"Traitors and Patriots"

A civil war is, we may say, the prototype of all war, for in the persons of fellow citizens who happen to be the enemy we meet again with the old ambivalence of love and hate and with all the old guilts, the blood brothers of our childhood. In a civil war—especially one such as this when the nation shares deep and significant convictions and is not a mere handbasket of factions huddled arbitrarily together by historical happen-so—all the self-divisions of conflicts within individuals become a series of mirrors in which the plight of the country is reflected, and the self-division of the country a great mirror in which the individual may see imaged his own deep conflicts, not only the conflicts of political loyalty, but those more profoundly personal.

–Robert Penn Warren, Ken Burns' The Civil War

MarsDome, Mars

The leader of the Mars Provisional Government gazed out the window of his office. Xavier Montoya could see the canyon of the Valle Marineris stretching far into the distance. The Sol System's deepest and longest canyon stretched too far for him to see the other end, but he could see the metal skeleton works of the city dome crossing the canyon from side to side and dropping down to the floor. The city lights climbed up from the artificial lake covering the enclosed valley floor along the cliff sides. Green plants spilled down the red cliffs among the buildings, creating a hanging garden for Mars' capital city.

Montoya heard that MarsDome was sometimes called the Petra of Mars or even the Mesa Verde of Mars. He liked to think that the city was grander than either the ancient Greco-Roman cliff city in Jordan or the ancient Anasazi cliff city in Arizona on Earth. The governor sighed. Whatever he decided now, this city, and others like it across the face of Mars, would feel the effects. He was, after all, the leader of more land than any of the greatest empires in Earth history.

He wished that whoever the aliens were who left intriguing remains in Syria Planum and Cydonia had left viable defenses for him to use. He wished he had the courage to use the gigantic mysterious alien device hidden inside the Pyramid Mount at Cydonia. He also wondered what the ancient Martians would think of the modern Marsies.

Montoya turned away from the window and looked down at his desk. On its teak surface was the plastic paper bearing the order from President Clark to implement the renewal of martial law on Mars.

Martial law to replace Martian law once again.

When the Borg invaded the Earth Alliance, martial law seemed like a good idea for planetary security. The population, for the most part, supported it. Even then, it was a troublesome measure that constantly threatened to provoke something like the Martian Food Riots or even the Mars Rebellion. A renewal was sure to stoke the anger of the colony against Earth. A refusal was sure to stoke the anger of Earth against the red planet.

Either way, Xavier Montoya would suffer the consequences of his decision as a traitor or a patriot. And either way, Clark's law would still reign supreme for a time.

Did the name of the planet bless Mars with an atmosphere of perpetual conflict?

The governor pressed a button in his desk, activating the intercom to speak to his faithful secretary. "Veronica, convene the Provisional Council and alert the other domes." He paused before continuing. "I'm rejecting the President's order."

The secretary took some time to acknowledge the governor. "Yes, sir." The tone in her voice implied she was very aware of the grave consequences.

Now that the moment of truth was past, the governor was oddly relieved. He sat in his plush high-backed chair and turned to gaze out the window once more. Any response from Earth wouldn't come through the StellarCom, but from the sky beyond the dome covering this end of the Valle Marineris.

He began to wait.

Orion 7, Chi Orionis System, Earth Alliance

Thirty-two light-years from Mars, another important event was taking place.

In the EarthForce Orion Command building, several people were seated around a table. Three were dressed in EarthForce uniforms and three others were civilians. One of the EarthForce personnel, having the pins of a general, spoke.

"Well, people, we have it bad, don't we?"

Most of the others thought it could be construed as an understatement. The Earth Alliance was teetering on the edge of civil war, something that was unthinkable ever since First Contact.

"General Hague, are you sure this coup of yours is going to help us?"

William Hague rubbed his silvering close-trimmed beard as he looked at the speaker. "Senator Crane, if we don't do something, Clark is going to make us a dictatorship. I, and everyone else in EarthForce, have sworn to uphold the Earth Constitution. Clark is trashing that. As much as our humanity got us into this mess, our humanity will get us out again!"

The general looked around the table. His aide, Major Ryan was seated beside him. On his other side was Captain Sandra Hiroshi of the Churchill. Across from them sat the three civilians, Senators Marie Crane and Susanna Luchenko, and the governor of the Orion colonies, Albrecht Dietermunde. The senators were two of the few who escaped EarthDome. Susanna now spoke.

"What is going to make your coup any different than Clark's regime? If it succeeds, all it would do is place a military junta in power over the Earth Alliance."

Sandra eyed the Russian senator. "Like the general said, we are sworn to uphold the Constitution. We take our oaths seriously. We will restore the Constitution once Clark is out of his office. Meaning, Senator, we will restore the Senate, help in the impeachment and trial of President Clark, and holding a general election for the presidency."

Susanna merely nodded, reserving her judgment.

Major Ryan said, "Shock troops are out in force everywhere on Earth—Paris, London, New York, Moscow, New Delhi, Beijing. We will need to overcome them. That'd be easier if we had civilians out in force as well to keep the troops busy."

"That's the irony," said Senator Marie Crane. "Most of them are welcoming martial law!" She shook her head at the fickle masses. "It has cut crime down to nothing. On the surface, it's peaceful on Earth."

"Peace of the gun!" scoffed Sandra.

Hague nodded. "Clark is overextended. He has NightWatch and the bulk of our forces at Earth and Jupiter. We have at least one chance—Mars. If their MO is still the same, I think the Marsies will stand up to Clark. When that happens, they might be able to rally support from some of the other colony worlds and push him out of power."

"If push comes to shove," said Governor Albrecht Dietermunde, "you can count on the support of the three Orion colonies." Seeing the grave, but grateful, looks on the EarthForce personnel, he added, "I know that will mean civil war. The Belt Alliance has been itching to…forcefully complain about the way Earth has been treating us, and to become a power in Orion government." Earth's way of Alliance governance was indeed too much like the mercantilism used by the early imperial powers of Spain, France and England before the Napoleonic Wars. He shrugged. "Guess they will become a government in the Orion System after this. You said that you have been sworn to uphold the Constitution but so many people in EarthForce are going along with Clark's regime."

"Dee-ter-monday," responded Major Ryan, causing the governor to wince at the mangling of his last name, "he spent the last year putting his people in key places. Anyone who raises a voice is immediately arrested and charged with treason. Under conditions like that, it's easier to keep quiet."

"Civil war," said Marie, shaking her head. "Who would have thought we'd come to this?"

General Hague shrugged. "I think the Earth Alliance have been living on borrowed time. When the Centauri first came to us, the Alliance was having serious problems. Only First Contact, then interstellar adventures, kept us from civil war. We are only a century late. However, if we pull this off, we can still keep ourselves from spiraling down into civil war."

Susanna said, "I will go back to Earth and try to work against Clark from the inside."

Dietermunde was surprised at the Russian senator's announcement. "Clark closed down the Senate. You are on the wanted list. Hell, your shuttle might even be shot down on sight! What makes you think you can survive going back there?"

Susanna smiled, though there was no humor in it. "I have…certain contacts in the Star Chamber."

Eyebrows shot up all around the table. The Star Chamber, also known as Bureau 13, was the rumored shadow government within the Earth Alliance. Supposedly, it has been in existence ever since long before the Industrial Revolution on Earth and was supposed to be an outgrowth of the old secret societies of the Freemasons and the Illuminati. Generally, it has been dismissed as figments of the imagination and paranoia. For a powerful senator, like Susanna Luchenko, to give voice to its existence, it meant it cannot be dismissed out of hand.

"Clark has ruined a lot of things and a lot of plans," Susanna was saying, "and many groups, including some of the MegaCorps and the Star Chamber don't like that. If we work behind the scenes successfully, your coup wouldn't have to launch a major assault on Earth itself."

Hague nodded his appreciation. "Good. Now, we have to leave here. My sources at Earth Central have told me that Clark has heard about our meeting and is sending a small force to this system. Major Ryan and I will go through the outer colonies on the way to pushing Clark out of power…. Show our flag, so to speak. The route will take us through Babylon 5's space."

"Babylon 5?" Sandra didn't like the idea. "Sheridan was given that post by Clark himself. Wouldn't he turn us in?"

"Oh," Hague answered with a smile. "He is a soldier. Clark thought that meant he's easier to control. Sheridan's smarter than that. He doesn't confuse the President with the Constitution and has been part of my group for quite a while."

"Yes, sir."

"At Babylon 5," Hague continued, "I could try to drum up support from some of the alien governments, but I won't put much stock in them. Most of the major powers are divided, distracted and busy with their own problems. I don't know about the other human power from the parallel universe, so I won't give you any hope of that. Other than that, it's a good place to gather support from more of the military, then go to Earth and try to pull off the coup. Meanwhile, Captain Hiroshi will stay here to coordinate the Belt Alliance fighter defense for when Clark's force arrives here. When that's done, the Churchill will meet with the Alexander and others of our forces before going on to Mars."

"Are you sure?" Sandra protested once more. "These Belt fighters…well…." She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "No offense, governor, but the EarthForce slang for your pilots is 'splash bait.'

The governor of the Orion System retorted, "And your own starfury pilots are called 'zepplins.' As in 'full of hot air.' Captain, they are some of the best we have in this sector. They have to be since we're so far off away from the main body of the Earth Alliance. They've fought off attacks by Raiders and aliens. They're quite skilled in arresting smugglers and skippers."

"'Skippers'?"

"Those who illegally skip paying the jumpgate usage fees. Anyway, mark my word; they will make their mark against Clark."

"Now that's settled," said William Hague as he stood up. "Major Ryan, prep the Alexander for departure."

"Yes, General."

Hague looked around the table once more, seeing the grim looks on the soldiers and civilians. "In the pre-dawn morning of April 12, 1861, a senator's wife, Mary Chesnut, wrote 'The heavy booming of a cannon—I sprang out of bed, and on my knees, prostrate, I prayed as I have never prayed before.'"

They recognized the date and the words to be about the beginning of the American Civil War at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina.

"Mars has the potential to be our Fort Sumter. We will act decisively before Clark's inflammation becomes 'secessionitis' throughout the Earth Alliance and we are plunged into a civil war. There are now only two parties," Hague said, "traitors and patriots. I want us to be ranked with the latter. Ladies and gentlemen, pray for us all."

USS Excelsior

Tension was high on the bridge of the Federation starship.

"Captain," said Commander Leonard James Akaar, "we've entered Sector 001. The Sol Oort Cloud is directly ahead."

-God help us-, thought Captain Hikaru Sulu. It didn't help matters that Akaar had decided to name this sector after the Federation's own Sector 001. They were very aware that this was not their Federation, but the sector name made him feel like trying to pull off a military assault on the center of the Federation itself. "Helm, take us out of warp. Three-quarter impulse. Signal the fleet to do the same."

"Yes, sir," Angelo Tiffe said.

Dropping out of warp just outside the Sol System made sense because they wouldn't want any of their starships to run headlong into the objects that made up the Oort Cloud that made a sphere around the system, left over from its primal creation. Needless to say, the Federation took advantage of such clouds in many of its systems for passive defenses. Sulu's task force, he knew, was widely dispersed and its divisions would by this time arriving at other distant points of the Oort Cloud. Visually unseen due to distance, the Constitution-class refit Potemkin and the Centaur-class Archer were dropping out of warp with the Excelsior.

Sulu knew about the Potemkin from a test for Dr. Daystrom's multitronic computer unit back when he was still helmsman aboard the old Enterprise.

The Constition-class refit USS Endeavour, hero of the Battle of Donatu V against the Klingons, was paired with the Miranda-class Saratoga and the Akyazi-class Scovil. The Constitution-class refit Endeavour was paired with the Constellation-class Ahwahnee and the Soyuz-class Eagle.

Also with the Excelsior was the Oberth-class starship, Springfield, still uncloaked for now.

Captain Sulu took a deep breath before giving his orders. Here, he was crossing the Rubicon with the Earth Alliance. "Ms. Rand, tell the Springfield to go ahead to Mars under cloak. We need to know what's there before going in. Mr. Akaar, maintain continuous sensor sweep."

"Aye, Captain," complied Akaar. He scrutinized the sensor readings at the tactical station. He was surprised to see that there was a sensor contact. "Captain, I'm picking up a vessel directly ahead."

The tension on the bridge climbed a notch. It couldn't be helped. For all of the Federation's high technology available, they couldn't predict the movement of every ship in the fleet's path. This one must be a deep-space patrol.

"Can you identify?"

Kruton Lojur said, "The ship matches the intelligence description of an Earth Olympus-class corvette destroyer. A short-range attack and patrol vessel…with plasma pulse cannons, rail guns, missiles, six fighters and a standard crew of 87. No gravity technology."

Janice Rand was troubled. Though she still had her old loyalty to Captain Kirk, she didn't fully agree with Starfleet's conduct of this rescue. The description of the Earth ship told her that the Olympus could fit very well in the Starfleet of the Romulan War much better than in the modern Federation. It didn't seem fair to her that they had a task force of ten modern starships against a military force with technology that was about 50 years behind them.

"The vessel is in visual range," reported Akaar.

"Visual."

On the main viewscreen, an Olympus appeared hanging in space against the backdrop of the inactive comets, frozen gas and ice meteors and tiny planetoids that made up the Oort Cloud. Small and boxy with what appeared to be rocket-bodies on its long edges, it was clearly built to be a ship of war as opposed to the clean luxurious lines of the Excelsior.

Behind it shone the tiny, but bright, star of Sol.

Akaar kept studying his tactical readings closely. "The vessel is increasing its speed." He glanced around at Sulu. "They are moving to intercept."

"Have they seen the rest of our squadron?"

"As far as I can tell, no, sir."

"Take us back beyond its normal sensor range, Mr. Tiffe. Make it look like we're leaving, then take us up over the Earth ship. Carefully, Angelo."

"Yes, sir," said Tiffe as he worked his console.

"They are adjusting course to intercept," reported Akaar. "Activating phaser arrays…. Ready to fire, sir."

Sulu, frowning, gestured for Akaar to hold up. "Stand by."

The Capellan seemed too ready for battle. The captain didn't feel good about this. He was hesitant to open fire on other humans especially when the Federation was not in an official state of war with the Earth Alliance.

"Captain—the destroyer is activating its tachyon transceiver."

They were going to warn EarthForce of the Federation presence! If they succeeded, the element of surprise would be gone. "Jam it!"

After Rand had done her part, Lojur said, "Captain, the Earthers have stopped transmitting. They are powering up their weapons." A soft pinging noise sounded in the bridge. "They have locked onto us, sir…."

"Raising shields," said Akaar, following his instincts and training.

A loud reverberating noise sounded throughout the trembling starship. Her shields had just taken plasma pulse bursts backed by a lot of power.

"Captain…?" Akaar wanted to punish the Earthers for trying to hit the starship without warning.

Sulu had no choice. They were all on a schedule. He said grimly, "Return fire."

Akaar worked his console. The Excelsior's phaser turrets fired, making direct hits on the Earth ship. An explosion bloomed on one of the Olympus' cylindrical engine pods. More phaser bolts expertly took out the Olympus' weapon turrets and the tachyon array. The ship tried to run but Akaar, knowing that it was going to try and reach a nearby EarthForce outpost or get out of jamming range, fired more bolts, taking out the other three engines. The ion engines sputtered out, leaving the Olympus dead in space.

"The ship has been disabled."

Captain Sulu pursed his lips at the news and at the sight of the drifting Earth corvette. If this mission somehow went wrong, the boxy ship would be seen as the first casualty of a war between the Earth Alliance and the Federation. "Helm, maintain our course. When we're through the Cloud, increase speed to Warp 3. Drop a message buoy here. When we're finished, we can activate it for—"

Small explosions suddenly tore through the hull of Olympus corvette before combining into a massive explosion. In its wake, only small spinning debris and dissipating gas were left of the vessel.

Shock and surprise reigned on the bridge. They couldn't believe that the ship was that fragile. Instead of leaving it merely disabled until they could activate the message buoy to have it rescued by EarthForce, they've just murdered 87 humans.

Janice Rand appeared distressed.

A brooding silence fells over the bridge, punctuated only by the sound of computers working. Kirk's life has already cost them eighty-seven human lives. How many more would have to be lost before James Kirk was safely on the starship?

Those 87 people were humans, not Klingons, Romulans, Tholians, Orions, Gorns, Nausicaans, Kzinti, Hydrans or any of the other non-Federation alien races. They were just as human as many of the crewmates in the Starfleet task force.

And they were very likely to be just as much a victim of Clark as the Federationers.

Sulu had to silently accept the situation. There was no use crying over spilt milk. "Mr. Tiffe?"

"Yes, sir. Resuming course to Mars."

The Capellan commander quietly stepped up to the captain's chair. He kept his voice low, but audible to the bridge crew. "We're doing well, Captain."

Sulu didn't respond. He stared at the empty viewscreen, his face unreadable….

Orion System

Two EarthForce warships were now engaged in a running battle. In the lead, but fleeing, was the Omega-class destroyer Alexander, her centrifugal section slowly rotating; pursuing was a Hyperion-class cruiser. The pursuer was firing its heavy weapons at the Omega destroyer while their respective fighter complements were exchanging fire.

On the Alexander's bridge, Major Ryan turned to an officer, "Bill, how's the General?"

"He's in sickbay. The last hit hurt him bad."

As if to punctuate Bill's point, the Alexander shook with another hit.

"Major, we need to jump now or be destroyed."

"No," Ryan shook his head defiantly. "I won't abandon our fighters. If we leave now, they'd be massacred. If we bring them in for the jump, we'll just take heavier damage even faster."

Another blast rocked the ship.

"If you won't jump, then you've gotta let me open fire with the aft batteries!"

"I don't want to kill any more of our ships!" For all the planning and the talk in the conference at Orion 7, Major Ryan was now faced with the real thing: civil war. When Clark's force jumped into the system, they had worked with the Belt Alliance fighters in devastating the force. Sandra Hiroshi was now hanging back to make sure no more Clarkist vessel endangered the colony.

Bill stepped close to the command chair to look straight into Ryan's eyes. "We have no choice! Forward interceptors on the Roosevelt are down! We can punch through the hull! Major, please! Let me take the gloves off the firing team!"

Major Ryan chewed his lips. Traitors and patriots, the General said on Orion 7 just before Clark's force came through the local jumpgate. The people on the Hyperion cruiser obviously had no qualm about bringing down the Alexander. He nodded. "Tell the aft batteries to open fire!"

Warned from the bridge, the Alexander's fighters broke away from their screening positions and their mothership opened up. One volley was enough to send the Roosevelt up in a big ball of fire.

There was no cheering aboard the Alexander.

"Roosevelt destroyed, Major," said Bill, refusing to call it 'enemy vessel' in spite of events. "Reloading fighters as fast as we can."

Major Ryan stood up. "As soon as they're aboard, make the jump to hyperspace."

The other officer turned to attend to the new orders.

"Bill?" Seeing the officer stop in his tracks, Ryan said, "Did you ever meet the captain of the Roosevelt?"

"No, sir."

"She and the General were at the Academy together. Hague introduced me to her last summer in Maine. She has a husband back home…."

Both men began to let feelings show through their veneer of military professionalism.

"…a daughter…and a black Labrador dog named Max who likes to ride in boats. That's what makes this war different from anything we've gone through before—this time, we know everyone we kill!" Ryan began to anxiously pace the deck. "I'll try to find something to say to her husband. God knows what!" He sighed, shaking his head. "I better go check on the General."

"Sir? Once we jump…what's our course?"

The major sighed again. He was slightly thankful that the captain of the Roosevelt was not a sternly decisive commander like the captain of the Clarkstown which was destroyed by the Borg. He said, "We need to make repairs, catch our breath. There's no time for our 'tour' of the outer colonies after all. There's only one place safe for us. Set course for Babylon 5."

USS Excelsior

A monitor screen showed a schematic of Mars' system. Its two moons hung at opposite sides of the red planet. A ringed space station hung close to the larger of the two moons, Deimos. Stylized stars represented orbital satellites and platforms around Mars. A Starfleet delta symbol kept its distance to the side of the screen.

"The Springfield is still cloaked and it can see everything here," Commander Akaar was saying.

"Any EarthForce activity?" queried Captain Sulu.

"As far as the Springfield can see, not much, sir. The bulk of EarthForce is still at Earth and Jupiter. There are activities detected in the Martian fighter bases and starports, but nothing else. Captain, this means EarthForce is still unaware of our plans and presence. I suggest we make the most of this opportunity."

Angelo Tiffe said, "I recommend a randomly vectored approach to Mars. It would be our best chance of avoiding detection and pursuit once we drop out of warp. Let them think our ships are sensor ghosts and be confused for a while."

The captain nodded. "Agreed."

Ensign Tuvok stepped up to the monitor and tapped in a command in a panel beside it. The schematic of Mars expanded until the screen was filled with the red planet's surface. A star at the center of a screen-wide crosshair blinked at an area on it.

"This is Lunis Planum. There is a high probability that Captain Kirk is being held in the prison complex there. However, we cannot know for certain until we have scanned the entire planet. I recommend we do not delay."

"Aside from the fact that he's my friend and is likely to be interrogated as we speak," said Sulu, playing Devil's advocate, "why must we be quick about the retrieval?"

Tuvok tapped in another command and another star blinked close to the first star with its own crosshair. "There is a PsiCorps base at Syria Planum. I do not know the statistics, but it would be logical to conclude that the Earth Alliance may decide to turn the interrogation over to human telepaths when Captain Kirk resists too long." Though the Vulcan showed no emotion, Sulu knew that he didn't like the idea of using telepaths for interrogations. It reeked too much of pre-Surak Vulcan.

He couldn't say he liked the idea either. Most of the time, whenever a Starfleet officer was captured by a hostile force, he or she is subjected to a physical interrogation. Even though all Starfleet personnel were briefed about telepathic interrogations and trained against them, there wasn't much occasion for the use of that training. Most of the Federation's current enemies did not have a wide population base of telepaths. The Romulans may have a few, but like the Klingons, they preferred to use the psychic probe, or mind sifter, as it was sometimes called. Sometimes it was also called the Aurora Chair. The mind sifter was a hammer compared to the scalpel of a telepath. Too often, the subject would receive brain damage from such a procedure. Crude and brutal, but effective. The training used to condition Starfleet personnel against telepathic interrogations included instructions about the device.

It was a good thing that the Earth Alliance didn't have such a technology. The closest they had was the cybernet device in which the interrogator literally plugged himself into the subject's mind for mental interrogation and torture. But the interrogator ran the risk of getting a feedback into his own mind.

Sulu'd heard that, using a telepath, the cybernet device could be used in mindwipes—erasing memories and personalities, and then replacing them with false memories and personalities. The victim then could be sent off to another place to do service for either society or the government.

A perversion of justice, if ever he heard of one.

Sulu wouldn't like to know what the experience was like. In spite of the primitiveness of the Earth Alliance, humans in this universe were still quite creative and ingenious with what they had at hand.

Definitely, they had to get Kirk before he is subjected to the more creative interrogative techniques of the Earth Alliance.

"I take it that we have Captain Kirk's transponder signature on file?"

"Indeed."

Sulu nodded, satisfied at that small mercy. Upon graduation from the Academy, all Starfleet personnel had a small crystalline subcutaneous transponder surgically implanted, most often, in the forearm. If the Earthers hasn't detected and extracted the transponder from Kirk, they could still get a transporter lock on him and retrieve him.

There was another benefit of the subcutaneous transponder, discovered by Kirk and Spock on the planet Ekos. In order to escape from an Ekosian prison, a transponder was crudely extracted and, with a primitive light bulb, was used to create a short-lived laser burst to break the lock on their prison cell.

Necessity is the mother of invention, indeed.

In spite of his misgivings about the way Operation Retrieve has been adapted for the Earth Alliance, Sulu was confident that it could be successfully pulled off.

ISN

…with the latest news on the continuing crisis. Xavier Montoya, head of the Mars Provisional Government, announced today that he will not implement the martial law renewal order given five days ago by President Clark. So far, EarthDome has had no official response to this open defiance by Mars, except to say they are considering all options.

USS Excelsior

"Captain, we're approaching Mars."

Sulu nodded at Lojur's report. "Decrease to one quarter impulse."

"Yes, sir," said Tiffe.

On the main viewscreen, the illusion of starlines created by light waves hitting the starship's navigational shields, slowly vanished. In the distance, they could see normal stars and a ruddy planet.

"The fleet is signaling readiness," reported Janice Rand. "The Springfield is still relaying all sensor readings to us and the fleet."

-Here it comes-, thought Sulu. "Red Alert. Battle stations. Bring us to attack posture, Mr. Akaar."

"Aye, Captain." All over the starship, lights dimmed, giving way to red alert lighting.

"Sensors show several objects in our path," said Lojur. "They are 29 meters in length and are unmanned."

Tuvok spoke up to explain the objects. "According to the Springfield's telemetry, they're orbital defense satellites. They are programmed to both defend Mars and to keep order on the planet."

Tiffe said, "I'm reading 47 of them in range of our path."

"Tactical analysis, Mr. Akaar."

"The satellites are equipped with fusion generated pulse lasers and a missile rack. The missiles are armed with conventional warheads. No shields."

"Not much power there…," commented Tiffe.

Still, they couldn't be too careful. Sulu leaned forward, feeling the tension on the bridge. "Forward shields on maximum. Lock phasers on the satellites and prepare to return fire."

On a monitor screen at the tactical station, bubbles appeared to be expanding out of a stylized model of the Excelsior, strengthening an imaginary boundary.

"Shields up," confirmed Akaar. "Phasers locked on targets."

"Ms. Rand, is the fleet in position and corresponding our actions?"

"Yes, sir."

Captain Sulu paused, studying the image of Mars in the distance. From here on in, it's either success or failure. Either war or a mere incident.

"Sir…," put in Rand, "the Springfield reports that we have activated sensor alarms throughout the system."

The captain nodded. "Full impulse. Take us straight through them."

The Excelsior ran straight through the field of defense satellites. Thin laser beams from the satellites struck its shields, lighting up small points. The starship expertly retaliated with phaser fire—a series of quick bursts, destroying the satellites with ease. Elsewhere in orbit around Mars, the other eight starships of the task force were engaged in similar actions. The tenth ship, the Springfield, hung back, still under cloak and observing.

"We are through the perimeter," reported Lojur.

Sulu, frowning, spoke quietly, almost to himself. "This is too easy."

Akaar heard it and moved to caution the captain. "We have yet to encounter any battleships. They may be ahead. If not, they will come out of hyperspace soon."

The tactical officer was right. They had to be ready for any EarthForce ship. If they knew that the intruders were Federation starships, they would be sending their most powerful vessels. "Load all torpedo bays. Ready phasers. Order the Archer to begin its patrol run around us. Begin scanning for Kirk's transponder."

"Aye, sir," complied Akaar.

Elsewhere, Sulu knew, the light cruisers like the Eagle, Saratoga and Scovil were beginning similar runs, occasionally eliminating an orbital weapons platform, while the heavier cruisers like the Endeavour, Challenger and Potemkin were intensely scanning the whole planet for Kirk's transponder signal. The task force for Operation Retrieve was functioning professionally as it should.

But it was clear that Sulu's doubts were mounting. It was too quiet here even though it was practically next door to Earth Central.

The navigator, Tiffe, said, "Approaching geostationary orbit over Lunis Planum."

Sulu was puzzled at the ease with which they were able to approach. There was still no EarthForce fleet appearing to challenge the Federation task force. A thought occurred to him.

"Mr. Lojur, scan for surface defenses."

The helmsman worked his console before reporting. "I'm not picking up any surface defenses—and there's no more orbital defenses in range of us…." The Alpha-centaurian studied his reading more closely. "Sir, I'm picking up Earth fighters moving over the surface in visual range."

Janice Rand, with a hand clasped to her earpiece, turned from her station. Worry tinged her voice. "Captain, I'm intercepting radio communications from the surface."

"Put them up."

The Excelsior's bridge crew could see a pair of fighter-bombers flying low and following the terrain of Mars. It was their first look at a new atmosphere-capable variant of the Earth starfury. They looked as if they were 20th century military aircraft with starfury wings attached. They also each had four missiles slung under their lower wings.

The voice of the lead pilot came over the speakers. "Standing by. Weapons hot."

Then another voice intruded, sounding panicked. It was clearly from the ground. "Don't do it! We've got women and children down here! Don't do it!"

"Omega 1, you are cleared for drop."

Two of the missiles under one of the fighter-bombers fired. They rocketed into the dome of a Martian city and exploded.

On the bridges of the task force, Starfleet personnel were appalled.

Appalled anger rose within Captain Sulu. These EarthForce personnel may be humans, but they were certainly nothing like the humans they knew in the Federation! These barbarians were giving the military a very bad name. They were supposed to be protecting their fellow citizens, not murdering them in cold blood! He didn't have to think about his next order. He no longer cared about possibly starting a war between the Federation and the Earth Alliance. "Order all ships in range to take out those fighters!"

Almost instantly, they could see thin phaser bolts raining down into the Martian atmosphere at various locations. The other starship captains clearly anticipated the order.

"Do we have Kirk's transponder?"

"Still scanning," said Akaar tensely.

"Fine. Keep scanning. Order all ships to begin placing orbital batteries around Mars!"

"Sir?" Janice Rand looked at Sulu with a questioning look.

"If EarthForce can't keep from abusing their own people, then we'll stop any future abuses! Any objection?"

None was forthcoming. He was glad to see that his crew agreed with his sentiments.

"Good. Launch the orbital batteries."

On every starship of the task force, except for the still cloaked Springfield, shuttle bay doors and cargo bay doors opened. Clusters of Federation orbital batteries, which every starship was loaded for staking planetary claims and for the protection of frontier worlds, spilled out. Each appeared to be a collection of six spheres attached to each other. Hidden in the center were a fusion reactor and a subspace transceiver to be used for receiving orders and for sensor reading. A movable strip on each sphere held four phaser emitters while a hole in the front middle of each sphere indicated a torpedo tube. Each sphere was protected by its own shield generator capable of taking up the burden of a neighboring disabled generator.

Tiny thrusters firing, the orbital batteries quickly moved to self-programmed positions and eliminated Earther defense satellites.

"Ms. Rand, open tachyon frequencies to all channels on the planet," ordered Sulu, still angry. "I must have words with whoever's in charge."

MarsDome

Governor Montoya ran with his fellow government workers. He helped them to carry heavy furniture and beams to barricade the main entrance into his office complex. He had long ago ordered the blast doors closed over the entrance and over his office window. He knew that very soon, EarthForce shock troops would be landing all over the planet, especially in the capital city. They would seize all surviving government and power centers.

Already, they could hear gunfire as troops forced their way throughout the city. A few screams were heard. Montoya exchanged a reassuring look with his secretary, Veronica.

He had been chosen by the Senate to head the Mars Provisional Government. Due to his pro-Earth stance, President Clark had left him in the post. Then just one single order from EarthDome has turned Xavier Montoya straight from patriot to traitor, and it has also turned him into a Marsie instead of an Earther.

The governor had to appreciate the irony of that.

Perhaps, if he somehow survived, he could flee into the underground or even try to barricade himself in the Pyramid Mount at Cydonia and use the alien device inside it as a hostage against Clark.

Just surviving and escaping arrest would be a very long shot, he knew.

Previously dark vidscreens suddenly lit up.

The governor and his colleagues paused and looked up, expecting an EarthForce commander to be on the screens and announcing the direct occupation of Mars. They were puzzled to see what appeared to be a middle-aged Japanese man dressed in a wine-red tunic with stylized insignias and an epaulet. He looked as angry as a righteous EarthForce commander would be.

"I am Hikaru Sulu, Captain of the Federation starship Excelsior and commander of the Starfleet Retrieval Task Force. We are appalled at the mistreatment of Mars by the forces of the Earth Alliance President, William Morgan Clark. Normally, we would not interfere in your internal affairs, but we cannot stand by and allow the bombing of civilian targets. As of this moment, until President Clark is impeached for his abuses of the citizens of the Earth Alliance, Mars is off-limits to him."

Montoya was amazed. This man was handing independence to the Marsies on a silver platter!

"Until the President is removed from office for his crimes and reparations are made for the deaths he is responsible for, Federation orbital batteries will stand guard and block any military force from reaching the planet Mars. They will permit unarmed vessels to enter and depart Mars' space, but they will open fire at any armed vessel. They will not permit anyone to attempt physical contact with any of the batteries. President Clark and EarthForce, consider yourselves warned. For public consumption, allow me to transmit an important document from my government to the citizens of Mars. It is called 'The Fundamental Declarations of the Martian Colonies'. The Earth Alliance would do well to allow Mars to adopt a similar document. This is Captain Hikaru Sulu of the Federation starship Excelsior signing out."

The Martian government officials gaped at the deactivated screens with open mouths. Even the sound of gunfire from outside had ceased. The screens then lit up once more, this time showing a page of the document this human-seeming captain spoke of. Governor Xavier Montoya knew that this day would stay in the memory of Mars, if not the Earth Alliance, for a long time to come.

USS Excelsior

Captain Sulu slumped into his command chair. He has done it now. Let the Federation Council, Supreme Assembly and Starfleet Command complain or agree, but he has done it.

"Sir!"

The captain turned to Commander Akaar.

"I've found the transponder signal!"

Sulu practically jumped from his chair at the news. "Where!"

Akaar hesitated only for a moment. "It's at Syria Planum."

A cold chill went through Sulu. The PsiCorps. He slammed the intercom button in his chair. "Transporter! Beam up Captain Kirk right now!"

"Captain!" shouted Akaar. "We've lost the signal!"

"Damn it! Get it back!"

Lojur blanched at what he was seeing in his console. "Sir…."

"Please don't tell me it's more bad news."

"Uh, sir…. You gotta see this." The helmsman put what he was seeing up onscreen.

Every bridge crewmate took a sharp breath at the sight.

The terrifyingly familiar visage of a huge spidery vessel seemingly made of black crude oil was on the main viewscreen. The Shadow ship was at that moment rising from beside a large glass dome on the surface of Mars.

"My…God! Why didn't we see it before?"

"Well…." Lojur was looking abashed. "We weren't looking for it, sir."

A shriek sounded in their minds as the Shadow ship cleared the Martian atmosphere. A purple beam lanced out in empty space.

An explosion bloomed from the seemingly empty void of space. A piece of a starship's saucer fell away, burning and sparking. Part of the name 'USS Springfield NCC-1936' was emblazoned on the piece.

Sulu's eyes bulged at the sight. The Shadows were capable of seeing cloaked ships!

The purple energy beam lashed out at the USS Archer. Federation shields blazed and red-lined as the Centaur-class starship tumbled out of control at the impact.

Three starships quickly made their appearance, the Soyuz-class Eagle, the Constellation-class Ahwahnee and the Akyazi-class Scovil. Their phaser cannons spoke their retaliation.

Professional training took over as the Excelsior pivoted on its axis and began to fire phasers at the Shadow in concert with the other three starships.

The black mottled bioarmor glowed red at the phaser impacts.

"Sir!" yelled Akaar. "When we hit the bioship, the sensors detected Captain Kirk's transponder on it!"

Sulu recoiled at the news. He had been about to order photon torpedoes fired to destroy the black bioship.

"Can you beam him out?"

Akaar shook his head. "Something about that bioarmor is interfering with the transporter beam. We're losing the signal again. Must be that bioarmor again."

Screaming, the Shadow pivoted and fired at the Eagle. The purple beam rammed into the Soyuz-class starship's shields, causing it to be pushed back, exposing the underside of its saucer section. Still firing, the Shadow beam quickly drained the shields in a few seconds and drilled straight through the saucer section.

"Shit!" swore Sulu. "The captain's on that bioship! We can't destroy it without killing him!"

The Potemkin's phaser arrays opened fire, drilling red-hot glowing pockmarks in the oily bioarmor. Black ochre spilled out, making it look like the Shadow ship was actually bleeding. A shriek of agony sounded again.

"Damn! Tell the Potemkin to hold its fire! All ships, cease fire!" Sulu felt like tearing his hair out. They came to rescue James Kirk only to lose him to yet another, and more dangerous, enemy. "We don't know its ability to endure our weapons! We can't afford to kill Jim!"

The Shadow lashed out once more. Again, it maintained fire at a Federation starship's shields, this time those of the USS Ahwahnee. Its shields soon collapsed and one of its four warp nacelles was sheared off. The Constellation starship fled, staggering away from the scene.

Sulu had to decide something. He had to keep himself from thinking of the pain of losing Kirk. "Jim would want us to keep him from falling under control of the Shadows. If we can't get him, then the Shadows won't have him. All ships, open fire!"

The task force arranged itself around the Shadow ship, effectively boxing it in, and prepared to shoot at it.

With a final mindscream, the bioship shimmered and faded out of sight.

Now Captain Sulu felt like beating his head on a bulkhead. The Shadow ship has phased into hyperspace, taking Captain Kirk with it!

"Sir," said Akaar quietly as if he didn't want to add more to Sulu's sudden stress. "Jumppoints forming."

On the main viewscreen, blue jumppoints bloomed open and spitted out Earth destroyers and cruisers, firing at the remains of the Federation task force.

Sulu slumped back into his chair. EarthForce had finally made their appearance, but Captain Sulu wasn't in a shape to fight it. The task force could stand and fight, but there wasn't a reason for them to stay anymore. Jim was gone. The orbital batteries were now in place and could take care of the Omega destroyers and Hyperion cruisers by themselves. There was no point in staying around anymore.

More Earth ships kept coming through the jumppoints. Soon, there would be too many for even the task force to handle. Their technology may be less than 50 years behind that of Starfleet, but number can overcome technology. The Excelsior's captain was deeply disturbed. Either EarthForce was reacting to the presence of the starships or the Shadow ship or they were cooperating with the Shadows. The last possibility was reinforced by the fact that James Kirk, a prisoner of EarthForce, was now on the vanished Shadow ship.

A quiet order came out of Sulu's suddenly tired lips. "R-retreat. All ships, retreat at warp."

One by one, Federation starships turned about and jumped to warp. The crippled Eagle was tractored by the Potemkin before the Constitution-class starship went to warp. The Scovil stayed only long enough to make sure the task force was on its way, taking potshots at the closing EarthForce ships, then quickly left a warp-flash in its wake.

Operation Retrieve has failed.

ISN

"…and we've been unable at this time to determine at this time how many have been killed in the recent attacks on Mars by EarthGov forces. In this footage, EarthForce has encountered ships of the mercenary organization calling itself the United Federation of Planets hired by Martian rebels and driven them off. President Clark has announced that the attacks will continue until the Mars Provisional Government accedes to martial law. He also has announced his intention to hunt down the alien mercenaries and those responsible for hiring them will be brought to justice. So far there's been no reaction from any of the outer colonies concerning these attacks…"

The ISN anchorwoman was suddenly interrupted when an agitated man stepped up beside her.

"Jane, I'm sorry to jump in like this, but we have to…." The man sat at the anchor desk and spoke. "The colonies at Orion 7 and Proxima 3 have just broken away from the Earth Alliance in protest over the bombing of Mars!"

Jane was now very agitated, looking for help from the crew behind the camera. The man continued.

"They're setting themselves up as independent states until such time as President Clark is impeached! The Federation aliens are not mercenaries, but another separate human government! They've stopped the bombing of Mars and set up an armed orbital blockade to keep it from happening again!"

Jane now turned to the man, eyes wide with fear and a hand raised to touch his shoulder. "Rick, don't do this…!"

Rick was now talking faster and louder. "Clark doesn't want this information released, but we have to go with this now because I don't know how much longer we can stay on the air!"

Jane now looked paralyzed in her chair, watching her fellow anchorman continue dragging ISN into deeper trouble.

"Armed troops have begun moving in on the ISN Broadcasting Center here in Geneva! We just saw them coming around the corner! We're trying to get a camera down there to document what's going on! I—I can hear gunfire now up here on the 14th floor!"

The news crew began to scramble in a panic.

"Listen to me! There's information you don't have! What's been going on for the past year, we haven't been allowed to tell you!"

There was a blast and rubble fell onto the anchor desk. Jane and Rick now joined the news crew in trying to scramble out of danger.

"Everyone! Get down!"

Snow and static covered the scene.

Babylon 5

The static continued to snow on a vidscreen.

"Off."

Spock leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers with an eyebrow raised at the now dark vidscreen. Events were moving a little too fast for his taste. It would seem that the hand of the Federation would be forced. He looked at the two women in the room.

Ambassador Miranda Jones was looking grim, while Captain Areel Shaw looked aghast. Spock idly wondered how the Federation News Service would handle what InterStellar Network News had just gone through.

"Captain Shaw, you will agree that this has rendered our stance on the Prime Directive more dubious than ever before, will you not?"

Areel's eyes shifted to the Vulcan dressed in a black draped robe with silver running script in his role as the Federation Special Envoy, but the Judge Advocate General's representative remained silent.

"You will further agree that the information that Ambassador Miranda has discovered concerning the Klingons and Romulans in Narn and Centauri space reinforces that point, does it not?" Spock could see that Areel was silently calculating what he was pointing out. He had heard that the ship-less crew of the Enterprise referred to her as 'the JAG lady' as if to demean her in absentia, but he felt her to be a valuable ally due to her direct connections to Starfleet Command. If needed, he could go past her straight to Captain Kirk's sponsors, Admirals Nogura and Komack, or even to his own father, Ambassador Sarek, distasteful as that may be, but that would mean offending the sensibilities of the powerful Judge Advocate General's office. He needed to nudge Areel in the logical direction. A traitorous thought came unbidden: logical for whom?

"We are more involved than ever. This President Clark has vowed to 'hunt us down' and we are on a space station that is logically going to be a target of his forces. Ambassador Miranda here has insinuated the precepts of the Federation throughout the structure of the InterStellar Alliance. Would you deny us the chance to extricate ourselves or to lend our aid in this matter?"

Areel Shaw continued to look at Spock.

xxxxxxxx

Spock and Miranda Jones were included in a meeting. They listened as Captain Sandra Hiroshi of the Churchill revealed her bad news.

"Major, the ships receiving the attack order are already on their way here! He doesn't want to risk Babylon 5 breaking away! So those ships are under orders to seize command of Babylon 5, arrest and detain its captain and the rest of the command staff, and to put this station under the direct authority of President Clark and the Night Watch!"

Sheridan reacted as if he had been punched in the guts and sat down at his desk.

Ivanova furiously said, "The other governments won't stand for it!"

Major Ryan said, "They won't intervene! All the major powers are divided, distracted, busy with their own wars. We're on our own."

Ambassador Miranda stepped forward. "Captain, may I offer the assistance of the Federation? As the Federation ambassador, I have the power to grant asylum for you."

Sheridan took a while to think over the offer. He quietly said, "I against my brother; I and my brother against our cousin; I, my brother and our cousin against the neighbors; all of us against the foreigner."

Spock raised an eyebrow at the quote while Ryan looked puzzled. "Sir?"

"A Bedouin proverb. Ambassador, this is our fight. If your ships get involved, we'd be only vindicating Clark's claims that we're being subverted by alien influences. You are the ultimate outsider. We'll lose support among the people. Thank you, but no."

The Vulcan pointed out, "That may be true. However, you do have Narns among your security forces. We have a starship crew aboard this station, one without a ship. Can they not join your security?"

A grateful nod accepted the offer. "How long until they get here?"

The question was directed at Sandra. "Six hours, top. Maybe less."

Sheridan nodded again.

"I better get back to my ship," said Ryan. "I should be there when the others arrive. If you think it would be any help, we could try to jump! Maybe draw some of the fire away from Babylon 5, give you a chance to negotiate."

"No. Thank you, Major. If this is where we make our stand, then this is where we'll do it."

Ryan and Sandra accept the decision and left the office. Before leaving with Spock, Miranda said, "I'll try to get the InterStellar Alliance to send some ships."

When the two Federationers were outside the office, Spock quietly said, "Ambassador, the Alliance is fragile. Is it wise to have it go against the Earthers?"

"Perhaps not," Miranda conceded. "I've been hearing about certain subversive influences in the Alliance. A confrontation with Clark would not only help unseat the president but also forge the Alliance into a cohesive federation."

Spock made a gesture of agreement. The ambassador had lived on Vulcan for most of her life before bonding with a Medusan ambassador. As such, Miranda was one of the rare humans who had lived with logic and deserved respect from Spock and other Vulcans.

Though…he had to admit to the human need to hope that this incident would end as well as the one at Eminiar VII and Vendikar in the past.

Hyperspace

A task force of six EarthForce capitol ships cruised through the red murk of hyperspace. A fighter escort and two breaching pods accompanied the small fleet. On the Agrippa, Captain Dexter Smith studied the oriental face which just appeared on his vidscreen.

"I understand why I've been drafted," Laurel Takashima was saying, "but why? You have six capital ships. Isn't that enough? Let me rephrase that: why so many for one space station?"

Dexter also knew why Laurel was made part of the fleet. She was once a commanding officer on Babylon 5 so she would know the insides and out of the space station. She also had some experience with the Federationers so her insights would be useful for the fleet. "We don't know if some of the alien governments would interfere. They're busy with themselves, but we don't know for sure. We're going to make sure they respect our sovereignty."

"Wouldn't that…provoke a war with some of the other governments?"

Dexter scoffed. "Over a single space station? Naw. Like I said, they're busy with themselves. Even if the aliens fight for it, we can handle them."

Laurel raised an eyebrow. "Why does that sound familiar?"