They were all looking at sensor screens, viewers and transparencies of the shuttle at the blueish swirl of dust and sparkling silver flecks that blotted the stars in front of them like a light gauze thicker the farther they looked. And this gaseous mass of debris and particles stretched wider and wider in front of their craft's bow with a deceptive slowness, even as they dropped out of warp and flew at a quarter of the speed of light.
"Confirmed, the Paulson nebula, Sir," helmsman Snow announced.
Kheren looked at Norbert Baoule now back at sensor station.
"Eighty-two percent dilithium hydroxyls, magnesium and chromium, ninety-nine percent of total mass in particle form but one percent clumped into sizeable masses up to planetoid level which represent a significant navigational hazard. Even Borg sensors are effectively nullified by this composition spread out over four point seven light years. No way to navigate in there unless you have the space sonar."
"Which we don't," reminded them the Edoan ops officer Cheonghi. "These shuttles that were sent to pick us up are not Lotus Fleet."
"Fact is, they don't even have a registry or a even a transponder," also reminded them Luke Abraxius. "Most peculiar... and downright suspicious, Sir."
"Our heading is taking us right in, captain," Snow added.
Before long, the only thing they could see or scan were those particles. Through the blue and silver fog now surrounding them, the only thing they could see and not even scan were ominous larger formless masses, like hills and mountains they were passing by in a dense fog, sometimes quite too close for comfort. At random intervals, energy discharges flashed blinding lights around them.
"Static discharges from the differently polarized particles floating nearer one another," explained Baoule.
"Without metaphasic shielding, one too close could fry our systems," stated Cheonghi with some concern.
"Raise shields," Kheren ordered, his own antenna almost withdrawn into his skull as they reacted strongly to the effect. The other Andorians did not have this particular mutation of his and were obviously in pain. But Doctor Bains produced a hypospray and injected the two Andorian women on board and himself to ease the effect as the energy cover finally absorbed it.
David had manned the engineering station the whole trip, excepting for a brief nap. As the systems were running exceptionally smooth, and the lock-out wouldn't allow him anything but basic monitoring use anyway, he had simply spent most of the trip analysing the shuttles propulsion and life support processes. Not having a more direct control over the craft he was effectively trapped inside of, David merely worried over what-ifs: What if this or this happened? How would he be able to influence commands pre-programmed into the navigation? What would happen if a stray nutrino got through and fried a gel pack? It was a frustrating journey... made more so now that they had entered the Paulson Nebula. The dense structure of the nebula enforced higher constraints upon the impulse system and both himself and Lieutenant Blakely were worried that the composites of dilithium hydroxils might clog the plasma vents. Captain Kheren's order to raise shields came as a welcome precaution to them bothe.
"Shields raised sir," David replied as the MSD showed the familiar outline of the shuttle being surrounded by the rising force field.
"Any idea what we're doing here, Sir?" Tyvya asked once the pain subsided.
"Affirmative."
He said nothing else.
And then, the communication board in front of Nathan Cross chirped and a voice was heard, deformed into a metallic, toneless echoing sound that did not come from the system itself or any known effect of the nebula.
"Starfleet shuttlecraft; lower your shield and surrender your ship."
"How shall I acknowledge the hail, Captain?" There was no hint of concern in Cross' voice.
"Request identification, Mister Cross on frequency 88.8 and keep open sending the following: raise your colors scurvy dogs or ye be replied by me broadside."
The words as well as the rolling accent was son incongruous coming from the Andorian that everyone looked at him dumbfounded.
Time seemed to stop for the instant it took cross to process the absurdity of Kheren's order.
Dozen of responses played in his head for facial reaction and voice tonal quality.
Kheren physiological condition indicated that no humor was meant in the request, as it was clearly a coded response, but Crosses reaction should include an emotional attachment.
Should he make a joke? should he suggest that the Captain had been in the presence of Lieutenant Moore to often? a known pirate enthusiast.
No, the situation called for a more nuanced response, so as not to distract from the moment.
He raised his left eyebrow questioningly. "If you say so Captain." and as he turned to his controls let out a muted "Arr captain sir."
Satisfied he had performed adequately, he went about doing as instructed. This time, the Andorian's antennae curved inward in amused response to his play along.
"Unidentified vessel, raise your colors scurvy dogs or ye be replied by me broadside... Over"
"I have met pirates," Aron'Son commented "mostly Orion and Ferengi, but I do not believe I've ever heard one of them speak that way."
"Nor should you," Lyrya said, her milky blind eyes eerily looking at him."Captain Kheren is quite fond of old Terran naval litterature, of Human authors like Alexander Kent and C.S. Forrester. Not many even from Earth would recognize the reference today, and even less associate it with an Andorian, as we have no such traditions. Makes for a quite efficient code signal."
The response was just as unexpected as it bypassed the universal translator to utter with the same strangely altered voice a single sentence.
"Je vous repondrai, Monsieur, par la bouche de mes canons."
"That's the Terran French language, Commander; My reply, Sir, will be from the mouth of my cannons," translated the Aenar. "A historical citation from six hundred years ago in a country that was then called Nouvelle France on the eastern north american continent of Earth. Just as hard to guess..."
Their attention was then drawn outside by a huge shadowy form materializing right in front of them.
"Ship decloaking directly aft, twenty thousand kilometers," reported Baoule from his sensors.
That appeared before their eyes was like nothing they had ever seen before. A very long trapezoidal hull shaped like a wedge was directly connected to an elongated flat secondary hull and flanked aft by a quartet of short, strangely shaped flat nacelles. There was no light accross the dark grey hull, neither from any porthole, window or navigational lights.
"Definitely not Romulan, Captain," Aguk Snow stated, eyes wide as he looked at the six hundred meters hull looming right in their flight path. "Unlikely to be a Klingon design..."
"The hull material deflects our sensors; Sir, this is the same DYCEP system that we have on the Spectre," added Baoule. "Their warp signature has been altered just like that of our shuttle to be much smaller and distorted."
"Look at their deflector dish," Luke Abraxius then said, pointing at the dim purple line at the front of the ship. "That's a Syntron Space Sonar!"
And on Nathan Cross, comboard, a Starfleet transponder signal registered. Once.
NX 216 USS ECLIPSE.
Aron'Son understood now, a hidden vessel for a hidden mission. As he looked at the vessel he realized that it surely was constructed for this specific mission. It bore no resemblance to any other active starship class he was aware of, and the cloaking device...a technology Starfleet had once promised never to use. It was interesting to say the least.
His silent observations were voiced by Abraxius.
"I thought you were against the idea of using cloaking devices... Sir," he said with a half-smile that showed his familiarity with his commanding officer despite following proper protocol.
"I am," Kheren retorted without looking at him. "And so is Starfleet. Breaking our word, even with a shattered enemy power, is not something worthy of us."
"And how do you explain this?" the man insisted showing the dark ship on their bow.
"This ship has no cloaking device. A cloaking device hampers detection, making your ship effectively invisible to senses and sensors. Along with the DYCEP camouflage system and diminished warp and power signatures, this ship uses holographic technology to deceive, not hamper detection. You still detect it... you just don't realize that your interpretation of your readings is wrong."
"Somehow I don't think the Romulans would accept our explanation" Aron'Son said as he looked at the shadowy vessel "If anyone knows a duplicity when they see it, it is the Romulans."
Kheren looked sideways at him.
"We have no say into what they want to think, Commander. But the fact is that the stipulation of the treaty do not encompass camouflage like putting a coat of unexpected material on a hull that would be detected as something else, or misdirection like altering a sensor signature that would make a sensor reading misinterpreted; only actual cloaking technology which is specifically defined as a system intent on nullifying detection altogether. So we uphold our word... even when considering that this treaty between us and the Romulan Star Empire could be declared null and void since there is no Romulan Star Empire anymore; and yet, we still stand by it in good faith. So I would say the rest is best left to diplomats."
"Clever," Luke admitted. "Just like this shuttle made of material so similar to those of a bland asteroid, you think it is one... unless you see it optically or scan very closely and interpret data correctly... like realizing an asteroid cannot travel at warp. Hence, the letter of the Treaty is indeed honored and we still can sneak around."
"if unavoidable... as is the case for us now," sighed the Andorian.
He looked at Rogers, visibly bracing himself.
"Commander Rogers; Lower shields."
Tyvya, Lyrya and Darum Bains also gritted their teeth, antennae flattened on their white-haired skulls.
David swiveled his chair around to object to the order. Lowering shields, in his estimation, seemed to defy regulations at this moment.
Namely, he thought of General Order 29:
The primary responsibility of the commander of any Starfleet vessel or installation is the welfare and safety of his crew, including any civilian members. No action may be taken that creates an unwarranted threat to the safety of those individuals under the officer’s charge, except in the line of duty and when otherwise unavoidable.
This regulation, David recalled, also ran concurrent with General Order 17: "The commanding officers of Starfleet vessel and installations are to consider the lives of their crew members and/or civilian population as sacred. In any potentially hostile situation, the captain will place the lives of his crew above the fate of his ship."
But David saw that Captain Kheren was merely looking at him with a stern countenance; one that brooked no objections, so David swiveled back to his panel and lowered the shuttle's shields.
"Aye sir, lowering shields."
As the protective energy field around the shuttle dissolved, the Andorians barely had time to cringe under the effect of the electrostatic discharges of the nebula before they were dematerialized along with everyone else inside the shuttle. The familiar tingling of a transporter annular containement beam was felt and they found themselves in a large transporter room made of four transporter pads encircling in a crescent patttern the central control booth in front of a double door access; the typical boarding transporter room the latest warship designs, able to beam out twenty-four people at the same time. All fourteen of them were thus all together as they came aboard what could only be the strange vessel that had intercepted them.
Welcoming them was a MACO guard of six armed officers with weapons at rest and two technicians in Starfleet grey and black behind the console. Before it stood another officer with three solid pips on his red collar, Human like all the others. He did a step forward and stood at attention.
"Welcome aboard the Eclipse. All your personnal effects have been transported directly to your assigned quarters on deck 2. One of thses guards will guide you all there. Captain Kheren, you and your senior officers may accompany me to the bridge."
Kheren motionned for Rogers, Aron'Son and Cross to accompany him.
All four of them followed the man through grey corridors that felt more like those of a Klingon ship than any Starfleet one they were used to. The ceiling was low and crisscrossed with support beams covering sensors and holoemitters, so that they were protected from anything but the heaviest fire and it prevented wide swings of bat'leths or katarkins. There were wall supports protruding at regular interval, not only showing the heavily reinfored nature of the hull but clearly design to hamper the use of long weapons like disruptor and phaser rifles while offering multiple cover spots to turn every corridor into a chokepoint to any boarding invader. There were no indications on any door or cross corridor so that only the crew would have memorized where everything was and easily find their bearing. This ship was built to face trouble. Even their own combadges didn't allow them to open a door.
They took a turbolift that looked like any other nondescript door and in barely a few decks reached the command center of this strange ship. The bridge they came to looked like a extended version of one found on a Defiant; spartan, without any windows, smaller than expected, with no viewing screen and consoles crowded together in a circle around the elevated command chair. A boarding intruder would find little room to beam in and would find itself at point blank range if not in close combat with the officers on the bridge and the two security officers already each side of the access door.
On the swiveling command seat rose the commanding officer. He was steel-gray haired with a stern face and an Admiral rankbar on his red-collared uniform. This man they all knew at least from holoimage of him in the hall of honor of Starbase Lotus and Kheren took no time in acknowledging the senior officer.
"Admiral Nova Sir; it is as much an honor as a surprise to meet the founder of Lotus Fleet."
"Captain Kheren; welcome aboard the Eclipse. The honor is mine, my friend. It's been a long time since I saw you fresh out of the Academy coming to our new starbase and tackling Romulans on your first day at the job. Yes, a long time..."
The Andorian bowed his head but his antennae were pointing forward for several second to fully ascertain the man in front of him down to his kirlian aura before bringing them back to a restful, satisfied angle.
"Pardon me for saying so, Admiral but... aren't you retired?"
"That's what the official Starfleet record shows, Captain," the man confirmed with a wink despite his very serious tone. "And pardon me in return for saying so but, for a while at least... you yourself and your crew will be dead."
He pointed to the viewer where they now could all see their shuttle slowly tumbling head over heels, it's power fluctuating as her engines clogged with stellar dust and her hull starting to erode under the constant assault of the ionized particles and static discharges bombarding it. Then, a big chunk of protostellar mass hit it's unprotected starboard side and fractures appeared in the hull as the craft went into an unending barrel roll to disappear into the cosmic mist.
"Last shuttle disposed of, Admiral," a Vulcan officer at the sensor station confirmed. "I estimate it will take at least four point seven months before the debris of any one of them will be found if actively looked for."
Kheren frowned obviously starting to feel uneasy.
"Sir?"
"Have no worries, Captain; your entire crew is on board and accounted for. But you all need to... disappear for a little while... until we complete our project."
He then turned towards the others, his steely grey eyes boring into them behind the viewer ocular that covered his left eye, identical to those found on Jem'Hadar ships of old.
"Commander Aron'Son; it is also a privilege to meet the only Jem'Hadar serving in Starfleet. beleive me you are as much a living legend among us as you are for your own unique people."
Aron'Son looked at the man in front of him with the same stoic eyes that he did everyone he met. A soldier was best served not revealing anything so as not to give an advantage to any potential adversary. Not that he planned on entering into combat with the admiral, but he was still on guard given the details surrounding the entire mission. In the Dominion there was little such secrecy. Orders flowed directly from the Founders to the Vorta to the First and then were carried out as they were given, at least that is what the Jem'Hadar were always led to believe. Putting that aside for the moment Aron'Son responded to the ship's commander
"My people would not consider me a legend, Sir. They would consider me a traitor and likely have me executed."
"Hence why the more powerful Dominion lost the war," offered Nova with a dry smile.
He shifted his gaze to the half-romulan.
"Commander Rogers; I will not hide my surprise at you being part of this... but your value is without a doubt since you are here with us."
David merely stared back without any response other than a nod of acknowledgment. Of course he was as familiar with Nova's likeness as any other aboard Lotus starbase. But in this instance, by the Admiral's own statement, David knew that Nova's surprise was likely directed by the fact that, given his rank, he was well aware of the Diamond Star incident and Rogers' involvement in her theft. As was of course Captain Kheren, and any other star fleet rank of captain and above.
Even he himself had knowledge beyond his rank, having effectively been a captain of the Diamond Star. And not unlike any other commissioned officer of the past that had been gifted a captain rank in the field, like the infamous Commander Riker of the Enterprise D when he had to take command after his captain was captured by the Borg; or the famous engineer Commander Montgomery Scott; or Commander Spock of old; these field promotions, however aquired; through either expediency or results of battle field conditions, gave the recipient certain command perogatives only captain rank and above should possess.
Knowing what he did, Rogers was resigned to his simple nod. There really wasn't anything to say.
Finally he looked at the black clad man.
"Mister Cross... acting Ensign... I see that we will benefit most from your involvement in all this, even as a... mere advisor. Thank you."
Cross gave a respectful bow
"I will do all I can Admiral, but nothing more than that." he responded cryptically. He was sure Nova knew exactly what he meant.
And indeed, Admiral Nova just nodded to him, apparently quite satisfied with the answer. He then turned to aa auburn-haired woman standing behind him, wearing four pips on her collar and a tiny row of flesh spikes running vertically on her forehead.
"Resume course and speed to our next destination, Captain. maintain full security measures."
"Aye, Admiral," the half-katarian woman said curtly before turning to the rest of the bridge. " Helm; on my mark, move us our of the nebula bearing 216 mark 6, full impulse, then activate QSD drive same bearing for fourty-seven seconds. Sensor station, passive sensors only. Ops; activate holographic camouflage."
"Nothing on sensors within a light year beyond the nebula on our planned bearing," the Vulcan at the science station confirmed.
"We have full cover," announced the Tellarite at ops.
"Mark."
On the viewer, the stormy mist of the Paulson nebula silently shifted and moved as if they were in a sailing ship of old navigating through a thick fog under the full moon.
"Interesting ship you have there, Admiral," Kheren commented. "QSD drive, Sangliar impulse, Syntron sonar, Pel warning system, DYCEP plating and holographic camouflage... I see your crew and yourself even wear our PIDs... and she has no navigation lights, no transponder, not even windows..."
"First of her kind, Captain," Nova acknowledged. "The Eclipse is our first breed of intel starships aimed at scientific research in hazardous areas... on her official specs at least. Many would still be uneasy with a vessel so well suited for covert surveillance and operations, but she can play this role adequately if such a need ever arise... like now."
"Impressive," admitted the Andorian with a cold voice that didn't surprise his senior officer.
He knew quite well how steadfast Kheren was regarding Federation ideals and values; HE would be one to voice without any reserve this unease he spoke of. But he was Andorian; that meant he was pragmatic; although the end never justified the means for him, there were times when creativity was required to achieve their goals without compromising who they were and what they stood for. This holocamouflage was one of those thingshe could live with... and only as long as it was not used without a good justification... like now.
"However my friend," Nova added, "impressive is a word I would keep for where you are bound to next."
"Fascinating is the word I reserve for that, Sir," Kheren said cryptically.
That's when his science chief, Norbert Baoule, came to him and spoke in a discreet tone.
"Sir, those coordinates... from the location of the Paulson nebula and the relative position of this ship, they are in the direction of the old Demilitarized Zone between the Federation and the Cardassian Union."
Kheren just nodded.
"And if I have my calculations correct based on the announced speed," added the black-skinned man, "we are headed for a specific place we know especially well..."
"The Byrma system," finished the Andorian.
Before they could discuss any further, the helm officer confirmed what their senses could not tell without a main viewer.
"We have cleared the edge of the nebula."
"Engage Quantum drive," the captain ordered.
They heard a change in the ambient sounds of the ship, one that maybe only Rogers was familiar with, being an engineer and having served on the USS Phoenix which also had a QSD propulsion system. All the others had served on the Horizon which sported the first successful transwarp drive. Aside from a more concetrated display on the viewer, transwarp felt no different from standard warp travel; it was just prodigiously faster beyond factor 2. This drive however, opened a quantum tunnel into which they traveled virtually outside the universe, through it's very core fabric where distance was nest to meaningless. So they had the curious senssation of being totally immobile and yet hearing the engines hum powerfully and the consoles around them create strange echoes.
And barely a few seconds later, all was back to normal.
"Confirming arrival outside target system," the helm officer said.
" Standard cruising speed, silent running," came the order from the center seat.
"Estimated time of arrival fifteen minutes," acknowledged the pilot.
"All camo systems operative' encoded recognition signal sent on pellet transmission; we are being granted access fourteen thousand kilometers to destination, standard orbit," now reported the ops officer once receiving confirmations from the otactical and comm stations.
"Captain Kheren, if you would please return to the transporter room you came from, following this security officer; you are expected."
"Thank you, Admiral... hope to see you again," the Andorian acknowledged without further inquiring.
"That will be in about fifteen minutes, Captain," Nova stated with a smirk.
Kheren knew better under such circumstances than to pry; everything would be made clear to everyone soon enough.
