Milky Way Galaxy
Beta Quadrant
Qo'Nos

The Klingon Homeworld was alive with activity, especially from the shipyards where a ship different from the rest of their fleet was docked. For the last several Earth months, the Klingons have kept their prize a secret, making sure that no Federation or Romulan spies could find out about the new vessel that had been brought to the heart of the Empire. The Jaridian Sokara class battle cruiser was heavily guarded by dozens of ships and fighters around it with Klingon crews and technicians going through every detail of it with a keen eye. The results were proving very promising with the fact that the Klingdon R&D divisions working on ways to replicate the cold fusion reactors and the quantum annihilation reactors that were the power sources of the ship along with the advanced plasma based disruptors the ship had as its primary weaponry.

It was a boon to the Klingon Empire and it was stressing their military economy to hurry and upgrade their fleet as best as they could in response to the Federation's access to a new galaxy.

And the person leading it was none other than General Kor himself.

"You are sure of this?" He spoke to the monitor on his desk.

"Yes, General. The Enterprise has made it to the Gamma Quadrant."

"Hmm…" Kor hummed and leaned back in his chair. "You wasted no time at all, Kirk." He chuckled a bit. "I expected as much."

"Sir?"

"What is our status on applying our own version of the Jaridian weaponry to our fleet?" Kor immediately changed the subject.

"We are making progress, General. The Jaridian technology is advanced and heavily complex and sophisticated, more advanced than we had thought. Their technology is simply so far advanced we are struggling to ensure we have a complete understanding of it."

"What about their weapons?"

"We've learned enough to begin upgrading our weapons, yes. It will be slow and our weapons will be somewhat cumbersome compared to the Jaridian weaponry but we will be making continuous improvements."

"Good, good. And the engines?"

"We've learned enough that we can begin modifying our own ships for transwarp."

"When do you estimate we be able to actually test these modifications?" Kor asked the most important question.

"Work is slow but we are making progress. Current estimations are one terran week before we can attempt a live test."

Kor frowned as he did not like the idea of waiting a week but decided it was for the best. "Very well. Keep me informed."

"Qapla, General Kor."

Kor saluted. "Qapla."

When the call ended, Kor leaned back in his chair and though over the current events. The Klingon Empire was making progress and he knew better than to force it. The schematics for the Jaridian Sokara class battlecruiser had already been thoroughly scanned and already plans were being made to construct shipyards to begin building a Klingon variant of the alien ship they had captured since many Klingons liked the predatory design of the ship with some even calling it the Kor class.

Kor grinned at the idea of the new ship class being named after him.

The Jaridian battle cruiser was indeed a marvel of predatory design and it pleased Kor greatly to be the one to capture it. Again it was a shame they could not make contact with these Jaridians in this other universe the way the Federation made contact with the people in the universe they had discovered and make possible allies of them but Kor believed that things were best as they are right now. Perhaps one day they could one day make contact with the Jaridians or other warrior species like them and together becoming something…glorious.

It wasn't just the weapons and engines on that ship that were so advanced.

The Jaridians also appeared to have advanced holographic and cloaking technology beyond even the Federation and Romulan technologies. That was a boon to the Empire if there ever was one and Klingon scientists were racing to understand and adapt that technology to their own. The Empire's own military budget was already immense and thus the Empire would likely increase it mining on key energy productions facilities like Praxis to compensate for the new fleets to be built in the coming years. Still, Kor understood that progress took time and he understood the valor of patience so he would allow the scientists their time to breathe and carefully work their way on adapting the technologies at their disposal.

For the time being.

With the Enterprise exploring the Gamme Quadrant now, Kor knew they could not wait forever and he intended to make sure the Empire did not fall behind.

"Kirk, my friend. You truly are the enemy of the Empire." Kor grinned. "Only you could have stirred a Targ's dwelling like this."

Well, Kor planned on answering Kirk's challenge and both would see the rise of the greatest empires in the galaxy.

Winner take all as the humans said.

Xxx

Milky Way
Gamma Quadrant
USS Enterprise

Captain's Log Supplemental: We have come across a refuge fleet fleeing from their homeworld that was destroyed by the rumored Dominion. The survivors are a race known as Remee, an insectoid like race whose technology is comparable to that of the Federation. They opposed the Dominion and in response their homeworld was attacked, their fleet destroyed and the survivors forced to flee. From what the surviving leaders have stated, the Dominion proceeded to destroy the atmosphere of the planet, leaving it uninhabitable for the survivors.

End Log

Once Kirk ended his log he looked at the viewscreen again, seeing the refuge fleet consisting of over a hundred ships carrying over several thousand survivors of a race that once thrived in over a hundred million.

It appeared now that the Dominion was no longer a rumored threat but a legitimate one.

It was one thing to destroy an enemy fleet but to destroy their world. Even war had its own rules by human standards, to demonstrate they were not cruel barbarians and show compassion to those who while might have been on the enemy side either by choice, biological relation or just politically aligned for various reasons and show them that they would not have die and that the war would have to end completely in bloodshed.

The Dominion evidently was not capable of such compassion.

The Remee had fought a with the Dominion for over a year and yes, they had fought long and hard with the technology and man power but the Dominion had the numbers apparently.

Kirk walked over to Spock's station. "How is our operation going?"

"Dr. McCoy and the medical staff are stretched thin in assisting any surviving Remee doctors in treating the sick and wounded." Spock answered, while looking over his own findings. "Unfortunately even they are struggling."

"In what way?" Kirk asked.

"The weapons used by the military branch of the Dominion, a genetically engineered race known as the Jem'Hadar are plasma and polaron based with an anti-coagulant that stops the natural healing process and even disrupts attempts by medicine to heal the target if they have not already died." Spock answered, his own discipline keeping him from showing any personal feelings to his findings. "Their ship weapons on the other hand are also polaron based and were able to easily pass through the Remee deflector shields like they are not even there."

That was troubling.

"Can our shields block them?" Kirk questioned.

"Not without considerable modifications and I can only surmise what can be done through the damage the Remee ships have suffered in their bid to flee." Spock answered. "It would be easier if I could procure a sample of their weaponry to scan for a suitable way to create an acceptable counter-measure."

"I don't think it's wise for us to try that. If they were to capture this ship and find out about the hyperdrive-" Kirk started.

"They would try to apply to their fleet and attempt to conquer the rest of the galaxy, believing in bringing their 'order' wherever they can." Spock finished in agreement. "It is best we avoid them as much as possible."

"What about the Remee fleet? Can we find a suitable planet for them or find a way to take them to Federation space?" Kirk changed the subject.

"We would have to try installing a hyperdrive on every ship in their fleet to get them all to Federation space. They possess warp drive but it would take nearly a century to reach Federation borders." Spock stated.

"So we find a suitable planet." Kirk surmised.

"The only logical solution." Spock nodded.

Kirk sighed. "All right. We'll begin scanning for suitable planets while trying to stay far away from any possible Dominion territory or routes."

"Aye, Admiral."

Kirk sat in his command chair, thinking over the possible events that are set to occur from them visiting the Gamma Quadrant. He wasn't sure if it was a boon or an omen yet but he would remain cautious for the sake of his ship and crew.

Xxx

Serenno
Count Dooku's Castle

Count Dooku looked out the window his castle, his eyes closed as his mind went over recent events. He had already reviewed the designs for the newest ships that were being built in response to the Milky Way factions, specifically the United Federation. The first one was two hundred meters in length, saucer shaped like a United Federation ship with blocky wings that had extra thrust engines for extra maneuverability and four sublight engines in the rear end that would make them fast enough to hopefully match Milky Way ships.

Armed with thirty turbo-laser cannons on the bow and military grade deflector shields the new Onslaught Attack Fighter would be a force to be reckoned with. Since droids could not be trust to pilot and the CIS lacked experienced pilots the Attack Fighter used a built in droid brain, the kind used by Vulture droids which allowed them to travel at speeds fatal to organics. They were based on the appearance of the Federation's Akula class starships which were the closest to actual battleships the Federation had in its fleet. The design was modular and could be easily refitted with more weapons but for now their current design would do.

The second design was for a much large ship known as the Leviathan, utilizing the central sphere of a Lucrehulk class battleship and the 'donut' shaped outer hull but instead of ending at the two hangar arms, instead the hull curved outwards into two dagger shaped winged extensions that gave the ship a rather intimidating looking design. The hangars were still present but were now sealed by large hangar bay doors. The Leviathan was armed to the teeth, the original armaments being augmented gun batteries along the surface of both the core and the cargo arms and much stronger shielding alongside the original class but the Leviathan was a true battleship, more so than its sister class would be. In addition to the heavy armor they sported smaller reactors to power the already powerful shields for extra protection and the heavy laser cannons at the front which would be powerful enough to cripple any enemy ship in just one shot.

The third design was actually already made by Free Dac Engineering Corps and would be submitted to the private fleet of the Trade Federation after it would regain its composure from its loses and subsequent sanctions that followed after the Invasion of Naboo. The Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps that had designed and produced the Recusant class light destroyers for the Commerce Guild and had access to the designs of Mon Calamari class ships and were working on ways to improve their ship designs and create new class of ships to field against ships of the Milky Way factions. Plans involving improved weapons, better shielding with more armor, and more power by upgrading the reactors or adding smaller reactors for extra power were made to give the future Separatist fleet a better chance for possible combat with the Milky Way factions or even something else that might appear.

The hull was long and cylindrical while sporting a tapered, cone-like bow, while its afterward sections were dominated by a bulky superstructure with a towering fin-like spire that erected from the dorsal surface of its hull. It would be over one thousand meters in length but another more dreadnaught version would be in over two thousand meters. This design was meant to be an updated model of the Rendili StarDrive's Dreadnaught heavy class cruiser. Alongside the dorsal surface would be several sensor and communications masts with the assurance from the Techno Union they would be modified with the jamming field being made to counter against the transporter technology used by the Federation and other Milky Way powers.

The weapons on a Providence destroyer were already so powerful that even a point defense turret would have enough fire power to rival a 4.8 megaton bomb but with additional reactor power it was believed that it would be a match for any Federation ship. Still, Dooku put in a notice to the engineers for the design to be heavily modified with additional weaponry, extra reactors for more power to the weapons and shields that would make it all the more deadly. It would mean more work but Dooku knew that it would pay off in the long run.

And the fourth design was similar to the Providence but had a longer, beak like bow design resembling what Earthlings would call a sword fish while connecting to the main hull that resembled a Providence's cylindrical hull design, gracefully curved while a bridge tower similar to the one on the Providence rested at the top of the beak shaped bow along with an sensor suit at the very front while being over eighteen hundred meters in length. Unlike the other ship designs, even the Providence, there were barely any windows aside from the bridge tower. Halfway down, the hull became more bulky like a Providence with a trench along the top that would have numerous weapons emplacements. The rear end sprouted a fin like tail design over where eight ion engines would be located along with two engine pods on either side of the hull, giving it a great deal of speed and attached to the fin was an extra sensor pod to allowing for improved sensors.

And the forward cannons two high powered turbo laser batteries and two ion cannons like that of a Munificent class battleship used by the Intergalactic Banking Clan that could melt the surface of an ice planet but larger and more powerful. In addition to these new ship designs, Dooku noted that like the radiator fins attached to the hull like a Munificent that would allow for better heat dispersal caused by the shields and the cannons and would have two main reactors near the end where the hull became more bulky. Dooku would make a note to have them make sure the reactors were better protected, given how a single United Federation ship cut up three Trade Federation battleships with relative ease. Prudence would be a great ally in the coming war and it would be wise to try and account for every possible scenario.

In addition to these new ships the Techno Union has come up with plans for a machine capable of creating almost anything from raw materials called the Fabricator. It worked by taking the material given to it, scanning it and then using it to assemble weapons from its databanks. It was a giant machine that worked like a factory compared to the replicators used by the Milky Way factions but it would be useful in building up weapons and even droids if possible. Endless resources, even from junk worlds such as Lotho Minor and Raxus Prime could be shipped in and the Fabricator would use them to create endless weapons and droids.

It would certainly save money and funding and it could be seen as economically better for the economy that would silence a few annoying senators. Dooku's thoughts were interrupted by the beeping on his console and when he activated the comm he saw that it was Wat Tambor contacting him.

"Count Dooku." Tambor bowed.

"Minister Tambor, what is the progress on our projects?" Dooku asked.

"The Fabricator's progress is on schedule, my Lord. We've been studying ways to upgrade and improve our shielding and we are pursuing several theories. We can improve the jammers to prevent transporters but without proper testing we cannot declare it a proper success."

"How long to you estimate the time for proper testing?" Dooku frowned.

"A year at least."

Dooku took a moment before accepting. "Very well. Continue your progress and keep me informed."

"Yes, Count." Tambor bowed before his image faded.

For the moment all was according to plan.

The Techno Union had been charged with designing and creating new forms of deflector shields while the other future Separatist corporations concentrated on building weapons and ships designed for the purpose of fighting ships from the Milky Way. Of course it would take time and time was perhaps the one thing they did have. Dooku walked back towards his personal quarters, ordering the servant droids to bring him some tea so that he could relax for a mere moment.

The plan was already set in motion and so far no one in either galaxy was aware of it.

Xxx

Inner Rim
Kuat Sector
Kuat System
Kuat Drive Yards Orbital Array

"Submit your designs to me and I shall decide whether or not they meet our criteria. Remember, you are attempting to design the best ships in not just one galaxy but two of them. I expect a modest effort from all of you."

Wilhuff Tarkin had been a very busy man in the last few couple of months.

Already he had contacted the top designers from Republic Siener Systems, Rendili Stardrives, Rothana Heavy Engineering, Corellian Engineering Corporation, and even made contact with smaller corporations such as MandalTech, MandalMotors and Mandal Hypernautics that had suffered a decline because of Duchess Satine's policies.

It was surprisingly easy to convince them to send their top designers without Satine even knowing which was not surprising in the slightest. Oh well, it was Satine's loss and Tarkin's gain. In addition to that designers, engineers, and scientists from Blastech Industries, Trilon Inc, Athakam Medtech, Crozo Industrial, CoMar Combat Systems, Chedak Communications, Mer-Sonn Munitions Inc, Cybot Galactica, Genetech Corporation, Industrial Automaton and so many more. The purpose of this joint venture would be the creation of the most advanced force in the galaxy.

Tarkin mused that the reason the Federation was so advanced was because it employed the scientific minds of thousands of thousands of people from its multi-planetary alliance and so Tarkin planned to model this new force after the Federation in a way. Every day would be devoted to building, designing, and creating a fleet powerful enough to equal and perhaps surpass the technology of the Milky Way at its peak. Basic information on Federation and Klingon technology was provided and even if work was slow Tarkin predicted they would advance faster than either the Republic or the Separatists quickly in just one year.

They would concentrate on communications, medical research, weaponry, sensor, shielding, cybernetics, and so much more. So many theories that were put aside because of issues like money or simply because they were considered useless and too expensive due to pathetic bureaucracies would be given the chance to flourish where they were going. Plans for numerous shipyards, bases, and research facilities would be built in the few systems that had been charted and kept hidden from public eyes were made and the resources already on their way with thousands of workers and construction droids. A great many people signed on simply to leave the devastation of the Clone Wars and they were convinced by the idea of colonizing new worlds far from the war, thus making it safe for their families.

It was surprising how many civilians volunteered, numbering in near thousands that all had experience in one job or another that could contribute to the project.

Perhaps Tarkin should call this Project: Enterprise considering the history of the famous starship of the Federation.

Of course that was not the only plan to advance the Republic. The Chancellor was making requests to send scientists to learn all they could. Anti-matter reactors and weapons, transporters, and perhaps even find out what knowledge the synthetic intelligence had left inside the R2 unit it had taken.

Why leave all the knowledge of one universe in a little astromech droid, Tarkin would never understand.

He looked at the designs being forwarded to him by the various members of the project and because he knew that Kuat had been commissioned to, in secret build to produce starships, vehicles and equipment for millions of soldiers while being paid billions of credits. Tarkin was not privy to the nature of it yet, but he was assigned to assess and approve each design make sure they were competent and he decided to play along with that role for the time being.

The first new warship design was actually already in development by Rothana and Kuat, a ship to act as both transport and assault ship over seven hundred and fifty two meters long, four hundred sixty meters in length and two hundred meters in height and was labelled the Acclamator. It had large hangers that would offload entire legions of troops and their vehicles in short order. The main bridge would have no windows but would rely on advanced holoscreens which Tarkin found wise. It would be armed with twelve heavy quad turbo laser cannons along with twenty four laser cannons and four missile launchers.

A good design and hopefully would be the first of many advanced ones that would follow.

Then there was the design introduced by Lira Blissex, the Venator class Star Destroyer, based off the design of a warship used by the Mandalorians during the Mandalorian Wars against the Republic thousands of years ago. It was designed to function as both cargo cruiser and warship, spanning over one thousand one hundred and fifty five meters in length, five hundred eighty four meters in wingspan and two hundred sixty eight meters in eight while being defended by powerful deflector shields and hull armor plating. Tarkin noted the vulnerability of the bridge towers and made a note to discuss installing a defense field of some sort around the bridge much like the ones he had heard was used on the Enterprise. In order to defeat the competition one must understand the competition and Tarkin did see the wisdom in providing extra protection for vita areas like the bridge.

He then looked over the designs for a new ship based of off the Klingon and Romulan bird shaped vessels and it was impressive looking. The new design was over seven hundred meters in length with the bridge connected to a long neck like body with an X-shaped split wing structure at the rear end. A hangar bay based was located at the ship's rear end, on the 'belly' underneath the main reactor. The engines and maneuvering thrusters on the wings allowed the new ship to be extremely maneuverable at sublight speed.

The armaments consisted of fifty five turbo-lasers, five laser beam cannons, eleven torpedo and missile launchers, eleven point defense laser turrets, and ten ion cannons while able to carry over a single fighter squadron while using multiple shield generators for better protection.

An interesting design but would be placed in the reserve section.

The third new ship design was an escort carrier, modeled as a nimble narrow hulled design with an arrowhead bow and three thrusters in a vertical row on the stern, making it fast enough to engage even Milky Way ships despite their speed. It was armed with two singled barreled cannons on the dorsal centerline and two double-barreled weapons mounted on the vertical centerline, fifteen forward torpedo and missile launchers with two hangars for launching fighters. The escort carrier was designed upon reading on the Federation's tactical escort class, specifically the Akula class that played a pivotal role in the border disputes between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

It showed that even the United Federation, an organization dedicated to peace and exploration was capable of building full-fledged warships.

Of course he would order them to continue to improve the design, seeking to overcome any possible weaknesses that might be exploited but that was further down the road. Advances in weaponry and shielding was proceeding at a slightly increased pace since the discovery of the Milky Way but they needed more. They would need to create new armor for their ships, stronger than durasteel but that was easier said than done.

But nothing worth doing was ever easy.

Tarkin had learned that growing up on his home planet and he intended to not only meet this challenge but accomplish it.

After all, what use was there for ambition without something to challenge it?