Major Kira Nerys leaned against the edge of her desk in her small office on Deep Space 9 hitting keys on a Padd she held in her hand. She read the results quickly back to herself them looked up.
"Computer, open a sub space communications channel to Captain Edward Jelico aboard the USS Cairo, priority two." she said.
"Working." the computer responded.
Kira folded her arms and waited. A few moments later the image of Jelico flickered into existence on her view screen.
"Major!" Jelico said, surprised. "I wasn't expecting to hear back form you so soon."
Kira smiled and gave a curt nod of her head. "I have the information you requested Captain."
Jelico nodded his head, impressed. "I wasn't sure you'd have anything, as the Maquis tend to make it a point to try and destroy records about themselves."
"I got this information from Starfleet, so there was probably no way for her to destroy the records." Kira replied.
"Starfleet?" Jelico asked in disbelief.
"Yes Captain." Kira said as she quickly consulted her Padd. "Luv Shara, born on Bajor on stardate 19910.6. Her parents were killed by the Cardassians while she was fairly young, she grew up in various Bajoran orphan schools. Unremarkable childhood, well, unremarkable for the time and place. On Stardate 37255 she went to work as a machinery maintenence person as a plasma transfer specialist and did that for several years. She was arrested by the Cardassians on stardate 40710 as a suspected member of the resistance."
"Was she in the Bajoran resistance?" Jelico asked.
"I can find no record of it if she was." Kira replied. "But that's hardly surprising. Many cells came into and went out of existence without a single official record of any kind being made. Add to that the number or records destroyed by the Cardassians prior to their withdrawl, and you end up with nothing but a lot of blank areas."
"I understand. Major, please continue." Jelico replied.
"She was held for three days, questioned then released." Kira touched another button. "On 41192 she ended up on Jeraddo working as a maintenance technician for Cardassian shuttles. Then she was arrested and questioned again on 41738 regarding an incident where a Cardassian shuttle carrying a high ranking Cardassian on an inspection tour blew up, killing all aboard."
Kira touched another button, bringing up new information. "That ends her official records until stardate 48332.6, when she married a Starfleet officer named Lieutenant Ronald Pearson. Pearson was a warp plasma specialist from the USS Zhukov on temporary duty. He was helping the Bajoran militia repair several of it's ships. At the time of marriage Luv Shara applied for and recieved Federation citizenship. Pearson resigned from Starfleet on 48417 and the couple moved to the Demilitarized Zone..."
"And that's where the trouble starts..." Jelico said.
"Apparently..." Kira replied. "On stardate 49088.4 Luv Shara gives birth to twins, Christopher and Hayek."
Kira paused.
"Go on Major."
"On stardate 49757 Ronald, Christopher and Hayek are all killed in a Cardassian raid. Shara is the only survivor..."
Jelico sighs heavily. "She's lost everyone to the Cardassians, no wonder she joined the Maquis."
"She wasn't the only Bajoran to lose their family to the Cardassians." Kira said. "And many of them did not run off and join the Maquis."
Jelico help up his hands in surrender. "Don't missunderstand me Major, I have a tremendous respect for the Bajoran people and their struggle against the Cardassians, but I can also sympathise with what made Luv Shara join the Maquis. Many Starfleet officers have resigned and joined the Maquis for a lot less then that."
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry Captain, I didn't mean to get that upset at you, it's just..." Kira held up the Padd. "It's such a sad story, and one that is all to familiar to Bajor."
Jelico nodded. "I sympathise, Major. Send me a copy of the report and thank you for your efforts."
"You're welcome, Captain."
"Jelico out."
The screen went blank and Kira stared at it for a long moment before getting off the edge of her desk and resuming her work...
Captain Jelico stepped off the turbolift onto the bridge of the Cairo. He walked over to one of the bridge science stations where Lieutenant Flinn sat studying a long range sensors readout. The screen was bisected by a wandering green line marking the Cardassian border. There was a little red smudge just on the other side of the border.
"What have you got?" Jelico asked, leaning down and looking at the screen.
"I have a classic 9.8 K-R spike." Flinn said. "Just across the Cardassian border."
"Okay, I'll bite, what's a 9.8 K-R spike?" Jelico asked.
Flinn grinned. "It's the classic subspace warp field signature of a Cardassian Type-3 Galor class warship."
Jelico looked at the image. "What's he doing?"
"Just sitting." Flinn said. "He came out from the direction of Yuridar, but now he sitting just across the border and... sitting."
"Waiting to see what we'll do." Jelico said. "Any other ships in the area?"
Flinn's hands danced over his controls. The screen divided and another display came up, this one looking like a mass of pastel amoeba's undulating together as if having some kind of strange sexual orgy.
"This is the subspace field traces in the area over the last 50 hours." Flinn said, he touched a section of the screen. "This is our friend out there, a definite 9.8 spike, down here," he touched another part of the screen. "We have what I would guess is a F'Ador class scout, probably went through 40 hours ago or so..."
"You can tell what kind of ship went through and when from a subspace field scan, at almost 5 light years?" Jelico asked in disbelief.
"I'm good." Flinn said. "You should see what they're cooking up in the way of interpretive software these days."
"I can't imagine." Jelico said.
A quick chirping sound startled them both. Flinn's hands worked over the controls again.
"Interesting, a W flat with a slight spike at 1.2 and 4.9 on the Zx band." Flinn said.
"Okay Smart ass, what exactly is all that?" Jelico asked.
"A Klingon D-7 is coming up along this side of the border."
"Distance and speed?"
"About 6 light years and moving at Warp 5." Flinn said. "If they follow their current course, they'll pass pretty close to that Galor."
Jelico grunted. He had no doubt that if the Cairo wasn't here a fight would break out. One ship or the other would cross the border. The Klingons wouldn't, not with a Federation starship keeping an eye on them, and the Cardassians wouldn't either, with a Federation starship ready to come to the Klingons' aid. The two will pass and wait for another day to fight.
"Can you identify the Klingon ship?"
"IKS R'Karak." Flinn said.
Jelico nodded. He had heard of the R'Karak, as it had participated in many of the battles the Klingons had fought with the Cardassians prior to the intervention of the Dominion.
"Keep me posted." Jelico said, straightening up.
Gul Lorak studied the sensor readout on the main display screen of the Cardassian warship Horinar. On the screen he focused on the small graphic symbol that represented the Federation Starship Cairo. The Cairo was hanging on the outer edge of a useless, uninhabited star system that the Federation had named JA125.
Lorak was familiar with Captain Jelico and the Starship Cairo and he wanted very badly to cross the border and blow the man up. Had the situation on Cardassia not degenerated to the deplorable point it had, he might have done just that and bore whatever consequences there might have been. But now, for such a violation of his orders, he would not have to face a tribunal of Cardassian Ligits, but also the smooth, hated, barely tolerable faces of the Vorta, and hear their voices in his judgement.
Lorak stared at the graphic, almost as if trying to will the human captain to abandon his strange position in the system JA125 and come to the border. Close to the border anything could happen, but the Cairo had been conspicously absent in Cardassian/Dominion intelligence reports of Federation ships operating in the border area. It was strange. Jelico had fought against Cardassia during the border fighting, and later assited in the negotiation of the armistice. What Lorak really remembered Jelico for, however, was the humiliation he inflicted upon him, Gul Lemec and the rest of the Guls of the Cardassian invasion force.
They were waiting to strike at Minos Korva from the McAllister C-5 Nebula. While the fleet waited Jelico had cleverly mined the Nebula and had forced the withdrawl of all the Cardassian ships. As a final insulting blow he had forced each ship to eject it's primary phaser coil as it exited the Nebula. That insult alone demanded that Jelico's atoms be scattered amongst the stars, him and his ship.
"Sensors!" a crewman exclaimed from a science station. "Sensor contact 080 mark 023!"
"What is it?" Lorak asked.
"A ship Gul, Klingon, course 177 mark 261, speed, Warp 5."
Lorak scowled. A Klingon. For a long time the Cardassians considered Klingons to be little better than animals. The acted like it, smelled like, and certainly fought like it. However those animals had forced Cardassia to her knees far faster than anyone would have thought. They forced Cardassia right into the arms of the Dominion, a position only marginally better than being conquered by the Klingons themselves.
With his mood souring steadily, Gul Lorak thought that if a Jem'Hadar ship showed up right at this moment he might be tempted to strike one of the junior officers to vent his anger and frustration.
The doors to the bridge parted. Glin Sorus entered and walked over to Lorak's seat.
"Gul, may I speak?" Sorus asked.
"Speak." Lorak said sharply.
"Sir, I have been reviewing out sensor logs and I think we may have found something in the Yuridar star system." Sorus said. "It may be worthy of further investigation."
"What have you found?" Lorak asked.
"Upon close examination of the sensor logs we found a burst of tachyon and neutrino energy that might have been caused by the formation of a spatial rift of some kind."
"A spatial rift?" Lorak asked. "You mean like a wormhole?"
"Yes Gul."
"And why was this not brought to my attention before?" Lorak demanded.
"Sir, I just uncovered it in the sensor logs now, I came straight to the bridge to report-"
"Why was I not informed when it was first detected, why did the officer at the sensors not notice and report this phenomena, why do we learn it only later in review, is my command too lax, are my officers incompitant?"
"Gul, the fault is mine-"
"I agree, you have been negligent."
"My apologies Gul, it won't happen again." Sorus replied starting to perspire. "The officer at the sensors might have mistaken the reading as a background burst or something similar."
"You will make sure every sensors officer is fully capable of recognising all such phenomina in the future. You will drill them until they are fully competant, understand?"
"Yes Gul."
"You are also on level 2 restriction for 60 days. Maybe that will help sharpen your attention to your duties."
"Yes Gul."
There was a brief moment of silence.
"Gul, if I may speak."
"Speak." Lorak replied, looking back at the graphic of the Cairo. He didn't feel as good about punishing Sorus as he had thought he would. Perhaps he should have struck the officer as well as humiliating him in public. Lorak scowled, He had the feeling that had he beaten Sorus to death he would not have felt any better.
"Gul, I believe it may be important for us to return to the Yuridar system."
Lorak didn't look at Sorus and another long minute passed.
"You are dismissed Sorus." Lorak said finally.
"Yes Gul." Sorus said then quickly spun around and departed the bridge.
Lorak continued to stare at the screen. Once the doors to the bridge closed, he looked over at the navigation station.
"ETA to theYuridar system at Warp 7?"
"50.7 hours Gul." the officer responded immediately, indicating to Lorak that he had computed the time and had waited for the question. The mark of a fine officer.
Captain Jelico pressed a T into the mens T-off box at the Par 4 11th hole. He was on the Links of the Sho-ma-ra golf course course on Cirrus IV. He selected a wood and made several practice swings before stepping up and addressing the ball. The club made a smooth glittering arc and the sound of the club on the ball was music as Jelico held his stance as he watched the ball fly... just shy of 300 yards.
Happy with the play, he slid the club back into it's place in his old Scottish golf bag and shouldered it with a slight grunt.
"Flinn to Captain Jelico." came Flinn's voice, interrupting Jelico's reverie.
"Go ahead." Jelico said, staring at the ball sitting in the fareway.
"We've picked up a sub-space distortion. The Fleet is returning." Flinn said.
Jelico forgot the ball. "On my way!"
He quick strode off the Holodeck, "Computer save and end program!"
Three minutes later he strode onto the bidge.
"Status report."
"Four of the Calamari ships have returned, along with a number of the fighters."
"Only four ships? What about the Nebula ships?"
"Neither of the two Nebulon-B frigates have returned." Flinn said. "Also, there are noticably fewer fighters returning than had departed."
"War does that." Jelico said softly. "Set course for Resthaven, full impulse."
"Full impulse." Preston echoed in response.
"Signal coming in from the cruiser Mon Creyal. It's Admiral Stardrifter." Grumby said.
"On screen." Jelico ordered.
The image of the Mon Creyal's smoke filled bridge came on the viewer.
"Admiral." Jelico said. "It's good to see that you returned in one piece."
"Barely." Stardrifter said.
Jelico nodded. "We noticed that some of your ships haven't returned."
"We sent the medical ship straight to Deep Space 9." Stardrifter said. "We figured that made more sense than bringing it here, then sending it to Deep Space 9. It should arrive there in a little less than 3 days, and they'll have their hands full. Things didn't go quite as we had planned."
"It's been my experience that in war they seldom do." Jelico replied.
Stardrifter nodded. "Mine as well."