Note: Although Fanfiction has stated that they've fixed the paragraph seperation glitch. Don't believe it yet because they haven't . If you see X's around that means seperation of POV's, an Idea that Janusi had. Good idea. Now without further ado; go for it. Comments are welcomed.


Chapter Twenty-Six

"The One Side of the Coin"

(The Armageddon Conflict :) Part 2

Earth Space:

Captain Jake Thompson gaped at the sight of three alien ships tearing into a group of Drakh cruisers in this free-for-all madness with an abandon that confirmed the insanity of its Captain and crew. It was simply the last thing he could have imagined. Bright energy beams slashed the enemy ships casually tearing them to shreds before moving on to the next targets. Considering the exhaustive briefings with the President, other military advisors and scientists that he participated in, it took less than a second for him to realize that those ships originated from the so-called Federation. Those ships were what his squadron had trained to fight against these last four months before the disaster at Centauri Prime.

Thompson's ship's sensors were barely tracking them and that was only because his ship was enhanced with shadow technology. This was Thompson's first time seeing them in action, in person and the Captain locked onto every detail as he could and now seeing it first hand it was a truly terrifying sight. His attention was short-lived however as his ship began to vigorously defend itself from a renewed enemy attack.

From what little he'd seen President Clark and his people were right in their initial assessments. These aliens, lost colonists, other dimensional beings, whatever; were dangerous in the extreme. They were a threat, maybe as bad as those other aliens that attacked Centauri Prime. The political ramifications alone would be enough to cause an alliance-wide panic.

That meant that when this was over, unless the President changed his mind, he would be ordered to disable that vessel or destroy it as per Clark's standing orders. The power readings on this Federation ship was immense but if he could get in a first strike Thompson was convinced he could succeed in his mission. Then they would haul the ship off to a secured area and not even the Enterprise or Ambassador would be able to find it. In a short time the playing field would become more even.

The Drakh, also recognizing the new players and the threat they represented, retaliated for all they were worth. The ease in which they had brutalized the Earth defenders was now long gone. A new pride had arrived and to ignore them was to do so at their peril. The battle of Proxima III and their subsequent defeat by EarthForce and the Enterprise was still fresh in their minds and they were hot and eager for revenge. However, they understood the lessons of that battle as well and now the hunters had become prey. Quantum weapons, so devastating to EarthForce vessels was completely ineffectual against Federation defensive shields. And their vessel's speed and maneuverability was bordered on the impossible.

These newcomers were as dangerous as the others, which was proven seconds later as two heavy cruisers were split apart by some new energy beams their sensors had trouble identifying. Another ship identified as a possible Klingon derivative appeared out of nowhere, used its beam cannons to eviscerate another cruiser and then disappear a moment later from both scanners and visuals. The Federation ship-another smaller one- fired pulsed weapons with simply rendered Drakh armor useless. It attacked raiders and they died.

XXX

'...A Federation starship; another one'. Higgins heart went cold at the sight. And over there he spied one of their allied Klingon ships, which made the other Klingon cruiser look puny in comparison. So much for the other universe theory he thought savagely.

"Drakh cruiser, two hundred klicks dead ahead. It's listing..."

A jolt of excitement hit him. It was time to rack up another kill. "Let's finish it."

Moments later, Higgins's gunboat squadron hit the mammoth, three thousand meter plus ship from the rear with every weapon at their disposal. As was becoming their pattern, the ships targeted the gravitic reactor. The already damaged Drakh, busy engaging two Omegas, never knew what hit it until it was far too late. Dozens of disruptors, particle lasers, pulse cannons and first generation photonic missiles vaporized the engineering section, which helped to destroy the entire itself.

Higgins's crew cheered while he allowed himself a brief smile. But that moment's respite was cut off as three bright explosions in succession caught his eye. He'd seen explosions like that before. Those were photon detonations-big ones. That meant that three of the enemy had just died. The Federation ship, the one that looked like the Yeager had streaked by, fearlessly engaging a squadron of Drakh raiders single-handedly.

The Drakh raiders already knew they were in trouble. And as one, the seven of them ignored targets of opportunity and attacked the Saber. Neutron cannons targeted the ship's expected trajectory and were rewarded with several hits. Energy rays splashed against its shields, setting them aglow, but doing little damage before the ship was out of weapon's range. Then the Saber returned fire....

In a matter of seconds, pulse phasers designed to destroy Borg obliterated an entire squadron without them inflicting any apparent damage in return. The starship used a type of weaponry he'd never seen before.

The Commander was more than a bit envious watching the pure havoc caused by the small gunboat sized ship. And again, the old fears began to surface once more. Quickly he squashed them down as he glimpsed Earth. There were cities burning down there. His daughter. His wife. The hideous possibilities that lay in that train of thought would give him nightmares for the rest of his life.

Cold fear turned into raw anger. The President's shuttle and the StarFury escorts had not yet made it to safety. Two raiders and a Drakh Cruiser had broken through and were making another push towards Earth. Clark's shuttle was in the way and with Clark's special fleet in danger of being wiped out; he directed his squadron to intercept and engage

XXX

One of the many lessons learned during the Great War, as the Earth-Minbari war was called, was that the security of the Executive branch of the government was paramount. The safest place was deemed to be in orbit onboard a secured ship able to relocate quickly. The safest ship was the Shadow hybrid Omega commanded by Captain Thompson. However, the Drakh also had plans for him and the Loyalists squadron. Thompson's ship was in imminent danger as several Drakh cruisers were specifically trying to destroy what was left of his command. Two of the remaining six Shadow Omegas died in front of his eyes. Those were the newest vessels, just out of space dock, not completely shaken down in the President's rush to place them on the front lines to advance his agendas.

Terrified, Clark panicked and punched in the command codes for the G.O.D.s to fire at the Drakh attacking the Omegas. They were out of range but it didn't matter to him as he proceeded to punch in the final authorization codes. That's when he heard the transmissions for another EF ship that his shuttle was being aggressively tracked and targeted. The Drakh were coming, directly towards them.

Already he could feel the shuttle's aggressive turning, the pilot starting an emergency burn away from the enemy. Strapped in his seat, the President, wide-eyed and trembling saw tiny dots rapidly growing as they vectored towards his direction. They were not EarthForce but aliens-Drakh. One cruiser and half dozen raiders were slashing through the already weakened EF defenses.

If only he could have made it to Mars, he would have been safe.

He'd chosen to defy Morden's masters and this was the result. Close to a hundred EarthForce ships had been damaged or destroyed in a nightmare of his own creation. Thousands of dead and dying servicemen and women trapped in space fighting to save him. Already there were hundreds of thousands of dead on Earth, with the promise of tens of millions more in the next few days, trapped in a poisoned atmosphere. His government destroyed, his powerbase in shambles, now they were coming to kill him.

And that was the only thing that really mattered. He really didn't want to die like this. He fully expected no one to come to his aid, so it came as a complete surprise when a small group of gunboats intercepted the attacking force. He only saw a small part of the battle since the shuttle pilot was still evading oncoming fire. EarthForce One starfuries were on the defensive, protecting the shuttle from weapons fire. However, it was only a matter of time.

Another shock: a severely damaged Hyperion joined in the defense of the Presidential shuttle. It had only four functional medium pulse cannons but it attack along with the gunboats and ripped into the armored bridge of the Drakh cruiser. The effect was minimal but the distraction allowed the Higgins gunboat squadron to complete their attack on the huge enemy ship's engines. The Drakh already crippled from previous attacks turned upon its tormentors. The Captain of the Hyperion, realizing that she faced imminent destruction ordered a hasty retreat. Ignoring the punishing fire the gunboats were dishing out, the Drakh destroyer targeted the fleeing Hyperion. It then, promptly blew up, literally breaking in half. To Clark's right, there was a silvery flash, a glint of something passing over his shuttle.

XXX

It took a moment for the Commander Higgins to realize what had happened to the Drakh ship. It was the Saber ship. Surprising himself, he ordered his comm.-Nav's officer to hail them.

'The devil you know...' "This is Commander Higgins of the Gunboat Protector to the Federation starship."

The Saber decelerated now took a defensive position near Earth and the Presidential shuttle. Higgins shook his head and sighed. Despite his fears to the contrary, this is exactly what he'd expect them to do. His ship had taken a lot more damage than he'd hope for.

The moment that the Drakh realized the gunboats were a threat they had been ferociously attacked. The only thing protecting his squadron had been the incredible speed and the polarized plating. The plating (and much of his ship) was now little more than scrap metal. But even though inferior, it had protected his people and he was ecstatic for that and when the new designs came out those facts would be recognized.

All around him, the fighting was dying out as the Drakh began their retreat safe in the knowledge that a battered EarthForce was in no shape to follow. The despised Federation ships intervention had been a blessing, but one that came almost too late. Much of the Earth defensives had been gutted before they had arrived and in the back of his mind something didn't seem right. There had been several openings in Earth's defenses that the Drakh could have exploited, but they hadn't. Only once did they attack and that was only to spread whatever plague they had infected the planet with. The fleet's focus seemed aimed more at EF ships rather than a direct attack against the Earth itself. Sadly, more than a third of Earth's defensive force had been effectively damaged or destroyed.

That was a defeat in anyone's book. This was the worse possible outcome. There was another aggressive species out there and a wounded EarthForce would attract them like sharks attracted to blood in the water.

"This is Lieutenant Commander Riker of the Federation Starship Rantoul. To whom am I addressing?"

A cold shiver went down Higgins's spine. It would have to be 'him'. Higgins never really did like Riker that much. On B5, the man was a little too stiff and a bit too condescending-and he had been to close to Sandra. If he captained this ship, then there were two Sabers now. Sheridan was building his own little fleet with the help of Picard. But that didn't explain the 'other' ship; big as the Enterprise, with the double nacelles cutting a swath through the remaining Drakh ships with an ease that awed him.

"It's Commander Higgins, Commander." Time to make nice. "Thank you for the assist. Nice little ship. Adding to your collection at B5? And what's with the brown uniform?"

He couldn't help it. He had to make some sort of jibe. Help or not, his opinion of the Federation and what it represented was not what he wanted his world to be a part of. He had no reason to distrust them but in his gut he still feared the changes they were bringing into his life. Clark was a devil but that was 'his' devil; someone he understood, even if he hated him.

"This is Admiral Janeway of the Starship Voyager," a woman's voice broke in. "Could you contact your leaders? Your planet has just been infected with some sort of biogenic agent and it's spreading across your world geometrically. As of now, it has spread to eight percent of the atmosphere and is multiplying at a frightening rate. Within twelve hours, the entire planet will be affected."

Higgins's mouth opened, then closed then opened again. He was in complete shock. He'd allowed is fears of the Federation and what they might do so completely overwhelm him, that for a moment he had forgotten about the plague. His family on Earth was in mortal danger and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I-I've..." For an instant, words failed him. "Admiral Janeway, you can contact our President on this frequency."

Earth Alliance Shuttle One:

President Clark glared at the small but incredibly powerful ship that escorted the gunboats that had protected his shuttle. It was just like the Yeager butwith minute differences that his trained eyed noticed. Months of dedicated study enabled him to immediately recognize the ship's design in his sleep. In real life though, seeing it in front of him, he was rather surprised by the small size of the vessel. This was also his first time viewing his vessel in person and he discovered that photos and holograms couldn't do it justice. The ship was totally alien in design in a way that simple images could never show. But in contrast there was English script plastered boldly across the hull. USS Rantoul. It had to be a second one.

What was Sheridan doing, creating a fleet? Well, if the man wanted to command then he needed ships. That was understandable. He would and was doing exactly the same thing. His thoughts were interrupted as the co-pilot signaled for his attention.

"Sir, there is an Admiral Janeway on gold channel who wishes to speak to you."

"Janeway?" He didn't remember an Admiral Janeway on command staff. "Which Admiral is that?"

"A Federation one, sir," the young Ensign said, a bit too dryly for comfort.

The President's heart skipped a beat even as he continued looking out the window. The slight sarcasm in the voice of the comms officer was completely missed as the second, much larger vessel eased into view. Designed along the same lines as the Enterprise and Ambassador, it looked somehow meaner, much more imposing. Its coloring was a darker gray that-

The ship shimmered and armor simply disappeared. In its place was a much brighter vessel with windows everywhere. Windows! Lots of them! The ship was so close that he could see people inside. This transportable armor was incredible. Nothing like that had been seen on the Enterprise or Ambassador.

"This is President Clark," his voice squeaked and he felt a little light-headed. Weightlessness was getting to him. "Thank you. The people of the Earth Alliance are grateful for your assistance."

"There are a lot of things to discuss," the Admiral said to him. "We would like to meet with you as soon as possible Mr. President."

The woman's voice seemed kind, almost maternal, yes, even gullible. "Yes that would be good," the President said excitedly. He stroked his small chin vigorously. "We will meet at my command vessel, EarthForce One, commanded by Jake Thompson, who will be here momentarily. I look forward to meeting with you."

"Mr. President, we have the means to bring you to our ship-"

"I am aware of that, Admiral," he said sweetly. "But due to the circumstances, I believe that this contact would be better served on an EarthForce vessel. There is much to discuss and my planet, my responsibility, must be to my people."

Evidently the woman understood. Good. "We will meet when you are ready, Mr. President."

The transmission ceased and Clark felt jubilant. This was an opportunity to be snatched from the jaws of disaster. If he could somehow convince or even control these Federation people before Sheridan got to them; perhaps even sway Janeway to his side, then he might be able to retain his powerbase. He desperately needed the technology floating in front of him. It was calling to him like a long-lost lover.

If he could do this, then power could still be his. This was technology able to resist the Shadows, the Drakh and anyone else, including Sheridan and the Minbari. There might be some enjoyment starting over again. He could reconcile himself living on Mars. Earth could rot. Sheridan and the others might still pay for all of the things that they had done to him.

"Place a general quarantine on Earth," he ordered. "No one is to enter or leave under the most severe of penalties."

Babylon Five:

Judging from the urgent requests from Commander Ivanova, Ambassador Guinan moved quickly as she headed along with her escort towards the B5 Command and control media center. When she entered the sight that greeted her transfixed her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, not that it was impossible, but simply highly improbable. The two Federation escorts gaped at the scene before them as well. Inside the massive room, Sheridan, Ivanova, Delenn, Charlotte Clark, General Brindley, Garibaldi and others watched scene after scene of the devastation occurring on Earth. It was in real time, a gift from the Federation.

When Picard and the others had first arrived in this universe, one of the first things done was to send a stealth probe to the Earth system to determine conditions in the system. That probe was still functioning and transmitting data. And, as the trust between the Federation and the B5ers grew, they were given complete access to the probe's communications and data streams. As a result the officers of B5 knew exactly what was going on in the system, much to the chagrin to the General and Captain Clark. It really wasn't that much of a surprise since the Loyalists were doing the same thing, but the difference in real time was somewhat of a shock to them both. Tachyons transmissions had a lag time relative to the distance

The giant screen in front of the audience transmitted the horrifying attack by the Drakh in the Sol system with sickening clarity. So much information was being transmitted that most of them saw only glimpses of the entire battle. The Drakh hit the EA hard and the fighting had dissolved into a near free for all. There were hundreds of ships fighting one another everywhere. The information was also being transmitted to all EA ships in the B5 area and many of the EA ships, both Loyalists and Resistance, were on their way to Earth to defend their planet. Guinan was there as well, watching the horrifying spectacle along with the others who could only imagine the number of causalities that were being inflicted by both sides.

The news of the near destruction of Enterprise by the aliens called the Sinhindrea came as another shock to everyone on all sides. Captain Garrett had wasted no time in going to her sister ship's aid. She was already in hyperspace and moving fast, not willing to trust the EA escorts with her safe being. White Star Three provided escort.

Then, Guinan's eyes widened and her whole demeanor changed. All around her there were collective gasps as several Drakh ships blew up in spectacular form. But the reason for those gasps wasn't the explosions, but what was responsible for them. Guinan knew what it was-something that should have never been there. It was a starship, like one she had never seen before. Nearby there was another, smaller vessel just like the Yeager. Well, almost. There were subtle differences, small ones that only she and a few other trained eyes would notice, but they were there nonetheless.

As the two ships attacked there was elation among the mesmerized crowd. And after a few minutes the fighting began to die down as the Drakh began their retreat.

"That's not the Enterprise," Susan whispered, giving voice to the obvious. "It looks sleeker, more aggressive somehow. I've seen all of the Starfleet designs and this is different."

A touch of a couple of buttons and the probe identified the transponder signal of the larger ship without any difficulty. USS Voyager. The smaller one was called the Rantoul.

'More of these ships he thought. Where were they coming from? Was there another gap in the universe? "Can we communicate with Voyager?" Sheridan asked.

"I think so," Guinan said, responding to Sheridan's question. "We can use the Grant's comms system and reroute it through here." Quickly she contacted the Federation shuttle. A young Ensign's face appeared onscreen. "I want a Starfleet subspace communications routed through the command center here," she told him.

The Ensign listening sounded confused by her request. "Ma'am you can contact our ships through the hyperspace beacon. The subspace communication is spotty at best when they are in hyperspace," he added patiently. "I would have to reconfigure the array in order to contact the Ambassador."

"Ensign-"

"Yes, Ma'am. Rerouting through to BABCOM Media CnC in twenty seconds...done, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Ensign."

It was so quiet now that if a pin had dropped no one would have noticed it, so focused were they on what Guinan was about to say.

"To Starship Voyager," she said. "This is Babylon Five. Please respond."

"This is the USS Voyager," came the immediate response. The voice seem surprised. The image facing here was that of a young male Ensign, about her complexion, dressed in a familiar, yet unfamiliar uniform. "Please identify yourself. You're on a Starfleet channel."

"Yes, I know," Guinan stated patiently. "I wish to speak to the Captain."

"This is Captain Chakotay," said a handsome, older man decorated with a very interesting facial tattoo. The man was excited and surprised. "Who are you?" Behind him, they could see several of the other Federation officers including the android Guinan knew as Lore."

The woman was reeling. "My name is Guinan and I-"That was as far as she got. There was a moment's hesitation as another, heavier voice came online." And her eyes went wide again as she looked at the Klingon in a Federation uniform, standing at his post behind the captain. Her eyes locked onto his.

"Guinan," the booming voice asked in a surprised but respected manner. "What are you doing here?"

"Do I know you?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. She knew exactly who it was. Worf was unmistakable. By the sounds emanating across the room others had recognized him also. But this Worf was the one of her dreams. And he was older, more mature and part of the Federation. It was right in ways she could not define. "Aren't you in the wrong universe?"

With that one question, she established the relationship with these people that they would soon have to deal with. The universe had a grand sense of humor because it was changing on them every few seconds it seemed. "How did you get here?"

"We can discuss that later," Chakotay answered. He seemed distracted for a second. "We need to keep this short, there are a lot of wounded out here and the enemy ships have attacked Earth with some type of biogenic agent."

"I understand. I am with USS Enterprise NCC1701-D and Ambassador," she said and then added, "NCC-1701-C Captain Rachel Garrett commanding. Do you understand?"

The Captain froze for a moment as someone off to his left motioned for his attention, and then he casually nodded. "We will re-establish contact with you in a few minutes. Admiral Janeway will want to speak to you on a secured channel. I believe we have a lot to talk about. Will Captains Garrett and Picard be available?"

"No," she answered. "Captain Garrett is assisting Captain Picard and the Enterprise which was damaged in an attacked by an unknown species called the Sinhindrea."

Chakotay paled visibly. "We are aware of them. They have invaded this-sector of space and they will pose a significant problem for everyone here."

"You might be able to contact Captain Benjamin Sisko of the USS Yeager by way of your subspace communications," Sheridan added helpfully." He was rewarded with a look that said 'not over an open channel because we really need to talk privately.'

"And Sir, you are?" the Captain said casually.

"The Commander of this space station, Babylon Five. Please inform your people that President Clark of Earth Alliance is not to be trusted."

He nodded. "We will get back to you shortly Commander," Chakotay promised.

USS Voyager:

"Admiral on the Bridge," Worf bellowed.

Janeway hated when he did that. Following closely behind her was the Doctor. "What's going on, Captain?"

"Actually, quite a lot, Admiral. We received a rather unusual call from the Babylon Five space station. A Captain Sheridan and a woman called Guinan contacted us."

"Guinan?" Surprise, surprise. "Our Guinan?"

"You know her?" Chakotay asked.

"I've met Guinan before," she answered. "If this is her counterpart, we will be able to trust her. Attention bridge crew. This is the second part of our mission that has been on a need to know basis. This mission is the price that the Federation has to pay as demanded by Q, in exchange for the information he gave us concerning V'ger."

"He wants us to interfere with the natural course of this universe." Annika surmised.

"Both our universes are linked in some fundamental way. This connection started with a species called the Vorlons. We are here to sever that particular connection."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"By destroying the gate we came through to get here," the Admiral answered. "Now, can we contact the starships already here?'

"According to Commander Sheridan, we should be able to contact the USS Yeager."

'What was the Yeager?' "Open a channel."

Dutifully, the Communications Officer opened a Starfleet channel. A few seconds later a dark-skinned man with a short mustache, clothed in an older Starfleet uniform appeared onscreen. The man went from the personification of calm to utterly flabbergasted. His eyes flickered towards the console just to make sure it was working correctly, then narrowed perceptively.

Before the Commander could say anything, Janeway spoke. "I'm Admiral Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager NCC-74656-B. We're presently orbiting the planet Earth of the Earth Alliance. Where is your Captain?"

The man seemed paralyzed for a second before coming to himself. "He's on his way, Admiral."

Janeway smiled slightly as the man fairly screamed to for the Captain to come to the bridge. A very somber Captain Sisko appeared and broke into the widest smile his crew had ever seen. "Captain Benjamin Sisko," she announced. "It's good to see you."

Stunned, he responded quickly. "You're from the Federation?" he asked. "He couldn't believe it. "How did you get here? Were you trapped by the Vortex as well? Where did you come from?"

Janeway lifted her hands slightly to forestall any more questions. "All in good time, Captain. I can tell you that we are from your parent universe, but not your timeline. We're here to help-as much as we can." She could tell that he understood what she had meant. "We're currently orbiting Earth. They've been attacked by a species called the Drakh. There's been a lot of damage to their forces here. Many of their ships have been destroyed or damaged, and the planet has been attacked with biogenic weapons."

His face remained stone as she related to him what had happened to Earth. During the years of her long journey back home, she became a pretty good judge of character. What she saw now, as a man steeped in years of war. What was wrong with him? Where did these people come from that he would show almost no emotion at what had happened to Earth? Q wasn't as forthcoming as she had liked.

"Earth Force, under control of President Clark is a threat as long as you are in orbit. They are not to be trusted. Even if you have Galaxy class vessel, even if you are able to help them, there are elements of their military that will do anything to acquire your ship. "For your own safety, I recommend that you relocate to a station called Babylon Five. I am transmitting the coordinates now."

"Thank you for your concern," she answered. "But we are not here alone. We have the USS Rantoul with us. Voyager is a Sovereign class vessel with enough firepower to handle anything Earth Force can throw at us. However, we will take what you've said under careful consideration and we will do what we can to help this planet and then we will come to Babylon Five. I will deal with President Clark and his people if they cause any problems. I understand that we can't contact Enterprise and Ambassador while they are in something called hyperspace."

"You're well informed," Sisko confessed. "I'm impressed. We have limited communications though a tachyon jump beacon but I can't get a message to them right at this moment. But I do have something to ask you. We have some Romulan prisoners here. Did they follow you somehow?" There had to be a connection.

"Romulans?" She understood. This had his characteristic fingerprints all over the place. "Is one of them a blond female?"

Sisko wasn't really surprised that Janeway knew who his prisoners were as the female called Sela had mentioned the Admiral several times. "Yes," he answered.

"Q."

"Who?"

"It's a long, long story which I will be happy to tell you about when we meet. They aren't prisoners, but quests onboard my ship. They were- hijacked, for lack of a better word. They are not the enemy. I want you to keep this channel opened for further information."

'Understood, Ma'am."

The Azetbur:

"They can't leave!" Captain Kagth roared indignantly. "We have not finished yet!"

The bloated enemy ships were disengaging from the fighting. The enemy combatants had done their damage and were now retreating. Kagth was in an absolute fury, such as never seen by his crew. The aliens who called themselves Drakh, were retreating after only five minutes of battle. That they were retreating was unimportant. That they were leaving was completely unacceptable to the Klingon Captain.

Something within him had snapped. As patient as he was, things he had kept within him came boiling to the surface. Kagth understood exactly what that something was. It was the one emotion he hated above all others.

-Helplessness.

It had begun with the female he had spoken to in another universe. "Yaquella of the family Tricie," he murmured. He cursed softly underneath his breath. Fool that he was; he hadn't even asked what the name of the planet was before he left. And with a shock, the Captain understood how deeply he had been affected. The Klingon Empire did not have the ability to help the woman's planet after the Imperixe had ravaged it. They could barely help themselves as the Cylon Armada had begun their push out of the Katasi stronghold and their secondary front. That was the last report received from the Empire before they went slipstream. Evidently the situation was bleak. DS9 was again a center of attention as the Cylons swarmed the system in order to gain control of the wormhole.

The leaders of the Dominion weren't fools and had now openly entered the war. They were actively confronting the Cylons. The entire Bajoran system was in jeopardy at last reports. The Federation, Klingons, what was left of the Romulan Star Empire, the Dominion, the Cardassian, the small Bajorian government defense force, and-Kahless save them all!-the Orions had banded together to resist the machine warriors. That his ship was missing one of the greatest wars of all time irked him to no end, until he met Yaquella.

He was wrapped up in the Cylon war until he met her and her people. The Cylons were an enemy he understood. Many of his fellow contemporaries thought that fighting machines was dishonorable, but he felt differently. The ruination war, as it was being referred to, was the cleanest war he'd ever had the honor to fight in. Literally, it was everybody against the rising tide of extermination. Nothing was more important than that, or so he thought. But his eyes had been opened. The Imperixe were worse than even the Borg. They were insidious, taking over the body, using it up until it was an empty shell to be discarded. Years ago, the Imperixe came so close to overrunning the Federation that he was angered even thinking about the implications. The Klingon Empire would have been next and they would not have been able to stop it.

He hated those creatures and what they did, and their potential. Then there was a new threat that eclipsed the others. Even if the Alpha quadrant survived the Cylon hordes, then the Sinhindrea were waiting to strike. War was a wonderful gift, but too much of it was insanity. This was Federation thinking, true; but he and many others were coming to see the value of it. Peace wasn't all that bad if you gave it a chance.

And that thought brought him back to reality and the present. That was the reason why he was so furious. These Drakh, who were clearly superior in technology to these human of this universe, were not content to simply defeat their enemy-they wanted to exterminate with biogenic weapons. Life meant suffering true, but it was the height of dishonor to exterminate a helpless enemy in such a fashion. Such an enemy needed to be destroyed-utterly. Janeway of course wouldn't agree but he was allied with her; not ruled over by her.

"They're opening some type of subspace vortex," Karlell yelled.

This was true, Vortices, like small wormholes were opening everywhere and the enemy sips were disappearing into them. In some ways it seemed as they are entering some form of stable, other dimensional space."

In other words, they were getting away.

"Fire!"

Weapons officer Klyn'g was more than happy to comply with his Captain's orders. A full sweep of torpedoes intercepted a group of fleeing raiders and a larger Drakh vessel headed towards the wormhole tear and vaporized them from existence. However, the majority of the enemy ships were quickly evacuating the area to live to fight another day.

Never.

"Probe," Kagth screamed in Klingon battle language. Immediately, Yannsi, the young female officer he was very rapidly becoming fond of, fired a sensor probe directly into one of the swirling bluish vortices. The sensor package transmitted valuable data back to the Azetbur. Yannsi wasted no time. The young Klingon and the two human Colonials stationed with her started their analysis on the unknown form of FTL drive employed by these dishonorable aliens.

Moments later she started speaking. "Unusual form of subspace...much higher wavelength...appears stable and movement is not required to remain in higher domain...other dimensional form of space. Energy currents and eddies detected."

"Can we follow them?"

"No, my Lord. Not yet, but we are calibrating our sensor array to detect traffic in this subspace realm."

"How long?"

She made a few calculations, confirming them with her fellow officers. Then she turned to her Captain. "Now," the young engineer said proudly. "We can attempt to enter this higher subspace in a few hours after we modify our deflector array. There appear to be similarities with slipstream activation."

The Captain smiled widely, sharpened teeth glistened. Her training in subspace, quantum slipstream mechanics and Colonial lightspeed (which meant the transwarp portion of it) served her well. "Cloak. Track and pursue," he ordered.

Smiling broadly, the helmsman analyzed the data being fed to him by the sensors and proceeded to follow the aliens at high warp. They couldn't attack yet but it was a matter of time.

Kagth intended to teach these cowards a lesson in terror.

One could never tell it by looking at him, but Ambassador Londo Mollari was shaking in his boots as the Minbari shuttle slowly eased past the massive doors of the Centauri Primus Warship. The Centauri military Commanders were anxiously awaiting his arrival. With the explosive death of their Emperor and much of the command staff with him, they were essentially a headless entity. The rumors as to the cause of their leader's explosive demise were rampant. There were more than a few who assumed the Minbari were responsible for Cartagia's death; most had no idea. However, none of them were foolish enough to even consider firing on a Minbari ship-of-the-line.

The Centauri cautiously walked down the ramp towards the waiting delegation sent to meet them. Following him was a very imposing, very hostile-looking Rannaonn, Commander of the Minbari fleet. Two other Minbari followed in their wake. They were respectfully met by several of the Centauri defense force. Several members of the great houses were represented as well including a very nervous Lord Refa who, upon seeing Londo in the flesh, bowed deeply. Londo pointedly ignored him, causing the frightened Lord to flush, which was exactly what he had intended. Refa needed to be frightened. His life was hanging by the merest of threads now and he knew it. Londo intended to sever that thread with prejudice.

The procession adjourned to the conference center onboard the ship where Londo was seated in a place of honor with the Minbari Commander by his side.

With a touch of arrogance trying to cover for the fear he felt he began. "How many?" was his first question.

"We are not sure, the count is still uncertain," General Venir said. His eyes were darkened and red from the stress. "Many more are dying."

"And many, many more will die unless this meeting is successful," Rannaonn coldly announced to the assembled group. "Your people allied themselves with the Drakh and the ancient enemy. Millions of my people were killed by the attacks perpetrated by your allies by association, against the Minbari Federation. Our fleet is poised to take righteous retribution upon your planet and it will be laid waste. The only reason why you are still alive is because of the fact that there have been no direct attacks by the Centauri against us."

There was absolute silence within the room and at that moment Londo seized the opportunity to speak. "The Imperial Decar Palace, home of Emperor Cartagia has been blown into the heavens along with him, his family and a significant portion of our government. We are headless, without our government. We have made too many enemies among the very people we have to live with. The Drazi, Earth Alliance, Babylon Five resistance, the Federation, the Minbari; the list goes on and on. We have antagonized everyone and now a new enemy has surfaced and we have, as the Humans say, burned all of our bridges behind us." Looking intently at the sight of his world's cities on fire, he continued. "See the results of our quests for glory." There were tears in his eyes. It was a small reflection of the pain he was holding within. "We have conquered the Narn and for our reward we have almost destroyed our people. "We are alone and 'they' are coming."

His emotions flowed as freely as his tears now and Minbari Commander noticed that these hardened Centauri weren't as hardened as he believed. "Our quest for glory," Londo continued, "has left a bitter and most unsatisfying taste in our mouths."

"Londo," Lord Refa hissed. "You are just as responsible as we and the Emperor for all of this tragedy. You in fact began this when you first contacted Mr. Morden and his associates."

Londo's eyes blazed with anger now. "I freely admit my association with Morden," he said with distaste. "I was wrong and when I tried to stop it, it was far too late. People like you," he yelled, pointing a Refa, "ran to take my place to satisfy your own personal lusts for power and to gather favor with a madman. With their help we 'conquered' the Narn," he laughed. He began changing hue as he remembered the shame he felt as his people used illegal mass-drivers to slaughter a defenseless people. "And I haven't forgotten what you did, Lord Refa."

Refa seemed perplexed, so Londo spelled it out. "You killed Adira, had her poisoned."

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped several degrees.

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"She is dead because of you," Londo said viciously.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Refa responded coldly. "And in any case it is irreverent. We need to deal with the situation in front of us. The Republic is in a most dangerous state. When I am acknowledged leader of the Centauri Republic, I will make the necessary changes to ensure our people's survival."

"No, you won't" Londo hissed. The others around him said nothing, being content watch the drama play itself out. "We will not have another madman in power. I will not allow our people to be placed under another petty dictator with delusions of power."

"Then, what would you suggest, Ambassador?" ask Refa. His voice fairly dripped with scorn as he mouthed the word 'ambassador', as if it were the filthiest word one could imagine.

To his credit, Londo didn't hesitate for a moment. "Immediately withdraw all of our military forces back into Centauri territory and begin serious negotiations with all of the governments we have attacked. In addition, all captured territories are to be given back, with our government to begin recompense as time allows."

The resultant uproar nearly deafened everyone in the room.

"And you call 'me' mad?" Refa screamed. "We will not surrender captured territory, especially not Narn territory. We will honor our agreements with the Minbari but Earth Alliance, Babylon Five and the Federite ships have drawn Centauri blood. Earth's President is as mad as Cartagia was. He will not make any type of agreement. War is inevitable with them."

Londo quickly go up from his seat, crossed the room over to Refa and slapped him hard. "Who do you think just attacked our people right now!" he screamed at the livid Centauri. "It was 'them'! the ones who are coming! They were testing our defenses here and we were found wanting. They know about us because of Cartagia's arrogance. He sent ships to Z'ha'dum to be modified to counter the Earther's shadow ships!"

Refa turned two shades of purple while the whelp that appeared on his face turned bright red. "How did you know?"

"I have my sources," he stated "While we were here squabbling, the real enemy has been consolidating their powerbase. I saw them winning against the Shadows. They withstood attacks that we can barely conceive of. All of the powers, both great and small are at risk. They will not discriminate when they come to slaughter us."

He looked around the table, his eyes spearing all of them with his gaze. "We have a responsibility to preserve our people. Our pride has caused us too much. We must act decisively, now. Lord Refa would have us go back to our folly and if we do we will be exterminated. At this very moment, the Minbari are poised to destroy us and here we are, arguing about whether to make peace with Earth! Refa is not the one we should depend upon. As I have suggested, we need leaders who can look forward to the future and lead us there; not wallow in past glories. Cartagia is gone. The Centauri people can do much better. We should follow the Earther's style," he said referring to Babylon Five. "They fail, but they keep trying, trying and trying. We are Centauri. Can we do any less?"

Refa would have none of it. "What you propose will destroy the Centauri people," he yelled. "We are the Centauri and we will not yield to the likes of the Humans!" Refa jumped up, eyes murderous; then abruptly stopped. The Centauri's eyes went wide as he slowly looked at the bloodstain forming in the middle of his chest. "Londo?"

He slumped bonelessly to the floor. Next to him was General Knonto Denarri. Evidently, it was his knife that was still implanted in Refa's dead body.

"Our world does indeed hang by a thread," he said slowly. "You're correct Ambassador Londo Mollari. It's time for something new. It's a time to be bold, something that has been lacking in our people. The elder Centauri turned to the others. "Withdraw all of our forces into Centauri territory. All hostile action is to cease immediately. Open negotiations with everyone, including Babylon Five, but not EarthGov-not yet. We will need to approach Earth Alliance carefully. The Narn," he said. "Withdraw whatever forces we have left in their territories. Londo, you will go to B5 and deal with the Humans and their allies there. We will contact B5 and request an immediate, unconditional secession of hostilities. You and an entourage of your own choosing will speak for the people. Complete authority will be yours. Do not abuse it," he sternly warned, not that he needed the warning. But the new leader of the Republic was making a point.

"Then," another General said carefully, "you are in charge?"

The man smirked. "I do not need or desire power. But I will wield it until we can establish our government once more. You all," he warned coldly, "will help me to reestablish what we have lost."

"So instead of a Republic we will now have a dictatorship?" General Venir asked. He couldn't keep the bitterness from his voice. Yet there was also an underlying tone of real agreement there as well.

Denarri returned the gaze. "Dictatorship?" he asked. "Yes," was his answer after thinking about it momentarily. "For now," he added. "If that is what is needed to keep our people from extinction, then so be it. You all know of my time in the royal political arena. I have survived the inner intrigues of Cartagia's court without losing my head, literally. I will become the dictator that Centauri needs. But I will be an enlightened dictator."

There were quiet mummers but no real objections. Denarri's proclamation had been accepted almost immediately. How long it would last, no one knew, but for now it would be acceptable compared to the alternatives.

He turned to the Minbari delegation. "Commander, we have much to discuss and much to recompense. I humbly ask that we use B5 for what it was intended to be as the details are defined and outlined between our two nations. I request that you send representatives here to Centauri Prime to formulate the basics of our talks. And as Londo has said, we have a common enemy intent on destroying us all. We must come together. You are aware of this new threat?"

Rannaonn looked at his aides trying to decide whether to answer or not. The last thing the Minbari Commander expected was to see history in the making. After a moment's thought, he spoke. "We are aware of this new threat. You are correct. There is much to discuss..."

For the first time in a long time Londo felt content. There would be a lot yelling, jostling for power and even an assassination attempt in the days to come. But it was just possible that something good would come from this. Only time would tell.