As the Draconis climbed away, Alex Spoke again, though less effort was required this time. When he had finished, a Sciv sat with an open canopy, waiting for a pilot to take the controls. An additional thirty seconds of effort saw the camera securely mounted on the nose of the squat craft, and took off.
Meanwhile, aboard the Draconis:
Amaranth strode onto the bridge and sat in the captain's chair to review some information on one of the side panels. "Standard orbit around Earth, please, Phoenix," she ordered.
"Aye-aye, captain," Phoenix said. The ship began gliding back towards Earth, then raised her shields as a discarded wrench bounced off the hull. "Captain, I'm picking up a massive amount of debris here, do you want me to cleanup a bit?"
"Does it involve weapons fire?" Amaranth asked.
"It could…" Phoenix replied. "Hadn't planned on it though."
"Hold the weapons fire, and go ahead," Amaranth ordered.
Immediately, thousands of blue flashes appeared and disappeared as chips of paint, discarded wrenches, loose bolts and screws all vanished.
"We aren't the only ship here. I'm detecting a Sciv as well as a Soyuz capsule, a SpaceShipTwo, the International Space Station, and Tiangong 1."
"The ISS?" Amaranth asked. "I bet it's nothing like the museum they have in the twenty fourth century. So, where's the Sciv? Nothing else is a potential threat."
"We just overflew them, with a distance of fourteen meters to spare. They are stationary in orbit, unlike us at the moment. Want me to match to them?"
"No. Let them be, but be ready with shields if they start powering weapons," Amaranth ordered.
"Acknowledged. So, what now?" Phoenix asked.
"Transport me down to where you awoke earlier," Amaranth said. "And keep an open channel. If it looks like I'm in trouble, get me out of there, okay?"
"You've got it!" Phoenix agreed. "The transporter pad is ready and waiting."
I'm taking a second combadge with me," Amaranth said, replicating the object in question. "I'm certain that the one I have on right now will dissolve under a particular set of conditions."
"And what are those conditions?" Phoenix asked, concerned.
"In the…" Amaranth stopped. "Hmm, strong magic there. I am incapable of telling you," she said apologetically. "Well, I guess I'm ready. Energize."
Behind the Defiant-class vessel, the Sciv dove towards the Nevada desert.
On Earth, undisclosed location:
"Sir! We're receiving reports of a spacecraft. Several reports indicate that it is the Defiant from the old television series Deep Space Nine."
A grizzled old commander, who had been shuffled to a command out of the way, raised his head. "Don't be a fool, Thompson. There's a reason it's called fiction, and that's because it doesn't exist. Frasier, get me some coffee while I deal with this. Bell, do we have any images?"
"A number of them sir, the reports appear to be only partially accurate. The class is right, but the registry number is wrong, and in a moment, I'll be able to read the name on the one they say is in orbit," Bell replied. "This is very interesting sir, would you like to see this?"
The old officer leaned over the shoulder of the youthful airman basic, grinning as he got a brief glimpse down her shirt in the process. His eyes narrowed as he peered at the screen. "Draconis? That doesn't seem like a name out of Star Trek."
"Maybe a renegade faction sir?" the young woman asked, turning to face her superior officer.
"The mirror universe names were always the same…Ah, thank you, Frasier. Listen up everyone. Whatever's going on here, it's far and above our pay grades. You will not speak of this to anyone, or you will never see the light of day again, am I clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!" the occupants of the room replied.
"Good. I've got calls to make."
Nevada desert:
"Amaranth, good to see you," Alex said, stepping out of his Sciv.
"Mage," Amaranth acknowledged evenly.
Alex winced slightly, Amaranth was still rather frigid in her dealings with him. "If we're going to work together, do you suppose we could perhaps loosen up a bit? You don't have to be so freezingly polite, you know."
"This is true," the dragoness replied. She waved a hand behind her back, effortlessly conjuring a chair with an umbrella. "However, I still don't trust you very much. Why have you brought me back?"
"You can talk to Cameron about that. When I left the Draconis, she hadn't put the bracelet on yet."
"Hmm," for several moments, the dragoness sat silently, with her eyes closed. "I see. Very well then. I think you need to start getting other people involved. There is far more to do than can be handled by myself and Ajax."
"Very true. Any recommendations?" Alex asked.
"Zeb Macahan," Amaranth replied immediately. "It's obvious that he's pretty much the main character behind the story, so honestly, you should have gotten him in first."
Alex nodded his head in agreement. "That's true. I really should have thought about that a bit more."
Amaranth shook her head. "Just like Ajax, you wouldn't survive without someone to help you along at times."
"Hey, we all need help now and again," Alex protested.
"Yes, but you need help more often than not," Amaranth shot back.
"Right. Well, I'll just get right on that then," Alex replied.
"Take this with you, when you need me, I'll be on the other end of that line," Amaranth said, handing Alex the combadge she'd replicated. "I believe this discussion is, for the time being, over. I'll be on board the Draconis for the foreseeable future."
Alex nodded, and watched as Amaranth shimmered away in a beam of blue light, then looked towards California. "You wouldn't happen to know where Clint Eastwood is, would you Aura?"
"There's more humidity there, I think," Aura replied. The gem pulsed with a cold blue light, and the two were suddenly in California, standing just outside of the gates. "Right, forgot the wards," Aura mumbled.
"It's fine," Alex assured her, pressing the intercom button.
"Whaddya want?" a voice snarled.
"Are you Clint Eastwood?" Alex asked hopefully.
"Who's asking?"
"The name is Alex, I'm behind a new indie project that I intend to run through Paramount, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to at least hear out my proposal."
"You've got my attention, though the stick you've got makes you seem a bit like a crackpot. You can talk from right where you're at."
"I'll have you know, this wizard is no crackpot!" Aura proclaimed.
Alex grimaced. "Thanks for blowing that secret out of the water, Aura," he complained mildly.
"Did that stick just talk?"
"Hey! I have a name!" Aura answered.
"That's a yes," Alex replied.
The gate buzzed, then began to swing open. "Might as well come in. You can give a better demonstration of your abilities inside."
Alex nodded, and began walking up the driveway towards the mansion.
"He seemed friendly," Aura noted sarcastically.
"So, why is a wizard interested in me?" Clint asked, once Alex and Aura were inside.
"Because the person who wrote the story I'm using for a script chose you as the actor for a character by the name Zeb Macahan. He has familial ties with Klingons, a reputation around the galaxy for being dangerous, but honorable, he's a bit of a hard charger…"
"Klingons? As in, Star Trek Klingons?" Eastwood asked.
"Yes, though Zeb is human. His main weapon is a Bowie knife, and there's mention of a shotgun, but he doesn't seem to carry handguns," Alex replied.
"No handguns?" Clint echoed. "Odd. If he's using a shotgun, what's wrong with a handgun?"
"Well, it is the twenty-fourth century," Aura pointed out reasonably. "From what I read, Zeb also uses hand phasers and phaser rifles, so it's not like he goes around unarmed."
"And what is it he does?" Clint asked.
"He keeps rather busy, acting somewhat like a vigilante when the laws aren't in the way, or when they get too much in the way as the case may be. Basically, the majority of the Alpha Quadrant is in upheaval, and he's one of a handful of people running around trying to plug the holes in the dam. There's a slim chance of success, but he's doing his best, and has been through most of his life," Alex answered.
"Alright, you've sold me. I'm in. What about the stunts? I'm not exactly as young as I once was, and I might not be able to do everything this Zeb character gets up to," Eastwood warned.
"He did a little hand-to-hand in the opening chapter, but after that, he didn't really do much in that regard," came the reply. "He did get around a lot though. Besides, I have a way around that."
"He's serious about that," Aura added.
"What do you mean?" Clint asked.
"Well…let's just say there's no budget for special effects. I'm personally covering the costumes and special effects creation, and when we're filming, it's all going to seem real right there on set," Alex replied.
"Magic?" Clint asked.
Alex nodded. "Magic," he confirmed.
"And it'll help make me able to do what the script needs me to do?"
"With ease," Alex answered. "We won't have doubles except for on-screen deaths, and those won't actually be real people, just incredibly convincing duplicates."
"Well then, let's see this magic of yours," Clint said. "If it can do what you say it can, then I'll be glad to help with the project."
"Uh, small snag there," Alex started.
"Oh, you don't actually have magic. You're just having me on," Eastwood said, standing up. "Forget it."
"It's not that," Alex answered firmly. "I simply don't have my documents with me. I have to go back home to retrieve them. If you can give me ten minutes, I can back up my claims."
"Bring me with, then," Clint retorted. "I want to see it in action."
"Done!" Aura announced authoritatively. The moranthanite gem began to glow with a cold blue light, and Alex stood up before the light surged around the two men. When the light cleared, they were standing in Alex's quarters…