2 Season 8 Page

Title: "A Small Breakthrough"
Author: Lieutenant Garek Loran
Stardate: 2460016-60019
EarthDate: January 6-7, 2360
Location: USS Virgo

January 6, 1999

Benton walked over to where Spot's cage was sitting on the floor to check if Spot was okay. He froze. Spot was gone!

"Oh dear..."

Well, there was no use looking, Spot was quite good at eluding search parties. And there was no use calling Spot's name in hopes that Spot would return, Tribbles didn't have ears. If Spot wanted to wander off like that, that was his own business. He'd be back as soon as his craving for jelly doughnuts became too overpowering. Benton just hoped he didn't cause any alarm amongst the rest of the crew if he popped up in unexpected places. Based on the way Spot was welcomed a few hours ago, Benton had his misgivings, but Spot could take care of himself. He *was* half Glommer, after all.
___________________________________

January 7, 1999

It was cold. Damn cold. The place: Siberia. Garek was dressed in winter survival gear. His snow pants and parka were snow white. The perfect camouflage out here. He re-did his gloves and then checked his goggles again. Garek reached into his parka and took out the chief weapon of most MI Six agents. His Walter PPK.

Their was a a full clip loaded in the gun. He had two extra on his belt. *This is it. Time to make my move.* Garek got up and snuck in towards the radar facility. His mission: disable the radar dish, which is transmitting a signal to an orbital satellite containing a nuclear weapon. If detonated, this weapon would reign an electromagnetic pulse all over the countryside disabling all electric equipment within a 250 mile radius.

He ran forward up to the door. He looked through a small window and saw two guards. Garek took out the PPK and attached a silencer. He looked down the outside wall of the building and saw a ladder. Garek began climbing. As he reached the top, he saw what he was looking for. A maintenance hatch that led to a nearby staircase.

Garek descended the staircase. He leaned up against the wall and peered around the corner. There were the two guards he saw through the window. He turned and fired. Garek scored a clean hit in one of the guard's torsos. He dropped to the floor. Shooting again, he shot the second guard in the knee, then in the chest. He dropped to the floor.

Garek moved swiftly, picking up the soldiers' weapons. An AK-47. One of the world's most powerful weapons (for the 20th century at least). He took the clips that the other soldier was carrying and stored them in a jacket pocket. He loaded the assault rifle and headed up the stairs once again.

He finally came across the door to the control room. It was locked by an electronic key panel. Garek reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device. The device fit into the the key card slot easily. It then began cycling through the different number combinations on the key pad. Finally, it scrolled down to the digits, and the door unlocked.

Garek kicked the door open and waited for gunfire. There was none. He proceeded in slowly. The room was empty. It seemed easy. A little too easy. He moved in a little bit more, then the gunfire started.

He ducked behind a control panel. It was an automated gun turret. Two ceiling mounted machine gun turrets. Exactly what he needed. Reaching onto his belt, he pulled out a "sticky" bomb. It was simply a magnetic bomb that he could arm for a set amount of time, throw it against a wall, and it would stick there.

He set the timer for 10 seconds. Garek then pressed the arming button, and the counter counted down. Ten...nine... He threw the sticky grenade, and it hit the turret. He counted mentally.

*Five...four...three...two...one...* There was a horrendous boom. The ceiling mounted gun turret exploded. He peered back up, and all that was left was a piece of smoking, twisted metal. *Excellent.*

Garek rose quickly and ran over to the main computer terminal. He powered down the satellite dish. Then, he took out a package of C4 explosives. Garek attached the explosives to the back of the console. Attaching a timing device to the explosives, he set them for two minutes. He then started the timer and ran out of the building.

Garek took up position behind a snow bank. "Three...two...one..." The satellite dish blew up in a cloud of thick, black smoke. A ball of orange flame shot up from the control room. The building then started to collapse upon itself. The dish fell in through the building, smashing into the ground. "Now, to get out of here."

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the plans that were made out. He was to locate the runway that was near the facility, and steal one of the small transport planes that are in use. Then, what Garek had feared the most, happened.

*Damn! Stupid two-hour time limit.* "Computer, save program Loran Bond Three."

<Program saved. Program time expired.> The holodeck reverted back to it's familiar black and yellow grid. The temperature changed from a frigid 13 degrees Fahrenheit to a balmy 70. Garek took off the parka and slung it over his shoulder. He figured it was for the best, since he had some work to be doing. The giant holodeck doors in front of him opened, and he exited.
___________________________________

The *Lambda Flier* sat in Shuttle Bay Two. Scorch marks gave her hull a sense of character. They didn't, however, work well with the white Federation paint. They would have to be removed, along with multiple shield projector modules. Without wasting any time, he went to work. The first bit of work today was the life support air filtration systems, the phaser cannons, and the cloaking device. Tomorrow, or possibly tonight, the sensor suite.

Garek entered the command code, opening the main access hatch. He walked in, seeing a blown out engineering panel, and an access panel blown out of the wall. *Figures,* he thought. *At least the warp core is intact.* He walked over to the blown out panel and opened up his engineering kit. The main problem that he could see was a fried ODN network module. This module was similar to the ones in Engineering. Garek, tapping his com badge, said, "Ensign Ek'Ra, please have one ODN module brought to Shuttle Bay Two. I'll be needing it."

[Sure thing, Lieutenant. I'll have Crewman Phanan bring it down in a moment.]

"Thanks, Ek'Ra. Loran out." *One problem solved...* Garek looked at a PADD containing damaged elements of the craft. *...another 23 to go.*
___________________________________

"So, what was it like down there?" K'Lara walked with her arm in that of Commander Lataro's. They were walking towards the Mess Hall to have some lunch with each other.

"Actually, it all wasn't that bad, considering..."

"Considering what?" She looked into his eyes.

"Well, considering the fact that I wasn't killed, and I taught a people to stand up for themselves as a whole." Lataro smiled at her.

"Well, I guess you're right then." She rested her head on his shoulder. "So, you just have to tell me more about Nalia."

"Why? Are you jealous?" He grinned playfully at her.

K'Lara shot him a playful evil stare, and they continued down the hallway.
___________________________________

Lieutenent Benton was readily adjusting to his new life on the *Virgo*. Spot was "sitting" on his bed, eating the remainder of his breakfast. A quarter of a bagel and some links of sausage. "Now, be sure to behave yourself when I'm not here. The last thing I need is you making anymore trouble. I'm lucky Jenara found you before you managed to make your way to the Mess Hall."

The small creature stirred, appearing to be annoyed by that comment.

Benton smiled and pet the creature. He then started to make his way to Shuttle Bay One, where he was to meet Lt. Loran.
___________________________________

"Dammit! Already?" Garek sighed. He had just finished work on a damaged ODN network and Engineering display. He didn't, however, want to be late for his meeting with Benton. Garek had been itching to see the transwarp shuttle, but just hadn't found the time to do so. Garek closed up the engineering kit and then exited the *Lambda Flier*. He tapped a panel locking the fighter and left Shuttle Bay Two on his way to Shuttle Bay One.

Arriving in the main Shuttle Bay, he saw Lieutenant Benton already standing next to the shuttle. "Ah, Lieutenent Loran. Glad you could make it. I know you're a very busy person."

"To say the least," Garek replied. He looked over the shuttle. It appeared normal except for some noticeable "bulges" on the rear of the warp nacelles and a large deflector dish. He also noticed what appeared to be some panels that probably opened during flight for something. "So, let's open this thing up." Garek followed Benton around to the back of the shuttle. Benton opened the rear panel, and both men stepped in.

Benton stepped forward into the cockpit and powered up the panels. "I'm rerouting engineering controls to your panels now."

Garek sat down in the starboard seat and looked over the panels. The main display showed a diagram of the transwarp drive. From what Garek could gather, the transwarp drive was powered by an enhanced dilithium crystal matrix. Nearly that of trilithium. The neural gel pack ODN network was replaced with some type of network that he had never seen before. It seemed to be make up of a mix of reprogrammed Borg nanoprobes floating in electrically charged neural gel. He'd have to talk with Dr. Dana about this.

"Very impressive," Garek said as he looked over the schematics. "The warp nacelles don't appear to be made of duranium."

"Because they're not," Benton offered. He watched as Garek gave him a confused look. "Duranium wouldn't be able to stand up to the pressure of transwarp flight. They're a mixture of a highly tempered ablative armored duranium and triadium."

"Triadium?" Garek asked. He had never heard of such a material before.

"Triadium is an enhanced version of duranium. We found it in debris of Borg ships and found that it withstood the pressures of transwarp flight. However, we haven't been able to find any of this metal in the Alpha Quadrant. The Romulans won't grant us permission to look for it in their portion of the Beta Quadrant, and we can't go deep into the Gamma Quadrant for obvious reasons with the Dominion."

"I'm wondering..." Garek trailed off.

"Pardon me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. We have captured a Kirusan vessel. It's sitting in one of our cargo bays. It contained a type of metal that I wasn't able to identify. Perhaps this is the metal we need."

"It's a good possibility. We haven't searched the Gamma Quadrant as I've said before. I'd be glad to help if you need anything."

"I might just take you up on that. Thanks a lot." Benson nodded and headed out of the shuttle, leaving Garek alone with his thoughts.

Title: "Two Wrong Feet"
Author: Lieutenant Benton
Stardate: 2460022
Earthdate: January 8, 2360
Location: USS Virgo

The last two days had been busy. Benton had met with the Captain and the First Officer upon his arrival, he had settled in his assigned cabin, met with the ship's Chief Engineer regarding the transwarp shuttle, and met a nice member of the ship's science team, Lt. Tomme, when she had returned the errant Spot to him.

Lt. Tomme had wanted to stay a while and talk, to which Benton had agreed. It would be necessary to get to know the other crewmembers if he wanted to be an effective officer, and Lt. Tomme seemed eager to be
on friendly terms with him. After a while though, Benton began to suspect that Lt. Tomme, or "Jenara", as she *insisted* he call her, had an ulterior motive for being in his cabin, although he couldn't imagine what she could want.

Any Human observer would instantly have noticed that Jenara was attracted to Benton. The way she complimented little things about him, the way she sat near him and seductively tossed her hair now and then.
The way she was getting more and more frustrated that nothing seemed to be working on Benton. He simply answered her questions in a polite manner. Benton wasn't nearly versed enough in Human customs and
inter-gender relationships to figure these things out for himself. In his opinion, little of it had any practical value.

Eventually, Jenara sighed, and excused herself in a disappointed voice, "Well, Benton. It's getting late. I have to go." She stood to leave.

"Very well, Jenara. Thank you for this little chat. It was a pleasure to meet you," replied Benton as he stood and walked her to the door.

The door slid open and Jenara stepped out into the corridor. She turned around and started to say something, but thought better of it. Instead, she gave Benton a small wave and smile, and walked away.

*What a strange guy. You'd think he was a robot or something,* she thought sullenly. *But a cute one!* That thought perked her up.

Back in his quarters, Benton mused over his encounter with Jenara, Lt. Tomme. He was not quite sure what had happened. *I wonder if that could be considered 'Starting off on the wrong foot.'* He believed that was the correct expression.

He walked over to Spot's cage and tossed in the last jelly doughnut. *Better stock up,* he thought.
________________________________

But that was yesterday. Today, it was on to the next order of business: meeting his Assistant Security Officer.

He mumbled quietly to himself as he consulted the duty roster displayed on the computer terminal on his desk, "Assistant Security...Ensign Sitto Lan...Bajoran." At that he stopped and thought out loud, "There sure a lot of Bajorans on this ship."

Misinterpreting Benton, the computer said in it's disinterested voice, "Unknown direction. Please re-state command."

"Disregard, Computer." Benton hit the "Cancel" button and continued reading Sitto's file. Finally, he sat back and after a moment said, "Well, I think it's time to set up a meeting between the two of us." Addressing his next remark to the terminal, Benton asked, "Computer, where is Ensign Lan?"

He waited, but there was no reply.

"Computer?"

Still nothing. Had he hurt the computer's feelings? No, of course not. What a ridiculous concept. He toyed with the idea of restarting the terminal to see if that would correct the malfunction, but then he remembered. He felt a little foolish as he tapped the "Continue" button in the lower corner of the screen. Then he tried again, "Computer, where is Ensign Lan?"

This time he got an answer. <Ensign Sitto Lan is currently in the Mess Hall.>

*Odd,* thought Benton. *What is Ensign Lan doing in the mess hall during his duty shift? I better go check this out.* He switched off the computer terminal and headed for the mess hall.

As soon as Benton stepped through the mess hall doors, he knew something was wrong. A small crowd was gathered at the back of the hall near the bar. At the center of everyone's attention were a crewman with a bloody nose and a small, young woman in a science uniform who was currently being restrained by Ensign Lan. He was having a surprisingly hard time holding on to her as she fought to wrench free from his grasp and get at her victim.

"Let go of me, Sitto!" she yelled. "I told this loser that I'd knock his block off if he didn't leave me alone, and that's what I'm gonna do!"

"Just calm down, Franny. Nobody's going to doing any block-knocking on my shift," answered Sitto as he tried to get a better grip.

Benton quickly made his way over to the crowd and pushed through into the center of the action. He had heard enough. Obviously, the young lady had been antagonized into this violent course of action, but this
sort of behavior was unacceptable on a Federation starship. A quick and non-violent resolution was needed here, he meant to help Ensign Lan achieve it.

He tried to use a reasonable tone of voice as he addressed the combatants. "Excuse me, everyone. Don't you think it would be better if we all just sat down and talked this problem out? I'm sure we can come to a peacefu..."

But Benton never got to finish that sentence. His sudden appearance in the middle of the fight caught everyone by surprise. Ensign Lan gave a small start, and that was enough to let the young woman slip from his grip. She lunged forward, off balance. The massive round-house punch she had meant for her opponent swung wide of her target. Carried on by its momentum, her fist continued on to a different target.

Benton saw it coming, but it was such a vicious swing, and unexpected at that, that he didn't have time to duck. The last thing he remembered was the sight of the wide-eyed young woman gasping and putting her hands over her mouth in shock. Then all went dark.
________________________________

The first sensation that came back to him was a stinging one on his face, but it wasn't a steady, dull pain like you'd expected from a punch. This feeling was sharp, and was repeating itself at regular intervals. His foggy mind struggled to make sense of this, but couldn't.

The next thing he noticed was a woman's distraught voice saying, "Wake up! Say something! Oh, I'm so sorry! It was an accident! Say something!" Each pleading exhortation was accompanied by one of the stinging sensations on his face.

Finally, his vision swam back into focus. He saw the young woman crouched over him, slapping his face in an effort to wake him. Her face wore a worried expression. She said again, "Are you all right?" She slapped him again. "Say something!" Another slap.

"Ow," said Benton.

Relief washed over her face. "Oh, you're okay! I was so worried! Here, let me help you up." With that, she put her arms under his shoulders and helped Benton stand up."

Most of the people that were in the mess hall during the fight were gone. Apparently, they had been dispersed by Ensign Lan. All that was left were two men behind the bar. One of them obviously thought the entire episode was quite funny. He said to the other, "Ha! She knocked his block off, all right! Just the wrong one!"

"Can it, Dweezle!" called Ensign Lan from where he stood with the male brawler in custody. "Let's get this mess cleaned up," he said indicating the spilled drinks and food on the floor.

Benton stood, wobbled a little but quickly regained his equilibrium. He was going to have a hard time living this down. Probably most of the ship already knew. *Beat up by a girl!*

He disengaged himself from the young woman, who still had her arms around him. She was looking at him strangely, but Benton dismissed that for the moment.

"Thank you for helping me up, Ensign..."

"Ensign Francesca Milano, Sir."

"Thank you, Ensign Milano," amended Benton. He tugged and straightened his uniform tunic and continued in a nonchalant way, "Now, if you would please accompany myself and Ensign Lan there to the brig?"

"What?! Why?" Milano seemed crushed. *How can he do this to me? But he's so cute.*

"'Why?' she asks," laughed a disbelieving Sitto. "I'll tell ya why. Because you just decked the new Chief of Security, that's why!"

Milano looked shocked at the news. Her mouth opened and she looked at Benton. "Oh." *Well, I sure started THIS relationship off on the wrong foot!* she thought.

As the two security men led their charges out of the mess hall on their way to the brig, Milano's voice could be heard whining, "But I told you. It was an accident..."

Title: "In The Eyes of Your Enemy"
Author: Lieutenant Johnathan Valdago
Stardate: 2460112
Earthdate: February 10, 2360
Location: USS Virgo/Lambda Flier/LaForge

"Another hit, Captain! Shields are down to 25%!" Lt. Javier Tara reported. He didn't have any fear in his voice. Just slight anticipation.

"K'Lara, flight plan Omega Four. Let's get moving," Maruu ordered. "Sinclair, redirect all available power to the aft shields."

"Yes, Sir." She moved her hands gracefully around the panel. The *Virgo* began to pull away from the battle. They would be an easier target on the retreat, but they could also worry total about their aft shields and deflectors which K'Lara had made sure were never a target.

The Kirusan battleship fired. The ship rocked but the shield held strong. Just as planned, the battleship followed for the kill. K'Lara was upset that she couldn't pilot for either the special teams at this time, but Jonathan had ordered her to not take risks, but being only a few months pregnant, she had told him where he could stick that idea. She had planned to sit at the helm of the *Lambda Flier* for this one, but Nori had argued that she was now in a position that if anything happened that wasn't planned, the simplest of situations would be too
much for the baby's good. After those first few months, K'Lara wasn't even supposed to lift more that 20 pounds at a time. Nori was just a bit cautious when it came to children.

"Maruu to *Lambda Flier*. Are you in position?"

[Yes, Sir. Awaiting for your orders,] Lataro replied to the question. He and Garek were the only ones onboard. Even though Loran wasn't an actual pilot or tactical officer, he was pretty good. Also, he was their insurance that the cloaking device was working at tops since it was so important to this plan.

"Maruu to *LaForge*. Are you in position?"

[We're good to go, Captain. Just give the word.] Lt. JG Valdago was with Ensign Sitto Lan in the *LaForge*. In this case, Lan was there not only for his expertise but also to ensure that the first real battle situation for Valdago since his ordeal with Solacetta went well. Maruu didn't look forward to loosing the *LaForge* again. That
situation was getting old.

"Maruu to both special teams. Engage in Kirusan Tactic Alpha in exactly one minute from my mark. Mark." It was time.
____________________________________

Lataro was ready. He looked at his view screen. He could see the aft section of the Kirusan ship. If Valdago was doing his job, he was about 60 km to starboard. Just thinking about that made Lataro laugh. Starboard meant the right side of the ship from the ship's perspective because when sailing to the western hemisphere of Earth; Captains who had only the stars to guide them used the North Star at night. As long as they kept the North Star to their right, or starboard, they'd be sure they were going west. Almost a millennium later the term was still used even though when Commander Lataro looked out his windows, he saw stars to the right, left, up, down, forward, backward, everywhere.

Hopefully the Kirusan ship had transferred all her power to the forward deflectors. It was time to figure out if they guessed right. He ran his fingers over the controls. At the perfect time he decloaked the *Lambda Flier*. He could then see that Valdago was perfectly on his mark. A second later both ships fired all the weapons they could manage.

On the view screen Lataro saw six torpedoes and two phaser beams hit the battleship. Both the *Flier* and the *LaForge* backed off.

A small fire erupted from the battleship's unprotected aft section. It was soon snuffed in the vacuum of space. Even though they had hit, it hadn't caused a major amount of damage it seemed. It would only be moments before they realized what happened and returned fire.

"Let's get this thing cloaked again!" Just then he saw perfection. The initial damage was minimal, but they had seemed to affect the ship on another more major scale. Bit by bit, the battleship turned to flame. The best part about this battle method was that their would be no survivors to tell how the *Virgo* had won and they could use the maneuver again and again.

But, the Kirusans were like Klingons: they never gave up. Only a fraction of a second before the battleship was destroyed, a Kirusan beamed aboard the *Flier*. He stood right behind Garek. Quickly and instinctively Lataro pulled out his phaser and fired. The shot flew past Loran shoulder and hit the large Kirusan. The phaser was set to maximum, and the Kirusan collapsed to the ground, unconscious for a few moments.

Garek Loran was frozen. He wouldn't move. A slight smell of burnt hair was in the air. Garek moved his hand up to the side of his head. He felt a horizontal line of skin where the skin was removed. "You could have killed me!"

"I trust in my aim. You should too." Lataro moved closer to the body.

"You hit me! My head is bald!" Loran wasn't really mad. He knew that Lataro did what he needed to do, but it was aggravating that he wouldn't even apologize.

"It's just a superficial scratch. It'll grow back." He smiled. "Unless I vaporized the roots. Then you'd need a hair piece or some minor surgery. Maybe transplant some leg hair." Now Loran could sense Lataro's amusement. "Now, lets get the transporter set up so that this guy won't shoot us with those eyes of his."

The First Officer walked over to transporter panel. Garek noticed that the Kirusan was all ready beginning to recuperate. Lataro quickly began to work. They had developed a procedure to kill the Kirusans since a phaser could not do major permanent damage. The only reason Maruu allowed it was because the only other option was...there was no other option.

As the Kirusan began to sit up Lataro initiated the transport. The machine took every particle of the Kirusan and changed it into energy. Normally the energy would be moved to another place and then reassembled, but this time, the energy was scattered around the vacuum of space that surrounded the *Lambda Flier*.

After their work was done, they flew back to *Virgo*.
____________________________________

On the *LaForge*, Valdago and his friend and fellow crewmember Lan watched the battleship explode. That's when the Kirusan soldier appeared.

Before either could do anything, the huge monster picked up and threw Ensign Lan at Valdago. But, Valdago was able to catch him and safely put him down. The other Kirusan eyed the half-breed, Valdago.

"You are one of us. Why are you still here?"

"I am not one of you. I'm only half-Kirusan. I stay with my people."

"Then you will die with them."

The two stared at each other. They stared eye to eye. The Kirusan closed his eyes. Valdago realized what he was getting ready for, but he had no time to react. The other Kirusan opened his eyes again. Pure energy exploded from them. It flew directly into Valdago's stare.

But Valdago was not affected. The energy kept glowing into his head. Valdago felt pain, but it was good pain. The energy was stored in his cells. The Kirusan stopped firing and looked at Valdago in wonderment. Valdago slammed his eyes shut.

He screamed and covered his eyes as if to hold the power in. After a short time he regained his composure and opened his eyes again. They glowed bright, powerful green. He stared at the Kirusan and smiled. Then, Valdago returned the power the soldier had given him. Except, Valdago aimed for the chest. The Kirusan screamed in agony and fell to the ground, dead.

The two officers looked at each other. They quickly headed for *Virgo*.
____________________________________

"It seems they're in full working order," said Dana Nori.

"Full?" asked the captain.

"Yes. He's storing more and more energy as we speak. He's currently holding enough energy to fire continuously for 87 seconds with more power than a type two phaser at its highest setting. I estimate that he'll gain enough energy to fire for about 216 seconds. That's more power than a type three phaser rifle."

"Amazing. How's his control?"

"I'm fine. I don't even feel any different," Valdago stated.

"Keep me posted, Doctor." Maruu began to leave. "Lieutenant, come with me."
____________________________________

Inside the holodeck, Maruu fired his phaser at the target. Direct hit.

Valdago fired his eyes at the target. Direct hit.

"Computer, increase to level five," said Maruu.

Targets began flying faster through the darkened room. Maruu began firing.

<10 targets destroyed. 12 shots fired,> the computer reported.

"Computer," said Valdago, "restart program. Level 8."

Valdago's eyes lit up the room as he fired at the targets.

<25 targets destroyed. 24 shots fired.>

"Evidently your control is in good shape," the captain said to Johnathan. "Computer, arch." The door appeared, and Maruu walked out.

"Computer. Reset program. Level 10."

Valdago thought back to what Solacetta had told him about four months earlier: *"Don't you want to know what it's like to shoot with those eyes. They have the ability, you know. You just can't do it. Maybe if you had been allowed to convert for one more minute? Who knows."*

It was obvious that he now could. What would Solacetta say about that?

Title: "Alliance"
Author: Captain Stephen Maruu
Stardate: 2460167
Earthdate: March 1, 2360
Location: USS Virgo

El Zorro snapped his whip and El Capitan dropped his gun. "Ha ha!" Zorro pulled out his sword and painted a "Z" with El Capitan's blood on his neck. "Now, you have something to remember me by." Zorro back flipped and landed on Tornado. He began to gallop, leaving El Capitan furious behind him.

As Zorro rode Tornado, a shadowy figure followed. It was gaining on Zorro. Finally, the figure blew into a blow gun and tranquilized Tornado. The horse fell, bringing Zorro down as well. "Good shot. All shots are good when you attack from behind." He rose and pulled out his sword. "Who are you?"

The masked woman appeared now as a female Zorro. "I am Zorro."

"A woman? A woman cannot be Zorro."

"We shall see." She attacked. The two Zorros fought gallantly.

The male Zorro applauded. "Very good. You have heart. Now, I will take it for my own."

They continued the fight. The swords clashed and the two came together. The female Zorro smiled. "It is already yours."

"That is well enough. But my heart has also been misplaced. It is in the arms of a woman."

The female Zorro slashed a "Z" across the male Zorro's chest. "I hardly thought for a moment that it could be in the arms of a man."

"Ah, touche." He moved forward and tripped her with his sword. Then, the male Zorro kneeled on top of the female Zorro and passionately kissed her on the lips. They continued the action for about two minutes before...

[Captain, you're needed on the bridge. You really should see this.]

The male Zorro got up and pulled off his mask. It was Captain Maruu.

The female Zorro stood up and pulled of her mask. It was Commander Nori. Nori smiled. "I love this simulation don't you?"

"Oh yeah." He kissed her. "Computer, end program." The holodeck grid appeared, and Maruu and Nori both walked out of the holodeck together.
____________________________________

"Red alert!" yelled Commander Lataro. The *Virgo* armed weapons and prepared for an imminent attack.

Suddenly, Maruu appeared on the bridge in his Starfleet uniform. "What's going on? And why are all the lights off?"

Lt. Tara looked at his panel and said, "The Dominion vessels are hailing us."

"Dominion?!" Maruu asked. "Well, I knew they'd show up soon or later. They did save our lives back in September of last year. Javier, open a channel."

[Hello, Captain,] greeted a Vorta. [You are a long way from home. It was only a matter of time before we suspected that we'd meet. After all, we were glad to help a Federation vessel with a common interest in seeing the demise of the Kirusan Breadth.]

"We seem to have a common interest, then. It appears such an alliance could be favorable to us both." Maruu faked a smile in the spirit of diplomacy.

[The Vorta High Command has pondered this fact and agreed on it. I came to escort you to our station in the deep reaches of the Gamma Quadrant.]

"Deep reaches? Dominion space is at least a 20-year travel from here. How do you propose we get there?"

[A wormhole we discovered hidden in the secret files of the late Founders. We used it to colonize this part of space when we realized it was already inhabited by the Kir'vusans.]

"The Kirusans?"

[Yes.]

"Well, Mr..."

[Leiyon.]

"Well, Mr. Leiyon, take us to your leader."
____________________________________

"I don't think it's a good idea, Stephen! I just don't!" protested Commander Lataro. "I mean, seven years ago we kicked their asses all the way back to the Gamma Quadrant and now we want to form an alliance with them?!"

Captain Maruu calmly sipped from his cup of coffee, a favored drink among Starfleet captains. "*Voyager* formed a similar alliance with the Borg. Besides, I won't leave us unprotected. We'll have a couple of failsafe procedures in case of betrayal. After the Kirusan Breadth falls, we cannot leave the Jeorri and Kirusan Resistance to die. They must survive. That is why I want the senior officers to meet in the conference room in one hour." He smiled. "Your my First. Make it happen."

Lataro smiled as well. "I'm curious to see what you have planned." He left the ready room.
____________________________________

"Alright, Garek, tell me about the tridanium. Is there enough to build a transwarp drive?" Maruu asked.

Loran said, "Well, not really, we need at least thirty more grams of the stuff. The Kirusan vessel uses the material for its graviton drive. The nuclear explosions required to propel their ships at faster than light travel are so powerful that tridanium must be used to keep the ship together. To make a transwarp drive powerful enough for a ship the size of the *Virgo*, we lack resources."

"That's okay. We just need to use it once and in an emergency. And we don't have the time to mine for tridanium so we have to use what we can. Use all the power you need to cover gaps with force fields. I'm
sure that at warp 17, we won't need shields to protect ourselves from the Dominion or Kirusan battleships." He paused. "Benton and M'Terrn, how are those weapons coming?"

Benton smiled. "I've never seen weapons like these before but they seem extremely effective. We've been able to replicate enough for each crewmember to protect him or herself."

M'Terrn commented, "They sure do break through a Kirusan's protective epidermal layer."

"And they're kind of like guns that shoot small grenades," Lataro added.

Benton then said, "Which it why the captain had to have his leg removed, and why Lt. Roen's womb was destroyed."

The room suddenly stopped. Everyone became silent.

Captain Maruu sarcastically, yet sadly, said, "Yes...well...let's not hesitate to bring that up every couple of seconds."

Valdago said to Benton, "Don't worry, one day we'll look back at this dreadful moment, laugh nervously, and change the subject again."

Lataro gave a hard look at Valdago. "Which is probably what we should do now."

Benton apologized. "Sorry, Captain."

Maruu looked at him with a thoughtful look. "Don't worry about it. As Valdago suggested, let's change the subject. The transwarp technology cannot be known about by the Dominion. That is our failsafe. Garek, Benton, you have a drive to build. Dismissed."
____________________________________

The *Virgo* was being escorted by two Dominion fighters. They came up to an empty part of space and stopped.

"What are they doing?" demanded Tara.

The view screen showed the face of Leiyon. [Captain, we are about to enter the wormhole. Please follow us.]

As the two fighters approached the wormhole, it opened, showing the magnificent blue light.

Captain Maruu shrugged his shoulders. "K'Lara, take us in."

They entered the wormhole. It closed behind them.
____________________________________

When the *Virgo* and the two ships exited the wormhole on the other side, around 55,000 light years away, the first sight they viewed was a huge Dominion station.

Leiyon once again appeared on the view screen. [Welcome to Dominion territory. I look forward to meeting you in person.]

Suddenly, a tractor beam from the station locked onto the *Virgo*.

Maruu looked at Lataro. "Here goes nothing."

The ship was pulled in.

Title: "A Man's Reputation"
Author: Lieutenant Benton
Stardate: 2460164
Earthdate: March 1, 2360
Location: USS Virgo

Benton sat behind his desk in the ship's security section. He was caught up with his work and was taking a little time to reflect on the past two months' events. He had signed aboard the *Virgo* in the hopes of finding a little excitement, and he hadn't been disappointed so far.

His tour of duty here had started out a little on the rocky side. There had been the unfortunate incident in the Mess Hall, and the sequence of events that followed were difficult, but all had turned out well in the end. Benton's mind wandered back. He had been sitting in this very chair...
_______________________________________

It was January 9, 2360. Directly across from him were the holding cells, which were normally empty, but two of them were occupied at the moment. One held a sullen ensign from the engineering decks, while the other was currently home to a distressingly vocal Ensign Francesca Milano from Stellar Cartography.

Benton was taking advantage of his Kelvan heritage by subdividing his conscious mind to do different tasks. He had assigned a small portion of his mind to monitor what Ensign Milano was saying, in case she actually said anything worth hearing. But mostly it was along the lines of, "It wasn't my fault!" and "When are you going to let me out of here?"

Another portion of his mind was directed to filling out the necessary routine paperwork required by any security action, sort of a "police report". His fingers flew across the keyboard in front of him and the report was quickly taking shape on the computer screen sitting on the desk.

The rest of his attention was divided among various other tasks: officially notifying the ship's computer that he was now a member of the crew; how he should go about regaining the crew's confidence in him which might have been lost as a result of the "incident" in the Mess Hall; helping Loran upgrade the *Virgo's* engines to be transwarp capable; and where he could get a steady supply of jelly doughnuts for Spot.

His fingers continued typing as he addressed the computer, "Computer, effective this stardate, recognize Lieutenant Benton as Chief of Security of the Federation Starship *Virgo*."

<Command code required for transfer of security protocols,> replied the computer.

"Computer, recognize voice pattern and command code 'Sierra-Charlie-Four-Seven' and execute."

The computer beeped and hummed to itself for a few seconds as it worked to verify that Benton's voice print and code were authentic. Finally, satisfied, it announced, <Voice print and command code matched. Beta two access granted to security protocols. Lieutenant Benton recognized as Chief of Security.>

"Thank you kindly," said Benton. *That's one task done.*

Just then Ensign Lan walked in. He gave Milano a rather dark look, then a downright black one at Benton. Lan had been acting more and more antisocial and negative toward Benton in the weeks since he arrived on the *Virgo*. *Now for the next task, but this one won't be so easy,* thought Benton.

Lan was talking to Milano in a very annoyed tone of voice, "Franny, be quiet will you! Your yammering is driving me nuts!" He stalked over to the desk where Benton was working and stood, staring at Benton. After
a few moments, he said gruffly, "Lieutenant, let them go!"

Benton diverted part of his attention from the police report to his fellow security officer, all the while continuing typing. "In good time, Ensign. These two have violated regulations and therefore, according to StarFleet regulations, must be incarcerated until the matter is resolved."

"The matter *is* resolved! The fight's *over*!" exclaimed Lan. He was getting angrier and angrier. "In fact, there wouldn't even *be* a matter to resolve at all if you hadn't interfered back in the mess hall!"

Benton couldn't understand Lan's attitude. He said, "Ensign Lan, I was not 'interfering', as you put it. As a security officer aboard this ship, it was my *duty* to keep the peace."

But Lan would not be mollified. "I had the situation well in hand. Everything was fine until you showed up," he growled. "I suppose you want me to do your paperwork too," he finished sarcastically.

Benton finished typing and turned the computer so that Lan could see what was on the screen. "Of course not. Why would anyone ask you to do that?" he asked, genuinely puzzled. Delegating unpleasant paperwork to
subordinates would never occur to him. A man should carry his own load. "Besides, it's already finished."

He downloaded the report onto a PADD and handed that to Lan. "If you don't mind however, please file it when you have time. I haven't had the opportunity to learn the department's system yet." Lan grudgingly took the PADD, becoming even more annoyed by Benton's apparent efficiency. "But first," continued Benton, "you may release the ensign there." He indicated the quiet engineer.

"Just him?" asked Lan.

"Yes. The only thing he's guilty of is being annoying to Ensign Milano. Hopefully, his time in the brig has taught him to behave in a more gentlemanly manner to his fellow crewmembers. But I would like a word with Ensign Milano before I release her," replied Benton.

"As you command, *Sir*," mumbled Lan, emphasizing the "Sir". He turned towards the holding cells, but was called back by Benton.

"And one more thing, Ensign."

"What?" glowered Lan.

"Would you meet me at the entrance to Holodeck One after your duty shift?"

Lan was instantly wary. "What for?"

"We need to decide who's Chief," replied Benton simply.

Lan knew what he meant. A smile grew on his face, but it was not a friendly smile. "It will be my pleasure, Sir."

With that, Lan walked away. He deactivated the force field in front of the ensign's cell and said, "Come on, ensign. The governor's granted you a pardon." As the two of them walked out of the security area, Benton could hear Lan lecturing the ensign, "You've gotta quit bothering the ladies..."
_______________________________________

Benton now turned his gaze to Ensign Milano. She had been quietly sitting in her cell during the exchange between Benton and Lan, watching Benton intently. When she noticed his attention, she stood up rather timidly and took a few steps toward the force field of her cell. Her head was lowered, but she continued timidly peering at Benton through her eyelashes. A nervous hand was flipping her hair.

Benton came over and stood directly in front of the cell, hands behind his back. After a moment, he asked, "What should I do with you, Ensign?"

A flicker of hope returned to Francesca's eyes, *Would he let me go?* She clasped her hands in front of her, raised her head a little and said in her best "helpless girl" voice that worked so well on men, "You could let me go, Sir. I promise I'll never get in a fight again." She flashed him a tiny smile and swiveled her hips a little to the
left.

"You struck a superior officer. That is a court-martial offense," said Benton, immune to Francesca's feminine wiles.

The flicker of hope in her eyes died. *Rats. He's gonna throw the book at me for slugging him. Men! They're all the same. Egos the size of the universe.* She hung her head again.

"However," continued Benton after a slight pause.

A ghost of the flicker of hope returned to Francesca's eyes. Her head came back up.

"I believe that if we take into consideration the fact that it *was* an accident..."

The flicker of hope became a steady flame!

"...we can overlook the episode, and no mention of it will be made in you permanent record..."

*Yes! Free again!* thought an exultant Francesca.

"...*this* time," finished Benton, adding emphasis to his last words with a significant stare at Ensign Milano. With that, he palmed the control that cut off the force field.

Instantly, she was out of her cage. She gave Benton a quick hug, stood on her toes and planted a delicate kiss on his cheek before he could avoid her.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Benton! Thank you so much!" She was her happy, gushing self again. Her words weren't coming fast enough. "You won't regret this Benton. May I call you Benton? Oh thank you."

Through this verbal onslaught, Benton tried his best to answer, "You're welco... My pleasu... Yes, of course... Don't mention it..."

Leaving Benton slightly flustered, Francesca blew out of the security area like a biped whirlwind, still gushing "Thank you's".

After she calmed down a little, she headed back to her cabin thinking, *Oh, I just *knew* he was a nice guy!*

Benton just stood a while, staring at the door that Ensign Milano had gone through. He eventually shook his head and gave up trying to understand what had just happened, and went back to work.
_______________________________________

The computer chimed, <The time is 1800 hours.>

Benton looked up from his terminal screen, where he had been studying the filing system of the security department. *Time to go meet Ensign Lan at the holodeck,* he thought to himself. He was not looking forward to the encounter, but it had to be done. He and Ensign Lan would come head-to-head eventually, best it was done under relatively controlled circumstances and not while they were on a dangerous away mission somewhere. He got up and headed out.

On the way, he passed Lieutenant Jenara Tomme coming in the opposite direction down the corridor.

She brightened visibly when she caught sight of Benton. She changed course a little to head more directly toward him and said with a smile, "Why hello again, Lieutenant Benton."

Benton smiled and nodded an acknowledgment in her direction and replied, "Jenara," but kept on walking. He didn't want to be late for his appointment with Ensign Lan.

Ensign Lan was already outside the holodeck when Benton arrived. "Lieutenant," he said.

"Ensign. Shall we go in?"

"By all means," agreed Lan.

The holodeck doors parted and they two men walked in. There was no program running, so the walls just showed their familiar yellow-on-black grid.

Benton stopped under the arch and turned toward Lan and asked, "Do you know why we're here, Ensign?"

"Yes, Sir. We're here so I can teach you who's boss," replied Lan arrogantly. "I was handling security on board this ship perfectly well before you arrived, and I don't need your help. Not that you've actually been any help! Just the *opposite*. You bungled the incident in the mess hall a few days ago."

"Ensign Lan, we both know that I was caught unaware by someone who under normal circumstances would not have been any threat whatsoever," began Benton, then he changed his mind. He began again, "But that is
irrelevant. I have been assigned as Security Chief by the highest command of the Alpha Fleet to which this vessel belongs. I understand that a Human in your position might feel some level of resentment toward me. I do not have your trust, and you have no confidence in me. Such emotions cannot be allowed to continue. It would undermine our effectiveness as a team. I will therefore make you this wager." Benton paused to make sure Ensign Lan was following him.

Lan was giving Benton his undivided attention. *What is he up to? What wager?*

Benton looked Lan in the eye and laid his plan out, "The two of us engage in hand-to-hand combat. The winner of the duel will be the new Chief of Security. The loser will gracefully accept his defeat and never mention this incident again. I believe this is only way to prove myself to you and regain your support." Benton tried to read Lan's expression, but saw only the unfriendly smile again. "Agreed?" he asked.

"Agreed," replied Lan. "What are the rules?"

In reply, Benton turned to the computer controls in the side of the arch and said, "Computer, run program 'Benton-One'. Disengage safety protocols." He turned back to Ensign Lan and said evenly, "None."

Lan's smile grew wider.

The yellow grid lines of the holodeck faded, and then they weren't in a bare room anymore. They stood in a small clearing in a forest. Under their feet were clumps of grass and rocky dirt, and the glade was bordered by old, gnarled trees and low piles of gray boulders. Overhead, gray clouds were being driven by a cold wind. A dreary setting for a dreary undertaking.

Without a moment's hesitation, Ensign Lan went into a fighting crouch and began circling Benton. Benton did the same. They circled each other, looking for an opening. Lan feinted to the left, but changed his direction and piled into Benton's stomach shoulder-first. Benton's breath exploded from his lungs in a mighty "Oof!" as they went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

Lan tried to pin Benton so he could get some good face-pummelling action in, but Benton was too quick. He rolled to one side, and when Lan's arms lost their grip on his shoulders, Benton grabbed on to him and with a powerful boost of one leg, launched Lan in a wide arc up and over his head. This time it was Lan who landed on his back with a mighty "Oof!"

Both men jumped to their feet once more and spun to face each other.

These maneuvers had removed the two men from immediate proximity to the holodeck doors, so they didn't see them open to admit Commander Lataro. The commander sized up the situation, then quietly went over and sat down on a big rock to watch.

Meanwhile, the battle raged on and on all through the forest. Small woodland creatures scurried for their lives as the combatants crashed through the underbrush. Neither seemed able to gain a significant advantage over the other, they were evenly matched. After an hour, both men were bruised and bloodied and had dirty and ripped uniforms, but still neither would give in. Their actions were coming more and more slowly and painfully as the fight wore on.

Lan had picked up a relatively straight seven foot long tree branch somewhere that he was using as a quarter staff, while Benton was armed with a shorter branch and a rock. Lan was attacking relentlessly with the staff, but Benton was deflecting every blow. Swinging the heavier branch was taking a considerable toll on Lan.

*Just a little while longer, and he'll be exhausted. Then I make my move,* planned Benton.

But just at that moment, Lan made a sudden change in tactics. He summoned the last of his energy reserve and executed a quick upward swing. Benton's tree branch was flung up, broke from his grip and went sailing high into the air and forever out of reach.

Benton backed away a step, but a massive tree trunk blocked any further retreat.

Lan advanced, holding the tree branch level with Benton's head. He smiled a humorless, wicked smile. He knew he had won. "Looks like this ship has a new Security Chief," he managed to gasp between breaths. He
drew the branch back to deliver the deciding blow.

Benton could see no way out of this predicament. Odds were, he was about to lose the fight. He clutched his rock tightly in his hand, wondering if he could get off one lucky shot before Lan's branch connected with his head.

Then from out of nowhere, a monstrous shadow rose silently up behind Lan. Benton saw hints of terrible fangs and claws in the shadow, and it was advancing quickly and quietly on the unsuspecting Sitto Lan.

*He doesn't hear it!* thought Benton frantically. *It's going to get him! And the safety protocols are OFF!!!*

Without a moment's hesitation, Benton hurled the rock. Lan saw it coming and couldn't believe Benton would try it. But the rock missed him and he heard it hit something just behind him.

Benton wasn't giving any indication that he was going to attack again, so a thoroughly confused Lan turned around to look behind him. His tree branch fell from numb hands when he saw. On the ground not three feet away from where he stood was the ugliest, meanest looking monster he had ever seen. It was halfway between a gorilla and a bear, with brown and purple mottled fur, six inch fangs and claws that looked like they could have sliced his head off as cleanly as if it had been done with a surgical knife.

Lan just stood there, disbelieving, all thoughts of the fight with Benton forgotten.

"Bolean Bug-bear," Benton said from behind him.

"It was gonna eat me," said Lan.

"That would be my guess as well."

"You saved my life," said Lan, turning back to Benton.

"Well, I know you would have done the same for me," said Benton without a shadow of doubt in his voice. He began trying to straighten his uniform.

Lan wasn't quite as sure about that as Benton seemed to be, but he didn't say anything. Benton had given up trying to improve his appearance, and the two men just stood there a few seconds looking at each other. They had both gained a considerably greater measure of respect for each other as a result of the last hour and a half, respect for each other's fighting ability, respect for each others refusal to give up in spite of exhaustion, pain and injury.

Lan was the first to break the silence. He wiped a bit of blood from his lip and asked almost hesitantly, "So. Uh... Who won the uh...the fight?"

Benton considered for a moment and replied, "You had partially disarmed me and were about to deliver the deciding blow. Technically therefore, you are the winner."

Lan said quickly, "Yeah, true, but technically, if you hadn't knocked out the Bolean Bug-thing there, it would have got me and you'd be the winner. Besides, I didn't hear it coming and you did."

After a moment, "Well, perhaps we could call it a draw," offered Benton.

Lan smiled, but this time it was a genuinely friendly smile. "Sounds good to me," he said, "*Chief*."

The two former enemies approached each other and shook hands. They were a team.

"Good. Well, that's settled. Let's go get cleaned up," said Benton, making his way back to the holodeck exit.

"OK. But what's the captain or Mr. Lataro going to say about this?" wondered Lan, falling into step beside Benton.

"I think it might be best if we kept this little exercise just between the two of us. Besides, there was no harm done, and we've resolved our differences."

"You know Benny," said Lan, "I would have whooped your butt if that Bole-Bug..."

"Bolean Bug-bear."

"Bolean Bug-bear hadn't showed up," smiled Lan.

"I have no doubt of that, Sitto," replied Benton.

As they approached the holodeck door, they were shocked to find Commander Lataro waiting for them. They immediately snapped to attention.

"So much for 'just the two of us'," mumbled Lan out of the corner of his mouth to Benton.

"Well, well! Mr. Benton and Mr. Lan! A pleasure to see you both still alive!" said Lataro with a smile, but his smile too didn't contain much actual humor. "I trust this little demonstration of yours has been worth the trouble?"

"Yes, Sir. It was," answered Lan and Benton simultaneously.

"Good, good. I'm glad," said Lataro sternly. He paced slowly towards the two men and stopped three paces away. He directed his attention to Lan. "Ensign, you are dismissed. Report to sickbay to get yourself looked at," he ordered.

"Yes, Sir." snapped a relieved Sitto Lan. *I can't believe I'm getting off this easy. But poor Benny. He's gonna get it.* He quickly exited the holodeck.

Now Lataro turned his full attention to Benton. Benton withstood the Commander's intense scrutiny.

"Look at you, Lieutenant! You're a mess," said Lataro disapprovingly.

"Yes, Sir."

"What should I do with you?" he asked.

This had a familiar ring to Benton. *Well, it worked once...* "You could just let me go, Sir," he replied.

"Never mind that," dismissed Lataro with a wave of his hand. The Commander continued, "I know I told you you'd have to redeem yourself somehow, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind!" Suddenly, Commander Lataro smiled. "It was unorthodox, extremely gutsy, and most importantly, it worked. Congratulations, *Chief*." Lataro slapped Benton on the back.

They began walking towards the holodeck exit. Commander Lataro was still speaking. "I want you to report to sickbay as well. Then get back to work on the transwarp drive conversion."

"Yes, Sir."

"Say Lieutenant, I have to ask. Where did you learn to throw like that?"

"My grandmother, Sir," replied Benton.

"Your grandmother?!"

"Yes, Sir."

"Amazing!" whistled Lataro. After a moment, "Think I could learn?"

"She wrote a book about it, Sir."

"Can you get me a copy?"

"I'll check if it's still in print..."

The holodeck doors closed behind them.

BACK NEXT

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws