Shattered Universe: The Paths We Take
Star Trek and all associated characters are not mine.
A/N: What you need to know:
1. The United Federation of Planets does not exist. There is a United Earth (UE) aka Earth Gov.
2. The Vulcan sundering never occurred, hence the Romulan Empire does not exist.
3. The Vulcans in this universe are much more antagonistic, compared to their 'real' universe counterparts.
4. The Orion Syndicate has a meaner rival.
5. Almost every character is taken from the world of Star Trek. The few OCs are relatives, descendents or ancestors of Star Trek characters, except two.
I have portrayed the characters in their Reboot incarnation. You may imagine them as their TOS counterparts.
Thanks to my beta reader spocklikescats.
Prologue
January 5, 2260
1100 hours
Commodore Laurence T. Stone adjusted his posterior in the newly installed captain's chair aboard the ESS Prometheus. A smaller ship than the ESS Enterprise, Prometheus served as primary transport for United Earth government dignitaries and Sol system defender. He just wished his new chair were comfortable. He supposed it required breaking in like a favourite pair of boots.
He contemplated the historic summit he headed towards and smiled. Today, the foundation of an alliance would be born and a dream realised. Jonathan Archer, captain, United Earth president and interstellar diplomat, had hoped to create a lasting interplanetary coalition. Xenophobic paranoia on Earth, increased Vulcan aggression and Andorian distrust had dashed all hopes. Stone considered Archer his idol. Therefore, the chance to witness the events that were to occur created an exhilarating happiness in him. Indeed Archer's entire senior crew, including the Vulcan sub-commander and Denobulan doctor were his childhood heroes.
Stone shifted around once more. He switched off the PADD in his hands and tucked it into the side pocket of his chair. Gazing out at the stars streaking by on the viewscreen, he asked his navigator, "ETA to Babel, Lieutenant Singer?"
The dark head to his front left lifted without turning around. "Thirteen minutes, sir."
Stone then checked on his high-profile passengers. Hoshi Sato, the lone surviving Human member of Archer's senior bridge crew, was in her assigned quarters. The linguist and retired captain had pulled many a string to be here. Also on board were UE president, Rosamund Stevens and Admiral Morgan Mueller, a protégé of Archer.
As predicted, thirteen minutes later, Prometheus dropped out of warp above Babel, a planetoid just outside of Andorian territory. On screen, Stone could see that the Vulcans, Denobulans and Andorians had already arrived. They now awaited the arrival of Enterprise with her Paraagan and Tellarite guests.
"Assume standard orbit, Mr. Singer." Rising to his feet, Stone glanced at his first officer. "You have the bridge, Mitchell."
With a sense of satisfaction, he headed for the turbolift.
1200 hours
"Shields twenty percent and dropping," Gary Mitchell called out as he held on to his console in an attempt to stay seated amidst the violent shudders rocking Prometheus. "Recommend immediate deployment of escape pods."
"See to it, Mitchell. Rahda, fire aft cannons, dispersal pattern, get the Vulcans off our back!"
The shit, as they say, had hit the proverbial fan and Commodore Stone was within splatter distance. His communications officer had just received word from Enterprise that they were thirty minutes from arrival. He had absently acknowledged the message while reviewing a list of the Paraagan and Tellarite dignitaries. As he finished, his security chief lifted her head in confusion.
"Commander Rahda?"
"I don't know, sir. Something seems off with our weapons system."
"Off how?"
"Impossible." Her brow creased as her fingers danced across her board. "Weapons appear to be running completely separate from main systems."
Not much later, a barrage from Prometheus' forward phaser cannons sliced into the Vulcan lead vessel. Torpedoes followed next. With their shields and weapons powered down, the Seleya never stood a chance. The other Vulcan ships retaliated, while the Andorians and Denobulans pleaded for reason. Their voices ignored, they backed away in horror.
1226 hours
Commodore Stone's final thought as his ship buckled and flew apart was to wonder how the dream had become a nightmare.
