Deep Space Guardian: Season II-Episode 39

[Founder]

-Elerra Prime, Unknown-

Monroe recoiled in fear as the explosion lit up the field they were standing in. There was a massive field of dead bodies that seemed to stretch for miles. The dead soldiers were not all Humans. Some were Andorian, Vulcan, Klingon, and even Ferengi. Next to several of the dead bodies were the carcasses of large dead...insect like things.

"What...is...this?" Monroe asked, completely in shock.

As the explosion died down, the sound of strange skittering legs could be heard. He looked to the side and noticed a large hole in the side of what appeared to be a massive dirt hill. Suddenly, various insect like creature jumped from the hole at the sound of the explosion and ran out into the field. Monroe looked around in confusion and realized what had happened. The giant hill was pretty much a giant "ant" hill and whoever detonated that explosion, did so to lure the insects out. Like when someone poured water on an ant hill to force the insects out.



The alien insectoids stopped running when they noticed Monroe, Sophia, and the baby. He stood up, shielding Sophia as best as he could, but the quick aliens surrounded them, making loud chittering sounds all the while.

"We're surrounded!" He screamed.

He reached into his jacket in desperation, fumbling for the multi-dimensional transporter. If he could somehow find a way to activate it, he could escape. His sweaty hands prevented him from latching onto the object...

+ 3 Good detail with Monroe

Lord Borg

[ILoveHarry]

-Elerra Prime, Unknown-

The monsterous insectoids approach the trio and Sofie supresses another scream. She shifts her son so that he is now positioned between her front and Monroe's back. The best shelter she could provide for him under the conditions.

"What...is...this..." she heard him ask the same quetion that was on her mind. Of course, she certainly did not know the answer. She had never seen such a being, and despratly wished that she still hadn't.

The chattering of the large pest echoed in her ears, setting and uneasy beat to thealready frightening scene.

"So..." she starts witha quiver to her voice. "Anything in your secret handbook about what to do in a situation like this?"

+ 3 Dilithium. Sofie is a meanie, bt makes good posts.

Founder

[Founder]

-Elerra Prime, Unknown-

Monroe felt anger towards Sophia's sarcastic comment. A part of him regretted saving her back on the Klingon ship. He also regretted rushing into this mission without thinking it out more and gaining more support from Starfleet Intelligence. He turned his head to whisper back at her.

"No," He shot back, "Does your precious Nautolian allies have ways out of situations like this?"

The aliens loud screech caused Monroe to cover his ears. They were everywhere, hundreds of them by the looks of it. He finally clutched the multi-dimensional transporter when suddenly there were sounds of weapons fire. He ducked in fear when he saw the surrounding aliens shake and shudder from intense bullet fire. Another small explosion erupted nearby, killing dozens of the aliens. The aliens rushed and scattered in fear.

"Move! Move! Move!" A man screamed.

Monroe turned around and saw a group of soldiers rush forward, opening fire on the aliens.



"Hurry!" One of the soldiers yelled at Monroe and Sophia.

He turned and ran towards the group of soldiers that had formed a line. The battlefield turned chaotic as the loud sounds of bullet firing and screeching from the aliens turned deafening.

+3 good detail, as always, Andy

Lord Borg

[Republican_Man]

--Dark Shadow, Imperator�s Office--
The large flagship of the leader of the Nautolian Empire had just dropped out of warp and currently floated through the Kor�an System, en-route to the special shipyards primarily devoted to the construction of the Imperator�s new powerhouse warship, the Eclipse. At present the wide viewscreen behind the desk of Imperator Obsidian displayed the schematics for the massive warship, a warship more powerful than anything else the Federation could have previously predicted.



The Eclipse had the power to decimate an enemy ship with ease by using a weapon dubbed the Gravity Well Projector, a powerful weapon able to cut through the hull of a starship and wage significant damage to it, as well as destroy a ship with ease. It could also cut through a planet�s surface and eliminate an entire city off the face of the planet, though with difficulty and a great need for time.

But there was one setback to the starship aspect of it: the shields of an enemy ship had to be down in order for the projector to have any effect. Conventional weapons � those of typical phasers, disruptors, and torpedoes � were omnipresent as well, for there were a great many of these weapons. It had other weaknesses as well, but there was the chance that they could be overcome. It was a formidable craft, and Obsidian obsessed in the power he would one day wield in his hands.

That day had now come.

Obsidian would soon be rid of the Dark Shadow, his flagship since the dawn of the Empire, and take control of this new command ship. That was mere moments away.

A communications chime rang through and the Dark Lord allowed the image of the caller to replace that of the Eclipse schematics.

�Lord Obsidian,� the figure of Vice-Admiral Oasis, which was displayed on the screen, greeted. �It is with great reluctance, My Lord, that I inform you that the fleet has retreated from the Bajoran system. For all intents and purposes, Terok Nor, Bajor, and Cardassia have all fallen.�

The Dark Lord let out a deep sigh and shook his head. Things were no longer going as planned. His rule was falling apart.

�And there�s more. The Hydrans have taken up arms against our people. We have been betrayed, for they are now working alongside the Federation.� Obsidian�s face showed great rage.

�So we have essentially lost the Cardassians and the Hydrans?� the Imperator said, rhetorically. �Who�s next? The Gorn?� He shook his head hard. �This only proves even more of a need to conquer Earth. Are you on your way to the Kor�an system now?� the Imperator asked.

�Indeed the Ravencroft is, your gloriousness,� the Admiral answered. �We should be there within the hour.�

�Very well,� Obsidian replied. �I will be assuming command of the Eclipse shortly. I expect your presence there before we make our way for Nautolia Prime. Grand Admiral Surak and Supreme General Koon are waiting to meet to draw up plans for the invasion of Earth. I have also called Lord Imperious to attend the meeting as well, and we must make our way for the planet as soon as possible. So do hurry, Admiral.�

--Sion�s Revenge, Bridge--
�Report,� Lord Imperious, apprentice to the Imperator, stated as the Sion�s Revenge rocked from the blast of one of the two remaining Federation starships attempting to provide in-orbit assistance to the Federation Ground Forces below.

�Shields are down to 67%, My Lord,� the ship�s tactical officer replied from a below ditch console. �Weapons are still online. Deflector shields at maximum.�

�And what of the battle below?� Imperious inquired, looking over at Captain Zoron Ghand, commanding officer of Imperious�s flagship, who had been closely monitoring the battle below.

�Both sides have sustained heavy damage,� Ghand reported. �We have roughly 700 troops remaining and only one mech, save for Major Joran�s Command Mech. As for the Federation, roughly 500 troops are remaining. They have several tanks within the city-region, where around one hundred troops from each respective side are fighting. The rest of the fighting is going on at our lines.�

�Tell Major Joran I want that city-region subdued and the Military Complex overtaken. That will be the litmus test for victory,� he ordered.

�As you command,� the Captain replied, and sent off the message.

�Lord Imperious,� another officer spoke, looking up from the ditch below the Dark Lord�s apprentice. �I have just received orders from the Dark Shadow. Lord Obsidian wishes for you to attend a meeting to be held in three hours at Nautolia Prime.�

�The subject?� Imperious inquired.

�The invasion of...Earth.�

Imperious�s eyes widened. Earth? They were going to go after Earth? �Curious,� he said to himself, and then looked to the ship�s commanding officer. �Order Captain Tyrul to assume command of the group, and alert Major Joran of the situation. He has his orders, and I expect success in this mission to be achieved. Once that is done, set course for Nautolia Prime. I will be in my chambers.�

�As you command, Lord Imperious,� Captain Ghand responded, and headed off to do as he had been told.

+ 8 Dilithium. Good detail.

Founder

[La Forge]

Jo'Kola, Bajor

"No. I'll draw their fire. The Jem'Hadar will go with you all." Odo had spoken, standing up for the Jem'Hadar.

"No!" both Melina and Kira had shouted, in unison. Melina, because she cared for the life of the Founder leader over the life of some expendable Jem'Hadar soldier. Kira, because she couldn't bear to see her old friend in such danger.

"No, you will not. These Jem'Hadar were bred to fight. Well...let them fight. I won't let you die to save a few of these...things." Melina retorted, in response to Odo's reply, insulting the Jem'Hadar right to their faces. She didn't care. While Kira spoke not a word after her outburst, she agreed with her Bajoran comrade's sentiments. She wouldn't see Odo killed, to save the life of some Jem'Hadar.

U.S.S. Nile, Cockpit

Juliana simply stood there, as the events onboard the Nile, involving the Gorn, the Black Claw, and the U.S.S. Trek. While Doctor Burns sat at the helm and Ensign Taylor beside her, Juliana simply stood in the rear of the cockpit, watching out at the cold blackness of space through the viewscreen. Commander Robitaille was nowhere to be seen. At length, Juliana eventually took a seat down at one of the random consoles, burying her head into her hands.

"Why did I join Starfleet?" Juliana groaned, under her breath, lamenting her decision on joining the organization. "I should've been a dentist or something." Juliana added, with a grim smile.

A moment later, Juliana slowly spun the chair around, to face the computer console in front of her and awaited any orders which needed doing.

+ 4 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Founder]

-Bajor, Jo'Kola-

Odo felt upset that even Kira joined in the chorus of negativity towards his idea of drawing Nautolian fire. He felt disgust that they would treat the Jem'Hadar in such way, while simultaneously understanding. The only thing the Alpha quadrant races knew of the Jem'Hadar was that they were pure killing machines. He shook his head, not agreeing with Melina's cold statement.

"They may be bred to do that," He argued, "But I've seen other Jem'Hadar that have...expressed free will. Not all of them are killing machines. Not to mention, how can they ever change if we continue to think of them that way?"

Garak, having been silent for some time, decided to butt into the conversation. The not so distant sounds of phaser fire and explosions prompted him to speed this matter up.

"As interesting and philisophical as this conversation is," He interjected, "It might be prudent if we sped this up, no? While we're debating on civil rights, Bajorans are being cut down by the Nautolians. Now, Odo, while I'm sure you want to instill change in the Dominion, now is not the time. You brought these Jem'Hadar with you to fight. Well let them fight. Be a cold, heartless Founder one last time if not to save your adopted people, the Bajorans. When this war is over, and only then, can you instill your reformation of the Dominion."

The Cardassian tailor was breathing hard after giving his long rant to Odo. He didn't really care about the Bajorans in the same way as Melina, Kira, and Odo. Garak simply wanted to expedite matters so that they could quickly go to Cardassia. It had been some time since he'd been there and he was ever so desperate to return there. After a moment of silence between the group, Odo reluctantly nodded to the others before motioning for the Jem'Hadar to rush forward and offer cover fire.

"Let's go." Odo ordered in a bitter tone.

+ 5 good detail with Odo

Lord Borg

[ILoveHarry]

-Elerra Prime, Unknown-

The look on Monroe�s face immediately made Sofie regret her loaded question. She hadn't meant to hurt the man's feelings. She wouldn't have thought hat possible.

What is it with the men of this universe? She sighed at her own silent question. They're all so hyper sensitive about everything.

Where she came from, a man would never have let such a comment bother him. The Monroe and Ian of this reality however... Both men seemed to let Sofie get under their skin rather easily. Both men certainly hated her. Of that she was quite certain.

She had never meant to make enemies here. Crossing over was supposed to be a new start for her and her son. Yet, as it turned out, she seemed to be upsetting people more than she was making friends. Perhaps it had something to do with her approach. She had developed a tendency to speak without thinking. In that instant she decided it was a tendency that she should work on aborting. The men of this universe obviously were touchy about the truth.

"No. Does your precious Nautolian allies have ways out of situations like this?"

For a brief moment, the comment was almost lost on Sofie. Her time spent working for the Nautolian Empire of the Mirror Universe seemed so long ago. She hadn't thought about the roles she and her husband had played in assisting them since the day she crossed over. Of course Monroe would have known about her tie to the Nautolians. Suddenly the true reason for her kidnapping became clear.

Working for the MU Nautolians had been her husband�s decision. A wise one, though as it kept them alive. The inhabitants of the RU couldn't possibly understand what it was to be Terran. It meant doing whatever it took to survive. In the Xavier�s case, that had meant changing loyalties. Sofie would have been happy to discuss the reasoning behind their actions with Monroe, but now was hardly a convenient time for that.

�Move, move, move!�
�Hurry!�

The shouts rang in her ears, albeit faintly as the chattering of the insects was becoming more deafening.

She did her best to cover Demetrius� ears as she ran with Monroe.

+ 6 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Republican_Man]

--Kor�an System--
The massive Imperial warship Eclipse orbiting its construction world, Beta Prime in the Kor�an System. The outrageously large Imperial dreadnaught had been completed for nearly three days now and, in that time, had undergone a number of checks and reviews which led to its current mint condition. It was, at last, ready to go.

Imperator Obsidian�s smaller warship, the Dark Shadow, was coming to an end so far as direct service under the Dark Lord was concerned. The ship would now become the flagship of Grand Admiral Surak, leader of the Nautolian Imperial Navy. It treaded slowly through the system, nearing the location of the Eclipse.



�Warship Eclipse,� spoke the Dark Shadow�s communications officer. �This is the Dark Shadow reporting in. We have arrived at the system and will be transporting Lord Obsidian over as soon as we are in range.�

�Acknowledged,� came the reply. �Is he not to come by shuttle for a grand welcoming ceremony?� the man on the other end inquired.

�No,� the communications officer answered. �Time is of the essence. His Gloriousness must arrive at Nautolia Prime in short order.�

�Very well, then. I will inform the commander of this situation,� he said, rather shocked, having expected a prominent welcoming display from the start.

�Very good. Dark Shadow out.� And with that the transmission simply ended.

On the Eclipse the lieutenant who responded to the call turned to a Koinian officer behind him and said, �Inform the commander that Lord Obsidian�s warship has arrived, and that he will be beaming over. There will be no welcoming ceremony, as Lord Obsidian wishes that we make our way for Nautolia Prime immediately.�

�The will of the Imperator be done,� the Koinian replied, bowing his head, turning about, and heading to find the commander.

Three hours later...
--Eclipse, Conference Room--
The massive Eclipse-class Dreadnought, the Eclipse, floated in space within the confines of the Nautolian system.



In the ship�s large Conference Room sat several individuals. At the end of the table sat the Dark Lord himself, Imperator Obsidian. To his right was seated Lord Imperious, apprentice to the Imperator. To his left sat Grand Admiral Surak, Supreme Commander of the Nautolian Imperial Navy. To Surak�s left sat Supreme General Koon, Supreme Commander of the Nautolian Imperial Army. To the right of Imperious sat the final individual in attendance, Colonel Sirius Brakon, leader of the Nautolian intelligence organization Black Sun.

�Welcome,� Obsidian said, wasting no more time with pleasantries. �We will begin this meeting immediately, for it is imperative that the topics discussed here, to day, be dealt with quickly.�

A brief pause ensued, then a continuation. �We are, of course, here today to discuss immediate plans for an assault on Earth. I have sent a Navy-wide call for all available ships to mass at the moon of Ceti V. The same goes for the Army as well, and General Koon has already seen to it that these orders be carried out. From there we will march directly on towards Earth, where our grandest battle will be waged � and we will see Victory.� The Dark Lord then turned to his Black Sun chief. �Colonel,� he said. �What intelligence do you have on Earth�s defenses?�

�As of now there are merely several Starfleet patrol vessels and one Ournall-class space station, similar in design to Deep Space Guardian, only slightly older,� Brakon reported. �There is little else there at this time in the way of defenses, but I caution that we not underestimate their abilities.�

�Of course not,� Obsidian replied. �Admiral Surak, what would your opinion be of a frontal assault initially to at the very least weaken the Federation defenses in order to enable General Koon�s forces to land on the planet and begin a ground assault?�

�With twenty-five ships initially, it should be simple,� answered the Grand Admiral. �But, as Colonel Brakon cautioned, the Federation always has more than meets the eye. I would suggest initially placing 30 warships in the system, along with the Eclipse and the Dark Shadow,� the latter being the admiral�s personal flagship at this point. �After using those forces to initially crush the Federation forces present, General Koon would be called in to land his forces. As this is occurring, another portion of the fleet, 20 ships, would come in and give assistance, for the Federation will no doubt have more ships at the scene.�

�But from where would they be dispatched?� Brakon questioned. �We cannot simply warp in from Nautolia Prime in those numbers. Either a beachhead must be determined and formed, or timing signals need to be established. Or the entire fleet should warp in at once.�

Surak shook his head. �The latter won�t work. We cannot emplace all our forces in the system at once; that would surely lead to defeat. We must space them out, yet we do not have a beachhead to utilize.�

After further debate (which I will detail later on and cannot elaborate upon at this time), a decision was made, and within the following four hours the fleet, including the Imperator�s flagship, the Eclipse, itself, was ready to warp out and wage a final battle at Earth...

+ 9 Dilithium. Good and detailed post.

Founder

[Lord Borg]

-Starfleet Engineering Transport, T'Sa's Quarters-

T'Sa arrived at her side of the door. She paused for a moment, hesitating to open the door as what ever was on the other side; it was something that was needing some sort of special attention. T'Sa shook her head slightly when the door chimed again, and she pressed the button to unlock, and open the door.

The doors to T'Sa's room slid open to reveal Lieutenant Conrad; he looked regretful for disturbing her. The man held a PADD in his hand, and slightly fumbled with it as he looked down to the floor and cleared his throat.

"Forgive the intrusion, ma'am..."

T'Sa studied the man for a moment, and although she was Vulcan, one that displayed, or showed no current emotion, Conrad was sure she was giving a cold, icy stare of anger.

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

The young human lieutenant shifted, and then cleared his throat.

"We've run into some...problems. While working on the actually platform, we ran some test runs in the energy systems, they are not responding like they should."

T'Sa raised an eyebrow in question, not really understanding why he disturbed her for that, although she supposed it was due to the fact that she had done a lot of the work on the revised energy systems for the weapon. T'Sa let out a sigh and nodded to Conrad.

"I will be there momentarily" she said.

Conrad nodded and turned to walk away. T'Sa let out another sigh and steped back so the doors would close. She looked over to the monitor on the desk and moved for the seat.

-U.S.S. Monarch, Bridge-

Archer nearly fell out of his chair when weapons fire slammed into the shields. He wished his seat was one of the newer ones for the class, it would be nice to have a seatbelt and not be thrown out of the seat.

"Lock weapons on to the nearest cruiser, we are almost there!"

-DSG, Counselors Office-

Emorie studied Kiris for a moment, not really sure of how to respond to that.

"I see... Well, what is it you think you took the pleasure out of? The act in itself, or the fact you prevented what it was he was trying to do?"

+ 5 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Spellbinder Marik]

-IRW Ares, Romulan Star System-

The Ares dropped out of warp. Nautolian ships were all over the place. T�Rell looked over to his Ops officer.
�Is the cloak stable?� The officer checked his readings.
�Yes Admiral. However, I�m detecting an unusual psionic signature. It�s emanating from one of the Nautolian cruisers out there.� T�Rell pressed a button and brought up the readings on the main viewer. He was afraid of this. They weren�t detected yet.
�Link up with the surveillance satellites and take as many pictures as you can. As soon as we�re done we�re going to jump away. I don�t think I�d like to be captured today.� The officer nodded.
�Yes Admiral. I heartily agree.�

-U.s.s. Nile, Cockpit-

�Ma�am I recommend that we triaxilate our shield frequency. It should prevent any detection from Nautolian ships.�
Cory had to do something. He wasn�t a tactical officer but in his studies of astrometrics he learned things.

-Salara, N�Tran�s Quarters-

N�Tran opened his journal. Inside was writing in the Romulan script. He began to pour though it. So many memories were here. He�d began this journal long ago. So he could keep a log and not be considered treasonous. Many things in this journal were thoughts he had after he�d carried out orders for the Tal Shiar. He�d been responsible for many ambushes and covert operations in Federation, Cardassian and Klingon space. Told to kill certain people but not why. He didn�t get his rank and position by not following orders. On Romulus the legitimate government wouldn�t recognize his authority but he knew or at least hoped his friends in the Tal Shiar still lived. In a strange and unorthodox way he hoped Sela was still alive too. She was a worthy adversary and he dared to say he�d miss her if she was gone. They�d always been at each others throats but never seemed to destroy each other as they wanted.

-Salara, Holochamber-

Trips shoulder was sore and bleeding profusely. His battle with the bat�leth master had gone on but not without him taking physical damage. He�d been left in the Sulfur Lagoons. Trip stopped a ways in. He needed to heal himself.

Trip pulled the medical kit from his back and opened it. All Yautja carried one since it was standard equipment for hunters. Trip removed the armor plate from his left arm. The Yautja blood was radiant and glowing. Trip watched for a moment as his blood pooled on the ground. He was used to physical damage and this was not the worst wound he�d ever had.

Trip began to make the compound he�d need to seal his wounds. It cooked in a metal bowl and finally simmered. Trip took a spoon like tool and scooped up an amount of the compound. He placed the compound on his wound and reeled back a call of pain.
�Rwarrrrrrr!!� After the pain subsided trip pulled the spoon away from his shoulder. The wound was gone and now he could continue to the other side of the lagoon. After picking up his equipment he continued walking.

-IRW Ares, Romulus Orbit-

An indicator blinked and began flashing.
�Sir we�ve been detected!� T�Rell looked at the tactical screen.
�You said the cloak was impenetrable?� The tactical officer nodded.
�Yes sir it is! That isn�t how they detected us!� T�Rell looked at the main view screen. The Psionic pattern had changed. It looked more like a tracking beacon now.
�They used their telepathy to track us�� T�Rell didn�t account for that. The cloak would hide them from being seen but not from a psychic.
�Admiral, 6, I say again 6 vessels are converging on our coordinates and they�ve blocked most escape routs.
�Since they can see us anyway drop the cloak and set a course out of the system in this direction.� The officer complied. The ship was hit.
�Do we have warp drive?� The helmsman looked back.
�Yes sir but it will fail after approximately 23 seconds.� T�Rell thought quickly.
�Execute jump. If we can�t find a planet to set down on we�ll activated the self destruct.�

Another shot hit them.
�Warp drive is now offline sir.� T�Rell knew what had to happen.
�Initiate the self destruct sequence.� The tactical officer�s hands danced across the console.
�Self Destruct is offline sir. We�re a sitting duck.�

-Space-

The Ares was surrounded by several Nautolian ships. They were taking heavy fire and the hull was already breached. Several seconds later 24 vessels de-cloaked and began circling the cruisers and exchanging weapons fire. The scouts had drawn fire from the Nautolians as the Valdore class Warbird moved in closer. The Ares exploded in a fiery cloud.

-Unknown Romulan Ship, Transporter Room-

T�Rell looked into the eyes of a Lieutenant. The man moved closer and helped T�Rell to his feet. He noticed other officers helping the rest of the crew down. As T�Rell stood up strait the Lieutenants eyes wandered to his rank insignia. The man saluted.
�Admiral, sir. I have orders to escort the commanding officer of your ship to the bridge.� T�Rell nodded.
�Alright.� The man led him out.
�We weren�t aware there was another Admiral involved in this operation. Had we known sir we�d have had a contingent of fighters guarding your ship.� T�Rell was confused. There was an operation going on in the system?
�I wasn�t made aware of an operation in the system. I�ve only just come back. I was with a few ships in the Elerran system under the command of Admiral Ditex.� The officer led them into a lift.
�Admiral Ditex is still alive?� T�Rell looked over to the man.
�Yes. Quite alive. Why do you ask?� The lift stopped and they stepped out.
�We were all told the M�istal was destroyed during an attempt to take the Starfleet station in the Elerran system.� They stopped in front of a door and passed through it a moment later.
�So who told you that?� T�Rell noticed a chair turning to face him.
�Admiral Donatra�?�

-DSG, Counselor�s Office-

Kiris turned his head in response to Emorie�s question. He knew the answer he should say and he knew the answer he meant.
�The act of killing him gave me a feeling of power and invincibility but that feeling quickly faded into guilt because I knew that killing someone shouldn�t have felt right or good in any way.�

+ 7 Dilithium. I enjoyed the part when N'Tran missed Romulus, including his enemy Sela. It was a nice throwback to the past. The introduction for Donatra was cool too. Kiris' response was also good.

Founder

[Founder]

(Points have been updated.)

-USS Jaguar, Bridge-

The Galaxy class starship, leading the large Federation task force, had engaged the large Nautolian fleet that was guarding the Hydran home world. The battle had been a tough one and the many ships within the fleet had been reduced dramatically, but the same could be said about the Nautolians.

"Shields are down to 10% captain." C'Thane reported.

Ni nodded his head, then looked towards his first officer.

"Commander Tiin," He requested, "How many ships are still with us?"

She checked her console, reading over the fleet status.

"There are 200 ships." She reported.

Ni shut his eyes in sadness, realizing that on top of the 87 ships that had been left behind, an additional 81 ships were now destroyed. Operation Methan was proving costly to the war effort indeed. As a fleet admiral, he had to push such negativity from his mind. If he focused on the mounting dead, he wouldn't be able to protect the living. He gripped the arms of his chair and stared at the blurry viewscreen. It had been damaged during the attack.

"What about the Nautolians?" Ni asked.

The hybrid officer continued to read the status display as fast as she could. She looked back at Ni as she gave her report.

"They're suffering heavily," She reported, "But there is a massive Nautolian ship, class unknown, that is tearing our vessels apart!"

Ni cursed in his own language and pondered how to deal with the large ship. He eyed it on the viewscreen and thought quietly on what should be done...


-Elerra Prime, Battlefield-

Monroe and Sophia, who was clutching her baby, had run to the group of soldiers as they laid cover fire.

"Who are you people?" Monroe asked.

One of the soldiers, a young looking man, eyed Monroe with complete suspicion. Monroe wondered why he had that look on his face. It's not like they were the enemy. Well, to Monroe, Sophia was the enemy.



"We're the Resistance." He said proudly.

Monroe wondered if he meant the Terran Resistance against the Alliance, but by the look of armored Klingon and Cardassian officers in their midst, it didn't seem likely. The prospect of being in the wrong universe suddenly hit Monroe and he felt absolute fear. How would they get out of here now? He felt fury that he didn't have more help from SI. If he had, then this operation would not have been so rushed and botched up. He looked back at Sophia, then turned towards the soldier. Before he could speak, however, the soldier had yelled something into a communications device on his shoulder. He looked back to see a wave of the insectoids rush them, but before he could, he was whisked away in a transporter beam.

-Elerra Prime, Unknown Base-

When the transport was complete, Monroe looked around to see them inside of a large hangar bay. He, Sophia and the baby, and the soldiers were standing at the edge of a balcony.

"What is this?" He asked.

The soldier, clutching the massive rifle, looked back at Monroe as he began to walk away. Monroe struggled to keep up, baffeled by everything that had happened.

"Stop asking so many damn questions," He barked, "I'm the one that'll be doing that. Now, where did you three come from? We didn't know there were any Humans left in the quadrant, other then the ones here."

Monroe shook his head, confused about all of this. He looked over the railing and saw hundreds of soldiers rushing towards gun ships.



To his surprise, a portion of the hangar bay were filled with Borg alcoves. Borg Drones were standing inside of them, regenerating. He couldn't believe that the Borg were allies with Alpha quadrant species.

"Just what the hell is going on!?" Monroe screamed.

A burly Klingon, dressed in similiar armor, grabbed Monroe and prepred to snap his neck. The young Human officer looked back at him, pointing the tip of his gun at Monroe's chin.

"We both seem to have a lot of questions," He said, "I'm taking you to someone who'll get to the bottom of it, but one more peep out of you and I'm blowing your brains out all over this balcony, got it?"

Monroe reluctantly nodded, not fighting against the grip of the large Klingon. The officer returned Monroe's nod and then motioned for the Klingon to let him go. Monroe gasped for air as the Klingon's large fingers let go of his neck.

"Now," The soldier said, "Come on!"

He continued walking, as the soldiers shoved Sophia and Monroe towards another room. Monroe followed, not saying a word to Sophia. He couldn't stand looking at her. Not out of hated, but because she looked so much like the woman he loved. He wanted desperately to give her the device and tell her to flee, but that didn't seem like an option at the moment.

"Here." The soldier said.

Monroe looked up to see the man open a door into what looked like a war room. Highly decorated officers were hovering over a large table that had holographic images of soldiers fighting those alien things.

"General," The soldier said, "You should take a look at this."

The deputy director of Starfleet Intelligence looked at a figure that had more medals pinned to him then the chancellor of the Klingon Empire. He didn't recognize the man, but Sophia would without a doubt. The man was a familiar face in her native universe and her adopted one as well. He was a cruel tyrant that had attempted to claim her in one universe, while in another he was a benevolent Starfleet officer that attempted to make her feel welcome.

"General Jonathan Archer." The soldier introduced.

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

"Lock weapons on to the nearest cruiser, we are almost there!" Archer ordered.

The tactical officer nodded and opened fire, obliterating another Koinian starship.

"All 5th fleet starships are clear." Emma reported.

She continued to scan the read out on her computer display with her eyes.

"Our ships and several others are clear," She said in a sad tone, "But the others...it's too late for them..."

She looked back at Archer, fighting back tears that were welling her eyes. Over fifty vessels were now drifting in space...destroyed. Hundreds of escape pods were flooding out into the debris field, having no where to really run to. Thankfully, the majority of the Cardassian and Koinian starships were destroyed thanks to the efforts of the powerful Monarch.

"Shields are down to 56%." The tactical officer reported.

Emma sighed, snifling ever so slightly at the debris field on the viewscreen.

"We should assist the task force captain," She said, "We still have a little fight left in us..."

Her eyes continued to eye the viewscreen, watching the remaining survivors push on towards the Hydran home world in an attempt to free an opressed people...

-Nautolian Shuttle, Cockpit-

Oyet paced the interior of the Nautolian shuttle as he pondered just what he was going to do. His people had turned against him, the Nautolians had abandoned the Cardassians, and the Dominion was taking over. How had things gotten so bad? He thought about how he had been such a powerful leader, but now it's all gone. It all began with Ryder Melina. Oyet had let this become too personal, just like she had. Both of them continued to fight each other in the name of their causes, but in reality, they had set the battle field to be much smaller. They had set it so that it was only Melina and Oyet. How had it turned to be those two in combat? In essence, both Oyet and Melina abandoned their peoples out of animosity for each other. He couldn't help but laugh at the fact that his fate had become tied to a Bajoran.

"How did that happen?" He asked.

The Bajorans believe the wormhole aliens were Gods. They called them "Prophets" and believed they controlled their destiny. If that was true, then what reason did they have to connect him to Melina? Were there futures bound to each other in someway? He looked up, feeling sheepish for what he was attempting to do. Oyet shut his eyes tightly and concentrated.

"Speak to me." He said to the Prophets.

He concentrated, trying to let his "pagh" reach out to them. Oyet did not believe in any of the Bajoran superstitions, but time and again, Benjamin Sisko proved that whatever lived in the Wormhole was watching over the Bajorans. Oyet knew there was definitly something to the "Prophets" and if he had, had more time, he would have studied it. Then again, Sit Fito was his own "dark God" and the "Prophets" would not have factored into his life. It seemed like no matter what, the battle of good vs. evil was always happening. It seemed that the adage of it being eternal was true. A blood vessel popped in his nose because he was concentrating so hard. Oyet's eyes shot open and he slammed the palm of his hands against one of hte glowing consoles.

"SPEAK TO ME!!!!" He screamed in fury.

Oyet panted as he caught his breath. Melina was on his mind, just like he knew that he was on her mind, despite the fact that her world was under assault. He had to find her, because that was his connection...his life...his fate and destiny. Almost as if he was hit by an epiphany from the "Prophets" or simply insanity on his part, he knew that he had to seek her out. Oyet rushed towards the communications console and opened the channel to Nautolian frequancies. He sifted through various channels, listening to various reports. There was some kind of general order for all fleets to return to Nautolian space. Oyet ignored it and patched into Nautolian communications on Bajor.

"The entire Dominion fleet has left DS9 and is blockading the planet!"

"We've been abandoned!"

"Nonsense, there is logic behind this. Our glorious leader would never leave us!"

"We must fight for-"

Oyet shut the channel off and pondered his options. Going to Fito was not an option at this point. He wasn't going to rendevous with the fleet and meet with Fito, a man the once choked him with his powers because he did not call him by the proper rank. He didn't want to imagine what Fito would do to Oyet once he learned about his failure. No, he had to seek out Melina, knowing he was tied to her. She was either left behind on Terok Nor or was on one of those Dominion ships or...

"...on Bajor." He whispered.

He had a feeling that Melina wouldn't stand around on either Terok Nor or one of the ships while her people were fighting for their lives. She would never let a Jem'Hadar do her work. No, she was on Bajor and that is where he would be...

"Computer," He demanded, "Alter course."



-USS Trek-

The Nebula class starship was fighting against superior numbers and losing. They had managed to beat only one Nautolian ship before their shields went down. Jacob clutched the arms of his chair as part of the ship's interior exploded over his head. Wires and other parts fell from the ceiling and rained down on them. The Gorn ships, members of the Black Claw, had jammed their communications as they probably did for the Nile. Any messages Burns and the runabout crew attempted to send would never reach it's destination.

"Hull breach!" An officer screamed.

Jacob stood up, fighting to not fall over as his ship fell apart around him.

"All hands this is the captain," He screamed, "Abandon ship. I repeat, abandon ship!"

He helped some of the other crew onboard the bridge towards the turbolifts. With one last sad glance of his bridge, he got onto the turbolift and called for the deck with the escape pods. The Trek would never make it out of the system intact. He wondered if the Nautolians and their Gorn allies would be cruel enough to destroy each pod. Jacob hoped that wherever that runabout was...it was reaching their destination and that their sacrifice was not in vain...

-DSG, Corridor-

While Derek James was attempting to search for the missing civilian and Ziona continued to meditate, while focusing on her promotion, Ian stood at a console in the middle of a corridor on DSG. He had connected to the office of Starfleet Intelligence on Earth and was attempting to get to the bottom of this mess with Monroe.

"What are you talking about?" Ian interrogated, "The deputy director of SI on Earth was here. I want to know what his bussiness was."

A Vulcan lieutenant was on the otherside of the screen, staring stiffly at Xavier.

"I told you commander," He said, "We have no records of Director Monroe going to Deep Space Guardian."

Ian sighed, placing his hands on his hips and shaking his head in annoyance. He didn't believe the Vulcan and knew of the shadyness of SI.

"Look," Ian said, "I know you agent types aren't allowed to talk about your secret operations, but he was here and I want to know what he was doing. An innocent woman's life maybe at stake, including the life of her baby."

The Vulcan simply shook his head and in a cold, emotionless response, replied, "I told you, there are no records of any operations at your station. Now, we're very busy here. Good day commander."

The screen cut off to show the Federation logo. Ian groaned in annoyance at the rather rude ending of the conversation. He wondered what was going to happen to Sophia and Demetrius...

-Hydran Starbase, Main Ops-



The starbase orbiting the Hydran home world had been spared of being caught in the battle due to it's orbit putting it on the other side. The Nautolian commander watched in glee as the massive Nautolian capitol ship was annihilating Federation vessels left and right. Despite a severe reduction in Nautolian ships, they were still taking a lot of the Federation with them. At this point, the battle could go either way and that gave the Nautolians hope.

"Commander," A Koinian officer reported, "Our listening posts in the other Hydran sectors have gone dead and the ship yards where our fighters were being built reported a Hydran fleet dropping out of warp before their communications died."

The Nautolian commander suddenly realized why the Hydran fleet had warped away instead of helping the Federation task force. They were sent to free the rest of their systems while the Federation forcibly retook their own home world. He slumped against the wall, fearing the way this battle was going. If that Hydran fleet came here, then the balance would be tipped towards the Federation. He turned his head when he noticed a Cardassian step off a turbolift and in silence, approach a console. The Nautolian felt...strange sensations from the Cardassian. He wondered what it was and with his telepathic abilities, reached out in an attempt to ascertain what it was. It almost seemed like there was something missing or strange. He concentrated harder and felt virtually no emotion from the Cardassian. There were this sense of fake pride intsilled in the wide necked alien. The Nautolian commander took a careful step forward, desperate to understand why the Cardassian was emitting such...strange feelings. It felt like the stereotypical Cardassian pride was...implanted and faked.

"What are you doing?" He asked in suspicion.

The Cardassian didn't respond and continued to work, however, he began to type faster when the Nautolian asked him the question.

"Stop now!" The Nautolian commander screamed, "You Cardassian scum!"

The Cardassian looked back at him and...smiled. He wagged his finger from side to side at the commander.

"I'm not a Cardassian." He said.

Suddenly, the Cardassian turned into a Founder, one of the leaders of the Dominion. The Nautolian Commander, completely confused and baffeled, watched as the Founder dissapeared in a purple Hydran transporter.

"Where did he go!?" He demanded.

The Koinian officer checked his instruments.

"He and all the Hydrans officers beamed down to the planet." He reported.

The methane atmoshphere would not affect the Founder since he didn't "breath". The Nautolian commander was about to order that he be beamed back, but a lower ranking Nautolian officer spoke.

"Commander," He reported, "We have bigger problems. I'm locked out of the computer and the self-destruct is powering up."

The equivalent of Federation red-alert sirens began to ring out. The Nautolian commander rushed towards a console and attempted to deactivate it, but there was no way to. The Changeling, probably with the help of the Hydrans, locked the Nautolians out and a countdown in the Hydran language began.

"Abandon the station!" He screamed.

-USS Kyoto, Bridge-

Ghaa Thorol, commanding officer of the Kyoto, was staring at the viewscreen with deep intensity. The Akira class starship, highly damaged, was still attempting to fight. Due to heroics of the crew of the Monarch and the Radical, they had been able to get out of that death field and enter a new one over the Hydran home world.

"Status report." The Tellarite commander ordered.

The older OPS officer checked her console, then looked back at Ghaa.

"Shields are off-line," He said in a grim tone, "And one of our torpedo tubes are too."

Ghaa slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair. The battle to take the Hydran home world had proved costly. A large Nautolian starship was blocking them from winning this battle and was picking off ships that were shieldless.

"We need to find a weak spot," He said, then looked towards tactical, "Aaron, what do you have?"

The African tactical officer checked his read out, looking over the tactical display of the large Nautolian ship.

"I'm reading only one," He said, "Their starboard section, I'm reading a key system that is rather exposed, but heavily shielded. It would take a while to break through it. Meanwhile, the fleet is attempting to hold off the other ships. I'm not sure if we can all concentrate our fire on it, while leaving ourselves exposed."

Ghaa pondered what they should do and thought about his former captain, who had died against the Nautolians when they were guarding the Romulan Neutral Zone. Ordering the entire fleet to fire at that one ship was going to be hard while everyone was fighting for their lives. It didn't seem like anyone else caught the weakness and that was probably because the Nautolians were doing a number on the task force.

"Open a channel to the Jaguar," He ordered, "We have to tell fleet admiral Ni about the weakness."

The Trill CONN officer shook her head, "I can't. That ship is attempting to jam our communications. They're trying to disrupt fleet wide orders from the fleet admiral in an attempt to force us to all work alone and disrupt our unity."

The Tellarite commander growled in frustration, angry that the Nautolians were ripping each Federation ship apart as they were leaderless. He looked back at Aaron, the chief tactical officer.

"Can we destroy it alone?" He asked.

The look on Aaron's face said it all. By now, they were probably nearly depleted on torpedoes and their phasers and shields were dying. It was doubtful a highly damaged Akira class starship could take it out. The ship shook again, roughly from a direct hit.

"Direct hit," Aaron reported, "Another one will destroy us."

Ghaa wasn't about to let their knowledge go down with the ship. This was the death of his captain all over again. How many captains died? How many captains watched their crew die? It had to end and it would with the fall of the Nautolian presence in Hydran space. He stood up and approached the CONN, causing the Trill at the station to wonder what he was doing.

"Commander?" She questioned.

He cast one sad look at his crewmates on the bridge, before hitting a single button on the console.

"Good-bye." He said as they all dissapeared.

The Tellarite sat down at the CONN and entered a series of commands into the console.

"Computer," He said, "Is the entire crew in the escape pods?

The computer beeped in affirmation of his query.

"Affirmitive." It replied.

Ghaa nodded, glad that they got to where they he had beamed them too.

"On my command," He said, "Jettison every single escape pod."

The computer beeped in acknowledgement as Ghaa continued to work. He looked up at the viewscreen, watching as the massive Nautolian ship continued to grow larger as the Akira class starship got closer.

"Now." He ordered.

The escape pods immediatly jettisoned from the ship, filling up the battle field with even more objects. He hoped the Nautolians wouldn't be cruel enough to pick them off, one by one. Although, he wouldn't put it past them. Ghaa fire the remaining torpedoes at the shielded area of the key system on the Nautolian ship. He then immediatly set a collision course with the exact spot.

"Captain," He whispered, "I'm coming to join you..."

The ship dodged incoming fire and debris, until it finally met it's mark...

-END EPISODE-

+ 10 Awesome post, the time spent is just amazing, as is the detail with the multiple people.