Commander Crowe sat in Ten Forward, staring sadly at the bottom of his empty glass, lost in thought. Admiral Uhrlaub sat across from him holding a glass half full of a red liquid. "Chuck, you really shouldn't try to drown your sorrows in synthehol. Have some Risan Fielbero juice instead. It's great for the head."

"Rudy, Credosian Merlot, synthesized or not, is the only thing that helps me think. You know that."

"Chuck, like it or not, you're pregnant, and unless that baby has its own food supply in there or sneaks out at night to forage, it's drinking the same things you are. Its immune system certainly isn't ready for anything as strong as Credosian Merlot, and even synthehol can be dangerous to an immune system that weak. As a friend I'm asking you to stop now."

"Why didn't you ask me to stop before I drank it?"

"Because you drank it before I even arrived! Chester, I know you're still convinced Shawn's alive, and I'm inclined to believe you, but we can't concentrate on it now. We need to decide what we're going to do next."

Chester kept staring at the bottom of his glass.

"Alright, Chuck," said the Admiral as he stood up. "I'm going back to my ship, and when you're ready to accept facts and take command—"

"This isn't about taking command, Rudy. I've already done that. I have no problem. I'm just sorting through everything I know about the situation. I'm strategizing."

"Okay. When you're done strategizing, decide whether or not you want to command the Tomcat. Your behavior is very unbecoming of a Starfleet officer."

"You're right, Rudy. I think I'm having those mood swings Lynn warned me about. Apparently Credosian males experience them within the first month of pregnancy."

At that very moment Chuck's communicator pin sounded. "Commander Crowe." It was Jeff's voice.

"Go ahead."

"A ship has just decloaked off the port bow."

"Decloaked? Is it Romulan?"

"No, Commander. It looks like nothing I've ever seen before. It appears to be a Starfleet vessel."

Chuck and Rudy looked at each other in surprise. "I'm on my way. Try to hail it." He darted out of the lounge as the Admiral was transported directly to his own bridge.

"Hail them, Jason." Captain Gerding sat casually in his command chair on the Enchanter.

"Is this normal operating procedure for such a secretive group? Why are you going to let them know you exist?" Captain Thornburg sat in one of the chairs next to Mark.

"Actually, Shawn, normal operating procedure is either to wipe your memory or kill you, depending on the situation. Epsilon cannot afford to be exposed."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I'm exposing Epsilon."

"You just said—"

"Precisely." At that moment the viewscreen displayed the faces of Commander Crowe and Admiral Uhrlaub. Mark stood and addressed them. "I am Captain Mark Gerding of the U.S.S. Enchanter. I believe I've found something that belongs to you." He motioned to Shawn, who then stood beside him.

"Captain! You're alive!" said Chuck. Then he regained his composure and addressed Mark. "I've never heard of any such ship in the Federation."

"And you've probably never heard of the rest of my group, either." He motioned to Commander Konrad, who mumbled something about norms and reluctantly tapped some keys on his workstation.

Behind Commander Crowe, Jeff exclaimed, "Commander, three more ships just decloaked!"

"I will be happy to join you on your ship and explain everything," said Mark.

"That will be very good, Captain," said the Admiral. "Meet us on board the Tomcat at 1630 hours."

"Agreed. Gerding out."

Shawn was now confused even more than before, but it seemed like everything would be explained very shortly.

1630 hours. The Tomcat's briefing room.

Captain Thornburg was finally back on his ship, and sitting at the head of the briefing table. To his right were Commander Crowe, Admiral Uhrlaub, Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Debbs, Lieutenant Commander Self, Doctor Lynn Yerian, and Lieutenant Commander Jordan Johnson. To his left were Captain Mark Gerding, Captain Algar DeHoll, Captain Ivan Wilson, and Captain Cal Martinez.

Captain Gerding spoke first. "How many of you know of Section 31?"

Admiral Uhrlaub replied, "I heard about Section 31 from Dr. Julian Bashir on Deep Space 9. They're supposed to be Starfleet's 'black ops' group." He chuckled.

Self also chimed in. "I had a run-in with them in 2360 when I first joined Starfleet. They tried to recruit me."

"Forget everything you think you know about Section 31. It's a ruse."

"A ruse?" asked Self. "Then who tried to recruit me?"

"Section 31, but that's only become the name on the surface," continued Mark. "It collectively describes all five divisions, but the name itself doubles as a mask to lead any investigators on a wild goose chase. The real Section 31 is the five divisions who have maintained complete secrecy since the early 23rd century."

The rest of the group looked confused, so Captain DeHoll spoke up. "Section 31 has been around since long before Starfleet and the Federation. We were expanded from several similar groups that had been operating since before first contact with the Vulcans. We've been operating in the background, using illegal technology to ensure the safety of Earth, and whatever countries we served before that. Every person who has joined Section 31 has vowed to live as a shadow, giving up their public lives and loved ones to become officially non-existent. We have violated the Prime Directive, countless ethical codes, and even ignored our own moral characters, all in the name of safety and advantage."

Captain Wilson chimed in. "Toward the end of the 22nd century, Section 31's secrecy was beginning to be threatened, so some time in the early-to-mid 23rd century, they split into five sub-groups. For ambiguity, they named themselves with the first five letters of the Greek alphabet. Alpha took over public relations, information control, recruiting, and command of the other four; they were always to refer to it as Section 31 so the existence of the five groups would remain secret. Beta became dedicated to developing weapons and defenses, and stealing or copying those technologies from other sources. Gamma focused on all other technologies, including communication and computing. Delta focused on actual ship construction, incorporating all other technologies into a cohesive whole."

"Which brings us to Epsilon," said Jordan Johnson. "You must have focused on the use of these technologies."

"Precisely," answered Captain Cal Martinez. "We're the executors, the operators. We're the ones who get our hands dirty. We carry out the missions and train the new recruits for a life within Section 31."

"But why are you telling us this and how does it relate to our current situation?" asked Jeffrey Debbs.

Mark replied, "Those two are related, actually. We're telling you because we're simply tired of the wretched beast Section 31 has become."

"And we're in our current situation because of the beast's fear of dying," added Cal.

Mark continued, "You see, Section 31 is only called out when the Federation is truly in danger, like during the Dominion War, or the Earth-Romulan Wars. So whenever there's talk of peace, when the Federation's true goal is about to be realized, Section 31 has taken to . . . manufacturing conflicts."

"That is not logical," stated Jordan. "Peace is the Federation's true goal, and since Section 31 was created to assist in assuring that goal, however contradictory its existence is to that goal—"

"I know where you're going, but you can't base the actions of Section 31 on logic," interrupted Mark. "We've managed to enlist very few Vulcans because of that reason. The Admirals in charge of Section 31 are just short of insane."

"And just who would these Admirals be? And what conflicts have they manufactured?" asked Admiral Uhrlaub.

Captain DeHoll replied, "Arron Cress, Cynthia Cadwell, Sadie Horton, Lane Ervin, Saul Lee, Judas Morris, to name a few. All Admirals."

Admiral Uhrlaub was shocked at the abruptness of the reply, but said, "I know some of those people. I went through the academy with Arron Cress and I've worked with Cynthia and Sadie at length. I don't recognize the other three, though."

"I do," said Shawn. "They were the three 'civilians' I encountered in the brig of the Suundel ship. They claimed to be privately contracted researchers doing work on Aurora Center."

"Actually, Captain Thornburg," said Captain Martinez, "these men were never on the planet. They had been in the brig since before the battlecruisers attacked the planets."

Shawn was visibly curious.

"I'll explain in just a moment," said Mark.

Admiral Uhrlaub was incredulous. "How are we to believe you're telling the truth? What's to keep me from throwing all of you in the brig to await a court martial?"

Captain DeHoll jumped from his seat. "You've seen our ships. You see our uniforms." He activated his personal cloaking device. "Now you can't see me." All of the people at the table were visibly startled except Shawn and the other Epsilon captains. Algar deactivated the device. "What more proof do you need? We're naming names, we're putting our very lives in danger just by being here with you, and all you can do is doubt us?"

Mark moved over to Algar and gently said, "It's okay, Al. Calm down. You know how much I appreciate your sacrifice in all of this."

Algar calmed down and took his seat again. Mark faced the rest of the table. "I'll continue. Easily one of the most notable conflicts that Section 31 manufactured was in 2293. Praxis exploded and the Klingon empire was ready to make peace, which would have meant a very long dry spell for Section 31. Admiral Cartwright was one of the leaders at that time, and Lieutenant Valeris was a member of Alpha. Though their attempt to disrupt the peace process was unsuccessful, it was only due to them that the attempt was even made. And over the years those actions have taken their toll on the stability of the Federation's relationship with the Klingon Empire."

"But it doesn't matter what we've done in the past," interrupted Captain Wilson. "It only matters that Section 31—and Epsilon especially—have manufactured the Suundel crisis on a larger scale than ever before. We've actually taken an introverted race and forced them to form an offensive against the Federation, just so we'd feel useful. That is the main reason we're here right now. This is too terrible, even for our ethics. We four Captains have decided to risk everything to see that Epsilon and Section 31 don't jeopardize yet another chance for peace."

Shawn exclaimed, "So that's why the Suundel interrogator spoke perfect English! You taught him! And we must have been taken to Saanth as a reason for Section 31 to mount a rescue mission."

"Exactly." Mark confirmed Shawn's assumption. "But we interrupted the 'rescue' mission. At this very moment, the members of Epsilon who were chosen for the mission are probably trying to figure out where the prisoners are, and why Admirals Lee, Ervin, and Morris are still there. They were supposed to act as the key figures in the rescue mission to convince all of the prisoners that Section 31 was there to help them. They were an advertisement of sorts. And the Suundel guards we took prisoner were actually defectors to our cause. They wanted out from under the influence of Alpha and they actually helped Commander Konrad during his rescue."

"There's one last thing, Mark," said Shawn. "When I was on Saanth, Tam Elbrun told me that he found out the real target is Earth. Is that true?"

"Yes and no," he replied. "The five Suundel planet-killers are headed for Earth right now, but they're going slowly because they're scheduled to be intercepted and engaged, and possibly destroyed. What we're going to do—"

"Speaking of the planet-killers, wasn't it rather convenient that Klaan and his fellow officers showed up just when they did?" Self's question caused almost every eyebrow in the room to rise.

Mark slapped his head. "How could I have overlooked that! Klaanlwidmic and his crew were sent here to ensure that the planets in the Aurora system were not actually destroyed. They're under the control of Alpha. Where are they now?" Shawn and Chester looked at each other. With a tone of disappointment, Mark said, "Don't tell me they're still on the ship."

"They're on the December," replied Chester. "Their scout ship's here in the Tomcat's shuttlebay."

At that very moment, Admiral Uhrlaub's communicator pin chimed. "Admiral! Admiral!" He immediately recognized Wade Burgan's voice. "Klaan . . . took me by surprise . . . transporting to . . . Tomcat's shuttlebay."

Mark reacted immediately. "Captain Thornburg, raise your shields!"

"Thornburg to bridge. Raise shields immediately."

Ensign Rory Preston's voice replied, "Captain, shields are up, but there seems to be an unscheduled shuttle launch."

"Rory, lock onto that ship with a tractor beam."

"I can't get a lock, Captain. It's . . . it's already gone into warp."

"What are they going to do, Mark?" Shawn sounded aggravated.

"They're going to relate our position, identities, and possible intentions. Ivan, take the Indiana and stop them. The rest of us need to get back to our ships and intercept the planet-killers before the rest of Epsilon does. We need them on our side if we're going to stand a chance against the rest of Epsilon."

Admiral Uhrlaub beamed directly back to the December, Captains Gerding, DeHoll, Wilson, and Martinez beamed directly back to their ships, and everyone else made their way to the Tomcat's bridge. The Enchanter, Alton, and Sol were going to speed ahead and inform the Suundel ships of the situation, while the Tomcat and December contacted anyone within range and requested assistance.

They were on their way to battle, and for the first time since she had been built, the Tomcat would get a chance to show her prowess. But it wasn't going to be a battle of ships or sides, but of ideologies and necessities; a battle of wills; a battle of morals; a battle for honor. A battle for peace.