Chapter Text
Transcript of United Powers strategy meeting.
WARNING: This transcript is classified. Sigma 9 clearance required.
Admiral Alonzo Freeman: Hello, everybody. I know you all know who I am, so I won’t bother introducing myself. I hope that this group can be as productive as the previous one.
Legate Dukat: Indeed. And we certainly do need to be productive, given the present circumstances.
General K’orin: The Dominion thinks they have this war won. We will make them regret their arrogance.
Admiral Sela: Perhaps, but not today. Our casualties have been devastating. Is anyone here willing to admit their current strength?
K’orin: You first.
Freeman: No, I’ll go first. The Federation fleet currently boasts 830 starships and exactly 3,129 fighters. We do have sufficient personnel to crew them all.
Dukat: The Cardassian fleet has 392 capitol ships. We don’t use fighters, but we have 550 attack ships. Comparable to a Jem’Hadar fighter or a Klingon Bird of Prey. Likewise, we are not suffering from manpower shortages.
Sela: The Romulan Star Empire has 538 ships remaining. All fully crewed.
K’orin: The Klingon Empire has 680 ships and roughly 840 fighters. Plenty of warriors on our side as well.
Freeman: Now we need to sit down and work out how many of them can participate in the war and how many must remain behind to keep our respective territories from being ravaged by pirates and to keep things running overall.
Dukat: It seems to me that the Romulans and the Klingons are still keeping substantial forces on their borders with each other. Don’t entirely trust each other?
K’orin: We do not trust the Romulans at all, Dukat. Nor do the Romulans trust us.
Sela: Agreed. We cannot risk the safety of the Star Empire in that way. If we removed all of our ships from the border, what would stop some mad Klingon general from launching an attack on Romulus itself?
K’orin: Your people are far more likely to do that to us. A Klingon must never doubt the terrible things Romulans are capable of. Your very existence proves that.
Freeman: All right! Let’s not take this somewhere it doesn’t need to go. These meetings need to be productive. They have to be! Now, in regards to the issue of the hundreds of ships you have staring each other down across your borders, I have a solution. We create a Neutral Zone between you. And that neutral zone will be enforced by the Federation. Only they will be allowed inside. We put, let’s say 80 ships in the Neutral Zone to enforce it. That should provide adequate coverage. And that way, you can pull all of your ships from the border regions to help with the war effort. How many ships would that buy us, by the way?
K’orin: The Empire keeps 230 ships on the border at the moment.
Sela: We have 180. But many of them are Warbirds, and much larger and more powerful than the average Klingon ship.
Freeman: K’orin, no. This is not the time for that argument. All right. So, my plan would make a big difference, then. We trade 80 Federation starships for over 400 of your dedicated warships. What do the two of you think?
Sela: How confident should I be that a Federation starship would fire on a Klingon for violating the zone?
Freeman: Completely confident. As you should be K’orin. If this plan goes through, you’ll need to make sure that the Empire understands that we will use deadly force to maintain the Neutral Zone. We need your ships in position to fight the Dominion. So, what do you say?
Sela: I will take it to the Preator.
K’orin: And I will discuss it with Gowron.
Freeman: Good. Thank you both.
Dukat: Now that that has been addressed, what news of the Breen?
Freeman: I got word less than an hour ago. The last vestiges of the Breen fleet have been wiped out. But more importantly, we got hold of detailed specs on the energy dampening weapon. Copies of the data are being sent to your peoples as we speak. Hopefully, we can quickly develop a countermeasure.
K’orin: How certain are we that the Dominion has a countermeasure of their own?
Freeman: It’s almost certain. The Breen had one for their ships, and they shared that knowledge with the Dominion. Granted, the Breen use some unique ship designs, so the Dominion would have to have done a great deal of adaptation in that regard, just as we will.
Sela: But even if we get a way past the energy dampening weapon today, it may be years before we have rebuilt our forces sufficiently to launch a second invasion of the Gamma Quadrant.
Dukat: That is consistent with our projections. And during that time, the Dominion will be rebuilding and rearming as well. And they can replenish their personnel losses far more quickly than any of us can.
K’orin: All the more glorious the victory once we have swept the last vestiges of the Founders from the face of the galaxy.
Freeman: Well said. Now, we need to talk about the forces we snuck into the deeper reaches of the Dominion before everything went wrong. We haven’t heard anything from them, but that’s to be expected. Their orders were to go dark in the event of an allied retreat from the Gamma Quadrant. I wonder how long they can hide from the Jem’Hadar. We’ll need years to get back into the Gamma Quadrant, and I don’t think they have that long.
Sela: Perhaps some of them will be lost in that time frame, but I suspect most of them may be able to not only remain undetected, or at least alive, for longer than you might think, Admiral. In fact, I do not believe they will even completely abandon their mission. They may continue their hit and run attacks on the Dominion even as they try to find worlds willing to rise up. After all, extended hide and strike engagements were part of their mission profile from the beginning. They’ll just have to be on their own a bit longer.
Freeman: I don’t know if they should be trying to turn worlds against the Dominion, Admiral. Look at what the Dominion did to the Teplan. Scorched their world clean just to show us that they would. Who’s to say they won’t do that to every world that rises up against them?
Dukat: Moreover, they have probably let every world in their thrall know what they did to the Teplan. So, it would probably be all but impossible to convince any of those worlds to rise up anyway.
K’orin: The changelings have no honor.
Sela: True, albeit a little obvious.
Freeman: You know the story they told Constable Odo about why they created the Dominion?
Sela: Yes. They were mistrusted and mistreated by solids everywhere they went. I’m guessing they told Mr. Odo that story in order to explain their actions as rulers of the Dominion. Apparently, that was meant to justify their misdeeds. It is my understanding that Mr. Odo did not accept their reasoning.
Freeman: No, he most certainly did not. But what I was thinking was, is that story even true? I mean, there’s an Earth saying: History is written by the victor. And it would seem that the Dominion is typically the victor over there. What if this mistreatment by solids never actually happened? Or it did, but the changelings did something to provoke that mistreatment?
K’orin: As that is a poor excuse for their crimes, I don’t really care if their stories are true or not.
Dukat: Nor do I. Besides, it would seem to go without saying that whoever these guilty solids might have been, the Dominion has almost certainly conquered and either tormented or outright exterminated them long ago. So what crimes are the other solid races paying for?
Sela: Most likely, it is as Admiral Freeman suggested. They either fabricated their story of woe or at the very least have greatly exaggerated the details. But there is one other claim they make that I do not entirely believe. That Vorta that worked with Benjamin on their Iconian Gateway problem claimed that the Dominion had stood for two thousand years. Frankly, I don’t really believe that, either. For one thing, it’s too much of a round number. And given their way of operating, I can’t imagine they have secured so little territory in two millennia. If the Romulan Star Empire had access to their bottomless well of personnel as well as their ability to infiltrate, spy, and sabotage, we would have conquered the galaxy in that time frame.
K’orin: You would have tried.
Freeman: All right, everyone. Point made, Admiral. The Dominion is probably much younger than they claim. Of course, they could be two thousand years old. I mean, perhaps they didn’t develop their current resources until fairly recently. We don’t know that they developed their cloned soldiers and functionaries at the very beginning. They might have had a long, slow development over the course of centuries followed by a sudden burst of conquest after they invented the Jem’Hadar.
Dukat: Of course, Weyoun may not have been lying so much as he had been misinformed. The changelings engineered him and his kind to revere his creators as genuine gods, so it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to make them believe that the Dominion is so old.
Freeman: Not to mention, the Vulcans and the Romulans both had warp drive two thousand years ago, and they have technological parity today with much younger worlds.
Sela: Actually, that is a classic misconception. Warp drive was theorized by the early Vulcans, but they and my ancestors were too busy killing each other to expend resources toward research and development of that kind. When my people left Vulcan, we travelled into the dark reaches of space at relativistic speeds. It took centuries for us to reach Romulus. Centuries more to develop warp drive. And I will admit, there was constant infighting holding us back for a very long time.
Dukat: So, no more infighting now?
Sela: In the interest of being forthright with my allies, I will admit that there is still much infighting today, but it is nowhere near as bad. Mostly just political intrigue and the occasional knife in the back.
Freeman: You mean that figuratively, right?
K’orin: Not if she still wants to be forthright, she doesn’t.
Sela: He is correct, much as it pains me to say so.
Freeman: This is a bit more off topic than we already are, but whatever happened to Ambassador Spock?
Sela: To my knowledge, he’s still on Romulus trying to convince laborers and clerks to embrace the Vulcan way.
Dukat: And your people just let him do this?
Sela: Killing Spock would cause unnecessary friction with the Federation, especially now. Also, he isn’t really a threat, as the only ones who listen to him are at the bottom of our world’s sociopolitical order. That said, we do keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t cause us too much trouble.
Freeman: And if he does?
Sela: Once upon a time, prison or execution. But today, we would simply put him on a ship and send him back to the Federation with explicit orders that he never return.
Freeman: Knowing him, he’d probably go back anyway.
Sela: Then he can try and convert the guards at the prison we will throw him into.
Freeman: Fair enough.
Dukat: What were we talking about before?
Freeman: I don’t know. Something about the Dominion, whatever the hell that is.
K’orin: <Loud laugh>
Freeman: All right. But seriously, I hope to hear from both of you soon about the border situation. We could really use those warships in the Bajoran system. If there’s nothing else, this meeting is adjourned.
End of transcript.
WARNING: This transcript is classified. Sigma 9 clearance required.
Janeway: It had been a full year since what the public came to call The Gamma Quadrant Disaster, and two years since the Dominion War began. The last year had been a period of great change and terrible uncertainty. All of the United Powers members had been building new ships as fast as they could, and that meant a lot of ships that needed crews. In war, people tend to rise through the ranks quickly, and Voyager’s crew were no exceptions. I spent as much time on the holodeck with my new senior staff as I did on the bridge. They needed training, and lots of it.
You might recall that I mentioned some lower deckers we got two years ago. Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford. Like everyone else, they had to mature quickly, and they did. Even Boimler. He was standing at tactical with his friend Rutherford at Harry’s old position at the operations console. Tendi was now the ship’s head nurse, helping Dr. Bedano keep up with the casualties of war. Of course, there hadn’t been many of those lately, as the Dominion hadn’t tried to get into the Alpha Quadrant since the Disaster. She spent her time studying and training.
When Harry Kim left to assume command of the USS Shughart, he was the last member of my original crew. All three of my first officers went on to commands of their own, counting Harry. He was only my official second in command for a few weeks before he was pulled for command. Now Mr. Nog, only six years out of the Academy, was sitting next to me. I wondered if he would be pulled off the ship for his own command before this war was over. For what it’s worth, he did the job very well. I could see him having a fine career as the years passed.
As much as I missed holding my husband and children, I hadn’t done so since the month before the war with the Dominion broke out. Voyager was either in the Gamma Quadrant or in the Bajoran sector for most of that period, and there just wasn’t time for me to get away. And there was no way I was letting Mark bring the kids anywhere near the wormhole. The Dominion still had nearly three thousand ships sitting on the other side. They could have come charging through at any moment. And while I was confident that we could hold them and getting more confident as time passed and more ships and weapon platforms arrived, I wouldn’t take chances with my family’s safety. But I talked to them on subspace every day, so at least we had that.
The losses we suffered in the Disaster were still keenly felt one year later. Hardly anyone could say that they didn’t lose anyone, so massive were our losses. The destruction of the Enterprise and Deep Space Nine were particularly devastating to fleet morale. Captain Riker and Admiral Sisko were among our very best, in addition to being friends of mine. Although later, Benjamin’s son Jake would announce that he found himself drawn into a strange environment similar to what others had described when they were spoken to by the Prophets. In this space, he spoke to his father, who told him that the Prophets had a great deal of work for their emissary. Whether or not this meant that Ben was still alive, having been rescued at the last moment by the Prophets, or still dead, but in some sort of afterlife, is open to interpretation. For his part, Jake believes that his father is alive and will return one day. I choose to believe this as well. Jake Sisko’s announcement was celebrated all over Bajor, as the loss of the Emissary had hit the people hard.
There really wasn’t much to do on any given day. We were all waiting for the Dominion to come pouring through at any moment. Voyager was on the outer perimeter. If any Jem’Hadar ships made it through, Voyager’s speed would allow us to run them down and destroy them before they could get too far away. The outer perimeter guard was mostly made up of the fastest ships in the Federation fleet, as our ships were typically faster than what the Cardassians and the Klingons had. But there were quite a few Romulan ships with our mission profile. They had a handful of fast attack ships that could keep up with us.
Initially, our communications were limited to mission-essential traffic. I had hoped that our crews might be able to socialize a bit during our rare moments of downtime. The other Starfleet captains and I were mulling over making the first overtures when the Romulans beat us to it. Commander Donatra invited my senior staff and I to her ship, the Valdore, for dinner. All right, I admit that I was a little concerned that it was a trap of some kind. More than two centuries of animosity doesn’t go away in a year and a half. But it was a fine time. Donatra and I had absolutely nothing in common, but we got along pretty well just the same. And our crews began to interact more and more outside of our official duties. Some more than others.
Of all the places for Boimler to find a girlfriend.
Dr. K’onet, the Valdore’s chief surgeon. Something about his nervous energy was apparently irresistible to her. In the interest of continuing to foster close relations with the Romulans, I allowed her to visit Voyager from time to time. She would go to sickbay for a few minutes to give her visit the vague appearance of having a serious purpose. Then she and Boimler would disappear for a while. I can only assume they were having some couple time. But since they always came back well-groomed with all the spit and polish he was known for, I could never be certain. I suppose I had to trust him to not let the relationship get in the way of his duties. And of course, I had enough confidence that he would maintain the ship’s security, as that was literally his job. But as far as I know, she never ran her fingers through his purple hair and asked him about Voyager’s shield modulation. So, it was probably fine.
Really, though. He had purple hair. During his time on Voyager, I never got around to asking if he dyed his hair or if it was somehow naturally that color. It would have to be one strange mutation, but at the same time, he never seemed the type to dye his hair odd colors. Oh well. Perhaps I’ll never know. I can’t very well call and ask now. It would be awfully strange if I called him after all this time just to ask him about his hair.
Worf: When the Dominion annihilated the allied fleet, we expected a similar attack on our growing alliance. The Kanshas Coalition prepared as best it could for the onslaught. We were authorized by Starfleet Command to share tachyon detection technology with our allies. Beyond that, we began modifications to give us some protection from the Breen energy dampening weapon. Given the power of Dominion conventional weapons, none of us gave serious consideration to stripping off our outer hull plating. But the Enterprise was soon outfitted with four independent shield systems. The Coalition fleet was on high alert and taking up positions between the Coalition worlds and the territory controlled by the Dominion. Then we waited.
After several days without an attack, we began to wonder what the Dominion’s plans for us really were. They had to know that the United Powers would crush the Breen and forcibly acquire their energy dampening weapon. And from that data, we would soon have a defense against it. Their window to attack us was closing rapidly, but the expected attack did not come. It was not long before we found out what the Dominion had been doing to occupy themselves. Ten days after the Gamma Quadrant Disaster, a Roadbrey cruiser detected Jem’Hadar ships in the Astua system. Captain Picard had been there a few months earlier as part of our recruitment drive. The Astuans were not interested in joining the Coalition. They reasoned that joining us would make them a more inviting target for the Dominion. Niemöller’s poem did not sway them.
And unfortunately for them, they were wrong. Their absence from the Kanshas Coalition made them a more inviting target, not less. The Dominion attacked and conquered them because they did not expect Coalition ships to respond. And indeed, they did not. The Coalition could not afford to expend ships in defense of non-members. It was all they could do to provide a reasonable degree of security for the existing members as they waited nervously for schematics from the Alpha Quadrant that would allow them to protect their ships from the Breen energy dampening weapon. Our inability to defend the Astuans as well as the others in the Kanshas Region whom the Dominion would conquer remains a source of great regret.
Captain Picard worked tirelessly to add to the Coalition and strengthen it against the Dominion threat. His efforts yielded many rewards for the crew of the Enterprise. Visiting these varied cultures allowed us to feel like explorers again. Neelix found a new purpose in his work as an ambassador. I believe that it was during this time that he finally got past the loss of his wife. Although the pain would always be there, he no longer seemed to be having his occasional breakdowns. While Captain Picard was typically responsible for making the initial contacts, Neelix was instrumental in helping the new members integrate with civilizations who had in some cases been their enemies. In reports to Starfleet Command, Captain Picard always made certain that Neelix’s contributions were duly noted.
Finally, our daily data stream arrived with detailed information on how to protect our ships from the Breen energy dampening weapon. Our engineers got to work making the necessary modifications to the Enterprise’s power systems while the best engineers and scientists in the Coalition studied the modifications in order to adapt them to the many different ships in the fleet. By the time the Dominion attacked a Coalition world, we were ready for them. The Ostowan home guard was able to hold the Dominion ships back long enough for reinforcements to arrive and drive the Jem’Hadar out of the system. I would like to have seen the look on the face of the Vorta commanding that force when they realized that their energy dampening weapon was now useless.
There were more attacks over the next few months. And while some battles would prove bloodier than others, the Kanshas Coalition would emerge victorious every time. Our allies fought bravely, even those who did not typically do much fighting before. With each battle, the animosities that had created such deep divisions throughout the region faded away a little more. The commanders of the two warships we had encountered early in our time in the Kanshas Region, the ones that were seemingly about to fire on each other before we intervened, were now close friends. They had forged a bond of brotherhood in the fires of battle. Many came out of this conflict feeling such a bond with their neighbors.
The Enterprise had become a symbol of the Kanshas Coalition. Battle braids, a spiraling pattern painted on the ships of the Ostowan Union, had been adopted by the rest of the fleet. In keeping with this, the Enterprise would become so adorned. And we had earned many braids during the Enterprise’s eighteen years of service. One of the braids on our port nacelle had an angular configuration meant to look like circuitry. This honored our triumph over the Borg in 2368. Another that faded in and out along the side of the interconnecting dorsal took its design from our victory over the cloaked automated weapons system on Minos during our first year on the Enterprise. The end of the braid was shaped like my friend Geordi LaForge’s VISOR, as it was he who led us to that victory.
Where the Equinox had once been docked, we now had a Korumian attack ship attached to our hull. Luckily, while Lt. Duffy had dismantled the docking structure years earlier, the mounting points on the ship’s spine had been left in place. It was a relatively simple matter to rebuild it for its new purpose. I would favorably compare the Sivot Class attack ship with the Defiant Class used by the Federation. With the Val Jean, the Salxie gave the Enterprise a substantial increase in combat effectiveness. The crew of the Salxie greatly enjoyed being able to visit the Enterprise, as they very much enjoyed Neelix’s cooking. Remarkably enough, they actually liked leola root. The Korumians would receive some plant cuttings that would allow them to grow their new favorite treat on their home world. I suppose in the vast universe, someone would have to like that root.
We also enacted a personnel exchange program. Several of our security officers were serving as advisors on Solar Union ships, as their combat tactics were simplistic and limited. We also had engineers helping to integrate Starfleet phaser banks into the ships of the Ostowans and the Scions of Truth. Both of them used plasma cannons that were significantly less effective against the Jem’Hadar than our phasers. Luckily, most of the retrofits on the Ostowan fleet were finished by the time the Dominion came to their world. We also had personnel from every Coalition member serving on the Enterprise. The cultural differences were not always easy to deal with. But much as it is in the Federation itself, our differences ultimately made us stronger.
We made no efforts to conquer the Dominion held territories. We could not. The Coalition did not have enough ships and troops. Any attempt at an invasion would have left the Coalition worlds inadequately defended. Dominion attacks were becoming more and more frequent, with more and more ships involved in the assaults. The Enterprise warped from system to system, hoping to be in the area when a world found itself under fire. We faced battle with the Jem’Hadar many times during those months. But as always, the Enterprise emerged triumphant. We also saw person to person, as I led a force of the ship’s security officers in fighting off a Jem’Hadar boarding action on a Letekian starbase. The fighting was brutal, and seven members of the Enterprise crew were killed. But we held.
In the end, that we did not invade the territory controlled by the Dominion had little bearing on the overall war effort. We always meant to do so, of course. But we needed to thin out their ranks even as we bolstered our own. Ultimately, we had no way of knowing that an invasion would not be necessary. The Dominion would come to us in time. And they would come with everything they could muster. It would be a glorious battle. But even then, we knew that the aftermath of the war would feel anything but glorious.
Julian Bashir: Computer: Begin personal log, Stardate 59520.4.
I have to talk about this. I can’t tell anyone else. Not even Miles. It won’t change anything. It probably won’t make me feel any better. But I have to get it out. Six years ago, Odo came to me with a medical problem. I could count on one hand how many times that had happened in the seven years I had served with him. He was having difficulty reverting to his natural gelatinous form, as well as maintaining his solid form. I got to work right away, scanning him as he went through the motions of shifting his form between his liquid state and various solid shapes. It took me days to figure out what was wrong. The virus inside him so closely mimicked his natural biochemistry that it was difficult to detect. Unfortunately, it proved even harder to eradicate.
I tried. But even with my genetically enhanced intellect, I couldn’t find a cure. I couldn’t even slow it down. Nerys was at Odo’s bedside during her off-duty hours, holding his hand. But when his condition reached what we all realized was its ultimate conclusion, Odo asked her to leave him alone. He didn’t want the last thing he saw to be the tears in her eyes. In the last hours, he asked to be left completely alone. Odo wanted to hold on to his dignity until the bitter end. I busied myself with my research, desperate to pull off a last-minute medical miracle.
I thought of Nerys, crying for another lost love. This would be the second man she loved to die in my infirmary because I couldn’t save him. The thought of it was unbearable. I glanced at the readings from his biobed, watching his condition deteriorate further and further. Then, the readings just stopped. Everything the sensors could detect that indicated that he was alive ceased to register all at once. I activated the visual monitor, and there it was. Not Odo. Not anymore. There was just a pile of ashes in the vague shape of a man. Odo was dead. I had failed. Again.
After carefully collecting his remains into a sample container, I sat down in my office. I knew I couldn’t stay there. I had duties to perform. Although they had never officially wed, Nerys was listed as the only next of kin Odo had. I needed to inform her of his death first. Then I needed to tell Captain Sisko. This was the job. And it had never been so hard for me to perform before. Of course, I’d lost many patients in my career, before and after that day. I had had to inform many people of the deaths of loved ones. Well, not too many, actually. That was typically Captain Sisko’s job. And I knew he would be willing to tell Nerys for me if I asked him to. But I couldn’t. It had to be me. At least that way, I would actually accomplish something.
I think that was what haunted me the most. Of the others I had lost, I at least felt that I had a chance to save most of them. Even if I only bought them a few more minutes of life, it was still a few more minutes. But with Odo, I didn’t accomplish a damned thing. I don’t believe that anything I did extended Odo’s life. I had passed my regular duties to the other doctors on my staff and thrown myself exclusively into my research on this virus that was killing Odo so terribly slowly. All day, every day, for over two months. The virus and Odo were my entire world. I asked other doctors and scientists for their input. Dr. Mora Pol, who was the first scientist to study Odo when he was first discovered floating through space, spent much of that time with me. We tried everything we could think of. When Dr. Pol concluded that there was nothing more he could do to help my research, he went to Odo to say his goodbyes and returned to Bajor. But I kept working.
Finally, after sitting in my office feeling sorry for myself for a little while, I got up. I knew what I had to do, and it was time to do it. I asked the computer where Nerys was and headed for her quarters. I pressed the door chime and when Nerys asked who it was and heard my voice in reply, she was silent for a few seconds. Then she told me to come in. I walked inside and Nerys was right there. She threw her arms around me and wept. I didn’t need to tell her Odo was gone. She knew this was the only reason I would have come to her in person. Nerys was a very guarded person when we first met. The idea of her letting anyone, least of all me, see her cry would have been crazy back then. The only time before then that I ever saw her weep was when Kai Opaka died in front of her. I mean, Opaka got better thanks to the unique properties of the planet we had crashed on. But at the time, Nerys was heartbroken.
I held her as she buried her face in my shoulder and sobbed. Part of me wanted to be there for my friend in one of the worst moments of her life. The rest of me wanted to be anywhere else but there. After all, how could I be a source of comfort for Nerys? I’m the one who failed to save the man she loved. Again. If I had been a better doctor, Odo would be standing here holding her. And her tears would be tears of joy. But no. There was no joy to be had this day. Odo was dead. I kept waiting for Nerys to blame me. To suggest that I should have been able to save her love. Or maybe scream it in my face in the middle of the Promenade. After that day, I began to avoid her out of an irrational fear of that very thing.
But Nerys eventually cornered me and told me that she didn’t blame me. That if I couldn’t save Odo or Bareil, nobody could. It helped. It helped me reconcile my shame with the hard truth of the matter: Curing a disease is hard. It often takes a very long time. Few deadly diseases are quickly cured. As for Odo, his funeral was a small and simple affair. We knew that was what he would have wanted. Quark seemed to be on the verge of tears. I think their professional rivalry had evolved over the years into genuine friendship, not that either of them would ever have been willing to admit it. Nerys held herself together, having apparently cried herself out already. I was impressed at how soon she seemed more or less to be back to her old self. But then I realized that she handles loss so well now because she had been losing people since she was a child. Nerys has had a great deal of practice.
A month ago, I was sitting in my office in DS9’s hospital wing. It was almost a little eerie how few differences there were between my old hospital and this one. I mean, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was, after all, another Spacedock station just like the previous one. No doubt Starfleet Command wanted this one to last more than a year and a half. Now that we had a defense against the Breen energy dampening weapon, we didn’t have to worry anymore about this massive space station becoming a tomb like the last one did. My staff and I were lucky. We were evacuated long before the Dominion fleet arrived. Admiral Sisko figured there was no point in keeping the medical staff on board, since the station wouldn’t be a safe place for the wounded from other ships. I was on the USS Zelenskyy when we got word that the station had been destroyed. There were still over forty thousand personnel on DS9 at the end.
The loss of Admiral Sisko was heartbreaking. He was an outstanding leader to follow and a wonderful man to know. But even with my enhanced intellect, I almost forgot he was dead, or with the Prophets maybe, when I heard what the Dominion was doing to the worlds we had liberated. At first, I refused to believe the initial reports. Then I saw the telemetry from a Romulan probe that saw what happened. The Dominion fleet settled into orbit around Teplan, and just started firing. I watched as the planet burned. I was numb for hours after that. The Dominion left the Teplan to suffer a slow, lingering journey toward extinction. Then when I found a way to save them from going completely down the drain into oblivion, the Dominion decided to make sure the Teplan went extinct. It was madness. It was evil. True, genuine evil. I wanted to find some quarters, curl up with Kukalaka, and weep like a child.
But I couldn’t. Not only because Kukalaka was vaporized when DS9 was destroyed, but because I had work to do. There were countless wounded coming aboard from the transports that had managed to save them from the ships the Dominion had disabled. I found that it was just what I needed to get my mind off the Teplan. So, I threw myself into my work and treated my patients. For a moment, I actually thought I had fooled Miles into believing that I was all right. But when you have a best friend, you have someone who knows you well enough that you can’t hide your pain from them. I probably kept a straight face and a calm tone of voice the whole time. Miles only knew about the hell I was living in because he knew me well enough to know that there was no way I could be all right after what happened to the Teplan. As he explained, for me to feel otherwise was simply not in my nature. And he was right, as he often is.
As I said, I was sitting in my office a month ago. It was one of those times when I had absolutely nothing to do. What few patients we had were easily attended to by the small army of physicians I had at my disposal. Then my terminal lit up with an incoming hail. Glad to have something to do, I accepted the call. And my smile dropped in an instant. It was Weyoun. In that moment, I quickly reviewed my options. Advantages of a genetically enhanced intellect. There was no point in asking him how he got through our security protocols. He wouldn’t tell me because if he did, I would alert Starfleet Security and they would make certain that the Dominion would never get in that way again. Also, if I immediately contacted station security, Weyoun would almost certainly terminate the call. My best choice was to talk to the Vorta and find out what he wanted so I could inform Admiral Freeman. I found it strange that he was reaching out to me of all people.
After a few false pleasantries, Weyoun brought up the virus that had killed Odo. Immediately, my attitude turned sour. The last thing I needed was to be reminded of my greatest failure, particularly by someone I so despised. Then he told me something that brought my world to a halt. He admitted that the Great Link was infected by the same virus. Weyoun was certain that one of the United Powers was responsible for its creation as well as the infection of the Great Link. They calculated that the Founders were first infected three months after the war began. Then he actually had the nerve to curse this attempt at genocide. I was on my feet in an instant, finally venting my fury at him and the Dominion he served. How dare he criticize an act of genocide when he and his people had committed so many? Weyoun, seemingly realizing that the conversation was not going the way he wanted it, attempted to calm me by acknowledging how upset I must have been about the “unpleasantness” involving the Teplan.
At this point, it was all I could do to not just terminate the call right there. Unpleasantness? They murdered an entire civilization for no reason! They killed them all just to show everyone else that they would! It was monstrous! It was evil! Pure evil!
<Deep breath>
Barely maintaining my composure, I demanded to know why Weyoun was telling me this. Of course, I already knew, or at least I believed I knew. There was only one reason for him to reach out to me and bring up the changeling virus that killed Odo. The Dominion wanted my help. Outside of the Dominion and whoever had created the virus, no one knew more about it than me. Then, clearly aware of how bad an idea it would be to bring up the Teplan again, Weyoun nervously mentioned how quickly I had developed an inoculation for the Blight. The Teplan themselves had spent decades trying to find a cure until the deterioration of their civilization made them unable to continue their efforts. And I had managed to create a vaccine in a matter of months. With the combination of my genetic enhancements, my creativity, and my experience with the changeling virus, the Dominion apparently hoped that I could pull off another medical miracle and find a cure.
I stared at him until the awkwardness of it forced Weyoun to start speaking again. He explained that the Founders would be grateful for my help. Then he told me a story about how the Founders and the Vorta first met. Something about a changeling being hunted by solids who was then sheltered by the early Vorta, who were then tree-dwelling hominids. In return, the changeling promised to improve the Vorta and place them at the head of a vast stellar empire. I almost laughed at how ridiculous that story sounded. No doubt it was one of those things the changelings programmed into the Vorta, along with the intrinsic belief that the changelings were gods.
After he finished his silly little story, I finally spoke. I informed him that I had not even come close to devising a cure to the virus before Odo died. And I hadn’t worked on it any more over the years, because why would I? I also pointed out that I cannot help him, as that would be providing aid to the enemy. I had no desire to face charges of treason. Then I told Weyoun that I would be relaying the contents of this conversation to my commanders. Clearly sensing that diplomacy was not going to get him what he wanted, Weyoun pivoted to threats. He informed me that if the Founders died, the forces of the Dominion would attack and kill everyone and everything in their path, fighting to the death. The Dominion would fall, but it would take as many innocent people with it as possible. I glared at him for a moment, then told him I would relay that to my superiors as well. And I closed the channel.
As I promised, I immediately called Admiral Freeman and repeated my conversation with Weyoun. They would need to prepare for the Dominion to launch an all-out assault in every conceivable direction in the event that the Vorta failed to find a cure for the affliction killing their “gods”.
About ten minutes ago, I got another message from Weyoun. He looked miserable and exhausted. I sat there with no expression on my face as he told me that the Founders were all dead. They had gone extinct. “You should have helped us.” he said. I simply replied, “No, I shouldn’t have.” I terminated the connection before he could say another word and I contacted Admiral Freeman again. It was time for the last battle of the Dominion War to begin.
The station is at red alert as are all the ships in the fleet. Our forces are as ready as they can be. But either way, so many people are going to die in the next hour. And it might just be my fault.
What I didn’t tell Weyoun, what I haven’t told anyone, is that I did keep working on the changeling virus after Odo died.
And two years ago, I found a cure.
Four years too late to save Odo. There are any number of reasons I could offer for why I lied to Weyoun about my research. It would be treason to give aid to the enemy. They would never keep whatever promises they made in order to get that aid. Etcetera, etcetera. But truly, there is only one reason I will take that cure to my grave. Only one reason I let Odo’s people go extinct.
I hate them.
I hate them with every fiber of my being. They murdered the Teplan in cold blood. And they have all but certainly done likewise to countless other civilizations. They are-were-monsters. Nothing more or less. So, I let them die. I let them all die. The Romulans, Klingons, and Cardassians would not have had any problem with what I had done if they knew the truth. And there are surely many in the Federation who would support my decision. But that wouldn’t make it any better. I let an entire species go extinct because of hate. Maybe Admiral Sisko was wrong about me. Maybe there’s more Khan Noonien-Singh in my blood than he thought.
On the holosuite, I used to play at being a hero. As a secret agent, as a World War II fighter pilot, as captain of a starship during the Earth-Romulan War. I fought against mad men like Hippocrates Noah, Adolf Hitler, and the faceless forces of the Romulan Star Empire. Even if I survive the coming battle, I don’t think I will play these characters again. I mean, it was always just pretending, wasn’t it? I’m no hero. I’m no better than the simulated villains I fought.
As I said before, I can’t tell anyone else about this. Not even Miles. I suppose he would understand. He would probably remind me that if I was truly like Khan, I wouldn’t feel any guilt for what I did. Miles would pull me out of the depths of my shame and despair, just as I did for him after the Agratha incident.
But I don’t want him to. I want the shame. I want the despair. I deserve it.
I need it.
Computer: Delete that entire personal log.
Admiral Alonzo Freeman, Deep Space Nine: All right, people! Here they come! Focus on your jobs. You all know what to do.
Dr. T’Ana, USS Cerritos: Listen up! Those runabouts are gonna be beaming survivors from crippled ships and then sending the wounded to us! People are gonna materialize bleeding and screaming on our floor, and it’s gonna happen all damned day! Don’t freak out! Nobody’s authorized to freak out!
Captain Kathryn Janeway, USS Voyager: All hands to battle stations. Mr. Nog, keep an eye on the tide of battle. We may need to redeploy our squadron if too many make it out of the kill box. Mr. Boimler, steady. Shoot at what’s in front of us. Don’t worry about anything else. Coltus, keep us moving at all times and be ready to jink if they try to make a suicide run on us.
Captain Beckett Mariner, USS Mjolnir: All right, everybody. Remember, anything makes it past the mine field, we pelt them with torpedoes. They take us down, I don’t want there to be a single torpedo left on this ship when they do. If we die, we die on top of a pile of empty brass. Never mind, it’s an old Earth thing.
Captain Tom Paris, USS Valiant: All right, everybody. Let’s finish this.
General K’orin, IKS Negh’Var: For the glory of the Empire!
Captain Rudy Ransom, USS Equinox: Ready on the tractor beam, Lieutenant. Ensign, report USS Equinox in rescue position.
Admiral James T. Kirk, USS Washington: Have Akira Wing Six widen their formation a little. They’re not giving themselves enough room to maneuver.
Captain Harry Kim, USS Shughart: Put us on the Oppenheimer’s starboard. And then give us a little elevation. We move, we move together.
MCPO Miles O’Brien, Deep Space Nine: One last time, all damage control crews sound off and confirm you’re at your staging area.
Dr. Keiko O’Brien, Bajor: Don’t worry, Yoshi. Your father will be home soon.
Admiral Sela, IRW Tolak: What do you mean, my mother’s alive? And why the hell are you telling me this now? Damn you, Sloan! Whose side are you on?
Elim Garak, Cardassia Prime: Oh, I’m not worried in the least. No, my young friend, the Federation is not weak at all. That’s just old-style propaganda. Amateur, really. I have seen these people up close, and I assure you, they are more capable than most people realize. I wouldn’t worry about that, madam. Just watch the battle unfold. And when it’s over, we’ll all toast their success. No, my boy, you are too young for kanar.
General Kira Nerys, BSS Dahkur: The Emissary watches over us all. We’re going to win this fight.
Mark Janeway, Earth: Mommy might not be able to call us tonight because she has to work. Would you take your brother into the other room and play for a little while, princess? There’s some boring grownup stuff I have to watch for work.
Captain Carol Freeman, USS Farragut: Let’s get this done, people. Farragut strong!
Captain Jadzia Dax, USS Shackleton: Mute the sound, I don’t want Benji to wake up. Ugh, I can’t believe we’re watching the fate of the entire Alpha Quadrant unfold from two thousand lightyears away.
Annika Hansen, USS Enterprise: Ugh, I can’t believe we’re watching the fate of the entire Alpha Quadrant unfold from sixty thousand lightyears away. Oh, for god’s sake, Seven! I was close enough!
Jake Sisko, Bajor: Wish them luck, Dad.
unknown: Good luck.
Federation News Service: Special Report by Quentin Hong
If you’re just joining us, there appears to be some kind of communication problem between our FNS personnel in the Bajoran system and the rest of the network. Our last word from Commander Willoughby, our affiliated spokesperson for the United Powers, was that the Dominion fleet was pouring into the wormhole. There were an estimated 11,000 Dominion ships making the crossing along with several hundred captured Federation, Romulan, Klingon, and Cardassian vessels.
However, that was more than twenty minutes ago, and our feed shows no sign of the wormhole opening on the Alpha Quadrant side. Hold on, we have received confirmation that it is not a communication problem. The Dominion fleet has not come through the wormhole as of this moment. Traveling at the speed Dominion ships have been seen using when traversing the wormhole, even the last ships to enter should have come through by now. But still, nothing. It is possible the Dominion fleet is sitting inside the wormhole, perhaps waiting for the United Powers to slip into a false sense of security.
Okay, we’ve got an update. The USS Valiant is going into the wormhole to assess the status of the Dominion fleet. This is extraordinarily dangerous. If the Dominion is sitting inside the wormhole, the Valiant won’t know until they’re inside, at which point they would be one ship against thousands. If the Defiant class warship does not return, we may have our answer.
While we wait for more news, some background on the Valiant might be appropriate. The USS Valiant was the sixth Defiant class warship constructed, and the fourth Federation starship to bear the name. Launched in 2373, it was trapped between Breen and Federation space for months before managing to escape. The Valiant performed extremely well during the Breen War, which saw the ship being placed under the command of Tom Paris, who commands the ship to this day.
Tom Paris has taken a long and often bumpy road to this moment in history. Paris graduated from Starfleet Academy in the class of 2369 but was removed from Starfleet before the end of the year. He had committed an error while leading a squadron of shuttles on a training flight. This error cost the other squadron mates their lives. Initially, Paris lied about his error, and Starfleet had no cause to doubt his version of events. However, his guilt soon drove him to confess the truth to his commanding officer. It is worth noting that the error itself would probably not have ended Mr. Paris’s career. It was the lie that led to his dismissal. However, the Judge Advocate General’s office noted in their decision to not criminally prosecute him that it meant something that he came forward on his own. He could have kept it to himself and carried on with his career, and a lesser man might have.
After his separation from Starfleet, Paris joined the Maquis. It was a brief spell, as he was captured by Starfleet on his first mission. This time, he was sent to prison. He responded well to rehabilitation at a facility on Earth. He would likely have been released from prison within the next six months when Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager offered him early release in exchange for helping with the search for a missing Maquis ship that had one of Janeway’s officers on board. While Voyager’s part in the mission was delayed by teething problems with the new Intrepid class starship, Paris boarded Voyager and headed for the Badlands to help search for the Maquis ship and the USS Enterprise, which was by then also missing. After the mission concluded without success, Voyager headed back to Earth and Paris prepared to be formally released from custody.
But enroute to Earth, Voyager was pulled into the Soran Incident. Paris would play a major role in this event, being responsible for releasing legendary Starfleet officer James T. Kirk from an energy ribbon. His heroic actions, though still largely classified, led Starfleet Command to reinstate him as an ensign. He would eventually find himself serving on the Valiant as a Lieutenant and ship’s helmsman. In the darkest period of the Valiant’s desperate flight from the Breen, Paris would find himself the highest-ranking survivor. He would lead the Valiant’s remaining crew to safety. Under the Valiant’s new captain, Raul Mallah, Mr. Paris would remain as helmsman but would also serve as first officer.
By the time the Breen War began, Mr. Paris was acting captain of the Valiant with Captain Mallah on shore leave. Paris led his ship in numerous combat search and rescue missions during the early days of the war before his captain returned. However, during the Battle of Lucan, Captain Mallah was severely injured and had to be relocated for long-term treatment. He was not able to return to duty until three months ago, now commanding the Norway class USS Reed. Paris assumed command and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. At the war’s conclusion, he was promoted to full Commander in recognition of his outstanding service and given permanent command of the Valiant. While he remains a Commander by rank, tradition dictates that he be referred to as Captain.
Fortunately, his father, the late-Admiral Owen Paris, lived to see his son in the big chair before he perished in the Gamma Quadrant Disaster.
Oh! Good timing. The Valiant just came out of the wormhole. I remind our viewers that it may be some time before we hear what happened. But the fact that the Valiant returned intact is certainly promising.
While we wait for word, let’s take a moment to examine the contingency plans the Federation has in place in the event that the Dominion defeats the United Powers forces around the wormhole. Each inhabited system in the Federation has received some degree of tactical upgrade over the years, with the exception of systems that already maintained a powerful defense system on their own. For example, the Andorian Imperial Guard, the Vulcan High Command, the Tellarite Space Force, and the Benzite Guardians continue to maintain significant firepower around their home worlds.
One of the more substantial refit jobs was done to the Betazed planetary defense system. As the Betazoids have always been non-confrontational, their defense system was more of an afterthought than a serious threat to an aggressor. When the current refit began, most of the technology in the orbital weapon platforms dated back to 2320. These platforms were scrapped and replaced by “Duranium Shield”. The system includes state of the art weapon platforms with both starbase and starship-grade phaser banks and torpedo launchers capable of firing both photon and quantum torpedoes, all protected by a high-powered deflector shield. The system also includes a squadron of heavy fighters and planet-side weapon emplacements in case anything makes it through Betazed’s new planetary deflector shield.
In the event of a catastrophic defeat in the Bajoran system, these individual systems may be largely on their own. But due to the recent retrofits and upgrades, they may very well be up to the challenge. There are rumored to be plans to send groups of Federation citizens and Starfleet personnel to the unexplored outer reaches of the quadrant in order to perhaps rebuild the Federation elsewhere should it fall here. But there has been no confirmation of such plans by Starfleet Command or the Federation Council. Of course, if such plans exist, it would be folly for the authorities to openly discuss them. Secrecy from a victorious enemy would be vital to such a plan’s success.
Okay, we’re getting an update. Huh.
Well, we’re being told that the Valiant went all the way to the end of the wormhole, and never detected a single Dominion ship. Starfleet Command is certain that the Dominion fleet entered the wormhole, so its absence is a mystery. Also, it should be noted that cloaking technology has proven to be useless inside the wormhole, so they cannot be hiding. For now, we are waiting for any new developments.
Gualberto Levi: My fellow beings, these last three days have been nerve-wracking to say the least. We all know that a Dominion armada of over ten thousand ships entered the Gamma Quadrant side of the Bajoran Wormhole. And then they vanished. The top scientific minds of the United Powers have finally determined what happened. The Dominion was using a modulated deflector field when they entered the wormhole. They had apparently intended to use it to push our minefield away from their ships and toward ours. But they may have failed to consider the effects that might have on the wormhole itself.
Long story short: The Dominion fleet was displaced in time when they entered the wormhole. We estimate that all ten thousand ships will come pouring into the Alpha Quadrant thirsty for blood. But we have a great deal more time to prepare. The Dominion fleet has inadvertently traveled 168 years into the future. So, they will come out of the Bajoran Wormhole in the mid-26th century. With only a handful of Dominion ships apparently remaining in the Dominion itself, the war is essentially over. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to say those words as my presidency draws to a close. I was not looking forward to dropping this weight on my successor’s shoulders.
But there is still a great deal of work to be done. The former Dominion must be secured. Under the terms of the United Powers treaties of alliance, all members will participate in this work and will share resources as well as new data discovered. There is, tragically, a real possibility that the Dominion scorched their worlds before heading to the wormhole. We may find the former Dominion to be the galaxy’s biggest graveyard. But it is my dearest hope that this is not the case. That they were too busy plotting to destroy us to destroy their subject worlds. We will never forget the massacre of the Teplan during the Gamma Quadrant Disaster.
As we commence this work, it is my fervent hope that the peace between the United Powers members will continue. I say this mostly to the Romulan government. We need not go back to being enemies. We have accomplished a great deal as allies. That work can continue to the benefit of both our peoples. We were enemies for over two hundred years, and neither side has benefitted from this animosity. Let us together release that hatred, bitterness, and resentment. Let us keep the United Powers.
Thank you all, and good night.
Admiral Alonzo Freeman, Deep Space Nine: <heavy sigh> Stand down from red alert.
Dr. T’Ana, USS Cerritos: Ah, you gotta be kiddin’ me! Westlake! Mind the store, I need a drink.
Captain Kathryn Janeway, USS Voyager: All right then. Mr. Nog, you have the bridge. I’m going to call my children.
Captain Beckett Mariner, USS Mjolnir: Ooooookay.
Captain Tom Paris, USS Valiant: Good work, everyone. You were all rock solid.
General K’orin, IKS Negh’Var: Dominion tohzah! Their foolishness has robbed us of a glorious battle and denied us proper revenge for the Disaster!
Captain Rudy Ransom, USS Equinox: I’m getting too old for this.
Admiral James T. Kirk, USS Washington: Don’t anybody relax just yet. Now we have to return to the Gamma Quadrant to assess the damage the Jem’Hadar inflicted there.
Captain Harry Kim, USS Shughart: Hopefully, some of the prisoners they captured during the Disaster are still alive.
MCPO Miles O’Brien, Deep Space Nine: All right. Odd numbered engineering teams, take the next four hours off. Then come back to relieve the even numbered teams.
Dr. Keiko O’Brien, Bajor: Yes, sweetheart. Everything’s okay.
Admiral Sela, IRW Tolak: Start talking Sloan. What do you know?
Elim Garak, Cardassia Prime: There, do you see? Everything is just fine, now.
General Kira Nerys, BSS Dahkur: Thank you, Emissary.
Mark Janeway, Earth: Yes, princess, I think Mommy might be able to call home soon.
Captain Carol Freeman, USS Farragut: Good job, everybody. Now let’s get ready to head into the Gamma Quadrant.
Captain Jadzia Dax, USS Shackleton: Oh, thank goodness.
Annika Hansen, USS Enterprise: Well, good for them, I guess. Hey sis, think a temporal anomaly will swallow up the Jem’Hadar war party coming for us? Yeah, me neither.
Jake Sisko, Bajor: Thanks dad.
Epilogue
The Kanshas Coalition did not have the advantage of an accidental time jump to prevent the Dominion forces from reaching them. They were forced to fight the Jem’Hadar to the last. Casualties were high, but the Coalition would ultimately prevail. Even better, they prevented any of their worlds from being bombarded. However, numerous worlds in the Gamma Quadrant would be devastated by the Jem’Hadar in their last acts of brutality. At least twenty-three sentient species were exterminated, with thirty more losing the majority of their population.
The deep strike United Powers forces ultimately suffered losses of over eighty percent. However, they would save several worlds from complete Dominion genocide. In some cases, this had to be achieved by beaming up a sampling of the species and fleeing the scene, relocating them to uninhabited worlds with the hope that the Jem’Hadar would not find them. Some civilizations were reduced from billions to mere thousands, but thanks to the deep strike forces, they would survive.
After the war, the United Powers sent ships into the former Dominion to aid the survivors. Within a few years, most of the aid was handled by the Federation, as their personnel were better equipped and trained for such duties. Romulan, Klingon, and Cardassian forces typically focused on security and the interdiction of piracy.
While the Dominion took thousands of prisoners from the United Powers forces after the Gamma Quadrant Disaster, all of them were killed by the Jem’Hadar in the final days of the war.
Although the Romulan Star Empire initially retreated into itself after the war, with the exception of the expeditionary force in the Gamma Quadrant, the Star Empire’s machinations against its neighbors did not resume. A few years later, normal diplomatic relations between the Romulans and the Federation would be established with embassies opened on Romulus and Earth. They would not become allies per se, but they would be at peace with each other. And when the Sphere Builders came calling in the 26th century, the Federation and Romulan fleets would fight side by side just as they had against the Dominion fleet both in the 24th century and the 26th.
With the last forces of the Dominion defeated, the Kanshas Coalition decided to seek Federation membership. Once this was granted, the task of forming a branch of Starfleet in the distant region fell to newly promoted Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, who would pass command of the Enterprise to his first officer. After a year of helping with relief efforts in both the Kanshas Region and the Tacnamow Expanse, Captain Worf would take the Enterprise to the Gamma Quadrant terminus of the Bajoran Wormhole to bring his ship home.
On September 18, 2389, the USS Enterprise returned to the Terran system, having travelled through the Bajoran Wormhole to reach the Alpha Quadrant. When the Enterprise reached the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, she was placed in Berth 38, the same one that had built the ship decades earlier. Next to them in Berth 37 was the third ship of the new Odyssey class. The Enterprise-D would be escorted by this vessel to the Fleet Museum, where the older ship would be placed on display along with two other members of its lineage, the Enterprise-A and the NX-01. Upon its return, the Odyssey class ship would be formally commissioned as the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E.
Jean-Luc Picard would remain in the Kanshas Region for another fifteen years before beginning the long journey home. He would reach Earth and retire to his family vineyard in 2406. He spent his remaining years reading, writing, occasional public speaking appearances, and spending time with his family. His nephew René would carry on the family line through his children and grandchildren, in addition to having a fine career in Starfleet in which he would become a starship captain. Jean-Luc Picard died in 2428.
Captain Worf would retire from Starfleet and join his brother Kurn in returning the House of Mogh to its former glory. They would eventually share a seat on the Klingon High Council. Much to her daughter’s horror, Worf would marry Miral, thus becoming B’elanna Torres’s stepfather. They would have three daughters, Kahlest, Helena, and L’Rell. They were named for his childhood nursemaid, his adoptive mother, and his biological mother who was herself named for the first female Chancellor of the Klingon Empire.
Alexander Rozhenko, Worf’s son, would go on to be a famed diplomat. Over the course of his life, he would serve as both the Klingon Empire’s ambassador to the Federation and the Federation’s ambassador to the Klingon Empire. His youngest daughter K'Ehleyr, named for his late mother, would go on to become Chancellor of the Klingon Empire, only the third woman to hold that distinction.
Commander Data, displeased by the synthetics ban the Federation instituted in the aftermath of the Synth Attack on Mars, left Starfleet and the Federation. He would return years later with evidence clearing the A500 Synthetics of culpability. Once the synthetics ban was lifted, Data settled on the non-affiliated world Coppelius where he would work with Bruce Maddox and his human brother Alton Soong to further their father’s work. He would eventually find a way to bring his daughter Lal back to life, as well as to transfer his positronic matrix into an organic body. Data would pass away in 2474, with many of his descendants at his side.
Deanna Riker-Troi would never remarry. She left Starfleet after the war and eventually joined the Diplomatic Corps, following in her mother’s footsteps. Her children would grow up to live simple lives in the peace their father died for.
Benjamin Sisko returned in 2389, having finished whatever work the Prophets had in mind for him. He was troubled at having been saved when so many others on the station were left behind but was pleased that the war had ended with far less bloodshed than he had expected. Sisko left Starfleet and retired to his house on Bajor, spending his days cooking, farming, and playing with his grandchildren.
Jake Sisko would live out his days on Bajor, writing and raising his family. He would publish fourteen novels and thousands of news articles.
James T. Kirk remained in Starfleet until 2405, spending his last fifteen years in the service as Starfleet Commander in Chief. He briefly retired to his family’s farm in Iowa at the age of 94. But less than a year later, he acquired a small ship and headed off into the unexplored reaches of space. He would never return.
Kathryn Janeway would command Voyager for twenty years before accepting a promotion into the Admiralty. She would serve as commandant of Starfleet Academy, inspiring new generations of Starfleet officers and thoroughly embarrassing her three children when they went through the Academy.
Beckett Mariner would beat her mother into the Admiralty, albeit by only one year. Carol Freeman would never live it down.
Jadzia Dax would command the Shackelton on one of the longest voyages ever undertaken on purpose by a Federation starship. The Shackelton would be gone for twenty-one years before returning home. Dax and her wives left Starfleet and retired to Trill.
Kira Nerys would run the Bajoran Militia for another six years after the war before retiring to have more time to spend with her son, and also to have another child, a daughter to whom she gave the Earth name Odette. Her friends thought it was both touching and hilarious.
Garak would remain on Cardassia Prime for the rest of his life, serving in various government postings.
Dukat served in the Cardassian military for many more years before retiring. He was never held to answer for his actions during the Occupation and would never apologize for them. Despite this, he would maintain a close relationship with his half-Bajoran daughter Ziyal. While he initially began to inch toward normalization of his relationship with his son, the two would never actually reconcile.
Ziyal became an artist of note on both Bajor and Cardassia. She would remain close with Kira Nerys as well as her father. Of course, in order to keep the peace, instances of both of them being in a room together would remain exceedingly rare.
Tuvok would be medically discharged from Starfleet in 2386 after his condition made his continued service untenable. A ship with his eldest son met the Enterprise in 2388 in order to hasten his treatment. While the damage was not completely repaired, Tuvok was able to function as a normal, independent man for the next decade until advances in medicine made possible by the lifting of the synthetics ban fully restored his cognitive functions. He remained on Vulcan, living a quiet life with his family.
Harry Kim would be a captain for thirty-six years before retiring from Starfleet. He and his wife Libby settled on Alnacar, where he had helped the Bak’u resettle earlier in his career. Kim would remain there for the rest of his life.
Ru’afo made several attempts at attacking Alnacar. Starfleet would intercept each attempt, ultimately threatening to launch an assault into Son’a space if another attack happened. The Son’a, content to forget about the Bak’u, removed Ru’afo from power after he attempted to organize another attack. Ru’afo then shifted his focus, taking a ship into the unknown reaches of space on the hunt for Gal’na. He would return to Son’a space in the mid-28th century having abandoned his efforts due to his metaphasic particle supply running out. He was horrified to find that the Son’a and Bak’u had reconciled nearly three centuries ago. After resupplying, he left again. This time, he would never return.
Tom Paris would begin teaching at Starfleet Academy after the war ended. He taught courses in flight control techniques and participated in lectures regarding ethics and the value of the truth. He would also serve with civilian flight demonstration teams, serving as a guest pilot for the Legacy Thunderbirds and their replica F-22 Raptor aircraft.
Chakotay and B’elanna Torres would settle in the Maquis Territories, raising their family in peace. Torres would lead the team that built the Maquis Defense Force’s first original starship, the MTS Hudson.
Neelix would open a restaurant on Earth that specialized in Delta and Gamma Quadrant cuisine. He did not remarry. His daughters Alixia and Martis would live to be 29 and 30, respectively. While Alixia would not have any children, Martis married a Romulan aide from the Star Empire’s diplomatic mission on Earth. Due to a unique fluke of genetics, their daughter Kes would live more than five hundred years.
Dr. Boris Yegorov would be granted full rights as a sentient being in 2384. His status was not affected by the synthetics ban. Dr. Yegorov would divide his time between campaigning for holographic rights and practicing medicine.
Dr. Selar continued to serve in Starfleet as a surgeon until she retired at the age of 178. She never developed a sense of humor.
General Martok survived to the last days of the war. When the Jem’Hadar came to kill all of the prisoners, he killed several of them and led the other prisoners in an ultimately unsuccessful fight for survival. When computer records were found by the United Powers, Chancellor Gowron declared that he had died a Hero of the Empire, and posthumously inducted him into the Order of Kahless.
Bradward Boimler would, believe it or not, become captain of a starship. And he would be pretty good at it. But then, he had some great teachers.
D’Vana Tendi would become a captain as well, inspiring many Orions to join Starfleet.
Samanthan Rutherford would become chief engineer of the USS Voyager, remaining so for nearly forty years. He only left because they decommissioned the ship. He went on to build starships at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards.
Quark’s Bar, Restaurant, Casino, and Consulate™ was destroyed with the rest of Deep Space Nine. However, he was able to move most of his riches to his personal shuttle and evacuated the station before the Dominion arrived to destroy it. He insisted that he did not leave any of his valuables behind in order to make room for his employees, and that it just happened to be a big enough shuttle. Anything he left behind was simply not worth taking. He would reopen his facility in the replacement Deep Space Nine and continued to run his business until he finally bought his own moon. To his delight, it was the same moon his cousin Gaila used to own.
Annika Hansen and Seven of Nine would remain together for the rest of their lives, even when advances in synthetics made it possible to give them each an independent body. They would pursue the frontiers of scientific research, helping to make many important discoveries, such as adapting Borg transwarp technology for Federation use. Annika would get herself and her sister into plenty of trouble along the way.
Obrist never divulged his past to anyone. He would have a fine career in Starfleet but would shy away from getting a command of his own.
Miles O’Brien served as a Starfleet engineer for many more years before retiring to Earth with his wife Keiko. He still loves to tinker. And he developed a fine collection of ships in bottles. He was fibbing decades earlier when he told Captain Picard that he built ships in bottles when he was a boy. But that inspired him to give the art form a try, and he found it enjoyable, particularly in his later years.
Keiko O’Brien was made an honorary citizen of Bajor in recognition of her efforts to repair the planet’s biosphere. She went on to teach at Cornell University after her family returned to Earth.
Molly O’Brien would grow out of her rebellious teenager phase sometime around the age of 23.
Kirayoshi O’Brien would roll his eyes at schoolyard bullies who made fun of his name. He would point out that while his bullies had common names like Sam or Wei, nobody in the Federation was named Kirayoshi. He checked. As the old saying goes, “You laugh at me because I’m different. I laugh at you because you’re the same.”
Rudy Ransom retired from Starfleet shortly after the war but returned after the Attack on Mars. However, he strongly disliked the abandonment of the Federation’s exploration efforts and did not stay long. Eventually, he signed on aboard a civilian science vessel, the Lamarr, as its captain. The Lamarr and other ships like it would pick up the slack left by Starfleet for many years.
Julian Bashir continued to practice medicine for the rest of his life. He would eventually marry a counselor (not his) named Ezri Tigan, but due to his status as an augment, they used an anonymous Trill donor to have children. While he would continue to be haunted by the war, he would ultimately find happiness with his family and his work.
Sela would disappear from Romulan society after the Dominion War. Rumors persist that she went in search of her mother, an alternate universe version of the late Starfleet officer Natasha Yar. Sela would never be seen again, but it is hotly debated whether that means she failed or succeeded.
Shinzon fled the Dominion after hearing of the Founders’ extinction. He was ultimately captured by the Cardassians and turned over to the Federation. After over twenty years of incarceration, he was released. He went directly to Labarre, France and broke into Chateau Picard. When Jean Luc Picard looked up and saw him, he calmly invited his burglar to dinner. Shinzon accepted, and would later accept an invitation to live there, remaining at the chateau for the rest of his life. He would continue to keep the vineyard running after Picard passed away.
As for Nog, he would have his own ship soon enough. And from his humble beginnings as an illiterate waiter and a petty thief, Nog would go down in history as one of the greatest captains of the 25th Century. So great was his legacy that in the 32nd Century, when the exploits of legends like Archer, Pike, Sisko, and Mariner had largely been forgotten or at least eclipsed by others, Nog still had a ship of the line named in his honor.
And there you have it. “Changes”
It’s funny, I’m actually posting the last chapter just shy of the one-year anniversary of the day I started to write this. So, I guess that’s how long it took. It’s my first story and I’m proud of it. Not everyone liked it. And that’s okay.
Though one comment got my attention.
“Ah nice, so it's basically never actually about the delta quadrant and the actual story is entirely misleading.”
Huh? I have no idea what that dude was talking about.
But most of you have been really cool, so thank you.
I’ll probably write something else eventually, but not anytime soon.
Live long and prosper.