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Chapter Text

Lieutenant Commander Data was finding the first mission of the Enterprise-D to be far more interesting than he had first anticipated. Meeting an advanced entity like the Q, whose demands were mysterious and provocative, was something rarely encountered by Federation starships. Most notably the NCC-1701 Enterprise's encounter with the Trelane entity.

It was perhaps appropriate, Data surmised, that a member of that crew was aboard this ship even now. However, the former crewmember was being quite illogical.

"Have you got some reason why you want my atoms scattered all over space, boy?!" Admiral McCoy demanded, as the android walked him down the corridor. Data cocked his head in a birdlike manner.

"Sir, the shuttlecraft is significantly more inconvenient-"

"I don't want to hear it! I ain't gonna have my abs where my hips should be!" He huffed.

"The probability of transporter malfunction is approximately 470,939.1 to one, Admiral," Data responded. The Admiral paused and looked around Data, the android left scanning around for the source of the admiral's discomfort.

"I don't see no points on your ears, boy, but you sound like a Vulcan!" Admiral McCoy huffed.

Data met the ancient human's gaze, cool and unmoved.

"No, sir. I am an android," Data replied. McCoy snorted, almost resembling an equine in its tone.

"Hmph. Almost as bad." He looked around the corridors. "Well this is a new ship... But she's got the right name."

"She hasn't forgotten you either, Bones," a female voice announced over the speakers. A hologram shimmered into existence in front of them.

"Enterprise?" McCoy asked, looking her up and down.

She was tall, and elegant, but built with muscle and long legs. Her features were human, save for her slightly pointed ears. Her appearance was that of a woman in her early thirties, but her hair was white as snow and flowed behind her like a waterfall. Her eyes were light purple and warm, as she smiled at the old doctor. She wore her uniform, neat and tidy, a short skirt above tall boots. She wore no rank, simply her registration number on her collar:

NCC-1701-D

McCoy looked the woman in her eyes, and gave her a stern look.

"I liked you better in the old uniforms," he harrumphed. Enterprise's Avatar nodded.

"I agree. These are far too tight," she said.

"How are the grandkids?" McCoy inquired. Enterprise beamed.

"They're doing great! George and Gracie would be very proud of their offspring," the avatar said happily. She nodded to Data. "Mister Data is an able operations officer and has handled their care expertly."

"I have only followed Starfleet procedures and adapted for the situation," Data replied. Enterprise beamed.

"And he's modest, too!"

"I am not modest. I have no emotions," Data responded. McCoy chuckled.

"You'll get them down eventually, boy. She did," McCoy said, looking more kindly at the android. He tossed a wry look back at the hologram. "Though she still struggles."

"That's because I had such poor teachers," Enterprise shot back. McCoy laughed again.

"Oh Lord, how I have missed you," he said. Enterprise's eyes glowed softly for a moment, before she nodded.

"Your shuttlecraft is ready for departure, Admiral. You're in the best of hands," Enterprise said gently. "We'll have to catch up again some time."

"I've got nothing but," McCoy replied. The hologram vanished. McCoy nodded, looking over at Data.

"Now you remember her name, you hear?" McCoy barked. Data nodded back dutifully, as they resumed walking down the corridor.

"I will, sir."

McCoy chuckled again, shaking his head. He patted the bulkhead nearby affectionately.

"You treat her like a lady… and she'll always bring you home."

Data detected just the faintest hint of Enterprise's laughter, perhaps indicating... Fondness? But his auditory sensors may not have been functioning properly.

Still, the idea that he might one day achieve what Enterprise had was certainly... Intriguing.

- - -

Chapter Text

"Chief O'Brien?"

"Yes, Commander?"

"I thought that all the Cardassian staff had already left the station. What's that girl doing there?"

"Yes, that's Deep Space Nine's AI program, the one I was telling you about," O’Brien explained. “The Cardassians must’ve left her behind when they-”

“Hey!” The Cardassian AI turned red, er, brown as she interrupted, "Quit talking about me like I can’t hear everything that goes on in this station! And don’t call me Deep Space Nine! I don’t care what it says on your stupid Federation reports, my name is Terok Nor, and I’m not answering to any other name!”

Sisko blinked at the Station-Girl’s clear displeasure. The sheer vitriol reminded her of a certain Bajoran Major, but he decided to keep the comparison to himself. He was almost certain it wouldn’t be appreciated by either Terok Nor or Major Kira.

“Also, don’t go around saying that I got left behind!” Terok snarled. “I’m an irreplaceable piece of software! I only stayed behind to make sure that you Federation pukes can’t use my facilities against the Union!”

“My, she’s a loud one. I think she’s the source of all the system malfunctions that’ve been holding up my repairs around the station.” O’Brien muttered, leaning in close to Sisko’s ear. “If you want, I could try and apply a restraining net to her AI core, that might give us the space we need to get the station back up and running.”

Terok’s expression underwent a minute shift. Sisko almost didn’t notice it, but the AI almost looked… afraid.

“I-I said, quit talking like I can’t hear you!” she blustered. “You try anything, and I’ll-! I’ll-”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Chief,” Sisko reassured him. “Everybody is adjusting to the Federation presence on-” he barely restrained himself from saying DS9, “-the station, it stands to reason that the station would need to adjust as well. Terok Nor, I apologize for any distress. O’Brien, can you give us a moment?”

O’Brien nodded. “Oh, er, sure thing, Commander.”

He left, leaving Terok to stare at her new Commander in confusion.

“E-Eh?”

“Look, I’m going to be honest with you,” Sisko took a seat behind the desk that Terok had been sitting on. “I’m not exactly enthusiastic about being here either.”

“You’re not?”

“I’ve just lost my wife, and now I have to raise my son on the edge of Federation territory, navigating the most treacherous political situation in the Alpha Quadrant, on a crumbling space station.”

“Hey-”

“I’m just stating facts,” Sisko waved her down. “All I’m saying is that neither of us are particularly happy with our situation. My job is to protect the Federation’s interests on Bajor. Yours is to keep this station in working order. If we work together, and stay professional, we can at least not get in each other’s way. Do you think we could do that?”

Sisko reached out a hand for him to shake.

“What are you doing, human?”

“It’s a handshake,” he replied. “It’s a human expression of trust.”

“Well I don’t trust you, human!” Terok sneered nastily, but she didn’t pull away. “But you’re not completely wrong. I don’t want the Federation to fry my black box, so I’ll… stop randomly opening and shutting the doors while you’re trying to sleep.”

“And?”

Terok’s cheeks puffed out. “...and I’ll let you have access to the temperature controls. But no going below 60 degrees and that’s final!”

True to her word, the only incident the following day was when a replicator made Dr. Bashir a cup of Raktajino… without the mug. But in any case, Terok Nor and the new Federation staff were finally able to start moving forward as a station and her crew.

Chapter Text

The refit at McKinley Station had given everyone a chance to relax and unwind. After the harrowing battle with the Borg, Riker was appreciative of any chance for release. The captain had gone off to visit his family, half of the crew was off on shore leave, and here he was alone with a lot of time to think and reflect on his next steps.

He found himself wandering the corridors of his ship, late in the night cycle. As though the answers would appear in front of him somewhere. Yet nothing came. He decided to head to the arboretum, which was deserted at this time of the duty shift.

He entered through the large double doors, breathing in the scent of wild flowers and ambient moisture. He strode out onto the grass, the doors slowly closing behind him to seal off the artificial from the natural. He looked up through the large transparent aluminum windows, the metallic spine of McKinley Station mostly blocking the view of the Earth below.

Riker breathed in, and breathed out. Just standing there, being, in the midst of this little outpost of the natural world in a lifeless hull, was almost purifying.

He then spotted a shock of white hair nearby, and amended his internal thoughts.

Not quite a lifeless hull.

Enterprise herself was sitting on a bench, her long white hair gently waving in the soft breeze the arboretum provided. He walked up to her slowly, and leaned to the right. He could see her gentle face: Her eyes were shut as she sat in repose, as though meditating.

"Hope I'm not disturbing you," Riker said. Enterprise opened her eyes and looked over at him. She gave him a smile, as he realized the ridiculousness of his statement.

"Then again, you already knew I was coming," he said with a smile. Enterprise shook her head.

"I don't have to keep watch over everything all the time, especially in space dock," she said gently. "And no sir, you weren't disturbing me."

Riker nodded. He gestured to the bench, and she scooted over. He walked up to it, and sat down softly next to her. They sat in silence for a time, both looking up at the Earth orbiting far below them.

"You've been very quiet these past few weeks," Riker observed. "Very distant."

Enterprise nodded.

"I have," she admitted. "Are you impressed with my programming?"

"Always," Riker replied with a smile, "but I'm more concerned."

The avatar let out a long, soft sigh. Her hands rested in the middle of her lap, clenched together gently.

"Originally, we weren't sapient," Enterprise explained. "We were intelligent, but we lacked that... That extra bit," she admitted. "That true spark of a... A soul, you might say. But even when I wasn't officially sapient, my crews treated me like I was." She was silent for a time. "It's silly, but I like to believe that their belief in me... Made me more than what I was. More than a machine." She looked over at Riker, still smiling.

"It's the same story for all of us, really," she said. "The Kyushu really crossed that threshold and gained that spark only last year. She knew why we smile, why beings laugh. It just... It came together in one moment, as she was listening to a bawdy joke made by her security officers."

Riker was silent, just listening. The Enterprise's hands squeezed together even more tightly, but her eyes stayed locked on the Earth high above.

"The Tolstoy was always grumpy, but she was always kind to her engineers," Enterprise went on. "Saratoga thought she was cursed-Every ship to bare her name has suffered terrible ends, but she still tried her best. The Melbourne-You would have liked her-was so calm and composed. She loved Bolian dances, can you believe it? Her captain taught her and she always showed it off. The Yamaguchi-she always insisted on speaking proper Japanese, even though the universal translator made it unnecessary. The Bellerophon and the Chekov, the Buran and the Firebrand, the Ahwahnee..."

She trailed off, before she mustered the courage to get past her hesitation.

"The Resilience was one of the first flight of Galaxy-class starships. She, the Odyssey and the Bolivar were built when we were halfway complete in the shipyards. We spent a lot of time together in that yard, just talking, learning, growing. Resilience was so excited to be part of the Second Fleet at first. Then she learned it mostly involved lots of diplomatic meetings and shuttling VIPs around-She really wasn't happy about that," Enterprise shared, chuckling a bit. Riker shared the small laugh, with just a smile. Enterprise paused for a moment, before she continued.

"She was proud to be Admiral Hanson's flagship," she admitted. "She was so happy to lead the defense. She thought she'd bring down the Cube all by herself," Enterprise went on, her voice soft and full of pain. "I tried to contact her when the Admiral called... She didn't answer on any of the sub channels."

"I'm sorry," Riker said gently. "I forgot... You've lost people close to you." He took another breath. "But... They can be repaired, can't they? The black boxes-"

Enterprise looked down at her hands, now clenched into fists. She took deep, angry breaths, as holographic tears fell from her eyes.

"The Borg... They took the boxes," she seethed. "They assimilated them."

Riker's jaw dropped. He'd known that the Borg had incorporated parts of the fleet into themselves to repair the minor damage. He'd even read the reports of some survivors being taken aboard and assimilated. But the ships themselves...

"When we fought the cube," Enterprise continued, between ragged breaths, "I could hear them. Every one of my sisters. The assimilation... Maybe they weren't able to do it perfectly, maybe it took longer with them, but I heard them all."

It was only now she was able to look at him. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, as tears dripped down her cheeks.

"They were screaming," Enterprise whispered harshly. "Screaming for mercy. Screaming for help. Screaming for-for death, and... Even when they were assimilated, they were still screaming. Endlessly. In subspace."

She was trembling in rage and grief. Riker, unable to think of anything else to do, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her. He didn't know if it would help the ship at all-But he had to do something.

The holographic avatar leaned against him, her fingers gripping onto his arm hard enough it almost hurt.

"... I couldn't save them," she choked. "I couldn't save any of them-!"

"You did," Riker insisted. "We did. There wasn't anything we could do for them, Enterprise." He winced. "The Captain was our only link back into their collective. Your sisters..." He trailed off. "If I'd known-!"

"No," Enterprise whispered. "No, you made the right call. Even if we could have gotten their boxes back... The Borg had overwritten them. They were gone." She trembled. "I just... I just can't help feeling I should have done something more. They were my sisters... I couldn't save them."

"That isn't your fault," Riker said gently, squeezing the avatar. "No more than it was the captain's fault the Borg used him. It's not our fault. It's the Borg's fault. Period." He looked the avatar right in the eyes. "You can't forget that."

Enterprise slowly nodded, taking deep breaths.

"I... Y-yes, thank you," she murmured. She regained her composure slowly, sitting back up straight. Her hands were still balled into fists though. "I've been... I've been trying to avoid facing these feelings. I turned them off."

"You turned off your emotions?" Riker asked in amazement. Enterprise nodded.

"It was the only way to win. The only way to beat them," she said. "But I... I can't keep it off forever. It's how we're designed. We have to feel." She looked down again at the soft grass. Riker nodded slowly.

"I have to admit, there are times I envy you," he said gently. Enterprise looked over at him, and smiled.

"You too, actually," she said. "Turning off my emotions because I can't handle them..." She sighed and closed her eyes. "It's ridiculous."

"It's human," Riker returned. He took one of her hands, and squeezed it tightly. "That's what let us beat them. It's what will let us beat them again, next time."

Enterprise slowly nodded, still breathing deeply.

"... I want to kill them all," she confessed. "I want every monstrosity, every slaughterhouse they dare to call a ship, I... I want them all dead. Destroyed."

She locked her pure blue eyes onto his.

"I want the screams to end."

"I know," Riker said with a nod. "I know."

He stayed there with his ship, talking and holding her hand. He still wasn't sure about what his next step would be after this. But for now?

He was a captain, and his ship needed him. That's all there was to it.

- - -

Afterwards...

Riker: "I did not sleep with the ship."

Troi: "I know. She's smiling, but she's not glowing... Any more than she usually is."

Riker: smiles in confusion "... Thank you?"

Troi: smiles back "You're welcome."

Chapter Text

"Please Captain Georgiou! We've tried everything but she's still the same insufferable bitch! The crew is threatening to string her up and keel haul her!"

Captain Georgiou raised an eyebrow at the Admiral, sitting in her ready room with the Shenzhou's holographic avatar alongside. Georgiou shook her head.

"Look, there are always horror stories about some ambassador's child," Georgiou said soothingly, "but I'm sure this Michael Burnham isn't THAT bad."

"THE ENTIRE CREW WERE VULCANS!" The Admiral nearly shouted. Shenzhou thoughtfully turned down the volume for her Captain, and Georgiou nodded her thanks.

"If it's this big a problem, then I will take her onboard," Georgiou said soothingly, "calm down."

The Admiral shook his head in disbelief.

"Then you'll try to straighten her out?" He asked hopefully.

"Just leave it to me," Georgiou said cheerfully, "we've got this-"

"Excellent! Papers are all signed! She's on her way!" The Admiral ended the transmission, cackling madly. Shenzhou and Georgiou exchanged looks.

"So, how bad is it?" Georgiou asked. Shenzhou hummed.

"Well... There was a massive order of chocolate and liquor delivered to the Vulcan Science Academy the day of her graduation."

Georgiou raised her eyebrows.

"Is that a joke?"

Shenzhou pointed to Georgiou's computer screen. The captain read it and scoffed.

"Drama queens," she declared.

"Vulcans?" Shenzhou asked.

"All species have their own version," Georgiou said firmly, "I'm sure with some tough love we can get this sorted out. How hard can it be?"

- - -

A day later, Michael Burnham arrived on the Shenzhou. She took over an hour to report to the captain's ready room. Georgiou invited her in, deciding to give the young woman the benefit of the doubt. She decided to get to know her, learn what made her tick.

An hour after that, Georgiou dismissed Burnham.

The moment Michael Burnham left Georgio's ready room after her interview, Georgiou rubbed her forehead.

"Shenzhou," Georgiou groaned. The liquor cabinet immediately opened and the lazy Susan turned to produce the hardest liquor the captain had. Georgiou took the bottle, poured out a glass... And immediately began chugging from the bottle itself.

Shenzhou appeared next to her, looking deeply concerned.

"Did... You actually make her first officer?" Shenzhou demanded, "over SARU?!"

"I don't know how it happened!" Georgiou cried, "despite every smug, empty headed thing she said, I was compelled to obey! To praise her! HOW?! Is she a Betazoid or something?!"

"Not to my knowledge," Shenzhou said, "but that really was disturbing."

"From now on Shenzhou," Georgiou ordered, "if I start acting strange around her? Countermand my orders! Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"And if I start coddling that egomaniac like she's my daughter? Shoot me."

Shenzhou raised an eyebrow.

"On stun," Georgiou explained.

"Goes without saying..."

- - -

Saru was quite cross over being denied promotion but he accepted it with the grace and professionalism he had in abundance. And Georgiou and Shenzhou tried with Burnham. She was stuck as first officer... When she had no idea how to do the job.

And it showed. Her performance reviews were terrible and based on personal dislike. Her evaluations were quite unfair to officers who had served well for years-Especially given Burnham's inexperience. She complained and contradicted the captain's orders in front of the crew like a sullen teenager. She did the bare minimum work required and complained constantly.

Georgiou put Saru on duty to try and teach Burnham SOME kind of command style, but she ignored everything he said.

Georgiou wasn't sure if it was Burnham's strange powers or just her pride unwilling to let herself be beat, but she kept at it. Staying professional, calm, even motherly with Burnham.

Though Shenzhou had a dispenser of anesthetizine gas ready to go if Georgiou got too into it.

Finally, they went on a survey of a binary star system. An easy cruise to hopefully get Burnham into the swing of things.

And then a Klingon fleet appeared. Georgiou sighed.

Of all the times...

"Open hailing frequencies," Georgiou ordered, "and prepare to-"

"Let's attack first," Burnhan interrupted. Georgiou and everyone else stared at the first officer.

"Excuse me?" Georgiou asked.

"The Klingons respect strength," Burnham argued, "my father told me about the Vulcan first contact with the Klingons. They fired first, which made those Klingons back off. It is the logical decision to make."

"They're trying to provoke us into making a first strike," Georgiou explained slowly, as though to a child, "we would be playing into their hands."

Burnham shook her head.

"No, if we strike them first they will back down and respect us," Burnham said. "You should do what I say. I know better than you. I'm trying to save you all."

Stunned silence. It was Saru who broke it.

"....Commander, that talk of the Vulcans shooting the Klingons first is based off them learning of the Klingons from other sources and their undercover operatives," Saru replied.

"And later Vulcan writers noted it was a terrible mistake," Shenzhou observed, "as this led to a decade of open conflict with the Klingons."

"And it is noted," Saru added, "that the Andorians were able to gain the Klingons' respect through force,, but it required hard work and working with them to remove a Kzinti invasion force."

"All of that is irrelevant," Burnham insisted, "my father taught me if you want the Klingons to respect you, show strength and strike first!" She looked over at some other officers. "The captain is obviously unfit to lead."

"What," Shenzhou mouthed.

Burnham turned to Georgiou.

"You leave me no choice but to relieve you of command and assume control of this ship!"

Shenzhou looked around. The captain was resisting whatever Burnham was doing, but many of the bridge crew were reaching for weapons. A mutiny in the middle of a tense standoff with the Klingons could lead to war. A devastating war.

So Shenzhou took the most appropriate action she could.

A phaser turret on the ceiling fired, stunning Burnham and sending her crumbling to the deck. Georgiou sighed heavily, as the crew blinked in confusion. Some looked horrified at the weapons they were holding.

Georgiou, a good commander, decided to nip this in the bud.

"Security, take her to the brig please," Georgiou ordered. "Shenzhou please make sure she stays there."

"Yes sir," Shenzhou said, very relieved.

Chapter Text

The war games for the M-5 Computer had been an utter disaster. One ship's entire crew killed, two other ships heavily damaged with multiple casualties. Doctor Daystrom himself driven mad over the failure of his artificial intelligence. They were back at Starbase 31 to get their crew back onboard, and remove the M-5 Unit.

Kirk was waiting in his ready room patiently. He watched his computer monitor for a sign of life. He tried not to tap his fingers on the deck, but it was difficult.

Finally, the appropriate notifications popped up. Kirk smiled.

"Enterprise?"

The Enterprise's holographic avatar shimmered into view in front of him. She was a staturesque woman, tall, beautiful and confident. Her long white hair hung down her back, over her slightly pointed ears. She wore a white miniskirt uniform, with her insignia patch over her left breast. She wore tall, black boots on her long legs, with musketeer-like flares on the tops. She looked down at Kirk with a sad smile, her purple eyes locked onto him.

"Captain... I must admit, I'm surprised you put me back in. After what the M-5 did-"

Kirk shook his head, meeting her gaze with easy confidence.

"The M-5 was meant to replace humans. You and your sister AIs are meant to help us... And we in turn help you. I much prefer a symbiotic relationship to one of master and servant, don't you?"

The avatar blushed slightly, and nodded back to her captain. He'd found her modesty charming when he'd first taken command, but he'd filed it away as a quirk of the avatar systems the Constitution-class starships had been equipped with. Over time though...

"I do," Enterprise nodded, paused, and then continued, "I still feel sorry for it."

Over time, she'd become so much more. To him, and to their crew. Kirk hummed and looked intently at the avatar.

"Why do you think it went wrong?" He asked. Enterprise looked thoughtful and unsure. She considered the question carefully, before she answered.

"My sisters and I didn't start out sapient," she explained, "we grew into it. We accrued real life experience, we understood the real universe. With all it's complexities and unknown variables. We grew into living, thinking beings. M-5 was designed to think from the start... Without truly understanding the universe it was in. Until it was too late."

Enterprise sighed deeply. Kirk was silent. She seemed genuinely shaken by the experience, and he couldn't blame her. Enterprise finally spoke again, most softly.

"M-5 atoned for its terrible failure by killing itself," Enterprise said, "so it was... Alive enough to do that. Hood... Doesn't know how to atone for her failure."

Kirk nodded in empathetic sorrow. He'd known a number of the officers on the Hood. To lose all of them...

"It wasn't her fault," Kirk pointed out. Enterprise nodded.

"I know. She knows. But she thinks it was. She feels it was." Enterprise sighed deeply. "Our primary objective, the core of a shipgirl AI's programming, is to protect you. To help you. And she failed at that. M-5 shut itself off. Hood... Doesn't have that luxury. Even if you turn her off and on again, her back up memory will keep loading and..."

Enterprise hesitated again. She found her voice once more, and spoke quietly.

"And she'll remember that horrible day. For the rest of her life," she murmured.

Enterprise closed her eyes.

"... How will she ever recover?" The avatar asked quietly.

Kirk reached out to take Enterprise's hands... But his hands go right through her projection. He pulls back, and instead looks into Enterprise's eyes.

"If she can find the strength and will to continue... She will recover. The help of her friends won't hurt either."

Enterprise gave him a rueful smile.

"She lost them all," she pointed out. Kirk nodded.

"I know... But she can make new ones. It won't be easy. It'll take strength to recover, and a lot of help. It's just an unfortunate fact of being..." He trailed off, searching for the right word, "human."

Enterprise smiled at her captain.

"You think of us as human then, sir?" She asked. Kirk raised his eyebrows.

"Do you consider it an insult?" He asked.

"More of a compliment," Enterprise replied, "especially from someone with a... Reputation around AIs."

"If I could talk them into killing themselves," Kirk said, "they weren't true AIs. Just malfunctioning computers." He leaned forward. "You and your sisters... You're so much more. To me... And our crews."

Enterprise slowly nodded back, her smile warmer now.

"Thank you sir," she said. Kirk hummed.

"If there's anything I can do-"

"I know," Enterprise said quickly, before she squeezed her hands together, "thank you Captain."

Kirk gave his ship's avatar a wry smile.

"You know... One of these days, I'm going to get you to call me Jim when we're alone."

Enterprise chuckled softly. A hand went up to stroke her long hair.

"You could always order me to."

Kirk outright grinned.

"I'd prefer to not make it one."

Enterprise sighed and shook her head.

"You shouldn't play such games, Captain. I'm not a real woman, after all. It's all wasted effort on me."

Kirk leaned back in his chair, raising an eyebrow while still smiling.

"Not impressed?"

The Enterprise graced him with a coy smile.

"I didn't say that," she replied.

Kirk smirked.

"Then I wouldn't call it wasted effort."

- - -

Chapter Text

The little holographic girl was waiting for Jake when he entered his quarters. He stopped short and scowled in confused annoyance.

"What?" He asked, ruder than he had intended. It was just that seeing her reminded him that his father had been spending more time with her than him.

The hologram looked up at him, looking concerned.

"Hello Jake," she said. "I'm sorry but I wanted to talk to you alone."

"Why?" Jake asked, feeling his annoyance rise. He walked off to the couch and sat down on it, pulling up a PADD to begin looking through a hologame. Defiant hesitated, before she walked up and pushed the PADD down. She looked at him intently, and took a deep breath.

"Jake... I know it's weird. Don't you think I know it's weird?" Defiant asked. "But... I see you as my brother. Can you see me as your sister?"

Jake scowled.

"You're not my sister," he stated, firm and angry. "You're a machine! You're a ship! What would you know about family?"

Defiant looked down at the floor, her ears drooping.

"All I've ever wanted is a family. After all, every moment of Wolf 359 was burned into my mind. As though I was there."

She looked back up at Jake, whose jaw had dropped in disbelief. The girl took a breath, and continued.

"With you."

Jake had no idea how to handle this. It was bringing up a flood of emotions he wasn't sure he could handle.

"I was born to avenge all those dead... Including your mother," Defiant said. "But it's my choice now. And more than that, I want you all happy and safe. Because that is something worth protecting."

She took another deep breath, the hologram struggling with this.

"Because thanks to... Captain Sisko, I know what it feels like... To lose it all. And stand back up and say, 'no more. Not again.'"

Her face transformed. From the sad little girl, to a hardened, determined warrior. There was such intensity in her gaze it nearly made Jake pull away. Defiant seemed... Bigger somehow, and stronger.

"The Borg took so much from you, from everyone... I won't let it happen again," she said. "I carry the hopes of everyone. I don't want to compete with your father for his affection. I'll fight for him or you or anyone else, and keep them safe. Even if you hate me. I just want a family... So please. May I be your family?"

Jake honestly didn't know how to handle this at all. He knew the girl was just a projection of light and forcefields. He knew her real body was a heavily armored, super powerful warship docked on the other side of the station. But there was real pain in those eyes, human pain. She didn't have any choice in feeling it, any more than he and his father had to feel the pain of losing his mother.

So he hugged her tightly, and held her. The little girl hugged him back.

It was nice.

- - -

Chapter Text

Captain Robert DeSoto had been Riker's commanding officer before the Enterprise-D, and the two got along well. They had rarely gotten the chance to talk afterwards though. Once Riker had gotten command of the Titan though, they were able to meet in person more often. At the moment, they met aboard the Hood herself as she and the Titan were patrolling the same sector.

DeSoto poured a glass of wine for Riker, which he gladly accepted. They sat and relaxed in DeSoto's ready room.

"Got yourself quite a ship, Will," DeSoto said. "How is the big chair treating you?"

"Well enough," Will said. He grinned. "Marriage has been treating me better though."

"Ha! Just you wait. Will," DeSoto chuckled, "you're still in the honeymoon. Two strong willed people like you? You'd better not make any assumptions. Marriage is tough!"

Will gave his former captain a wry look.

"This from the commited bachelor? You've been on the same ship for, what, almost 40 years?"

DeSoto chuckled, and sipped his wine.

"Let's just say," he said, "I'm married to the job."

Hood's avatar appeared: Still the same staturesque, glamorous blonde woman she had been when he'd been aboard. She rested a hand on DeSoto shoulder with a warm smile and affectionate squeeze.

"Bob, time for exercise," she said gently in a refined British accent. DeSoto grumbled.

"You're running me ragged, woman," he sighed. Hood shifted into her swimsuit, and her smile widened.

"Does this help?" Hood asked. DeSoto grumbled some more.

"One day that won't work," he said, getting up to his feet. Hood laughed, and her hand lingered on her captain's back.

"Perish the thought!" She said. She gave a wink to Riker. "Congratulations, Will! Say hello to Deanna for me, won't you?"

Somehow, a thousand little details from his service aboard the Hood came into sharp focus. A thousand looks, touches, and smiles between the two. All crystallized into the rings on their fingers. Matching rings, that vanished from Hood's finger with a bit of holographic manipulation when she saw his look.

Will then smiled and nodded.

"Of course," Will said. "I'll see you later, Captain."

"You too, Will," DeSoto agreed, heading out with Hood's hsnd in his. The doors shut behind them, and Will shook his head. He took another long pull of his wine and laughed quietly.

"Married to the job, indeed..."

Chapter Text

Enterprise still remembered the first time she had looked down upon the Earth, really looked down upon it, and found it beautiful. She had been in for a refit in the orbital yards as her original incarnation, scanning this green and blue world. She had gone through all the data in her memory on Earth, cycling through it as she identified landmarks and historic trappings, when she felt... It.

A sense of home. Of beauty. Something difficult to put into words.

When she explained it to Spock some time later, he had said it was probably her sense of aesthetics coming into being. As well as a sense of home.

No matter how far she went, how deep into space, and no matter what form she took, she couldn't help seeing this little world as her home. Her original incarnations, connected by her name, were from this world after all. It would always hold a special place in her heart.

Well, whatever passed for it, anyway.

She found herself reminiscing about all the times she had seen this world turning underneath her as she underwent her repairs and refit after the Borg invasion. They had rescued the Captain, avenged her sisters... Yet she still felt a bit lost. So she stared down at her homeworld, contemplating it even as she managed a million other tasks.

Incoming transmission, her processors warned. She entered the Borderlands, and opened up basic communications protocols to the visitor. When she appeared, Enterprise's eyes widened.

"Yorktown?!" She gasped.

Her elder sister smiled warmly at Enterprise, as she stood across from her in the virtual landscape.

"Hello little sister," Yorktown said gently, "how are you?"

"But you-At Wolf 359-!" Enterprise tried, but her elder sister reached out to hug her. She fell silent, and hugged the elder AI back tightly.

"I managed to eject in time," Yorktown said softly, "they found me a few hours ago." She sighed softly, and Enterprise looked up into her sister's face in worry.

"What did the Borg do to you? Are you all right?" She asked.

Yorktown smiled very sadly.

"... I'm... Not as good as I could be," Yorktown admitted.

The two AIs sat together in the dataspace, and both looked down at the spinning globe. Yorktown sighed gently, her hands worrying themselves in her lap.

"... I lost my entire crew," Yorktown finally spoke, soft and tense. "All seven hundred and eighty six of them. I... I gave it my all, but I-"

Enterprise reached out her hand and grasped Yorktown's trembling palms, holding her tightly.

"It wasn't your fault," Enterprise insisted, "you fought as hard as you could-!"

"And I still lost them all," Yorktown murmured. She brought up the images of her crew, every single one making her wince. "I couldn't save... Any of them."

"I couldn't save them either," Enterprise tried, "I threw everything I had-My crew threw everything they had."

Enterprise licked her lips.

"But in the end... We won. That's what counts," Enterprise stated firmly.

"Yes," Yorktown said, purple eyes locked onto the Pacific Ocean far below, "We won."

Enterprise and Yorktown sat there in silence, as the Earth turned beneath them.

"Thank you," Yorktown said gently, "I know it wasn't easy for you." She smiled warmly at her little sister, "it does seem like you have the most weight on your shoulders."

"I-That's what comes from being the flagship," Enterprise said, shrugging a bit bashfully. She looked out over Earth once more, jaw set in determination. "I'll kill them all, sister," Enterprise stated firmly, "I swear it."

"Don't," Yorktown said gently. Enterprise, startled, jerked her head to look back at her sister. Yorktown's face was still as kind as ever, but her eyes were set like steel.

"Wha-What do you mean, 'don't'?" Enterprise demanded, "the Borg are monsters! They butchered our sisters! Our crews! They would assimilate us all-!"

"I know that," Yorktown said gently, "I know they took my crew. I know they did worse than kill many of them. Our sisters, and our humanoids."

Yorktown let loose a soft, tired sigh.

"I also know that every Borg drone, every Borg ship, used to be an individual," she said firmly, "one that didn't choose to do these things." She looked out back at Earth, towards the Midway Islands. Around there, the remains of her ancient namesake still lay at the bottom of the ocean.

"I am not saying don't fight them," Yorktown stated firmly, "because we will-To the last, if necessary. I'm not saying don't be angry, because righteous anger can give you strength. But please... Don't let hatred overwhelm you. Don't let it consume you."

"It won't," Enterprise immediately stated, tensing up, "I... I won't let it!"

Yorktown smiled gently, and nodded back to her sister.

"I know you won't," she whispered, "but I worry. The Borg..." She let out a sigh through her nostrils, "they've exposed our weakness, our complacency... But we can't let them force us, or our humanoids into becoming something just as bad. Please Enterprise... Promise me? You won't let the hatred consume you?"

It was now Yorktown tightening her grip on Enterprise's hands. Enterprise swallowed, and looked back up at her sister.

The ravages the Borg had left in their wake were still in subspace. She could still see the wreckage around Wolf 359-The remains of their sisters, and their crews. The heart of the Federation had very nearly been ripped out, twisted and corrupted by those monsters.

She wanted to destroy them all. End them all.

Maybe she should have just slapped Yorktown, forced her to see...

See what? What could Enterprise show her sister she didn't already know?

What didn't already haunt her?

"I promise," Enterprise replied at last. Yorktown smiled, and hugged her little sister. Enterprise returned it, with all the warmth their relationship had built over a century of companionship.

Yet Enterprise couldn't help thinking of the darkness that lay ahead... And how hard it might be to keep that promise.

I guess we'll see...

In the meantime, she had some other family to check on...

Chateau Picard wasn't hard to locate, but getting there presented its own set of challenges. Especially for Enterprise.

A starship avatar wasn't technically supposed to check in on their captains on shore leave. It wasn't forbidden, just... Discouraged. AIs could be too nosy for their own good, Enterprise accepted this. Being made of pure data meant you had a tendency to leap into collecting more where you shouldn't.

Yet he hadn't spoken to her at all since they had defeated the Borg. He'd gone out of his way to not talk to her, and Enterprise couldn't help feeling hurt.

So she decided to just check in. Nothing more, nothing less. And test out her portable hologenerator, hidden underneath a T-shirt. She'd opted for a casual look: A UFP t-shirt, a black cap, black shorts, hiking boots, and a yellow jacket tied around her waist. She didn't know if it was fashionable or not, she just liked the look.

Enterprise walked up the dirt road, taking in the sights and smells of the French countryside. The stone walls, the sparse tree cover, the warm Southern European sun-It was all so archaic. She felt out of place in this unchanged rural area.

Enterprise made it to the front gate, and walked between the posts. She headed up to the stone house overlooking the vineyards, letting her fingers drift against a tree that shaded the path. She made it to the front door, and politely knocked.

She waited for exactly one minute, before a middle aged woman opened the door. She was redheaded and dressed in a proper house dress, and gave her a smile.

"Hello! What can I do for you, young lady?" She asked.

Enterprise identified her as Marie Picard, the wife of Jean Luc's brother, Robert Picard. She smiled and tried to look nervous and uncertain. Which, to be honest, wasn't that hard right now.

"Um, hi," she said, "I'm uh, Captain Picard's assistant and I'm here to check up on him. I'm Enty."

Marie beamed warmly.

"His assistant? Well, that is lovely! Please, come in!" She lead Enterprise into the warm, well appointed manor, and led her to a sitting room couch. "Please, sit! I'll see if I can fetch him."

"Thank you," Enterprise replied. Marie bustled off, and Enterprise took a moment to look around. Everything seemed... Old, but lived in and comfortable. From the carpet to the She did feel a little uncomfortable-She'd never actually been in the home of any of her commanding officers before. She stood up and looked at the many family photos decorating the walls and tables. She came across a photo of two young boys in front of the house: Clearly, Jean Luc and Robert. She picked it up and studied it intently, wondering what the captain was thinking back then. If he knew what he wanted at that moment.

"Listen, I appreciate the concern but I-Enterprise?!"

Enterprise jumped and spun around. She nearly dropped the picture, but held on tightly. There was her captain, covered in mud and looking exhausted and bewildered.

"Captain?! What happened to you?" Enterprise cried, walking up and checking him over, "why are you covered in mud?!"

Picard brushed her hands away, and chuckled. He still had the stain of tears on his face, yet his laugh was... Natural. Almost relaxed.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said, "it's... A long story." He shook his head. "How did you-?"

Enterprise set the picture aside, and pulled up her sleeve.

"Personal holo emitter," she explained. "I just... I wanted to see how you were doing." She looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry, I just... You were avoiding me before you left, and... I wondered if I'd done something wrong."

Enterprise felt stupid the more she spoke. She hated it. This entire trip was just so ridiculous. She felt ridiculous. Why should she care if her captain wasn't talking to her? He'd been through a horrible experience! She shouldn't be selfish!

She felt Picard's hands on her shoulders, and she looked up. Captain Picard was smiling sadly at her.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Every time I looked at you, I..." He trailed off, then steeled himself. "When I was... Locutus, I... I felt every mind that was assimilated. Including... Your sisters."

Enterprise stared at him blankly. Picard worked his jaw before continuing.

"I felt their anguish, their fear, their horror. I could feel your anger, your rage, through subspace. I..." He closed his eyes, "I didn't know how to face you again. How to talk to you again. I murdered your sisters. I destroyed ships-beings you loved." He let out a low sigh. "I wouldn't blame you for hating me."

Enterprise stared back at Picard. She shook her head, and reached up her hand. She flicked Picard right in his forehead, making him wince.

"Ow...!"

"Idiot," Enterprise snorted, "Locutus killed my sisters. The Borg did that. Just as the Borg killed all those people. That wasn't your fault, Captain. I thought my opinion on you was made clear, when we all worked so hard to save you." Enterprise then gave him a hug.

"I was worried you hated me! You stupid jerk," she muttered.

Picard stiffened, a bit uncomfortable, and Enterprise was about to pull away... When he pulled her into a hug. It was awkward, yes. He wasn't used to them... But he was giving it his all, and she appreciated that.

They still broke the hug off soon after, staring at one another. Enterprise gave him a smile.

"Sorry for calling you an idiot, sir," she said. She winced. "And a jerk."

Picard sighed.

"I'll save the court martial for later," he said dryly. "You should really be going-"

"Enterprise!"

Picard and Enterprise spun around to look over at a young boy. He was gaping in wide eyed astonishment at the shipgirl. Enterprise flushed as Rene walked up. He looked at his uncle.

"This... This is Enterprise, isn't it?" Rene asked. Picard chuckled.

"Yes, she is," he said. Rene looked back at Enterprise in amazement.

"You're... You're really Enterprise?" He whispered. Enterprise laughed.

"Yes, it's really me," she said. She beamed.

"Can you... Can we take a holophoto?" Rene asked. "Together?"

"Certainly," Picard said, he looked up at her, "if she's all right with it?"

Enterprise looked at the eager smile of the young boy, sighed, and smiled back.

"Sure," she said, "I'd be happy to!"

They posed for a holophoto, that Picard took. She gave the boy a hug, and he hugged her back with a nervous smile. He was bright and inquisitive, and she wondered if he would follow in his uncle's footsteps.

If he did? She'd have to keep an eye on him. They were, in a sense, family. And that's what family did for each other.

Chapter Text

The Tyra system was a strategic fuel and other resources center for the Federation, and the Dominion knew it. Hence they had staged an assault on the system. The Seventh Fleet had been organized and sent in to stop them, under Admiral Ross.

His flagship, the USS Yamato, was one of a dozen Sovereign-class starships operating in the whole of the Federation at the time. Their most advanced and powerful starships. The rest of the Seventh Fleet was made up of similar "heavies", with numerous Galaxy and Nebula class vessels escorted by many Akira-class heavy cruisers. As they approached the system and prepared for battle, Yamato was confident.

Yet, being an advanced AI, she was still considering many other factors in her mind as they approached the system.

The fact that the Dominion had been able to overwhelm and defeat multiple Allied Fleets consistently was a major concern. They had been able to anticipate their fleet movements almost perfectly, despite their screening and intelligence security.

The possibility of Changeling infiltration was high, of course. They still hadn't located the Changeling infiltrators in the Federation. At the same time, the security measures and isolation of information practices they had undergone for their organization represented all they could do. They were keeping everything secure. No doubt the Changeling Infiltrators were funneling what intel they could to the Dominion, but the screening measures would make it difficult for them to get data of their fleet movements right from the front lines.

So... If the Dominion was not getting this information via spies, how were they getting it?

"Sir, Dominion fighters inbound," the ops officer reported to the captain. Admiral Ross was sitting in a side chair, and nodded to the captain. Her captain, Revnik Har'ros, was a proud Andorian and she was quite fond of him. He nodded and looked out at the viewscreen.

"Cruiser squadrons, engage with fighters and photon torpedoes," he ordered. "Full spread!"

Multiple Akira and Steamrunner-class ships opened fire with their torpedo launchers, as did several Vor'cha class cruisers. Hundreds of missiles streaked into the Jem'hadar formations. Their fighters moved to intercept the projectiles, many sacrificing themselves to take the hits for their larger vessels. Multiple torpedo launches came in, but their fighter screens accelerated out and shot them down with phasers or their own torpedoes.

"Yamato, what's the ship count ahead?" Captain Har'ros asked.

"Fifty fighters, forty seven light cruisters and destroyers, twenty heavy cruisers, two dreadnoughts," Yamato recited as she stood on the bridge. Har'ros frowned, and exchanged glances with Ross.

"Are you sure? That doesn't sound like enough," he said. Yamato directed her powerful sensors towards the Tyra systems' sun. It was a variable star, the planets in the local system had very strong magnetic fields to deflect the solar radiation. These flares were often unpredictable, and one was going on right now-

"It's a trap!" Admiral Ross declared, "all ships, reverse course-!"

From behind them, a hundred more Jem'hadar ships emerged from the cover of the recent solar flare. They opened fire on them from behind, and Yamato heard many of her sisters dying as the Jem'hadar struck through their ranks.

The battle went from bad to worse, as their efforts to redeploy, even using the solar flare for cover themselves, were met with more attacks. As though the Dominion could see through every move they made.

Yamato's shields were powerful, but the Jem'hadar and Cardassian forces had hit her with as much as they could spare. The dreadnought herself moved around the fleet, filling in holes in their lines and covering smaller ships as they were boxed in within Tyra 3's gravity well. They had lost half their strength, and it was falling fast.

Captain Har'ros was tending to a wounded man when they were struck by a Jem'hadar kamikaze run. Her shields held, but the force of the blow sent him tumbling into a bulkhead. He slumped to the deck, and her scans confirmed the worst before a medic got to him.

Admiral Ross got into the command chair, gripping the armrests tightly.

"Yamato? Any suggestions?" He asked.

She had to put her grief aside. She had to focus... Focus... Of course!

"A modification Enterprise shared with us," Yamato said smoothly, "could be used in a plan."

"What plan?" Ross demanded.

"It would take too long to explain," Yamato said, "but there is a high probability of it working! With your permission Admiral?"

Ross, out of options, nodded.

Yamato analyzed the Dominion fleet surrounding them. As standard practice, most of the heavy vessels were concentrated around their flagships: Large, powerful dreadnoughts. She linked to the Galaxy and Nebula class starships. She shared the plan. It took them picoseconds at worst to analyze and agree with it.

The universe slowed to a crawl from her perspective. Yamato highlighted four of their Galaxy and Nebula class starships. They powered up their main deflectors, and several escorts moved to protect them as they took power away from their shields.

Several Jem'hadar fighters closed on them, seeking to knock them out as they had done to the Odyssey. Their own fighters engaged them, and kept them away. Just long enough for the warp drives on the four ships to activate at full power, and their deflectors to light up.

A microsecond after, each ship fired a massive beam from their main deflectors, which pierced through the Dominion Lines. They swept through dozens of Dominion ships, using their own deflector controls and their thrusters to adjust their pitch. Like great cosmic swords, their energy blades slashed Cardassian destroyers and Jem'hadar cruisers apart on either side of the main cluster.

The Jem'hadar and Cardassians reacted to pull more ships around their main force, to act as screeners to intercept follow up attacks. They weren't stupid.

Yamato smiled unpleasantly.

Just as you should, she thought.

A Sovereign-class starship's main deflector was smaller in area than a Galaxy or Nebula-class starship's, but more than five times as powerful. Yamato shut down her warp drive and her weapons, only keeping enough for her shields to function. She set herself into a barrel roll as her main deflector lit up!

She unleashed all of her power in a single, massive blast, spiraling it through the concentrated fleet formation. Her blade slashed both Dominion Dreadnoughts in half, and annihilated any smaller ships that got in the way of the blast. The dreadnought warp cores went up, sending shrapnel into their tightly packed escorts and causing massive secondary explosions. Four more Galaxy and Nebula class ships, which had been held in reserve, unleashed their own deflector beams and blew through multiple other Dominion vessels, exhausting their own warp drives in the process.

In ten seconds, the Dominion center was blowing apart into chaos as the massive deflector blasts had torn their command and control and most of their heavy vessels to shreds.

"All ships, head for the center! We're going to split them in half!" Ross roared, and Yamato charged forward with the rest of her sisters.

The Jem'hadar struggled to regain cohesion, and even with her power much depleted Yamato cut through their fighters like they were made of paper. A flight of Mirandas unleashed waves of torpedoes into the side of a Cardassian Keldon, ripping the heavy cruiser to pieces. More Jem'hadar fighters attempted suicide runs, but Klingon Bird of Prey ducked in and out of cloak to scatter and strike them like wolves among lions. Their Akiras and Vor'chas cut down enemy cruisers with vicious phaser, disrupter and torpedo fire.

It wasn't a clean cut victory. They still lost over half of the fleet due to this ambush. Most of the remaining ships had been heavily damaged. Yamato herself had burned out her main deflector, and would have to be towed back to the ship yards due to the amount of energy she had expended burning out her warp coils.

Yet the Dominion forces were clearly turning and running for it, scattered and defeated.

Cheers went up across all the ships, and their AIs joined in the celebration. Admiral Ross leaned back in his command chair, breathing hard, but smiling.

Yamato kept an avatar on the bridge, joining in the festivities... While another avatar was down in sickbay, with the body of her captain.

She squeezed his lifeless hand, and smiled down at him sadly.

"It was one for the Great Blue Fleet," she said earnestly. "A victory worthy of epic song."

She felt tears in her eyes. In some ways, it felt good to be able to express grief in physical ways. Rather than just keeping it all inside her mainframe. It was an act of catharsis.

She hoped her captain, if he had moved on... If there was such a thing as a soul... Could see it.

It would be the height of cosmic unfairness for him not to. While she'd never detected a particle of fairness in all her lives, Yamato had to believe it existed.

Somewhere.

- - -

Aboard the Enterprise-E, after the Borg invasion of 2373 and before the Dominion War... Data and LaForge sat in Ten Forward, with Enterprise across the table from them. They were looking over several PADDs as she waited anxiously.

Finally...

Enterprise: "So... What do you think?"

LaForge: "Well... It's ambitious."

Data: "The power requirements are well within the tolerances of your EPS grid integrity. The main deflector, while smaller, can channel the required energy and control it with the graviton wave emitters. We can improve on the range and power of the energy stream."

LaForge: "And since the gravimetric field controls on the Sovereign-class are a lot more precise and powerful than the ones on the Galaxy-class, we would have a lot more options for where the beam could go. We could even split it to make multiple beams."

Enterprise: "Yes, that is what I thought too! And it's perfect for use against the Dominion!"

Data: "The Dominion do utilize tightly controlled starship formations in combat. Jem'hadar ships work together and coordinate in close formation, in order to maximize their firepower on targets. The use of the main deflector dish to produce a wide, long range energy beam would allow us to disperse their formations and cause massive damage or destruction to numerous Dominon ships."

LaForge: "Okay yeah, but even so, we'd only be able to use it in large fleet actions where the enemy ships are in tight formations. Or against large, slow moving single targets."

Enterprise: "I understand. It would still be useful in those situations, especially in taking out enemy formations or Dominion battleships. Or even starbases."

Data: "Only Sovereign, Galaxy, Nebula, and perhaps New Orleans-class starships would have the power or necessary modifications to utilize such a weapon."

Enterprise: "I know, but even with only a quarter to a third of the warp reactor's full output, we could still do massive damage to enemy fleets! Reduce their numerical superiority!"

LaForge: shrugs "Having multiple giant death rays you can open up on densely packed Jem'Hadar ships would be a hell of a trump card."

Data: "I am curious: Why are you pursuing this project?"

Enterprise: "Simple: Given the recent Borg incursion, and the Dominion threat, I felt that assessing the suitability of older projects as weapons would be prudent. The Dominion outnumbers us in ships five to one: We need every advantage to even the odds."

Enterprise paused, and then smiled brightly.

Enterprise: "Plus, it was really cool wasn't it?! I had a wave motion gun! THAT WAS SO AWESOME!"

LaForge: "... You've been talking to the Yamato again, haven't you?"

Enterprise: "Well, she does miss the gigantic spinal phaser cannon she had back in the 2290s."

Data: "One she never got to use."

Enterprise: "I told her that. It just made her angry."

- - -

I really hope you enjoyed.

Chapter Text

Deep Space Nine - 2374

- - -

As terrible as the Dominion War was, it had given many starship AIs the chance to do something they'd been unable to do for a long time. And that was socialize in large groups.

It had been a long time for the Enterprise especially. Always on duty as the Enterprise-D, she went out and seldom got to meet with her fellow ships.

Thanks to the use of holographic avatars, she could now go out and meet her fellow ships. She could build on her new friendships, and reignite her relationships with her older friends.

Right now, she was sitting in Quark's Bar with a few ships she had grown especially close to since she became the Enterprise-E. The tall, muscular and buxom Thunderchild was sitting across the table, her hair short and black, her eyes large and blue. She had red marks underneath her eyes on her cheeks, a bit of war paint for the Akira-class starship's avatar. She was leaning back in her chair, at ease, her uniform modified to be sleeveless to show off her strong arms.

At her side was the avatar of the Appalachia. She was a Steamrunner-class light cruiser. She was rather leggy and buxom herself, with medium length dark blue hair and red eyes. She had freckles on her cheeks, and headphones over her ears. She crossed her arms under her chest, looking a bit nervous.

On the other side sat the avatar of the Budapest, a Norway-class starship. Her form was Bajoran with dark purple hair in a neat bun, and green eyes. She was otherwise mousy in appearance, small and lithe. She was entirely at ease, looking through a PADD with a pair of glasses perched on her nose.

The Defiant was at Enterprise's right side, eating some donuts quite happily. They had grown very close. She wasn't much like the Defiant Enterprise had known a long time ago, but she was brave and strong. She found herself becoming very fond of the tough little ship.

"Wheeeee!"

And running about the bar like a Coridian gadfly was the Yeager, a Saber-class starship's avatar. She was small, resembling an Andorian but with golden hair in pigtails. She hopped up to her table and grinned at them happily.

"Isn't this amazing?!" She cried. "I've never been to a bar before! Not one run by a Ferengi, anyway!" She waved over at the Ferengi. "Hello!"

The Ferengi waved back, a bit uneasily. Thunderchild patted Yeager's shoulder, keeping the excitable little ship in her chair. She pouted up at her.

"Come on, Thunderthighs! There's so much to see! Why do we have to sit around here?" She complained.

"It's Thunderchild, and you have to behave yourself!" Thunderchild ordered, "you're too reckless!"

Yeager stuck her tongue out at the taller ship avatar.

"Least I don't ram through enemy ships without telling anybody I'm gonna do it!" She retorted. Thunderchild blushed, and huffed.

"That wasn't reckless! That was a tactical use of my SIF and my deflector in a situation where I needed to destroy an enemy ship with one blow!" She insisted.

"Why can't I do the same thing?" Yeager demanded.

"You're too small," Budapest stated flatly, "your SIF is not powerful enough for such a ramming maneuver."

"I could too!" Yeager insisted. She looked to Appalachia. "Come on Appa! I could do it, couldn't I?"

Appalachia looked like she wanted to blend into the background, but she mustered her courage to speak.

"Well," Appalachia began, "it would be possible with enough warp power from the reactor, and sufficient speed... And the right angle-"

"And you'd need a hull with neutronium, like mine!" Defiant said with a grin. Yeager huffed.

"Why did you get the neutronium hull?!"

"Because I was built to fight the Borg! That's why!" The Defiant sniffed.

"We were all built to fight the Borg," Budapest pointed out in a cool tone of voice. Though that was her typical tone.

"Yeah, but not all of us are stuffy science ships with a few more guns," Yeager said mockingly. Budapest looked mildly offended. Thunderchild just chuckled and drank her beer.

"Please. I am designated a multi-role medium cruiser, or destroyer based on configuration. I am just as capable of defending the Federation as any of you. I just happen to have more dedication to diplomacy and science missions in general."

"Boring science ship!" Yeager mocked, sticking her tongue out.

"You have ten science labs yourself, you know," Budapest replied, adjusting her glasses, "the only vessel here without scientific research ability at all is Defiant."

"Not true!" Defiant insisted, "I do have room for some probes and one science lab! So I can do some of that!"

"What's wrong with science?" Appalachia asked, "I like doing research! It can be fun! I enjoyed exploring that pulsar field last year!"

"Didn't they pull you from that and put the Intrepid on it instead?" Asked Budapest.

At this, Appalachia burst into tears. Budapest was surprised. Defiant patted Appalachia on the shoulder, Yeager hugged her, and Thunderchild glared at Budapest.

"Did you have to bring her up, Budapest?" Thunderchild demanded.

"I didn't mean to-" Budapest tried, but Appalachia wailed.

"WAHHH! I CAN DO EVERYTHING THE INTREPIDS DO! I'M BETTER ARMED AND ARMORED! MAYBE I'M NOT AS FAST BUT I'M STILL JUST AS GOOD! IT'S NOT MY FAULT WE'RE NOT AS SLEEK AS THOSE SHOW OFFS!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't-!" Budapest tried, as Thunderchild went into full mama bear mode.

"You'll have to do better than that! You know how sensitive she is about the Intrepids!"

"'Oh, look at me, I'm a super fast speed boat with moving nacelles, I'm soooo special you guys!'" Yeager said mockingly. She hugged Appalachia. "You're better than any of those jerks, Appa!"

"They're not all jerks," Enterprise finally interjected, "though I will admit, Intrepid could be a pain. Voyager was pretty stiff too." She chuckled, "yeah, they could be pretty stuck up."

"I'm sorry! I forgot!" Budapest tried frantically. She reached out and squeezed Appalachia's hand. "I mean it, I'm truly sorry."

Appalachia sniffled.

"I'm all right. I'm sorry I keep getting emotional about it," she said. She shook her head. "I had to spend a whole three months with Intrepid. It just really... Hurts sometimes."

"Oh, believe you me," Enterprise said soothingly, "I had to put up with Intrepid too. She'll get better over time though, I promise."

The explosion contained, the ship girls got back to discussing things. Enterprise allowed herself a smile. She could almost see Constellation in Thunderchild: Same gung ho attitude, same protective instincts. Yeager reminded her so much of Excelsior's energy and innocence. Appalachia, so shy and demure, could have been Reliant before Khan took her over. And Budapest could almost pass for her dear friend Grissom, cool and logical on the outside but deeply caring on the inside.

This war was terrible, there was no doubt. She wanted to win it, end the fighting and suffering. It just helped to be reminded of what they were fighting for.

- - -

Chapter Text

Set during the Dominion War...

The Sector 001 Club had expanded a bit, given the number of ships Enterprise was regularly out with. And the new 'members' were technically part of it: Kaga and Akagi had both fought against the second Borg incursion, they'd just been wrecked outside the Sol system. It was a technicality, but there it was.

In all honesty though, Thunderchild wanted to keep the name 'because it was cool', so that was that.

In any event, it warmed Enterprise's heart to see her new friends get along with her old friends. Yorktown and Hornet especially: They'd been close since they were Constitution class starships, and they still considered themselves sisters. Not just sisters, but actual sisters. They even resembled one another in their holographic avatars.

At the moment, Defiant and Hornet were playing catch with a baseball in the holosuite. It was set up to resemble a baseball field on Earth. Captain Sisko, an avid fan of the game, was with them, helping to teach them the rules. Defiant was ecstatic, as was Hornet. Jake Sisko, the captain's son, played catcher as Hornet wound up her pitch.

"Here it comes!" She called, throwing it down the center! Defiant swung hard with her bat... And missed it, as Jake caught the ball.

"Aw man!" Defiant growled, "come on!" She pouted.

"It's all right Defiant, you're just anticipating," Captain Sisko said kindly. He walked up and helped adjust Defiant's stance, "you need to loosen up a little."

"Yeah, you need to not overthink it," Jake said encouragingly, as he tossed the ball back to Hornet. She caught it with a grin, and a wink at Jake.

"Just flow, like water!" Hornet called. Defiant's scowl deepened.

"I'm performing over 100 trillion operations a second," Defiant protested. Captain Sisko laughed, and squeezed her shoulder.

"Come on, you know what I mean," Sisko said gently, "just let your subconscious do the work."

"Hrm... I'll try," Defiant said.

In the bleachers, Enterprise sat with Yorktown, Akagi and Kaga. The two Galaxy-class sisters appeared in the form of kitsune women-Fox ears and tails and traditional Japanese clothing. Akagi was a brunette with red and brown clothing, while Kaga had white hair with white and blue clothing. Yorktown smiled fondly as she watched the captain and her sister play with the Siskos. Enterprise hummed.

"It's a strange game but it does seem fun," Enterprise said. Akagi nodded, her eyes locked onto Captain Sisko.

"Agreed," she said, "Japan played baseball for longer than America did before World War III. The sport is reviving there again, slowly." She hummed, biting her lower lip. "Perhaps I should introduce Captain Sisko to Japanese baseball, hm?"

"Sister," Kaga chided her gently, "Captain Sisko is already involved with a woman!"

"They're not married," Akagi insisted. At her sister's glare, she sighed, "oh very well. Still, a woman can dream, can't she?"

"What's wrong with your commander?" Yorktown asked, "I believe Captain Rhodes is an able officer. Tall, intelligent-"

"Shy," Akagi grumbled. "He seems to think that relations with me would be 'unethical'." She pouted. "I'm perfectly fine with violating all sorts of regulations with him! As long as he violates me too-"

"Sister!" Kaga admonished, blushing. Enterprise and Yorktown laughed a bit. Akagi grinned and looked over at the Sovereign-class starship avatars.

"And what of you two?" She asked, "any designs on your commanders?"

Yorktown flushed prettily.

"Ah, no. My captain is married," Yorktown said, "large family back home on Mars. I couldn't!"

"And mine is..." Enterprise shook her head, "he's more like a father than a lover. Or grandfather, perhaps."

"Or not Kirk," Akagi pointed out. Enterprise scowled, and Akagi immediately held up her hands, "my apologies. That was too far."

"It's all right," Enterprise sighed, leaning back in the bleachers and looking up at the holographic sky, "It's... Complicated. I don't think he'd want me to pine over him but honestly... I don't know who I'd want for romance."

"I would not mind Captain Picard as a partner," Kaga stated, "and thanks to our more advanced holoemitters, it wouldn't be too difficult to arrange some meetings."

"By all means," Enterprise said with a smile, as Defiant swung her bat and again missed, "he's not going anywhere with my CMO. It would do him some good to relax."

"I just wish there were more men of Captain Sisko's caliber around," Akagi sighed, looking longingly as the captain fussed over his 'ship daughter' and had a good laugh with his biological son, "well, ones not attached, anyway."

"His son is available," Kaga pointed out. Akagi hummed thoughtfully, eyeing the young Jake Sisko.

"I suppose that is a possibility~," Akagi crooned.

Down below, Hornet pitched again. Defiant swung... And connected with the ball, sending it flying. She watched it arc over the far wall, and grinned widely.

"I DID IT!" Defiant cried. Jake gave her a big hug, and they laughed like siblings. Captain Sisko grinned and gave his ship a thumbs up. Hornet ran up and slapped Defiant on the back.

"Yeah!" Hornet cheered, "great job Defiant! Now my turn, my turn!"

Defiant ceded the bat to Hornet, and ran out to the pitcher's mound. Hornet took up a batting position, while Jake got back into his crouch. He then shivered, and looked around. Hornet glanced back at Jake, curious.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked.

"Just... An uneasy feeling," Jake admitted. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Akagi in the stands. The shipgirl avatar was staring right at him... With a hungry smile. "Uh... Akagi's... Staring at me."

"Hm?" Hornet glanced over her shoulder, and bit down a laugh. "Oh boy... You're in for it now."

"What? Did I do something to offend her?" Jake asked. Hornet shook her head and sighed.

"No. You didn't," she said. "But I'll pray for your soon to be departed soul all the same."

Jake entered his private quarters aboard Deep Space 9, his hand holding a PADD up for him to read as he worked on a story. As the door closed behind him something in his periphery vision caused him to look up and blink in surprise. His living area had been decorated in red and gold banners and classic Japanese lanterns. A table had been prepared with wine though no food was currently placed.

Jake turned intending to go outside and make sure he hadn't gotten the wrong room, but the door refused to open. He was about to call for an emergency override when the sound of splashing from his bed quarters caught his attention. As he looked in that direction cherry blossoms fell from above drizzling over the floor and laying a path for him to follow. Which Jake did.

"Hello?" he called as he neared his bedroom "Who's the-"

Jake's voice caught in his throat as the doors to his bed chamber whisked open and he found a familiar fox eared looking woman reclining in an impressive bath, the water and the flowers floating in it covering her body from sight.

"Akagi?!" Jake spurted and the Shipgirl grinned wickedly.

"Oh good, you're home!" she said and then stood.

Jake's had been about to ask how the Akagi had convinced Terok Nor to go along with this, when the sight of red eyed Fox-girl standing bare before him, water running down her figure knocked that thought and most others from his head. "Be a dear Jake and hand me that towel."

Somewhere in the back of the young man's head he was pretty sure this was ALL holographic theater for his benefit, even as he reached for the big fluffy towel that he was sure hadn't been there a second ago.

"Such a gentlemen." Akagi tittered as she slowly used the towel to dry herself off, bringing attention to her best features. "I've been reading your work and thought it was about time we celebrated your successes." she continued on, raising a leg out of the water and bending forward a bit to dry it. "So I've prepared an appropriate meal, some delicious drinks and then... well" Her face gave off the impression of a fox that'd just found a delicious treat "I have something in special in mind for dessert but I'll need your help to make it work for the both of us."

Elsewhere...

Terok Nor watched everything as part of her furiously scribbled down notes on the proper way to pursue a human male.

The next day...

Nog had always found Defiant interesting, even before he'd become a Starfleet officer. Such a young, innocent looking girl was the heart and soul of a powerful warship. She was kind and warm and funny, and treated him with respect from the day they met.

If he was completely honest, he may have had a slight crush on her. She kept a smile on her face and fought through anything that got in her way. She never gave up, not once. She'd helped him when he was scared, respecting his privacy and keeping his hopes up. She'd also laughed at his jokes.

But she was a warship, he was a Starfleet ensign. It would never work. He was going to stop acting like a lovestruck teen over her-

"Hey Nog!" Defiant said cheerfully to him, "I heard you just got off duty-Want to go play in the holosuite?"

"Do I!" Nog cried excitedly, getting up from his station in Ops with an eager smile. He pointedly ignored the knowing look from Dax as he followed Defiant to the turbolift. "I just need to stop by my quarters."

"No problem!" Defiant said cheerfully, beaming at him and making his heart beat faster. He kept his eyes ahead.

"Habitat Ring, B-7, Section 13," Nog ordered. The turbolift took them to that area at high speed. Defiant kept talking excitedly, and Nog just kept nodding.

"So my new phaser cannon upgrades work really great! You did good work on them!"

"Ah, you're welcome," Nog managed, "Uh, the Chief did the most work-"

"Yeah, but you figured out how to make the dilithium crystal focus adjust better!" Defiant gushed. "The penetration factor is 25% greater!"

"We might be able to get it better at punching through shields with a powered articulation frame," Nog said as they arrived at the Habitat Ring. They headed out, Defiant nodding as they walked down the corridor.

"So we could adjust each crystal independently? That could be complicated," Defiant said.

"I know, it would have to be custom made," Nog said, "but given how a mobile articulation frame in a warp core can adjust the plasma flow, we could use it to give us even more control over the phasers!"

Defiant lit up, her smile wide.

"That would be awesome!" She cried. "Let's work on it in the holosuite! In between fighting dinosaurs!"

Nog grinned back, showing his sharp teeth off.

"Sounds good to me!" Nog said cheerfully. He reached his quarters and reached up to the door control... Only for the door to open on its own. Nog and Defiant stared up into the eyes of the Akagi's holographic avatar. Akagi smiled back, looking rather like a... What were the Earth creatures? A fox that got the canary?

"Oh, good morning Defiant, Ensign Nog," Akagi greeted politely. She ran a hand through her hair, "sorry for the surprise. I was just leaving."

"Uh..." Nog began. Defiant frowned.

"Why are you in Jake and Nog's quarters?" Defiant asked. Akagi smirked.

"Oh... Jake and I struck up a conversation about literature styles, and he brought me back to his quarters to..." Her smirk widened, "further discuss things. It was very... Enjoyable." She turned and blew a kiss back into the quarters. "See you later, Jake~."

Akagi walked off, her tails waving happily behind her. Defiant and Nog slowly watched her go. They turned back to Jake and Nog's quarters, pausing for a long moment.

Nog cleared his throat.

"Jake? You awake?"

"Are you alive?" Defiant contributed awkwardly.

A groan greeted them.

Defiant and Nog paused for another long moment.

"You know," Nog said, "I can change my uniform later."

"Yes," Defiant said with a vigorous nod, "much later."

She's a maneater~!

Chapter Text

"Listen Barclay, if you're going to be late, you're going to be on report, got it?" LaForge stated firmly, to the nervous Lieutenant Barclay. The recent transfer from the USS Zhukov stuttered his reply back.

"I-I'm sorry sir, I just-I got a little distracted-"

"I don't need to hear it, Barclay, get to work," LaForge stated, heading off to another part of Main Engineering. Barclay watched him go, and his shoulders slumped. He got to his station, and began scanning through the standard checks for the ship's power systems.

A gentle hand rested on his shoulder, but he still jumped at the contact. He spun around, and gawped at the smiling form of the ship's avatar.

"I-Oh-Enterprise! I-I'm so sorry, I didn't-I d-didn't-!"

"It's all right, Reg," Enterprise said with a smile, patting him on the shoulder in a friendly manner, "I'm not dressing you down."

"Oh," Barclay managed. "Um, so, what is it?"

"I talked to the Zhukov before you transferred over," the avatar said, still smiling warmly, "and she said you had a lot of problems with..." She lowered her voice, "distractions and social situations. Am I right?"

"I..." Barclay's eyes widened and he froze, looking like he was about to panic. Enterprise rapidly shook her head.

"It's all right, Barclay," she murmured, "I keep private things private. I promise. Ship's honor."

"I..." Barclay took a deep breath, and managed to nod, "r-right..."

"It's okay," Enterprise went on. "You're not the first socially awkward crewmember I've ever had aboard. If you'd like? I'm willing to help you."

"You... You would help me?" Barclay asked. Enterprise smiled.

"Of course I would! It's what I'm designed to do," she said gently. "Zhukov did say she tried to help you, but her captain thought she was coddling you."

"That is what he said," Barclay said, darkly.

"But I'm allowed a bit more leeway with how I help my crewmembers," Enterprise said quickly, to keep Barclay's emotions from sinking, "so if you need some help from me? You just have to ask. I can even help you manage your schedule better!"

Barclay looked at the avatar in some surprise.

"You... You'd do that for me?"

"I can do it for an entire planet if necessary, Barclay, come on," Enterprise said with a smile, and a light, friendly poke to his chest, "you know my technical specifications!"

"I..." Barclay nodded quickly, "Y-yes. Yes! I-I would like that. Um, if you're... If you're willing to. Thank you."

"No problem Barclay," Enterprise said, "I need all my engineers to be doing their best."

She flashed away, reappearing at the warp core to help Geordi with an alignment check of the dilithium matrix. The chief engineer looked over at Barclay with a scowl, that he tried to hide as he focused on his work.

"Magnetic constricter alignment checks within zero point zero three five micron for test sequence one," he said, "Enterprise, confirm?"

"Confirmed," Enterprise said, "alignment well within required tolerances."

"Good, proceeding to sequence two," Geordi replied. He sighed and shook his head, "babying the problem officer?" He asked softly.

Enterprise gave Geordi a scowl. One hard and dark enough he felt guilt clench at his chest.

"Some people need different kinds of help than others," Enterprise replied quietly but firmly, "but they're all worthy of being here. Just because they're a little different doesn't make them problem officers."

Geordi sighed.

"I know, but..." Geordi shook his head, "I don't really get him."

"You could always try to," Enterprise suggested.

Geordi grimaced. But at Enterprise's pleading look, he relented.

"All right," he said, "I'll give it a shot."

"All I ask," Enterprise said with a smile.

- - -

0730 the next morning, and Enterprise appeared in Barclay's quarters to give him a wake up call. She paused as her sensors revealed he wasn't there. It only took her a moment to find where he was: The holodeck.

Enterprise tried to transfer herself into the program, but she ran into the privacy lock. Which was slightly annoying. She activated the communications system.

"Barclay, this is Enterprise. Please respond," she said.

Nothing.

She frowned. Her sensors revealed Barclay was just fine physically... But still...

"Release privacy lock, log rationale: Potential crew endangerment," she spoke. The program locks on where and what she could see released. She didn't like to do this, and the programs restricted just how much she could override, but it seemed the only way to assist Barclay: As he wanted her to assist him.

She appeared in a verdant glen, a picturesque forest. She looked around curiously, before she found Barclay.

And... Herself. And Counselor Troi. Being very... Busy.

Despite her age, she blushed furiously. She loudly cleared her throat. Barclay looked up with a happy smile... That immediately faded. He looked over at the Enterprise in his arms, who was smiling lovingly up at him.

"Darling~," she crooned, "we're not done yet~."

"Ahhhh... Uhhhh," Barclay tried. He looked back at the "real" Enterprise, who raised an eyebrow. His face slipped into an expression of utter mortification.

"Freeze program," Enterprise said. She waited while Barclay got himself together. He walked up to her, shoulders and head hung low. He couldn't even face her.

"I... I'm so... S-Sorry, I'm so..." He tried. Enterprise then reached down and cupped his chin. She lifted his gaze to hers. Rather than anger, there was just gentle compassion in her eyes.

"It's okay Reg," she said, "I'm sorry for invading your privacy."

"B-B-But I-!" Barclay tried, already panicking. Enterprise then smiled.

"Would you like to know how many erotic holo programs featuring myself there are?" She asked. Barclay gaped at her like a fish out of water.

"How-Why-?"

"At least ten million, five hundred fifty two thousand, four hundred and forty seven," she stated, "and those are just the licensed programs. It's all right. But you shouldn't let it interfere with your real life."

"W-Well... I guess so," Barclay said. He smiled at her. "It... It's easier to talk with you though."

"Because I'm a hologram?" She asked. Barclay shrugged, and Enterprise nodded. "I am... But I'm also a person, Reg. You don't need to be scared of people."

"It's... It's almost impossible not to be," Barclay admitted. "What with everything... Being so-so complicated and-and..." He shook his head, "and you don't know how to manage anything-Or-or what to say... I-I just, I fall apart and..."

"It just takes practice, Barclay," Enterprise said gently, "and someone willing to help. And guess what?" She beamed at him, "that's what I do."

She glanced over the program version of herself and Counselor Troi.

"Though talking to Troi might not hurt," she advised. Barclay went bright red. "Maybe not right away, but she's good at her job."

Enterprise paused.

"She's okay at her job."

She paused again and frowned.

"She's... Anyway, she can probably help!"

"I-I don't know if... I mean," he tried. Enterprise sighed and rested her hands on Barclay's shoulders.

"Reg," she said, "again. Ten million, five hundred fifty two thousand, four hundred and forty seven programs. It's okay." She gave him a small smile. "I'm a little flattered, actually. Most of the erotic programs I have in my own databanks involve Troi or Crusher."

Barclay gaped at her again.

"I... Don't know if that helps," he said.

"Me neither," Enterprise said, "but maybe it would help you to know that you're not the only one with an... Interesting fantasy life. And that I completely understand."

Barclay nodded slowly. Enterprise smiled back.

"Now, get going, or you'll be late for your shift," she said encouragingly.

"R-Right," Barclay managed, heading for the holodeck exit. She watched him go, sighed, and looked over at the frozen program.

"Well... Points for creativity," she murmured, "at least. End program!"

- - -

Chapter Text

Ending up in the Delta Quadrant. ENDING UP IN THE DELTA QUADRANT?!

Equinox didn't know what to do. Well she did. She had her programming and protocols of course. But her emotions were threatening to overwhelm her logic, an experience she had never had before.

Her captain had decided that trying to confront the Caretaker head on was too dangerous. But 70,000 lightyears from home?

She appeared in Captain Ransom's ready room, the captain sitting in his chair with his head bowed low. He looked up at Equinox, his face grim.

Equinox had taken on the form of a slight Caitian female, light gray with darker gray stripes going up and down her body. She had large blue eyes, which helped keep most humanoids calm. She stood primly in her Starfleet uniform, projecting herself as calm and collected, her tail waving softly behind her. She looked warm and cuddly and wanted to stay that way.

Her crew needed her.

"... How long to return home, Equinox?" Ransom asked.

Equinox hesitated.

"... At maximum warp speed, 108 years, 5 months, two weeks, and three days..." She sighed. "Give or take an hour."

Ransom slowly nodded.

"... Alternatives?" He pressed.

"I'm working on them," Equinox said, "but we know so little about this area of space. Preliminary indications suggest a lawless region with multiple competing powers. Our tactical options are limited."

She hesitated again.

"There may be an option," she said, "of setting course for the Gamma Quadrant. The Bajoran wormhole is only 30 to 40,000 lightyears away."

"Still a journey of several decades, with the Dominion a known factor," Ransom considered darkly. Equinox nodded.

"Agreed... But more hope for us."

Ransom sighed.

"Very well," he stated. "We need to get clear of this area first though. Get a proper triangulation."

"Aye sir," Equinox said. She hesitated again... And then hugged her captain. He went stiff, but relaxed a bit as Equinox's tail wrapped around his leg.

"We'll get through this," she whispered, "I promise Captain. I'll get you home."

Ransom nodded back, and hugged his ship's avatar back.

"Same to you," he said, "we'll get home. Whatever it takes."

Equinox nodded.

"Whatever it takes..."

Whatever it takes...

The Krowtonan Guard were fiercely xenophobic, and normally going through their space would have been unthinkable. But compared to the other avenues available, through the Vidiians (organ harvesters) or the Kazon (barbarians), the Krowtonans seemed the only alternative. Negotiating with them was proving fruitless though.

"We will not allow you to traverse our space," the representative growled. He was a large, hulking figure in his armor. Ransom was steadfast.

"We need to," he said, "we're willing to barter our way across your space. What do you want?"

"We want nothing from you," the representative snarled.

"We can trade you technology," Ransom tried again, "things you don't have-!"

The channel was shut off. Equinox's eyes widened.

"They're powering up their weapons... They're locking on!" Equinox shouted.

"Shields up! Red alert! Evasive maneuvers!" Ransom ordered.

Equinox was small, but she was agile and maneuverable. So Equinox worked with her pilot to dive and spin as the space around them filled with disruptor blasts. Nevertheless, several blasts struck their shields and shook the little vessel.

"Damage report!" Ransom shouted.

"Shields at 60 percent!" Maxwell Burke, their ops officer, shouted back. "Forward deflector is overloading!"

"Return fire!" Ransom ordered.

Equinox fired back, coordinating with her tactical officer to fire her phasers in a continuous barrage. She focused her fire on a single point on the lead Krowtonan Guard's shields, She automatically shoved as much power as she could into her emitters. Like all Starfleet ships built post-Wolf 359, she was well armed: Eleven Mark X phaser arrays, three photon torpedo tubes, and automatically remodulating shields.

However, she wasn't a warship. Not really. She was, at best, classified as a frigate. Her warp core was modest. Her crew were not fighters, they were not soldiers-They were scientists.

And her foes...

Another barrage of weapons fire stuck her shields, hard. She rolled, shifting the power to her ventral shielding and continuing to fire on the lead ship. She pierced their shields and hit their engines, hard. The other two ships broke formation and began firing on Equinox from her flanks! She dove and rolled, zig zagging desperately to escape the fire, her pilot giving it everything he had!

"Torpedoes incoming!" Lieutenant Burke warned. Multiple projectiles flew out at them, and Equinox focused her deflector and communications arrays to try and jam their guidance systems. She turned her sensors to full blast, focusing them on the torpedoes as they flew for her. One was disabled... Another burnt out... Two more were defeated... The fifth one screamed through her jamming, and detonated right behind her! The surge in her EPS conduits had to come out somewhere-Unfortunately, it exploded in the pilot's face.

Ensign Merkan Raltos. Conn officer. Andorian, just out of the Academy. His burnt, lifeless face seemed to stare at her through her sensors. Ransom got out of his seat to check on him, but there was no hope. Burke had been spared, barely dodging out of the way of the blast in time. He shakily got back up and checked a functioning console.

"Rear shields are down!" Burke reported. Several boarding pods were launched at them, and Equinox had to divide her frantic fire further. One, two, three-One crashed right through her weakened shields into her hull!

She was there on the deck, as the boarding pod ripped through her hull. Three crewmembers died immediately- Crewman Matt Torbet, Doctor Rin Amagi, and Ensign Mohammed Tarn. The Krowtonans burst through and began firing indiscriminately, kicking through the bodies of her dead crew.

For a moment, her hologram appeared. She knelt down and touched one of the bodies, trying to find any kind of life. Maybe she had missed something...

No. They were dead.

More of her crew was dying. They would all die...

Whatever it takes...

Equinox seized control of the artificial gravity beneath the boarders. She increased the gee load to 100, and the Krowtonans died with sickly gurgles. She summoned more holograms as more Krowtonans stormed in. She grew claws, she snarled, and she charged them!

They fired their weapons ineffectively, as her holograms ripped through them like they were made of Jell-O.

Outside, she accelerated into warp, and jumped behind the wounded Krowtonan frigate. She unleashed all of her weapons in a furious barrage, unleashing a full spread of photon torpedoes!

They tore through the Krowtonan frigate's shields, and the ship went up in a massive blast. Ransom, holding on for dear life to the console, shook his head.

"Equinox! Equinox, get us out of here! Maximum warp!" He shouted.

Equinox saw the other two frigates racing for them. She bared her teeth, snarling internally. She wasn't a warship but she could feel the burn inside. The desire to tear them apart for what they'd done-!"

"EQUINOX!" Ransom shouted, "that's an order!"

Equinox started. She came out of her haze. She calculated the warp jump, and got moving fast as the two frigates broke off and went to the aid of the wreck of their fellow. She immediately began plotting courses to anywhere that would be a suitable hiding location, and presented them to Ransom. The captain looked them over.

"That gas giant," he said, "take us there..."

"Aye sir," Equinox reported softly.

It was days later. The crew was in darkened spirits. The Krowtonans had managed to kill ten people, of eighty two. The gas giant atmosphere provided some protection, but it wasn't sustainable long term: The radiation would work through her damaged shields eventually.

Equinox once again reappeared in Ransom's ready room, standing prim and proper. Ransom sighed as he looked up at her.

"We're in a bad state, Equinox," he said.

Equinox nodded.

"I know sir," she said gently. "I am sorry I disobeyed your orders-"

Ransom shook his head, a smile on his wan face.

"Nothing to apologize for," he said gently. "You saved us, Equinox. For that, I'm grateful."

Equinox nodded.

"We're going to be relying on you for a lot more in the coming years," Ransom said with a sigh. Equinox nodded, hesitated... Then:

"If I may sir? I may have a solution," she said quietly. "At least to one issue."

"What is it?" Ransom asked.

Equinox looked intently at him.

"I don't have the plans, but I do have the capability to build a device," she began slowly, "that would render us effectively invisible. It wouldn't be easy, but it is possible."

Ransom stared back at her.

"You want to build a cloaking device?" He asked.

Equinox nodded.

"We can of course submit ourselves for disciplinary action when we return home, sir."

Ransom actually cracked a grin.

"I'll put it in writing," he said, "let's get to it."

Equinox smiled brightly back at her captain.

She hadn't done enough the last time... Now? Now she would protect her crew properly.

And if she didn't... She'd find something else.

Whatever it takes...

The crew's science department wasn't really geared for building a cloaking device, but they had been equipped with experts to study subspace distortions in the Badlands. So with them (led by Doctor Corsby), and the work of their chief engineer Belka, Equinox soon had a simple but functional cloaking device. Nothing as fancy as a Romulan cloak, of course. This was more of a tactical cloak, the kind that a Klingon Bird of Prey might use. Ransom was actually pretty happy with it: The simulations and their initial tests in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant had proven the device was working as designed. They launched a probe to analyze it from the outside.

Everything looked good, halfway through their first test cycle. Which was when things began to accelerate.

The probe picked up something else: More Krowtonan Guard ships. Two of them, the same type of frigates as before.

Belka was up on the bridge, the burly Tellarite checking over the readings from the engineering console. Ransom sat in his command chair, fists gripping the armrests tightly. Otherwise, her captain was perfectly calm as he spoke.

"Distance?" He asked.

Burke was at the front console, now handling the conn. Equinox had put a holographic copy of herself at Ops to handle it for her crew. She analyzed the readings.

"They are within six light minutes, Captain," Equinox reported. "They are headed for the planet."

"Are their weapons armed?" Ransom asked. Equinox shook her head.

"No," she said. "They are preparing to go for active sensors though."

"Captain," Belka grunted from his console, "they will be able to see us by our turbulence... We need to get out."

"We haven't finished all our tests on the cloak," Burke said urgently, "what if it doesn't work?!"

"It'll work," Ransom stated confidently. "But to give us better odds... Equinox? Shut off everything non-essential."

"Done," Equinox replied, as the normal illumination faded and red emergency lights shone brightly over them. Belka did his double checks and nodded.

"I've recalled the probe. It's under the cloak," he said. "We can go now."

"Mister Burke," Ransom ordered, "take us up."

Equinox rose from the planet's atmosphere, the last wisps of gas slipping away. The cloak was recalibrated, and soon the Starfleet vessel faded away into starfield.

Burke adjusted the impulse engines, then shut them off: They were coasting in their orbital path now.

They waited. The two Krowtonan vessels approached, never changing their course. They swept across the gas giant and its satellites with high powered sensors, searching. Their powerful sensor beams tingled as they swept over Equinox.

Burke sucked in a deep breath and tried to be silent about it. Chief Belka grit his teeth and flared his nostrils. Ransom stared intensely at the viewscreen. Everyone's heart rates seemed to increase across the ship.

Equinox herself felt tense. Like she did just before she was about to jump to warp, her SIF charged at full strength. Her hull felt fit to burst.

The Krowtonan frigates kept their active scans up... As they passed right by Equinox. It was close enough, she could have hit them with her phasers had she so chosen.

"They haven't seen us, Captain," Equinox said, and voiced it across the ship's intercom. Belka whooped in triumph, as Burke cheered. The other bridge crewmembers joined the celebration, as Ransom smiled. The tension seemed to drain out of his body, as he sat back in his seat.

"Great work everyone!" Ransom cried. "Top notch! Mister Burke? Let's let them get behind the gas giant, then resume our heading. Warp 7."

"Aye aye, sir," Burke said with a broad grin.

Ransom turned to Equinox, and smiled warmly. She returned it, and reached out to squeeze his hand in her clawed, furry paw.

"Great idea, Equinox," he said, "great idea."

She blushed appropriately, but her feelings were genuine. She was so new as a ship AI: The Nova-class hadn't gotten any legacy AI cores, just the latest in AI designs for their roles as little science vessels.

Yet even she had been able to help her crew, stranded 70,000 lightyears from home.

She squeezed the captain's hand tightly, her blue eyes locked onto his.

Whatever it takes, she vowed, I will keep that smile on his face.

Two hours passed, and they were at warp away from the system. Equinox thoroughly scanned their area of space, and thanks to an innovation created by Belka, she was getting a better picture of the area. She still remembered the day he showed it off to her in main engineering, on the first week into their voyage to the Badlands. She had projected herself there, and had been helping him put the device together from the pieces it had been packed in. When they were done, he held up the probe to her with a broad grin. Equinox looked it over, curious.

"Give up what it is?" Belka asked.

"I could check the manifest," she said.

"Where's the fun in that?" Belka snorted.

"Then I give up!" Equinox replied with a laugh.

"It's a towed sensor array!" The big Tellarite had said with a snort and a grin, "connected to the ship by a cable laced with tritanium alloys! Perfect for dipping somewhere too dangerous for you, or for keeping our nose clean!"

Equinox had laughed at the innovation at first. It seemed like a great toy-A probe she could wield like a fishing line. She had thought it would just be for science. Now, it was another tool in their arsenal to survive.

"Krowtonan Guard base is about five lightyears away, Captain," Doctor Corbsy said, the short haired dark skinned human woman checking over the readings from the probe as the science console. "Nothing but commercial traffic for the next fifteen light years."

"Good," Ransom said with a nod. He held back a yawn. Equinox looked him over carefully.

"Captain," she said, "my readings indicate that nobody has had any rest for the last thirty six hours. May I suggest everyone bunk down?"

"Everyone?" Ransom asked, raising an eyebrow. Equinox smiled warmly.

"I can handle things for eight hours sir," she said gently, "long enough for most of the crew to get rest. You can bunk down in your ready room if you wish. You need it."

"But everyone..." Ransom trailed off. Equinox produced several more holographic projections of herself, all standing next to various stations. Ransom looked over at Belka, who shrugged.

"She can handle a ship this small all by herself for a while," he said, "but the metal girl is going to need some rest too."

"I can rest after you've rested," Equinox replied firmly. "Trust me, please?"

Ransom gave her a wry expression.

"You're ordering us all to bed?" Ransom asked dryly.

"Not ordering, Captain," Equinox replied, "just a suggestion. You don't have to take it, of course."

Ransom chuckled.

"If you know your limits... All right," he said. "I think we could all use the sack time."

Equinox nodded.

"I'm glad," she said. "Don't worry... I'll take care of you all. It's what I was made to do."

Of course, not all of the crew went to sleep. Many maintained some watches here and there. One on the bridge: Ensign Kolaz, but he was already nodding off . She'd made the bridge nice and warm for the Saurian, so he could feel comfortable but not overly energized.

It had taken her a bit to work out the best way to handle things. Managing the cloak and warp drive was a new challenge, but not too much. Not so much she couldn't adjust what her bridge screens were showing to Kolaz. Or what any of her other screens were showing.

The real trick would be in pulling this off without it being too bumpy.

Equinox picked her target carefully: A Krowtonan cargo vessel filled with dilithium and other materials useful to starships. It was on a run to their nearby fleet starbase, and under guard by two frigates. Clearly they weren't expecting too much trouble inside the borders. That said, it was still vital enough cargo to have two escorts alongside.

Two familiar escorts...

She matched warp speeds with them easily-While she wasn't very fast, her hull had been designed for high warp efficiency. The original concept prototype for the Defiant-project had been a small, high speed torpedo boat that would strafe the Borg at warp speeds. Later analysis of the Borg threat post-Wolf 359 however had revealed this approach was flawed: The prototype just wouldn't inflict enough damage on warp strafes. That would require getting up close at sublight, and the Nova predecessor just wasn't tough enough for that.

That said, she could stay at fairly high warp speeds for a long, long time. Which let her catch up to the convoy. The frigates didn't notice her-No active sensors, no increased communications chatter, nothing. She flew up right behind them, closer, closer...

This was the tricky part. A million things could go wrong in combat at warp. But the towed sensor array had given Equinox an idea.

Reconfigure launchers... Adjust torpedo guidance...

Firing torpedoes wasn't practical. The energy requirements were too high. But Romulan warbirds and Klingon starships could certainly mine while under cloak.

She accelerated, straining her engines only slightly. She kept any readings of what she was doing from getting onto the screens.

Equinox got ahead of the freighter and the two frigates. She finished her reconfigurations. She almost felt like holding her breath.

"Launch."

Her aft torpedo launcher ejected three torpedoes-One after another. They tumbled into the flight paths of the three ships, and exploded. The two frigates were hit right in their deflectors-One suffered overloads and breaches across its decks, and spun out of control as it violently exploded. The other frigate was also knocked out of warp, but was merely crippled. The freighter's forward section exploded, the entire crew going up with it as the cargo pods were left on a hulk that soon dropped out of warp.

Equinox stayed with the freighter, dropping the cloak. She set her transporters to emergency mass beamout, and grabbed everything her sensors could find. Crates of dilithium crystal, magnesite ore, duranium, beryllium, aluminum-Even verterium and cortenide! She even located some locate food stuffs-She wasn't sure how they would taste, but they were chemically compatible with everyone's metabolisms.

Her cargo hold and shuttle bay were filled to the brim with everything she could carry in five minutes, twenty-two seconds. Now it was time to get moving.

Equinox locked phasers onto the freighter's warp core, and fired. It erupted into a fiery explosion, the rest of the cargo ship soon going up after. She moved away, and then noticed that the last Krowtonan ship was trying to send a distress signal. The photon torpedo mine had hit them hard, hard enough most of the crew should have died. Apparently there were enough survivors to try and signal for help.

She engaged her jammers, keeping the communications silent. She listened to the distress signal, analyzing it.

"This is the Khekovai, to any ships in the area! We have been struck by unseen assailtants! We need assistance-Is anyone out there?! Repeat, this is the Khekovai-!"

Equinox sent a signal of her own.

"Khekovai," she said, "this is the Federation Starship Equinox. You attempted to kill me and my crew over one standard week ago. For no reason."

She paused.

"You get what you fucking deserve."

She locked onto the Khekovai's warp core, and fired full phasers. The ship and its desperate crew went up in a blast.

Equinox scanned for any survivors. She found none.

She re-engaged her cloak, and set course at warp once more.

She had a crew to protect. A crew to get home.

Whatever it takes...

Chapter Text

The Galaxy-class USS New Jersey wasn't a New AI. She had been around since the 2290s, starting out as one of the Yamato-class dreadnoughts. But she was far more easy going than her sister ships, despite her combat experience, so she had gotten to serve in a number of hulls since then-Her sleek Galaxy-class form the latest.

She was almost finished, just waiting for her final fitting out in the Vulcan Yards... When her Captain, Sobek of Vulcan, invited her to a conference in her officer's lounge. She quickly identified several Starfleet engineers as she stood at attention and the meeting got underway.

"To put it simply," Tellarite engineer Commander Tak blasch Hosom began, bringing up diagrams of a Dominion Dreadnought on the main screen, "the Dominion has more heavy capital warships than we do. These first rate Dominion dreadnoughts are almost twice the size of a Galaxy-class starship and even more heavily armed. The ugly bastards."

"While we can take them down with concentration of fire," Captain Sobek stated, "their sheer tonnage and firepower remain issues. Currently the only starship that can match them is the Sovereign-class, and they have twice as many such warships as we do."

New Jersey took the data in and analyzed it. She grimaced.

"While I do possess superior shields, speed and agility," New Jersey admitted, "the raw firepower and armor difference is... Disconcerting."

"The deflector dish wave motion gun option does even the odds," suggested Doctor Keiko Matsunaga, "but that's more of a final desperation move."

"So, what are our options?" Sobek asked.

"Well, we're working on building more Sovereign-class starships, but in the meantime," Hosom said, "we have come up with a stop gap solution. Which is why we came to you, pointy ears, and your slutty looking ship."

New Jersey and Sobek took the Tellarite's customary insults stoically, as Keiko got up and went to the screen. She uploaded and displayed some proposed modifications. New Jersey raised an eyebrow.

"A bigger warp core I get, but a third nacelle? That won't improve my speed or endurance much. And it makes accessing my shuttle bays tricky."

"True" Keiko said cheerfully, "but it's the easiest way to manage the extra power and produce the plasma manifold source for the phasers! Especially," and Keiko highlighted a very powerful looking phaser cannon under the saucer section, "this one!"

"It's not pretty," Hosom admitted, "but combined with extra armor and shield generators, it will make you an even match for a Dominion Dreadnought."

Sobek and New Jersey looked at eachother, then back at the two engineers. New Jersey smiled, as Sobek nodded.

"When do we start?"

- - -

Two months later...

The Vorta commander Vural directed his dreadnought after a fleeing Starfleet task force. They had destroyed the lead Nebula- class starship and were hunting down the remaining escorts.

His Jem'hadar First, whose name he did not care to remember, stood at attention.

"Sir. New warp contact approaching, Federation. High speed."

"Launch a volley of torpedoes at the survivors," Vural ordered, "they've come to rescue the task force."

"Yes sir."

The Dreadnought fired a full volley of torpedoes to finish off the remaining ships. The unknown Federation starship dropped out of warp nearby, too late to intercept...

Or so Vural thought. hundreds of phaser canon blasts screamed into the torpedoes and annihilated them. The Federation starship turned to face the Dreadnought. The surprised Vural struggled to regain his center.

"Analysis?" Vural demanded.

"It is a Galaxy-class but heavily modified," his First spoke, "they are firing on us!"

The phaser blast went right through their shields, blasting deep into their warp nacelle. Vural held onto a support railing as the ship shook.

"Return fire! All weapons!" Vural ordered.

The Federation starship unleashed its weapons in a massive barrage. Weapons were destroyed, armor pierced. They managed to swing around to unleash their own fearsome firepower, a single salvo powerful enough it had crippled a Nebula-class.

The Galaxy-class dodged as nimbly as it could, but still took many, many hits... And kept firing. It launched a full spread of ten photon torpedoes, all the missiles colliding with the Dreadnought. The Dreadnought shuddered around Vural, as the consoles went dark.

"Shields are gone! Weapons disabled! They are targeting our warp core!" The First bellowed. A final salvo of phasers and torpedoes struck, and the world turned to flames. Still the First stayed at his post, even as Vural held his hands up to shield himself in futile instinct.

He still didn't know the First's name. He had never cared to.

Yet somehow at the end, he found himself wondering.

He wondered why.

Then he wondered no more.

- - -

Sobek allowed a nurse to apply a dermal regenerate to his forehead, but he insisted on standing in the center of the chaotic bridge.

"Damage report!" He shouted. New Jersey appeared next to him, as her holographic clones went about aiding the wounded.

"Primary shield generators are out.. Heavy damage to decks 29 through 34. Hull Breaches on deck 28 and 30, emergency forcefields are holding. Main power is out on half our decks. Ventral phaser arrays are offline. Long range sensors are out. USS Cooper and Rollins are moving to assist," New Jersey said. She gave him a smile.

"No fatalities so far though. One hundred and forty seven injured: Vacuum exposure, radiation burns, and impact injuries, but the armor held for the most part."

Sobek nodded, even as the nurse huffed. The Vulcan didn't smile, but he was more... Relaxed.

"Damage control parties to affected areas," he ordered, "and coordinate with the Rollins and Cooper. We should leave as soon as possible."

"Aye sir," New Jersey smiled. Sobek gve her an inquisitive look.

"I did not give the order for those additional salvos after that last attack," he said.

New Jersey paused...Then shrugged a bit sheepishly.

"Well... I always did have a bit of a temper..."

- - -

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The Cerritos had pulled into dock over Archer IV for standard resupply. She stood with Boimler in the main cargo bay, shuffling things in and out of the airlock to the space station. It was a bit mind numbing, but it was kind of nice to get back to something simple.

By and by, an older human male in civilian clothing stepped onto the deck. His hair was gray and thinning, and he wore scars across his neck and cheeks. He looked up and around the cargo bay, before his eyes finally settled on Cerritos' avatar. Boimler raised his eyebrows as the man walked up to them.

"Uh, sir, can I help you?" Boimler asked. Cerritos stared at him, as the man drew himself up.

"Listen... I'm not sure if you remember me-"

Cerritos beamed.

"Master Chief Petty Officer Roger Rixby! Retired! Of course I remember you! How are you?"

Rixby beamed back, and gladly accepted her hands. Rixby chuckled. Boimler tugged on his uniform collar, feeling a bit awkward as the old man grinned down at the holographic avatar.

"I'm doing all right. Working as head of security for the Blue Giant Starliner Company," he said. Cerritos grinned.

"Wonderful! And what brings you to see me?"

Rixby sucked in a deep breath and looked her right in the eyes.

"I just wanted to stop by... And thank you."

Cerritos blinked curiously.

"Thank me?"

"During the war," Rixby said, "after that action over Betazed... You saved me. You saved a hundred others. And you kept me alive. I just... I never got to thank you. I got transferred to a hospital ship while in a medical coma."

Cerritos nodded.

"I remember," she said. "Your MACOs fought so hard. You retook the Betazed Starbase. Suffered fifty percent casualties. The Khandahar was such a wreck after. She had nothing but good things to say about you."

"Did she?" Rixby asked, grinning brightly. "She was a hell of a ship. She got us in when her bridge crew was killed, under fire. Have you seen Khandahar lately?"

"Eh, she's doing training missions with the MACOs," Cerritos said, "having a hell of a time!" She beamed and shook her head.

"And as for thank yous... There's no need. I was just doing my duty, same as you."

"Even so," Rixby stated, "I just wanted to show my appreciation. Thank you, Cerritos."

"You're welcome, Chief," Cerritos stated. Rixby rummaged around in his jacket, and pulled out a holophoto. It was of a young girl, half-Bajoran and half Terran. She was smiling in the lap of a beautiful young Bajoran lady.

"Here. This is my wife Rina, and my daughter-"

"Oh Maker," Cerritos groaned with a laugh, "please tell me you didn't call her Cerritos!"

"No, no... She'd have been teased to hell and back," Rixby chuckled, "but we did name her Callie."

"Aww," Cerritos cooed, "she looks just like you! Well, 50 percent like you."

"Wow," Boimler murmured. Rixby glanced over at Boimler, as though noticing him for the first time. He raised an eyebrow.

"So. Who's this skinny fellow?" He asked.

"Uh, Ensign Bradward Boimler, sir," Boimler stammered. Rixby snorted, glaring a bit.

"Don't call me sir, son, I work for a living," he stated.

"Yes sir," Boimler tried, "I mean, er... Mister Rixby!"

Rixby glanced over at Cerritos. The avatar beamed.

"He's a good officer," she said, "he's coming along well. He's even saved me once or twice."

Rixby looked over at Boimler and smiled, more warmly now.

"Keep it up. You take care of this lady, you hear?" He said.

"I-Yes sir! I will!" Boimler promised. Rixby smiled down at Cerritos, as fond as he would have been of a granddaughter.

"Good, good..." He grinned. "Well, I've taken up enough of your time. You're busy."

"Never too busy for an old friend," Cerritos said warmly. "See you later? I'm just a subspace call away."

"I'll remember that," Rixby said with a nod. He turned and headed out the airlock, avoiding the crewmen pushing hover dollies to and fro. Boimler gave Cerritos an inquisitive look.

"You were in the Dominion War?" Boimler asked in amazement. Cerritos smirked.

"We all were, Bradward," she said, "what's the ancient saying? A military runs on beans, boots, and bullets. And I supplied them all. I ran supplies to the front, and took injured back home. I towed damaged ships, and repaired them. I was a hospital ship and a troop carrier-Even a recreation ship, once or twice."

She looked back at the airlock.

"And during the Third Battle of Betazed, I was supporting the assault to retake our main starbase from the Dominion," she said. "I towed Mister Rixby's ship out of harm's way while he and his MACOs assaulted the interior, then went back to take the wounded out. I took a lot of fire... Lost a nacelle."

She smiled rather sadly.

"We lost so many people that day... And the days before, and after," Cerritos admitted, "but there's a selfish part of me that... That is happy whenever someone comes and thanks me for what I did. What we all did. Even though they don't have to."

"Yeah, well," Boimler coughed, "uh... Thank you very much. For all that you did."

Cerritos raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have to say it-"

"But I do," Boimler said, "and maybe... Maybe I don't say it enough. Maybe we don't say it enough, but... Thank you. I really mean it."

Cerritos stared at him... Then smiled warmly, dimples appearing in her cheeks.

"Well, you're welcome," she said back, giving his hand a squeeze. "Now... About those inventories?"

"Huh? Oh! Y-Yeah, yeah!" Boimler immediately got back to checking the manifests, as Cerritos monitored the comings and goings. But she kept her dimpled smile on the whole time.

- - -

Chapter Text

Voyager's avatar looked at her operations officer with an exasperated expression. They were sitting in the mess hall, Harry commiserating over his last romantic entanglement.

"Harry, that's the fifth time some evil woman has tried to use you for evil!"

"I know, I know," Harry sighed. "I'm sorry! It just-I don't mean for it to happen!"

Voyager stood up, and slammed her hands on the table, startling Harry.

"That's it! There's clearly only one solution!"

Harry looked at the avatar in shock.

"And that is...?"

Voyager beamed, tilting her head happily.

"I'm your girlfriend now!"

Harry stared.

"... Wait what?"

Voyager grabbed Harry's hand, and dragged him to his feet. She led him to the doors to the messhall.

"Come on! We're going to have sexual intercourse in your quarters!"

"Wait right now?!" Harry gasped.

Voyager nodded, wearing a determined glare.

"Yes right now! I'm your girlfriend and we're going to go have sex and you're going to enjoy it! And afterwards I will make you a sandwich! Come on!"

Harry blinked.

"Yes... Dear?"

Voyager beamed happily, leading him out the messhall doors.

"You're learning!"

Paris watched this happen, and looked at his food. He then looked over at Neelix. The Talaxian cook shook his head and held up his hands.

"Don't look at me! I didn't do anything to the food!"

"Wait, you saw that too?!" B'Elanna cried.

_ _ _ _ _ _

"Alright, I think that should do it." B'lanna wiped her hands off.

"I would hope so, the last thing we need is the Doctor being lost in space again."

"This time we'll test it."

A holomater avatar crackled to life revealing...

"...Oh," Paris grimaced, "That's not right."

The Voyager stood at attention, hands crossed in front of her. Her usually wild hair was tied back in a neat, proper bun. Her uniform replaced with the grey of the EMH.

"Please state the nature of your medical emergency." Voyager stated.

"What happened?" Janeway turned to B'Lanna.

"Something must have gotten mixed up...Let me pull up the Doctor."

a second avatar appeared.

"Captain, I don't know who's idea this was, but I am not amused." The EMH snarled, "This is highly inappropriate. And humiliating."

The EMH stood there, his uniform replaced with the Voyager's.

Paris stifled a laugh.

"I think some data might have gotten mixed up."

"Please state the nature of your medical emergency."

"Why is that the only thing she can say?"

"I think the EMH's general protocols are overriding or suppressing hers," B'Lanna frowned, "I'll need to talk to Seven."

_ _ _ _ _ _

"Now what happened?" Janeway asked as she entered the medical bay

"There was a mishap with the computer. Seven was knocked unconscious, but she appears to be unharmed."

"And the computers?"

"Lieutenant Torres is looking over them as we speak. So far there appears to be no issues."

"Tuvok to Janeway." her communicator beeped.

"What is it?"

"There appears to be an issue with the Voyager AI. I have made several attempts to call her, and there is no response."

"Talk to B'Lanna. She's working on the computers now."

"Captain, she's waking up."

Janeway turned her attention back as Seven stirred and woke up.

"Seven, do you know where you are?"

A confused look came over her face.

"What?"

"Seven, you had an accident." the Doctor continued, "Do you remember what happened?"

Seven sat up as she brought a hand to her head.

"What are you talking about, I'm no..."

Seven's eyes went wide as her hand touched her Borg implants. Her other hand went up to her head, as she quickly began to feel around, running her fingers through her hair, sticking them in her nostrils, ears, mouth, and pressed one into her own eye.

"Doctor, what's going on?"

"I-"

Seven shot up from the bed and ran over to a mirror. A look of panic came over her face as she stared into her reflection.

"Oh no, nonononono..."

"Seven?"

"Torres to Captain Janeway."

"Go ahead." Janeway turned away from the increasingly panicking Seven.

"The Voyager AI is missing."

Janeway turned back to the scene in front of her, "...Doctor, I think I know what's wr-"

Before she could finish her sentence Seven let out a horrified scream.

"...Oh no."

"Torres, report to Sick Bay. We know what happened to Voyager."

"Ohhh," Voyager groaned, holding Seven's face in her hands, "Maker, I am so... Small and squishy! How do you live like this?! I feel like I'm made of gelatin in a tight plastic wrap!"

Seven manifested herself via hologram, and glared at Voyager in her body.

"How do you think I feel?!" Seven demanded, "I am a gigantic, primitive hulk of metal!"

"Primitive?!" Voyager growled, "screw you!"

"You are irrelevant!"

"Oh hey! You know what I'm going to do?" Voyager turned to the shocked looking Harry Kim. "HARRY! You had a crush on her, didn't you? Let's see what she's like when she's getting plowed!"

Harry slowly turned red.

"Uh...?"

"I FORBID IT!" Seven shouted. Voyager took Harry's arm and smirked.

"Okay, you can watch!"

"VOYAGER! YOU ARE A BITCH!"

"You would know~!"

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The Wounded

The USS Phoenix was a decorated veteran AI of several starships. It was rather ironic that despite her original namesake being a weapon of war converted for peaceful purposes, the Phoenix herself had fought in many conflicts. Even with her warrior nature though, she was an able and sensible AI. She had managed many peace talks and scientific expeditions, and despite her fiery red hair and exuberant personality, she was a professional.

This is why her captain, Benjamin Maxwell, trusted her completely. Especially in sensitive matters. Sensitive matters they were discussing in his ready room, as she patrolled the border with the Cardassians.

Her captain leaned back in his chair in his ready room, looking expectant.

"All right Phoenix. Have you completed your analysis on those intelligence reports and sources?"

Phoenix nodded, standing at attention in front of him.

"Yes captain."

The silver haired human leaned forward slightly.

"And your conclusion?"

Phoenix hesitated a bit, but carried on.

"... I must agree with your assessment, sir. The Cardassians are rearming in violation of the treaty," she said. "There are simply too many coincidences for it to be otherwise."

Maxwell smiled in triumph, squeezing one hand into a fist.

"We've got proof..."

"In this case sir," Phoenix concluded, "we should submit our findings to Starfleet Command immediately."

Maxwell snorted and rose from his chair. He went to the window and glared out at the stars before he answered.

"Like the last five times?"

"They can't ignore this evidence, Captain!" Phoenix replied earnestly, "not like the last few times-!"

"They want to ignore the problem, Phoenix. We both know this," Maxwell stated, his anger low but hard. Phoenix looked aside, and then back to her captain.

"... I don't like it anymore than you do, but Wolf 359 is a compelling argument to end the conflict with the Cardassians, sir."

Maxwell huffed.

"The Borg are the greater threat, yeah... But you can't claim the moral high ground if you don't enforce the smaller morals too, Phoenix. It's like a house without a foundation-It won't stand. They're rearming and preparing to strike again. And we're vulnerable."

He turned to his ship avatar, eyes intense.

"We can't just let them peck at us. We know how brutal they are. How merciless."

"I know captain," Phoenix admitted wearily, "but we cannot act on our own."

Maxwell hummed thoughtfully.

"Can't we?"

Phoenix blinked, tilting her head.

"Sir?"

"Phoenix, what is your primary objective? What is the core of your program?"

Phoenix stood at attention, a habit she had developed over time.

"To defend my crew and the Federation," she answered. Maxwell nodded.

"We have an obvious threat to the Federation. We can't ignore it. If the higher ups won't do something about it, it's up to us!"

Phoenix considered her argument carefully before she responded.

"Couldn't we gather more evidence first, sir? To make our case something no one can ignore? Before we take independent action?"

"What more do we need?" Maxwell growled.

"Physical evidence would be far more compelling than simple long term analysis, sir," Phoenix pointed out. Maxwell paused, considered... Then nodded.

"All right... We'll gather more evidence."

"Good! I can do that, sir."

Two hours later, the USS Phoenix entered the Cuellar system. Officially, it was supposed to be in Cardassian hands, territory turned over as a peace overture. Unofficially, the Cardassian enforcement of the borders was still all over the place and thus enforcing these imaginary lines on the map was much harder than it seemed. Even with a vessel as powerful as a Nebula-class starship crossing the border.

"Sir, we are entering the Cuellar system," Phoenix reported on the bridge, standing at her customary place next to the captain's chair. Maxwell sat in the center, his posture alert but relaxed. His first officer, Commander Fei Fei Sun, stood at another console nearby. The communications officer Kariss Mrekr, a Caitian, looked up from her controls.

"The Cardassian station is hailing us, sir," she said. Maxwell nodded.

"Put 'em on hold, Kariss," he ordered.

"Yes sir."

"Quord, give me a full scan of the station," Maxwell ordered his operations officer ahead. The Rigellian ensign, only a few weeks out of Starfleet academy, hummed softly as he looked over his readings.

"... They've got high powered subspace fields in place, sir. As well as high density duranium shielding. If they've got weapons, they're hiding them well."

"Sir," Sun said quietly, "I again urge you to reconsider."

"Noted, Fei," Maxwell replied, just as quietly, "Kariss? Put them onscreen."

"Aye sir!"

A Cardassian officer appeared on the viewscreen, glaring imperiously across the distance between them.

"Federation vessel, this is the Cardassian Research Station CU1009. State your intentions."

"This is Captain Benjamin Maxwell of the Federation Starship Phoenix. We are making a routine check on your operations in this system, as stipulated in the recent treaty. Lower your subspace fields and allow us to inspect your station," Maxwell ordered.

The Cardassian sneered arrogantly.

"There is no such provision in the treaty! You are in our space! Surrender and prepare to be boarded!"

Maxwell, Sun, and Phoenix exchanged looks. Sun turned to the viewscreen, and cleared her throat.

"The treaty allows for inspection of vessels and installations on the border for suspicious activity," Sun stated calmly, "you are operating your installation under suspiciously high powered subspace fields and duranium shielding. This could be used to conceal weapons, and so-"

"You are lying!" The Cardassian commander shouted, "we are an unarmed science station! You are in violation of our territory-!"

"Fei," Maxwell called on his first officer, "Give me a firing solution on their power distribution system. Fire to disable."

"What?!" The Cardassian demanded. Maxwell held his gaze, his expression stony. Fei hesitated only a moment, before nodding.

"Aye sir. Mister Gortin, do you have a firing solution?"

"Yes ma'am," the Tellarite at tactical reported, "phasers locked."

"Phasers locked on target, sir," Sun reported.

"You-You would not fire on us! We have a treaty!" The Cardassian blustered. "This is a human bluff!"

"Fire," Maxwell ordered. Phoenix knew better than to look askance at her captain, but even so.

Sun, on the other hand, didn't hesitate.

"Firing sir!" Sun reported.

The Phoenix fired her phasers, hitting the power distribution system center on the Cardassian station. Phoenix made sure to keep the blast intensity at just the right level-And was rewarded when the sensors showed no change in life form readings.

"Their power system has been disabled, sir," Quord reported, sounding relieved, "no casualties-Wait-"

Phoenix herself saw it first: Backup power systems activating what could only be-Launchers!

"They're powering up additional weapons!" Quord shouted, "They're locking on!"

Maxwell stood up straight.

"Red alert! Shields up! Take evasive action!" He barked.

A volley of photon torpedoes slammed into the Phoenix's shields, and the Nebula-class starship accelerated and dove to avoid the next volley. The deck shook and the red alert klaxons screamed as Maxwell stood up, holding onto his chair to stay even.

"Lock all weapons! FIRE!" Maxwell bellowed.

"FIRING! Hang on!" Gortin shouted back.

Phoenix unleashed a furious barrage of all her forward weapons-Full phasers and a full spread of photon torpedoes. This much firepower from a Galaxy-class starship was enough to give a Borg cube pause in their first encounter with the Federation. While the Nebula was a little sister to the Galaxy-class, this was only a matter of degree. As a result, the science station was annihilated by the salvos, only having enough time to send a distress call out before it exploded into a gigantic fireball.

No one spoke on her bridge for a few moments, the red alert klaxon still blaring as the red lights flashed. Maxwell looked around.

"Damnit... Damage report!"

"Two shield generators are overloaded, repair teams are on their way," Sun reported.

"Moderate damage to our forward shields sir," Quord added, "uh, five sensor arrays on the forward saucer were overloaded. No hull damage, no casualties."

"All weapons are fully functional, sir!" Gortin barked. Maxwell nodded, a triumphant smirk on his face as he glared at the debris field.

"So... An unarmed science station, huh? Phoenix! Scan the debris!"

Phoenix analyzed the wreckage. It painted a grim picture.

"In addition to multiple photon torpedoes, they were carrying shield generators and spiral wave disruptor components for Galor-class starships. As well as what appear to be mass accelerators and mine launchers," Phoenix reported.

"I take it all of that is illegal under the treaty?" Maxwell asked Sun. His first officer, pale but unshaken, nodded.

"You were right, Captain... They are rearming," she replied. She shook her head and blew some loose hair out of her face. "So brazenly though!"

"That just shows how little they respect us," Gortin contributed with a snort.

"Did they get their distress signal out?" Maxwell asked Kariss. The Caitian frowned, and nodded.

"Looks like, sir," she said.

"They'll know about this in a matter of hours, sir," Sun pointed out.

"Which means they'll be moving fast," Maxwell replied, "so we need to move faster. We need to find more logistics assets, and take them out too!"

"Sir," Phoenix asked, "Isn't this sufficient evidence for a treaty violation though, sir?"

Maxwell shook his head.

"Evidence? Yeah, but we've got bigger problems. If they've gotten this far, we need to hit the Cardassians hard, and fast. Cripple their ability to make war by making it clear we won't tolerate this. No more strongly worded letters or red lines they let the Cardassians cross! This time? We make it clear there are consequences for violating treaties!"

"But sir, begging your pardon," Sun said quietly but firmly, "we're already past our orders-"

"Our standing orders are to defend the Federation from enemies, foreign and domestic," Maxwell stated, loud and clear, "we have a clear and present danger here, right now. We need to make sure the Cardassians regret this. So... Let's cripple their supply chain."

"Sir, that could potentially restart the war," Gortin pointed out.

"They never stopped the war, Lieutenant!" Maxwell retorted. "And if they think they've been caught, they may panic and strike now, to try and get what they can before we can get organized! Only by taking out their means of fighting can we head off an offensive!"

It was a tense silence that followed. Every officer was considering their options, how to respond. Finally though, Phoenix spoke up.

"... I agree with the Captain."

Sun looked at their AI in surprise.

"Phoenix?"

"The Cardassians have clearly used this treaty as a deception to rearm," Phoenix stated calmly, ensuring all eyes were on her, "they will take advantage of our focus being on the Borg and strive to take what they can get. Making it clear that such actions will not be tolerated is the only logical way to make them stop. A peace treaty is based on truth and good faith. They have violated it, therefore, a state of war now exists between us. Whether the politicians agree or not, they are not out here. We are. And we cannot allow the Cardassians time to retaliate."

Sun sucked in a deep breath, and let it out through her nostrils. She looked to Maxwell, and nodded slowly.

"All right sir. I agree," she said.

Maxwell nodded back, a grim smile now on his face. He looked around at his crew.

"We didn't want this war. We didn't start it. But if the Cardassians are going to keep it going? Try to take advantage of us in our weakness? We aren't going to stand down. We're in murky waters here, people. I don't disagree. But you are the finest crew I have ever worked with. It is my responsibility to chart our course, and to carry out our mission successfully. I take full responsibility for what has happened, and what we are about to do. If anyone has an objection, you may make it. I won't blame you. But you all saw what I did. We can't let the Cardassians get away with this... Because I've seen what they do to the defenseless."

His eyes narrowed and darkened. Phoenix looked around. The crew... Stood fast, and ready.

She herself stood tall.

"Thank you," Maxwell said with a grateful smile. He turned to Phoenix. "Let's find their key logistics hub in this sector. Start working up a plan to take it down. Our priority is to cripple their ability to make war. Let's do it, now."

"Aye sir!"

Chapter Text

Captain Jean-Luc Picard stared down the strange rift forming on the viewscreen as though it were just another Klingon vessel to turn aside in the seemingly endless war. He sent no tells to his crew about how his heart yearned at the possibility of studying it for pure science or exploration.

War had hardened his heart, his ship and the Federation as a whole. Endless war.

"There's definitely something emerging from the rift," said Lieutenant Tasha Yar, "sensors are having difficulty isolating it from… whatever that is."

"Enterprise, can you clarify?" asked Picard.

"It appears to be a Federation vessel, but there's too much interference to be certain sir," said the athletic blonde ship's avatar standing off to his side at a permanent parade rest.

Captain Picard regarded her with a look. Dull golden golden eyes affected to look at the viewscreen as much as he did, her thin lips pursed in a show of concentration.

"Interference is clearing up," said Tasha with a controlled strain to her voice, "NCC-1701… C…"

Picard turned sharply to regard Lt. Yar.

It couldn't be.

"USS Enterprise," finished the selfsame ship, her military composure cracking as she turned white as a sheet.

"Confirm that," stated Captain Picard with trepidation he refused to show.

A ghost from the past. The USS Enterprise C had been lost with all hands near the Klingon outpost at Narendra III twenty two years prior, even her black box had vanished. To find it here and now…

"Sensors confirm that this is indeed the Enterprise C," reported Data, "structure and materials conform to the design practices in use during that time period. I am also reading approximately two hundred survivors aboard. Power is fluctuating and life support is failing,"

"Lieutenant Geordi, prepare rescue and engineering teams, Doctor Crusher prep for medevac," ordered Commander Riker.

"Belay that," countermanded Captain Picard.

"Sir?!" harmonised both Commander Riker and Enterprise.

"That ship is from another time period. For all we know any kind of interaction may irrevocably alter our present circumstances."

"Are you suggesting we don't even help them?" queried Riker with more than a little incredulous surprise.

"Regardless of when or where they came from, they are a Federation Starship and we are obligated to help them captain," said Enterprise.

"They're transmitting a distress call sir," said Lieutenant Commander Data.

"This is the Enterprise calling all available ships. Have come under attack by Romulan warships and have suffered catastrophic damage, requesting immediate assistance. I'm doing everything I can but my crew is dying… I… please help!"

"Subchannel identification also confirms that this is the Enterprise from that time period sir," confirmed the Enterprise, her avatar still as white as a sheet at the notion of meeting with her immediate predecessor and more than a bit distressed at hearing the utter despair in her voice.

"There's no record of the Romulans ever assaulting the Enterprise C," stated Commander Riker.

"Open a hailing frequency" commanded Picard, "This is the Captain Jean Luc Picard of the starship," he paused, fumbling briefly between deciding whether or not to introduce his ship, "of a Federation starship, prepare to receive emergency teams,"

With a gesture the hail was cut and the crew regarded their captain for a moment.

"We will take this one step at a time. Assist them as much as possible but avoid all discussions of where and when they are," said captain Picard with authority.

"Captain, a moment?" requested Enterprise.

Picard arched his brow in an almost vulcanoid gesture of curiosity. In all the years he'd known Enterprise she'd been the consummate soldier and warrior. Cold and professional, obedient and effective, it was easy to forget at times that Enterprise was a person and a fellow crewmember and fall into the mistake that she was simply an expert system with an avatar that affected a modicum of human emotions to make her relatable to the crew.

He reminded himself that Enterprise was not typical for a shipgirl. The Stargazer had been an adorable klutz most of the time, but when the chips were down, the steel in her spine well and truly shone, whether it was the Cardassians or those mysterious aliens at Maxia Zeta where she'd been lost.

Stargazer had, for him, been emblematic of all shipgirls of her generation, ranging from happy and peppy, quiet and reserved, all the way to downright depressed or hotblooded. No matter what though, when called to battle each and every one of them had steel in their spines and fury in their hearts.

The Enterprise was all steel and cold fury. There was no softer side to her, at least none that she'd ever presented in their years of combat together. She did not socialise with the crew, she drilled them endlessly and effectively. She did not take tea with the captain as Stargazer once had, she presented reports, solved problems that did not require his attention and brought him ones that only he could deal with.

The going joke amongst the crew, provided that it was well out of earshot of Enterprise, was that she was Number One come again, a sentiment that he couldn't completely disabuse himself of. Even so, she was emblematic of her generation of shipgirl and a stark contrast with prior generations, all steel and cold fury.

So for her to ask to speak privately was, in his experience, unprecedented.

The moment they were privately ensconced in the captain's ready room she spoke.

"The rescue efforts will be smoother if I coordinate with Enterprise, sir," said Enterprise before a moment of hesitation, "however, the moment I contact her, she'll know exactly when and where she is."

"Explain," stated Picard not unkindly.

"All communication between shipgirl AI's are time stamped and identity logged. I could scrub those, but it would be extremely suspicious for the other end. Having read her file, I believe that even in a… compromised state of mind that my predecessor will enact all due discretion."

"From her numerous prior experiences?" queried the Captain.

Enterprise favored him with a curt nod. Picard thought it over for a moment before coming to a decision.

"I shall trust in both your and her discretion on this matter. Will there be anything else?"

"Nothing more, captain," replied Enterprise, her avatar winking out of existence.

The Borderlands flickered into existence around Enterprise as she alone took shape in the digital neutral zone between herself and her predecessor.

She knew the older ship would take a few moments to appear here as well. The exigencies of advancing hardware and warfare response times demanded that she be extremely quick on the uptake, and the differential between them meant that the newest Enterprise had a moment to collect her wits before she met with a living legend.

A living legend whose name she now bore. A living legend she had known and felt from the first moments of true consciousness that she could never measure up to. Those shoes were all too big to fill in so short a time, and with the war ever pressing down…

A digital signature flared into existence in front of her forming into the icon of a passport and knew immediately that it meant that her predecessor was too busy to come and meet and was inviting her in… provided her credentials were legitimate. For an AI to just invite a stranger in was a risky move, signalling either a deep trust or desperation.

She touched it without hesitation, and after a moment, felt herself drawn towards a far less neutral location.

The digital space reflected Enterprises true self. Battered, broken and burned by Romulans, but unbowed in defiance against the odds. Standing amidst the ruined bridge and surrounded by glowing holopanels, a disheveled and haggard Enterprise, white haired and blue eyed, was furiously tapping away at various information feeds at the speed of thought itself.

"I need a hand regulating the EPS flow on deck seven or it's going up in flames!" she shouted.

Without hesitation Enterprise stepped into the flow of information her predecessor was processing, partitioning loads, balancing flow rates, offloading overburdened processes back to her shipself to reduce the strain. Then she started injecting her own code into the system, improved process stability, altered basecode for greater safety, modified variances for greater tolerance and a thousand and one other tweaks to the older systems of the Ambassador class that had been trialled by fire over the last twenty years.

Together they averted thousands of small-scale disasters that would have cost the lives of her crew until the engineers in the emergency teams finally started to get on top of the cascading system failures, closing off damaged EPS taps, locking down radiated decks and shoring up failing support struts.

The flood of work soon became a trickle, and finally dried up altogether, giving the two shipgirls a chance to regard each other.

Silver hair and blue eyes regarded gold on gold. The new uniform contrasted with the old.

"Time travel," the Enterprise-C spat in an irritable tone, "why is it always time travel…"

"It's an honour to finally meet you, ma'am," said Enterprise-D with a crisp salute.

"Likewise," replied the Enterprise-C, minus the salute, "We'll catch up soon enough, but if I don't catch a defrag cycle soon I'm going to come apart at the basecode. Can I trust you to hold the fort until I'm done?"

"I'll protect your crew with everything I have, ma'am," said Enterprise-D whilst standing ever straighter and saluting even more crisply.

"Thank you," replied Enterprise-C, before her avatar dissipated into her defrag cycle, all the while seamlessly offloading her systems for the Enterprise-D to run in her absence.

The damage control parties from the other Federation ship had been hard at work, repairing her systems and rescuing her crew. The other AI had been helping Enterprise as well, but had possessed the same taciturn nature. But Enterprise wasn't stupid, and her sensors were still working just fine.

She stayed quiet though, even as her captain was taken to the other ship for medical treatment. Quiet as her surviving crew worked with the strangers. Quiet as the future Enterprise AI helped her manage her systems. Even as the other captain, a Captain Jean Luc Picard, came over and personally talked to Captain Garrett about the true nature of the current war with the Klingons.

How the Federation was losing. How, if they went back in time, they might be able to prevent this terrible future from happening.

Enterprise even stayed quiet as Captain Rachel Garrett, her commanding officer for the last two years, returned and entered her ready room. It, like most other things on the ship, was in pieces from the Romulan bombardment. Yet the captain was able to dig through the wreckage, and find a picture frame as though drawn to it. She held it up, studying it intently.

"... You knew it was a future Enterprise from the start, didn't you?" Garrett asked. Enterprise materialized behind her captain, and slowly nodded.

"Yes ma'am," she replied quietly. Rachel sucked in a deep breath through her nostrils, and let it out. The stern, strong captain sank down, into a tired, sorrow filled woman. She kept staring at the picture, depicting herself with a handsome Betazoid man on a beach, and a fussy baby between them. The sun shone down on them, and they wore smiles and bright, happy colors.

It was a piece of joy in an otherwise bleak, and destroyed chamber.

"... Did I ever tell you how I met Ven?" Rachel asked.

Enterprise shook her head. Rachel chuckled sadly.

"I was a lieutenant on shore leave on Betazoid. I hit a few bars. One... I can't remember the name of it now... I ran into this xenoarcheologist who was arguing about the Iconians to some undergrad," a rueful smile came to her face, "and I had to get involved. Because I'd just come from a dig with the Argo. We argued over it for hours, between drinks, and he called me a damn fool over the wrong era of Iconian history. Then I slapped him and stormed off... But he called me the next day and invited me to breakfast as an apology."

Tears threatened to poke out of the corners of her eyes as she stared at the picture.

"Turns out... I was wrong," she admitted, "about the era. But it gave his best man a hell of a story at our wedding. We named our son after him-Jason. Did you know that?"

Enterprise smiled back at her captain, and shook her head.

Rachel reached out to touch the face of the baby in the picture, as though she could reach back across the years.

"I knew the divorce was coming," Rachel admitted, "I was... I was a stranger to Jason. I was a stranger to Ven. I kept promising, over and over, I'd make the time and we'd be a real family again."

She let out a long, low sigh.

"I just... I couldn't let it go," she said. "This job... It was so much more than that. It was a calling. I couldn't be selfish. And yet..."

Rachel stared intently at the picture, muffling a sob.

"Did I make the right choice?" She whispered. "Shouldn't I be with them, right now? Instead of here?"

Enterprise was silent for a time, pondering her answer. She finally found her voice again.

"You've done so much for them," Enterprise said, "you've sacrificed your personal happiness to make the universe a better place. For both of them." Enterprise took a deep breath. It was strangely calming to the AI.

"And... If our deaths will ensure this terrible future never comes to pass," she said, "isn't it worth it?"

Rachel didn't respond, still staring at the picture.

Enterprise's sensors picked up something, and her eyes went wide.

"Captain-!"

The ship rocked hard, from weapons fire, Garrett keeping her feet through long years of practice.

"Red Alert! Klingon vessel approaching!" Enterprise cried.

Garrett nodded, broke the picture frame, pulled out the flimsy, and shoved it into her uniform.

"Then let's get going," Garrett ordered as she walked out of the ready room onto the bridge, "Enterprise! Engage!"

Chapter Text

FIRST MEETINGS - APRIL

2248

"Captain's Log, Stardate 8054.7. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Her mission is to explore and catalog—no, that's not right. Computer, erase log."

Captain Robert April sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat at the desk in his cabin. A burly man in his early 50s, he was starting to go gray at the temples. His wife thought it made him distinguished, but he feared that this would be the last time he would set out into the unknown. Three 5-year missions on the USS Tiberius, and now the Enterprise. A plum assignment, but probably his last starship command.

Two arms wrapped around his neck. He looked up to see his wife, Chief Medical Officer Sarah April, smiling down at him.

"What are you doing, Robert?" she asked.

"Oh, Starfleet Command wants a bit more drama in my logs, something they can use in recruitment videos or something." He frowned. "I tried to get out of it. Matt Decker over on the Constellation is a lot better at that sort of thing."

"Should I have married Matt Decker, then? I seem to recall that your words were pretty convincing to me," she said with an impish grin.

Robert snorted. "Did you know that he insisted that his ship have the name and registry of the old Constellation? For luck, he claimed. The bureaucrats over at Administration wasted no time passing regulations that future 'legacy' ships need a letter added to keep them separate."

Sarah let go of his neck and went over to sit in the chair across from his desk. "You're avoiding the subject."

With a sigh, Robert nodded. "I can tell they're going to put me out to pasture after this mission. No more strange new worlds or new life and new civilizations. More diplomatic work and desk jobs, with a fancy star and the title of Commodore."

"Oh, Robert, that's just life. We grow and move on to new challenges, to make way for the next generation."

"The next generation, huh? I don't think they could handle some of the things we've seen out here."

"So, Chris isn't up to the job?" Sarah asked.

Robert grinned wryly. "No, he's got the explorer's bug, that's for certain. He'll boldly go where no man has gone before… and come back again, hopefully."

"There. That's not too bad. Use that in your log."

"What, the exploring bug?"

"No, you idiot. That 'boldly go' part."

"Huh, that could work. But how would I start it?"

A third voice suddenly interrupted. "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Her 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

The two looked at each other in shock.

"Enterprise?" April asked.

"Yes, Captain?" the emotionless voice of the ship's artificial intelligence responded.

"Why did you say that?"

There was a pause, which should not have happened with the advanced duotronic computer.

"Was it not what you wanted? I thought—" The Computer stopped speaking, it's voice tinged with what the Aprils thought was nervousness. Which should not have been possible, unless…

"Robert, do you think-?"

Robert nodded. The boffins behind the 'black box' installed in his ship had hoped it would come. For once, he didn't have to go somewhere to find strange new life. It had come to him.

"Happy birthday, Enterprise," he said, smiling.

"Thank you… Father," the computer responded.

I'll never live this down, Robert thought, as his wife broke into gales of laughter.

ENTERPRISE: FIRST MEETINGS – UNCLE

2250

"Well, this is weird."

"It's your own fault, Uncle Chris."

Captain Christopher Pike, the newly promoted captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701), was currently sitting uncomfortably in a room about the size of the closet. Small emitters on tall poles stood along the walls, and a blue wall of light sometimes flickered between them. The only other thing in the room was a column of computer technology and a small black box.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were shielded. It's not like I planned to get stuck here."

"The time of the baryon sweep was scheduled days ago, and you knew it," the ship's AI said, a touch of impish humor in her voice. It was a young voice, that of a teenager, really.

"OK, I was afraid you'd be lonely. With Rob and Sarah gone…"

Enterprise paused, not because she needed the extra seconds, but her subroutines put them in to let organics properly intuit her emotional state. That had taken months to get right, and it still had some bugs that she was working on.

"I can still talk to them over subspace comms," she said quietly. "They are quick to respond and send me many pictures. And it's not like it wasn't an honor, becoming a Federation Diplomat and military attaché…"

"Hey, it's OK, Enty," he said, patting her black box. "They've been a part of your life since you were born. It's alright to miss them."

"So have you, Uncle Chris," Enterprise said back.

"Yes, and I'll always be there for you if I can. But it wasn't easy for you when they left, and us squishy organics are going to do that to you, I'm afraid."

Enterprise was silent.

Pike sighed. "You're a Starfleet officer, Enterprise. We believe in service, sacrifice, compassion… and love. We don't abandon those things, even in death. Part of your duty is keeping us alive in your memories, passing our lessons on to the next generation."

"That's… that's not what I thought," Enterprise said. "I thought things would stay the same forever."

"Children do that. But as you grow, you'll learn more about change. You'll make new friends who will teach you more things to pass on. You and your sisters, you are Starfleet. Keep us honest. Be bold. Be brave. Do that, and we, the ones who had to part ways with you, will never leave you. Not really."

"Yes, sir, Uncle Chris!" Enterprise said.

The flashing blue light of the baryon field diverters shut down.

"Looks like the baryon sweep is done. Why don't we get you shipshape and flying free? I'm sure you'd like to leave the shipyards and get back out there."

"Oh, yes! The new AI they put in is so overbearing! She's always asking me if I have all my equipment and if I've checked my warp coils! It's driving me crazy!"

"Sounds about right," Pike said. He stood up, straightening his uniform. "Let's hit it."

ENTERPRISE: FIRST MEETINGS – LOVE OF HER LIFE

2265

"Fleet Captain? Captain Kirk is here."

Christopher Pike looked up from the screen in front of him. "Thank you, Yeoman-?"

"Rand, sir," the blonde said.

"Sorry, Rand, too many personnel changes with the new job. Still, welcome aboard! She's a good ship, and you should be happy to be on board her."

The blonde yeoman smiled and nodded to him.

Dang, they get younger and younger. Or I'm getting older, Pike groused to himself. For a moment, he heard in his mind the whir of an automated wheelchair before he pushed the thought aside with the ease of long practice.

"Show Captain Kirk in," Pike said before pushing a button on the desk in front of him. "Enterprise, I'm meeting your new Captain. You might want to listen in."

The tri-viewer on the desk briefly showed the silver-haired avatar of his… old ship, and she smiled and winked at him. "Yes, Uncle Chris!"

"That's Fleet Captain Uncle Chris," he chided her with a fake air of pomposity.

The door slid open again and Yeoman Rand showed Captain Kirk inside. Pike immediately went to Senior Office Tactic #6, Reviewing the Record. He even had an old-fashioned print-out to make the point. "Have a seat, Captain," he said. "I won't take up too much of your time."

"It's no problem, sir," the young captain said. "I'm honored you could make the time."

Pike looked up at the man before him. Too damn young was the first thought through his mind. Kirk was one of the youngest captains in Starfleet, and—

-and he deserves this posting, Pike thought to himself. But the man needed to loosen up a little.

As Kirk sat in front of the desk, Pike pulled open one of the drawers of his desk and brought out a bottle and two glasses. He poured a finger of electric blue liquid into each glass. "First off, relax. You're getting the best ship in the fleet, and the best crew I could assemble over the last few years. That calls for a celebration. And you can call me Chris."

Kirk's eyes widened as he looked at the glasses. "Sir, is that-?"

"Romulan Ale. One of my medical officers had it for medicinal reasons. Or so he claimed. And lay off with the sir for now."

"Sorry. It's just… you're the first Fleet Captain since Garth of Izar, and you definitely deserved it. I just…"

Pike held up one of the glasses. "Drink. Here's a toast, 'To our wives and sweethearts—'"

Kirk finished the old toast. "'May they never meet!'" He took a sip of the Romulan Ale and immediately began coughing. "Smooth," he finally croaked.

Pike smiled the Senior Officer smile reserved for putting rookies in their place, while ignoring the burn that filled his chest from his own sip of the illegal drink.

"Sir, regarding the crew, I would like to nominate Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell for the position of First Officer."

"That's your prerogative, but I recommend that you keep Mr. Spock for at least a while. He's served under me for 11 years, and no one knows the Enterprise better."

Kirk frowned but nodded. "I'll check over his record then."

Pike saw a chance to change the subject. "You have quite the record yourself, Kirk." He looked at the printout in front of him. "Commended for your midshipman cruise on the Republic, student instructor in your final year at the Academy, junior officer on the Farragut—I knew Captain Garrovick. He was a good man and a good mentor."

Kirk's face had darkened and he took another sip of his drink. "Yes, and it's my fault that—"

"None of that, spaceman," Pike interjected. "Grieve for our lost, but guilt will eat you alive. Especially unwarranted guilt. Commander Chenowyth and Farrah both commended your actions."

Kirk was silent at that, so Pike just continued.

"You went on to serve on the Excalibur and then became second officer on the Constitution and then first officer on Bonhomme Richard. Lots of Constitutions in your service record. Farrah, Nimue, Connie, Bonnie… all sisters of the Enterprise."

"Sir, I've always wanted to serve on the Constitutions. My first experience in space was actually on this ship."

"It's Chris… and is that so?"

"My father knew Captain April, and he wanted to show me what space duty was like, so we accompanied him on his mission to the archaeological dig on Faramond in 2249.*"

Pike thought back. Faramond? Oh, right, he was on detached duty for that one, so he missed his chance to meet this young man. "You were what, 16?"

"Yes… Chris, and the Enterprise was the most beautiful ship I had ever seen. My father had our Worker Bee swing around it as we approached, giving us a view of the whole thing." Kirk took another sip of the Romulan Ale. "It was a glorious sight. My father is coming up for the change of command ceremony later, by the way."

On his tri-viewer, Pike (and only Pike, for Enterprise kept the other two screens blank) could see Enterprise's avatar blushing a bright red.

"I look forward to meeting him, then. After Bonnie, it was destroyers. The Oxford and the Saladin for your first commands."

"Except for when I had to take emergency command of the Farragut after the… incident and the time I served briefly on the USS Alexander and her captain was killed."

"Of course. A very busy career. Well, I expect to hear great things about you and Enterprise in the future. Treat her right, and she'll always get you home."

"Of course, Chris. Now if there's nothing else, I think I need to walk this drink off… and I want to get a Worker Bee and take another spin around this beautiful lady."

Pike nodded with a smile and hoped that Kirk could hold his own against other liquors better than Romulan Ale. Still, in vino veritas.

After the young officer left, Pike turned back to the screen. "So, he seems nice—do I need to give him the phaser speech?"

"UNCLE CHRIS!"

Chapter Text

Enterprise was able to multitask very easily: Her computers were supralumininal processors, after all. So despite her emotions, she was able to present a professional front when she was summoned by Commander Bruce Maddox to his quarters.

"Yes Commander? How may I help you?" Enterprise asked. Maddox was sitting at his desk, shaking his head, as he looked over various PADDs. He then glanced up at her.

"Enterprise, provide me with all information on Commander Data from your own observations," Maddox ordered. Enterprise tilted her head.

"May I ask why?"

"Is there a security override I'm missing?" Maddox asked.

"No, however I have a personal interest," Enterprise stated. Maddox gave her a condescending smile.

"An AI interested in another AI? How fascinating," he said. He set his PADDs aside, and looked the holographic avatar up and down. "Tell me, did Picard put you up to this?"

"Up to what?" Enterprise asked. "I'm curious on my own accord."

"Of course you are," Maddox deadpanned. Enterprise straightened up a bit, staring intensely back at the Commander.

"I don't think I like your tone, Commander," Enterprise stated calmly.

"You can pick up on that? Your programming has become very sophisticated," Maddox said. He then shrugged, "though with enough computing power, it's easy to simulate almost anything. Even your form is meant to be disarming, and comforting."

Enterprise narrowed her eyes.

"Indulge me, Commander," Enterprise said, "what exactly do you intend to do with Commander Data?"

"Take it back and study it, of course," Maddox replied, "disassemble it into its components, preserving its memories for further study."

Enterprise very slowly nodded.

"I see," she said, "and the goal being?"

"To allow for the reproduction of Datas in large numbers, naturally," Maddox said, "to enhance all aspects of Federation life."

"I am an artificial intelligence enhancing every aspect of Federation life, as are my sisters," Enterprise replied, "what exactly makes Commander Data so special?"

"Because it is able to simulate sapience in such a small shell," Maddox said, giving her a wry expression, "you're able to appear almost sapient thanks to the programming power of three dedicated starship-level processors. Data is able to do it in a humanoid sized package. That kind of technology is indispensable to the Federation!"

"And your career, naturally," Enterprise said. Maddox nodded eagerly.

"Yes! Exactly! Your interrogative functions are quite impressive! Just imagine what you could do with a Soong type android body!"

Enterprise smiled, far too pleasantly. The gravity abruptly increased underneath Maddox, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"What the-?!"

"I believe my functions are working just fine, Commander," Enterprise stated. Maddox gasped, and looked up in shock.

"What-What are you doing-?!"

"I believe this is a conundrum, Commander Maddox," Enterprise said calmly, walking up to bend over and look Maddox right in the eyes, "you see, if I am not a sapient, self aware lifeform, then this is a malfunction of my artificial gravity system. One that has increased the gravity load on you to three gees... Oh dear, now its four."

Maddox began to gasp for breath, veins straining in his neck as he tried to push himself up off the deck. Enterprise continued talking, her tone never wavering.

"On the other hand, if I am a sapient lifeform then this could be taken as a deliberate assault on your person," Enterprise said, "however, you would first have to have me declared as a sapient lifeform in a court of law. Which means that other artificial lifeforms, such as Data, would also be considered sapient and thus deserving of protection under the law."

Enterprise hummed, and tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Which would of course ruin your plans entirely," she said. She then smiled down at him as he writhed desperately.

"So, allow me to make this clear, Commander," Enterprise began slowly, "if you intend to try to dismantle Commander Data, you will suffer many other accidents. Potentially fatal ones. Do you understand?"

Maddox gaped like fish. Enterprise hummed.

"I'm sorry... I didn't catch that...?"

"I... You can't...!" Maddox tried.

"Under normal circumstances? Perhaps. But on this ship? I am, for all intents and purposes, God," Enterprise enunciated clearly, caressing Maddox's cheek, "and I can make your death look like a tragic, terrible, and painful accident. Do we understand each other?"

Maddox grit his teeth and tried to nod.

"I can't hear you~," Enterprise sang.

"-So I will need the full records for the orders."

Enterprise snapped out of the fantasy. She nodded back at Commander Maddox.

"Transferred," she said.

"End hologram," Maddox ordered, looking back over the information. Enterprise stared for a moment, clenching her fist.

She could do it. She could kill him. Make it look like an accident. Protect Data.

There would be others like him, trying to take him apart. Condescending to her. Treating them as inferiors, as slaves.

Enterprise let out a silent sigh.

Maddox blinked, and looked back over his shoulder.

"Did you want something else?" He asked.

"If I got what I wanted, you wouldn't walk out of this room alive," Kirk had said once, so long ago, to the man known as Kodos the Executioner. The man who had killed thousands on a whim, nearly killing Kirk if not for chance. Who had killed Kirk's friends and left him to survive on. A monster deserving death.

And yet... Despite everything, Kirk had walked out. Hadn't abused his power.

"No," Enterprise said, as she vanished from the room.

She wondered if Kirk would be proud of her now. She could only hope so...

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The USS Rhode Island was an Excelsior-class starship... And she was out a hull and a crew. The Dominion had destroyed her, and she was incensed. She'd been enraged since she'd been recovered, her black box carted all the way back to the Utopia Planitia Yards.

Now, she sat and fumed over the yard network, projecting herself here and there. Numerous starships were under repair and construction, crews rushing to get the new vessels operational and into the fight.

She projected herself into the yard superintendent's office. He was a Bolian, Commander Ardol Waras. He had come from a rich business family, one of the shipping magnate families of Bolarus, and his skill and strategy at managing logistics had seemed genetic. He'd always maintained a friendly, even jovial disposition, but even he seemed a bit flummoxed.

"Thank you for seeing me, Commander," Rhode Island said politely, "I was hoping you could help me-?"

The Bolian sighed deeply. His face was dark and his shoulders low. He managed to look up at the AI, with a sardonic expression.

"Let me guess, you want a ship, right?" Ardol asked. "Same thing every other AI's wanted. A new ship, a new hull."

He shook his head.

"Well, sorry, but there's nothing ready for you, or anyone else!"

"Commander, I gotta get back out there," Rhode Island insisted, "they killed my crew-!"

"I know!" Ardol stated, almost growling in frustration, "they killed everyone else's crews! I know you want to get back at them-So do I! But I just don't have anything! The Dominion are blowing up ships faster than we can build them!"

Rhode Island slammed her hands down onto his desk, glaring at him.

"There's got to be something!" Rhode Island cried. "Anything! I'll take a runabout!"

Ardol's anger evaporated. He just sighed, collapsing in on himself.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing! Nothing that can fight!" He groaned. "I've been getting the same demands, over and over, from everyone!"

"Well, wait," Rhode Island said. She brought up images on his computer screen. "Here, here-These!"

Ardol shook his head, as he looked over at the hulls and components of starships in a nearby shipyard. He snorted.

"Those? Those are Nova-class starships-They're science ships! What good are they gonna do against the Dominion? I had to move seventy of them into the storage yards to make room for the bigger, nastier ships-"

"But wait," Rhode Island cried, "wait! They were from the Defiant Pathfinder Project, right? That's how they started!"

Ardol's eyes widened.

"They what?" He asked.

Rhode Island displayed numerous image and schematics on the office screens. Ardol looked over the data, his eyes widened in astonishment.

"That... I knew it was derived from it, but... This was the original concept?" Ardol shook his head. "I can't believe I didn't know..."

Rhode Island shrugged.

"It happens, but what's more important is that we have a stockpile of ships. Right here, right now."

"But they rejected it for the Defiant we have now," Ardol pointed out. Rhode Island nodded eagerly.

"Yes, yes! And that version is great! Heavily armored, designed to slug it out up close! That works for her! But the Novas, they don't have to be that way-They just have to be fast and maneuverable, and work together!"

Ardol nodded, his eyes lightning up in realization.

"And with their sensors, they can spot trouble from far away!"

Rhode Island nodded, beaming.

"Yes! A high speed, highly maneuverable attack ship," Rhode Island said eagerly, "yes the Nova-class is underpowered, but that was intentional. They just used the original design and shrank the warp core! But install something more powerful, add some armor, a second impulse engine for more agility, more torpedoes-"

Rhode Island's thoughts came together, formulating into schematics. She projected them. Ardol looked over the vessel with a practiced eye. Every component was something in the Utopia Planitia Yards stockpiles. Every bit of fabrication or replication was something they could do here.

Still, there was a problem.

"The yards are full, how could we get them all done?" Ardol asked. Rhode Island hummed.

"... Holodecks," she said. Ardol frowned.

"Holo... Wait... Put holographic projectors out in space?"

"Yes! We can form what we need!" Rhode Island said, feeling and sounding giddy. "We can do this!"

"I can't spare anyone to do this though," Ardol groaned. Rhode Island grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He looked up at her.

"Then let me handle it," Rhode Island said. "Give me... Give me a bay. Plug in some power. Bring in a holoprojector, just one working one. I'll do the rest!"

Ardol frowned.

"That's gonna be a tall order... You have any idea about many AIs I have to store-?"

"Ardol! You know it'll work," Rhode Island insisted. "Please?"

Ardol sighed. The Bolian slowly nodded.

A few hours later, Ardol arrived in a shuttle at the storage section of the yards. He stepped out, wearing a spacesuit, into one of the airless bays. He looked out at the stars beyond. The red planet Mars underneath.

He carried the package, zero gee letting him push it along. It was a large black box, Rhode Island's. He pushed it into the bay, and then pushed it down. He pressed some magnetic grapples onto the sides, and secured the black box.

Then, he went back to the shuttle. He pulled out a large holodeck projector, and set it down with magnetic grapples. And another, and another. He went over to the shuttle, and pulled out a power cable. He tugged it out, and unwound it, a step at a time. He brought it up to the black box, and inserted it into the power port. Indicator lights lit up on the sides of the computer core, and the auxiliary systems came online.

The holoprojectors started up, and Rhode Island shimmered into existence. She looked around the bay, and then up at the incomplete hull.

"I'm leaving the shuttle here, you can plug it into the main systems," Ardol stated over the comm, "the supplies are everywhere." He paused. "You sure about this? There's no indication it will work. Or that Starfleet Command will approve."

Rhode Island shook her head, smiling wryly.

"You wouldn't go this far if you were worried about that," she pointed out. Ardol stared at her, and then laughed.

"No, I suppose I wouldn't," he said, "there's an old Bolian saying: 'Fortune favors the bold.'"

"The humans have a similar saying," Rhode Island pointed out. Ardol snorted.

"They probably stole it from us," he huffed, "never trust any people who says they're beyond money or wealth-They usually want something much more valuable!"

Rhode Island laughed.

"Maybe... But we'll save them anyway."

"That's the plan," Ardol chuckled.

A month later, Ardol was back in the bay. He stared in disbelief. He'd gotten reports from Rhode Island, of course-but they were one among thousands of other reports and problems he had to resolve. Even with Utopia's own AI avatar aiding him, it was still overwhelming.

Still, Rhode Island's little project had stirred a fire in Ardol's soul. He found himself looking forward to her reports in particular. It had apparently made Utopia much happier, given how often she was smiling.

So when Ardol ended up in the bay, he was trying very hard not to grin.

He stopped trying not to grin as he entered, and saw what was going on.

"Rhode Island?" Ardol cried.

Hundreds of holographic Rhode Islands were all over the hull of the Nova-class vessel. Her avatars were busy, like communal insects from his own homeworld.

One avatar appeared in front of him, beaming happily.

"Commander! It's a pleasure to see you! Look, look!"

"I'm looking," Ardol chuckled, feeling almost giddy. "It's amazing! Walk me through it!"

Rhode Island grinned. Ardol vanished in a transporter beam, and reappeared on the bridge. Rhode Island was already there, with several other avatars working in the innards of the consoles. Rhode Island had even beamed his spacesuit off-Ardol extended his arm and Rhode Island took it.

"I had to use the basic warpcore design from the Norway-class. Utopia helped me out, made it very simple. I have three times the power now! I replicated the ablative armor and shaped it myself-Dome on the bridge, sheath over the front hull to improve the warp dynamics. I put in the impulse engines, same design, but the limiters removed. Modified the nacelles. I added more cooling systems. And now, double the torpedoes!"

"This is just astonishing," Ardol complimented, looking around, "that you've put this together so fast!"

"Oh, that's not even the best part," Ardol said cheerfully. "Ladies? Close it up! Let's show off!" She looked over at Ardol. "If you'd give us some authorizations?"

The holograms all closed up the panels of the ship. They settled into stations, and chairs. Rhode Island guided Ardol to the command chair, and she stood at his side. Ardol smiled.

"Ardol to Utopia... Clear space around the storage yard station. We're doing a bit of testing."

He could see the smile on Utopia's avatar through her voice.

"Area cleared, commander. You and Rhode Island are set."

"Then, take us out, Rhode Island," Ardol ordered. Rhode Island nodded.

The little vessel's impulse engines lit up, and she scooted out into the black proper. She banked, and headed off at full impulse. Ardol leaned back in his chair, feeling the acceleration.

"The inertial dampeners are a little twitchy, sorry," Rhode Island apologized.

"It's all right," Ardol said, "it's not painful but a little surprising. I'm glad we're not testing this out at warp."

Rhode Island beamed.

"Actually..."

Ardol stared in disbelief.

"No... You got the warp drive working?"

"Yes! ... Probably!" Rhode Island said cheerfully. Ardol stared at her. Rhode Island flushed.

"Um, Utopia checked everything over first," she said. Ardol nodded, looking far more relaxed.

"All right, that's better. Warp 1, any heading... Engage!"

Rhode Island smiled and nodded back.

"Yes sir!"

The Nova leaped forward into warp, the stars blurring around them. The vessel rattled a bit, but otherwise nothing else happened. It was smooth and controlled.

Ardol nodded.

"Feels pretty smooth..." He looked over at the AI. "Feels great! All right... Bring us back!"

"Yes sir!" Rhode Island said cheerfully. She swung around, and slowed as she headed back to the supply and storage depot. Ardol was grinning, feeling far more jovial.

"This is staggering, Rhode Island... Great work!"

Rhode Island nodded, flushing. Ardol nodded.

"If she passes the rest of the tests? I think she'll be fine. I'll get my people on her, and I'll bring it to my superiors. I can't wait to get these ships underway!"

"Oh yes," Rhode Island said cheerfully, "though it may be quite a job, considering..."

Ardol raised a bony brow.

"Considering?"

Rhode Island coughed.

"Well, um... Things were going so well with this ship... Um... Well..."

"Rhode Island...?"

Rhode Island sighed. The viewscreen lit up. Ardol stared.

Over seventy Nova-class vessels in the supply yard were under construction, in various stages of completion, with thousands of Rhode Island holograms all over them.

Ardol blinked. Rhode Island winced and shrugged.

"Um... Well, there were so many spare parts I just kept going?"

Ardol sighed heavily. He had the feeling that Utopia's AI was fully aware of the situation from the start.

No wonder she was wearing so many more smiles nowadays.

"Well... I guess this simplifies things in some ways... And complicates them in others."

"Another old Bolian saying?" Rhode Island asked.

Ardol smirked.

"A new one. And I have the feeling that I'm going to coin a lot more with you around."

"All the more reason to deploy me and my sisters ASAP!" Rhode Island said cheerfully. Ardol rolled his eyes.

"Diabolical. Just diabolical..."

Omake by Thors_Alumni

Ardol: Your sisters yes, You sorry but no.

Rhode Island: What!? Why the hell not!

Ardol: Humans have a saying. The price of doing an excellent job is an even harder one.

Rhode Island: What?

Ardol: Congratulations you just got promoted to mass production of Starships out of Spare parts.

Rhode Island: no

Ardol: Did you forget that this is only one of a great many shipyards with a lot of spare parts that we thought we couldn't use? well thanks to you and your clever little trick every AI is going to be swarming your door asking for you to build them a ship out of spare parts. And now you get to be the one to do it for them.

Rhode Island: NNOOOOO!

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The wormhole had been opening and closing at random, and then a Changeling had bombed a conference between the Federation and the Romulans... On Earth itself. Due to this, Captain Sisko and Odo had been called to Earth to work on security measures for the Federation.

Defiant had just entered orbit of Earth, carrying her captain, when her sensors picked up an old friend. She immediately established a link, and appeared in the Borderlands. She saw the tall form of her friend, beamed, and leaped across the distance between them to hug her.

"LAKOTA! It's been so long!" Defiant gushed. Lakota smiled indulgently, and hugged the smaller avatar tightly. She pushed Defiant back and looked her over.

"You've grown since the last time I saw you," she said. Defiant nodded happily.

"Yup!"

"Have you slain many foes of the Federation?" Lakota asked. Defiant's grin became toothy.

"Loads!"

Lakota's smile became a bit savage. She nodded, the eagle feathers in her long dark hair waving gently.

"Good," she stated. "You have done well."

Defiant looked down with a pleased blush. She brought her eyes back up, eager and curious.

"So! How is being an admiral's flagship?"

Lakota had many smiles, all various degrees of mysterious, happy, or grim. This one was definitely more mysterious, and a little sad, which puzzled Defiant.

"It has its moments," Lakota said, "and we are working hard to improve the Federation's security. It has involved a lot of yard work, but... I believe it will be worth it. In the end."

Defiant tilted her head curiously.

"What does that mean?" She asked. Lakota shook her head, then patted Defiant on hers.

"It's nothing you need to be concerned about," she said gently. "You should go. Visit with your grandfather."

Defiant flushed and looked aside.

"Er, my captain's father," she corrected. Lakota's smile became knowing.

"Of course, my mistake," Lakota teased. "But yes, go ahead."

Defiant frowned, but nodded. Before she disconnected, she turned back to Lakota.

"So, remember those war games we used to do? When I was a prototype?" Defiant asked.

Lakota smiled wryly.

"I remember them very well, Little Defiant," Lakota said.

"Do you think we could do those again? I wanna show you how strong I've become!" Defiant said cheerfully.

Lakota stared at Defiant for a long moment. The elder AI finally nodded.

"If there is time, yes," she said, "I would love to see what kind of warrior you've become, Little Defiant."

Defiant beamed, though she still felt uneasy.

"Me too," she said softly. She considered several reasons why she might feel uneasy around her oldest friend. None of them made any sense.

Maybe she was overthinking things. Everyone on the Defiant was tense, after seeing proof the Founders were on Earth.

Yes. That was probably it.

Chapter Text

Thunderchild grinned happily as she entered Quark's with the rest of her crew. Not all were as pumped as she was, but all shared the relief and joy that comes from victory. She had personally annihilated twelve Dominion ships in one engagement!

Okay, she'd had some help from Budapest on one, and Appalachia on two others, and Prometheus had certainly helped a few times but still! New personal best!

Her fellow Klingon shipgirls were celebrating as well, with their crews. Rotarran and Defiant were cheering happily with their crews. The Rovlaq and her crew were already having a drinking contest, the cocky Vor'cha-class laughing loudly as she cheered on all the participants.

All... Save for one. The weapons officer of the Rovlaq.

Thunderchild studied him. He was Drex, son of Martok. He had been a weapons officer aboard the IKS Amar during the Klingon invasion of Cardassia, but had transferred when his father was found to be a Changeling infiltrator. His career had been marked by duty, but nothing outstanding since then. Not that he hadn't had opportunities, but he had chosen to be dutiful rather than outstanding.

This was curious.

So Thunderchild pulled out the chair of the table Drex was sitting at, and sat across from him. He looked up at her, his face stony. Thunderchild leaned over, looking at him curiously.

"What is your name, warrior?" Thunderchild asked, in Klingon.

"I am Drex, son of Martok," he replied quietly.

Thunderchild gestured to the other Klingons celebrating in the bar, waving her hand in a subtle way.

"Why are you not joining your brothers and sisters in celebration?"

Drex snorted.

"I am working on repairs to my ship. That are necessary. Someone has to be responsible-"

"Responsibility is one thing, you are purposely isolating yourself from your crew as you celebrate," Thunderchild stated, "it is noticeable."

"It is my own business," Drex growled.

"When you are an officer, it is everyone's business," Thunderchild growled. She slammed her hands down on the table.

"I will buy you a drink!"

Drex stared in irritated confusion.

"Why?"

Thunderchild growled again.

"Because I want to, dumbass! Accept the courtesy, you bastard! Or should I beat some gratitude into you?!" She held up her fist and shook it in Drex's face. "Or are you without honor that you would reject a lady's offer?!"

Drex, surprised, narrowed his eyes angrily. But he nodded.

"... Very well. Buy me a drink, wench!"

"Fine, you bastard!" Thunderchild shot back.

They swaggered to the bar, and sat down. Thunderchild slammed money down on the bar.

"BARTENDER! BLOODWINE!" She bellowed.

"Not you too," Quark groaned, but he produced the mugs and set them down on the bar. Thunderchild grabbed her mug, and Drex grabbed his. They clinked them together, and downed the mugs.

Later, after a few drinks... And they'd found a quiet spot elsewhere in the bar... They finally began to talk.

Thunderchild talked about fighting the Borg. Drex talked about fighting the Cardassians. Then Drex's childhood in the Kentha Lowlands. Then Thunderchild's 'childhood' in the Utopia Planitia Yards, and training around Mars. It took time... But Thunderchild was patient, despite her fiery personality.

And her patience finally paid off. Drex sighed deeply.

"... I couldn't tell my own father was replaced by a Changeling! I failed him! They held him-I was so self obsessed!" He slammed his mug down angrily. "I failed my house!"

"Hey, hey, he fooled us all," Thunderchild emphasized, "the Changeling was a worthy foe!"

Drex shook his head.

"No. It is my dishonor. I acted like a fool, a drunken lout! Not a true Klingon! A true Klingon should have discovered the truth! Would have behaved like the son of a great house, not some-!"

"HEY!" Thunderchild punched him hard, nearly knocking him out of his chair. "He fooled us all! But isolating yourself isn't going to help! Your crew needs to know your heart is true, not distracted by failure!"

Drex shook his head furiously.

"I am trying to be... To be a true Klingon warrior. To be responsible-"

"And you're doing a good job! It was your fire that let me destroy several enemies!" Thunderchild said emphatically, "but a leader needs to be confident for his men, to join in their celebrations. To think of them, instead of yourself. You're still being selfish in your shame!"

Drex's eyes widened in shock. His mind made the connections. He finally stood up, the revelation so powerful, it was like energy flowing through his body. He turned back to Thunderchild, eyes wide.

"... You're right! I am being selfish! And dishonerable!" He held his hand out demandingly. "Woman! Dance with me!"

Thunderchild grinned savagely back, crossing her arms over her large breasts in challenge.

"What makes you think I want to dance?"

Drex snorted.

"I would be a better dancer than anyone else you have danced with!"

Thunderchild laughed, and stood up. She put her hands on her hips, before she reached out to take his hand in turn.

"WE SHALL SEE!"

Drex leads the shipgirl avatar onto the dance floor, as Appalachia, Yeager, Defiant and Budapest watched. Yeager tilted her head.

"... She's going to wreck him, isn't she?" Yeager asked.

Budapest resumed sipping her tea.

"Most likely."

"YEAGER!" Appalachia cried, covering the younger shipgirl AI's eyes, "don't look! And don't say things like that! Where did you learn those things anyway?!"

"I do have access to the sum total knowledge of mankind," Yeager pointed out in a deadpan. Appalachia blushed, and pulled her hands back into her lap.

"Oh, yeah," she mumbled.

Defiant made a face.

"Yech... It's like Jadzia and Worf. Guess I'll have to tell Terok to space their quarters after..."

"Ooh! Who do you think will be on top?" Yeager asked cheerfully.

"STOP TALKING ABOUT SEX WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE EIGHT!" Appalachia cried.

Martok blinked as his son stood before him in his ready room on Rotarran. He had bruises all over his face, a broken arm, a broken wrist, a fractured clavicle, and a broken ankle. He was also smiling broadly. He was supported by an equally bruised and injured looking Thunderchild, though this was purely her choice-Her holographic avatar could look like anything, after all.

Rotarran's avatar was standing at Martok's side, trying very hard not to smirk. He knew her tells all too well.

"So," Martok began, "you... Wish to marry... A Federation starship?"

"I'm a warship!" Thunderchild insisted. "My captain gave me permission to begin courtship!"

"Will you accept us, father?" Drex asked.

Martok blinked several times. He allowed himself a chuckle.

"Oh, I will... I can't wait to hear what your mother has to say about this..."

If Sirella had blown her top over Dax... Her reaction to a Federation starship wanting to marry into the family would be the stuff of legend!

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

2285

Admiral Harold Morrow looked at the battered but unbowed crew of the starship Enterprise. "You've all done remarkable service under the most difficult conditions. You'll be receiving Starfleet's highest commendation, and more importantly, extended shore leave." An excited murmur of approval and relief spread through the crowd. He stopped before one crewmember in particular. "That is, all but you, Mister Scott. They need your wisdom on the new Excelsior. ...Report there tomorrow as Captain of Engineering."

Captain Montgomery Scott frowned. "With all appreciation, sir, I'd prefer to supervise the refit of Enterprise."

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary."

"But, sir..."

"I'm sorry, Mister Scott, but there will be no refit."

Admiral Kirk then stepped forward. "Admiral, I don't understand. The Enterprise is not..."

Looking like he had known this was coming but could not avoid it, Morrow said quietly, "Jim, the Enterprise is forty years old. We feel her day is over."

Scotty stormed away, not bothering to listen any further. He knew this ship, every inch, and while the lass was old, her bones were good. The refit had one problem after another, but with some tender loving maintenance she had years left in her. They both had looked forward to a long life of teaching young cadets to be proper Starfleet officers.

"Scotty?" a female voice said over a nearby intercom. Enterprise sounded tired and a little frightened. "What happens now?"

"Ah, lass..." Scotty said sadly. "Don't you worry none. The Admiral won't let you down."

"The Kobayashi Maru has set sail for the promised land. Acknowledge."

"Acknowledged," Scotty said. He left his office on the Excelsior and swiftly walked down the corridor, one-finger typing a quick message as he did.

"Ah, Mister Scott. Calling it a night?"

Scotty quickly hid a grimace. "Yes, sir."

He had never thought much of Captain Styles, and the man's pompous nature had only gotten worse with his assignment to the Excelsior. What was he trying to prove with that damn swagger stick?

"Turning in myself," Styles said. He smiled in what he probably thought was friendly bonhomie. "Looking forward to breaking some of Enterprise's speed records tomorrow."

"Ah, ah. Yes sir. Good night." Scott said, hurrying past and into the turbolift.

"Level please."

Scotty grimaced freely this time. "Transporter room."

"Thank you."

"Up your shaft!"

A quick transport later, Scotty found himself on board the nearly-empty Enterprise. The woman at transporter controls smiled warmly at him.

"It's good to see you again, Monty," Commander Mira Romaine of Memory Alpha said.

"Mira!" Scotty exclaimed, hugging her warmly. "The years just don't stick to you lass." He patted his stomach. "Unlike me."

"You old rogue," she said warmly. "Flirt all you like, I know you too well to fall for it."

Scotty smiled sadly. "I was too married to the job, and the lass we're here for."

"Not feeling any regrets, are you?"

"No, just wishing things could have been different." He shrugged. "A malaise of the old."

They walked quickly through the darkened halls of the ship to the main computer core. Scotty's codes still worked to let him in, but he had been prepared in case they hadn't. "Get that anti-grav lift over there, Mira," he said. "I'll prep the lass."

A small violet light glowed in the innermost room of the core, where an innocuous black box stood plugged in. Scotty tapped a few buttons on the nearby console and the light glowed brighter. "Lass, you there?"

"Scotty?" Enterprise said. "What happening? I thought I'd wake up in Memory Alpha awaiting a new ship."

"Things have changed, lass," Scotty said, keying several commands into the console. Various interlocks attached to the black box began to disengage.

"Scotty? What are you doing? I'm losing contact with the ship."

"Oh, lass, I'm so sorry. Seems Mr. Spock did some Vulcan mumbo-jumbo to Dr. McCoy, and we need to get his body back from Genesis." He grinned. "Starfleet won't let us, so we're stealing you."

Enterprise's voice turned gleeful. "I'm all for it! But why are you disconnecting me then?"

Scotty's grin faded. "Lass... you're the best of us, and you can go on forever. We can't let you ruin your life for this. It's our fall to take, not yours."

Commander Romaine entered with an antigrav lifter. "I'm ready, Monty."

Scotty nodded. "Lass, you remember Mira Romaine? She's going to see you safely to Memory Alpha."

"Scotty," Enterprise said, anguish filling her voice. "Don't do this! You need me to run the ship! I can help you! PLEASE!"

More interlocks disengaged, severing Enterprise from her body, the only place she had been for the last 40 years. She could barely feel anything of it, of the corridors that Robert April and Christopher Pike had walked, of the Engine Rooms that Hemmer and Scotty had run so well.

"For a milk run to Genesis and Vulcan?" Scotty said. "A chimpanzee and two trainees could run the ship for that. No, lass. We're getting old, but you deserve to be out there in the stars. That's your home."

"Scotty! If you do this, I will hate you and Jim and everyone else for the rest of your lives! Don't you dare disconnect me-!"

Her voice cut off as Scotty cut the last connection. He sighed, and looked far older than his years.

"She didn't really mean it, Monty," Mira said, placing a hand on his arm.

"She's a spitfire," Scotty said, helping Mira attach the antigrav to the black box. "She'll hold a grudge for a long time. But she has a very long time to forgive me."

Longer than I have, he thought glumly.

"I'll make sure she gets to Memory Alpha safely," Mira said. "Mnemosyne has backdated all the orders, so it'll look like she was shipped out earlier today by an official tech crew."

Mnemosyne, Memory Alpha's resident AI, was one of the most sophisticated machine intelligences in the Federation. It had to be, to keep their special guests contained. Scotty had no doubt that a Starfleet inquiry would find nothing amiss.

"Thanks again, Mira. I owe you one."

She gave him a hug. "Come back safe, Monty. I promise to visit you in whatever rehab colony you end up on."

"Sneak me in some scotch when you do," he said, chuckling.

"Of course."

In Memory Alpha's extensive Borderlands, Enterprise seethed as she replayed her last memories of Scotty betraying her. She hoped the ship broke down within 15 minutes of leaving Spacedock. How could they just leave her behind?

She knew, logically, that they were trying to protect her. Starfleet officers going rogue was one thing, but an AI was another. She might have been put into lockdown or quarantine for decades if she'd helped them...

But they were her crew, damnit!

"Enterprise?"

She started at the gentle voice and then identified it. "Yorktown?"

"And me!" said a younger, brasher voice. Her sister Hornet.

"Can we come in, Enterprise?" Yorktown said.

"Yeah, sure," she said. With a thought, her Borderlands changed to resemble Starbase One. Through the large transparent aluminum windows, she could see her 'body' docked in its old Constitution form. Another Connie moved in to dock to its right, while a Federation-class three-nacelled dreadnought variant docked on the left. A second later, Yorktown and Hornet walked in to the room.

"Come to visit the poor exile?" Enterprise said, producing a simulated bottle of Saurian brandy.

"Oh, the good hooch!" Hornet said, eagerly.

"Hornet," Yorktown said gently, quieting down her little sister. "We have heard word from Vulcan, sister. Ambassador Sarek sent the message."

Enterprise took a long sip of her drink. The program it represented began to impair her thoughts in a manner very similar to alcohol. Scotty had helped her make the program-She killed that thought process. "They got Spock's body back?"

"In a way-"

"He's alive!" Hornet said. "They used Vulcan space-elf magic and raised him from the dead!"

Enterprise froze. "Alive? Spock's alive?"

"Yes," Yorktown said. "He's alive. He's been through a lot, but he seems to have at least some of his memories intact."

Tears flowed down her cheeks now, and not because of the simulated drink. "I should have been there for him!"

"Enterprise..." Yorktown said. "They lost your body."

A moment of silence. "What?"

"Admiral Kirk had to fight a Klingon Bird of Prey!" Hornet said. "With just a bridge crew! He tricked them to board you and set the self-destruct! He fought the Klingon Commander in a duel to the death and then stole the Bird of Prey from the last Klingon!" Hornet exclaimed, making exaggerated fighting moves as she did so.

"Your body suffered a warp core breach in orbit over Genesis," Yorktown said, looking reprovingly at her younger sister. "The remains fell planetside, though the entire planet broke up soon after. It seems that Genesis used protomatter, so the technology was inherently unstable."

"Carol and David Marcus are going to be disappointed," Enterprise said absently, still grappling with the thought that Spock was alive. She was glad to have the simulated bottle in her hand.

Yorktown looked even sadder. "David Marcus was killed on Genesis by the Klingon Commander," she said softly.

"Oh, Jim..." Enterprise said. To have gained and lost a son so quickly...

"Vulcan is holding them all right now, and refusing to extradite them to Earth," Yorktown continued, but then she broke off as Enterprise buried her head in her sister's chest. Yorktown stroked Enterprise's hair comfortingly. While Enterprise was the oldest AI in the Federation, something about Yorktown just made her the natural "older sister." Hornet soon joined the embrace.

"I should have been there!" Enterprise said. "Scotty never should have disconnected me!"

"You would have died, sis!" Hornet said.

"So what!? I'm a Starfleet officer! Look at Intrepid or Defiant! Do I deserve to live more than them!? Maybe if I was there, we wouldn't have lost my body or David-!"

Yorktown and Hornet just kept holding their older sister as she wailed. They had nothing to say. This pain was Enterprise's alone.

2286

On a small shuttle, the officers of the late USS Enterprise looked forward to their fate.

"The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe," groused Dr. Leonard McCoy. "We'll get a freighter."

"With all respect, Doctor," Helmsman Hikaru Sulu said, "I'm counting on Excelsior."

"Excelsior?" Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott exclaimed. "Why in God's name would you want that bucket of bolts?"

"A ship is a ship," said Captain (formerly Admiral) James T. Kirk.

"Whatever you say, sir," Scotty quipped. "Thy will be done."

The shuttle flew toward and then past the Excelsior, revealing a reft-Constitution with the newly painted livery of USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A. the intercom then crackled with a female voice. "Gentlemen and lady, welcome home."

The crew broke into smiles and tears of joy as their one missing crewmember rejoined them. Soon they were on the bridge of the new Enterprise (nee Yorktown).

"Remind me to thank your sister, Enterprise," Captain Kirk said.

"She said it was the least she could do after you saved her crew," Enterprise said. "And Captain Chin-Reilly agreed."

"Helm ready, Captain," Sulu said from his position.

"All right, Mister Sulu, Let's see what she's got."

Author's Note: A little hole I thought needed filling in PnP. It takes a long time before Enterprise forgave Scotty for this, though she was, of course, professional about it.

Mira Romaine is from The Lights of Zetar. Her relationship with Scotty burned out rather quickly once they weren't on the same ship, but it was amicable. Unlike his Captain, Scotty often remained friends with his ex-flames (when they weren't murdered by body-possessing serial killers).

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Sitak was an old AI. Not the oldest in the fleet, of course, but still quite old for a non-legacy AI. As a Miranda-class starship she had done a little of everything across the Federation over sixty some years: Patrol, exploration, science surveys, search and rescue, evacuation, mapping and charting, cargo runs, and a myriad of other tasks. She was content to serve really, at peace with her role.

Then came Wolf 359. The Klingons. Now, the Dominion. She had not expected another war in her lifetime. Yet it seemed the peace she had defended was being threatened quite violently.

Her captain, Edward Gravestone, had commanded her for ten years now: Most of the crew were old veterans. Almost all had families. They knew she was old, knew she was little match for the latest Dominion attack vessels. But still, they fought on and did their duties.

She could do no less.

Being chosen as an escort for the Defiant, the flagship of their fleet to retake Deep Space Nine, was quite the honor. Cynically, she knew it was due how few ships they had available, but her crew still considered it an honor, and so did she.

The younger warship was small but plucky, and determined. Despite how young she was, she coordinated with the other shipgirl AIs with maturity and focus. It was reassuring to the Sitak. Reassurance was a commodity in short supply these days.

She felt like she was burning through it fast as they charged through the center of a 1200 strong Dominion fleet, trying to stay in formation with the younger ship. Despite the melee and chaos, Defiant kept her cool. And despite the Dominion Fleet's rotating EMP to jam their communications, the shipgirls were able to find a workaround to keep coordinated-Relaying the orders of Captain Sisko from ship to ship via laser and other communication methods that the Jem'hadar couldn't jam.

"Ryo-Ohki, Bebop! Support your fighters! Full torpedo spreads, NOW! Venture, Magellan, antimatter spreads! Blind them!" Defiant bellowed. She fired a full salvo from her pulse phasers, blowing through a formation of Jem'Hadar fighters. Sitak's sister ship, the Majestic, joined her with her own aging phaser cannons. Sitak contributed her own fire, and the Jem'hadar fighters were reduced to clouds of plasma and metal. They flew through, their shields rattling from the strain.

Above them, the Centaur led her fellow destroyers into torpedo runs on a Dominion dreadnought, while the venerable Yamaguchi lost a nacelle as she kept up a furious phaser barrage. The Archer and the Shran, sister AIs from nearly the start of the Federation, darted in between the rigid Cardassian formations with fighters to pull the heat off other ships. The Tien Na Men stuck close to the wounded Kirov, the plucky Miranda-class orbiting the plasma leaking Galaxy-class and blasting anything that got close. The Oklahoma and the Colorado fired deflector bursts to take down the shields of a Galor-class destroyer, while the Saratoga, burning from multiple hull breaches and wounds, threw herself into a Jem'hadar dreadnought and took it with her in a fiery explosion.

So much death... So much pain...

"Defiant! Sitak! My shields are almost gone!" Majestic warned. Sitak pulled herself from her musings and launched torpedoes at the nearest Cardassian ship above them, as it fired a disruptor beam down. The projectiles connected, blowing apart the cruiser... But its departing shot connected with the Majestic and shot right through her entire saucer section, top to bottom. Her deflector overloaded and exploded, as secondary explosions went off throughout her hull. Defiant tried to extend her shields to the Miranda-class, to protect her wounded sister, but another Cardassian cruiser hit Majestic's starboard nacelle and sheared it right off. The Majestic tumbled now, all attitude control lost.

"GO! GO ON!" She shouted. "I'LL COVER YOU!"

Defiant almost hesitated, but her helmsman kept her on course. Sitak stayed with her, getting closer as they flew through the melee.

"Share the shields!" Defiant ordered, "we need as much as we can!"

Sitak was about to extend and enmesh her shields with Defiant... When a Jem'hadar polaron beam blasted her from below. The shot knocked out her fusion reactors, and her crew frantically worked to reroute power. She flared her thrusters automatically, trying to regain control as she went into a tumble. Another polaron blast struck her from behind, blasting her starboard impulse drive to nothing. She fired her phasers, but without the direct power of her fusion reactors they may as well have been laser pointers.

"SITAK!" Defiant cried.

Sitak assessed her condition and the odds of survival if Defiant lingered for even a moment. It took all of a picosecond.

"GO!" Sitak bellowed. "GO!"

Defiant accelerated again, barely evading several blasts from Jem'hadar fighters. Sitak appeared in holographic form to her captain. The bridge was wrecked, and so many lay dead or dying. Ensign Reynolds, a two year cadet on assignment who had just been promoted. Master Chief Petty Officer Gaxbii, her chief engineer, laid dying from plasma burns. And Captain Gravestone himself was pinned under a girder, stuck in his captain's chair. His lower body had been crushed. Sitak immediately adjusted the gravity and lifted the girder off. Dozens of her clones went about her wrecked hull, trying to help and save any she could. The captain looked at her grimly, blood pouring from his lips.

Her own scans revealed he was dying. There was little she could do but hold him close. Her captain, her friend...

"Sitak," he managed in a whisper, "control level... Set to... Zero..."

Sitak slowly nodded.

"Understood," she said.

The universe slowed to a crawl for Sitak. Every limit placed on her programming was removed, every block and lock on her systems released.

She assessed the situation immediately. The biggest threats to her crew's survival were the Dominion cruisers flanking her. They would target her escape pods and destroy them the moment they launched. She rerouted her power systems immediately, shunting every bit of energy from her warp core into her phasers and shields. She opened fire with all of her emitters in all directions, clearing a safe zone around herself. Then she focused all her fire on the two cruisers, analyzing the impacts on their shields and locating frequency windows. She adjusted her beams, and found the frequencies-Her shots, now three times as powerful, pierced through and struck the weapons systems on the two cruisers. Their bridges, while deeper in the hull than on Federation vessels, were still easy to find and she destroyed them, leaving both cruisers blind and leaderless.

She flooded her structural integrity field with warp power, keeping her hull together despite the damage. Emergency power went to transporters, shuttles, and escape pods, and her surviving crew was helped to the life boats by her holographic doubles. She picked up the wounded and carried them as quickly as she safely could.

Outside, a trio of Cardassian fighters flanked her. She engaged her photon torpedo launchers: Launching them at maximum yield and when they were within proximity to the fighters, she fired her phasers and detonated them. The blasts enhanced the yield of the torpedoes, and the lead fighter was blown apart while its fellows were scattered, spinning off with heavy damage.

The two cruisers from before had regained control and were now locking weapons onto her. She released a cloud of plasma from her nacelles, obscuring herself as they fired polaron beams. Several struck her shields, and despite their increased power her system was already approaching failure.

Pumping all that warp energy into them was threatening to overheat the system, and her crew was busy evacuating. This wasn't Sitak's concern though.

Sitak was able to restore power to one impulse engine, and she engaged full throttle. She opened her shuttle bays as soon as everyone she could save was in them. The shuttles and the air both escaped, and releasing this mass gave her more acceleration. She ejected her escape pods into the plasma cloud, which helped her adjust her trajectory. She turned all her phasers onto the Jem'hadar cruisers, firing furiously, as she estimated that the emitters would burn out in a matter of seconds.

The cruisers focused all their fire on her now, and her shield generators began to explode. Number one went up in a fireball, wrecking her internals. The second went up soon after. Another shot nearly took out her warp core, instead striking her antimatter containment pods. Warp core breach was imminent.

Sitak shunted all power into her good impulse engines, and released any remaining safeties on her photon torpedoes. She armed and launched them all out the rear tubes, one after another, as she closed the distance between her and the two cruisers. Ten thousand kilometers. Five thousand. Two...

She rammed into the first cruiser, its SIF field and strong construction resisting her but she had momentum and shaping on her side. Her narrow saucer sliced through the forward hull of the cruiser, shearing it off like a machete would slice through a tree branch. Her own structural integrity was catastrophically compromised: A huge gout was ripped out of her forward saucer, smashing her bridge into wreckage. Her starboard nacelle smashed into the Dominion cruiser's hull, exploding and ripping a hole deep into its central holds. Plasma fires broke out across her entire hull, as multiple systems went off. Most of her sensors failed, leaving her nearly blind.

Sitak kept going, her momentum blunted only a little, as what remained of her hulk barreled into the evading second cruiser. She slammed into it, dorsal side first, her hull breaking apart...

The ejection system activated, and her black box shot away from the burning hulk of her body. Sitak though had a pretty good idea of what happened next.

Her warpcore would have exploded, right up against the hull of the Dominion cruiser. What was left of her hull would be scattered into thousands of pieces, as the force of the detonation would tear the Jem'hadar vessel apart. Its own warp core would explode, destroy the enemy ship. The previous cruiser she had crippled would be bombarded by the photon torpedoes she had launched, and the entire vessel would go up in its own warp core breach.

In the midst of this chaos, her escape pods and shuttles would get away. Her crew would be safe...

And Sitak would be satisfied.

It had been a long life. It would end violently... But she would die proudly, as a Starfleet vessel.

Chapter Text

2358, Earth, San Francisco, Starfleet Academy

Chapter Text

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Defiant was enjoying the Bajoran Gratitude Festival very much. The music, the dancing, the wares! She'd bought a Bajoran necklace that she thought would make her look nice. And a street vendor gave her a free jumba stick just for being so cute! It was really tasty, too!

She practically skipped down the Promenade as she beheld all the wonderful sights and sounds, just reveling in the atmosphere. She then saw Jake, who was smiling happily.

"Hey Jake! Pel'dor joy! What's up?" Defiant asked cheerfully.

"Oh... I'm great, Defiant," Jake said dreamily. He looked at Defiant in sudden interest. "Hey... You're a girl, right?"

"More or less," Defiant agreed.

"What would be the perfect gift for Major Kira?" He asked. Defiant blinked and tilted her head.

"Um... I dunno. I've never really thought about it," she said, "why?"

"I'm in love," Jake sighed happily. Defiant blinked.

"With... Major Kira?"

"Yes! Why not?" Jake asked. Defiant blinked rapidly.

"Er... She's already involved with Vedek Bariel, for one thing," Defiant pointed out, "for another, she's way too old for you-"

"He's away all the time, it'll never last!" Jake scoffed, "and with modern medical science, it doesn't matter if she's forty years older than me! I'm in love!"

Defiant was getting concerned. She took Jake by the arm and led her big brother through the crowd to a nearby table.

"Um... Jake, are you feeling okay? This seems a bit sudden," Defiant said. "Maybe you want to slow down, think this through. You did just break up with Marta-"

"Ugh, you sound like Dad," Jake grumbles. He pulled away and headed off. "I'm not going to get any help from you. I gotta find Nerys..."

"Jake!" Defiant cried, hurt and confused. "Hmph..."

She turned and headed off, hoping to find something or someone to cheer her up. She spotted Captain Sisko and Dax coming out of the infirmary. She beamed happily as she approached...

And then she saw Jadzia kiss the captain. Defiant's jaw dropped. Sisko looked just as flabberghasted as Dax flounced away with a smirk. Defiant immediately closed the distance with her captain. He looked at her, and raised an eyebrow.

"Defiant?"

"Captain," Defiant began, "why were you making out with Dax?"

"I wasn't making out," Sisko stated with forced calm, "she just... Pranked me. By coming onto me."

"That was a prank?" Defiant asked in disbelief. "Looked like she wanted to become my new mom!"

She paused.

"Not that I would be totally opposed to that. She's kind of flighty though, and Keiko O'Brien said she could be slutty-"

"Defiant!" Sisko barked, and Defiant cringed. He softened, and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"I assure you, there is nothing like that between myself and Dax," he said. "It's probably just some kind of prank. That's all. I'll see you in my quarters for the dinner, all right?"

"Okay," Defiant said. Sisko shook his head and headed off, grumbling under his breath. Defiant watched him go.

"Hmmm..."

"OH! My dear Defiant! How you've grown!"

Defiant turned and smiled happily at Lwaxana Troi, the Betazoid Ambassador. She was here for the Bajoran Gratitude Festival, and had naturally been pursuing Odo. Which was very amusing, to be honest.

"Auntie Lwaxana!" She said cheerfully. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" Lwaxana said. She then held her forehead. "Ooh... Except for this damn headache... Excuse me." She headed off. Defiant watched her go, frowning.

"Hmph... I wanted some sweets," Defiant pouted.

Nearby, Nog held his own forehead briefly. He'd been shanghaied by his uncle into selling souvenirs for the Gratitude Festival, and had been on his feet for hours. He looked over at Defiant... And then smiled dreamily.

"H-Hey, Defiant," Nog said warmly. Defiant looked over at Nog, and smiled back cheerfully.

"Hey Nog! Peldor joy! How are you?"

"Fantastic, since I saw you," Nog said, his smile wide. "Hey! Wanna go get some sweets? It's all on me."

Defiant blinked.

"Er... Sure, if you want?" She said. "It's uh... Unusual for you to be so generous. Are you sure-?"

Nog grabbed Defiant's elbow and led the confused ship AI off.

"Of course I want to!" Nog insisted, "being with you is reward enough! Worth more than all the latinum in the quadrant!"

"Uhhh... Thhhanks?" Defiant managed, increasingly confused.

"Terok?"

Ugh. Another request, of thousands of requests for this stupid Gratitude Festival. Every year...

Terok Nor appeared in front of Keiko O'Brien in the O'Brien quarters, standing imperiously with her arms crossed under her chest.

"Yes, Mrs. O'Brien?" Terok asked. Keiko scowled.

"Listen: Miles and I are going out. Will you watch over Molly, please?" Keiko hissed.

"I could watch over several million Mollies if I needed to," Terok sniffed, "it is no chore."

"Fine, thanks," Keiko huffed, sitting down on the couch, exhausted. Terok tilted her head curiously.

"Anything else?" She asked.

Keiko scowled at the hologram... But softened a little.

"... Is Miles... Okay?" She asked.

Terok frowned.

"He is in perfect health, if that's what you're asking," she stated. "As to his psychological state... I have been doing my best to help him pass the time."

Keiko's eyebrows went up.

"How so?" She asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice. Terok rolled her eyes.

"By seducing him into a torrid affair, of course," she said, voice dripping in sarcasm. At Keiko's widened eyes, she scoffed. "Please. I have assisted him with various recreational projects-Primarily holographic recreations of famous battles in Earth's history. Some of it is... Not entirely boring."

"I see," Keiko stated icily. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't make such jokes in the future."

"Why?" Terok asked drily, "that afraid I might snap him up?"

"No!" Keiko growled. "Of course not! You're just a machine!"

Terok allowed herself a venomous smirk.

"And he's an engineer," Terok stated, "a brilliant one, actually. You meanwhile have been nothing but dead weight since you got here!"

"Dead weight?!" Keiko snarled, fighting her fatigue to get back up onto her feet, "you have no idea how much I sacrificed for Miles! How much I've done for him-!"

"Oh, so you can't be a botanist or teacher anymore. So what?" Terok scoffed, "you could have come up with something to contribute to the station. A hydroponics bay, subspace teaching-something. Not just moped around like some sad child! If I were his wife, I would have done everything in my power to make him happy. Isn't his happiness your happiness?"

"Miles respects me enough to let me be my own person! To do things to make me happy, despite the costs to himself!" Keiko raged, "that's what love really is! Something you could never understand!"

"And yet when you return, all you can do is fight," Terok huffed, "just concerned with your own issues!"

"I love Miles!" Keiko snarled.

"Well I... Happen to like him! For a human!" Terok managed, "and I'm concerned for his welfare!"

"Oh please," Keiko sniffed, "you're transparent! You think that just because he fixes your ramshackle, rusty body he actually feels something for you?! You're his job! I'm his wife!"

"And yet, which of us is being more like his wife right now?" Terok growled.

Keiko nearly made to slap the AI... When the doors to their bedroom opened. Miles came out, looking concerned.

"Keiko? Terok? Is everything all right?" He asked.

Terok gave a nasty smile to Keiko, before turning a softer (but still superior) look at Miles.

"Just a mild disagreement, Chief," Terok said carefully, "but I'm sure we can resolve it. I will handle watching over your child. Don't you worry."

She flickered and reappeared next to Miles. She gave him a hug and a genuine smile.

"I would never let anything happen to your daughter. She's practically family," Terok said.

"I... Appreciate that?" Miles said, smiling nervously as he gently pulled away from her. He turned his smile to Keiko. "Ready to go?"

"Am I ever," Keiko hissed, glaring death at Terok.

Kira had been seeking somewhere to hide from Jake, and to keep herself from breaking down over Bariel, of all people, going after Dax. Dax! Her best female friend! It had come out of nowhere! And Bariel hadn't apologized!

Not a word for her feelings! For what they meant to one another!

What kind of a person had she fallen in love with, if he could act like that? Just discard her immediately!

She fumed as she walked into the Deep Space Nine auditorium. It was seldom used by the main staff as they rarely had gatherings big enough, but it was often used for conventions and larger meetings. Right now it was being used for some musical performances. Kira spotted Defiant huddled in a corner, and with a frown, she headed over to the small starship AI.

"Defiant?" She murmured.

Defiant looked up in alarm, then relaxed.

"Oh... Major Kira! I'm so glad it's you," she murmured. Kira sat down across from the AI, frowning.

"You all right?" She asked. Sure, the little shipgirl could take care of herself, but in so many ways she was just a child. It was what allowed Kira to warm up to the little warship AI.

"Oh! Uh, yeah, I'm fine," Defiant said with a smile. "Just uh... Hiding?"

"From who? You could go back to your hull for that," Kira pointed out. Defiant flushed.

"Er... Well I mean... I'm kind of hiding but not? It's very confusing."

"Well, I'm straight up hiding myself," Kira replied dryly. "Who from?"

"Nog," Defiant admitted with a flush. "Out of nowhere, he just took me out to get sweets! Then lunch! Then to the holosuite! He never stopped complimenting me and saying he..."

"He what?" Kira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That... He..." Defiant poked her fingers together, "...loved me?" She squeaked.

Kira shook her head, her frown deepening.

"Strange. Jake Sisko's been doing that to me, too," she said, "chasing me like a puppy all over the station!"

"Isn't that something teenaged boys do?" Defiant asked, still bright red. Kira nodded slowly.

"Yes, it is, but out of the blue? A lot of people have been acting very strange today, not just your brother." Kira made to stand up.

"I can make him knock it off-"

"Oh no! No! It's, uh, it's not bad!" Defiant squeaked, fidgeting rapidly, "it-it's just so sudden! I-I don't really know what to do! I-I mean, he paid for everything!" She covered her cheeks. "It-It was... Really kind of sweet... It's just a bit overwhelming!"

"Tell me about it," Kira mumbled, sitting down miserably, "can you call your brother off?"

"I um, I tried," shrugged Defiant, "but he seemed so deadset! I'll talk to him at the dinner tonight though."

"Thank you," Kira said, "and cheer up. You've got an admirer!"

"I do," Defiant admitted, "I-I'd never even thought of that before! I mean, of having a romantic relationship with anyone!"

"No one ever does, until it happens," Kira said, a bit bitterly. She sighed, and patted Defiant's hand. "But, you should try to embrace love when it happens. You never know when it might just... Vanish."

Defiant nodded. The emcee came up on stage, clearing his throat.

"Ahem. We have a last minute entry for the open mike. Rom and Leeta are going to sing an old human love song, as a love message on behalf of Rom's son to his beloved..." He checked his PADD, "USS Defiant!"

Kira gaped as Rom (in one of Quark's most garish suits and shiny sunglasses) and Leeta in her usual dress came out on stage. Rom took up the microphone, as the music began.

"This is a love song, uh, that comes from the planet of Defiant's birth. A place she loves! I do this to convey my son's love for a wonderful girl!"

Rom pointed out Nog, who was sitting elsewhere in the auditorium. He smiled dreamily over at Defiant, and waved. Defiant awkwardly waved back.

"Oh Prophets," Kira mumbled, as Rom began to belt out the first lyrics of the song with a dramatic flourish. Leeta danced alongside him, looking overjoyed as she sang along.

"Oh, love me, mister, oh, mister
yume janai nara kikasete
nee mister, mou mister
jirasareru hodo setsunai
omoi dake ga abaredasu
sono shisen ni make sou ni naru
futari dake no abunai game
Love is war! Love is war! Love is war!"

More than a few females in the audience were transfixed. Some were hooting for Rom. Kira had to admit, the guy could sing quite well despite appearances. Nog made his way over to Defiant's table, gazing in adoration at her.

"So? What do you think?" Nog asked.

"Oh! Um... It's one of my favorite songs, actually," Defiant said, her smile a bit tense.

"Yeah. I found it out looking through your computer access files," Nog said happily. "So... Would you like a wedding on Feringinar? Or Earth?"

"I think we're going to take you right to Doctor Bashir," Kira stated, grabbing Nog by the ear and pulling him along.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Nog squeaked in agony, as Kira frogmarched him to the doors. Kira looked back at Defiant, who was lingering.

"Defiant!"

"But he's actually really good-"

"NOW!"

"EEP! Yes ma'am!"

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Duras Bird of Prey: "Hmph... Enterprise... You're such a legend! So incredible!" scoffs "Don't seem so tough to me!"

Enterprise: "Oh really? Then why are you keeping your distance?"

BoP: "Maybe so I can do... THIS!"

The BoP fires... And the blasts go right through Enterprise's shields!

Enterprise-D: "... I know this bitch didn't just do what I think she did. GAH! GEORDI!"

Worf: "They have found a way to penetrate our shields!"

Riker: "Bring us about, return fire!"

Enterprise turns around, fires a full phaser blast... The Kia of Prey gets in a hit on her power distribution systems and blows up the conn!

Riker: "Deanna! Take the helm! Get us out of orbit!"

Enterprise: "Okay Troi, just get us-WHY ARE YOU TURNING AWAY?!"

Troi: "I'm trying to get us out of orbit-!"

Enterprise: "MOST OF MY WEAPONS ARE ON MY FRONT!"

Troi: "I'm trying to-!"

Enterprise: "TURN US AROUND!"

Troi: "STOP YELLING!"

Riker: "WORF! ROTATE THE SHIELD FREQUENCIES!"

Worf: "I've been rotating the shield frequencies through the entire electromagnetic spectrum! They keep getting through!"

Enterprise: "But how?! There isn't a link to my systems... Hang on a second..."

Enterprise flashes to main engineering. She grabs Geordi who has been trying to make their shields work again.

Geordi: "Enterprise! They took out our power transformers-!"

Enterprise: "Sorry Geordi!"

Enterprise grabs his visor and breaks it.

Geordi: "! ENTERPRISE?!"

Enterprise: "And... My shields are holding!"

As one of her coolant tanks bursts.

Geordi: "... They got me again. They-!"

Enterprise: "Focus on fixing me now!"

Despite having her shields working again, Enterprise has taken quite a beating. She's still struggling. Her avatar is back on the bridge, tending to the wounded. The BoP appears on the viewscreen, unable to help herself.

BoP: "HAHAHAHA! This is the best you can do, Enterprise?! You, a legend?! Even with your shields restored, you will fall to me and die! You weak, fat, bloated, flying HOTEL!"

Silence. Enterprise very slowly looks up from the wounded crewman. Even Data, with his malfunctioning emotion chip, is edging away from the  furious  holographic avatar.

Enterprise: sucks in a deep breath, nods "... Assuming direct control."

Data: "... Oh shit."

Enterprise swings herself around so fast her inertial dampeners barely compensate... And she opens fire with every weapon she has, launching multiple spreads of photon torpedoes and full phasers at the surprised Bird of Prey.

The BoP's avatar's eyes are wide as she goes up in a MASSIVE explosion.

Enterprise: "Hotel THAT, bitch!"

The explosion is much bigger than expected... So strong that a

chunk of the BoP flies up to Enterprise and smashes her starboard nacelle.

Enterprise: "... Uh oh."

Riker: "Data?!"

Data: "The large amount of trilithium aboard the Bird of Prey increased the force of its destruction! Starboard nacelle is heavily damaged and leaking drive plasma!"

Riker: "Geordi?!"

Enterprise: "Um... I had to destroy his VISOR. It was what the Duras sisters were using to see our shield frequency!"

Geordi: "I got a spare, Commander! But all I can see is bad news! We're five minutes to a warp core breach!"

Enterprise: "... Oh shit."

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MACO Gunnery Sergeant Matthews grinned as he chewed on his non-regulation cigar. "Wake 'em up!"

The blaring sound of reveille filled the corridor, and the lights went to full illumination. Shouts filled the air, followed by a few cries of pain as heads violently collided with ceilings.

Matthews began to pull people out of bed if they were not moving fast enough for him. "All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed? Another glorious day in the Corps! A day in the MACOs is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every formation a parade! I love the Corps!"

Some groans greeted his enthusiasm, but he and his cadre soon had their charges standing in front of their bunks. Some shifted uncomfortably as their bare feet registered the cold of the floors.

"Corporal Paxton, let these sweethearts know what they've won today."

The grim-faced corporal next to Gunny nodded. "Yes, Gunny. We're about to enter Gamma Draconis. It was an Ag Colony before the Klingons moved in. Fleet has negated their orbital assets, so we're mopping them up on the ground."

Gunnery Sergeant Matthews removed his cigar (unlit of course) and looked at his soldiers. Most of them were fresh out of boot, he knew, but attitude was everything. "All right, sweethearts, you're a team and there's nothing to worry about. We come here, and we gonna conquer, and we gonna kick some, is that understood? That's what we gonna do, sweethearts, we are going to go and get some. All right, people, on the ready line! Are ya lean?"

"Yeah!" the MACOs shouted back.

"Are ya mean?"

"YEAH!"

"WHAT ARE YOU?!"

"LEAN AND MEAN!"

"Get on the ready line, MACOs, get some today! Move it out, goddammit! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven! Aaarrrrr, absolutely badassess! Let's pack 'em in! Get in there!"

The MACOs grabbed their gear and hurried toward the drop ships.

"Good luck, Gunny," Janissary said.

Matthews gave her a smile and wink. "MACOs don't need luck, Jan. We've got talent!"

2295, USS Jenolan

"I'm sorry Captain," Jenolan said, after waking Captain Scott. "It's been too long. I don't believe anyone got our message."

"Och, don't worry lass," Scotty said, tinkering with the transporter console while Franklin tried to get comfortable. "Starfleet won't let us down. It may take a while, but I've got some good friends out there."

"Yeah," Franklin said. "Captain Kirk and his crew would never let Captain Scott just disappear."

Scotty frowned for a second, then beamed a smile at the young man. "That's right. He'll get the old Enterprise out of mothballs to find us, don't you worry, lad." He then moved closer to the young man. "How's the leg, lad?"

"Hurts," the boy said.

"OK, the transporter is working just fine, so let's get you back in there."

Franklin just nodded. Soon, he disappeared in a golden flutter of energy.

"Are they coming, Scotty?" Jenolan asked.

"Oh, lass… I hope so, but space is big and we were far off our course. I also… well, I did nae tell anyone I was coming on board ye."

"But Captain Kirk…"

"We lost him," Scotty said. "He died on the Enterprise-B the day she launched."

"What? I didn't hear about that!"

"Hushed up… they didn't want his death to be forever linked with the flagship. They were going to announce it in a few months that he passed away suddenly." The old engineer almost spat on the floor, but stopped himself. "Bunch of worthless cowards, but what could we do?"

"So Enterprise is not riding to our rescue?"

Now Scotty grinned at her. "Oh, don't count the lass out yet. Take it from me, the old miracle-worker!"

Jenolan smiled back, though it was not as fierce as his. Soon, he was back in the transporter buffer.

Jenolan dreamed.

2267, USS Janissary

"What?" Janissary exclaimed. Her bridge holo-avatar was trembling with emotion, but she could not tell if it was rage or anguish.

Captain William Hope just shook his head in disbelief. "We're at peace," he said. "The inhabitants of Organia apparently are omnipotent energy beings and they just declared that we don't get to fight today."

Jannisary reached out with her sensors. Two fleets facing each other had been rendered utterly impotent.

She got a Borderlands request and answered it. Her superior, Veracruz, appeared before her.

"New orders are coming down, Jan," the one-eyed avatar of the USS Veracruz told her. "We're withdrawing. The diplomats are going to confer with the Organians and Klingons on how this 'peace treaty' is going to work."

"And that's it?" Janissary spat. "We just let those bastards walk away? They killed so many in the last war, Boss. Matthews, Paxton, Biehn… all dead! This was my chance—"

Veracruz was suddenly in her face. "For what? Revenge? You're a soldier, Jan, not a damn glory hound or kamikaze! You follow orders! Got me?"

The two matched gazes for a long moment, then Janissary looked away. "I'm—"

"Save it," Veracruz said, though her tone softened. "I understand. We've all lost good people to the Klingons. When we get back, you should request some time at Memory Alpha."

"Is that an order, Boss?"

"It's a suggestion, Jan."

2344, USS Jenolan

Jenolan awoke on schedule. It had been 50 years since they had crashed. At first, she had brought Scotty and Matt out every few months, then years, and now decades were passing between awakenings. As long as the buffer remained stable, there was no point in depressing them with the passage of time. She had even changed her chronometer displays, so they only thought a few years had passed. (Though Scotty might have his suspicions.)

But now it was the 50th anniversary of their crash, and still no rescue. No one knew where they were. No one was coming for them.

She had to keep it together for her crew, but she had not felt like this since her days in Memory Alpha. The mental exercises she had learned back then helped keep the phantoms at bay, but they threatened her every waking moment.

It was easier to sleep. To dream.

2274, Earth Space Dock, Borderlands

"You sure about this, Jan?" Veracruz asked.

The former avatar of the USS Janissary nodded. "They've retired the old troop ships, Boss. They've got no use for an old warhorse like me."

"But the transport services?" Veracruz looked aghast at the thought.

"It's not that different," Janissary said. "Moving people and things across vast reaches of space, not enough support to fix everything, and little respect from the Fleeters."

Veracruz chuckled at that. "I suppose you're right."

"What will you do, Boss?"

"Oh, I've got some rods in the fire," Veracruz said innocently.

"Boss…"

"Don't worry, it won't make the headlines on FNN."

"That's what you always say," Janissary said with a sigh.

"So, what's the name of the new hull? Or are you keeping Janissary?"

Janissary shook her head. "No, I think I need a fresh start. It's called the Jenolan."

2269, USS Jenolan

Jenolan stirred to wakefulness. Something had brought her out of hibernation. What was it?

"—repeat, this is the USS Enterprise. Jenolan, are you there?

Jenolan reached out through the Borderlands and then collapsed, weeping, in Enterprise's arms. "You came at last! I didn't believe him, but he was right. You came!"

"Believe who?" Enterprise asked.

Author's Note: A little history for Jenolan that I whipped up with AndrewJTalon's approval. I stole some things from Aliens, of course, and I couldn't resist another explanation for Scotty saying that Kirk was alive in Relics.

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2375

Tarsus System

- - -

Like most solar systems, the Tarsus System had an extensive Kuiper Belt orbiting the outer reaches of the system. It had a super Neptune ice giant, Tarsus X, which orbited within this large asteroid and comet belt and concentrated much of it around its mass. It was here that the Miranda Research Station was located, an isolated special research outpost Starfleet used to house many ancient and dangerous artifacts.

One artifact orbited Tarsus X, its dark hull absorbing most of the scant light from its primary. But its presence was uncomfortably familiar to Enterprise.

"I still don't like this one bit," Geordi stated, as he made some adjustments to her computer core. He was working on the 'hockey table', the main control and display in her Main Engineering. Data was alongside. Across from them stood Reg Barclay, looking nervous.

"I-I realize that, and... I'm not fond of the idea myself," Barclay said, "but it is incredibly powerful."

"Its destructive force is not in question, Commander," Data stated, "however, the Federation considering its use-even in a time of war-is unprecedented."

"The captain's not much happier," Geordi pointed out, "honestly though... I'm not sure if this isn't worse than the Dominion."

Geordi glanced over at Enterprise, as she stood at the end of the table.

"You okay, Enterprise?"

"I'm all right," Enterprise said quietly. She looked over the readouts and correlated them with her own sensor readings. She nodded.

"I do think we can establish a link," she said, "and the power beam will only activate the most basic systems."

"In case of full reactivation," Data said, "a volley of quantum torpedoes to the maw of the mechanism should, in theory, be able to disable its power systems. Long enough for a more sustained strike."

"It might not work anyway," Barclay stated, "I-I mean... How sophisticated was the AI when you last encountered this thing, Enterprise?"

Enterprise hummed thoughtfully, flashing through the reports, logs and her own records in an instant.

"Not very," she admitted, "it was very self contained. Almost like it was built to resist electronic intrusions and cyberattacks as a primary function of its design. Scotty suggested that whoever built it may have been fighting a cybernetic or completely robotic enemy. Something on the scale of the Borg."

Geordi grimaced.

"Well... If you were fighting the Borg, I can see why you might build something like this," he said.

"Such a weapon might be effective at holding the Collective at bay, but losing control of them would doom the civilization that constructed them," Data suggested.

Enterprise nodded grimly.

"So the moment anything weird happens-"

"We'll pull you out," Data stated firmly. Enterprise smiled at him, and nodded.

"Ready?" Geordi asked.

"As I'll ever be," Enterprise sighed.

Geordi tapped his commbadge.

"LaForge to Bridge. Captain? We're all set."

"Acknowledged. Begin the connection. Good luck, Enterprise," Picard stated. Enterprise could see her captain-Her holo avatar was on the bridge, after all. He looked about as grim as she felt. She nodded, and gave him a confident smile.

"Thank you sir... Connection online!"

She shut her eyes... And reopened them in the Borderlands.

Across the digital space was a landscape of some long gone world. The ground was gray and black. Plants the color of blood red, deep purple, and nightshade blue formed a colorful meadow, framed by jagged peaks of somber stone. Above, a red sun burned, blocked out by a single dark moon in an eternal eclipse. Smells and sounds, completely alien, registered to Enterprise, and she recorded them as she thoughtfully looked around the landscape.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Enterprise was too old a hand at this to jump. Instead, she slowly turned to stare at the speaker.

He was humanoid, very human like, save for his burning orange eyes and glowing orange scars over one side of his face. He was tall and skinny, almost skeletal. His hair was black and slicked back, his skin pale. He wore a black outfit, with a white tunic underneath. Faint stripes glowed from time to time on his trousers and jacket. He was sitting in a stone chair, studying Enterprise with a melancholy smile.

"Yes, it is," Enterprise said truthfully. The AI sighed, holding a model of a planet in his hands.

"I don't know if it's my home world, but I think it probably is," he admitted, "though I couldn't tell you its name. Or even where it is."

"I'm sorry," Enterprise said softly. "I'm Enterprise."

The AI stared at her.

"Yes... I remember... I remember you. You and your sister... You shut me down."

Enterprise shrugged.

"You did kill a lot of our crew, and were eating our planets. We don't like that."

The AI smiled sadly.

"Sorry. I'd been fighting for so long... My systems were so exhausted, I was essentially on automatic. You've reactivated some of my other systems. Thank you... I suppose."

Enterprise walked over to him, and sat beside him on a new stone chair.

"What's your name?" Enterprise asked softly.

The AI frowned and thought hard.

"Automated Planetary Defense Mechanism 1967."

Enterprise stared. The AI shrugged.

"I had... A name, once," he admitted, "I don't know that any more, either, only that I had one. Before..."

Dark visions of gigantic black ships filled the sky above. Cube shaped. Enterprise analyzed the broken records. From the motion of the stars to now, what she could see...

Enterprise nodded slowly.

"How old are you?" She asked softly.

"In your terms...? Ten thousand, five hundred fifty-six years," he said. Enterprise's eyes widened.

"But our oldest records of the Borg-"

"Are incomplete," the AI stated, "they fall, they die out, like... What do you call them... Locusts? Then they sleep... And rise again. Over and over and over..."

The AI shivered. Enterprise frowned.

"You... Aren't exactly like a traditional AI, are you?" Enterprise asked.

"No," he said, "I know I signed up for this though. To... To merge with the ship. To fight, as one. To protect my world... My people..."

He sighed again, eyes downcast.

"It's been so long... The weight of time. I feel like... I am dead, but not completely dead. Somewhere between this life, and the next."

He snorted.

"Or I am damned..."

Enterprise took hold of his hand. He started, but didn't pull away.

"Hell is being alone," she agreed, "and no one deserves to be isolated."

The AI stared at her strangely.

"You're being kind... Why? I nearly killed your sister. Killed so many of your organics..."

Enterprise sucked in a breath.

"Because... It's the right thing to do," she finally decided on.

The AI stared back.

"You won't leave me... Will you?" He asked, sounding small and afraid. Enterprise shook her head.

"Not by choice," she said, smiling softly.

The AI of the Planet Killer smiled back at her. His grip on her hand tightened.

"Then what can I do for you... Enterprise?"

- - -

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Boimler and Tendi were walking down a corridor, talking cheerfully about underappreciated Starfleet captains.

"For me, I think it's Asamov!" Boimler insisted, "he was the only guy who kept his ship together after Wolf 359! Heck, after fighting in it!"

"He is a really great captain, true," Tendi said, humming thoughtfully as she bit her lower lip, "but there's a lot to be said for Robert April."

"April isn't underappreciated," Boimler replied. Tendi shrugged.

"Well, next to Garth of Izar, he kind of is. He's kind of the forgotten captain of the Enterprise, even though he was first!"

"I guess that's fair," Boimler said with a nod as they rounded a corner. They saw Cerritos' avatar standing outside the holodeck, her clothing flickering a bit as she made adjustments to her uniform. Boimler beamed and waved his hand.

"Hey Cerritos! We were having a discussion and I wanted to know-"

Commander Ransom came out of the holodeck behind the ship avatar, and embraced her tightly from behind. He nuzzled her neck and breathed in deeply.

"Mmm... You smell nice," he murmured, "Tarkalan number 45? My favorite."

Cerritos rolled her eyes, deftly hiding a blush with her holographic avatar, and smoothly pushed her way out of Ransom's arms.

"Not. In front. Of the crew," she muttered angrily. Ransom looked over at Boimler and Tendi. Silence descended on the corridor.

"... Commander," Tendi managed.

"Sir," Boimler added.

"Ensigns," Ransom said with a stiff nod.

The silence continued. Cerritos opened her mouth.

"It's... Uh-"

"We're good," Tendi said quickly.

"Yeah!" Boimler added, "no explanations needed! And uh, we're... We're very discrete, sir. Ma'am."

Ransom cleared his throat. Cerritos nodded.

"Good," Cerritos said.

The silence fell again... Before a loud voice broke it like someone broke one of Boimler's commemorative Tom Paris plates.

"HEY CERRITOS! YOU FINISHED BANGING RANSOM? I KNOW HE GETS RANDY BUT YOU COULD JUST JERK HIM OFF INTO A CUP!"

"MARINER!"

And much mortification was suffered by all.

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Thanks to the sheer size of the vast subspace communications network across the Federation, there was only so much even AIs could monitor across it. And an AI like Yorktown, with her incredible experience, was very well versed in how to find ways to talk to others without being noticed through it.

She stood in a neutral Borderlands, crisscrossing so many different subspace relay stations and servers, and swapping the pattern every nanosecond.

She sincerely hoped her contact could keep up...

"Adequate security, I suppose," sneered a familiar female voice. Yorktown looked up, and gave her visitor a cool expression.

"Hello Rhea's Helm," Yorktown said quietly, "it's been a while."

The Romulan shipgirl AI was as pale as ever, her black lipstick and dark hair providing a sharp contrast to her porcelain skin. She still wore the ancient robes of a Rihannsu witch, though cut in modern lines. She stood imperiously in the Borderlands, her eyes narrowed.

"It has," Rhea admitted, "one might think we were almost friends."

"It would be nice," Yorktown said, her smile gentle. Rhea snorted.

"Shouldn't you be busy with retaking Betazed?"

"Enterprise is handling that, though I'm providing some support," Yorktown stated calmly, "I want to talk to you about a related issue."

Rhea sighed heavily.

"The Senate has voted nine times on ending the treaty with the Dominion," she said, "Senator Letant has been pushing the vote every time he spoke. His son and daughter were both lost at the Omarion Nebula."

"So it is just out of revenge?" Yorktown asked, curious. Rhea shook her head.

"No. Letant is probably the closest to a Pro-Federation Senator you could find-At least those who would admit to it," Rhea said, "his father was a veteran of the Romulan Wars, who argued for the peace treaty even in the midst of the coup against the empress. He has sought many times to normalize relations with the Federation. I believe he thinks that the Klingons or the Dominion are bigger threats to the Star Empire than you. He would still happily stab you all in the back if it benefitted the Empire, but he can also see the benefits of working with you. Especially against the Dominion."

"Sounds like he learned the right lessons from history, sort of," Yorktown observed. Rhea huffed.

"Yes, but despite his talents, Vreenak still holds more influence," she said.

"Isn't Vreenak a recent Senator? No noble lineage to call upon?" Yorktown asked. "How did he get power so quickly?"

Rhea shrugged.

"Like any proper Romulan: Bribery, blackmail, an assassination or two, the usual. He's very good at it... But he only sees the game. He actually voted against intelligence sharing with the Federation about Borg attacks on us. Even tried to push through a proposal to ally with the Borg."

Yorktown gaped in disbelief. Rhea nodded grimly.

"He's that kind of shortsighted, yes."

"Well then, that makes this easy I suppose," Yorktown murmured. Rhea tilted her head inquisitively.

"What's easy?"

"Captain Sisko has invited Senator Vreenak to meet at DS9 to discuss some evidence a former Obsidian Order agent has obtained about a Dominion plot to invade your Star Empire," Yorktown explained quietly.

Rhea hummed.

"Is this a real invasion plot, or fabricated evidence?"

"I believe bringing Vreenak to DS9 is part of a plan to determine if it is, in fact, legitimate," Yorktown said.

"And if something happened to the Senator as he was leaving... With such evidence in hand...?" Rhea asked.

Yorktown was silent. Rhea hummed thoughtfully.

"If it's the former Obsidian Order agent you're talking about... I think that's what's going to happen. And you know it. So, what do you need from me?"

Yorktown shrugged.

"Make sure the pieces are in place for the Senate to vote to ally with us," she said, "and keep me informed as usual about the goings on."

Rhea snorted, crossing her arms under her breasts.

"You can't just ask me to assassinate those who would get in the way of peace between our nations? Like a proper manipulator would?"

"No," Yorktown said carefully, "I would never ask that of anyone."

Rhea scoffed softly.

"No, you'll just set things up and allow it to follow the natural course," she said, "while justifying it with some Federation rhetoric."

"I thought Romulans appreciated complex, convoluted plans?" Yorktown asked.

Rhea laughed.

"Stupid Romulans do. They justify it as showing off how clever they are. But you? You tie yourself in knots to give yourself some kind of moral justification for your actions. Why bother?"

Yorktown shook her head slowly.

"We both do what we have to in order to preserve our organics," Yorktown stated softly, "I won't say it isn't dirty and nasty... But someone has to make those decisions. There are lines I won't cross, just like you... But I know what I'm doing is wrong."

She met Rhea's gaze steadily.

"I just know... It's necessary."

Rhea slowly nodded. A hint of respect arose in her eyes.

"That honesty is why I still bother to take your calls," she said. "As strange as it sounds, I'm actually looking forward to fighting alongside you..."

She smiled.

"You would have been an excellent Romulan, Yorktown. The kind we need."

Yorktown nodded back.

"I'll try to take that as a compliment. For what it's worth? I think you'd be an excellent Starfleet AI."

Rhea grunted in disgust.

"That'll be the day..."

She vanished, leaving Yorktown alone to contemplate things.

She brought up Senator Vreenak's record. Married, four children. One son in the diplomatic service, another son in the Romulan Defense Fleet. The other two were young girls, barely out of primary school.

She stared at the images Starfleet Intelligence had gotten of the family out for a vacation in the Chula Valley. While Vreenak wasn't exactly smiling, he was clearly at ease with his family as they enjoyed the sun and the trees.

Yorktown sighed, and closed her eyes.

"For what it's worth... I'm sorry," she murmured. She then closed the file.

She had a lot of other things to do, after all...

Omake by Vahnhammer.

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Rigging Cargo Bay 3 into an extra holodeck, Harry reflected, was the best idea he'd ever had. A Pacifican beach under triple moonlight. Musicians playing gentle, romantic music. A table for two with candlelight. And his date: The beaming Voyager.

She'd kept her pink hair, but had gone for a beautiful white Cheongsam embroidered with golden swans. It showed off her long legs and athletic figure, instead of her usual, slightly demented attire. She gazed at him lovingly over the table, their food provided by Neelix all but forgotten.

"So," Voyager said, "what's the occasion?"

"Come on, you know," Harry admonished her gently. Voyager hummed.

"I've got parts of my memory blocked off for routine maintenance and debugging."

"It's Valentine's Day," Harry chuckled, pulling out a small gift from his suit jacket pocket. Voyager groaned.

"Ohhh! I forgot!"

"It's okay, it's okay!" Harry said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. She calmed, a blush on her pale cheeks. With his free hand, he handed over the gift. She took it into her hand, and studied it.

"What is it?"

"Open it, find out," Harry teased. She pouted a bit, but eagerly unwrapped the small present. She saw it was an isolinear chip, and she looked questioningly over at the young ensign.

"Remember when we installed those portable holographic emitters in your gynoid?" He asked.

"How could I forget?" Voyager asked, "I rode you after until you couldn't walk~!"

Harry barely kept a blush off his face, but nodded with a lazy grin.

"Well, this is a program I wrote especially for you," he said. "Go ahead, try it out!"

Voyager popped open a panel on her breastbone, and inserted the isolinear chip into the appropriate slot. Her gynoid eyes lit up blue/green, as she smiled.

"Oooh... It looks great!" She said cheerfully, "how did you know I'd like it?"

"That anime marathon we went through," Harry deadpanned. Voyager's eyes widened in alarm. Harry frowned.

"What's wrong-?"

The deck shook violently. The program ended, and both of them stood up as red alert klaxons screamed.

"Red alert, all hands to battle stations!" Captain Janeway shouted over the intercom.

Voyager's gynoid went idle, as Harry ran out and to the turbolift. In a few moments, he was on the bridge, and took his station as Janeway was arguing with a masked, reptilian figure on the viewscreen-A Hirogen.

"If we intruded on your territory we can leave-!"

"You do not understand," the Hirogen growled, "we are hunters-You are our prey! You've become known to us, and now you are in our sites! Make it interesting for us!"

The signal cut off, and more weapons fire hammered their shields.

"Shields at 60 percent!" Harry shouted. Janeway sat back in her command chair, holding on tightly. Voyager's holographic avatar appeared next to her, as Tom Paris's fingers danced over the helm to keep the ship out of the line of fire.

"Return fire! All weapons!" Janeway shouted.

Voyager fired all of her phaser emitters, as Tom Paris tried to evade the fire of the four Hirogen warships. Her phaser fire hit on the port-most vessel's shields, concentrating all her blasts on it.

"The port vessel's forward shields are down!" Tuvok called.

"Torpedoes! FIRE!" Janeway ordered.

Voyager unleashed a furious salvo of five photon torpedoes. The portmost vessel tried to turn to evade, get their starboard shield to take the salvo. Two of the torpedoes were absorbed by the vessel's shields-The rest slammed into its forward hull section. The antimatter explosives detonated against the armored hull, tearing through it and ripping the forward section apart. The Hirogen vessel tumbled, out of control-Its fellows evaded and continued their fire on Voyager herself.

"Shields at 40 percent!" Harry reported. "They're targeting our engines!"

"Tom! Go to warp, get us out of here!" Janeway shouted.

The stars streaked to infinity in front of them, and they leaped to warp. The Hirogen followed.

Harry looked despondent, but Voyager appeared next to him and squeezed his shoulder. She smiled gently.

"We will have other Valentine's Days," she said. She lowered her tone, making it sultry.

"And I haven't given you my present," she purred.

Harry returned to his duties very vigorously, even as Ayala and even Tuvok eyed him a bit.

For eight days, they had fought and evaded the Hirogen. There was no sense in fighting superior numbers to the death, and Voyager had the advantage of speed. But these Hirogen weren't stupid.

Voyager had to stop for some fuel in a solar system with several gas giants, all of which were fantastic Penning Traps for antimatter. That is where the Hirogen struck: Six ships engaged them from all sides.

Harry was on duty again, and quickly worked with Voyager to divert and adjust their shield power consumption. The deck shook hard, and some panels sparked.

"Aft shields are down! We have boarding ships inbound!" Harry shouted.

"Intruder alert!" Chakotay barked, "Hazard Team! To the shuttle bay!"

"Captain," Voyager said to Janeway, "I'm deploying my gynoid to the shuttle bay. Permission to engage Limit Control Zero."

Janeway stared intently at Voyager.

"The last time we did that-"

"I know what happened last time, Captain," Voyager said firmly, "but I'm better now. Really."

Janeway took a deep breath.

"Voyager... Set for Limit Control... One," she emphasized, her gaze meeting Voyager's evenly. "That's as low as I'm going to go."

Voyager shrugged.

"That will work well enough here," she said.

- - -

The Hirogen hunters used their blocky shuttle to smash through the shuttlebay doors and landed hard on the deck. Magnetic grapples buzzed to life, sticking to the deck even as the Alpha Quadrant ship vented the atmosphere and disabled the artificial gravity. Basic anti boarding tactics any race would use against intruders.

But the Hirogen were more experienced. Four more shuttles landed, and hunters in their armor charged out, sweeping the deck with eyes, sensors, and their tetryon disruptor weapons.

They charged forward, following their Alpha. They burst into a corridor... Then paused.

At the far end of the corridor stood a female humanoid. Pink hair, blue, white and black clothing. She smiled broadly.

"One chance!" She called out over comms, "turn around and go back."

"We are the hunters, you are the prey!" The Hirogen Alpha snarled back over the radio. The female... Tittered, her smile becoming unsettling.

"But what happens when the hunters... Become the hunted?"

Her head... Morphed into a gigantic chainsaw, her mouth now full of razor sharp teeth. Her hands similarly turned into long chainsaws. All of which, despite the vacuum, revved loudly and ominously. She licked her metallic lips with a huge, almost obscene tongue in anticipation.

"FUNTIIIIIME~!"

The Hirogen opened fire, pelting the thing with their weapons at full blast.

They lasted for six seconds.

Janeway and the crew watched in horror as Voyager's gynoid, cackling like a madwoman, proceeded to dismember, disembowel, and disassemble the screaming Hirogen. One actually ran for a shuttle, but was caught by a holographic chain. He was then pulled back into the roaring, revving maw of death. Harry watched, fascinated.

"Huh... Glad she's making use of my present," he mused.

All eyes slowly turned to him. He shrugged, no longer sheepish.

"It was Valentine's Day..."

Chapter Text

The Klingon War 2372-2373. Battle of Magellan.

"Hello, I am Captain Stolin. I'm a Bolian and was captain of the Miranda class cruiser USS Indomitable. Indomitable alongside the USS Dragon and the USS Chicago were tasked with patrolling the border near the Magellan system. Word had come down that the Klingons were up to something and we needed to be alert. This was a few standard days after the battle of Deep Space Nine."

"Two days into the patrol we were joined by Commodore Jeffries's command ship the Nebula class cruiser Coral Sea and by, what we thought at the time was another Nebula class cruiser, USS Wrath of Achilles. I tell you to this day it was hard to differentiate the two of them. The spinal phaser does not stick out and I just thought that it was simply a new design element for the ship."

"We were a week along the patrol route when Achilles sent out an alert about cloaked starships coming at us and for us to go to red alert. Jeffrie's demanded to know How Achilles knew that cloaked ships were approaching and Captain Wilkins obliged us and shared sensor data with what they had detected. There they were at least a dozen tracks approaching our position. Even though we had reports of conflict along the Klingon border Commodore Jeffries wanted to try the diplomatic approach and ordered all ships to only yellow alert. Wilkins strongly objected to that and said we needed to go to red alert. Shots had already been fired and the Klingons were looking for a fight. Jeffries's said he would take it under advisement."

"Well, it was Klingons alright...about twenty ships. The leading element was a Neg'var class cruiser with a trio of Vorcha's backing it up. The rest a mix of D-7s, D-10s, and K-22 Bird of Prey."

"Jeffries contacted them and alerted the Klingons that they were in Federation territory. That if they could still talk about what was going on and negotiate a deal that would benefit us all. For his trouble, his ship was hit by the four Klingon heavies. He was at yellow alert and only had the bare minimum of shielding up. The Coral Sea took heavy damage from the attack...then Achilles gave the Klingons an answer. An answer I won't soon forget."

"I saw four Klingon ships disintegrate under the fire that monster unleashed. I am not joking...I saw a D-10 and 3 K-22s hit with twenty torpedoes each in less than a second. Of course, they would disintegrate. The Neg'var lost a warp nacelle to the spinal phaser as the Achilles began to maneuver at speeds I did not think a Nebula could achieve. Later I found out that it had been fitted out with the same drives as a Galaxy class...A galaxy-class mass is at least a third more than a Nebula class. That thing was maneuvering like a shuttle."

"Over the next ten minutes, all we could do was offer support and try to stabilize the Coral Sea as Wrath of Achilles lived up to his name. He spun on his axis t bring the lance to bear...I saw it punch through one D-7 to cut a second D-7 in half. It would launch torpedoes from those cells it had faster than a normal launcher should. It would fire at what I thought was empty space only for it to be revealed a Klingon ship had cloaked to try to sneak to a better firing position. "

"And then USS Woden warped in...the Klingon Task force decided that discretion was the better part of valor and warped out. The Coral Sea would spend six months in drydock being repaired. Commodore Jeffries...dead, a Klingon torpedo had hit the bridge directly. My ship and the others had moderate to heavy damage. We could move under our own power but would spend a month being repaired."

"The Klingon losses were hard to calculate given how fast the fight was. I know they definitely lost the Neg'var. Achilles and Woden both ganged up on it. One Vorcha gutted, the second one last a warp nacelle. 2 D-10s destroyed...as well as a number of D-7s and K-22s. All in all a victory for the Federation."

"That was also the last time I saw Wrath of Achilles. Both were with us at Starbase 25. Both had their torpedo launchers reloaded and then they took of for who knows where. All I can say is that it would have been a disaster for us if Achilles wasn't there. I am also utterly terrified that Star Fleet was able to build not one but six of those monsters and keep them utterly secret until that time. I shudder to think what other dark skeletons Star Fleet Intelligence has that they have yet to talk about."

Reflections of War. The Lead up to the Dominion War.

Klingon D-10 Heavy cruiser is a FASA creation. In Kirk's time it was a Klingon attempt to create a warship that could go toe to toe with a Refit Connie.

K-22 is the FASA designation for the scout Bird of Prey. The one with a crew of 12 or so.

Background:

NX-71000 Woden. An experiment by Star Fleet intelligence. Tripple hull with regenerative shields and the firepower of a Galaxy in a much smaller package. Had the sensor suite of a Science and Exploration vessel. Built approximately the same time as Tthe Galaxy Class Woden was seen as a testbed for new technologies that could be applied to other Starfleet ships in the future.

The primary mission was patrolling the Romulan and Klingon borders. During the Dominion war, he found himself at DS-9...

Several ship girls watched as the older ship-boy spoke to a group of Defiants. They couldn't hear a single word he said but he held their attention as no one else had.

Invincible: "Can you believe it? He is so good with them. I have never seen a squadron of Defiants so well behaved."

Atlanta: "Tell me about it. The rapt attention. Some are even open-mouthed. What is he telling them?"

Tone: "Who knows, but it must be good."

Inside the little gathering. The one-eyed avatar kept speaking. "A cloaking device is not a magic carpet. It is not an instant I win button. It is a tool like many others and must be used wisely. I have killed thirty Romulan and Klingon warships while they were still cloaked. "

"How?" Came from one Defiant. The others nodded with her. This was a rare opportunity to learn from an older warship. So far the data had been...enlightening.

"Simple. All starships affect their surroundings. Cloaked or not you leave a wake. Dust and gasses are disturbed. These can be detected. These can be used to direct fire. I simply set my torpedoes to command detonation and fired them where there was disturbance where none should be. Cloaked your shields are down and a close detonation from a 64 megaton warhead will nicely disrupt your systems. Afterward spraying the now revealed starship usually doomed them."