Author’s Note: This story
takes place at the same time as the events portrayed in the final Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode
“What You Leave Behind.”
Captain’s
log, stardate 52875.0:
The
Dauntless has joined the armada forming at station Deep
Space Nine for the final strike against
the Dominion. The
invasion of Cardassia Prime.
In
some ways it strikes me as odd, the way the three Alpha Quadrant adversaries of
a century ago; the Federation, the Klingon Empire,
and the Romulans, are now all fighting side by side
against a common enemy. Perhaps a hopeful indication of the future.
Koester, out.
The
Sovereign-class starship USS Dauntless
NCC-75310 slowly maneuvered into its assigned rendezvous position around
the former mining station now called Deep
Space Nine. Around her, Federation
starships of all classes and sizes gathered, joining ships of the Imperial Klingon Defense Force and the Romulan Imperial Navy as they
prepared for the coming attack.
The
bridge of the Dauntless was a hive of
activity as various crewmembers darted back and forth between stations,
calibrating sensors, rechecking readouts, and preparing the starship for
imminent battle.
“Fleet Captain on the bridge.”
Commodore
Peter J. Koester, Commanding Officer of the Dauntless,
stepped out of the turbolift and down to where Lt
Commander Kevin Fry relinquished the center seat. As Fry took his position at the helm, Koester
sat in the command chair, immediately pressing the intercom button.
“Bridge to engineering.
Status of propulsion systems?”
“Impulse drive at 100%.
Thrusters standing by. Warp drive has been re-tuned and is running
at 105% efficiency,” reported the voice of Lt
“Very good,
“Sickbay
is stowed, prepped, ready, and standing by for casualties,” responded Dr. Lotus
Q, the Chief Medical Officer, not
sounding her usual upbeat self.
“Very well. I’ll try
not to send you too many, Poe,” Koester said, just a tad informally. “Bridge to Marine Barracks. Status?”
A
brief moment passed before a gruff voice responded, sounding as if being spoken
around a well-chewed 400 year old cigar, “Well, ahh,
Commodore, sir, we’re all just chompin’ at the bit
down here. Me,
Betty, and the lads here have a few things we’d like to, er,
discuss with the Cardies and Breen!”
Koester
smiled at the response from Gunnery Sergeant Christopher ‘Olly’
O’Laughlin and quietly explained to Fry’s puzzled
glance, “Betty is his phaser rifle...,” then
continued, “Thank you for your enthusiasm, Sergeant, but I was referring to the
status of the Hornets?”
“Oh...
uh... Hold on a sec... Er, I mean, stand by...”
An
audible click was heard, followed by a brief moment of silence during which
Koester and Fry exchanged amused glances.
Finally the intercom channel reopened.
“
“Captain,
what is our air-wing status?”
Starfleet
Marine Corps Captain Sean Elliot McIntyre stood in the aftmost
hanger bay of the Dauntless, which
had been refitted for and turned over to the use of the embarked Marine Special
Contingent for their fighter craft.
Personnel crawled over, around, under, and into access hatches of the
various Hornets assembled there, making the final checks and inspections to
ready them for battle. McIntyre handed
the sonic spanner he was holding to one of the nearby Marines as he answered.
“We
just finished prepping the six new fighters transferred from DS9.
Gotta admit, it’s nice not seeing disaster
names painted on their noses. Weapons
pods are loaded and ready. All ten
Hornets are refueled, rearmed, and have passed initial preflight checks - we’re
performing the final inspections and closing them up now. As planned, we’ll be holding two back as
ready-fives. I’ll be leading the first assault, and all other pilots have
already been briefed and are standing by in the pilot’s ready room.” A nearby corporal handed McIntyre a padd, which the Captain read from as he continued his
report.
“1st
platoon, Alpha and Charlie squads are standing by for Troop Drop by
transporter. Bravo squad will be standing
by in the
“Very
good, Captain. Remember, your ground
troops will be making the assault alongside Klingon
soldiers. Stay focused.”
“Commodore,”
said Lt Commander Winters from the ops console, drawing Koester’s
attention. “We’ve just received word
from the Defiant. The fleet’s ready to move out.”
Koester
took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders as he squirmed slightly in his
chair.
“Very well. Mister
Fry, take her out. Set course for Cardassia Prime!”
Star Trek: Dauntless
“All’s Fair...” By PJK
“Jem’Hadar vessel on an intercept course, bearing 342 mark 9,” announced Winters over the sound of the red alert
klaxon and the rough heaving of the ship.
“Hornet
first flight has launched,” reported Chief Pono Kyman from the Mission Ops post at the port side of the
bridge. The El’Aurian
man turned his seat to face Commodore Koester.
“Lt Zander reports second flight is ready to
launch on your command.”
“Hold
on that, Chief,” Koester ordered. “We
just picked up a tail. Give me a chance
to get this Jem’Hadar ship off our track.” Koester turned to where his First Officer,
Commander Virgil Dylan Kane, stood by one of the tactical consoles.
“Well,
Exec, you always said you preferred to be in the thick of things,” he said with
a grin.
Kane
glanced at his CO as he gripped the edge of the console to keep from being knocked
down.
“All
things being equal, Skipper, I’d rather be on Risa.”
The
starship shook again as the Jem’Hadar phaser struck the Dauntless’
aft shields again. Then unexpectedly,
the ship shook more violently, but not from the blast of a phaser.
“Jem’Hadar ship has been destroyed by a Romulan Warbird,” reported Winters.
“I
never thought I would want to thank a Romulan,” Koester muttered. “
Down
in the aft shuttlebay, four more Hornet fighter-craft
flew out to join their comrades in battle.
Each peeled off to pursue different Jem’Hadar
attack ship.
“A
Breen ship has closed to weapons range and is opening fire!” reported Lt Ga’gh from tactical.
“Evasive
pattern Delta, and watch out for that squadron of Klingon
Birds-of-Prey!”
The
Dauntless swooped down and around,
narrowly missing a collision with the four passing Klingon
vessels as the Breen ship which was attempting to intercept overshot its mark
and collided with a slowly maneuvering Cardassian
warship.
“Good
flying, Mister Fry,” Koester praised his helmsman.
“Don’t
applaud yet! A section of that Cardassian ship is tumbling right toward us!” announced Winters, his everpresent satchel
almost slipping off his shoulders.
“We’re
blocked in by the starship Titanic
and another Cardassian ship, Commodore,” Fry
reported.
“Damn!”
whispered Koester. “Tactical,
shields emergency aft!” Then into the intercom, “All hands, brace for impact!”
The
Dauntless shuddered less then a
second later as the wreckage of the Cardassian vessel
struck her, flinging crew members to the deck.
“Damage
report?”
“Plasma
conduits are buckling on decks 13, 14, and 15,” reported Lt Dar from the port Engineering console. “EPS
power taps are off-line on deck 17, section 12. Engineering hull computer core is off-line.”
“Place
computer systems on back-up. Have Damage
Control teams lock down the plasma conduits,” ordered Kane.
“Sickbay
to bridge,” called a familiar female voice.
“Go
ahead, Commander.”
“We’re
getting heavy casualties from that last hit.
It’s getting a little crowded down here.
I could use a hand,” said Q.
“Counselor,”
Koester started to say, but Kethry Sutherland was
already on her feet and entering the turbolift.
“Counselor
Sutherland is on her way down, Q,”
Koester said.
“Good. She and the EMH can handle the crowd I have
here. I’m going to need to set up an
emergency triage unit on one of the upper decks so people don’t have to be
moved quite so far.”
“Very well. Bridge out. Tactical,
target quantum torpedoes on that approaching Breen vessel and fire!”
* * * *
In
sickbay on deck 16, Q gathered up
some medikits and tricorders
as she spoke to the Emergency Medical Hologram, who was busy tending to casualties.
“Kethry will be here in a moment. You’re in charge until then. I’ll signal sickbay as soon as I’m all set up
on deck 8.”
“I
really think I should be setting up the triage in the main shuttlebay,
Doctor,” the bald-headed hologram stated.
“I would be much faster setting up, and besides, that’s what they
installed a hologrid there for anyway.”
“The
shuttlebay is too many decks up, and we don’t know
yet if we’re going to need to use the shuttles for emergency evacuations from
other vessels. Placing triage in the
crew lounge on deck 8 will more evenly divide the ship. And as for speed; believe me,
I can have the place set up before you know it.”
Q grabbed one last tricorder
and hurried out the door. She paused at
the threshold, looking back into sickbay for a moment. A look of grief quickly passed over her Trill
features and she turned to hastily head toward the nearest turbolift.
* * * *
“We’ve
got ‘em on the run, Commodore,” McIntyre’s voice said
over the speakers. On the viewscreen, three Hornets could be seen ganging up on one
small Jem’Hadar fighter.
“Dauntless to Hornet
flights. The Dominion fleet is
starting to retreat. All fighters return
to the hanger bay.”
The
voices of both Capt McIntyre and Lt Zander started to
reply, “Commodore, request permission to...”
“Denied!” Koester said gruffly. “Get your birds back in here. On the double!”
“Aye,
sir,” both pilots responded regretfully.
“Message
from Admiral Ross, Commodore,” Winters reported. “He and Chancellor Martok
have agreed to press on…. To Cardassia!”
* * * *
Q placed the final medikit
she had brought into a locker along the lounge wall. She started moving a couple of the chairs and
tables into position until she was overwhelmed by the deep sense of
futility. She set the chair in her hands
back down on the deck and walked over to the upward-curving observation
windows, gazing out at the devastation outside.
* * * *
“All
fighters are aboard,” reported Commander Kane.
“Helm,
set course 265 mark 11, ahead one-quarter impulse,” ordered Koester. “Bring her around to rejoin the fleet.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Captain,
there’s a Breen vessel attempting one last end-around at us!” reported Lt Ga’gh. “Bearing 185 mark 30 relative!”
“Port
shields at 25%!” advised Chief Kyman.
“All
phasers, target that Breen ship!” ordered Koester.
“Firing phasers!”
Phaser strips along the top side of the Dauntless glowed and discharged their
energy, sending beams of raw power against the Breen warship’s shields and
forward hull. But the sustained fire
could not prevent the Breen from shooting back.
The entire Dauntless shook
with the impact as her shields buckled.
Alert lights flashed on every bridge console.
“
“Keep
firing at that warship!” Koester ordered.
The Commodore knew that if the ship was still in one piece big enough
for him to still be giving orders, then they were not in enough immediate
danger to stop firing back at the Breen before worrying about the damage.
“Breen
ship is coming into arc of forward torpedo tubes,” Ga’gh
reported.
Koester
smiled a cruel smile as he ordered, “Match bearings and shoot!”
A
half-dozen photon torpedoes launched from the forward tubes, piercing the
retreating Breen ship’s already weakened shields and blasting away a warp
nacelle. The overload of power combined
with the sudden release of drive plasma caused the warship to explode, debris
vaporizing itself against the Dauntless’
remaining forward shields.
“All
remaining Dominion warships are retreating back toward Cardassia
Prime,” Winters reported.
Koester
took a deep breath, an action repeated by almost everyone else manning the
bridge. In the moment of relative calm
that followed, the Commodore ordered, “Damage report from that last attack?”
Winters
consulted his Ops board, reading off the statistics.
“Hull
breach on deck 8, section 28. Emergency
force fields and structural integrity field are holding.”
“Casualties?”
“Unknown at present.”
“Sickbay
to bridge,” said the voice of Counselor Sutherland. “We’re pretty full up down here. Are you done shaking us around yet?”
“For the moment, Counselor.
At least until we receive further orders from Admiral Ross. Do you and Q still need further assistance down there?”
“Q left sickbay during the height of the
battle to set up a triage unit in one of the lounges on deck 8,” Sutherland
said. “We haven’t heard back on her
status yet...”
“Skipper!” Chief Kyman called
urgently, interrupting Sutherland’s report.
“Stand
by, Counselor.” Koester closed the
intercom and walked up to the Mission Ops station. “What is it,
“Ensign
Spot has surveyed the damaged area at the hull breach. The entire breach is contained within the
deck 8 crew lounge. The entire lounge
has been destroyed.”
Koester’s
face turned white as he quickly tapped his combadge.
“Koester to Q. Q,
please respond!”
Silence.
“Dammit, Q,
respond!”
Silence.
Koester
looked at Kyman.
All other eyes on the bridge watched the Commodore.
“There’s
a chance she...” Koester started saying.
Kyman shook his head, explaining, “Mister Spot surveyed the
entire affected compartment and the surrounding areas. No signs.
Not even a body.”
Koester
paused a moment, visibly composing himself.
“Understood. Thank
you, Chief.”
With
an effort, Koester returned to his chair.
Winters started to say something, but Koester simply glanced at him,
silently shaking his head, and returning his attention to the remainder of the
battle ahead of them.
* * * *
First
Officer’s Log, stardate 52877.1:
With
the majority of our battle damage repaired or cleverly jury-rigged by
Engineering Department, we have rejoined the fleet.
We
count ourselves among the lucky. Four dead, including one of Capt McIntyre’s Hornet pilots;
twenty-two wounded; one missing, our Chief Medical Officer.
At
the agreement of Admiral Ross, Chancellor Martok, and
Captain Sisko of the Defiant,
the fleet is re-grouping for the final, decisive strike on Cardassia
Prime.
Kane, out.
The
entire voyage to Cardassia, the bridge was solemn and
quiet. Only the background chirps and
beeps of the consoles, broken by the occasional job-related report, could be
heard. No one engaged in
conversation. No one laughed or joked.
The
mood on the bridge, and from there the entire ship, was influenced by the
Commanding Officer. Commodore Koester
sat brooding in his center seat, occasionally barking off one order or another,
a puzzled, disbelieving expression clouding his features from time to
time. The entire crew was of course
aware of the relationship Commodore Koester and Commander Q had shared, so his behavior was understandable to them. Nobody, however, seemed to quite know how to
handle it. Offers to relieve the
Commodore of the Conn, to give him a chance to rest,
relax, or simply reflect, were rebuked to both Commander Kane and Commander
Jeff Bloom, the ship’s Second and Chief Science Officer.
“Status?” Koester asked for the fifth time in the last
half-hour as Counselor Sutherland emerged from the turbolift. Her concern was evident on her face as she
approached the captain’s chair.
“We
remain on course 265 mark 1,” reported Lt Commander Kevin Fry for the fifth
time. “ETA to Cardassia Prime, one hour.”
“Captain,
you should get some rest,” Sutherland said, gently placing a hand on the
quarter-Betazoid man’s shoulder, using her empathic
abilities to ‘read’ him. “You’ve been
through a lot...”
“We’re
about to go through a lot more, Counselor,” Koester growled without even
looking away from the viewscreen.
“You
should at least try and get some rest, Peter,” Sutherland added gently. “At least lay down for a little while in your
ready room. You’ve been up here since
before we entered battle.”
“Counselor...,”
Koester said, a harsh edge to his voice, an edge that
died as he looked up at the half-Betazoid woman. “Counselor, if I go anywhere else, I’ll have
time to think. And I don’t want to think right now.” A lone tear ran down Koester’s cheek. “I need to be here!”
Sutherland
nodded in understanding, taking her usual seat to the Commodore’s left, her
hand discreetly holding Koester’s as the Dauntless
once again neared battle.
* * * *
The
war against the Dominion had ended six days earlier. With the allied fleet’s attack on the
Dominion forces at Cardassia Prime, the unexpected
last-minute switch of the Cardassian forces from the
Dominion side to the Alliance, and the capture of the Founder Leader, all
Dominion assets in the Alpha Quadrant surrendered and within days a treaty was
quickly signed aboard station Deep Space
Nine.
In
the days that followed, many of Starfleet’s starships and warships made their
way to the various shipyards and dry-docks scattered across the
Federation. The Dauntless soon found itself moored at it’s
construction sight, the Starfleet Yards
orbiting the planet of Vulcan. As
repairs commenced, crew members departed on leave, wounds healed, and life
slowly returned to normal on the starship.
However,
not all of the crew’s wounds needing healing were physical ones. And the Ship’s Counselor found her schedule
booked solid many days.
“I
sense you’re still not handling your loss any better now than during the first
days after she was killed, Peter,” Counselor Sutherland said to Commodore
Koester, who sat reclining on the Counselor’s couch.
“You
don’t understand, Counselor,” said the agitated Koester. “She can’t be dead! It’s impossible!”
“Reluctance
to acknowledge the loss of a loved one is often one of the symptoms of a
sudden, unexpected death of somebody close like this.”
“But
you don’t know her the way I do, Counselor.
She just can’t... die...”
“I
know it seems that way, especially with someone like a joined Trill. Usually the host dies, but the symbiont and all the shared memories go on. But in this case, Peter, she’s gone. All of her. There is no symbiont
to pass on, and there is no way possible Q
could have survived. You have to
recognize this first. You must let go
and move on before your grief will begin to subside, or it will eventually
overcome you.”
“No,
you don’t understand!” Koester grunted with a sigh of frustration. There just seemed no way to make the
Counselor understand without getting into things he knew he could not
discuss. The Commodore glanced over at
the chronometer on the wall, drawing a deep breath as he did.
“I’m
sorry, Counselor. I know you’re trying
to help. But there’s so much about Q I just can’t share with you or anyone
else. So much that makes it impossible to
simply let go and believe she’s dead.”
Sutherland
nodded sympathetically.
“I
have to go now, Counselor,” Koester said, getting up from the couch. “Gem’s returning to the ship later today, and
I have a few things to attend to before she arrives.”
Sutherland
smiled at the mention of the Commodore’s young daughter, transferred off the Dauntless during the war to live with
her grandparents on Earth, along with the few other civilians who normally
lived and worked aboard the starship.
She picked up a nearby padd and started
tapping information into it.
“If
you should need me for any reason, anything I can do for you, just call,” she
said. “In the meantime, I’ll book you
for this same timeslot again next week?”
Koester
sighed again, pausing at the doorway of the Counselor’s office.
“If you insist, Kethry.” A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Sutherland
nodded as Koester started to exit the room then hesitated, sticking his head
back in through the doorway.
“There
is one thing you can do for me,” the Commodore said. “With Q
apparently gone, I need someone I can trust to fill in the CMO position. Our EMH can handle most of the day-to-day
duties, but I need a flesh and blood person to run sickbay. I hate to have to burden you with all the
extra paperwork, but...”
“Don’t
worry,” Sutherland said with a gentle smile.
“I can handle it. And thanks for
the vote of confidence.”
Koester
smiled back, a wane smile.
“Thank
you, Kethry.”
Koester disappeared into the corridor, the doors swishing shut behind
him. As the doors closed, Sutherland’s
smile changed to a frown, and she spent a moment simply thinking. Sudden realization dawned on her face and she
tapped her combadge.
“Counselor Sutherland to Engineering.”
“Engineering.
Johnson,” came the reply.
“Mister
Johnson, I have a little pet project I’m going to need your assistance
with. Could you meet me in Holodeck 3 in fifteen minutes? I can outline the design parameters with you.”
“Aye,
Counselor.”
Sutherland
tapped off her combadge, and with a satisfied nod,
set off for the Holodeck.
* * * *
It
took Koester a few minutes to reach his quarters. As he entered, his eyes settled on the two
small boxes sitting on the glass coffee table.
Some of Q’s personal
belongings that had been kept in his cabin, since she had rarely spent time in
her own quarters this past year, now neatly packed away. Koester was not sure what he was going to do
with the stuff. It was not as if Q really had a next-of-kin he could
return them to. And keeping them would
constantly reopen old wounds.
As
he started to remove his duty uniform jacket, Koester noticed the blinking
light on his computer monitor on his desk.
“Computer,
status?” he queried as he ducked into the head and splashed water on his face.
“You
have one message,” the computer’s female voice reported.
“From?” Koester asked as he dried his face on a nearby
towel.
“Message
has no annotated point of origin.”
Koester
moved into the bedroom, rummaging around in the drawers for a clean uniform to
wear.
“Play
message.”
The
computer bleeped acknowledgement, then another familiar female voice filled the
room.
“Hello,
Pooh-Bear.”
Koester
stopped mid-dressing, slowly walking back out toward his desk. In a weak voice he asked, “Poe?”
Lotus
Q’s face appeared on the monitor
screen. She was smiling as she spoke,
but her eyes held an infinite sadness.
“I’m
sorry I had to leave as suddenly and unexpectedly as I did. I really wasn’t planning on it myself. But you’ve known for a long time what I am
and whom I must occasionally answer to.
The Continuum is undergoing
some radical changes, and those changes require my attention. I didn’t want to just up and leave you
behind, but under the circumstances, I figured this way would avoid the most
questions. It is unlikely what I need to
do will be done quickly as you measure time, which is why the Continuum devised this method of
explaining my ‘disappearance.’”
Tears
started running down Koester’s face as he watched the monitor screen.
“I’m
sorry I won’t be there like I’d hoped, to see Gem grow
up, to watch over you as you grew old.” Q smiled at her own remark for a
moment, then her saddened expression returned. “Perhaps this is for the best, my love.” She paused for a moment, then concluded, “I’ll
always remember you , Pooh. For eternity.”
The
image on the screen froze for a moment, Q’s face smiling back at him as Koester
reached out to touch the monitor. Then
the image blinked out, replaced for a moment by the silver Seal of the
Federation.
“Good-bye,
Poe,” Koester whispered softly and smiled.
* * * *
A
number of days passed, and the repairs to the Dauntless progressed. During
that time, Commodore Koester had taken time off the ship and, once his daughter
Gem had arrived, spent a few days planetside,
exploring the Vulcan city of
“Fleet
Captain on the bridge,” Virgil Kane announced.
Those who were not working on vital systems respectfully stood at
attention.
“As
you were,” Koester ordered with a smile, taking his seat in the captain’s
chair. “Status, Exec?”
“Repairs
are progressing on schedule,” Kane reported as he too sat down in the chair to
the Commodore’s right. “We should be
ready to leave dry-dock as scheduled in five days. And Starfleet has already given us our next
assignment.” Koester raised an eyebrow
in a decidedly Vulcan-like gesture until Kane explained further. “Star mapping in the Cerberus Sector.”
“Well,
after everything we’ve been through lately, that should seem like a vacation,”
Koester said with a sigh. As he
finished, the turbolift doors swooshed open,
admitting Kethry Sutherland onto the bridge.
“Counselor!” Koester said enthusiastically. “Or should I say Doctor?”
“Counselor
will suffice,” Sutherland said with a smile, taking her normal seat next to the
CO. “My, it seems like some time off has
done you a world of good. Can I take
this to mean I can cancel your appointment on Tuesday?”
“Some
time off, and some answers to questions that were haunting me,” Koester
responded rather vaguely. “Yes, you can
cancel. And what have you been up
to in my absence?”
“Lt
Johnson has been helping me acquire some... assistance... ...for my new
position as CMO. Yes, the EMH will be
able to handle most of the routine Sickbay duties, but the combined paperwork
of Chief Medical Officer with my own job of Ship’s Counselor was just a tad
overwhelming.”
Koester
pondered a moment how the Chief Engineer could possibly help out with
Sutherland’s paperwork problem, but figured he would learn the answer
eventually.
“Well
everyone,” the Commodore said, clapping his hands together once to draw the
bridge crew’s attention. Everyone
gathered around looked toward the center seat.
“The war is finally over. We’re
almost repaired, and things are almost back to normal. Plus we have a mission ahead of us. It’s about time we get back to being
explorers.”
“To
slip the surly bonds...,” offered Lt Commander Phillip Winters.
“To
boldly go...,” Kane added with a smile.
Koester
nodded and smiled, then with a flourish, pressed the chair’s recorder button.
“Captain’s
log, stardate 52939.6.....”
Space, the Final Frontier…
These are the voyages of the starship Dauntless!
Its ongoing mission;
To seek, to chart, to explore…
Slipping the surly bonds of Earth,
Going where none have been before!
Return to 2375.
Return to Stories
Archive.