Starbase 78 sits out in deep space, infested with parked Federation starships. The Mercedes and the Klingon Bird of Prey Teteken impulse towards it. They pass by a Hirogen ship which is flaming in plasma from battle.
Later, Sith is placed behind a protective glass area in the Starbase's Medical Treatment Center. Doctors and scientists scan and study him finding that his metabolism had improved.
Parsons, enters: "It was a great idea to go with the Klingon's to research that nebula."
-Sith, nods: "Great. But you gotta get me outta here, Admiral. They're stripping me naked and poking me with probes!"
Parsons: "I hear they want to keep you in there another month or so for extended studies."
-Sith: "What!? Admiral, this thing isn't contagious. I feel fine!"
Parsons sighed, looking at Sith. He sympathizes, and feels that maybe he is right: "I have to go."
Admiral Parsons leaves the Medical Center. He had an appointment to be at the Starbase's Brig. Behind one of the cells in the Brig is a Hirogen.
Parsons, enters: "The word is your encounter with us was a complete misunderstanding. I'm sorry, but we're going to have to keep you in here a while longer until I sort things out with Starfleet."
-Matrox: "That is unacceptible."
The Hirogen looks him over.
-Matrox: "You know, I bet hunting a Human is a great challenge..."
Matrox activates a control unit on his wrist, and depolarizes the forcefield.
Parsons, steps back: "--Security!!!"
Matrox grabs and picks up Parsons by his neck, throwing Parsons into two security guards who were about to fire. Matrox then runs out the Brig.
Some of Sith's crew, Lisa, Ace, Raine, and Carlina come to visit him at the Medical Center. They aren't sure what to think.
Raine: "How did this happen?"
-Sith: "I don't know. Carlina said I could have contracted this a week ago, but where have I been in the past week...?"
Lisa: "Everywhere. We went to that Klingon outpost... the asteroid field... Vulcan..."
Red alert suddenly goes on. The crew leaves immediately. Sith tends to his own problem, pacing. The last nurse then leaves the Medical Center, for a moment, as Sith notices the entertainment screen on the wall. He accesses the panel and uses his security codes to get to the room's main system.
Elsewhere, Matrox, enters another hallway: "Hmph."
He runs into another security officer, and head-butts him out.
Sith runs out the Medical Center, pushing past a nurse.
Fade: "Aahh! Security!"
Sith makes a run for it. He didn't want to be cooped up in there a second longer.
Matrox: "Argh!!"
Sith slams into Matrox down another hallway. They crash into a weapon's locker.
Sith: "Auggh! Out of my way!"
He gets up and back.
Sith: "What the hell are you?"
Matrox, gets up: "Hirogen. How dare you take me down. No one has ever done that to me!"
Sith, picks up a phaser rifle: "Well, there's a first time for everything."
He aims the rifle, but Matrox suddenly grabs it, pulling it and Sith towards him, tweaking Sith's finger off the trigger and spinning the rifle to under his own arm.
Sith: "Hey!"
Matrox, aims: "Now you are my prey."
He fires one phaser beam, missing Sith and hitting a panel on a far wall. Sith makes another run for it.
The Captain then takes a ladder to a jeffery's tube.
Sith, taps his commbadge: "Sith to Carlina. When did you guys say you were returning to the ship?"
#Carlina: "In a half hour. But why--"
Sith: "Okay, thanks. Bye!"
Matrox blasts two security guards away while walking down a hallway, looking over his tricorder device. He had Sith's lifesigns on a sensor reading.
Matrox: "...Run."
Sith kicks open a hatch and enters a shuttle bay. A group of Starfleet officers stop working and recognized him.
Greg: "Hey, there he is!"
Jule: "Get him!"
Sith: "Oh, crap!"
He goes out into the hallway and runs out of there. All the officer's chase after him.
Meanwhile, Parsons staggers to his feet in the Brig.
Parsons, taps commbadge: "Report!"
#Harvey: "The Hirogen is still on the loose, and Captain Sith has escaped the Medical Center!"
Parsons, turns and breaths deeply in pain: "Hhhh... I knew he was going to do that."
Sith looses the officers through the hallways, entering Locker Room 4, and checks internal sensors only to find that his hunter is on the way. Sith grabs an environmental suit, puts it on, and runs out to the External Hatch Level 4A.
He opens the hatch, looking out into space as forcefields automatically go up. He then leaps out into space, activating thrusters on his boots.
Sith: "Hahaha! I lost him."
Matrox fixes himself up and peaks his head out the hatch into space. He gets onto an outside repair platform and activates its thrusters. The platform carries him out into space as he aims the phaser rifle and fires at Sith.
Sith speeds away from the beam to behind the Federation starship Sony. It has no idea what is going on as Matrox circles his platform around and sneaks up behind Sith.
Matrox leaps off the platform and tackles Sith in space. They both go trekking along a straight course until Sith slams against the hull of the Mercedes.
The Hirogen pushes away, backflipping to a good distance and firing his phaser rifle at Sith. Sith is hit in the shoulder and slams back against the Mercedes' hull as oxygen is released from his suit.
Two guys in Federation defence pods hover over and fires at them. Sith is beamed out.
He rematerializes onto the Bridge of the Mercedes.
Sith: "Hey. You guys saved me!"
Ace, at helm: "Where would you like us to set course, Captain?"
Lisa and Raine await orders.
Sith, glanced over at everyone in confusion: "So you're all helping me, huh? Well, you have my thanks."
He moved to the center of the Bridge.
Sith: "Engage thrusters."
The Mercedes undocks and starts moving out. Four more guys in defence pods swarm around, firing double phasers at them.
Parsons entered Starbase 78's Operations.
Greg: "We had to beam one of the guys from the pods back!"
Parsons: "Why?"
Greg: "The Hirogen punched trough the cockpit and took it over."
Parsons: "Override its navigational systems!"
Greg, taps at panels searching: "I can't find his pod. He must've reconfigured its systems to mask himself from our sensors! The Hirogen's gone!"
Parsons: "Argh!"
Harvey: "Admiral! The Mercedes is leaving!"
The screen clicks on, showing this.
Harvey: "Should I send a ship to stop them?"
Parsons took a deep breath, and thought about it. He knew that Sith could take care of himself: "No. Leave him."
The Mercedes ascends out and leaves Starbase 78 behind as the last of the defence pods fire. The Mercedes jumps to warp, out of there. Sith takes this calm moment to realize his crew's efforts.
