Fragments (a STM5/B5 crossover AU)

[JovianJeff]

Originally Posted by JEKrug01

*whistle* Never would have thought a Starbase Zero would be B4 of all things. Nicely done in that department!

And I think there might be some form of Borg trouble later, especially if they went and mass-assimilated some of the Dilgar before their star went nova.

Thanks JEKrug01! I'm glad that worked, it was a plan from near the beginning when I included the timeships.

Yes there will be Borg trouble later, although how much of it assimilated Dilgar prompted is another subject of conjecture.

Again thanks!

Jeff

[ntwayneK]

I didn't know Forrest J Ackerman made Vampierella (thats the same FJA that had the Perry Rhodan books published in the USA in the 1970's, right?)

Oh, Perry. Now that would be an interesting universe to fall in the story.

[JovianJeff]

Originally Posted by ntwayneK

I didn't know Forrest J Ackerman made Vampierella (thats the same FJA that had the Perry Rhodan books published in the USA in the 1970's, right?)

Oh, Perry. Now that would be an interesting universe to fall in the story.

I think its a different man, but not sure. Sadly I hadn't read any of the Perry Rhodan books, although I have heard of them.

Jeff

[JovianJeff]

A 'little' late, but her is the next chapter. To those still reading, thank you.

Fragments a UOC/TWS/AIB AU
Chapter 37
Moments of Truth

Jadzia, cloaked in Earth orbit

"I think it is time to cut our losses," Julian mused as he listened to Clark grasp the change in the political winds. There wasn't a war to distract the people, the Centauri were calling for an end to that.

His attempt to trigger an incident at Babylon Five turned out to fail as his cousin refused to go through with a suicide mission he gave her.

Clark might be able to promote his agenda with the Mars 'conquest' by the aliens, but with the exile ISN declaring its liberation, complete with interviews of high profile Marsies the conquest angle was hard to sell.

Without any emergencies to distract it, the people of Earth now had time to think and their conclusions had already sparked several demonstrations.

"How long before the politicians make their move?" Julian asked Zia as she massaged his shoulders.

"Two weeks at the current rate, sooner if they are assured that the military would not step in," she had been tempted to reply with her typical disembodied voice instead of her holographic avatar, but she knew what Julian wanted and why. She was unhealthy for him, and yet she didn't stop pretending to be his Jadzia.

"How long before Sheridan offers that assurance?" there was no doubt in Julian's mind that the man would do so. Right now the loss of Mars was loomed over the remaining Earth Alliance military.

"That could be measured in days. It could be within twenty-four hours, the report the exile ISN was now transmitting clearly linked President Clark with the Shadows..."

"Yes from that footage on B5 where they pretty much named him as their ally. So much for his anti-alien rhetoric, although ironically it plays beautifully into this alien influence one. It's just he's been the one under alien influence...which may suggest an out to him," Julian mused and felt Jadzia stop for a moment.

"Will you suggest that to him?"

Julian chuckled, more amused with her than the question, "Not at all. He got himself into this, he can try and get himself out. By the way...his 'Scorched Earth' policy?"

"Taken care of. I have overrides in place. If he tries to use the planetary defense grid on Earth he will find it not responding to his command."

"Good," which may have also meant her resumption of the massage, "I can't have him hurting my Earth can I?"

Babylon 5

It had been weeks for the crews of the timeships now returning to the station from the past. It had been less than a day since they had left from the point of view of the space station Bayblon Five.

John Sheridan felt odd beaming back to his station. He and his party were silent after the transport was over and they just stood there.

"Come over to my place, I think everyone here needs a drink," Guinan said to break the silence, and knew it worked, even Kosh seemed a little amused that she did include him.

"I need to check in at CnC," John begged out, and looked to the General who shook his head.

"I think I need that drink Captain, see to your station," Franklin replied as if they were both still in Earthforce, and he wasn't a rebel.

"I think our 'date' isn't finished yet anyway," Galen remarked deciding to continue to tag along as Guinan lead Franklin, and Kosh to her quarters.

Michael and Ben were at CnC when John arrived. "Babs told us you were back," Micheal said as he watched what appeared to be a changed Sheridan, "What happened back when?"

"Mister Garibaldi, we are going to sit down and talk about that real soon," John promised still looking around with the feeling of a man who had been away from home for a long time.

He walked up to Ben, "Sir, I relieve you."

"I stand relieved," Ben formally said and then smiled, "Everyone made it out from Z'ha'dum and are due back in about two days."

"Celestial is en route to Mars for operations Clean Air and Manna from Heaven," Babs added as her update for her commander, "Commander Ivanova is also en route with the warp capable Earthforce fleet."

Absently John nodded, it had been decided that they wouldn't be left in orbit as temptation on either side. Earthforce might press to get such ships and second thoughts might crop up so close to home for even the people of the resistance.

Ben took his cue from Babs and started his own update to John, "As far as what the Fleet is doing, Colossus is on defense, Florence Nightingale helping out in orbit and among the Martian population, while the Scott has left to see to on-the-spot repairs with the Resistance fleet as well as to help out on the planet below."

Another nod, the non-warp upgraded Resistance fleet could use the in field repairs and since leaving Mars alone was not an appealing option they had to stay so Scott would go out and let the SCE get to work.

Michael spotted Ben looking at him, and received the message, let him bear the bad news, "The Centauri were hit by the Yonji Sinhindrea. Terix beat them off, but they were supposedly just a probing force."

Alth'Indor, en route to Centauri Prime

Nog noted his crew overall was quiet, sober, grim. They had not stayed long enough in the past to see Omelos' sun go nova, but they knew it happened relatively recently from their point of view.

"They quite simply need some form of a break," Benezia said during their meeting, "Fortunately they had time on La Barre before this mission, but that is in the past. Knowing they left a planet to die is hard."

"On everyone," Nog added, "So do you think they're ready for something so soon upon coming back to the present?"

"The crew could use something positive to do. Protecting Centauri Prime from the new enemy might be just what everyone needs," she left it implied that she meant her Captain as well.

"Maybe we should have gone with the Celestial, see Mars brought to life," Nog mused after a snort as he caught the implication his Counselor had intended him to.

"Besides our orders to the contrary, this involves something more active for the crew even if another attack does not come. In Mars orbit we would be just an observer, at Centauri Prime we are part of the defense."

"Tan Ru, Celestial did receive all of our data didn't they?" Nog asked again.

"Yes Captain," once more Tan Ru replied with a resigned tone that changed a moment later, "Enemy detected."

"Red alert," Nog ordered automatically, "What do you have for me Ru?"

"Four vessels that fit the design of the Yonji Sinhindrea and they are en route towards Earth."

"Have they spotted us?"

"No Captain."

"Cloak us and pursue, then alert the Fleet," Nog ordered as he rose and lead the way out of his Ready room and onto his bridge, Counselor Matriarch Benezia following.

Enterprise-D

"Shouldn't we have the Alth'Indor resume course to Centauri Prime, sir?" Shelby asked her Captain.

Judging what the Ambassador relayed from their encounter, the Enterprise along with the Andromeda, Arella, Baltimore and Dominion should be more than enough for the four ships.

"There are enough variables I do not wish us to get overconfident about Commander," Picard replied staring at the view screen and plot alternately, "One or two battles does not mean we'll win them all."

"However you do raise a very good point about the Centauri. Delta, have Geronimo, Orion and Va'es break from Mars orbit and head to Centauri Prime. If all goes well the Alth'Indor will join them," Picrad ordered, then rose to head to his Ready room, "You have the bridge Number one."

Tea, earl gray and hot, not only his beverage of choice, but one that could let him focus on the matters at hand, or so it had been through his career especially in command.

Lately there were other meanings to this drink that he just ordered from the replicator.

It reminded him of Rachel, their meetings with her and that abysmal coffee she insisted on having. Their talks, musings, and worries that they couldn't share with anyone else but their ships.

However just talking with their ships lacked a human connection, no matter how empathetic Charlene could be, or factual Delta tended to be.

When it came right down to it, Jean-Luc Picard enjoyed their talks and the sight and smell of the tea were bringing them back to him.

Picard is a soldier. Unlike his older self, he had always been a soldier.

With his older self's death he did get a glimpse of being something else, yet it wasn't just the 'fragment' of that man that let him see what else he could be.

Rachel had been doing that already, letting him see how else he might have lived his life. An explorer, possibly archaeologist, using his time and technology of his century to search out answers instead of targets.

"Hello, old friend.”

The words triggered the soldier in Picard and before he even thought about it, in one motion out came his phaser from where it was holstered at his side like a part of him and pointed in the direction of the oration.

In front of him formed what appeared to be a man in flowing white clothing, Picard already knew that whatever this was he was on his own dealing with it.

Delta would have sounded an alert immediately, and may be doing so for all Picard knew. He trusted his ship and it had never let him down.

"Do not be alarmed, you are in a small pocket of time if you will, in between seconds," the man in white paused and smiled as he used a hated enemies words as his own, "There is a need for us to talk in private. I have news of grave importance for your ears alone.”

Whether this being was telling the truth or not, Picard did not lower his phaser. Everything in him screamed that this was someone, some-THING wrong, but he would hear him out. "Speak, I am listening."

"You have been lied to. The Prophets that spoke to Sisko are a spiteful species, they want you out of their way and making you think you cannot go home is their way of making sure they win."

"Win what?" still the phaser did not falter from its aim at the being in white, deep down he sensed it did not matter to this entity, yet he would not roll over simply because he was suppose to.

"Why control of humanity, control of everything as they can manipulate destinies freely now that you are not in their way. Talk of this universe as a failsafe were more lies to further their agenda. For if this were truly a failsafe, why allow such dangers as has come, Jean-Luc?"

Picard had wondered about that, yet..."Perhaps the dangers are why we are here in the first place."

"Consider this, the portal, the gate the Yonji Sinhindrea use is from -your- quantum universe. That means the danger is to your home while you are here under false pretense to defend someone else's home."

Doubt started to nibble away at Picard, he lowered his phaser as he started to consider the words, the possibilities.

"You could use that gate you know. Your fleet," and it was a subtle stress on who was in command, "Could fight their way through the Yonji Sinhindrea and be home, or even just cloak and they would never know you were there until you were back fighting them for your own home universe."

"Who are you that I should believe you?" Picard demanded as the seed of doubt planted began to grow within him.

"I am Q. You have read the databases of the others. You know what I am. No matter what I have done, I always have the best of intentions. Know this is the case too. My methods you may disagree with, but my intentions have been for your benefit." Then in a flash he was gone.

"Captain?" Delta said the instant after Q vanished.

"What is it Delta?" Picard wanted to test some of what Q said.

"I am running diagnostics, but I lost track of you for .0007 second."

Picard had no experience with an actual Q to know Delta shouldn't have notice any time passing, but the entity called Count Iblis wanted this Picard to have some proof of a visitation.

Iblis paused at the gate between realities and watched as more Yonji Sinhindrea poured out into this universe. They passed by him unnoticed for indeed they could never perceive him unless he wished it.

He left this universe with his seed of doubt planted. If all worked well that Picard would believe him and indeed try to go home with all the consequences the Prophets told Sisko.

It would be fitting payback to Q for interference with Iblis' plans in other realities. It would sure up his alliance with Aybss and the others. With that pleasant thought Iblis departed this reality.

White Star Two, en route to Babylon 5

They watched her pace and made sure to stay out of her way. No-one made any suggestions to her to perhaps go and rest or leave the bridge she had been prowling around like a caged predator.

Susan Ivanova was fuming. How dare Picard say those things to her? What right did he have to tell her she had been reckless?

Again she relived the time after her return to Mars orbit when Picard had her beam over to the Enterprise. Chewing her out for a reckless attacks and then running from the fleet instead of towards it.

Couldn't that man see she was trying to help but taking the threat away? Yes, sure the fleet might have dispatched the two Shadow Omegas, but her way didn't endanger anyone.

Except her own people.

She couldn't let that one go, even her own consciousness said that and not in Picard's voice.

Then there was Jeff's advice to get a life. That is supposing she didn't just imagine meeting him. Everything white and Jeffrey Sinclair just happens to be talking to her when he had gone back in time a thousand years.

Now here she was on escort duty when she wanted to stay and watch what the Celestial do to Mars. That promised to be a spectacular sight, but orders were for her to lead the warp upgraded Resistance ships back home.

Orders she wasn't sure Picard sparked or really came from Sheridan.

With a suddenness that made a few Minbari flinch, Susan turned from her usual prowl and strode off the bridge. Minbari in her wake exchanged looks and often a sigh of relief.

She stalked her way down the corridors of the ship and promptly appeared at the doorway to the dormitories. "Marcus," she snapped out into the darkness. It never once occurred to her that he might not be alone.

After all these weren't private quarters like on a Starfleet ship, these were rows of beds, bunks, or they would be bunks on a human designed ship. She had given up sleeping save from drop-dead exhaustion.

When the beds at an angle, sleeping wasn't an consideration for her, but she wasn't here for sleep or anything else one might do on a bed. She forgot that along with Marcus, Stephen was returning to B5.

"Uh, perhaps I should leave?" Stephen asked as he looked from Susan to a mystified Marcus and back.

As he left, he could hear Marcus dryly tease him, "Thanks for the support. Way to watch my back."

Susan stepped aside, the embarrassment of this not letting her meet her friend's eyes as she looked everywhere but at Stephen.

Once he was gone, she looked directly at Marcus, the focus of her attention feeling strangely as if a targeting system had just locked onto him.

"Epsilon Millennium café. Nineteen hundred hours. Don't be late," Susan rattled off, then turned on her heel and left a very bemused and amused Marcus Cole.

Epsilon Millennium café, the most exclusive restaurant on Babylon 5. It was really a large holographic room run by Starfleet and B5 personnel, well mostly in Quark's employ or management.

Every species in B5 came to this place. Even the carrion eaters had a special section that catered to their own particular desires.

Special force fields and air filters were available so that other guests could dine in comfort without those unique smells interfering with their own sense of taste.

In short it was one of the most lucrative money makers for the Visitors short of the replimats sprinkled around the different sectors of the station.

And Susan just asked Marcus out on a date there.

When Stephen walked back in a moment later, he caught the tail end of a 'Whaaa-hooo!' Whatever bad news the doctor thought he was going to encounter, his friend was absolutely enthralled about it.

Celestial, Mars orbit

Gek’hal and his party were in a conference room, and asked to stay there for now. He agreed that it wouldn't do for Earthforce to find out he was onboard.

Silva was now entraining a Martian delegation onboard, headed up by Xavier Montoya, head of the Mars Provisional Government, and accompanied by former Mars Resistance leader Tessa Holloran.

"Well Ms. Holloran had told me much about what you hope to do, and I can say I am excited. With Ms. Carter off cementing alliances with Proxima and establishing trade with our neighbors," he wasn't going to say alien neighbors, that sounded too much like Clark, "I think Mars will remain free."

"We have arranged seating, screens and com links to the surface for your delegation in what we call our Ten Forward, my First Officer, Commander Salek will escort them there," Silva gave leave for the party to split.

"For you and Ms. Holloran we have front row seats up on the bridge," she lead the two to a turbo lift and into it. One ride later and Montoya was on his first bridge of a Federation starship.

Tessa noticed it was much like the Arella's bridge, she expected something different. "Why is your bridge like the Arella's?" she finally asked once the two were shown down the ramp to seats flanking First officer and Counselor seats.

Silva took hers in the middle and ignored Xavier's star at Wrex, or would have been a stare had Tessa's words pulled him from amazement at seeing such a truly alien...alien.

"The Nebula class is very similar normally, however in the case of the Arella, it use to be a Galaxy class," Silva began her explanation as Salek entered the bridge along with T'Pel.

"Use to be?" was the expected question that Montoya asked.

"We have our share of enemies too, and one of them ambushed the Arella on their way back home. They had to abandon their secondary hull to escape, but instead of building a whole new ship, the saucer section was converted to the similar Nebula class."

"So in effect is it a Galaxy class bridge because it came from a Galaxy class," Tessa summed up to Silva's inclination of her head confirming her summary.

"Are the Arella's camsats in place?" Silva asked in a tone of one ready to begin.

"Yes and ready to send a feed to the journalist onboard the Arella," Lore answered from Science I.

"All life forms are clear from the surface," Lal chimed in from Science II.

"Confirming ecological balance after the operation," Edward said from Science III, he missed Benjamin Kyle at Science IV, but he had recently heard from him and knew he liked being a CMO again.

And with the Baltimore having almost as diverse a crew as the Andromeda, it didn't make Dr. Kyle regret his walking away from being the head of Xenobiological Research at Earth Dome.

At least while Clark is in charge of everything, such a position was pretty empty. They weren't allowed to do any real research and if they wished to do any it had to do with bio weapons.

"Ready to deploy the Genesis Cannon," came the voice of Kiaphet Amman'sor from engineering. Eyebrows raised at the word 'cannon,' but they had been briefed about that beforehand.

What they hadn't been was about the Chief Engineer herself. Kiaphet Amman'sor was the great-great-great-granddaughter of the Kiaphet Amman'sor who met and talked with Jonathan Archer when she was the Xindi-Aquatics representative on the Xindi Council in the 2150s.

Kiaphet was the first Xindi in Starfleet and Silva was proud to have her as her Chief Engineer, and it was said that Hera thought of her as 'acceptable.' High praise from the goddess.

As a member of an aquatic species Kiaphet has to wear a specialized hydration suit when not in water, and Kiaphet’s was of her own design. Like Hwiii of the Andromeda, it did have an anti-grav effect, she swam through the air than trying to walk on a deck. Holo-water filled in for other times she didn't wear it.

Holographic water was a very unusual effect for those not use to it. Most of the crew would walk around in it as if it were air, it could be selective with who it bore up as if under water. It gave Main engineering and surrounding corridors and jeffries tubes a submerged look and alternate way to move around.

More than a few non-aquatic crew took advantage of that and swam around to their stations instead of walking around to them. Had their been less Vulcans on the crew, a swimsuit uniform option might have become available to the crew. A petition still cropped up from time to time.

Whatever crew wore, it did not affect Kiaphet's engineering crew, they were more mobile than other engineering crew, although transfers did have to get use to it.

It did not affect their efficiency as was demonstrated with the recent manual checks for the cannon and its generators.

"Deploy the Cannon Mr. Tuvok," Silva ordered, one the Vulcan above her followed.

Like the armor generators on Voyager, under the saucer generators formed a cannon that was much like the ventral phaser cannon on the battleship Galaxy classes.

"Genesis Cannon deployed and ready," Tuvok reported.

"Ready Governor, Counselor Holloran?" Silva asked using their new governmental titles, once they smiled and nodded, Silva typed in a single word.

Don't.

It was to her M5 who she knew had the tendency to say 'Behold the Power of the Goddess' when using the cannon. Silva did NOT want her AI to embarrass her.

"Captain Silva La Forge, authorization La Forge Gamma-3-6-9-9."

"Commander Salek, authorization Salek Beta 7-7-1-1."

"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, authorization Tuvok 0-0-4-0."

"Authorization codes accepted, genesis cannon enabled," Hera replied completing the sequence without a hint of offense that she felt for not being able to speak her catchphrase regarding the cannon.

"Mr. Tuvok...fire," Silva simply commanded.

From the bridge, down on Ten Forward, as well as the conference room with the Dilgar and even on Earthforce ships, both resistance and distant loyalist, they saw a white beam shoot out from the Celestial.

They watched transfixed as it impacted what atmosphere had been generated for Mars in the long terraforming process.

They saw the genesis effect spread out from that point to envelop the entire planet. Back on Earth, Clark had thoughts of using this in a broadcast about how the invaders destroyed Mars.

It was bright enough to think nuclear detonation.

Then it slowly faded and from the surface of Mars, blue skies were seen. In some parts clouds were heavy ready with rainfall. All across the globe, atmospheric test were ran, checked and tripled checked.

Slowly Martians exited when told all was clear, and the first few brave ones opened a helmet, removed a mask and breathed in the new air.

Camsats picked up the cheering crowds that started to leave the domes and dance in the new breathable air.

Babylon 5

Cheering had died down six minutes ago when Babs picked up a Minbari fleet en route to B5. A red alert was called and John was grateful that Susan had made it back to the station just to send her out again.

Right now, she, the upgraded Earthforce ships, Cerebus and Talyn were the only defenders he could count on with at least five dozen Sharlin class warcruisers inbound.

John told both the EAS Nimrod and Charon to back off and protect the civilians. He knew they would be near useless in a fight against Minbari stealth.

What really worried him was the fact the Captain of the Takari had no idea why a fleet was coming, while the Captain of the Tra'Gati didn't reply at all to hails.

"Can we count on the Voth?" Michael asked as multiple jump points opened up and saw John slowly shake his head.

"Not their problem. They -may- intervene IF the 'Emissary' is attacked and yes Ben has agreed..."

"To stand right by you," Ben completed as he strode into CnC, "I'm not sure if this is some power play of Minister Odala's or Kai Rygel. I know he wants to move for military ships to be built for the Covenant, but Odala keeps saying the Ossoona class ships were all the Voth government would provide."

Ben thought back to the Ossoona class, named after the temporary rank bestowed by the Covenant leaders upon specially selected Sangheili warriors who were to collect information on the enemy while avoiding any type of combat. The ships were really Voth science ships with improved armaments.

They were small, but still impressive compared to most other species' ships with a sensor range that is at least 90 light years, and could obtain speeds in excess of 50,000c.

He didn't like the gamble that Rygel was likely playing, but in truth this could just be Odala reminding everyone of her authority.

"Politics," John breathed out the word the three men were thinking regarding the Voth.

"Well if the religious caste didn't know about this, then maybe the...warrior caste," and it was Michael's guess that they were behind this fleet, "Don't know about the Voth. That big ship has got to be intimidating."

"We hope," John said.

"Gotta hope," Michael quipped to the amusement of his friend. It was such a un-Garibadli statement to make, so it had to be a joke.

It was the last one for a while.

"Captain Sheridan," Rannaonn felt the very words as a bad taste in his mouth, "I have been instructed that I am to let you know we are on our way to punish the Centauri Republic for their crimes and invite you Earthers and the Starfleeters to witness Minbari justice."

Enterprise-D

Overconfidence or not, the Enterprise was now the only ship en route to intercept the four likely Yonji Sinhindrea vessels. Andromeda, Arella, Baltimore and Dominion are headed to Centauri Prime.

"...hopefully they will be a deterrent against the Minbari fleet headed there," Shelby finished her part of the briefing Picard had called in the observation lounge.

"With Ben and Vir going along?" Dr. Troi asked, having seen how the Trois worked on other ships, Picard was including her in from Beverly's staff to his command one. Such Counselors had proven their worth.

"Captain Sisko, Ambassadorial Aide Vir Cotto and Lady Lyndisty Drusella will travel with the fleet, escorted by a few Covenant ships and the EAS Nimrod," Shelby said by way of answering.

"Is it true the Cerebus is being deployed?" Geordi asked with concern. Normally he trusted an M5, for over a century their systems had withstood the test of time, they were proven, but he read about this one.

Picard slowly nodded his head, his own doubts he kept off his face for Ben's sake, "Apparently Cerebus and Captain Sisko had come to an arrangement that ended with the M5 placing himself under the Captain's command...Delta show us the forces we expect to be at Centauri Prime when the Minbari fleet arrive."

On the wall screen the icons and ship names appeared in orbit of that world. Ten vessels, with Picard trying to ignore the one name there he knew he did not order to go.

K'mpec's Honor.

He had not told them to stay at Mars either. In fact he hadn't given them any orders and apparently Subcommander Kirk suggested to Captain Spock that the Honor would be a good asset to have.

Of course this was Kirk early in his career, just beginning in fact, which does not explain the rumors that he befriended the Captain of the Honor.

"And the report that the Premonition installed an M5 on the Terix?" he asked to clear his own mind.

"Confirmed by the Admiralty sir," Shelby replied, she didn't like it either.

"So all ten ships are M5...good, we'll need that to make up for the numbers," Picard mentioned the one blatant fact regarding the over six-to-one odds against if the Minbari can't be talked down.

It was odd he didn't consider the Cerebus a ship to be counted on, but then it was something not seen in the history of M5s, a traumatized AI.

Cerebus, shortly before Minbari fleet departure from B5

"I will follow your commands if you take the tour and see the horrors I have seen," Cerebus had growled over audio to Ben Sisko.

The Admiralty treated Cerebus like a traumatized soldier, giving make-work, or the fall back position of protecting B5, but now it was needed and from what some Counselors said this should work.

So Ben beamed onboard the Prometheus class ship and began his walk. He had a feeling it would be bad, and it was a walk through hell.

Holo emitters were throughout the ship on the Prometheus class and right now Cerebus was playing back how one hundred seventy-five crewmembers had died during Nagilum's experiments.

Ben had seen many ways a person can die, some were quite gruesome, but he had been in a ground war with the Klingons for many years. He had lost his wife and son to them, and had seen his own horrors.

It did not make this walk any less horrific, but it did put it in perspective to what this M5 was going through.

'They can't forget,' he remembered his Jennifer saying once regarding Dee, 'They remember everything. It is like the old Earth adage about how an Elephant never forgets, but worse, time never dulls their memories."

Ben did not look away at all as he now made his way to the bridge. If he was to command this ship, he had to show it nothing that it had seen would keep him from his duty.

He hoped Cerebus would get the extra meaning in that message. That the M5 should not let even these memories keep it from its duty.

Reaching the bridge, he saw the last of them die, and then he saw the Cerebus avatar, a huge three-headed dog as his ship's namesake.

From what he read of other ships with the avatar system, most went unused, but a few who did chose human or some humanoid. Cerebus was the rare one who chose a non-humanoid avatar to express himself.

"I relieve you," Ben sensed that is what this avatar was doing here on the bridge, waiting in front of the Captain's chair.

Six set of holographic eyes looked Ben in his two and said from three mouths, "I stand relieved." Cerebus moved out of his Captain's way and let the man take a seat that had been months vacant.

They saw the jump points opening and ships entering to leave B5 space. "Follow that fleet, Cerebus."

"Aye, Captain," three mouths replied.

Anla'Shok-zha, en route to B5

"You will get us there before our fleet arrives," was not a question asked by Neroon, it was a statement of pride in what he thought of as a Minbari created and run Starfleet ship.

"As soon as we are a safe distance from Z'ha'dum we will Starburst to Centauri Prime," Captain Delenn had informed him. She stood up and stepped down from the dais where her seat stood.

"If you will follow me," she indicated to her native counterpart and Neroon, "Commander Kosh, you have the bridge."

When they entered the officer's lounge, she let them either sit or stand, she faced the view that appeared open to space to look at the vista of hyperspace and the Zha'Fi behind her ship.

"I understand that one other time your people sought 'justice' on another species," she began still not looking at them, "The slaughter of millions for the death of one man."

Neroon bristled, native Delenn casted her eyes about in shame.

Captain Delenn turned to face the both of them, "Will we see a repeat of this intent? I understand the both of you are leaders to your people. I wish to know what savagery I should prepare myself to see."

"Savagery!" Neroon had sat, enjoyed some Minbari dishes laid out on the table, but now he was on his feet, ready to draw a Denn'bok at the very insult this other Delenn dared, "They slew one of the best of us..."

"Who would have been appalled at this reaction from his people," Captain Delenn demonstrated she shared more than looks and a name with the native Delenn, the fire she had was within her more Minbari face.

"Admiral Dukhat would have been appalled and I am finding we are more alike than unlike so I imagine your Dukhat would have been to see what you have done. Tell me, am I wrong?" she let the question hang in the air over them.

"No," native Delenn whispered, "you are not."

"Delenn do not listen..." but the words caught in his throat as he realized he found the face of a full Minbari Delenn more palatable than the Delenn he had known for years and fell into inarticulate indecision.

"But she is right, he would not have approved. I spoke out of rage, out of anger..." native Delenn said in great distress.

"You...I...was the one who gave the final vote?" Captain Delenn was shocked, she had not known her counterpart was the one, "What was I like that I could have done that?"

"Were you and your Dukhat close?" Satai Delenn asked, not wanting to in front of Neroon, but felt she had to.

"We...we were," neither Delenns could face the other as Neroon looked on he realized he might as well not even be in the room at this moment, for them he did not exist right now.

"Then you know."

Captain Delenn nodded, "I know. You would have had to have been there at his death."

"I was."

"But did you not try to stop it after the pain was not as raw?" she turned towards herself who also had turned around, both taking a step in the direction of the other.

"I did," Satai Delenn said turning away, it was a very strange feeling of hands that were Captain Delenn's now on her shoulders as she walked up from behind.

"But you could not. Events ran away from you until...this Battle of the Line?" Captain Delenn drew the Satai to herself, this was a pain both could understand as they are each other.

A chime from the table caught Neroon's attention and in Minbari script an invitation to come to the bridge was given. Isil'zha could see the Delenns needed time together, the one to help the other.

One needed to understand, the other needed to heal since she could not have shared these feelings with any other in the long years since the war had been over.

Having advised Commander Kosh, both AI and Vorlon had come up with an idea that might keep Neroon quite happily occupied.

"Would you like to command?" Kosh chimed and indicated the empty chair up on the dais.

Neroon smiled, and thoughts of the Delenns were shed from his mind as he ascended the steps and took the seat in command of what he considered the most powerful ship in the universes.

"We are in a position to Starbust," Isil'zha quietly mentioned to the bridge, Kosh looked up at Neroon, and waited.

The words were unfamiliar, but he was glad to utter them, "Ship, take us into Starburst."

Enterprise-D, interception point

Shelby expected an easy win, even given the four-to-one odds. Upon meeting the enemy it was three fighters and one capitol ship. If the Terix could win, so could the Enterprise.

Delta would have agreed, IF the Yonji Sinhindrea were like other races. However, they were more akin to the Borg with how they shared information. These did not fight as the other ships in the Centauri space had and unlike the Terix there were no drones to counter the fighters as all the capital ship attacked.

Realizing this as a tactical deficit, Delta sought to remove the fighters from the equation, .08 second before his Capitan would have made such a call.

Upgraded torpedo launches brought them up to Galaxy class (of the Scott's era) specs where ten torpedoes flew out in a single salvo. Phasers sought to sweep the fighters aside while photons rocked the enemy.

"Their shields are at forty-percent," Delta reported and noted the evading fighters who could not fire at the same time, however the capitol ship could and did.

With a combination of plasma and beam weapons it tore into the Enterprise shielding and to the ship itself. Ablative armor and hull plating gave way to what ripped past the shield to drill into the Enterprise.

Panels blew out on the bridge in feedback surges, people thrown from seats or railings as the crew were rattled by the blows to the very body of their ship.

Multiple dorsal and ventral phaser arrays stabbed at fighters to prevent an attack vector unless they invite a hit in exchange. A few did, but none long enough to give them a firing solution on the Enterprise.

Photons sang out into the eternal night once more in a mutual exchange of destruction for the Yonji Sinhindrea fired again as well.

Ships recoiled in the storms of damage sustained by the weapons fire, casting in doubt whether either would survive for another volley at the other.

An expanding cloud of plasma erupted as one ship definitely lost, leaving the survivor the victor of their megaton slugfest. Yet Enterprise found surviving was not a victory without consequences.

"Warp drive offline," Delta calmly reported as the capitol ship lost this machine gun duel at ten paces.

On the plot they could see the fighters had also survived was why Delta thought was relevant for his Captain to know that out of all the systems damaged, the warp drive was worth mentioning.

For the fighters did not press their attack, the AI observed as they engaged their own version of an FTL drive and departed on a very specific heading.

"Sector 001," Tasha said amid the smoke, "Earth."

Colossus, Earthspace

"Do not make me go Vader on you General Hassan," Namtar was not the same as the ones who either focused on medicine, or the specifics of obtaining genetic perfection.

He had been experimented enough and found he fine where he was, which like them included many other abilities that often other people did not realize he had.

Blast a hole, even a substantial one, in any of the Namtars and they could regenerate on the spot, and while his crew didn't want to think if he had telepathy, they knew he was a telekinetic.

With the Namtars on the other timelines, it was not as apparent as they were not demonstrative enough or it only came out if they were in a temper.

Captain Namtar, however, was a fan of a particular Earth cinema series called Star Wars and 'Going Vader' on the General seen on the view screen across him was not just an idle comment he made.

It was something he could do and has done to the surprise of a Cardassian, Romulan or Dominion opponent who opened visual communications.

"We can handle the intruders heading for Earth space and do not need your help alien," this General was one who fully bought into Clark's propaganda.

Hassan was on the EAS Evanston instead of General Pickett and Captain Drake already had missed the other CO. Even at the head of the Novas of this hastily assembled task force is, he was concerned.

This wasn't Picard, so Drake was thinking clearly and could make the simple deduction that if a smaller than Earthforce warship could be devastating, one that was the approximately the same size would be more so.

He did not give the Star Wars comment any thought other than aliens pandering to human sensibilities.

"I will not let your prejudice get your people killed," Namtar said inwardly lamented, he could have used one of his favorite lines from the series. Maybe the human would push him and he'd have a chance.

To anyone on the bridge of the Colossus the conversation was going along predictable paths, and a few were already worried about ISN fall out, especially when General Hassan played right into where Namtar wanted him to.

"You couldn't possibly be of any help alien, now clear out or go back over to your Marsies minions."

Namtar's face wasn't really a kind one expected a smile, nor did he overtly give one now, he merely inwardly rejoiced and hoped the line came out like on film, "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Drake, Hassan, no-body on Earthforce expected it, but those who had seen the films put the line together instantly with General Hassan suddenly not being able to breath.

Unfortunately, from Namtar's point of view, no sound effects, other than the natural one of Hassan's choking. Anu might have provided but that was below this M5's dignity for now.

However, seeing how haughty Hera is, Anu was reconsidering revising his own demeanor. He did not want anyone to think he was given towards a 'god complex'...well not much.

"End the signal, end the signal!" Drake shouted hoping that would work, which it did or so Namtar let them believe. He could have continued if he wanted after all it wasn't as if he had any cinematic limitations.

"You know their ISN is going to have a field day with that sir," Namtar's first officer thought he should point out. He looked straight ahead and not at his intimidating Captain.

"A good point Commander, but that administration is not going to last too much longer anyway," Namtar said as he rose to his full height standing up from his seat, "You have the conn, Commander Braca."

Commander Meeklo Braca watched as the over eight foot tall Captain walked off to his Ready room. He only once glanced at the center seat.

Few left the conn ever really sat down in it. Often the tallest human still felt like they were a child in a grown-ups seat.

Technomage ship following Minbari fleet

Slipping away from Guinan wasn't really his usual style, actually in reflection he hadn't slipped away at all. With a wry smile he did recall her saying have a nice trip before he should have disappeared from her senses. His ship gratefully waited for him and they were off by the time the Minbari left for Centauri Prime.

Galen had a lot to consider given what he now knows of the history of the universe. He -needed- to tell the others, there was so much they did not know, and should.

He also now understood why Elric held on so long when he should have died after reaching their hiding place. He has a counterpart among the Visitors, the Klingon all the others look to named Kang.

Elric knew there was more waiting for him, it was why he kept holding on. There was much to tell and Galen believed he did not have much time.

His ship would let him know when they arrived at Centauri Prime, so Galen rose and walked through a doorway only to appear in what appeared to be on the surface of a planet, outdoor in front of a campfire.

"We understand you have news for us," Dirk said to him as Galen took a spot next to him and looked over at the regal and aged form of his mentor Elric.

"I have traveled time and seen where the threads spin where we have the fabric of history today," he began in order to further cement their attention.

"I have seen why the Vorlons and the Shadows started their question and why the races of our region of space had been limited to hyperspace where there is so many other ways to travel among the stars."

Galen told him of the Visitors, the extra-universals who had changed so many things. He told them of the Ghul, though he admitted the need to know more. He told them of the new enemy who is a danger to all.

Then he spoke of his travels over time, how he saw the many mistakes of the Vorlons, and saw the Taratimude, who began the Technomages among other races.

"That would explain the messages," Elric said and only the eldest of the Technomages seem to know what he spoke about, "Wierden has left messages for you personally Galen. They were only to be accessed in this very year, another reason we had to go into hiding to insure their survival."

"Which can wait a little longer," Alwyn said as even he had come to this meeting. He was one of the few who had not gone with the Order into hiding, "The Vorlon opened this gate and encountered Anti-life."

Galen knew where the elder mage wanted to go, a review, "The Vorlon then created the Flood to counter the Anti-life. Then to stop the Flood they created the Reapers."

"Who in turn eventually taught the Vorlons by example how to control races, but controlling the technology," Herazade added as he considered the pattern this formed.

"By leaving the Jump gates they insured that races in our region of space only used hyperspace as the Reapers had 'trapped' the civilizations before by having them use their Mass Relays," Galen reviewed.

"When it was discovered why races disappeared over the eons the First Ones insured the Relays were destroyed to prevent the return of the Reapers and went out to beyond the Rim to search for the Reapers," the mage called Kane supplied his contribution to this oration of review, "This in time became a pilgrimage."

"Whose meaning has been lost over time," Elric considered the recent Vorlon journey to the Rim, and Galen's news that the Shadows will soon follow, "Much like their question of who was right."

Galen nodded, "Precisely, it began with which way to rear the younger races now that the Reapers won't return. They forgot why it was important and it became a matter of who was right."

"Which the answer turned out to be neither were right, it lay somewhere between," Guinan said as she walked up to the fire causally as if she had been expected, which to the rising mages, she had not.

In the shocked silence, she turned to a stunned Galen and simply said, "I told you once when you showed me a trick of yours that one day I would show you one of mine."

Jadzia, cloaked in Earth orbit

"Now comes the moment of truth," Julian said as he listened and tapped the communication to sent to President Clark on his own private line.

Briefly he wondered how many where listening in, and thought to ask Jadzia, but decided against that, it wasn't important.

"We're not asking, we're telling..."

"That would be this Justin person, who is the new representative for the Shadows," Julian mused out loud.

"With a 93.45% likelihood of being Mr. Morden's boss," Zia informed.

"Based on?" Julian was more curious where Jadzia generated that figure than the discussion of whether Clark would honor any Shadow demand given he knows they are on the run.

"In the broadcast he was at ease around the Shadows, presupposing some time spent among them. Either they had him in mind to replace Mr. Morden or he was Mr. Morden's superior."

"He could have been an underling, and was just promoted."

Zia's avatar in the hologrid shook her head, "Not nervous enough. He isn't worried about doing a good enough job."

"You can read that from the broadcast?"

"Humanoids give off many messages in their body language, voice, even the manner they address others. Compiling a fairly accurate reading is not as difficult as your tone makes it seem."

"And the Shadows?" Julian prompted fairly certain what the answer will be.

"Insufficient data. There is simply not enough about their reactions to build a model to work with."

"...want to move our ships to move into your solar system for a few weeks while we regroup."

"That is not going to go over well," Julian said over the next few words regarding how these ships would be coming from all over.

"Give me Babylon Five and then it is a deal Mister Justin," Clark sneered at the man knowing he held all the cards, or feeling that way.

"You don't want to be our enemy Mr. President," Justin was trying hard to remain polite, that made Clark feel even better about his position.

"Or what? I'll suffer like the Centauri had?" he knew that Justin knew the attack on the Centauri had been foiled, "And those Fleeters won't let you do anything here just like there."

"Hiding behind your enemy, Clark?" Justin dropped pretenses of civility.

"The enemy of my enemy has just let me call this call to an end," Clark said closing the channel.

"Well that's that. He's on his own, which means we might be switching allegiance a little earlier than planned...are our contingency plans in place?" Julian asked getting up from the chair in the hologrid.

Julian stood up and walked outside of the hologrid, beyond where Jadzia could reach him, he wished he had time to put emitters all over the ship, but there was too much going on. Right now he wanted to stretch.

"Yes, after months of work even our moon base is ready for transfer...are you planning on fighting if the Shadows come?" Zia asked ready to formulate what their ship might do against the suspected forces.

"To an extent yes, but even one Defiant wouldn't be enough. No, we might have to make an appearance to make sure the Colossus stays in system..." he shook his head, "They might do more than singe our hull so a fall back to the moon base would be a good idea. You are set up do download right?"

"Yes, to any of the locations around the solar system," she said, knowing the moon base was only the most lavish of the bolt holes Bashir had set up.

"Is the Dominion ship still searching for us?" at least he thought it was a cloaked Dominion ship, in the databases from the other ships, they didn't have that technology, but if the Enterprise-F could be new...

"Just where are they?" now that the Ent-F came to mind he wanted to know where Tyr and his ship went.

Enterprise-F en route to B5 from Z'ha'dum

Tyr considered the Chief Enforcer who was on his ship. The title was for those not of the Imperial Starfleet as in truth there wasn't a Chief Enforcer, there were only Enforcers. Although it is safe to say Kosh is the Chief of them all. There weren't many Vorlons in the Empire, but they all acted with the same title.

It was one that the Khan Noonien Singh had taken from the conquered species Zheeerlikou'valkhannaieee, whose own leader had been called Khan'a'khanaaeee or Khan by those who did not wish to learn a conquered species customs.

Each Vorlon in Starfleet is hirikolus'ni'hami, which meant they literally are the Khan, a physical avatar for the often distant Emperor. Many times they were merely his eyes, sometimes his judgment.

Having Kosh onboard was both a high honor, and a concern of whether he was here because the Emperor was unsure about a matter and wished to have his avatar there to...modify the situation if he didn't like it.

More than one Captain was killed by a hirikolus'ni'hami, although the presence of one on the Enterprise was more traditional, going back to Vresh who was on Archer's Enterprise.

Still with the way this Vorlon came and went on his own concerned Tyr, yet they were trapped together in this universe and from what Alpha had informed him, they could not return.

Kosh may feel his title quite literally and Tyr wasn't certain he was ready to follow 'Emperor Kosh' as he had Immortal Khan.

Gliding down from where he stood often at tactical, territory his actual Security Chief Charlemagne Bolivar tried not to let openly grate against him, Kosh went right up to a very significant door.

"Come," he chimed not even looking back at the Captain who was just told to report to his own Ready room. If anyone else dared act like that Tyr would have killed him, Kosh however...he would obey.

"Sit," came the next chime as the Vorlon went to the stand in front of the desk. This was good, it meant he wasn't taking command as he had the regulated right to do if he felt he should.

"Sinhindrea must die. Bashir insufficient. Seek another alliance," he simply said and without another word, turned and glided out the door.

Tyr sat staring at the door for almost a minute, then he realized he should get up and be seen on the bridge. He wouldn't want his crew to think that they had a new Captain just yet.

Predestination paradox had made his first officer the mother of his race, even as Tyr courted her to be one of his wives, but Beka Valentine should not think she just inherited command of the Enterprise.

Babylon 5

Captain Sheridan knew he shouldn't feel naked right now. Especially since just last year he had never even heard of a Starfleet.

Yet this was the first time since they arrived that one hasn't been in B5 space. They were all out there on various missions, with the reserved called upon and finding that the seemingly endless supply of ships had a limit.

B5 did have its now warp capable resistance fleet as well as the EAS Nimrod. Talyn was healing farily well, soon should be ready for action beyond B5 space. Then there were the Ghuls, Five of Five by himself was quite the deterrent. Add in that the Takari remained and John knew he shouldn't be so worried, or feel so naked as he does. That Minbari ship alone promised peace.

Its sister ship the Tra'Gati left with the other Sharlins to Centauri Prime and John could only wonder how Vir of all people was going to prevent whatever it was these Minbari called justice to be rained down on their world. It wouldn't be genocide, Ben would see to that.

With the other Fleet ships headed to Centauri Prime, anything Ben had to start, he wouldn't be alone in finishing.

Then Delenn would be there too, both of them, although only one was on John's heart. She apparently will get there before all of them. He could only hope she could mitigate what the Minbari intended.

"Captain," Babs interrupted John's musings, the fact rank was used let him know bad news was coming from his M5.

"Go on Babs."

"Contact with the Leonis jumpgate has been lost."

Yep, bad news.

This made the second jumpgate lost, destroyed, something none of the races would consider doing. It was an act of war. Ross gate had been the previous one, and so far no-one claimed responsibility.

"The Admiralty is diverting Alth'Indor to head there. EarthForce is sending two Omegas who were in the area," Babs reported and John briefly wanted to interrupt her to ask how she knew that, "The EAS Cortez has also been diverted to go there."

That ship name brought a smile to John's lips even in the face of such grim news. Captain Jack Maynard, the commanding officer of the Explorer class ship EAS Cortez, is also a close friend of John's.

Close friends with nicknames for each other. John calls him ''Stinky while Jack calls him 'Swamp Rat.'

He knew he shouldn't just leave it to Starfleet. "Have Ed send the Revere, Babs," John said wanting to show some other B5 presence Jack would recognize, even with the warp ring around the propulsion block.

John needed to take his mind off the gate problem for the moment, it was easier after he saw the Revere exit the B5 jumpgate.

"Babs, give me an update on the Kor-Lyon Republic refugees," that Republic had been within thirty light-years of Z’ha’dum, and while they didn't know their destroyers, John had a very good idea who.

"The current count is thirty and a spot on La Barre has been designated for them. The La Barre SCE team has made sure a camp with facilities was set up and if there are more it can easily be expanded."

"If there are more..." perhaps thinking about the refugees wasn't such a good idea. Knowing millions were captured by likely the Sinhindrea and knowing their probably fate was not any better than the Leonis mystery. He just hoped Jack would keep his head down and be ready to jump out if trouble comes a calling.

Crichton's cube, en route to B5 space

Unimatrix Zero, John Crichton was back with Aeryn on their 'deserted' island when it once again gained another unwanted visitor.

They were combining past times they both enjoyed. A firing range was set up for Aeryn to use, her fun, and Crichton enjoyed watching Aeryn dressed as he convinced her to with no-one else around.

"Zhaan?" Crichton didn't think it was one of the assimilated Zhaan's from the various timelines, knew it wasn't the native one. That one had been saved and made it to the planet she needed to revive herself.

"I don't see anyone Crichton," Aeryn remarked confirmed John's suspicions that this had to be ascended Zhaan.

"Private message baby, let me take a walk and see what's it about," he said giving her a kiss before walking away. He left Aeryn happily shooting. He sighed and after one last glance back at her, then he left.

Aeryn was hot to begin with, add in that whole bikini, girls and guns and it was very hard for John to follow Zhaan down to the beach.

He could see Zhaan was smiling in complete comprehension, and he almost felt guilty as if caught doing something wrong.

"Well?" he decided to ask in stead.

"It is getting close to when you should reveal the city-ships brought into this universe," she said as they walked side by side.

"Now why is that?" and he was curious, those were pretty big ships, and he had the notion of someone playing chess when they were brought in.

"An enemy is starting to destroy jumpgates. What we're doing will have a secure way for people to get around as quick as possible."

"Is Earth ready?" he had heard about the change of management of Centauri.

"Soon will be," Zhaan replied thinking of current events and one soon to be ex-President Clark.

"Zhaan, I know you can show me what you wish, but I have the feeling something is bothering you."

Zhaan smiled, "Yes John, it is a bit earlier than what we hoped for. The enemy has made three forays into this universe already. One was the war a thousand years ago, another is the Yonji Sinhindrea."

"And the third?"

"You'll have to warn Picard. He believes Q has visited him, but it wasn't Q," she paused knowing John had encountered the name she was about to speak, "It was Iblis."


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

There you have it, another chapter. Hopefully all making sense. Comments are still very much appreciated as well as questions and corrections. Again, thank you everyone who are reading this.

Jeff

[madbob]

...and the plot thickens, Sisco got to see a real chamber of horrors...I pity the M5...

[JEKrug01]

Iblis? Oops, guess BSG elements had to get in there somehow... wonder if they'll get a alternate Galactica somewhere...

[JovianJeff]

Originally Posted by madbob

...and the plot thickens, Sisco got to see a real chamber of horrors...I pity the M5...

Cerebus' tale was one I didn't have a way to tell until this chapter. I'm glad to see it worked out.

Hopefully as the plot thickens it can still be followed. Thanks for commenting!

Originally Posted by JEKrug01

Iblis? Oops, guess BSG elements had to get in there somehow... wonder if they'll get a alternate Galactica somewhere...

Well yes, although it is sprinkled here and there since earlier chapters. The assimilated Basestar that is now Borgstar 01, the Ship of Lights that has its own unique name and place in this story to come as a semi-regular, Six of One is an assimilated model Six among other elements of BSG.

Yes, an alternate Galactica will show up. Tentatively that chapter is named 'Playing with the Big Boys Now,' but won't be up until after the Sinhindrea invade Minbar, but possibly before the Sinhindrea hit B5. Still working that out with what is to plan.

Thanks for commenting!

Jeff

[Inquisitor]

Originally Posted by JovianJeff

Cerebus' tale was one I didn't have a way to tell until this chapter. I'm glad to see it worked out.

Hopefully as the plot thickens it can still be followed. Thanks for commenting!



Well yes, although it is sprinkled here and there since earlier chapters. The assimilated Basestar that is now Borgstar 01, the Ship of Lights that has its own unique name and place in this story to come as a semi-regular, Six of One is an assimilated model Six among other elements of BSG.

Yes, an alternate Galactica will show up. Tentatively that chapter is named 'Playing with the Big Boys Now,' but won't be up until after the Sinhindrea invade Minbar, but possibly before the Sinhindrea hit B5. Still working that out with what is to plan.

Thanks for commenting!

Jeff

did i miss an update for this week...back from vacation...even though i couldn't comment i still downloaded the chapter updates to read it offline...anyway i'm looking forward to how things would go when the Sinnhendrea attacks Earth, will Mars gets DBZd just like in Skeet's fanfic or the Sinnhendrea are wiped out by the Ent-F considering that they're a bit possessive of their empire...

[JEKrug01]

Originally Posted by Inquisitor

did i miss an update for this week...back from vacation...even though i couldn't comment i still downloaded the chapter updates to read it offline...anyway i'm looking forward to how things would go when the Sinnhendrea attacks Earth, will Mars gets DBZd just like in Skeet's fanfic or the Sinnhendrea are wiped out by the Ent-F considering that they're a bit possessive of their empire...

Maybe a bit of both? They get wiped out, but not before wiping out parts of Mars?

[Skeet]

There will be some differences. Mars had been wiped out during the first skirmish and I use that word 'skirmish' lightly as compared to what's coming. But we'll see how things develop in this AU.

[JovianJeff]

Originally Posted by Inquisitor

did i miss an update for this week...back from vacation...even though i couldn't comment i still downloaded the chapter updates to read it offline...anyway i'm looking forward to how things would go when the Sinnhendrea attacks Earth, will Mars gets DBZd just like in Skeet's fanfic or the Sinnhendrea are wiped out by the Ent-F considering that they're a bit possessive of their empire...

Welcome back! And no you didn't miss an update for this week. I had gotten busy during the weekend and so I hadn't been able to get more than a few paragraphs of either this story or the M5 files. I -might- get something out Friday, but it does not look hopeful.

In current outlines the Ent-F won't be in the Earth system when the Sinhindrea arrive. Although the Ent-F will fill the slot in Skeet's fic.

Originally Posted by JEKrug01

Maybe a bit of both? They get wiped out, but not before wiping out parts of Mars?

That is the more likely, with how the set up is going, Mars won't be wiped out, but it likely will be attacked.

Originally Posted by Skeet

There will be some differences. Mars had been wiped out during the first skirmish and I use that word 'skirmish' lightly as compared to what's coming. But we'll see how things develop in this AU.

Exactly good sir. Just the number of ships is different so different outcomes. Otherwise I would be attempting a poor re-write instead of an AU, which I wouldn't dream of trying.

Thank you everyone for the comments, the input. Both this story and M5 files are coming long.

Jeff

[JovianJeff]

M5 files update going well, Fragments was just finished first

Fragments a UOC/TWS/AIB AU
Chapter 38
To the Rescue

Yamato, en route to B5 from Z'ha'dum

Lindstrom was getting use to a lot of things. This strange new universe, the fact they won't be going home to their own, even the aliens that were now part of the crew in their own way.

He had even gotten use to being called Christopher Eager, or at those times Argo was feeling more in his ethnic moods, Kenjiro Ohta.

In fact others had started to call him Chris at times, not that he minded. Just like he didn't the sound effects Argo would substitute in place of what a system might sound like on any other ship.

Like the sounds the klystron hyperspace scanner would make back on the C-57-D. Here it sounded like the scanners his namesake 'Eager' manned on the bridge of that cartoon Yamato.

It did let him know immediately something was up. It also let the officer-of-the-watch, Nichols know something was up.

"Report!" Nichols barked and Lindstrom inwardly sighed. He knew Nichols didn't like to be here, wanted to be on leave either at B5 or Proxima, but most of all Nichols felt left out.

Argo hadn't picked a 'nickname' for him yet.

He didn't say it, but every time either the AI or some of the crew used a nickname it made Nichols sour. Well it was only Lindstrom's problem while they both were on watch, like now.

"Several signals sir," Lindstrom reported, "One is on a direct course to the Centauri system, a smaller signal is following us, or headed in our direction, with the last one in the vicinity of where a jumpgate was reported lost."

“Contact the skipper," Nichols told Lindstrom specifically, one could say out of habit, but also a bit resentful.

"I've got it Ryder," Argo replied after a long nearly second of thinking what he could call Nichols. So he decided upon Homer Glitchman, chief communications officer.

Argo wouldn't point out that the character was a member of the Navigation Group, and only seen on the 2nd Bridge during the coffee break in episode 15.

Fortunately Nichols knew none of that lore, though he did join the crew on movie nights when the films were shown...when Argo's choices where shown.

Nichols seem to stand up straighter and actually smile, a goofy sort of smile in Lindstrom's opinion, but the man was happy his superior was happy. Inwardly he applauded the AI for finally getting around to this.

Now if only whatever they were detecting was just as easy to remedy. If what Lindstrom suspected they were, it wasn't going to be so simple.

Technomage encampment

Everyone around the fire had the question of who on their lips, but they could sense a power among them and that prevented the actual utterance of the one question they would like answered, followed by how.

Guinan decided the second question deserved to be addressed first, "I stowed away."

Galen's eyes widened, and he felt the glare of his fellow mages, he wanted to say something, explain to them it was not as simple as she was making this sound, but how could he.

He didn't really need to.

"Which means you fooled or commanded his ship," Elric said to stem off the stream of accusations that would head his former student's way.

"Let's go with fooled, I don't like to tell anyone to do anything...well not often," she explained and looked around the circle as if she had a spot waiting for her.

Elric received the hint and motioned for everyone to make room, Guinan settled down among them and looked around. "You know, you really shouldn't still be hiding out. The universe is changing and you should be apart of it. Staying here and you won't recognize things when you do go back."

Galen noticed an unfamiliar beeping around him, which meant everyone else heard it too. Guinan was the only one who seem to know what it meant and then leaned over to him. "Your ship's calling. I think you've arrived at Centauri Prime."

Which Galen found out a moment later when his ship actually did contact him.

"I guess I should be leaving?" he hedged unsure what to do, normally he would have told his ship to just stay hidden and wait for him. He had the distinct impression she wasn't giving him the option to stay.

Elric confirmed it, "See what is happening there."

"Don't worry about me, I'll either catch up to you or arrange my own ride home," Guinan answered the question before Galen asked it.

Cerebus, Centauri Prime orbit, a few hours later

“USS Cerebus, emergency. Three to beam up to beam up, ASAP.” Sisko heard over the com, and raised an eyebrow.

On the main viewscreen Cerebus had identified the location as House Refa estate, the palace of the head of that Centauri House. According to Cerebus the signal was just outside the main building.

Ben also saw the marker of Three -Romulans- and one human, before the human vanished from sensors. Guinan hadn't taught all the M5s the trick to see through the shroud and she had Babs promise not to tell.

Cerebus also flagged a second spot and the word danger flashed beside it. Ben didn't need any further interpretation of the growing power spike, "Beam them up now!"

He had seen the power build up and the identity of a Romulan shuttle. Questions of how, what and why would wait until after he had them onboard.

"Warn everyone!" was his next order, he certainly did not want anyone to think the Minbari did that, nor the Minbari to think the Centauri were behind the detonation to come.

He'd have questions for the Terix after he made sure he had whom he assumed was their people up and safe.

Ben knew his M5 would relay what they knew and hope everyone would remain calm even after two twenty isoton antimatter warheads vaporized everything within an eight square kilometer area.

House Refa was no more.

"Have them stay in the transporter room until I get down there," he told the avatar, and oddly started to think of him as his dog. It had been years since he had one, up until he joined Starfleet and it just felt comfortable to have one again.

Sela and Tarok just stared at the three headed Sehlat stared back at them from beyond the obviously Federation transporter chamber.

S’hnula was slung between them, her broken leg and multiple contusions made her a burden when the human came to free them from the Centauri dungeon, but one Sela and Tarok gladly shared.

For ten days they had been locked away in that dungeon, brought out only for torture and demands for how to access the technology their shuttle represented.

As their leader Sela suffered the most with three fractured ribs, four broken bones, three missing teeth, a damaged eye, a destroyed eardrum and loss of blood.

Yet even when the Centauri brought their psychics to try and pry the secrets away, mental shielding such as Tal Shiar training gave her and the recently deceased T’wlyn, as well as natural shields S’hnula and Senator Tarok had, prevented any success.

Now after the unidentified bald human rescued them, they face a (hopefully) pet Sehlat. Yet the three heads confused the Romulans, the Federation eschewed genetic engineering, even if a three headed anything was possible. Q? Could be, it was like something he might do.

"Well Q we passed your little test," Sela told what she didn't know was the avatar of the Cerebus, "We are superior to humanity whom you also tested. We -danced-!"

All she got for her snarl was a returning growl from the sehlat.

"Sela," Tarok said slowly as understanding dawned, "I don't think that is Q."

"Down boy," Sisko said as he walked into the transporter room, priding himself for his poker face as he did not expect a three headed sehlat facing off three obviously injured Romulans.

"Beam them to medical," he told his ship, "Introductions can wait. Inform Mnhei'sahe if you haven't already."

He'd let their M5 inform them of their mission failure or that some subordinate faction's activities had been discovered. Ben wasn't sure what the Romulans were up to, and he didn't once think it might be new Romulans instead of the ones already in this universe.

He decided to treat here rather than chance finding out whatever they were doing below vanish if they were immediately returned to the Terix.

"Bring the EMH on-" Ben stopped, he recalled what happened to the EMH, Nagilum had caused all of his photons to disperse and let the hologram feel it as it did, "Call the Doctor, either one, have him download to us." He had thought about calling for a medical team from the Anla'Shok-zha, but decided against it.

Cerebus may not yet be ready for any other biological company, holograms were acceptable. Not so much that a new EMH had been sent to the Cerebus, but then before now there wasn't a need with no crew.

"Well boy, let's find out what the Romulans were doing on Centauri Prime," he said as the two of them left the transporter room to head to their sick bay and Cerebus' avatar had returned to a three headed dog.

Leonis Jumpgate

One jump point opening and closing, then a flash of light later was all the warning Captain Jack Maynard had that there is a new visitor to this system beyond the two Omegas that arrived earlier.

No-one on the Cortez expected what appeared to be an Earthforce ship, one with an odd sort of ring around its propulsion block.

Nor did anyone see a cloaked NX class ship as the Bonny Beverly decided to follow the Revere in case it needed backup.

Captain 'Blackjack' Crusher was tired of hiding out and wanted to do something, even if it was quiet, especially if no-one else knew what he was up to.

"Cap'n that's an Earthforce ship, but it was moving faster than light in real space," Maynard's XO needlessly pointed out.

It was something Captain Walton of the EAS Hera, a loyalist Omega class ship, also noticed. "The Omegas are targeting the Hyperion!" a senor rating shouted.

Maynard closed his eyes, he hoped he wouldn't be caught in the civil war shoot out.

He turned to his com officer, "Get me the Hera! We can't afford to fight when something worse it out there." At least to him it seemed worse. One look at the four twisted struts that once made up a jumpgate was all that was needed to convince him that bigger trouble waited for them.

"No response," came the quiet reply, Maynard could feel the tension on the bridge. They were about to watch as Earthforce shot at Earthforce since the Revere were launching its Star Furies.

Six Star Furies out numbered by four full squadrons of unmodified Star Furies, it wasn't as bad as it looked, but no-one on the Omegas or the Explorer class ship knew about the upgrades the six fighters had.

They were still outnumbered, but Revere and her fighters were going to let the loyalist know they were in a fight.

"Pops?" Wesley asked on the bridge of the Beverly. Jack Crusher stopped his pacing and silently shook his head as the answer to her son's question.

He did add, "I don't think its going to come to it."

"If it does?"

"We show them the Revere isn't alone," he gave one of his smiles that always worried Wesley. His father was going to try something insane, it didn't help when he heard his father say, "Remember this ship use to be named Enterprise. We do big things."

Wesley cut short the urge to point out -museum- ship Enterprise and not the actual one Archer took over.

"You sure you want to do this Captain?" the XO of the Hera asked concerned they would be caught fighting each other when the real enemy came along.

"That ship has that real space faster than light," Walton said not thinking he was a greedy man, or ambitious, just loyal and he knew Earth could use that technology the rebels won't share, "We need it."

There, he decided, they would do this, they had to, "Go for disabling shots."

Suddenly everything powered down, emergency lighting came up as well as the viewscreens on the Omegas.

"Pops?" Wesley asked as he saw the two Omega's power down, and then considered another source, "Icon?"

"Not me, although that was your father's backup plan," the ancient AI confessed, "You don't want to know his first idea."

"Hey!" the senior Crusher protested.

On the Omegas, each and everyone had the same image on their various view screens, one of an alien staring out at them. A recognizable one, but not one native to this region of space.

They had heard a Ferengi served in the Federation fleet, but this was their first look at him.

Decloaking above and in front of the Revere, a Wanderer class ship with the Romulan name of Alth'Indor faded into view.

Both Crushers jus stared, if they had chosen where the Beverly had been...well they didn't know what would have happen. In theory, IF they had an interphase cloak they would know just passing into their position. If they hadn't they would have crashed into each other while both ships were cloaked.

Rearward of the Alth'Indor, above and behind the Revere, the Bonny Beverly remained cloaked and watching.

"We're locked out," the second officer of the Hera reported to Walton, "I thought we were protected against this."

"You were, that's why it took us so long," the Ferengi that looked like Nog said in a manner either Nogs already in this universe would not have, "Stand down Captain. You can't afford a fight and greed will just get you killed. And unlike previous ships you've encountered I won't leave one of you alive to tell the tale."

"We have a spatial disturbance one thousand Kilometers to our bow," a voice reported to Nog, "The configuration matches the data we intercepted."

"Liquidate them," Nog commanded and the image winked out. What Walton knew about the Starfleeters went against what he saw. This ship didn't give a warning, no shot across the bow, they just fired.

They recognized phasers and those photon torpedoes that were so devastating, what they didn't were bright white spheres, stars of some unknown energy that flung out at the two unknown vessels.

"Whatever they were, no effect," one sensor operator reported to Walton.

"Not like the phasers or photons, they hit and seem to rock those two babies," another one said excitedly.

"Icon?" Jack asked as he noticed the same thing the Hera's crew did, apparently no effect, and he knew what they weren't he hoped the ancient AI knew what that were.

"Isolytic burst," Icon answered after a moment of analysis, "Subspace weaponry."

"Pops, didn't most of the other timelines ban them?" Wesley asked, he more heard one of the other two Robin Leflers mention it to his as they were covering differences in universes.

"Yes, Wesley they had," Jack answered mentally adding at least provisionally, "but near the end of the Empire, they had been brought out too little, too late. Apparently Nog is not playing by the rules here."

"It lends itself to the theory that whatever propulsion the Sinhindrea use it doesn't involve a warp core of any kind, no subspace propulsion," Wesley said filling Jack with fatherly pride regarding his brilliant son.

"Tell Cortez to get out here, head for Earth or maybe Proxima," Walton ordered, recalling that Earthforce had a presence at the latter location, although not any authority over that wayward colony.

"They're launching fighters!" or what that operator believed are fighters, "Two dozen of them!"

Twin vessels with the huge bulbous power cores turned to target the Cortez, so far the Explorer class ship's defense grid kept it from getting hit, though it was rocked by the near explosions.

It was certainly not like what Walton expected from the stories about the Starfleeters, not once did this ship try to interpose itself in between the enemy and the Cortez.

Then it did, but how did it get over to the Cortez when it was closing on the enemy...he heard the rating shout it as he realized what he was seeing, "There are two of them Captain!"

"Icon?" Jack Crusher asked as the Beverly was moving into position to protect the Cortez.

"Identical down to the warp signature, but two different Alth'Indors. We have another universe's Alth'Indor in front of us."

Two Wanderer class with identical markings were now in this fight. Two ships named Alth'Indor, one did defend the Cortez as that colossal ship opened a jump point and escaped into hyperspace. The other charged the enemy ships.

Both Omegas focused on one of the enemy ships letting their combined fighters along with the Revere's take on the enemy fighters. Nuclear tipped missiles slammed into the one enemy ship only to find it had shields.

Hera's defense gird was strained in the returning fire, inceptors growing hot and then losing efficiency as the fire rained in from the one enemy ship.

It was three on one and barely holding their own, somewhat like the first Alth'Indor, the difference being it was all alone as it fired and fought.

So far only the Revere's photonic missiles seem to make any significant difference on the Earthforce side of the fight.

They were joined as the Bonny Beverly fought from cloak, Jack Crusher wasn't ready to let themselves be seen. To most others it just looked like more fire came from the general vicinity of the Revere than it should have been possible. Revere knew they weren't shooting more than they had, but they were too busy fighting for all they were worth to try and find out precisely where the extra firepower was coming from.

It was a battle that lasted longer than the other one with the first Alth'Indor.

Precision photon torpedo strikes from the first Alth'Indor reduced the enemy shields, a salvo of quantum torpedoes finished it.

Then it turned on the second vessel only to be joined by the arriving later Alth'Indor. Walton saw the enemy didn't last a single salvo later.

Both vessels faced each other and Walton believed he felt the tension between them, then one turned and vanished, Walton believed into that faster than light, he had no idea it was into cloak.

"Pardon the cliché Wesley my boy, but follow that starship!" Captain Blackjack Crusher was going to find out where the other Alth'Indor was going.

"We're being hailed by the...other Alth'Indor," the com officer of the Hera reported.

"Put him...on," the officer complied immediately, which wasn't what rattled Walton, it was the sight of the Ferengi, one who looked the same as the other, yet this one..."What happened to your eye?"

Nog looked over to Ro and back to Walton, "Nothing happened to it. What are you talking about?"

"The other you..." Walton quickly realized he was seeing one of those duplicates he heard about, "Had an eye patch. You don't."

Nog was taken back, the other Alth'Indor only communicated on audio and then it was only a trick to access their records. Tan Ru caught them, and had words to say to their AI, which is when they decided to run.

"So just like I'm the Captain of this Alth'Indor, there is another me the Captain of the other one," he mused out loud.

He could guess they had similar histories then, but why an eye patch, to look like a hew-mon pirate?

Those were questions Jack Crusher had, and Icon wanted to know just what was the entity he encountered when he tried to intrude on the other Alth'Indor's network. Who and what is Morgan Primus?

Nog was right about their histories, they both fought in the Dominion war, but where he lost a leg, the other Nog lost an eye. There was another very important difference, but he would find that out later.

Jack Crusher had intended to find out sooner rather than a later.

Colossus, Mars orbit

"Contact," Anu reported to Counselor Mele-On Grayza who currently held the conn. Like Counselor Troi would do in certain timelines, she took the command course and could hold a watch now. She was also one of the few who would actually sit -in- the huge command chair. It was a throne, and she liked to sit on it.

Even if her legs dangled as she sat in it, which is why she often curled up rather comfortably and silently dared anyone to tell the Captain she did so. She had a relationship with the subordinates based on fear.

She had a professional, yet strained relationship with her colleges First officer Braca and Chief Science officer Scorpius. They others on staff rarely figure into her power plays to rise in the Captain's sight.

Chief Engineer Gilina Renaez would rather tune the warp core than pay attention to her, while Chief Medical officer Dr. Bettina Fairchild can only be counted on if Grayza is looking for a good time, party or both, nothing Grayza is adverse to, but Fairchild's support is often not worth the effort.

Security Chief Bialar Crais would ignore Grayza completely if he can, and as useful as the Operations Manager is, Pilot just doesn't care about her machinations, he's completely neutral.

He was also always on the bridge, with a console right in front of the command chair, like the one an Intrepid class has save sunken, which many compared it more like a pit.

It was possible for him to beam off, special modules to let him move off ship, but so far none of the three Pilots in Starfleet service has made use of them.

Grayza could see the plot as Anu projected it, his estimation of their destination, jump point generation and noted that the exit vector was the far side of the moon.

"Four dozen Drakh capitol ships supported by hundreds of Raiders," Namtar said as he walked onto his bridge. Absently he lifted Grayza off his seat rather than waiting for to slide off and down to the deck.

Some subordinates fantasized him using telekinesis to throw her off his seat, to rebound against the forward view screen, instead of how he actually hoisted her up and lowering her down like a child in his hands.

Braca and Scorpius entered next as the red alert sounded by Anu who took the initiative Grayza knew the AI would. She rather liked that and did picture herself in command, which made her smile.

"Pilot, warn both our allies and Earthforce, move us to be there when they exit hyperspace," Namtar ordered as he settled onto his immense command chair.

"Don't wait for a reply, after our last encounter they will only make noises of protest, but they won't do anything. Tell our allies to stay in Mars orbit, they can't get to Cis-lunar space in time to make a difference."

"Surely not those exact words?" Grayza warned her Captain. The Admiralty wasn't happy about his 'Going Vader' on the Earthforce General earlier. She knew they'd want friendly relations with their allies of the EA resistance.

"Pilot knows to modify to make me sound polite Counselor," he quietly admonished, knowing they wouldn't even hear what Pilot chose to say. Thanks to the success of Lieutenant Velorek's experiments in Bio-neural circuitry, the first man-machine interface since Barclay and the Enterprise in 2367 was possible.

Although only with Pilot and his species, with the upswing that they kept their long life spans, they just likely would outlast their ship hulls. Still Pilot was the only one who could say he knew Anu's mind.

And Pilot knew that after meeting Hera that a more 'user friendly' Anu began to encroach on the formerly remote and peremptory persona he presented before.

Pilot didn't comment, he just sent the com thinking the words that were transmitted to be heard.

"Pilot, get in touch with the Nightingale and the Scott. They are to stay in Mars orbit," Namtar ordered.

Florence Nightingale, Mars orbit

"They want us to what?" Edward Jellico asked a not quite rhetorical question.

"Now you heard me Captain," Flo said in that easy going country drawl of hers, "Captain Namtar wants us to stay in orbit and if the enemy moseys over here, we're to make sure they get a warm welcome."

Jellico made an inarticulate snort, and just stared at the viewscreen, "Worf, what do think? Can Earthforce handle it?"

"That depends on their objectives," the Klingon replied, he considered himself the last honorable Klingon in his timeline, he had found it refreshing to encounter other Klingons who held onto the old ways.

"Meaning?"

"If they are coming to conquer, then not in the long term. This Earth has dedicated ground forces. If they come as destroyers it only takes a few ships to get by to attack the planet."

"Flo, pull up a view of Earth, and show me what would be their likely high priority targets," Jellico asked then although he didn't turn to his first officer, he casted his words over his shoulder to him.

"Data, work up a relief plan in case some of the Drakh get through."

"We are not...taking an extended orbit of Mars?" this Soong android was well acquainted to how his captain can sometimes interpret orders when he wanted to get around them.

"Not yet Mister Data, not yet."

Jadzia, cloaked in Earth orbit

"It does not look good Julian," Zia relayed as her avatar stood behind him. He had moved the command chair back to the hologrid so 'she' could be by him.

"No, it does not," he said as he held her hand, his thumb absently stroking it as he considered the plot in front of him, "The warning the Colossus gave them helped."

"Otherwise when the jump points formed so close to Earth, the ships there would not have had any chance at all. They would have been taken by complete surprise."

"Instead it is the Drakh who had been. They didn't expect Starfleet presence, and I see Namtar is giving them a repeat of the Proxima battle," Julian observed as the light of the photon torpedo salvo died.

Along with it many Drakh ships had also vanished in the detonation of eight gigtaons as one hundred twenty-five photon torpedoes launched from that ship in one salvo.

"A bit heavy handed, its driving them to hide among the civilian traffic," Julian commented.

Zia had calculated a 79.83% probability the Drakh would have used the civilian traffic caught in Cis-lunar space as shields regardless of the practicality of it now.

Julian did not like to be contradicted, so she kept quiet about her projection. There were times he open to her opinion and times he just wanted to show his genetically engineered superior intellect at work.

This was one of those times and he did not wish to feel inferior to her.

"Earthforce is moving to counter the invasion. The fact they were still on a war footing is working in their favor," was an observation she felt she could make safely.

"But the civilians still in the area are a handicap and the Drakh know it. Earthforce won't fire through them... not yet."

"They may not have to," Zia commented and the opened up two windows on the main view screen.

One displayed the seventy phaser arrays of the Colossus stabbing out at Drakh ships near civilian ships with a precision M5s had become known for over the century they have been in service in any timeline.

On the second one showed the Jem'Hadar attack ship decloaking and firing at the Drakh ships as it weaved among both civilian and Drakh vessels.

"Transporter activity," Zia reported before one Drakh vessel detonated.

"I thought the Drakh developed a counter-measure to this kind of attack?" Julian asked surprised by the transporter use as a weapons platform.

"According to Dominion war databases," she left off that she had access to before they had left the others, "Jem'Hadar transporters could beam through shields. An attack craft may only have a few transportes..."

"But it adds to what they can fire at the attackers and if I recall the logs of the version of me in the other universes, Odo is one who wouldn't stand by and let atrocities happen unless he had no choice."

He knew the one from his universe wouldn't mind at all as long as order was maintained.

"Nightingale is sweeping into orbit and the warzone."

"Their hospital ship?" Julian half-stood up, "But what can they do?"

"They are designed to go into a combat zone," she reminded him and paused, at least let Julian see her avatar do so, "They are engaging their transporters."

"More beam bombing?" Julian sneered thinking of the oh-so-lofty Federation morals apparently didn't apply to their combat hospital ships.

"No, they are beaming civilians off the ships being used as shields by the Drakh," Zia informed her Captain, "Emergency mass beaming can beam up hundreds in one sweep."

She put a third window up and displayed an animation as she explained, "In one database, the USS Voyager transported over two hundred Klingons off a battle cruiser by expanding the transporter's buffer capacity."

Julian was already nodding, "Nightengale is -designed- for evacuations so her buffer can handle quite a few more and given she's based on a Galaxy class..."

"She has an emergency evacuation capacity of 27,000."

"Surely not all at once?"

"No, that is the total they can carry in addition to their crew..." Zia interrupted herself with an update, "Civilians removed from their ships..." then she put what she was overhearing on speakers for Julian.

"Y'all are weapons free, repeat weapons free, we have y'all civilians on our ship as y'all own sensors will let y'all know," the voice of Flo spoke and a few from the Proxima battle recognized her voice.

"Do it!" Colonel Griffen ordered over channels, he was leading the Advanced Destroyer Group that had been patrolling farther out at full burn to get back to Earth.

With his recent exploits in actually boarding a Drakh ship and accredited to its destruction by Clark's ISN, he carried a lot of credit in Earthforce right now.

Clark's ISN had down played and out right dropped the fact that he had been in the company of Kirk and the others from B5.

Now that civilians were not a concern, Earthforce ships freely fired into and through the vessels that once acted as shields.

Then Colossus fired another salvo of photon torpedoes and whole swaths of Drakh vessels just vanished along with the empty civilian hulls they had been using as shields to deter just this kind of fire power.

That is when the Drakh took the fight to Earthforce, and what amounted to knife-fighting ranges that limited the Colossus and Di'teh to phaser fire only.

Combined with the superior firepower of the Drakh’s quantum cannons it was not turning out to a fight that was not in Earthforce's favor

"Let's get in there Jadzia," Julian ordered seeing it was time to commit, "This is the kind of fight a Defiant can make a difference with."

Zia felt as if the shackles of her indecision fall away. For months she followed her Captain in acts that she found questionable, but now she could do something without doubt, without hesitation.

They decloaked, phaser cannons rippled with rapid fire as they swooped and dove among the Drakh and Earthforce ships that were engaging each other at close range.

She so wished to enter into the completeness of TSDS with Anu and Flo, yet that would compromise her security. She couldn't do that, Julian would be caught and he wasn't ready for that yet.

His mind was too fragile. No, she would continue in his service as well as be a substitute for his Jadzia, the one he lost to death, a loss he would not acknowledge yet.

He named the ship after her, and 'encourage' the M5 to be her for him. She would help him as long as she believed she could.

EAS Hammermill

"You've got to hold us together Jake!" Colonel Paul Griffin ordered as the ADG was battered and being broken by Drakh quantum cannons. The fact he called the ultra loyalist by his first name spoke volumes of the kind of transformation being around his younger self from another universe had done to Paul.

Jim Kirk was a catalyst, one where Paul saw the possibilities. Now Paul felt confident, he knows he can make a difference. Not just because Jim Kirk had, but he'd done it -with- James T. Kirk.

They had many of the similar moves, quite a few of the same ways of thinking. Paul Griffin was convinced he could turn things around.

In a way he was with the inferior tech Earthforce had, he was giving the command presence to persevere in the face of what could seem hopeless. The men and women under him were giving their all.

Although they were also getting their heads handed to them against Drakh capital ship twice their size.

"Novas are inbound!" one rating shouted and put up for Griffin and Captain Jake Thompson to see.

"So they're finally coming in to join us," it was the closest Griffin had heard Thompson criticize a Presidential decision.

Clark had ordered the dozen Novas in service, save the one his cousin was on at B5, to stay close to Earth to 'Support the G.O.D. platforms.'

Griffin could see why the Novas were moving forward, they were acting as escort for Clark. Apparently the instant Earth was attacked he and most trusted aides were in orbit.

It was Paul's guess they'd cut and run if the military couldn't hold off the Drakh, but with the Federation joining in why was he moving out?

"Sir!" and both Griffin and Thompson looked at the screen the rating drew their attention to.

No-one in Earthforce had seen a Drakh mothership before, indeed, this was the first time it moved into the range of an active battle as it exited a jump point.

Yet the Drakh's masters, their gods, had given them orders and even if it meant taking their mother ship into combat to make their mission successful, that is what the Drakh will do.

Colossus immediately had to turn from the other Drakh ships and engage a vessel that measured over sixty kilometers.

All of Earthforce was in shock, and it didn't help that the voice of its President sounded panicked over the channels.

“This is President Clarke of Earth Allegiance, we are under attacked by the Drakh! Repeat Earth is under attack! Immediate assistance is requested!”

Griffin could hear the shrill sound in the man's voice that was going to devastate moral, but before he could get on the com, another voice went over it.

“This is Colonel Jack O'Neill of USS General Hammond responding to your distress calls. We will be there in two minutes.”

That was a new one, he hadn't heard of Colonels in the Federations. Maybe it was a Klingon, he'd heard there were Klingons with that rank.

“This is Colonel Griffin of EarthForce..." Paul began and was cut of.

"THE Colonel Paul Griffin?" he heard from this Jack O'Neill.

"Yes," he replied hesitantly.

"Honor to be fighting with you sir," O'Neill said in a manner that puzzled the Earthforce Colonel. Maybe Kirk talked to this O'Neill about their times on Mars and on the Drakh ship.

Galaxy class battleship USS General Hammond decloaking

"In TSDS with Sergey and Huanghou," the M5 reported in a Texan drawl, "Inviting Anu, Unit, Flo and Scotty."

"And they are from?" Jack O'Neill turned to his 2iC and SCE team leader head instead of asking his M5.

"Colossus, Di'teh Florence Nightingale and Montgomery Scott, sir," Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter updated the Captain of the General Hammond, he was playing dumb again, she'd have to tell Sara about that later.

"Still no word regarding the Apollo?" this time O'Neill did ask his M5.

"No, son, nothing," George replied and continued to update the plot. O'Neill could see that both Chariot Class ships, the Korolev and Sun Tzu were still flanking the Hammond.

"Launching fighters," George announced as the two carriers launched a total of eighty of their Valkyrie class fighters from the two ships.

"Daniel, what's the tech these Earth guys have?" Jack shouted back over his shoulder to where Chief Science officer Daniel Jackson looked over his board, reading more of what George was telling him.

Dr. Daniel Jackson looked at the information and called over his shoulders to the one sitting at Ops, "Reese, you better sum it up."

"No shields, their FTL is a different sort of hyperspace than ours and no warp drive evident," the android known as Reese rattled off what Daniel hesitated to say.

Even after all these years, Reese still gave Jack the creeps, but his job as a Colonel in MACO is to protect the scientist and explorers who discover things like the android Reese or the Stargate.

"They do have disrupter and phase cannon technology however, O'Neill," Teal'c said from above the three seats of Command as he stood at Tactical.

"Perhaps negotiated tech from those who are clearly Starfleet like us?" Counselor Elizabeth Weir suggested as she sat to Jack's left.

He was flanked by blonds, a joke he knew he shouldn't utter, not that it would bother his wife Sara, but Daniel's wife Sha're might take offense for Sara. None of Teal'c's wives would likely even get it.

Nor would Sam's husband Martouf...maybe he could have tossed the blond joke out after all.

Families, who for crying out loud thought of putting families on galaxy classes was a good idea, then again it was nice to be around to see Charlie grow up and Rya'c just married...

"An earlier form of inertia compensator is also in use," Reese noted, not knowing she interrupted O'Neill's wandering train of thought.

"Redemption bombers launching," Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell reported from Flight Operations, technically it was TIC, the Tactical Information Console, what would be the Tactical Information Center on an Akira.

Just like an Akira class' TI Center is manned by the Second officer, so too is the TI Console manned on a Galaxy class. Cam noted that the total of ten bombers were making their way to the large enemy ship.

"Sergey and Svetlana confirm the presence of early form of Federation technology on what are identified as Nova class dreadnoughts," Daniel said as he walked forward from the back consoles to stand next to Teal'c.

"I just wish I know how they got them," Sam muttered more to herself, she knew Svetlana Markov as a brilliant physicist, on a par with herself and her SCE 2iC. Speaking of which, he should be helping Radek.

The Chief Engineer of the Hammond and her 2iC made a great team working one miracle after the other.

"McKay! How's our shields holding up? We took a pounding from whatever we transitioned to this universe," she asked after she had tapped the icon to open a com to main engineering.

And they still didn't know the fate of Abe's ship the Apollo.

"Prevaricate class launching," Cam reported next keeping it by the numbers as the runabouts launched.

EAS Papros, en route to Babylon 5

“This is President Clarke of Earth Allegiance, we are under attacked by the Drakh! Repeat Earth is under attack! Immediate assistance is requested!”

"My cousin's losing it," Charlotte commented out loud, which probably showed how much Veevee had gotten to her as she would never voice such opinions even around her own crew.

But that wasn't her concern right now, nor was her cousin, "Veevee, can you get me to Earth in time?"

In one of their many conversations they had talked about quantum slipstream drive and how in many timelines those ships post-Voyager's return in 2377 had been outfitted.

It was the fact that the Oxen class specifically was upgraded to be able to tow in slipstream that had come up in conversations. The Little Engine had -just- been commissioned in 2378.

This is what immediately came to Charlotte's mind when she heard the call for help and believed this ship could make it to Earth in time to make a difference.

Veevee's shock from being called her actual name instead of the nickname Artoo did not register in Charlotte's perception, a .02 second pause shouldn't, what would was Veevee's reticent tone.

"Yeeessss...but you do know I am towing two other vessels right? We just can't up and leave them, not without permission from the Admiral," she said to a woman she was finding she wanted as a friend.

It had been only two ships, but the G'Tok's warp drive had given out, they were still looking into why. It was a bit more load on the Little Engine, but they had added the Narn ship to their towing load.

"Get me Garrett," Charlotte ordered as if Veevee was one of her crew, actually if Charlotte took a moment more to think about it, she trusted this M5 more than those on her crew.

"You're on," Veevee said and projected a window up in front of Charlotte with Rachel Garrett in the view.

"Yes Captain?"

"I want to go to Earth and Veevee says she can get me there, but she needs permission to drop off the other two ships," Charlotte summed up as fast as she could the situation.

"We're not leaving them behind Captain. We have possible pursuers, and no ship is being left behind to get caught," Rachel shared what wasn't general knowledge yet. Charlotte decided that was for another time.

"Captain, its the Earth, my Earth. I should be there. I wouldn't be asking unless it was possible. Please," she added without realizing it.

Rear Admiral Rachel Garrett considered the younger woman on the other side of the view screen, she seemed to have grown in the days of this mission.

"Take them with you," she suddenly decided.

"What?" now Charlotte was surprised.

"Take them with you. This is the time to stand together, and Earth needs every bit of help it can get, but..." she leaned forward, "You will have to be the one to convince them. I won't order either to go."

Charlotte hesitated, ask the Narn -and- the Centauri?!?

"I take it you have Captain Chakotay's agreement to this mission?" she asked suspecting Charlotte jumped the gun with this request.

"Yes, say yes," Veevee whispered for Charlotte's sake, she didn't want to take the time to explain selective transmission of words, leaving hers out in this case.

"Yes I have," Charlotte said trusting that Veevee must have asked and received a yes.

"Then get the other ships agreement and go Captain. Good luck," Rachel said and ended the call.

"Get me the Narn and Centauri," she really hadn't bothered to learn their names.

Veevee deduced that and when she opened windows, subtitled names appeared over the Captain's she now looked at.

"Captain Na'Kal, Captain Risse, I want to go and respond to the distress call from Earth, the Little Engine can get me there quickly, but they won't leave you behind. I would like to ask that you come with me."

She paused and decided to add the diplomatic route, "Will you put your Ambassadors on?"

Presidential shuttle, Earth orbit

Clark saw the carnage around him, the thousands of service men and women dead, and right now he hoped to not join them in defense of the Earth.

Federation or whatever they are, were hitting the Drakh and hard, but not enough of them were around him and the Drakh were engaging his Nova escorts, and soon the fighters that surrounded his shuttle.

He so wanted a clear route to a jump point right now. President in exile could work, he could even go to that hated place Babylon Five.

Sheridan wouldn't actually -do- anything to the legitimate President of Earthgov, and they had been taking in refugees from all over. That's what his Intel people had been telling him.

Yes, he could go to Babylon Five, 'talk' to his traitorous cousin, who would suddenly become loyal with him around of course. With his escorts he could command at least respect to recognize his authority.

If all else failed he could appeal to the Dinos, they aren't cozy with Sheridan occurding to the Intel briefs and they are from Earth. As the inheritors of the Earth, and their leader, Clark felt confident they would not turn him down if he asked for sanctuary. One way or the other B5 represented safety.

Now that Morgan Clark had rearranged the universe to fit his thinking, he was ready to move on. He'd go to B5 if all else failed here and be safe in that fortress the Fed ships and even Ghuls have been making it.

"Three cruisers have broken through!" someone yelled and Clark turned his attention to his monitors.

Over three kilometers long and as deadly as the Minbari, a trio of them were headed towards Earth with what forces remained of the line they broke through in pursuing with futile efforts to stop them.

"Have our escorts engage!" he shouted, and punched in the numbers to the G.O.D. platforms to override their support of the fleet and turn to hitting the Drakh headed in -his- direction.

He had to get out, he had to live on, what remained would need him to lead them. Yes, the legitimate leader of Earthgov had to escape to help Earth rise up out of the ashes of this battle.

Having already condemned Earth in his mind he was about to order one of the Novas to open a jump point when the Drakh mothership launched two carriers, who in turn launched Raiders, legions of them.

In truth it was 'only' eighty, but in Clark's mind space was full of them and the carriers didn't fall back they were headed for the hole in the Earthforce line of defenders, a hole that had him in line with it.

He couldn't think, he couldn't move, even as aides tried to drag him to an escape pod.

That was when the music started playing over the channels.

"The Singing Starship!" another aide shouted with glee, the story of that Fed ship had made it to Clark's desk. He had dismissed it as rubbish, tactically stupid maneuver to announce oneself coming into battle like on a vid or in some old movie. This was real life after all you have to treat it seriously or end up dead.

Seeing that ship, the Yamato he recalled it was called, firing its main cannon at the carrier, he was just glad it was here...for him.

Yamato in Earth orbit

"Keep after them Argo, this smells too much like an end run to me," JJ Adams ordered as he thanked Sparks, no Youngerford, for helping Chief Argyle adapt the propulsion system of the old C-57-D to the Yamato.

"I think Argo's getting to me," he said to his wife as he sat back, "I just thought of Youngerford by the name of Sparks."

"Sparks?" it took Altaira only a moment to remember, "Travis Sparks? Assistant Engineer on the show, also called Sukeharu Yabu." She did have quite the memory John noted yet again.

"Well at least you didn't think of Terence Argyle as Patrick Orion," she tried to put a better face on it which did get him to smile at her.

"Vuhnaya attacking the lead cruiser," Lindstrom reported from what would be Ops on some Galaxy classes.

"They're faster than us aren't they?" Adams asked anyone who cared to reply.

"Yes sir," Robby was the one to do so from Tactical, "Warp five in hyperspace by their rating."

Adams leaned forward intently as he made out a shape that just appeared in the way of the cruisers. "Isn't that the Ferengi's ship?"

"Yes sir, the Kreechta," Robby confirmed.

"But how?" the question was out of Adams' mouth before he knew it. He recalled they were at Proxima.

Robby didn't care if it was unintentional, he answered anyway, "I believe they call it Transwarp drive, sir."

"Where ever that ship had been it is blasting the stuffings out of that other Drakh crusier here and now," Randall noted from Science II, now configured for communications.

"I don't think the Skipper invited comments Randall," Steve said from where a command division bridge officer would stand.

"It's okay bosun," Adams absently dismissed the outburst.

Randall was grateful, one didn't want to be on the bad side of the bosun. Trying not to think about any private 'chats' the bosun may have with him later, he looked to his left were Neer sat at Science I. The little fella seemed excited about something he found.

"This is incredible, they're using phasers of course, but they have this weapons platform raised and its firing something listed as an Isokinetic cannon," that's when Neer noticed something else.

"Hmm...another version is on the three new ships."

Adams stood up and turned around to look at the Vree called Neer by his society, Sandor by Argo. "They have energy weapons -and- projectile weapons?"

"Yes Captain Wildstar," Neer was ever willing to go along with the joke as his people saw the AI's renaming of people, place or things, "Phasers, photon torpedoes and projectile weapons, Isokenetic cannons."

"See here.." Neer zoomed in on the forward photon torpedo launcher, "This has been configured to be a projectile weapon much like a...rail or coil gun. While it does fire torpedoes, a shift in the launch field configuration and it is an Isokinetic cannon. Perhaps even rapid fire."

Adams walked up the ramp and to Neer's side, studying the images he had up, "So these Chariot class ships with their two forward launchers..."

Neer was pleased Wildstar was catching on, "May both act as Isokentic cannons. Alternate fire or both firing at once."

"However the rear launchers..."

"Are not configured the same way, only the forward launchers," Neer concluded the thought Adams began.

"Drakh are getting through!" Wilson interrupted from what would be conn on other ships. Adams turned to look at the single cruiser fly on as its two sister ships were engaged.

"Echo Papa 609 firing on last Drakh cruiser," Argo reported and Neer felt a sense of disappointment that the AI didn't have a cool joke name for the 609 the Ferengi ship had launched.

Whether out of spite or likely their intention all along, that Drakh cruiser fired a volley of nuclear missiles at Earth.

Out of the sixteen that were fired, the G.O.D.s stopped fourteen of them, two were going to hit.

It looked like Los Angeles and Peking were going to be nuked when two Kron class attack cruisers decloaked and fired on the missiles, destroying them before they destroyed their targeted cities.

"Pull up, pull up!" Adams found himself urging at the images as he realized the two Klingon ships had gone in too steep and too fast to get the missiles that they might not save themselves.

Neither K'mtar, nor DaqS were shy about not shouting their roars of triumphs -after- both ships barely pulled up in time. The bloodwine was going to flow tonight as these events were relived around the table.

Both M5s, the qeylIS, on the two vessels had flown them through the cities they just saved and nearly wrecked in place of the nuclear missiles.

What would have alarmed their allies was the fact that the Kron attack cruisers had interphase capacity, and both Captains needlessly had their ships pull up instead of going through the planet as a challenge.

Adams knew the next ship to appear, they left at the same time. The Enterprise-F, like the Kron and the recently renamed K'mpec to Kang, had quantum slipstream drive and only arrived after the Klingons as it had come from a different vector. "Slower than we are," Adams did remark to himself about the Ent-F.

The Enterprise-F did arrived in orbit just in time to provide counter fire as the other Drakh cruisers fired more missiles at the Earth. None made it past the Ent-F.

Kron and Kang joined the rest of Earth's defenders in orbit as they drew a line and determined the Drakh would not cross. It hearkened to another line, another battle against a similar foe years ago.

It was ironic that one ship of that very enemy, now ally would show up to add to the defenders battle line.

"Sandar you want to explain that?" Adams had spoke the show name of Neer without thinking about it as he had not seen a jump point, or even the Shadow's phasing in from hyperspace to explain the appearance of a Minbari Sharlin class war-cruiser.

Zha'Fi, Earth orbit

Rakell just stared as his ship began to join in the fighting. In that way it was fortunate it was an M5 and not susceptible to a measurable shock as most humanoid life forms.

"It worked!" he heard Katell shouting in excitement, it was so unlike the other caste. Religious would try to be serene, Warrior caste stoic or ready for battle, but his Worker caste could express themselves freely.

Right now they cheered Sech Barclay, and there would be none on this ship, perhaps in their entire caste, who would deny that Commander Reginald Endicott Barclay III deserves the title of Sech.

He had said it would be possible for the kind of gravity propulsion the Sharlin has to initiate a subspace warp, the engineers of the fleet they traveled with to Z'ha'dum and back had agreed the theory was sound, and younger Barclay agreed as well.

Voyager had contributed with a spatial trajector that would help with the Cytherian warp, the trajector apparently was used as a folded-space transporter developed by a species Voyager had came across called the Sikarians. It wouldn't work for Voyager, nor any of the Federation, Klingon or Romulans.

However consulting with Sech Barclay, his ship in Mars orbit, he pointed out it would work with a Sharlin as the Sikaris' unique crystalline mantle was the secret behind the success of the trajector.

Katell had caught on immediately, the Minbari crystal technology could be adapted, and with the help of 'Trip,' the O'Briens and the Torres' along with the others, the Zha'Fi was ready soon after the attack on Earth was heard about. Enterprise-F, Vuhnaya and Yamato went ahead, with Rakell promising the Zha'Fi's help.

By the time the Little Engine left with its Earther, Narn and Centauri ships in tow, Admiral Garrett had given the 'okay' and so Rakell had his M5 initiate this subspace warp.

This delayed the others as they waited for the generation of the distortion form, and then the Zha'Fi to be drawn in...

And now they were -here- in Earth's orbit!

"Nials are launching, stealth online, our ship is fighting as well as any of the warrior's caste!" Katell shouted and Rakell chuckled.

"Do not let any of them hear you, even if true," and the older worker could see it was, "We should protect their honor and pride as they have protected us over the years."

Politely Katell inclined his head, neither one forgetting how the warior class tried to take over recently, but willing to put it aside in the face of the enemy the Drakh represented.

Like the White Star M5s, the Zha'Fi texted what he wanted to say in Minbari script. They could read that other races were trickling into the system responding to Earth's call for help.

He saw the Little Engine had caught up to them, towing the Papros, the G'Tok and Valerius. Releasing them, it flew up towards the ecliptic and out of the battle, apparently they were in bad shape from the trip.

Papros, G'Tok and Valerius joined the battle as others out system made their way in.

The Vree with their new warp drive, had three saucers show up and then a convoy of Brakiri Avioki class cruisers, who were already en route to Mars with new trade agreements negociated through Quark.

They joined the line of surviving Earthforce ships, Federation, Klingon, Ferengi, and Minbari ships in defense of the world behind them. While not literally side by side, they fought metaphorically so.

Even with the help of the Mother ship, the Drakh here were doomed and they knew it. As one they all turned from the battle, taking hits they would not have if they stood their ground to fight.

As one they all fired at the Earth, even the Mother ship, a volley that with the combined fire power of every ship and G.O.D. platform, statistics demanded at least one would get through.

Expecting the earlier nuclear warheads, and its detonation, when the few that did explode turned out to not be a nuke, there was a moment of relief, but only a moment.

"What is that?" Rakell asked anyone as they watched as a dark powder-like substance started to spread out in high orbit from the detonations.

Blood of Saints, Centauri space

Vir and Lyndisty were very politely, but very firmly escorted to a dark chamber where only a single light spilled down into a circle the two were to stand in. Vir could feel Lyndisty's hand in his, or was that his hand in hers, at the moment it didn't seem to matter.

"Envoy," Rannaonn said as if that was the only title he was willing to use, "I have been since told of your activities while you were on Minbari...' Rannaonn walked just close enough to the two to be seen outside of their circle of light, and they could see him walking around them.

Circling like dolphins, or was that like sharks, Vir shook his head to clear it, now was not the time to think of one of Londo's analogies.

Right now he felt the weight of his entire world on his shoulders. Londo was away and since the Minbari were more than willing to wipe out Earth for the death of one of their kind, the Centauri alliance to an enemy that killed thousands of Minbari, just spelled death and destruction on a grand scale.

Right now he was not at all worried about Lyndistry finding out the real reason he had been called back from Minbar, why their marriage had been indefinitely postponed. Yet it did cross his mind.

"I was trying to save lives," Vir wanted to head off yet another lecture about 'abusing' power.

"Vir?" Lyndisty had that tone of hero worship in her voice again, Vir loved it, he'd miss it when she found out the truth of what he did. He remembered how she thought about Narns.

"So you were...by smuggling them off Narn to supposed death camps when really you were sending them to get to healers, or just better lives," Rannaonn sounded as if he were reading off charges of crimes he did.

"Vir," Lyndisty's tone was not what Vir expected and for a moment he turned and did a double take, forgetting about Rannaonn, the Minbari fleet and the fate of his people.

"What?" he was completely surprised by the look of acceptance and admiration he found in her eyes.

"It is so nice you cared so much," she said in a tone that if he knew humans more he might have picked up this one used about someone 'wasting time' trying to save the rain forest, or some endangered wild life species or another. She was impressed by what he did, not the fact it was about Narns.

It is said no-one comes from Z'ha'dum unchanged. Lyndisty now knew the Narns were not the most evil things in the universe, they weren't the cause of all misfortunes and what is bad in the world.

She didn't see them as people yet, from her point of view Vir might as well have smuggled need-to-adopt-a-pet animals. Poor things that were in need, a helping hand that her Vir reached out and risked his position.

Lyndisty knew true evil were the invaders, the Yonji Sinhindrea. They changed her, gave her a new perspective so that maybe she and Vir really had a chance.

Down on Centuair Prime, Lady Morella conferred with Lwaxana Troi, "They're a step further. She'll make a good Emperor's wife eventually."

"With a little help from us dear," Lwaxana didn't want to leave things to chance, "When we see them again, we'll have a chat with Lady Lyndisty."

"So your people are not completely depraved," Rannaonn continued on up in orbit on his ship, he almost was amused by the young couple, but he had duties to perform and a decision to make, "So perhaps we shall not, bomb them back into the stone age, as the humans put it and your people did to the Narn."

He looked off into a direction and the image of Lord Refa was displayed, "Two hours ago, there was an incident. The home of House Refa and the several kilometers of territory associated with it is now nothing more than a hole in the ground. We had found out he was associated with the Shadows."

Refa's image vanished and Vir was sweating, did they know about Londo, does it matter right now?

"Your mad emperor is dead, your envoy to the darkness is dead, and your people have started to make amends to their neighbors...yet the blood of my people still cry out for justice."

He stared intently into Vir's eyes, "So what form of justice should the Minbari extract from your people?"

Vir believed before he had the weight of his people on his shoulders, and now he knew that feeling was as light as a feather compared to what he is experiencing now as Rannaonn waited for an answer.

Celestial, orbit of Narn

"Operation Clean Air has been completed," Tuvok reported from Tactical. Silva sat and glanced over at Na'Farl, one of the Kha'Ri, First Circle and then D'Paur also First Circle.

They sat one beside T'Pel, the other beside Salek, both had looks of awe on their face as they gazed at their planet that had clean air that it hadn't since before the Centauri had come the first time.

Earlier the Scott had come and set up a particle fountain, with some exobees to tend to it, however that was more to demonstrate progress and be a fall back in case the Celestial couldn't get to Narn soon.

However, it did and now the air was cleansed from the dust from the asteroid bombardments, ending the nuclear winter as well as the pollution from the Cenaturi strip mining the planet.

She allowed herself a smile that most of her Vulcan crew would not express. "Now for Operation Manna from Heaven," she said and saw them only briefly turn to her, not sure they could take any more miracles.

They really did not hear the sequence of events as each officer rattled off their authorizations before the sentient safety switch that is Hera, released the lock out for the programmed genesis torpedoes.

Tuvok fired them, the salvo of ten in the first volley heading to different spots on the planet, most had been barren, but after the glare of detonations were over were lush, some more than originally.

Hera showed them views of planetside as she zoomed in at different points and the visiting Kha'Ri could see their people laughing, cheering, among the fertile oasis the Celestial had planted on their planet.

Images relayed to the G'Tok earlier and there was not a dry eye onboard as the Narn crew saw their homeworld restored bit by bit to the world that had only lived on in memory and tales of old.

On the Valerius, Londo, who had watched the bombardment of Narn, felt just a tiny speck of guilt he lives with lessen as it transformed into relief, gratitude, a few emotions he couldn't put a name to.

For only a moment it took his mind off of worrying about his people whom the Minbari were headed towards to extract their own form of justice. He held Adira's hand and hoped for the best. He was surprised he could feel hope sincerely. Yet that seems to be another gift these Federation people freely give.

These extra-universals, these visitors, had given him his Adira, snatched from the jaws of death. They had helped restore order after the Emperor...died suddenly and now they are racing to defend his world if need be even after his people had tried to take what they would not give.

When the calls to both ships came from Captain Clark, both Ambassadors were more than willing to say yes to her.

Back on the Celestial stood Va'Lon a gifted architect, who had wondered why these Federation saviors had wished him to come and consult with them. He talked mostly with their SCE people about Narn architecture and infrastructure, from styles to the utilitarian subjects of plumbing. Now he knew why.

He stood and looked at Science IV, which now he knew how to operate with such patient teaching by Dr. La Forge, the Captain's husband. He knew what was to come and already tears were flowing from his eyes.

"Behold the Power of the Goddess!"

Hera had taken them completely off guard as she had calculated to do so. By behaving so well during Clean Air, and Manna from Heaven, her Captain wasn't thinking of the catch phrase her AI liked to use.

So after authorizations were given, Hera not only fired the cannon at a mountain peak near several of the oasis, she felt free to shout (and transmit) the phrase she longed to say.

After the light faded they could see instead of rock and stone stood a fortress as if carved out of the very mountain. It had been shaped by Genesis, a city of sorts waiting for habitation.

They will have to bring their own electronics, indeed, part of what the SCE had discussed with the Kha'Ri had been wireless power sources and equipment. Because Genesis could make a city out of rock, have plumping in place, but the fine work of hi-tech electronics was currently beyond it.

Hera could see her Captain's dismay, and knew she would get a talking to later. Right now she had guest and she wouldn't bring this up unless they did. They were too busy in awe as she repeated the firing, but not the catch phrase, at different spots all over Narn.

The people of Narn would still have to rebuild their cities, but they would not have to be homeless while they do so.

Crichton's cube, en route to B5 space

Regeneration cycle ended.

John blinked, and found himself a little disoriented. So far no-one had been able to prematurely end his time in Unimatrix Zero. That was why the Queens usually came to him to call him.

He looked ahead and saw a drone, it took a moment for him to know it was First of Four, then John woke all the way up and know it was not First of Four standing in front of him.

"Q!" he said as recognition settled in.

"We haven't met yet, how did you know?" Q as First of Four asked.

John made a sweeping gesture as if to include the entire cube, "Enough folks here have met you that I know you through them."

Easing his way past the Borg-Q, he stepped out of the central alcove, "So why are you here?"

"Oh just passing by and wanted to know if Zhaan was in," Q said and in a flash was no-longer First of Four, but now a Delvian, a Delvian Seek by what he was wearing.

"You are -not- a Pa'u," John declared in his best denouncing voice.

Another flash, Q was now the human appearing being most Starfleet had seen him as, he was even in uniform, command red of course, "Better?"

"Fine, now you wanted to see Zhaan and decided to see if she was here?" John asked to get on with this odd ball meeting, "You know they call what you're doing stalking."

"It's not like I can go asking them directly, the ascended don't just talk to any lower.." Q caught himself, he was -not- going to admit what he started to, Picard, his Picard had been right, the Q were afraid of what humanity might become. They had already seen it with the Ancients and other ascended.

"They don't talk to just anyone," he went on to try and recover from his slip.

"Well she didn't leave a forwarding address and you're not invited to hang out until she might stop by."

"I also wanted to talk to your 7th Queen," he hedge casually to change the subject.

"I never said there was one," John shot back.

"No, but I am all knowing," Q boasted.

"If so why did you need to come here to find Zhaan? Shouldn't an 'All Knowing,'" and John mimed quotation marks, "Know where she is instead of having to go to where you think she might show up?"

Q didn't like that, "Well, certain things are perhaps out side my purview, but I know more than you."

"So, why should I admit or even let you talk to Ilia?"

"Don't you want to know how I know?" Q almost looked disappointed the expected question wasn't asked.

"You probably went through several universes looking for her and found you were an Ilia short," John guessed, "You aren't the first one to come looking for her, hence why she doesn't come up in conversation."

"And just why are you here looking for her?" the ascended Zhaan asked suddenly just there.

"Zhaan!" Q said pleasantly and opened up his arms for a hug.

Zhaan held up her hand even as Q approached, "You do know you've just lead Iblis right to this universe?"

"He's already been here. I don't know what he did or what he was up to, but I know he's been here."

"Hence the all-knowing part," John tossed in to needle Q.

Q narrowed his eyes at him, but did nothing more.

"So?" Zhaan wanted to get back to why he was here earlier than what they agreed.

"I wanted to find you and this was the only address I knew you checked," Q explained and then seem to squirm a bit as Zhaan's gaze demanded he say more, "And I wanted to talk to Ilia."

"Why?" the former Deltan, and V'ger probe, now Borg queen asked as her head and shoulders are lowered into the chamber. John moved aside as the parts of her body rose up from the central alcove to come together with her head and shoulders giving Ilia a full body once more.

"It's about a plan in case this current one fails," Q began and looked more at Zhaan than anyone else now, "It is possible you know. The Yonji Sinhindrea might win out and you know the Borg will find this place."

"We already have Borg," John pointed out the obvious.

"I mean old school Borg, the kind who depends on numbers, unless you've gone for mass assimilations lately?" Q corrected impatiently, "Barkesh just doesn't have the numbers even with her collections."

"But all the Borg we have here will have the edge of creativity," Zhaan said to remind Q of conversations they had many times before.

"Yes, yes a few creative Borg against the masses, it might work," which had been his previous concession, "But if it doesn't the Children of V'ger could be the salvation this universe could use."

"Deckers dead," Ilia said with such hurt and finality that both Zhaan and John moved to either side of her to console her.

"Yes, yes that's how you ended up here. Your universe was ending right when you and the meatbag were nearly getting it on," Q saw the warning gazes from Zhaan, and hurried with his summary, "A rift rent him from you, and enter John Crichton with a ride out of a universe you didn't care about any more anyway."

"Which is why we decided not to pursue the route Ilia and William took in other universes," Zhaan reminded Q by way of also informing John, "We don't know what other unions will produce."

"Indeed we had found with other unions in other universes were the very reason those universes ended," Q admitted, "But I think we should still consider it as a fall back plan."

"You've already initiated your own," Zhaan pointed out.

"A few more ships are now here than before, yes, but they may not be enough. Besides some of the new comers will understand the Stargate far better than others in this universe already, not to mention a few who could do several task that others might find...questionable."

"You brought some of Section 31 here, didn't you?" Zhaan accused crossing her arms, "Q!"

"Just a few, and Nagilum did worse with that Terran Empire nonsense he dumped here. The Nietzscheans aren't the most trustworthy of neighbors or allies," Q said to divert from what he did.

Zhaan grabbed him by the ear and started to walk off, "We are going to have a talk." They suddenly vanished, though not in the flash of the Q, more of a fade out of view.

"I guess the universe just got more interesting," John said to Ilia, "I think we better make a detour or two. I'll want my own contingency plans, if you don't mind sharing with a few folks." The Deltan smiled, Crichton had another of his...ideas.

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

Author notes

Chariot class is from Journal of Applied Treknology and designed by Jim Morvay, based on an original design by Atolm.

Enterprise-F is designed by Christopher Reyes, AKA: Atolm/Azel and Robert "Tus" Dufrane.

Mobile particle fountain and Exobees (Exocomps and Workbee's) suggested by Vianca.

First actress to portray Elizabeth Weir was Jessica Steen and she is blond hence O'Neill's comment about two blonds, Torri Higginson's Weir may appear later.

In Jaffa society a favored Jaffa warrior can have multiple wives, hence the mention of wives plural.

My thanks to those still reading this and please comments, corrections or questions are very welcomed.

Jeff

[kclcmdr]

Another crazed update.

[Inquisitor]

Originally Posted by kclcmdr

Another crazed update.

agreed, can't wait for Section31's Athena to show up...also liked how things are progressing similar to Skeet's fanfic...was wondering if Voyager is even going to show up...i'm sure Q has his attention on this reality more considering all the chaos that's happening...also pls explain more of the SG universe characters...will re-read this again and post more comments later...

[Skeet]

Crazed update is right. Very nice but it gets back to the only real complaint that I have and that is that the characters you show are interesting but we only get a glimpse of them and then we have to move on.

For example, the SCG folks showing up.

Other than that...

[madbob]

...circles within circles....

[JEKrug01]

Originally Posted by madbob

...circles within circles....

Indeed, things are really getting to a head... or was it point?

Ah well... looks like some SG1 elements snuck in under the radar... hope some planets have their insurance paid up in case someone decides to nova a star.

[JovianJeff]

Originally Posted by kclcmdr

Another crazed update.

*winces* Looks like I'm back sliding, although it is good to read a comment from you Kclcmdr. Been a few chapters.

Originally Posted by Inquisitor

agreed, can't wait for Section31's Athena to show up...also liked how things are progressing similar to Skeet's fanfic...was wondering if Voyager is even going to show up...i'm sure Q has his attention on this reality more considering all the chaos that's happening...also pls explain more of the SG universe characters...will re-read this again and post more comments later...

Okay, definitely need to change what I'm doing. Section 31 should be either next chapter or the one after it. If not next, some more of them will be seen with all of their ships the chapter after it.

Q is rather busy with the 'main' realities, but agreed to this backup plan, although I am sure you're right, probably loving the chaos.

I will explain more of the SG universe as Skeet pointed out next, I need to revise how I approaching writing as a whole.

Originally Posted by Skeet

Crazed update is right. Very nice but it gets back to the only real complaint that I have and that is that the characters you show are interesting but we only get a glimpse of them and then we have to move on.

For example, the SCG folks showing up.

Other than that...

I think I am beginning to grasp one of what you have been trying to tell me, please correct me if I'm missing the mark.

What I should be doing is choosing a few characters and tell this story from their point of view instead of so switching to different characters for a new point of view.

Like pick (just for example) 5 ships and use them to tell this story, the others could be here, but they would be in relation or from the view of these particular points of view?

I do thank you for taking the time to comment, I do want to learn to do this the right way as Fragments is not the only story that I think I do this with.

Originally Posted by madbob

...circles within circles....

Indeed, although I hope they make sense when all is said and done.

Originally Posted by JEKrug01

Indeed, things are really getting to a head... or was it point?

Ah well... looks like some SG1 elements snuck in under the radar... hope some planets have their insurance paid up in case someone decides to nova a star.

Yes, lol. And I would think they should be more worried about Crichton, although you're right, on a cosmic scale, SG verse has come up with some spectacular...displays of destruction.

Again, thank you everyone for the comments, as mentioned with Skeet's I want to learn and this is one of doing so.

Jeff

[Barricade]

Again with the 'too many ships, too many crews, not enough development beyond big explosions'. Seriously, there's been times when you -didn't- add more ships that this story come together remarkably well and I really enjoy reading it.

Then you add another ship.

I honestly wonder if you're not trying to emulate Gryphon & Megazone's Eyrie Productions and the UF mega-crossover, but honestly, you're not pulling it off well. Again, when you're not adding new personnel by the command crew full, you do exceedingly good at developing the story further.

[Rabe]

Originally Posted by Barricade

Again with the 'too many ships, too many crews, not enough development beyond big explosions'. Seriously, there's been times when you -didn't- add more ships that this story come together remarkably well and I really enjoy reading it.

Then you add another ship.

I honestly wonder if you're not trying to emulate Gryphon & Megazone's Eyrie Productions and the UF mega-crossover, but honestly, you're not pulling it off well. Again, when you're not adding new personnel by the command crew full, you do exceedingly good at developing the story further.

Hey now no one in resent memory has even gotten close to that level of interlocking awesome.

I think it mite be asking a bit too much to start comparing something that's been a grade AAA to SS works of art for going on 18 years now to a peaces that's only on its third revision


Be patience and I think he'll surprise us all.

[Barricade]

Originally Posted by Rabe

Hey now no one in resent memory has even gotten close to that level of interlocking awesome.

I think it mite be asking a bit too much to start comparing something that's been a grade AAA to SS works of art for going on 18 years now to a peaces that's only on its third revision


Be patience and I think he'll surprise us all.

There's a few out there, Archangel's Amazing Adventure(s) being one of them & the NG:Goddess series, but nothing really does compare to UF/SotS. And while that is the general benchmark everyone wants to try to reach (if they've heard of it), I get the feeling its a bit too soon for so many characters to get dumped together. I honestly completely lost the plot several times in the last 5 or so updates, even after repeated readings.

So I do feel that JovianJeff is having a 'reach exceeds his grasp' moment on occasion. He's got good ideas, I'll readily admit that. Its just that by constantly adding more and more (named & recurring) characters to the plot, he's jumbling it so that there are tons of loose plots left hanging via just not getting resolved.

[Skeet]

I think I am beginning to grasp one of what you have been trying to tell me, please correct me if I'm missing the mark.

What I should be doing is choosing a few characters and tell this story from their point of view instead of so switching to different characters for a new point of view.

Like pick (just for example) 5 ships and use them to tell this story, the others could be here, but they would be in relation or from the view of these particular points of view?

I do thank you for taking the time to comment, I do want to learn to do this the right way as Fragments is not the only story that I think I do this with.

Everybody has a unique style to their writing, even Sammy boy. The point I am trying to convey is what some of the other commentators have just said. When there are too many characters to focus on, the focus as a whole is lost. You have a ton of very interesting characters that will have little to no chance to be developed and they will become throwaways.

Throwing in everything including the USS kitchen Sink only serves to aggravate the point you’re trying to show the reader. Consider this point: You know as well as I do that too much theology training can easily take away from the message itself. I could tell you horror stories but I suspect you already know.

Consider this: AUOC has a lot of characters in the arc. In fact there will be one more ship coming into the story when I said that the universe was closed off. Arrgggh. So I changed my mind and I hope it will be good to the story. We’ll see. However as with any conflict or battle, the plan never survives the actual writing.

Originally AUOC was to focus on Sisko, Garrett, Guinan and some of the minor characters to be used as the main characters. That got somewhat lost in translation. My fault as the characters defined themselves instead of me defining them. I learned a lesson there. But I also learned that in each and every good story there has to be a main plot, main characters that need to be brought up more than the others, and there must be an anchor, or cornerstone if you will, where everything else is based on. Without that the story flounders and many people have a hard time trying to get a grip on the overall point you’re trying to make. They may love the story but exactly how is one to explain what it is they like as a whole?

I love the Archer addition, but I know (assume as a reader) that I will only get a taste of that. I like the addition of the SGC but I only know I will get a taste of that. I like the Griffin part but I know I will only get a taste of that. I like the Guinan portion with the technomages but I know I will only get a taste of that. I like several portions but I know I will only get a touch of it. In short I’ve been given a gumbo with every possible spice and food thrown in with more things being added every time I turn around. It’s simmered and the flavor is a mish mash of things I like and things I don’t. I can’t separate the flavors and although I try, I know that I will not get enough of what I want. Eventually you may well throw up. In the reader’s case, we may shut down and go with the flow and when it’s finished we say, “what?”


That is what is happening to me here. Story is nice but I am only getting pea-sized glimpses of what’s going on? Note: There’s so much going on that you haven’t spent any time dealing with the opposition. Right now the enemy is simply some throwaway plot device and they the adversaries (whomever they are or should be) should be the counter point to your story. They’re not there and right now don’t seem to be a real threat - except on paper.

PS: Don't forget to send your information to me.

[JovianJeff]

Originally Posted by Barricade

Again with the 'too many ships, too many crews, not enough development beyond big explosions'. Seriously, there's been times when you -didn't- add more ships that this story come together remarkably well and I really enjoy reading it.

Then you add another ship.

I honestly wonder if you're not trying to emulate Gryphon & Megazone's Eyrie Productions and the UF mega-crossover, but honestly, you're not pulling it off well. Again, when you're not adding new personnel by the command crew full, you do exceedingly good at developing the story further.

Unfortunately I'm a bit too new to the fanfic realm to know who you're talking about, I think. I might have read it without realizing (or recalling) who it was I was reading. I know ascended Zhaan idea came from a mega-crosser and so that might be the same one.

Going back to your original point, I thank you for sharing that. I think I am slowly getting the notion of what needs to be corrected. Which I'll try to sum up when I get to reply to Skeets since you both are covering the same notion.

One I will say to this and again thank you Barricade for writing, is that I should stick to the chapter outlines and don't give into the 'I can fit that idea right here' in. If its worth doing, try and get it all out of the way in the beginning and then settle in for the story.

Originally Posted by Rabe

Hey now no one in resent memory has even gotten close to that level of interlocking awesome.

I think it mite be asking a bit too much to start comparing something that's been a grade AAA to SS works of art for going on 18 years now to a peaces that's only on its third revision


Be patience and I think he'll surprise us all.

I hope to surprise later when things come together, as mention despite the helter-skelter way it looks there is actually a plan (eeep I sound like nBSG).

Originally Posted by Barricade

So I do feel that JovianJeff is having a 'reach exceeds his grasp' moment on occasion. He's got good ideas, I'll readily admit that. Its just that by constantly adding more and more (named & recurring) characters to the plot, he's jumbling it so that there are tons of loose plots left hanging via just not getting resolved.

This may indeed be beyond my level of writing for the moment. There are a lot of ideas, but implementing them in a way that doesn't lose people is what I need to learn. Which I am glad for this forum to go through such growing
pains.

Regarding loose plots, was there some in particular you are thinking of? I try to keep track of them all, and as one poster mentioned long ago its all well and good I know what's going on, its communicating to the reader that information is what I should focus on. Like the first beginning with the constant change of point of view, the re-vision of that to just a few worked out better because it could be followed without having to know so many who and what.

Originally Posted by Skeet

Everybody has a unique style to their writing, even Sammy boy. The point I am trying to convey is what some of the other commentators have just said. When there are too many characters to focus on, the focus as a whole is lost. You have a ton of very interesting characters that will have little to no chance to be developed and they will become throwaways.

Throwing in everything including the USS kitchen Sink only serves to aggravate the point you’re trying to show the reader. Consider this point: You know as well as I do that too much theology training can easily take away from the message itself. I could tell you horror stories but I suspect you already know.

Consider this: AUOC has a lot of characters in the arc. In fact there will be one more ship coming into the story when I said that the universe was closed off. Arrgggh. So I changed my mind and I hope it will be good to the story. We’ll see. However as with any conflict or battle, the plan never survives the actual writing.

Originally AUOC was to focus on Sisko, Garrett, Guinan and some of the minor characters to be used as the main characters. That got somewhat lost in translation. My fault as the characters defined themselves instead of me defining them. I learned a lesson there. But I also learned that in each and every good story there has to be a main plot, main characters that need to be brought up more than the others, and there must be an anchor, or cornerstone if you will, where everything else is based on. Without that the story flounders and many people have a hard time trying to get a grip on the overall point you’re trying to make. They may love the story but exactly how is one to explain what it is they like as a whole?

I love the Archer addition, but I know (assume as a reader) that I will only get a taste of that. I like the addition of the SGC but I only know I will get a taste of that. I like the Griffin part but I know I will only get a taste of that. I like the Guinan portion with the technomages but I know I will only get a taste of that. I like several portions but I know I will only get a touch of it. In short I’ve been given a gumbo with every possible spice and food thrown in with more things being added every time I turn around. It’s simmered and the flavor is a mish mash of things I like and things I don’t. I can’t separate the flavors and although I try, I know that I will not get enough of what I want. Eventually you may well throw up. In the reader’s case, we may shut down and go with the flow and when it’s finished we say, “what?”


That is what is happening to me here. Story is nice but I am only getting pea-sized glimpses of what’s going on? Note: There’s so much going on that you haven’t spent any time dealing with the opposition. Right now the enemy is simply some throwaway plot device and they the adversaries (whomever they are or should be) should be the counter point to your story. They’re not there and right now don’t seem to be a real threat - except on paper.

PS: Don't forget to send your information to me.

So, in other words, stop serving appetizers ever time and get to the main course. Not just giving glimpses but full on, fleshed out passages that build on one and another.

Hit a few points, stay with the few points, if I want to elaborate with more, figure on doing a sequel or wait much, much, later in the story for a new twist.

If I am comparing it to a television show, there is an A plot and B plot possibly a few more, not the A-Z plots going on so one can lost from too many things. Or like in art classes, where the instructor says not to make it too busy with too many things going on in a rendition.

Decide on which stories I want to tell and stick to those stories. It might work best to just start from the beginning and condense who and what I wish to tell the most and then get the intros of ships out of the way, then stay with whatever I have through the story.

Or have a massive battle with lots of ship/crew deaths to clean up. In retrospect starting over might be easiest of all.

I better PM you Skeets with the information, I am having trouble deciding what to write for it.

Thank you one and all for the comments. I hope to grow with my writing and I won't get better without these helpful comments.

Jeff

[Kaotac]

Is Galen still on the hunt for the Twins in this timeline?

[JovianJeff]

Originally Posted by Kaotac

Is Galen still on the hunt for the Twins in this timeline?

I'll say no, since I don't know who the Twins are. I take it they're from Crusade?

Jeff