Surefoot 68: Three... Two... One...

Of the others, only three seemed as collected as he was: his son Nusum-Adu, still coordinating the response efforts of their people; Welros, whose innate Vorta blandness would probably protect him from a supernova blast; and Lessade, who was probably too drunk or drugged to understand what was going on.

The three of them followed him out into the open air, where Nusum-Adu was the first to speak. "Father, perhaps we should seek shelter in the substations, just in case-"

Melem-Adu stared out at the spires of buildings beyond the Capitol, many ancient, dated back centuries to when the Caitians first landed here. "We are Ferasans. We are not cowards. We are not weak. You may go, if you wish. All of you."

Welros simpered. "My Jem'Hadar have studied the defences you have established here, Master Governor, and have faith in their efficacy. This will be most illuminating."

"Is there a parade?" Lessade asked. "Shall I make a speech?"

"Leave us!" Nusum-Adu snapped at him.

"No, wait." Melem-Adu set his wine on the balcony ledge and turned to face the Caitian, beckoning. "Come here, Provisional First Minister. I do have an important job for you."

Lessade approached, eyes bleary but wide. "What can I do for you, Master Governor?"

Melem-Adu took him by the arm. "You can count how long it takes for a useless, intoxicated collaborator to reach the ground from this height."

Then he secured a firmer grasp on Lessade, lifted him up and flung him over the balcony railing.

Lessade flailed before disappearing from view, but screamed all the way down, until the scream abruptly ended.

Melem-Adu nodded to himself. "Six and a half seconds."

"MISSILE IMPACT IN TEN SECONDS," the computer announced. "NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN..."

Melem-Adu retrieved his wine and looked up into the sky, imagining seeing the swathe of the missile as its speed and heat broke the cloud cover. Despite his bravado, there was still an instinctive desire within him, to run and hide. After all, he couldn't see the shielding up in place- it might not even be there-

He squinted as the sky turned white... its blinding, terrible blast, heat and noise buffered by a crimson energy webbing, its matrix protesting at the impact upon it... but still holding.

The trio seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief, though none of them would admit to it, though Welros made a subsequent sound. "An impressive demonstration of your shielding technology, Master Governor. Now, what will you do in response?"

Maybe I'll throw you over the edge to join that broken Caitian puppet in the courtyard below. "You shall soon see, Vorta." He turned to his son. "What's with the face like a smacked arse? You haven't wet yourself, have you?"

Nusum-Adu was peering outwards; the shield remained in place, but without being tested it was invisible again, and they could all see the cluster of buildings that had borne the brunt of the blast: windows were shattered, walls cracked, rubble was falling in place... and dead or injured Caitians lay in the streets below. "We should keep the shields up, keep out the smoke and dust..."

"Of course, of course. So, what's really wrong with you?"

His son looked to him. "I thought we had utterly destroyed the Caitian's military might."

"Clearly not... but then you should have realised that days ago, with those reports of the loss of the Jem'Hadar ships at the Equator. They could only have been brought down by sophisticated hardware, not just a couple of rebel Caitians with some plasma rifles and firebombs. Have our people trace the trajectory of the missile to its source -- though I suspect it will have come from the general area where the Jem'Hadar were brought down.

And then contact Pridemaster Tasak-Sil."

Nusum-Adu frowned. "Of the Steel Crown Pride? The Engineers? What for?"

Melem-Adu looked between his son and Welros, as if sharing his response between them. "I tasked him with the construction of a special present for the Caitians... and promised to kill his firstborn if it wasn't ready when we needed it.

I think everyone will agree that now... we need it."

*

TWENTY-EIGHT MINUTES, FOURTEEN SECONDS... THIRTEEN... TWELVE...

Mithram Valley, Nashea Province:

Hrelle leaned back in the cockpit seat of the Tailless. "A missile? What in the Seven Hells- What about Mrorr?"

"No word yet," Kami's voice replied. "Lt Cmdr H'Nille believes they're running silent and getting out of the area before they're tracked down. Esek, I don't think this was planned. Could it have been an accident?"

He shook his head, though it was an audio transmission and she couldn't see it. "More than likely an action taken by one of her senior officers. What about the Capitol?"

"Nenjo's inside contacts haven't responded yet, but we've tapped into security cameras in the immediate area -- those still functioning, that is. The Ferasans' shields protected them completely, at the expense of the surrounding buildings. There have been obvious casualties- Esek, when are you all coming back? The Ferasans are going to retaliate."

"I know." He glanced towards the rear, seeing a number of bags with transporter tags that had beamed in while he was outside with Sasha and Mori and the others. "We're still waiting on Jhess beaming back with his family. I don't want to leave just yet, or send a signal into the city... but we need to get home as soon as possible."

"Stay safe, Husband of Mine. And hurry back."

Hrelle rose, adjusting his sword and scabbard; it looked and felt strange against his Starfleet uniform, a seeming incongruity... but as he was the senior Starfleet representative on Cait, he would allow it for himself and his daughter.

He stepped outside, seeing Sasha and the others on the upper slope, near the entrance to the tunnels to Shanos Minor.

He was about to call up to Sasha, when he froze, his hackles rising and his ears twitching as he looked around. He had grown used to the stillness here, to the distant sounds of the wind in the bordering trees, the chitter of maribods and hut-huts-

And something else. He could hear it. Smell it.

He stepped away, making sure he had his phaser as well as his sword, he peered out. Searching. Searching-

That large bird appeared again. Looking down on him directly.

*

On an upper slope, nestled behind a clump of rocks and shrubbery that had been his cover for some time now, Valtiri peered at Hrelle through the scope of his rifle, occasionally reaching out to look at him through Nyx's eyes, though the distance made such levels of contact difficult. He certainly couldn't reach the Captain's mind from this far up, or the others. He could only watch.

Or shoot.

No. Maybe the others. But not his Quarry.

But he watched, watched as Hrelle directed the others to do what they had come here for. He watched and saw a male with obvious authority, obvious ease of command: fat, yes, but with muscle under that. And he saw his first human female: a tailless, furless figure, looking bizarre and alien... but one who moved with confidence, assurance. She had learned from her father. She was a killer.

And now he saw Hrelle standing there. Looking around. Did he- Did he sense Valtiri's presence? Seven Hells, he did!

Oh, this would be an immensely enjoyable battle.

"Sire!"

Valtiri flinched, squatting down, his paw over the communicator pouch on his harness, snarling. "What did I say about interrupting-" But then he acknowledged the urgency in the voice. "What is it?"

Pilot's voice seemed loud, even with the communicator volume turned down. "Sire, we just received a report from Headquarters! They've come under missile attack from the Caitians! But our forces were ready, and had shields erected! The Master Governor and the rest of our people there still live!"

"I don't care," Valtiri declared... until he frowned and realised that he did care, though not for the safety of the Master Governor and his preening cronies. He turned back and peered over the rocks, without the use of his rifle scope. Hrelle was obviously in command of the Caitian Resistance; he wouldn't be here if he was involved in the attack on the Capitol.

He would be alerted to it. He might even leave, to return and coordinate his people in the event of a counterstrike from the Ferasans.

And Valtiri would lose a precious opportunity here. "Thank you, Pilot. Maintain communicator silence until you hear from me again."

"Yes, Sire- I'll- I'll just-"

But Valtiri had switched off the communicator as he looked over the rocks and down into the Valley, gauging the distance and adjusting his scope. Besides Father and Daughter Hrelle, there were three others, one male in a Starfleet uniform, the other two civilians.

He had definite reservations about just shooting the Hrelles; there was no honour, no pleasure or achievement in that.

The others, on the other paw, meant nothing to him, except potential pawns or distractions...

*

Down below, Sasha moved the sword on her belt to one side as she knelt and ran tests on the field generator. "Check the connections."

On the other side of the tunnel entrance, Mori squatted by a diagnostic unit. "Checking, Lieutenant... Security fields, Okay... communication relay, Okay... plasma weapon rechargers, Okay... all Okay, Lieutenant."

She made a sound. "'Lieutenant'? Being a little formal, are we?" Then she looked over at him, smirking. "You didn't think I was being serious about us having a cub together, did you?"

"What? No, of course not!"

His tail told a different story.

"Not that we wouldn't produce a great cub," she teased, "Your parents certainly thought so when I contacted them after we shagged."

Now he grunted. "You went a little too far there with your bullshit. You should have just kept it simpler."

"Oh, Now I'm definitely gonna have to call-" She stopped, glancing down to see the two Kaetini colleagues were climbing up the hill with more boxes- one of them seemingly tripped and fell.

Then the second went down... with the side of his head opening up, spattering blood and brain matter out as if a miniature bomb had detonated in his skull.

"SNIPER!" She dove towards the tunnel entrance, hearing the snap of a large-calibre ballistic bullet strike the rock surface directly behind her. She slapped her combadge. "Dad! Sniper! Take cover!" She looked up. "Mru!"

But Mori was lying there, barely shielded by a large boulder, wrapped in a foetal position, his paws gripped around a nasty bullet wound in his right thigh, cursing and breathing rapidly. "Mru! Are you alright?"

The young male's teeth were bared in pain. "What do you think! Shit, that hurts!"

"Sasha!" her father's voice returned over the combadge. "Are you okay?"

"I am, but the other Kaetini are dead, and Mori's wounded, pinned down behind a rock! I'm gonna try to get to him and drag him into better cover and treat him!"

"No you won't, Lieutenant," came a new, unrecognised male voice over the channel.

She froze, listening as she heard her father ask, "Who's this?"

The deep baritone voice responded readily. "I am Valtiri, the Hunter Prime of the Ferasan people. And I have been sent by the Patriarch to kill you and your daughter. I am challenging you both to face me in honourable combat."

"Honourable?" Sasha echoed angrily, watching the dark blood seep out from Mori's wound despite his efforts to keep applying pressure; he wasn't going to stay conscious for much longer without treatment, and then he'd bleed to death. "What's honourable about picking off people from a distance, you fucking prick?"

"Please, Lieutenant, I don't believe in profanity."

"I do -- come face me, dickhead, and I'll cut off your head and shit down your fucking neckhole!"

*

In the Valley below, Hrelle squatted behind a boulder, unable to leave without having the ground around him spit bullets and pebbles. The Tailless was only about twenty metres away.... but it might as well have been a light year's distance. "Sasha, don't-"

Something like a sound of amusement returned from their unseen opponent. "I have every intention of fighting you face to face, Lieutenant, you and your father; you both deserve no less. But I would rather keep interference from others to a minimum, hence my actions just now."

Hrelle leaned out carefully from behind the side of the boulder, peering up to try and find the most likely perch of the sniper, along the treeline-

He ducked back as a bullet struck his boulder, sending shards of murinite slate spraying... but Hrelle thought he had pinpointed their attacker. He drew out his phaser, checking the setting; the distance would make this tricky, but he had to give it a shot, give Sasha a chance to break cover and save Lt Mori-

"Captain," Valtiri said now over the channel. "Before you risk your life any further, please speak with your daughter, and ask her what she sees on the back of her companion's head."

Hrelle froze, frowning at the odd request. "Sash?"

*

Up at the tunnel, Sasha, having heard the exchange, looked over at Mori and spotted- "It's- it looks like a red laser dot."

Mori heard her, forgetting his pain for a moment to look at her with wide, pleading eyes. "What?"

*

"Shit," Hrelle muttered. "A targeting beam."

"Yes, Captain; I don't normally employ it, but do so now for illustrative purposes. The Caitian remains completely exposed and at my mercy. I could have finished him at any stage. I have chosen not to... for now. If your daughter attempts to approach him, or if you and she do not throw away your energy weapons and step out into view, he will be dead before she gets within arm's length."

Mori looked back at her again. "No! Don't do it!"

*

Hrelle breathed in. "Just throw away our phasers and step out, just like that? And I suppose you won't just pick us off neat you please, huh, Bubulah?"

"Captain, I have been observing your party for at least an hour. I watched you and the Lieutenant interact with that spotted male before he disappeared into the tunnels. I watched you walking around, admiring this... stunning landscape, and watched you interact with your daughter, and bear witness to the obvious love you two share. I could have killed you both from a distance a thousand times over.

But I would sooner set fire to a Nash-Aka oil painting than do such a thing.

Unless of course I was left with no other choice.

Throw away your phaser and step into view, Captain. You too, Lieutenant; descend and join your father. But please bring your swords with you."

"Dad?" Sasha asked.

Hrelle swallowed. The Ferasan had a point; from up there, he could have killed them already, but wanted to make it up close and personal. He grunted, recognising that he wouldn't be the first Ferasan to seek him out and gain some apparent glory at fighting the former Beast of the Orion Deathmatches. He didn't want to indulge yet another bloodthirsty Rat-tail.

On the other paw, they really had no choice. He could keep them both pinned down until he called in reinforcements. He tapped his combadge again. "Do as he says, Sasha."

Now Mori joined the channel. "No, Sir! Don't do it! I'm not worth it!"

"Put a sock in it, Mru," Sasha told him. "Before I put my boot in it!"

"I echo my daughter's feelings on the matter, Lieutenant Mori," Hrelle assured him. "Sasha?"

"I'm coming," she declared. "But I'm bringing Mori over a medikit and stabilising him first! And if you don't like that, Mr Sniper, you can kiss the fattest part of my ass!"

Hrelle tensed again, until the Ferasan -- what was his name again? Valtiri -- chuckled. "Go right ahead, Lt Hrelle, though any attempt by him to move from where he is will cost him dearly."

Hrelle looked back, seeing Sasha step out into view from the tunnel, flinging aside her phaser but walking towards where Mori lay. Now Hrelle stepped out, throwing his own phaser to one side and looking up where he suspected the Ferasan watched them. He tapped his combadge again. "Valtiri... face me alone. You don't have to involve my daughter, she's innocent. There will be no honour to be gained in fighting her."

"I understand your desire to protect her, Captain. But we both know that she is not innocent. She has slain many in her young life, here and out in space. Perhaps not as many as you, but she is definitely her father's daughter. And she has earned the attention of the Patriarch... and thus, the Patriarch's Assassin."

Valtiri's words struck him like a fist. That he had been a major influence in Sasha's life had been obvious to him, chiefly in her joining Starfleet and wanting to be a Captain like himself, a champion for life. But to think that he might have also led her on a path of bloodshed as well... "Valtiri... I beg of you... leave her alone. I'll do anything you say, anything you want. She means the Universe to me."

There was a pause, and then Valtiri responded, "I believe you, Captain. And I genuinely envy your daughter for having a father with such a fierce love and devotion for her. But I'm afraid I cannot make an exception with her. But I do promise to fight both of you fairly, on equal terms, so my inevitable victory will be justly earned."

Hrelle tensed, staring hard up at the slope. "And I promise you, Mister, that you will regret threatening my daughter or myself. You will regret it to your dying day.

And that day is today."

"I'm on my way."

*

On the slope, Sasha knelt beside Mori and ripped away his trouser leg to reveal his furred thigh, quickly cleaning and treating the wound. "Keep still, I'll get this sorted right away."

Mori gasped, grimacing until she paused to inject him a painkiller. "N-No, Sasha, you can't go down there- you and your father are risking your lives."

She ran the autosuture over the wound, stemming the flow of blood. "Risk is Our Business. Don't you remember that quote from the wall in the Academy's James T Kirk Building?"

He shook his head. "I attended the Annex at Rigel. You can't expect me to just lie here while you two face the Enemy?"

She kept herself from looking out into the gulley below, making sure she closed the channel on her combadge and his, before responding. "I don't- especially as I should get you fixed up enough to make you at least partially ambulatory. While Dad and I are keeping Snagglepuss busy, you sneak into the tunnel, stay out of the line of fire until we're done."

"B-But Valtiri said-"

"Valtiri can eat a sack of balls. I think he's bluffing about someone shooting you while he's with us. Get yourself to safety."

"I- I should be helping you-"

"You will be, by leaving me assured that you're safe, so I'm not distracted worrying about you."

He winced, grimacing again as he took the autosuture from her. "Fine, I'll do that. And you'd better stay safe down there."

"Oh? I hadn't thought about doing that."

"I mean it, Sash. I- I want to spend more time with you. Can't do that if you're dead. That'd just be illegal and weird."

Sasha looked into his eyes, before rubbing the side of her face against his muzzle, rising and adjusting the sword at her side as she strode down the hill to join her father, the sight of the two dead Kaetini a reminder of the fate that threatened the rest of them.

*

TWENTY-SIX MINUTES, FORTY-FOUR SECONDS... FORTY-THREE... FORTY-TWO...

Freedom Plaza, Shanos Minor, Nashea Province:

"Seven Hells, No! We Won't Go! Seven Hells, No! We Won't Go!"