Mission 22

Never Never Land Prologue

Time: To most, an unchanging constant—something that is taken for granted. Humanity relies upon its steady flow for stability and structure.

However, this is all an illusion. Time is not so straightforward and secure as man would like to

think. From our limited sensory perspective, reality cannot be changed, and what has gone before remains immutable. Temporal law is more unyielding than the word of a god.  

When that comforting falsehood is shattered, though, and one realises that time is not linear, this is no longer true; its flow can be altered, and past events reshaped, to produce a hybrid—a new reality.

But for the instigator of the change, their past is still just that, even if reality no longer reflects this.

It is a paradox... and, for some, a harsh reality. 

Stardate: 48525 Space exploded in a magnificent display of blue and white energy as space/time ruptured, briefly allowing a shuttle through before the fissure began its collapse. At the craft's controls, Lieutenant Kate Sheridan wiped her forehead with the sleeve of her gold security uniform and thanked the Universe for allowing her to survive the journey.It hadn't been the easiest trip she'd ever piloted, and the maneuver had taken longer to execute than she'd originally anticipated; but the absence of Voyager, combined with Kate’s presence in this unknown area of space, suggested that she'd been successful in preventing the destruction of her ship.She attempted to get a fix on her location, but when the results came through, the young officer found herself checking them a second time... and then a third. If she’d been a member of Voyager's original crew, Kate would have rejoiced at discovering she was in the middle of the Alpha Quadrant… but instead, all Sheridan felt was emptiness. She'd lived on Voyager her whole life. Its crew had been her friends and her family; and now she was stranded at least 30,000 light years from her home.Suddenly, she realized that it might not just be a case of where she was, but when, as well: The sensors had registered a vast amount of temporal energy in the anomaly, and it was entirely possible that she’d traveled through time as well as space.Kate recalibrated her sensors in an attempt to get a more exact spatio-temporal reading. A moment later, her heart sank once again. She couldn’t believe when she was—near the Badlands, having missed Voyager’s original disappearance by a mere three months. To be so close, but just the wrong side of that moment... it was frustrating.Suddenly, the small ship was violently shaken, and the young woman’s attention turned back to the anomaly she'd presumed had closed. Instead, Sheridan found it had once again exploded into life. Bringing the engines back to full power, Kate endeavored to pull away, when the shuttle's proximity alarm sounded unexpectedly. With little time to react, she swerved to port, narrowly avoiding the starship rapidly emerging from the rupture. She got the brief impression of immense size through the porthole, and an ID call marker from the scanners: NCC 75124.

Seconds later, a phaser beam lanced from the ship’s ventral array. The first blast missed—perhaps passage through the anomaly had wrought havoc with the great vessel’s targeting scanners—but her attackers weren’t giving up.It took all of Kate's prodigious skills to avoid being instantly vaporized. She'd been flying this type of shuttlecraft for years, taught by one of the best pilots Starfleet had to offer, and now it was paying off. She evaded the deadly beams for several minutes, but her luck couldn’t hold out forever... and, eventually, her attacker dealt the shuttle a glancing blow.Kate was thrown from her chair, hitting her head on the console as she fell. As the stars started to spin, she tried to pull herself back into the pilot’s seat. She didn’t bother to check the sudden warmth she felt on her face; it was obviously blood, and just as obviously didn’t matter now.The spinning sensation worsened; she lost what was left of her balance, and slumped over the console. Kate Sheridan’s last thought was that of uncertainty as to whether she’d actually pressed the automated distress signal.To her credit, she had.The spread of quantum torpedoes, however, rendered the point moot.Bimitri Cassaria felt a little redundant on the bridge of the USS Constitution. The general day-to-day function of the ship didn’t really involve him, but Captain Hurst preferred the presence of her counselor on the bridge... and, as he didn’t have any other pressing engagement, he had obliged.Bimitri was a new addition, having recently transferred from the Zodiac, and so was still adjusting to the new crew. His time on the bridge was a perfect chance for him to observe his new crewmates and assess their morale—something that had taken a fleet-wide down turn after the discovery of a new and aggressive enemy in the form of the Dominion. News of the Odyssey’s destruction at their hands had quickly spread, despite attempts to curtail it, and it had people worried. Almost overnight, the exploration of space had become that much more dangerous. But at least they could all be grateful they were on this side of the Bajoran wormhole.Cassaria lowered his mental shields slightly to get a better feeling for, and from, his shipmates. He carefully scanned the bridge, mainly picking up stray thoughts—like the helmsman thinking the ship was a little sluggish.“Is everything all right, Counselor?”Cassaria looked at the captain, sensing her genuine concern.“Yes, ma’am,” he replied hurriedly.“You’d seemed to have zoned out a little,” she said. “I just asked how you were finding your new post. Settling in?”“I’m very happy here, Captain,” he replied. “The Constitution is a fine ship.”“That she is,” the captain agreed, with more than a little pride.“Captain,” called the Andorian ops officer, before pausing suddenly.“Go ahead, Mr. Jass.”“I thought I detected a faint distress signal for a moment, but…”Cassaria suddenly doubled over and hit the floor.“Medical emergency on the bridge,” called the captain, as she knelt before her counselor, attempting to assess his condition.After a moment he sat up; his face had lost most of its colour. He raised his hand, forestalling any further assistance.“I’ll be okay in a moment, Captain.” he reassured his CO. “I sensed a cry for help... but it was suddenly silenced, as if…” he trailed off, not wanting to complete the sentence.“Captain, we’re receiving orders to proceed directly to Buran IV,” announced ops.The CMO then entered the bridge and moved directly to the counselor.

Captain Hurst checked that all was okay with Bimitri, before she turned to the helm.“Set course for Buran IV, best speed.”“Aye, ma’am.”As the Constitution lepted to warp, Cassaria found himself wondering exactly what mind he had sensed in its dying moments…...and why he feared the answer.

Act 1Three years later.Jonozia Lex rose from the command chair and headed for the turbolift. He’d been looking at the ships slowly moving across the viewscreen, watching as they did their majestic orbits around the giant structure that was Starbase 88, when he’d received the call for him to head for transporter room one. For the past hour, ships had been flooding out of the starbase, reforming the Seventh Fleet after two weeks of inactivity.Something big was happening.A few moments later, Lex reached his destination to find Gav on duty. As usual, the Tellarite wasn’t in the best of moods, and simply huffed when the Trill greeted him. Lex knew better than to try to get more than that out of him. Tellarites were confrontational by nature and it was a high sign of respect that Gav only grunted at himAnd he’s one of the nicest ones I’ve ever met, Lex noted, amused.“Who’s beaming aboard?” Lex asked.“I thought you’d know, sir,” Gav replied, with more than a little surprise in his voice. “The base has signaled ready for transport.”“Energize.”Gav worked the controls with the expertise that came with his years of experience behind the transporter console. A humanoid shape began to form in the shower of silver that marked a transport in progress; then, a moment later, Admiral Chase stepped down.“Welcome aboard, Admiral,” greeted Lex.“Thank you, Commander,” Chase replied. “I need to see your captain immediately.”Lex led the admiral into the Argus’s ready room, where Captain Thomas Patel had been sifting through the various tactical reports from the front lines—as shown by the large number of PADDs strewn across his desk. He quickly stood when the admiral entered."Admiral Chase for you, sir.""Thank you, Jono. You're dismissed," replied Patel. "Welcome aboard, Admiral."Patel gestured to a seat and, after waiting until the doors had closed behind his X-O, moved to the replicator."Can I offer you a drink, sir?""No, thank you.""Coffee, black, with a touch of whipped cream," Patel ordered.He picked his steaming beverage off the replicator shelf and again seated himself behind his desk."So what brings you aboard the Argus, Admiral?" asked Patel. "Good news, I hope,” he added wryly."God knows we could do with some of that at the moment," Chase replied somberly."Betazed fell this morning."

Patel fell silent, as the implications of losing one of the UFP’s most prominent worlds registered fully. It put many of the Federation’s founding members at risk. Vulcan, Tellar, Andor... all were now within the Dominion’s grasp—and just beyond them, Sol.It was the biggest single loss of the war so far."I take it we're launching a counter attack.""No," Chase replied, lowering his head. "For now we have to leave Betazed in Dominion hands."It was obvious that this didn't sit well with Patel, but the admiral turned the desk viewer so they could both see the screen, and activated it before the captain could say another word. He called up a map of the Luminaire sector.Chase's next word confirmed Patel's worst fears."Current intelligence suggests our foes are attempting to set up a supply-line through the Tabor nebula to the Argolis cluster. If they succeed, they'll quickly move on Vulcan and we won't be able to stop them; they'll cut off this entire sector in one swift move."I'm sending the Seventh Fleet to intercept them here," Chase informed him, pointing to the map on the screen, "on the Vulcan side of the nebula. I want you to take Galaxy Wing Two, Fighter Wings Six and Eight and Medium Cruiser Wings One and Four... and catch them in a crossfire. It greatly increases our chance of success.""It’ll also leave us wide open if it doesn't work.""It increases the chance of the success by 20%," retorted Chase. "Command feels it's an acceptable risk.""I hadn't realised it had gotten that desperate."Chase bowed his head for a moment."We are getting desperate," he admitted. "We've attempted to open a dialogue with every uninvolved power in the quadrant."We can't fight this war defensively for much longer. We need to strike them hard, in their own territory—and soon, or our own low morale will be the end of us.""Don't worry, Admiral... we won't fail."“I hope not,” Chase replied somberly. “We can’t afford to anymore.” 

*** 

Tensions were running high on Argus’ bridge. The ship was now several hours out of Starbase 88 and the Luminaire Sector. For most of that time, Lex had been in the center seat, overseeing the ship’s battle preparations while the captain coordinated the fleet. The general consensus was that this could very well be the turning point of the war. Starfleet’s inability to defend Vulcan would be seen as a major victory for the Dominion/Cardassian Alliance and a final blow to the Federation’s already battered morale. This war had already cost them too much.Lex’s thoughts drifted to the USS London, his previous posting before the Sovereign, and where his wife had been stationed as ship’s science officer.Jonozia had last seen Sara Parker at the dedication ceremony for the Argus at Starbase One. Their schedules had only intersected for two days, and they’d been fortunate they’d had that much time together. Most of their time had been spent catching up, especially as they weren’t sure when they’d be seeing each other again.In fact, that had turned out to be the last time.A squadron of Jem’Hadar ships had ambushed and destroyed the London two months into the conflict. There had been no survivors… and a part of Lex died with his wife on that ship. The constant thought that ran through his mind was, if only she’d been with him, on this ship, he

could have protected her. But now all he could do was avenge her death, and try to ensure the survival of the Federation itself.“Commander?” someone asked, shaking Lex from his thoughts.It was James Dulmis. A relatively new addition to the crew, the young operations officer had quickly been accepted into the Argus family, and seemed to have developed a very close relationship with the ship’s Bajoran helm officer, Arkin Jora. James was holding a PADD, which he was obviously presenting for the X-O’s attention. Without further delay, Lex took it from him and nodded.“Thank you, Lieutenant.”Jonozia looked over the data: A system’s status report announcing, in a very long-winded way, that everything was battle ready. But then, he really didn’t expect anything less from Simok’s Vulcan precision. The Trill scanned through the rest of the report to ensure everything was in order, before handing it back to Dulmis.“Very good, Lieutenant.”Dulmis nodded briefly and returned to his position at the ops station, where he downloaded the report into the computer. Meanwhile, Lex returned to staring at the view screen again, thinking of Sara and attempting to lose himself in the stars. 

*** 

Bimitri Cassaria took his eyes off the stars for a moment to look at the remains of the drink he'd been swirling around for the past hour. The Argus' counselor didn't really feel like doing anything at the moment—not while all he could think about were his friends and family, trapped on his now occupied home world. The thought of the destruction and damage being done was almost too much to bear. He stared out of the large windows again, comforted by the distance between him and his home, yet also wanting more than anything to be there to help."May I?"Cassaria dragged his gaze away from the window and found Lieutenant Davis, the ship's science officer, standing there. Evidently there was as much for a science officer to do during the current battle preparations as there was for the ship's counselor. Cassaria downed the rest of his drink."Be my guest," he said, beginning to rise.Davis transfixed him with her eyes for a moment, and he quickly returned to his seat. The feeling was immediate; her mind was completely alien, meaning only one thing.The being in front of him was not Lieutenant Davis."I…" he stuttered, "I have to go. I'm supposed to be in sickbay.""I'll come with you," she said, rising to join him."That really won't be necessary," he replied, attempting a jovial tone."I need to see the doctor anyway," she said with a smile. “Might as well be now… can’t put these things off forever!”“No,” Cassaria said worriedly. “I suppose you can’t.”Unable to shake her for fear of raising her suspicions further, Cassaria reluctantly left the lounge with Davis.Neither arrived at sickbay.The first volley of plasma torpedoes sent his coffee mug flying from his desk; the second had him flying for the bridge. Thomas Patel sped out of his ready room, just as the red alert siren was activated.“Report,” he ordered.

“Surprise attack by five Jem’Hadar fighters,” replied Lex, vacating the center seat. “They came out of nowhere, almost as if our sensors where blind to them.”“Are we having trouble targeting them now?”“No sir,” Lieutenant Parsons answered eagerly from the tactical station. “No problems at all.”As if to prove his point, the Sovereign-class starship’s phasers struck, engulfing a fighter in flames. Beams and torpedoes continued to lance out at the remaining Jem’Hadar ships.Then, one of them made a run at the USS Discovery."Concentrate fire on that ship," ordered Patel desperately......but it was too late.The Galaxy-class vessel was consumed in a fireball seconds after the small fighter rammed it.Patel bowed his head as he mourned the loss of his former crewmates."Target the lead remaining ship," ordered Lex, taking over for the captain during his momentary lapse. "Quantum torpedoes, full spread!"Four bright and deadly projectiles sped from the saucer's dorsal launcher, raining death on their target. The fighter’s shields briefly winked out, before it exploded violently in the vacuum.“Dulmis, any other ships out there?” asked Patel, as the rest of the fleet finished off the two remaining ships.“Hard to tell, sir,” he replied. “The nebula is interfering with sensors.”"Lieutenant Davis, see if you can cut out that interference."The science officer busied herself at the controls, attempting to clean up the sensor's results from the nebula. She needn't have bothered."Captain," she said suddenly, her console coming to life. "I'm detecting a fleet of ships emerging from the nebula—Dominion and Cardassian!"“I think it’s safe to say that we’ve lost our element of surprise,” Patel noted wryly. “Helm, set course for the nebula, full impulse. Let’s see if we can still be of some use to the rest of the fleet.”

Act 2Moments later, tensions were high as the two fleets converged on one another, and in the final seconds before the carnage began, everyone on the bridge held their breath.Dazzling streaks crossed the vacuum, as the two fleets let fly with phasers, disruptors and polaron beams. Fighters strafed enemy ships, which in turn retaliated with deadly force—all while explosions illuminated the ships right across the battlefield."Report," ordered Patel sternly.Parsons replied, "Shields at 65% and holding.""The fleet?""We've lost a third of our fighters—as well as the Lisbon, Hibbert and Scott," answered Davis. "Other than that, we seem to be holding our own.""Order Galaxy Wing Two to engage," ordered Patel cautiously. "Our left flank is vulnerable.""Aye sir."The battle progressed; Federation forces were more than holding their own, but…"Something's not right here," the captain said, turning to his first officer."What do you mean?" asked the Trill, not sure what Patel was talking about.Before Patel could explain, Parsons looked up urgently from his tactical console.

"There aren't enough ships out there!" he announced suddenly. "If this is part of the force sent to deal with us… they would have sent a larger fleet.""Are you suggesting this is just a holding action?" Lex asked, a feeling of dread coming over him."Exactly," replied Patel, finally identifying what had been troubling him. "This attack is simply to hold our attention—to stop their fleet getting caught in the crossfire.""But that would mean they had forewarning of our plans!"As the full horror of Lex's suggestion sank in, Patel rose from his seat and started to issue new orders."Davis, contact the fleet; order them to rejoin the main attack group at the Vulcan end of the nebula."Parsons…" Patel began, turning to the tactical officer... but stopping mid-sentence.Parsons stood there, a smile across his face that started at one ear and ended at the other."Captain, communications have been disab–..." Davis began."I'm sorry, Captain," Parsons interrupted, "but this fleet isn't going anywhere."Parsons thrust his arm out... and, to everyone’s horror, it continued to extend with such force that it plunged right threw Thomas Patel's chest. As “Parsons” withdrew his arm from the Argus captain’s mangled torso, the bridge officers dove for cover, as the now-exposed Changeling attempted to dispose of the rest. Lex scrambled to the turbolift, Davis to the observation lounge, and Dulmis and Arkin into the Jeffries tube at the front of the bridge. Several others weren't so lucky.The Changeling stepped from behind the tactical console and casually discarded Thomas Patel's body across the bridge, before taking his form... and the center seat."Computer, seal off main bridge; contamination protocol six. Authorisation Patel Twelve Charlie, Beta.""Authorisation confirmed. Main bridge sealed."Lex headed directly to main engineering, determined to regain control of his ship before the Changeling caused irreparable damage to Starfleet’s plans. When he arrived, he found Simok leaning over the “pool table” with several other engineers."Commander?" enquired the Vulcan."Lieutenant Parsons was a Changeling," Lex said in answer to the unspoken question. "The captain's dead."All but Simok looked at the Trill in horror."I want to take back this ship now," Lex demanded defiantly.Simok returned his attention to the status board."That may not be possible; he has locked out all bridge functions, and as long as he is posing as the captain, we are unable to set the auto destruct.""What about the transporters?""He’s activated level six containment protocols on the bridge," answered Ensign Lota. "We won’t be able to beam through the force fields." A console beeped several times and Lota quickly attended to it."It's a signal from Dulmis and Arkin; they're trapped within the force field. They want to know what they can do to help."“Can we disable the force field from here?” Lex asked hopefully.“We tried that,” replied Simok. “He detected us and compensated accordingly.”“What we need is to create a diversion.” Lex thought aloud.“Cassaria,” said Simok cryptically.Everyone looked at the Vulcan questioningly.

“Sir, I believe that I’ve just been telepathically contacted by counselor Cassaria. He has been incarcerated in holodeck two,” explained Simok. “and he has a plan to distract the Changeling.”Bimitri Cassaria lay on the bed in sickbay, his grim determination rivaling even Lex’s. He didn’t want any more worlds to fall to the enemy in the same way his had, and if he could, he would single-handedly free Betazed himself. But he knew that was impossible. For now, he told himself he’d have to make do with defeating this one Changeling.Beside the bio-bed stood Dr. McDonald, tricorder in hand, ready to monitor the Betazoid throughout the execution of his plan.The ship rocked again, reminding them that they were still in the middle of a battle.“Ready, counselor?” asked Lex, over the comm.“As I’ll ever be.”"Doctor?""Ready, commander.""Make it so."Cassaria closed his eyes, and concentrated on the Changeling.Bimitri opened his eyes and looked around, the view of his surroundings obscured by a vale of white fog. Slowly the mist began to clear and the world around him was revealed. He recognized it instantly.Betazed.He took in the view—the large bushes and green grass, the great towers of Hoya in the distance, reaching for the beautiful, clear, blue sky. Bimitri closed his eyes again and let the sun wash over him. This was paradise.He was home.Almost instantly, he felt the sun’s warmth diminish and opened his eyes to see what was causing it.To his horror, a great black cloud was developing over the twin towers, its progress relentless, its touch deadly. Slowly, it consumed everything around him, before it passed on, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.This was not the world Cassaria knew.The bushes were now lifeless collections of dead twigs, the grass brown and dead. The great twin towers that had lined the sky were now reduced to one and a half, with huge chunks blown out of the remaining ruins. Bimitri’s heart broke as his legs gave way and he ended up kneeling in the dirt of his once beautiful world.After a moment, he was sure he could hear laughing and slowly raised his head. Through bloodshot eyes, he saw the outline of a man, but his features were blurred. The counselor wiped his eyes, but still the stranger's features were featureless.The Changeling.“So this is your deepest fear?” it said. “If only we had done so little.”He began to laugh again and Bimitri suddenly remembered where he was—that this was in the realm of the mind. Here he was king.With a tremendous roar, Cassaria launched himself at his tormentor, taking him completely by surprise. The Betazoid pounded the Changeling; its body remained remarkably solid under his blows. After a second, though, it recovered, shifted its right arm into a blade… and impaled Cassaria.“You should never have taken me on here,” it said to him. "My mind is far superior to that of any solid."Cassaria began to make gargling noises as his lungs filled with fluid, before he managed to get out his final words; “I… n–… never… expected to… win…”The counselor slumped back and, at that point, the Changeling realized its mistake.

"Make it so," Lex ordered, cradling the phaser rifle in his hands.The Trill was determined that this Changeling wouldn’t succeed in its goal. He owed it to Sara, Patel and the others, to see that the Dominion didn’t succeed—and that started here and now with the hijacker of the Argus.Lex's commbadge beeped once; Simok’s signal that the force fields were down.He placed a manual release module on the Jeffries tube door and entered the code. The four security officers that flanked him stood ready, each with a phaser rifle. At the next junction were four more, ready to burst onto the bridge from the opposite side.“Let’s do it,” he said, as the doors opened.The moment that he registered the protective force field around the bridge was gone, the Changeling immediately sent his molecular structure into a state of flux. He thought he knew the Federation well; they liked to take prisoners, not kill—and that would be their undoing.As it was, this presumption was his.Suddenly, the two rear floor panels flew open at the same time as Dulmis burst out from the front Jeffries tube, phaser firing. Caught completely by surprise, the Changeling lashed out, but missed all his targets in the confussion. A moment later, it was caught in a deadly crossfire of Federation firepower.It quickly melted into its gelatinous state, before half reforming in the captain's chair."You're too late…" it said, its voice coarse. "Vulcan is ours."A second later, it turned black and crumbled to dust.Lex turned away from the command chair and looked sorrowfully at the captain’s lifeless body, strewn across the lower deck."Bridge to sickbay," he said. "Doctor, how's Cassaria?""I'm sorry, sir," came the deflated reply. "Counselor Cassaria is dead."  Acting Captain's Log,Stardate: 51505.2 

We’ve failed. At 0826 today, a large Dominion force entered the Vulcan system and occupied it with minimal resistance. This was swiftly followed by a sneak attack on Starbase 88 through the Luminaire Nebula.

There were no survivors.Morale has slipped to an all-time low. 14 starships and five

fighters survived our failed attempt to catch the Dominion in a crossfire… 19 vessels, out of hundreds. We have regrouped at what is left of our home starbase and will make as much trouble for the Jem'Hadar  as we can. After all, if they spend their time hunting us, it might delay their inevitable assault on Andor, Tellar, Alpha Centauri…

…or Earth..

Act 318 days later.Against the bright red backdrop of the Luminaire Nebula floated the blackened, twisted hulk that had once been known as Starbase 88. Still vaguely mushroom-shaped, it was a striking monument to all that had been lost in the Dominion War. Despite its damage, that was why it was still being used as the base of operations for his ragtag fleet.

Jonozia Lex had, through the severity of necessity, gone in a matter of hours from being the first officer aboard Argus, to fleet captain for the remaining ships of the Seventh Fleet. The loss of Patel had hit everyone hard, and Lex had done all he could to fill his old captain’s shoes and lead the survivors of the attack. The sectors in which they’d found themselves had been cut off from the rest of the Federation... rather than surrendering, though, they'd tried to be a thorn in the Dominion's side, securing a pair of unlikely victories against imposing odds—and remaining an unconquered threat on the great Dominion dragon’s flank.Most recently, while on a reconnaissance mission, the Argus had managed to single-handedly defeat a Dominion battle cruiser that could fire while cloaked. The Sovereign-class ship had pursued the intermittently invisible craft after the tiny fleet Argus led lost two ships in a surprise attack… it had become clear just then that, rather than being considered a genuine threat, the Dominion considered them a mere annoyance, and had dispatched a single vessel to find and finish them off.It was a blow to their pride… but the truth often was.They’d managed to score a couple of lucky, but stinging, hits on the cruiser. With their invulnerability tarnished, the Jem’Hadar had furiously pursued the Sovereign-class ship until Lex and his crew, in desperation, had entered the Luminaire Nebula in an attempt to escape.Then, the unbelievable had occurred.Their fury overcoming their tactical sense, their enemies had inexplicably pursued them into a location where their shields and sensors were useless… and the game became a simple one of instinct and luck.It was a game that Lex had won.He was hailed a hero. Jonozia should have been happy.But he wasn’t.The Trill was haunted by his inability to save Captain Patel weeks before, despite his crew’s insistence that there was nothing he could have done.Lex felt he should have known that Parsons was a Changeling, that he should have stopped him before it cost the lives of Patel and Cassaria, as well as the loss of Vulcan. He felt he should be doing more—that however much trouble he made for the Dominion here, it was never going to be enough.The Argus slowly entered the dead hulk of Starbase 88 and Lex watched as the stars disappeared, replaced by the darkness of the derelict base’s interior. The only illumination came from small lights, which belonged to the other ships of his small fleet, which where scattered around the hollow, metallic husk.Leaving the base in complete disrepair had been a stroke of genius, as well as necessity. The Dominion, knowing that the starbase was essentially valueless, had ignored it, and thus, ironically enough, had assured its continued value—for the moment. 

*** 

The door chime sounded, bringing Lex out of his melancholy trance.“Enter,” he ordered, moving away from the window to take his seat behind the desk.His new X-O, Michael Rudman, entered and handed him a PADD.Lex had invited Rudman to join the Argus when he had been discovered in an escape pod, the only survivor of the destruction of the USS Merrimac. Rudman had brought with him news of how the war was going on other fronts: The Federation was besieged; two attempts to counterattack had been thwarted and the Dominion had them in a stranglehold.It had made Lex even more determined to somehow break it.“We intercepted this an hour ago,” Rudman explained.Lex looked over the PADD and as he read it the colour began to drain from his face.

“Are you sure about this?”“Definitely, Captain,” Rudman replied. “At 0800 hours tomorrow morning, Starfleet is going to attempt a liberation of Vulcan... and will find half the Dominion fleet waiting for them.”"Damnit!" cried Lex. "We can't let them walk into that! They’ll be slaughtered. It'll essentially end the war.""Agreed,” replied Michael somberly. “It seems from this that they'll be launching from Starbase 271," he continued. "From here, we could attempt to intercept the fleet before they reach the Vulcan system.""But that would mean crossing enemy lines.""Most people are saying that we've been cut off out here for too long now," said the first officer. "Your crews want to be fighting side-by-side with the rest of the fleet, captain.""They are," retorted Lex, half-heartedly."I know you don't believe that, sir."Lex rose from his chair, his brow furrowed with the emotional burden he now carried with him always."What is it, captain?""I can't order these people to their deaths," he admitted finally. "I just don't have it in me.""Then don't," Rudman replied bluntly. "Ask your fleet what they want to do."The result of the little referendum hadn't been surprising, but it had been overwhelming. Not a single crew member in Lex's fleet had requested to stay and, after a few hours’ preparation, the shredded remnants of the Seventh Fleet had departed from their sanctuary at Starbase 88 for the final time.Several hours into their journey, Lex found himself in his ready room again, a cold and untouched cup of Earl Grey tea resting on his tabletop. His fleet had been cut down to just 11 ships, six having sacrificed themselves to the Jem'Hadar so the rest could make it to their unscheduled rendezvous. Lex had added their crews to the list of those he had to avenge. However, as it grew longer, the likelihood of achieving said vengeance was decreasing in the same proportion.The Trill was numb... and so enmeshed in depressing thought that he missed the first call."Captain to the bridge." This time the summons was more insistent. Lex turned from the stars and headed for the command center of his ship."Report.""We've got the fleet on long-range sensors," Rudman announced. His eyes widened as he checked his readings. “I’m reading over 900 ships.”"Adjust course to intercept and hail the lead ship when in range," ordered Lex.That’s a hell of a lot of ships, Lex thought. If only it was overkill—rather than the fleet still being outnumbered three to one… 

*** 

"Welcome aboard, Commander," said the Orion woman, as Lex's molecules reconstituted on the great dreadnought Liberator's transporter pad.Her greeting caught the Trill slightly off guard; it had been over a year and a half since anybody had called him by his proper rank."Thank you, Lieutenant Commander...""DeSoto," she replied. "The admiral is waiting for you in the war room," she added, as she began to head towards the door.Lex quickly fell into step beside her.As the two officers walked through the ship, Lex noticed that it was… unfinished. It came as a complete contrast to the wreckage-littered and scarred halls of the Argus. The last few

weeks, Simok seemed to have been holding the whole ship together by sheer will alone. Certainly, according to all logic, Argus should have been done in before now.“How long has the Liberator been out of spacedock?”“About a month,” she replied. “She's largely unfinished; there are no scientific research labs in place, and crew quarters are essentially empty rooms with cots, a shower and a head. There are no replicators; we're all on rations. But her engines, and most of her weapons and shields, do work… and that's what matters right now. With all due respect to vessels like Argus and Enterprise-E, she's easily the most powerful starship the Federation's ever built. She could whip a Dominion battleship toe-to-toe... and will," the Orion finished determinedly.They quickly reached the turbolift and stepped inside.“Deck Ten,” she ordered.Lex realized that she didn’t completely trust him, her hand never straying far from her phaser—which he had no doubt was set to kill. At least that was how he would have handled the situation, if he had been commanding a highly classified mission and then suddenly a group of ships presumed destroyed over a month ago turned up out of the blue.In fact, Lex was somewhat surprised that Admiral Pierce had agreed to see him at all. Still, the atmosphere of mistrust did make the turbolift feel a little claustrophobic, so Lex decided that a change of topic was needed.“I’ve heard a lot about your CO, but what’s it actually like to serve under Admiral Pierce?”DeSoto noticeably stiffened at Lex’s question, as if to prevent a more emotional response than that which she was willing to show.“The admiral is one of … no, the greatest strategist I have ever worked with,” she said finally.Interesting, thought Lex. That was the same reply I got from Michael when I asked him.The turbolift eventually arrived at its destination and DeSoto led Lex out onto the bridge. As he followed, he couldn’t help but notice that, probably without her even realising, DeSoto’s hips were gently swaying from side to side as she walked.Her interest in her commanding office seems to be far greater than simply her respect for his strategic acumen.She took Lex down the corridor and showed him through a door at the far side, which was flanked by two burly, stern-looking marines. These men had obviously seen too much in their time.Lex recognized the expression. It had greeted him in the mirror every morning for the past year.He stepped past them and the doors quietly closed behind him.The view that greeted him was incredible. Equal in size to the Argus’ rec center, the war room was huge. Across one wall was displayed a map of the Alpha Quadrant on which, Lex noticed, the Dominion and her allies’ symbols greatly outnumbered those of the Federation’s alliance.It was not an uplifting sight.I feel sorry for any man who has to work with a reminder that size of just how badly the war is going.While Lex admired the display, Commander DeSoto crossed the room and took her place in front of an antique wooden desk. Lex quickly caught up and stood beside her.“Admiral,” she announced. “Commander Jonozia Lex of the USS Argus.”The man behind the desk looked up from his monitor and took Lex completely by surprise.This was Admiral Alexander Pierce?Lex had done as much research as he possibly could on man prior to coming aboard, but nothing could prepare him for this. Pierce’s Starfleet record described him as a man in his mid-sixties with white hair and a beard.This man was so worn down he looked a hundred.

“Thank you, Commander,” he said. “You’re dismissed.”The Orion nodded slightly before she turned on her heels and headed for the bridge.“Please have a seat, commander.”“Thank you, sir,” said Lex, trying to recompose himself as he took the seat opposite.“This is quite an interesting report I have here, commander,” Pierce began, lifting a PADD from his desk, “but I have a few questions.”“Yes, sir,” Lex said calmly. “I suspected you would.”Pierce looked up and raised an eyebrow in an almost Vulcan fashion, before returning his gaze to the small display.“You’ve been cut off in the Luminaire sector for the past 31 days?”“Yes sir.”“And you took command of the Argus at the start of that time?” he asked, without looking up.“Yes, sir... after the death of Captain Patel.”“Interesting. To be frank, your records and evaluations don't indicate you as someone who'd flourish in a situation of that sort. You're a scientist, not a soldier."“They say necessity is the mother of invention... and our tactics essentially consisted of staying alive, sir.”“Indeed,” said Pierce in a tone that suggested he didn’t fully believe Lex, but could at least sympathize. “Your report says that Captain Patel died at the hands of a Changeling infiltrator?”“Yes,” replied Lex, uncomfortably reliving the memory. “We believe he had been posing as the ship’s tactical officer since she launched.”“And nobody noticed?”“With all due respect, sir... nobody onboard had had any contact with the real Lieutenant Parsons. We had no frame of reference.”“And the blood screenings...?”“...were either ineffectual, or he rigged them.”“They weren’t double-checked?”“All blood screenings were double-checked by a member of the medical team and a member of the security team. We even did DNA tests on all the samples to make sure that they were from who they were meant to be from.”“All in line with required anti-Changeling protocols,” Pierce said, apparently to himself. “Good.”He scrolled further down the report.“This Dominion ship you faced a few days ago, it had a cloaking device?”“Yes, sir. But more than that... it was also able to fire while cloaked.”“A very dangerous weapon,” observed the admiral. “It’s a pity you were unable to capture it.”“Our limited manpower made capture impossible. Destroying it was the only viable option.”“A pity,” repeated Pierce, before placing the PADD on the table.“Sir…” Lex started, fearing the admiral was going to avoid the very subject he had come there to discuss.The admiral, however, interrupted him by raising his hand before Lex could begin.“I know what you’re going to say, Commander,” he preempted, “but we already know that the odds are against us. All the ships and their crews have volunteered for this mission; and they’re under no misconceptions about their chances. But we need to go on the offensive.”“May I speak freely, admiral?” Lex asked desperately.“Be my guest.”“Wouldn’t our resources be better focused elsewhere? Somewhere where they can make a real difference—not just a futile gesture like this suicide attack?”“Yes, you’re right... and they are,” replied Pierce, handing the Trill a PADD.

“Commander, as of this moment I’m officially promoting you to the rank of Fleet Captain, as you seem to have so ably filled this position for the last 31 days, albeit in an unofficial capacity… and for what’s to come, we’re going to need all the able captains we have.“I want you to take your fleet and rendezvous with the remnants of the Third, Eighth and Ninth Fleets at DS9. You’ll be far more use there than here, and it will give you some time to get your ships combat ready.”Pierce paused for a moment, letting his words sink in.“You’re dismissed, Captain,” he said finally, and returned to his monitor.For the first time since the Argus had been cut off from the rest of Starfleet, Lex finally felt that he was making a contribution towards winning the war.“Thank you, Admiral,” he said, rising from his seat. “Good luck.”“To us both, Captain,” Pierce replied, without looking up. “To us both.”

Act 4Captain’s Log: Stardate 52889.1 

The past week that the Argus has spent at Deep Space Nine has given us a chance to take stock of the damage the ship incurred during our time separated from Starfleet’s main forces. Of the other 11 surviving ships in my taskforce, four have been deemed spaceworthy and repaired, as much as possible, for the coming battle. The remaining seven have been decommissioned and dismantled for parts, their personnel re-distributed between the other ships of the three fleets. It pains me to see crews who have been through so much together parted, but manpower is at a premium, with over half the fleet seriously understaffed—including the Argus.

On a more personal note, our arrival at DS9 resulted in the unfortunate side effect of an unpleasant reunion with Dax. It has been nearly one hundred years since I last encountered a host of the Dax symbiont and, although the face has changed, Jadzia Dax is as unrepentant as Curzon ever was. I can’t help but wish, however, that the hand I’d extended had not been slapped away, especially in the light of what we all now face—the end of the Federation.

Never in my worst nightmares did I think that the situation could get this bad. The Klingons are growing ever more impatient for revenge, following the destruction of their home world after the High Council rejected the Dominion’s surrender terms. Now it seems that the fleet that has assembled at DS9, nicknamed by many the “Last Armada,” is all that stands in the way of the Dominion completely overrunning the Alpha Quadrant... and doing to Earth what they’ve already done to Qo’nos, Vulcan and Betazed.

Only the Romulans’ territory remains unoccupied, as their non-aggression treaty with both sides continues to hold. How much longer can they stand by and do nothing? Surely they must realize that unless they get off the fence, they’re surely next?

 Lex wearily pressed the button on his desk console to end his log entry and moved over to the replicator.“Tea, Earl Grey, white, double sweet.”

The hot beverage materialized in the cubbyhole and he picked it up, taking a sip as he moved back behind his desk. As soon as he tasted it, his immediate reaction was to spit it out, which he attempted to stifle, causing a fine spray to cover his desk. Whatever it was in the cup, it was certainly not Earl Grey.The ship’s comm beeped.“Lex here, go ahead.”“Sir,” came James Dulmis’ voice, “we’re receiving a subspace transmission from Admiral Necheyev.”“Pipe it through, lieutenant.”A moment later, the somber face of Fleet Admiral Alynna Necheyev filled Lex’s desk monitor. Over the past week, Lex had got to know the Admiral quite well and it was obvious to him that this time she wasn’t bringing good news.“Captain,” she began. “What is Argus’ status?”“She’s as ready as she’ll ever be, admiral,” he replied confidently. “We’re not anywhere near back to specs, but we’re in good enough shape to kick the Dominion’s tail all the way back to the Gamma Quadrant.”Necheyev gave a weak smile at his bravado. “Glad to hear it, captain.”She paused.“Is there something else, Admiral?” Lex asked, hoping against hope that there wasn’t. It was more often than not the case in these dark times that no news was good news.“The survivors from the combined Seventh, 15th and 22nd Fleets' assault on Vulcan arrived here an hour ago. 417 ships made it back, but only about three hundred of them are in any condition to join us.“I’m putting you in command of the few ships that remain of the Seventh Fleet.”“But… that’s Admiral Pierce’s post,” Lex said, afraid to hear what Necheyev was going to say next.She bowed her head, unable to look him in the eye as she replied.“I’m sorry, captain, but the Liberator didn’t make it.”Lex’s list of people to avenge suddenly became meaningless. The list had become endless; Sara, Patel, Cassaria, Pierce and countless others; it was all too much for he to deal with. Instead, he replaced it with a vow.The Dominion would pay, no matter the cost.“Thank you, admiral,” was the Trill’s only reply.“The fleet leaves in one hour,” finished Necheyev. “Good luck, Captain.”“Too us all,” he replied, completing the sign-off that had also become meaningless during this war. “Lex out.”As the screen went dark, Lex lay back in his chair, unable to get the faces of his dead friends from his mind’s eye.Where did it all go wrong?He wished he knew the answer.“Lex here,” he replied, as the comm bleeped once more.“Captain,” came Dulmis’ voice again, “it’s Captain Mantovanni from the USS Liberty.”Lex realized that there was a more than a touch of awe in the young lieutenant’s voice, and smiled slightly; his old friend and mentor tended to have that effect on people.“Put him through,” he said, leaning over to his desk monitor again.“How can I help you, Cicero?” greeted the Trill as the Sicilian came on screen.“No heartfelt greeting, Lex?” he inquired dryly. “Congratulations on the promotion, by the way; it seems to have curtailed that hitherto irrepressible joviality of yours... thank God.”“No, Cicero... that died with Sara on the London.”

There was a moment’s pause; Mantovanni inclined his head in apology, and then appeared to be searching for the right words—something that was most unusual for the eloquent captain.“Lex,” he inquired, hesitantly, “have you ever served with a Katherine Sheridan?”Lex mulled it over for a moment—half attempting to remember if he knew the woman in question... and half wondering why, on the eve of the possible destruction of the Federation, Mantovanni would be asking such a bizarre question—and then responded.“Sorry, Cicero, but I can’t say that I’ve even heard the name, let alone served with her,” he replied. “If I may... why on Earth are you asking me this?”“I can’t really say... mainly because I don’t know myself.” Most starship commanders disliked not having all the answers. Mantovanni was worse than most: He despised it, and it showed.“Sorry I couldn’t help more,” Lex offered.Mantovanni was not precisely sentimental... but he’d always been incisive in his compassion.“You’re constantly apologizing about things that aren’t your fault, Lex. No doubt you’ve found a way to blame yourself for the fact that we’re losing the war... for the death of your wife... hell, if the symbiont was old enough, you’d probably claim to be the gunman in the grassy knoll.“Attend to your starship, Captain, and stop apologizing.“Instead, go out there and make the Dominion sorry. Liberty out.”  

*** 

“Approaching the Cardassian system, Captain,” reported Arkin from the helm. “Five minutes to target.”“Red alert; all hands to battle stations,” ordered the Trill from the center seat. “Argus to fleet; formation Lex-Alpha.”“All ships acknowledge,” reported Davis from mission ops. “They’re moving into position.”Silence engulfed the bridge as they waited for Lex’s next command. It seemed to take an eternity coming“Prepare to drop out of warp on my mark,” he said finally.Lex paused for a few seconds and everyone held their breath.“Mark.”Immediately, Argus dropped back into normal space. All around the great vessel, polaron beams, spiral wave disruptors and plasma torpedoes—all the Dominion’s great arsenal of destruction—attempted to shatter the Federation ships that had dared trespass into the Cardassians’ home system.Arkin worked the helm controls with the expertise that was expected from a helmsman of her stature and reputation. Lex thanked the universe, not for the first time, that the young Bajoran was piloting his starship.At the main tactical controls, T’Kare effortlessly sprayed phaser fire towards any Dominion ship that came within range of the Argus’ arrays. T’Kare often fired the deadly beams at attacking Dominion waves from three or four of the Sovereign-class ship’s arrays simultaneously, always followed up with a volley of quantum torpedoes from Commander Rudman at the auxiliary tactical station.As the battle raged on, the Argus seemed to be everywhere at once, inflicting heavy casualties on the Dominion forces. Although the ship herself was taking a battering, the Dominion forces were coming off a lot worse.“Computer, enhance grid epsilon-delta-four,” Lex suddenly ordered. The computer immediately complied.Rudman looked up from the tactical console.“Do you see it?” asked Lex.

“A break in their lines!” realized the X-O.“Any chance it could be a trap?”Rudman checked his console and then looked to Davis for confirmation. She shook her head.“There don’t seem to be any ships that could spring one!”His suspicions rebutted, Lex began to issue orders to take advantage of the unexpected opening.“Davis, gather every ship you can and get them to follow us into that gap. Even if it is a trap, it’s also the best chance we have.“Arkin, plot a course and engage.”The sudden change in course caught several enemy ships off-guard and Rudman gave them a farewell spread of torpedoes that took full advantage of their confusion.In moments, the small fleet of Federation and Klingon ships was taking full advantage of the enemy’s failure to keep its lines intact. They had a clear path to Cardassia Prime now... and if they could seize that prize, the whole war could be turned around. With their most important and fervent allies subdued, the Dominion could be forced into retreat.For the first time in memory, an end to the war seemed possible.Lex looked at his console as the fleet poured through the break in the lines and saw that, unsurprisingly, a lot of Klingon ships had followed Lex’s lead in taking advantage of Dominion’s lapse. It was clear that they wanted to pay the Cardassians in kind for what had been done to Qo’nos.“Captain,” said Dulmis suddenly, “I’m picking up a subspace disturbance.”“Where from?” asked Lex, panic gripping him.“All around us,” replied the operations officer. “Romulan Warbirds decloaking! We’re surrounded!”“Evasive maneuvers!” ordered Lex desperately. Not when we were so close!“We’re losing ships everywhere! They’re dropping like flies!”“They’ve locked on,” reported Rudman. “Incoming torpedoes!”“Brace for impact!” ordered Lex, as the screen turned white.

Act 5Lex opened his eyes.I’m still alive.He looked around the shattered remains of the bridge; the viewer was intermittently showing static, several crewmembers were slumped over their stations, while all the consoles across the bridge flickered furiously.At the front of the bridge, James Dulmis stirred and began to lift himself off the floor. Lex moved over from his chair to help the young lieutenant up.“James,” said Lex urgently, as he helped him back into his chair. “Can you get the viewscreen and sensors back up? I need to know what’s happening... and how much longer we’re likely to remain in one piece.”“Yes, sir,” James replied weakly.Lex moved over to Arkin and checked for a pulse.Good, she’s still alive.

At the back of the bridge, Rudman had pulled himself off the deck and was checking on Lieutenant Davis’ status with a tricorder. Lex looked at him hopefully, but he bowed his head and shook it. There was nothing that could be done for her.A shriek came from the other side of the bridge that made both Lex and Rudman snap their heads around. Up against the wall, with her wing twisted around in an awkward and unnatural way, was T’Kare. She tried to move again and let out another horrific shriek as her wounded wing bent her double with pain.Rudman moved over to her with the tricorder.“She’s going into shock,” he reported.“Bridge to sickbay,” called Lex.Nothing.“Bridge to anyone.”“Communications are partially down,” reported Dulmis. “We have no internal and we can only receive external.“We’ve hull breaches on decks six, 12, 13 and 22. Emergency force fields are down on decks 12 and 13.”Lex quickly tried to put to the back of his mind the thought of how many of his crew would have been on those decks.Suddenly the viewer flickered—and then displayed stars.“Viewscreen and external sensors back online,” reported Dulmis triumphantly.Lex moved closer to the screen, as Rudman moved beside T’Kare and injected her with a hypospay to relieve her pain.“Where’s the fleet … the Warbirds … the Dominion?” Then something else dawned on him.“Where’s Cardassia Prime?” “I don’t know,” replied Dulmis. “They’re gone.”He worked the controls, attempting to discover what had happened to them. Beside him, Arkin began to stir as Rudman moved to her side.“I’m detecting a subspace anomaly, bearing 116 mark 030.”“On screen.”The viewscreen changed to show a blue/white cloud that filled the entire screen.“James, can you pinpoint both where and when we are?” Lex asked, a horrible feeling coming over him.“Attempting to interface with a time buoy.“We’re in the Tirus Sector,” he reported after a moment. “Stardate 48524.2”“Before the war…” Lex said to himself. “What’s the status of our engines?”“Functional, but the structural integrity field is at 15%, and the inertial dampers are offline. We can’t go to warp.”“Impulse then,” ordered Lex.Rudman stopped Dulmis before he could reply.“What are you planning, Captain?”“Michael, we have a chance to stop this war before it ever happens,” he replied. “I owe it to all those people who died to see that it never happens.”“And what of the Temporal Prime Directive?” Rudman countered. “We can’t just go around rewriting the past.”“I don’t want to live under Dominion rule... and neither do you or anyone else,” Lex argued. “Starfleet won’t care about the Temporal Prime Directive if it’s the only way to preserve the Federation.”“Captain,” Dulmis interrupted, “I’m detecting a ship emerging from the rift. It’s a Federation shuttlecraft, but of no design I’ve ever seen before.”

“Me, neither... and I’ve piloted almost everything the Federation has to offer,” confirmed Arkin.“Can they detect us?”“No sir, their sensors have been disrupted by the anomaly.”“What ship is it from?”“Reading the registry now; USS Voyager, NCC 74656. The craft IDs itself as The Delta Flyer.”“Voyager?” repeated Lex. “She went missing on her first mission.”“I’m detecting another ship emerging from the rift,” announced Dulmis a second later.“This is getting a little crowded,” commented Rudman.“Shall I back us off?” asked Arkin.“Negative,” ordered Lex.However, the Trill involuntarily rose from his chair in surprise, as they watched a second Sovereign-class starship emerge from the anomaly. As soon as it cleared the anomaly, it began firing on the shuttlecraft.“What the?” exclaimed Lex. “Arkin, see if you can move us between that ship and the shuttlecraft. Prepare a tractor beam.“Michael, you’d better man the tactical.”The both nodded silently as they followed their captain’s orders.“I’m picking up a distress signal from the Delta Flyer.”“Put it on.”“This is Kate Sheridan of the Starship Voyager to anyone within range. I’m under attack and require immediate assistance. I repeat, this is…”Lex gave the cut signal.Mantovanni’s mystery woman! I wonder if she has anything to do with…“Captain, I’ve got the registry of the other ship,” said Dulmis, interrupting his thoughts. “It’s us—the Argus—but her registry’s ISS. And they’ve just jammed the distress signal.”Lex attempted to recall where he’d heard the ISS prefix before.Of course! he remembered. Captain Kirk’s alternate universe.“Commander, I want the weapons on that ship taken out now, followed by her engines. I’m invoking Starfleet Standing Order 153.”“Standing Order 153?” Rudman asked, puzzled, before he remembered what the captain was referring to. “Understood.”Lex was glad that his first officer was on the same wavelength.As the Argus moved into range, she came under fire from the other ship. Her phasers stung the battered vessel hard and the ship rocked violently.“Shields at 10%,” warned Dulmis.The Argus let fly with everything she had, punching through her counterpart’s anomaly-weakened shields and destroying her weapons arrays.“Their weapons are disabled,” reported Rudman. “They’re attempting to retreat.”“Take out their engines,” ordered Lex.“Too late... they’ve gone to warp. They’re gone.”“Captain, we’re losing containment!” cried Dulmis in horror.“What? Reinforce the containment field!”“I can’t! It’s been manually disengaged, and I’m locked out,” he replied, turning to Lex. “We’ve been sabotaged!” he said, a look of horror on his face. “Warp core breach in progress…”“My God…! Everyone to the escape pods!” ordered Lex.

A split-second later, the Argus exploded into a giant fireball from which no one escaped. The shockwave fanned out, buffeting the shuttle that her crew gave their lives to save, shaking Kate Sheridan’s unconscious form.

EpilogueThomas Patel clicked off the desk monitor and looked over to Admiral Hayes. The captain of the USS Discovery was having a hard time assimilating what he’d just seen.“The visual logs you’ve just seen was recovered from the wreckage of an unidentified ship found in the Tirus Sector six years ago. It took quite some time to get any usable data from the computer core, and when we did, the whole operation was taken over by Temporal Investigations. They just de-classified these logs last week.”“Why so long after the war ended?”“They had to be sure that its release wouldn’t effect the timeline. They had to leave a safe margin of error.”“A safe margin of error,” repeated Patel, the irritation clearly showing in his voice. “Admiral, there’s an Imperial Sovereign-class starship running about out there that’s been doing God only knows what for the past six years. For all we know, they could have built another one of those damned gates and brought a whole fleet through by now!”“They haven’t,” Hayes stated. “Or at least they hadn’t up to six months ago.”“Up to six months ago?”“That’s when our agents lost track of them.”“How?”“That’s classified,” answered Hayes gruffly. “But what we do know, is that their last known location was the Vampri System.”Patel started to put two and two together.“They destroyed the Mandella…”“Yes,” Hayes confirmed, bowing his head.“They wiped out the population of the entire planet!” said Patel, fuming. “They nearly killed Lex’s wife! And all because Starfleet let them run loose around the galaxy.”“Let me assure you, it’s an oversight we’re about to correct,” retorted Hayes, with enough authority in his voice to remind Patel that he still outranked him. “I’m taking you off the Pathfinder Project. Your new assignment is to seek out, capture if possible—destroy if necessary—the ISS Argus."“Aye, sir,” replied Patel, barely controlled anger still embedded in his voice.With his welcome outstayed and his reason for being on the ship complete, Hayes rose from his seat and headed for the door.“I hope you have better luck against them than that other version of Lex did.”“There’s no doubt in my mind that I will, admiral,” said Patel to himself, as the doors to the bridge closed.“No doubt whatsoever.” 

 Created Stardate 10107.21© 2001 Alex Thompson