Subject: (FANFIC) Strange Destinies Date: 10 Jun 2001 08:07:21 GMT From: jhansen007@aol.com (Ensign Jimmy) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.vs.starwars The Cast. Federation: Captain Chakotay - Captain of the USS Witz Commander Serena Durst - First Officer of the USS Witz Lieutenant Commander Harry Kim - Chief of Engineering, USS Witz, presently a captive of Captain Raytheon Joors. Lieutenant Pete Romero - Assistant Chief of Engineering, USS Witz. Lieutenant Commander Ryan Zeiken - Science and Astrometrics Officer, USS Witz. Lieutenant Stuart Mackey - Tactical officer for the USS Witz Ensign Amber Mulholland - Helmsperson for the USS Witz. Commander Tayla, of Vulcan - Chief Medical Officer, USS Witz Crewman Tim Jones - A crewman of the USS Witz (deceased.) Captain Matt Hyde - Captain of the USS Maybourne Ensign Elim Garak - Helmsman, USS Maybourne, (deceased.) Ensign Krista Rhys - Crewperson, USS Witz, presently a captive of Captain Raytheon Joors. Captain Ryan Spickard - Captain of the USS Raven Ford. Captain Jean-Luc Picard - Captain of the USS Enterprise. Commander William Riker - First Officer of the USS Enterprise. Commander Data - Science Officer for the USS Enterprise. Commander Deanna Troi - Counselor for the USS Enterprise. Commander Beverly Crusher - Chief Medical Officer for the USS Enterprise. Ensign Dennis Aspo - Bridge officer aboard the USS Enterprise. Admiral Rob Dalton - Commanding officer of the USS Vesuvius and the Vesuvius taskforce. Ensign Chris Poandl - Helmsperson for the USS Vesuvius. Commander Rob Wilson - Tactical Officer for the USS Vesuvius. Commander Geordi LaForge - Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise. Romulans: Commander Taros Gavakar - Senior operative, Tal Shi'ar. Centurion Hammek Vael - Operative, Tal Shi'ar. Commander Thelea Svelta - Sleeper agent, Tal Shi'ar, presently in the SW galaxy. Lieutenant Hal S'zaelser - Communications officer, Romulan Warbird Strife. Sub-Commander Kara Nevakur - Operative, Telepathic Division of the Tal Shi'ar. Centurion Lennis Na'sael - Navigation officer for the Warbird Strife. Imperial Remnant: Captain Raytheon Joors - Commanding Officer, ISD Kordoza. Lieutenant Kynes - Administrative aide to Captain Joors, ISD Kordoza. Jorik Alderr - Chief Gunner, ISD Kordoza, and longtime friend of Captain Raytheon Joors. Lieutenant Kaz Shimazaki - Pilot, ISD Kordoza. JC-88 - Protocol droid, ISD Kordoza. Admiral Jerrik Ulstead - Commander, 231st. Star Destroyer Squadron. Captain Björn Paulsen - Commanding Officer, Im-418 Aljete. Lieutenant Lief Parnax - Engineer, Im-418 Aljete. Commander Esris Tgendi - Executive Officer, Im-418 Aljete. Sergeant Koonis Lssard - Imperial Commando serving aboard Im-418 Aljete. Admiral Phong Nguyen - Commander of the /Unstoppable./ Director of the Outbound Flight Project. Prologue, Seperate Lives. Stardate: 35442.7: Captain's Log, USS Witz. For almost a week now, we have traveled towards a system at the edge of Federation space. We are headed there to investigate the disappearance of the USS Maybourne, a deep-space exploration ship. Hopefully, we'll be able to turn up some answers without befalling whatever fate happened to the Maybourne. Captain Chakotay put his PADD down and leaned back in his chair, watching the stars streak by. It had been almost eight months since Voyager returned to Earth. Almost as soon as she entered orbit, her crew was taken off and the ship disappeared shortly thereafter. Both Kathryn and Seven were whisked away into debriefing, practically as soon as the last firework was set off over Starfleet Headquarters. Chakotay had neither seen, nor heard from them ever since. After several grueling debriefing sessions, Chakotay and the remaining members of Voyager's crew were swiftly given new assignments. Chakotay's had been with the USS Witz, an aging Miranda-class vessel detailed to deep space patrol assignments. With him was the newly-promoted Lieutenant Commander Harry Kim, his Chief of Engineering. Overall, it was a decent assignment, though Chakotay could never shake the nagging feeling that he was being kept out of the way. It was a feeling shared among many of the former Marquis. The Starfleet contingent of Voyager's crew were all given mainstream assignments . . . the Marquis contingent were given make-work assignments like Chakotay's posting to the USS Witz. And there was the question of whatever happened to Captain Janeway and Seven. This was a question which affected Chakotay more than almost anybody else. All their years together forged a strong friendship between Chakotay and Kathryn. And his relationship to Seven went beyond friendship. Even eight months later, he couldn't quite put his finger on what drew him to Seven, but he missed her terribly. There wasn't a night he lay sleeplessly in his quarters, wondering where she was . . . what Starfleet was doing to her. Chakotay was startled by the beeping of his door. Quickly he sat up, brushing his uniform. "Come in!" Chakotay said, looking straight at the door. With a whistle, the door slid into the wall, and his first officer stepped in. Commander Serena Durst waited for the door to close before walking up to Chakotay's desk. "I see you're thinking again," she said, watching him with bright hazel eyes. "You could say that," Chakotay replied, a slight smile crossing his face. "What brings you here? My shift doesn't begin for another hour." "I know, sir," Serena said. "I just decided to drop by and see how my captain is doing . . . in a strictly off-the- record sort of way. Nothing wrong with that, is there?" Serena asked, smiling. "Not at all, have a seat," Chakotay said, motioning to a chair. Serena was something of an enigma to him. Her attraction to him was a poorly-kept secret, yet without her, he would've gone crazy worrying over Seven. Not that Serena didn't have anything going for her, but Chakotay wasn't ready to think of her in anything more than strictly professional terms. "I sense this isn't a purely social visit, Serena," Chakotay said as his first officer took her seat. "And what sense is that?" Serena asked, tilting her head. After a moment, the smile left her face. "Not exactly, sir. I thought you'd like to know that we're approaching the Shibboleth System." "You could've told me over the comm," Chakotay said, nodding. "Is there anything interesting on sensors?" "I thought you'd like to know personally," Serena said, sighing a little. "Especially as we've seen some anomalous neutrino emissions near the Shibboleth star." "Anomalous neutrino emissions, Commander?" Chakotay said, leaning forward. "How long ago were they detected?" "Just as we entered sensor range, sir," Serena answered. Chakotay nodded again. "Any sign of the Maybourne?" "Not yet, sir," Serena said. "Alright," Chakotay said, standing. "Won't you walk with me to the bridge Serena. I sense we're going to have a busy day." Serena smiled a little and nodded. "Yes sir, it'd be my pleasure." . . . . . In a galaxy far, far away . . . . . Captain Raytheon Joors of the Imperator-class Star Destroyer Kordoza was a very bitter man. He was a proud officer of the once-proud Imperial Starfleet. Joors was a witness for the crushing defeat at Endor. He fought viciously against the advancing forces of the New Republic. He cheered as Grand Admiral Thrawn gave them their richly- deserved thrashing, and was devastated when Thrawn's traitorous Noghiri bodyguard planted that knife in his heart. Bitterly, Raytheon Joors watched as the Empire was slowly being whittled away into the Imperial Remnant, it's once proud navy being reduced to a glorified coast-guard watching the backwaters of the Galaxy. He was an adamant fan of men like Admiral Mark Sheppard, and his hawk, the man known only as LT. HIT-MAN. As aggressive as Sheppard was, Joors was firmly convinced that men like him and Joors first CO, the late Captain Michael January would've rolled up the New Republic almost as easily as Thrawn had almost done. But, alas, Admiral Sheppard had disappeared shortly after the Battle of Endor. LT. HIT-MAN disappeared during a surprise Rebel assault about five months after that. Now the Empire was left with men like Admiral Pellaeon, a man who had about seven or eight boot-sizes to go before he could even hope to hold a candle to Thrawn. And Raytheon Joors was kept as far away from the border as the Moffs could get him. There was an unspoken and highly fragile truce between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant. They didn't need a firebrand like Joors, a firm believer in Sheppard's ideals, to stir up trouble. With a sigh, Joors settled in his seat, surveying his limited domain. The Kordoza wasn't in the best condition. Almost a third of it's sixty light turbolasers didn't track quite right. A quarter of it's TIE squadrons were gone, lost to a surprise pirate raid of an Imperial supply depot the Kordoza was detailed to protect. At least the Kordoza merited an escort of two gunships, both of them Joors could see at the extreme edges of his viewscreen. "Captain," a voice called out behind Joors. Slowly he turned around, coming to face Lieutenant Kynes, his new liason officer. "What is it?" Joors said, his eyes narrowing. "Epsilon squadron is returning from deep patrol, sir," Kynes replied, his face carefully neutral. "Epsilon squadron, aren't those our TIE Avenger fighters?" Joors asked, sounding distant. "That would be correct, sir," Kynes replied dryly. "What sort of phantoms have they found this time? There can't possibly be anything of interest anywhere near here," Joors said, ignoring Kynes' tone. Another thing wrong with the Kordoza was Epsilon squadron. His TIE Avenger pilots were so green it hurt. He had repeatedly sent them out on deep patrol missions, hoping to drill some experience into them. He hoped that they were getting somewhere, especially as the Imperial Remnant had better places to send their good pilots. "Actually, I think they might've found something interesting," Kynes replied patiently. "The Navy doesn't pay you to think, Lieutenant," Joors replied. "What have they found today?" "They reported something interesting about eight parsecs from here. It seems they've picked up some strange sensor readings near a binary star in that area." "There's not a day that goes by that Epsilon squadron picks up strange sensor readings. Half the time, it's just ghosts in the machine, or ghosts in their heads. What's so different about today?" Joors asked dryly. "Actually, there might be something to their report. One of their pilots took the initiative of jumping deeper into the system. Before we lost contact with his fighter, he transmitted some very interesting images," Kynes said, his face still an impassive mask. "We lost one of our Avengers?" Joors said, giving Kynes a cold look. At length he sighed, "at least they're starting to take initiative. What did he find?" "It looked to be a structure of some sort." "Deep inside Imperial space?" Joors asked, incredulous. "Do you mean to tell me that no survey in the history of the Old Republic and the Empire never found this thing!" Joors exclaimed, gritting his teeth. "That's exactly what I mean to tell you, sir," Kynes replied. "Shall I have a report sent back to Bastion?" "Absolutely not!" Joors snapped. "We'll investigate this anomaly ourselves," Joors paused, looking reflective. "Yes, we'll investigate this anomaly ourselves. Who knows, Lieutenant, we may find something that'll turn this Galaxy upside down." "Of course, sir," said Kynes, a very brief smirk tugging at his lips. "Shall I order the course set, sir?" "By all means, Lieutenant," Joors replied, actually smiling. "Let the chase begin." Interlude #1: The Calling. Commander Thelea, formerly the first officer of the Federation starship Maybourne had an unshakable feeling she was working for the wrong guys. She started out as an idealistic young ensign, fresh out of Starfleet Academy. Slowly, she was disillusioned by what she saw during her career. The almost overt disapproval of her chosen lifestyle, the righteous double-speak of her commanding officers. The telling blow had come during the Dominion War. Then Lieutenant Commander Thelea of the USS Montreal, captained by the late Isil'Zha, witnessed firsthand Federation ineptitude during the Dominion War. Frequently, her captain put strategic concerns second to Federation idealism. It cost Isil'Zha, and most of the Montreal crew their lives. It cost Thelea her eye, and what little respect she had for the Federation. But, when the Maybourne entered the Shibboleth System, Commander Thelea heard something calling to her. An Artifact, long dormant, silently orbited the star. When she first saw the sensor scans, she knew what she had to do. After bludgeoning her commanding officer, Captain Matt Hyde, Thelea proceeded to cripple many of the USS Maybourne's systems and send it on a course which would intersect the Shibboleth primary . . . giving Captain Hyde, provided he survived her assault, the unenviable opportunity to observe sunspots fron underneath. But that was all behind Thelea now. All that mattered was the Artifact . . . ***End Prologue Chapter One: Proud Icarus. It wasn't turning out to be Captain Matt Hyde's best day. When he woke up, he had a splitting headache, a phaser burn, a collection of bruises, and a distinctly unpleasant taste in his mouth. Quickly he realized that he was facedown on the floor, and that carpet didn't taste very good. Hyde groaned as he struggled to his feet. It didn't help that not only was the air stale, but it was also uncomfortably warm. "What the hell happened?" Hyde muttered to himself, fumbling his way over to the command chair. Only then did he realize that all the lights were out, but yet, the room was filled with a cheery orange glow. Quickly he turned to the viewscreen, which was mostly filled by a giant orange-yellow sphere. The object on the viewscreen looked almost like a star. "A star?" Matt grumbled. "That can't be right," Matt said, as his memory cleared. Suddenly he remembered what had happened to him. "Thelea!" Matt shouted, his face reddening. For some inexplicable reason, his first officer had viciously assaulted him, then hit him with a phaser blast for good measure. "Where the hell are you Thelea!" Matt snarled, clenching his fists. Soon he realized that no answer was forthcoming. Quickly dismissing her from his mind, Matt took a mental inventory of things that seemed to be wrong with the Maybourne. There were no lights, not even working computer consoles. That indicated a failure of the power grid. The air was hot and stale, which told him that life support wasn't working either. "Computer, lights!" The computer beeped weakly. "Unable to comply." "What the hell do you mean, 'unable to comply?'" Matt grumbled as he dropped his weight into the command chair. "Why can't you bring up the lights," Matt asked, after a moment. "Insufficient power. Main reactors are off-line." Matt raised an eyebrow. "What is the status of life- support?" "Life-support is off-line. Decks Two through Six are decompressed." "What!" Matt shouted incredulously. "Why is the damned life-support off-line?" "Life support was deactivated by orders issued by First Officer, Commander Thelea." "That's impossible! Only I can issue such orders!" "Captain Matt Hyde was incapable of issuing orders at the time." Matt grumbled some more. "Right. How many crewmembers are still on-board?" "Sensors detect one life-form." Matt blinked in astonishment. "You mean to tell me I'm the only one alive on this ship?" "Affirmative." "Well then, where the hell are we going?" "Present heading is 214 mark 072." Matt did some quick arithmetic in his head. Very quickly, he paled. "You mean to tell me we're headed right for this system's primary?" "Affirmative." Matt jumped over to the Navigation console, desperately trying to bring it back to life. After a moment, he slammed his fist down on the inert console. "Computer, execute an eighty degree turn to port, now!" "Unable to comply." Matt sputtered. "What the fuck do you mean?" "Warp drives are off-line. Impulse drives are off-line. All bridge consoles are locked down." "But how," Matt muttered. "System-wide shutdown was ordered by First Officer, Commander Thelea." "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Way to state the blindingly fuckin' obvious," Matt replied, gritting his teeth. "How long before we intercept the Shibboleth primary?" "One hour, forty-two minutes, and twenty-five seconds." "Awww shit," Matt said, groaning. Stardate 35442.9, Captain's Log: Supplemental. The Witz has just entered the Shibboleth system. We are in the process of searching for both the source of the neutrino emissions, and the whereabouts of the USS Maybourne. Due to increased gamma radiation in the system, we're having a very difficult time of it. Chakotay leaned forward in his chair, his eyes watching the viewscreen, scanning for some clue to the fate of the USS Maybourne. After a moment, he sat up. "Kim, how are holding up in this radiation?" "I've got the shields running at 105% Captain. A little gamma radiation isn't going to hurt us," Lieutenant Commander Harry Kim said. "What about our sensors? We're not going to do a whole lot of good here unless we can see where we're going." "I've already got the arrays running at peak capacity, Captain. There's not much more I can do at the moment," Kim said, his attention focused on his station. "Ensign, are we picking up anything?" Chakotay asked, turning his attention to the man at the Tactical station. "Not yet, sir," Lieutenant Mackey replied. "You'll be the first to know when I do." Chakotay nodded. "Alright." He turned to look at Harry. "Commander, do you think it's safe to launch a shuttle out here?" "Yeah, I'd say so. Though with the elevated radiation levels, you wouldn't want to stay out too long." Chakotay nodded. "We'll do it then. Hopefully we can triangulate our sensor readings and those of the shuttle and punch through the interference." "I suppose I'm volunteering for this one," Harry asked, a brief smile crossing his face. Chakotay grinned in return. "You have now, Commander. Gather an away team and get to a shuttle as soon as possible." "Right away, Captain!" Harry said with a grin, quickly leaving the bridge. Meanwhile . . . several million kilometers away: Commander Thelea quietly hummed to herself as her runabout made it's way slowly to the Artifact, now a faint dull-grey dot in the middle of her viewscreen. In spite of her anticipation, she didn't want to be spotted. As a result, her shields were down, and the runabout was moving as slow as possible. With the radiation limiting the range of her sensors, and with her lack of shields, even a space-going pebble could prove deadly. She was painfully aware just how vulnerable she was. The Maybourne's navigator, Ensign Garak managed to jettison an emergency beacon before she flushed him and the ship's fifteen other crewmembers out the Maybourne's airlocks. Fortunately she managed to silence the beacon shortly after departing, but another Federation ship was sure to be on it's way. Thelea knew of the two other ships operating in the area. The USS Raven Ford, one of the new Steamrunner-class vessels, was her chief worry. The other ship, an old Miranda, she could easily run circles around. And on top of all that, the Shibboleth System was close to the Romulan Neutral Zone. Thelea fell silent as her thoughts lingered on the Romulans. The thought of them gave her a strange, inexplicable feeling of familiarity. Quickly, she shook her head, clearing her mind. She had to focus . . . the Artifact was counting on her . . . Chakotay watched as Harry's shuttle pulled away from the Witz. After several moments, he looked to Lieutenant Mackey at the Tactical station. "Are we triangulating yet, Lieutenant?" "Yes sir," Mackey replied with a grin. "I can almost make out a pair of ion trails." "A pair?" Serena asked, leaning forward. "That's right, ma'am. About where the big one ends, a smaller one begins." "The larger trail's gotta belong to the Maybourne, Captain," Harry said helpfully over the comm. "Are you going to extrapolate a course for us?" Chakotay looked over at Lieutenant Mackey, who was staring at his console with narrowed eyes. "Something wrong? Spit it out, Lieutenant." "Sir, it looks like the Maybourne is on a collision course with the Shibboleth primary," said Lieutenant Mackey. "Wonder what's going on here, Captain," Serena interjected, watching the viewscreen. "Only one way to find out," Chakotay replied, furiously tapping numbers into his console. "Harry, I'm sending you the Maybourne's projected course now. We'll rendezvous with you in a couple of minutes." "Alright, Captain," Harry replied, cutting off the transmission. "Raise shields," Chakotay said to Mackey, "Take us to full impulse, Lieutenant," he then ordered the helmsman. He leaned back, hoping he would get to the Maybourne in time. Commander Thelea smiled as her sensors detected a Miranda-class starship raising it's shields. Today, Fortune was smiling upon her. The ship that had come to investigate was the USS Witz, not the Raven Ford, as she had feared. And, even better, they went straight after the Maybourne. The only reason Matt Hyde was still alive was to give the Federation a reason to chase the old science vessel. Now she knew she would have enough time to make it to the Artifact. She wasn't at all sure what was driving her to the Artifact, and she was fully aware that, usually, she wouldn't have even thought of using the Maybourne as a diversion. But, it felt good. Starfleet didn't encourage much thinking outside of the box. It was one of the reasons she had become so disgusted with them in the first place. She settled back, increasing power to a bold one-half impulse. A macabre sight greeted Harry Kim as the Maybourne came into visual range. Every airlock was open to space, and Kim could make out the faint glitter of frost in the shaded airlocks. And what was worse was that the Maybourne was obviously adrift. Around Harry's shuttle were debris blown out when the Maybourne violently decompressed. That debris included the crew . . . their skin livid and bruised from prolonged exposure to vacuum, their lifeless eyes bulging from their skulls, each of them surrounded by a fine red cloud. Amazingly, there was one life-sign still aboard the Maybourne. But, to Harry's incredible frustration, the plasma and radiation from the rapidly closing Shibboleth primary made transporting the survivor an impossibility. "What's going on, Harry?" Chakotay asked over the comm. After several moments, Harry tapped his commbadge to reply. "It isn't looking good, Captain. I've got one life-sign aboard the Maybourne." "What happened to the rest of the crew?" "They're floating all around me. They were blown out the airlocks when the Maybourne decompressed," Harry said, forcing down his rising gorge. After several moments, Chakotay replied. "Let's worry about rescuing the survivor. What options are open to you?" "Transporters are out of the question. What sensor data I've got from the Maybourne indicates all her systems are out, so boarding her is out of the question. And, sir, the Maybourne is too big for us to tractor." "Commander, you're the only hope our survivor has got. The Witz is twenty minutes away, and you're both about fifteen minutes away from Shibboleth's photosphere," Chakotay replied brusquely. Harry nodded. "The Maybourne isn't aimed directly at the star. If we give her a little nudge she might clear the photosphere and give you enough time to give her a proper tractor. Unfortunately it's kind of a one-shot affair. I've got almost all power diverted to shields. There's a risk we'll burn out the tractor emitters, or the engines," Harry fell silent, letting the potential consequences remain unsaid. "Alright, Harry. Give it your best shot. We're counting on you." "Yes sir," Harry said, focusing his attention on his console. Matt Hyde watched the boiling surface of the Shibboleth primary with detached curiosity. He was resigned to the fact that he was about to become a very hot, and very dead, cloud of gas. It certainly felt like he was halfway there. He was almost too hot to sweat anymore . . . and he had done alot of that in the last hour and a half, when he wasn't roundly cussing Thelea. He noticed something that looked an awful lot like a Federation shuttle zip into view. Almost immediately, he dismissed it as a heat-induced hallucination. The sharp jolt that followed a moment later, and the changing view, however, weren't lost on Matt. "I'm bein' rescued?" Matt muttered, "or has Thelea decided to finish me off?" The answer came five minutes later when he felt the tingle of a transporter grabbing him. Chakotay practically ran to the Witz's Sickbay when he was told they had rescued the Maybourne's captain. As he slipped into Sickbay, he almost ran over his doctor, Tayla, a Vulcan. "Where is he?" Chakotay asked, composing himself. "I assume you are referring to Captain Hyde?" Tayla asked, folding her hands in front of her waist. Chakotay nodded. "Is he in any condition for visitors?" "He's in need of sleep and water, and soon I will have to repair the damage the radiation did to his cells. However, I understand the need to find out what happened the captain's ship." Tayla raised an eyebrow, "in fact, it would be most helpful if you talked to him. Captain Hyde adamantly refused to be treated until saw you." Chakotay smiled. "Lead the way, Doctor." Tayla motioned to the cluster of biobeds behind her office. When Chakotay turned the corner, he immediately saw Captain Hyde. Hyde's uniform was soaked in sweat, and the man had the look of someone who had sat out in the sun for far too long. However, Hyde wasn't as out of it as he looked, for he immediately looked at Chakotay. "You've gotta stop her," Hyde grumbled. "What are you talking about? What the hell is going on here?" Chakotay said, walking up to Captain Hyde. "That's what I'd like to know," Hyde replied, looking up at Chakotay. "My first officer wallops me, blows my crew out the airlocks, then sends my ship on the express route to the surface of a star . . . and you think you'd like to know what the hell's going on?" Chakotay nodded sympathetically. "And where is your first officer?" "Thelea?" Hyde said. "She's probably halfway to the Artifact by now." "The artifact? What artifact?" Chakotay asked. "No, the Artifact," Hyde replied, emphasizing the capital letter. "It's the source of the anomalous neutrino emissions." "Why didn't we pick it up on our way in?" "Because it's on the far side of the star, at about the distance Mars would be if Mars were in the Shibboleth system." Hyde said, looking down. "You should be able to pick it up on sensors now that the star's behind us." Suddenly, Chakotay's commbadge beeped. Quickly, Chakotay tapped it. "Chakotay here." "Sir, we've picked up the source of anomalous neutrino emissions," Serena chirped over the comm. "It's about seventy million kilometers ahead of us. And there's something else." "What is it, Commander?" "We've picked up a runabout running directly toward the neutrino source, and it's one of ours, sir." "That's Thelea!" Snapped Hyde, leaping off the biobed. "Are you sure, Captain?" Chakotay asked, stepping back. "I'm damned sure! The Maybourne only has one runabout aboard!" Hyde growled, turning to Chakotay. "If there's anybody here who knows what's going on, it'll be her." "That's good enough for me," Chakotay said, tapping his commbadge. "Commander, is Harry still out there?" "Yes sir," Serena answered. "Give him Thelea's course. With both of us out there, we stand a better chance of stopping her." Thelea was close to the Artifact now. So close, it almost filled her viewscreen. The Artifact itself was comprised of a giant slate-gray rotating ring with dull-red lights distributed evenly about it's circumference. In the center was a giant cross-shaped structure rotating in the opposite direction of the main ring. In the center of the cross was a large sphere glowing fiery red. The entire Artifact was almost twenty-five miles wide, and Thelea was undoubtedly the first person to set eyes on it in a long time. Suddenly, the runabout was jostled violently, and Thelea was momentarily blinded by a bright flash. She gunned the engines, bringing the vessel about. A Miranda, backlit by the bloated mass of the Shibboleth star, faced her. Her ship was hit by more phaser fire, as a shuttle zoomed over her, taking up a position in front of the Miranda. "Commander Thelea," a man's voice spoke over the comm. "This is Captain Chakotay of the Federation starship Witz. Lower your shields and prepare to be taken into custody." After a moment, Thelea decided to answer. "Captain Chakotay, this is Thelea. What makes you think I've done something wrong?" Thelea said, smirking. "I've got Captain Hyde in my Sickbay. He tells me you're responsible for what happened to the Maybourne." "He survived? I'm disappointed," Thelea replied. "Still, you're not going to catch me. I'm not going to surrender." "You're outgunned, Commander. Stand down and nobody will get hurt." "That's just what I'm afraid of," Thelea replied. She was beginning to remember why she had to get to the Artifact. And with those dim half-recollections came the knowledge of what the Artifact could do. That doddering old Miranda and it's shuttle didn't have a chance of hurting her, or at least not in a few more moments. "No, Captain, I'm not standing down." "I'm sorry you feel that way, Thelea," Chakotay replied. He turned to Lieutenant Mackey. "Target her engines." "Aye sir," Mackey replied, moving to lock the firing solution into the Witz's computer. Then, his console started to beep urgently at him. "Captain! Commander Thelea's runabout has jumped to full-impulse! She's headed right for the Artifact!" Mackey shouted. "I'll stop her, Captain," Harry said over the comm, his shuttle accelerating after Thelea's. Chakotay turned his attention to the viewscreen, while, at the same time, pounding on his console. "Harry, stop!" Chakotay shouted, but it was too late. Thelea's runabout reached the center of the Artifact. Suddenly, all the lights aboard the Witz momentarily dimmed as banks of lights on the central structure lit up. The red sphere in the Artifact's center flared brilliantly, and a blue vortex opened up, expanding to the rotating ring. Both Chakotay and Serena realized what the vortex was. "Wormhole!" Both officers whispered in awe. However, as soon as it had appeared, the wormhole vanished. Chakotay was the first to come to his senses. "Lieutenant Mackey, where's Harry?" After a moment, Chakotay's Tactical officer shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir. It seems that wherever Commander Thelea went, Commander Kim went with her." Chakotay stared hard at the Artifact, rotating placidly before him. Things were suddenly a lot more complicated. Harry Kim realized he was headed for a wormhole far too late to do anything about it. All he, and the two crewmen with him, could do was hang on for the ride. As the shuttle was tossed about inside the wormhole, Harry Kim sorely wished for Tom Paris and his piloting skills. Fortunately, it was over in less than a minute. Both his shuttle and Thelea's runabout were ejected out the other end of the wormhole. Before Harry could do anything, Thelea's runabout jumped to warp, and was gone in an instant. "Where the hell are we, sir?" Asked Crewman Jones, a small man, who seemed, at the moment, to be terrified to the point of soiling himself. "I'm not sure, Crewman," Harry said, who was still shaken himself. He turned his attention to his sensor console, looking at it for several moments. "Wherever we are, it's not the Alpha Quadrant. Let's see if it's anywhere familiar," Harry looked down at his console again. "Hello, what's this," he muttered as he noticed a ship rapidly approaching his position. Quickly, he zoomed in on it, and promptly wished he hadn't. What he saw was a dagger-shaped ship, sixteen-hundred meters in length. It bristled with structures that looked suspiciously like turreted cannons, and Harry's shuttle was lit up on their sensors like a Starbase at full-capacity. Worse yet, his shuttle had no warp engines. "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore," Harry muttered after a moment, sinking into his chair. Interlude #2: Schemes and Machinations. Deep inside Romulan space . . . Commander Taros Gavakar, operative of the Tal Shi'ar brooded in his chair. One of his crewmen carefully cleared his throat. "Yes, Centurion?" "We've lost track of our operative, sir." "That is good news, Centurion," Gavakar replied dryly. "Are you sure we should have activated her without the benefit of her memories?" "This phase of her mission has been as deeply drilled into her as her training. She could've done it well if we had removed her frontal lobes. But, don't worry, her memories will return to her in no more than three hours." "That's not what I'm worried about," the centurion replied. "What concerns me is that there Federation witnesses." "They're nothing," Gavakar said with a dismissive wave. "Order our Warbirds to get underway. It's time we moved the Neutral Zone to where it belongs." ***End Chapter One Chapter Two: The Double-Sided Mirror. Captain Raytheon Joors walked the corridors of the /Kordoza/. He found that walking the corridors of the mighty ship could take his mind off whatever unpleasantness he had to deal with on a given day. It felt good to be able to drop in on the various departments that kept the ship going. It felt good to watch crewmen busily at work, each doing his utmost to keep the /Kordoza/ in fighting shape. Sometimes, before today, he almost felt as if the entire thing was an illusion. The Empire was being slowly whittled away, and with it, everything Joors was sworn to uphold. However, he felt proud to stand by the Empire, even if it was to the bitter end. However, the device he had discovered could change all of that. The giant slate-gray ring orbiting an uninhabitable binary in the middle of Imperial space seemed to be a hyperspace gateway of some sort. Unfortunately, all of his attempts to probe it had, thus far, ended in failure. Probe droids couldn't land on the surface to take samples, they vanished before they reached the gate itself. Even when a pair of TIE fighters had attempted to blast some material off the gate, the blaster bolts vanished just short of the surface. Joors was almost afraid to send a ship through the gateway without knowing exactly what it was, if it was stable, and most importantly, where it went. "Captain!" A voice shouted from behind Joors. The older man turned around coming face-to-face with Jorik Alderr, his chief gunner. "What is it, Jorik?" Raytheon asked. Jorik Alderr and Raytheon went all the way back to the Battle of Endor. "Something's come through the gateway!" The portly chief gunner panted in reply. "What?" Raytheon said, raising his eyebrows. "What's come through the gateway." "Two small vessels, sir. One of 'em is about as big as an assault transport. The other is barely as big as a TIE!" "What sort of vessels?" Raytheon said, suddenly looking interested. "I'm not entirely sure, sir. Neither ship is in our database." "Hmmm," Raytheon stroked his chin. "What action have they taken?" "The larger one immediately made the jump to lightspeed. Fortunately, the vessel's hyperdrive is so slow we're having absolutely no problem tracking them." "And the other?" "They're moving away from us, sir. Looks like they haven't tried moving back through the gate yet, and the vessel doesn't even have a hyperdrive!" Jorik said in reply, handing Raytheon a datapad. "Hmmm, a short-range craft. I assume we're moving to tractor beam range?" Raytheon said, looking down at the datapad. "That's correct, sir." "Excellent. Dispatch a pair of assault transports immediately. Disable that vessel and bring it's crew unharmed to me. I'd be interested to know where they come from." "Very well, sir," Jorik replied, smartly saluting Raytheon. "What are you waiting for! Go through that Artifact!" Crewman Jones screamed. Harry Kim sighed, shaking his head. "I can't, not without knowing where we are. For all I know we could get even more lost than we already are." "Well, it beats taking on that ship coming at us!" Crewman Jones retorted. Harry shook his head again, turning his attention back to his console. "Ensign Rhys, how are repairs coming?" "I can't do anything about the comm system, sir. However, we can go another week on life-support," Replied Ensign Rhys, a slim blonde young woman. Harry sighed. "Well, strap in then, the ride's about to get rougher. We've got company." The two Assault Transports angled in on the Federation shuttle. Currently, it was slowly moving away from them, offering them a nice, broad target profile. Suddenly, the shuttle dove away from the two transports, ruining their targeting solutions. Both transports dove after the shuttle, spreading apart to bracket the smaller vessel. A pair of TIE fighters screamed in after the transports, firing several shots close to the shuttle. The shuttle shook violently as another stream of bright green weapons fire arced over the window. Harry sent the shuttle into a narrow starboard turn, trying to ignore Crewman Jones muttering behind him. "Ensign Rhys, do we have phasers?" Kim shouted as the shuttle was rattled again. "Yes sir!" Rhys replied, tightly gripping her console. "See if you can't get those fighters off us! I'm headed for the binary stars, maybe we can get lost in the radiation," Harry said, pushing the shuttle's engines to their limit. Suddenly, the shuttle fought back, firing at the closer TIE. The first two brilliant orange lances missed the fighter completely. However, the third shot nailed it square in the cockpit ball. With it's pilot incinerated, the TIE tumbled out of control, narrowly missing the shuttle. "Dammit, Alpha wing, pull back!" Major Kaz Shimazaki shouted into his comm. "What the hell's the point in trying to capture him if one of you rams him and he goes up?" Kaz swore as he pulled back on the control stick, feeling the Assault Transport slowly pull up. Fortunately, it was fast enough to avoid another beam from the alien shuttle. "Unable to comply, Major. Our orders are to stop him from heading back to the gate," replied one of the TIE pilots. "Well then, don't attack from so close!" Kaz snapped in reply. He squeezed the firing trigger, snapping off several ion cannon shots at the shuttle. Almost all of them went wide, but one or two managed to connect. Ensign Rhys' console crackled and sprayed sparks in overload. She screamed as her body convulsed, throwing her from her chair. "Damnit, shields down thirty percent," Harry muttered to himself, sending the shuttle into another series of desperate maneuvers. "Crewman Jones, help Ensign Rhys!" Harry heard Crewman Jones scrambling over to Rhys. He fired a few more phaser blasts at the two large craft pursuing his. One shot connected, but it didn't slow him down. As Harry tried to pull the shuttle up, a couple more blasts rocked the shuttle, causing the lights to flicker and fail. As he completed the maneuver, he came face-to-face with another of the odd-shaped fighters with the vertical wings and the round cockpit ball. Immediately, he fired at one of the support struts connecting the wing to the ball. As opposed to Ensign Rhys' first kill, Harry's shot had a much more satisfying effect on the fighter, as whatever it used for fuel exploded, blowing the craft into mangled wreckage. Unfortunately, the exploding fighter distracted him, making him easy prey for the two assault transports. The last thing Harry was aware of was an actinic blue flare filling his view. Kaz rolled the Assault Transport, narrowly avoiding the tumbling shuttle. "I guess it was thinner-skinned than I thought," he muttered to himself as he activated the comm. "Command, this is Omega One. Could you offer us some help? The target's tumbling to fast for me to board." "You've got it," cheerfully replied Lieutenant Kynes. "That was good hunting, Omega." After several moments, the alien shuttle's tumble slowly came to a stop as the /Kordoza's/ tractor beams worked over it. Kaz sighed, working the controls in the precise movements needed to dock the Assault Transport to the waiting shuttle. Crewman Tim Jones crouched in fear near the front of the shuttle as he felt the transport lock onto the ship. In his hand was clutched a hand-phaser. Both Lieutenant Commander Kim and Ensign Rhys were unconscious on the floor, which left Tim Jones to defend them from whatever barbarous aliens waited on the other side. He was amazed when it became clear that the aliens weren't transporting over. Every civilized species used transporters, even aliens in the Gamma and Delta Quadrants! "Maybe I can take them on after all," Tim said to himself, pointing his phaser into the darkness. Suddenly, the door exploded inward in a spray of sparks and a cloud of smoke. Tim screamed, losing control of his bladder. He watched in horror as humanoids in shiny white plastic-looking armor stormed into the shuttle, looking at him with matte- black eyes. In their hands were cradled black weapons, and all those weapons were pointed at him. Suddenly, it occurred to Tim to fire at the aliens. He fired blindly at the stormtroopers, blasting one in the thigh, eliciting an all-too-human scream. He grazed the helmet of another, knocking him down. One of the stormtroopers raised his rifle, firing. The blaster bolt caught Tim flat in the face, spraying his blood and brains against the console and viewscreen behind him . . . "Stand down, stand down!" One of the stormtroopers shouted. "Our orders were to take them alive!" The stormtrooper added, pushing down his comrade's rifle. He stepped further into the shuttle, quickly checking the interior in infrared light. He noted the two crewpersons on the floor, clearly unconscious. "Secure the prisoners," the stormtrooper ordered, motioning to the bodies. "Yes sir," another stormtrooper answered. Two more had gone forward and retrieved the dead crewman's weapon. They handed it to the head stormtrooper, who examined it critically. He was amazed that any of his squad sustained injuries at all from the weapon. The weapon looked like an electric shaver, or maybe a portavac, or maybe a power painter. Behind him, Kaz walked into the shuttle, his E-11 in hand. "Report," Kaz said, looking around. "We secured the shuttle, sir. Two casualties, but nothing a little bacta won't fix." "And the shuttle's crew?" "We have two of them in custody, sir. The third resisted and had to be terminated. He was firing this," the stormtrooper said, handing the crewman's weapon to Kaz. "That looks like child's rattle! You mean to tell me you took casualties from this?" Kaz replied incredulously. "They were wild shots sir, he was lucky to get them off at all." "And you killed him," Kaz said. "Why weren't your blasters set to stun?" "We double-checked the settings sir, they should've been set to stun." Kaz shrugged. "Put the man who fired the shot on report. Confine him to the brig for three days." "Only three, sir?" Kaz looked at the corpse of Crewman Jones again. "I don't like the look of that man," Kaz trailed off as he sniffed the air. "By the gods, am I smelling what I think I smell?" "Affirmative, sir." "On second thought, your man probably did us a service. Still, the orders were to stun the aliens. Put him in the brig for one day." "Yes, sir." Kaz surveyed the strange shuttle. At length, he sighed. "Well, in any case, two out of three isn't bad. At least we have prisoners for Captain Joors. Load them up, it's time we found out how useful they are." Interlude #3: New Identities. Commander Thelea watched the stars streak by as she made good her escape. She had a very interesting revelation as her runabout first dove into the Artifact. Everything was so much clearer now. Closing her eyes, Thelea thought back to her days as a young woman in Starfleet Academy. Once upon a time, she would've been happy to serve the Federation, and she would've done it proudly too. Unfortunately, she was turned very early. Years ago, during her time as a student at Starfleet Academy, she was disenchanted by the resentment and suspicion directed her way. She was from a colony out on the frontier, which earned her the resentment of some of her fellow classmates. Unfortunately, she was also half-Romulan. She could almost feel her instructors eyes on her almost every day. Romulans of any sort were remarkably uncommon in the Federation. And the prevailing attitude toward them was one of deep mistrust. And, in the end, she could only take so much . . . Thelea shook her head, pushing the memories aside. *Now* was the time that counted! *Now*, Thelea was a sleeper agent for the Tal Shi'ar. And, she was here for a very special mission. The Romulans had known of the Artifact located in Shibboleth. They knew what the Artifact did, and where it lead. There were things in this new galaxy that could be of great service to the Romulan Empire . . . but only if she succeeded. "Thelea Svelta," she whispered to herself. It was the name she was given at birth. She went by another name during her years in Starfleet, but that was no longer important. Today she reclaimed her real name, and with luck, soon it would be a curse to the Federation. ***End Chapter Two Chapter Three: The Steel Wall. Chakotay leaned forward in his chair, surveying the assembled officers in the /Witz's/ conference room. To his right was Serena, who smiled at Chakotay as he glanced at her. To his left, further down the table was Captain Hyde, his expression sour. Across from Hyde was the skipper of the /Raven Ford/, Captain Ryan Spickard, a young man with a maniacal glint in his eye. And, on the viewscreen was the reason they were all gathered aboard the /Witz./ Admiral Paris didn't look very happy. He wasn't happy when he hailed Chakotay shortly after Harry Kim and Thelea went through the Artifact. He didn't look happy after Chakotay told him about his situation. And, right now, Paris looked about as dour as a man could get. This gave Chakotay much cause for worry, as Admiral Paris was the one who was behind the Voyager crew . . . as much as anybody on Earth could've been. "Captain," Paris started, clearing his throat. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news." That immediately turned everbody's attention to the viewscreen. "The /Enterprise/ is about five hours away at maximum warp. All of you are being ordered to hold your positions until the /Enterprise/ arrives at Shibboleth. You are to make no, repeat *no* effort to penetrate the Artifact. That means no probes, no shuttles, and no active sensor scans." Chakotay's jaw almost dropped at the announcement. Immediately he stood, turning to face the viewscreen. "Excuse me, Admiral? What about Harry? He's stranded somewhere without a warp drive, facing an opponent who severely outguns him. We can't just sit here and do nothing!" "That's exactly what you're being told to do, Captain," Paris growled. After a moment, his face softened. "I didn't issue this order, it came directly from Starfleet Command." "But time could be of the essence here, sir!" Chakotay protested. "Captain, you know very well that Commander Kim can take care of himself. He has demonstrated that time and time again during his stint on /Voyager/. Your orders are clear, Captain. You are not to go through that Artifact. You are to wait for the /Enterprise/! When it arrives, Captain Picard will take charge of the rescue operation." "I agree with Captain Chakotay, sir," Captain Spickard said. "There's no good reason for us to stay here! We've got Captain Hyde and the /Maybourne/, sir. This is just the sort of mission she's designed for. We'd have no trouble getting volunteers to crew her; and, we've got enough firepower between the /Witz/ and my ship to make anybody we meet think twice about stopping us." "Captain Spickard, neither of you has much credit with Starfleet Command right now. These orders aren't to be questioned," Paris said, fixing Spickard with his best glare. Chakotay furrowed his brow, frowning. "Is there something you're not telling me, Admiral? What is so important about the Artifact that none of us are being allowed near it?" "You're starting a very dangerous line of questioning, Captain," Paris replied frankly. "Why can't you trust us, Admiral? Why can't you trust me? Is it because I was Maquis once?" Chakotay replied levelly. "You're out of line, Captain Chakotay," Paris growled. "Don't make me remove you from command. No matter what reason you may think is behind it, your orders are *not* to go near that artifact! Captain Picard will brief you further. Admiral Paris out!" Meanwhile . . . aboard the /Kordoza/ . . . . Captain Joors watched the young man sitting in his cell. This was one of the two prisoners Lieutenant Shimazaki brought him. The other, a young woman, had just emerged from a soak in a bacta tank. It was difficult to believe that a civilization advanced enough to build that shuttle had been so remiss as to not include fuses for their equipment. Both prisoners had been isolated from one another, denying them the chance to conspire. Both of them had been fed as well as any of the crew; and, as yet, hadn't been exposed to any of the pleasantries involved in Imperial interrogation. Any answers he was going to get from them would hopefully be the truth. Raytheon watched as JC-88, one of the /Kordoza's/ few protocol droids, entered the cell with the young man. Immediately, the young man reacted with barely contained shock and astonishment. Clearly he didn't have droids where he came from. Raytheon cursed the fact that he had no audio feed from that particular block of cells. It was something that would have to be remedied if they captured any more of these people. From the way the droid gesticulated, it was clear that it was trying to communicate with the young man. As was to be expected, the young man stared at the droid, his face showing an absolute lack of comprehension. At length, the droid started to point at various objects, and watched what the man said. When the droid seemed satisfied with what it heard, it looked up to the camera. Immediately, the stormtroopers guarding the cell opened the door, letting the droid out. Once the door closed, Raytheon wasted no time, hurrying over to the protocol droid. "What did you discover?" "Well, Master Joors, as you are well aware I am fluent in over six million different forms of communicaion. I tried several different dialects of Basic and none of them were understandable to him. I then pointed out all the objects I could find in his cell and recorded his responses," the droid replied, thrusting out his chest in obvious pride. Raytheon scowled at the droid. "Did you learn anything useful?" Raytheon said tersely. "Indeed I did, Master Joors. His name is likely 'Harry Kim' if that isn't the name his culture uses to refer to itself. Also, he seems to speak a severely distorted form of a dialect which was last spoken by a primitive civilization that existed in this area of the galaxy." "This area, you say?" "Of course, Master Joors. I am incapable of making mistakes when it comes to language, sir." "Right," Raytheon replied acidly. At that moment, Lieutenant Kynes chose to make his entrance. "Captain, the other prisoner is fully conscious now. When shall she be interrogated?" Kynes asked, his hands crossing behind his back. "After this protocol droid here has had the chance to question her," Raytheon said. "You know, Lieutenant, these protocol droids have certainly come in handy. I'm glad I thought of bringing them aboard." "Actually, sir," Kynes interrupted. "I believe that you didn't wa . . . " Kynes began as Raytheon held up his hand. "I said, I'm glad I thought of bringing them aboard," Raytheon repeated firmly. "Of course, sir," Kynes said in resignation. "Do you have any other news for me, Lieutenant?" "Naturally, sir. We're tracking that other ship to an uninhabited system roughly six parsecs away from our current location." "And," Raytheon said expectantly. "Well, Captain, the interdictor /Sonn/ is now in the area. We could have her capture that ship in the Haybour System, which lies between here and that ship's destination." "But that would involve notifying Bastion, right?" "That would be correct, sir." "That won't be necessary just yet, Lieutenant. You can bet that the Moffs will be all over this like flies on bantha dung. I'd like to delay that inevitability as long as possible," Raytheon said, fixing Kynes with his most level look. "Right, sir," Kynes replied slowly. "There is something you can do for me though, Lieutenant." "And that would be?" "Talk to JC-88 here after he questions the young woman. He tells me that the prisoner he just questioned seems to speak some form of an old language that was used in these parts by some primitive culture. Find out where this culture was based." "Yes sir," Kynes replied. Interlude #4: The Calm Before. Commander Tavros Gavakar watched the stars streak by as his ship, the Warbird /Strife/, made it's way to the Shibboleth System. Accompanying the /Strife/ were two other Warbirds, three Klingon-type Bird-of-Preys and a positively ancient Sparrowhawk-class cruiser. With Thelea now safely in the other galaxy, hopefully carrying out the search assigned to her, the Tal Shi'ar and the Romulan Praetor decided that now was the time to move and secure the gateway. For years, the Romulans knew that Shibboleth was home to an artificial wormhole, generated by the Artifact. They also had some idea where it went. The Romulans also suspected that the Artifact was one of a network of many gates that had once peppered both galaxies. Unfortunately, for years, the Romulans couldn't move in on Shibboleth. The Federation was simply too powerful to risk open confrontation with. However, the Dominion War changed all that. All the Alpha Quadrant powers that participated in the war took a severe beating at the hands of the Dominion. Almost in the blink of an eye, the Klingons ceased to be a credible threat to the Romulans, and the Federation took a beating. Though the Romulans didn't escape unharmed, they got out with their fighting spirit intact. The Federation was a different story. Public support of Starfleet dried up almost as soon as the ink was dry on the treaty ending the war. In that, Gavakar and the Tal Shi'ar saw the opportunity they had been waiting for. Though Starfleet was more potent now than it had ever been, a war- weary Federation Council wasn't likely to contest the Romulan seizure of a handful of unimportant systems at the extreme edge of Federation territory. Unfortunately, the systems had to *remain* unimportant. Hence, the significant firepower the Romulans were bringing to Shibboleth. Between it's members, Gavakar's taskforce had sufficient firepower to engage a _Sovereign_ with a good chance of success. If necessary, Gavakar was prepared to make the Federation ships in Shibboleth disappear in a convenient subspace accident. With the Federation out of the way, Gavakar could put into motion the second, most important phase of his plan. ***End Chapter Three Chapter Four: The Bear Trap. Stardate 54873.6: Captain's Log, Supplemental. The Enterprise is due at any time now. I'm not at all happy with the way things have been going thus far. We have the manpower to get Harry back and stop Thelea, unfortunately Starfleet doesn't trust my judgement in this matter. Chakotay sighed, shaking his head and settling into his seat. "Is there any change in the status of the Artifact, Ensign?" Chakotay asked, looking over at Lieutenant Mackey. "Afraid not, Captain," Mackey replied, shaking his head. "You'll be the first to know if I do," he added after a moment. Chakotay nodded silently as the turbolift behind him opened, discharging Serena onto the bridge. Swiftly, Serena crossed the distance taking her seat. "You look lost in thought, Chakotay," Serena said, a faint smile on her face. "You could say that, Commander," Chakotay replied, frown etched onto his face. Serena nodded, "It's about Harry isn't it?" "Yes," Chakotay said. After a moment, he turned, looking Serena in the eye. "I don't get it, Serena. We have the resources, we have the people. And what are we doing with them? Nothing!" Serena put her hand on Chakotay's shoulder, leaning closer. "I'm afraid that's the way things work in Starfleet. I know that you're much closer to the crew than the typical captain, and even more so towards Commander Kim. However, he needs you, this crew needs you, in the chair you're in now. You're no good to them in the brig." Chakotay nodded. "I know, Serena. That's the one thing that's stopped me from taking this ship and diving into the Artifact after Harry. But try to understand that it is frustrating me to no end." Serena nodded and smiled. "I do, sir. I understand perfectly." At that moment, Lieutenant Mackey decided to interrupt. "Captain, I'm picking up the /Enterprise/. They've just come out of warp." Chakotay nodded, turning away from Serena. "On screen." The starscape on the viewscreen was immediately replaced by Captain Picard on the bridge of the /Enterprise/. Picard immediately nodded to Chakotay. "I'm glad you've decided to wait up for us, Captain," Captain Picard said, looking over the /Witz's/ bridge. "Thank you, Captain," Chakotay said. "Thanks for not keeping us waiting." "When any member of Starfleet is in danger, time is always of the essence, Captain Chakotay." "Of course," Chakotay said. "Now that you're here, would you mind letting me in on why Starfleet is demanding that I sit here and do nothing?" Picard nodded. "I understand your concern, Captain. Unfortunately, I also understand Starfleet's. And Starfleet's may be a good deal graver. Have Captain Hyde, Captain Spickard, and yourself beam over to the /Enterprise,/ there are some things that I would rather not discuss on an open channel." "What about my people, Captain?" Chakotay interjected, narrowing his eyebrows. "I trust you've been probing that device in any manner possible?" "How did you know?" Chakotay said, clearly surprised. "Trust me, Captain, if any of my crew were in the same circumstance as your Commander Kim, I would do the same thing. Unfortunately, we can't take any further action yet. Not until we're all on the same playing field. There are things more important than the safety of a few. This just happens to be one of them." Raytheon Joors usually dined alone. His wife died during a Rebel attack on a shipping convoy not long after the Battle of Endor. With her went Raytheon's daughter, Kaless. And, what surviving family he did have lived deep in New Republic territory, out of his reach. Unfortunately, this evening was an exception. It was unfortunate because the man who was dining with him was Admiral Jerrik Ulstead, commander of the 231st Star Destroyer Squadron, which the /Kordoza/ was a nominal member of. Apparently, Ulstead felt that it was his duty to tour the ships of the far-flung 231st. This was a duty most of the captains under him could do without. Ulstead was a colorful, if very dark, character; the rumored father of one LT. HIT- MAN. It certainly seemed that the two shared some personality traits. Ulstead was dark, vicious, and when he smiled, it was a cold predatory smile that gave it's recipient the unshakeable feeling they were about to be cast into a cave crawling with rancors. It was the smile Admiral Ulstead was favoring Raytheon with now. Raytheon swallowed nervously, and did his level best to smile back. "So, Captain Joors, I am told that your ship constantly finds itself on the list of requisitions and repairs." "These are difficult times, sir," Raytheon replied. "Indeed they are, Captain," the Admiral said, fixing Raytheon with a dark glare, his blue-grey eyes drilling into him. "You need to better motivate your crew to make do with what you have. And you need to make better use of what we do give you. A quarter of your TIE squadrons lost to mere pirates? Perhaps I should replace you with a captain better able to do his duty." Raytheon's blood ran cold. Admiral Ulstead was known for his womanizing, and most importantly, his temper. Ulstead's temper was as legendary in it's shortness as the late Darth Vader's was. With Vader though, at least he didn't smile at you as he had you executed . . . unlike Ulstead. "That won't be necessary, sir," Raytheon replied evenly. "No," Ulstead said, smiling again. "Pirates these days are certainly better equipped than they used to be. At least under Palpatine, the pirates knew their place!" The Admiral slammed his fist on the table, rattling the plates and silverware. Ulstead was also known for his violent mood- swings and irrational behavior. If he kept up this line of conversation, Raytheon could find himself inspecting the outside of the /Kordoza's/ hull without the benefit of a spacesuit. At that moment, there was a knock at the door, which immediately silenced Admiral Ulstead. Raytheon did his best not to sigh with relief. Whoever was at the door just seriously reduced his of her life expectancy. "Who's calling?" "This is Kynes, sir," came the muffled reply. "Yes I am aware that you are dining with Admiral Ulstead. However, I'm just here to let you know that I have some *noteworthy* news waiting for you." Raytheon immediately looked at Admiral Ulstead, then at the door. "Thank you Lieutenant. We'll meet after my meal with the good Admiral." Quickly, he turned his full attention back to the Admiral. Though he suspected he knew what Kynes was referring to, to let the Admiral know about it would be suicide. "What sort of news would that be?" Admiral Ulstead said in a low voice. "Errr," Raytheon started, cursing himself. "We were attempting to develop some new drills for Epsilon Squadron." Ulstead nodded after a long moment. "Your Avenger pilots *are* disturbingly inexperienced, Captain. At least, it seems, you're taking steps to rectify that." Raytheon suppressed a shudder. He made a strong effort to keep Epsilon Squadron's fitreps under wraps. If Ulstead knew about those, Raytheon had to wonder what else the Admiral knew about . . . Chakotay found himself in a Starfleet conference room for the second time in a day. This time, it was the more spacious conference room of the /Enterprise./ And this time, there were more people present. Captain Picard and his first officer, Commander Riker, were now in control of the meeting. "I've brought you all here for a reason," Picard started, looking over the assembled skippers. "This device is the most important discovery the Federation has made since the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole. Unfortunately, the political climate surrounding this discovery is no less volatile than that surrounding Bajor and it's wormhole." "What does this have to do with getting my people back?" Chakotay interrupted. "Unfortunately, it has a good deal to do with getting your people back, Captain Chakotay," Picard replied levelly. "I believe Captain Hyde might have some more light to shed on this than I would." Hyde narrowed his eyes, looking hard at Picard. "Thelea," he growled after a moment. Picard nodded. "Formerly Marina O'Leary of the Medina colony. Entered Starfleet Academy and changed her name to 'Thelea' halfway through. Had a relatively undistinguished career in Starfleet. However, there is more to her than meets the eye, gentlemen." "You can say that again," Hyde grumbled. Picard merely nodded. "Starfleet suspects her to be a Romulan operative." Chakotay's brows went up. "That might explain why she ambushed her own crew and ran for the Artifact! But that doesn't explain why can't we go after Harry! He went the same place she went!" "Captain, if she *is* a Romulan agent, and since she has made her move now, then the Romulans are sure to follow. Who knows why Commander O'Leary went through the device. You may have put your crew in more danger than you are in now, especially if the Romulans were to show up. And there were elements in the Romulan Empire sympathetic to the Maquis. This is not the situation to be taking risks in! Do you understand, Captain?" Chakotay looked over at Captain Picard, his expression cold. "Yes I do, Captain. I understand perfectly." Captain Joors and Lieutenant Kynes stood in the /Kordoza's/ hangar bay, smiles fixed stiffly on their faces as they watched Admiral Ulstead's shuttle dwindle down to a tiny point. After a moment, a young officer walked up to Raytheon to confirm that Ulstead's shuttle just entered hyperspace. "Well, so ends another dinner with Admiral Ulstead, eh sir?" Kynes prompted after a moment. "Indeed," Raytheon replied curtly, shaking his head. "We used to have better flag officers commanding us. But, not anymore. We've got wannabe Vaders like Jerrik Ulstead running amok nowadays. If only we had better flag officers, we'd be in better shape now." "Like yourself, sir?" Kynes remarked dryly. Raytheon narrowed his eyes. "Why do you always do this, Kynes?" "Sir, as your personal aide, it's my duty to provide you with a firm grasp of reality. Even if you don't want it." "Must you take so much pleasure in it though?" Raytheon exclaimed, the exasperation clear in his voice. Kynes just smirked. After a moment Raytheon turned to face him. "You said you had some noteworthy news for me, did you not?" "That's right, sir." "What news would that be, Lieutenant?" "Well sir," Kynes began, "JC-88 made an interesting discovery after he questioned our other guest. Indeed, both prisoners speak the same language. And this language seems to be a dialect of an ancient language used around this part of the galaxy a long time back." "That's what the droid told me," Raytheon said dryly. "There is more, sir. I did some discreet checking on the New Republic's info-nets and discovered that this language was used by a primitive culture that inhabited KZ-X89, a currently desolate system about . . . " "Six parsecs from here," Raytheon finished. "Probably the same system that the other ship is headed to." "The exact same, sir," Kynes noted. "Is Admiral Ulstead's ship anywhere nearby?" "The Star Destroyer /Gallant/ is nowhere near here, sir." "Excellent, give the navigational computer the coordinates to KZ-X89 and prepare the ship for a hyperspace jump," Raytheon said, smiling. Chakotay wasn't a happy man. Not only were his suspicions about Starfleet's motivations confirmed; Captain Picard still wasn't letting him do anything about Harry. He made it clear he wanted to confront the Romulans first. Unfortunately, Chakotay had the feeling that if Thelea were working for the Romulans, then based on her actions, the Romulans wouldn't likely be cowed, by even the /Enterprise./ With such thoughts haunting him, Chakotay stepped onto the bridge, walking quietly over to his seat. "Any change in status, Lieutenant?" Chakotay asked Lieutenant Mackey. "No sir." "Keep me posted, Lieutenant." "Aye sir," replied Lieutenant Mackey, looking down at his console. Abruptly, he looked up again. "Sir, I think we've got company!" Chakotay looked up immediately. "On-screen, Lieutenant." Instantly the view shifted a few degrees to port, centering on the /Enterprise/, and the Romulan Warbird facing her, easily dwarfing it's Federation opponent. "Captain, we're being hailed!" Lieutenant Mackey shouted. Commander Taros Gavakar watched the three Federation starships on his monitor. Though he planned for it, he didn't expect the /Enterprise/ to show up. "We have open channels to all the Federation vessels sir," reported Lieutenant Hal S'zaelser, Gavakar's comm officer. "Thank you, Lieutenant," Gavakar said, turning to the monitor. "This is Commander Taros Gavakar, commander of the Imperial starship /Strife/. On behalf of the Romulan Star Empire, I am demanding you vacate this system immediately." As expected, Picard was the one to respond. "This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise. You are on the Federation side of the Neutral Zone. By what right do you claim this system?" Gavakar favored Picard with a grim smile. "Our operative went through that device. We are here to ensure her safety, and to study that artifact." Picard cleared his throat. "I am lead to believe your operative committed some grave acts in getting to that device. And we too have personnel that went through the device." "And we shall return them to you if we recover them. But your presence in this system continues to be unwelcome, Captain Picard," Gavakar replied evenly. "Commander Gavakar, again I must remind you that you're on the Federation side of the Neutral Zone. Perhaps we can come to some agreement that would be mutually beneficial to both the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire." Gavakar held up his hand. "Spare me the rhetoric, Captain. We are exercising our rights granted by the treaties that bind us. The Federation claimed three systems for resources in the closing months of the Dominion War. We're just restoring the balance. Now, leave, or we will be forced to provide you with armed escort back to Federation space!" Chakotay watched the developing confrontation with intense interest. A voice in the back of his mind warned him that the Romulan was too confident. A D'deridex taking on a Sovereign was an iffy proposition at best. With a Miranda and a Steamrunner thrown into the mix, even Romulan reserve should have be taxed. "There's more of 'em here," Chakotay exclaimed. "Raise shields! Hail the /Enterprise!/" Chakotay shouted as suddenly, two other Warbirds appeared, surrounding the Enterprise. Three Birds-of-prey decloaked, closing in on the /Witz/ and the /Raven Ford./ Some distance away, a long, sleek shape hung back, well out of the way. Gavakar allowed himself another smile as he contemplated Picard's astonished face. "I believe you're out of options, Captain Picard. Withdraw your ships at once." "Commander, I warn you that this constitutes an act of war. A war the Romulans can ill-afford," Picard replied calmly. "And so does denying us our compensation, Captain," Gavakar said. "Commander, this system is far more valuable than the three we annexed put together. Surely we can negotiate some agreement." "Captain, your prattle grows tiresome. Leave now, or we will open fire!" Chakotay watched the situation with growing concern. Again, the nagging voice in the back of his head was pestering him, telling him that the Romulans weren't about to let any of them leave Shibboleth alive. ***End Chapter Four Chapter Five: Blitzkrieg. Chakotay's eyes were fixed on the viewscreen as Serena hurried onto the bridge. Quickly, she took her seat at Chakotay's side, dialing up a status report on the console in her chair's armrest. "It doesn't look good, does it, Captain," Serena stated, looking over the Romulan taskforce assembled on the viewscreen. "No, and I've got a feeling it's about to get worse," Chakotay said. He looked over to the ship's navigator, Ensign Amber Muholland. "Ensign, lay in a course for the center of the Artifact, and be ready to engage on my mark," Chakotay ordered, drawing a surprised look from Serena. "Chakotay, what are you doing?" "Captain Picard will likely order us out of Shibboleth. We'll never get to Harry and the others if we follow him. So we're heading for the Artifact instead." Serena grinned mischievously. "And since the Artifact leads out of the system, we'll technically be following orders!" "That's right," Chakotay replied, looking over at Lieutenant Mackey. "Lieutenant, target the nearest Romulan ship." "Phasers hot, sir?" Lieutenant Mackey asked. "Not yet, I don't want to be responsible for a shooting war." Lieutenant Mackey nodded, turning his attention to his console. Chakotay watched the viewscreen, waiting for the next move to take place. "Sir, we're being hailed," Lieutenant Mackey said, looking up. "It's the Romulans!" Immediately, Commander Gavakar's stern visage appeared on the viewscreen. "Your time is up, I'm afraid. Even now, we've started jamming your subspace transmissions. This system is far too valuable for the Romulan Empire to give up willingly. Goodbye, Captain." Serena looked over at Chakotay. "Looks like you were right on the money, Chakotay." "Save your congratulations Commander, we're not out of this yet," Chakotay said brusquely, leaning forward in his chair. "Begin evasive maneuvers. Lock onto the nearest Romulan ship." "Captain Picard is hailing us, sir," Lieutenant Mackey shouted. "On screen!" Chakotay replied quickly. Captain Picard's image appeared on the viewer. "Captain Chakotay, we don't have a lot of time. Captain Spickard and myself will attempt to hold off the Romulans. Your duty is to leave the system and notify Starfleet." "No, Captain. My duty is to my people," Chakotay interrupted. "The /Witz/ doesn't stand a chance against one D'deridex. There's no way we'd make it out of the system alive." "Captain! One of the Romulan ships is on an intercept course. Weapons range in forty seconds!" Lieutenant Mackey shouted out. "What do you propose, Captain?" Picard said cooly. His image shook briefly as two of the Warbirds fired on the /Enterprise./ "The Witz can escape through the Artifact. Something on the other side has the Romulans very interested. If we can find out what it is, we might have something to counter them with." "Twenty-five seconds, sir!" Lieutenant Mackey called out again. Picard appeared to mull this over for a moment. "Very well, Captain Chakotay. Good luck," Picard replied tersely, cutting the channel. Chakotay wasted no time, turning his attention back to Lieutenant Mackey. "Which ship is headed our way?" "The older cruiser-transport and a Bird-of-Prey, sir. They're moving to cut us off from the Artifact." "I thought they might. Fire at the transport, full phasers." As the sleek Romulan ship moved to cut off the /Witz/, the Federation ship replied with phasers, bright orange beams playing across the front of the Romulan vessel. The Romulans replied with a barrage of their own, disruptor beams scintillating across the /Witz's/ shields. "We've inflicted minor damage to their forward shield, sir!" Lieutenant Mackey reported. "What's our status?" "Shields down to 96 percent, sir." "Keep firing, Lieutenant. Focus on that forward shield," Chakotay ordered. "Ensign Mulholland, increase engines to one-half impulse." "One-half impulse aye," Ensign Mulholland replied, not looking up from her station. The /Witz/ strafed the Romulan ship several more times. Flares of dissipated energy rippled over the Romulan's shield. The Bird-of-Prey screamed in from behind, disruptors raking the /Witz/. The bridge shook as the /Witz's/ shields absorbed the punishment. "Chakotay, the Bird-of-Prey is attacking us from behind," Serena reported worriedly. "I've got 'em, sir, arming aft torpedo tubes," Lieutenant Mackey interjected, tapping a few controls on his console. Chakotay nodded. "Ensign Mulholland, increase engines to full-impulse." "Sir? If we do that, we'll come dangerously close to that other ship." "You have your orders, Ensign. Trust me, I've got a plan," Chakotay said curtly. "Aye, sir. Full-impulse aye." "What are you hoping to accomplish, Chakotay?" Serena said quickly as the ship rattled again. "I'm willing to bet we're more agile than either of those two ships," Chakotay replied, not looking her way. Serena smiled. "I see, Captain. I think I'll hold on tight." "That would be wise," Chakotay said, briefly looking her way. The ship shook violently as it took fire from both Romulans. "Shields down to sixty-eight percent!" Lieutenant Mackey shouted. "Fire two torpedoes aft, on my mark, Lieutenant," Chakotay ordered. "Aye, Captain," Lieutenant Mackey said. "Sir, we're fifteen seconds away from colliding with the other ship!" Ensign Mulholland cried out. "Hold your course, Ensign! Dive at the absolute last second!" Chakotay shouted. Ensign Mulholland nodded nervously. "Lieutenant, when Mulholland dives, fire the torpedoes," Chakotay said. Lieutenant Mackey looked up with an evil grin. "Aye, aye, Captain. It'll be quite a show." Lieutenant Mackey had no more time to speak. The ship lurched violently as Ensign Mulholland initiated her dive and both Romulans fired again. At the same time, Mackey punched the control to launch the torpedoes. The Bird-of-Prey, which started to dive after the /Witz/, noticed the two torpedoes racing to it. The skipper immediately ordered his ship to climb, knowing the torpedoes were too close to be able to actively seek his ship. Romulan discipline was too strong to permit his helmsman to do anything but comply. The Bird-of-Prey pulled up and the torpedoes slammed into the ship's belly. The shields flared, briefly blinding both Romulan ships. The Bird-of- Prey slammed into the Sparrowhawk cruiser, punching through it's shields and burrowing into the hull. The Bird-of-Prey crumpled against the more massive Sparrowhawk, but not before snapping the older ship in half. An instant later, both ships went up in a brilliant explosion as kilograms of antimatter escaped containment. Aboard the /Witz/ the destruction of the Romulan ships felt like a kick from a furious mule of cosmic proportions. Chakotay gripped the arms of his command chair his fingers burning with the extreme strain. Then it was over. "We nailed the bastards!" Lieutenant Mackey shouted. Chakotay nodded. "They won't fall for it again. It's time we made our exit. Ensign Mulholland, take us into the Artifact." "Aye sir," Mulholland said quietly. As the /Witz/ approached the center of the Artifact; there was an explosion of light and a fiery blue vortex, then the vortex vanished, taking the /Witz/ with it. Commander Thelea hummed to herself as she watched the stars streak by her runabout's cockpit. It was a Romulan lullaby, taught to her by her mother. Thelea's mother was Romulan, the husband of a notable physicist who defected to the Federation. Unfortunately, the Tal Shi'ar caught up with him a few years later. Then her mother met a human male, and two years later, Thelea was born. For several moments, Thelea sat, memories of her past drifting to the surface. The beeping of her runabout's computer drew her out of her reverie . . . it would be time to drop out of warp soon. Captain Joors watched as the /Kordoza/ reverted to realspace. Of to his side, Lieutenant Kynes began calling out orders. "All decks, secure for normal space! We need a tactical scan of the system immediately!" Joors sighed. Normally, it wouldn't have been necessary to really secure the ship for hyperspace. Unfortunately, the /Kordoza's/ massive hyperdrive core was aging and out-of- adjustment. Nothing short of a stop at the shipyards to install a replacement would fix the problem. Sadly, resources were tight. The /Kordoza's/ hyperdrive would simply have to wait. "Captain! We're getting some very unusual readings!" Said a young officer, looking at Raytheon nervously. "What sort of unusual readings? Has our guest emerged from subspace yet?" "Not yet sir. Do you remember the device we found in the last system?" Raytheon nodded, fixing his stare on the younger man. "Well, sir . . . we've discovered another one." "Another one!" Raytheon and Kynes said simultaneously. "Yes sir. Right in this system." "I see," Raytheon replied, rubbing his chin. "No matter, we'll investigate it soon enough. Our guest will be arriving momentarily." While Raytheon contemplated the discovery of the second device, Commander Thelea tapped in the commands that would bring her out of warp. She leaned back as the streaks reverted to stars. A moment afterward, she gasped, leaning forward. "What the hell?" Thelea swore, looking at her scans. They revealed the presence of another ship. A sixteen- hundred meter long behemoth was some distance behind her. In the secret briefing she had recieved many months back, she knew the ship was called a Star Destroyer. Unfortunately, it seemed to be the same one she left behind in the system holding the first Artifact. What was it doing here? And how did it get there so fast? Raytheon looked up abruptly as one of the crewmen manning the sensors shouted out. "The primitive shuttle has just arrived, sir!" "Where are they?" Raytheon asked, stepping forward. "They're some distance ahead of us, sir. I think they see us as well. "Of course they'll see us, Crewman," Raytheon replied sharply. "What are they doing?" "They've set a course that will take them through the device in this system." "Damn! Can we catch them?" "If they're smart, they'll be going full-throttle. If that's true, then we'll catch them faster than a Hutt does a pile of credits." Raytheon nodded. "Excellent. Standby on the tractor beam and set course to intercept." Thelea swore, pounding on her console. The ship behind her was gaining rapidly, and the runabout was already at full impulse. Nervously, she looked behind her, half-expecting soldiers to transport in. Quickly she dispelled such notions. Her briefing had mentioned that these peoples didn't use transporters. Thelea considered her options. Going to warp was out of the option. It was already established that she couldn't outrun them that way. It was also obvious that leading the other ship on a stern-chase was also doomed to failure. The system she was in had been cleaned out long ago. There were no asteroids to get lost in. She sighed, her only choice seemed to be to try to extract more power from her engines. "Captain, that ship's making a run for it!" Said the crewman behind Raytheon. Raytheon consulted his datapad and smiled. "No matter, they're in tractor range. Deploy the tractor beam. Let them try to get away." Thelea growled as her runabout shuddered. She watched in frustration as her forward velocity rapidly dropped. The runabout's engines groaned in protest and sparks erupted from her console, causing her to jerk back in surprise. The starlight filtering in through the runabout's windows faded away as her runabout entered the /Kordoza's/ immense shadow. "Shuttle secured, sir," Kynes reported, consulting his datapad. "Excellent," Raytheon replied, nodding. "Can that protocol droid of yours talk to the crew of that ship?" "JC-88 has made considerable headway with our prisoners, sir," Kynes said. "Very well. Have a platoon of stormtroopers meet us in the hangar bay. And bring that protocol droid!" Raytheon, Kynes, and JC-88 exited the lift to the hangar bay. Two lines of stormtroopers stood facing the shuttle, their rifles pointed at the vessel. Raytheon and his party briskly approached the shuttle, stopping short of the stormtrooper sergeant standing in front of it. "Status?" Raytheon asked, returning the stormtrooper's salute. "No change. Nobody has emerged from the vessel yet." "And you've made no attempts to penetrate the ship." "As ordered, sir." "Excellent," Raytheon said. He turned to JC-88, "Droid, order the crew to come out." "Yes, Master Joors," JC-88 replied. A moment later, the droid's voice boomed out over the hangar bay's PA. Thelea looked up as she heard a voice over her captors' PA. "Attention shuttle crew. If you emerge peacefully, you will not be harmed! I repeat . . . Attention shuttle crew. If you emerge peacefully, you will not be harmed!" Thelea shook her head in disgust. Did *everybody* speak Standard? Then she had another thought, if these people captured the Starfleet shuttle, then they might have Universal Translators by now. It could either make things much easier, or much, much worse. She picked up her phaser and headed for the exit. Raytheon watched impassively as the shuttle's door swung open. Out stepped a dark-haired young woman, holding the absurdity that his stormtroopers had assured him was a weapon. Immediately, the stormtroopers hefted their blasters. "Drop your weapon!" Shouted the stormtrooper sergeant. The young woman reacted with apparent surprise and complete incomprehension as her weapon was still held at ready. "Drop your weapon, or we open fire!" The sergeant shouted again, waving his blaster at the alien. Raytheon's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Droid! Will you please tell our guest to lower her weapon before my stormtroopers do something drastic!" Thelea was astonished when one of the soldiers surrounding her spoke in something completely unintelligible. His intent seemed fairly clear, but she wasn't about to lower her phaser until she knew who she was up against. "Excuse me, ma'am," said a meek brassy voice. It was similar to the voice she had heard over the PA earlier. She whirled to face the source, and saw a comically crude humanoid robot. To one side of the robot were two men in officer's uniforms. One had icy blue eyes and silvery hair. The other was much younger, with well-kept brown hair. Both regarded her with studied disinterest. At that moment, the robot apparently decided it had Thelea's attention. "Master Joors asks me to tell you to put down your weapon." "What if I don't?" Thelea replied, smirking. "I don't think she wants to comply, sir," JC-88 said to Raytheon. "Warn her that if she doesn't then my stormtroopers will cut her down and take her into custody the hard way!" Raytheon snapped impatiently. Thelea watched the older man turn to the robot and say something. His tone didn't sound at all pleasant. "Ma'am," the robot said after a moment. "If you do not comply then . . . I am afraid my white-suited compatriots won't react very well. They are known to be very short- tempered." Thelea mulled this over. Her fragmentary memories of her briefings in the Tal Shi'ar told her these were Imperials. She wasn't supposed to be interested in the Imperials. For some reason, the Romulans wanted the New Republic . . . whoever they were. Thelea shook her head in frustration. It angered her that all her memories were so slow to return. Perhaps there was a bright side to this whole turn of events. Thelea gave the Imperials the most disarming smile she could manage as she set her phaser down, then kicked it off to one side. She looked directly at the older man. He seemed to be in charge of things, and thus would be her best bet. Her smile became an evil smirk. "I comply. I surrender myself to you. But before we continue . . . would the name 'Mark Sheppard' mean anything to you?" ***End Chapter Five Chapter Six: To Make a Deal. Captain's Log: Stardate 54875.1, Location: Unknown. For the past five hours, the /Witz/ has been adrift at the other end of the Artifact. Though the transit was successful, I've ordered all our systems powered down in case the Romulans decide to follow us through. Chakotay set his PADD aside, looking over as Serena took her seat beside him. In the dim light, she looked especially appealing. Chakotay forced the thought from his head. "Have you got a status report for me, Commander?" Serena nodded. "Yes, Chakotay. None of our systems were seriously affected by our impromptu transit through the Artifact. We're ready to go when you are," she said, smiling at Chakotay. "Thanks, Serena," Chakotay replied. "Do we have any idea where we are yet?" "Not yet. I've got Ensign Mulholland and Lieutenant Commander Zeiken working on it." Chakotay nodded. "What can you tell me?" "We seem to be in a large spiral galaxy. Twenty-thousand lightyears in diameter larger than our own, in fact." "That's a lot of space," Chakotay replied. "Any habitable systems we can take cover in?" "There's a number of them. The coordinates are already in the computer." "Good enough. I think it's time we left this system," Chakotay said, looking ahead. "Engineering, bring our systems back online." Raytheon Joors sat in his quarters. On his viewscreen was a live image of his newest guest. As he watched her, she looked up at the camera and waved. It hadn't taken her long to discover his carefully concealed monitoring devices. The alien woman, Thelea, was full of surprises. It was the first surprise she brought that disturbed him the most. As soon as that protocol droid had confirmed that she had indeed said the name 'Mark Sheppard', Raytheon had immediately ordered her confined to his special guest suite. The suite usually reserved for high-ranking, but suspicious officers. In these days of relative anarchy, it was good to be careful. Mark Sheppard, *the* Admiral Mark Sheppard. How could that alien woman know where he was, or what happened to him? The implications of this were serious, and could potentially change the face of politics in the Galaxy. But what could Raytheon do with this information, assuming the alien woman had information worth sharing? Nobody in the modern Empire was a fan of Mark Sheppard and what he represented. "Fools," Raytheon swore quietly. "And who might you be referring to, Captain?" Kynes asked, stepping up behind Raytheon. Raytheon frowned, turning around. "Must you sneak up on me like that, Lieutenant?" A brief smirk crossed Kynes' face before he replied. "And I thought you were the advocate of being vigilant, sir." "Never mind that!" Raytheon said. "I am very preoccupied right now." "Our guest, sir?" "The same," Raytheon said, sighing. "There is serious potential here." "For trouble, sir," Kynes said, his expression becoming stern. "We need to alert Bastion of these developments." "Are you kidding, Lieutenant? Assuming that alien," Raytheon gestured at his monitor, "has any information at all, imagine what we could do with it!" "Like what, sir? Bring his bones home for burial? Or, perhaps if he is alive, record the lunatic ravings of that fanatic for all posterity? If he's still alive, he's going to be very old," Kynes said curtly, his expression becoming grave. Raytheon scowled, his teeth grinding. "Perhaps, Lieutenant. Then again, we have little idea if that alien woman can actually offer us something. We will continue this conversation later. Have your protocol droid meet me outside her quarters. I think it's time I heard the rest of what the alien has to say." Thelea glanced up at the recording device which was, up until five hours ago, carefully concealed. Perhaps she had committed a grave error when she mentioned the name Mark Sheppard. Though the expression of shock on the face of the older man was possibly well worth the trouble. She had for company a small mobile gray box, which was ostensibly a floor cleaner of some sort. She suspected that it's actual purpose was surveillance, as it turned out that many of the other electronic devices in her room served the same purpose. Absentmindedly, she kicked at the box, which squealed in alarm and hastily scooted back. She smiled mirthlessly before engaging in a long stretch. Suddenly, she looked to the door. Being half-Romulan, her hearing was much more sensitive than that of ordinary humans. "Mistress Thelea, the Captain wishes to have an audience with you," said the brassy voice of the translation robot, JC-88, over her comm speaker. Thelea sighed with relief. Perhaps she had made the right call after all. As she was standing, the door slid open. Blocking the door was a single white-armored soldier. He, or maybe she, pointed it's rifle menacingly at Thelea and barked something in a distinctly unfriendly voice. "Mistress Thelea, the Stormtrooper wishes for you to take several steps back," said the robot from behind the soldier. Thelea scowled at the stormtrooper, stepping back. Immediately, the stormtrooper entered her room, followed by a second one. Then the translation robot walked stiffly into her room, followed by the two officers she saw earlier. "I present to you Captain Raytheon Joors, commanding officer of the Imperator-class Star Destroyer Kordoza." The robot announced, sounding positively pleased with itself. "And who's the flunky," Thelea said, pointing at the younger man. "He's no flunky, Mistress. He is Lieutenant Liet Kynes, the Captain's liaison to the crew." "Hmmmm, to young to be the exec. An Ops officer, maybe? But a Lieutenant?" Thelea said, rubbing her chin. "He is very capable, Mistress Thelea." "I can see where your loyalties lie, robot." "For your information, I am a protocol droid, fluent in over four and a half million forms of communication, including the arcane dialect which you now employ. Believe me, I am no simple robot." "Don't blow a circuit," Thelea replied, smirking. She noticed the two officers watching her, their faces like stone. She looked up at the older one, who impassively met her gaze. "Do you have something to ask me?" The man frowned and waited for JC-88 to turn to him and translate her question into his language. He said a few brief words in reply. "Mistress Thelea, he wants to know all that you know about the late Admiral Mark Sheppard. Furthermore, he wants to know how you came by this information." Thelea sighed. "This is so annoying. Don't you people have any sort of translation equipment?" "I am a very capable protocol droid ma'am." "I don't doubt that. I mean don't you have any real-time translating computers aboard this ship?" "I am afraid not, Mistress Thelea. This is not a vessel whose principle mission is diplomacy. I am the only translator aboard," JC-88 said with what seemed to be incredible pride. "Maybe not. Please convey the following information to Captain Joors, or maybe Lieutenant Kynes if your captain doesn't feel like listening to me. The ship I came aboard on has a stripped 'Universal Translator.' This is a device that allows real-time communication without all this interpreter nonsense. We can talk in my ship, or if he wants, we can patch my ship into your communications system." "I'm never good enough," JC-88 grumbled to itself as it turned to Captain Joors. After what seemed to be a less- than-cordial exchange, the droid turned back to Thelea. "He doesn't trust you, I'm afraid." "I'm not surprised. You didn't twist my words in your favor did you?" Despite it's expressionless face, JC-88 did a good job of looking gravely offended. "Mistress Thelea, I'll have you know that I am not programed to lie." Thelea shrugged. "This is going to take forever if we go back and forth this way. Honestly, I don't trust you either." "Our other guests were most appreciative of my talents," JC-88 said. "They didn't have a Universal Translator!" Thelea replied, losing her patience. However, JC-88 had already turned to Captain Joors. After another terse exchange, JC-88 turned back to Thelea. "Very well, Mistress Thelea. You may open communications with your shuttle. However, Captain Joors wishes to warn you that if you try to escape, or damage the /Kordoza/ he will have you interrogated . . . and shot." "Fair enough," Thelea growled. "Will you let me have access to the intercom then?" Raytheon watched the alien woman tap the comm, coached by JC-88. After a moment, she turned to speak to him. At first, her voice came out in the same nonsense that Raytheon was used to hearing. "JC-88! Inform our guest that her delaying tactic will not work any longer. Please tell her to furnish her information *now*!" He said, growling. Suddenly, he was aware that the alien woman was staring very hard at him. "I am not delaying, Captain," said the woman. "I understand you perfectly, and undoubtedly you now understand me." Raytheon nodded, stunned. He had known of such translator devices aboard the most sophisticated diplomatic ships the Empire had to offer. But to put one aboard a shuttle? Why waste computer power in that way? His face showed little of his internal astonishment as he smiled coldly at Thelea. "Please, Commander Thelea. Sit down, make yourself comfortable. We can now talk as equals, you and I. And, Commander, I assure you that I am very much looking forward to what you have to say." Meanwhile . . . several parsecs away: Immobilizer-418 /Aljete/ . . . Captain Björn Paulsen quietly contemplated the stars as the /Aljete/ drifted through the Nahelen system. Normally, the ship was supposed to remain near the system's space colony, inspecting all traffic that passed through, and pulling pirates and privateers out of hyperspace for the /Olgangez/, an ancient Victory-class Star Destroyer. However, traffic through the Nahelen system was virtually nonexistent nowadays. Björn didn't even have the /Olgangez/ to pester. The ship was in drydock, undergoing one of it's increasingly frequent repairs. Björn sniffed. Too many years ago, he had been taken in by an Imperial Navy recruitment poster. 'Join the Navy, see the Galaxy . . . the Adventure of a Lifetime.' Life in the Navy was anything but exciting. Well, at least after Thrawn was killed. And certainly after Pellaeon and Daala put an end to the bickering among the Moffs. Hell, if it weren't for the fact that the Imperial Navy was a steady, if stingy, source of valid spending credits, Björn would have retired and sought his fortune as a privateer. "Captain," Shouted the man monitoring one of the /Aljete's/ many sensor banks. Björn looked to the noise, his reverie shattered. "Yes?" "We're picking up a ship nearing this system." "What about it?" Björn snapped. "We have ships passing by this system every so often. None of them are ever pirates." "But sir, that ship's hyperdrive is so far out of adjustment it's disrupting space with it's subspace pollution. And, they're creeping along so slowly that they're going to be a hazard with that untuned hyperdrive of theirs." Björn managed a smile. "A maintenance violation, then? Certainly more interesting then what we usually get around this system." He turned around, looking to his bridge engineer. "Engineering! Raise the gravity wells! Ops! I'll need a wing of Interceptors and a Gunboat launched as soon as possible! Stand by on communications!" Björn barked his orders with a tone backed by years of Navy precision and personal ennui. The polluter wasn't much, but Björn would make the best of it! Chakotay gripped his chair as the /Witz/ began to shudder violently. The subliminal rumble of the ship's warp drives was replaced by a keening, and very unhealthy sounding whine. "Engineering! What the hell is going on?" Chakotay said, tapping at the comm in his chair. "Our warp drive is beginning to destabilize!" Lieutenant Pete Romero, the assistant chief engineer, shouted in reply. "What's causing it?" "Something in the system directly ahead of us, Captain!" "Can we compensate?" Chakotay asked urgently. "We *are* compensating for it, sir. But whatever *it* is, it's getting stronger." "Helm, reverse course!" Chakotay ordered. "Reversing course, aye!" The helmsman called out in reply. Unfortunately, his actions seemed to make the whine much worse. The /Witz/ started to shake violently. "Captain! We're pushing the engines far beyond tolerance! We have to drop out of warp now! If we don't then we risk a core breach!" Growled Lieutenant Romero over the comm. "Alright, raise our shields and bring us out of warp. Have our sensors at full power. I want to know what's affecting our warp engines," Chakotay said, looking up at the viewscreen. With a lurch, the stars reverted to normal as the /Witz/ was yanked out of warp. Immediately, Chakotay could see that something was amiss. That something was a arrowhead shaped vessel with several domes dotting it's surface. "What the hell is that?" Björn exclaimed, watching the strange ship exit hyperspace. "It looks like some Corellian's idea of a joke, sir," said Lieutenant Lief Parnax, Björn's head of Engineering. "Big cargo-hauling saucer with some extraneous bits and a pair of antimatter nacelles tacked on for show." Björn nodded. "I know that! What are they doing?" "They appear to have their shields up, and they're flooding the space around them with a lot of modulated radiation." "Jamming?" "Not at all, Captain. Seems more like scanners to me." "Capabilities?" Björn asked eagerly. It was starting to look more and more like he had snagged a pirate. "Lightly shielded, probably more than a match for us. It doesn't look like it'd hold up against anything bigger, though. Any cap ship with medium or heavy turbolasers'll turn it to dust." "I need information," Chakotay said loudly. "What can you tell me about that ship, Lieutenant Mackey?" "It's three times our length, several times our mass, and it seems to be the source of the disruption that brought us out of warp." "A ship that small affecting us from that far out?" Serena asked incredulously. "My scanners rarely lie, ma'am," Mackey replied. "Open a channel, Lieutenant. I'm not going to be responsible for starting a shooting war with the first people we meet. Not without a very good reason," Chakotay said, focusing on the viewscreen. "Channel open, Captain," Lieutenant Mackey replied. "Captain, we're getting a subspace transmission from the other ship!" Björn's comm officer reported. "So they've finally gotten around to asking why we pulled them from hyperspace? It's about time!" "Captain, we're getting a response, audio only," Lieutenant Mackey reported, watching his console. Quickly, Chakotay looked away from the viewscreen. "Let's hear it, Lieutenant." After several moments, Chakotay heard a voice: "This is Captain Paulsen of the Imperial Interdictor Aljete! Your ship is being detained pending a maintenance inspection," the voice crackled over the comm. Chakotay cleared his throat. "I am Captain Chakotay, of the Federation starship /Witz./ I'd like to know what is going on." "I only answer questions if I like what I'm hearing!" The voice rebuked. "What Federation? There are a number of organizations that refer to themselves as 'Federation'. You're going to have to be more specific." Chakotay carefully mulled over his options. The conversation with the other ship gave him the feeling he was dealing with someone analogous to a port authority. He didn't know enough about the local space to attempt a bluff. Fighting his way out of what seemed to be a routine traffic stop would cripple any chances of his crew coming out alive. It seemed that Chakotay's only viable option was to tell the truth. With luck, the man talking to him would call somebody higher up the chain-of-command. "We are from the United Federation of Planets. We came through a wormhole device and found ourselves in a system two parsecs from here. We were travelling in this direction until you pulled us out of warp." "Warp? What the hell is he talking about?" Björn said, turning away from his console. "I'd say it's the intermediate step between the time one pulls the lever, and the moment one ends up in hyperspace," said Lieutenant Parnax in reply, shrugging. "We've never heard of it," Captain Paulsen said. "Please state your origin and destination." Chakotay nodded. "We've come from a binary system two parsecs from here." "I know of that system. Uncharted and uninhabitable. I think we're going to have to conduct a boarding." "Wait a minute, Captain! Isn't there any way you can confirm our story?" Chakotay exclaimed. "What does he mean?" Björn asked. "I'd say he seriously believes his point of origin is IPD-8077," Lieutenant Parnax replied. "There is a way we can check. Gunboat Tau One is up in the air now." Björn nodded. "Excellent. It shouldn't take us any longer than ten minutes." "Why are we going through the trouble at all, Captain?" Asked Commander Esris Tgendi, Björn's executive officer. "This is the most interesting thing that's happened to us all week, Esris! Besides, aren't we supposed to be showing initiative in the modern Imperial Navy?" Björn exclaimed in reply. "How does ten minutes sound, Captain Chakotay?" "Ten minutes!" Serena exclaimed. "How does he plan to do that?" "Tau One will make the hyperspace jump to IPD-8077, find your artifact, and then return. If you're lying, we will board your ship and take you into custody." "And if not?" "We'll see about that, Captain." It didn't even take ten minutes. The lone gunboat made the transition to IPD-8077. Immediately, the pilot saw the giant ring of the Artifact. Large enough to comfortably fit several /Executors/ side by side. The gunboat pilot decided he had seen enough, turned tail, and promptly jumped back into hyperspace. Several minutes later, when Björn heard the news, he nodded gravely. "Damn. This goes way above my pay grade." Björn said quietly. He looked at the /Witz/, shaking his head. "What the hell just landed in our laps?" Several moments later, he toggled the comm. "Looks like you were telling the truth," Captain Paulsen said, interrupting Chakotay's reverie. "Listen, Captain Chakotay, this goes way beyond me. I need to take you to Admiral Ulstead." "Admiral Ulstead?" "The commander of the 231st, my starship group." "Will you be escorting us?" Chakotay asked, sitting up. "No, Captain. I need to take you myself. I don't know about where you come from, but here, your stardrive is far too inefficient and slow to make your ship anything but a hazard. Expect my shuttle shortly." "Captain Paulsen. We're still trying to figure out where *we* are. I'd feel more comfortable doing that from my ship," Chakotay said, sounding a little relieved. "I will bring my engineer and a general map of the galaxy. You will be able to stay in communication with your ship. But you don't have a choice, Captain. You're on my turf, and you'll have to play by my rules." Chakotay nodded. "Fair enough, Captain. Thank you." Raytheon brooded outside of Thelea's quarters. His conversation with her had proven most interesting. She told him that she was working for an organization called the 'Tal Shi'ar' which had made several forays into the galaxy through what she called the Artifact. She told him that there were several other Artifacts that she knew of. They were all networked to each other, and they were several orders of magnitude faster than conventional travel. Raytheon then pointed out to Thelea that if there was this fantastic network of hypergates, then why had nobody noticed it before? She merely shrugged, saying that perhaps somebody didn't want it to be found. Then Raytheon pressed her for information on Admiral Sheppard. At that point, Thelea became much less cooperative, at least until Raytheon threatened to bring in an interrogation droid. Then, Thelea admitted that the Romulans suspected that Admiral Sheppard had chosen a wrong gate and wound up in some sort of detention center that locked ships up in stasis. "Hmmmm, if we could recover Admiral Sheppard . . . Imagine the possibilities," Raytheon mused out loud. Kynes looked up, then turned to Raytheon. "That's what I'm afraid of, sir," Kynes replied evenly. "Admiral Sheppard was never really a known quantity, even when Palpatine held his leash. And, as we are currently short of megalomaniacs possessing the late Palpatine's unique powers . . . I strongly doubt that you, or our current leaders would be able to control him." Raytheon frowned. "I don't think I believe you, Lieutenant. Admiral Sheppard was loyal to the Empire, above all else." "It's been thirteen years since Endor, sir. Palpatine's dead . . . all versions of him. Vader's dead, many of the Moffs are dead. I wouldn't trust Admiral Sheppard in today's galaxy." "You wouldn't trust him at all, Lieutenant," Raytheon retorted, scowling. "True enough," Kynes said. "And if you had a touch more sense, you wouldn't trust him either." Raytheon clenched his teeth. "Maybe, Lieutenant. Still, this gate system is worth investigating. If I am not mistaken, our best Avenger pilot is Major Shimazaki." "I'm quite impressed, sir," Kynes replied, the grave quality in his voice gone. "Tell him that he's just been volunteered to undertake a very dangerous mission." "Of course, sir," Kynes said. ***End Chapter Six Chapter Seven: Flashback and Fast-Forward. /Thirteen years ago . . . eleven days before the historic Battle of Endor . . ./ "Rise, Admiral Sheppard," Emperor Palpatine said, bringing a skeletal hand up. Quickly, the man before him rose out of his kneeling position. Palpatine turned to address his Royal Guards. "Leave us. The Admiral and I have much to discuss." The red-robed guards turned silently and left the room. Outside the windows was a panoramic view of the forest moon of Endor, and the giant Death Star II battlestation. "It is truly beautiful, isn't it?" Palpatine said after several moments. "Yes, my lord," Admiral Sheppard replied, gazing at the forest moon of Endor. "In eleven days, we will crush the Rebellion once and for all." "Yes, my lord," Admiral Sheppard said once again. He sensed that Palpatine was leading up to something, so he knew well enough to keep his mouth shut. "Unfortunately, I am no longer as certain of that outcome as I once was," Palpatine continued, his eyes meeting Sheppard's own. Sheppard tried not to cringe. The Emperor's gaze was rumored to kill. "Lord Vader is no longer as committed as I would like. His faith in the Dark Side of the Force has started to waver." Sheppard furrowed his brow. "Have you told anyone else, my lord?" "Only your lieutenant." "HIT-MAN?" "The same, Admiral. In spite of what I have foreseen, the Empire may yet fall, and myself with it. I have several contingency plans in place. You are to be the centerpiece." "Yes, my lord." "There is a system, inaccessible by conventional means. There, I have placed two World Devastators, a small fleet of Star Destroyers, and a number of cloning cylinders. It is enough to build a seed force, atop the one you will take with you." Palpatine said, standing. "How will I get there, my lord?" "There is an ancient system of stable hypergates. Known only to the Sith, and now to you. Once, they spanned the Galaxy. But over the eons, they've been trimmed back to what is essential for us to conduct our work. All are interconnected except for two. One leads to my secret arms cache. The other leads to eternal imprisonment." "How am I to know the right path to take?" Admiral Sheppard wondered, nodding slowly. "I shall have one of my guards show you the way to navigate the network. However, only a Sith can take you to my hidden cache," Replied Palpatine, holding up a single finger. "Lieutenant HIT-MAN, my lord?" "The same, Admiral Sheppard. You will not fail me." Palpatine said, his voice icy cold. "No, my lord," Admiral Sheppard replied. "Then go, gather together the officers you trust, and the ships you need. We will speak of this no more," said the Emperor, as his throne swiveled around, facing the window. Admiral Sheppard nodded, bowing respectfully to Palpatine before leaving the room. /Present day, ISD Kordoza./ Kaz Shimazaki stood stiffly before Captain Joors. A few hours ago, he was roused from his nap by Lieutenant Kynes, who told him that he, Kaz, had just been volunteered for a very dangerous mission. Furthermore, he had been volunteered by the Captain, which meant the only way he could get out of it was to talk to Admiral Ulstead. However, Kynes had also told Kaz that talking to anybody about this mission would result in him cleaning the primary thrusters . . . while they were in use . . . and without a suit. Not that Kaz would've minded taking this mission. He was one of /Kordoza's/ best and he knew it. He probably would've been first in the line of volunteers. However, he did understand that the Captain wanted secrecy. "Do you understand what needs to be done, Major?" Captain Joors asked impatiently. Kaz nodded. "Yes sir. I am to fly into the hypergate, reconnoiter whatever is on the other end, and get out alive." "That's good, Major. I'm going to ask that you place special emphasis on the 'get out alive' part. We desperately need your report, which means that you need to be around to deliver it. So, hold off on the heroics." "Aye sir," Kaz replied. "Shall I get to my fighter, sir?" "Yes, good luck, Major," Captain Joors said, saluting Kaz. /Thirteen years ago . . . five days before the historic Battle of Endor . . ./ Admiral Mark Sheppard was a very busy man these days. Already he had assembled a group of ships to complement his own ISD Mk. II /Revenger./ On Sheppard's side of the battlegroup were two newer Victory-II Star Destroyers, four corvettes, and a medical frigate. He had talked his long- time friend, Vice Admiral Charles Glasgow into joining him. Vice Admiral Glasgow commanded the Dreadnought /Scourge of the Alliance/, an old, but highly capable ship. With him was the Im-418 /Lidaxes/, a pair of escort carriers, a number of modified Blockade Runners, and a heavily armored Dominion- class Star Destroyer. Unfortunately, Sheppard had to work hard to keep the other commanders in the dark. He picked those he could trust to withdraw from the battle when he gave the appropriate signal. Even then, he didn't trust them far enough to keep their orders to themselves. There was much potential for trouble when the time came for the Rebels to fall into the trap at Endor. Though the thought of action in the name of Emperor Palpatine tugged gleefully at Sheppard's heart, he almost hoped he wouldn't have to implement Palpatine's contingency plan. He had a few ideas of his own of what to do if worst came to worst. Already, it looked worse now than it did a few days ago. The main cause for Sheppard's newfound worry was Lieutenant HIT-MAN. His slightly imbalanced Sith stormtrooper was apparently essential for getting into Palpatine's arms cache. Unfortunately, Sheppard had already dispatched him on a mission to strike a blow at the heart of the Rebellion. He had recently tortured the location of a principal Mon Calamari shipyard out of a group of Rebel prisoners. Now, HIT-MAN was on his way to that shipyard to put as much of it out of business as possible. After his audience with Palpatine, Sheppard had sent his other TIE Defender and his best pilot out to catch up with HIT-MAN and bring him back . . . hopefully in time for Endor. If HIT-MAN wasn't aboard the /Revenger/ and things went into the crapper, then Sheppard would simply have to think of something else. /Present day: Deep space./ Kaz watched his display as his TIE Avenger coasted toward the hypergate. He was really starting to wish that he was allowed to carry missiles. Even with the Avenger's potent acceleration and shields, it had a hull as thin as that of an ordinary TIE. At least his craft was equipped with a jamming beam. He could use it to discourage enemy weapons, and he could dump the power into his engines as a last resort. Kaz nodded to himself as the fighter's computer started to beep insistently. He had programed a timer to notify him when it was time to punch the Avenger's throttle and head directly for the gate. Taking a deep breath, he slammed the throttle forward. Instantly, he was forced back into his seat as the hypergate quickly filled his field of view. /Thirteen years ago: Battle of Endor . . ./ Imperial and Alliance ships were locked in desperate combat. Too late, the Rebels realized that they were in a trap. Admiral Ackbar ordered his ships to fling themselves at the Imperial blockade, hoping to strike some blow, any blow against them before the new Death Star picked them all off. Starships performed slow pirouettes, angling for the best angle against the weakest shields or hulls. Turbolasers blasted between ships, splattering against shields, or burrowing into exposed hull. Fighters on both sides swarmed around the capital ships like flies on honey, flaring up and dying as each pilot sought to best his enemy. Unfortunately, more Rebels were dying than Imperials. Soon, the battle would be over. Emperor Palpatine was giving the arrogant Jedi Skywalker the last lesson of his short life: The power of the Dark Side is unquestionable. Sparks of lightning surged around the young man's body, creating a symphony of screams. Suddenly, Palpatine felt himself being picked up. Deep in his mind, he knew instantly that the worst thing he had foreseen was about to come to pass. The arms around him were not those of the crippled Luke Skywalker, but of his father, Darth Vader, once known as Anakin Skywalker. In terror, Palpatine directed his killing energies at Vader, desperate to stop the cyborg in his tracks. Desperate to stop him before. Falling! Palpatine was falling! He had failed! He looked up in horror at the impassive plastic mask of his former pupil. Still, he struck out at Vader, desperate to exact some revenge before . . . Admiral Sheppard watched the battle going on around him with growing confidence. The Empire would certainly carry the day! The Rebels at the surface had been dealt with, and their friends in space would soon suffer their terrible fates. Suddenly, he felt as if a ball of ice had formed in the pit of his stomach. Almost as if all his optimism and energy had suddenly vanished. A feeling of abject misery and doom suddenly descended over him. He fought to drive back the surging panic as he surveyed the people on the /Revenger's/ bridge. He could see the officers nearest to him, the color draining from their faces. In an instant, Sheppard knew that the worst had happened. Suddenly, he knew he had no options. He had to leave Endor, he had to implement the Emperor's contingency plans. All of his plans came in second to that overriding goal. Sheppard fought to compose himself. He turned to his executive officer and gave him the most level, professional look he could manage. "Signal our ships. Transmit the Omega code and prepare the ship for an emergency hyperjump." /Modern day: Deep Space./ Kaz watched the center of the gate explode into a swirling blue vortex. His Avenger rocketed down the center and was swallowed up. /Thirteen years ago: Shortly after the Battle of Endor./ The ISD-II /Revenger/ came about, turning as fast as a ship it's size could. In other places, several other ships were doing the same thing. The /Revenger's/ drives flared, pushing the ship ahead. A Rebel Blockade Runner, severely outclassed, turned to face the /Revenger,/ accelerating. The /Revenger/ fought back, it's eight heavy guns blasting away. Many heavy shots missed, but enough light ones connected, stripping the corvette's shields away. Finally, a heavy turbolaser connected, cutting the Rebel ship in half. Quickly, the /Revenger/ broke free of the main fray. Too far away for the big guns aboard the Rebel MC-80s to concern themselves with, the /Revenger/ was troubled only by a few lighter vessels, and those didn't trouble the /Revenger/ for long. With a blur of motion, the /Revenger/ made the transition into hyperspace, just as the newest symbol of Imperial power, the second Death Star, exploded. The /Revenger/ dropped out of hyperspace a few minutes after it had gone in. Sheppard's Code Omega maneuver required split-second timing to get the ships of his fleet to the rendezvous point at the same time. Admiral Sheppard's heart swelled with pride as he saw the other ships of his little fleet. Even when dealt as crushing a blow as the death of Emperor Palpatine, their crews had performed flawlessly. Ahead of them, was a gigantic, dull-grey ring. In it's center was a rotating cross with a glowing red sphere at the center. Apparently, that was the hypergate that the Emperor had told him of. Beyond it, was the means to hold the Empire together against the blow it had suffered today. Unfortunately, those means would only be accessible to Admiral Sheppard if he entered the gate at the right angle and speed. Even more unfortunately, the man who could tell him those important bits of information, Lieutenant HIT-MAN, had not returned to the /Revenger./ Sheppard was on his own. "Admiral, all ships have reported in," Said Commander Zullas, Sheppard's chief comm officer. "Casualties?" "Three corvettes and an escort carrier, Admiral." Sheppard nodded. "Unfortunately, they are going to have to be acceptable losses." Admiral Sheppard continued to ponder his next move. The Emperor's guard had given him a basic lesson in navigating the gates. Your angle of entry determined which line of gates you could emerge from, and the entry velocity determined how far a gate you would emerge from on that line. The guard had even gone so far as to tell him that the arms cache was near the center of the galaxy, in an area packed with giant stars and black holes. Sheppard knew where the center of the galaxy was. He also knew where the areas with the highest stellar density were. Thinking back to his lesson, he realized he could very likely make it through the gate to the arms cache. He knew what he had to do. "Comm, order the fleet to do exactly as I do. We're going in." /Modern day: Uncharted system in the Unknown Territories./ Kaz could see normal space at the end of the tunnel. Suddenly, the tunnel pulled away from him, and he shot out into normal space. Behind him the vortex vanished. "Computer, start recording," Kaz said quickly. "I seem to be somewhere near the edge of the galaxy. The primary looks to be an ordinary yellow dwarf. So far, I see nothing here. Nothing on visual and nothing on sensors . . . wait a minute, what's that?" Kaz made several fine adjustments, and the Avenger came to point in a different direction. "I'm seeing some strange looking bodies directly ahead. I'm going to throttle up and have a closer look." Kaz dumped part of his jamming beam energy into his engines, and was rewarded by an immediate surge in speed. The gray specks grew in size. Quickly, Kaz saw that they were, in fact, silvery spheres . . . and there were an awful lot of them. "I'm seeing lots of silvery spheres. Two of the closest ones look to be as big as a Star Destroyer. I'm going to have a closer look." Kaz's Avenger raced toward the closest sphere. As Kaz scanned the sphere, he realized that it didn't look that solid. It looked more like a silvery, shimmering bubble. framed by spindly metal structures. "What the hell are these?" Kaz swore to himself. "I've never seen anything like this before. Whoa, hold on . . . I've got multiple small craft on an intercept vector. I've got company!" Kaz sent the Avenger into a hairpin turn, quickly facing the, now uncomfortably distant, gate. Little pinpricks of light moved against the stars, converging on his position. "I'm trying to get a scan on those craft. Hmmm, I've got one. It's got three spindly arms attached to a central bulge," Kaz suddenly paused, realizing that the craft reminded him of something. And then the realization dawned on him. They were the same spindly constructs that made up those silvery spheres. "Oh shit!" Kaz swore, reaching for the controls that would dump all the beam power into his engines. /Thirteen years ago . . . same system./ On the viewscreens of the /Revenger/ normal space quickly returned. Immediately, Admiral Sheppard knew something was amiss. For several moments, he scanned the viewscreen, looking for what it was. And then, it dawned on him. The starscape was far too sparse to be that of the center of the galaxy. He knew that the gate he had just jumped through lead to only two destinations. One was the arms cache. Unfortunately the other was . . . "Oh shit!" Sheppard swore. ***End Chapter Seven. Chapter Eight: Escape and Discovery. /An isolated system, deep inside uncharted territory./ A lone TIE Avenger corkscrewed desperately away from the swarm of spindly ships that pursued it. The TIE was faster and more agile than the pursuing ships, but just barely. Kaz's eyes remained fixed on the gray ring that marked his salvation. None of the ships chasing him appeared to have any weapons, but they didn't need them. Apparently, all they had to do was surround their target, and their target would be trapped in one of the myriad shimmering bubbles he'd glimpsed before being interrupted. Kaz had tried shooting at them, but his shots didn't even faze the pursuing devices. A pair of the devices rocketed ahead of Kaz's Avenger. Immediately, he dove, and then broke to the right, shaking them off. Quickly, he was confronted by four more, the red sphere at their centers already glowing. For a brief instant, Kaz felt the world around him slow almost to a crawl. Outside the cockpit, the stars dimmed. Suddenly, everything was normal as Kaz's fighter clipped one of the devices, disrupting whatever it was trying to do. He aimed straight for the center of the gate, knowing that to try to outmaneuver them would be to assure that he would be trapped. He leaned forward, praying that the Avenger's straight-line acceleration would be enough. With sickening swiftness, the dull grey ring of the Artifact grew before him. Unfortunately, two, and then three more devices managed to get ahead of him. The world started to slow and fade again. Kaz swore violently, knowing that he had failed . . . Suddenly, his world brightened and, again, all was normal. Kaz sighed with relief as he looked around. He was definitely inside the vortex. Better yet, none of those strange ships was pursuing him. Kaz smiled, mentally patting himself on the back. He had just survived another brush with death. However, Kaz had no more time to think about it. Just as quickly as he had left it, he reentered normal space. Much to his relief, he could pick out the dagger shape of the /Kordoza/. He nosed his Avenger in the right direction, and then thought about the best way to tell Captain Joors about his find. /Thirty minutes later . . . / Kaz stood stiffly at attention as Captain Joors and Lieutenant Kynes stood before him. Joors held a datapad in one hand, regarding it with a critical eye. Practically as soon as Kaz's feet had hit the deck, Joors and Kynes were on him, asking him a number of very pointed questions. With the best storytelling skill he could muster, Kaz told them of what he had found in the system, and what had happened to him next, including his narrow escape. For several long moments, Joors looked over the datapad. Finally, he looked up at Kaz. "I believe this will be satisfactory, Lieutenant. Do you have any further to add?" Kaz fought down the look of surprise on his face. He had expected a little more from Captain Joors, not the quiet interrogation and curt dismissal he was about to receive. Fortunately for him, Imperial training was much too good to let him risk his neck by saying that. All that came out of his mouth was a quick "No, sir." The edges of Joors' mouth momentarily jerked up in a grim smile. "Dismissed, Lieutenant. And, remember, do not discuss this mission with anybody else." Raytheon watched as Lieutenant Shimazaki saluted, did a smart about-face, and hurried away. Raytheon turned to Kynes. "Can he be trusted?" "Yes, sir," Kynes replied dryly. Raytheon frowned. "Lieutenant, do remove that triumphant smirk from your face." "I was not aware that I had one, sir," Kynes said, after a moment. "You know damned well what I'm talking about, Lieutenant. I imagine you're overjoyed that nobody will getting a hold of Admiral Sheppard and his ships." "Not overjoyed, Captain. I am relieved, though. You should be relieved too. Furthermore, the matter of what exactly happened to Admiral Sheppard can finally be laid to rest." Raytheon scowled. "I'm not sure I'm happy with that, Lieutenant. Lieutenant Shimazaki reported that the ships were trapped in some sort of stasis field, correct?" "That's right, sir," Kynes replied, his expression darkening. He didn't like where this was going. "And, that stasis field is maintained by fighter-sized devices, correct?" "Yes, sir." For several long moments, Raytheon stood in silence. At length, he looked at Kynes. "It makes me wonder, Lieutenant, where do they get their power? Those devices aren't big enough to support a hypermatter reactor, a solar-ionization reactor, or even a simple fission or fusion reactor! They have to get their power from somewhere. If we can find that source of power, and knock it out of commission, we might just have a chance." "And just how do you plan to do that, Captain?" Kynes said sharply. "We know it that any ship we have will be swarmed by vessels that outperform our TIEs. Anything we try in that system could lead to us becoming just as entombed as Admiral Sheppard is." "True enough, Lieutenant," Raytheon replied. "Imagine the gains, though. Who knows how many other ships are trapped there? Who knows what sorts of things are being protected by that trap. It's an opportunity of a lifetime, Lieutenant. A chance for the Empire to regain it's lost glory." "Will you get the stars out of your eyes, Captain?" Kynes snapped. "For one thing, we don't know what we're dealing with. For another thing, even if we did, we don't have the resources to do it. *If* what you say is true, then we need to contact Bastion. We can't do it alone!" "No!" Raytheon exclaimed. "We will not involve Bastion! Imperial leadership these days is sadly lacking in foresight and fortitude. If we contact Bastion now, nothing will ever come of this. We, and the crew of the /Kordoza/ have to be the ones to do this. We will do this, Lieutenant!" Chakotay and Serena stood near the back wall of the /Witz's/ shuttle bay. Already the doors open to space, and the shuttle they had been told to expect was lining up for a landing. The shuttle had a tri-foil design, with two wings canted down from a broad body, with a rudder as large as the two wings extending straight up. "We might have some problems fitting that ship into our bay, Chakotay," Serena said, watching the shuttle. From their scans, they knew it was twenty meters long, and in it's current configuration it was more than forty meters high. Chakotay looked to Serena and smiled. "We'll be fine, Serena. I'm pretty sure that ship folds up." Serena nodded. "I wonder why they don't use transporters. They do seem pretty advanced." "Not everybody needs or wants the most advanced technology, Serena," Chakotay said in reply. "For example, many of my ancestors were just as happy using spears and bows for hunting, even when rifles and shotguns were available." "I suppose you're right, Chakotay. There are places a shuttle can go where transporters can't," Serena mused, looking out over the deck. Suddenly, she looked up and pointed at the shuttle. "Look! You're right again, Chakotay!" Chakotay smiled as he watched the shuttle's wings fold up as it neared the hangar. He could feel the warmth coming of Serena as she stood next to him. For a few moments, his attention turned to her, the wavy cascade of her dark blonde hair, the pale freckles on her cheeks. Chakotay then felt agitation. Serena was just his first officer, someone he had to work with. And, most of all, she wasn't Seven. Chakotay took a step away from Serena, pushing his feelings aside as the alien shuttle settled to the deck. Björn looked out the cockpit window at the welcoming party that the Federation ship had put out for him. Much to his disappointment, all it seemed to consist of was a man and woman standing very close together, and a handful of men standing at attention. He guessed they were internal security. Of course, his party wasn't much better. All he had was himself, Lieutenant Parnax, his pilot, and a pair of commandos. He took a closer look at the people who had come out to welcome him. Naturally, they were human. Though, he had the immediate thought that beings from another galaxy shouldn't be humans. Of course in this galaxy, humans had been around for thousands of years . . . so maybe somebody else had launched an Outbound Flight project in all that time. Quickly, Björn shrugged, there was no use getting farther above his pay level than he already was. "You ready, Lief?" "As ready as I get, sir," Lieutenant Parnax replied. "Cool, let's go see how far in over our heads we can get ourselves today," Björn said, moving to the hatch. Chakotay was astonished when he saw what looked to be two humans descend from the shuttle. Immediately, it added a whole new level of complexity to the situation, a level of complexity Chakotay wasn't sure he wanted. As the humans stepped up to him, he stepped forward to greet them. "I am Captain Chakotay of the Federation starship /Witz./ This is my first officer, Commander Serena Durst." "Thank you, Captain," replied the taller man with the light hair. "I am Captain Björn Paulsen of the Immobilizer- 418 /Aljete./ And the man to my right is Lieutenant Lief Parnax, my chief engineer." "We're honored to have you," Chakotay replied. Björn nodded. "Thank you. As I promised, my chief engineer has with him a reasonably up-to-date merchant's map to the galaxy. But, before we go on, there is something that has been bothering me about this situation." Chakotay nodded. "What is it, Captain?" "From the start, I've been able to understand what you say, and, I assume, you've been able to understand what I say. Yet, if you're from a different galaxy, that shouldn't be possible. Hell, even in this galaxy, Basic can drift from one system to another." Chakotay nodded. "I understand that, Captain. I've wondered the same thing myself. Our Universal Translators work very well back home. They apparently work almost as well here." Björn shrugged. "It's a mystery. One that, for the moment, goes way above what they pay me. I hope your translating equipment is portable." Chakotay nodded. "It is, Captain. Will we be taking your shuttle back?" "That would be my preference, yes." "Hold on," Serena said, turning to Chakotay. "You're going back on his shuttle?" "That's right, Serena. I need to have answers. With our ship impounded, this is the best way to do it." "Don't worry about it," Björn said quickly. "I'm leaving you my chief of engineering. And, trust me, he's far more valuable than I am." "That's me," Lieutenant Parnax said. "I should be honored." "Yes, but we've wasted enough time. Admiral Ulstead has been notified. His ship will be rendezvousing with us within the hour." "Alright," Chakotay replied. "Serena, show our guest to Astrometrics. Between him and our engineering staff, we should be able to piece together where we are." Serena nodded reluctantly. "Yes, sir. Be careful out there, Chakotay." "I will," Chakotay said, turning to follow Björn to his shuttle. Interlude #5: A Well-Played Move. Taros Gavakar quietly contemplated the Artifact, spinning before him. Things had gone about as well as he'd expected. In spite of his bluster, he didn't turn the /Enterprise/ and the other Federation ship into clouds of debris. That would've generated a very strong Starfleet response. It was merely sufficient to throw them out of Shibboleth, and give them a good thrashing along the way. What disturbed him was the fact that the third Federation ship had managed to escape through the Artifact. Taros would've given orders to pursue the ship, but he couldn't spare the ships. And, Thelea had yet to report on her mission, either success or failure. Soon, reinforcements would be on the way. Soon, it would be time for the Romulan Empire to show the rest of the Alpha Quadrant that they meant business. The sound of a door sliding open brought Taros up from his reverie. Quickly, Taros turned around. His crew was absolutely loyal to him, but when one works for an organization like the Tal Shi'ar, one could never be too careful. "Ahh, Sub-Commander Kara Nevakur, it is good to finally make your acquaintance," Taros said, favoring the slight woman in the doorway with a faint smile. "Thank you," Kara replied. Immediately, Taros felt a slight feeling of discomfort. His expression immediately became cold and hostile. "It would not be beneficial to your health if you continue to exercise your talent as your are doing right now," he said, glaring at Kara. Immediately the sense of discomfort left him. "I apologize," Kara said after a moment. "It is part of my training." "No, Sub-Commmander, wreaking havoc upon the so-called 'sixth sense' of the Humans is part of your training. Attempting to scan the mind of a senior operative of the Tal Shi'ar is just suicidal." "The Tal Shi'ar knew the consequences of creating a corps of telepathic Romulans, sir," Kara replied. Taros fumed. Were he faced with an officer half as insubordinate, he would've blown them out the nearest airlock the first chance he got. He couldn't do that to Kara, though. She and the three other telepaths that were with her were essential to winning today's battle. And, Kara was, by herself, very potent. "Yes, we were well-aware of them. We were not aware of just how substantial they were. For your sake, Sub- Commander, let us hope that benefits continue to outweigh the costs. Now, I assume you have something to report?" Kara smiled and nodded. "Yes, Commander. Two more members of the Corps have arrived with the Warbird /Sari./ And, I must inquire of the status of our dear lost sister Thelea." Taros nodded. "That is good to hear. And, as to the status of /our/ operative, it will take her a while to get to where she needs to be. When she gets there, you will be the first to know." ***End Chapter Eight. Chapter Nine: To Dream a Little Scheme. Captain Chakotay watched in wonder as the shuttle he was on drifted into the shadow of the giant starship before them. "You certainly build big," Chakotay remarked. Björn turned to look at him. "Oh, that? That's just a Star Destoyer. They get a lot bigger than this . . . well, they used to, at any rate." "Bigger?" Chakotay said, trying to contain his astonishment. "Yeah. We have cruisers two or three times the length. We used to have Super-Star Destroyers that were easily seventeen klicks in length. We used to have a battlestation the size of a small moon, but that was almost fifteen years ago." "My god! What did you do with those ships?" "The battlestation could destroy entire shielded planets," Björn said. Then he took another look at Chakotay. "A bit much, Captain?" "You could say that," Chakotay replied. "We've been around for a very long time, Captain. Success doesn't come overnight." "Rome wasn't built in a day," Chakotay said, more to himself. "Eh?" Björn asked. Chakotay shook his head. "It's an old Earth saying. That's the planet of my ancestors. Björn nodded as the shuttle touched down in the Star Destroyer's hangar deck. Outside the window, he could see several rows of stormtroopers, all standing at attention, and carrying blaster rifles. Apparently Admiral Ulstead had gotten the message, loud and clear. Björn sympathized with Captain Chakotay. Not only was he a stranger in a strange land, but his first taste of the Empire would come in the form of the short-tempered, and very blunt, Admiral Jerrik Ulstead. After a moment, he turned his attention back to Chakotay. "Captain, the Admiral is in the hangar. It's time we got going." "Alright," Chakotay replied, following Björn to the ramp. As he stepped down, he saw the rows and rows of armored soldiers facing him. He was clearly in a highly militaristic society, thus, he would have to tread very carefully. Next, he noticed the stern older man wearing the same uniform as Captain Paulsen was. With him were two younger men, with equally stern expressions. All of them wore sidearms. Then, the time for contemplation was over, Chakotay stood before Admiral Ulstead. "I am Captain Chakotay of the Federation starship /Witz,/ requesting permission to come aboard." Admiral Ulstead regarded Chakotay with stony silence. Then, he gave a mirthless smile. "Permission granted, Captain. Obviously you know a tightly-run ship when you see one. I am Admiral Jerrik Ulstead, Commander of the 231st. Star Destroyer Squadron, and officer of the Empire." "It's an honor, sir," Chakotay replied. Ulstead merely nodded. "Captain, I hope you don't mind if we get right down to business. Formalities have their place, but this isn't it." "I was thinking that myself, sir," Chakotay said. "Good," Admiral Ulstead said. Then, he scowled. "It would be an understatement if I said that you've dropped a whole load of /bantha/ dung in my lap. You come out of nowhere with a ship that no engineer in their right mind would let out of the shipyard, with a wild story that no sane officer would believe. Normally, I'd have you shot without a second thought," he said, pausing. Chakotay swallowed, glancing at the ranks of soldiers. "What's worse," Admiral Ulstead said, narrowing his eyes, "is that you come with proof of your wild tale. You know, in the time that you spent getting here, I recieved a communique from the /Aljete,/ the ship that found you. They told me that you apparently originate from a galaxy eighteen million parsecs from here." "Eighteen million parsecs?" Chakotay said in awe, earning a brief glare from Admiral Ulstead. He quickly did the conversion. "That's sixty million light-years," Chakotay said to himself. "Quite a distance, eh, Captain? You're a long way from home. Even our fastest ships would take almost sixty years to make the journey." "Sixty years?" Chakotay said quietly. Things were starting to spin out of control. It would've taken /Voyager/ 600,000 years to travel that distance. "Yeah, it seems we are a very long way from home." Admiral Ulstead nodded, an expression of sympathy briefly marring his countenance. "How, exactly, did you get here, Captain?" "We traveled through an ancient alien artifact. We, and one of our shuttles, were in pursuit of a small ship harboring a violent criminal. Very quickly, we found ourselves in your galaxy," Chakotay said. At the moment, he didn't think it wise to mention the Romulans. "What of the small ship you were pursuing?" "We saw no sign of it. It must've gone to warp right after it made the transition. Our shuttle was no longer present as well." "Destroyed?" "From what we could determine, no," Chakotay said. "We had started our search when the /Aljete/ pulled us out of warp." Admiral Ulstead turned to Björn. "Captain Paulsen, could another ship like Captain Chakotay's remain undetected for long in this sector?" "No sir," Björn replied very quickly. "Their drives are very primitive and poorly adjusted. They'd be very easily tracked." "If so," Admiral Ulstead said, narrowing his eyes, "then did you detect any other ships?" Björn swallowed. "No sir. We picked up Chakotay's ship because they were headed in our direction." "And yet, they are easily tracked?" Admiral Ulstead asked coldly, fixing his eyes on Björn. At that moment, Chakotay was very glad that he wasn't on Admiral Ulstead's bad side . . . yet. "That's correct, sir." Admiral Ulstead merely nodded, the aura of danger immediately dispersing. "Then somebody else must have picked them up. And, I had dinner with Captain Joors of the /Kordoza/ not too long ago. And, the /Kordoza/ is in this sector," Ulstead turned to the officer next to him. "Tell me, where was the /Kordoza/ when I dined with Captain Joors?" "About seven parsecs from here sir, in IPD-8074," the officer replied. "Captain Paulsen, where did you intercept Captain Chakotay?" "In the Sullas System, sir," Björn replied swiftly. "Sir, IPD-8074 would be closer to both Sullas and IPD- 8077 than we are right now," the officer said. Admiral Ulstead nodded. "Indeed it would be. Try to contact the /Kordoza,/ see if they've noticed anything." After a moment, he turned to Chakotay, "Captain, I can't say that I like the situation you have put me in. But, I promise you, Captain, we will get to the bottom of this." Harry Kim wasn't a happy man. The bulk of his experience on the other side of the Artifact had been, up to this point, one continuously unpleasant experience. After being captured, he and Ensign Rhys had been interrogated by an android with very strange manners. It managed to act amazed that Kim could speak at all, much less intelligibly. After the android had finished, he and Ensign Rhys were taken to the ship's brig, and placed in seperate cells. Harry found the cells to be unpleasantly primitive. Dark metal walls, a cold metal slab for a bed, and a solid, mechanical door. All the while, the android insisted that they were given the best treatment that was merited under the circumstances. In frustration, Harry kicked the door. As he expected, there was no answer. His jailers didn't believe in interacting with the prisoners. Slowly, he sat down at his bunk and placed his head in his hands. "What do I do now?" Harry muttered. /Several minutes earlier . . . / Raytheon Joors smiled as he walked onto the bridge of the /Kordoza./ He hadn't been this happy in many years. He had a plan to defeat the trap, and he knew it had a very good chance of success. At the moment, all the troubles the /Kordoza/ had recently experienced, seemed very small, very insignificant. For several moments, Raytheon stood still, listening to the sounds of his ship. The sounds of computer consoles at work, crewmen talking to one another, and the subliminal hum of a well-tuned ship. Raytheon walked to the center of the bridge, catching Kynes' attention. The younger man dismissed the officer who was briefing him and turned his attention to Raytheon. "Captain." "Lieutenant," Raytheon said. He then turned to address the bridge crew. "In a minute, I will be asking you to make a course correction. We will head for the cluster of asteroids nearest to the gateway. There, we will undertake a secret project of great importance. Nothing that happens here in the next week should ever leave the /Kordoza./ Do not discuss this with your friends, do not discuss this with your family, and do not discuss this with personnel outside the /Kordoza./ I assume you are all familiar with Imperial regulations in regard to this, so I won't ask for confirmation." Raytheon paused to gauge the reaction of the crewmen visible to him. "Alright, take us to the cluster of asteroids orbiting six million klicks away from the gateway. We want to get there as quickly as possible," Raytheon ordered, his hands clasping behind his back. "Aye sir, calculating heading and acceleration aye," replied the helmsman. Kynes turned to look at Raytheon. "Being a bit hypocritical, are we?" "Meaning?" Raytheon replied, his eyes narrowing. "Your threatening them with Imperial regulations over an operation that isn't sanctioned by the Empire, and would never be sanctioned by the Empire," Kynes said evenly, his eyes meeting Raytheon's. "Lieutenant, I only fault you for being short-sighted. I believe this will lead to greatness." "And I don't think it will lead to anything but trouble," Kynes replied. "In the end, Lieutenant, history will tell who was right," Raytheon said, turning to look out at the stars. Kynes looked at Raytheon for several moments. "Exactly what are you planning to do?" Raytheon turned abruptly, looking at Kynes. "Remember how I told you that all those stasis devices must be either centrally powered or centrally controlled?" "Yes, Captain." "I'm gambling that whatever sets off the trap isn't affected by asteroids. What I plan to do is to cache some of our TIEs on a fairly large asteroid, then push it through the gateway. When the asteroid gets far enough insystem, the passive sensors on our TIEs should be able to pick up the energy emissions of whatever is controlling the trap." "What then?" "Then our TIEs swarm it and destroy it," Raytheon said, smirking. "What happens if the hypothetical control mechanism is so well-shielded that TIEs will not be able to destroy it?" "All the craft I will be dispatching will carry warheads. We should have enough to comfortably dispatch anything up to another Star Destroyer." "Are you sure, Captain," Kynes said after a moment. "You're running where you should be walking. You're taking a very serious gamble with the lives of our pilots. We cannot afford any more personnel shortages than those we already have." "Your objections are noted, Lieutenant," Raytheon replied coldly. "I've already considered them, and many more. If they find nothing, then they will break free and run for the gateway. There will be too many targets for the trap to efficiently round up. Most of our pilots will escape." Kynes furrowed his brow. "It is still a lot of risk for what are, at best, dubious gains." Raytheon shook his head. "No, Lieutenant, the gains aren't dubious. The gains are quite clear. This is an opportunity we shouldn't pass up." As Kynes opened his mouth to answer, another officer ran up to Raytheon. Raytheon afforded the officer a quick glance. "Yes?" "Captain, Admiral Ulstead demands that you make contact with him, immediately!" Raytheon paled. He didn't expect Ulstead to catch on this quickly. He looked over at Kynes, who looked back at him, his face neutral. As an afterthought, Kynes took a polite step back. It seemed that now, Raytheon was faced with an important decision: Contact Admiral Ulstead now, and risk losing all that he was working for, or defy Admiral Ulstead and risk losing his life . . . ***End Chapter Nine. Chapter Ten: Turning Point. "Sir?" The communications officer asked politely. Raytheon glared at him. "Stand by!" "Aye, sir." Raytheon looked to the Artifact. On the other end were undoubtedly the ships and men under the command of Admiral Sheppard, trapped in stasis since Endor. On this end, the rest of the Galaxy was starting to bear down on him. In an instant, he made up his mind. "Disregard the communication. Continue on our current course," Raytheon said quickly, a sudden rush coming over him. "Sir, it's Admiral Ulstead!" The officer exclaimed. "Only for a few minutes. Enough time to get our team prepared for departure," Raytheon replied. "Aye sir," the communications officer replied, giddy with resignation. "Stand fast, Lieutenant," Kynes said firmly. Raytheon whirled to face him, only to realize he was staring down the barrel of a small, but deadly officer's sidearm. "Lieutenant Kynes," Raytheon said calmly, his face tight. "This is mutiny." "Afraid not, Captain. If you succeed, you would unleash a threat, the likes of which, the Empire has never known," Kynes replied evenly. Two stormtroopers stepped up behind him, leveling their blasters at Raytheon. Raytheon shook his head. "So, is this how it ends?" Kynes shook his head. "This isn't the Empire of Palpatine, Captain. I will let Admiral Ulstead deal with you." "So, what then, Lieutenant? What is your plan now?" Raytheon asked crossing his arms over his chest. "I will permit the launch of one shuttle," Kynes replied. "Though I absolutely will not permit the release of Admiral Sheppard, or any of his lackeys, the technology that holds them there is interesting enough to warrant further study." "Perhaps, Lieutenant, but you're passing up the greater reward." Kynes shook his head. "I assure you that I'm not." He turned to the communications officer. "Lieutenant! Contact Admiral Ulstead. Notify him that the /Kordoza/ has been secured and awaits his arrival." Chakotay watched as Admiral Ulstead turned to talk to his aide. The Admiral nodded gravely, dismissing the man with a curt nod. "We will be able to check on the status of your missing crewmen very soon, Captain Chakotay," Admiral Ulstead said brusquely. "Our missing destroyer has turned up not too far from here." "Thank you Admiral," Chakotay replied nodding. "What about the rest of my crew and my ship?" "When we determine what happened to your missing personnel, you'll be reunited with your crew and you will be taken to the closest Imperial planet for debriefing." Chakotay shook his head, he didn't like where this conversation was going. "Debriefing?" He asked. "Captain Chakotay, I may like you, but it doesn't mean that I will trust you," Admiral Ulstead replied, a stern tone in his voice. Chakotay felt a momentary chill travel down his spine. "A thorough debriefing will help us get to the bottom of this mess, and it will keep you and your crew safely out of the way, should something arise. Now, Captain, if you will excuse me, we are about to enter hyperspace," Admiral Ulstead said, turning away from Chakotay. Interlude #6: The Brewing Storm. /USS Enterprise/, Captain's Log: Stardate 54877.1. With every passing hour, the situation in the Shibboleth system grows more and more tense. Already, the Romulans have amassed a considerable taskforce. It seems that our intelligence gathered on them during the Dominion War was woefully inadequate. Unfortunately, it also seems that the /Enterprise/ and the /Raven Ford/ will be the only Federation presence in this sector for at least two more days. On a graver note, we have yet to hear from the /Witz/ which escaped the system through an ancient alien artifact. "Captain, we're being hailed by the /Raven Ford,/" a woman's voice said over Picard's comm. "Patch it through to my ready room," Picard replied. A moment later, Captain Ryan Spickard's face appeared on his console. "Captain Spickard, it appears that you have some news for me." Spickard nodded. "Yes, Captain. My team of engineers managed to sneak the /Maybourne/ out of the Shibboleth system. She isn't much, but at least she'll give the Romulans a thing or two to think about if they decide to attack us again." Picard nodded. "That's good to hear, Captain. I've been told that Admiral Dalton has been assigned to lead the taskforce being assembled to counter the new Romulan threat. Unfortunately, he isn't due to arrive for another forty-eight hours." "It's going to be awfully hard to go up against the Romulans until he shows up, Captain," Spickard replied. "Shouldn't be a problem once he arrives. He's a good man, Captain, I served with him during the Dominion War." Picard nodded again. "I'm still confident we can resolve this diplomatically, Captain. However, I do know of the need to negotiate from a position of strength. I will send Commander LaForge over to the /Maybourne/ when it arrives. Hopefully we can get her up to a more acceptable state of combat readiness." "Thank you, Captain," Spickard replied, reaching over to shut off his comm. "Spickard out." The /Kordoza/ was right where Kynes said it would be. For Chakotay, it was a bit of a shock, seeing *two* mile-long ships hanging silently only a few tens of kilometers apart. Admiral Ulstead had requested that Chakotay accompany him. This came after a bit of tense communication between Ulstead's ship and the Star Destroyer they were approaching. For a moment, Chakotay looked over at the two troopers he was riding with. Neither payed him any mind, their faces obscured behind their white, polished armor. "We're on final approach, gentlemen," the pilot reported from the front of the shuttle, drawing Chakotay's attention forward. Apparently the civilization had never developed transporters, in spite of their apparent superiority in nearly every other field. It was a fact that Chakotay intended to keep very quiet about. It may have been a slight advantage, but it was an advantage that he wanted to have the option of exploiting. Lieutenant Kynes and Captain Joors waited silently in the hangar bay as Admiral Ulstead's shuttle settled to the deck. Raytheon looked uneasy. Nearby, a squad of stormtroopers stood silently, cradling their blasters. Ostensibly, they were there to serve as an honor guard, but Raytheon knew better. Stormtroopers in the modern Empire were loyal to the Empire. No longer were they loyal to individual men, such as Moffs, or admirals, or even lowly naval captains. It was a lesson which had been painfully drilled home during the years of the warlords that fought for control of Palpatine's vast empire. Kynes knew it as well as he did, and used that fact to pull off his mutiny. His train of thought was interrupted as the shuttle's boarding ramp touched down. Raytheon looked up as Admiral Ulstead descended the ramp, along with eight stormtroopers, and a man wearing a burgundy-shouldered uniform similar to the ones worn by his two prisoners. Ulstead immediately made his way over to Raytheon and Kynes. "What is going on here?" Ulstead said, his voice steely. Kynes opened his mouth. Raytheon steeled himself for a blaster bolt to the back of the head. However, he knew that whatever afterlife he was headed for, Kynes would follow him an instant later. "It's rather complicated, sir," Kynes replied. Admiral Ulstead narrowed his eyes. "I am an Admiral. I can handle complicated, gentlemen." Raytheon looked over at Chakotay, then back at Admiral Ulstead. "I assume you're familiar with the hypergate in IPD-8077?" Ulstead nodded. "Your point, Captain?" "There is another one," Kynes said. "Another one?" Admiral Ulstead and Chakotay said at the same time. "Should he be here, sir?" Kynes asked, indicating Chakotay. "Perhaps," Admiral Ulstead replied. "I understand you may be holding some of his crewmen?" Raytheon nodded slowly. "Yes, sir. We intercepted them on our way over here." Admiral Ulstead nodded, taking a moment to glare at both Kynes and Raytheon. "I see. We'll address that in a moment. Where is this second hypergate?" "In this system, sir," Kynes replied, interrupting Raytheon, who was about to speak. "Indeed? And do you know where this hypergate leads?" Raytheon expected Kynes to answer. After all the ball was firmly in his court. After a moment, he risked a glance, and saw Kynes looking back at him. In that instant, Raytheon knew he was finished. Any answer Raytheon could give would result in him facing a line of armed stormtroopers. And he wasn't sure just how much Admiral Ulstead knew. After all, he clearly knew about Epsilon Squadron, and a host of other things. Raytheon then smiled. "The greatest discovery in the recent history of galactic civilization, sir." Raytheon replied. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kynes smirk. "An entire cluster of stasis devices." "Stasis devices?" "Yes sir, stasis devices. A large number of them too," Raytheon replied. He risked another glance at Kynes, who looked positively disappointed. Admiral Ulstead nodded. He looked intrigued, but at the same time, managed to give both Raytheon and Kynes an icy look. "And why was I not notified of your discovery?" It was Raytheon's turn to smile. "My capable Lieutenant Kynes here thought it was wise to gather further data before notifying you, sir. In fact, we dispatched a shuttle not too long before you arrived." Raytheon glanced at Kynes again, who looked remarkably unperturbed for a man who had just been delivered at death's doorstep. "That's right, sir," Kynes said. "We thought it best to exercise caution in this situation." Admiral Ulstead nodded. "Indeed, caution is merited under these circumstances. However, contact with me is also merited under these circumstances," he said, leaning closer, his voice lowering. "Too much initiative in Palpatine's Empire would've lead to a blaster bolt between the eyes. Too much initiative in *this* Empire will get you a blaster bolt in the gut, and then after a suitably lengthy delay, one between the eyes. Understood?" "Clearly, sir," Raytheon replied. "Yes, sir," Kynes said a moment later. Admiral Ulstead nodded. "Very well. Until your shuttle returns from it's mission, we will not discuss the matter of your discovery any further." "Will you be notifying Bastion, sir," Raytheon asked. Admiral Ulstead shook his head. "Not yet. Though my rank permits me more latitude than yours does, I want a full report ready when we do contact Admiral Pellaeon and the Moffs. Until then, we have another loose end to tie up." At that point, Admiral Ulstead glanced toward Chakotay. "I believe you told me that you are holding his crewmembers. As there is little else we can do at the moment, we should reunite them." Harry Kim tried to sleep on the cold hard slab that passed for a bed in his cell. As he turned over and pulled the thin blanket over himself, the door to his cell slid open. Harry looked up, expecting to see two stormtroopers ready to haul him off to his next interrogation. Instead, much to his surprise, was an officer wearing the standard charcoal gray uniform. The officer tossed Harry his commbadge. Immediately, Harry sat up in his bunk, carefully picking up his commbadge. "Come with me, Commander," the officer said. Harry slowly stood up. They never let him use the Universal Translator up to this point. /What's going on?/ he thought. "Come on, we don't have all day. There's somebody here who wants to see you." The officer said impatiently. "Alright, I'm coming!" Harry said, following the officer out of his cell. Immediately, he saw Ensign Rhys, who looked as fatigued as he did. "Ensign Rhys!" He shouted, catching the young woman's attention. She looked toward him and smiled. "Sir! It's good to see you again!" Ensign Rhys said. To their mutual surprise, the stormtroopers guarding the cellblock did nothing to stop them. The Imperial officer walked up to both of them. "You may have your joyful reunion later. First we must attend to business," the officer said, pointing toward the cellblock door. Harry and Ensign Rhys made their way to the door. It was the first good thing that had happened to them since they arrived, and they had to make the best of it. The two stormtroopers followed them as the walked out into the corridors of the ship. Another officer lead them down to one of the doors. As the door slid open, Harry's eyes widened. "Captain!" Harry shouted. Chakotay nodded at him, grinning. "It's good to see you again, Harry. You too, Ensign Rhys," Chakotay said, motioning Harry and Ensign Rhys inside. With him were three men, all wearing Imperial uniforms. Chakotay turned to Lieutenant Kynes. "I sent three crewmen here, Lieutenant. I only see two." Kynes nodded. "The third one was killed during the boarding operation. I assure you the trooper responsible has been severely reprimanded." Chakotay nodded, his face flat. "How have they been treating you, Harry?" "About as well as can be expected, I suppose," Harry replied, taking a seat. Chakotay nodded again. "Allow us to introduce ourselves," one of the older men said. "I am Admiral Jerrik Ulstead. The man next to me is the captain of this ship, Captain Raytheon Joors. And the man sitting with your captain is Lieutenant Liet Kynes." Harry nodded. "I wish we could've met under better circumstances," he said, looking to Chakotay. "They have you too, Captain?" "Yes, Harry. We went through the Artifact some time after you did. The /Witz/ and the rest of the crew are safe for now. Did you tell them why you went through the Artifact?" "I didn't have much choice, Captain," Harry replied, furrowing his brow. "Why are you here?" Admiral Ulstead asked. "This part I have not heard yet," he said, glancing over at Raytheon. "We were pursuing a very dangerous individual. A young woman flying a runabout larger than the shuttle you brought aboard," Chakotay answered. "You haven't seen her, have you?" "With the hyperdrive your ships come with, she would not have gotten very far," Admiral Ulstead said, turning to Raytheon. "Do you have her, Captain Joors?" Raytheon shook his head. "I'm afraid not, sir. These two were the only ones we captured. If your fugitive is here, then she's either powered down or destroyed." "I'll accept that for now," Chakotay replied. "So, what happens to us now?" "You will be reunited with your crew, Captain," Admiral Ulstead said. "You will be debriefed and likely settled somewhere. Until we resolve the mystery of these hypergates, and the stasis devices, I don't think it would be wise to let you go." Chakotay narrowed his eyes, but he kept his mouth shut. It was nothing he hadn't heard before. It would be just like his days in the Maquis again. There would always be opportunities . . . you just had to be alive when they presented themselves. "Stasis devices?" Harry asked. The Imperials narrowed their eyes. "Yes, stasis devices," Admiral Ulstead responded. Chakotay shot Harry a hard look, though he quickly softened his gaze as he saw Harry's expression. "We might be able to help you with that. We've had a lot of experience with temporal phenomena." "Not likely," Raytheon scoffed. "Our civilization is far older and far more advanced than yours." Chakotay smiled as Raytheon spoke. It looked like he had just lived long enough for an opportunity to present itself. "I agree with my chief engineer in this case. Granted you have technology far in advance of our own. But, we have some things that I have yet to see here," he said, looking at Raytheon and Admiral Ulstead. "What types of things?" Admiral Ulstead asked darkly. "A number of things, sir. First, Commander Kim and myself have had years of experience with temporal technology and phenomena. So have a lot of our scientists. Second, I'm going to guess that you aren't familiar with the unknown. Captain Paulsen told me on the way here that your civilization is over 20,000 years old." "That's right," Raytheon replied. "I fail to see your point." "Ossification," Ensign Rhys said, looking up. "Excuse me?" Raytheon said, shooting the young woman a pointed glance. "Ossification, sir. The process of fossilization. I apologize if I seem rude, but we're used to the unknown. More than you, I guess," Rhys continued. "She's right, Admiral," Chakotay chimed in. "If we work together, we would likely resolve this mystery much quicker than if either of us tried to do it alone." Admiral Ulstead nodded. "Though I see your point, I would like to remind you that you are in a very poor position to negotiate. We can extract the information from you." "But it wouldn't come with the understanding, Admiral! Data, without the means to interpret it, is useless. You could interrogate us, but all you would get is useless data." Admiral Ulstead narrowed his eyes. "What would you propose then, Captain Chakotay?" "Only that you let my people go, Admiral. Let us contact our home galaxy. That hypergate we came through is the only way we know of to get to your galaxy. One or two of these ships, these Star Destroyers, would be enough to stop anything we could bring through the gate. In exchange, we'll offer you all the help we can bring to the table. My people are explorers who seek knowledge and discovery, we're no threat to you." Admiral Ulstead was silent for a very long time. When he did speak, it took everybody by surprise. "In spite of my reputation, I fancy myself as one of the few forward-thinking men in the modern Empire. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about many of my fellow Admirals, or the Moffs who actually rule the Empire. You'll have a much harder time selling anything to them." Chakotay nodded. "We have people in our own galaxy who would do a much better job. You have very little to risk in letting us contacting them." "Very well," Admiral Ulstead replied. "You will return with Captain Paulsen to IPD-8077. You, and you alone. We'll keep Commander Kim and Ensign Rhys here aboard the /Kordoza./ Partially to help us with whatever data our shuttle returns, and more importantly, to encourage your return. We will keep your crew as well . . . save whomever you think would help you argue our case." "That seems very reasonable, Admiral," Chakotay replied. "It is beyond reasonable, Captain Chakotay. However, you drive a very hard bargain, and you drive it very well. Now get going," Admiral Ulstead said. ***End Chapter Ten. Chapter Eleven: The Heat of Fusion. Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 54879.6. Location: 60 million lightyears from home. As I write this, I am on board a shuttle headed back to the /Witz./ Even as I return to familiar territory, I still do not feel at ease. These Imperials, as human as they seem, are just as alien and just as dangerous as the Borg. With the Borg, at least they were predictable. I cannot say the same about these Imperials. Though the ball is in our court, I don't know how long I can keep it there. "See, I told ya, right where we left her," Björn remarked as the shuttle emerged from hyperspace. Hanging before them were the /Witz/ and the /Aljete./ Chakotay made his way to the cockpit, watching as Björn activated the comm. "Is that you, sir?" Commander Tgendi asked over the comm. "You'd better believe it is," Björn said, leaning forward. "And just when we thought you'd been flushed out an airlock by Admiral Ulstead. You've got that Captain Chakotay with you?" "That's right. He survived Admiral Ulstead as well," Björn replied with a grin. "That's good. I've got a worried lady here persistent enough to stop Lord Vader in his tracks," Tgendi said, his voice momentarily distorting as the shuttle pulled alongside the /Aljete./ "Listen, you haven't given away our escort shuttle yet, have you?" Björn asked, nudging the shuttle toward the /Aljete's/ meager hangar. "Haven't had the need to yet. Why do you ask, sir?" "I'll explain when I come aboard," Björn replied. "We're headed back through the Artifact?" Serena asked, looking up at Chakotay. She and Commander Zeiken had been waiting for him as his shuttle touched down in the /Aljete's/ hangar. "That's right," Chakotay replied. "As soon as we've determined that it's safe, and that it leads back to where we want to go." "All of us?" Serena asked. Chakotay shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Commander. I've only been authorized to take myself and whoever I think will best support our story. Their Admiral Ulstead ordered that Commander Kim, Ensign Rhys, and the rest of the crew remain behind." Serena nodded. "You found them?" It was Chakotay's turn to nod. "Yes I did, Commander. It was only because of Harry that I had a chance to negotiate at all." "It's something to go on, at least, Chakotay," Serena said, standing closer. Chakotay nodded again. "So, what did you come up with while I was away?" "We squeezed them for as much information as they were willing to part with," Commander Zeiken said. He was dark- skinned, with a thick, bushy mustache. "And," Chakotay prompted. "We're apparently in a galaxy more than 20,000 light- years wider than our own and at least twice as massive. We're about 40,000 light-years from the center of the galaxy, in an area of space that apparently isn't as busy as other parts of the galaxy." Chakotay nodded, absorbing the information. "Were you able to find out anything about our friends?" Serena looked at Chakotay, stepping in front of him. "Yes, Captain. It took a bit of persuasion, but I found out that they've mapped about 80% of this galaxy, and they apparently used to rule much of that. The Empire was a lot larger than what it is now." "Did they tell you what happened?" Serena smiled. "It seems to be something of a sensitive subject. I couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone I talked to. They did mention something about a New Republic that now holds much of the old Imperial territories." "Good work, Serena," Chakotay said, patting her on the shoulder. "Anything we can gather on them might turn out to be just the advantage we need." Serena nodded. "Who will you be taking with you, Chakotay?" "I will want Commander Zeiken with me," Chakotay replied, looking to the commander. "That means, Commander, you need to gather up what data you've collected and return here in half an hour." Commander Zeiken nodded. "Aye, sir. It won't be alot, but I'll pull together all that I can," the man replied, turning to walk away. "And who else," Serena prompted. "I'll likely take Lieutenant Mackey with me. The fewer of us that go, the better. As far as I know, the Romulans are still waiting for us on the other side of the gate. Did you have anybody to recommend?" Serena nodded. "I want you to take me with you, Chakotay." Chakotay immediately shook his head. "No, Serena, I need you here to watch the /Witz./" "Chakotay, the /Witz/ isn't going anywhere," Serena interrupted. "Serena, if something happens to me, somebody has to be there to make sure the /Witz/ gets home," Chakotay said firmly. Serena fell silent for several moments. Chakotay put his hand on her shoulder again. "I will return, Serena, you can count on that . . . And besides, I also need you to stay here and try to keep wringing information out of the Imperials," he said, smiling. Serena nodded slowly. "Yes, I'll do that, sir. You'll have a lot more data to work with when you get back with Captain Picard, I promise you that." Chakotay took a step back. "How did you know that, Commander?" Serena sighed a little. "I know how you think . . . sir. Captain Picard has more diplomatic experience than almost anybody else Starfleet could send out. You'll do your best to bring him here . . . and I'm sure you'll succeed." Chakotay nodded. "Thank you," he said, seeing Commander Zeiken walking up to them. "Hold down the fort while I'm gone, I'll be back." "Good luck, Chakotay," Serena replied, turning away as Commander Zeiken stepped up to Chakotay. Across the hangar, Björn and Commander Tgendi had also arrived, and were making their way over to Chakotay. "The Force must be looking out for you," Tgendi boomed. He was easily two heads taller than either Chakotay or Björn, and had a figure that a grizzly bear would envy. "To not only face down an Imperial Admiral, but to get him to agree to your terms . . . you're either a lucky son of a Hutt or you've got the blood of a Jedi in you." "We're preparing our escort shuttle for launch even as we speak," Björn interrupted. "We're also fitting it with a couple of probes so we won't go through the gate blind. Do you have your team together yet?" Chakotay nodded. "As soon as my Tactical Officer arrives, we'll be ready to go." "Fair enough," Björn replied. "I'll be bringing Sergeant Koonis Lssard along with me. He is a commando, and well suited to potentially hostile situations," he said, motioning to a dark, well-built man emerging from the lift. "Speaking of which, what should we expect when we go through the gate?" "The Alpha Quadrant isn't always a friendly place," Chakotay replied. "You can expect just about anything." Björn nodded slowly. "Seems to be a universal fact of life. Fortunately, we've got a few surprises in case somebody decides to surprise us," he said, a smile momentarily crossing his face. At that moment, Lieutenant Mackey chose to make his entrance, running over to join the rest of the group. "Sorry I'm late, Captain," Lieutenant Mackey said. "Commander Durst just sent me down." "That's alright, Lieutenant. I should have called you myself," Chakotay said, looking at Lieutenant Mackey, then to Björn. "Captain Paulsen, the rest of my team is here." Björn nodded. "Good. As soon as the shuttle is ready, we'll launch. In the Alpha Quadrant: Shibboleth System. Commander Taros Gavakar was feeling strangely unsettled. In spite of the overwhelming Romulan firepower that was now in the system, he didn't feel that everything was going the way he had planned it. For example, the Federation ships he had chased off were still in the area. Worse, he knew that the Federation had quietly decided to turn this into a standoff. The Tal Shi'ar's surveillance posts had detected the /USS Vesuvius/, another /Sovereign/-class starship leading a fleet of eleven vessels on a course which would have them rendezvous with the /Enterprise/ and the /Raven Ford./ Worse yet, the /Vesuvius/ was under the command of Admiral Rob Dalton, a man who wasn't particularly known for his tact or diplomacy skills. It made him a hero during the Dominion war, but it also would make him a headache to deal with. Not that Taros was unprepared for Starfleet to make a nuisance of itself. He was more than ready, in fact. Under the influence of Kara Nevakur and her corps of telepaths, the Federation forces would find themselves uncoordinated and unsettled. And, better still, the Tal Shi'ar and the Praetor had given this mission top priority. Romulus had to hold the hypergate at all costs, especially if Thelea were to successfully complete her mission. To that end, four more D'deridex-class ships were now in the system, accompanied by twice as many Birds-of-Prey, two Khaiell-class assault frigates, and three of the Empire's newest carriers. With that much firepower behind him, Taros should've been feeling very confident. Unfortunately, he couldn't shake off the feeling that things still weren't going his way. "Commander, the Artifact has just activated!" Shouted one of the ship's sensor technicians. Taros looked up, his reverie broken. "Indeed? Is anything coming through?" He said, looking up to the viewscreen. And, as reported, the Artifact was active, a blue vortex writhing at it's center. "Yes, Commander. Something came through. It's about a quarter of a meter long, and is moving away from the Artifact at a high rate of speed." Taros nodded, his face expressionless. Things had just gotten complicated. "Move a wing of Falcons to the Artifact. I get the feeling this isn't the last time something will come through today." Björn watched intently as data from his probe streamed in. As far as Imperial probes went, this one was fairly simple-minded. It's sole purpose was to scan for nearby stars and gravity wells, useful for reconnoitering an area to plan potential entry and exit routes. It's redeeming value, however, was the fact it was not that much bigger than a proton torpedo. He turned to look at Chakotay and Commander Zeiken. "Does this data look familiar to you?" He asked, tapping in several commands. Immediately, the scrolling Basic transformed into a crude starchart. After a moment, both Chakotay and Commander Zeiken gasped. "I'll be damned if that doesn't look like the Alpha Quadrant around the Shibboleth System," Zeiken swore, turning to Chakotay. "Yes, it does," replied Chakotay, shifting his attention to Björn. "I think that answers our question," he said. "These gates seem to be linked in pairs." Björn nodded. "That seems to be the case. Looks like our two galaxies are permanently connected. There's no use in wasting any more time. We've got a mission to accomplish," he said, pushing the throttle forward. Immediately, the shuttle jumped forward. The blue vortex loomed before them, and then they were inside. The transition was just as awesome as the one Chakotay had experienced almost sixty hours before. Inside the tunnel, lights flashed and flickered about swirling blue clouds, which raced past the shuttle at breakneck speed. Then, as quickly as it began, the transition ended. Chakotay was now back in the Alpha Quadrant . . . but now, he had company. As the shuttle raced from the mouth of the vortex, alarms immediately began to scream. "Kriff!" Björn swore. "From the proximity alarms, I'd say we've jumped into a war-zone," he cursed, looking up and out the viewports. Off in the distance, a number of green specks moved slowly across space. Worse, some of them were clearly growing in size. "Please tell me those are your friends," Björn said, throwing a glance back to Chakotay. Chakotay looked out the viewport and slowly shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Captain. At first glance, I'd say they're Romulans." "Romulans?" Chakotay nodded. "Yes, Romulans. They are aggressive expansionists, hostile and unyielding. I assure you, Captain, this is Federation territory. They're not supposed to be here." Immediately, the shuttle shook, it's shields flaring a bright green. Björn eyed his shield indicators, and then his radar screen. "Kriff, that one wasn't there before," he grumbled, rolling the shuttle over into a hard dive and roll, turning away from his attacker. He heard the satisfying twang of his rear blaster turret blasting away. Immediately, a green shape rippled into view in front of him, a brilliant green beam chewing at his forward shields. "Cloaking device!" Björn shouted indignantly, squeezing a few shots off. "What have you gotten me into, Captain Chakotay?" "The Romulans must've moved in after we left!" Chakotay exclaimed in reply, ignoring the wildly spinning starscape. Björn punched a key and a bright orange flare raced toward one of the Romulan fighters. The missile slammed into the Romulan fighter, blowing out it's shields. The vessel rippled into cloak, tumbling away. "For your sake, and mine, I hope you have a way out of this mess," Björn growled, bringing the shuttle up behind one of his attackers. He raked it with blaster fire until it pulled hard to the left, vanishing into cloak. "As it so happens, I do," Chakotay replied. "Lieutenant Mackey. Give him the rendezvous coordinates." "Yes sir," Lieutenant Mackey said, quickly making his way to the front. "Incoming transmission," Sergeant Lssard said, his voice icy cold. "Patch it in," Björn replied. "We're clear of fighters for the moment, and it's going to take the navcomp a minute to calculate the right hyperspace vector." The stone-faced commando nodded, pressing a switch on his console. "This is Commander Taros Gavakar of the Romulan Star Empire. Hopefully, by now, you realize escape is hopeless. You are hereby ordered to surrender and prepare to be boarded," the voice crackled out over the comm. "I prefer Republic ultimatums . . . short and to the point," Björn swore as new numbers scrolled across his screen. "Alright, we've got coordinates. Now all we have to do is reach them. Any other surprises I should know about?" Chakotay shook his head. "No, Captain. Even the Romulans would think twice about chasing the /Enterprise/ deeper into Federation territory," he said reassuringly, /Or, at least, I hope they did,/ he added to himself. "Fair enough," Björn replied. "This tub isn't an Interceptor, but it's still plenty fast if you know where to look," he said pushing the throttle forward again. The shuttle shot forward, slipping past two more Romulan fighters that decloaked to either side of the shuttle. Chakotay watched the radar screen as two new blips raced away from the fighters. "I'd hurry if I were you, they've just launched torpedoes at us," Chakotay said. Björn nodded, focusing on the space ahead. "I'm way ahead of you," he said, punching another lever. Immediately, the starscape spun, then distorted into a long white tunnel as the shuttle entered hyperspace. Meanwhile . . . a few light-years away , , , Captain Picard sat in his command chair, surveying the starscape on the /Enterprise's/ viewscreen. So far, the Romulans seemed content to sit in the Shibboleth. While this was good in the sense that his ships weren't under fire, it meant bad news if the Romulans were spending their time reinforcing their position. "Sir, I'm detecting an anomalous spike of radiation 2.62 million kilometers from our current position," Data reported, his fingertips dancing over his console. Picard's brain immediately shifted into high-gear. "Source? Is it Romulan?" "No sir. The source is a small shuttle matching no known configurations. It is on a course which will intersect our own in fourteen minutes and thirty-six seconds." "Let's not take any chances. Raise shields and open a channel," Picard ordered. "Aye sir, channel open," Ensign Aspo replied, looking down at his console. "No response." Picard nodded. "This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship /Enterprise./ Your appearance is unexpected, but we mean you no harm." "Captain Picard, it's good to hear from you again," was the reply. "Captain Chakotay?" Picard said, instantly recognizing the voice. "That's right, Captain. Listen, this isn't a good place or time to explain. We've just run the Romulan blockade in the Shibboleth System, and our pilot would very much like to put this shuttle down." Picard nodded. "Very well, we'll open the shuttlebay for you," he said, motioning to Data. Immediately, the android responded, his fingers racing over his console. "Thank you, Captain. I'll explain as much as I can when I land," Chakotay said. "I assure you I'm looking forward to it," Picard replied, closing the channel. "Sounds like he's stumbled on something serious," Commander Riker said, looking to the viewscreen, then Picard. "I agree, Number One. You have the bridge. Contact Doctor Crusher and have her and a Security detail meet me in the shuttlebay," Picard replied, standing. "Commander Data, you're with me." Captain Picard, Commander Data, and Doctor Crusher watched as the alien shuttle's boarding ramp slowly lowered to the deck. Behind them were two security officers, with phasers at their sides. "Captain, the hull of that shuttle is comprised of several advanced alloys. I am having difficulties getting internal readings with my tricorder," Data reported as five men started down the ramp. Leading the procession was Chakotay, followed by a man with close-cropped hair and a drab, utilitarian, uniform. Last to descend the ramp were two of Chakotay's crewmen, followed by a tall man wearing an all-black uniform. Beverly flipped open her tricorder as Picard stepped forward. "Welcome to the /Enterprise/, gentlemen. I am her commanding officer, Captain Jean-Luc Picard. This is my chief medical officer, Beverly Crusher," Picard said, gesturing toward Beverly, "and this is my science officer, Commander Data," he said, motioning to Data. Chakotay nodded. "I've brought my science officer, Lieutenant Commander Ryan Zeiken, and my Tactical officer, Lieutenant Stuart Mackey. The two men who brought us here are Captain Björn Paulsen and Sergeant Koonis Lssard." Björn nodded, saluting. "Captain Paulsen of the Galactic Empire, requesting permission to come aboard." "Permission granted, Captain. Welcome aboard the /Enterprise,/" Picard replied. Björn smiled faintly, his posture relaxing. "Forgive me if I can't say my first experiences here weren't at all positive." "Understandable," Picard replied. "The Romulans can be exceptionally dangerous when they put their minds to it." "A phenomena I've witnessed firsthand," Björn agreed as Beverly stepped forward. "Captain, if you don't mind, I'd like to run a few medical scans on you and your man," she said, looking at Björn, and then Chakotay. "You too, Captain Chakotay. You may have picked up foreign pathogens." Björn nodded. "I understand, Doc," he said. After all, his ship served Imperial Customs, and the first thing he learned was that one could never be too careful with foreign travelers. "Doctor, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a private word with Captain Chakotay," Picard said, interrupting Beverly's scans. She looked down at her tricorder for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, Jean-Luc, but don't leave this room. We're quarantined until I've cleared all of us." Picard nodded, taking Chakotay aside. When they were some distance away, Picard turned to Chakotay. "Well, Captain, it looks as if you've succeeded in stirring up trouble on the other side of the Artifact as well. What did you find?" "The Artifact leads to another galaxy, sixty million light-years from Earth." "Sixty-million?" Picard asked, incredulous. "That's right, and there's more. The territory on the other side is controlled by a power that calls itself the Galactic Empire. They're powerful, more so than at least the Dominion." Picard nodded slowly. "And you have data to support this?" "That's right, Captain," Chakotay said. "And I'll be more than happy to show you all of it. However, I'm here only because the Empire has a proposition to make." "Indeed?" Chakotay nodded. "They're holding my crew. They've promised to release them, if the Federation is willing to accept an alliance with the Empire." For several moments, Picard was silent. Then, slowly, he nodded. "It seems that our situation has become far more complicated than it was sixty hours ago. And you hold many of the keys, Captain. I look forward to discussing this further." "I'm ready, Captain," Chakotay said in reply. Captain's Log, Supplemental: Stardate 54879.9. Captain Chakotay and the crew of the /Witz/ have succeeded in making First Contact with a race far in advance of our own. Unfortunately, this First Contact will likely become notorious, not only for the political climate in which it occurred, but also the unorthodox actions taken by Captain Chakotay. Currently, his officers, and our guests are in Conference Room 13 with Commander Riker and Counselor Troi. I myself have taken on the task of personally debriefing Captain Chakotay. Picard sat across the desk from Chakotay. He clasped his hands in front of him, looking intently at Chakotay. "You've committed a serious breach of Federation protocols, Captain. Not only did you flagrantly violate Starfleet orders, but you have also violated the Prime Directive by offering to interfere in their internal matters. Furthermore, you've chosen to deceive them concerning the Romulans." Chakotay nodded. "Frankly, Captain, my decisions were made in the best interests of my crew, and the Federation." "You're no longer aboard /Voyager,/ Captain. Nor are you any longer a member of the Maquis. We all have protocols and principles to follow, Captain. Including you," Picard replied sternly. "Captain, I spent seven years dealing with situations no Starfleet officer should ever have to deal with. I was the voice of reason. Sometimes I had to go against my captain's wishes to protect the crew. And I would do so again," Chakotay shot back. "Especially in this case. As I've said before, the Imperials have the potential to be dangerous people." Picard nodded, his stern visage softening. "Though I do not agree with your methodology, I find myself agreeing with your assessment of the situation. In many fields, they clearly lead us, and from what you've told me, they seem to be very militaristic now, and possibly more so in the past. And I very much doubt the Federation could afford another Dominion War. However, thanks to you, we also know they lag behind us in at least a few other technological areas. Due to that, we're in a much better position now than we would've been had they contacted us first, or had the Romulans contacted them first." "Riker to Picard," Will's voice said over the comm. Picard tapped his commbadge. "Picard here. Go ahead, Number One." "Counselor Troi and myself have just finished interviewing our guests." "Very good, Number One," Picard replied. "What did you learn?" "A couple of important things. Their civilization is apparently very old, on the order of at least twenty thousand years." "Yes, and the other thing," Picard said. "Yes, Captain. They also said they were here because they've discovered a system full of stasis pods, and we just happened to come along at the right time. Other than that, they were remarkably tight-lipped." Picard nodded, satisfied. "That's understandable, Number One. Assemble a conference meeting in forty-five minutes. Be ready to present your findings." "Understood, sir. Riker out." Picard looked at Chakotay. "It seems that they really are who you say they are. As soon as Starfleet Command permits, we're likely to be sent back through the Artifact to facilitate proper diplomatic communications." Chakotay nodded. "Thank you, Captain. Though I would like to bring my crew home, we need to treat the Imperials with a good deal of caution and respect." "I will make sure Starfleet Command is convinced of the need to approach with caution. Given our current situation, it's more important than ever." "Speaking of our current situation, how is Starfleet dealing with the Romulans?" Chakotay asked. "Much to my surprise, they're responding with a show of force. Admiral Dalton of the /Vesuvius/ taskforce is on his way here at maximum warp, along with his entire taskforce. Hopefully we can peacefully convince the Romulans to withdraw, or accept some sort of compromise." Chakotay nodded, looking a little grim. Before the Dominion had neatly done away with the Maquis once and for all, Rob Dalton made his Starfleet career by chasing them down and bringing them in. Had it been the /Olgagnez,/ Dalton's ship at the time, that had chased him on that day instead of /Voyager;/ things would've likely turned out much different. "Alright then," he said. "So we're going to tell the Imperials 'yes'?" Chakotay asked, moving to change the subject. Picard blinked, then nodded. "That's right Captain. But first, we need to deal with the Romulans." ***End Chapter Eleven. Chapter Twelve: High Noon. Commander Taros Gavakar watched impassively as two sleek new shapes emerged from warp directly ahead of the /Strife./ They were two of the newest ships the Romulan Star Empire was capable of building. These ships, /Aen v'Saeihr/-class carriers, were essentially retrofited /D'deridex/-class warbirds. The Warbird, in spite of it's 1280 meter length, was mostly empty space with some essential bits connected by struts or wings. The /Aen v'Saeihr/ was a Warbird with a set of bulkheads connecting her top and bottom wings, creating a cavernous hangar running through the center of the ship. Taros allowed himself a grim smile. The carriers could each field sixty of the Empire's /Falcon/ interceptors, the Romulan answer to the Federation's /Peregrine./ They could also carry up to twelve-thousand soldiers. Granted that made them slower and less maneuverable than the standard Warbird, and granted they possessed only a little more firepower. However, with five of them in the system, along with three more assault frigates, the Romulans could field an impressive amount of firepower. Would it be enough, Taros had to wonder. He was remarkably unnerved by the way events were unfolding. Federation/Romulan relations always bordered on the edge of open hostility. You made a move, then your enemy came up with a suitable counter-move. And this was just such a move. The Tal Shi'ar was gambling on the successful outcome of this standoff. Both sides had much to gain . . . a whole new galaxy, complete with ambivalent superpowers, and the Artifact itself. By the end of the day, the Alpha Quadrant would be a whole new place. "Lieutenant S'zaelser, open a channel to the fleet," Taros ordered. Immediately, his comms officer responded, and Taros soon heard the crackle of an open channel. "Attention loyal officers of the Romulan Empire. Soon the Federation will try to end our stay in this system. Therefore, the duty falls to us to stop them. I've given you your orders. Now it is time to implement them," he said, motioning for the channel to be closed. Almost immediately, a large portion of his ships vanished from sensors. Romulans had the basic ambush down to a fine art. Romulans knew well the art of surprise. Taros settled into his chair, clasping his hands. "Lieutenant S'zaelser. Get me Sub-Commander Nevakur. Tell her that we shall soon require her special talents." Another Tal Shi'ar operative had her hands full sixty million lightyears away from Taros. Thelea picked up a datapad, tapping absentmindedly at it. Strange alien characters scrolled across the screen. If she put her mind to it, she could almost recognize them . . . an artifact of the training that had been mostly forgotten behind a mental block. Thelea could remember more of it now than she did when she first went through the Artifact. For example, she knew now that she was trying to work her way toward some planet called Coruscant, which was apparently a very important place. Of course, she didn't know just how the Romulans knew that such a planet existed. And, she also didn't know how she wasn't going to get there, especially as she was still trapped aboard the Star Destroyer /Kordoza./ As decent as the quarters were, Thelea was a prisoner. It had been more than a day and a half since anybody last talked to her. The last time, it was Captain Joors himself, who sternly warned her to stay in her quarters. He then shut off her access to the Universal Translator and posted a contingent of four stormtroopers outside her quarters. And then something important had occurred. She could sense it . . . something very important had transpired. And now, she got the feeling that they were waiting. How she could do so, she didn't know. It was frustrating. She had obviously spent much time with the Tal Shi'ar, but she could remember little of it. A noise brought Thelea out of her reverie. Standing in the doorway was the young man she knew to be Lieutenant Kynes. "So, my jailer returns," Thelea said dryly. A dark expression crossed Kynes face and Thelea realized that the Universal Translator was on again. "You are a guest of the Empire. Not our prisoner," Kynes said in lieu of a greeting. "You would not like to be an Imperial prisoner." "True enough," Thelea remarked, sighing. "What brings you here? I've already given you the most useful bit of information I hold." "I assure you that you're being held here for your safety." Thelea smirked. "I sense I'm being held out of the way for yours as well." Kynes shook his head, favoring Thelea with the faintest of smiles. "I'm not here for idle chatter. I'm only here to let you know that yes, something important has happened. And furthermore, someone you might be interested in is on their way here." Thelea raised her eyebrows in surprise. Kynes' smile grew broader. "The Force may be with you, but you would make a lousy Sabbac player," he said, turning to leave. Before Thelea could reply, the door snapped shut. Captain's Log: Stardate 54880.4. Several hours ago, the /Vesuvius/ and two of her escorts arrived in-system. Admiral Dalton assures me that the rest of his ships will arrive in less than two hours. What I am not so assured about is his plan to deal with the situation. To that end, I will be meeting with him within the hour. Picard turned off his desk console and leaned back in his chair. His cup of Earl Gray sat at his desk, long forgotten. He had spent several hours going over the record of Admiral Dalton, trying to get some more background about the man he would soon be working with. And what he learned didn't do much to endear him to the admiral. Rob Dalton was a man a Starfleet officer who tended to get things done through force. It made him a renowned Maquis hunter, and it made his career during the Dominion War, when Starfleet was of a more militaristic mindset. Of course with more men like him in Starfleet Command, the trend would only continue. And this didn't sit well with Picard. It was his opinion that militaristic attitudes caused things like the near-disaster on Ba'ku. "Transporter Room One to the Captain," a woman's voice said over the comm. "Go ahead," Picard replied, his introspective coming to an end. "The /Vesuvius/ says Admiral Dalton is ready to beam aboard." Picard nodded. "I'm on my way." Meanwhile . . . Ten-Forward: Björn and Koonis sat at one of the tables directly across from the door and furthest from the windows. The former was to get a good look at the crew coming and going. The latter was because the alien starscape was still too unnerving to get properly drunk to. Not that you could get properly drunk on the stuff the Federation types served. Fortunately, the dark woman in the velvety robes and the absurd hat seemed to know what Björn was looking for and had given them a small bottle of a fiery blue liquid she claimed was from ancient Earth. After having a drink, he had offered to pay, but she shook her head, telling them that payment was unnecessary. Björn caught Koonis watching him. The Imperial commando was a man who seemed to show Björn more loyalty than he did the Moffs or Admiral Pellaeon. Of course Björn did save his life once. He sent the /Aljete/ into a pirate's den to rescue his commando squad after they were trapped due to a monumental cock-up on the part of Imperial intelligence. "What do you make of these people, Sarge?" Björn asked, watching another Starfleet officer enter the room. "Too clean if you ask me," Koonis replied. "Like they've worked hard to repress much of what makes 'em human." Björn nodded. "I haven't seen one person pay for their drink here. And I got the strangest look from the lady doctor when I asked how they handle currency exchange." "Could lead to problems," Koonis replied, draining his shotglass. "I hope we work something out. It would sure show up the New Republic," Björn said, grinning. "Above our pay grade, sir." Koonis said, pushing his shotglass away. "It's definitely above mine. All I need to know from this is where to point the blaster." "Riker to Captain Paulsen," said the man Björn knew to be the executive officer of the ship. For a moment, he sat there, then remembered the commbadge on his chest. He tapped it. "Paulsen here." "Report to Conference Room Two. Admiral Dalton has just arrived and is looking forward to seeing you," Riker's voice said. "Acknowledged, Commander. We'll be there, Paulsen out," Björn replied, standing. He threw back the last of his drink and turned to Koonis. "And now comes the real test, eh?" Koonis nodded. "That's right." Chakotay slowly looked around the conference room. Within a minute, Captain Picard would arrive with Admiral Dalton. As soon as Captain Paulsen joined them, Chakotay would learn what Admiral Dalton had in mind. Hopefully what had happened between him and Dalton would remain firmly in the past. Soon, the door slipped open and Captain Picard stepped in. A moment later Admiral Dalton walked in behind him, and everyone in the conference room stood up, coming to attention. "All of you, at ease," Dalton said, waving his hand. As he said that, he took a quick look around. "You've got a full house here, Picard. But I recognize all these faces." "Captain Paulsen of the Galactic Empire has been asked to sit in on this meeting. He will be here shortly," Picard replied. Dalton nodded, apparently satisfied. "I understand you have some problematic Romulans." "Though those would not be my first choice of words, that is indeed correct, Admiral," Picard replied, as the door slid open again. Very quickly, Björn and his commando entered the room. Just as quickly, Admiral Dalton turned to face them. "Captain Björn Paulsen, I presume. We're glad to have you with us." "Thank you sir," Björn replied, eyeing Dalton. "I apologize if we were late." Dalton nodded. "It isn't a problem. You haven't missed much." Björn nodded, taking a seat. Koonis remained by the door, standing up. "Would you like to take a seat, Sergeant," Dalton asked. "Sir, I'm just here as an observer. So if it's all the same to you, I'd rather remain standing." Dalton nodded. "Very well, Sergeant. Stand at ease," he said, quickly turning his attention back to the officers at the conference table. "Now, as you well know, we at Starfleet have decided that we're not going to stand by while the Romulans do what they want with the Shibboleth System. Too much is at stake here, both the Artifact, and the Galactic Empire which lies beyond the Artifact." "I assume Starfleet has already attempted contact with the Romulan Empire on this issue?" Picard asked. "Naturally, Picard. However, the Romulans are being obstinate and uncooperative. So, we're going to try some 'gentle' persuasion." "By that, do you mean force, Admiral?" Picard said. "Captain," Dalton replied. "There is not a living sentient being that doesn't understand and respect the concept of force. The Klingons and the Dominion understood the concept very well. The Romulans understand force just as well, if not better. Now, we're not going to actually use force on them. We're going to try to intimidate them first. They never had as many ships to spend as we did, and they lost just as many of them during the Dominion War as we did." "Are you suggesting that we threaten the Romulans?" "I wouldn't put it *quite* that way, Picard," Dalton replied with a grin. "But, if we make it clear that their current stand will hurt them more than the alternative, then they will go for the alternative." Picard narrowed his eyes, but said nothing further. Dalton nodded. "Now, you all may be wondering why the rest of my taskforce hasn't arrived yet. The answer to that is simple: They are already en route to the Shibboleth System. My plan is to have them come in from one side, while this fleet comes in from the other. If they split their forces, they will be vulnerable. If they keep them together, then they'll be surrounded." "Admiral, you say we're only going to try to persuade the Romulans to back down. Yet, it also seems that you're prepared to attack them," Picard remarked. Dalton nodded. "Very perceptive, Picard. When I fought the Maquis and the Dominion, I learned that nothing is certain. The Romulans might just be confident enough to attack us. If that is the case, I assure you that I will not be caught off- guard." "Be that as it may," Picard said. "We should not abandon all hope of a diplomatic solution." "I'll agree, Captain," Dalton said in reply. "But the Romulans will understand that this isn't another one of their cloak-and-dagger games." "Very well," Picard replied after a few moments. "The crew of the /Enterprise/ is at your disposal." "Thank you, Captain," Dalton said. "I will coordinate things aboard the /Vesuvius./ If we're firm, we might just pull this off. If you don't mind, I need to check on the status of the rest of my forces." "Of course, Admiral," Picard said, nodding curtly. He quickly left the conference room, followed by Captain Spickard. A few moments after that, the two Imperials took their leave as well. Very quickly, Chakotay and Admiral Dalton were left alone. When the room was clear, Dalton finally nodded at Chakotay. "The one that got away," he said, nodding slowly. "And yet here you are, a Captain in Starfleet. Chakotay narrowed his eyes. "Thank you, sir," he said. "I suspect you already know what I'm going to ask you." Dalton's expression soured a little as he nodded. "You know that her status and whereabouts are classified, Captain." "This is the same runaround you and Admiral Sonnenburg have been giving me for the last five months. You've released the rest of us now, why not Kathryn, and most of all, why not Seven?" Chakotay asked, fighting his temper. Dalton chuckled in response. "Guess you can never get away from your roots eh, Captain?" he said, leaning forward "Look, it's for the good of Starfleet and the Federation that Annika Hansen and Kathryn Janeway are where they are at right now. Surprisingly, the Starfleet uniform suits you well, Chakotay. And one of the things a Starfleet officer must do is look past his personal loyalties and look to what serves the greater good." Chakotay shook his head. "Starfleet has not changed one bit since I got chased into the Delta Quadrant." "That's bull and you know it," Dalton replied, his expression souring again. "Starfleet is moving in a good direction, and it will continue to do so. There's gonna be a lot of opportunities. Don't muck 'em up . . . or you will not get away next time," he said with a nod. "If you will excuse me, Captain, our time grows short." Meanwhile . . . aboard the /Kordoza./ Captain Raytheon Joors was alone for the first time in almost a day and a half. And even then, his mind was in overdrive. There were too many things to consider, and yet Raytheon had to master them all if he was ever to regain control of the situation. First there were the actions of Admiral Jerrik Ulstead, one of the most ruthless men in the modern Empire. Not only did not have Raytheon or Kynes shot, but he even negotiated a treaty of sorts with the group of primitives, going so far as to even be willing to wait for that man, Chakotay, to return. Raytheon himself didn't much care for the waiting game. He could still remember the days of an Empire which took swift and undeniable action. Raytheon shook his head. Nostalgia wouldn't get him very far. Carefully applied suspicion and observation, on the other hand, could do the trick. With that, the next person to come under his scrutiny was Liet Kynes. He had a chance to get rid of Raytheon and keep the knowledge of what lay beyond the second hypergate locked away forever. Yet, he didn't take it, choosing to back him at just the right moment. Why did he do that? What was Kynes' real agenda? A flash of motion outside the viewport drew Raytheon's attention away from his own thoughts. As he looked up, his eyes instantly widened. The shape which had just emerged from hyperspace belonged to a Dominion-class Star Destroyer. Immediately, Raytheon wondered why he didn't know about the new arrival. "Captain, the Destroyer /Unstoppable/ has just emerged from hyperspace," a voice interrupted over the comm. Raytheon nodded to himself. "Understood. Why wasn't I notified?" "We just got word from Bastion to expect the /Unstoppable./ The transmission came just five minutes ago." "Five minutes ago?" Raytheon said, dumbfounded. "That's right, sir." "Very well. Do you know who the communication came from?" "Imperial Intelligence, sir." "Imperial Intelligence?" Raytheon said. "Could this get much worse?" "Perhaps. The /Unstoppable/ informs us that we are to expect a guest. Lieutenant Kynes is already on his way to the hangar. "Very well," Raytheon said, sighing. "Tell him that I'll meet him there." Lieutenant Kynes watched as the /Unstoppable's/ shuttle made it's way over to the /Kordoza./ With him were two squads of stormtroopers, all standing at attention. Just enough to welcome a high-ranking Imperial officer to the ship, but too many for Kynes' taste. At last he could breath a small sigh of relief. The meeting with Admiral Ulstead had been the hardest part of the whole affair. And soon, he would have backup. "Lieutenant!" Raytheon called out from behind Kynes. Kynes nodded, turning to look at Raytheon. The older man made his way to Kynes, sparing a glance at the shuttle making it's final approach. "Do you know what is going on here?" Raytheon asked. Kynes merely shook his head. "Not at all, Captain," he said. Fortunately for him, Raytheon was completely unaware how much of a lie that was. What was more fortunate, was the fact that the shuttle was now entering the hangar. That would put an end to any more questions Raytheon might have tried to ask. Almost as soon as the shuttle landed, it's boarding ramp began to descend. Raytheon intently watched the shuttle, his body clearly tense. Gratification wouldn't come soon, though. The ramp remained vacant for almost half a minute. Finally, somebody began to descend the ramp. A single man, dressed in a crisp Imperial uniform. The insignia on the front of his uniform indicated that he was a full Admiral. That was backed by everything the man did, his bearing, and his expression. Everything about him shouted "Power!" As the man stepped off the ramp, he wasted no more time, striding up to Raytheon and Kynes. "Good day to you both. I am Admiral Phong Nguyen of Imperial Intelligence. I have been dispatched by Pellaeon himself," he said. "Welcome aboard the Imperator-class Star Destroyer /Kordoza/ sir," Raytheon said, standing straight. "I am her commanding officer, Captain Raytheon Joors. And this," Raytheon replied, indicating Kynes, "is my liaison and aide, Lieutenant Liet Kynes." Admiral Nguyen nodded slightly. "I know, Captain. Lieutenant Kynes and myself go far back." Raytheon looked dumbstruck. "I beg your pardon, sir?" "You seem ill-at-ease with all that has occurred, Captain. I will excuse your breach of decorum. In any case, your presence here is no longer required," Admiral Nguyen replied, narrowing his eyes. "It isn't sir?" Raytheon said, a look of confusion crossing his face. Admiral Nguyen's eyes narrowed just a little more. "No, it isn't. In fact, you will return to what you were doing and forget this ever happened." "I will?" Raytheon replied. For an instant, he looked like he was about to say some more. "That's right," Admiral Nguyen said, nodding. "Very well," Raytheon replied, his face looking blank for a moment. He then looked directly at Admiral Nguyen again. "I'm sorry, have we met?" Admiral Nguyen shook his head. "Not yet, I'm briefing Admiral Ulstead as we speak." "Fair enough," Raytheon said, his voice a little unsure. He then turned and quickly made an exit. As soon as he was gone, Kynes looked over at Admiral Nguyen. "Was that necessary?" Admiral Nguyen's eyebrow shot up. "People in our field of work can never be too careful. Speaking of which, an Imperial ship such as this one will have a lot of ears. Remember your training!" Kynes nodded sharply. "I understand, sir," he said, though he didn't make a sound, nor did his lips move. "I've read your report," Admiral Nguyen replied in much the same way. "Do you have anything to add?" "No sir. It seems things are going according to plan." Nguyen nodded. "That's good. Speaking of plans, I believe you are holding a Tal Shi'ar operative." Kynes jerked a little. Even through telepathy, the name still sounded profoundly alien. The fact that Admiral Nguyen knew it was no surprise. "Correct, sir. She's gotten very impatient with her treatment." "As it is supposed to be," Nguyen replied. "Bring me to her. I've been waiting quite a while for her to show up." ***End Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen: Strife and Discord. Taros Gavakar leaned back in his chair, trying his best to radiate a calm that he didn't quite feel. Several hours ago, the sensors of his fleet picked up on the fact that the Federation was on the move. What was more disturbing was the fact that they were coming in from more than one direction. Taros knew that it was a classic and very aggressive approach. He also knew that the Federation believed that he would either have to split his forces to counter the Federation ships entering the system, or risk having his ships engulfed in a massive tachyon net, which would severely reduce any advantage Taros would normally have. However, Taros knew he had an advantage that the Federation didn't. He had the advantage of a crack corps of Tal Shi'ar telepaths, all of whom were specially trained to work with Human minds. The Federation had no counter. At best, all they had was Deanna Troi, the half-Betazoid aboard the /Enterprise,/ but she was only one receiver. She couldn't possibly tell Picard or Admiral Dalton where the Romulan telepaths were at. And just in case, only a handful of people in the entire Romulan fleet knew which ship Kara Nevakur and her telepaths were aboard. Taros allowed himself a faint smile. He knew that when Sub-Commander Nevakur and her telepaths started their work on the people aboard the Federation ships, soon the technical edge the Federation held would be diminished by the heightened inability of their crews to fight and perform their duties efficiently. If all went according to plan, then the Federation would suffer a defeat which would firmly establish Romulan superiority until at least the end of the century. With that thought in mind, he tapped a few controls on his armchair. Immediately, Sub-Commander Nevakur's face appeared on the viewscreen. For only the briefest of moments, Taros could feel her probing his mind. He replied with a grim smile. "You are improving, Sub-Commander. You almost resisted the temptation to automatically probe my mind. For your sake, I suggest you improve further," he said, his face now expressionless. Kara nodded politely. "As you wish, Commander. What is the purpose of your call, as I am not permitted the pleasure of lifting it from your mind directly." "Are you prepared to do your duty?" Taros asked, letting the Sub-Commander's remark pass. "My sisters and I are always ready, Commander." Taros nodded curtly. "Very good. Expect to be called into service very soon." Thelea was awakened by a tingle. At first, she tried to ignore it, and rolled over, seeking a few more minutes of sleep. Unfortunately, the tingling sensation wouldn't go away. It became more insistent, and then made the transition from a mere tingling sensation to a prickly sensation. That got her attention. When the prickles became shooting needles of pain, she jumped out of bed with a start. Something dangerous was nearby. She couldn't explain how she knew, which was something to add to the long list of things she could explain how she knew, but she knew. The door slid back into the wall with the astonishing swiftness she was just starting to get used to. Then, much to her surprise, Lieutenant Kynes stepped in. To Thelea, he was hardly the image of danger, but she still couldn't push back the feeling of imminent danger she felt. Quickly, another man stepped in behind Kynes. Just as quickly, Thelea found herself sitting in awe on her bed. The other man was clearly the source of her distress, yet he looked even more harmless than Kynes did. The man and Lieutenant Kynes looked at each other. Instantly, Thelea was aware that something was going on between them. It felt like they were communicating something, and it seemed to be clearly about her. "So, you are the one the Romulans chose as their representative," the man said, nodding slowly. "And definitely one with much talent," he continued, except this time, his lips didn't move. Her eyes widened, the man before her was a telepath. As if in confirmation, the man nodded. "I sense much confusion from you," he said, opting to actually speak this time. "And I believed that Romulan neuroscience would have progressed since the last time I spoke to one of your kind. As it is, your memory block appears to have been rather poorly implemented." Thelea nodded slowly. She felt as if this were part of her mission. Curse her patchy memory, especially now, when she could've used them most. "Who are you, and how do you know about the Romulans?" She asked, asserting herself and solidifying her composure. The man nodded in response. "There is nothing I can do to repair the damage to your mind at the moment. That would take a group effort. I am Admiral Phong Nguyen, nominally of Imperial Intelligence." Thelea nodded. Briefly she had a glimmer of admiration for the man, who was apparently another spymaster. "Nominally?" She said. Admiral Nguyen nodded, smiling a little. "Nominally. All that is officially known about me is that I am a high- ranking official in Imperial Intelligence. There are others who know differently. Lieutenant Kynes is among them, but do not expect him to tell you. Perhaps I will let *you* know one day." Thelea absorbed the information. Already she felt more alive than she had in days. The confusion she had was starting to fade away. "Why have you come?" She asked. Of course, she already suspected the answer. This would let her gauge how far she could trust him. "Lieutenant Kynes appraised me of the developing situation. Though the situation is of grave importance, my primary interest is you. The Tal Shi'ar has some unfinished business here. It is my hope you will be some use in resolving that," Nguyen replied. That came as a bit of a surprise. Thelea knew that she'd likely understand perfectly if she were in full control of her faculties. "No need to be surprised, Commander," Nguyen said, his tone reassuring. "In any case, you are coming with me. Your time aboard the /Kordoza/ is over. The information you volunteered to Captain Joors will be put to good use, but he won't remember where it came from. I've already made sure of that." Thelea nodded. At that point she had enough of the /Kordoza./ It was time for a change. And she felt that the change would bring her that much closer to completing her mission for the Tal Shi'ar . . . provided she could ever remember what the whole thing was. Chakotay took his seat in the conference room. With him was Björn, and his commander, Sergeant Lssard. Neither Captain Picard nor Admiral Dalton thought it wise to let the three of them on the bridge, and none of Dalton's ships were in need of a captain. As a result, he was relegated to watching the unfolding battle from the conference room nearest to the bridge. He was just another observer and the Imperials were along for the ride. Admiral Rob Dalton watched the stars revert to normal as the /Vesuvius/ slipped into realspace. The bridge of the /Vesuvius/ was as spartan as the bridge aboard a /Sovereign/ could get. Less to distract the crew from their duties. "Status report," he called out, his eyes scanning the viewscreen. "Not as good as we had hoped, sir," replied Ensign Poandl, the woman manning the /Vesuvius's/ helm. "Clarify," Rob said, leaning forward. "All the Romulan ships are still in the Shibboleth System. None of them have moved to intercept Captain Lewinger and his portion of the fleet." Rob nodded. "Surprising, but to be expected. Order both fleets to link their tachyon nets. Let's see if we can flush out their reinforcements." "Sending the order, sir," said Commander Wilson, Rob's Tactical Officer. Dalton nodded as the /Vesuvius/ accelerated rapidly insystem. Soon he would be upon the Romulans. Ideally, they would blink and try to pursue a compromise, but he knew better than to expect the Romulans to behave ideally. "Sir, some of the Warbirds in the system are far more massive than normal. Their power distribution curves are also abnormally high," Ensign Poandl reported. "Explanation?" Rob said, regarding the ensign with a critical eye. "It appears to be a new Romulan ship class, Admiral," Commander Wilson said, deploying the combat sensors of the /Vesuvius/ for greatest effect. "Heavily modified internal structure. I'd tell you more, but they've got a potent jamming field up." Rob nodded, a little surprised. "So they slipped something like that past Starfleet Intelligence, eh? No matter. Do we have an inventory of the Romulan assets yet?" "Affirmative, Admiral," Commander Wilson said. "They have quite a few assets. More ships here than we have in the task force. And the tachyon sweeps detected no cloaked ships or anomalous disruptions in the tachyon field." "The Romulans seem awfully cocky today," Rob remarked. "Locate and hail the /Strife./ It's time we found out why." Taros watched impassively as the Federation fleet dropped out of warp. They had come in exactly as he knew they would, each half of their fleet sweeping into the system with a tachyon net. Still, Taros held his ground. He made no attempt to cloak his ships. The more he could make the Federation wonder about how strong his forces were, the more likely they would blink and pull back. And if not, Taros was willing to beat the Federation as badly as it took to keep them out of the system. There was a lot at stake here. And few people alive knew that better than Commander Taros Gavakar. When he had first joined the Tal Shi'ar, a Romulan scoutship had discovered the Artifact in what the Federation called the Shibboleth System. In order to escape the notice of a Federation patrol that was passing near the system, they had made the decision to enter the Artifact. They were rapidly intercepted by native ship on the other side, and met a Human named Phong Nguyen. From him, the Romulans learned that they had emerged on the edge of a galaxy at war. As the Human explained, he represented the Galactic Empire, an Empire that was in the midst of some "minor internal conflict," as he put it. In exchange for their safe return, the crew of the Romulan scout promised that the Romulan Empire would meet the Galactic Empire on more amicable terms. Granted, only a third of the crew managed to return from their trip alive, but a start was a start. Over the next few years, the Romulans continued to slip scoutships into the Artifact, gathering bits and pieces of information about the Galactic Empire and the galaxy they controlled. Several more times, they encountered the Galactic Empire. The last time, they had crossed paths with Phong Nguyen again. That time, the Romulan ship managed to escape by venting almost all of their warp plasma in a controlled EMP burst, which affected Nguyen's ship enough for the Romulans to make their escape. After that, the Romulans began compiling all that they had learned. The Tal Shi'ar was determined to meet the Galactic Empire on something resembling even ground. That meant a daring operation to get a Tal Shi'ar operative all the way to the capital of the Galactic Empire. The Romulans had much to gain from the success of such a mission, and Taros would be damned if he let the Federation foul it up now. "Commander," Lieutenant S'zaelser called out. "We're being hailed by the /Vesuvius./" Taros nodded, his face an emotionless mask. A follower of Surak would've been proud. "It begins now." Admiral Dalton watched as the cold, hard face of the Romulan commander appeared on the viewscreen. Immediately, he recognized the Romulan. "So, we meet again, Commander Gavakar," Rob said. "Still holding onto the /Strife,/ I see." "Afraid I cannot say the same about you, Admiral Dalton," Taros replied. "Last I saw, you were aboard the /Olgagnez./" "Things change, Commander," Dalton said. "Last time I saw you, we were on the same side." "Only through Federation treachery. We will not soon forget the underhanded trickery you used to send so many brave Imperial officers to their deaths." "Selective memory you have there, Commander," Dalton replied evenly. "Have you forgotten that you are on the wrong side of the Neutral Zone?" "I beg to differ, Admiral. The Romulan Empire's claim to this system is far stronger than that of the Federation's." "If you want, we can negotiate a compromise. We worked well together against the Dominion, Commander. We can do the same here." "Admiral, you know well that I will not leave this system willingly," Taros replied calmly. "This is something that is beyond negotiation. If you do not leave, I may have little choice other than to forcibly evict you." Rob motioned for the link to be muted. He looked back to Commander Wilson. "I never liked him much anyway. He's just as obstinate now as he was the day I met him." "Looks like we're about to mix it up, sir," Commander Wilson replied. Rob looked forward and motioned that the audio be cut back in. For several moments, he contemplated Taros with a hard stare. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Commander. But this is Federation territory. Starfleet is clear on that, and I'm clear on that. What you do next is your choice," Admiral Dalton said, closing the channel. Taros nodded as Admiral Dalton's image winked out. He tapped a control on his armchair and again, Sub-Commander Nevakur appeared on his screen. "Wait until our forces have fully engaged the Federation ships. Then take action." "Your will be done, Commander," Nevakur replied, giving him a dramatic bow before cutting the channel. Meanwhile . . . the bridge of the /Enterprise./ "Captain! Romulan fighters are making a run on the /Auckland!/" Ensign Aspo reported. "Our orders are clear, Ensign. We are to let them have the first strike," Picard replied icily. He didn't like the fact that the Romulans were being manipulated into giving Admiral Dalton the excuse he needed to attack them. However, at this point, there was no more room for personal concerns. It was time Picard did his duty to the best of his ability. The four Peregrines guarding the /Auckland/ spread out to screen the Akira-class ship from the Romulan fighters. However, they deployed into a claw formation, the pincers sweeping in and around the Federation fighters. An instant later, the /Auckland/ was under attack, her shields flaring under the Romulan assault. Simultaneously, the Romulan ships exploded forward, green disruptor fire raking over the Federation ships. The Federation wasted no time in responding, the /Vesuvius/ charging forward, blasting away with phasers and quantum torpedoes. "Execute Maneuver Picard-Five-Alpha! Target the engines of that cruiser," Picard ordered. Immediately, the /Enterprise/ dove hard, tracing a broad, horizontal 'S' in space, coming up below a Seihu-class heavy cruiser, a Romulan ship in service since the /Enterprise-B/ had been commissioned. The /Enterprise's/ phasers lanced out, slashing at the cruiser's two exposed engine nacelles. One beam made contact, slashing at the wing connecting the nacelle to the ship. Plasma erupted from slashed conduits. Suddenly, the /Enterprise/ shook violently as two Birds-of- Prey worked their disruptors over the ship. "Evasive maneuvers," Picard said. "Fire quantum torpedoes!" He added as the /Enterprise/ shook again. Sparks shot from the ceiling near the door as the ship started a hard turn to port. "Aye sir, Torpedoes away," Ensign Aspo replied, deftly working the console. Two quantum torpedoes raced away from the /Enterprise,/ punching through the shields of a Romulan Bird-of-Prey, blasting it apart. "Sir, the /Raven Ford/ has come under fire from a pair of Romulan assault frigates. They are requesting our assistance," Commander Data reported. "Tell him we're on our way," Picard replied. "Ensign, get that other Bird-of-Prey off of us." The /Enterprise/ shook violently as the other Bird-of-Prey struck the ship with a pair of her own torpedoes. The antiquated Romulan cruiser behind it recovered from it's spin, bringing it's heavy main disruptor to bear on the /Enterprise./ "Captain! Our aft shields are down thirty-five percent!" Geordi shouted from the Engineering station. A moment later, Ensign Aspo targeted the second Bird-of-Prey, crippling it with a concentrated phaser burst. The Seihu was next, it's main disruptor falling to another pinpoint phaser strike. The /Enterprise/ pulled away from the cruiser, moving swiftly toward the /Raven Ford's/ position. Meanwhile . . . aboard the Aen v'Saeihr-class carrier /Discord./ Kara Nevakur watched with satisfaction as the battle was joined. The /Discord/ was hanging back, moving to cleverly shield itself behind the largest number of Romulan ships. Still, she succeeded in picking off a Defiant-class ship which had so foolishly made a run at her. Kara looked to the other Romulan telepaths, all women. "It's time," she said. She reached out with her hands, taking the hands of the two women closest to her. They did the same thing, and quickly, all six of them were joined in a circle, their eyes slowly closing. Romulans were psionically gifted, especially when compared with many of the other races in the Galaxy. While some could be potent as non-contact telepaths, the majority of Romulan telepaths were touch telepaths, much like their Vulcan cousins. That meant that a group of Romulan non-contact telepaths could have their abilities vastly augmented by the simple act of holding hands, and emptying their minds. In moments, their minds were linked as all the barriers came down. Kara and her telepaths became one potent mind, knowing all and hiding nothing. They could hear the whispers of thought racing through the men and women aboard the Federation ships. Their efficiency and sense of duty made up for the tactical shortcomings of their ships. Because of this, they had the edge. It was Kara's task to reduce that as much as possible. She and her telepathic sisters would work to diminish the confidence of the Federation crews, to increase their doubts. Slowly, they began to add their whispers to the cacophony surrounding them. Slowly, the began to shape the whispers to suit their whims. Captain Picard watched as the /Galveston,/ a Nebula-class light cruiser, took several solid disruptor shots amidships, blowing it apart. In the last five minutes, the tide of the battle started to turn. It started out small, a several Romulan ships succeeded in breaching the Federation globe formation, cloaking once they were clear. Of course they returned, but they brought down one of Dalton's Akiras. Briefly, the /Enterprise/ found itself in the crossfire between three Warbirds, and took a severe beating for it's troubles. Ensign Aspo lay unconscious on the ground. Manning his station was Lieutenant Mackey of the /Witz./ Tending him was Chakotay and the two Imperials, who had appeared on the bridge as soon as things started to go wrong. "Port shields holding at twenty-eight percent," Geordi reported. "I've got plasma venting on decks thirteen and sixteen!" "What is the status of our fleet?" Picard asked urgently. "Not as good as it was before, sir," Lieutenant Mackey replied. "The /Atkins/ and the /Raven Ford/ have both been crippled. We've lost the /Colson,/ the /Elba,/ and the /Auckland./" "What of the /Vesuvius/?" "She's in better shape than we are, but not by much," Lieutenant Mackey replied. A Romulan fighter slipped past the /Enterprise's/ phaser fire, unleashing it's single quantum torpedo against her shields. The /Enterprise/ rocked violently. Counselor Troi pitched from her seat, gripping her head. "Counselor!" Commander Riker shouted, leaping to her side. Quickly, he moved to help her up, but she pushed him away. "Something's wrong!" Troi shouted. "This is not the time," Picard replied impatiently as the /Enterprise/ missed a Romulan assault frigate by less than a hundred meters. "No, there's something wrong! There's a malevolent presence here," Troi insisted. "Number One! Get her out of here!" Picard said sternly. His tone was a little more stressed then normal. Björn looked over at Koonis as he gripped the support rails. The battle had started well enough, but it seemed that the Federation forces soon started to lose their cohesion. Unfortunately, it started to snowball from there. Much to his surprise, Koonis seemed to be focused very hard. His calm, icy mask was gone. "What is it, Sergeant?" Björn asked as he watched a Romulan Bird-of-Prey tumble out of control. "I feel it too. Somebody's not playing fair here," Koonis said. "What do you mean?" Björn said quickly. "These Romulans are playing with the Force. I'm sure of it." "How do you know?" "There's more to my training than you know, sir," Koonis replied, stepping forward to intercept Riker and Troi near the door. "Captain Picard!" The sergeant shouted. "Your political officer is right! Your opponents are using the Force against you!" Picard spared a quick and annoyed glance back at Koonis. "This is not the time!" Troi groaned and sagged against Will as the /Enterprise/ cleared all the nearby threats, closing in on the position of the /Vesuvius./ "This is the time, Captain! You're being affected too," Koonis said, more urgently. Picard's face contorted with effort. Chakotay stepped up to him. "He's right!" Chakotay said. "Don't let your feelings guide you." Picard took a step back. After a moment, he opened his mouth. "I feel something. Different, somehow." "That's the Force, alright," Koonis replied. Picard nodded slowly, seeming to accept Koonis' explanation. "This is serious. Counselor . . . Sergeant, unless you can tell me where the Romulan telepath is at, we may be in a lot of trouble." "I can't," Troi choked out. "They're too strong, I'm completely overwhelmed." "They?" Björn asked, puzzled, but Koonis held up his hand. "Aye, sir. Definitely more than one at work." "But where are they?" Picard urged. "We're running out of time." Koonis Lssard reached out with the Force. Long ago, he had been instructed in the basic use of the Force. It was a skill that was necessary if he wanted to pursue his chosen career. Especially since his career was sabotaging the New Republic and their crop of Jedi. He could hear the discordant song of the Romulan telepaths, working the Federation crews into a frenzy of self-doubt and carelessness. /Discordant?/ He thought, surprised at the word that popped into his mind. Suddenly, he knew. "Captain, your priority target is aboard that carrier over there," Koonis said, pointing out the nearest Romulan carrier. "Analysis, mister Mackey," Picard immediately said. "I've identified it as the /Discord./ And she's pretty well-protected. Her shields are fresh, and she's got more than twice the ablative hull armor of an ordinary Warbird," Lieutenant Mackey replied. Picard solemnly shook his head. "We won't be able to hurt it quickly enough to nullify the Romulan telepaths." "Not necessarily," Koonis said. "I beg your pardon?" "I may be enlisted, but I'm qualified on everything from a cargo ferry to a TIE Interceptor." "What are you saying?" Björn said, the expression of concern clear on his face. "I'm saying, let me take that carrier down," Koonis replied. Picard's brow furrowed in thought. "With what? Our shuttles wouldn't last more than thirty seconds against that ship." "Ours would, Captain. That shuttle we came aboard in has a full load of advanced concussion missiles and thick armor plating. That ship looks pretty hollow on the inside. If I can slip in there, my missiles will blow it apart from the inside out." Picard's brows shot up. "Out of the question, Sergeant. You're proposing a suicide mission!" "No, just a terminally risky one. TIE pilots fly missions far more suicidal than this. They don't have shields. Take a look around you, Captain. How long will your forces last with their brains kriffed up like they are now?" Picard was silent for several moments. Suddenly, he was interrupted by Lieutenant Mackey. "Incoming transmission from Admiral Dalton, sir!" Picard looked up. "Put it through, Lieutenant." Instantly, Admiral Dalton appeared on the viewscreen. Behind him, the bridge of the /Vesuvius/ bore a close resemblance to a disaster area. "We could really use your help, Picard," Dalton said without preamble. "Curious, I was about to contact you on the very same topic," Picard replied. "Listen, we have reason to believe the Romulans are employing a group of telepaths against us." Dalton narrowed his eyes and leaned closer. After a moment he said, "You're not kidding." "I'm afraid not, Admiral." Immediately, Dalton's face reddened. "Well, I'll be damned! Of all the dirty tricks they could pull . . . I wouldn't put it past them, to tell you the truth." The man sighed. "Just tell me where to shoot." "My Tactical Officer is transmitting the coordinates to you as we speak." Dalton paused to look at the data, his image flickering as the /Vesuvius/ sustained another Romulan assault. "That's going to be a hard target to crack." "We . . . have a plan, Admiral," Picard replied reluctantly. "I look forward to seeing it in action, Picard. Dalton out!" The admiral replied, cutting the channel. Picard looked back over at Koonis. "I think you'd better get to your shuttle, Sergeant." "I thank you, Captain," Koonis said. "Attack one shield sector and one shield sector only," he said, turning to leave. Björn grabbed his shoulder. "You sure you know what you're doing, Sarge?" Koonis nodded. "As sure as the Force, sir. You saved me all those years ago on that kriffing rock. I think it's high time I payed you back." Björn nodded mutely. "Good luck, Sergeant," he said, bringing his arm up in a stiff salute. "Thank you, sir," Koonis replied with a salute equally as crisp. ***End Chapter Thirteen. Chapter Fourteen: Triple Point. Sergeant Koonis Lssard shot out of the /Enterprise's/ shuttlebay, pushing his escort shuttle as hard as it would go. Already the /Vesuvius/ and the /Enterprise/ were turning toward the /Discord,/ their phasers lancing out. The /Discord's/ shields flared, a healthy green bubble surrounding the behemoth. Koonis selected his concussion missiles, waiting for the lock tone. As soon as he had it, he launched two of them at the /Discord,/ watching as they streaked toward the spot /Vesuvius/ and /Enterprise/ were hammering at. Taros Gavakar was very pleased with the present status of the battle around him. As soon as Sub-Commander Nevakur had started her telepathic intervention, the order in the Federation ranks had crumbled, offering the Romulans an opportunity of a lifetime. An opportunity they leaped at with all the force they could muster. Now, all the Federation ships had sustained damage in one form or another. All of their fighter carriers were either crippled, or destroyed, and the single Galaxy that they had brought with them had just lost it's impulse engines. That left the two Sovereigns, /Vesuvius/ and /Enterprise/ to deal with. Of course, Taros was holding back on their final assault. As soon as the Federation's supporting ships were gone, the Romulans would descend on both ships. "Commander! We're being hailed by the /Discord!/" Lieutenant S'zaelser shouted. "They're under attack!" "The /Discord,/" Taros replied, his feelings of doom starting to return. "Who's attacking them?" "/Enterprise/ and /Vesuvius,/ Commander." Taros uttered an extremely graphic Romulan expletive, recovered his composure and then ordered: "Order all available ships to come to the aid of the /Discord/! We destroy Admiral Dalton and Captain Picard now!" Admiral Rob Dalton watched with satisfaction as the Romulan ships started to head toward the /Discord./ Briefly, he felt something akin to incredible self-doubt, like what he was doing was the absolute wrong thing to do. He then shook his head vigorously, forcibly reminding himself that it was a Romulan mind trick. "Looks like we've exposed their dirty little secret, eh?" Rob said to Commander Wilson. His Tactical Officer nodded gravely. "Indeed it does, sir. Let's hope Picard's crazy plan works though, because it feels like they're turning up the heat." Koonis closed in on the /Discord,/ raking it with his blasters. The ship responded, one of it's smaller turrets taking a few shots at him. However, he managed to evade them all, while keeping a critical eye on the carrier's shields. As soon as they dropped, he had to slip into the ship's hangar and unleash his remaining concussion missiles. At the same time, he had to work harder to ignore the screaming of the Romulan telepaths, who realized now that they might be in serious trouble. Part of the /Discord's/ shield bubble flickered oddly, fading away much quicker than the surrounding portions. Instantly, Koonis turned hard toward the ship. As if in confirmation of his suspicion, the next to phaser blasts cut glowing scour marks into the carrier's armored hull. At that moment, Koonis killed as much of his forward velocity as he could, slipping past the rapidly closing hangar doors, drifting to a halt inside the ship. He whistled in awe. The hangar was comfortably larger than the one found in the garden-variety Star Destroyer. One could easily fit a few Corellian Corvettes with enough room for a small wing of TIE Fighters. His shuttle was starting to look positively insignificant in comparison. Immediately, his sensors started to provide a flood of information about the carrier. Koonis grinned, as he suspected the inside of the hangar wasn't as well-armored as the exterior of the ship. It was a design decision the Romulans would soon regret. He targeted what he thought was the ship's main power source and linked both of the shuttle's concussion missile launchers. His shields flared with sparks of green fire as Romulans in the hangar tried to bring his shuttle down with their sidearms. Koonis watched the lock indicators with a little worry, it wouldn't take them long to find something heavier, or worse, power up one of their fighters. Then he heard it, the steady tone of lock acquisition. With a bit of relish, Koonis squeezed the launch triggers, and the missiles raced away, slamming into the back of the hangar, punching into the ship's primary singularity reactor. The explosive shockwave slammed into the parked Romulan fighters, pulverizing them. One was picked up, whole, and was sent careening toward Koonis' shuttle. In an instant, he knew he couldn't avoid the impending collision. As his shuttle crumpled around him, Koonis' last thought was one of satisfaction . . . his final mission had just successfully been completed. Picard watched as jets of fire exploded from the /Discord's/ hangar. Within moments, the ship started to crumple from the inside-out, fast-flying debris punching holes in the ship's superstructure. Immediately, he felt as if he had emerged from some great mental fog. No longer did he feel the feelings of irritation and confusion that had plagued him just moments ago. "Fire all weapons at that ship!" He found himself shouting. But now, he saw that there was instant compliance. Things were no longer running just-slower-than-normal. The /Enterprise/ and /Vesuvius/ mauled the /Discord/ with all the phaser power and quantum torpedoes both ships could manage. Fire poured into jagged holes, making them larger. Suddenly, it was all over, as the /Discord's/ wreckage was washed out by a flash of harsh blue light. Then, only debris and expanding plasma and gasses remained. Chakotay blinked away the afterimage of the /Discord's/ destruction. He had never seen any ship go up so violently before. But, then again, this battle was full of firsts for him. Then, he glanced over at Björn. The man was staring hard at the wreckage on the viewscreen. "Captain Paulsen . . . Björn," Chakotay said. Björn turned to look at him. "He was a good man, Captain Chakotay. And if he was willing to die for your Federation, then so am I. The Empire and the Federation will be united." Chakotay nodded, patting the other man on the shoulder. He understood what it was like to lose good crewmen. Too often, he had done it in his career as a Maquis. He was interrupted by Admiral Dalton appearing on the viewscreen. "Picard, I don't know how we did it, but I'm looking at one dead Romulan super-carrier." Picard nodded. "We have our Imperial friends to thank," he said, indicating Björn. "His escort just paid the ultimate price." Admiral Dalton nodded. "Hope we're equal to the task. Now, I think the Romulans are now in the same position as we were. Granted we don't have a telepathic weapon on our side, but killing that super-carrier may just have given us the advantage." "That seems to be the case," Picard replied. "Yes it is. But you're done here, Picard. I've got a new assignment for you. You are to take the /Enterprise/ through the device and make contact with Captain Paulsen's superiors. Starfleet will send a proper diplomatic team when they send my reinforcements, but you're the best man I can think of for the job." "I'm honored Admiral," Picard said. Dalton nodded. "And there's one more thing. You are to work closely with Captain Chakotay on this one," he said, shifting his gaze to Chakotay. "And Chakotay, as you presently have the most experience in dealing with the Imperials, I am temporarily appointing you as Starfleet's official representative to the Galactic Empire. I know it's hardly legal, but time isn't on our side gentlemen." "I'm not sure what to say, but thank you, sir," Chakotay replied. Dalton nodded, cutting the channel. Chakotay looked over to Captain Picard. "It looks like we're committed now, Captain." "Indeed we are. Commander Data, lay in a course for the Artifact at full impulse." Taros Gavakar watched in numb shock as the /Discord/ went down with all hands. He had listened as the ship's crew reported that a single shuttle had slipped into the ship's hangar and had shot off a couple of missiles into her main reactor. A few moments later, she was space debris. Unfortunately many of the Romulan commanders who were listening in on the emergency channel had heard the report as well. Now the Romulan commanders were a little spooked, for the Federation was much, much crazier than they had ever suspected. And worse, since the Romulan fleet had rushed in, in a vain attempt to defend the /Discord,/ they had found themselves in the center of a rapidly forming globe of Federation ships. And Taros knew now that Admiral Dalton had reinforcements on the way. He sighed, it was looking like a day where he should've listened to his instincts. "Commander, the /Enterprise/ is on a course for the Artifact. They seem to be at emergency acceleration," reported Centurion Lennis Na'sael, the /Strife's/ navigation officer. Taros nodded. "Very well. Order the other Warbirds to cover us. We will pursue the /Enterprise/ through the Artifact. This day will end badly, but at least I shall have the satisfaction of stopping the /Enterprise/ myself." "Captain, we are being pursued by the Warbird /Strife,/" Lieutenant Mackey reported from the Tactical station. "I suspected he might," Picard replied. "Commander Laforge, I need a status report." "Our shield generators are only operating at eighty-four percent efficiency. We're venting plasma on decks twenty through twenty-four now. My main concern though is that we've got micro-fractures in the warp nacelle pylons," Geordi replied, not turning away from his station. "Alright. Commander Laforge, see what you can do about our shield generators. We're going to need them if the /Strife/ insists on pursuing us." "Aye, Captain," Geordi replied, hurrying off the bridge. "Captain Paulsen, what should we expect to find when we cross the Artifact?" Commander Riker asked, taking his seat. "With luck, you'll encounter my ship, the /Aljete,/" Björn replied. "And without luck?" "A squadron of Star Destroyers," Björn replied solemnly. "Very well. We shall deal with what situation chooses to confront us on the other side of the Artifact," Picard replied. "Lieutenant Mackey, do your best to slow down the /Strife,/ I don't want them to come out of the Artifact on top of us." "Aye, Captain," Lieutenant Mackey replied. "I can help down in Engineering, Captain," Chakotay volunteered. "I'm afraid I need you here, Captain. The Imperials will be less inclined to take hostile action if they see two familiar faces when we contact them," Picard said as Lieutenant Mackey opened up on the /Strife/ with the ship's phasers. The /Enterprise/ accelerated toward the Artifact, it's rear phaser banks sniping at the /Strife,/ which was aggressively pursuing the /Enterprise,/ in spite of the incoming fire. The /Vesuvius/ moved to intercept the /Strife,/ her phasers scouring the Romulan shields. Then the three Warbirds tasked with guarding the /Strife/ closed in on the /Vesuvius,/ slashing at it with as many disruptors as they could bring to bear. Soon, /Vesuvius/ was too occupied to pose a serious threat to the /Strife./ The /Aen v'Saeihr/ class carriers were in much more trouble now. Now that the Federation fighters knew where to shoot, all the surviving Peregrines and the two surviving Defiants concentrated their efforts on knocking their shields down and trying to pump as much firepower as possible into the carriers' vulnerable hangars. For the Starfleet ships, it was a task which almost went beyond their capabilities, trying to hit the two Defiant-sized doors while dodging the carriers' potent disruptor banks. With the carriers under attack, the Romulans could neither launch any new fighters, or retrieve the ones they had left. One of the carriers swept it's disruptor beam in a broad arc, vaporizing fifteen Peregrines in a single blow. It then sliced a nacelle off a Steamrunner which was trying to pump the remainder of it's quantum torpedoes into the carrier. The ship tumbled out of control and into the path of one of the remaining Defiants. Both ships went up in a dazzling explosion, the radiation knocking down the carrier's shields. Instantly, the second Defiant raced in, ignoring the green spikes of disruptor fire around it. Her pulse phasers blasted at the armored hangar doors, buckling them, then blowing them out in explosive jets of liquid metal. The ship blasted into the hangar, her pulse phasers raking the interior of the hangar, Romulan fighters crumpling against her shields. The phaser blasts vaporized the carrier's main reactor, the ensuing explosion blowing out the aft hangar doors. The Defiant-class exploded out of the hangar as the carrier was rocked with secondary explosions. Within moments, the Romulan carrier went up with as big an explosion as the first. That moment would later be recorded as the moment the battle really came to an end. The remaining Romulan carriers began to turn and wheel, desperate to escape the system. Only two of the /Aen v'Saeihr/-class carriers were under the direct control of the Tal Shi'ar, and the Federation happened to kill both of them. The others were still under the control of the Romulan Navy, and their commanders knew better than to let their expensive ships and sensitive information fall into Federation hands. And with them went the bulk of the lighter ships, who formed a flying wedge and drove it through the Federation globe, allowing the slower carriers to make their escape. But none of this mattered to Picard, Chakotay, or the crew of the /Enterprise./ Their part in the battle was about to come to an end, as they were within moments of penetrating the Artifact. Those moments quickly passed, and the ship shot into the center of the Artifact, and down the blue vortex, with Taros Gavakar and the Warbird /Strife/ in hot pursuit. Interlude #7: Outbound Flight. Admiral Phong Nguyen watched the stars reappear as the /Unstoppable/ emerged from hyperspace. Already, the /Aljete/ was in the system, patiently waiting for her captain, and the Federation man to return. To Phong's side was the half- Romulan woman, and Tal Shi'ar operative, Thelea. Today had been a good day for Phong. Not only had he recovered the location of the Ghostyard and a hypergate leading to a whole new galaxy, but he would soon have representative humans from the other galaxy to contribute to the knowledge of the Project. And, best of all was his new guest. He had been waiting for another Romulan attempt to infiltrate the galaxy. Now that they had tried again, Phong swore he wouldn't squander this Romulan like he had the earlier ones. Thelea saw the Admiral looking over at her again. It was a look that made her skin crawl. It was a look that implied that he knew everything there was to know about her. If he did, it was positive progress over what she knew about herself. About all she could be sure of was the fact that she was a Tal Shi'ar sleeper agent, and she had a mission to complete, something about reaching a planet named Coruscant. As Admiral Nguyen looked away, Thelea spent a few moments studying his face. Though she had never met the man before in her life, his face looked hauntingly familiar . . . Eleven years ago, aboard the Romulan heavy cruiser /Kraenos v'Aenir./ Thelea watched as Romulan technicians rolled out her Federation shuttle. She had been on her way back home after her graduation from Starfleet Academy when she had been intercepted by the heavy cruiser. This had happened to her many times during her time at the Academy. Every time, it had happened the same way. She was intercepted, the Tal Shi'ar temporarily undid their deep neural block, she received more instruction, then the block was replaced and she returned from her leaves or her breaks, with nobody ever getting suspicious. Every time, her controller had been the same. A Romulan centurion named Taros Gavakar, one of the Tal Shi'ar's fastest rising stars. With him had been a group of telepaths in training, one of them a pale young woman named Kara Nevakur. For four years, Thelea had received instruction from the Tal Shi'ar. They were determined to capitalize on the opportunity to worm an operative deep into Starfleet. A hard-working young woman who had overcome both racial prejudice and personal adversity would be on the fast-track to Starfleet Command. Naturally this was an idea that didn't sit too well with Thelea. She still blamed the Federation for the death of her parents, among other things. Fortunately, Centurion Gavakar had offered her a potential out. He told her a wild tale of Romulan attempts to infiltrate a whole new galaxy. And how many times, they had been outflanked and outmaneuvered by a man known as Phong Nguyen. Taros assured Thelea that when the time was right, the Tal Shi'ar would again slip into the new galaxy. And they would not stop until they had reached the heart of the galaxy's greatest power, Coruscant. Modern day: Thelea looked up with a start. Suddenly it was clear to her. She remembered all the briefings on the Galactic Empire and what limited contact the Romulans had established with them. She remembered just how the Tal Shi'ar had known of Admiral Mark Sheppard. Most of all, she remembered the exact instructions Taros Gavakar had imprinted upon her. "You are to infiltrate the Galactic Empire, and you are to make your way to Coruscant. There, you are to make contact with somebody who knew of Admiral Phong Nguyen or Admiral Mark Sheppard. The Romulan Empire must make contact with the Galactic Empire on even terms," Taros had said to her just as the mental block had started to, once again, settle into place. Thelea opened her mouth to speak. Suddenly, another realization hit her. How long ago did the Romulans have contact with Admiral Phong Nguyen. If they knew of him earlier than eleven years ago, then he would now be fairly old, as far as humans went. And yet, he didn't look a day over forty! Was this the same man? Then, Thelea had no more time to think. The Artifact exploded into action. In moments, the familiar blue vortex filled the Artifact. A few moments after that, a sleek, rounded shape emerged from the Artifact. Thelea looked on, her jaw slack as she recognized what ship had come through. It was a Sovereign, the most sophisticated class of ships the United Federation of Planets produced. Admiral Nguyen nodded contentedly. "It appears that Captain Paulsen and Captain Chakotay were successful after all." Thelea frowned. "Stay out of my mind," she snarled, anger boiling up. For a moment, Phong Nguyen seemed to be positively amazed. Then he turned his attention back to the viewscreen. "Pity," he said. "It seems they've got some unwelcome company." Thelea looked up, and her eyes widened with surprise as she saw that a D'deridex had also emerged from the Artifact. It wasted no time, firing on the Federation ship. The Federation ship fired back, but it was clear that she was in trouble. Thelea knew she had to help her compatriots stop that Federation ship at all costs. "Admiral! You must destroy that ship!" "I know I must destroy the Warbird," Phong replied nonchalantly. "No, destroy the Federation ship! The Tal Shi'ar is not your enemy . . . the Federation is!" Thelea replied, almost shouting. Phong merely smiled. "I'm afraid that's simply not the way it works, Commander. I already have the one Romulan operative I want, or need." Thelea stopped, her eyes bright. "That's right, Commander. I've been waiting for you. I knew that Romulan pride would eventually drive them to try again. And eventually, I knew your superiors would make an actual effort. An operative who knows about both the Tal Shi'ar, and the Galactic Empire's newest allies. I could not have asked for a better catch," Phong replied. Thelea seemed to focus, and Phong felt her trying to batter him with an ineffective telepathic attack. "You see, there is a reason I have yet to repair your mental block," Phong said casually. His sudden conversational shift temporarily threw Thelea off-track and gave Phong the opening he needed. Quickly, he made a subtle adjustment to Thelea's mind, a maneuver practiced over many years with many luckless Romulan operatives. Thelea's eyes fluttered shut, her knees slowly giving way beneath her. She collapsed to the deck, deeply asleep. In time she would recover. "The reason, is that I can see that if you were in full command of your memories, you would be very potent . . . possibly a match for me. The Tal Shi'ar does have it's moments of competence," Phong said, looking down at Thelea's sleeping form. "One day you will understand why I must do this now. One day, I shall tell you everything. Perhaps I will even let you make contact with the Tal Shi'ar again. But for now, it is sufficient for me to say that the Empire would be far more comfortable with the Federation. I assure you, strange destinies may well await them both," he said, motioning for two men dressed in black toward Thelea. "Show her to her quarters. Make sure she is comfortable, I will want to speak with her when she wakes up," he ordered, turning his attention back to the viewscreen. The two men complied silently, carefully hoisting Thelea up. Their uniforms were those worn by standard Imperial officers, save for one very important distinguishing feature. On the sleeve of their right arms was an embroidered patch. On the patch was the outline of a human head. Within the head was a detailed, full-color representation of the galaxy. And finely stitched into the arms of the galaxy with a thread only readable under ultraviolet light and a special filter were the words "Outbound Flight" repeated over and over. On Admiral Nguyen's collar was a little button which had the same markings. Phong looked down into the crew pit at the bridge crew. All of them wore the same uniform, in fact, all the high- ranking officers wore the exact same black uniform. The only exception was Phong himself. "You have your orders. Target and destroy the Romulan Warbird. We have a new alliance to forge." Chakotay held on as the /Enterprise/ rocked from another Romulan disruptor blast. A panel shot sparks as the Romulans struck again. Much to his surprise, the first thing he had seen when the /Enterprise/ emerged from the Artifact was the familiar shape of the /Aljete./ What he wasn't expecting was the dark gray shape in the distance. "Captain! I can't hold the shields together any longer!" Geordi shouted over the comm. "Open a channel to the Imperial ships, Lieutenant!" Picard ordered. Without warning, the gray dagger in the distance opened fire. The /Unstoppable's/ turbolaser cannons bracketed the /Strife,/ quickly closing in on the Romulan warship. The /Strife/ stopped firing on the /Enterprise,/ turning her attention to her new attacker. Several disruptor shots blasted away at the /Unstoppable,/ stopping just short of her hull. And then, the first of the /Unstoppable's/ shots connected. Quickly, the /Strife's/ shields were stripped away as light and medium turbolaser shots blasted into them. As the ship's shields failed, turbolaser bolts boiled deep into her heavy hull armor like a blowtorch to ice, exposing internal structures to space, atmosphere and Romulan bodies boiling out of the wounds. Then, the /Unstoppable/ fired three heavy turbolaser shots at the Romulan ship. The three shots cut through the /Strife,/ and for an instant, she was in two pieces, cleanly blasted in half. And then the /Strife/ was no more. Aboard the /Enterprise,/ all was silent. Within a few moments, they had all witnessed an Imperial ship reduce a Romulan Warbird, a ship twice as long as the /Enterprise,/ into slag. It was probably not the best way to start off a new friendship, but it was certainly an impressive one. "We're being hailed by the Imperials, sir," Lieutenant Mackey said. Picard nodded slowly. "Open a channel." On the viewscreen appeared a man wearing a gray uniform identical to the one Björn wore. The only differences were the arrangement of the colored squares over the breast pocket, and a small medallion on the collar. The man seemed friendly, almost fatherly in appearance. "Greetings, I am Admiral Phong Nguyen of the Galactic Empire. I would like to formally welcome you to our part of the galaxy," the man said. "I'm honored," Picard replied. "I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship /Enterprise./ The man that is with me is Captain Chakotay, Earth's representative to the Galactic Empire." "The honor is mine, Captain. It isn't very often that something new and unique happens in this galaxy," Admiral Nguyen replied. "Indeed," Picard said. "That was a rather impressive display of firepower your ship demonstrated earlier." Admiral Nguyen nodded. "We watch out for our allies, no matter now new to us they are. We only ask that they watch out for Imperial interests as well." "Wise words, Admiral," Chakotay said. Picard looked briefly at him, and then looked back to the viewscreen. It was supposed to be Chakotay's show, after all. "Sometimes, the best foundation for an alliance is mutually enlightened self-interest." "One can ask for no more, Captain Chakotay," Admiral Nguyen replied. "In time, we shall fully discuss what both sides can bring to this alliance. For now, though, I would be honored if you could arrange a tour of your ship for me." ***End Chapter Fourteen. Chapter Fifteen: Strange Destinies. Chakotay meditated quietly in his temporary quarters aboard the /Enterprise./ While he lacked his medicine bundle, the quiet was more than enough to clear his mind. And a clear mind was a very useful thing, especially given the situation he was faced with now. After his tour of the /Enterprise,/ Admiral Nguyen had announced that, as a small token of goodwill, that the Empire would be sending a something called a Loronar Strike Cruiser to the system to serve as the Federation's temporary base of operations. Within several hours, Chakotay would take the ship, hastily re-christened the /Athena,/ and rendezvous with the /Witz./ Already, Commander Laforge and Commander Data of the /Enterprise,/ as well as Chakotay's own officers, Lieutenant Mackey and Commander Zeiken, were aboard the /Athena,/ going over the basics of operating the ship. "Bridge to Captain Chakotay," the voice of a young woman said over the comm. Chakotay quickly tapped his commbadge. "Chakotay here, go ahead." "There's a communication for you from Starfleet Command." "Route it to my quarters," Chakotay ordered, unfolding himself from his position of meditation. "Routing now, sir," the young woman replied as Chakotay sat at his desk. When the Starfleet logo appeared on the screen, he tapped a command into his console. On the screen appeared to sour countenance of one Admiral Paris. "Good to see you again, Chakotay," the Admiral said. "Likewise, Admiral," Chakotay replied. "May I ask what the purpose of this call is?" Admiral Paris nodded. "You may. I know things have been tense lately, Chakotay. And I want to apologize for that. There is more, however. We here at Starfleet Command agree with Admiral Dalton's recommendation. You have the experience, the know-how, and the guts necessary to deal with the Imperials. So, really, I'm calling to make your appointment to the position of Federation Ambassador to the Galactic Empire a permanent one." "I don't know what to say, Admiral," Chakotay replied, slowly nodding. "Well, it's likely a dubious honor. So, I wouldn't go so far as to say 'I'm honored.' A simple 'thanks' would be enough," Admiral Paris replied, cracking a small smile. "Consider it said, Admiral," Chakotay said with a smile of his own. "What about my crew?" "Well, as far as I know, you're docking the /Witz/ to the /Athena/ and ferrying her back to the Artifact. So, most of your crew will be returning to the Alpha Quadrant." "There's more, I take it?" Chakotay said. Admiral Paris nodded. "Perceptive as always, Captain. Some in Starfleet Command already get the feeling that the only reason the Imperials are willing to ally with us in the first place is only because they need our help. You're going to be walking an awfully fine line there, Chakotay. Anyone you need from the /Witz,/ will remain with you. The same goes for our collaboration with the Imperials. Anybody who you think can help move the project forward, and bring home the goods, is welcome to stay with you as well." "And from back home?" Chakotay asked. Admiral Paris shook his head. "Remains to be seen, Captain," he replied, looking at his desk. Then, he looked up again. "One last thing. Admiral Dalton can't stay in Shibboleth, and I'm getting too old to leave San Francisco, we will be assigning a high-ranking officer from Starfleet Command to work with you and Picard on this matter. We'll also be sending a construction crew out to start construction of a new Starbase, so you won't be too far from home." "Thank you, Admiral," Chakotay said. "What of the Romulans?" "As expected, the Romulan representative denies any official involvement in the mess. He claims it was simply a rogue Tal Shi'ar operation gone horribly wrong. As all the Romulans involved in the battle are either dead or escaped, there's no way we can possibly bring them to task for it." Chakotay nodded. "Another draw then, I take it." "When fighting Romulans, sometimes a draw is the best you can hope for," Admiral Paris replied with a sigh. "That reminds me, Commander Thelea is still at-large. When things start to settle down, try to persuade the Imperial authorities to help bring her in." "Will do, Admiral." "Good to hear, Chakotay. As you can imagine, this whole affair is the talk of the hour on Earth, and I've been assigned to all necessary damage control. We'll talk later, Chakotay. Admiral Paris out!" The Admiral said, terminating the link. Chakotay stretched back in his seat. It looked like he wasn't done yet. "Bridge to Captain Chakotay. You have another communication waiting for you. This one from the /Aljete./" "Put it through," Chakotay said, sitting up once more. On the viewscreen appeared Björn, who seemed to be just a little older than the last time Chakotay had seen him. "Good day, Captain Paulsen," Chakotay said. "It's good to see you back at your old post." Björn smiled. "It's not my post for long, Captain. Commander Tgendi will be taking command of the /Aljete/ within the hour." Chakotay furrowed his brow. "What happened?" "Admiral Pellaeon happened, that's what. The de-facto leader of the Empire just talked to me. He told me that I've just been promoted to the position of Imperial Liaison to the United Federation of Planets. I'll be coming aboard the Strike Cruiser . . . what was it you've named it . . . the /Athena./" "You too, huh?" Chakotay said with a smile. "As it turns out, I just got similar news from my side of the Artifact. It appears we'll be dealing with each other a lot more often from here on out." Björn nodded. "I'm looking forward to it, Captain. I shall see you aboard the /Athena,/ then." "Very well, see you then," Chakotay replied, closing the channel. Aboard the /Unstoppable./ Thelea looked out the window into deep space. The lights in her quarters were darkened. Not only did it suit her mood, but the sensory deprivation helped her to focus her new-found telepathic skills. It seemed she was a captive once more. Granted the quarters were much, much nicer. Still, there were two guards outside the door. And instead of white stormtrooper armor, they wore black Imperial officer uniforms. And instead of blasters, they had their own minds. And yet, Thelea knew that the whole dynamic had changed. The commander of the last Star Destroyer she had been aboard, Captain Raytheon Joors, had seen her as nothing more than a source of information and potential trouble, mostly the latter. The commander of this Star Destroyer, Admiral Phong Nguyen, however, apparently saw something else in her. And, better still, he was a much bigger player. A whole new game was afoot, and Thelea had the feeling that she had a much bigger role to play. At length, she smiled, softly humming an old Romulan lullaby as she contemplated the stars outside her window, and the future that lay before her. Captain Raytheon Joors strode onto the bridge of the /Kordoza./ Around him, he could hear the sounds of a ship hard at work. The crew in the crew pits studiously working at their stations, managing the immense quantities of data required to keep the ship functional. Already he had heard of the new Imperial/Federation alliance, and that already it had started producing results. When he relayed this to the Federation officer, Harry Kim, immediately the other man started coming up with a scheme to "get an inverse-resonant subspace field" established around the Artifact, so that they could scan the what was on the other side. With that, Raytheon had abruptly cut off the Federation man. Sometimes his captives . . . no, his guests, seemed to love the sound of their own voices. And yet, even with that, Raytheon felt better than he had in days or weeks. Granted, it was highly unusual, and that made Raytheon just a little suspicious, but still, at least he could be suspicious and perfectly cheerful about it. He heard the lift door snap shut as Lieutenant Kynes arrived on the bridge. Quickly, Raytheon shifted his attention to the younger man. "Lieutenant, you should have been here fifteen minutes ago," Raytheon said. Kynes nodded. "I was finishing up a report, sir. It couldn't be helped." "Very well," Raytheon said. "I have a fairly substantial assignment for you, Lieutenant." "A project, sir?" Kynes asked dryly." "You could call it that. Admiral Ulstead has ordered the /Kordoza/ to begin construction of an Imperial garrison in this system. Of course, this garrison will also house Federation engineers and scientists coming to help us study the hypergate." "Your point, sir?" Kynes said patiently. "I'm assigning you to work closely with our liaison to the Federation, and with the Federation scientists themselves." "Me, sir?" "Yes, you. You are trained for this sort of work," Raytheon said, determined not to let Kynes deflate his bubble. "I want you to get as close to the Federation people as you can. See what they would like to have done with the new outpost. Of course, you'll also keep your ears and eyes open . . . learn as much about them as you can. Anything the Empire could possibly use later." Kynes nodded. "Yes sir. I'll do my best." After a few moments he added: "Is that all, sir? Our new turbolaser cannons have been installed and need to be field-tested." "Yes, that will be all," Raytheon replied. Kynes turned to leave. As he started back to the door, Raytheon spoke up once more. "Oh, there is one other thing. I distinctly remember that we had a third guest aboard. A Commander Thelea, if I recall correctly. Yet, she no longer seems to be aboard. Even stranger is the fact that I'm not as concerned about this as I should be. Lieutenant, I need you to investigate the matter. Find out what happened to her," Raytheon ordered. For a minute, he looked off into space, then turned his attention back to Kynes. "No, on second thought, I'll look into this myself. You've got enough to deal with as it is. Carry on," Raytheon said, turning away. Though his face was unperturbed, Kynes was anything but. How could Raytheon still remember Thelea? Even after Phong had assured him that most of Raytheon's memories of the last few hours had been safely blocked away. If Phong hadn't been completely successful at blocking out those memories, then what else was he unable to get? Just how much did Raytheon remember? Those questions would have to wait. Kynes may have been an agent of Outbound Flight, but he was the only one, he couldn't act alone. Not yet, at any rate. For now, the best thing to do was to lay low and not encourage Raytheon's memories any more. "Of course sir," Kynes replied dryly, continuing toward the lift. ***End Chapter Fifteen. Strange Destinies: To Be Continued in Outbound Flight