CROSSING LINES
A STAR BLAZERS/ STAR TREK/BABYLON 5 FANFICTION WORK BY:
JASON BOND
Chapter
Three
The Arrival
of New Prophesies
Starfleet
Deep Space 9 Space Station
Bajor
system
July 10,
2377
General Kira Nurys was in her office, studying the daily reports
from the departments aboard the station. She wasn't really paying much
attention, as her dreams had been most vivid as of late. So much so that she
called upon an old friend to help her out with them.
She held the
comm PADD in her left hand, and was playing around with the baseball on her
desk in her right. It had been six years since Commander Benjamin Sisko had disappeared and supposedly died. The death still
haunted her after all this time, which is why she stayed on at this post,
despite plenty of offers to serve back on Bajor and other locales. Then again,
she sometimes wondered if he really died at all.
Her commlink beeped, and her executive officer, Commander Paul
Windsor, informed her of the arrival of her friend from Bajor. It had been a
long time since they had chatted, especially given her friend's schedule, and
General Kira was very much pleased that her friend
could make time for her for this.
Kai Pila Neral came into the office
with all the vestments of the Bajoran equivalent of the Pope of the Roman Catholic
Church. The Kai was the same age as Kira was, and
they had served in the resistance to Cardassian rule
oh so many years ago. Her specialty was prophecy, and she had brought the Orb
of Prophesy with her on this trip, much to Kira's
surprise.
Kira came around her desk and embraced her old friend. They went over
to the couch in the corner of the office for privacy, and Kai Pila placed the orb on the coffee table.
"Thank
you for bringing that, Pila. Lately, I've been having
some very strange dreams and need some help to explain what they mean."
"I know, Kira, which is why I brought the orb. When I got your call,
it disturbed me greatly, because it is something that I haven't seen in my own
contemplation with the orb. But I get the feeling that these dreams are not a
figment of your imagination, because for the Emissary to appear in them is
remarkable."
Kira nodded replied, "I don't completely understand them, because
it's hard to believe that Captain Sisko would want me
to take the station into the wormhole, but he says the Prophets need me to do
so because of what he called, 'the coming storm'."
Pila nodded and opened the orb, which was floating inside its case.
The orbs were the gifts from the Prophets, who lived inside the wormhole that
was a fast connection to another part of the galaxy. Despite her occasional
doubts about her faith, she still had managed to stay devout to her beliefs
through all the events in recent years.
Kira positioned herself in front of the orb, and Pila
held her hand in support. The vision wasn't long in coming as a flash of light
overcame Kira.
She saw
herself in a room with light blue walls, and light came into the room from a
window overlooking a city whose buildings looked to have been made out of
crystal. There, seated at a conference table, were Commander Sisko, still clad in his Starfleet uniform and looking
stark with his bald head and dark skin. Beside him was a white Human male in
another type of military uniform that was unknown to her. Also at the table was
a lithe blond Humanoid female whose hair was almost as long as her dress, and,
to her left, was a younger version, probably her daughter, in some kind of
light blue uniform. To the daughter's left was a man cloaked in a light brown,
mottled hood and cape, and, to his right, is a being unknown to her. Its skin
glowed like a light, and the face was so plain that she thought that it might
be one of the Prophets in corporeal form.
Sisko stood up and walked over to his former executive officer. "Kira, it's good of you to come. There are matters that are
coming to a head and I need your help like I have needed it before."
Kira nodded and asked, "You know you have my help, but do you
really need to bring the station into the wormhole? You know well enough how
difficult that will be, but if you can prove the need for it, I'll do my best
to accomplish this task."
The lithe
blond woman stood up and introduced herself. "Hello General Kira. Sisko recommended we
communicate with you to help in the coming battle. My name is Starsha. I'll
introduce the others later, but for now, let me show something."
The lights
dimmed as the window darkened over, and a three-dimensional display hovered
over the table. It showed a planet of immense beauty, with beings of light
walking around the alien structures.
"Long
ago, there was a race called the Legendora, who were one of the first space
faring races in your galaxy. They evolved from their corporeal forms into
beings of light, much like your Prophets. However, several millennia ago, a
group of their race split off and went off on their own to form a new race,
called the Ragendora. While the Legendora are dedicated to helping the younger
races develop and evolve, the Ragendora dedicated themselves to conquest and
war. Over the centuries, they have battled, with the Legendora barely being
able to hold off their enemies. However, this time, they need our help, along
with others, because the Ragendora are looking to bring in allies for their
campaign this time, and we need all the help we can get.,"
explained Starsha.
Kira looked at the Ragendora in the images, and was reminded of the Pai Wraiths that had battled the Prophets in the last years
of the Dominion War. They were dark and fierce, and their ships looked
foreboding, but instead of being intimidated, she felt outraged, as if these
beings were out to attack her very own gods.
The man in the
cloak stood up and removed the hood of his garment from his head, revealing a
being with a bald head and a bone crest sticking out from the back of his
skull. "I am Valen, and I have come here to assist these people in their
battle with the Ragendora. You must know that this will be a war unlike any
kind you have seen before, because this will be a battle across dimensions and
universes. We'll need all the ships, bases of operations, and soldiers we can
get to aid in the coming conflict. Your help is vital to the cause."
The being of
light stood up and walked up to Kira. He removed his
own hood from his head, and revealed himself to be baldheaded. "You see,
my child, we know of your Prophets. They are a different race than us, but we
have been friendly allies of their for eons. If you
look inside your heart, you'll know that our cause if right and just, and
you'll be willing to help. If you need more evidence, seek out the Prophets and
they will explain it all to you."
Sisko walked up to his former exec and put both hands on her shoulders.
"This is vitally important, Nurys. You must help us, or all of us are in
danger of extinction. Please, do not take long in deciding about this,because we are not sure when
the Ragendora will start their campaign. Time is of the essence. Goodbye for
now."
With a flash,
she returned to the room. Pila was beside her, still
holding her hand.
Kira managed to croak out, "Did you see?"
Pila's face looked haunted, but soon set itself in resolution. "I
believe these people, Nurys. The Prophets wouldn't have sent this to us if they
were not sincere. What do you plan on doing?"
Kira got up off the couch, went over to her desk, and pressed a communication
button on the flat panel. "Commander, contact Chief Miles O'Brien on Earth
and tell him I need to speak to him immediately. Then prepare the Defiant for a
mission. I'll brief you as soon as I get through with O'Brien."
"Yes, General. I'll track him down as soon as possible.
Pila went to her friend and asked, "Does that mean you are going
to try to take the station into the wormhole"
Kira nodded, "Yes, but I need the chief's help with this, and
it'll give me time to go into the wormhole and consult the prophets. I want to
be absolutely sure about this before I commit myself to a course of
action."
Pila nodded and they both left the room.
Interstellar
Tuzinor,
Minbar
January 23,
2271
3:30am
Earth Standard Time
President John
Jay Sheridan paced his office nervously, waiting for the latest communication
from Earth Alliance President Suzanna Luchenko, who was trapped on Earth because of the Drakh
plague. Because of the contagious nature of the plague, Earth was quarantined
and no one could land there or leave the surface of the planet. In the three
years since the Drakh had unleashed the plague, millions had died, and, in two
years time, all life on Earth would be dead if no cure was found.
His wife, Delenn, walked into his office with someone he knew all too
well. Delenn had been able to get the governing body
of Minbar, the Grey Council, to authorize full assistance in finding a cure for
the plague, because it was originally meant for Minbar, as the Drakh had
planned on using the immense Shadow planet killer devise to obliterate Earth.However, Sheridan was able to bring together a fleet
in time to defeat the Shadow device, but his forces could not prevent the Drakh's Plan B from taking effect.
"John,
Vice President Hollifield is here to see you.," said Delenn, who sat
down at the desk while the guest made his way to the desk.
Garrison
smiled and said in his smooth Southern drawl, "Just fine, John, or as best
as I can be in these days. President Luchenko sends
her respects, but she won't be able to communicate with you anytime soon.
This brought
"Because
she has developed a very rare form of breast cancer, and it's going through her
body fast. Doctor Franklin doesn't think she'll last more than six months
because of it."
Hollifield shrugged and said, "Go on as best they can. That's
all they can do. When the time comes, I'll do the best I can to lead from afar,
but by then there may not be much left of the human race on Earth to
lead."
There was a
knock on the door, and standing in the doorway was a member of Minbar's warrior caste. His name was Shaniel,
and he had become the de facto leader of the caste. He had gone a long way to
bridging the gap between the generally xenophobic warriors and the Interstellar
Alliance.
"Shaniel, what troubles you? You usually call ahead before
coming over.," said Delenn,
who knew her old friend was a stickler for protocol.
Shaniel nodded and replied, "I know, but this news was too
urgent to worry about pomp and circumstance. Mr. President, our long distance
probes have detected a massive force of Drakh warships headed this way, and
preliminary reports have indicated that they may have another planet killer
with them."
Delenn desperately caught her breath, then said, "In Valen's name! Our forces are spread apart right now! How
many ships can we bring together before they arrive?"
Shaniel looked down at the floor, worried, but lifted his head
and said, "I've taken the liberty to recall all Minbari warships back to
the homeworld, but we'll need more than that to face them." He then looked
over at Vice President Garrison Hollifield.
Hollifield nodded and replied, "I'll get on the horn back to Earthdome and see what I can do. I don't know how many
ships I can bring into the fight, but I'll get as many as I can."
Shaniel went over to Hollifield and
shook his hand, Earth style. "Thank you, old friend, but we may need even
more than that, I'm afraid."
TO BE
CONTINUED....
To Return to the Introduction to Crossing Lines, click here