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Star Trek: Mirror Wars Episode 102 "The Mirror Shattered Part 2" By James Earl Part 1 September 10, 2602 0830 hours Admiral William Derek wanted to kill himself. He had fought against the Borg, the Ulars, and what remained of the Romulan Empire, if you could still call it an Empire when it contained only a few planets, and he had never wanted to back down. But now, he faced his most deadly enemy. The President of the Federation. William was sitting in the main briefing room at Starfleet Headquarters waiting for Admiral Klug, a respectable Klingon and the highest-ranking officer in Starfleet, to come in and start the meeting. He had been waiting for about 10 minutes and he already wanted to jump across the table and strangle the President. "I hope this meeting will start soon. I have more important things to do you know. I am the President. I have a Federation to run. I think that Starfleet would know better then to keep me waiting." Just then, to Admiral William's joy, Admiral Klug entered the room. "What else do you do Mr. President? Most of the time, you sit around your office and do nothing." The President stood up and held his fist at Klug. "HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS THE PRESIDENT LIKE THAT! I deserve more respect from you." "SIT DOWN MR.PRESIDENT! We have more important matters to discuss," said William. Slowly, but surly, the President sat down. "How that man ever won the election, I will never know," thought William. Klug stood at the front of room. "Right. Now that we are all settled down, I have some very important and dreadful news. Earlier today, we received this message at one of our Starbases from the U.S.S. Enterprise." "Ahh yes. Doesn't Ex-Admiral Riker's son command the Enterprise?" "Yes, he did. Here, let me play the video for you…" And they all watched as the last moments of one of the most decorated captains in Starfleet met his final end. "Dear god," said William, "who did this. He mentioned a ship identical to the Enterprise, but how is that so? The Enterprise is one of a kind. No other ships were made in the same class." "We know. We also know, that back in the 23rd and 24th Centuries, Starfleet, specifically the Enterprise in the 23rd and Deep Space Nine in the 24th, made contact with a Universe that they called the Mirror Universe. When the Enterprise first made contact with this Universe, they learned of an Empire, equal in strength to the Federation. They eventually crossed over, but not with an experience they never forgot. They learned that this universe was a cruel place." The room was silent. Even for once the President was silent. "On Deep Space Nine, they learned that the Empire was overthrown by a Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. Eventually, they helped inspire a rebellion that overthrew the Alliance. After that, all contact with the Mirror Universe was lost. This, my friends, may be that universe. And if it is, then they have a force equal in strength to ours. We detected an Inter-Dimensional rift near where the Enterprise was destroyed. We are amassing an armada in-between the coordinates of the rift and Earth. We detected ships heading toward sector 001 a few hours ago, coming at Warp 17. We can only assume that their motives are war. "Well, you know what the Rules of Acquisition say about War," said the Ferengi President of the Federation, Zut. 'It is very good for business. Part 2 September 10, 2602 1045 hours Admiral William Deker walked up to the transporter platform. "I ready to be beamed Ensign." "Yes sir," said the young ensign at the transporter consol. Transporters were so advanced nowadays though, that people did not need to operate them, but people feel more secure when they know another person was at the helm and therefore the ensign. "One to beam from San Francisco, Earth to Yucad, Andoria. Deker loved the feeling of the transporter. But as his atoms were being transported millions of miles to Andoria, he contemplated on the reason for his journey. And how he hated to be the barer of bad news. But it couldn't be helped. Someone had to tell the man. And since he was the closest person to Ex-Admiral Riker, it was his duty to tell the wonderful man that his smart and dear son was dead. As Deker dematerialized in Yucad, he tried to remember where Riker lived. Then, as if by magic, he remembered and stepped off the platform. He hit his combadge. "Deker to Ensign Riky, thanks for the transport." "No problem, sir. Hope to see you back at Starfleet HQ soon. Riky out." Deker chuckled. He liked Riky and had even invited him to poker night one time. Deker knew that Riky would rise though the ranks like a wildfire in a dry forest. Before Deker knew it, he was outside Riker's apartment. He knocked on the door and waited. A few seconds later the door opened. Riker stood in the doorway of his apartment. "Deker. It is so good to see you again. How long has it been? A year. To long my good friend." "Nice to see you too, sir." "Don't call me sir. I retired a few months ago. You know that. Anyways, it rude to leave a guest out on the mat. Come in, Come in. Have some Andorian ale with me. "Well, I didn't come to visit, though Lord knows I should have long ago. But I am here on a more important errand. I have bad news about your son." "My son… Please, come in. Sit down." Deker went into the room and sat in his usual chair across from the TV. He was always fond of TV and was always curious how Riker got a TV. They hadn't been in use for a few centuries but here one was, in perfect condition. It wasn't used of course. There were to TV signals anymore but it added a nice touch to the room. "Tell me about my son." Deker leaned forward. "Sir, I regret to inform you…" Riker interrupted, "Don't tell me. He is dead isn't he?" "How did you know?" "You had that look on your face of true sadness and regret. I know what that face looks like because I, unfortunately, had to use many times. Please… tell me… how did he die?" Deker leaned back. "We don't know for sure. Do you know the history of the place called the Mirror Universe?" "Yes… I do… I remember from the academy. A universe almost parallel to ours. We made contact in the… 23rd and 25th was it… no… 23rd and 24th centuries… Do you mean to tell me that the Mirror Universe attacked my son's ship?" "It was attacked by a ship by surprise that was exactly like the U.S.S. Enterprise...." Deker began to explain what had happened and about Riker's son's last message. All the while, he noticed that Riker's hand that was holding a bottle of Andorian Ale was clenched in fury. Deker was worried that the bottle might break in Riker's grip, but Andorian glass was much tougher stuff then Earth's. When Deker was finished, Riker stood up. "Deker, I would love to talk to you but… I think that I need some time to myself right now." "Of course sir. If you need anything, anything at all, contact me at Starfleet HQ. I will be there." As Deker stepped out of the building and walked the few blocks to the Transporter and Travel building, he couldn't help but wonder what wicked twist that this day might have left in store for him. Part 3 September 11, 2602 0330 hours "We are amassing a fleet here at Wolf 359 that, once all the ships have arrived, travel at warp 13 to the Gradus system, which, as we guess by the last reported trajectory of the enemy fleet, is where the enemy fleet will have to stop due to the stress on the hull from traveling at warp 17 for so long," said Klug. Deker was back in the Starfleet briefing room where, less then a day ago, he had learned the fate of Captain Riker. He hoped that this meeting would fair better. "The Klingon ships will deploy here, to the right, while Starfleet ships will deploy in the middle, with Dominion forces on the left, making somewhat of a blockade to stop the enemy from advancing…" As Deker listened to plan, he thought of how curious it was that even though the Klingon Empire had joined the Federation thirty years ago, no more then 28 Klingon, including Klug, had joined Starfleet. Klug had been the first Klingon in Starfleet in the alliance, though not the first Klingon in Starfleet ever. Deker couldn't remember who the first was though. As he thought about the question, he heard a door open behind him. Klug saw who it was first, before Deker could even look. "Ahh. Ex-Admiral Riker. How good to see you." "Good to see you too Klug. But, I am not an Ex-Admiral anymore. I have come out of retirement. I want to help with this operation." Deker whirled around to look at Riker. "Hello Deker." "Hello sir…" "I see you are helping with this operation too. Good. We need all the great men we can get." Though Deker liked the compliment, he could help feeling that something was wrong. At the end of the meeting, he left quickly, before Riker could talk to him, and headed straight for his officer. Part 4 September 11, 2602 0430 hours "But sir, I do realize that his a great tactician and great under pressure but his emotions might get in the way," Deker said to Admiral Ch'uc'l, on of the head Admirals at Starfleet, higher in rank then Admiral Deker, but lesser in rank then Klug. As soon as Deker got to his officer, he turned on his holographic projector to speak with Ch'uc'l face to face, even though she was a few solar systems away on her home planet, Falcon. "I do not this so," she said as she looked at him with her green eyes that all of her people had. "I think that his emotional involvement makes him the perfect man for the job." "But sir, he can't lead the attack." "He can and he will. He will be the highest-ranking officer. You will be his second in command on the U.S.S. Magnificent." "Sir you can't possible…" "I will hear no more arguing on the matter. According to my sensor logs on my end, the fleet has been amassed at Wolf 359. You had better beam aboard, lest you be late. Ch'uc'l out." And before Deker could argue anymore, she disappeared into thin air, at least to what he could see. He knew, of course that she had just turned off the holographic transmitters on her end. He slammed his fist on his desk. He and Riker were very close. In fact, when Deker was a child, he and the now deceased Captain Riker used to play together. Deker's father had died in one of the final attacks on the Borg Collective, now just containing a few remnants of Borg, and so Admiral Riker had been his father figure. And now, though it hurt his heart, he was trying to stop Riker from getting his revenge. But he knew that something bad would happen if Riker were allowed to lead the attack. He could feel it. But, there was nothing that could be done. He had even spoken to Klug, and Klug had been on the same said as Ch'cu'l. He stood up and walked the few feet to the transporter room. "Hello again Riky." "Hello sir. Were will it be today?" "Beam me to the U.S.S. Magnificent at Wolf 359. The coordinate should be on your monitor." "One second… here they are. Please step on the pad sir." A transport and turbolift ride later, Deker was on the bridge of the Magnificent. He sat down in the first-officer's chair, next to Riker. "Are we ready to move out sir," asked Deker. "Ready as we will ever be. Communication's officer," Riker said, "contact the rest of the fleet. Tell them to head into warp by our lead." "Done sir." "Good. Helmsmen, jump to warp, heading towards the Gradus system on my mark." "Coordinate set. Engines ready," said the Helmsmen. "Engage." To Be Continued… |