False Dawn by Lopaka Tanu

Title: False Dawn
Author: Lopaka Tanu
Disclaimer: I do not own Magnificent Seven or Deep Space 9.
Characters: Ensemble
Words: 8305
Prompt: Crossover/AU - April Challenge
Fandom: Magnificent Seven/Deep Space 9
Pairing: Chris/Buck, Vin/Ezra, mentioned Chris/(Jadzia Buck)
Rating: Adult
Warnings: Language, Violence,
Summary: Six days ago, life for several people at Four Corners Station came to an end. Today, all that changes.
Author's Note: Buck's a Symbiot, and that's only the beginning.
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Rising from the table, the Vorta twisted her hands. When her three Jem'Hadar guards noticed the action, she quickly placed them behind her back. "What we need is calm now. The last thing anyone wants is war between the Dominion and the Federation." She jumped when someone slammed a hand on the table.

Chris leaned forward in his chair. His hand smarted from smacking the table, but he wasn't going to let that show. "The last thing? Your butchers murdered four of my people, injuring six others, and you come here telling me to be calm?"

"Chris." Putting a hand on the Commander's shoulder, Admiral Travis shook his head once. This wasn't going to happen, not on his watch. He waited until Chris sat back before speaking. "The Vorta is correct. Cooler heads must prevail after this incident or nothing will ever be resolved." Despite his words, Travis was glaring at the Dominion representatives.

"Of course." There was a moment when the second Vorta seemed about to say something more, but she turned to her companion instead. The look she gave the other made the first's back straighten.

Resuming her seat, the first Vorta reached up and absently pushed a curl behind her ear. "We are prepared to make reparations for the actions of those..." She looked to her companion for support.

The second Vorta's lips tightened, but remained smiling.

A tremor ran through the first Vorta. Placing her hands on the table, she clutched them together. She stared at her hands to remain calm. "I take full responsibility for the actions of my Jem'Hadar and am prepared to surrender myself to your judicial system."

"Not good enough." Having sat there watching the two with interest, Chris scowled over the response. "You ordered the deaths of my people! I want..."

"We're not here for what you want!" Finally having had enough, the Admiral turned on Chris. Facing his chair to the Commander, he leaned in. "I am not going to let you plunge us in to any..." He was silenced by the sound of a body hitting the floor.

All heads turned to face the two Vorta, one now lying lifeless on the deck plates.

The second Vorta nodded to the Jem'Hadar standing over the body to back up. When he did, she rose from her chair. "Her entire detachment has committed suicide. I trust this solves any grievances between us." Instead of looking to the Admiral, she faced Chris. At his nod, she smiled. "Her body is yours."

The Jem'Hadar straightened at attention. By the time the Federation guards had their weapons drawn, the entire Dominion party disappeared in a transporter beam.

For several minutes, Admiral Travis stared in the spot the Dominion had occupied. His eyes kept steadily away from the body on the deck. Eventually, he shook his hand. "Stand down."

Given the order, the security officers nodded and lowered their weapons.

Chris continued to stare at the dead Vorta. A central part of him felt numb to the actions, but relief slowly filtered through. Tugging on his uniform, he sighed.

"You're dismissed, Commander." Travis refused to look up. There was nothing more to say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meeting the Commander outside the turbolift exit on the promenade, Major Jakon's grin was almost feral. His straight black hair fell across his eyes, catching on his nose ridge. With a growl of annoyance, he pushed it out of his eyes. "How did it go? I heard maintenance was called to remove a body."

Stepping off the lift, Chris took a moment to compose his thoughts. He sidestepped a waiting Bolian and continued out in to the promenade proper. After a time, he shook his head. "She's dead."

"I figured as much. And considering you're not in leg irons, I am assuming the rumors about the Dominion's regard for its people is well founded." Jakon matched the Commander's step, rounding a pillar. As they walked further, the normal crowds became visible.

"I guess so." Coming to the center of the promenade, Chris took the stairs down to the lower level. Several passing Bajorans smiled and nodded his way before continuing on. Ordinarily, he would have returned their acknowledgements, but today he wasn't in the mood for their religious crap.

Jakon noticed this, but held his tongue. He knew how the Commander was feeling these days. The attack had left them all reeling from the vicious surprise. Speaking of which, he picked up his pace. "The U.S.S. Conestoga will be arriving this afternoon with your new temporary Science Officer. Emphasis on temporary." He left out who they would be replacing.

"Oh?" That caused Chris to slow his pace. Well, that and the fact they had arrived at the infirmary. Stopping in the entrance, he faced the Major for the first time. "What's she like?"

"He. A Vulcan to be exact." Jakon grinned at the Commander's deadpan expression. There were days he regretted taking this post, but today wasn't one of them. "He was on his way to Vulcan for six weeks leave when your Admiralty decided to reroute him here."

"Wonderful, a pissed Vulcan. Make sure he knows about our situation before he docks." With that settled, he placed his hands on his hips. "Any thing else?"

That removed any amusement from the situation Jakon was deriving. "The Romulans, Klingons, and the Cardassians are demanding a moment of the Admiral's time at his earliest convenience. Admiral Travis decided you would be the best one to deal with their questions since you were there." There were times when his height was no advantage over the Commander, now was one of them.

Instead of verbally replying, Chris nodded.

Taking that as a dismissal, Jakon nodded his salute, then headed back for the turbolift. He wasn't looking forward to speaking with any of the representatives. So he wouldn't. He'd send them a text response and contact the Conestoga himself. Now smiling, he joined three other Bajorans on the lift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris hesitated at the entrance to the Infirmary. There was something holding him back, but his guilt in the matter had never been defined. As the commanding officer, it was his responsibility to keep watch over his crew. He should have anticipated the attack, but there had been no warning of any kind.

One moment they were surveying a planet for resources, then the next, half his team were down. No matter how he looked at it, invisible hostile aliens impervious to scans had not been something he had counted on. That mistake had cost him four very good people, including... He would not think about her.

Pulling on his uniform top, he steeled himself and entered the Infirmary proper. There were nurses going from room to room, checking on the patients. More than he had seen since his arrival two years before, their number had never registered to him.

JD must have had his hands full.

That thought brought Chris up short. One of those patients was his Medical Officer. The kid was barely old enough to handle a phaser and shouldn't have been on the mission. If Jadzia hadn't pestered him in to giving JD experience, he would be the one running the nurses ragged.

Thinking of her caused a spasm in his chest. He had to clutch at a nearby console to keep his balance. Gasping for breath, Chris shook off the hand of a concerned nurse. He would be fine in a minute. Finally, he was able to bring his body's panic reactions under control and stand on his own.

Moving on his own power, he glared the nurses in to submission. Chris walked slowly in to the patient wing where he knew JD would be. The kid would most likely be running tests from his bedside console instead of resting like he should be.

Just as Chris had known, JD was hard at work at a console, but it was a swing arm draped over his lap. He was laid in the bed, but sitting up. JD was concentrating so hard on the screen, he didn't hear Chris until his console was shut off. Looking up to yell at the person, he paled at the sight of a haggard Chris. "Commander. Forgive me, sir, but you look like hell warmed over."

That earned a snort. Chris pushed the console out of JD's reach before taking its place on the bedside. He ran a hand over the sutures reattaching JD's arm to his shoulder. As he traced the healing scars, he could hear the Doctor's cry in his mind. A single blade stroke was all it had taken.

Uncomfortable with the attention, JD used his reattached hand to pat Chris on the arm. "It's fine, everything is back in working order. Better, in fact, with the implants." His reassurances had no effect on the Commander checking him over. He felt the the man's gaze go from his shoulder down over his chest to the scars that were no longer there. "I'm fine, sir."

Satisfied that it was the truth, Chris took his hand away. There would be another day for the young man. "The bitch is dead. All of them."

Chris didn't have to say who for JD to understand. He knew very well that they were on the station. "I despatched a medical team to recover the body. In fact, I was looking over the preliminary scans for the later dissection."

"Good." Chris patted him on the good shoulder. "I want a copy of the visual record."

"Aye, Commander." JD sat there looking at him for an awkward second before clearing his throat. Grin returning, he thumped Chris on the leg. "I hear there is going to be a Vulcan on the station before nightfall. That should be something new, I haven't had the chance to study one in person yet. At the academy, there were two in my class, but they refused to volunteer for anatomical comparison. Which is a shame, because I've always wondered how close the genetic gap between them and the Romulans is."

Chris was suddenly laughing. The situation was too fucking ridiculous. Letting his head fall to his chest, he continued to chuckle silently. When he was through, he looked up at the sadly smiling JD. When he was certain the Doctor was okay, he nodded to himself and stood up. "I'll send word for him to come down here for a complete physical when he arrives."

"Thanks!" Grin a mile wide, JD was practically vibrating. "Can you swing my console over? Doctor Samnera threatened to cut my feet off if I tried to get out of bed again."

"Sure." With a heavy sigh, Chris returned the console arm back to its previous position. Unable to stand the sight of his failure, but unwilling to leave his injured crewman, he glanced about the room. There was only one bed in this room, and for that, he was grateful.

"Thanks." JD watched him for a moment longer. When it seemed there would be no more talk, he activated the console again.

Chris' calm badge chirped. Pressing it, he sighed with relief. "Chris."

"Sir, we have a situation here." Major Jakon's voice was tense. "A Cardassian Galor Class battle cruiser just arrived and they're demanding to speak with you."

Taking a deep breath, Chris shook his head. There just didn't seem to be enough time to deal with everything in one day. "I'm on my way."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~