6

Tavika, Nod, and Cruz stood between a statue of a regally dressed Gouran and an outside wall of the capitol building. They had carefully made their way through the city to this point, and they’d been holding their position, waiting for someone to emerge from the door.

As expected, a Gouran in a bio-suit emerged from the building. Nod fired his phaser. His aim was true, and the figure crumpled to the ground, stunned. As Nod fired, Tavika moved forward and caught the door before it could close and held it. As the trio walked in, a sterilization field moved over them, eliminating any bacteria or viruses that might have been on their clothing.

Nod stepped through the door and into a dimly lit corridor. Seeing that the way was clear, he signaled for them to follow him. Ten meters to his left, he saw a square wooden stairway leading up. It had been clear from the outside that there were only two levels on this building, and he was willing to bet that they’d find Tarim in an office, or in his private chambers up there. He was also likely to be protected by security, which they would need to overcome.

Down the hallway, he saw a pair of individuals round the corner. Nod immediately sprang into action and crouched to the left side of the hallway. Behind him, Tavika and Cruz followed his lead. They all fired their phasers in unison, scoring a pair of hits, and the Gourans crumpled to the floor stunned.

Nod jumped to his feet, phaser at the ready, and ran, taking the stairs two at a time. He knew they would need to be fast, because their opponents would be shooting to kill. Reaching the top, he found himself in another hallway, this one originating at their present location. There was nobody in sight, but it smelled strongly of cooked food.

He had no map of this building, so he was navigating based on what he had seen from the outside. They had entered through a side door, so hopefully they’d be able to bypass any areas where a large security team might be clustered. Nod pushed through a door on the left side of the hallway, finding a room roughly five meters to a side with a dais and a podium at the end, and a number of chairs sitting out in the middle of the hallway. The only other exit was on the opposite side of the room from which they entered. This was obviously a press room, and it was thankfully empty. “Nobody wants to walk far to get to the press room. I’d bet we’re close to his office,” Nod muttered.

“Well, let’s keep looking,” Tavika said. “I’ll watch your back.”

Nod moved to the other exit and peeked around the corner, finding the primary corridor that ran from one of the top level to the other. Three doors down, he spotted a pair of bored looking security guards in the hallway. Nod ducked back into the room. “I think we found him. Two guards, down the hallway.”

Tavika and Cruz nodded their understanding.

Nod burst into the corridor, firing his phaser as he did so. Tavika and Cruz followed suit, all shots barely missing their targets.

Nod dropped to the floor as the other two returned fire. Behind him, a decorative vase on a short curio cabinet exploded, showering the area in ceramic chards and dust. He fired again, catching one of the guards in the leg. It was enough to drop the Gouran male, but it was not enough to render him unconscious. He fired again, but the other guard ducked into the room they were protecting.

As he scrambled to his feet, he could see the guard he had dropped aiming his phaser. Nod couldn’t move fast enough to get another shot off.

He heard the whine of a phaser behind him as Cruz took a shot. This time the beam caught him square in the back as he fired a shot at Nod, which was just wide enough to miss striking him in the face.

Nod lunged forward, arriving at the entrance to Tarim’s office. He fired once, catching the remaining security guard in the chest. As the Gouran dropped, he saw Tarim, wide-eyed, lounging on a couch inside the room.

The trio moved into the room, phasers aimed at the Gouran leader. Tavika stepped forward. “I think it’s time to renegotiate the terms of our stay on your world.”

* * *

The tunnel of streaking stars resolved into silver points of light as the blue-green orb of Gour II rapidly grew to fill the viewscreen. Sheppard stood behind his chair on the bridge, anticipating the battle he expected would come next. “Scan the area. Are the Breen ships still present?”

Turner, taking her turn at ops in the absence of Tavika spoke up. “They’re still here captain.”

“Breen warships have detected us. They’re powering their engines and raising shields,” Ch’qahrok said from the science console.

“Shields up, red alert.” Sheppard said calmly. “Open a channel to High Chancellor Tarim.”

“Channel open,” Ch’qahrok confirmed.

“High Chancellor Tarim, this is the Horizon. I am attempting to prevent a tragedy on a worldwide scale. Please respond.”

He waited for a moment before a verbal response came in the form of a very agitated male voice he was certain he recognized. “Captain, this is Ipesh Nod. We are currently… negotiating… with Tarim.”

Sheppard raised his eyebrows. “Nod, is everything alright down there?”

“Let’s just say that things aren’t completely under control just yet, but I think you’ll find the High Chancellor is going to be much more agreeable at this point.”

“Captain, the Breen ships will be in disruptor range in thirty seconds. Also, I’m reading approximately four hundred small, heavily armed craft, leaving Gouran II’s atmosphere,” Turner said.

“Nod, it’s vitally important that I speak with Tarim now. Put him on please.”

“Yes, sir,” Nod said.

A moment later, he heard the Gouran High Chancellor’s voice. “Captain Sheppard… I’m relieved to hear that the Horizon is still intact.”

“Well, it won’t be much longer if that fleet of ships you launched and the Breen warships all attack us. But you need to understand something. We are not your enemy. Starfleet is not your enemy.”

Sheppard heard a small laugh come from the comm. “Captain, the Federation’s inaction has resulted in the same thing as enmity. Our people are dying because you neglected us for so long amidst this outbreak.”

“Yes, and I’ve heard that the cure we delivered actually made things worse. Look, there’s some information you need. We aren’t your enemy. The Breen are.”

“I’d expect you to say that,” Tarim replied. “Please, explain the situation, as you understand it.”

Sheppard chewed the inside of his cheek. Perhaps he was overconfident in his ability to reason with these people. “Your ancient enemies were The Oppressors. They took you from an agrarian society to a warp capable culture practically overnight while they were using you to build weapons for them. What you probably don’t know is that The Oppressors were genetically identical to your people. The Breen fought a war with them that lasted several years, and during that time, their confederacy lost a lot of ground. The war ended when The Oppressors ran out of resources, mainly because your people stopped making their weapons for them. The Breen completely exterminated them. They want to exterminate you too, because they see you as just as big a threat as The Oppressors were. They planted that virus on your world with the intention of doing to you what they did to The Oppressors.”

“Captain, do you know how desperate and far-fetched that sounds?” Tarim asked.

“I thought you might think that,” Sheppard replied calmly. “That’s why we went to their world and we collected a bunch of scientific readings, data, and a couple bodies, all of which we will turn over to you. Once we’ve done that, we’ll collect our crew members and leave your space, if that’s what you want.”

“Captain, Breen ships coming into disruptor range,” Turner shouted from the Ops console. “They’re firing on us.”

The Horizon shook as the Breen found their target. “Hernandez, evasive maneuvers. Turner, fire at will.”

Turner’s hands flew over the controls and several phaser shots lanced out, striking the nearest Breen vessel. She then fired a barrage of photon torpedoes, all of which impacted on the enemy ship’s shields.

“Sir, we’re getting a communication from the surface. It’s Doctor Bashir,” Ch’qahrok said.

“Put him on,” Sheppard said.

“Captain, it’s vitally important that the Gourans understand something. I’ve analyzed the virus and it’s something I’ve personally seen before. This was originally a weaponized virus that was developed by the Dominion. I saw the results of it… an entire planet dead. As allies of the Dominion, the Breen would have had access to the virus. Starfleet medical missed it because it was hidden within the RNA of the virus we were trying to treat.”

“Tarim, did you hear all that?” Sheppard asked as the ship rocked from another volley of disruptor fire.

“I did, Captain.”

“Tarim, we’re not your enemy. But I can keep the Horizon here while Bashir works out a cure.” He paused. Further communication was not forthcoming from the High Chancellor.

“Captain, that fleet of ships from the surface is getting close,” Turner said.

Here we go, Sheppard thought wryly. Those ships, combined with two Breen ships, posed a serious threat to his ship. Individually they weren’t a great threat. That meant that he had to make the decision to have Turner destroy them as fast as she could shoot, or he was going to have to try and ignore them. “Turner, let me know the moment they start firing on us.” He then turned his attention back to the High Chancellor. “Tarim, things are about to get really ugly up here. I need a decision from you.” He still heard nothing. “Tarim!”

As the silence stretched out, Sheppard motioned to Ch’qahrok. “Cut communication with the surface. Turner, target as many of those small ships as you can.”

“Aye sir,” Turner replied.

Sheppard watched the approaching ships on the viewscreen. They must have been single pilot vessels. They packed a punch, but they wouldn’t be able to stand up to a direct assault from the Horizon. Then he saw them light up with phaser fire, but it wasn’t coming from the Horizon, and it wasn’t aimed at them.

“Captain, the ships from the surface are attacking the Breen!” Turner said.

“Hernandez, move the Horizon in to support the Gouran ships. Turner, keep right on firing at those Breen ships. Ch’qahrok, open a channel to the Breen vessels.”

The bridge rocked again as another substantial blow struck the ship.

“Shields down to fifty percent,” Turner reported.

“Channel open,” Ch’qahrok said.

“Breen vessels, the jig is up. We know what you’ve been doing here. We know why you’ve been doing it. You are now committing an act of war against the Federation. Break off your attack and withdraw from Gouran space, or I can guarantee you that we’ll repeat that asskicking you got in the Dominion war”

“No response,” Ch’qahrok said.

“They’re still shooting at us,” Turner said as the ship rocked again as disruptor fire found its mark.

“How are the smaller ships doing against the Breen?” Sheppard asked.

“They’re swarming. So far the Breen have destroyed six ships,” Turner replied.

“How much damage as the Breen taken?”

“The Gourans are focusing their attacks on just one of the Breen ships. Their shields are down to twenty percent, and their hull is showing signs of buckling,” Turner said.

“Target that ship’s weapons and fire a full barrage of photon torpedoes,” Sheppard said. Perhaps he could defuse their persistence in this battle.

“Aye, sir,” Turner said.

The Breen ship she had targeted rocked as the torpedoes exploded on its hull. When the explosions faded, he could see several sections of the Breen ship’s hull had been ripped away and the interior was exposed to the vacuum of space.

“I’m giving you this one chance to withdraw,” Sheppard said into the comm. “If you fail to take my suggestion, we will destroy what’s left of that garbage scow, and we’ll make short work of your other ship. The choice of yours, but I’m pretty sure the Breen Confederacy will not appreciate you dragging them into a war now that your mission has failed.”

There was silence for a moment, then he heard an electronic shriek over the comm system, but no direct communications followed.

“They’re powering down weapons and putting distance between us,” Turner said.

Sheppard breathed a heavy sigh of relief, then walked over to the Captain’s chair. “Damage report.”

“Shields are at forty percent. There are minor injuries throughout the ship, and they’re being moved to sickbay for treatment. No casualties.”

Sheppard nodded. That could have very easily gone the other way. “Open up a channel to Tarim.”

“Captain Sheppard, this is Tarim.”

“High Chancellor, I think we have a lot to talk about in the coming days. I hope this time we can do it under more pleasant circumstances.”

“That would be agreeable,” Tarim said.

“Please lower your disruption field so we can beam my crewmembers back aboard the ship. I’ll get with Bashir to see what we can do to end the threat of the virus on your planet.”

“Agreed, Captain.”