| The Cleansing |
| By: William Christopher | HOME
| Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Those We Leave Behind Deep Space Nine was at one time nothing more than an orbital mining facility. A home to the Bajorian slaves and their masters the Cardassian’s. Now, it represented the very essence of what it was to be a Bajorian. DS9 sat in the night sky above Bajor, near the Home of the Prophets, like some gigantic crown jewel of the Bajorian people. The station had been moved out of its orbit from around Bajor to its current location some sixteen years before during the Cardassian withdraw from Bajor. It had been moved in order to protect what Star Fleet called the wormhole, but what the Bajorians knew as the home of the Prophets. And indeed it was home to something. Beings that had no sense of what it was to live in a corporal existence, as they themselves were not limited by our concept of time and space. When the Emissary came, it was not the begging, the end, or anything; it was simply the fulfillment of the prophecies. Benjamin Sisko had recently suffered the shattering lose of his wife to the Borg at Wolf 359, and had just completed his tour of duty at the Utopia Planitia Shipyards on Mars, when the Bajorian assignment was offered to him. A chance to get away was exactly what Sisko, then a Commander in Star Fleet, needed and most seriously wanted. A chance to focus on something new, something different, anything that would help him to forget what he had lost. Sisko was a no bull kind of a guy with the attitude that spoke “I am in command.” He had considered the posting to this remote part of the quadrant a blessing in many ways. He wanted to get away from the main stream of Star Fleet Command and this assignment was his ticket. At the time he accepted the posting to Deep Space Nine, it had only been Deep Space Nine for about a week. The sudden withdraw of the Cardassian’s marked the end of an era of occupation for the Bajorian people, and they sincerely wanted to keep it that way. Sisko had understood that the assignment was not without its risks, but safe enough, in theory that he could bring his 14-year-old son Jake with him. Yet another reason to take this assignment Sisko had thought in those early days of his posting. However Star Fleets theory had proved to be most in accurate, for within days of his posting to DS9 a wormhole was discovered and all hell broke loose. He and his Science Officer, a Trill and long time friend, Jadzia Dax entered this wormhole and marked the dawning of a new era for Bajor and for the Alpha Quadrant. By being the first to enter the home of the Prophets, Sisko had earned the distinguished honor of becoming the Bajorian Emissary. The ancient prophecies had been fulfilled. And indeed they had been. For it was the Prophets themselves who engineered Sisko’s very life, a life that would ultimately bring about his death, and transport him beyond time and space to the realm of the Prophets and back to the land of the living. The wormhole opened up the Gamma Quadrant for exploration and exploitation and in those early days no one had a clue that soon all would be in terrible jeopardy. Within 3 years it had been discovered that an empire, that pre-dated the oldest in Alpha Quadrant, was alive and well in the Gamma Quadrant. The Dominion was a ruthless empire lead by a civilization of beings known as the Founders. These beings were considered Gods to the rest of the Dominion. These Founders, fearful of being ousted by the races that were flooding through the wormhole from the Alpha Quadrant, had decided that war was the only option. The Dominion war brought with it two years of death and destruction that ultimately changed the very fabric of the Alpha Quadrant forever. The Cardassian’s were a broken and destitute people, The Breen sanctioned with many of their leaders imprisoned, and the Dominion’s Alpha Quadrant Fleet, with nearly a million and a half Jem’Hadar, stranded in the Alpha Quadrant with no where to go and no place to call home. The Federation and its allies ultimately defeated the Dominion and ushered in a new era of peace and prosperity the likes of which the Quadrant had not seen before. Sisko’s fait, however, was not to be that of a normal Star Fleet officer but that of a savior of an entire world. Sisko was created to fight the evil that threatened Bajor, and he did. He saved Bajor from a fait worse than death on the very eve of victory over the Dominion. For that his life was sacrificed and he was called home to heavens above Bajor. The Official account of Captain Benjamin Sisko’s disappearance was listed as Missing in Action. But when he returned, his official records were amended to say Away on Active Assignment as an Ambassador of the Federation. The day Captain, “Emissary” Benjamin Sisko returned to Bajor was a day, and ultimately a month, of celebrations throughout Bajor. When asked what he had been doing, Sisko could only say that he could not remember. One thing is for certain, upon his return, Star Fleet affirmed his permanent assignment to Bajor and offered him the rank of Admiral. Sisko declined the promotion for reasons unknown, but was happy to be assigned to Bajor for the remainder of his Star Fleet Career. It had become very evident that the timing of Sisko’s return and the on set of the Cleansing war were not a coincidence. If not for Sisko’s efforts, Bajor would not have been accepted into the Federation as quickly as it had been, and would not have had time to build the Bajorian Fleet. A fleet that Sisko lead to Khitomer to fight against the Cleansing. Sisko was asked by then Fleet Admiral Picard, to take command of the Federation Ground operations and assist his long time comrade Ambassador Worf, Klingon Rank General, with the evacuation of Khitomer. Neither he nor Picard could have foreseen the speed at which the events that would lead up to Sisko’s being stranded on Khitomer would unfold. The Cleansing appeared virtually on top of the Federation Fleet. They had no warning and within seconds several ships of the line were laid waste. The Khitomer massacre, as it has now become known, saw the wholesale slaughter of two thousand nine hundred and three star ships from virtually every space faring racing in the Galaxy. Khitomer was to be the Galactic Alliances line against the darkness. The Battle that would turn the tide of the war as it had indeed done, but not in the Alliances, but for the Cleansing. The loss of life among those who served on star ships that fateful day, was the worse loss of life in the history of known space flight. The fleet had no option but to break and run. Only a hand full of ships escaped that day, a mere fraction of what had been. The Cleansing was left to obliterate Khitomer without challenge and they did. They pounded the planet from orbit until nothing remained except a barren wasteland. In most cases the planet would have been pulverized into nothingness, an asteroid field or smaller, but Khitomer’s fate was something else. Without reason the Cleansing fleet simply halted its bombardment and left. Those who had sought shelter in the bunkers had survived. Although no one in Star Fleet or the Alliance would ever had known that for returning to Khitomer would have been futile. It was assumed that Khitomer had been obliterated as all the other colonizes had been. No scout or recovery vessel was ever sent back to Khitomer until now. “Damn it’s getting late.” Offered Master Chief Miles O’Brien as he checked the chronometer at his workstation. “What was that Master Chief?” Asked Lieutenant Colonel Kira Nerys as she looked up from her pad in O’Brien’s direction. “Oh nothing Colonel. I was just saying that it is getting late.” Responded O’Brien. “Well Miles that’s what you get for offering to help me.” Kira’s voice was one of playful mocking. “Besides, it’s for a good cause.” “Do you think its possible that they survived? The Captain and Worf?” Asked Miles as he entered in several commands on his console. “We’ll know soon enough. Once we reach Khitomer we’ll know.” The playfulness in Kira’s voice had gone. “That is if we makes it to Khitomer, if Khitomer is still there.” See looked up again at O’Brien and O’Brien could see the same concerning in her eyes as she saw in his. “I know Chief, I’m worried too.” The Defiant B was actually the third Defiant class ship to bare the name Defiant. The first Defiant was destroyed in the battle of Chin'toka during the Dominion War. The second Defiant, not given the designation II, was lost while on mission. The exact events of which are still highly classified and virtually unknown. This new Defiant, now eight years old, had been refitted twice with the latest technologies that Star Fleet could offer. Now it was considered an obsolete design and was slated for mothballing just prior to the on set of the Cleansing War. A true blessing for those who now crew the Defiant, as it was one of the most cherished ships in the Bajorian Fleet. Granted Star Fleet had given the Bajorian nearly every obsolete design they had once Bajor requested admission into the Federation, and the Bajorians had made the best use of what they had been given. The Bajorians were not about to depend upon Star Fleet for protection and wanted to build their own ships for their own fleet. A provision that was accepted by the Federation and included in the Declaration of Admission. The Bajorians would retain the sovereignty of their space, but would be considered a full member of the Federation with all the rights and privileges that membership provides. This would allow the Bajorians to build their own fleet, and represent Star Fleet and the United Federation of Planets in that sector of space. The Defiant swept through space with the ease of a great bird of pray upon the wind. She was a sleek vessel, a powerful little ship with a proven record. She had seen her battles and met them with pride. Now she was the Flagship of the remnants of the Bajorian Fleet. Nearly every ship Bajor had was lost at the Battle of Khitomer, a battle that had decided the fait of the galaxy. The Defiant, like her predecessors, was equipped with a cloaking device, a device that was outlawed in the Federation but overlooked for this class of ship. As the Defiant approached the Khitomer system, she cloaked. “Cloak enabled Ma’am.” Said the Bajorian Helmsmen, Lt. Halla. “We are in approach vector to the Khitomer system.” “Thank you Lieutenant. Hold this course.” Kira was sitting in the Command chair looking out the forward viewer at the emptiness of space pondering the wisdom of this mission. She had had a good feeling about the mission, she knew, however she did not know how, but she knew Sisko was alive. If by the grace of the Prophets Sisko had survived and was still alive, it was her duty, no her obligation to rescue him. She turned slightly to her left to face the science station and spoke with an even tone. “Chief, anything on the scans?” Miles O’Brien had returned to DS9 after he and his wife of nearly 17 years divorced while he was an instructor on Earth. She had met someone who was more “compatible” with her than he had become, and she needed her freedom to explore her own path. Miles knew that life as the wife of a career Star Fleet officer had been a hard one on Keiko and it came as no surprise that she would want a divorce upon returning to Earth. O’Brien had known Keiko’s new husband for many years and liked the man. He knew that when he chose to return to DS9 that his son and daughter would be well taken care of. It was an ironic twist of fait that he now found himself staring at a science console, relatively safe, while the whereabouts of his two children were unknown. If not for his divorce he would have been teaching engineering at Star Fleet Academy and would been with them when Earth fell. He could have brought them to Bajor, but at the time they would not have come. By the time the Cleansing war had started, it was too late to bring them. Earth was being evacuated in anticipation of attack and reaching Keiko by subspace was impossible. O’Brien could only hope that they had all escaped before Earth was destroyed. That was the past now, and this is the now. He had a job to do, and he would do it. “All scans are negative.” He said aloud as he turned to look at Kira. “The same as in every system they attack. No readings what so ever.” He finished. Kira and O’Brien had once been bitter rivals, but had grown into good friends. Kira had actually carried and delivered O’Briens second child, Kirayoshi, a boy, following an accident that nearly killed O’Brien’s wife Keiko. By placing the developing fetus of Kirayoshi into Kira’s womb Dr. Julian Bashir had saved the lives of both Keiko and Kirayoshi. A strange fait that brought both Kira and O’Brien closer. Now O’Brien and Kira were more than good friends, they were much more. An odd thing that neither he nor Kira had planned upon, but not an unwelcome one. “Is there any way to tell if Khitomer is there?” Asked Kira. “Hell I’d be happy if I could confirm that we are here.” Responded O’Brien. “Chief! That’s not what I need right now.” Scolded Kira. “Sorry Colonel.” Replied O’Brien in a mock apology as he turned back to his station. “I’ll try and boost the ambiance filter of the deflector. That should clear up enough of this back ground noise to give us a clear short range scan.” “I’ll take whatever you can give me Chief.” Kira said as she stood up and stepped up behind O’Brien as he made the adjustments. “That should do it. Running a scan now.” O’Brien looked from screen to screen visually scanning the displays for any useful information. “What’s that?” Asked Kira as she pointed to a distorted blip on the starboard short-range scanner display. “I don’t know.” Responded O’Brien. “Well we’re going to find out.” Stated Kira as she straightened up and looked toward the helm. “Helm lay in a course to two three mark eight. Weapons stand by, yellow alert.” Kira returned to the command Chair as a flurry of activity began to orchestrate around her. The klaxon had begun to sound yellow alert and the non-essential bridge personnel began to clear the bridge. She could see the shifting of the stars in the forward viewer as the Defiant II made its course correction. “Barring two three, mark eight laid in.” Stated the helmsmen. O’Brien was not accustom to being shocked by such things, as he had indeed throughout his career seen it all. But this, this was something he had never seen before. A makeshift space vessel that bore the designs and parts of nearly six different races. O’Brien could clearly see parts of a Federation short-range shuttle, the thruster assembly of a Klingon repair bot, and the warp nacelles, non-functioning, of a Romulan scout vessel. Lord knows what else he saw, but it had a little bit of everything. “Colonel! It’s a ship of some ki-.” Was all he could say before the red alert klaxon sounded. “SHIP BARRING two three mark six!” Yelled Ro’Vain, the Bajorian tactical officer. “They have armed weapons.” A short pause. “I think?” “Those are not weapons.” Stated O’Brien, “They are sensors of some kind. They are scanning us.” “Hail them.” Ordered Kira. “Hailing frequencies opened.” Replied Ro’Vain from his station. “I am Colonel Kira of the Bajorian Defense Force. We mean you no harm.” Kira looked onward in anticipation of a response. She was not disappointed for a face that of a Romulan, flashed onto the viewer. “My god! Is it true? Are you actually here? Come come everyone look! We have been saved!” The Romulan made ‘over here’ motions to people out side of the viewers field of view. “Come see, we have been rescued.” Kira looked at O’Brien who simply looked to stunned to offer an opinion, and then returned her gaze to the viewer. “Excuse me, how many are there on board your ship?” The Romulan in the screen looked at her for a second then back off to his left then back. “Forty two of us are here. That is to say forty two of us have survived to this day.” He looked down with what to Kira seemed to be the look of utter despair upon his face. “There were One hundred and six of us in the beginning. Now there are only forty two.” It took Kira a second to or two before she could safely speak louder than a whisper. “Stand by for beam out.” It was all she could say. She could understand his despair, the utter feeling of hopelessness at knowing how many had died. It was a feeling that she has had to endure all of her life. It was a painful feeling that never left. She tapped a COM button on her chair and spoke aloud. “Sick bay prepare to receive wounded.” Julian had had to remain behind on Bajor. The wounded were coming in from all over the sector and his skills as a doctor were required on Bajor more than they would have been needed on the Defiant. Kira had not expected to find battle survivors, and could only imagine the horror at which they had witnessed and survived. “Helm lay in a course back to Khitomer.” Kira stood and started for the door. “Chief you have the con, I’ll be in sick bay.” With that she existed the bridge. O’Brien just looked around the bridge at the faces of the people who manned the bridge stations. He knew what they were all thinking. “What lay head?” Kira entered sick bay, more like a closet than an actual ship sick by, at about the same time as the Romulan from the view screen and two humans were brought in. The humans were warring tattered Star Fleet uniforms and looked as if they had had nothing to eat in weeks. “I am Colonel Kira.” She announced to the two Star Fleet officers. The taller of the two, a Lt. Commander, straightened up as much as he could while supporting the other officer whom just looked on with an empty stare. “I am Lt. Albert Moore.” He said in a soft weakened voice. “This is Ensign Rick Long. We’re all that survived the Lexington Colonel.” Kira looked at the man for a moment, giving him a caring concerned smile. “Your safe now Lieutenant.” She finally said. “Can you tell me what happened? How you ended up on that ship?” She asked. “Those things just appeared out of no where and cut us up like we were made of paper. The order to abandon ship came only seconds before the warp core breached. I don’t know how many made it off the ship, but I know that we nearly didn’t make it.” He sat his friend down with the help of a one of the Defiant’s crew. “We watched as those things destroyed one ship after another. The sky was filled with debris and bodies, and all kinds of explosions. It wasn’t until those things moved away from Khitomer that we attempted to make a run for it.” Kira perked up. “Khitomer?” She asked hastily. “Is Khitomer still there?” He looked around the room for a second before responding. “Colonel, it’s there alright, but there ain’t nothing left alive on it.” Kira could feel the hope rushing through her body. If these poor bastards had survived then the prophets could only know who else could have. She tapped her breast communicator and spoke aloud. “Bridge, increase speed to maximum.” O’Brien’s voice came back almost immediately. “Colonel that will make the cloak detectable, and without long range sensors, we could run right into a Cleansing ship before we knew we had.” “Miles, that’s a risk we are going to have to take. Kira out.” She tapped her communicator once again looked back at the Star Fleet officer. “Please continue.” The officer looked puzzled for a moment before recalling where he’d left off in his recounting of the events. “There were other ships, many other ships, escape pods, shuttles, one captains yacht, and even a small Romulan scout vessel had survived. Our only hope was to combine our resources, and scavenge any parts we could to survive. Khitomer had been utterly obliterated. Planet fall would have been suicide. The amount of dust and debris in the atmosphere would have destroyed our ships on entry. Even if some of us could have survived planet fall, we would have died within minutes. The dust would have choked us to death.” Some one coughed out load and uncontrollably off to one side. Kira needed to get back to the bridge, to be there when they entered orbit. “I know that this is hard, but I need to know if any one on the planet made it off alive?” She was holding both of his arms with her hands now. She needed to know if Sisko had made it off the planet. When Picard sent word to DS9 of the fate of the Bajorian fleet, he had stated that Sisko was on the Planet when the Fleet was attacked and that his survival was not likely. “Please continue.” She said as softly as she could. He looked at her for a moment before continuing his story. “We built that ship out there from as many parts and ships as we could find. It took us 2 weeks to find enough material and equipment in the debris to do it, but we did it. In all that time I never heard or seen a ship leave that planet.” Once he’d finished speaking, he continued to stare at Kira for a moment. Searching her face for any sign of relief, any sign of forgiveness. Kira released her grip and let her hands fall to her sides. She straitened up and smiled at the officer. “Thank you. The Doctor will tend to your needs.” With that she turned and exited the bridge. With any luck they should be approaching Khitomer. As Kira entered the Bridge, O’Brien exited the Command chair and gestured toward the main viewer and said. “Khitomer.” Kira’s heart sank. The devastation that was before her was unlike any she had seen before. The sky was littered with a mass of twisted metal fragments, and broken ship hulls. In the distance she could see the remains of the primary hull of a Galaxy class star ship just hanging in space lifelessly. There were so many broken ships and peace’s of broken ships that Kira became nauseous just trying to comprehend the destruction that lay before her. It was unquestionably the most horrific scene she has ever had the misfortune to see. And now that she had, she wished she could burn the image from her mind never to look back upon it again. “Helm.” She swallowed hard. “What’s our status?” “The helmsmen didn’t look away from the viewer for several seconds before eventually looking down at her console and reporting. “I am reading over, by the prophets, over two thousand, correction, nearly three thousand possible ships, or what’s left of them.” The helmsmen’s voice was near breaking. She could barley hold back the tears that were swelling in her eyes. Kira two was fighting the urge to cry, but she had to be strong now. She had to be for herself, for her crew, but mostly for the mission. “I know it’s incredible, but we have come here to do a job. A job that the Alliance didn’t have the courage to do. And for that we have already saved the lives of forty-two people abandoned here to die. So let’s not loose it here people.” Kira looked about the bridge at each and every ones face before continuing. “Helm standard orbit if you please.” Kira took her seat in the Command Chair as the Defiant slowly began to weave its way through the debris field toward Khitomer. Miles O’Brien had moved up next to her and leaned in so only she could her. “The Enterprise is out there somewhere.” He then straitened up and returned to his station. Kira could only look after him as he walked away. She had never seen the Enterprise E; it had never been to Bajor. Kira understood clearly that Miles knew a great many people on board the Enterprise who had all died when that great ship was lost here. It was amazing that so many had survived this holocaust to fight on. Admiral Picard and most of his senior staff had all survived, and so had thousands of others. The lucky ones who were beamed to the safety of fleeing ships. Those poor people who were left behind. “Damn it!” Kira thought to herself. ‘The Alliance should have come back to find them.’ To leave people to die alone in space with the fleeting hope that they would be rescued was an unforgivable thing. It deeply angered and saddened Kira to know that this was a necessity learned the hard way. She knew what had happened to all of the previous attempts to return to a battle zone, none of the ship sent in ever returned. ‘Wait a minute?’ A thought had just occurred to Kira. ‘They’ve made it this far; perhaps they will make it all the way. They had too. There was no other option.’ Kira knew that if the Defiant could make it out of this battle zone with survivors and in one peace, that that could very well change the Alliance’s position on not returning to battle zones. If one ship can make it in, and out, then why not more? What had those other ships done to get them selves destroyed? Kira’s had the answer to her private question within moments. O’Brien had found something on short-range sensors. “It’s a monitoring platform.” He pointed to the sensor screen, and Kira had to move to the Science station to see it. “It’s organic based, and actively pinging.” Offered O’Brien. “Has it scanned us?” Asked Kira. “I don’t think it has.” Responded O’Brien. “We know that the Cleansing has had difficulty detecting cloaked ships, but eventually even the most advanced cloaking devices are penetrated and the ships detected by the Cleansing.” Continued O’Brien. “Then why hasn’t it seen us?” Asked Kira more to her self than to O’Brien. “Perhaps it’s because of all the debris. Chances are it hasn’t detected us because we appear to be back ground clutter.” Stated O’Brien. “That has to be it.” Kira stood and looked toward the tactical station. “Tactical, arm Torpedoes and target that thing.” Kira had returned to her Command Chair by the time the tactical officer had reported the Torpedoes armed and ready. “Fire.” She ordered. The Defiant declocked long enough to fire 4 volleys of Quantum Torpedoes. Each of these Volleys streaked across space and impacted upon the Cleansing’s monitoring platform with incredible violence. The power of the Torpedoes exploded in series first breaching the devices shields then the devices hull and ultimately its power source. The platform exploded into nothingness a mere three and half seconds after the Defiant had fired its torpedoes. “Not very well protected is it?” Asked the Helmsmen. “It doesn’t have to be.” Responded O’Brien. “Normally nothing would have gotten this close to it.” “Chief how long until we can expect company?” Asked Kira. “I’d say 2 maybe 3 hours tops.” Answered O’Brien. “Helm move us in and establish Orbit at best speed.” <Said Kira. “We haven’t come this far to run away now.” The Defiant entered a standard orbit, or as standard as one can get given there circumstances, around Khitomer. “Hailing Frequencies.” Ordered Kira. “Frequencies open.” Reported the Tactical Officer. “Khitomer this is the Bajorian Defense Force ship Defiant B, do you read?” Nothing happened for several seconds. Kira looked toward the tactical officer before repeating the hail. Still the channel only returned emptiness. “Chief anything on the sensors?” Asked Kira. “I am getting a faint reading. Could be a power source, but it would have to be at least 100 miles beneath the surface of the planet.” O’Brien seemed puzzled by this and Kira took that as a good sign. “Can you get a fix on it Chief?” She asked. “I think so. There appears to be a large underground installation at that location. Hard to say with all the atmospheric interference I am getting. But I’d wager there is something there.” O’Brien was sure of what he was reporting and that greatly improved Kira’s mood. “Can we beam in there?” It was a simple question and one Kira needed an answer to. O’Brien took an above average amount of time before responding. “I think we can.” “Chief I need more than that.” Replied Kira. O’Brien looked away from his station and directly at Kira before speaking. “I’d risk it.” When Kira and O’Brien materialized they could see nothing as they were surrounded by complete darkness. The air was thick and full of ash and dust. Both Kira and O’Brien had to labor in order to breathe. The place smelled like death and Kira knew that this room had become a tomb. O’Brien was the first to switch on his beacon, and Kira wished that he had not for it reviled a horrific scene. This complex had not withstood the orbital bombardment. Before Kira and well illuminated by O’Brien’s beacon, were nearly three hundred plus dead bodies. All in an advanced stage of decomposition. Kira’s heart sank. No one could have survived this. No one. “I am picking up faint life signs about five hundred meters in that direction.” Said O’Brien as he pointed behind them. “How many?” Asked Kira before switching on her own beacon and turning with O’Brien to face the direction of the life signs. “I’d say about 20 to 30 maybe more.” Replied O’Brien. “Well just don’t stand there, lets get moving.” Stated Kira as she started walking. It only took a few moments to reach the end of the chamber. The door to the next chamber was closed, and appeared to be welded shut from the inside. O’Brien removed his hand Phaser and adjusted the setting to a level that would allow him to “burn” through the wall. From the time O’Brien started his cut to the time he completed it only about fifteen seconds had passed. O’Brien stepped back and with a heavy kick, he stomped the peace through and onto the ground of the next chamber. He and Kira then entered the room. At first nothing seemed to be different. The same smell of death, the same silence, and the same choking ash and dust in the air. But then, from the darkness came a voice. “Get that damned light out of my eyes.” It was a voice Kira had not heard in nearly 8 weeks. A voice that brought tears to her eyes and caused her heart to beat nearly out of her chest. It was the voice of the Emissary, Benjamin Sisko. Sisko stepped forward into the light holding his right hand at about eye level to shield his eyes from the sudden illumination. “Sir your alive!” Exclaimed O’Brien in a very pleased voice. “Chief? Is that you?” Asked Sisko. “Yes Captain, its us.” Responded Kira. Sisko stepped up to them and smiled nearly from ear to ear. “It’s good to see you!” He said. It took nearly 2 hours to beam everyone up to the Defiant that had survived the tomb that had become their own personal room in hell. Among the Survivors were a Romulan Senator named T’Mal and a Klingon General named Worf. Worf had been serious injured and was in comma. Sisko had explained that even with the complex’s shields the bombardment was too great. The shields had failed within seconds and the complex began to suffer shock wave after shock wave. Eventually many of the chambers failed. Only those in the command bunker had survived. It was the most shielded and reinforced chamber of the structure. A single portable replicator was all that forty-seven people had to live and survive upon. The Defiant was able to leave the Khitomer system without incident. The return trip to DS9 was made in record time. The Alliance classified the rescue at Khitomer as Top Secret. If word were to get out that survivors had been found at Khitomer both in orbit and on the planet, eight weeks after the battle, moral would be shattered. The knowledge that the Alliance had left people to die without even considering a rescue mission would have broken what little support for the war that was left. No, word of this rescue had to be kept silent. In response, Bajor broke off relations with the Alliance, and destroyed their sub space transponder. If the Cleansing destroyed the rest of the Galaxy, then so be it. Bajor would stand-alone as indeed she always had. An odd thing happened a year later. A lone Borg cube appeared and created what appeared to be Transwarp conduit. It was not a stable warp point, and the Bajorian scientist speculation that it would not become stable for nearly a hundred years. The reason why the Borg did this had eluded the Bajorians for many months, then without warning warp travel became impossible. It only took the Bajorian scientists about an hour discover why. A massive influx of warp prohibiting Omega Particles has swept through the system. Evidently a large explosion had occurred in a neighboring sector, a huge explosion of some kind of Omega Particle bomb had charged the entire sector and perhaps many more with Omega particles that rendered warp travel throughout the system impossible. The Bajorians responded to this new change in circumstances by returning to there simply ways. It would be a great many years before they could travel out side of their own system so now was a time for simple things and a return to a simpler way of life. This suited Sisko just fine. Worf had never recovered from his injuries, and was in stasis. Perhaps in the future a method or treatment can be discovered that will revive him. Whatever happened, Sisko knew that he would not be alive to see his friend recover. T’Mal had moved on to a Romulan colony that had escaped the Cleansing and Sisko had never heard from or seen him again. T’Mal was a good Romulan, and Sisko like the man. He wished him the best and hoped that he would survive the war to live a long and prosperous life. O’Brien and Kira were married and have had five children. O’Brien never saw his son or daughter by his first marriage ever again. For remainder of his life he had wished that he taken them with him when he had returned to DS9. But deep down in his heart, he knew that they were safe, that they had left Earth long before it was destroyed. “As time passes, all things will come full circle.” – Unknown |