"General!" Ross called out. "We're getting a transmission from Earth, for you."
"Who from?"
"The President's office!"
"Of all the times for that bitch to call! Okay, put her through."
The small screen in front of Hague soon came to life with Servalan's image.
"General, I have new orders for you," she said. "Surrender."
"Did I hear you correctly? Did you order me to surrender?"
"You heard me correctly, General. I order you to surrender to the Imperial forces."
"You can't be serious! If we surrender then the Federation crumbles!"
"Do as you are told, General. Contact Grand Moff Tarkin aboard the Death Star and give him your unconditional surrender. Is that clear?"
Hague pressed the mute button. He called over to Ross.
"Commodore, is there any way this transmission could be coming from the Death Star?"
"No way. This thing's coming direct from Earth."
Hague re-activated the sound.
"I have your orders, Madam President. I will relay them to the fleet. Hague out."
The screen went blank. Hague punched the control console. This time, it seemed that insanity had really gripped Servalan.
As the Flying Scotsman flew close to the Death Star, Greenleaf picked up the signal from Hague. It contained the transmission from Servalan. Pendragon viewed this, and got the same feeling that Hague did. The bitch was mad.
As the battle continued, all the captains were soon talking to each other. None of them could believe the order that had come through from Earth.
"The one obvious thing is that we can't continue to fight," said Picard. "The Death Star has seen to that."
"There is one possibility," said Pendragon. "And you can thank Magus for this idea. We may be able to use our cavourite drive to generate a field powerful enough to take us all to the Time of Legends."
"But that would leave Earth to the Imperials," said Hague.
"A tactical withdrawal," said Picard. "We cannot fight, so we must retreat and regroup. Face it, General, Earth is lost, the Federation is in ruins!"
"I won't go down without a fight!" said Hague.
"We can continue to fight elsewhere," said Pendragon. "We must retreat, General! We must!"
Hague thought for a few moments. Deep down inside he knew that Picard and Pendragon were right. There was no way they could fight back now. They were outmatched.
"Very well," said Hague. "Get your engineers to work as fast as possible. I'll contact the others."
Throughout the Alpha Quadrant, all Federation forces received the order from Servalan to surrender to the Imperial forces. On all the worlds, on all the colonies, everyone was shocked by this turn of events. On Altor, Podley and Magus soon got word. Although no Imperial ships had reached Altor yet, it would only be a matter of time before they would, and nothing would stop them.
"Please excuse me, Captain, but I have to go," said Magus.
"I understand, Doctor."
"If you can, I would be grateful if you could go ahead with the plan. I know it may be difficult to now but..."
"I understand, Doctor, perfectly."
Magus then waved his hand and vanished into thin air.
Flying though space without the aid of a ship, Magus soon arrived at Wolf 359 and found himself confronted by the mighty Death Star. Not wishing to engage it in battle the same way his old friend had, he flew out of its path, and directly into the heart of the battle. For all of Servalan's orders, the Federation forces had continued to fight against the Imperials while Scotty had tried to enhance the cavourite drive. Magus knew Scotty would do this, but he also knew that he wouldn't have the time.
Aboard the Lohengrin, Tarses picked up something on his sensors.
"There's a man out there, flying through space!" he reported.
Sinclair raced over and checked the sensors.
"It's Magus! What is that fool doing!"
Magus was picked up by every ship in the battle, and they all watched as Magus built up a massive surge of energy around himself. Then, expelling that energy, it soon encased all the Federation ships. It did not damage them, but the invading forces were surprised when their opponents suddenly vanished without a trace. Just as Picard and Pendragon had preached, they had made a strategic withdrawal.
It was not long before the Death Star and the rest of the Imperial forces left Wolf 359 and entered Sector 001, the Terran system. Soon, the mighty battle station was in orbit around Earth.
In the Operations Room of the Pegasus station, Duncan MacCleod watched as a massive amount of ships approached the Time of Legends. He was soon contacted by Pendragon.
"There's no need to tell me, Arthur," said Duncan. "We got Servalan's transmission as well. We still can't figure out why she's given up so easily. It's like the Battle of the Line all over again, except that this time we're the Minbari!"
An Imperial Star Destroyer soon joined the Death Star in orbit around Earth, and shortly afterwards, that ship's commanding officer beamed down to the Presidential Palace in Paris. It was a hive of activity as all ISN feeds were restored as Servalan prepared to make her announcement. It was broadcast over all that used to be the United Federation of Planets.
The broadcast began with Servalan seated at her desk.
"Citizens of the Federation, by now you will be aware that I have ordered all of our forces to surrender to the invading Imperial fleet. The reason for this is simple. I believe that the Federation would be better served as a member of the Galactic Empire. The treaty we signed with the Dominion at Deep Space Nine already provided a link with the Empire, and now that link will be stronger and more powerful."
The camera then panned to a wider angle, to show the man seated next to Servalan. He had black hair and blue skin, the look of a Socration, and wore a white Imperial uniform, one of only six used.
"I would like to introduce to you Starfleet's new Commander-in-chief, Grand Admiral Thrawn, from the planet Socratia. His appointment is effective as of now. I hope you understand my reasoning behind this decision. I believe that under the Empire's rule, we will attain a better life for every citizen."
The transmission ended, and the usual ISN programs were replaced by Imperial propaganda. As soon as the transmission ended, a tall man entered the office, garbed in a long dark robe. Servalan got up from her seat and approached him. She soon hugged him, and had a huge smile on her face. The man then removed the hood that covered his face. He also had a smile on his face.
"Congratulations, Damian Darkmagus! The galaxy is yours!"
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