A/N: This took way too long, and I'm sorry, but it's here now! And I have plans for its continuation, so progress should be made now, albeit slowly.

Hope you all enjoy! Soecial thanks as always to my good friend Kretolus, because he's awesome :D


The Shadow of Bajor slowed back to impulse speed as it reached the edge of the Iconia system, and Lydana was on her feet in an instant.

"Go to yellow alert, raise shields," she commanded, and light bars set into the bridge walls began to pulse a sickly yellow.

"Ops, start scanning for any-"

"Ma'am, we have a problem."

"What is it, mister Rhobas?" she asked her Andorian tactical officer, his expression confused and concerned.

"We're being bombarded by some sort of tachyon pulse, it's stopping us from raising shields," he explained flatly. "At the same time, our sensors are being jammed – or at least someone is attempting to jam us. I don't think they realised how good the sensors are on an Intel vessel...but it is still making it harder to lock down the location.

"Ryan, all stop. I don't want us going anywhere until-"

She was cut off mid-sentence, as she suddenly vanished in a flare of transporter light.


The first thing Lydana noticed was the darkness.

Not a true, total blackout, instead it was a grubby, dimly-lit gloom, caused by small patches of fluorescent moss. Although she couldn't gauge where she was, she figured it was a cave or somewhere underground.

Then she noticed the bindings, and the upright table she was restrained to.

"Well, that went far better than I expected," purred a voice that Lydana swore she should know. "The famed Admiral Kassai, helpless and entirely at my mercy."

"Who are you?" she demanded of the voice. "What do you want with me?"

"Hush, Lydana," the voice crooned, "I want to savour this moment, and you are spoiling it."

Lydana peered into the dark, desperate to find her captor.

"Who are you," she asked again, "and how do you know me?"

"Let's just say," the voice answered, moving closer, "we are two sides of the same coin."

Lydana gasped as the person emerged from the shadows, bringing her face close to Lydana's.

She found herself staring into her own brown eyes, the figure before her an almost exact mirror image. The scars were different, as was the cut of her chestnut-coloured hair, but the woman she saw was very definitely herself, the badge she wore marking her as being from the Mirror Universe.

"But...how?" Lydana asked, and her double laughed viciously.

"An unpleasant side effect of your attempt to break into our universe," Mirror Lydana answered with cruel glee. "I've been trying to get through for such a long time, and then you come along and virtually open the door for me."

"What do you want?" Lydana asked firmly, testing her restraints but to no avail.

Her counterpart grinned, an unpleasant smile that chilled Lydana to the core.

"I've been doing a little research since I got through," the Mirror Bajoran said, pacing in front of her captive, "and I was surprised to find that in this universe, I have been quite successful. Life in our universe is not easy, nor is it pleasant, and I decided I was going to take what should be mine."

Lydana frowned.

"My life is not yours," she said, her voice disdainful. "Just because we are the same person in different universes, doesn't mean that you are entitled to my life."

"I am!" the Mirror Lydana snarled, gripping the other by the throat. "I am here because you let me in, and if we inhabit the same universe then I am you!"

She let go, and Lydana sucked in a grateful breath between bouts of coughing.

"I am taking over your life, Lydana, and I will make our name one for all to fear." The Mirror Lydana pulled out a hypospray, pressing it to Lydana's neck with a soft hiss.

"Time to sleep, my precious twin," the Mirror invader crooned, stroking Lydana's cheek almost tenderly. "But don't worry, I won't leave without saying goodbye."

Lydana attempted to speak, but her eyelids had grown heavy and her mind fogged, until she finally slumped against her restraints as she lost consciousness.