Critical Reality, part one by Spyda (archmage@xtra.co.nz) The wake of the dominion war had left the Federation victorious but not unscathed. Jem h'dar warships were scattered across the astral winds as the Founders' homeworld lay in ruins. The Federation as with it's unlikely allies were enjoying a time of peace. Their future looked bright as citizens went about life on Earth with everything nearly back to normal. But nothing ever stays the same, and it never lasts forever. The Enterprise E was docked at the Federation starbase in high orbit over Earth. The newly appointed Admiral Tagart had a new assignment for the Sovereign class vessel. Picard entered the Admiral's office."Ah... Jean Luc Picard. So nice to finally meet you in person. Please...sit down." Picard sits in the chair in front of the Admiral's desk. "It's nice to meet you too Admiral. I suppose now's the time you tell me why the Enterprise is currently being refitted?" "Yes a small series of upgrades are being installed. New gel packs and phasor arrays mainly, as well as a few other things." "I take it we're being re-assigned?" "That would be correct. I have orders from the federation council, the Enterprise is to be readied for active service ASAP." "So what are these orders?" "We have had reports of attacks on our borders near the Bentusi system. We've lost contact with our outpost in that region. We need you to go down there and find out what happened." "Dominion ships?" "We don't know. If there are any hostile forces there do not engage them. Contact us if you find anything and we'll dispatch a more appropriate attack force to counter the threat." "I understand. If that's everything Admiral, then it looks like I have a bridge waiting for me." Picard turns to leave. "Oh Picard," "Yes Admiral?" "Be careful, we don't know for sure what's happening down there." "I intend to." With that Picard left the room. A few hours later Picard was sitting in the captains chair with Riker at his side. "We are clear of space dock captain." Said the young conn officer. "Set a course for the Bentusi system." "Aye sir." "Engage." The Enterprise lances out into the void and disappears from view. "Our ETA is 4 Days 2 hours and 57 minutes captain." Data said. The captain, while looking straight ahead, said "Data, what do you know about the Bentusi system?" "Bentusi is a system of four planets orbiting a Red giant. An outpost was constructed there to monitor alien traffic which after the war has been at an all time low." "Why would anyone attack this outpost? What possible significance could it have to the dominion?" "If you ask me it's more than likely a few of our dominion friends are having a hard time adjusting after the war." Riker said leaning to one side in his seat. The next 4 days were very uneventful. With most of the major powers remaining in their respective systems there were very few vessels out in this part of space. The Federation being the exception with most of it's fleet scattered throughout the alpha quadrant. After the 4 days had passed the Enterprise neared the Bentusi system. "Captain, we are coming up on the outpost now." "Thank you Data. Slow to impulse Ensign." The Enterprise drops out of warp. "Captain I am tracking a large subspace anomaly," Data reports, "it is gone now captain." Riker shifts slightly in his seat and looks at the captain, "A ship?" "Possibly. Mr Data contact the outpost." "The outpost is not showing on any short or long range sensors. However there is a large metallic mass three thousand kilometres off the port bow." "On screen" The view screen comes to life and the image of empty space with a small metallic object in the centre presented itself. "Magnify..." "Good god." Says Riker as he stares unblinkingly at the screen. Before them was a floating mass of rubble. Metal structure, piping, and various other components protruded from the wreckage. It was the outpost. Picard sat back in his seat, inform Star Fleet of what's happened... set a course for the sol system." The Enterprise entered warp bound for Earth. However despite repeated attempts to reach Starfleet they were unsuccessful in contacting Earth. "Captain, I believe that the problem with the communications is related to the Subspace anomaly we detected earlier. It appears to be blocking subspace transmissions." "Keep trying Mr Data." Finally the ship enters it's home system and drops out of warp. However not all was as they had left it. Data was tapping the controls at his station as he reported "Sir I am still not getting any response from Starfleet....Captain! The Earth" "Onscreen." The following image was of something far worse than any of them had ever encountered before. The junior bridge officers sat there in complete shock. "Good god..." Riker said with his eyes fixed to the screen. A dire look of fear consumed his face, "It's...burning...The Earth is burning......" Critical Reality, Part two It is a harsh reality in the Sol system as the crew of the Enterprise watch their beloved homeworld burning to ashes below them. Data deactivated his emotion chip and compiled the data from the readings he received from his console. "According to these readings, about 94% of the Earth's crust has been reduced to magma. The atmosphere contains high traces of carbon, phosphates, and trace minerals." Picard didn't reply to Data's report. He held is head low, in his mind was limitless grief, added to personal shame. How could he have let this happen? Why wasn't he there to protect them. All these questions raced through his mind. He wondered if everyone was on Earth when it happened? Why did it happen? And probably the most important question at the time, who was responsible? In another part of space and time a small shuttle hurtled through hyperspace towards it's destination. A small band of soldiers dressed in camouflage uniform occupied the small craft. "Something's not right," Commented a young man inside the craft, "Before I could sense something. But now it's gone." "It's just your imagination kid. This'll all work out just fine." Replied an older man sitting in one of the pilots seats. A woman in the back turned to face the younger man, "Luke what's wrong?" "I don't know Leia, and that's the problem. I should know but I don't. Han, how much longer?" "We're there, hold tight." Han pulled a lever on the control panel and the tunnel of hyperspace faded into streaking stars. The streaks receded into pinpoint stars as the Tyderian shuttle slowed to sub-light speed. The fur covered creature with them in the cockpit made a sound similar to a growl. "I don't get it either Chewy," Han said in response to the Wookie, "Where the hell are all the command ships?" Looking out the window they could see the Forrest moon they called Endor. In orbit of the moon was a large grey mass. They knew what it was and they al knew what they had come to do. However things were not as they were expecting them to be. "I thought there were supposed to be Star Destroyers here." Leia said looking at Han. "This doesn't make any sense I'm not getting any reading from that station whatsoever. No shields, no weapons, no life signs, nothing!" Chewy makes another growl and the occupants of the craft look at Han. "Imperial traffic on the holonet has dropped by 87%. It's as if 3 quarters of the entire Empire just up and vanished." "So what are we going to do with that thing?" Leia asked. Luke turned to face the window, "I don't mean to point out the obvious here but there is something seriously wrong." "Your telling me kid. Well if the Empire doesn't want it I say we salvage the thing. I'm contacting the fleet. I bet this is going to be some welcome news!" Back in the sol system. The crew of the Enterprise could not come to terms with what they saw before them. An ensign walked aimlessly through one of the many corridors of the ship. As he walked on he passed a Lieutenant. The Lieutenant caught a glimpse of the ensign's eyes. He turned around in time to see the ensign pull a grey metallic objet from his side. "NO DON'T!" The ensign aimed the device at his head and closed his eyes as tight as he could. Within the same moment a blast was heard from the weapon and the ensign fell to the ground as his body faded from existence. An alarm sounded and some security officers rushed to the scene only to find black burns on the metal floor of the corridor. Meanwhile on the bridge Picard held his head in his hands. He looked up at the image on the screen with bloodshot eyes. Riker was standing by his side. As he gazed out the screen, for the first time in his life, a single tear rolled down his cheek. Picard sat fully upright, "Data... the starbase" "It has been destroyed. I am also tracking the wreckage of several starships in the area." Picard closed his eyes and didn't say a word. "Two Nebula class, one Intrepid class, one Akira class, two solar..." "That will be all Data." "Captain, there is a ship decloacking among the wreckage... it's the defiant. We are being hailed." "Onscreen!" The image on the view screen changed from the burning image of Earth to that of a man. "Captain Picard..." "Captain Sisko." The man on the screen was breathing heavily trying to control his rage. "We arrived in time to see them leave. There had to be hundreds of ships. They did what they came here to do and then they vanished." Picard gritted his teeth. "The Dominion?" There was a long pause before Sisko gave his answer, "No... it was something else. Hundreds of ships, some triangular, some long... like freighters." "Freighters?" "Yes... they looked like some kind of transports. We..." Sisko stops to catch his breath. "We think MAY have taken prisoners." "Why would anyone do this to us? What have we done to deserve this?" "I don't have the answers to those questions Jean Luc. But there is one thing that I do know and that is what we have to do now." Picard raised his head high. Pure anger and hatred consumed his face the same way it did with Benjamin Sisko, "We must strike back. I will not allow the destruction of my home, my family and my friends to go unpunished. We will make them pay for what they have done!" "I couldn't agree more. Whoever was responsible for this will burn! I will see to it. They will burn!" Critical Reality, part 3 Rebel engineers worked around the clock stripping the death star of anything useful they could find. Some had contemplated leaving the station intact for use as a weapon against the Empire while others reminded them that using such a weapon would make them no better then the foe that they had fought for so long. Unfortunately it seemed as though the station had already been striped of almost all of it's essential systems. The entire drive system that acted as a gargantuan hyperdrive for the Death Star had been removed. As had the super laser assembly. It was clear that the Empire didn't abandon the station in a hurry. All thermal exhaust ports had been closed off and all corridors were sealed. However the Rebels were successful in retrieving a large number of weapons batteries and various other components that made up the incomplete station. One of the many salvage teams near the core of the station were wearing hostile environment suits to protect them from the radiation in that section. They came to a sealed blast door and with a little persuasion from the cutting tools they brought with them they were able to get it open. The door opened to reveal a larger room. A much larger room. In fact the room itself had to at least be the size of a small starship! The rebels looked up and were very pleased with what they saw. In the centre of this artificial cavern was the heart of the Death Star, the hyper matter reactor. Somewhere else in space and time a large triangular starship sat in place awaiting the arrival of a smaller ship that recently appeared on it's scanners. "Federation vessel, this is the Victory class star destroyer Sabre. Deactivate your warp drive, lower your shields and prepare to be boarded." "Open a channel with the defiant." Picard commanded. The view screen of the Enterprise changed from the blurred stars to the image of captain Sisko. "I heard it two Picard. This is one of the ships responsible for Earth." Picard's eyes narrowed and he raised his head slightly, "Then we had better do something about it." "Federation vessel, lower your shields immediately or you will be destroyed." "Shall I open a channel?" enquired Data "Open fire." "Captain?" "I gave you a direct order Data, now open fire! Target their bridge!" "Aye captain." The senior bridge officers of the Sabre didn't know quite what to make of their attackers. "Their coming around into attack position." "This will be short. Gunnery you may fire when ready." The ship turned to face it's broadside to the Enterprise. A bolt of orange energy lanced out from the Enterprise and stopped meters from impact. In return green bolts of laser fire darted towards the Sovereign class vessel. "Sir a second enemy strike ship closing from sector 2,5!" The defiant emerged from it's cloak and began sending phasor pulses towards the bridge on an attack run. "Sir we've lost the bridge deflector shield!" "Intensify firepower at the second craft! Don't let it take a second run!" "Quantum torpedoes Mr Worf!" Sisko commanded. Numerous red bolts left both the Enterprise and the defiant striking the bridge and the Engine. The rear of the ship erupted in flumes of flame as the ship slowly started to drift. A second volley of torpedoes and phasor fire hit the exposed reactor and a second explosion consumed the entire ship scattering debris throughout the sector. "It was short" The ships captain thought to himself as he felt his body wrenched apart by the explosion. Picard watched the destruction and took a brief moment to ponder his actions. Did he do the right thing? He thought to himself that attacking an alien vessel on first sighting and destroying it was probably going to be somewhat frowned upon by Starfleet. And then he thought to himself, there was no Starfleet. Whoever these people were they had come into his corner of space and taken it all away from him. They were going to destroy his ship. He was acting to protect his ship and his crew. And any survivors of the human race left throughout the galaxy. "Data were there any survivors?" "I am picking up three small vessels. They appear to be escape pods. I am detecting a life sign within each one." "Beam them straight to the brig. Disarm any weapons they may be carrying." Meanwhile on the Defiant a small sense of satisfaction came over Sisko. Kira turned around to face the captain as she had ever seen him act this way before. She turned back to face her Station. No-one on either ship knew who the attackers were. But what they did was know that war was coming. Critical Reality, part 4 All was dark, somewhat peaceful. A faint hum could be heard in the somewhere in the background. "Has he regained consciousness?" A man's voice sounded in the distance. "He's coming around now." Replied a woman. Footsteps where heard heading away, followed by an electronic twang. The man opened his eyes to find himself inside some form of holding cell. A man and a woman were standing behind an entranceway into the cell. "Where am I?" "You are on board the USS Enterprise. I am Captain Jean Luc Picard." "What am I do..." "I'll be asking the questions from now on." The man stood up. He had short black, neatly cut, hair. He was wearing a brownish uniform with a coloured tag pinned on the chest of his uniform. "By destroying a Victory class Star Destroyer you have openly declared war on the Galactic Empire." "We'll get to that part in a minute," Replied Picard "Who are you?" "I'm First Lieutenant Gen Faltia of the Victory Class Star..." "The Sabre, we already know that. What was your station?" The man glanced back with a blank expression. "What was your station!?" Picard repeated. "Weapons control," the man smirked "section 3F. Turbo Laser batteries, torpedo launchers and not to mention, Base Delta Zero coordination control." "What's Base Delta Zero?" "You know what... I just can't quite remember" the man smirked again. Picard turned away and started walking down the corridor. In the back of his mind he thought about shutting down the force field and ending Faltia's life right then and there. "Jun Luc," the woman said as they walked down the corridor, "I ran several tests on that man... he's human." Picard stopped dead in his tracks and faced the woman. "Human? I've never seen that uniform before. Nor that class of ship. Where do you think he's from?" "There were once theories that human beings may have evolved on different planets. However after Xenobiology was born such theories were dismissed." "Beverly these people destroyed our home. I need facts not legends." Picard tapped his com badge, "Picard to bridge." Riker responded, "Bridge here, go ahead captain." "Contact the Defiant. Maybe Mr Worf will be able to get more information from Mr Faltia." "Understood captain, Riker out." The computer chimed and a different voice was heard over the com system, "Captain please report to the holodeck. I believe I have some information that you will find useful." "Understood Data, I'm on my way." Dr Crusher returned to the sickbay as Picard headed toward the holodeck. He didn't entirely understand why Data wanted to see him there. Picard arrived at the empty holodeck to find the greenish android standing inside the arch. "Captain, we recovered some material from the wreckage of the Sabre and were able to locate the Sabre's flight log." "Excellent work. But why are you telling me this in the holodeck?" "The ships log contained information that was able to be translated into a holographic program. I am assuming that these aliens use holographic technology in communication." "Alright, let's see the program." Data tapped the controls in the arch. After a few moments the interior of the holodeck turned into a view of outer space with Picard and Data standing on a small metal platform. The stars began to streak by and then large objects began to scream past at lightning fast speeds. Then the stars receded to their normal positions. Earth could be seen in the distance as well as a large number of triangular ships rapidly approaching. Some federation vessels left spacedock on course to great the visitors. Some numbers were on a panel on the metal platform. "These numbers appear to indicate time." Data remarked. The view went blank for a few moments and then returned. The numbers had jumped higher. "It appears that this is what happened a few days after first contact." Data said facing the Captain.The starbase was destroyed, wreckage was floating in high orbit. Hundreds of what appeared to be transports left the surface as the triangular ships approached and took positions around Earth. They all opened fire on the planet below as the atmosphere began to discolour. The program ended and Picard stood dead still, looking into the distance. "Those smaller ships... were they transports?" "I believe so captain. I believe that those responsible for Earth's destruction captured a large number of the population in the process." "Data..." "Yes Captain?" "We're going to need help." Picard taps his combadge, "Number one," "Go ahead Captain." "Set a course for Romulus." Critical Reality, part 5 "Alright, we have a pile half the size of a small moon in scrap and one reactor that's bigger than a correlian transport! Now the question is what do we do with it?" Han Solo asked as he watched the hologram in front of him. A group of rebels were inside a Mon Calamari cruiser looking again at the image of the incomplete Death Star. Mon Mothma turned to face him. "It is obvious that our previous plan has become unnecessary. However the question as to why the Death Star was abandoned has yet to be answered. We can clearly tell that the Death Star was not abandoned quickly as most of it's primary systems have been removed. This would have taken several days to complete." "Hold up," Lando interrupted "how do we know for sure that the stations primary systems were on it in the first place?" "What you are seeing is the data we analyzed when we first arrived at Endor." Mon Mothma taps a few controls in front of her, "This is the data gathered by the Bothan spies." The holographic image changed to reveal another view of the Death Star. This time more details could be seen on the surface. Lines of text in Mon Calamari script pointed out the various weapons and other features that were not present when they arrived. Luke looked upon the image with concerned eyes, "The focusing eye is gone. The Emperor can easily build another reactor. He wouldn't dismantle and abandon the Death Star unless he had something else. Obi Won told me to trust my feelings, and right now they tell me that something terrible is going to happen." "Well I don't mean to interrupt kid sunshine over there," Han started, "but one thing we do know is that the majority of the Imperial fleet is gone. Where it has gone, I don't know and I pretty much don't care. I say we high tail it to Coruscant and retake the galaxy!" Meanwhile, aboard the Enterprise Picard stood in his ready room. With one hand on the wall he looked out as the stars passed by. He breathed in slowly as he contemplated everything that had happened in the past week. "You know, you shouldn't destroy alien ships when you first meet them. They might have something interesting to say." "Picard closed his eyes tightly." "Q...If ever I was not in the mood to talk to you, it is now." "Did you know how many people were on that ship? Of course not, you didn't even have your crewman perform a sensor sweep." Picard turned around to face the other man in the ready room. A look of anger contorted his face, "If the events of this past week were one of your little games Q then..." Picard stopped and sighed, "There no longer IS A HUMANITY TO BE JUDGED! So what do I care what you think?" "Oh calm down my dear Captain. Where your going your all going to have to learn to control that anger of yours. Especially my dear friend Captain Sisko over there." Q indicates the Defiant which can be seen out the window. Anyway it wasn't me that caused the destruction of Earth it was your little friend sitting in the brig. Or at lest the people he works for anyway." "The Galactic Empire. He told me. But I've never heard of any Galactic Empire." "Poor, poor Picard. Didn't it occur to you that this Empire may be of another Galaxy?" Picard looked up and the anger left him, for now. "Yes of course! A hostile force from a neighboring galaxy! They must be the first to develop inter galactic travel. And now they've come here to claim this galaxy for their own." "Close...well actually no. From what we're able to tell they're from the other side of your known universe and they have yet to develop intergalactic travel. At least relative to their time anyway." "So how DID they get here? And what do you mean 'relative to their time'?" "Well for one thing they existed several thousand years ago." Picard's face turned again this time with a look of confusion. "And second, a small chunk of reality in the universe has reached critical level." "Explain." "Dimensions of space and time normally flow in the right direction. But somewhere along the line things didn't quite go so smoothly. As a result there is now an area where space and time in two points of the universe intersect and become one." "How did this happen?" "We have certain rules in the Q continuum that govern the actions of all Q. After all, we can't have omnipotent beings roaming the universe unchecked now can we? Anyway the are certain parts of the universe that Q are forbidden to enter or manipulate. Such places include areas where the denizens have learned to manipulate the background energy that exists throughout the universe." "Background energy? You mean background radiation." "Well the radiation is a product of the energy. Humans were never fully able to account for all the mass that that should exist in the universe. Well now you know." "Fascinating. If the Earth was still around Federation astronomers would have had a field day with that information. But what does it have to do with this 'Critical Reality'?" "I was just getting to that. Never interrupt a Q in the middle of an astrophysics lesson. They don't come often. But back to the point, we generally like to steer clear of places where people have learnt to manipulate this energy because when it is made to impact on matter adding Q presence generally tends to throw the universe off balance, you know what I mean." "And a Q visited one of these places?" "You would guess right. Q ventured into such a galaxy against the wishes of the other Q and now all hell has broken loose." During the conversation Picard noticed something a little different about Q. He wasn't wearing his usual smirk. In fact Q almost seemed to be taking the situation seriously. "Alright Q now explain something else. What does this have to do with me?" "Picard... we need your help." Picard nearly had a heart attack. He could believe his ears, was Q asking him for help? "How could I possibly be of any help to you?" "We've lost most of our abilities. We can't restore things with a single click and we cannot see beyond the Critical Reality bubble. Destroy it Picard... it's killing us." Q fades from sight. Critical Reality, part 6 Traffic around and on the surface of Coruscant was at an all time low. After the mainstay of the Imperial fleet was dispatched to take up position near Endor all of Coruscant was placed under military curfew. Two Imperial class Star Destroyers and one Victory Class remained in stationary orbit monitoring all traffic in the surrounding area. Aboard one of the Imperial class Destroyers, the captain is called over to the scanner station. "Report!" "Sir several ships have dropped out of hyperspace in the vicinity." "Open a channel." The officer pushes a few buttons and a chime sounds confirming the open channel. "Unidentified vessels you have entered a restricted zone. Identify yourselves immediately or we will open fire." "Sir more ships have dropped out of hyperspace. It's the rebels!" "How many are there?" "I'm picking up multiple Mon Calamari, Nebulon B frigates, a Corellian... we're outnumbered sir!" The captain turned around to face the other officers on the bridge. "Battle stations! Arm all weapons! Scramble all fighters!" An alarm sounded. Men rushed all over the ship to get to the turbo laser batteries and others to their designated TIE fighters. Numbers of small craft began to immerge from the destroyers. However their attackers already had dozens of fighters already in flight and ready to engage. "All wings lock S foils into attack position." "Copy gold leader." The X-wings and B-wings opened their foils as the A- wings sped to the front of the pack. The Y-wings remained in the rear. The numerous TIE fighters accompanied by TIE interceptors closed in formation. "Watch yourself out there kid. Just 'cause we caught 'em napping doesn't mean you can get careless." "Just worry about yourself Han, I'll be fine. Rouge group, break formation and open fire!" The X-wings broke away from the pack and spiraled towards the interceptors. The fighter groups exchanged fire but with the rebels superior numbers the TIE's were shot down as they came for their attack run. "Transmitting target data, Alpha 2 switch to my targ, ahhhhhhhhhh!..." "Alpha 1 say again...NO!" A TIE interceptor screamed past one of the destroyers hoping to loose it's attacker to turret fire. An A- Wing closed in behind as red bolts lanced towards the TIE. A few shots struck the star destroyer causing a small flash close to it's hull. But then two consecutive blasts struck the TIE ending the career of the craft and it's pilot. The X-wings continued to elude the turret fire as the darted between the destroyers. TIE fighters screamed around attempting to surprise them on the fly only to find another threat looming over them. The Millennium Falcon glided in and destroyed the fighters with a few blasts from it's lasers. "Heh! And to think I was going to let you fly." Han said to the main in the seat next to him. "Just fly the damn thing Han!" "Lando, Lando, Lando. Relax, it'll all be over soon." The B-wings swooped in providing cover fire as the A- Wings continued to pick off the remaining TIE's. The Victory class was completely destroyed and the Imperial class ships were severely crippled. The Y-wings lined up in broad formation near the two remaining destroyers. After a brief pause blue bolts lanced out from the Y-wings and headed on their path to the destroyers. "Sir! Proton torpedoes coming in!" "Intensify forward fire power!" "Our turrets are out sir!" "Transmit target data to all remaining fighters!" "We can't...they're all gone." The captain walked forward to see the numerous blue bolts of light heading towards the destroyer at high speed. They were heading for all sides of the ship and a few were heading straight for the bridge tower. The captain narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He remembered the oath he took to serve the Empire when he joined the Imperial navy. That single thought carried with him as the torpedoes hit their mark and everyone on that ship met oblivion. A thundering blaze lit the twilight skies of Coruscant. After a moment had passed the skies darkened and all that could be seen was the rebel fleet high above. "...I repeat, this is the USS Enterprise. I need to speak to a representative of the Romulan Star Empire." "No response captain." Replied data from the com station. "Repeat message." The Enterprise and the Defiant had taken up stationary position near Romulus. Three Romulan warbirds were in stationary position near the two federation ships. "I am getting a response from the surface." "On screen Mr. Data." "Federation vessels, this is ambassador tr'Vek. We are aware of your situation and request that you beam down to the following coordinates. tr'Vek out." A few minutes later, inside an installation on the surface of Romulus, Picard, Sisko, Riker, Worf, and Data materialized in a dimly lit room. Ambassador tr'Vek was present with a man and a woman. A guard stood by the entrance to a passageway. "Gentlemen, I want you to meet my associates, Nia t'Gal," the ambassador indicates the woman standing to one side, "and Julinis tr'Vulia." He indicates the man standing on the other side. "Ambassador we have a serious..." "Earth has been destroyed, we know. I was due on a diplomatic assignment to Earth a few days ago. We didn't know why our hails went unanswered until we arrived. My condolences." "We're not looking for pity ambassador! We are looking for assistance!" Snarled Sisko "I anticipated this. Well I'm sorry but we don't have any ships capable of traveling that far into deep space." "How far into deep space do we need to go?" Picard asked, a little puzzled by the ambassadors last remark. "The assailants have a remarkable fast propulsion technology they call the hyperdrive. They can cross a galaxy in a matter of days. They have retreated to the Delta Quadrant." "If I may ask," Data started, "How did you come into contact with this information?" "We have our sources," replied t'Gal, "They call themselves the galactic Empire. They have a vast infrastructure of personal thus making infiltration child's play... for a Romulan. But that is all the information we will discuss concerning our source." Julinis approached the group of federation officers. "Concerning your request for assistance. We are close to completing the first fully functional wormhole generator." "How close?" Sisko asked "I can't say." "Naturally..." Worf muttered under his breath. "However I CAN tell you this, we have developed a small piece of technology designed to supplement transwarp drive systems. However we have been unable to replicate a functional transwarp drive for it to operate." "What are you getting at?" Sisko inquired looking at the Romulan with cold eyes. "If you can recover an operational transwarp drive, that's the coil plus the surrounding drive system, then we can retrofit our ships and yours with working transwarp drives. And we will send a flight of warbirds to aid you. Subspace communication is being jammed somehow so we are unable to contact any other Federation ships. Warbirds have been dispatched to track them down and bring them here..." "Wait a minute..." Sisko interrupted, "Where are we supposed to find a working transwarp drive?" "That...is your problem." The ambassador stated. Critical Reality, part 7 Deep within the milky way galaxy an ensemble of imperial destroyers gathered in the delta quadrant. Tyderian shuttles were busy transferring personal between the gargantuan vessels as TIE fighters and interceptors screamed past on their patrols in the surrounding area. Towards the center of the fleet was a triangular destroyer several times larger than the rest of them. It was known as the Super Star Destroyer, Executor. In a large, darkened room a man dressed in black entered. This man wore a mask and a form of breathing apparatus. As he walked on, every breath could be heard across the room. A small staircase was at one end, and upon that staircase was a throne facing out the window into space. The man kneeled before the throne and a voice from above began to speak. "I sense you bring great news...Lord Vader." "Yes... my master." The throne turned to face Vader, revealing a man in a black robe. This man was small in stature and his face was aged and corrupted, it was the Emperor. "What is this news that you bring?" "We have searched extensively and have found no trace of any Jedi. And we have not found any evidence to suggest that any of the denizens of this galaxy have learnt to master the power of the force. Also with the federation citizens we seized from Earth the new Death Star will be completed soon." "You have done well lord Vader. Under my guidance you have grown into a powerful master of the Sith." Darth Vader continued to kneel, not moving an inch as the Emperor continued. "You have served me well. Soon the time will come where you must find an apprentice of your own and train him in our ways. In this galaxy I can sense a man that is strong with the force and yet ignorant of it's existence. He will become my new apprentice. As your son shall become yours." Vader kneeled motionless, taking in every last word of his master. He remembered the time when he first became Sith. How he was filled with rage then it all became clear. Such was the way of the force. And anger was the way of the Sith. Fear is their ally, aggression was their tool. Not long afterwards, a Tyderian shuttle left the Executor bound for the secrete location of the new Death Star. The Emperor was on board. The shuttles wings fanned out and with a flash of it's engines the small craft catapulted into the blackness. Meanwhile, celebration was happening all over Coruscant. Parades marched throughout the streets and people cheered as rebel fighters released fireworks into the sky. Large screens throughout the planet showed similar celebrations happening on Bespin, Corellia, Tatooine, Bothawui, and Mon Calamari. As night fell over the former Imperial senate, all attention turned towards Mon Mothma as she took the stand and addressed the public. "Citizens of the former Empire. My name is Mon Mothma, leader of the Rebel Alliance." her voice rang out over the surface of Coruscant and the masses cheered on. "As you all know, Imperial rule is no longer in effect on any of the core worlds!" The crowds cheered even louder as Mon Mothma continued. "Today, we stand on the verge on the beginning of a new age. And age of peace, prosperity, and for the fist time in decades, Justice!" The crowds raised their arms toward the images of Mon Mothma and cheered louder and louder! "As I speak to you now. Rebel forces are currently in the process of seizing former Imperial assets. All Imperial property is being collected and returned to the people the Empire has been stealing off all this time. There will be NO MORE EXTORTION! No more heavy taxes and no more corruption!" The crowd cheered on as they listened to Mon Mothma's speech. "As I said before, today marks a new beginning. The beginning of the new Galactic Republic!" On a distant planet, an inmate waits in his detention cell with three other prisoners. Their spirits were broken and they were kept in a perpetual state of hunger. When the Imperial officers were not working them in the labour camps they had nothing more to do then await their deaths. Theirs was a sad and cruel existence. Many of them had wished that they had been killed on Hoth and the various other places they were captured and taken away from. But then all of a sudden the door opened. After a brief moment one of the men ventured forth into the passageway to find that no guards were present. The doors to the other cells were open and the tattered prisoners wandered into the passage. An unfamiliar voice sounded over the intercom, "Attention prisoners, this installation is no longer under Imperial control. Transports will be available shortly to take you to any desired destination. As of right now, you are all free." One of the children, a little girl, stepped forward from the group of men and women in the passageway. Looking out toward the end she could see light. As well as something she thought she would never see again...hope for the future. Critical Reality part 8 Darkness surrounded. There was nothing more to be expected at this time, and at all the other times that were like this. For the moment this was a darkened world that remained silent. Not a sound was heard except for that which was to follow. "A vessel as been detected in galactic cluster six, spatial grid seven nine five. Prepare for assimilation." The world suddenly came to life with mechanical sounds and a never-ending maze of metal corridors and equipment. Cybernetic creatures walked through the halls with one hundred percent efficiency. One of these drones activated the sensors and the metallic voice rang out through the minds of the drones. "Federation vessel, Defiant class. Prepare for assimilation." "We are the Borg. Resistance is futile, your biological and technological distinctiveness will be assimilated." The image of the defiant flying towards the cube appeared on a small screen on the console. After a few moments it disappeared. "Damage occurrence, section two five nine, subjunction two zero." Several drones made their way to the area specified and began to repair the damage. "We're inside the cube." Worf said quietly as the small group of federation officers walked in, undetected. "The transwarp drive is dead ahead." One of the officers reported. The away team was wearing federation issue stealth suits that had previously been in use in certain missions where stealth was the key like the incidence with the Ba'ku. The officers could see each other as well as other tactical information displayed on their visors. But luckily the Borg could not see them. They made their way though the metal halls and past the various drones regenerating in their alcoves. Some drones were walking down the halls on their way to perform the various tasks that were assigned to them. One of the drones bumped past a startled officer. The drone, unable to detect anything, passed the information it received off as irrelevant and proceeded with it's assigned task. Worf and the other crewmen made their way into the heart of the cube. After a few minutes passing more drones they made their way to the transwarp drive. Each time they passed a drone they began to pass the data off as less and less irrelevant. The collective knew that the drones were being disturbed closer and closer to the transwarp drive. The team found themselves inside the room where the transwarp drive was kept. On of them set up devices around the room to enhance the transporter. Another one was holding a tricorder, taking various readings from the cube. "I have the shield frequency window." "Worf to Defiant. Prepare to transport the drive." Worf looked out one of the passageways leading out of the room. Two drones were looking right at them. "They can see us! Ready phasors!" The heavily suited team dropped their stealth suits and aimed their weapons at the drones. Two blasts dropped them to the ground. Another two approached from behind and were similarly dispatched. Then another one approached from around the corner. They fired, nothing happened! The drone kept approaching and one of the crewman panicked. He ran out one of the other passages. "Wait! Stay in the perimeter!" Commanded Worf, but it was too late. The crewman was seized by a passing drone and injected with nanoprobes. Thousands of probes coursed through his veins as they began to convert him into a member of the collective. "Energize, ENERGIZE!" Yelled Worf. There was a slow flicker of light and they found themselves in the Enterprises cargo bay. Their plan had been a success, the cloaked Defiant was able to relay the transport to the Enterprises cargo bay while it waited outside the Borg cubes range.. The transwarp drive was intact and operational. Meanwhile, somewhere else in the galaxy two old men stood facing each other in a dark place. Only the two men were visible. There were no walls, no ceiling, and no visible floor. "And that is how we came to be here." One of them said to other. It was clear that the two of them had been talking for quite some time. "Time and space is folding over. We know that, but I still don't understand how your people managed to come here when we are universes apart." "It is not just time and space but reality itself that is folding over. Entire universes are now crossing over. But this is not necessarily a bad circumstance. Where we came from the younger races wanted to stand on our own. They combined their power and shunned our teachings." "That is another thing that we cannot understand. Why do you wish to aid these people in their evolution? We want this galaxy purged of their influence." "It is our way. It has become clear that races gain strength though conflict. The human race in both your universe and mine make a prime example of this. As they evolve they reach a closer state of purity. And I believe that it is the impurity of this universe that your people are trying to purge am I correct?" "You are correct. Never before have we associated ourselves with anyone from the void. But in this particular instance, we will consider your offer. But before that I must know one thing, why us?" "Because yours is the only race we believe has attained a close level of purity." The two representations faded out of existence as their vessels parted ways. Critical Reality, part 9 Over the weeks that followed, the New Republic grew in power. With Sienar fleet systems, Kuat drive yards, and most of the other Imperial facilities falling under their control the Republic was able to expand it's forces with new capital ships and fighters. Already plans were underway for modified Star destroyers. These machines of war would now be adapted for a wider range of tasks including transportation of civilian property, general peacekeeping and escort duties and to serve the Republic as mobile operational bases. With most of the Empire gone from the galaxy there was little concern over a hostile invasion. The New Republic's main concern was eliminating any remaining Imperial forces and putting an end to Piracy in all sectors. The outer rim territories however maintained their independence from the core worlds. An alliance between the core worlds was proposed as an effort to reduce piracy several times although the individual territories could never agree on the conditions. A light Mon Calamari light cruiser was passing through near Tatooine with several A-wing escorts. "Blue leader this is Blue two, I'm picking up a distress call not far from here." "Confirmed Blue two. Liberty two, this is Blue leader requesting permission to investigate signal." "Permission granted, we're not picking up any Pirates on long range scans. Transmitting hyper route now." With no apparent danger to the light cruiser the A- wings entered hyper space. A few moments after the A-wings left the area the light cruiser started receiving strange readings on it's sensors. "Sir you'd better take a look at this. I'm picking up large scale distortions of the port bow." "Can you identify them?" "It appears to be several ships exiting hyperspace, but I've never seen any ship travel on that kind of vector before." Not far away from the ship, three distortions appeared in space. After a moment the distortions took shape three alien vessels of unknown origin appeared. These vessels were completely black in colour and appeared to have several long limbs protruding from the centre. The vessels resembled giant black spiders and almost seemed to be alive. "Sir! Three alien ships closing!" "What the hell are they?" "I don't know! They're coming in fast! They're not like anything I've ever seen." The alien ships closed in on the cruiser and a purple beam of energy lanced out from one of them and struck the cruiser. "We've lost the deflector shield!" "Bring us about! Return fire!" Red laser bolts shot out from the cruiser and struck one of the alien ships. Another beam lanced out from an alien ship, this time the beam ran across the length of the light cruiser and completely engulfed it in flames. "Liberty two, this is Mos Eisly ground control. What happened? Liberty two copy?" The aliens swiftly glided in towards Tatooine as two more phased into existence. They each took up positions in high orbit and opened fire. Each purple beam struck the surface and swept some distance across the ground before stopping, tearing up everything in it's path. The Mos Eisly spaceport was completely destroyed. Just then the A-wings returned to the area. "Blue group, are you reading this?" "Copy blue leader, what the hell are those things?" "I don't know but they just lit up Mos Eisly! Prepare to engage!" The A-wings swarmed in as the attacking vessels closed in. The A-wings opened fire and again purple beams lanced out from the attackers. In the first instant the beam missed, however as the A-wings flew past the beam moved and struck them down one at a time. Within seconds the entire squadron was wiped out. After the attack the alien vessels phased out and disappeared. News of Mos Eisly's destruction spread quickly throughout the outer rim. Several representatives from various Outer rim worlds gathered in Mos Espa to discuss the situation. "Gentlemen, it has become clear that the Empire was not the only threat to plague our galaxy. The attack on Mos Eisly indicates that we must take appropriate action. We have reason to believe that this attack was perpetrated," The Tatooine representative paused for a moment and took a deep breath, "By the Galactic republic. I hereby call for an alliance between all outer rim territories. We cannot allow these attacks to continue. We now have sufficient power and resources to fend off these attacks and no- one, not even the New Republic shall ever oppress or take advantage of our sovereign rights again!" Critical Reality, part X "La Forge here. We've finished mounting the transwarp drive. We'll have it completely operational in another hour." "This is Obrian. The Defiant's transwarp drive is completely operational and ready for it's field test." "Understood, Picard out." "So, it looks like the new drives were replicated correctly." Observed tr'Vek as he sat behind his desk in the dimly-lit, Romulan installation. "It has taken some time to get them compatible with federation technology." Sisko said. Sisko, Picard and tr'Vek were sitting around a metal desk. A few white lights up in the high ceiling and green lights running down the entrance were all that illuminated the room. "A few of our Warbirds are being retro fitted with transwarp drives as we speak. Thanks to your efforts with that Borg cube we now have the ability to manufacture the new drives with ease." "We were fortunate." Picard started, "Have you had any luck finding the rest of the federation fleet?" "Our warbirds have scoured this entire sector," tr'Vek hands Picard a small padd, "We have located two intrepid class ships, one akira class, an Oberth class science vessel and one solar class ship. All have been contacted and will arrive here within two days for the transwarp drive refit." Picard looked over the padd as the three continued to talk about their next plan of attack once a sufficient number of warbirds were retro fitted with the new transwarp drives. Sisko suggested sending in the Defiant while cloaked to gather intelligence on this Galactic Empire. After a short time had passed La Forge tapped a few controls on his console in engineering. There was a brief moment of silence as the engineering crew watched the new machine that had replaced the warp core. After a few moments the machine came alive and a subsonic hum filled the room. Meanwhile, back in the dimly-lit room, a female Romulan entered the room and whispered something into tr'Vek's ear. A concerned look appeared on the ambassadors face as he began tapping at the console in front of him. "What is it?" Sisko asked "My government has given the order to deploy the new transwarp capable warbirds." He continued to tap away until finally he confirmed the news with his own eyes. "It's Qo'noS. It's under attack!" Meanwhile the New Republic had it's own problems to deal with. The Outer Rim Territories have formed an alliance and were getting increasingly hostile towards the Republic and all it's outlying sectors. More and more attacks were being reported in the outer rim, cities were being destroyed and the blame was falling squarely on the shoulders of the galactic senate. Luke was feeling incomplete. With Vader gone, there was no way he could complete his training. He could never be a full Jedi. However now wasn't the time to worry about it. Luke could not confront his father but he could pass on what he had learned. He sat in meditation in his new quarters on Coruscant. Gradually he became more adept at controlling his power. He felt neither fear nor hatred. He reached out to the force hoping to find an answer to what was happening. First he looked to the past. He saw his father near Endor. He saw the might of the Imperial fleet traveling to Endor, then they were gone. He reached out to the present in an effort to find the fleet. He couldn't find the fleet but the force showed him something else. Large, black spider-like ships closing over his childhood home and destroying it. "Tatooine…shadows…" He said with his eyes firmly closed. As he looked into the future he saw the Imperial fleet locked in combat with alien ships of unknown origin. Dozens of different races all fighting side by side against dark forces of unknown origin. The last thing to enter his mind was the face of the Emperor. Luke picked up a small cylindrical communicator and contacted Han. "Han, I think I know what happened to the Imperial fleet." "Really? How?" "There's going to be a great conflict. I think the Empire has left the galaxy." "Luke that's insane. For one thing the Empire doesn't have ships fast enough to travel that far and second thing why would they abandon this galaxy? You don't just dismantle a death star and pack off when your winning a war!" "Han I know what I saw! There is nothing that the Emperor wouldn't do if he had something to gain." "Alright then, if they have left the galaxy then what are we going to do about it?" "I think I know how they left. Is the Falcon up for a little recon?" "Do you even need to ask? I've just spent the last six hours installing the new hyper drive as well as the sub-light engine modifications. We could be in and out in a heart beat." "Good. So what are we waiting for?" "We're waiting for you to get your butt down to the hanger deck!" Critical Reality, part 9 Despite the fact that the Empire had vanished and a Republic was formed to govern the core words, traffic on Coruscant was always at it's peak. With three trillion people living in the planet wide city this was no surprise. The sun was out and the air smelt clean. The cities atmospheric generators and waste facilities always meant that despite the entire surface was covered with the metallic mass that formed the city, Coruscant always had certain natural feel. But looking around the cityscape revealed anything but what was natural. Buildings that were hundreds of stories tall filled the skyline. Vehicles darted and flew between them all carrying people with places to go and jobs to do. The Millennium Falcon was resting on a landing pad near the top of the skyline connected to the main senate building. Luke Skywalker, dressed in black, exited from a door in the main senate building and walked briskly up the Falcons boarding ramp. "Master Luke! I must thoroughly contest the idea of searching for the Imperial fleet." A gold protocol droid complained as Luke entered the cockpit. Luke took a seat next to Han, "Where's Leia?" asked Luke. "She's on Corellia," replied Han, "she's sorting out a shipping deal with the shipyards." "I hope she'll be alright." "Relax, R2's with her. I told him where we are going." Han continued as the Falcon lifted off and left Coruscant behind, "So where exactly are we going?" "Set a hyper route to Endor via the Kuat drive yards." "That's kind of a round trip Luke. Are you sure?" "I'm sure, follow that route and we'll find…" "Sir if I may interrupt. If we find them the chances of surviving a direct confrontation with the entire Imperial fleet is approximately…" "3P0 shut up!" Han quickly interjected before C3P0 could finish. For a split second, the Falcon's engines started to glow brighter then usual then all of a sudden it blasts off into the distance and disappears into hyperspace! Hours pass as the whirling blue tunnel of hyperspace passes over the Falcon. An alarm sounds. "It's a hyperspace shadow. We'll need to stop and get new coordinates." said Han. The whirling blue energy subsides and blurred stars appear. The streaking stars shrink back down into small dots as the Falcon slows to sub-light speeds. "What the hell is that?" Han asked as he looked straight ahead. Out the window in the distance was what appeared to be a small blue Nebula. Flashes of light could be seen inside the gaseous cloud. "It appears to be a small Nebula." Reported C3P0, stating the obvious. "What's that going on inside it?" Asked Luke. "I dunno kid… looks like some kind of ion storm. We'd better go around it." Answered Han. "No. That's what we're looking for." Luke said looking into the Nebula. "We need to go in." "Are you kidding me? We'll get fried!" "Han, it'll be alright. Just take us in." "Alright kid, I hope you know what your doing." The Falcon entered the nebula. Lightning struck the hull of the small craft from every direction. "This is gonna get ruff!" Han said just narrowly missing a large bolt of lightning. A few moments after he said that a large bolt of energy struck the Falcon and then there was nothing. The was nothing particularly remarkable about this area of space. Just complete and utter void. Then out from nowhere, a bolt of energy lanced forward and from it the Falcon came screaming through. The Falcon continued on course as the energy bolt disappeared. "Well that was…fun." Said Han in a half sarcastic voice. "Where are we?" Luke asked as he looked out the window into the void. "We are…I have no idea. This area of space is uncharted." "How could it be uncharted? Are we in Ssi Ruuk space?" "No…I'm getting our coordinates from the computer now…" Luke waited while Han collected the information from the navigational computer. "Luke…" "Yes?" "We're in another galaxy." Meanwhile in another part of the galaxy. "We're approaching Qo'noS now captain." "Take us out of transwarp." Commanded Picard. The Sovereign class starship exited it's conduit as well as half a dozen warbirds, and the Defiant." "Captain the two Intrepid class and the Akira class starship have been contacted and are en route now." Data reported. As all the starships exited their transwarp conduits they could already see the battle in progress. Klingon birds of prey swarmed through the area while their attackers fired at them from their holding positions. There were no less then six large triangular ships, no less then a kilometer in size as well as a larger one that appeared to be almost twenty kilometers long. The skies above Qo'noS were alive with weapons fire. A bird of prey charged at the large destroyer. An explosion seen from a distance away signified the end of it's career in the Klingon navy. Dozens of small craft filled the area firing at the Klingons while they weaved and dodged. The warbirds flew in and began to engage the attacking ships. Hails were exchanged and the identities of the starships were revealed. The one and a half kilometer ships were the Imperial class star destroyers while the larger one identified itself as the Super star destroyer, Executor. More and more birds of prey were shot down as the maneuvered between the Imperial class destroyers. The warbirds moved in. Being much larger and better armed then the Klingon ships they stood more of a chance at doing some damage. The Defiant joined the fray followed by the Enterprise. A fighter screen swarmed towards the two federation ships. The Defiant opened fire with it's pulse phasors, taking out the unshielded TIE fighters in it's path. The Defiant broke through the fighter screen and closed in for an attack run. In the meantime the warbirds had successfully destroyed one of the small destroyers. As parts of the ship were blown away, torpedoes struck the exposed reactor core causing flames to burst their way through every deck of the ship, finally the Imperial star destroyer became completely engulfed in flames and light the night skies of Qo'noS in a spectacular explosion. The Klingon warriors that were still on the surface raised their batleths and cheered as the thundering roar subsided and the flames dispersed leaving nothing but debris. The remaining star destroyers moved into a defensive formation and set turbo laser fire towards the attacking warbirds. One warbird took the brunt of the attack and was destroyed almost instantly. The Enterprise was badly damaged and continued to launch quantum torpedoes at the remaining star destroyers from a defensive position with the war birds while attempting to evade further fire from the star destroyers. The remaining Klingon ships continued to battle with the TIE fighters and interceptors. While the TIE's were easily destroyed by the Klingon disrupters the Klingons were clearly outnumbered. "Bring us about!" Sisko commanded as the Defiant took position in front of the Executor's bow before making it's attack run. "Mr. Worf, quantum torpedoes and pulse phasors. Now!" The Defiant swooped across the length of the Executor. Firing all of it's weapons at the Executor. "What kind of attack pattern is that? Delta suicide?" the Enterprise's tactical officer said to himself. As the defiant proceeded with it's attack, portions of the Executor's hull were destroyed killing dozens of crewmen in each section the torpedoes hit. But as the Defiant progressed, the Executors turbo lasers slammed into it's shields. "Captain!" Kira started "Our shields are down to 13%! We're not going to be able to take much more of this!" "Stay on target!" "Shields collapsing!" "Captain the Imperial ships are withdrawing." Worf reported Without warning the star destroyers entered hyperspace. "The Imperial's have…" Worf looked up at the captain's chair. Dax and Kira turned around to face their captain. "He's gone." Kira said in confusion. Critical Reality, part 12 Slowly the world around him began to rematerialize. Sisko found himself standing in a Federation transporter bay, only this time it wasn't inside a Federation starship. Wires of varying descriptions were strewn out between the pads and the control box manned by a man in a uniform he did not recognize. Twelve soldiers stood before him wearing white armored suits. Their weapons pointed at him. "Where am I?" Everyone in the room stood silent, ignoring Sisko's question. "I demand an answer!" A grey door violently rose into the ceiling and another man, wearing the same uniform entered the room. "Benjamin Sisko I presume?" "How do you know my name?" "We know a lot about your former federation. I am Admiral Piett." "Where am I? Why have I been brought here?" Sisko sounded angrier with every word. These people had destroyed his home, and now they dare take him away from his ship and his colleagues! Someday he would make them all pay. "You are on the Imperial flagship, the Executor." Sisko took a step forward and the reaffirmed their presence, raising their weapons. As Sisko glared at the Admiral he pondered why an Admiral was greeting a prisoner. Surely he was the highest ranking officer on board and would have had more pressing duties. "Why?" The only word Sisko could drag out of his lungs. Anger contorted his face and dominated his mind. Why had they done what they did? Why Earth? Why him? "You'll find out soon enough." Sisko's wrists were placed in a set of binders as he was escorted out of the room by four of the men, two walking in front and two behind. Admiral Piett walked ahead down the metal corridor. "Don't mind the Storm Troopers Captain," Piett said as he continued on. "They're just a formality." The minutes passed like hours. Sisko glanced around at his surroundings, nothing but grey steel and white lights. After a while people appeared passing in and out the corridors wearing the same unfamiliar uniforms. The Admiral disappeared down one of the corridors and a while later Sisko found himself locked in a small cell. Bitter rage and frustration filled his mind. He took a deep breath in order to compose himself and he felt the anger subside, a little. "What do you think your doing!" "Q?" "Your not supposed to get captured! Your supposed to be helping Picard. The space-time continuum has to be placed back on track or we're finished!" "Where are you?" Sisko looked around the cell trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. "I can't manifest myself outside the Q continuum anymore and neither can any of the other Q." "Well I'd love to be helping YOUR race escape extinction but I'm in a cell in case you didn't notice!" "Well how about a little incentive?" "What are you talking about?" "You know that little bubble of reality that's been bent out of shape?" "Yes Picard told us what you said to him about it." "Well it's growing!" "What?" "In a very short time this universe is going to collapse in on itself. When the time comes your new friends are going to escape through the rift and conquer any universe their little hearts desire while everything else goes pop! Now how would that be?" "A great collapse. The opposite to the big bang." "Exactly, now your getting it." Sisko's anger quickly turned to fear. "But…how…what can I do from here?" "That's your problem! No go!" "Where? Your not making any sense." "Someone's coming, your going to meet the person in charge of the whole show. Just remember one thing, keep your cool." Sisko couldn't make sense of the situation. Q offering advice? Q and fear didn't seem to fit. Sisko remained alert as the door to his cell opened. Sisko glared at the Storm Trooper this time with his anger under control. Well that about does it, there's no-one here either." Han said to Luke as the Millennium Falcon glided through space near the area where they appeared in the new galaxy. "I knew we shouldn't have come. The chances…" "Threepio shut up." Han quickly silenced the droid as the Falcon continued on. "Han look!" Luke exclaimed. Right in front of them no less then six Imperial Class Star Destroyers appeared from hyperspace. "Chewy lock in the auxiliary power!" Han said. The furred creature in another chair keyed in the commands on the control panel. The Falcon banked a hard right as a squadron of TIE interceptors closed in. The Star Destroyers opened fire. The Falcon ducked and weaved in between the attacking ships. "Han get us outta here!" "I'm trying kid I'm trying! Nearly got the hyper co-ordinates." Two turbo laser blasts struck the Falcon on the rear. "Oh! We're done for!" C3P0 exclaimed. "Got it!" Han yelled as the co-ordinates came through. The TIE's locked on ready for the kill. For a split second the Falcon's engines glowed brighter then normal as hyperdrive kicked in filling the inside of the Falcon with a loud whine. The Falcon jetted off into the void in a blaze of speed leaving the TIE's almost as if they were standing still.