I stood and watched as body after body was carried out. The assassination attempt could not have been better timed. Admiral Janeway and hundreds of other officers were dead including two of my own. I watched as Scott and Evans were zipped into their body bags, badly burned. My arm had been burned also and hung by my side, but I paid it little attention. I looked on as they were carried out, shedding a blood tear for them, mainly for Zari whom had almost become mine.

"165 dead, 10 admirals and 5 captains included. This was a terrorist attack of the first degree" said Julian as we walked toward me, his face blooded and his uniform scorched and ripped.

"And Jade?" I asked hoping not to add one more Phoenix funeral to the list.

"Taken to emergency medical, she's critical. Ch'zar went with her" he replied.

I sighed a bowed my head, watching more body bags and stretchers pass me to the medical shuttles.

"Any idea of how they did it?"

"The plasma bomb was under the stage. Those at the back such as Janeway never stood a chance."

"So many important people have died in the last 48 hours, what is going on here. Julian, get back to the ship and find out anything you can. Passenger logs, shipments, transfers. Anything."

Macgyver nodded and walked off, stepping over rubble and bodies as he went.

This was indeed a dark time. But who was doing it? Romulans? They had no reason to attack now and less with the peace talks. No. It had to be some other power that we had not faced. All our previous foes this side of the galaxy were now members of the Federation or on good terms with us. And this was hardly Borg or 8472's style.

As I stood there in my thought a man came toward me, wearing a black undershirt and a solemn expression. From his pips I ascertained that he was a Commander. He also wore a strong scar over his left eye which had been replaced by a synthetic one. His hair was shaven short and greying, his build ripped.

"Captain Dutton?" He asked coming toward me.

"Yes?" I replied looking up, my face still solemn.

"I am Commander Rio Zen of Starfleet intelligence, if you will please come with me."

"Why?" I asked.

"All will become clear."

He walked from me and despite myself I followed. What I left behind will never leave me. Unfortunately it was the first of many yet to come.

/\

He led me to a shuttle which in turn led to a secluded Starfleet Intelligence base on the far side of the Starfleet grounds.

As we walked we did not speak but merely pondered on the other. As we walked down a large corridor I decided to speak out.

"Commander, why have you brought me here?" I asked.

"Because Lieutenant Commander Evans told you things that may land you in hot water" he replied "she of course can not stand for her actions now."

I bowed my head at the remark before replying again, continuing to follow.

"So there is political unrest within the Federation?"

He turned sharply as we reached a door and gave me a hard glance into my Valen eyes.

"What you discover now must not leave these walls. Is that understood?" He asked me sternly.

"Of course. But what am I to learn?"

He turned and pressed the door, entering the security code which promptly pulled back the doors.

Before me I saw a dark and busy room of many monitors, stations and panels. As said the room was darkly lit and the main stations circled the room, illumination glowing from the mainly blue and green Lcars panels also. At the centre, to which we walked, lay an operations table with many schematics and panels glowing on it. The centre included a map of the Starfleet Command area.

As he approached and leant on the table Zen spoke again.

"Over the last several months we have been watching uprisings in the Federation. So far we have not learned much of the true meaning. But with these attacks we believe they are making their move."

"What?!" I exclaimed, coming up behind him "you think the Federation is breaking apart?!"

"We don't know how big this movement is, put we need to find the main players and stop them. This is conspiracy Captain. When they couldn't bring about the change they wanted they decided to make change happen. They wish to overthrow the Federation and Starfleet. Infiltrating it at the core and taking out the other important players who would not sympathise to their cause."

"The murders" I said stepping beside him.

"And the attacks. It is deeply routed but how far we don't know. Before tonight I was third in command of Starfleet Intelligence. Now I am the head and no one else can be trusted to get the position. We have locked our doors Captain. There was even a question as weather or not to come to you, but we will see if that was a good idea of mine in time."

I pondered this a moment, staring at the beeping panels on the tables surface before looking up at him.

"You knew tonight might happen."

"We were surprised it didn't happen last night" he replied.

"Then you knew!" I tried to keep control of my rage "You son of a bitch! You could have stopped this! Warned Them!"

"There wasn't time!" He shouted back "My predecessor did not think that the evidence was strong enough to take action."

"Not enough! You knew a lot more than any of us did! You could have stopped this! Friends of mine are dead and dying!"

"So is the former Chief of this department!"

We simply stared at each other for a moment before I lowered my head again.

"So what now?" My voice was hushed now.

"We stop it from happening again. Earth is of now quarantined, its borders closed to traffic of any kind. Even our own. The President will make an announcement in an hour" he told me.

"Do you think this is all influenced by a foreign power?" I asked.

"Possibly, we don't know enough of the facts to make a theory on what happened."

"Then God help us all" I replied.