DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All Star Trek stuff is the legal property of Paramount. I think. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. All other characters that appear belong to me. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and must include this copyright notice and disclaimer. This is my version of the ending of Star Trek - Deep Space Nine episode Valiant. I hated the ending, so here's my attempt at making it better.
Legion of Honor
By Kristjan Brezovnik
It most definitely looked like trouble for the Valiant as the Jem'Hadar giant shot through the dying fire cloud and towards the Valiant, firing all its weapons.
"Set course…" Watters started as another explosion shook the Valiant, killing Watters along with half of the Bridge crew.
Nog ran to the conn, quickly set a course and the ship jumped to warp.
"Engineering to Bridge."
"Nog here."
"Sir, we cannot stay at warp much longer."
"We have to. Shut down all unoccupied rooms and unnecessary systems and transfer all power to the engines."
"Yes, Sir. Engineering out."
"Commander!" Collins called and ran to the First officer.
Farris moaned, holding her head.
"Sir," Nog said, "I set a course for the nearest star. ETA is two minutes."
"What about the Jem'Hadar?"
"They are gaining on us, but apparently we have damaged their propulsion."
"When will they catch up with us?"
"In little less than two minutes."
"Damn," Farris muttered to herself and let Collins help her get up. "Captain…" She stopped when she saw the Captain's dead body and the bodies of the rest of the Bridge crew. She stiffed and Nog could see fear in her eyes.
"You're in command now, Captain."
Farris jerked. She looked at Nog, gulped and then went to Watters' body.
"How are our weapons systems?" she asked after a while.
"We lost aft phasers and photon launchers. Aft shields are down to 21%, forward to 78%."
"Damn."
"May I suggest something, Captain?"
"Yes."
"We can't win this fight with weapons. I suggest we try to lure the Jem'Hadar into the star's corona and then jump to warp."
"From within a star's corona?" Farris asked, surprised.
"Yes, Sir. I heard Commander Worf once talk about it. He destroyed two ships at once with that maneuver."
Farris sighed.
"Do it."
"Yes, Sir. Oh, Sir, I suggest you let Jake go. He has some medical training."
Farris nodded and went to a console.
"Repair team and medical team to the Bridge. All stations report," she ordered and touched another button. "Farris to Detention Cell."
"Jackson here."
"Let Mr Sisko go and tell him to report to Sickbay."
"Yes, Sir."
"Nog to Engineering."
"Farkas here."
"How are the engines?"
"Not good, Sir."
"We need them for less than minute. When we go to impulse, transfer all available power to the shields."
"Yes, Sir."
"And I need engines ready to make a jump to warp from within a star's corona."
"What?!"
"Just do it!"
"Yes, Sir."
"Nog out."
The Valiant sped directly for the star with the Jem'Hadar giant right on its tail. When the Jem'Hadar got into firing range, they immediately opened fire.
Nog frantically worked the conn controls, trying to avoid being hit.
"Commander," Collins warned as they got very close to the star and were still at warp.
Nog ignored her and watched the sensor readings.
"Dropping to impulse! All power to the shields!
The Valiant penetrated the star's corona with the Jem'Hadar in hot pursuit. They, however, dropped to impulse a bit sooner and that gave Nog enough maneuvering time and space to perform a downward loop and shoot past the Jem'Hadar right in front of their nose, immediately jumping back to warp.
The subspace distortion disturbed the solar gas currents and a giant protuberance came into existence, destroying the Jem'Hadar in the process.
"That was close," Nog said and leaned back in his chair.
"Well done, Commander. All stations report," Farris ordered. "Set a course for Starbase 375."
"Ah, Sir, that would not be wise," Nog said.
"Why not?"
"The Jem'Hadar know by now that a Federation ship is in their territory and that their prototype has been destroyed. They will probably send every available ship to stop us."
Farris thought.
"You're right," she said, trying to hide her uncertainty and fear. "What do you suggest?"
"We should hide in the next closest star and repair the ship. I'll send out a coded message to Deep Space 9."
"Why not to Starbase 375?"
"Because the Jem'Hadar would expect us to send a message there. Besides, only a Ferengi would be able to quickly decipher the message."
"I see. Do it."
"Yes, Sir."
"You have the Bridge. I'm going to Sickbay."
"Yes, Sir."
Farris left.
"Dorian, watch the sensors, I have to prepare the message."
"Yes, Sir."
Meanwhile on the Defiant.
"Sir, we are being called from DS9."
"On screen."
"Yes, Sir."
"Quark!"
"Hello, Captain."
"What do you want?"
"I have received a message from Nog."
"Nog?"
"Yes."
"What does it say?"
"Valiant Watters at Head Star."
Sisko was confused.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know, Captain. That's the decoded message."
"Thank you, Quark."
"Oh, Head Star is visible from Ferenginar."
"I know what it means!" Dax exclaimed and turned to her console.
"Thank you, Quark. Defiant out." Sisko turned to Dax. "Dax?"
"Just a moment, Sir," Dax said, frantically working the controls. "I got it! Cadet Watters served aboard the Valiant."
"The Valiant?"
"Yes, Sir. And I have located Head Star. It is in the Jem'Hadar territory, 25 light years from Starbase 375."
"Get me Admiral Ross."
"Yes, Sir."
After a few moments Ross responded.
"Captain?"
"I believe we have discovered the Valiant, Sir."
"The Valiant?!"
"Yes, Sir. It is 25 light years from Starbase 375."
"So that's why we have detected so much Jem'Hadar activity. Hm. Set course for the Valiant. In the meantime I'll send other ships away as a diversion."
"Yes, Sir."
"Ross out."
"Set course for Head Star, maximum speed. Cloak up."
"Yes, Sir."
When the message was sent, Nog went to the Engineering, leaving Collins in command. The medical team had removed the bodies and the wounded by now and repair team managed to clean the mess a bit.
All over the ship the crew worked as fast as possible and in the Engineering the cadets stared, marveled and shook their heads over Nog's solutions to problems. They had to admit, though, that Nog knew what he was doing and that his solutions worked. Mostly.
In the Sickbay Jake was also busy. He was under great stress, having to decide who lives and who dies.
"Sir, I'm picking up six Jem'Hadar ships heading this way," Collins reported.
"Get us deeper into corona."
"Yes, Sir."
"Red alert, battle stations. Farris to Engineering."
"Nog here."
"We have detected six Jem'Hadar ships heading this way. Can we make a jump to warp from within the corona?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Good. Collins what's their ETA?"
"One minute."
"Commander, I need you one the Bridge."
"Yes, Sir."
"Farris out. Collins launch a probe to the edge of corona, passive sensors only."
"Yes, Sir… Probe launched… Probe in position. The Jem'Hadar are thirty seconds away. They are headed directly for this star."
"Bring the probe in."
"Yes, Sir."
Nog came to the Bridge.
"Well, Commander," Farris said, "there are six Jem'Hadar ships fifteen seconds away. We will try your maneuver again. If some survive, we will have to fight them. I hope you have learned a lot on the Defiant."
"Yes, Sir." Nog sat at the conn. "The Jem'Hadar have dropped to impulse. And they are scanning the corona. Nog to Engineering."
"Farkas here."
"I need all power to the shields."
"Yes, Sir."
"Nog out."
The Valiant sunk even deeper into the corona.
"Engineering to Bridge."
"Farris here."
"We can't hold this much longer."
"Understood. Farris out. Commander."
"Yes, Sir."
The Valiant cruised through the corona for a few more seconds and then shot towards the surface.
"Jumping to warp!"
The Valiant shot between the Jem'Hadar ships.
"We have stellar plasma in out warp field!" Nog reported and quickly set a new course.
He dropped to warp and immediately jumped to warp again on a different course.
The stellar plasma shot past, rocking the Valiant as its speed dropped to sublight again.
"That was close," Nog commented. "We have two Jem'Hadar ships following us."
"Drop to impulse. Collins, jam their transmissions."
"Yes, Sir," came the double reply.
"Sir, I'm picking up strange stellar… I'm picking up the Valiant!" Dax reported. "Two Jem'Hadar ships are in pursuit. The Valiant has dropped to impulse. They're going to fight."
"Sisko to Engineering."
"O'Brien here."
"Chief, I need all the speed you can give me."
"Yes, Sir."
"Sisko out."
"ETA?"
"One minute."
"Damn. I hope they can hold on for that long. What's their status?"
"They're heavily damaged. It looks like that isn't their first battle."
"Let's hope it's not their last."
"Sir, they have just destroyed one Jem'Hadar ship."
"Good. ETA?"
"Twenty seconds."
"Prepare all weapons."
"Yes, Sir."
"We just lost impulse engines," Collins reported.
"Transfer all power to thrusters," Nog ordered.
"Yes, Sir… They're coming back!"
"Turn us around!" Farris ordered.
"I'm trying to, Sir, but, the controls are malfunctioning. Nog to Engineering."
"Farkas here."
"Fire all aft starboard thrusters for half a second and then all aft port thrusters for another half a second."
"Yes, Sir."
"Nog out."
"Let's hope this works," Farris said.
"There's a ship decloaking! It's the Defiant!"
"Yes!" Collins exclaimed, relieved.
"They have destroyed the Jem'Hadar ship."
Farris relaxed.
"We are being hailed, Sir," Collins reported.
"On screen."
"Cap…" Sisko started but stopped when the saw Farris. "Captain?" he asked.
"Yes, Sir. Acting Captain Karen Farris."
"What happened to your Captain?"
"He was killed in combat."
"Drop your shields, we'l beam over some help."
"Yes, Sir. Drop shields."
"Are Ensign Nog and Jake Sisko aboard?"
"Yes, Sir. They're both fine."
"Good." Sisko thought. "You were a Commander before?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Very well. For now your crew can keep their ranks, but they work under my people."
"Yes, Sir."
"Major Kira will take over."
"Yes, Sir."
"We'll take you in tow now. Defiant out."
Farris leaned back.
"Well done, Commander," she said.
"Thank you, Sir."
"You too, Chief."
"Yes, Sir."
The port egress opened and the personnel from the Defiant entered. Farris got up.
"Welcome aboard, Major," she greeted Kira. "I am Captain Farris."
Kira rose her eyebrows, amused and confused.
"I relieve you."
"I stand relieved. What are your orders, Sir?"
"Stay here and help Commander Dax."
"Yes, Sir."
"Nog… Commander?"
Nog smiled.
"Yes, Sir."
Kira rose her eyebrows.
"Where's Jake?"
"He's helping out in Sickbay."
"Oh. Well, report to Chief O'Brien to Engineering."
"Yes, Sir."
"Dax, download all logs to the Defiant."
"Yes, Sir."
"Sir, we're picking up a ship… No, they're two ships! They're attached to one another!"
"Attached?"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Recall other ships."
"Yes, Sir."
"We're being hailed by the Defiant."
"On screen."
"Admiral."
"Captain."
"We have them, Sir."
"Excellent," Ross said.
"Yes, Sir. But we could use some help. There are six Jem'Hadar ships following us."
"We'll send help."
"Understood. Defiant out."
"There are three ships are coming from the Starbase."
"Good. Let them take care of the Jem'Hadar."
"Yes, Sir."
The Defiant with Valiant attached to its hull sped past the three approaching ships towards the safety of the Starbase.
Ross was already eagerly expecting them when Sisko, Farris and Nog finally entered his office. They didn't come right away, of course, having reports to prepare.
"Sir," Sisko said.
"Captain," Ross said and looked at Farris, curious to see who was in command of the Valiant. Then he turned to Nog. "Okay,…" he paused briefly, noticing Nog's rank, "Commander Nog, we'll start with you."
"Yes, Sir," Nog said and gave Ross his PADD. "The PADD contains my and Jake's report."
"Good. I'd like to hear a brief description."
"Yes, Sir." Nog paused briefly. "Jake and I were on our way to Ferenginar when we were attacked by the Jem'Hadar. We turned around to fight…"
"You wanted to fight the Jem'Hadar in a Runabout?" Ross asked, surprised.
"It seemed the best option available since we could not outrun or outmaneuver them."
"I see. Continue."
"Yes, Sir. Our ship was badly damaged. Suddenly the sensors picked up a Defiant Class ship and we thought that it was the Defiant, but it was the Valiant. They beamed us over just before the Runabout was destroyed. Due to my experience Captain Watters promoted me to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and put me in charge of Engineering."
"Thank you, Commander. I am demoting you back to the rank of Ensign. You may return to your duties. Dismissed."
"Yes, Sir."
Nog left.
"Captain Sisko."
"Yes, Sir," Sisko said and gave Ross his PADD. "We were searching for Jake and Ensign Nog when Quark contacted me."
"Quark. That's the Ferengi bartender on DS9?"
"Yes, Sir. He received a message from Ensign Nog and decoded it. Unfortunately he didn't know what it meant. Commander Dax figured out what it meant and we set a course for the Valiant. When we got close to Head Star we noticed a battle. The Valiant was fighting two Jem'Hadar ships and they managed to destroy one. We got there just in time to destroy the other and save the Valiant. I sent over medical and repair teams and Major Kira took over. We started to repair the ship when we noticed that more Jem'Hadar ship were approaching. We decided to attach the Valiant to the Defiant and get away from there. That's it."
"Thank you, Captain. You may leave, if you want, or you can stay and listen to Captain Farris' report."
"I'll stay."
"As you wish." Ross turned to Farris. "Captain, your report."
"Yes, Sir," Farris said and gave Ross her PADD. "We were on our mission to fly around the Federation when the war broke out. During a battle our senior officers were killed and the Captain promoted Cadet Tim Watters to Captain and put him in command. Since there were only cadets aboard, Captain Watters promoted several of the cadets to officers. I was the First officer.
We continued on the original mission to find the newest Jem'Hadar ship. Unfortunately we had some engine problems, so we were unable to catch up with it. Commander Nog managed to overcome that problem and we caught up with the ship and scanned it. We discovered a weakness and decided to destroy the ship before it would become a threat to the Federation.
We successfully attacked the ship, but it somehow survived and attacked us. The Captain was about to order a course when the ship got hit and half of the Bridge crew died. Commander Nog managed to get us away, but the Jem'Hadar were after us. Commander Nog flew us into a star and when the Jem'Hadar followed us, we jumped to warp while still in the corona."
"You what?!" Ross asked, surprised.
"I believe Commander Worf once pulled off that maneuver," Sisko said.
Ross glanced at Sisko.
"Continue."
"Yes, Sir. We hid in the next closest star and Commander Nog sent a message to DS9. Then we started to repair the ship. We soon detected six more Jem'Hadar ships approaching the star. We waited until they were close enough and we jumped to warp from within the star's corona. We managed to destroy four ships. In the battle which followed we destroyed another ship, but we were badly damaged. The Defiant managed to destroy the last ship just in time. Then they sent over medical and repair teams and Major Kira took over. That's it, Sir. All logs, reports and sensor readings of the Jem'Hadar ship are all included in my report."
"Very good, Captain. You and your crew will transfer to this Starbase and you will be debriefed. You will retain your ranks for the time being. Return to the ship and notify your crew. I will have someone waiting for you at the airlock in one hour. Dismissed."
"Yes, Sir."
Farris left.
"They certainly have guts," Sisko said when she was gone.
"No doubt about it. I'm sure they'll all get medals."
"Yes, Sir."
"Oh, tell Nog and Jake to report to the Valiant's airlock in an hour. I want them to stay here for a while for debriefing."
"Yes, Sir."
"Dismissed."
Sisko left.
While Nog was busy helping O'Brien, Jake used the time to write down a report for the Starfleet News Service. He knew that it will have to pass through Ross, so he tried to be objective. He knew that Watters and the rest of the Red Squad were too arrogant, but again, they were also not as experienced as his father was and they found themselves in the middle of more trouble than they could handle. He sighed as he thought over the words before putting them down.
Finally the hour passed and Jake went to the Valiant's airlock. He saw that Nog was already there and that he was talking to a lieutenant.
"Nog."
"Hi, Jake."
"What's next?"
"We wait for the Valiant's crew and then she'll take us to our quarters."
"Oh. Have…"
He stopped as Farris and the rest of the Valiant's crew came through the airlock.
"Follow me," the lieutenant said and led the way.
Nog and Jake let the cadets pass and then followed them.
"I hope they let them contact their families soon," Jake said.
"Not before they are debriefed and told how much they can say."
"Thought so," Jake said.
He observed the cadets in front of him and tried to imagine how they felt and what they were thinking about. He looked at Collins, glad that she would finally see her family again.
The End