>> Star Trek fan fiction >> Helix >> Phantoms, part 2

"Fultona-6 Control?" Katherine Brooks hailed the space station's command center from her Runabout. "This is the Rushmore, ready for departure."

"You're clear for departure, Rushmore." the space traffic controller called back. "God speed."

"Acknowledged." She slowly backed the small ship from it's docking clamps until there was enough maneuvering room to go to impulse. The Runabout quickly accelerated and passed by two arriving starships and a shuttle. Her rear view sensors showed the giant science station quickly shrink to a speck on her monitor and disappear behind the large planet fragment as she changed her course and pushed the small ship into warp.

"Computer, open a priority channel to Admiral Cynthia Porter on the U.S.S. Craven. Authorization Brooks 772435A."

The computer made two attempts to process the command. "UNABLE TO COMPLETE TASK."

"Interesting..." Kathy quickly ran a sensor sweep of the area. But before she could get an answer, the shuttle to struck hard causing the Rushmore to bank hard to the left. Kathy braced herself against the console until the runabout steadied itself.

Kathy watched the stream of stars turn to static light points as the runabout staggered to impulse. She had to act fast. "Computer! Raise shields! Evasive maneuvers: Pattern Delta!"

The computer acknowledged the command and the craft again banked hard to left. "Arm phasers!" she ordered.

More bad news came back. "WEAPONS OFF-LINE." The Rushmore was blasted again. This time, equipment in the rear of the ship sprang to life with sparks and dark smoke. "SHIELDS OFF-LINE."

That's when she saw the insect-like fighter crafts on the viewscreen pass over the runabout and take an offensive position ahead of her.

"Computer prepare to. . . " before she could finish. Three transporter signals materialized in the back part of the cabin. On instinct she went diving to the other side to ship for her phaser. With it firmly in hand, turned to fire. Her twirl was met with a hard slap to her gun hand. The phaser went flying across the room. She paused for a second to study her attackers. One of them kept his self in the shadows while to two larger creatures came after her. They were large hulking figures which resembled reptiles. Their movements were clumsy but strong, and she recognized them as the intruders from Dr. Hinkle's lab.

The lead creature put a firm grip on her neck to immobilize her. She could see her phaser on the floor a few feet away. Without thinking, she flailed her arms until she could find something grab. Her grasp met a tube protruding out its neck and she violently yanked it outward. The tube ruptured and white hot liquid sprayed her uniform. The creature screamed in pain releasing its grip.

With a forceful push she knocked her attacker sideways and the lunged for the phaser. As her hand grasped it firmly, she tried to get to her feet. But she didn't count on the second creature acting so quickly. He unholstered a large knife and used it with pinpoint accuracy. At first, Kathy didn't feel the blade stab her in the back of her shoulder until it passed completely through and lodge into the floor panel. She screamed in pain, flailing when she realized the blade had her pinned to the floor.

"Fighting is pointless, Commander." the third creature said as he emerged from the shadows. "I am really impressed, though. Imagine! Killing a Jem'Hadar in your first meeting. Not many people can say that."

Katherine looked up to see who was speaking, but quickly passed out from the pain.

The Helix reached their destination within four hours. The cloaked ship came out of warp and quickly found itself in the midst of wreckage as far as the eye could see. Alex sat at command studying the scene on his viewscreen.

"We've dropped out of warp and holding our position." Ian reported. "This is the point where I detected the residual traces of weapons fire."

"Just as we suspected..." Mia called out from the science station. "..we're getting the same readings as the other incident. I've even got traces of a Federation Starship."

"It's a Federation ship all right. But it has the exact molecular structure as the Romulan and Klingon wreckage. Another fake..."

"Which means some poor Klingons walked into something they knew nothing about." As Alex started to pace, Ian turned to face him.

The youngster ran his fingers over the console. "I'm picking up some weird disruption patterns out there."

"I've got circular disruption patterns around us. Four in front, the others in back."

Alex turn to Kyle. "Cloaked ships?" Alex asked. "Do you think they know we're here?"

Kyle smiled. "Well, the way we shot here like a bat out of hell, I'd have to say they definitely..."

Suddenly, Mia's console brightened. "We've got company, seven Bird of Preys decloaking! They have us on a weapons lock!"

"Drop the cloak and Shields up!" Alex commanded. An instant later, the Helix was rocked by two disruptor shots.

"No! Disarm weapons." Alex interrupted. "That was just a love tap. Their trying to get our attention." They watched as two more Klingon Bird of Preys decloaked in front of them.

Mia quickly scanned them. "Full scan confirmed; their the real deal... and their hailing us."

A young Klingon appeared with two older ones standing behind him. They snarled at the camera, an obvious a tactic of intimidation. The young one spoke. "I am K'Lones, new Commander of the Chi-Ro-Haa. What is Starfleet doing this far in Klingon space!?!"

Alex stepped forward. "We are not a Starfleet vessel. I am Alexander Garret of the Terran Transport Helix. We are a mercenary team on a mission to investigate strange incidents, which may have repercussions for our employers, who... have ties to the Federation."

"We are on a similar mission for the Empire, and we are not pleased to find Starfleet conspirators in our space!" the two Klingons behind the Commander grew aggravated.

"Again, we are not from Starfleet! We have performed honorable tasks for the High Counsel, which gives us conditional access to Klingon space!"

The Klingon consorted with themselves for a moment. "Do not attempt to leave, while we verify this..." With that the viewscreen change to show the Klingon crafts in front of them. Alex sat back and wiped his face. He knew the Klingons had already gone through the wreckage and have all the data they would need. And believe it or not, due to the involvement in their space, the Klingons are the only ones they could come close to trusting at this time.

After a few minutes, K'Lones was back. "I have checked our databanks on you, Garret. It's seems you have fought bravely at the side of the Empire on numerous occasions! Gowron himself proclaims you the descendant of a strong house of human warriors!"

"Yes." Alex answered. "One of my ancestors, Starfleet Captain Rachel Garret fought and died with honor defending a Klingon outpost from the Romulans."

"Then I welcome you, Garret. What is your status?" K'Lones' two aids quickly disappeared from the screen and the youngster settled into his seat.

"Like I said, we're investigating these strange occurrences. We have detailed information from numerous sources which I believe would be useful to the Empire"

"Yes, as do we. We have found information which implicates the Romulans AND the Federation in this treachery!"

Alex walked to the view screen. "K'Lones, it appears that everything isn't what it seems. We're dealing with an enemy that's trying to plunge the quadrant into biggest of wars. I think it would benefit both of us if we work together. Would you agree to an exchange of information?"

After a pause. "Agreed, Garret! We will prepare to beam you aboard!" Again the screen went blank and Alex headed for the transPorter bay.

"Mia has the comm. Try not to blow up the ship" Alex walked to her, and she smiled. "I need you to run the telemetry data through the computer again. See how the weapons residue is tied to Bromethium. We're gonna need some answers on why this is happening. I want everyone working double time on this. Oh, and tell Kyle to get the Doc her supplies. I got a feeling we're gonna be needing them pretty soon."

Within the Helix's cramped medical facility, empty containers lay scattered across the floor. For roughly an hour, Doctor. Jann Jaxa had been storing the new supplies and equipment delivered from THE PROGRAM. The low hum of the ship's engines had always been a soothing sound to her, so she decided to take advantage of some downtime.

"Coffee: medical preset." she spoke into the newly installed replicator. In an instant, she was sipping on a nice mocha blend at her desk. As she reclined and took a deep breath, she was startled by her reflection in the window glass.

If anyone from the crew had seen her, they would've thought something wrong. To most people who know her, Jann didn't have a soul. She was as close to an android as flesh and blood could come. It was hard to believe that she was (and still is) a religious person. As much as she tried to hide it, her Bajoran heritage helped shape her into a caring, feeling medical assistant devoted to her people and their struggle.

But the Cardassians changed all that. Years of beatings, rapes, and slavery turned an innocent young girl into a cold, precise killing machine. The first years of her exposure to the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor were on the orbital station called Tarok Nor. She thought she could help her people by healing their wounds and maintaining their faith in salvation through peaceful solutions. But time peeled away the layers of her gentle soul and shrouded it in a blanket of hate and an appetite for destruction.

The hatred was compounded by the death of her family by the Cardassians. Her parents died during the Occupation as slaves aboard Tarok Nor when she was a baby. Her three brothers died during their tour of duty as part of the underground resistance. And most of all, her sister Sito died as a Starfleet operative during an undercover mission against the Cardassians.

It was her thirst for vengeance which pushed her to develop the OGUN, which became one of the unsung victories of the Bajoran resistance. Ogun was a virus which was designed to be DNA specific. When she discovered a Cardassian fleet's plans to raid a resistance safehouse, she manage to use Bajoran slaves as carriers to spread the virus throughout the Cardassian fleet.

They never made it to the safehouse. By the time the sickness was contained, 80% of the fleet's officers were dead. Although no one in the resistance ever knew how it happened, she took solace in knowing they would live to fight another day.

She stared out the window and watched the hypnotic dance of the endless stars past by her at warp speed. The coffee warmed her stomach and for a second, she felt a sense of content. A feeling of finally finding where she belonged in the vast universe. But just a swiftly came the visions of things to come.

The dreams began haunting her the day she mistakenly touched the Prophet's Orb Of The Future.

It begins with finding herself floating within the void of space. She looked in horror as war rages within the heavens. Klingon against Romulan, Human against Ferengi, Bajoran against Cardassian, etc... A million ships unleashing a fury of weaponry upon each other; leaving wreckage thicker than an asteroid field. Their are no allies, no friends; just contempt for anyone or anything different, and an underlining instinct to destroy all you once held sacred. "Axis..." she softly whispered rubbing her eyes as if the wash away the thoughts of a madwoman.

A hail whistle startled her. Her coffee cup wobbled on the edge of the table as she straighten herself in the chair. "It's open." she said.

As the door rumbled open, Kyle entered carrying three large boxes. He quickly dropped them to the floor and leaned against the nearest examining table. "These boxes were mismarked. Turns out their your missing vaccine compounds." He glance down at her desk. "Mocha, huh? Somebody's been sleeping on the job." he stared at her waiting for some response.

Jann fought back a grin. Even though Kyle was the only part of the team she feels totally comfortable around, she still doesn't like the show too much emotion. The resistance taught her it was a fatal weakeness.

"That's O.K. Doc, I knew you were smiling inside." he said walking to window. From where she was sitting, Kyle's frames was engulfed by the large window's view of the stars.

"On almost every mission we get, we just happen to be in the right place at the right tme. Or we stumble on the large clue by chance. It's almost as if we're suppose to be doing this."

"Or someone's using us for idiots." Kyle replied. "I've never trusted THE PROGRAM. They're playing with us like puppet soldiers."

Jann walked over the stand beside him at the window. "Or we're taking part in a much grander scheme. Maybe we're following destiny?"

Kyle paused for a second. There's only one reason she'd be asking that way. "You're having the dreams again?" he said without looking at her.

"No." she replied after taking another sip. "Their more like flashes now. No longer images across my mind. Now I can smell the photon discharges. I can feel the coldness of space. I can feel the hopelessness in everyone." she bowed her head. "There's dark days coming, and there's one person who's at the center of it?"

"You mean Alex?" Kyle shrugged. "What could Alex have to do with your visions. He' s a good man, Doc."

"I know, I know!" she answered in frustration. "But I can't deny I'm seeing. I'm never wrong." she buried her face in her palms. "Somewhere in the near future, the universe is going to go to hell! And somehow, Alex Garret is involved in it."

Kyle gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "If that's true, we'll deal with it. I'll try and keep an eye open for anything unusual." Jann cuttled under his arm like a daughter, and Kyle embrace her like a father. "We're all in the same boat, Kid. I trained Alex to lead us into hell and back, and I have faith in him...like I have faith in you to help him anyway you can. But if worse comes to worse, I promise you, I'll be there to help Alex deal, or put him out of his misery."

When Kathy regained consciousness, she found herself in a large, dark storage room. She could hear the roar of engines, so she knew she must be on an enemy craft. Her shoulder wound had been treated and dressed. They must've also gave her a stimulant because there was no pain.

"We expected you to be out for at least a day." a voice came from a darkened corner.

"Who are you?" Kathy called out. She was surprise at how much energy it took for her to get those words out. She knew she wasn't going to get out of her cell alive. But she wasn't going to give her captives the pleasure of seeing how scared she was.

A figure stepped out of the shadows. His eyes for a light blue and seemed to burn holes in her. His skin was a bright tan and his large ears seemed to follow the contours of his skull. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Kyan. I'm from a race known as . . . ."

"The Vorta." Kathy finished with a grin boarding on psychotic. "The lapdog servants of The Dominion."

"You mean 'humble servants'." his transparent look of concern was almost comical to Kathy.

"That depends, Ms. Brooks." Kyan began to circle her, but kept a good distance away from her. "If you can answer a few . . small questions, we'd be incline to let you go."

Kathy shook her head. "No questions, Vorta. I took an oath to Starfleet that I would protect the people of The Federation with my life. The last thing i'm going to do is give you any influential information against my people.

Kyan smiled. "We will see. We accessed your mission logs on your ship. We know about the Bromethium shipment and are currently en route as we speak." he stopped in front of her. "The great thing about it is, we appear to be a Ferengi trade ship so no one will suspect our true intentions, now will they?"

"We'll fight you." Kathy said viciously. She tried to hold back her tears but her emotions were overflowing. "We will fight you until our very last breath. And I guarantee that if you do succeed in destroying us, there won't be anything left to claim!"

Kyan smiled even more. "We'll see." he walked to the door and a Jem'Hadar soldier entered. "She is yours to play with. But don't kill her. We will use her to obtain the Bromethium supply. Without it, this ship is terribly vulnerable."

Kyan gave her one last smile and exited the room. And as the big soldier approach her with a large knife in hand, she said a silent prayer for the Admiral and her friends on the Helix.

The hour passed quickly for Alex and K'Lones who spent all their time in the Klingon science lab. After merging their information into one database, they discover the missing pieces they were both looking for.

"Fakes!" K'Lones screamed and through his message pad against the wall. "How much more dishonorable can you get! The information proves it!"

"Whoever is behind this seems to be clever enough to elude our intelligence networks" Alex said taking a sip of the vintage Blood wine.

"More importantly, why are they randomly attacked ships in Klingon space?" a Klingon officer quickly handed K'Lones' a message pad. The Commander read it aloud. "Ha!! We may be able to track our enemy's next move!"

"Since Bromethium is so unstable, it can be ignited in space using a specific process only where the stellar conditions are correct. The metal alloy from the alien ships is composed of a mineral which has a high content of forging properties, but isn't structurally sound enough to use for prolonged space worthy construction. It seems that Bromethium, processed correctly increases the structural integrity of the fake metal. There are seven such areas like this in Klingon space that make it safe to use Bromethium - metal contact. Two of them have been used, and the next logical space would be about six hours from our current position. The Kodak Nebula."

Alex stood up and started to collect his things. "We are scheduled to pick up a shipment of Bromethium from the Ferengi. Maybe we can find an a way to use it as a weapon.

"We will present our findings to the high counsel en route to the Kodak Nebula for investigation."

HELIX LOG: Captain Alex Garret recording . . .
We are proceeding at maximum warp to the moon of Obinous. It's conclusive that our investigation has turned out to be some deadly game between two greater powers. Lt. Katherine Brooks has sent a distress call to us en route from Fultona-6, but odds are we're too late as it is. We've just entered Ferengi space and have cloaked to avoid any unwelcome guests. As of this moment I am instructing my crew to treat any unknown persons as a hostile. END TRANSMISSION.

Alex was studying the information he retrieved from the Klingons, when he received an incoming message. He quickly let the signal through, hoping it was his friend Joshua with more information. But when the image came up, it was a young Bajoran woman wearing the colors of the Maquis. He looked puzzled.

"Why are you sending transmissions on this frequency?" he asked her. "It's reserved for..."

"Joshua's dead." she said sternly. The statement caught Alex off guard. His face froze as he watched the young woman study his expression

"We don't know for sure. We picked up a distress signal from his fighter just outside The Badlands. By the time we reached him, he was already dead. Whoever it was beamed aboard, cut his throat, and cleaned every bit of data from the record banks."

"That's not all..." she paused. "It seems before he died, he managed to give us a signal of sort. He used his own blood to write something on the floor beside him." His display screen split in half to give the incoming image room. It showed Joshua's finger soaked in redness, and a series of symbols written at his side. "There is a possibility the killers left this to throw us off their trail."

"No..." Alex said leaning in closer. He squinted. "Those are symbols only Josh and a few others would understand. He obviously didn't want everyone to read this."

"Yes. He managed to transmit the information before his signal was blocked. Transmitting now..."

"Don't blame yourself, Sir. He died the way he wanted. Fighting for what he believed in." She watched her words take no solace. "Josh..told us about you. I'm gald to have you as an ally."

He look raised his head to meet her gaze. His eyes were red with sadness and rage. He tried to contain them both. "I promise you. Whoever did this will pay...with extreme predjudice."

With that, the screen displayed the information that got his friend killed. It seems that the Ferengi freighter that was destroyed belonged to a DaiMon Y'walen on the moon of Obinous. He had sent his brother to sell the Bromethium to Cardassian Extremists.

Alex switched off the screen an wiped his face again. He began to realize that all the evidence, and all the inconsistancies were linked somehow. Someone was giving them a trail of debri to follow like breadcrums, and all the time staying just out of reach. They'd been setup.

Obinous was a beautiful Class-M asteroid which had become one of the most popular Ferengi places of commerce. Even though it had been nearly depleted of every natural resource for profit, it still was the prime spot to rendezvous with 'unsavory' business partners.

Kyan stood next to three armed Jem'Hadar in a small rocky clearing just outside the main city of Wey-Nalm. Kathy Brooks lay battered and broken next to an old Ferengi man who was also badly beaten.

"Daemon Nezek!" Kyan spoke to him. "I do hate using violence. But I've discovered it's a very efficient motivator. All my friends and I want is the Bromethium shipment."

Nezek may have been a lot of things, but a coward he wasn't. "They are not the hu-mons i was suppose to meet." he said with a grin.

Kyan grew impatient. "But she is." he pointed to Kathy. "And she works for me. Now where is it!"

The Ferengi looked at the battered woman lying next to him and decided to cut his losses. He slowly pulled out a small objected and activated it. After a few seconds, a small spherical object rose a couple hundred yards from where they were standing. "The Bromethium is ready to go."

When Kyan and his entourage turned to watch the sphere approaching them, Nezek suddenly felt a hand slithering under his belt and grabbing his gun. Before he could do anything, Kathy was on her feet and stumbling into position.

"Until our last breath, Vorta!." she said as she pointed the weapon at the sphere and fired. The sphere erupted on impact blowing all of them backwards. The blast left the air extremely hot, and tasting ashy.

Kyan furiously rose to his feet. He stormed over to Kathy lifeless body and turned it over to find her neck and face torn apart by shrapnel. But the Vorta was more infuriated by the sarcastic smile etched into the dead prisoner's face.

At that moment, three transporter signatures materialized within a small valley a few kilometers away. Alex, Mia and Kyle stood back to back in a triangular formation; weapons raised. These were the coordinates that Kathy had given them for their rendezvous, but there was no one to be found.

Mia opened a tricorder and surveyed the area. "I'm picking up faint traces of various energy signatures... there was a massive Bromethium discharge."

Kyle ran his fingers along the rockface. "Yeah, there's unnatural lacerations along these rocks; definite fallout burns. The surface is still warm. It must've just happened."

"Alex, I got something." Mia said. "Five bodies, due south..." They followed a small trail within the rocks until they came to a small clearing. Within it, their lay four bodies face up with gaping burns in their chests.

Instinctively, Kyle caught movement to his left. Without thinking, he put lifetimes of battle training to work. "Incoming!!!" he yelled dashing for cover. The others quickly followed suit when a barrage of phaser fire erupted around them. Rock fragments bruised Alex's face as he stumble a fell over a large boulder. As he looked back, he saw three human figures recklessly opening fire.

After thirty seconds, the attack suddenly died. Alex took a peak from his hiding place just in time to see the faint remnants of dispersing transporter patterns. Their attackers had left just as suddenly as they had appeared.

"No. I've never seem any race like that before." Kyle said as he worked to secure their area. "I got movement, people. I think it's injured."

It took them roughly a few minutes to scaled the dangerous rock-faces and climb down into the small valley. They found a wounded Ferengi lying in a pile of his own blood. Mia quickly scanned him with the tricorder while he quietly moaned.

Alex knelt beside him as Kyle propped him into a sitting position. The Ferengi squealed in pain. His eyes widened and when saw the three humans, he shielded his face in fear.

"We're not here the hurt you. My name is Alex Garret. Are you Daemon Nezek? The man we were suppose to see about the Bromethium?"

At first, it was hard to speak, but he tried. "Don't know..... who they were...... Took me from city.... interrogated me...." he coughed up blood. "....asked me about brother .....Jem... Hadar....."

The Ferengi's gazed met hers, and before he opened his mouth, she knew what his answer would be. "...dead....." slowly his large head slid downward and his last breathe escaped his lungs. But he manage to point to the body lying a few yards away. They all rushed over and saw Kathy's limp body.

Mia had to turn and walk away. Alex took his comm-badge off and put it on the body. "Alex to Helix."

"Lock on to my signal. One... body to beam directly to the medical bay. As the body disappeared he wanted to comfort Mia, but he was abruptly stopped by Kyle

"She'll be all right, Kid." Kyle said walking beside Alex. "Right now, we have more important things to worry about."

"Yeah. I think it's safe to say that those creatures were the Jem'Hadar." It was starting to set into Alex's brain. "I'm scared, Kyle." he whispered, not wanting Mia to hear him.

"You'd be stupid not to be." the large Trill-host answered. "The question is what do we do now?"

"We've got to find where their massing their forces. I think K'Lones was right on the mark." he stared down at the spot where Kathy's body use to be. "It's time to kick some ass..."

The Kodak Nebula was nestled in the heart of Klingon space. A recent phenomena, it spanned almost four lightyears in diameter; the resulting from the death of twin dwarf stars. It has been the subject of recent investigation due to its unique attributes. A large wave of subspace interference resided through the outer area, but from within, there existed a place similar to a pocket universe. The orange, gold and green haze which replaced the normal black void of space made it one of the most unusual, and yet beautiful occurrences in a long time.

Along the outskirts of the nebula, a Klingon warship and five Bird Of Preys decloaked and dropped out of warp. The smaller ships then preceded to form around the warship in a circular pattern as if to erect some type of invisible defense barrier.

K'Lones, Son of Kronag sat in the command center of his war vessel. He was determined not let the other, more experienced warriors see his nervousness. His father, who commanded the ship in the past was a great warrior. His taste for blood was known throughout the Empire. It was only right that K'Lones was given the Right of Vengeance against the dishonorable enemy which took his life of his father in battle.

His crew was sprinkled with great warriors which had served with his father from time to time. They knew he came from a strong bloodline-a strong house. But know he would have to prove his self in battle and would not lead his family into dishonor by failing.

"Open a channel through to the fleet!" he spoke with great vigilance, a great tribute to his father. "This is a message to the crew. I know I may be. . . . young by command standards. I know I may be inexperienced in the ways of battle . . compared to others aboard. But I say to you . . . my blood runs hot with the thoughts of vengeance! Our enemies are dishonorable! They choose to hide behind disguises to divert our rage from them! But it did not work! We are too strong to fall for such feeble minded tactics! All I ask of you is to recognize me as your commander! . . .to follow me into battle! . . . and if necessary, to die for me and The Empire! I am K'Lones, Son of Kronag! And I claim The Right of Vengeance!!!!!"

The cry of battle echoes throughout the fleet for almost ten minutes. K'Lones had fired up the troops. They will be on edge and ready to destroy anything that moves. He smiled and leaned back in his chair. It was the call of the warrior. And in the words of his great father, it was "Glorious!!!"

But the celebration was cut short when the navigator's console lit up. K'Lones leaned forward and watched is underling, a Klingon almost twice his age, analyze the signal.

"Commander!" he spoke with surprise. "Two war vessels just decloaked seven thousand kilometers ahead of us. They are . . . . Federation vessels!" the crew grunted with skepticism. "Galaxy-Class warships! "

K'Lones smiled. "I guess that's suppose to instill fear in us?" he turned to the crew and they laughed heartily. He stood and walked to his communications officer. "Switch to the scrambled frequency and tell the fleet to execute phase one!"

His officer responded swiftly. In a matter of seconds, the five Bird Of Preys navigated outward from the flagship like a blossoming flower. They immediately spread their wings and cloaked into nothing.

"Attack positions!!" K'Lones ordered and the bridge turned dark and red. "They will feel the might of the Klingon Empire!" he laughed. "Posing a Starfleet warships just makes it more . . . fun."

Two more ships decloaked directly behind the Starfleet vessels. Romulan Warbirds materialized and took their place alongside the other ships. But that was just the start. Three Cardassian ships followed.

K'Lones' smile turned to a grimace. "Raise shields!" he ordered. That was when he saw the two dozen small ships pour out of the Romulan crafts. "What are those suppose to be?"

The small fighter-style ships resembled beetle-like insects. Their underbellies burned with a fluorescent violet color as did their navigation nacelles. They were a fourth the size of a Bird of Prey but still appeared to be menacing.

"That must be our enemies true form!" K'Lones walked back to his chair. "We are outnumbered. No matter . . . We will still be . . ."

Before he could finish his sentence, the science officer spoke, this time in an aggressive tone. "Sir! More ships decloaking off our bow! Two Klingon attack cruisers!"

The two impressive ships dematerialized and took their place behind K'Lones' lead ship. He smiled with confidence once again.

"It is time to write history in blood! Tell the cloaked ships to wait for my signal. Order our new attack cruisers maneuver for attack formation!!"

"Twelve minutes." Tash replied. "There's still no signal from K'Lones' fleet. But that could be from the nebula's subspace interference and. . ." suddenly his console registered something else. "I got seven small ships on an intercept course. ETA: two minutes."

"Unknown. They must've been cloaked or . . . Sir, they're Federation ships... I think."

Tash looked up at him startled. "The database registers them as... Defiant-Class!"

"Tash, that starfleet configuration never existed." Alex paced for a second. "What the hell is going on? Open a channel."

"This is Alex Garret of the transport Helix. Approaching fleet, we are on a peaceful mission. Please identify yourselves." He quickly took his seat again when Admiral Porter appeared on the viewscreen.

"Operation: Defiant has been a pet project of mine for awhile. They're still a number of design flaws in the specs, but there's enough fire power to level a small moon. What's your status?"

"I've sent an emergency message to all ships in the area, but haven't gotten a response. The Klingon attack fleet is inside the nebula so our sensors can't pick them up."

The Admiral sighed. "Then I guess we have to assume we're it. Take the center position in our attack pattern and cloak. The fleet will continue under your command, understood?"

Alex saw the look in Mia's eyes and knew she wasn't o.k. He looked to Jann who shot him a worried look. But he couldn't be burdened by that right now. There were more pressing matters at hand. "Explain."

She handed him a tricorder. "Jann and I pooled the information we got from Joshua and the Klingons with what we had and pinpointed the origin of the metal from the wreckage. The only known place this metal was found in it's natural state was by a Federation expedition on a small moon . . . in the Gamma Quadrant!"

Jann continued. "The scientist thought they found another element to use for building space-worthy crafts, but ran in to the problems. The metal has all the aspects of Tritanium, but with one flaw." she leaned over Alex and showed him the Tricorder. "In extensive tests, they found that the metal's structural integrity breaks down at a specific resonance pulse."

She thought for a second. "None. But I could configure one the class-one probes to be just as effective."

She looked happily surprised. "It's gonna take some jimmying, but it's possible. I don't know how accurate the frequency will be."

"Of course . . ." Jann felt uncomfortable. It was no secret that she never trusted Katherine. She always figured her as the Admiral's eyes and ears aboard. But there never came a time to voice her concerns. And now, it didn't matter. "I'll give Mia a hand. And keep an eye on her."

Alex nodded that Jann left, leaving him to once again begin pacing. "Come on, K'Lones. Give me a sign that you're still with us . . . "

"Commander . ." the Klingon science officer called out. "The cloaked Bird of Preys are ready."

"Good!" K'Lones replied with the large grin. The two attack cruisers formed on opposite sides of his ships with their weapons fully armed. "Bird of Preys attack!!"

The five small Klingon ships decloaked just as they past the Starfleet vessels and opened fire on the Romulan ships. They swarmed the massive barges like mesquitos; raining photon torpedoes along it's hulls and disruptors shots at the warp nacelles.

"Tell the attack cruiser the hold for my signal! Weapons station, target the lead vessel and fire full battery!"

K'Lones' warship unleashed a series of torpedoes which showered the Galaxy-Class starfleet vessels. But their shields seemed the hold steady and they replied with phaser fire.

The warship rocked with the impact. "Divert more power to the deflectors!!" K'Lones watched chaos reign around him. His crew frantically scurried from the place to place trying to keep the ship intact. On the viewscreen, the two Federation Galaxy-Class Starships continued their assault. But he knew they weren't real. They were fraudulent replications from a dishonorable enemy. "Order the remaining attack cruisers to destroy the enemy!!!"

The attack cruisers powered the full arsenal and unleashed their power. But to the Klingon's surprise their target wasn't the Federation ships. Their disruptor beams attacked K'Lones' warship with incredible force. Their shield faltered for a moment; long enough for the enemy fire to rip into the hull.

On the bridge, K'Lones watch as his ship seemed to tilt hard to the right. Most of his bridge crew were thrown from their chairs and rolling along the floor. The machinery seemed to rip up through the floorboards. Sparks sprang from various comm stations.

The science officer managed to make it back to his console. "Commander! Our new attackers cruisers! They attacked us!!!"

K'Lones rose to his feet. "THEY ARE FAKES!!!!" he stumbled to the weapons officers as another attack rocked his ship. "Return fire!"

"Disruptors are off-line!" the officer replied. "I've rerouted impulse power to the disruptors but it's gonna take a couple minute to power up!!"

On the viewscreen they watched the five Bird of Preys break off their attack of the Romulan ships and return to help the flagship. But they were met with the onslaught of the small insect ships. One of them was destroyed instantly, but the other four manage to redirect to enemy attack to them.

K'Lones tried to think. "We have to keep the Bird of Preys healthy! Focus our attack on the Romulans ships until we can . . ."

Before he could finish, the science officer went crazy. "Commander! More ships have appeared. They're on an attack run above us!"

They viewscreen change just in time to see the fleet of new ships unleash their attack. The Helix and the Defiant fleet's combined firepower rained down on one of the fake Starfleet vessels. The multiple phaser beams penetrated its shields and punched through the saucer section. The massive explosion sent a chain reaction through the entire ship.

The other Galaxy-Class vessel tried the maneuver away from the blast, but was met by another attack from the incoming ships. It's fate was the same.

K'Lones' bridge crew roared in victory as the Helix and its fleet began to engage the Romulan ships.

Alex Garret appeared onscreen. "K'Lones. You know you could've waited until we arrived before you started the fun!"

The Klingon smiled. "As a warrior you should know that battle waits for no man! No matter! There is plenty to go around!" he opened a channel to the fleet. "Remaining ships, attack!"

On board the Helix, Mia entered the bridge and took her spot and weapons station. "The torpedo is ready."

Alex leaned forward in his chair. The viewscreen showed a squadron of small fighters swarming K'Lones' warship. "Fire torpedo!"

The small projectile targeted nothing. It streaked from the Helix and raced past the Defiants and the insect ships. It raced past the Klingon and Romulan ships until it found a neutral zone. The detonation was not spectacular. The small rupture created a shockwave which expanded outward and engulf all the space crafts in the areas. The Romulan ships were the first to get hit. As the shockwave washed over them, their hulls became incredibly brittle. Their warp nacelle power fluttered and then died. The same happened as the wave engulfed the fake Klingon vessels.

Kyle scanned the area from the science station. "The enemy ships have been disabled! Well, except for the smaller ships. But they've broken off their attack of the and are retreating!"

"Commander! The enemy ships are vulnerable!!" the Klingon weapons officer cried.

One both sides of K'Lones vessel, disruptors open fire on the enemy ship along side them. The brittle ships were ripped apart in a matter a seconds. The mass of Klingon warriors began to rejoice in victory.

When the image of the transmission source appeared on the viewscreen, the bridge crew was shocked. They all stared in confusion at Kathy Brook's face, so warm and inviting. Everyone had been totally blown away... for a quick second, at least.

"Nice try!" Alex exclaimed, trying to hold his anger in check. "WHO - ARE - YOU?"

Kathy's happy face suddenly morphed into some type of brown liquid apparition, then reformed into another face. This time the being had no features. Its face was a pasty tan with deep sunken eyes and slicked back hair which seemed to be painted on its skull. Alex knew this was the true face of the enemy.

The creature smiled. "What I am is of no importance, Mr. Garret. 'Who I am' will be revealed in the very near future."

Alex rose from his seat. "It doesn't matter really. All that matters is we stopped your invasion."

The creature almost laughed. "I'm sorry if you misunderstood our intentions. This was not an invasion force. If it were, you would not be here now. This was nothing more than a scientific expedition; a testing of the animals, so to speak. The Alpha Quadrant lives in chaos, human. What my people want to give you is what you all want, but cannot obtain... ORDER."

"Your feelings are understandable." The creature replied. "Young Katherine was a trusted friend of yours. You would be proud to know she didn't cooperate with our... rigorous interrogations. At least not consciously. She died like a soldier."

Upon hearing those words, Mia turned away from the viewscreen and gathered her composure. Alex, on the other hand didn't flinch. He knew the shapeshifter's attention was focused on him and he didn't want to give it the satisfaction. He slowly returned to his command chair and took a deep breath.

"Lieutenant Commander Brooks was an exceptional officer, a caring person and most of all, a friend to this crew. She died fighting for her people, and that's O.K. But know this..." his eyes grew red. "You've just made a deadly enemy. Know that all your little plans are gonna fail due to the death of one woman. Remember what I'm saying on the last day when I watch you DIE SCREAMING."

HELIX LOG: Captain Alex Garret recording . . .
It's been four hours since the battle with the shapeshifter's. Kronag's remaining fleet is currently escorting us back to Federation space while the Admiral's Defiant fleet slipped away when no one was looking. Our top priority now is to figure out what THE PROGRAM knows and why we were kept in the dark. I fear that our next encounter with Admiral Porter won't be pretty. In any case, the crew and I will be prepared
END TRANSMITION.

K'Lones and Alex entered the transporter bay aboard the Helix as the Klingon commander was ready to head home.

"A science team has been in the nebula for over an hour and they haven't found any trace of the enemy." the Klingon said stepping on a transporter pad. "We may never know who they were."

K'Lones smiled. "And the battle will be glorious." he held out his hand. "So long Garret. You've done your House proud!"

Alex shook his hand. "As have you. I'm pretty sure your crew knows you will honor your bloodline. God speed, K'Lones."

He knew that just asking Admiral Porter for information would be pointless. There were going to have to be little more forthcoming . . .

Admiral Porter's entourage tried to survey the Hollis-Prime landscape. But just like she thought, there was too much subspace interference to get a reading on anything.

"Spread out." she order four companions. "They'll be arriving soon. I don't want them to think this meeting is hostile."

The Admiral reached for her phaser, but before she could ready herself, an intricate web of phaser shots flashed around her and struck her four companions. Their lifeless bodies fell to the moon's surface, as she slowly backed away.

"Stay where you are, Cynthia!" Alex called out to her from behind. That's when she felt the ground under her feet start to shift. She glanced at a near by rock and studied the complex bumps and grooves slightly form what appeared to be a face. That meant if she was in any harm, the shapeshifters would be her bargaining chip.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled watching Alex and two others come from out of hiding.

"I was going to ask you the same question." Alex replied. "Watch the area." he told Kyle and Mia. "I don't want any unsuspected guests while we straighten a few things out."

As they left for their lookout points, the Admiral put away her phaser and quickly approached Alex in rage. "You'd better have a damn good explanation, soldier!! I could have you thrown back in jail for what you've done!!!"

"YOU LIED TO US!!" Alex screamed. "You knew what this was all about!! This wasn't a damn reckon mission to begin with! You set us up!!!"

The Admiral stood her ground. "Alex, I did what I thought was right.... for the situation."

He began to laugh. It was the only thing he could do to keep his anger in check. "Right."

Her tone became laced with sarcasm. "Look. My orders were for you to get information and get it back to me. You disobeyed orders by consorting with the Klingons in this matter!!! YOU crossed the line, not me!"

Alex whipped around in the heat of anger. Admiral Porter staggered back until there was some distance between them.

"You knew! You friggin' knew what this was all about..., and you let us go in unprepared!"

"And you didn't tell us?! Lady, this isn't a game! We just made some serious enemies, and we don't know who the hell they...." Alex knew he didn't have to finish the sentence. He saw more betrayal in her eyes. "Oh God. You know who they are!?!"

"Don't do anything foolish, Mr. Garret! Don't even think about crossing me!" she slowly walked toward him until they were face to face. "I'm the one who pulled your miserable asses out of hot water and gave you something to fight for. So don't you dare curse me for your own shortcomings! This is a war, soldier! WE'RE ALL EXPENDABLE!!!" she softly brushed his cheek. "Some of us are just more expendable than others. Everything else is irrelevant!" she started to walk away with bottomless pit in her stomach.

From behind her, his hand clamped firmly onto her shoulder. He pulled close to her and whisper in her ear. And that's when she heard something she never thought she'd hear again. It was a voice Alex had buried within himself so many years ago.

The words hit Cynthia like a phaser blast. She almost stumbled but managed to keep her composure. She slowly turned around and saw that Alex's eyes were glassing over. It has fatal news.

She's dead, Admiral. Your mystery assailents killed her. They tortured her for information and then they killed her."

Alex gave no sympathy. "I'm not letting this happen anyone else, Admiral. I'm gonna do whatever takes to protect my people. And that means from ANY threaten coming our way!"

She turned to face him and saw it in his face. A hint of the darkness he had denied for so long. Unfortunately, her plan was proceding according to schedule. Now, she needed to put on the final touches.

"Katherine knew the risks of this assignment, and you should've also. So do not threaten me, Garret! I own you!"

She tried to retain control of the situation. "With a single word, I can have you and your little ship blown out of the sky!"

He reached into his sachel and tossed her a message pad. "Here's all the data we logged in this mission." As he started to walk away, another thought came to him. He turned and stared at her for a minute. "Oh, there's one other thing I still don't understand. A good man was killed delivering that information to me. Before he died, he scribbled a coded message to me. He used an ancient Vulcan script to spell out 'Talmari' which translates as 'Founders' in Terran languages. Any comments?"

"That's what I thought." he stared her with a gaze of disappointment. "I don't know how you ever talked us into this. From this point on, this little unit is finished. We follow our own agenda..." he tapped his combadge and a transporter beam commenced. "...and may The Prophets have mercy on anymone who tries to cross us again."

And in an instant, he was gone. There was nothing left but a strong breeze which helped to cover up his footprints in the sand.

There was a slight pause. "It's...gone, ma'am. It was there a minute ago, they must've cloak when we weren't paying attention."

"That's o.k. Keep me posted." Cynthia Porter sighed. She knew this day would come. She just hoped it was further down the line, when she had enough information to explain everything to him. She knew the mission had been compromised when she grew too attached to Alex. And that was the most unfortunate. Because he was one of her elite. Whether they knew it or not, they were going to still play a pivotal role in the tipping balance of control in the Alpha Quadrant.

The Founders were coming, and the Federation was going to need every resource to stop his onslaught...

Slowly, large rocks and bolders behind the her began to twist and contort. And from the boulder rose figures with no features. Their skin resembled clay and their stern posture commanded respect. Cynthia watched the morphing shadows rise from behind her, and soon she was in the company of seven other beings.

She sobbed. "I assume you heard? Those son-of-a-bitches killed my Kathy." She turned to face them. "They wanted to send a message to us, that their coming and they did it by killing my...best friend. And now Alex knows more than he's suppose to. " Her companions offered no facial expression, but she could tell they felt sympathy for her. "Here we are trying to stop the destruction of the Universe, and now we have the Dominion to contend with. How are we gonna fight two enemies on two separate fronts? "

"You have no choice, Solid." one of the shapeshifters said. "The Dominion and my people crave power. They are too powerful to be ignored, yet they must not be allowed to interfere in our grander scheme."

Another stepped forward. "This is a pivotal time. Alex is the focal point for the AXIS POWER. If his transformation goes uncontrolled, the universe, itself could be lost. The ancient scripts tell us that. Even the Bajoran, Jann Jaxa's visions confirm this to be true."

"The only thing I can do..." she looked downward. "We have a liitle more than a year, before Alex's ascension. By that time, He and Team Helix should be in a controlled environment. After the ascension, we will have acquired everything we've hoped for. If we succeed, the Dominion will be nothing but a nucence to the Federation. No offense..."

With a whisper, the shadows behind her were gone. And all that was left was the Admiral and the gasping wind. She looked up into the night sky and stared at M'harian-4's hazy silhouette like she use to stare at the moon on Earth. "I'm sorry, Alex." she whispered with genuine sincerity. "How could I tell you the truth? How could I tell you that your the evil, that will destroy... everything..."

Todd Kelley Helix Phantoms	On Site 2012.06.21
(EPISODE 3) It's several years since Team Helix joined THE PROGRAM, and the crew is sent to investigate a strange occurrence in Klingon space. But a routine recon mission turns into what could be full scale war, with the Alpha Quadrant as the ultimate prize. . . .