Pirates of the Alpha Quadrant:

The Greatest Treasure
by

Jarkota

Author's Note:

Finally decided to get off my keester and start this thing. For those of you who've read the update in my profile, things haven't totally settled down yet, but I've got to try to be as normal as I possibly can or I'm going to go insane. That said, I've decided to add a little more to this story and hope that it goes over as well as the previous chapter. I've also taken a few minor liberties with the Prometheus-class design; although the prototype in the Star Trek: Voyager episode of the same name was rather spartan in appearance, I would surmise that Starfleet would add in some of the more familiar elements of starship design, such as the additional chairs on either side of the captain's on the bridge. One thing that I have incorporated from the prototype ship is the level of automation the class has; rather than have a crew of eight hundred or so as you would expect, Reliant is run with a total crew of thirty-six, interspersed throughout the vessel (although this number will most likely increase as time goes on and new crew members are picked up).As always, I do not own Kim Possible or Star Trek or anyone/anything appearing therein. Anything original, however, is mine.

Ron didn't remember much after the impact. He had been sitting in his command chair about to order a course correction, and the next thing he knew he was picking himself up from the floor behind Shego's chair at the con. He didn't even want to think about how closely his head had come to one of the points of her bat'leth, still hanging from its customary position on the back of the seat. I've got to convince her not to bring that thing onto the bridge, he thought briefly before another tremor went through the Reliant.

From behind him, he heard Sovak's voice calling out status reports. "Shields are down to seventy-three percent. Minor damage to the outer hull. That last salvo was strong enough that part of it got through the shields. If the enemy commander figures that out and orders increased weapons power..."

Ron cut him off. "I get it, I get it. Lock onto the lead ship with the starboard phaser banks, maximum power. Fire at will, but hold off on the heavy ordnance for now. I don't want to tip our hand on the pulse cannons just yet."

If Sovak replied at all, it was drowned out by Shego's loud Klingon cursing. "Chimaera reports that the collection process isn't going as fast as we thought. There's plenty of latinum in that rock they're mining, alright, but there are also deposits of unstable dilithium crystals that our informant neglected to tell us about. The extraction teams are having to work around them to get to the latinum."

Another tremor. Savak reported that the shields had gone down to sixty-five percent and continued firing on the Valdore-class ship at the head of the triangle formation of Romulan vessels pursuing Reliant. "Great." He looked to Kim, still seated at the helm. "I don't suppose you happened to swipe any dilithium extraction equipment in your illustrious pirate career?"

Kim shook her head. She would respond to his sarcasm later. If there is a later, she mused. "Never thought I'd need it, what with the new recrystalization technologies and all. I figured I'd always have plenty of time to find a new source of crystals before mine weren't usable anymore."

Glancing up at the viewer, Ron saw one of the two D'deridex-class warbirds split off from the formation. A moment later, he saw why: two K'Vort-class Klingon Birds-of-Prey had warped into the area, their disruptors firing as fast as the cycling systems would allow. He didn't need Sovak's report to know what they were.

"Gorgon and Hydra report full readiness to assist us, Captain," the Vulcan said, the slight relief in his voice obvious.

"Good," the blond captain replied. "Tell them to keep that ship busy. We need to buy as much time as possible to get that latinum into the other ships." He silently thanked whoever it was that decided to give K'Vort-class vessels one comparatively-small cargo hold for a vessel that size. With the two warships unable to hold as much latinum as the larger K't'inga- and Vor'cha-class cruisers in their fleet, it hadn't taken nearly as long to fill the Birds-of-Prey.

"Those D'deridex-class ships might be obsolete by modern standards," Seven of Nine reported from the aft Science station, "but they still possess sufficient firepower to destroy both Hydra and Gorgon. Despite the small size of their cargo holds, I would not wish to calculate how much latinum would be lost if one or both were to be destroyed." Since they had left Starfleet behind, the ex-Borg had exchanged her uniform for a skintight maroon-colored jumpsuit that covered all but her head and hands.

Ron grimaced. "Thank you for reminding me. But need I point out that our holds are full of containers of the stuff, too?" Kim had insisted that Reliant be the first ship in the fleet to take on a load of the precious liquid metal from one of the asteroids in the small cluster nearby; thankfully, that particular rock hadn't had any volatile dilithium deposits to hamper their mining. They had just barely finished transporting in the last full container when the Romulan ships appeared.

"No; you do not."

"Good." Ron was nearly taken off his feet as a salvo of disruptor bolts smacked against the shields.

"Forward shields down to fifty-one percent. Our phasers are having little effect on the command ship." Sovak's report had lost any sense of relief that the arrival of their allies had brought him.

Ron moved to the rear of the bridge and stood next to the Vulcan. "Tell Riker to concentrate the fire of Gorgon and Hydra at one point on either of the warbirds; preferably right over the bridge, but I'll take whatever weakness he can find."

"He probably won't be able to do much damage."

"He doesn't have to; he just has to make them think he can." Another tremor. Ron saw the indicator for the forward shields go from dull orange to bright red. "Alright; we can't hold back anymore. Target the command ship's weapons systems, bring the pulse cannons online, and fire as soon as you have a clear shot. Kim, bring us up and over them in as tight an arc as you can. With any luck, they won't be able to match us and will have to swing out."

The redhead nodded. "Will do, but why don't we use the multi-vector assault mode? We'd be able to hit them from multiple directions that way."

"That would be a good idea," her blond lover replied, "if it weren't for the fact that none of us knows how to work the damned thing."

Shego raised an eyebrow that would have done any Vulcan proud. "Wait; so Starfleet sent you out in this ship without bothering to train you in how the systems worked?"

"Not quite." Ron scowled. "Josh was the only one who'd completed the training course."

"Oh, that's just perfect. We-" Whatever smartmouthed retort the green-skinned woman had died on her lips as another disruptor salvo slammed into the ship, nearly knocking her from her chair.

"Sovak..." Ron began.

"I know, I know; it's hard to get a good lock with these pulse cannons. They can't track like regular phasers. If the Romulans don't stay directly in front of us, I can't hit them." He rapidly pressed a series of controls as the Valdore-class vessel appeared on the main viewer. Several short, quick bursts of energy lanced out from Reliant, the rapidly-modulating frequencies of the blasts shredding the warbird's shields and slicing into the hull. Two rather large explosions followed as the starboard disruptor cannon became a ball of fire and a cloud of rapidly-expanding shrapnel. "Never mind."

The warbird listed to port, smoke and plasma billowing from the gaping hole in the side. "Warp engines are powering up; they're making a run for it!" Sovak reported.

Kim chimed in. "If they report us, we're dead."

"Noted." Ron replied. "Sovak, fire a photon torpedo. Give it just enough yield to bring their shields down, then target their power systems. I want them disabled, not destroyed."

"Aye, sir," the Vulcan said, tapping a command into his console. "Torpedo away."

The bridge crew watched as the antimatter warhead collided with the retreating ship. The shields of the warbird flared for an instant, then fizzled out. Ron didn't need instruments to know that their rear shields had just failed. "Fire phasers!"

Three pairs of crimson beams lanced out from Reliant's saucer section, tearing through the hull and slicing into the cables, conduits, and circuits beneath the hull plates. A few seconds later, the ship was dead in space.

Ron smiled. "Nice shooting, Sovak. Transmit orders to surrender and prepare to be boarded."

"But, Ron," Kim interjected, "we don't have the manpower to board them."

"But they don't know that."

"Ya got me there."

"Message transmitted; all three vessels willingly surrender on the condition that you let them transport their wounded aboard for medical treatment."

"How many?"

"About two dozen."

"Shego, take a squad of security to Sickbay. Sovak, have the Romulans transported directly to the triage area, and put a level ten forcefield in position." His two officers carried out his orders, Shego taking her bat'leth in hand as she stood up to leave the bridge.

A few minutes later, Shego's voice was heard over the comm system. "We have a problem down here."

"What?" Ron asked. "Medical staff can't handle Romulan physiology?"

"The 'medical staff' consists of Dr. Nemo and a smartass hologram who won't listen to me because I'm not on the crew manifest!"

"Oh boy. Patch me through."

A moment later, the voice of the Mark-II Emergency Medical Hologram replaced Shego's. "Captain, I don't know what's going on around here, but I've got a sickbay full of Romulans and there's an Orion woman in Klingon armor trying to order me around like she's one of the crew!"

"ORION??? I'll decompile your database for that, you arrogant collection of photons!!!"

Ron sighed. "Doctor, Shego isn't Orion. She's human. You can scan her later if you want to be sure, but she is human and part of this crew. And treat the Romulans; they just surrendered to us."

"But Dr. Nemo and I can't handle this many casualties at once, and some of these have severe plasma burns that have to be treated immediately! My matrix was designed to supplement the existing medical staff, not be the medical staff! My program simply doesn't have the calibrations to deal with this!"

The blond captain was getting very annoyed with the holographic physician very quickly. He was about to tell it just where it could stick those calibrations when Seven spoke up. "Then activate the secondary EMH."

"There is no 'secondary' EMH. If there were, I would know about it!"

"It is hidden within the backup system of the medical database. Scan for the program and load it."

Several seconds went by, then the EMH's voice was heard again; this time expressing shock and a bit of disgust. "But that's just a Mark-I! What good could an antique like that possibly do?"

"Do it or I'll infest your holoemitters with nanoprobes, assimilate your program, and make you do it."

A second later, a new voice was heard. "Please state the nature of the medical emer...gen...cy... Where am I? This isn't Voyager. What's going on here???"

"Doctor," Seven said, "there's no time to explain. Suffice to say, Admiral Janeway authorized the transfer of your program when she assigned me here and there are wounded in sickbay that need to be treated. I will give you more details later."

"Alright. Mark-II, let's get started."

"Don't presume to order me around, you technological fossil! There's a reason that Mark-I's are used for dilithium mining and exhaust manifold cleaning!"

"Haven't you ever heard of respecting your elders? I've accomplished medical feats that a youngster like you couldn't even dream of!"

"Better to be young than obsolete!"

"I don't have to take this! I'm a doctor, not a punching bag!"

By this time, Ron had had it. "Will you two shut up and get to work already???? For the time being, you two are all the help Nemo's got and he can't afford to have you bickering!" he yelled into the intercom.

A dual "Aye, captain," was heard from the EMHs, and the comm line went dead.

Kim shook her head. "And I thought Shego could be dense sometimes."

"Tell me about it." Sovak replied. "I'd almost rather deal with the Romulans." Just then, the comm controls at his console lit up. "The rest of the fleet reports latimun collection complete. They are coming to our aid."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Great timing. Tell them not to fire when they get here; I think we just added to the fleet."

Ron sat in a chair in sickbay, his head in his hands. "Let me get this straight," he said to the Romulan fleet commander without looking at him, "your ships aren't part of the Romulan military?"

"No," the commander said as the Voyager EMH treated his fractured wrist. "We went AWOL from the fleet several days ago, when we heard of those deposits of latinum. We figured we could mine the asteroids, slip across the Neutral Zone, and use the latinum and these ships to buy us safe passage into the Federation." He cringed a little, as if he hated what he was about to say. "The Romulan Empire is crumbling. After the death of the Praetor and Shinzon's takeover and subsequent defeat, factions began forming. The largest is centered around Commander Tomalak and Admiral Sela, and many see them as the next leaders of the Empire. But for my crew and I, the ease with which the Empire was flattened by a slave from the Reman mines was a wake-up call. We have lost any faith we still had."

Ron looked up. "Still had? You were doubting them before?"

The commander nodded. "Several of my crew were members of Spock's reunification movement, and it didn't take long for all of us to join. Not everyone supports the pure and total logic of Surak, of course, but we do believe that the only way for the Romulans to continue to survive is to rejoin our Vulcan bretheren and see the Federation as a friend, not a potential enemy."

Kim, who was sitting on a console near Ron, spoke up. "How'd you get your hands on a Valdore-class warbird? I would have figured only high-ranking fleet commanders would get them."

"Normally, yes. To be truthful, my crew and I had been assigned to five old Birds-of-Prey assigned to escort a low-priority convoy from Romulus to some colony worlds and back again. But we knew we would need more firepower to get out of Imperial space, so we waited for the right moment. The Entrix – that's the Valdore-class ship – had just been completed at the shipyards around Romulus, and the Aurabesh and Zeramant had been undergoing repairs after the Shinzon incident. We waited until the warp engines, cloaking devices, and hulls were repaired, then stole all three ships. We barely had enough crew to run them, but we eventually got the weapons and shields online before arriving at the asteroid cluster and meeting you. I should not have fired on your ship; for that, I apologize. But I panicked; I thought that perhaps the Empire had found out about our plan and sent word to the Federation to hold us until they could arrive to arrest us. If we'd known that you were only after the latinum, we could have worked out a deal. I would still do that, if you're willing."

"What sort of 'deal'?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You take all the latinum you want – we'll even carry as much for you as our cargo holds can take. Help us get to Federation space, Starfleet can have the ships, their weapons and cloaking devices, any intel we may have – everything – and the latinum in exchange for safe haven from the Empire."

Ron nervously scratched the back of his head. "About that...we're not exactly on good terms with Starfleet right now." He detailed how they had formed their pirate fleet and broke all ties with the Federation. "We don't have any sort of leverage with them, but I can make you an offer."

"What's that?"

"Join our fleet. We'll help you repair the damage to your ships and watch your back while you fill your holds with the latinum. There's still plenty left in those rocks. After that, we'll head back across the Neutral Zone and head over to this planet called Liberty. We can cool our heels there for a while, resupply through some contacts of Kim's and then the Ferengi Commerce Guild will take the latinum off of our hands. They've already promised to take fifty percent back to Ferenginar to line their own pockets and will gold-press the remaining fifty percent for our own use in exchange for no questions asked and the location of the source. If you've got any Romulan ale aboard your ships, we may be able to use that to give us extra leverage and maybe keep a larger percentage of the latinum."

The commander pondered this. "We have a few cases of ale. But what do we do after this exchange is complete?"

"You can try to go to Starfleet and get your amnesty..." Shego began.

"...Or you can stay with us and live a life of plundering, pillaging, and raiding people like the Orions and other criminal syndicates in the galaxy."

The commander smiled. "Sounds like fun. I'll have to talk it over with my crew, but I think you can count on our support." He extended his hand. "I believe the appropriate human custom is a 'handshake' to, ah, 'seal the deal'?"

Ron grinned and accepted the offered hand. "Got it right on the first try. What's your name, by the way?"

"Artak."

"Well, Artak, welcome to a life of piracy."

Shego waited for Kim in the corridor outside Sickbay. She waved the redhead over. "Kim...may I ask you something?"

Kim smiled. "You can ask me anything; we've never had secrets from each other and never will." She paused. "It's about Ron, isn't it?"

"Yes. Namely, why you handed the fleet over to him. Sure, he's got a bigger ship, but our cruisers were an equal match. Some of your crew are wondering if you are thinking clearly."

Kim knew where this was going. "Including you."

The green-skinned woman cast her gaze downward. "I do not like to ask, but I have to know - did you do it just to get back into his bed?"

"No. I can't explain it, but it just felt right. Ron's been through the Academy, and I washed out in my second year. And you saw how willing his crew was to stand by him as he stole one of Starfleet's best ships out from under their nose. They'll follow him to Hell and back, Shego...he's got what it takes to lead."

Shego started to elt her anger show. "And you don't? You started this fleet and kept us going before he ever showed up!"

The redhead gritted her teeth. "I didn't hear you objecting when we first did this."

"I didn't hear you objecting in Ruby's hotel, either, but that relationship didn't last!"

Kim flinched.

Realizing how sharply her words had stung, Shego bowed her head. "I apologize. I went too far."

"Yes; you did." Kim replied. "I don't regret that night, Shego; it helped put things into perspective. And they're still in perspective. Ron is our leader now, and if you or anyone else has a problem with that...you can all get off at Liberty and we'll move on without you. Although, I would had to lose one of my best officers...and my best friend."

Shego shook her head. "I'm not going to leave your side, and neither is anyone else. You've won our loyalty and our respect many times over...I just needed to be sure that yours was well-placed. Your convictions are strong, and that's enough for me. I'll inform the crew that there are to be no more discussions of this." She bowed, then started to walk away.

Kim called after her. "Shego!"

Her one-time lover turned around. "What?"

"Thanks for caring."

Shego walked away without another word.

A little over one standard week later, after taking on as much latinum as they could possibly carry and carrying out repairs to the ships, the ragtag fleet of Federation, Klingon, and Romulan vessels dropped out of warp near the planet Liberty. Ron, Kim, Artak, Shego, and Sovak went down to the planet's surface to negotiate with Ruby for additional supplies.

Ruby looked over the list of what they needed. "Most of this I can get readily enough, but some of these components aren't going to be easy to come by. I could probably get them from the Ferengi or the Orions, but the quality will be suspect. I know a few smugglers who can get Federation tech, but its risky. Costs extra, too."

Ron smirked, then put a vial on the counter. "I think we've got enough."

"This...this is..." Ruby said, popping the cap on the tube.

"Latinum." Kim said. "There's about five hundred bricks' worth in your hand there, and plenty more where that came from."

"I'll get in touch with my contacts right away." She eyed the vial. "Of course, there is my finder's fee."

"Keep it," Ron said with a wave of his hand. "As Kim said, we've got plenty."

After Ruby left, Kim smiled slyly and ran her fingers up and down Ron's arm. "You know, it's going to take her a while to get back to us with a report, and with all that latinum we just gave her, I doubt she'd begrudge us a room for an hour or two."

"Booyah." Ron said as he let Kim lead him upstairs.

Artak chuckled. "I'm going to return to my ship. I have not slept much since the repairs started." He tapped the bird-shaped commbadge on his tunic twice, then disappeared in a green swirl of energy.

"Is it wise to let him return alone?" Shego asked Sovak. "He could order his men to attack."

Sovak shook his head and took another sip of his raktajino. "He could, but he won't. Artak is too much like us. He likes his freedom, and he knows that we'd hunt him throughout the cosmos if he did something like that. And besides, it's not easy to hide three Romulan warships in Federation space. He's better off sticking with us."

Shego sighed. "I suppose you're right."

A moment later, several soft moans followed by a loud shriek emanated from one of the bedrooms. "It appears that our captain is quite skilled in matters other than piloting a starship."

Shego sighed once more. "I don't want to think about it. I'm just glad that the rooms on the ship are soundproof." She flinched a little as another scream, much higher pitched than the last one, echoed through the building.

Sovak's face took on a lopsided, somewhat-cocky grin as he gently laid his hand on Shego's. "Since we have nothing better to do, shall we see if we can drown out our captain?"

The green-skinned woman's hand flipped up, grabbed the Vulcan's, and squeezed it in a vice-like grip almost before he could blink. "If you ever attempt to approach me like that again, you pointy-eared pervert, I'll make sure you don't have the body parts to worry about the Pon'Farr ever again, got me?"

Sovak merely smiled. "Of course, my dear." She released his hand, he finished his drink, then stood up. "I shall be certain to approach you in different ways from now on." He tapped his commbadge and beamed back to Reliant before she could say anything else.

The countertop cracked when Shego's fist slammed down onto it. I'm starting to see why Vulcans embraced logic so long ago, she thought. They're insufferable when they show emotion!

In another sector of the Alpha Quadrant, a very bored Ferengi called Rulk sat at the monitoring station in the control room of a salvage yard. As the chief of the yard, he was entitled to a crew to do the drudge work for him, but this was a rather unimportant collection of abandoned ships. They were all old, most of them could not even be repaired because parts were no longer made, and it hardly ever got any busines. As a result, Rulk's station had received one budget cut after another, forcing him to fire his crewmen or transfer them to other stations. Even with just him, the cost of operation was almost greater then the return gain.

Fact of the matter was, he was almost beyond caring save that this job kept him fed and gave him a bed to sleep in. He was the third son of twelve in a rather wealthy shipping family and, seeing as how his two older brothers had started their own joint business venture, the legality of which was always in dispute, he had expected to inherit his father's company. Unfortunately for Rulk, that kind of luck he didn't have much of. Before his death, the old man had gone senile, and the youngest brother, barely of age himself, had tricked him into rewriting the will so that he got everything, leaving the rest of the family destitute. Now, years later, Rulk had no wife, no children, and no home other than his quarters on the station.

Damn you, Brunt! he silently cursed for the millionth, but certainly not the last, time. You could have at least left me the tool shed to sleep in! At least then I would still be on Ferenginar instead of this junkpile of a station that should have been recycled before most of those antiques out there were ever built!

Rulk checked his chronometer. It was almost time to shut down the station. Ideally, he would have three shifts working around the clock to maintain a vigil over the "merchandise", but he was getting old and was only one Ferengi, so he worked one shift by himself and set the station's proximity sensors to alert him in case any ships entered the area or sent any communication signals.

Sighing, he decided to clock off early and get some sleep. As he busied himself with activating the automated systems, he failed to notice the tiny, three-meter long metal shape, barely big enough to be considered an escape pod, drifted into the mass of derelicts. It drifted close to one ship in particular, one of the newest on the lot, not that that was saying much. The target was an old Bolian freighter – a small one, barely large enough for a crew of three or four and equipped with a cargo hold not much larger than a two-person civilian shuttlepod - that had obviously seen better days. As the pod neared the freighter, it used a tiny maneuvering thruster to change trajectory. It was much, but enough to be detected by Rulk's equipment.

The Ferengi looked over at his snsor screen, the pod now targeted by the station's scanners. He pressed his comm button and spoke. "Attention, unidentified craft. This is Attendant Rulk of Salvage Yard Three-Twelve. You are trespassing in Ferengi space. Please state your business."

But there was no reply. The pod inched closer to the docking hatch of the freighter, the large doors opened and allowed the pod inside, then Rulk's sensor board showed life support and engines being activated. He repeated his transmission, and this time there was a reponse.

The image on his screen was rather fuzzy, though whether due to the freighter's old comm system or the station's equally-ancient one he could not know, but Rulk was able to make out a bearded human male with a rather odd hairstyle sitting in the control chair of the ship.

"Sorry, mate, but I need this ship, and you've got plenty more here."

"Yes, but these are for sale! This is a salvage yard, not a charity station!"

"Well, then , allow me to claim this under salvage law and I'll be on my way."

"But you just can't take it! There are forms to be filled out, ownership to be transferred, a monetary or material exchange for ths ship..." Before he could finish, the image winked out. A minute later, he watched helplessly as the ship streaked off into warp.

"I'm going to lose my job for this," was the only thing he could say.

Kathryn Janeway sat at her desk at Starfleet headquarters, telling Jim Kirk and Chancellor Martok what she had heard from Starfleet Intelligence. "In short, gentlemen, someone unassociated with Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, or any of their crew has just stolen Possible's old ship out of Ferengi impound. I don't think this is coincidence."

"Neither do I," Martok growled. "According to this report, the thief went right for that ship. Whoever it was wanted it for a reason, and my guess is he's going to try and bait Possible or extort something from her, though I cannot speculate beyond that."

Kirk set down his coffee mug. "Did you ever stop to think that Miss Possible might have hired this person to get her old ship back?"

Janeway shook her head. "That's not her style. Especially not with this new fleet. Did you know that they have three Romulan ships with them now?" Both men shook their heads. "I'm starting to think this project is getting out of hand. Stoppable's fleet is growing beyond what we intended, and he may bring even more into his fold. I'm not sure we can contain this."

"Our goal was to not contain it." Kirk said. "That was the entire point. Have some 'rogues' out there to handle what we can't officially touch. And you have Seven of Nine aboard just in case things start to go wrong."

"Seven is resourceful, but even she has her limits. If Stoppable starts an interstellar incident, even we won't be able to help him." She took another sip of her coffee and winced. It took me seven years to get Voyager's replicator to make coffee right. It looks like it'll take at least that long for me to train this one. "Do we have any data on the man who stole the freighter?"

Martok nodded and set a padd on the desk. "He is wanted by the Federation, Bajorans, Trill, Ferengi, Orions, Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Breen, Tholians, Saurians, Gorn, Venturi, and virtually every other sentient species in this area of space for various acts of piracy as well as illegal soliciting, aiding and abetting known criminals, running illegal gambling operations...the list of charges would take up almost as much space as the Federation Charter."

"Do we have a name or just a list of aliases?" the admiral asked. Martok pressed a button on the padd, displaying the man's image and name. Janeway took a deep breath. "Gentlemen...Miss Possible is in worse trouble than we thought."

"Then you're going to have to play your trump card. Contact Seven and have her warn them." Kirk said.

But Janeway didn't agree. "I do that now and the whole operation will be blown. They have nine capital ships; they should be able to handle a single pirate."

"Then why don't you sound convinced?" Martok asked.

"Because I'm not. This man is one of the worst con artists in the quadrant. He could charm a Jem'Hadar out of his ketracel white and sell sand to the Mount Selaya priests all in the same sentence. I can only hope that someone on those ships can recognize him if they see him. Otherwise, this entire web we've weaved is going to be shredded by a very large fly."

Commander Joshua Mankey sat in a dirty, smoke-filled tavern on the burned-out world of Char. Centuries ago, Char had been a thriving industrial center, rich in minerals, fossil fuels, and manufacturing facilities. But its atmosphere had been polluted to the point where breathing gear was needed outside the structures, all of its resources had dried up, food, water and other necessities for living had to be imported, and the only money that came in was from the pirates, smugglers, bounty hunters, and other such riffraff that frequented the planet.

Mankey was in a dark corner in civilian clothing, wearing a hooded jacket that, he hoped, concealed his face. He had been there for more than an hour, and was starting to get worried. He ordered a drink to keep up appearances, but the foul-smelling brew in the mug was certainly losing more to evaporation than him drinking it. They should have been here by now. If they got caught, this whole operation is done, and my career with it!

A few minutes later, two cloaked figures entered the bar and made their way to his booth after removing their breather masks. They sat down and the shorter one pulled his hood back. "Commander, I'm sorry we're late. The ship's warp drive malfunctioned."

"Not surprising, given its age. Well done, Lieutenant Du. You've gathered all the pieces we'll need."

The other man spoke, his heavy British accent unmistakable. "You still haven't told me exactly where I fit into this. I stole the ship for you, but I have the feeling that's not all I'm going to have to do to earn that pardon or the credits you promised, and I do need them. I have some rather large plans for my future."

Mankey nodded. "You are going to track down the woman who used to own that ship. Use it as bait to draw her in, capture her, and bring her to me. With her, we can bring the rest of them in."

The man removed his hood and nodded. "I'm with ya, mate. Who's the target?" Mankey showed him her image on a padd. "Not bad. Any 'perks' to this assignment?"

"You are not to touch her. Just hold her for me. The rest I will take care of. Understand?"

"Perfectly. When do I start?"

"Right now."

Shego paced back and forth in her quarters. She was bored. Her armor was laid out on her bed, and she was allowing herself the rare freedom of being nude. In her quarters, she could let her guard down a little, especially on this ship. She didn't have to worry about anyone trying to kill her while she was without her protective garments. Shego had always felt more relaxed when she was naked, though it did not help much today.

Two weeks we've been here. Two entire weeks. And Ruby says it will take another for her suppliers to get here. And who know how long it will take for the blasted Ferengi to get here and help us get rid of this latinum. Without the ships going anywhere, Kim and Stoppable don't even go on the bridge anymore. They're always in his quarters, and anyone with a single brain cell can figure out what they're up to. She slammed her right fist into her left palm in frustration. As much as I know I have to, I just can't let her go. I should challenge him for her, but it wouldn't do any good. Regardless of whether I won or not, she would stay with him. I cannot say I lost her love because I never had it to begin with. She allowed me only that one night; a night she should not have given me. I had prayed it wouldn't, but as cherished a time as it was for me, it is becoming a scar on my heart which I fear will never heal.

As much as she liked the privacy of her rooms, she knew she couldn't stay in there. She had locked herself away for the past two days and even being free of clothing for that time did not help her relax. She had slept, but not truly rested. Her dreams were haunted by that red-haired spacefaring goddess she had dared to fall in love with, and it seemed as though it was a phantom that would never go away.

Sighing in resignation, she started to reach for her armor, but decided against it. She'd been naked for too long to want to think about putting the heavy garment on again at that point. Rummaging around in the various drawers, she found a Starfleet-issue grey tank top that was loose enough to conceal her ample chest and a pair of tight black workout shorts. She found no footwear and had no desire to put on her boots, which she was uncomfortably aware were in bad need of cleaning and deodorizing, so she clipped her commbadge to the shirt and left her quarters barefoot.

She made her way down the nearly-empty corridors and was uncomfortably aware of just how large the ship was. If you included the two holographic doctors, there were a grand total of forty crewmembers on the ship. It was designed to handle almost a thousand comfortably, and she knew that only the massive level of automation in the ship allowed so few to operate it.

As she walked, she found the thick blue carpet covering the floor quite comfortable. Most Klingons hated any sort of comfort, as they saw it as a weakness, but Shego was a human and found herself enjoying the sensation of the carpet on her bare feet. She had walked these corridors many times before, but always in her heavy boots. This was the first time she'd left her quarters without her armor, and she wished she'd done it sooner. She paused a moment, smiling a little as her feet sank nearly an inch in the carpet. The simple pleasures, she reflected, can often change one's mood drastically. She had originally intended merely to walk around the deck in which her quarters were located, as a way to clear her head, but now she changed direction. She headed for the turbolift and gave the command to take her to the ship's holodeck.

Most Starfleet ships, even as small as the Intrepid-class, contained two holodecks, but the Reliant and other ships like it were primarily warships and had little in the way of recreational tools. The lone holodeck on ships of that class were primarily intended for training and tactical simulations. Shego had used it a few times to blow off steam, slicing up mugato and other holographic beasties with her bat'leth, but today she had a different idea in mind. As she exited the turbolift, she did her best to avoid the raised eyebrow and lecherous grin she received from Sovak as she brushed past him. It's been too long since I took a walk through a forest, she thought. Not since the one time I went to Risa to meet than Andorian trader and he ended up no-showing. She had two days before she was supposed to rendesvouz with Kim, so she had decided to enjoy herself and spent her time in one of the planet's rich, green forests. She'd never felt so peaceful.

And this time, she thought gleefully, I can lock the doors, get rid of these clothes,and just relax. As she approached the holodeck door, she looked at the control panel and saw that a program was already running. Her mood turned sour. So much for relaxation, she thought. She was about to head back to her quarters when curiosity got the better of her. Finding the door, unlocked, the went in and was startled by what she saw.

In the middle of a luxurious spa carved out of solid rock, complete with steaming natural hot springs, Seven of Nine was facedown on a padded table, naked save for a towel covering her backside, getting her back expertly massaged by a holographic Vulcan female with very short black hair, pale skin, and a barely-there black bikini swimsuit. Hearing the door open, Seven opened her eyes. "Miss Shego."

"Seven." Nothing else was said for a moment.

"Is there a reason you are here?"

"I...I was going to use the holodeck."

"That is obvious. I was asking what you intended to use it for."

Shego sighed. "If you must know, I was feeling restless and decided that a walk in a forest would help to calm me down."

"It is most unusual to see you without your armor."

"Just because I'm proud of my Klingon upbringing doesn't mean I like being wrapped in leather and tritanium every second of my life." She relaxed her tone of voice before continuing. "Sometimes, even I need to relax and just let go."

"I see." Seven craned her head around to look at the hologram. "A little lower, T'Vel."

Shego crossed her arms over her chest. "I answered your questions, now tell me what you're doing here."

"I am receiving a massage."

"I can see that. What I want to know is why."

Seven closed her eyes again. "Since the bed in my quarters has been equipped with the ability to regenerate my nanoprobes without rendering me unconscious, I have been attemtping to 'sleep' as humans do. I am finding it a unique experience, but my back is unaccustomed to the practice. Dr. Nemo suggested that I try massage therapy for one hour before and after each duty shift rather than being inundated with painkillers every day."

Shego nodded once. "Hard to argue with that." She turned and started to leave. "I'll leave you alone then."

"Wait." Seven said, sitting up on the table, allowing the towel to fall away to reveal most of her bare body. The holographic masseuse ceased her actions. "You came here to use the holodeck. It would be rather...selfish of me to force you to leave. You may join me here. I will program another masseuse. It will help you to relax."

Shego found herself trying hard not to look at the ex-Borg's supple, curvaceous body. Aside from her left hand and over her ocular implant, there were no other external implants on her flawless form. "No. No, that's alright. I will..." She was cut off by Seven standing up and slowly walking over to her.

"Despite your obvious feelings for Possible," Seven said, "I have seen the way you look at me."

Shego snarled. "Most of the ship looks at you that way! The way you walk it's almost like you're begging someone to ravish you! And the heels on those boots certainly don't do anything to lessen that effect!" She snorted. "And what about those clothes of yours? I wasn't aware that you could be poured into an uniform!"

"My biosuits were designed for me by Voyager's EMH to facilitate quicker regeneration of my dermal layers after the Borg implants were removed. Over time, I became...accustomed to them. I wear them instead of my uniform for that reason...but not only that reason."

"Oh? And what other possible excuse can you have for dressing like that?"

"I am trying to attract a potential mate for sexual intimacy."

Shego snarled. "Do you have to be so blunt about it?"

"I was under the impression that Klingons were among the more sexually active species in the galaxy."

"Just because I was mostly raised by Klingons doesn't mean I share all of their ideals, and just because you blatantly advertise what you want doesn't mean you'll get it! Most people don't want to get involved with someone so...so...so..."

"I believe that the term you are looking for is 'easy'." Seven said flatly.

"Exactly!" Shego said. "Intimacy and 'mating' aren't the same thing, Seven! If there isn't emotion behind it, it's hollow and meaningless. You have to care about the person you're with or...or..." She noticed that the ex-Borg was slowly walking towards her. "Seven, what are you doing?"

Seven didn't stop. "I told you that I was trying to attract a potential mate. I never said which one." When she was standing directly in front of the green skinned woman, she stopped, looking her in the eye. "I have had only one other relationship before, and it ended badly. I have since tried to avoid any romantic entanglements. However, after meeting you, it became more and more difficult to remain that way. I cannot say that I 'love' you, as such, but I am willing to give this a chance if you are."

"Wh-what makes you think I'm interested in you?" Shego stammered.

"Your heart rate has increased, your breathing has become irregular, and there is increased blood flow to your face resulting in discoloration."

Damn it! Shego thought. Why can't I just get out of here? Who knows what she'll try to do to me? Then, unbidden, another voice entered her head. Would that really be so bad? Your relationship with Kim has changed. You're still friends, but that's all you'll ever be. Somehow, you knew that that was all you would ever be. Would giving in to Seven be so bad?

Shego couldn't answer. Seven reached up, cupping Shego's cheek in her hand. She leaned forward and placed a feather-light kiss on the other woman's lips.

I can't do this! Shego's mind screamed. I can't let her just...take me like this!But...then again...that time with Kim was the first in a long time, and... Shego cut herself off and looked the Borg right in the eye. "What if...what if we go through with this, and I decide I want nothing further to do with you?"

"Then that is your decision. However," she placed her hands on Shego's hips. "I do not believe you will do that. Computer, remove masseuse and lock the door. Key to my voice and security code only."

"Acknowledged," the computer responded.

Shego drew herself in closer and lightly kissed Seven's jaw. She looked into the blond's eyes and said, "Resistance is futile."

Seven offered a small smile. "Resisting never occurred to me." She gripped the hem of Shego's top and found it quite easy to pull over the other woman's head. Shego pulled Seven closer, and their lips met in a passionate kiss.

Though he could not enter the holodeck without overriding Seven's lockout, Sovak could hear the two women on the other side of the door. He shook his head and sighed. "I guess you either have to be a rogue Starfleet captain or get assimilated to get any women around here. Some people have all the luck." He walked back down the corridor, idly wondering if there were any females in the Romulan crew.

A week later, Shego had left her quarters on Deck 3. Her belongings amounted only to her armor, bat'leth and D'k'tagh, a disruptor pistol, and the clothing that had been packed into the drawers and closet before the ship had left Starbase One, so it had not taken much time or effort to move into Seven of Nine's quarters on Deck Six. No-one had said much regarding their relationship, but Shego didn't mind. She'd gotten a congratulatory hug from Kim, with the redhead saying that she was glad Shego had found someone with Ron echoing the statement, but that was it.

They probably figure it wouldn't be a good idea to annoy us, Shego thought as she lay in bed one night. Her new lover was asleep next to her, her pale back and hair lightly touching Shego's green-skinned arm. I'll never know what possessed me to give in to this woman, but I'm glad I did. Something like this is what I've needed for a long time. Anything I might have had with Kim would have been one-sided. But this woman genuinely cares for me, and I can't deny that she does make me happy. Maybe I've found the one for me.

She closed her eyes and tried to drift off to sleep when the ship's intercom flared to life with Ron's voice. "All hands, report to Shuttlebay 1.Supply ship incoming."

"Great," Shego said, climbing out of bed and reaching for her armor. "Seven, wake up. We're going to be moving out soon."

A few minutes later, the entire crew was assembled around the shuttle bay, watching the supply ship come in. It was one of nine ships, no two of the same class and each one heading for a different ship in their fleet. On board these ships were weapons, computer and engine parts, spare bulkheads, food supplies, bio-neural gel packs for Reliant, and raw material stocks for the replicators. Nearly a year's worth of supplies. Trailing the supply fleet were the two Ferengi vessels that would carry away the lion's share of the latinum and gold-press the rest for the pirate fleet. Ron and Kim had decided against hiring on any more crew, as Artak had brought enough with him to fill in the extra positions on the Klingon vessels without sacrificing anything on the warbirds. "And besides," Kim said, "the fewer we have working for us, the more each individual person gets."

It took the next twelve hours to load up all of the supplies and give the merchants their latinum. The Ferengi offered to gold-press the traders' profits for ease of transport...for a small percentage, of course. When these transactions were complete, the remaining containers of latinum, along with Ron, Artak, and Riker, were transported to the Ferengi ships. Thanks to the ale provided by the Romulans, they came away with more gold-pressed latinum than the original deal stated. When all was said and done, the trading had taken a little more than twenty-four standard hours and the crews of all nine ships in the pirate fleet becoming exhausted due to pulling a two double-shifts, but the cargo holds were overflowing with supplies.

In their shared quarters, Kim cuddled up to Ron's back. They had taken some time to "celebrate" before turning in for the night, but they were feeling too anxious to sleep.

"Hey, Kim," Ron said without turning around.

"What?"

"I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"Renaming the ship. And maybe the Romulan ships, too."

"Why?"

He rolled over to face her. "I've just been thinking that we need to give the fleet a uniform nomenclature. Have all of their names share a comon motif, you know? And besides, Reliant is the name Starfleet gave this ship, and it's not a Starfleet vessel anymore. No more than those warbirds are Imperial ships now."

"I get it. So, what did you have in mind?" He told her what he had in mind. "Sounds good to me. Talk it over with Artak and see what he says."

The blond captain kissed his lover on the forehead. "You're always going to be by my side, aren't you?"

Kim nodded. "In everything." She placed a hand on his cheek. "You know...I'm not really sleepy right now."

"Neither am I," Ron replied.With a smirk, he rolled over on top of her.

Meanwhile, Seven and Shego were on the holodeck. At Shego's urging, they had created a forest setting and were laying on their backs beneath a stand of trees. They had shed most of their clothing, leaving them only in tight workout shorts. A fair amount of simulated sunlight was coming through the trees, and to the two women, it was every bit as good as the real thing.

Seven had her lover's right hand clasped in her left, the green contrasting with her own pale skin, and the ex-Borg could not help but allow herself a small smile. I know it's not very efficient to be involved in a romantic relationship in the line of duty. Especially given the nature of my mission here. I've been down this road before. And yet...being with her has made these last few days enjoyable. More enjoyable than any other time in my life. I can't keep my true mission from her. Sooner or later, she's going to find out. Should I worry about that when the time comes, or do something about it now?

Her train of thought was derailed by Shego suddenly rolling over, pressing their chests together. "Hi, lover."

Seven smiled again. "Hello yourself."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Us." Seven was able to say that truthfully, at least. "And our future."

Shego smiled. "I think our future will take care of itself. I was miserable for a while after Kim made her choice, but I think it worked out for the best. She's with the one she loves, and I think I found a new love."

"We've only been together for a short time. Can you say that for certain."

"I'm not sure." She kissed her blond lover. "But I'd like to find out."

"As would I. It should be an...interesting research project."

Shego grinned and rubbed her hands along Seven's belly. "Well, I think we could stand to do a little more research in that area."

"I concur."

The next day, Ron and Kim met with Artak on the bridge of the Entrix. Ron was explaining his idea to rename the rest of the fleet, and the Romulan commander seemed to agree. "These warbirds will be conspicuous no matter what we call them, but with that kind of naming scheme, eventually our ships would be recognized instantly. Depending on our reputation, we might be able to get wat we're after without firing a shot."

"Could happen," Ron said. "So, you're okay with this?"

Artak shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be? Entrix is a stupid name anyway. It's named after a winged insect that drains the blood from other creatures. I believe you have a counterpart on Earth; the mosquito."

"Yeah – this ship's due for a name change, alright." Kim said.

"So, what name did you have in mind?" Artak asked Ron.

Ron just grinned and said, "You'll see."

An hour later, the Reliant and the trio of warbirds had had their computers reprogrammed by Seven of Nine to broadcast entirely different transponder codes, complete with new names. On the monitors, Ron could see Shego leading a half-dozen other cremembers, all of them in vac-suits, removing the Reliant name and Starfleet registry numbers from the hull.

"How long are they going to be out there?" Kim asked.

"Shouldn't take them more than a couple of hours to do both sides of the saucer. After that, they'll come in and a second shift will put the new name on the hull. Romulan ships don't have external markings, so Artak's group should be taken care of. His people are going to go over the computers again to make sure there aren't any errors, but Seven is quite thorough."

Kim wrapped an arm around his waist and asked, "This was more than just getting rid of the last remnants of Starfleet on this ship and making the fleet more uniform, isn't it?"

"What makes you say that?"

"I think it's an ownership thing. This is your ship now, and you want to broadcast it to the galaxy."

"Looks like you caught me, KP."

"Hey – no big. I understand. Remember, I renamed the ships I took from the Klingons."

By the end of the day, all Federation markings had been stripped from the ship's hull, replaced with those Ron had chosen. In addition, all of the computer screens in the fleet, rather than displaying the Federation, Klingon, or Romulan logos in their standby modes, were now programmed to show a pyramid-shaped stack of latinum bricks with two crossed phaser rifles beneath it – the symbol Ron had chosen for his pirate crew.

"Fleet status." Rons aid, settling into his command chair with Kim on his right and Shego to his left. With the new crew members, Felix and Carmen had returned to their positions at the helm and ops stations.

"Artak reports that the Entrix has been successfully renamed the Phoenix, and the other warbirds report successful changes to Griffin and Centaur."

"And our ship?"

"All alterations are complete. The new markings are in place, and the computers now register this ship as the Cerberus." He smiled. "We are ready to deploy."

Ron mirrored the smile. For the first time, he truly felt that it was his ship. He gave the orders, he had chosen the name...it was his, and he would fight anyone who tried to take it from him. "Felix, set course two one nine mark four eight five mark zero zero four. Warp Six."

"Course laid in, engines ready, coordinates transmitted to the rest of the fleet." Felix replied a moment later.

Kim was puzzled. "Ron, why are we going to the Sargasso asteroid field? There's nothing there."

Ron looked shocked. "Kim, I'd have figured that you, of all people, would know about Blue Heaven."

"Why?"

"Because," Ron said, grinning, "Blue Heaven is built inside the largest asteroid in the Sargasso field. It's like Risa for pirates and smugglers. You can get anything you want there, for the right price, no questions asked. And what better place to pick up rumors of new treasures to be had?"

"What ifd those treasures already belong to someone else?" the redhead asked slyly.

Ron just grinned. "Kimmie, dear, did you forget that we're pirates?"

"Not at all," she said, kissing him.

Ron broke the kiss just long enough to say "Engage,", then returned to his lover's lips just as Cerberus went into warp.

Two days later, they were almost within hailing distance of Blue Heaven when they received a weak distress signal from three sectors over.

"Can we get a visual?" Ron asked.

"Negative," Sovak replied from Tactical. "The ship appears to be badly damaged. The signal is audio only."

"Let me hear it." A heavily-distorted voice with a thick English accent came over their speakers.

"-eat, this is the -erchant ship Konpira Maru. Attacked by Cardas---- warship. Hit – plasma reg-lator. ---elds d-wn, li-- supp--t fa---ing. An- ship in r-nge, please respo--."

"Sounds like he's in trouble." Shego said.

Kim nodded. "Merchant ships tend to run heavily armed. And for good reason – they carry a lot of goods, sometimes even latinum and weapons."

"Whatever hit them must have been fairly large. Galor-class, perhaps." Seven said. "And they may still be in the area. However, I do not believe that they would be a match for us."

Ron thought for a moment, then said, "Felix, lock onto the source of the transmission and set new course, best possible speed. Tell the other ships to follow."

"Aye, captain."

"Well," Ron said, looking over to Shego, "we either get what's on the ship, or we get to raid a Cardassian warship. I don't see a down side here."

Shego grinned wickedly. "Today is a bad day to die – if you're a Cardassian."

When they reached the source of the distress call, they saw a tiny image, trailing plasma, on the viewscreen. "Magnify." Ron ordered.

When Sovak enhanced the image, Kim's jaw fell open. "It can't be..."

"Can't be what?" Ron asked.

"That ship," Shego said, as Kim fumed in rage, "is the Impossible Dream."

"Kim's old ship? But I thought the Ferengi had it."

"Things have obviously changed." Kim snapped. "Sovak, scan for any Cardassian ships or warp signatures in the area. Shego, you're with me. We're going over there." She started to get out of her seat when Ron stopped her.

"Can't let you. I've got security officers that can handle this. I can't risk you getting hurt."

"Ron," she said, placing her hand on his, "what's the one thing we've always had for each other?"

"Trust?" he asked.

"Exactly. And, right now, I'm asking you to trust me to handle myself."

He sighed. "Alright. I'll trust you." She started to get up, but he stopped her once again. "I'll trust you, that is, as long as Shego, Seven, and I go with you. This may be a trap, Kim. It's just a little too convenient to suddenly see your old ship out here in the middle of nowhere, don't you think?"

Kim nodded reluctantly. "You're right. I guess I just wasn't thinking."

"Happens to all of us. Let's get down to the armory. Sovak, send a message to that ship telling them we're coming aboard."

Five minutes later, the four were transported over to the old freighter, each armed with a fully-charged phaser compression rifle and hand phaser. Shego, as usual, had her bat'leth and a second sidearm in the form of a Klingon disruptor pistol. It was dimly lit and many components were obviously damaged. Seven puleld out a tricorder, but only an odd buzzing sound came from it. "Something is interfering with my scans, most likely background radiation. Fairly consistent with Cardassian weaponry, but hardly conclusive." She folded the tricorder and swung her rifle into a forward position. "I recommend we proceed with caution."

"Agreed." Ron said. "Eyes open, people. Kim, you know this ship better than any of us. Get us to the bridge." Kim did as ordered, picking her way past obstacles such as overturned crates, loose cables, and one jammed door that took all four of them to push open. When they reached the bridge, they found a man unconscious on the floor.

"Anyone you know, Kim?" Ron asked.

His lover shook her head. "No; I haven't seen him before." She reached into the pocket of her jumpsuit and pulled out a medical hypo and pressed it to thee man's neck, injecting the stimulant into his bloodstream with a faint hiss.

He slowly woke up, blinking his eyes several times, then rising to a seated position. "Well, hello," he said. His was the same voice from the distress signal. He looked over the three women appreciatively. "And I mean it when I say that this is the loveliest rescue party I believe I have ever seen." He climbed to his feet and clasped Seven's right hand in both of his. "Name's Smith. And you are...?"

"She's taken." Shego said, angrily pulling his hands from Seven's. Smith walked over to the control console and began pressing buttons. Shego took an instant disliking to the man. From his smooth-talking ways to his more-than-slightly effeminate movements to his incredibly-old, scruffy, cracked boots, faded pants, ruffled shirt, gaudy jewelry, which included beads in his braided hair and goatee, and antique-style tri-pointed hat, he looked to be one of the more unsavory characters she had ever met, and that was saying something.

Kim gripped his shoulder and spun him around. "Alright; we've got nine ships parked outside. Whoever attacked you isn't likely to come back. We saved you, now answer a question."

"And what would that be, love?"

"Okay – call me that again and you'll wish the Cardassians had you. Now, tell me how in the seven layers of Hell did you get ahold of my ship???"

Smith looked taken aback. "Your ship? I got this from a Ferengi salvage yard. They didn't ask me much for it, either. It was a genuine steal, really."

"I'll bet, seeing as how they stole it from me in the first place, and I want it back." The barrel of her phaser rifle was not-so-subtly pointed at the man's gut.

He threw his hands up. "The last thing I want is a ventilated stomach. You want the ship? It's yours. Just get me to Omicron Colony and you can have it. I thought I could make me a good living running cargo, but just my luck that my first run was interrupted."

"We'll need to repair these engines before this ship's going anywhere." Ron said. Seven, go to the engine room and see what you can do. Shego, see about getting the shields back online. I'll stay here with Kim."

As the two women departed, Kim and Ron sat down in the two chairs at the ships controls, swiveling them to face one another and keep an eye on Smith. Ron couldn't put his finger on it, but something was odd about the man, and Ron did not like odd. "So, what happened to you, exactly?"

"Well, I just got the ship back in working order and was on my way to the Omicron Colony to pick up a shipment of synthetic bloodstone crystals from a manufacturer. They aren't worth much as far as jewelry goes, but some people like to use them in laser cutters. Anyway, I was just minding my own business when these Orions drop out of warp and..."

"Wait a minute," Ron interrupted. "Your distress signal said you were attacked by Cardassians." He tightened his grip on his rifle.

Smith appeared somewhat fluistered. "Well, these ships all look alike to me sometimes, and I was hardly in a position to get every detail right."

At that moment, Seven's voice came over Ron's commbadge. "Seven of Nine to Captain Stoppable."

He tapped the badge. "Stoppable here. Go ahead."

"Captain, these engines have been damaged, but not by outside attack. The plasma regulator was taken offline, the lines disconnected, and the warp core shut down. The plasma we saw coming from the ship's nacelles is being pumped out intentionally."

Kim and Ron's eyes widened. They raised their rifles up, but Smith bolted for the door, sealing it behind him. "Can you get us out of here?" Ron asked.

Kim was already working on the door panel. "Almost as fast as he locked us in here." She tapped her commbadge, then returned to working. "Kim to Shego. Smith lied to us. He's probably headed for the escape pod. Stop him. We'll try to meet you in a minute."

"You got it, Kimmie." her friend said.

A short time later, the door hissed open. "The idiot forgot to change the access codes. Amateur." She charged down the corridor, Ron close behind her. They met Shego next to the escape pod, which was still in place, and the green woman verified that he had not been there.

"The pod's empty. I checked it myself."

Seven spoke up. "If he did not come here, then it is fairly safe to assume that he returned to the bridge, possibly in an attempt to take the ship out of the area."

Ron shook his head. "He won't try that with us in here. We've got him outnumbered and outgunned. No; he's got something else in mind. If only I could figure out..." He found himself surrounded by the swirling blue particles of a transporter beam, then on the bridge of Cerberus. "...what." he finished, quite annoyed.

Kim whirled around to look at the viewscreen, then saw the freighter – her freighter – accelerating away at full impulse. She snarled. "That's the second time I've had to watch someone fly away with my ship."

"And it shall be the last." Seven reported.

"What do you mean?"

The ex-Borg grinned wide enough to make Shego proud. "It is amazing..." she said, pressing a button on her tricorder. On the viewscreen, an explosion engulfed the engine compartment of the freighter. "...what one can do with a remot-detonated photon grenade with just the right explosive charge."

"Felix," Ron ordered, "pull in close. Lock onto the ship with a tractor beam and bring it into shuttlebay two. Sovak, have a security detail meet us there. I want that bastard in chains."

Sovak punched a few commands into his board, then he looked up. "Captain, an object has exited the ship."

"The escape pod?" Kim asked.

"Negative. It is smaller and exiting from the cargo bay." His concole beeped. "Receiving a transmission."

"Onscreen." Ron and Kim said at the same time.

Smith's face appeared on the viewer. "Well, well, well. It looks like you managed to escape my little trap. But not to worry; rest assured you'll be seeing me again."

"Yeah. At the end of our phasers as we're tossing you in the brig!" Kim snapped.

The man shook his head. "Sorry, love, but that's not part of my plan." He grinned, then said "Ladies, gentlemen, you will forever remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow." The image winked out, and the tiny ship shot into warp, leaving the Impossible Dream behind.

"I'm going to get him." Kim said coldly. "I'm going to get him, then string him up in the brig and skin him alive, one cell at a time."

"I'm inclined to help, KP. Nobody humiliates us like that and gets off easy. Sovak, bring that ship in. We'll repair it and add it to the fleet." He smiled. "But whenever she's sent out, Kim is going to be her captin. After all, it is her ship."

Kim hugged Ron around the neck. "I knew you were a keeper, loverboy." She kissed him deeply, then broke it off. "I'm going to go down there and supervise. I want to get started right awy." She dashed for the turbolift and disppeared behind its closing doors.

Ron and Shego sat back down in their chairs and Seven took her station. As soon as Felix reported that the small freighter had been secured, Ron ordered their course set for Blue Heaven.

Kim called over the intercom a few minutes later. "Ron, I found something in the computer. That Sparrow guy was set to receive a lot of money from somewhere, my guess is for trapping us, and was going to go after something he's marked in the computer. It's encrypted and I haven't got it all decoded yet, but it looks like there's some kind of treasure at these coordinates." She rattled off a series of numbers. "But those coordinates are at the edge of known space, deep in the Gamma Quadrant. Old Dominion territory."

Shego's eyes bugged out. "It can't be."

"Can't be what?" Ron asked her.

"A Klingon legend, one almost as sacred as the Sword of Kahless. It is said that, shortly after shaking off the shackles of the Breen slavers, some of the first free Klingons set out in their ships to explore the galaxy. The ships could barely make Warp Two and were quite dangerous. Most never made it back, and the rest found worlds to colonize, bringing about the beginnings of the Klingon Empire. One ship, however, disappeared for many years and was presumed lost. But it eventually returned, and the crew had not aged a day. They reported a 'tunnel' in space that took them to a place unlike any they'd ever imaged. New planets, new species, and new adventures to be had, but the most striking of all was a paradise world where food was plentiful and they never grew old. They also reported that the age that had accumulated during their voyage seemed to reverse itself, until they were in their physical prime.

"Needless to say, there was a scramble to build newer, faster ships to find this paradise. Some believed that they had discovered a gateway to the afterlife, which would not be called Sto-Vo-Kor for many millenia. Others thought it was a sign from the gods that they had been given a new homeworld. Regardless, every ship that went out returned reporting failure. Even with the original ship's crewmembers guiding them, their navigation technology was so poor that they could never again find this 'tunnel' in space.

"Obviously, there were those who decided that the crewmen were lying about their find, regardless of the fact that half a century had gone by and none had aged or died. The paradisem world became the stuff of legends, and to my knowledge none has actively hunted for it since before the Empire's first encounter with the Federation."

"'Tunnel in space'..." Ron murmered, scratching his chin. "A wormhole?"

Sovak nodded. "That'd be my guess. Kim said those coordinates were in the Gamma Quadrant, and there is a stable wormhole allowing passage to that area of space."

Kim's voice came over the comm system again. "The only problem is that we'd have to get past Deep Space Nine to get to it, and I doubt that Captain Sisko is just going to let us by. We're in a stolen Federation ship and I almost destroyed half of the Promenade last time I was there."

Shego smirked. "To be fair, Kimmie, I told you not to play dom-jot with those Nausicaans. They're notorious cheats and don't like being called on it."

Ron called up images of both Tom Riker, now in command of Chimaera, and Artak side by side on the viewscreen. "Gentlemen, there is what could amount to the galaxy's most valuable prize within our reach, and our only obstacle is a heavily-armed Federation space station, a Defiant-class starship, and potentially other Federation, Bajoran, and Klingon ships in the area. We'll have to drop out of warp as close to the wormhole as we can, then try to either charge through their defenses or, if we have to, shoot our way into the Gamma Quadrant. Are your ships up to it?"

Riker smiled. "And just when I thought it was getting too quiet around here. Count me in."

"I still feel that I owe you a debt for sparing our lives, Captain Stoppable. We are at your disposal."

"Alright, then. Felix, set course, maximum warp. Kim, come back up to the bridge. We'll finish with your ship later."

"On my way," she replied.

Ron smiled at her when she stepped through the turbolift doors a few minutes later. He clasped her hand as she sat down in her chair. "It looks like we've struck the mother lode for pirates, Kim. This is potentially the greatest treasure in the galaxy."

"And it's all ours for the taking." She finished.

"Course plotted, laid in, and relayed to the fleet, sir." Felix said.

"Engage." Ron and Kim said together.

"So," Josh Mankey said, once again sitting at the back table of the dingy tavern, "you failed me, Sparrow."

"Look, you didn't tell me these people were so crafty, mate," the bearded pirate said. "I had no way of knowing that they'd risk destroying that ship to stop me."

"You should have been able to anticipate a contingency. You've gotten very good at executing them, after all." Josh sighed. "Alright; I'll give you one last chance. Once we track them down, I'll give you your chance to earn that pardon again."

Sparrow shook his head. "Oh, this has gone beyond a pardon. Before, it was just business. But these people have insulted me and my legacy. It's personal now, and by the time I'm through with them, they'll know just how personal I can make things."

Damn; that one took longer to write than the last one. I apologize for the long wait in getting it out, but I kind of hit a slump for a while. But, hopefully, I'm past that now and my work will continue at a semi-regular rate. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.