A/N: It has been a long journey but it has come to an end at least for this story. Enjoy the last chapter.
a/n2: My apologies for misspelling Kira's name (Nerys) in all the chapters before that.
Disclaimer: The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. The characters and universe of Star Trek belong to Paramount Pictures but the words are mine. The Four Orders is entirely my own creation.
AU/FO/DS9/ It has been years since everyone left – Benjamin, Worf, O'Brien, Nog, Julian and Odo. But then why Kira kept dreaming of them being together? And most disturbingly she kept seeing Jadzia, an old man, and a young commander playing tongo.
Old Friends never leave: Part XXV
The universe is full of surprises none that everyone likes but ones that are needed. For the tear bearers that have been one journey of discovery and universal truth – all beings want peace and quiet, the freedom to do what you want to do without being impeded.
The day of visions brought Kira back with her friends. She no longer had any daydreams as they stood right by her side. She also wielded power beyond comprehension and she could finally understand why the Prophets were so afraid of anyone learning of it.
At first, it seemed so easy almost like a toy. But then the harsh reality settled and she understood the danger of the damage she could do. She understood that while the Prophets did not perceive time the way humanoids did they still experienced it. And she knew that no one can escape time.
Her friends and she had one last task to do – guide the Ichorian rebels to safety. It was hard to conceive that a commonwealth could be so vast that it can command a fleet of such gigantic proportions.
Kira had witnessed the Dominion war and she thought that there is no armada bigger than those of the warring sides but the Ichorians shifted her perception. Still she tried to imagine how twenty four ships can make an empire as big as the Ichorians tremble in fear. What power did these ships possess to make them all afraid? Or was it simply the act of fear itself that kept them at bay? She did not know the answer nor did she want to.
Communication with the rebels was established but if she had thought they would gain their trust easily she had been mistaken. The Ichorians had many religions just like the Federation did but they were all convinced that the beings of the Milky Way were malevolent and unworthy of trust hence the reason the Ichorians tried to kill them numerous times.
Kira did not know how to convince them otherwise. Even her friends had run out of ideas and that was not good. They had tried everything from the book of diplomacy but nothing seemed to work as they were obviously missing something.
Kira decided to use the power of her orb to learn more about them. Perhaps she would find something that could help her get through to them. The power of the orb transported her in the 23th century at a meeting.
It was the time when the Federation negotiated with the R'ongovian Protectorate. They were one of the most difficult races to deal with and yet they signed in the Federation. Kira was not very familiar of that meeting in details but she got to experience it.
The R'ongovians were utterly rude to the Tellarites, something that she considered very difficult to achieve. Then they were friendly with the Federation but still refused to join. They showed great logic with the Vulcans. And then the last time, they met she was amazed by the daring gambit that Captain Pike took with them.
This experience however was enlightening for her. The R'ongovians were the perfect example of the situation they faced. She saw the negation through a different light. The greatest achievement of the Federation was not the many worlds that comprised it but the ability to see each of its members' points of view.
Now the orb took her in a galaxy she was not familiar with. It was not the Andromeda galaxy as none of the stars were known to her. She did not even know if she were in the same time period as the one she left.
The galaxy in question was as vast as the Andromeda and filled with more life that she had ever seen. There was a barely planetary system that was not inhabited. She usually felt well in a crowd but here it was so crowded she doubted she would ever get to use to it.
In the next few moments, she understood why the Ichorians feared the Milky Way. Ships of all kinds and sorts tormented that galaxy for millions of years all bearing the flag of the galaxy in which she lived. But that in her mind was impossible as the Milky Way did not contain any races at period of time that could venture into other galaxies or did it.
The orb took her back to the Milky Way and there she saw several races that filled that description. Their ships were so different from what she knows of FTL travel that it took her sometimes to understand the principles. And while these races did travel between galaxies they had no knowledge of the Ichorians.
She started to wonder how the Ichorians knew of the Milky Way galaxy. As it turned out, they had had one expedition in it. There they were met by one of those advanced races and received well. They were overly excited to find life beyond their own galaxy. The meeting went well until the Ichorians tried to leave with the technologies of the others.
So they were received in peace but the Ichorians took advantage of their hosts' hospitality to steal their technology but not all of them managed to return home. From that point on, the Ichorians would send scout ships to learn everything they could from a distance about these races and use it to terrorize their own galaxies.
It was a despicable tactic but she continued not to understand the reasoning. If they had the technology to reach another galaxy what possible reason they had to frame the races of the Milky Way. Even the orb did not have an answer for this. Still the knowledge gained showed her how it started.
The advanced races however did not remain long in the Milky Way. Soon they left for other galaxies and never appeared again. That showed her a gap of time where the Ichorian High Command used to bolster its regime and enforce its will across four galaxies teaching each of them how evil is the Milky Way. It was more than despicable. It was petty. She was disgusted with them.
She needed an event that she could use to break through the Ichorian rebels. And the orb gave her one. The Ichorian visits to the Milky Way did not happen often but the last one prior to their major defeat was ten thousand years ago. At the time, there were once again advanced civilisations in the Milky Way but none of which possessed the capability to travel between galaxies as most of these races used warp technology.
The attacks that followed in the Ichorian galaxies showed ships that existed in the Milky Way but they did not possess that technology. She even saw where the Ichorian High Command had them parked. And apparently they were used every now and then. So, they were maintained operational even today.
She finally had her Rosetta stone. She gathered the other bearers and showed them the truth and as expected they were furious of this deception but also disgusted of the pettiness. Still, they had the same issue as her – the reason.
As they were debating it, the orb of time shifted the view to the time where the Ichorians met with their doom. The Ichorian fleet was with numbers beyond description. They have never seen so many ships in one place. Julian supposed it would take centuries to gather that many ships in one place and probably the same amount of time to move them anywhere (he was not very wrong too).
The Ichorian fleet faced an enemy of nearly half their fleet size. That did not help with the sheer number of ships. It was still too much. The enemy fleet separated to leave enough space for exactly twenty four ships. They bore a crest of some kind of tiara or crown bathed in the light of the universe that made it look surreal.
The tear bearers held their breath. The ships advanced on the Ichorian fleet. It was more than obvious that they had opened a dialogue with the Ichorians (the orb showed this much). The High Command fellas however opened fire without a second thought. They had a reputation to protect.
To everyone's surprise however, the twenty four continued their advance as though the weapons of the Ichorians meant nothing. The twenty four pleaded with the Ichorians to return home but their hails were ignored. All ships that had visibility of the twenty four converged on them and focused their fire onto them.
The combined firepower started to yield results. It became visible that the twenty four were taking damage. The pleadings continued until the very last moment. Then in a blink of an eye, the bearers saw how thousands of ships blinked out of existence. At the time, this happened the fleet from which they had emerged had already backed away.
The twenty four then separated in two groups. They advanced upon the Ichorian armada. What happened next could have been conceived but it definitely scared the bearers. It appeared as though the weapon systems of these ships faced forwards as a clearing appeared in the midst of the Ichorian armada as far as their eyes could see. It was more like a line from the twenty four forward had erased all ships in its path.
Then communication was opened to all ships and even the bearers heard the leader of the opposing armada. He spoke briefly but his voice resonated with the Ichorian fleet. Their back ranks started to jump away. It was clear the Ichorians had no desire to continue this fight.
The High Command ships continued to blast the twenty four and they responded with a single beam. That beam made each of their ships disappear one after the other. It made the bearers wonder what kind of weapon had such power to destroy a single Ichorian vessel with one shot.
Hours later the High Command ships were on the run. And in the same time, the twenty four seized all hostilities. The bearers noticed something opening on one of the ships. It resembled a bubble. It was shot into space and then it vanished. Moments later however it appeared and engulfed the tear bearers surprising them a great deal.
"What the hell is that?" Miles exclaimed.
"I thought we were in a memory." Dax said.
"Yeah, I thought so too." Trip nodded.
"If you are not then we are in their time but observing from a distance." Odo reasoned.
"I thought we were safe." Dax said looking frantically around.
"And you thought wrong, Master Trill." A voice resonated in the bubble. Soon the voice took shape and it was that of someone they have met very briefly. He was the one who spoke with Lord Mystery. "Who are you?"
The newcomer turned to all of them. His eyes as Dr. Bashir noticed looked human but they most certainly were not. They were currently filled with pure energy making him look very spooky.
"Dr. Julian Bashir,"
"Miles O'Brien,"
"Ah, Earth boys," The newcomer exclaimed. There was warmth in his voice when he said it, which definitely meant he knew of Earth.
"Odo,"
"Charles Tuckers the third or for short Trip,"
"Jadzia Dax,"
"Nog,"
"Worf son of Mogh,"
"Colone Kira Nerys,"
"Benjamin Sis..." Captain Sisko did not complete his sentence as the eyes of the newcomer flashed dangerously and he was surrounded by bluish energy.
"I know what you are – Vermis." The newcomer said silently but his voice was filled with disdain and anger. "So, they have crawled out of their little shell – your parents." He emphasized and it was clear he did not mean his earth parents.
"We call them..." Nerys tried to explain but the newcomer silenced her with one wave of his hand.
"I know what they are called, Colonel. These things are not your friends."
"They are. They have guided my people for thousands of years. They are the ..."
"Prophets – it is sad that you do not understand their purpose. Friends they are not. They are as cold and calculating as the suns in the universe. Everything is pure math and there is nothing else. Trust me, Colonel, I know these things better that you can imagine.
They tried their shtick on Earth some time ago but it did not take roots as the humans of Earth are not that gullible."
"Curzon Dax, though more the symbiote than the person," Dax said trying to diffuse the situation. "What should we call you?"
The newcomer turned his gaze to Dax and it softened immediately. "You can call me Caelus."
"Ok, then, Caelus,"
Caelus scanned each of them. "You are not from this time, are you?" He outstretched his hand and Tucker's orb flew into his hand. It was clear he did not like it much but his surprise was not of its origins.
"We are not exactly sure when we are." O'Brien said.
"The bearer of time doesn't know?" Caelus said turning to Kira.
"I know it is a few thousand years ago."
"That is somewhat accurate – two thousand years ago from your perspective." Caelus said when he touched Kira's orb. "Why are you here?"
"We came to learn..." Kira stopped as Caelus had focused on her orb answering his own question.
Joyful flames appeared in his eyes that had now returned apparently to their original colour – brown.
"You wanted to know the reason the Ichorians had become so despicable. I can answer that – just because."
"Just because – what?" Odo inquired.
"No, master Odo, the answer is – just because they can."
"I don't follow."
"You are looking for logical answer, for something that makes sense. You are looking in the wrong direction. The Ichorians all these years ago sought for a way to control their galaxies. When they came here they saw the ruling races unified in a common cause. And that gave them an idea.
They found the perfect way to control their people. Random attacks from a galaxy far, far away, were the perfect pretext to keep everyone under the iron grip of the High Command. And every now and then, they would all come here to pillage and burn so that they will not forget who the boss is."
"That can't the reason." Kira exclaimed.
"Have you ever witnessed a senseless murder, anyone?" Caelus looked at them. He noticed O'Brien nodding so he continued. "And when you asked the killer why – his answer was what..."
"Just because,"
"Ah, there you are. You see in the universe there is what we call agents of Chaos. They do not need a reason to do what they do. They just do it because they can. And the same is valid for the High Command. They are agents of Chaos. "
"It can't be that simple."
"But it is Colonel Kira." Caelus smiled. "They needed a way to put everyone under the Iron grip and rule them brutally and efficiently, and so they used what they learnt in the other galaxy and started using it with utter disregard of what the races in the Milky Way might suffer one day because of it.
That worked for some time before people had enough and started to rebel. And these rebellions occur at random intervals throughout their history and they are easily squashed when they start using the Milky Way villain ships.
However this doesn't mean that the rebels would trust anyone from the Milky Way as I am sure you have discovered."
"That's why we are here. We need to find a way around this dogma." Benjamin said.
Caelus remained pensive. "There might be a way." He said. "Focus on what type of ships they have. I mean right now so that I know what you are dealing it."
They abided. Caelus scanned their visions. He seemed pleased. "So, there is a way. You need to show them or more to the point make them remember a certain route. When they came to your galaxy, they passed by a system in the Milky Way where the High Command keeps its latest villain ships.
The High Command quickly discovered that keeping the villain ships in their galaxy is not the smartest thing to do so they moved them to your galaxy."
"So we show them the ships and then they will talk to us. Colonel we must leave right now and make it happ..."
"Not so quickly, your Vermis ape." Caelus interrupted Benjamin. "You will tell them that the reason they should talk to you can be found on that route. You will not point them directly to that system. They have to discover that on their own."
"So it wouldn't appear that we are manipulating them." O'Brien reasoned.
"Very good, there is at least one person here with brains."Caelus said approvingly. "Nudge them in the right direction, telling them that all their questions and their answers will be found there."
"And then they will talk to us?" Julian asked.
"Yes, I believe they will."
"Then all it remains is where to put them." Odo said.
"You will put them here." Caelus said and the area around them shifted to a place in the Milky Way. "I imagine the Borg will not be overjoyed but they will have to live with it."
"The Borgs know nothing of them. The last remnants of the Ichorian rebels used their ships to meet the High Command scout ships." Dax said.
"Oh, don't worry, the Borg, they know them, all of them. " Caelus countered. "In your time, the Borg Queen may not have sent her ships but she knows of them, and she knows to keep away. But she was somewhat pleased that the rebels were destroyed. They would stop bothering her hive."
"Oh,"
"Good luck in your endeavour," Caelus said. "Oh, and Captain, a piece of advice,"
"Sure,"
"Whatever it is that the Vermis are teaching you – remember to rely on your humanity more than on their nature. Soon enough, you will witness their coldness and you will understand. Do not embrace their teachings foolhardily. Do not become enticed by the power they offer or you will become just like them.
I believe one person of your race had a taste of absolute power and he quickly understood what that could turn him into. And he walked away from it. You should heed his example."
Caelus vanished. And the orb returned them to their own time.
Captain Sisko requested they take a ship to the coordinates they were given. They needed to see these things with their own eyes and also to ensure that the High Command has not moved them.
"We need to take the Defiant." O'Brien said.
"Why?" Kira asked.
"The ship must be cloaked so we are not noticed." Sisko replied.
"Fair point,"
They used the Defiant and reached the target area. They proceeded with caution as they were not sure if the enemy did not have the ability to spot them despite the cloak.
"How exactly are we going to nudge them in the right direction?" Worf asked. He found the task foolhardy.
"That is an excellent question." Sisko said. He did not know how do it gently either. And it was of utmost importance that they did it properly. He was also pensive of the advice he had been given. The prophets have never given him pause in the way Caelus described them but he doubted his words were empty. They had to be based on something. One doesn't start hating someone just because, at least in his book.
'The Alamo' O'Brien and Julian whispered to each other. It was obvious that they couldn't simply give them the coordinates. The logical thing to do is guide them towards where it is and for that they had to use keywords.
They looked at every surrounding star and cluster and phenomenon. And that gave them the answer they sought. Using their orbs they sought to know if this would be enough. The power of the orbs told them that this method has the higher chances of success but still their clues were somewhat abstract but it was worth the risk. They shared their revelation with the others.
"This might work." Worf agreed. It was all the validation they needed. If a warrior could understand these directions then so should the Ichorian rebels.
The Defiant took them to the outskirts of the galaxy but they did not venture beyond it. Very few ships have ever dared to do so. They used the power of their orbs to summon the rebels to them.
Four rebel ships appeared soon after. It would appear they had been monitoring the area. They were given landing coordinates and Nog guided the Defiant inside the iceberg beasts. The landing area was far vaster than expected.
Nog picked a landing spot and put the ship down. The sensors indicated that the atmosphere outside the ship was safe for them.
Four Ichorian rebels stood before the ship. They were of different races as they could tell but were all very stoic and menacing looking.
Dax stepped forward. His hands made a few circular movements that the others understood to be some form of greeting. Last time they tried communication was via ships and coms, and the orbs so they had no physical contact with them. This time they had to do this the proper way.
"May, the light of Arian never dim." Dax said and made some weird form of bow.
The Ichorians smiled to each other (if you could call that a smile) and repeated the greeting though their movements were more fluid than those of Dax. Still, it was clear they appreciated the effort.
"Greetings to you Bearers of Light," The closest to them Ichorian replied. The universal translator had had some trouble with their language so it appeared they had made the effort to learn theirs.
Bearers of Light, Kira processed the greeting. The tears did give out light every time they were accessed so it was an apt description. She wondered how they would proceed with such delicate matter. The book of diplomacy offered many options but this was new territory. Still, they were invited in so there was still hope.
Dax took the lead on this one. He started talking in abstract metaphors to get his audience's interest and to the surprise of his companions it seemed to work. The Ichorians did not interrupt even once.
As Dax conveyed the message they had all agreed upon it was obvious that his words resonated deep into their hosts. A glance to the landing site told them that the Ichorian vessel have jumped to FTL. The journey was not long and the ship emerged into normal space.
Kira had gone to the Defiant to check on the sensors. Last time from a distance it had picked up a solar system with 4 M class planets and 1 Y class. As a solar system it was smaller than most. And now the sensors picked up more data.
The results she did not need to convey to anyone as the Ichorians displayed on a part of the wall in the landing bay. And it was staggering. Everything that Caelus told was the truth but the manner of ships they saw was just as staggering. They were of all sorts and shapes.
The ones that surprised most of them were those that were the shape of a pyramid. Kira remembered some holos of Earth's pyramids and they looked very much like them but bigger and broader. But the interior of the ships, as the Ichorians sent probes to examine them from the inside, was very much like any other Ichorian ship and that proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that the High Command manufactured them.
Kira could see the rage in their hosts rising with every single reveal. It was very frustrating to discover that your history is not what you have been told for eons of generations. And quite understandably anyone would be pissed.
The Ichorians also noticed the surprise on the Bearers of Light. They understood that they knew something about it but not everything, or most of everything. They reasoned they knew of the location just not what it contained. Anger was the least pleasant emotion they felt but the one that hurt the most was betrayal.
The rebels were here mostly because of the iron grip held over their heads and the four galaxies but they still believed in the truthfulness of their history. Now it appeared as though someone had just pulled the rug of their eyes and for the first time they were seeing their history in its true light.
They could not believe that their leaders would be so shallow and callous to conjure up something so sinister that had the potential to endanger the existence of countless races in a different galaxy by making them the villains in a fictional history. But it was what they had done. There were no words to describe this atrocity.
The leader of the rebels waved his hand and the images seized. He approached Kira as she was obviously the leader of the Milky Way party and staggering fell on his knees begging forgiveness for being blind to this...this...he really had no words to describe what has been done.
Kira was uncertain how to respond to this as she was speechless herself. She did not want to believe Caelus that there could be beings capable of such malevolence that did it just because they could. But she had started to believe that there is such thing as Evil. In the past, she thought that the Pah Wraiths were evil but they were nothing compared to these monsters.
Hopefully Dax and Nog helped her out (with the power of their orbs they had seen what to do). The ritual of forgiveness was performed for all that attended and it was mutual (although the Milky Way inhabitants were not at fault even in the slightest they understood what the burden of the name of their galaxy of origin had brought upon these people).
Once it was completed, a weight had fallen off the shoulders of everyone. They could speak plainly now without any second thoughts.
"We have located a suitable place for the children of the Ice." Dax spoke first. He showed the map where Caelus had suggested for them to be. "You would be neighbours with the cyborgs of our galaxy but it is clear they want nothing to do with you and it is the safest place to stretch out your civilisation."
"They did conquer the previous batch of them. " Julian reminded.
"True," The Ichorian rebel leader said. "But our brothers at arms had given up on all hope so they did not put any resistance to the cyborgs' advances. History will not be repeated."
"Well, Julian, they did until the High Command showed up and then their unity pushed back even the Borg's programming." O'Brien said. And that was the truth because the Queen of the Borg could have never predicted this outcome.
Several hours later, the Ichorians left the Bearers of Light back at Deep Space Nine and then left to take the rest of their fleet to their new home. They promised to drop by every now and then perhaps one day once history has been fully understood they could join the Federation, which Kira assured would be most welcomed.
The task of the Bearers was complete. It was time now for farewells. That did not take long though Kira wanted to keep them for as long as possible.
Captain Sisko returned to the wormhole and from there into the Celestial Temple. He had learnt much. He had not forgotten the advice he had been given. But he did not fully trust it. The Prophets had always been good to him even when he did not understand them. Still, the little voice in his head called for patience.
Ambassador Worf returned to his duties on Qo'nos. He had not said much during this adventure though there plenty of times he could have. He had accepted that his wife was in Sto-vo-kor but seeing her again sparked some feelings and confusion. She had to explain to him that she was there but then she was also here. It was a bit confusing but they got the gist of it at some point.
Speaking of Jadzia and Dax had disappeared in a bright light to whatever place of continuation or pit stop they were in before they came to this adventure. They were both glad to be part of it and did not regret returning to their limbo were at all. They each had the time to spend time with the people they loved and cherished, and however brief it had been it was very fulfilling.
Commander Tucker decided to stay and join Section 31 in honour of his friend Malcolm who had nearly hindered his careers because of it. He thought that while they operated in the grey and their decisions were sometimes murky they were a necessary evil that protected the Federation above all else and that was a worthy cause.
Julian and Miles occupied Quark's holo-suits for nearly a month. They had a blast and played all their favourite themes, and some new ones. But then they had to return back to their duties. They promised to come more often though.
Nog also stayed with his uncle Quark for the better part of the year helping with the bar as he had many days of leave but as they ran out he returned back to his duties that came in the form of command of a new type of Federation ship. Quark though perfectly hiding it was very proud of his nephew.
Odo stayed longer than the others. He had a lot to catch up and was even made honourable constable for the duration of his stay. One day, an emissary of the Dominion came to collect him and he went back to the Great Link. He also promised to come more often.
So at last, Kira was alone. She was still commander of DS9 and still had many problems to solve. The unexpected adventure left profound changes in her and enriched her view about many things. She had at least stopped seeing the faces of her friends in the crowds. Now that she knew of their fate she had found peace.
One night she was on the Promenade overlooking the departure area and where the view of the wormhole was the best.
"The plains of heart, hope, light and creation will forever be with you, Child of Bajor." Lord Mystery's voice filled the room. "You can visit them now any time you want."
"Thank you,"
"For what?"
"Everything,"
"I merely guided you to the door you are the one who opened it."
Another voice filled the room and reminded them of what they should have thought of this adventure and its lesson in the first place "The best lesson to be learnt is that Old Friends Never Leave..."
The End
Don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you for being part of this adventure! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have writing it.
Lordheaven
