Chapter One
Alaska, Earth
"Ladies and gentlemen, and invited transgender species." Upon hearing Data's voice coming from the speakers behind him, Picard turned his in chair for a better view. The android continued with, "In my studies of terran and betazoid conjugal rites, I have discovered it is traditional," Jean-Luc turned to look at his first officer and counselor for moment before turning back to Data, "to present the 'Happy Couple' with a gift. Given Commander Riker's affection for archaic musical forms, I have elected to present the following as my gift in honor of their conjugation."
Again Picard turned back to look at Riker and Deanna. After seeing their smiles and laughter, he couldn't help but to smile himself.
As he slowly stretched out his arm, Data began with, "Never saw the sun, shinning so bright. Never saw things, going so right. Noticing the days hurrying by." The piano behind Data struck a single note, and suddenly the android's voice changed, sounding almost… emotional. "When you're in love, my how they fly. Oh, blue skies," Data reached over and pulled the microphone close while swaying to the rhythm of the music, "smiling at meeee. Nothing but blue skies, do I see."
U.S.S. Enterprise E
Captain Picard sat at his ready-room desk, scanning the contents of the data pad held in one hand while his other slowly lifted a teacup to his lips. Sipping the tea, he grimaced as soon as the tea made contact with his tongue. Setting down the pad, he looked at the cup in confusion for a moment before realizing why the tea had tasted so horrid. It had gone cold. And to make matters worse it was nearly full.
Pushing himself away from the desk, Picard rose to his feet and moved to the food replicator. Placing the cup and saucer in the device, he was about to order another cup when Worf's voice boomed over the intercom.
"Captain, you have a priority alpha one message."
Dismissing the tea from his mind, Picard turned and started back to his desk. "Put it through here, Mr. Worf."
"Aye, Captain," Worf replied immediately. The computer screen on his desk blinked to life as soon as he lowered himself into his seat.
The image in the screen was that of a woman, who appeared to be in her late forties or early fifties, yet her hair showed no signs of graying and skin of her face was still smooth. "Hello, Jean-Luc," she said fondly.
"Admiral Janeway," Picard replied politely and painted a smile on his face that he hoped matched the tone of his voice.
Either she caught artificial courtesy in his voice or she wanted to get straight to business. "I need you to come to starbase K-7 as soon as you can."
"We are on route to Betazed at…" He trailed off when Janeway started shaking her head.
"This takes priority," she said. "As much as I hate to say it. Riker's second wedding is going to have to wait. The Titan has already been rerouted and is on its way here. He can assume command then."
Leaning forward, Picard placed his elbows on the desk and clasped his hands. He stared down at his hands for a moment, reading between the lines of what he had heard. "What's happened?" he asked as looked back up to the screen.
Again Janeway shook head, but with a fair amount of gravity. "I don't want to say over subspace." When he opened his mouth, the admiral held up her hand to forestall him. "You know as much as I do that no channel can be completely secured. What I can say is that I need you and the Enterprise in a special taskforce I'm putting together."
"It will take about a week at high warp to get there." Picard commented.
"I know. Get here as fast as you can. Janeway out." Abruptly the screen went black.
Sighing in frustration, Picard again pushed himself from his desk and started towards the door which opened and admitted him onto the bridge. As he strode toward the captain's chair, he called, "Helmsman, set a course for K-7, maximum warp."
Commander Will Riker, his current first officer, looked quickly at him as Picard lowered himself into the overstuff leather chair. "Sir?"
"It would appear that Betazed is going to have to wait, Number One." Seeing Riker's shoulders slump slightly, Picard absently wondered if the younger man was relieved or disappointed. The idea of a traditional betazoid wedding ceremony had been a source of stress on the ship lately as all those in attendance were expected to be naked. It wasn't something that most outsiders were comfortable with.
Tugging the front of his uniform to make sure it straight and unwrinkled, Picard continued with, "But rest assured, the Titan will be there waiting for you."
"What's the mission, Sir?" Riker asked as leaned forward in his chair.
Jean-Luc was silent as he gazed at the viewscreen, watching as the passing stars slowly stretched into eventual rainbows as they passed. "I don't know," he stated finally.
Roughly a week later, Picard was again sitting in the captain's chair staring at the viewer. Filling most of the screen was the starbase known as K-7. It was an older base, having been built during the early portion of the twenty-third century and had changed hands several times during its long life. But now it was back in federation hands and had received some much needed upgrades from what he understood.
What caught his attention however, were the starships that had formed perimeter around the starbase. Rising from his chair, Picard moved to stand behind the Operations console. "Data, how many ships are here?" he asked. Before he had even finished his question, Data's fingers were quickly tapping the panel.
"I am reading twenty-three starships. Five privately owned ships docked at the station, and three dozen federation Valkyrie-class attack fighters."
"That's quite the fleet," Riker commented as he moved to stand next to Picard.
"Captain, we are being hailed. Audio only," Worf called from the tactical station.
"Let's hear it, Mr. Worf," Picard commanded as he returned to his chair.
"U.S.S. Enterprise, this is station control. You are ordered to hold position until your clearance code is received and verified." The female voice coming in over the communication channel was so emotionless that Jean-Luc wondered if it was a vulcan.
"This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Authorization code; three seven alpha tango."
The silence that followed seemed to stretch on for an unreasonable amount of time before station control finally responded. "Welcome, Enterprise. Please proceed to docking bay seven. Station control out."
"Not very chatty," Riker said, sounding irritated to which Picard smiled slightly in response.
As the Enterprise moved through the ships, the captain saw something that caught his eye. Again rising from his chair he hurried to the operations console and reached passed Data and began tapping the panel. Hitting the last button, Picard stepped back and looked to the main screen which was zooming in on a ship. "There she is, Will," he stated while moving back to stand next to Riker. "The Titan."
Will said nothing for a time as he gazed at the ship he was meant to command. The Titan was a Luna-class starship meant for reconnaissance and deep space exploration. It was only two-thirds the length of the Enterprise and didn't have nearly the armament as the larger Sovereign-class. What it lacked in firepower it made up for with some of the most advanced sensors and propulsion systems in the fleet.
Finally Will turned to Picard revealing a wide grin. "She looks fast," he said with an almost child-like glee.
Laughing slightly, Picard reached up and patted Riker on the shoulder. "That she does, Number One." Thinking about he said, Jean-Luc corrected himself with, "Captain."
"Captain, we are approaching the docking bay," Data informed him.
"Thank you, Commander," he replied to the android. Then continued with, "Data, you have the bridge. Captain Riker, you're with me." Turning on his heel, Picard made his way to the turbo lift.
Picard and Riker had made it to the ship's docking bay doors by the time the Enterprise had completed its docking. The large, exterior doors hissed slowly open and Jean-Luc waited for them to be open just enough before he began striding purposefully down the short tube that connected the Enterprise to K-7. Riker was half a step behind to his right.
The doors to K-7 opened to reveal a young woman standing attentively; she appeared to be a little surprised to see Picard and Riker at the station's doorstep. "Are you here to escort me to the admiral?" he glanced at the pips on her collar and noted her rank. "Ensign?"
The woman blinked her eyes rapidly for a moment and seemed to at a loss for words. She eventually collected herself, saluted, and replied, "Yes… Yes, Sir? I'm Ensign Potts. If you will please follow me." Ms. Potts turned and started walking briskly through the station. "The admirals were informed the Enterprise had arrived the moment you appeared on our sensors."
"Admirals," Riker asked.
"Yes, Sir," Potts replied over her shoulder. "Admiral Kathryn Janeway and Admiral William Ross." Picard and Riker shared a look. William Ross had been the head of Starfleet forces during the Dominion War. The captain had heard that Ross had been planning on retiring, but if something convinced him to stay on it couldn't have been good news.
As Potts led them to a turbo lift, Picard noticed something that demanded his attention. Guards stood on either side of the lift's door. But these weren't the typical Starfleet, baby-faced, enlisted men that he had become used to seeing during the length of his career. No, these were hard faced men whose demeanor seemed to ooze violence.
The compression rifles they held were also not standard Starfleet issue. They appeared bulkier and had a tube attached under the barrel. But what really caught Picard's attention was the fact that they were wearing some kind of armor, complete with closed faced helmet. It reminded him of an EVA suit, but looked as though it would allow for a lot more freedom of movement. He didn't think the helmet was really attached to the rest of the suit as it moved with the wearer's head instead of staying stationary.
As they approached the turbo lift's doors, Jean-Luc found himself having a staring match with one of the guards. Clearly the young man thought he was tough, and he may have been. But Picard had been through too much in his lifetime to be intimidated by some young punk.
Walking to stand directly before one of the guards, Picard switched to his best captain's voice. "You there." He felt a measure of smug satisfaction how quickly the young man dropped the butt of his weapon to the floor and snapped to attention when addressed. "What's your name?"
Body rigid, with eyes staring forward, the guard replied, "Corporal Mark Finazzo."
"Corporal?" Riker echoed. "What ship are you from?"
"We are part of the MACO First Battalion, H&S Company assigned to K-7 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Frank Frisk, Sir."
"MACO was disbanded over a century ago," Riker stated. Jean-Luc could hear the confusion in his voice.
Ensign Potts stepped forward and to Picard seemed to be trying to put herself between him and the soldier. "Sirs, Admiral Ross and Admiral Janeway can answer any questions. If you please, I was ordered to ensure that you made it to the Admiral's office without delay."
Picard never took his eyes off the soldier while Ensign Potts spoke and continued to stare at the man for a moment after before finally saying, "Yes, of course." Stepping into the lift, he turned to see that the soldiers were still standing at attention. Then the doors closed and he lost sight of them.
"Up," Commanded Ensign Potts and Picard felt the lift began to rise. It only took a moment for the lift to come to a gentle stop and the doors to open again. Ensign Potts quickly stepped out of the lift and moved to one side coming to attention.
As Picard moved into the room beyond the lift, he barely had time to take in his surroundings before the small frame of Admiral Janeway stepped in front of him. "Welcome, Jean-Luc," she said as she reached out a hand. "Thank you for coming so quickly."
Taking her hand in his own, he paid attention to how much pressure she was applying, trying to make sure he didn't squeeze more than she did. "Admiral," he replied placing a warm smile on his face. When Janeway looked beyond him to Riker, Picard released the hold on her hand and moved to the side.
"Captain Riker," the Admiral said with a grin as she held out her hand.
Shaking her hand in return, a broad smile split Riker's bearded face. "I haven't taken command yet, Sir."
Retracting her hand, Janeway clasped it behind her back, as her face grew somber. "Yes, but you will soon. I'm sorry but there won't be time for the usual ceremony. Speaking of ceremony, I am truly sorry about forcing you cancel your second wedding. But I assure you this is important."
"What is this?" Picard asked.
Janeway stared at Picard for a moment before saying, "This way."
She led them across the room to where Admiral Ross was speaking to a raven haired woman who looked far too young to have the four pips on her collar marking her as a captain. Next to the woman was a middle-aged man who sported even less hair on his head than Picard did, although he made up for this with an impressive goatee, and wore a strange blue uniform.
"Ross," Janeway called as the approached.
Vice Admiral William Ross was a tall man in his late fifties. He carried himself with an air of authority that was common to all Admirals in Picard's opinion. His eyes were intelligent and quickly scanned the incoming group. Gray had savagely attacked the admiral's hair compared to the briefings Picard had read on the man during the Dominion War. The stress of the war must have caught up with him. The only thing that ruined the image of a strong and capable commander was the generous belly that pulled his uniform tight.
"Captains," Ross greeted. "Thank you for coming." Gesturing to the woman standing next to him with a hand, he said, "Allowing me to introduce Captain Cassandra Lawson of the U.S.S. Hydra." Captain Lawson quickly reached out and shook hands with Picard and Riker. Extending his arm toward the man, Ross continued, "This is Colonel Daniel Shepard commanding officer of the MACO personnel assigned to the Hydra."
Picard was vaguely aware of his eyebrows drawing together and a frown pulling at his mouth. "Forgive me for saying, Admiral. But MACO was a military organization and disbanded many years ago. Why are any assigned to a starship?"
Instead of answering, Ross gestured to Shepard who wasted no time in answering.
"The galaxy became very increasingly unstable and even more so in the aftermath of the war, even if no one wants to admit it, everyone at least realizes this. And while you Starfleet types can handle fighting from the safety of your ships, most of the less seasoned personnel can't take an enemy pointing a weapon at them." Picard got the impression that Colonel Shepard truly believed what he was saying.
"You must have a pretty low opinion of Starfleet." In the corner of his vision, Jean-Luc could see that as Riker spoke he stood to his full height, which was a full head higher than Shepard.
But the colonel didn't seem the least bit intimidated by Riker's height advantage. In fact, he turned to fully face the other man. "Not at all," he replied casually. "You're all very good at flying your little ships around. But in-your-face fighting, boots on the ground, war." He shook his head slowly for a moment. "That's were people like me come in."
"He seems to forget that without our little ships to get him where he needs to go, the good colonel here would never get to his little war." The way Captain Lawson almost playfully interjected made Picard think that her and Shepard had had this conversation before. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." While he felt he should recognize her accent, he realized that over the years he had heard so many ways of speaking it was getting hard to keep them straight.
"Let's not forget that we are all on the same side here," Janeway commented.
"Yes indeed," Ross agreed. "Now that introductions and points of view are out of the way. " He started to turn, but Lawson held up a hand stopping him.
Looking directly into his eyes, Lawson moved to stand right in front of Jean-Luc. "Captain Picard, I read your file before you arrived."
As the silence stretched on, Picard found he was shifting on his feet and forced himself to stand straight. "Were you going somewhere with this, madam?"
In a completely serious tone, Lawson said, "You are a cheese eating surrender monkey."
Picard was taken aback. He saw Ross arch an eyebrow questioningly while Riker and Janeway quickly look their direction. Realizing that Lawson's accent was from earth, a slow smile spread across his face. "Rosbif," he replied causally.
Lawson chuckled lightly, moved to his side, and linked her arm with his. "Brilliant," she said smugly. "I knew I liked you. Truth be told, Captain, I wasn't sure how you'd react."
Seeing Riker's questioning look, Picard said, "Something of an old rivalry."
Riker shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Not understanding what just happened, I'll take your word for it, Sir."
Ross regarded them for a moment before shaking his head slightly and turning to a large screen mounted on a nearby wall. Reaching into a pocket, he withdrew a small remote and pressed a button. The screen snapped to life, revealing a grainy image of a starship that reminded Jean-Luc of a wedge but had a large section cut from the front of the ship hiding what looked to be a deep set hanger bay of some kind.
"This is why you are here people. Ships like this have been striking outlying Klingon outposts along the outer edge of their territory for the last six weeks. And two days ago we received word through the Klingon government that the Gorn are reporting massive incursions and requesting aid."
"I thought tensions between the Gorn and the Klingons were approaching a boiling point," Lawson commented.
"They were," Ross replied. "In fact, Bortas Colony, which was near the Gorn/Klingon border, was the first to fall victim to whoever owns these ships. The Klingon High Council rushed to the idea that it was the Gorn and launched an attack of their own against a Gorn starbase. This caused the Gorn to launch an attack in response. Things nearly went to a full-scale war before an attack on a major Gorn planet resulted in this image. It was only then that both sides stopped and looked at evidence and realized this mystery third party had actually been responsible for nearly half the attacks on both sides."
"It's like the Dominion War all over again," Riker sighed.
"Not quite," Janeway said. "During the Dominion War we were either unwilling or unable to recognize the threat the Dominion represented. Imagine how many lives would have been saved if we had been willing to get our hands dirty. The Federation will not hesitate to use force to defend itself or its interests again." This statement didn't sit well with Picard.
Even during the Border Wars with the Cardassians, where countless lives were lost, the pursuit of a meaningful peace was always there. Jean-Luc himself had even ordered the shields of the Stargazer to be lowered in an act of peace. While his olive branch had been ignored, and his ship heavily damaged, he had tried. It could be argued that the Cardassians and the Dominion had taken advantage of the Federation's inherently peaceful ways during the Dominion War, but the core of who they were had always been there.
Or had it?
"What's our mission?" asked Riker.
"First we are going to offer whatever aid is needed to the Gorn and Klingons." Pausing to sigh heavily, Ross continued with, "Then we are going to scour the area looking for these ships."
"And then?" Picard asked hesitantly.
"Once we find them we will make sure they don't cause any more trouble," Janeway answered.