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Italics are used to symbolise the way the changelings speak in the Great Link.
The Founder's Conspiracy.
The Female Shapeshifter walked slowly into the sea of her people away from Odo, the sea making up the Great Link which was the foundation of their society. The Female Shapeshifter regretted the fact Odo had essentially rejected his people, but the Great Link was patient. They had sent out the "infant" changelings centuries ago to explore the galaxy with the desire to locate and return to their home in another few centuries.
Unlike a Solid who was impatient and wanted everything the next day, to the Changelings within the Great Link, time almost had no meaning.
To a Changeling another three hundred years was nothing, and even if the rest of the Hundred did not return on schedule they would not worry since time was infinite to them.
As she walked into the sea of her people, the Female Shapeshifter considered the implications of what had just happened recently.
The first conflict between the Federation from the Alpha Quadrant section of the galaxy where news of what had happened returned to the Federation had finally occurred, but the Female Shapeshifter was not concerned; it had only been a matter of time before the Dominion and the Federation clashed and word returned. But the Female Shapeshifter like the rest of the Great Link had known for a long time word of the Dominion had reached the ears of the Federation; the Skrrean refugees who'd escaped the occupation of the T-Rogarans were one of those instances, but the Changelings were not concerned by that. The Skrreans were harmless even by the standards of the Great Link, a rarity because of how Solids were viewed.
The Great Link had known from their studies and analysis of the Federation they would probably try to send another ship to meet with representatives of the Dominion to convince them and the Great Link they were not a threat, but like all Solids they didn't realise their fate had already been pre-ordained. It was considered the sacred duty of the Great Link to impose order and discipline over the Solids, to break them of their needs for freedom and those other primitive beliefs of theirs.
It made no difference.
The answer would be a resounding no. The Federation had ignored their pleas and demands to stop exploring the Gamma Quadrant to satisfy their curiosity of what it held, and soon the Great Link had decided to launch all-out assaults on the starships sent through the passageway. Why should the Dominion not consider them to be a threat? In the collective mind of the Great Link, the Changelings viewed the Alpha Quadrant as chaotic and it needed order.
Odo may have said imposing order may not be easy but the Founders were still going to try.
Odo….
If the Female Shapeshifter could have done, she would have broken down into sobs but she was not a weak-willed Solid. She was better than that, but that didn't mean she and the rest of her kind could not express or feel sorrow for the loss of Odo. He was one of them, he deserved to have a place in the Great Link. It had been terribly risky sending out the Hundred to go out and gather knowledge of the galaxy they lived in, but if the Dominion were to survive they would need to expand and that meant they would be encountering other Solids, empires that were chaotic, and they would need to know what was out there while the Great Link consolidated their gains in the Gamma Quadrant.
None of them had anticipated one of their own on the Defiant, the ship that had been sent to contact the Dominion, but one of the Hundred was finally in their midst; Odo may have been early, but that didn't matter. When she had linked with him, the Female Shapeshifter had been distressed by how lonely Odo had been all of his life, and she had seen some of the memories he had in his being. Many of them had been distressing in their content though the Female Shapeshifter felt nothing for the Solids, she had been delighted to answer his questions even if she was distressed he had not really bothered to learn anything about what he was capable of beside the bare minimum. But that was what happened when you lived among Solids, they tended to hold you back. But she had persevered in trying to help him, and he had learnt his lessons.
But she and her people had underestimated how much of a bond Odo had with his "friends" as he had deemed the Solids who had been trapped inside the VR suite. It had taken the Dominion a while to glean enough information about the last twenty years of the Federation's history and what they had learnt went into the simulation they formed to test the minds of the Solid crew of the Defiant.
The simulation was found by Odo and that Solid female he had brought with him, Major Kira Nerys, a Bajoran like the ones who had been wiped out on that colony of theirs on the other side of the passageway. The Female Shapeshifter had been upset with Odo's belief she would harm him if he tried to release them, but she had ordered their release anyway; the Dominion had gleaned a great deal already, and what they had would be enough to form the basic strategy of the invasion of the Alpha Quadrant.
Coming to a stop, the Female Shapeshifter turned around slowly and faced Odd (she found it odd the way he appeared, though Changelings weren't really concerned with external humanoid forms), and she slowly sank into the Link after releasing her concentration over her form. The last thing she saw was Odo, but she knew he was still there and then he was joined by Major Kira and they soon left for the orbiting Defiant.
Odo knows about the Dominion, she sent to the rest of the Link, and he rejects us.
The Bajoran woman must have had something to do with it.
He is attached to her.
Not for long. Sooner or later he will understand his place is with us.
No matter. We shall get Odo back with us. For now, we should concentrate on more important matters. The Federation now knows the truth of us and our connection to the Dominion, but our plans for the takeover of the Alpha Quadrant are still in place, the Female Shapeshifter's consciousness communicated to the rest of the Link.
Yes. Their knowledge of us is irrelevant. They will undoubtedly try to form plans to prevent us carrying out our plans and our objectives, but it will take the Solids time to discover means of making it possible.
Yes. We should take advantage of the Solid's weaknesses against them. Our knowledge of the Alpha Quadrant has given us many clues of the weaknesses of the Federation and their neighbours. As soon as they realise we can easily infiltrate their governments, they will alter their security and they will inevitably make mistakes that would cost them dearly.
That tactic has worked in our favour before, but it worked even better when no-one knew we were behind the Dominion., Still it does not matter if they know about us; fear is a tremendous psychological weapon, one we have exploited many times in the past. Victory is life.
All together the Changelings chanted through the Link, Victory is life.
What of our plans so far?
We shall wait until the Solids of the Alpha Quadrant have time to accept the fact we are the Founders of the Dominion, our agents have already taken positions among the various powers. Their positions and their abilities will allow them to discover plans if they ever arise that concern us, and then they will make sure they are carried out.
The Romulan Tal Shiar and the Cardassian Obsidian Order that we have learnt about over the last two years are two dangerous organisations, they are ruthless and highly efficient. We should concentrate on destroying them. They are a definite threat; once word of our existence gets out they will undoubtedly seek to wipe us out.
Then we should ensure our operatives on Romulus and Cardassia find a way to manipulate both organisations, but we can think of that later. What of the Federation?
Our plans to get them embroiled in a war should prove easy. They several enemies in the Alpha Quadrant. A few lies and one of our own onboard one of their ships and they will have a diplomatic incident that they cannot recover from. Once the Federation is weakened, we can move in.
We should send out more of our own into the Alpha Quadrant to begin government infiltration and sabotage at the highest level.
Yes. What of the Klingon Empire?
The Klingons could easily become a warrior race of the same calibre of the Jem'Hadar, but we would need to genetically re-engineer them and remove these stupid concepts of honour and glory from their genetic matrixes. We can use the same tactic we plan to use on the Federation on them, no-one should be surprised if the Klingon Empire become embroiled in a war. What of the other races?
From what we know the Tholians are an aggressive, xenophobic race. They will not join us, but if we enter their territory they will attack us. We will need to find a way to break them to our will.
The Female shapeshifter's mind joined the commonality. What is the news of the Jem'Hadar breeding farms, and the starship production lines?
Production of the fighters is going as planned. We have already increased the demand for fighters, warships and we are preparing the battleships. It will take time to arrange the expeditionary force with the breeding equipment we shall need for a full term invasion.
Breeding the Jem'Hadar is going according to plan. We have increased the demand to over a million per day.
A thought crossed the Great Link commonality. I think we should also look to bio-weapons. One worked perfectly on the Teplans when they defied us. We can use that in the long term if the Solids defy us.
I agree. While I believe the Dominion forces we plan to send into the Alpha Quadrant will be more than a match for the Solids when we begin the invasion, it is logical to assume that more than one race will be skilled enough to fight us hard enough to fight us for longer periods and cost us many resources. We should use bio-weapons in that case. But we should wait and see if that approach is needed or necessary.
Yes.
Speaking of resources, we shall need to find a large sector of the Alpha Quadrant we can use to build our armies, construct our ship and develop our weapons.
Yes, that is indeed a problem, the Female changeling added, we may need to just select a system thanks to our own people who are sent into the Alpha Quadrant to find a region where there are minerals and planets available, and take it over when we send in the taskforce.
It will take us too long to fully survey a region and bring it back to the Link for analysis. Ideally, we would take over an already established industrial sector, that way we would only need to adapt the shipyards to produce ships to our designs and specifications. If we have to manufacture those facilities from scratch then it will take us longer to truly invade the Alpha Quadrant.
That may indeed be our only option. If we distract the Solids by forcing them into conflicts with each other, they will find it difficult to discover our presence there.
Assuming we can start those wars. Our intelligence of the Federation states that Starfleet captains are usually highly resourceful, they may detect our interference.
What do you recommend?
I believe we should find a region in the Alpha Quadrant distant from Federation space, I believe we should send in one of our number with the robot drones we use in some of our production industries. The robots should complete the production facilities in a short period of time, and then we simply breed Jem'Hadar and Vorta in the Alpha Quadrant. Once they are finished, they can launch attacks against the survivors of the conflicts.
What about Ketracel White? If your plan works then the Jem'Hadar in the Alpha Quadrant would need it desperately or else they will fall into chaos.
Yes, Ketracel White. We shall also need to find the best places to manufacture large amounts of it in the Alpha Quadrant.
I wish we did not have to depend on something as primitive and as limited as a drug; it works and keeps the Jem'Hadar from becoming mindless monsters, but it causes more problems than it solves under some conditions.
If we go with the plan to simply send in one of our own to a region, we should choose one where there is a world that features a Tri-nucleic fungi. From that, we can manufacture a virtually unlimited amount of the White. We may also be able to move the fungi to other worlds under our control, and manufacture it elsewhere so we are not dependent on a single source.
That is a good plan, another changeling stated, we should send spies into the Alpha Quadrant and find the best regions near the passageway to locate these resources. Once we find them we shall make sure the Karemma place robot drones on one of their cargo ships and venture there.
What of Odo? He is a skilled investigator, he may detect what we are planning to do.
There is very little we can do about that, unless we launch an attack on the station orbiting the mouth of the passageway, and give our ship a chance to reach the sector of space.
The Federation will soon be prepared for such an eventuality. Subterfuge is the only means we have of establishing such a base.
Yes. But we should wait and prepare here, in the Gamma Quadrant, until we are ready to truly decide on the best strategy. Indeed, if our plans to cause many wars works the way we plan then we shall only need to move in and claim one of these regions for ourselves.
I do not approve of that strategy. We still do not know enough about the psychology of the Federation to make a plan that shall work. We need to wait. Do not forget, it should not matter to us if ten years pass before we gain control of the Alpha Quadrant. Eventually, we shall take possession of it, and bring the Solids that live there under our control.
Yes.
Yes.
Victory is life.
Yes.
The Great Link was agreed.
Author's notes.
The Skrreans, seen in the episode "Sanctuary" were the first people to tell Starfleet about the Dominion which eventually built up to the climactic battle in "The Jem'Hadar" where the USS Odyssey was destroyed. The Skrreans were farmers who were conquered by the T-Rogorans, a race that was eventually conquered by the Dominion later on. The Skrreans fled through the wormhole and wanted to settle on Bajor when they learnt it matched their sacred texts, but it led to tragedy.
The Teplans were one of the few races who stood up to the Dominion - and they paid for it when the Dominion unleashed a bio-weapon on the planet that infected everyone with a disease called "the Blight." I felt it made sense the Founders would consider the use of biogenetic weapons in the upcoming war.