Captain's Log: 50905.0.

For the last 3 days, the U.S.S. Defender has been searching for the pirates that have terrorizing this region of space. Thus far, no sign of them has been located. The ion trail we were following for the past day and a half has led us dangerously close to the Romulan Neutral Zone but has suddenly ended.

It seems that our ghost ship has, again, gotten away.

Commander Jason Beckett didn't bother to get up and pace, as he knew it would do no good and that there simply wasn't room for it. The small bridge on the Defiant-Class ship seemed positively tiny compared to other ships of the Federation fleet, even more so for the command decks of their home port of Starbase 718.

Looking over his bridge crew, he could see the frustration on their faces as they attended to the routine tasks needed to keep the ship running. The only person who seemed busy, in fact was . . .

"Lt. Swann?"

"Ah!" Lieutenant Kara Swann almost came out of her chair when she heard Commander Beckett's voice in her ear.

"Sorry, Lt.," he apologized even as he laughed. "I didn't realize I'd snuck up on you."

"Sorry, sir," she told him as she rested a hand over her heart. "I was trying to fine tune the sensors to see if we could pick up another hint of that ion trail."

"Probably a lost cause," he said before sighing. "But if anybody can do it, it's you."

"Thank you, sir." She turned back to her station as he walked back to his seat.

"Captain," the helmsman said as they began to press the controls on their station, "I'm losing power to the warp drive."

"Losing power?" Beckett was looking over the young man's shoulder in a second.

"Yes, sir. It's like main power is just shutting down." He glanced up as he added, "We've dropped out of warp." On the screen, the long streaks of light faded back to stable points.

Reaching up, Beckett tapped his combadge. "Beckett to engineering." After a few seconds of silence, he tried again. "Beckett to engineering. Bridge to engineering. Lt. Commander Barbossa, come in."

"I'm afraid," came an unfamiliar voice from the back of the bridge, "that your communications are not working."

Becket turned to look at the source of the voice. He was Human, with an amused smirk on his face. His dark hair was in long braids, with a scarf tied around his forehead and a worn brown tricorn hat over this. He had a neatly trimmed moustache with a goatee that was in two thin braids, each with the end tied with beads. He had on a white shirt with a long black frock coat over it and the shirt's flared sleeves exposed from the sleeves of the coat. He had on two belts, the lower brown one with a sword strapped to it, while the upper black one had a phaser tucked into it so he could reach it with his left hand. A long candy-striped scarf was also tied around his waist. His brown pants were tucked into tall boots that, if they hadn't been folded over, would have reached most of the way up his thighs, but were instead folded over below the knee.

"After all," the man continued as he flourished the phaser in his right hand about, "what good would it do to take the bridge if the people in engineering could just take over?" The smirk faded. "Now would defeat the purpose, wouldn't you think?" He waved the phaser again as he said, "Now, lads, let's get these good people,"he smirked at Beckett, "and, I'm sure fine officers, secured."

Beckett had been so surprised by the man's outfit that he hadn't noticed the other two people standing with him. Both were dressed in black coveralls, but one was an older man, with a solid head of gray hair that led down to mutton chop sideburns. The other was a younger man with dark skin and a head that had been shaved of all hair, including his eyebrows. Both carried Klingon disruptors.

"Now you lot get over here and be quiet," the older man ordered as he herded the bridge crew up next to the main screen.

"You having any luck, love?" the leader asked the lone figure still at their post.

"Lt. Swann?" Beckett watched as she looked first at him, then up at the intruder.

She smiled up at him. "As we speak the counter-insurgency program is pumping Anesthizine through the ship. Except for here, of course."

Leaning over, he kissed her. "Excellent work. We'll make a pirate of you yet."

"Lieutenant," Becket began.

"Oh, stuff it, Beckett," she cut him off as she plucked the combadge from her uniform. "I've been wanting out of this stupid uniform for over a year." Tossing the badge into the floor, she checked her sensors. "Okay, readings are showing that the gas has reached the entire ship." Smirking at Beckett, she added, "and everyone is blissfully unaware that the ship has been taken."

"Marvelous," the leader said. He gestured with the phaser. "Now, let's get started. There's a life pod over there big enough for the lot of you. And," he smiled, "the sooner you're off the ship the better."

"Off the ship?" Marcus, the communications officer asked. "You're just gonna let us float out there while you blow up the ship?"

"I'm not going to blow this lovely little ship up," he protested. "Why would I do that?"

"To keep us from coming after you," Beckett growled.

"That's why I'm taking it," he informed them.

"Taking --" Beckett started to take a step forward until the business end of a distruptor was suddenly pressed under his chin.

"Be glad we're not just gonna kill you and your crew, Mr. Beckett," the old man growled. "Now get in the life pod before the Captain changes his mind."

"I don't know who you are," Beckett growled at the leader, "but the Federation will come after you."

"Well, considering all the ships they've lost to the Borg," he used the phaser in his right hand to count off on the fingers of his left, "the Dominion and just the general wear and tear, I'd say losing only one should be considered a good day. Oh," he smirked as he switched the phaser to his left hand, "as for who I am." Giving a cross between a salute and a wave, he told the, "I am Captain Jack Sparrow."