Star Trek: Federation's End

An update

2007-11-26T00:38:00.001+13:00

We are currently reviewing the timeline of this project, and once we have revised it according to how we wish to proceed, we will then revise what's already been written.

The initial goal is to 'get it right' in accordance with how the story is planned to proceed. Then we will start writing.

If you wish to be involved, please contact me to let me know how you wish to be involved. At this stage we are probably not going to require as many people as we thought we would. The less there is, the better.

This project will be a collaborated effort by the authors of Captain Jim Hawkins and Duo Maxwell.

Thank you for your interest.

9 - Finding allies

2006-03-29T10:57:00.000+12:00

Jim wandered up the corridor, drinking a glass of coke as he looked at the PADD in his hand. He was on his way to Stellar Cartography, having arranged to meet Captain Aldous and Duo there. The information on the PADD concerned some of the upgrades to the Scorpion, that Aldous had supplied him with. Fascinating stuff, he was thinking. Nano technology to assist the ship in repairing itself, which he could see coming in quite handy with the ablative armour that replaced some of the outer hull.

The phase cloak, of course, was probably the most fascinating. Unfortunately, that upgrade had been done by the Sernaix Ship Mind some months previous, and he had ensured that no information about it was left on the ship's computers. Trying to reverse engineer it would be next to impossible, and so understanding how it actually worked didn't seem likely. Jim was happy, however, that the navigational sensors were also modified so that they could continue to navigate effectively while being out of phase with the universe.

He nodded in satisfaction when he saw that a whole aspect of the nano-repair facilities were devoted to the phase cloak. It could be repaired and maintained without any of the crew needing to do anything., which was essential considering their circumstances.

That reminded him. The crew. He stopped, and looked up. The corridor was bare. There was only the faint sound of the ship humming to itself. He shook his head, and kept walking, pocketing the PADD and taking another mouthful of his drink. It was still hard to accept that this ship which normally had a crew of over 800, was running fine with only two physical bodies on board, and a holographic captain.

He turned a corner in the corridor and entered the door that opened into Stellar Cartography, seeing Duo already there and talking to Captain Aldous.

"It's actually got the same kinda nano-regeneration that th' ship's got," Duo said exitedly, clearly enthusiastic about whatever he was talking about. Aldous was listening patiently, with a mixture of amusement and mild interest.

"Th' Berserker's never been as powerful as it is now, 'course it's still no match for anythin' more than Scouts an' fighters an' stuff like that, but with some of th' technology you've got here I could make a lot of improvements, ya know?"

"And just how are you going to do that without a maintenance crew to help?" Aldous asked, nodding a greeting at Jim and then looking back at Duo.

Duo looked stumped for a few seconds, he hadn't thought about actually doing any upgrades, the simple concept of them had kept his imagination far too busy for that. "You can help me," He eventually said lightly, shooting a grin at Jim, "an' th' nano-bots can be programmed t' lend a hand, too."

Jim gave him a pained look. "I can help you? Sorry, I've got other things to do. If you can't rig up the systems yourself, you'll have to shelve the idea."

"I'll find a way, don't you worry 'bout that." Duo replied, turning to look at the map displayed three-dimensionally in front of them. "So, as I was sayin' before I got distracted," He highlighted a small system located on the edge of Klingon space, "th' third planet in this system is th' last place I saw Hetfield. It'd make sense t' start searchin' there."

Jim frowned, and moved over to the console. "Computer, run a search against all Federation communications logs for any mention of Major James Hetfield over the past 12 months."

"Acknowledged," the computer replied, and began its search.

"He might have popped up somewhere since then," Jim explained, glancing at Duo.

"I wouldn't be suprised," Duo agreed, then frowned. "Ya know it could take months t' find him, out here. He could've gone anywhere by now, if he's even still alive an' active."

The computer beeped, finishing its search. Jim pressed some buttons on the console, and three star systems were shown in front of them. They were shown in 3D, courtesy of the holographic systems in the room that was used to generate star fields and planetary systems from the databases. One of the systems subtly flashed three times. "That's where Hetfield was last noted, two months ago. Narendra III." Jim frowned. "Narendra III?" He looked at Aldous, who also looked surprised.

"What's on Narendra III?" Duo asked, he'd never heard of it but by the looks on Aldous and Jim's faces, it probably wasn't a good place to be.

They both looked at Duo in surprise. Jim grinned. "I always knew you slept through your Starfleet Academy training," he said. "Narendra III is a Klingon outpost. In 2344 it was destroyed by four Romulan Warbirds - the Battle of Nirandra III. The Enterprise-C had responded to its' distress signal, but was also destroyed in the battle."

"Due to the Enterprise's sacrifice," Aldous said, continuing Duo's impromptu history lesson, "The Klingons considered it an act of honour and signed a new peace treaty with the Federation."

"Oh," Duo replied, a vague recollection of a boring lecture hall somewhere filtering into his mind, "I remember now... but why would he wanna go there? It's kinda high-profile for a hidin' place."

"Well, it's not really that high profile," Jim said. "It's been abandoned for the past 40 years, ever since it was destroyed by the Romulans. Its significance is only historical." He frowned again, having thought of something else. "For Hetfield to be within the Klingon Empire though, he's probably receiving Klingon support."

"That's not suprisin'," Duo nodded, "I bet there's lots of Klingons that're pretty upset about not fightin' th' EGR."

Jim chuckled. "I think that's a bit of an understatement."

"I'll set course for Narendra III then," Aldous said. Jim nodded, and Aldous's holographic image disappeared as he returned to the virtual representation of the Scorpion, inside the ship's computers.

Duo frowned at where Aldous had been standing for a moment, then turned to Jim. "If we find Hetfield there, where d' we go next?" He asked lightly, "three people, two minds, a ship an' a mech isn't exactly an armada. We're gonna need a lot more power than this, really, a lot more."

"Well, according to one of these reports," Jim said, looking at one of the communications logs, "Hetfield is likely to be leading a small mercenary group, with two modified Runabouts." He looked back up at Duo. "That gives us some extra men, probably marines like him."

He looked back down at the console and pressed a few other buttons, bringing up another display in front of them. It was the head and torso of a woman wearing a Starfleet Intelligence uniform. She was blonde, with her long hair tied back in a pony tail, and with her startling blue eyes, could be considered by most humans to be very attractive. "Know her?" Jim asked.

"Sutor, Sumon, Sutton, somethin' like that..." Duo said, frowning, "I remember that I don't like her very much."

Jim grinned again. "Alexi Sutton. And not many do like her. In fact, I think the only ones that probably would are the ones who think she's dead." He pressed another button and parts of her record scrolled past next to her picture. "She was the sector chief for Starfleet Intelligence, based at Starbase Praetor. Scorpion Fleet. You remember the fleet?"

"Yeah," Duo nodded, it seemed like years ago that they had been based at Starbase Praetor, in Scorpion fleet. "I don' really see why we need her. If ya need an Inteligence officer I'm pretty sure we could get someone that's way less of a pain in th' ass," He said lightly.

"It's not that we need an Intel officer," Jim replied. "She's on the run as well, and her resourcefulness - and resources - could be of use to us."

"Mmm," Duo said, "I guess any help is good help, when it comes down t' it. D' we know where she is?"

"The most recent information is 8 months old," Jim said. "She was talking to a known member of the Orion Syndicate. Since then, she's disappeared."

"Orions?" Duo frowned, "so we can prob'ly buy any information they've got about her, but dealin' with them is gonna be like advertisin' where we are an' what we're doin'." He paused, running a hand through his hair and sighing softly. "They're sure t' sell information 'bout us t' anyone who'll pay for it, It's a pretty big risk t' take."

"A risk I'm not that interested in taking," Jim said, nodding his head. "Come on, let's go do something worthwhile. Like eat."

"Sounds like a plan t' me," Duo grinned, he still hadn't quite recovered from his many months on ration packs and consequently, he spent half his time eating. "I think I wanna try somethin' new t'day, somethin' spicy."

Pressing a button to shut down the holo-displays of starmaps and planetary systems, they left the now darkened room.

To be continued...

8 - Late Departures

2006-03-01T00:45:00.000+13:00

Gevran stared out of the window at the expanse of gardens below, a verdant wonder maintained even in the press of summer heat by devoted gardeners and maintenance workers, the sculpture displays changed regularly every weekend.

He hated it. Hated the heat, hated the humidity, hated the constant press of reports and paperwork and the stress. Day after day he had to condense the accumulated scientific work of the Federation into single page notifications for the President and the council; all the wonders, all the struggles and discoveries passing him by as he tried to translate the cutting edge of the wonders of sentient discovery into a two paragraph sound-bite for desk-bound former fighter pilots and ex-lawyers to try and digest.

“You appear harried today, Mr Torm.” President Spock’s quiet tone cut through the open space of the Council chamber easily, turning him slowly away from the vista.

“Why should today be any different, Mr President?” He asked, with as much of a wry smile as he could managed. Somewhere deep in his stomach something flared – it happened too often these days – but apart from the slight wince he ignored it, and handed across the PADD. “The science report, sir. I direct your attention, particularly, to the agricultural advances listed from Starbase Nineteen. It would appear to offer a solution to some of the problems on the Carolis cluster colony worlds – the high solar activity there shows no signs of abating.”

Spock nodded, accepting the PADD – Gevran had no doubts it would be read thoroughly at some later point in time.

“And other occurrences, Mr Torm? Is all well.” Gevran sighed, slumping as much as leaning against the wall. “You understand the need for this, Gevran.” Spock told him – he knew he must be showing the strain if the President was resorting to calling him by his first name.

And he was right – logical as always. That the EGR had spies and plants and moles in the Federation was given, and that they should be targeting the Intelligence infrastructure was a logical supposition.

So the President had turned other minds to the same task. Certainly, the science departments had their own leaks, but spies in science departments were looking for scientific information to divulge, not political, socio-economic… not Intelligence.

It had all seemed so sensible when he’d said it – it still did – but the reality of day after day of subterfuge and sneaking, lying to people and hiding truths took its toll on Gevran. Experience had taught him that his actions could mean life or death for people in war – he’d never leant to choose between a few deaths and many, though. He’d been passed over for his own command for reasons such as that, and slowly drifted towards the diplomatic core where he could justify all his actions with the understanding that he was always trying to avert conflict, always trying to save lives.

A prominent time on the Federation Ethics Commission had followed, a rewarding placement, and then the call to be the President’s Scientific Advisor to the Federation Council. It was as high a calling as a science officer could hope to achieve, or so he’d thought.

Closet promotion to the President’s Personal Advisor on Federation Security hadn’t been what he’d expected.

He just nodded, acquiescing to the President’s comments.

“We lost the Tsiolkovsky.” He managed, handing over another PADD with the details of the cloaked scout vessel. “Captain Donat initiated the self-destruct mechanism before the vessel was captured. There were no survivors.”

“Not an unexpected event.” What more could you expect from a Vulcan?

“They were able to convey a few pieces of information – it would appear that Admiral Pe’chenza is seeking information on the Q-continuum.”

“A general enquiry, or a response.”

“Unclear, so far.”

“Very well.”

“And… Argolis Seven has decided to declare its independence… the planetary Governors mean to announce their intent to stand against the Republic.” This time the President’s face did flicker, for a moment: a planet of dead Federation citizens disturbed even the most tranquil of minds.

“I was aware of this through... regular channels. You have made arrangements?”

“Yes, Sir. The Charybdis has been despatched to watch the Republic’s response…”

“We can do nothing.” The President reassured him, as much as he could.

“Again.”

“You would act, Mr Torm? You have a plan you wish to table?”

“No.” he admitted, passing the second PADD across. “No plan. Just frustrations and anxieties.”

“You should consider taking a sabbatical, I found mine particular reaffirming.”

“Indeed.” The comment struck Gevran as slightly odd, but the conversation moved on before he could remark upon it.

“Has there been any luck with tracing Captain Aldous or the Scorpion?”

“One unconfirmed report from Delvin seven that seems unlikely – the ship isn’t completely refitted yet, and it seems unlikely they’d approach Republic territory so closely before they’ve finished preparations.” The President nodded, not revealing anything.

“If there’s nothing else, Mr Torm?”

”No, Mr President, that’s all for now.”

“Thank you.”

Gevran slipped away out the back of the chamber, returning to his office with a deep frown. Slipping into his seat he called up his itinerary, but something about the conversation was confusing.

A reaffirming sabbatical? Four days was hardly a sabbatical, and the President didn’t need affirmation – logic simply was.

“Computer, call up the record of the President’s visit to the Martian and Jovian construction yards.” It took time, trawling through the information, reconciling system accesses with the slight evidence of tampering – there were perhaps three people in the Federation who knew their systems well enough to know there had been any tampering at all. By midnight he had something approximating the truth: The President had left, boarded a Delta Flyer to meet with person or persons unknown, and then returned, all in the cloak of the asteroid belt.

Whom did he meet? Is he selling us out? Gevran felt guilty even thinking it, realising how far he’d fallen in his time working as an intelligence officer. But if he was selling us out… why did he give me such a clear clue?

And it was a clear clue, obviously. Other Vulcans would have seen it as a glaring commentary, though most others would have missed it. Gevran’s heritage didn’t help him here, despite the pointed Vulcan ears, but his frequent exposure to the people did – it was a hint of something.

Expanding the search, drawing on information that wasn’t available to others – even to the President’s Chief Scientific Advisor – he pulled in the list of possibilities, and finally decided on the most likely course of events. There were suppositions in there, guesstimates and probabilities, but it made sense: it felt right.

For the first time in a long, long time, Gevran felt a slight smile on his face as he considered the implications.

“Miss Conrad,” he called out to his assistant, “would you please arrange for a long-range shuttle to be prepared. I need to make a visit to the Jupiter shipyard, and then out of system.”

“Certainly, sir,” came the quick reply. “Do you have any idea how long you’ll be gone? Will I need to rearrange Friday’s meeting with the Bolian University Admissions Directorate?”

”Probably best. Give them my most sincere apologies, and see if we can reschedulel before they depart next… Wednesday, wasn’t it?”

“Thursday, sir, early hours. They’ll be available to meet until Wednesday. Will you be needing a pilot, or... or..."

"No, thank you. I can fly myself, and I know your anniversary is this weekend, I wouldn't dream of dragging you away from Thomas right now."

"Thank you, Sir. I'll get right on it."

”Excellent, thank you Sarah.”

He began uploading his files to portable media, even dragging in some of his old research that hadn’t been touched in years – real science work - knowing that he'd have to sweep his system clean. The only question left now was, after the Jupiter Shipyards… where would they have gone?

7 - The Grand Admiral

2006-02-15T22:58:00.000+13:00

Grand Admiral S'ian, the supreme commander of the Erratan Galactic Republic's expeditionary force in this galaxy, was sitting at his desk, meditating. With his eyes closed he was facing a window that showed the inky blackness of space, broken only by the twinkling of stars and the occasional fighter escort silently moving past. He meditated here at least twice a day, using it to keep his mind focused on the various strategies of his campaign. On the desk in front of him were 5 screens, one of which was displaying a battle occurring between one of his task forces and two Borg cubes; the Borg were losing against the large number of EGR destroyers. As exciting as it looked, he had lost interest in viewing such battles many years ago, preferring to focus on results of events, rather than the observance of them.

The two Borg ships on the screen were fighting valiantly, but hopelessly. Against over 50 ships, the two cubes were outmatched. And spectacularly outmatched, as one of the cubes exploded from the direct hits of a volley of torpedos. The massive explosion caught its companion cube in the blast, resulting in that one exploding as well. The smaller EGR fighters were racing away from the explosions, some of them not fast enough as they were struck by debris or were caught within the expanding cloud of energy.

The denizens of this galaxy, having spent the past year reeling in shock from the entry of the Erratan Galactic Republic, believed that Grand Ambassador Jelan Torn was the EGR's representative in this galaxy. The battle fleet was controlled by Admiral Antill Pe'chenza, who the Grand Ambassador answered to. It was part of the Grand Admiral's strategy that the locals in this galaxy think Torn and Pe'chenza were in command; this made S'ian invisible, and it also made them publicly responsible for the invasion. Therefore, any potential personal repercussions were likely to affect only them, and really, they were replaceable. Grand Admiral S'ian was not.

As another fighter escort swept past the large window, a voice from nowhere murmured softly in S'ian's ears, almost startling him since he hadn't heard the door open or any footsteps approach. He thought it might have been in his mind. Or was it?

"About three more month's should wrap up operations then, don't you think Admiral?" said the voice.

Grand Admiral S'ian opened his eyes, calmly looking around, a frown on his face. As he suspected, there was no one in the room with him. He closed his eyes again, purposefully thinking 'out loud' in his mind. "And you are?"

"An interested observer, nothing more."

"Observers do not often make contact," S'ian said, still only in his mind, satisfied now that the intruder was telepathic since it had responded only to his thoughts. "You have therefore changed your status to a participant. What do you want?"

"Disinterested observers," the voice emphasised, correcting S'ian's assertion, "do not often make contact. You could say that I'm interested in your... motivations... for the record."

"You have a way of recording my thoughts?" S'ian asked, curious.

"Any train of thoughts, having been observed, form a record," the voice stated. "Therefore I asked, and your involuntary thoughts answered."

S'ian frowned as he again answered in his mind. "Since you know so much about me and yet I know nothing about you, maybe you could indulge my curiousity and tell me more about your intentions?"

"Your activities coincide with some... research... of mine. Maybe I could answer a question not related to current affairs. Would that suffice?"

"What is your name?" S'ian asked the unknown being, thinking that he would start with the basics.

"R would be as suitable a name as any," it replied.

"I'm disappointed, 'R', that a being such as yourself would hide behind an alias," S'ian said, referring to it choosing a 'suitable' name rather than giving its real name. "You must be able to learn from my mind all that you need to know, so your intent can only be to alert me of your presence. Why?"

"Admiral," the voice replied, sounding disappointed that he had to ask the question. "You are well aware of what information you have been given and you do have enough. Until our next conversation then?"

S'ian stayed silent. He knew that from this point on, he had a probable spy he couldn't find, and whom he couldn't hide from. However, he also knew from this conversation that the entity would keep any information it had to itself. If not, then it could have gained invaluable information over the previous 3 years that would have already been used against the EGR. None of his enemy combatants had displayed any knowledge of his tactics or strategies during that time, so therefore the entity was not a threat to him. At least, not yet. "Are you still there?" he asked, still in his mind. "I have one more thing to ask."

"That which benefits you, benefits other matters," R replied, answering S'ian's unspoken question. "There is no other way. I wish you well."

"Goodbye," S'ian said, particularly interested in its final words. He suspected interesting times were ahead, especially since he now had a mysterious telepathic being apparently on his side.

----------------------------------------

"I'm sorry sir, there is no record of any being called 'R'," stated Admiral Pe'chenza. Like the Grand Ambassador, Pe'chenza was a figurehead, albeit an effective one. He was the only man in the entire EGR fleet who knew of Grand Admiral S'ian's existence. All of Grand Ambassador Torn's orders came through Admiral Pe'chenza, but were secretlyinitiated by S'ian. Most of the Grand Admirals back in the EGR's home galaxy weren't so secretive, but secrecy was very important to S'ian, especially in his role taking over this galaxy, something that the EGR had never done before. Apart from its own galaxy, of course. With the number of enemies here, along with the various possibilities for defeat and betrayal, it was important that if anyone was going to be killed as the EGR's leader in this galaxy, it wouldn't be him. Pe'chenza continued his report.

"We have cross-analysed all of the Federation's reports of the being they call 'Q'. It may not be a coincidence that your contact was with someone calling themselves 'R', particularly since R comes after Q in the Federation's alphabet..."

"I'm well aware of the Federation's alphabet Admiral," S'ian replied, looking up from the desk with a dangerous look in his eyes. It was not unknown for S'ian to have bothersome staff executed, and Admiral Pe'chenza blanched at the thought. He knew he was important to the Grand Admiral's plans, but he also knew that he was expendable. Ayone could do as they were told; he was simply the one being told what to do at this time. Tomorrow, another Admiral could be promoted to the same position as his.

"Yes sir," Pe'chenza said, looking back at his report. "There have been no reported instances of Q going by any other name, but there are numerous reports of other energy beings throughout the the recorded history of many of the inhabitants of this galaxy. The Federation seems to be the only group to have recorded them scientifically, as actual beings of energy, rather than as religious icons or such like. Although Q displays omnipotent abilities, the Federation has always treated him scientifically, as simply a member of a race of beings who have evolved to the point where their minds transcend physical limitations." He paused and looked up at S'ian as he continued. "The Federation have a quote from one of their historical authors which seems relevent: 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' Or in this case, any sufficiently advanced race may be indistinguishable from apparent omnipotence."

S'ian nodded, contemplating what Pe'chenza was saying. He had read the reports of Q, and had wondered about it. It seemed that the God-like being called Q had interfered in the affairs of the Federation a number of times, coming to their aid and helping them evolve. It had been a concern for him to work that into his strategy. It wasn't an accident that the Federation was the only group in the galaxy that the EGR had allied with. Since Q was able to manipulate space and time with the snap of his fingers, it didn't seem wise to potentially alienate a powerful being who supported the Federation.

If 'R' was somehow related to 'Q', then it made things very interesting indeed. Q had never seemed shy in the reports, and therefore R, being shy, was not of the race that Q came from. Maybe it even had something to hide. Was it possible that it was another highly advanced race of beings who were the next evolutionary step of Q? That seemed logical, and the use of 'R' was potentially a hint at how they followed Q. Of course, it could also be logical that the being named 'R' was simply a local member of this galaxy who was powerfully telepathic, and attempting to lead them astray with their analysis. Either way, it was obvious that his mind was not safe from eavesdropping. His only choice was to continue as planned, and hopefully learning with time what R wanted. If any God-like being wanted him dead, or his plans thwarted, then there would be nothing he could do about it.
"Continue as normal," S'ian said to the Admiral. "I will keep you updated if any further contact is made, but at this stage, we are unable to do anything about it. Therefore, there is no need to concern ourselves with it."

"But sir," Pe'chenza said, about to disagree.

"You have your orders Admiral," S'ian said, interrupting him. "Carry them out."

"Yes sir," Pe'chenza replied, standing straighter. Slipping the report under his arm, he saluted and then turned, leaving the Grand Admiral's office.

To be continued....

6 - The rogue's club

2006-02-02T09:06:00.000+13:00

Food. Real food. Lots of real food. Not ration packs or suppliments not week-old supplies or hastily gathered rubbish. Duo hadn't eaten proper replicated food in six months, and he was in gastronomic heaven as he battled his way through the small mountain of replicated dishes that were heaped on the table infront of him.

"oh man..." Duo mumbled, doing his best not to spray Jim with chunks of chicken, "you've got no idea how long I've been lookin' forward t' this!"

Jim smiled, along with Aldous. "I think I can imagine," Jim said, taking a sip of his drink.

"So," Duo said, taking a pause from stuffing his face and looking at the pair. "Do you guys wanna fill me in on what we're doin' now that we've stolen th' Scorpion?"

Jim looked at Aldous, who nodded at him, obviously giving some tacit approval. Looking back at Duo, Jim proceeded to fill him in. "We've stolen Captain Aldous's ship. With his approval," he added, smiling briefly at Aldous. "Interestingly, it turns out there are a few... improvements on this ship that can help us. You really should explain the rest of it," he said, looking at Aldous.

Aldous nodded and looked back at Duo. "Do you remember the Sernaix?" he asked.

Duo frowned, "yeah," he said lightly, pausing for a moment in reflection. "I remember the Sernaix jus' fine, they're hard t' forget."

"A few weeks ago, the Sernaix Ship Mind that we met, the one whose crew had abducted me.... he returned."

"Why?" Duo quizzed, his frown deepening slightly.

"He had..." Aldous paused a moment, looking for the right words. "He had taken control of his ship and declared himself a free agent."

With Duo silently stuffing his face, Aldous continued. "We're the same, having been converted to a 'ship mind' by the device onboard his ship, living out the rest of our existence as an energy life form instead of as a carbon-based life form. Because both he and I were changed in this way, both of us against our will, he feels we share a bond. He calls me his 'brother'."

He paused again for a moment. "He's upgraded this ship to include a phase cloak and advanced nanotechnology that has been able to assist in the automation of the ship, and includes some very efficient repair modules."

Duo looked up, swallowing hurredly. "So he helped ya get set up so that ya can run th' ship without engineers, or maintanance crews... or any crew at all?" He asked, not pausing for a reply, "sounds like a good idea t' me, but I wouldn't have expected help from th' Sernaix, of all people."

"That's right," Aldous said, nodding. "So the ship can now be run by myself. I have a virtual bridge as well as the real one, and I have virtual crew. I give orders, and they carry them out. It's quite an interesting, even surreal experience at times."

"Sounds like it," Duo agreed, "so you've got all th' upgrades an' stuff, Cap'n. What are we gonna use them for? What are we gonna do?" he asked lightly.

"Let me ask you something," Hawkins said. "Are you willing to go on a mission that's going to have the Federation itself hunting you down, with the likelihood of you being handed over to the EGR if they catch you?"

"What d'ya think I've been doin' for th' past year?" Duo asked lightly, then chuckled. "It's usually me that asks th' dumb questions, not you."

Jim smiled, and Aldous said, "Welcome to the rogue's club then." Both Jim and Aldous smiled.

Duo grinned, placing his elbows on the table and making a cradle for his chin with his hands. "Thanks, I think." He said lightly, "So, I take it we're gonna be fightin' th' EGR... but we can't do that with one ship an' a Mech, no matter how many upgrades they have." He paused to think for a moment, "so we're gonna need help from somewhere."

Hawkins nodded. "President Spock has initiated this mission, but I think he's the only one who knows about it. He met me in secret and asked me to... well, I think he was asking me to lead a rebellion." He frowned, recognising how strange those words felt to him. "So gathering a group of 'rebels' is probably a good start. And you've always been a bit of a rebel, Duo," he added, smiling.

Duo grinned, but his mind was already churning with options. "I know about a few small groups, here an' there, but they're mostly jus' tryin' survive." He said lightly, "there's only one rebel group that's still in operation, hat I know of. It's run by a guy called Hetfield, I think." He explained, "he used t' be a starfleet marine, I think, an' he operates outa Kingon space, somewhere."

Jim frowned, his mind drifting back. "James Hetfield?"

"Yeah, that's him." Duo said lightly, "great big guy, nasty temper, voice t' match. D'ya know him?"

Jim chuckled. "Yeh, we butted heads a couple times. I remember him being on Starbase Praetor for a while. Did he get out before the Scorpion Battles?"

"I guess he must have done. I know he gets around in an old dropship, so maybe he got away on it." Duo mused, "in any case, he and a bunch of marines are, or were, held up somewhere in Klingon space." He explained, "his group is th' only one I know of. There used t' be lots more, but they're all gone now."

Jim nodded, thinking. "I think we should make our way there and pick him up," he suggested. "Having him and some marines onboard will only be to our advane. In fact...." He looked at Aldous. "I think we should find all those we can, and base them onboard this ship. There's plenty of room for them, especially since we don't actually have a crew."

Aldous nodded, looking thoughtful. "I agree," he said, after thinking about it for a moment. "We're heading to the Klingon sector now."

"Hey..." Duo frowned, "It's kinda risky t' jus' go t' th' Klingon sector. That whole area is pretty well guarded an' unless you got a way t' avoid detection, th' chances of gettin' caught are pretty high."

"The phase cloak cannot be detected," Aldous said. "By anyone."

"Oh..." Duo said, "It's gonna be nice t' be able t' move around again, without havin' t' worry too much." He grinned, "pity I don't have one on Justice. It would've made like 100% easier."

"Excuse me," Aldous said. "Some of my crew need my attention." The hologram flickered off and he disappeared.

Duo frowned lightly at the empty space where Aldous was for a moment, then looked at Jim. "It's gotta be hard, havin' t' deal with a virtual reality an' this one, at the same time." He mused lightly, "But its pretty important t' have people t' talk to an' interact with. A person would go mad if it was just himself all th' time, trust me on that one. Bein' alone all th' time is pretty hard."

Jim looked at his friend and nodded. "It's good to have you back," he said.

"It's great t' be back.... there's a lot t' be said for th' comforts of home." Duo said lightly, leaning back into the chair and sighing contentedly.

Jim nodded, and then looked around the empty mess. The ship was able to hold 1,000 crew and up to another 1,200 in an emergency. And yet now it was empty. And there was nothing they needed to do, as it was automated. As he looked around at the large, empty mess, all he could think about was how much they were unable to do.

"Ok," he said, returning his attention to Duo. "We need to start our planning. Let's go make the battle bridge our home." He stood up, waiting for Duo to join him.

Duo nodded, pulling himself to his feet and following Jim. He wasn't very sure exactly what they could do, with the little information they had. But, he mused, it was better than doing nothing.

to be continued....

5 - Reunion

2006-01-29T12:39:00.000+13:00

"Freeze!" was the loudly voiced command from the two men that came rushing through the door, pointing large phaser rifles at Duo. They were quickly followed by another 3, all of them wearing Starfleet security uniforms, enhanced with light body armour and tactical helmets.

Duo froze, for a second, then slowly turned to face the security officers. It only took him a few seconds to assess the situation, and it didn't look good. There was no way he could overpower five armed guards, even if they hadn't been wearing armor, in his present condition there was just no way.

"OK, OK... ya got me...." He said sharply, raising his hands and taking a step backwards.

"Get on your knees," one of them yelled, keeping his rifle pointed at Duo. The others fanned out in support, all with their weapons trained on the man before them.

Duo frowned. It wasn't in his blood to give up without a fight, but he wasn't as impulsive as he'd once been. He'd wait for a good moment. One opening or weakness was all he needed. But these men were good. They hadn't made a single slip.

"Aw, c'mon... I'm unarmed an' I'm tired as hell. What am I gonna do, bite ya?" He complained loudly, the less experienced they thought he was, the better.

The leader of the security team made a decision. The unauthorised person in front of them was being uncooperative by not doing as commanded. Accustomed as he was to 'following the book', he fired his rifle. For Duo, everything suddenly went black.

---------------------------------------

"Aaawww... hell..." Duo groaned, popping one eye open and wincing at the stabbing bright light that invaded his already pounding head. He raised a hand to shade his face and looked to the left and right. It seemed he was in a sickbay somewhere, the beds on either side of him were empty and the room was silent except for the faint background humming of medical equipment.

He lay almost still for a few minutes, testing each muscle gently and descovering that aside from the general aches and pains that he was getting used to living with, there wasn't much wrong with his body.

"Uurgh," He groaned again as he sat up slowly and looked around again. He was definitely in a deserted sickbay. "What th' hell..." he grumbled, swinging his legs off of the bed.

The door swished open behind him, and before he could raise the energy to turn around, Duo heard a familiar voice. Not the voice he was expecting, but familiar nevertheless.

"Why the hell do you think you've got to fight everyone in the universe?" Jim Hawkins asked.

"Genetics," Duo said, half groaning as he turned around and grinned at Jim, "I'm made that way. An' I don't wanna fight everyone, I jus' wanna fight th' EGR."

"Last I checked, Starfleet Security weren't EGR," Jim smiled, walking over to Duo. He stopped on the way, picking up a small hypospray and checked it was the one he wanted. "Stay still," he said, and held it up to Duo's neck. With a burst of compressed air, the painkiller was injected into Duo's bloodstream. Jim stepped back and put the hypospray back onto the small table near the bed.

"Nnng.... Starfleet, EGR," Duo grumped, "There isn't much difference, these days." He slid off the biobed and sighed, feeling the painkiller work through his system. "How th' hell did you know I was here, anyway?"

"I didn't," Jim said, leaning against the bed and watching him. "I was here for a different reason. Why are YOU here?"

"Cap'n Aldous," Duo said lightly, a slight frown creasing his brow. "I was tryin' t' get t' Earth t' go see President Spock when I heard he was alive, an' here."

"You were trying to see President Spock?" Jim asked, chuckling. "Ambitious." He frowned. "Where have you been for the past year Duo? You went AWOL."

Duo sighed, leaning backwards against the biobed and sighing. "It's been a long year, but I couldn't jus' sit back an' watch th' EGR take over... they're th' worst kind of race, underhanded an' sneaky, they've got no honour an' no sense of justice." He said sharply, pausing to stare at Jim for a second. "I've been doin' what everyone else should've been doin' right from th' start. I've been fightin', an' runnin', an' doin' everythin' I could t' get back at them for what they've done."

"Have you succeeded?" Jim asked him.

"No," Duo said sharply, "but I tried, 'cause I had to. Tryin' an' failin' is a lot better than jus' sittin' back an' doin' nuthin'." he glanced at Jim again, "It's a lot more than everyone else has done."

"Do you know of others that have tried?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, there's still a few groups out there that are fightin' back." He said lightly, "but there's a lot more dead ones, than livin' ones."

"And how successful are those that are fighting back?" Jim asked again.

"Look, I know what your gettin' at, Jim... it'd probably been better t' sit back an' wait." Duo said, frowning at Jim as he spoke, "but y' know me, Jim, better than most. D'ya really think I could've jus' sat around for a whole year an' watched th' EGR take over? After what they did t' th' Cardassians?"

Jim sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Duo, all those that have tried to beat the EGR have failed. Those races that have tried an organised resistance, they've failed. They've been destroyed. The Borg, Duo... the Borg! They failed too! The EGR destroyed them, so what the hell makes you think you can win!" Jim was yelling, but for once, he didn't notice.

"I know I can't win!" Duo yelled back, pushing away from the biobed and turning to face Jim, his hands balled into fists at his side. "But I still had t' try! There was no way I could've done anythin' else! I couldn't live, watchin' what was goin' on! I couldn't sit back an' do nuthin'!"

"You've always had a death wish Duo," Jim shot back, facing the smaller man. "All you've done your entire life is run away to fight by yourself. Warrior code my arse, all you've wanted to do is die!"

"Do I look dead t' you!?" Duo snapped at Jim, "If you can't understand me by now, you never will!" he said sharply. "If a man can't be true t' his own sense of Justice an' put his life on th' line for what he believes in, then he's not a man at all!"

"And is it worth dying if that death is meaningless?" Jim asked him, trying to calm himself down. "Is fighting a hopeless battle worth dying for nothing? Or is it the mark of a true warrior who understands when and where to fight the battles? Do you remember the Academy training of Sun Tzu and the Art of War, or did you skip that class?"

"How d'ya think I'm still alive?" Duo asked, trying to relax as he spoke, "d'ya think I jus' went out an' charged around attackin' everythin'? D'ya think I'm an idiot!?" He asked, his voice rising again. He paused for a moment, shutting his eyes and scratching his forehead. "Jus' 'cause I was fightin' doesn't mean I was throwin' my life away every chance I got. I spent more time runnin' than I did fightin', but I can hold my head up 'cause I actually went out an' tried t' do somethin'. Even if I only got a few of them, an' only saved a few lives here an' there, it doesn't matter. I tried."

Jim's voice was quiet as he said, "And what about the hundreds or people who were killed by the EGR in retaliation for your efforts? Do you think the EGR just let you galavant around the quadrant without regard? How many people are dead because of you're selfish code of honour? It's great to hold your head up, I'm sure, but what about all those who don't have heads any more?"

"Don' you dare try t' pin that kinda crap on me!" Duo snapped, "People die in wars, it happens! An' if those people hadn't died one way, they'd have gone another," he said sharply. "An' what about whatever you plannin' to do? How many people d'ya think are gonna die when you pull off whatever plan you've got under your sleeve?"

Jim was about to reply when he stopped, shutting his mouth. He sighed again.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You're right, people die."

Duo was about to retort with a stinging remark about facing facts and being realistic when his brain caught up with what Jim had said.

"Well.... well... yeah, I am." He said uncertainly, then paused for a moment. "So... what kinda plan do you have under your sleeve, anyway?"

Jim smiled grimly, and was about to reply when someone else appeared. Literally.

"I have to say, I'm a little disappointed I can't throw you into the brig for striking a superior officer," said Captain Aldous, having just materialised to Duo's left.

Duo grinned, turning to look at Aldous and just spending a minute looking. "Cap'n... you've got no idea how happy I am t' see you," he said lightly, visibly relaxing as he spoke. "If ya like, you could throw me in th' brig for being AWOL for a year, or for conductin' terroist acts against th' Federation an' it's allies..."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find something to throw you in the brig for," Aldous said, smiling. "Now, is there any reason why you were trying to break into my ship?"

"Yeah," Duo replied, his tone turning more serious, "I've ran outa strength t' fight on my own, my mech is just about dead an', t' be honest," He paused and glanced at Jim, "I'm not far behind. I've run outa ideas an' options, an' when I heard you were alive I knew th' only way I was gonna be able t' survive an' keep fightin was t' come here."

"If I could be considered alive, that is," Aldous said softly, mainly to himself. "But I guess you've come to the right place." He looked at Hawkins, and then back at Duo.

"Alive enough for me," Duo said lightly. Losing Aldous had been hard on him and he'd never really had time to come to terms with the loss. Getting him back and being on the Scorpion again made him feel more secure than he had for a long time.

"We've stolen this ship," Hawkins said simply, looking at Duo.

Duo looked at Hawkins, then at Aldous. "We've stolen th' ship...." he repeated, "But if we're gonna steal th' Scorpion we've gotta make a pass by Mars, I left somethin' there that I've gotta pick up."

"We're not GONNA steal the ship," Hawkins said. "We've STOLEN the ship. And we ain't in Kansas no more..."

"We're what?" Duo frowned. He had no idea what Jim was talking about, Kansas was, or used to be, on Earth. "Where are we?" He asked, still frowning.

"Beyond the rim," Aldous said. "Hopefully where they won't find us while we plan our strategy."

"Hyperdrive?" Duo guessed, settling back against the biobed and still frowning softly.

"Slipstream,' Jim said. It almost seemed as if he and Aldous were tag-teaming. "You've been asleep over a day."

"Oh..." Duo said simply, "Ok... y' didn't happen t' stop by Mars, then, t' pick up my mech? Did ya?" He asked hopefully.

To be continued...

4 - Coming Home

2006-01-29T12:37:00.000+13:00

Jupiter loomed large in one of the transport's many view screens; it's rings glistening in the radiance of the distant sun. Getting here had taken more than he could have imagined, and help from places he never would have expected.

Friends, he mused silently, looking down at the identity document that had his face, but another name on it. Even friends who he'd long since given up on... he would've never gotten this far without them.

Duo Maxwell, A.K.A Max Weller, sighed deeply. Justice, the Mech he'd relied on for so long, was hidden in the depths of the Martian wastes. It had taken him almost a week, a lot of credits and every favour he'd ever earned to get from a small town in Mars to this point and he'd learned a lot in the process.

Captain Aldous was still alive, for one. That news had shocked him more than anything, and was the reason he'd come to Jupiter now. Aldous, and the USS Scorpion was where he had to go. Aldous would know what to do; he'd have a plan because he always did. Duo's faith in his Captain was unshakable.

He had to admit, it would have been easy to stay on Mars with his friend, and forget about everything. For the first time in months he was clean, properly clothed, uninjured, and not hungry. Quatre had wanted him to stay longer, to recover from the exhaustion that was still plaguing him. Yet he knew he wouldn't have been able to stay for long, it would have eaten at him. Quatre could do it because he couldn't do anything else, but Duo could do something, and so he had to.

Duo looked down at the identity docket, it was signed 'Captain Wufei Chang, Asst. Director of Personnel, Starfleet Command.' He still couldn't believe Chang had agreed to help him at his own risk, but, he supposed, Quatre could always convince him to do anything.

"Now docking at Jupiter Station, please make sure you take all your belongings with you. Have a nice day and thank you for travelling with us today." Said the voice of the transport's Captain, tugging him out of his thoughts and back to the present. He'd made it to Jupiter; all he had to do now was make it to the Scorpion.

As soon as the transport docked Duo stood, he pulled the baseball cap's peak a little lower and made for the exit. A station security officer checked his ID, glanced at him for a second, then waved him on with a nod. He made his way towards the nearest view port and gazed out towards the station's shipyards.

He spotted the Sovereign Class ship instantly, wrapped in the protective grid of a dry-dock. He couldn't help but grin at seeing his old ship. He'd never really became attached to any other ship like he had with the first USS Scorpion, or any other captain like he had to Aldous.

Getting onboard the Scorpion wasn't going to be a problem, his new identity carried the authorisation of a civilian expert. He made his way towards the nearest turbolift.

The dockyard was, as he had hoped, almost devoid of personnel. It was easy for him to work his way down to the Scorpion's docking umbilical without detection.
"Open dockin' hatch, authorisation Weller Pie-2-Gamma" he said lightly, using the authorisation Wufei had created for him.

"Authorisation Denied, invalid security code." The computer replied stoically.

Duo froze for a few seconds, this meant that he'd been uncovered, and recently too since he'd made it onto the station without any problem. He cursed under his breath, tossing the now-invalid ID to the deck and frowning darkly.

He hoped he hadn't put his friends in danger as he reached for the control panel and ripped off the display. A few crossed wires opened the hatch and he stepped through. He knew security would be on the way to his location, he was unarmed and exhausted and didn't stand a chance of overpowering them. Duo grabbed a handful of wires and pulled, retracting his hand quickly as the heavy door slid shut.

He didn't pause to think of anything else, but set off down the tube at a flat-out run, reaching the hull of the scorpion in record time. As he had expected the hatch was sealed at this end, too, but he wanted a different approach this time.

"Cap'n? Could y' let me in?" He pleaded breathlessly, behind him; the station’s docking hatch slid open.

To be continued...

3 - And so it begins...

2006-01-29T12:35:00.000+13:00

The Delta Flyer came to a stop on the outer edge of the asteroid field that was just beyond Mars. Inside it, Jim Hawkins was checking the sensors at the same time. He also checked for subspace distortions, which were usually indicative of cloaked ships. There weren't any though, so his reason for being there hadn't arrived. Or their cloak, if there was a ship in the area, was better than his sensors could detect. This wouldn't have been surprising to him, considering that the person he was there to meet was a covert ops agent.

Jim knew why he'd been chosen for this 'cloak and dagger' mission. With extensive past experience in Intelligence and covert operations, this made him the ideal choice for this task. It was ordinary for him now, but he'd come to accept it. Every now and again, they would make use of his experience to carry out one objective or another. He smiled to himself, thinking back. Once you're in Intelligence, you're never out of it.

Before he had a chance to relax, his console beeped at him, registering a subspace distortion approaching fast. Raising his shields, Jim waited. He wasn't hiding, so they would make themselves known to him sooner or later.

It was sooner... An encrypted identity request was received by the Delta Flyer which, under normal circumstances, was not likely to be picked up by anyone who didn't know the exact frequency, since it was piggybacking on the background noise of space. Replying with the correct response code, Hawkins dropped his shields and turned around, drawing his phaser as he faced the transporter pad that hummed into life. He hadn't survived this long by not being prepared for anything. However, he wasn't prepared for who appeared on the pad. President Spock.

Jim's jaw dropped in surprise as the President materialised in front of him. He holstered his weapon, standing up to greet the Vulcan.

"Mister President," Jim said, moving closer and saluting. "I can't say I expected to see you here..."

"Subterfuge was necessary, Mister Hawkins," Spock replied, nodding his head in a greeting. "We are alone?"

"Yes sir," Jim replied. "This ship is secure, and there's no detectable activity within sensor range However, I'll take us into the asteroids to make sure they provide interference to anyone that might be trying to detect us."

"Very good," Spock said, moving over to a chair and sitting down, watching Hawkins take the Flyer into the asteroid field. Sitting as calmly as you would expect a Vulcan to sit, he watched the asteroids flying towards them, only to streak past as Hawkins maneuvered around them.

A large,tumbling boulder was ahead, the size of a small moon, and was coming straight at them. Matching velocity with it, Hawkins rolled the Delta Flyer to match the tumbling of the asteroid, making it seem as if the asteroid was completely still below them while he brought the Flyer in to land on its surface. He made it look easy, which, to him, it was. Too many years of flying shuttles and small ships in extremely hostile environments had given him skills that most pilots never had, and which would probably fade only when he was too old to dance his fingers across the flight controls.

Turning around, Jim sat back and looked at President Spock expectantly, waiting for the details of what they were out here for.

"Your record is exemplary," the President began. "You have experience leading highly critical covert operations against the Federation in another universe."

Jim nodded cautiously at Spock's statement. He wasn't sure where this was headed, but he didn't think he'd like it.

"I'm sure you are aware of the strategy the Erratan Galactic Republic has engaged in over the past few years to bring about the result we have today." Without waiting for an answer, Spock continued. "The Federation has become a puppet government, Mister Hawkins. To ensure the survival of the Federation, I had to bring about our capitulation. Fighting them was illogical." Spock frowned, looking closely at Jim. "Do you understand the logic in this?"

"Yes sir," Jim replied, nodding. "I never liked it, but I understood your motives. I remember your words, about the sleeping lion."

Spock nodded, and relaxed slightly, his frown seeming to lessen slightly. "I had thought you would. Now is the time for us to start acting behind the lion's back, Mister Hawkins."

"Isn't it too late though?" Jim asked. "They control the entire galaxy, and have eliminated all the races that could have helped us. We don't have the resources to go to any other galaxy, as they control the jump gates, and we've never been able to get hold of their hyperdrives. I know that we lost too many people trying." Jim paused, taking a breath. He was letting his frustration get the better of him.

"It is not too late," Spock replied. "In fact, now is the best time, when the lion is sleeping. They have destroyed all threat in this galaxy, with the remaining races unable to threaten them. The Federation has willingly subjugated itself to them, and now their attention has been relaxed. They are letting the Federation do what it will in regards to maintaining the cohesiveness of its infrastructure, while they are in maintenance mode rather than conquering mode. We have a small amount of freedom."

"I understand," Jim nodded. "But I don't know what we can possibly do."

Spock looked straight at him as he said, "You need to find the Sernaix."

Jim's face went white as the blood drained from it. The Sernaix. The guardians of the alternate universe that he'd spent 5 years in. They were an incredibly powerful race that had the ability to travel between different universes in the blink of an eye. They were also very temperamental about people who came into their universe from outside of it. In his 5 years over there, Jim had very little to do with them, but when they did involve themselves, it was brutal and decisive. They only let him stay there because of their relationship with the wormhole aliens, who had plans for him...

"Mister President, I don't know if they'd be willing to help us. As far as they're concerned we are an inferior race of insects. We're not even in their own universe, so their interest in us would be even less."

Spock nodded in agreement, but then said, "I believe Captain Aldous, from the original USS Scorpion, had developed a relationship of sorts with a Sernaix Ship Mind. You may like to get Captain Aldous in on your mission."

Jim's eyebrows raised. "I thought Aldous was destroyed with his ship at the Battle of Veragnos?"

"The ship, and Captain Aldous, are fine and well at Jupiter Shipyards. They returned only a few days ago, which led me to decide on this course of action."

Jim looked at his hands, thinking about everything that Spock had said. This was what he hadn't wanted to hear, but which he had subconsciously known was coming. If Jim accepted this mission, there was almost zero chance of success, and a high chance of being killed by either the Federation themselves or the EGR. Being a rogue agent would be a threat to the Federation. He knew that. Federation personnel rebelliong against the EGR could result in their retribution against the Federation, and already had over the past year or so. No one on Earth or in the Federation wanted a repeat of the Cardassian destruction, or the various other acts of violence done against the Federation because of attempted rebellions. As a result, the Federation would officially try to stop him.

There were, of course, various Federation personnel who tried resisting the EGR after the Carddssians were destroyed, but they failed, violently. President Spock had been forced to align the Federation with the EGR to avoid further bloodshed, and order all resistance to cease. The past year included some dark times for the Federation.

He looked back up at Spock. "If I accept this..."

"You must, Mister Hawkins," said Spock, interrupting him. "You are the only one who has the experience to do this. No one else in the Federation has led a rebellion of this nature. You are our only chance."

Jim sighed. "Yes Mister President. I understand." He'd never heard a Vulcan beg before, especially President Spock. But this was certainly begging. He couldn't refuse.

To be continued...

2 - On the Edge

2006-01-29T11:53:00.000+13:00

The Justice Mech rolled over suddenly, rotating through 180 degrees and then flipping back again, before coming to a complete stop. The little machine was tough, but too much had been asked of it and it was beginning to buckle under the strain. Last time it had been a failed engine, which had taken him a week on a barely habitable planet to repair. This time it was an inertial dampener failure; less major but still very much a problem he could have done without. Components were beginning to break down and repairing them was getting harder and harder. He had no spares left to replace the parts and very little material to repair the old ones with.

Justice Mech had started out a few years before as the Berserker, one of three concept machines that Duo had introduced to the Federation as his pet project. The Berserker had been a multi-role air/ground/space supremacy combat machine, but the Justice was more than that. It was designed to be faster and stronger than the Berserker while maintaining the same outer shell and dimensions and it incorporated all the latest Federation technology. Plus it had been further upgraded with all that Duo could scavenge or steal, including Borg, EGR, Dominion and Romulan technologies salvaged from various battlefields and graveyards. There had been plenty to choose from, since the EGR arrived.

But now it was in a mess, operating at only around 40% of its capacity and slipping downhill quickly. Its self-repair mechanisms were all but gone and its remaining systems were operating on the edge of failure.

Duo knew, in the back of his mind, that he probably wasn't going to make it to Earth. But the part of him that had kept him fighting for over a year wouldn't let him give up. He hadn't had a wash in weeks, his long braided hair was matted, knotted, burned and, like the rest of him, disgustingly dirty. He had a few broken ribs that he knew of, plus a badly wrenched knee and a burn on his right leg that he was just getting used to ignoring.

A few focused thoughts instructed a dozen or so nano-machines tailored for automatic repair and maintenance to seal the broken system. He didn't have many of the little machines left and there was no material left to make more from. At least he wasn't going to have to set down on a planet, this time.

He'd been on the run for almost a year, after the EGR's massacre of the Cardassians and the subsequent retirement of the Federation President he'd given up hope that the Federation was going to, or was even able to do anything to reverse the mistakes they had made. For over half of his life the Federation and Starfleet had been his home, his surrogate parents and extended family. Even if he did disagree with what was happening, leaving them hadn’t been easy. It had taken the massacre of a whole civilisation to make the difference, a fact he was still ashamed of. But the day after the EGR’s announcement he took his Mech, set course for the nearest uninhabited region of space, and left.

At that time he never had any plans on where he was going to go or what he was going to do, he spent a few weeks on one planet, a few days on another, jumping from place to place without any clear purpose or idea of what to do. The fighting had started with an EGR scout that had found and attacked him, and it had carried on from there. One battle lead to another, and another, and many more as the EGR turned one of their many eyes his way.

The first few battles had been purely for survival, but they had re-kindled something within him that had been dormant for a while. The sense of stubborn, pig-headed determination that had helped him survive in the past was awakened, and it was at that point he’d decided that something had to be done. He'd been fighting and running ever since, slowly making his way towards the Earth, and the President. He didn't know what he was going to do when, and if, he got to Spock. But he did know that he had to do something, and going to earth was the only idea that seemed to make any sense.

The console beeped, something was showing on passive sensors. A single thought highlighted the image and enhanced it, showing an EGR Destroyer passing through a few light years away. The ECM Suite and Cloak installed on the Justice kept him covered as long as he stayed still. The same waiting game had been played a hundred times or more, yet he never really got used to it. His heart still did a hundred beats a minute until the destroyer was out of range.

There was, he knew, only had a few light-years to go. Earth was practically in visual range and yet he didn't dare use the active sensor suite to take a look. Sol was far too heavily guarded to be careless, or for that matter, to make a mistake of any kind. The Justice was in no state for a running battle, especially not with EGR Capitol ships.

The nanobots signalled the completion of their task and the Mech told him that the dampeners were once again working. Not working very well, but working. A thought re-started the engine and he set off once again, at half-impulse, towards earth and his still half-formed plan.

To be continued...

1 - Catching up on the past

2006-01-29T11:50:00.000+13:00

Captain Jim Hawkins, commanding officer of the Federation flagship USS Scorpion, was bored. In fact, he couldn't remember a time when he'd been more bored. You'd think that being the CO for the most prestigious ship in the Federation would be an exciting affair, but it wasn't.

The Federation flagship was used to transport the Federation President around as he travelled from world to world. The only problem, however, was that the President didn't travel anywhere these days, and so the Scorpion spent all its time in Earth orbit. It couldn't even go to Mars for a quick journey, just in case the President needed to be evacuated at a moment's notice.

President Spock never went anywhere without a transponder device, allowing immediate transportation onto the flagship should he be threatened in any way. For that reason, the ship could not go anywhere without the President onboard. As a result of this, the Federation flagship had become the ship that no one wanted to serve on.

Hawkins had occasionally pondered how he'd ended up with this command. It was supposed to be a promotion, a reward for his years of service to Starfleet and the Federation, and yet it instead felt like a demotion. The USS Scorpion, one of the best ships in the entire Federation, had been reassigned to earth shortly after the Cardassian crisis involving the Erratan Galactic Republic, or EGR as everyone called them.

After the Cardassians were destroyed and the Federation President resigned, it looked like the Federation was in a shambles, without any strong leadership. When Ambassador Spock stepped up to the plate and took on the role as the new Federation President, a lot of people thought things would be different. And they were, just not in the way people thought they would be. Spock took a more peaceful approach with the EGR, and instead of resisting their influences, as many people thought should have been done, he instead created a stronger alliance with them.

It wasn't until President Spock requested the USS Scorpion as his flagship that Hawkins was able to find out the principals behind Spock's leadership.

"It is not logical to act against that which can easily destroy you," was Spock's comment during a meeting he'd had with Hawkins, the new CO of his flagship at that time. "A wiser plan would be to act only when the lion is sleeping."

"You have plans to act without their knowledge?" Hawkins had asked, surprised.

"Every lion must sleep, Mister Hawkins, regardless of its knowledge about the intentions of those around it. It hopes that their fear of it will keep them subdued."

The President offered nothing more during that meeting, changing the subject to something else. Nor had he ventured any further discussion, but Hawkins had never forgotten, and he had been happy, at least for a little while, to be in a position of usefulness for when the President might decide to act upon his cryptic intentions.

Something else he'd never forgotten was that the Erratan Galactic Republic had only entered this galaxy because of him, and he had not been able to correct it.

Just over 3 years ago, when he had been sent on a mission to retrieve stolen Starfleet technology, he had encountered a new race called the Kaerine. They lived where subspace was relatively nonexistent, which meant warp drives were useless. Instead, they had jump gates that used a technology allowing them to 'jump' from one area of space to another, bypassing the need for warp or subspace drives. These gates used something that was called 'hyperspace', which allowed for almost instantaneous travel over many dozens of light years, from one gate to another.

Upon entering this area of space, the USS Scorpion encountered some problems with their new slipstream drive, which was being interfered with by the subspace 'shallows'. The effect of the interference was such that Hawkins' quantum frequency was altered, and he was transferred into an alternate dimension that matched his new frequency. The universe is made of energy, and that energy has a quantum frequency that makes up everything within it. Hawkins' quantum frequency was altered, which caused him to slip into another universe that matched his new frequency.

Upon finally returning a couple of years later - only a year ago - and finding that the EGR had entered this galaxy and caused so much havoc, Hawkins discovered that the same quantum fluctuations that were caused by his ship's slipstream drive had also activated one of the apparently inactive jump gates, which is how the EGR were able to come through into this galaxy.

Hawkins had trouble understanding how major and catastrophic events could be linked to him. Wherever he went, 'destiny' seemed to follow him, one way or another. He had entered another universe back when he was a lowly Lieutenant, where the Federation had split because of a civil war. In a short space of time, he had ended up not only in charge of that universe's Deep Space Nine, but also as Bajor's Emissary, similar to what happened to Benjamin Sisko in this universe. He not only saved the Bajorans from the Cardassians, but he also managed to reunite the Federation into one single, peaceful organisation, instead of the fractured, warring states it had been.

While carrying out that 'role', he'd managed to meet Sisko himself (who had joined the beings in the wormhole) and discovered that there was only one wormhole throughout all the various universes. He had used that to get back to his own galaxy again, after 5 years as the Emissary. However, he'd tweaked the time travel aspects so that he returned to his galaxy - and ship - only minutes after he had originally left it in the other alternate galaxy. To them, only minutes had passed since they'd left him behind, but for him, 5 years had passed and he was waiting for them as they returned to the home galaxy. Much to their surprise, of course.

When he was thrown into yet another alternate universe some months later in Kaerine space, he had wondered if fate was playing some kind of game with him. He was close. It turned out to be Q, the God-like being who had played with Captain Picard and the USS Enterprise, and Captain Janeway and the USS Voyager. Captain Hawkins was next in Q's bag of tricks. This one involved more Borg. Luckily he'd managed to come through after 2 years of being stuck there, finally making it back to his home galaxy. He was almost ready to retire, but Starfleet placed him in command of the USS Scorpion again, but this time serving the Federation President.

And here he was, bored. He actually missed the 'old days', where he didn't know from one day to the next if he'd still be alive, or even if he'd still be in the same universe. He also missed his old crew. Most of them had been transferred to other ships, or killed in action, while he was away in the other universe. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to get any of them reassigned to this ship again.

'Captain, you have a message from Starfleet Command,' his XO called over the communicator.

"I'll take it in here," Hawkins replied, sitting up in his chair and wondering what they wanted.

'Aye sir,' the XO replied.

After a moment his terminal beeped at him, and he pressed the button to answer the call.

To be continued...

Federation's End - Timeline

2006-01-26T15:48:00.000+13:00

This is a story timeline I created in a Star Trek play-by-email game I ran, but which finished early 2005. This story began during game play, but never continued beyond April 2383 (see below), when the game ended due to lack of interest. The story was supposed to be for the background story of the galaxy, which the players and games would be part of. The 'Erratan Galactic Republic', or the EGR, was based loosely on the Empire from Star Wars. The following is a timeline I created with my friend Garry's help, and which may one day be turned into a story. (If you want to write it, contact me. As an idea, it's copyrighted by me.)

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2383, March
- EGR Task Force (8 destroyers, 2 battleships, 1 factory ship) enters Kaerine space, sends out probes throughout the galaxy
- Federation goes on alert at all the mysterious probes entering their territory

2383, April
- EGR successfully control all of Kaerine space, begin building a military base there. Initial probe results informs them of all the races of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants (Humans, Klingons, Vulcans, Romulans, Cardassians, etc, etc)
- Probes provide the EGR with information about the Delta Quadrant and the Dominion, including the Founders, the Vorta, and the Jem'Hadar
- Federation stands down from their alert status a couple weeks after realising there's no more probes

2383, May
- The Dominion questions the Federation about the probes, but no one is any the wiser for the exchange of information about them
- The EGR gets information about the Borg, but that information is sketchy. All their probes are destroyed on the edges of Borg territory
- The EGR finishes building a shipyard

2383, August
- A plan is implemented where an ERG destroyer is used to lure a Borg cube into Federation space. The Borg chase it in the hope of assimilating it. The destroyer looks like it tries to make a stand against the Borg cube in an area within scanning range of a Federation starbase. Five Starfleet ships attempt to come to its aid, and the Borg cube makes short work of two of them before 2 more ERG destroyers appear. Together the 3 ERG ships and remaining Starfleet ships destroy the Borg cube. First Contact is made between the EGR and Federation and the EGR open diplomatic negotiations with Federation representatives at the starbase. The EGR request information from the Federation about the Borg, claiming to need that to help them defend themselves. The Federation gives all the information it has. The EGR thanks them and leaves 2 destroyers at the Federation starbase in case the Borg return.
- An EGR Ambassador is assigned to the starbase

2383, September
- Two Borg cubes attack the starbase, and the 2 EGR destroyers meet the Borg cubes before they can get close enough to engage Federation forces. One destroyer is destroyed and both Borg cubes damaged before another 3 destroyers jump in and assist just as the Starfleet ships arrive. The Borg cubes are destroyed.
- The EGR asks the starbase if they would like more EGR ships to assist against further Borg attacks, as well as an exchange of technology. The EGR will provide the starbase their advanced shields in exchange for the Federation transporter technology. The Starbase CO agrees to the extra EGR ships as well as the technology exchange.

2383, October
- The starbase's shields are upgraded
- Seven EGR destroyers are based permanently in the same sector as the starbase, with 5 on patrol and 2 permanently assigned to defend the starbase
- EGR ambassador travels to Earth to meet with the Federation Council and discuss a permanent treaty. After a couple of days of talks, the Federation welcomes the EGR's application to join the Federation.
- The Federation Council requests more technology exchange, in particular the EGR's hyperdrive. The EGR Ambassador quotes the Federation's own Prime Directive and states his own race has a similar policy of non-interference. Any major developments really have to be on the Federation's initiative, rather than as gifts from advanced races. The Federation Council is unable to argue against the foundation of their own Prime Directive.

2384, January
- Evidence suggests a Cardassian ship attacked and destroyed a Federation farming colony on the Federation side of the Cardassian border.
- The Cardassians deny their involvement in the attack, but the colony's sensor logs show it was definitely a Cardassian ship
- The EGR Ambassador influences a member of the Federation Council to suggest that the Cardassians may be attempting to take territory that they consider was once theres, and after having rebuilt their military over the past 8 years, feel that they are now in a position to regain what was lost to them. The Council member suggests that the EGR, with their hyperdrive-capable ships, might be in a position to help provide security along the Cardassian border. The EGR Ambassador says he would need to talk to his superiors about involving themselves in the internal security matters of the Federation.
- A week later the EGR Ambassador agrees to the Federation Council's request for providing security along the Cardassian border on the condition that their Federation membership be fast-tracked accordingly. The Ambassador suggests it might be wise to ensure that only Federation members provide internal assistance to the Federation.

2384, February
- The United Federation of Planets welcomes its newest member, the EGR
- Within minutes of the announcement, EGR places a number of destroyers on patrol along the Cardassian border
- The Cardassians protest this action, and reinforce their own border

2384, April
- The EGR finish building a shipyard at Jupiter Station and use it to help increase the production level for Starfleet, being able to turn out an increased production run of ships for Starfleet using EGR industrial technology. Two destroyers are permanently assigned to it, along with other Starfleet ships, and Federation personnel man the shipyard with EGR advisors.
- EGR spies provide the Romulan Tal Shiar with details on technology that might be useful to them, at the 'poorly defended' shipyard at Jupiter Station, along with implications that the EGR would provide further support in the future

2384, July
- EGR ships detect gravitational anomalies approaching the shipyard at Jupiter Station at warp 8 and request Federation assistance in determining what they are. Federation personnel realise they must be cloaked ships and request reinforcements. The 2 EGR destroyers move out to intercept the anomalies and then 28 Romulan ships decloak and attack the destroyers. Four Starfleet ships become involved in the battle. At the end of it, both EGR destroyers were destroyed, along with three of the Starfleet ships. 21 of the Romulan ships were destroyed in the battle, and the remaining 7 ships retreat when Starfleet reinforcements arrive from Mars.
- Public opinion, which up until this point was mildly suspicious at EGR ships in Federation space, and so close to Earth, is instantly turned around at the news of the EGR's sacrifice to protect Jupiter Station.
- The Federation accuses the Romulans of blatant disregard to their alliance
- The Romulans deny involvement, stating it was a rogue organisation that wasn't sanctioned by the Romulan Senate
- The Federation cancels the alliance with the Romulans
- The Federation requests an EGR presence along the Romulan Neutral Zone, which is welcomed by public support

2384, August
- A fleet of 93 Borg cubes attacks Kaerine space, surprising the EGR. 76% of EGR forces are destroyed in the battle, but all Borg cubes are destroyed. All of the EGR battleships remain intact.
- The EGR withdraws non-essential ships from Federation space to reinforce Kaerine space.
- The EGR begins construction of a secret base on the outskirts of the galaxy in an empty resource-rich area of planetary systems. This base is given high priority, in an attempt to create a fallback location should the Kaerine sector fall to the Borg.
- The EGR announce to the Federation that they are at war with the Borg.
- The Federation offers all the assistance to the EGR they can provide.
- The EGR requests that more EGR ships be allowed to help protect Federation resources, as the Federation is likely to be attacked by the Borg for being allied to the EGR.
- The Federation agrees, and EGR destroyers are assigned to all the major systems within the Federation.

2384, September
- Romulans ally with Cardassians and Breen
- EGR uses a Starfleet ship to unsuccessfully attack a Vorta colony in the Delta Quadrant, with it being destroyed from a 'warp core breach' in the battle with Jem'Hadar ships
- The Dominion accuse the Federation of attacking their colony
- The Federation denies all knowledge of the attack, but reinforces DS9 near the Bajoran wormhole
- Skirmishes occur between Klingon and Romulan forces along their borders

2384, November
- The Romulans engage in talks with the Dominion, advising that the Federation and EGR are attempting to subvert the balance of power and take control of all the quadrants. They suggest the Starfleet attack against the Dominion was a test of Dominion reactions, and the Romulans propose a treaty between them and the Dominion.

2384, December
- The Dominion joins the new 'Allies', offering their support to the alliance now comprised of themselves, the Romulans, the Cardassians and the Breen.
- The Federation hears about the 'Allies' and sends diplomatic teams to each of the races to try and resolve things.
- A 'Cardassian ship' intercepts and destroys the ship carrying the Federation delegation to Cardassia, and is then destroyed by the EGR destroyer that was escorting the delegation.
- The EGR expresses their sincere apologies at not protecting the delegation, saying they believed the Cardassian ship's claim that it was there to greet the delegation.
- The Federation declares a state of war with Cardassia.
- The Cardassians denial of involvement is ignored by the Federation

2385, February
- A fleet of 18 Romulan ships attacks a Federation starbase. The closest reinforcements are at DS9, comprised of EGR and Federation ships. They receive the request for reinforcements and the EGR ships jump to help repel the Romulan attack. While they are involved in the defence of the starbase and chase the retreating Romulan ships, it turns out to be a decoy, as a large co-ordinated force of 87 Romulan ships, 35 Cardassian ships, 12 Breen ships, and 76 Dominion ships coming through the wormhole, attack Deep Space Nine. The Federation defences there are overwhelmed, and the Allied fleet takes the station. However, the EGR ships, destroying the fleeing Romulan ships that attacked the nearby starbase, jump back to regain control of DS9. In the battle, approximately 60% of the Allied forces are destroyed before they run for it, seeing that EGR forces are not seriously hampered by the Allied ships defence of DS9. Just before they retreat, another 'Cardassian ship' arrives and fires a missile at DS9. All EGR ships were involved in battle, so the missile gets by them. Deep Space Nine explodes in a huge explosion, destroying 3 of the EGR destroyers in the process. The Allied ships retreat. Over 10,000 people on DS9 were killed.
- The EGR expresses their sorrow to the Federation for the loss and the EGR's inability to defend DS9 with its limited number of ships available in the area, and the Federation requests increased EGR assistance with defence. The EGR agrees to the Federation's request to place more of the EGR's ships in Federation space.

2385, March
- The EGR Ambassador offers a solution to the Cardassian problem, pointing out that the entire history of Federation involvement with the Cardassians has shown that they are completely untrustworthy and interested only in military conflict. The EGR offers to decisively end the war with Cardassia.
- The Federation Council agrees after discussing this for over a day.
- Minutes later, a fleet of 480 EGR destroyers and battleships appear near Cardassia. Twelve minutes later the entire Cardassian defence force is decimated. One hour and twenty eight minutes later, Cardassia Prime has been destroyed by orbital bombardment by the 480 EGR ships. When they leave, there is nothing left of Cardassian civilisation except for the molten surface of a decimated planet.
- EGR announces to the Federation that they will not be bothered by the Cardassians any more. An uproar occurs as a result of the action, but the EGR Ambassador advises that countless numbers of people have been killed in wars with the Cardassians, and were likely to be killed if the Cardassians were allowed to continue their aggressive stances. All the attempts by the Federation to prevent bloodshed have failed. Now there will be no more bloodshed. The Federation Council agrees.
- The Federation President resigns. Ambassador Spock receives unanimous approval and becomes the new President of the Federation.

2385, April
- The EGR sends a fleet of 820 destroyers and battleships into the heart of Borg territory - Unimatrix 01, where the Borg queen lives and where all the Borg throughout the galaxy are controlled from. After a vicious battle with the initial Borg defence force which ends up decimated, the remaining 460 EGR ships attack the Borg unicomplex, which was composed of thousands of connected structures and hubs that housed hundreds of ships and trillions of Borg drones. The weapons employed against it cause a chain reaction throughout the unicomplex, resulting in its complete destruction. With the Central Nexus of the Borg Collective destroyed, the shielding for the Transwarp Hubs and manifolds is gone. The EGR sends in hundreds of droid ships that race throughout the network, dropping powerful mines at each hub and new conduit they find. The Borg transwarp network is destroyed, along with all the cubes that were using it.
- The EGR announce to the Federation that the Borg threat has been dealt with, and all that is required now is the mopping up of remaining Borg cubes that are helpless without central control. The Gamma Quadrant is safe.

2385, July
- A fleet of over 2,000 Dominion ships enters via the wormhole and joins up with other 800 Allied ships that are attacking the EGR force that is defending Bajor. The battle is brutal, but the EGR ships are defeated, at the expense of close to 80% of the Allied ships. However, the main EGR fleet appears just as the Allied ships are celebrating, and the 600 ships are easily destroyed by the 800 EGR ships.
- Half the EGR fleet goes through the wormhole to lay waste to the Dominion
- The EGR requests the Federation Council give them permission to bring peace to the Alpha and Beta Quadrants through attacking the Romulans and Breen.
- The Federation agrees.

2385, August
- The EGR attack the Founders homeworld and, after destroying the Jen'Hadar fleet defending the planet, demand the Founders surrender or be destroyed completely.
- The Founders surrender. The EGR destroys their homeworld anyway, using the weakness the Founders displayed as sign of EGR superiority.
- The Jem'Hadar go into a frenzy and vow to destroy the EGR

2385, September
- The EGR announce to the Federation that the last of the Dominion has fallen and the Delta Quadrant is safe.
- The EGR request that the Federation allow them to bring peace to the Alpha and Beta Quadrants as well. The Federation agrees.
- With the Dominion gone, the remaining Allied powers capitulate and surrender.
- The EGR moves ships over the non-Federation homeworlds and set up EGR military leadership, dismantling current leadership structures.

2386, January
- The EGR has control of the entire galaxy, with approximately 4,000 ships per quadrant, and EGR leadership on all the resource-rich and once-powerful worlds. Allied with the Federation, which is now effectively a puppet government, the galaxy is theirs.

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UPDATE 3 Feb 2006: This blog / site has been created to write the story of what happens after the EGR won. It uses a number of characters that have been involved in game play over the years. I hope you enjoy it.