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Captain’s Log: We are heading toward a sector of the Alpha Quadrant where Hirogens have recently been detected following their arrival after a long journey. They are a race of hunters from the Delta Quadrant, first encountered by the USS Voyager, which discovered and made use of their communications network before later facing them in person on Stardate 51501.4.

We are dealing with hunters who seek prey across the galaxy. Our mission is to neutralize them, repel them, and, if necessary, destroy them. I hope we will not have to resort to extreme measures.

Commander Antos struck up a conversation with Captain Mark.

“Captain, we know very little about the Hirogens and the Breen. Sometimes I find myself wondering about things, like whether they enjoy music as much as we do.”

“I don’t know, Number One. I don’t think the Breen necessarily have helmets designed for listening to music.”

“Now that I think about it, don’t you play any instruments? On other Federation ships, it’s fairly common for crews to form bands during their free time.”

“I don’t see the point in playing an instrument when you can generate music with a computer without needing one.” he replied in a neutral tone.

“Perhaps, but… there’s something captivating about doing things the old-fashioned way.”

“Not in my case.”

Chief of Security David detected signals on his console.

“We’re detecting warp signatures heading toward our position. A vessel is approaching.”

“On screen.” Mark ordered.

“A mixture of ship components… Romulan, Cardassian…” Antos observed.

“Pakleds!” Mark exclaimed. “Pilot, get us out of here.”

“We can’t move. They’re trying to grab us with an amplified tractor beam. I’ve never seen anything with this much power!” said helmsman Stross.

“Try to establish communications with the Pakled vessel.”

“We’re receiving a message,” said Stross. “Just one word: ‘Stay.’”

“I’m detecting that the tractor beam is weakening at impulse speed. If we keep this up, we’ll break free without any damage!” David reported.

“Whatever they’re looking for, they can’t have good intentions. Increase impulse speed.”

Just as they were about to break free from the tractor beam, the Pakled vessel launched several spheres that embedded themselves into the USS Mar del Plata.

“Captain,” said David, “there are one-meter-diameter spheres that have just attached themselves to the hull, right where the phasers are located.”

“They’re attempting to establish communications with us.” Stross stated.

“They made us wait. Put them on screen.”

The typical face of a male Pakled appeared on the screen: grayish-brown skin, vertical eyebrows, and a wrinkled face. He was their captain.

Without hesitation, Mark Epsilon was concise.

“You are violating the integrity of a Starfleet vessel. Do you understand what that means?” Then, in a sterner and more forceful tone, he shouted, “Would you mind telling me what the hell you just did?!”

“I… wouldn’t want to ruin any surprises.”

“What surprise are you talking about? What you’re doing could be considered a threat.”

“Threat? We only need help, one way or another. We asked you to stay, but you moved.”

“There are ways to ask for assistance, and this isn’t one of them. Besides, it’s not that we’re known for judging people prematurely, but we’ve already had previous attempts at betrayal from Pakleds. So I suggest you make your intentions clear, or I’ll have to order you to leave Federation territory.”

“You help Pakleds, Pakleds go.”

“We can discuss that in another sector, but not here. We’re not safe. There are hunter vessels in the area.”

“Help Pakleds, Pakleds go.”

“Captain,” David said, “I think they’re only going to understand the hard way.”

“Wait a moment, Captain!” the commander exclaimed. “We don’t know how the Pakleds might react if we attack them. They might leave us alone, or they might throw more things at us.”

“I don’t like resorting to this, but it seems I have to agree with Tactical this time,” the captain replied. “Open fire. Consider this a warning shot.”

“Fire? How will you do that?” the Pakled said on screen, furrowing his brow in complete confusion.

“Initiate phaser fire against the Pakled vessel.”

The phasers activated and emitted a flash, but none of the beams struck the vessel.

“Captain,” said Stross, “the phasers are blocked. The spheres are slowly expanding, and they’re covering the emitters.”

The Pakled smiled deviously while scratching his back.

“What exactly are they doing?” the captain asked.

“Help Pakled ship, then talk. We send more information. You obey to help.” he replied before cutting communications.

The captain activated his communicator to speak with Yimak.

“Engineering, prepare a report on whatever is covering our phasers.”

“We received a report. I think we’re going to have to cooperate with them.” Antos suggested.

“Let’s see what they need…”

Captain’s Log, Supplemental: The Pakled vessel withdrew after sending us a report. It begins with a promise to remove the spheres if we comply with their request. The Pakled captain sent the report in written digital form, as his verbal communication is quite rudimentary.

The Pakled vessel has five missing crew members whom we are expected to rescue with the little information they have provided.

The Pakled vessel will remain in contact with us while it stays within a few light-years of our position. The Hirogens are nearby, and we have no Starfleet reinforcements available at this precise moment. We are therefore forced to work for them in exchange for information on how to recover our weapons.

Narad had gone with several other crew members aboard the ship, wearing their spacesuits to scan the spheres that had become attached to the hull.

Once they returned inside the ship, everyone went back to their stations to resume their routine and follow Yimak’s direct orders. Narad, however, began conducting his own studies, using the computers located near the warp reactor in Engineering to learn more about the material the spheres were made of and how to remove them.

Later, the senior officers gathered in a conference room to discuss what to do next.

“Chief Engineer Yimak, I hope you have your report.” said the captain.

“The spheres appear to be a compound that resists and even absorbs nadion radiation, and they also expand when exposed to other types of particles. Even if we do nothing, they’re going to keep growing larger and larger.”

“Any way to destroy them? Do you know where this technology comes from?”

“I ran simulations using different frequencies, but they absorb them regardless. There’s nothing in the database that resembles this. They may have obtained it by stealing it from an inventor, or…” Yimak raised two fingers to enumerate the possibilities. “It could be an invention of the Pakleds themselves, which I highly doubt.”

“Commander,” said the captain. “What do you think we should do?”

“The Pakleds asked us for help. I reviewed the report we received with Stross. According to the details they sent us, they mention a mysterious probe that abducted some of their people. They’re the same species that captured Captain Picard on Stardate 43714.1. Five members of the crew were replaced with doppelgängers, exact duplicates. It seems the Pakleds know each other very well, because they quickly realized they weren’t the real ones.”

“So now they’re asking us to rescue them, but the Hirogens could be in this sector. Without phasers, we’re vulnerable. Maybe the Pakleds will remove these things once we rescue the five crew members, but are we doing the right thing by trusting them? Pakleds aren’t exactly known for keeping their word…” Mark inquired.

“They might try to steal technology from us afterward,” Antos pointed out. “One thing to keep in mind is that our scanners don’t detect any Starfleet components making up their ship, so perhaps they’re missing something from our collection, or maybe… they don’t have any because they’re not interested in stealing from Starfleet.”

“That’s an interesting point of view, Commander. Let’s search for signals from that probe. The sooner we get this over with, the better.”

Narad was still investigating how to destroy the spheres.

Being an enthusiast, she was more creative and open-minded than the others, so she tried dozens of combinations using things she had learned at the Academy, going over her notes.

She ran a simulation involving a discharge generated by the shields. The computers produced mathematical results, but she wanted to test it in the holodeck to see if the outcome would be different.

Chief of Security David was frequently calling for reinforcements, but there were no available Starfleet vessels that could respond to the USS Mar del Plata.

He went to deliver the bad news to his superiors. They were on their own.

“Captain, the five Pakleds are right here.” Stross reported.

“Any ship or planet?”

“Negative. There’s nothing but the emptiness of space.” Stross replied.

“Maybe they’re using a cloaking device.” the commander suggested.

“No, I think I know what they’re doing. The signals are similar to those produced by warp speed. They may have managed to create a test field in subspace or another dimension, which means they’re not in a physical location.” the captain explained before contacting the transporter room. “Hecate, I’ve located five Pakleds. Try to beam them aboard. Try different configurations.”

“Yes, sir.”

Narad had finished her experiment in the holodeck, so she downloaded the data and ran to Yimak to tell her about her discovery.

The young Ferengi engineer jogged down the clean, pale corridors of the USS Mar del Plata, hyperventilating as she went.

Some of the crew members looked at her as she anxiously muttered to herself.

She quickly entered the reactor room.

“Chief Engineer! I know how to remove the spheres!”

“Is it an idea?”

“No, it was a theory, and I just confirmed it! The material in the spheres is similar to boron-10. There’s a way to destroy it.”

“I hope I don’t ruin your excitement, but there isn’t a phaser frequency capable of destroying them. I’ve already looked into it myself.”

“The phasers aren’t capable of doing it, but the shields are. I found a way to generate a discharge that would cause the spheres to deteriorate. I just sent the data to your console.”

The chief engineer reviewed the data with a poker face.

“Narad, doing this would leave us without shields for several minutes while they regenerate. Besides, it wouldn’t protect us from any more of those spheres.”

“Actually, it creates a residual effect. Any spheres that come into contact with it would melt. I already ran the tests both on the consoles and in the holodeck.”

“It’s risky. The hull would be vulnerable to other attacks.”

“That’s why I hurried here! The sooner we do it, the safer it will be to use.”

Yimak spent about ten seconds analyzing the situation, never taking her eyes off the report as she nodded.

“It looks like we have no other choice. I’ll inform the captain and the commander about your experiment.”

“Thank you for supporting me on this, Chief!”

Meanwhile, they had found a way to beam the five Pakleds aboard from a laboratory located inside a kind of pocket dimension.

On the bridge, they spotted a Hirogen vessel approaching. It had already dropped out of warp and was closing in at impulse speed.

The problem was that the phasers were still blocked.

The ship went to red alert.

They raised the shields while the transporter room worked on a way to rescue the Pakleds. Red lights flashed throughout the ship.

“Tactical, do we have access to the photon cannons, or are they blocked as well?”

“Yes, sir. Photon torpedoes are our only available weapons.” David replied.

“Helmsman, try to establish communications with the Hirogen vessel.”

“They’re receiving our signal, but they’re not responding.”

The ship was then attacked by a sequence of five green plasma blasts that struck the shields.

“Damage report.”

“Shields at ninety-five percent. Although I notice these attacks are designed to weaken the shields. I assume they’ll switch tactics once we’re weakened.” David explained.

“Or perhaps they’ll board us. That would make more sense for a race of fierce hunters.” Mark Epsilon realized.

Chief Engineer Yimak arrived on the bridge via the turbolift.

“Captain, Commander, Engineer Narad has conducted some research that could be useful to us.”

“I don’t know if this is the best time.” the commander growled.

“Feel free to speak.” the captain replied with nerves of steel.

“There’s a way to overload the shields and trigger a discharge that will melt the spheres attached to us. We would recover our weapons, but we’d have to wait for the shields to recharge.”

The ship was attacked again one minute after the previous attack, and once again the integrity of the shields was reduced by five percent. At this rate, the ship would be without shields in eighteen minutes.

In the transporter room, Hecate reported that she had figured out a way to beam the five Pakleds aboard, but it couldn’t be done while the shields were raised.

The captain thought over the situation for thirty seconds.

“This will be the plan. Initiate the discharge.” Mark Epsilon ordered. “Once we’re without shields, helmsman Stross will begin evasive maneuvers while the transporter room rescues the five Pakleds. With the phasers, we’ll counterattack their warp core to prevent them from transporting here.”

Yimak put the plan into action in Engineering. The shields were at 65%, but they could still perform the overload.

At 45%, they initiated the overload.

Everything went as Narad had predicted. The ship’s shields emitted a white flash and shattered like glass.

The spheres began to dissolve.

Under other circumstances, they would have been prepared for the Hirogens. The phasers could now be used, but without shields, the Hirogens might board the ship.

In the transporter room, five bulky Pakleds stood there, bewildered, looking at one another.

“It seems the raiders detected that we’re from Starfleet. The laboratory disappeared, but this time they didn’t come for us like they did with the Enterprise,” Antos reported.

“I suppose Picard’s experience of having a taste of his own medicine, combined with their telepathy, must have left them with a rather strong fear of us. Unfortunately, not enough to leave other species alone.” Mark Epsilon reflected. “Now we have to deal with these Hirogens.”

“Captain, the Pakleds are already in the transporter room, and the Pakled vessel is heading this way!” Stross reported.

“Understood, helm. Send my congratulations to the transporter room and have them bring a security team. We don’t want them trying anything strange. Establish communications with the Pakled vessel, maintain evasive maneuvers, and change the weapons targeting to neutralize the Hirogens.”

The Pakled who had neutralized them appeared on the screen once again.

“Were they rescued?”

“That’s right.”

“Did you get the trap out?”

“We found a way to remove it on our own, but we’ll need support against the Hirogen vessel.”

“Understood. Do we attack?”

“Disable their weapons, and cover us while you’re at it.”

The USS Mar del Plata opened fire with its phasers on the Hirogen vessel’s weapons, but they were the toughest part of the ship. But with the Pakleds’ help, they believed they could stand a chance against them.

Before the Hirogens could attack, the Pakled vessel moved in front of the USS Mar del Plata to protect its hull.

They then began counterattacking the weapons, but that was useless as well.

The captain called the Pakleds again.

“Pakled vessel, new orders: destroy their shields and then their ship. The lives of my entire crew and your five crew members are at stake.”

“Understood…”

“Sir!” scream the commander, “perhaps we could take down their shields and destroy their warp core instead of blowing them up.”

“That wouldn’t protect us from their attacks, and besides, if they can’t move, they’ll have even more reason to board us. I have to protect the crew. There’s no other choice but to resort to violence, to give those hunters what they’re looking for: a battle. We won’t be the prey.”

The Hirogen vessel attempted to flank the Mar del Plata, but the Pakled vessel resisted it. When they subsequently had a clear firing solution, the Federation vessel attacked, destabilizing the Hirogens’ targeting.

They repeated the maneuver: attack, protect, and give them an opportunity to attack the USS Mar del Plata.

“Communications?” the captain inquired.

“None.” the helmsman reported.

“Just as I expected. They won’t surrender.”

The USS Mar del Plata’s shields had partially regenerated.

The Hirogen vessel managed to strike the ship’s shields.

“Shield integrity at 23%.”

Captain Mark Epsilon initiated a maneuver, going to maximum impulse to quickly flank from the opposite side of the Hirogen vessel. They moved fast enough that the Hirogens barely had time to detect that they had even moved, very similar to Picard’s maneuver, only without making a jump or been in front of the enemy ship.

And so, the Hirogen vessel was unable to withstand the might of Starfleet, nor the amalgamation of Pakled technology.

Attacked from opposite sides, the hull of the Hirogen vessel was compromised. Space was illuminated by a green explosion, which merged with a red one caused by the implosion of its weapons and the destruction of its warp reactor.

A mixture of colors that glowed like a highly radioactive torch.

The mission had been completed, with no casualties on either side, but they had been unable to stop the Hirogens without having to kill them.

After destroying the Hirogens, the Pakled vessel partially fulfilled its part of the deal by showing us another way to destroy the spheres they had launched at us.

They also requested a diplomatic meeting with the captain, which led to them meeting face-to-face. Pakleds wanting diplomacy? That was quite surprising.

Mark Epsilon agreed, so both captains were sitting down for tea in the captain’s quarters aboard the USS Mar del Plata.

“You must be the most talkative Pakled I’ve ever met. Even so, I find it difficult to understand you. Do you want to join Starfleet?”

“Space very dangerous, alliance very safe. Formal request for nomadic Pakled peoples and not-so-nomadic Pakled peoples, future of collaboration together.”

“I’ll communicate that to the admirals. They will evaluate your request.”

“Pakled ship wants Starfleet. Be part, unite.”

“In the hypothetical event that you were to join Starfleet, there are several things you need to know. The first is that if what you needed was help, we could have rescued your crew members without the need for extortion. Communication is the embodiment of our fundamental principles.”

“Panicked Pakled ship. Did not know how to act. Opportunity not to waste.”

“There’s something to keep in mind about Starfleet. All of us undergo training to control our emotions during every mission. The other thing you need to work on is communication. It’s important for diplomacy. Acting on impulse can be reckless. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes. I hope to be a good student. I am… We are eager to become part of Starfleet.”

The captain of the Pakled vessel departed theUSS Mar del Plata through the transporter room, saying, "Things canchange, things can improve.