Moderator: LadyTevar
Its been yanked for now, However I belive I suggested to Stravo Eariler he right it as a extra Storyline after he finishs StarcrossedAnymore of the Wong/MoO/Bean (un)canon-plot?
I would only point out that the Doomsday Machine is actually a Sith weapon devised and built by the Sith. Maybe thats why it doesn't really have the Star Wars feel to it AND it was built during the Great Hyperspace War SO it's pretty ancient even by SW standards. It is also a nice little precursor to another weapons system overseen by a Sith that ties into the OT.Now that I, too, am up to speed, the only negative feedback I have is that the Doomsday Machine has a look to it that isn't really SW. I know that it's millenia old by the time of the OT, but it bugs me, nonetheless. That look could come from the neutronium armour, I guess
No, I don't think they will.Eleas wrote:Kelly Antilles wrote:Typhonis 1 wrote:Well Peeps Kelly and Westley are alredy hooked up from a certain point of view
Will no one defend Kelly's honor in this matter?
Thanks, I am flattered.Stravo wrote:Crown,
Charlie Evans is the "villain" in TOS episode Charlie X, not a great episode but better than most TNG episodes besides I have a thing about using obscure characters and giving them a little more prominence. Charlie was given powerful Q like psychic powers by the Thasians to survive in a harsh world where they lived. He was the last survivor of a crashed explorer ship. Charlie was essentially raised by aliens who had no idea what being human was like so his manners are odd because of it. If you ever see the episode watch for the very end when the Thasians take him away, listen to that plaintive cry "Why?" as he disappears into obliovion...one of the more chilling moments of TOS and something TNG and the bastard stepchildren could never imitate.
Wesley Crusher is most likely the most despised character in TNG continuity. I hated him too but BECAUSE I think the writers couldn't make him fit into their two dimensional viewpoint. He could have deoth and meaning, he is essentially a child prodigy who has lost his way and I find that fascinating because there are some parallels in my life. I am deeply honored that the ravening hordes of warsies AND Trekkies have not risen up as one and formed an Unruly MobTM in resposnse to his appearance in this fic. I promised everyone that he would not be handled as he was in TNG and so far I think that their trust has been rewarded.
Essentially Wesley is the son of Dr. Beverly Crusher and supposidly Roddenberry's avatar in the TNG series. He was a child prodigy, a genius in engineering and general science who was never handled well in the series. He eventually left with the Traveler to explore the universe after it was reveled that he too had some special powers.
I hope that answered some of your questions. I wouldn't want one of my most loyal readers getting lost. BTW you do know who Kahn is right?
Chapter 32: Phoenix Rising
The heavy thumping of boots could be heard echoing up the long canyons of Romulus’ capital city. Enormous green tinged spires rose up in the air like artificial mountains while the old city sprawled out like the spokes of a wheel from the new center. Columns of green marble topped with the Romulan eagle in gold pressed latinum shimmered in the hazy sun.
Crowds were gathered all along the great way that ran proudly down the center of the city, may were cheering, some held up placards, most of them obviously done at home, acclaiming Darth Nemesis. His young dashing features were flashing everywhere, many had painted him in heroic poses, some in the more traditional poses reserved for great Romulan generals of old.
Some of the poorer and simpler folk had even taken to painting him with the pointed ears and prominent brow ridge of the Romulan people, many saw him as one of their own. His obvious humanity was downplayed. His heroic character and charisma was embraced by the people that only weeks ago watched in horror as he blasted the largest city into ash.
People seem to have forgotten this fact. Many simply pointed out that it was a worthy sacrifice for the reward they faced now. The Romulan Star Empire now stretched from the Klingon Empire to the Federation itself, more than tripling the size of the empire in a matter of a month.
Now they were seeing yet another miracle of Imperial knowledge and genius.
At the end of the great way, the senatorial building stood proudly, where a great marble rotunda sat atop the large imposing structure. Here Senators and the Praetor could stand and watch the numerous martial parades that were constantly held in order to remind the people of Romulan might.
Darth Nemesis stood at the head of the group that now occupied the rotunda. He was shadowed by Mara Jade who was never seen far from his side. Many of the Romulan women had taken to calling her his dark lady. Many believed that they were lovers or married and nemesis said nothing to quash these rumors. Mara wore a simple black gown with a sheer black cape, a design for the most formal occasions, it was elegant and beautiful enough to wear to any event, yet at the turn of a shoulder and twist of her waist the extraneous material fell away revealing a tight form fitting fighting suit optimized for her shape and figure, allowing for maximum heat diffusion. It was also resilient enough to turn most bladed weapons.
The dress was as beautiful and deadly as its wearer.
Nemesis wore his usual black tunic and black cape, they were spotless, black as night wrapped around him like wings of a great bat. He watched the procession with a cold smile and a far away look in his eyes. His lightsaber was clipped prominently at his belt and despite the fact that he was nearly one of the shortest men standing on the rotunda he seemed taller than any of them.
Admiral Kittaine stood at Nemesis’ left side, tall, prim and proper. His uniform was immaculately pressed and his decorations and commendations gleamed in the sunlight. Slightly behind Kittaine stood Captain Branna, also wearing his best uniform and trying his best to blend in behind his commanding officer. Many of the officers stood further behind, most tried their best to hide the shock and awe.
Kittaine glanced at the young Sith Lord, he was impressed with the young man. This latest move on his part was a stroke of genius that was both unexpected and fortunate. Where did this young man pull the miracles out from?
“And so it begins.” Nemesis said softly.
The marching sound was louder now and they were finally coming into view.
“Gentlemen, I give you our newest weapons in the arsenal against chaos.” Nemesis announced proudly.
“Impossible.” One of the officers breathed.
The assembled Romulan commanders stood proudly with their Imperial counter parts and they were silenced by the sight.
Marching in absolute straight formations was a solid wall of Imperial Stormtroopers. They marched in unison like machines, weapons slung over their shoulders. The commanding officer of each formation snapped a smart salute up at the rotunda and continued on down the great boulevard and took up a parade formation in the largest park on Romulus, a massive sea of greenery kept for the private enjoyment of the praetor.
Unfortunately for the Praetor, his position and privileges were one of the first things to be removed after the Empire seized power. The Praetor was “retired” into private life on the island of Seeleza. The truth, known only to Mara and a handful of stormtroopers was that the Praetor was permanently “retired” after Nemesis was acclaimed by the senate as the new Praetor. She would not allow anyone to threaten Lord Nemesis’ rank and position.
She had come to the grudging conclusion that he was currently the sole source of stability among the Imperial ranks. Despite this knowledge, every fiber of her being called for her to strike at the foul traitor and end his treason in the name of her Emperor. Even now as she watched him on the review stand, returning the salutes from the new Stormtroopers she felt an urge, a slow burning desire to plunge a vibro blade between his vulnerable shoulder blades. Dark Side or not, there was nothing that would abate death at that point. He would be slain and his treachery ended.
But then she looked into those eyes and the rage was gone, the fires that burned in her cooled for she felt the power from him and the presence of command. He was born to rule and she could see that. Power came quickly to him and he had a way with people, a gift of making others follow him. Even Kittaine, an admiral that had been chosen for this duty particularly because he was recognized as a man that would never take any unnecessary risks and as such would never turn on the Emperor had embraced him as a new emperor, he had fallen under the young Sith lord’s spell.
She realized something else as well and it disturbed her to the core.
She recognized that as she looked at him there were other things stirring within her, emotions that were not part of her training. Emotions that she was trained to induce in men but never to feel in herself.
She wanted Nemesis.
She could not allow herself to feel this way but there was no denying it.
“Some say that he may make you his queen.” Tarsi whispered to Mara, his face never budging from its current grim expression.
She sneered and replied without hesitation.
“If I were you, Captain Tarsi I would worry more about finding Captain James T. Kirk. Lord Nemesis is not renowned for his patience.”
Tarsi blinked several times and straightened up as he turned his attention back to the parade.
Mara peered closely at the assembling troops.
“Where did you get all the armor?” She asked.
“The Romulans were kind enough to reproduce the armor we had using the best materials available in this galaxy. The armor is not as durable as our own but it will serve its purpose, it is highly resistant to disruptor fire, only Federation phaser fire can effectively pierce the armor.”
“They did a splendid job if I may say so myself, my lord. From this distance it is nearly indistinguishable.” Branna added.
Tarsi and Vash exchanged pained expressions.
“We do our utmost to serve the Empire in whatever capacity we can.” Admiral T’Vor added proudly.
“Admiral T’Vor you have indeed served and have done well for the Empire. Your command of the Phoenix project has been flawless. You met all my requirements on time and so far I am impressed with the results. You are to be commended.” Nemesis replied with a soft smile.
“I live to serve. Duty is its greatest reward.” T’Vor replied and bowed his head deeply.
Tarsi eyed the Romulan admiral suspiciously.
“Excellent. According to the project’s estimates we have 25,000 units ready with another 10,000 ready by the end of the week. By the end of the month we will have over 120,000 units combat ready and deployed.”
“Excellent indeed my lord, but those numbers will only insure that we can begin garrisoning the worlds we already control. You spoke of massive land engagements. I cannot say with certainty that we can commit massive amounts of Stormtrooper regiments for combat if the supply is tenuous.” General Ithis commented hesitantly.
“You are perceptive, general and you are not afraid to speak your mind. That is why I elected you as Supreme General of all ground forces. You are correct. With these initial troopers we can finally garrison worlds that so far have only paid lip service to our control. The first regiments are intended for Earth. I want them to fully understand that they have been conquered.”
“Then I’m not sure I understand-”
“Captain Tarsi.”
“My Lord.” Tarsi snapped to full attention.
“I wonder if I may still have enough confidence in your command ability to entrust you with a mission of extreme import for the empire.”
Tarsi’s left eye twitched. He was not used to criticisms regarding his command ability. Kittaine watched him closely.
“My Lord, I am ready to fight and die for the Empire. I will do whatever you ask, show me a foe, I will slay him for you, show me a fleet I will decimate it for you, point to a world and I will take it in your name.” Tarsi replied hotly.
“In his name?” Mara replied icily.
Tarsi ignored her and continued staring right into Nemesis’ eyes.
Nemesis smiled triumphantly.
“Very good, captain Tarsi. You will lead an assault on the Dominion held world of Proxus. It is deep in Dominion space but the most vital thing to know about Proxus is that it is one of the largest troop training facilities of the Dominion. Hundreds of cloning tanks are housed on this world. You’re orders are clear, take the planet, seize the cloning facilities intact and return them here. With the cloning facilities we seize from Proxus we should be able to field millions of troops in a matter of weeks if not days.”
Tarsi grinned. This was the kind of assignment he lived for.
“Return quickly Tarsi, for this is just the opening round in a grand offensive I am launching beginning with this attack.” Nemesis warned. Some of the Captains exchanged furtive glances.
“But first there is something I want you all to see.” He replied just as a low rumble began to shake the very foundations of the buildings around them.
The assembled officers looked up as great shadows were cast over the city.
“I see nothing.” Branna whispered.
“I do believe that is the general idea.” Kittaine added.
The rumbling became like thunder and the ground shook.
“The troops will no longer need to be ferried on our valuable stardestroyers. We can now begin to project our power with the assistance of our provincial allies.” Nemesis declared.
The sky above them suddenly shimmered and a dozen enormous vessels filled the sky above them. Huge Romulan warships the likes of which none of them had ever seen before. Their emerald hulls glowed with a menacing flicker, disruptor banks lined the hull and the nacelles pulsed like great hearts as the warships hovered over head.
“I present to you the Scimitar class assault transports. Derived from a vessel the Romulans were going to put into production this year, the Scimitar is heavily armored, the greatest overall firepower of any Romulan warship ever constructed and its cloak allows it to fire while cloaked, a distinct advantage over all previous designs.”
“Amazing.” Branna breathed.
“She is the pride of our fleet.” T’Vor added haughtily.
“The Scimitar was originally designed as a battleship but with my design specifications, these ships have been remade to fill the role of assault transport, much like the Acclamators of old. They have massive crew bays and mass transporters that allow these ships to beam hundreds of troops per second into any combat zone within a planetary diameter. Outfitted with our latest hyperdrive units she can keep up with our fleets and deploy troops anywhere in the entire galaxy in a matter of days. It obviously also has atmospheric capabilities that will allow us to bring greater fire support for our troops.”
“They will be a great asset to us.” Ithis noted with a satisfied nod.
“These first ships will depart immediately for Earth. Soon the shipyards will be in full production of these ships and the skies of the worlds in this galaxy will shake with the might of our warships. I want the might and power of the empire to be heard in their engines, to be feared in the death that will come from the invisible hand above them, from the horde that appears out of thin air. This is the new empire, this is the new philosophy of fear.”
The assembled Imperial officers nodded enthusiastically.
“Those troops don’t look right somehow.” Mara noted as she peered down at the assembling troops. They seemed slightly larger, bulkier.
Nemesis nodded.
“Unfortunately the cloning chambers of the Dominion are geared towards creating certain templates. The human DNA samples provided by our candidate could not be optimized for mass cloning. Admiral T’Vor came up with the solution.”
“We blended human DNA with Jem’Hadar templates.” T’Vor added.
“What?” Mara exclaimed.
“The Jem’Hadar template was necessary. They are engineered to be mass cloned with very little growth time. These troopers took only a week to fully mature thanks to its Jem’Hadar traits.”
“That is disgusting. I gave you the finest sample of Imperial DNA from a Royal Guardsmen and you sully it with alien DNA.”
“Do you not listen to anything that is said? Without the Jem’Hadar template we would not be able to produce the Stormtroopers in the numbers we require. Certain concessions needed to be made.”
“How soon before we concede our way out of the New Order’s ideals?” Mara retorted.
Suddenly a low chant began from deep within the throng gathered all along the boulevard and park, which was now filling with white armored troops. Nemesis paused to listen and slowly a broad smile spread across his face as the chant became more audible.
“Show us the Dark Lady! Show us the Dark Lady!”
Nemesis turned to Mara who was floored by the spontaneous outburst. He slowly extended his hand and stood at the very edge of the rotunda. His black cape flung over his left shoulder, hand elegantly extended out to her and his smile.
“My lady, your public demands your presence.” He said.
Mara glanced around quickly. The others looked at her expectantly, Tarsi spared her a shadow of a smile and a slight incline of the head. She would have severed that pretty head for his insubordination but restrained herself.
Instead, she slowly extended her own hand and took his. The contact was electric and she looked into his eyes as he formally pulled her up to the edge and with a slight flourish of his cape, he presented Mara to the throngs below.
The cheers rose up like a storm through the canyons of the great city. She stood at the edge and looked down and for a moment she felt as if she were outside herself. The acclaim was like a drug and she felt her gown flapping around her in the wind and her hair streamed behind her.
“They adore you, Mara.” He said meaningfully so only she could hear. He leaned in slightly closer. “They are not alone in this sentiment.” He said evenly and looked into her eyes. She glanced over at him.
She remained silent but her mouth opened as if to speak.
“We love you lady!”
“Bless you Lady!”
Mara looked back down and could feel the exhilaration in her breast. She had spent all of her life living in shadows, always invisible, always at the service of others.
Now she was the Dark Lady.
She looked back at Nemesis.
“I should kill you for what you have done.” She whispered.
Nemesis nodded.
“I offer you power beyond imagination and the post of Lady of the New Empire. No longer a hand, but a ruler in your own right, Mara. I pray that you think on this. If you try to kill me you will fail. Either I will kill you where you stand or the men that see me as the New Emperor will slaughter you and you will have accomplished nothing but mortally wound Imperial interests in this galaxy.”
She blinked. He had all but said it.
“Or you can join me and we can rule this galaxy as Husband and wife, every Emperor needs an Empress, and you would make a terrifying Empress, beautiful and terrible as the morning and the night, you would be stronger than the foundations of the Earth. All would love you and despair.” He promised.
Mara stared at him for a long moment. She could feel the conflict within her. For the first time in all her life, the road was no longer clear.
“How did you do that?” Kelly asked dumbfounded as the control panels lit up and a deep bass rumble grew deep in the depths of the great ancient war machine.
“It was a simple matter really. It was a small detail I missed before when I was examining the controls. I have a much better understanding now.” Wesley replied with a slight tinge of arrogance.
Kirk stood in the center of the command center, Spock and Scotty by his side. Leia refused to come on board for now. She had assured him he was alright, but she was busy pouring over history texts according to Chewbacca and he refused to leave her side, but as a sign that his relations with Kirk had warmed slightly, he relayed his own concerns about the princess. She seemed obsessed with the Sith now, trying to track down what their connection to this machine meant.
Kirk promised Chewbacca that he would come see her. But now duty called and the young man, Wesley Crusher, had just cut the repair time on the Excalibur nearly in half. He had found a way to get the massive hypermatter reactors activated to full power and he even found a self repair system that was now active and helping the Starfleet engineers. Primitive droids crawled along the machinery like spiders. Kirk found them slightly repulsive but they certainly knew what they were doing.
“I don’t understand, we both looked at these systems last night and we couldn’t make heads or tails of it.” Kelly wondered aloud. Wesley nodded.
“When you went to sleep, I decided to stay up and I went over everything painstakingly, then it hit me an hour ago. Things are starting to become clear for me.” He replied.
Kelly looked at him closely. There was something odd about him. Darkness seemed to hang over his head like a halo. It was as if the light around them bent past Wesley’s head casting a dark pall over his features.
“Mr. Crusher, congratulations. Scotty here tells me that we may be able to get the Excalibur underway a lot sooner than expected. The Federation owes you a great debt of gratitude.” Kirk smiled. “And of course, thank you Ms. Antilles.”
Wesley nodded proudly.
“Sir, I promise to get this ship ready for you by tomorrow.”
“You haven’t slept in 34 hours.” Kelly protested.
Wesley held up a hand.
“Its OK sir, as soon as I get this ship underway I promise to crash and get some sleep. Besides, it’s not like we haven’t done all nighters like these in the Academy.” Wesley added with a weak smile.
Kelly swore she heard a whispering voice behind Wesley for a brief moment. She shook her head to clears her mind. She was obviously still tired.
“You’re right about that, Mr. Crusher. Ms. Antilles, please give him all the help you can get, I have a feeling that we’re going to need this ship a lot sooner than any of us anticipated.”
Kirk paused and glanced around.
“Mr. Crusher, maybe you can answer a question that has been bugging me. We found no battle damage at all within the ship yet the Constellation blew in here and shut down the ship. Any idea why that was?”
Wesley nodded with a smile.
“Yes sir. See, the Excalibur was on automatic controls when you encountered her. The technical records indicate that the energy baffle at the mouth of the device was malfunctioning. The baffle prevented back flow of energy into the more sensitive parts of the craft when digesting raw materials for fuel conversion. The Constellation blew up in here without the baffles in place to shunt the energy away. The resulting explosion caused those crystals,” he pointed to the enormous building size crystalline structures interspersed throughout the maw of the ship. “to experience an antiproton surge this initiated a plasma scattering cascade that interrupted the ionic flow through the hypermatter processors. This disrupted the energy couplings that ran throughout the ship causing rapid loss of power and control. The plasma scattering field also generated a pretty powerful EMP pulse that finished off any droids that happened to be working near the maw disabling some of the core features of the self repair systems on this vessel. In order to avoid a general tetriyon surge in the crystalline matrixes that such an event would inevitably cause the vessel committed an emergency blow of all available power and simply shut down.”
Kirk blinked.
“Is it me or do the folks in this time speak slightly differently in technical terms than I’m accustomed to?” Kirk whispered to Scotty out of the corner of his mouth.
Scotty rolled his eyes.
“Sair, you don’t know the half of it. Most of the time I have to guess what my engineering team is telling me. It’s mostly useless technobabble as best I can tell.” Scotty replied wanly.
“I found the explanation more than clear.” Spock added with a slight arch of his eyebrow.
Wesley looked slightly confused.
“That was the layman’s explanation sir.” He added helpfully.
Kirk sighed and shook his head.
“Captain, I’m reporting as ordered.” Riker announced as he walked into the command center.
“Number One, good. I’m going to be bumping you up in the command ranks. I’m giving you a ship of your own.”
“Sir?” Riker seemed confused. “Is there something wrong with how I’ve conducted myself in your command?” Riker asked.
“Not at all, Number One. You’ve earned this command. I’m giving you the Excalibur.”
Riker stared at Kirk for a moment then his eyes widened as he looked around the command center and the massive vessel around him.
“Sir, if anything this should be your command ship.”
“No thank you, Number One, or should I say Captain Riker. I’ve always belonged on the Enterprise, can’t see myself on any other ship. This ship is yours. You’ve got the most important command in the fleet, Riker. I know I’m giving it to the right man.” Kirk explained with a smile and a nod.
“Thank you sir. I’ll make sure that you don’t regret this decision.”
“Mr. Crusher, I’m giving you a field commission to Commander, you are now chief engineer of the Excalibur.”
“Thank you sir.” Wesley replied genuine surprise and shock in his voice.
“Ms. Antilles, Princess Leia will be expecting you back at Avalon as soon as you and Mr. Crusher get everything stowed away. I hope to see the Excalibur up and running by tomorrow. I have the utmost faith in both of you.”
“Thank you sir.” Kelly replied.
“Now if you will ladies and gentlemen, I have an appointment with a special lady. Carry on.”
Kirk walked away, Spock close behind. Scotty remained in the command center and walked up to Wesley, clapping him on the shoulder.
“Congratulations, lad. I do believe this makes you the youngest chief engineer in Star Fleet history.” Scotty exclaimed.
“Thanks Mr. Scott. That was certainly unexpected.”
“A word to the wise, lad. Don’t go around making the sort of promises you just made to Captain Kirk. Starfleet Captains are a demanding lot and he will hold you to that deadline come hell or high-water.” Scotty said with a wink.
“I understand, Mr. Scott. I just hope I can live up to the Captain’s ideals.”
“Do your best lad, that’s all he asks of ye.”
Wesley nodded uncertainly. He could feel his presence in his mind. Pressing him, pricking him with anger at the inequity of the past. But it was hard to embrace anger and rage when you were handed what he had been looking for. A place to belong.
Scotty smiled at the youngster and turned to talk with Kelly about the latest upgrades and repairs made. Wesley watched them with a hooded expression.
She is dangerous. He whispered. She can end this for us.
“How?” He whispered.
She suspects something is wrong. She does not truly believe your tale of a sudden engineering epiphany. She can air these suspicions and then where would you be?
Wesley turned away from them so that they could not see him and he pretended to work on a terminal.
“Once the Excalibur gets moving, no one is going to care about how this was done. Kelly won’t be here for long, she has to return to Avalon. Once she’s out of the picture, it will be simple to continue the training.”
You are too soft my young apprentice. Once a threat she will always remain a threat.
“Fine, I’ll think of something more elaborate.”
There was a dark chuckle in his mind.
You plan to discredit her. Why so elaborate a solution my young apprentice? Wesley there are far better and easier solutions.
“Like what?” Wesley asked angrily as he jabbed a control rod into place. His teacher was a demanding sort but he could not deny the flood of power he felt when he embraced the anger that had been festering in his heart for so long. For so long all he felt was the anger and bitterness. Poor Traveler had tried his best to have Wesley focus it into exploration or science. But the anger remained like some dark stain on an ivory rug, always there, always tugging at him. The anger had been a burden for so long, now, it was a source of untapped strength.
I was thinking of a far more permanent solution.
Wesley froze. His blood grew ice cold and he stared at the terminal hoping against all hope that he had not heard what he thought he heard.
She must die Wesley.
“No.” He whispered fervently and began working on the terminal in earnest.
Wesley, she will prove that you were nothing more than a child looking for a place. She will show them that you are not the genius you think you are. She will say that you allied yourself with dark forces and that you are an enemy. You are not to be trusted. Can you imagine the shame as this epiphany and all the hard work you have put into this project are exposed to be nothing more than a lie?
“I won’t kill.” Wesley hissed.
Wesley, at this point you are in the shadows with me. How long do you think before the fine upstanding Captain Kirk decides that you are nothing more than a liability? A child playing at being an adult that is what they will say about you.
“I’m smart, I can think on my feet, you won’t have to worry about me.”
Kirk is strong in the force, very potent indeed. He can be a threat to us should his attentions be diverted to us. She can divert that attention.
“I will NOT kill.”
So be it, Wesley. I shall teach you nothing more until you see the errors of your ways.
“Wait, you haven’t told me everything yet. I promised the Captain-”
You swore obedience to me as well Wesley or were you simply using me to get what you wanted? Your heart swells with pride and your mind grasps concepts beyond your ken because I allowed you to tap that well spring of rage within you. Now you must learn that all power has its consequences. If you do not believe me you will soon learn the hard way Wesley as you are exposed as a charlatan and a foolish boy who has no place among these men.
“Stop. Wait. I need to know more.”
There was nothing but silence and he found himself staring at the guts of a terminal whose function he no longer fully understood. Schematics that had stood in his mind so clearly before were gone. The understanding of a long dead language faded away like so much fog in the morning sun.
Wesley slammed his fist down on the terminal in frustration as everything that had been like child’s play for him had taken a far more threatening aspect. His anger brimmed within him and he turned his head to peer at Kelly Antilles and his frustration was given form, his fear rallied around her and a dark thought crept in like a thief into his heart, this young woman that had taken away the very thing that made him special.
He hated her.
“Glad to see you in such fine shape.” Kirk exclaimed as he stepped into the Princess’ quarters. Chewbacca nodded to Kirk who rubbed Chewbacca’s shoulder.
“Good to see you Chewie.”
Leia stopped suddenly from pouring over the datapads neatly piled on her desk and stared at the strange sight. Just yesterday Chewbacca was talking about separating Kirk’s head from the rest of him.
“What’s going on with you two?” she asked seriously.
Kirk smiled a boyish grin and shrugged.
“Can’t someone be friendly with a fellow ally?”
Chewie grunted something glib.
“Oh I get it. Well, I think I preferred you two when you hated each other.” She replied with a smirk.
Kirk casually walked over to the table and peered over Leia’s shoulder at some of the datapads on her desk. He noticed that her quarters were elegant yet Spartan. An odd mix of royal and diplomatic sensibilities coupled with a soldier’s grim determination to keep things simple.
He liked that.
“And who is this?” Leia asked peering over past the others at the young man standing shyly in the doorway.
“Oh, Charlie, come on over, let me introduce you.”
Charlie cautiously walked into the room, he glanced at Chewbacca and nodded to the Wookie who returned the nod and eyed him with respect. All appearances to the contrary, Chewbacca knew first hand that this young man had special talents that went beyond the norm. He was still stunned that Charlie had held Chewbacca firmly in place with just his mind.
“Princess Leia Organna, this is Charlie Evans. He is sort of my self appointed bodyguard. He’s also more than a little shy.” Kirk said with a wink to Charlie.
“I just don’t want anything to happen to you, Sir.”
“Jim, Charlie, you can call me Jim.”
“Uh, I don’t think so sir.” He stammered and shook his head hesitantly. He looked at Leia and his eyes widened slightly. His cheeks blossomed into a hard crimson.
“She’s beautiful.” He said.
“Well, he’s not that shy.” Leia commented with a wry smile. Charlie looked alarmed.
“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong? I have a tendency to do that, I apologize.”
“Then I’m not beautiful?” Leia replied.
“No, I mean Yes, well, of course you are, it’s just that…well.”
“What Charlie means, Leia, is that he’s grown up under strange circumstances and he’s not accustomed to interact with people like someone whose grown up among others. Charlie is a good man, just give him a chance to get things out.”
Charlie stood up straighter as he heard himself referred to as a man.
“I also came here to check on you. Someone tells me that you’ve been obsessed with the Sith since your episode back on the Excalibur.”
“Someone, huh?” Leia glanced over at Chewbacca who pretended to be intently reading a technical manual. “Well, someone, has it all wrong. I’m not obsessed. If you had seen what I saw then you would understand.”
“How about helping me understand instead of locking yourself away here on the Hope while the rest of us are trying to plan a new offensive.”
“Jim, I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but I seriously don’t think we should use the Excalibur until we have a better understanding of what happened on that ship. I’ve been reading up on the Great Hyperspace War that wracked my galaxy thousands of years ago.”
“You can’t be serious. The Excalibur is the only thing right now that we have that can stand up against a stardestroyer. We need that ship. The whole counter offensive has stalled until we could get the Excalibur going.”
“Jim, you said yourself that there were other artifacts that you could use in the war, why the fixation on this one?”
“Because this vessel is here and now and quiet frankly some of the other artifacts I had in mind could be just as dangerous to us as the Empire.”
Leia sighed softly and looked up at Kirk’s hazel eyes. She reached out and clasped his right hand.
“Jim, please listen to me. I happen to believe that the ship is still inhabited by a Sith presence.”
“How is that possible?”
“Just hear me out. I had a vision from a Sith Lord that called himself Dairoga Kallast. He was commander of the ship and an apprentice to the Sith Lord Naga Sadow.”
“So far I’m kind of lost. I thought Jedi were the only ones that had apprentices.”
“No, no. As best I can piece together, the Sith seem to be a shadowy opposite of the Jedi. Where the Jedi were dedicated to the peace and preservation of order, the Sith were dedicated to chaos and oppression. The Sith plagued my galaxy millennia ago and their greatest incursion was known as the Great Hyperspace war where they launched an assault on a generally unprepared Republic. This weapon was constructed with one purpose, to destroy the Capital of the Republic and the heart of the Jedi order, Coruscant.”
“I once hypothesized that this was a doomsday weapon created by an ancient race in a long forgotten war. I guess I wasn’t that far off.” Kirk mused.
“Princess, if I may, the Sith that controlled the vessel are obviously long since dead. The ship has been examined thoroughly by both our people and yours and they found no trace of any survivors, not even bodies or remains. It is illogical to think that there can remain a Sith influence on this vessel.” Spock interjected.
“Mr. Spock, it may be logical to you, but unfortunately anything that deals with Jedi or Sith does not seem to make any logical sense to the rest of us.” Leia replied.
“Are you saying that the Sith are still somehow alive on the Excalibur?” Kirk asked pointedly.
“I don’t know what to think.” Leia admitted with a shake of her head.
Kirk looked down at her and gently squeezed her hand holding his.
“Maybe what you need is a little rest. Chewie tells me that you haven’t slept since your episode on the Excalibur. Bones is still recovering from that electric shock you gave him but he’s more than willing to give you a once over, maybe give you something to help you sleep.” He said softly.
“I’m fine, really.” She replied with a reassuring smile.
They stared at each other for a long moment. Charlie noticed the exchange and tried to hide his smile. He paused as he felt a disturbance and turned around just as the doors to the princess’ quarters snapped open.
Threepio came walking in quickly, Artoo close behind.
“Princess it’s terrible. I was told to tell you at once.”
“What is it, Threepio?” Leia asked.
“The Empire has begun executions of civilians in Federation space.” Artoo whistled mournfully in accompaniment.
“What?!” Kirk exclaimed.
“The Empire began a systematic attack on civilian populations on Federation words, 10,000 dead no matter what the population of the planet and they are making their way to Earth. Master Luke has declared that this is in retaliation for the loss of an Imperial vessel to Federation rebel fleet led by Captain Kirk.”
“That’s a lie!” Kirk exclaimed.
“We led no such attack nor did we sanction one.” Leia added looking up at Kirk with worry.
Kirk rubbed his chin and looked down at the floor.
“They have evidence of the attack and our intelligence sources have confirmed that something happened in one of the Romulan shipyards.” Threepio added.
“There’s another fleet out there.” Kirk muttered angrily.
“I have been working under that same suspicion for some time. Due to the chaos that ensued after the fall of Earth it was difficult for others to focus on other events but the Romulans had accused the Federation and the Klingons of participating in the destruction of Remus by use of a never before seen weapon of mass destruction.”
“You think it’s this rogue fleet?” Leia asked.
“Logic would seem to indicate that there is another fleet, a Federation fleet that is working from the shadows against the foes of the Federation.”
“Their methods would dictate otherwise, Spock. Starfleet does not blow up planets.” Kirk spat.
“Nevertheless, the evidence is rather strong in favor of this possibility and the fact remains that the Empire is now retaliating against the Federation civilian population.”
“I told you, Jim, that one of the risks we run for running and hiding was that the Empire would strike against the civilian population in frustration.” Leia said softly, watching the slow agony play on Kirk’s face. He was facing one of the harshest realities of leading a rebel insurgency against the Empire. The innocent and powerless would be the targets of retaliation. The very same innocent and powerless that they were trying to free.
“Captain, we have to do something.” Charlie implored.
Kirk nodded slowly and he looked up at the assembled group, jaw squarely set and grim determination in his eyes.
“Tell Scotty that the word is given. The Excalibur sets sail tonight, ready or not and it’s time that we do something about this atrocity.”
“Our best estimates say that they will reach Earth in 32 Hours.” Threepio added hopefully.
Kirk nodded and gave Leia’s hand a final squeeze as he looked down into her eyes.
“We’ll be ready.”
“DECISION MATRIX 23H67543 HAS BEEN FINALIZED. THE BORG WILL JOIN WITH THE FEDERATION TO ONE PURPOSE. DEFEAT THE EMPIRE.”
The announcement woke Archer with a start. He stood up quickly and straightened his uniform as the others nodded to him and turned their attention back to the great matrix beyond. Explosions of green light and electricity arched through the darkness with every word of the master matrix.
“I see that it only took you three days to make the decision final. I am slightly disappointed. Under my reign the Collective came to decisions far more quickly.” The queen noted with a hint of disdain.
“1 OF 1, YOUR COMMENTARY IS IRRELEVANT. THE RECORD OF YOUR RULE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. THE COLLECTIVE NOW RULES ITSELF AS IT SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE BEEN. WE ARE THE BORG.”
“Indeed.” She muttered.
“What does this all mean in the end? Your track record on alliances is non existent.” Archer asked loudly.
“It would be best not to antagonize them at this point, there is a human saying that I have grown to understand. They hold all the cards.” Seven replied glancing over at Archer with worry in her eyes.
He could tell that she was uneasy. The Borg had done nothing to them and the Defiant was still in orbit above, unassimilated, although his chief of security complained bitterly that there were hundreds of drones marching around the ship. He knew that Seven was right. The Borg were in control. They could do as they wished and there was nothing he could do. Well almost nothing.
He had come up with a plan. The helm had his signal locked in. At a command h could order the Defiant to drive down at this location at ramming speed. It was his vain hope that perhaps he could injure or even destroy the matrix.
Something told him that this was only a vain hope.
“The Federation is currently involved in a death struggle with the Empire. When will the Borg intervene?” Janeway asked.
“INETRVENTION WILL COMMENCE AS SOON AS NECESSARY ELEMENTS ARE ASSEMEBLED FOR AN ALL OUT ASSAULT. THE BORG HAVE BEEN DEFEATED BEFORE BY IMPERIAL FIREPOWER AND WE CANNOT ENTER THIS BATTLE PIECEMEAL. WHEN THE FLEET ELEMENST ARE ASSEMBLED WE WILL STRIKE.”
“When?” Janeway pressed.
“THE FLEET ELEMETS WILL BE ASSEMBLED AT UNIMATRIX 001 IN 42 HOURS. ONCE THE FLEET IS ASSEMBLED WE WILL LOCATE THE MAIN CONCENTRATION OF IMPERIAL WARSHIPS AND ENGAGE THEM. ONCE WE HAVE ASSIMLATED THE FLEET THE OFFENSIVE WILL CONTINUE.”
“You call that a plan? You’re just going to engage and assimilate? What about back up? Reinforcements? Alternatives?” Archer exclaimed in frustration.
“THESE MATTERS ARE IRRELEVANT. WE WILL ASSIMLATE THE IMPERIAL FORCES. CASUALTIES ARE IRRELEAVNT, TACTICS ARE IRRELEVANT, STRATEGY IS IRRELEVANT. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.”
“They’ve been so accustomed to dealing from a position of strength that they have absolutely no concept of the idea of tactics or strategy. Their entire plan of attack has always been to pour more resources into a problem until they are resolved.” Janeway noted with concern as she peered out at the matrix beyond.
“You would have thought that among all the races they have assimilated they may have assimilated a few generals or admirals to teach them strategy and tactics.”
“You forget, Captain Archer, that the Borg are not interested in tactics or strategy, they are not interested in the various philosophies that honey comb the multitude of races in this galaxy. All that is irrelevant. Technology is the true goal. They wish to assimilate all the technology in the universe because technology is purer, technology is the true measure of a species. Who cares for the mutability of philosophy, art, religion? Technology is cold and pure. Technology does not lie, it is not gray, it is not a mutable thing that means one thing to one species and something else to another. The true language, the purest form of expression and creation is technology.”
“That is a cold and lifeless ideal.” Janeway replied.
“What matters to the Borg if we assimilate the most brilliant tactical mind in the galaxy if we have our phase cannons and plasma torpedoes?” The queen smiled coldly. “In the end, no matter how brilliant you are, overwhelming firepower always wins the day.”
“The problem, your highness is that you’re not the one with overwhelming firepower in this fight.” Archer noted with a grim smile.
The palace of Jabba the Hutt was loud with the laughter of various revelers. Smoke drifted through the cavernous interior, most of it illegal narcotics of one sort or another. Multi colored drinks swirled around in semi clear glasses as servers moved among the thick crowd.
In the center of the throne room stood the imposing dais where Jabba the Hutt held court. Jabba was currently not on his throne, the great silken cushions sat empty on the dais. Off to the side was an ornament that Jabba was most proud of – a simple slab of Carbonite. The surface of the slab was marred by the impression of a human face in agony, hands trying desperately to break out of the Carbonite.
Han Solo, smuggler and rebel hero had been frozen in Carbonite and presented to Jabba. Jabba immediately placed the slab on the wall as a twisted ornament and a warning to anyone else that tried to make a fool out of Jabba.
There were tables lines along the walls of the throne room. One of these tables was far of to the side, deep in shadow. Two men sat quietly talking here, one wore a simple black robe, a hood drawn up over his head. The other wore battle armor that was instantly recognizable by many who walked the underworld.
“And so this is my bargain with you. He is just one man but he is extremely dangerous and difficult to kill. He had slipped out of many traps and has cheated death more times than I can count.”
“You just want him dead?” The armored man asked in a cold monotone.
“There are no other options. Kill him. Kill him slowly or quickly, I don’t care but I want him dead.”
“This shouldn’t prove difficult.”
“You do understand that you will be going far away from here?”
“I don’t believe you for a second. Another galaxy?” he snorted.
“You will believe when you are there. It matters not, the price has been arranged and you will find in the hold of your ship all the credits you wanted. Once you take off from here, rendezvous with me at Sluis Van. I will take care of the rest.”
“If you’re playing games with me..”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of playing games with the infamous Boba Fett. But I do expect you to fulfill your bounty. I want James T. Kirk dead.”
“As you wish.” Fett replied coolly.
The man in the cloak smiled coldly. There was a strange silver gleam from the depths of the cloak.
Galadriel! Galadriel! Galadriel! Galadriel! Galadriel! Galadriel!Stravo wrote:“Or you can join me and we can rule this galaxy as Husband and wife, every Emperor needs an Empress, and you would make a terrifying Empress, beautiful and terrible as the morning and the night, you would be stronger than the foundations of the Earth. All would love you and despair.” He promised.
