[Ensign Tycho, report to the command deck,] Colonel Tarik's voice blared over the station's loud speaker system. Down in the bowels of the station, in the area set aside for the Banshees, Kim Tycho heard it and flinched.
"Jeez. Wonder what I did this time...," she muttered. She hadn't been in the best of moods ever since her demotion and grounding following her little escapade with Thomas Riker. Still, she didn't want to keep the Colonel waiting. Dropping the busy-work she was doing, she headed off at a trot toward the nearest turbolift.
Seconds later, the lift doors parted and she stepped onto the command deck. Colonel Tarik was close at hand, talking to someone on the holo-communication tank on the upper level. When he saw her, he waved her over. "Lieutenant. I have an assignment for you. I assume you are familiar with the helm systems of a Galaxy Class starship?"
"Yes sir," replied Kim.
"Excellent. Report immediately to the battle bridge of the Prometheus. You'll be flying her in defense of the station."
"Sir? Are you aware that I've been grounded by Captain Wallace until further notice?"
"Yes Ensign, I am. But I think our present situation warrants bending the rules a little. Don't you?"
Kim brightened. "Yes sir! Thank you sir!" With that, she did a one-eighty, and strode back into the turbolift. Even from behind, Tarik could detect the huge grin on her face. Ah, youth, he mused, then returned his attention to the battle.
Kim materialized in the transporter room of the Prometheus. A young crewman escorted her to the battle bridge. A man of medium build wearing commander's pips was sitting in the center chair, and he motioned her toward the helm position in front of him. "Ensign Kim Tycho, I presume?"
"Yes sir."
"Commander Menachem Levi," he said. "Welcome aboard."
"Thank you sir," said Kim, taking her seat.
"And now that the introductions are taken care of, take us out, Ensign. One-quarter impulse."
"Aye-aye." Kim took a few seconds to acquaint herself with the control board in front of her, then gave the nav computer the appropriate commands. The battle-ready stardrive section of the Prometheus slipped quickly out of its orbit around the Supply Base. When they were clear, Commander Levi said, "Now let's show those Jem'Hadar what even half of a Galaxy class starship can do. Intercept course."
Kim grinned and replied, "Aye sir."
Relieved of the massive bulk of its saucer section, a Galaxy class battle section becomes an even more formidable opponent than a fully assembled Galaxy. Power normally allocated to maintain the saucer can be channeled entirely to weapons and defense now, and the decrease in mass allows much more radical maneuvering.
Kim Tycho fully explored the limits of what the battle section could do. Under her expert guidance, the Prometheus cork-screwed and looped around the remaining Jem'Hadar attack ships, while her tactical officer launched one perfectly timed attack after the other. Orange phaser beams shot out from the Prometheus' arrays, touching off explosions on the enemy vessels. Photon torpedo flared from both tubes at regular intervals, filling near space with a score of fiery blossoms.
After the neutralization of SB901's protective mine field by the fireship, the Jem'Hadar had begun to press their attack. But their advance had been stalled by the Prometheus. Instead of converging on the station, they were forced to defend themselves from the starship, and thus the station was given a reprieve.
But in spite of Kim's dazzling performance at the helm and the tactical officer's masterful choreography of the weapons systems, the Prometheus was fighting a losing battle. There were simply too many enemy craft. Where one was destroyed, three more took its place. They swarmed all around the Prometheus now, picking away at her shields.
On the battle bridge, a particularly violent hit shook the deck and rattled the crew. Commander Levi gripped the arms of the command chair to keep from being dumped onto the floor and yelled, "Oy!" After the shaking stopped, he demanded, "Shield strength?"
"Forty-seven percent and dropping," was the reply from Ops.
"Divert auxiliary power," ordered Levi. He hoped it would be enough. His attention was pulled to the main viewer by an anxious call from Kim. A Jem'Hadar battleship was centered in the display, and it was headed straight for them. A Kamikaze? The Jem'Hadar had used suicide tactics before, most notably in the infamous destruction of the USS Odyssey in the tumultuous days just prior to the Dominion War.
"Evasive!" shouted Levi.
Kim tried to comply, but the battleship was coming in too fast. Maneuverable as it was, the Prometheus simply wouldn't be able to dodge.
Commander Levi had come to the same realization. "All weapons. Target the vessel and fire at will!" he shouted.
Right on cue, the Jem'Hadar battleship sprouted multiple fireballs from its hull and began to pitch and yaw severely. A few short seconds later, the whole thing was engulfed in one massive fireball, the edges of which washed harmlessly over the Prometheus' shields. When the fireball receded, the battleship was gone.
But something wasn't quite right, thought Kim. She hadn't seen any phaser beams or torpedoes, and there simply hadn't been enough time for their weapons to fire and destroy the battleship after the command was given. Her puzzlement was alleviated though, when a familiar war-whoop came in over the ship's comm system, and another familiar voice growled, "Eat hot plasma, Jem'Hadar scum!" Three tiny but lethal fighter ships flashed past the Prometheus. It was Max, Sam and Jo of Banshee Squadron!
Kim beamed. Except for the boss, who'd lost her plane in the assault on the Jem'Hadar repair depot, the team was reunited again! Say your prayers, Jem'Hadar!
They had only to hold the line for a few more minutes until Captain Doublet's fleet from Starbase 732 arrived.