Rating: T

Setting: Set Initially at Star Trek First Contact (21st Century)/Later during the 24th Century

Disclaimer: CBS/Paramount owns all, and I own nothing, not even the words. That said, the idea is mine – please do not repost this anywhere without my permission.

Chapter 1 - Setting the Stage

Author's Note: Thanks for the review. I have a method to my madness. I will describe the skipped timeline in a future chapter.

Bajoran System

As the Defiant entered the wormhole to confront the invading Dominion fleet with the intent of convincing the Prophets to interfere, the attack on the Defiant was initiated before Captain Sisko's communication. With the Emissary dead, the Bajoran Prophets decided not to intervene in the corporeal lives and created an avenue for the reinforcements to enter the Alpha Quadrant. Since the Starfleet minefield was destroyed earlier by the Cardassians on Deep Space 9, no obstacles prevent the Jem'Hadar from reinforcing Dominion forces in the Alphas Quadrant.

Word of the invasion fleet spread quickly among the remaining ships of the Alliance as they tried a last-ditch effort to halt their advance. Numerous ships, previously damaged by months of continuous battle, fell quickly to the new vessels of the Jem'Hadar. Starfleet suffered one of its staggering defeats in the Bajoran system with very little resistance between here and the Core Worlds of the Federation. Seeing the bolstered forces coming, Weyoun, the Alpha Quadrant Vorta, was ecstatic with delight as he saw his forces successfully defeat the Klingons, Romulans, and Federation's combined forces.

Since their forces were depleted, Starfleet and the Alliance's remaining members continued to resist as they continued to fall back into the Core Worlds. Over the next few weeks, as Dominion forces moved inward towards the Federation, many outlying Federation members seceded from the organization. They negotiated on their own with the Dominion, seeking to prevent the destruction of the planets and cities. As they considered themselves benevolent dictators, the Dominion accepted all of the surrendering former Federation member planets as they sued for peace. One by one, former Federation member worlds and colonies surrendered to the Dominion since they were woefully unprepared for the Dominion's immense threat. Ironically, much anger among these former members was directed towards Starfleet since they had failed in their mandate to protect them.

As the Federation shrank in size and coupled with the depletion of Starfleet forces, it considered suing for peace with the Dominion for the first time in its collective history. Planets started falling one by one until the Dominion fleet reached the outskirts of the Vulcan system. This strategy placed what remained of the Alliance for a last-ditch defense of the Federation Core Worlds.

As the Jem'Hadar battlecruisers approached the Vulcan system, various smaller Alliance fighter ships started their attack. Starfleet deployed some of their newer weapon systems, such as a multi-phasic quantum torpedo. The effect of these new torpedoes was dramatic and penetrated Jem'Hadar shields easily, but there were more ships than the Federation had weapons, and soon their stocks were depleted. Once depleted, phasers and legacy photon torpedoes had to attempt to penetrate enemy shields.

The battle didn't last long once the Jem'Hadar destroyed all 130 ships of the Alliance. Escape pods from destroyed ships were disintegrated by advancing enemy ships leaving no Human, Klingon or Romulan survivors. It was a total route leaving the path to Earth completely unprotected. As the Dominion fleet entered the Vulcan system uncontested, using a quarter of its fleet to stay behind to invade and garrison Vulcan. Vulcan's defeat was completed in two hours, with the Vulcan High Council surrendering unconditionally to the Dominion.

Headed to Earth to finish the job, the remaining Jem'Hadar warships entered Warp. As the Jem'Hadar entered the Sol System, automated defenses automatically trying to engage the invading ships. With only a few light cruisers to defend the system, the Dominion plowed its way directly to Earth with little to no resistance. Surrounding the planet and conducting orbital bombardment of the major cities, especially San Fransisco and Paris, destroyed all Human opposition on the planet. Never before had Earth been so completely devastated by an alien attack.

After five hours of the orbital bombardment of Earth's major cities, while simultaneously destroying the Moon and Mars' habitats, Earth surrendered to the Dominion. Jem'Hadar soldiers landed on all major continents of the planets and preceded to round up any remaining resistance.

- Outskirts of the Sol System (below the ecliptic plane) -

Cloaked ship

A cloaked ship, not of Federation origin, floated unobserved, observing the Sol System's invasion and surrender of Earth. Its location placed it within the sensor capabilities but far enough away from being detected by the invaders.

The vessel's captain turned to his sensor operator on the ship's bridge, "Status, Mr. Jones?" Thompson ordered. Captain Thompson, commander of the USS Eisenhower, an American Space Republic reconnaissance cruiser, was in place watching the invaders' devastating effect as they crushed all of the Earth's defenses.

"Sir, all invading ships have assumed orbit around Earth, effectively blocking any ingoing or outgoing traffic."

"Can we ascertain any surviving Federation leadership with our sensors at this range?"

"Sir, we can identify human signs on the planet, but with the destruction of Paris and San Francisco, there is very little chance of their civilian government or any Starfleet chain of command exists. The Jem'Hadar did an effective job of decapitating the Federation."

"Understood," Thompson said. "Scan the system for any residual Starfleet ship signatures. I need at least one of their command officers to take back with us for 'debriefing.'"

"Aye, sir," Lt Reinhold said as he returned to his sensor display.

After a few minutes of scanning, Reinhold reported, "Sir, I have a contact behind the far side of Jupiter. It's a Starfleet vessel, badly damaged. Minimal power and life support failing. Twelve thousand three hundred eighty kilometers from our position."

Captain Thompson, "Good," He turned to his helm officer, "Helm, set a course and engage sub-light engines towards that ship."

"Aye, sir," Chief Petty officer Valkrie responded as she engaged the Eisenhower sub-light drive.

As the Eisenhower moved towards the drifting Akira class ship floating behind the gas giant of Jupiter, it came to a point astern of the damaged ship.

Lt. Reinhold reported his sensor findings to the captain. "Sir, I'm reading 26 surviving crew members on the ship. I can identify 23 Humans and three Vulcans."

Captain Thompson nodded, "Acknowledged." He brought up his holographic command pad on his chair and opened a communications channel to his matter transporter section. "Thompson to Selmond, we need to bring about 26 surviving beings from the ship in front of us."

Acknowledged, sir. The transport chief responded.

Thompson also looked over to his first officer, Commander Styler, "Mr. Styler, coordinate with Major Ulner and Dr. Anthony to 'welcome' our guests. Sedate the Vulcans and keep them separated from the Humans and our crew. Put them in the brig if the doctor agrees. If not, keep them under guard and sequestered."

Styler nodded, "Aye, sir. What do you want to do with the ship floating in front of us?"

"Let's just let it sit there and float. If it explodes, let it explode. We're not supposed to be here, remember?"

"Good point, sir." With that, Styler left the bridge to coordinate with the onboard Marines and medical staff to receive their impending 'guests.'

As the Republic ship conducted its evacuation of the crew members of the Starfleet ship, most of the casualties were taken unaware by transporter beams. The Eisenhower's crew and Marines efficiently pulled them off the ship and separated the seriously wounded from the still functional. Since the Starfleet crew was unaware, they were transported to the cargo holding area surrounded by armed Marines. Commander Styler, along with Major Ulner of the shipboard Marine contingent, oversaw the transfer. While the wounded were treated by Eisenhower's medical staff, the Marines secured the functional crew members inside the cargo bay.

Commander Styler started walking up and down the line of Starfleet officers, "Who's your commanding officer?" He asked the assembled group.

Stunned as to their situation, a Starfleet Lieutenant spoke up, "Uh, who are you? Where are we?" noticing the strange uniforms and the armor worn by the Republic's crew and Marines.

Styler came up to him, "That will be answered in due time. What is your name and rank, crewman?"

"Lt. Remington, what kind of ship is this? Are you Starfleet?" He responded.

"Lieutenant," Styler began, ignoring his questions, "I need to know where your Captain is? Did he survive, and if not, who is in charge?"

"Sir," the Lieutenant began, "the Captain died in the initial attack. Commander Tolov, our first officer, is in charge, but she's one of the wounded. Which I don't see her anywhere," he said, looking around the cargo area.

Styler nodded, "Ok, Lieutenant, come with me to our medical bay, identify your commander." He motioned one of the Marines to lead the Starfleet officer and follow him out of the cargo area.

The Lieutenant initially resisted, "Where are you taking me? What about the rest of the crew? What are you going to do?"

The first officer sighed, "Lieutenant, you are safe now. Your crew is being taken care of. You are among friends...for the time being. Do you know of the status of Earth?"

The lieutenant relaxed a bit and stopped resisting the Marine at his back. He shook his head. "No, what are you talking about?"

Styler looked around and lowered his voice to the lieutenant, "Earth is gone. The invading fleet defeated what remained of Starfleet and is now occupying the planet."

The lieutenant paled when he heard this, "we lost...oh God."

"Get a grip, lieutenant, and come with me. Our medical staff can give you a stimulant to make you feel a little better. Right now, I need you to introduce me to your commanding officer."

He nodded to the Eisenhower's first officer and relaxed a bit. He fell in line behind the commander as he was led down the strange (to the Lieutenant) ship's corridors. The lighting was different, much darker. Remington noticed the distinct military design aspect of the vessel.

After a few minutes of walking through a maze of hallways and access doors, the small group made it to the medical bay. The three men walked in but stayed out of the way as the medical staff treated the wounded Starfleet officers. Remington looked around and noticed Commander Tolov on one of the treatment beds.

"There," he indicated to Styler, "that's her. The woman with the dark hair. That's Commander Tolov."

"Thanks," he looked to the Marine corporal behind Remington, "You can return him to the cargo area. I have no further need for him right now." He looked at Remington, "Look, lieutenant, take it easy, go tell the rest of your crew that you have nothing to fear from us. We'll treat your wounded, and you can rest up, eat, and recover, but you're not going back to Earth shortly. That is all I can say right now. Once your commanding officer awakens, she'll be briefed by our Captain."

As Remington left the med bay, Styler went over to talk to the Chief Medical officer, Dr. Brent Spine. "Hey doc, what's the status of this person, here?" indicated the female Starfleet commander with the red top.

Dr. Spine looked up from his display tablet, "She'll be fine. I've treated two broken bones, regenerated her liver, and replaced two pints of blood with synthetics. The radiation exposure to her body has been removed, and she's just sleeping right now. I would give her another four hours before you question her."

Styler was the impatient type but acquiesced to the doctor's recommendation to allow his patients to recover. "What's the status on the other wounded?"

"All suffered from various levels of radiation exposure. Several of them have second and third-degree plasma burns. Minor fractures and damaged internal organs. One of them, I had to amputate a leg due to the severity of the plasma burn. I've started the replacement limb growing in the 'vats. The bottom line, they will all survive, but the female commander was the least wounded, and like I said, in about four hours, we can revive her for discussion."

Styler nodded, "Thanks, doc. Can you send the preliminary report via download to my secure tablet? I would like to give the Captain a quick briefing on what their injuries are."

- four hours later -

Eisenhower briefing room

Inside the briefing room, the Captain had assembled his staff, and the first officer was leading the briefing.

Around the table, a Republic ship's typical makeup consisted of the lead communications officer, navigation, operations, supply, weapons officer, intelligence officer, chief engineer, and the Marine commander. Additionally, the Boat or COB Chief, Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO) Marquez, was sitting to the Captain's left. The meeting, led by Commander Styler, was almost done, and he was summarizing the high-level topics found out concerning the results of the invasion of Sol and the rescuing of the Starfleet crew.

"Sir, since we've covered most of the critical topics of what has occurred here in the system, I'd recommend we bring in the Starfleet commander and brief her on what is to come."

Captain Thompson nodded, "Bring her in."

Styler tapped his comm unit, "Corporal, bring her in, please."

As he closed the comm unit, the door to the briefing room opened up, and Commander Tolov was escorted in and was offered a seat across from the Captain. Looking a bit confused, she hesitantly took her seat.

Thompson spoke up first, "You're among friends, commander. Please relax. We'll explain everything all in good time. Ask your questions."

Commander Tolov started, "...so, who are you?"

Captain Thompson looked at her and said, "What I'm about to tell you prevents you from ever returning to Federation space." He paused, "Our ship, the USS Eisenhower, is a long-range scout-destroyer from the United Systems American Republic. Our mission was to observe the current invasion of Dominion forces as they entered Federation space."

"...wait, what? You've been observing us? How? Who or what is the American Republic United Systems..? USS Eisenhower?" she was confused, looking around the officers around the table.

"This vessel is equipped with a transphasic cloaking device. It is undetectable by any known sensor platform the Federation or other Alpha Quadrant species possess. Trust me; you have never seen our ships due to our strict 'no-contact' policy with the Federation."

"But, you're human, right?" she asked.

"You're right, but we're also a bit Augmented as well."

With that knowledge, Tolov freaked out a bit, "...like a Khan Augment?" she interrupted.

The Captain shook his head, "No, not at all like them. Our civilization got it right, and we've been able to implement it safely across our society."

"So, why did you rescue what's left of my crew? And why are my Vulcan crewmembers sedated and in your brig?"

"To keep it short, our society learned from the beginning of Earth's first contact that the Vulcans were detrimental to Human development. We, our nation, has a strict exclusion policy concerning contact or communication with the Vulcan race. The Vulcans don't present a threat to us, but we limit contact with societies that attempt to dictate how we should live and develop. Is it not the right of any species or nation to hold to their sense of sovereignty? We are Humans from the former 21st century Earth, but we have a new nation-state in a system approximately 150 light-years distant. Our ancestors decided to leave Earth on generational ships right after first contact with the Vulcans.

"That's all fascinating and such, captain. I'm sure you can sleep well at night, but as their commanding officer, I demand their release."

The Eisenhower's captain shook his head, "I'm afraid not, commander. The Vulcans will be sequestered and kept sedated until we decide what to do with them. I hesitate to take them back with us, but their planet has been conquered and is currently occupied by the Dominion."

"Wait...we're not going back to the Federation?"

"No, commander, you and the rest of your Human crew members are being taken back to the Republic for debriefing. There is no Federation anymore. Our Joint Chiefs need to understand how the Federation was easily defeated."

"So, we're prisoners here?"

"Think of this as a possible new start for you and your Human companions; however, I don't know how you'll be able to exist in our culture, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. Your knowledge of us prevents us from ever releasing you back into what was known as the Federation. Our only option is to take you back to our nation and provide some limited occupations for you and your crew."

Tolov was a bit upset, "What about Earth? Isn't your society going to fight the Dominion? Why don't you assist your fellow Humans in this effort? Why did you just watch us get conquered and not assist? What gives you the right to judge us? How can you condemn over nine billion humans to slavery?"

The captain said, "We are not at war with the Dominion, and we are not a member of your Federation. To put it simply, commander, it was only a matter of time before the Federation was going to be conquered. "Our nation has been watching the development of the Federation for over two hundred years and has monitored your progress. Not to get into a fight, but our nation is philosophically opposed to your Federation ideals. We've noticed the progress you've made, but mostly your Federation is a Human-centric organization that talks a good game of equality, but don't know how actually to live it. Additionally, your Starfleet is substandard and pitiful as an actual Armed Forces. It's a wonder that your nation has survived this long. Looking in from afar, our nation has found that your nation has been suffering from complacency and over-reliance on the 'good nature' of your neighbors such as the Klingons and Romulans.

"What we've noticed is that Humanity hasn't really changed in the last three hundred years; you are still the same version that our nation's ancestors left over two hundred years ago. We've seen no progress on the Human condition except for a few milestones about embracing some notion about perceived equality of outcome disguised as some form of enlightened freedom from want.

"Ahh, I tend to rant. I'm sorry, commander." The captain said. Some of his staff chuckled at that. "Most importantly, I command a single ship, and simply put, it's not our fight. That's up to our elected government."

Feeling intimidated but not trying to show it, Commander Tolov struggled to keep her emotions in check. This knowledge was too much for the commander to take in, but she tried to comprehend what was being said and attempted to divert the topic of conversation, "What is your method of propulsion? Warp drive or …?"

The Captain shook his head, "No, we have a version of what you call the 'slip-stream drive.' It allows us to travel vast distances faster than your conventional warp drives."

"Can I ask what powers this ship?" She asked.

"No, you may not. You are not cleared for that type of information."

Before the captain continued anymore, he looked around at the staff. "I think we need to talk amongst ourselves before we provide the commander any more information." He looked to Styler, "Mr. Styler, escort the commander back to her temporary quarters. Provide her with limitations on her movement on this ship." He looked to Major Ulner, "I want Marine escorts monitoring their movements and activity at all times, major. They are our guests, but they are restricted to certain areas within the ship." Both officers replied in the affirmative and moved to carry out their orders. With that, the meeting adjourned as the captain addressed the commander one final time, "Commander Tolov,...do you have a first name?

She replied, "It's Irina."

"Irina, listen. I understand you are confused, but I'm going to have Mr. Styler and our operations officer here, Mr. Babolynski, create a small presentation of who we are and where we come from. Our standard policy is no contact with the Federation. This is a first contact situation, and I know you can appreciate our discretion in revealing too much to you all at once."

She nodded, allowing the Marine corporal to lead her out of the briefing room.

After she left, the Captain looked around the conference table, "So, give it to me. What's everyone's opinion?"

Styler was the first one to respond, "Sir, we have to leave the Vulcans behind somehow, but I don't trust them not to reveal us to the rest of their population, thus allowing their Jem'Hadar overseers to learn of our existence."

Major Ulner spoke up, "As much as it sucks, perhaps we should execute them."

The captain shook his head, "No, major. That would have to be a last resort if that were to occur. Everyone, we need options. I would like to be underway back to the system within 24 hours. I do not want to take the Vulcans back if I can help it."

The doctor spoke up, "Sir, what if we were able to wipe the Vulcans of their short-term memories. In limited trials in the past, Republic ships have periodically have had to wipe the minds of aliens that inadvertently discovered our home system."

"What is the success rate of that doctor?" The captain asked.

"It's 85 percent effective."

Before saying anything, the captain considered the information. Since no one else had any other meaningful options, he decided to go with the mind wipe.

"Ok, doctor, do it. Once it's done, we put them on one of the closest habitable facilities near Jupiter, and it's their problem to find their way home."

With that, the meeting was over as the officers moved to head back to their duty stations.

- 15 Hours Later -

As the Eisenhower approached the silent Jupiter facility, the crew had sedated the Vulcans, and the medical staff performed the memory wipe. While still under the cloak, the ship transported the three Vulcans to the facility into an area with life support still functional. With any luck, the most they would remember is that they somehow made it from their damaged ship to the facility and not remember anything else. It was a long shot since only the Vulcans being there would raise some questions among them, but Eisenhower's other option was to kill them to prevent their discovery.

Captain Thompson decided to erase their short-term memories rather than kill them. He admitted and placed it in his log that he thought the operation was risky and could have repercussions concerning their identities, but elected to do the humane thing, even for Vulcans.

Once the operation was completed, Thompson turned his ship back to his home system and engaged their slip-stream drive. Travel time would be approximately two weeks at the current velocity.

TBC -