Space Empires IV Game RP

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-01-22 12:33pm

"Message from the Ferengi, Chancellor."

Martok reviewed the short transmission. "It has begun. Far sooner than I would have preferred."

Already Ferengi fleets began movement deep inside their own space, and with the help of the Borg Martok had no doubt that they would be more than a match than the scraps he managed to put together.

But it was no matter. Powerful or not, the Klingons would die glorious deaths in battle - they would meet again in Sto'vo'kor.

Today was a good day to die.

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-01-23 10:46pm

Kirk watched from the real time feed in anger as the Dominion battlefleet mercilessly bombarded the surface of Talarian I, until the feed went dead, just like it had with Talarian IX. Kirk didn't exactly like the inhabitants of the recently conquered planets, they had destroyed two of his ships and many fighters in an unprovoked attack, prompting Kirk to invade their space, but the Dominion's mass murder of millions of people from orbit was an unforgiveable crime. When the Dominion fell to the Federation's might, he would make sure that their so-called Founders were tried for war crimes and genocide.

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-01-24 01:45am

"They did what?"

"They sent a mine-layer to our colony in the Ophiucus system. We can only presume they wished to blockade the planet, but our scout vessel proved more than adequate to turn their vessel into scrap."

"Good, good. I see what their game is."

"Chancellor?"

"It is a ploy, to try to get us to send our forces through to Rura Penthe. Our ships will be torn to ribbons if they attempt to access the warp point. I have no doubt that they have mined the area thoroughly."

"Surely our cloaks would protect us sufficiently?"

"That is not the case," Martok said. "They have left a single satellite there, no doubt packed with sensors that would see right through any cloak. No, we will not play their game. Send a transmission to our Ferengi colony in Rura Penthe, and have them keep an eye on the sensor nets...if they can spare a few moments from counting Latinum."

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-01-24 02:09am

So, the buffoons wouldn't enter the wormhole. No matter, they would still be crushed. The sacrificed minelayer was a waste of resources anyway, an outdated design.

"Klingons, it would have been less painful had you been blown apart by your own idiocy," said Zargat to himself. He focused in on his nearing fleet and its massive weapons turrets. "You will beg for peace soon Martok." The hum of the subspace weapons soothed him and Zargat busied himself listening to the fluctuations of his battleship's warp core.

Brian

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-01-26 12:03am

Primus silently watched the holo-display of his empire's mighty warships as they slowly glided out of the ship yards and warped away to converge with their sister ships in the 7th fleet.

Of course, the Star Empire's fleet represented a rising national debt that had Primus's critics howling. He shook his head; it mattered not. He would pay the defecit with Ferengi latinium. He knew it was rather presumptous to be planning for after the empire's victory, but there was no point in planning for a scenario where he was defeated. He and his people would all be part of the collective if they failed to defend themselves.

"Praetor!" Dove shouted, running up to him. "Important news! Alshain has declared war on Kirk!"

"What?!" Primus demanded, composure momentarily forgotten. "Why?!"

"They gave us no explaination, Praetor!" Dove said. "They just did it."

Primus's mind went into overdrive. If the alliance fell apart now, all would be lost.

"Praetor, we have UFP starships going through our space right now toward Kirk's stars," Dove said. "What if they plan to attack him?"

"There are no troop transports," Primus said. "No one wages an offensive war without an army."

Dove's voice dropped to a whisper. "But...what if they're in league with the Borg and the Ferengi? Praetor, the admiral of the 7th fleet wants to know if he should take action. We know the location of the UFP's core. The fleet could be there in a few months."

"No," Primus said. "Not yet at any rate. You tell the admiral to standby. I'll contact Alshain."

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-01-26 12:23am

The Angoisan stopped in the middle of the hallway after making sure he wasn't being followed. He unslung his backpack and took off hood. He was surgically altered to look like a middle-aged Romulan. The door in front of him read, "Transmission - Starfleet Operations, Authorized Personnel Only" and was protected by the fluctuations of a level ten forcefield. The Angosian looked at his datapad. Would this really work? He would do what he was hired for though.

"This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise," said the marine in a deep Yorkshire accent. "Lower the forcefield, authorization Picard-delta-five."

"Authorization accepted."

So the humans really were this stupid after all.

The Angosian mercenary marine held his specially modified Romulan disruptor rifle at the hip. As the door opened the five Starfleet security personnel stood up. "What the fuck--" He didn't have a chance to complete the sentence as the assassin ruthlessly fired his rifle at the man burning a hole through his chest.

The other crewmen had already drawn their phasers and were firing at the intruder, but his body shield glowed green and adapted to the known frequencies of the Starfleet weapons. The cameras outside the hallway were disabled through another feat of brilliance so they did not see the green shimmering. In five seconds they were all dead, seared across the torso by the overpowered disruptor.

Despite the carnage the marine had been careful not to hit the consoles. He walked up to where he knew the surveillance camera was and let it have full view of his pointed ears. Then he shot it.

The marine moved to the consoles and inserted his datapad. The datapad would give false orders to all Starfleet ships in the form of an all-points bulletin from Admiral James T. Kirk himself declaring a code one. The more intelligent military commanders would realize the false orders and call back to confirm, but no doubt the Federation Merchant Marine fleet would be confused for weeks with these orders.

Then with another display of British proficiency the Angosian lowered the forcefield around the entire facility and in the seconds it took for someone to realize and manually override he disappeared in a spiral leaving the Romulan disruptor rifle behind.

Brian

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-01-26 01:42am

"Alshain's declared war on us!"

Martok roared. "That dishonorable tobah! After we just reestablished our alliance?!" He glared down at the message. Looked again. Read it carefully. Martok's anger dissipated into curiosity.

"A rather generic declaration of war," Martok said. Then again, wars among Klingon houses have been started over less. One wrong word, one overheard insult, and a bitter feud between houses would last generations.

But this did not seem typical for the Humans. "Where did this message come from?" Martok asked. "Was there any signature? Video data?"

"None."

"Was it just text?"

"Yes, Chancellor. Sent directly to our homeworlds. Shall I mobilize our forces?"

Martok leaned back. "No. No, they are too far away to be a threat, and it's probably a ruse anyway. I'd guess Ferengi in origin, carefully planned to point blame at some other faction, much like their attempted assassination of Kirk's doctor friend. The Tholians are a far greater threat." Even now, at least two Tholian battle cruisers were in one of his home systems, brazenly ignoring all calls to leave his space immediately.

"Order the fighter squadrons to take out the smaller ships. The Battle Cruisers will have to keep until we can find a way around their armor. And have the Orbital Spaceyards begin construction on the Kor-class. Qa'pla!"

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-01-26 02:11am

The declaration of war and the string of attempted terrorist attacks apparently conducted by the future Federation came as quite a shock, to say the least. Kirk stood dumbstruck for several minutes upon reading the report. He shook his head. "This has to be a trick. Probably those damn Ferengi." Trade had been suspended as a precautionary measure, and a lot of merchants were going to lose a lot of money as a result. It would take time to rebuild their confidence.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Section 31 should have seen this attack coming and stopped it, especially since they now had the help of the Tal'Shiar. Kirk didn't care how well-planned an operation was, anything on that scale always made ripples, and his Federation had the best damn counter-intelligence service in the galaxy. At least, he used to think that. Now he wasn't so sure. He keyed a button. "Get me the head of Section 31." It was time for someone to get demoted.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2006-01-26 03:06am

"Uh, sir, have we declared war on anyone?"

President Alshain blinked. He had always enjoyed a good non sequitur but this was just bizarre.

"No... why...?"

"Fleet commanders are reporting their friend-or-foe systems have registered Klingon and Kirk-Federation starships as enemy combatants and are requesting confirmation orders. The Kirk-Federation and Klingon embassies have just gone apeshit and we've lost all comm-traffic and trade with them."

Alshain looked quite dumbfounded for a minute. Admiral Darling wasn't surprised. This made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

"Darling... do you hear something?"

A small whine was rapidly escalating in volume and pitch.

"There's a phaser on overload! Clear out!"

Alshain and Darling ran out of the office. As they ran out, Alshain shouting to everyone to evacuate the building, Darling tapped his comm badge and barked an order to evacuate. As they ran...

"The computer's not triggering the evacuation alarm."

"Must have been sabotaged! We need to get clear of the Presidentium so we can beam you out! Darling to Concordiat!"

"Concordiat, Commodore Knox here."

"Emergency beam-out! Lock onto myself and the President, then start beaming everyone else out of the building!"

"Understood. Stand by."

A powerful blast knocked Alshain and Darling to the floor, the wind driven out of their lungs, and consciousness driven from their minds.

---

Hours later...

President Alshain awoke aboard the sickbay of USS Concordiat.

"Captain... the President is awake."
"Where am I?"
"You're aboard the starship Concordiat, sir. Please take it easy. You got hit by some debris when the explosion happened."

Alshain groaned. He had a vicious ache in his back.

"Where's Admiral Darling?"

A moment's pause. Alshain immediately knew something had happened.

"Admiral Darling... didn't make it. A piece of debris entered the back of his head. He was dead when he was beamed aboard."

Goddamn. What a way to start a week.

The captain continued speaking. "Do you have any orders for us, sir?"

"Yes. Draft an order promoting Darling's immediate subordinate to Admiral and I'll sign it straight away. Have him begin an investigation into this attack. There were indications that false diplomatic messages and military orders were sent. Countermand if possible. As soon as possible, re-code all diplomatic channels and send new messages to our allies explaining the situation."

"Aye, sir."

Alshain grabbed the captain's sleeve. "There's a mole in the Federation command structure. Find it. Wring it for every last bit of information you can. Maybe... maybe the Klingons would be willing to let us borrow one of their infamous 'mind-sifters', if we can win back their trust." His voice dropped to a growl. "I'm invoking the Cartwright Act. Use all means necessary."

The captain swallowed. "Yes, sir."

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-01-26 11:59am

New Ferenginar

Special Agent Fah'Lon of the Tal'Shiar had never had an assignment that was quite so tiring. The makeup he had to wear to him the gray complexion of a drone was nothing new; he'd had to wear makeup many times in the past while on mission. Nor was the surgery he'd gotten to round the top of his ears to make him look like a human, a group that was more common in the Ferengi's space than Vulcans or Romulans.

But all the metal he had to lug around to complete the disguise, that was new, and it was made simply getting from place to place a chore.

Infilitrating the Ferengi and the Borg had thrust many new experiences onto the Tal'Shiar, and many good operatives had been lost.

But not for nothing. Fah'Lon wore a small transmitter that broadcast signals which passed for another drone in the hive mind. It kept the real drones from noticing his mental absence in the collective. The knowledge on how to build one had been bought with the blood of many Tal'Shiar operatives.

Fah'Lon walked into a building near what had once been Zargat's Chamber of Commerce. Following the schematic he'd memorized, he went straight to the office of a Ferengi who'd once been called Baxter. Fah'Lon didn't know what he went by now that he was a semi-autonomous drone.

"Who are you?" he demanded when Fah'Lon walked in.

The Romulan didn't answer. Instead, he pulled a weapon from his armor. Not a Romulan hand disruptor but a specially made dart gun. Fah'Lon's aim was true, and the tranquilizer dart his Baxter right in the neck. The Ferengi drone immediatly passed out.

Fah'Lon went and grabbed his arm, then, with his free hand, pulled out a communicator. "Fah'Lon to ship's computer: two to beam up. Energize."

The two men disappeared in a swirl of purple light, the signature of a Ferengi transporter. The Tal'Shiar had started equiping their spy shuttles with them rather than their Romulan counterparts to help avoid detection.

Once back in the shuttle, Fah'Lon quickly restrained Baxter and then gave him a stimulant. "Where am I?" the Ferengi asked, groggy.

"I will be asking the questions here," Fah'Lon said.

"You...you're a spy!"

"Four brains, indeed," Fah'Lon said sarcastically. "Now, will you answer my questions, or will I have to take the knowledge I want from you? I don't have time for the niceties of an interrogation."

"I'll never talk!" Baxter said proudly.

Fah'Lon sighed. "You know, I rather enjoy being allies with the Federation. Do you know why?"

Baxter just frowned, caught off guard by the Romulan's sudden change of topic.

"Because thanks to the cultural exchanges, I know how to do this," he placed a hand over Baxter's face, then practically snarled his next words. "Your mind to my mind...my thoughts to your thoughts..."

Baxter's mind suddenly grew confused.

He was Baxter, semi-autonomous drone of the Ferengi Commerce Authority. He was Fah'Lon, Tal'Shiar Special Agent.

Profit was everything. Anything for the glory and safety of the Star Empire.

Perfection would be brought to the galaxy through assimilation. The Ferengi must not be allowed to conquer the Romulan Star Empire!

Fah'Lon broke the connection. "Thank you. That was most helpful."

Baxter didn't respond; Fah'Lon had made sure to leave his mind a broken wreck. He just hated shoving intelligent beings out the airlock.

He went over to the shuttle's controls and began to key in one of the codes he'd learned from Baxter.

Somewhere in Borg space

A long forgotten pawn in the galactic sized game of chess came to life abruptly, her nanobots forming a small, boxy structure on her armored torso.

"For Zargat!" Alice declared, an instant before she exploded.

In orbit around New Ferenginar

Finishing disposing of Baxter, Fah'Lon set a course to take him away from the Ferengi capital world. They'd notice Baxter's disappearance soon, if they hadn't already.

He didn't think that he'd actually gotten the Borg Queen. He had no idea if she was even in the same place as the Ferengi's "ambassador." And even if she was, he was sure that the Queen had personal shielding.

But the Queen would know what had happened. Even if she wasn't present, there would be recordings. Fah'Lon smiled, thinking of a human saying.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it, Zargat?"

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-01-28 12:34am

Baxter was dead. The fool. Too many Trill prostitutes had dulled his sense of reality. No matter, one among many meant nothing. The Klingons had annihilated the sentry satellite. Too bad. The battleships had been recalled for crucial upgrades. With Borg expertise transwarp drives were being installed on the entire Ferengi fleet. Martok's doom would be delayed. As long as the fool kept himself out of his nose, Zargat didn't care whether Martok was living or dead. There were more than enough defenses in the Rura Penthe system to make the Klingon's pittance of a task force irrelevant. No doubt the blundering morons would interpret his inaction as weakness or bluffing and attempt an attack anyway, but a single battleship and its fighter complement was all that would be needed to slaughter the Klingons should they advance.

The assassination attempt on the Queen had failed. The pathetic attempt to make a rift between himself and the Queen was instantly recognized. Zargat and the Queen were now in constant telepathic communication. They shared thoughts, and laughed together at the Romulan's idoicy. The fools. They could never understand the unity.

Suddenly Zargat's mind snapped. The assimilated Admiral Hensley had been compromised. No matter. The damage to the Federation had been done. The false orders would no doubt put the Federation's merchant fleet in disarray for months to come. The Angosian mercenaries had done their job. But they would not receive their latinum, no... they had proven themselves worthy of the unity and would join it.

"They are... imperfect," said Zargat eyeing the new Ferengi battleship lifting off from Ferenginar Prime. "You know what we must do."

"The Queen is a child," said Vreet. "She could never understand the unity. She thinks only of destruction, maiming, revenge."

"The unity is threatened by the interlopers," said Zargat. "We must respond."

"The Federations, Romulans, they will be crushed--"

"No," said Zargat. "We must be perfect." With a wave of his hand Zargat sent the command codes of the temporal spaceyards to the Borg Queen.

"You are a lunatic," said Vreet. "You give her unlimited power over our fate."

Zargat spun around and punched Vreet in the solar plexis. Vreet brought his left arm up and shot at Zargat, but Zargat's shield intercepted the blast and dissipated it. Zargat's fist was still connected with Vreet's torso. Zargat smiled, and fired his fist disruptor. Vreet's eyes went wide, and he tried grabbing Zargat's shoulders, but Zargat made sure to keep Vreet's arms flared as Vreet's hand disruptors fired futilely into the air.

"Goodbye, old friend," said Zargat.

With Vreet's voice gone from the unity, her voice rose to dominate the chorus. Yes, there was only two now. The prophecy would be fulfilled.

Brian

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-01-29 08:44pm

"Damn," the head of the Tal'Shiar swore as he read the most recent reports. "We've got more trained operatives than the Borg and the Ferengi put together and we can't get one signficant act of espionage or sabotage against them!"

"Sir, Special Agent Fah'Lon--"

"I know what Fah'Lon did," the Tal'Shiar head cut off his second in command. "But it didn't do one damned bit of good. Borg and Ferengi are still good buddies. We are the Tal'Shiar! We're supposed to be the invisible hand of Romulus, but we haven't been of any use yet."

"The Borg and Ferengi are...unique opponents," his second in command said. "Totally unlike any we've faced before."

The Tal'Shiar head nodded in agreement. "Infernal cyborgs. All linked together like that. It's nearly impossible to fool them."

"Their computer-enhanced state is one of their greatest strengths," his second in command admitted. "If I may be so bold, sir, I'd say that we are simply not up to the task of penetrating their programming, which we must do in order to infilitrate them."

"So what do you suggest we do about it?" his superior asked darkly.

"Get help from the best computer specialists in the known universe, sir."

"The Bynar," the Tal'Shiar head replied.

"Indeed."

"They will not help us, they'll just tell us what we want to hear. I know for a fact that they told the Praetor they'd declare war on the Ferengi, but they never did."

"Who says they have to be willing?"

"Conquest? I don't know. The Praetor may not want to invade them for fear of bringing the Ferengi into the war before we're fully ready," the Tal'Shiar head replied. "...but, I'll make the recommendation."

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-02-03 05:22pm

Rura Penthe VII
Stardate 2406.3

Nib checked the sensor logs again. There was a lot of activity in the Rura Penthe system; other Ferengi vessels, fighters, planets and shipyards. All of them seemingly ignoring this lone, isolated outpost that was given to the Klingons. Not sold, Nib reflected disgustedly, but given. Like a gift. The very thought turned his stomach. There was even a temporal shipyard facility which had almost been completed, and Zargat was just going to give it to Martok.

General Martok. That Klingon fool. Orders from the Commerce Authority had demanded that he follow Martok's every command, but Nib's obedience was merely superficial. He idly played with a positive flow regulator, one of the components he had removed from the temporal shipyard's reactor core, blowing the entire facility to dust just before the transfer order had come through.

Nib grinned toothily every time he thought of Martok's angry rebuke. But then the Klingons came, and with them a small garrison of Klingon troops. They had even set up their own academy and shipyard, no doubt to try to use the planet as a beachhead in the upcoming war. Nib glanced over at another screen; the Klingon's new Kor-class War Cruiser was only two months away from completion. And when the Ferengi consummated their unholy alliance with the Borg, Nib considered himself lucky to be donated in such an un-Ferengi manner.

A sudden beep from the proximity sensors jerked Nib out of his reverie. He punched up a sensor scan, and his eyes widened at what he saw. At the very edge of planetary orbit awaited two massive Ferengi battleships, flanked by a Minesweeper, what looked like a Heavy Carrier and, looking odd among the massive ships behind it, a single Light Cruiser coming inexorably closer towards the atmosphere. Several fighter squadrons were launched to keep an eye on the inbound warp vectors, but Nib doubted that anyone else would come to his aid.

Nib punched the general alarm. He was a fellow Ferengi, but he wasn't stupid - his brethren had been assimilated by the Borg. Not even all the latinum in his vault would prevent them from dragging him into their Collective. All across the surface of Rura Penthe VII, Klingon troops poured out of the Academy and the Garrison, readying themselves for battle against a seemingly unending stream of drop pods coming from the Light Cruiser. Hundreds of them, all packed with Borg-Ferengi. Normally the mere thought of Ferengi infantry would send even the most hardened troop into a frenzy of laughter, but not today.

The door to the command post slammed open and Nib's Klingon liaison Garrin stomped in, his face set into a tight grin. "I have been waiting forever for battle," he said. "And today it seems I get my chance. What say you, Ferengi?"

"I say you're crazy and barbaric, Klingon," Nib said, sneering. "But right now, that looks like exactly what we need."

Garrin laughed, a roaring guffaw that made Nib flinch and cover his ears. "Today is a good day to die!" Gorrin said. Nib had no such plans. There was a false panel, built here by the former planetary governor, that led to a small escape shuttle that Nib fully intended to use.

Over fifty-seven thousand Klingon warriors stood arrayed against the encroaching threat, not quite sure what to expect. Ferengi troops? Borg implants? Shambling drones? And suddenly the Ferengi were upon them, hurtling masses of grey-green earlobes, with no sign of any of the usual Borg prostheses but displaying the trademark distortion of Borg personal shielding. Klingon disruptor fire was absorbed or reflected uselessly away, and only a few fell before the rest adapted. Answering fire came from Ferengi phaser pistols and rifles, an obvious sign that the assimilation wasn't complete but more of a partnership.

"What do you make of their numbers?" Garrin asked.

"Over three hundred and fifty thousand," Nib said, a little shocked. He hadn't expected such a large number of troops on such a small vessel. "We took out a few, but their shields have adapted already."

"Then we switch to blades!" Garrin said, unsheathing his bat'leth. "Qa'pla!" He ran out of the room and down to join the battle. Nib, meanwhile, had absolutely no intentions of going anywhere near that battle. He silently keyed in a self-destruct code, which would take out the command post, and grabbed a remote detonator, which was keyed to emergency charges placed in and around the War Cruiser under construction in the shipyard.

After everything was set, Nib keyed in a code and sidled furtively down the now visible secret passage. Another code, and the door at the other end popped open, leading to a small hangar bay with a shuttle waiting. The sounds of battle wafted through a slightly open door, and Nib glanced, frowning, towards the crack. Moving towards him with silent purpose was a Borg-Ferengi.

Nib screeched, reaching for a sidearm that wasn't there, falling back towards the shuttle ramp. Yes, board the shuttle and take off, you'll be fine, he thought to himself. As he backed up the ramp he felt a double sting in the back of his neck; he tried to fight it, to resist assimilation, but he knew that he would fail, and as rush of thoughts invaded his mind, Nib depressed the button on the detonator. Suddenly Nib was just another drone, feeling the sudden loss of a thousand minds as the Klingon warship blew up, taking out the Borg-Ferengi surrounding it. He followed the other one back into the shuttle, waited for the third to board, and then took off towards the waiting Ferengi fleet.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-02-03 07:08pm

The Norpin System's temporal emissions have creschendoed so even in the far flung corners of the galaxy they can be detected ever rising to an inevitable climax... then it happens. A dozen wormholes open throughout galactic northward and soon there will be many across the galaxy, bearing the trademark of Borg Transwarp Conduits, the unmistakable power of the collective at last unleashed on the free peoples on a thousand worlds...

Norpin System

"It is done," said Zargat standing before the tremendous structures unfolding for him. The scaffolding and bases housing a billion drones and power generation equal to a whole planet was the landscape for Zargat and the Borg Queen as they watched in the vacuum of space with Borg and Ferengi formations dancing in harmony and placing themselves ready for galaxy-wide invasion.

Built by the raw materials produced by a hundred Ferengi and Borg worlds and constructed over years, the transwarp hub was completed. With it, access to the entire galaxy. Now they could strike the very heart of their enemies, bypassing their pitiful defenses. Zargat had preferred the direct approach, storming in with warships and annihilating all in his path, but ever since Vreet had died Nephtys' voice had grown stronger and infested him.

With an urge for fun. The unity could wait, just a little longer.

"Setting co-ordinates for sector zero-zero-two," said an assimilated Ferengi blandly. The Romulan home stars.

"Belay that," said snapped Nephtys. "Set co-ordinates for sector zero-zero-one!" She was having one of her servants clean her with a microbrush. Zargat wondered where the vaunted Borg efficiency was when the Romulan slave could have finished the job in a second with a sterilizing field.

"The humens are useless," said Zargat cooly. "They will be dealt with in time."

Nephtys snarled. "I am not your slave you four-lobed moron. You will do as I say or my fleet will withdraw."

"And leave your own worlds open to counterattack?" said Zargat. Zargat pressed a button bringing up the schematics for the new Borg Penetrator cubes. "You did not think that I would let you use my temporal yards without conditions, did you my fair Queen." The schematics zoomed in on the center of the wireframe schematic and into the warp core highlighting a detonation device. "With a single thought I can annihilate your fleet."

Nephtys brought her hand up to strike Zargat, but Zargat grabbed her hand and held it in place. Zargat laughed. "I underestimated you, Ferengi. It will not happen again," said the Borg Queen her fury dialiating black capillaries on her sheen forehead.

"Perhaps not, but by then the galaxy will feel the unity and we will have time for petty squabbles. If it will... what is the humen expression, make you feel better, the second transwarp conduit will be to the Federation. The Romulans are a greater threat."

Nephtys crossed her arms. "If this fails Ferengi--"

"You have very little faith in the unity my Queen. If you would only open your mind to me--"

"--that will never happen fool. You are a tool, no more, and when we are finished with each other I will dispose of you."

"We will see," said Zargat baring his teeth.

Brian

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-02-04 01:40pm

Kirk ran into the war room, breathless, sweating, not fully dressed, and ready to be angry at whatever foolish technician had accidentally pushed the panic button. He had to think that it was an accident, because if someone had pushed the panic button on purpose, it meant the Federation was in imminent danger of total destruction. The panic button had only been pushed once in the history of the old Federation, and that was during the darkest days of the Earth-Romulan war, before his grandfather had been born.

His two closest advisors, Spock and McCoy, stood grim-faced in the war room with his generals and admirals. Spock pointed to the strategic galaxy map soundlessly. No one said a word. Kirk's eyes scanned the map in confusion and worry for a few seconds before he noticed an extra warp line. He let out a loud yelp in surprise. It led from Ferengi space directly to the Romulans' home system. He exploded into action, giving detailed orders to every man in the room. This was the worst case scenario. One wrong move and they could lose this war, one wrong move on the enemy's part and they could win. The shit had officially hit the fan. It was time to do or die.

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-02-05 05:39pm

It was a relatively quiet evening for Martok; there were no more drunken Klingons carousing downstairs, and Sirella had gone off on some errand offworld. He had expected another attack after the Ferengi captured Rura Penthe VII, but things on that front had too been suspiciously quiet. There was no regret for the loss of that particular world; it was a worthless ball of dust, useful only as a spy nest to keep an eye on the Ferengi. Even the shipyards were a poor investment, as Ferengi simply made better accountants than laborers.

He regretted, however, the loss of fifty-seven thousand skilled Klingon warriors, but that loss was tempered by the knowledge that they had died fighting a glorious battle, single-handedly slaughtering nearly nine thousand Borg-Ferengi hybrids before they were overrun. Few had been assimilated; it was a battle to the death and many warriors had ensured themselves a place in Sto-vo-kor. He made a silent toast towards the sunset with his bottle of blood-wine, draining it before getting unsteadily to his feet and shuffling towards the waste-extraction fixture.

The comm beeped. Martok swore feelingly, trying to decide whether or not to ignore it, but knowing that the pattern of the call chime indicated something of dire urgency. He decided that the universe could wait for him to take a piss.

There was a sudden, frantic knocking on his door. Fleetingly, Martok considered dismembering whoever was on the other side, but his pounding head advised against the notion and the sudden darkness indicated a time delay that could only be explained by far too much indulgence. "Come!" he managed, struggling into a nearby chair.

The door opened and a nameless aide rushed in, eyes swiftly taking in the sight of several empty bottles and dismissing it just as fast. He knew better than to question the activites of the Chancellor. "Chancellor Martok, I have extremely urgent news regarding the Romulans." He fidgeted, his general sense indicating...was it fear? Or was it a sense of extreme emergency?

"Well?"

The aide hesitated. "You'd better see it for yourself, Chancellor." Martok swore to himself before standing up shakily, noting with some satisfaction that the aide had discreetly put a sobering hypospray on his comm desk. "Fine, I'll follow you," Martok said, injecting himself as soon as the aide turned smartly around. This was a young man who would go far in the world of politics.

Martok's head was feeling considerably clearer as they reached the war room. Ranking Klingons were clustered around a holographic display of the galaxy, lines and dots delineating political divisions and points of conflict. Martok stared at it for some time, his brow furrowed; something was definitely wrong with this picture.

Suddenly, he got it. "What is this line?" Martok asked, pointing to a connection between a system in Ferengi space and a system in Romulan space. Their home system.

The others hushed. "Chancellor Martok," said one man, a General, in charge of the Ophiucus defense fleet. "The Ferengi and the Borg have developed warp manipulation technology." He highlighted the line, then zoomed in on the Romulan system it was attached to.

Martok's eye widened. A fleet of Borg vessels had come out of a warp point directly on top of a Romulan world...and had completely and utterly decimated it. A fleet of Ferengi warships was on its way to another Romulan world.

There was silence for several minutes. Suddenly Martok stirred. "We will not allow fear or worry to consume or control us," he said decisively. "Begin defensive preparations. Start construction on the Fist of Kahless- and Sto-vo-kor-class vessels. And I want more troops on our worlds. Our very survival is at stake."

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2006-02-05 06:25pm

Over the Romulan Homeworlds...

The Queen watched the attack from her throne, sitting beside Zargat as they triumphantly entered the Romulan Home System. She issued the order after her little spar with Zargat, and dozens of heavilly armed cubes emerged directly over one of the new romulan homeworlds.

The citizenry below were blind, listening only to the propaganda of their masters without understanding the fate that awaited them. With a bright flash in the night sky, a whole armada appeared overhead without warning...

"People of Romulus..." the Queen's voice broadcast through the skies, with a deafaning roar of spheres entering the upper atmosphere. Zargat's voice took over. "Your Praetor has failed you. You are defeated. Surrender your fleets to us, and we will spare you the fate of destruction."

A ghastly silence fell over the planet, romulan citizens stepping outside their homes and places of work to stare upwards in awe. Some cried for mercy. Others, called for their Praetor to save them. A pathetic squadron of Battleships scrambled to intercept the grand fleet, before being swatted aside by powerful energy beams and torpedos effortlessly smashing them into twisted green hulks.

The Queen's voice returned soon after. "Your Praedor has condemned this world. You are unworthy of joining our Unity." she said, the ships returning to high orbit. In a blink of an instant, thousands of energy beams and torpedos began lancing out, the pleas for mercy falling on deaf ears. Soon, there were none left. Only memories and ruins of what was once a jewel of the reborn Empire.

The Queen stood aside now, more ships entering to begin their invasion. "Broadcast a message." she commanded one of her minions, from her massive Fusion Cube, dwarfing all other ships of her flotilla. "To the Romulan people. Surrender your ships and submit to unconditional surrender, or we will erase you from this galaxy. You have but ONE standard month to make your choice." she commanded.

Turning to Shodan, she waved her hand broadly in command "Find the Praetor. I want him transported to my chambers." she smiled slightly to Zargat, who only looked with mild disdain upon her lavish show.

"Do you really think they will accept?" he asked.

"What choice do they have. They can either join us in creating a perfect, unified future... or face extinction." she smiled.

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-02-06 12:29pm

All around the war room, there was silence. Everything was unraveling. The Romulans were being slaughtered by the billions, and the economy of every alliance member was in tatters. Kirk had no idea how much they had been relying on continued trade with the Ferengi.

The oppressive silence continued. When McCoy started to speak, it seemed like a great intrusion. "Dammit, Jim! Our friends are dying out there while we just sit here! We've got to stop that fleet!"

With infinite sadness in his eyes, Kirk replied "It might be too late." No one spoke, partly because they were stunned, partly because he spoke so low that they wondered what he had just said. Kirk straightened up and spoke more loudly. "We rush to defend that system and we're playing right into their hands. Well I won't play it by their rules! I've got a plan..."

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-02-06 03:45pm

The Queen had left to oversee her new fusion cubes. In other words, she had run away as soon as the Romulan Warbirds decloaked and annihilated a dozen of her ships.

The coward.

The unity would not be denied. The Romulan Warbirds were incredibly powerful and precise. They decloaked by the dozens and tore apart ships before they had a chance to fire. Their shields absorbed barrages of disruptor and phaser fire radiating death efficiently back into space. Not only did anything less than quantum torpedoes prove useless against the Warbirds, but unless they were outnumbered they were able to cloak and use their great speed to rapidly outflank and attack from the rear.

And the Romulan torpedoes passed effortlessly through their shields as if they weren't there. Even the Borg couldn't adapt to their tracking plasma torpedoes and just one spread could destroy an entire cube.

But it was too late. The Romulans had been lured to the north, exactly like Zargat had been expected, and were scurrying back to protect their paradises, again like he expected. And the modern humens were joining the Romulans sending their battlecruisers into the Romulan homesystems. But they would arrive far too late. Already billions had been sent to oblivion, and billions more were helpless as the Praetor mustered his forces.

But where was Kirk?

Zargat's head turned. "Twelve Romulan supply transports trying to run the blockade," said an assimilated Bynar. Zargat waived his hands. The transports scattered. Green pulses struck towards the transports and ordinarily they would have been agile enough to dodge the weapons, but these were no ordinary disruptor bolts. The subspace torpedoes yearned for the civilian ships' warp engines. As the transports engaged their warp drives the disruptor bolts curved and impacted on them, blowing them to dust.

The Praetor's fleet was running out of supplies. Long range sensors had detected whole abandoned task forces of Warbirds.

But this had taken so little effort. Only thirty of the Queen's vessels, the most outdated, and twenty of his ancient battlecruisers. If this was the best the alliance could bring, then they could not hope to stand against the full fury of The Unity's armada.

"Kirk..." said Zargat. "Kirk, what are you planning?"

Brian

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-02-06 06:11pm

Never in life had Primus felt more ashamed of himself. A simple precaution and billions upon billions of Romulans would still be alive. He had failed as leader, and he wanted to crawl away and die.

But even his shame paled in comparison to his rage. He wished for the Stone of Gol, or one of the other frightening weapons from pre-logic Vulcan, so that he could personally wipe out the invaders. He would disillusion Zargat and the Borg Queen of the notion that they could slaughter his people and get away with it, even if it was the last thing he did.

The 7th Romulan Fleet had arrived in home system and the conflict had changed from a slaughter to a battle. And Romulan R&D was vindicated by this attack, even if no one else was. A single dreadnaught had held off an entire Borg fleet, saving one of the home worlds from total destruction alone. Even better, it had emerged from combat undamaged, while the Borg fleet had taken losses and had had several ships crippled.

Primus would've been tempted to divide 7th fleet up into several small taskforces, but he suspected that the Ferengi were mining the space in the home system and he had only one minesweeper. He could afford no more losses to foolishness now.

He looked at the transcript from the Borg Queen's message. He wondered if the destruction of so many of her ships was enough of an answer for her. Well, it never hurt to be sure. He ordered his computer to take a message, making sure that the signal would be bounced around so much that it could never be tracked to his exact location. "Death before assimilation!" he bellowed.

He leaned back in his chair, looking over the endless combat reports. There was a very good chance he would pay for that, but he would not show weakness. If the Romulan Star Empire were to die, he'd prefer for it to go out with a bang, rather than a whimpher.

But perhaps things were not so grim. Alshain was sending help; his ships were already in Romulan space. Kirk's ships, however, were strangely absent. "Jim, whatever you're planning, I really hope that it's good," Primus whispered.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-02-06 08:46pm

Breen System...

The wormhole to the Breen system spikes then flares. Its bowels spit out Ferengi battlecruisers, which had deftly avoided the Romulan counter-attack and used their emergency propulsion and all fuel to drive ever deeper into Romulan territory.

They form up into a vee, then seek their prey--an undefended world of four billion unsuspecting Romulans whose defense fleet had been diverted to the Romulan home system. The battlecruisers arm their weapons and prepare for an orbital bombardment. There will be no quarter given...

Ramatis System...

A portal opens, then out comes ships of a power for years forgotten... the vessels of the Dominion Order. Their hulls bear tell-tale marks of Borg enhancement, and ship after ship after ship streams out into the Federation star system...

Brian

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2006-02-06 09:05pm

Alshain felt sick to his stomach issuing the order, but he had no choice. A new warp point had opened up in his territory, vomiting forth a Dominion fleet. He had no choice but to recall the starships and hope they could stand up to the Dominion's might.

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-02-06 10:15pm

Primus frowned as he looked at the holographic tactical display before him. Dominion ships had entered Alshain's space. He scowled, insulted on behalf of his ally. Those toys would be laughed at back in the Milky Way, let alone here.

Still, he recognized the ploy. Who couldn't? They were trying to draw Alshain's ships away from his space. And it would work, too.

He shifted his focus back to his own area of space. The Ferengi continued to rampage through his space, killing millions every month. At least the 7th fleet's presense had scared most of the invaders out of his core system and into the more sparsely populated colonies. The cowards had split their fleet up into several raiding parties and were wiping out the populations of colonies every month. Primus dared not do the same with his ships, lest they run into the mine fields he was sure that his foes were leaving everywhere.

Borg ships had been destroyed in droves the previous month, so at least there was that much Primus could take satisfaction in. The fearsome collective proved less than formidable after a reset of the tech, territory, and resources races. Only a small number of Borg ships remained in his space, and they were minelayers. Potentially troublesome, but at least they alone could not wipe out entire colonies. What had begun as a two way invasion had turned into a one attacker show. It appeared that the Queen's boasts that his empire would be assimilated or destroyed were not quite true. Or at least, she wouldn't be doing the assimilating if his empire were defeated, Zargat would.

The thought brought him little comfort.

The Klingons appeared to be involved in a skirmish with the Tholians, but it didn't look to be too serious. "Martok, if you make a miracle and save me, I will personally see to it that the Star Empire builds you ten new worlds to make up for Khitomer," he whispered.

But he didn't really expect the Klingons to save him. The Q being had given Martok a raw deal for some reason, and the Klingons were still struggling to catch up.

Now he looked toward Kirk's unmolested stars. Would the legend pulled out of time as well as place save the day? Primus could only hope so. It would be ironic, he thought with a small grin, if Kirk saved the Romulan Star Empire.

"It's all up to you, Jim," Primus said softly.

Norpin. Norpin was the key, Primus thought, his mind abruptly shifting gears. Zargat had turned it into a galactic nexus. It was probably the only system in his space lacking gravitation shields. If only he didn't have Ferengi war ships running through his space!

Primus tapped the tactical board, issuing commands. Perhaps it wasn't too late to give Zargat and his allies a nasty surprise...

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-02-06 10:26pm

Norpin Transwarp Conduits

"You have defiled us for the last time. There will be war!" said the Tholian sending a message to General Martok. The Tholian then disappeared in a shimmer of light and was replaced by a black Ferengi.

"Excellent," said Zargat. "Now that we have tapped into the Tholian Master Computers, we may manipulate them at will. Steal their star charts. We will need data on Martok's system to launch our attacks."

Brian

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-02-07 01:34am

Martok stomped moodily into the war room. It had not been a very good day.

"Status report!" he barked. Several new lines had appeared on the display.

"Chancellor, the Ferengi and the Borg have opened at least two new warp points to Alshain's Federation," said General Ka'tang. "A fleet of what appear to be Dominion warships have joined three Ferengi Battle Cruisers and begun an offensive." He indicated the Ramatis system, where a fleet of approximately forty Dominion Attack Cruisers staged on the new Warp Point, the three Ferengi vessels apparently already wreaking havoc.

Martok snarled. "And what of the Romulans?"

"There is some good news on that front, Chancellor," Ka'tang said, grinning. "The Borg seem to have underestimated the Romulans. They wiped out a dozen Cubes."

Martok grinned at this. "So the Romulan targhs still have some fight left in them! That is good. What else?"

"There are several Ferengi ships systematically wiping out Romulan colony worlds in the Breen, Holberg and Alpha Onias systems," Ka'tang said. "It appears they are using quite a few fighters, taking advantage of a lack of point defenses. We should--"

"Yes, increase our point-defense capabilities," Martok said, cutting him off. "A wise countermeasure, but we need to defend against their larger vessels as well, not to mention troop landings. We need a balance here, and we need time to do it."

Ka'tang opened his mouth to reply, but an aide suddenly spoke up. Normally such an action would invite instant death, but times were strange. "Chancellor, message from Zargat!"

"On viewer," Martok said.

Code: Select all

The Unity will not be denied Klingon.  You shall be purged.

Martok snorted. "Looks like our time is up."

The aide spoke up again. "Another transmission, from the Tholians," he said. Martok gestured.

Code: Select all

We declare war!

"Short and to the point," Martok said. "Suspicious timing, though." He gestured to the aide. "Run a scan on this message and correlate it with Zargat's." The aide went to his task as Martok turned back to the situation table. The others were looking at him questioningly.

"Remember that whole debacle with President Alshain?" he asked. "I will wager that they are behind this as well. The question is why; even our obsolete fighters have proven effective against their Battle Cruisers." Martok fell into silent consideration, interrupted only by the aide with the results of the scan.

"This message is almost certainly Ferengi in origin," the aide said. "The subcarrier--"

"You can spare me the details, Sogh," Martok said. "Continue monitoring. Now, what does this tell us?" Martok waited expectantly, glancing around at the assembled warriors. Ka'tang stirred; he did not disappoint.

"If they can so easily send a message that appears Tholian in origin," he said, "It suggests that their intelligence network has cracked Tholian encryptions and have access to their main computer."

"Indeed. By our scans, the Tholians have absolutely no intelligence capability," Martok said thoughtfully. "But what would Zargat have to gain from this? We were already at conflict with the Tholians, so there must be some other reason."

Martok fell silent once again, this time not so expectant. The possibilities were many, answers few, and time was running short.

Suddenly the aide spoke up again. "Transmission from a Tholian vessel," he said. "Tightbeam towards their space."

Martok peered at the aide. "What did they transmit?"

The aide ran through the decryption - Tholian message encrypts were easily cracked, as Zargat had found - and sent the results to the viewer.

It was a detailed starmap of the Ophiucus system. Martok's eye widened.

"He's going to steal their starmaps," Martok said. "Zargat is looking for us!" He slammed his fist on the table. "To your posts! We must assemble our defenses! The time for battle is near!" A shout of defiance went up, even from the aide, Klingons to the last.

"Qa'pla!"