Post DS9 Era Stories

by Monkeypieman9

A collection of stories based on an alternate set of events which take place after DS9

1. Reunion

Post DS9 NOTE: Change name later Volume 1 Book 1:
Reunion

Chapter 1 There is a station not to far from a lush world. The planet in question was one the inhabitants call Bajor. The Bajorans are a deeply religous people who after decades of struggle, have finally been freed. While humanoid in nature, Bajorans were disntictive from terrans by their wrinkled noses. The station itself was Bajoran, but was defended by the Federation. It guarded the prize of the Alpha Quadrant, the only stable wormehole known to exist. With its discovery, Bajor's economy boomed and travel was made possible from the Gamma to Alpha Quadrants within a matter of minutes. It's a valuable asset to the Federation and its allies. However, to the Bajorans, it is also the Temple of the Prophets. It's a place where their gods reside.

On the station DS9, one such dark brown haired, female Bajoran was recording her daily log...

"Acting Captain's log, the stations old Chief of Operations is currently reroute to DS9 by his own request. Apparently, he hasn't been the happiest sitting behind a desk and not doing field work." That s reasonable, Kira thought. She hated sitting behind the desk that once belong to her old superior, Ben Sisko, and not out on missions. "Also I'm proud to announce that Dr. Julian Bashir and Ezri Dax have been ordered back to DS9 by Admiral Ross. The recent military buildup of the Cardassians this soon after the Dominion surrender is troubling at the least. Therefore if the Cardassians do seek a war with the Federation or Bajor, DS9 would need experienced crew as DS9 would be their first stop." Cardassians wouldn't really attack would they? Not after the help the Federation and its allies gave to them during their resistance? Kira couldn't find a reasonable explanation. Although it doesn't mean they couldn't prepare for the worst.

"There is still no word on the state of Sisko since he rejoined the Prophets, and his mother, inside the wormhole; end log." Kira remembered back when Sisko would refer to them as mere wormhole entities. The dark-skinned, dark-haired, tall, slim terran soon became enlightened to the fact that they were prophets. Sisko was her friend these past few years even if they didn't always see eye-to-eye.

"Computer, time of arrival for the USS Orleans?" That was the ship Mile O'Brian, the old Chief of Operations, was coming in on. "Old", in fact it was only five months after the old crew went their separate ways. Kira was looking forward to seeing the terran of Irish descent back on the station. She often missed hearing him complain about this or that when something went wrong on the station.

"USS Orleans set to dock in two hours eleven minutes." The computer replied, unemotional as a Vulcan.

"Time of arrival for the Bajoran transport Prophets Grace?"

"Prophets Grace set to dock in ten minutes." The computer replied. Not much time to get a welcome home celebration organized Kira thought.

Quark was busy bartending as he usually was during the middle of the day. The bald-headed Ferengi looked onto the small crowed inside his fine establishment. People were eager to drink, indulge in his sexual holosuites, and gamble their money away. That thought was usually why he was happy lately, not today though. Today he was glad knowing at least part of the old crew would be back. He wouldn't care to admit it, but he really missed them. He missed the beautiful Ezri most of all, even though she and Bashir were married now. That couldn't stop him from looking, or getting a holographic image...his thought was interrupted by the station's commanding officer. Colonel Kira walked into Quarks Place and headed straight for him.

"Kira, what a lovely surprise. What can I get for you today?" He asked, trying to hide the fact that he already knew what she wanted.

"I need you to host a reunion party in the Ward Room in eight minutes... seven. She replied. She practically ran down to Quarks, hoping that he wouldn't reject.

"I usually don't do business on such short notice... however for you, I'll do it. Just don't expect me to do this kind of thing often."

"Don't forget the champagne." She added before hurrying out onto the bustling highway of the station that was the promenade.

"You re welcome... Quark said to himself, sarcastically of course. He couldn't remember anytime that Kira said thanks to him, or any other Ferengi for that matter. She despises all of us because we are greedy, Quark thought. But that wouldn't change, after all what are Ferengi if they weren't? They would be more human then anything. Quark pushed the thought aside and went to the storeroom for the champagne.

Kira watched the gear-like teeth of the inner airlock door roll open revealing several Starfleet personnel. None of which he recognized as Bashir. One by one they file out of the airlock and past Kira, not so much as saying hello or acknowledging her presence. It wasn't until the last uniformed Starfleet crew left until she saw Ezri Dax and Julian Bashir in the airlock. The both wore common Bajoran suits; Bashir in a green suit, and Ezri in a red suit. Their expressions were a mix between pain and content. They were glad to be back, but would rather be elsewhere.

"Welcome back doctor, Ezri.' She announced as the two of them walked out of the airlock stepping into the hallway of Docking Pylon One.
"Well, it s good to be back." Bashir said, sarcastically. That much was obvious.

"I really missed this place. It's not quite the same without Ben here, but it s good all the same." Ezri really meant it unlike Bashir. Ezri was a short terran Starfleet officer. She was formerly known as Jadzi, Curzon, or some other name. Ezri was the latest host for the Trill symbiote Dax. The Dax symbiote shared memories and experiances of previous lifetimes with its host. Bashir was terran and he was taller than Ezri. He always wanted to study and practice frontier medicine. Being stationed on a station guarding the wormhole gave him ample oppurtunity to do just that. New species of lifeforms came through the wormhole periodicly bringing with them the chance for Bashir to study their physiology.

"No it's not. If you'll follow me to the Ward Room, I've planned a little party. Of course the real party won't be until O'Brian gets here.' Kira lead them down the grey walled corridor, gloomy looking to everyone but Cardassians she thought. Speaking of Cardassians, she had almost respected them while she helped lead their resistance against the Dominion. However, they have been known to betray their allies before.

Kira, Bashir, and Ezri said nothing until they finally reached their destination. Kira pressed the control panel, opening the door to the Ward Room. Inside was an eager Quark holding a tray of champagne. "Welcome back doctor, Ezri..." His mind drifted to an old sex holoprogram he had of Ezri. That was before Odo, the old security chief, found and deleted it. Despite always ruining his schemes, Odo had become a sort of friend of Quarks in a weird kind of way. Neither would care to admit it though.

"Quark! The champagne..." Kira's voice broke Quark's daydream. "Oh, right. Here you are." He said, clearing his mind and handing the champagne to the quests, all three of them.

"So, how was Bajor?" Kira asked, the question directed toward mainly Bashir but it was Ezri who answered.

"It was wonderful; especially the sunrise over the Ninton Mountains." She remembered her and Bashir getting up early every day just to watch the sunrise together.

"Yes it is, isn't it?" Kira replied, grinning. She hadn't seen that particular view, but she had heard its one of Bajor's most beautiful sights. The way the first rays of sunlight peak over the mountains was said to be romantic. It was no wonder Bashir and Ezri had chosen that location for their honeymoon. Perhaps she should visit after things settle down a bit.

"Soji to Colonel Kira." A voice said through Kira's combadge.

"Go ahead."

"Colonel, I've got the Orleans on long-range sensors. They are under attack by a Klingon Bird of Prey." Klingons? Not all Klingons approved of the Kitimer Accord but almost all of those were killed or imprisoned by now.

"O'Brian..." Bashir whispered under his breath. He and O'Brian were best friends and he was in danger. He wasn't about to leave O'Brian to the Klingons. While they have become a bit more humane, their torture techniques were excruciating.

"Prepare the Defiant for launch." Kira broke the connection and turned to Bashir and Ezri.

"You two, come with me."

"Gladly." Bashir said, finally speaking up. This was a perfect opportunity to get back in his usual habit. Life-threatening mission and the need of his medical skills while in combat situations.

As soon as the three of them were onboard the Defiant, it undocked.
/\\/\\/\\

Chapter 2:

O'Brian was in his quarters with his family when it finally happened. The day was quiet until now; alarms blaring everywhere, red lights flashing throughout the ship, Crewmen were running through the halls toward their quarters or battle stations. There was a small boy running by but he looked lost. "What now?" O'Brian thought. He was enjoying his meal when the alarms started going off. If he was going to learn anything, he would have to get to the bridge. He hurried out of his quarters without so much as a word. He pushed past several crewmen going the other way toward the turbo lift. The door slid open, and two female Starfleet officers exited. "Bridge." O'Brian told the computer, and the turbo lift rose toward the Orleans's bridge.

"Captain, there is a Klingon Bird of Prey decloaking." the Orleans's blond-haired teenage helmsman female said without so much as looking at Captain Walters. Walters was a middle-aged man with brown hair combed to one side. A stubble of hair on his chin was the only facial hair he had. He was unusually built, mostly because he was never seen working out.

"Onscreen." the Klingon vessel shimmered for a moment against the black vastness of space, and then solidified. "Hail them." Walters continued.

"They are receiving. No reply... wait getting audio only."

"You are a plague to this universe. You must be cleansed." A non-Klingon voice said over them comm.

"Cleansed?" Captain Walters asked.

"They've broke contact. They have powered their weapons and their shields are up." The Vulcan Tactical Officer reported, looking at his display readouts.

"Red Alert! Shields up, arm phasers and photon torpedoes."

O'Brian exited onto the bridge moments later. The Bird of Prey and the Orleans were at a stand off. "What s going on Captain?" O Brian asked, looking around for answers. "A Bird of Prey decloaked only a few minutes ago. It told us we had to be cleansed and then broke communications. Right now its shields are up and torpedoes ready to fire. I can only say that whoever is in control of that ship isn't a Klingon." Well if they aren't Klingons, who are they? O'Brian asked himself. "I could use you in engineering." The captain told O'Brian. "Aye sir." And he returned to the turbo lift.

The stand off ended not long after O'Brian left the bridge. The Bird of Prey dealt the first blow with a phaser shot on the Orleans's bow. The Orleans rocked a bit before it settled back. "Return fire. Target their weapons." Walters wanted whoever they were alive.

The Akira Class ship fired off a volley of phasers directed at the weapon systems. The phasers streaked across nothingness before hitting the shields of the Klingon vessel. Both ships fired again. "Shields down to 63 percent, their shields are holding at 70 percent."

Captain Walters touched his combadge, "Walters to O'Brian. Can you give anymore power to the shields or weapons?". I'll have to reroute all power from secondary systems but phasers should be at 110 percent and shields can be raised to about 80. It will take about two minutes." O'Brian said through his own combadge in engineering. The ship rocked again as a poloron torpedo hit. Walters had to grip his chair to keep himself in it. "Someone's been upgrading that ship. A normal Bird of Prey wouldn't have such powerful torpedoes." O'Brian thought as he crawled into a conduit juncture to begin rerouting the power flow.

"Targeting only their weapons is having no effect. I suggest that we no longer limit our attack to their weapons." The Vulcan stated. His emotional state hadn't changed a bit during the attack. He was still as emotionless as always.

"Very well, fire at will." Walters had to admit, firing on weapons only wasn't a good tactic, not against a Bird of Prey.

"Shields are up to 75 percent. Phasers are up to 105 percent." The Vulcan stated firing off a volley of photon torpedoes. Was there a note of emotion in his face just then? Walters could have sworn just as the phasers and shields got more power, the Vulcan almost grinned. It was best not to push the matter though; Vulcans look at emotion as a disease.

"O'Brian to Walters, I've managed to reroute the power flow. It s not as much as I had hoped, but it s still a good amount." O'Brian brought Walters back into reality.

"I'm sure it will be fine. Walters out."

The Orleans rocked again. This time the helmsman was killed when his panel burst into flame. The man was burned alive in a matter of seconds.

Two of the Orleans's torpedoes struck the Klingon vessel's aft section. Its shields shimmered a few seconds, energy flow temporarily disabled.

"Did we get them?" The captain asked, seeing the effect on the aft shields.

"No sir. Whatever caused the temporary interference wasn't from us." The Vulcan stated looking at the calculations and readouts displayed on his screen. "I'm reading a massive energy buildup in their main deflector array." He added. There it was again, that emotion. This time fear was creeping over his face. This was more emotion than any Vulcan showed in their entire lifetime. Walters finally decided to confront him about it later.

"Analysis?"

"It would appear to be an energy weapon. Our shields might not last against a weapon that strong." The Vulcan didn't have to be a genius to figure this out. Anyone on the bridge could have deduced it.

"Suggestions?" The captain looked around. His captain's exam or any of field training could have prepared him for this. The fate of his entire crew, passengers, and cargo was in his hands. Nobody knew what to do now. They could try to evacuate, but the enemy would blast the escape pods to pieces in a matter of seconds.

"Too late, they are firing." The Vulcan said. Sometimes the captain envied the Vulcan's emotionless attitude even when faced with his inevitable demise.

A shockwave of light-green energy flared out of the Klingon deflector dish and straight toward the Orleans s. It seemed so serine in its journey toward the Orleans. Once it struck though, that thought was disregarded. The Orleans s shields fought to keep the energy shockwave from getting through. The shields flickered for a while before dying out. They held long enough for the worst of the energy shockwave's power to be lost.

"O'Brian to Walter's! We have a major problem down here! An antideritium leak in of warp core is eminent. I've managed to contain it for now in a magnetic force field but it won't last. I'm going to have to eject it." O'Brian had to shout over the sounds of miniature explosions and sparks flying in the background. He almost forgot to breathe while he was trying to contain a possible leak before it happened. As soon as the antimatter in the core cam into contact with matter, there would be no ship left. It would be consumed by a matter antimatter reaction.

"Very well Mr. O'Brian. Eject the core." Walters knew that meant they had to escape with only impulse speeds, without weapons and shields. The Vulcan tactical officer would agree that they were better odds than surviving an antimatter explosion.

"Aye sir." O'Brian typed in the eject command. The system didn't respond. He went over to the emergency manual ejection system and pulled the lever. A force field went up around the core. A second later the area below the core opened up exposing the core to empty space. Then the clamps holding the core in place and to the power conduits released. The core was sucked out into space and the Orleans sped away from it at full impulse. The ejection doors closed and the force field receded. The warp core exploded shaking the ship violently. O'Brian was knocked against the bulkhead and lost his hold on reality.

"What's our status?" Walters asked turning to the Vulcan.

"Shields offline, Phaser banks destroyed, Photon bays offline, multiple hull breaches. Emergency force fields are holding." The Vulcan had a streak of green blood running down his face from a head wound; nothing too serious as long as it got treatment soon. "Another ship is coming into sensor range now." He made sure to emphasize the "or" part of "sensor".

"Klingon?" Walters asked.

"Federation, USS Defiant."

"Thank god."

"I fail to see how a god brought the Defiant here." The Vulcan stated. Walters couldn't help but grin at this statement.

The Defiant came in phasers ablaze. Its pulse phasers struck the Klingon ship, lowering its shields.

"Defiant to Orleans; what's your status?" Colonel Kira's voice came through the communications array; her transmission was full of static.

"We have lost our warp core and we are defenseless. We've seen better days Colonel." Walters replied, letting out a long sigh.

The Defiant fired again, hitting their bridge. All that was left afterwards was a dark burn marks and exposed circuitry.

"Life signs?" Kira asked Ezri, who had taken the science post.

"None. There must have only been a skeleton crew onboard." She was surprised that Klingons would attack a Federation ship. Maybe these weren't Klingons; maybe someone took over the ship.

"Kira to Walters. Prepare to be towed to DS9. We will then come back for the Klingon ship."

Chapter 3:
Grand Nagus Rom was seated in a room made of gold-press latinum, on a chair of latinum. Being Nagus wasn't all gambling and wealth, he was the head of the entire planet's financial future. All this work was getting to him. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, theoretically of course. Ferengi don't have actual eyebrows. In fact they don't have any hair at all, unless it's in their ears.

"Grum, what's my schedule for the next month?" Rom asked his assistant. He kept Grum busy keeping track of his schedule and fetch his food. Almost the same situation he was in while he was working under Quark on DS9.

"You have several meetings with the commerce association, and several more with commoners wanting financial advice." Grum replied.

"Clear it all, I'm going on vacation!" Rom told Grum. A certain confidence was gained over the last few months. It sure showed now when he disregarded his duties.

"But... yes Grand Nagus." Grum proceeded to exit the throne room.

The only thing left to do was, figure out where him and his wife Leita were to go. The only place that he knew of was the place where he became Nagus in the first place. Deep Space Nine.

"Welcome back O'Brian." Kira said as the exited the Defiant and into the gloomy Cardassian hallway of the Docking Ring.

"After what I've just been through, I'd say it's good to be back." O'Brian grinned.

"I'll be back soon, and then we can meet in the Ward Room." Kira returned the grin and the left O'Brian alone.

The Orleans was towed into Bay 3 a few minutes ago. "Perhaps I should put myself to work and help the repair teams. O'Brian thought. "Or, better yet, I should find Bashir and check out the Holosuites." He changed his mind. Right now a Holosuite was more appealing than working. Besides he wasn't actually back on duty here, so he didn't have to go to work.

O'Brian headed toward the Promenade. If Bashir was anywhere when just getting here, it would be the infirmary.

The Promenade was busy, almost as busy as when he left. The difference was that people weren't celebrating the end of the war. Now, they were just getting on with their shopping, going to buy a drink at Quarks. In O'Brian's case it was to get Bashir, and then go to a Holosuite. O'Brian just hoped that one was open.

As he passed the security office, the infirmary came into view. He paused just outside the security office. He was going to say "Hello" to Odo, but he remembered that he returned to his home world to be with his people. He continued to the infirmary, and began to wonder whether they should reenact the Battle of the Alamo or The Battle of Britain.

Bashir was sitting in front to his medical computer when O'Brian went into the infirmary. "Where did I put it...? Bashir muttered to himself, unaware of his visitor. "Hello, Julian." O'Brian said, breaking Bashir's train of thought. "Yes..." Bashir turned around to see that his visitor was Miles O'Brian. "Miles. I thought you would have gone to your quarters to be with Keiko.". No, I thought we could go to the Alamo for old-times sake." O'Brian grinned, but it faded. He felt bad when he realized he was ignoring his wife again to play with Julian. "I see, well then, I can't say no. Let's go then." Bashir admitted.

"By the way Julian. How did you get here so fast? The Defiant just docked, and I didn't see you get off.". Oh, I had the transporter officer transport me here. I had a lot of work to do, and I wanted to get started on it. But, now that you're here, I suppose it can wait.

The two of them walked out of the infirmary across the corridor toward Quarks bar.

"Quark!" Julian said, walking into the bar with a smile. "Do you have a Holosuite open by any chance?"

"I do. Holosuite 1 is open." Quark replied from behind the bar serving a Talarian some Synthale.

Julian and Miles started up the steps to the second floor, and to the Holosuites, when Quark spoke again. "And, welcome home." Quark smiled. It seemed out of place since the only time he smiled was when a business deal turned out for the better.

The Holosuite doors slid open, revealing the relatively small room that in a few minutes would be transformed into the Alamo. Bashir pulled out an isolinear rod from his uniform's pocket and slid it into a control panel on the wall. "Computer, play program from isolinear rod." Bashir said, he turned around and was greeted by the oncoming Mexican armies. "Computer, give us proper weapons of the time." O'Brian said, as rifles materialized in their hands.

"Just like old times..." Julian muttered.

Chapter 4:
"There were no bodies onboard the Klingon ship. Therefore we can safely assume that everyone that was onboard was on the bridge when it was destroyed. Just what happened before we got there Captain?" Kira was in the Ward Room with Captain Walters, Ezri, Bashir, and O'Brian. They were seated at the table looking across at one another, nobody knew much.

"The Klingon ship decloaked, and we hailed it. It told us we were a plague and had to be cleansed. After that, they cut communications and opened fire. During the battle, their shields flickered for a moment. It was nothing we did though. Then, they fired an energy shockwave of some kind at us. Our shields held out for a few seconds before failing. Our warp core was damage and we had to eject it manually. That's when you showed up pretty much. I think O'Brian could give you some more information on the weapon. I understand he had some time to study the Orleans's sensor logs." Walters explained the battle as best he could, but it seemed like it all happened so fast. One minute they were looking at a decloaking Bird of Prey, the next they were being towed to Deep Space Nine without a warp core.

"Well, I haven't had too much time to look them over." In truth O'Brian had about an hour to look at them after getting out of the Holosuite. "There is one thing I found that may interest you though." O'Brian paused, took a breath, and continued, "The weapon that was fired through the deflector dish is similar to a Borg Cutting Beam. So similar that if the ship's new crew had said 'Resistance is Futile', I would have believed it was the devils themselves. The only difference is it didn't actually cut the ship like the original would have. I'd say that the crew wasn't able to fully integrate the technologies together." O'Brian looked around the room. Walters looked uncomfortably back at him. "Now, we know it wasn't the Borg. So who was it? How or why would they use such a weapon?"

"O'Brian I want you to look into the matter." Kira said looking at him. O'Brian noted her expression. She showed a slight hint of fear, something she didn't show often. If somebody was allied with the Borg, or got hold of their technology, it meant big trouble.

"Yes sir." O'Brian replied. No more Holosuites for a while, he told himself.

"Now then, onto that welcome home party." Kira announced, trying to lighten their moods by forcing a smile.

"Captain, incoming message from Starfleet Command. Admiral Ross wants to speak to you in private." The white faced android officer at the helm announced, as unemotional as a Vulcan, turning around to his Captain.

"In my ready room then Mr. Data." Captain Jean-Luc Picard, a bald man except for a strip of gray in the back said standing up. He straightened his uniform shirt and then moved across the bridge into his office, aptly name 'ready room . Just like his old Galaxy-Class Enterprise, this new Sovereign-Class Enterprise's ready room was located near the front of the bridge. The ready room was designed for captains to relax while being close to the bridge in the event of an emergency. Picard often relaxed in here, drinking Earl-Gray tea and/or reading Shakespeare, but not today. No, today he was in here for strictly some privacy for a proffesional reason.

Inside his ready room, Picard sat down and pushed a button on a panel on his desk. A miniature view screen unfolded out of his desk. A push of another button revealed the face of Admiral Ross. Ross was a mid-aged man who had seen his share of fighting during the Domainion War. It didn't show in his looks though. He had short black hair which was hanging down not quite to his eyes.

"Jean-Luc, I'm afraid I have some bad news. We have received word from DS9 that a Klingon ship has attack the USS Orleans. The ship wasn't crewed by Klingons though." Ross explained. Best take this slow he told himself, no need to worry Picard to much.

"That's disturbing indeed, but why talk to me in private about it?" Picard asked. He was puzzled that he was talking in private with a high ranking Admiral about a stolen ship which attacked a Federation ship.

"Because, they used a Borg weapon during the attack. While there is no evidence that the Borg were directly involved, it's still a possibility."

"I see. Please keep me informed." Picard's voice changed slightly, showing signs of weariness. He hadn t fully gotten over his experience as Locutus, and probably never would. He turned off his view screen and returned to the bridge.

"Mr. Data, set a course for Deep Space Nine. Warp Nine." Picard hid the weariness in his voice now. He wanted to get to the location of the trouble as soon as possible. If something happened, he wanted to know right away."

"May I ask why we are cutting our exploration short?" Data asked.

"No you may not." Picard answered. He didn't mean to be rude, but he didn't need to worry his crew with speculations.

"Very well. Setting course for DS9, maximum warp. ETA 17 hours 13 minutes." Data punched in a heading as he spoke.

The Sovereign-Class ship turned around and headed out of the system toward Bajoran space, and toward Deep Space Nine.

"The Bird of Prey was reported stolen a month ago. A group of Gamma-Quadrant aliens went missing the same time. It is believed that they transported some cargo aboard and got out of the Klingon base all while they were having a power outage. It was most unusual because all the power, even backups were drained." Worf was speaking to Kira in her office via subspace. Worf was stationed on Kronos at the moment as the Klingon-Federation ambassador.

"That explains who they were... sort of. Any more information?" Kira asked. All Worf had told her was where they were from and how they got the Bird of Prey.

"I'm afraid not. They are without honor. Stealing a ship without the courage to face us. They had to do it while we were blinded. The cargo they brought onboard was basic equipment, but if assembled properly, it could have assisted in the transformation of the deflector into a Cutting Beam kind of weapon." Worf couldn't believe that the Klingon security on that base didn't see the possibility of this when they inspected the cargo.

"Worf, you know you're welcome back here any time."

"I cannot, I'm needed here on Kronos."

"If you're sure. Just let me know if you change your mind."

"Very well Colonel."

The view screen flicked to the Federation insignia; much better to look at than the old Cardassian one that had once been displayed on these monitors. About that time, a beeping came from outside her door alerting her to a visitor. Without looking up she yelled, "Come in!

"Hello Colonel." A voice said. I know that voice, Kira told herself. She looked up and her face went white. She had just seen a ghost, or so she thought. A Cardassian male stood in her doorway. He wore a kindly smile on his face, and he looked like he meant it. Rarely did a Cardassian smile sincerlly to a Bajoran.

"Tomar? But... you died on Cardassia." Kira choked on her words as she tried to force them out.

"Yes, I did. Strange isn't it? I am him, but he isn't me. You see I'm a clone. I was given all the memories that could be extracted from the dead Tomar."

"But how? The Dominion surely wouldn't have cloned you. Besides, their cloning facility wasn't in working order when you died."

"If we learned anything from them, it would have to be cloning. You see, it was the Cardassian people that took steps to preserve my DNA and memories for cloning. Cardassia needed a leader, and they felt I was it." Tomar was missing a few memories from his early life. However, he remembered the kindness Kira showed in freeing Cardassia. Quite ironic that a Bajoran helped Cardassians regain their homeland. He owed Kira everything, even his life.

"I see. Well, what brings you here? Surely you could have just told me this over subspace." In fact, Kira didn't see. She didn't understand how it was possible to clone someone after they had died. When people are desperate enough for something though, they find a way. She knew that from experience. Bajor needed to get rid of the Cardassians so they found a way to form a resistance.

"That's true, but isn't it more convincing to show you in person?"

"I suppose so. Of course you wouldn't mind having Dr. Bashir look you over then."

"Of course I wouldn't mind. In fact, I think I'll head there right now."

Tomar or at least his so called clone turned around and exited Kira's office. "Either it is Tomar's clone, or whoever it is has some way to fool Bashir's equipment." Kira thought. "May as well warn Bashir in either case." She touched her combadge, and spoke "Kira to Bashir.

"Bashir here, what can I do for you Colonel." Bashir's voice flowed through her badge. Kira could tell he was tired. "I thought it fair to warn you that a man claiming to be Tomar's clone is on his way to the infirmary. I want you to verify his claim."

"Tomar's clone?"

"I'll explain it later. Doctor after you're done with that I suggest you get some rest. It sounds like you could use it."

"Maybe you're right. It was a long day today. Thanks Colonel, Bashir out."

Chapter 5:

The infirmary was quiet, 22 hours was a quiet time all over the station. Only very few inhabitants and visitors were on the promenade. Therefore, even though Bashir knew he was going to get a visitor, he jumped at the sound of his name.

"Bashir." Tomar was standing right behind Bashir, and he never heard him coming.

Bashir stood up to face Tomar.

"What do you want?" Bashir asked.

"I need you to prove that I am in fact Tomar's clone and not an imposter." Tomar told Bashir emphasizing the 'need' part.

"Right this way." Bashir lead him over to an examination table in the other room. "Sit there please." Bashir continued and Tomar raised himself onto the table, with his almost unemotional face still on.

Bashir started the examination of Tomar.

O'Brian walked in a few minutes later. The first thing he heard was, "Well, it would seem you were telling the truth. Might I ask just how you were cloned? O'Brian had no idea who Bashir was talking to; in fact he couldn t even see Bashir from where he was standing. He moved into the other room to take a look at the two of them.

"Tomar!" O'Brian shouted. He looked ready to charge the imposter until he remembered that Bashir said this was the real deal, well a clone at least. O'Brian surprised look was changed to a smile, matching Tomar's and Bashir's. "Good to see you." He finally said.

"I'm sure." Tomar replied, his face grim. He really didn't know how to react. They all accepted him so freely. Maybe they were just happy to be back together.

"So how long are you staying?" O'Brian asked.

"Only a day or two. I have business to attend to on Cardassia."

"I can only imagine." O'Brian couldn't even imagine how much work there is to do helping a race recover from the Dominions rule. Their race was nearly exterminated by genocide, it must be immense work rebuilding from all the pain and suffering the Cardassian people went through. That's just talking about the people. Entire Cardassian fleets, buildings, and other resources were destroyed. It would take years to recover.

"Kira to Bashir." Kira's voice came through Bashir's combadge. It sounded urgent, so Bashir responded as soon as he put the pad he was holding down.

"Bashir here." He said into his combadge. "Is Tomar still there?" Kira asked. "Yes he is. Shall I send him up to you?"

"Yes, thank you." She broke communications.

"Well you heard the Colonel, best not make her wait." Bashir grinned again. He didn't want to think how Kira would react to waiting; she was generally an inpatient person lately.

Tomar returned the grin and walked out of the infirmary.

"I forgot to ask earlier, but do you mind explaining the recent massive military fleet buildup?" Kira didn't waste any time. As soon as Tomar reentered her office, she asked the question.

"I was wondering when you would ask. Since I understand your concern, I suppose I owe you an explanation. About a day after I was fully cloned, a stolen Cardassian Galor-Class ship attacked several bases. We finally cornered and captured it. Normally we would have had it destroyed, but it used a Borg-like weapon. When we captured the crew, we identified them as a Gamma Quadrant race known as the Duren. The fleet buildup is so we can take revenge for our fallen comrades that were on those ships and bases that were lost." Tomar's voice was filled with sadness. He knew some of the people that were lost. This was personal.

"Well, that would have been nice to know from the start. A Klingon Bird of Prey was stolen and attacked the USS Orleans recently. It too was stolen by a Gamma race and used a Borg-like weapon." If they knew all this sooner, maybe the attack on the Orleans could have been avoided, and Starfleet wouldn't have panicked at the thought of a Cardassian attack.

"It seems we have a common foe then. If Starfleet is willing to spare a few ships, I will give you the location of the Duren's home world."

"I can't promise anything, but I will ask."

"That's all I ask."

Chapter 6:

Approaching DS9 now captain. Data said turning to face Picard, who was still in his worried mood as before.

Onscreen then Mr. Data. Picard almost forgot what the station looked like. He had only been there a few times, and not recently.

The Enterprise s view screen switched. An instant later the Cardassian built station, which was known as Terrok-Nor by the Cardassians while they still occupied it, filled the screen. Its six docking pylons, three docking bays which where located in between two pylons looked appropriate for it; quite inefficient though when traffic was at a high, some ships weren t even able to dock.

Hail the station. Picard ordered.

The image of the station s exterior was replaced yet again with the image of Ops, DS9 s operational center. It was the station s equivalent of a bridge. Coronel Kira and Miles O Brian were discernible along with a Bajoran working with a console in the background.

Welcome to DS9 Captain. O Brian said, greeting his old captain. Was it just O Brian s imagination or was Picard concerned?

O Brian, it s good to see you again. Unfortunately, my being here prevents me from being overly thrilled.

The Borg threat? Kira spoke up. She knew Picard was once captured by them and forced to assist in the assimilation of Earth. If the Enterprise under the command of William Riker hadn t gotten him back no Earth, no Federation, Starfleet, or Bajor. The Cardassians would have stayed in control or taken back control of Bajor without the Federation s protection. Since his encounter as Locutus, Picard had taken a personal interest in all things Borg that happened.

Yes. Have there been any new developments? Picard was defiantly a bit worried. They all barely survived last time, and now so soon after a war, they wouldn t stand a chance in hell.

Kira and O Brian began debriefing Picard, being sure not to leave anything out.

Picard finished listening to the debriefing a short while ago, and was now trying to calm down by taking a walk around the promenade. He and Captain Walters had requested to be a part of the assault on the Duren. That made the whole assault team the Defiant, Enterprise, Orleans, Tomar s Galor-Class Ruthola, and a few other Cardassian ships. The other ships were smaller and slightly weaker than the Galor-Class, but they made up for it in speed. However, if the Borg are involved, this wouldn t be enough. It s a shame Starfleet isn t keen to risk anymore ships on a hunch, and Cardassia has no ships to send. Maybe, he could get the Klingons to assist. After all, the Duren did steal a ship of theirs; maybe they would want vengeance or eradicate them for being without honor.

Picard was so deep in his thought that he ran right into one of the signs that lined the promenade. It was a map of the Promenade and a big You are here written in the middle. He could hear a few laughs but they quickly went away when they realized who it was. The pain of the blow lasted only a second. Picard shook it off and hurried on his way. He had to get to the Enterprise to contact the Klingon High Council.

Are you all right sir? Picard knew that voice. It was his first officer, Commander Riker. There was a hint of content in his voice. Must everyone be so rude about it? Yes, I m fine. Picard finally said turning to see Riker standing behind him, trying to conceal his smirk.

Well, maybe you should see Dr. Bashir or Dr. Crusher about that wound. Riker suddenly became more serious as he saw the gash on Picard s head.

What wound? Picard reached up to his forehead. He felt the warm blood running from a cut. Oh, yes. I suppose I ll do that. How could he have not noticed? Picard set course for the Infirmary full impulse, figuratively speaking of course.

Picard was only in the Infirmary a few minutes, and he was now in his quarters onboard the Enterprise. So you see, in order for this to work, we require more ships. Now, the Federation and Cardassians have committed forces to this operation and we were wondering if you too would send ships. After all, if it is the Borg, they are a threat to you too. Picard was speaking to someone on his view screen from Kronos.

I understand, however the Klingon Empire is in no state to assist our Federation allies in any kind of operation. The Klingon replied with such sympathy that wasn t expected by a Klingon.

Chancellor Martok, I hope you re-evaluate your decision. If we don t find out for sure that the Borg are a threat or not, they could initiate a surprise attack on the Alpha Quadrant. Believe me, the Klingon Empire stands more of a chance fighting now, when we know where they are and when they battle will be.

Very well Picard, I will have two Bird of Preys sent to DS9 without delay. I just hope I m not making a mistake in doing so.

As do I Chancellor.

The view screen flashed to the Federation insignia after Picard finished talking. Picard was always a good diplomat and negotiator, but he had to admit that negotiating with a Klingon was difficult. It was a stroke of luck that Martok had agreed so easily to sending ships. Their battle fleet was now numbering eight. It may be effective if there is only a small enemy fleet awaiting them; if they should be so lucky

Chapter 7:

Dabo! Another winner Quark thought. It would have been nice except for the fact that the more they win, the more he loses. He wasn t panicking though because in the end, the house comes out the winner.

Hello brother A voice came from the doorway to the bar. Quark didn t need to turn around to recognize that voice.

Rom? What are you doing here? Aren t you supposed to be on Ferenginar? Quark was surprised by this visit. He had assumed that Rom had more important things to do than visit his brother.

I m on vacation. Aren t you happy to see me? Quarks expression sure didn t affirm that he was pleased. In truth he was still getting over the fact that Rom was here.

Happy, of course I m happy. I need some help bartending today. That was just an excuse, he didn t require another bartender, but he couldn t acknowledge he was overjoyed at Rom s visit.

Gladly! Rom missed working for Quark. Things were a lot simpler then. All he ever had to do was fetch stuff from the stock room, wait tables, and bartend. As Nagus though, he had a lot more responsibility. It amazed Rom that Quark hadn t asked for money from him yet. After all, as Grand Nagus he became extremely prosperous.

Dabo! By the sound of things, he was going to need money soon. The patrons have had a stroke of luck lately, and it was bad for business.

Where are your bags? Quark asked looking around.

I had my assistant Grum take them to my quarters.

Well then, get to work.

Yes brother.

All systems operational, we can leave whenever. O Brian was analyzing the computer s self diagnostic of the Defiant s systems as he spoke.

The Klingons ships had arrived and the fleet was ready to push off toward the unknown dangers that awaited them. Everyone was nervous, except the Klingons. Maybe it was because they were a race of warriors; they were used to fighting against the odds. Now, more than ever, O Brian wished he were a Klingon. O Brian wiped away a bead of sweat that had been building on his forehead.

Very well, instruct the fleet to set course for the wormhole. We will regroup on the other side.

Aye captain. Ezri said from her post.

The fleet began to pull away from the station. It wasn t long before the wormhole opened up to them, an array of blue and white light coming forth from it. One by one the ships moved into the light, the Defiant and Ruthola in the lead.

Sisko, I hope you re watching this. We need your help, guidance, or whatever you can give us right now. Kira whispered to herself as soon as they were within.

Let s just hope the Dominion will let us roam through their territory this time. Bashir said. He didn t have a post on the bridge; his purpose for being there was that his infirmary was so small and uncomfortable.

They couldn t help but laugh a little at the statement. While it is true they surrendered, that didn t guarantee they would be friendly to them now.

The end of their passage was directly in front of them now.

Five seconds to Gamma. Ezri stated, still with a grin on her face.

The wormhole spit the fleet out one by one into the Gamma Quadrant; the place that is still relatively unknown to the Federation, Klingons, and every other Alpha Quadrant race.

All ships, set course for the Duren home world, Warp Five. Kira commanded the fleet through the ships communications.

The fleet sped off away from the wormhole, and toward unknown space.

Time of arrival? Kira asked.

At Warp Five it will take us three days, five hours. The Duren home world was a good distance away from the wormhole going at Warp Five. At Warp Nine, they could have cut their travel time down significantly. However the smaller Cardassian ships had a limit of Warp Five point Five.

I think I ll go get settled into my quarters then. Bashir said suggestively.

Me too. Ezri said, almost immediately after.

They both left the bridge at once. Everyone could guess what they were going to do; they couldn t blame them either. This may be the last time they are together.

Sir, there appears to be a problem with the Warp Core s energy output. O Brian said from his post, he sounded worried.

Analysis? Kira asked. Hell of a time for the Defiant to have problems.

There is something caught inside the core! O Brian exclaimed, practically yelling it. Although, if it hadn t caused a Matter/Antimatter reaction yet, which the fact that they were all still here suggests, then it may not be a cause for concern yet.

Get down there and see what it is. Kira commanded. O Brian got up and exited the bridge as fast as his legs could take him. Helm, what s our current speed?

Warp Five. However if the power keeps dropping, we will start loosing speed in approximately one hour. A young ensign said from Dax s old post.

O Brian to Kira. O Brian said through his combadge

Kira here. What s the situation Chief? She asked.

Well sir, it s a bomb. It appears to be surrounded by a magnetic shield. That would explain why we aren t spread halfway across the sector yet. O Brian knew that it didn t have to be a bomb. It could have just been a piece of stone. It would have had the same reaction. However, because it s a bomb, they can t just redirect the antimatter flow elsewhere and be done with the problem. First off, they needed Warp Drive to get to the Duren home world. Second, if they do the bomb could detonate.

Any way to remove it? Kira asked, concern was lingering in her voice.

Not that I can see, but I bet I know who put it there.

I m listening.

I bet the damn Duren beamed it onboard when we engaged them. Now, assuming that they do have Borg technology, our shields wouldn t have stopped them from beaming it into our core. O Brian explained.

"Shit..." A voice behind O'Brian said load enough that Kira and everyone else on the bridge could hear.

"What's going on down there Chief?"

"Nothing to be concerned about sir. Ensign Miller almost destabilized the Matter/Antimatter ratio. Damned fool obviously never learned that only a One to One ratio is stable." O'Brian was almost laughing at Miller's stupidity.

"Just how did Ensign Miller get to be a part of the Defiant's crew then?" Kira asked, trying to hide her good mood.

"There wasn't much of a selection with most veteran officers dead."

"Good point, just keep him away from the core. With the bomb, we have enough problems already."

Chapter 8:

"Captains Log, Colonel Kira in command of the USS Defiant. I alerted the fleet to our situation and it turns out the Klingon ships have also been sabotaged. That means that only the Enterprise and the Cardassian ships are unaffected. The engineering staff of every ship is working around the clock trying to figure a way to remove them before we are forced to reduce speed." Kira wished she knew why everything had to go wrong the day Bashir and O'Brian got back to the station.

"Nothing quite like a life or death situation and an assault on a Gamma Quadrant planet the day we get back eh O'Brian?" Bashir said entering engineering.

"Odd that I missed this kind of thing." O'Brian replied, not looking up from his calculations on the monitor in front of the core.

"How's it going?" Bashir asked, his expression getting grim.

"Not good. Now unless you want to lend your genetically enhanced brain of yours to figuring this problem out, please stay out of my way." This was no time for observers in engineering. They would just be getting in the way.

"Very well, let's see what you have so far." Bashir moved toward the monitor. A series of idea came rushing through his mind before he even got a glance at the information being displayed.

"Maybe we could beam it into space." Bashir offered.

"I wouldn't suggest it. The shielding it has prevents it from being beamed. Secondly it could be set to detect a transporter beam and detonate." O'Brian replied. In truth, he had already thought of that.

"If we could match the shield harmonics, we could transport it regardless of its shields. However, we couldn't transport it through the antimatter anyways." Ensign Miller said walking up next to Bashir.

"Computer, list theories on transporting matter through antimatter." Bashir commanded, still following his theory.

"No results for specified parameters." the computer's synthesized voice replied.

See, I told you. Miller soon regretted his volatile statement. Talking like that to a superior officer was a sure way to get court marshaled.

O Brian and Bashir gave him a dirty look for a moment before returning to their train of thought.

O Brian if you have any suggestions on how to remove the bombs I need to know now. Otherwise, we will be forced to reduce speed in five minutes. Kira was getting frantic. It was completely out of the ordinary for her.

You re in luck sir. We may have a solution; of course if it doesn t work we won t be here to regret it. We think we can drain the Antimatter back into their storage cells while fooling the bomb to think the Antimatter is still there. Then, we can safely beam it out into space. When it detonates, our shields will be plenty to protect us from its blast. It was a fairly easy solution but it s the simple things people never seem to think about. At least O Brian thought so. It was a good thing Bashir followed his hunch through to the end even when he was told it couldn t be done.

Very well, you may begin the operation immediately. I ll warn the ships to raise shields just incase the worst happens. Kira said. She broke communications with O Brian and then opened a channel to the fleet.

Kira to all ships, raise shields. We are about to attempt to remove the bomb from the core.

Acknowledged. Commander Riker said from the Enterprise s bridge. Picard must have been elsewhere doing other important work no doubt.

The other captains also acknowledged her order.

"O'Brian to Kira. We are placing the fake antimatter sensor readings inside the core now."

Kira listened, holding her breath. Everything was so silent; she could hear the faint humming of the Defiant's impulse engines.

"It appears to be working sir." O'Brian finally said after a few seconds.

Kira let out her breath finally.

"I'm now beginning to drain the core of antimatter." O'Brian continued. Red lights began to flash on the bridge and an alarm played.

"Warning antimatter levels critical. Warp Drive will disengage in ten seconds." The computer's voice said.

"Order the fleet to drop out of warp and continue at full impulse."

The helmsman acknowledged and O'Brian continued, "Antimatter is drained, the bomb seems to still be dormant."

The bridge crew could feel the ship slow down almost instantly.

"Kira to transporter room. Lock onto the bomb and beam it into space." Kira barked, she couldn't explain just how glad she was to get rid of the damn thing.

O'Brian watched as the bomb began to demolecularise. He only hoped Bashir s idea worked. Molecule by molecule, the bomb was stored into the transporter's buffer before being rematerialized in the cold vacuum of space.

The bomb detonated immediately after it was transported. O'Brian was about to return to the bridge when he was thrown to the floor by the disorienting force of the ship being rocked by weapons fire.

"What the bloody hell is going on out there?" O'Brian yelled struggling to his feet.

"Two Borg ships have just entered the system and begun an attack on the fleet." Ensign Miller replied looking at the sensor readings.

"O'Brian to bridge." Nothing...
"O'Brian to Kira, come in" Nothing...

O'Brian walked over to a wall commpanel. "O'Brian to bridge." Again nothing...

Ensign Miller spoke up, "Communications are down sir.

"Get a team and try to get communications back up. I'm going to see what I can do on the bridge." O'Brian announced. So the damn little devils showed their faces; time to show them who's boss, O'Brian thought.

Chapter 9:

"Identification of Borg vessels?" Kira asked gripping the arms of her chair to steady herself as the ship was hit with another attack.

"The design is listed as Interceptors. They are only scouts." Dax said. She returned to the bridge for duty s few seconds ago.

"Lock phasers on the nearest ship and fire." Kira ordered as they were hit again.

Outside the Interceptors sped between the fleet's ships evading most of the incoming phaser fire, but not all. All but the Enterprise were maneuverable enough to pursue them. The Defiant was first to break formation and turn to chase down its attackers. A volley of pulse phaser fire streamed from its two forward firing phaser banks. The attack hit the nearest of the two and within a few moments it was consumed in flames. The remaining cylindrical green ship set course and engaged warp drive toward the Duren home world.

"Where's that ship going?" Kira asked. In all the reports on the Borg she had read, which wasn't many, they never ran away.

"It's heading toward the Duren home world at Warp Nine point Five." Dax replied.

"Well I guess we know for sure now the Borg are involved." Kira said. "What's the status of the fleet?" Kira asked her face was grim. She had no idea just how much damage two Borg scouts could do to an unsuspecting fleet.

"The fleet reports no casualties and all ships are in good condition. I suspect they were only sent to gather ship numbers and strength." Dax said. Kira was relieved to know that when it came to scouts, the Borg weren't very lethal. Although, if they were accompanied by stronger ships, they would be a distraction. They could be used to draw fire away from them.

O'Brian exited onto the bridge just then. "Looks like I missed all the fun." He said noticing that the bridge crew had settled a bit after their encounter. "You didn't miss much, they were only scouts." Kira replied.

"Miller to O'Brian"

"O'Brian here, I guess you got the communications up." O'Brian said.

"Yes sir. I also wanted to inform you that the warp core is filled with antimatter and we are ready to go just as soon as the rest of the fleet is bomb free." Miller said.

Ironically, an explosion rocked the Defiant.

"Now what?" O'Brian asked to nobody in particular.

"Another Borg ship?" Kira asked.

"No, we just lost the Kahnj'i." Dax said frantically scanning the debris for survivors. "No survivors." Dax continued.

"Tell the other ships to get rid of the bombs immediately!" Kira yelled. This operation couldn't afford to lose more ships before they even got there.

"Damn it." Picard was starting to regret not pushing Chancellor Martok to give more ships. They were now down to six ships. Picard sighed and leaned back in his ready room chair, putting down the crew roster of the Kahnj'i. 318 Klingon warriors were onboard when the bomb inside it core exploded. That was 318 Klingons who died honorless deaths, in a sneak attack, never even getting a chance to fight in the real battle. The names kept running through his mind as he stared at the ceiling. His ready room was quiet almost all the time and he was startled when there was a chirping at his door. Picard sat upright and said, "Come in."

A dark-skinned man was standing in the doorway. His eyes were grey and lifeless.

"Ah, Mr. LaForge." LaForge was the Enterprise's Chief Engineer. Picard had been expecting a report from him on the status of the ship's ability to withstand the Borg attack. Getting accurate information was difficult since nobody really knew what they were up against. LaForge wound up just putting together some rough estimates and he had hoped that in would be enough to satisfy Picard.

"It doesn't look good sir. Assuming that there will only be a Cube and a few scouts defending the Duren's planet, we would last only a few minutes alone. The entire fleet would last maybe an hour but wouldn't be able to defeat them. However, we can't rule out the possibility that the Duren will have some of their own ships defending them as well. We have virtually no information at all on their ship design and capabilities; I couldn't even tell you what colors they are." LaForge told Picard all this and waited for his reply.

"Very well Mr. LaForge. If that s it then..." Picard didn't need to finish. LaForge knew what he was going to say and he left just as Commander Riker entered.

"Kira has just informed me that the fleet is ready to continue. They're all waiting on us." Riker said. He seemed to be taking all this slightly better than Picard was, slightly.

"I see. I'll be out shortly." Picard voice was slow and hoarse.

Riker left the ready room and told Data, "Prepare to go to Warp on my mark. Data just got done punching in the course and speed when Riker continued, "Engage.". It was a saying he picked up from Picard and it stuck.

The starscape blurred as the Enterprise's Warp Drive was engaged. The rest of the fleet followed close behind the Enterprise.

"Hostile fleet inbound. Species Human, Species Klingon, Species Cardassian. Seven total ships, their offensive and defensive capabilities are no match for our own." The Borg scout returned to base only moments ago and was now reporting its findings. The scout didn't have to return but its services would be needed defending their outpost.

"Proceed with command 039 prepare the defense of outpost BX - 34983." A Borg voice replied over the Interceptor's comm system.

Chapter 10:

"This is it." Kira said almost whispering it.

"We'll reach the Duren home world in one minute." Dax said.

"This is Colonel Kira to all ships, drop out of warp and prepare for battle." Kira said over the newly opened comm channel.

The fleet slowed to half impulse, the Defiant now in the lead.

"Prepare randomizing shield and phaser modulation subroutines. Attack formation Beta Eight." The fleet acknowledged and positioned forming a wall behind the Defiant.

"Borg fleet coming into visual range now." Dax reported.

The view screen flickered as the image was magnified and the Borg fleet filled the screen.

The sight was absolutely terrifying. There was more opposition than expected. Kira noted their defenses and ships well. A Borg Cube, the escaped scout, a Borg Nexus, a dozen turrets, and a number of small unknown vessels. The unknown ships presumably belonged to the mysterious Duren.

Static came over every ship's comm system before a voice spoke, "We are the Borg. Lower your shields and prepare for assimilation. Resistance is Futile. Your cultures and technologies will adapt to service us."

"Like hell." Kira said. The communication ended abruptly but it most likely wasn't Kira's answer that made them break communication. The Borg weren't known for their talking. "All ships, open fire then break formation." Kira told Dax.

Kira was trained for combat situations, she was used to fighting as she had done it most of her early life. Now though, it was like none of it mattered. This enemy wasn't a Cardassian occupational force, no this was something much more. It was a race which over many generations had assimilated technology from all over the galaxy gaining in strength. Its capabilities unmatched by any other race, and perhaps even the entire Alpha Quadrant put together.

The fleets met with full force. Phasers and torpedoes projected from the fleet's weapon arrays barely inflicting any damage on the Duren and Borg fleet. Cutting beams came from the Borg Cube slicing a chunk of a Cardassian hull with the precision of an old fashioned scalpel. The Interceptor caught a torpedo to its aft section. Its aft shields weakened greatly, Picard saw this opportunity and acted.

"Lock all weapons on the scout's aft section." Picard ordered his tactical officer, a young human female named Trista. She no doubt had some alien backgrounds judging by her name.

"Aye sir, all weapons locked on target." She responded.

"Fire!"

Three phaser bursts and two Quantum torpedoes streaked the starscape as they headed right for their target. The barrage worked, it struck the ship and within seconds it was blown off course. Its new course was straight for a Duren ship which just got done firing some kind of purple phaser weapon at the Defiant. The Duren ship which resembled an Earth spider with its legs straight out. The small dome on the top must have been the bridge, and the bumps on the legs were phaser weapons.

The scout impacted on the dome and the spidery ship exploded in a ball of blue and orange flames.

"Dax, bring us about head toward the Cube." Kira ordered from the Defiant's bridge.

The Defiant made a 120 by 20 degree turn and faced the Cube head on.

"Slow to One Quarter Impulse. Open Fire on these coordinates." Kira transferred a set of numbers to Dax's terminal and stood up to see what effect they would have.

The Defiant opened fire on the center of the green mass. A small chunk was missing when the flames cleared.

The Cube aimed and engaged its Holding Beam onto the Ruthola. A green beam spread out and engulfed the Galor-Class ship. There was no escape for Tomar now. The Borg could cut the ship into a million pieces if they so desires... and they did so desire. Two cutting beams locked onto the Ruthola's aft and port sides. The beams began cutting sections out of the ship.

"Hull breach detected engineering and science lab two." Tomar's operations officer reported.

"Evacuate and seal off those areas." Tomar ordered. His scaled face was glistening with sweat. It wasn't just because the environmental controls weren't working; he was just plain pushing himself. He was determined to show the Cardassian people that there was hope.

"Open fire on the holding beam!" Captain Galun of the remaining Klingon ship said.

The Bird of Prey swung around and fired its disruptors at the holding beam emitter. The Cube released its hold on the Ruthola and began firing on the Bird of Prey.

Its shields weakened, it was engulfed in a brilliant explosion... well not so brilliant.

"Kira to all ships, regroup at coordinates 25.32, 124.54, 84.2. Maximum Warp."

The Defiant, Ruthola, Enterprise, and the remaining smaller Cardassian ship pulled away from the Duren home world. Their destination was a good ways away from the planet and the Borg showed no interest in pursuit.

Chapter 11:

"Status report?" Picard asked Mr. Data as soon as they arrived at their destination which was a small moon. Its distance from the planet was about the same distance as Bajor is from the wormhole.

"Shields at 42 percent, Phaser array two has overheated and fused together, hull breach on decks one through four section 12." Data replied. It was a good thing his emotion chip had been turned off during the entire conflict. It wouldn't have been a good time for Data to experience fear and have his work performance suffer.

"Tell the captains of all remaining ships I would like to see them in the onboard Ward Room in thirteen minutes." Kira said to Dax.

"Yes sir." Dax replied with the professionalism of her old host Jadzia and even Curzon.

"Sir. Shields have been drained to 39 percent. More importantly though, I noticed that the automated defenses and the station never fired a shot." O'Brian said.

"I did too. They were mocking us. They destroyed two ships and all we did was take out an already damaged scout." As infuriating as it was to Kira, she was thankful they were dormant during the battle. They barely survived with just ships attacking them.

"Our situation is desperate; you could even call it hopeless. The question remains either way, should we press on or retreat while we're still in one piece?" Kira asked from across the Defiant's Ward Room table.

"Believe me when I say I'd be the last one to retreat. However this is complete suicide." Tomar said.

"You were going to charge in after them on your own." Kira countered.

"Perhaps, but I never actually believed that you wouldn't have let me go alone." Tomar replied. "We should go back to the Alpha Quadrant and gather more ships."

"Perhaps we could lure them to DS9. There, we can tip the odds in our favor." Picard wondered.

"The station has upgraded weapons and shields but isn't refitted for the randomizing phaser and shield modulation. It wouldn't stand a chance." Kira said.

"Dax to Kira." Kira's combadge chirped to life and Dax's voice came over.

"Kira here if you don't mind we're in the middle of something here."

"I'm sorry sir but long range sensors are picking up multiple Warp Signatures."

"I'm on my way." Kira and the other Captains left the Ward Room. Kira toward the Bridge and the others the other way toward the Transporter Room.

"Identification?" Kira asked entering the bridge. She had taken long running strides to get there as fast a possible.

"At this range it's too hard to tell. They will be within range of identification in thirty seconds." Dax replied.

The next few seconds were spent in anticipation. Was it the Borg? Kira wondered who it could be; she was almost certain that whoever it was wasn't friendly.

"Reading multiple Federation and Dominion Warp Signatures approaching at Warp Nine." Dax broke into a smile. Help had arrived, or was it a trick? She double checked and it turned out to be true, they were really there.

"Onscreen." Kira said grinning. Now they stood a chance.

The Defiant's view screen filled with the grays of the Galaxy, Nebula, and Akira class Federation ships. They were accompanied by several Jem'Hadar Attack Vessels.

"The lead ship is hailing us; it's the USS Ligeria." Dax announced looking at the comm light flashing indicating an incoming transmission.

"Put him through." Kira commanded.

Dax acknowledged and routed the communication through the communication array to the bridge. A young man with brown hair came onto the screen.

"This is Captain Robbins of the USS Ligeria. Looks like you could use some help." Robbins said noticing the visible signs of damage without even needing a sensor reading.

"It would be appreciated. By the way, why is the Dominion here? Why did Starfleet send you now instead of earlier?" Kira responded.

"Starfleet realized soon after you left that this was too important to let ride on a few ships. The Dominion offered to aid us when we were stopped and I explain to them our cause. Apparently the Dominion hadn't known the Borg were in this Quadrant." He explained.

"Well, you're right on time. Would you like to take command?" Kira asked.

"No thanks, you know their defenses the best." Robbins said. In truth he was just appointed captain. He couldn't bear the weight of casualties yet.

"Very well. Kira out." Kira said.

The view screen switched back to the image of the fleet.

"Order the ships to prepare to get under way." Kira ordered to Dax. "O'Brian any suggestions to tip the odds even further?" Kira asked.

O'Brian thought for a moment and a brilliant idea came into his mind. A grin came over his face. "I think so..."

"All ships set course for Duren's home world, Warp 5." Kira ordered.

The wall of ships, the Defiant, in the lead entered warp in a burst of light. The Defiant and the fleet were cruising much faster than light speed. Kira watched the streaks of white that were in fact stars whose light couldn't keep up, go by.

"Kira to Transporter Room. Are the away teams ready?"

"O'Brian here. Almost sir."

This mission was O'Brian's idea and he wanted to beam them there himself. The mission itself was kept secret from the other ships and even most of the Defiant's own crew.

"ETA five minutes." Dax announced.

The ships decelerated to half impulse as they approached the Duren's home world. They looked like tiny specks painted against the pitch blackness of space; visible only by sensors or the lights on the ships.

"Drop shields for just enough time to beam the away teams over to the Nexus. Then, raise them and prepare for attack." Kira commanded.

"Dropping shields." Dax said, punching in the command to lower shields.

"First wave is away." O'Brian announced over his combadge as the team of two dematerialized.

Two more security men stepped up onto the cramped transporter pad, unaware of what awaited them when they finally materialized.

"Second team ready." O'Brian said not looking up from the transporter controls.

"Shields down." Dax told O'Brian.

"Second team away."

"Final team away." O'Brian announced at last. Six teams in total had been beamed over to that station, 12 security men.

"Borg are within firing range." Dax said.

"Launch quantum torpedoes at the defense platforms. Instruct the other ships to fire at will but no matter what, not to hit the station." Kira commanded. O'Brian's plan was a good one, like almost every other plan he had.

"Torpedoes away. Message sent." Dax said.

O'Brian entered the bridge looking a bit concerned. If this operation didn't work, those twelve men were just sent to their deaths by him.

The strike force gathered and prepared to begin their mission. It occurred to the leader, Jikun that the fate of every crewman in the fleet was in their hands.

The Nexus looked a bit different from Borg vessels. The Nexus had corridors, at least one from the team's initial perspective. There was no doubt a large force of Borg onboard, but for now it seemed as if they were the only ones. Silence filled the station except for the occasional whirr or click from machinery farther down the corridor.

"Jenkins, Omaru, Kikei, Yomaran, and Nedson you're with me." Jikun said. "Buinds, O'Colons, Vie'ji, Tynadi, Smith, and Wilkins take the corridor back. My team will take the corridor in front. Neutralize enemy force and attempt to gain control of Nexus via the devices O'Brian gave us." He held up a black box, it had no visible controls and it was just bigger than Jikun's hand. The box was programmed to send signals to and from the Defiant. Therefore the entire station would be remote controlled by the Defiant's crew.

"Yes sir." They all said.

Jikun, his phaser rifle in hand, began down the corridor and his team followed cautiously. Outside, the sounds of battle were the only thing that suggested they were in the middle of a battle zone. Inside the station were no alarms like on a Federation or Klingon station or ship.

What s taking them so long? Kira murmured as she gripped the Defiant s Captain s chair. It had been seven minutes since the team was beamed onto the Nexus.

Incoming transmission from Picard. Hew says it s urgent. Dax said implicating another set of maneuvers into the console in front of her.

Onscreen. Kira said.

The Borg Cube disappeared from the screen and the image of Picard replaced it. The Enterprise s bridge was in flame much like most of the ships in the fleet.

Colonel, if that team of yours doesn t succeed soon, we will be forced to retreat. Picard said trying to balance as the ship was hit.

We have to give them more time. Kira replied. Picard was right, and she couldn t deny it.

Colonel we don t have the time! Picard yelled trying to be heard over an exploding console on his bridge.

This was the hardest desicion a captain ever had to make. How could she weigh the value of life. If they retreat, whole worlds would fall. If they stayed they may all die and the worlds would still fall.

"Prepare to retreat." Kira said finally. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. She personally knew some of they men sent on that mission, and she just gave the order to leave them to die.

"That may be premature." O'Brian announced.

"Explain." Kira said shocked thst O'Brian would be questioning an order.

Instead of explaining, O'Brian merely changed the view screen's view to the Nexus. What awaited their eyes was the most brilliant and perhaps the best thing they could have possibly witnessed. Green energy spewed endlessly from the Nexus, not toward the fleet but the automated defenses around the Duren world. Taken completely by suprise, the defenses were destroyed before they had time to adapt to the new enemy. O'Brian had noticed that they were getting a signal from the Nexus and began firing on the defenses as soon as he realised what it was. He was impressed, he knew it would be helpful but this was taking out the defenses no problem.

"Captain, I think we should have had more faith in them." Kira said smuggly. At this moment she couldn't believe she almost left them to fend for themselves.

"You couldn't be more right. Good work. Picard out."

"Kira to all ships, come about and prepare to open fire on the Borg Cube." She then opened a channel to the Nexus. "Good work. The defenses are taken care of, prepare to beam back onboard." Kira said.

"Aye sir." Came the reply from a shaken up Jikun. He had just been through perhaps the worst fight of his life. The Borg kept coming, adapting to every frequency. It was sheer madness. He watched his best friend Omaru get turned into one of the bastards before his very eyes. His skin turned white and then... It was too much to think about. He had no choice but to shoot him, and put him out of his misery.

"Sir, do you like fireworks?" O'Brian asked rather happily.

"Can't say I do or don't. Why?" She asked surprised at the question. Was this really the time for such trivial inquiries?

"Look..." O'Brian refocused the screen onto the Cube just as a salvo of the Defiant's Phasers and torpedoes hit. The Cube's hull buckled, the alcoves unable to withstand the explosive force. Fire erupted from every opening on the ship, it burned green. The ship finally gave and debris was shot outward leaving dust trails that seemed to sparkle in the system's sunlight. O'Brian was right, the way it exploded did look like a firework. She only saw fireworks a few times. The most recent was when the war ended, the combined fleets of Starfleet, Klingons, and Romulans shot them off. It was absolutly amazing seeing that spectacle. Tears of shear joy overwhelmed the crews of the various ships except of course the Jem'Hadar ships. They just saw it as another battle because of their lack of emotion. They were bred for this kind of thing.

"Transporter room to Kira, I've got them." The away teams had just finished beaing onboard when the resulting shockwave of the Cube's explosion hit and utterly destroyed the station. O'Brian though it was a damn shame. He wanted to be able to study it.

"Ezri, set a course for home." Kira said, finally dropping the formality of last names.

"Incoming transmission from the lead Jem'Hadar ship." Ezri said.

"Put them on." Kira ordered.

A Vorta male with a slim figure, dark brown hair, and a grin on his face appeared on the screen. He was wearing the headset giving him the ability to see whats going outside and to communicate with the Defiant.

"My people will finish freeing the planet and questioning the inhabitants. This is one step in the direction of peace between our two peoples. It will not be forgotten I asure you." The connection was cut and a view of the Jem'Hadar ship entering warp replaced the image of the Vorta.

"I guess that's a thank you." Kira ventured. She didn't agree with the questioning the inhabitants but she couldn't argue. Technically this was Dominion space and they reserved the right to do whatever they pleased. It pained her that they may never get the truth of what happened to the inhabitants of why they allied with the Borg, even temporarily.

"Well, I don't know about all of you, but I can't wait to get back into a proper Infirmary." Bashir said entering the bridge. His uniform was stained with splatters of blood. He no doubt had a rough time treating all the wounded in such small space.

"I couldn't agree more. Dax if you will..." Kira agreed.

"Course set, engaging Warp Drive." Dax announced grinning.

Chapter 12:

The Defiant approached the wormhole, slowing to one half impulse. Kira wondered as they entered the mysterious entity-built wormhole if Sisko had heard her plea for aid and sent help here. No, that was illogical. How could he send help or even convince Starfleet to send help while in the wormhole? It had to be just plain, dumb luck.

They exited the wormhole and DS9 came into view. Finally home sweet home. Kira knew that wouldn't be the last time they deal with the Borg, but at least for now, they didn't have to worry about them.

"DS9 to Defiant. Come in Defiant." That voice... could it be? Am I imagining it? Kira knew it couldn't possibly be him.

"That sounds like..." O'Brian began. Kira finished it for him. "Sisko!"

"Yes? Can I help you." Sisko said coming onscreen grinning a smug grin.

The Defiant crew burst in cheer at seeing their captain back finally after about five months, he was back.

"But how did you.. when..." Kira was at a loss of words. She blinked to see if she was imagining this. She wasn't, there he was as much as the rest of them.

"I'll explain later." He said. He couldn't wait to tell Kira everything that haad transpired.

"Brother, I've been thinking... perhaps I could move back into here. Make DS9 my base of operations. There is even profit in it for you, you see. With the Grand Nagus here, people will be drawn to the station more than normal and your bar will get more business." Rom explained as he set a tray of empty glasses down finishing with the last of Quark's customers for the day.

Quark contimplated how much business he would get. He decided it was an exceptional margin of increase in profits. "I knew I didn't sell you off for a reason." He was not only proud of the money he was going to get, but proud that Rom was staying. Just thinking of having his wealthy brother on the station for good now made his ears tingle.

"Everything checks out. He's as fit as a horse." Bashir said finishing his scans of Ben Sisko. "You're saying you don't remember much about what happened?" Bashir asked.

"I remember joining with the Prophets. I'm not sure how much time passed. The next thing I know, I'm standing on DS9 in Ops. Oh.. I do remember hearing a prayer from a certain someone asking for help." He recalled. "However, I don't think I can claim any credit for the help that was sent." He tried to confirm it but his memory was blurred and even missing when it came to that time.

"How long have I been gone?" Sisko finally asked.

"Five months." Bashir replied.

"I happened to Jake and Jennifer?" Sisko asked. He had been dying to know this ever since he finally returned to the station.

"They returned to Earth." O'Brian said,

"Didn't you go back too?" Sisko asked recalling that the Chief had become a teacher at the Academy.

"Let's just say that teaching something doesn't beat actually doing it in the field." He responded.

"I want a full debrief tomorrow at twelve hundred." Sisko said. He was tired oddly enough and just wanted to sleep off his confusion, at least until tomorrow.

Sneak Peak into Post DS9 Negative...
Chapter 1:
Sisko was sitting in his office most of the morning. He was just debriefed yesterday about the renewed Borg threat. It troubled him greatly as he tried to find the words to say. Finally, he spoke in a clear voice.

"Station Log, Captain Benjaman Sisko resuming command of the Bajoran space station Deep Space Nine. It gives me great pleasure to announce that life is slowly resuming some degree of normalcy. My son Jake and my wife Jennifer have left Earth and are currently enroute along with my father. Ezri Dax has resumed her post as our Science Officer and she seems focused on her job. Dr. Julian Bashir has resumed as Chief Medical Officer and is eager as bafore to practice frontier medicine. Chief of Operations Miles O'Brian, returned to work officially just today. He started with his ever favorite task of fixing the Ops replicators. As for the Borg, I have only one thing to say; When they come, I promise to have this station and Bajor ready. When I took this post, I swore to protect Bajor with my life if need be. I still live up to that agreement today. End Log."

Sisko was just finished sending his log via subspace to Starfleet Command when Dax's smooth voice came over his combadge.

"Ben, you better get out here." She said from her post at the Science terminal in Ops.

"On my way." Sisko replied. Whatever this was, it must have been important if Dax was bothering him.

The doors seperating Sisko's medium sized office with Ops slid open as he approached making a slight hissing noise. Ops was rather full, O'Brian and a team of Bajoran technicions were over by the replicator. Its panel had been removed and now circuitry and wiring was showing.

"What's the problem?" Sisko asked Dax ignoring the mess over by the replicator.

"Short-Range sensors have picked up an anomaly in the neighboring system." Dax replied keeping her voice calm. There was no reason to panic, especially since there was no indication of what this anomally was. Just to be sure though she called Sisko down.

"Any idea what it is?" Sisko inquired.

"Not yet, the anomally is still too small to get an exact reading." Dax said honostly.

All the talk of anomallies caught the attention of Chief O'Brian and Colonel Kira. Kira who was over by a commpanel had rendeveoused with O'Brian over by Dax and Sisko within moments of hearing.

"Could it be the Borg?" Kira asked. She had enough of them during her first experiance with them. If it was them... the station and Bajor were both relativly undefended.

"Negative. No nuetrino variance from the wormhole and I'm picking up no transwarp signitures." Dax replied analysing what little information she got from her scans.

"How long before you can get a good reading?" Sisko asked. He wasn't in the mood to keep guessing so he would just have to wait for answers.

"At current rate of expansion, two hours." She announced initiating another scan.