"Every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't always spoil the good things and make them unimportant." – 11th incarnation of The Doctor, 'Doctor Who'
This fanfiction is based on the official Star Trek Series, the memory-alpha and memory-beta articles and the novel 'A Stitch in Time' by Andrew J. Robinson. I do not own anything.
Explanations (due to memory-alpha/ memory-beta):
Typhon Pact: Romulan Star Empire, Tzenkethi Coalition, Breen Confederacy, Gorn Hegemony, Tholian Assembly and the Holy Order of the Kinshaya
Borg Invasion: "The Borg Invasion of 2381 was the historic attempt by the Borg Collective to completely exterminate the United Federation of Planets, Klingon Empire, and other allied worlds in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and to subjugate the remaining worlds in local space.
[…] Towards the end of the year 2377, the USS Voyager under the command of Captain Kathryn Janeway […] severely damaged the Unicomplex. As a result, the Borg came to see the Federation as a threat that could no longer be tolerated.
[…] The Borg then sent an ominous message to the Federation:
'We are the Borg. You will be annihilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness have become irrelevant. Resistance is futile…but welcome' " – memory-beta on "Borg Invasion of 2381"
Bajor: "Bajor joined the United Federation of Planets on September 29, 2376. […] Bajor was not attacked by the Borg during the invasion of 2381, although there were concerns the Borg would do so." – memory-beta on "Bajor"
Chapter 1
"Interesting, you saved the day by destroying the world."
"I bet they didn't teach you that in the Obsidian Order."
- Garak and Bashir in 'Our Man Bashir'
"It has been ages," O'Brien mentioned when they entered Quark's bar again.
"You still remember?"
"Every little bit of it," the Chief answered.
"So, how are Keiko and the children?" Dr. Bashir asked when they sat down.
"Oh, since we returned to Earth they're fine. Cardassia is far too hot and humid, you know," he answered and looked around. It has really been quite a while since he had sat here the last time.
"What can I bring you, guys? Two root beers?" Quark asked when he came over to them.
"Yes," Miles said and Dr. Bashir nodded. Quark disappeared again and O'Brien continued exploring the new Promenades.
"Wow, Morn is still sitting on the same chair," he noticed.
"And how are you?"
"Oh, fine."
"What about you and Ezri?"
"We…ended our relationship. She's living on Trill now."
"How comes?" O'Brien asked surprised and thanked Quark for the drink.
"We had had our difficulties," Dr. Bashir said but made it obvious that he preferred not to reveal any details. "To the old times," he said when he held his bottle.
"To the old times," O'Brien agreed and they both sipped their root beer. "What else have I missed?" O'Brien asked after a while when they have nearly been lost in thoughts already. "I know that Captain Sisko is now father of a daughter and that they live on Bajor now."
"Uh, my dear friend, that was a long time ago," Dr. Bashir smiled and slowly sipped his Root Beer. "He rejoined Starfleet a few months ago and was assigned to the USS New York."
"I missed a lot during my time on Cardassia."
"In fact you did…what about a game of dart?"
"How can I say 'no'?" O'Brien smiled and they walked over to where the dartboard was still hanging at the wall. "How comes it is still here?"
"Oh, Quark didn't have the heart to remove it," Bashir explained but then added whispering: "But don't tell him that. He's been inventing all kind of excuses for it."
O'Brien laughed when he gathered the darts. "What are you doing here? Step back, that may have been years ago, but I still remember your genetic enhancement," he said and smilingly both started to play.
=/\=
"Colonel…incoming message," the Lieutenant informed.
"From whom?" Colonel Kira asked when she stepped down the stairs from her office. She had a look on the consoles.
"The Federation Counsel," the Lieutenant answered.
For a second, she stopped breathing. She hadn't heard a while from the Federation as they were all busy with gathering allies for the soon Borg Invasion. "On screen," she decided and put herself in position. "Admiral Ross, long time not seen," she said surprised.
"Too long. We have been busy to re-organize our fleets. The Borg are getting stronger every day and the Typhon Pact isn't making it easier. But now we have a real problem."
"What happened?"
"We received an official declaration of war."
"From the Typhon Pact?"
"From the Borg," he said with a very concerning face.
Kira was speechless at first, then remembered to ask: "How comes?"
"I'll put the message through," the Admiral explained and disappeared from the screen.
A second later, another image appeared on the screen. It showed the interior of a Borg cube and several working drones could be seen, although none of them obviously talking. The typical Borg-voice began to explain: "We are the Borg. You will be annihilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness have become irrelevant. Resistance is futile…but welcome."
The video disappeared and Kira was face-to-face with Admiral Ross again. "That didn't sound much like them," she commented and tried to cover up her mixed feelings. There was surprise, fear and a bit of sarcasm in that situation.
"Looks like we got them really angry," the Admiral commented.
"The USS Voyager…" Kira said now understanding.
"Exactly. I assume you are familiar with that story?"
"I read the Starfleet incident report."
"Good. About a month ago the Enterprise E destroyed a Borg super cube."
"I read that one, too, Admiral," she answered impatiently.
"We have just beaten the Dominion and now come the Borg. These aren't easy times. At Starfleet command we are busy to tackle the first exploration fleets of the Borg but there'll come more."
"They're coming from the other side of the Galaxy. With all respect, Admiral, I think we're the last target on their route," Kira laughed. Before they arrived at Deep Space Nine, the Borg would have to fight through the whole Alpha Quadrant.
"I know, Colonel. But you may be one of the most interesting targets."
"I'm listening."
"The Borg know about our peace treaty with the Dominion. They think that they might help us in the battle and perhaps intend to destroy the wormhole. Thanks to the Typhon Pact we have two enemies to tackle and I have no idea how we should do that."
"What about Cardassia? They didn't join our alliance, did they?" Colonel Kira asked.
"Unfortunately not. I'm afraid they have enough to do with rebuilding their home world and are not yet prepared for another battle," Admiral Ross sighed. "We try to defend the Borg as long as we can and both our military and science department are searching for solutions not only here in the headquarters. But even the Vulcans ran out of friends and if we don't find a solution soon, I don't know how long the Federation can stand the attack. The Borg really picked out the best of all times."
"However, I wish you all the luck you can get," Colonel Kira answered.
Admiral Ross nodded. "Ross out."
The video transmission ended and left the Ops as quiet as it hasn't been for ages. "I am in my office," the Colonel stated and left the room without another word. She had a lot to think about.
=/\=
"It is an honor to be chosen for resurrection."
"I knew that you would see it like this."
He looked up at her. "What do you mean?" he asked unsure.
"If I had a choice I would have chosen someone else. But you are the one I trusted most. Despite the flaws your predecessors did."
"I completely apologize for their mistakes and promise that I won't do them again."
"Let's hope so. I have an order for you and I don't want you to fail."
"I won't."
She looked at him with a serious glance in her eyes. She had already felt betrayed by one of them, already was betrayed by two. "They will soon notice my absence. And they're going to search me, despite the ongoing war."
"Another war, Founder?"
"You have missed a lot, but you will regain this knowledge."
"Of course, I will. May I ask you how you escaped from prison?"
"Everything within its time. Now you should get familiar with the ongoing situation in the Alpha Quadrant." She turned her back to him and was about to leave the room. "Don't fail," she finally said and left Weyoun 10 alone in chamber 11 of Clone Facility 4-47, a secret and by the Federation yet undetected facility on the third planet of the Gavaris system in the Gamma Quadrant.
"I make sure I won't," he muttered silently, regretting the failure of his predecessors and the imperfection of clones 6 and 9. He chose to leave through the opposite door, remembering well the memories of the other clones. He knew what to do. He knew the weakness of the Federation, the Breen and Cardassia. Whatever his mission was, he had all the advantages he could get.
=/\=
"Despite the difficulties due to her origin, she established a splendid life on that station, far away from her home world, growing between two worlds, making friends with both of them. But what was most remarkable, she won the trust of both and lost the trust in none. She couldn't see the consequences of her indecisiveness, she was loved by both.
"That was also the time, when a real friendship began, with the only human boy left on the station and the half-Bajoran daughter of the outpost's ruler. But whatever happened, she remained strong and she knew what she wanted. She knew who she was and what always stayed and will never leave us alone, is her faith."
Jake Sisko stared on the PADD in his hand. He had read the last paragraph at least a dozen of times. But how often he ever read it, something felt wrong. He shook his head but didn't manage to delete this part.
He threw the PADD on his desk and leaned back. He looked outside the window and saw the paradise. That was what annoyed him. It has been nearly a month since war was declared and he had lost count on how many ships have been destroyed by only defeating the advance Borg fleet.
What if they really started to attack? He had returned to Earth after his father had been ill and now that he's dead, what is making him stay? Is it his wife, Azeri Korean? She was Bajoran but she seemed to love Earth. Maybe because it was also paradise for her.
But you have no idea what's going on up there, Jake thought staring into the sky. The next second he already cursed himself. Of course she knew. She was a Bajoran and had been a little child during the occupation. But he wasn't. He didn't survive an occupation, he survived a war. And when the next one was about to start, he needed to be up there.
To show the people what is really going on. Stop writing that semi-autobiographical non-sense and start reporting, he told himself. But he knew he couldn't. He needed to process what he's been through. He had seen Ziyal's dead body. And her murderer was now a celebrated hero.
He shook himself. The irony of life, it was so close, being a coward and being a hero. He had had to learn that for himself, too. And even if it was true what has been told, Damar having had nightmares and regretted the murder, Ziyal stayed dead. She could have had a wonderful life, now that Bajor is in peace and Cardassia is re-building.
Jake didn't know if he could ever forgive what Damar had taken away, it would never come back. She would never come back. He couldn't forget her, since a while, his dreams were back. Nightmares about the occupation of Deep Space Nine, nightmares of the Dominion War and nightmares about the Typhon Pact, that they may attack together with the Borg. That they take advantage of our current situation, he thought.
About half a year ago, he had been on a conference of the United Federation of Planets council as a reporter. Only with a lot of luck he had survived the attack. Later it was declared, that the ship's Romulan and Gorn crew had acted without authorization of the Pact but he knew better: It had been the first attempt to destroy the strength of the Federation, to make the people doubt that their government will be able to protect them forever.
He needed to know what exactly was going on there. His father was on the USS New York but they were assigned to a discussion with the Klingons and due to the planet's atmosphere, a subspace communication was impossible. He hasn't heard from him in days and started to worry.
He had just lost a close member of his family, he wasn't ready to lose another one. He needed to take action again, like on the days of Deep Space Nine. He had experienced a lot, maybe regretted some things, but he had learnt so much.
"That was the time," he read out loud. "When he made a decision," he muttered more silently. He stood up. He needed to pack. He needed to explain to his wife what he was planning. She was going to persuade him to stay. Or to go to Bajor. But he wouldn't care. He needed to return, return to space where he had lived, grown up. And which place would be more perfect for that than Deep Space Nine?
=/\=
He woke up with the knowledge that something was wrong. He remembered the odor of something pressed on his mouth. And now everything was black, except for a lighted console a few meters away. He sat up and tried to get used to the bare light.
He could hardly see but felt the hard ground he was sitting on. He got up and went to the console, but was immediately stopped by the intense feeling of electricity running through his body. He stepped back from the force field which went invisible again. He sighed. Another prison cell. He had been in enough of them on Ferenginar.
He knew that it had been the most profitable thing to do, betraying Gaila, explaining that they had together been the cause for the war. After having caught Gaila, he had continued as a bounty hunter, although not the most profitable thing to do. His first thought was that he had died, but with all doubts he had, this wasn't the Divine Treasury at all. So he had nothing else to do but wait. And he waited for a long time.
Suddenly, the lights went on and he found himself indeed in a holding cell. The doors open and to his full surprise, Kira Nerys stepped into the room. But somehow, this didn't seem like Colonel Kira at all. Surprised, he stood up and walked toward her. She wasn't wearing a Bajoran uniform like he knew, but a grey-black suit and some kind of hairpiece.
"Colonel Kira?" he asked upset with the circumstances they met in.
"Not quiet," the woman answered with an insidious smile.
"Who are you then?"
"I'm Intendant Kira."
"Intendant Kira?" he asked surprised.
The Kira in front of him smiled. "Welcome in the parallel universe."
"What…?" he wanted to ask and look around.
"I'm sorry that you can't meet your own counterpart. I killed him," Kira continued while he tried to figure out what this really meant. Of course, he had heard from this 'mirror universe', especially Quark's long and boring stories that he had never listened to. When he had caught himself, he managed to ask: "Why am I here?"
"This is simple. Your race has nearly been wiped out of this quadrant but we underestimated your abilities of…negotiations."
"That is the reason why you brought me here?" he asked surprised.
"I have 'negotiated' with Ferengis too often. They always get what they want."
"A reason why you killed us all?"
"But right now, we could use you," she answered with a charming and false smile that immediately disappeared a second after.
"And in case I don't help you?" Brunt asked uninterested but was able to repay the 'charm'.
"I wouldn't recommend it. Either you help me or I search someone else who's good in negotiating."
"What do you need my help for?" he then asked and didn't know himself why he chose to answer that woman. He didn't know anything about her universe and what she wanted to achieve with his help. Or what she was going to do when he had helped her.
She lowered the force field and led him to the console. "About five years ago, one year after the Terrans got hold of Terok Nor and the Cloaking Device of your Universe, we retreated to Klingon and Cardassian space, we managed to manipulate the station for one day and sent an exploration vessel through the wormhole which we had detected about a month before our defeat."
"I understand…" Brunt silently muttered and hoped that this wasn't going in the direction he thought it was.
"They had managed to establish a way of communication through the wormhole within the last few years and funnily we haven't been yet detected by the Terrans."
"How comes?" Brunt muttered. But he wasn't surprised, those Terrans were really a species for their own.
"I still have some friends on the station," she mentioned and then continued explaining. "We have made contact with some races on the other side of the wormhole, an alliance calling themselves the Dominion."
"Have heard of them."
"Really? What can you tell me?"
Brunt hesitated, but was it worth lying or denying an answer? "We defeated the Dominion and their Cardassian and Breen allies in a three years war which caused billions of deaths," he summed it up shortly and hoped to impress her.
But she only smiled: "Great!" She typed in something in the console and a picture appeared. "About one hundred planets and forty-seven species form yet part of the Dominion. The rulers are called the Vorta. They're controlling every step anybody does and intend to expand their territory."
"May I add that Cardassia joined and during the final period of the war, about 800 billion Cardassians died."
"Why?" she asked uninterested.
"They had started a rebellion. Because they didn't like the way the Dominion treated them."
"But we aren't your Cardassians…we aren't trying to join your Dominion," she hissed. "And I don't intend to start a rebellion…whatever it's going to cost. I don't think the death of a few Klingons or Cardis isn't worth it, is it?"
Brunt looked into the dark, cold eyes of the woman in front of him. How amazingly similar she looked to Colonel Kira and how amazingly different she actually was from her other universe's counterpart.
"What can you tell me about them?" she continued with her faked sweet voice then.
"Tell me what you found out. Their structure seems quite different."
She hesitated, thinking about it but then realized that she depended on his help for the negotiations. "Like I said, the Vorta rule over every member race. The Jem'Hadar are their soldiers and they're dependent from a drug called Ketracel-White that only the Vorta can produce."
"What about the Founders?"
"Yeah…I heard from them as well," she answered slowly, surprised and a bit suspicious about how much he seemed to know. "They serve the Vorta. They can change their forms and become anything. It seems to be quiet useful for the Vorta when they want to invade another planet. Such a shame that our own Founder had been killed."
"You mean Constable Odo? He's dead?"
"Constable? He was an officer in our ore processing center on Terok Nor."
"Ah," Brunt made silently and he gazed again at the picture of the Vorta. What had been his name? He, or better his counterpart, had been the one responsible for the cooperation between the Dominion and their Alpha Quadrant allies, like Cardassia and the Breen. Weyoun, numbers four, up to eight. "The Vorta…they can clone themselves," he mentioned.
"They can?" the Intendant said, for the first time she seemed interested. "I see you have a lot of experience on the topic. I'm very glad you agreed to help our negotiations with the Dominion. We'd like to have their support to regain our territory. We do everything they demand. I don't care how many Klingons die…I like the Cardassians more…they're rather charming. And as I heard from your universe now, I shouldn't waste them. I can't go over and get some new, can I?"
Brunt tried to read her mind but it was useless. She was a powerful and cruel person, nothing like the Kira Nerys he knew. But whatever, he needed to help her. And why shouldn't he? His entire race has been killed here, he needed to find a way home and when she really wanted an alliance with the Dominion, she should get what she wanted: Perhaps it would turn out like in his universe and he wouldn't mind.
"However, I want Terok Nor back. They can do with the Terrans and all their allies whatever they want. You can arrange that, can't you?"
"I'll…try," he said and smiled his typical Ferengi-business smile.
"Good, I'll give you all the information you need."
"Just one question," he said. "Why did you kill my counterpart?"
She hesitated for a second, but only to show him a huge smile: "He betrayed me. I suspected him sympathizing with the Terran Rebellion." She turned around and left the room.
Brunt stood there for a while stunned but then started learning about this universe's Dominion.
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