In the Bright Sunshine

A Star Trek: Deep Space Nine oneshot by Andrew J. Talon

Disclaimer:This is a non-profit fanwork of prose. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the property of Paramount. No copyright infringement is intended, please support the official release.

"Sir! I think we've got a problem!" Nog announced the moment Sisko got on the bridge. Sisko frowned.

"What is it, Ensign?"

"Son'a ships are locking onto us, that's the problem!" He said. "Incoming torpedoes!"

Sisko sat down in his chair. "Raise shields!" He ordered. Just in time, as the Defiantrocked from the impact. The red alert klaxons sounded, as the mood of the bridge switched to the tension and anticipation of combat.

"Minor damage to aft shields!" O'Brien announced. "More incoming fire!"

"Evasive maneuvers Dax!" Sisko ordered. "Ensign, hail them!"

The Defiantaccelerated and rocked rapidly from side to side, trying to shake the incoming photon torpedoes. The Son'a cruisers closed in, continuing to fire from long range on the rapidly evading Federation starship.

Nog shook his head. "I'm getting a response-It's from Ruafo sir!"

"Put it on!" Sisko ordered. The stretched face of the Son'a leader filled the screen as he leaned back in his orange couch. "Ruafo! What the hell is this?" Sisko demanded, diplomacy forgotten.

He tended to get that way about people shooting at him.

"Captain, I'm sorry to say you've interfered in my plans for the last time,"he sneered.

"What plans?! Everything you wanted to happen has happened!" Sisko responded angrily.

"Except for kill the Baku! Revenge will be mine!"The obviously insane man cackled. Sisko narrowed his eyes.

"You're reneging on the deal simply for revenge?!" Sisko asked, stupefied by how idiotic this situation had become. Doctor Bashir in the back of the bridge snorted incredulously.

"They threw us off our world to die, slowly! They deserve much worse, and will get it!" Ruafo declared.

"I'm giving you a chance to stop this, right now," Sisko said icily. "Whatever your feud is with the Baku, you do notfire upon my ship just to settle it."

"Die well, Federation scum!" Ruafo declared. The channel closed, and the Defiantrocked from what felt like phaser fire. Sisko shook his head.

"Dax! Attack pattern omega, bring us in nice and close to the nearest enemy ship! Major! Hold your fire until we're within one hundred meters!"

"Cutting it a bit close," Kira said as she prepared the tiny ship's weapons.

Sisko smiled grimly. "That's exactly the idea..."

The Defiant, designed by Sisko himself to kick the living hell out of the Borg, had been built to get up close and personal to big, stupid ships that thought they could play bulldozer with people's lives.

As a result, she flew right up to the nearest Son'a cruiser, hugging the contours of it's hull perfectly while spitting death from her four high powered phaser cannons. Flames erupted from all over the hull, and to add insult to injury, the Son'a cruiser's sister ship opened fire on the Defiantin an attempt to help out.

Sadly, it only resulted in the Son'a ship blowing up that much sooner, and the Defiant jumped into warp just long enough to reappear behind the other cruiser to unleash a volley of quantum torpedoes and the furious fire of her phasers. The second cruiser died in a massive explosion, which the Defiantdramatically flew through.

Total time elapsed: Two minutes, fifty six seconds.

Not that Sisko timed how long it took his baby to blow the hell out of enemy ships. Well, not every time.

"Where's Ruafo's ship?" Sisko growled.

"Offering it's surrender," Nog reported. He turned with a frown. "Ruafo is notaboard it."

"Where is he then?" Sisko asked.

"I'm detecting transporter activity," Dax reported. Her brow creased. "He's onboard the collector!"

"What's he going to do, set it off before all the Baku leave?" Nog asked.

"That's exactly what he's going to do," Kira growled. "Captain, permission to fire all weapons?"

"Is violence really the only solution you can come up with for this, Major?" Sisko asked in a wry tone. Kira smirked back.

"It does seem to have gotten us pretty far..."

"Well, I think I have a solution that'll make us both happy..."

Ruafo ascended the ladder, higher and higher, to the collector manual control. He was going to get his revenge, no matter what anyone wanted or thought! He'd been forced to die slowly and that he would not let go quietly! Yes, he repeated to himself as volatile gas began to vent into the massive chamber within the collector, revenge would be his!

Even if it ended up destroying two of his ships... Rather pointlessly... He'd still get his revenge!

The whine of a transporter beam filled the air, and he got to the control panel just in time to see Captain Sisko appear with a phaser rifle pointed at him.

"I wouldn't," Sisko said calmly.

"You wouldn't fire," Ruafo taunted. "This gas is highly unstable!"

Sisko frowned, and then shrugged. "Good point." He put down the rifle and cracked his knuckles. "Guess I'll have to stop you the old fashioned way."

It was at this point Ruafo had a moment of self reflection: Despite the finest medical technology available, he had not been in a fist fight for at least a century. Whereas Captain Sisko routinely fought genetically engineered super soldiers in hand to hand combat and came out on top.

Ruafo began to think this was a bad idea about one second into the fight, when his wild blow was blocked with ease. By the next second, as Sisko's fists crushed his nose, he was considering he'd made a lot of bad decisions recently. And by the third second, as Sisko socked his gut and then sent him crashing to the desk with a double axe handle to the back of his neck, he was sure this had been incredibly stupid.

Sisko sighed and shook his head. "Sisko to Defiant."

"Defiant here sir," Nog replied.

"Tell the Major he folded like a house of cards." He smirked a little. "I owe her dinner."

"Yes sir."

There. That wrap everything up nicely?