Written by the Victors, Chapter One

"There's no place for us on Earth. Or anywhere else."

-Malik, "The Augments"

---

The cell Jason found himself in was lush, brightly lit with tapestries hanging from the walls. A large bed dominated one end of the room, covered in silken sheets. Food was laid out across an oak table, freshly prepared meats with several varieties of wine waiting to be poured.

Still, a gilded cage is a cage nonetheless.

After Rakiin had introduced himself, he had ordered two of his Jem'Hadar guards to escort Jason to this room while he spoke with Herma'Taklan. The room in which Jason and the Jem'Hadar commander had appeared was Rakiin's observation lounge, set deep in the belly of the Gilgamesh.

Jason sat in one of the overstuffed ottomans, wearily rubbing his hand over his face and through his hair as he considered what little he had managed to learn. The Khanate were Humans.

Yep. That just about covered it.

The door to the room began to swing open, and Jason stood to find himself face to face with one of the most exotically beautiful women he had ever met.

She stood beside Rakiin, dressed in what appeared to be a silver and gold Sari, dark hair bound in an elaborate braid behind her. Dark eyes stared at him from inside a tanned face, so dark they looked to be almost bottomless. When she stepped forward and approached him, it was with a dancer's grace that she curtsied.

Jason was taken aback for a moment, unsure of what to do. Thinking back, he allowed the training he had received back in the Academy to take over. Treating the situation like a First Contact, he bowed in return.

Rakiin smiled, and entered the room, standing behind the woman. "Commander. This is my sister, Aishwarya."

"Pleased to meet you, Ma'am."

Aishwarya smiled and stepped back. "And I you, Commander. I must admit to being fascinated by meeting someone from a parallel dimension." Jason allowed a small frown to flicker across his face. Of course they would know. Herma'Taklan would have told them.

"Have my men made you comfortable, Commander Madden?" Rakiin slowly surveyed the room. Jason watched, noting the other man's bearing. This was a man who was used to getting his way, he could tell just by the way he glanced at things, appraising them, making sure they were perfect. "Much more comfortable than I was on the surface, Lord Rakiin."

Rakiin laughed and sat down, arranging his cloak over the armrests. Waving, he invited Jason and Aishwarya to sit as well. "Yes, I do apologize for that. The Jem'Hadar have come a long way since their beginnings in the Gamma Quadrant, but they still have that propensity for violence."

"So they are Jem'Hadar, then?"

Rakiin nodded. "Of course. Genetically reengineered by my ancestors centuries ago during the Great War." Jason's eyebrow arched. Genetically reengineered? Pieces were beginning to fall into place deep in his mind. History classes he had not thought about in years were slowly coming back to him. A dark feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. He had a bad feeling about where this was going.

Aishwarya noted the expression on his face and nodded, reaching out and lifting a glass of wine. "I see you are beginning to piece together the puzzle of this dimension's reality, Commander."

"This is why I have brought Aishwarya here with me, Commander Madden." Rakiin appraised his sister with pride, "She is a quite accomplished historian. We believed that it would have been unfair to leave you 'in the dark', as it were."

Aishwarya crossed her legs and leaned forward, her eyes nearly glowing in her anticipation to tell the story. As she spoke, Jason found himself drawn to the narrative. This woman was a performer, an actress who knew her audience. "In the mid to late twentieth century, scientists began experiments in genetic engineering in the hopes of creating a race of perfect Humans. Humans which could survive in nearly any conditions, who would be free of disease, and whose intelligence far surpassed the best computing technology of the day. This project was called Chrysalis, and was headed by Indian scientist Sarina Kaur."

Jason nodded, "Project Chrysalis. The Eugenics Wars."

"Correct, Commander. I see the split in our respective histories must have come after this point." Aishwarya smiled and took a sip of her wine before replacing it on the table. "Doctor Kaur succeeded in her goal, creating a near-perfect race of children, both in body and mind. The children were brilliant, quickly surpassing the greatest minds the world had to offer.

"But greatness breeds jealousy. Chrysalis was attacked and destroyed, the children scattered to the four corners of the globe, Doctor Kaur dying as the Project's nuclear power generator exploded, taking all of her research with it. The forces which had attacked believed the children dead and left, leaving the smoking crater behind. The children were forced to grow to adulthood with the knowledge that they would never be accepted for who they were and must remain hidden.

"One of these children was Khan Noonien Singh, Remembered Be His Name."

Rakiin bowed his head, "Remembered Be His Name."

Aishwarya continued, "It took decades, but Khan grew to manhood, gathering the children of Chrysalis to him, petitioning the United Nations to allow him and his followers to help a world hanging on the verge of a Third World War. With work, the Children of Chrysalis could turn Earth into a paradise.

"But they were attacked, fear driving the ordinary Humans to violence. The Eugenics Wars began, devastating the planet. Attack. Counter-attack. The Children, or "Augments" as they had come to be known, fought valiantly but were eventually forced from the planet aboard an ancient sleeper ship, frozen in cryogenic suspension."

"The Botany Bay." Jason frowned, "I have to admit, though, this isn't quite the version of the Eugenics Wars I was taught in school."

Rakiin leaned forward, intense eyes staring into Jason's. "All stories have two sides, Commander."

Jason smiled and returned the stare. "And all history is written by the victors, Lord Rakiin."

The smile remained on Rakiin's face, though it left his eyes. Diplomacy and First Contact be damned. Sometimes, there was no substitute for old-fashioned sparring. Jason leaned back in his chair, "Of course, the same could apply to the history of my Universe." Turning his head, he nodded to Aishwarya. "I apologize for the interruption. Please, continue."

Aishwarya smiled at Jason, pleased as any sister would be to see her brother taken down a notch. "Though Khan was gone, thousands of genetically engineered fetuses were left behind, the future of Chrysalis. They were captured and placed into storage, the United Nations not knowing what to do with them. Eventually, the Third World War Khan had predicted did happen, toppling the United Nations. The fetuses were all but forgotten until almost a hundred years later in the twenty-second century..."

-----

"Have you ever heard of a man named Arik Soong?"

Alex frowned at Selene's question, taking a second to sift through the teraquads on information contained in the Starfleet database. It took a moment, but finally an entry appeared in the forefront of his mind.

SOONG, Dr. Arik. Born: 2100. Died: 2174. Biogeneticist best known for the cure to Sherat's Syndrome. Former medical director – Cold Station 12 Research Facility. Convicted of breaking genetic engineering laws in 2143. Sentenced to life in prison. In the later part of his career, Soong began research into cybernetics. His work eventually led to the creation of the first positronic brain. Cross-Ref: NX-01, ENTERPRISE; Cold Station 12; DATA, Lt. Cmdr., Starfleet; SOONG, Noonien.

Brushing his hand across his dirt-streaked face, he sighed. "Soong was a biogeneticist in the early twenty-second century. He was convicted of genetic engineering and sentenced to prison. What does he have to do with anything?"

Selene stretched her legs out in front of her and began messaging the left one, cringing as she did so. Obviously, it was still bothering her. Alex did everything he could not to notice. "If it hadn't been for Soong, the Khanate would never have existed in the first place. Before he was sentenced to prison, Soong worked at a research facility-"

"Cold Station 12."

Selene shrugged, "Never knew the name of the place. Lost to history, I guess. Anyway, the facility... Cold Station 12... held a few thousand frozen embryos left over from the Eugenics Wars. You know about those?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, we had those where I come from. The split in our histories must have come afterwards." He stopped as he noticed a detail. "I thought you said that the war with the Khanate was six hundred years ago. Soong died in the twenty-second century."

She nodded, "Everything started with Soong. When he was director of the facility, he stole nineteen of the embryos and incubated them, raised them in hiding as his own children. Ten years later, he was arrested."

"The arrest for breaking genetic engineering laws."

"That's right. It took another decade, decade and a half, but eventually he escaped and returned to the Augments. The starship Enterprise, under Jon Archer, was sent after him when he stole the remaining embryos locked away at Cold Station 12. We don't know the details of what happened, but eventually Soong realized that the Augments were too dangerous and turned on them, leading to a fight between the Enterprise and a Klingon Bird-of-Prey the Augments had stolen..."

-----

The Ki'Vott Colony, May 26, 2154:
Nine Hundred Ninety Eight Years Ago:

Arik Soong watched the Klingon ship writhe on the viewscreen as Archer's weapons officer struck out with the Enterprise's phase cannons first once, then twice. The ship spun wildly off course as her main plasma junction overloaded, trailing debris as its engines went dead. He could feel tears burning in his eyes as he struggled with the knowledge that his children were dying on that small ship, along with the eighteen hundred unborn embryos. Dying because he had pointed out the perfect place to strike.

The Vulcan science officer, (T'Pol, his numb mind reminded him), bent over her console, reading the scans of the drifting vessel. "They're disabled."

Hope sprung in his mind at her words, "Are they still alive?" Please. Please God, don't let them be gone. Please...

She looked at Archer with her response, ignoring him completely. "I'm reading twelve biosigns."

Twelve.

Persis. Lokesh. Saul. Malik. His children. There had been seventeen on that ship when he had left them. Which were left? Which had he killed? He bowed his head, feeling the guilt crash over him.

An alarm sounded, dragging Soong back to the world. An engineer looked up at Archer. "Captain? There's a power surge in their reactor."

Soong watched Archer, all heroic and dashing looks, turn to Reed, the gunner who had just help kill six of his children. "He's overloading his dilithium matrix. He'll destroy their ship."

Malik. Thoughts of his most rebellious son rose in his mind. Despite the rift that had grown between them, Soong still loved the young man. "Let me talk to him!" Archer seemed to consider for a moment, then nodded at the Asian woman at the communications board. Soong watched as she opened a channel to the dying ship, beginning to speak almost before she managed to open it. "Malik. Malik, it's Father. Don't do this. Some of your brothers and sisters are still alive."

Malik's voice sounded over the bridge speakers, weak and faint, but still holding the edge of pride the young Augment was known for.

-----


On the Bird of Prey's bridge, Malik struggled to stand upright against the engineering console, his features shadowed and backlit by the fires that burned out of control behind him. Acrid smoke filled the air, burning even his superior lungs. He snarled as he heard Soong's voice, hatred bubbling up from deep within him. Their "Father" had betrayed them all. Killed them. He was no better than any of the other base humans. No better. "Would you rather they went to prison with you?" He smiled painfully as Soong paused. Words he had read long ago came to him. A hit, a hit, a most palpable hit!

"The embryos..."

Ah. The embryos. He was most proud of this part. Deep within the Bird of Prey, one of his sisters, Alia, was loading the unborn children onto an escape pod. With this wreck of a Klingon ship destroyed in front of them, the Humans would not think to look for the embryos. They would survive, even if he didn't. Malik knew that he was merely a player on the stage, and he would play this final role with relish. "There's no place for us on Earth. Or anywhere else. Better to die here."

"Please please please..."

Malik smiled at the pain he heard in Soong's voice. It must be torture, watching, safe aboard Enterprise as his children died. Torture well deserved. As he finished typing in the command codes, setting the ship's reactor to explode, Malik turned around and reached for the transporter control, preparing to transport over to the Starfleet vessel. He would make sure that Soong died first. And then... then he would take his time killing Archer, enjoying every whimper and scream the Human made. "I'll see you soon."

"MALIK!"

Malik smiled as he felt the transporter take him. All of them save Alia would die, but she carried with her eighteen hundred Augment children. The Augment race would survive.

And one day... One day, the Humans would be punished for this indignity.

-----

"We don't know how, but Malik died aboard Enterprise, heroically sacrificing his life for Alia and the embryos."

Jason found that he was leaning forward, fascinated by the story. He vaguely recalled reading something once about Archer's Enterprise and the near outbreak of a second Eugenics War, but not much. From what he could remember, the story had been considered mostly fictional.

And yet...

"Alia narrowly escaped the destruction of the Bird of Prey, a large piece of debris striking her arm as she stumbled into the ship's only remaining escape pod, onto which she had loaded the eighteen hundred embryos. As the Bird of Prey collapsed, she lowered her heart rate, bringing herself close to death to escape detection by the Enterprise's sensors..."

-----

Soong watched helplessly as the Bird of Prey shook on the viewscreen, it's long neck collapsing as the drive section continued the move forward, ramming into what remained of the bridge. Electrical surges flared along it's length, trailing debris as it finally died. All of his surviving children had been aboard that ship, along with one thousand, eight hundred and fifty four unborn.

The cold numbers mocked him, and he watched in shock as the life signs showing on T'Pol's console winked out one by one.

Archer leaned forward and shut down the console, sparing Soong the sight of all the death. It didn't matter. Soong could still see it all in his mind's eye. Each and every one of his children, all gone. Dead in the void of space. "I'm sorry, Doctor."

Soong slowly raised his head, unshed tears in his eyes. Never before had he felt as though he belonged in prison. He had always believed in his heart that he was innocent, that he had been placed in that cell unfairly. Now, for the first time, he knew he deserved it. He had murdered his own children.

He wanted to be locked away and never seen again.

An armed MACO stepped forward to take Soong by the arm and escort him from the bridge, but Archer waved him off. Laying his hand on Soong's shoulder, Archer leaned forward. "Doctor?"

The manacles on Soong's wrists beeped as they sealed, magnetically binding his arms together. Archer looked at the manacles in surprise, not having ordered them locked. Soong lacked even the strength to smile at the captain's consternation. He had figured out how to unlock them months ago. Locking them himself was child's play.

"Child's play..."

Silently, Archer and the MACO led a broken Arik Soong from the bridge, the pitying eyes of the crew on his back.

-----

Malcolm Reed watched the Captain leave with Soong, and returned his attention to the sensors. The destruction of the Bird of Prey had saturated the area around the Khi'Vott colony with warp plasma, making scans difficult.

His console chirped and he leaned forward just in time to watch a life sign fade away into nothingness within the wreckage. Sadly, he closed his eyes. The last Augment was dead.

As were the unborn embryos.

-----

Alia woke when gravity returned.

A quick glance at the chronometer revealed that she had lain comatose for five standard days, drifting in zero gravity. Stretching, she rotated her shoulder, finding no pain where the metal strut had struck her during her escape. She was completely healed, even the burns she had received as the Bird of Prey had died had faded away.

With the sound of cracking ice, the hatch to the escape pod opened, shining red light into the tiny space Alia found herself in. With a feral snarl, she launched herself at the figure on the other side, tackling the large Klingon and snapping his neck, killing him instantly. Spinning around, a high kick caught the other Klingon in the jaw, sending him barreling into the wall. Almost faster than the dazed Klingon could see, she had snatched the disruptor from his belt and trained it on him.

He died quickly.

A quick search showed her that she was on a small cargo ship, and that the two Klingons she had killed were the only ones on board. Debris from the Bird of Prey covered the cargo bay, most coated in a thin layer of frost. They had undoubtedly recovered the escape pod as wreckage, not expecting her to be inside.

Their mistake.

With grim determination, she sat in the pilot's seat and set a new course, ignoring the calls from a Klingon doctor on the surface of the planet demanding to know where she was going. With a satisfied smile, she left Ki'Vott, as well as her dead brothers and sisters, behind her as the small ship leapt into warp. Ahead of her lay Klach'dekeHl'Brakh, or as her father had named it, the Briar Patch. Once there, she would gather the necessary technology Father had secreted away and leave again, searching for a new home.

A home where she could raise the embryos that still slumbered in the escape pod.

-----

Selene stood, brushing dust off her legs as she did so, and leaned against the wall. The story of the War and how it had begun were well-known to every child in the Federation Remnant. Details may have been lost to history, but the story remained.

"That must be it."

She looked down and watched Alex stare into the darkness of the stairway, a frown on his face. "What?"

"The point where our histories divided." He stood and looked her in the eye. "According to the Starfleet database from my reality, none of the Augments survived. Archer's Enterprise found the remains of the embryos. They had been destroyed in the explosion. If this Alia hadn't made it to the escape pod..."

"A lot of suffering would have been avoided." Selene leaned over the railing, staring back down towards the bunker. "We kept going. Forming the Federation, exploring the Galaxy, an Enterprise always leading the way. Archer gave way to April and Pike, Kirk to Harriman, Garrett to Picard, all the way to Cross. The great Heroes, the great Captains of the Federation. All this time, we thought that the Augments were extinct, the greatest mistake humanity had ever made.

"We were wrong."

-----

Author's Notes:
Okay, a lot of resources this time around, and a lot of acknowledgments to be made for the history presented in this chapter.

Number One: Thanks to the cast and crew of Star Trek: Enterprise, specifically the Eugenics Trilogy ("Borderland"; "Cold Station 12" and "The Augments", one of Enterprise's finest moments) aired in the early fourth season. The flashbacks to Arik Soong and Malik in this chapter are taken directly from the episode.
Number Two: The history of the Eugenics Wars of the late twentieth century (specifically Project Chrysalis and Sarina Kaur) is referenced from Greg Cox's trilogy of novels: The Eugenics Wars – The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, and To Reign in Hell – The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh. Granted the story presented here is slightly different to the one presented by Mr. Cox, but I did this intentionally to show how history can change over time.
I referenced the above sources in this chapter because they are both highly important moments in the history of "Dark Age", and I wanted to make sure that anyone who had not read Mr. Cox's novels or seen the Eugenics Trilogy would be able to follow.
I know that this chapter, and the rest of "Written by the Victors", is and will be historical exposition, but I'll try to make it as painless as possible. (also, a small in-joke: Alia is the name of Paul Muad'dib's sister in Frank Herbert's Dune series. In the Sci-Fi channel film "Children of Dune", Paul Muad'dib is played by Alec Newman, who also played... anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Malik. Like I said, a small in-joke.)