Alliances II: Civil War II Chapter Sixty-Five

As Sisko entered the transporter room of the Saratoga, he began to think back to the Saratoga he had served on, which had been destroyed during the first Battle of Wolf 359. This Saratoga was very different from his one. It was more like the battleships of old.

Upon arriving in the transporter room, Sisko found Colonel McQueen and the 58th waiting for him. They found it difficult adjusting to their 'disguises'. They didn't normally conceal their weapons under their clothing.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Sisko.

"As ready as we'll ever be," said McQueen. "Considering the kind of operation this is."

"I hate all this sneaking around," said Hawkes. "Why can't we just go in and get them?"

"Because we don't know exactly where they are," said Sisko. "Now, onto the transporter pad!"

The team stepped onto the pad. Moments later they materialized on the outskirts of Mos Eisley.

As soon as they arrived they found themselves ducking behind a wall.

"The Jem'Hadar!" said Sisko.

"And Imperial Stormtroopers!" McQueen added. "What the hell are they doing here?"

"We haven't got time to ask," said Sisko. "I suggest we go to the Cantina. We may find..."

Suddenly Sisko was dragged backwards, as were the others seconds later. They were dragged back to a dark alley.

Sisko was spun around, and found a Klingon hand placed over his mouth.

"You were fools for using a transporter near the city limits!"

"Kurn!" said Sisko. "How did you find us?"

"Not here. We will go to the Embassy."

 

The words 'Klingon Embassy' made Sisko think of a large building, almost mansion-like, pure white in color, looking almost perfectly clean. Such a building did not exist on Tattooine. In actual fact, the Klingon Embassy looked much like the rest of the buildings in Mos Eisley—badly run down and in dire need of repair.

Sisko and the others found themselves ushered into Kurn's office. Apart from the local architecture, it looked like most other Klingon dwellings.

"Why are you here, Starfleet?" Kurn asked. "Are you looking for those droids as well? Is your Free Federation somehow linked to the Rebel Alliance?"

"As for your latter question, not yet," said Sisko. "But we know nothing about any droids!"

Kurn poured himself a glass of Klingon War Nog, and then seated himself behind his desk.

"Then why are you here?"

"We're trying to locate some missing crew members—Admiral MacCleod, Captain Watt, Commander Sutek, and Lieutenant Worf!"

"You didn't tell me my brother was here!" Kurn shouted, throwing his glass at the wall. "Who else is here?"

"Our small fleet is in orbit at this moment."

"And they haven't been detected?"

"All of our ships have a cloaking device."

"Bah! The Klingons would never give Starfleet... or whatever you call yourselves cloaking devices!"

"The Klingons wouldn't, but the Istari would!"

Kurn poured himself another drink before he continued.

"So what were they doing here?"

"The Free Federation wants to establish an alliance with the Rebels. That way, we may both stand a better chance of defeating the Imperials! Worf was on the mission because of your contacts with the Rebels!"

"Worf never made it here!"

"Now that I've answered your questions, Captain, you can answer mine. What were you saying about droids?"

"A few days ago, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan attended a conference on the distant world of Wayland. The conference cemented Palpatine's new alliance. At that conference the Princess managed to get the plans of the Death Star. She managed to escape, but her ship was attacked above Tattooine by Vader's Star Destroyer."

"That would explain that battle we saw," said McQueen.

"My sources tell me that the Princess was taken prisoner, but they couldn't find the plans. They managed to find out that the plans are in an Astromech droid. The droid was last known to be on this world. That's what the Jem'Hadar and Stormtroopers are doing here."

Before Sisko could ask another question, they heard blaster fire from outside.

Kurn, Sisko and McQueen rushed outside to see what was happening.

What they saw was several Imperials rushing towards the spaceport. Suddenly, a ship they did not recognize flew into the air. Several of the troopers outside fired at the ship, but could not hit it.

 

On the bridge of the Liberator, Avon looked down at his scanner.

"A ship is leaving the atmosphere," he reported.

"Zen, what kind is it?" asked Tarrant.

"The ship is not of Imperial design."

"I can see," said Blake. "Look!"

They looked at the screen as two TIE fighters were launched from the Star Destroyer. They followed the unknown ship.

"We should help," said Blake.

"No," said Tarrant. "Look. The ship has gone to warp. TIE fighters don't have warp capability."

Tarrant seated himself in the command chair, and breathed a sigh of relief.