The Bajoran Incident: Civil War III Chapter Twelve

Palpatine was a far from happy man. His recent defeat at the Time of Legends left a most unsavory taste in his mouth. Never before had he had such a defeat. Never before had he miscalculated on such a plan. Now, the Imperial forces and their allies were looking for something—something to inspire them. As he entered the chamber of what used to be the Free Federation Council, he looked around at his insipid council members.

Servalan, the woman who gave him a foothold in the Alpha Quadrant, was, as always, seated at Palpatine's right hand. Vader would normally have been seated at his left, but he was far away in the Delta Quadrant, searching for the hidden base of the Rebel Alliance. Various Moffs and Governors also attended the meeting, as did several members of the now-token U.F.P. senate. For months now, Diane Hayden had considered defecting to the Free Federation. She had spoken out against Palpatine many times before, but so far, hers was but a lone voice.

"Our plan for the Time of Legends was an abject failure," Palpatine began. "We must devise a new strategy. Darkmagus' plan, although costly and time-consuming, will be put into operation."

"I also have a plan that will require Darkmagus' help," said Servalan.

All around the table turned to look at Servalan. They each wondered what her plan would be.

"Our forces have been greatly depleted with the defeat at the Time, so I suggest that we restore the link to the Gamma Quadrant. Darkmagus could use his powers to reconstruct the Bajoran wormhole."

"Could such a thing be possible?" asked Hayden. "The wormhole was destroyed by Commander Sisko. Surely it can't be repaired like a warp coil?"

"It could be possible," said Darkmagus, stroking his beard. "It is just a matter of reconstructing several molecules."

"And would cut down on fuel costs, also," added Servalan. "The double jump-point technology uses vast amounts of energy."

"Then it is agreed," said Palpatine. "Darkmagus, before you put your plan into operation, you will travel to Bajor. Begin your studies."

As the delegates left the chamber, Diane Hayden knew what she had to do.

 

As Shakar looked around him, he saw the fallen bodies of several of his friends. These were men and women who had fought alongside him during the Cardassian occupation, and who had also fought alongside him during the Empire's occupation. He looked over the ledge to see several more Imperial Stormtroopers coming down from the hills. To him, they were far tougher opponents than the Cardassians. They were far more skilled in the fighting arts.

An energy blast winged his head by inches, forcing him to take cover once again. Joking his phaser in his hand, he fired another salvo at the approaching armies and managed to get off several hits before once again taking cover. But it seemed that no matter how many he managed to eliminate, several more appeared to take their place. There seemed to be no end to this invading force.

Then help came from the skies. What seemed like an old Federation Runabout appeared in the sky above the approaching party of Imperials. If the Imperials had chosen to use AT-ATs, or even AT-STs, the Runabout would never have stood a chance against the Imperials. But as it was, Commander Travis hardly considered the Shakar resistance cell to be worthy of such opponents. That was why he sent in a party of Stormtroopers instead.

But the addition of the Runabout to the battle proved to be the turning point. With pinpoint accuracy, the Runabout pilot and crew took out almost every one of the remaining troopers. Moments later, Shakar emerged from his covered position; he saw the carnage before him. Both sides had paid a heavy price on this day, but in the end, they had won the battle, if not the war.

Shakar watched the departing Runabout and silently thanked the Prophets. But then he began to wonder if the Prophets had anything to do with this intervention. Rumor had it they were getting Ferengi help in their battle. Shakar had never heard of any Ferengi help of this nature before. Perhaps the rumors were true. But at the moment, he didn't care about the rumors. He had friends to mourn.

 

Diane Hayden's VISOR allowed her to cut through the fog that had fallen around Paris as she approached Notre Dame Cathedral. Carrying a small computer chip in her hand, she was there to meet her contact, and her contact was used to dark, foreboding places. As she walked around a corner, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Spinning around quickly, she was met by a pair of stark, staring eyes—the eyes of a vampire. Normally, she would have been scared by such a sight, but not on this night.

Louis St. Germain was now becoming somewhat of a thorn in the Empire's side. He had led a successful raid on the New Zealand penal colony and had managed to release several political prisoners. Unofficially, St. Germain was regarded as the leader of the Earth Resistance cell and was rumored to have contacts deep within the Monstron Empire.

"You should have wrapped up well tonight, Senator. It is going to be a cold night. Every night has been since the Imperials took the weather net offline."

"Let's get this over with, Admiral," said Hayden. "I don't have much time."

She handed the chip to St. Germain. She was surprised at how cold his hand was.

"What is this?"

"The minutes of the last Imperial Council meeting. It lays out Servalan's latest plan for Bajor. It will affect the entire quadrant. You must get this information to the Free Federation."

St. Germain studied the chip for a few moments.

"I will return to London immediately. After studying the information, I will transmit it to Watt and Spock."

"There isn't time to study it in detail! Servalan's plan begins in three days! They must do something now!"