New Beginnings
Part 1: The Dark Empire
Chapter 1
It was quiet, to quiet, thought Chief Miles O'Brien, as the runabout Aries left orbit of the planet Palitous. As he looked around the cramped cabin of the small runabout, he saw only the people that had come with him on this mission. First there was Coronal Kira Nerys, Deep Space Nines first
Officer. A woman that he had grown to admire during the years that they had served together on the old Cardasian space station. She was a tall slender woman that had been a part of the Bajorian resistance movement for most of her life, which was probably one reason that he respected her so
much. Next, there was Doctor Julian Bashir, the stations chief medical officer. Julian, like Kira, was a tall and slender man, but he had one thing different about him that any other officer in Starfleet had, he was genetically engineered as a child. Because of this, Julian, at times, comes off as over zealous, but deep down inside, he was one of the noblest men that he had ever known.
After Julian, sat Jake Sisco. Jake was the son of Ben Sisco, DS9's commanding officer. Jake had come on the mission to write a story for the federation newspaper. Jake, like his father, had grown up to be a slender man, as well as one of the finest chiefs that O'Brien had ever known. After
Jake, sat Ensign Nog. Nog was a Ferengi, and as so, had the traditional Ferengi ears, which covered most of his face. Nog was the nephew of Quark, one of the franchisers that set up shop on DS9's promenade deck. Nog like his father Rom, is one of the finest engineers that he has ever known, and
holds both of them in high respect.
Across from Nog sat Lieutenant Commander Worf. Unlike the others, O'Brien has known Worf since his days on board the Enterprise D. Worf was a Klingon, and as such decided to follow the path of most other Klinongs, and follows the way of the warrior. But unlike most other Klingons, Worf has
been comfortable living as a Starfleet officer. Worf was a survivor of the Kittimer massacre, and was raised by the Rochencos, the family of the Starfleet officer that helped to save him. When he was old enough, he was excepted into Starfleet Academy, and has since, with the exception of a few
scrapes, has been a model officer. And finally, there is Odo. Odo is a Changelings, who are also called the Founders, because they created the Dominion, for who they are currently at war with. Since Odo has been with humans most of his life, he chose to fight on their side in the war, and not with his own people. Even though Odo can master the body of a humanoid, he has not perfected the face yet, and he looks sort of incomplete. But he really doesn't notice anymore.
As O'Brien looked at his colleges and friends, he could feel a sense of accomplishment in the air. Their mission to Palitous was to try to get them to break the non-aggression treaty that they had signed with the Dominion. And it looks as if they had seceded in doing. And after three long weeks of negotiation, the Palatines had finally decided to consider breaking the treaty with the Dominion, and join the Federation, Klinongs, and Romulons in their battle to save the Alfa quadrant from the Dominion, but only time would tell if they had truly seceded.
"Mr. O'Brien, take us home." Said Kira, breaking O'Brien's thought.
"Awe Coronal" O'Brien said as he worked the helm control. "Setting course for DS9, warp 2."
"Then lets go home Mr. O'Brien," Kira said with a smile on her face. "Engage!"
The small runabout took off into space, at warp two.
Chapter 2
It had been only two hours since the runabout had warped away from the planet Palitous, and they were now nearing the Troain Nebula. O'Brien could scene the level of nervousness in the runabout, as they neared the nebula. He knew as well as everyone else that a Jemadar or Cardasian ship could easily hide in the nebula and not be detected by the runabouts sensors until it was to late. O'Brien quickly scanned for ion trails left by a warp drive, or even an impulse engine.
Bashir just happened to look at O'Brien at that moment, and leaned in closer to see what his friend was doing. As he looked, Bashir recognized the standard sensor sweep. "What are you doing Miles?" Bashir asked.
O'Brien jumped a little in his seat, then looked back at the doctor. "I am scanning for ion trials." Bashir looked at him in question, then shook his head and sat back down.
Kira had overheard what the chief had said, and was now looking at him. "Why are you doing that Chief?"
O'Brien looked at her and said, "Just making sure that there are no Dominion ships in the area."
"And what have you found?" It was Jake who had also apparently overheard the conversation. "Are there any ships in the area?"
O'Brien turned back to panel, and looked at it. "According to the scans, there is a ion trail here that is consistent with a Cardasian Galore class ship, but it is so decayed, that it could have only been made a long time ago. But I am not ruling out the fact that the Dominion can somehow disguise". Just then the ship lurched up, then back down.
Worf called out from his station, "A Jemadar attack cruiser has come out of the nebula, Bering 257.2."
"Raise the shields, and arm the weapons." Kira ordered. "Chief evasive maneuver." Kira turned to Jake, "Jake try to contact DS9." Another hit rocked the ship. "Report" Kira Bellowed.
"Shields down to 80% Coronal, Photons are off line, and the structural integrity field is down 20%." Nog reported from his station.
"Returning fire". Worf hollered. He watched the phaser beam hit the ship. "No damage, continuing fire." The runabout was then rocked by another blast.
"Shields down to 60%, and the phasers are off line, as is the warp core." Nog reported.
"I can't raise Deep Space Nine Coronal, the Jemadar are blocking communications." Jake reported from his station, just as Odo came out from the small room in the back.
"What's happening" Odo asked in surprise.
"A Jemadar ship has come out of the Troain Nebula." Yelled Bashir
Kira's mind was racing a mile a minute trying to come up with a plan of action. Finally she just said, "Suggestions."
The ship rocked again from a direct hit. Nog reported, "Shields down another 20%."
Odo then spoke "Let me talk to the Jemadar ship, they might stop their attack if they know that a Changelings is on board."
Kira thought about it for a moment, then turned to Jake, "Hail the Jemadar ship."
As Jake did so, the runabout rocked with another blast. Worf then reported, "I think that that was their answer to our hail."
"Shields down to 30% Coronal." Nog Said as he looked at his readings, and then Said, "A few more hits, and the warp core will breech, and we are all dead."
"Any other suggestions?" Kira bellowed.
O'Brien checked his readings, then said, "Coronal, there is a spacial anomaly at 368 mark 2, if we can enter it before be get blown up, then their sensors won't be able to detect us, and think that we have been destroyed."
"How far away is it?" Kira asked as the ship rocked again from a weapons impact.
"200 Kilometers."
"Set a course Chief." Kira then turned to the others. "Suggestions on how we can stay alive long enough to get there."
Worf was the first to speak. "They might not be able to lock their weapons onto us, if we vented drive plasma behind us."
Kira made up her mind before anyone else could say anything, "Do it!"
As the Runabout Aries continued to dodge blasts from the Jemadar ship, warp plasma began to leak out of the nacelles. The blasts from the Jemadar ship continued to fire out, only this time, the blasts didn't go anywhere near the runabout. Inside of the ship, Worf reported, "It worked, the Jemadar cannot lock their weapons onto us."
Kira let out a small smile, and then turned back to O'Brien. "Chief, how long until we enter the anomaly?"
"20 seconds Coronal." Just as the words left O'Brien's mouth, another hit rocked the ship again.
The small cabin began to fill with smoke, as Kira yelled , "Report"
Nog yelled back, "That wasn't a direct hit, but it did nick us."
Odo then yelled from the console that he was at. "They have began to compensate for the plasma's interference. They are locking onto us again."
"5 seconds to anomaly penetration" O'Brien reported.
From his seat, Bashir yelled out, "They are firing a torpedo at us. Impact in 3 seconds. 2, 1." And nothing. The lights dimmed out, then came back on.
Everyone began to check their panels. Worf was the first to report "The Jemadar ship had disappeared."
"Did they just disappear?" Jake asked.
Nog checked his board, "No, there is no ion trial."
"Maybe they were destroyed" Bashir Said.
"No" Nog confirmed, "There is no debris anywhere that matches the ship.
They just simply vanished."
'Thank the profits' Kira thought. She then said, "Damage Report."
"Warp drive down, and we only have half impulse power." O'Brien reported.
"Phasers and Photon Torpedoes are still off line. Shield down to only 10%" Worf reported
"Communications are still functional, but long range sensors are down" Odo Announced.
"Ok, Jake try to contact DS9." Kira commanded.
"I have been Coronal, and I can't seem to find a Federation communications station anywhere."
"But that's impossible" Bashir blurted out "the closest relay station, is only ten light years from here."
Just at the moment, the board in front of Worf lit up. "Coronal, there is a ship coming out of warp, it is of a configuration that I have never seen before."
Everyone looked out the view ports, and saw what appeared to be a massive ship the size of a Galaxy class starship, maybe even larger, appear in front of them. The ship had sort of a dark design to it, and was shaped so that the front of it was pointed, as if it intended to slice the space that
it flew through. Beside it, two smaller ships equally shaped but considerably smaller appeared.
As they were looking at the ship, the communications board lit up. Nog saw this, and said, "They are hailing us"
Kira took a deep breath, and said, "On Screen." The image of an older man appeared on the screen. He wore what looked like a gray uniform that had stripes on it just under his right shoulder. He had a graying Mustache, and wore a hat, that sort of reminded her of an old engineer's hat that she had read about in Earth's history years earlier. Kira then spoke "I am Coronal Kira Nerys, in command of the Federation Runabout Aries, may I ask who I am talking to?
The man just continued to stare forward, and said, "I am Admiral Ozzel,
commander of the Imperial Supper Star Destroyer Emperors Pride. Be
prepared to stand down, and to tell me why you are in this sector of
space."
Chapter 3
Kira looked at the rest of the crew, then looked back at the screen. "Admiral, I think that there has been a misunderstanding, we are not here to battle you. In fact, if you will scan our ship, you will find that we couldn't even take out a scout ship in our condition."
Admiral Ozzel just looked at Kira, then turned his attention to somebody off to his side, and looked back into the screen. "Our scans have shown that your ship is damaged very heavily. Seeing this, I ask if you could use some assistance?"
Kira nodded, and said, "That would be most appreciative. We will dock with your ship immediately."
"No." Ozzel said, "I first must get permission from Lord Vader, our liaison from the Emperor. We will signal you within the hour, Ozzel out." And the screen went dark.
Kira turned around in her chair, and looked at the rest of the crew. "Impressions?"
Worf was the first to speak. "Caution, we do not know where they came from, or who they are."
"I agree with Worf Coronal," Odo added, "We have no idea where we are, or who they are. For all we know, this is a trick that my people are using on all of us, like they did when we first met them. Or they could very well be changelings, in disguise, trying to get information from us."
O'Brien interrupted, "I don't think so Constable."
Everyone looked at O'Brien. "What do you mean Chief" Jake finally asked.
O'Brien called up a navigational chart. "This is what the space looked like an hour ago, and this," A new chart came up on the screen. O'Brien continues, "is where we are now."
The new chart showed a completely new and uncharted star system. "Then where are we?" Nog finally asked after a few moments.
"I think that," O'Brien started, "we have either been thrown to another part of the galaxy, or, we have passed into an alternate reality.?
"Which would explain why the computer doesn't recognize any of the stars." Bashir added.
"But this doesn't seem like the alternate reality that several of us have visited before." Jake said.
Worf spoke up this time, "That is because the reality that you, the Coronal, Ensign Nog, and doctor Bashir have visited is only one of several possibilities. I know that from my own experience in this matter."
"Commander Worf is right," Nog spoke up, "At the Academy, we learned that there are an infinite number of alternate realities in the universe, that is why dimensional travel has never really become a reality yet, because there is to much randomnimity in it."
"Is there any way to tell if we have crossed into another dimension Chief" Kira asked.
"The only way that I can think of, is to check the quantum signature. But to do that, we have to scan a person from this reality."
Kira thought for a moment, and then decided. "Ok, Doctor that will be your job, if and when we go aboard, I want you to get a reading of the quantum signature of the people of that ship."
"Yes Coronal, but I will need a little time to get a tricorder ready."
"Very well Doctor, get to work." Turning to Worf. "Commander, you will issue a type one phaser to every one here, including Jake."
"Ewe sir" And Worf went to the wall, and opened it. He took out several small phasers, and started to hand them out to the rest of the crew.
Continuing to give out orders, "Nog, Chief, assuming that they do have the proper parts, how long until we can have the warp core and weapons on line again?"
O'Brien spoke up, "About ten hours, if they have the right parts."
Nog then finished, "And about twenty if the parts are not compatible."
"Very well," Kira stated, "Get started on them as soon as possible." She now turned to Jake and Odo. "And finally, you two will find out as much about this empire as possible."
"And how do we do that?" Jake asked.
"Simple Jake," Bashir started, "Just be a reporter."
"Exactly, just be yourself." Kira said, "Meanwhile, Odo will be our ace in the hole, and try to access their computer systems."
"And how do I do that?" Odo asked.
"By just being a Changeling." Kira answered.
******
Admiral Ozzel walked down the corridor, until he came up to the door room that he was going to. The admiral took a deep breath, and walked into the room. The room was large, but where a bed would usually set, there was a large black globe type device. It then opened, and sitting inside of it,
sat a figure dressed entirely in black, with a small computer unit on his chest. He also wore a black mask, kept on by a black helmet. As he stood up, a black cape fell down. Deep breathing could be heard, as he walked up to the edge of the chamber. The figure then stepped out of the chamber,
and walked up to the Admiral. "What is it Admiral?" He said in a deep voice that seemed to be coming from the computer on his chest.
The Admiral felt very nervous as he gave the news to the figure. "Lord Vader, a small ship has appeared. They appear to have been in battle, and are badly damaged. We have offered our assistance, and they wish to dock with us in order to conduct proper repairs. I did not wish to let them
dock until I have asked you about it."
Vader knew why the Admiral had asked first. A short time ago, before the empire had finished construction of their mightiest weapon, the Death Star, a giant ship, that was as big or bigger than a planet, and had enough firepower to destroy one, the rebellion had planted a bomb in a stolen
Imperial Shuttle, that had been carrying supplies, and had set it on autopilot. The shuttle had docked inside on this very ship. Just as the crew had stepped onboard, to begin unloading it, the bomb went off, and nearly destroyed the entire ship. When he had found out about it, Lord Vader immediately executed the commanding officer, and placed Ozzel as his replacement.
"Have you made contact with the ship yet?"
"Yes my Lord, they say that they are a part of some sort of Federation, and there is a woman in command."
"A woman, how interesting." Lord Vader considered it for a moment, then told the Admiral, "Let them dock, and give them access to whatever materials they need to properly fix their systems."
With noticeable relief in his voice, "Yes my Lord."
The Admiral started for the door, and was almost though, when he was stopped in his tracks. He immediately knew that it was Lord Vader, and that he was no done yet. Ozzel turned around, and looked at Vader. "I there something else my Lord?"
"Yes Admiral Ozzel, there is. Let the crew of that ship know that they are invited to dine with us, and to give them a tour of the ship."
"As you wish my Lord."
This time, Ozzel left the room, and the door closed behind him. Vader then thought for a moment, and walked over to a small pad in the middle of the room. Vader then pushed a button on the panel, and an officer on the bridge appeared. He was younger than Ozzel, but wore that same uniform.
"Yes Lord Vader?"
"Captain Piett, contact Coruscant. Tell the emperor that it is a matter of concern."
"Yes my Lord, putting you through right now."
The image of Captain Piett disappeared. Vader stepped on the pad, and it began to glow. He then kneeled. In front of him, a holographic image appeared of an older man, with a hood over his head. His face was distorted, but one could still make out the fact that the man was old. The man then spoke. "What is it old friend?"
"Please forgive the interruption my Master, but it is a matter of great importance."
"Then speak."
"A small ship has appeared near to us. It is of a configuration that we have never encountered before, and they have been in a massive battle." Vader reported.
"I know of this ship. I felt it enter this universe."
"Yes my Master, I felt it as well. What shall I do about it?"
"Try to make them our allies. I sense that the ship, though small, is powerful, and may help us with our problems with the rebels." The empower paused for a moment, and then spoke. "Now go my friend, and show them the wonders of the dark side."
"It will be done my Master." Said Vader as the hologram vanished.
******
The Empirial palace on Croissant was the most spectacular sight on most spectacular planet in the entire empire. Only one other building had ever matched it, and that was the Jedi Temple of long ago. But now that building was nothing but ruble, destroyed by the Emperor after he and his forces defeated the last of the powerful Jedi Knights, thus plunging the entire universe into the dark hands of the Emperor.
The Emperor moved down the steps placed deep beneath what was considered street level of Imperial City, flanked by his personal guards both in front of and behind him. When they got to the bottom of the steps, they proceeded to a large door and stopped in front of it. "Wait here." The Emperor told his guards, as one of them opened the door, and then joined the others in flanking it.
As the Emperor walked into the room, the door closed, taking most of the light with it. The sole light source came from what looked like a wand that glowed red. However that glow was soon cut off, as the door thundered shut, and the Emperor began to move forward. He eventually came upon a beautiful woman in her early twenties, bowed down before him on one knee. Though her beauty was breathtaking, topped off by her full head of reddish hair, it was not that witch the Emperor came here for. "Rise my Hand, I have a job for you."
Chapter 4
Waiting, that was all that they could do. Since the end of the transmission from the Star Destroyer, Jake had watched the small crew get to work on their assigned tasks. Nog and Chief O'Brien, had began work on bringing the warp core on line, but from the subtle curses that he heard
O'Brien mutter, he knew that the repairs weren't going well, because, as he had learned while working with the Chief, he only cursed, when repairs were not going as planned. Worf, after dispersing the phasers, and giving Jake a quick lesson on how to use them, had gone to the back of the runabout, on
the way picking up his bat'telh. Jake concluded that Worf was expecting the worse, and was getting it ready just in case.
Dr. Bashir, had gotten to work on reprogramming his Tricorder to scan a person from a short distance. And Kira was manning the helm chair, in one of her meditation trances. Possible asking the profits for help, and guidance. and Odo was sitting in the corner, in his gelatinous state,
preparing for the mission that he would soon have to undertake.
Jake looked down at the pad that he was holding in his hand. It had on some of the questions that he would ask about this Empire. As he began to write down another question, he began to think of how this would make a great story, if he could ever get home to write about it. His thoughts
were interrupted by the sound of the communications board going off. He turned his chair, as the rest of the crew looked up in his direction.
Jake then reported, "Incoming transmission from the Star Destroyer."
"On Screen" Kira ordered.
The image of Admiral Ozzel appeared on the screen once again. But this time, a man that wore the same uniform, but was at least half the admiral age accompanied him. "Federation Runabout Aries, you have been cleared for docking. Our tractor beams will guide your ship into our
shuttle bay."
"Thank you Admiral." Kira said. She then noticed that he wasn't finished. "Is there something else?"
"Yes Coronal Kira," Ozzel began, "Lord Vader has told us to make our facilities at your disposal, and has also ordered that you are to be given a tour of our ship, and has extended an invitation to dine with us tonight."
Kira considered the Ozzel's invitation, then spoke. "We accept your invitation Admiral Ozzel, and are eager to find out more about your Empire."
"As are we to find out more about your Federation." Ozzel put in. "We will begin docking procedures as soon as you are ready."
"We are ready right now.?" Kira put in.
Ozzel looked at them. "Very well then." He then looked off to his side, and nodded to somebody. The runabout was then encompassed by a blue light, and began to move. Ozzel then indicated the man beside of him. "Coronal, this is Captain Piett, he will meet you in the shuttle bay, and conduct your tour."
Captain Piett stepped forward, and spoke. "It would be an honor. I will see you in the bay."
Kira looked at the two men, and then spoke. "Very well Captain, see you in a few minutes." She then touched a button on her panel, and the screen went dark. Kira then turned around, to face the rest of the crew. She starred at them, and only said, "Get ready."
******
Captain Piett, walked swiftly to the bay, and arrived just in time to see the small ship come through the force field, and land. As the doors closed, he walked down to it, just as the hatch opened. Out of the open hatch, walked out six humanoid figures. The first one he immediately
recognized as Coronal Kira. She wore a reddish colored uniform type thing that went up to her neck, then parted somewhat. The next one out, as well as the three that followed, wore what appeared to be a uniform of some kind. It was mainly black, with a touch of gray covering both shoulders.
Under what he considered the shirt or maybe even a jacket, Piett could make out some sort of under garment that covered their necks. They each wore a set of pins on their collars. Piett figured that it was probably a symbol of rank. He also noticed that those garments were differently colored.
And one of them wore same sort of sash over his shoulder. The last one out, wore a multi colored outfit, not a uniform. They all had on some sort of pin, that was attached about six inches under their left shoulder, and all carried some sort of device with them, that was attached to their belts. All except for the one that didn't where a uniform, he carried a computerized pad with him.
Piett walked up to the group, and offered his hand to them. "Greetings, and welcome aboard."
Kira took his hand, and shook it. "Thank you Captain," Kira let go of Pietts hand, "May I introduce my crew?" Piett nodded, and Kira continued. She first indicated Bashir. "This is Doctor Julian Bashir, our medical officer, Chief Miles O'Brien, one of our engineers, Lieutenant Commander
Worf of the Klingon Empire, our security officer, Ensign Nog of the Ferengi Alliance, our other engineer, and finally Jake Sisco, a reporter with the Federation News Magazine."
Piett looked at the group, and then shook his head. "It is a pleasure to meet you all." He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "I must ask, what are those devices on your belts?
O'Brien was the first to respond, "They are called a Tricorders, they are scanning devises."
Piett considered O'Briens answer, and said, "Very well.", and he then indicated to a door that led out of the bay. "If you will all come this way please." Piett led the way out, followed by Kira, then O'Brien, Bashir, Nog, Worf, and finally Jake.
******
When they had entered the hall, Kira's pants began to move a little. It then began to change into a liquid ooze state, and slid off of her leg. The ooze then moved to a small vent, and slid inside of it. The ooze then took the shape of a rat, and began to move thought the ventilation tube.
******
Piett had only began to show the crew around the great ship, when O'Brien noticed a small object heading their way. The object moved out of the way, as Captain Piett stepped near to it, and the man passed it. As he passed it, O'Brien looked back and saw that the object had began to move again.
He then made his way to the front of the group. "Captain!" Piett turned around to look at the engineer.
"Yes!" Piett paused for a moment, as the rest of the group stopped behind him. "Chief O'Brien, do you have a question?"
"Yes, I do." O'Brien then pointed back at the object that they had just passed. "What is that thing?"
"That Chief O'Brien, is an Astromech Driod."
"A What?" Nog asked
"An Astromech Driod." Piett repeated. He then preceded to explain, as they began to walk again. "They are cybernetic creatures that help in the operations of this ship." As the group turned a corner, Piett continued to explain. "The Astromechs are interface Driods. They gather information,
and store it. They are usually teamed up with a Protocol Driod, who acts as the primarily interpreter for the Astromech Driod, since they are unable to speak basic. They are both quiet handy to have around."
The group turned another corner, and Bashir asked, "Are there other types of Driods then?"
"As a matter of fact doctor," Piett began, "we use Driods for just about everything, except for the piloting and operations of the ship, that we take care of ourselves. Don't you have something similar in your Federation?"
Worf spoke up, before anyone else had a chance to. "No we do not."
"Then you have no Driods?" Piett asked, a bit startled
"Well," O'Brien started, "there is one being, that you could probably consider a Driod, when you first saw him, but to us, he is just a crew mate, and a friend."
"Only one?" Piett said with a little bit of shock. "And what kind of Driod is this?"
Once again Worf spoke up, but this time, there was a touch of anger in his voice. "He is not a Driod, but his name is Data, and that unit is a very close friend of mine, and the Chief's.
Piett obviously new that he had hit a nerve. "I apologies for my brashness Commander, I had no idea that this Data was a friend of yours."
Kira spoke up before Worf could, "Apology excepted Captain."
As the group walked further down the corridor, they passed a group of what Worf figured could only be soldiers, by the way that they walked together. They were also covered from head to toe with some sort of white armor, with a matching white helmet. They carried what looked to Worf like some
sort of rifles, and also wore a black belt, which had several pouches on it. "Captain," Worf spoke up, "Who are those people?"
Without even turning around, Piett answered the question. "They are the Storm Troopers, the imperial army." And the Piett turned another corner, followed by the rest of the group. Piett continued to explain, "as you can see, they are dressed entirely in white." Everyone nodded. "That
armor that they wear, is why we call them Storm Troopers. Not to mention that they sound like a storm approaching when they run by." Piett let out a slight chuckle at the joke, and continued the tour.
******
Odo had been searching the ventilation system for about and hour now, and had not found very much in the way of useful information. But what he did know was that there was some sort of resistance to the empire, and that some were worried about it. Odo knew that the tour was going take a while on such a big ship, but he still figured that he had to hurry. As Odo came up to another vent, he stopped, and looked into the room. Inside, was what he was looking for, a access station. Quickly, Odo returned to his gelatinous form, and slipped through the vent bars. Once he had hit the
floor, he returned to his humanoid state, and proceeded to try and interface with the computer.
Before leaving the runabout, O'Brien had shown Odo a few tricks to hack into a computer system. Odo tried just about all of them, when he heard a noise outside of the room. He quickly returned to his gelatinous state, and turned into a part of the wall. Just as he completed his transformation, a small robot, that looked as if it were leaning back on two legs, and being supported by a small leg type thing that extended from it's bottom, entered the room. The robot approached the terminal that Odo
was just at, and stopped just in front of it. The robot then stood upright, and a small device emerged from its mid section. It looked like some sort of interface device. The device then attached itself to the terminal by way of a slot that Odo had not seen, and preceded to interface with it. After a few moments, the interface device disengaged from the terminal, and the robot left the room.
As the robot left, Odo changed back into his humanoid form, and walked back over to the terminal. "Well, if it worked for that little thing, I might just work for me." And Odo transformed into a copy of the robot, and moved up to the same spot the it was in. Odo them formed an interface tool
exactly like the one that the robot had used, and proceeded to interface with the terminal. As he interfaced, the terminal asked for a unit number, for the records. Odo immediately tried a number, and the terminal responded by not giving him access to the information. He disengaged from the terminal, and moved away from it.
Odo quickly decided that the best way to move around in this ship might be to stay in this form, and so left the room. In the corridor, Odo began to consider what his next move should be, when he heard a voice behind him. "R2-D2, where have you been, I have been looking everywhere for you." Odo stopped dead in his tracks, and turned around to see a human looking robot walk up to him. It was chrome colored, and stood around six feet. The robot continued to talk, this time more quietly. "Master Luke said that we were to be at on the escape pod 5 minutes ago, in order to rendezvous with
Captain Solo and Chewboka." The robot began to walk away, and motioned for Odo to follow. "Well, come on. Honestly, I don't know how I let Master Luke talk me into this, I am not the courageous one, why send me." And figuring that he had no choice, he followed the other robot, as it
continued to rant and rave about everything.
******
The tour had taken them less time than Kira had thought, especially with a ship this size, and she hoped, that Odo had been able to get the info that they needed on the empire. The group was now headed to the dinning hall, where they would meet this Lord Vader for the first time. As they entered
the room, there was already three men waiting inside of it. Kira immediately recognized one of the men as Admiral Ozzel. The other two men wore the same gray uniforms, with the bars under their right shoulders. They were both tall, and very distinguished looking. Piett led them over to the others. Admiral Ozzel was the first to greet them, as they approached. "Oh, Coronal, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person."
"Like wise Admiral." Kira then looked at the rest of Ozzel's group, and then began to introduce her group. "And this is my crew, Dr. Julian Bashir, Chief Miles O'Brien, Lt. Commander Worf, Ensign Nog, and Jake Sisco."
"It is a pleasure to meet all of you." Ozzel said, and he turned to the rest of his group, to which Piett had already joined. "You already know Captain Piett, next to him is General Veers our army commander, and Captain Needa the commander of the Star Destroyer Victory." The group exchanged
greetings. They then went and sat down at the dinning table.
As they sat down, several Driods came out, and began to serve them drinks. "So Admiral," Bashir started, "when do we get to meet this Lord Vader that we keep hearing about?"
Ozzel took a long stem glass from the server Driod, and took a sip. He then looked at Bashir. "Well Doctor, Lord Vader had some matters to attend to, but he will be joining us very soon." Ozzel took another sip from his glass, then spoke again. "So, tell me about this Federation of yours, it
sounds very fascinating."
O'Brien was the first to speak. "Well for one, the Federation spans over a hundred star systems, with hundreds more races as members."
"Then how do you keep the order in such a big area of space?" Needa asked.
"That is what we are for," Worf started, "we are part of the Federations defense fleet, known as Starfleet. We protect the Federations citizens from aggressive forces, as well as explore space."
"Forgive me," Veers said, "but that little ship that you were in, doesn't seem to have much armaments, one would think that with a area of space as large as you state, they would have bigger ships to come to it's defense."
"Actually," Nog stated, "the runabout, is only a transport type ship. The Federation has much larger ships at their disposal. For instance, we are all assigned to a space station, that has a bigger ship stationed there at all times, called the Defiant. And I can assure you General, that ship, though only half the size of this one, could turn any of your ships into space dust, before you could even fire off a shot." Nog then noticed that everyone was looking at him, and he realized that he had shown disrespect for their hosts. "My apologies, I didn't mean to say that."
"It is ok, Ensign, General Veers spoke out of place as well." Ozzel put in.
Before another word could be said, a bell rang, and in walked a man, the reminded O'Brien of an old executioner. He then stood up, as the rest of his friends did, and the man sat down, as did everyone else. O'Brien could hear deep breathing, and as the man spoke, O'Brien new that there was an implant in his head that allowed him to talk to others through a computer on his chest. "Welcome, I am Darth Vader, the lesson from the empire. Admiral Ozzel, would you please introduce our guests to me?"
"At once my Lord." Ozzel introduced the runabout crew, as a Driod brought Vader some sort of device that he immediately hooked into the computer on his chest. Once done, Ozzel sat back down. O'Brien noticed that Bashir had pulled out his tricorder, and was about to run his scan. O'Brien then noticed that Vader had also seen Bashir pull out the device. O'Brien was about to tell Bashir to put it away, when the devise was ripped from his hand, and flew over the table, and into Vader's hand.
"And what would this be?" Vader asked.
Kira saw that Bashir was about to speak, and butted in before he could say anything. "It is a scanning device that we use Lord Vader. I am sure that the doctor was just trying to get some scans done."
Vader then looked right into Bashir, and asked, "What kind of scans Doctor?"
Bashir felt the sudden urge to tell Vader the entire story, but resisted the urge, and instead told him a fabricated story. "I was interested in finding out about you." Vader tilted his head a little, as if to say explain. Bashir then felt the urge again, even stronger that before, but he resisted still. "You seem to have several robotic parts on you, I was just interested, because our medical science has never been able to create artificial parts that moved as good, if not better than the original ones." Bashir then felt the urge leave him, as suddenly as it had come.
Vader just looked at him, and said "Proceed then Doctor Bashir", and the tricorder flew back over to him. Bashir took the tricorder, and walked over to Vader. Once there, he pulled the hand held scanner out of its socket on the top of the tricorder, and ran it over Vader's head. On the
Tricorders tiny screen, Bashir saw what he was expecting to see, and shut the device. "Thank you Lord Vader" he said as he returned to his chair.
"Your welcome Doctor." Vader said, as the food was brought out by the Driods.
******
At the entrance to the escape pod, Odo paused, as he watched the robot enter it. The robot then turned around, and stuck it's head out of the pod. "Will you please enter the pod, I would like to get off of this ship as soon as possible." The robot then pulled it's head back into the pod. Odo considered his options for a moment, and finally decided to just enter the pod.
As Odo entered the pod, the robot looked at him, and said, "Well it's about time." It then pushed a bottom, and the door closed, and Odo felt the sudden movement, as the pod jettisoned, and wondered what he had gotten himself into. But he also knew that he had at least 12 hours to find out, before he had to revert back to his gelatinous state, and then the cat would be out of the bag.
******
R2-D2 moved at a fast pace, to the pod that he and C-3PO would use for their escape. As he arrived, he found that the door was closed. R2 then found an access panel, and interfaced with it. The ship computer showed that the pod was already launched. Confused, R2 then accessed the ships
security tapes, and found that 3PO had entered the pod only a few minutes before, with another Driod. R2 was even more amazed to find that the other Driod looked exactly like him.
Deciding that it was better not to panic, R2 decided that it was better to go to the contingence plan that he had been programmed with should something go wrong, and headed back down the hall that he just came from.