Chapter 18 - Lightning War
ISS Voyager, Vaadwaur Prime, Delta Quadrant
"Wait, you say that you recently had a major war with the Borg Collective?" The Vaadwaur said incredulously as he and Cavit walked down one of Voyager's hallways. "Before we lost our empire and went into stasis, the Borg had only a handful of planets near the galactic rim. How could an Empire as impressive as yours even been slowed down by such an inconsequential foe?"
"Things have changed in the centuries since you and the others entered stasis." Cavit replied. "The Borg expanded to take nearly two thirds of the quadrant before we first encountered them. It was extremely good fortune that we encountered them first rather than the other way around. While our ships are powerful," The Vaadwaur nodded his understanding, for this Imperial Cruiser was a match for a pre fall Vaadwaur Battleship, "we would have been hard pressed to hold off an all out Borg assault on our space. So we studied them, learned their weaknesses and exploited them while eliminating their advantages over us. And then, when we were ready, we struck and struck hard. It wasn't an easy fight, but the downfall of the Borg was determined after the first engagement was successfully concluded."
The Vaadwaur smiled. "Are you sure your species originated in the alpha quadrant Captain? What you describe is almost as cunning a strategy as one of my people would have developed. Even though there is much you could teach us, I don't think that our two peoples are all that different. We each value strong leadership and decisive action against threats."
"I'm glad to hear it, because there is a new threat to my people coming to light. Two of our enemies thought vanquished have seemingly joined forces. Combined, the Interstellar Concordium and the Dominion pose a significant threat if they attack with the Empire unprepared and unawares. Of my Battlegroup, only my ship escaped. I must bring word back to the Empire, the very survival of our way of life may be at stake."
"And now we come to the heart of the matter." The alien stopped and turned directly towards Cavit. The cobra like frills down the sides of his neck were clearly visible from his change in profile. "You want access to our corridor information so that you may plot your way home by the most direct route."
This alien was no fool, even if he was from a fallen empire Cavit thought. "That's exactly what I want. I am sure the Emperor will reimburse you generously for the information, and I am willing to share corridor charts that you have no knowledge of over and above what he may be willing to give you."
"Very well, I shall take your proposal to the others so that we may decide our course of action. We shall give you our decision shortly."
Underground Stasis Facility, Vaadwaur Prime
".So that's their proposition."
"I say we attack Voyager and take her for our own. With her as the beginnings of a fleet, we could carve out a new empire for ourselves."
"Are you mad? Voyager is part of an empire that spans half the galaxy. Even during our height, we only controlled a quarter of this quadrant. Think of the resources that we would gain with such a power as our ally. Voyager's Captain has told me of a wondrous device his people possess. It can turn a lifeless world into a living one near instantly. Think of it, Vaadwaur Prime could be made lush and vibrant again without many, many years of exhausting terraforming. In minutes we would have our homeworld back, able to use it as a base of operations to expand and begin bringing our empire back from the dead."
"But we have no assurance that this Emperor of theirs will do anything for us!"
"But nothing!" The chief Vaadwaur cut his argumentative companion off. "I have seen Voyager, you have not. She is a warship, and her crew are soldiers. While we may outnumber them close to four to one, they have weapons that make our best energy rifle look like a flashlight in comparison. Even if we could take the ship, she is a mere Cruiser. Think of what we could receive if we save the Terran Empire from this new threat. The Dominion we haven't heard of, but the ISC we have. While in our time they were a loose amalgam of telepathic races with an odd ideology of bringing all species into peaceful coexistence through force of arms, the information Captain Cavit has provided indicates that they expanded considerably in our absence, as well as grew strong militarily. It was fortunate that they still kept their sense of superiority, for it was that alone that allowed the Terrans to beat them the first time they came. If they are a resurgent power so close to our own world, how do you propose that we remain outside their influence? No, I say we help these Imperials as much as we can, for they are much more preferable than any of the other powers that will inevitably come looking to bring us to heel. The Turei and their allies might even come again, and in our current state they could easily wipe us out once and for all."
"Very well, we shall aid these Imperials in their search." The argumentative Vaadwaur conceded. "But let it be on your head if bad things come from this union." With the chief supporter of all counter arguments switching sides, it became a forgone conclusion as to which faction would win the debate.
ISS Voyager, Command Staff Briefing Room, That same time
"I vote that we go down there now and take what we need from these lesser beings. Their technology is antiquated and they would be no match for our Marines!" Lt. Kim argued passionately. "We could even beam down a paralytic aerosol before they knew what was happening, then bring them up here and make them give us the information."
"Given the scans we have of their physiology, I am certain I could rapidly produce a suitable compound that would act as a truth serum in their species. In fact, they are quite similar in their biochemical response factors to the Pichartialn of Delta Timor Seven. With a few minor modifications to that species drug baselines, I could easily manufacture anything you would want to use, from voluntary nerve inhibitors to individual specific biotoxins." The EMH piped up from the wall com panel.
"That may not prove necessary." Tuvok replied with a raised eyebrow at the overzealous Kim and the EMH. "We do not yet know their decision. A preemptive strike in these circumstances could prove to be counter productive. I propose that we wait till we have their decision before we take any proactive action. If it is favorable, then we will not have to take any action at all while gaining the information we desire. If it isn't, it won't take long to implement any of these plans and extract the information from the Vaadwaur weather they are willing to provide it or not."
"I see what you're getting at Cmdr." Cavit replied. "It's the old carrot and stick routine. Give them the carrot, but if they still won't comply, we use the till then hidden stick. I like it." Cavit looked up at the EMH's image on the com panel. It was still felt slightly odd to Cavit to be talking to a computer program rather than a fellow living being, but till Voyager returned to Imperial space, there were no more qualified Medical personnel on the ship. "Prepare everything you need short of actual synthesis of the agents but do not create the agents themselves. We still have a day of repairs left, even with the help the Vaadwaur have been providing, before we have to leave. We'll wait and see their response before we proceed further." A chorus of ayes came from his officers acknowledging that they understood. Cavit was still irritated that Voyagers long range coms had sustained to much damage to be repaired in field, but he hoped to be able to sneak back to Imperial space before that handicap could prove catastrophic.
ISS Voyager, Command Staff Briefing Room, Two Hours Later
"You made the right choice." Cavit told the Vaadwaur, flashing the snake- head a tooth filled smile. He passed a PADD containing all known subspace corridor lanes in the Delta Quadrant across the table to him. The Vaadwaur studied them in silence for a few minutes, then returned Cavit's smile.
"These charts match some of our explored lanes perfectly, and those that are unknown to me are from spacial coordinates that are unexplored by my people. This is no fake, for if it was, there wouldn't be any correlation at all between our charts and yours. Yet where the two overlap, they are identical." The alien reached into his clothing and pulled out a device similar to a Starfleet PADD. He slid it across the table to Cavit. "These are records of all the mapped subspace corridors known to the Vaadwaur. As you can see, they intersect your explored ones at quite a few points, even though we explored more towards the galactic fringe, out towards what you know as Kazon, Ocampan and Talaxian space." The alien shook his head slowly, his eyes getting a far away look. "So much time has been lost. When we were forced into stasis, it was only to be for a few months, enough time to let our enemies think we were beaten. They would have fallen on each other rather quickly, for they hated their other allies almost as much as they hated us. Without their cohesion, they would have fallen even before our small remnant of our former strength." A small sigh escaped him. "Over 900 years slipping away from us while we slept unawares in stasis. So much lost time to make up for."
"With the Empire's help, you will get that time. You have done us a great service, and the Empire remembers its friends."
Then, without warning, the massive grounded bulk of Voyager shuddered noticeably. Both the Vaadwaur and Cavit birthed near mirror image frowns of concern. Tuvok raised a questioning eyebrow from his seat at Scot's side. A melodic yet piercing tone sounded throughout Voyager as the alert displays scattered throughout the ship shifted to yellow alert. The Captain's combadge chirped and he slapped it in acknowledgement almost instantly.
"Cavit here. What's going on?" As he spoke, the ship shuddered again.
"Captain, sensors are indicating weapons fire is impacting the planet. The ISC and Dominion forces have apparently satisfied themselves that we didn't continue on through the corridor network and have come back here to ensure we won't escape to the Empire. Since the weapons fire is currently impacting on the far side of the planet we should be fairly safe till we get Voyager ready for lift off."
"Make all haste Lt. Kim. I'll be on the bridge momentarily." Cavit and Tuvok got up, making for the door to the bridge with the Vaadwaur getting up to join them. Voyager shuddered again as the seismic shock of the distant weapons fire was transferred through the deployed landing struts. Suddenly the Briefing Room was light as if by a flash bulb going off outside its sloped windows. A blast front moving through the heavily contaminated atmosphere lashed Voyager's shields even as the debris carried with it struck their energized barrier. A massive roar was heard even as the rocky earth itself rippled like a wave filled ocean. Cavit's ship bucked like a spooked animal as the ground beneath her shifted drastically. Scott, Tuvok, the Vaadwaur and two body armored security officers stumbled, nearly falling to the deck, then staggered through the door onto the bridge. Behind them, a giant mushroom cloud was visible where the now dimming sun bright strobe had been birthed. Molten chunks of bedrock, some the size of battlecruisers, began to rain down in columns of hellfire even as molten lava began to spew freely from the new crack in Vaadwaur Prime's crust.
By this time red alert klaxons were lighting off, adding their atonal wail to the steady rumble that immersed the landed starship. Cavit half sat, half fell into his chair and the Vaadwaur gripped the railing with the whitened knuckles of one hand while the other brought a communication device to his lips.
"Mr. Paris, get us the HELL out of here!" Cavit yelled to be heard above the cacophony of sound on the bridge. For once, there was no snide undertone to his helmsman's reply.
"Aye Sir." Tom Parris said as he began to furiously enter commands into his console. The ship slipped into the air almost immediately, and the rumble and shaking stopped almost entirely as Voyager began to claw her way into the upper atmosphere before her landing struts had even fully retracted. The external view on the main viewscreen rolled and twisted in a stomach churning display as Tom rolled and pirouetted the swift Imperial cruiser out of the enemy's blind fire barrage.
"Captain, the near miss was a gigaton range plasma torpedo striking 107.93 km due planetary east of our landing site." Tuvok reported from his station at Tactical. "Scanners report that all Vaadwaur ships have launched and are converging on our position."
"Launch a Stealth Probe to scout out an escape vector. Mr. Kim, plot a corridor route that will be the least time course back to Imperial space and send it to Helm. I assume that your people will be joining us in our escape Falran?" Cavit said over his shoulder to the Vaadwaur.
"We will indeed Captain Cavit. Since your enemies are so willing to further destroy our planet in an attempt to get you, it is no longer safe for us to remain here. We shall return with you and aid you any way we can."
"Excellent."
"Captain, the probe has found a hole in the orbiting fleet that we can exploit." Tuvok said from across the bridge.
"Do it!" Cavit replied.
The sleek form of an Imperial Intrepid Class cruiser in charcoal black punched through the final layer of concealing atmosphere and into the ebon vastness of space. Seconds later, a gaggle of close to one hundred Vaadwaur Frigates burst heavenward in her wake. Presented with a viable target solution on their true quarry at last, the bombarding fleet ceased fire on the near lifeless Class L world and swung into pursuit of Voyager. There were dozens of them, of both ISC and Dominion design, ranging in size from Frigates to Battlecruisers. The fleeter ISC craft closed on the small Imperial vessel and it's unexpected consorts, but just as they got into extreme range they were rudely surprised. Vaadwaur Frigates swung about, lining up with their chosen targets. Rippling, expanding waves of reddish energy spawned from their weapons mounts, streaking outward to intersect with the oncoming enemy ships. The enemy ships acted as if swatted aside by a giant hand. They tumbled out of control, some colliding with each other causing their shields to spark and glow when they met. They remained confused just long enough to allow Voyager and the Vaadwaur to escape into the corridor network, once again slipping through the Galactic Unities grasp.
Cavit looked over his shoulder toward the Vaadwaur questioningly. "We call it a Flux Wave Captain. We find it very useful to discourage pursuit." The alien replied. Cavit nodded and turned back to stare at the main viewer, but the wheels in his head were spinning as to what Imperial Engineers could do with that weapons system. He was still thinking when his command and its escort entered the subspace corridor network and laid in their course for Imperial Space.
ISS Voyager, Main Bridge, Six Days Later, Enroute to Imperial Space
Cavit stared in abject horror at the main viewer, mouth agape and eyes hollow. His very soul cried out for mercy from the image it displayed, but Voyager's central computer couldn't read her Captain's soul and wouldn't have changed what the viewer displayed even if it could.
Close to 3000 vessels, mostly of Interstellar Concordium manufacture, had joined this corridor via an adjoining branch less than a minute earlier, meeting up with the force already pursuing him and the Vaadwaur ships. It wouldn't matter that Voyager would arrive ahead of all of them, for he now knew that he was far to late. The pending invasion he had sought to warn the Empire about was ALREADY underway, and his warning would be scant minutes before it struck its targets.
ISS Voyager, Vaadwaur Prime, Delta Quadrant
"Wait, you say that you recently had a major war with the Borg Collective?" The Vaadwaur said incredulously as he and Cavit walked down one of Voyager's hallways. "Before we lost our empire and went into stasis, the Borg had only a handful of planets near the galactic rim. How could an Empire as impressive as yours even been slowed down by such an inconsequential foe?"
"Things have changed in the centuries since you and the others entered stasis." Cavit replied. "The Borg expanded to take nearly two thirds of the quadrant before we first encountered them. It was extremely good fortune that we encountered them first rather than the other way around. While our ships are powerful," The Vaadwaur nodded his understanding, for this Imperial Cruiser was a match for a pre fall Vaadwaur Battleship, "we would have been hard pressed to hold off an all out Borg assault on our space. So we studied them, learned their weaknesses and exploited them while eliminating their advantages over us. And then, when we were ready, we struck and struck hard. It wasn't an easy fight, but the downfall of the Borg was determined after the first engagement was successfully concluded."
The Vaadwaur smiled. "Are you sure your species originated in the alpha quadrant Captain? What you describe is almost as cunning a strategy as one of my people would have developed. Even though there is much you could teach us, I don't think that our two peoples are all that different. We each value strong leadership and decisive action against threats."
"I'm glad to hear it, because there is a new threat to my people coming to light. Two of our enemies thought vanquished have seemingly joined forces. Combined, the Interstellar Concordium and the Dominion pose a significant threat if they attack with the Empire unprepared and unawares. Of my Battlegroup, only my ship escaped. I must bring word back to the Empire, the very survival of our way of life may be at stake."
"And now we come to the heart of the matter." The alien stopped and turned directly towards Cavit. The cobra like frills down the sides of his neck were clearly visible from his change in profile. "You want access to our corridor information so that you may plot your way home by the most direct route."
This alien was no fool, even if he was from a fallen empire Cavit thought. "That's exactly what I want. I am sure the Emperor will reimburse you generously for the information, and I am willing to share corridor charts that you have no knowledge of over and above what he may be willing to give you."
"Very well, I shall take your proposal to the others so that we may decide our course of action. We shall give you our decision shortly."
Underground Stasis Facility, Vaadwaur Prime
".So that's their proposition."
"I say we attack Voyager and take her for our own. With her as the beginnings of a fleet, we could carve out a new empire for ourselves."
"Are you mad? Voyager is part of an empire that spans half the galaxy. Even during our height, we only controlled a quarter of this quadrant. Think of the resources that we would gain with such a power as our ally. Voyager's Captain has told me of a wondrous device his people possess. It can turn a lifeless world into a living one near instantly. Think of it, Vaadwaur Prime could be made lush and vibrant again without many, many years of exhausting terraforming. In minutes we would have our homeworld back, able to use it as a base of operations to expand and begin bringing our empire back from the dead."
"But we have no assurance that this Emperor of theirs will do anything for us!"
"But nothing!" The chief Vaadwaur cut his argumentative companion off. "I have seen Voyager, you have not. She is a warship, and her crew are soldiers. While we may outnumber them close to four to one, they have weapons that make our best energy rifle look like a flashlight in comparison. Even if we could take the ship, she is a mere Cruiser. Think of what we could receive if we save the Terran Empire from this new threat. The Dominion we haven't heard of, but the ISC we have. While in our time they were a loose amalgam of telepathic races with an odd ideology of bringing all species into peaceful coexistence through force of arms, the information Captain Cavit has provided indicates that they expanded considerably in our absence, as well as grew strong militarily. It was fortunate that they still kept their sense of superiority, for it was that alone that allowed the Terrans to beat them the first time they came. If they are a resurgent power so close to our own world, how do you propose that we remain outside their influence? No, I say we help these Imperials as much as we can, for they are much more preferable than any of the other powers that will inevitably come looking to bring us to heel. The Turei and their allies might even come again, and in our current state they could easily wipe us out once and for all."
"Very well, we shall aid these Imperials in their search." The argumentative Vaadwaur conceded. "But let it be on your head if bad things come from this union." With the chief supporter of all counter arguments switching sides, it became a forgone conclusion as to which faction would win the debate.
ISS Voyager, Command Staff Briefing Room, That same time
"I vote that we go down there now and take what we need from these lesser beings. Their technology is antiquated and they would be no match for our Marines!" Lt. Kim argued passionately. "We could even beam down a paralytic aerosol before they knew what was happening, then bring them up here and make them give us the information."
"Given the scans we have of their physiology, I am certain I could rapidly produce a suitable compound that would act as a truth serum in their species. In fact, they are quite similar in their biochemical response factors to the Pichartialn of Delta Timor Seven. With a few minor modifications to that species drug baselines, I could easily manufacture anything you would want to use, from voluntary nerve inhibitors to individual specific biotoxins." The EMH piped up from the wall com panel.
"That may not prove necessary." Tuvok replied with a raised eyebrow at the overzealous Kim and the EMH. "We do not yet know their decision. A preemptive strike in these circumstances could prove to be counter productive. I propose that we wait till we have their decision before we take any proactive action. If it is favorable, then we will not have to take any action at all while gaining the information we desire. If it isn't, it won't take long to implement any of these plans and extract the information from the Vaadwaur weather they are willing to provide it or not."
"I see what you're getting at Cmdr." Cavit replied. "It's the old carrot and stick routine. Give them the carrot, but if they still won't comply, we use the till then hidden stick. I like it." Cavit looked up at the EMH's image on the com panel. It was still felt slightly odd to Cavit to be talking to a computer program rather than a fellow living being, but till Voyager returned to Imperial space, there were no more qualified Medical personnel on the ship. "Prepare everything you need short of actual synthesis of the agents but do not create the agents themselves. We still have a day of repairs left, even with the help the Vaadwaur have been providing, before we have to leave. We'll wait and see their response before we proceed further." A chorus of ayes came from his officers acknowledging that they understood. Cavit was still irritated that Voyagers long range coms had sustained to much damage to be repaired in field, but he hoped to be able to sneak back to Imperial space before that handicap could prove catastrophic.
ISS Voyager, Command Staff Briefing Room, Two Hours Later
"You made the right choice." Cavit told the Vaadwaur, flashing the snake- head a tooth filled smile. He passed a PADD containing all known subspace corridor lanes in the Delta Quadrant across the table to him. The Vaadwaur studied them in silence for a few minutes, then returned Cavit's smile.
"These charts match some of our explored lanes perfectly, and those that are unknown to me are from spacial coordinates that are unexplored by my people. This is no fake, for if it was, there wouldn't be any correlation at all between our charts and yours. Yet where the two overlap, they are identical." The alien reached into his clothing and pulled out a device similar to a Starfleet PADD. He slid it across the table to Cavit. "These are records of all the mapped subspace corridors known to the Vaadwaur. As you can see, they intersect your explored ones at quite a few points, even though we explored more towards the galactic fringe, out towards what you know as Kazon, Ocampan and Talaxian space." The alien shook his head slowly, his eyes getting a far away look. "So much time has been lost. When we were forced into stasis, it was only to be for a few months, enough time to let our enemies think we were beaten. They would have fallen on each other rather quickly, for they hated their other allies almost as much as they hated us. Without their cohesion, they would have fallen even before our small remnant of our former strength." A small sigh escaped him. "Over 900 years slipping away from us while we slept unawares in stasis. So much lost time to make up for."
"With the Empire's help, you will get that time. You have done us a great service, and the Empire remembers its friends."
Then, without warning, the massive grounded bulk of Voyager shuddered noticeably. Both the Vaadwaur and Cavit birthed near mirror image frowns of concern. Tuvok raised a questioning eyebrow from his seat at Scot's side. A melodic yet piercing tone sounded throughout Voyager as the alert displays scattered throughout the ship shifted to yellow alert. The Captain's combadge chirped and he slapped it in acknowledgement almost instantly.
"Cavit here. What's going on?" As he spoke, the ship shuddered again.
"Captain, sensors are indicating weapons fire is impacting the planet. The ISC and Dominion forces have apparently satisfied themselves that we didn't continue on through the corridor network and have come back here to ensure we won't escape to the Empire. Since the weapons fire is currently impacting on the far side of the planet we should be fairly safe till we get Voyager ready for lift off."
"Make all haste Lt. Kim. I'll be on the bridge momentarily." Cavit and Tuvok got up, making for the door to the bridge with the Vaadwaur getting up to join them. Voyager shuddered again as the seismic shock of the distant weapons fire was transferred through the deployed landing struts. Suddenly the Briefing Room was light as if by a flash bulb going off outside its sloped windows. A blast front moving through the heavily contaminated atmosphere lashed Voyager's shields even as the debris carried with it struck their energized barrier. A massive roar was heard even as the rocky earth itself rippled like a wave filled ocean. Cavit's ship bucked like a spooked animal as the ground beneath her shifted drastically. Scott, Tuvok, the Vaadwaur and two body armored security officers stumbled, nearly falling to the deck, then staggered through the door onto the bridge. Behind them, a giant mushroom cloud was visible where the now dimming sun bright strobe had been birthed. Molten chunks of bedrock, some the size of battlecruisers, began to rain down in columns of hellfire even as molten lava began to spew freely from the new crack in Vaadwaur Prime's crust.
By this time red alert klaxons were lighting off, adding their atonal wail to the steady rumble that immersed the landed starship. Cavit half sat, half fell into his chair and the Vaadwaur gripped the railing with the whitened knuckles of one hand while the other brought a communication device to his lips.
"Mr. Paris, get us the HELL out of here!" Cavit yelled to be heard above the cacophony of sound on the bridge. For once, there was no snide undertone to his helmsman's reply.
"Aye Sir." Tom Parris said as he began to furiously enter commands into his console. The ship slipped into the air almost immediately, and the rumble and shaking stopped almost entirely as Voyager began to claw her way into the upper atmosphere before her landing struts had even fully retracted. The external view on the main viewscreen rolled and twisted in a stomach churning display as Tom rolled and pirouetted the swift Imperial cruiser out of the enemy's blind fire barrage.
"Captain, the near miss was a gigaton range plasma torpedo striking 107.93 km due planetary east of our landing site." Tuvok reported from his station at Tactical. "Scanners report that all Vaadwaur ships have launched and are converging on our position."
"Launch a Stealth Probe to scout out an escape vector. Mr. Kim, plot a corridor route that will be the least time course back to Imperial space and send it to Helm. I assume that your people will be joining us in our escape Falran?" Cavit said over his shoulder to the Vaadwaur.
"We will indeed Captain Cavit. Since your enemies are so willing to further destroy our planet in an attempt to get you, it is no longer safe for us to remain here. We shall return with you and aid you any way we can."
"Excellent."
"Captain, the probe has found a hole in the orbiting fleet that we can exploit." Tuvok said from across the bridge.
"Do it!" Cavit replied.
The sleek form of an Imperial Intrepid Class cruiser in charcoal black punched through the final layer of concealing atmosphere and into the ebon vastness of space. Seconds later, a gaggle of close to one hundred Vaadwaur Frigates burst heavenward in her wake. Presented with a viable target solution on their true quarry at last, the bombarding fleet ceased fire on the near lifeless Class L world and swung into pursuit of Voyager. There were dozens of them, of both ISC and Dominion design, ranging in size from Frigates to Battlecruisers. The fleeter ISC craft closed on the small Imperial vessel and it's unexpected consorts, but just as they got into extreme range they were rudely surprised. Vaadwaur Frigates swung about, lining up with their chosen targets. Rippling, expanding waves of reddish energy spawned from their weapons mounts, streaking outward to intersect with the oncoming enemy ships. The enemy ships acted as if swatted aside by a giant hand. They tumbled out of control, some colliding with each other causing their shields to spark and glow when they met. They remained confused just long enough to allow Voyager and the Vaadwaur to escape into the corridor network, once again slipping through the Galactic Unities grasp.
Cavit looked over his shoulder toward the Vaadwaur questioningly. "We call it a Flux Wave Captain. We find it very useful to discourage pursuit." The alien replied. Cavit nodded and turned back to stare at the main viewer, but the wheels in his head were spinning as to what Imperial Engineers could do with that weapons system. He was still thinking when his command and its escort entered the subspace corridor network and laid in their course for Imperial Space.
ISS Voyager, Main Bridge, Six Days Later, Enroute to Imperial Space
Cavit stared in abject horror at the main viewer, mouth agape and eyes hollow. His very soul cried out for mercy from the image it displayed, but Voyager's central computer couldn't read her Captain's soul and wouldn't have changed what the viewer displayed even if it could.
Close to 3000 vessels, mostly of Interstellar Concordium manufacture, had joined this corridor via an adjoining branch less than a minute earlier, meeting up with the force already pursuing him and the Vaadwaur ships. It wouldn't matter that Voyager would arrive ahead of all of them, for he now knew that he was far to late. The pending invasion he had sought to warn the Empire about was ALREADY underway, and his warning would be scant minutes before it struck its targets.