Star Trek/Star Wars: The Best of Both Worlds

[JME2]

Because it's here!!

Disclaimer: Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry and owned by Paramount Pictures. Stat Wars created by George Lucas and owned by Twentieth Century Fox and Lucasfilm. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Star Trek/Star Wars: The Best of Both Worlds

Part VIII

“The outcome of the war is in our hands; the outcome of words is in the council.”

-Homer, The Iliad-

Author’s Notes: Okay, major things are happening with this chapter as well as things to come:

* I’m going to edit the mention of the I-Mod way back in chapter 2 in order to allow an appearance by the Hazard Team of the wildly popular ‘Elite Force’ games later in the story; look for them working with Kyle Katarn of ‘Dark Forces’ fame.

* The galaxy names will be changed from Star Trek and ‘Star Wars’ to the Milky Way Galaxy and That Galaxy Far, Far Away.

* The Dramtis Personae will be updated in conjunction with my planning ahead for the fanfic.

* The layout of the Quintessence’s Meeting place is inspired by both ancient architecture, the Romulan Senate, and the Hall of Confluence, the chamber where Supreme Overlord Shimrra and representatives from the four main castes of the Yuuzhan Vong race met on Coruscant; it first appeared in Book 14, Destiny’s Way, it‘s last appearance was in Book 19, The Unifying Force.

* I should have mentioned this way back in the chapter and future edits of the story will make reference to this, because it reappears in this chapter. The meeting between Q and Spock is of course seen in the best-selling audio-dramatizations Spock vs. Q and Spock vs. Q: The Sequel.

* Remember how I said I was going to disregard the Deep Space Nine re-launch novels? Here’s another example of me making good on that promise in this chapter.

* Finally, The information on the New Republic ships comes courtesy of Star Wars: The Essential Chronology.

Other than that, as always, enjoy.

***

Location: Coruscant

That Galaxy Far, Far Away

The Hub.

The Scintillant Planet.

Coordinates 000.

These were but some of the many names that the many species used in describing the world that was known for better and for worse throughout the galaxy as Coruscant.

The planet Coruscant had been the galactic seat and symbol of power for untold generations since the formation of the Old Republic 25,000 years beforehand. Whether the Old Republic had originated on the world or if the early members had chosen it as their capital was a mystery that was lost to the ages.

During Palpatine’s New Order, it had been renamed Imperial Center until Republic forces has taken it two and a half years after Endor. They had managed to hold onto it for a little over three years before the resurrected Emperor’s forces had retaken the capital in the wake of Thrawn‘s campaign. After Palpatine’s final death, the Imperials had abandoned Coruscant and ever since then, it had remained in the Republic’s hands.

It was also, unfortunately, the ultimate destination of the unrelenting alien invaders known as the Yuuzhan Vong. Of course, in order to get through the Coruscant system to the Capital, though, they’d have to go through an overabundance of Golan Arms Defense platforms, a newly laid minefield, and a huge chunk of the New Republic Navy.

However, given the lack of success that the New Republic had had against the Yuuzhan Vong’s living ships thus far, Dif Scaur knew that this would probably not be enough. Scaur was the Director of New Republic Intelligence, or NRI, an organization that was the successor to the old network of Rebel spies and other interim groups such as the Senate Interplanetary Intelligence Network (SPIN).

Scaur was the most recent to hold the position of NRI director. His predecessor, General Airen Cracken had headed the department for years until his retirement in the aftermath of the Republic-Imperial peace accords seven years prior.

He was currently on his way to a meting of the highest order, the NRMOC or New Republic Military Oversight Committee. NRMOC’s meeting place was the War-Room, a large chamber adjacent to the Senate which he entered after presenting the proper credentials and submitting himself to a biological examination; with the Vong able to disguise themselves as alien races, precautions had to be taken.

The War Room was a bustle of activity. Monitor after monitor displayed tactical data, fleet estimates, reports - data coming in from all four corners of Republic space, courtesy of the HoloNet, the holographic communications network that many considered one of he crowning achievements of the Old Republic. There were also transmissions from high-ranking Republic military personnel. Scaur recognized holo-projections of several other noteworthy flag officers from Traest Krey’Fey to Eldo Davip, captain of the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer Lusankya, one of two remaining such ships in Republic hands alongside the Guardian.

In the center of the room was a state-of-the-art holographic generator, surrounded a curved command podium. The galaxy was displayed in the center projection and was divided into sections indicating the designated regions of space: the Core, the Colonies, the Inner, Mid, and Outer Rims, the Expansion Region, Wild Space, and the Unknown Regions.

At the tip of the upper Outer Rim and beginning at the Tingel Arm was a long red colored swath, the indication of the Yuuzhan Vong’s advance into galactic space and the territory that they had conquered this far. The swatch widened as it went down, finally stopping at Duro, with branches curving around Hutt space and the Tapani Sector.

The scene reminded Scaur of the holovids he had seen, the ones detailing the fateful Alliance briefing on the attack on the second Death Star on the Rebellion’s flagship Home One.

“Director Scaur, thank you for being on time.”

Seated at the foremost seat of the War-Room’s command podium was Borsk Fey’lya, the fourth Chief of State of the New Republic. Fey’lya was a respected member and hero of not just the Bothans, but of the Rebellion, a member since the aftermath of Yavin - a true idealist and defender of democracy.

Underneath, he was a conniving, scheming, and devious Bothan who had only joined the Rebellion because of the political and power opportunities that it could afford him should the Rebellion overthrow Palpatine’s institution. Scaur knew all of this because NRI had kept quite a file on him, from his Thrawn-era actions to his leaking of information to the press during the Black Fleet crisis.

To Fey’lya’s sides was Senator Viqui Shesh of Kuat and Senator Fyor Rodan of Commenor. Fey’lya gestured to Scaur to take a seat and then sat himself down.

“Now that Director Scaur has arrived, NRMOC shall begin this meeting.”

Senator Cal Omas was the first to respond.

“But we’re still awaiting General bel Iblis’ transmission.”

“I think it‘s not necessary to wait for him. He’s already failed to commence transmissions at the proper time for the past several meetings,” replied Councilor Pwoe of Mon Calamari.

“No, the General’s input is essential to this meeting!” cried the translation droid of Senator Triebakk of Kashyyyk, barely able to keep up with the Wookie’s howls

The bickering went on and on. Scaur chose to sit back and just quietly observe as was a trait among any NRI operative, the situation never ceasing to surprise him.

Despite what schoolchildren were taught, the New Republic was not a happy, equal place. Corruption and vice was running through the new government just as badly as it had during the waning days of the Old Republic, worse in some cases. No one knew this better than Dif Scaur (In his humble opinion, it was almost like the New Republic hadn’t bothered correcting the problems that had led to the death of its predecessor at the hands of Cos Palpatine).

Unfortunately, all of these issues took second place compared to the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong and their advances into the known galaxy.

At least not with corruption or betrayal.

Scaur frowned at the latter portion of his thought.

Ever since the bogus defection attempt the previous year, Director Scaur had had suspicions, minor but still suspicions, that concealed in the high reaches of the New Republic government was enemy agent - either a spy or a mole, but a traitor nonetheless.

Unfortunately, he and NRI hadn’t been able to prove anything, and the current stalemate hadn’t exactly helped matters; searching for an agent that they didn’t even know existed was all too reminiscent of the ‘Delta Source’ search during the Thrawn crisis. And given the heat that NRI had received from both the fake defection and the Fondor incident, the Advisory Council was looking more cautiously at gathered intelligence.

The problem lay in that NRI was trying to do its job, but it was damm-near impossible. This wasn’t an enemy like the Empire or the Diversity Alliance where they could easily infiltrate their foe. The Yuuzhan Vong’s bio-technology was alien as the invaders, and the Vong’s own agents, like Nom Anor, were better equipped to counteract NRI’s progress through the uses of their ooglith masquers.

And the fanaticism that made up their culture was incredible. The only other major example of this level of extreme fanaticism they had seen was with the Yetheva during the Black Fleet Crisis over a decade before. It was so great that the chances of turning a Yuuzhan Vong into a mole or spy were next to nothing

Scaur chose to tune back into the conversation. Fey’lya had succeed in calmign down his supporters and haters in the NRMOC and had turned to a Sullustan seated in the corner.

“Fleet Status, Admiral Sovv?”

The Sullustan spoke in heavily-accented, though still passable Basic. He was perhaps the best known Sullustan in the galaxy alongside Nien Nunb, the copilot of the Millenium Falcon during the Rebellion’s attack on the second Death Star at Endor.

Sovv was also the Supreme Fleet Commander of the New Republic Defense Fleet, the military branch of the restored government. In the days of the Old Republic, the need for a defense force had fallen to the Jedi Order, then to the ‘Clonetroopers’ as they had been dubbed, during the Clone Wars.

“The fleets are currently spread out across our territory, with the Third Fleet in Bothan space, given its proximity to the now-occupied Hutt worlds. The Fifth Fleet, under General bel Iblis, is at Corellia, again given its proximity to Duro.

It operates five full battle groups, each consisting of a hundred or more warships, transports and support vessels, and including ground troop divisions and starfighter wings.

Scaur thought back to a similar situation seven months prior, when Jedi military officer, Kenneth Hammer, had told them seven months before that should the Yuuzhan Vong attack Coruscant from Duro, blame would rest solely with the Council. If…no when the Vong resumed attack operations, it could very well prove to be true.

He said when and not if to himself because while Dif Scaur was not the Republic’s leading expert on the Yuuzhan Vong, he knew them well enough that they would not simply stop with the handing over of the Jedi. Unfortunately, the Peace Brigade and many planets in the route of the invasion corridor, thought differently.

The same applied to the Advisory Council. A month after Duro, Senator Shesh had pushed for an Appeasement Bill through the Senate that would have capitulated entirely to the Vong and have outlawed all of the Jedi. Though the vote had failed two to one, many in the Senate had agreed with her line of reasoning and were putting their support behind the Kuati senator.

From an outsider’s perspective, the relationship between the Jedi and the Republic was an interesting and declining one. When the New Republic had been headed by the late Mon Mothma as well as her successor, Leia Organa Solo, the Order of the Jedi and Jedi Academy were considered independent of the New Republic government, though they had still been highly supportive of it.

This level of support was best seen in the fleets the Republic had sent to Yavin 4 to protect the Academy when it had been attacked by Admiral Daala and the short-lived Second Imperium. Now, when the Yuuzhan Vong and the Peace Brigade had taken the world six months prior, Fey’lya hadn’t even sent a starfighter.

Scaur knew that some of the claims against the Jedi were valid. Their vigilantism against smugglers in the Outer Rim had caused a headache for NRI, which had been preparing to look into possible connections between smuggling and the high reaches of the government when the Belkadan incident had occurred. As for the Ithor issue, he was neutral on that matter; they still didn’t know if the holo-journal recovered with the corpse of the late Senator Elegos A'Kla was a forgery or not.

But he also knew that the Jedi were valuable asset and could accomplish missions that even Intelligence groups like the Wraiths could not, as the infamous Kyle Katarn, as he was known in some circles, had proven during the missions he had undertaken during the Galactic Civil War.

Still, it was the Advisory Council’s final decision, not his.

“The Shipyards at Kuat, Corellia, Sluis Van, and Bilbringi, are working overtime to make up for the loss of Fondor to the enemy. Should the Vong resume their combat operations, Kuat, given its proximity to Duro, will probably be the first to be attacked, although Bilbringi is also possible since the invasion corridor is lest than a parsec away. The Vong won‘t attack Corellia however, not as long as they believe Centerpoint Station is still operational.”

Which of course, it wasn’t; Centerpoint Station was occupied by teams of Republic engineers, working overtime to try to get the giant repulsor up and running, something it hadn’t been since Fondor. The Corellians were providing their support and resources; since Duro was very close to the system, they had as much at stake in having the Vong avoid Corellia.

Unfortunately, that was pretty much all that the Corellian system was willing to do.

The Corellians had traditionally been isolationist, a trait that had flourished during Palpatine’s New Order. Despite the fact that they were New Republic members, they hated the organization and its ‘meddling’ in places where it shouldn’t; many were still bitter over the Centerpoint crisis ten years prior. The only reason they were tolerating the Fifth fleet’s presence at all was because of their respect for General bel Iblis, a fellow Corellian.

“Aside from Yavin 4, they haven’t attacked any Republic planets - ”

From the back arose a slight cough. All heads turned to focus on Senator Viqi Shesh, The Kuati sitting smugly in her position on the platform.

“As it has been made clear over the past several months, Yavin 4 is not a Republic planet. It was the first planet claimed by the Jedi since Palpatine‘s era”

“But not the last if they attempt to overthrow the government,” Rodan was quick to add.

Scaur inwardly sighed.

Not this again…

“The Jedi must disarm.”

“Dangerous they are,” Pwoe chimed in.

Scaur knew that these arguments had their origin in the fact that most of the Advisory Council had been opposed to Skywalker’s dream of reforming the Jedi Council. Rodan in particular believed the Jedi to be undisciplined, uncontrolled, and that they could not trusted to work in league with the government.

The Jedi Council was a governing body of twelve leading Jedi that oversaw the Jedi Order. Skywalker’s mentor Yoda had been one of the legendary members. When Palpatine had brought down the Order, the Council had gone with it.

Why they opposed its reformation was still something of a mystery that had yet to be explain, though Scaur suspected Fey‘lya‘s opposition was a result of the Jedi’s role in his brief downfall during the Thrawn campaign .

“We need to make it clear to the Yuuzhan Vong that the New Republic had no control over the Jedi…”

Scaur sighed inwardly as the arguments escalated and soon led to open debating.

Amazingly, it was Fey’lya once again that brought calmness to the storm.

“Director Scaur, I trust you have accurate information?”

The NRI Director nodded, ignoring the sarcasm in the Chief of State’s voice, and proceed to read the report he had been polishing on the data pad to the senators and military personnel.

“Hutt space is, as you know, occupied by the Yuuzhan Vong. The Hutts that didn’t flee willingly or didn’t have the chance are, according to our agents, engaged in fierce guerilla fighting with their occupiers. The overseeing Vong, according again to our sources, is one Supreme Commander Nas Choka from what ground resistance has been able to send us.”

From what the NRI agents in the field had been able to discern, the rank of Supreme Commander was the third highest rank in the Yuuzhan Vong hierarchy, second only to the Warmaster and then the Vong’s Supreme Overlord, one Shimrra. This Shimrra was most likely still in the intergalactic void, waiting for the proper moment to enter the galaxy.

“In terms of former independent allies, who do we have left?”

“The outlook is not favorable at all. As you know, the Hapan Queen Mother Ta´a Chume, has refused to commit Hapan forces to any military operations as a result of the Fondor incident; they’ve essentially gone into a similar position as Corellia and favor isolationism now. The same also applies to Bastion and the Imperial Navy.”

It made sense. The Hapans had reluctantly agreed to use their vast fleet of Battle Dragons and Nova-class cruisers in the war effort, only to have three-fourths of their flotilla wiped out at Fondor when it had been hit by the blast from Centerpoint.

As for the remains of the Galactic Empire, the council of the Grand Moffs had refused to ally themselves or commit to any New Republic-operations in the wake of the destruction of Ithor. It was a combination of fear and hubris.

Even with the accord that had been reached seven years before, the Imperials did not like to get involved in Galactic affairs. The Moff Council also had a reputation of clinging to the memories of the Empire’s glory days.

Glory days…

That was a major argument that had been coming up lately: How would the Empire at its zenith, handled the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong? The most commonly quoted scenario was that the Emperor would have mobilized his entire armament at the first threat and dealt with the Yuuzhan Vong in an efficient and expeditious manner, through the use of overwhelming force.

There was no way to fully know, especially since the Moffs still refused to release any data on the strength of the pre-Endor Empire - all they had were estimates and intelligence over twenty years old with which to paint possible scenarios. In any event, it was the Republic and not the Empire fighting the Yuuzhan Vong.

But if things kept going the way they were, then the Empire might not have a choice but to ally with the New Republic.

The Empire was not safe at all, even though Bastion was a good distance from the invasion corridor. The Yuuzhan Vong were preoccupied with taking the Core worlds to even bother with the scraps of Palpatine’s order. But once…no, if Coruscant was taken, then they would certainly turn their attention to the potential enemy at their backs. It made sense from a tactical point of view. Scaur knew that there was a good likelihood of this happening and that Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon probably thought the same thing, but was being forced to go along with the Council.

If wasn’t as if the Imperial fleet could make a huge difference in the outcome. But a force of Star Destroyers nipping at the Vong’s heels and around the rest of the invasion corridor could do wonders for the Republic.

“The Corporate Sector?”

“It’s become a haven for the Peace Brigade, so don’t expect help from them.”

This much was true and the fleets were spread too thinly to deal with the Corporate Sector Authority. But even if they weren‘t, it probably wouldn’t have mattered; relations between the New Republic and the CSA had been soured for years by persistent rumors that the CSA had salvaged and rebuilt the molecularly-bonded structure of the infamous Star’s End prison complex.

“The Chiss?”

“We considered sending word to Baron Soontir Fel on Nirauan for further assitance, but given how the Chiss don’t like incursions into their territory, we haven’t. After all, the last thing we need is to be fighting both the Yuuzhan Vong and the Chiss Expeditionary Defense Force at the same time.”

Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate

The Alpha Blue division of NRI, a division that not even Fey’lya knew about, was working like crazy to develop countermeasures to the Yuuzhan Vong. He had covertly approached the Chiss, trying to persuade under the table assistance. They were ideal based on their specialty with genetic research and the fact that they were so isolated meant that there was a very high chance that Yuzzhan Vong hadn’t infiltrated their government.

The Ruling Houses of the Chiss had said they would consider his proposal.

If the Chiss were willing to lend their covert support, as Scaur had been trying to entice them to since their participation at Ithor, they might have a better chance of developing something against the Vong, tactical or biological.

“The Senex-Juvex Sectors?”

“Possibilities in terms of finances and resources although the Lords, as was shown with the Eye of Palpatine incident, don’t like concerning themselves in - ”

The center Holo-Projector suddenly flared and changed to an incoming message, Priority One. The image wavered and twisted until it formed the face of a Captain that Fey’lya must have known, but whose name escaped Scaur.

“Senators, Chief-of-State Fey’lya. I have unfortunate news regarding General bel Iblis. Heu, um, well…”

Fey’lya sighed.

“What did he do this time?”

“The General’s flagship, jumped to hyperspace about seven hours ago along with a small portion of the fleet. I’ve been trying to reach you through the HoloNet since then, but it took time for the message to get relayed, in part due to the unwillingness of the Corellian HoloNet transmitting station and ”

“Slow down. He’s no longer at Corellia?”

“No sir. Apparently, according to his hyperspace vector, he’s heading for Naboo.”

“Naboo? Why would he go there.”

Naboo was infamously known as the home-system that Cos Palpatine had represented before he had become Emperor. After Palpatine’s first death at Endor, Naboo had sealed off its borders and had become isolated, despite the occasional envoy from the New Republic attempting to negotiate the planet’s admission into the restored galactic government or demands from various groups seeking compensation and justice for the horrors they had endured under the Emperor‘s reign.

“His flagship received a message apparently from the Millenium Falcon. We caught most of it and have -”

Arguments instantly broke out across the NRMOC War-Room.

“influence…”

“…Jedi mind tricks…”

They were so busy that Scaur and Fey’lya were the only ones to hear the portions of the message to the Corellian task-force from the Millenium Falcon.

“…Wormhole…humans…another galaxy…”

Fey’lya was able to project his own voice over the commotion.

“Captain, you are to stay where you are; if any more ships leave the Corellian system, the Vong could strike from Duro.”

“Understood sir.”

The image winked out on the central projector. Fey’lya turned to the projection of Admiral Traest Krey’Fey on the opposite monitor.

“My brother, Bothuwai is a short distance from Naboo. Take the Ralroost to the Naboo system. Find out why he’s at Naboo.””

The image of the Bothan admiral who had risen to prominence thus far through the course of the war stared at the Chief of State. Scaur knew that despite the fact that they were both Bothan, they both had issues with the other.

“You realize that could damage the Bothan fleet’s standing?”

“What I realize is that one of our most experienced generals may have just committed another mutiny in a time of war.”

“Understood. Krey’Fey out.”

***

Location: The Quintessence

Somewhere in the Universe

With a flash, the entity known as Q materialized…

…somewhere; there really was no better way to describe it. The Quintessence’s meeting chamber existed amongst the folds of the space and time continuum, in that little occasional bubble where the two overlapped and didn’t connect. Such things really didn’t bother him though; in a universe of wonders, such things were inevitable.

Although he didn’t like to regularly indulge in the sayings of bipedal hominids, there was one that came to his mind that more or less summed up the situation: No matter where you go, there you are.

At least he was dressed for the ocassion.

Q was clothed in the orange robes of a judge circa Earth’s post-atomic horror, a guise he had used twice against Jean-Luc Picard, the first fifteen years before when the Enterprise-D had been launched and the second a mere eight years previous. This was to be his representation, here at the main chamber of the Quintessence.

The chamber was divided into five corners, each corner possessing a seat. In the center of the room was a fire-pit, ablaze with that wonderful chemical reaction that had enabled hominids all across the cosmos to come out of caves and advance their civilization by slaughtering each other and then declaring peace. Amongst the flames one could see stars, planets. It was this gathering’s way of the presenting the universe.

The four other corners already contained their respective omnipotent emissaries. Q of course already knew M and Sisko. The Organian representative, while not personally known to him, he recognized. It was Ayelborne, the Organian who had imposed the peace treaty among the Federation and Klingon Empires over a century before when war had seemed inevitable between the two powers.

Their intervention in galactic affairs had been unprecedented. True they had all meddled a little in the development of civilizations here and there - the most obvious of course being the Prophets. But such a direct intervention had never been heard of. It had sparked debates in the Q Continuum that had been growing since the Trelane affair and had played a major role in his role with the Farpoint mission - or test, as he still preferred to call it.

The origin of the Quintessence was more complicated, so complicated that not even Q knew why it had come into existence, even with his ability to travel anywhere anytime. He did know that its ranks had changed as Gods had come and gone, but there were always five. This latest incarnation featured the M, the Q, the Prophets, the Organians, and sitting in the shadows of the fifth corner was…

Well, to be honest, no one there knew what to make of him (other than without him, it would be a Quad-tessence) or what group of godlike beings he represented. He certainly wasn‘t from the Yuuzhan Vong‘s imaginary pantheon of gods - although of everyone present at the meeting, Q bore the most resemblance to at least one: Yun-Harla, the Trickster goddess - (although some would claim different. Q knew that the Vulcan Spock, thanks to that time on the asteroid, knew that he was bi-special so it could work). As it was, Q looked forward to dropping in on the Vong - which would inevitably happen given the rate of The Merging - he’d love to see what they thought of him…

As it was, they didn’t even know his name. He simply preferred the title of the Stranger and far be it from Q to ask questions that he probably didn‘t want the answers to. He was also the unofficial chairman of their meetings.

“The Quintessence will now come to order.”

***

Location: Naboo System

That Galaxy Far, Far Away

Elsewhere in the galaxy, things were not in motion.

The Enterprise-E was holding its position on the Naboo end of the wormhole. Starfleet had interestingly not sent any further message through the wormhole via probe or even a shuttlecraft. Picard wondered if they had received the message, but knew that they probably had. More likely, the admiralty was in chaos over the unexplained appearance of a wormhole on the Federation’s backyard.

Either way, they couldn’t leave just yet and not because of the mystery surrounding the presence of humans in this far away galaxy.

The New Republic envoy that Han Solo had contacted would be arriving shortly, and as Captain of the Federation Flagship, it was Picard’s duty as a Starfleet officer to hold the official first contact between the New Galactic Republic and the United Federation of Planets.

Picard sat in his ready-room, his customary cup of Earl gray tea ignored. He was preoccupied by the events of the last few days.

Another galaxy filled with humans, an alien race that combines elements of numerous Federation foes, and now involvement by Q, Sisko, and who knows who else.

He had seen some strange instances and scenarios in his years commanding the Stargazer and the last two Enterprises, from parallel universes to alien customs. But none of them compared to this current situation.

The Captain thought back again on Sisko’s words just as the former Starfleet captain and Bajoran Emissary had vanished from his quarters mere hours earlier.

“Do not forget what I said: The Federation is the key to restoring the balance.”

The words were like a splinter in his mind; they would not leave or make room for his other thoughts.

Yet…

Could such a thing happen? The Federation had aided planets, even whole star systems. But could the Federation possibly give aid to an entire galaxy?

In a matter of speaking, it had been done a century before with the Kelvans.

The Kelvans were refugees of the Andromeda galaxy, which had been poisoned by heavy radiation. They had sent expeditions out to locate habitable territories for their species and to conquer them. The Federation had however, had reached a peaceful agreement with them and had worked with them to colonize uninhabited worlds in Federation space. They had succeeded and the new Kelvan worlds were proud allies of the Federation to the extent that Lieutenant Commander Worf had successfully sparred with a Kelvan twice his size on at least a few occasions while onboard the Galaxy-class Enterprise-D.

But the New Republic’s galaxy was made up not of one single entity, but thousands upon thousands of species and worlds - it was in essence what the Federation could very well become for the Milky Way galaxy centuries into the future, long after Picard had passed on.

But still, the Federation barely had enough resources to administer and run a space of about eight thousand light years, let alone aid an entire galaxy embroiled in a war that made the two-year conflict with the Dominion look like a localized incident.

Unless…

His thoughts were interrupted by the chime of his ready room door.

“Come,” he beckoned.

The doors parted, revealing…

“Ah, Come in, Master Skywalker.”

The Jedi Master stepped in, admiring the furnishings of Picard’s ready room. Even though he was devoted to the Force, Luke kept a few keepsake items that had decorated his quarters in the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, the Jade Shadow, and the Academy on Yavin 4 - at least until the Yuuzhan Vong had taken it.

Picard’s latest ready room contained many keepsakes salvaged from the Enterprise-D after its crash, from the collected works of the English playwright William Shakespeare to a model of his first command, the Stargazer. And of course, an aquarium containing his latest lionfish, who in a manner similar to the tradition Starfleet had with the Enterprises, Picard had named, alongside his predecessors, Livingston.

“Thank you Captain. I just came from your - what is it called? A Holodeck?”

“Yes.”

“The simulation of the Vulcan meditation gardens was quite…soothing. The Jedi believe heavily in meditation. It allows us to rest and observe the will of the Force and how we can serve it.”

Picard smiled slightly.

“Wait until you see the real thing. Holographs can only do so much. But you make it sound like this is the first time you have encountered holographs.”

“Not quite. The New Republic has holographic equipment, but its used more for communications and military purposes than entertainment.”

“We use it for military purposes on occasion,“ said Picard, a slight bitterness coming to his tone; he would never forget the insidious use of the Holodeck during the failed attempted relocation of the Ba’ku settlers three years prior. “They will become necessary if the Federation allies with the New Republic.”

“You’ve been thinking about what Sisko and Q said, I take it?”

Picard nodded.

“Yes, and while Q is for the most part a trickster, I sincerely doubt that this time, he was lying to us about The Merging or the role that the Federation could play.”

The last time he had seen Q this serious had been when the entity had told him that he would be responsible for the destruction of mankind in the anti-time paradox he had created in order to test Picard, to see if he was capable of ‘charting the unknown possibilities of existence.’

The Captain still had no idea what Q had meant, but wondered if it was somehow linked to what was occurring here in the present.

“Well, I could certainly see you had history with him, especially since you mentioned the Borg. I’ve been meaning to ask you about that because when you spoke of Wolf 359, I sensed a shadow in you, as if they’ve cause.

That’s an understatement.

But Picard kept his feelings to himself - though he was sure based on what Luke and Leia had told him about the abilities of Force-users that he could hear or sense that though - slowly nodded.

“You have a right to know. You would have found out later with an information and cultural exchange that the Federation uses in First Contact situations. The Federation encountered Q fifteen years ago onboard the Enterprise‘s predecessor, the Enterprise-D. A year later, Q introduced us to the Borg. The Borg…”

Picard paused, his voice shaking slightly. Even after all those years, he still had trouble speaking of his experience with the Borg, even after his counseling sessions with Deanna Troi and having come to terms with his anger in that climactic showdown with the Queen in the Enterprise‘s engineering.

“The Borg are a collective of technological beings based on the furthest reaches of my galaxy. They have combined the organic with the synthetic - implanted cybernetic devices. They wish to improve the quality of life for all species by assimilating them into their collective, thus bringing the galaxy one step closer to 'perfection'. Thanks to their relentless campaign to assimilate all other species, Borg technology is constantly advancing.

In their collective state, the Borg are utterly without mercy … driven by one will alone: the will to conquer. They are beyond redemption … beyond reason. During their first assault on the Federation, I was, assimilated into the Collective. Every trace of my individuality was erased, I was linked to the Hive-Mind, I had their machines inside me.”

There was a long silence before Picard resumed.

“They used my knowledge of Starfleet against us. In their first engagement alone, the Battle of Wolf 359. they destroyed thirty-nine starships, killed eleven thousand people - all because of me.”

***

Luke sat starring at the Captain. He now understood the origin of the shadow he had sensed within Picard. The Captain was still haunted by this chapter of his life, just as Luke was still haunted by the specter of the Dark Side, and the occasions where had come close, or in the case of the reborn Palpatine, had fallen into it.

Had the Captain been Force-sensitive, Skywalker would have taken immediate steps to help him deal with that shadow as a Jedi.

Force-sensitive…

That was something that had confused him since coming on board. The records from the Imperial Information Center and the surviving Jedi Holocrons has shown that all life forms possessed midichlorians and that the number of these organisms determined whether a person could have access to the Force.

Of course, this information had been thrown into chaos with the encounter of the Yuuzhan Vong, a species that for reasons unexplainable, seemed to exist outside of the Force. Where there would be a luminous being there was instead a blank spot. Like the alien Yuuzhan Vong, these…brothers was the best way to describe it, possessed no midichlorians, as shown by the medical scan performed by Dr. Crusher.

And yet, Luke could feel Picard.

He could feel the officers on the bridge.

He could feel everyone onboard the Federation flagship through the Force and didn’t know how this was possible. What could it -

“Bridge to Captain Picard.”

Picard tapped his combadge.

“Go ahead, Number One.”

“Captain, I think you’d better get out here. We may have company.”

***

Luke and Picard exited the Ready Room and entered the confines of the Enterprise’s bridge. The Jedi Master saw Leia and Han were also there, standing by the central platform that housed Picard’s chair of command as well as the chairs of his first officer and counselor.

“Mr. Data, Report.”

The android swiveled in the ops console’s seat.

“Captain, we have incoming gravimetric sensor readings.”

“Yuuzhan Vong?”

“Uncertain. The readings to not fully match the sensor readings taken during the battle. However, given that this was our only engagement thus far, it would be possible given our lack of data on the whole of Yuuzhan Vong species.”

Han stepped in and glanced at Data’s readings.

“No, That’s a New Republic flotilla coming out of hyperspace.”

Picard looked at Han Solo.

“Are you’re sure? It could be a force of Yuuzhan Vong craft and the Enterprise, even with how it performed in that skirmish, is not that powerful.”

Han shook his head.

“It’s not. Republic craft have specific hyperspace signatures; I’ve worked around enough engines long enough to know that.”

Well that and running Imperial blockades back in my heyday.

Leia looked at her husband.

“Han, who exactly in the New Republic did you contact? Kenth? Wedge?”

Han Solo just smiled. Data’s console beeped.

“Incoming signatures now in visual range.”

“On-Screen,” ordered Picard. There were gaps all along the bridge as the Federation got its first glimpse of the New Republic navy. Although Picard and his senior staff couldn’t know it, Luke, Han, and Leia easily recognized the small flotilla of ships as consisting of an MC90-class Mon Calamari cruiser and several vessels from the New Class proGarm.

The New Class proGarm had been initiated in the aftermath of the defeat of the reborn Emperor Palpatine six years after the battle Endor. Up until that point, the Alliance/Republic fleet had consisted of older designs, captured Imperial vessels, and non-combat ships converted to military service, i.e. the Mon-Cal navy. The ease with which the reborn Palpatine’s fleets had routed the Republic Navy had shown the need to replace the outdated, aging craft.

Thus, ship-building facilities across the galaxy had been awarded contracts to produce the new generation of Republic ships. These new classes included the Agave-class picket ship, the Warrior-class gunship, the Sacheen-class light escort, the Hajen-class fleet tender, Majestic-class heavy cruiser, the Defender-class assault carrier, the Endurance-class fleet carrier, and the Nebula-class Star Destroyer.

The Sacheen had been the first to be completed, at the same time that Luke had established the Jedi praxeum on Yavin 4. The Nebula had been the last one to come on line, shortly before the genocidal Nill Spaar and the Yevethan had inflicted the ‘Great Purge’ on the Koornacht cluster. Currently, the prototypes had been decommissioned, still in service, or placed in the Galactic Ship museum on Coruscant. The Endurance was the sole exception, having been destroyed at the Battle of Orinda by the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer Reaper.

The flagship was the Crix Madine, named in honor of the Corellian Intelligence officer without whom many of the Alliance’s covert victories would have not been possible. Madine had been dead almost two decades, having given his life in service to the greater good in the attempt to stop the Hutts’ Darksaber project.

Data’s console started beeping.

“Captain, we are being hailed by a General Garm bel Iblis, audio only.”

“This is General Garm bel Iblis of the New Republic. Are you the Enterprise?”

“Yes,” answered Picard.

“Are the Solos or Skywalkers there and in good health, because if not then-”

Leia stepped in.

“Calm down Garm, we‘re fine. It‘s good to see you.”

General Garm Bel Iblis was one of the more infamous figures of the Rebellion. Originally Corellia’s representative to the Galactic Senate during the days of the Old Republic, he had utterly opposed Palpatine’s New Order, especially when his pro-Imperial wife had been killed in a bombing meant to claim his own life. He had worked with the late Mon Mothma and Bail Organa to map out the Alliance during its early years prior to their victory at Yavin.

But as brilliant as he was, he also had a stubborn streak that Leia had yet to see challenged by anyone except Han. After her adopted father Bail Organa was killed in the destruction Alderaan, bel Iblis had left the Rebellion and for nine years had waged his own independent battle against the Imperial war machine. He was only drawn back in during Grand Admiral Thrawn’s campaign almost two decades before. It had been Mon Mothma herself who had brought him back into the fold.

“Good to hear you. Which one of you is Picard?”

“I am.”

“Of this United Federation of Planets?”

“Yes.”

A thought suddenly occurred to Picard.

“Since this first meeting of our organizations is tremendous, perhaps it be best if you join us in Federation space

“Wait, are you talking about going through the wormhole.”

“Well, that’s how we got here.”

“Leia?”

“I trust their instincts.”

“Very well. I’ll instruct my ships to proceed, but carefully. bel Iblis out.”

The channel closed and the bridge exploded into action.

“Helmsman, have us assume an escort position. Prepare take us back through the wormhole.”

For now, anyway, it was time to go home.

***

Location: Earth

The Milky Way Galaxy

“I repeat, I have no further information. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time.”

“But Commander-

“I said thank you for your time. Now, if you will excuse me.”

Commander Elias Vaughn sighed with relief as he exited the main Starfleet press conference room, even with reporters clamoring after him for details that he was not at liberty to discuss. He hated the press; always had. They asked too many questions and while he respect the Federation guarantee of freedom of speech, there had been times when he just wanted to grab a phaser rifle and start a shootout at the Federation News Bureau, especially since someone at Starfleet had thought it was funny to assign him as a Starfleet Command spokesperson.

Thankfully, he was not that bloodthirsty. He was a Starfleet officer after all, a member of the organization for almost all of his life. He had joined Starfleet eighty years ago, shortly before the destruction of the Kling moon of Praxis and had played a small, but unassuming role in various important Starfleet events, from the Tomed Incident to the resolution of the Betreka Nebula incident between the Cardassian Union and the Klingon Empires back in 2328 over the planet Raknal V.

Now, he was being faced with what could be the most important and unexpected event of the century. A new wormhole had been discovered less than a light-year from Federation space, Starfleet’s flagship was lost in an unknown galaxy, and if Picard’s transmission relayed from the Gormenghast’s probe was to believed, the galaxy contained an organization in which humans were a prominent race.

The Federation was going nuts and there was still no word on what the stance of the Federation’s allied governments was; he knew about - and felt sorry for - the comm officer that had received the transmission from a very upset Colonel Kira Nerys on Deep Space Nine. To Vaughn, the Bajorans were like the Vulcan sehlat. On the exterior, they were a peaceful and calm people. But if you got them angry, then you had better start praying. All these thoughts passed through Vaughn’s mind as he made his way to the TPT.

The TPT, or Tactical Preparation Theater, had changed little in the decades that Vaughn had had the privilege to enter it. It still possessed transport inhibitors, communication jammers, subspace field distorters, electrostatic shields, and the small army of Security personnel armed with the newest phaser compression rifles waiting outside the armored doors. Amazingly, when Starfleet Headquarters had been attacked by the Breen, it had survived with only minor damage.

Equipment had been updated and replaced. Monitors displayed up to date information from sensor arrays and long-range outposts continually monitored areas beyond Federation space, watching for signs of an incursion from any hostile species, namely the Borg -though Vaughn considered that point moot given the Borg’s transwarp capabilities. The counterargument lay in why hadn’t they simply used it during their 2366 or 2373 incursions.

The point was no one really knew.

Even the former Borg drone Annika Hansen, AKA Seven of Nine, had not been able to provide an answer to Starfleet on the matter. Though Vaughn was hardly the Federation expert on the Borg, he suspected that that data had been wiped from her Borg neuro-processors the instant she had been disconnected from the Collective by Janeway and her crew. It certainly explained why she hadn’t been able to recall that the nebula Voyager had entered during its final days in the Delta Quadrant contained a Borg transwarp hub.

“Ah, Commander Vaughn, thank you for joining us.”

The room contained some of Starfleet’s greatest strategists and tacticians, present both in person and in transmissions coming in from Starbases and facilities from the Beta and Alpha Quadrants. Of those actually present, Vaughn recognized most of the faces.

The gathering included legendary strategist Kyle Riker, Admirals Marta Batanides and Alyssa Necheyev of Fleet Intelligence, Admirals Owen Paris and Kathryn Janeway of Fleet Operations, and Admiral Bill Ross, victorious commander of the Dominion War campaign and CO of the Seventh and Ninth Fleets.

It was quite a site to see all of this brass together. The movers and shakers of the Federation Starfleet and its policies were rarely assembled in one place together due to security concerns, a fact that been further emphasized when the Breen had attacked Starfleet. However, the abrupt and unexplained formation of a wormhole less than a light year from the Federation’s capital had changed all that.

His boss, Admiral Necheyev raised her hand to quiet the other top brass, signifying the beginning of the meeting.

“Recall that no discussion of this meeting will transpire with any other sentients other than the duly designated members of the Federation Council and Executive Office until further notice. Mr. Riker, you have the floor”

Kyle Riker rose from his seat and walked towards the main tactical view screen with a slight limp. Vaughn suspected it less to do with old age and more with the last traces of the injuries he had sustained from the Tholian attack on Starbase 311 a quarter of a century earlier.

“If Picard’s message is to be believed, then the Federation needs to continue fortifying the Alpha quadrant end of the wormhole. There’s no telling if this ‘New Republic’ or ‘Yuuzhan Vong’ are a threat to the well-being of the Federation. We may very well need to -”

The central view screen of the TPT started flashing with warning symbols. Red-Alert klaxons started going off in the chamber. The image switched to an incoming sensor log. The sight of the now open wormhole filled the screen amidst the sight of construction ships, phaser turrets and photon torpedoes launchers, and the Defiant-class ship taskforce.

Based on the data on the lower screen, as well as the position, it was most likely from Captain Maxwell’s ship, the Excelsior-class U.S.S. Gormenghast. Out of the swirling maw of red and silver energy, there flew a lone ship, like a fragile leaf caught up in a violent windstorm. But even amidst the flashing lights and interstellar particles, one could not mistaken the shape of a forward saucer or Starfleet nacelles

Cheers erupted throughout the room as the Enterprise-E, the flagship of the Federation, cleared the entrance, thereby returning to Federation space -

- only to die down as the wormhole remained open and a small flotilla of unknown ships began to pour out behind it.

***

Location: The Quintessence

Somewhere in the Universe

“As you all know, we are gathered here because of The Merging.”

The Stranger gestured to the flames that made up the center of the meeting chamber.

“What is The Merging? Is it more than simply a threat to the universe and to the two jewels, the galaxies and their inhabitants? Is it simply the will of the universe and the Force, or is their a more sinister figure behind it? These questions must have answers and these answers must have questions. That is why we are here, because of the Merging.”

He gestured to all four of the other representatives.

“Each of us possesses the tools necessary to combat this menace on their own. But together, the power of five becomes a league of one. That is the Quintessence. And now, the threat becomes clearer.”

He raised his hand and the flames suddenly spread upwards to reveal the vacuum of space in the center of the burning pit. Or rather, the sight of the Enterprise exiting the wormhole with the fleet of the

“The Merging hasn’t even begun and yet it already has…”

***

To be continued…

***

[Kerneth]

This is a great fanfic so far, but please forgive me a few minor nitpicks.

It looks like the ends of several sentences in the last update got chopped off--pretty easy to figure out what was meant through the context, however.

The minor nitpicks are that the names are Kenth Hamner and Garm Bel Iblis, not Kenneth Hammer and Gram. Not a big deal.

[JME2]

This is a great fanfic so far, but please forgive me a few minor nitpicks.

It looks like the ends of several sentences in the last update got chopped off--pretty easy to figure out what was meant through the context, however.

The minor nitpicks are that the names are Kenth Hamner and Garm Bel Iblis, not Kenneth Hammer and Gram. Not a big deal.

That was my bad. Sorry.

[Crazedwraith]

Another great chapter.
But i don't think Eldo Davrip was a "noteworthy flag officer". Rebel Dream made it quite clear he was a screw-up who shouldn't have been commanding a broken down garbage scow let alone the most powerful vessel left in the republic fleet. He was an idiot who had only just been given command of the lusankya so he could get it blown up thereby ridding the new reb of all the screw-ups they'd assigned to it and hopeful weakrn antillies postion anough so that he died holding off the vong from the pyria system and borleias.

[JME2]

Another great chapter.
But i don't think Eldo Davrip was a "noteworthy flag officer". Rebel Dream made it quite clear he was a screw-up who shouldn't have been commanding a broken down garbage scow let alone the most powerful vessel left in the republic fleet. He was an idiot who had only just been given command of the lusankya so he could get it blown up thereby ridding the new reb of all the screw-ups they'd assigned to it and hopeful weakrn antillies postion anough so that he died holding off the vong from the pyria system and borleias.

1. He survived Rebel Dream.

2. This probably another bit to add to my massive update/edit list.

[Crazedwraith]

Another great chapter.
But i don't think Eldo Davrip was a "noteworthy flag officer". Rebel Dream made it quite clear he was a screw-up who shouldn't have been commanding a broken down garbage scow let alone the most powerful vessel left in the republic fleet. He was an idiot who had only just been given command of the lusankya so he could get it blown up thereby ridding the new reb of all the screw-ups they'd assigned to it and hopeful weaken Antillies' postion anough so that he died holding off the vong from the pyria system and borleias.

1. He survived Rebel Dream.

i never stated otherwise.
If you read carefully you'll read carefully you'll see i meant the adivorsy council and 'cheif of state' we're hoping he'd get himself blown up.

Anyway does it mater if he survived the enemy lines duology? I thought SW/ST: BOBW was set before SbS?

[JME2]

Hope you all enjoyed the season. I'm close to updating, but it'll still take some time, due to both Holiday and personal reasons.

Anyway, here's a taste of things to come:

* First offical contact between both galaxies.

* A devious plot hatched by those on both sides of the wormhole that operate in the shadows in order to prevent any kind of partnership between the two powers.

* The true colors of one of Starfleet's most respected officers revealed at last.

* Updates to the Dramatis Personae in order to allow appearances from the best of both galaxies, from smugglers and warriors to holograms and shape-shifters.

* The continuation of the Merging as well as a look into who the Stranger might be, and the mystery of the presence of humans in both galaxies.

* A look into how the other powers of the A/B quadrants have recovered from the Dominion War.

* Sisko pissing off Q even more.

* The return of one of Star Trek's deadliest foes -- and with it, a connection to the enemy that will change everything thus far...

In short, 'The Best of Both Worlds' will continue in 2004 with more action, more excitement, and a grand vision of these two beloved galaxies.

Until then, my friends.

-JME2-

[Trogdor]

Cool. I look forward to your next update with considerable anticipation. Sorry if this makes anybody think he updated.

[JME2]

Almost done with Part IX. Look for it by the weekend.

[Stuart Mackey]

Almost done with Part IX. Look for it by the weekend.

ARRGGHHH!! I am short on my fan fic fix and you do this to me? You Twat!

[JME2]

Disclaimer: Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry and owned by Paramount Pictures. Stat Wars created by George Lucas and owned by Twentieth Century Fox and Lucasfilm. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

The Best of Both Worlds: Part IX

“When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”
-Edmund Burke-

Author’s Notes:

* I apologize for spelling Garm bel Iblis as Gram bel Iblis in the previous chapter; my bad. It will be corrected eventually when I update the previous sections - as I have promised.

* The Nubian Design Collective comes from the New Essential Guide to Vehichles and Vessels.

* This chapter’s going to have several familiar Trek faces. You can find out who they are by (a) reading or (b) reading below.

* Garak’s involvement in the reconstruction of Cardassia Prime, as well as Dr. Parmak and Pythas, can be found in the DS9 novel ‘A Stitch in Time’, written by Garak (Andrew Robinson) himself.

*Chairman Koval’s involvement with the deployment of the Catalyst pathogen is detailed in the sixth book of the Lost Era series, ‘Catalyst of Sorrows’. His actions during the 2340’s are told in the third “Lost Era’ novel, ‘The Art of the Impossible’. Finally, his role in the Geminus Gulf incident can be found in the TNG Section 31 novel ‘Rogue’.

* Ignore the reference to ‘The Godfather’.

* Lorgh’s position with the Klingon Empire’s Imperial Intelligence, as well as the attempt to acquire Raknal V, can be found in the third “Lost Era’ novel, ‘The Art of the Impossible’.

Other than that, as always, enjoy.

***
Location: Naboo System
That Galaxy Far, Far Away...

Space.

It was undeniably quiet and quite empty, save for the black vacuum and glittering backdrop of stars and interstellar particles.

And suddenly, it was no longer empty.

A lone ship came hurtling out of the dimension the galaxy’s inhabitants had, in the thousands of years since the first starships had penetrated it, come to call hyperspace. It’s destination was the Naboo system, located on the opposite side of the galaxy from the Yuuzhan Vong invasion route and two days travel from Corellia with its Class-1 hyperdrive.

The ship was the Ralroost, the latest generation of the Bothan Assault Cruiser.

One of the more recent additions to the New Republic capital ship fleet, the latest type of Bothan Assault Cruiser was slightly smaller than a Victory-class Star Destroyer. Yet, the class was more heavily armed and capable of carrying up to five squadrons of the many star-fighters that the New Republic had been utilizing since the first years of the Galactic Civil War. Designed with both dorsal and ventral hangar bays, the Assault Cruiser was capable of loading and unloading star fighters much more quickly.

The Ralroost was a perfect example of this; the ship had served as a space-based home for Rogue Squadron during the early months of the war. Now, its official capacity was, as it had before the invasion, to serve as the flagship of Bothan Admiral Traest Krey’Fey, standing tall and erect upon the bridge of the Assualt Cruiser. A young human lieutenant whose name the Bothan Admiral could never remember looked up from his console.

“Now entering the Naboo System, Admiral Krey’Fey.”

“Are these the exact coordinates that General bel Iblis’ flotilla was sent by the Millenium Falcon.”

“Yes sir.”

“Anything else, Lieutenant?”

“Permission to speak freely, Admiral?”

“Granted.”

“Sir, you realize that we are violating the Naboo system’s sovereignty by having come out of hyperspace this close to the system?”

The Lieutenant, of course made reference to the fact that the Naboo system had closed its borders to outsiders after Endor and while they still maintained some exports through corporations like the Nubian Design Collective shipping firm, they didn’t like to be involved in galactic affairs, the result of having been used by Palpatine during his ascension to power.

“Yes I’m aware of that. But our presence in this system was requested at the highest level and we can’t exactly ignore that.”

By the highest level, Admiral Krey’Fey was of course making reference to the current Chief of State of the New Republic, Borsk Fey’lya of Bothawui Krey’Fey’s fur rippled at the mere thought of the current Chief of State of the New Republic. To an outsider, it appeared to be a shiver from the cold. To those who were either Bothan or knew that movements of their fur could convey their words and feelings, it was a ripple of anger and disgust.

Borsk Fey’lya was Krey’Fey’s cousin due to the numerous inter-clan marriages that raised the eyebrows (or other appendages) of most non-Bothans. But that didn’t mean he had respect for his cousin. In fact, he pretty much down right despised Fey‘lya. First and foremost Borsk was politician and a clever one at that, even for a Bothan.

And he was also a manipulator, a trait that been blossomed following his ascension to Chief of State in the wake of Leia Organa Solo’s resignation shortly after the failed rebuilding of the criminal organization Black Sun. At the time, while he had been happy that the Bothans had gained their first major positive foothold in galactic politics since the resolution of the Caamas Document issue, he had known there would be trouble in one form or another when one took into account Borsk’s personal record and actions since the Battle of Yavin.

And the war with the Yuuzhan Vong was unfortunately proving it.

Fey’lya had tried to play off the initial wave of the Praetorite Vong and shift galactic focus on the Jedi issue, even after the main invasions forces took Dubrillion and Dantooine. It was a combination of appeasing those in power that hated the new Jedi Order as well as his memories of how Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa Solo, and their allies had humiliated him during the Thrawn crisis and on other occasions. It was also why he had not sought out Admiral Ackbar’s tactical expertise.

In any event, Krey’Fey had warned his cousin right after Dantoonine had fallen that unless the government cooperated and mobilized for the full brunt of the Vong invasion, he would secede from the New Republic and take the Fleet with him into the Unknown Regions, carving out a haven for those fleeting the Vong’s onslaught.

And it had worked - at least until the destruction of Ithor...

Following the destruction of Ithor, the politicians had resumed trying to micro-manage the war and thus far, had caused nothing by headaches and problems, problems that had allowed the invasion to come right up on the doorstep of the Core.

Part of the problem was that the Republic had too many systems, even with the vast fleet at its disposal. In his humble opinion instead of individual systems, it should have instead been representatives of various sectors over worlds. That was another one of the main problems with the persecution of the war - there were too many voices speaking out, some
trying to be heard, others trying to be silenced, namely those in the Outer Rim.

It didn’t surprise Traest Krey’Fey that the Outer Rim worlds had been all but thrown to the Yuuzhan Vong’s onslaught. That region’s worlds had been taken advantage of for years by the rest of the galaxy, as the Trade Federation’s invasion of the nearby Naboo system had shown. When Palpatine had arisen, that exploitation had increased, especially under Imperial Moffs like Tarkin. It was no surprise that Outer Rim worlds like Mon
Calamari and Sullust had vigorously supported the Alliance at one point or another - or why they continued to support the institution as it was in its current state.

No, the Republic had the fire-power; there was no doubt about that.

They just didn’t have the spine.

“Well, sir, it‘s just

The Lieutenant never got to finish his sentence as there was suddenly an explosion of red and silver, a swirling maw of colors and light that the Ralroost was instantly swallowed by. The ships began shaking and the bridge lights began dimming. Krey’fey grabbed the rails attached to the bridge consoles.

“Report!”

“We’ve entered some kind of, rift I guess.”

Krey’Fey, struggling to hold onto the bridge railing starred at the officer

“You guess? Why didn’t Ralrsoost’s sensor arrays detect this…rift”

“I don’t know Admiral. It could be a rift, a wormhole, or something. Spatial phenomena wasn‘t my major study at the Defense Force Academy, sir. And the Ralroost is not a science vessel.”

“I’ll be sure to note that in my memoirs to give to the Bothan shipbuilding firms.”

The ride remained bumpy and continued onwards for what seemed like an eternity before there was again an explosion of red and silver light. One second, there was a swirling maw of colors and light as Krey’Fey blinked. When he opened his eyes a second later, there was the black backdrop of space, with its twinkling stars and all.

“Get our bearings. Where are…”

Krey’Fey trailed off as he looked up and out the bridge’s forward transperisteel windows into space beyond the Ralroost.

They had stumbled into what appeared to a defense perimeter of some kind. There were what looked like small, scaled down, miniature Golan Arms Defense platforms, but of a variant that didn’t match Republic, Imperial, or even Yuuzhan Vong weaponry. Surrounding the perimeter were clusters of strange, alien ships with saucer-shaped bows and engines that ran alongside their sterns.

Krey’Fey had studied ship designs, from the time of the Sith Wars to the present era during his time at the Bothawui’s military schools and he had never seen anything like these ships.

Then his attention focused on a small cluster quickly approaching the Ralroost.

“Lieutenant, are those Republic cruisers?”

“Yes and we’re receiving a transmission from...from the Crix Madine, sir.”

“Put it through the Holo-Net pod.”

“Aye sir.”

The lieutenant nodded and tapped in a sequence on his panel. The Holo-Net message pod situated at the back of the Ralroost’s bridge shimmered to life as the Bothan admiral approached it.

That had been one of the advantages of the end of the Galactic Civil War. When Palpatine had come into power, he had all but dismantled the Holo-Net in order to control the flow of pro-Imperial information to the galaxy. The New Republic had been forced to use it for military rather than cultural purposes given the threats of the lingering Imperial forces prior to the singing the peace treaty.

The image flickered an suddenly materialized in a one-quarter sized holographic representation of a human male in his eighties, with a carefully groomed mustache and a smile on his face.”

“What took you so long?”


“General bel Iblis?”

The old Corellian kept smiling.

“Welcome to Sector 001 Admiral Krey’Fey.”

***
Location: The Quintessence
Somewhere in the Universe...

The Stranger brought back his outstretched hand from the fire pit. The image of the Enterprise-E exiting the wormhole vanished back in the flames of time and space. He looked over across the meeting space at M, Q, Ayelborne, and Sisko, the representatives of four different types of omnipotence.

“The Merging threatens now just space-time but all of existence. We must stop it here and now. That is why we have been assembled here amidst the chaos of space and time. It is in our hands.”

There fell upon the chamber a brief silence. Q was the first to break it, replying from his seat in the corner of the meeting chamber.

“Yes, well not to be irritable in the face of total destruction, but how exactly can we stop this?”

A slight murmur spread out amongst the other representatives.

“I mean, watch this.”

Q raised his gloved hand out from the loose confines of his robes and snapped his fingers in his trademark Q-method. After a moment he snapped them again. And again. Finally he put down his hand back on the armrest and looked

“Nothing. The Merging is still happening. If a Q can’t stop it, what good can the rest of us have against this threat?”

***

Location: Sol System

The Milky Way Galaxy

The Enterprise was no longer anchored by the wormhole and the Starfleet defense perimeter, but was instead docked at Earth Station McKinley, where ironically her predecessor had been repaired after the battle for Earth in 2366. Repair crews were repairing some of the damage that laForge’s teams hadn’t been able to fully get to or pouring over the Falcon, fascinated by the alien technology.

As Leia saw it, that’s what it technically was. Before the Enterprise had rescued them from the Yuuzhan Vong ambush in the Naboo system, Leia had never heard of replicators, phasers, and Holodecks, just as Picard and his crew had never heard of turbolasers, ion cannons, and hyperdrive. But despite that difference in technology, their cultures were still very much the same. They both believed in ideals of peace and justice.

Perhaps…

The chime of the Federation ambassadorial suite that she and Han had been given during their time of the Federation flagship broke into her thoughts.

“Come.”

The door hissed open to reveal her brother, the Jedi Master.

“Luke.”

“Leia. Han.”

“How’s Mara feeling?”

“Exhausted, but at least she’s healing and with Ben. She also wishes we had the Jade Shadow with us.”

Han grinned.

“Hey, you can’t have it all. True, she could have provided the firepower to back up the Falcon, but the Enterprise handled it quite nicely.”

The Jade Shadow was the third customized ship that the former Emperor’s hand had operated since before the Imperial-Republic peace accord. It had been a gift from Lando and his wife shortly before the Yuuzhan Vong had taken Duro and had been meant to act as a replacement for the Jade Saber which had been destroyed on Dantooine the previous year.

The Shadow was currently in the center of the Maw, the cluster of black holes situated near the spice-moon of Kessel. It had been in that center that the long dead Imperial Moff Tarkin had set up a top secret weapons think-thanks codenamed Maw Installation, one so secret that even Palpatine himself had apparently not known of it, according to testimony taken from Bevel Lemelisk before his execution.

The Installation was long gone, destroyed during a New Republic attempt to seize the compound. The Maw had been one of several locations, in this case with the assistance of gambler Lando Calrissian and his wife Tendra Risant, where Luke had set up Jedi refugee posts. With it becoming clearer and clearer that the New Republic’s corrupt leaders had all but abandoned them to the Yuuzhan Vong, Luke knew that the establishment of these outposts was necessary if the Jedi were to survive.

Jedi trainees were either located there, in hidden spots across the New Republic, or on the Errant Venture, operated by Jedi Knight Corran Horn’s father-in-law, Booster Terrik. Terrik had captured the Errant Venture during the Bacta Wars almost two decades before, when the Imperial Security Bereau Director Ysanne ‘Iceheart’ Isard had taken Tyferra and Rogue Squadron had literally gone rogue to stop her.

After pestering and negotiating with NRI, Terrik had been allowed to keep the Star Destroyer and it had gone on to become a traveling merchant bazaar, although Terrik had aided the Republic on several occasions, most notably during the mission to infiltrate Yaga Minor during the apparent return of Grand Admiral Thrawn shortly before the Republic-Imperial peace talks.

“I’ve just been reading up on the history of this Federation and Picard’s people.”

From what she had read, Earth was to the Federation what Coruscant was to the New Republic. But how different it was. Whereas the galactic capital had been enveloped by spacescrapers, cityscapes and urban sprawl, the Federation’s capital world was clean, beautiful - a paradise unto itself. True, there were still buildings, but not to the extent of the Republic capital. Starfleet Command, Starfleet Academy, and the Federation Council were all based in the Earth city of San Francisco, with the UFP President's office in a city called Paris.

According to the data provided by Picard to the New Republic envoy, Earth became one of the founders the United Federation of Planets after the end of the conflict known among their people as the Earth-Romulan Wars in 2161 and in the present era served as its de facto capital. The Federation’s goal was for all beings throughout the galaxy to coexist peacefully and in harmony.

Administrating Federation policy was its defensive and military branch, known as Starfleet. Their Starfleet had established colonies and bases on around a thousand other planets in their sphere of influence. Most ships have a domination of one particular race with about 10% of the crew being a mixture of other races. The Humans are the dominant race in the Federation, as they provide more than 70% of Star Fleet personnel and are key players in every phase of its operations. Humans were regarded as the most militaristic, but not the most warlike, of the member races in the Federation.

“And?”

“And what?”

“Do you think this Federation can help us, Leia?

Leia sighed.

She wanted to believe that such an organization, even smaller and hardly as powerful as the New Republic, could still make a difference. After all, the Rebels had taken on the Empire and had won in the end. But the former Princess of Alderaan knew how governments work and until she could get a better idea of whether the Federation government and it Council possessed the same corruption and bureaucratic bumbling that was running unchecked and rampant on Coruscant….

“I don’t know. We’ll just see what luck Captain Picard has speaking to his superiors.”

***

“Commanding the Federation flagship must have damaged your long-term memory captain. You seem to forget that less than three years had passed since the end of our war with the Dominion, a war that threatened our very survival and that stretched us to the breaking point in terms of manpower and materiel. Shipyards all across the Federation, from Antares to Utopia Planitia are working overtime to replenish the ship losses we suffered, and I'm not just talking about the Dominion War - the Borg incursion of
2373 cost us four hundred ships alone. And the economy is still shaky; we’re still reestablishing trade routes throughout areas of both quadrants that were devastated by the war.”

Picard sighed. He had spent the last three days in constant debriefing from the top brass of Starfleet command from the days he had spent on the Naboo end of the wormhole, which Starfleet had for the moment called the Terran wormhole, though there was apparently an officer on the U.S.S. Gormenghast that wanted it to be called the Phoenix Gate.

Either way, he was now in Starfleet Command’s Tactical Preparation Theater, or TPT. This wasn’t the first time that he had been in this chamber, of course. He had been debriefed here on prior occasions, mainly the aftermath of the Borg incursions. He had never quite grown comfortable with the place

He knew the majority of the people here, either personally or by reputation. Commander Elias Vaughn, Kyle Riker, Admirals Bill Ross, Kathryn Janeway, and Alynna Necheyev. This was a final debriefing and the major chance he had to convince Starfleet of an alliance with the New Republic, an idea that they hadn’t warmed up to during the past three days.

“I don’t say this lightly, Admiral. I’ve always believed Starfleet’s first and foremost duty is exploration. Yet, the reality is, the Federation will soon be at war, whether we like it or not. Q specifically told me that-”

“Q told you. That’s always your excuse, isn’t it Picard? You yourself have stated in your logs from past encounters that Q is a trickster and that he can’t be trusted.”

“On occasion. But this time, there was an absolute, perhaps even solemn air of seriousness about him. I feel that -”

“You know what Picard? I really don’t care. What I do care about is that you want the federation to go to war with a species that you haven’t even laid eyes on. For all we know the Republic brought this war upon themselves.

“My councilor begs to differ.”

Necheyev ignored him.

“And this isn’t about a few systems or maybe even a parsec - you’re talking about giving aid to an entire galaxy! The Federation is not even remotely capable of such an act and you know it!”

“We did it with the Kelvans.”

“The Kelvans? We gave them a few habitable systems for them to trample all over. A fine job they‘ve done of it, too.”

Picard doubted that Necheyev would say that face to face with a Kelvan. He knew Worf had sparred with Kelvans on several occasions and while it had been an even match, Worf had suffered bruises that hadn’t faded for almost a month, even with Beverley’s care.

“If we ally ourselves not just with the Republic, but with others in our galaxy, then-”

“Ally with who Picard? The usual suspects? The Cardassians, the Klingons, and the Romulans? Out of the question. And let me tell you why. First of all, the Cardassians have nothing in terms of fleets of a military. Hotshots like Gul Madred blame the Federation for the devastation the Dominion inflicted on Cardassia Prime in the final hours of the war.”

The Admiral’s mention of Gul Madred sent a shiver of fear up the back of Picard’s neck; it was a name he would never forget.

Gul Madred, eight years prior, had set into motion a plan to capture Picard and extract intelligence from the Captain that would aid the Union in overcoming the ‘restrictions’ placed on the Cardassians by the 2367 treaty. The plan had failed, but Madred had put Picard through hell utilizing physical and psychological torture that had been in direct
violation of the Selonis IV Convention. It hadn’t been mental trauma on the level of his encounter with the Borg, but it came damm close in his opinion.

Technically, though the Cardassians’ militaristic nature and inherent manifest destiny feeling was what had led Gul Dukat’s forging of an agreement with the Gamma Quadrant’s fascistic power. As for Gul Dukat, his fate was unknown; the Cardassian that had sold out the Alpha Quadrant had escaped from Federation custody a year before the end of the war.

While there were rumors that he had died on Bajor in the same incident that had apparently also taken the life of Captain Benjamin Sisko -which Picard now knew was true thanks to Sisko‘s appearance on the Enterprise while it had been in the Naboo system - Starfleet Intelligence as well as the new Cardassian government had classified him as missing and wanted for war crimes.

He was number one on the Cardassians most wanted list, with Gul Revok - the Cardassian military officer that had betrayed the late Legate Damar’s resistance and nearly guaranteed that the Dominion would win the war - in a close second, and Corbin Entek - the head of the Obsidian Order who had replaced Enarban Tain upon his retirement - who had officially disappeared when the alliance had been struck, but many believed was still alive- in third.

***

Location: Cardassia Prime

The Milky Way Galaxy

“Keep it steady. Steady! Watch it!”

The Cardassian smiled as he heard the voices emanating in the distance. He was sitting on a section of rubble in the backyard of what had once been a prominent house in the residential district of Cardassian City, but now had been reduced to rubble. He was living out in the property’s shed and he would continue to do so. He had no intention of rebuilding the house or of exhuming the body of a loved one that lay buried in the basement.

He was a Cardassian male in his late forties, at least by Earth standards, sipping a glass of Cardassian Rokasssa juice by his shed. It wasn’t as fresh as by pre-war standards, the result of the dust that had been stirred up by the carnage and the destruction of the food production sectors. To swallow it took much bravery and courage.

But with his Obsidian Order training, Elim Garak had survived worse

Secretly the son of Order Head Enarban Tain, Garak had risen to become one of the Obsidian Order’s most talented agents and operatives. And then he had lost it all to a mistake, to that wonderful emotion known as love. Exiled to the uridium-ore processing station of Terok Nor, he had taken up to the profession of a tailor and had remained aboard after the Union had abandoned their claim on Bajor in 2369.

Or from a certain viewpoint, had been abandoned, thrown to the wolves. At least that was how he had thought at the time.

When the Federation had taken over the station and renamed it Deep Space Nine, he had, at first to his dismay, struck up a social-relationship with the station’s then-young and naïve MCO, Dr. Julian Bashir. Their casual conversations had evolved in a deep and personal friendship that had helped Garak sustain himself through the Dominion War. Garak owed Bashir more than the doctor could ever know. He had meant what he had said to the doctor in the Dominion/Cardassian Central Command at the end of the war, about Bashir having been a kind and loyal friend to him.

Well, that and missing their lunches together.

Over a dish or two at the Replimat or Quark‘s Bar, lunch had always been a chance to battle Bashir over ideologies, philosophy, and other matters that humans held dear and that Garak found fascinating. It was through those lunches that Garak had received the first hints of Bashir’s genetic enhancements, a suspicion that he had kept to himself and that had at last been validated during Starfleet‘s fifth year on the station. Now, for the last three years, he had fought a new battle: the rebuilding of the Cardassian civilization. Unfortunately, not everyone was equally pitching in or were simply fighting against the universally wanted rebuilding plans - namely the former military.

Garak shook his head in quiet disgust. Where he had once upon a time respected members of the Cardassian military, he know looked upon them great hatred. They were fools, fools that were unable to see that the Cardassian way of life, that their way of life was what had led to Dukat allying with the Dominion - and the devastation that their ‘ally’ had inflicted on them in the final hours of the war. To them, however, it was the ‘dangerous’ thoughts of individual liberty that the Federation ‘preached’ that they focused on.

To them, the ‘enemy’ was always out there and it was not the Dominion or the Klingons or anyone else save the Federation and its ‘dangerous’ thoughts on individual liberty and diversity. They sat around on the ruins of their civilization and plotted against the enemies that were always out of get the Union.

Thankfully for the sake of the Cardassian civilization, the planet-wide vote a year before to have the new government be democratic had succeeded, though Garak was still worried about some of the more hardcore former military officers, Gul Madred included, whose organization that favored a pre-Dominion rebuilding, the Directorate, while hardly as strong as it was before the election, was not dead yet.

Too bad the adage that he had quoted to Damar and Kira on the eve of the storming of Dominion Headquarters, ‘Chop off a snake’s head and the body will die’ wasn’t as easily as supplied.

“Elim!”

Garak’s thoughts on the problems presented by he military vanished as soon as he heard that voice.

Coming up the road towards the ruins of what had been Tain’s home were two very familiar figures of his life. They were Dr. Parmak, whom he had met and befriended during the reconstruction, and his old friend Pythas, or who he best remembered as Eight Lubak from their days of military trainings at the Bamarren Institute for State Intelligence. Even after three years, he still required the use of a cane to walk, the result of injuries sustained during the genocide committed in the last hours of the war.

“Doctor. Pythas. I’d offer you a drink, but…”

Dr. Parmak smiled.

“It’s alright Elim. We just heard news from the subspace transmitters in the Tarlak sector of the city.”

“What kind of news? Bajor?”

Garak, like others both on and off planet, had been surprised that the planet that Union had raped for forty years hadn’t yet joined the institution that had aided it for over a decade. He knew though that part of it had been in improving ties with what was left of the Union. Though the Cardassians had been responsible for the deaths of millions of Bajorans, the slaughter of over one billion civilians had shocked even the most anti-Cardassian Bajoran. In that regard, the Bajoran and Cardassian people were bound by mutual tragedy.

“There’s news from Earth.”

Garak put down his cup.

“What kind news?”

“A new wormhole’s been discovered.”

Garak’s smile vanished and serious look sprawled across his reptilian features, a horrible sense of déjà vu coming over him as he recalled that day over a decade before when the Bajoran wormhole had been discovered.

“Where did you say?”

“Um, about less than a light year from Earth. They’ve made contact with something called ‘the New Republic’.”

***

Location: Earth

The Milky Way Galaxy

Picard sighed.

“Admiral, I wasn’t suggesting we ask the Cardassians. I know perfectly well that they’re in no shape to wage war against anyone. I was simply saying that we have other potential allies in allying with the New Republic.”

“Oh, then who? The Romulans? Captain, The Romulan Star Empire is right now, based on Intelligence reports, occupied in a bit of a power struggle between the military and the Senate; the aftermath of the Dominion War didn’t quite go that way that they had planned. The Romulans had hoped for a larger say in spreading their ideology throughout the quadrant. That would have been easier for them with devastated Federation and Klingon worlds and fleets. Unfortunately for them, the Breen’s last-minute entry into the war pretty much scrapped those plans. So, the military wants to take action, the Senate diplomacy. Again, according to our sources in the Tal Shiar, the fallout from this is not going to be pretty should anything violent occur.”

***

Location: Romulus

The Milky Way Galaxy

Starfleet’s source within the Tal Shiar had indeed been trustworthy as well as accurate. After all, they had put that source into power in the first place. Yet, their information was not entirely accurate. Certain little bits of data - which reached Earth on a biweekly basis thanks to one of the most advance subspace transmitters in the quadrant - would not correspond with the official information one the other side of the Neutral Zone.

But when one considered that that source was none other than the organization’s head, Chairman Koval, well that was to be expected.

At that moment, Chairman Koval was seated in his office in the Tal Shir’s main facility. The organization’s headquarters was located deep under the surface of Romulus, far beneath the Praetorium, the Senate, and the offices of the Romulan bureaucracy. It had been designed that way by the most crafty and intelligent architects - who had either simply disappeared or had been found dead next to a suicide note once the job had been completed - in order to withstand orbital bombardment should Romulus ever fall to enemy hands.

Of course, his agents, through intelligence and sabotage, could prevent anything like that from happening in the first place. They were his eyes, ears, and arms, reporting everything from a possible security breach at a weapons depot in Rateg to illegal meetings being held in the Valley of Chula. As head of the Tal Shiar, Koval knew he could rely on the majority of these agents. As for those who had designs of their own or were simply untrustworthy, well, one never really knew how easy it was to make some simply vanish into thin air until they actually tried it.

Chairman Koval had been responsible for many Tal Shiar operations over the last two decades, from the deployment of the virus dubbed by Starfleet ‘Catalyst’ - an act of which they had not idea of, in part because the incident had apparently been covered up by Starfleet Intelligence - to the Geminus Gulf ‘incident’ as the Senate had chosen to label it officially.

Koval smirked slightly at that. He knew perfectly well that the Senate had wanted to label it a fiasco and one some level he didn’t blame them.

The Geminus Gulf mission had occurred six months before the Borg’s second attack on the Federation, back in the Earth year of 2373 - Koval had never understood why the rest of the Federation had universally adopted the Terran calendar as the standard for their organization. The Federation and the Empire had attempted to compete for control of Chiaros IV, a planet that had no resourceful or cultural value save that its sector - the Geminus Gulf - lay close

Of course, the Tal Shiar had really been after a subspace anomaly that they had studied unobserved and uninterrupted within a vast cloaking field - a Romulan cloaking field, of course - and that could have theoretically boosted their quantum-singularity reactors’ output by a thousand or even a million as some Tal Shiar scientists have theorized.

Ultimately, the mission had ended in failure, with the Empire obtaining Chiaros IV, but the Federation envoy had destroyed the cloaking field and the anomaly with it. The Senate had not been happy, even with the side-benefit of more acquired territory for the Romulan Star Empire. In many ways, their arguments against his perceived ’bungling’ of the affair had their roots in the failed Tal Shair/Obsidian Order military operation two years prior. Respected Senator Pardek in particular had hounded him and had been prepared to recommend to the Senate that Koval was no longer fit to administer the Tal Shiar.

Or rather, he had until Koval had paid a visit to him at his retreat house one evening where had made a comment about how lovely his only daughter, Talkath, was and what a pity it would be if something were to happen to her...

It had been an empty threat, but Pardek hadn’t realized that. In fact, Koval had had no intention of eliminating him, of course. Pardek was too valuable to the Empire, even with those who had wanted him executed for the failed reunification plot -namely his younger rivals. And besides, Koval hadn’t wanted to see another noble Romulan join his list of those whom he had known and worked with and whose reputations had been destroyed - either by the Tal Shiar or others.

It was quite a long list, one that Koval had committed to memory, but he allowed a few names to flash through his memory as well as their ultimate fates.

Admiral Aldair Jarok - a traitor and defector who thankfully for us committed suicide before passing on any more information to the Federation. Senator Vreenak - a little too on the passionate and nationalistic viewpoint, but nonetheless killed by the dominion. Senator Cretak…

His thoughts trailed off and a hint of a smile spread across the Romulan’s features.

Senator Cretak.

Cretak had been an aid to Senator Pardek during the so-called Khitomer Peace Accords and had risen through the ranks to become the representative of the Ki Baratan district in the Romulan Senate. And then she had thrown it all away by attempting to hack his database just as she seemed certain to gain a seat on the Continuing Committee

Of course, it had been arranged that way. Cretak had been his rival for the post on the Continuing Committee and he needed that position, for both public and personal reasons. He would have found a way to have Cretak burned if that hadn’t worked. It didn’t bother him much when one considered their personal history. He and Cretak had been...lovers at one point, many years ago.

But as the human saying went, ‘It’s not personal; it’s strictly business.’

Koval buried the memory and proceeded to recall a few more names of valued operatives and friends, from Colonel Lovok to Sel-

Koval opened his eyes. He had not meant for that name to come up in his mental recollections. That name should be buried and forgotten. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that. The name represented the price of failure and just how much the Tal Shiar had gained from that individual’s expulsion.

Sela.

Now that was a name he couldn’t forget.

Well, not really; Koval did his best to forget about Sela. Technically, Sela was a half-human, half-Romulan and not really worthy of a placement on his list or what had been her position in Romulan society; apparently, from what Tal Shiar agents had reported was an alternate version of a Starfleet officer, one Natasha ‘Tasha’ Yar, formerly of the Enterprise-C. The kicker was Tasha Yar had officially died twenty years after the fact, had entered Starfleet sixteen years later.

How strange and confusing.

But like his counterparts across the Neutral Zone, Koval hated temporal paradoxes and was thankful that the Empire hadn’t proceeded into research into temporal warfare. Time-travel was dangerous enough and a simple act could just as easily raise the Empire to unparallel heights of glory as it could lower it into a pitiful shell.

In any event, the only reason Sela had been able to achieve such a top level in the Tal Shiar had been because her father had been the influential and recently deceased - not by his hand or the hands of any Tal Shiar agents - General Volskiar, the Romulan who had led the ‘successful’ attack on the Klingon outpost at Narendra III over thirty years ago.

Koval shuddered at thought of those who felt that then-Praetor Dralath’s order to attack was to be considered by Romulan history books as a success. The attack had not only succeeded in drawing Klingon attention away from Raknal V, the planet that they had been in conflict over with the Cardassians, and back towards the Romulan Star Empire, but the unfortunate presence and sacrifice of the Federation flagship Enterprise-C
had served to strengthen the Federation-Klingon alliance.

But then again, this was a Praetor who had imposed isolation upon his countrymen following the Tomed incident of 2311. Koval had been a young man learning his craft and rising through the Tal Shiar, but he had always felt that such an act had been wrong, that the Romulans should not withdraw their influence from galactic politics.

Thankfully, Sela was no longer influencing any of that. She was now in exile, reduced to the position of a labor supervisor in the Dilithium mines of Remus for her failures in the Klingon Civil War and the reunification plot and saved only by her late father‘s lingering influence.

Remus…

Koval frowned at that thought. Most Romulans did when they thought of their sister world, a world that though it had been essential to the birth of the Empire and was the other world shown in the Romulan insignia, was largely despised and hated by the general population as well as the government.

Remus had long been a hotbed of troubles for the Empire, ever since they had migrated from Vulcan 2,000 years prior during a period that for all their differences, both sides still referred to as the Sundering. They had subjugated the Remans, forced them into labor, and had used them for the betterment of the Empire, from mining Dilithium and precious metals to acting as shock troops during the more violent battles of the Dominion War.

But Koval’s frowning upon the subject went farther than a simple dislike of the Reman caste…

Reports from Tal Shiar operatives stationed on Remus had alerted him to the fact that sizable quantities of war material that had been stationed on Remus had gone missing. Several of the Reman commanders who had had access to the material were being closely observed. Ordinarily, they would have been downright executed. However, with Romulus’ strength significantly depleted by the losses of the Dominion War, even a small amount of material was important and they needed to know what the Remans had planned.

He tried to shift his mind off Remus and towards the current challenge facing the head of the Tal Shiar. He was trying for the first time to actually enjoy his daily luncheon of the Romulan fowl mogai sprinkled with a dash of Tellurian spice. Accompanying it was a glass of chilled carallun, a citrus-flavored beverage made from fruit native to the Romulan homeworld. Like many things, Koval liked to eat in style.

But he was simply not enjoying it as he would once have.

He wasn’t because of subspace transmissions coming in from all corners of the Empire and beyond with news of the discovery of a wormhole less than a light year from the world Earth and contact with what appeared to be the United Federation of Planets for a distant galaxy, something called the ‘New Republic.’

To look into this and assess the situation further was going to require his full attention. Resources, favors, and connections that he had had other plans for - for both his and the Tal Shiar’s benefit - were going to have to be utilized. If an alliance or agreement of any kind materialized between the familiar and new governments, then it could have fatal consequences for the Star Empire.

Whatever the investigation yielded, it was quite clear that the situation needed to be turned towards Romulus’ favor in some way. And with or without the support of Praetor Hiren, Chairman Koval was just the man for the job

***

Location: Earth

The Milky Way Galaxy

Admiral Necheyev paused for a moment before continuing.

“Now, the Klingon Empire is stable, at least for the moment. But it’s not easy for them. After the Cardassians, they got hit the hardest by the war, in part due to the late Gowron’s invasion of the Union in 2372. Rebuilding is slow and time-consuming - it’s like the aftermath of Praxis all over again. Worse is the fact that several militant groups appear on the verge of openly challenging Martok for the first time since the end of the war. Evidence suggests that these houses are being backed by the remnants of the House of Duras.”

Picard inwardly winced at this last revelation.

Oh no, not the Duras issue.

The Duras family had hated the Federation ever since the Khitomer treaty seventy years prior. They had felt that the Federation had poisoned the well-being of the Empire, taken away its sense of purpose by taking advantage of the explosion of Praxis.

As for their intense dislike of humans, it came from two different factors, the first given the prominence of humans within the Federation and the fact that an ancestor of the House had been killed in a skirmish with the legendary Enterprise NX-01 during the historic Delphic Expanse mission - after being humiliated by the also-legendary Captain Archer in the front of the Klingon High Council.

But if Intelligence’s data was correct - and Picard was willing to question it; he had never quite been able to get over the involvement of the agency and the recently retired head of Starfleet Security, Admiral Ranar, with the cover-up of the Pegasus incident eight years prior- then the question was, who was leading the House and its forces? Duras and his sisters were out, the former having been killed by Worf shortly before the onset of the Klingon Civil War and the latter at Viridian III eight years beforehand.

Logically, that only left Toral, Duras’ illegitimate son, who had tried to claim the rank of chancellor following his father‘s death, but thanks to Picard having been hand-picked to be the .

But, according to Worf, Toral had apparently been killed during the failed attempt that he and the late Cmdr. Jadzia Dax and Dahar Master Kor had undertaken to locate the sword of Kahless, the very first bat’leth, in the Gamma Quadrant six years prior.

Picard had to wonder if it was perhaps the Romulans were again either backing or orchestrating such a possible insurgency. The Romulan Star Empire’s covert involvement in Klingon politics could be traced back almost a century to one single event: Praxis.

The destruction of Praxis had devastated the Klingon economy and put many of the top Houses, whose leaders had invested greatly in the Empire’s military, into heavy debt. As a result, some began receiving financial aid, very quietly of course, from the Romulans. They had in turn begun promoting ideas about resurrecting the Romulan-Klingon alliance of the 2260’s and uniting against the Federation, which in their opinion, had made the Empire weak with their assistance.

This might have succeeded had it not been for the Tomed Incident, which sent the Romulans into isolation and began a disinterest in another alliance. Then, the attacks on the outposts at Narenda III in 2344 and Khitomer two years later had effectively ended any widespread idea of such an action, at least in public. And of course, the Romulans’ covert involvement in the Klingon Civil War hadn’t exactly won them hearts and minds throughout Klingon space.

Only the threat of subjugation and annihilation at the hands of the Dominion had led the two powers to put aside their mutual animosity and push back the threat of the Founders. But that had been three years ago. Relations appeared to have entered a neutral phase, with both sides too busy rebuilding to go at each others’ throats as many in throughout the Quadrant had feared.

In any event, Picard knew Worf was not going to like this. His security-chief and old friend unfortunately had quite a negative history with the Duras family and the agony that they had caused him, from framing his father Mogh for the Khitomer massacre in 2346 to killing his love interest K'Ehleyr.

***

Location: Qo’noS

The Milky Way Galaxy

“Information is still coming in from the Klingon Embassy on Earth. First Contact is proceeding by Federation standards, as it always does.”

“As is to be expected when you’re dealing with our old allies. That will be all. Dismissed.”

The doors to the office-like chamber lurched closed. Lorgh sighed. He had also meant to get that door fixed, but it was almost like the technicians deliberately kept putting it on the

He leaned back in his chair, which was draped with the fur of the first Targ he had ever hunted. His father had taught him well in the arts of hunting and it was a lesson that he continued to use in the profession through which he served the Klingon Empire on a daily basis.

Perhaps too much. He was getting old, even by Klingon standards, though not the age that respected elders Kor, Kang, and Kodos had reached. Still, he was in top physical condition; a warrior his age needed to keep up his mettle and he was finding an excellent way to accomplish it through sparring.

Whilst he had Federation Ambassador to Qo’noS, Worf had proven to be an excellent sparring partner. It was evident possessed the strength and cunning that his father had possessed. He was indeed the son of Mogh - an technically Martok thanks to his having been accepted into that House. That was something that would never have happened had it not been for Gowron.

Gowron...

Lorgh put down the PADD and shook his head as the memory of the previous
Chancellor came to mind.

While Gowron had been a preferable alternative to Duras, whose family had worked with the devious Romulans and had been responsible for the death of Lorgh’s old friend Mogh, it had proven to be a hindrance in the long run. This suspicion had presented itself during the apparent return of Kahless in 2369 and had become full blown with the Klingon invasion of Cardassia three years later.

Lorgh had been one of the few within the Klingon Empire to have warned against an invasion of the Cardassian Union. He had studied the Union and the ways of the Cardassians while Gowron had been a beardless youth. He knew how the Cardassian thought, that the military controlled their society. He also knew that a society could only press such beliefs on its people for so long before a revolt broke out; Krios was a primary example.

Perhaps that was why Gowron had been so intent on attacking the Union. The thrill of battle was, while essential to Klingon culture, what also kept its citizens in check. And Gowron had submitted to that ideology. The slaughter of Cardassians was of no consequence, especially since many in the Empire had bitter memories of their struggle with the Union in acquiring the planet Raknal V during the 2330’s.

And as a Klingon, Lorgh wouldn’t have protested. But as the head of I.I., he had known two things. One, the Founders had most likely not assisted the overthrowing of the Central Command. Two, such an act would destabilize the Federation-Klingon alliance, something that would greatly help the Dominion’s plans of conquest. When the invasion had taken place and Worf had been exiled from the Empire, Lorgh had frowned heavily upon that act, for while his first duty was to the Empire, he could never forget his friendship with the House of Mogh.

But of course, the Chancellor hadn’t listened to his warnings and had cautiously dealt with I.I. for the remainder of his reign over the Klingon Empire.

In that regard, Gowron had been very much like his predecessor, K’mpec. While he had been a member of the High Council and even as far back as his days as a warrior on the front lines, K’mpec had hated Imperial Intelligence and had done everything in his power to either ignore I.I. or make life difficult for its operatives.

Than the attack on Narendra III had occurred, an attack which Lorgh had warned K’mpec could potentially happen with the Empire’s attention being so heavily focused on acquiring Raknal V. With that one event, K’mpec had ironically gone from I.I.’s most vocal opponent to one of its greatest supporters.

In any event, Gowron’s machinations and political ambitions had led to the failed invasion, the temporary dissolving of the Khitomer Accords, and heavy Klingon losses before and during the Dominion War. Thank Kahless that the dishonorable pataQ had been killed in an honor duel with Mogh’s first son during the last months of the war and replaced with Martok.

And while Martok was no politician, he was proving himself to be one of the most capable Chancellors that the Empire had been blessed with, joining the ranks of Azetbur and K’mpec while Gowron joined the ranks of foolish, idiotic chancellors like Ditagh, who had replaced - or had killed as I.I. had always believed but had never been able to prove - Azbetur.

But his thoughts were not on past Chancellors and such. His thoughts were on this New Republic and the wormhole that connected what the humans termed the Milky Way Galaxy with theirs. His thoughts turned more to what he had been learned, that the New Republic was involved in an intergalactic war and that they might seek Federation assistance.

If the Federation did so, that was fine by him as long as the Empire was left out of it.

But…

But if this Republic was indeed a worthy and honorable ally and the Federation made some kind of alliance with them that included the Klingon Empire…

Lorgh smiled.

Then these ‘Yuzzhan Vong’ could very well learn the full extent of the Klingon phrase ‘Today is a good day to die!’.”

***

Location: Earth

Milky Way Galaxy

“Either way Captain, our allies are in no shape to go to war with anyone, lest of all a galaxy that doesn’t concern Starfleet in any way.”

Picard gasped at Nechevy’s comment.

“What do you mean it doesn’t concern Starfleet?! There are humans present in that galaxy. Surely we need to learn how that came to be. With all due respect Admiral, I also think it is in the Federation’s best interest to ally with the New Republic.”

Necheyev shook her head.

“It is not in the best interest of the Federation to ally with anyone on the other side of that wormhole. In fact, Command is considering replicating the attempt tried by Deep Space Nine to close the Bajoran Wormhole six years ago.”

Picard could not believe what he was hearing.

“We’ve barely begun contact with a new galaxy and you want to shut that door?!”

“Yes.”

“Let me rephrase that. Does Command want to close the wormhole or do you?”

Necheyev did not respond instantly.

“Who else were you planning on bringing into this little endeavor, Captain?”

“Oh, the Tholians are one possibility.”

Picard saw Kyle Riker shift uncomfortably in his seat and Picard regretted having brought up the Assembly. Number One’s father knew firsthand that dealing with the Tholian Assembly was dangerous and risky, the result of the 2353 attack on Starbase 311, where the elder Riker had been posted on at the time.

The Federation’s relationship with the Assembly had been tricky for two centuries and could be traced back to apparently some kind of dispute over the salvage rights to an advanced ship. What had become of that ship Picard knew not. He did know however that it had led to two centuries of dealing with a political entity that possessed a xenophobia that rivaled the Romulan Star Empire’s.

Necheyev oddly did not shoot him down this time.

“Go on.”

“I just have two more. The Dominion and the First Federation.”

“We have limited contact with the First Federation; it’s always been that way since 2266. They have their own Prime Directive to follow; not even the Dominion approached them before the war.”

“I know that. I was simply considering the probability that a few Fesarius-class vessels could pack quite a punch.”

“Maybe. Either way, we have absolutely no idea what the situation is with the Dominion is, even with the exploratory force ‘Mission Gamma’ that has never gotten off the ground. It’s safe to say, though, that the Dominion has replenished the military losses it received during their campaigns in our space. No, we can‘t trust them and they will not be the Federation‘s ally. Or have you forgotten that mentality of the Dominion war machine Picard?”

No he hadn’t.

With the Founders consent, the Federation had been allowed to resume exploration of the Gamma Quadrant, an objective that had been put on hold after the disastrous first contact with the Jem’Hadar and the destruction of the Galaxy-class U.S.S. Odyssey eight years prior. It had been slow and cautious - the Federation did not want to aggravate the Dominion.

“In any event, thank you Captain Picard.”

The Captain of the Federation flagship frowned. Something wasn’t right.

“For what?”

“You’ve just confirmed an assessment that many in the higher echelons of Command have felt. You are deranged and delusional and if we allow you to continue with your actions, you could cause unbelievable damage. You and your senior staff are a threat to the Federation.”

Now Picard had really had it.

“Admiral, you must listen. The fate of the Federation and the New Republic is intertwined. We need to act now before-”

“I’ve heard enough nonsense from you, Picard.”

She struck a button on the briefing table and the TPT’s doors swished open revealing a small team of Starfleet security personnel standing at the entrance.

“Security, please remove the Captain from the TPT. Throw him in the penal facility in New Zealand.”

Picard’s exterior was one of calmness and neutrality, but inside, the sense of shock and outrage was growing with each passing second.

Why is she acting like this?

Picard knew that Necheyev had no great liking of him, the result of his refusal to use the invasion program her people in Starfleet Tech had developed to fight the Borg a decade before. But this went beyond a simply disliking. It was almost like she was following a completely different agenda…

The others remained silent. Only Kathryn Janeway reacted to Necheyev’s attempts to arrest Picard.

“Now just wait a second, Admiral, Picard has a point. If we-”

Necheyev shit a venomous look across the conference table.

“I outrank you Vice-Admiral Janeway. Please remain seated and silent. You yourself are here at this meeting as a courtesy. ”

Janeway sat down, but there was rage on her face and Picard knew it wasn’t just how Necheyev was treating him. When the U.S.S. Voyager had made it back to Earth after its seven year sojourn, her brave crew should have received a hero’s welcome.

They hadn’t.

Instead, Necheyev had ordered the former Maquis arrested and imprisoned. She had then gone one step further and had pressed charges of violation of the Prime Directive and high treason against Janeway for her actions in the Delta Quadrant, from not destroying Voyager when the Kazon had captured the ship to the brief alliance with the Borg Collective and giving holo-technology to the nomadic Hirogen among others.

Fortunately, with the aid of Admiral Owen Paris, Janeway had been found innocent of the

charges and the Maquis released. Part of the reason was that with the end of Dominion War so recent, Starfleet needed heroes. And besides, Picard would have probably done many of the same were he in the Delta Quadrant.

Needles to say, there had been a lot of tension between the two for the last year. Still, it fit Necheyev’s characteristic of being the bull in the china shop, the china representing those who didn’t follow her ‘by the book philosophy.”

Which was not to say that Picard didn’t believe in going by the book. It was just that forty years of experience in the Federation Starfleet had taught him that the rules couldn’t always apply to situations. Still, that didn’t meant he exploited it at every given opportunity, the Prime Directive included.

Still, the record for Prime Directive violations was, even after a century, still held by the late Captain James T. Kirk and Picard doubted that anyone was going to top it anytime soon…

Something was now right. The guards had stopped in their tracks and were not proceeding any further into the TPT. Necheyev’s look of triumph turned to a soured expression.

“Arrest him dammit!”

“I ordered them to belay your order, Admiral Necheyev,” a quiet voice said from behind the guards. Everyone in the room turned towards the door to glimpse who this new voice emanated. And the shock was evident.

It was Fleet Admiral Nyota Uhura.

Uhura, while recognized throughout had also headed Intelligence for half a century, was also known as a legendary member of Captain James Kirk’s senior staff for a quarter of a century. Picard knew her to some extend, namely by reputation, but also slightly personal.

What is she doing here?

“Admiral Necheyev, what the hell do you think you are doing?”

Necheyev quickly regained her composure.

“I was about to arrest Captain Picard. He violated the Prime Directive, has lied on behalf of his own personal interests and endangered Federation -”

“Picard did nothing wrong. He followed Starfleet and First Contact procedures to the letter, answered a ship in distress, and allowed the Federation to have contact with another new world, another new civilization. You have no right to arrest him and I won’t allow you to do so.”

“B-But you can’t!”

“I outrank you Admiral. And you have overstepped your boundaries. The rest of Command agrees with many of Picard‘s assessments. The final decision is of course the Council’s. Are there any complaints?”

The TPT was devoid of further conversation. Necheyev was silent.

“Good. This meeting is adjourned. The Council wants a full report and I imagine that you are the best ones to give it”

The admirals nodded softly and began filing out. Necheyev was the first to go and in quite a fury too. Picard stepped over to the corner to speak with Admiral Uhura.

“I’m sorry it came down to that.”

“It’s all right. it’s not the first time I’ve had to save the ass of an Enterprise captain.“

Both chuckled at the remark, making reference of course to her years onboard the original Constitution-class Enterprise.

“Besides, I’ve never been found of the Admiral myself. I just thought you should know that the Republic ship Ralroost just headed back through the wormhole to relay a request to their government’s leader, Borsk Fey’lya I think it was, to send an ambassadorial team to negotiate with the Federation Council.”

***

The walls of Starfleet Command were built to be soundproof, part of a way of keeping spies from listening in on sensitive conversations between the top brass of Starfleet. It they hadn’t been that way, then someone would have heard the smashing of glass in the office of one of the top admirals.

Admiral Alynna Necheyev had brought her hand down on a picture frame that she kept in her desk, one whose picture she had razed and vandalized on numerous occasions in the past. It was in many ways a conduit to express her anger.

Her fit having passed, she removed the dermal regenerator that she kept in her office’s med-kit for serious medical emergencies. The Admiral began running it across her cuts, her mind thinking back on the events of the meeting…

Everything had been going perfectly. She had intentionally brought up Gul Madred in order to try and distract Picard, to keep him off balance. It was a subtle technique, bringing up the focus of past trauma.

Yet, it hadn’t worked.

Picard had done it again.

He had put his ideals over those of Starfleet and had humiliated her once again, this time thanks to that meddlesome head-bitch of Intelligence. She had never liked Nyota Uhura either and this incident was not going to improve their relationship any more.

She was sick and tired of this. There were times when she just wanted to shoot Picard with a Starfleet-issue phaser. But no, she would not do that for that would mean the end of her Starfleet career and Picard, though dead, winning again. Besides, she couldn’t be removed from Command. She cared about the Federation, unlike the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

But Picard wasn’t just the problem. There was that small fleet of Republic ships orbiting the Federation capital. Soon, they would return with a full diplomatic envoy and negotiations would quickly commence to something that the Federation would be haunted by.

If the Federation got involved in their conflict with these ‘Yuuzhan Vong’, then it could very well mark its end. No, it had to be stopped, someway, somehow.

But how to do it was the question that concerned her…

A direct approach could be taken.

But such an approach was difficult and risky.

Covert Operations didn’t answer to her and even she didn’t have that much sway over the organization. Red Squad had been disbanded since the Valiant incident during the first year of the Dominion War, as had that treacherous bitch Janeway’s precious little Hazard Team after her failed court martial- the dissolution of which Necheyev had played a small role in, a small yet effective way to get back at Janeway

No, the last thing she needed was a repeat of Admiral Leyton‘s actions.

There had to be some way to deal with Picard and the New Republic fleet.

And then it hit her.

Admiral Necheyev smiled.

She knew exactly who to contact. She needed their help and with it, Picard would not only be stopped, but the Federation would be saved from him.

***

Location: The Quintessence

Somewhere in the Universe

M was the first to reply to Q.

“Don‘t bring your ego into this. There is more a stake then pride, you know.”

“I know that. I’m just saying that like it or not, even with mortal and omnipotent might combined, the defeat of the Merging and who or what is controlling it, may not be possible.”

Arguing broke out amongst the two. The calm, yet powerful voice of the Stranger, however, instantly silenced them.

“Fear not for we will stop it, someway, somehow.”

Q gave the Stranger a look.

“And how can you be so sure, Stranger?”

The Stranger leaned back and smiled, his fingers interlocking with each other.

“Because my words were from…”

“Were from what?”

“From a prophecy.”

“From who?”

The only prophecy he was familiar with was the one that the elder Q had spoken of, that he had repeated to both his son and Picard before having been summoned before the Quintessence.

“When the two jewels of the sky merge, than destruction will befall all.”

But the Stranger sensed Q’s thoughts and shook his head.

“From another prophecy that dates back to the previous Merging.”

“Oh, good, I - wait, a second. Are you saying that this isn’t the first time the Merging has occurred?”

The Stranger shook his head.

“I know only bits and pieces, words that are embedded across the cosmos, which I have spent much of my existence searching for. They suggest that yes, the Merging has occurred before. And the prophecy is written as so: The power of five shall combine and the balance must be titled in accordance - so is the fate should a merging come into being.”

***

To be continued…

[Crazedwraith]

the plot gets thicker.
i notice that is worf still the E-E's tac officer and not fed ambassador to Qu'ronos?
Is your Duras sub-plot going to be smiliar to the Star Trek: Armarda storyline?
In your story you mention the renound Klingon "Kor, Kang, and Kodos"
I beleive your getting a little confused here Kodos was a federation governer of a colony one who excutedmost of his people so the rest could survive. I beleive you actually mean the klingon Koloth. Who was one of Kirk's nemesises (SP?) and join Dax Kor and Kang to defeat the Albino

[Burak Gazan]

Bravo, more, more!

And WTH is up with Necheyev?? She always was a martinet, but this looks more like she's stripped her gears. I do hope she's not getting an itchy trigger finger......

[JME2]

the plot gets thicker.
i notice that is worf still the E-E's tac officer and not fed ambassador to Qu'ronos?
Is your Duras sub-plot going to be smiliar to the Star Trek: Armarda storyline?
In your story you mention the renound Klingon "Kor, Kang, and Kodos"
I beleive your getting a little confused here Kodos was a federation governer of a colony one who excutedmost of his people so the rest could survive. I beleive you actually mean the klingon Koloth. Who was one of Kirk's nemesises (SP?) and join Dax Kor and Kang to defeat the Albino

* Yeah, the 'kodos' was my bad. Sorry. Will be fixed in a later update.

* The Duras subplot - possibly similar to Armada save for the sword of Kahless; it'll be one of several plot threads running throughout the story; same with Chairman Koval and the Romulans, the presence of humans in both galaxies, and just who the Stranger is.

[JME2]

Bravo, more, more!

And WTH is up with Necheyev?? She always was a martinet, but this looks more like she's stripped her gears. I do hope she's not getting an itchy trigger finger......

In the words of Admiral Piett, I have something special planned for her....

[Mlenk]

Please excuse my ignorance but what is the First Federation?

And GREAT fic so far, btw.

[Crazedwraith]

Please excuse my ignorance but what is the First Federation?

And GREAT fic so far, btw.

powerful race seen in the TOS episode "the corbomite manuveur"

[JME2]

Oops. Since you can only post so many pages on the bbs, the end got cut off. Here it is:

But how to do it was the question that concerned her…

A direct approach could be taken.

But such an approach was difficult and risky.

Covert Operations didn’t answer to her and even she didn’t have that much sway over the organization. Red Squad had been disbanded since the Valiant incident during the first year of the Dominion War, as had that treacherous bitch Janeway’s precious little Hazard Team after her failed court martial- the dissolution of which Necheyev had played a small role in, a small yet effective way to get back at Janeway

No, the last thing she needed was a repeat of Admiral Leyton‘s actions.

There had to be some way to deal with Picard and the New Republic fleet.

And then it hit her.

Admiral Necheyev smiled.

She knew exactly who to contact. She needed their help and with it, Picard would not only be stopped, but the Federation would be saved from him.

***

Location: The Quintessence

Somewhere in the Universe

M was the first to reply to Q.

“Don‘t bring your ego into this. There is more a stake then pride, you know.”

“I know that. I’m just saying that like it or not, even with mortal and omnipotent might combined, the defeat of the Merging and who or what is controlling it, may not be possible.”

Arguing broke out amongst the two. The calm, yet powerful voice of the Stranger, however, instantly silenced them.

“Fear not for we will stop it, someway, somehow.”

Q gave the Stranger a look.

“And how can you be so sure, Stranger?”

The Stranger leaned back and smiled, his fingers interlocking with each other.

“Because my words were from…”

“Were from what?”

“From a prophecy.”





“From who?”

The only prophecy he was familiar with was the one that the elder Q had spoken of, that he had repeated to both his son and Picard before having been summoned before the Quintessence.

“When the two jewels of the sky merge, than destruction will befall all.”

But the Stranger sensed Q’s thoughts and shook his head.

“From another prophecy that dates back to the previous Merging.”

“Oh, good, I - wait, a second. Are you saying that this isn’t the first time the Merging has occurred?”

The Stranger shook his head.

“I know only bits and pieces, words that are embedded across the cosmos, which I have spent much of my existence searching for. They suggest that yes, the Merging has occurred before. And the prophecy is written as so: The power of five shall combine and the balance must be titled in accordance - so is the fate should a merging come into being.”

***

To be continued…

No longer needed; I just posted an update of that chapter sans the cut off part.

[Mlenk]

powerful race seen in the TOS episode "the corbomite manuveur"

Were they a one-shot race of the week kind of thing?

[Burak Gazan]

Yes

http://www.st-hypertext.com/tos/tos-1rev.html#corbomite

[Crazedwraith]

powerful race seen in the TOS episode "the corbomite manuveur"

Were they a one-shot race of the week kind of thing?

Yep.
And OT: um that makes more sense with the new ending. Drat i dont like the hazard team to be disbanded. You should have kept them and had a Alexandria/Telsia Romance sub-plot.......with Standard SD.NET lesbian orgy of course

[JME2]

powerful race seen in the TOS episode "the corbomite manuveur"

Were they a one-shot race of the week kind of thing?

Yep.
And OT: um that makes more sense with the new ending. Drat i dont like the hazard team to be disbanded. You should have kept them and had a Alexandria/Telsia Romance sub-plot.......with Standard SD.NET lesbian orgy of course

What makes you think I'm going to keep them disbanded? I was following the Elite Force 2 plot-line when Command decided that they were an inessential luxury for Starfleet.

They're also how i'm probably going to bring Kyle Katarn...

[JME2]

powerful race seen in the TOS episode "the corbomite manuveur"

Were they a one-shot race of the week kind of thing?

Yep.

The orginization had a minor, but still important in the last book of Shatner's second Kirk Trilogy.

[Crazedwraith]

Were they a one-shot race of the week kind of thing?

Yep.
And OT: um that makes more sense with the new ending. Drat i dont like the hazard team to be disbanded. You should have kept them and had a Alexandria/Telsia Romance sub-plot.......with Standard SD.NET lesbian orgy of course

What makes you think I'm going to keep them disbanded? I was following the Elite Force 2 plot-line when Command decided that they were an inessential luxury for Starfleet.

They're also how i'm probably going to bring Kyle Katarn...

Well thats good to know, not having elite force II i wouldn't have noticed the similarirties. (My computers to shite for it. Anyone know if it's coming out on PS2?)

[Robert Walper]

Damn you JME2!

I must admit, I've mostly skimmed the stories in order to play catch up, but man, keep it coming!

PS: I wanna see some Borg involvement! Preferably with a ISD or two being carved up like a Xmas turkey...