Alpha Quadrant
Deep Space 9 in orbit around Bajor
Stardate 47703
Three months ago . . . .
A soft beep sounded from one of the consoles in Ops. An Ensign glanced up, snapping to attention as he reported.
"Message for you, Commander. It's Major Kira."
"Thank you, Ensign. Put it through to my office," Commander Sisko replied, not bothering to look at the nervous and eager to please new graduate of Star Fleet Academy. The younger man complied, looking a little embarrassed.
After a moment, Sisko paused in his work, stepping back from the monitor he had been viewing.
"It's been over a week since she last contacted you," Dax shot him a smirk. "She must be going crazy."
"I'm sure the Major can handle a simple first contact mission," he replied dryly.
Dax's smirk grew more pronounced as she leaned over her console, adding in a conspiratorial whisper, "I dunno, Benjamin. From her reports, the Elassi don't seem very eh . . . conventional.
"I believe her exact words were "a race of hedonistic, godless narcissists with a penchant for wasting time and resources," he intoned in a bland voice. Nevertheless, the faintest hint of amusement leaked into his expression, a sign that Dax failed to miss.
She coughed in an attempt to hide her laughter, earning a few curious glances from the Ensigns and junior officers.
Sisko rolled his eyes. "Nevertheless, this is a first contact mission, as I've said, and the Elassi deserve to be treated with the same amount of respect afforded to any other species."
"As much as Kira can stand to show them, you mean," Dax muttered, grinning to herself as the Commander turned and climbed the steps to his office.
. . . .
Once inside, he took a seat at his desk, switching on the communications panel.
"Major," he greeted his first officer calmly, as he leaned back and steepled his fingers.
"Commander Sisko! May I say what a joy it is to speak with you," Kira began in an overly cheerful voice, a hint of desperation in her eyes. "You know, of all the people in Star Fleet, you have always been my favorite."
"You can't come back early, Major."
"Early?" she made a dismissive noise, waving away his suggestion. "Why would you . . . Why would I . . ."
She sighed and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose with the look of one developing an unpleasant migraine. "Please, Commander," she implored in a weary voice, "These people are . . . ridiculous." She trailed off, a distinctly unhappy look settling on her features as she let out a breath of long suffering, running one hand distractedly through her cropped hair.
"Excessive flattery doesn't suit you, Major. Neither does begging. It's positively Ferengi," he commented lightly, leaning his chin on one closed hand as he spoke.
"I know, I know . . . Prophets, don't tell Quark. I don't think I could live with the humiliation." She chuckled weakly.
"Surely your stay hasn't been that miserable? The Elassi are quite hospitable from what I hear," he smiled encouragingly.
She snorted. "That's one word for it . . ."
"And . . . the main reason for your mission?" he prompted.
She took a deep breath, schooling her features into a more composed mask.
"One of the few things I can respect about this species. Their maps of the Gamma Quadrant are impeccable . . . A side effect of being the Risa of this part of the galaxy, of course."
"How do you mean?" he inquired.
"A lot of ships come through this sector to trade information for eh . . . worldly indulgences," she coughed to cover her embarrassment, adding quickly, "Their medical advances are also impressive. It's a shame Dr. Bashir didn't accompany me. I've met a number of physicians here who could give him a run for his money."
"I think we'll leave his pride intact for a little longer. Just in case we have an outbreak of the flu or something," he muttered tiredly. "It's one been one hell of a week. I wouldn't be surprised if something else went wrong before it was over."
"That bad, huh?"
"You have no idea," he grumbled with a pointed look.
She smirked, leaning back in her seat and folding her arms behind her head with a casual air.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Commander," she drawled nonchalantly. "Gee, it's such a shame that you decided to send me halfway across the galaxy by myself. We could have had such a nice vacation. No angry spacefarers or disgruntled politicians to please. I will say that Elassi Prime has one other thing going for it. The weather is fantastic."
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Don't enjoy yourself too much, Major. I'm sure I could find a reason to prolong your stay."
She smiled faintly, then paused suddenly as she sat up straighter, regarding him thoughtfully for a moment before continuing, "As the Admiral already informed you, they've begun the process for a formal admission to the Federation. I have little doubt that their application will be accepted. Their planet is rich in resources, and they've made advances in engineering, medicine and warp technology that rival those of the Federation. As . . . Unorthodox as some of their views may be, I'm sure there's a lot we could learn from each other."
"So . . . what's bothering you?" he prompted, studying her curiously.
She hesitated and appeared to scan a space beyond the communications monitor, as though looking for eavesdroppers, before leaning closer to the screen and lowering her voice. Sisko frowned, watching her actions.
"Commander, I don't trust them. They're hiding something."
"Is this a fact? Or are you basing this accusation on a hunch?" he asked bluntly.
"Have faith, Commander. My paranoia is generally reserved for Cardassians, and even then, it's founded on years of experience."
"I'm listening," he said, tapping one finger against his cheek with pointed impatience.
She paused once more, before speaking slowly, "Commander, I spent the majority of my life learning how to cause the most damage with the least amount of weaponry. In the resistance we didn't have the Federation's standard of technology at our disposal. We had to make do with a lot of homemade or stolen phasers or . . . or explosives . . . ."
"What's your point, Major?" he asked tiredly, when she appeared to hesitate once more, seeming reluctant to make whatever accusation she had on her mind.
She threw one more glance around the room, eyes cautious.
"Major? Are you expecting someone? Or are you being monitored?" he asked, a sudden feeling of unease creeping across him.
"Not technically . . . Well, they've been shadowing me for two days, but I disabled the bugs they planted in my room," she held up a piece of mangled equipment with a grim smile.
He frowned, sitting up straighter in his chair as she continued.
"I honestly thought I was being paranoid at first, but . . . The day after I got here, when I met the Prime Minister to begin negotiations, I was shuttled to some of the bombing sites on their two most distant moons. You know, their outposts that were supposedly destroyed by their longtime enemies? The ones they want Federation protection from?"
"The Itani," he nodded. "Yes, I remember it from the briefing."
"Yeah, well, I did a little researching of my own, beyond what the Elassi told us. Turns out they weren't being completely honest."
"In what way?:
"The Itani still rely heavily on projectile weaponry. They've only begun to develop more advanced technology for warfare in the last few decades. For Prophets' sakes, they don't even have warp drive. They are, for all intents and purposes, primitive compared to the Elassi. There's no way they could be responsible for the level of sheer destruction I observed in those sites. And trust me when I say that I know what kind of damage jury rigged explosives can cause."
"For the sake of your future career outside a Federation prison, I'll pretend I didn't hear that last part . . . In case it ever becomes an issue."
It was her turn to quirk an eyebrow at him.
"Were you able to get sensor readings? Is it possible they could have bought or stolen the weapons from a third party?" he pressed.
"Not unless they also managed to make off with ships that were compatible with the technology. The sites were bombed from orbit. And no, they wouldn't let me bring a tricorder to the surface. Something about a risk to planetary security."
"And yet they asked for our help. How strange that they wouldn't let us determine what kind of weapons were used. How else are we supposed to help them mount a defense?"
"Don't ask me, Commander. I haven't got a clue." She scowled faintly. "I pressed for more information, of course, but all that got me was my own personal shadows."
"Have they made any direct threats?" he demanded, a note of concern lacing his voice.
She waved a hand dismissively, brushing aside his worry.
"No, not yet. They seem to be relatively peaceful, actually. Most of their technology has gone into developing defensive rather than offensive capabilities. But that's what makes this whole situation so much stranger. The two sites that were bombed . . . Both of them housed components of an interplanetary shield generator. It's ingenious, really. Works just like a sensor net, only with multiple layers of energy shielding and, on the outer layers, a nasty little minefield of pulse charges that would be triggered by any ship trying to enter without the proper authorization codes. I was, obviously, escorted to Elassi Prime once I reached the border. However, if someone were to find a way to take out some of the generators, they'd tear a small hole in the net."
"I'm surprised those moons weren't better protected."
"Oh, I'm not," she said waving a hand in affected dismissal. "There are countless numbers of these locations. The two moons aren't even that important really . . . They're out on the frontier . . . in a poorly populated area. Perfect place to . . . Test a new strategy? A . . . Scout ship or two might have also gone missing the week before it happened. I wonder if they were even necessary, or just backup for whoever wanted to decrypt the codes."
"Indeed," he murmured, disturbed by the news.
"There's something else," she drummed her fingers against the surface of her desk as she spoke. "I was . . . Chatting with one of the engineers . . . People will tell you anything when they're drunk . . . And won't remember it if you happen to "accidentally" spike their drink . . ."
"Major," he began in a warning voice.
"Oh, court martial me when I get back," she snapped in exasperation, the mounting tension evident in her tone. "This is important."
"It had better be."
She clenched and unclenched her hands as she muttered in a terse voice, "I'm sorry, Commander. That was out of line. These people are more paranoid than I am. I think it's starting to get to me."
He nodded, motioning to her to continue.
"They've recently begun implementing a new self modulating mechanism to the shield grid. They didn't bother before, from what I understand. No one had gotten past the outer layer. In theory, it should make it nearly impossible to breach the wall. It seems they're attempting to compensate for . . . Whoever they expect to attack them again . . . And something tells me it isn't the Itani they're worried about."
"How much information were you able to gain about these new adjustments?"
"Nothing so helpful as their design specs or coding, unfortunately. All I know is that each layer is now self contained and able to regulate a constant frequency rotation. So, say someone makes it past layer 1; they then have to modulate their phasers to match a constantly shifting second layer, and so on and so forth. All while avoiding the daily increase in the number of pulse charges being worked into the grid. Essentially a death trap. It's . . . A bit disturbing actually . . . Given the level of tension that seems to be brewing under the surface here, I don't think they'd disable a segment of their wall long enough to let me leave."
"Seems like there's trouble in Paradise, after all."
"You could say that."
"I had wondered why the Prime Minister wasn't responding to my communications."
"I think he's too busy gearing up for . . . Something. I don't know . . . I can't get anyone to talk to me. They've gotten even more tight lipped the past two days. It's starting to affect the civilians too, though I doubt they know as much as I do."
He sighed, shifting in his seat, "I wish you had contacted me earlier. It'll take us three days at maximum warp to reach you."
She shook her head, "I wanted to be certain before I brought it up. That and it won't do any good. If you make it past the wall, that's what they call it by the way, you won't be able to beam me out. And I doubt they'd let you land a shuttle."
"What about a warship?" he asked.
She laughed, a bright sound, the tension seeming to melt away from her.
"I'm honored, Commander, truly, but I don't need the Federation to come to my rescue."
"Major," he said carefully, folding his hands in front of him, "I know this past year and a half has been a bit rough in places . . . Believe it or not, I do have sympathy for the plight of the Bajoran people. It couldn't have been easy making this transition . . ."
"Commander . . . I'll be fine. This hasn't become a serious problem yet. There's no need to panic," she interrupted, the amusement fading from her face to be replaced by a look of weariness and slight discomfort.
"What I mean to say is, you're one of my people now, and I look out for my people. It hasn't become an issue yet, but it could at a moment's notice. I want to be there if that happens.
"Alright then," she said, after eyeing him with a blank expression for a moment. "I'll see if I can't get you more information on the shield network."
"Wonderful. I'll be waiting."
"But, Commander . . . Please don't interfere unless absolutely necessary. I don't mind waiting this one out. I can handle myself."
"I know you can, Major. But we can use this opportunity to extend aid . . ."
She held up a hand to silence him, glancing up abruptly.
"Major? Major Kira?"
He heard her curse under her breath as she stood. In the background a wailing siren began to grow louder and more urgent. He peered closer at the screen as a guard rounded the corner of the desk, coming into his line of sight.
"What's going on?" Major Kira demanded, a hand on her phaser.
"Attack, ma'am. No time to explain. They've breached the outer wall. You have to come with me to Minister Kleth immediately." He reached to grab her arm, but she took a step back, replying icily, "I can walk, thanks."
She turned to the screen, using her body to hide it from the guard's view as she shot Sisko a look laden with meaning and switched off communications.
. . . .
Sisko jumped out of his seat as soon as the screen went black, pushing past an Ensign as he rushed into Ops.
"Sir?" the Ensign asked, but received only a gesture to be quiet.
"Benjamin?" Dax looked up, concern radiating from her entire person.
"Get the Doctor while I brief Odo, Lieutenant. We're going on a trip."
. . . .
Two Days Layer
"Sir, I'm picking up several ships off the port bow."
"On screen."
Sisko sat up straight as a veritable fleet of ships appeared on the viewscreen. A second glance caused his frown to deepen.
"Looks like most of them have been recently damaged," Dax commented.
"Weapons?"
She paused before answering, punching a few buttons.
"Pretty standard phaser array. A handful of photon torpedoes. Nothing we can't handle."
Sisko relaxed, covering his mouth with one hand as he silently took in the damage.
"Their shields though . . . Impressive . . . Or at least they were. Looks like they use a similar technology to the security grid Kira told you about. They've been damaged pretty badly though. I don't understand . . . It shouldn't be possible."
She looked up, a troubled expression on her face.
"Benjamin, I would have trouble modulating the phasers enough to cause this level of damage. Unless someone had a ready supply of photon torpedoes on hand . . . I don't know how they did it. It's . . . unfathomable."
"Hmm, Kira said it was ingenious."
"That's an understatement. It should be nearly impenetrable." She shook her head, falling silent and giving him a worried look.
"We're being hailed," one of the junior officers spoke up.
"Answer them," Sisko replied, rising to his feet.
A middle aged humanoid male with distinct facial and cranial crests appeared. He was clad in a suit of somber black, garments which didn't quite match the slightly frantic (but mostly irritated) expression he wore.
"Minister Kleth, I was just about to . . ."
"Commander Sisko, I must speak with you immediately. It's a matter of utmost urgency " the man interrupted.
"Yes, I noticed the damage to your fleet. Minister . . . Why is what looks like a good portion of your navy so far from Elassi Prime? Where is Major Kira? I wish to speak with her."
The man hesitated, looking uncomfortable. One of his aides glanced back and forth between him and Sisko.
"I'm afraid that is not possible. Now, please, lower your shields so that I and my aide may beam aboard."
"Not possible? And why is that, exactly? Is she being held against her will? Has she committed some offense?"
"Offense?" An odd look flashed momentarily across his features before vanishing behind his barely restrained annoyance. "Not at all. She's been most helpful actually . . ."
"Minister . . ."
"Damn it, Commander! She didn't make it! She's gone. Now lower your shields," the man snapped, finally losing his patience.
Sisko heard a gasp behind him, but the Minister's words had floored him. Feeling rooted in place, he ground out, "I'm afraid I don't quite understand you, Minister. Could you clarify?"
"She's dead. She didn't make it out in time. Her sacrifice is duly noted. She'll always be honored as a hero, etc." Kleth replied impatiently, his words ringing hollowly in the dead silence that had filled the Federation starship.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to do better than that," Sisko replied, voice as cold as ice.
"Lower your shields and we'll talk."
Sisko stiffly jerked his arm in a motion to signal the order.
"Thank you," Kleth replied, seeming relieved.
The screen went black. Sisko spun on one heel, shoulders squared as he barked, "Send them directly to my ready room."
"Commander?"
"What is it, Constable?" he asked, jaw tight.
"As Chief of Security, I really should accompany you to meet the Minister," the Changling replied quietly, his face unreadable.
Sisko studied him a moment before nodding and stepping towards the door.
Dax and Chief O'Brien hurried to join him.
"We're coming too."
"If it's alright with you, sir."
He nodded stiffly, disappearing into the passageway with three troubled people on his heels.
. . . .
"Ah! Finally! I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten me. My god, man, you walk with a gait to raise the dead."
Minister Kleth rose gracefully from where he had been lounging.
Sisko's expression was frightening as he stepped into the room. The Minister appeared not to notice as he continued airily.
"So sorry about Major Kira. Really was nothing to be done I'm afraid. Terrible loss I'm sure . . ."
He let out a yelp as Sisko grabbed him by the front of his jacket and slammed him again the wall.
"Minister!"
"Commander! What are you . . ."
"Benjamin! Let him down!"
It was Dax's voice that finally penetrated the haze of wrath that surrounded him. Before he complied though, he leaned close to Kleth until he could snarl in the trembling man's ear, "I will remember this. As will the Federation." He dropped the man, taking a step back and folding his hands behind his back.
"The nerve!" Kleth gasped, clutching at his chest. "Your superiors will hear about this. I will not be . . ."
"Oh, shut up, you coward!"
The four crew members of DS9 stared in wondering as the Minister's nervous looking aide spoke up. The Minister seemed equally shocked, and considerably more offended.
"How dare you?! I . . ."
The aide ignored him, shoving past the man to stand in front of Sisko.
"I apologize, Commander. He's an old coward, but he's grieving in his own way. We lost nearly a quarter of our population in that attack. It would have been a lot worse if Major Kira hadn't volunteered to help us. She saved a lot of innocent people with her sacrifice. We can never repay you."
Sisko stared at him mutely before slowly taking a seat.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice quiet.
The Minister didn't appear ready to speak, so the aide continued on his behalf.
"Several months ago, one of our patrols encountered an . . . Anomaly on the outside of the border. A ship . . . Though not like any we had ever seen. Our crew of thirty just disappeared mid communication. We sent out another patrol and found only wreckage. The hull had ruptured, most of the crew was missing, though we did find a few bodies. Sensor logs useless, and . . . It looked like parts of the ship had been . . . I don't know the word for it . . . Taken over? As if someone had hacked into the system and appropriated the technology . . . Weapons, shield specifications, even personal logs."
Sisko felt a chill of recognition creep down his spine as he listened.
"A few weeks ago, one of our scout ships went missing as well . . . only we didn't find this one. A week later, two of our moons were bombed, and that part of the shield grid was temporarily . . . Not invaded . . . Probed would be a better word. We were able to reestablish the shields before they got very far, but I think they were testing us . . . Or toying with us. They managed to adapt to the improvements we made on the network pretty damn efficiently. Shouldn't have been possible . . ."
"Did you identify them?" he forced himself to ask, dreading the answer he already knew.
"Yes, sir . . . They called themselves . . . The Borg."