Deep Space Guardian: Season II-Episode 40

[Founder]

Captain's log-Stardate 58989.22

I'm displeased with recent events that have occured in the past couple of hours. While I was in the holodeck, promoting my new first officer, Ziona Andreas, I've recently discovered that several incredible events have occurred. After failing to gain information from Starfleet Intelligence, I've gone to my office and attempted to contact my old friend and second mother, T'Sa. She was a member of Starfleet Intelligence and could possibly have pull with it. I attempted to contact her on Earth, the last location that I spoke to her at. Sadly, she was no there and I have no idea where she left to.

I attempted to contact fleet admiral Ni, hoping that he could help me, but he was apparently gone from his post as well. It seemed like people were dissapearing everywhere. First Sophia and her baby, then Archer and the 5th fleet, T'Sa, and fleet admiral Ni. If that wasn't enough, Jones told me that an officer from Caprica II signaled the station and brought to the station's attention that every officer from DSG that was meant to go there, did not show up at all.

I couldn't believe that the DSG crew suddenly dissapeared so I investigated, going to the highest echelons in the Starfleet ranks. I finally spoke to a high ranking admiral that informed me that the 5th fleet had joined a Federation task force and was fighting to free the Hydrans. He also informed me of what was happening in Bajoran space with the Dominion, all of this through a very secure channel. I remembered the Bajoran liason officer stationed here, Melina Ryder. I had allowed her to leave, to fight for her home world and when I heard the news, I was glad but worried about her safety.

I had decided to go in search of my missing crewmen on the runabout, Nile, while my chief OPS officer, Derek James, attempted to located Sophia Xavier and her son. I hope that Ziona and I can locate the others before anythings happened to them and I pray that Jon is ok and will make it back to DSG.

End log.

-DSG, Captain's Office-

Ian tapped his combadge, "Xavier to all DSG senior staff. Report to the Guardian immediatly."

He realized that Ziona, Derek, and Kiris were the only senior staff officers onboard at the current moment. His chief science, astrometrics, and security officer were gone and a replacement for chief medical had yet to be chosen. Aia Shoran had left to do research on Earth. Ensign James knew that he had his task with Sophia and not to worry about reporting to the Guardian. He got up from his desk and stepped out into Ops.

-IKS G'Tarkin, Bridge-

One of N'Tran's officers noticed an incoming communique from the Federation colony. He looked at it and saw it was simply a message in text about "supplies being ready". The officer was slightly confused and activated a communications device.

"Salor to admiral Ditex," He said, "Sir, you have a message from the Federation colony."

He waited patiently for a response from his superior officer.

-IRW T'Rolis, Bridge-

"Fleet admiral Donatra actually." She said, smiling.

She stood up from her chair and did a standard Romulan greeting.

"It's good to see my bretheran still at Elerra Prime," She said, "But I thought Starfleet demanded our exile...?"

Donatra did not want to unleash a barrage of explanation on the fleet activity before he could respond.

+ 3 Good continuation with previous ep

Lord Borg

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Salara, N�Tran�s Quarters-

�and because I know what will happen I will accept the charges if I�m found out and surrender myself without question. N�Tran finished the entry he�d been working on and was greeted by a message on his screen.
"Acknowledged Lieutenant, I�ll be there shortly.� N�Tran closed the book, placed it back in the box along with his other knickknacks and replaced the hidden floor panel. He got up and walked across the floor. He stopped and looked back at his quarters. This wasn�t home. Elerra Prime wouldn�t be home either. The house was more for Laura and Kiris than for him. Although Laura would probably be its primary occupant. Kiris never liked living on the ground.
�My home died with me along ago�� N�Tran walked out of his quarters.

-DSG, Counselor�s Office-

Kiris heard the order from Captain Xavier.
�I have to go. Duty calls.� Kiris walked out not giving Emorie a chance to respond.
Once in the hall way he ran into Laura.

-DSG, Corridor-

�Mother, what are you doing here?� Laura unfolded her arms and leaned forward.
�I could ask you the same thing son.� Kiris cringed at her calling him son. It didn�t feel right when she said it although when N�Tran did he didn�t seem to mind.
�I�m sorry mother. I haven�t the time to explain.� Kiris turned to leave. He hated being rude to superior officers and his mother didn�t make any exceptions. She grabbed his arm.
��but you will explain it when you get back.� Kiris nodded.
�I promise.� Laura let him go. As he walked around the corridor he tapped his combadge.
�Lt, Ditex to Ensign Bengali. Grab your kit and meet me in engineering on the Guardian.� Kiris tapped his badge of before a response could be given.
�Computer, site to site transport. DSG Medical Level to U.s.s. Guardian, Main Engineering and place me in a uniform too.� Kiris dematerialized.

-IRW T�Rolis, Bridge-

T�Rell returned the greeting.
�Uh, yes ma�am they did but we aren�t residing on the planet. Our 28 ships have remained in orbit and decloaked at Admiral Ditex�s order.� T�Rell sighed.
�He�s been acting strange for awhile. Ordering ships to remain de-cloaked, weapons offline and now he�s building a house for his wife on the planet. It isn�t him Ma�am. It�s not the N�Tran Ditex that I remember.� T�Rell didn�t know how far Donatra�s knowledge of N�Tran went but in general N�Tran�s actions were not Romulan.

-Salara, Holochamber-

Trip had been walking for awhile. He didn�t get the purpose of this journey at first but after walking for awhile he figured it was like the journey to Al-Xim. A time to think and go over things that might be bothering oneself. Trips study of the Klingon culture had revealed that they were a culture that strongly believed in traditions and customs. The Yautja were too.

+ 5 Dilithium. Being multiple people isn't easy.

Founder

[Lord Borg]

-Starfleet Engineering Transport, T'Sas Quarters-

T'Sa shifted as she moved to leave the room, having explained what had just occured to Nicodemus. He was very understanding of the entire situation. The two agreed to talk later on at a plausible time, and then parted ways for now, both with many things to do.

T'Sa moved though the doors and turned a corner and headed down the corridor for the turbolift.

-U.S.S. Monarch, Bridge-

Archer sat there for a moment, not quite sure how to take the news. They came back for a number of around 80 starships, and left with less then 20. Archer closed his eyes for a moment and said a general prayer, not to any deity in particular, but one to give comfort to the fallen, and the family and friend of the fallen.

Archer opened his eyes, the time to mourn was later, when they were not fighting to free an entire race. Jon allowed a glance to Creed, she seemed upet.

Looking back to the viewscreen Jon opened his mouth, to give his orders.

-Hydran Space-

The Monarch came about, and picked up speed to impulse and headed back for the fleet, to fight the Nautolians. Along the way, it fired at several small enemy craft with it's phasers. When it neared a Cardassian vessel with disabled engines, the Monarch fired several shots with it's phasers and quantum torpedoes. A Defiant-Class ship flew next to the ship and fired it's pulse phasers at the Cardassian cruiser, destroying it under the pressure. Both Starfleet ships flew though the fireball, and headed to join the others, for one final push, to save the Hydrans.

-U.S.S. Nile, Cockpit-

Burns looked at the consol as she tried to hail the Gorn homeworld. No such luck, communications must have been jammed. Burns cursed silently when she remembered Cory had said something to her. Burns looked over to the young ensign and nodded quickly.

"Yes, make it so, Ensign."

-DSG, Counselors Office-

Emorie heard the annoucnment over the com and looked to Kiris. She wondered if he were to go to. However, before she could say anything, Kiris took off.

-Elerra Prime, Unknown Base-

General Jonathan Archer studied a holograpic display with several other officers while the watched the battle, and formulated a combat stratagy while the fight was happining. Thanks to Archer and his team, many battles have either been one, or came out to a stalemate.

"Watch it there," General Archer said, "There's a gap. If they see it, they'll take advantage of it, and bottle our troops in. Move the fifth battle detachment over there. Then bring the second, and ninth up to fill in the slack."

One of the officers nodded and proceded to follow orders. General Archer gave a slight sigh as he watched the fight. He suddenly heard that he was being addressed. General Archer looked up and saw that several people had just entered the room. One was one of his own officers, with two others. A man, and a woman, who was carrying... an infant!? The man was wearing a strange uniform, one the General could not remember from anyplace. The woman looked like she was dressed for bed.

"What the hell is this?"

General Archer moved over towards the strangers, he did not recognize either of them. He started to fume that an infant was here, right in the battle field.

+ 6 Dilithium. Good post. I like how the general was baffeled and disturbed by Demetrius' presence.

Founder

[Ziona]

DSG, Corridor

Ziona had sinced moved from her spot on the holodeck, making her way down a corridor on the same deck, deciding whether she wanted to get something to eat or simply return to her quarters to rest. The station seemed relatively quiet, making Ziona somewhat nervous. Usually the chaos surrounding the station was what kept her active and alert, but today, it seemed as if the station had fallen silent. A frown rippled across Ziona's lips and she stopped, mid-stride in the corridor right as Ian's voice cut through her throughts.

"Xavier to all DSG senior staff. Report to the Guardian immediately."

Ziona hesitated a moment, but only a single moment, a nanosecond at that, before rushing towards the nearest turbolift and calling for the deck where she knew the Guardian sat in wait. Something about the quiet of the station, something about her sudden calmness after meditation, something didn't make sense. She felt an urgency and a drive that she had not felt since she had returned to the station. It was as if her meditation had opened up her mind to more than one thing... letting her take control of her energy and use it towards a directed goal.

It wasn't only the fact that she had cleared her mind. It was also the fact that recently she had taken a step towards becoming something more. She had, in fact, been promoted to First Officer and now, despite her qualms and fears about how the crew might take it, she had a deeper responsibility to the crew. It wasn't only that she took care of the weapons, the tactical aspect of this station, she now had to deal with the command responsibilities. The stress that Ian felt was now partly her own. The two of them could shoulder the weight together.

With a half-smile, half-sigh, Ziona rushed towards the turbolift, calling for the correct deck. She stood, her hands clasped behind her back, her eyes leveled before her as the turbolift made its way towards the appropriate deck. Once the turbolift stopped, Ziona stepped out, headed towards the Guardian, her head raised, waiting for the next challenge the day would bring.

She was ready.

+ 6 Dilithium. The detail was wonderful and you made a post that big as one person? Good job.

Founder

[Sam Kenobi]

Elerra Prime, Governor's Mansion

After quickly contacting the aides in the home of the governor to alert them to his curtly presence, Ensign Derek James and his crew of two, Crewman Maher and Yeoman Tam, beamed to the surface just outside the building, so as not to disrupt any traces of earlier transport inside the house. He flipped open his tricorder, motioning for the others to do the same. Derek waved for them to move along into the house.

�This is pointless, Sir,� Maher muttered insubordinately. �Anything worth finding could have been detected from the station.�

Derek kept his mouth shut, cursing the crewman in his mind how he wished he had the courage to out loud. He heard Tam snicker in agreement, and bit his tongue.

There had to be something here, they had to find her somehow.

�Xavier to all DSG senior staff. Report to the Guardian immediately,� he heard, but ignored that as well. The commander knew he was down here.

Upon entering the mansion, the trio was greeted by the aide Derek had talked to in his original communication with the house. She looked distressed, asking if there was anything she could do to help. Derek shook his head.

�I don�t think so. Um�� he stuttered, not wanting to give any kid of orders. �Actually� just show us the way to the room. I rea� I mean, I hope you haven�t been in there much since we last talked. We can�t have any of the� you, the evidence being� tampered with.�

She said she hadn�t much herself, and hadn�t let any others in.

�James thinks he�s some sort of criminal investigator,� Crewman Maher mocked as he continued following the group to the room. �Like it�s some kind of thing we�ll actually sol��

Derek�s tricorder, which had been running a different scan than the other two, gave out a flurry of bleeps and he stopped, assessing the information on the device. He looked up from the tricorder to where they were standing.

�A sarium crystal trace,� he said almost to himself. He looked at Maher and Tam. �Turn off your tricorders, they�ll mess this up.�

�What?� Tam asked.

�Do it, Yeoman,� Derek replied quietly, with a slight emphasis on the man�s rank. He scans again as the other two shut their tricorders.

�Sarium crystals are what power scanning devices,� he continued. �Almost exclusively Starfleet issue tricorders .� He glanced at Zoe.

�This is where whoever it was beamed in,� he explained. �And whoever it was�� he began walking again, following the trail, �either stole a tricorder,� he took a slight breath, �or�. Or it was Starfleet personnel.�

+ 7 Dilithium. Good post. Detail was amazing, from beaming outside to not disturb the "crime scene" t othe Sarium crystals.

Founder

[ILoveHarry]

-Elerra Prime, Unknown Base-

Sofie looked around in confusion as the trio was yet again transported to a new location. An important man could be seen directing troop movements. An officer addressed to him and he turned to the triad.

"What the Hell is this," he demanded as he approached them.

From what Monroe had told Sofie, he was taking her to her former universe; The Mirror Universe. Having that knowledge, the face that bellowed was not a welcomed one for Sofie.

"Daien!" She gasped in fear. She moved just behind Monroe, again using their two bodies to shield Demetrius. With her free hand she clutches Monroe's arm. Granted, he technically was still her captor, and possibly still had it in for her. However, he had yet to seriously harm her, and by now she had begun to grow accustomed to the mans rough ways. Given the circumstances, she felt more at ease with her kidnapper than she did being exposed to these new men. Especially if the questioner was in fact the Daien Archer she had fled. This particular Archer, however, lacked the evil darkness she had always seen in Daien's eyes.

The other Jonathan Archer she knew, the kind man who had been so warm an welcoming to her, surfaced in her mind. "Jon," she questioned tentatively.

This man, however, was uniformed differently that either Archer she knew. Another thing occurred to her at that moment. Neither of her Archer's were Generals.

Still clutching Monroe's arm, she turns her face to his. "Where have you brought us?"

+ 6 Dilithium. Good post. I liked Sophia's compare and contrast of the Archers that she's known.

Founder

[Founder]

-Elerra Prime, Military Base(Parallel Universe)-

The towering figure of Jonathan Archer, general of some unknown army, had questioned their appearance. Monroe, fearful of the man's power, took a step back. Here, in this universe, he did not have Starfleet Intelligence backing him up. No, he was just some no name here. He felt Sophia's hand grip his arm and for a moment, he remembered the other Sophia Findlay. She whispered into his ear, questioning the local they were currently in.

"That's a good question." He whispered.

The young soldier took off his helmet and explained to the general.

"Sir," He said, "The Klingon vessel we detected in orbit? Apparently, they came from it. We traced the transporter signititures to them. We barely managed to save them before those squiddies got to 'em."

Monroe squinted his eyes in confusion. He had no idea just what the hell these people were talking about. He was about to interject, before the soldier pointed his weapon at Monroe.

"You better start talking," He threatened, "Or I'm gonna get trigger happy. You here me!?"

-Elerra Prime, Governor's Mansion-

The aide to the governor followed the trio of Starfleet officers in distress over the missing woman. She didn't know Sofie that well, but she knew the governor treated her like a daughter. Obviously, she had made a deep impression on him. She worried for her safety. Despite the precautions the chief of security on DSG made, Elerra Prime, Mythani included, was not the safest place. There didn't appear to be signs of struggle, so she doubted one of the wild life on the planet took her. Then, what Derek said, made her freeze in surpise.

"Starfleet?" She asked, "Why...why would you all take her?"

-USS Guardian, Main Engineering-

Bengali, carrying a small engineering kit, entered the small engineering of the Thunder class starship. He looked around to see a couple of engineers, but not many. Bengali wondered if they were sent there to repair the vessel, although according to the repair manifest, the Guardian was fully repaired and stocked.

"Lieutenant Ditex?" He called out, not seeing the man.

-IRW T�Rolis, Bridge-

Donatra gave a weak, but understanding smile to T'Rell. She slowly nodded her head, pondering what he was saying about N'Tran. Even though she didn't know him that well personally, N'Tran was a well known name amongst the Romulan elite. He had led an...interesting life to say the least. Not that Donatra knew details about it, considering he was Tal Shiar and all.

"I've found that admiral Ditex is a complicated and enigmatic figure, moreso because of his being Romulan," She said, "It's hard to try to understand him and best not to. In the end, N'Tran has found ways to be...loyal to the state."

Like Donatra, N'Tran left Romulus several months after the Tal Shiar take over by Sela. She wondered if he left out of disgust for Sela or something else? Sadly, now was not the time to ponder that. Donatra was forced to discuss different matters due to what was about to occur.

"We're here ma'am." An officer said.

Donatra nodded and looked back at T'Rell.

"I'm sorry about your friend," She said, "But there is little time and I have something to discuss."

She nodded to the officer, prompting her to activate the viewscreen. The officer looked back at her console and activated it, revealing a large Romulan base.



"When I was...forced off of Elerra Prime," She said, "I found my way here and discovered this mounting task force. We didn't give Romulus up so easily. We simply allowed the Nautolians to believe that. We're not warriors like the Klingons. We decieve and slink through the shadows and that is our greatest strength. They have no idea we've been mounting our ships here. Through cloaked vessels, we've discovered that the Nautolian Empire is in dissaray. Apparently, resistance has mounted in other locations, prompting the Nautolians to regroup. In this confusion, we've decided to attack. The group of ships that saved you? We were scanning near our home system to ascertain the military strength of the Nautolians. They obviously haven't let go of it. As you already know, Romulus is a key prize to the Nautolians what with our history. The original fleet admiral was killed...sadly. I've taken his place. Now, together, we're going to take back our home world."

She stopped, not saying anything else. The Romulan woman wanted to let the information sink in and allow T'Rell a chance to speak, before continuing.

-USS Nile, Cockpit-

The nimble runabout sped towards the home world of the Gorn. It's speed was definitly an asset, but the fire power of a Gorn vessel may prove to be too much. A warning siren rang out within the small vessel.

"Warning," The computer's voice called out, "Vessel approaching on an intercept course."

-USS Guardian, Bridge-

Ian stepped onto the bridge of the ship attached to the station. It had been quite some time since he had been aboard. He looked around the dimunitive bridge and spotted Ziona. She was sporting the commander pips on her neck, but her undershirt was still gold, rather then the red he wore. One step at a time. She probably didn't have time to change.

"Commander." Ian greeted with a smile.

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

The Sovereign class starship arrived in time to see the large Nautolian vessel explode, lighting up the entire bridge while doing so. The tiny Akira class ship was hard to see and even if they had noticed it, there was no way for them to know it was the Kyoto. Emma smiled at seeing the ship destroyed and the remaining Nautolian vessels attempt to hold the line, but failt.

"Captain," Lieutenant Cruz said from the CONN, "We're being hailed by the Jaguar."

+ 8 good post

Lord Borg

[Spellbinder Marik]

-IRW T�Rolis, Bridge-

T�Rell looked at the screen. There were ships, yards, weapons platforms and Romulan starbase. In this moment T�Rell felt that the Empire had strength again. T�Rell turned and faced Donatra. His first duty was to his friend, his brother but if he had a chance help to retake their home he wasn�t going to pass it up.
�If you don�t mind another outcast joining you I am at your disposal.�

-U.s.s. Nile, Cockpit-

Cory nodded to Burns.
�Yes Ma�am.� Cory got up from his seat and walked over to the tactical console. After accessing it he input a new code to triaxilate the shields. He walked back and resumed his spot in the co-pilots seat.
�Modifications complete.�

-G�Tarkin, Bridge-

N�Tran passed through the doors. Lt. Salor sat at the Ops console. N�Tran walked over to him.
�You rang Lieutenant?�

-U.s.s. Guardian, Main Engineering-

Kiris walked around a corner straitening his new uniform.
�I�m here Mark.� Kiris said smiling. After applying the pips to his uniform he observed his friend.
�I hate transporting into clothing. Transporter never gets it quite right.� Kiris sighed.
�I imagine you�re wondering why we�re both here. I�ll tell you. The Captain called for me to report here and I�m still not completely recovered from my condition. So, I�ll be counting on you to keep me on my toes. Think you can handle that?�

+ 4 Dilithium. Good post, nice response from T'Rell.

Founder

[Sam Kenobi]

-Elerra Prime, Governor�s Mansion-

�Starfleet?" She asked, "Why...why would you all take her?"

Derek looked up from his tricorder to the woman, not having realized his statement would make her suspicious.

�We didn�t take her, ma�am,� he answered calmly, feeling his traditional wave of discomfort with confrontation come on. �At� at� I mean� we don�t know, we�re doing the best that we can to find out what happened. Just� please try to stay calm, ok? We�re� let�s keep going.�

He felt stupid for talking, so stared down at his tricorder again, following the residual tricorder trace that led down the corridor. He tried not to allow himself time to think that someone from an institution as beloved to him as Starfleet would do something like this. His away team stayed silent too, and he silently hoped they did so because they felt the same way.

The group finally entered the room where Sophia and her child had been taken from. Derek told the others to open their own tricorders again and begin more detailed scans. Maher was to run a thermal displacement scan, Tam a molecular displacement scan, while Derek himself began a scan that he hoped would help find the transporter signature. If they were lucky, there were still some signs left.

�What are you doing now?� the woman asked. �There�s nothing here that should give you a clue.�

Not wanting to make an idiot of himself again, Derek was glad when Crewman Maher spoke up.

�I�m inclined to agree, ma�am,� he said, a direct sarcastic statement at Derek, but he went on. �But, our technology has the ability to detect traces of people and things like transporters up to even a few hours after they�ve left. Hopefully we�ve still got some time.�

Just then Maher�s tricorder beeped again. �Bingo,� he said. �Sir, I found some residual heat signatures here. They�re pretty strong, just a little over an hour old.�

�Keep that one going,� Derek said confidently, in the moment again. �Use it to estimate the species of whoever was sitting down.�

There was silence for a moment except for the tricorders. Maher finally looked up.

�Human.�

+ 6 Dilithium. Good post, detail is amazing as usual.

Founder

[Ziona]

USS Guardian, Bridge

Ziona nodded quickly over to Ian and took a few steps towards him. She bowed her head slightly to him.

"Hello, Captain." She smiled as she glanced around the bridge and then back at Ian. "Things seem to be repaired quite nicely."

With a hesitant hand, she brushed her hands over her pips on her neck and looked down at her hands as she clasped them in front of her. It was a different feeling to be standing on bridge as a commander rather than a simple tactical officer.

"What seems to be the urgency, Captain?" She finally asked, turning to look Ian straight in the eyes.

+ 1 Dilithium. Nice nod to her recent promotion.

Founder

[Lord Borg]

-U.S.S. Nile, Cockpit-

Burns looked over to Cory and nodded in aknowlegement, but quickly snapped back towards the consol when it started beeping. The computer then cried out the warning of a vessel intercepting the runabout.

"Computer, identify the vessel" Burns ordered.

-U.S.S. Monarch, Bridge-

Archer shielded his eyes from the explosion, he saw one of the Nautolian ships be destroyed. There was a moment of clairity for Jon, as he sighed.

Thank you he thought, to no one in particular.

Jon nodded to Cruz and motioned towards the screen.

"On screen, please."

-Elerra Prime, Military Base(Parallel Universe)-

General Archer watched the the entire scene with a growing fury towards the...'guest', particuarly, to the woman, with not only a poor state of dress, but the fact she had an infant with her. Jon reached out for the man who wanted nothing more then to use the people for target practice.

"That is enough, Major" Archer said harsly.

The General looked the two people over agian, especialy the woman. She certanly looked decent enough, and along with the man, there was no scars, or wounds what so ever. They definitly were not from....here.

"Alright, you two. I want answers, and I want them now"

+ 3 Dilithium. Good post and good job with the multiple people.

Founder

[Founder]

-USS Nile, Cockpit-

The computer calmly responded to Dr. Burn's question.

"Registry-unknown, class-unknown, the vessel is Gorn in origin." It explained.

-USS Guardian, Bridge-

Ian took a seat in his chair in the center of the bridge.

"Blake, Juliana, and Cory have gone missing," He explained, "I want to find them. Something's up Z...I just don't know what..."

He sat back in his seat, thinking about all the people that have gone missing. The commander surpressed a smirk when he noticed Ziona at her old post of tactical. She was still getting used to her promotion it seemed.

"Z," He said, "I want you to try and locate T'Sa. Her last known location was Terra Nova, but I hit a blank wall there."

-USS Guardian, Main Engineering-

Bengali nodded, "Yes sir, I'll do my best."

He looked around, wondering why the commander ordered the officers to the ship. This wasn't a repair job, they were leaving.

"Sir?" Bengali said, "Do you know where we're going?"

-G'Tarkin, Bridge-

The Romulan lieutenant motioned towards the small screen on the console.

"This message came in for you from the Federation colony," He said, "But I can't make sense of it, admiral. It simply says the supplies are ready and can be picked up."

-IRW T�Rolis, Bridge-

Donatra smiled, please with T'Rell's loyalty and enthusiasm.

"As a matter of fact," She said, "We have a vessel that is in need of a commanding officer."

-Elerra Prime, Governor's Mansion-

The aide frowned at the rather strange "findings" these officers continued to produce.

"Human. Starfleet," She commented, "The governor will be highly displeased about this. What am I supposed to tell him? He's going to return any day now."

-Elerra Prime, Military Base(Parallel Universe)-

Monroe looked at Sophia, then back at Archer.

"What?" He asked, "No, you explain. We have no damn idea where we even are."

He wasn't talking back out of bravado, but more of the fact that he had no idea what to tell the general. The young major backed off, as ordered by the general but kept his weapon handy.

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

The viewscreen changed to show the imagine of a bruised fleet admiral Ni. He looked tired and visibly upset.

"Captain," He said, "Good of you to join us. The battle is nearing it's end. I'm going to need you to initiate Flagship Assault."

Flagship Assault was the tactical name given when mutiple fleets united for attacks and the flagships of each fleet unite and unlease a final strike. It was risky because it caused the lead ships to be in risk, but at this point, that wasn't a problem.

+ 6 Good post

Lord Borg

[Sam Kenobi]

-Elerra Prime, Governor's Mansion-

"Human. Starfleet," the aide said, frustrated, "The governor will be highly displeased about this. What am I supposed to tell him? He's going to return any day now."

"I'm starting to wonder the same thing, James," Tam said. "What's so important about finding this woman anyway?"

"If you want to know that badly, ask Xavier," Derek said, surprised at the disdain in his own voice. He looked at the woman again. "Ma'am... like I said, please... let us go about this. Our commanding officer will deal with the governor... if it has to come to that."

Derek walked over to look at Maher's tricorder to confirm. He wasn�t shocked at the insight that whoever the kidnapper was was a human, a male now that he saw the findings for himself. He simply nodded and continued with his own scan. Tam spoke again.

�I think that must have been our guy sitting over there. I�m detecting molecular displacement all over the crib. The mother and child were over here while the kidnapper sat by and watched.�

Derek barely listened as he went over what his own scans had picked up.

�No biofilter was used in the transports. That, at least, wasn�t Starfleet issue.� He tapped a few panels on his device. �Phase transition was a little rough, it must have been an older vessel, something not as well kept up as standards prefer.�

�Sir, look at this transporter signal. There�s no where to pinpoint where it was headed anymore.�

Derek looked over. �They must have gone to a ship, who knows where that is by now,� he said as he linked the scans of the two tricorders.

�Here,� he said with another bleep of the device. �I�m getting a targeting scanner trace.� He waited a second for a scan to complete. �Detecting environmental conditions�. The interior of the ship. It looks like�� He furrowed his brow. �Klingon? What�.?�

After confirming the scan, he hit his combadge. �James to Crewman Fillion.�

The answer came back immediately. �Here, sir.�

�Give me a scan for an older Klingon vessel that� I don�t know, look like they�re up to something.� Derek tried quickly calculating in his head how far an old Klingon ship would travel in an hour or so, �A half light-year radial. That�s pushing it, but who what they�re up to.�

�Aye, sir.� There was silence for a moment. Derek glanced at his away team and the aide, hoping for the best.

�Sir,� the voice finally came, � There�s one that looks� looked kind of out of place. But it seems to have� disappeared. Not more than an hour ago, there�re still strong residual traces of temporal�no� no�.� Derek waited somewhat impatiently as the crewman decided what was going on, �Sir, there are massive phase displacements where that Klingon ship was. I don�t understand it��

Derek felt heart jump slightly when he heard the phase displacement diagnosis. He knew exactly what was wrong. He hit his conbadge twice, closing it to his subordinate and opening another channel.

�James to Xavier. Sir, I�� he pauses to take a breath. �I think they took her back to the parallel universe.�

+ 7 Dilithium. Really good post. The detail is wonderful.

Founder

[Ziona]

USS Guardian, Bridge

Ziona's forehead wrinkled in concern as she knit her eyebrows together as she listened to Ian.

"Blake, Juliana, and Cory have gone missing. I want to find them. Something's up Z."

That's all Ziona had to hear. A frown crossed her lips, darkening her eyes as she thought to herself.

"Z. I want you to try and locate T'Sa."

With a quick nod, Ziona set to work. She clenched her hands around the edge of her tactical console. She knew that she was no longer supposed to be at tactical, so with a reluctant glance back at her console, Ziona moved away from the console and headed over to a communications console where she tapped in a few commands.

"I'll find her." Ziona spoke quickly to Ian as she set to work. "I'm sure I can contact someone who might know where she is."

Ziona nodded quickly to Ian as she brought up a link to Terra Nova. There was a few beeps and then a few pauses of silence before a voice came through on the connection.

"Terra Nova, Starfleet Outpost. How may I be of service?" A female voice came through crystal clear on the connection.

"This is Lt. Commander Ziona Andreas of the Deep Space Guardian. I need to be patched through to a Mr. Nicodemus Thiandrus. I believe he resides on your planet." Ziona waited in silence as she listened for the response.

"Mr. Thiandrus... of course." The woman responded. "If you please, give me a few moments to patch you through. I'm not sure if anyone is up at the Thiandrus' compound at the moment but I'm sure he will get back to you as soon as possible, Commander Andreas."

Ziona nodded quickly before responding with a curt "thank you." There was another few counts of silence followed by a click of static and then a voice came through the other end.

"Thiandrus' compound. Nicodemus speaking." There was a few counts of silence.

"Mr. Nicodemus Thiandrus, this is Ziona Andreas from the Deep Space Guardian. I need to speak with T'Sa. Is she there with you?" Ziona awaited his answer.

"No, I'm afraid she is not, Miss Andreas. I apologize. Is something wrong?" The man seemed genuinely concerned.

"We just need to locate her, Mr. Thiandrus. It's urgent but not anything to worry yourself over. Do you know where she was last seen or located?" Ziona leaned against the console as she listened.

"No, but I do have the last transmission I had from her. Would that help at all?" Nicodemus hit a few buttons on his console to bring up the information.

"It might help, yes." Ziona answered. The information was already being patched through to her. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Thiandrus. We will try and keep you updated." With that Ziona shut down the connection and began analyzing the information coming from the console. She was no communications officer, that was for sure. She'd need help with this one.

+ 8 Dilithium. Great post, nice job and good read.

Founder

[Spellbinder Marik]

-U.s.s. Guardian, Main Engineering-

Kiris shrugged.
�I�m not sure where we�re going but we will do our jobs.� Kiris turned to a console, input his engineers authorization to unlock the interface lockout. The panels all around the room lit up. Kiris turned back to Bengali.
�Prepare for the worst but hope for the best.�

-G�Tarkin, Bridge-

N�Tran looked at the screen. After a moment he leaned back.
�Thank you Lieutenant. I�ll have to go and pick up my order.� N�Tran slapped the young man on the back.
�I want you to take a break Lieutenant. Word has it you�ve been sitting here since we landed. Get a meal and some sleep.� N�Tran walked off the bridge.

-IRW T�Rolis, Bridge-

T�Rell listened as Donatra told him they had a ship that lacked a commanding officer. He�d lost two ships under his command. A good officer and an Admiral as T�Rell was didn�t generally lose a ship. Although, if a ship lacked a commander to establish order, to provide someone to look up to and one was available he shouldn�t refuse.
�Point me to it Admiral.�

+ 4 Dilithium. Good post. N'Tran is nice to his crew!

Founder

[Founder]

-USS Guardian, Bridge-

Junior officers began to pile into the ship, taking their places onboard the vessel. Ian had ordered Jones to watch DSG as he prepared to locate his missing crewman. T'Sa had no connection to the trio of missing officers on the Nile, but she damn well could help with Sophia Xavier and Starfleet Intelligence. He watched as Ziona worked to try and locate T'Sa. Ian was going to attempt to help her as she looked somewhat confused or busy with the work. His combadge chirped and ensign James prevented him from assisting.

�James to Xavier. Sir, I�� He said. �I think they took her back to the parallel universe.�

Ian's eyes shot open in shock at the report. He couldn't believe it. Derek didn't have to say which parallel universe, he knew it was the one. Ian had hoped that he would never have to set foot their again. He wondered why anyone would take her back there.

"Ensign James," Ian said, after tapping his combadge, "Can you say that you're 100% sure about that? What's you're proof?"

It wasn't that Ian doubted the officer or his abilities. Despite his young age, he seemed highly intelligent. However, this was too big to go off of on a whim.

-G'Tarkin, Bridge-

The lieutenant looked confused by the general courtesy from his superior officer. He was so used to being talked down to by his superiors or usually ignored.

"Yes...admiral." He said as N'Tran left.

He fathomed just where it was he could go.

-USS Guardian, Main Engineering-

Bengali smiled and pointed his finger at Kiris, "Good motto. I'll have to remember that."

He looked around engineering, watching it as it filled up with about a dozen or so engineers. This was definitly not about repairs and it seemed like perhaps they were going somehwere. It wasn't a test run seeing as it was usually the chief of engineering that called for that. Bengali had a bad feeling they were going to battle. However, now was not the time for his fears.

"Sir," He said to Kiris, "I think it maybe prudent if we looked into the phaser output. I know ships this small don't really have the strongest power, but I was thinking about the newly installed phasers."

-IRW T�Rolis, Bridge-

Donatra nodded and motioned towards the officer that led him T'Rell to the bridge.

"See to it he gets to his ship." She ordered.

Before T'Rell walked out, she spoke.

"T'Rell," She said, calling him by his name, rather then his rank, "I do want you to know that...we may not come back from this battle."

Donatra was an officer of the Romulan military, but certainly not as strict as some other admirals in the fleet. She believed in loyalty to the state, but only so far. It's what made her somewhat controversial and did contribute to her exile. She had trusted a Starfleet crew before and would do so again if the situation called for it. However, she was loyal to the state and would die for Romulus. She simply wanted to make sure that the other officers within the fleet knew about how serious this operation was.

+ 4 Good Post

Lord Borg

[Spellbinder Marik]

-U.s.s. Guardian, Main Engineering-

Kiris nodded.
�Good idea. We wouldn�t want our legs to fall from under us at a critical moment.� Kiris reached under a console and pulled up an engineering kit.
�I�ll give you a hand.�

-Elerra Prime, Federation Colony, Office Building-

N�Tran transported to the colony and entered the building where he�d spoken with that Starfleet officer not long ago. N�Tran stopped at the desk.
�Pardon me, but I was informed that my order had come in?�

-IRW T�Rolis, Bridge-

T�Rell listened closely to the words of his fellow Admiral. She was wise but hadn�t seen as much combat as T�Rell and N�Tran. He knew every time he entered battle there was a chance he wouldn�t leave it.
�If my death means Romulan children will grow up free people than it is a small price to pay.�

+ 2 Dilithium. It ain't easy being several people.

Founder

[ILoveHarry]

-Elerra Prime, Parellel Universe-

Sofie noticed the General look her at her for a lingering moment. Again she wishes Monroe had let her grab a robe before the forced departure. She takes a step closer to Monroe as if to shield herself from the stares she was recieving.

"Be nice," she urged him at his sharp responce to the General.

She turns her pleading eyes to the newest Archer. "Our presence here was not planned, Sir. We're from... that is I believe we are from an alternate reality... or perhaps even a differant time."

[Valathous]

~ Back Room, USS Nile, Gorn Space ~

Blake ignored the red alert for a good half an hour now as he continued to read the information that began to make sweat fall from his brow. He had received a transmission from an operative who had gained the knowledge that Blake had been on board the Nile en-route to a conference. He wished to discuss the matter with Blake when he arrived between meetings and wished Blake to be well versed in the situation before hand. Being an officer on Deep Space Guardian, the outskirts of the Federation, information tended to reach them a little later than most.

Blake's eyes shot back and forth across the padd as he continued to scroll down quickly as he read the information on the padd. It included all of the information that Section 31 had attained about Deep Space Nine and Bajor being claimed from the Nautolians. The padd said claimed rather than reclaimed as the force that had done it was none other than the very same power that had engulfed the Alpha Quadrant in war not long ago, the Dominion...

Blake wished he could have been a factor in the Dominion war, however he had only been 22 when it ended. He had been involved as a low ranking officer on board some ships that got involved in the wars but from his position he never really felt as if he had been involved. Now they were back and had already claimed territory. Some reports offered the suggestion that the Dominion were actually helping the Federation but Blake was highly skeptical. A species doesn't tend to go from one's biggest enemy to bailing them out in a losing war when only a small amount of time and limited contact between the two species had passed since the end of the war.

Were they coming back to take advantage of all of the species weak and in disarray due to the Nautolian war? Even the Nautolians themselves? They built ships quickly enough to do it along with only needing to clone their soldiers rather than trained them through an academy...

Blake's heart rate increased slightly as he read through the information that had been sent to him before their comm-lines were closed by the Nautolians and Blaw Claw of the Gorn. He continued to flick his eyes back and forth across the information quickly as he pondered the consequences should the Dominion decide to attack the Federation. The Federation did not have the power to withstand the Nautolians and the Dominion, even if the Dominion were fighting the Nautolians, too. If the Dominion attacked... The Federation would fall...

Blake, finished with the padd, threw it against the wall in anger and watched as it broke. He placed his head in his hands for a moment as he slumped against a wall for a second before standing up with the mentallity that there was a chance they were helping and would be a force to push the Nautolians out and defeat Fito... But Blake and his mind producing the worst-case scenarios couldn't get past the idea that the Dominion may be coming through with the purpose to conquer the already weakened Alpha Quadrant.

Blake decided that he could no longer put off ignoring the red alert of the Nile given that he was the ranking officer on the mission, no matter how good or bad the information he had just received was. All the reports did claim that the Dominion was helping, but that was not within their nature and Section 31 held it at the utmost urgency. Blaker walked out of the back of the shuttle and towards the cockpit after wiping his slightly sweaty brow with his sleeve.

~ Cockpit, USS Nile, Gorn Space ~

Blake reached the cockpit only a few seconds later and looked at the crew. He knew they'd wish to know why it was he had been in the back despite the red alert so he put on a slightly frazzled expression, which, given what he'd just read, wasn't that hard.

"I apologize... I was lost in a list of casualty reports. I recently lost some old friends of mine, apparently..." Blake trailed off, sounding slightly saddened while still maintaining his commanding composure, "What's the situation?" he asked to any of them, calmly.

+ 9 Dilithium. Excellant post. Blake's reaction to the Dominion coming back was good.

Founder

[Ziona]

Guardian, Bridge

Ziona continued working with the information she had been given by Nicodemus. It didn't give her much but she thought she might be able to trace the call to the ship where T'Sa was at. However, her attempts were being seemingly negated due to the probability that T'Sa was a great deal away from her at the moment. A frustrated sigh escaped Ziona's lips.

With a few more keystrokes, Ziona narrowed it down to obviously a vessel. So, T'Sa was mobile. They now knew that much. From what Ziona could tell, the signal was no longer active, meaning that more than likely it was a refreshing signal that would change coding every once and awhile to deal with security. This led Ziona to believe she was aboard a military or Starfleet vessel. With a small smile Ziona continued her work. At least things were getting closer to being figured out.

A few more moments of waiting and deciphering told Ziona that T'Sa was, in fact, near or around the Alpha quadrant, close to the Beta quadrant as well. With a sigh and a lightbulb dinging on over Ziona's head, Ziona configured that T'Sa was on her way to Earth. What else would she be doing in that specific location?

She turned to tell Ian the news...

+ 6 Dilithium. Good detail in finding T'Sa.

Founder

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Salara, Holochamber-

Trip continued to walk along. He stopped and activated his infrared vision and locked around. He saw nothing. He changed vision modes. His �tech� vision also revealed nothing. He switched to a vision mode the Yautja used when dealing with cold-blooded beings. Then he saw it on the ground before him. He switched back to normal vision and shined a light on it.

This creature was unfamiliar. There wasn�t anything like it on the Yautja home world. He approached the creature and extended his hand. The creature leapt forward and buried its fangs in the bare flesh of his hand. Trip pulled back but the creature lifted with his hand. He tried shaking it loose. It wouldn�t let go. He activated his wrist blades and slashed the creature to pieces. He pulled the head off of his hand and threw it to the ground. His wrist computer began to send out a signal especially tuned to the hearing range of the Yautja. A special feature so if it went off during a hunt the prey wouldn�t be alerted to the hunters presence.

Trip opened his wrist com. It indicated the creature had pumped some kind of poison into his blood. He wasn�t afraid in the slightest. The Yautja were immune to most forms of poison. After closing his wrist come he continued on his journey.

+ 3 Dilithium. Cool fact about the Yautja are immune to most poisons.

Founder

[Lord Borg]

-Starfleet Engineering Transport, Corridor-

T'Sa moved though the corridor, heading to the turbolift. It would seem, that no one could do anything with out checking in with her for some reason. Despite the fact Conrad knew just as much, if not more then T'Sa knew. With a sigh, T'Sa pressed the button to call for the turbocar.

"Promise me you'll be careful, T'Sa"

T'Sa squinted as she remembered those words from Nicodemus a short time ago. It was... differnt, someone showing that sort of concern, at least openly. Well, someone that she hadn't called her family, like Ian, or Thomas, or someone else in the Xavier family.

The sound of the doors hissing open inturpted T'Sas' thoughts as she shook her head to clear it. Almost reluctently, T'Sa entered the turbolift, and suddenly thought of the station, DSG. How was Ian, and Ziona? She wondered how Ian was doing in particular due to his recent troubles.

-U.S.S. Nile, Cockpit-

Burns winced at the computers report. However, it could be intercepting due to a border incursion. Although, it was likely one of the ships the Starfleet vessel just went to fight.

Burns gasped when she heard Blake speak. She looked him over slightly, taking note of the mans appearence, it seemed as if he read something rather distressing. Looking back to the consol, and trying to make a scan, Burns explained everything to Blake.

"Computer, is the Gorn vessel's weapons armed?"

-Elerra Prime, Military Base(Parallel Universe)-

The General looked over to Monroe. He had no idea how the man could not know what was going on. However, if what his men told him about the Klingon ship was true, then perhaps he really had no idea what was going on.

"Well, for starters, you are in a cmbat zone. That has to be obvious. I would also imagine you have seen what we are fighting."

-U.S.S. Monarch, Bridge-

Archer noticed the Admiral's condition. Jon nodded slowly, understanding his orders. He regereted going back into the other battle field to save some ships, and 'abandon' the other fleet.

"Understood, Admiral. The Monarch will be ready. Let's give these people a lesson they have more then earned."

Jon looked over to Creed.

"Emma," he said, dropping formalities. If he was going to die, he wasnt going to die calling his officers by rank. "Send word to the ships, we're going into flagship assult."

+ 5 Dilithium. Good post and nice job with the various people.

Founder

[Sam Kenobi]

-Elerra Prime, Governor's Mansion-

"Ensign James," Derek heard Xavier state after a moment, "Can you say that you're 100% sure about that? What's you're proof?"

Derek closed his eyes in embarassment, realizing he had gotten swiftly carried away to a conclusion. He ignored a snicker from one of his away team members who had heard the commander's inquiry. But it had to be. What else could explain the disappearance of the ship she had been taken to?

"Not... no, not.... not a hundred percent, Commander," he finally stuttered out. He began to leave the room so he could speak in private out in the hallway.

"All the signs point to it, though. She... I mean, they, whoever is was... Starfleet, someone from Starfleet. I think. A man, human man. And... and then he took her to a Klingon vessel, sir. I've got... got a guy up on the station. He says they're detecting massive... you know, huge phase displacements where this ship was supposed to be, where it was travelling, then it just... it disappeared."

He pauses for a second to catch his breath, realizing in the same moment everything he had just rattled off and how incoherent it must have sounded to the commander, to someone who didn't have all the information he and his team had just found. Had he jumped to a conclusion? He decided, though, to stick to his wits that this was what happened.

"Anyway, sir," he finally said. "Not a hundred percent. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... I should have been sure before I contacted you."

+ 4 Dilithium. Good detail, good read.

Founder

[Founder]

-USS Guardian, Bridge-

The Thunder class vessel was still in space dock, preparing to leave with the captain's orders. Ian was standing next to Ziona, listening to Derek explain his reasoning. He felt bad for the young officer. In a way, Derek was a lot like Juliana when she first started. Young, nervous, but an able Starfleet officer indeed. He tried to weigh in what the officer was saying. Very slowly, it began to piece together for Ian. A human, presumambly Starfleet officer, had been in Sophia's quarters in the governor's mansion. It had to be director Monroe. That is too big of a coincedence. Monroe was searching for her and suddenly he and Sophia have gone missing? Starfleet Intelligence took her, without a doubt Ian knew that. However, he didn't understand one thing: the Klingon vessel. How were the Klingons mixed up in all of this? It seemed that the rabbit's hole continued to get deeper and both Ian and James were tumbling down it. He looked at Ziona for a moment, trying to think of what the next step was. So far, what he had was Starfleet Intelligence taking Sophia back to the mirror universe and a Klingon ship. How did that all connect? What reason did they have to take her back? He wondered if this had to do with the whole Merik debacle and if they were essentially "deporting" her back to her own universe in fear of Sophia being in league with Merik. Again, it didn't explain why Klingons were involved. No matter what Ian guessed, he was tossed back to square one. On top of that, he had other missing crewmen to find. This was impossible. He had to break it down, step by step. First thing is first, finding out why Starfleet Intelligence took her.

"Ensign," Ian said, "Stand by."

He looked back at Ziona, who looked like she had something to say but was politely waiting for Ian to finish.

"Got anything Z?" He asked.

-USS Guardian, Main Engineering-

Bengali led to Kiris to the nearest phaser coil and attempted to work on giving a slight boost to the phaser output. Unfortunately, that would possibly burn it out. He looked up at Kiris, gently placing a tool down.

"People have been tense around the station," He said, "Ever since that Nautolian ship came to attack us."

-IRW T�Rolis, Bridge-

Donatra smiled, "My sentiments exactly."

With that, she took a seat on the bridge and went over additional reports, while T'Rell was led to his new vessel.

-Elerra Prime, Office Building-

The Human administrator eyed the Romulan for a moment and then looked at a PADD.

"Ah yes," He said, "Mr. Ditex. The station approved the materials and beamed them down. Where would you like them beamed to?"

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Emma nodded and relayed the orders that Archer had given. Several nearby ships broke away from the Sovereign class starship. Four other ships, a Galaxy, Defiant, Ambassador, and Excelsior class starships moved to join the only Sovereign within the mixed fleet, surviving one at least, into flagship assault. The vessels raced towards one of the remaining Nautolian ships and unleashed a barrage of phaser, torpedoe, and pulse phaser fire. The ship, unable to content with it, exploded in a ball of fire.

"That's one down." Emma reported, uncessarily.

-Elerra Prime, Military Base(Parallel Universe)-

Monroe nodded to the four star general, but was unsure of what to respond with. Sophia pressed him to be "nicer" but he was unable to find the words. The major eyed them, curiously and listened to the response that Sophia gave. Alternate reality?

"Then I take it you don't know about the war?" He asked.

Monroe shook his head, not understanding a word any of them were saying. The major approaced a console and punched in a series of codes. He explained as he continued his work.

"In...this universe," He explained, "A scientest named Carol Marcues affected an eco-system through a project she created: Project Genesis. She was attempting to terra form worlds, but her project backfired. Unfortunately, she chose the wrong world. Her project had an adverse affect on an insect there that bred these....insects we're fighting now."

He activated an image on the screen.



"We call those "Empress" because they lay eggs," He explained, "They're the "queen" insects, but...bigger. Funny enough, it all began with tiny insects that hyper-evolved from the Genesis Project. Some of them still are due to the larger insects spreading their poison into this eco-system. They've spread from world to world, quadrant to quadrant. They won't stop until we're all dead."

-USS Nile, Cockpit-

The computer responded, "Affirmative."

The Gorn vessel began to catch up to the runabout...

+ 8 Good post

Lord Borg

[Ziona]

Guardian, Bridge

Ziona turned to look at Ian and nodded quickly.

"Yes, infact, I have an idea as to where T'Sa is at this moment or... at least where she is headed. I called Mr. Nicodemus Thiandrus on Terra Nova and he had spoken with her just a while ago. Through the transmission he sent me, I was able to track T'Sa to some sort of military or Starfleet vessel due to the encoding on the signal. I've also managed to track her to somewhere within the Alpha Quadrant, close to the Beta Quadrant as well. There's only one thing out there that I can see as T'Sa's destination. Earth."

Ziona paused a moment to regroup her thoughts.

"I'm not quite sure what vessel she's on. Due to the security encryptions, I'm not allowed nor capable of cracking the entire coding. If I did, there might be dire consequences for myself and any officers who decided to start hacking into Starfleet or military based information system."

There was another pause from Ziona as she awaited Ian's answer. With a hopeful smile and a little sigh Ziona tried to comfort the captain.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Ian. T'Sa... well, she's resilient."

Earth, Marine Headquarters

Field Marshal Andreas sat in his office, holding a pen between his fingers as he watched a display flash across the screen of his console. It showed a large map of all the Marines and their locations across Earth and within a few other locations. It was a vast map and Andreas sighed, putting the pen down and rubbing his temples. This was going to be a bigger project than he thought.

"Field Marshal." A younger officer walked into the room, saluted, and then waited for Andreas to give him permission to speak. The permission was granted in a quick wave of the Field Marshal's hand as he got up to get something to drink. "We've sent out a distress call to all Marines to return to Earth immediately and regroup, sir. Everyone should be back at base within the next two or three days."

"Very well." Andreas spoke, pouring himself a glass of old-fashioned gin. "I guess two or three days will have to do. It doesn't look like anyone can move any faster." Andreas nodded curtly to the young Marine. "Thank you." With that, he waved his hand again to dismiss the young man, who scurried out of the office as quickly as he could.

Andreas took a seat again behind his desk, sighing heavily as he sipped on his drink and reviewed the map again. His task, given to him by the Marine Headquarters Board, was to regroup all Marines in order to send backup to the war being fought with the Hydrans and Bajorans. It seemed like a mission that might never be won, what with everyone scattered this way and that across the galaxy and tossed helter-skelter to the stars in ways that never should have happened.



If it hadn't been for his capture, his tie-up at DSG and all his own mish-mashing of interests, Andreas might have never let the Marines fall to such disarray. But, in fact, he had let his mind wander and now this was the predicament he was in. Another sigh escaped his lips as he realized the daunting task he had before him. He would be incharge of a good number of souls marching towards war. If he did succeed, a good majority would come home... alive, hopefully. If he failed, a good number would come home... dead. Not exactly an option he wanted.

But the terrain of the war was rough. The Hydrans lived on a planet filled with methane and although the Marines had the gear to combat such vile atmospheres, it would be a disadvantage. Andreas hoped, of the two locations, they were sent to Bajoran and not to fight the Hydrans. Of course, he wouldn't be in the heat of the battle. He'd be safe, for the most part, hovering over some planet on a battle cruiser, waiting to give orders or order retreat. Either way, Andreas was almost always guarenteed a way home, be it through some hidden vessel that he hopped right before the ship went down, or via a victory parade ending in a large celebration at home.

It sort of disturbed Andreas that the whole point of the Marines was to guard the security and safety of Earth and the general population of allies with Earth and Starfleet. It was also in the Marine officers duty to protect the Field Marshal. He had seen countless Marines give their lives for him when all he was was an old man who's life hardly meant anything compared to the young men who'd died for him. If, in the grand scheme of things, there were a god and judgement was exacted, Andreas almost felt CERTAIN that he was destined for some fire and brimstone place, simply for the fact that so many men had gone to war and died, simply because Andreas said so.

He didn't have reason to send so many young men to their deaths, but he did it anyway. Maybe his excuse was 'it was his job'. But wasn't his job also to protect humanity? To save lives not take them? That was the ultimate meaning of humans... to protect each other and save humanity as a whole. He was one of those lucky few that went against the trend. Andreas wasn't a religious man, he didn't believe in gods and forces controlling everyone's moves like puppets. But he did believe in justice and, ultimately, he was sure justice would find him.

With a tired sigh, Andreas switched off the console before him, sat back and shut his eyes. An image of his daughter and wife suddenly flashed before his eyes and he sighed heavily at that. He wondered where Ziona was, if she was safe, and if this crazy war was heading right towards her...

+ 10 Dilithium. Great post. I enjoyed the point of view of Alexander.

Founder