- CHAPTER 15 -
- ISCV Peace Envoy, 2 days later -
The Peace Envoy was about to become the embodiment of its name. Because it had been his ship that had first detected the alien armada, it was his responsibility to start negotiations with the new species. At least that was what High Command had said. They honored him greatly, for it wasn't every day that a powerful species was encountered. It was the ISC's mandate to bring order and peace to the galaxy, so if these new aliens could be persuaded to live in harmony with the Concordium then so much the better. If however they proved unreasonably hostile to the Concordium's overtures, like the Terran Empire had, then the Pacification Fleet was ready to strike at them rapidly. But with such a strong enemy fleet, the Pacification Fleet, although it would inevitably win, would suffer serious casualties if the attack had to happen.
The new aliens had descended on the asteroid belt and metal rich planets of this insignificant system and began processing the gathered materials in their mammoth ships. Vast tracts of the dense asteroid belt were already devoid of even the smallest pebble, the section vacuumed clean in the alien's thirst for raw materials. The entire process was highly efficient and already there were numerous new small craft added to the already substantial number present.
After two strenuous days of stealthy scouting around the alien fleet's perimeter, the Peace Envoy swung towards the heart of the formation. It wouldn't take the unknown aliens long to pick them up. Even while cloaked, the Peace Envoy had proven at least a fleeting target to the alien's sensors. Their patrols had altered course on several occasions in order to execute high intensity scans of the area where the Peace Envoy had just been. It was both a good will gesture and a desire not to overly alarm the new aliens that the Peace Envoy dropped its cloak. Nearly immediately swarms of light units erupted from their mammoth motherships and vectored in on the lone ISC Frigate's position. As a further gesture of good faith, the Peace Envoy's weapons and shields were powered down. As the range closed, the Meskeen captain ordered a com channel opened.
- Dominion command battleship Founders Wisdom
"Founder, the unknown cruiser is hailing us." The Vorta Weyoun said to the smoothed-faced changeling standing near the middle of the massive battleships command deck. "What is to be our response?"
"Open the channel, but keep it targeted. If they try anything be prepared to attack immediately."
"Of course Founder." Weyoun made a small bow then issued the necessary commands to the Jem'Hadar officers.
Seconds later the eyepiece the Founder wore showed the smooth green skin of a Meskeen. His skin glistened with the light sheen of moisture amphibians needed to survive. His black eyes sat in large bulges on either side of his head, much like a Terran frog. The voice that came through the Founder's ear bug was high pitched and slightly nasal.
"I greet you on behalf of the Interstellar Concordium and welcome you to our space. It is the Concordium's hope that all sentient life can live in harmony with each other."
"Fine words, but we place little stock in the words of solids. Just the same, if we have trespassed on your territory, I apologize. There was no activity within this system, so we assumed that it was unclaimed. We shall depart now." Gone was the time when the Dominion took what it wanted. Even with this powerful concentration of ships, the Dominion couldn't afford to lose them needlessly, especially the larger vessels. They couldn't be replaced nearly as readily as the standard Jem'Hadar attack craft could.
With no worlds left for it to use, it had been forced to continue a sorry existence on board the surviving super carriers and battleships of the Jem'Hadar fleet. There were only a few Founders left. Most of those that survived had been off world when the Terran Empire had launched its surprise attack on the Founder Homeworld. Survived that is if you called having to go on living without the Great Link surviving.
- ISCV Peace Envoy, main bridge -
The Meskeen captain saw opportunity for greatness slipping away from him. The female alien in the orange clothing appeared ready to terminate communication. He had to do something to make her stay in communication longer.
"Wait. It is not my place to pry into your affairs, but how is it that you came to voyage between the stars with no planet to call your own?" Anger flashed on the normally deadpan features of the Founder. The captain didn't know weather that was a good or bad sign, but it did keep the new alien on the com.
"Your right! It is none of your business. I suggest that you leave before we choose to use your ship for target practice! But before I end this communication, I shall give you one piece of advice as a reward for your boldness. If you ever encounter a species known as the Terrans, strike them first and strike hard because you shall otherwise end up like us or worse." Why the Founder decided to warn this nosy species about the Terran Empire escaped her. Perhaps it was because she so deplored the sate the Dominion had been turned into at their hands. Perhaps she was getting sentimental about solids in her old age. But the why didn't matter, the fact that she had named the Terrans was all the Meskeen needed. At the mention of the name, the entire bridge crew tensed.
"Excuse me but did you say Terrans? As in the Terran Empire?"
"Yes. Why? Have you heard of them already?" Out of the camera's pickup the founder began to enter a series of commands into the console. Could she have tipped off one of the Terran's subject species? If that proved the case, she would have to destroy this alien cruiser as quickly as possible.
"As a matter of fact, the Terran Empire is the reason we are here on the fringe of the galaxy. They drove us from our homes long ago. We resettled here in an attempt to rebuild our power base so that when we eventually encountered them again, we could properly defend ourselves."
Was this a solid ruse to entrap the few remaining Dominion forces or was it the truth the founder thought to herself? "I shall require access to your ships database to verify your claims, but if what you say proves true, I may have a proposition for your superiors. The Terran Empire did much the same thing to us relatively recently. If we were to combine our forces, perhaps we could pose an even greater threat to the Terran Empire than either of us would be on our own." After so long in sorrow, the universe had decided to allow a faint ray of hope to shine on the Dominion.
- ISS Hopolite, main bridge, that same time -
On the view screen the massive Borg complex began to glow, an eerie green showing through the lattice work of metal conduits and walkways. Slowly at first but with increasing speed the stars in the center of the Borg construct began to churn. Tendrils of sickly greenish yellow flowed out of the swirling middle. By all indications recovered in the Borg records everything was going exactly like it was supposed to.
Ulysses slouched in his chair, his face a mask showing none of the turmoil that was boiling inside him. The feeling of dread that he had been having since Chriton first said that he was going to use the Borg device was stronger than ever. But there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
"Gravimetric readings are spiking off the chart sir! Radiation levels have risen noticeably but are within acceptable levels."
"Thank you Mr. Sarkis," Ulysses said to the Hopolite's new chief Science Officer. "Can you interpret what the Borg device is creating?"
"It seems to defy classification sir. It is most similar to a wormhole, yet at the same time it doesn't have any of the usual markers for one. I'm sorry sir, that's the best I can do." He actually sounded sorry, which was an indication of just how much better Ulysses system of command was than the normal Fleet style. On most vessels, the only thing the science officer would have been sorry of would have been having to do extra work.
"I understand." Ulysses nodded his thanks.
"And there they go." P'tel said from the chair to his right.
Ulysses turned his eyes back to the view screen. As he watched the ships of 24th fleet began to disappear into the gaping yellow green maw of the artificial Borg wormhole. The crazy fool, Ulysses thought, he's sending his entire fleet through at once, not even bothering to scout the other end first.
"As soon as the last ship of 24th fleet is though, I want Starfleet HQ raised on subspace. I'll take the call in my ready room." Chriton had insisted on a com blackout, most likely to prevent HQ from learning of his foolhardy plans and putting a stop to them. He may be insane and had evidently lost even the limited tactical sense he had once possessed, but he still knew how to play the system to get what he wanted. Orders that HQ didn't know about were ones that couldn't be countermanded. As he watched the first of 24th fleets cap ships disappeared into the artificial wormhole, all Ulysses could do was sit and stew over the sheer stupidity of it.
-The new enemy had reactivated the portal that the first enemy had used to enter the Race's space. And like the first enemy, they sent a fleet of vessels through. But unlike the first enemy, these used much smaller ships. So much the better, for they would be that much easier to kill once they were engaged by the Race's fleet. It appeared that the only ship that was going to stay behind was the first one that had entered the system after it had been scoured clean of the first enemies. This was good because it should prove no match for the Race's picket cruiser. As the last of the enemy fleet disappeared into the portal, the picket cruiser powered up its systems from extreme low power to EMCON stealth status and began to stalk the lone unaware enemy left in rear guard. -
- ISCV Peace Envoy, 2 days later -
The Peace Envoy was about to become the embodiment of its name. Because it had been his ship that had first detected the alien armada, it was his responsibility to start negotiations with the new species. At least that was what High Command had said. They honored him greatly, for it wasn't every day that a powerful species was encountered. It was the ISC's mandate to bring order and peace to the galaxy, so if these new aliens could be persuaded to live in harmony with the Concordium then so much the better. If however they proved unreasonably hostile to the Concordium's overtures, like the Terran Empire had, then the Pacification Fleet was ready to strike at them rapidly. But with such a strong enemy fleet, the Pacification Fleet, although it would inevitably win, would suffer serious casualties if the attack had to happen.
The new aliens had descended on the asteroid belt and metal rich planets of this insignificant system and began processing the gathered materials in their mammoth ships. Vast tracts of the dense asteroid belt were already devoid of even the smallest pebble, the section vacuumed clean in the alien's thirst for raw materials. The entire process was highly efficient and already there were numerous new small craft added to the already substantial number present.
After two strenuous days of stealthy scouting around the alien fleet's perimeter, the Peace Envoy swung towards the heart of the formation. It wouldn't take the unknown aliens long to pick them up. Even while cloaked, the Peace Envoy had proven at least a fleeting target to the alien's sensors. Their patrols had altered course on several occasions in order to execute high intensity scans of the area where the Peace Envoy had just been. It was both a good will gesture and a desire not to overly alarm the new aliens that the Peace Envoy dropped its cloak. Nearly immediately swarms of light units erupted from their mammoth motherships and vectored in on the lone ISC Frigate's position. As a further gesture of good faith, the Peace Envoy's weapons and shields were powered down. As the range closed, the Meskeen captain ordered a com channel opened.
- Dominion command battleship Founders Wisdom
"Founder, the unknown cruiser is hailing us." The Vorta Weyoun said to the smoothed-faced changeling standing near the middle of the massive battleships command deck. "What is to be our response?"
"Open the channel, but keep it targeted. If they try anything be prepared to attack immediately."
"Of course Founder." Weyoun made a small bow then issued the necessary commands to the Jem'Hadar officers.
Seconds later the eyepiece the Founder wore showed the smooth green skin of a Meskeen. His skin glistened with the light sheen of moisture amphibians needed to survive. His black eyes sat in large bulges on either side of his head, much like a Terran frog. The voice that came through the Founder's ear bug was high pitched and slightly nasal.
"I greet you on behalf of the Interstellar Concordium and welcome you to our space. It is the Concordium's hope that all sentient life can live in harmony with each other."
"Fine words, but we place little stock in the words of solids. Just the same, if we have trespassed on your territory, I apologize. There was no activity within this system, so we assumed that it was unclaimed. We shall depart now." Gone was the time when the Dominion took what it wanted. Even with this powerful concentration of ships, the Dominion couldn't afford to lose them needlessly, especially the larger vessels. They couldn't be replaced nearly as readily as the standard Jem'Hadar attack craft could.
With no worlds left for it to use, it had been forced to continue a sorry existence on board the surviving super carriers and battleships of the Jem'Hadar fleet. There were only a few Founders left. Most of those that survived had been off world when the Terran Empire had launched its surprise attack on the Founder Homeworld. Survived that is if you called having to go on living without the Great Link surviving.
- ISCV Peace Envoy, main bridge -
The Meskeen captain saw opportunity for greatness slipping away from him. The female alien in the orange clothing appeared ready to terminate communication. He had to do something to make her stay in communication longer.
"Wait. It is not my place to pry into your affairs, but how is it that you came to voyage between the stars with no planet to call your own?" Anger flashed on the normally deadpan features of the Founder. The captain didn't know weather that was a good or bad sign, but it did keep the new alien on the com.
"Your right! It is none of your business. I suggest that you leave before we choose to use your ship for target practice! But before I end this communication, I shall give you one piece of advice as a reward for your boldness. If you ever encounter a species known as the Terrans, strike them first and strike hard because you shall otherwise end up like us or worse." Why the Founder decided to warn this nosy species about the Terran Empire escaped her. Perhaps it was because she so deplored the sate the Dominion had been turned into at their hands. Perhaps she was getting sentimental about solids in her old age. But the why didn't matter, the fact that she had named the Terrans was all the Meskeen needed. At the mention of the name, the entire bridge crew tensed.
"Excuse me but did you say Terrans? As in the Terran Empire?"
"Yes. Why? Have you heard of them already?" Out of the camera's pickup the founder began to enter a series of commands into the console. Could she have tipped off one of the Terran's subject species? If that proved the case, she would have to destroy this alien cruiser as quickly as possible.
"As a matter of fact, the Terran Empire is the reason we are here on the fringe of the galaxy. They drove us from our homes long ago. We resettled here in an attempt to rebuild our power base so that when we eventually encountered them again, we could properly defend ourselves."
Was this a solid ruse to entrap the few remaining Dominion forces or was it the truth the founder thought to herself? "I shall require access to your ships database to verify your claims, but if what you say proves true, I may have a proposition for your superiors. The Terran Empire did much the same thing to us relatively recently. If we were to combine our forces, perhaps we could pose an even greater threat to the Terran Empire than either of us would be on our own." After so long in sorrow, the universe had decided to allow a faint ray of hope to shine on the Dominion.
- ISS Hopolite, main bridge, that same time -
On the view screen the massive Borg complex began to glow, an eerie green showing through the lattice work of metal conduits and walkways. Slowly at first but with increasing speed the stars in the center of the Borg construct began to churn. Tendrils of sickly greenish yellow flowed out of the swirling middle. By all indications recovered in the Borg records everything was going exactly like it was supposed to.
Ulysses slouched in his chair, his face a mask showing none of the turmoil that was boiling inside him. The feeling of dread that he had been having since Chriton first said that he was going to use the Borg device was stronger than ever. But there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
"Gravimetric readings are spiking off the chart sir! Radiation levels have risen noticeably but are within acceptable levels."
"Thank you Mr. Sarkis," Ulysses said to the Hopolite's new chief Science Officer. "Can you interpret what the Borg device is creating?"
"It seems to defy classification sir. It is most similar to a wormhole, yet at the same time it doesn't have any of the usual markers for one. I'm sorry sir, that's the best I can do." He actually sounded sorry, which was an indication of just how much better Ulysses system of command was than the normal Fleet style. On most vessels, the only thing the science officer would have been sorry of would have been having to do extra work.
"I understand." Ulysses nodded his thanks.
"And there they go." P'tel said from the chair to his right.
Ulysses turned his eyes back to the view screen. As he watched the ships of 24th fleet began to disappear into the gaping yellow green maw of the artificial Borg wormhole. The crazy fool, Ulysses thought, he's sending his entire fleet through at once, not even bothering to scout the other end first.
"As soon as the last ship of 24th fleet is though, I want Starfleet HQ raised on subspace. I'll take the call in my ready room." Chriton had insisted on a com blackout, most likely to prevent HQ from learning of his foolhardy plans and putting a stop to them. He may be insane and had evidently lost even the limited tactical sense he had once possessed, but he still knew how to play the system to get what he wanted. Orders that HQ didn't know about were ones that couldn't be countermanded. As he watched the first of 24th fleets cap ships disappeared into the artificial wormhole, all Ulysses could do was sit and stew over the sheer stupidity of it.
-The new enemy had reactivated the portal that the first enemy had used to enter the Race's space. And like the first enemy, they sent a fleet of vessels through. But unlike the first enemy, these used much smaller ships. So much the better, for they would be that much easier to kill once they were engaged by the Race's fleet. It appeared that the only ship that was going to stay behind was the first one that had entered the system after it had been scoured clean of the first enemies. This was good because it should prove no match for the Race's picket cruiser. As the last of the enemy fleet disappeared into the portal, the picket cruiser powered up its systems from extreme low power to EMCON stealth status and began to stalk the lone unaware enemy left in rear guard. -