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"Xoxiandelan," a voice rumbled from the silhouette on the Executor's view screen.

"Emperor," Xox replied, saluting, "what is it you wish of me, Liege?"

"First," the deep voice rumbled, "I want to express my deep disappointment in your inability to destroy the Confederation's prototype."

"I express my deepest apologies," Xox said, bowing his head.

"By doing so, your failure has shifted the balance of power in your sector. A ship like that would force us to reshape the entire infrastructure of our fleet." The Emperor's voice growled, not disguising the anger in his voice. "However, I am giving you a chance to redeem yourself. There is a planet in the open regions of space between us and our enemies. The planet's name is Nebulous." The Emperor paused as he hit an unseen button displaying the coordinates on the screen. "This planet is rich in Dilithium and numerous other resources. We must have this planet. Currently, the Confederation is negotiating a treaty with the native population. You are to proceed to this world immediately and try to steal it away from the Confederation. I want you to initially try diplomatic means. If those fail, take the world by force."

"Understood," Xox nodded.

"A detachment of our ships is being dispatched to help you. Don't disappoint me again, Commandant."

With that, the screen winked out

"If you don't mind my saying so, sir, it looks like you have your job cut out for you." First Officer D'jonn said, walking up to him.

"Your mockery is not appreciated," Xox growled.

"I meant no offense," D'jonn said earnestly.

"Then hold your tongue or I will remove it!"

D'jonn nodded. "As you wish."

"Helm! Set Course for Nebulous! Maximum speed!" Xox snarled, turning and heading for the command chair, his cape flowing behind him.

"Do you think we'll run into that ship again?" D'jonn whispered.

"I'm counting on it," Xox growled.

* * *

"Good morning, Commander."

Harry blinked and nodded in the direction of where that came from. He hadn't fully woken up yet. It'd been a rough night completing overdue reports and personnel files.

"Oh, the joys of command," he muttered to himself. He replied to the greeting crewmen before they moved too far along and got a smile in response. Stepping out of his quarters and heading for the mess hall, he realized he hadn't made a log entry lately. Doing it seemed entirely pointless because it would just be him endless droning about the lack of anything activity on the runs back and forth.

"Nothing unusual on scanners all is quiet, crew possibly dying from boredom." Would probably be the addendum to each entry, Harry laughed quietly to himself at that. That last part was starting to sound like Land's complaints when they were off duty, apparently they were starting to get to him. Sometimes he wondered if the fox would be happier if they were constantly under attack by the Urtheans. It sure seemed that way.

The mission, however, had been a success. Their passengers had not been happy having to be ferried on a destroyer, but they arrived at their destination with no difficulties and the Raptor was making its way back home. All in all, it had been a long, quiet trip.

The mess hall was mostly vacant except for a few crewmen talking quietly in the corner. After replicating his breakfast, he sat down at the table and started eating. No sooner than he had the door to the mess hall opened.

"Commander?"

Harry looked up to see Terri Lu standing in the doorway with a pad. He waved for her to come over.

"I have a message from Fleet HQ addressed for you, nonpriority," she said, smiling and setting it on the table. "It came in a few hours ago, but since you hadn't woken up I decided it could wait."

He turned on the small data pad and read the message.

In short, it contained a request for them to investigate the sudden break of contact with the planet Nebulous. The Exeter had been on route to the planet with diplomats onboard, only this time when they arrived in the system they were politely asked to leave with no explanation. Up until this time, negotiations with the planet to join the Confederation had been going quite well. Now, all of a sudden, they had broken contact. The captain of the Exeter had asked for assistance and with the Raptor passing through the area, it was easy enough to dispatch it to the scene. Due to the proximity of the Nebulon system to the Urthean border, such a decision seemed very prudent.

Harry nodded. "Thank you, Terri. Have there been any disturbances or anything out of the ordinary?"

"Not that I know of sir, however; there is an unusual amount of subspace transmission activity. I've been trying to decode it, but it's encrypted. I can tell you one thing, none of it is of Confederation origin."

Harry nodded. He wasn't too surprised, considering that the planet sat in an undeclared area of space between them and the Urtheans.

"Martinez to Jakar."

"Yes, sir?"

"Has there been any activity on long-range sensors?" Harry asked.

"No sir. All is quiet," Jakar replied.

"Martinez, out," Harry said. "Thank you, Ms. Lu."

Terri Lu nodded and headed out of the mess hall.

Something was not right about any of this. He could blow it off, since it was just a request for them to check the situation out. If the captain of the Exeter was flustered, it had to be something of significance. He would hate to be in that position--stuck in a diplomatic quagmire and not able to do anything but hold position until Fleet HQ got their asses in gear.

The Raptor would investigate. Harry finished his breakfast, tossed his tray into the recycler, and headed for the bridge.

===============================================

Title: The Nebulous Imperative

Episode 03

IDP 2005,2009, 2020

Edited by Saurex Conoway

===============================================

Later

"Entering the Nebulos system," Land announced as the ship dropped out of warp.

"Captain," Terri Lu spoke up suddenly, "I'm receiving a priority message from Nebulos." She was seated at the Operations station covering for Lt.Commander Rivas, who was off duty due to an infection with the Catarian Flu.

"Let's hear it."

"Confederation starships, please reverse your course and leave the system immediately. Our situation has changed and we wish to cancel the talks. We regret the urgency of this matter, but you must leave the system immediately and return to your own space. Please respect our sovereignty and return to your space. Nebulous out."

"Something is not right," Harry thought aloud, "the Confederation has been dealing with this system for months and after all that work of trying to establish an alliance with them they just up and end it?"

"It does seem rather suspicious sir," Jakar added.

"Scan the system," Harry ordered.

"Aye," Jakar said. "I'm reading nothing on sensors, but that doesn't mean there is nothing there. If there is a ship, it could be one hidden in orbit about the planet's pole, or behind a moon. However, we won't know until we take a closer examination."

"Ok," Harry nodded, "Sciences? Do you have anything?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Lt. O'mara replied. "Just lots of space, a few planets there is a comet about nine thousand kilometers off our starboard bow."

"Ok, I got it," Harry said, drumming his hands

"Captain, we're receiving a signal from the Exeter," Terri said, "it's Captain Garrett."

Harry nodded and the screen changed to a view of Exeter's Captain.

"Commander, did you receive that hail from the planet as well?" He was another echidna, red-furred, who looked considerably older than Harry.

"Yes we did, Captain. I find it very hard to believe."

"Well, we just got orders from Fleet HQ. They are wanting us to return with the ambassadors onboard. They want you to try to slip the Raptor into the system and try to find out what's going on. Are you up to it, Commander?"

"Yes sir!" Harry replied.

"Very well. You have all discretion in this matter until reinforcements can arrive. We will try to return as soon as possible. Exeter out."

"Alright, first things first, we'll do as they ask and as soon as we're out of their sensor range," Harry said, getting out of his chair and tapping the back of Land's chair to get his attention, "we'll engage the cloaking device and go check things out."

"You got it, Skip." Jack replied, entering the coordinates and bringing them back around.

The engines roared to life as they left the system and after a few minutes they dropped back out of warp, engaged the cloaking device and warped back towards the system.

"So far so good," Harry nodded, "Ms. O'mara, keep those sensors sweeping. I don't want any surprises."

"W-w-will do, Commander," O'mara replied, quickly getting engrossed in the task at hand. Within a few minutes, the planet grew on the screen.

"Anything yet?" Harry asked.

"Still nothing," O'mara replied. "Hold on, yes I am detecting some trillium particle trails in their upper atmosphere."

"Trillium? There is only one type of ship that would do that." Harry said pacing in his usual spot.

"Urtheans." Jakar grunted. "if they're here, they've got to be hidden, well."

"O'mara, try to get a fix on the Nebulon Chancellor's office." Harry ordered.

"I'm trying sir, but there is a dampening field around the main city. I'm having trouble scanning through it." O'mara replied.

"I don't like this at all," Harry muttered before tapping the com button on his chair. "Ms. Phoenix to the bridge please. Jakar, replicate some Nebulon clothing. We're going down there incognito."

"Sir, do you think that is wise?" Jakar asked.

"Can think of any other way of getting down there and finding out what the hell is going on?" Harry said exasperated.

"No sir," Jakar replied.

"Good. We'll use as much caution as we can. Terri, can you select a secluded spot for beam down," Harry asked.

"I think I can find a place," Terri replied cheerily.

Fara arrived on the bridge. "Yes Captain what is it?" She said a little more cross than usual, even for her.

"We've run into a little trouble," he said, handing her the mission brief he had received earlier. "Skim this and I'll fill in the rest."

Fara regarded him oddly, then sighed and started scanning the data display.

"There has been a bit of a problem with the negotiations with Nebulous," Harry explained, "they suddenly cancelled all the negotiations. We've received orders from HQ to find out what happened. Jakar and I are going to beam down and see if we can't figure out what's happened. That means you'll have the con."

Fara gave him a strange look as if he'd ask her to just perform brain surgery.

"Why can't one of them do it?" She asked, motioning to O'mara, Lu, and Land.

"Because none of them have taken the Captain's test, that's why," Harry growled, growing a little annoyed at her obstinacy. "You have. Commander Rivas is out on sick leave, so that leaves us with you."

"But, sir, I'm needed down in engineering," Fara objected.

"Chief, you're the only one qualified at the moment," Harry said, cutting her off. "You wanted to be on this ship, so now you honor your responsibilities."

Fara bit her lip. "Fine." She sighed.

"You can do it, Fara. You had to someday and you can't hide in engineering all the time."

Fara sighed, looking a bit miffed. "Understood, Commander."

"Sir, I got the coordinates and I'm feeding them to the transporter room," Terri replied.

"Well, let's get going," Harry said. "Ms. Lu we're going to keep an open com channel. At the first sign of trouble, get us out of there."

"Good luck," Fara said as they headed out the door.

* * *

Moments later they materialized in a small side room inside the main compound.

Jakar checked his tricorder and said, "We seem to be in the main compound of the Nebulon capital."

"Remind me to put Terri in for a recommendation for a promotion," Harry said, impressed. "Can you get a fix on the Nebulon leaders?"

"No luck yet sir," Jakar replied. "That dampening field is still preventing scans."

"Well, we're not going to learn anything standing around here." Harry said.

Jakar nodded and they quickly headed out into the main corridor. They hadn't gone far before two Nebulon guards suddenly stopped them.

"Commander Martinez, Lt. Jakar," one of the guards said sternly, "please turn over your weapons and come with us."

They exchanged glances before Harry asked, "How do you know who we are?"

"Please comply, we do not wish to have a confrontation," the guard said patiently.

Harry nodded to Jakar and they both turned over their weapons.

"Now please sirs," the guard said, "if you would come with us."

They were escorted down the hall towards the Nebulon Chancellor's office. Harry noticed they were armed, but they hadn't once drawn their weapons on them. They were then led through a pair of large, ornate doors into an extravagant office with the Nebulon Chancellor and his delegates. The Nebulons were rather unremarkable humanoids and other than age and some minor physical features, Harry had a hard time telling them apart. He wasn't one to be biased and was sure it wasn't just his perception of them, but he wondered why there was such a lack of individuality among members of this species.

"Welcome to Nebulos, Commander, but your people were asked to leave our system. Why are you here?" The Chancellor asked in greeting. Behind him was an elongated table with several chairs around it with the central one turned so its back was toward them.

"We had orders from our superiors to investigate your sudden cancellation of the talks," Harry said as cordially as he could. "Our two governments have been working towards a mutual agreement for months so, needless to say, we were a bit concerned."

"I assure you, Commander, we have our reasons."

"Quite simply, rodent," an annoyingly familiar voice cut in from behind the Chancellor as the central seat spun around, "because we made a better offer."

Xox chuckled, sitting rather pleased with himself in the luxurious piece of furniture. "Nebulous is a peaceful world, so when offered the choice between terms of surrender or extermination, they choose the first. Guards!"

Several Urthean troopers burst in from the adjoining rooms. Harry quickly hit his communicator.

"Martinez to Raptor, two to--" But he couldn't finish because the communicator made a buzzing sound that indicated an error. The Urthean guards quickly surrounded him and Jakar and aimed their weapons at them.

"Captain, I suggest you surrender," the Nebulon Chancellor said calmly. "We simply do not wish to see any blood shed."

"Are you crazy? Allying yourself with him will get you plenty of that," Harry said, pointing over to Xox, who merely responded with a smirk as he stood.

"Now, now, now Commander, there is no need for such harsh words to be said," Xox sneered. "I have no intention of bringing harm to this planet, since they so graciously accepted our offer."

"Yes, your brand of diplomacy is well known throughout the galaxy," Harry shot back.

Xox didn't flinch. "Very well Commander. Tell me, where's your ship? We know it couldn't have gone too far and with a good contingent of our fleet hiding behind various planets in this system, I doubt it will get too far...yes..." Suddenly another Urthean walked in and motioned for him to come over. "Excuse me." He said walking over to the newcomer.

"How could you have just surrendered to that maniac?" Harry demanded of the Nebulons. "He's been terrorizing our border outposts for over five months now. Capturing civilian ships, raiding our colonies. He's a menace! Why didn't you try to tell us? The Confederation would have been more than willing to come to your aide!"

"Commander, that would have only led to more conflict. You must understand, we do not wish to see any violence," the Nebulon Chancellor smiled.

Harry stood somewhat aghast. How could they just willingly hand themselves over to the Urtheans? Didn't they know that no matter how much the Urtheans promised, they would strip the world bare of everything of possible use as soon as they could?

"Your ship is obviously in orbit. You could make this so much easier if you called them and ordered them to surrender." Xox sneered. "It would be a great reward to bring your ship in intact as a prize."

"Please do it Commander. It is for the best," the Nebulon added.

Harry was furious, but he was trying to suppress it. He was going to be damned if he was just going to hand over his ship and his crew to this monster.

Harry sneered, but then he had an idea. Xox's demeanor seemed to be that of someone who assumed he had the advantage.

"Alright," Harry relented.

"Commander?" Jakar protested.

Harry shot him a look and he backed down.

"I'll need you to unjam our communicators," Harry continued.

Xox nodded over to his aide, who tapped a button on a nearby console.

"Martinez to Raptor," Harry said rather calmly, tapping his combadge.

"Raptor here," Terri Lu's voice popped up. "Is everything alright?"

"Tell Fara to get the ship out of here as soon as--" Harry quickly blurted until the butt end of an Urthean blaster struck him in the back of the head, throwing him to the ground in a swirl of pain followed by darkness.

Jakar tried to help him, but was quickly restrained.

"Now Commander, that was very foolish...very foolish indeed, yes," Xox snarled, giving Harry a hard kick to the stomach as he lay on the ground and then quickly taking his communicator and crushing it in his cybernetically enhanced hand. "Take them both below to the holding cells."

"Yes, Commandant," the guard captain replied, ordering the two that had hold of Jakar to drag him out of the room. He then ordered two more to drag Harry out of the room as well.

"You may think you have saved your ship, but I guarantee they will not get far." Xox snarled "D'jonn! Signal the Executor and tell them to get that ship immediately! We will not let them escape!"

* * *

Later

The message had been received and Fara was now faced with the fact that she was in charge at this moment, not knowing if Harry was still alive or not.

"Anything yet?" Fara asked, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt. Her stomach was practically rolling at the moment and she'd rather be doing crack repairs on unstable nuclear components under pressure than commanding the Raptor at the moment.

"Nope, not a sound," Terri replied. "Not since that last transmission."

"I know the captain is in trouble and I don't want to leave him down there--" Fara suddenly had to grasp the command chair with a startled yelp as the ship suddenly lurched forward and rolled slightly.

"Sorry 'bout that," Land said, "but that Urthean ship is on the move and it was heading this way, nearly hit us on the nose!"

"Thanks for the warning lunkhead!" Fara growled. "Any idea what they're up to?"

"None," Land confessed.

Fara rolled her eyes. "Can we lock onto the Captain and Jakar and beam them out," she asked Terri.

"Not with that dampening field," Terri sighed.

"Fara, this is Knackt, we got a problem!" She heard her chief assistant report.

"What's wrong, Knackt?"

"The cloaking device is going on the fritz, starting to malfunction," Knackt said. "We just caught it now on diagnostics. If we're needing to hide, I suggest you find an alternative. I don't know how much longer it's going to stay functional."

"Gods! This is why I should be down there, not here," Fara cursed. "Can anyone tell me if we've been spotted yet? What are the Urthean's doing?"

"They seem to be running an intense sensor sweep,"O'mara replied.

Suddenly an alarm sounded.

"Hello, what's this?" Land frowned, checking his station's readout. "They're coming in hot...I think they mean business!"

"Great," Fara snarled, "Red Alert! Shields up! Jack, don't let them near us!"

"Right, that's why I'm putting us on the opposite side of Nebulos," Land replied, firing the impulse engines. "We'll stay opposite of them for now. Let's just hope more of them don't show up."

Dr. Okan arrived on the bridge and took a seat at the vacant Engineering station.

"Doctor? What are you doing here," Fara asked, "I don't remember calling for you."

"Well, to be honest, it gets damn boring down there in sickbay," Dr. Okan said, folding his arms across his chest. "I figured I'd come up here, since we seem to not be starting a fight for once, I'll stay here until we do."

"Fair enough," Fara said. "Why don't you make some popcorn while you're at it and enjoy the show?"

Okan chuckled. "I might just do that."

* * *

Harry awoke with his head feeling like it'd been used as a drum and he groaned as he sat back up. He grunted as a rib cracked and he looked around. Immediately he noticed they were in a large empty room with a steel barred door. Jakar was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, looking rather relaxed despite their situation.

"How long?" Harry sighed.

"A few hours, sir."

"Is there a guard?"

"Yes two of them, both well armed."

"I wonder why they've kept us down here this long," Harry mused.

"They're probably looking for the ship."

"That's obvious," Harry said, getting to his feet. "Good luck to them finding it."

"It is unwise to underestimate the Urtheans, sir," Jakar said. "They can be rather resourceful. How are you feeling?"

"Like someone walked all over me," Harry replied.

"Xox was quick to give you the boot after you called the ship," Jakar said, "and I mean that quite literally, sir."

Harry coughed up a little blood. "Well, that explains the feeling then."

Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching. Harry turned to face the door and motioned for Jakar to take a position out of sight. Jakar got the idea. Harry stood at the ready. The latch clicked and the door swung open slowly, allowing a hooded figure to enter. As they crossed the threshold Jakar jumped in behind them and was about to strike.

"Wait! I've come to free you!" A voice yelped as the figure spun to face Jakar.

"Well, who are you?" Harry asked.

The figure pulled down his hood revealing himself to be one of the Nebulons they'd seen earlier.

"Please come with me," he said.

"Jakar, check for guards," Harry said.

Jakar nodded and looked outside. "They're gone sir," he reported, "both of them."

"Please, don't concern yourself about them," their would-be rescuer said, "I assure you they are fine."

"Um...ok," Harry replied mulling it over. "What's the deal? First you hand us over to Xox, who tosses us in here, and now you're setting us free? Pardon my tone, but just exactly whose side are you on?"

"Just come with me please," the Nebulon answered.

* * *

They arrived in the council room soon after, where the Nebulon Chancellor stood waiting for them.

"Pardon my brashness Chancellor," Harry said, feeling quite aggravated, "but just what in the hell is going on around here?"

"Why, you've been set free," the Nebulon Chancellor said, smiling. "You should be happy you are no longer confined."

Harry stood aghast for a few seconds before he found his voice. "Then why did you have us thrown in that dungeon of yours in the first place?"

"To avoid a conflict between you and the Urtheans that would have possibly lead to your demise."

Jakar seemed a little befuddled by the obstinacy of the Nebulons and shot Harry a look.

"Don't look at me! I have no idea what's going on," Harry said, rubbing his forehead in aggravation. "Look can we get our weapons and communicators back?"

The Nebulons exchanged glances. "We will only return your communications devices. We cannot allow your weapons."

"Why the hell not?" Jakar demanded, now obviously getting aggravated. "I haven't seen an Urthean without a sidearm."

"If we returned your weapons, it would only lead to more violence."

"We won't kill anybody," Harry assured, "because, unlike the Urtheans, our weapons are defensive and unlike them, we aren't intent on vaporizing the subject if force is needed. Please just return them."

The Nebulon council exchanged glances.

"Very well, but it will do you no good," the Chancellor said, standing up and going to a cabinet. He opened it and pulled out the two phasers, communicators, and tricorders. He set them down on the table with an audible sigh. Harry and Jakar quickly retrieved their equipment. Jakar tossed Harry his combadge, since it hadn't been destroyed.

"Martinez to Raptor, come in."

Still nothing.

"Blast! The dampening field," Harry said, cursing himself. "We have to find it and take it out."

"Do you think the ship got away?" Jakar asked.

"We won't know until we can get rid of that field," Harry asked. "They could still be in orbit for all we know."

Jakar activated his tricorder and began scanning. "It's about seventy meters in that direction," he said, pointing.

"Here," the Chancellor said, leading them over to the back of the room. He pressed his hand against a stone and a passage opened up. "Go through here and you will be undetected."

Harry nodded and headed inside with Jakar following.

* * *

Xox's ship had been pursuing them for some time. It had nearly caught them a few times. However, Land managed to elude them by making a quick, high-speed warp turn and diving into one of the system's gas giants, where the Raptor sat, immersed in the swirl of gasses. Two Urthean battle cruisers were patrolling in high orbit, trying to detect them.

"I'm not liking this...I'm not liking this," Fara muttered, staring at the tactical display on the main viewer. "Three more ships have arrived and still no word from the Captain and orders be damned I'm not abandoning him down there!"

"You won't get any argument from me," Land replied as she walked up to the front of the bridge, "but the way things are going, we're going to eventually have to do some fancy maneuvers again to keep ahead of those ships out there."

"Do what you have to, just don't trash my ship," Fara replied, watching the viewer. She hit the com switch on the command chair. "Phoenix to Knact! Please tell me you got the cloaking device functioning again."

"Eh...define functioning," The rat replied over the com.

"Just specifics, Knackt! I'm not in the mood," Fara growled

"Look boss lady, if I had to guess...eh...maybe twenty minutes tops before the whole thing goes to kaputsville. I'm going to have to shut it down to take a look at it."

"Chief, I have an Idea," Land spoke up. "Pardon me for speaking up, but if that's all the time we have, I can make it happen. If you want to try to rescue the Captain, I can get us back to Nebulous with plenty of time to spare. It'll be a bit bumpy, but I can do it."

Fara gave him an incredulous look, feeling a bit foolish.

"Ok," Fara said, "let's do it."

"Aye, sir," Land said, spinning around and putting in the coordinates.

The Raptor disappeared as it engaged it's cloaking device, although the fade was not nearly as smooth as it should have been. It began it's climb back to space, only leaving a swirl of gasses in its wake.

* * *

Harry and Jakar had made their way outside and located the source of the dampening field in a bunker outside the city. The Nebulon Capital city was quite archaic in design and simple in layout. Using their tricorders, it was not too much trouble to track the dampener down. Harry wondered why they chose to stick with such an old layout for their city. It was almost medieval in concept.

"Over there, sir," Jakar whispered, pointing towards a large structure. It was two stories high and fairly large. It seemed fabricated and Urthean in origin.

"I see two guards at the door," Harry said, "do you think heavy stun will handle them?"

Jakar nodded. "Reports indicate that level four, although harmful to most beings, seems to have the same effect as our heavy stun."

"Then what does the stun do?"

Jakar thought for a moment, adjusting the settings on his weapon. "It pisses them off, Sir."

"Thanks for the advice," Harry said, aiming after setting his weapon. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Fire."

The two phasers let out their familiar whine and the two Urthean guards were struck. Both fell to the ground unconscious. Harry and Jakar quickly stepped past them and into the enclosure. However, two Urthean techs were sitting at a console, monitoring the equipment. Harry quickly shot them before they could raise an alarm. He motioned for Jakar to check the rest of the complex.

"Bingo," Harry exclaimed, scanning a large device that hummed steadily in the center of the complex. "I think this is the jamming device."

"I'll watch the door," Jakar said.

Harry opened up an access hatch and looked inside. "If only we had some thermal detonators."

"I think I saw some weapons lockers over there," Jakar said as he motioned towards the back of the building. "Perhaps they'll have something more appropriate."

Harry couldn't make heads or tails out of the Urthean technology, since he'd never really seen any before. He glared at it while Jakar went to rummage through the lockers. They could simply just phaser the device, however; the shutdown time on it would probably not be that long. The jamming device had to be neutralized.

"Would these do?" Jakar smirked, stepping inside and tossing him a bandolier.

Harry caught it. "Yes. Where'd you find these?"

"They're keeping their arsenal in another shed not that far from here," Jakar said.

"You know how to operate these things?"

"You would be surprised what I do know sir," Jakar nodded.

"We should get them clear before we blow this thing," Harry said, looking at the stunned Urtheans on the floor. "I don't want any unnecessary casualties."

* * *

Later

An enormous explosion wracked the air as the Urthean devices and their shelter exploded. Harry looked up from the storage containers they'd taken shelter behind, along with the unconscious guards they had bound and saw that the only thing that was left was a shower of debris.

"Nicely done, sir." Jakar said, impressed.

"Enough explosives will level anything," Harry said flatly. "Not that much to it."

* * *

Up above the Raptor had just returned to orbit under cloak.

"Chief," O'mara suddenly said, "the dampening field on the surface has just dissipated." She checked her instruments again. "It seems like something has destroyed the device emitting the jamming field."

"Terri, can you punch me through to Harry," Fara asked.

"I'm working on it right now," Terri replied.

* * *

Harry looked down as his combadge chirped.

"I thought I told them to leave," he said, tapping it. "Martinez, here."

"Captain is that you?" Terri asked, somewhat startled to finally get a response.

"Yes, patch me through to Fara please," Harry grunted.

"You got it," Terri said. "Chief! It's the Captain."

Fara activated the com signal. "Captain, what in the world is going on down there?"

"We've run into a bit of a snag. Our old friend Xox is down here with several hundred soldiers. How are things up there?" Harry asked as Jakar checked to make sure their prisoners were still incapacitated.

"Not much better. We have quite a few Urthean ships up here we're dealing with. Since you told us to lay low, that's what we're doing."

"Fara, I told you to get the ship out of here!" Harry scolded.

"Oh, well, that last transmission we got from you broke up so we didn't understand it," Fara replied.

"We'll talk about that later," Harry sighed. It was a bit of a comfort to know she did stick around for them. "Have you heard anything from Starfleet yet?"

"I haven't exactly contacted them yet," Fara replied.

Harry groaned audibly. "Fara! We have a serious situation down here! It's a bit over our heads and I need you to head back to Confederation space, contact Starfleet command and get help now!" Harry said loudly, making Fara wince. "We can't let the Urtheans have this planet! It could give them a tactical advantage in this sector."

"What about you?" Fara said. "Captain, you can't ask me to abandon you down there!"

"That's exactly what I'm asking you to do," Harry said sternly

"But sir!"

"No buts, not this time Chief. You get that ship back to Confederation space and bring reinforcements," Harry snipped.

"Yes sir," Fara grumbled, "good luck."

"Godspeed," Harry said. "Martinez out. Damn it all! Can't she follow one simple order when I leave her in charge?"

Jakar said nothing, but seemed amused by the situation.

"What is the plan now, Captain?" He asked.

"Now," Harry said, "we find someplace to lay low and plan our next move."

* * *

"That ungrateful son of a bitch!" Fara snarled, digging her claws into the arm of the captain's chair. "After everything we did for him? Why I ought to--"

"Now, now Fara, he is only doing what is best for all in this situation," Doctor Okan spoke up at her side.

Fara made an audible hiss, obviously trying to throw the emergency brake on her temper.

"So...do we stay or do we go?" Land asked, breaking the silence.

"We do as he said," Fara relented. "Take us out of here, Mr. Land."

"Stepping on it, got it," Land said, breaking orbit.

Nebulous began to fall away on the screen and it soon disappeared into the starfield again.

"As soon as we're clear, maximum warp back to Confederation space," Fara said. "Terri, please contact Fleet Headquarters and update them of our current situation."

"I'm on it Chief," Terri said, getting to work.

Fara rubbed her temples. She was starting to get a migraine and had a terrible feeling that this situation was rapidly escalating. If it went wrong, her name was going to be all over the history books because she just happened to be the one in the command chair at the time. She groaned loudly.

"Fara are you ok?" O'mara asked.

"Oh yeah, everything is just gumdrops and ice cream right here," Fara sighed. "You want to trade places? I think I've done enough damage at this point."

"No. Thanks," O'mara stammered. "I'm fine right here."

"Engaging warp," Land announced as he activated the warp drive. The stars started to streak and the Raptor jumped into warp space.

* * *

Xox was admiring some of the delicate artifacts in the Nebulon Treasury. He was sure that many of these he could probably sell for a hefty price on the black market, not to mention what he could get for them from private Urthean collectors.

Suddenly, an explosion that shook the room, knocking a few of the objects to the floor.

"Commandant! Commandant!" One of his men cried, running up to the door.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Our communications and jamming equipment has been destroyed!"

"How?"

"We don't know, but we suspect it could be the Nebulons," the soldier replied. "Our men were hit by energy weapons of some sort. Their cybernetics have sustained trauma and they need to get to the regeneration tanks immediately!"

"A minor setback," Xox grumbled. "Start executing the Nebulons."

"How many?"

"Oh, I don't know," Xox said agitatedly as he passed his subordinate, "just pick somewhere between 500 to 2,000. As long as it gets the point across."

"What method?"

Xox stopped to think about it. "Firing squad. There is a large courtyard in this palace. Fill it up." He decided, his eyes glowing evilly.

"Yes, Commandant."

Xox watched him go and decided to head down to the dungeon and gloat at his prey, which had so easily fallen into his clutches.

He headed down the corridor for the archaic winding stairwell that led down to where his prisoners were. He grinned maniacally while thinking of all the possible horrible tortures he could inflict on his nemesis. He was still smarting from their first encounter and the Raptor's success at disrupting his network of raiders over the past couple of months had become quite irritating. If he could not have the ship, then he would deal with the Captain. He hoped the Echidna had regained consciousness so he could beat him out of it again.

His anticipation soon turned to anger as he arrived at the dungeon and saw the door standing wide open with the guards nowhere to be found. His prisoners had escaped.

Xox's howl of rage could be heard throughout the building.

* * *

Jakar managed to break through the simple lock on the abandoned home deep in the city and they quickly slipped inside.

Harry discarded the robes they had been using and went to check the sink. Using his tricorder, he determined that the tap was still connected. He tested it, letting it run for a bit before drinking a few handfuls of water while Jakar kept watch at the door. His stomach growled, so he idly poked among the cabinets hoping maybe there was some food.

"Well, no food, but at least we got water," Harry said quietly.

Jakar harrumphed and kept his eye on the shutters as some Urthean Guards moved past.

"How are you feeling?" Jakar asked.

"Rough...breathing is a little shallow," Harry said, sitting down and catching his breath. "Nothing our good doctor can't fix."

Jakar looked warily at him, and then back outside. "We should probably rest for now."

"I'll be fine," Harry grunted, checking his phaser to make sure it was in proper working order.

"What do you plan to do?"

"Well, if we can, we're going to get to Xox," Harry said, popping out the power cell, taking a wincing breath, blowing on the leads, and slapping it back into the phaser. "Pay him the same courtesy he did us."

"We're only two, Captain," Jakar said. "There are a lot of Urtheans out there."

"I'm still working on the rest of the plan, but we'll wait 'till nightfall before we move."

He then started to cough heavily. Jakar stepped towards him and he held his hand up to wave him off. Harry spit, still with some blood in it, but it seemed like a lesser amount. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on his part, but his ribs still hurt something fierce and it was getting worse the longer the situation drug on. It was worrying, but he couldn't do anything about it at the moment.

For now, like himself, his ribs would just have to wait.

* * *

A few hours later

The Raptor sped through warp space in front of several other Confederation starships and three Keldryian warships for added punch. They were still several hours out from Nebulon space. It had been a whirlwind six hours. Fara had never talked to so much brass before and she was on edge, trying desperately to keep her temper reigned in. Much to her credit, she had managed not to yell at anyone. She was still not happy to have this dumped on her, however.

"Chief," she heard Doctor Okan say to her.

"What!?" She snapped.

The echidna had a cup of something liquid and warm. He let her calm down a second before he spoke again. "I took a reading while you were trying to bore a hole into the viewer by staring at it," Okan said. "Your vitals are jumpy to say the least, so I brewed this up for you."

"What is it?" Fara asked, taking the cup and sniffing it.

"Just take a sip or two," Okan ordered, "give it a bit, and you'll feel better."

"You know doc," Fara grunted, "I'd much rather be trying to contain a core breach than be doing this."

Okan nodded. "Considering the consequences of our actions today, I would say the situation is probably fairly similar. Just on a grander scale."

"You aren't going to leave until I try this aren't you?" Fara scowled. "It smells awful."

"It's my job to make sure the ship's captain, no matter who it is, is operating in peak form," Okan replied with a sly smile, "I suggest you drink it."

"Fine," Fara said reluctantly, taking a few sips. She made a horrified face as she swallowed it. "Ugh! This is revolting! I don't even think putting booze in this will make it better!" She whimpered as she tried to wipe the taste off her tongue.

"Well, you'd better get used to it, because you have to drink the rest of it," Okan said, sitting at the vacant engineering station behind Lt. O'mara.

Fara glared and tried again, taking another sip. The second gulp was equally foul, but she forced herself to do it. Not wanting to prolong this torture, she quickly chugged the rest of it.

After about five minutes, she hated to admit it, but she felt better. She even felt a lot more relaxed than she had in awhile. Okan scanned her with his tricorder.

"Feeling any side effects?" Okan asked, watching her bio readings.

"Despite the horrible taste of compost running from my nose to my stomach, I feel great," Fara allowed. "So what was in it?"

"It's just an experiment...trying to improve on my little miracle cure I used a few months ago," Doctor Okan said matter of factly.

"So what, you just drugged me up?"

Okan gave her a hurt look. "No, it's made up of natural elements found on your homeworld," Okan grunted. "Nothing artificial about it."

"Can you work on the taste a bit?" Fara grimaced. "Maybe something less barfy?"

"I'm a doctor, not a mixologist," Okan snorted, "but I will endeavor to do better."

* * *

Nightfall

Harry and Jakar waited until darkness had fallen before they approached the palace again. For a few hours, they had seen the Urtheans lead several groups of Nebulons into the palace.

"I wonder what they are up to," Jakar wondered aloud.

"Most likely," Harry growled, "they're going to punish them for our little light show earlier. That's the last thing I wanted to happen!"

"It is too late to take back now, sir," Jakar said.

"I can't let this happen! I don't want innocents to die. We're going in there, now," Harry said angrily. "Come on!"

He crept up through the darkness to the lightly guarded balcony behind the castle. Most of the soldiers had been sent away on whatever dark task Xox had sent them to do. A single guard was watching the door. A shot rang out from Harry's phaser and felled him easily. He hit the ground with a hard thud. Harry and Jakar gained entry into the palace.

* * *

"WHERE ARE THEY, CHANCELLOR!" Xox roared at the council of Nebulons.

"We do not know." The Nebulon replied.

"You know one of your wretched creatures set them free!" Xox snarled, slamming his fist down on the table and cracking it.

"Even if we knew, we would not tell you. It will only bring more violence."

"Not telling me will guarantee violence you spineless worms!" Xox snarled. "Yes indeed!"

"Do what you will. We will have no part of it."

Xox backed away from the table. "Very well, You had your chance. I will execute five hundred Nebulons every ten minutes my prisoners are not found. Until they are returned."

"Do as you will, it is of no matter to us."

Xox growled, aggravated at their lack of concern and stomped out of the chamber.

* * *

Harry's communicator buzzed quietly. He activated it. "Martinez here."

"Captain!" Fara said. "Good to hear you're in one piece still."

"Did you get reinforcements?"

"Yes, I think half the damn fleet is following us," Fara replied. "We're going to be a sight for those Urtheans when we get there."

Suddenly, Harry heard the sound of multiple energy weapons firing coming from the direction of the courtyard.

"It's started," Jakar said grimly.

"Captain?" Came Fara's voice said over the speaker.

"Get here quickly." Harry replied, sounding a bit shaken. "They've started executing the populace."

The bridge fell silent.

"Understood sir," Fara replied. "We are moving as fast as we can.".

* * *

"Commandant I have news," D'jonn said entering Xox's room in the palace.

"What is it," Xox asked, watching a new batch of Nebulons being led into the courtyard. It aggravated him that they all seemed so docile and detached from the situation, much like lambs to the slaughter. He wanted them to beg or fear him or anything, but instead he got nothing.

"Our backup array has been activated and we have received word that a Confederation fleet consisting of nearly one hundred and seventy-five vessels, and ten wings of Arwing starfighters. The Emperor's first attack wing has been ordered to intercept them and they are on their way."

"Excellent," Xox mused, "then they will be outnumbered four to one."

"It will be a glorious battle," D'jonn added.

* * *

Harry and Jakar entered the council chamber.

"Welcome back. We are glad to see you are well." The Chancellor said as they entered.

"Why aren't you resisting them!" Harry said, irritated and shuddering at the sound of another volley of weapons fire outside. "They are exterminating your people!"

"It is not our way."

"It is not logical to sit by and allow them to do this," Jakar added. "Surely you must feel some sorrow for your people who are dying out there."

"You do not understand," the Nebulon said, shaking his head. "They are not dying."

Harry was visibly disturbed and he felt sick to his stomach. "Where is Xox? If you won't put a stop to this, I damn well will! Even if I may die in the process, at least I'm willing to fight when you will not."

"We cannot tell you that, and again it is not our way."

"Fine," Harry growled, "come on Jakar."

He quickly turned and headed out of the room. As they started to search the palace, they came to a corridor junction and heard footsteps approaching. They ducked to the side of the wall. Harry grabbed some sturdy rope off of a hanging tapestry.

They waited until the Urthean passed them and Harry hopped behind him and quickly got the rope tightly around the Urtheans neck and slammed him against the wall. The Urthean, being caught completely by surprise, yelped as his muzzle slammed into the wall and gagged as the rope choked off his air supply. Jakar was a bit stunned seeing this sudden aggressive turn in his captain, but was quick to help pin the Urthean against the wall.

Harry noticed that whomever they had snagged was an officer--the uniform did not match the drab all black look of the guards.

"Where is Xox!" Harry shouted.

"I don't know," the Urthean choked.

"Tell me, damn it!" Harry said, tightening the rope even tighter.

"Never!" The officer snarled, his voice weakened.

"Tell me, Jakar," Harry growled, wrapping the cord around one hand and taking the Urtheans dagger and holding it up to his neck. "They can't regenerate if their head is removed, can they?"

"I do not believe so," Jakar replied coolly.

"Ok ok!" The Urthean yelped. "He's down the way I came."

"Thank you," Harry said letting the rope loose so the Urthean could breathe. "Jakar, if you'd do the honors."

Jakar got the hint and grabbed the still gasping Urthean by the ears and slammed his head into the stone wall as hard as he could. The Urthean collapsed unconscious.

"Let's go," Harry said.

* * *

In the Nebulon Chancellor's Chamber

"I see terrible violence," one of the Nebulons said to the Chancellor. "Billions dead, worlds destroyed...much suffering and pain in the future."

"I do as well," The Chancellor said solemnly.

"If this continues, the Balance will be disrupted. The whole galaxy will be a loss. The after-effects of this battle will have disastrous consequences. I see many lives exterminated as a result of this coming conflict," another Nebulon spoke.

"We must intervene," The entire council agreed.

* * *

"Welcome, Welcome, Welcome," Xox said as Harry and Jakar burst through the door.

"You damnable monster," Harry snarled, setting his phaser high enough to kill, "don't you dare make a move! Because, right now, I have no compunctions about turning you into a pile of ash!"

"I'm flattered," Xox sneered, "but you should be excited, dear captain. History is being made as we speak. Far above us, our fleets will meet soon and they will determine the future of this planet...and this quadrant."

"We will not let you have this planet," Harry said, keeping his phaser trained on Xox. Just then several armed guards burst through the door and trained their weapons on him and Jakar.

"And you rodent," Xox smiled, "will not be leaving here with your life."

Just then, Harry yelped in pain and dropped his phaser, because it suddenly started burning his hand. The Urtheans also screamed in pain and dropped their weapons. Harry and Jakar saw this as an opportunity and they lunged at the guards. However, as they grappled they noticed even the Urtheans felt hot to the touch. What tried to become a frenzied melee soon became very awkward, because even getting near each other would cause the sensation of extreme burning heat.

* * *

"YEOWCH!" Land barked, quickly jumping out of his chair. Fara also yelped and leaped out of the command chair and so did the rest of the bridge crew.

"What in the hell?" Land said rubbing his paw.

"All the consoles are searingly hot," Terri said, trying to activate the other consoles only to find them just as hot.

* * *

"What treachery is this!" Xox roared.

Suddenly, the Nebulon chancellor and his entourage entered the room.

"Do not be alarmed. It is our doing," he said calmly. "All your weapons and devices of destruction are now radiating at a temperature of 500 degrees Celsius. We will not allow you to continue this violence and destroy yourselves in the process. Your vessels are inoperative as well. You may confirm this."

Xox snarled and stomped over to his communicator as Harry activated his.

"Fara what's going on up there?"

"We don't know sir," Fara replied quickly, "we were just about to engage the Urthean fleet when all the consoles got superheated. We can't touch them without getting burned and as far as we can tell all the other ships are that way as well."

"It's true," Xox said, shutting off his communicator. "Our ships are also incapacitated. What right do you have?" He snarled at the Nebulons.

"We can't let them have this planet," Harry added. "They'll destroy it like they have their worlds. They'll strip this place bare of every resource it has!"

"Our actions are not for your benefit. They are for that of posterity." The Chancellor explained. "We will not tolerate any hostilities between your two peoples in this region of space. There will be peace."

"What makes you think you can do that," Xox growled, his face contorted with rage. "There will be no peace between us as long as those vermin are around!"

The Nebulons exchanged glances and suddenly they dissolved into luminescent orbs of light.

"We have a power you cannot even begin to understand. That is why, even though you thought you were slaughtering us," the light said to Xox, "we did not die. There is no way you can harm us. We have evolved beyond the needs of corporeal bodies like yours. We appeared as we once did, long ago, for your benefit."

They all stood in awe of the luminescent beings before them.

"Why didn't you tell us beforehand," Harry asked.

"We tried to warn you away, to avoid the conflict between your two peoples." The Nebulons replied, "however, sometimes the very young do not listen. We have contacted your respective governments and will work out a peace agreement. There will be no hostilities between your peoples in this region again. If there are, we will stop it. Now, please, return to your ships."

With that, the Nebulons faded away.

D'jonn came in with a bloodied nose and scowled at the two echidnas that had inflicted it upon him earlier. "What happened Commandant?"

D'jonn came staggering into the room, his muzzle bloody and dented, glaring at Jakar and Harry.

"Get my shuttle ready," Xox snarled at D'jonn. "We're leaving! This is not over yes," Xox hissed at Harry, "far from over. I shall have my revenge!"

D'jonn nodded, still trying to clear his head, and called the shuttle crew to be ready for liftoff.

"Fortunately, not today," Harry shot back and then added with a heavy dose of sarcasm, "see you around, pal!."

Xox snarled some swear the universal translator couldn't translate and spat at the ground before he left with his men.

"That was...unexpected," Jakar mused.

"You're telling me," Harry said, activating his communicator. "Martinez to Raptor, two to beam up."

* * *

A few days later

The Nebulons had firmly insisted that their area of space remain neutral between the Confederation and Urthaens. The Nebulons were quite clear about their demands and stated that they would not tolerate any incursions or engagements in at least 10 sectors of space around their home system. They would still participate in trade with both governments, but only in a limited fashion. Any vessels that entered their system with weapons system armed would be disabled and have to be towed back.

The negotiations were pretty much the Nebulons setting the terms and both side's diplomats having to agree to them. Both entities could have bases and support depots in their system, but any hostility would simply not be tolerated and any offending parties would be dealt with.

A treaty was drawn up and signed between all parties. Harry and the rest of the crew were present for the signing. Xox never returned and instead, Urthean Ambassadors signed the agreement.

Harry couldn't help but notice that they seemed a bit nervous when they did so. Perhaps the Nebulons had an exchange with their empire that they weren't aware of. They seemed rather relieved to get off the planet as soon as possible.

* * *

The Raptor was in orbit of Nebulous, ready to get underway. They were the last to go. Harry and Jakar had taken the time to explain their adventure and experiences down on the surface.

"I'm glad I didn't go down there," Land commented. "That sounds like some crazy stuff that went on down there. People turning into orbs, and having god-like powers, no thanks!"

"The funny thing is, I went down there not wanting to start a conflict," Harry sighed, "but the longer it drew out, the more angered I got at the Urthean's...the more I wanted the conflict."

"Nobody is perfect," Jakar added.

"True," Harry replied. "Those Nebulons though, I've never encountered anything like them before." He paused a moment to think. "To think, life like that can evolve from beings like ourselves. It's fascinating."

"It's not that hard to understand," Doctor Okan noted. "Our species evolved from simple single-celled organisms. In essence, we could be to them what the amoeba is to us."

"There's a disturbing thought," Land chuckled, swinging back around and entering the coordinates for home.

"We were fortunate. This whole mess worked out better than it could have," Harry mused. "Take us home, Mr. Land."

"Course already set," Land said, turning in his chair.

"Let's get out of here. Engage"

The End