Diane Haydn was nothing more than a puppet these days. A prominent member of the Federation Senate before the Imperials took over, she was now kept on for one reason. Along with the likes of Morgan Martin, she was the token representative of the old guard, the old Federation, the thing that didn't exist anymore.
As midnight drew closer to the corridors of power in San Francisco, Haydn found herself standing alone in one of the basement corridors of the great building. Only her VISOR allowed her to see through the darkness. Blind since birth, she had not let her disability impede her political progress.
The reason she was in the corridor at such an unearthly hour was simple. Someone, she did not know who, had left an anonymous message with her, telling her that if she wanted to help bring back the old ways, be in the basement corridor at midnight.
Midnight was now only a few seconds away, and like most blind people, her hearing, acute as it was, soon picked up footsteps nearby. She turned around to see nothing more than an infra-red thermal image. It was all that her VISOR allowed her to see. If she had normal vision, she wouldn't have been able to see him anyway.
"Are you the one who sent the message?" Haydn asked.
"I am."
"Who are you?".
"My name is not important. What is important is that you take this data chip and study it carefully. It will give you details of who to contact, and what to do."
The man tossed the data chip into the air. Haydn caught it easily.
"What is this all about?".
"You'll see," the stranger said, walking away. "You'll understand what to do."
Moments later Haydn was seated in front of her computer terminal in her office, the data chip the stranger had given her in her hand. Slowly, she placed the chip in the slot. Her screen suddenly came to life. On the screen was a plan of some sort, a military operation that was to commence soon, under the command of the new Starfleet Commander-in-Chief Grand Admiral Thrawn. With great interest Haydn studied the plan, and was shocked by what she found. She soon knew the full extent of Admiral Thrawn's plan to go through the temporal wormhole and find Daniel Reid, and if need be, bring him back to the 24th century. Realising what would happen if Darkmagus was to get his hands on such a device, she knew what she had to do.
Babylon 5, Euphrates Sector, 2372
It had been a long day for John Sheridan. Ever since the suggestion that Babylon 5 should break away from the Federation was put forward by Kosh, Sheridan's mind had been working overtime. It was the hardest decision he ever had to make.
As he sat motionless at his desk, his communicator sounded. It was a call from Ivanova in the Operations Room.
"Captain, we're getting a call for you on a secure channel."
"Who is it from?".
"All I know is it's from Earth."
Sheridan let out a sigh.
"Okay, put it through."
The image of Diane Haydn was soon before him.
"Captain Sheridan, I wish to speak with you about the Free Federation."
Sheridan was shocked. He knew that Haydn was still a member of the Federation Senate, but he didn't think she knew that he knew anything about the Free Federation.
"What do you mean, Senator?" Sheridan stuttered. "I have no connection with the Free Federation."
"You can speak clearly, Captain. We are on a secure channel, and I made sure no unwanted parties were eavesdropping on us."
Clearing his throat, Sheridan began to ponder his next move. Up until now Haydn hadn't shown any tendencies to support the Free Federation. She hadn't even spoken out against Servalan or Darkmagus.
"Do you have any way of contacting Captain Pendragon or Phineas Magus?".
"I haven't spoken to either of them in nearly a year."
"Now you must. I am transmitting a coded message which only Magus can decrypt. I want you to send it on to him. I don't want you to tell him where it came from. Tell him the information came from a new source. For now I cannot make myself known to them. Is that understood?".
"Perfectly, Senator."
The screen then went blank. Moments later the coded message appeared on his terminal screen. Sheridan looked at it for a few moments. It was in a language he had never seen before. When Sheridan tried to access the file, he was met by a stern warning. There was only one thing for him to do.
Pegasus station, Time of Legends, 2372
With Watt and Podley standing beside him, Magus watched as the U.S.S. Flying Scotsman docked with the Pegasus station. For Magus it was good to be back 'home' again, and good to have Watt back with him.
They soon disembarked, and once off the ship Magus turned to Podley.
"Once again Captain, I must thank you and your officers. You have done me a great service. I promise to repay you all someday."
"As do I," said Watt.
"Of course, you are all welcome to stay here with us," said Magus. "At the moment we could use a few good men."
"Thank you, Doctor, but no," Podley replied. "I'm needed on Altor now more than ever. I have a feeling we'll soon be getting a visit from the Imperials, after our government pulled itself away from the Federation. I also get a feeling you'll be hearing from our President pretty soon."
They warmly shook hands, and Podley headed back towards his police transport, where his officers were waiting for him. Magus was sure that he would see him again very soon.
"Come on, James," said Magus. "There's something I want to show you."
The room was almost dark when they entered, only a few emergency lights were in operation.
"Computer, lights!" Magus ordered.
The room was suddenly bathed in light, and Watt smiled. He had come home, as it were, come home to the one place in the universe he felt truly comfortable, the Valkyrie.
Watt looked around, and smiled. "Hello, old friend! It's good to see you again. It's been too long, far too long."
Slowly, Watt walked towards his old command chair, taking in each sight as he moved along. It was something he thought he would never be able to do again as he seated himself in the command chair. Everything was almost back to normal. Everything was almost perfect.
"Thank you, Phineas. But how? I was told in prison that she'd been taken to Qualor II. How did you get her back?".
"With the help of an old friend and a game of Stratagema. It's a long story, James. I'll tell it to you soon. For now, you get some rest. We have much to discuss."
Magus was about to continue when his communicator sounded.
"Pendragon to Magus. Doctor, can you join us in the conference room? There's something here you should see."
"Understood, Captain. Magus out."
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