Chapter 4

Dax frowned at the Andorian woman with a mixture of loathing and puzzlement. There was something unsavory about her, and something very odd was going on here. The Trill realized that she also couldn't take her eyes off of her. Dax momentarily observed Peter's reaction as well. His eyes seemed a bit glazed, as if he was dazzled by the Andorian singer's incredible physical beauty, but, at the same time, repulsed by her. Dax had to remind herself that Peter was still married, which was probably partly the reason for his mixed reaction—that, and their both witnessing the brutality of the agonizer. Both of them, like spectators who gather together after a car wreck, couldn't turn away. Like a deer caught in headlights, they both watched in awe and horror as the Bajoran woman wearing the head piece was dragged away. Then, suddenly, Dax figure out why Peter and she were reacting so strongly to the Andorian. She had taken the Venus drug. She spoke to Dax with all the charm of a cobra.

"You are correct, Jadzia Dax of the other side. I took the Venus drug so I could not only have a captive audience so Vince could stage a successful coup, but also because I knew that the intendant was a sexual deviant. I knew that she wouldn't be able to resist my offer to come to this station and entertain her." She smiled evilly, glanced at Furnier with admiration, and then continued. "It worked quite well, don't you think?"

Furnier nodded and smiled back.

"There is an ancient Terran saying I believe is appropriate at this time." He said proudly. "What comes up must come down. The Bajoran Alliance has fallen. We of the new Terran Empire reclaim this station as our own!"

"What about the intendant?" Dax inquired boldly. "Did you kill her?"

"Probably not, but she will soon he history. The mastermind behind this takeover is due to board the station in an hour. Captain Kirk, it is an extreme honor to meet you. You are a great historical figure and I thank you for your wonderful offer to help bring back our Empire. It will be much appreciated."

"How appreciated?" He asked, gazing at Tola lustfully.

"You will be made Emperor!" Furnier announced gleefully, noticing his interest in his girl and putting an arm around her protectively.

The last name of his uncle brought Peter temporarily out of his trance. He stared at him.

Tola smiled with realization. She turned to the elder Kirk with surprise. "I did not know you had a nephew, sir!"

"I don't…at least not since he died on Deneva." The alternate Kirk answered carefully, not revealing that he had murdered his brother and his family to rid the galaxy of the buzzing creatures, and to rid himself of possible competition. He killed over a million people. The alternate Tola knew that the other side frowned on such things, and that this Kirk couldn't possibly reveal this to the other Peter standing before them. They needed all the help they could get to bring the defunct empire back to its original glory.

"I think it's pretty obvious that I didn't die, 'uncle'!" Peter hissed angrily through clenched teeth. "You were so busy mooning over your first officer that you forgot all about me. Because of you—"

"Peter, shut up!" Dax warned sharply. "He doesn't need to know about that! He's not your uncle!" She turned to the other Kirk and addressed him with outward calm. "Captain, you don't seem to realize how long you have been out of circulation. A man named Picard is in charge of the Enterprise crew."

"Not anymore. I killed old baldy after he revealed a way out of the Nexus. I don't care what it takes, young woman. I want my ship back and the Empire restored!"

"Because of you…" Tola finished Peter's thought. "This man suffered from a debilitating nervous disorder for thirty years."

The alternate Kirk grinned.

"So, my counterpart had a bit of spunk after all."

Both Furnier and Tola laughed heartily. When they were finished, the evil Kirk asked again where Spock was. Dax guessed that he was probably dead on this side, since any kind of compassion or sympathy was despised over here. Spock, after finding a way of sparing the peaceful Halkans, was probably much hated for his efforts.

Peter began to wonder why he and his friend Dax were suddenly thrust into this loathsome universe. Could it be that his real uncle was responsible somehow? Maybe he was trying to reach him via the Nexus on the "good" side for some reason. Maybe somewhere along the line, Uncle James made a mistake (After all, he was famous for making some lulus!) and the two universes collided or switched places. But, Peter asked himself, why would Uncle James want to contact him, knowing how he felt about him?

***

Intendant Kira awoke and found herself in a brig cell. Being that nobody thought anyone could be able to escape from a Cardassian stronghold, there were no guards present. She shakily got to her feet, still numb and tingling from the agonizer. She felt for her communicator. Not surprised to find it gone, she smiled cunningly when she remembered that she had a subcutaneous transponder. She was always prepared for contingencies such as this. There was always someone who thought they could run the Bajoran alliance better than she could, and there was always someone willing to take over or at least die trying. She had underestimated Tola of Andor, thinking she was but a civilian. Andorians were notoriously crafty and treacherous, and known to be sympathetic to the Terrans, due to their long friendship and association with them since before the time of the Great Kirk. Standing now, she shook her head to clear it. It didn't work and made her momentarily lose her balance. She leaned against the wall to support herself. Kirk…She thought dully. An interesting man, to say the least. He was renowned in his earlier years for having a girl in every port and on every deck of his ship. However, this Kirk was almost old enough to be her father. A pity. If he had been thirty years younger, she wouldn't have minded being yet another conquest. Finally getting her bearings, and realizing she had very little time to waste, she pressed the transponder. She smiled as her personal shuttle's computer beamed her aboard.

***

The alternate Grand Nagus walked through the entry way with the grace and bearing of a queen. For an old Ferengi woman, her steps were quick and purposeful. She had just made herself Grand Nagus after she assassinated that fool Zek. Her first proclamation was to destroy all walking sticks in favor of a more humiliating image for her subjects to kiss. The image of the first Nagus was on her shoes. Most of her new subjects were in awe of her, and all Ferengi who had any sense stayed at a respectable distance as she walked along the promenade. They knew why she was here. She was going to avenge her sons' and grandsons' deaths by killing the intendant. She was also the mastermind behind the takeover of the station, deciding to ally Ferenginar with the Terrans. There was something about Humans she admired, but she didn't really know what that was. Maybe it was because of their underdog status, or maybe she was just a sucker for hard luck cases. She did admire their tenacity and unwillingness to be forever led by the Bajora, Klingons or Cardassians. They were still a powerful influence in the quadrant, despite their current status. Ferengi were, for many years, dangerously underestimated. Now that was about to change. The humans had offered her complete control of the quadrant, an incredible chance for profit. It was an offer impossible to refuse or ignore. She had learned about the treatment of Ferengi females in that alternate universe and found it most distasteful. In this universe, all Ferengi, regardless of sex, strove all of their lives for power, money and glory. Females wore clothes if they wanted to on this side, preferring soft fabrics like silk or satin because of their more delicate and sensitive skin.

She was met by Tola of Andor and Furnier. At their sides were two clones of a creature that called itself an Androsaurus Rex. They were a part of the Terran underground militia, personal body guards for those who assumed leadership of the re-emerging Terran Empire. They were cold, ruthless fighting machines, with no thoughts of remorse for maiming or killing. They were fiercely loyal to those they protected, and the Grand Nagus had assigned these two to guard the lives of these two co-conspirators. The Grand Nagus Ishka knew that Tola would never bow down and kiss her shoes, but she didn't expect her to. These two were going to make her the richest, most powerful Ferengi ever to rule this sector of the galaxy. The two from the other side were also still there, looking unsure about what to do next. Dax was thinking they ought to find Smiley so they could get the hell back to their own universe. Peter looked a little frightened, which was understandable. There was something oily about this version of his uncle. Despite being amused that female Ferengis were actually respected over here, Dax felt uneasy too. The other Kirk had sauntered into the bar for a Romulan ale.

"So, where's the bitch who killed my boys?"

"She's in the station's brig, Nagus." Tola replied, having changed her dress into something more functional. Peter observed that it looked a lot like Kira's uniform on the other side, except for the color. Red-orange would have clashed with her blue skin. Instead, it was a deep forest green. Very flattering, however, neither he nor Dax were very pleased by what they saw. They watched as Furnier handed the Nagus a phaser set to kill.

"Right this way, Madam Nagus." He said, pointing the way to the holding cells.