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Previously, on Star Trek...
Two years ago, in an unspecified region of space....... BLAST!!! BLAST BLAST BLAST!!! The Intrepid-class
USS Pioneer is rocked by numerous explosions. The next day... At Starfleet Academy, Ambassador Ocal receives a message from Admiral Shaw... "We just
received confirmation that the Pioneer was lost yesterday during a
special mission for Starfleet Security. I can't delve into the specifics, but
there was some sort of malfunction... and neither the ship nor the Captain were
recovered..." Elsewhere... "Why on Earth
would someone in Starfleet want to develop a subspace cloak?" Ocal asks Sara
Vickers, the engineer who installed it.
Not long after... The Frontier approaches a black and purple nebulous region. "This is an
area of space that the Klingons call the Necro Expanse," Ocal explains to her
crew in the Frontier briefing room. "Starfleet has asked me to take us
into the Expanse and see if we can get an accurate chart of the area. It may
prove a useful alternative route into Elyshan space should diplomacy turn to
war."
During that mission... Several alien vessels decloak inside of the Necro Expanse. "I am Sovereign
Jordana Terol of the Regime.... Surrender your ship to us," a beautiful young
woman says on the Frontier viewscreen.
A few hours later... BLAST! Other alien vessels chase the Regime ships away. "My name is
Willen," a handsome young man explains. "I am the captain of this vessel and the
leader of the Shayde." Somewhere on the Frontier... "What do you mean they're gone?!" Ocal demands of her First Officer. Jennifer Morgan
responds, "Mor'tah, Aa'rion, and Kate took Raemet and left in a shuttle. They're
with the Regime now."
Several weeks later... BLAST!!! The Frontier maneuvers in and out of a variety of alien ships which are fighting over an old space station in the Expanse. On the station
itself, Willen transports next to Sara Vickers and the Frontier's
Andorian Marine CO, Major Jackson. He raises a weapon and fires it at Jordana,
causing her to vanish.
Two missions after that... The USS Frontier passes through the Bajoran wormhole, experience unusual turbulence, and in flash, it emerges in the middle of a Starfleet debris field. The Elyshans have taken control of the Bajoran system. "How could this have happened?" Ocal asks herself out loud, standing on the Frontier bridge. A moment later, an older Elyshan man standing in the middle of Deep Space Nine's command center appears on the viewscreen. "This is High Marshall Joreck of the Elyshan Guard. It looks like you're a little too late for the battle, Captain." After Ocal
introduces herself, he responds, "You'll have to excuse my ignorance... but
according to your own people, you were among those lost when the Shayde bombed
the Federation Embassy on Ocara nearly two years ago." Later on, on Deep Space Nine... Ocal joins her officers in "Quarks." "I cannot help
but wonder... if the Prophets truly did foresee that future for us all..." Early the following year... "There's a distress call coming from an Elyshan transport of some sort," Lieutenant Stephanopolis reports. "They're under attack by... a Federation vessel?" The Frontier arrives and battles the ship, scaring it away before it destroys the badly damaged transport. Mordred looks
up. "Lock-on to the passengers and beam them here! Hurry!" A few minutes later in the Cargo Bay... Ensign David
Skii approaches Ocal as she enters. "You're about to be loudly greeted by an
Elyshan Denestra named Shival... she is not happy at all to be here."
Then, on the Bridge... Sara announces,
"Elyshan warship emerging from warp. Their weapons are charged." "This is Sovereign Joreck of the Elyshan Guard Ship Terodock. Lower your shields and surrender yourselves at once or we'll open fire." Mordred turns
and quietly says to Sara, "At least now we know the Prophets' vision was not
entirely fictitious."
An Elyshan reporter talks as the camera zooms in on the remnants of a destroyed shuttle. "Sources inside of the Elyshan Guard are reporting that the Federation's military forces, known collectively as Starfleet, are believed to be responsible for the blast on Ocara that killed at least six of their people and almost twice as many of ours. As far as we can tell, there were only two survivors... the Ocaran Denestra, Shival, and the lead Federation Ambassador, Mordred Ocal..." In the middle of a courtroom... Mordred looks up at an Elyshan Overseer. "As an
immanent threat to the security of this empire, the accused is hereby
sentenced to enhanced interrogation by the Elyshan Guard, to be followed
immediately by execution." Somewhere in Elyshan space... A shrouded figure approaches another in a darkened corridor. "Can you
ensure me safe passage?" the man asks. Later... Raemet materializes on a Striker-class ship. The woman removes her veil to reveal that she is Jordana. "The
Elyshans have gone to great lengths to ensure the safety and longevity of
their people and government. Trust me when I tell you... when all is said
and done... your precious Federation will never look at the Elyshan Empire
the same way again..."
On Elysha Prime... Raemet and Jordana are thrown into a cell with Mordred. "What the Hell are you doing here?" Ocal demands. "You were under strict orders not to interfere if I was captured!" Jordana turns to face her. "We have a plan, but we do not have much time..." Raemet
steps forward and injects them both with assimilation tubules.
Elyshan guards storm the cell, firing blindly into the dark. Shival pushes past them to see the result, only to realize that the three assimilated people lying before her were the three guards assigned to watch the prisoners. From the darkness, Raemet and the partially assimilated Jordana and Ocal emerge and capture Shival.
"Resistance is futile..."
The four move as quickly as the can to escape.
"Curious," Raemet starts. "I observed the surveillance footage from the
blast... you allowed your colleagues to approach the shuttle, but you
stayed a safe distance away and beckoned the Ambassador forward. An
impartial observer might deduce that you expected the explosion to happen.
It all seems highly convenient... you survive a terrorist attack, you gain
support and sympathy from your people, and you get to blame the entire
incident on the person you hate most..."
"If you
do not less us go, then we will kill our hostage," Raemet replies very
confidently. Raemet, Jordana, and Ocal open fire on the Elyshans, but the Elyshan weapons are deflected by the Borg shielding now functional on all three. Moments
later, Jordana's ship blasts its way to freedom.
A few hours later, on the ship... BEEP BEEP
BEEP! BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Ten minutes afterward... Jordana's shuttle approaches a planet which is orbited by a number of lavish stations. On one of the stations, Raemet enters a back room full of less-than-savory characters who are gambling. He approaches one, who turns to reveal that he is Dengar, a member of the Frontier crew. "So I
take it you have a vessel of some sort which will get us out of here?
Preferably one that does not have Starfleet markings."
Raemet rushes to get to his station. "As soon as we are clear, set a course for the Altorus system, maximum warp. That is the closest system in unclaimed space. Assuming we can get a subspace message past the Elyshan jamming grid, we may be able to get the attention of some of the Starfleet ships that have been assigned to patrol the border. I will have to make certain they call for reinforcements... even if we do somehow make it out of Elyshan space, I have a distinct feeling their ships will be very close behind us..."
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