Bloodless

They spilt up into two groups once more and headed for the beach. Logan, Rahel and six of the Marines headed towards the crash site, whilst Hendricks and M'eko, along with the remaining ten Marines continued above the beach, providing both an advanced warning and cover for the others.

When they got close to the crash site, they saw the Jem'Hadar standing in line. The group were hidden behind a sand dune which overlooked the crash site. It was very unlikely that the Jem'Hadar below knew they were there.

None of them appeared to be preparing to attack, Their weapons were propped against the hull of the shuttle.

"I count twenty." Logan said, looking across at Private Booth.

"I agree." Booth confirmed. "Wait, there's another two on the far side of the shuttle."

Two more Jem'Hadar appeared from behind the shuttle, both carrying rifles.

[Hendricks to McQueen.] Logan's communicator stated.

"McQueen." Logan replied, tapping the comm badge.

[We've just seen two of the Jem'Hadar killed on the far side of the shuttle.] Hendricks replied. From their elevated position over the beach, they could see beyond the shuttle to the other side.

"That makes twenty four." Logan remarked. "Three to one."

[We can give you cover fire.] Hendricks suggested.

"Logan, look." Rahel exclaimed, pointing towards the group. One of the Jem'Hadar was walking away from the site and towards them. He carried his rifle and then placed it on the ground about thirty metres from the crash site, before stepping back. The remaining Jem'Hadar took their weapons and walked in a perfect line and placed them behind the first rifle. They too walked back and returned to their previous position.

"Could be some kind of elaborate trap." Booth suggested. "I wouldn't put it past them."

"Jem'Hadar soldiers are not big on traps through." Logan remarked. "This looks very ceremonial."
Suddenly the air was filled with the sound of one of the Jem'Hadar. They were using the shuttle to broadcast the Jem'Hadar's voice.

"Starfleet." The voice announced. "We are Tigra Prime of the Dominion. We lay down our weapons and surrender to your mercy."

The small group all looked at each other. Jem'Hadar didn't usually surrender to an enemy, in that respect they were very much like the Klingons. To die in battle made their lives worthy. To surrender was an act of defeat and defeat was something that the Jem'Hadar could never fully comprehend.

"Cover me." Logan ordered. "I'm going down to meet them."

"Not without me you're not." Rahel announced.

"Let's go." Logan said, dropping down the sand dune and then walking around it towards the crash site.

As they drew nearer, the Jem'Hadar must have seen them. One of the Jem'Hadar, looking like the first one to lay down his weapon moved towards them. As they get within ten feet of each other, Logan and Rahel stopped.

"My name is Goran'Agar." The Jem'Hadar announced. "And on behalf of myself and my Prime, we surrender ourselves to the mercy of the Federation."

Rahel and Logan looked at each other. Goran'Agar was the name they both recognised and one which Rahel in particular was interested in.

"Would you be willing to give me a DNA sample ?" Rahel asked. "Just to confirm that you are who you say you are."

"How will you know ?" The Jem'Hadar asked.

"We have a DNA sample of one of your batch brothers, Ger'Tax." Rahel stated. "We matched the DNA to a sample held by Doctor Bashir."

"Ger'Tax is alive." The Jem'Hadar exclaimed.

"Unfortunately not." Logan stated. "He was killed when he was given a vial of 'Ketracel White'. From what the Doctor told me, he didn't suffer, the drug just overwhelmed his system."

Rahel moved forward towards the Jem'Hadar showing no fear, medical tricorder in hand.

"You are a brave officer to approach even an unarmed Jem'Hadar." The soldier announced. "Your colleague doesn't even have his phaser pointed at me."

"I can handle myself." Rahel replied, knowing full well that the Jem'Hadar was not considering attacking her. And even if he did, she'd snap his neck just like she had done back in the forest. "I'll need a blood sample."

She placed a small device on the arm of the Jem'Hadar and after a moment, she removed it again and placed it in a socket on her tricorder. The two DNA patterns matched.

"He's Goran'Agar all right." Rahel announced. "Or at least one of clones from the same batch."

"Will your men follow your orders ?" Logan enquired.

"The soldiers of Tigra Prime are all loyal to myself and my goal." Goran announced. "They are my brothers as well as my followers, the last of the Jem'Hadar loyal to Exis'Ta are dead."

"How many of your batch have you been able to trace ?" Rahel asked.

"We were a batch of two thousand, stopped when the mutation was discovered." Goran replied. "I know that some fifteen hundred were killed during the war, but that still left another five hundred unaccounted. We have traced nearly half and recruited a hundred or so."

"Where are they all ?" Logan enquired.

"There were thirty of us on this mission, eight have died." Goran announced. "There were another ten on the ship, fifty more on our base."

That's only ninety soldiers." Logan remarked. "Where are the rest ?"

"We have twelve spread throughout the Dominion." Goran replied. "They are my closest allies, the original twelve Jem'Hadar that I traced before being taken in by the Vorta Exis'Ta."

"Taken in !" Rahel remarked.

"At first he said that he would help me find the rest of my batch and a cure for our addiction to the White. But as time went on he started to waiver on that promise." Goran explained. "Most of those we have recruited have been found by the twelve, not Exis'Ta's contacts and the research was slow. And then I discovered his real agenda, he wants to wipe out the Jem'Hadar entirely using a virus. Without the Jem'Hadar, the Dominion and the founders will easily be defeated. He will then become the new founder, with a new breed of Jem'Hadar resistant to the virus and even more reliant on the White. That's what he has had the two scientists taken from Juno III working on. There are dozens of Jem'Hadar 'lab-rats' who I persuaded to volunteer with a promise of freeing them from their shackles."

"So the scientists are still alive ?" Logan suggested.

"Exis'Ta will not kill them until he has what he wants." Goran replied. "But once he has a new army, he will wipe out the Jem'Hadar and replace them with his own."

"Can you give us the location of the base ?" Logan asked.

"It is in the asteroid field of the Regial Seven system." Goran announced. "But how will that help you, you can't get a signal out beyond this system, even with the satellites."

"He's right." Logan admitted. "The colony has no long-range sub-space transmitter. We'd need to get beyond the atmosphere with a subspace radio."

"What about the shuttle ?" Rahel enquired.

"The shuttle is beyond repair and the subspace radio no longer works." Goran announced. "We are stuck here until a vessel arrives."

"Let's get them back to the colony and work from there." Logan suggested, tapping his comm badge. "McQueen to Hendricks."

[Hendricks here.] The Marines voice replied.

"We'll be escorting the Jem'Hadar back to the colony, bring your men down and prepare them for the jouney."

[Understood Lieutenant.]

"Hendricks to Jax" The Corporal announced.

[Jax here Corporal.] The voice of Private Jax replied.

"You can stand down." Hendricks ordered. "We are heading back to the colony, we'll send someone to meet with you and recover the body."

[Understood. Jax out.]

"You two go back to the clearing and find Jax and Tyler." Hendricks ordered.

"Yes Sir." The two Marines announced, heading back into the forest.

Hendricks and the rest of his Marines headed back to the sand dune and then down the bank onto the beach. They met up with the rest of the Marines and they slowly escorted the Jem'Hadar back to the colony.

Once at the colony, they placed all the Jem'Hadar in one of the larger buildings, surrounding it with the shield emitters they had originally placed to defend the colony should the Jem'Hadar attack. Only Goran'Agar remained free, talking with Logan and Rahel.

An hour later, Private Jax and Private Tyler arrived back at the colony, with the two Marines sent to pick them up carrying a body bag between them. Garet suddenly raised his rifle and pointed it at the small group who had come to greet them. Then Hendricks realised why he had raised his rifle.

"Stand down Private." Hendricks ordered.

Garet did as he was ordered.

"The Jem'Hadar have surrendered." Logan explained. "They have give us the location of their base, but we can't inform the Taurus until we can get off this planet. The Jem'Hadar are secure and Goran'Agar is still being debriefed. Get Tyler over to the medical centre and then get yourself cleaned up."

"Yes Sir." Garet announced, still supporting the injured Tyler. They both headed off towards the colonies small medical centre.

"Take the body to the medical centre's morgue and place them is stasis." Hendricks told the two Marines. "You'll find the others there already."