The Founder's demand hung in the air. For a moment nothing was said. Robert shared glances with some of the others, including Sisko. Sisko in particular wasn't surprised, but he was clearly not happy over it.
The Dominion posed a threat in a number of ways. It had advanced, capable technology, with its polaron weapons capable of bypassing most standard deflector shield systems. The Jem'Hadar were a ruthless slave race bred only for combat, making them dangerous foes. The Vorta knew well how to manipulate diplomatic and economic situations to the Dominion's advantage. But the greatest threat of them all were the Founders themselves. Not only could they shapeshift, but most scanning methods couldn't discern a real object from a Changeling masquerading as one. With their shapeshifting abilities they were the ultimate infiltrators.
Every power at the table learned that the hard way, too. The Founder infiltrators stirred latent Federation-Klingon differences into conflict and all-out war. They bombed a diplomatic summit on Earth and, just by their presence, nearly provoked a militarist takeover of Starfleet and the Federation. They'd nearly provoked a war between the Federation and the Tsen'kethi beforehand, and even earlier, they'd sabotaged one of Robert's most crucial missions, the investigation into a Darglan base in the S4W8 system of 33LA. The result had certainly accelerated the Alliance's descent into war with the Greater German Reich of that universe, a war that cost millions of Alliance dead, thousands of starships from the Alliance fleets and those of its allies, and lingered on in the SS Exiles' use of interuniversal technology to continue to operate across the Multiverse.
They'd caused some of that damage too, replacing Alliance Senator Kiang and using her position to send sensitive data to the Reich, leading to a disastrous ambush that nearly cost Robert and his friends their lives. Then the imposter Kiang nearly ripped the Alliance apart in civil war by supporting Gersallian Dissenter militants in an attack on the Alliance Senate.
And now the Dominion wanted them to get rid of the only defense they had against those infiltrators.
"You are undoubtedly aware of the damages your fellow Founders have caused to the three governments we represent," T'Latrek said, her Vulcan calm edged with what Robert thought was a measure of disgust. "You are now insisting we open ourselves to further such attacks."
"These devices do more than detect us," the Founder replied. "They distort our cells and inflict terrible pain. You say you use them for defense, but you could also use them to torture us. To kill us, even, with prolonged exposure."
"We would not use them in this fashion," Talam said. "It would violate all manners of laws."
"It is our experience that solids care little for any law if it gets in the way of what they want," retorted the Founder. "We will not tolerate their existence, much less their use. Not only could you use them against us yourselves, you might spread them to other species and cultures." The Founder's voice softened. "We are not unreasonable. Given the importance of this matter to us, we are prepared to make many concessions to the powers of the Alpha Quadrant."
Naturally it was Pensley who seized the offered lifeline. "Such as?"
Without a trace of reservation, the Founder answered, "We would be willing to withdraw from Cardassia and limit ourselves to the Gamma Quadrant."
That brought a number of stunned faces and, Robert noted, a very horrified expression from Gul Dukat.
With all of the speed they could muster Lucy and Talara raced through the dark corridors of the Habitat Ring. Both felt distant sensations of intense pain, the type that only came from deliberate torture. But it was vague and they couldn't sense the central location, only the sense that it wasn't where they were heading.
They felt a pull toward one set of quarters. The door was unlocked. Inside they found that the quarters in question were empty of all but furnishings, some of which were out of place. A chair and a table were knocked over.
"Someone was taken from here. In pain," Talara said. Her sensitivity ran toward feeling such echoes.
"We'd better alert Constable Odo. Whether or not this has anything to do with the peace talks…"
A blue light came alive over the back of Lucy's left hand. Her omnitool was receiving an incoming call. She used her right finger to tap the light. "Lucero here, go ahead."
"Lieutenant, I'm in Station Security," said Angel. "And there's someone here you need to see."
Lucy and Talara arrived to find Odo's security office was already near to capacity. Aside from the taciturn chief of station security and Angel herself, Lucy noticed Lt. Tony Zah of the Aurora's security department, Commander Richmond herself, Commander Worf, and Commander Dax.
Finally, near Odo's desk was a white-robed woman. She had an oval-shaped face and there was a hint of South Asian ancestry in her facial structure while her complexion was as light as Dax's. She had a similar shape to Dax as well while not quite matching her height, and her hair was a solid, brilliant red in color.
"This is Pallina Tormayama," Odo said to them once the door was closed. "She's here to report a threat to the summit."
Lucy could feel the power in Pallina' mind. She didn't have sensitivity to the Flow of Life as Lucy and Talara did, but she was a capable telepath, Lucy believed.
Pallina nodded to her. I am, Lucilla Lucero. Aloud she said, "I need your help. They're here to attack your conference and they've got my brother."
"Who?" asked Worf. "The Romulans?"
"No. The Ministry of Fate, the rulers of NEUROM."
Odo and the two Starfleet officers showed no emotional reaction, and Tony only had a flicker of recognition. But Lucy and Angel exchanged dark looks while Talara was clearly upset to hear of them. "I've never heard of this 'NEUROM'," Odo said.
"I recall several references to them in Multiversal threat assessment reports," Worf said. "They are an alliance of states from the S0T5 universe."
"And they're all bastards," Angel hissed. "Back on Solaris they tried to kidnap Julia and Zack and nearly killed us."
"And they attacked us trying to take the Castle of Lions," Talara added.
Sensing the Starfleeters and Odo were still a little at sea, Lucy said, "They're an alliance of authoritarian and totalitarian states inside of what's called the Fracture, a region of damaged space in the S0T5 universe. We've had a few run-ins with them."
"So we have heard," said Pallina.
"And what are you? Aurigan?"
She shook her head. "No. I am from one of the remaining independent worlds of the Fracture. And I know of them because they are my order's greatest foe."
"What order is that?" Lucy asked.
"I am a Councillor Magi." Expecting them to not understand, Pallina immediately went into an explanation. "Millennia ago, in the horror and chaos of the Reignfall, my order was established by a woman we know as the Sophia. She was a powerful telepath, descended from one of the leaders of the Earthreign itself."
"Who were not very nice people," Lucy remarked.
"No, they weren't," Pallina agreed. "If you know of the Fracture, you know that its instability has a psionic component that can afflict all who dwell within."
"I remember," Lucy said, blanching at thinking of the nausea and illness being in the Fracture caused her.
Pallina nodded, sensing that memory of illness. "The Sophia believed in calming the danger through benevolence and freedom. Make lives better and the fears that fueled the horrors of the Fracture would go away. But she had a great rival, a being that we today know very little of. He was known, is known, as the All-Father."
"What, like in Odin? The Norse god?" asked Angel.
"I am unfamiliar with that allusion," Pallina said. "The All-Father is also a powerful psion. And he preached control and fear. That the chaos of the Fracture could be harnessed with control and powered by deliberate fear. To enforce his will he formed the Ministry of Fate with the mission to turn every psion into an agent of his will. They brought together the initial members of NEUROM and to this day are the secret rulers of the organization."
"Sounds like a bastard," Angel suggested. "So what's going on here?"
"The Ministry of Fate is targeting your summit," Pallina said. "We do not know why. My order dispatched myself and my brother Ignatus to warn you and help you in stopping them. But they have taken him and nearly taken me. Now…" She closed her eyes as tears formed. "...even now, I feel his agony. The Ministry is hurting him. As they would me if they'd taken me."
"We thank you for the warning," Richmond said. "Constable, it's your station."
Odo nodded. "I'll mobilize all of my security teams. I request your help."
"You'll have it."
"That leaves her brother," Lucy said. "Nobody's in their quarters, we found them on our own."
"Then we will have to locate him," Pallina said. "Before the Ministry can kill him."
In the wardroom set aside for their private delegations, the Alliance, Federation, and Klingon delegates found themselves discussing the prickly issue of the Dominion's principle demand.
"They have solid justification," Pensley argued. "This device clearly affects them physiologically. If it inflicts harm we have a moral duty to suspend its use."
When nobody else did, Robert raised the obvious counter-point. "Senator, you're talking about giving up our only means to detect and stop them. Given the damages—"
He didn't get to finish. Pensley's voice roared in fury. "I have had enough of your meddling! Don't think I don't know what you're really after! You want these talks to fail! You want to provoke a war with the Dominion so you can destroy them too! Aren't the millions of dead from the last war you started enough for you?! Well, they're more than enough for my people! If you drag the Alliance into another war, the Tetzelian Republic will not participate! We will withdraw from your cursed Alliance and leave you to drown in the blood you're spilling, and I'll make damn sure history records your name as the man who's caused it!"
Robert let Pensley finish his tirade without another word. He knew there was nothing he could say to convince the Tetzelian Senator he wasn't the aggressive, war-seeking, government-toppling radical that Pensley thought him to be. He wouldn't let Pensley's attitude about him divert the others.
"This exchange serves no logical purpose," T'Latrek said.
"On the contrary, Councillor, it serves a great purpose," Pensley countered. "It is reminding this bloody-handed radical militant that he can't keep dragging the Alliance into wars to fulfill his radical agenda of destroying governments that displease him!"
T'Latrek fixed an icy stare at Pensley that would have chilled anyone into silence. "Senator, I do not presume to comment upon internal Alliance politics, it would be a violation of Federation principle to do so. So I will not allow our common efforts to be diverted by them."
"The Klingon Empire is in agreement," Councillor Potag added. "The Dominion threat is more important than your feud."
Pensley huffed and glared at the silent Robert, but at a similar glare from Tranu Talam, he submitted.
"We should not rush to judgement. The Dominion term must be considered logically, not accepted or rejected in haste," T'Latrek insisted. "If we can secure a withdrawal of the Dominion from Cardassia, much of the potential for conflict will abate."
"That much is true," Talam agreed. "It may be worth the cost to provide us time to deal with the lingering SS threat. But the loss in security from giving up the technology is a grave cost. The Senate remembers what the Changeling who replaced Kiang did, and ratifying an agreement to leave the Alliance vulnerable to another attack like that will not be easy…"
Robert, who was thinking the Dominion term was entirely self-serving and ridiculous, was in complete agreement with that part. But he said nothing. It wasn't his job, after all, and he wasn't giving Pensley another opening to verbally abuse him. He remained silent and tried to think of other things. Ultimately his mind turned to Julia and his hope for her recovery.
As was usual, Julia was invited by Miko's uncle, Fire Lord Daizon, to join the royal family for a meal. She accepted and prepared herself for the hot dishes and foods that were staples of the Fire Nation's cuisine. Their dishes reminded her of Indian and Thai food she'd tried over her lifetime. And she was developing a slight affection for fire flakes, as if her palate was rebelling against her usual preference.
Daizon, his wife, his daughter and heiress Crown Princess Kina, her husband and children, were just one section of the family. A couple of Ursa's siblings and their offspring were around as well, as were Daizon's younger children and related offspring.
Miko still enjoyed a seat close to Daizon, in a place of honor, with Julia given the one beside her. Julia thought a few members of the family were not entirely happy with these arrangements, although she wasn't sure how many of them were against her presence itself or simply not liking the preference showed to Miko.
With much of the meal consumed Daizon signaled that conversation could begin by asking his youngest child, a son, how his education was going. The young man looked to only be a few years younger than Miko and gave an answer about his continuing course studies at Sato Polytechnic Institute in the United Republic.
Once this answer was given Daizon's second-eldest child, Prince Tenzo, looked toward Miko and asked, "Cousin, how is your training going now?"
All eyes turned toward Miko.
Julia waited for Miko to answer, knowing how self-conscious she was about it, and how angry she was with the Fire Sages' constant complaints. Miko, for her part, finished swallowing what she'd been chewing and took a drink. Finally she looked toward Tenzo and said, "I'm making some progress. The style's not an easy one for me. But thanks to Sifu Julia, I'm adjusting to it."
Tenzo was satisfied. Then her Uncle Tzen, Ursa's older brother, openly said, "Perhaps you will find it easier to progress if you took in a Waterbender as your second trainer?" Miko's eyes turned to her uncle. She was looking away from Julia, keeping Julia from seeing her, but she could see Miko was upset given her body language. Tzen continued, apparently not realizing or not caring how Miko took his suggestion. "A Waterbender could help you apply Captain Andreys' teachings to your bending."
Julia considered voicing agreement with the idea, but given the feelings she saw in Miko she remained quiet. Miko's response had to come first.
When it came, it was with clear anger. "A second trainer would only disturb my training," she insisted. "It's not necessary and I'm fully confident that as my training continues I'll start to Waterbend. I only wish my family and everyone else had as much confidence in me!"
"I'm just…"
"No, Uncle, you're not just making an idle suggestion," Miko said hotly. "You're questioning my decisions just like the Sages are!"
"He has a point, cousin," said one of the others. "Captain Andreys may know the style, but if she can't Waterbend, she can't show you how to. Having a second teacher…"
Miko stood and bowed to her grand-uncle. "Fire Lord, I wish to be excused." Her voice lost none of its heat.
Daizon could have ordered her to stay, but he recognized it would lead to nothing constructive. He nodded to her, allowing Miko to depart, her meal mostly done but not quite finished. She stomped out of the room.
"Uncle, I too wish to depart," said Ursa. She couldn't rise given the injury she'd sustained rescuing Miko. As soon as Daizon nodded she did so. "I will help her, enjoy your meal," she whispered quickly to Julia as her hover-chair moved by.
Julia nodded and returned to what was left of her meal, listening as the family very firmly discussed other matters.
Ursa found Miko on one of the balconies on an upper floor of the palace. It gave her, and Ursa, a view of the Fire Nation's capital city. It was the world's third-largest city now, only surpassed by Republic City itself and Ba Sing Se, the great metropolis of the Earth Union. "They mean well," she said softly.
"Maybe. But I'm tired of being questioned," Miko replied.
"I understand that, and it's why I'm not. I know how important it is that you make your own path." Ursa pulled up beside her and put her hand on Miko's. "I trust you, Miko."
Miko faced her mother with gratitude. "I know this will work," she said. "I am getting better at it." Slowly, the gratitude faded from her expression. "Be honest, mother, are you saying these things because you believe I'm right, or because you don't want to fight with me?"
"I don't want to fight with you, true," Ursa admitted. "The last time we argued, you left for the frontier, and I almost lost you from it. And I never want that to happen again." She nodded. "But that's not all. I've seen the potential in you, my little sun. The potential to be a great Avatar, and in one of our most important moments as a people now that the Multiverse is known."
Ursa's gentle worlds soothed Miko's spirit and calmed her doubts. "Thank you," Miko said quietly. "Are you okay with my plans, then?"
"To travel with Captain Andreys to one of her worlds?" Ursa nodded. "I'm always going to be worried about you, little sun, so there's a part of me that will always want you here. But I know this is important to you and I won't stand in your way."
Initially Miko's response was quiet. She turned to her mother and bent over to hug Ursa tightly in silent thanks.
The screens in Odo's office showed the result of another internal scan. Said result was negative and he said as much to the others. Pallina shook her head. "NEUROM has some of the most advanced technology in the Multiverse, and the Ministry of Fate in particular has access to it."
"It wouldn't be the first time the station's internal sensors have been tricked," Odo admitted, although there was still a bit of skepticism evident in his voice. "However, you must understand that this station has a lot of ground to cover if we're to do a search. I don't have the manpower for such a search currently."
"The summit must still be our priority," Worf concurred.
Angel looked up from her omnitool. "Robert's getting my message about a possible attack now."
"And my brother?"
To Pallina's question, Lucy said, "Talara and I might be able to help. You feel him right now, right?"
"I do." She nodded, still a little pale.
"Then we'll use that." Lucy sat on the floor and Talara did likewise. Pallina joined them and extended her hands, allowing each to take one. "Concentrate on that connection, even though it hurts."
Pallina nodded and closed her eyes. She felt Ignatus' pain in the core of her being and, painful as it was to her, concentrated on it. Her brother's life was on the line. She had to save him.
Talara's sensitivity and natural empathy made her the first to feel Pallina's link to Ignatus. She grimaced at the sensation of pain. Lucy felt that and soothed her. While neither of them were telepaths, they shared a bond through the Flow of Life that was just as potent as a telepathic bond between siblings. With Lucy's aid, Talara did the same for Pallina, who was already crying softly for her brother's suffering. Sense his surroundings, Lucy urged. Understand where he is.
Pallina did. She connected to her brother's senses. There was a stale quality to the air. Containers were around him and his captors. One was a man in a great golden uniform and the other…
Lucy recognized it. One of the Ministry's agents, like the one on Solaris. She didn't sense a connection to the Flow of Life in this one, however, merely a strong telepathic capability.
Strong enough to sense the connection.
Both sensitives knew the woman in black would lash out, and both tried to get a feel for where Ignatus was in the moments before it came. The woman's pain-giving prod pressed against Ignatus' midsection with agonizing results. His scream rippled through the connection, the pain with, and Pallina cried out from the same. For her it was so real that she doubled over from it, as if she were the one suffering. Lucy and Talara didn't suffer quite the same. They felt the pain at a remove and kept their focus on trying to get more details on where Ignatus was.
Then the connection was gone. The three looked up, Pallina in the worst shape.
"What happened?" Dax asked.
"They've got telepaths," Lucy said, her voice a little hoarse. "They sensed what we were doing and struck at her brother. I'm betting he's unconscious."
"I could feel their malevolence," Talara whimpered. "Their cruelty. They enjoy hurting him."
"They hate us," rasped Pallina, all of the color gone from her face. "They hate us like nothing else."
"And we'll punch them later for it," Angel promised. "But did you see anything?"
"It was a cargo bay, I'm pretty sure of that," Lucy said. "One of your interior ones."
"We have several," said Worf.
"I felt something from Ignatus." Talara shook her head. Her eyes, with the lavender-colored point in the iris, seemed to be trying to focus on something. "Not from his sight, but his other senses. The air was… wrong."
"In what way?" asked Odo.
Lucy realized what she meant. "Stale," she said. "Like the local air recirculators aren't working right."
"Well, that narrows it down." Dax looked from Odo to Worf. "Didn't the Chief say that the life support systems in Pylon 4 were acting up?"
"He did," Worf said. "He will see to the repairs soon."
That led Lucy to ask, "How many cargo bays are in Pylon 4?"
"Two are in that area," answered Jadzia.
"Then we should send security to both," Richmond said.
"Agreed. We'll need a few minutes to put a team together."
"And the summit?" asked Lucy as she stood up. Talara did the same, helping Pallina as she did.
Odo stood from his chair. "I'll join them to provide extra security."
"Commander Dax and I will inform Captain Sisko and observe from Ops," Worf added.
"Then we'll handle the search too," said Lucy. She looked to Angel and her boyfriend. "You two should probably get back to the ship. Captain Kaveri may put the Aurora on alert over this."
Angel nodded in agreement. "Good luck."
Silence filled Caterina's quarters, save the gentle beeping as she worked the controls of the computer unit on her desk. The screen showed the response from the Alliance Stellar Navy's interuniversal comm network.
Recipient not in standard communication range.
Cat pursed her lips at that. Violeta's last message affirmed they were going on an extended long-range mission, but it was hard to imagine they'd go so far outside of standard spatial aspect range for the Alliance's IU network. Even the M4P2 transceivers couldn't contact the Huáscar, meaning it was heading somewhere far off the Relay network.
It's not like she's your girlfriend anymore, Cat thought bitterly. The two had it as more of a "quasi" status: if they ever had the opportunity to spend time together again they'd try, but both were open to find new relationships if they wanted.
Which wasn't what Cat wanted, really, but she understood why it came up. Not only was it something Sirians tended to do in their situations, but the Multiverse was a big place, and the Huáscar was part of the Explorer Squadron: Vee's ship could be gone for weeks, months, from Alliance space, and the odds of frequently meeting were extremely low. It wasn't fair to either of them if something better came along.
Captain Varma's words came back to her. The more Cat examined her recent performance, the more she could see how badly she'd slipped. She had barely any papers being readied. Her simulations and experimental models were being left alone. She just… she wasn't finding the same spark she used to. Of course the others noticed that. Julia would have eventually called her in, if she were still here.
You know why. It's not just losing Vee. It's those memories.
Just thinking about them brought it back vividly. The wrecked remains of the Aurora from some point in the near future, hurtling toward an innocent planet. Finding her friends, her family, and herself dead on the airless bridge. Those pallid faces with dull eyes came to Cat again.
The Doctor called it a "might-be", not a "will-be". That thought saved her from a deep sense of despair. She almost couldn't get the thought out of her head that they'd meet their end like that.
Be honest with yourself, Cat, she scolded herself, using her mother's voice. That's why you're giving up on your science. You're scared there's no point. You think everyone's going to die anyway.
The worst part was… how could she explain it to anyone? Either she'd sound crazy, or they'd believe her… and then they'd have to carry that burden too. That horrible thought that they might all be doomed.
If I share it, I either look nuts, or I hurt people. If I don't share it… I'm going to lose it. The dilemma faced her and she couldn't hide from it anymore. She had to make her choice.
Blue light appeared on the back of her left hand, telling her she had an incoming call. She tapped it. "Delgado here."
"Commander, please report to the bridge," Meridina said. "There may be an issue on the station and we need you on sensors."
Cat nodded. "On my way. Delgado out." She shut down her computer screen and stood to get her uniform back on. Whatever you do, Cat, it can wait. Deal with this first, she told herself.
With a life on the line, the three moved as quickly as they could through DS9. The lift took them to the outer ring and from there they made their way into Pylon 4. The familiar sense of slightly stale air told them they were getting close. "Cargo bay's here," Lucy said, noting their position on her omnitool and a map display of DS9's interior. She drew her lightsaber. Talara did the same while Pallina remained behind them, her mind prepared for trouble. They didn't sense any danger and Pallina didn't feel any minds. They have a magister with them, she thought to the others. He may be shielding their mental presence from me.
Understood. With that in mind Lucy pressed the cargo bay door control. It slid open without effort. Her lightsaber ignited in readiness of a fight, prompting Talara to do the same.
No fight happened, however. They found the cargo bay empty.
Mostly.
Ignatus was in the middle of the bay, wrists held spread-eagled by wires suspended from the walls. It was a painful position to leave someone in. His robes were tattered and his shirt ripped open, revealing bruising and welts on his chest from a severe beating. His face had received similar treatment.
"Ignatus." Pallina stepped forward to go to her brother's aid. She was only stopped by Lucy, who held her arm out to block her path. Lucy's surface thoughts told Pallina what was wrong.
Explosives. Around the room. It's a trap.