Worlds Without End, Part XXXVII

Main Unity Worlds Without End

The turbolift doors opened and Riker marched through the Enterprise towards Science Room 1. Data was going over the final details of the Death Star weapon, so Riker had to identify himself before entering. "I have some mixed news," he said when the door slid open.

Data looked to Riker, then to his collar. "You have been promoted to captain, sir."

"Yes," Riker said, stepping inside. The door closed and sealed behind him. "Captain Picard and Lt. of Nine have been written off as lost."

"So soon, sir?"

"I have the feeling the Empire's pulling the strings on this one."

"Their influence throughout the Federation is great," Data observed. "They seem to have allies everywhere."

"The captain's probably in some Imperial dungeon right now," Riker said. "But for now we don't have anything to go on, and the situation is tight enough as it is. They've given me command of the Enterprise, which means you're my first officer."

Data nodded. "An irony; I could only achieve the goal the captain set for me by his death."

"He's not dead," Riker said sharply. "We are going to find him, do you hear me?"

"Yes sir," Data said. "Absolutely, sir."

"I'm going to need you handling a lot in the coming days, Data," Riker said. "My old duties, Seven's old duties, getting Geordi up to speed as second officer, and working on this. I trust you're up for it."

"Of course, sir," Data said. "You can always count on me, sir."

The door to Seven's cell opened, and a guard flanked by two stormtroopers came in. "Stand up," he said. Seven complied. "Turn around. Get on your knees, place your hands behind your head." Seven again complied. The guard snapped the binders onto her wrists and yanked her uncomfortably back to her feet. "Time to take a walk," he said. "The colonel has plans for you." He smelled her hair. "I wonder what they might be?" he said in a voice dripping with innuendo.

"Your words do not frighten me," Seven said. "My body is saturated with Borg nanoprobes... I trust I do not have to explain the consequences of sexual intercourse in detail." It was a bluff, of course, but being Borg gave her a natural poker face. Even the stormtroopers looked uncomfortable.

"Let's go," the guard said irritably, and pushed her through the door.

Captain Riker walked through the halls of Starbase 375, watching the bustle preparing for the overdue Cardassian mission. With Picard gone there was uncertainty of who would take command of the fleet, but obviously it wouldn't be him. But he had to wonder why Janeway had summoned him to the conference room, and if it had anything to do with it. He hoped it wasn't to discuss Seven; he couldn't handle that right now, not so soon after what she'd done to Deanna. As he entered, he realized it had nothing to do with that.

"Captain," Admiral Jellico said, "Have a seat."

Riker looked between him and Janeway; the latter was stone-faced. "I thought you were handling Utopia Planetia," he said as he sat down.

"With Captain Picard's mysterious disappearance and my extensive experience in dealing with the Cardassians, I was assigned to command this mission."

"I see," Riker said neutrally.

"Captain," Jellico said as he leaned forward, "we've butted heads before. I know you don't like me, but the truth is things are too delicate right now for us to hold any grudges. I have to know that you'll always be on the right side of things."

"I have never allowed my feelings to get in the way of my duty, sir," he said firmly, emphasizing the final word.

"I'm not asking about duty, captain," Jellico said. "I'm asking about being on the right side." He set down the cup and saucer he was holding. "The two of you are among a very small number of people that have been through the wormhole. I want your opinion of the Empire, strictly off the record, no one's ears but mine."

Riker took a very deep breath. "They're evil, sir," he said finally. "Absolutely, undeniably evil."

Jellico turned to Janeway without a look or comment. "And you?"

"I don't know," Janeway said with a shake of her head. "Quite frankly, we were so... so overwhelmed that we really didn't notice. And Admiral Thrawn was so civil, almost charming."

"Thrawn's very sharp," Riker said. "With all do respect to the captain, I think he played her, the same way he played us."

Jellico stood up and looked out the window of the starbase for almost a minute, not uttering a single word. Janeway and Riker shared a look, but neither said anything. "We have a difficult choice to make," he said finally. "A choice between what we've been trained to do, and what we've been taught to do." He turned back to them. "I've had dealings with the Cardassians for years. I can't stand them in the least." He shook his head. "And yet, even I can't justify what's happened."

"Blowing away an entire planet," Janeway said, "killing all those people..."

"When we first heard of it, we thought it was an exaggerated rumor," Riker said with a shake of his head. "Even I found it hard to believe the Empire could be that brutal."

Jellico nodded slowly. "Now is the time for trust," he said finally. "And I'm willing to make the first move." He paused, closed his eyes, and forced the words out. "I'm defecting to the Alliance."

Janeway's mouth hung open. "You're serious," she said, dumbfounded.

"It goes against every loyal instinct I have," Jellico said. "But it also obeys every instinct that tells me what's right. We've awakened a sleeping giant, and for the good of the Federation -for the entire galaxy- now we've got to kill it."

"You realize you're risking treason telling us this," Riker said.

"You and I have our differences, Will, but are you going to tell me you're on their side?"

Janeway shook her head in disbelief. "I spent over five years trying to get back to the Federation, and now I'm about to side against it."

"Against the Empire," Riker said. "Against the real enemy."

Janeway nodded, still seeming to not quite believe it. "Okay, so the decision is made," she said almost with defeat in her voice. "I don't suppose anyone knows how to defect?"

"Since cards are on the table," Riker said, "we have contact with someone on the other side. I believe that's why the Empire abducted Captain Picard."

"Good, you make the arrangements, I'll see who else I can find," Jellico said. "I just hope this doesn't prompt the Empire to turn the Death Star our way."

Riker, who knew about Q's vision of the future, said nothing. Why worry everyone else needlessly, when there were so many other things to worry about?

"What time is it," Lando asked, rubbing his eyes.

Han looked over at the chronometer. It took a minute to find it; he wasn't used to the Trilon Aggressor's control layout. "23:17." He stretched out uncomfortably in the co-pilot seat. His own ship was back at the Rebel base, where a group of seasoned mechanics were taking turns blaming one another for what had gone wrong.

"Any time now," Lando said. He checked the scanner but there was still no sign of any approaching vessels; just the other ships that had come to escort the defecting Federation vessels to the Alliance Base. Fortunately, these Federation defectors were all equipped with functioning hyperdrives and didn't need to head to Romulus for upgrades.

"Overlord, this is the King of Staves," Han said into the communicator. "Say again what the ETA is on the guests."

"They were scheduled to arrive at 2300 hours," the comm replied. "They're overdue."

Lando shook his head. "I sure do hope this isn't an ambush."

"I don't know. If it was an ambush they would've been on time." Still, Han had to admit he was a little nervous himself. The Overlord, the Milton, the King of Staves, and a squadron of A-Wings; not exactly enough to win a major battle with. If push came to shove, they'd need to run for it. A beep from the control panel grabbed his attention, and he reached forward to check the scanner. "Over forty ships," Han said, "Coming at a pretty good click too. The Empire must've installed some top-notch hyperdrives in these ships." Lando powered up the engines and stood by at the controls, just in case.

"All ships, stand by," came the order from the Overlord.

Finally, an odd assortment of vessels appeared out of hyperspace, ranging in size from a Corvette to almost half the size of a Starcruiser. Almost all had that same Federation design: huge saucers, long protruding nacelles, and a pretty thin frame holding it together. All in all, Han didn't care for it too much, but in this case he'd take a fleet of garbage scows if they'd help against the Empire.

"Federation fleet, this is the Overlord," the comm said. "Lower your shields and submit for full scan."

They scanned the fleet for almost an hour, checking for any homing devices of any kind. They were bringing former enemies into their camp, and it would be disastrous if this was some kind of double cross. Fortunately, all of the ships turned up clean; it looked like the defection was genuine. With a note of relief, the ships were sent their new flight plan, and the fleet disappeared into hyperspace.

As the ships raced through hyperspace, Capt. Price beamed over to the Enterprise, one of her contacts inside the Federation until today. Waiting to meet her was Commander Riker, smiling and extending a hand in welcome. "Welcome aboard the Enterprise," Riker said.

Price shook his hand. "Thank you, commander." Then she noticed his collar. "Captain?"

Riker nodded, a slight look of disappointment on his face. "Captain Picard is missing," he said. "I've been given command of the Enterprise."

Price shook her head. "So the rumors are true. I thought he'd just gone into hiding or something."

"I take it you don't have him," Riker replied, but he knew the answer. "There was a rumor that he was captured by the Romulans. I thought that might be a cover story for his defection."

"No, I wish he did. We can use all the help we can get. Can we talk somewhere in private?"

A short trip later to the ready room, Riker and Price sat down. "Things aren't going well in this war," Price said evenly. "You probably already guessed that."

"I've had my suspicions," Riker said.

"I'm afraid things may even be worse than what you've heard. We can't defeat the Empire, the Klingons, and the Federation. That much is obvious."

Riker nodded. "The Romulans are the only ones able to bring their full force to bear. The Cardassians, I assume, are still reeling from the latest attacks. How about the Rebellion?"

"Quite a few capital ships," Price replied, "some larger than a Star Destroyer. And those fighters can be pretty effective. But overall, right now their major strength is equipment and experience."

"Well, that's certainly better than nothing," Riker replied. "But I see your point. Things don't look good."

"What we've got right now," Price said, "is the Empire with a strangle-hold on our quadrant. They're maintaining control through a combination of brute force, reputation, and propaganda. We can't do much about the first one, but if we can attack those other points, we can at least destabilize their alliances; possibly even bring more systems over to our side."

"What do you have in mind?"

Price slumped in the chair. "That's the problem. We've had quite a few victories since the Alliance was formed, but we're still not doing much damage to their fleet or their reputation. In truth, the Death Star did more damage to that than we did."

Riker nodded. "Most of those who've crossed over did so because of the Death Star."

"I have.... connections, inside the Klingon Council. If we could have one effective victory, I mean something that shows clearly once and for all that we can beat the Empire in a large scale conflict, we could convince them to at least break off their alliance."

Riker leaned back in his chair. "So. We need a plan, something that shows we can defeat the best the Empire can throw at us." He mulled it over, and then decided that it was the time. "I think I may have just the answer you need."

Lightsabers clashed, and Luke felt he was losing ground.

"Vader... you must confront Vader."

His back was against the wall. He had to stand his ground. There was no other choice left.

"Then.... only then.... a Jedi will you be."

Pain. The pain was overwhelming... but he had to stand his ground.

"You cannot escape your destiny."

He was dying... there was no hope. He could see her worried face before him. He'd known this was coming, knew that if he came here, he wouldn't be leaving again. And he could hear the distant sound of the Emperor, chuckling.

He saw Seven of Nine and the other woman, grappling one another. They were both Borg, then they were both human, and then it seemed to shift, with one or the other becoming a drone, but throughout it all never pausing in their struggle.

"The knowledge and experience of the Jedi -Skywalker- is part of us now. Your resistance is hopeless."

Luke's eyes snapped opened, reflexively reaching for his lightsaber. The images that the Force meditation could bring were sometimes powerful, but he had never felt anything like this before. Sweat glistened on his body, and he wiped his face, neck, and arms with a rag. What did all this mean? Why did these two women and the Borg keep figuring into his visions? He looked up as the door opened and Threepio shuffled into the room. "Oh, excuse me, Master Luke," Threepio said as Luke pulled the long-sleeved tunic on, the one he wore since his training as a Jedi Knight. Leia preferred the traditional outfit, but he always liked this style; it seemed to fit his nature.

"That's alright Threepio," he said, grateful for something else to think about.

"Mistress Leia wanted me to tell you that a very important meeting was taking place, one that you should attend. It's down in the main hall."

Luke finished the straps on his boots and headed down there. The room was packed with all of the highest members of the Alliance. Adm. Riklin sat at the front of the room; he was seen as an unofficial leader in these kinds of meetings, since he had been the Rebels contact with the Romulans. Seated next to him was Captain Price and another Federation officer Luke didn't recognize. Across the room he saw Han, Leia, and Lando, and quickly moved to take a seat next to him. He bumped into a short woman in a Federation uniform along the way. She laughed slightly and apologized. "I'm sorry," she said with a smile, "I'm new around here. I'm Captain Katharine Janeway, Voyager."

A memory triggered in the back of Luke's brain. "Janeway? From the 'Delta Quadrant'?"

She looked at him with a bit of surprise. "My reputation precedes me?"

"We ran into some... acquaintances of yours," Luke said diplomatically. "They had..... many things to say about you." Twenty-seven offended species, and those were the ones they knew about.

"I deny everything," she said with a mock laugh, putting a hand on his shoulder. She made Luke uncomfortable, and as politely as possible he excused himself.

"Make a new friend?" Leia asked. Luke gave her a look, and took a seat.

"Hey, Han," Luke whispered, "you'll never guess who that woman is." He quickly told him.

"Twenty-seven offended species," Lando said quietly with a laugh. "That's almost as many as you, Han."

Han turned to say something, but Riklin stood up. "If I could have your attention, please," he called to the assembled generals, admirals, captains, and leaders. The room quieted down. "We have an important turn of events, one that may shift the balance of power in this war. As you may know, Captain Price, at great personal risk, contacted the Klingon High Council. I now ask you to give her your attention as she makes her report."

Captain Price stood up. "I spoke with a member of the High Council, and while he did not commit Klingon forces to our cause, he has said that a decisive victory over a large Imperial force would probably convince them to at least break off their alliance with the Empire. This, as you know, would go a long way towards tilting the balance of power."

"We have won several victories in the past," a Klatorian called to Price. He was the commander of a small fleet of warships, each of which was barely larger than a Corvette, but at this point any help was needed. "How would this change anything?"

"The target this time would be one that no one could possibly ignore." She paused, so that no one would miss what she was about to say. "We are going to destroy the Death Star."

Go To Part XXXVIII
Back to Worlds Without End