Gyre and Zarathos1: RAFO on Draal.
X-Over: You'll see how the Excelsior and its group handle the ST raiders.
Aaron: Interesting thought on the League. Will the League coalesce into another Federation? We'll see....
AlbertG: There IS a bullseye painted on both ST ships as we will soon see, no matter how much Kirk and co. try to stay out of local affairs. Thank you for your e-mails!
eddys: Thanks! :o) What reason does the Hakudo Maru to sell its shield tech? Like a child just brutally abused, it would hold on to any security it had to protect itself. As a civilian ship, it would give all military matters to the nearest Starfleet authority, which is the Enterprise at the moment.
The Abbai force shield tech is semi-canon. Even though it has not been mentioned or shown in the B5 episodes, many websites, including and Voltayre's Encyclopedia Xenobiologica, appear to accept that the Abbai has shield tech, something that the Minbari doesn't have. As Voltayre explained: "Of all the races in the Alliance, the Abbai are the most pacifistic. While the Abbai do not believe in violence or conquest, they realize the need to defend themselves. Abbai weapons technology focuses on disarmament and the disabling of specific systems on enemy warships. Their ships and orbital platforms are capable of generating powerful force shields that can repel most assaults." )
trekkifulron: Thanks!
This chapter takes place just after the Babylon 5 episode The Long Twilight Struggle, if you have not figured out the timeline from the Centauri assault on Narn in the previous chapter.
ISN News Center, Geneva, Earth
A woman was sitting alone at ISN's towering anchor desk in a vast chamber. The primly dressed and beautiful woman turned to face you as the lights brightened.
"Good evening, I'm Cynthia Torqueman. After the recent effort to recover Narn, the Centauri Republic has implemented its plan to annex several smaller worlds neighboring former Narn space, declaring them protectorates of the Republic. One such world is the planet Mipas, a client world on the border of the Drazi Freehold. For decades, the Drazi had the Mipasians depending on them for economic support—" The anchorwoman halted to listen to something in her earpiece. Eyes widening, she turned back to you.
"This just in. One of our intrepid traveling reporters has obtained the permission of a Centauri military commander, Lord Marix, to visually record one of his security actions to defend Mipas against a Drazi force. This is an ISN exclusive." Cynthia turned away from you to watch a vidscreen to her side.
Twelve Drazi sunhawks were seen to approach a Centauri force of four Vorchans arranged in front of a planet with clouds slowly moving over green continents and aquamarine seas. The Drazi fired many missiles at the Centauri. As the missiles approached them, the Vorchans aimed their ion cannon turrets atop themselves and fired. The powerful ion bolts impacted on the missiles, causing an explosive chain reaction among them.
A panel opened under the head of each of the four Vorchans. Out of them flew gravitic torpedoes, one for each sunhawk. The Drazi attempted to maneuver their way out of the torpedoes' paths. Each died a fiery death as a torpedo made a direct hit.
The Vorchans returned to their holding position around the planet Mipas as—
Cynthia spoke once more to you. "Sources in EarthDome reveal that EarthGov is discussing what to do about the apparent Centauri expansionism. Government spokespersons assure us that EarthForce is ever ready and vigilant against the dangers of alien influence in the Earth Alliance. In related news, the EarthForce ships Ares and Brittany has returned from an undisclosed military action at Janos 7. Information about that action is sparse but rumors point to unprecedented piracy in the Janos System. Military officers have refused to speak with us on this, but we've managed to reach a subordinate officer of the Ares on Mars."
An EarthForce officer in the uniform of a lieutenant was sitting at a bar, holding a sun-colored drink in which a red globe was floating and slowly dissolving. It was soon clear that the camera was close to the tabletop and the officer was not aware of it. "You sure don't want a Jovian Sunspot? Ok.... Promise you won't tell anyone about this? Right.... Well, lemme tell you." The man leaned in forward closer to you. "Yes. Lemme tell you. This raider is no pirate ship. Force shields. Yes, force shields, I said! It was supposed to be a skeet shoot, but the shields on that tiny ship made it like fighting a Minbari warcruiser." The lieutenant shuddered. "One tiny ship against two of us and we lost! Shield tech is the key. You know the Centauri wars? Of course, what was I thinking? Well, if EarthForce has the shield tech, no alien bastard can hurt us. Hell, we could bring the Battle of the Line to Minbar itself!"
Small disapproval could be seen on Cynthia's face before she wiped it off, realizing that we were watching her again. "While Lieutenant Green has been helpful, he will be reprimanded by the Ministry for Public Morale. The Office of Public Information has nothing to say about this except to comment that the Abbai embassy claims that it has no official information about this...."
Babylon 5
"...we will deliver notice to the parliament of conquerors that a line has been drawn against the darkness, and we will hold that line, no matter the cost."
The Rangers cheered, both humans and Minbari. Delenn smiled at Sheridan. Perhaps this time, the Shadows would stop at the line. If it goes well, greatness would belong to the Light. Sheridan deserves some cheering after things had not been going his way, as he just said. And she would be there to share his burden. She was still smiling when Delenn sensed someone staring straight at her and she turned to see who it was. Ambassador Kosh's eyepiece narrowed at her. The Vorlon turned its back on her and moved out of the crowd. Instead of leaving the room quietly as was usual for the Vorlon, Kosh turned to look back at Delenn. The mysterious ambassador seemed to be waiting for her.
Delenn frowned, wondering what was wrong this time. She smiled once more at Sheridan and squeezed his arm before allowing him to acquaint himself with the Rangers. She moved quietly among the Rangers to the majestic Vorlon ambassador.
"Kosh, what is it?"
The tinkling of the Vorlon was the only audible indication of an orchestra playing below the range of human and Minbari hearing. "The Newcomers. They breach the Circle."
Delenn was a little confused. So far, the people on the extra-universal ships Enterprise and Hakudo Maru had not done anything untoward. Although the presence of Vulcans was troubling. "They have not done anything wrong."
"They are an error," Kosh chimed. "Return the error and the Wheel will turn as the Wheel will."
"But...."
Kosh glided closer to Delenn. She had always felt the imposing presence of Kosh to be awesome holy majesty. But now...she was feeling threatened by that presence. She resisted the temptation to back away out of respect for the Vorlon.
"They must not meddle." Kosh turned to the direction of the exit and glided away.
Delenn stared at Kosh's retreating back, bewildered.
Eohippus System
The starship captain turned his chair to face the officer at Tactical. "Anything?"
"Long-range sensors read negative, sir."
"Damn," cursed Captain Sulu. He peered back at the main viewscreen. Presently, it was showing empty starscape. A small planet's surface glowed in the Eohippus sun in the far distance.
Janice Rand turned to Captain Sulu and said, "General Moghar of the Ki'tang signals his combat readiness."
Sulu smirked. "Again? Our allies are a bit ready." Chuckling, Sulu sat back into his command chair. Klingons may be that, but frankly, it reassured him to have the galaxy's best warriors at his side. Federation monitor stations had reported the passage of a fleet through the Moab System over 10 light-years away. Though the Moabites wouldn't like to admit it, there wasn't anything worthy of the raiders' attention. Five light-years coreward behind both ships, Sulu knew, was the Denobula Triaxa System, and eight light-years behind the ships and slightly spinward of Denobula was the Tellar System. Either alien homeworld could attract the raiding fleet, but Starfleet Command wanted the raiders stopped. This meant a stand in Eohippus. Fortunately, auxiliary military crafts from Tellar and Denobula had recently arrived to join in establishing a line of resistance, forming a fleet of 12 vessels.
Sulu glanced up to his left side where Ambassador Miranda Jones was still standing, staring blindly at the main viewscreen, waiting to be the one to make First Contact. She might be able to sense minds approaching the flotilla. All reports indicated that the raiders did not possess cloaking technology, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Especially this close to the Federation core worlds. Sulu once again thanked the stars for the peace with the Klingon Imperial Empire.
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General Moghar threw the half-chewed leg of targ, splattering it against a wall. He cursed his connections once more. Though Colonel Worf was not involved in General Chang's conspiracy, the fact that he was chosen by Chang to be Kirk and McCoy's defender in the court-arena was enough to attract the ire of Chancellor Azetbur after Khitomer. And Moghar was Colonel Worf's friend. Much more distant from Chang than the colonel, but it was enough to have him sent on this mission with the puny Starfleeters.
Moghar's office doorchime sounded. Moghar grunted and hit his desk with a fist. The resounding bang signaled that the visitor should come in. The door rumbled open, admitting Commander Narg.
Glancing nonchalantly at the greasy mess on the wall where Moghar threw the leg of targ. "We are getting restless. We have been following the Federation ship for weeks and not even a battle!"
Moghar's lips drew in something between a grin and a sneer. "I'm very aware of that. We have our orders."
Narg growled. "Orders from a chancellor who shouldn't have been a chancellor. Hah! These Federation petaQ get scared by a few pirates and they come running to us for help. If we knew they are like frightened women, we'd abolish the Neutral Zone with ships instead of this...this...treaty!"
Moghar locked eyes with Narg. The general forced himself to keep staring. If he backed down, it would be seen as weakness and Narg would then have the right to seize the Ki'tang's captaincy.
The seconds ticked by silently until Narg snarled and looked away. Moghar grunted in satisfaction. "Commander, the Federation may be like a bunch of women, but only a fool thinks a targ or a woman can truly be tame."
Narg looked skeptical.
"General." That came from the ship's intercom speakers.
"Moghar," the general responded to the air.
"You're needed in the bridge."
Narg and Moghar looked at each other. That meant they finally got the battle they had been waiting for.
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Sulu gaped as he stood from his command chair. "My God...."
The golden-white energy of subspace caressed the golden hull of each craft as it emerged from a subspace vortex. The vessels glowed momentarily with the energy of subspace before the energy dissipated away. The golden-brown hull glistened as if it was the armor of beetles. The armor appeared arranged like overlapping layers of tree barks. Faint pulsing rear-facing red-orange light shone from beneath the jagged edge of each layer as if they were embers smoldering from within the ships. The ships, shaped like slender yams, were small, looking to be the size of the Oberth-class starships, but obviously with a lot more mass. Fighters, concluded Captain Sulu.
Ensign Tuvok, sitting where Dmitri Valtane once had his station, said, "This type of star drive is not unlike what the Xindi used in the Delphic Conflict before the Federation was formed. And, Captain. The vessels are of an organic material." While Tuvok was matter-of-fact like any Vulcan would be, he was not immune to the wonder they were seeing on the main viewscreen. Tuvok's report caused the crew to look even more stunned than before. Bioships. The dream of dreamers, writers and scientists.
More kept coming out of subspace. A swarm of fourteen. Then four larger ships gleaming more golden than the smaller vessels emerged. Those ships were larger than the Excelsior, measuring 1542 meters against the starship's 467 meters. They had red tattoo-like markings which were probably the alien's script. Each had a bulbous oval body which tapered at one end into three tails that connected at their own ends. Stardust appeared to fall away from the crisscrossing clean lines on the large ships' hull. Then the fabric of space appeared to split into a long vertical line of subspace stitching. The line of crackling subspace energy caressed apart to reveal one more alien ship. This one was a golden brown with glowing blue edges which were obviously their version of warp nacelles built into the structure of the three-edged vessel. A few green marker lights shone here and there on the vertical ship. This vessel, obviously their capital ship, made Sulu think of an alien spine. A chill crept up the captain's own spine as he looked at the sensor reading relayed to his chair. The spine-vessel was a mile long. Or was it a mile tall?
Miranda Jones gasped. She muttered dreamily, "They're...alive. The ships.... They're alive."
Not only bioships, but living bioships to boot!
Miranda reached out with her mind, reaching toward the approaching living bioships. She tried to touch the minds of the bioships, seeking First Contact. She had been surprised at the strength of the bioships' telepathic reach. She was startled to find other minds within one of the bioships. The minds of the ship's crew moving through the vessel's chambers and corridors, and coordinated with each other. She sought the pilot, the leader, whoever felt most prominent. She reached into what felt like the control center. The mind residing within this chamber was one of the strongest on the bioship. The pilot-commander's mind noticed her through the bioship's telepathy. The bioship's mind was directed to roughly throw Miranda back to the Excelsior.
Miranda stumbled, catching hold of the table-plinth in front of Sulu's command chair. Composing herself, Miranda signaled to Sulu that she was fine. It was a surprising paradox. The alien minds were only borderline telepathic, just strong enough to commune by touch or through the bioship. The bioship's telepathy, however, was much stronger. Miranda surmised that each bioship's telepathy was strong enough to reach across an entire sector.
To reach so far.... Miranda shuddered at the envy she felt for that.
Janice Rand winced as her communication earpiece crackled in her ear. "Captain, they're hailing us."
"Visual."
The bridge crew took sharp breaths as the view shifted to that of an alien lit by green lighting. Glittering ruby almond-shaped wrap-around eyes stared back at the crew. His head was the shape of a heart and made some of the Earth humans think of the head of a ceratop dinosaur with the eyes set close to the bottom of the face. The brown head was edged with gray dull spikes. Its beak appeared to be made of the same gray bone-like material. An upside-down pentagon-shaped placard or shell set above the ruby eyes and beak sported an elaborate tattoo-like design on it.
"We are the Kam'Jahtae, We Who Defend. You have been given the rare honor of looking upon our face." The alien turned its glittering ruby composite-looking eyes to Ambassador Miranda. She shuddered at the caressing mental touch. The alien bowed its head to her. "We thank you for your taste."
The main viewscreen cut back to the view of the approaching alien fleet. Sulu looked back at Janice Rand. Janice said, "They cut the link. Sir, General Moghar is hailing us."
Sulu turned back to the main viewscreen. He caught the light in the small alien ships' jagged edges beginning to glow brighter before he saw the visage of a Klingon staring dangerously at Sulu out of a reddened darkness. Moghar grinned, revealing his fangs. The general looked happy, yet confused and angry at the same time.
"Captain Sulu, they are the Hur'q. They must pay for what they did to my homeworld. You have given us a good day to die. Thank you. Songs shall be sung about this day. Qapla!"
The viewscreen once more cut back to the view of the approaching alien fleet. The light from the jagged edges of the bioships' armor was now much brighter, the brightness of a roaring fire.
"Shields! Shields!" Sulu ordered. Explanations for what General Moghar said must wait for later.
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Three of the smaller vessels shot forward into the midst of the flotilla, taking potshots from phasers and disruptors. The Klingon K'Vort-class bird-of-prey was most aggressive in trying to eject the three from within the flotilla. The energy of the Federation and Klingon weapons dissipated along the alien armors while the physical impact was absorbed by shields fainter and weaker than either the Klingons' or the Federation's.
The pilot-commander of the lead vessel had received orders from the Kam'Jahtae Arbiter to disable rather than destroy. They needed information.
The pilot-commander reached through his trance with his vessel to the other two sister-ships. Danger...Press.
The energy traces in the jagged edges of the vessels' overlapping layers glowed a brilliant white. Around each vessel, a narrow ring of blue-white energy formed like a shockwave radiating from its surface in all directions. Bright star-like motes preceded the shockwaves. The blue-white energy shockwaves passed over the nearest auxiliary ships. Tellarite and Denobulan shields flared momentarily before collapsing under the blue-white onslaught. Five of the more fragile auxiliary ships exploded into shards of metal and dust among tumbling intact siblings.
Since the purpose was to disable, the shockwave immediately wavered and faded until only a ghost of it was left to pass over other ships of the defending flotilla. Where the three shockwaves met, they canceled each other out. The aggressive Ki'tang's shields flared as the Klingon warship tumbled end over end within an energy shockwave.
The shockwave left other auxiliary vessels shaken as it reached the rear of the Excelsior. The starship looked like someone physically kicked its butt as it stumbled forward, rear shields flaring into life. Mercifully, the blue-white shockwave vanished completely before moving along the full length of the Excelsior's warp nacelles.
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The lights flickered, verging on failure, as the bridge crew was shaken about. A few standing crewmen failed to grab hold of their consoles before falling down to the deck. Miranda Jones practically hugged the captain's table-plinth for stability as the starship shook. She winced as she shut down her mind against the mental screams of pain battering her.
Sulu held his breath, hoping that the Excelsior would survive intact. They still had the rest of the alien fleet to handle. When the starship stabilized itself, he barked out, "Status!"
Lieutenant Leonard James Akaar had succeeded in holding onto the Tactical station instead of falling down like some of the other standing crewmen. The bridge lights returned to normal, once more making his golden sash glitter. "Partial failure of aft shields. Few minor injuries reported. No other damages."
Sulu fumed. Only three of their ships had disabled almost the entire flotilla. He had a feeling the shockwave was not made at full strength. "Target torpedoes on their engines!"
Akaar shook his head. "Sir, sensors cannot detect engines. They have an unknown energy source."
Sulu frowned grimly. He could see the Ki'tang stabilizing itself on the main viewscreen. It was now firing disruptors and photon torpedoes at the three vessels still in the middle of the flotilla. "Ms. Rand, signal all ships to fire at the intruders to disable. Fire, Mr. Akaar."
Flaring red stars shot out of the Federation ships with phasers for company. The three Kam'Jahtae ships writhed under the return fire. One of them crumpled before tearing apart. The other two turned about and blue-white motes flew from their energy traces, forming darts of stars to slam into the flotilla's surviving ships.
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The bridge was falling apart around General Moghar. Commander Narg was lying on the deck, blood oozing from a gash on his head. Most likely, Narg was dead. The Ki'tang's shields were down to sixteen percent.
"The Hur'q fight well," growled Moghar.
The gunner, Kazj, said, "The Hur'q still die like dogs when facing true warriors. Like they died in our glorious defense of Qo'noS a thousand years ago."
Kullor, the female scanner, reported loudly in battle language, "The Denobulan ship Metto is going at the Hur'q at ramming speed!"
Moghar stood and shouted, "Are they crazy? On screen!"
He could see the Denobulan militia ship making its way through the debris and around other ships, all the while firing at the two Hur'q ships. Tactical data playing along the side of the screen showed that their shields were almost down, communications destroyed and weapons almost spent. Warp power was down, too.
Kazj laughed uproariously. "Insane like Romulans! The Metto's warp core will breach soon. These Federation softies could fight like grishnar cats after all!"
The general grinned. Perhaps the Federation could be honorable allies for the Klingon Empire after all. "Impulse, move us away from them."
The Denobulan ship bore the brunt of defense fire from the alien ships until its warp core finally breached. Blinding light enveloped the Metto and the surviving alien bioships. Other auxiliary ships had already made the same conclusion as General Moghar and maneuvered themselves away.
When the light finally faded, all they could see was a spreading cloud of dust and tiny debris.
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On the vertical mile-long spine-vessel, the Arbiter had had enough. The Arbiter directed his Vanguard ship to send a message to the rest of the fleet. Instead of swarming and destroying this flotilla as they usually did, they wasted lives and ships trying to disable the enemy. It was time to extract the information directly. Gomtuu...go.
One of the fighter-bioships edged its way forward, keeping out of range of the Federation's weapons range.
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The ensign manning the small computer room was getting tired of being shaken about all the time. Join Starfleet, they said. See the galaxy, they said. By the time it's over, I'll be as black-and-blue as a Betelgeusian. Behind the ensign, the air rippled, shimmered and solidified into a Kam'Jahtae soldier. It raised a slender silvery stinger-like weapon. Blue-white energy blasted out of it, hitting the ensign in the back. Satisfied at the way the ensign slumped down to the deck, the soldier stepped forward and reversed its weapon so that its sharp end pointed at the console. The soldier stabbed down into the console, penetrating the surface with the sharp point of the weapon. The lights of the computer console flickered in protest at this violation, reflected by the facets of the soldier's ruby eyes. Its task completed, the soldier pulled the weapon out of the cracked console, and stepped back. Pressing a depression in the weapon's handle, space-time folded, ignoring the obstacle of this starship's faltering shields, and the soldier fold-spaced, vanished into the heat-haze like rippling and shimmering air which then stilled once more.
The Kam'Jahtae ships then turned their energy from weapons-mode and invisibly channeled the energy into the fabric of space. The ships, one by one, slowly moved forward, the golden-white subspace energy crackling around their hull at the point where they submerged into subspace. The triple-tailed large ships parted their tails as the stardust of subspace energy filled their hull's lines, entering their own energy portals. The subspace energy portals snapped shut behind each vessel. The decimated Federation flotilla was left alone with the Klingon warship in the Eohippus System to lick their wounds.
Babylon 5
Frederick Lantz nodded smilingly. "Thank you, Captain." The vidlink to Earth cut off, showing the StellarCom logo.
Sheridan let out a breath he had been holding in disbelieving frustration. He stalked out of his office.
Sheridan arrived at a door and pressed a button for the transport tube. Waiting impatiently, Sheridan tried to distract himself from what Mr. Lantz said. He still couldn't believe what the Ministry of Peace wanted him to do. He could have disregarded Mr. Lantz, except MiniPax claimed that EarthForce supported the decision. Perhaps he could use the Advisory Council to override EarthDome.
The transport tube finally arrived and the door opened. Sheridan stepped in, nearly crashing into a Minbari woman. Sheridan grinned widely with delighted surprise.
Delenn smirked. "I believe it's one of your thinkers who said... 'Wherever you are, there you are.' That thinker most likely had a Minbari soul."
Sheridan laughed as the transport tube began moving.
Delenn peered at Sheridan closely. "John...is there something wrong?"
"You, perhaps," Sheridan said. He laughed at Delenn's expression of crestfallen surprise. "No, I'm kidding."
"Ah. That's good. I'm relieved that I have not turned into a motor butt."
Sheridan was startled. He smiled at Delenn. He was feeling much better already thanks to the Minbari ambassador. He almost couldn't believe she remembered the conversation they had in the garden after Lyta exposed Talia.
"But really, Delenn, there is something wrong. You see...Earth wants me to put the people on the Hakudo Maru under arrest."
Delenn looked puzzled, but she had a suspicion rising within herself. "I...do not quite understand."
"I don't either," admitted Sheridan. "They claim that the charge was piracy, transport of contrabands, resisting arrest, damaging EarthForce property, aiding and abetting the escape of a prisoner, and murder." He shook his head disbelievingly.
Delenn began to bite her lower lip. "Just...the Hakudo Maru?"
Sheridan frowned. "Yes.... Delenn...what's going on?"
Delenn was already feeling a little guilty, but she shouldn't be feeling guilt. It was right. It has to be right if they wanted it. "John.... The Vorlons don't like the Newcomers. Ambassador Kosh wants them to go back to their universe." Delenn took a deep breath as Sheridan stared in astonishment. "Perhaps...this...call from Earth will encourage the Newcomers to...depart."
If Sheridan was astonished before, he exploded now. "WHAT?! Delenn!! What the hell are you thinking?? They haven't done anything wrong! You can't possibly agree with MiniPax! Hell, we owe them for helping to fix Talia!"
Delenn sorrowfully looked at Sheridan. "John.... The Vorlons think they don't belong here—"
"Of course they don't! Why else are we calling them the Newcomers??"
"John." Delenn was now looking at Sheridan sternly. He had to listen. He calmed down a little. "I do not agree with 'MiniPax.' When the Vorlons speak, we must listen. Where the Vorlons direct, we must pay attention. When Kosh says they must go, then the Vorlons must have very good reasons for them to leave. Perhaps...this 'arrest' is what the universe needs to have them leave. Surely, they would leave when they find this space less than...welcome."
"Delenn...?" Sheridan was shocked. "Are you kidding me? They created the cure for Drafa! They fixed Talia! If anything, they have been extremely generous! They even went out of their way to save a transport full of dying Markab from a Centauri 'quarantine action'! No! In my book, they're a hell lot more than welcome to stay!"
"John, the coming war depends on this. The Vorlons—"
"Fuck the Vorlons! Screw their encounter-suited butts!"
Delenn gasped. Such disrespect!
Mercifully, the transport tube arrived at its destination before this argument could get any worse. The door opened to reveal a few people staring nervously at the two of them. It was soon obvious they heard muffled shouts from within the transport tube.
What a time to be caught in a quarrel with Delenn! He no longer cared about maintaining propriety around Delenn. Let them gossip! Captain Sheridan stormed out of the transport tubes. The people jumped out of his way then turned to stare back at Delenn. Delenn was able to hold her emotions out of her face, freezing it, as the door slid shut. Once shut out from public view, she allowed the emotions to come out.
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Spock pressed the doorchime and waited. He was holding a compadd and a data crystal. He knew that a human would look at them to make sure all was in order, but Spock didn't need to do that. It was enough that he knew what was in them.
"Please identify."
"This is Captain Spock of the Federation starship Enterprise."
The door immediately opened. A small slight Brakiri man stood there, looking surprised and eager.
"Ambassador Lethke zum Bartrado?"
The Brakiri bowed and moved to let Spock into his quarters. "Just Lethke, Captain Spock. Just Lethke. Please come in. Do come in."
Spock raised an eyebrow. This being's attitude was very oily, slick. It made him think of the Vulcan Diplomatic Corps' intelligence reports in the Bajoran Sector. His father told him about them. Cardassian traders and scouts spoke of an extremely greedy plutocratic species far beyond Federation space. Spock couldn't recall the name of that species. It did not matter now. He stepped into the Brakiri ambassador's quarters and took a seat.
"Captain, I'm really glad that you have come to the Brakiri Syndicate. Tell me, Spock...I can call you Spock? Tell me.... Is it true you came from another universe? It's true that Earth exists in that universe?"
Spock inclined his head. "Indeed it is."
Lethke's eyes lit up. "And Brakir?"
"I am sorry to say that I have no knowledge of a planet called Brakir or of your species in my universe."
Lethke looked a little disappointed. "Well, I guess I can tell our governing council, the Krona, that there's no possibility of an alliance with our counterpart.... Is there?" The beady Brakiri eyes gleamed with hope.
Spock raised an eyebrow once more. "Where there is sentience, there is always the possibility of an alliance."
"Splendid! Splendid!" Lethke glanced down at the data crystal resting in Spock's hand. It was obvious that he wanted to know what was in it, but he must follow the politeness of business.
Spock didn't want to waste any more time. He handed Lethke the data crystal. The Brakiri ambassador delicately took it and inserted it into a data port on a computer console. Lethke's face was soon lit by the computer screen's light. His lips drew into a wide ecstatic smile. Greed played in his eyes. "Spock.... You and your people have the eternal gratitude of the Krona!"
Spock waited as Lethke greedily stared at his computer screen. Lethke finally remembered. He took out another data crystal, inserted it into his computer, typed a bit, then took the crystal out once more. Turning to Spock, he gave the crystal to the Vulcan. "Here's your reward. I've increased it to express the Brakiri people's gratitude. Enjoy the 12 trillion credits. It was a wonderful pleasure doing business with you." Lethke's toothy grin made Spock finally remember. Ferengi.
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Sheridan banged his gavel on the Council table, calling for order. The ambassadors, who had been milling around, gossiping, were finally quieting and sitting down. Only one chair was empty. The seat for the Narn ambassador. Sheridan caught Delenn's eyes. He stiffened, squashing the emotions down inside himself, ignoring the slight pain in the area of his heart. Business comes first. He began to speak.
"The first business of the day for the special session of the Babylon 5 Advisory Council and the League of Non-Aligned Worlds is—" Sheridan stopped as someone came into the Council Chamber. Everyone turned to look at the entrance. Ambassador Kosh was entering the Chamber. Most of the ambassadors were abuzz. This Council meeting had to be important if Kosh was there.
"Order! Order!" Sheridan banged the gavel once more. "Now.... It appears that more than one Power has an interest in the extra-universal ships. The Earth Alliance wants to seize the Hakudo Maru and put its people on trial for crimes I will not repeat here." The Earth captain glanced at Ambassador Delenn, then at Kosh. "The Minbari Federation has expressed an interest in both the Hakudo Maru and the Enterprise—" He stopped once again at yet another interruption.
Ambassador Londo Mollari stood up. "The Centauri Republic requests the rights to the Enterprise. That ship has committed crimes against the Republic's Royal Navy, crimes I believe to be similar to what Earth claims for the Hakudo Maru." Londo bowed and sat back down.
Sheridan shook his head. He never liked surprises of this nature. It didn't feel right not to have the Newcomers in this chamber. They wouldn't be able to defend themselves. But he had secretly and generously allowed the Abbai ambassador Kalika to bug the chamber for them. It was risky, but it would give them a chance to flee if things go wrong. If they decide to turn on the space station...well, they knew that the defense grid was on the watchful alert.
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"Déjà vu," Dr. McCoy grumbled as he watched the Centauri ambassador sit down in the main viewscreen. "I knew that would bite us in the ass sooner or later."
Spock looked at McCoy over Kirk's head. "Doctor, we cannot change the actions of the past. It cannot be helped."
"It cannot be helped?!" McCoy spluttered. "That was people's lives you are talking about!" He looked down at Kirk for help. "My God, Jim. We've butchered two Centauri warships and he's talking about help!"
Kirk raised a hand to halt McCoy's words. "Bones. He's right. It cannot be helped. Right now, we can use all the help we could get here." The captain gestured at the viewscreen where Captain Sheridan was speaking.
"Make that three Powers who have expressed interest in the extra-universals," Sheridan was saying. Distaste made new lines in the Earth captain's face. "Clearly, no one can take one or both ships and their people. We must put it to a vote. Is there anyone who would like to say a word before we vote?"
The various ambassadors began to call for attention.
McCoy was shaking his head. "If this is diplomacy.... It's unnatural. We have a long night ahead."
Starbase 10
Commodore Basil Quinteros watched as a squadron of patrol fighters disappeared into the open gates of the starbase drydock hangar. A commander came up to his side at the window.
"What is it, Commander?"
"We're not sure.... We are reading ionized neutron radiation."
Quinteros turned to face the commander, frowning. "Where is it?"
The commander shrugged helplessly. "It seems to be coming from us."
The commodore pulled his head backward on his neck, still frowning. As far as he knew, the science labs on the starbase or any of the docked starships were not scheduled to do any experiment with ionized neutrons today. "It's not from the power core?" The commander shook his head in negation. Commodore Quinteros was about to order a patrol ship to go out and direct its sensors at the starbase when a lieutenant spoke loudly for all to hear.
"Sir, long-range sensors are reading two ships approaching. They're approaching at high warp."
Alerted, the commodore went quickly to the sensor station, expecting the worst. "Where are they coming from?"
The lieutenant peered at the sensor readings a little more to be sure. "The trajectory lies along a line that includes Denobula Triaxa, Qualor and Tarod."
Could it be the raiders that Starfleet Command wanted stopped? Perhaps they've failed at the Eohippus System. "Yellow Alert. Control Tower, order all ships to dock in the base or clear out of the area. Recommend they go to Cheron or Barradas. If any of them protest, tractor them in the drydock." Quinteros nodded curtly in satisfaction as the orders were carried out. They couldn't be too careful these days.
He looked at the sensor officer once more. The lieutenant was still tinkering with the sensor controls. The lieutenant looked up from his console. "Sir, it's the Excelsior. The other is a Klingon heavy cruiser right behind them."
Basil Quinteros was relieved. It wasn't the raiders after all. Still...why were they in such a tearing hurry to reach the starbase? Why couldn't they communicate over subspace? Why wasn't Starfleet notified or the starbase notified by Starfleet? Unless they're afraid someone might eavesdrop. Quinteros glanced out the windows in the direction of the Romulan Neutral Zone. "Are we clear of ship traffic?"
"Yes, sir."
"Hail the Excelsior."
The main viewscreen crackled to life. The subspace snow soon cleared to show the bridge of the approaching starship. Quinteros could see that a few computer consoles were dark, hinting at damages.
"Captain Sulu, glad to see you're still up and kicking."
Sulu chuckled mirthlessly. "Basil.... I'm glad too. Do you remember our lessons in Starfleet Academy?"
Quinteros frowned for a moment. He was right. They were afraid of someone eavesdropping. "Yes...?"
Sulu narrowed his eyes at Quinteros. "Interesting how the Xindi came to Earth, wasn't it?"
Dawning understanding paled the commodore's face. "Yes it was, Captain. I'd like to review our lessons in person."
"Of course, Commodore." The link cut off, returning the main viewscreen to the view of the stars.
Commodore Quinteros went into action. "Shields up. Focus the sensors on subspace around the starbase." He sat down to wait.
USS Excelsior
Akaar was tense. He had been serving as the Excelsior's new chief of security and already the starship was deep in combat duty. He knew he should have been made of sterner stuff. Perhaps he should make an appointment with Rukaiya. Providing they survived this, of course.... He returned his full attention to the readings on the Tactical console.
Captain Sulu gazed at the warp core column, watching the swirl of matter and antimatter flowing through the column into the intermix chamber. The almost psychedelic glow made the white radiation suits of the engineering staff brighter. "How are repairs?"
Lieutenant Commander Devon Gabler pursed his lips. "After what the aliens did to us? Partial damage to the main computer core, forcing us to recalibrate the intermix regulators, burning out one of the aft shield generators.... Not to mention the repair work we will have to do for Computer Lab 6 from what they did to the console there to get the starbase's coordinates, and—"
Sulu smiled and halted the Chief Engineer's words with a gesture. "We will arrive at Starbase 10 soon."
"I know. First we will get the computer in the right working order—"
Sulu shook his head. "Fix the shields first."
Gabler sighed. "Captain, whatever the aliens hit us with, it fried circuits I thought were unfryable." He shook his head in wonder. "If only the Starfleet Corps of Engineers could take the isolinear chip technology beyond the drawing board. I'm not a hero, Captain Sulu. Not like my ancestor."
Chuckling, Sulu said, "Travis Mayweather was an Enterprise hero. It's in your blood. Hey, you managed to get on Kirk's Enterprise, which is nothing to sneeze at."
The ship intercom beeped for attention. "Bridge to Captain Sulu."
Crossing over to a wall intercom, the captain pressed a button. "Sulu here."
"We're arriving at Starbase 10. And sir...they're under attack."
xxxxxxxx
Commodore Basil Quinteros was startled when the alarm klaxons rang out. He had been expecting it, but he was still startled. As the energy portals opened to admit those golden-brown bioships, he had ordered the fighter bays to empty themselves and all Starfleet vessels capable of combat to come out of the drydock and help defend the starbase. This starbase was designed to resist an entire armada. He was going be damned if he would allow his base to fall to some...some...alien pirates!
And the damndest thing was...the aliens were committing only half their fleet to fighting the starbase and its defending craft, while the other half seem to be searching for something.
"Sir!" shouted a lieutenant. "Excelsior and Ki'tang coming in fast and hard!"
Finally! Perhaps they could persuade the damned raiders to leave the area. "Visual!"
The Federation starship and the Klingon bird-of-prey snapped out of warp right on top of the raiders, firing all weapons, strafing as many bioships as possible. A few of the alien bioships appeared startled. Quinteros smiled. Not a bad adaption of the Cardiac Surprise maneuver.
"All right, people, throw in all the torpedoes and phasers we have at them!"
xxxxxxxx
Captain Sulu whipped back and forth in his command chair, held in by the chair arms hugging his abdomen. Once more, he wondered if this was not much better than being thrown to the deck. So far the repaired and recalibrated shields were holding, but they were taking damages. He could catch glimpses of the dogfights between the bioships and the Federation fighters and what few starships that the starbase had when the attack began. Once in a while, the Klingon K'Vort-class bird-of-prey swept past the main viewscreen, proving their warrior prowess.
"Captain," call out Ensign Tuvok. "The hostiles are emitting an unknown type of energy into a point in space."
The main viewscreen showed the spine-vessel emitting beams from its glowing blue parts. The beams triangulated at a point in space. Oddly, space itself seemed to be bending, as if someone pinched a point of a rubber sheet and pulled it back. Suddenly, the other bioships halted their combat action and rushed to gather around the spine-vessel.
Sulu was puzzled, but the fact that the spine-vessel was facing the formidable starbase in doing this was troubling. "What are they doing?"
Lieutenant Akaar looked over his shoulder from the Tactical console. "Unknown. It could be a weapon."
The squeezing point began to appear to be glowing. Tuvok helpfully said, "An unknown type of emission is emanating from the terminus of the spine-vessel's beams. The emission has quantum characteristics."
Akaar was horrified. "A super weapon...?"
Sulu was determined to stop the aliens, the Hur'q as the Klingons called them. He didn't care if the Klingons sang about this in the Paris Opera House, only that they help out. "Signal the Ki'tang. We're going in to stop them. Ask them to follow. Mr. Lojur, ahead full!"
xxxxxxx
Commander R'Tahl Jurod was watching the battle play itself out from under the mushroom top of the Federation starbase, cloaked and ironically protected by the starbase's formidable shields. The Romulan commander had been concerned about the cloak's neutron radiation, but so far, the starbase hadn't detected it. He gazed at the bioships' impressive performance. Perhaps the Star Empire could have an alliance with the aliens.
Sub-Commander Veron saluted Jurod and reported. "Commander, the alien vessels appear to be activating something."
"Something?"
"Yes, sir. It seems to be directed at the Federation base."
"Focus visual on that," ordered Jurod. He slowly dropped his chin at the sight in dawning horror. Memories roiled within himself, stoked by the sight.
He was commanding a bird-of-prey that time, several years before getting this warbird. He was fighting a ship of the Taurhai Unity that struck deep into the Star Empire from the frontier opposite the Outmarshes that the Federation quaintly calls the Romulan Neutral Zone. He was winning the battle against the intruder...until the Taurhai unleashed a weapon—an isolytic subspace weapon. The weapon tore a rent in the fabric of subspace. Instead of striking his ship, the tear was attracted to the power sources of the nearby planet, Algeron III. As he and his crew watched in numbing horror, the subspace tear sliced through Algeron III. It happened too quickly for the Romulans to do anything about it. The destruction of the planet was powerful enough to seal the subspace tear and crystallized many of the resulting planetary fragments, turning them into giant gems orbiting the Algeron sun in the blackness of space. The effect, now called the Algeron Effect, was magnificent, but the gem-like fragments marked the graves of millions of Romulans.
Naturally, the Taurhai ship bore what vengeance Jurod could inflict at the time. Then when the Imperial Senate requested that the Klingons help in crushing the Taurhai Unity, the barbarians refused, preferring to focus their hostility on the Federation. As a result, their short-lived alliance shattered like Algeron III.
Jurod snapped back to the present. "A metaweapon...." The aliens must not unleash it. The Federation must not have a chance to get their hands on that weapon. He sprang into action.
"Sub-Lieutenant Khel'Vor! Prepare a full volley of plasma torpedoes." Jurod leaned forward in his command chair. The Khiem'Ra would reveal the might of the Star Empire to the new aliens. "Forward! Move us to within disruptor range. Once within range, decloak, raise shields and fire torpedoes and disruptors at the alien capital ship!"
The starbase's shields were designed to keep things out, not in. So the warbird was able to slip through the shields, although the passage caused a surge of ionized neutron radiation in the starbase's automated sensors. The Federationers and Klingons were startled to find a Romulan R'derex-class warbird decloaking in their midst, revealing its green-gray hull, the bright blue of its warp-nacelles flaring with power. They were further surprised when the scarlet beak tapering under the golden symbol of the Romulan Star Empire aimed at the spine-vessel and opened fire at the Hur'q.
Suddenly, for everyone within range, the universe appeared to dim, causing those on the Excelsior, the Ki'tang, and the Romulan R'derex-class warbird Khiem'Ra to be confused. Just as many of them were wondering if they were about to sneeze, the Kam'Jahtae fleet, the starship, the bird-of-prey and the warbird flickered out of existence. To Starbase 10 and its defenders, they were all gone. Vanished.
Miranda Jones was borrowed from the TOS episode, Is There In Truth No Beauty? and was played by Diana Muldaur who also played Dr. Pulaski in TNG. The Capellan security chief Leonard James Akaar was seen as a baby in the TOS episode Friday's Child and should look like a younger version of his father the murdered High Teer of Capella IV.
The Romulan R'derex-class cruiser/warbird was borrowed from the PC game ST: Birth of the Federation. Since the cruiser was equated with the Miranda-class starship for the Federation in the game, I will assume that the Romulans had that type of cruiser in the Movie Era. A bulkier precursor to the Valdore-class we've seen in ST: Nemesis, if you will.
In case you do not recognize my description of the small Kam'Jahtae ships, it is how I would describe Gomtuu seen in the TNG episode Tin Man. The true origin of Gomtuu AKA Tin-Man was never revealed or satisfactorily explained. I theorize that Gomtuu belonged to the Hur'q that attacked and pillaged Qo'noS in the 14th century.