The Bajoran Incident: Civil War III Chapter Fifteen

The planet the Maquis had chosen to make their new base didn't even have a name, and this suited them fine. But perhaps the reason they chose this planet in particular was simple. The climatic conditions were hardly hospitable, sandstorms circling the planet on an almost hourly basis, and its twenty-seven hour days were spent mostly in darkness.

Having followed Hudson's ship to this base, the Voyager contingent beamed down to the planet's surface. Sisko was about to lead his delegation down when Dax's ops panel sprang to life.

"I'm picking up several communications signals from the Bajoran system."

"Our ships?" asked Sisko.

"No. They're still holding radio silence, as they were ordered. The communications are from many ships, but they all speak of the same thing: a massive subspace disturbance, coming from a proximity close to Deep Space Nine."

"Is there any more information?"

"It's hard to tell. I'm picking up so many signals at once. It could take some time."

"I know this is against Admiral MacCleod's orders, but send a coded message to Captain Watt. I want to know what's happening. And try to unscramble those messages."

 

Watt watched the view-screen, showing the almost tiny figure of Darkmagus entering the airlock of D.S.9. The lights flickered around him as they failed for a moment, only to return to normality a moment later. Then, Commander Lom came onto the bridge. Watt had been waiting to hear from Lom for what seemed like an age. He hoped he would be getting some good news. He was hoping for the wrong thing.

"Please tell me you have some good news, Commander," said Watt.

"I wish I did have, Captain. We took one massive hit. The cloaking device is close to malfunctioning, and the shields are at minimum power. Captain, as far as I see it, we have no choice but to withdraw and repair our systems."

"I would like nothing better than that, Commander, but unfortunately we don't have the time. Carry out what repairs you can, Commander, and even jerry-rig a few systems if you have to."

 

The hastily constructed dome, somewhat crude-looking by old Federation standards, was doing its job well during the latest of the planet's sandstorms. Resourcefulness was becoming somewhat of a Maquis trait. But at this moment, the homemade dome was the least of their worries. To the eyes of many of their members, the enemy had just come into their midst.

As Sisko, Janeway, and Chakotay walked through the camp, they could feel several pairs of eyes boring a hole into their backs. Although a few months ago Chakotay was one of them, they now considered him an enemy because of the Free Federation uniform he was wearing. As a sign of goodwill, neither Sisko nor Janeway had beamed down with a phaser. But because of the looks they were getting, they were now feeling very naked without their firearms.

As they approached the main meeting hall of the camp, an old man approached them. They were somewhat surprised when the old man smiled at them and offered them his hand.

"Captain Janeway! Captain Sisko! My name is Macius! Chakotay! It's good to see you again! Please! Come in!"

The corridors of the meeting hall resembled an old Federation design.

"This station was an old Federation terraforming station," Macius explained. "The project was abandoned after President Sulu came to power. Apparently, he saw something that the scientists didn't!"

"Why were we treated like the enemy?" asked Janeway. "After all, we've come in peace!"

"Although you no longer represent the government of the Federation, some see you as portraying all that was bad with the Federation. They see you as the ones who abandoned them, leaving them at the mercy of the Cardassians!"

"But what about me?" asked Chakotay.

"You wear their uniform. Even though many of them fought alongside you, they now have suspicions about you because of the uniform you wear! Ah! We are here!"

As Macius opened the door for them, the sight of what appeared to be an old Federation war-room greeted them. Technology ranging from Federation to stolen Cardassian to some none of them recognized lined the walls and floors. Macius soon managed to pick out Hudson and called out to him. Smiling, he warmly greeted Chakotay, but upon seeing Sisko and Janeway, his mood changed.

"Will you come with me?" he asked solemnly.

Not knowing what to expect next, they followed.

 

As Darkmagus strode along the corridors towards the airlock, Commander Travis found it hard to keep up with him.

"But you can't leave straight away!" Travis insisted. "We've planned a formal ceremony for you!"

"Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do, Commander? Need I remind you that I am one of the higher-ranking figures in the Imperial Senate!"

"But I need your help with something! The station's sensors have picked up very mild subspace fluctuations nearby! We were wondering if you could use your powers to perhaps enhance our sensor array."

"They are probably just an after-effect of my work, Commander. Nothing more."

"And what if they are cloaked Free Federation vessels? Our sources tell us that they have access to Istarian cloaking devices!"

Darkmagus turned on Travis wildly, staring at him with a deep fire in his eyes.

"Commander, you are a fool! How you ever managed to get such a posting is beyond even me! Now leave me and let me return to Earth before I have you turned into a slug."

Having been put firmly in his place, Travis scurried away back towards Ops, leaving Darkmagus to carry on alone. Secretly, Travis wanted to get his own back on the wizard for treating him in such a way.

 

Sisko watched from his seat as Hudson listened to Chakotay telling him about all the virtues of helping the Free Federation with the liberation of Bajor. As Chakotay spoke, Hudson appeared disinterested, constantly gazing around the room and checking the time on his computer terminal.

"I don't understand why we're bothering with this," Janeway whispered. "We're offering them our help in exchange for theirs, and he doesn't seem to care!"

"I would have thought that out of all of us, Chakotay would have had the best chance to convince him," said Sisko.

Hudson caught sight of them whispering.

"Is there anything you'd like to add to the discussion, Ben?" he asked.

"It seems to me that I could say nothing to convince you to help us," Sisko replied. "It seems to me that you'd made your mind up long before we'd arrived!"

"You're right about that, Ben," said Hudson. "You see, ever since Servalan seized control of the Federation and things started to happen, many of the Maquis wanted to help those of you who had defected. You had a very strong vocal supporter in Macius. He said that once Servalan had finished with you rebels, she'd turn her attention to the Maquis. He'd wanted to contact you months ago!"

"So why didn't you?" asked Janeway.

"Because of the way the treaty with the Cardassians was signed. Many in the Maquis still don't trust you, no matter what federation you claim to represent!"

"So what is your decision?" asked Sisko.

"I cannot give you the answer now. I'll have to consult with the other Maquis commanders. They're on their way here now. Should be here within the next few hours. You'll have your decision then."

Hudson then left them alone, without so much as a "by your leave" or anything.