Alliance Royal Armada

by Kenshul

After the fall of the Terran Empire the Alliance controlled Mirror Universe finally seemed at peace. Unknown though that while the Alliance was distracted a new foe quietly built up its army and would plunge the quadrant into an even fiercer conflict.

14. Unexpected Truths

Chapter Fourteen: Unexpected Truths

Mission
forty-eight hours after the Narendra III Conference was shaken with accusations, the delegates prepare to reconvene on the matter of Seven's allegiance. Having time to go over all the facts each of them have formed their own beliefs about what happened, but are those beliefs solid enough to stand in the face of a startling new truth?
Mission Date:
113th day in the 2369th of Molar

As he made his way through the crowded marketplace Duren couldn't help but to look at a time readout hanging on the wall of a nearby building. It read as twelve hundred thirty, giving him well over an hour before the conference was scheduled to resume. That was just enough time to get back to his quarters and have a word with Dukat and Tierzak before heading off to the meeting hall.

The sea of people around him seemed to be at a standstill and the fact that he couldn't quickly reach the inn where the delegates were frustrated him. Slowly moving with the crowd, he gripped the bottle that he had just bought. He took a quick look at the greenish liquid and smiled a little bit at himself. This bottle was to be their celebration. Though the conference was still a short while off something in Duren knew that by the meeting's end Seven would leave in shackles. The evidence against her was just too strong for things to go otherwise.

That evidence, Duren still couldn't believe that Tierzak had done so well in finding something to incriminate Seven. When he had first pushed the idea to get rid of the Overseer to the Detapa Council he had never imagined he would get his hands on a piece of evidence as helpful as the security recordings that Tierzak had obtained. He knew that the Ferengi daimon had gotten the tapes from a Yridian trader. Outside of that he had no clue as to who had made the tapes or how they had come into the possession of the Yridian. This fact bothered him, but only to the point of curiosity.

Another thing that Duren had found it hard to believe was how helpful and how dedicated to this cause Tierzak had been. Originally he had thought that the Detapa Council's idea of including the Ferengi government in on their little coupe was a joke, which turned into a complete disbelief once he realized the seriousness of that idea. At first he had completely detested the idea of working with an alien on this project, especially a Ferengi. Like many other Cardassians Duren wasn't fond of having to deal with other races. It wasn't that he was xenophobic or anything, he just couldn't see how any of the other races could ever possibly be considered an equal people when compared to the noble Cardassian race. Despite his misgivings though he had gone ahead and worked closely with Tierzak, and had been surprisingly pleased at the results. The short daimon had proved to be as cunning and as resourceful as any Cardassian Duren had ever known. For this he had earned the respect, and more importantly the friendship, of Duren.

As his thoughts wandered back to the unrelenting crowd around him Duren took notice of where exactly he was. Thankfully he found that he was almost back at the inn where the delegates were staying, along with the room that had been secretly reserved and shared by him and his Ferengi associate, as well as his important role model of Dukat and his daughter Ziyal.

Another surprise to Duren was how the once revered gul had come into his path. As a young officer in the Cardassian military Duren had spent a great deal of time learning about Dukat's past and present accomplishments. When news of his hero's censure had come to him Duren was almost mystified at how such a thing could happen. By then though the war had gone into full swing and it had been made impossible for him to devote any worthwhile time on the matter.

Despite the censure of the Detapa Council and being forced to live through untold nightmares Dukat still held his head as high as any other Cardassian would. The thought of going from such a noble and decorated position in the Cardassian Empire to being cast down to the very bottom of life's possibilities along with some of the galaxies worst dregs seemed surreal to Duren. He could not even begin to think of what horrors lay unchecked on the world of Tesslak Prime, and he could not imagine lasting more than a few weeks on the hostile world himself. But to live there for two years? And with a young daughter by your side who one could only assume would catch the eye of the local savages. Somehow both Dukat and Ziyal had survived nothing short of a hellish reality and had yet came out virtually unscathed with their pride and morality, let alone their sanity, intact. For this Duren had nothing but the highest admiration one could have for the pair.

Finally after the most aggravating experience in recent times, Duren stood before the large wooden doors that made up the inn's entrance. As he pushed the doors open a strong, robust scent came to him. Being midday the inn's galley was hard at work preparing meals for the delegates before they were rushed off to the conference. For a moment Duren paused and took a whiff of the air to try and determine what exactly they were cooking. The smell though didn't hold his attention for long as it soon became evident of how impossible it would be to determine anything specific that was being prepared. There were members from nearly a dozen species currently being housed in the inn, each with their own specific tastes and menus. Obviously the smell was some odd mixing of all these menus and short of actually going into the galley Duren would have a hard time picking out any one specific dish. With a slight mental shake to get his mind back on track Duren turned down the nearest hallway and began searching for his room.

To Duren's surprise the hallway was packed with people. Most of them were workers of the inn going from room to room bringing meals and doing their best to tidy the place up. Duren noticed that most of them were Terrans, probably slaves that the inn's owner had been able to acquire cheaply from the slave trade market. His gaze lay on a few of them as he passed them in the hallways, but he didn't let his gaze stay for long. Something in those Terran features made Duren feel uneasy in that moment. It almost felt that they all knew that he was trying to take down Overseer Seven, who had strangely enough become some sort of icon for them. Because of that a whisper in his head gave into the notion that they were plotting against him, but he nearly laughed the idea off as he came to his room.

Upon entering his room another smell hit him, this time more defined and less appealing. "What is that awful smell?" he asked of his three companions.

"Tube Grubs," Tierzak said with a toothy Ferengi grin. "Dank and squirming, just like moogie use to make." The Ferengi eyed the fat worms as they moved about on the plate in front of him before looking back at Duren. "Care for one Duren?"

"I'll pass Tierzak," Duren said in response as he looked at the musty creatures. Just the smell of them was enough to make his stomach turn, let alone the sight. Tierzak replied with a shrug of his shoulders and Duren could hardly believe how greedily the little Ferengi ate them up. He just shook his head at the sight before turning to Dukat. "What, no meal for you Dukat?"

"I prefer to go into a meeting on an empty stomach. It helps me to focus better for some reason." Sitting across from Tierzak Dukat stared at the Ferengi for a moment before adding, "Plus the smell of those things that the Ferengi is eating has caused me to lose my appetite."

At the comment Duren laughed inwardly, but only let a small smile shine through. Taking a step towards where his comrades were sitting Dukat's daughter Ziyal suddenly came into view. She was quietly sitting off to one side of her father munching on something Duren recognized to be a Bajoran dish called Hasparat. For a moment Duren was surprised to see a Cardassian eating a Bajoran dish, but quickly realized how stupid his thought was since Ziyal was half Bajoran and had grown up on the Bajoran homeworld. Another thing that struck him odd about the scene was that it was probably the first time since Tierzak had brought the Cardassian pair aboard the Alvex that Duren had seen the girl eat. Throughout the whole time spent on the Alvex and while they were hiding on Andor he had never seen Ziyal eat or drink anything. As Duren took a seat in between Dukat and Tierzak he gave another little smile, as he was happy to see Ziyal do something besides silently sitting in a shadowed corner.

"What do you have there?" Dukat asked as he noticed the bottle in Duren's hand.

"Kanar, for our victory celebration after the delegation gets rid of Seven this afternoon." Duren replied as he handed the bottle to Dukat.

"'56, good choice of vintage here Duren."

"It better be a good vintage considering how much I had to pay for it."

Breaking into the Cardassian pair's talk of the Kanar Tierzak suddenly spoke up. "Do you really think the delegation will vote Seven guilty of treason?" the Ferengi barely managed to say with a mouth full of Tube Grub.

"Well you saw the evidence for yourself Tierzak. What do you think they will do about Seven?"

"I would vote her guilty myself, but I am not so sure some of the other delegates will see everything the same way I do."

"I agree with the Ferengi, Duren. If the attitudes we saw the other day were any indication then I don't see the vote turning out any different then it did. Every one of those delegates seemed to have a pretty firm stance on their position, whichever side of the argument they were on. Attitudes like that just don't change over night."

"Maybe so Dukat, maybe so. I still believe though that the evidence we gave them shows Seven's guilt so clearly that they won't help to vote for her to be removed from power."

"And who do you think will change their vote? Obviously you're hoping that the Bajoran, Breen, and Ferengi delegations stick with their vote against Seven, but do you really think that either our delegation or the Klingon one will change their mind? Our evidence against Seven is mostly based on the fact that she was the one responsible for Kai Winn's assassination three years ago. What do the Klingons care whether she did or not? And the same could be asked of the Detapa Council. When everything is said and done does this one occurrence really affect anything that is going on today?"

"The point of showing that Seven killed Kai Winn was to establish that she cannot be trusted. Think about it this way Dukat. If she can go and kill the kai behind everyone's back and get away with it scott-free while poor Ziyal here is blamed, then what is to stop her from any other act of subterfuge? We have established that she has already murdered one person in cold blood, what's to stop her from murdering more? Do you really think that everyone will just allow someone with that reputation to hold the second most powerful position in the Alliance?"

"You do not have to convince me of the reasons to get rid of Seven, Duren. I understand the situation perfectly. I'm just saying that not everyone else thinks along the same lines as we do. Even though you have plenty of justification to back up your position I still do not believe however that you have enough to convince all of the delegates, especially the Klingon ones."

"What about the Klingon dk'tahg that was found in Kai Winn's office near her body?"

"What of it?" Dukat asked with intrigue.

"When that Klingon blade was found in Kai Winn's office it was first assumed that the Klingons had something to do with her assassination. It wasn't until later on, after Ziyal's disappearance was discovered, that the Cardassians were blamed. Then of course Ziyal was blamed for planting the weapon as an attempt by the Cardassian government to try and seize power from the Klingons, which ultimately led to a widening rift in our alliance with them. Don't you think that now that Seven is shown to have killed the kai and planted the dk'tahg that some of the animosity that the Klingons hold towards us will be transferred onto her?"

"I suppose it's possible, but that won't keep me from being skeptical."

"You go on and keep being skeptical Dukat. By the day's end we shall see who is right."

"Yes Duren, we shall see."

After their conversation about what would happen at the conference that afternoon both Cardassians fell into a sort of quiet mood. Duren found a place for his bottle of Kanar and tucked it away, confident that it would be opened in celebration by the day's end. Dukat spent some time whispering back and forth to his daughter Ziyal, who listened more then responded. Oblivious to everything else the short Tierzak continued to munch on his Tube Grubs in quiet contentment. The sight disgusted Duren a little bit, but ultimately caused him to laugh inward about the scene Tierzak was making.

On a few occasions Duren started to open his mouth to say something to Dukat. A stale silence had fallen on the room and it was beginning to make Duren feel very uncomfortable. Each time though something in his mind came up and stopped him. Whenever he looked at the former gul he appeared to be lost in thought, and Duren didn't want to say anything and interrupt those thoughts. That wasn't entirely true though. The truth was that he just couldn't think of anything more to say. Between Dukat, Duren, and Tierzak there had been so much planning and preparation and discussing about their plan to get rid of Seven that now in the moments before that plan was to come to fruition there simply wasn't anymore that could be done in concern with the matter. Now they only needed to waste a few more moments before it was time for the conference to begin and for Seven's power to end.

Shifting in his seat Duren took note once again what time it was. Both to his dismay and his surprise he saw that there were still a good forty minutes before they were to leave and make their way across the busy spaceport to the meeting hall where the conference was scheduled to resume. In his almost painfully slow trip back to the inn he had almost lost his sense of time. The conversation between him and Dukat couldn't have last more than ten minutes at most, but it had felt as though it had consumed their entire free hour. Boredom was beginning to set in for the gul and in that instant he wished for something to do to pass the time more quickly before they were to depart. In the next instant it almost seemed as though his wish had mysteriously been found about and then granted as a small chime could be heard coming form the room's door.

With one swift and seemingly choreographed movement all four people suddenly turned their attention to the door. They held it there for a moment, not quite sure whether the door had really rung or they had all just imagined it. When it rang again their doubts about it ringing were put to rest and suddenly replaced by curiosity as to who it may be. Turning away from the door they all looked at each other, wondering if one of the people across from them had a clue as to who it might be. There they sat motionless for a moment before the door chimed for a third time.

Slowly Duren got up from his chair, still looking at the people around him. "This better not be more Tube Grubs, Tierzak," Duren said hoping to break the tension in the air. Turning around he slowly walked to the front door and paused for a moment for a reason not even he knew before he tapped a small panel which told the door to open. As it slid open two women appeared before Duren and the sight of them did nothing but make him even more confused. The first woman was a Terran, probably a slave. The other woman was a Bajoran, but not just any Bajoran. No, this Bajoran was different. She was probably the most underhanded individual Duren had ever known. "Can I help you with something, Intendant?" he asked with fake politeness and true curiosity.

"Gul Duren, how lovely to see you again. Yes, I believe there is a matter that you can help me with, or rather a matter I can help you with. May I come in?"

"By all means," Duren gestured.

As the Intendant made her way across the room she wore a smile that was obviously fake. Yet somehow it seemed real on her. "Dukat, what an honor it is to see such a noble man, censure or not." she said as she walked towards the group. "And Daimon Tierzak, how nice to see you as well." After greeting the two men she turned her attention to Dukat's daughter. "Ziyal, lovely Ziyal, you truly are a picture of young beauty."

"If you're done with your pitiful attempts at flattery then why don't you tell us why you're here." Dukat said neither believing in Kira's words or being amused by them.

"Dukat, there is no need to have a tone with me. I mean we are all friends here, aren't we?" As she asked the question she looked at everyone's face for some sort of approval, but all she was met with was silence. "Very well. If it's business that you want to talk about then who am I to try and say differently?" She paused for a moment after that to wet her lips and gather her thoughts before she looked for a place to sit down.

Picking up on Kira's thoughts Duren got up for a second and grabbed a chair, placing it directly opposite of him and his comrades. "Here you go Intendant," he said offering her the chair with a touch of disgust in his tone.

"Thank you Duren," Kira said as she sat down in the chair. Looking back across she saw four pairs of eyes staring intently at her, wondering what she was about to say. After taking a deep breathe she began. "You four want to get rid of Seven, this fact you said clearly enough at the conference the other day. I don't know why you do, but I won't disagree with your reasons, whatever they may be. I do know however that the attitudes we saw from the delegates don't bode well for your plan to get rid of her. There is a way that I can change their minds and help you if you wish me to."

"How?" was all Duren said in response.

"I know these delegates. I know what they think and how they feel. The how is not what is important at the moment. What is important is what you will have to do for me in return for helping you." Instantly the mood of everyone changed and any fleeting hope that might have entered their minds had suddenly vanished. "Don't worry, I ask only a simple thing." Kira quickly said as she noticed the change in mood. "All I want from you is to know where you got the security tapes. From what I heard those tapes were destroyed years ago."

"Tierzak is the one who got them," Duren said with a gesture to the Ferengi who sat beside him.

Instantly the Bajoran's attention was locked on the Ferengi and he grew very nervous as she stared at him. Calming his nerves a bit he replied with a calm and commanding tone. "I got the tapes from a trader. A trader whose identity I am not at liberty to reveal to you, Intendant."

Kira bit her lip in frustration at Tierzak's refusal to tell her what she felt she so needed to know. Gathering her thoughts she decided to try a slightly different angle. "But how did he get a hold of tapes that have been destroyed and forgotten about for three years?"

Hesitant, Tierzak looked at Duren for a moment to try and get a reading on how much he should tell Kira. A slight nod from the Cardassian gul signaled for Tierzak to go on. "I have no clue how my source got a hold of these tapes, but I do know that these are not the original ones that were reviewed by Bajoran security."

With the information being soaked in by Kira she put up an air of confusion. "What do you mean not the original ones? If these aren't the ones from Kai Winn's office then where did they come from?" she asked pretending to be completely baffled in concern with their source.

"Apparently someone tapped into the security feed for the kai's office on the day in question and made a recording for themself."

"And we know who did it too," Duren interrupted his Ferengi friend as he stared darkly at the Intendant.

"Now what ever could you mean by that Duren?" Kira asked as she made one last attempt at playing innocent.

"Let me make it more clear for you then, Intendant. We know that you and Kai Winn hated each other, enough so that you would want each other dead. We also know that Seven was working for you at the time of Winn's death. Now we have this tape here, copied off world, showing us that Seven was the one who killed the kai. Do you see what I mean now Kira? Or do I have to connect the dots for you?"

With Duren's words Kira abruptly stood up and furiously looked back at the Cardassian. "I come here, offering you help, and this is how I am treated? I, my good Duren, am the Intendant of Bajor and commander of Terok Nor. Too much honor has been bestowed upon me to have to sit here and be so hostily insulted."

"Sit down Nerrys," Dukat said, surprising everyone in the room both by his tone and the use of Kira's first name. "You had Seven kill Kai Winn and videotaped it. This we fully know. But that is no reason for you to be so upset. As you said, we are all friends here. If you help us to get rid of Seven then I see no reason that your involvement with her should be made public."

Starting to calm down Kira eased back into her seat. "So what are you going to do now, blackmail me into helping you?"

"No, we aren't blackmailing you at all Nerrys. I'm just trying to give you some incentive for helping us out here. If you don't want to help us get rid of Seven today then you shouldn't take it as threat that we would expose any dealings you might have had with her. After all, I'm confident that we have the support to get rid of Seven today without your help."

Biting her lip in annoyance Kira looked across at Dukat. "First of all Dukat, don't ever address me as Nerrys. That is a privilege above you." She waited for a moment and didn't make her other point until Dukat gave a nod in agreement. "Second, how can you be so confident that you have the support? From what I saw neither the Klingons nor the Cardassians thought anything of these charges, especially not enough to go against Seven on them. As for the Ferengi and Breen delegations, I still think they could go either way when it comes down to the vote. Both of them seemed wary the other day and I think that the only reason they voted with you was because they were unsure of the truth. Your little evidence may not have been enough to make them go against the Overseer when it comes down to it. You think that you made such a strong case as to get a unanimous vote on your side, but you might not end up with any votes at all."

"And what of the Bajoran vote?" Duren said as he stared at Kira.

"I personally wouldn't want to vote in Seven's favor, but my principles may force me to."

"Oh, I have a feeling you wouldn't want to vote against us, Kira," Dukat said with a smug grin as he leaned back in his chair.

Dukat's comment infuriated Kira to no end. Here she had come, thinking that her offer would undoubtedly give her some power over the small group of conspirators before her. As it turned out irony had stepped in and reversed the situation so that it ended in her being the one used. She wanted to storm out of there and never be forced to look upon any of heir smug faces again, but she knew that would do her no good. Instead she swallowed her pride for the moment and took the opportunity she had to become allies with them. "Very well," she slowly said, "I will cast the Bajoran vote in favor of Seven's dismissal. That's still only one vote though, you'll need three votes on your side otherwise the matter dies here today."

Duren sat back and thought about things for a moment. He had become confident in his plan and his evidence against Seven. To him the vote would be nothing but unanimous against Seven after everyone had clearly seen how she couldn't be trusted. But not all of them would think along the same lines as him. This was a fact that was all but guaranteed. As he looked intently at Kira he knew he had to try everything he could to be assured that Seven would walk out of the meeting hall a condemned traitor; he had invested too much in bringing her down for things to go any other way. "Alright Kira, if you can do something to help us out today then by all means go ahead." Both Dukat and Tierzak looked at Duren in confusion at his words. "We need all the help we can get to make sure that Seven doesn't get away with this. There has been too much risked for things to not go right," he said in response to everyone's looks as he gestured his hand out to shake the Intendant's.

Inwardly smiling at herself, Kira took Duren's hand and gave it a small shake. With that shake she felt like Duren was giving her some of the power that she had come looking for in the first place. In honest, that was whole reason for Kira's visit to the small band of conspirators. It wasn't that she was looking to get rid of Seven too; she was just looking for an opportunity to exploit and seize a little bit more power for herself.

"Well, I'm going to bid you a farewell," Kira said as she noticed what time it was. "The conference is going to start in just under fifteen minutes and I'd hate for anyone to be suspicious of me for being late." This comment caused both Duren and Dukat to give her a look of skepticism. Seeing this she just responded with, "Plus I'll need the extra time if you want me to talk to all of the delegates before the conference resumes."

"Okay, we see your point Kira." At that moment both Kira and Duren rose up from their chairs and began to head over to the quarter's door. When Kira and her attendant reached the door Duren stopped her for a moment. "Kira, there is something that has been bothering me about all of this. If you don't mind one more question then maybe you can answer it for me."

Frustrated and anxious to leave Kira stood there for a moment with a notable showing of impatience. After a silent moment passed she decided to allow one more question. "Go ahead Duren."

"I was just wondering why you stepped down as Overseer and appointed Seven as your replacement."

For a moment Kira went silent again as she became lost in thought. Then she simply replied with, "The reason for that is the same reason why I would never go against you Duren." before walking out the door.

As the door slid close behind Kira Duren paused for a moment and thought about her response. He wondered if by that she meant that Seven had blackmailed her over the Kai Winn incident or if it was something else entirely. No longer caring about it for the moment he just shrugged his shoulders and put the matter behind him as he walked away from the door.

When Duren had made it back to the room where his three comrades were still sitting he looked them over for a moment. "Well, what does everyone think about that little drama?" he asked, hoping to gauge everyone's position on what Kira had just said and done.

"I don't like it. She can't be trusted, Duren." Tierzak replied with a sort of paranoid tone to his voice.

"The Ferengi is right. Kira has never shown any reason for anyone to trust her, let alone us. I'm more than a little wary of letting her become an ally."

"That may be so Dukat, but I couldn't turn down an offer of help. Not even knowing from whom that offer came." The gul paused for a moment and turned his attention to Ziyal, who was simply staring off into some unforeseen realm. "What do you think Ziyal?"

The young woman jumped for a moment, surprised that her opinion was being asked in this matter. Throughout the whole of this mission to get rid of Seven not a single decision, not a single act, had been run by her for approval. For the most part she had felt out of place ever since her and her father had arrived on the Alvex and this whole thing had begun. Aside from having to recount her story a number of times she had remained silent, and was eager for a chance to contribute something. "I came to know her while I was working for Kai Winn and she is definitely up to something."

"Yes, but will that something be good or bad for us?"

"I don't know," Ziyal said as she felt like a failure for not having more to contribute.

"Well either way we shall soon find out." A pause came where each of them sorted out there thoughts for a moment about what had happened with Kira. Glancing over at a time readout Duren suddenly realized how little time was left before the meeting was to begin. "If everyone is ready then," he said as he gestured to the time readout, signaling it was time to go. After receiving a quick nod from everyone he turned and led them out of the inn.

As soon as they left the confines of the inn all four of them grew a little dismayed about how crowded the marketplace around them was. With the lunch crowd gone they had hoped to find the crowd a little smaller, but it seemed only to have grown. Having a quickly disappearing amount of time they grew wary that they would arrive late to the meeting. They did their best to push their way through the crowd and luckily for them the meeting hall wasn't too far from the inn so it didn't take too much time or effort on their part before arriving at the hall and making their way inside.

Once inside they quickly searched the labels above each doorway for the section that had been assigned to them. After their little 'entrance' two days before several of the delegates had panicked about the lack of security that apparently was guarding the conference. If Duren and his group could so easily sneak in then who was to say a group of Romulans couldn't sneak in as well? Or any other political enemy for that matter. As a result very strict protocols had been put in place, especially for seating arrangements. Normally only the top delegates would be allowed into the meeting, but because of how involved they had made themselves become in the meeting Duren's group had been invited as well.

When they found where they were to be seated they walked in through a stone archway to the main room of the huge theater house. Once inside they all looked at each other with an uneasy feeling. They were the last ones to arrive, and as such felt bad for having to put anything on hold for their benefit. Luckily for them though the meeting was still several minutes from starting, as they soon realized with relief.

With a few free moments Duren decided to look around the cavernous room and get a better look at its decor and a better look at the assembled delegates. Being so focused on Seven and his case the last time he had been in the room had caused a distraction which forced him to not be able to appreciate anything else that was around him. First off he wanted to try and figure out where exactly they had been placed to sit. To their left he noticed that General Rakln and the rest of the Breen delegation were seated. To their right, much to Duren's surprise, was a little raised area where the Regent along with B'elanna and Seven were to be seated. He was surprised that they would be placed right next to Seven considering how hard they were working to discredit her.

As he eased back into his seat something else caught his attention. Across from them was the Bajoran delegation, but Duren only saw Kira's two advisors Ro Laren and a man by the name of Shakaar Edon. He wondered for a moment where Kira was, until he spotted her talking to Natima Lang and the rest of the Cardassian delegation. He smiled at himself as he knew what they were talking about. Kira was trying to get the Cardassians to vote against Seven during the meeting. He wondered how many of the others she had spoken to, but more impotently he wondered how many votes she had been able to gain for them. As the bustle from everyone rushing into the hall settled down a young Klingon officer made his way into the room and brought with him the ceremonious Bell of Tarqluin. After holding it up high for a moment as a sign for everyone to quiet down, he gave the bell such a shake that it almost shook free of its wooden frame as its loud rang echoed throughout the room.

A stillness filled the air as each delegate became a silent statue with their attention focused on the raised platform where Worf and Seven sat. Slowly Worf rose up and a commanding air seemed to come from him. As before, he took a moment to look at each delegate and to soak in the entire environment around him before speaking. "Assembled delegates, before we begin I wanted to comment on one thing. I know that there is one issue, which due to events that took place the other day has taken precedence in all our minds, but do not forget that there are other issues that need to be gone over before this council is adjourned. I think that we should start with some of these issues first before we go into the matter concerning Seven."

"Why do you feel like we should discuss other matters first, Regent?" Kira asked. "Isn't the allegiance of the second most powerful person in the Alliance an important enough issue to be dealt with first?"

Before Worf could respond to the questions asked by Kira B'elanna rose up in his defense. "The matter concerning Seven is very important. Even I'll admit to that. But shouldn't we focus our minds and our energy on our real foe, the Romulans, first?" Directly the question was for Kira to answer, but indirectly it was meant for all of the delegates. Knowing what would probably happen to her friend once the matter was talked in depth over B'elanna felt it necessary to try and delay that moment as long as possible. Plus, she didn't want anyone to lose what the real focus of this meeting was.

"I won't try and say that the issues involving the Romulans are any less important overall," Kira said, trying to be as friendly as possible, "but I think we all need to know who we can trust in our cause against the Romulans. If not then this will all have been in vain."

"I agree with the Bajoran Intendant," Rakln suddenly spoke up, surprising the rest of the delegates that he would so openly agree with Kira so early into the proceedings. "It needs to be decided whether or not the Overseer can be trusted with the knowledge of our tactics against the Romulans."

"Very well," said Worf, hoping that by discussing the matter with Seven first he would be able to make the arguments between the delegates as few and far between as possible. "If there are any questions that need to be asked on the matter with Seven then now is the time to ask."

"If I may go first," Rakln asked as he looked around the room for any objections. After seeing none he continued. "These security tapes that we were shown are a very convincing piece of evidence. In them we can clearly see that it was a Terran woman and not a Cardassian woman who killed Kai Winn. What I want to know is how are we expected to believe that this figure is indeed Overseer Seven? While the assassin does have the same physical characteristics as she did three years ago, I saw no concrete proof that it was her. It can just as easily be believed that Kai Winn was killed by some other Terran woman."

"You raise a good point, general." Duren said as he stood up to address the Breen general's concerns. "Yes, the tape is a little vague. And yes, the woman in the tapes could just as easily be a different Terran woman. But I have two facts that I'd like to present that might clear up this small bit of confusion. The first thing I shall mention is that it would have been a lot easier for Seven to assassinate the kai over any other Terran, as so few of them aren't under lock and key."

"Opportunity doesn't breed motive Duren," B'elanna said in response.

"This is true Intendant. However, I believe that everyone is forgetting that we have two pieces of evidence against the Overseer." With that Duren turned his gaze on Ziyal, who sat nervously by Dukat. "Do not forget that this girl here was present during those events and knows firsthand of Seven's guilt."

"Was she there in the kai's office when the murder took place?" the normally quiet Natima Lang asked.

"Well no," Duren said with a little hesitation as he tried to see a way through Natima's question. "But she was in the same building on the day of the murder as well as the days leading up to it, when Seven asked some very suspicious questions concerning the building's security."

"The fact remains that she saw nothing and therefore her testimony is meaningless. Besides, why would we believe the lies of the half mongrel daughter of a traitor to the state?"

"Let me tell you something...." Dukat started to say as he rose before Duren quickly sat him back down and shook his head.

"Delegates, please. I think we are straying from the topic." A soothing tone had accompanied Kira's words and she tried to show a sympathetic look on her face for reasons anyone could guess at. "We needn't bicker amongst ourselves about whether or not we can trust Ziyal. She is not the one who's loyalties are in question."

"So you say that you can not trust me, yet you rally that Ziyal's word is to be believed without question?" Seven asked as she finally said something in her defense. "What are your motives behind that?"

"I didn't say that Ziyal's words should be blindly followed. I'm simply trying to say that this girl's word is irrelevant at the moment and that we need to focus on Seven's word."

"Her word is not so irrelevant when her word might decide what happens to me."

"Whether Ziyal is telling the truth or not is irrelevant though because she didn't see anything." Standing there having agreed with Kira for a second time some doubt was cast in the direction of the stalwart Breen general. "Her testimony is no more useful than one given by anyone else on the planet that day. Only one person knows for certain who killed Kai Winn, and whether that person is Seven or not is the issue at hand. Other than that we have only these security tapes to go on."

"What of these tapes exactly, Duren? How do we know that these weren't manufactured by yourself and that traitor to help vindicate him and his daughter? After all, I don't recall you ever mentioning where you got them from. What is to say that this isn't all just some elaborate hoax created only to serve the purpose of destroying the leadership of this council for your own petty gains?"

"I can assure you that the tapes are real," Tierzak said to Natima. "My contact was very thorough in identifying them to be genuine."

"And who is your contact?" Natima asked of the Ferengi.

"That is something I can't tell."

"Well then you see my problem Tierzak. Both pieces of evidence that you and Duren have provided are far too unreliable for the Cardassian people to put enough stock in to believe."

"I will admit that our evidence is not as solid as some of you delegates may prefer, but is that any excuse to dismiss it so quickly? Look at Seven's face and think back to everything that has been shown and told to you over the past few days. Is that face of someone you can trust, let alone hold the second highest position in the Alliance? Whether you might believe it to be true or not the fact is that she killed someone for no reason. She may have killed others. I for one can't trust her to make such important decisions for the Alliance."

"Even if she did kill Kai Winn, I still see no reason to make such a question about her loyalty." Martok spoke up for the so far quiet Klingon delegation. "After everything that I have seen and heard I still see no connection between Kai Winn's assassination and the Romulan War, which is what should be the focus here."

"Don't you see Martok? Don't any of you see that she committed a serious offense when she murdered Kai Winn and someone of that character could easily commit another, this time which could have serious consequences for us all? The connection, my dear Klingon friend, is that if she could do as something as big as assassinate the Bajoran leader and not even be suspected then who is to say that she won't ultimately do something to aide the Romulans in destroying the Alliance? Who is to say that she hasn't done so already? I mean, how else could the Romulans have found out about the Q'osk V shipyard as, well as a dozen other installations were it not for help from some high ranking Alliance member?"

"And why are you such a big supporter of Duren's plans, Kira? You hated Kai Winn, so why are you trying so hard to find her real killer?" Natima asked the Bajoran Intendant. When a response wasn't given she added, "Does this have something to do with you losing the Overseer position two years ago?"

"The only thing this has to do with is ensuring that the Alliance is not destroyed by a traitor. Look at her everyone. She is a Terran for Prophet's sake! I may be confused, but aren't the Terrans are enemies? How can we allow one to hold such a high position?"

"I am half Terran," B'elanna suddenly said. "Should I be equally condemned because of my heritage?"

"If you have murdered someone in cold blood then yes you should be. The point I'm trying to make isn't that Seven can't be trusted because of her heritage, but because of her past actions."

"Enough!" Regent Worf suddenly said having had enough of everyone's bickering. "All we are doing here is bringing up useless points and arguing in circles. You all have seen and heard every bit of evidence against Seven. If there is nothing more substantial that needs saying then I think we should put a vote on whether she is to be tried on the crime of treason or not." He looked around the room and saw no one object to the course of action. "Do you have any problem with that Duren?" he asked, wanting to make sure nothing further was to be brought up.

"We have nothing further to add, Regent." He said with confidence as he sat down.

"Very well. Before the vote is called for I feel that one last chance needs to be given to Seven to say anything in her defense." Worf then turned and looked at Seven and gave a nod before sitting down. In response she slowly rose.

Carefully Seven looked over each delegate who had assembled in the cavernous meeting hall and slowly chose each word, knowing they may soon decide her fate. After a deep breath and a wetting of her lips she began. "I know that the evidence that Duren and his associates have presented is compelling, and forces everyone to cast doubt on me, but when has that doubt not been cast on me? Because I am a Terran doubt was automatically placed on me. Because my people were your enemies I was automatically considered to be your enemy. But I am not your enemy. For two years I have served as your Overseer and has anything gone wrong during that time? Have any of you seen anything to cause you to doubt me outside of my race? The true enemy of the Alliance is the Romulans, not me. There will be claims of my allegiances from now until the time when I am only remembered in history books. Should we really allow the time to pause and spend our time and focus on a threat created only by those looking to blame others for things that are not to their liking? You have seen the evidence and now you must decided if Duren is right, if I should be removed from my seat of power. I would just like to add that if you do vote against me then I will accept it with grace. The real concern of mine is seeing that the Alliance is not destroyed by an enemy, whether that enemy is Romulan or someone from within. And if you think the Alliance will grow stronger with my departure then I welcome that." With that she sat down and gave a rather noble appearance as she awaited her fate.

"All right," Worf said as he started to rise. "As before a vote will now be called. This time we will start with the Breen delegation and move around the room clockwise."

Slowly General Rakln rose up from his seat and looked at Seven before delivering the Breen vote. "The Breen delegation votes to remove Seven from the seat of Overseer. We still have questions concerning the evidence that Duren has provided and therefore questions about Seven. Until our questions are answered we do not feel comfortable about leaving her in such a high position."

After Rakln sat down and everyone was given a moment to let his words soak in Martok stood up. "The Klingon delegation also votes to remove Seven from power. Whether or not she killed Kai Winn is not the real reason we have gone through all of this and we feel that the true matter, whether we can trust her in our war with the Romulans, is of big enough concern to take her out of such an influential position." Shock ran through a few people's minds as none expected the Klingons to vote against Seven. That shock was quickly put out of their minds though as Natima rose to cast the Cardassian vote.

"The Cardassian delegation votes to remove Seven from power. There has been a lot tossed around here at this conference to make anyone skeptical of Seven's true motives and her true allegiances, but we believe none of it. Words of a traitor and tapes fabricated by a conspirator will not deter our beliefs in the slightest. The fact though is that we have never fully trusted her and with things as they are now we can not allow her to remain in power any longer." As Natima sat down shock splashed through everyone's mind once more. The vote was already three against Seven and neither the Bajoran or Ferengi delegations had cast their vote yet.

Next Kira rose up to cast a vote. She looked all round the room for a moment but for some reason didn't look at Seven, whether by accident or will no one was sure. "None of you may believe the evidence we have been shown here, but I for one do. I believe that Seven did in fact kill Kai Winn and that forces me to no longer trust her with the Alliance's most important decisions. Therefore the Bajoran delegation votes to remove Seven from power."

Last to vote was once again the Ferengi delegation. Also once again they hadn't made a single noise while everyone else had spent so much time arguing the matter amongst themselves. They seemed to enjoy being left out of the political struggles and simply being there to reap the benefits of whatever decision was made. "We have spent the past two days carefully going over the evidence against Seven and listening to everyone's questions today." Zek said in his high nasal voice. "Not everything on this matter is clear, but one thing is very clear to us. That thing is simply that we cannot trust Seven with our most important decisions. Therefore we must vote for her to be removed from power."

Five votes and all of them were casted against Seven. Duren couldn't help but to smile a little bit as his plan came full circle and he was given such a complete victory. He had worked long and hard on his plan to remove Seven from power for well over a year now, and finally it had come to fruition. Part of him wanted to cry out in joy not so much for the fact that Seven had been beaten, but because it was his brilliance and Tierzak's ingenuity that had beaten her. Leaning back in his chair with a feeling of long due accomplishment something odd caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to look he noticed that Kira was looking back at him from across the meeting hall. As their eyes met she simply winked at him before letting a mischievous smile show on her face.

A unanimous vote. B'elanna just couldn't believe it, and she was having a hard time letting the fact soak in. She had known that Duren had some strong evidence, but she didn't believe that the delegates would believe in it so strongly. Seven had never shown anything but loyalty towards the Alliance, and now this is how she was to be repaid? At that moment the realization of the vote sunk in and all she could do was look on her Terran friend with sadness as she knew what was to become of her.

Seven had remained a majestic pillar, even after the votes had been cast. She knew being a Terran caused others in the Alliance to have doubts when it came to her. This fact had been a constant all throughout her life. The fact that the delegates had just condemned her did not surprise her, though she didn't expect for all five of them to go against her. In the end though did it matter at all whether one had voted against her or all five? She knew that they were all becoming worried about the war with the Romulans and they had to find someone to blame those worries on. Who better than the Terran in the high seat of power? Either way though she knew that her fate had been sealed on this day, but she vowed that her life would not end on it too.

Worf looked over at Seven for a moment and was surprised to see her sitting there so calmly. He knew that the charges brought about her would ultimately lead to her execution, and she must have known that as well. Yet she still sat there as though nothing could affect her. A kind of sadness made its way into his being. Seven was a Terran, and yet at times he couldn't help but to think of her as something else. In those times all he could think of her as was a friend. Now though the time for their friendship had run out. "Guards," Worf said before two Klingon soldiers promptly appeared. "Take the Overseer and put her in a holding cell," he said, trying to hide any emotion from his voice, but doing a poor job of it. Promptly the two soldiers took hold of Seven and escorted her out of the room. She said nothing and only looked at B'elanna, telling her in some way that everything would be all right, before walking out of the room and out of everyone's fears.

"Now that that matter has been settled, should we not talk about the Romulan threat?" Martok said the moment Seven was gone. In his mind everything leading up to this moment had been a waste of time and he was anxious to get to the important matter at hand.

"Before we get ahead of ourselves shouldn't we talk about what is to be done with Seven?"

"There is nothing to talk about, Kira. Seven is a traitor and a Terran. If she is lucky enough to escape a firing squad then she will live out her days in a dilithium mine." Natima said as though she was speaking of a piece of garbage that was to be tossed rather than a living, breathing person.

"Still though, shouldn't we at least decide on something final?"

"Haven't we wasted enough time on her?" Martok said with impatience and disgust. "There is a real threat out there from the Romulans, and if we ignore them and focus all our time on a pointless matters like what to do with a traitor then we will be ill prepared when they come for us."

"I agree that we should discuss the Romulan situation," Rakln suddenly spoke up. "But since the matter with Seven is still fresh should we not deal with that first once and for all?"

Worf couldn't believe it. The matter with Seven had been resolved, or at least he had thought it had been, and yet the delegates were still fighting. It was hard to imagine that these people who acted like children were the ones running the Alliance. There was not a single issue that could be brought up that they wouldn't argue on, and Worf had grown weary of it. It had almost gotten to the point where he wished that there was some way he could shed his political garb and return to the glory days when he was commanding a ship in battle. Those days were behind him though, and he just had to tolerate the days that were ahead of him.

"Silence!" Worf suddenly shouted at the bickering delegates. Quickly they each quieted down and looked at him with their full attention. "We have dealt with Seven for the moment. Right now we should focus back onto the main goal of this conference, the war with the Romulans. Too much time has been wasted on half-truths and finger pointing so far and nothing significant has been accomplished. Once we deal with every item on the list then we can discuss what is to be done with Seven. Agreed?" His gaze swept the room to make sure that there was no opposition to his plan. When he saw none he continued. "Now, where should we begin?" he asked as he began to look over a P.A.D.D. with a list of topics.

Suddenly the doors behind where Worf and B'elanna were seated burst open. A burly looking Klingon officer came marching in and stopped just beside the Regent. "Sir, there is something you should know." he said after a crisp salute.

"What now?" Worf said, not even trying to show his displeasure at having something new interrupt the conference. The officer bent down beside Worf and whispered the news to him. His eyes grew wide for a moment and suddenly everyone's curiosity was caught at what was being said. Worf then muttered something to the officer before he rushed back out the doors. "Apparently there is someone else that wishes to address this council," he said to the delegates before he gestured to the center as a figured appeared from the same hallway that Duren had come from two days earlier.

The tall figure made his way towards the center of the room to address the delegates. Though he walked with obvious pain he still seemed to have an invincible air about him. His uniform as well as his visible features were Klingon, but no one could tell right away who he was. As he walked he looked down towards the ground and his shoulder length hair covered his face from view. When he reached the room's center he stood there for a moment as if waiting for something, before bringing his head up and letting his face come into view as his hair fell back. The entire room took in a gasping breath as they all saw who it was.

"Commander Koltarn!" B'elanna shouted. Though she was the one to say his name in surprise the rest of the room's crowd shared in that shock. She then continued expressing the room's feelings as she asked the question that was present in all of their minds. "But how? I thought you were dead."

"I was close to it, Intendant, but I stand here before each of you with a new resolve and a startling truth." Koltarn's voice gave another sign of pain, but a fleeting one. A few still healing wounds could be seen and it was apparent that he had just come off of some nightmarish ordeal. "If I may Regent," he addressed Worf, wanting the Regent's approval before continuing on.

"Of course," Worf said to the Klingon soldier. There was a sort of excited energy in Worf now that replaced the weary frustration that he had felt moments before. Koltarn was a soldier which he had given a lot of respect. Ever since contact had been lost with him and his team on the Delpox II mission Worf had feared the worst for one of the Alliance's best. Then there was all the talk of traitors the past few days and Seven's claims that Koltarn must have been the one to give the Romulans information had made him feel even more unsettled. To see Koltarn standing before him alive and well for the most part gave Worf a bit of relief and a new hope as one of the greatest soldiers in the Alliance had come back from the grave to fight for their cause once more.

"Delegates," Koltarn started as addressed everyone in the room. "I'm sure that many of you have questions concerning me at the moment. If you will all ignore those for the moment, there is a larger issue at hand. I will say one thing though. During my month long imprisonment in a Romulan camp I was tortured and abused in ways that no one would dare wish to think about. In all this time it would have been easy for me to just accept defeat and die in that camp, or worse yet reveal something to my captors. But I persevered. I knew that the Alliance depended on me and I fought with every bit of pride and courage and honor one person could own. Though the ordeal was grueling, I survived with all three of these things intact, and in that time I learned something."

Koltarn took a slight pause to gather his thoughts and look out at the crowd. Each person in the crowd was sitting on the edge of their seat, hanging onto every word of his in anticipation. He smiled a little bit, but not in the same way Duren had when he was the one addressing the council. No, this smile was caused simply by the fact that Koltarn felt like he had finally come home.

"En route here I learned about what has happened in the war recently and about the mindset that everyone is in. With the recent turn in the tide of war against us it was only natural to assume that the Romulans were getting help from somewhere. Then, when the shipyard at Q'osk V was attacked and destroyed, one of the most highly kept secrets in the Alliance, it became all but a certainty that they were getting information from some inside source. But who? That was the question in all of your minds, and instead of trying to get to the bottom of who that source was you began to point fingers of mistrust at each other; which is exactly what the Romulans wanted."

"I don't mean to offend you Koltarn," Kira said, breaking into the soldier's words, "but we already discovered who the traitor was."

"Are you for certain of that Intendant?" Koltarn asked as he turned to look Kira. Their eyes met for a second and Kira got the feeling that she should remain quiet until Koltarn finished addressing the delegates. "I also know of what happened here the other day and how Seven was condemned as a traitor to the state. Though I do not know what your final decision on the matter was I can guess, since I do not see her presence anywhere in this room." He paused for a moment, gaining both effect and breath, before continuing. "I do not pretend to know Seven's past sins nor will I pretend to know her present ones. Being Terran I'm sure she made for the easy target in your witch-hunt for a traitor today, but I do not believe she is the one who betrayed us to the Romulans. No, I found someone who I know to have helped the Romulans against us, and it is no one you might think."

Tension in the room rose to a new height as everyone felt like screaming at the Klingon soldier the question of who. Having just gone through the ordeal of convicting Seven they had felt satisfied that the information leak had been plugged, and now suddenly Koltarn had risen from the grave and told them they were wrong. The whole thing seemed like pure lunacy, and they demanded to know what was going on.

Koltarn turned his gaze and with his so did everyone else's. He was looking back at the hallway where he had appeared from, and no one could figure out why. Suddenly three more figures appeared from the doorway and made their way to the room's center. The first was another Klingon soldier, Commander Mulkrit. Another highly decorated Klingon officer and one who had become sadly distant ever since the loss of Lyca Station last year. The other soldier of the three was Breen, and not one that anyone instantly recognized. It was first realized by General Rakln, then by everyone else a heartbeat later, the Breen soldier was Captain Zelbreghn. Complete and dumbfounded feelings swarmed through each delegate, who hardly believed that what they were seeing was real any longer. First the assumed dead soldier of Koltarn had marched his way back into existence, and now Zelbreghn had performed the same trick. They were completely dumbstruck, but little did they know that the biggest surprise lay in the third figure.

Between Mulkrit and Zelbreghn a third figure had been pushed with them to the room's center. His hands were bound and a piece of material had been put over his head, making it impossible for anyone to know what species he was, let alone who. Once the three figures reached the center Koltarn grabbed the material on the third figure's head and looked back at the delegates for a moment. "This is who your traitor is," Koltarn said declaratively before pulling off the material and revealing the blue toned face of General Shrelik."

"An Andorian!" Worf said suddenly standing up as gasps came from every person present. "Where did you find him at?"

"This Andorian was one of the interrogators at the prison where Zelbreghn and I were being held. Obviously he or another of his kind is the one who helped the Romulans to discover the shipyard at Q'osk V and a number of our other bases." Koltarn paused for a moment and let the revelation sink into everyone's mind before adding the last bit of important information he felt that everyone needed to know. "In case some of you don't know who this Andorian is, his name is Shrelik. Before the Great Andorian Massacre he held the rank of general in the Andorian Imperial Guard and was one of their highest decorated soldier's."

Standing there looking at the blue face of Shrelik Worf began to put the puzzle pieces together in his mind. It all made sense to him. Who better to betray the Alliance than a former ally? Especially one who had betrayed his imzadi, Deanna. With someone who had as much tactical knowledge about the Alliance as Shrelik it suddenly made sense how the Romulans had suddenly gained such an advantage. Only one thing stuck out in his mind though. "How are you still alive? It has been three years since the Great Andorian Massacre and not a single one of your people has been seen since. I had assumed that all of your people had been wiped out."

"Arrogant Klingon fool," Shrelik said in response. "Did you actually think you could wipe us all out? How small minded you have become." Mulkrit suddenly gave Shrelik a quick thump to his skull with the back of his hand and Shrelik stumbled with an oomph.

As the pieces about Shrelik and his betrayal began to be put together in Worf's mind he suddenly realized something else. If the Andorian before him was truly the one who had given the Alliance away to the Romulans then what about Seven? "Guard," he quickly said and the burly Klingon officer made a snappy return. "Go and get the Overseer and bring her back here." As the officer rushed out Worf saw how many of the delegates stared at him in confusement about his order. "If Shrelik is the Alliance's traitor then surely Seven must be vindicated," he said to them. Few in the crowd supported that idea, but at the moment they were too busy trying to sort everything out to argue the point.

While the officer went to retrieve Seven the delegates began to talk amongst themselves, trying to fit everything together and understand what exactly had gone on. After a delay of untold lengths the officer returned to Worf's side alone. Quickly he bent down and whispered something in the Regent's ear.

"Where is she?" Worf said to the officer. "What? Are you positive? Get someone on it then," were the phrases that came from Worf before the officer hurried out of the room once more. Slowly Worf stood up and took the entire scene before him in one sweeping gaze before relaying to the delegates what had happened. "Seven is gone." A few gasps and hushed mutterings could be heard which caused Worf to pause momentarily in his explanation. With a lifting of his hand the crowd silenced and prepared themselves for Worf's next words. "Apparently after being placed in a holding cell several of her crewmembers killed the guards and helped her to escape. They managed to get all the way to her docked ship before anyone noticed. Roughly ten minutes ago Seven departed from the dock and set a course for an unknown destination." Immediately everyone filled up again with confusion and panic, everyone but Worf. While they all saw this as an opportunity for more chaos to breed he saw it as one more shining example to stress order. "My fellow delegates, no my fellow soldiers, I want you to remember what has happened at these proceedings. Remember how easily a few convenient words can turn us upon each other and blind us to our real threat, to the Romulan threat. It is in those green-blooded bodies that beats the heart of our true enemy. We must not allow petty differences and misunderstandings to come between us anymore. With the help of Shrelik and the Andorian survivors the Romulans are marching in a campaign fiercer then ever before. If we do not take this opportunity to unite against them in opposition then surely we shall fall into oblivion. I ask you my brothers and sisters in arms to stand with me in the face of the coming twilight. Let no more divisions be drawn between us. Let us stand as a united front against the Romulans and let us beat back the night until nothing but day is all that shall remain. Are you with me?" The reply wasn't instant, but with the lead of Koltarn and his two comrades the room was soon filled with rallied cries.

As everyone else cheered for the downfall of the Romulans B'elanna couldn't help but to sit in silence and go over everything that had happened the past couple of days. It all seemed like some sort of dream. Between the attack that she had been through on her way here, to all the accusations that had been tossed around, to the revelations that had happened today with Koltarn and Shrelik. She couldn't help but to be left feeling a little nervous by everything. Listening to the rallied cheers as they echoed throughout the cavernous chamber B'elanna hoped that her ill feelings were unjustified and that she had just lived through her darkest days. She hoped that the knowledge about Shrelik and the other Andorians was enough to finally end all the bickering and fighting amongst the leaders of the Alliance and she hoped that they would finally be able to be a completely united front against the Romulans. As she looked up Worf took her hand and brought him to stand next to him. Looking out at the crowd only one last hope came to her mind. B'elanna thought of Seven, and she hoped that her actions had not just proven that everyone had been right about her all along.