Chapter 7


Defiant swayed to and fro uncomfortably, buffeted by the currents of the plasma storms that surrounded the tiny grey little world ahead. The static on the viewscreen was particularly severe, so much so it was almost impossible to see anything.

"Worf, how's our cloaking device holding up?"

"Significant power fluctuations, Captain, but I believe we're still hidden from detection."

"Dax, any signs of other ships?"

She exhaled in frustration. "It's hard to get a reading without using a sensor sweep." She continued monitoring the sensors, then said: "Negative, Captain. No ships in the area. At least, none I can detect without a full-powered sensoe sweep."

"That's good enough, old man, we don't want to give away our presence."

Worf said: "Orders, Captain?"

Sisko considered the problem. A few months ago when he came to Athos IV with Eddington to stop a purported Maquis missile attack, the interference outside was so great they couldn't beam down. Unless…

"Chief, how close do we have to get to the planet before we can safely beam down?"

O'Brien made some calculations, then said: "Forty kilometers, sir."

Sisko did not hesitate. "O'Brien, bring us in tight for transport. As soon as you're clear, recloak and stand by. Away team, meet me in Transporter Room One."


"Energize." The landing team rematerialized on the surface, in a rocky corridor twenty meters from the main landing pad.

Sisko led the team of Worf, Kira, Dax and four other security officers forward through the dark and vapor-filled passageway.

"Readings?" Sisko whispered.

Dax lifted her tricorder. "Four Vulcans and five humans. There's a raider-type ship in the hangar. I'm detecting a flux of chronometric particles emanating from a point twenty four meters ahead."

"The Orb. Any sign they're getting ready to use it?"

"Unknown, but that ship's engines are standing by. They could take off at any minute if they wanted to."

"Let's go. Worf, Kira, you and Squad One wait outside the southern exit. Dax and I will take Squad Two and circle around to the north side."

His two teams split up, with Sisko and his group circling around through a branching passageway. A few minutes later, they were on the opposite side of the hangar. Peaking out behind the side of a wall, Sisko could see a Terran rebel raider ship sitting on the landing pad. Human and Vulcan guards stood all around it.

Sisko retreated back, then pointed back down the corridor to the stairwell. They silently climbed up to the second level, and crept up to the exit. His team members took position along the catwalk, lying low to stay under cover. Coming forward, he yelled at the top of his voice: "Spock!"

He ducked back as a volley of disruptor fire crackled all around him. From inside the stairwell entrance, he could clearly hear Spock's voice crying out: "Hold fire!" A pause, then: "Captain Sisko? I should have know it would be you." He approached from the other side of the ship. Spock was now wearing a white robbed tunic, and Sisko noticed something: his hair was now steel-gray. Sisko suddenly noticed that he seemed much weaker and frailer than back on Deep Space Nine.

He looked down at the armed guards pointing their weapons upwards. "You're surrounded, Spock. I advise you to lay down your arms."

Spock frowned and did not respond. Sisko's throat tightened. "Mister Spock, I will not ask you again. Power down your ship, and hand over the Orb to me."

"Before I do, will you hear me out?"

"We don't have time for this," Sisko snapped. "You can explain it to me on the way back—"

"—Captain, please, I feel an enormous need to explain myself to you," Spock said earnestly. "You are but the second Federation captain I have had a chance to interact with, and I want you to know how I—and you—ended up here. Think of it this way: if you are successful, you will be the only one to know the whole truth of our history."

"And if you're successful, I'll still be the only one to know anything about your past at all," he shot back. It was enormously frustrating; he had to stop Spock, but in his bones Sisko knew he couldn't bear to give the Alliance a victory. Stall! "Try not to ramble, Mister Spock."

"Of course." He cleared his throat. "After your Kirk returned to your universe, I spent the rest of my time on my Enterprise thinking of how I could try and reform the Empire, make it more humane. As it turned out my Kirk—or, as everyone in our universe referred to him, 'Tiberius'—would play a key role in it all, for good and bad. He rose to the Admiralty, while I went into scientific research and diplomacy, beginning my rise through the much-neglected civilian sector. As he became more powerful in Starfleet, I knew one day we would face off once and for all. I tried to stop his rise with the Genesis Incident."

Despite himself, Sisko was fascinated. "I don't understand."

"One of the Empire's many weapons research programs, only I knew this one would never work. Nonetheless, I assigned Tiberius' former paramour, Carol Marcus, and their son David, to work on it." Spock appeared bemused by the memories. "The only reason peace-loving traitors like Carol and David Marcus were allowed to live was because they were brilliant scientists. I assigned them both to the project, knowing that there was a high probability that they would do something brash to keep it out of the hands of the Empire. And like clockwork, they decided to defect to the Klingons and warn them about Genesis, out of fear the Empire would become unstoppable. When Tiberius found out, he went into a rage and went after them. Later, on the short-lived Genesis Planet, he found them and killed both, along with their Klingon contact Kruge. I was then able to convince Starfleet Command that Kirk was behind it all, and had him arrested for treason."

Sisko was speechless. "Not exactly how I would suggest achieving political reform," he said coolly.

Spock raised his hands in supplication. "I had no alternative, I could not defeat him openly, not without losing my own life in the process." He continued: "He fled to Vulcan of all places, looking for asylum, but it was of no avail. I was bringing him and his crew back to Earth for his show trial, but an alien probe attacked Earth at the same time, and Kirk and I were forced to work together to save it—"

"—by going back in time and bringing a pair of humpback whales back to the twenty third century," Sisko finished, unable to keep himself from smiling.

Now Spock was speechless. He flashed Sisko a small grin. "Quite right. It worked perfectly, except for two things: one, I was unable to prevent Kirk from killing the 20th century scientist, Doctor Gillian Taylor, who was helping us." The grin abruptly vanished. "Second, and far more seriously, Kirk became a hero to the Empire again, and my plans were set back. But I was not deterred. A few years later, from my new position as Imperial Ambassador, I arranged the first-ever tripartite conference between the Terran, Klingon and Romulan Empires on Nimbus III, attempting to improve relations between the great powers. Then I failed again, only this time it wasn't Tiberius who stopped me, but of all people my own exiled brother, Sybok. He was a follower of the old Surak tradition, which advocated nonviolence. He and a bunch of his followers hijacked our ship and took us to the center of the galaxy, to Sha Ka Ree, where they believed the creator existed and would bring peace to the universe. But they were disappointed, to say the least. At least they had the sensibility to commit suicide when their fantasies were shown to be false," he said coldly.

"At least they believed in peace," Sisko remarked uncertainly.

"Do not misunderstand me, I'm grateful to Sybok and his band of followers. It's just that they were more successful by death than through life," Spock said acerbically. "They became martyrs to many Vulcans, stirring up within them long-dormant ambivalences and desires for peace. Those sentiments saved me from being executed after the Nimbus III debacle, and helped me begin my ultimate ascent to the Chancellor's office. At last, I had the potential power to bring about peace." A shadow came across his face. "The terrible irony is I succeeded—and brought utter ruin to our two peoples."

"What happened?" Sisko asked sympathetically.

Spock waved him away. "I would rather not discuss it, the memories are still too painful." He paused, then continued: "My sincere apologies, Captain. I did not want to involve you or your Federation at all in this affair, but in the end I had no alternative. The Alliance is not run by fools; they spare no expense monitoring their space for signs of attempts to alter the timeline. And they were inspired to do so because of me. After the Alliance was victorious, I was taken prisoner. Eventually they extracted from me the real reason I instituted my reforms." Spock paused for emphasis; Sisko understood. "After that, in addition to increasing their defense against time travel, they also began an Alliance-wide effort to ensure that transporters could not be used to crossover. Unfortunately for them, they didn't know that it would become easier to do so over time—nor did they know of the Bajoran wormhole-aliens on your side of the quantum divide, and their Orbs." His grin became ugly. "And now it's going to cost them everything."

"Spock, listen to me—"

Ignoring him, Spock's voice became distant. "You cannot imagine the horrors I have endured since our fall. Being tortured night and day, year after year. Forced to watch then execute my friends, my family. Forced to watch endless replays of the destruction of Earth and Vulcan." Suddenly his voice hardened. "Do you know how they commemorate their victory, Captain? Every year on Kronos and Cardassia Prime, they select five hundred innocent Terrans and Vulcans and publicly execute them. Emphasis on innocent. They did all these things to me, and more, for decades, before I finally managed to escape Cardassia Prime a few years ago. Naturally for the Alliance, they responded by killing every human and Vulcan on Cardassaia that day. More than three thousand paid for the price for my freedom, just as fifty billion others paid the price for my stupidity many years ago. It is long past time I repay my debts," Spock said solemnly.

"Spock, you know this is wrong, there must be another way!" Sisko implored.

"Sorry Captain, but there isn't," came a familiar voice. Sisko's heart sank as he watched mirror-O'Brien emerge from the ship, his clothes dirty from performing maintenance.

"Hello, Sisko," he said somberly.

"Hello, Smiley," Sisko replied glumly.

Mirror-O'Brien had a pained look on his face. "I don't blame you, Ben. You did us good, but sometimes good isn't enough."

"I know," Sisko replied. Mirror-O'Brien came up to Spock and whispered in his ear. Nodding, he then reentered the ship.

"I may have a compromise that will work for both of us. If it is the Orb you require, come back in time with me. When I am finished, you may return with it to the present."

Sisko shook his head. "If you do this, I guarantee one day someone will repay you the favor—repay you in triplicate. If you think it can't get any worse, you're wrong, it can and will!"

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Fascinating argument. I refute it thus: no Alliance sympathizer will be able to repeat this action against me."

"That's not logic," Sisko said coldly, "that's your opinion."

"It is hope," Spock said simply, "the only hope we have. If this timeline continues there is a 97 percent probability that humans and Vulcans will become extinct within one hundred thirty years." Spock unexpectedly seemed amused. "Ironic that when I made a similar-such calculation during the first crossover incident, your Captain Kirk used it as evidence to argue that the Empire's policies had to change. I acted upon his suggestions, and in so doing, I brought about its downfall and confirmed the result. But this was clearly a case of experimental bias. I promise you, when I repeat the trial, I will account for the error."

To his side, he saw Dax suppress a smile. Scientific humor. Sisko wasn't amused. "Does the defense rest?" he asked stiffly.

Spock nodded. "Indeed, the time for arguments is over."

"For the last time: will you surrender?"

"No."

"In that case—" Before he could react, Spock had pulled out a control pad and pressed a button. Alarms went off, and suddenly his communicator chirped.

"Captain! Shields just went up over the base!" Dax consulted her tricorder. "They've also broadcasting a powerful omnidirectional subspace pulse."

"Endgame, Captain Sisko," Spock said. "That pulse is powerful enough to be picked up across the entire sector. A squadron of rebel ships is on its way, and if they don't destroy you, undoubtedly the Alliance will."

"You'll die," Sisko said.

"So will you," Spock retorted. "The difference is, you don't have to. What will it be?"

Sisko thought for a few seconds, then made his choice. Diving to the ground, he cried out: "Worf!"

On the other side of the hanger Worf's team open fire, taking down a Vulcan and two other humans. Dodging return fire, Sisko let off a shot at Spock, but another Vulcan leaped in the way and took the blast in his place. Spock scrambled back inside the ship as the remaining guards scrambled for cover.

Trading fire, Sisko pressed his communicator. "Defiant, I'm ordering you to fire on this base and destroy it on my command. Acknowledge!"

O'Brien replied hotly: "Captain, you can't do that—"

"Chief, carry out your orders!"

"Aye, sir. Defiant out."

Dax shouted: "Captain, they're powering engines—and I'm detecting a chronometric field forming! We've only got a few minutes!"

"Then have to stop them! Cover me!" Under Dax's cover of fire, Sisko leaped and slid down a pillar to ground level. Dodging fire, he let loose several shots at the ship, slightly damaging its exterior hull. Before he could change position, the last Vulcan guard rushed him, his face twisted in anger. Immediately Sisko went down; he was unable to keep his powerful hands from wrapping around his throat. The world started going hazy when suddenly the Vulcan slumped over, hit by a shot from Kira. The other members of the away team entered the hangar, scrambling behind crates and trading fire with the remaining guards who were also hiding only meters away.

Coughing, Sisko began making his way to the ship. He had to dodge as mirror-O'Brien scrambled out of the ship and began firing at him. He cursed; there was only one minute left.

"Sisko to Defiant, open fire on this base!"

"Negative, Captain, we're under attack here by four rebel ships, including a duplicate of us—" he heard an explosion, and some frantic chatter.

"O'Brien, disengage and destroy this base immediately!"

"Sir, they've placed themselves between us and the planet surface."

"Then maneuver clear and carry out my orders!"

"Aye sir!"

Cursing, Sisko tried to maneuver around back. If he could get close enough and fire long enough, he might be able to cut through the ship's aft shielding and rupture the impulse outlets. He made it around to the side, but suddenly mirror-O'Brien was on him.

"Oh no you don't!" he cried out as the two men fought desperately.

"Benjamin! They're about to transit! Get clear, or else you'll—" He didn't hear the rest as he and mirror-O'Brien continued to fight, rolling around on the hard metal floor, trying to choke one another. Suddenly, as he tried to keep mirror-O'Brien's hands off his throat, an awful blue flash filled the hangar bay, immediately followed by a fierce wind rushing towards the ship. Half-standing, mirror-O'Brien got caught in the wind and flew through the air, as did the other remaining rebel guards. Two of them were sucked into the spacetime vortex that had opened up in the hangar and into which Spock's ship disappeared—for a brief moment, Sisko saw a fiery void. Then an instant later it vanished, just before mirror-O'Brien reached it. Still flying through the air, he landed full-force against the opposite hangar wall, and slid to the ground motionless.

Exhausted, Sisko got to his feet and checked the condition of his team, some of whom were wounded.

Dax came up to him. "All of Spock's men are dead or were pulled into the vortex."

"What about Smiley?" he asked dully.

Dax bent down over mirror-O'Brien's still form. "Multiple spinal fractures, complete chordal tearing," she said softly. "I don't think he'll make it."

"We have to try. Sisko to Defiant, report."

"I'm sorry sir, we fired everything we had. Two of their ships were destroyed, but they stopped us from damaging the base. The surviving ships have fled back into the plasma fields."

"Let them go. Worf, find a way to lower those shields. Chief, as soon as they're down, beam the wounded directly to Sickbay. Sisko out." He turned to face Dax. Before she could speak he held up his hand. "Let's wait a second."

They waited for over a minute. Nothing was happening.

"I assume this means something," Sisko said dryly.

"The timeline hasn't changed, either Spock failed—"

"—We have to assume he didn't."

Dax nodded. "Or the situation is a little more complex than we thought. I took sensor readings of their passage. When we're back aboard, I think I can make a rough guess of where and when they went to."

Looking down at the still-form of mirror-O'Brien, Sisko had a pained look on his face. "Or we can ask him."