"Anatomy of a War" - Alt-Trekverse Fic

[Zed Snardbody]

Your making me all sappy at work now. Bastard.

Damn fine story and it just keeps getting better.

[Steve]

Rupek Labor Camp, Darane, Cardassian Union
17:19 GST


Situated near a pristine valley on Darane's eastern continent, Rupek was home to about ten thousand Bajorans and around four hundred Cardassian overseers and administrators. The Rupek mines produced iron, copper, gold, and various other minerals that were of varying value to the Cardassian Union.
Standing in a room above the large mess hall for the Bajoran workers, Gul Durel and his assistant, Glin Tekis, were watching about one thousand of the Bajorans file into the mess hall. They had been told that they were being put together, group by group, to be beamed up to a waiting transport ship. Alliance forces had been detected en route to Darane and Durel was under orders to not leave Rupek's slave workers to them.
Soon the Bajorans were alone in the room. Durel nodded to Tekis, who pressed down on a button. Hidden emitters activated and filled the room with energy. The majority of the Bajorans had no idea of what was happening until they were completely disintegrated. A handful cried out in terror or fear before they disappeared and the energy in the room disappeared. "That was the last batch," Tekis said. "We are ready for evacuation."
Gul Durel nodded slowly. "You've forgotten something, Glin. There are more."
Tekis looked at Durel questioningly. "Sir, are you sure? My records say that was all of the workers."
Durel nodded once more. Several moments later, the door to the mess hall opened. Two Cardassian soldiers entered and stood guard by the door while another crowd was led in, this one composed of children as young as a few infants in the arms of older children. There were moon-faced toddlers, lanky adolescents, and everything in between. Some of the very young ones were weeping, wanting to be reunited with their parents, and the squealing and crying from the infants echoed in the hall. Tekis looked to Durel with a bewildered expression. "Sir, they're children."
"They're Bajoran children, Tekis. Our orders are to terminate all Bajorans in Rupek. The Central Command did not specify 'adult Bajorans' when they stated that, or did we read the same orders?"
Tekis' mouth opened partially. It was one thing to execute enemies of the state, but these were only children! "Sir, we're Cardassian soldiers. We're not supposed to murder helpless children!"
"We're supposed to do what the Central Command tells us to do! They told us to terminate every Bajoran in Rupek. And so we will, no matter what age they are. Now press the button."
Tekis looked to the button on his control that would activate the emitters and wipe out the children in the mess. This was completely beyond anything he had ever imagined he would have to do. There was no justification, no purpose for this order, save the spiteful bloodymindedness of members of the Cardassian command.
Durel grew angry at Tekis' pause. "Push the button, Glin Tekis."
"Sir, they're not just children! They can't possibly be enemies of the State!"
"They're Bajorans, Tekis! Even if they're just children now, that just means that by killing them we make sure that twenty years from now they won't be planting bombs or firing on our occupation troops! Get out of my way!" Durel shoved Tekis aside and went for the button.


Yerba Imina was three years old. A sweet girl with hair the color of honey, she was clothed in a colorful green shirt a size too large and pants to her ankles of white color. Crowded in with the other children, Imina clung tightly unto her green stuffed jikkila Limmi and wondered when the strange men with the spoons on their heads were going to feed her and let her be with Momma and Pappa again. She cried a little and wondered if those strange 'Prophets' that Momma always talked about were going to come and take her to Momma and Pappa.
Imina's tummy shook and she sniffled. She wanted something to eat! And so did Limmi, who she kept a tight grip on so he wouldn't get scared and run away. Because then she would be all alone, and Imina was afraid of being alone, and she wanted Momma and Pappa and something to eat and what was that bright light appearing from the walls and coming toward-....


Durel's thumb pressed down on the button. The emitters fired and within two seconds, every single child in the mess had been vaporized. A few had started to cry out when they saw the lights, while other children had remained oblivious. Tekis could not contain his horror at his commander's unreasoning cruelty. This was a disgrace to Cardassia, Central Command be damned!
After finishing the deed, Durel turned on Tekis again. "You spineless coward! When I give an order I expect it to be obeyed!" He pulled out his sidearm and put it to Tekis' head. "We are at war, Glin Tekis. I am fully within my rights to shoot you for insubordination. Imagine what that will mean to your wife and unborn child, the family of an officer executed for an act of mutiny in time of war?"
The door opened to the camp's command room and two guards came in, pushing forward a Bajoran adolescent with his hands bound behind his back. The sandy-haired boy, thin and mal-nourished, lowered his eyes as he was forced to his knees. "We found him snooping around. Looks like he got away from the others."
"Ah. Well, this is fortunate timing for you, Glin Tekis." Durel motioned with his gun for Tekis to stand and face the Bajoran boy. "Fulfill our orders, Glin. Terminate the boy and I will overlook your previous inability to follow orders."
Tekis looked from Durel and the phaser pistol in his hand and to the boy. He pulled his gun and pointed it at the Bajoran, but for several moments he could not pull the trigger. This was not what he had become an officer for. He had become an officer to fight for Cardassia against those that threatened her, not to slaughter defenseless children. He stared at the boy for a moment, exchanging looks with the youth's eyes.
Then there was the sensation of metal against his temple. "You have until the count of zero to pull the trigger or I will pull mine. Remember, if you die here, it will be for mutiny and your family will be ruined. Five."
Tekis looked at the boy's defiant glare. There was resignation in those brown eyes, Tekis knew. The boy knew he would die. He must have known all along.
"Four."
There was already a lot of blood on Tekis' hands. One more dead Bajoran would not add very much. But there was a deep sense within Tekis' soul that this was wrong. This was all wrong.
"Three."
His family! His wife and child, his parents, they would be ruined if he were killed for an act of mutiny in time of war, especially this war against a powerful enemy unlike any Cardassia had ever faced.
"Two."
His eyes and the Bajoran's eyes met once more, and the boy bowed his head and prepared for the end. How noble! was Tekis' thought. There was something about the boy that made Tekis respect him and his entire race. It made Tekis feel ashamed. Ashamed that his people had enslaved these innocent people. Tekis thought of how much shame Cardassia had gleefully accepted, shame that spread to every Cardassian, every family...
My family!
Just as Durel said, "One", Tekis pulled the trigger. A beam of energy sliced into the boy's chest. He barely cried out before the energy completely disintegrated him. Tekis lowered his sidearm and looked to Durel, who nodded. "Well done, Glin Tekis. Remember, the ship leaves in an hour. Get your things from your room and office and be back here by that time."


Durel had immediately returned to his office to check on the status of the system wide data crash that would keep their data from falling into enemy hands. As he did so, he noticed his secretary, a lovely young Cardassian in her late twenties, working diligently at her desk. "Terial, is everything ready?"
"I'm finishing final data wipes now, Gul, and my things are packed."
"Good job, young lady. I'll have a commendation recorded for you on such excellent work." Durel entered his office to finish getting his things. After he came out, he said, "Come along, Terial. We have to get going."
"I'm coming Gul." Terial smiled at him and watched him wait by the door. With his back turned and his attention on organizing the things in his hand, Terial cupped a small drinking pouch of water she'd placed on her desk and lowered her hand to beneath the desk, where her legs were. Durel did not notice the small, fair-skinned hand that reached out and took the pouch.


Durel was among the last few members of the camp staff to leave, but they were now waiting on the administration building rooftop for Tekis and Terial, who had not shown up. Being suspicious, Durel ordered the remaining technician to check the systems and see if any terminals were active and to verify that all data had been wiped. The technician checked and nodded. "Everything's clean, sir, and inactive."
"No lifesigns?"
"Just one, coming up the stairs."
Soon after the door opened and Terial exited onto the roof, favoring her left ankle and carrying her bag. "My apologies, Gul. There was some fluid on one of the stairs and I fell on my ankle."
Durel nodded and pressed his communicator. "Umaral, this is Durel. One more to beam up, in need of minor medical attention. Lock on to Specialist Yekata's signal."
"Yes, Gul," was the reply. A few moments later, Terial was beamed up to the transport ship.
"Sir, the vanguard of the Alliance fleet will be in weapons range in thirty seconds. We must leave!"
Durel bit his lip. That fool Tekis had gone off somewhere and was going to get himself killed or captured. Oh well, one less coward to worry about. No doubt Central Command will do a fair job discrediting that weakling if he's captured and says anything stupid. "Durel to Umaral. Bring us up now."
And for the last time, Durel looked out at Rupek as it dissolved from his sight. The small camp, really a bit of a town, was now lifeless.
Mostly.


18:40 GST


Having landed nearby, a platoon of the 105th Mechanized Battalion, 222nd Division, rumbled into Rupek and dispersed to investigate it. Life signs had been detected, though far less than expected. Considering attempts by other camps to exterminate their prisoners, the worst was feared.
One squad made it's way through the administration building in the middle of the camp. They fanned out and used their helmet HUDs and the comm network with the ships in orbit to track the position of the life signs.
One pair, Corporal Collins and Private Takahara, finally made their way into the reception area for Gul Durel's office. They entered and looked around the spartan room, noticing the remaining computer terminals on the secretary's desk. Just as they were about to check the office itself, a high-pitched whine came from nearby. They brought their weapons up and looked toward the secretary's desk as the whine turned into a steady cry. Collins nodded to Takahara, and the young half-Japanese woman walked over to the desk and looked underneath.
Cramped in where the secretary's legs would've gone were three Bajoran children. The eldest, a girl who looked to be about six or seven by Human standards, was holding the newborn infant which had just woken up and begun crying. She stared at them with bright green eyes, as did the third child, a boy of about two or three who was curled up opposite her with their legs intertwined and their backs up against the legs of the desk. "Corporal, take a look at this!" Takahara backed up and allowed Collins to look. The Bajoran girl said something to them, and their Higgins-Parkinson ICDH-IIs (Infantry Combat Data Helmets, the name given by the corporation that produced it) immediately ran the words through the comm network they were hooked up to and displayed on their HUDs a translation: "My brother is hungry."


Down the hall, Privates DiCola and Lang walked into another office. Passing by a reception room that had been cleaned out, they entered the office proper and brought their guns up at the sight of a Cardassian laying back in his seat. They walked up to either side and noticed two things; the man's sidearm on the ground below his limp hand and a small data device on his desk. His eyes were closed and half his head blackened and charred from a point-blank energy discharge. DiCola reported the find to the rest of the platoon and picked up the device in the man's hand. A simple press against the main button began playing the recorded file the man had left in mechanical sounding English, the dead man's face on the device's display screen as he spoke.
"I am Elim Tekis, 1st Rank Glin of the Cardassian Defense Forces and Senior Assistant to the Camp Commandant, Gul Durel. I leave this message as a confession. A confession to my beloved wife and unborn child, to the Humans coming to save the Bajorans, to the Bajorans themselves, and to Cardassia. I have been both witness to and perpetrator of many evil things that happened here at Rupek..."






Author's Note: The reason that the 105th has different helmets from the 799th is because, at this point in time, the Alliance is still centralizing it's armies under a joint TO&E, and at the same time, a number of units were actually part of the national militaries and were deployed to Alliance commands of the same service to give numbers to a force that's still building it's core of initial volunteers. Indeed, most of the ADN military right now is made up of personnel who were initially from national militaries and either came out of retirement for service in the Alliance Armed Services or were transferred to the Armed Services for various periods of time.

So we're going to see more of this, and for the time being, multiple types of equipment are still seen in the Alliance military, though the situation is not as bad as that of a later Succession Wars Inner Sphere military in terms of diverse equipment.

[darthdavid]

Damn you for giving me a reason to stay up late!!!

[CJvR]

Well that should end any chance of this war not going total.

[Duken]

But how are the Federation/anti-war activists going to spin it?

[Steve]

Well that should end any chance of this war not going total.

Ah, but there are always politics. Consider the ramifications of my note and the Alliance still being involved with fully centralizing it's main military arm. Also consider the clear strategic ramifications of being a multi-universal power with so many diverse interests.

That said, at the very least, this will give complete justification to Bomber Command's part in the New Year's Offensive and their Rolling Thunder bombing campaign.

[CJvR]

Well that should end any chance of this war not going total.

Ah, but there are always politics. Consider the ramifications of my note and the Alliance still being involved with fully centralizing it's main military arm. Also consider the clear strategic ramifications of being a multi-universal power with so many diverse interests.

That said, at the very least, this will give complete justification to Bomber Command's part in the New Year's Offensive and their Rolling Thunder bombing campaign. :twisted:

Well there are always the posibility of distractions naturaly. However once you start liberating the KZ camps and publish the findings from them it will be almost impossible for any democratic goverment to sit down and negotiate with an opponent who were responsible for that. Before the Cardies might escape with the loss of a few colonies and the Bajor sector since the Alliance was essentially fighting a colonial war with limited aims. Afterwards the destruction of the current Cardassian regime will be added as a war aim almost automaticaly.

[Steve]

Kathil Shipyards, Kathil, Federated Commonwealth
Universe Designate MWB-32
20:10 GST



For centuries, the Shipyards at Kathil had been one of the great prides of the Federated Suns as one of the few remaining facilities that could service JumpShips. Today, it was still a pride of the Federated Commonwealth, as it was the first shipyard to undergo technological upgrade under the Technology Acquisition Act passed by the Estates General in February 2149 AST.
Fifty-eight months and one point fifteen trillion kroner later, the FCS Alexander Davion was sitting in Spacedock 1 - the first large capacity "slipway" built at Kathil, her construction contracted from New Strathcylde Shipbuilding from Britain in Universe Designate SE-1 - and a crowd had now gathered for her formal launching ceremony. Kym Hasek-Davion was to christen the ship, the first of her class, a design created by a joint team from Federated-Boeing, the New Avalon Institute of Science, and New Strathcylde.
Alexander Davion was the first "modern" capital warship to be built by the Federated Commonwealth, and this situation was so momentous that Hanse Davion was amongst the dignitaries witnessing her launch. She was fifty percent more massive than the Star League's vaunted McKenna, and due to her advanced weaponry she could defeat every McKenna the SLDF had possessed before they could even enter their own weapons' range. Extrauniversal naval analysts had classified the ship and it's line as "missile battleships" due to the continuing preference for missile capability by the FCN.
And this was only the beginning. In Spacedock 2, the skeleton of the FCS New Avalon was visible. The Tharkad-class dreadnoughts - FCS Tharkad was being built at Alarion - would be even larger and more powerful, comparable to the Alliance's new Tirpitz-class. Hanse's ambitions for a great and powerful star navy extended further; work was beginning on the Royal Shipyards at Tharkad and New Avalon. Unlike Galax, Kathil, Alarion, and other minor facilities, the Royal Shipyards would be built completely in extrauniversal style, with literally dozen of slipways for building ships of a wide variance of tonnage and every bit the equal of the great shipyards of the Allied Nations; the majestic shipyards at New Strathclyde SE-1, the massive docks of New Virginia AR-12, or the grand shipyard complex of New Israel FHI-8 over the moon Solomon. They represented Hanse's dream of bringing the Federated Commonwealth into the Multiverse at large as a respectable power, not a collection of ruined neo-feudalist worlds.
It would be an extrauniversal matter that the reporters would concentrate on in the following conference. The war in the Alpha Quadrant was the big news. The Alliance's smashing victory, which recovered for them the lost prestige from their early setbacks against Myndo Waterly and her Blakist fanatics from the previous year, was among the subjects, as was another one.
The call for war had begun with the attack on Hermocrates. Since then, there had been several more instances of the Cardassians harrassing ships of the Federated Commonwealth. There had been fiery debate in the Estates General for war, and many of Hanse's vassals supported the idea (save, of course, for Ryan Steiner and James Sandoval, as the former wanted to attack Rasalhague to reclaim Tamar Pact worlds and the latter wanted to focus on "home front" issues and facing the Draconis Combine).
And now there was increasing public support as well. News had broken of a massacre of Cardassian religious dissidents on Yuvar, making the Cardassians seem even worse as they were clearly slaughtering their own people as well as Bajorans. The attacks on the shipping of the Federated Commonwealth and the nuclear attack on Gytep had most people of the Commonwealth, on both sides, clearly anti-Cardassian, and pro-war sentiment was rising steadily.


Hours after the christening ceremony, Hanse Davion was with his two senior advisors; his nephew, Marshal of the Armies and Duke of the Capellan March Morgan Hasek-Davion, and Sir Alex Mallory, head of the Intelligence Secretariat and Justin Allard's replacement. That was a wound still fresh, as the first anniversary of Justin's murder by a Maskirovka agent was nearing, coinciding perfectly to the beginning of Myndo Waterly's ill-fated attempt to drive the Alliance out of the Inner Sphere and rally the creation of a Blakist overthrow of the Successor States following such a victory. The Alliance had been unprepared to fight such an opponent - though even Hanse had been surprised to hear that Waterly had used nuclear weapons to repel an invasion of Terra - but the great strength of the extrauniversal juggernaught had been too much for Myndo and had led to the fall of Terra, ruined by a fanatical ComStar scorched earth campaign and being slowly rebuilt by the Alliance despite an ongoing Blakist insurgency.
As for Justin, if Candace had not smuggled herself back into the Confederation to settle the score personally, Hanse would have gladly completed what he'd started a quarter century before. He still contemplated it, though offending Candace was a cost he didn't want to pay yet. And now, he had a better opportunity to test the new army he had been building for the last five years.
"Waging a war in the Alpha Quadrant is not a very easy proposition to consider." Morgan, as the host of the occasion, poured the other men a few drinks. "Unlike the Alliance, we have no stocks of parts and equipment built up in the New Liberty Zone. The logistics will be difficult to say the least. And would we be there to support Alliance operations or wage our own?"
"You're going to need something for the populace to justify the human cost, Your Highness. A world or two at least."
"I think that could work." Hanse took the drink Morgan offered. "The initial reports from observers seem to show the Cardassians as being little more than lightly-armed infantry."
"Well, not so lightly-armed, Highness. But the doctrines of the great powers of the Alpha Quadrant seem to be in favor of focusing on control of space with infantry to clean up enemies in confined positions on-planet. The Cardassians' army seems dedicated to fighting such foes or to dealing with domestic insurgencies and rebellions. I'm starting to think that even non-upgraded units would have a fair chance of defeating them."
Hanse nodded at Morgan's remark. "True. And what units have finished the New Army upgrades, if I might ask?"
"All of the active Federated Commonwealth RCTs. The 10th and 30th Lyran Guards, the Davion Heavy Guards, and the 1st Davion Guards as well, and the 1st Federated Suns Armored Calvary has finished upgrading it's armored battalions with vehicles using extrauniversal technology. Of course, July 3055 is still our scheduled date for the complete upgrading of the entire order of Lyran Guards and Davion Guards RCTs. Then we'll get to work on the other units; Donegal Guards, Crucis Lancers, Lyran Regulars..."
"We're already making the Estates General unhappy with the focus on military upgrades, Highness." Mallory looked up from where he'd swallowed some of the scotch offered by Morgan. "Fighting a war in another universe is going to cost even more money."
Hanse nodded slowly at that. "The prestige is the great prize. Right now, gentlemen, the Multiverse at large thinks of us as little more than primitive feudalists who can barely manage cold fusion. At best, we're quaint traditionalists, and at worst? There are posters in colleges across the Alliance calling for my violent overthrow and the annihilation of the noble class of the Commonwealth."
"In a way, maybe they're right. But that doesn't change anything here."
"Not for now. But it should be changed. Think of what would have happened if the Alliance had been like the Clans? We would not be having this conversation. And if the Alliance can come here, so can other powers. Gentlemen, if we are to continue to rule ourselves, we must move on and we must think outward. A war with Cardassia would gain prestige for the Commonwealth. It would give us a place at the peace table. We don't need to keep Cardassian worlds, but we could force concessions in materials and funds to return them, enough to more than make up for our expenses in fighting the war. Finally, it continues to ingratiate the Alliance to us. Better to ensure that they feel indebted to us for aid than to assume they'll always be in agreement with our interests."
Having taken a drink, Mallory asked, "So you've decided to join the war, Highness?"
"Not completely. Best to let the press continue whipping up public sentiments for a few days while we wait and watch to see how the war goes." Hanse looked to Morgan. "Get together the units you think will be best for an initial offensive and get the necessary transport and supplies for them. In the meantime, I will send orders to Washington for Dresari to speak with Mamatmas on Alliance support for a Commonwealth entry into the war. If the Alliance will not grant us basing and movement rights, then this entire discussion has been nothing more than an academic exercise."

[CJvR]

A short victorious war to improve our rep with the big boys and distract the proles. I wonder how many times that have blown up in the faces of goverments. Still having the BT Mechs stomping ST Infantry should be most amusing.

[Zed Snardbody]

A short victorious war to improve our rep with the big boys and distract the proles. I wonder how many times that have blown up in the faces of goverments. Still having the BT Mechs stomping ST Infantry should be most amusing.

So thats what that is.

Damn I missed out on the fun sci fi when I was a kid.

[Steve]

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, En Route to Quo'noS, Federation Space
Universe Designate ST-3
20:50 GST


The daily activities of USS Enterprise went on as they usually did, the crew mostly ignoring the fact that they were heading into Klingon space for their captain to decide the new leader of the Klingon Empire. A handful were paying attention to the developing war between the Alliance and Cardassia, mostly those who had been involved in fighting Cardassia themselves.
It was now breakfast time for the senior officers and, as happened on occasion, Captain Jean-Luc Picard was partaking in his ready room, though his appetite had been neatly destroyed by what he was witnessing on his main monitor. After the sound of his door chime came twice, Picard called for the person on the other side of the door to come in.
It was Riker who entered, carrying with him a PADD undoubtedly loaded with the usual bureaucratic forms that were part of the day-to-day running of a ship. He noticed the expression on Picard's face and asked, "Sir, are you okay?"
"Just watching Humanity at it's worst, Number One." Picard turned his monitor around so Riker could watch the screen.
It was a live feed from an Alliance news station, likely being transmitted from the Triangle. The scene was presumably on one of the worlds the Alliance's ground forces were invading, with troops running about as a reporter covered his helmeted head instinctively from the whistling sound of a shell, which exploded somewhere off-screen. "....fighting near the town of Ikim here on Darane. An estimated two to three thousand Cardassian troops that failed to evacuate before the Alliance arrival are holed up in what the local Bajorans call the Fortress of Death. Can we get a shot..... good." The reporter disappeared as his cameraman twisted his camera to show a distant mountain-top, with high walls clearly visible despite the distance. "Ikim has been under constant shelling for the past hour, starting when troops from the 512th Division began securing the town. Now, most of the troops have withdrawn and are attempting to assault Ikim Fortress, but there are still a few here sweeping through town..." - there was another explosion and the reporter paused - "...still a few here sweeping through town to find Bajoran civilians and evacuate them."
Riker watched for a few more moments before looking away. Picard brought the monitor back around and said, "Computer, mute audio." Looking back to where Riker was bringing a seat up, Picard accepted the PADD from him. "I've been watching it on and off since we received first confirmation of the Alliance declaration of war."
"I've heard the Cardassians have already suffered over a million dead."
"They have." Picard sighed and went to the replicator. "Frankly, I'm not sure which side is the most deplorable."
"A million for twenty-five hundred seems pretty damned unfair, if you ask me."
"Of course it does, Number One. But I hardly think the Cardassians are an innocent party. Rather, all of these dead - on both sides - are just unfortunate victims of the kind of bloodshed that occurs when two militant governments decide to settle their disputes with violence instead of diplomacy." Picard turned back to the replicator. "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot." After the accompanying whirring sound and sparkle of light, a fresh cup of Picard's favorite beverage was ready. "Want anything, Number One?"
"That won't be necessary." Riker watched Picard head back to his seat. "I took the time to read over some of the material from the Alliance. It's not all bad. They have their own anti-war factions and peace activists, but it's hard to imagine the kind of thinking that leads to all of these articles and opinions calling for total war over a single refugee camp."
"'An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind'," Picard said in agreement. "Though I'm sure some of the more respectable pro-war speakers from the Alliance would counter with, 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.'"
"I'd hardly call the incineration of a million Cardassians the act of good men."
"Yet it's been done before. Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And the Alliance's leadership believes that, like the Allies, they were fighting an evil power to defend their territory and to rescue a race of people from enslavement."
Riker was silent for a moment. "I still can't see how that justifies such large scale destruction. We outgrew that kind of thinking centuries ago."
"Indeed, Number One. But they didn't. They didn't have Khan and the Eugenics Wars, or Colonel Green and the Third World War. They had their own wars, yes, but nothing so destructive as to make all of Humanity reconsider itself." Picard sipped his tea. "Over the past year or so, I've started to read some of their histories. It's easy to see where they get some of their attitudes and their militarism. In Universe SE-1, they had Armand Giuseppe and the Third World War. In PA-6 and AR-12, radical Islamist uprisings against the governments of Europe led to wars that killed untold millions. In Universe FHI-8, the disintegration of the United States heralded an era of war that resulted in Europe being taken over by neo-fascists, Britain reverting to an authoritarian monarchy, and the near extermination of Earth's Arabs. Earth DN-9 was subjected to an alien attack in the early 21st Century." After breathing in a long sigh. "It's like history returned to life. They don't think like we do, Number One. Instead of coming to the stars to explore as we did, they never changed. Their wars convinced them that they had to remain armed and powerful to resist attack. So they remained the same, fighting and squabbling against themselves for so many reasons..."

"And what can we do against that, Captain? How do you convince them to try peace?"

"You can't, not until they feel safe. Until then, well..." Picard looked back at the monitor. "We can do nothing but watch as they and the Cardassians kill one another en masse."




21:33 GST


Seated alone in his quarters, with Keiko doing her work in the arboretum, Miles O'Brien watched the monitor on the table play footage from the ongoing war between the Alliance and Cardassia. "Troops have reportedly begun to enter the fortress here at Ikim," the man on the screen stated. "As all of you have probably noticed, the artillery barrage seems to have succeeded and the shelling has subsided, hopefully for good. Now... here! Here, zoom in there!" The reporter's frantic motions caused the cameraman to zoom in on the distant fortress. O'Brien could make out the sight of a flag being raised against the orange twilight sky of Darane. The circle of stars and torch with a four-colored flame was barely visible against the brightness of the Darane sun. "Viewers back home, Alexis and Jeff in the studio, it looks like our troops did it! The flag of the Allied Nations is now clearly visible over Ikim Fortress!"
There was some cheering around the reporter, likely from troops he was standing around. O'Brien smiled softly and raised the small glass of whiskey he'd gotten from Guinan, thinking of all the comrades he'd lost because of the Cardies, including the now-disgraced Captain Maxwell. "Good show, lads. Give the Cardies hell, they deserve every bit of it." He took the drink, hoping to hell he'd never let Keiko hear him say such things, and turned the news off.

[CJvR]

Smashing Cardassia and reshaping it into something the Alliance can live with violates practicaly everything the Federation stands for. Should be most amusing.

Is this before or after BoBW? Picard should have grown some spine after the Locutus/Wolf incident.

[dragon]

Picard and Riker should no better after all they fought the Cardies like Obrien. At least some starfleet aren't blinded like O'brien and the captain that went after cardassia on his own.

[Zed Snardbody]

There is something to be said for federation policy.

A firm dedication to peace is not a bad thing. But to embrace it, or anything to the point of fanaticism is never a good thing.

Away from the politics and games, what picard says does ring true to a point. But somewhere though, evil becomes to great and simply can no longer be ignored.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.'"

[Duken]

Steve, I must say that you are very good at showing how two groups of people can be the same or how one group of people can be different.

[Datana]

I've noticed a bit of a discrepancy in the timeline of this last segment. The Ent-D is stated to be en route to "decide the new leader of the Klingon Empire," which was in the 4th season episode "Reunion." Later, O'Brien brings up "the now-disgraced Captain Maxwell," an event that didn't happen in the original timeline until five episodes later, in "The Wounded." Can we assume that the events of "Reunion" were delayed due to changed circumstances, or did Maxwell do something differently this time around?

I find it kind of sad that I still remember the order of events this well despite not having seen any Trek in years. Anyway, this fic is great, as is the fluff material you've been producing. I'm looking forward to more.

[Steve]

I've noticed a bit of a discrepancy in the timeline of this last segment. The Ent-D is stated to be en route to "decide the new leader of the Klingon Empire," which was in the 4th season episode "Reunion." Later, O'Brien brings up "the now-disgraced Captain Maxwell," an event that didn't happen in the original timeline until five episodes later, in "The Wounded." Can we assume that the events of "Reunion" were delayed due to changed circumstances, or did Maxwell do something differently this time around?

Actually, the E-D is en route to fulfill the events of the "Redemption" two-parter (the cliffhanger between the fourth and fifth seasons). "The Wounded" was earlier in the 4th Season.

I find it kind of sad that I still remember the order of events this well despite not having seen any Trek in years. Anyway, this fic is great, as is the fluff material you've been producing. I'm looking forward to more.

"Redemption" was one of the first two-part TNG eps I saw, so I remember it quite well.

[Datana]

Actually, the E-D is en route to fulfill the events of the "Redemption" two-parter (the cliffhanger between the fourth and fifth seasons). "The Wounded" was earlier in the 4th Season.

Ah, that makes sense. The description initially had me favoring "Reunion" more, as "Redemption" was more of defending the Gowron regime than arbitrating another succession. In that case, the dates match up. Will this mean some Romulan interference in the near future?

[Steve]

Washington D.C., Earth, Alliance of Democratic Nations
Universe Designate HE-1
26 November 2153 AST
00:10 GST


It was just past seven in Washington and Mamatmas had been forced to cancel a pre-planned dinner date with his wife and other family to attend a war briefing that the Joint Command Staff was holding for him and the other senior members of the Security Committee. They were seated now in the Pentagon, a holomap of the Colonial Zone and it's surroundings hovering over the circle-shaped table in one of the briefing rooms. Systems were marked in color by who held them; blue for the Alliance, yellow for Cardassia, red for the Federation.
The map had been marked to show the current offensive. The damage to the Cardassian 1st Fleet and Bajoran Sector Fleet had removed the forces that could effectively stop an Alliance offensive for the moment, so the military was going a bit further than planned. Though originally only the five disputed systems and a line of systems within 5 light years of the border were going to be taken, the line had been expanded to fifteen light years, judged a proper barrier but requiring most of their remaining Army and Marine Divisions to complete. Some systems were still glowing, indicating that one or more planets was technically under contest.
Off toward Bajor was another system that had been marked, at the twenty light year range. Darane was now labeled blue instead of the Cardassian yellow.
"The Cardassians opted to evacuate Darane, so all we caught were a few collections of company-sized detachments and the two thousand or so Cardassian troops that had taken refuge in Ikim Fortress." General Taggert was giving the briefing. "Darane is now officially secured."
"Are we going to seize any systems between Darane and the border?" asked Takahara.
"No, ma'am, not currently. It's rather unnecessary, since most of the occupied systems are only mining colonies and the like, very little in the way of enemy troops or value. Nor is it necessary. Because of the victory at Zygola, we currently have control of the local spacelanes."
"Don't you think the Cardassians' sector fleet will try to kick us out of Darane?"
"Yes we do, Mister President," Chief Admiral Hollingwood replied. "We've detached the two task forces of 14th Fleet to hold Darane. That should be enough force until the Cardassians move up reinforcements. By then we hope to have completed the transitting of 14th Fleet's other task forces."
"And 5th Fleet?"
"We've managed to replace roughly half of her lost numerical strength, though that's just in terms of ships destroyed at Zygola. Our real losses were higher and it will be another week or so before 5th Fleet's replacements can arrive."
"Do you want to call in any national forces to reinforce the fleet?"
Collingsworth looked to Longwell before shrugging. "We haven't seen the need for support from the national navies yet. The national navies of Iran, East Africa, and Britain are deploying on their own accord for defending their holdings in the Colonial Zone, freeing the Stellar Navy up for fighting the war."
At that moment, one of the glowing systems became normal. "Felvar's been secured," Taggert said. "Things are proceeding well. It looks like we caught the Cardassians napping."
"Most of this confirms our appraisal of their planning. They never bothered deploying more ground troops to the frontier worlds because the way the local powers think focuses entirely upon the use of their naval contingents. Troops only move in after the navy has completely secured supremacy. We probably won't hit heavier resistance until we advance in that area again." Commandant Tokugawa looked to Mamatmas. "Assuming we actually do advance there again."
"A good point, Commandant, which brings me to the Committee's next question." Mamatmas kept his hands folded on the table in front of him. "How is the deployment of Army troops going?"
Taggert finished a sip of coffee before answering. "We've engaged with sixty divisions organized into four Armies - 4th, 5th, 8th, and 12th - all along the front. Currently we haven't organized them into a seperate Army Group command under the Sector Army Commander's authority. But they will be designated as 1st Army Group when we finish the planned reinforcements in the next two weeks."
"How is that going?"
"Currently our reserve is made up of four Corps, eighteen divisions in all. By this time next week we expect to have an extra sixty divisions in place. Of course, that means we're beginning to scrape the bottom of the barrel for our available reserves. If we take any more divisions out, we'll be reducing our defenses on other fronts. We may have to ask for national army units to be used for filling in."
"Then we will. I don't want this war to linger. Best to get it over with, and since we're on the point, how soon until we can invade Bajor itself and what kind of plan do we have for it?"
Tokugawa and Taggert were both looking at figures. "Well, sir, our war plans call for a three wave invasion. The First Wave would consist of fifty divisions, ten Marine and forty Army, landing and securing key regional points. The Second Wave would be another fifty divisions, all Army, to begin active offensives, and a Third Wave of fifteen to twenty-five divisions would establish a reserve."
"That's quite a lot of troops," Rathbone said. "You're looking at what? Two and a half million ground troops?"
"According to figures, the Cardassians have five million combat personnel on Bajor. Even assuming our current formula for factoring in their technological disadvantage and lack of heavy weapons, our calculations for needed force requires to have half of their available numbers to win a guaranteed victory. There's no other way around it, Mister President."
"And while the Army uses it's numbers to take Bajor, the Corps can secure the other Bajoran-majority worlds around Bajor," Tokugawa explained. "We currently have ten divisions in the Colonial Zone or engaged against the Cardassians. Another twenty are being sent, along with three divisions of US Marines from each American member nation in the Alliance, save for Universe HM-1."
"So, how long?"
"Operation: Crusader's current D-Day is 12 December, sir. Three weeks away."
Mamatmas nodded. "I see. But can Dolan and the other two besieged cities hold out that long?"
"Salmio and Verta are in no danger of being taken as of this time. Through Project Prometheus, anti-MET field generators were made available to all of the resistance forces involved in those rebellions, so the Cardassians cannot conduct their usual surprise transporter attacks, and Salmio and Verta are located in valleys that are easily-defendible. In fact, not only is Verta under siege, but three hundred square kilometers of arable farmland around them, all in the valley, providing plenty of food and breathing space. As for Dolan..." Bronson looked to Longwell. "Marshal Longwell can probably explain."
"Our first two supply drops met with resistance, Mister President, and we've now lost about twenty-eight transport craft despite the escort of naval starfighters. But now we have Darane, which is close enough to Bajor that it is within range of our Spitfires. I've already made the orders for airfields to be prepared for the 14th Long Range Fighter Wing, 4th Special Transport Wing, and 21st Strategic Bomber Wing. This will aid supply efforts immensely as well as allowing us to bomb Cardassian positions threatening the besieged cities."
"And speaking of Darane, Mister President, the Navy is moving in a Prefab Naval Facility to place in orbit over Darane 6. It will be capable of field repair and maintainance of lighter warships, specifically our stealth attack ships, which will aid tremendously in cutting their occupation forces' lines of supply. Additionally, we are establishing supply dumps on Darane 4 itself to maintain our fleet. That will take two to three weeks to finish."
Mamatmas nodded. "One final item. Marshal, you've mentioned using bombers against Cardassian assets on Bajor. Non-atomic, I assume?"
"Yes. Non-atomics, Mister President. We'd be using plasma and thermobaric weapons."
"And will there be strategic attacks on targets near Darane?"
"Maybe later, Mister President. But we don't want to push the Cardassians too far, otherwise they might decide to just start slaughtering Bajorans. Though I won't rule out attacks on strategic facilities with non-atomic weapons."
President Mamatmas nodded at that. "Well, it seems everything in order." Mamatmas stood. "Gentlemen and ladies, please continue your fine work. It may take a while, but I feel we can win this war decisively so long as we put our minds to it. I hope you all have a good evening."

[Steve]

Capital City, Cardassia, Cardassian Union
00:14 GST


Relim, Kelataza, and Yatar were once again meeting, now with Home Fleet's commander Gul Jural in attendance. So far they were proceeding as scheduled for their counterattack, but Relim was now finding out there was a new wrinkle to be dealt with.
"We cannot allow the Alliance to solidify it's hold on Darane," Yatar insisted. He stabbed a finger at the map, pointing to Darane and then tracing a neat line to show how easily it could be used to sever Cardassia's supply lanes to Bajor. "The fleet must attack and drive them out before they arrive in force."
"We can easily shift our planned operation to Darane," Relim suggested. "The Alliance will want to defend Darane for those very same reasons. We can draw out their carriers for our reserves to attack."
"Seven days is too long," Yatar insisted. "We must strike before then. The remains of 1st Fleet and the Bajoran Sector Fleet could be used."
"Commit them piecemeal, Yatar, and you'll lose them," Relim scoffed. "We must strike all at once to get at the carriers."
"Dammit, Torcet, you've gotten cowardly in your dotage," was Yatar's angry reply, making Relim's cheeks flush with anger. "These people killed your son! Don't you want to wash your hands in their blood?!"
"That is not a luxury that can be afforded," Relim replied through clenched teeth. "We are facing an enemy of incredible power. They have weapons and technologies we do not possess and they have a will for killing as strong as our own. If we do not use our brains to outwit them, they will crush our fleets until there is nobody to keep them from reducing Cardassia Prime to rubble!"
"We cannot afford to have our links to Bajor severed, Gul Torcet," Kelataza said, now effectively intervening. "Do you have any thoughts on how we can keep the Alliance from securing it's hold?"
"Legate, it is better to have the links severed briefly and then restored by victory than it is to lose from haste and have them severed forever." Relim shook his head and pointed to Yatar's plan. "Our reserves are low, but Gul Hergata would squander portions of our strength for his plan. It is better to preserve what we have for the plan against their carriers."
Now, finally, Gul Jural spoke up. "Legate, I need not remind you that the Operations Commission is insistant that we need to maintain our position on Bajor. The loss of Darane threatens that."
Relim scowled. Now Operations, the bureaucratic and political arm of the military, was sticking their noses in. They were the kingmakers these days, and Relim knew Kelataza would follow their desires over the advice of the actual combat arms. "So Gul Keve wants us to try and reclaim it immediately?"
"As soon as possible, sir."
And that was it. Kelataza looked to Relim. "Gul Torcet, the Federation Frontier Fleet and 2nd Fleet are on their way already, yes?"
"Yes."
"How soon until they arrive?"
"The Frontier Fleet will begin arriving in twenty-four hours and will finish in about fifty-four. 2nd Fleet won't arrive for another six or seven days."
"Then I will allow the Frontier Fleet time to arrive before we launch a counter-attack on Darane. Sixty hours or so from now should suffice, don't you think?"
"Yes, Legate," Relim said quietly, his mind racing as he tried to think of how to make this work with fewer ships. It all depended on how fast the Alliance brought forces to Darane.
"Then it's settled. We will counterattack at Darane in sixty hours. Gentlemen, please go and make the arrangements for this future victory."
And with that last bit of bravado, the meeting concluded.

[Steve]

Paris, Earth, United Federation of Planets
27 November 2153 AST
14:19 GST


Tobis had not waited long before asking Ambassadors Parmika and Kercet to meet with him. It had taken days to get them to agree. But now Kercet and Tobis were seated, waiting for Parmika to enter.
Parmika arrived at just the right time, wearing his usual business suit with a PDA in hand. Tobis didn't really like the Motorola ZS1510 Parmika favored. It seemed archaic compared to the nice, flat PADD found in the Federation. He didn't look at either men before sitting down. Tobis cleared his throat and said, "Well, gentlemen, now that you're here, hopefully we can arrange for some common ground to end this bloodshed before more lives are lost. Ambassador Kercet, what are your government's terms?"
"Very generous, President Tobis." Kercet looked Parmika head on and handed him a PADD. "The official text of the proposed armistice terms is there, but I shall spare you the need to read through it. We will cede Yuvar, Yevel, Lorvarak, Itilcet, and Opara to the Alliance and agree to demilitarize all systems within ten light years of the Alliance border. A payment in gold-pressed latinum would be made as reparations for the... regrettable incident with Gytep, a payment of about two point five billion of your Alliance dollars I believe. We also promise to withdraw half of our occupation troops from Bajor within the next year and to begin preparations for making the Bajoran-inhabited worlds of our Empire an autonomous province of the Cardassian Union with full native rule. You would, of course, withdraw from Darane and the other systems you've occupied and have no claim to and you would repeal your Bajoran Freedom Act."
Parmika skimmed the text and handed it back to Ambassador Kercet. "Ambassador, the terms of the Alliance are as follows.
First, you will withdraw from Bajor completely and without question and will recognize the right of the Bajoran race to be completely sovereign and independent.
Second, you will cede Yuvar, Yevel, Lorvarak, Itilcet, and Opara to the Alliance.
Third, your government will pay twenty-five billion Alliance dollars as reparations for Gytep and attacks on Alliance shipping. You will also turn over for trial those responsible for the attack on Gytep, the massacre of the Jokaravites of Evelek on Yuvar and one Gul Durel, Commandant of the Rupek Labor Camp on Darane, for the massacre of the Bajoran laborers held there."
Kercet smirked. "Those terms are unacceptable."
"Then this meeting is concluded." Parmika stood from his chair.
"Ambassador, please!" Tobis rose to his feet. "This is merely the opening round. Now that you've laid your positions out, it's time to compromise."
"Very well. We'll reduce the demand for reparations down to twenty billion," Parmika replied.
"We will not just abandon our sovereign territory like that, Ambassador!" Kercet pounded his fist on the table. "Bajor must remain a part of the Union if there is to be peace!"
"No, Ambassador Kercet, Cardassia must accept a free and independent Bajor for there to be peace."
As Parmika turned to the door, Tobis cried, "Ambassador, please, be reasonable!"
"Reasonable, President Tobis?" Parmika turned around. "Do you consider the Cardassian occupation of Bajor to be reasonable? The forced labor camps, the summary executions, the taking of young women to be courtesans for their officers? They murdered thousands of Bajorans on Darane just to keep them from being liberated! And you're asking me to be reasonable?" Parmika straightened his posture. "If you would take off your ideological blinders and look at the situation equally, you would see that Cardassia started this war. Cardassia has been slaughtering innocents. Well, we know these things, and that is why we will be expelling them from Bajor one way or the other."
Kercet jumped to his feet. "We will never let you steal our sovereign territory! We'll sweep Bajor clean of life before we let you seize it from us!"
"Ambassador, you don't want to do that." Parmika's voice was low and threatening. "If you think genocide will get you out of this, you're wrong. In fact, you'll just make things worse. My people have issues about genocidal societies. The last one we encountered was the Agresskan. And the Allied Nations bombed the Aggies back into the Stone Age." Parmika noticed Tobis' frown while Kercet's face was dominatedby an expression of rage. "This meeting was a waste of time. Call me back when Cardassia's willing to accept our terms."
With that said, Parmika left.

[CJvR]

Rather generous terms from the Alliance considering the situation. The worlds they already have and liberation of Bajor and some other minor specific stuff. Considering the savagery of the Cardassian occupation the Alliance should demand a much wider more general authority to deal with war-criminals, like total access to Cardassian files and the turning over of any suspects for trial - ironicaly simillar to the Feds deal with the Cardassians. Would have been nice to slap that in the Feds faces.

If the Cardies have occupied other races as well the liberation of Bajor should trigger revolts there as well. To bad the Alliance have not come across some of the camps filled with the officially "dead", that should go down well for the Feds. Also no mention of all the slaves taken by the Cardassians, though it might have been in the fine print.

I have a feeling the price of peace will go up for the Cardassians for every world liberated and every camp opened. As Londo Mollari said IIRC "Now we want more" when the Drazi complained about the drifting peace terms of the Centauri Republic.

[Zed Snardbody]

Ooooooo!

I'm all giddy with the waiting!

[Steve]

Washington D.C., Earth, Alliance of Democratic Nations
Universe Designate HE-1
19:56 GST


A handsomely-dressed figure walked into the waiting room for the Oval Office and smiled at the slightly overweight lady at the desk. To the eyes of Sir Peter Dresari, the younger brother of the ruling Duke Eric Dresari of Kentares in the Federated Commonwealth's Draconis March, she looked to be in her twenties at the most, but Sir Peter had long learned that amongst the extrauniversals looks could be deceiving. "Ambassador Dresari, Sir, please be seated," Ms. Henley said. "The President will be with you shortly."
Dresari nodded and took a seat in one of the plus chairs, looking over the artifacts in the room. Bronze busts of the American Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and both Roosevelts were on a few of the tables, while on the wall beside the doors to the Oval Office there was a hanging photograph of Tatyana Ivanova, the famous Russian President of the late 21st Century in Universe SE-1 that restored Russia to her pre-World War III power (Dresari figured that the ADN's first President, Rodislav Plotinikov, had left it and his successors hadn't removed it). The wall behind Ms. Henley had a framed picture of Mamatmas' inaugeration and that of his predecessor, Jennifer Verdes. Verdes, who had resigned upon her diagnosis with the terminal neurological disease Gephardt's Syndrome, was now dying in a hospice, reportedly suffering increased bouts of dementia.
Dresari could faintly hear shouting from inside the office, making him wonder just who was in there with Mamatmas. That question was answered when the door flew open and he could clearly see the dark-skinned figure in traditional Japanese robes standing there, his back turning toward Dresari and Henley so he could see Mamatmas. Ambassador Mitsuharu Toyama's voice, speaking in accented English, betrayed the anger obvious from his posture. "The Dragon will not forget this insult!" He slammed the door closed and turned to face Dresari. Briefly the angry expression turned into a sneer. "Ah, Ambassador Dresari."

"Ambassador Toyama," Dresari replied with a diplomatic smile. "A pleasure as always."

"I do not suppose you could answer the question that has occupied many minds on Luthien, Ambassador? We would all be most interested to know whom is who's lapdog!"

The smile slowly faded from Peter's face, though not from the anger that Toyama had sought to provoke. "Typical Kuritan thinking. Master and slave. No room at all for equals with shared interests. By the way, how is life on Luthien? Has Coordinator Takashi finished his investigation to find the scoundrels who slit his son's throat and put a knife into his daughter-in-law's belly? And then there was that horrible mishap with poor young Minoru."

Toyama's nostrils flared and he stormed off, Dresari allowing himself a small smile. Goading self-proclaimed samurai could be dangerous at some places, particularly places where they were allowed to carry their swords, but it was still amusing to see their blood rush into their cheeks from rage.
"Ambassador Dresari." Mamatmas' voice from inside the office prompted Dresari to turn. "Please, come in. And would you mind closing the door?"
Dresari walked into the Oval Office and closed the door behind him. "The Combine Ambassador seemed most upset. This is about Omi Kurita, isn't it?"
"Yes. The Combine seems to have very little tolerance for the way our government works. Ambassador Toyama and his masters back in the Imperial City think that I have the authority to easily overturn the ruling of an Alliance Court of Justice. They're not very happy that three educated judges ruled unanimously that Omi Kurita had proven her life would be endangered if she were returned to the Combine and that she be granted political asylum in the Alliance. Apparently, it's very embarrassing to Takashi Kurita that his own granddaughter needs foreign protection from his own supporters." Mamatmas motioned to a plush chair in front of his desk, which Dresari took. "So, Mister Ambassador, what can I do for you today?"
"This will only take a few minutes, as I'm sure you've got plenty of duties on your hand due to the war. In fact, it's the war that I'm here to talk about." Peter put his hands in his lap.
"I've heard the Estates General has had some debates about entrance into the war. So, the First Prince is in favor of such an entrance?"
"Naturally, for the good of his people, the First Prince is trying to consider and prepare for all options. But if the Federated Commonwealth were to declare war on Cardassia, would the Alliance allow us to stage from your territory? Perhaps even set up some kind of joint command to ensure we're not going to step on each other's toes?"
Mamatmas was silent for a moment, thinking. "Well, I'll have to get back to you. I'll need to talk to the Service Chiefs first, see if a Commonwealth entry would disrupt our operations. I'll be holding a full meeting with them in about an hour. You should have your answer by dinnertime."
"That's all I needed to know, Mister President. Thank you for your time."



22:19 GST



Inside the Pentagon, Mamatmas was listening to Minister Umachov finish his element of the briefing. The Klingons had not given any response, considering they were entering the final phase of their Succession for the Chancellory of the Empire. Neither was there a Romulan response. The Ferengi had merely asked the Alliance to confirm that it would honor the neutrality of the Ferengi Alliance and the rights of Ferengi merchants, which Mamatmas had instructed Umachov to do.
There were occasional notices of support. Murluno ke'Ytaklu, Lord Protector of the Talarian Steadhold, had extended the moral support of the Talarian Steadhold, which itself had been besieged by the Cardassians for six years in it's Ukithra Sector. The Keloans were obviously friendly and the Tsen'kethi had volunarily withdrawn a quarter of it's forces on the border with Kelos, which the ADN was responsible for helping to defend, and thus removing the threat of a successful attack on Kelos.
With the briefing over, Mamatmas now brought to the attention of the assembled - the Service Chiefs, the Chairman of the Strategic Planning Staff Field Marshal Pollack, Ministers Rathbone and Umachov, and Intelligence Director Bronson - his conversation with Dresari. "Ambassador Dresari expects a response tonight. I would like to give him one."

"It's a mixed bag, Mister President," Pollack remarked. "The Commonwealth's army is still in the midst of a massive upgrading program and the AFFC's naval contingent only has a few hundred starships capable of participation in a naval battle. We'd have to provide some backup. But, at the same time, if he commits sufficient strength, we could launch a secondary offensive to draw off Cardassian forces. For instance..." Pollack pointed to a starmap of the war zone. "Imagine if we diverted 4th Army and a task force or two from 9th Fleet to commit to an advance cutting across the Keloan border and the boundary of the Neutral Sphere toward Dervak and Pelikar. Hanse's forces could support our left flank, hitting Shervarak and driving toward Dervak while we go via the Rikeva Mini-Cluster. Possession of those worlds would make a valuable bargaining chip in peace talks and provide a distraction if the Cardassians decide to pull ships off their border with the Tsen'kethi."
"Mister President, Hanse is going to want something for this war." Bronson tapped the table. "In fact, it's my opinion that Hanse has been behind the growing pro-war movement in the Commonwealth from the beginning. He's ambitious and he recognizes the inferior position the Commonwealth enjoys in multiversal relations. A victorious war in another universe would improve his standing. Of course, he'd have to get something out of the war to justify the whole thing. I have no doubt he'll want to keep the planets he takes."
"Something like that could be fuel for the fire of a Cardassian Revanchist movement post-war," Umachov warned. "Hanse would inevitably have to draw us in to defending any annexed territory, unless he somehow manages to get the IUCEC to agree to build a gate assembly in them."
"Keeping the disputed systems will do the same. We should recognize that this war will likely create a Revanchist movement no matter what we do." Rathbone folded his hands together. "I think we should let Hanse join in. Cardassian infantry is lightly equipped and there's little that we've done that even the non-upgraded units of the AFFC can't. And the AFFC can contribute another fifty to a hundred divisions if the war continues for a long term."
"How much could Hanse's entry disrupt our operations?"
Hollingwood was the first to speak up. "Well, the gate assembly remains the critical issue, Mister President. It's working almost 24-7 now for us to move in more ships, additional supplies, and troops without disrupting civilian traffic, which is rather considerable. We have deployed the Gateships Catalina Rousseau and Frederick Kingsley to bring in more military traffic, but that can only do so much. Still, I suppose that after two to three weeks, the Commonwealth would have enough troops and materials in position assuming they use the New Andalusia and Rasalhague Gate Assemblies."
"So, Admiral, do you agree with allowing Hanse to use Alliance territory to join us in the war? And what about planning? Against the Clans, we relied on liaisons for joint operations. But now we're facing an enemy far more potent."
"The establishment of a joint planning staff for FedCom operations should be possible," Commandant Tokugawa said. "As soon as they enter the conflict, work can begin on that."
Mamatmas looked at everyone else on the table. "Then it seems to me that there's no reason to say no. So, anything else?" When nobody spoke up, Mamatmas sighed and stood up. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time. I'll be sending a note to Ambassador Dresari informing him that we would permit the Commonwealth to stage from Alliance territory if they were to join the war. I hope you all have a good evening."



23:09 GST


Sir Peter was sitting at a corner table in Hampton's, a five-star restaurant about four blocks east of the Capitol Building in one of the rebuilt quarters of Washington. The salad he and his companion had been given as an appetizer was completed, leaving only the main course to come.
There were the occasional glances to the corner by other patrons, intrigued by the sight of two suited men standing to either side of the table to protect it's occupants. Or rather, the occupant across from Sir Peter. Finishing a final bite of lettuce was the young woman of twenty years who was far more than Sir Peter's intern; her name was Katherine Steiner-Davion, the second child of five between Hanse and Melissa that had united the Steiner and Davion houses of the Inner Sphere. She had been assigned for three months to the Commonwealth Embassy in Washington as part of one of her courses in diplomacy, to return home with her mother when Archon Melissa made a planned state visit in the middle of January. Most of her fellow students managed little more than internships at Consulates and Embassies in their home universe, but there were perks that came with being high royalty and only a step removed from the throne (at least until her older brother married and fathered a child). Sir Peter had no doubt that there were two motivations for the glances, one being from those who recognized her or at least understood she was some kind of VIP from the bodyguards, and the other being from her loveliness, even if she was modestly dressed compared to the kind of fare she'd have at a court function back home.
"You did well in the meeting with Representative Higgins, Highness," Sir Peter said. "I intend to inform the Foreign Office back home."
There was a sweet grin on Katherine's face, which seemed very bright. Her blonde hair was kept back in a pony-tail, something Katherine had adopted from a popular holovid actress from Universe SE-1 named Jessica Lambert. Her business suit and knee-length skirt made her look modest while maintaining much of her youthful attractiveness, and unlike Sir Peter, access to the extrauniversal age-delay gene treatments meant Katherine would look that way for another fifty to sixty years. "I liked Representative Higgins. He was quite the gentleman. But the hat was a little out of place."
"It's about image, Highness. They call it the 'cowboy' look. And it seems to be working, since he's a popular politician from the Republic of Texas in AR-12 and was re-elected by sixty-five percent of the voting Texan populace." Sir Peter smiled and placed his plate to the side. "He did find you rather charming."
"If you say so." Katherine sipped at her drink before going on. "I'm still getting used to things here. Back home, people would stand aside on the street and would flock around when they heard I was around. Here, the most I get are scandalvid reporters and a few familiar looks."
"They call them paparazzi, Highness. And you have to remember that for all their society seems the same to our's, they have no reverence for nobility. Merely curiosity."
"Hmmm..." Katherine had no immediate reaction to that.
At that time their dinner was served, a filet mignon for Sir Peter and roasted duck for Katherine. Before they could begin eating, the maitre d' approached Sir Peter and handed him a slip of paper. "An aide from the Embassy asked me to give this to you."
Sir Peter read it, grinned, and handed it back. "Tell the aide to have this transmitted home ASAP. In fact, tell him I want it on the First Prince's desk within the hour."
"I will, sir." The suited man accepted the paper back and backed away to return to the door.
Katherine watched him go for a moment before turning to her dinner. "More diplomatic intrigues, Sir Peter?"
"Ah, the usual things, Highness, only the usual. Now, if you wish to say grace before we begin..."

[Steve]

Umiral, Darane, Alliance Liberation Zone
Universe Designate ST-3
28 November 2153 AST
13:21 GST


The Bajoran town of Umiral was one of the few "legitimate" Bajoran settlements on Darane; an original colony and not a Cardassian labor camp. The farming town of 20,000 or so had only suffered some damage from the short siege of Umiral Fortress by troops from the 77th Division. Now the Fortress was being used as a barracks by the men and handful of women from the 832nd Mechanized Battalion and the 33rd Orbital Artillery Company.
With nearly three days having passed since the landings on Darane, the troops were getting settled in well. Near Umiral, Bajoran workers were helping military people set up an airstrip for Aerospace Force bombers. Meanwhile the troops were enjoying themselves, indulging as many soldiers did during the quiet times in war. Beer flowed freely from the kegs that had been moved in by their commanders through various means against the regs, as well as a few attempts to try the leftover stores of Cardassian kanar.
Of course, the liquor wasn't the only thing that they technically shouldn't have had. Amongst the men of the 33rd Company, a number of the local Bajoran girls from Umiral had been invited to attend their small party in what was now a converted indoor gym and general meeting area. Some had come out of curiosity about their liberators. Some were simply glad to have some fun. And a few had been cajoled into it by concerned parents who wanted them to hook up with a soldier so that, at the very least, they'd get a shot at escape if the Alliance suddenly proved as weak-willed as the Federation had been.
There were, overall, about three dozen girls spread out amongst the 96 men. Some were shy and remained to themselves, unsure even with their translators active, while others happily played and joked with the soldiers and, of course, drank. Which helped to convince some to shed extra articles of clothing, revealing soft and fair skin. The Bajoran concept of the bra delighted the soldiers, since they were simply a cloth band around the girl's chest with tiestrings in the back like on a bikini top, and now about four or five girls had come to the point where they removed even that, baring their breasts to applause.
It helped that Bajoran religion itself didn't govern sexual conduct much. That was mostly governed by local culture, and the local culture of the Daranians had long been drudgery and terror of the Cardassians. Now that it was gone, there were many young Bajorans who happily enjoyed their taste of freedom. And there were thus many young Bajoran girls - innocent and curious and now ecstatic from feeling freed from terror - who were happy to show liberating soldiers just how grateful they were.
A few others were less open. Lekula Valys was one of those. Nineteen years old, Valys had long dark blonde hair and was wearing a modest short-sleeved blue and gray blouse and knee-length yellow skirt, both with patterns that her grandmother had sewn in. She was sitting in a corner, sipping on water while watching her cousin Demys climb into the lap of one of the soldiers and kiss him full on the mouth while he gripped her bare chest. Demys had drank too much of the "beer" the Humans had, Valys thought. She personally couldn't stand the stuff from the one gulp she'd sampled.
Seated by her was a young brown-haired Human male without a shirt but wearing his ankle length pants. He wasn't as physically strong as some of the other men and Valys thought he looked a little too thin, but he had smiled at her a couple of times while reading a book. Finally, she worked up the nerve to speak to him, remembering the English her parents had taught her in the past few years thanks to a book relatives smuggled out from the Federation. "I am Lekula Valys. I am happy to meet you."
The man smiled again at her and set the book down on the table to his left. "Russell Cornheiser. You can call me Rusty."
"Rusty?" Valys smiled sheepishly. "You do not look as big as the other soldiers. Do you have trouble fighting?"
"Oh, I'm not in the infantry. I'm the systems operator on one of those big mobile plasma cannon vehicles we have outside."
"I... I do not know what 'infantry' or 'vehicle' is." Valys lowered her head. "I was not given a translator, and I do not speak much English."
"Oh. Uh." Rusty scratched the back of his head. "Infantry are the soldiers who carry guns and fight on foot. The men who took this base. I don't fight like that. I, uh, I operate the computers on a moving thing with wheels that has a really big gun on it for shooting at ships in space above us."
That drew a nod. "I see. So, you are not really a soldier?" She saw him frown and quickly asked, "Did I say something wrong? I am sorry."
After the frown faded a little, Rusty shook his head and tried to smile. "No, no. It's just a thing, I mean, we have many different jobs in the Army - what we call our soldiers who fight on planets - and sometimes we argue with each other over whether some jobs aren't good enough for the people who do them to be considered soldiers. And, well, I get that sometimes."
"Oh. And I am sorry for being wrong."
"Don't worry about it." Rusty noticed her small glass of water. "Not enjoying the beer?"
"I... I do not want to get.... how do you say it in your language? Where you drink too much of something like kanar or your beer and it makes you dimwitted or stupid?"
Rusty laughed aloud at that, making Valys laugh too even if she wasn't sure why. "Oh, we have a number of names for that. We usually call it getting drunk. But we also call it getting plastered or getting tanked or, hell, a lot of other things."
"Well then." Valys grinned a little. "I do not want to get tanked. I might start taking my clothes off too."
"I can understand that." Rusty reached a hand toward her's. "Can I?"
Valys hesitated for a moment before letting him take her right hand. Rusty held it. "Um, oh jeez, I'm not very good at this kind of thing. I was going to compliment your skin being soft and all, but...."
Valys began to giggle. "You are very funny, Rusty. And you are nice. I like you."
"Well, that's... that's swell." Rusty swallowed. Valys wasn't the most sexually attractive girl in the room, but right now, she was the only one he had eyes on. His blue eyes met her's and he smiled sheepishly. "I'm just, well, I've never been with girls much, y'know? I mean, in trying to be romantic with 'em."
"I have never been with boys. Most boys my age have, had, to work hard in the mines because of the Cardassians."
"And what did you do?"
"I stayed home with my mother and grandmother. We made clothing and cooked dinner from what food we could get. My mother also taught me English so I would not need a translator if I were allowed to move to the Federation."
"Didn't get out much?"
Valys shook her head. "No. We were scared to be outside with Cardassians around. If we had to go out, we wore heavy robes with covering for our heads and faces. We did not want a Cardassian to..."
"I get the idea." Rusty was pretty sure just what she had been afraid the Cardassians would do. He had the idea that this wasn't the first time Bajoran girls were having a party with troops in Umiral Fortress, but it was the first time they were here of their own free will. "Well, I... I feel bad that you had to..."
The doors to the gym opened and First Sergeant Yuri Collins barged in. His troops sometimes made fun of the fact that he had a Russian first name - the name of his maternal grandfather, his mother being a Russian immigrant to America AR-12 - but when Sergeant Collins' booming voice spoke, every head turned, even the lieutenants of the company. "Attention everyone! Clean up and get into your gear! We've got enemy contacts coming into the system and you'd better be damned ready when they get here, just in case the spacemen can't handle it."
And just as quick as that, the party ended. Drinks were left to sit while the troops quickly ran here and there to pick up gear, get into their gear, and in some cases get some detox pills to sober up fast. Rusty was among them, but he took the time to wink at Valys, who smiled back before going to Demys, who was looking for her discarded bra.




DNS Musashi, Near Darane 4
13:35 GST


In the CIC of the Tirpitz-class dreadnought Musashi, Vice Admiral Dolores Smith was studying the readings of the incoming enemy force, roughly five hundred ships strong with an extra hundred fighter-sized enemy attack craft in formation with them. She had only one hundred and thirty on her side, the ships of Task Force 14.3 - which only included two battle squadrons - and the BatCarDiv formations of Kestrel and Shokaku. The rest of 14th Fleet and Task Force 5.4 were hours away. Closer and near the Badlands were the carriers Kaga, Enterprise, and Intrepid. They were nearly within strike range, the Audacious being about another hour out. Smith had asked all for immediate support given the numbers arrayed against her force.
As it was, all she could do now was gather her squadrons into formation and await the enemy attack. The odds weren't very favorable, but the Navy never ran from a fight, and Smith intended to make the Cardies pay dearly if they were to wipe out her task force.




Command Center, Cardassia Prime, Cardassian Union
13:40 GST


With Yatar and Kelataza both away, Relim was in overall control in the Central Command. On his screens, the six hundred ships that consisted of the Federation Frontier Fleet's detachment and the survivors of the Bajoran Sector Fleet and 1st Fleet were all taking position. Five hundred ships were assaulting Darane directly and the last hundred were moving into their launch positions for when the Alliance's carriers were detected. Relim would've preferred better intel on the carriers' positions, but Cardassian sources couldn't pinpoint them and Cardassian scouting resources in the area were being stretched thin by losses to Alliance stealth ships and interceptors. He was going to have to hope that the Alliance would not guess his plan and would have any carrier strikes against the main force come directly, allowing him to determine the approximate locations of carriers.
This was not what Relim wanted. He had wanted 2nd Fleet to be here to use against the carriers. A single, overwhelming fleet force to engage the overmatched vessels. But that damned Operations Commission had to get involved yet again. And now they were investing far more into chance and fortune than Relim liked. He'd lost too many good men and women to the fickle tastes of fortune already.
About an hour remained. An hour until the First Battle for Darane would begin...