"I'm sorry your initial reception in our space was less than hospitable," Weyoun continued. "The people who captured you are not associated with the Trisepat government in any way."
"I gathered," I said. After I had thought about it, it seemed unlikely that our captors had been Trisepat, since they had shot the communications console in the shuttle. Then, of course, we had been rescued from wherever we were being held, and it seemed to have been a concerted effort to take over the whole base, not just to find us.
"I'm sure you have many questions for me," Weyoun said. "Let the medical staff examine you, and then I will meet with you and tell you everything you want to know." He gave us another of his knowing smiles. "I believe we have much in common."
He gave us a nod of his head and left. I glanced at Julian, who gave me a small shrug. It seemed that, for the time being at least, we were under the authority of the ship's medical personnel. We were given a cursory examination by one of the medics in the transporter room, then moved to the sickbay along with the rest of our group of rescued prisoners.
Weyoun met with us after we had been given clean bills of health and had been assigned guest quarters. The doctors had been very interested in my symbiont, and I suspected it was only because they knew that the legislator was waiting for us that we were let go as soon as we were. I was used to fielding questions by now, but not by people who had never seen a Trill before, let alone a joined Trill.
Our guest quarters were small but well appointed, with all the comforts we had on Terok Nor. This came as something of a relief after having been imprisoned, even if it had only been for a day. Weyoun had joined us in the sitting room of our quarters. He gave the impression of someone who would be at ease in any situation, composed, confident and calm. The knowing glint in his eyes reminded me of some Cardassians that Curzon had dealt with, particularly during the negotiations between the Alliance and the Federation.
"How did you manage to find us?" Julian asked after we had greeted the legislator. I hid a smile; that was Julian, when he wanted something, he went for it. Although he could easily be subtle, I suspected his patience was running low. I wanted some answers, too.
"Your shuttle, of course," Weyoun said smoothly. "As soon as you crossed into our space, our border satellites had registered your position, your warp drive signature and a basic scan of your ship." He held up a hand, forestalling Julian who was about to speak. "This is standard practice in the Trisepat. Most of the ships that cross our borders are our own, of course, but it hasn't always been this safe. I've familiarized myself with the history of your United Federation of Planets. We have a similar enemy, the Borg."
I nodded, understanding somewhat. There was more of the story, of course, a whole history which I did not know.
"With the information we'd gathered on your ship, we were able to track it easily enough. And for that, we owe you a debt of thanks. We have been looking for that labour camp for a few years now. Although some of the pirates who run it our from species inside the Trisepat, that place lies beyond our space and beyond our laws."
"Some of our cellmates seemed to be expecting you," Julian said.
Weyoun nodded, giving a small smile as if he were pleased that Julian had caught that.
"Yes, of course. You have your Starfleet Intelligent, we have our Intelligence Net. We sent some Net agents to be captured a few months ago, hoping to track them, but we lost contact when they were captured. But you were able to repeat part of the recording from the border satellites. Once they realized you'd been contacted, they were able to deduce we would be fast on your trail. As it was, we were close to catching them, but your capture sped up matters considerably."
"I'm glad we could help," Julian said dryly.
Weyoun raised his eyebrows.
"I am grateful to free our people from that place, but I must admit, it is not the most idea initial contact situation we have ever been in. Far from the worst, however," he mused. "You must find yourselves at a disadvantage. I have had time to study your Federation history, although not in as much detail as I'd prefer. I can give you some background to the Trisepat if you'd like."
Julian nodded, but I spoke up.
"First, where are we going? Are we headed back toward the wormhole?"
Weyoun flashed a grin.
"Ah, the wormhole, yes. A fantastic discovery. But no, we are heading into Trisepat space. Before you get upset, we have already made contact with the commander of your space station and, through him, Federation and Starfleet officials. They are coming through the wormhole to meet us, and we have sent a ship through, bearing two other legislators, as a gesture of good intent."
Julian frowned.
"How long will it take to get there?" he asked.
"A little under two of our standard days. Let me show you."
He leaned forward and activated a small switch. A three-dimensional holographic display jumped to life from a small metallic ring sunk into the center of the table between us. It showed the entire galaxy, somewhat transparent and glittering.
"Isolate Trisepat space," Weyoun said, and the view zoomed in to what my mind categorized as the Gamma Quadrant, and a small part of the Delta Quadrant, all far beyond the reach of Federation space. My eyes widened and I glanced sharply at Julian, who drew in a silent, astonished breath. He met my eyes, my own shocked mirrored there.
"You have over a thousand systems," I said, glancing back at the hologram, then at Weyoun.
He nodded, and smiled his brilliant smile.
"And over two hundred member races," he added.
"That's – unbelievable," Julian managed, obviously at a loss for words. I could only nod, thinking about the size of the Trisepat compared to the size of the Federation. We had always seemed so big, especially when the Federation and the Alliance had merged, but we were dwarfed by the Trisepat. After the merger with the Alliance, the Federation extended over an area of about 10,000 light years, but the Trisepat must have been over 15,000. I couldn't begin to imagine the administrative challenges that would accompany governing such a large area.
"We're much older than your Federation," Weyoun said, as if reading my mind. "And we incorporated another large political entity, the Dominion, over seven hundred years ago. I will talk more about that later. Highlight our current position and the Trisepat core," he said to the holographic display.
A small system near the edge of Trisepat space lit up and I recognized it as being close to our last coordinates in our shuttle. From there, I could probably have traced a path back to the wormhole if the rest of the Gamma Quadrant had been included in the display. At the center of the image, four star systems lit up brightly, their closely neighbouring suns twinkling a vibrant yellow.
"That can't possibly take us only two days," Julian said and I nodded in agreement, looking into the legislator's blue eyes. "A trip like that would take almost five days at high warp." He probably could have given us the duration down to the second, but Julian had long ago grown accustomed to rounding out his estimate. I was often curious about how close his exact calculations were, but I think I was also often the only one.
"In normal space, that would be correct," Weyoun agreed. "Highlight all publicly accessible tunnels," he said, nodding at the display. A network of snaking blue lines appeared everywhere suddenly, crisscrossing each other, meeting up and splitting, but ultimately heading toward the Trisepat core.
"All roads lead to Rome," Julian muttered beside me.
"Pardon me?" Weyoun asked. Julian shook his head.
"An old saying from my home planet," he explained.
"I take it this Rome was a large center?"
Julian nodded.
"At one point, the center for one of the largest political organizations on Earth."
Weyoun smiled again.
"Then perhaps your analogy is apt," he said. "These are subspace tunnels. We're traveling in one right now, here," he pointed, and one of the tunnels glowed a brighter blue. "In normal subspace, we would have to adjust for crossing solar systems and any other natural phenomenon, not to mention tracking the locations of other ships, but in the tunnels, we avoid any of these problems. It decreases our travel time drastically."
I was staring at the display, my mouth firmly shut because I had just enough control at the moment to keep it so, but I could not keep the shock from my face, and from my voice when I spoke.
"We've been studying subspace tunnel technology for years," I managed. "We've never been able to get passed the theory stage. In practice, they never remain stable."
Weyoun nodded.
"Our technology is only about two hundred years old," he said.
"Two hundred years!" I exclaimed. Two hundred years ago, there had barely been a Federation, let alone the idea that a subspace tunnel could exist.
"We measure our years somewhat differently than you," Weyoun pointed out. "It is perhaps close to one hundred and fifty of your years."
"All the same," I muttered, shaking my head. No wonder they had so many systems encompassed in their borders. It would take so much less time to get anywhere. A ship from the core could easily reach the most far flung borders within four days, making supply and personnel transport simple. I thought of the week it would take to travel between Terok Nor and Earth, and how technology like this could decrease that to just under three days.
"I don't pretend to understand how it works," Weyoun admitted. "But I'm certain our engineers will be discussing it with yours when they meet. But this is how we're traveling to our core."
"I don't suppose you have transwarp tunnels?" Julian asked.
Weyoun laughed.
"Sadly, no," he said. "We have been working on it whenever we capture Borg technology, but it is not a simple concept, in theory or practice. At least, that's what our engineers tell me."
"They tell us the same thing," I confirmed dryly, although I suspected the Trisepat had captured more Borg technology than the Federation ever had, simply by dint of being so much closer to Borg space than we were.
"When we arrive at the core, then what?" Julian asked. I glanced at him side-long, suppressing a smile. He had always been innately curious, and being genetically enhanced just made it easier for him to satisfy one curiosity and move onto the next. But I wanted to know, as well.
"Your Federation delegation will be just over a day behind us," Weyoun said. He gave a brief smile, wryness and amusement intertwined. "I imagine from then on it will be quite a lot of negotiation and diplomacy. But the rest of the legislators and the premier will want to meet you. Our first Federation ambassadors. We take first contacts very seriously, especially when they have the potential for good future relations."
"So do we," I assured him. Weyoun nodded, his bright eyes twinkling. I was reminded of Enebran Tain, who so often seemed to be laughing at some unknown joke, his confidence radiating from him like heat.
"I know," he said. "That comes through quite clearly when reading your Federation history." He paused, steepling his fingers together, the tips touching. "I feel you are at somewhat of a disadvantage here," he continued. "I've had two days to familiarize myself as much as possible with the Federation and Starfleet, but you know next to nothing about us. Allow me to give you a brief history."
I leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees. I saw Julian's eyes light up; this is what we had been waiting for. There were so many things I wanted to know, it was hard to bite down on questions, but it would be easier to listen than to gather information piece-meal. And, to be frank, I did not want to be uninformed when the Federation diplomats arrived in the Trisepat core. Although I was no longer a diplomat, Curzon's work had taught me a lot, and had trained me for this type of situation – not that I ever particularly expected I would have an opportunity like this. I glanced again at Julian; it was strange how many opportunities life could afford you. And amazing.
The Trisepat had been founded almost two thousand years ago, Weyoun told us, a tiny alliance compared to their current size. As he spoke, three of the central systems lit up on the display, glowing brightly, their tiny stars twinkling a holographic light. Only three member races formed the original Trisepat: the Gri'Thethi, the Hendulu and the shifters. At that point, I had to interrupt, asking about the shifters, if the rescuer who had come through our door had been one.
"No, she's a Changeling," Weyoun replied. "Why?"
"We have one on Terok Nor," I said.
I suspected that very little took Weyoun by surprise, but this did. His eyebrows shot up and his blue eyes flashed astonishment.
"Really? What is her name?"
"He," I said. "Odo."
"I didn't come across any mention of him while reviewing your records."
I shook my head.
"He's not a Starfleet officer, he's a Bajoran citizen and he's one of the directors of the ore refining facility on Terok Nor."
"How long has he been in the Bajoran system?"
"About twenty years," Julian replied. Trust him to remember that detail.
Weyoun nodded slowly.
"Our Changeling population will be very interested in meeting him, particularly Legislator Avne. I will send her a message, but in the meantime, discussing the Changelings leads nicely into more of the Trisepat history. Allow me to explain."
The Trisepat had expanded to include a fourth member race, the kbsai, and had ballooned from there, gathering momentum as new space travel technologies were invented and new systems were colonized. They developed a rule not unlike our Prime Directive that prohibited them from interfering in the development of worlds that were not space faring, but they considered space faring to be any civilization that attempted to make contact. They pushed their borders outward and began policing them by establishing the same type of probe stations we had encountered when we had crossed into their space. Mostly, it was their own ships crossing back and forth from Trisepat space into unclaimed territories, although occasionally a ship from a previously unknown system would appear, and the Trisepat would begin negotiations that usually ended with the inclusion of a new member race. I could see why – a democratic organization with the kind of power and influence would be an appealing alliance. It was why races joined the Federation, and why the Federation and the Alliance had merged.
Then, seven hundred years ago, a ship had crossed the Trisepat perimeter and refused to answer all hails or maintain its position. A scouting ship was sent out to investigate and encountered a Dominion ship crewed by a small army of a species called Jem'Hadar. The Trisepat scout ship attempted communications but was ignored. It would have ended badly for the Trisepat vessel, Weyoun commented, but for the fact that it was crewed by a large number of Gri'Thethi and kbsai – all telepaths. The Jem'Hadar were annihilated without a single shot being fired and the ship was confiscated to be studied.
Weyoun noted Julian's shocked expression and cocked an eyebrow.
"Don't make the mistake of assuming that we will not protect our borders," he said. "The Jem'Hadar were a greater threat than the Trisepat had ever faced, and it took very little time for the Gri'Thethi and the kbsai to realize that. That is one gift of telepathy – if they had not seen this immediately, our citizens would have been slaughtered, and perhaps not just those on the ship."
He paused, tapping the tips of his fingers together.
"The Dominion was never particularly interested in negotiation, but simply in expansion. The Trisepat downloaded whatever information they could from the ship's main computer, confiscated two of the Jem'Hadar bodies and sent the rest back in the ship with a warning not to invade their space again.
"The Dominion was a militaristic organization run by a race who called themselves the Founders. They were reclusive and believed by many of the Dominion members to be nothing more than a fiction but they did, in fact, exist. They maintained their control through their army of Jem'Hadar, a race of warriors whom the Founders had genetically engineered and through another race of managers, who controlled the Jem'Hadar and reported directly to the Founders. The Founders were none other than the Changelings and their subordinate, manager race was the Vorta."
Julian and I looked at each other, and I saw the shock glinting from his hazel eyes.
"Odo is a Founder?" Julian asked, turning back to Weyoun. The legislator shook his head.
"No, it is somewhat complicated, so allow me to explain. The Changelings do not always exist as individual beings as you know them, although this is not by any means standard for shape shifters. The shifters, one of the original Trisepat members, always exist as individuals, but Changelings can revert to a liquid state and become one consciousness. This was once called the Great Link. Unlike the shifters, who developed a trusting relationship with the Gri'Thethi and the Hendulu, the Changelings had a history of being reviled and feared. This drove them into hiding, fanning the eventual rumours that the Founders were nothing more than a myth that the Vorta had created."
Weyoun paused, giving a wry smile.
"Ironic, then, that the Founders are actually responsible for creating both the Jem'Hadar and the Vorta. But I am getting ahead of myself. How well do you know this Odo?"
"Very well," Julian replied.
"Then you've noticed an innate tendency for order, I assume?"
We both nodded; that sounded exactly like Odo. Under his direction, the ore processing center was the peak of efficiency and safety.
"It is a racial trait among the Changelings, this need for order. Being driven into hiding did not diminish this desire, so the Founders took it upon themselves to impose order on what they perceived as a chaotic galaxy. In order to do this, they needed representatives who would be feared and obeyed. The Vorta they took under their control and changed us, making us more intelligent, but removing our ability to breed. Instead we did – and still do – carry on our species via cloning. I am the fifth Weyoun. The Jem'Hadar they created from scratch, building themselves an army of highly trained, highly organized warriors who were genetically designed to be dependent on a chemical substance that could only be provided by the Founders via the Vorta. This made the Jem'Hadar slaves both mentally and physically to the Founders, and the problem of having the Jem'Hadar breed new Jem'Hadar that were not addicts was solved by simply making them all male.
"This method of control worked very well, of course, because there were no other organizations that could match the Dominion for power. How is one supposed to devise a way to destroy armies of genetically bred soldiers? I suspect the Dominion never considered, however, running into telepaths who could do so without so much as blinking. Nor, I think, did they expect that any telepaths could have such a capacity for violence in order to preserve themselves. It was their last mistake."
"But you said that there are Changelings in the Trisepat," Julian interjected.
"Patience, doctor, I will get to that. The Founders did not react kindly to their ship being sent back with all of their soldiers dead. They dispatched three more warships to evaluate the threat, none of which were ever returned to the Dominion. After this, perhaps the Founders realized what they were dealing with, and sent a diplomatic delegation, ostensibly to negotiate a peace settlement, but in reality, to make overtures of the shifters based on what the Founders perceived as common ground. Unlike the Founders, however, the shifters had never experienced the kind of mistrust and suspicion the Founders had. Rather than being persecuted and hunted, they stood at the head of a powerful political organization that they had helped mould from nothing.
"The shifters, of course, reported this to their Trisepat compatriots and the telepaths had already learned that the Dominion had no intentions of leaving the Trisepat untouched. That would have meant abandoning the possibility of acquiring hundreds of star systems, new technologies, resources, and imposing more order on the galaxy.
"Unfortunately for them, the Gri'Thethi and the kbsai made quick work of learning where the facilities for breeding Jem'Hadar and synthesizing their addictive compound were, and where the Founders were. A genetically enhanced army, as it turns out, is no match for an army equipped with telepaths and telekinetics – the Hendulu. In less than a year, the Trisepat had wiped out the Jem'Hadar altogether, had decimated the Founders, and had precipitated the demise of the Dominion. Without threat from the Jem'Hadar, star systems were jumping airlock, abandoning an overarching organization altogether or scrambling for membership in the Trisepat. Almost every applicant was accepted and the Founders were forced to concede. Many of them had been killed, and many of the Vorta as well."
I was taken by how matter-of-fact Weyoun sounded about this, as if it did not bother him that so many of his kind had died. As if reading my thoughts, he gave me a quirk of a smile and shook his head.
"The Changelings who were left fell largely into two groups: those who had survived the destruction of their Dominion, because they were those who had initially resisted the attempts to subjugate the Trisepat, and those who were classified as The Hundred. These were Changelings who had been sent out as infants, as we would recognize the life stage, into the galaxy to learn about other races. Most of them had no idea who they really were and were not present during the war, coming back only decades or centuries later, taking time to find their way home.
"I am not a Changeling so I do not presume to speak for them, but those who were left evidently saw that the path they had taken was misguided, or perhaps they realized that shape shifters need not be feared, or perhaps they were simply resigned after seeing their Dominion reduced to nothing, but they abandoned their Great Link and washed their hands of their control of the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar and left their home, emigrating to the Trisepat. Only those who were willing to become part of the galaxy again were allowed into this New Link, as a consequence, we have much more social Changelings."
Here, he paused and smiled.
"What about the Vorta?" I asked.
Weyoun nodded.
"Yes, the Vorta were relieved of their enslavement to the Founders, and the genetic programming that made us mentally subservient to them was abolished. Many of the traits that the Founders had instilled in us, however, our ability to manage, to liaise, to be diplomatic, to organize, those were kept and the Trisepat members are nothing if not cunning. They saw this could be used to their advantage and welcomed the free Vorta into the Trisepat. At the time, many people worried that the Vorta would revert to obeying only the Changelings, but to the newly freed Vorta, this idea was repugnant. For the first time in centuries, we were able to master our own destinies, and the Trisepat gave us leave to propagate our species by cloning, even though this is illegal for any other Trisepat race. We had almost completely lost the biological ability to reproduce by then, but we had developed the technology to pass on the knowledge and experiences from one clone to the next. I am the sum of my experiences, and those of each Weyoun who came before me."
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. That certainly when far beyond any Federation cloning technology. It was illegal to clone individuals; cloning was reserved for such things as organ transplantation or endangered species regeneration. We had never progressed so far as to be able to transplant memories from one clone to the next.
"That was seven hundred years ago," Weyoun continued. "Since then, our only true threat has been the Borg."
I noted that he said "we". Of course, it was likely this Weyoun wasn't seven hundred years old, and that he had never known anything but the Trisepat, and it seemed those old Dominion races had integrated fully.
I also noted the sudden darkening of his bright eyes, the shadows that burned through them, thunder clouds masking the sun. He must have noticed some hint of expression on my face because he fixed those vibrant eyes on me.
"The third Weyoun was assimilated by the Borg. He may well be alive still, somewhere. But no longer as an individual."
It was heart wrenching, even though this man was alien to me in every sense of the word. I thought of all those who had lost loved ones to the Borg, including Benjamin. There was a hollow pain that opened up, sucking that person away, but not their memories. But to lose someone to assimilation – how much worse was that? Somewhere, this man's predecessor was now half machine, and wholly under the control of the Collective. In that moment, I was glad Jennifer had died and had not been assimilated. I could not imagine what it would have done to Benjamin if she'd been taken.
Weyoun smiled wanly.
"Despite their best efforts, we resist. Despite their remonstrations that it is futile. Again, having two telepathic races has more than its share of benefits. It seems we have that resistance in common."
"That among other things," Julian commented and I glanced at my husband. There was an amused glint in his eyes, and I could see him calculating all the similarities between us and the Trisepat. At least the ones we had learned so far.
"Indeed," Weyoun agreed, smiling again. "Now, I do not wish to make you endure any more history lessons. I suspect you have not had a good meal since you were captured. If you would come with me to this ship's lounge, there are many people whom I'm sure would like to meet you. And perhaps we may even introduce your tastes to Trisepat cuisine."