Beginning of the End [Deep Space 9]

The Changing Tide

Once Captain Sisko gave the order to fire, the first wave of Federation Peregrine class ships struck the Cardassian vessels along the front lines of the fleet. Weapons fire from both Cardassian and Dominion ships targeted the small, but highly maneuverable fighters. Out of the first wing of the Peregrines, only three were cut down. Unfortunately, the enemy ships firmly held their position. John's squadron remained in hot-standby ready to engage. Elizabeth's heart was racing as she watched the fighters engage the enemy fleet one-by-one. 

Captain Sisko ordered a second wave to attack the Cardassian ships. Then a third. And then a fourth. Elizabeth thought of how it looked like a swarm of bees attacking a snake. Each attempt to lure the enemy ships out of position seemed to fail. It was not without results, however. The Peregrines were inflicting a great deal of damage to the enemy's front line.

It was finally John's turn to be part of that swarm. He joined in the sixth wave of attacks against the front line. As soon as he was within range, the young Commander targeted the weapon systems of a nearby Cardassian Galor cruiser.
"Lock torpedoes on that ship." He ordered as he flew in closer. "Don't fire until I give the order."
"I have a lock." Elizabeth replied as she tapped away at her control panel. John brought the Peregrine to with several hundred meters while unloading with the pulse cannons. Just as Elizabeth thought he was going to ram the cruiser, John gave the order to fire. As the torpedo left the ship, John put the Peregrine into a dive and ducked under the cruiser. The torpedo struck it's target inflicting a small amount of damage to the port side of the forward weapons array. Once the Peregrine cleared the ventral side of the cruiser, John pulled up and away from the fight as per Sisko's orders. The Commander assumed position behind a Starfleet Galaxy class ship awaiting command.

After several waves of Peregrine attacks, the Cardassian ships were finally on the move. However, the positioning of the enemy fleet gave Captain Sisko pause. The ships were in a prime location to trap Starfleet as their ships went through the hole in the front line. Concerned that the opening was nothing more than a trap, Sisko gave the order to enter anyway. It was an opportunity to advance and the risk was worth the venture. They had to reach Deep Space Nine to stop the Dominion from coming through the wormhole.

As the fleet of Federations ships began to punch through the front lines, John and his remaining squadron escorted the USS Majestic. It was their job to give supporting fire to the Defiant. The ultimate goal was to make it through the battlefield and then on to Deep Space Nine. As the ships began their trek into the newly developed opening, enemy ships began to push inward to try and squeeze the Federation fleet. Dominion and Cardassian ships alike sprang to life as they engaged in close combat.

The vacuum of space was filled with phaser fire and torpedoes launched from both sides. The Sitak, Majestic and Defiant were all taking a pounding from enemy forces. What few Peregrines remained targeted the smaller fighters to reduce some of the heat Captain Sisko was taking. Almost simultaneously, the Sitak and the Majestic were destroyed leaving the Defiant to fend for herself. John attempted to engage one of the Dominion ships at close range to lure it away from Sisko, but the fighter seemed to ignore him.
"Target its engines." John ordered moving the Peregrine into a close but optimal position.
"Locked." Elizabeth replied, tears streaming down her face. She was an emotional wreck at this point, but seemed to pull it together enough to do her job.
"Fire!" The torpedo struck the Dominion fighter causing it to turn and change course. It was reducing speed.
"Sensors are detecting an energy buildup in that fighter!" Elizabeth called out. John pulled the Peregrine away from the Dominion ship just as it exploded.
"What did we hit?" the Commander asked as the Peregrine was jarred by a phaser blast from a nearby enemy vessel.
"Unknown, sir. It must have been some kind of energy conduit on the ship that overloaded." Elizabeth responded. A smaller Cardassian vessel took up position behind John's Peregrine and began to fire. The Commander evaded several shots from the small Hideki class attacker. Two of the shots struck near the thrusters of the Peregrine.
"Shields at thirty-two percent and dropping."
"Pull power from life support if you have to. Just keep those shields up." John flew close to a Dominion cruiser and put the Peregrine into a barrel role to go up and over it. The Cardassian pilot tried to emulate John's maneuver while keeping a target lock but wasn't paying attention to how close he was to the Dominion ship. Being more agile than the Hideki, the Peregrine cleared the vessel without trouble. However, the Hideki slammed into the side of the cruiser exploding almost instantly. Debris littered the area as twisted bulkheads and hull fragments scattered about. The detonation of the Cardassian ship severely crippled the Dominion cruiser.

Even though the firepower of the Peregrine paled in comparison to the Defiant, John tried to lay down as much covering fire as possible. The superior maneuverability of the vessel made it difficult for enemy ships to keep a target lock. However, the enemy numbers were simply too great. The Defiant was still taking a pounding. John looked up into the stars for a brief moment.
"What are you looking for, Commander?" Elizabeth asked. Letting out a deep sigh, John looked back at her and answered, "Klingons. I was hoping they would have shown up to this party by now."

John looked on as several Dominion ships fired upon the Defiant. He maneuvered behind one of the attacking ships and pelted its aft section with the pulse cannons of the Peregrine.
"I have torpedo lock." Elizabeth called out.
"Fire!" John yelled. The last micro torpedo left its chamber and struck the Dominion warship on the port side of the aft section. It immediately began to lose speed and pitched off from its pursuit. Suddenly, a massive volley of weapon fire erupted from one of the nearby Dominion battleships targeting the Defiant.

"Target weapons on that battleship." Captain Sisko ordered as the Defiant was being rocked by enemy weapons.
"We've lost torpedo bays!" Sisko heard from behind him as a panel exploded. Then, the helm burst into flame sending Lieutenant Commander Dax to the floor. The bridge surrounding Captain Sisko was either on fire or fractured beyond use. Not even the Defiant's ablative armor could withstand the repeated shots fired from the battleship. The ship's engineer, Chief O'Brien, assumed the con as Dax laid on the floor.

"Weapons are gone! Shields are gone! We've lost helm control!" he called out trying to yell above the sound of the ship coming apart.
"All hands. Abandon ship!" Sisko ordered just as the bridge was completely destroyed. A volley from the Dominion battleship struck the bridge in rapid succession. The Defiant began to list as the decks of the ship exploded one after another. 

Finally, she burst into a fiery ball sending debris in every direction.

John maneuvered his Peregrine to avoid the debris. Large pieces of metal scraped along the hull as a chunk of the Defiant wedged into the Peregrine's starboard thruster. The Dominion battleship wasn't finished with its attack as John had become the next target. Even though the Peregrine was an engine short, she was still quite agile. By committing evasive maneuvers, John managed to avoid every shot except one. A blast of energy struck the Peregrine on its starboard side rendering the warp nacelle useless. The explosion crippled that part of the ship while sending Ensign Maybourn into the bulkhead behind her with great force. With only one engine fully functional, John escaped the reach of the battleship by temporarily hiding closely behind a Cardassian cruiser. He watched as Federation ships began to pull away from the fight. As his communication systems were down, John assumed this was a call to retreat. Before the Cardassian ship could lock weapons, he jumped into warp heading towards Federation space.

Captain Sisko stood in the emptiness of light. He could hear his heart beat and he felt at peace. Sisko recognized where he was. The Prophets of the Bajorans had brought him to their plane of existence.
"The game is not over." a voice called out. Suddenly, Sisko was back on the bridge of the Defiant before the battle began.
"Game? You mean my life." Sisko responded.
"This path is not for you." a prophet emulating Garak spoke standing up from his seat on the Defiant.
"You will be safe with us." continued another from the appearance of Dax sitting at the helm.
"What do you mean, safe?" Sisko questioned moving towards the prophet emulating the young woman.
"You are the Sisko. Your task is not complete." she replied.

Once John was sure Dominion ships were not following, he put the Peregrine into autopilot and checked on Elizabeth. Pulling a medical kit from a nearby compartment, he opened a tricorder and began to scan her body. It was too late. She had massive internal hemorrhaging and her skull was fractured. She was dead. From the extent of her injuries, John believed it happened quickly. He slowly closed the tricorder and placed his hand on her head.
"I'm sorry, Ensign." he whispered.