Chapter 1
Three human individuals, named Ram, Tanya, and April recently learned that aliens of all shapes and sorts are real. Their school, apparently, is a hotspot for extraterrestrial activity. Unfortunately, it seems to only attract bad aliens. Like the Shadowkin; brutal warriors who can hide in the shadows of their enemies. Earlier tonight, the three humans and some alien friends managed to send the Shadowkin back to their newly conquered homeworld and cut off their pathway to Earth. Well, temporarily, and they had a great deal of help from an ancient alien called the Doctor. He did most of the work.
Now, each of them was headed home to try to sleep. April lay in her bed, staring up at the stars. Her heart ached, probably because she was forced to share it with the King of the Shadowkin. Yes, her heart phases in and out of space and time, keeping them both alive. However, she is adjusting. One day, she planned to get it back, permanently.
April wondered what she and her friends would have to face tomorrow. Whatever it was, she planned to take it head on. Then, just when April was about to fall asleep, she heard a noise. It was the sound of jazz music, and it was coming from the other side of her bedroom door.
Her first thought was, "What the hell?!" Then her door opened and a blue light filled the room. Before April could react, she disappeared without a trace.
At Ram's house, he was in his backyard, trying to use his new prosthetic leg to kick a football (or, as the Americans call it, a soccer ball) correctly. He watched his girlfriend, Rachael die tonight. Her blood had covered his face. That was something you never forget, and that was not even the end of the night's horrors. He also got his leg cut off. He had received a new advanced prosthetic leg from the Doctor. However, his new leg was much harder to use, which was very bad for a star football player, like Ram.
Just after he kicked the ball for the twentieth time, he heard the sound of a saxophone behind him. Ram turned around and was suddenly blinded by a bright blue light.
At Tanya's, she was wide awake, without any idea what to do. She had seen things tonight that she never thought possible. Tanya could not sleep because her mind kept going over all the possible dangers she could face tomorrow. With literally an endless number of possibilities, Tanya needed to either drop it or go without sleep. As she was thinking, a sound suddenly filled her room. It was jazz music, and it was loud.
When she sat up in her bed, she was suddenly blinded by a blue light.
Now, all three of them were unconscious in what looked like an endless-white void. Standing before them was a man wearing a silky-blue suit, gray pants, polished shoes, and had a toothpick in his mouth. His skin was the same color as obsidian stone, his eyes were light-blue, and his teeth were shiny white. Next to him was a saxophone case. This mad had a very entertained expression on his face.
"Now, where to send you lot?" He said with a very musical voice. "Somewhere that won't be boring. Somewhere that you will find allies and enemies and keep me entertained."
Suddenly, a glowing circular window appeared in front of him. Then, an image appeared in that window of a jungle with what looked like giant black beetles stomping on trees. The individual gave a disapproving expression, and the image changed to something else. The image changed about a dozen more times before the man approved of what he saw. This approved image was of a space station located near both a populated planet and a wormhole.
"This will do nicely." He said with a grin.
At that very space station, a man was having dinner with his son. The man's name is Benjamin Sisko and he is captain of Deep Space Nine, the space station located near the wormhole. He was assigned to the station by Starfleet a few months ago, in order to safeguard the interests of a nearby civilization. They are known as the Bajorans. For decades, an alien race called the Cardassians had occupied Bajor and robbed the planet of its natural resources. Fortunately, thanks to the discovery of the wormhole, the planet is on its way to becoming a major center of commerce.
At first, Sisko was not too happy about being assigned there. However, now he was somewhat content there. Though, there is no shortage of problems on the station. Failing systems, computer glitches, etc. Still, it was a good place, even with the occasional trouble.
Sisko had just told his son, Jake, to go to bed when the whole station shook. It was practically an earthquake, minus the earth. Sisko pressed his comm badge.
"Sisko to Ops." He said with authority. "What just happened?"
The familiar voice of his friend Dax answered, "We are not entirely sure, sir. An anomaly has appeared near the station. It released some form of energy that bombarded us. I would suggest you get up here fast."
"On my way." Sisko replied.
He told Jake to stay in their quarters unless there was an emergency that required him to leave. Then, Sisko quickly hurried to the nearest lift. As he was in the lift, the station shook once again. For a brief moment, Sisko's memories of the day his wife, Jennifer died. Sisko quickly buried those memories and focused on the present. The moment Sisko arrived on the Command Deck, he was pleased to find no panicked officers. However, there were sirens going off and nearly all the consoles were lighting up with warning signs.
"Chief O'Brien, what is happening?!" Sisko asked, as the station shook once more.
"D.S.9 is being bombarded with energy from an unidentified anomaly." O'Brien answered. "Our shields are holding but I doubt they can take much more."
"Dax, have you figured anything out about this anomaly?" Sisko inquired.
"No," Dax replied. "The energy signature is not registered in our database. All I can tell you is it's building up very close to the station."
"So, we are basically and utterly in the dark as to what we are facing?!" Major Kira said, her tone one of extreme frustration.
On the large screen at one end of the Command Deck, an image appeared. This image was of a crystal structure shaped like a leafless tree. The part that would have been the branches had white streaks of light bursting from them for a few seconds then disappearing followed by another burst a few seconds later. The part that would have been the roots were composed of pure blue crystal. The part that would have been the trunk was made of some form of glowing silver metal. It was strange, to say the least. According to the readings they were getting from it, there was a massive build-up of energy in and around the anomaly. These readings suggested something very, very bad.
There was a strong possibility that whatever it was near their station was going to explode.
"Sir, the energy is becoming erratic." Dax said. "I believe all the built-up energy in the anomaly is about to be released."
"Chief, ready our shields." Sisko commanded.
O'Brien did not reply. He was far too focused on the task. The engineer was using every ounce of knowledge he possessed to make sure that D.S.9 could withstand the coming explosion of energy. He transferred all the energy from other station systems to the shields. Still, when he looked at the energy that had built-up, he felt a strong surge of fear. For the station and its inhabitants, which includes his wife and daughter.
"Sir, I am detecting a massive energy spike." Dax warned.
"Here it comes!" Kira said.
"Everyone, brace for impact!" Sisko ordered.
Every officer did as they were told, but there was no immediate impact. In fact, there was no impact at all. They waited for about a minute before looking to see what had happened. Or, rather, what had not happened.
"Incredible!" Dax exclaimed when she looked at the readings on her screen. "It seems that instead of exploding, the anomaly imploded. And the result seems to be…"
Dax fell silent, which was truly scary. No even Sisko knew what to make of that. Dax suddenly being shocked into silence has never happened before. Whatever had happened, it must have been utterly unbelievable. When Sisko looked at the readings, he quickly understood how someone like Dax could be shocked into silence. Sisko pushed a button and looked up at the screen on the command deck.
A new wormhole had appeared just off the station.
"How the bloody hell is this possible?!" O'Brien exclaimed.
"Don't ask me." Major Kira said, barely hiding her own astonishment.
"Sir," Dax said. "I am detecting something emerging from the new wormhole."
A mere few seconds later, a ship burst through the wormhole. The ship was cone shaped with three black lines circling around its otherwise silver hull. The vessel quickly moved towards the station. This ship also sent out a signal that overridden Deep Space Nine's computer systems. Apparently, so it could dock with the space station.
"I would go take a look at that ship if I were you." An unfamiliar voice said. "Especially, what is inside it. Or rather, who."
Sisko tried to locate the source of the voice, but could not. Something was going on. While Sisko did not understand what it was, he knew it was going to be trouble. So, he pressed his comm badge to communicate with Odo, his security chief, who was on the promenade.
"Sisko to Odo." He said. "An unknown ship has docked with D.S.9. Meet me at Docking Bay Five. And bring Doctor Bashir. But, do not open the airlock."
"Roger that." Odo replied.
As Sisko made his way to the lift, Major Kira followed him. At first, he wanted her to remain on the Command deck. Her response was, "Sir, there is a new wormhole near not only this station, but my homeworld of Bajor. I want to know if there is anything dangerous coming through it."
"Alright then, come along." Sisko said.
As they made their way through the promenade, they were approached by the Ferengi who ran the local bar, Quark.
"Is it true that there is a new wormhole?!" Quark asked. "Is it true a ship as already emerge?"
"Not now Quark!" Sisko replied as he hurried to meet up with Odo.
"Hey, now." Quark said. "I'm just asking what everyone else is going to ask."
Before Sisko could respond, they reached Docking Bay Five and found the airlock was already open. He saw Odo standing outside waiting for him. It is easy to recognize Odo due to his not-quite fully formed features. His face is strangely smooth, as is his hair which is white.
"Odo, I thought I ordered this airlock remain closed until I arrived." Sisko commented.
"Our systems seem to have been hacked, sir." Odo responded. "It opened on its own."
"Where is Doctor Bashir?" Sisko asked.
"He detected life signs in there and insisted on going in to check." Odo answered. "Went with him, to make sure it was safe. Once I was certain, I came back out to wait for you. Also, sir, there are three individuals on board. All unconscious and the ship was on autopilot."
"Have you identified what species these individuals are?" Major Kira asked.
"That is the most peculiar thing." Odo said. "They are all humans."
"Are you certain?" Major Kira inquired.
"Doctor Bashir certainly seems to think so." Odo replied. "He has called for more personnel to help move them to Sick Bay."
"Good." Sisko said. "I want to know the moment they awaken. Meanwhile, I want Dax and O'Brien examine every inch of this ship and fully analyze its computer systems."
"Understood." Odo replied, as he stopped Quark, who was trying to sneak into the ship while they were talking.
"What do you think you are doing?" Odo asked with a sigh.
"Oh, I was merely going to see if Doctor Bashir needs any help." Quark replied, unconvincingly.
"And, perhaps, to see if there is anything of value aboard this vessel?" Odo suggested.
Quark just shrugged and slowly started to walk away.
"Wait just a second," Odo said. "You should get to work helping Bashir, shouldn't you?"
While doing his best not to appear annoyed, Quark entered the ship. A second later, the others heard his screams. Immediately, Sisko and his companions entered the ship, prepared to fight. They saw, in the dimly light space, Quark on the ground clenching his ear and Doctor Bashir being held in a stranglehold by a caucasian teenage girl with brown hair.
"Where are we?!" She asked.
