Star Trek:
13.
Movements of the Unseen Hand
by Charles Hackney
It was at this point that I took a more active role.
Arthur was sitting at Quark�s with Nagato and Saavik, watching security drag away the Bajorans who had caused the chaotic diversion. The entire station populace, including the perpetrators, stopped dead as Mar�s voice began booming from every comm unit (including official personnel�s comm badges, which was quite disconcerting). Afterward, as if someone had paused the station and had now pressed the �play� button, the people resumed their activities.
Arthur was turning toward Gerard to ask a question when I did it. I reached into his brain and touched his basal forebrain region, sending him deep into a coma. In that state (I had to get his attention, you understand), I appeared to him in what you would call a vision.
Arthur found himself sitting on the couch in his old apartment back in the 21st century. The rest of the furniture was gone, and the walls were bared of all decorations. He turned in his seat to face the door as I entered. I manifested in the form of a Human male (immaculately dressed and coiffed, of course), and approached Arthur, who wore a confused expression as he sat.
I stood, facing Arthur. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but I raised a finger and he was unable to speak.
�You have to listen carefully,� I told him. �The man who captured the Juggernaut is far more than a simple villain. He is the puppet of a powerful demon who works to disrupt the Divine Plan. It is your task to stand against this creature and bring about his downfall. Do not fear for yourself, for I will be with you protecting you. But you have to hurry, Arthur. Fail and billions will die.
�I know you need assurances, so accept this sign: When you wake, the first person you see will not be the doctor or your friend Gerard; but will be the shapeshifter, asking about the possibility of telepathic assault. When you see and hear this, you will know I speak the truth, and that this dream is from God.
�Awaken.�
Arthur slowly came out of his coma. He could hear snatches of conversation:
��Doctor?�
��can�t� impossible��
��unknown agent��
His eyes flickered open, and he could hear Gerard�s voice saying �Look! He�s coming out of it!�
Arthur�s vision cleared, and he was looking up at Odo, who was talking over Arthur to Doctor Bashir. Odo spoke: �Have there been any Lethians sighted on the station? Perhaps this was some sort of telepathic assault."
Arthur sat bolt upright, smashing Dr. Bashir�s nose as he was leaning over Arthur. Blood spurted from Bashir�s nose, and he scuttled away to grab a dermal regenerator. Arthur grabbed Odo by the shoulders. Odo�s shock was considerable.
�Telepathic assault? Is that what you just said?�
�Y� yes. It� was.�
Arthur leapt from the biobed. Several of Dr. Bashir�s staff tried to restrain him, but he shook them off and sprinted toward the door. He grabbed Nagato by the arm and dragged him along, yelling �Come on, Gerard!�
As Arthur ran down the hall, Gerard hurried to keep up. Gerard protested, �Arthur! You�ve got to go back!� Arthur grabbed him and pushed him up against the bulkhead. He said �Gerard, I need a ship.�
�What?�
�I have to catch the Juggernaut!�
�Are you insane? Yes, you are insane. Sane people do not chase after killer warships!�
�Sane people also don�t take on six hundred Philistine warriors with only an oxgoad for a weapon. I thought you were going to start reading the Bible, Gerard. It�s filled with people who do insane things.
�I had a vision just now, Gerard. God wants me to stop Mar Teshem, and he�s given me the spiritual backing to do it. Get me a ship, Gerard. Better yet, get us a ship, since I don�t know how to fly one.�
Nagato�s face was a mass of confusion. �But Arthur, we can�t just� regulations forbid� without permission, I mean.�
Arthur pushed harder against Nagato. �Come on, Gerard! I get a direct command from God and you�re worried about Captain Sisko?� Arthur and Gerard were now eye to eye. �If you have any amount of faith, Gerard, you�ll do this. Now, come on; we�ve got work to do.�
Stone returned to the command deck, clad in a borrowed DS9 uniform. He touched the chime outside Sisko�s office, and heard the Captain�s voice say �Come.� Stone entered, and asked Sisko if there was any news.
�Nothing yet,� Sisko replied. �I�ve notified Starfleet about the situation. They�re sending the Charger, the Enterprise, and the Prometheus to assist us, but they won�t be here before Mar Teshem�s deadline. I�ve also notified Cardassia Prime. I warned them that a vengeful Bajoran had seized control of a prototype warship and was on the way for retribution. They didn�t take it well.� Stone hmphed.
Suddenly, Major Kira�s voice came over Sisko�s comm badge: �Sir, I think you�d better get out here.�
Sisko and Stone strode purposefully out of Sisko�s office. �What is it, Major?� asked Sisko.
�There�s an unauthorized launch of a runabout from landing platform one, sir; and it�s not responding to my hails.�
�Open a channel.� Sisko assumed a more commanding posture, and spoke out in a firm tone: �Unauthorized runabout, this is Captain Sisko. I order you to come about and return to base immediately. Respond.�
Almost immediately, Arthur�s face appeared on the viewscreen. He was riding shotgun in the cockpit of a runabout, with Nagato at the helm. �Captain Sisko, this is Arthur David in runabout Jordan. Appropriate name for the ship, sir, if I may say so, considering my mission. I�m really sorry for the breach in regulations, sir, but I have instructions from someone a bit above you in seniority.�
Sisko took a beat to come to grips with that statement. �What the hell are you talking about, Mr. David? On whose orders are you stealing my runabout?�
Arthur�s face twisted in a slight lopsided grin, and his voice took on a sharp Chicago accent: �We�re on a mission from God.�
The transmission ended. O�Brien spoke from his console: �Runabout out of tractor beam range. Going to warp.�
Sisko was dumbfounded. Stone turned toward him: �I told you so. I told you letting that fanatic loose was a mistake. Now he�s brainwashed my crewman to shanghai your craft and they�re going to get themselves killed!�
Sisko turned to Kira. �Major, take three security officers and retrieve that runabout!� Kira nodded and left ops.
Stone faced Sisko. Neither spoke.
In a terrible way, it was almost beautiful. Like a dance.
The Cardassian fleet, warned by Captain Sisko, moved to intercept the Juggernaut. Having scanned the monster, they were taking no chances, throwing everything they had against it. As the first trio of galor-class warships approached the rogue Federation behemoth, the Juggernaut�s two Intrepid-class vessels, Manticore and Gryphon, separated from the main hull and gracefully swung into position at each flank. Three petite craft exited Juggernaut�s docking bay. These were the new arrowhead-class fighters. Arrowheads were designed for one purpose, and one alone. They were heavily armored and shielded in front, with the noses tapering to a point like their namesakes. The points of the arrowheads were composed of neutronium, the strongest substance known to Federation science. The armor and shielding on these new craft were so intense and powerful that the fighters could crash right through the hull of another vessel, passing through to exit the other side. This was their purpose; to kamikaze enemy vessels like massive torpedoes, punching through again and again until the punctured ships were destroyed. This, of course, was why the fighters were automated rather than piloted.
The Cardassian ships hesitated at the sight of the three large ships facing them, but ignored the fighters. They only had to hold the interloper back for a few minutes until reinforcements arrived. Juggernaut began by lashing out with a full spread of photon torpedoes, seriously weakening the Cardassian shields. The arrowheads then moved in to finish the job. Each fighter selected an enemy vessel and charged it. One of the arrowheads was demolished as it crashed into the Cardassian shields, but the other two accomplished their task, piercing the alien ships broadside like bullets through fish (Think about the image. It makes sense.). The two Cardassian vessels buckled, crippled by the attack. The third reeled from the impact, but recovered and began firing disrupters at the remaining arrowheads. The fighters were light and agile, though, and evaded the blasts as they swung around for a second pass.
The larger craft maintained stations for the moment, letting the arrowheads do their work. The two Intrepids, however, fired some phaser bursts at the undamaged galor, causing it to lurch as it tried to cope with being outnumbered. The two fighters again penetrated the wounded Cardassian ships. One of them didn�t make it out, but was destroyed as the warship exploded in a spectacular eruption of antimatter flame. The shock wave shook the other two ships, and it was too much for the crippled ship. It, too, spasmed as explosions ripped it apart from the inside out. The third galor turned and tried to run. No such luck. The Juggernaut leisurely aimed and fired the Borg cutting beam, severing the Cardassian ship�s drive section. Helpless, the last ship could only wait for the end, which came swiftly as the remaining arrowhead drove straight into the nose of the vessel, exiting through the rear. Gutted, the third galor drifted in space. Dead.
The last arrowhead fighter returned to the Juggernaut, entering the hanger bay. It was badly damaged from the battle, and it would not be repaired anytime soon. There were no automatic repair systems on Juggernaut, and there was only a crew of one this time out. Mar Teshem, grinning, felt like a puppeteer as he controlled the vessels in their stellar dance. With a thought, the three vessels slowly proceeded to face the rest of the Cardassian fleet. Mar had no doubt that he could take out the entire fleet. He was probably right.
On the Jordan, Arthur intently watched the viewscreen, watching the stars go past as they slowly neared their target. He was speaking to Gerard, intensity in his voice, recounting numerous times when the people of God had fought for lost causes in hopeless battles.
�And then there was the time that Gideon was going to face the army of Midian. He got thirty-two thousand men, and God said to him that he had too many! By the time God was through winnowing out the army, poor old Gid had only three hundred troops with him to face an army of over one hundred thousand! So they snuck up to the enemy camp at night��
The narrative was interrupted by a voice coming over the comm system: �This is Major Kira Nerys aboard the runabout Rio Grande. We have you on our sensors, Jordan. Turn around and surrender the property which you have stolen.�
Nagato swallowed hard. �Rio Grande, this is Ensign Gerard Nagato aboard the Jordan. I�m sorry, Major. We have to go stop Mar Teshem. By the time you catch up with us, we will have already overtaken the Juggernaut, so there�s not much you can do.�
�Ensign, turn around and return to DS9. That is an order.� You could cut steel with the Major�s voice.
Nagato hardened himself and squared his shoulders. �No.�
�Ensign, are you violating a direct order?�
�Yes, ma�am, I am. I�m sorry, but stopping the Juggernaut is more important than orders. The lives of billions of Cardassians and Bajorans are at stake, to say nothing of the lives lost when the Federation tries to take Juggernaut back by force.�
�Nagato�� Kira�s voice softened. �Gerard, think reasonably. How can two men in a runabout hope to do anything at all to a ship with the size and power of the Juggernaut? You�ll both be killed.�
Nagato hesitated. �I� I know that, Major. It doesn�t matter. Major, are you a believer? In� in the Prophets, that is?�
There was pause. �Yes, I am. What does that have to do��
�If� If the Prophets ordered you to do something, and Sisko ordered you to stop, which would you do?�
Another pause. �I don�t know, Gerard. I guess� I guess it would depend on the situation.� This time it was Kira who was beginning to feel unsure.
Gerard, on the other hand, was getting bolder. �Well, I do know, Major. I believe in the same God Arthur believes in, now. That God has ordered us to take Mar on and defeat him. I can�t turn back. I�m sorry if you don�t understand��
�I guess� I do understand a bit, Ensign. You�re right, I can�t stop you. I only hope� Don�t get yourselves killed, Nagato.�
�I�ll try. Jordan out.� Gerard terminated the comm link, and sat back with a thoughtful look on his face. Arthur leaned over and smiled at him. �Good job, kid. That took guts. Whether we live or not, they�ll write songs about what we do today, and the evil behind Mar Teshem will be destroyed.�
As the Jordan streaked through warp space toward the Juggernaut, Arthur softly began humming �Onward Christian Soldiers.�
It was slaughter.
The Cardassians were throwing every ship they had at the Juggernaut, and were coming up empty. Crippled or destroyed vessels lay scattered like jackstraws, hanging in space as the Juggernaut and its constituent vessels glided past with minimal damage. If the entire fleet had massed beforehand and attacked as one, they would have had a chance, but Cardassia allows excessive individuality when it comes to the strategy of its command-rank officers. The ships attacked, not as a unit, but as a collection of individual ships. That was their undoing, and they paid dearly for it. The remaining ships, those not too badly damaged to continue the fight, were closing on Juggernaut as the Jordan reached the war zone. The commanders of the Cardassian ships had happened upon the strategy that seemed to be working against Mar Teshem. They attacked without order or pattern, swooping around in acrobatic maneuvers for which heavy warships were never designed. The Guls who commanded them were showing remarkable ingenuity, but they were merely prolonging the inevitable. Teshem simply could not deal with this kind of chaotic attack, but instead was systematically picking the ships off one by one, ignoring the others despite the weakening of the Juggernaut�s shields. Given time, they would all be dead.
Arthur and Gerard did not intend to give him that time. They closed on the beast, cautiously approaching. Arthur opened a channel to the Juggernaut. He said to Gerard, �Watch this.� He addressed the comm unit: �Juggernaut, this is Arthur David. Please respond.�
Aboard the ship, Mar Teshem heard the incoming message. For a reason neither he nor Thornn understood, Teshem felt a twinge of� fear. He replied: �I do not know you, Arthur David, but you sound like a human. What�s the matter, come to tell me to shut up and obey; that you�ll take care of things, if I�ll just roll over and surrender; that you know what�s best for me and my planet and I should be thankful for your �guidance�?�
Arthur�s voice came back: �No. I�ve come to stop you from killing the Cardassians. Please beam me over.�
�The Cardassians? I am going to kill more than just the Cardassians! When I get back to Bajor, I�m going to destroy any non-Bajorans left on DS9, and then I will turn the weapons of this vessel against the wormhole. The so-called Prophets will at last feel the agony they�ve brought on the Bajorans as their precious �Celestial temple� burns down around their ears!
�I will not negotiate with you. I will not beam you over. Go back to your masters and tell them that I will kill their next errand boy.�
�I�m not here to negotiate, Teshem. I know what power is supporting you, and I know it to be a low and degenerate power destined to be crushed by the God who sent me. In the name of Jesus and by the power of His blood and His Spirit, BEAM ME OVER!�
Teshem�s hands moved against his volition. Despite his growing fear and Thornn�s desperate attempts to regain control over his body, he lowered the Juggernaut�s shields for the briefest of instants, beaming Arthur directly to the bridge of the mammoth ship, and sustaining a few disrupter shots from the surrounding Cardassians before he got the shields up again.
Arthur materialized in front of Mar Teshem, facing the viewscreen. He could see the carnage being wrought by the combined might of the three vessels against the Cardassian fleet. One Intrepid-class ship, Manticore, was crippled and listing. Scorch marks and shredded hull plating showed where a Cardassian torpedo had broken through the shields and hit home. Gryphon was still fully functional, though, and continued its attacks as the cutting beam from the Juggernaut sliced through Cardassian ships again and again. The one remaining arrowhead fighter had taken damage and was now useless. Like a swarm of hornets, the Juggernaut�s twenty standard fighters were engaged mostly in harassing the Cardassian ships to distract them while Juggernaut and Gryphon disabled or destroyed them. Hundreds of Cardassian crewmen were dying every minute.
Arthur turned to face Mar Teshem. His face burned with anger.
I faced Thornn.
