Dawn of Forever, Part XXXII

Main Unity Dawn of Forever

Lando was down in the bowels of the station giving orders when Garak arrived. "What's the situation," the Cardassian demanded.

"We've got cracks along the inner and outer areas of the reactor," Lando said, "failures in both the power regulators, a number of faults in the power distribution system, the-"

"Bottom line, Calrissian," Garak interrupted.

"It's broken."

"Let's try next to bottom line," Garak replied.

"Decades of neglect on a machine that wasn't built for anything more than testing the effectiveness of a superlaser has turned your new toy into scrap," Lando said, exhaustion getting the better of him. "We were lucky we didn't blow ourselves up when we fired."

"How long will it take to fix it?" Garak asked.

"A couple years, maybe."

"Unacceptable," Garak said. He grabbed Lando's shoulder and pulled him back when Lando had started to walk away. "We need this station operational, and quickly."

"We," Lando thought. Again, Garak was laying this on his head as much as his own. "'We' are going to have to essentially rebuild the hypermatter reactor," Lando explained aloud. "Do you realize the scope of that?"

"I do," Garak said. "Now, do you realize the situation you and I are in? With the Oracle?"

"She can push all she likes," Lando said, "I can't do the impo-"

"I'm not talking about that," Garak said. "She knew this was going to happen, that we'd only have one shot before it failed. She wanted us to topple the Empire -no argument here- but now we've done our job and she's going to have us quietly eliminated. We're too great a threat now."

"What threat?" Lando said. "All I want to do is run my company, that witch can do whatever she likes."

"There will be no more companies once the Oracle takes over," Garak said. "Not in the sense you understand them. They'll all be under the central control of the government, her government, Calrissian. You'll oppose her takeover, and that makes you a threat, just like me. She's going to kill us before we get the chance."

"Then it doesn't really matter," Lando said. At the moment, with the destruction of Chandrilla still fresh in his mind, it was hard to argue that he didn't deserve to die. "She'll know we're plotting something."

"I've taken a precaution," Garak said.

"What kind of precaution could you possibly take?" Lando demanded. "I understand Taar took precautions too, and look how much good they did him?"

"He didn't take the right ones," Garak said. "He didn't understand the enemy like I do."

"What have you got in mind," Lando said.

"I can't be specific," Garak said. "She's far too clever, I'm still not certain I've been subtle enough in my actions, but it's the only chance we have of not only surviving, but saving what we both care about. All I ever wanted was to have my Cardassia back; it was the Oracle that dragged me back into this. She's going to wait until you and I have the Death Star fixed, then she'll kill us and seize it as part of her plot."

"Which, naturally, explains why you want it done sooner," Lando said.

"She's going to try to kill us," Garak said. "We flounder her plans at a critical junction, destroy the Sith planet, and then deal with the Vong and go our separate ways. Not the most attractive of plans, I admit, but still a preferable alternative to dying in the pursuit of her vision."

"And you keep the Death Star, I assume," Lando said.

"Let's hope we're both still alive to hash that out, Calrissian," Garak said. "In the meantime, have your people work as fast as they can, no matter what it takes."

"You're still looking at a very long time, Garak," Lando said.

"Just keep things moving," Garak said. "We can't afford to wait too long, or the Oracle might discover my plans." Lando threw himself into his work as Garak left, although it had nothing to do with what the Cardassian had said. Work meant not thinking, and while he wasn't thinking, the image of that exploding planet was wiped from his mind's eye.

Time passed as the forces of the galaxy shifted under the new influences. Small mini-nations emerged in Imperial space, held together by remnants of the Imperial military. Some of the Imperials, however, stayed at their posts against the Vong, coordinating with Borda and his rebel forces. Eventually, with the growth of the Alliance, both joined up. The necessary supplies began trickling in once again, and the Vong found their brief attempt at expansion halted by the defenders.

The Borg, however, were still the main force of the Alliance, and contributed the majority of ships to the front lines in the Milky Way. At the moment, the Vong territory had been surrounded, but they were too well entrenched for an attack until Alliance strength grew. And so an arms race began as the Borg began strip-mining uninhabited planets and moons for raw materials to keep up with the Vong's own expansion. But no matter the force of arms, the Borg still followed Sebastian, and Sebastian insisted that they weren't going to win this without both galaxies firmly behind them.

Cube Prime had taken three months to build, and it was a rather impressive ship to view. Over two hundred cubic kilometers in volume, with a myriad number of docking bays and pylons for anyone who wished to board. On it were ambassadors from all the powers that had joined the Alliance, so that matters could quickly be resolved between them. Of course, they usually were quickly resolved, because the Alliance Prefect was a rather persuasive man when he wanted to be.

At the moment, Cube Prime emerged from hyperspace over the Klingon homeworld of Qo'nos. It had an escort of three of the newer model Tactical Cubes. It would offend the Klingons to not assume they were dangerous, even though one tactical cube could handle the entire Klingon fleet alone. The Prefect's shuttle emerged from Cube Prime, flanked by a squadron of H-Wings down to the landing pad near the Klingon capital. Sebastian had preferred watching the planet through the window over beaming down, so it had become a habit. He was escorted by an "honor guard" of eight drones armed with plasma guns. Janet was with him as well. "I hope you know what you're doing, Mr. Skywalker," she said as they walked down the ramp.

"The Klingons are good friends and dangerous enemies," Sebastian said. "And they tend to see things in that kind of binary language."

"They're also rather brutish," Janet pointed out. "And I don't think they'll listen to anything less than violence."

"Noted," Sebastian said. "Fortunately, Jaina and Anakin haven't denounced me, so I'm still a Jedi, and Jedi equals warrior to the Klingons." The Borg stopped outside the entrance of the building. No bodyguards were allowed in the presence of the High Council; it would be seen as a sign of cowardice and doom the meeting from the beginning.

The members of the Council stood, waiting. Sebastian could sense their distrust, but they weren't closed-minded. He limped into their midst as the Chancellor arose and met him amidst them. "So, Prefect Skywalker, you come in person to talk with us."

"I felt sending a dignitary would be an insult," Sebastian said. "I'm here before you as a Jedi, fighting a war against the Vong."

"You will find no love for the Vong here, Jedi," the Chancellor said. "Many noble Klingons were lost because of their duplicates in our midst. But that does not mean that we will align ourselves with you. We have not done well allying ourselves with outsiders."

"Respectfully, Chancellor, it was because the Klingons were alone that the Empire overwhelmed you." Sebastian hit a nerve, and knew it, but it was all part of the plan.

"And now the Empire is gone," the Chancellor said darkly. "But the Klingon Empire lives on. And so long as we live, we will fight."

"Good, then join me in my fight with the Vong," Sebastian said. "You know the size of their forces, the might of their ships, the deadliness of their weapons. It would be a glorious tale, wouldn't it?"

"It would," the Chancellor said. "But why share that glory with the Alliance?"

"Because we both know that neither the Alliance nor the Klingon Empire can triumph alone," Sebastian said. "What good is an epic battle if none live to sing about it? Join with me, Chancellor, and I promise you there will be much to sing about."

"Why should we follow you?" Sebastian turned and looked at K'lon. He was a hard-liner, and one they'd figured was going to be hard to win over. He'd been vocal that the Klingons should have fought the Empire to the end, even if it led to extinction, rather than surrendering. "You are no warrior any more."

"Is that a challenge?" Sebastian asked.

K'lon scoffed; even as far as Klingons went, it was a good scoff. "I will not demean myself by challenging some cripple."

Sebastian stormed up to him. "What did you call me?"

K'lon grinned, showing an awful lot of teeth. "Cripple," he said, letting the word ooze out of his mouth. There were a few quiet chuckles from the other Klingons present.

"Heh," Sebastian gave a short laugh with him as he jerked the cane up, grasping it in the middle to better show to K'lon. "But I've got this to get me around, to make up for that."

Now K'lon didn't even bother hiding his pitying contempt. "Then hobble off against the Vong, little Jedi, and leave us warriors to our own affairs."

"But it's a great equalizer," Sebastian explained. "You see, I can still walk, and-" He swung the cane's handle around in the blink of an eye, so that the solid metal connected with the side of K'lon's knee with a sickening crack. The Klingon collapsed sideways with a bellow of rage and pain. "Well, you can fill in the rest," Sebastian said, tossing the cane aside. "Now, as one cripple to another, there's no shame in us fighting, is there?"

K'lon let out a roar of anger and lunged at Sebastian, knocking him over. His knee was broken, but he still tried to stomp Sebastian's face in with the leg, which was a seriously foolish mistake. Sebastian caught the foot in a Borg-enhanced grip and held it just long enough for K'lon to realize his error, then gave it a twist. K'lon bellowed in pain but refused to relent, so Sebastian reached up and Force-blasted him off his feet. Using his arms and his one good leg he easily hopped back into a standing position, keeping his weight on the artificial limb. K'lon got back up to his feet despite the damage he'd suffered; maybe he'd destroy his body in the process but he seemed intent to fight Sebastian to the bitter end, which was obviously what had been expected. No one interfered or even thought of interfering; this fight was as natural here as debate had been in the Senate. He snarled at Sebastian, then spun and reversed to sweep his legs out, but even with only one limb Sebastian jumped over the leg as it came by, dropped down with perfect balance, leapt again and snap kicked K'lon in the face with it. Sebastian dropped on his back, but quickly arched it and got back into a standing position, and put the palm of his hand into K'lon's cheek, sending him spinning backwards and onto the floor. Not missing a moment, Sebastian dropped and drove his elbow into the Klingon's back, then leaned forward and grabbed a handful of hair. Three times he slammed K'lon's face into the floor, then pulled back his fist and hit the base of the skull, leaving K'lon sprawled in an unconscious heap.

Sebastian pulled himself to his feet. "It's not over," the Chancellor said. "As a matter of honor, you have to finish this battle." He gestured towards K'lon with his head. "Kill him."

Sebastian dusted himself off. "No, I will not."

"You want to be a warrior?" the Chancellor asked. "Prove it. We all saw what you did on Vidik, how you spared your mortal enemy and let him escape. It was shameful."

"Jedi don't execute their prisoners," Sebastian said.

"He is not your prisoner," the Chancellor said, pointing to K'lon. "He is your enemy! And so long as he lives he is a threat to you. Kill him, now, and we will follow you against the Vong."

Sebastian held out his hand, and the cane flew into his grip. "No. It's not my way."

"But it is our way! This is our world! You stand in our Great Hall, and you refuse to follow the teachings of Kah'less!"

"That's right," Sebastian said. "Because I'm not a Klingon."

"You insult our ways, and by that, you insult us," the Chancellor said.

"I'm not insulting anyone," Sebastian said sharply, in a voice that was equal parts rebuke and command. "I came to you as a Jedi, not some diplomat to win you over with kisses and flowers. I'm not here to woo you into joining me in battle. I came because when I was still young I fought at the side of a Klingon." Sebastian shook his head as a grin crossed his face. "And let me tell you, that man would have charged into the maw of hell itself for a fight, would never shirk a battle, who stood his ground against a Sith who butchered the Emperor's personal guard before delivering the killing stroke to the ruler of the Empire." Sebastian chuckled a little at the memory. "Now he was a warrior." The smile vanished. "I would be proud to fight by the side of the Klingons, but I will not lie to you to make it happen, either by my words or by my actions. I would never kill a helpless opponent, and to do so now would be a greater insult than you might think this is, because all I would be doing is trying to trick you into thinking I'm something other than what I am. If I as a Jedi am unfit to fight at your side, then I will accept that. But I will not try to deceive you, because if I did, then I would be a truly unworthy ally." He walked face to face with the Chancellor. "And if you would make me deny my nature, then you are not worthy to be mine."

The Chancellor grinned, equal parts humor and aggression. "I am unsure whether it would be more glorious to have you as an ally or as an enemy, Skywalker."

"Would you wish to be the enemy of a man who would not kill you if you were vanquished? I know you're too proud a warrior for that."

The Chancellor looked surprised, then laughed and clapped a meaty hand on Sebastian's shoulder. "You are no diplomat, Jedi, and you must know our people's ways better than I thought if you knew not to send one." Sebastian nodded respectfully. "Brothers! I say we join this warrior in his fight, and share in the glory of this epic battle. Is there any who opposes?" There was a chorus of no's, and the Chancellor laughed as he led Sebastian by the shoulder out of the room to work out the details over dinner. Janet rushed to keep up with Sebastian as the Klingons followed as well. No one seemed interested in K'lon.

For the Sith, it had been months of tiptoeing around the base, and the occasional errand off planet. The Oracle had been a fuming presence, rarely speaking to anyone, and constantly in her laboratory. No one dared to ask what she was up to; the noises and smells that escaped it were frightening enough. But all good things end, and Ben and Molly were summoned to the Oracle's lab. "I have an assignment for the two of you," she said, never pausing in her work with the equipment. "It's important that you avoid attracting attention to yourself."

"Yes, master," Ben said, because it was expected of him.

"You're going to Tatooine," she said. "There's something I need you to retrieve."

"And what is that, master?" She told him, and Ben stiffened. "Are you serious?"

Now she looked at him, and he wished she hadn't. "Have I given you the impression that I am ever anything less than serious? If so, then let me make it clear: my orders are always serious, and the only things more serious are the consequences of failing to carry them out, do you understand?"

"Yes, my master," Ben said, bowing slightly. "I apologize."

"Save your apologies and go," the Oracle said. "And don't waste time; just because I am its master doesn't mean you may squander it." Ben and Molly bowed and left, leaving her to whatever grisly task she was up to and grateful they didn't actually know what it was.

Go To Part XXXIII
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