~~META:
title = Episode 40: Act 2
~~
====== Episode 40: Breaking the Glass - Act 2 ======
//Game was 2/4/21. We had a full house, although [[players:jeremy]] and [[players:alec]] didn't get as much screen time as I wanted.//
===== Stardate 49435.81; Wednesday June 8th, 2372; 12:07 hours =====
==== The Phillip Show ====
[[trek:solstice:pcs:phillip|Phillip]] regains partial consciousness to hear an oddly familiar voice ask, "Are you and he good friends?" [[trek:characters:shantaar|Shan'taar]] replies, "Yes?" That same familiar voice says pensively, "I guess that's my loss then. So, what's with this probe?" Phillip opens his eyes to find that he is being dragged through deck four by Shan'taar and his doppelganger, [[trek:characters:phillip2|Phillip II]]. There are wounded crewmembers lining the halls and Phillip can immediately tell that the sound of the warp core is definitely off. With a sickening sensation, Phillip realizes that the ship has crashed!
Phillip croaks, "Hold on!" Shan'taar and Phillip II immediately stop and support him patiently while he managed to get his feet under him properly. Once he is able to stand under his own power a few moments later, he asks, "Where the fuck are we?" Phillip II says proudly, "We saved the ship! Wait, you saved the ship? No, I saved it ship... whatever. We crashed. We're in the Gamma Quadrant and there are Jem'Hadar on the hull." Phillip stares at his doppelganger blankly and then utters, "Wait, what?"
Phillip II shrugs but Shan'taar nods in confirmation. Phillip II then adds, "We came out of transwarp already in the gravity well of this planet. We had no choice but a controlled crash. So why is there a probe of you? Me? Whatever." Phillip haltingly explains their madcap trip through different realities when they got into the Rupture Zone, but Shan'taar interjects, "We briefly got stuck in a universe where everything was Phillip. The probe came from that." Phillip II stares at them both and then just shakes his head. They resume their journey to sickbay while Phillip II informs them that the Oligarchy has a grudge against him specifically, so they likely targeted Phillip I with deliberate maliciousness.
==== Fal Performs A Small Miracle ====
On the bridge [[trek:solstice:pcs:fal|Fal]] realizes that he is now acting first officer but acknowledges he's best utilized at the science station. He examines the damaged sensor pallets and then hits upon an idea to link the //Varich's// sensors with the //Valiant's//. As he sets up the link, Terjan is at Science II and clearly enjoying being in a female body. Fal's linkup is successful and both ships are able to utilize each other's sensor grids to get better idea of what they're facing. Fal decides, in a list of descending priority, to focus first on detecting incoming threats, then check the hull integrity, and finally to try to get the long-range sensors online. He sends those priorities to [[trek:characters:hall|Commander Hall]], who quickly approves.
Unfortunately, he discovers in reverse order that the long-range sensors are completely shot and in terms of hull integrity they have three major breaches and a whopping seventeen minor breaches all throughout the ship! In terms of incoming threats, there is the Jem'Hadar attack ship hovering over them, but Fal detects several more on an incoming course, while an incredibly large battle cruiser is in the process of descending into the atmosphere right on top of them! He notes that there are three squads of Jem'Hadar on the hull and watches as one kicks the nacelle for some unknown reason.((Just kicking the tires on a sweet new ride.))
He feeds the sensor data directly to the tactical station while reporting it to Commander Hall, and notes that at some point in the chaos Ensign [[trek:characters:peel|Peel Atuun]] arrived on the bridge to man the tactical station. On a whim, Fal checks the tactical systems and finds they're actually in perfect working order, including the phaser turret. Now very conscientious of his duties as acting executive officer, Fal delegates a few things and then goes on standby, ready to assist Commander Hall in whatever he may need. Hall issues several orders and then tells Fal, "You have the conn; I'm going to walk around and do what I can to boost morale - and pass out phasers in case of an assault."
Meanwhile, Terjan performs several local scans of the //Varich's// hull composition, the chemical composition of the vitrified sand, and the exact location of the major breaches. He realizes that there is one major breach on deck seven, and that partially vitrified sand is pouring into the ship. However, this presents him with an opportunity to place a carefully directed explosive there to blow out a huge section of the glass to free them. He carefully calculates several other locations around the downed ship for smaller explosions to even everything out and prevent them from being blown into the ocean.
==== First Contact ====
Mel, [[trek:solstice:pcs:ktral]], and [[trek:characters:virgil|Virgil]] use the Jefferies tubes to exit from a maintenance hatch directly on top of the //Varich//. They move away from the bridge, to secure the spot on the hull that looks down over the spine of the ship. The air outside is hot and humid, but despite the situation the three Starfleet officers can at least appreciate that this is a beautiful world. The water is a deep clear blue, the plants and trees are bright and colorful, and the sand has a purplish hue to it, which means the glass behind them is tinted a subtle violet.
From their vantage point, they can see parts of the underwater city stretching out from under their hull, and even a few natives starting to pop up out of the water! These natives seem to be small and sleek and are staring up at the hull in open wonder. Unfortunately, the sky above them is very turbulent, and they can clearly see the attack ship hovering over them and then the massive battle cruiser appears to the naked eye. K'tral observes, "We are outgunned." [[trek:solstice:pcs:mel|Mel]] only offers a grunt in reply.
Mel counts three squadrons of Jem'Hadar on her hull, each numbering seven men. As soon as the Jem'Hadar realize their presence, two members of each squad immediately shroud. The squad closest to them starts marching up the spine of the ship to reach them while the other two squads adopt a loose defensive formation. Mel eyes their tactics and grudgingly concedes that if their positions were reversed, she would do the exact same thing. She shifts her stance to exude a capable, competent air, and decides in that moment that she will bluff until they can get out of here, but if violence breaks out, she will destroy the //Varich// and take the Jem'Hadar with her.
K'tral and Virgil take up positions flanking the captain on either side and Mel decides to let the Jem'Hadar come to them, but she will start talking first. The five Jem'Hadar walk right up to them but stop just outside of swinging range. Mel notes that each of these Jem'Hadar seem to be taller and broader than the ones Starfleet has encountered so far. K'tral is perfectly still, coiled for extreme violence, as she notices the height difference but her eyes narrow as she spots something else: each of these Jem'Hadar are missing their ketracel white tubes! She leans in and tells Mel, "They don't have a white supply."
Mel immediately notes the lack of the ketracel white but also that the five Jem'Hadar seem caught off guard by their observation. Taking advantage of the temporary pause, Mel states, "I'm Captain Mel Deline of the Federation starship //U.S.S. Varich//, NCC-72410." One of the Jem'Hadar growls, "I am Third [[trek:characters:omaratan|Omar'atan]]. You are the First?" Mel allows, "We have a different ranking structure than you do, but yes I am the First of this ship." Omar'atan demands, "Where is your Second?" Mel replies, "Inside the ship," but provides no further details. Omar'atan presses, "And your Third?" Mel repeats, "Inside the ship."
==== "Are These Southern Jem'Hadar?" ====
The Starfleet officers note with some surprise that the other four Jem'Hadar seem to be amused with Third. Clearly irritated, Omar'atan snaps, "What is your purpose in Dominion space?" Mel replies, "This is an accidental crash. We were caught in some sort of spatial anomaly and landed here." Omar'atan demands, "And your intentions here?" Mel states, "Fix our ship and then get out of your space." Omar'atan bristles, but to Mel's surprise one of the other Jem'Hadar - the Fourth, she thinks - leans in and declares, "Please note they are two decks under the ground."
Embarrassed, Omar'atan spits out, "Do you require medical assistance?" Mel is floored by the surprising offer, and replies, "We are currently assessing our casualties. Your offer is appreciated." She and Omar'atan then eye each other, simultaneously realizing they're not sure what to say next. They stare at each other awkwardly for a few moments, while K'tral eyes her phaser and then shoots a sidelong glance at the captain, which Mel ignores. Out of the corner of her eye, Mel sees a Dominion shuttle land nearby.
Suddenly one of the other Jem'Hadar asks sarcastically, "Are you going to remember to breathe?" Third Omar'atan is caught off guard but snaps, "I have more questions!" His clear embarrassment causes K'tral to let out a small giggle. To her shock, the other four Jem'Hadar also start giggling, a sound which no Starfleet officer has ever heard before! Omar'atan spins and glares at his men briefly before turning back to Mel and demanding, "Where is this Federation?" Mel replies, "The Alpha Quadrant." This time all five Jem'Hadar eye her strangely as Omar'atan snaps, "Where is that?" Mel retorts, "Not here." She then softens her tone and adds, "We believe the spatial anomaly hurled us about 60,000 light years or more from our original position."
Omar'atan rears back in surprise and whispers, "You are from the other side of the galaxy?" Mel nods and then the Jem'Hadar Fourth asks, "What is this... United Federation of Planets?" Now very uncertain as to what she figuratively and literally landed in, Mel replies briefly, "An interstellar alliance of about one hundred fifty planets bound together to work for the good of all in a democratic government." The Jem'Hadar stare at her strangely and then Omar'atan practically yells, "I have never heard of this Federation! How are you speaking Dominionese?" Mel shrugs and replies, "We're using a universal translator. I assume you have the same technology?"
==== Old Familiar Faces ====
At this point, the three Starfleet officers spot a Vorta hustling up the spine of their ship to join them. K'tral is the first to realize that this Volta is [[trek:characters:ublis|Ublis]]! She announces, "I know him!" Mel shoots her a startled glance until Ublis is close enough that she sees him as well; she says softly, "Interesting..." She then raises her voice and calls out, "Ublis?" The Vorta joins them, and then immediately doubles over trying to catch his breath. Omar'atan snaps, "You know our Vorta?" Mel frowns as she is now deeply confused. Before she can reply, Ublis holds up a hand and then manages to straighten out. He takes a deep breath and then declares, "Effective immediately, everything on the beach is now considered a black zone." The Jem'Hadar immediately bristle, and hands start moving towards weapons, eliciting a similar reaction from the three Starfleet officers.
==== The Black Zone ====
Ublis wheezes, "You have a very steep ship." Mel shrugs and replies, "I've never had to run up her spine before." Ublis snorts and then muses, "Female human, command red, three pips. This means you are a commander, yes?" Mel corrects him, "I'm the captain." Ublis frowns and repeats, "But you only have three pips." Mel sighs in frustration and says through clenched teeth, "My official rank is commander, but I am the commanding officer of this ship which traditionally is referred to the captain." Ublis nods and then turns to the other officers. He notes, "Female Vulcan, two pips, operations gold. Security?" K'tral shakes her head sharply, so Ublis turns to Virgil and notes, "Male... Trill? You have a... symbiotic lifeform in your torso, yes? You have a solid pip and a hollow pip which means you are a junior lieutenant, or lieutenant junior grade, my apologies, I'm not quite sure yet. Operations gold as well."
Mel looks unimpressed at his observations, but Ublis turns back to her and asks, "Can we talk in private, captain?" Mel shrugs and gestures vaguely to the hull behind them, but as they step away the five Jem'Hadar immediately follow behind Ublis. He turns to admonish them, but Omar'atan states, "You declared this a black zone! All Vorta must be accompanied by a Jem'Hadar escort while in a black zone!" Ublis groans but his shoulders stoop in surrender. Omar'atan growls, "They are a threat to the Dominion?" Ublis replies, "No. Yes. It's complicated." He turns to Mel and formally asks, "Do you have any hostile intentions towards the Dominion and the people of Manali II?"
Mel shakes her head and replies firmly, "Like I told Third Omar'atan, we crashed here, and we just want to fix our ship and go. We bear you nor the inhabitants of this planet any hostile intentions." The Jem'Hadar do not seem satisfied by her declaration but Ublis raises a hand to restrain them and tells Mel, "So this is going to be difficult to explain. Are you familiar with the possibilities of multiple timelines?" Mel immediately goes to red alert as she replies carefully, "Yes?" Ublis smiles slightly and then clarifies, "Have you heard of something called the Mirror Universe? Because you're in it!"
==== Breaking the Glass ====
Mel barks out a curse as things start to fall into place and Ublis adds, "Are you familiar with the Starfleet ship the //U.S.S. Agincourt//? They crossed over accidentally a year ago, which is how we learned of you." Omar'atan cuts in and demands, "What?" Ublis sighs and says, "They're from a different universe." Omar'atan frowns and ventures, "Like in Weyoun's 'Theories of Multiple Timelines' thesis?" Ublis and the other Jem'Hadar turn to stare at Omar'atan who says defensively, "What? I've read the introduction and about half of the first chapter. It's slow going because I have to keep looking stuff up." Ublis concedes, "Impressive. I couldn't even get through the introduction. But yes, you are correct."
To prove his point, K'tral gestures to the lack of tubes in the Jem'Hadar, but they just look at her blankly. Ublis explains, "The Dominion on their universe is very different from ours. The small angry one is looking for the tubes of ketracel white that their Dominion uses to control the Jem'Hadar." He turns briefly to K'tral and says firmly, "You're not there." He then turns to Mel and asks, "Have you encountered the Karema raiders? Or the Dosi? I hope you haven't encountered the Wadi!" Mel frowns as she is familiar with the basics of all three Gamma Quadrant species, and she replies, "The Federation has, yes, but I suspect they're very different over here."
==== A Decent Proposal ====
Ublis nods emphatically and then says, "We have a proposition for you." Mel frowns again but gestures for him to continue. Ublis explains, "Like I said, the //U.S.S. Agincourt// crossed over accidentally last year. The problem is that one of your Founders had infiltrated the ship, and directed it to the... anomaly? Wormhole? Celestial Temple?" Mel replies, "We just call it the wormhole." Ublis nods and continues, "This Founder killed and replaced Captain Taylor Leonard, and attempted to contact our Dominion, thinking that both versions were the same. He even attempted to join the Great Link, but it failed completely. This Founder was so horrified that our Dominion is much more like your Federation that he fled back to the //Agincourt//. There was a brief battle, and we captured several members of the //Agincourt's// crew but the ship itself escaped. In the past year, the //Agincourt// has resorted to raiding the planets in this sector and fomenting rebellion. The Starfleet officers in our care have refused to believe that they are in fact in this Mirror Universe."
Mel nods and muses, "They think it's just another Dominion trick." Ublis nods and says sadly, "We believe your Founder is still manipulating the crew of the //Agincourt// as he tries to find a way back to your universe. Unfortunately, while the Founders have judged the Starfleet crew to be not guilty due to extenuating circumstances, they have had to issue a formal termination order for the //U.S.S. Agincourt//. Their proposition to you is this, captain: we will assist you with any medical needs you may have and with lifting and repairing your ship. We will return the members of the //Agincourt's// crew that we have, but in return we ask that you help us find the //Agincourt// and convince them that they are in fact in the wrong universe."
==== "Oh, You're A Romulan!" ====
Mel grinds her teeth at the idea, and snaps, "So basically, we're going on a changeling hunt." Ublis shrugs but nods and then he pulls out a Dominion scanning device. Mel hails the bridge and Fal answers, as Commander Hall has yet to return.((He's lurking near the captain and sharing the 'creeper hole' with [[trek:characters:thaltirian|Thal'tirian]].)) Mel asks, "So we're probably in the Mirror Universe again. Can you perform a quantum scan?" Fal replies, //"I'm afraid not, captain. Our sensors were too heavily damaged in the crash."// Mel grumbles but accepts the reality of the situation as Ublis holds out the scanning device and says, "Use this. We have been able to perform quantum bio-scans to determine who was in the wrong universe." Mel nods but gestures for Ublis to hand it to K'tral instead. K'tral bristles slightly, leading Ublis to exclaim, "Oh! Now I understand, you're a Romulan!"
K'tral's temper rises as she clenches her fists, but when she looks directly into Ublis's eyes she realizes that he has made an honest mistake and is not actually insulting her. Although the Jem'Hadar tense as well, K'tral snatches the Dominion scanning device and snarls, "Reassess the species!" Without letting him answer, she examines the scanning device and quickly manages to recalibrate it to scan at the quantum level. She pivots on the spot with the scanning device to get as much data as she can before she tells Mel, "They're right. We are in the Mirror Universe. There's also a trace of the Mirror Universe's quantum signature on the //Varich//, but it is very faint."
Mel frowns and asks, "Where is that coming from?" Although she suspects Malachi or perhaps even the infant Luca, K'tral doublechecks the scanning device and replies, "Main shuttlebay." Mel looks startled for a moment before she realizes that K'tral means the //Thunderbird//, and she mutters, "I thought Phillip managed to deloadstone that damn thing." K'tral shrugs and shows her the scanning device; Mel realizes that Phillip did as much as he could and managed to get rid of most of the foreign quantum signature, but the rest just has to fade away in time. She muses, "I wonder if the //Thunderbird// acted as something of an anchor that brought us here." K'tral shrugs again but then taps her combadge to inform [[trek:solstice:pcs:ssleestak]] of what's going on.
Ublis looks around carefully and then tells Mel, "Well, the good news is that no one is shooting at each other." Mel nods in agreement and Ublis adds, "I just have one further question for you, captain. Why is there an excited Trill running around your ship?" Mel blinks in surprise before she turns and spots [[trek:solstice:pcs:jessa|Jessa]] running around the ship and stuffing things into the vitrified sand; she groans and replies, "I had asked her to use her demolitions knowledge to free our ship." Ublis eyes Jessa and jokes, "We were planning on using a tractor beam to get you out of here, but to be honest I kind of want to see how this goes." Mel snorts but admits, "I do too."
==== Feminine Curves ====
Suddenly, a shuttle swoops in low, and white-armored Jem'Hadar start piling out of it onto the hull! Ublis's shoulders slump as he groans, "Oh, shit." Mel looks at him in surprise, but she can feel the hull underneath her vibrate with the synchronous marching of these new arrivals. Inside the ship, the sound of their arrival reverberates through the corridors like a thunderstorm, and Hall immediately returns to the bridge. As the white-armored Jem'Hadar approach, Mel, K'tral, and Virgil all stare in surprise as they realize each and every one of these new arrivals is a female Jem'Hadar!
Ublis offers Mel a half-smile as she admits, "Sorry, we have never encountered a female Jem'Hadar on our side." Ublis shakes his head with surprising sadness and replies, "That's because they don't exist on your side. Our Jem'Hadar breed normally." At this point, the assumed leader of these female Jem'Hadar reaches them and looms over Ublis; Mel notes that the female Jem'Hadar seem to be even larger and broader than the males, and said males have suddenly found the sky to be very fascinating.
The female Jem'Hadar growls to Ublis, "Are there wounded?" Ublis nods and replies simply, "Yes." The female snaps, "Then why are we talking?" She turns and issues a short, curt order, and then fifty of these white-armored female Jem'Hadar suddenly pour into the //Varich// through every available hatch, maintenance duct, and breach large enough for them to fit! Startled, Mel taps her combadge and hails Fal, "Head's up, assistance incoming." Fal asks, //"Understood, sir. Quantity?"// Mel gestures helplessly and replies, "Yes? Many?" Fal says simply, //"Understood,"// and then he cuts the channel.
Mel turns to Ublis who offers a shrug and says, "They're... dedicated. Very dedicated. At this point, even the Founders have given up trying to issue anything resembling an order. The medical corps is going to go where it's going to go and nothing intelligent stands in their way." K'tral says suddenly, "I understand that. My mother was a registered nurse on Vulcan." She adds, "I don't suppose you have any engineers like that?" Ublis says sourly, "Yes, them. They fix engines too."
==== Ssleestak Thinks the Mirror Universe Is Great! ====
K'tral immediately hails Ssleestak to warn him that several large reptilian women are pouring into the ship intent on helping. Ssleestak immediately replies, "Great! Thanks for telling me!" He terminates the channel and then decides that this situation calls for music! He queues up the most romantic Rush songs he can think of and then the female Jem'Hadar swarm into engineering! The handful of engineers still working stare in confusion but Ssleestak walks up to the one he presumes is in charge and declares, "Welcome! I will now provide you with a list of things to do in the most efficient order." He hands her a padd; she eyes the list and deems, "Acceptable." She then eye-bangs Ssleestak and declares, "Also acceptable."
Ssleestak preens with excitement but then she asks, "Why are there blinking lights on your warp core?" Ssleestak shrugs and replies, "Aesthetics mostly." The female eyes him and then asks, "Are you also aware of the bombs being placed outside of your ship?" Ssleestak rocks back in stunned surprise and answers, "Wait, what?" The female shrugs and says, "A smallish mammalian female with purple hair is running around outside, placing explosives and... cackling?" Ssleestak immediately jabs his combadge and hisses to [[trek:characters:armina|Armina]], "It's loose, do you know it's loose?" Armina replies, //"Yeah, I know. It's helping."//
==== Adventures in Medicine ====
Phillip, Phillip II, and Shan'taar all look up in surprise as the white-armored female Jem'Hadar suddenly swarm into sickbay! They immediately re-triage every patient, but as [[trek:characters:swims|Swims]] starts to protest, one of the Jem'Hadar bodily picks up Phillip, scans his head and brain, and then puts him down. She then pivots sharply to scan Phillip II; He protests, "What the fuck?" The female ignores Phillip II and turns back to Phillip I. She asks tersely, "What is your relationship with... that?" Phillip II yells, "Hey!" but Phillip replies, "It's... complicated."
That seems to be enough for the female Jem'Hadar, as she grunts and then whips out with a hypospray to jab Phillip in the neck! Phillip cries out in surprise and stumbles for a split-second as his eyes suddenly have double vision, but then that fades almost immediately, and his headache is gone! He nods in thanks as the female Jem'Hadar yells, "Next patient!" Swims observes their brusque but efficient methods and starts taking notes while the female Jem'Hadar informs Phillip, "You are cleared to return to your station. Wherever that is." Phillip grumbles, "I'm the pilot." That brings the female Jem'Hadar up short, and she adds, "Walk slowly? Or not."
==== Most Household Accidents Happen in The Kitchen ====
Phillip decides that if he is cleared for duty and the Jem'Hadar aren't attacking the ship, then he's going to go get some food. He heads out, and then a few moments later Shan'taar and Phillip II catch up to him, having also been cleared by the female Jem'Hadar. Shan'taar jokes, "Is that what being with [[trek:characters:peel|Peel]] is like?" Phillip retorts, "Yes, and just for that, we're now going to have a 2-on-1 basketball game. Maybe we'll have a chance this time!" Phillip II retorts, "Don't bet on it. I can barely dribble." Phillip sighs while Shan'taar laughs out loud.
The three men enter Two-Forward and find that while some of the furniture was knocked over, [[trek:characters:paj|Paj]] has already taken care of most of the food spillage. One of the female Jem'Hadar looms near the kitchen, but takes no action nor speaks a word. Phillip, Phillip II, and Shan'taar pitch in to help clean up as Paj comes out. He gripes, "She's just looming there, saying that most accidents happen in the kitchen." The three Starfleet officers stop and consider the statement before shrugging in agreement; Paj sputters and then snaps, "How do you like fish?" Phillip admits, "I was born and raised on a starbase. Fish isn't something I've had a lot of." Phillip II nods but Shan'taar replies enthusiastically, "Yes please!" Paj softens slightly at that and then he pivots and heads back into the kitchen. Several minutes later he comes out with large bowls of Terran clam chowder for them to enjoy.
==== The Magical Healing Staple Gun ====
The white-armored Jem'Hadar swarm onto the bridge as well, and once again triage everyone with a brusqueness bordering on brutality. Fal is bodily picked up, scanned, and put back down, as is everyone else at their station. Commander Hall bristles but then the Jem'Hadar reach Peel. One of them looks at Peel, who's only a centimeter or two smaller than they are, leaving the Jem'Hadar to bark, "Assistance required!" Suddenly the rest of the Jem'Hadar surround Peel and pick her up as the first one conducts a medical scan. Pal howls in rage, but the Jem'Hadar snaps, "You have six hairline fractures. Why are you upright?" Peel snaps back, "I'm at my station!"
The Jem'Hadar lower her to the ground as the first one replies, "I respect that." She then pulls out an instrument that appears to be a staple gun, and then darts in and jabs Peel six times, once at every hairline fracture! The bio-staples immediately slam into the bone and then pinch the fractures shut! The Jem'Hadar release her, pivot, and head for the turbolift just as Mel and Virgil return to the bridge. Peel announces, "I'm not sure how I feel about this..." as she eyes the staples piercing her flesh. Mel declares, "Fixing through violence!" and Peel reluctantly nods in agreement. Ssleestak hails the bridge with an engineering update and then adds, //"I love this place, you lied to me!"// Mel retorts, "Yes, you would think so, wouldn't you?" She then informs the bridge crew, "Well, we're in the Mirror Universe!"
==== Terjan Tempts A Second Near-Death Experience ====
As the female Jem'Hadar sweep through the ship, violently pushing past Starfleet officers to get to wounded people trapped under fallen debris, Ssleestak slyly informs his new friend in engineering, "Oh, by the way, just so you know, that mammalian female outside with the purple hair? She is suffering from a mental health issue." That prompts a squad of six Jem'Hadar to exit the ship to track Jessa down.
Terjan is placing the last bomb when the six Jem'Hadar suddenly surround him! He looks up and a massive, smarmy grin stretches across his face as he declares, "Just a few minutes, ladies. I've gotta plant this last one. And if this is how I die again, it is way better than the first time!" The Jem'Hadar female endures his flirting for a few moments before replying, "We only have eyes for the green reptilian engineer." Terjan concedes, "Lucky bastard, but you have good taste. Let me finish this and then you can do whatever you want to me!" With that statement, he gets six synchronized eyerolls from the female Jem'Hadar.
Terjan makes the final calculations and then decides to follow the imp of the perverse by setting everything to the Terran composition //Carol of the Bells//. He then places the detonator in the sand and then kicks it! The lead Jem'Hadar snaps, "What are you doing?" but Terjan replies, "Relax, darling. I've got smaller feet this time." He then kicks the detonator again, and that triggers the explosives! As the primary explosive on deck seven blows out a huge chunk of the vitrified sand trapping the ship, the other bombs detonate in the precise series he calculated to free the //Varich//! As the explosions reverberate throughout the beach Terjan turns to the Jem'Hadar, lifts his arms, and cries out, "Ladies, now do whatever you want to me!"
==== Jessa Is Horrified ====
Jessa opens her eyes to find her feet are dangling several centimeters above the ground as she looks into the eyes of an annoyed-looking female Jem'Hadar! She stares at the squadron of white-armored Jem'Hadar blankly before saying slowly, "What happened?" The lead Jem'Hadar replies, "You were suffering from a strange case of dissociative disorder, and a different personality was in control of your actions." Jessica groans in horror and immediately apologizes for everything inappropriate that Terjan said to them. She then looks around the blasted beach and asks, "Did I do that too?"
The lead Jem'Hadar replies in the affirmative, and Jessa cries out, "Fuck me!" Without missing a beat, the Jem'Hadar replies, "He did say that too." Jessa is in near tears as she fights back the shame of losing control to Terjan once again. She asks hoarsely, "How did we get here?" The Jem'Hadar shrugs and replies, "In technical terms, you fucking crashed." Jessa moans, "I need Armina." Jem'Hadar looks at her blankly and replies, "I do not know what an armina is, but if it helps, I prescribe it."
Jessa shakes her head and asks, "Where is my dog?" The Jem'Hadar again look at her blankly and she quickly explains, "My pet. Four-legged, small bundle of yellow fur." The lead Jem'Hadar replies, "Oh that. It was tasty..." Jessa is about to shriek in horrified outrage when the Jem'Hadar adds, "Looking. The last I saw of it; it was in the place where the trees are." Jessa nods dumbly and then gestures to the ground; the Jem'Hadar obligingly just drops her. She lands hard, but then bolts to the nearest access hatch without a further word.
Jessa scrambles inside the //Varich// and then immediately heads for the arboretum on deck two. As she moves quickly, the //Varich// suddenly lurches forward, and she realizes in horror that Terjan freed the ship but made no allowances for the sudden lack of support! As she fights to keep her balance, the bridge crew stares in horror as the saucer starts tipping towards the ocean until the attack ship snatches the //Varich// in a tractor beam to stabilize her.
Jessa reaches the arboretum and runs inside to find both [[trek:characters:rajdog|Raj]] and [[trek:characters:simondog|Simon]] running around! She sees [[trek:characters:jen|Jen]] watching both dogs as she dives for Raj, snatches the puppy up, and then starts rolling with him in a flower bed. She profusely thanks Jen for taking care of her Raj, but Jen only shrugs and replies, "So I thought this wasn't supposed to happen to Trill?" Jessa shrugs as tears start to fall and she says, "Normally it doesn't. But there's a part of Joining that I haven't gone through yet." Jen frowns she racks her brain and then says tentatively, "The //zhian'tara//?" Jessa nods morosely and says, "That." She then snuggles her dog and starts babbling into his fur.
==== "This Was Worth It for The Entertainment Value." ====
K'tral returns to the bridge and carefully avoids any of the Jem'Hadar running around the ship. The rest of the officers on duty remain on the bridge while down in main engineering Ssleestak says jokingly, "I think I was also injured!" Although he meant to attract the attention of one of the female Jem'Hadar, he sobers and then decides to wait until the work is done. On the bridge, Commander Hall admits he was listening to Mel's conversation with the Dominion from a nearby "creeper hole," as Thal'tirian labeled it, and informs her, "I've been in constant communication with the //Valiant//, and have explained the situation. Unfortunately, the explanation took a little while, but the upshot is that they're mostly OK, they took a lot less damage than we did." Ublis then hails Mel and declares, //"Good job!"// Mel replies tentatively, "Thanks?" Ublis chuckles and says, "//We will keep you stable as long as you need. And this was worth it for the entertainment value."// He then terminates the channel.
=====Summary=====
Phillip regains consciousness and Shan'taar and Phillip II fill him in on the way to sickbay. Mel, K'tral, and Virgil make contact with Third Omar'atan and his squad, but several things seem very off, including an offer of medical assistance and a total lack of knowledge regarding the UFP. Then Ublis the Vorta joins them, declares the area a black zone, and reveals they are in the Mirror Universe! Ublis makes an offer of medical and engineering assistance if they assist the Dominion with tracking down the //U.S.S. Agincourt//, which crossed over last year and carried an infiltrating Founder. A medical/engineering corps of white-armored female Jem'Hadar arrives and swarms into the //Varich// to help with the wounded. Ssleestak finds much to appreciate - and is appreciated in turn - but is distressed when he learns Terjan is running around with explosives. The Jem'Hadar start working brusquely in sickbay, and Phillip, Phillip II, and Shan'taar are treated and discharged; they head to Two-Forward and help Paj clean up. Peel is roughly healed of six hairline fractures with a bio-staple gun. Ssleestak tattles on Jessa/Terjan, so the Jem'Hadar head out to deal with that. Terjan triggers the explosives to the Terran //Carol of the Bells// and flirts with the Jem'Hadar until they do something for Jessa to resurface. She bolts inside in shame and finds Raj with Jen and Simon in the arboretum. The //Varich// tips forward dangerously, but the Jem'Hadar snatch the ship in a tractor beam.
===== =====
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[[{}trek:solstice:recap:40_act_1|<= Act 1]]
[[{}trek:solstice:recap:40_act_3|Act 3 =>]]
{{tag>star_trek solstice recap}}