Revenge a Dish Best Served Cold (LP episode)

One month into the Dominion War, a combination of veteran Starfleet officers and Maquis survivors form a starship crew dispatched to investigate a possible lead that could derail the Dominion's ability to breed Jem'Hadar in the Alpha Quadrant. But all is not what it appears to be.

Takes place one month after DS9: "Call to Arms".

Introduction

The Federation is at war. Starfleet has mined the entrance to the Bajoran Wormhole cutting off the Dominion and the Cardassians from Gamma Quadrant reinforcements. The cost was starbase Deep Space 9, now once again under its Cardassian designation Terok Nor. Heavy losses have also been inflicted on the Dominion with the destruction of the Torros III shipyards.

A crew of former Maquis and Starfleet veterans are assembled to investigate a possible lead that could set the enemy back even further. But all is not as it seems.

Summary

Prologue

2351

A group from the Bajoran Resistance storm a Cardassian mining facility in the city of Tamulna on Bajor. The mission is two-pronged. Limis Vircona is charged with sabotaging a cargo shuttle bound for Terok Nor. Her lover, Hasin Arnit, leads a team to liberate Bajoran slaves. Both tasks are accomplished, but one of the slaves, a member of the Resistance dispatched to infiltrate the labor camp, is savagely beaten by a Cardassian overseer and is near death.

At their subterranean base camp, Vircona and Arnit discuss whether they sacrificed too much for the liberation of Bajor, something that may not happen in their lifetimes. They agree to put that responsibility aside for now before making love.

2366

The USS Horatio Nelson, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Ronnie Kozar, is part of a Federation fleet dispatched to make a stand against Cardassians in Sector 21505. Recent battles in the Federation-Cardassian War have resulted in one stalemate after another. The Cardassians' newest innovation is a set of unmanned dreadnaughts designed to run kamikaze maneuvers against enemy ships. The dreadnaughts inflict heavy damage to the fleet. The Horatio Nelson crew soon discovers that a single Galor-class warship is controlling these ships. A scattering field is set up to cut off communications, hence rendering the dreadnaughts useless.

2373

An adult Limis Vircona and her Maquis colleagues Rebecca Sullivan and Erhlich Tarlazzi are on the run from the Jem'Hadar. Tarlazzi has been trying to work out the bugs in a cloaking device supplied to them by the Klingon Empire. Limis suggests cloaking part of their ship. The Jem'Hadar then move in for the kill, but many of their fighters are destroyed.

Unencumbered, the Maquis land on Athos IV and send out a distress call directed at Rebecca's husband Michael Eddington. Eddington, along with Captain Benjamin Sisko, comes to their rescue, but Eddington is killed by Jem'Hadar troops. Rebecca keeps her emotions in check until the runabout is clear of danger, but then she blames Sisko for her husband's death. Limis then takes her to the back to provide a shoulder to cry on. While Sisko had resented Eddington for once having betrayed Starfleet to the Maquis, he has nothing but sympathy for the soldiers he has just taken aboard.

A Major Gold Mine

Sisko and a group of Starfleet admirals watch a message from a Bajoran Maquis still behind enemy lines, who claims to have found a facility designed for breeding Jem'Hadar in the Alpha Quadrant. The admirals discuss sending ships to verify the authenticity of this claim.

Next on the meeting's agenda is assigning a captain to newly commissioned starships. Edward Jellico, who was involved in the Battle of Sector 21505 recommends Ronnie Kozar for the USS Lambda Paz, citing the latter's recent combat experience. Sisko suggests Limis Vircona. Jellico and William Ross immediately reject the suggestion. Sisko persuades Alynna Nechayev, citing the need for "scrappy players in the field."

Jellico then sends the bad news to Kozar. Jellico also informs Kozar that he will serve as first officer and grants him expanded autonomy to relieve Limis of command if deemed appropriate.

Meanwhile, the USS Defiant has received a distress call from a Maquis fighter under attack by Jem'Hadar. The crew is able to rescue the pilot, Hasin Arnit (now Limis's ex-husband), before the ship explodes. He informs his saviors he has information the Dominion does not want to fall into Federation hands.

Into the Fire

The Lambda Paz sets a course for the Tong Beak Nebula. Upon arrival, the bridge crew is pleasantly surprised to find almost no resistance. Tactical officer Mandel Morrison is able to take down the automatic defenses rather easily. The nebular gases make scanning at a high orbit extremely difficult. The plan is to send two shuttles on a reconnaissance probe to the planetoid. These shuttles are a special brand used by Starfleet Intelligence, which are unmarked, and can easily pass for Jem'Hadar patrol ships on the enemy's sensors.

Close range scans of the planetoid confirm that a breeding facility is indeed on the planetoid. Communications are then cut off when two Jem'Hadar fighters attack the shuttle piloted by Chief Engineer Chaz Logan and Flight controller Sara Carson. The Lambda Paz enters a lower orbit and fires quantum torpedoes at the Jem'Hadar, who uncharacteristically retreat. Limis then orders Kozar and Sullivan back aboard and leads an Away Team to locate the missing officers. Limis, Morrison, Chief Medical Officer Aurellan Markalis, and MACO's Jonathan Davis, Mik Tannan and Dinara Nowitzki beam down and immediately find Logan. He reports that Carson is still in the shuttle and unconscious. At that moment, three Jem'Hadar, armed with kartokins, unshroud. Two of them impale Davis and Markalis. A fierce battle ensues, forcing them to retreat into a nearby ravine.

Up in orbit, Sullivan proposes taking the ship deep into the planetoid's atmosphere so the Away Team can be beamed back aboard at closer range. The plan is successful and Lambda Paz streaks into warp before a group of Jem'Hadar fighters can get off a shot. Markalis, Davis, and Carson are expected to make full recoveries, but Nowitzki dies in sickbay after taking a flurry of Jem'Hadar weapons fire.

Going on the Offensive

The Lambda Paz returns to Starbase 375 where Admiral Ross debriefs the captain and first officer. Also present at the meeting are four Starfleet fleet commanders, Captain Sisko, General Martok, and Lieutenant Commander Worf to discuss what action to take next. Limis has begun to believe the situation too good to be true, but she emphasizes the importance of setting the enemy back further. The group soon comes to a consensus on launching an offensive.

The Siege of Sector 21607

While modifying a set of probes to be launched ahead of the fleet, Shinar sh'Aqba and Tarlazzi find that the probes have sabotaged. Further investigation reveals similar alterations to the shuttles used in the earlier mission. Meanwhile, Morrison has discovered that Hasin Arnit is their mole sending out illicit messages to the Dominion. He admits to wanting the Federation to experience the kind of massacre the Maquis experienced before escaping in a shuttle. He still feels the Federation abandoned his people when signing a treaty turning over many of their colonies to the Cardassians.

Before the mission can be abandoned, a large armada of Dominion warships launches an assault. The enemy fleet is bent on destroying every ship in the Federation-Klingon fleet. The Lambda Paz is saved when Hasin returns and lays in a collision for the Dominion flagship, perhaps to keep his former spouse from being killed in the siege. The final count is 147 ships lost from the Fifth Fleet and 112 ships lost from the Seventh Fleet.

Epilogue

One month after the Siege of Sector 21607, the Lambda Paz and most of the Seventh Fleet are dispatched to make a stand in the Tyra System.

Memorable Quotes

"He knows what is at stake as well as any of us."

"That doesn’t make it any better, and you know it, Arnit. The spoonheads treat us like dirt. We have been forced to sacrifice our age-old traditions. You and I have sacrificed our childhood. We’ve all sacrificed our dignity and for what? So that we can one day be free of those butchers? Who knows if that day will ever come? Can’t some things be just for me? For you? For both of us?"

— Hasin Arnit and Limis Vircona after a raid on a Cardassian facility that leaves one of their colleagues near death.

"I cannot absorb information faster than I am presently doing. I do not see the logic in demanding the impossible."

"Well, the Cardies don’t always give a vole’s ass about logic."

"That may be true, but I fail to see what relevance…"

— Chulak and Mandel Morrison during the Battle of Sector 21505

"He betrayed Starfleet and got what was coming to him. But I also saw in him unadulterated loyalty to a cause he passionately believed in."

— Benjamin Sisko on the recently deceased Michael Eddington.

"Sometimes I think engineers don’t know the difference between expediency and efficiency."

— Admiral Edward Jellico on the impending launch of the USS Lambda Paz.

"My people have a saying. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one."

"That’s not a Bajoran saying. Those were the words of Spock of Vulcan."

"If it works, use it."

— Limis and Morrison after Morrison disobeyed orders to try to rescue Sara Carson.

"Our current enemy, though, is unlike any other. The Founders will not rest until they’ve achieved complete subjugation of "solids.""

"Believing an enemy to be different from any other has been a justification of atrocities on many worlds."

— Erhlich Tarlazzi and Shinar sh'Aqba discussing the threat the Dominion represents.

"We press on."

— Captain Limis, after ordering the ship to the Tyra system (the final line).

References

Characters

Shinar sh'Aqba • Julian Bashir • Sara Carson • Corat Damar • Jonathan Davis • Jadzia Dax • Skrain Dukat • Michael Eddington • EMH Mark II • Hasin Arnit • Willis Huckaby • Edward Jellico • Ronnie Kozar • Limis Vircona • Charles H. Logan • Tor Makassa • Aurellan Markalis • Martok • Mandel Morrison • Alynna Nechayev • Lisa Neeley • Nog • Dinara Nowitzki • Miles O'Brien • Otan'irix • Jovis Ren • Romat'ison • William Ross • Selek • Benjamin Sisko • Rebecca Sullivan • Mik Tannan • Erhlich Tarlazzi • Teron'tokal • Ulin'talag • Weyoun • Worf • Yanith• Yelgrun

Starships and vehicles

Cardassian Galor-class warship • IKS Rotarran • USS Cairo • USS Defiant • USS Horatio Nelson • Jem'Hadar battle cruiser • Jem'Hadar fighter • USS Lambda Paz • reconnaissance shuttle

Locations

Badlands • Bajor • Demilitarized Zone • Sector 21505 • Sector 21607 • Starbase 375 • Tamulna • Terok Nor • Tong Beak Nebula

Races and cultures

Andorian • Bajoran • Bolian • Borg (referenced only) • Brikar • Cardassian • Human • Jem'Hadar • Klingon • Kobliad • Rigellian • Vorta • Vulcan

States and organizations

Bajoran Resistance • Cardassian Union • Dominion • Klingon Defense Force • Klingon Empire • Maquis • Military Assault Command Operations • Starfleet • Starfleet Fifth Fleet • Starfleet Seventh Fleet • Starfleet Tactical • United Federation of Planets

Other references

Battle of Sector 001 • Earth-Romulan War • Federation-Cardassian Treaty • Federation-Cardassian War • Second Battle of Deep Space 9 • Second Federation-Klingon War

Related Deep Space 9 episodes

• "Soldiers of the Empire": Martok recalls wanting to avoid the Tong Beak Nebula in this episode.
• "Blaze of Glory": Features Sisko and Eddington's rescue of Rebecca Sullivan's group, which also includes Limis Vircona and Erhlich Tarlazzi
• "Call to Arms": Takes place one month after Starfleet's evacuation of Deep Space Nine in this episode. Additionally, the Dominion is set back by the mining of the wormhole and the attacks on the Torros III shipyards.
• "A Time to Stand": Dukat promised to have the minefield taken down two months prior to this episode (suggesting repairing all of Sisko's sabotage took one month). The Lambda Paz's mission at the end is to the Tyra system, which ends in disaster according to the DS9 episode.

External links

• Fandom website
• Story on Trekbbs