While the Sovereign was on its way towards the pulsating star in the territories of the Talarian Republic, the activity around the starbase was quite literally at its lowest. Today just so happened to be one of the few days that the starbase has no transport ships of any kind, whether it be personnel or cargo, on arrival or departure. In fact, the station had zero civilian vessels in its vicinity at the moment. This also included any service vessels, Starfleet or any other faction, aside from small craft that buzzed around, those were busy with routine inspections and maintenance. Now, while the activity outside the station was quite calm, it could not be said the same for the Operations Center inside the station.

“Are we experiencing some sort of anomaly outside the star system?” Ward asked.

“Negative, Commander. Sensors are not reading any anomalies outside of our system,” Rowe answered.

Ryker then turned away from the master display console and looked at Rowe. “Try to focus long range sensors specifically in the sector the Sovereign was in. We need to know why she disappeared,” Ryker ordered. Most of the senior staff had been busy conducting routine diagnostic checks on various systems at the time when Zane Bates had made a comment that the Sovereign disappeared from their long range sensors, before she crossed the border between Federation and Talarian space. So now, everyone had to cancel their diagnostic programs and try to figure out what happened.

“Sensors are not detecting any other ship in that sector. So that scratches off the possibility of being destroyed,” said Zane.

“Comm, have you been able to reach the Sovereign? Perhaps their transponder beacon went down?” Ward requested and the comms officer notified that they have not been able to raise the Sovereign.

“I don’t think it is their transponder. We would still be able to pick up a starship by the constructive materials of the hull,” said Rowe as she was still in process of her scans. Then her eyes froze at the pop up before her. “Well. This does not provide a lot, but it is something.”

Ryker stepped towards Rowe’s station, and he could see from the corner of his eyes that Ward had done the same. “What is it?” Ward had beaten him to the punch.

“There is an anomaly of some sort in the very area of where the Sovereign disappeared. Long range sensors can’t make of it, unfortunately. But it does not help that we are near their limit,” Rowe explained.

“Could we boost the sensors?” Ryker said quickly, this time he beat Ward to it.

“I can try,” Rowe said as she placed in the request to main engineering and soon she got an acknowledge from the Assistant Chief before she noticed an increased detail of the data. But before she could say anything, suddenly all long range sensors went down, as if something had begun to interfere with them. Then the proximity alarm blared throughout the Ops Center. “There’s something that is about a hundred kilometers away from us. It’s some sort of vortex and it is interfering with our sensors and communications.”

“On screen!” Both Ryker and Ward said at the same time, which made them look at each other and Ryker gave her an apologetic look. Then a screen popped up overhead to give them a view of the strange aperture, visible by the distortion it created, where the stars behind it twisted and swirled about. Suddenly the proximity alarm went off again.

“Short range sensors are picking up vessels emerging from the vortex! I’m reading two…no four…make that six vessels!” Zane reported and they all watched, as two by two vessels emerged from the vortex at a fast pace towards the station.

“I don’t think they realize that we’re here or where they are yet!” Rowe’s voice filled with concern.

“Stand by tractor beams,” Ward ordered.

“Set them to repel the vessels, but gently and to put them on a path so they don’t collide with anything else, or with the atmosphere of the planet,” Ryker added.

Rowe was in progress of getting the tractor beams set up when a new pop up emerged. “All six vessels have fired their reverse thrusters at maximum power. Computer calculates that at their current rate, the deceleration is sufficient to avoid collision. Sensors are also detecting minor fluctuations in the power grid of three vessels. It appears that they have sustained damage when they passed through the vortex from…where ever it is they came from.”

“I would like to add, three of those vessels are Wadi and the other three are Karemma,” reported Zane.

“What would be your expert opinion, Commander Ryker?” Ward asked him in a soft voice in attempt to keep their conversation private, at the same time, she stepped down towards the master display console in the middle of ops.

Ryker sighed as he looked up at the ships and stared at them for a moment before he looked over at Zane. “Tactical analysis on those ships, mister Bates.”

“Both vessels are armed with polaron weapons and photon torpedoes,” Zane reported.

“Phased?” Ryker had to ask.

Zane shook his head, “They don’t seem to have the same energy signature in the database of those we’ve dealt with from the Jem’hadar. But it is curious, those ships are of Gamma Quadrant origin, and so are their particle weapons.”

Ryker nodded his head and looked back at Ward. “With that information, they wouldn’t stand a chance if they were to try to attack us. Furthermore, their current posture and status of three of their six vessels indicate that they are not preparing to fight. But I would remain cautious. Why are there three Karemma vessels following three Wadi vessels?”

Ward agreed with a single nod, “Then there is only one way to find out. Hail them, let us see who answers.” It was not long until the display above them was replaced with the face of a man who looked as though he had been in some sort of accident. His face was somewhat dis-formed, much like the Osaarians back in the Pre-Federation era of the NX Enterprise, when the crew were attacked by them after they entered the Delphic Expanse. “I am Commander Lexie Ward of Starbase 415. Our sensors indicated that three of your vessels are damaged, do you need assistance?”

The man stared at her for a moment before his eyes began to scan the room, of what he can see on his own viewer, before his eyes returned to hers. “My name is Vo’rin. Are you responsible for bringing us here?”

Ward quickly looked at Ryker with a confused look on her face before she looked back at the man on the viewer. “Negative. We do not possess such technology.”

Vo’rin stared at her for a moment, as if he was having trouble processing what she said, or he was busy with his examination of her facial features. “I believe you, Commander.” Then without skipping a beat, “I am the Commander of this squadron. We were on our way to do important business when we suddenly found ourselves traveling through a narrow tunnel. We took some damage and we do have injured on board. Unfortunately, we do not have enough supplies to tend to our wounded.” When he paused, Ryker immediately assumed that was their cue.

“We have a large medical facility here on board the station. We would be happy to tend to your people. We also have skillful engineers, all capable of patching up your ships.” Ryker then leaned over one of the terminals at the master display console and pulled up the status of the docking ports. He knew they were free, but he wanted to be certain none were down for maintenance. “All of our docking ports are available to you if you wish to dock your ships.”

The pause with Vo’rin continued for what felt like a solid two minutes before the man finally spoke. “Docking will not be necessary, nor will we need the engineers. We have what we need to take care of our ships. I just need my crew tended to.” With a deep breath, the man stood from his seat and stepped closer to his viewer. “We will transport our wounded to your medical facilities, if you would provide us the coordinates.”

“Stand by,” Ryker then pressed the button that not only muted their end but also cut the video feed for both sides. He then looked at Ward with concern in his eyes. “I don’t like this. He does not want us to go near his ships, which makes me think they are stolen.”

“It is also possible that he is being cautious,” Ward told him.

“You saw him, and what crew we could see. They are not Wadi, nor are they Karemma. And their uniforms, definitely not any Starfleet ship has ever encountered before,” Ryker explained to her.

“Then what are you suggesting?” Ward asked him.

Ryker took in a deep breath as he looked away. Then he licked his lips and looked right at her. “We have six medical wards, one of which is more than large enough to handle their wounded. I suggest we evacuate one of the wards, leave a small medical staff and secure it.” Ryker watched as Ward was tumbling the idea over in her head with how her eyes remained locked on his but he could see that they glassed over, clearly indicated that she was in her thoughts than she was actually looking at him. Until he saw her return from those thoughts and watched her turn in place to look at Zane.

“Lieutenant. I want medical ward four cleared out of all non-essentials. Inform the medical staff that we have unknowns being transported to them for treatment and they may choose to decrease their staff in the ward however they wish. I want a security team down there, but I want them a section or two away from the ward. I don’t want them to get suspicious.” Ward then looked back at Ryker. “That satisfy you, Commander?”

Ryker nodded his head. “Never hurts to be cautious, Commander.” Then he pressed the button that brought Vo’rin back.

“My apologies, sir. We had to make sure that the medical ward we are sending your wounded to was prepared. You know how it is, doctors do not like surprises,” Ward explained.

There was that pause again, why did this man take his time to answer? “Understandable,” said Vo’rin. “I too will be arriving at your medical facility. It seems that I have a bit of a cut from how much we were…thrown about.”

Ward gave a brief smile. “Well, fortunately for you, we have an excellent medical staff. Coordinates will be sent to you shortly.”

“Thank you, Commander. We look forward to your hospitality,” said Vo’rin before he pressed the button on the arm rest that cut the channel. He then took in a deep breath, with a small pause before he let out a sigh with his heavy exhale. Was it relief or was it stress? Difficult to tell, as they had left one situation for another but if they played their cards right, they would have then escaped freely and will no longer have to worry.

“Sensors still cannot figure out where we are, Leader.” K’ren reported.

He then leaned forward in his seat, where he placed his elbows on his knees, intertwined his fingers together and rested his chin on top of his fingers as he contemplated the gravity of their situation.

~Are you all right?~ came the voice of his most trusted friend in his mind, Si’ral. None of them would have gotten this far without her help and expertise. She was a skilled hacker and a fine weapons expert. He did not even have to look at her to respond to her question through the telepathy that was native to their species. ~I am fine. I just happen to like the sound of ‘Commander’~

He then heard her chuckle in his mind, followed by ~I think I like the sound of that as well. Commander Vo’rin. Has a nice ring to it.~ He smiled to her words in his mind before he replied. ~It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?~ Their telepathic abilities allowed them to communicate privately with one another, or with everyone as well, if the situation were to require upmost privacy. It was a simple trick with their species, like a flip of a switch on whether they wish to communicate directly with one person or with everyone. Much like communications. But that was not all they could do.

“Leader. We received the coordinates to their medical facility.” G’ale reported.

Vo’rin stood from his seat and looked around before he raised his voice. “From now on, I shall be referred to as Commander Vo’rin. And Si’ral, she will be my Lieutenant, my first officer. We will form a structure and you will all obey it. Make sure the rest have heard of this, as I will not excuse mistakes. Punishment will displayed for anyone who fails to follow. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Commander!” Everyone said in unison on the bridge of the Wadi vessel.

“Good. We may have escaped our prison, but we will not fall into disarray or become nomads. We will become our own faction, one better than what our people were once known. And we will take what we want in order to survive,” Vo’rin announced and then he heard Si’ral shout.

“To the Vo’rin Syndicate!” Her voice filled the bridge and soon the others joined after her, chanting ‘Vo’rin Syndicate’ until he had to silence them with both his hands thrown out to his sides.

“As much as I love the name, we must not keep our new found friends waiting. Send the coordinates to the other vessels, we will begin to beam our wounded over,” he ordered before he began to head for the door until he was stopped by Si’ral.

~I don’t trust these people. Please, let me come with you.~ Her voice echoed in his mind while her eyes stared hard into his.

~Have you rested from our escape?~ he returned as he stared back.

~A little. I believe I can do it.~ She assured him with a grasp of his arm and a tight squeeze. She was more than just his friend, she was his lover. From the simple and minor contact with her, he could tell that she was capable again.

“Then we go,” He spoke plainly and led the way to the transporter room.

“All right people! I commend those who have stayed, but remember, we know nothing of this species. So conduct extensive scans, we need to know their anatomy before we can treat them. I do not want anyone administering any medicine to their patients without checking to see if they are allergic or not, or worse. Scan, verify and then treat. Is that understood?” The head of medical ward four, making himself loud and clear to his staff.

Theo Lane replied in unison with everyone else, where they all acknowledged the head’s orders. They knew better than to treat a patient that they know little or none about, but it was good practice to be reminded. Although, even though Lane had no idea, there was much more to it than just proper treatment. The command staff needed to know what kind of species they were and if any Starfleet ship had encounter them or not.

Again, Lane had no idea what the goal of the command staff was, he simply knew that he had to do the job correctly so that he can treat and not harm his patients. As if the thought had been a cue, transporter beams began to appear in the lobby section of the medical ward and soon they saw over a dozen people. From what Lane could see, some appeared to have burns, others had cuts on their hands and on their heads, and then there were some holding one of their arms or being carried while their injured leg was held up in the air.

Lane took a deep breath and immediately went to the man who had a cut on the back of his hand. “Excuse me, sir. Right this way, please.” Lane gestured with his hand and guided the individual to a bio bed. “If you would just take a seat, I will get with you in a moment but first I need to perform a scan. If that is all right with you?”

“What is this scan for?” The man asked, his eyes began to dart around, where he could see some of his people were also being scanned.

“It is standard procedure with Starfleet Medical, sir. We do not have your species on file, so it makes it difficult for us to treat you properly. Otherwise, we run a risk of giving you a medicine that could be toxic to your species and we simply cannot have that,” Lane explained to the man, who returned his eyes back on the ensign.

“What is that on your collar?” The man asked.

Lane assumed that the change in subject meant he was clear to perform his scans, so he began to pull out the scanner from his tricorder and as he began, he answered the man’s question. “That is a pip. It identifies my rank. I am an Ensign in Starfleet.”

“What is this ‘Starfleet’?” The man asked.

Lane remembered the briefing earlier from the head of medical ward four. Not to give out too much information, but he didn’t feel that the questions were harmful. “Starfleet is an organization in the United Federation of Planets.”

“So a military?” The man asked.

Lane chuckled and shook his head. “No. I mean, we are more than capable of defending ourselves but we strive in exploration and sciences. We also give aid to those in need, like we are right now.” Lane explained before he finished his scans. He put the scanner back in and sent the date to the computer for analysis. Soon it came back with a positive outcome. “All right! It looks like the computer has not found any complications with the medicine we have available to you. So if it is okay with you, I would like to give you some medication for that cut.”

“Why?”

As Lane took a simple dose of medicine and slapped it into a hypospray, he smiled at the man’s question. “To prevent infections and to help your body heal that wound faster. Assuming it was a piece of metal that caused the cut on your hand, we have no idea if that metal was sanitized or not, or what kind of bacteria that could have accumulated on it. If I don’t give you this medication, you run a risk of that cut becoming infected and if not treated, you could lose that hand. Or worse, die. As a medical officer, I simply cannot allow that to happen.”

Lane watched the man squint his eyes at him before he grunted, which seemed to be his form of approval. Lane then pressed the hypo to their upper arm and depressed the button. “And that was it.” He placed the hypo down on the bed and grabbed a dermal re-generator.

“That?” The man asked.

“A wonderful tool that also helps your body heal. It basically accelerates the regeneration properties of your cells so that it closes the wound,” Lane explained as he activated the tool and began to run the tip back and forth over the cut until it was completely sealed. He deactivated the tool, placed it down and grabbed a sanitizing wipe from the foot of the bed, it was a small little square, that allowed him to simply wipe off the blood, dried or not, from the back of the man’s hand. Instead of disposing it properly, he placed it in a separate container, of which the computer would analyze the blood.

“All right. You are good to go!” Lane happily proclaimed.

“That is some technology you ‘Starfleet’ have,” said the man, as Lane could see his eyes began to scan the room. What Lane did not know, was that the man he had treated was the leader of the group, and that leader had figured out that his group outnumbered the medical staff. There were thirty of them, and only eight medical officers tending to them. Then, in a sudden blur, the man grabbed Lane, turned him around and wrapped his arm around Lane’s throat, while the hand of the other arm took one of Lane’s hands and pulled Lane’s arm in between them, just to push that hand against the small of Lane’s back. But that was not all, it was like everyone moved in perfect harmony, as the entire medical staff were now restrained.

Except for one, the head of the medical ward, who had tapped their badge just in time. “Security!” They shouted before they were suddenly propelled across the room and their back slammed against the wall. The force was so great that they had collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Or at least, Lane hoped he was unconscious. But how? How was he propelled like that? He didn’t see anyone push him.

“Get the door!” The man yelled and four of his people ran for the door, and pressed their backs against the wall. Just in time too, as Lane watched three security officers run in, get grabbed and punched. It seemed like a struggle but two more people of this group joined in and subdued the three officers. Soon, three members of the group were armed and Lane found himself now huddled up against the rest of the medical staff, and three security officers, against the wall of one side of the room.

Vo’rin took one of the phasers and studied it. “Quite different but concept is still the same.” He then looked at his hostages. “So the request will be simple. You will be quiet,” He instructed them as some of his people removed the badges off of every single Starfleet personnel they had. That included the unconscious man who had shown his people that they were much more than a decorative symbol.

“Do we keep these, Commander?” Asked G’ale.

Vo’rin looked at every single one of the prisoners and his gut told him that it was against that idea. “No. Put them on the opposite side of the room, on a cart somewhere. I don’t care. As long as it is very far away from these people.”

“Why are you doing this?” Asked the young male.

“Well, Ensign was it? Your technology is obviously quite superior to our own. So, I think we are going to negotiate with Commander Ward, your lives for some supplies,” Vo’rin explained. “I do quite like these weapons you have as well,” he said as he noticed all the badges had been placed on a cart and his men had stepped away from it. Vo’rin increased the setting on the phaser and then without warning, he fired directly at one of the badges, which at the setting he chose, destroyed them all and melted the top half of the cart. “Oh yes. I like this a lot!”

“This is Ops. We detected weapons fire, what is going on?”

“Is that Commander Ward?” Vo’rin asked as he looked up and around at the ceiling. “Can you hear me, Commander?”

“I can.”

“Good! Then we can begin negotiations,” Vo’rin said as he handed the phaser off to one of his people so that they had all three pointed at their prisoners. “I hate to do this, Commander, but you see. We are in a bit of a bind.”

“What have you done with our people?!”

“Now, now, Commander. No need to raise your voice. Your people are our hostages right now and I will happily return them to you if you are willing to accept my demands,” said Vo’rin.

“What is it that you want?”

“Oh…simple, really. A couple crates of your medical supplies and a couple crates of these fancy weapons your security was equipped with,” Vo’rin brought his hands together and rubbed them a little bit. “Very simple request, Commander. I have eleven of your people, one of which is unconscious and will probably need medical attention, and all I ask is for four crates.”

“And if I don’t give you what you want?”

Vo’rin took in a deep breath and then let out a deep, heavy sigh with the exhale, which he hoped was loud enough for Commander Ward to hear. “If you do not comply to my request, then I will begin killing your people. Starting with that lad here, the Ensign.” He said as he looked directly at Lane.