Dawn of Forever, Part V

Deep space, the unfathomable area between star systems where only the odd speck of dust wanders the dark. One now drifts as it has for eons across an invisible line, one marked only by the mathematical plots of sentient minds to demarcate one place from another. It is the boundary between the Galactic Empire and the newly formed Cardassia. Near the border, on the Cardassian side, floats a vessel. Not a warship, because Cardassians do not fight such straightforward battles any longer, but a transport vessel... a plain and simple transport vessel.

Garak waited in the communications suite, various flunkies about seeing to the ship's functions and ensuring Garak was happy, which was amusing when Garak reflected on his years of exile from his homeworld. Now that world was reduced to rubble, and Garak was the unquestioned force behind Cardassia's strength. He had brought it back, had forced the Empire to capitulate to the demands for sovereignty. He was the one who had brought the new warfare to the Cardassian people, guerilla tactics and terrorism rather than posturing and overt acts of strength. The Empire had provided the ultimate act of strength when the Death Star blew away Cardassia Prime decades ago, and the Cardassians knew they'd never match it. No, Garak looked to the Bajorans, whose scornful expressions had provided him with petty torment for year after long year of his exile. He'd watched them, and he learned, and the galaxy discovered that the Bajoran Resistance had nothing on what the Cardassians could do when pushed into a corner. Now the Oracle was pushing Garak... in time, he'd have to push back.

"There's a ship coming out of hyperspace," Dennet, one of Garak's lieutenants, informed him. "Looks to be a small freighter."

"Our friend, Korri Rej?" Garak asked. He was answered by the appearance of the ship on the holoprojector in front of him. He stood up, not showing the pain it caused him. He was getting too old for this, but he dare not admit it aloud. "Right on time, madam," Garak said as the hologram changed to that of Rej. "I assume your presence here means you've found it."

"It was much harder than you said, Garak," Rej grumbled. "And the Empire was on my tail for hundreds of light-years!"

"Yes, we all have our crosses to bear," Garak said. "The package, if you please." Rej growled at him, but a box materialized on the table in front of Garak. A quick scan revealed it was safe, and he opened it, nodding with approval. "Congratulations," Garak said as he closed and sealed the box, "I must admit I wasn't certain even the Mistryl were up to the task. You've certainly shown your reputation is well-earned."

"I'm not interested in your praise, Garak," Rej said. "I want compensation for-" An alert sounded on Garak's ship, and from the looks of it, Rej's as well. "Kriff! They tracked us!" The hologram shimmered and changed to reveal the arrivals: two star destroyers. A small speck -Rej's ship- slid across the screen and vanished.

"The captain's taking us to hyperspace," an underling announced as he held a finger to the comm unit in his ear.

"Belay that," Garak said. "We don't move." The underling hesitated, but relayed the order. The ship lurched; Garak held up his hand. "I know, tractor beam. No one moves. Hail the star destroyer."

The hologram changed once again, this time into the form of an Imperial, a captain, Garak noted. He didn't recognize this one, which meant he was one of the less important ones; banter could be dialed down a few notches. The captain began his opening with typical imperial arrogance, but Garak cut him off almost immediately.

"This is an intolerable breach of the peace between Cardassia and the Empire," Garak said with righteous indignation in every syllable. "You've violated our space and seized our ship without the slightest provocation-"

"The Mistryl agent you were associating with is a known terrorist, Mr. Garak," the captain said. "You know that our treaty forbids such contact."

"It forbids Cardassian involvement in terrorist activities," Garak said. "It does not say that I can't speak with anyone whom the Empire chooses to label as a 'terrorist.' These days that would no doubt require me to tear down our communications systems."

"You're playing with fire, Mr. Garak," the captain said.

"I had no idea this Rej was a terrorist in the eyes of the Empire until now," Garak said. "I was told she was a skilled merchant trader with connections, that's all."

"You mean a smuggler," the captain said.

"Captain, captain," Garak said with mock weariness, "you do realize that these are dangerous times, yes? Especially out here, far from the patrolled areas of the galaxy, where pirates and raiders are as common as particles of dust. To survive out here a merchant trader must be highly skilled, or else she is quickly relieved of her cargo, probably her ship, and likely her life as well. I always seek out the best; they charge more, but it pays for itself in the long run."

"The Mistryl have been stealing a great deal of military supplies from the Empire," the captain went on. "Weapons, droids... what exactly did you purchase from them?"

"Just a collectible item," Garak said. "Hobby of mine. If you scan our ship, you'll find nothing out of the ordinary. Weapons and droids certainly, but not Imperial."

The captain was stone-faced, but he was an amateur compared to someone like Garak. "We'll be on our way," he finally said. "Stay away from Rej and the Mistryl, Mr. Garak."

"I shall certainly consider your advice," Garak said in a chipper tone. "Of course, I may disregard it, as this is Cardassian, not Imperial, space. I'd advise you to remember that. I trust this matter is over; I'm sure you have some helpless planet to blow to smithereens?"

The captain's hologram faded and a few seconds later the ship lurched with the termination of the tractor beam. "Tell the captain to return us to New Cardassia," Garak said to an underling.

"Perhaps the Oracle has the right idea," Dennet said. "They're not going to honor the treaty, not really. They'll ignore it when it's convenient just like they did here."

"And just what is the Oracle offering?" Garak asked. "Will we be trading one usurper for another? Watch your step with that mad witch, Dennet; she's useful now, but she's grown beyond our ability to control, and we don't know where her allegiance lies."

Dennet nodded; he left such matters in Garak's hands. After all, he'd earned more for their people than any of them had ever dreamed, and had stayed with it for longer than most would have. But there was one thing still puzzling him. "What do you intend to do with that, sir?" indicating the parcel Rej had delivered.

"Nothing," Garak said. "It's just what the humans call an ace in the hole, in case things become ugly." He patted the box. "Hopefully it won't come to this, though. If it does, the galaxy will likely be a very, very ugly place to be."

Snf was nudged awake by his second, and he immediately got to his feet ready for a fight. He had to present a strong presence for the sake of the females and young ones, or else they may panic when the attack comes. From the feel of the ground, it may be seconds away.

The beast, whatever it was, had devastated the other tribes already. Refugees from those broken by it had pledged themselves to Snf if he could protect them, meaning that if they won the day, he'd be the most powerful one whoever lived. If they lost, then nothing else would matter. Snf's scouts had been sent out already to the other villages, and always it was the same. No survivors, no bodies, no signs that their people had even been in many cases. The monster ate everything, even the bedding, even the lizard skins... it was horrible. Snf never had any care for the other villages, of course; they competed with his tribe for food and the best tunnels. But this horror made him feel the kinship with those even outside his tribe. This wasn't just about their survival, it was about avenging the dead.

The other slumbering warriors were roused; Snf could feel the rumbling in the floor of the beast digging through the collapsed tunnels. Even through all the soil and rock, it could still track them, which was why Snf had chosen this cave for the tribe. They could never outrun the beast, it would find them eventually. The only choice was to stand their ground and fight, he'd announced, and the tribe was in full agreement with him. The newcomers joined up, anxious to avenge their fallen loved ones. The elderly took up their weapons once again. Some of the stronger females were even permitted to join with the ranks of the warriors while the rest watched over the young. But they were here too, and it only furthered the resolve of the warriors to stop this monster before it could kill them like the young of the other villages; for the beast showed no mercy even to them.

Loose soil tumbled here and there from the cave roof as the beast grew closer. Snf looked up and down the lines of warriors. The numbers to count that many had not yet been created, but Trp the wise one had explained that it was as if each man were four, and Snf felt this gave them a great chance. Six men could easily fell one of the great lizards that had become a common part of their diet, but what the newcomers hadn't known about was the new technology Snf's people had developed. This bow and arrow gave amazing power to those skilled enough to wield it, and coupled with the fire, Snf knew that if any could stand their ground, this force could. Of course, it was too difficult for the inexperienced; they would have spears and torches. But his finest archers were ready with -and Snf was quite please with this ingenuity- fire arrows. Even if they did not kill the beast, perhaps their burning sting would drive it away and convince it to seek other prey.

There was a steady rumble now, like an unending cave-in. Two scouts bolted into the cave, shouting that the creature was very close. The third scout was nowhere to be seen, and Snf immediately deduced his fate. "Ready!" he shouted to the gathered warriors, who gave a cry as they readied their weapons. They grunted and hooted to keep their courage up. The females who bore the torches lit the arrows, and the rest tried to quiet the cries of the young ones.

The cave entrance ruptured, and the beast pushed its massive bulk through. Instantly it was peppered by burning arrows and spears. It halted, but didn't turn back. Its multitude of eyes looked over the villagers while the next set of arrows were nocked and fired. To Snf's shock and horror, the creature fired back like a porcupine. They were small darts, blasted like a great sneeze from some trunk-like extension on the creature's body. Those hit fought on for a moment, but they must have been poisoned, because before long they stumbled and dropped, paralyzed. They were the first the tentacles snatched.

The beast had no head; it had no real form to speak of, in fact. It was a bulkish monstrosity covered with eyes and tentacles... and mouths. Snf had heard of the mouths, but he had not pictured it in this form. They were placed seemingly randomly around the creature, and when they snapped open, multiple rows of horrible teeth could be seen within. The tentacle snatched up a helpless warrior and tossed him bodily into a mouth, which snapped shut, instantly severing one leg. The limb was plucked up and tossed inside, and for a moment Snf caught a glimpse of the half-chewed warrior, and it nearly stole the strength from his body. Even as this horror occurred the other mouths were put to work by tentacles tossing the helpless within. Arrows were fired again and again, but the creature ignored even this... enough to down an entire herd of great lizards! In fact, the arrows were being pulled into the body of the thing, and it seemed unharmed by their penetration!

There was another blast from the beast's trunk. This time the warriors were wary, but two were still caught by the blast, including Snf's second. In a cry of defiance he grabbed a torch in each hand and ran at the creature a few steps before the poison took hold. As he dropped a tentacle snatched him up before he even hit the floor of the cave and hurled him, into a mouth. The second managed to keep his grip on the torches, no doubt intending to burn the creature from within, but sadly even this sacrifice was for naught. There was no hope of defeating the creature... if even fire was useless, then no means existed to kill it. He should have kept the tribe moving; instead he'd left them to the same fate as the other villages. "Flee!" he ordered. "Into the tunnels!" Instantly the warriors turned their backs and bolted, helping lead the others away. The beast, however, never relented; another blast from its trunk took down a group before it reached the cave entrance. Snf paused in his work as he saw them snatched up, heard the young ones screams as they were hurled two at a time into open mouths, smelled the stink of burning fur as some of the paralyzed were ignited by their own torches. He took up his club, gave a final cry, and charged in the name of all that was just in the world; one way or another, the nightmare for him would be ended. It was... but it went on for others as the beast chased them through the tunnels.

The Shadow's Edge was a twenty-meter freighter that had been outfitted with weaponry and shielding far beyond the intentions of the designers. Korri Rej had taken to it because it was quick and agile, like a Mistryl should be. Rej was fearless but that didn't mean she was crazy; getting killed wasn't going to help the cause, and she had seven other Mistryl on board to think about as well. Seven... make that six, she thought bitterly. Curse Garak and his miserly approach to information! Had they been properly briefed, Rej could have brought more than enough help to get everyone out alive.

Rej pushed that aside; it wasn't going to bring back the dead to dwell on it, and the Imps were obviously pulling out all the stops with her. She kicked the ship back into real space at random, grabbed a new vector from the navicomputer, and leapt back into hyperspace. Their tracking technology had improved over the years, but Rej had gotten away from their hunters even before she'd ever set foot here in the Milky Way. With the limited Imperial presence, not to mention issues of jurisdiction with the independent worlds, she just needed to buy a little bit of time before she could lose everyone tracing them.

The Shadow's Edge dropped off, turned, and vanished into hyperspace.

Rej was started to hate this galaxy. Most everyone still thought small, not more than a dozen parsecs beyond their borders. The Malon would never think of forming an alliance with the Klingons because the Klingons were half a galaxy away. Never mind that you could reach the system in a matter of days, they were over there, and of no help, or so the short-sighted people thought. Garak seemed to be one of the few who could see beyond this, and he was barely more trustworthy than the Empire was. Everyone complained about the Empire, some were willing to fight it, but they didn't see the strength of working together against their common enemy because of their hatred for their neighbors and the dismissal of those who weren't!

The Shadow's Edge dropped off, turned, and-

Rej's eyes bugged and her jaw dropped. "Kriff!" she said, and hit the navicomputer on the second try. The ship vanished back into hyperspace.

"What is it?" Lian, her closest friend, asked. She'd been roused from her slumber in the co-pilot chair by Rej's outburst.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Rej said, a little too fast. But Lian could read Rej rather well, and her eyes fell onto the display that still showed the last communication the Shadow's Edge had received.

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ship. Resistance is futile."

Go To Part VI
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