Obligatory disclaimer....
All concepts part of all four Star Trek Series are copywritten
to Paramount Pictures Corporation, and any immitation herein is mere flattery.
Some characters in this work are copywritten 
Matthew Weed and Marc Hernandez 1992-95,
and the remainder are copywritten to Matthew Weed, 1994-95.
Special thanks to Eugen_Woiwod@mindlink.bc.ca, for his quick spell checking 
this evening.
StarCarrier Part I:
By:
Matthew Weed, copyright 1995
Comments to mattweed@edith.princeton.edu

Polaris Control log: Star date 59999.3: Admiral William McGinnis--in
temporary command-- reporting:

The people here have performed a fit which, by all rights, should go down
with those associated with the building of the Egyptian Pyramids on
Earth.  Our work has been driven by the necessity of launching Star ship
Odysseus before star date 60000.0, so that it will comply with the
special dispensation for cloaked ships written into the newly reinstated
Treaty of Algeron.  The ship has numerous bits and pieces in its bag of
tricks, some of which are so illegal that if Star Fleet were to know
about them, ... certain people would make quite sure to have me, and the
100,000 hard-working engineers, technicians, computer designers, weapons
specialists, and others who have helped build the ship imprisoned for the
next thousand years.  However, ever since the basic design of this ship
came to me nearly two years ago, I have been able to depend on a
combination of the power that my status gives me, and good luck, to
protect the work going on here.  In less than eight hours, that work will
be launched from this star dock, in hopes that it will be able, unlike
all other ships in Star Fleet, to reverse the increasing tide of success
that the Dominion has had in its invasion over the past few months.  If
we are unsuccessful, this tide will permanently change the lives of the
trillions of beings in the alpha quadrant permanently.


***
With this somewhat sobering thought, McGinnis turned the log recorder off
and went to the view port in his dock-side quarters.  It gave him an
unobstructed view of the great ship hanging in the center of the
construction dock, a ship which made the truly vast Ticonderoga-Class
super dreadnought being repaired in the auxiliary bay look absolutely
tiny.  There were two hours before he was to take command of Odysseus,
and his thoughts, as they had been with increasing frequency of late,
wandered back over the year and a half that had seen the political
maneuvers and other actions that had made the ship more than just a plan
in the Star Fleet engineering record.


***
<Star date 58456.1>

It was a clear and sunny day in San Francisco, and as William McGinnis
recovered from the slight confusion that always follows transportation,
he looked around at the buildings that made up Star Fleet's still-growing
headquarters complex.  As he walked toward the central tower of the
complex, he thought about the changes that had happened over the past
three years.  The Borg had been slowed down, although most thought that
they had not been truly defeated; The Klingons had attacked both the
Romulan Empire, and then after a revolution on the Klingon home world,
The Federation as well.  They had suffered horribly in the wars against
first the Klingons, and then The Federation, and were barely capable of
feeding their own citizens when the cease-fire had been signed not long
ago.  Sadly for "business prospects," the Ferengi had chosen the wrong
side, and although their help had prolonged the war somewhat, they had
also suffered greatly in the fall of the Klingon and Romulan imperial
navies.  The Tholians, Gorn, Orion pirates, Shelliac, and all of the
other "small" powers had not been heard from, and the Cardassians, even
now, were being put under the heel of the Dominion's boot.

Personally, McGinnis found the Dominion to be as bad, if not worse, than
the Borg.  If anything, because their civilization was equally
ruthless--not the least of which evil was directed toward its own
citizenry--who were genetically engineered, mind-controlled, and
physically threatened into doing what the "founders" wanted them to.
McGinnis had every plan of having a long chat with them about that, if
such a chat could be made possible.

The snappy salute that the young lieutenant at the reception desk gave
him was mindlessly returned as he waited for the turbolift to arrive and
whisk him to Star Fleet's "official" victory celebration.  Sure, the
victory had been sealed nearly two months ago, but many of the commanders
that Admiral Jellico wanted to honor were unable to leave their patrols
until now.

The doors opened, and Admiral Alexandra Stephenson's unfriendly gaze was
the first thing that McGinnis saw as he stepped into the lift.

"Hello Admiral, I'm glad to see that you were able to come to your own
coronation," she said, an edge of ... something in her voice.
"Admiral, I'm just glad to have made it back at all, considering all of
the help that your command was during the move against the Borg.  I've
had more help from convicted criminals trying to escape my own ship's
brig," said McGinnis his own anger over Stephenson's selfish refusal to
assist Defense Fleet Headquarters in the Borg campaign nearly three and a
half years ago returning to mind.
"Well, you didn't need us in any case, and most of my ships wouldn't have
been able to make much of a difference in any case."
"True, but you do have some heavier vessels, and the diplomatic affront
that you gave Gouron by not helping was ... noticed by him."
"True," she admitted, the memory of Edward Jellico's tirade still
all-too-fresh.

The trip to the observation deck atop Star Fleet HQ was soon over, and
the two admirals parted company as hastily as possible.  In McGinnis'
opinion, the split that had arisen between them was not surprising
considering how poorly both had handled their brief relationship nearly a
quarter of a century earlier.  He had been an ensign, fresh out of Star
Fleet Academy, and as green as he could possibly be.  She was a bit
older, and had already become a full lieutenant in charge of sciences
aboard the small scout to which he had been assigned.  Like most of the
other junior crew, both male and female, McGinnis' first impression of
her was of her ... large assets.  In fact, her tall, blonde, and quite
well-built figure had sworn him off of his preference for alien women
once and for all.  Within a month they had become ... quite close,
despite his uncertainty about going out with an officer who was two
grades senior.

Unfortunately, their relationship, as with so many of the young, had been
based the, in McGinnis' opinion, basic divergence between the
still-strong cultural pressures that manifested themselves on young men
and women.  He had viewed the relationship as a more-or-less physical
thing, while she had believed that he cared for her as a sentient being.
He had, it was simply a matter of his inability to express this side of
his feelings, making it appear, when they had violently broken off their
relationship, that his only reason to stay in it was the truly vast
amount of time that they had spent having truly incredible sex.

It had taken McGinnis a long time to recognize that she was committed to
her beliefs, even if in his opinion, these beliefs were naive.  Their
personal and philosophical differences had followed them throughout their
careers, and had become one of the centers around which the growing split
between Defense and Science Fleet Commands had grown over the past
decade.  She, the pacifist, McGinnis the leading tactical genius of his
generation.

The congratulatory words of the President of The Federation took a few
moments to break through his musings....

"...Presentation of military awards has become, unfortunately, an
all-too-important facet of my job over the last two-and-a-half years.
However, such awards, and those who have won them, are signs of the
Federation's continued struggle to live up to the great potential that
all democratic forms of governance have.  The forces of democratic
existence have had, for the past twenty-seven years, a tremendous ally in
Admiral William McGinnis.  His ability to plan and carry out the Vulcan
campaign ensured not only its success, but an almost-miraculous
two-percent casualty rate amongst the military, while total civilian
casualties were less than half a million.  Considering that all other
specialists had expected casualties to total more than a billion, in a
campaign that would have taken months to prosecute, this action, alone,
would justify the honors that I will bestow upon the Admiral.  However,
his work against the Cardassians, Dominion, and Borg has ensured our
future to an even greater extent, and for this, The Federation is
eternally grateful.  In token of our gratitude, I bestow upon Admiral
William McGinnis the Star Fleet medal of valor with clusters, The
Distinguished Service Medal of the Federation, and the honorary rank of
Admiral in the Klingon Grand Fleet."

The applause was deafening, and as McGinnis walked forward to receive his
medals, which he felt were totally undeserved, all could see his pride in
this, here-to-fore unknown combination of honors.  However, the greatest
honor, in his opinion, was yet to come.  After pinning the various medals
on his tunic, The President turned back to the audience and waved them to
silence.

"It is also my honor to give a general commendation to the crew of USS
Ticonderoga, in combination with immediate promotions for all crew by one
grade in rank, and an immediate six-month shore leave for all officers
and crew  of that vessel as well."  With this great honor, which McGinnis
felt was richly deserved, The President turned to him, and he prepared
himself for the obligatory speech...
"Admiral, congratulations," he said while shaking McGinnis' hand.
" Thank you Mr. President, I am honored to receive these medals, and feel
that they are far greater compensation than I could have expected. I am
highly honored by the universal promotion and grant of shore leave,
which my crew, both needs and truly deserves. I thank you on their
behalf, and hope that all of us may continue to serve the Federation to
the best of our ability."

As he turned away, he allowed himself just a moment to revel in the
applause before chiding himself for what he thought was a truly horrible
speech.  He sighed, thinking <oh well, public speeches have never been my
strong point,...> as he moved back to his place in the milling crowd of
captains and admirals.

The rest of the party went off without a hitch, and McGinnis returned to
Ticonderoga to pass on the news about the six months of shore leave and
general commendation, along with a few commendations of his own.

<Star date 58732.5>

After the Federation-wide celebrations had ended, everyone's attention
returned to the new threat posed by the continually growing Dominion
fleet.  McGinnis had been abler, just barely, to cram the idea of the
Odysseus-class carrier down the Federation Council's throat, and had he
not won so many commendations of late, McGinnis was sure that even he
wouldn't have gotten them to agree to a design whose basic philosophy was
totally military in nature.  However, he had known, even then, that some
of his ideas could not be spoken of openly with the council members, and
so he had decided to keep them to himself.  However, he needed to find
out whether it would be possible to do what he wanted, and so he had
quickly chartered a small civilian run about to go to the Daestrom
Institute to speak with some of the leading computer scientists working
there.  It had taken time, but he was determined, and the meeting with
T'sal had paid off very well.

"Good morning Admiral, I am honored that you have chosen to inquire about
my work," said the unusually tall--even for a Vulcan--woman.
"Doctor, I've been studying the possibilities inherent in the control of
ships by autonomous artificial intelligences capable of true
multiprocessing and independent decision-making for most of my Star Fleet
career.  However, as you are doubtless aware, Star Fleet has, until
recently, been very unsure about attempting to build star ships with the
ability to support a truly autonomous artificial intelligence.  Our
experiences with the M-5 unit and some disasters on the holodecks of the
newer ships have convinced many that such work is fraught with dangers
that are best avoided.  I, however, am convinced that this is a mistake,
and that we should be putting resources into the development of such
equipment.  You have been recommended to me as the institute's specialist
with the greatest amount of knowledge in this field."
"Although I believe your statement to be accurate, the flattery is quite
unnecessary ...  However, you are correct, and I am willing to help you
in any way that I can."

Over the next several hours, the two sat talking about McGinnis need for
a computer whose ability to handle multiple processes and independently
analyze enormous quantities of tactical and targeting data without any
support from the Bridge.  She quickly came to understand that McGinnis
was in need of a system with distributed processing capacity which would
be both more complex and faster than any computer ever placed aboard a
star ship.  The closest analog to what he was looking for was either the
biological brain, or possibly the Borg distributed computing net.  As she
considered the problem, she decided that the Borg net was probably a
closer analogy, as it could handle instructions as a unimind, or send
them off to some subset of biological/cybernetic processing groups that
could handle the job with all of the power and speed available to a
multiprocessing brain with sub-space speed interconnectivity.

"Admiral, such a computing system is possible, however, given current
technology, it will be far larger than any mainframe yet placed aboard a
star ship."
"How large?"
"I posit all of this as a theory, however, I believe that such a system
will probably have a mass of between 100,000 and 250,000 metric tons, and
a total volume of more than a thousand cubic meters.  However, it will
have a total processing capacity some three orders of magnitude greater
than any star ship-mounted computer system currently available."
"If your theory is correct, I believe that such system's added
functionality will more than make up for its greater size."
"I would tend to agree, considering the purpose to which you want to put
the system.  However, I should note that it will not be as efficient as
the biological brain in its decision-making processes, as despite several
centuries of work, our programming skill is still insufficient to equal
the effects of billions of years of evolution."
"In other words, a true M-5 style computer system would be the only way
to take advantage of the computer's mechanical ability?"
"Yes, only through the inherent multitasking nature of conscious thought
can the system's mechanical ability be effectively used."
"That is too bad, there's no way that I would dare put such a system in
the hands of any being, the risk of ... loss of control is far too great
to permit it."
"I would tend to agree with you admiral, however, I would like to assist
your teams in the construction of the system, should you go ahead with
such work, in hopes of assisting you in your effort to protect the
Federation.  Although my current research is well-funded, it is only
logical to set it aside in order to attempt to assist Star Fleet in its
attempts to secure the safety of all."
"I appreciate your offer more than you can know, and will be in contact
should we need your help.  Would you be willing to transfer to a highly
secure Star Fleet construction site should that be necessary?"
"I can easily transfer to any such facility, should it become necessary,"
she replied.
"Very well Doctor, I appreciate your time, and expect that I will need to
ask you to make just such a move."
"Very well, I shall await word from you concerning any service that I can
provide, and any arrangements which will be necessary to facilitate that
service."

With these final words, she had shown him out of her office, and he had
begun to prepare for the next stage of his work.

<Star date 58931.6>

"Admiral, I understand your desire to take on the Jem'hadar, they do pose
a tremendous threat.  However, our technology just isn't up to the
challenge of making an offensive strike into their territory."
"Mr. President, I must disagree.  Its not our technology that's up to the
job, its the fact that we're not willing to use that technology to its
fullest advantage."
"What do you mean ... fullest advantage?"
"Quite simply, sir we have the ability to put our weapons under automatic
control, we can use mechanical engineering to build ships capable of
defeating the Jem'hadar soldiers, before they get aboard our ships.  The
best information that we have is that they still depend on biological
control of their weapons systems.  The systems are, ultimately, quite
simple, they can more than easily be set to pattern match for enemy ships
only, with multiple redundancies."
"That's all well and good Admiral, but what happens if such a ship were
to be compromised, or defeated?"
"Sir, it isn't a matter of a single ship, we can't assume that one ship
is the best way to go.  Their ships are far too small and maneuverable
for our main arrays to track without such technology, and even with auto
tracking their ships are so quick that I think that it would be very
difficult at best to go into a one-on-many situation.  Sir, the answer
must be a multiple ship system, with a single, large, crewed, and
extremely high-technology vessel whose only goal is attack/defense and
survival of military action.  The Defiant-class ships are a joke, they
don't have nearly enough speed, firepower, or computer support to handle
the job, and Ticonderoga-classs ships are already proving that although
they're good at withstanding the Jem'hadar, they don't have enough
specialized equipment to deal with them effectively.  We need something
*much* bigger, more powerful, and with a much better computer than either
class of ship as the center of a mobile group of small attack ships."
"What type of system would you propose?"
"Sir, the optimal system would be an M-5(TM) system, like that placed
aboard Enterprise NCC-1701 for trials nearly a century ago.  I know the
risks behind the system, but feel that if we're to have any chance
against the Jem'hadar, that we're going to have to pull out every single
stop."
"In what sense?"
"Sir, we can have high-powered searching systems aboard ships today, and
those systems are some of the best in the known galaxy.  However, they're
not as fast as the research machines at the Daestrom Institute, and Dr.
T'sal is convinced that she can build a system that is even faster than
those, given sufficient special materials and, not surprisingly,
capital.  An M-5 style system will give an enormous increase in ship's
reflexes, and I have a feeling that we can ensure that the system is
reasonably controllable, given enough back-ups."
"I assume that you understand both the moral and political implications
of this idea?"
"Yes Sir, but I am also quite well aware of the need for a good
cybernetic artificial intelligence, and I think that an M-5 style system
is the only way to get both the speed increase, and the neural net
capabilities that we need to be even close to observed enemy capabilities."
"I will take your views as accurate, as you have proven correct in your
analyses of various situations before.  However, I can't say that I like
the idea of putting a system that could, very easily, de stabilize on a
ship so powerful that it could easily destroy a large portion of our
combined fleet."
"I agree, and I've got an answer for that, but I can't discuss it at the
moment, as those who can help me have not agreed to yet.  If my plan
doesn't work, I'll drop it, and leave the ship as a fully enhanced neural
net, something that will improve our position noticeably as it is."
"Do I have your word on this Admiral?"
McGinnis had frowned, knowing what his word meant to him, and also fully
aware of the importance of the project.
"Yes Sir, you have my word of honor, both as a member of Star Fleet, and
as one who values his reputation as an honest man."
"That is sufficient, however, you may not discuss this plan with anyone
except those who absolutely must know."
"Understood, Sir."
"Very well, do you have a plan for the vessel as yet?"
"Yes, but if we're to build it by star date 60000.0, I'll need fifty
thousand people working on three shifts starting almost immediately."
"Why 60000.0?"
"Sir, firstly, its the end of the year on Earth, secondly, you know how
long Star Fleet intelligence thinks that the Federation resistance will
hold out in the outer sector, and thirdly, the renewed treaty of Algeron,
which you yourself signed, will make the launching of new ships with any
form of cloaking technology practically impossible after that date.  I've
got to have phase cloaking if we are to have any chance at all of dealing
effectively with The Dominion, particularly if I'm going into Dominion
territory."
McGinnis could see that although displeased by his comment, The President
accepted its truth.  However, he still wasn't quite finished with
challenging the philosophy that McGinnis was clearly following. A
philosophy that, even by McGinnis' own standards, was a bit too close to
"the ends justify the means".
"Admiral, you know that what you're proposing is the rejection of all of
the moral tenets that the Federation holds as highest and most important?"
"Yes Sir, but if we are to avoid being subjugated by the enemy, we may
find it necessary to adopt some of their techniques.  You know that the
phaser-equipped ships are doing better against the Jem'hadar, but even
so, are ships, though more slowly than anyone expected, are losing the
war.  We've already lost Louisbourg, Gettysburg, most of the
Mycenae-class ships, of all three kinds, and many smaller vessels.  Even
with our military production reinstated after the post-victory decline,
we're still losing more ships than we're building, and as more of The
Dominion's ships come through the wormhole, our position can only
deteriorate further."
"I am well-aware, but if news of your project leaks, we'll be in an even
worse diplomatic position with Gouron's government, and I can't say that
I like the idea of going back to pre-alliance hostilities with the
Klingons at a time like this."
"Sir, as they used to say, out of the frying pan, and into the fire.  In
this case, I'll take Klingon fire over the Dominion's frying pan any day
of the week."
"Very well, you shall have the resources, but you must know that once the
people who volunteer for your project are at Polaris station, they may
not leave until your ship is through the wormhole.  They won't be able to
communicate with their families, not even through the indirect links that
you now use, and you must not have any suppliers bring materials directly
to the base."
"Sir, I will do my best, and will do everything to ensure that the
secrecy of the project remains intact."
"Thank you, Admiral, because if people in the Federation find out what
you want to do, you'll be court marshaled, and I will doubtless be
impeached."
"Thank you, Sir.  ... For what its worth, I will try not to use the M-5
designs, unless absolutely necessary."
"Thank you, ... for what its worth."

With this, McGinnis left the President's office, knowing that if any
leaks occurred, that the project--which he viewed as the Federation's
only chance--would be canceled.

<Star date 59481.0>
"Admiral, please come to the main observation deck," came the voice of
Thomas Kelly, head of a team whose work was focused around improving
phaser effectiveness and range.
"On my way,"
Within two minutes, McGinnis was standing in the outer observation deck,
looking at a small test ship that had been built to support a radical new
phaser design.
"Stand by," came Kelly's voice over the PA system.  "Firing in three,
two, one...."
McGinnis watched as ... nothing happened.
"Mr. Kelly?"
"Sir, it worked, you just can't see the fire anymore, the frequency
leakage that causes a phaser blast to show up in space has been reduced
to the point that you would only see the shot at a few hundred kilometers
distant at most."
"I see, what was the target?"
"Sir, asteroid A321-36-Beta, which was ten million kilometers distant.
Here's the footage from the probe that we had located near the asteroid."
McGinnis knew that the asteroid in question was about fifty million tons,
and that there was no way in hell that any ship could possibly destroy it
in one shot, not even Ticonderoga, and certainly not seven times outside
standard phaser range.  Therefore, when the asteroid split down the
middle, and then shattered into a number of large pieces, with barely any
phaser trace beforehand, he was duly impressed.
"Good work Mr. Kelly, I suggest that you begin to plan for construction
of your systems aboard Odysseus, assuming that they can handle the power."
"Sir, effectiveness should increase more slowly than the power curve, but
given the numbers that you've sent me, I would say that effective maximum
range will be ... noticeably greater than what you've seen here.
However, there's another trick that I want you to see..."
"I've seen enough, and I'm due to leave for Vulcan in an hour, make sure
to write everything into the phaser systems brief which I'll read when
I'm back.  What you've shown me already is more than enough to make me
say that I think that you've done a great job."
"Thank you, Sir.  One thing though, I'll need about a ton of dilithium in
order to make a mediator big enough to handle power surges of the kind
that are theoretically possible aboard the Odysseus."
"A ton? That's a third of the Federation's production for an entire
month!  It'll cost a bloody fortune!"
"I know sir, but without the dilithium, we can't get the frequency tuning
and subspace carrier stability that makes these weapons possible."
"All right, I'll requisition it, ... " McGinnis sighed.
"Thank you, Sir."
"No problem, good luck with your work."
With this, the visual channel closed, and McGinnis turned to move toward
the new attack ship that would take him to Vulcan to see about getting
what he needed for the ship's computer.
<star date 59504.2>
"Admiral, it is an honor to speak with you,"
"I thank you, and would like to introduce T'sal, a computer scientist
working on my staff...."
"Admiral, she is familiar to us, she attempted the ... and failed, as do
many candidates."
"Dr., ... I hope that this isn't an omission that I should have known
about?"
"Admiral,..." said two voices at once.
T'sal nodded for the other to continue.
"no insult can be given when it is not possible to give offense.  WE do
not usually allow initiates who have failed to pass the test into certain
parts of the complex, however, Mt. Solaya is the center of Vulcan
philosophy, and as such we can not deny any person needing to learn from
that philosophy the level of access to which all who are not initiated
into the."
"Thank you, T'keth."
"I have need of the wisdom of the katra of T'sabel."
"Hers is an old Katra, nearly 1,500 years it has been since her death.
Why dost thou need speak with her?"
McGinnis was not surprised by the change in dialect at his question, he
had spent three years learning engineering and computer science at the
Vulcan Academy of Sciences right after his time at Star Fleet Academy.
His training had gone unusually rapidly, and he had received a promotion
from ensign to Lieutenant JG at the same time that he had published his
advanced thesis.  In that time, he had learned a good deal about Vulcan
philosophy, including many of the teachings of Surac.  While he felt that
they weren't always applicable--particularly in the present situation--it
was an honorable way to live, and he wished that the rest of the galaxy
would aspire to do so.  Another thing that he had learned was the
significance of what he was asking.
"I need her wisdom because she faced problems not dissimilar to those
faced by Star Fleet today, and I need to discuss with her the logic
behind her actions."
"Her actions, Admiral, as thou knowest well, were anything but logical,"
replied the older Vulcan woman.
"Those who lived at the same time that she did found her decisions to be
logical, as do I.  I do not come to debate logic, simply to ask access
to her katra with T'sal as mediator."
"T'sal can mediate, and you have made your request in the traditional
manner, despite the abnormalcy of allowing a human to access the
knowledge, I can not deny your request."
"T'keth, thank you for your help."
"Thanks are illogical," replied the woman as she turned and began the
half-hour walk to the Halls of Ancient Thought.
Once they arrived, The initiate moved away, allowing McGinnis and T'sal
their privacy.
"T'sal, won't you need her as a witness, if T'sabel is willing to come
with us?"
"Yes, but that can wait until her katra is joined to mine for our journey."
"Is what you plan dangerous?"
"The procedure has a very small risk to one of my level of training while
we are in transit.  However, it is preferable to move with as much
alacrity as possible."
"Understood," said McGinnis.  After all, he wasn't the expert in
transporting katras, the woman with him was his source of information on
that, and he had always prided himself on taking to heart everything that
he was told by those who knew more about something of which he knew just
enough to know if he was being lied to, but no more.
"I shall be in trance for this, you may speak to her through me, assuming
that her katra is still intact, and that she is willing to speak with you."
"Tell me when you are ready to proceed," said McGinnis, moving far enough
away that his mental emissions would not interfere with T'sal's
preparations.
"Admiral, I am ready, and in contact with her katra," said T'sal some
minutes after her fingers had touched the glowing ball that held
T'sabel's essence.  "She will speak with you."
"T'sabel, I am Admiral William McGinnis, in command of a special project
of the United Federation of Planets, of which your home planet has been a
member for approximately three centuries.  I am here to request your
assistance in this project, whose success will ensure the safety of both
Vulcan and the Federation for some time.  Should it not succeed, we shall
all be conquered by a power known as "The Dominion".
T'sal's face changed slightly, becoming a tiny bit more expressive, as
the older, and less-well-trained conscience was allowed to take partial
control over her physical body.
"Admiral, you awake me after fifteen centuries and ask if I will help
defend your Federation, of which I know nothing, in a war against a power
of which I know even less.  I must have more information in order to make
a decision."
"I understand your lack of data, T'sal, that whom acts as conduit for
this conversation will give you access to her understanding of both the
project, and The Dominion."
Time passed while the two conciousnesses conferred within the single
mind.  McGinnis watched the process, or what little of it he could see,
with growing concern, as minutes became hours.  Finally, after nearly
four hours of silence, he waved to T'keth, silently asking her to come
forward.
"Admiral?"
"T'sal and T'sabel have been in commune for nearly four hours, and I am
not certain that the process is going as well as T'sal thought that it
would. Can you tell whether anything is wrong in their commune?"
"Admiral, T'sal is very well trained, and although she did fail the
initiates test, her ability to focus and stabilize  her consciousness is
nearly unparalleled on this planet.  I sense nothing out of the ordinary,
however I would have to touch her to be certain, something that I have no
permission to do."
"I Understand," replied McGinnis.
In spite of her words, McGinnis could see the older woman concentrating
on trying to leave herself open to anything that the two minds might
broadcast.  He tried to use the limited Vulcan control that he had
learned as a matter of courtesy while studying there to resist
broadcasting his own concern.

Before T'keth could begin the process necessary to prepare herself for a
meld with two minds, T'sal's face cleared, and took on the slightly less
composed appearance that McGinnis had already begun to associate with
T'sabel's consciousness.
"Admiral, I will come with you, and agree to the plan that Dr. T'sal has
imparted to me.  Although it is extremely dangerous, I believe, as a
combination of my knowledge of the subject that you humans still call
parapsychology, and her knowledge of computer architecture that such a
transference will be possible."
"Very well, do you wish to be taken as you are now, or in your
containment vessel?"
"The transference is likely to be facilitated by previous stability in my
environment, I suggest that I return to my containment vessel, and that
this be taken, with as much alacrity as is possible, to your construction
facility."
"T'keth, do you have any objections to our taking T'sabel's katra?"
"Yes, her knowledge of the mind ways is unusually great, even for the
highest initiates, and her katra is old."
"I am quite well capable of the journey, ... head initiate, and my
knowledge is necessary to the defense of our home planet.  In this case,
your logic, if there is any, is flawed."
"My logic is, I believe, quite intact.  As you know, T'sabel, such a
journey is not usually undertaken after death, and the longer the passage
of time between death and a traveling, the greater the risk to the
katra.  As your katra is old, and your knowledge nearly lost to this
world, the good of the many demands that you stay here."
"If it were a matter of the many on this world alone, your logic would
not be flawed.  However, it is clear that in the last fifteen centuries,
the ability of our people to debate has not diminished.  There are the
many of the worlds of the Federation as a whole, as well as of all of the
powers that it now views as its enemies in this section of the galaxy.
My duty is clear."
"If you are determined, I can not hinder your departure."
"I am, and shall now begin the transference back to my containment
vessel. ... Admiral, remember my directions to you, if you wish to
succeed."
"I shall ... T'sabel, and thank you for your willingness to help."
"...Thanks are illogical."
With this, T'sal's body fell silent, and then began to slump forward.

McGinnis caught her, gently putting her on the ground, while T'keth
called for a heeler.

<Star date 59690.0>
"Sir, I know that the ship is already under construction," said Robert
MacLeod, McGinnis closest friend and chief of the construction group
already working on the structure that would, soon, become the mightiest
star ship in the Federation's fleet.  "...I also know that the work that
Thask is doing has enormous potential, particularly against those energy
weapons that the Jem'hadar ships use with such effect against our own
vessels."
"The technology has great potential, and if he can crush it down to the
degree that we can reasonably fit a copy into the ship's systems, I'll
welcome it aboard.  However, right now, the projectors are so big that
they'll never work in the design, and you know that better than anyone
else on this station!" McGinnis replied.  Sure, if the phase barrier
worked, it would make the ship damned near invincible against all energy
weapons, but as yet, the technology was far too bulky to put into a ship
that was getting to be quite heavily loaded as it was.  ... There were,
the great risks that the system entailed too, but in McGinnis' opinion,
the benefits would outweigh the costs, particularly since there were
always ways around such problems.
"I'll keep some space open for the moment, if it doesn't work, we can
always put in another auxiliary collimator, or a torpedo launcher...."
"Fine," replied McGinnis.


<Star date 59792.6>
McGinnis stared at the young woman sitting across from him.  She was,
without doubt, the best small ship designer that he'd ever met, and she
was telling him that the production of some of the parts necessary for
the long-range attack craft was three months behind schedule.
"So when can you have them ready?"
"Sir, it'll take at least four months, I'd guess...."
"Don't guess, this is a critical fault, we must have the ship out of the
yard by 60000.0, and I'll leave anything behind that isn't relevant to
getting the ship under way if its not ready!" snapped McGinnis, staring
at her with more intensity then he had felt in a long time.
"Sir, ... we won't be able to have the long-range ships out until 60080
at the earliest.  The only way to get them done would be more labor."
"How much?"
"Ten thousand workers spread across three shifts."
"I can't get them internally, but you'll have them as soon as I contact
The President."
"Thank you, Sir."
As it turned out, ten thousand had turned into fifty, but the project
had, barely, gotten done in time.

<Star date 59931.0>
The announcement was simple and to the point.
"Only persons currently working in the Polaris Construction Complex will
be permitted to sign aboard Odysseus, and those of officer rank will get
first consideration in all postings save the attack squadrons, whose
crews will be arriving shortly."

When Commander Thale saw this, he realized that McGinnis, who had been
telling the construction crews that they would, in some part, be assigned
to the ship after its completion, had not been lying, and his somewhat
ruthless determination to maximize the efficiency and care of the
construction crews by adding the risk that their lives would depend on
their work was no joke either.  Although it was unusual, even nearly
against regulations, Thale also knew that such techniques were to be
expected, considering the importance of the mission, and McGinnis'
determination to ensure that the ship would function at peak efficiency
for as long as possible.

<Star date 59953.1>
"Commander, I'm glad to have the chance to meet you in Romulan territory,
it is an honor to be the first Federation officer to see this place."
"Admiral, your service to the Federation, though damaging to us, has been
nothing but honorable, and my people and I wish to help you in your
efforts against the hoard from the Gamma Quadrant."
"How many will come?" asked McGinnis, who was very glad to have made this
connection many years ago.  The would be perfect for this part of the
task, independent, strong, ruthless, and yet fiercely determined to make
the mission work, no matter what it took.
"We do not have governmental support for this, so my contribution is
smaller than I had hoped, but there are seventy of us, all can come
immediately."
"I appreciate what you have done, your help is more appreciated than you
can know.  Will your people be able to work with The Andorians?"
"Yes, they are not Klingons, only those would pose a serious problem for
us."
"Very well, please have your people get to coordinates 123-532-376 as
soon as possible, a Federation star ship will be there to bring them to a
transfer point from whence we will pick them up and bring them to the
construction facility."
"Very well, I assume that I should plan to come with you now?"
"Yes, we will return immediately so that you can help acquaint your
people with the ship and its facilities."
"Very well, I shall contact my sub-commander and then I shall be ready to
depart."
"What about your personal effects?"
"My possessions are few, unlike those of you in Star Fleet, we learn to
travel and live with few personal possessions.  I have only two small
boxes."
"Very well, I'll beam back to the ship now, and transport your things
"Very well, I will see you shortly."

<star date 59999.8>

McGinnis' attention was brought back to the present by the sudden glow of
lights that appeared throughout the bay.  He watched in mute awe as the
ship's main systems came on line, lighting the construction facility with
the combined glow of the mighty new warp engines and the glow of the
ship's powerful running lights.  This, as far as he was concerned, was
his signal to get aboard and get moving.

The crew had been moving in for the past week, while final systems were
finished, and the small-craft modules were clamped into their positions.
The ship, in theory at least, could go without them, decreasing its mass
by a third, and clearing some of the firing arcs for its auxiliary
weapons.  However, there wasn't time for shakedowns, there wasn't time
for testing of anything except the warp engines, the only part of the
ship that hadn't yet seen testing.  However, the computer simulations
told them that they would work, and for the present, this was enough
for him.

He walked toward the ship's forward access tube, which ran from dockside
through the main ring, along its support pylon that ran along from direct
fore to direct aft, forming the backbone of the main hull.  As he walked
down the corridor, he saw the crew bustling to prepare the ship for
departure, now less than fifty minutes away.

After a walk of nearly four hundred meters, McGinnis stood before the
turbolift that would take him down a level and a half to the doors that
formed the first of two airlocks that divided the Bridge/main computer
complex from the main levels of the forward hull.

The reason for the security was, quite simply, the fact that the Bridge
and computer were, in this design, in the same place, for reasons of
control and easy access to the ship's super-powerful computer, which
formed the backbone of the ship's control of its awesome offensive
firepower, as well as a last-ditch weapon, whose nature even McGinnis did
not fully understand.  He only knew that the small crystal that was
stored in his chair held a special control system developed by T'sal and
T'sabel--after the latter's transfer to an artificial body--that would
give the ship some form of computer-controlled weapon capable of drawing
on all of the ship's energy production systems, and setting up some kind
of offensive weapon that all of the nearly three hundred Vulcans in his
crew were quite certain would prove to be impossible for almost any power
short of the "Q" to handle.

His crew was as diverse as any humanoid crew in Star Fleet's history.
Not only were there the Vulcans, but a healthy contingent of Romulan
soldiers who were a third of the ship's fighter pilotry.  The rest were
Andorians, and a few, particularly well-trained human colonists whose
military training and knowledge of small-ship tactics merited their
inclusion in the fighter command.  The rest of the crew was made up of a
large majority of humans, but with binars, Emenians, Gorn, resistance
fighters, a few of the Borg in Hugh's collective, T'sabel's android form,
and the "founder" named Odo, who was serving as a consultant to the
Admiral's staff.

All in all, a crew whose talents were diverse, but focused around either
great intelligence, great strength, or some combination of the two.
Almost eighty percent were officers, including nearly fifty captains,
commanders, and lieutenant-commanders.  Star Fleet had objected to this
high--unprecedented in fact-- focus on officer-grade crew, but McGinnis,
pointing out that many of the crew in question had served under him for
years, was able to win the point, particularly after The President
weighed in on his behalf.

McGinnis' musings came to an end as he entered The Bridge through its
inner access airlock.  It wasn't the fastest way to get here, but it
allowed him to get a feeling for the crew's psychological state only a
few minutes before departure.

The Bridge was a modified version of the design that had proven so
successful aboard the Constitution-class ships nearly a century ago.
However, in this design McGinnis' command chair, which, like James T.
Kirk's had a century earlier, looked like an over-stuffed easy chair, had
a different pattern of stations surrounding it.  The weapons station and
that of the attack force commander were forward, where the Helm and
navigation stations had been aboard Enterprise.  Helm/nav was to his
left, while the first officer's station sat to his right on the upraised
section surrounding the aft section of the bridge.  The science,
operations, computer-1, and engineering stations were in the aft portion
of the upper section, between the port and starboard-aft turbo lift
entrances.  The bridge also had two air lock-style entrances, which were
placed on either side of the forward view screen, offering easy access to
the command deck, while ensuring that anyone coming in via that way would
be seen by all on the Bridge before he/she/it could see--or fire
at--them.

"Admiral on the Bridge!" cried Thale, now both a captain and his first
officer.
"At ease," said McGinnis, reminding himself that he would need to remind
Thale of the unusually informal way in which he liked to work with his
staff. "... Status reports?"
"All ship's systems show as ready for operations," said Thale giving the
general report.  This ship was too big and too complex for the First
officer to have the ability to get a detailed report on all systems, so
his duties had become much more like those of a Galaxy-class vessel's
first officer.  In short, he coordinated everything that didn't need the
commanding officer's direct attention.
"Sir, all flight crews are ready for departure, we are fully loaded with
attack craft in the prescribed numbers, all are fully ready for
independent operations, and all have full spare parts and ordnance stores
aboard," reported Arwein, the female romulan commanding the attack
squadrons.
"All phaser weapons are linked into the main system, photon and
anti-fighter batteries are ready for use at a moment's notice.  The phase
barrier and all standard shielding are also tied into the net, and show
clear for use.  All internal defensive systems are available, and
internal scans show all crew aboard, " reported Walter Schultz, who had
left his own command when word of this ship had reached him through
Thale's brother, who had been his first officer aboard Ticonderoga after
McGinnis had left its center seat.
"All ship's scientific resources are ready," reported T'sal who had
joined Star Fleet, and been given a commander's commission by a review
board composed of McGinnis, Thale and Schultz.
"All ship's computer systems are clear, main computer is showing less
than .003 percent usage of total capacity," reported T'sabel, whose tall,
slender android form had been made to look as she had during her first
life nearly two millennia ago.
"All ship's communications and other internal systems are operational,
all stations are manned, and the board shows green," reported Commander
Karen Thompson, turning from the operations station to face the Admiral,
who had moved to his seat in the command well of the bridge.
"The ship's navigational systems show readiness for departure," said
Sobor, the young Vulcan lieutenant who now sat in Thale's old position at
navigation/helm.
"Very well people, we are now less than fifteen minutes from launch, so
double check your status, and lock the ship down for final departure."

*       *       *

Starship log, Pre-launch log for Star ship USS Odysseus, under the
Command of Admiral William McGinnis.  Star date 59999.9, Admiral William
McGinnis in Command of USS Odysseus reporting:
We are now seconds from launch, and this ship, the largest, most complex,
and certainly the most powerful vessel ever launched by Star Fleet
Command is fully ready for departure.  We cut things close, for in only
two hours, it will be illegal for any power in the Alpha quadrant to
launch a vessel equipped with any kind of cloaking technology that
doesn't have an observer from at least two enemy powers aboard.  However,
the purpose of this ship is not the intimidation of our Alpha-quadrant
neighbors, but the defense of all of us against the threat that The
Dominion, the greatest power in the Gamma quadrant, poses.  It is my
sincerest hope, as it was with USS Ticonderoga in its mission against The
Borg four years ago, that our mission will be a success.  However, now as
then, I am fully aware, that our success will depend on our ability to
effectively overcome many surprises and twists of fate which I can not
predict at the moment.  Fortunately this crew is the best-trained, most
motivated, and most efficient crew with which I have had the privilege of
working.  With these factors on our side, I believe that there is a great
deal of hope for us in our mission, which, quite simply put, is the
enforced withdrawal of all Gamma-quadrant forces from this quadrant, upon
which point Star Fleet will collapse the wormhole, barring the Dominion
from making another attempt at the conquest of this section of the galaxy
in the future.

McGinnis turned from the log recorder in the arm of his chair, and took
one final glance around the bridge before he gave the order to depart.

"Helm, ahead one third impulse, course bearing 116 mark 38."
"Our course is now 116 mark 38, our velocity is one third of impulse
capability." said Sobor as his fingers flew across the helm console.

The great construction dock scrolled past the main view screen, the
thousands of people who had worked on the mighty star ship in a
construction effort only rivaled by the building of the pyramids on
Earth, the carving of the Halls of Ancient Thought on Vulcan, and a few
other such projects around the Federation, looking on as the fruit of
their labor moved forward toward its destiny.

"Sir, we have now cleared dock, and are ready to engage the warp drive."
"Operations," said McGinnis, turning the command chair to look aft, where
a smaller screen mirrored the view on the main viewer, send our
commissioning notice to the President of the Federation, and the
enforcement board for the Treaty of Algeron.  Tell them that this Star
ship, USS Odysseus, NX-4500 is commissioned as of Star date 59999.94, and
send the non-classified technical data as well.  Then follow that message
with a note to the President including all of our technical specs,
including the black projects listings, and tell him that barring orders
from him, we're headed for the front."
"Aye Sir," said Lt.Cmdr Thompson.
"Weapons and Defenses, engage super-cloaking mode, and begin immediate
battle drills."
"Aye Sir," said Schultz.
"Helm, engage warp drive, velocity is warp 17, for the front, course 342
mark 8."
"Course and speed laid in, warp drive is engaged."
However, just before the ship could accelerate into warp space,  Thompson
called out that the President was on line one, triple coded, and that the
transmission was marked urgent.

"Put it up," said McGinnis, rising to attention as the President's face
appeared on the main view screen.
"Mr. President, this is a great honor," McGinnis said, saluting, and
noting that all of his crew had automated their stations and arisen to
attention as well.
"Admiral, I need to know if you have any resources that you could spare
for an operation to the gamma quadrant," asked the President, his face
calm as stone.
McGinnis, immediately realizing what The President was working toward,
replied non-committally.
"Sir, I've got a few small resources, but a mission to the Gamma quadrant
will require tremendous firepower and fleet strength, I'm not sure that
what I've got will be enough to get in, not to mention getting home."
"Admiral, in my opinion, you're the only man who can handle the job, so
as of Star date 59999.95, I've officially given you the power to
negotiate any agreements that you can make with the Dominion, using any
and all force that you feel necessary, should force prove the only way to
open such negotiations."
"Mr. President, My people and I take your orders seriously, and we shall
do what we can in order to do as you have directed."
"You have my confidence Admiral, do your best, and take with you my hopes
and the prayers of all in The Federation."
"Thank you sir, McGinnis out."



all comments--both good and bad--to mattweed@edith.princeton.edu
-- 
"It may not be true, as Lincoln Supposed, that you can't fool all of the
people all of the time, but you can fool enough of them to rule a large
country."  Will and Ariel Durant: _The Lessons of History_ 1969. 
mattweed@edith.princeton.edu	MPA candidate/WWS:95, (609)258-8236

StarCarrier Part II:
By:
Matthew Weed, Comments to mattweed@edith.princeton.edu

Command Log: Star Date 60098.8: Admiral William McGinnis, Commanding Star
Ship Odysseus and associated attack group recording:

We are preparing to move against DS9, after having scanned Bajour from
a safe distance.  After having seen it, I can say, without doubt, that
the planet is not a place that I would wish to live.  The Jem'hadar have
nearly destroyed the Bajouran cities, some tens of millennia old.  The
loss to galactic culture is staggering, and the knowledge that other
planets are also suffering this same fate has enflamed hatreds in many in
my crew.  Fortunately, as I had expected, they have acted as a calming
influence, showing many how to channel their anger into useful work.
Within moments, we will have made a significant strike against The
Dominion's power in the Alpha quadrant, after having worked hard to get
ourselves into the position that we now occupy.  Hopefully those whom we
must rescue, and those whom we could not, can feel that their sacrifices
have contributed to our worthy cause.

<Star Date 60027.7>

Odysseus had functioned perfectly, and was now less than a day from the
current front in the war against The Dominion.  The ship had continued at
warp factor 17 <approximately warp 9.6 on the old scale> for several days
while the crew was trained to operational efficiency through the
nearly-continuous work of Walter Schultz's weapons department, and the
new super-realistic training simulation programs available on the great
ship's computer.  However even their complexity had barely forced the
computer to use more than one percent of its total capacity, and
McGinnis' disbelief at the capabilities of the system, and his hope for
what it might allow him to do, had grown hand in hand.

Command Log: Star Date 60027.8, William McGinnis, Admiral in Command of
USS Odysseus reporting:
We are now barely a day from the "front" between the Federation's forces
and the still-increasing strength of the Dominion, as represented by the
Jem'hadar.  I don't know why they didn't attack using this savage warrior
people four years ago, however their foolish mistake doubtless saved both
Ticonderoga, and Bajour from an early demise.  However, as this ship's
performance continues to exceed all expectations, my belief that we may
actually be able to act as a serious thorn in the Dominion's side
continues to grow.  The crew has performed flawlessly, and the weapons
tests are exceeding anything that any of the designers could have
expected, particularly in terms of accuracy and directability.  The
systems have also held up well under multiple ship assault simulations,
targeting and destroying far greater numbers of ships than we had hoped
possible.

McGinnis shut the log recorder off, and turned to watch the main viewer's
depiction of the stars rushing past the ship, as it swept forward.
However, before his contemplation could turn into some kind of
relaxation, the young lieutenant who sat at Ops during third watch called
for his attention.

"Admiral, we've got a signal coming in on low-band subspace."
"Put it up,"
"This is the trading vessel Mary Lee, calling all Star Fleet ships.  We
are under attack by Orion pirates, and need immediate assistance.  I
repeat we are under attack and are in need of ......."  McGinnis was
already turning toward the flight operations console, currently manned by
one of Arwein's Romulan subordinates.
"Lieutenant thaylahr, do you have any long-range squadrons on standby?"
"Of course, Sir we have squadrons four and seven of the long-range
command available for immediate launch on this watch."
"Excellent, Weapons, are there any other Star Fleet ships able to assist
them?"
"No, Sir." replied Walter Schultz who had just replaced the commander who
usually sat this watch for the Weapons department, as he would have been
in command of the bridge in a few moments, per the schedule that McGinnis
had set for the ship's three senior officers while they were crossing the
battle lines.
"Helm, do you have the coordinates yet?"
"Sir, they are now available on the main viewer," replied Lieutenant
T'lez from the Helm/Nav station."
"Very well, Helm, close to one light year, ... Small ships command, when
we reach that point,  launch long-range squadrons four and seven, in
supercloaking mode, and put all duty attack squadrons on notice for
immediate launch."
"Aye Sir," replied the two officers.

Moments later the great ship was closing on the small Federation
freighter and its smaller, but better armed opponent.  McGinnis was
watching the screen with interest, trying to decide how to handle the
situation.  Finally, his sense of drama overcoming any doubts that he
might have, he decided for the least straight-forward option.

"Helm, bring us into inverter range, ...Engineering, when we're there,
bring the Orion crew aboard."
Again, "Aye Sir" rang from two stations, one on the Bridge, the other in
MacLeod's engineering room, nearly a kilometer away.

Within a few moments, the great ship had closed to twenty thousand
kilometers, and the invert order had been sent.  Unfortunately for the
Orions, the Federation's inverters had not been built with even minimal
protection for matter-based life forms, as usually they were only used
for life forms that had already been converted into molecular form by the
transporter.  This meant that when they were brought aboard, their DNA
had been severely scrambled.

Meanwhile, McGinnis had raced from the Bridge to the ship's main
transportation facility, which was capable of either standard
transportation or transversion of more than 100 crew at a time.

The Orion crew were lying on the central pad, surrounded by a full
security team, all of whom were pointing their phaser rifles at various
members of the ten-man crew.  Fortunately, in McGinnis' opinion, no Orion
women were in the crew, although the transporter chief's first words
forced him to consider reevaluating his assessment.

"Sir, we've got these ten, there are another eight or nine life forms
aboard, all appear to be in a small space, either crew quarters, or
possibly ... holding cells."
"Very well, I want to talk with these people, have the Bridge notify the
Mary Lee that they are free to proceed toward the nearest star base, do
not tell them what ship has cleared the Orion threat."
"Understood," replied the young lieutenant as she relayed McGinnis'
orders to the Bridge.

McGinnis next duty was the questioning of the prisoners.
"I am Admiral William McGinnis, and you are aboard my current command.
You have been caught and charged with the commission of war-time piracy,
assault, attempted theft, attempted murder, attempted capture of a star
ship not your own, and other crimes.  I am capable of saving your lives,
however, if you wish me to do so, you had better tell me where your base
ship is.  If you do not, I will let you suffer until you either talk or
die."

As he had expected, none of them talked.
"Very well, transport them to the Brig, and put a security detail on it.
Should any of them choose to receive treatment, notify me immediately."
"Aye Sir," the lieutenant said after giving him a surprised glance.
After all, McGinnis treatment of the Orions went against most of the
treaties and laws for prisoner's rights that the Federation currently
enforced.

After they had been beamed to the brig, McGinnis turned to the
transporter operator, and set her mind at ease.
"Lieutenant, obviously we won't let them die, however, my reputation for
ruthlessness, particularly amongst those outside of Star Fleet, is far
greater than my capability for it.  I'm hoping that they'll talk before
they become too sick.  However, if it appears that they are close to
death, Sick bay will be notified, and they will be transported into stasus.

Her relief was quite obvious as she nodded her head in comprehension.

"However, we've got the other life forms aboard that ship to deal with,
bring them aboard via standard transporter, ... security, stand ready."

Moments later, McGinnis worst fears were realized when nine Orion slave
women stood in front of him, having been snatched from their display
cells by Odysseus' transporter.

"Are you our new owner?" asked one, the tallest, and apparently oldest as
well."
"No, I am Admiral William McGinnis, and you are now aboard a Federation
Star Fleet vessel.  You will be held here until we can decide where we
will put you ashore."
"Oh, is there ... anything that we can do for you in the mean time?" she
asked, the suggestiveness of her bearing increasing as she made the offer.

"No, and all of my crew have been ordered to keep their hands off of you
so long as you are aboard."

Their disappointment at this statement was saddening to McGinnis, who had
hoped to be able to deal with them while treating them, in some way, as
"equals".  Unfortunately, their cultural standards would make such
treatment nearly impossible.  Unfortunately, he hadn't the time to be
overly diplomatic with these people, and as they had no technical
training to speak of, he didn't see how they could possibly contribute
aboard ship.  Their only "contribution" would be the sexual satisfaction
of many of the male and female crew members, and this would be so
disruptive as to be totally unacceptable, and would also be abhorrant to
him personally.  Therefore, he would have to be quite creative, as he
didn't expect that their former owners would prove to be overly talkative.

"You will have limited movement about the vessel, but you must understand
that you will be accompanied by security forces at all times.  Should you
want to go anywhere, call security, and they'll send someone.  I will
assign you quarters until your final disposition is made."

"Yes sir," replied all of the women, their fear about their new situation
all-too-clear.  Unfortunately, there wouldn't be much that could be done
about this either.

"Lieutenant Commander, take these people to auxiliary housing in module
fourteen, and should they call for guides, send only Vulcan females."
"Yes Sir," replied the security team's commanding officer.

After the women were led out of the transporter center, McGinnis sighed,
wondering how in the hell he was supposed to deal with this particular
problem, considering the combined need for safety and debarkation of the
new passengers.  Obviously, some creativity would be necessary.

However, the first order of business was to find the Orion base, and ...
deal with it.

Moments later, McGinnis was walking through the starboard-forward bridge
access portal, some limited plans beginning to form in his mind.

"Flight Operations, launch all available ships in super-cloaking or
phase-cloaking modes as appropriate, and order all other squadrons to
full ready.  As soon as they're ready, launch them, and set them into a
search pattern which will cover the greatest amount of space as quickly
as possible, understanding that we're looking for a concealed base for
small ships that is probably no more than fifteen or twenty light years
distant.  When such a position is found, have the reporting ship return
to this location, rather than sending back a signal which may well be
intercepted."
"Understood, sir." replied Arwein, who had now taken over the Flight
operations console after the ship's change in alert status.

Twenty minutes later, Odysseus' invisible fleet was launched, and all
ships were hastening to scrutinize every cubic meter of space within a
twenty light year radius.  McGinnis had decided that the ship itself
would switch to standard cloaking mode, so that its limited emissions
could be used as a close-range beacon for the returning attack craft.
Meanwhile, other ships in the area would not know that the great ship was
there, unless they knew where to look, and were actively searching for a
cloaked vessel.

The search took nearly twenty hours, and when the flight of defense ships
that had found the large base had returned, McGinnis knew immediately
that the base had to be destroyed as quickly, and quietly as possible.
Fortunately, the ship had more than sufficient firepower to knock the
base out, and McGinnis thought that he would even be able to have a quick
look around for supplies that he might be able to use in his own
activities.

"Flight Operations, send out the low-band recall signal, and report when
all search craft are back aboard."
"Aye Sir," came Commander Arwein's reply.

The ships took nearly ten hours to return, and as soon as they had,
Odysseus was under way for the small class-M planet on which the Orion
base was located.

Three hours later, the big ship sat in orbit, while McGinnis and the
first-watch bridge crew did what they could to study the current activity
levels, the size of the base, and any other relevant information that
could be had.  They had already found the main communications array, the
weapons batteries, the docking portals, and a number of other points of
interest.  Flight Operations command was busy planning a strike that
would take out the communications, shielding and weapons systems, however
as a result of the risk of civilian casualties McGinnis had ordered them
to avoid striking at the central complex with anything more powerful than
their phasers.  If such action were necessary, the ship would be able to
use its enormously superior firepower to handle anything that the weapons
aboard the light craft could not take out.

"Sir, we've got the strike plan ready for your approval," reported Arwein
from her station.
"Very well, let's hear it.  Mr. Schultz, you may want to hear this,"
McGinnis said, drawing Walter Schultz' attention away from the scans that
he was taking of the base's offensive and defensive systems.
"Ready Sir," he replied, his attention moving to the main viewer.
"Sir, the main problem is handling the base's communications before they
can get a signal out to whatever other assets that they may have in the
region.  I suspect that this is their only base in the area, primarily as
a result of the long-standing control that the Federation has had over
this sector.  Therefore, I am reasonably sure that the greatest risk of
compromise to us comes from a long-range signal back to Orion itself.  We
have, therefore, decided to concentrate three squadrons of long-range
craft on both of the communications arrays, with smaller craft handling
the weapons batteries, and the ship's auxiliary weapons getting the
shields.  The ship will fire first, from this orbit, in our
currently-operational super-cloaking mode.  This will provide complete
surprise, and will allow us to destroy the  shields before they can be
raised.  The long-range craft will strike simultaneously, with the
smaller ships decloaking and striking two seconds later with all phasers
and micro torpedoes.  This will, according to our best calculations,
destroy all communications, offensive, and defensive systems, and will
make possible, the use of the main ring for suppression of anything that
escapes our first assault." said Arwein, clearly stating a plan that had
been worked out between the two arms of the ship's weaponry command
section.
"Mr. Schultz, do you have anything to add?"
"No Sir, the Commander's plan has my approval, and I am confident that we
will be able to handle anything that they may try."
"Very well, put all squadrons on attack stand-by, we will launch in
twenty minutes."

The time passed slowly, the tension level rising as the small clock in
the corner of the main view screen counted down the time to launch.
Finally the time came, and the hangar modules opened up, launching the
long-range craft, and a third of the shorter-range attack and defense
craft.  The other ships were cold-launched from the special hinged
platforms that had been built on to the great supports that connected the
main hull to the energy collimator ring, which were also used to clamp
the modular launching system onto the ship.  The pilots had had to crawl
down the narrow access passages, finally slipping through extremely
narrow slots that connected the ship's internal spaces to those of the
smaller craft.  When the launching platforms swung into position, these
slots were closed by the change in orientation of the working parts,
effectively sealing the ship against the vacuum of space.

The launching operation was nearly silent, and as the ships were all in
"enhanced" cloaking mode, or under phase-cloak in the case of the
long-range craft, the enormous activity occurring around the ship was
invisible, even to those manning the ship's sensors.  After four minutes
more, the deck officers notified the bridge that all ships had launched,
and that all had shown functional computer guidance locks when they had
departed.  This meant that in about thirty seconds, hell would break
loose on the planet below, all controlled by the ships' inertial guidance
systems.  If a failure in these systems occurred, the risk of casualties
amongst Odysseus' attack squadrons would increase exponentially.

"Twelve seconds to firing of auxiliary weapons," said Schultz quietly.

The atmosphere was, unlike that aboard Ticonderoga had always been, quiet
as the seconds counted down.  Schultz' voice, muted as it was, rang
loudly through the Bridge.

"Four, three, two, one, ... firing."

The entire attack was carried out while under cloak, and the Orion
defensive specialists never knew what hit them.  Even if they had known,
and been prepared, their defenses would never have withstood Odysseus'
firepower.  Particularly when that firepower was combined with that of
nearly a hundred and fifty smaller craft.

The shields fell, the communications arrays collapsed and the weapons
implacements melted before a hand could be raised.  The mighty ship then
turned, and dropped through the atmosphere, the luminescence cast by the
friction of its atmospheric entry the only sign of its passage.

"Ops, get me a short-range link to their command center, assuming that it
is still intact.  Identify the ship as USS Ticonderoga, with all of its
appropriate call signs and codes.  Mr. Schultz, you have the center seat."

McGinnis reasoning for the maneuver was simple.  He couldn't legitimately
destroy the base, and he couldn't identify the ship for what it was.
Therefore, a little trickery, followed by the destruction of the base by
a ship that was varifiably under repair nearly ten thousand light years
away, and they would leave.

Fortunately, Schultz was not surprised by this sudden "promotion", and
quickly assumed the center seat.

"Channel open," said Karen Thompson from her station.
"This is Captain Walter Schultz, commanding the United Star Ship
Ticonderoga.  This vessel recently intercepted a number of your people,
while they were engaged in an act of piracy against a
Federation-registered ship.  As you know, this is an act of war, for
which you shall pay ... dearly."
"Response coming in, audio-only,"
Schultz nodded, and the voice of the base's commander filtered in over a
noticeable amount of background static.

"We are innocent, and you are in violation of Orion space."
"That, Commander, is false, as you doubtless know, and as you also know,
my power as Star Fleet's senior representative in this sector of space
gives me the right to decide how to dispose of your base.  You know that
This time, the voice was less confident, showing the fear that the Orion
was feeling.
"In that case, I surrender this base to you as of this immediate star
date."
"Very well, my conditions are as follows:
1.  you leave the base immediately, taking no equipment of any kind with
you.
2.  You depart via transporter, in an operation to be controlled by crew
whom I shall beam in on the conclusion of these negotiations.
3.  You immediately free all slave women under your control, and give
them the opportunity to be transported to a Federation facility for a
period with a duration of no less than a standard year."
"Your conditions are reasonable, I accept," said the Orion commander, who
realized that he really had no choice in the matter, assuming that he
wanted to survive the day.
"Very well, you may expect boarding parties immediately."
The channel closed, and Schultz visibly relaxed.  Although he was in
charge, McGinnis had been sitting on the Bridge, watching every move, and
despite his own promotion to captaincy, he still respected the Admiral's
abilities far more than he had confidence in his own.
"Captain, security parties and pilots in standard armor are ready for
transportation in all transporter rooms," said McGinnis, who had assumed
"Send them down whenever you think its appropriate sir," replied the
younger man.
"They're on their way."

The pirates, as everyone had expected, didn't go down without a fight,
and only after fifty-three had been killed outright, did they allow
themselves to be beamed away from the base.  The women, as expected, had
immediately assumed that they had been captured by a new set of masters,
and had all thought that transportation to a Federation Star Base was
their only option.  However, three had sufficient education to realize
that this was not the case, and had been brought before McGinnis with an
unusual request.

"Admiral, I am raitheel, and I request protection from the Federation.
My companions, Maratha and Lundine also make this request."
"I see," replied McGinnis, damning his luck at having been cursed with
the one thing that might dangerously divert the ship from its appointed
task.  "I can grant such a request, however, this vessel is not under
direct orders from Star Fleet, making a diversion to a Star Base
difficult for reasons of Federation Military security.  I can, however,
offer you transportation to a near-by Federation colony whose
administrative staff can make the necessary arrangements."
"I don't care how, I just want to be free!" cried Lundine, who was the
only one of the nine original "passengers" who had requested the
protection of The Federation.
"We accept your kind offer," replied Raitheel, who had become the group's
spokeswoman.
"Very well, Raitheel, you know where your assigned quarters are, your
people may await beam-down there.
"Thank you," replied the green-skinned beauty, who, as a result of her
cultural training, ... < or so McGinnis hoped> enwrapped him in one of
the tightest, most sensual embraces that he had ever experienced.
"You are ... welcome," replied an unusually flustered  McGinnis.

After the three women departed, Schultz stepped into the conference room,
and announced that all of the base's inhabitants had been transported to
a distance safe enough for the ship to finish its work.
"Very well, are all attack craft secure?"
"Yes Sir, no damage, all are resecured in their landing positions."
"Very well, descend to five thousand meters, and bring the main ring on
line, absolute maximum energy broadcast capacity."
"Aye Sir," said Schultz as he turned toward the short corridor that would
lead him back to the bridge.

Soon thereafter, McGinnis followed him back to the bridge, and quickly
reassumed the center seat.
"Mr. Schultz, I relieve you of command, and  return you to your former
departmental responsibilities."
"Aye Sir," replied Schultz, the relief of returning to his "proper"
station on this ship quite evident.  "What is the target?"
"Central dome of the base, destroy it, then carve out the message that
I've just transmitted to your station in Orion characters, using the
auxiliary weapons.  Reset the ring and auxiliary collimators for a
cutting beam, I want a fifty meter shaft cut into the planet, deep enough
so that we'll be guaranteed to see volcanic activity."
"Aye Sir, main ring now discharging," replied Schultz, already working on
the next phase of the bombardment.

The blast was so powerful that it blinded the Orion commander as he
stared back at the location of his former command, which was nearly five
hundred kilometers away from the dry forest in which the damnable
Federation captain had left him.  It's power was so great, and the noise
from the blast so intense, that many crew in Odysseus' outer areas found
themselves putting their hands to their ears in order to shield them from
the sound, despite the ship's supposedly impenetrable dampening systems.

"Sir, we're beginning to leave the message," said Schultz, as the ship's
auxiliary particle phasers blasted chunks out of the planet.
"Very well, Helm, as soon as we've drilled the shaft, set course for
Bajour, warp factor 18, ... Mr. Schultz, engage the phase cloaking device
as soon as we've entered warp."
"Aye Sir," Schultz and Sobor acknowledged.

Forty-five seconds later, a fifty kilometer deep shaft had been drilled
into the planet, and a massive up thrust of molten rock and metal had
begun which, in three days, would ensure that all materiel that had been
used to construct the base would be buried under thousands of feet of
newly solidifying rock.

<Star Date 60069.4>
 bokmarke
After some thought,  on the matter, McGinnis had sent two of the three
Orion women back to Polaris Command aboard one of the ship's unmarked
run-abouts, together with a log of the events that had ultimately brought
them back to the Federation's most secret construction facility.
However, Raitheel who had had significant training in the sciences from
her former masters, chose to stay aboard and work in the ship's small
astrophysics lab.  She had quickly become a part of the crew, and despite
the problems that she had had in dealing with some of the other members
of the crew, some of whom were strongly affected by her pheromones, he
had already felt comfortable in giving her a promotion to acting ensign.
However, they were now deep in enemy territory, and she, never having
left the protection of her masters before, was frightened by the growing
tension and risk of combat.

"Admiral, I must tell you that I don't want to leave the ship, and know
that it is impossible in any case, but I am very frightened by what has
been happening to me lately." .... "In the last three weeks, I have been
rescued from continued slavery; have left all of my people behind to a
new life; I have been through two red alert situations, in which we had
to fight a number of Jem'hadar ships; and I have had to try to
consciously control my pheromones, particularly around the Andorians and
Earth people, who seem to be particularly affected by them."
"I am well aware of your problem, but this is a military ship, and you
knew the risks when you decided to stay.  Is there anything that I can do
to make things easier for you?"
"Yes, place me in a working situation dominated by the vulcans.  They
aren't affected by my pheromones and they may be able to teach me some
techniques for controlling my fear at this new situation."
"Very well, I think we can move you from your current lab to the
biophysics lab, but you must know that the lab is engaged in the
development of biological agents that will be used in an attempt to
control the "founders," or if not control ... terminate."
"I understand, the lab has a sign saying "general order 24," on the door
and I have read much about Star Fleet's regulations over the past few
days."
"Very well, then you understand that your work will be related to making
a general order 24 attack on the Founders' home planet a viable
possibility?"
"Yes,"
"Very well, then consider yourself transferred to the biophysics
department as of 0300 tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, sir." she said, and left the command briefing room located in
the forward section of the main hull, placed directly between  McGinnis
quarters, and the port outer bridge airlock.  As she departed, McGinnis,
who had not been in any kind of a relationship in the three and a half
years since his wife's death, could not quite avoid noticing how graceful
her movements were.  However, after a brief thought on the matter, he
gave himself a hard mental slap for such thoughts about a crew member,
particularly one who was in as tenuous an emotional state as was Raitheel.

Before his thoughts could move any further in this direction, a call came
in from Sobor at Helm/nav on The Bridge.

"Admiral, we have entered the Bajouran star system, and are beginning to
decelerate into planetary orbit.  We shall have orbital insertion in
thirty-seven seconds."

"Very well, I shall be there momentarily," replied McGinnis, as he rose
to make the short trip to the Bridge.

As soon as he entered, Schultz and T'sal began to make nearly
simultaneous reports.  Recognizing Schultz's superior rank, the science
officer deferred to him.

"Admiral, not surprisingly, there is a great deal of Jem'hadar activity
in the system.  They have, apparently, destroyed many of the Bajouran
cities, with the exception of production facilities and some
transportation systems.  Casualties appear to be in the hundreds of
millions.  There is, apparently, limited guerrilla resistance, if my
readings on small weapons fire and patterns of destruction are correct,
however, this is probably only a diversion insofar as the "founders", are
concerned.  The Jem'hadar have taken what remains of the DS9 station as a
base, and there are a large number of ships docked there.  I would think
that this would be the optimal point for any kind of attack in this
system."

"Thank you, captain.  Commander T'sal, your report?"
"Admiral, The long-range scans suggest a steadily decreasing
concentration of enemy activity which is directly proportional to
distance from this system.  There has been serious ecological damage to
Bajour, along with the notable damage to capital goods that Captain
Schultz has already detailed for you.  I should note, that there is a
great deal of telepathic and telekinetic activity in the system, however
my own skill limits my ability to report on location or strength of the
activity.  Lt.Commander T'sabel will doubtless be better able than I am
to report on these matters, as she has superior training, and superior
natural skill in most Psi functions."
"Thank you, Commander.  T'sabel, do you have any thoughts?"
"Admiral, as Commander T'sal stated, my training and ability are superior
to hers, however, the activity in this area is being caused by extremely
talented individuals, who might be able to derive our presence, or even
location, were I to make a concentrated effort.  Unless you order
otherwise, I would strongly suggest that any such attempt might do more
damage to our effort than it would aid us at this time."
"Very well, I accept your suggestion, and will act accordingly for now.
However, be ready to make such an effort at any time."

The android/Vulcan nodded in acknowledgment of the order.

McGinnis turned back to T'sal, preparing to give her the orders necessary
to begin the work of mapping out the locations of the various Jem'hadar
bases on Bajour.  However, before he could open his mouth to make the
order, Captain Schultz signaled for his attention.

"Sir, I have a Jem'hadar ship decelerating from warp, and closing on our
position from port-side aft, velocity is one quarter impulse.  They
haven't found us yet."
"Very well, all crew should go to silent running conditions immediately,
maintain the super-cloaking protocol, and ... wait."

McGinnis was slightly surprised by this turn of events.  Although many
Jem'hadar ships were in the area, it appeared that this one was one of
the many "hounds" that had been tracking Odysseus along its swath of
destruction for the past few days.

After dropping their Orion charges off, they had broken through the
"front" at a reasonably quiet spot, and then McGinnis had launched all of
the long-range craft, with orders to blast anything that they could, as
long as they were at the worm hole by Star date 60100.0.  From what he
knew of their operations, they had destroyed a number of old Federation
bases, using their ability to fire while super-cloaked to destroy the
positions before they could raise their shields.  They had destroyed one
or two Jem'hadar ships, with only minimal damage to themselves, however
their activities had begun to draw a good deal of attention.  For this
reason, they were only a few days away, hoping to draw most of their
attackers into the same trap that Odysseus had been working to build.

McGinnis had taken Odysseus on a parabolic sweep up and across through a
rather crowded sector of what had been Federation territory.  The ship,
with the benefit of far greater technology and firepower than its smaller
craft had, had blasted a number of core bases, and had also attacked a
number of ground positions, showing absolutely no mercy to those who now
occupied them.  Even the Jem'hadar had found the Veron-T fire directed at
them from an unseen attacker somewhat daunting, and the "Founders", had
obviously decided that such attacks were unacceptable in the extreme.

Although against Federation law, McGinnis didn't think that his use of
the ship's ability to use its main weapons as veron-T disrupters would be
challenged if the Dominion were forced to withdraw.  If not, it would
mean that his mission had failed, and that he, along with his crew, would
be dead.  Therefore, the attacks continued, and the number of resources
that the Dominion's commanding personnel were devoting to Find this new
attacker grew by the hour.  This, fortunately, meant that the number of
resources that they could commit to pushing further into Federation space
had to be decreased.  This alone, had resulted in a temporary hiatus in
the nearly two-year-long retreat on which Star Fleet had been set at the
moment that Dominion forces had crossed the wormhole and taken Bajour.

Now, Odysseus was in orbit of the planet, and nearly fifty Jem'hadar war
ships were closing from the direction of Federation space, while nearly
that many more were scattered throughout the Bajouran system, hoping to
keep the alien craft from crossing into Dominion territory.  McGinnis had
no intention of allowing them to stop the great ship, and every intention
of ensuring that most of them wouldn't get to fight another day.

*       *       *

"Science, what is the status of that ship on our aft-port quarter?"
"Admiral, the vessel is hanging at fifty thousand kilometers, and
continues to make intensive scans of planetary orbital space."
"Very well, let's give The "founders" another mystery. ... Weapons, bring
the mediator on line, and set it for high intensity particle blast.
Engage inverter mode, and lock on the enemy vessel's reactor core."
"Sir, mediator is available, and in inverter mode, and the main ring is
charged for a full-spectrum particle blast."
"Fire!"

In McGinnis' opinion, the added range that the new dilithium mediator
gave Odysseus' weapons was a nice feature.  However, the truly priceless
feature of the system was its ability to invert any form of energy over a
range of 100,000 kilometers, effectively allowing the ship to avoid being
seen, while also giving it the ability to defeat any shielding that did
not have anti-inversion capabilities.  Since no technology known to the
Federation could do this, the mediator made Odysseus nearly invincible.
However, no other ship could support such a weapons system, as it
required enormous amounts of energy to be effective.  As it was in this
case.

The blast traversed subspace, and reappeared just behind the seat of the
Jem'hadar pilot.  He, of course, never noticed it, as the heat from the
bolt was so intense that he was instantaneously mummified, only
microseconds before the now-defunct reactor shielding gave way, allowing
the ship's energy systems to overload in a violent blast of energy bright
enough to be seen on the planetary surface, nearly forty thousand
kilometers below.

Not surprisingly, activity in the system began to swing up sharply.
However, the combination of the ship's supercloaking mode, which depended
on the computers to shut down all systems that might emit particles of
any kind, and a silent running protocol that pulled crew away from the
outer areas of the ship, ensuring that these didn't need heating,
lighting, or other particle-generating maintenance, kept it hidden from
the increasingly intense Jem'hadar scans.

While the ship remained hidden, the first squadrons of long-range attack
craft entered the system, followed by their own pack of hunters.
Unfortunately for these smaller craft, their limited technology, and the
need for haste in order to get to Odysseus before they were caught in an
untenable position, conspired to make their trail moderately easy to
follow.  Therefore, even though the small ships couldn't be found
themselves, their trail was easy to follow, and  the Jem'hadar had
managed to take a couple of lucky shots which had disabled one craft.
However, as per plan, its pilot had been beamed aboard another craft, and
the ship had blown up, destroying the Jem'hadar craft which had been
unfortunate enough to have been ordered to study the Federation craft
more closely.

Of course, McGinnis, who could not use active sensors, and who had no
communications, did not know of these losses, and could have had no idea
that the rendezvous schedule had been pushed forward by the squadron
commanders.  However, when T'sal notified him about the passive scanners'
reports of heightened activity along the most likely path of entry for
the long-range squadrons, McGinnis realized that it was quite possible
that the increased activity resulted from the approach of some large
portion of the fleet of long-range attack craft.  if this was the case,
he had to make it possible for them to find safety aboard Odysseus.


<Stardate 60083.5>
"Commander T'sabel, have the computer work on a way of setting up a
locator beacon that could be found by the attack craft, if they are in
the system.  Since we must assume that they may have been hiding in the
asteroid belt for several days, we may be able to move there in order to
facilitate retrieval, and to shorten the range over which your beacon
works.  However, you must assume that the belt is loaded with passive
sensors, so be careful about assuming that there'll be a chance to do a
lot of active communications work."

"Aye Sir," replied T'Tsabel, who immediately turned to her board in order
to begin to develop a plan.

Within moments, Walter Schultz and Thale stood around her station,
helping to refine a rather complex strategy.  The work took several
minutes, and when they were finally done, Thale looked rather unhappy
with what had been decided.

"Sir, we have a plan, however, I don't like doing things this way," said
Thale, who was obviously spokesman for the group.
"Well, let me hear it in any case," replied McGinnis.

"Sir, if we fire a torpedo at almost any point, we should be able to draw
their attention to the explosion.  If we do this, their attention should
be diverted just long enough to get us the time necessary to send a short
high-powered signal to anything out there that is listening on our
command frequency.  We might, for instance, tell the fleet to engage
phase cloaking, which would then allow us to simply scan for and find any
phased ships, and then get close enough so that we could almost certainly
give them docking instructions on frequencies whose ranges are short
enough to allow us practical surety that it would be impossible for the
Jem'hadar to pick up the transmissions.  However, if we fire the torpedo,
it will be very easy for the Jem'hadar to follow its track, and find the
ship."
"What about transverting it?"
"We thought of that, and although it would decrease the chances to some
degree, we couldn't use our plasma torpedoes, as they are not capable of
withstanding transversion.  That would leave us with an antimatter
blast.  As you know, our antimatter torpedoes have much smaller yields
than do the plasma torpedoes.  The smaller blast may not be as effective
for getting their attention."

"I am aware of the problem, so what is your suggestion?"
"Sir, simply put, we trade a more noticeable explosion for some added
safety margin for the ship.  I think that in this case, we might be best
served by firing the torpedo from a position close enough to the wormhole
to ensure that it would detonate just short of the mouth.  If we do this,
it will significantly increase the force of the explosion, and will also
directly threaten their facility on DS9.  Hopefully, this will be enough
to get their attention, and allow us to transmit the orders, and move,
before they can discover our location.  I would, however, suggest that we
should be ready to engage phase cloaking on a moment's notice, as the
phase should protect us from their weapons, even if they do find out
where we are."
"Captain, we have been working for nearly three weeks to get into this
position without being seen.  I have no intention of allowing this ship
to loose the advantage of stealth now.  Any use of the phase-cloak on the
scale necessary to protect this vessel, would let everyone from Bajour to
the front know exactly where we are, and would also make it difficult for
us to keep the advantage of utter stealth, as phase cloaking is much
easier to track, if not defeat, than is the supercloaking mode.  You need
to find a way to ensure that we aren't seen until I'm ready for us to
show ourselves."

Under these rather unbending orders, the three officers were forced to
return to their planning, in hopes of finding a way around the problem.
McGinnis was confident in his staff, and the speed with which they
developed a new proposal was yet another reason for that trust.

"Sir, we could launch one of the attack craft--of the attack type-- which
could fire its payload of ordnance into random deep space, at a
predetermined time.  This would put the launch point far from the ship,
and would only risk the compromise of one of the attack craft.  However,
we would probably loose the pilot, as there wouldn't be a way to
guarantee transport from the ship before it was found by the Jem'hadar,"
said Thale.

"Sir, we can ensure pilot safety by using the superior computing power
aboard the attack-type craft, as there is sufficient processor capability
there to handle supercloaking mode, weapons, and navigation, as long as
life support can be ignored," said T'sabel from her position.

"Very well, what is the risk of the launch being picked up on enemy scans?"
"Minimal," said Schultz before either Arwein or Thale could respond.
"The cloaking systems can be synchronized, and the craft can be launched
from one of the modular sections, rather than the auxiliary launching
platforms.  That will give us the ability to make adjustments up to the
last moment before launch."

"Yes Sir, only two, both of which had to be repaired after we took out
the last base before we came here," replied Arwein from her station.
"Fine, you may execute when ready."

The modifications took nearly an hour, and as the time passed, the
occasional flashes of combat in the asteroid belt reminded everyone that
there was a strong chance that the long-range craft were out there,
hiding and fighting as best they could.  Finally, Thale returned to The
Bridge, and hastened toward McGinnis' chair.

"Your report," McGinnis said, the tension of the moment leaving his voice
slightly subdued.
"We've just launched the ship, it will proceed to thirty million
kilometers off our starboard bow, and fire its torpedoes into the
wormhole's event horizon.  The blast should be magnified by a factor of
three or four, making for a yield of approximately 600 megatons.  Our
firing time is set for ..." he looked down at his chronometer, and then
back at McGinnis "... about six minutes fifteen seconds."
"Ops, synch your broadcast with Mr. Thale's mark, and broadcast at full
power on all frequencies at the appropriate time."
"Aye Sir, I've also set the computer to broadcast as soon as it picks up
the energy surge from the blast, so we'll have a good cross check, in
case something happens to the attack ship in the intervening time, which
results in a delay."
"Very well," said McGinnis.

After what seemed hours to most of the bridge crew, Schultz' voice began
to count down the final seconds before the attack ship fired its missiles
into the wormhole's event horizon.

"Three ... two ... one ...."  With this, there was a brilliant flash,
followed almost immediately by a number of view screen-enhanced flashes
as the Jem'hadar tried to hit the small ship which had just unloaded
nearly 200 megatons worth of explosives into the wormhole.  At the same
moment, Odysseus sent out an extremely powerful subspace pulse which
carried a very brief message.

"Engage phase cloaking systems immediately, you shall be retrieved where
you are.........."

Immediately thereafter, the ship moved as quickly as possible in order to
avoid the Jem'hadar ships that would certainly be attracted by the signal.

"Sir, now at one quarter impulse, I believe that any further acceleration
will seriously degrade the effectiveness of the super cloak," said Sobor
from his station.
"I tend to agree," said Schultz who had been watching the ship's particle
emissions as they had accelerated.  "We could accelerate further, but the
continuing emissions will allow the Jem'hadar to track our progress."

"Sir, it may be possible to allow the computer to handle all of the
ship's key operations at a much higher percentage of the speed of light,
while we coast across the system after a burst of acceleration followed
by a total shut down of the impulse drive," said T'sabel from her station.

"That would be extremely dangerous!" said Thale rising from his station.
"I disagree, Captain, as yet, the computer has been required to use only
three percent of its total operational capacity, and that was under full
battle conditions, while trying to launch and retrieve attack craft,"
said T'sabel.
"That may be so, but if the ship has to defend itself while we're at a
high fraction of "C" with no ability to act on her behalf, its automatic
programming, though much better than that aboard the Ticonderoga-class
vessels, won't be able to handle the Jem'hadar."
"True, but if we are running without engine power, and with only minimal
navigational shields, our particle emissions will be extremely limited,
and we should be able to go unseen even at nearly .9C," said Lt.Commander
Thompson.
"I agree,"  was T'sal's evaluation of this statement.
"T'sabel, can you write an emergency catch that will bring the ship to a
halt, should it be fired upon?"
"Yes, such a program will be possible."
"Very well, do so, and then work the optimal course out with the helm."

"Aye Sir," replied the three Vulcans.
Moments later, Sobor moved to give his report.
"Admiral, we are ready to commence the acceleration, the computer will
control all phases of the maneuver."
"Very well, you may proceed."

Moments after the maneuver had commenced, McGinnis noticed, with some
shock, the enormous apparent acceleration that the ship went through.  He
soon realized, however, that this was an effect of the temporal
distortion into which they had thrown themselves, and he realized that he
would need to divert his attention from the screen if he were to avoid
severe disorientation when the computer brought the ship to a halt,
nearly a billion kilometers--and three hours-- from whence it had
started.  Instead of watching the screen, as most of his crew did,
McGinnis reflected over the last communiqus that Odysseus had received
from Star Fleet, before the great fleet transceivers had fallen too far
behind the ship to be effective.

The foremost of these communiqus was the notice that Jean-Luc Picard,
whose Enterprise had been retrieved from Borg space, with all crew
intact, nearly three years ago, had had his second new command blasted
out from under him in the last six months.  Although he was a galactic
hero, largely as a result of Alexandra Stephenson's active public
relations effort, McGinnis could honestly say that he had never been as
worshipful of the man as most of his colleagues.  After all, the shadow
of the only man ever to be commissioned Admiral *three* times--if you
included the bestowment of the rank upon Kirk's death--still hung over
Star Fleet.  McGinnis wondered what Kirk would have done against the
Borg, The Ferengi, the Dominion .... ruefully, he realized that Kirk
would probably have done better than he had.  Of course, he smiled to
himself, Kirk would probably have handled the Borg in about five minutes,
rather than five days, like Picard.  Further, his job would have been so
thorough that it would have prevented any need for the kind of invasion
that McGinnis himself had been forced to lead.  Of course, Picard didn't
deserve all of the blame for the enormous variance in quality between his
crew, and that which Kirk had commanded.

His first officer William Riker, had proven to be a highly competent
officer, with a far better balance of tactical and diplomatic skill than
Picard had.  The "Picard maneuver", was Riker's captain's only claim to
tactical fame, while Kirk, on the other hand, had pulled more rabbits out
of his proverbial hat than had any other commander in history, save Garth
of Izar.  However, Picard's military weakness had been balanced by
Riker's nearly Kirk-like skills and creativity.  Between them, they had
run a reasonably good show, but now that Picard had lost Riker to a
command of his own, Star Fleet was beginning to realize what a fluke the
famous "Picard maneuver" had been.

However, even with Riker's skill, comparison between him and Ambassador
Spock was downright unfair to him.  Spock, who had managed, nearly single
handedly to prosecute the peace with the Klingons to a successful, if
half-century delayed, conclusion, who had proven his military and
diplomatic skills as Kirk's first officer, and who was now, despite
serious difficulties resulting from the instability that had arisen as a
result of the War, building a major pro-peace faction on the Romulan home
world.  McGinnis doubted that anyone would match Spock's accomplishments,
and it would be unfair to Riker to expect him to do so.  However, Riker
was the only senior officer aboard Enterprise, save Data, who deserved
much respect in McGinnis' opinion.

Certainly, that idiot engineer, ... LaForge wasn't it;? didn't deserve
any respect. ... the only man who was less creative about repairing his
ship, whom McGinnis had ever met, was a Packled who had been rather easy
to ...negotiate with, once he realized that McGinnis wouldn't stand for
any of his ... act.  Kirk unquestionably had an advantage in engineering,
Montgommery Scott was still one of the most brilliant repair people in
known space, and had been a central part of McGinnis' own construction
team for Odysseus.  Then there was Dr. McCoy.

McCoy, the only one of the original Enterprise's crew to achieve the rank
of Admiral, and hold it until death.  Comparing him with that whiner
Crusher was ... impossible, considering his superiority, both as surgeon,
and officer.  After all, McCoy hadn't demanded that unusual risks be
taken in order to try to rescue any single person, other than Kirk
himself, and that was his duty. ... Although McGinnis had to remind
himself that it had been Picard's error to listen to her, rather than
finding another, better diplomatic solution to the problem.  Kirk had to
be envied for a CMO who knew when to stand up to his captain, and when to
keep his opinion to himself, where command decisions were concerned.  The
Admiral smiled to himself, realizing that he wished that he had had such
a CMO himself.  The other thing that engendered McGinnis' unfailing
respect for the man, was that McCoy had done the job of surgeon, and had
been ship's  counselor at the same time, and had always served up better
advice than that Troi woman.  How she had become an ambassador was a
bloody mystery to him.  The famous "Captain, I sense hostility," comment
which she had made while *under* enemy fire, had been the stuff of legend
at Star Fleet Defense Command for years.

In fact, as he thought about it, the only "legendary" officer--who was
deserving of the respect which he received--to serve aboard Enterprise
had been Data, the android who was now a professor at Oxford.  A truly
fine being he was, both intellectually and personally.  He had proven his
loyalty and skill during the Borg campaign, and his advice during those
times had proven an excellent, and well-reasoned counterweight to Schultz
more fiery viewpoints.  Of all of the crew who had left Ticonderoga after
that campaign had ended, McGinnis had felt the loss of his excellent aid
and unmatched skill most.  McGinnis suspected that Picard might have felt
the same way about Worf, who was now an important leader in the
reconstituted Klingon Imperial Council.  Fortunately, McGinnis thought,
if the Federation survived these trials, most of the Enterprise-D's
command staff would not be serving it from within Star Fleet.  Picard's
disease, Worf's return to the Klingon Empire, and Data's move to civilian
life would--fortunately--guarantee this at least.  The only sad thing was
that Troi and Crusher had remained in Federation service, while Worf and
Data had left, but such misfortunes were to be expected in any large,
tractable bureaucracy like Star Fleet.

McGinnis' reverie was cut short as the ship slammed out of its coast, and
began to use its impulse engines to both navigate, and bring the crew
back from its time-dilated fugue.

"Admiral, we are now five million kilometers from the system's asteroid
belt, and have forty-seven phased objects on scan.  I believe, that none
of them has been picked up by the Jem'hadar, as they don't know what to
look for as yet," said Sobor.
"Very well, set course for the largest concentration of phased objects,
and coordinate recovery operations with Commander Arwein and the first
officer."
"Aye Sir," replied the young Vulcan lieutenant as he turned back to his
console.

*       *       *
The retrieval operation had gone well, as the ship moved from squadron to
squadron, retrieving ships as quickly and quietly as possible.  After the
fifty-third ship had been brought aboard, there were only four left to
go.  McGinnis couldn't believe their luck.  They had been forced to use
standard hailing frequencies to direct the ships aboard, as the
high-frequency channels that would have allowed the greatest security,
were jammed by the ship's phase cloaking systems.  Fortunately, the
signals had been weak enough that none of the Jem'hadar ships in the area
had been able to get anything more than a blip on their communications
frequency scans, and had, therefore, not chosen to investigate in force
The greatest problem had been the occasional need for the ship to retrace
part of its course, as new ships entered the system, and engaged their
phase cloaking devices according to the orders that they had been able to
receive from outside the system.

The few ships that had checked the situation out, were carefully avoided,
or were too late to find anything of value to them.

However, with retrieval number fifty-four, everything went wrong.

"Sir, we're approaching long-range craft number sixty, Tharl is standing
by as ordered," said Arwein, who was now coordinating helm and retrieval
operations.
"Very well, Standard procedure," said McGinnis, who was both bored with
the repetitiveness of the operation, and tired from the stress of having
to remain continually alert in case something went wrong.

"Standard procedure, ... aye," replied the commander.

Unfortunately, instead of waiting to pass Odysseus' cloaking horizon, the
lieutenant who was piloting long-range craft sixty shut his
phase-cloaking device off before he was able to move into the larger
ship's protective invisibility barrier.  Realistically, the fact that
this had not happened earlier was a miracle, considering their need to
remain hidden from the Jem'hadar scanners.  Unfortunately, this also
meant that Odysseus couldn't be scanned by the ships that it was trying
to retrieve, until they had come within its cloaking field, and
therefore, their assigned landing bay.  Three ships had been forced to
try to dock twice, as a result of having missed their assigned  landing
bays, and having almost dephased and become a permanent addition to the
larger ship's superstructure.  Unfortunately, lieutenant Tharl had been
more concerned about this possibility than the risk of being seen by the
enemy.

Therefore, when the largish attack ship became visible, nearly fifteen of
the Dominion's ships quickly found it on their scanners, and moved
quickly to deal with the threat.  McGinnis' murmured curse of
frustration was drowned out by the ship's red alert klaxons, and Schultz
and Arwein's reports that Tharl's ship had taken fire, and would soon be
dead in space.

"Damn!" said McGinnis.  "We can't rescue him, and we can't retrieve him
with a tractor beam under these conditions.  If he can't recloak, tell
him to self-destruct, and beam him aboard just before his ship goes."

Unfortunately, before the order could even be transmitted, T'sal reported
that Tharl had been beamed off of his ship by one of the larger Jem'hadar
craft, and that the attack craft itself had been taken under tow by one
of the Jem'hadar ships.
"I see," McGinnis said, cursing the speed at which the damnable clones
worked.  "Engage the Dilithium mediator, and destroy that ship using some
kind of charge that will give us a chance of making it look like a
self-destruct."
"Aye Sir," said Schultz, who was already querying the computer as to the
best method of doing so.
"Admiral, the Jem'hadar are taking the lieutenant to the DS9 facility, I
believe that they will try to interrogate him there rather than taking
him to the Gamma Quadrant.
"Good, then we may be able to rescue him before they get much from him.
The remaining attack craft should go to the Gamma Quadrant directly,
rather than being retrieved.  Leave off a relay beacon with a ten minute
delay, telling them to do so, and with a self-destruct which will kick in
two seconds after the broadcast.  Make the message short, and set it in
Odysseus command code four."
"Aye Sir," said Karen Thompson who was less heavily occupied than any
other officer on The Bridge at that moment.

"Helm, follow that Jem'hadar ship as closely as possible, and as soon as
they've finished their docking procedure, put us as close to the station
as possible.
"Aye Sir, we are proceeding at 3/4 impulse velocity, and shall arrive at
station DS9 in approximately four minutes, thirty-six seconds.

"Admiral, the remaining ships have received the signal, and are beginning
to move toward the wormhole's entrance, using the asteroid belt as
cover.  Apparently, the Jem'hadar have realized that the phase signature
is some form of cloaking device, and have sent ships to stop their
passage," said T'sal from her station.
"They won't be able to, unless their weapons have capabilities that are
beyond those attributed to them by Star Fleet Command," said Schultz.
"Its always possible," said Arwein, showing some of the fatalistic
attitude for which Romulans were famous.
"Possible, but not likely," said McGinnis, a new plan forming in his mind
as he spoke.  "However, I want to capture one of those ships before we
destroy DS9," he said.
"Destroy it?" Schultz asked, clearly surprised by this twist.
"Yes, when we've retrieved Tharl, we can't let the Dominion know anything
that he might have told the Jem'hadar while in transit."
"Sir, I think that it is very unlikely that there is much risk of
information leakage at this stage, as there is no representative of the
"founder" race aboard the craft on which the lieutenant is currently
located," said T'sal.
"Little risk is still far too great a risk in this case," replied McGinnis.
"Very well, sir." said T'sabel from her station to T'sal's left.  "...I
suggest that it would be most logical for me to perform the operation, as
I am both physically and mentally stronger than any other crew member."
Even under normal circumstances, McGinnis would have been willing to
concede the point.  However, with a fully mechanical body, combined with
a fully transferred Vulcan intelligence and psyche, McGinnis didn't even
think to argue the point.  However, just because T'sabel was perfect for
the job, did not mean that she was the right person to do it.
"Lt.Commander, I should remind you that you are the only example of the
combination of mechanical ability with humanoid mental functions.  If the
"Founders" were to discover your abilities, they would be able to learn
the technology, and would have the capability to make soldiers who were
both enormously strong, and intellectually flexible."
"This is possible, sir.  However, Some of the transferrance must be done
by a vulcan adept, and it is also the case that I have a some
capabilities of which even you are unaware.  I believe that these
capabilities will allow me to escape, no matter what the difficulties
posed by enemy forces may be."

"Lt.Commander, I would really appreciate it if you would tell me about
these capabilities, and I understand all-too-well, what I'm asking you to
do."
"Sir, as some of these capabilities have been either written, or hard
wired into the ship's computer systems, and the crystal that sits in
your chair arm, I believe that discussion of my capabilities would be
imprudent at this time."
"Very well, however, I think that it is unlikely that the upper command
staff will be captured, which would make it safe for you to tell me about
your abilities."
"Your concern is noted, sir, and, in preparation for this eventuality, I
have left you a detailed set of descriptions of all of my technology in a
frozen computer folder.  However, should the ship suffer any noticeable
damage, the information will be come instantly available to you."
"Thank you for your forethought in the matter," said McGinnis a frown
spreading across his features.  "...However, as you appear to be the best
person for the job, you are welcomed to attempt to steal a Jem'hadar
ship.  Instead of meeting us on this side of the wormhole, you will be
recovered in Gamma quadrant space."
"Understood, sir," she said, and left the Bridge.

McGinnis attention had been focused on the activities in the aft portion
of the command center, and so when Walter Schultz' order to fire,
followed by a brilliant flash on the main view screen, was given, he was
more than a little surprised.  However, before he could question what had
just happened, Schultz reported on his activities.

"Sir, we have destroyed long-range attack ship number sixty, I believe
that there is almost no chance that its destruction will be taken as
anything but a sudden loss of containment resulting from a self-destruct
sequence.  It'll make the Jem'hadar a bit more unhappy, but as we have
already noted, Tharl will probably not be interrogated until he has been
brought to the DS9 facility."
"Good, at least that loose end is beginning to be tied up," said
McGinnis.  "... time to DS9 proximal location."
"Approximately fifty-five seconds," replied Sobor, whose attention was
already focusing on avoiding the increasing numbers of ships moving about
near the station, which had clearly been taken over as the central basing
facility for the "founders" in this section of the quadrant.

Moments later, Sobor reported that the ship that they had been following
had docked, and that Tharl had been taken toward the station's central
core.

"Very well, stand by."

After having made a hasty log entry, McGinnis returned his attention to
the ship's current situation.  Tharl had been taken to a security cell,
and a number of life forms characteristic of the "founder" typology were
moving toward his location.  As he saw it, it was now or never.

"Weapons, engage the Dilithium mediator, bring the ring to full power,
standard phaser settings, with discharge to be mediated through
subspace.  Your target is the base's central power core.  Meanwhile, fire
all auxiliary photon launchers and phaser batteries, as well as any of
the mode-selected sections of the auxiliary phaser collimators at all
Jem'hadar ships that won't be caught in the direct effects of the
explosion.  ... Helm, set course for the wormhole, full impulse, ...
Operations, beam Lieutenant Tharl aboard on my fire command to weapons."
"Aye Sir," said Sobor, whose task was comparatively simple.

Moments later, Schultz reported that all was in readiness, and that the
ship was being forced to depend on all in-board energy production systems
to maintain the supercloaking mode, and use the majority of its weapons.
For this ship, at least, this was a first.

"Very well, .... You may fire when ready," said McGinnis, not knowing
that he had exactly quoted a character from a late Twentieth-Century
movie on Earth, called Star Wars.

"Firing now!" replied Schultz.

"Sir, we have Lieutenant Tharl aboard," came Karen Thompson's report, at
the exact same time.

McGinnis could respond to neither report, as the flash of DS9's final
destruction was incredibly bright, as it had some of the most powerful
fusion reactors in Star Fleet, after the upgrades that had been made to
the station shortly after the first attempt by The Dominion to move
against Federation space.  The secondary explosions of the smaller
Jem'hadar ships, both those caught in the main blast, or in Odysseus'
secondary strikes, added to the enormous pyrotechnic display.  However,
those aboard Odysseus had no time for gawking at the destruction that
they had caused, as the ship had to slip away through the wormhole first,
before a count of enemy casualties could be made from the ship's sensor
log.  Therefore, when the ship entered the wormhole, causing the biggest
neutrino flux that it had ever given off, no one could say for sure how
much damage had been done, and more importantly, whether it would be
enough to bring about a change in The Dominion's attitude toward its
invasion of the Alpha Quadrant. ...  Only time would tell.

Comments to mattweed@edith.princeton.edu
