Space Empires IV Game RP

[brianeyci]

Zargat swiveled in his chair staring at the words on his screen.

Code: Select all

From: The Tholian Assembly, Council of External Affairs
To: Ferengi Merchants

You are advised to ignore our cartography ship, merchant. You are also advised against expanding your operations further to galactic east. You are unwelcome in our space. This will be your only warning.

Of course, the ship could not be ignored. Territorial integrity had to be protected. But, like any Ferengi Zargat respected the isolationist, the one who remained outside the Great River. Indeed, he feared it, because those inside the Great River were victim to its currents and boatmen but those outside were the alien, unreachable and untouchable. The Tholians had been avoided by the Federation, the Klingons, probably the Romulans and every other major and minor power in the Alpha Quadrant. Nobody traded with them. During the Dominion war it was reported the Federation had sent a lone Galaxy to ask for assistance against the Dominion. The Galaxy had never returned. Now, these same Tholians were exploring. It didn't make any sense. Zargat would not be bullied though, but a war at this time would be costly and delay the master plan. Zargat pulled out a keyboard.

Code: Select all

Tholians,

The Ferengi respect your right to privacy and will not intrude into your territory. However we respectfully request that you withdraw your ship beyond your warp point or it will be regretably destroyed by automated shuttles. Approach any of our planets at your own risk. Deeper exploration into our territory will be interpreted as an act of aggression.

That should hold them off, for now. At least, until the Maurader fleet was done their retrofits. The temporal shipyards were in full production but were mainly producing colony ships. And, temporal activities had to be done carefully, heavily shielded and in secrecy. So far there was no indication anybody had discovered the temporal shipyards were nothing more than ordinary shipyards. So far, all according to plan.

"Baxter to Zargat."

"Idiot, I told you I didn't want to be bothered."

"High Daimon, we've received word that an automated colony ship has accidently landed on a planet in Klingon space."

Zargat swore. "Send extermination code, the droids will have to kill the colonists and the colony aband... wait. Give me the colony's override codes. Get me a direct line to the Klingon High Council."

"We have not established a direct line yet."

"Then get one quickly you fool. Bad communication is bad business." Zargat switched windows. It was some humen software long abandoned called Windows. It was quite useful, but his software experts had advised him of many security holes. Nevertheless it was more helpful than the ordinary Ferengi interfaces. He opened a program called "notepad" and keyed in a message, sending it to the Klingons.

Code: Select all

Chancellor Martok,

My apologies for the colony in your space. The Ferengi would like to offer you this colony at cost for the parts and materials. Ferengi workers are bound by a contract and I will personally sign over their remaining work terms to you. The Ferengi value the Klingon Empire as business partners.

There, that should feed the Klingon idiot for awhile. Give him one undeveloped outpost and in return avoid a war. It could backfire--it could be interpreted as a sign of weakness. But Zargat knew this Martok. Martok understood economics--trading a colony for fifteen thousand tonnes of materials was business. If it had been any other Klingon the situation would probably be uncontrollable right now and result in a punitive expedition.

Zargat shut off his computer console and the desk sunk. A bed raised from the ground and a dozen pleasure women arrived from the shadows ready to do his bidding. Life was good.

"Daimon," said a heavily armed Ferengi marine pointing in the dirt. Daimon Vreet turned his head. He was a pragmatic Ferengi, an FCA Liquidator recently promoted to Daimon. His men had been exploring some ruins dangerously near Borg space. So far there was nothing but rubble and antiquated technology, but Vreet had erred on the safe side and brought along a brigade of his best men.

"Daimon, I'm reading a power source through this door," said the Ferengi Marine. Vreet motioned to his men. Ten of them formed a firing line a distance away from the door while others bracketed the side. They planted small palm-shaped circles on the door. "Three, two, one, now." said Vreet. The door blew apart. Inside, the room was empty like all the others, except there was something sitting in the middle of the room, the source of the energy readout. It was two meters tall, cylindrical and looked suspiciously like it was some kind of torpedo. "It's inactive now," said the Marine as dozens of Ferengi fanned out into the new chamber their weapons at the ready and other Ferengi brought in sophisticated scanning equipment. Vreet pointed at a computer console. "Is that safe to use?"

The Marine waved his hand and small four-legged animals ran to the computer. They reminded them of Targs but were from the humen world, not dark in colour. The animal trainer shook his head.

"It's safe Daimon."

Vreet went up to the computer and activated it. A humen voice spoke and it was a few moments before Vreet's universal translator worked.

"To fully understand the events on which I report, it is necessary to review the theoretical data on the Genesis Device..."

Brian

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Things were going well. 11 new "Utopia Planatia" shipyards, so named for their ability to rival the construction rate of the Utopia Planatia shipyards back home, were being built, the first of which would come online very soon. This would mean that the expensive-to-maintain orbital construction yards around each homeworld would become unnecessary, as the planets alone could easily construct with the full capacity of the Federation's resource production. It would also mean that the homeworlds themselves could be upgraded with Utopia Planatia shipyards, and the other planets would pick up the slack in the mean time.

In a happy co-incidence with this new ability to produce ships, Vulcan scientists had just perfected a new type of colony module which was capable of colonizing gas giants. There were enough gas giants in Federation territory alone to double the production capacity of Starfleet.

The only point of worry right now was the Dominion. Outraged over the accidental obliteration of their colony, they were out for Federation blood. They were already losing a war with the Borg, so it was unlikely that they would come in full force, but Antede was dangerously close to the home systems, and they could not be allowed to break through. Complicating matters were the neutral Talarians to the "north", between Federation and Dominion space. If the Federation could enlist them as an ally, they could warn of any Dominion assault and slow it down. If the Dominion made a treaty with them, or if they already had one, it could spell big problems.

Two carriers were given orders to enter the warp point. It was time to find out where the Talarians stood.

[Trogdor]

Primus had always been a relatively calm leader, whose underlings rarely felt a reason to truly fear his wrath. Now a side of him that had never been seen before was glaring at the chief of R&D and the head of the Tal'Shiar, both of whom were determined to pin the blame for the recent debacle on the other and live to see another day.

"It's entirely his fault!" the R&D head shouted. "If his agency had known that the Talosians had in excess of a hundred fighters present, the ships would not have been lost!"

"If this fool had not assured everyone that his Fire Hawk design was near invincible, I would have had my agents investigate the Talosian forces," the Tal'Shiar leader snapped.

"You trusted him?" Primus asked.

"Yes, I did," the Tal'Shiar head answered.

"The Tal'Shiar isn't supposed to trust anyone," Primus said, drawing his disruptor and shooting down the Tal'Shiar leader.

The R&D head breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the former Tal'Shiar leader fall to the floor, dead.

"Don't think you're getting out of here alive without a very good explaination," Primus growled. "I'd still like to know how about a hundred primative fighters and a handful of satellites defeated your Fire Hawk design."

"W-with all due respect, Praetor, the Fire Hawk had only one other ship with it, and that was an obsolete Stormbird mark two," the R&D leader said. "And all the enemy fighters as well as half the satellites were destroyed."

"The defeat to the Talosians is of little real consquence, though I'd just as soon not have lost loyal Romulan crews," Primus said. "But what of our planned conquest of the Takarans? And what if we have to defend ourselves against a race such as the Borg or the Klingons? There are five Fire Hawk hulls in the shipyards, mere weeks away from completion. Am I to assign loyal Romulans to crew ships that proved themselves not up to the task of defeating the Talosians?"

"Sir, the ships being built right now are Fire Hawk mark twos," the R&D chief said. "They have much more powerful weaponry than the mark one Fire Hawks."

This mollified Primus somewhat. "Very well, you have saved your life. Now, give me a reason why I shouldn't force you into retirement?"

"Of course, Praetor, I can do that," he moved toward a nearby control panel. "If I may?"

Primus nodded, and the R&D chief punched in a few commands. The image of a familar looking, vaguely bird-like ship appeared on his office's main viewscreen. "The D'deridex is reborn, Praetor. Simulations estimate that it is nearly three times more powerful than the Fire Hawk II class, yet takes no more time to construct, thanks to recent shipyard upgrades."

"Very good, chief," Primus said. "You keep your position as well, but if there's another such fiasco, I will personally execute you. Is that clear?"

The chief looked at the dead body of the Tal'Shiar leader next to him. "As crystal, Praetor."

Edit: typos. Damn, I make a lot of thse.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Kirk slammed his fist on the desk. The two carriers he had sent into the Tallaria system were destroyed by minefields before they could even hail the "Chalnoth Gundain" species living there. If they wanted hardball, that's what they would get. Before even taking a breath, Kirk dictated a fiery declaration of war on the Chalnoth Gundain. Four minesweepers and a supply ship had just been finished, but that was only part of the fleet that would be needed to conquer the backstabbing Chalnoth. Kirk ordered new troop transports to be built with a maximum of armor and shields. The crowning jewel, however, were the eight new Constitution-class hulls just laid down on his orders. The new carrier would cover the fighter angle.

Turning his thoughts away from the Chalnoth, Kirk turned his attention to the long range scan results he had just been handed. "South" of the Romulans, there were Federation signals! If the Romulans were from the future, perhaps this was a future Federation. Kirk re-routed the obsolete NSE0001 surveillance ship to make contact with them.

[Uraniun235]

"...we can still communicate with them, sir, but for all other intents and purposes our colonies in the Okompa system have been effectively isolated."

President Alshain squeezed his little rubber ball tightly. Two of his finest starships destroyed by those fucking treacherous Trill. A Trade and Research Alliance for over a year, and then all of a sudden they decide to break it off - activating their minefields and destroying his ships as they were about to pass through.

The officer conducting the briefing looked askance at Wilhelm, who nodded his head. "Go on, Darling."

Commodore Darling's cheek twitched ever so barely perceptibly. "Yes, sir. Fortunately, we've established three colonies in that system, and are currently constructing shipyards. Hopefully, nobody will stumble into that system until we can get a few ships operational to defend it with.

Per your desire to maintain exemplary relations with the Romulans, we have not sent any starships through the warp point leading to their territory. However, with the Romulans to Galactic North and the Trill to Galactic East, our primary systems are now effectively isolated from the galaxy."

"I presume Starfleet has drafted a plan for remedying this situation?"

"Quite correct, sir. We were already planning for an invasion of Trill before the initial treaty relations, and we have now resumed implementation of that planning. Currently, we are training a planetary assault force with the intention of conquering the valuable Trill worlds. We intend to construct mine-sweepers before long. We hope to be ready to invade in about a year, presuming nothing else comes up..."

Darling looked rather pointedly at Alshain, who grunted and squeezed his Stress-B-Gon ball.

"We've tried repeatedly to win them back to our side. It appears they're determined to remain obstinant. Fortunately, Darling, I have you to... persuade them."

Twitch. "Of course, sir. There is one more thing... as you're aware, there are other races from the Milky Way present in this galaxy. Romulan merchants have recently been heard telling tales of another Federation, from the past - led by one Admiral James T. Kirk."

"Kirk! Then we might stand a fighting chance after all... can we get through to him via subspace?"

"I'm afraid not, sir, we lack the correct subspace frequencies to do so - we'll have to make contact with one of their ships in order to accomplish that."

"Damn. With the Romulans and the Trill between us... shit! If we could get a message through to them... tell them that the Trill have their space mined, inform them of the ships guarding our inner warp points so they know to head for the outer colonies..."

"We can try to get the message passed along via the trade routes, sir, but there's simply no guarantee of them recieving it."

"It's worth a shot. Start working on that immediately. And Darling..."

Groan. "Yes, sir?"

"Get that invasion prepped as soon as possible. If we can't get word to Kirk by the trade routes, if his ships can't find those outer colonies... we'll need to do it ourselves - and I don't intend to let the Trill stand in between us and our fellow men. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir!"

[brianeyci]

Daimon Jerot had been assigned command of this colony. It was on the edge of Ferengi space, weeks from the nearest Ferengi outpost. If things went wrong, there was nothing he could do. Luckily the planet was protected by several heavy weapons platforms. The Dominion planet had been docile so far but Jerot knew they would act soon.

"Daimon, fighters are being launched from the Dominion planet." said a voice. Jerot pressed a button to bring up tactical. The fighters streaked towards his planet. It was a month too early for the mines. Luckily he didn't need them. "Lock disruptors on target."

"Disruptors locked."

"Destroy them."

The fighters one by one disappeared from the screen before they entered the planet's atmosphere. Jerot smiled. Probably the Dominion hadn't expected such advanced defenses. Fighters would have gotten through any normal defense, but Ferengi tracking technology had improved considerably over the past few years to the point they were able to track fighters even with their heaviest fixed weapons. "Prepare to send out a shuttle to salvage..."

"Daimon, ships coming through the wormhole... cubical shaped."

"Hail them."

"No response. They will enter weapons range in one minute."

"Raise planetary shields."

"Something's wrong... nothing's working. The weapons platforms are not responding to orders. The shields... they're not working."

Treachery. Jerot got up and activated his personal transporter scrambler, picked up his disruptor and calmly went to his escape pod. One did not become Daimon without planning for such contingencies. He set the explosive charges around his office then strode liesurely into his pod. There was only one thing left to do.

Destroy Zargat.

"So. A weapon powerful enough to annihilate a planet," said Zargat carefully. Baxter and his newly appointed Daimons sat around the war room staring at a holographic inset of Admiral James T. Kirk. "This Cert, does his Federation still possess this weapon?"

"Impossible to tell," said Raxis. "Kirk's Federation probably had his technology reduced as far as we did. With any luck he has not acquired this device yet."

"When will it be possible to construct a working prototype to test it?"

"It will take several years," said Raxis. "Unfortunately the infrastructure does not exist to create the protomatter crucial to the device. And... the device is flawed, unstable. The supercomputers are working on a manufacturing process to replace the protomatter with a more stable substance, but the plans found were incomplete. Also, weaponizing the device is another matter. We believe the device can be fitted into a photon torpedo which can be constructed out of neutronium to be impervious to weapons and pass through all but the most specifically designed shields. A weapon is even more years away, perhaps a decade. We still do not have replicator technology and scientists estimate that replicators will require at least another two years."

"Can we not use the temporal facilities to steal them from other timelines?"

"No. Unfortunately when protomatter enters a temporal vortex, the vortex collapses. We will have to fashion our own stable protomatter with our own replicators."

Zargat grunted. A decade was an eternity but it had been four years already. Four long, brutal years and his empire had been expanded to over seventy planets rivaling the power of the Federations and Empires of the Alpha Quadrant. His plan though, the master plan, was all that mattered. None of this, power... destroying planets, all child's play compared to the powers he would command.

"There is another matter," said Baxter. "The Ullians were able to launch reserve fighters and the Daimon was caught off guard. His flagship was destroyed before reinforcements could arrive."

Zargat took the news calmly and his Daimons and Generals looked relieved. "This has gone on long enough. I want the Ullians... exterminated," said Zargat. "I want a final solution."

"I have designed a planetary napalm device to be fitted to our Mauraders," said Raxis. "It should be most effective in subjugating the telepathic swine."

"Good." said Zargat. Plantary napalm, weapons of mass destruction, temporal shipyards. If he had told himself four years ago he would have laughed at himself. But now, there were no old rules, no old treaties. The master plan would be executed, at any cost. Billions of Ullians would die a fiery death, but they would just be the first. "Make sure to jam all subspace channels and destroy all escaping civilian ships," said Zargat. The Borg would not care, nor would the Tholians or the Romulans, but the Klingons would decry such an action as dishonorable and the Federation... the Federation, the humen ideals of equality, humen rights, humenism... they would be at war in a day if they knew even a sampling of what Zargat was doing and planning. Not yet, not yet. It was not time for all his cards to be revealed.

This... Genesis Device, Kerk's own weapon, would be the ultimate irony. It would destroy him. He just needed more time, more time to consolidate his forces. And then there were the Borg. The Borg were crucial to his master plan. So far they were trading well, but soon Zargat would ask of them for their greatest secrets everything hinged on the Borg Queen's whims.

"High Daimon, the Borg were able to assimilate critical information including the plans to our temporal facility," said Raxis. "I do not know why the computers did not self-destruct when the colony was invaded. The logs indicate a command level override."

"I gave them the access codes," said Zargat. He smiled. "Empty the prisons. Send the next batch of traitors and Ullian prisoners of war on the next automated shuttle to the Borg."

"Yes, High Daimon."

Brian

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

The NSE0001 had been destroyed by a minefield on its way to contact the other Federation. Kirk took the news surprisingly well, and that scared him the most. During his time in the Federation, it was always shocking to lose a Starfleet ship or a small colony. Now thousands or even millions of lost lives seemed almost routine.

Kirk sighed, and considered his options. He could send the newer surveillance ship through Romulan territory. This was not an attractive option, as he doubted the Romulans would appreciate it. It would not be strictly in violation of their treaty, as the surveillance ships are not armed, but it would violate the spirit of the agreement. Then an idea struck him, and he wondered why he had not thought of it before. Why not simply ask the Romulans? He still did not completely trust them, and maybe he never would, but the heavy trade between the Federation and the Empire had been fantastically profitable for both, and the exchanges of scientists had opened the door for huge leaps in technology. As strange as it seemed, the Romulans were the only real friends he had. He dictated a message:

Code: Select all

Hello Praetor.

I admit that I did not trust you or your people at first, but that has changed completely. We owe much of our current success to our ongoing trade and cooperation in research. This is why we turn to you now for help. We picked up Federation signals on our long range scanners two weeks ago. We diverted one of our long range explorers to make contact with them, but the explorer was destroyed by a minefield. The signals come from an area of space near yours. Have you made contact with this other Federation? If so, would you be willing to provide us with their subspace communication frequencies? I eagerly await your reply.

Sincerely,
Admiral James T. Kirk

[Trogdor]

Praetor Primus grimaced as he read Kirk's message. There were times when he forgot that not every species treated galactic politics like a game of chess as Romulans did. Apparently, it was a fault even salty old veterans could be guilty of, Primus thought with a faint smile, recalling Hawk's elaborate plans involving tachyon networks and the like to prevent the two Federations from meeting.

But Kirk had chosen a more blunt approach than a Romulan would. Primus supposed he should be thankful that the human wasn't furious. Their treaty had stipulated that neither build minefields at warp points between their systems, and Primus knew that a Federation ship had been destroyed by a Talosian minefield. Of course, Kirk had no way of knowing that the field wasn't of Romulan origin.

In a way, the message was good news. He had gained at least some of Kirk's of trust. Primus sighed. Hawk's plan was shot, and while he could lie to Kirk, he knew it would buy a good deal of future touble. He would have to admit the truth, even if it meant swallowing his pride. Hopefully, Kirk would understand his reasons for doing as he had done.

"Computer," Primus said. It chimed in response. "Take a message."

Code: Select all

Heil Admiral Kirk,

I must also confess that I did not trust you at first. I spoke the truth indeed when I said that in my time our two peoples did not enjoy much better relations than they did in yours. Yet your Federation has quickly become our most valued ally, which is why I so fear what I must tell you.

Firstly, I truly regret that one of your ships met its end at a mine field. Know that I have held to the terms of our treaty and that the field was not of Romulan construction. It was built by a race called the Talosians who my people are currently at war with. I do not know why they built a minefield there. Perhaps they believed my people were to the galactic north of their position as well as to the south and southeast.

Now for my greatest confession. I have been in contact with the Federation from my own time line for even longer than I've been in contact with yours, if only slighly so. My Empire has a similar treaty with them as it has with your Federation. I had feared that if I put you in touch with one another, you would band together to fight my Empire, and my people would be caught in a two front war we could not possibly win.

I no longer fear such, for I see you to be a man of honor. However, many of my supporters will not feel the same, and will be strongly against my giving you the other Federation's subspace frequencies. Therefore, I must ask for an assurance that our friendship will continue before I can give them to you. I propose we upgrade our treaty to one of military alliance.

My people are not a xenophilic race, I admit, and if you agree, I forsee little change in the immediate future. We would keep the previous terms of not sending armed ships into one another's space unless granted express permission beforehand. Mostly, the only difference would be that we would come to one another's aid should either of us find ourselves engaged in a losing war.

I apologize for having kept this secret from you, and I hope you will understand my position and be able to forgive me.

Best Regards and Deepest Apologies,
Praetor Primus of the Romulan Star Empire

[Dalton]

Stacks of datapads surrounded Chancellor Martok. The rigors of managing his fledgling empire were taking more and more of his time these days, and delegating the tasks to less far-seeing and more blood-thirsty planetary governors was out of the question. However, as busy as he was, the news his aides brought him on a constant basis was almost always good.

Research was up around the board; the improved facilities were helping spur the rediscovery of many key technologies lost to them during the move, and planetary shipyards were busily constructing newer, bigger and more advanced warships.

Resource production was also up around the board, though not as much as it should be; perhaps improvements in the forced labor and prison camps would help improve those numbers. As much as Martok disapproved of using prisoners of war in such a dishonorable way, he was at an impasse as to how else to increase production.

However, the population growth rate was staggeringly low; research into how to spur fertility had to be pursued and developed if he had any hope of colonizing more worlds. As it was, his empire was scattered among eleven star systems, some of them containing nothing more than a small colony or two.

It was boring tedium on those fronts, really, so Martok left it for the more detail-minded aides and turned his eye to the current political situation. The Ferengi's mistaken colonization of a world in his galactic northernmost system was corrected with a suitable application of funds, with the result that Martok now controlled a small colony populated by several million Ferengi. Martok couldn't imagine how they'd be useful; putting them into forced labor would definitely be a bad move politically. Perhaps they could find some use as merchants or other financially-minded types.

The buzz of a comm signal cut into his musings, and Martok jabbed a button on his console, glad for the distraction. "What is it?" he growled, fatigue setting into his mind.

"Chancellor, there has been a new development among the minor empires," he said. Martok thought back; as far as he knew all of those empires were more than angry with the Klingon Empire for reasons that his warrior senses could not fathom. "The Benzites Common has decided to declare war on us."

Martok laughed, a sharp bark that seemed to slightly startle the aide of the other end. "What threat are they to us, if they do not yet have the means to use Warp Points?" Martok asked. "It is a foolish, empty gesture, serving only to incite our anger."

"What are your orders, Chancellor?"

Martok considered. If it was war they wanted, it would be war that they received. "Send our warships to the Warp Point to their system," he ordered. "And begin construction on some minesweeper ships. There's no telling what kind of surprises these petaQs have left for us.

"The Klingon Empire goes to war...and victory! Qapla'!"

[Alan Bolte]

Predsetadel Quarzon,

Here are documents to renew our non-intercourse agreement, identical to our ancient agreement from the Alpha Quadrant.

Remove your ship from our territory.

Liquidator Vreet

The Predsetadel considered this message. Ancient agreement? Was everyone here from a time after theirs? Had all of these other empires had their technology rolled back decades or centuries, but not the Assembly? It was enough to wonder if this Q meant specifically to test us with this "game" of his. Was that their place in this Great Equation? It was something to consider.

Of more immediate concern was this new race. Apparently they had known to stay clear in the past (future? their past anyway), but there was no way of knowing what balance of power might have affected this relationship, or what their reaction might be to this unique situation. The Ferengi appeared to be one-dimensional merchants, with an interstellar empire. They were not likely to be as agreeable as the Klingons. Apparently the colonists of the southern territories were becoming less sure of their opinion of the Klingons, even beginning to respect them. Strange that they should think that of such a chaotic culture.

Quarzon would have to convene council meetings on this new threat. It would take time to decide if action needed to be taken. Meanwhile, the Lurians were becoming wary of the Tholians. Quarzon would have to bring them up, as well. It could be disasterous if the Lurians struck before Tholian assets in the system were well defended.

[Nephtys]

The mighty shape of the Borg Command Cube flashed into view, flanked by no less than five smaller cubeships, each one capable of great destruction. Silently, the fleet cruised with minimal resistance deep into the Dominion's home system, with similar groups already in place in each of the Dominion's few remaining star systems. The Queen sat at a high command throne, before a pulsating green viniculum bound to her will, guiding her flagship forward.

"Now the games truely begin. Take position over their homeworlds. Do not damage the shipyards, and swat down any futile effort to attack us." she smiles. It was a good day for her, with the shipments from the Ferengi adding more to her legions. Her fingers tapped along the black edges of her steel and obsidian throne. Her will brings a screen to view, her loyal drone servants flanking and caring for her, maintaining her perfect image and appearance. She laughs a little, with a comfortable footrub from one of the drones, formerly one of the Jem'hadar captains.

Code: Select all

Dominion Founders. You are defeated now, but I do not wish to destroy your worlds. Contrary to what you may believe, your people will not be bombed, nor will they be assimilated. We are not the same Borg that plagued our old Galaxy. Rather, they are all servants to my will. I... their queen, one who broke from the collective. They are under my care. 

Our war was an unfortunate occurance that had to be dealt with. I will not tolerate our kind being threatened by enslavement or destruction again, and your actions forced my hand. Now, let us end the violence. I will transport you and a delegation of your choice aboard my flagship for negotiations for ending this bloodshed within the next 48 standard time units. Do not resist my forces, or my offer. For you know what we say... resistance is futile.

Turning now down to sigh, Nephtys smiled. With the Ferengi proving to be most gracious allies, and her kind's continuing security ensured, she finally had time to rest her wary mind.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

McCoy: Jim, how can you seriously consider making an alliance with those green blooded monsters? How do you know they won't drag us into a war against a peaceful species for their own ends, or into a war we can't win?

Spock: The doctor makes a good point, sir. This move carries serious risk.

Kirk: Yet, if we say no, then we destroy the trust we've built up. As crazy as it sounds, the Romulans are our only friends now. Can we truly afford to to give up the trade? Can we really go it alone?

Spock: The other Federation could become our primary allies, instead.

McCoy: Better than a bunch of pointy-eared Romulans, that's for damn sure!

Kirk: You know as well as I what it would take to get in contact with them on our own. We'd need an entire war fleet with minesweepers and supply ships to go through potentially hostile alien territory. It would take months to even launch such a thing, and months more before they got there.

Spock: We could ask the Ferengi merchants. They may have contacted them by now, and might be willing to trade for the channels.

Kirk: And slight our only friends?

McCoy: How can you call them that?

Kirk: Most of what we have, we owe to them.

Kirk tapped the table resolutely.

"This is what we will do. We will enter into this alliance. We will aid them in their wars, and they will aid us in ours, but we will not dismantle the defenses in the border systems. We will be friendly, but remain vigilant. Computer, dictate a message."

Code: Select all

Dear Praetor,

I appreciate your honesty and candor. I accept your proposed alliance. May our two peoples stand strong together!

Sincerely,
Admiral James T. Kirk

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Kirk checked his messages obsessively. He knew that it took a long time for messages to get through with no subspace relay network, but he would feel a lot less stressed out when he received the Romulan Praetor's response. Next month will mark the fourth anniversary of being dumped into this strange galaxy. He had been so busy that it had felt like mere months, yet he looked like he had aged ten years. He could never remember his bones aching and creaking so. He felt old. Used up.

The fleet to conquer the treacherous Chalnoth was coming together nicely, but now Starfleet was being tested on another front. The Bynar, the race whose mines had destroyed the first surveillance ship, had wasted little time before going on the offensive. Their malicious attacks of sabotage and espionage had come on merchant ships, through look-alikes, and with full force. Thankfully, Starfleet had been rebuilding its counter-intelligence network for two years, a shadowy organization calling itself Section 31. Strange that Kirk had never heard of them in the old galaxy. All of the Bynar attacks had been thwarted thus far, but it would only be a matter of time before they got lucky, and that could not be allowed to happen. The Bynar must be dealt with.

Research into long-neglected starship technologies were bearing fruit. They had already surpassed the technology base in the old galaxy, and the Vulcan scientists now told him that very soon they would have a new type of torpedo to replace the photon torpedo. Quantum was the word he thought they had used. They were also close to discovering new types of phasers with special applications. Phasers that skip shields, those might not be that useful since they already shield disruptors that could burn out multiple shield generators with one shot. Phasers that could go through armor, these might be very useful if fired immediately after shield disruptors. Shield technology was reaching its limit, and the new warp cores and nacelles were capable of Warp 8. The Vulcans told him that transwarp was only a couple years away, at most. The Constitution class ships being built would be due for a major upgrade the minute they were finished. Perhaps they would be retrofitted after the Chalnoth had fallen.

The first of the Utopia Planetia shipyards had been built in the Meles and Kleon systems. They were immediately put to work building the mammoth system gravitational shield facilities, complexes that would stop hypothetical super-weapon and warp-point devices. Hypothetical devices that the Vulcan scientists had warned him would become very real given a few more years of research.

With all this on his mind, Kirk nervously checked his messages again before he glances at the small mountain of data pads needing his attention before the morning. Yet another night with no sleep.

[Trogdor]

"Praetor, a response from Kirk!" Dove said. "He has accepted your proposal!"

"Very good," Primus said. "Transmit the subspace frequencies of the present Federation."

"Praetor, it will take at least a few days to write up the new treaty," Hawk warned. "Are you sure it's wise to give him the frequencies before he's signed our new agreements?"

"These humans have so little treachery in them it's a wonder their Federation survived as long as it has," Primus said. "Kirk will not backstab us, but I'm sure he's impatient. Send the frequencies."

[brianeyci]

"High Daimon, I present to you the ringworld."

Raxis brought up a holographic projection of what looked like a bright object surrounded by a thin band. He pressed a button and the image zoomed in. The Daimons and Generals around the table looked at each other, instantly comprehending the massive scale of the simulation.

"Such a construction would have three million times the surface area of Ferenginar."

"And, it can be built?" said Zargat.

"Yes. It shall require base hulls far larger than any we have ever created. It will also require a fleet of constructor ships equipped with temporal technology and replicators. Replicators are not yet functional but will be soon. It is a stepping stone to a star shell, which will have six hundred million times the surface area of Fereginar." Raxis paused, letting it sink in. "Best of all, construction will take minimal resources." Raxis brought up another slide. "Due to our increasing experience with temporal incursions, we are able to acquire manufactured parts and materials to our exacting specifications with droid workers. It will only take ten ships to begin construction."

"Begin preparations immediately," said Zargat. Such a monument to his power would be magnificient, and with the new temporal technology Raxis was claiming it wouldn't bankurpt the economy. Well, if he was wrong, he knew what would happen, so let him boast now. "What of the Genesis Torpedo?"

"We have developed a sophisticated verision capable of fashioning larger planets," said Raxis. "The torpedo is simple enough to be mounted on our smallest ships. We are ready to begin prototype construction."

"Order the temporal shipyards to give this project top priority," said Zargat. An aide nodded.

So, the superweapons and wonder toys Raxis had prophecized were coming to fruition. Zargat would wait though until they were developed and keep a close eye on the project budget. He knew Raxis's type, he was not one to give in to lunacy, but if for a moment Zargat suspected the projects were unprofitable, Raxis and his men would be executed.

A few hours later...

"High Daimon, Prime Processor Lynux is here to see you," said a raspy voice. Zargat pursed his lips. "Let him in."

Lynux and his companion strode escorted by heavily armed Ferengi Marines. Not that it mattered. Zargat's throne was always shielded. "My friends, welcome," said Zargat baring his teeth. "What brings your people here today?"

"We did as you asked... and sent covert agents against Kirk," said the Bynars alternating speakers.

"And? Did you find anything useful?"

"All our agents were caught... the humans are resourceful and we detect only a twenty-three percent probability... that our efforts will succeed."

Zargat gritted his teeth. The Bynars were proving more trouble than they were worth. "Continue sending in spies to penetrate the Federation. They cannot catch them all. I have confidence in your abilities. Oh... and, if you refuse," Zargat pressed a button bringing up a picture of the Bynar supercomputer, "You and your people will be exterminated. Is that clear?"

"Yes High Daimon... our military alliance is intact... we will endeavour to follow your wishes to the letter... please give us more time..."

"Leave me, now," said Zargat. The Bynars turned around and left. Zargat had little faith that their attacks would succeed but it distracted this Kirb's attention from himself. The more distracted his enemies were from him the less likely they would notice the pawns moving into place. When the right moment came, they would be helpless. Zargat laughed. The humens really had no idea what was going on. His intelligence service shadowed humen merchants and they were never allowed near the core worlds, only the outer colonies to conduct business. The excuse was a widespread interstellar plague that needed quarantine. Hopefully the humen fools would buy that long enough and this Kirt paid little heed to the affairs of other governments. The Eliminators were saturating themselves throughout humen territory, and when the time came they would strike. Not now though, soon but not now.

Brian

[GuppyShark]

With a Borg fleet in orbit, the Founder's options had run out.

Had this attack come earlier, when his bolt-hole colony in Federation space was not a smoking crater, he would have prepared his emergency cruiser for departure there. But since the Federation had been uncharacteristically warlike, even that option was denied him.

Now he was stuck in his command centre, last Founder in the last system of the once-mighty Dominion. An entire empire dedicated to one principle - ensuring the safety of the shapeshifting race that controlled it.

They would shortly be nothing more than a lost fragment buried in endless Borg datastreams.

When the end of the 48-hour deadline came, his jem'hadar went on full alert.

The borg cubes advanced, and swatted aside a fighter patrol that had attempted to delay them. Starships once posted on the Ferengi frontier were even now en route, but they would be too late.

Precision weapons fire from the cubes dropped the command center's shielding and bored a tunnel through the dense construction, a savage gouge in the surface of the planet leading directly to the underground facility that had been the Founder's home for the past year.

"How did they know..."

The ceiling of the bunker began to collapse. His jem'hadar bodyguards threw themselves on top of him to shield him from the falling debris. He then heard the unmistakable sound of a transporter beam and with it, he felt despair.

Code: Select all

Remove the bodies.

The weight pressing him down was released and the Founder rose to stand.

Borg drones were carrying off the corpses of his bodyguards. Before him stood what appeared to be a Borg queen of some sort, flanked by a dozen drones.

They were in a spartan meeting chamber of sorts - smooth, polished surfaces and a long table. Seated at one end was one of his primary aides, a vorta of distinguished record. The Borg queen sat at the other and indicated that he should sit with his aide. He did so.

Code: Select all

These are the terms. You will surrender your Dominion to the Borg and order all resistance to cease. In return, you will survive and not be assimilated. If you do not, we will kill you and assimilate your empire by force.

This was not really a choice at all.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Kirk received the message from the Romulans with a smile, and wrote a short response:

Code: Select all

We look forward to it. With all that is going on, we must stand strong together.

Admiral James T. Kirk

Kirk breathed easier. While a military alliance with the Romulans could potentially pose tough ethical decisions later on, for now it was a relief to know he had at least one ally if the Borg came at him, with a conquered Dominion in tow. From what the Romulans had said, it would only be a matter of time before the Dominion surrendured, and the lack of knowledge about the situation was becoming oppressive.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Kirk received the official paperwork to ratify the military alliance between his people and the Romulans. He signed it and fired off an enthusiastic reply, but he could not shake the feeling that he might be making a big mistake.

Nevertheless, it had not only gained him a potentially valuable ally in the Romulans, but a more trustworthy ally in the other Federation. Kirk spent a long time drafting that opening message, but was eventually satisfied. He sent it off:

Code: Select all

Greetings President Alshain of the United Planet of Federations,

Depending on whether or not you were already aware of the situation, this may come as a great shock to you, but I am Admiral James T. Kirk, also of the Federation. It seems that this "Q" has plucked us both, two Federations from different time periods, and placed us here. As strange and disorenting as the situation is, I believe that we should band together in this time of crisis. I propose that we immediately ratify a treaty of Partnership. I look forward to your reply.

There was another troubling matter. His Vulcan scientists told him that there were some anomalous readings coming from an as-yet unexplored system, but one that seemed to be near the area where the Ferengi were first encountered. Temporal wormholes opening and closing rapidly. Perhaps this "Q" had made his base there? If so, the Ferengi may be in great danger. Still, it was out of his reach at the moment. He needed to make sure that the systems surrounding the Federation were safe before sending fleets halfway across the galaxy, through potentially hostile territory. No, right now he needed to focus on colonizing the gas planets in his territory, subduing the treacherous Chalnoth Gundain, shoring up defenses against a possible Borg or Dominion attack, and focusing research on terraforming technology that his scientists assured him could completely convert a hostile atmosphere to an Earth-like, Oxygen-based one in as little as 2 years. There was much work to be done before he could try to take Q head-on.

[Trogdor]

"I told you Kirk would not backstab us," Primus said smugly, looking over the human Admiral's message.

Hawk scowled. "He and Alshain would need time to coordinate a combined assault."

"I don't understand why you trust these humans so little," Primus said. "They've little steel in them--"

"No, that's not true," Hawk interrupted. Primus's eyes widened at the older Romulan's insolence, but decided to let it pass. Hawk was too useful in military matters to discard for so small a reason.

"The idea that humans are soft was spread by the propogandists who wish to make the people dislike and disrespect the humans, but it's a lie," Hawk continued. "When push comes to shove, humans have as much fire in their blood as anyone. My grandfather was one of the few who escaped Cheron alive. The humans turned the planet into a radioactive hell!"

Primus crossed his arms. "And you don't trust humans because of that?"

"They smashed one of the greatest jewels of the imperial crown," Hawk said. "Why should I trust a race that would do such a thing?"

"You hypocritical fool," Primus said, shaking his head. "What of our race? Kithomer was less justified than Cheron, yet we call the Klingons barbaric for holding a grudge for over 75 years! The humans who turned Cheron into a wasteland were before even Kirk's time."

"But--"

"No buts," Primus snapped. "I will not have you wasting needed resources giving our borders with the humans excessive defenses. They are our allies in military as well as economics now and you will treat them as such, or I will have no further use for you. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Praetor," Hawk growled.

The door to Primus's office opened, and Dove walked in. He stopped short when he saw Primus and Hawk glaring at one another, though. "Is this a bad time?" he asked timidly.

"No," Primus said. "Come in. What news have you?"

Dove cleared his throat nervously. "Praetor, the first wave of D'deridex class warbirds were completed by the Denius shipyards. They're now undergoing a quick upgrade. Also, most of the shipyards in the home system have just completed an upgrade and are waiting for new orders. Oh, and R&D reported the creation of a new design: the Imperial Hawk class battleship."

Primus nodded. Today was going to be a busy day.

[brianeyci]

"Borg cubes on approach vector," said a disembodied voice. Zargat swore. Borg were never trustworthy, he was a fool to think that this one was different. But the Borg were important for the master plan. Yes, it would not do for such an early war. The defense net though was set to allow Borg warp signatures through. So far trade had been reasonable, with unmanned ships providing raw materials and information. If there were armed vessels approaching, the defense net would have to be reconfigured to fire on approaching Borg vessels. No, it would not do at all to have cubes wandering unhindered in Ferengi territory. But if the defense net was reconfigured to fire on Borg ships then the latest shipment of resources would be annihilated, and if this was the Queen reinforcing her borders rather than an actual attack then this would not do. Zargat peered at the holographic Borg ship floating above the table. A large cube, larger than ones he had seen before. A warship, definitely. Zargat rapped his knuckles and sent out a message.

Code: Select all

Nephtys,

The latest shipment of materials had to be cancelled. Trade will resume the next month. Do not approach our territory.

It would set back the automated trade network several months, but it was worth seeing if the Borg Queen was going to attack. If she was, she would attack anyway and be destroyed. If she was not, then no harm would come of it. Zargat smiled.

Brian

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

The first war fleet the Federation had built was almost ready. All the ships were constructed, including the Constitution cruisers, but they still needed to gather in the Antede system for the simulated training. A little bit of time spent training could save a lot of lives, after all. All of the ships were badly outdated by the time they were completed, but they would more than serve their immediate purpose. They could be retrofitted after the Chalnoth had been brought down. By that time, they would be so grossly obsolete that the upgrades would provide a massive increase in their capabilities.

Conventional phaser technology had been maxed out, and scientists were now developing special types of phasers. So far, they had only started on a few. One phaser penetrated shields like they weren't there, but that wasn't nearly as useful as the shield disruptors they already had. Another was only a quarter effective against shields, and was not as powerful as existing phasers to boot. Yet another burned out engines, but not nearly as well as the alien engine destroyers they had found years ago. The scientists claim that armor-piercing neutrino phasers were just around the corner, however. Those would be deadly. The scientists had also discovered quantum torpedoes and a device to create and destroy space storms.

With a longing eye turned toward the plethora of gas giants in Federation space, Kirk ordered all available shipyards to construct colony ships.

[Nephtys]

As the large assault cube singularly entered Ferengi space, it's screen activated, transmitting towards the nearby Ferengi cruiser. An athletic Jem'hadar's face appeared, partially obscured by implants and electronic sensors. A specially encoded message was sent, with but a brief text message to relay it to Zargat himself. Quite curious...

Code: Select all

High Daimon Zargat, I am my Queen's representative CATEQUIL. She is not available to send you a message personally, but she has bidded me to make clear a great many things to you. Our deep space scans have indicated that both our nations are trapped between potentially hostile races of power equalling or exceeding our own. As you seem to understand our nature as different from the mindlessly aggressive Borg of our home galaxy, you certainly know the benefits our relationship can bring given time. 

Our Queen could unfortunately not authorize your trade offer, for we are still in the process of recovery after our victorious war against the Dominion, during which I have.. *ah*.. been enlightened to see the glory of her Service. Indeed, she sees no need to militarize our borders signifigantly, as allies. Our scans however, detect increasing activity of a yet unknown power to our galactic south. I would ask that you inform us of anything else you hear from that region.  

Slowly turning, the representative Drone moved back away from the communications panel, and back towards his alcove to ponder what Zargat would say, and how his queen would view his performance. Her will be done.

[brianeyci]

Zargat snorted. This was unlike the Borg. Once the Queen spoke, the Queen always spoke. A Queen speaking for the local collective meant that local collective viewed aliens as equals or challenging. Now, the Queen chose to insult him by sending an underling? Who did she think he was, a humen? Surely, the Borg with their pittance of planets and worlds could not be thinking of challenging him. And, there were many planets that were uncolonized in Borg space. They could not be running out of breathing room as the Klingons put it, so early.

There was only one possibility. A test. The single battle cube, sent to see whether the Ferengi had steel. Very well. Zargat keyed in a sequence into his main computer. In 30 seconds every Ferengi defense in the quadrant would consider Borg hostile again. He pressed another button, sending an override code to the "cruiser" in Borg space. If the Borg wanted to test Ferengi resolve, they would have it. It would be necessary to make it clear they were not dealing with an ordinary Ferengi. How to do this without revealing too much would be the question. Zargat pressed a button.

"Raxis, the Corinth system, are the temporal shipyards still operational?"

"Yes High Daimon. We have halted tests as you requested."

"Begin them again."

"Yes High Daimon."

Zargat smiled. There would be half a dozen temporal wormholes opening and closing near Borg space now. If this did not impress the Borg, nothing would. The stolen humen Genesis technology was being constructed at several temporal spaceyards and would take nearly a year and a half to complete. Nevertheless, once they were ready, the entire Quadrant would know of his power. Soon he would have the powers of a god at his fingertips, and the Borg were an important part of his ascension. Yes, the Borg were necessary, but how to integrate them without violence. After all, they were after the same goal as he--perfection.

He would not be stopped by one arrogant Borg female. She would either be a part of the master plan or be trampled by it.

Brian

[Trogdor]

IRS Invisible Eye Phenomenon II class spy ship
Corinth System-Ferengi Space

Commander Xaren had long since given up on trying to hide his nervousness and it was driving Major Juvek of the Tal'Shiar crazy. Even if a commander was frightened, he shouldn't show it to his crew. Jurvek would've relieved Xaren, but the one thing he wanted less than to listen to the coward was the mybrid of petty duties that came with commanding a ship. Besides, crews had been known to rebel against a Tal'Shiar officer taking command in the past.

"If the Ferengi detect us, it could mean war," Commander Xaren said fretfully. "We could not hope to match their power without Federation help, and there's no telling if--"

"Then we'd better make sure that they don't catch us," Major Jurvek snapped. "We were ordered onto this mission by the praetor himself--he doesn't trust this Zargat and wants to know if he's up to something. As an officer in the Imperial Star Navy it is your duty to follow the praetor's orders to the letter, not to worry about what will happen if we're caught."

Indeed, Primus didn't trust the Ferengi at all. The big eared buisnessmen had restricted the ports in their empire where Romulan merchants could land and trade, claiming a plague in their core sectors. Primus didn't believe it for a second, or so Major Jurvek had heard.

"We're already quite deep into Ferengi space and haven't encountered anything out of the ordinary," Commander Xaren said. "We should be able to turn back now."

"No, Commander," Major Jurvek said coldly. "If the Ferengi have hidden anything, it may very well be on one of their home worlds. Not until we've seen those can we head for home."

Commander Xaren sighed and nodded. Jurvek took his seat next to the commander's. Xaren fidgeted for several minutes until he got up and walked to the sensor officer's station. "Anything unusual?" he asked.

The sensor officer shook his head. "No, Commander," he answered. "Several Ferengi colonies and a few ships here and there. Oh, they've got five space stations sitting on the warp point at coordinates 0,2 as well as several cruisers and a satellite group."

"No surprise there," Commander Xaren said, obviously disappointed. "That warp hole leads to Borg territory according to long range scans. If we had a border with the Borg, I'm sure the praetor would pile defenses onto it, too."

Xaren was about to return to his chair when the sensor officer's panel started beeping. "What is it?" he asked.

"Temporal wormholes opening all over the system," the sensor officer said.

"Where?" Major Jurvek demanded, coming to the sensor station.

"On the Ferengi planets," the sensor officer said, obviously mystified.

Major Jurvek swore. "Temporal ship yards. So this is what the big eared freaks have been hiding."

The Tal'Shiar officer strode purposefully over to the communication station. "Prepare a tight beam transmission back to the praetor," he ordered.

"What?!" Commander Xaren asked. "What if the Ferengi detect the transmission?"

"The praetor must know of this," Major Jurvek snapped. "Even if we can't tell him personally."

"Commander, I can send the message over a tight beam piggybacked on a Ferengi signal," the comm. officer said. "The odds of the Ferengi detecting it are minimal, at most."

Without waiting for approval, the comm. officer sent the message.

"It would seem that you have your wish, Commander," Major Jurvek said. "We've foound what we're looking for. We can return home now."

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Kirk received the other Federation's acceptance of the partnership with a smile, and drafted a response. They should be informed about the threats they were likely to face.

Code: Select all

We have received the first of your trade ships, and hope you have seen ours by now. Allow me to tell you of some of the races we have encountered. Directly to the galactic north of our territory lie a race called the Chalnoth Gundain. They destroyed two of our ships and almost a hundred fighters with mines when we tried to contact them. East of their system lies the Dominion, who we are currently at war with, although they have yet to launch an attack. North of them lie the Borg, who the Romulans have told me terrible things about. We have not contacted them. East of the Borg and Dominion, you can find the Ferengi. We have been trading and sharing information with them, but I have had almost no contact with their leader, and know very little about them. To the north-east of the Romulans lie the Bynarr, who destroyed our first surveillance ship with mines and then attempted to conduct espionage operations against us. I am aware of no other races yet.

Sincerely,
Admiral James. T. Kirk