  I think
I can safely say that you'll have full photon torpedo capability,
but I won't guarantee anything just yet."
     "Is that the best you can do overall?  Or just in three
hours?"
     Jeff faked being stabbed through the heart.  "Just three
hours, sir.  I should think that, given enough time, I can have
everything back in the ninety percent area."
     David smiled and said, "Good.  Keep me apprised.  In the
meantime, I'll contact Starbase 155 and ask for assistance.
Hopefully, at warp nine, a vessel will be here in three to four
days.  If we can just last that long..."
     "Captain, you know that there's a good chance that the
Cardassians will be sending more vessels.  They don't take a slap
in the face too well.  In the meantime, I'll do my part down here."
     "That's all any of us ask of you, Mr. Veenema."

     David entered his ready room, sat down at his desk, and opened
the intercom channel to the bridge, "Bridge, contact Starbase 155
on a secured channel."
     "Acknowledged," came the reply from the tactical officer on
duty.  While waiting for the connection to be established, David
figured that since Starbase 155 was closer to Omicron Omega III
than Starbase 157 was, relief aid would hopefully arrive in only a
few days instead of a week.
     The connection was finally established, and the face of
Admiral Charlotte Byrd appeared on the desk terminal.  "Captain,"
she began, "have you arrived at your destination?"
     "Yes," David said.
     "I trust all is well?"
     "Not exactly."  David related to her the events of the last
few hours.  "I'm requesting emergency assistance.  We'd be kidding
ourselves if we believe that the Cardassians won't respond to
this."               
     Byrd nodded in agreement.  "We'll send the Monitor and the
Excalibur.  Have you established contact with the planetary
government?"
     "Not yet.  Our teams beamed down to the planet less than
thirty minutes ago.  I'm not sure if their Prime Minister is alive,
but I'll send word for them to look for him."
     "Without an official request from the planetary government,
for help, I can't authorize preconstruction materials for a
starbase to be sent with the Monitor and the Excalibur."
     David sighed.  "Admiral, these people need our help now.  They
have requested it.  I know it's not the planetary government, but
in light of the possibility that there may not be a planetary
government anymore..."
     "I can sympathize with that.  But the Prime Directive and
Federation and Starfleet regulations are quite clear..."
     "On our mission to help people who request it.  The
Cardassians have been oppressing these people for a century,
interrupting their natural course of development.  I cannot accept
the fact that we're supposed to just let these people fend for
themselves while innocent people die.  They've asked for our help,
and I believe we should give it to them."
     Byrd took a moment to absorb all of this.  Then, almost
grudgingly, she said, "I'll see what I can do.  But I'm still going
out on a limb.  I hope you find that prime minister or whatever
because it'll sure make my life a lot easier."
     "Understood," David said, a smile starting to form.
     "The Monitor and the Excalibur, even at warp nine, won't
arrive for nearly three days.  I'll pray for your chief engineer.
In the meantime, use your discretion and judgement according to the
situation.  I suggest you go on silent running, lest the
Cardassians come prepared for all three ships.  Byrd out."  The
screen flashed the END TRANSMISSION message, and faded back to its
black screen. 

     "Damn!" Jenna exclaimed as yet another Kraw died.  So far, ten
Kraws had died despite her efforts to stabilize them.  In an
attempt to fight her exasperation, she tried to think about the
thirty Kraws she had sent to the ship already.  As in to help her
in her efforts, John walked over to her.
     "I've just reported in," he said.  "The other twenty-three
away teams have beamed up over two hundred survivors.  The ship has
also completed a detailed orbit; we've gotten just about everyone
we can help.  Once we're finished in here, we're returning to the
ship."
     Andy ran another scan of the building that they were in.
"Commander, I have another life reading.  Over there," Andy pointed
to the far end of the room were the twisted remains of a computer
were.
     Andy and John pulled the debris away as Jenna prepared her
instruments to try to save this poor person.  Finally, John and
Andy had pulled enough of the slag away that the Kraw's head and
shoulders were visible.  Then, they got on either side of him and
John said, "On three.  Ready, one, two...three." Together, they
hauled the Kraw away from the debris.
     Jenna passed her tricorder over the survivor.  He had lost a
large amount of blood, and Jenna soon saw why.
     His right hand was missing.
     Jenna quickly injected a combination of drugs into the Kraw
which would stabilize him; and she quickly sealed the gaping wound
of the Kraw's stump. 
     Andy looked up from his third and final reading and said, "I
detect no other life forms in this building."
     "Good," Jenna said, packing up her medkit.  "We're finished.
I need to get him to sickbay and fix his hand."
     John tapped his communicator, "Pierce to Christian.  Six to
beam directly to sickbay."  John, Kara, Andy, Jenna, Almak, and the
injured Kraw dematerialized.

     The away team beamed into a sickbay that was bustling with
activity.  Upon seeing the injured Kraw, three nurses immediately
attended to him, placing him on a surgical biobed.
     Jenna was already galvanized into action, "Hutts, T'Medreks,
Miller, prepare for surgical prosthetic replacement."
     The remainder of the away team departed sickbay so as not to
be in the way.  Once they were in the corridor, Almak said,
"Commander Pierce, I must speak with you."
     "About?" John asked.
     "That survivor."
     "He'll be all right," John said.  "Dr. Wadsworth is going to
give him a prosthetic right hand.  The only problem will be getting
the new skin to change color like the rest of him will be able to."
     Almak nodded, "That is good to hear, but it was not what I was
concerned about."
     "Then, what?"
     "That man is Prime Minister Bodum."

     Dave escorted Ensign Wilson into Ten Forward.  "You need to
take a break more often from those repairs," Dave was saying.
     Kate shook her head, "I can't.  Commander Veenema wants us to
be combat-ready as soon as possible in case the Cardassians decide
to follow up on their previous attack."
     "Humph," Dave said as he went behind the bar.  "Well, anyway,
let me get you something to drink."
     "Uh, no, I don't think..."
     Dave had already replicated a glass of something.  As he was
carrying it over to where Kate was sitting at the bar, the glass
morphised into a heap of replicated plastic, spilling the contents
all over Dave's shirt.
     "Oh well," Dave said, stripping off his shirt and putting it
on the replicator platform.  "I'll just put it through the wash and
dry cycle."  Before Kate could object, Dave's shirt disappeared.
About thirty seconds later, something sparkled at the replicator.
When the process was complete, Dave removed the liquified remains
of his shirt which were in a container.
     "That's what I wanted to tell you," Kate said.  "One of the
subsytems that crashed was the replicator systems.  We've been
getting reports from all over the ship.  People replicate things,
but the state of matter changes.  One guy's meal vaporized right as
he was about to start eating it."
     Dave simply looked at the remnants of his shirt and whimpered,
"My shirt."

     John, Kara, Andy, Jenna, and the captain were seated around
the briefing room table.  "Your report, Number One," David said
without preamble.
     John straightened, "The planet has suffered a very devastating
attack, however the people are recovering quickly.  One of our
stops was at the local hospital.  We had supplies beamed down, and
that helped to alleviate their troubles.  Doctor?"
     Jenna spoke up, "We still have a dozen teams on the planet.
They seem to be doing well down there with the facilities they
have.  In the meantime, on board ship, we have some five hundred
refugees in the triage centers.  Hopefully, they can be returned to
the planet within the next few days.  In fact, since my Vulcan
interns are so adept, some of them are already being sent home."
     "How are they handling all of this, Doctor?" Cardillo asked.
     "Laura's the best one to ask, but offhand, I'd say they're
handling this rather well.  Some of the patients have had
prosthetic replacements and skin grafts, but they're coping well."
     "In fact, it's one of the prosthetic-receiving patients that
we need to discuss," John said.  "We found the Prime Minister."
     Cardillo sighed.  "Well, that get's me off the hook."
     The intercom beeped, and Dr. Hutts' voice came over, "Sickbay
to Dr. Wadsworth."
     "Go ahead," Jenna said.
     "Doctor, Prime Minister Bodum is starting to regain
consciousness."

     David walked into sickbay and up to Bodum.  At the moment,
Bodum was talking to Jenna about his new prosthetic.  "So, you say
it will work as well as the original?" he asked.
     "Better, in some ways.  But first, you'll need some therapy."
     "And you say that my skin will be able to change color again?"
     "Once the skin grafts finish healing, which will be in a
couple of days."
     "Thank you, good doctor," Bodum said.
     "Prime Minister," David said, "I'm Captain Cardillo."
     "Captain," Bodum said, "I'm very glad to see you.  Please,
tell me the status of my planet."
     "It's in good hands," David replied.  "Our teams have been
planetside all day.  However, the stamina of your people is
remarkable.  The uninjured are already effecting repairs, and we're
offering assistance."
     "Tell me, will you be able to protect us?"
     "For the time being.  Two other starships are on their way
with planetary defense systems.  All I need is an official
statement that you are requesting them."
     "I'd be pretty stupid if I didn't request them."
     "Good.  All you have to do is tell my superior that when Dr.
Wadsworth releases you from her compound.  The starships will
arrive in a few days, and the defenses will be installed within a
week or so.  Also, if you so desire, we can put a starbase on your
planet."
     "In that case, I guess I'd better apply to your Federation for
membership."
     "If you want to.  On the other hand, if you don't want to
apply for membership, we will still provide you with the necessary
defenses."
     Bodum seemed to be in a state of shock.  He was, quite
literally, white.  "You would do all of this for us?  What can I
possibly offer in return?"
     David simply smiled and said, "You owe us nothing, except
maybe your gratitude."
     "You have that.  Thank you so very much, Captain.  The
Cardassians have oppressed us for so long that we forget that there
are others in this Universe with compassion."
     Then, Lieutenant Claar's voice came over the intercom,
"Captain Cardillo, please report to the bridge.  We have a serious
problem."

                               CHAPTER FOUR

     David walked onto the bridge and went over to Lieutenant Claar's
station.  "What's the problem?"
     "Sensors just picked up a Monga-Class vessel entering this
sector.  The vessel is travelling at warp nine point three, and
will arrive in approximately fifteen minutes," Claar reported.
     "Computer," David said, "have all senior staff report to the
bridge in five minutes."  Then, to Claar, Cardillo said, "I'll be
in my ready room."
     Five minutes later, Cardillo came out of his ready room,
stood at the center of the bridge, and said, "We have a problem.
The Cardassians have decided to retaliate.  They are doing so
with one of their new Monga-Class warships.  According to
Starfleet intelligence reports, this new class of warship is the
Cardassian response to the Federation Galaxy-Class starship.  It
all boils down to this, at peak condition, we'd have a run for
our money.  I've decided that our best chance lies in separating
the saucer section."
     "Captain," Commander Pierce said, "I formally protest your
decision.  The Christian stands a better chance if she remains
intact.  If we were to separate, the saucer section would be at a
great disadvantage."
     "Objection noted, Number One," David said, then turned to
Jeff, "Commander Veenema, what is our current defense status?"
     Veenema straightened, "Not good.  Shields are still at only
sixty-seven percent operation.  Phasers are at fifty-nine percent
intensity."
     "Now, what would those stats be if we were talking about the
stardrive section only?"
     "Shields would be in the ball park of eighty percent; and
phasers would be in the seventy percent range.  But, if we get hit
by a Monga-Class warship, those numbers will deteriorate pretty
quickly."
     "So the objective then becomes, don't get hit.  The stardrive
section has greater maneuverability without the saucer section, so
therefore evasive maneuvers will be our saving point.  It's
something the tacticians haven't come up with that I'm willing to
gamble on.  And please, if anyone has any better ideas, your input
would be appreciated."
     Crossland spoke up, "Instead of leaving the saucer section as
a sitting duck, couldn't we hide it in the planet's ocean?"
     "That's a good idea," Veenema said.  "With all the marine life
forms, the saucer section would be well hidden.  Plus, it's the
last place I'd look for a starship."
     David considered it for a moment.  The engines of the saucer
section would be able to function in the planet's atmosphere, and
they would also work under water with no harm to the marine life.
It would also be able to go to any depth without worry of water
pressure because the structural integrity field would certainly be
able to maintain the hull integrity.  The only problem would be
entering the planet's atmosphere.  "Can the shields of the saucer
section enable the ship to enter the planet's atmosphere without
burning up?" he asked.
     Veenema consulted his console, "They should.  Without having
to worry about the stardrive section, entry into the planet's
atmosphere should be rather smooth."
     "Good," Cardillo said.  "Commander Crossland, since this was
your idea, you'll take command of the saucer section.  Number One,
Lieutenant Claar, Lieutenant Jones, Mr. Veenema, report to the
battle bridge.  Doctor, how long will it take to clear people out
of shuttle bays two and three?"
     Jenna consulted the console next to where she was sitting.
She was actually a little surprised at the results herself.  "Not
long.  My Vulcan interns have sent most of our patients home
already.  There are only 137 Kraws left on board, thirty-seven of
which are in the stardrive section.  It'll only take a few minutes,
and I'll get started on it right away."
     Cardillo noted that John was still on the bridge; the others
having reported to the battle bridge.  "Is there a problem,
Commander?"
     "Yes," John said.  "I think I should command the saucer
section."
     "No.  I need you to be at the helm.  Besides, if I leave you
in charge of the saucer section, it's likely that you'll violate my
next order."  David turned to Kara, "If the battle section is
destroyed, you are not to leave the planet until the Monitor and
the Excalibur arrive."
     "Understood," Kara said.
     "By the way, Commander, you realize that it hasn't even been
hypothesized that the saucer section can hide in an ocean of a
planet.  According to the books, if a saucer section enters a
planetary atmosphere, it's usually for an irrecoverable crash
landing.  I sincerely hope that you're able to keep the saucer
section salvageable."
     "Well, we'll be landing in water.  Water gives way.  Land
doesn't."
     David nodded and entered the turbolift to the battle bridge.
When he arrived, he received the message that, instead of just
removing the Kraws to the main shuttle bay, they were being
evacuated to the medical facilities on the planet; and that Captain
Almak was lightening the load a little by taking some of the other
Kraws to the planet via his ship.  David watched the Kraw ship head
for the planet on the viewscreen.  "Status of the Cardassian
vessel?" he asked.
     "They've slowed to sublight speed," Claar reported from the
tactical station behind David.  "Arrival time in seven minutes."
     "Crossland to Cardillo.  Ready for separation."
     "Proceed," David said.
     "Saucer separation sequence initiated," Crossland said.
     The sound of the docking latches being released and the
connections being pulled free and sealed reverberated throughout
the ship.  On the viewscreen, David watched as the saucer section
raised above the stardrive section and proceeded forward.
     "Docking latches clear.  Separation sequence completed,"
Veenema reported from engineering.
     "Saucer velocity at 400 kph and increasing, sir," Lieutenant
Jones reported from Ops.
     "Commander Pierce, lay in an intercept course for the
Cardassian vessel.  Three-quarters impulse," David said.
     "Course laid in, sir," Pierce said.
     "Engage."

     "Entering upper atmosphere," Lieutenant Scott reported.
     "Shield status?" Kara asked.
     "Holding, Commander," Lieutenant Fraser reported.
     "Take us in," Kara said.
     The saucer section entered the planet's atmosphere.  On the
viewscreen, the bridge crew watched as the friction of the shields
impacted with the atmosphere.
     "Hull temperature at 4000 degrees celsius and increasing,"
Lieutenant Ahlborn reported from the engineering station.
     "Maintain course," Kara ordered.  The saucer section continued
its descent.
     "We're passed the upper atmosphere," Latshaw reported.
     "Hull temperature falling," James said.
     On the viewscreen, instead of the customary stars, the crew
saw clouds, beneath which was the wide, blue ocean.  In was an
unusual sight, to say the least. 
     "Ensign, slow to 100 kph." 
     "Aye, Commander," Jason said.  His hands touched down on the
helm, and the saucer slowed. 
     Kara tabbed the "buttons" on the armrests of the command
chair.  She made a few calculations, then said, "Continue
deceleration and put us at a thirty degree angle of descent.
Shields at five percent power."
     "Entering ocean," Jason reported.  The saucer section splashed
into the ocean.  Everyone had to grab their stations as the saucer
impacted with the water, but once the saucer was under water, the
jarring was reduced to swaying as the waves toyed with the
starship.
     "Mr. Latshaw, level us off.  Mr. Ahlborn, adjust inertial
dampeners to compensate for the water currents."  The orders were
acknowledged.  "Ensign, maneuvering thrusters.  Take us down ten
kilometers."  Jason complied. 
     "Ten kilometers," Jason reported.
     "All stop," Kara said.  "Thrusters to station-keeping."  Kara
got up from the command chair and approached the viewer.  The
starship's running lights illuminated the depths of the ocean.  The
bridge crew was able to see the myriad numbers of marine life, as
well as the many coral formations on the viewscreen.  Kara simply
muttered, "`To boldly go where no one has gone before.'"

     "Open hailing frequencies," David ordered.
     "Frequencies open," Claar reported.
     "Cardassian vessel, this is Captain David D. Cardillo of the
U.S.S. Christian.  We wish communication with you."
     The screen flickered with the scaled face of a Cardassian who
said, "I am Gul Markon.  You have no business in this sector."
     "On the contrary.  We are investigating Omicron Omega III;
they are in the process of applying for Federation membership."
     "I repeat: You have no business in this sector.  I suggest you
leave.  Otherwise there may be some...unfortunate...incident."
     "Is that a threat?"
     "It is a suggestion."
     "I'm sorry, but we can't leave just yet.  We are providing
relief aid to the planet."
     "I'm sorry to hear that."  Markon cut the communication.
     "Close channel," David said.  "Any move that ship makes, match
it."
     The Cardassian vessel moved off to the right, and the
stardrive section blocked its path.  The Cardassians tried the
left, but the stardrive section wouldn't let them pass.  The
Cardassians fired, and Pierce successfully evaded the attack.  The
two vessels tumbled through space, firing at each other.  The
Christian scored a good number of hits on the Cardassians,
effectively depleting the Cardassian vessel's shields, but the
Christian herself continued to dodge the Cardassians weapons.
     John was doing a good job at the helm; and Andy was a good
shot at tactical. 
     "Engineering to bridge.  Were starting to overload down here,"
came Jeff's voice.
     "Hold on a while longer, Mr. Veenema," David said.
     The Cardassians fired another barrage, and John entered
another set of commands into the helm, which was starting to become
sluggish.  This time, John wasn't able to completely evade the
attack.  The shields absorbed most of the attack, and the Christian
shuddered violently.
     Once David regained his bearings, he looked at the viewscreen.
He was staring right at the Cardassian vessel.  "Fire all weapons!"
he ordered.  Phasers and torpedoes leapt forth from the Christian
and contacted with the Cardassian vessel.  The Cardassian vessel
was pushed back.
     "We got 'em," Claar reported. "Most of their systems are down.
However, they are starting an energy buildup into their weapons
systems.  Looks like they're putting everything into one final
blast."
     "Evasive maneuvers," David ordered.  Nothing happened.  Then,
the bridge lights dimmed.  "Damn!  We're in trouble now," David
said as he watched the Cardassian weapons start to glow.
     "The computer has initiated an emergency shutdown of the
engines due to radiation leaks and overloads," Jones reported.
     "Emergency manual override.  Depressurize the docking clamps,
the turboshafts, everything you can that will push us down," David
said.  The docking clamps and turboshaft seals were opened, and the
oxygen exploded into space, pushing the Christian down and out of
the way of the Cardassian blast.  The beam passed through where the
Christian had been just seconds before.  "Depressurize shuttle bay
two," Cardillo ordered.  "Divert all remaining energy into the
weapons systems.  Hold for my order."
     Shuttle bay two was depressurized, and the Christian began to
spin around.  On the viewscreen, David was able to see the
underside of one of the warp engine pylons of the Cardassian
vessel.  "Fire phasers," he ordered.  The phasers fired and sheared
off the pylon with the accompanying warp engine.  The Cardassian
vessel rocked with interior explosions.  "Fire torpedo," David
said.  A photon torpedo contacted the Cardassian vessel, and the
vessel exploded entirely.  David sat in the command chair and
breathed a sigh of relief.  But it wasn't over yet.  "Damage
report."
     "Coming in, sir," Claar said.  "Functioning on emergency
power.  We have several radiation leaks which have been sealed by
emergency doors and bulkheads.  Seventeen people in sickbay with
radiation wounds.  Commander Veenema is attempting to restore
auxiliary power, but can't give a time estimate yet."
     "So we wait," David said.

     "Commander, there's something out there," Lieutenant Fraser
reported from the tactical station.
     "On screen," Kara said.  The viewscreen flickered back on and
showed the depths of the ocean.  There was an indiscernible object
at the center of the screen.  "Magnify."  The object became larger.
"Increase to fifteen times."  The screen flickered again, and a
large, whale-type animal appeared.  "Lieutenant Scott, sensors.
What is it?"
     Julie ran her hands over the board and said, "It's a mammal
approximately fifty feet long.  The computer has identified it as
a whale species."
     At that moment, the creature obviously took notice of the
Christian and started approaching it.  "Decrease magnification,"
Kara ordered.  The screen flickered again, but the creature still
was nose-to-nose with the Christian.  "It obviously moves fast,"
Kara commented.
     "Receiving a transmission," Fraser said.
     "On speakers," Kara said.  A type of melodic sound emanated
from the audio speakers on the bridge.  It wasn't quite whalesong;
this had more bass.
     "Is it possible that it's trying to communicate with us?"
Laura asked.
     "Computer, analyze transmission," Kara said.
     The computer chirped and said, "Signal patterns indicate
intelligence.  Insufficient data for translational matrix."
     The whale nudged the Christian, and the ship rocked gently in
response.
     "Shields?" Fraser asked.
     "No," Kara replied.  "It's just playing with us."
     Within the next few moments, the whale swam about two hundred
feet out and back, twice, and nudged the Christian each time it
returned.
     "Commander," Laura said, "I think it wants us to follow it."
     Kara sat in the command chair and, after a few moments, said,
"Make it so.  Impulse power, Ensign.  Keep thirty feet between us."
     "Aye, Commander," Latshaw said. 
     This is interesting, Kara thought.  This ship was designed to
sail through space, and here we are sailing through an ocean.
     The creature moved incredibly fast, and Ensign Latshaw had to
maintain one-third impulse power to keep up with it.  Then, the
creature slowed and stopped in front of a rock formation.  The
whale looked toward the Christian, then at the rocks, and then back
at the ship.
     "Sensors?" Kara asked.
     Julie tabbed her console, "A lot of rock, but I am picking up
life form readings behind it.  The readings are identical to the
creature we've encountered, but there are fifteen of them behind
the rocks.  It appears that they are trapped within the area
surrounded by the rocks."
     "So, that thing out there is asking for our help," Laura said.
     "Shall I ready the phasers?" Fraser asked.
     "No," Kara answered.  "The heat from the phasers will vaporize
the water surrounding the beam.  The power it would take to cut
through those rocks would have us in boiling water for the next
three kilometers.  Plus, the vibration from the beam would probably
cause an underwater rockslide."  Kara paced the bridge.
"Transporter chief."
     "Nowasielski here," came the reply.
     "Mr. Nowasielski, please report to the bridge."
     "On my way."
     "You can't be serious," James said from the upper deck.
     "Do you have any better ideas?" Kara asked.  James didn't
reply.  "Well, then, there you go."
     Moments later, Jerry Nowasielski walked onto the bridge.  "Mr.
Nowasielski, please use the Mission Ops station to beam fifteen
whale-like animals out of that rock formation and into the
surrounding ocean," Kara said.
     "Give me a moment," Jerry said, sitting down at the station
next to the engineering station on the upper level of the bridge.
"I have to compensate for their size and for the rock I have to
beam them through.  I take it that this is a sight-to-sight
transport?"
     "I seriously doubt that they'll fit in anything smaller than
the shuttle deck," Kara said.
     "Ready," Jerry said.  "This will take a lot of power, by the
way.  I'll need thirty seconds between transport for recharge."
     "Understood," Kara said.
     "Energizing," Jerry said.  The bridge lights dimmed slightly,
and a few seconds later, there was the familiar blue-white sparkle
of a transporter beam, followed by the whale it contained.  The
bridge crew watched the viewscreen as the beam solidified into the
whale creature.  No one on the bridge could suppress a smile as the
two whales nuzzled up against each other.

     "Entering standard orbit," Commander Pierce reported.  Under
their best speed, one-quarter impulse, the stardrive section
resumed its orbit around Omicron Omega III.
     "Hail the saucer section," David said.  The latest report from
Jeff was not good.
     "Frequencies open," Claar said.  "On viewer."
     The viewscreen flickered, and David contemplated how odd it
was to see his bridge from this perspective.  He stood and said,
"Commander Crossland, we've survived the battle.  However, we've
sustained considerable damage.  We won't reconnect until sometime
tomorrow.  We have a number of radiation leaks which is prompting
us to evacuate the stardrive section, with the exception of a
skeleton crew and the patients and personnel in the auxiliary
sickbay.  Ready the transporter rooms."
     "Uh, sir, we can't do that just yet," Kara said.  "We're
engaged in freeing some trapped whales with the transporter.  Mr.
Nowasielski estimates that the transporters won't be ready for
another hour."
     If David's jaw was two inches lower, it would have hit the
deck.  The events of this day were bizarre, and he was sure
Starfleet Command would enjoy reading the reports on this one.
However, he recovered quickly.  Straightening, he said, "In that
case, prepare to receive me in the shuttle bay.  Cardillo out."
The viewscreen flickered off.  "Commander Pierce, you will take
command of the stardrive section and oversee repairs.  Mr. Claar,
Lieutenant Jones, report to shuttle bay three."

     The shuttlecraft angled towards the planet.
     David paced the aft section of the shuttle.  "I just can't
believe it," he said.
     "You object to what she's doing?" Jones asked.
     "No, not at all.  If they're beaming whales all over the
place, then that means that the saucer section is intact.  I just
can't believe how bizarre this day has been.  Between the
Cardassians and everything else, it's nothing short of a miracle
that no one has been killed on this mission."  The two officers
simply shrugged.  The trip through the atmosphere was uneventful,
as shuttlecraft were designed to go through planetary atmospheres.
However, when the shuttlecraft went under water, the occupants were
mesmerized by the view.  "Activate flood lights," David said as the
shuttle went deeper into the ocean.
     The view was majestic.  Colorful fish schools swam in front of
the viewport.  Coral reefs gave the impression of an underwater
community which, in essence, they were.  David felt as if he was
one of those sea creatures himself. 
     The next sight was just as impressive.  Illuminated by her own
running lights, the saucer section of the Christian came into view.
The starship's colored and flashing running lights added an
interesting aura to the sight; a sight David thought he'd never
see.  Now, he had seen his ship surrounded by both thousands of
stars and thousands of fish.  Then, something massive swam in front
of the shuttle.  "That must be one of the whales Kara is saving,"
David commented.
     Andy opened a channel, "Shuttlecraft nine to Christian.  Stand
by for docking sequence."
     "Proceed, shuttle nine," came Ensign Wray's voice.  The
shuttle skimmed over the top of the saucer section, then turned to
face the main shuttle bay.  The door was raised, and the
atmospheric pressure field was activated.  The shuttle passed
through the field and landed on the deck.
     David walked onto the bridge.  "Commander Crossland, continue
with your efforts.  Notify me when they are complete."
     "Aye, sir," Kara said.
     David walked into his ready room.  For some reason he felt
compelled to look out the window.  Something looked back.
"Curiouser and curiouser," he mumbled.

     David walked into Ten Forward.  Within the last five hours,
Kara had completed her whale rescue, the stardrive had been
evacuated of all nonessential personnel, and the Christian was now
sailing on the surface of the ocean instead of underneath it.
Plus, David had gone on a rather interesting walk, and had a nice
talk with Prime Minister Bodum.
     He sat down at the bar, looking out the viewport as he did so.
Ten Forward was one of those decks that was still under water, so
he was able to watch the fish swim by.
     "Greetings, Captain," Dave Bailey said.
     David nodded.  "Hi, Dave.  Interesting day?"
     "Every day's interesting.  How was your walk?"
     "How did you know about that?"
     "I told you before.  I see everything.  I know everything.  My
spies are everywhere.  So how was it?"
     "Unbelievable.  I never thought I'd walk on the hull of my
ship and sit on the primary phaser banks.  I never thought I'd be
able to read the name and registry number on the hull without
looking through a viewport, much less run my fingers over the name
Christian.  You know, I've seen a lot since I took command of this
ship.  The beauty of the stars.  The mystery of a nebula.  And now,
the wonders of the ocean.  If all that isn't proof that there's an
artistic God, then I don't know what is."
     "And Bodum was there to see it, too?"
     "Yes.  Looks like we'll be adding a new member to the
Federation.  We had some cultural talks and did some negotiating.
The formalities are all that's left."
     "That's good.  When are we leaving this ocean?"
     "Not until morning."
     "Good," Bailey said, hopping over the bar and walking over to
the person who had just entered the lounge.  "Ensign Wilson, if
you'll come with me, I'll take you on a date you'll never forget."
     David had no doubt as to where they were going.  He had an
idea to play a cruel joke with the ship's deflector shields, but
decided against it.





                               CHAPTER FIVE

Captain's Log: Stardate 47520.6  It has now been two days since
our last encounter with the Cardassians.  Most of our time has
been consumed with the completion of repairs and with
negotiations with Prime Minister Bodum.  I just hope that the
Monitor and the Excalibur arrive soon.

     David walked onto the bridge in response to the Red Alert
klaxon.  "What's the problem?" he asked.
     John replied, "Three Monga-Class Cardassian vessels entering
this sector."
     "Any word from the Monitor or the Excalibur?"
     "Not yet," Andy replied.
     "Move to intercept," David ordered.
     "Aye, sir," Ensign Latshaw said.
     Minutes later, the Christian was once again facing the
Cardassians.  "Open hailing frequencies," David ordered.
     "Frequencies open," Claar reported.
     "Cardassian vessels, this is Captain David D. Cardillo of
the starship Christian.  Please respond."
     Nothing for a moment, and then the screen flickered, "I am
Gul Torom.  Are you the same vessel which has destroyed four of
our vessels?"
     "Maybe," David said slowly.
     "We will not stand for this," Torom said. 
     "Fine.  Sit down if you must."
     "We claim Omicron Omega III for ourselves."
     "Sorry.  The Federation is currently in negotiation with the
government of Omicron Omega III for Federation membership.  At
the request of the government of Omicron Omega III, I might add."
     "We will take what is ours."
     "There is nothing of yours here.  Now, a Federation presence
will be established in this sector.  I suggest you go home and
tell your superiors that the Omicron Omega system is not up for
grabs."
     "I think not.  I believe we can persuade you that this will
be futile.  You are one ship.  We are three."
     "There are vessels on the way," David said, hoping that
those self-same vessels would arrive before it was too late.
     "You are bluffing."
     "Maybe," David said again, slowly.
     "Prepare to die."  The channel was closed.
     "Mr. Claar," David began, "shields to full.  Arm phasers and
photon torpedoes.  Lock on to the Cardassian vessels."  He paused
for a moment, then said, "Sorry, everyone, but it doesn't look like
we're going to survive this one."
     An alarm sounded from Kara's panel.
     "Captain, two vessels coming out of warp.  Identified as
U.S.S. Excalibur and U.S.S. Monitor," Kara reported.
     David grinned.  "Mr. Claar, open a channel to the
Cardassians."
     "Channel open."
     "Gul Torom, it seems that there are now three of you and three
of us.  Leave now."
     There was tension on the bridge for one minute.  Two.  The
Cardassians and the Federation starships sat there in space,
neither faction backing off.  Finally, there was a response.
     The Cardassians warped out of the sector.
     Cheers went up on the bridges of all three vessels.

     The reception in Ten Forward was going rather well. 
     David was talking to the captains of the other vessels.
"Captain Hullinger, you arrived at the most appropriate moment.  I
thought we were gone."
     Captain Greg Hullinger of the Excalibur shrugged and said,
"Well, I bailed your ass out of trouble enough times when we were
at the Academy.  That's two you owe me."
     David chuckled.  "I'll do my best to pay you back.  Seriously,
I want to thank both of you," he said to both Greg and Captain
Stacy Mandichak.
     Jeff Veenema came up to them, "Captain, a moment, please?"
     "Excuse me," he said.  He and Jeff stepped over to the bar.
"What's the problem?"
     "I just wanted to report that the warp engines are back on
line.  I've requested Starbase 155 to be ready to replace our warp
coils.  Other than that, we can depart in two days as planned."
     "Are the starbase materials for Omicron Omega III ready?"
     "Yes.  They'll know what to do with the materials before we
leave."
     "And I wanted to thank you for that," Bodum said.  "We are
forever in your debt."
     David shook his head.  "No.  It's our mission to seek out new
and different life forms."  This mission had certainly been full of
that.  Either with the Kraws themselves, or with the Sooler, the
whale-like creatures.
     That prompted David to walk over to Commander Crossland.
"Commander, may I have a word with you?" 
     "Yes, sir," she said.  They walked to a less crowded area.
     "I wanted to commend you on your performance while you were in
command of the saucer section.  You'll be writing the book on the
procedure of landing the saucer section of a Galaxy-Class vessel in
an ocean.  I've placed a commendation on your record."
     "Thank you."
     "You know, I wasn't too sure about it at first, but I'm glad
to have you on my ship.  Your input has proven to be extremely
valuable.  I just wanted you to know that.  And that I also
appreciate your friendship."
     She simply smiled at him, and he smiled back. 
     David walked through the lounge, simply enjoying being with
his crew, his friends.  Maybe, he thought, their mission was not
only to explore the Universe, to seek out new and different life
forms, but also to explore the inner reaches of the heart and soul.
If that was the case, then the mission would probably never end.
     David looked out the viewport and saw Omicron Omega III, and
he thought about all his crew had done for that planet.  The Kraws
wouldn't have to worry about the Cardassian attacks anymore, and
they could start advancing their society, especially with the
Federation's help.  But also through that viewport, he saw the
thousands of other stars waiting to be visited and explored.  Then
he looked around Ten Forward and all of the people under his
command; the people whom had placed their trust in him.  A trust of
which he had no intention of betraying.
     "You okay, David?" Captain Hullinger asked.
     David was pulled rom his reverie and answered, "I'm fine.
Everything's fine."  He smiled and joined in the celebration.
     The Christian sailed through space.