I don't own any of the franchises linked to this - Star Trek Enterprise; TNG, VOY, DS9, etc, nor do I own Stargate.

Please let me know what you all think.

A Different Future Unfolds.

"'Terra Freedom?'" Archer repeated as he read the unimaginative slogan on the leaflet before he turned to Erika. "What's this?"

"Conscientious objectors, Jon," Erika explained with a grim expression set in her lovely features. Archer knew his former girlfriend and lover although they had both gotten back together in the last few months since Enterprise had returned to Earth to hand over the Temporal Observatory and the Borg materials for study had been recently promoted and offered command of the NX-02 which had been completed after only 4 months following the loss of the hulk which would have been United Earth's second NX-class explorer, however with many of Earth's resources stretched between research into the databases and the reverse engineering of the advanced futuristic starships Lambent had brought them through time travel, Earth's shipbuilding methods had been augmented and given how much of a top priority new ships were, it didn't surprise Archer that half of the number of NX class ships had been finished and were nearing the shakedown part.

Erika was one of the dozens of experienced Starfleet officers who had received a commission to command one of the starships, but Jon knew while she was happy she had a command of her own now, she was not happy with the way out had come about. Like him, she had signed up to explore space, not to fight a war, especially one manipulated by time travellers.

"Terra Freedom is a small group who believe we shouldn't be making war at all, not with how Earth's got it much better than it has for the last thousand years," Erika went on (Archer had a feeling she had said something else, but he hadn't heard or noticed; he guessed he must have zoned out), "but their voice is drowned out by the hate groups who are using the Xindi attacks to stoke the fires of xenophobia."

Archer had always despised the anti-alien groups, especially since they knew nothing of the alien races out there in the galaxy. He had found the aliens he had encountered himself on Enterprise to be fascinating, and they were nothing like what the haters described although he had never subscribed to their ignorance in the past. But in the recent month, fighting off the Xindi who launched one pointless attack after another, stood in the ruined cities on Earth, he wondered to himself if some of those hate groups had a point.

No, he refused to think about that.

The Xindi had been fed a pack of lies by time travellers immersed in their pointless and sick war, but while there were hostile races out there, such as the Klingons and the Romulans, those races were only lashing out either because their territories had been violated or they'd been slighted in some way. Look at the Nausicaans; an unpleasant bunch of brutes, relying on piracy, but that was their races' way of making a living. But what about that strange green alien ship that had attacked Enterprise and forced them to return home to install the phase cannons? Nobody knew anything about them, and looking back he wondered if even the Vulcans could have defeated them. But the majority of races out there were reasonably friendly.

No.

Terra Prime and the other hate groups out there in the population might be happy to use this entire mess to their advantage, stoking the fires and reminding the grieving families who'd lost family or friends to the Xindi raids of what they'd lost, and getting more recruits, but Archer refused to believe the whole universe was naturally hostile.

Yes. There would be naturally aggressive and dangerous enemies out there; the Borg easily eclipsed them all, with the Dominion being a close second if what he'd learnt about the Dominion War of the 24th century was anything to go by, who both made the Klingons and the Xindi look like rank amateurs (Archer had no idea what was going to happen with both spacefaring powers, but he guessed Starfleet would be waiting until they confronted the two, and hope by that point Starfleet had more powerful ships and weapons so the kinds of losses which happened in both conflicts never took place) in comparison, but Archer was not denying there would be instant allies and friends out there.

"What's going on with this Terra Freedom, anyway?" Archer asked, his tone making it clear he just wanted to move on from his grim natured thoughts. "Have they caused any problems?"

"No," Erika too seemed determined to move on, and he couldn't blame her. "They simply don't have the support; so many people are angry with the Xindi and they want this war to be ended. Now. But just because they don't have much support doesn't mean they won't potentially try to make their voices heard."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they could begin sabotaging Starfleet installations, or they might foolishly find a way into the Verteron arrays mounted on the ground close to the cities," Erika said softly as if she expected a Terra Freedom sympathiser to be eavesdropping and she was worried she would give them ideas. "If they did that when the Xindi attack again…," she trailed off, finishing off with another grim look sent towards Archer.

The Verteron arrays had quickly become one of the most important parts of Earth's defence mechanism following the way the array on Mars had successfully destroyed and severely damaged a number of Xindi warships. They had been mass-produced and were now installed in virtually every single city on the planet, and thanks to them any Xindi ship that came to attack was shot down.

If anyone was stupid enough to sabotage them or cause problems in a misguided hope for peace…

"Let's try not to think about that, huh? Let's just hope they realise if they do that people will die needlessly," Archer said, putting out his most confident facade, but he wasn't sure it was working thanks to the image in his mind.

Deep down, Archer knew they would likely cause trouble. Deep down, Archer knew many people would likely die in an insane attempt to impose peace. And deep down, Archer wasn't sure what would happen to them if they did that. Things were changing on Earth, and truthfully he wasn't sure which way his people would go next. He and Erika had grown up in a society that had pushed aside things like war, violence, poverty, disease and replaced it all with the polar opposites, and with space exploration now opened up there was the chance for humanity to explore the universe and become something greater. He wanted peace with the Xindi, he wanted Earth to get along with everyone, but he was realistic as well. He knew until they could prove to the Xindi they were not a threat, they would have to defend themselves and protect their world.

He refused to let the Xindi ruin that, but he wondered if he could do anything at all. The war was still ongoing, but nothing was being done about the Xindi weapon that was being built.

No ship was being sent to seek the damn thing out and blow it to kingdom come.

All they were doing was just guarding Earth while Starfleet reverse-engineered technologies from the ships a time traveller who clearly had their own agenda, but that might change today.

Starfleet had just sent Archer, and it turned out Erika as well, orders to meet with them. Archer wondered if the long-anticipated missions into the Delphic Expanse and finally end the war was going to be put into effect, but he didn't know for sure; Starfleet's top brass was spending a lot of its time in meetings to determine the best courses of action.

The fortification of the Sol system was finished. Thanks to the Asgard technology database contained on the Daedalus and the evolution of sensor technology in the Temporal Observatory, there was now a sensor net that stretched about 5 light-years beyond Earth, and the construction of the new NX-class ships was moving at an incredible pace. Several of the planets Enterprise had visited over the last 2 years had been colonised and much of the mineral wealth was going into the construction of new ships and, Archer hated this part, new weapons but they were important and needed for the war.

Sixteen NX-class ships were now ready, as were older designs which would be put on defence duty through Earth's system, but thinking about the news of conscientious objectors at this time worried Archer because he had no idea what kind of penalty would be waiting for them should they do something very stupid.

Archer cleared his throat and deftly changed the subject. "Have you heard anything about this meeting, what it might be about?"

Erika shook her head. "No. But I hope it is something more practical; I hate to admit this, Jon, but a lot of the crew on the Shenandoah want to get out there and head for the Expanse, and finish the Xindi off," Erika's lovely face grimaced as she uttered those words and Archer closed his eyes when one of the implications made him picture a handful of Starfleet officers brutally murdering Xindi in cold blood; granted, while they deserved to pay for their crimes and for being gullible and stupid, Archer felt a line should be drawn but it was times like this that he wondered to himself if he and a few others remembered they were supposed to be explorers. "And as much as I hate to admit it… I don't blame them. We can't spend the rest of our lives trapped in the solar system, Jon. Not like this. I get the point we need to build up and prepare, but the longer we wait the easier it would be for their weapon to strike. We have to stop them."

Archer knew how she felt. He wanted to get out into the Expanse as well, but thanks to the endless attacks and raids committed by the Xindi, Starfleet constantly rescheduled the mission into the Delphic Expanse as more and more technology fell into their laps, and now so many resources were being handed over to reverse engineer the advanced technologies being handed over to them on a plate. On top of that, salvaged Xindi technology was also finding its way into labs.

On the last assault, a group of MACOs using the new cybernetic armour suits boarded and killed the crews of three Xindi ships. The Xindi were stepping up their attacks, but the last raid had seen an unwelcome addition with the Xindi Aquatics and Xindi Primates sending ships as well. Their addition was met with the same response, the ships had been destroyed and their wreckage was taken to various labs, but what worried Archer was the Xindi, in stepping up their attacks, would be forcing Earth to make some careless mistake they could exploit. He had warned Forrest of this more than once, and luckily precautions had been taken.

So far.

The people of Earth wanted the attacks to end.

Archer wanted the war to end, and he hoped Starfleet was going to do something constructive and quick.

The door to the meeting room was open. Outside were three security guards, including a MACO. Starfleet really was taking this seriously, and his curiosity about what this meeting was going to be about. Archer nodded and handed in his ID to one of the security guards, and he walked in, only just peripherally aware of Erika stepping through after him.

The meeting room was a large room, dominated by the large meeting table, with dark walls with the crest of United Earth Starfleet looming over the lectern where the Commander in Chief would be presiding over the meeting. Archer nodded in greeting when he saw the captains whom he knew, but while the table was large it wasn't large enough for the number of officers inside. This meeting was important if it had nearly every single admiral and captain in the service here.

Archer led Erika over to Trip, who had been given temporary command of Voyager, and Travis who had received the Breen warship. "Cap'ns," Trip greeted, although the same solemn and grave shadow which had been present in the engineer's eyes ever since the attack on Florida which had claimed the life of his youngest sister was still there. Archer studied his friend closely, worried for Trip; there had been a new edge to Trip recently, an edge nearly every Starfleet officer now possessed.

The edge of someone who had been affected by the Xindi in a terrible way.

Archer had no idea how Trip was coping these days; if there was one thing he regretted nowadays it was their differing ranks which meant he was forced to sit in on meetings while Trip, like many other engineers and science officers, were given the monumental task of sorting through and helping with the reverse-engineering of the technologies brought to them by Noys Lambent in addition to their roles as experienced officers within the blockade.

"Hi, Trip. I guess you know Captain Hernandez?"

"I do," Trip smiled warmly at Erika, holding his hand out for Erika to shake. "Nice ta meet ya, Cap'n."

"Likewise," Erika shook the offered hand from Trip before repeating it with Travis. "Any idea what this is about?"

It was a stretch, but maybe if the two men knew…

"No, do you?" Travis asked.

"No, we were just told to report here and attend the meeting. That's it."

Any further speculation was mooted when a painfully young ensign walked in nervously and yet clearly filled with the kind of self-importance which came from an aide to someone really powerful in Starfleet entered and approached the lectern.

"This briefing is now in session. Ladies and gentlemen, the C-in-C," the ensign stood to attention as the Commander in Chief walked in, escorted by several admirals - Forrest, Ivanova, Jackson, and a few others. Archer stood to attention after he took his seat. Admiral Marston was the Commander in Chief of Starfleet on the whole, and it was clear the last few months had taken a toll on the man. He looked stressed, weary but he looked strong at the same time.

"Please, sit down," Admiral Marston ordered, and he waited until everyone was seated before he spoke. "Alright, I'll come straight to the point. We have not really made an impression in the war, this unexpected war where our entire civilisation was threatened for something which is unlikely to even occur. In the time since the Xindi have attacked Earth, 50 million of the human race have been wiped out. Their raids, the probe they launched which cut a path of destruction, and their wanton destruction against our cities have resulted in a tremendous loss of life. But until we received the ships starting with the Defiant and ending with the Daedalus, we didn't have any way of fighting them. The decision to divert resources into the defence of Earth and the construction of new starships using the warp five engines came quickly, but now we are almost ready now we have treasure troves of knowledge for making the fight back possible.

"The recent Xindi attacks have given us a lot of information and insight into their colonies and culture, and right now tacticians are working on plans aimed at crippling the Xindi war machine to slow them down. However, there is still the real chance we will not be in the best position to stop them from destroying Earth. As you know, we approached the Vulcan High Command," Marston showed no expression as he came to this topic, "for help in evacuating some of our people to new worlds we can't presently reach without lots of time spent travelling at warp speeds. However, there is the chance the Xindi will discover what's happening, and turn their attention to the Vulcans. That's going to change. The Daedalus is the holy grail among all of the ships which have been dropped in our laps. The ship is powered by what's called an Asgard hyperdrive, a propulsion technology that opens a 'window' into a deep layer of subspace which allows the ship to pass through it before some kind of field similar in some ways to our warp fields manipulates the layer of subspace into creating a form of a wormhole, allowing the ship to travel at speeds we cannot reach, even with the fastest warp ships. The Daedalus contains enough information to allow us to copy the technology, and since her engines allow her to travel to other galaxies, the potential is obvious."

Archer realised what the C-in-C was saying instantly. Everyone involved in the warp 5 program had worked so long and so hard to crack the barriers of warp flight after warp 1. They knew they wouldn't be able to create a faster than light drive capable of crossing the entire galaxy in a day or a minute, never mind cross the intergalactic void separating the different galaxies from each other. He hadn't minded in the least since he knew they could do much here.

But to hear the implied plans of sending an expedition to another galaxy…

"We have already begun work in copying the Asgard hyperdrive, thanks to the working model onboard the Daedalus and the information we've gleaned from what the time traveller left us. We have already made preliminary trials with the first prototypes and we've begun reproducing the subspace capacitor on the Daedalus, which can siphon energy off from subspace domains and turn it into usable power, but the engineers are having problems refining it and making it work. And believe me, it doesn't help that we have most of our engineering teams testing and studying other technologies given to us and building NX class ships, so study into the hyperdrive is being stretched. Instead, we're relying on conventional warp drive, and there are already fears we can't send an expedition into another galaxy," Marston said.

Trip perked up, but he was wondering if he could take a look at the logs of the tests so he could do something to help. While he was dedicated to the warp 5 engine, Trip Tucker was also an engineer and Starfleet officer and he could already see the applications of hyperdrive technology.

Marston was far from finished. "That has disappointed many within the government, but at the same time the idea was impractical; many of them were hoping to send ships off to galaxies like Andromeda and make sure there's no chance of the Xindi or anyone else destroying our civilisation. I say it's impractical because our budget is being stretched enough as it is and our resources are becoming scarce. And even if we could send ships out there, we would potentially be losing them for good; it might be for their good, but the risks are just too high and we need all the people we can get just to survive the Xindi attacks. But don't be fooled, the hyperdrive technology is still one of our greatest acquisitions from the time traveller; even with interstellar hyperdrive, we can potentially end this war. Just last week, we sent a probe with a hyperdrive to the Oort Cloud station, and it arrived in moments. It took several experiments to refine the technology to that level, and we're hoping we can construct a working model for our current fleet; we already have the basics, now we just need to work on it all. The scientists working on the Asgard hyperdrive are also working with those working on understanding Xindi vortex technology, in the hopes of getting ships into the Delphic Expanse. Either one of those technologies must be installed on our ships and sent into Expanse to fight off the Xindi."

"Six more NX-class ships have been finished, and they've received the latest technologies we can derive from the ships and the databases," Admiral Forest said.

"Yes, and the fighters are still under production; on the last raid, they were able to go toe to toe with the Xindi Insectoids, and they overwhelmed the Xindi Aquatic ships," Jackson added.

"Give them top priority," Marston ordered. "I want a large force of NX class ships by the end of the month, but given their increasing numbers, I think we can make that so. They just need to be checked, certified and ready for the front line when it comes. I'm only just holding off the President and the Council, they are demanding we take the offensive."

"Understood, but if it comes to a mobile war, can we even win? Even with the technological gap shortened and the ships that Noys Lambent dropped in our laps, we still haven't learnt how to use it all. And we are still working on cybernetic armour technologies. We've released a few prototypes, but not many," Admiral Ivanova pointed out.

"Keep at it," Marston said, but what else was he expected to say?

"The raids are becoming more and more violent; the Xindi are sending more and more of their warships against us, and while we've made headway in fighting them off and we're augmenting the fleet with newer ships and fighters with the ships we got from Lambent, more and more of the Xindi attackers are heading into the atmosphere. We've managed to hold them off for now and we've reinforced the defences of our cities and our planet with Verteron Arrays," Jackson said.

Archer nodded as he added his own thoughts. "I agree, sir. The raids are getting worse every time. At first, the Xindi attacks might have been to capitalise and build on the probe attack, but the Xindi are sending more and more of their people against us. They're testing us, constantly rethinking their strategies."

"My strategy team has already worked out what the Xindi are doing, but I take your point, Captain," Marston smiled at Archer before he looked around the room and shook his head, and sighed. "A lot of our problems stem from the fact we didn't already have the NX-class on full-scale production, but that is hindsight talking. This is reality. We will continue to produce the NX class ships and the NX variants for as long as we can, and we will mass produce as many fighters as we can. How is the combat training going for the fighter crews?"

"Slowly. When we constructed the first generation of fighters, we didn't have any of the old knowledge from World War 3 or 2 to help us. Most of what we got was from old books which were preserved in museums, but without the experience and the know-how from pilots who were given a crash course in battle tactics, we have had to be creative with the training programs," Admiral Leonard said grimly. Archer knew how he felt. He had never expected a day when they would have to use fighters like space was a greater expanse than the air during the Battle of Britain and the war against Japan in the Second World War.

"What about the MACOs, can't they help?" Ivanova asked.

"How could they? Much of their training relies on close-quarter combat," Jackson pointed out.

But Ivanova was not for backing down. "Yes, but that's what I mean. Many of their instructors use knowledge of old fighting arts and warfare concepts Starfleet security officers aren't taught unless they go for more in-depth studies. Why can't we ask them to teach the pilots their methods for fighting and apply it to fighter pilot training? Granted it won't be like the original thing, but it should help our pilots know what to do in certain situations."

Marston put an end to the debate. "That's a good idea; while fighter training is different, I agree that this is a practical solution."

"When are we going to take the war to the Xindi, Admiral Marston?" Jackson asked the question which had been on the tongues of so many people ever since the NX-class ships were put under construction.

Marston folded his hands, seeing everyone staring at him with interest. "Not until the end of the year." Marston was grim and he didn't like the answer any more than the others did.

This was too much for Trip. "You can't be serious!" He cried in outrage as he lost control of himself while the admirals looked on in outrage at his language and his outcry. "Those bastards have killed millions, you said it yourself, and now y're telling us it'll be another few months before we're ready to take the fight to them."

"Trip," Archer hoped he could mitigate the worst of what was to come, but he doubted he could.

"That's enough, Commander Tucker," Jackson snapped, but Marston raised a hand. "No, he's got a point. Commander," he said turning to Trip, "I understand you lost your sister during the probe attack, no?"

Archer's eyes widened and he saw Trip looking downcast, angry at the reminder of his sister's death. Archer had known about Elizabeth Tucker's death for months, Trip hadn't hidden the fact. He just hadn't expected Marston to bluntly aim and fire at Trip about it. But Archer was in for a surprise. The admiral's expression was dark, nearly malevolent with smouldering rage.

"My twin sister was killed in the first Xindi raid. When I got the news, I wanted to take a ship and begin wiping out those sons of bitches out by the hundred, so I know how you feel. But I am the Commander of Starfleet, so I have to be in command. I want to send as many ships as possible into Xindi space, and make them pay for what they've done and what they plan to do, but I can't because we are just not ready. I am not paraphrasing the Vulcans, but recently I have begun to see they were right; we were not ready. It was the height of hubris and arrogance to send one ship out into space when we should have begun constructing more starships to explore space. If we had done that, we might not be rushing the production of starships and making sure all of them are up to specs. If we had done that, we might already have a presence within the Delphic Expanse. If we had done that, then we might not have needed the help of a time traveller who likely has her own agenda. I have had similar arguments with politicians within the President's Inner circle, but until we have finished the production run of the ships which will have shields, photon and quantum torpedoes, plasma beams, and equipped with the Asgard hyperdrive, we are not sending a single ship into the Delphic Expanse," Marston's expression was set in stone as he made his final pronouncement.

Silence echoed throughout the conference room. Everyone was just too afraid to break it following Marston's speech.

"Has there been anything else from the time traveller?" Marston asked when he saw nobody was willing to break the silence.

"No, sir," Admiral Forest replied.

Marston rubbed his eyes. "Mmm."

"Why do you ask?" Ivanova asked.

"I wanted to know if she was going to provide us with any more help, barring what she claimed about the Daedalus being the last ship delivered to us with the Asgard database landed in our laps," Marston said.

"You don't think she was being sincere," Jackson observed.

"I don't know. It's only a simple observation that's likely to come to nothing, but I never met the woman so I don't know for sure what she's got in mind, but I can't help but feel like we're pawns in someone's game," Marston pointed out.

"I know what you mean, sir; I sometimes got that impression when I met our time-travelling contact, Daniels; he knew more than he was letting on, and more than once I got the impression he was manipulating us," Archer said.

Trip turned to him. "When was this?"

"It was during that mess with the Suliban after the Cabal destroyed that colony; Daniels basically made it clear to me I had some kind of future destiny. I essentially ignored him, but over time I wondered if I was fulfilling that destiny by coming up with ideas of uniting the local races, like the Denobulans and the Tellarites, but it's never far from my mind," Archer said.

"What destiny is that, Captain Archer?" Marston's voice made it clear he wanted an answer. Not a half-truth. Archer had no intention of giving out one.

"I'm not sure entirely, sir; Daniels was vague about it, but on one of our encounters, he alluded to a Federation of planets, an interspecies alliance. I'm not sure of the details but Daniels has hinted I have a major role to play in its creation," Archer said.

"Do you think he could have been lying?"

Archer had spent more time out of the entire NX-01 crew with the enigmatic time-travelling Temporal Agent, who was so cryptic it was annoying. "It's possible, but I doubt it. He clearly has an agenda, but he didn't mislead us when it came to the Suliban."

"Ah, but he did cause us trouble in that mess, Captain," Trip pointed out, "remember how he kidnapped you when he could have just left you alone, and what he didn't really do anything in the long term."

"True, but I think we should take whatever time travellers have to say with care. Noys Lambent might have given us these ships and databases, but she's changed our reality for good. Who knows what her reasons were?" It never failed to frightened Archer as he thought about the potential paradoxes.

"At the same time, we can't discount the possibility that Lambent won't further manipulate events. But we will have to wait and see. In the meantime, how are we with our defence strategy?" Marston asked.

"All of our ground to space and air defences are finished; the engineers and builders had a lot of motivation, and we've managed to destroy many Xindi warships when they entered our atmosphere, but some of their troops are still beaming down and giving the MACOs a fight. Thanks to the more advanced sensors of the Voyager and a few other ships, we've managed to corner them when they tried to hide; we found a few Xindi with bioweapons the last time," Ivanova looked grimly at her hands. "They were really close to unleashing them; our scientists have examined the weapons, and they're positive if they were released, only 60 out of 200 people would be lucky to be immune, but that's not counting the long term effects."

Everyone looked grimly around the table. It seemed that no matter how much time passed, the Xindi gave new reasons for the hate to be stoked.

Marston's face became an angry mask. "We need to stop this," he said angrily. "One of the reasons I gave orders for the Breen energy dampening weapon not to be used is because I didn't want to lose an advantage, but also because our engineers have been having trouble getting the technology sorted out. But now we've made some headway. We should have the first prototypes ready shortly, but the moment we get it sorted out, we'll start using it. I don't want another Xindi to beam down to Earth, ever."

"Admiral, I've been thinking," Archer spoke up, "I've been trying to contact the Xindi to come to a peaceful settlement with us, but it never works. Do you think if we do that then we'll be in a better position to open up some kind of settlement?"

Marston looked like he was warring between a grieving brother and being a Starfleet admiral. "It's possible," was all he said.