Chapter Twenty Nine

Piper Halliwell finished making the tea, still unable to believe what had happened over the last thirty minutes. She had been thinking of the final foe she and her sisters would probably have to face in order to get her husband Leo back, when she had answered the door.

And this man in a blue jumpsuit asked to meet with them all, saying it was urgent. What the hell was going on?

Quickly putting everything on the tray, she made her out to the living room, where her guest and his ghost companion were waiting.

Paige Mathews-Mitchell was sitting across from Tucker, her gaze relatively patient, which was surprising, considering her relative manner. Phoebe Halliwell, on the other hand, was leaning against the wall closest to the door, her gaze introspective. Not surprising, considering her history with demons and monsters. She had had more encounters with the Underworld than the rest of them put together, save for Prue, dead these many years.

The eldest sister felt her throat close up at the thought of her sister, and how she died futilely protecting an innocent. Steeling herself, putting that usual air of responsibility around her, she entered the living room.

Phoebe looked up, catching her eyes. She knew, she saw, she understood. She missed Prue even more than Piper did, but she kept those emotions in the back of her mind, until she was alone.

"So," Paige began, while her half sister began passing out cups of tea to everyone present, "what's this big emergency that requires all of us here?"

Trip sighed, setting his cup down. "Well, what I'm about to tell you is going to sound crazy, even for people like you." He took a breath. "A group of aliens known as Xindi are here on Earth."

Phoebe straightened up, her introspective gaze dissolving. "Do you know how many there are?" she asked, snapping into a mode that she rarely went into.

Lizzie shook her head. slightly confused. "No, we don't. We only know that they're here, and that they're looking for a mineral of some sort."

"We do know that they're also comin' for you," Trip added. "Apparently, they were told that you girls had some experience with outer space travel."

Paige frowned, looking at him like he had grown a second head. "Why do they think that? I mean, unless you call Piper's occasional super explosion, we've never left Earth."

"What ship did you say you served on?" Piper asked abruptly, a funny feeling forming in her gut. For some reason, this was starting to look familiar to her.

"Enterprise. Why?"

Piper and Phoebe looked at each other. "Could you excuse the two of us for a second?" the younger Halliwell asked. "We need to decide whether or not you're crazy." She and her sister walked back to the kitchen, where they could talk in peace.

As soon as they were past the threshold, Phoebe immediately said, "He must be from an earlier time."

"Or a later time, after the fact," Piper retorted. "Maybe they regressed at a certain point."

Phoebe gave her a look that said it all. "Which one of us was on the Enterprise, and which one of us was on horseback? Piper, I went through the computer database. Commander Tucker was the Chief Engineer of the first starship to bear the name, in the 2150's. The NX-01, under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer. He's from the Twenty Second Century."

"... Okay, you got me there. So, do we tell him as much?"

"No. The Prime Directive applies here. We can't tell him anything about the future, so let's keep this conversation to ourselves until we get more information, okay?"

"Okay. I get it. Now can we go back in there before Paige starts wondering where we went?"

"Yeah, sure." The two sisters made their way back to living room, where Paige and Trip were waiting for them, looking very confused. They were going to enjoy the rest of this conversation, that was for sure.


Malcolm stopped in front of the restricted quarters, feeling a chill run through him as he stared at the security lock on the door. "Now, you're probably wondering why we have this door sealed off," he said, maintaining his professional expression.

"Actually, we are," Chakotay replied. He was somewhat surprised to see something sealed off, and the way that the Enterprise security chief was cringing suggested that something was in there that he didn't want to remember.

Malcolm nodded. "Well, two years ago, we had a visitor from the distant future come aboard the Enterprise. He was assigned to these quarters. He brought with him a number of gadgets from his time, which we decided would remain off limits. Not even Starfleet Command knows about them." He pressed the deactivation code on the lock, pulling the heavy object off. Pressing the control panel, he walked in, the two Voyager officers following him.

Tuvok arched an eyebrow. "Fascinating," he said.

Malcolm picked up one of the devices that caught the vulcan's attention. He pushed one button. Instantly, the whole room became filled with a star map of some sort. "This is what he called... well, I don't know what he called it. I call it a Temporal Scanner."

Chakotay looked around. "It reminds me of Stellar Cartography."

"Well, it's a little more advanced than that, but basically the same idea. The Captain didn't want to do anything that could cause future damage, so he ordered this room barricaded." Malcolm shut the device off. "There's also a historical archive computer, and a device that allows its user to pass through solid walls, as well as a few other things we couldn't make heads or tails of."

The two Twenty Fourth Century officers looked at each other, somewhat surprised. It appeared that today was full of surprises. Kirk wasn't the first Enterprise captain to have experiences with time travel; Archer was. And, by the looks of it, he liked it even less than Kirk.

Malcolm gestured to the door, wanting out of the room. "Our captains are probably done with their briefing, so let's go meet them. They'll probably be at the Transporter Pad, waiting."

Chakotay frowned at this tidbit of information. Something was definitely up.


The Sunak fighter slowed to impulse as it approached is objective; the massive Sunak fleet that was forming. It stopped about twenty miles from the border, awaiting communication from the Crusher.

Bre-tac looked at Zephyer. "How long must we wait for them to speak?" he asked.

Zephyer didn't turn his head, having perfected waiting into an art form. "It is standard procedure for them to scan each fighter and vessel, to learn if they have hijacked. Very rarely does this security function fail us."

"And this time, we want them to know that I am here."

"Exactly. Before they destroy us, they will hail us, and demand to know who is here. I will do the talking."

The Jaffa Master nodded, seeing the wisdom of the Telazian's words. If the Sunak was free, they answered with no guilt in their voice. If they were not, then they had only a few seconds to escape before the vessel destroyed them.

"Goinua topras Feriomius!" a voice suddenly demanded from the communication speakers. "Huots Defensas Zordih!"

Zephyer activated the two way line. "This is Lieutenant Zephyer. I have brought with me a Jaffa rebel who wishes to speak on Earth's behalf," he replied. "I have learned something about the Death Dealer that must be considered." He sat back, waiting.

The silence stretched for some time until finally... "Lieutenant, it is good to hear your voice."

"Commander Karken. Sir, did Fruod give you my message?"

"He did. He also knows that you were not coerced into this. Battle Bay One is open. A full contingent of guards await you."

"Of course, Sir. Zephyer out." The Lieutenant looked at Bre-tac. "It is customary for a returning warrior to be escorted to the bridge. Considering the nature of this emergency, the more ears, the better."

"A fair point. my friend. I have heard of Commander Karken. Quick to anger, but honorable. He will at least allow me to speak to him about what we have learned, before killing me." The Jaffa Master leaned back in his seat as the pilot started them forward. His staff weapon was in the back, out of reach. A deliberate show that he wasn't a threat.

The fighter flew into the Crusher, its weapons off line. It touched down, engines shutting off several minutes. The security guards moved in, taking positions at the rear hatch.

Zephyer stepped out first, Bre-tac right behind him. "Sir," he said.

"Welcome back, Lieutenant." Sheeyal returned, eyes latching onto Bre-tac. "Indeed, a Jaffa rebel. Welcome aboard the Crusher, Master Bre-tac."

Bre-tac bowed to her. "I am grateful that your commander agreed to see me."

"It sounded extremely important. Well, shall we?"


"We can't exactly search the whole Underworld for the Xindi," Phoebe stated, a map of San Francisco spread out across the coffee table. "Scrying won't work because they aren't demons or humans, so we're going to have to use every resource at our disposal."

Trip looked at the map for a moment. "They'll try to avoid any populated areas, or where they might be spotted."

Piper nodded. "We're going to need an alien to find them. Any ideas on who we can summon, kid?"

Lizzie shook her head. "I can't help you there, Mrs. Halliwell. I don't know any for you to summon that would help us."

"Well, maybe we should just do a general summoning, and deal with whoever comes through," Paige suggested. "I'll just modify the spell, and we'll be all set."

"You might want to have that pistol standing by in case he isn't friendly." Phoebe looked around. "Let's do it in the hall, so he doesn't have anywhere to go except through us."

"Good idea. ...Uh, Trip, maybe you should stay here until we can be certain that he isn't a threat."

"Ah had the same thought." Trip quickly entered the living room again, staying out of sight. If the alien was hostile, there would be no way of telling if he would be recognized.


"I take it that Malcolm has shown you everything?" Archer asked.

Chakotay nodded. "It had an interesting finish," he replied. "I had no idea that the Twenty Second Century had had encounters with the future."

"Means they were doing their job." Janeway looked around, still trying to make sense of everything she had learned. "I've looked over the Ship's Log from over the last two weeks. It seems that this Earth is under attack from a force that calls itself the Sunak Confederation. The alien ships in orbit are part of a race called the Asgard. They're allies of the human race, and have helped them in the past." It was a lot to take in, even for them, and they had seen a lot in six and a half years in the Delta Quadrant.

Archer sighed, knowing how this captain of the future felt. He had had similar problems when he had first arrived. "If you need to go over all of this with your staff, I'll have you beamed back to your ship."

Janeway nodded. "I'll contact you in about three hours."

"We'll be waiting."

Voyager's captain stepped onto the Transporter Pad, her officers following suite. She nodded to the crewman on duty. "Energize."

Archer waited until Janeway had finished dematerializing, before turning to Malcolm. "What do you think?" he asked.

Malcolm shrugged. "I get the distinct feeling that they're in just as much of a bind as we are. Their ship has recently repaired damage to their hull, even if we can't scan through their shields."

Now that his Tactical Officer mentioned it, the vessel seemed to have a rather roughened look to it. He had seen it on Enterprise herself whenever they went back to Earth for an overhaul after battle.

He had the strange feeling that Captain Janeway was in somewhat dire straits, even by Twenty Second Century standards.

Malcolm looked at him. "I'd say you and Captain Janeway have more in common than either of you realize."

Archer looked at the Pad, thinking for several seconds. "I'm beginning to think the same thing, Malcolm. In fact, I think she might be one up on me."


Phoebe looked at her sisters. "You two ready?" she asked.

Paige nodded. "We were born ready, girl. Let's get this done."

Nodding, Phoebe began to breathe in, preparing herself. "Here these words, hear my cry. Spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee. Cross now the great divide."

Slowly, energy began to collect at the point they had decided upon. Golden lights consolidated into a solid form; that of a tall man in a futuristic uniform, a large sash of some kind across his torso.

Phoebe frowned. There was something familiar about that sash. What was it, though?

The spirit looked around, clearly surprised as well as he took in his surroundings. He soon turned around.

The two older Halliwell sisters looked at each other, shocked beyond measure. "Worf?!" they got out in unison.

Paige frowned. "You know this guy?" she asked.

"From a long time ago," Piper said.

Worf turned around, somewhat surprised. "Phoebe? Piper?"

"You're dead?" Phoebe couldn't believe it. She had thought Worf was a pillar. Nothing could kill him. And yet, here he was, a spirit. What the hell happened?

Worf looked himself over, saw the fact that he was see through, and looked up. "Was I in limbo?"
Piper shook her head. "No, you weren't in limbo," she replied. "Actually, we were trying to summon an alien spirit that could help someone we know on a little quest of his. Apparently, you're it. Though how is another story."

The Klingon noticed that he had slowly solidified into a more solid form, noted that he had full mobility, and stepped forward. "As you have probably already guessed, I have died," he said. "I was murdered by Dukat."
"Ah. How he managed to kill you is still a little shaky."

"He was possessed by a Pai-Wraith… a Bajoran devil."

"Bad luck," Phoebe stated, wincing a bit.

Paige snapped her fingers. "Okay, you guys said hello. You can trade war stories later. Right now, we've got a guy from the Twenty Second Century in the other room, and last time I checked, in those days, people weren't exactly chummy with Klingots."

"Klingons," Piper stressed.

"A human from the Twenty Second Century?" Worf asked, puzzled.

"Kinda long story there, too. Come on. Better that you meet him than have us try to explain. Living room."

"Where am I, exactly?"
"Halliwell Manor."

"Ah."


The sound of boots clanking on uncarpeted floors had a different effect on each person. For the Sunak, it was a familiar sound, and ignored as such.

Bre-tac listened to the sound, and compared it to onboard a Goa'uld vessel. The sound was different, due to the metal used in its construction. It spoke of a different era... of war never ending.

Sadly, he came to the conclusion that their situation hadn't changed much. Sakar had seen to that.

The guards ushered them into the turbo lift. "Bridge," one of them ordered.

Bre-tac had to admit, he had never been on a ship with such a primitive kind of transportation device. Goa'uld and Asgard vessels had small scale beaming technology to get between decks. This was a bygone era.

As he realized exactly how much this Confederation was forged because of Sakar, the lift deposited them on the bridge. Like the rest of the ship, it was primitive in design and simplicity. Unlike the more advanced vessels, this one had few stations, which required them to push buttons and pull small levers to move their ship, or maintain that same ship.

Zephyer bowed. "Commander."

Commander Karken stood up from his chair, walking up to them. "Master Bre-tac," he said in greeting. "Lieutenant Zephyer. Welcome aboard the Crusher."

"Sir."

"Commander."

Karken nodded to the guards. Immediately, they stepped back into lift, returning to their stations. "Now then, Master Bre-tac, what brings you to the fleet that threatens to destroy the planet Earth?"

Bre-tac took a breath. "The Tauri would like me to tell you that the only chance you have for defeating Sakar lies on Earth. Two humans who have acquired the powers of the Guardians, and have challenged Sakar in battle… and lived to tell the story."

Karken looked at Sheeyal, who looked just as surprised as he did. "You are certain?"

"Yes. Wheeler Sloane and Linka Ivanova, two of Gaia's Planeteers. They are the next of a blood line that have fought the Death Dealer for more than a thousand years."

Now this was news to them. A bloodline capable of standing against Sakar was something they had never known about until now. Which mean they had been given a new option. One that would spare the Earth and its people from unnecessary bloodshed.

But there was more to a change in strategy than just talking to the commander of the invasion fleet.

Karken turned to Sheeyal, who nodded. She believed Bre-tac, and that was enough for him. "You will have to tell the Praetor of this. He's the only one who has the power to halt an invasion." He turned to Communications. "Send word to the Capital. Inform the Praetor's office that Master Bre-tac of Chulak wishes an audience with him immediately."

"Aye, Sir."

Bre-tac looked at Zephyer, who nodded. Satisfied, he relaxed, waiting for the next step of his mission to begin.


"Commander Charles Tucker?!" Worf stated in disbelief.

Trip was equally surprised. "Okay, so the alien that gets to help me stop the Xindi is a Klingon?" he asked. "How's that gonna help?"

Phoebe smiled slightly. "Well, Worf's not your average Klingon, for starters. Two, he's about two hundred years ahead of you, from an era where the Federation and the Empire are coexisting peacefully. And finally, he's a Starfleet officer, like you."

"So zip it!" Piper added.

Lizzie giggled in the background, watching the whole scene unfold before her. It was so funny to see her brother get into situations that he couldn't get out without getting over something or other. This was just another one.

Trip shrugged at long last. "Fine. It's not like the future's been screwed up as is." He sat back down. "Well, the Xindi are here, on this Earth, and they're hell bent on finishing their weapon. They need some kind of mineral that is indigenous to this Earth. So, how do we go about finding them? They ain't just gonna be in the phone book."

Worf nodded, understanding the dilemma. When someone who was there for a nefarious purpose, they would try to hide their activities from the rest of the world. "We will have to search every part of this city," he said.

"We're in the middle of Twenty First Century San Francisco!" Paige interrupted. "A Six Foot Klingon's going to be a little noticeable!"

Phoebe grinned at that. "And we are witches, Paige," she replied. "We do a little concealment spell, then we start hunting."

"How about we narrow the search pattern a bit?" Lizzie suggested. "The Earth my brother's presently trying to protect doesn't have a whole lot of time left. Time isn't going to slow down for that."

On that, they all agreed. A massive search of the city would take too long, and it would look kind of suspicious to the demon underworld.

Piper suddenly looked up, spearing her sisters with a look that said it all. She had figured out the only place they could be. "The Underworld," she said.

There was only one thing to do... one place to look.


Janeway looked at her Senior Staff as Chakotay finished his and Tuvok's report, watching their reactions.

Tom Paris was wide eyed with surprise.

Harry Kim was frowning in thought.

B'lanna was impressed, her half Klingon brow elevated somewhat with completely human interest.

And Seven of Nine had an almost vulcan arch to her eyebrow. Obviously, she was finding the whole thing fascinating.

"So, let me see if we got everything," Paris stated. "We're basically caught in the middle of a war that's going to reach its final stage in a couple of days, and we're not going to do anything about Enterprise. I mean, what about the Prime Directive?"

Kim looked at Janeway. "Captain, this isn't the first time we've had to deal with something bigger than the Prime Directive. Remember our first year in the Delta Quadrant?"

"You don't have to, Harry. We were all there… most of us, anyway."

Seven nodded once, knowing what they were talking about. It was in Voyager's database, after all. "I have scanned the coordinates that Lieutenant Reed provided for us," she said. "There is indeed a fleet of vessels positioned there. Perhaps the invasion that they are preparing for."

"Also, Archer hasn't asked for any advanced technology. His vessel has obviously been upgraded already in everything except their warp core. And more importantly, the governments of this day and age know we're up here already. I'd say the Prime Directive doesn't even have a voice in the matter."

Janeway held her hand up, getting their attention. "When you all have the same thought, I know I'm in trouble," she said, good humor lacing her tone. "Well, the next question is; what are we going to do about it?"

Now that question was a little more difficult to answer. What did they do? They knew what they wanted to do, but the Federation took a stricter approach to this situation. No matter what the situation was, no matter the precedence, the Prime Directive always came first. They were facing a situation where they were dealing with Industrialized Earth, and had found themselves within the center of an alien war. They had a great deal of information, but not all of it.

The captain sighed. "I suggest we all sleep on it. We'll reconvene tomorrow." She waited until they had left, before sitting down again, breathing out. "Why is always us?" she asked no one in particular.


Galaxia bowed before the projection before her. "What is it that you require from me?" she asked.

The being before her barely moved. "I want you to go to Earth," he intoned. "Princess Kakyuu and her Sailor Starlights are there, hiding among the humans. Also, Sailor Neptune has been awakened, and is working with the Spirit of Earth. If she awakens Uranus, they could become a threat to our plans, even without the rest of the Sailor Soldiers. Go to Earth, and take their Starseeds before all of them unite."

"What of the reports of the Guardians mobilizing for war?"

"It is of no concern to us. Soon, darkness will rule the cosmos. Earth will not resist, and I know that you wish for the most powerful of Starseeds to complement the Light of Hope. The only way you will be able to do that is if you possess the rest of them. Now go."

"By your command, Sir." Galaxia bowed before heading out. She had her orders, which meant that she no longer needed to listen to the Goa'uld.

Now she could do what she had wanted to do since the beginning.


Here is Chapter Twenty Nine, ready for you to read and review.

Well, I hope everyone had a great Christmas, because I sure did. But, my month of rest from typing is over. Now I'm back, and rested.