As usual, the marvel of humanoid construction machine impressed the Enterprise. Over the course of just over twenty-nine hours, over fifty homes were completed. A lottery system had been established based upon the intact families still alive. Two five-story corporate structures had also been completed. One was designated for the land-based government for Vega, currently named the United Government of Vega. The other building was designated for the United Federation of Planets leadership. Another two hundred homes worth of modular parts were in the final stages of construction as well as a giant five-story school building and a domed playground. Scientists, teachers, artists and musicians were gathered to combine the vast repository of knowledge the various starships contained to create teaching curriculum.
Shielded defense satellites were already in the design stages by the newly recreated research and development corps of Starfleet. Above Vega IX, the restoration of the repair dock was underway. Within the cavernous shipbuilding facility, various weeds, vines, and puddled water were being removed. The entire area around the original colony site was a flurry of activity.
Enterprise was about to move into the next sector on its scan list when it received another transmission from Admiral Greer. His image flashed across the communications line and into the virtual reality of Enterprise's bridge. "Greetings, Admiral," Enterprise stated happily.
Admiral Greer's smile looked almost wicked. He rubbed his hands together wryly. "Good afternoon, Enterprise. I need you to hook the Ambassador and the President in. I've got some news that they'll enjoy hearing."
"Understood, Admiral," the starship replied. It immediately sent a coded request for Ambassador V'Driss and President Khent to join him. As if they were waiting for an update, they joined the virtual session within seconds. Eladra looked quite anxious. V'Driss looked... vulcan.
President Khent smiled warmly. "Good afternoon, Admiral. Enterprise tells me you have some news."
Greer actually chuckled. "I do. Despite K-oth'rek's best desires to keep us out of communications with the rest of our fleet, he apparently didn't know that several of them served with me over the years. I sent a copy of our discussion with him to a couple of ship captains I still know. They've been circulating it for the past couple of hours." Greer attempted, unsuccessfully, to stifle another chuckle.
V'Driss raised an eyebrow. "I presume it's been having the effect you had hoped for," she commented.
"Oh, it's better than I could have hoped for," Greer remarked with a smile of satisfaction. "Almost all the ships are being commanded by citizens of the old Federation... the REAL Federation. Their loyalty is to the existing leadership, not HIM."
"I guess K-oth'rek and that admiral of his didn't get all the officers off the ships in time?" Eladra asked.
Greer shook his head. "Not by a long shot. From the talks I had with Captain Dern of the USS Hammer, hardly any of them left. K-oth'rek's new Starfleet is in shambles right now. Almost all the ships are coming here. Littek was only able to secure seven hundred or so before K-oth'rek was exposed. The Vega system is going to get awfully crowded in a couple of hours." Greer smiled widely again.
"You look quite pleased with yourself, Admiral," V'Driss commented, folding her arms.
"I am," he replied coyly. "I never wanted a desk job. That's why I kept turning down my other promotions. They would have put me at Starfleet Headquarters."
"Well, I, for one, am quite grateful you turned them down," Eladra freely admitted. "We owe you a great deal, Admiral."
Their discussion was interrupted by another incoming communication. "Enterprise, Enterprise... this is Captain Rittenhour of the Echelon. Is Admiral Greer still with you?" The image of balding human male in his early sixties filled the screen.
The three turned to face the viewscreen. The disembodied voice of the Enterprise responded. "He is, indeed, Captain. Shall I vi you in?"
"Don't bother," the captain replied quickly, seeing the virtual image of the admiral. He turned to face the holographs. "WE FOUND THE FREQUENCY! We can open the conduit whenever we want!" In the background, the vision of an elated and cheering crew could be seen.
"Damn, that IS good news!" Greer yelled at the ceiling. "Ya done good, Mike. Please send my congratulations to both your crew and the crew of the Glory for all your hard work."
"Thank you, Admiral. I will." His smile was bright and wide.
"Alright, relay the frequency to the Archimedes and the Enterprise, then get your butts back here." Greer concluded with a smile.
"We're on our way, Admiral," Captain Rittenhour replied. "Echelon out." The image faded from view.
"I have the frequency, Admiral," Enterprise stated.
Admiral Greer clapped his hands again. "Well, good, good, good. Our fleet is coming back, construction of permanent structures is ahead of schedule, and we have a way to track down the bastards that did this." He nodded to himself several times before looking up at the ceiling. "Alright, Enterprise, I need you to assemble the..."
"My apologies, Admiral," Enterprise interrupted. "I'm receiving a priority one communication from Norica. It's Ambassador K-oth'rek."
"Oh?" Greer pursed his lips. "This should be entertaining. Put it on-screen, Enterprise."
"Understood, Admiral." An image of the Norican ambassador, his face dark with anger, appeared on the view screen. Next ot him was a slightly shorter kazon male. His shoulders were quite broad. His black hairspikes jutted out in all directions from his head and he was dressed in a typical kazon uniform, a tight, dark, multilayered leather jacket with matching pants. His arms were folded ominously in front of him.
"Greer, what have you done?" K-oth'rek demanded angrily.
Greer folded his arms with a wry smile. "Ambassador, for a race who supposedly 'abhors violence', you sure look like you're about to hit something."
"Answer the question," K-oth'rek demanded. "Almost all the fleet is attempting to leave! The entire Federation is virtually defenseless! What have you done?"
"Well," Greer began slowly, "in some cultures it's called 'telling the truth.' I'm not sure what Noricans call it."
"How DARE you?" the Norican retorted. "What I have done has been in defense of the Federation! You would leave us at the mercy of an unknown aggressor?"
"Please tell me that's Norican humor," President Khent replied. "You took advantage of a mass murder to illegally subvert the Federation assembly your own. You then intentionally cut off the survivors of the attack in an effort to alienate them from the rest of the galaxy during their greatest moment of need. You did this while that 'unknown aggressor' still lurked and had already attacked once." She put her hands on her hips. "You then have the audacity to cry foul when we reclaim our rightful property? How dare YOU, Sir."
"Besides," Greer interrupted, "we're not about to leave anyone 'at the mercy of an unknown aggressor.' We'll transfer this discussion to the Archimedes."
"You aren't planning on mounting a counter-attack, are you?" The gruff kazon admiral suggested through narrowed eyes.
"You're damn right I am," Greer replied defiantly.
"I forbid it," Littek said flatly, cockily tilting his head.
"Fine... we'll leave your eight hundred ships out of it." Greer replied laughing. "I'm planning on only sending the Pathfinders, anyway."
Now, it was Littek's turn to laugh. "That is what, a dozen? Against a foe capable of destroying five dozen systems within minutes?" He turned to face Eladra. "Director Khent..."
"That's President Khent," she replied defiantly.
"Whatever... PRESIDENT Khent, you might want to reconsider your fleet commander. He's sending his twelve best ships off to be destroyed. If he'll do that so quickly, there's no telling what other foolishness he has planned." He turned back to Greer and narrowed his gaze.
"I trust his decisions more than I'll ever trust either of yours'," Eladra replied coldly.
"If they need help, they'll call," Greer added confidently. "Enterprise, transfer this pleasant discussion to my ship. You have more pressing issues to attend to. Form your squadron and head to the Alpha Centauri system. Activate the transwarp conduit and head through. Identify the enemy..."
"Attempt diplomacy first," Ambassador V'Driss interrupted.
Greer rolled his eyes. "When they tell you 'no', kill them... kill them all... start with the whatever transwarp gateway they've built. Make sure you send us a communication letting us know where you are before you do anything. Any questions?"
"None, Admiral," Enterprise answered. Truthfully, Enterprise was a bit uneasy with the orders to 'kill them all.' However, this was an officially declared war and a superior officer had given it a direct order.
Greer nodded as a stunned K-oth'rek and Littek looked on. "Alright. Transfer us to the Archimedes. God's speed, Enterprise."
"Understood, Admiral... and thank you." Enterprise did as instructed. The image of the Norican and the Kazon faded from the screen as the images of V'Driss, Khent, and Greer disappeared. Enterprise opened its communications to the other Pathfinders. "Attention... USS Challenger, USS Columbia, USS Discovery, USS Endeavor, USS Explorer, USS Frontier, USS Intrepid, USS Trailblazer, and USS Ulysses. Fall into delta-two formation on my wing." In the silence of space, the ten arrowhead-shaped vessels engaged their respective impulse engines and maneuvered towards the Enterprise. "Set course for the Alpha Centauri system."