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Bridge, U.S.S. Falcon

"Commander, the Raptor's trail leads right into the Badlands," O'mara reported from the science station.

"Well then, looks like we won't have a choice," Rivas huffed. "Lt. Ka, I take it your crew can make the modifications necessary for us to travel through there?"

"They've already been made, Commander," Rayna replied. "I took the liberty of having Engineering make the modifications while we were en route."

"Well done," Rivas smiled. "Ms. O'mara, will we still be able to track them once inside the Badlands?"

"I will do my best," O'mara replied. "I know that the sensors will be fairly useless, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I was able to rig a type of sniffer for the Raptor's particular ionic trail, although I d-d-don't know how long it will work with the interference we're about to fly into."

"Good work, Lieutenant," Don smiled at her.

"I guess we are as ready as we'll ever be. It's going to be real fun not having full shields and being half-blind," Rayna sighed.

"All part of the fun," Rivas smirked. "Helm, take us in on full impulse. Kai, did you and Jenna get the weapon frequency rotation figured out?"

"Sure enough, Commander. The only problem we'll have will be trying to keep a step ahead of the Raptor's battle computer," Kai said.

"I hope we won't have to use the weapons," Rivas said. "The idea is to get close and hit the Raptor with the prefix codes to disable them. Hopefully we can retake the ship without having to blast the Raptor or get ourselves shot to pieces."

"And once we use the prefix codes, all I have to do is shut down the computer. I can do that from right here," Jenna Rydel said confidently.

Rivas smiled. It was a good plan, but deep down he knew there was a chance it could fail, especially if the hijackers knew about the prefix codes. They were hard-wired into every ship's system. All it took was a command authorization request which, unfortunately, took some time to recover from Fleet HQ's central server. If it was meant to be an easy task, they wouldn't be out here plunging into the murk of the Badlands.

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

Resurgence

Episode 20

IDP 2021

By: Vakash Darkbane

Edited: Saurex Conoway

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

Bridge, U.S.S. Raptor

Theodore Holtz paced around the bridge with his hands behind his back. This whole operation was not going as planned. He hadn't planned on Martinez and Phoenix being so problematic, or being able to evade capture. He had thought maybe, with enough of his own people on the ship, they would at least be competent enough to round up a handful of feddies.

Kursk and Brunt were good at dealing with troublemakers. It was best to let them deal with it. He was confident that Owen's would find them. She was raging, given that the Captain had bested her during the skirmish in the shuttlebay. Holtz grinned. If he hadn't told Owens not to kill him, the Captain would be in for a painful demise.

Holtz checked the wall chronometer. At least with the little setbacks they were still on schedule for their rendezvous with the Black Star Pirates. With the right amount of credits, and a little bit of a vested interest, he'd managed to secure their assistance in this endeavour. They had been known to employ people or species with psionic abilities in order to steal information from the safest place anywhere: the mind.

He had, at first, thought this whole notion was outlandish, until he'd seen it in action. Once he'd seen it demonstrated on Kursk, causing him to blurt every deep dark secret he'd ever had, Holtz was sold on it.

* * *

Deck 3, U.S.S. Raptor, Aft Engineering Section

A maintenance access hatch opened in the stark corridors of the part of the Engineering section that had become known as "the warrens".

Harry had heard stories of this area of the ship and only ventured to the edge of it on occasion to bother Fara. Most of the engineering staff called it the "chamber of horrors". However, Harry had never been this deep in his own ship. His fur stood on end and there was just an unsettling aura about the place. Supposedly engineers got lost down here sometimes, wandering aimlessly before finally giving up and having the computer tell them how to leave the area. With how his skin was crawling, Harry was starting to give those stories some merit.

He checked the corridor, barely poking his head through the hatch. It appeared that, for the moment, the coast was clear. He clambered into the corridor and turned back to offer his paw to Fara as she hauled herself through the hatch.

Fara turned around, quickly gaining her bearings. Once she knew where she was she pointed down an adjoining corridor. They moved as quietly as possible, each looking haggard, covered in bumps and scratches from crawling along the Raptor's inner workings. They had also had a few close calls with the hijackers. The invaders had begun searching all the maintenance areas of the ship, as well as every single other space they could find.

Fara walked up to the door and entered her command codes while Harry kept her covered. The door opened and they both slipped inside the room.

"How are you holding up?" Harry panted.

Fara stood up straight, put her hands in the middle of her back, and bent backwards with a slight groan.

"I'll live...I guess," she sighed as she twisted from side to side.

"So, any ideas on how to get our guests out of Engineering?"

"I came up with a few on the way over here," Fara said, "but, I don't want to really do it if our friends are running around on this deck."

"Well? Let's hear it."

Fara pointed to a control panel. "This is the room below the core. From that panel I could vent the drive coolant into the deck. That would get them out. We could seal off the deck and then use the ventilation system to push it back out into space. The stuff is super toxic, so if any of our people don't make it out...well...."

"I'm well aware. It's ultimately fatal in cases of overexposure," Harry nodded. "What will we need?"

"I need an engineer's kit," Fara said. "There's a workshop down the corridor that will have all the tools I need."

"Alright, let's do this," Harry said, checking the door real quick. It opened and he looked around. Not seeing anyone in the corridor, he motioned for them to move out. They moved quickly and quietly. Harry kept glancing down the side corridors, ready for someone to jump out at them, but he didn't spot anyone.

"Harry!" Fara yelped.

He whirled, ready to pounce, but froze instead. The Cornerian feline he'd subdued earlier had one of Fara's arms trapped behind her back. A vibroblade was resting against Fara's neck.

"That's far enough," the feline hissed, digging the blade's tip into Fara's neck. "You both have caused me way more trouble than I signed up for. Drop your phaser or I'll start cutting!"

"I don't think you will," Harry said, keeping his phaser in hand and trained on her.

Owens smirked, purring slightly. "Oh? Do you? You think you have everything figured out?"

Harry didn't say anything. He was watching, waiting for his moment to strike.

Still purring, Owens flicked her arm. The blade rushed from Fara's throat, plunged into her thigh, and then Owens twisted the blade.

Fara screamed as Owens ripped the blade free and flicked it at Harry. As Fara collapsed to the ground, Harry tried to avoid the blade. He was in shock at what happened and barely had time to get his hand out of the way. The blade sank into the phaser instead of him, knocking the weapon out of his hand. When he looked up, Owen was charging, another blade in hand as she leapt, ready to kick him in the head. Harry caught her foot and tossed her right into the bulkhead. Owens got back to her feet, although the collision with the wall had knocked the wind out of her, but she wasn't done yet. She drew another vibroblade and lunged towards him, slicing away.

Harry jumped back, trying to gage Owens' style as he moved away. She gave him no room to evaluate. The blade nicked him a few times, slashing through his shirt. He could tell she was letting ange drive her. That would work in his favor. He just had to remain functional until she made a mistake.

His back found a wall and Owens came straight at him. As she lunged, he jerked to the side and threw his elbow into the side of her head. The vibroblade sunk into the wall before she let go and tumbled to the side. For a fleeting moment Harry was sure he had downed her. The moment vanished as she rolled and sprang to her feet. Realizing any advantage he had gained was nearly gone again, Harry tried to go for a grapple. She let him come at her and before he realized it was a trap, she had him.

A flick of the wrist brought the blade up from her boot and deep into his side.

Harry's breath fled as he staggered back, eyes fixed on the dagger protruding from his flank. Blood was already seeping into the fabric around the wound. As he turned his head, he caught a glimpse of a fist before it crashed into his snout. Harry berated himself silently as stars burst across his field of vision. This cat was way tougher than he had anticipated. That error in judgement was going to cost him. Blow after blow struck him. When he would try to respond, Owens would just tweak the knife, causing him to recoil gracelessly.

Roaring, his entire body on fire, Harry swung wildly. Owens stepped to the side, tore the knife from his side, and slashed him across his chest. Harry staggered back, shaking as his head swam. He was losing.

"You had enough?" Owen's purred. "You'll run outta blood if you play with me too much more, and we can't have that! Holtz needs you alive, remember? Isn't that the silly idea you based all this on?"

Harry shook his head, trying to throw off the haze that was closing around him. He glanced over to Fara, wondering why she hadn't jumped in to help. Fara had propped herself up against the wall. There was a startling amount of blood pooling under her as she tried frantically to stanch the flow from her leg. Through the fog, Harry recognized an arterial injury. Fara's life would be measured in minutes if he didn't do something to save her.

His eye focused on his opponent. She was drawing closer. She was confident. He knew he was weak, but he must have really looked the part for her to be this cocky. That was all the advantage Harry needed. This wasn't his first knife fight. He could make Owens pay for her confidence, he just had to be careful.

"Well? Have you had enough? Because, if you keep it up--"

Owens didn't get to finish her thought. She had gotten too close. Harry's leg shot out, his foot connecting with her knee, forcing it backwards until there was a distinct pop. With his less injured arm he caught her by the neck and smashed her head against the wall.

"I have had enough of you!" He snarled as he pulled her forwards.

Owens couldn't resist with her broken knee. Harry slammed her head against the wall again. This time there was a sickening crunch as her skull caved under the impact with the protruding profile of the bulkhead. Her eyes rolled back into her head as her body shook violently, her blade clattering to the floor. Harry let go quickly, staring as she slid down the wall, the back of her head leaving a thick trail of blood as she faded away with a final grin.

Harry shook, his arm aching. He had won...yes...but he hadn't wanted to kill her.

"Too...far...too far," he finally murmured, clenching and unclenching his fists as he stared into Owens' lifeless eyes.

"Harry..." Fara said weakly, "help...."

Shaking his head, he quickly rushed over to her side. He looked at the wound and cringed. Owens knew her business. She had torn open a ragged mess of a wound that had nicked the femoral artery. Fara was going to bleed to death.

"Hang in there, Chief," Harry said, looking around for anything that would make a suitable tourniquet.

He scrambled over to Owens and took her belt. It wasn't an ideal tool, but it would have to do for now.

Fara yelped loudly in protest as he cinched the belt into place.

"How bad is it?" Fara gasped, her eyes rolling as she started shaking.

"Oh, it's minor damage, just give me a few minutes of repairs, it'll be fine." Harry said, giving her an excuse she would use when she wasn't really sure how bad it was.

Fara laughed weekly. "Fuck you...sir."

Harry wound the tourniquet down and Fara screamed as it bit into her flesh.

Fara whimpered weakly, her hands clenching on his sleeves as the bleeding slowled. He tore what was left of his shirt off, ripped it into strips and did his best to bandage the hole.

"Keep pressure on that," Harry ordered. Fara tried but with her strength waning, her effort was minimal at best.

He sat back, examining his own wounds. The wound on his chest was the deepest, but it also seemed to be the one bleeding the least. It impinged on his motor skills though, which he found annoying. Grinding his teeth, he took the remains of his shirt and began fashioning bandages for himself.

The wound in his side was the worst, given that it was a puncture, but it was not as deep as he thought it would be. It would definitely need proper care when they had time and tools.

"Do you think you can stand on your leg?" Harry asked wearily.

Fara shook her head, her entire body trembling.

"Ok...well...put your arms around my neck. We need to get out of here before her friends come looking for her," Harry said, groaning as the wound in his side protested at the weight of lifting Fara.

Fara did so and looked over to the broken form of Owens.

"Is...she dead?" Fara asked quietly.

"Yes," Harry replied flatly.

Fara looked up at his face as they moved up the corridor.

"Good," she sighed, laying her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Later, on the bridge of the Raptor

"Any word on our unwanted guests?" Holtz asked as Brunt entered the bridge.

Brunt growled and slammed his fist into the aft display, shattering it.

"That bad, eh?" Holtz raised an eyebrow as Brunt picked the glass out of his fist. "That is coming out of your pay, by the way."

"Two of 'em are hold up in an armory on deck four. Got combat armor we can't punch through. They keep blasting our guys. Another of 'em is making booby traps. We already lost half-a-dozen men to the damn things. I know it's the rat, same one that bit me. When I find him, I'm gonna rip him in half!"

"What about the Captain and the Engineer?" Holtz asked. Brunt shrugged, but Krusk burst in from the other rear doors. Holtz glared at him. "I suppose you have bad news as well?"

"It's Owens. She's wasted, Deck 3...they bashed her head in. I think they're wounded though. There was a lot of blood in the corridor that wasn't hers. It doesn't look like Owen's went down easy."

"That's...unfortunate," Holtz scowled. Other than Kurowski, Owens was the only one on this crew he had some respect for. Her loss was significant. Apparently these fleeters weren't as weak as he had been made out to be.

"Well, other than these little setbacks, we are still on schedule." Holtz shifted uneasily in his seat. "I want men placed around the Engineering section."

"Sure," Kursk said. "How long until we get to the rendezvous point?"

The jackal glanced at the wall chronometer. "Minutes now."

* * *

Bridge, U.S.S. Falcon

Rivas watched the swirling gasses on the flickering viewer of the bridge. The Badlands gave off a singularly intimidating aura. He glanced over at O'mara. He had faith that she could pull it off. She was working quickly, unflinchingly, trying to get her "sniffer" to work. Suddenly, she looked up and smiled at him.

"Commander, I have a lock on the Raptor's trail," she smirked triumphantly.

"Great work," Rivas said, smiling at her and trying to contain his pride. "Send the data to the helm."

"Forwarding it now," O'mara said.

Rivas grinned. Now they were finally getting somewhere.

"Lieutenant O'mara, how much lead time do you estimate they have on us?" Rayna-Ka asked.

O'mara glanced over her readings. "From my readings, they are at least ten minutes ahead of us based on the dissipation of the ion trail."

"Very good. You really know your stuff," Rayna commended. "You don't mind if I keep her on after this is over, do you Commander? I could use another good science officer."

"No dice. She's one-of-a-kind," Rivas chuckled. "Besides, Martinez would skin me alive if I traded her to you."

O'mara blushed and returned to her work.

"Lieutenant Rydel, be ready with those codes at a moment's notice," Rivas added. "I don't want to give the Raptor a chance to tear into us."

"Don't worry commander, I will be ready," Jenna replied.

* * *

Meanwhile

The Raptor came to a halt within the swirling gasses of the Badlands. On the bridge, Holtz grinned from pointy ear to pointy ear. There was a large mass beginning to emerge from the haze.

An enormous ship, dwarfing the Raptor, with an angled hull, bristling with guns and weapons turrets. There was a large back star emblazoned on the ships prow. The hull was pockmarked with scars and heavy patches, signs of battles that someone else lost. Even at a distance, Holtz could almost see the haze of the drive systems. It's size was deceptive. There were impulse ports hidden all over the hull that would allow the ship to dance around the weapons and defenses of other ships. She was a beautiful, if not slightly frightening, beast of a machine.

"Open a hailing frequency, Korowski," Holts ordered.

"Channel open."

"Attention Terror, this is Theodore Holtz. We have the packages onboard, however, they are running amuck we could use some assistance."

The screen flickered as the hail was answered. A large figure, clad in metallic armor and wearing a dark angled mask loomed into view.

"That was not part of the agreement," a deep, sinister voice rumbled over the speakers.

"I will double my payment. The assets need to be taken alive," Holtz said as politely as he could.

"Payment in advance is needed. This is not open for negotiation."

Holtz grabbed a datapad and typed in a few commands. On screen, the figure's head tilted slightly to the side. The figure nodded.

Holtz sneered. "I told you my credits were good when I contacted you, Tekon."

"Many are short of them when they ask for our services," Tekon rumbled. "We will send a shuttle immediately."

The channel closed.

"Kursk, get down there," Holtz barked, tapping his comm sharply. "Try not to get yourself killed and be ready to receive that shuttle!"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch! I'm on it," the boar grunted, leaving the bridge.

* * *

Deck 3, Lower Sickbay

Harry managed to get to the lower berth of sickbay without running into any of the raiders. His vision was getting hazy again and he was experiencing constant nausea. The adrenaline was wearing off and the shock was setting in. It wouldn't be long before he was useless.

He quickly locked the door and carried Fara over to the auto doctor. He opened the chamber and placed her gently into it. She groaned, feebly trying to help and failing. Harry couldn't help but notice how cold the skin under her fur was. She was running out of time.

"PLEASE STATE THE NATURE OF THE MEDICAL EMERGENCY." The computer cheerfully prompted.

"Deep, ragged puncture in the left thigh, damage to the femoral artery, massive hemorrhaging," Harry listed, trying to be as complete as he could.

"HAS PROPER FIRST AID BEEN ADMINISTERED?"

"A tourniquet was applied to the limb."

"IS THE SUBJECT STILL CONSCIOUS?"

Harry glanced at Fara, who did her best to smile at him.

"Where are we?" She breathed.

"She's conscious," Harry snapped at the computer before turning his attention back to Fara. "We made it to sickbay. I'm trying to get you patched up."

"PLEASE PLACE ONE OF THE SUBJECTS ARMS INTO THE CUFF SO INTRAVENOUS INTERFACE CAN BEGIN," the computer prompted and it began to hum as it scanned her.

"Seriously...one of us...needs to learn to be a doctor...if we keep this...up," Fara muttered.

"You are going to be fine," Harry said, placing her arm in the cuff. He glanced over to the simplified readout the machine was giving. She was dying.

"Don't lie to me...I can...feel...how bad it is..." Fara croaked.

"We need to let the machine do it's work," Harry said. "I'll see you when you get out."

"Harry..." Fara gasped, grabbing his hand before he could leave. She sat up, straining. "What...you did...back there...you did it...because you were protecting me."

Harry kept his face blank.

"You are still a...good man. If you didn't regret it," she coughed, "you wouldn't be. I know you. You want to hurt them...but...find a way to stop them without that...if you can."

Harry cast his eyes downward at the floor.

"If anyone can...you...can," Fara gasped, finally passing out.

"PLEASE, CLOSE THE AUTODOC CHAMBER SO TREATMENT PROCEDURES MAY BEGIN," the computer prompted, still cheery and light.

Harry put her hand to the side and closed the chamber. He took a deep breath and thumped the chamber with the underside of his fist.

"Do your job you metal monster," he growled. Silently, he found himself wishing Doctor Okan were there. He needed someone that knew how to do more than run the Autodoc.

Sourly, he had to admit that Fara was right. He wanted to hurt them...all of them.

He could imagine a myriad of ways to dispose of them. Now that he was in sickbay, he could take a moment to compose a plan, but Fara's words dissipated his anger somewhat. Either way, he needed a plan and some healing of his own.

Harry suddenly remembered something. He moved quickly over to the storage locker and opened it. Inside was a large stock of anesthetic gases that Okan had requisitioned recently. Harry remembered questioning having that much onboard at once. It was enough to knock out an entire crew.

"That's purely up to you, Captain," Okan said, shrugging. "I do recall one time, a while back, it might have been useful. You never know, right?"

Harry remembered reluctantly authorizing the amount, simply because he couldn't really argue against it with their experiences on the ship so far. He smirked as the idea began to congeal in his mind. He winced as his abdominal injury reminded him of its presence. Recovering a medkit, he set to work patching his wounds. It took him several minutes, but when he was done his head was swimming less than before. He stood, heading for the storage room. Inside, as he thought, sat a large container of the anesthetic gas.

"Computer, activate the emergency medical hologram," Harry ordered.

A buzz was heard and a rather nondescript female echidna with black hair and light brown fur materialized.

"Hello sir! I am the emergency medical hologram! How may I assist you?" She smiled, standing at attention.

"Fara is in the Autodoc," Harry said as he worked to drag the canister out of the room. "I need you to make sure she stays alive. The ship is filled with hostiles. I need to connect this unit to the ship's ventilation system and not knock myself out in the process. When I leave I want you to make sure Fara is not harmed, or affected by the gas."

The hologram frowned. "Captain, I am not programmed for tactical functions. Sorry!"

"You can lock and barricade a door, right?" Harry snapped.

"Affirmative, sir!"

"Then do that. Do whatever else you can do to protect the patient. You are designed to save and preserve life, correct?"

"Of course, sir! But...well...."

Harry took Owens' blaster and tossed it to her. She caught it and looked at it as if he'd just tossed it a severed limb.

"If any one of them comes through, blast them. You have nothing to lose." Harry said firmly. "Point it at them, pull the trigger...it's a lot less complicated than a derma laser."

"This is highly unorthodox, sir! I am not designed for tactical functions!"

"You are built into one of the most dangerous, bleeding edge starships in the quadrant," Harry grunted as he drug the canister along. "Don't feed me that garbage! Just figure it out!"

"I will...try," it relented.

Harry could swear he heard a relay burn out somewhere.

* * *

Deck 5, Shuttlebay

Kursk waited as the strange shuttle landed in the Raptor's shuttlebay. Once it set down, a hatch in the side opened up and a lone figure stepped out. The figure was female, decked out in black armor that had heavy ceramic plating built into it. It was a struggle to tell that the figure was female, especially with the heavily angled metallic mask.

"Where are the targets?" She demanded.

"Somewhere on the next deck up," Kursk said, jabbing his thumb at the ceiling.

"Can you identify them?"

"Here," Kursk said, digging out a datapad and showing Harry and Fara's profiles. "We need at least one of them alive. They're injured, they got in a scuffle with one of our people and are fairly beat up."

"I will try to locate them," the figure said, handing it back. "Once I have the command codes, I will inform your leader."

"So, you don't need help or anything?"

"You will only get in the way. I advise against doing so."

"Yeah, yeah," Kursk waved as the figure stomped away, "just don't come crying to me if you get killed," he added under his breath.

* * *

Deck 3

"Jakar, luv? I gotta say, this is the best outin' we've ever had," Sonya said. "Loads of guns, livin' on the edge, plenty of jerkoffs to blast...I'm havin' th' time'a me life!" She fired a quick burst from her phaser rifle, dropping another raider. "I could use another pack here luv!"

Jakar tossed her another charge pack while he continued pouring fire down the corridor. "I will say, they are persistent! Too many more come through here and we'll end up blocking the corridor with bodies."

He glared down the corridor, which was in terrible shape. Lights were hanging by their wires, flickering. The floor was littered with bodies and the air was choked with smoke from burned patches of the carpet. Jakar almost felt guilty about this. These troops seemed less than inexperienced. Blasting them was too easy.

"Bunch of rank amateurs," Jakar smirked.

A figure in heavier armor than he had seen so far rounded the corner. Jakar took aim and squeezed off a shot. The armor deflected the heavy stun bolt. Jakar frowned as the figure stomped forward. Something behind him hit the ground. He turned and found Sonya on the floor. There was no damage to her armor. Before he could look for a cause, a voice boomed through his head.

Sleep!

Jakar staggered. His body strained against the sudden impulse to sleep, but he couldn't hold it off. He collapsed on the deck unconscious beside Sonya.

"Disarm them and restrain them. They will only be out for a few minutes." The figure ordered the remainder of Holtz's men. She stomped away as they complied.

* * *

Bridge, U.S.S Raptor

Kursk arrived back on the bridge only to hear Kurowski hiss in a panic. "Incoming Confederation vessel off our starboard bow!"

"On screen," Holtz barked. "Raise shields and arm weapons!"

"The shields will be severely limited!" Kurowski hissed.

"Kursk! Stop standing around scratching yourself and take the weapons console," Hotlz snapped.

"Yeah yeah," the boar grunted, moving over to the console.

"Shields are up," Kurowski replied. "Theirs are not...I suggest we open fire, immediately!"

Bridge, U.S.S. Falcon

"Sir, look!" Drall shouted, pointing at the screen.

Ahead of them, in what appeared to be a clearing in the swirling mass, sat the Raptor and a larger, unknown vessel with a black star emblazoned on the hull.

"Excellent work O'mara," Rivas said triumphantly. "Ms. Rydel, if you would please."

"The Raptor has raised shields and it's weapons are coming on line!" Drall reported.

"I'm on it, sir," Jenna said, quickly working on accessing the prefix codes on the Raptor.

"Raise shields, weapons hot, and open a hailing frequency," Rivas ordered. "This is acting Captain Rivas of the Confederation starship Falcon. Pirate vessel, you will vacate this quadrant immediately and relinquish possession of the Raptor or you will be crushed."

"Prefix codes input. All the Raptor's control systems are offline!" Jenna crowed.

Just then, the Falcon shook as several volleys of plasma fire from the massive black vessel struck its shields.

"Great job, Lieutenant," Rivas smirked. "Now we just have the big ugly one to worry about! Mr. Drall, activate pursuit mode!"

* * *

"What's happening?!" Holtz demanded as more and more systems were suddenly blinked out of being.

"I don't know!" Kurowski growled astonishedly, trying to get ahead of the shutdown. He wasn't succeeding. "It must be some kinda of hardwired back door!"

"Find the override! Now!" Holtz roared, scrambling around, looking for anything to stop the cascade of consoles that were flashing "Command Lockout".

"Kursk! Do something, damn you! Other than being worthless!" Holtz roared.

Before the boar could retort, the main viewer changed from a battle between the Terror and the Falcon to a picture of Harry.

"Martinez..." Holtz growled.

"I believe you have me at a disadvantage." Harry began. "You know who I am, yet I have no clue who you are, or what your intentions are."

"My name is Holtz," the jackal snarled.

"Well, at this point, however, I really don't care," Harry continued. "All I know is that I am going to put a stop to your sorry attempt to steal my ship. You have one chance to take your men and get off my ship."

"And what are you going to do then?" Holtz scoffed. "Your friends out there just disabled the entire ship."

"Not all of it. They just hit the parts you need. I, on the other hand, have everything I need right here." Harry smirked. "Now, you're pissing me off! Get off my ship, now!"

Holtz sneered at Harry's image. "Make me!"

Harry shrugged, tapped something in a panel, and quickly put on a gas mask.

"Sweet dreams you monster," Harry said, his voice muffled by the mask.

There was a hiss as a sickly sweet smell filled the bridge. Kurowski and Kursk started coughing and staggering around. Holtz pulled a small air filtration unit from his belt and crammed it in his mouth.

"This isn't over, spine brain! Not by a long shot!" Holtz snarled.

"Then I look forward to our inevitable confrontation," Harry said coldly. "Deck 3...come find me."

Holtz scoffed as the channel closed. He hurried over to a small supply locker under ops and pried the gas mask out of it. He spit out the filter and pulled the mask on.

"See you soon," he growled at the now blank screen before fleeing the bridge.

* * *

Rivas had heard of these Black Star pirates, but had never encountered them. The Badlands were off the beaten path the Raptor normally traveled. However, for being pirates, they had impressive weaponry and the ship was no laughing matter. Despite the pounding the Falcon was dishing out, it was holding its own. Beyond solidarity, the pirates were firing back and their guns were doing an excellent job straining the Falcon's shields.

The Falcon shook as several plasma volleys struck it's hull.

"Ablative armor is at 90%," Drall reported. "Our shields aren't doing much against this stuff, wherever it is!"

"Helm! Try to improvise more! Fly more erratically so they can't target us as easily." Rivas said as a conduit popped overhead, sending sparks raining down. "Get in their personal space and for the love of god fly like you're in space! This isn't a two dimensional plane. Get above them, below them, behind them, everywhere except their flanks! Make this a dance, not a fistfight."

"Aye, Commander!" The helm officer said.

* * *

Harry knew there would only be a few places Holtz could be ambushed. He moved quickly through the corridors, passing many unconscious Cornerians who'd been caught by the gas he'd flooded the entire ship with. He was certain calling Holtz out would work. It always worked on Xox and he was pretty sure that they shared a few personality traits.

He quickly rounded the corner and stopped. There was a strong female clad in a massive, heavy suit of black armor blocking his path. It was all he could do to tell that she was female before he froze up. The female stomped towards him, her hands held up in a strange gesture. Harry tried to move out of her path, but his body just trembled in response.

"Do not resist, it is impossible to do so."

Harry took stock of what he could do, but the list was rapidly diminished to breathing. He could remember other occasions where something like this had happened.

Great, he thought, how does this kind of thing keep happening?

"You are very strong willed, but I will prevail." The armor-clad woman said, a slight strain in her voice

Harry felt something probing into his mind. Suddenly that force plunged deeper, trying to shut him down completely. Harry tried to fight it. All of this was giving him a sense of deja vu that made his gut clench.

He heard a chuckle in his mind. "Ah...so there is something you fear...something you've forgotten? Let's have a look at that."

Suddenly, the Raptor's corridors disappeared and he was somewhere else.

He was strapped to a table. The air was hot and damp. The lighting was dim, barely an eerie green hue accented by a constant throbbing. The table started to rotate upwards. He saw himself staring into a strange lattice work of mechanical structures that seemed to stretch forever, like some sort of cybernetic honeycomb. Strange red glyphs adorned the consoles. Humanoids with pale white skin covered in cybernetic augments milled about. Each had one organic eye staring deadly straight ahead. The other eye was obscured by some sort of apparatus that looked like a multispectral scanner.

Harry struggled.

"Let me go!" He screamed.

This couldn't be real, yet it all felt too solid. A strange stench of body odor and mechanical fluids choked him. The buzzing and whirring of the amalgants of flesh and technology was almost deafening. One of the onlookers attached a long probe to it's non organic arm. They approached him, the probe whirring to life.

"Get that thing away from me!" Harry hissed, pulling against his restraints.

The pale skinned humanoid, with what looked like ridges on its nose bridge, said nothing. It's organic eye was fixed on his own and it used it's less enhanced arm to push his head back.

"NO!" Harry wailed, struggling, feeling the restraints tighten and the panic started to take hold as the needle settled against the base of his neck and burrowed through his skin.

Harry screamed as he felt it pass into his skull, filling his senses with searing pain.

"Oh, this is just exquisite," a voice sighed again, as a strange feline face with large yellow eyes loomed in his peripherals. "Wait...what's...."

There was a wild scream as everything went black. Harry caught a glimpse of a creature in black armor clutching the sides of her helmet. A spanner crashed down on the helmet. She collapsed on the deck, her helmet popped off and rolled to the side.

Harry blinked, shaking, covered in cold sweat.

"Hey Skipper! Yoo hoo! Ya there?" A bizarre creature called to him, waving its hand in front of his face.

Harry blinked a few times. Suddenly he realized what he was looking at. Knackt was also wearing a gas mask as he crouched next to him, a huge spanner in one hand.

"Knackt...how did you...."

"What? The mask?" Knackt chuckled. "You need to work on the ship more. This thing is just standard PPE for me."

"I see," Harry said, still trying to regain his thoughts. The horrible images were disappearing back into the haze of memory.

"Hot damn! I think I'm in love!" Knackt gasped, looking down at the unconscious feline at their feet. The blow from the spanner had knocked her helmet off. She was unconscious, though Harry couldn't say whether it was the gas that had knocked her out or if the spanner to the head had done that.

"Mr. Algrim, you have the strangest taste in women," Harry noted, kneeling down to check her pulse. She was alive. He carefully checked her head. He couldn't see any bruising. Whoever she was, she was some sort of feline species he'd never seen before. Her fur color was a dark grey and her hair was an unnatural shade of blue, although it wasn't dyed as far as he could tell.

"Ha! Buddy, you have no idea," the rat cackled. "She's gonna be ok, right? I'm starting to feel guilty about cracking her on the head."

"She's alive," Harry assured him. "I think the helmet took most of the blow. She's some sort of telepath. I've never seen...or experienced...anything like her."

"Yeah, I saw that. She took Jakar and Jax just by walking toward them," Knackt said. "They're all snoozing now thanks to your little gas attack."

"Help me put her in here," Harry said, gesturing to the unoccupied quarters they were near.

Knackt nodded and hoisted the woman by her shoulders while Harry grabbed her feet and took her inside. They took her sidearm. Both of them tried to find a way to remove the armor as well or check for hidden weapons, but they couldn't find anything. They tied her securely to a bunk. Harry recovered a tricorder from a locker and checked whatever vitals she had. She seemed stable, though her readings were very different from what he was used to.

"Think she'll be ok here?" Knackt asked.

"I can lock out the doors. She'll be secure enough." Harry replied. "We'll worry about her later. Right now I need you to try to find a way to contact whomever is out there. They used the prefix codes and disabled the ship's weapons. Contact them and tell them that Fara is in sickbay and she needs medical attention. I put her in the Autodoc because I didn't know what else to do."

"What happened?" Knackt asked.

"One of them cut her leg open," Harry said grimly. "I'd feel better if a real doctor tended to her."

"Those dirty sons of bitches! Why I oughta!" Knackt snarled.

"I...took care of the one that did it," Harry said. "Move it! You have a job to do!"

"Sure thing," Knackt said, refocusing. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm going after the leader," Harry said, checking the plasma pistol he'd taken off their prisoner and stuffing it in his waistband at his back. "Wish me luck." He said heading for the door and exiting the quarters, "and Knackt? Leave her!"

"Just making sure she's still breathing," Knackt said defensively as he followed Harry out of the room. "Ever seen hair like that? It's blue, sir! And it isn't dye! I've never heard of anyone like her!"

"Focus," Harry sighed as he locked the door behind them.

"I'm all over it," Knackt said.

* * *

The Terror was finding that the smaller Falcon was more than a match for it. The larger ship quickly slunk off into the swirling masses of the Badlands. It could pivot well enough to follow the Falcon, but the difference in speed was clear.

Rivas smiled, relieved. The pirate's ship was a lot tougher than he had expected. Even though it was withdrawing, it didn't seem to be doing so in a hurry. Even the damages they had caused didn't seem significant. The Falcon had done her part and taken a few bad hits for her troubles. There were some injuries across all decks, but no fatalities.

"Bring us back around," Rivas ordered. "We need to get the Raptor back." He leaned back in the Captain's chair and relaxed a little.

"So, now that you've seen the Falcon in action," Rayna said smiling, "what do you think?"

"I think I might have to get one. I love this chair." Rivas smirked. "The production model is definitely a lot nicer." He seemed to pause in thought for a moment. "However, Captain, the Falcon is yours and with the Raptor fully disabled, I think she could use her captain back." He stood up and stepped aside. "Thanks for the test drive."

Rayna smiled. "Thank you, Commander." She sat in the Captain's chair again, seeming content once more. "Mr. Drall, keep an eye on those sensors. I don't want that cruiser getting the drop on us."

"Aye, sir."

He motioned for his people to gather around him.

"What next?" Remmick asked.

"The fun part," Rivas said. "We retake the ship. Head down to the armory and get geared up." He turned to Rayna-Ka. "Captain, I take it you have enough security to spare to help us retake the ship?"

"We are loaded for bear, Commander." Rayna smirked.

"Ok, so here's what we're going to do. Kai, Jenna, you will take a team and beam to Engineering and secure it. O'mara and I will go to the bridge with another team and do the same. Once we have captured those two locations, we should have it locked down. Any objections?"

No one said anything.

"Alright," Rivas nodded, "let's suit up and move out."

* * *

Harry moved as quickly as he could through the corridors. His side was hurting. Everything was hurting. The extra tension from trying to be stealthy wasn't helping much. It was just adding to the strain on his already heavily wounded body. His breathing was heavy and labored. The mask wasn't helping that either.

He rounded a corner, heard the high pitched trill of a blaster about to fire, and dove for the floor. As he did, a blaster bolt struck the bulkhead where his head had been. He quickly returned fire as Holtz dove back around the T-section.

Harry scrambled back to his feet, cursing himself for being careless.

"You aren't sounding too good down there Captain," Holtz shouted down the corridor. "I don't think you are in any condition to take me! I can hear you panting!"

"This is just another day in Starfleet," Harry rasped. "You should try it sometime! It's rather the exciting life...way better than domestic terrorism."

"Oh yes, bowing knee to the echidnas who bring peace, progress, and prosperity," Holtz growled back. "Such a wonderful thing, to trade Lylat's sovereignty for!"

Good, he's at least talking, Harry thought, although his motives may be sketchy at best.

"The Confederation is not seeking to subjugate the Lylat system! Whatever possessed you with that idea?" Harry shouted back.

"Oh, they have got you good, haven't they, Captain?" Holtz chuckled. "Not that long ago, you yourself instead of Starfleet Command issued a referendum to the Cornerian Administratum to either conform to the standards set upon them or face dissolution. You can imagine that some took offence to that!"

"You want your own people to continue to starve and suffer and decay, without basic improvements to their quality of life?" Harry called back, quickly glancing down the corridor and pulling back.

"Suffering is an everyday occurrence that every generation experiences in Lylat." Holtz said matter of factly. "What you fail to see is that there are colony worlds that will fall under your Confederations jurisdiction by that action. Many of them were happy with how things were being run. Now, however, they have a problem."

Colonies? Harry thought. He was aware of other nearby worlds in the Lylat's local group, but he wasn't aware that there had been expansions.

"Your lack of response speaks volumes to your ignorance, Captain," Holtz chuckled.

"I don't understand," Harry admitted. "Enlighten me."

"Tsk, tsk!" Holtz scolded, pulling a plasma grenade from his belt. "We are far beyond the point of enlightenment, my dear captain."

He quickly stepped around and tossed the explosive towards the wall opposite of Harry.

Harry's eyes went wide as the grenade bounced off the bulkhead toward him. He sprinted down the corridor, away from it as fast as he could, before it detonated. He was caught in the edge of the blast as it was funneled down the corridor. The energy slammed him into the bulkhead at the end of the opposite corridor. He felt a rib pop, as well as his bad shoulder. There were burns all over him and he could smell hair, fur, and flesh burning. The Raptor's fire suppression systems activated, putting out the flames on the carpeting and walls.

Harry was still alive. Based on the menagerie of pain he was experiencing, he was certain of that. He coughed, tried to get to his feet, but his legs refused to work. He coughed up some blood and tried to keep moving, dragging himself away slowly, but falling to his knees.

"Well, well," Hotlz said, taunting him, slowly approaching, his weapon drawn. "You echidnas are tough bastards, I'll give you that! Look at you! Half burnt, spitting up blood, and still wriggling along."

Harry winced and dropped to all fours. The pain was overwhelming. Now it was hard to even maintain consciousness.

"I told you, you would regret not being cooperative," Holtz said, aiming the blaster. "Especially now that your usefulness is at an end."

Harry forced himself to a sitting position, panting, glaring defiantly at his assailant.

"Any last words?" Holtz sneered.

At the edge of his fading vision, Harry spotted something. It was someone in combat armor. He thought he saw Rivas' face through the visor, approaching with two other armed security officers.

Harry grinned, failing to laugh before choking out, "Behind you."

Holtz sneered, unamused, and started to squeeze the trigger when it finally registered. It was too late as he tried to turn. A heavy stun bolt struck him and he collapsed, unconscious, at Harry's feet.

Rivas ran up to him as the security officers restrained the unconscious jackal. He pulled Harry's mask off then took off his helmet.

"O'mara has vented the gas from the bridge," the wolf said, "so breathe!"

Harry tried but his cracked rib wasn't letting him breathe very deep.

"Fara..." he gasped, "sickbay...."

"We know. Knackt got a hold of us. If I may, sir? You look like shit."

Harry just grinned as Rivas called for a medical technician.

* * *

Brig, U.S.S. Raptor, Later

Rivas and Jakar looked into the cell where the feline was being tended to by doctors. She was still unconscious.

"So, in all that experience of yours, have you ever seen anyone like her?" Rivas asked.

"I think she's a member of the Alderi," Jakar grunted. "They are rumored to have strange, psionic abilities. I've never seen one in person though...few people have."

"And you said she just knocked you and Sonya out?" Rivas asked, fascinated.

Jakar nodded.

"She tried to pull the same thing on Harry, but something happened," Rivas mused. "He's not sure what she did to him, but he said she got in his head and made him experience things he didn't really want to."

"What will we do with her?" Jakar asked.

"Well, technically, it's Harry's call," said Rivas. "With her being out, we can't really prosecute her. She is a member of the Black Stars, so I'm sure we can do something based on that."

"I'm not sure reviving her would be wise," Jakar grunted.

They both heard amused mirthful laughter behind them.

"What do you think is so damn funny?" Rivas snapped at Holtz, who was standing in his cell with his hands behind his back.

"The two of you are hilarious," Holtz sneered. "You think that this is over, all wrapped up, all neat and tidy."

"Big talk, for a dog in a pen," Rivas replied. "You better be getting ready to serve some hard time in a penal labor colony for the shit you've pulled."

Holtz threw his head back and laughed. "Oh no! Make it stop! I'm trembling in fear! Tell me what time, is it?"

"It's 15:00," Jakar grunted.

"Excellent," Holtz grinned.

Rivas and Jakar exchanged glances. The deck suddenly pitched as weapons fire struck the Raptor.

Outside, a heavily modified Salvadora Class Battle Cruiser emerged from the murk of the Badlands, firing a disruptor shot at both the Raptor and the Falcon. Both ships were caught unawares. All across both ships, systems crashed as consoles went dark.

Holtz grinned, maintaining his footing as the vessel shook and the power failed on the forcefield to his cell.

"It's been a pleasure, gentlemen," he grinned as Rivas and Jakar tried to get back to their feet. "Tell your superiors that you were beaten by the better man! Tell them that we are RISE! We will never bend knee to your Confederation! Farewell!"

He cackled as he suddenly beamed away.

"Damnit!" Rivas barked as the jackal disappeared. "Bridge! Stop that ship!"

"We can't, Commander!" O'mara replied. "Our main systems are offline! That disruptor pulse really messed us up!"

"What about the Falcon? Can they pursue?" Rivas said, frustrated.

"Negative! From what we can tell they're just as messed up as we are," O'mara replied.

"What about the other prisoners?" Rivas asked, exasperated. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the unconscious Alderi had been left behind.

"Looks like they got away with them too. I'm sorry Don," O'mara replied. "There's only so much we can do at the moment."

"I understand. It's not your fault. Rivas out."

"I'll head to the bridge," Jakar said.

* * *

Sometime Later

"So, they got away," Harry muttered disappointedly, his voice weary. It was late in the evening and he'd just been patched back together by the Falcon's Chief Medical Officer.

"I'm sorry sir, they got the drop on us. I take full responsibility," Rivas said.

"Forget about it. You saved us and the Raptor," Harry said. "Well done."

Rivas nodded. "We're heading back for Starbase 186 at best speed. I just wanted to fill you in on what happened while you were under. We still have the telepath. Apparently they didn't have a way to lock onto her, or they just didn't care."

"What about Kyle and Rosa? Please tell me you found them," Harry said.

"We did and they are fine. Both have returned to duty aboard the Raptor and are helping get it home."

"Then everything is in the best order as it can be, Commander. I'm going to turn in," Harry said, signalling for the nurse to take him back to the recovery area Fara was in. "I'm sure, though, this isn't the last we've seen of Holtz or this RISE he spoke of. What does that name stand for?"

"Republic of Independent Star Emirates," Rivas replied. "They were obnoxious enough to transmit a list of demands, their intentions, and their grievances with us. I've reviewed what I can and, to be honest with you, sir? I think we have a lot of trouble ahead of us."

Harry sighed. This was more than he wanted to deal with at the moment.

"I'll look it over when I return to duty," he sighed.

"Understood," Rivas said with a nod. "Sleep well, sir."

Harry nodded and got up off the med bed. The nurse helped him to the recovery ward.

"Hey there!" Fara said weakly as Harry was helped into the biobed beside her's. "You've looked better."

Harry grinned. He was really sore and his body was protesting all that had been done to it, including the derma-grafts and internal surgeries that had been worked on him.

"I probably look how you feel," he noted.

Fara smiled and nodded. "I could paint those burnt spots to match your fur color. No one will notice the scars."

Harry chuckled. "I appreciate the offer, but I'll leave it to the doctors. If I were a ship I'd take you up on that. I'm glad to see you are awake."

She yawned hugely, her tongue rolling. "Not for long. I heard you and Rivas talking. What's goin' on out there?"

"Apparently, when we were being tended to, Holtz and his ilk managed to get away. There was another ship waiting for them. It disabled the Raptor and Falcon long enough to beam their people onboard and make a break for it."

"Wonderful. I'm sure that's probably going to come back to bite us," Fara groaned.

"Probably," Harry sighed. "We're going to have to tighten security."

"Let Jakar handle it," Fara waved tiredly.

Harry nodded, leaning his head back on the pillow. "I suppose so."

"Next time we hang out," Fara said, "I get to pick the venue...something quieter, yeah?"

"Sure."

It was quiet for a moment.

"Hell of a date wasn't it?" Fara yawned.

"Yeah...it was," Harry nodded, feeling sleep creep up on him. The soft lighting of the sickbay was fatiguing. "It really was."

* * *

Bridge, U.S.S Raptor

"Welcome back, sir," O'mara said as Rivas entered the bridge. "How're Fara and the Captain?"

"They're both as well as they can be, all things considered," Rivas replied, climbing into the Captain's chair. "Knackt? Are we good to get out of here?"

"As well as we can be, Commander. Engines are good, the main computer is still a bit sluggish, but Jenna and Kai are working on it." Knackt said from the Engineering station.

"What about weapons?"

"The cloaking device is operable," Jakar reported, "but our weapons are offline for the moment. I may be able to get them back up while we're underway."

"The Falcon is going to escort us back to Starbase. I don't think it'll be a problem." Rivas said reassuringly. "Ensign Rosa, would you signal the Falcon that we are ready to get under way?"

Rosa was seated at his old position at Ops. "Gladly, sir."

"Mr. Kyle, please tell me the navigational systems still work?" Rivas called.

"That they do indeed, sir! Course plotted and laid in," Kyle said, turning in his chair and smiling.

"Then by all means," Rivas smiled as he relaxed in his seat, "take us home."

The End