The senior staff of the USS Excelsior had gathered in the vessels main briefing-room. Captain Sulu was joined by Commander Gars, along with the ships officers holding the rank of lieutenant commander; chief of security Gambon, Shrav, the chief engineer, Karalga, the chief science officer, the ships chief medical officer, Augustus Eckenwald and chief of Operations, Handalma.

Sulu sat down at the head of the table and studied his fellow officers. "This mission has taken an unexpected turn" he said. "It seems as if lieutenant Marcus-Kirk has gone rogue, along with Sybok and Curzon Dax. Their mission here is not sanctioned."

Eckenwald, the gray haired human male, looked at the other officers before turning back to the captain. "They are not here looking for romulans?"

"We think they are" Sulu said. "But the motives for doing so are… somewhat extraordinary."

Gars addressed her fellow members of the senior staff. "It would seem as if Sybok recruited lieutenant Marcus-Kirk and Curzon Dax to go through with this mission, a plan of his own devices. How Sybok found out about the romulans is classified, but he approached lieutenant Marcus-Kirk since he needed her expertise as a Starfleet Intelligence officer. He also knew that klingons would be here so he recruited Dax, an expert on dealing with the klingons."

"We have updated orders from Starfleet headquarters" Sulu explained. "We are to apprehend all three and bring them back to Earth for questioning. Curzon Dax is already secured in his quarters."

Shrav, the andorian engineer, tried to connect the dots. "But the romulans are here? Yet we are arresting our own people?"

"There is no conclusive evidence that there is a romulan presence in the system" Gars corrected the andorian.

"Yet we will act on the assumption that they are here?" Eckenwald said, more a statement than a question.

Gambon was next to speak. "An away-team will locate and arrest Sybok and lieutenant Marcus-Kirk. Once in our custody, we will debrief them and begin our search for the romulans."

Sulu leaned with both elbows against the table. "The problem is the presence of the klingons. If they suspect us of foul play, they will interfere, and they may turn violent."

"Which means" Gars cut in, "that we will have to include them to some extent."

"I must object" Gambon instantly barked in disagreement. "The less we involve the klingons, the better" the benzite said. "We don't want to give them any reason to go looking for Sybok and our lieutenant; to them, they will be traitors and valid targets to hunt down. We will have a greater chance of finding them, alive, without klingons interfering."

Handalma, a xindi-arboreal, wearing the purple shirt of Operations, gave the matter some thought. "And if we let them play this out? What if they find the romulans?"

"Not a valid option, I'm afraid" Sulu explained. "The nature of Syboks source of information leaves us no choice but to interfere and arrest them. All I can say is that they are acting on knowledge that should not be acted upon. I understand how that sounds, but that is the situation we have to deal with."

"I don't buy it" Karalga said, the female kaitian sporting impressive sideburns along her jawline, and gained everyone's attention. The kaitian glanced at each and everyone present in the room. "Curzon Dax is well known among klingons. Sybok is well known to romulans, especially the Tal Shiar. Lieutenant Marcus-Kirk is the daughter of Starfleets greatest hero, our most prominent captain. These are not people that would go undetected by klingons or romulans, not for long at least. Why would Sybok recruit those two for a covert mission?"

"I believe that would be classified" Eckenwald said, giving the kaitian a wink.

Sulu sighed heavily. "What I am about to tell you goes against direct orders from Starfleet" he told his officers, paused momentarily, and then decided to inform them what was going on. "Curzon Dax has revealed to us the details of Syboks plan. The point of Syboks mission was to discover the romulans and learn of their operations here. With this knowledge secured, he intended to create a temporal rift in order to reach the original timeline and then stop the romulans in that reality, using what he had learned here. All of this is based on information he had obtained from another vulcan; his brother, Spock Prime."

"Acting on information from the future?" Shrav said, barely believing it.

Karalga, being the science officer, shook her head. "A temporal rift is an insane en-devour. Sybok would have to travel at speeds surpassing warp ten, relying on tremendous amounts of energy. Staggering amounts. That is simply not possible with our technology. In theory, one should add."

Sulu turned to Karalga directly. "Sybok intends to use a modified klingon torpedo. That is why he needed the help of Curzon Dax; without him, it would have been impossible to obtain the torpedo he required for his plan to succeed. Curzons connections in the Klingon Empire will provide Sybok with the torpedo he needs."

Gars was next to speak. "The modified torpedo would have to impact with a Federation torpedo, head on. The resulting release of energy would, in theory, create the anomaly Sybok would need to traverse space and time. All based on information provided by Spock Prime."

"So" Eckenwald said, "They intend to figure out what the romulans are doing, then use a klingon torpedo to travel to a time and place that has been erased thanks to the Kelvin-incident, and prevent the romulans in that timeline from succeeding doing what ever they plan to do." The silence in the room was a clear indication how awkward and uncomfortable the situation was. "Why?" the doctor then asked.

Sulu gave it a moment of thought. "According to Curzon Dax, Sybok told him that in the original timeline, the romulans successfully disrupted a conference between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. Growing hostility convinced certain influential people within Starfleet that drastic action was needed to force the klingons to accept peace. Their plan, which was carried out, and in the end successfully forced the klingons into signing a peace-treaty at Khitomer, saw the intentional detonation of the dilithium-processing plants on the moon of Praxis."

"The moon in orbit of Kronos?" Gambon said aloud as he realized what moon the matter concerned.

"Praxis is the main source of processed dilithium in the klingon empire" the andorian concluded.

Karalga could hardly believe it. "The fallout would kill millions on Kronos."

"Billions" Sulu corrected. "The moon was entirely destroyed. Kronos was made all but uninhabitable as lunar debris rained down on the surface and destroyed seventy percent of the planet. The success of the mission prompted Starfleet, decades later, to perform a similar attack against the romulans. The Romulus star was destroyed, forced into going supernova using a stolen romulan warhead, annihilating the entire system and every romulan in it. Except for one ship… the Narada."

Handalma sighed and nodded. "The ship that went back in time and destroyed Vulcan."

"That is what Sybok intends to prevent" Sulu said, sensing the tension in the room. "His goal is to prevent the destruction of three worlds. By saving Kronos and Romulus in the original timeline, he will prevent Vulcan from being destroyed in ours."

Shrav did not even hesitate. "Then why stop him? We are talking about preventing genocide."

"Not at all" Karalga cut in. "We are talking about not accepting fate, altering history until it suits us. That is a power not even a vulcan can handle. The ethical questions are enormous, far too great for us to even grasp, let alone comprehend. Such power can not be allowed to be wielded by men acting to further their own agendas. The crew of the Narada did exactly that, and the result was the destruction of Vulcan and the death of billions. Starfleet is correct; we must stop them."

"Are you mad?!" Shrav looked around at the others. "He wants to save three planets, he wants to save billions of men, women and children from dying! Are we seriously going to stop him and let these worlds die?!"

"The timeline is changed" Handalma argued. "Nothing suggests that Kronos and Romulus will be destroyed again."

"Yet" Gambon cut in, "tensions are high with the klingon empire. Destroying Praxis, considering the current political state, could force the klingons to accept peace on the Federations terms."

The andorian chief engineer shook his head. "Gambon? Are you saying you agree with the attack on Kronos?"

The benzite snarled. "I am saying, lieutenant commander, that Praxis may be the target for a similar attack in our timeline."

"It doesn't matter" Karalga growled as she, almost theatrically, hit her fist against the table. "Trying to alter the course of history is too dangerous to be left to individuals acting out of personal interest. It is too dangerous to be left to anyone! The destruction of Vulcan is the proof!"

Gars shook her head. "So what then? We are going to let three planets be wiped out?"

"One planet" Karalga said. "You must remember, that now, thanks to the Kelvin-incident, the other timeline never took place. Kronos and Romulus have not been attacked. The only thing that has taken place is the devastation of Vulcan. And Sybok can not change that. He must not be allowed to try and change it. It may seem harsh, but we can not let one man decide the course of history, alter it to suit his own desires."

"Pandoras box" Sulu said with a heavy sigh.

Eckenwald stroked his well-trimmed beard. "This klingon torpedo, are we to assume it is on Koloths ship?"

"No" was Sulus answer. "The torpedo is on its way onboard the IKS Klothos, a Bird-of-Prey commanded by a klingon warlord named Kor. Kor is a close friend of Curzon since a few years back. Kor will arrive in a day or so and provide Sybok with the torpedo he needs."

Gars sighed as she considered the dire, yet irrational, situation they had found themselves in. "And in the middle of all this, there is the possibility that agents of the Tal Shiar will try and provoke a conflict between us and the klingons. We have found ourselves in quite a mess, ladies and gentlemen."

Sulu nodded. "The sooner we find Sybok and lieutenant Marcus-Kirk, the sooner we can get out of here and out of harms way."

XXX XXX

Paq, a loathsome ferengi with few scruples to his name, was grinning wide with a girl on each lap, music booming in his ears and equally loathsome friends joining him by his table. His tavern was filled with customers paying for expensive drinks and losing money on rigged gambling; tonight was a profitable night indeed. A foul joke told by a business associate had him burst with laughter, and Paq rewarded the man by pushing one of the girls in the ferengis lap into his; the girl immediately leaning in for a kiss.

Paq reacted to his bodyguards stopping a pair of patrons trying to reach his booth, and taking a closer look, Paq realized it was the vulcan and human who had taken an interest in the romulans. Paq called out to his guards and allowed the vulcan and human to approach with a gesture with his hand.

"Good friends!" Paq said with a smile. "Sit, have a drink."

"We are here on business" Sybok explained, to the point.

Paq did not let his smile falter. "The two are very compatible, I find. But who am I to judge? What can I do you for?"

"The cardassian ship" Emelie said. "We suspect a shuttle left it after it arrived to Korvat. A shuttle not used for transporting cargo. We need to find it."

Paq nodded as he listened. "I see" he said, placing his drink on the table. "You would do best to speak to Glint about that. A bolian in charge of traffic-control. Sadly, I seem to recall that he died last night."

"How then are we to speak to him?" Sybok wondered.

Paq chuckled. "Corpses have little use of their tongues" the ferengi smiled. "Fortunately, corpses tend to leave things behind. Things dropped off in life, so to speak."

Emelie was not amused. "That's all you can give us?"

Paq shrugged his shoulders. "There is no profit in giving away information for free."

"Not to worry" Sybok assured his human friend. "I believe the ferengi has done what he can, without risking his own life." Sybok then turned to Paq, "We are grateful for the direction you have pointed out for us."

Paq held up a glass in a toast. "May your en-devours be profitable."

Sybok replied with a vulcan hand-gesture. "Live long and prosper."

Emelie and Sybok left the ferengi and his company, making their way towards the taverns exit, pushing their way through the crowded establishment.

"A dead bolian?" Emelie said, trying to be heard over the music.

"We shall search his quarters" Sybok answered. "I am certain we will find what we are after. The bolian is dead for a reason; he knew about the romulan shuttle. It is likely that the bolian contacted the ferengi about this, well aware that the ferengi would pay latinum for such information. The fact that the bolian is dead indicates that the romulans are here on a mission, and according to the ferengi, the romulans have most likely failed in cloaking their arrival."

"How do we know the ferengi isn't on the romulan payroll?" Emelie wondered, skeptical and suspicious about relying on a ferengi.

"He most likely is" Sybok said. "That wont prevent him from stabbing them in back."

At that point, they both stepped out of the tavern and onto the street. But their advance was halted by five officers out of Starfleet Security; one of which was lieutenant commander Gambon. The benzite gave the vulcan and human a most stern stare.

"Ambassador Sybok, lieutenant Marcus-Kirk… You are under arrest by order of Starfleet."

Emelie glanced at Sybok. "Stabbing who in the back?"

XXX XXX

Gars smiled as she listened in on the transmission. "Captain" she said, quite satisfied, "ambassador Sybok and lieutenant Marcus-Kirk have been found and are in Gambons custody. They are heading for the shuttle as we speak."

"Excellent" Sulu said. "It is time to put an end to this nonsense."

Over by his station, ensign Tuvok, the young vulcan, was not only intrigued but also surprised and astonished over the data displayed on his screens. He had to triple-check before he could accept what had just happened.

"Lieutenant commander Karalga, please report to science-station three."

The kaitian officer headed over to the vulcan and leaned in to study the workstation and its displays. "Yes, ensign?"

"An odd event just took place, sir" Tuvok said. "It appears that a few seconds ago, we received a signal from the klingon vessel. Through this signal, we have downloaded the klingon vessels entire database; encryptions, ship-movement, codes, battleplans… everything."

Lieutenant commander Karalgas eyes turned wide as she realized what had happened. "Captain!" the feline roared and turned around.

XXX XXX

Koloth barged onto the bridge of the IKS Gr'oth, pushing a crewmember to the side as he did.

"Report!" Koloth growled.

Korax, standing by the bridge technicians-console, turned to face the ships commanding officer. "Our entire data-storage has been downloaded and transmitted to the Federation vessel! They have everything!"

Koloth snarled as he at down in his captains chair and studied information on his personal screens. "Jam their transmissions!" he commanded. "Blur out subspace in the entire system! Activate shields and charge weapons! Destroy that ship!"

XXX XXX

"The klingons have locked onto us!"

"They are charging disruptors!"

"Torpedo fired!"

Sulu held on tight to the armrests of his chair. "Shields up! Evasive maneuvers!"

Commander Gars strapped herself to her chair. "Impact in five seconds!"

Lieutenant commander Handalma, over by the ops-station, grabbed hold of his console. "Shields at twenty percent! It's not enough!"

The entire USS Excelsior shook violently as the klingon torpedo detonated against the energy-barrier that was the ships shields, sending shards of superheated gas crawling across the protective bubble.

"Klingons firing disruptors!"

Sulu spat out his orders. "Return fire!"

XXX XXX

Lieutenant commander Gambon and his four officers were escorting Sybok and Emelie into the docking-bay where their shuttle stood waiting. Gambon was trying to make contact with the Excelsior, but had no luck in doing so.

"Strange" the benzite said, trying to adjust his handheld commlink. "There's only static."

"Problem, lieutenant commander?" Sybok inquired.

"None of your business" the security officer replied harshly.

Sybok saw things otherwise. "A communications breakdown would suggest that a hostile force is active and taking action against us. I suggest we cooperate in our search for the romulans; it is the path that will most likely see us successful."

The benzite turned in full to face the vulcan. "Now look here…"

Gambon was not allowed to finish his sentence, as a klingon shuttle appeared outside of the docking-bays forcefield. It's disruptors fired a single salvo and burst the Federation shuttle apart in smoke and flame. The Starfleet officers hurried to find cover, together with their captives. The klingon shuttle flew in and allowed a full dozen warriors to disembark, wearing armor and helmets, equipped with disruptor-pistols and edged melee-weapons.

Gambon took aim and gave the order. "Fire at will!"

Three klingons were gunned down in the initial volley, but as the klingons returned fire, two Starfleet officers were killed instantly. Emelie quickly picked up a phaser from one of the dead officers. The away-team and its captives moved as best they could towards the exit, providing cover-fire as they went. Just before leaving the hangar behind, another security-officer was killed by the klingon disruptors.

XXX XXX

"Shields are holding at seventy-three percent" an engineer-officer reported.

"Pike Swirl maneuver completed in ten seconds, captain" the helm reported in turn.

"Engage Sulu Deep Dive maneuver… Now!" Sulu ordered.

"Aye, aye!" the helm replied. "Sulu Deep Dive!"

The bridge trembled as a salvo of klingon disruptors connected with the vessels shields.

"All communications are jammed" Karalga informed the other officers. "The klingons are flooding subspace with tachyon particles; we are cut off from Starfleet."

"Klingon shields down to ninety-four percent" Gars said, monitoring the ships sensors. "Aft torpedo-tubes reloaded in twelve seconds; locking on to target."

Wearing the brown shirt of Starfleet Security, the lieutenant manning the security-station turned to pass on dire news to her captain, overseeing sensors focused on tracking the away-teams health and medical-status. "Sir, the away-team has suffered casualties; three dead!"

Sulu slammed his fist against his chairs armrest. "What the hell is going on?!"

XXX XXX

Curzon Dax had removed the panel controlling the door of his quarters. Fiddling with the cords and cables, he eventually managed to force the locked door to slide open. Having mentally prepared himself, as soon as a guard stepped in, the trill struck his shoulder across the human security-officers throat; sending him stumbling backwards and into the arms of the andorian officer that acted back-up. Dax kicked the human guard in the chest, sending both security-officers into the opposite wall. Dax was quickly on top of them both, throwing the human across the corridor, head first into the wall and knocking him out cold. Turning around, he acted quickly before the andorian had time to gather his wits, punching him hard across the jaw; satisfied that the andorian was as unconscious as his human partner, Curzon hurried to reach the bridge of the USS Excelsior.

XXX XXX

A klingon was thrown back as a phaser-blast evaporated the warriors arm. The Starfleet security-officer responsible for the shot was in turn struck by three disruptor-rounds that ripped him apart. Gambon returned fire, but was quickly forced into cover behind the crates that protected them from harm; at least for the moment.

Emelie, phaser in hand and ready, sat kneeling next to Sybok. The vulcan was holding a hand against a wound in his abdomen, a wound that was bleeding freely; Sybok was having trouble breathing, not to mention coping with the pain.

"It is up to you now, Emelie" Sybok said, not without effort. "There is no way I can escape the klingons in my current state. I will die here."

"Shut up" Emelie said, then took a shot at the klingons. "This isn't over."

Gambon fired his phaser and Emelie joined him.

"No… It isn't" Sybok agreed. Then, he reached out and grabbed Emelie by the arm as green blood ran from the corner of his mouth. "Go… find the romulans… find Kor… and save… Vulcan."

Emelie watched as Sybok slipped out of consciousness, his body relaxing and sliding over in a lifeless heap. Emelie was woken from her chock by klingon disruptor-bolts heating the air around her as they shot past overhead by mere inches to spare. Gambon was thrown to the ground as he took a shot to the arm that almost severed it. Emelie fired a couple of shots at the klingons before she dragged the benzite into the cover and sat him upright; then she fired her phaser again, this time killing a klingon in the process.

"Go" Gambon coughed, trying to ignore the pain. "Get out of here… I'll hold them off."

"No, we stick together" Emelie said through grinding teeth as enemy fire was concentrated around their cover.

"Don't be an idiot!" Gambon growled. "There is no point in us both dying here. Get out of here, find the romulans or get back to the Federation, I don't care. Just stay alive!" Emelie's hesitation only fueled the benzite chief of security. "Go now, lieutenant!" Gambon ordered and got up on a knee firing his phaser wildly at the klingons.

Emelie ran, disruptor-fire erupting all around her. Behind her, lieutenant commander Gambon of the USS Excelsior kept the klingons busy, shooting at anything and everything. Emelie eventually made it out of harms way, away from the klingons line of sight and ran for all her worth to evade capture, or death.

Gambon fell down, exhausted and out of breath. He barely had the strength to hold onto his phaser, his uniform covered in blood and sweat. He had trouble breathing, telling him his breathing-apparatus had been damaged. It was only a matter of time before he would be as dead as the vulcan right next to him; Syboks stomach and legs soaked with green blood. With heavy breaths, Gambon looked up at the klingons as they stepped into view, walking confidently around the crates that had provided cover to the Starfleet officers.

Reaching down, two of the klingon warriors lifted Gambon from the floor, their treatment took no regard to his wounds. Before him stood a resolute klingon officer, tall and broad shouldered. The officer removed his helmet, letting his hair flow freely, revealing the scars on his bearded face. Crystal blue eyes looking out from beneath the ridged brow of the klingon species. Gambon struggled to remain conscious, focusing on his breathing. The klingon officer grabbed Gambon by the collar of his uniform, a low growl escaping his throat, uttering a single word.

"Qapla'."

As the klingon spoke, he rammed a dagger into Gambons stomach, cut it open and let all the benzites innards pour out onto the floor. The klingons let him fall to his knees, where he, slumped over, eventually died.