Chapter XVI

"Welcome to my ship, Ambassador. It is an honor to have someone of your prestige onboard," he said, his yellow eyes gazing upon her as she stood before him. The young woman appeared to be about forty years old in human years and had short hair cut at the neck that was just starting to gray.

"Gul Dukat, your reputation as a smooth talker precedes you," the envoy replied. The Cardassian smiled slightly and stated, "So tell me, Ambassador; what makes you think I am interested in anything you might have to say? After all, you may have noticed that you are sorely outnumbered and even though the Jem'Hadar do not have contact with the Founders; I believe you will find they will be quite formidable adversaries underneath my direction. I have no need to remind you or your pitiful underlings of the fact that the Dominion has already begun its plans to destroy every last remnant of the Federation. With my support, Cardassia Prime will be restored from the ashes and rise anew. Soon the Founders and all of their foolish dreams will be purged from my world and the Federation along with its precious fleet will be but a memory. Tell me, Ambassador… how would you like to be my prize trophy?"

The woman's expression remained unchanged as he gestured towards his world and stated, "I do not understand what weapon you could possibly possess which would lead to the utter devastation of my planet… however, I can assure you now; my allies will make you and the rest of Starfleet pay. Once I have disposed of you, the battle lines will stretch all the way to Earth… and every system between here and there will be littered with the remains of your soldiers."

Dukat sat back, awaiting the woman's response, yet instead she remained completely silent as if expecting him to say more. "Speak now, or your death shall surely follow!" he hissed vehemently.

"You may do what you wish with me. However, I can assure you that the outcome you are expecting is not the one which will pass," the Ambassador answered. "How can you be so certain?" Dukat wondered.

"The planet you see before you was devastated by a force far more powerful than anything Starfleet could possibly hope to achieve. And as for the outcome of the war… that is something which has already been determined," Lincoln replied. "You speak in riddles, the Dominion's power is too great to-" he began, but she cut him off by saying, "The Founders are not important as far as I am concerned! You have seen the power of the Prophets, have you not?"

"I have heard rumors of some of their artifacts having great strength… however, they do not easily bend to the will of others," he observed. "Look around you and use reason. Three Federation vessels could not possibly have done all of this, could they?" Lincoln countered. "What proof do you have that this is not what took place, Ambassador?" Dukat asked.

"Tell me, Gul Dukat; do you know what will occur tomorrow?" the envoy inquired. "What sort of question is that? If you wish to play mind games, I will kill you where you stand. I have no time for this sort of thing," the Cardassian stated.

"This is no puzzle, but a simple question. How would you like to know what the future holds? That would be the ultimate power, wouldn't you say?" she asked. "I fail to see what this has to do with our negotiations, Ambassador," he said with a smile. "You may destroy the Federation ships for all I care. They mean nothing to me. As a matter of fact, I am only interested in one objective… I would be pleased if you could introduce me to your daughter," the woman stated.

"I'm afraid that Ziyal did not travel with me on this journey. Besides, what interest could you have in her? I've already made it clear to your superiors that my support of their efforts has ended," Dukat said irritably.

"What if I told you that I was coming here to save her life?" Lincoln asked. "This is nonsense! How can you help a person who is not even present?" the Cardassian countered. "Ziyal is currently on the planet's surface and is quite influential in their affairs; having assumed this role shortly after your untimely death on Deep Space Nine. In other words, Gul Dukat… she is from an alternate timeline," Lincoln explained.

"What proof do you have of what you say?" he growled. Taking out a file and passing it to him, Roberta continued, "I come from a place where all of these events are long over. In this universe, things played out differently though. That is a record taken by Doctor Julian Bashir concerning your daughter's death."

"You expect me to believe his words? This could've been forged," Dukat said in frustration. "Possibly… why don't you contact the surface and find out the truth for yourself?" Roberta questioned. The Cardassian hesitated and then growled, "If what you say is true… then her fate has already been determined and I cannot stop it from happening."

"On the contrary, Dukat. Time is a like a painting that is already complete, yet at the same time certain elements of the masterpiece can be changed if they do not fit where you want them to. In this period, you have the opportunity to rescue your daughter from harm and receive the knowledge to save her in your own time," Roberta commented. "Why are you so interested in her? It is obvious that your loyalties don't lie with the Federation… so what are you?" he wondered.

"I have already explained to you that I have no affiliation with any government from this time. All you need to understand is that your daughter has the opportunity to experience something no Cardassian has ever done before. You will be saving two universes and at the same time, benefiting from both outcomes," Lincoln stated.

"If you are truthfully not connected to the Federation, then you will not mind if I destroy one of their ships. Is that correct?" Dukat said, raising his hand to give the signal. Several bursts of energy shot out of the Klingon Bird of Prey and hit the vessel closest to him. "They're raising shields," his first officer commented.

The Ambassador appeared undeterred by the attack and simply stated, "I would not care if you blasted them clean off the map, Dukat. However, I would suggest that we contact the surface and get in touch with Ziyal before initiating further hostilities. If the Federation feels threatened, they may launch an attack of their own and then you would be unable to use your transporters."

The Cardassian smiled broadly and stated, "I think I am beginning to like you, Ambassador… so tell me, where is my daughter?" "I have the coordinates with me. But first maybe you should deal with that ship…" Roberta commented, gesturing to the vessel that they had previously targeted and he smiled as they attacked once more.

"Mister Paris, what is going on?" Janeway asked as she held onto her chair as another shot hit Voyager.

"The Klingon Bird of Prey is firing on us, Captain," Tom answered, beginning to take evasive maneuvers. "Shields are stable, but we cannot endure this assault for long," Tuvok commented. Janeway nodded in thanks as Paris turned and asked her, "Do you suppose this might have to do with the recent deal that the Enterprise made?"

"Tuvok, you've been monitoring communications with all vessels. Can you explain the situation?" she asked. "Partially, Captain… as Mister Paris explained, a personage known as Ambassador Roberta Lincoln opted to go onboard the vessel and speak with the inhabitants. In response, the Cardassians released Captain Picard along with one of his officers," the Vulcan answered.

"Can we still not get in contact with either of them?" Kathryn asked. "I'm afraid not, all of our systems are out except life support, weapons and defense. Our communications can only reach the Klingon Bird of Prey," Tuvok answered. "Try and patch us through. I thought that they had agreed to open negotiations," Janeway ordered.

"That is not possible. For some reason, since Ambassador Lincoln boarded the ship; we have been unable to monitor their activity. In fact, according to the computer… they're not even there," Seven commented.

"Firing has ended and the Bird of Prey is moving towards the planet," Tom stated.

"Thank goodness… I want to get in touch with Captain Picard as soon as possible," Kathryn ordered. Paris nodded in understanding and then another voice came over the channel and stated, "Captain, I have an idea that might help us to get in touch with our allies from the other timelines. You could transfer my program over to their holodeck and I could then speak with them."

"Are we close enough to do that?" Janeway wondered. "Affirmative; the Enterprise that is orbiting the planet would be within range," the former drone answered. "Begin the transfer," Janeway decided.

"I will handle the procedure," Seven said as she went off the bridge. "Mister Paris, any thoughts as to where that vessel is going?" the Captain asked. Tom watched as the ship in question approached the planet and stated, "It's most likely that they want to get in touch with anybody they can to find out what happened. Perhaps they intend to use Ambassador Lincoln as a hostage?"

"So once again, we're still in the dark," Janeway muttered. As they waited impatiently, his thoughts went to B'Elanna and wished that she could be here with him rather than attempting to stabilize their systems from engineering. After all, I wouldn't want to lose her now that she finally likes me, Tom thought. "Captain Janeway, report to sickbay," Seven's voice said over the intercom.

"I'd rather stay here at the moment. Is something the matter?" his superior inquired. "I am not certain. According to our database, I cannot send the doctor because his program has already been transmitted," the drone stated.

"Have B'Elanna check our systems, but this could just be a side effect of what's happening. Does the log show where he ended up?" the Captain asked. "In the files on the Enterprise-E as scheduled," the former Borg stated. "At least some things are functioning properly," Paris quipped. "Inform Lieutenant Torres and then report to the bridge," Janeway directed.

The channel closed and behind her he saw the doors to the bridge open and gaped in astonishment. No one else seemed to notice the arrival of their visitor, who looked around the bridge and smiled faintly before going to the central chair. The Captain looked up, her expression a mirror of his own at the sight of the man none of them had expected to see. "Have I come at a bad time, Kathryn?" Chakotay asked.