Hey there!

First off, I'd like to apologise for the mess up which was this week's chapter. I don't know how the hell something like that formatting could have occurred, as it's never happened to me before when copying this over from my main document. However, rest assured, I have not only reformatted the last chapter, but made sure that this chapter is alright. As a result, I'll be posting this chapter now instead of next week as compensation. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Wake Up Call

Commander Aldrin woke up to the sound of the station's comm network beeping to indicate the arrival of an audio message. Wearily and somewhat painfully, she got up from her splayed our position on the bed, holding her head as she felt a sharp pain.

It's probably because of last night's Romulan Ale she told herself as she played the message. The standard female monotone began reading out a list of orders for her.

"Commander Miral Aldrin, formerly 1st officer of the USS Arizona, please report to Captain Odren Leres of the USS Sovereign at earliest convenience. Receive further instructions upon arrival."

So they want me to go to the Sovereign. She thought as she began to wake up. S### I'm going to have to deal with Odren somehow. She peered out the window to check on if the Sovereign was there yet, and was suddenly behold to yet another Sovereign class starship, this time docked to one of the Station's lower pylons. The words 'U.S.S. Sovereign' and the registry 'NCC-73811' left little doubt that the ship was waiting for her to come over.

Without a moment to lose, she sprinted to the replicator and stated "coffee, cappuccino." and began to piece together her uniform as the black murky liquid materialised into a replicated mug. Fitting on her combadge, she swiped away at the mug, drinking the entire thing in one go, before putting the mug back in the replicator and recycling it. With a new sense of energy, she bolted out the door to her new destiny.

As she arrived on the bridge of the Sovereign, she noticed something slightly off about the bridge; hardly anyone was there. Sure there were technicians fixing up the interior for it's new mission, but there were no officers at their stations assisting the efforts. While peculiar in her mind, she turned and headed towards Captain Leres' office, before pressing the doorbell button next to the doors.

"Enter." A voice made out through the doors as the two metal sliding doors hissed away from Aldrin to reveal his office. Inside, not only was Captain Leres there, but also Ensign Organa, R2-D2, Captain Han Solo and Luke Skywalker as well.

"Ahh, Commander Aldrin." Began Leres as he extended his hand as a sign of friendship. "We were just talking about you. Please take a seat."

The trill male gestured towards the empty visitors chair in front of his desk as the others made room for Aldrin to pass through. Aldrin silently nodded, taking a seat in the chair as she looked at him in confusion.

"The rest of you can go now." He stated. "This conversation may get a bit personal." the remaining people in the room filtered out, leaving Aldrin and Leres in peace.

"So, where to start?" Sarcastically asked Aldrin.

"I believe an apology would suffice in between us." replied Leres. "For leaving you behind once we graduated from the Academy."

"Without even the slightest hint you were going on a completely different assignment to me? You lied to me you cheating bastard! All that time I thought you had been reassigned at the last minute, but in actuality you had requested reassignment so you could sleep with that Betazoid b####!"

"Let's put that in the past right now okay?" Demanded Leres in an authoritative tone. "In case you haven't noticed, we're at war with an enemy who's faster, bigger and deadlier than anything we've faced in the past, which means we need to put aside our personal differences and work together. Is that understood?"

"Whatever." Aldrin begrudgingly accepted as she leaned back in her seat. "What do you need me for?"

"I understand you've been stuck on Deep Space 9 for the past 6 months." Began Leres. "From what I can gather, you were just dumped there and left behind in the war effort, if i'm not mistaken."

"You've perfectly summed up my life at this point in time." commented Aldrin.

"Well this is your chance to get back in the game." continued Leres. "2 days ago, the Sovereign picked up a subspace burst transmission from the Ivor system. Analysis of the transmission shows that not only was it using Starfleet encryption techniques, but it also beared identification markers to a probe sent by the USS Enterprise shortly before the war began."

"I can tell there's a but coming up." figured Aldrin.

"You're still able to see through me after all these years. While the markers were from a Federation probe, the actual message itself wasn't from the probe, nor was it from the Galactic Empire. Instead, it was from the Rebel Alliance."

"I've heard of them before. They're the group that Leia and the others were working for before first contact."

"The message itself wasn't too much. There was only the words 'rendezvous, explain on arrival', followed by a set of coordinates and the identification marker of a starship called 'Red 2'."

"So what you're saying is, they're sending a ship to us to bring a message."

"Sometimes I wish you didn't solve the problem while I'm talking." Jokingly Retorted Leres. "Shortly afterwards, long-range sensors picked up two ships that went into hyperspace within the Ivor system. At our current estimates, we will have to leave in 15 hours in order to arrive at the rendezvous point on time."

"So why does this involve me?" asked Aldrin. "Surely you and Commander Larsen could go out on this by yourselves."

"Commander Larsen was recently promoted to Captain." explained Leres. "She's stopping off here to take command of the USS Omaha."

"Good for her." remarked Aldrin.

"Crappy thing is, she's taking half of my command staff with her, our Helm Officer, Chief Engineer and our Chief Medical officer. We recently also lost our Chief of Security and oru Science officer in an Imperial ambush shortly before we got here. I need someone I can trust as a first officer, and you and your crew were part of the first contact with the Rebellion. I need to know whether you'll be my First Officer on this mission."

"So this is what this is all about." remarked Aldrin. "And why should I accept your invitation when I can't even trust you?"

"Because this could change the course of the war." Answered Leres. "If the rebellion considers their message this important to have to be sent to us via a ship, then it's bound to be very important. I can tell you're restless here on Deep Space 9; believe me anyone would get restless here if they had nothing to do, even with the wormhole. And it's only for this mission; if you want to leave afterwards, you can. I don't care, I just need a new first officer. If you refuse, I'll just promote one of your crewmates and we can forget this ever happened. So answer my question; do you accept it or not?"

Aldrin thought for a moment about her current predicament. She was about to decide whether to work with one of the only people she hated in Starfleet, or step back and fade into obscurity once more. In her mind, thoughts were racing around as she contemplated the consequences of her actions. Could this mission help her find salvation? Would she be able to rebound from the position she now found herself in? Or would she once again slip under the radar, never to be heard of again? One thing was certain though; her answer.

"I accept."

In his own ready room on the Enterprise, Admiral Picard was preparing numerous files for his next meeting. Numerous files, reports and logs had been sent to him through secure channels, briefing him about the current situation with the Dominion and how to react to this once hostile power. However, no log or report could prepare him for the Dominion more than the person he was about to meet.

The door comm chimed as the person who Picard was due to meet had arrived. Without hesitation, he called, "Come." and the doors swiftly opened to reveal the person whom Picard had been waiting for.

"Commander Grant Mcarthy reporting for duty sir." announced Mcarthy.

"At ease commander." Gently Ordered Picard. "Please, take a seat."

Mcarthy sat in the visitor's chair before Picard continued. "I understand you are the Federation's leading expert on the Dominion."

"Yes I am sir." replied Mcarthy. "I spent 3 years posted on the Federation embassy on Karamma before they shut it down a month before the Imperial War began."

"Understood. And how much information about the Dominion did you manage to gather in that time period?"

"Well I could tell you the difference between a Dominion citizen species and a Dominion slave species, but I can tell that's not what I've been sent here to do."

"Precisely Commander." Jokingly replied Picard as he gave a slight chuckle. "As you are well aware, Starfleet is sending the Enterprise toward the gamma quadrant in the hopes of making contact with the Dominion. They are also embarking on a separate mission to rendezvous with a rebel ship, in the hopes that they will reveal new information about the Empire. As a result, they have temporarily reassigned the Rebel specialists aboard the Enterprise to the Sovereign, which docked here several hours ago. I need to know whether I can count on you to help guide us through this mission. While I am Starfleet's best diplomat, my experience with the Dominion is somewhat lacking compared to others."

"If it's knowledge you need, then it's knowledge you'll get sir." Answered Mcarthy. "I'm here to do my duty to Starfleet. If this is going to help win the war sir, then you can count me in."

"Excellent." Exclaimed Picard. "I look forward to working with you. The Enterprise will be departing Deep Space 9 in two days. Be ready by then."

Mcarthy turned and walked out the door, leaving Picard in his room alone. At last, Picard was alone with his thoughts. Finally, he could relax and think to himself for a while...

"Oh did you really think I would leave you alone right now?" exclaimed a voice as Q flashed in front of Picard's desk.

"Q, now is not the time for another of your childish games." bluntly stated Picard.

"Oh please stop, Picard. I only play games when there's nothing to do, nothing to see. And these Imperials have really got me interested."

"If all you've come here to do is gloat that we will not prevail against the Empire, then get out." ordered Picard, this time with a hint of anger to his voice.

"Why must you always think I'm not on your side?"

"Because last time you 'helped' us, you put Starfleet under trial for months, giving the Imperials the freedom to wreak havoc on our space! It was only through my actions and the actions of others they were contained, and that was difficult at best too."

"Oh, and are you referring to Captain Trent in those others as well? You know he made first contact with the Empire, if anything he should be blamed for starting the war-"

"I don't have the time or diligence to put up with you anymore Q." angrily growled Picard. "Either you tell me what you want to tell me, or leave."

"Fine then, I'll tell. I'm here to give you advice on the Dominion."

"I've already got someone for that Q. And he doesn't randomly burst into my life and give me hell."

"Would you just shut up and listen for once in your mortal life Picard?"

Picard was deadly silent as Q continued.

"The Dominion has a spy in the Galactic Empire. They've been up to their usual tricks, attempting to destabilise their governing system whilst still remaining undercover. The fortunate thing for them this time, is that they haven't been caught out yet."

Picard briefly thought about this revelation, discerning whether it was true or otherwise. It would be plausible for a changeling to have successfully infiltrated the Galactic Empire, even at the highest level, as Imperial scanner technology was not advanced enough to tell apart separate species, only life and machine. And with Imperial medical science especially lacking, a Changeling would even be able to pass a simple blood test using blood taken from the victim.

"Please proceed." Requested Picard whilst deep in his own thoughts.

"And now, they have figured out how to install Imperial technology on their own ships. The whole reason they cut you people off was because they felt they had to deal with the new threat by themselves."

"But if they can control the Galactic Empire and have access to Imperial technology-"

"Then there's no stopping them from conquering the entire galaxy." finished Q as Picard realised the power the Dominion now held. "This time, cutting off the wormhole won't do you any good; they could be anywhere in the Galaxy within days, and there'd be nothing you'd be able to do about it."

"Oh, my…" Picard's words trailed off as he realised in horror what could happen

"Exactly. So, I think you were only supposed to leave two days from now." Q went up to Picard and aggressively whispered into his ear. "If I were you, I'd leave as soon as possible."

Q walked back to be in front of Picard. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I really must get going. So many places to visit, people to see, it's hard being omnipotent sometimes. Au revoir!"

And with a snap of his fingers, Q suddenly no longer existed, disappearing into thin air as usual, leaving Picard alone once more. Picard sat in silence for a moment, considering what Q had to say to him. Was it true that the Dominion had Imperial technology? Would the empire fall to the Dominion, giving all it's resources and technology to the Federation's darkest enemy? And could Picard somehow convince the Dominion to side with them in this conflict?

"Picard to Worf." he barked into his combadge.

"Worf here sir." came through the combadge.

"I need the Enterprise ready to leave Deep Space 9 by tomorrow." ordered Picard. "Have our advisor notified as well."

"Understood Admiral." acknowledged Worf. "What reason should I give for the change?"

"I have reason to believe that time is now of the essence. I'll give you the details later."

"Aye sir."

"Picard out." Picard leant back in his chair, contemplating what he had just done.

Charging headfirst into the situation...my, my, how war changes us. He thought to himself as he walked up to the window. Staring outside, he looked out into the depths of space, the stars littering the view as he knew what was probably going on in each.

I'm getting too old for this. He thought as he continued to look through the window, hoping for the future.