Chapter XIV
"We cannot trust them," Worf growled once Odo had finished summarizing his experience. "At this point, we're running out of options. We can't leave the wormhole and our energy reserves will only last for so long. What do you suggest?" his wife countered. "Our previous experiences with individuals from this reality have shown them to be unpredictable and untrustworthy at best. They could be leading us into a trap," the Klingon warned. "If that's the case, then I'd say they've already caught us," Bashir noted.
"We've been drawn into this for a reason. Our only chance to escape is by following the clues we have available until we can determine whether this course is the right one or not," Sisko proclaimed. He glanced towards Jadzia and saw his determination reflected in her eyes, to fight with all of their strength to survive whatever they would be forced to face if this succeeded. On the table rested the ornate ark and the Captain now approached it and grasped the scintillating relic. The room was filled with a brilliant light… "Why are you here?" Counselor Troi asked, crossing the bridge to stand before him. The Klingon looked about, noting that his companions seemed to have vanished.
Are we each receiving a separate vision sent to us by these aliens? he wondered. "Things must change," he intoned. "That is a part of linear existence. The Sisko has made that clear to us," she replied. "You are the ones who have to effect this alteration," Worf insisted. "What was and what is and what will be are the same. There are no differences," Jadzia insisted as she turned away from her console to face him. "But they have done so. I have seen this for myself," the Klingon insisted. The haggard face of Will Riker gazed out from the viewscreen of the ruined bridge of the Enterprise and stated, "Another time?" "There are many of them. Perhaps infinite possibilities," he suggested.
"This is not linear," Sisko argued, crossing his arms in front of the window of his office and fingering the baseball he held thoughtfully. "We travel from one point in time to another, making choices about which path we will take. We have learned that all of these routes exist and can be experienced. Each of them has their own past, their own future. It is impossible for you to understand linear existence unless you realize that both roads can become true," Worf argued. The older version of his son frowned at him and stated, "This must take place." "It could occur. I may die as he described and this might lead Alexander to travel to the past and attempt to alter his own destiny. It is even possible that his efforts were successful, in a different reality," the Klingon replied.
"You strive to preserve what was, yet show no concern for what will be. Why?" James Kirk asked in the bar of space station K-7. "What was is part of ourselves. To alter it would create something different than we know. But the future is uncertain. Only when its shape is revealed can we act upon that information," he declared. "Then why seek to create a different past?" his wife wondered, gesturing towards their friends as they commemorated their union. "It is not our own history that we seek to alter, nor do we do this by choice. Without the power to know these possibilities exist, we may come to regret our decisions," Worf answered. Around him, the saucer section of the Enterprise lay in ruins and Riker inquired, "If you had that ability, then this would not have occurred. Your existence would cease to be linear."
"You are not linear. By interacting with us, you have caused our lives to bypass our own natures," the Klingon countered. Sisko turned from regarding the Dominion fleet that sped thru the wormhole towards them and responded, "You have influenced us before. Now, things are different." "Yes, this was a time when you intervened. You recognized the consequences of the actions which were being taken and to prevent those events, you stepped in. Now others are doing the same and we need your assistance to preserve our lives," he proclaimed. "The Emissary has been chosen. Only he can save Bajor," his Captain noted. "And you must give him the tools he requires to do that," Worf asserted, then his eyes were dazzled by a brilliant light…
"I think we were successful," Benjamin commented and his eyes turned in the direction that his superior was pointing. On the table rested a second ark, which to all appearances was a duplicate of the first. "Signal the other Defiant and give them the coordinates for their Orb. Once it's gone, I'll open the ark," Sisko went on. Kira nodded and moved to the comm and a short time later, the relic vanished. The Captain then swung open the case for the second artifact. At that moment, the deck reeled under his feet and alarms began to sound. The Klingon rushed onto the bridge, surprised to find that they have been thrown free of the wormhole.
In the near distance he could see the bulk of Bajor with the space station floating nearby but he barely had time to take that in when the Defiant shuddered once more and it was then that Worf realized the source of those tremors. "We're under attack," he growled, attempting to get their defenses up and knowing instinctively that it was far too late to save themselves from their antagonists. I knew this wouldn't work, the Klingon thought as his comrades took their posts. "That's a Bird of Prey," Odo observed as their attacker came about and a tractor beam lanced towards them. "Somehow I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Bashir breathed as they continued to be pummeled by their foes.
Worf shot him a scowl, but knew that there was little he could do to defend them since they had been completely unprepared for the unexpected assault. "They're hailing us," Jadzia reported. "Onscreen," Sisko commanded. The image appeared and he stared in recognition of the woman who appeared. "You're the last person I expected to find onboard that ship, Regent. I had heard of your capture, but I didn't think that you would change sides so rapidly," K'Ehleyr proclaimed. "I have seized this vessel for the greater glory of our people," the Klingon proclaimed, moving to the front of the room.
"Or you're not who you appear to be. In any case, I don't have time to figure out the details. You will be my guests, on Cardassia Prime," she countered and the transmission ended. "We're in the alternate universe, aren't we?" O'Brien commented. "The quantum signature does match, but I'm not sure how that's possible since this seems to be different from the version we just encountered," Dax muttered. "Perhaps they don't exist yet," the Captain suggested. "I'm detecting that spatial anomaly the Xhosa ran into on our way back from the Chin'toka system again," the Constable reported. "We're being pulled directly into it," Julian added.
The ship vibrated as they passed thru and the changeling added, "This region acts in a way that is similar to the Bajoran wormhole, compressing the distance between two distance points. However, this time the source of the anomaly appears to come from this reality." "Any idea what could be causing this phenomenon?" Sisko wondered. "I'd have to do a further analysis and I don't think our escorts are going to allow that," his wife remarked. Worf returned to his post and took a look at the tactical display, then bellowed, "We have reached our destination. The Bird of Prey is hailing us." K'Ehleyr appeared again, looking confused and frustrated as she asked, "What sort of trickery is this?"
Before anyone could answer, his screen lit up with a large number of vessels which hadn't been there a moment before. What was more, his recent experiences with the Orb helped him to understand where they had come from. "Captain! This is the Dominion fleet the Prophets eliminated for you," the Klingon called out. The Cardassian defenses responded at once, targeting the armada; which didn't hesitate to return fire. At the same time, he detected one vessel on close approach and attempted to raise their shields as it scanned them. However, his efforts proved fruitless and he watched in frustration as a transporter beam pierced their defenses. "They have taken the Orb from us," he reported grimly.
Just then, his sensors detected a new vessel that shimmered into existence at their side and it immediately targeted the Bird of Prey and disabled the larger ship. "We're being hailed," Worf reported and at a signal from the Captain, put the transmission onscreen. Staring back out at him was the Vulcan Sisko had described and he listened as the alien stated, "Follow me if you want to live."