The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Threat The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 207 On MM-487 a diplomatic envoy and his delegates have arrived to make contact with the people of Gtsa. In the beauty and peace on the planet, it is not difficult to exchange friendly conversation. Even the Starfleet scientists who are studying the planet and its plant life seem to be very happy to work together with Lotar of the Gsta and his team. All of this seems to good to be true. Lieutenant-Commander Peeters still has some doubts... "Deep Space 2 Gate Command this is Peeters on MM-487. This is my hourly status report. All is well here." "Acknowledged Commander. Seems you have gotten yourself an easy ride this time." "I don't know Lieutenant. Something seems to be wrong here and I cannot lay my finger on it. It has nothing to do with the Gsta. I am sure of that. But you know, it is to beautiful. These kind of things only happen in our dreams." "Commander we have probes all around the planet even in orbit. We have the entire planet covered. If you want I will send a recon team to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary." Lieutenant-Commander Peeters thinks for a few seconds. The connection with Deep Space 2 Gate Command will end in a few minutes. "Ok Deep Space 2 Gate Command you can send a team. I will not take any chances." Ten minutes after the connection is lost, a new gate connection is made. A recon team steps through the gate. The senior officer steps forward to Lieutenant-Commander Peeters, while the others unpack. "Commander sir, I am Lieutenant Var 7th Deep Space 2 Marine Recon unit, you requested a recon team to keep an eye on... what a beautiful planet... We will keep an eye out sir. Anything, however small will be reported." "Thank you Lieutenant Var. I will be in the neighbourhood if you need me." "Understood sir." Lieutenant Var joins his team. Without to many words he gives his orders. Var's team is used to Starfleet Marine protocol. "Boson will you set up that monitor yourself our shall I do it?" "If you would sir. That would be nice." "Yeah and bring your slippers too right... Get on it." "Sir yes sir." ----------------------------------------------------- Lieutenant Thomas has arrived at Deep Space 2 Gate Command. While his team is preparing for anyrhing on planet HG-55, Thomas gets the latest reports. "Latest news from our survey team is that they have been cut of from the gate and that there are at least ten armed humanoids guarding the gate. So when you fly through, you better cloak. the Admiral wants this to be a fast rescue mission. Do not engage the enemy unless you whitness a hostile act." "Understood. OK people. You heard it. Get aboard the gateship. Move it. Go go go." The gate is dialed to the planet HG-55. After a short communication it is clear the situation has not changed. The survey team is hiding just passed the tree line. The aliens are posted close to the gate probably just waiting for the survey team to come out. The cloaked Gateship 4 flies through the gate. "Deep Space 2 Gate Command this is Gateship 4. We are on the other side. They haven't seen us. We are putting some distance from the gate, climbing to 100 meters. The aliens have taken positions towards the gate. Can you send a probe through to see what they want?" "Sending a probe through at low speed now." A small probe comes out of the gate at HG-55. The aliens do not seem to hesitate. They open fire imediately. The probe is completely desintegrated. "Deep Space 2 Gate Command this is Gateship 4. The probe was destroyed. It is clear now what the aliens plan to do. We will get our people back and leave." "Understood Gateship 4. We will close the gate. You can open it from your end when you are ready. Deep Space 2 Gate Command out." Gateship 4 lands close to the Starfleet survey team between the trees. Very fast the team is guided into the gateship, which takes of after the door has been closed. The leader of the survey team reports all of his teammembers are present. Gateship 4 makes a large turn. Lieutenant Thomas activates the gate and without being seen Gateship 4 enters the gate to arrive at Deep Space 2 Gate Command a few moments later. On HG-55 the alien soldiers are still standing at the gate after it is closed... they are fierce warriors who will destroy anything that they can see that comes through the gate to their planet... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 208 On MM-487 the people of Gtsa and the Federation are beginnning to do more together outside the mission of exploration. They exchange culture, science and after only a week there is a sports event planned. Lieutenant-Commander Peeters, in command of the mission for the Federation is more at ease, but not Lieutenant Var 7th Deep Space 2 Marine Recon unit. His team is exploring the planet from a bit closer. Lieutenant Var not only has a professional attitude, he also thinks this beautiful planet is to good to be true. Aside of that he is not intereted in plants or flowers. Trees are only usefull as tactical advantage for Var who leads his team into the jungle of colorful beauty. "Dopor!" "Sir?" "Anything yet?" "Nothing sir. This planet looks the same from wherever we have looked. We have satellites in orbit, ships coming and going, scanners, sensor arrays..." "There is always something wrong in paradise Dopor. Sergeant, what is it. You look more worried than I am." "There is a large open space between the trees just ahead LT. I don't trust it." "That's the spirit. We don't trust anything. Watch and learn Dopor. Sergeant, take Dopor and two and have a look. We will be right behind you." "On our way LT. Boson, Dopor, let's go. Dopor you have point. I hope you are getting a little bit more scared. You should be. It enhances your instincts." "I got point yes sir." "Focus Dopor." Slowly Dopor went forward, weapon ready. Now he started to feel nerveous. As he came closer to the tree line, he started to look into the open space. He hesitated. The open space looked like a perfect circle, at least 100 meters in diameter. There was only some kind of low grass. Dopor's fist was in the air. He stopped. The others stopped. Somehow Dopor expected the others to start laughing aloud because they had played a joke on him, but nothing happened. Boson who was right behind him whispered. "Movement. Sure thing. Movement." Dopor had seen it too. And he was not the only one. The team's sergeant apparently had also seen something move. He had already checked his tricorder. "LT. We have movement of one monkeylike animal. Could be a primitive humanoid..." "OK people. In formation. I'll contact the Commander." A second later the voice of Lieutenant-Commander Peeters was heard. "Peeters here. What do you have Lieutenant Var?" "We have found an unknown humanoid creature. Shall we follow it?" "One moment Lieutenant Var. I have a satellite on your position. Let's have a look. I see it. There must be more of them. Follow the humanoid without being noticed. Take your distance..." ------------------------------------------------------- After the rescue mission on HG-55 Lieutenant Thomas has to assemble a team to go to DR-67. It is an unexplored planet. The reptilians from Navar have arrived by ship on DS2 Alpha, the ice planet. The Navarans immediately feel at home on the planet with an average temperature of 40 degrees below zero. First contact with the Navarans has been made almost a month ago. So the exchanges of cultural gifts have already begun. The Navarans find the DS2 Alpha Ice planet a lot to their liking. It seems to be a place where they can spend their holidays. But there are also serious talks as Admiral Arthur explains to the Navarans. "There is a shifting in universes for some of us living in alternate universes. We have a device that prvents that, but we had visitors from other, alternate universes, visiting us here. We don't know how this happens, only how to prevent it. A visitor from an alternate universe told us about you and your people. He thought you can do something we cannot. Travel to another alternate universe and keep everything under control to be able to return you one's own universe? Is that possible?" One of the Navarans, apparently the oldest, thinks for a few seconds while the others look at him. "We cannot travel to other alternate universes, but we can exchange thoughts between our fellows in an alternate universe. We do not know exactly how this works, but it does. And it is rather simple. I will show you..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 209 On MM-487 the people of Gtsa have shared new biological data with the Federation team. In turn the scientists of the Gtsa receive limited access to the federation satellites in orbit. The cooperation is going very well. Lieutenant Var 7th and his Deep Space 2 Marine Recon unit have found an unknown humanoid creature. The team is in pursuit, but keeping a large distance. Dopor and Boson lead the team behind the creature. It is not clear why scanners did not pick up this creature. Communication between the marines are mainly signals and an occasional whisper, but nothing else. Then Dopor has the group stopped. Lieutenant Var walks forward slowly. He doesn't need an explanation. There is a large cave only 50 meters to the north. the creature has entered the cave. The Sergeant breaks the silence. "Dopor. Sensor." Dopor signals he is working on it. Everyone has to wait until the scans are complete. If they just enter the cave it could be that ten seconds later they are chased out followed by five hundred of those monkeys. So they have to wait. "Scan complete sergeant. There is a huge maze of pipes going from the entrance of the cave. My scanner is only able to detect part of it. The creature which we have been following has entered a part my scanner cannot see. I recommend sending in a probe. This maze is at least ten kilometers long." "LT. I hate to say this but we should dig in first." "Indeed Sergeant. Dopor, prepare the probe. All the rest of us dig in. I'll contact the Commander." Lieutenant Commander Peeters has just given permission to investigate a new sector of the planet. Then she gets the call from Lieutenant Var. "Lieutenant Var for Commander Peeters. Commander do you read?" "I hear you Lieutenant." "Commander we have discovered a huge maze of caves under the ground. The creature we were following has entered. But because the area under the ground is to large for our scanners, we are not taking any chances. There could be thousands of those creatures in there. We are now sending in a probe and wait outside the caves until the probe has done its work. We will keep you posted." "Acknowledged Lieutenant. Please do not interfere with these creatures unles you do not have any other option. We will have a satellite right above you in thirty seconds." "Understood Commander. Lieutenant Var out." A minute later the probe is ready. The satellite has already tried to scan the entire cave network, but without success. The pipes run to deep for the satellites' scanners. The probe is only half as small as a regular communicator, but it is very powerful. "LT. The probe is up and runnning." "All right Sergeant. Launche the probe." "Probe is on its way LT. It is entering the cave now..." ------------------------------------------- The navarans like the planet DS2 Alpha. While the federation diplomats have to wear special protection against the temperatures of 40 below zero, the Navarans have a great time with their sledges on the ice. The navarans do not need protective clothing. Some of them play some kind of game. The Navarans tell the Federation diplomats that this planet is like their home, but there is no stress here, no hurry, no deadlines. Some Navarans already ask if they can use DS2 Alpha as a vacation resort. "This is an ideal planet to renew our mental state after a long period of only work, work, work. There are a few more planets like this one we know about, but it is at least 20 degrees warmer there. Those are nice for a very short period, for example when we have a few days of, but we cannot take long vacations there." Especially the Federation scientists are amazed the Navarans can live in these extreme temperatures. Every thirty minutes they have to go inside again to warm themselves and they are checked for signs of frostbite. But that is not the main mission on DS2 Alpha. The oldest Navaran, named Hyrtse, shows how he makes contact with another of his species in an alternate universe. During the communication he prodeces a brain wave similar to the energy wave of the device that prevents shifting to alternate universe in the entire area. After the communication Hyrtse has a message. "I talked to Klindst. He is well and so is his family. He greets us all. Klindst says there are not many Navarans where he lives. the Navarans in his universe are spread more. He has not heard of shifts from one universe to another. But as soon as he hears something, he will contact me again." And so on DS2 Alpha almost four hunred Navarans start communicating with the Navarans in the alternate universes... At that time lieutenant Thomas and his team arrive at HG-55... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 210 On MM-487 the people of Gtsa and the Federation are working together to find out more about this planeet that looks like paradise. On the other side of the planeet Lieutenant Var in command of the 7th Deep Space 2 Marine Recon Unit have found an unknown humanoid creature. This creature has gone into a Cave, but the team has sent a probe into the cave to find out more without putting themselves at possible risk. "Anything yet Dopor?" "Data is coming in now LT. There is nothing conclusive yet." "Sergeant, keep our team ready. I suspect trouble soon. It cannot be that this planet is a paradise. I do not believe that. There is no such thing. Look sharp everyone. The first data indicaties the cave is unending. The creature is no longer on sensors. It seems Lieutenant Var and his team have to waite. But then... "Sir! We have something! You'd beter have a look sir!" "What is it Dopor?" "Look sir. There are hundreds of them. It looks like a small town. We couldn't detect them from orbit because they are to deep under the surface. My guess is that that one particular creature was some kind of scout to observe." "So they are intelligent. That is nice. Then we know wht to do." Lieutenant Var contacts Lieutenant Commander Peeters. "Commander. Lieutenant Var here sir. We believe the crature is intelligent. But there are at least hundreds of them. They live under the ground, to deep for our initial scans to pick them up. I will give you the coordinate so you can calibrate one of the satellites to track them." "Acknowledged Lieutenant. Stand-by for further orders." "Understood Commander." And so the waiting begins. After a few hours the satellite is in position. The scan has started. Only ten minutes later Lieutenant Var is contacted by Lieutenant Commander Peeters. "Peeters for Var." "Go ahead Commander." "We are sending a diplomatic envoy and some language specialists. The Gtsa are also sending three people. We will have to talk to these creatures if that is possible." "All right commander. We will be waiting here until the diplomats are here. These creatures look primitive, but looks can deceive." "Indeed Lieutenant. Oh and by the way. There are not hundreds of them. There are... thousands..." ---------------------------------------------------- While the Navarans on DS2 Alpha make contact with the others of their remarkable species in alternate universesa team under command of Lieutenant Thomas has arrived at DR-67. "Sir, what are we looking for here?" "This planet is on the list of a possible Goa'uld or worse." "Scans indicate only one city. There are possibly fourty thousand people living there. Should we cntact the leaders sir or should we scout the city?" "Yes, but first from the air. Launche a probe." A probe is launched. There is no sign of industrialisation. The population of DR-67 is still rather primitive. Of course Lieutenant Thomas remembers the prime directive. "We cannot interfere here. There is no indication of an advanced civilization." "Then why have we been sent here sir?" "We are a recon unit Corporal. This is what we do. We go to other planets and have a look. First priority is to determine whether the population is advanced or not and whether they are hostile or not." "Then there is nothing we can do here sir. Does this mean we will move to the next mission?" "Looks like it Corporal. there is nothing we can do here. We will set up a sensor stick to keep this city in observation. Then we will head back to the gate, go through it and file our report." The entire team seems a bit disapointed, but the Lieutenant asures them there will be more missions like this. "These kind of missions are short and uneventful. That is... Hey what is that?" "It looks like a space ship sir." "Set up a sensor stick and get back into the gateship! Now!" The stick is set up in a second. A second later the entire team is in the gateship, taking of and cloaking. "Sir our scans indicate it is indeed a Goa'uld ship sir. It is landing in front of the main gate of the city. The population assembles at the gate. There are a few men stepping out of the ship sir. Jaffa sir and their Goa'uld master. their is no doubt sir." "I thought these Goa'uld were extinct." "Apparently not sir. And may I remark that we cannot activate the gate. They will see it and they will know where we are going." "Then there is nothing else to do then wait..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 211 On MM-487 the people of Gtsa and the Federation are still working together to find out more about this planeet that looks like paradise. But is this planet really paradise? A small group of Federation diplomats, language specialists and a few scientists of the Gtsa have arrived at the position of Lieutenant Var and his 7th Deep Space 2 Marine Recon Unit. the marines are still waiting at the entrance of the cave where thousands of creatures are living several hunderds of meters below the surface. Professor Lomenic adresses the Lieutenant for a sit rep. "Lieutenant, any change?" "Negative professor. There could be a number of exits to this cave we have not discovered yet, but if not, these creatures have to get out of the cave here and if they do, they will have to pass our probe. Don't worry, we will see them." "Lieutenant, we can't wait here forever until they come out. We have to lure them out. Any ideas?" "Professor, I don't know much about peacetalks, but we can just shout and ask them to come out. If they do, we will find out their intentions soon enough." Professor Lomenic contacts Lieutenant Commander Peeters, in command of the mission on MM-487. "Yes professor, what can I do for you?" "Commander, we are going to lure the creatures out of the cave. We will keep you posted on our progress." "Acknowledged. Go ahead professor." Professor Lomenic signals his assistant at the entrance of the cave. the assistant shouts into the cave. "We are peaceful. Please come out so we can meet and talk." The sound is carried through the cave all the way down to the creatures. It is clear that the creatures didn't want to be discovered, but now they don't seem to have a choice. One of the larger creatures appoints three smaller ones. The three stand up and start walking towards the exit, clearly not pleased they have been picked for this job. After a few minutes they arrive at the exit of the cave. Slowly they walk into the open field and wait. "Hello there. I am professor Lomenic. We are peaceful explorers and we are happy to meet new species like yourself." There is a short moment of silence. Lieutenant Var and his men observe the three creatures very carefully. The three are not armed. The one in the middle starts to talk. At first the universal translater seems to have a bit of a problem to produce a decent translation, but after about twenty seconds the creature can be understood. "We are the Plomer. We live here. I am Master Morok. We have had more visitors before. They have left long ago." "Master Morok. My name is Lomenic. I am Human. these are the Gtsa. We come from far away. You live in a beautiful place. We would like to study it and observe it. But if you tell us to leave we will." It is clear Master Morok understands. But he is not the one who makes the decisions. Just when he wants to talk, his leader comes out of the cave. Master Morok introduces his leader as Grand Master Lurek. "I am Grand Master Lurek. Welcome to our planet. Yes we know what a planet is, and stars and faster than light velocity. Once we were traveling through space like you do. This planet gives us peace and beauty. that is why we stay here." "Grand Master Lurek, do you have a home planet?" "Not anymore. While we were traveling in space disaster came over our home planet. It is a long time ago, but some of our elders still remember. When we arrived here I was just a little boy. There were 62 of us, including 6 children. Now our population has grown to almost 60 thousand..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- On deep Space 2 Alpha, the Navarans are very pleased on the planet, guarded by the space station Deep Space 2. They have made contact with many species already and are gathering all the information. Where possible they translate and send their fellow Navarans the design to counter the effect of alternate universes. On DR-67 Lieutenant Thomas and his team hide in their cloaked gateship as a Goa'uld ship has landed close to the only city on the planet. The Jaffa and the Goa'uld who step out of the ship are offered food and juwels. But apparently that is not what they came for. The people of the city kneel and pray to the Goa'uld, even the children. If their gifts are not accepted, some or even a lot of the villagers can be executed. Aboard the gateship some of the team are getting nervous. "Lieutenant, what are we going to do if these people are killed by the Jaffa or being transported away as slaves. Are we going to interfere? All Goa'uld are the same sir. We should expect nothing else from this one." "We will wait Corporal. We don't know what is on that Goa'uld ship. We cannot fight hundreds of Jaffa. We will have to wait until the Goa'uld decides to leave. Then we can follow him in space and call reinforcements. Then we can do something." But the Goa'uld does not leave. On the contrary. More Jaffa are stepping out otf the Goa'uld ship. They start building defensive posts around the city. It is as if they are expecting an attack. The Goa'uld himself returns to his ship, takes of but lands in the middle of the city, where the ship lowers into the ground until a very small part is still visible. "What are they waiting for? Why are they building those trenches?" "All good questions Corporal. I don't have the answers, but my guess is that there is going to be a battle very soon. They seem to be in a hurry. Strange thing is that they are willling to defend the population of this city. That is not typical Goa'uld behaviour. There is something strange going on here..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 212 The question whether the paradise planet MM-487 is really a paradise or not will soon be answered. The talks between Professor Lomenic, the Gtsa and Master Morok and Grand Master Lurek of the Plomer during this first contact meeting are in progress and very peaceful. As the Plomer already developed faster than light ships, the prime directive is no longer an obstacle. The marine unit and security officers withdraw. They are no longer needed. "Your people are with vast numbers. Can we stay on your planet and study it... and enjoy it?" "Of course professor Lomenic. Please feel free to go wherever you ant to go. If there would be any danger on this planet we would have discovered it long ago. There is nothing on this planet that can be considered as a threat. I hope you enjoy this planet as much as we do." As the talks continue more and more Plomer come out of the cave and presume whatever they were doing before the arrivel of the Gtsa and the Federation scientists. Lieutenant Commander Peeters is brought up to date. She informs Deep Space 2. The Admiral is very pleased. "Thank you Commander. You and your team have done well. If anything else developes, keep us posted." "Understood sir. A this time we don't see anything dangerous. But we will stay alert." "Excellent Commander. Keep up the good work. Deep Space 2 out." In his office Admiral Arthur sends in his latest MM-487 report to Starfleet Command. He is pleased. They discovered a beautiful planet, two new species and there doesn't seem tobe any danger. What are the chances? This is simply to good to be true. The Admiral rubs his chin. He still can't believe it. XO Jan walks in. "Good morning. We are ready to leave for AZ-89. Anything on MM-487 that I should wait for?" "Nope. You are free to leave." "Do I hear some doubt in your voice?" "You do. But there are no facts to support that doubt." The Admiral shakes his head. General Jan is still waiting. "It is only a suggestion Arthur, but maybe you should send in some cloaked gateships just in case." "I already did Jan." "I thought you might have done that already. Well I will be gone for at least a month. I'll keep you posted of our progress on AZ-89." "You'd better." General Jan, XO Deep Space 2 turns around, walks out of the Admiral's office towards the turbolift. A few moments later he arrives in space dock where he enters the USS Ajax. On the bridge preparations to leave are completed when the General arrives. "Helm, take us out and set course to AZ-89, maximum transwarp." "Aye sir." --------------------------------------------------------- While the Navarrans help out their entire species spread across different alternate universes, they ocasionally make contact with other species as well. Their knowledge of the universe gets a new dimension. On DR-67 Lieutenant Thomas and his team have seen some strange behaviour of a Goa'uld who builds defences around a primitive town. After a network of trenches is constructed there are heave weapons posted around the town as well. Aboard the cloaked gateship Lieutenant Thomas and his team are amazed. "Sir, it looks like they are making a last stand here." "Yes Corporal. I wonder against what or who. These defences they are building can take out an entire fleet. Or at least that is what it looks like." And then comes about a few hours of waiting. The Goa'uld and the Jaffa have installed their last cannon. And it seems all the work has been completed just in time. "Lieutenant Thomas. We detect three Goa'uld ships entering the system sir. They will be in orbit in two minutes." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 213 "We are clear and free to navigate." "Let's move." The USS Ajax is on route to planet AZ-89. This planet has no stargate and is not close to a system that has. If there is intelligent life on AZ-89, there is a chance they have evolved and developed faster than light speed. It will take the USS Ajax six days at transwarp speed to get there. On Board the USS Ajax regular duties are performed, including training of rookies, battledrills and scientific research. At this speed the combat engineers always have a stressing job. One single malfunction can lead to a full stop in the middle of nowhere. "Check that inclination again Ensign." "Check sir. 8.4. It is within parameters. But I will check the generator as well. 8.4 as well sir." "Excellent. Keep us steady Ensign." "I will sir." "Good." Six days of finetuning the entire ship. Six days of running four shifts. Six days of getting prepared for the unknown. If the USS Ajax gets into trouble it wil take a rescue mission six days to come and help. But everyone aboard is confident this mission will be a success. After six days the USS Ajax arrives at the starsystem where planet AZ-89 could be inhabited. But the scans that were conducted of this system were executed almost thirty years ago. "Start scanning Lieutenant." "First planet in this system is a small icy planet sir. Second is a collapsed star. And the third is the one we are looking for sir. AZ-89 is the planet closest to the star. First scans indicate it is a M-class planet, with plant life and animals. Large animals sir. Look like dinosaurs. No sign of any structures, or civilisation. My first conclusion has to be that there is no intelligent life on this planet." "OK. Start secondairy scans." "Secondairy scans initiated. It will take a while before the first results will come in sir. Four hours at least." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Deep Space 2 Alpha, the space station Deep Space 2 in orbit receives a new message from the Navarrans on the surface. They ask to bring more of their kind to the icy planet to help with the communications within their own species. "Of course. No problem at all. There is plenty of room on the planet." At DR-67 Lieutenant Thomas and his team are watching three Goa'uld ships aproach the planet. Apparently one Goa'uld has found it necessary to defend a small town on the planet. If there will be a battle between the Goa'uld it is not certain who will win. "Wanna make a bet sir?" "No betting here. Remember if this gets out of hand a lot of innocent people could die as well." It is silent in the cockpit of the gateship. They all know Lieutenant Thomas is right. "It seems to me the town is very well defended. The ship of the defending Goa'uld has set up a shield which seems inpenetrable." "There they are sir. They are landing. They are out of firing range of the defenders." Then everything seems to move fast. Hundreds of Jaffa are coming out of the three ships and are deployed, ready to attack. Dozens of smaller ships are launched and start bombard the town. But the shield is holding. and all craft are destroyed by the cannons. "Sir I think a few Goa'uld are very frustrated. I am intercepting communications with all kinds of threats to the defenders. They call the defening Goa'uld... Tok'ra..." "I have heard of Tok'ra. They are the enemies of the Goa'uld, in instead of the Goa'uld they are the defenders of the people." "Sir. The Tok'ra has received an ultimatum. He has to lower his shield and surrender within one hour or he will be destroyed by the Goa'uld." "If you ask me, I don't think this Tok'ra will surrender..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 214 The USS Ajax is in orbit of the planet AZ-89 where the first scans indicate that only giant reptiles are ruling over the planet. "Sir i think we found something else. It is all over the planet but about a hundred meters under the surface." "What is it Lieutenant?" It is like the entire planet has a man made structure under the surface sir. But there are no power signatures. It could be a cave." "A cave all over the entire planet? Keep scanning. I find this most unlikely." "Yes sir." After two complete loops around the planet the USS Ajax' crew has gathered enough data of the structure under the surface of the planet. The entire planet is indeed a large underground city. "What will we find there? Commander, assemble an away team." "Aye sir. You, you, you and you too Lieutenant, to the transporter." "Sir. One moment sir. There is a ship approaching. It is coming straight at us. They have opened a channel." An alien ship is approaching AZ-89. The USS Ajax scans indicate it is a warship. But the ship is no match for the USS Ajax. "Attention alien ship with the markings USS Ajax. I am General Veer of the warship Lamer. This planet has first been found by us and therefore all the treasures on this planet are ours. You will leave imediately or you will be destroyed. This is your only warning." The communication channel is closed. One second later the red alert on the USS Ajax is activated. "Battlestations battlestations. This is not a drill. Bring the drones in defensive formation." The twelve TK72 Cromwell autonomous enhanced multimission strike craft, or battledrones are deployed and only answer to the weaponsofficer at the tactical console. "Deploying." "In formation." For most of the crew aboard the USS Ajax battle is just anopther day in the Corps. While the battledrones are ready to engage any enemy, the crew prepares for battle as well. "Weapons ready sir, shields to maximum, battledrones in position." "Do not fire until they fire on us." "But sir..." "That is an order Lieutenant." "Understood sir. Enemy is approaching. It should have fired by now. Maybe it is just a bluff." But it is not. General Veer of the warship Lamer did not bluff. He gives the order to open fire on the USS Ajax. "Shields are holding sir. minimal damage." "Well then it is time to show them our teeth. Helm bring us about, heading 124 mark 29. Tactical, full scale battledrone attack. Fire at will." Like a swarm the USS Ajax battledrones speed up to the enemy ship. "Waipoint set." "Tracking target." The battle is swift, especially when the USS Ajax itself is engaging the enemy ship. On the request to surrender, General Veer of the warship Lamer does not reply. Instead he fires the weapons of his ship doing some damage to the USS Ajax shields. On board the USS Ajax the tactical officer discovers something strange about the enemy. "Sir the enemy ship's weapons are integrated with the main engines to create more power. But with continue to fire the weapons, the enemy ship's engine is overloading. It will explode in less then ten seconds." "Understood. Stop firing. Disengage drones." The USS Ajax battledrones return to the USS Ajax, just in time as the enemy warship explodes in a great ball of fire. "No escape podds sir. First scans indicate there are no survivors..." ------------------------------------------------ At DR-67 Lieutenant Thomas and his team are watching three Goa'uld ships starting a war against a Tok"ra who is protecting a small town with only one ship. The defence of the town is going very well. "Sir, the Tok'ra has a very good defence. The Goa'uld are counting on the numbers, but in this case that will not help. the Goa'uld may not have enough firepower to take the Tok'ra shield down. Maybe the Goa'uld can weaken the shield, but it will take days of heavy bombardements." "Well we are not going anywhere. This looks interesting enough to stay." "Can we chose one side sir? I suggest we team up with the Tok'ra." "If we could or should chose a side, it would not be the Goa'uld. But this gateship is no match for three Goa'uld ships. We are going to need some help..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 215 The USS Ajax is still in orbit of the planet AZ-89. The Federation Marines just had a short battle with an alien ship. The officers and crew realise more of these alien ships will be on their way, so they do not have a lot of time to explore the underground structures on the planet. "Hurry up Lieutenant. We have a job to do." "Sir, the first team has arrived on the designated location. First report indicates it is a rather advanced network of tunnels, but there are no signs of life forms." "Understood. Keep me posted." Teams are transported to the planet. They have given two hours to gather as much information as they can. The possible threat of alien ships is real. "Nothing on long range sensors sir. If they are coming, they are at least three hours away." "Don't worry Lieutenant. They will come. Stay at yellow alert." "Yes sir." Team Beta has made a discovery that does not make their team leader very happy. "Ajax this is Beta Leader. You are not going to like this. We have found signs of life forms and they are not very old. We think people have been here about a month ago. And these people are not the aliens we have encountered earlier. We will transport a DNA sample to sickbay so the medics can study them, or even recreate a holo projection of these creatures." "Yes Beta Leader. You are right. I don't like this. Try to figure out what happened to them. Did they have to leave or are these just explorers like us? Wher did they come from?" "We are working on it sir. But I am not sure we will have time enough to get to the bottom of this." "Keep working on it. I will provide you with the best time window. At this moment our sensors do not detect any alien ships or any other threat. So your mission time has been expanded." "Thank you sir. We will do our best to work as fast as possible." The first coming hour more reports of traces of some kind of humanoid who visited AZ-89 are coming in from all teams. But no actual people are met. Not long after the first detection of the DNA the combat medics have reconstructed the visitors of AZ-89. In Holodeck 2 one of those is displayed. "Sir, this is it. This is one of the creatures who visited AZ-89 last month." "They look human." "There is not a lot of difference sir. I wonder how they traveled to this planet. There is no stargate, so they must have come by ship." "Unless they were here all he time and they left last month for some reason." "That would be a reason unknown sir. There is air, food... I don't understand why they would leave." "Maybe it has something to do with these aliens who attacked us." "Could be. SiR, we will have to find traces of ships traveling through this system. Maybe that will give us a clue." "Excellent idea. Get to work." A few moments later on the USS Ajax bridge, there is a disturbing report. "They are here sir. Their ETA is three hours and six minutes." "Understood. How many ships?" "At least six sir, no make that sixteen sir, sorry sir, make that at least thrity." "Ok. We will give the ground teams as much time as possible. I don't want to lose this oportunity. We will transport our teams back up when these aliens are about thirty minutes away." The teams on AZ-89 still have a few hours to gather as much data as they can. They send out probes through the corridors, take biological and chemical samples, and investigate some of the hardware they find. But a few hours are not a very long time. And soon the order comes. "Get our teams back Lieutenant." "Yes sir. ETA of the aliens is thirty minutes now." But as soon as the alien fleet is entering the system and the USS Ajax is ready to jump away, from the planet AZ-89 some kind of energy beam is fired at the alien fleet, destroying it completely... ---------------------------------------------------------- At DR-67 Lieutenant Thomas and his team are watching three Goa'uld ships starting a war against a Tok'ra who is protecting a small town with only one ship. The Tok'ra will get into difficulty as soon as the Goa'uld will deploy all of his three ships and start a bombardement on the Tok'ra shields. Lieutenant Thomas wants to contact DS2, but the only way to do that is to dial the stargate. The Goa'uld may not know the gateship is there. Dialing the stargate is out of the question. So his plan is rather simple. He dos not report in and Deep Space 2 will send a support ship. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 216 The USS Ajax is still in orbit of the planet AZ-89. The Federation Marines were just ready to leave and escape from a fleet of thirty alien ships, when this fleet was destroyed by a simple beam fire from the surface of the planet. This of course to the amazement of the vrew of the USS Ajax. "Report!" "There is not much data sir. It was some kind of polaron energy beam that destroyed those ships. It was very powerful sir. Measurements went off the scale." "Why aren't we destroyed?" "Unknown sir. But I am not sad about it." "Try to find out what happened." "Shall I send back the away teams sir?" "Not until we know what happened Lieutenant. Take us out of orbit as well, to the edge of the system. Just to be sure." "Yes sir." The sensors of the USS Ajax scan the area of the origin of the energy beam, but there is nothing. A battledrone is sent to the planet for extra scans, but these scans do not reveal anything out of the ordinary. When General Jan enters the science lab, two scientists are arguing about the DNA sample they have looked at. "No no no Doctor Nano. Only two of them will do. "That will never be enough Doctor Husu. We should take at least four, so we can double check. If we do not..." General Jan intervenes. "Gentlemen..." The discussion stops immediately. The General waves his hand to show he does not want to be interupted. "I don't know what this was about, but time is precious and we need as much information as we can about that species. Check it and check it again." The two scientists are silent. As soon as the General has left they continue their resarch in silence. While Doctor Nano continues to search the Federation database for matches, Doctor Husu continues his microscopic study of the DNA sample and the holographic reconstruction of the species. Just at the moment the General Jan enters the bridge he receives a call from Doctor Husu. "We have found a match sir. The DNA we found is a complete match with the DNA of the Narotem. Strange thing though is that the Narotem live thousands of years away from this system and they do not have faster than light capabilities. So either someone brought the Narotem here or they all originate from this planet..." -------------------------------------------- On DR-67 it is still not clear who will win the battle between the Goa'uld and the Tok'ra. Lieutenant Thomas and his team are still observing the battle in their cloaked gateship. On Deep Space 2 one of the communications officers reports Lieutenant Thomas is late with his report. Admiral Arthur doesn't hesitate. Send the USS Strike to DR-67." The Commander of the USS Strike doesn't hesitate either. "Helm, set course for DR-67. Break all the speed limits." In less than three hours the USS Strike arrives at DR-67. Scans are initiated. The situation is clear. A short message to Lieutenant Thomas' gateship makes the USS Strike Commander take a decision. The Goa'uld are the enemy so it is obvious who has to be destroyed. "Fire on the Goa'uld until they are destroyed." The Goa'uld, who was only concentrating on the Tok'ra doesn't see it coming. Only a few minutes later there is nothing left of him or his ships... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 217 Aboard the USS Ajax in the AZ-89 system, Doctor Nano and Doctor Husu have identified a DNA sample found on AZ-89 coming from the Narotem. "What do you mean Doctor Nusu? The Narotem live so far that they would never be able to get here, and they don't have faster than light travel capabilities? Then how did their DNA get here?" "That is correct General. We have no clue of how this could have happened. We hope the troops on the planet itself can provide us with some kind of explanation." "All of this does not explain either why we were attacked without apparent reason." "We have no answer to that yet." On AZ 89 some of the marines have discovered a hidden base under the surface. It is not sure though whether this base has anything to do with weapons of any kind. When the marines enter the structure they discover an extremely advanced structure protected by force fields. Some of the forcefields can be shut down, but most cannot. "Sir, I am afraid it stops here. These forcefields are to advanced for us to pass. If we could only find the generator, we could shut them down." "Can you scan beyond those forcefields?" "That is a negative sir." "I will pass on the situation to the General." An hour later a sergeant arrives at the forcefields. As soon as he comes closer the forcefields drop. Everyone looks at the sergeant in amazement. And the sergeant does not look back. He enters the complex and while he does, lights are activated consoles in the wall suddenly show panels, displays, projections. "Sergeant! Sergeant! What is going on?" "I have the gene sir. I have been sent here by the General himself. Please follow me." "OK I understand sergeant. Lead the way." The sergeant walks through the larger hall. Everywhere he goes, lights go on, consoles are activated... ------------------------------------------------ The USS Strike has destroyed the Goa'uld and his forces at DR-67. The threat against the Tok'ra is gone. Contact with the Tok'ra is established. A meeting is held in the village defended by the Tok'ra. "I am Noarus. I am Tok'ra. Thank you for your help. You are from the Tauri aren't you? I have not seen the Tauri, but I have heard about you. I did not realise you are already advanced like this." "Yo are welcome. The Goa'uld are also our enemy. We have warned them, but they didn't listen. Everywhere we see them we will destroy them until they realise they have to change their ways." "They will never change. It is in their nature to enslave other people and use them as slaves, or destroy them. The Tok'ra use all we have to oppose them. But we are to few to go to war against them." "How many of these Goa'uld are there?" "There are at least 12 system lords. There are maybe a thousand more, each with an army of Jaffa and ships. We don't know exactly how much there are, but to much for us to handle. One advantage we have is that these Goa'uld fight among themselves to gain the teritory of another Goa'uld." "So many? We estimated there were about 20 or so." The meeting continues. Lieutenant Thomas reports to Deep Space 2. "Admiral, the Goa'uld has been destroyed. We are now talking to the Tok'ra. He has informed us that there are more than a thousand Goa'uld..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 218 Aboard the USS Ajax in the AZ-89 system, Doctor Nano and Doctor Husu are still trying to find out how the DNA sample found on AZ-89 can originate from the Narotem while this species lives lightyears away and does not have faster than light travel. On AZ-89 Sergeant Shean McClery had activated an underground ancient base. There is a possibility that in this base is the answer tot many questions. Aboard the USS Ajax the tactical duty officier checks vis console. "Sir! There is a fleet of 9 ships approaching AZ-89. They have used soms kind of subspace corridor to get here. These ships are not Mike we have steen before." "Red alert! Battle stations!" "Helm, move the schip info a battle ready position. Launch battledrones." "We are in position. Battledrones are launched." But it is tot late. An energy beam from the planet destroys all ships in a few seconds. The crew of the USS Ajax is not surprised. "Stand down from red alert. Apparently someone wants this planet really bad." "Sir. The grond crew reports lots of activity in the underground base." "What kind of activity?" "All kind of lights switching on and of sir." "That is good news. That means we have found what we are looking for..." ------------------------------------------------------- on DR-67 the officers of the USS Strike are continuing the talks with the Tok'ra Noarus. There is much to learn from the Tok'ra. On space station Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur receives the latest news from DR-67. "What? Can you repeat that?" "There are a thousand sir. A thousand of Goa'ulds. Tok'ra Noarus is very positive about the number sir." "Then we will have a lot of work... Maybe we can eliminate a few at the top to scare the others so they'll stop what they are doing." "That will probably not help sir. Noarus says that when one is taken out, another will just take his place. They have these parasite using their body as host. I understand there are many many many more of these parasites." "Lieutenant. We will do our best to stop them or to save people from them. And maybe we cannot save them all, but we will do our best." Unknown to Admiral Arthur and his officers the time to do their very best is at hand... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 219 Aboard the USS Ajax in the AZ-89 system, nobody is surprised that an automated system on the planet has just whiped out a small fleet which apparently had hostile intentions. Doctor Nano and Doctor Husu are still trying to find out how the DNA sample found on AZ-89 can originate from the Narotem while this species lives lightyears away and does not have faster than light travel. "Sir, we are trying to find out. These systems are Ancient. We have just been able to access the main database. There is nothing new yet. We will keep you posted as soon as we have something." "Any idea how long this will take?" "No idea sir. We are doing the best we can sir." "I want updates every 30 minutes." "Understood sir." But 30 minutes later there was little more to tell. All information in the database was not very specific. All kind of general and historical information was stored info the database. Information about weapons or tactics had not been found yet. The good news was that the tactical officers on the USS Ajax had come up with a calculation on the firing range of this destructive weapon on AZ-89. "Sir, our calculations indicate that, with what we have seen so far, this weapon can only reach high orbit of AZ-89. So we should be save." "Lieutenant, do you think this weapon is designed only to protect AZ-89?" "That is most likely sir." "Why hasn't it fired on us?" "We have people aboard carrying the Ancient gene sir. The same goes for our away team." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The situation on DR-67 is under control. The Tok'ra will move the population to a planet without stargate. There is no reason for the USS Strike to stay. The schip will patrol the region for a few days, but will then return to Deep Space 2. The gateship team continues the original scout mission. On Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur reads the latest reports on the Goa'uld activity. His desk is filled with padds. A total of 17 scout missions are executed in ons region of Space. "Central Ops to Admiral Arthur." But the Admiral does not answer. He has a padd in his hand and deels to be very interested in what is on the padd. "Red alert! All hands to battle stations!" The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 220 Aboard the USS Ajax in the AZ-89 system, scientists have understood that having the gene of the Ancient, even id it is only a few people is enough for not being targetted by an automated Ancient weapon system on the planet, which destroys entire fleets of ships which come to close to the planet. "Sir we have some news about the DNA of the Narotem. Some of the Narotem have been brought here by the Ancients to study them. We have found data in the Ancient database that makes it clear that these Narotem were on AZ-89 willingly. Apparently they considered the Ancients as gods. It is not clear what happened to them when the Ancients left, but we presume the Narotem have moved with them. There are no records of them staying here." "How long ago did the Ancients left AZ-89?" "There last entry in their database is from around twelve thousand years ago." "Have you any idea why they left their installations here just for someone else to find them?" "First of all sir, you must remember nobody can operate anything in this facility without the proper genetic code. If you do not have it in your body, nothing will happen. Second and more important is that we have come to know the Ancients as extremely arrogant." "This facility and especially this weapon uses lots of power. Do you think we can use that in our advantage?" "The powercells the Ancients used are extremely powerful indeed sir, but we can create the same amount of power with our anti-matter generators. The only thing is that ours are much, much bigger." "We are still looking for something on this panet that needs such a huge weapon to defend it. Any ideas on that?" "No sir. But we have only mapped 70 percent of the planet. There could be something important we haven't seen yet. it is also possible that the Ancients had to hurry of this planet. I can imagine they just left without putting out the lights. If you get my meaning sir." "All right. Carry on." "We will sir." Only a few hours later a small area is found where there is no vegetation. The area is a perfect circle, but scans do not reveal anything out of the ordinary. Even scans down to 200 meters do not show a difference in this particular area and the rest of the planet. "Nothing yet sir. This is still a mistery. There is just sand and rock on the surface. Nothing has grown here for at least a century. It is a perfect circle sir. At this time we presume some kind of vehicle has landed here and taken of again. It is only a theory sir. there are no traces of a starship of any kind sir." "Keep me posted." "We will sir." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Red alert! All hands to battlestations!" Deep Space 2 is under red alert. The entire crew runs to their battlestations. It is never known whether this is a drill or a real threat. In this case it is not a drill. Admiral Arthur enters central operations. "Have you seen it Commander?" The Admiral hands over a padd. The Commander looks at it and is amazed to see a probe of that side has been able to come this close to Deep Space 2 without being noticed. the probe is moving slowly towards the huge station. The Commander pushes a few buttons. "We have isolated the probe's sensor frequencies sir. The probe cannot see us yet. It is to far away. Shall I sent a ship sir?" "Not yet. If it cannot see us yet we will not show our hand either." A few seconds later there is a message from the planet surface, from gate command..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 221 Scientists and engineers of the USS Ajax in the AZ-89 system are almost done with mapping the planet. The Ancient facility seems to have only one purpose as Lieutenant Corstjes reports. "Ajax, this is Corstjes. the mapping of the planet is complete. The only thing of interest we have found was the facility to defend this planet. We still wonder why this facility is built by the Ancients. We cannot find a threat in this entire region. But the fact that they have left this facility as an active defence mechanisme, suggests that they had to leave in a hurry. Leaving is something they could only have done by stargate or ship. As we did not find a stargate, they must have used spaceships to leave the planet." "Anymore insights in the Ancient database Lieutenant?" "Not yet sir. There is more and more data downloaded, but nothing seems to indicate what exactly has happened here." "Keep me posted." "I will sir." And so seven scientists are continuing the search of the Ancients database in the facility. As the database contains mostly diaries of individual Ancients, it has become a huge puzzle to put all data together gaining one large story. There are no more incidents with aliens coming to the planet AZ-89. Sensor data of the Ancient weapon on the planet destroying several fleets in only one attack, have been analysed. But there is nothing new. It still not clear who the aliens were and what their intensions could be. Slowly the Ancient database reveals its secrets... "Ajax, this is Lieutenant Corstjes. Our scientists have put some pieces of the Ancient puzzle together." "Let's hear it Lieutenant." "At least twelve diaries of these Ancients mention a large non-corporal beast that lived in the mountains. It is described as a black fog of at least ten meters long and two meters wide. But there is none of the diaries that mention any danger or that the Ancients had to leave the planet because of this creature." "Lieutenant I will assign a team that will look for energy creatures of any kind on the planet. Anything else?" "The diaries were written thousands of years ago. Everything that is written in them could be long gone." "I realize that Lieutenant. But we have to try. If this creature is still on this planet and it is friendly, we could learn a lot." "Yes sir, indeed. I will keep you posted when there is something new." "Thank you Lieutenant. Jan out." -------------------------------------- On space station Deep Space 2 red alert is initiated. An alien probe is on route of the station. It is clear that the probe has not yet detcted Deep Space 2 as the station is on the other side of the planet. "Sir, this probe is not really advanced technology. Its sensors can only scan about twenty thousand kilometers. The probe is still five lightyears away. It is traveling at warp 4. It still needs 18 days to get here. There is no life aboard. It is an automated probe. We are tracking the origin of the probe now sir, but it looks like it was launched from outside our sensor range. We could send a ship to investigate." "So you don't see any imediate danger." "No danger yet sir." "Stand down from red alert and go to yellow alert. Keep monitoring this probe." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 222 Seven Federation scientists are continuing the search of the Ancients database in the facility found on the planet AZ-89. Four marines are exploring a small lake on the other side of the planet. Two teams have met each other after the exploration of the largest mountain on the planet. there is an Ancient observation post on the top, only reachable on foot. One team is on its way to the mountains where acoording the Ancient database has lived a black energy creature thousands of years ago. Lieutenant Corstjes is the one who reports the latest news from the planet. "...and therefore we think there will be a better chance to look for the black creature from the observation post on the top of that mountain. Some scientists have the idea that the Ancients were only here a short time to study the planet. And the more data we find in the Ancient database the more that seems to be indeed a strong possibility. The periods we have found in these diaries is only three years. So most scientists don't think the Ancients had to run from danger, but this was just a planet on their way to study and then move on again." "Lieutenant, do the scientists think we have to move along too?" "On the contrary sir. There is still a lot of answers they want. They told me they are now more than half way through the Ancient database. Personally, I am still wondering what happened and why the Ancients left all of this behind for others to find." "As you know Lieutenant, nobody can operate the Ancient's technology, except for those who have the right genetics. Maybe they felt safe. Maybe they were arogant..." "I guess it may have been the combination of those two sir." "I think you are right Lieutenant." "Sir the latest report from the search team is that they have not detected any energy creature yet. They have scanned almost all of the region where according the Ancient diaries the creature should live." "I guess that that was the reason why they disappeared from the universe long ago. Maybe they..." "I am sorry to interupt sir, but one of the scientists has found something important. He told me we have to get out of here now. Sir the scientists are packing already. This seems serious. I suggest you transport all personnel back to the ship." ---------------------------------------------------- The other side of the universe... A probe is approaching Federation Station Deep Space 2. The probe does not seem to be a danger. It was launched about 200 years ago from a location in the Delta Quadrant. "Admiral sir. It is incredible that this probe came this far. As we can see it this probe traveled in a straight line from its origin. If we follow that course back to the origin, we should be able to find out where it is from." "Very well. Send the USS Hammerhead." Ten minutes later the USS Hammerhead leaves spacedock. "Captain, we are clear and free to navigate." "Set a course to the origin of that probe, maximum speed." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 223 Federation scientists who were continuing the search of the Ancients database in the facility found on the planet AZ-89 order that everyone should leave the planet immediately. Lieutenant Corstjes gives his last report from the planet, just before he is beamed aboard the USS Ajax himself. "Ajax, this is Lieutenant Corstjes. I am the last one here on the planet with Sergeant Major Goodwill. We are waiting if we can see any changes. We have left a sensor probe nearby so we should be able to detect all that will happen. I think it is time sir. Beam us up." Only a few seconds later Lieutenant Corstjes and Sergeant Major Goodwill materialize in the transporter room onboard the USS Ajax. "Gentlemen, are you all right?" "Yes sir. We still had some time." "Good, good. Report Lieutenant." "It started with a massive explosion beneath the surface under one of the ocean. The explosion was so huge, that an planet quake shook the entire planet. We all felt it, we didn't know what it was at first. This planet seems to be breaking up sir. I meran it will probably fall apart within a matter of days. "Good, good. Clean yourselves up gentlemen. Debriefing is in one hour." Three geologists aboard the USS Ajax keep monitoring the situation on AZ-89. But they are in for a big surprise. after studying the sensor logs, they can only come to one conclusion. The explosion which started the cascade of planet quakes, was manufactured. It is not clear yet whether some life form is hidden on the planet or whether this was caused by an Ancient device to scare of visitors. "What do you mean it just stopped? Can you be more specific Lieutenant?" "Sir. All seismic activities we have seen on the planet the last 30 minutes have suddenly stopped. Our scientists do not have an explanation. I think all of this is caused by some kind of life form." "If that is so Lieutenant, I wonder why this hasn't happened sooner. We are her for a while now. There were some alien species who wanted us gone, but their attack was nullified by the Ancient device on the planet. So if someone or some kind of life form is doing this to scare us, maybe we should try to communicate with it." "Yes sir. The only thing is, that our sensors do not detect any life form." "Then we will have to find another way to find out what is going on on this planet." ----------------------------------------------------------- Close to Deep Space 2 the USS Hammerhead is first tracking the approaching probe itself to calculate the point of origin of the probe that is very slowly getting closer to the huge station Deep Space 2. The first reports from the USS Hammerhead do not indicate something special. "Deep Space 2, this is Hammerhead. We have completed the scan of the probe. The probe was not able to see us. We made sure of that. The level of technology of the probe is comparable with the probes Starfleet used at the beginning of warp space travel. In our view, this is a very old probe. We will send you the sensor data to analyse." "Understood Hammerhead. Continue on course to the origin of this probe." "Understood. We are on our way." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 224 The seismic activities have forced the Federation scientists and the scout teams to leave the planet AZ-89 as fast as possible, but as soon as they left, the planet quakes stop... Lieutenant Corstjes is not the only one who thinks these planet quakes do not have a natural cause. But there is no prove of any interference of an intelligent life form. After a few hours of study of the entire star system, scientists find that the star of the system is is not stable. If there is any chance to salvage anything from the planet it has to be done within days. It is not clear whether the activity of the star has any influence on the planets in the system. While the scientists inform the mission commander, and a report is sent to Deep Space 2, a large flare from the star is coming directly to the planet AZ-89. "If we had stayed on the planet, we would not have survived. the flare arrives at the planet in three minutes..." "Sir something is happening on the planet. It is the device of the Ancients. It is powering up. It releases an energy field. It is different from the energy beam that destroyed the enemy ships we encountered." "So now it is creating some kind of planetary shield?" "It looks like it sir. And it is working perfectly." The planetary shield, created by the Ancient technology blocks the arriving flare from the star completely. there is no damage and nothing has been burned. "Sir do you think these planet quakes were some kind of warning?" "Having seen more than a few Ancient devices already, I wouldn't be surprised." The scientists aboard the USS Ajax have found an answer already. "We have found a network of tunnels about 900 meters below the surface. We presume that the planet quakes were a warning so that the population had time to hide in those tunnels and be safe from any danger from a flare from the star." Why haven't we seen these tunnels before and do you really think all of this is connected to eachother?" "Yes sir. We have run simulations already. But yes, this is only theory. We should have to experience more flares from the star. But all of this also indicates there was a population when the Ancients came here on AZ-89." "What?" "These tunnels have not been built for the Ancients themselves. They had lots of ways to protect themselves from anything. So we just made the deduction and came to a logical conclusion." "Right. You and your team will now explore those tunnels. Maybe the local inhabitants left something behind we can learn something from." "You want us to explore those tunnels sir?" "Yes go go go." ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The USS Hammerhead is on its way to the origin of a probe that has been launched probably a long time ago. The probe is on its way to Deep Space 2. "That is a negative admiral. The probe will not hit us. It will pass Deep Space 2 at a distance of 200 thousand kilomters. But we are sure the probe will detect the station." Aboard the USS Hammerhead the crew has an easy mission. The probe is still broadcasting signals. It is data and images from what the probe's sensors detect. These data are send in a direct line, most likely the origin of the probe. "Sir, do we have any idea how far we still have to go?" "We have an idea Ensign. By measuring the quality of the probe's engine, we can calculate how long it has worked, so that way we can calculate where and when it has left. With that, we know we will be traveling about nine months and we will see what this probe has seen. These calculations are only correct of course if this probe hasn't made any detours..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 225 The seismic activities on the planet AZ-89 do not have a natural cause. It seems a large complex of tunnels has something to do with it. An awayteam is sent to investigate these tunnels. "USS Ajax, we have arrived. The first scans indicate no life forms and no powersource of any kind." "Understood Lieutenant. I expect a report every 30 minutes." "Acknowledged." The awayteam is split in two groups. The groups go seperate ways. The tunnels seem to be empty. The first hour there is nothing to report. But the tunnels are long and are connected to many rooms. All of the rooms are completely empty. There is not even one object to be found. "USS Ajax. This is Lieutenant Goorn. We have found nothing het. But we estimate we have only seen ten percent of these tunnels, maybe less. I suggest we launch a few probes to speed up the exploration." "Do you think that is safe Lieutenant?" "To be honest sir, I do not know. That is why I need your permission." "Very smart Lieutenant. Let me think about it. I will get back to you in a minute." Exactly one minute later the General contacts Lieutenant Goorn. "Lieutenant, listen up. You can launche the drones. But as soon as we detect something suspicious, we will shut them down. Is that clear?" "Perfectly clear sir. We are launching six drones now." "Understood. I want you to report every fifteen minutes." "Acknowledged." The drones fly through the tunnels. Nothing is detected during the first fifteen minutes. But there is something else. "Sir, the awayteam is late with calling in sir. I have tried to contact them, but there is no ander sir." "Are the drones still active?" "Yes sir." "Use them to find the awayteam." --------------------------------------------------------------- Aboard Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur does not take any chances with the approaching probe. Although the probeerde is on its wat in the direction of the huge Space station, there is no danger the old alien probe is going to hit Deep Space 2. The USS Hammerhead is still on its way to the origin of the probe. It seems the probe was launched a very long time ago from very far away. Aboard the Hammerhead the crew is speculating what they will find on the planet of the people who sent the probe. "... No no no... These people are just as old as this probe. They must be. They should waite until their probe returns." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 226 On the planet AZ-89 an away team that was investigating a tunnel complex has launched some drones to investigate the tunnels faster. But only 15 minutes later the awayteam is no longer heard from. Aboard the USS Ajax the bridge officers use the drones to find the away team. But at first nothing is found. "Anything yet Lieutenant?" "Not yet sir. One thing is certain. No members of the awayteam are on their last known location. At this time we can only speculate what has happened. Shal I alert the rescue team sir?" "Negative Lieutenant. First we have to know more. Keep searching." "Yes sir." After another fifteen minutes suddenly there is word from the away team. "USS Ajax. Can you hear me? This is Chief Hyhir." "Chief, this is USS Ajax. Report." "I have trying to reach you for at least 30 minutes now. I am not sure where I am. It is a small room of some kind, but it is completely closed. There is no door. there are no lamps of any kind, but still there is light. I have no idea how I got here. I have no iedea where the others are. I have been shouting, but there is no answer. Can you locate me?" "Chief, you are the first to contact us. We haven't heard from any other away team member. We have a fix on your location. We can transport you out, but then we risk losing the possibility to find the others. We have a plan to transport all kinds of equipment to you to help you to escape from your location. We have scanned a large area around you. We will send you a padd as well for you to use. Anything else you need?" "I understand. What I need is a phaser rifle, some small hand weapons, food and water for a few days or for a few people in case I find others. A portable generator and better communication equipment." "All of what you asked is already on its way. Keep this channel open." "Understood Ajax. I have just received all equipment. I see that I can drill a hole in the south wall. It should give me access to the tunnel network again. I'll keep you posted." -------------------------------------------------------------- The USS Hammerhead has found the origin of a probe that has been launched towards Deep Space 2 a very log time ago. "Deep Space 2. We have found the planet where the probe has been launched. We are very... One moment... Deep Space 2, I have some bad news. There must have been a population on this planet, but apparently some serious disaster has whiped their entire world to ruins. That probe could be the last of what is left of this species." Aboard Deep Space 2 there is some weird news. One of the scientists has found something. "Admiral. We have made another scan of the probe. Now that it is much closer we have detected life in the probe. First we thought these were bactaria, but with more scans at higher resolution we can clearly see these are cells, probably cells of the whiped out species. In the probe there is also technology which can be used for cell building." "What do you suggest we do?" "Admiral, I suggest we let this probe land on an uninhabited suitable planet and let this probe do its work. I think this way this species has saved itself..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 227 On the planet AZ-89 Chief Hyhir has to try to find the other members of the away team that was exploring the tunnels under the surface. "USS Ajax, this is Hyhir. I have completed the search of the first tunnel. I am getting a lot of data from the drones which are all still actie. Please assemble this data for me and if you find anything, please let me know. I am afraid it is to much to handle right now." "We will do that Chief. At this time the drones haven't found anything." "Sir, it is possible the other members of the away team are far away from here." That is correct Chief. We are scanning the entire planet as we speak. DOn't worry. We will find them." "I am not worried about that sir. If I can get out, they can too." "Indeed Chief. Do you see the large room in front of you?" "I do sir. There are no life signs. Shall I go in?" "Be careful if you do." "I will. I'll keep the channel open." Chief Hyhir steps forward, scans the area, takes a few more steps, scans again. Then there is light. At first Chief Hyhir is blinded, but after a second his eyes adapt to the new situation. He is standing in a large room. There are some consoles against the wall and in the center of the room. The consoles are activated as soon as Chief Hyhir touches them. The Chief has the Ancient genetic code. "USS Ajax. I have activated most of the consoles in this room already. I stand corrected... all of the consoles. But I have no idea what these consoles are for. I don't know if it is safe to send another team down here to have a look. Maybe some of the scientists aboard can talk me through this and tell me what I can do." "UNderstood Chief. Stay put. We are working on it. We now receive images of the consoles. We have to study them before we do anything." Chief science officer Lieutenant Commander Heather Fown has arrived on the bridge. She is the one who is going to try to make sense of the consoles. "Chief Hyhir. I am Lieutenant Commander Heather Fown. We are now studying these images. But this will take some time. I suggest you rest, eat and scan the area." "Understood Commander. At this moment there is only the corridor from where I came and this room. There might be another entrance. I will look for that." "Understood Chief. In case of emergency we can beam you out." "Acknowledged. I'll keep the channel open." --------------------------------------------- Aboard Deep Space 2 everyone agrees to let the probe pass. There doesn't seem to be any danger and the probe is carrying the last of a species. Admiral Arthur orders the USS Hammerhead to escort the probe. "The last thing we want is something happening to this probe. It contains the last chance for survival of an entire species, maybe even their animals and plants. One of the navigators aboard Deep Space 2 has calculated the route of the probe. "Admiral, we have the trajectory. The probe is on a direct route to a planet we have designated as GG-11. At the current speed the probe will arrive there in six months." "Understood. We will leave the probe do its job. We will not speed it up. What kind of planet is GG-11?" "It is a planet with only plant life sir. It is not a pleasant planet if you ask me, but if you do not have a choice and you need your species to survive... It is paradise." "Indeed. These people had no choice. I think they will be very happy they made it to another world where they can survive. We will keep an eye on the probe. If this works, we will assist this species, if they need our assistance." "Sir. Something has happened on the probe sir. It just jumped to warp speed...ETA to the planet GG-11 is now less than a week." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 228 Aboard the USS Ajax Lieutenant Commander Heather Fown is helping Chief Hyhir who is on the planet AZ-89 in a underground cave trying to find other away team members. "Fown to Hyhir." "Go ahead Commander." "We have figured out the consoles you have found. They are consoles to start and stop mechanisms to open or close hatches. It is not clear to us which hatches they control. There should be some kind of viewscreen in the room." "I haven't seen any yet, but there is a lot of dust and some debris here, so I will have another look." "This screen could be on the wall covered by dust or sand." "I have an idea then." Chief Hyhir sets his phaser to a wide beam very low output. He fires the weapon while turning around. The beam of the phaser takes of a very thin layer of dust and sand of the wall of the room. The first attempt does not reveal anything, but Hyhir didn't expect to find something immediately, so he tries again and with a good result. Hyhir only has to remover some more dust on the wall just above one of the consoles. There is the viewscreen. "Hyhir to Commander Fown. I have found the viewscreen. There is no image of any kind on the screen." "That is to be expected Chief. Walk to the console on your right. There is a big blue button on that console. That should activate the viewscreen." Chief Hyhir pushes the button without hesitation. The viewscreen is indeed activated. On the screen appears a face. It is Lieutenant Commander Heather Fown. Fown is on the bridge of the USS Ajax in orbit of AZ-89. "Good evening Chief. Good to see you. We have made a serious progress. We can use these consoles and viewscreen to find the others of the away team." ----------------------------------------------- Aboard the space station Deep Space 2 several officers are tracking the probe on its way to a planet designated as GG-11. the probe is still escorted by the USS Hammerhead as the Admiral is convinced aboard the probe are the last DNA of a species which had to flee their home planet. A week passes without incidents... "DS2, this is USS Hammerhead. The probe has entered orbit of GG-11." "Understood Hammerhead. Is the probe attempting to land?" "That is a negative. We can detect the probe is scanning the plannet. A complete scan of the planet will take about three hours for this probe. We are scanning the planet too. The question is, what must we do when the probe lands." "You will stay in orbit. Let the probe do what it has to do. When there is a change in life signs, you are allowed to send a team to the planet." It is the Admiral who gives the orders himself. When someone asks whether making contact is according the prime directive, the Admiral doesn't see a problem. "The probe has warp capability. I don't see a problem. Maybe these people need our help. Maybe not. We will have to wait and see." Exactly three hours later the probe starts its decent to the planet. Less than fifteen minutes later the probe lands on an open field. Only thirty seconds later the USS Hammerhead has some great news. "DS2 this is Hammerhead. We have two... three life signs, four five... This is fntastic. The probe has done what we have expected... twenty..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 229 Aboard the USS Ajax Lieutenant Commander Heather Fown hasn't slept for at least 26 hours. She is so fascinated with the technolgy on the planet AZ-89, she isn't even feeling tired. On AZ-89 Chief Hyhir has not slept either. He has eaten some of the emergency rations he found in his bag, but all the time he has been trying to find a way to find the others of the away team. "Fown to Hyhir. How are you doing?" "Good morning Commander. I am now inputting the last sequence you have given me. So I should have more information on the viewscreen in a few moments. I think I recognise this entire setup." "You recognise the setup? Can you be more specific?" "Commander, I think this is a prison. These consoles are used to open and close the cell doors. But everything is so old, I can only hope these systems still work." "Let's hope for the best Chief." "Indeed Commander. I think I have got it now... And activate..." The viewscreen changes. The face of Lieutenant Commander Fown on the bridge of the USS Ajax is replaced by some kind of map. Above the map smaller images reveal small rooms. Some are empty, but some are occupied by members of the away team. It takes Chief Hyhir almost a minute to find all the away team members using the consoles. "Chief Hyhir, it seems you were right. Get our people out, of there." "Commander, I have found an alien humanoid as well. He seems to be captured like our people. Shall I release him or her as well?" There is a moment of silence. "Chief, as soon as the members of the away team are free, we will transport them aboard. You can release the alien, but for the moment he will be transported aboard. We will keep tracking him to see where he is going." "Understood Commander. I will now open the cells." The cells are open the members of the away team are free and transported aboard, including Chief Hyir. Aboard the USS Ajax security officers keep an eye on the alien. The alien clearly doesn't understand what has happened, but he doesn't hesitate to step out of his cell and make a run for it... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Deep Space 2, this is USS Hammerhead in orbit of GG-11. We have the impression that all the people of this species has now been materialized on the planet. We have counted more than three thousand humanoid people. They have already begun with building shelters and small buildings. I must say I am tempted to contact them and help them." "That is a negative USS Hammerhead. You can stay in orbit and monitor the situation, but you will not interfere." "Understood Deep Space 2. We will keep you posted." In a few hours the new inhabitants of the planet GG-11 have already built a home for all their people. It is like they have been trained to do this. And apparently the probe itself is also used. Part of the probe has become a large replicator and another part is used as a communication hub. It doesn't take long before communications are also monitored by the USS Hammerhead. The universal translator only needs a minute to translate the language of the aliens on GG-11. But then... "This is a call to the ship in orbit. I am Prime Civilian Sdanod. I am the leader of the Snek Colonists. Please respond..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 230 The alien humanoid found on AZ-89 is beamed aboard the USS Ajax, but after the entire Starfleet away team is safe aboard the ship. A security detail guards the alien while the doctor checks him out, gives him some food and tries to explain what has hapened to him. The universal translator picks up the alien language. "I am Zapka of the Romania. I was just looking on the planet. I was not doing anything wrong. I have been here for 26 days, but I was locked up two days ago. Thank you for freeing me. I was afraid it was you who locked me up. But I see now your people have been locked up too." "Welcome aboard our ship. Do you have a ship?" "Yes, I have a ship. I can use this remote controle to control it. Now it is in orbit. I can bring it closer if you like." Twenty minutes later a small ship enters sort range sensors of the mighty USS Ajax. The mall ship docks at the docking hatch. Zapka thanks the crew and the General for their hospitality. "It is time to go for me. This is a beautiful planet, but there are to amny dangers. I have seen an entire fleet being destroyed by some kind of weapon. I have been locked up by unknown. I don't think I will return." "Wait a minute. You have seen that weapon destroy a fleet? We have seen that too. And we think we have not been destroyed because a large group of us have the Ancient gene in our bodies." "The Ancient?" "That is what we call the species who built most technology on this planet, but on many other planets as well. the Ancients lived thousands of years ago. We do not think there are any of them left. Those of us who have the Ancient gene are decendents of the Ancients." Zapka of the Romania is extremely interested. Suddenly he is no longer interested in leaving at all. "If you say this weapon has not destroyed you because of a gene, maybe I am not killed because I have that gene too. Can you test me?" Zapka of the Romania volonteers to give some of his blood. It only takes thirty minutes for the doctor to come up with a conclusion. "Zapka of the Romania, you have the Ancient gene as well. It is confirmed. We would very much like to meet your people." "Yes, yes, yes, of course. We could be family... This is the greatest day of my life." The Romania only live four weeks away. A small delegation of Starfleet officers takes a runabout and set course to the Romania home planet, guided by Zapka of the Romania in his ship. An hour later new orders have come in for the USS Ajax crew still in orbit of AZ-89. "We still have to find out why our away team was locked up on the planet. As we have the Ancient gene, this lockup mechanisme seems to be installed as a protection measure." "I can only agree sir, but protection against what?" Nobody seems to know. "Sir. the drones in the tunnels on the planet are still active sir. I think they found something." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The crew of the USS Hammerhead have made contact with Prime Civilian Sdanod, leader of the Snek Colonists on GG-11. "Prime Civilian Sdanod, I am Commander Loogen in command of the USS Hammerhead, in orbit of your planet. I represent the United Federation of Planets. We have been following your probe as it passed our space station. We were just curious. We did not mean any harm." "Commander, we have analized our probes sensor logs. We have decided you are not hostile to us. That is why I contacted you. We, the Snek, are a friendly people. You are hereby invited to visit us." Commander Loogen accepts the invitation. Accompanied by several officers she transports down to the already bigger camp of the Snek on GG-11. She is surprised the Snek have already built this much in a short time. The Commander and her officers are welcomed by a Snek delegation, lead by Prime Civilian Sdanod. It is Sdanod himself who tells the story of the Snek... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 231 The drones left on AZ-89 are still fixed on the location where they have detected something which is not very well visible. On the main viewer aboard the USS Ajax, there is an image, but it is not clear of what it is. It is moving... "Maybe some kind of small animal sir?" "Scans did not indicate any life forms of that kind Lieutenant, but I can not figure out what it is, so that is indeed the only explanation I have as well." "We could send a team sir." "No. No more teams for now. This planet has to be scanned again from orbit. Apparently we missed something." "Sir there is something else sir. Our drones on the planet now detect at least twelve of these animals or whatever they are." A few minutes later the surface on the planet is covered by a few hunderd animal like creatures. The group is growing." "Sir, maybe these creatures have been released at the same moment our away teams were freed and Zapka of the Romania." "The question is where did they come from and why didn't our sensors detect them when we arrived here. We have been here some time now." The entire sensor array undergoes a diagnostic. No malfunctions are detected. The group of creatures has grown to a few thousand. They look like little rabbits. The huge group is just sitting there... "They are waiting for something sir. But I cannot say what that would be." "Sir, it seems the group of alien rabbit creatures is no longer growing. It seems the group is complete. Maybe we shoulod... Sir something is happening. They are transported away sir. There is a ship decloaking... Sir it is cloaking again. Sir all the rabbit like creatures are gone sir. Sir while that ship cloaked it took of sir." "Try a tachyon burst Lieutenant." "No effect sir. They are gone. But I cannot imagine these rabbit creatures have the gene of the ancients. That is really impossible." Although there is a huge amount of Ancient technology on AZ-89, the general decides to travel on to a next system. The runabout on its way to Romania is contacted. "Acknowledged USS Ajax. We will rendez-vous with you at planet PHX-33. Please be adviced that could take about eight weeks." "Understood Runabout Alpha. We will keep regular contact." The USS Ajax makes a turn and sets course to planet PHX-33. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On GG-11 the Snek colony has been growing the last two weeks. Everyone in the colony seems to know exactly what to do. There are a very little amounts of meetings and a little amount of orders. Everything is running smoothly. The Federation has sent engineers, technicians and medical personnel to asist. The crw of the USS Hammerhead is helping with bringing satellites in orbit. The satellites are used to scan the planet for life forms, weather forecasts and triangulating locations. Aboard Deep Space 2 the story of the Snek is told. A very long time ago the star of the Snek homeplanet collapsed. The Snek only had a few weeks to evacuate the planet. But evacuation of thousands of people wasn't that easy. So a DNA resequencer was used to store the populations DNA into a space probe, programmed to make a voyage to GG-11, the planet suitable for life the closest to the Snek homeplanet. All the rest of the Snek were also put in space ships. The Snek were spread out among the stars. The chances of survival were not that large, but there was no choice. after about a hundred years the probe lost contact with the last ship. At the time the Snek probe reached the destination GG-11, the probe had not received information from any other Snek ship for such a long time, that none of the Snek in the colony on GG-11 believed that one of those ships had made it to another planet. The travel time and to other planets was simply to long. It was worth it to try though. The Federation has asked all Captains of starships which could be close to one of the Snek routes to look out for them or send news about the Snek, even if it was bad news... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 232 PHX-33 is a planet which nobody can call paradise, like AZ-89. It is a barren world. It will take some time to get to PHX-33 and the Commanding Officer of the USS Ajax takes the time for maintenance and repairs during the voyage. The only distraction for the USS Ajax bridge crew are the regular reports from the runabout crew on its way to the planet Romania. But those reports are just routine as well. One thing is certain. The USS Ajax will arive at PHX-33 before the runabout reaches planet Romania. But it seemed all was going to well... "Red alert! Red alert! Man your stations. General to the bridge." Only a few seconds later the General walks onto the bridge. It seemed he was already on his way to the bridge. "Report." "Alpha 5 sir. We have lost all communications with engineering. The engines are operating within acceptable parameters. We have not lost power." "Indeed. Let's see what we can see." Everyone looks at the main viewer. Images from all stations and corridors give a good idea on the situation. A report from a few engineers comes in. Two of them seem to be nervous, the third is not. "Second Lieutenant Javel to bridge. We cannot enter engineering. We have tried all access points, even the security override. And there is a second problem. The air is slowly sucked out of the entire engineering secion. If my calculations are correct, there is only air left for two hours seven minutes. I have sent crewmen Gutser and Holly to fetch heave phasers to break into engineering, but we have lost all contact with them. That was four minutes ago. I expect them to return shortly." "Acknowledge Lieutenant Javel. We will try to find out from here what is going on in engineering. If you don't hear from the bridge then proceed with..." The communication channel closes. "Javel to bridge, Javel to bridge. Do you copy?" At that moment Gutser and Holly have returned with heavy equipment. The engineers set the phaser in position. "Lieutenant, we are ready sir." "Good. We have to move back. We don't know what is behind that door. We do know that the air preasure inside engineering is lower than here in the corridor. So when the phaser makes a hole in the door we don't want to be sucked in and smacked against a wal or something. Before we do anything else we will put on an EVA suit. You never know. We haven't heard from the bridge, but the last thing they said was to proceed. So that is what we will do. Ready everyone?" Everyone is ready. All of them take cover around the corner. The phaser is activated. Slowly the phaser beam cuts into the door of the engine room... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On GG-11 the Snek colony is looking like a small city already. There are enough resources on the planet to use for rebuilding a part of the Snek society. The Federation diplomats are amazed. The new leading government receives a message from one of the younger scientists. She is expecting three babies... Celebrations. And more celebrations as a message comes in from the USS Longyearbyen. "Deep Space 2, this is Captain Syssel. We have found another Snek Colony. I must say it was luck. But we have found them. They are in the PT-45 system. They have been living here for at least a hundred years. We are setting up a communication channel so the Snek Colony of PT-45 can contact the new colony on GG-11." PT-45 and GG-11 are twenty thousand lightyears away from eachoter, but thanks to the Federation relay stations the two Snek colonies can make direct contact. "Leader Harro. You made it to GG-11. Fantastic. You don't know how good it is to see you. Yes it is me, Commander Losct, first officer of the colony ship Destiny 2. I know I am older now." "Losct, is that really you? I do recognize you. We had that chat about relatime and bending space a few days before we left. This is unbelievable..." "It is really me Leader Harro. Seven of our original crew are still alive. Maybe no longer at our best, but we still participate in the Gornsjt. Hahaha." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 233 Second Lieutenant Javel, crewmen Gutser and Holly are cutting through the door of the USS Ajax engineering section. There is no other way in and as the air is drawn out of the engineering section, they all ware EVA suits. On the bridge the officers realise their trip to PHX-33 has been postponed. All of them are trying to get the ship back under controle, not even knowing what has happened. "Sir, still no word from engineering. Half of the communications are still off line all over the ship. We only had some damage reports from stellar cartography, main sensor operations, weapons bay and sickbay." "How many wounded have been brought in Lieutenant?" "None sir. Sickbay is empty. They are prepared, but no wounded yet." "What about the security teams?" "They all have reported in. There have been some fires, but they were put out very fast." At the door of main engineering the heavy phaser has cut through the door. There is a small hole in the door. Second Lieutenant Javel looks through the hole. Smoke is all he can see. Again he tries to reach the bridge. "Javel to bridge. Do you hear me?" There is no answer. "Javel to bridge. I cannot hear you, but maybe you can hear me. We are going to enter Engineering. We have the impression there is still a lot of air. I will report again when we are in engineering." There is no answer. Second Lieutenant Javel activates the heavy phaser. The door falls to the side. The way into engineering is now clear. Javel looks at the two crewmen. "Ready?" Gutser and Holly nod. They are determined. "Cover me." Javel takes the first step without further delay. He can't see much due to the smoke. On the bridge the officers focus on their work, but with little success. "Sir we now have contact with auxiliary and the arboretum. No damage there." Only a moment later there is better news. "Sir sir! We have contact from within engineering..." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On GG-11 the Snek colony is looking like a big city already. Being in contact with the Snek colony on PT-45 is an incredible impulse for those who have just started with building their society again on GG-11. They receive lots of information and especially technical information packed with a hundred years of experience of colonization. Leaving their home planet was an extreme choice, but the only one that the Snek could have taken. And then there is more good news. The USS Camberra has found another Snek Colony. The Snek colony on ZQ-67 has been the farest from their home and have colonized the planet for little over four years. They are very pleased to see there are other Snek colonies being build. The ZQ-67 colony is rather close to the GG-11 colony. It is only a nine months journey. The USS Tower is on a deep space mission. Captain Gerdon has decided to make a detour to MW-19. It is one of the destinies of a Snek colony ship. The voyage to MW-19 will take the USS Tower at least three months... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 234 "Engineering to bridge. This is Second Lieutenant Javel. Do you copy?" "Javel this is the bridge. Status report." "We have entered engineering in EVA suits. The smoke is now gone. There doesn't seem to be any damage here, but there is nobody in engineering. Everyone is gone. Crewmen Gutser and Holly are working on the connections between the sub processors, but there doesn't seem to be any problem with that either. We should have a full connection to the bridge in a moment." "Lieutenant Javel, please confirm again that the chief engineer is not in engineering or any other engineers." "That is confirmed sir. There is no crew member in the entire engineering section." "Acknowledged Lieutenant Javel. Ah, I see the connections between the bridge and engineering are back on line. Well done Lieutenant." "Sir, according the data here in engineering we are still on route to PHX-33. There is nothing wrong with the ship sir. I don't understand..." Second Lieutenant Javel has just spoken the last word of his sentence. Not a second later a group of at least twenty crew members burst into engineering. They all shout... "Surprise!" And then everyone starts to sing happy birthday. After the song Second Lieutenant Javel is speachless. When the general enters engineering. It is silent. "Happy birthday Lieutenant. And may I add you did an absolutely amazing job here saving the ship. Although I must confess it was a set up... but a good exercise for the entire crew. And it changed the entire boring routine aboard as well. The young lieutenant stares at the General. This was really completely unexpected. He doesn't know what to say. But the chief engineer knows what to say. "Now will all of you who is not an engineer leave engineering so we can finish that level 2 diagnostic." In five seconds everyone who doesn't belong in engineering has gone. The celebration of Second Lieutenant Javel's birthday continues in the mess hall, where crewmen Gutser and Holly tell the story of Second Lieutenant Javel who without any fear, hesitation or doubt did what he had to do. After the little party Second Lieutenant Javel only has one more question for the two crewmen who were with him the entire time during this exercise. "We have never served together in a team. I didn't even know who you were before this. Still I had the impression everything went smoothly. So my question is, did you know this exercise was set up up for my birthday? I saw you both with the General at the bar earlier and I had the impression you were joking about something or at least you were very happy about something. It is not that I am not pleased with my birthday present... I am just curious..." Crewmen Gutser and Holly look at each other. It is Gutser who addresses the Lieutenant. "Holly and I joined up together about a year ago. We try to do our job the best we can and we help each other the best we can as well. We didn't know about this exercise. We didn't know it was your birthday either. We really though something had happened to the ship. Apparently we did a good job. The thing we were happy about when the General talked to us earlier, was the promotion we received..." "Congratulation to both of you. That is really well deserved. What can I say. Carry on." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Snek network established with the help of the Federation between GG-11, PT-45 and ZQ-67 is now used all the time. The Snek colonies are still growing at an expanded speed. It is clear now that the leadership of the Snek is in the GG-11 colony. At times it seems the Snek have just lost their home planet yesterday. They just continue. The USS Tower, on it's way to MW-19, has received a list of all Snek colonists. The Snek send a database to the USS Tower, hoping the Snek colonists have arrived safely. but as the USS Tower must at least travel ten weeks to get there other means are being tried to make contact with a possible colony on MW-19... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 235 Deep Space 2 Operations is monitoring several ships which are exploring unexplored regions at the other side of the border of the Delta Quadrant. Located in the Beta Quadrant at the border of the known galaxy everyday the crew of Deep Space 2 has a little fear the Borg will come. Although known Borg space is much deeper into the Delta Quadrant, Admiral Arthur and his crew cannot be better prepared to face the Borg. It is inevitable that eventually there will be a confrontation with the Borg. But the Admiral is confident that with the newest technology in weapons and defensive systems the Federation will be a better equiped to handle a Borg invasion. The First stop of the Borg will be deep Space 2... There are also ships and teams which have used the stargate system to explore the universe. These crews and teams are at the beginning of a huge exploration. Many new artifacts and technology is discovered at this time. Not everyone in the Federation has the same idea using this new technology for the Federation, but for themselves. that is why the Commanding Officer of the huge station has ordered a tight security, which is executed by droids as well. Artifacts are locked up and examined in closed areas. "SS Libero, this is Deep Space 2 Spacedock. You are clear to enther corridor 6 Alpha. Please be adviced your crew and passengers are not allowed to disembark. We only do maintenance, provide you with supplies and then send you on your way again." Some people use every trick in the book to get their hands on a special Ancient artifact or something they can sell for lots of latinum on the black market. Two hours after the SS Libero has docked in Deep Space 2 Spacedock the Captain and his entire crew of seven is in holding cells. Their ship is confiscated and will be disassembled. Of course this is not the daily activity of the Deep Space 2 security division... Two days ago a team came back from the planet LM-49. The only thing they brought back was a wooden box which they had not been able to open. The box, carried by three team members, was placed in transit room 6 at gate command. The gate officers had been ordered under no circomstances to move the box or even touch it. When a few hours later the box was completely scanned, doctor Dalmer used a small cutting laser to open the Box. Scans had indicated the Box was empty, but it was not. There was a humanoid female inside. She was in a bad condition, but not in real danger. She was treated in transit room 6. She was not allowed to leave transit room 6. When the gate command security droids caught her in one of the corridors it was revealed she could walk through walls by use of an Ancient device. Carlata, as she called herself, told security she was looking for the chapa'ai to get to a planet where it should be safe for her. That planet was designated as DU-13 and had already been explored by a Federation team three months ago. Although DU-13 looked indeed safe, communities who lived their were rather primitive. Carlata prefered to stay in transit room 6 rather than live on in primitive circomstances. The mystery of Carlata was not yet solved, but all the Ancient devices she was wearing were confiscated... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The USS Tower has been able to contact the Snek colony on MW-19. With great joy the colonists learned that a lot of other Snek colonies had been set up. Using the Federation communication relay stations they were able to contact other Snek colonies. Three weeks later the first Snek ship was launched from one of the colonies with only one purpose... Bring familes together... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 236 Daily routine aboard the space station Deep Space 2 continues. Scientific expeditions come and go, traders try to sell their merchandise, engineers learn a lot about new technology, security picks up new arrivals in restricted areas and every day there is a new species knocking on the door of the Stargate on the planet below... The marines have a new training ground. Units are send to the surface of the ice planet and have to survive. It is a very simple test, but the execution of this test is much more complicated than it looks. Until now there has not been a unit which was able to survive the full 48 hours. the record is 36 hours and 17 minutes... "Unit 61 you are next. Are you prepared?" "Sir! Yes sir!" "We'll see about that. You will be dropped in 1 minute." It is silent for the next minute. The six men and women of Unit 61 concentrated. They have agreed to do everything they can to hold on as long as possible. Then the hatch opens. The six jump down on the ice. there is no way back now. The dropship moves away very fast. "Everyone all right?" After the confirmation Unit 61 leader Lieutenant Thomas reports to Deep Space 2 that everyone has landed safely and the survival drill can begin. Without anyone on the station knowing it, the Admiral himself follows these survival exercises with a lot of interest. He even did the survival test, but only lasted 21 hours. He was alone during the entire test. Team 61 is proceeding to an elevated ice formation where the wind is less. At temperatures of 50 degrees below zero, they need all the help they can. Their clothing should be sufficient... "Work fast. It doesn't have to be a work of art." The entire team works as fast as the weather allows. Blocks of ice are cut out of the ice to build an igloo. It is the sensible thing to do, and all teams have had the same idea. But some teams were not even ready with building the igloo... Aboard Deep Space 2 there is a sensor alert. An unidentified ship approaches the planet from the other side. "Dispatch the Hammerhead. I don't want any surprises." "The Hammerhead is on its way sir. Sir that ship is Borg. It doesn't look that way, but I am reading Borg signs. There is also weapons fire aboard that ship sir. If I may make a guess sir, I would say that the Borg are trying to assimilate that ship." "That means the Borg are much closer as we thought." Aboard the unknown vessel seems the crew fights for their lives. They use everything they have but they are forced to retreat to the bridge and a few corridors around it. But the crew has decided rather to die than be assimilated. The Captain has set a course directly to the planet. the planet where Unit 61 tries to build their igloo. "Lieutenant. Look sir. Is that a ship?" "That looks a lot like a ship... in trouble... I will contact Deep Space 2." The USS Hammerhead is just in time to transport the crew of the half assimilated ship on board into safety before the ship crashes not that far from Unit 61... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 237 While Unit 61 is still building their igloo, the half assimilated ship crashes with a violent force, leaving a three kilometer trail in the ice. The assimilated crew of the ship is not to be expected to survive the crash. Unit 61 hesitates for a moment but then con,tinue with the building of the igloo. Lieutenant Thomas is more concerned with the survival exercise on the icy planet than with an assimilated ship, which is smoking and will probably explode very soon. Onboard the USS Hammerhead the rescued part of the crew only has one officer left. It is Flight Lieutenant Dsozy. Dsozy is extremely happy she and her remaining crew have been saved. "Thank you so much. We thought we were a gonner. These Borg came out of nowhere. They must have boarded our ship at Federation Outpost 45. That was our last stop. Before that we were docked for repairs at Starbase 669. Both Outpost 45 and Starbase 669 are contacted because of the possible Borg threat. Starbase 669 is clean of Borg presence. At Outpost 45 security officers search every corner of the facility. Lieutenant Commander Djev Anatoli conducts the search himself. Two Borg drones are found and terminated. Their neural processors reveal that there are no more Borg drones at Outpost 45. There is no data on the Borg neural processors about a Borg invasion plan or any other plan the Borg Collective might have. Still Anatoli decides to increase security. It becomes clear that the Borg drones aboard the crashed ship on the Deep Space 2 planet might have more information. A marine team is already dispatched from the USS Hammerhead to investigate the crash sit and the entire region is scanned for possible Borg drone fugitives. The scans are negative, but there are at least six Borg drones found close to the wreckage. All of these drones are terminated. "Sir. Tis one has a neural processor we can still read. I am analysing the data now sir." "Let me know as soon as you find something useful Sergeant." "I will sir." Unit 61 has constructed the Igloo. All of the Borg incident passes by for this unit as they are continuing their survival exercise. In the Igloo it is rather warm. The unit cannot relax though. One of the teammembers is following the communications about the crashed ship. One of them is scanning the region for any Borg other anomaly. Two are checking on supplies and weapons. A few kilometers from the igloo the Deep Space 2 marine search team has found something. "Sir. We got more data sir. One of the Borg drones has jumped of the ship before it crashed. That one could have survived." "The Hammerhead has not found anything. We will have to make some calculations on where this Borg drone could have jumped and where it could have landed." "We already did sir. It is still a huge area." "We will need the help of every ship we can get our hands on. I will contact Deep Space 2." A few moments later no less than 15 runabouts are swarming over the region where the Borg drone could have landed. But after the first search patern is completed, the result is negative. The search area gets larger. The search continue... Unit 61 is still trying to survive. That is what they have to do. Their exercise seems to be interupted when Sergeant Inkt has a very small report. "Lieutenant. There is a Borg drone coming towards our igloo. Seven hundred meters, at a speed of four kilometers per hour." "Contact the USS Hammerhead. Let them pick this drone up. We can continue our exercise." A few moments later the Borg drone is picked up by the Deep Space 2 anti-Borg squad. Aboard the USS Hammerhead it becomes clear that the assimilation process of this man has not been a success. "Thanks man. Really thanks. Could someone get these Borg things out of my body. I could do it myself, but it becomes such a mess. Oh yes I forgot. Where are my manners. My name is Bier." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 238 A man called Bier is brought in in Deep Space 2 sickbay. The Borg tried to assimilate him, but apparently they didn't succeed. The Deep Space 2 medical staff is gathered to investigate why Bier has some kind of resistance against Borg nanites. An hour later all Borg presence is cleaned up. Unit 61 is still conducting their survival exercise and all routine continues at space station deep Space 2. There is one minor change. The number security droids has been doubled. On the planet at temperatures far below zero Unit 61 is still awake when the next phase of their survival exercise has started. During this phase they are not allowed to make a fire. "The purpose this execixe is to make as little heat as we can so if we are in hostile territory the enemy has more difficulties to track us. The temperatures we have outside our igloo are dangerous, but inside we can survive. So we will. We only have to do this by the book..." An hour later two guards are still awake in the igloo. The rest of the tam is sleeping. Outside there is not even the sound of wind. But every twenty minutes the ice moves a little bit. The marines feel it, but it doesn't wake them. It is a form of discipline. Aboard Deep Space 2 several officers are watching the displays in central operations. The rest of the crew is enjoying the rest at night. The security droids walk through the corridors wihtout being heard. In engineering there is a group of engineers extremely busy with a major upgrade. this upgrade has to be done before the morning shift starts at 06.00. There is no time to waiste so Chief Engineer Louis has taken precautions. Beta and Gamma shift are working together on this. "Watch those conduits. Come on people. Focus. Ensign, that generator comes behind the bulkhead, not in front of it. Lieutenant speak to me if you have replaced all the consoles. Droid 245 please let my men work here. Thank you. Step up and keep to the priorities..." There only seems to be one person aboard who is concerned by the Borg presence so close to Deep Space 2. Admiral Arthur is in his office looking at the latest results of the long range sensor logs. But there is nothing there except a Ferengi freighter, two comets, and the ice planet below... "Ops, have you notified the Ferengi about a possible Borg threat?" "We did sir, about an hour ago. Daimon Gurk listened but didn't change his course. We can't force them to do anything sir, so we didn't. The Ferengi Daimon said they don't believe us. Something about taking the profit ourselves." "Keep a ship ready in case they are in trouble. It is not because they are stupid, we don't have to save them if necessary." "I already have the Hammerhead on standing by sir. These Ferengi don't seem to be very experienced space travelers. According our database it is the first time the Ferengi show up in this sector." "Keep an eye on them. I have the feeling it will be necessary." The Admiral has just spoken his last word when Deep Space 2 receives a distress call from the Ferengi ship... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 239 Daimon Gurk has no choice. He tells his first officer to send out a distress call, knowing the space station Deep Space 2 is close. He can only hope the Deep Space 2 commander will send a ship to help. Despite the protest of his first officer about having to share profit, the distress call is send out on all frequencies. "You cannot share profit if you are dead. That is not exactly a rule of aquisition, but it is a fact." Daimon Gurk's first officer can only agree. But there is something Daimon Gurk doesn't know... The threat is more dangerous than it looks. The USS Hammerhead leaves Deep Space 2 spacedock. Commander Marianne can only shake her head. "Set course to the Ferengi ship, maximum speed. Scan the region for any unusual activity, especially Borg activity." "Aye commander, maximum speed. ETA seven minutes." In the following seven minutes, systems on the Ferengi ship begin to fail one after the other. The Ferengi crew is almost in complete panic when the USS Hammerhead contacts them to inform Daimon Gurk the Federation ship is in transporter range. It is unbelievable that the Ferengi crew is even willing to give up their cargo of artifacts to get off the ship. "Commander, we have transported the entire Ferengi crew aboard. Daimon Gurk would like to thank you personally. I must say he is suspiciously humble... I must say for a Ferengi..." "I will be there shortly Lieutenant. First things first." Commander Marianne turns to her chief engineer. "Status of the Ferengi ship?" "Nothing Commander. Absolutely nothing. The ship is completely dead. There is no power, no life form, not even bacteria. I can assemble an away team to investigate." "No wait. We need to know more first. I will have that talk now with Daimon Gurk. I think he knows more than he has told us so far." Aboard Deep Space 2, the doctors who are examining the man called Bier, have found several reasons why Bier is immune to the Borg assimilation nanites. In fact Bier cannot be assimilated by the Borg. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 240 Daimon Gurk and his crew are saved, but their cargo is still on their ship. It is not clear what happened on the Ferengi ship. All live and technology have been terminated somehow. If the Ferengi aboard would not have been saved just in time, they would have been terminated as well. A medical examination does not reveal anything unusual. Daimon Gurk is the last Ferengi to visit the doctor. "As far as I can see, there is nothing wrong with you. Maybe you transported the wrong artifact..." "I wish I had. Believe me. I could have thrown it off my ship. I would have been home right now. I invested everything I had in this expedition. I was so sure I had a good plan. Now I have lost everything. I cannot even go back to my ship..." The manifest of everything and everyone aboard the Ferengi ship is examined by the USS Hammerhead security officers. They report to Commander Marianne. "Commander, there is nothing aboard the Ferengi ship that could have caused a complete power failure. There wasn't a system malfunction either. The only cause we can speculate about is some kind of anomalie caused this. I must confess, there is little to go on. I recommend to return to Deep Space 2, declare this area dangerous and place some buoys which send out a signal to warn travelers. And so it is done. Despite the protests of Daimon Gurk the Ferengi ship is left behind, the buoys are set up and the USS Hammerhead returns to Deep Space 2. The Ferengi are offered a free passage on a trade ship to Ferenginar. They all take it. They have little choice. The file of the Ferengi case is labeled mysterious accident. Still there are a few droids who continue the investigation. If there was a danger to the Ferengi ship, there could be a danger to Deep Space 2. -------------------------------------------------------- The most interesting thing happening on Deep Space 2 is that the doctors have discovered that Bier cannot be assimilated by the Borg because his immune system is so strong, the Borg nanites are destroyed immediately upon entering the body. That is why he could survive the Borg attack. But even more interesting is that when Bier hears about the Ferengi, he seems to have the answer to the mystery. "I need to speak to someone who is in charge. You have a bigger problem than you think. This may even be a problem for the Borg as well..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 241 Aboard the huge space station Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur is sitting in his office, reading the latest reports from the Delta Quadrant border. There is no unusual Borg activity. But there is no activity at all. And that worries the Admiral. The usual trade has apparently just stopped. And then the Admiral notices someting. As he is a bit confused why there is no trade ship of any kind in the close proximity of Deep Space 2, he notices at least five ships which have been visiting deep Space 2, but are now either slowing down significantly or have even stopped completely. At the same time Daimon Gurk and his Ferengi crew were saved from their ship, these other ships seemed to get in some kind of technical trouble. Suddenly the displays turn into a black screen. The light goes out... The entire station seems to be put in somekind of time lock, except for the EMH... There is a man standing in Admiral Arthur's office. Arthur recognizes the man immediately. "You... You only come when we are in serious trouble. Does this have anything to do with these ships getting in trouble without a clear cause?" "Yes. It has begun. But you have an advantage. You have Bier." "I don't think it is time to get drunk now." The Admiral stands up and holds out his hand. The other older man accepts the hand and shakes it. "This is not about getting a drink. This is about the man you have in your sickbay. Mister Bier. Actually he is Colonel Bier. In my time he is a General. He is a very good friend of mine. At least he is now. You have only just met. I know how confusing time perception can be. Listen to Bier. You should trust him with your life. I do. Have fun..." The man is gone. The lights go on as are the displays on the Admiral's desk. The Admiral gets a call from sickbay. It is the EMH. "Admiral can you at least warn me when we get visits from the future like that. Stopping time is not good for my patients. I cannot treat them when they are stopped in time. please tell your counterpart..." The Admiral interupts the EMH. "I will try to remember that Doc. Do you have a man called Beer in your sickbay?" "Indeed I do Admiral. This Bier, the man who cannot be assimmilated by the Borg, has asked someone in charge to talk to." "I am on my way." It is Admiral Arthur himself who comes to listen what Beer has to say. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 242 Bier sits on a bed when Admiral Arthur comes in.Bier jumps to his feet. It is almost a military salute. "Admiral Arthur. It is good to see you. We don't have much time. Let me explain. My name is Bier. I am from a planet called Orange. We are a species that does not have any roots in this galaxy. Actually we had to flee from our own galaxy because of the threat you are about to face now..." "Colonel Bier..." The Admiral pauzes. He sees that Bier is a bit surprised. "Someone told me. He also told me to trust you. Tell me what this threat is exactly." Bier takes a deep breath. "The species I will talk about are called the Slymak. The Slymak are much worse than any species you have ever encountered. They are what we call galaxy eaters. They travel from one galaxy to another to conquer it and use the resources of that galaxy. This is the eighth galaxy on their... hitlist. They sent ships and troops, but worst of all, they send galaxy killers. Galaxy killers are huge devices that fly to the centre of a galaxy. They create a shockwave that kills all life in that galax, even microbes. The travel time of such a galaxy killer is about 27 years. They are to fast for anything the Federation has. The Slymak do not send one of those galaxy killers, but lots of them. We detected the first two days ago. That is why I was on that Ferengi ship. I had to come here to warn you. We can destroy some of the Slymak ships, but we are not nearly enough to terminate them all." "That is nice, but what can we do about it. If your technology already is more advanced than ours and you cannot stop these galaxy killers, what can we do about it?" Bier seems to be thinking. "You must evacuate your galaxy. I know we talk about billions of people. But you have 27 years to build ships in which you can move your people to another galaxy." "Is there any other way to destroy them?" "The Federation? Not that we know of. And even when the Borg can do it, they will be to late. Evacuation is the only option." "How do these Slymak get to our galaxy? At the maximum speed our ships use, it takes 600 years to get to the nearest galaxy." "The Slymak have a subspace corridor planted between our galaxy and one of theirs. It takes them around one year to get here. So far we have counted 127 ships, including 16 galaxy killers." "Can we talk to them?" "You can talk, but they will not listen. The galaxy killers are basicly automated drones. There are no crews aboard. Scout ships do not have crews aboard either. They will not only execute recon missions, but they will destroy everything that comes in their way." The Admiral is still thinking about the Slymak, when he is called by Deep Space 2 Operations. "Admiral. We have another distress call from the USS Karmeliet. They are under attack by an unknown... huge unknown ship. They can barely manage to keep out of their firing range." "Do you have an image of this enemy ship?" "Yes sir. Patching it through to your viewer." On the viewer the USS Karmeliet appears, with right behind it a huge ship. The ship is almost as big as a small moon, but has a irregular shape. Arthur looks at Bier. "Yes Admiral. That is a Slymak scout ship. You should see their battleships..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 243 The bad news Colonel Bier of Orange brought was that a species called Slymak is basicly conquering the galaxy and there doesn't seem to be anything the Federation or even the Borg can do about it. In Deep Space 2 Operations Admiral Arthur and his officers are watching the main viewer as the USS Karmeliet is under attack of a Slymak soutship. Even Bier is silent. The USS Karmeliet is managing to speed up and stay ahead of the Slymak scoutship. Hoping that this Slymak ship will give up pursuit, the Captain of the USS Karmeliet has ordered to transfer all power to propulsion, even from the shields... "Admiral. The USS Karmeliet is slowly escaping from the Slymak scout ship. The distance between the ships is getting bigger. I think they are going to make it." Just as everyone in Deep Space 2 Operations is happy about the USS Karmeliet getting to safety, another ship appears on the direct route of the USS Karmeliet. It is a freighter of the Lonher Alliance. Deep Space 2 warns the ship to get out of there, but the freighter is not that fast. While the USS Karmeliet is getting to safety the freighter is destroyed by the Slymak scoutship... "Admiral. I am sorry." "Colonel Bier, we need a way to get out of these Slymak's way or to destroy them. apparently we cnnot destroy them, so I am open to suggestions of how we are gong to evacuate an entire galaxy." "Admiral, your ship the USS Ajax can travel with the FTL-drive to another galaxy in a few years." "That is only one ship Colonel Bier. We cannot evacuate a galaxy with one ship." "No, but you can build more of these ships. Or you can use the stargates..." "Yes. That's it. That is the answer. The stargates. We can use them to tavel to another galaxy. We will destroy them after everyone has stepped through. The Slymac cannot follow us. That is it. Colonel Bier. You are a smart man." Colonel Bier is silent. He seems to be thinking. "Now all you have to do Admiral is convince the Federation Council to start the evacuation." "I will get right..." The Admiral pauzes. "This is to easy." "Admiral. The Slymak do not care whether someone or something lives here, in this galaxy. Thay are going to pillage it, no matter how many life forms they destroy. And they don't care either if the life forms of a galaxy flee. They are not interested in life, only resources." "Colonel bier, what if this galaxy did not have any resources?" "Admiral? Do you want to blow this galaxy up yourself?" "Of course not Colonel Bier. But maybe we can convince the Slymak that we will if they don't let us be." "Admiral, we tried that 4 times and it didn't work. We think the Slymak don't even listen to communications. They just come and get what they want." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 244 The Slymak prove to be a disaster for the entire galaxy. Their scout ships are already formidable. Their galaxy killers are unstoppable. It is time to inform the Federation Council of the danger. Admiral Arthur is trying... "That is a big negative sir. I know you are a member of the Federation Council. Believe me when I say this news has not reached anyone yet. We have been lucky we have people aboard our station who know about these dangerous species." "Slymak you say. I have never heard about this species. And they have devices to destroy entire galaxies? If that is true, that would be incredible. Are you sure?" "Yes sir. We have seen them in action. I have send you our sensor logs thirty minutes ago." "Oh yes I see. I have had no time to review them yet. Maybe I will look at them tomorrow. I have to go to the meeting about a new agriculture method on Jonosos III. I will get back to you." The channel is closed. The Admiral shakes his head. Colonel Bier of Orange pulls up his shoulders. "Admiral I don't mean any disrespect, but is this the might caring Federation I have heard about? If I hear this, I start thinking they do not deserve to survive the destruction of the Slymak. I will inform my government on Orange. They probably are already preparing the evacuation of our system." "I cannot blame you Colonel Bier. I will put the best scientists on Deep Space 2 on this problem. They should be able to build new ships like the USS Ajax. It will not be enough to evacuate the entire Federation, but as you can see, we cannot wait until the Federation Council has made a decision. If your time table is correct, we will all be dead by the time they do. We will start exploring the stargate system to find livable planets in other galaxies. Commander Marianne, you will be in charge of the stargate exploration program, I will have our XO Jan working on the new ships." "What about the Federation sir?" "I can only hope they will see the light... For the moment we can only start an evacuation of the Galaxy here. It is my personal responsibility to take care of the people on this station. But we have to work fast and think big. What we need is a super stargate through wich we can move entire fleets." With the information they receive from Colonel Bier of Orange the Deep Space 2 Engineer Droids start building a very small scout ship. This ship will be send to the main hub of the Slymak. If there is a possibility to stop these Slymak it will be by destroying their primary hub and subspace corridor to their galaxy of origin. This could delay them enough so the Federation Council can take the right decision to start with building arks and ships to evacuate the Federation. But at this time the Federation Council doesn't seem to be in a hurry, even Starfleet Command has already urged the Federation Council to act... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 245 Aboard space station Deep Space 2 everyone has become very serious. The threat of the Slymak is real and there is nothing they can do about it. "Colonel Bier. I have seen your point about these Slymak and their galaxy killers. We have about 25 years to come up with a defense or a way to evacuate the Federation. Our technology is not sufficient to stop the Slymak. "I am afraid that is correct Admiral. If you will excuse me, I will contact my government on Orange for their latest updates." "I understand Colonel. If they have any new ideas, I would like to hear them." "I will be back." As Colonel Bier leaves Deep Space 2 operations, a communication comes in from a Klingon patrol 131 lightyears from Deep Sace 2 that is more than interesting. There are three Klingon ships cloaked and ready to strike. "... to the Hak'ler. Stay cloaked. I don't trust this. I have never seen a ship like this. This is one of those ships that has been destroying ships in the region of the Federation station Deep Space 2. I have seen those reports. This must be a ship of these Slymak which are mentioned in the reports. The ships that tried to fight this Slymak ship were destroyed in a matter of seconds. Inform the Klingon High Council that we will follow this Slymak ship. It seems to follow a search pattern from one system to another. Ask for more ships. When we have a large fleet we may win this battle, but not with three ships..." Six hours later 64 Klingon ships start an attack on the Slymak scoutship. It should be an easy win and a glorious battle, but it turns out differently then expected. The Slymak ship opens fire and destroys half the Klingon fleet with one blow. The second wave of Klingon ships attacks, except for one Bird of Prey, Gl'otoch which was damaged in the first wave. The Gl'otoch crew is lucky they can cloak the ship. It saves them. All the other ships of the Klingon fleet are destroyed. It was a good day to die... The Slymak ship doesn't have a scratch and continues its search... Aboard Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur again tries to convince the Federation Council to come up with a plan against the Slymak, but without much success. But there is also a bit of goood news. Commander Marianne has found 16 planets in 4 different galaxies which can be reached by stargate. Slymak ships that can destroy all life in the galaxy are on their way to the center of the galaxy, where they will send out the destroying wave. It will take them 27 years to get there. And there doesn't seem anything anyone can do to stop them... Colonel Bier of the planet Orange has been informed by his government that the preparations of a total evacuation has been started. This is the sixth time the people of Orange have to move to another galaxy because of the Slymak... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 246 Aboard the space station Deep Space 2 Colonel Bier of the planet Orange reports to Admiral Arthur. "Admiral. Our people are making preparations to evacuate from this galaxy. We cannot fight the Slymak. This is the sixth time in five thousand years we have to do this. It shoudn't be a problem. We can move the entire Orange population in only a year to another galaxy which we have already cleared. There should not be Slymak coming there in at least fourhundred years, so we are safe again for some time. I have convinced our government to give the locatioon of that galaxy to your Federation. There must be a few stargates there you can use to get there fast." "Thank you Colonel. That is a nice gesture. Thank you in the name of the Federation. Although I must say the Federation Council doesn't seem to be convinced that the threat of the Slymak is real. But tthe good news is that already sixty starship captains have decided not to wait and have set a course to Deep Space 2 just in case an imediate evacuation through the stargate becomes necessary. Maybe the combined efforts of the scientists and engineers aboard those ships lead to a solution. We will not take any chances and build a super stargate big enough for starships" "Let's hope there will be another solution for your people. And you have to destroy that super stargate as soon as the last ship has passed through it." "That is indeed the plan. We can destroy the super stargate from the planet. Than the last people use the stargate on the planet to go totally somewhere else where they will be picked up. On that planet the stargate will be destroyed and all routes to the safe galaxies will be closed. The only thing we are still working on is on how we can take this entire station through the super stargate." "Can't you just tow it?" "That is indeed one proposal. Oh well, we still have a few years. Unless the Slymak decide to come closer. We have already sent a huge number of engineers and droids through to a galaxy we have designated as Beta Galaxy. A serious amount of industrial replicators are already working overtime. They are already exploring the region with runabouts and gate jumpers. We are hopeful. Colonel, this will not be the end of us..." "I am very happy that at least someone in your Federation has jumped into action. 27 years seems like a long period of time, but it is not. I have to go make preparations to leave as well. The last Orange ship will pass at Deep Space 2 to pick me up. That will be in about three months." "We hope to have finished the super stargate by then." "I hope to see that Admiral." Far far away in the Delta Quadrant one of the Slymak Galaxy Killers is on its way to the center of the galaxy. It will arive in 26 years, 8 months and 17 days. Of course a huge ship like that cannot travel unnoticed. It is a Borg sphere who detects the ship... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 247 A Borg sphere has detected a Slymak Galaxy Killer, but it is still unknown to the borg Collective what kind of ship this is. As the Borg almost automaticly assimilate the unknown, the Sphere tries to contact the Slymak Galaxy Killer, which is almost as big as the entire Borg Uniconplex. "We are Borg. Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded. You will be assimilated to service us..." There is no answer. The Borg sphere engages a tractorbeam, but cannot lock. A very small Slymak projectile leaves a launching tube of the Galaxy Killer. It travels out of phase towards the Borg Sphere. A few sconds later the Borg Sphere explodes and is destroyed... The Slymak Galaxy Killer continues on its designated course, leaving the Borg Collective with an unknown conundrum. A week later aboard the space station Deep Space 2 Colonel Bier of the planet Orange meets Admiral Arthur. "I have had a chance to visit the Beta Galaxy through your stargate. It is very peaceful. It is a good choice. Have you been able to convince the Federation Council of the Slymak threat?" "Nope. They are debating the industrial help for Laambdin III, arresting the pirate Olmen Mudd, six border disputes and the membership of a planet called Jugonamah. That seems to be more important than the end of the galaxy. But the good news is that three Federation starships will arrive at Deep Space 2 before the end of the week. Those are Captains who are also preparing to find a sollution to this Slymak problem." Colonel Bier can only shake his head. "I have just received a new report from one of our automated probes in the Delta Quadrant. The Borg have engaged a Slymak Galaxy Killer. Seventeen borg ships were involved. All of them were destroyed in less than thirty seconds." "The Borg had it coming. One day they will meet an oponent that is much more advanced and they will be destroyed. I hink that day has come. I have the impression the Slymak do not have mercy or a conscience. Colonel Bier I still think there must be a way to defeat them." "If there was I would tell you Admiral. I am afraid that after thousands of years living under the threat of the Slymak, even we have not yet found a way. I can give you all data the people of Orange have gathered on the Slymak during those millennia. My people have always chosen to leave. We didn't really put up a fight. I am not ashamed. Sometimes one better avoids a fight than to be completely destroyed." One day later all the data collected by the people of Orange on the Slymak have been uploaded to the Deep Space 2 main computer. The intelligence droids aboard Deep Space 2 have begun a search of the files..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 248 Colonel Bier of the planet Orange has provided Deep Space 2 with the data collected by the people of Orange on the Slymak. After a few days already the data is sent to the Federation Council, but without success. Admiral Arthur continues to warn other admirals and starship Captains about the Slymak threat. But it still takes three weeks before he gets the attention of the Starfleet C-in-C. "Arthur, what is this all about these Slymak? Why isn't the Federation Council doing something about this? It seems you know more than anyone about these Slymak. Let's waiste no more time. What do you recommend." "Sir, within about 26 years this galaxy will be destroyed by Slymak galaxy killers. These galaxy killers are not stoppable, at least not with our technology. Not even the Borg can stop them. My recommendation is that we evacuate our people to another galaxy. We can use the stargate systems we have here on the planet to do that. Or we can build huge ships." "The stargatesystem. Yes. Excellent. I have read your report on that. It seems you have already found a suitable peaceful galaxy?" "Yes sir. And we have already colonized 6 planets. One of those already has some bigger facilities. Next week we are going to do the first tests with our super stargate. Through that gate we can send starships." "Hmmm. Are you sure this is all necesary. Can't we just talk with these Slymak? If they are so advanced, they must see reason." "We have tried that and all the ships that came to close were destroyed in a matter of seconds. Three days ago a Klingon fleet of 91 ships attacked one Slymak scoutship and all Klingon ships were lost. There was not even a scratch on the Slymak ship." "The Klingons?" "Yes sir. I sent you a report of that battle yesterday. One of our Federation starships helped some Klingon vessels with the search through the field of debris. There is no doubt. There were no survivors." "No survivors?" "None sir. 26 years is an estimated time. It could all be sooner. The time to convince the Federation Council is now sir. Maybe you will have more succes than I had to convince them." "I will speak to the Federation Council. But another thing Admiral Arthur. Apparently several starships have interupted their missions of exploration to travel to Deep Space 2. Is that true?" "Currently four starships have entered orbit of this planet. There are nine other ships on their way." "And what exactly are these ships doing there?" "They are waiting for our super stargate to become operational. These ships will go through once this new gate is working." "Admiral Arthur. I want those ships patroling the Klingon border in case the Klingons attack the Federation because they think we have something to do with those 91 ships they have lost." "Well sir, you are the C-in-C. I am only an Admiral. It is clear to me you have not read a word I have written and you have not listened to one word I have just said. All life in this galaxy will end in the near future and there is nothing we can do about it. I am shocked that apparently you did not understand. Good-bye sir." Befor the C-in-C can answer the channel is closed. Colonel Bier of the planet Orange who is sitting in Admiral Arthur's office can only shake his head. "I am sorry Admiral Arthur. It seems that your leaders do not seem to realise what is happening." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 249 Seventeen ships have gathered in orbit of the planet below Deep Space 2. The super stargate is ready to undergo the first tests. The Federation Council nor the C-in-C himself consider the Slymak threat as urgent. Colonel Bier of the planet Orange has provided Deep Space 2 with the latest data on the Slymak. There are now more Slymac galaxy killers on their way to the center of the galaxy... More than can be counted... Even if the Federation had technology to destroy a Slymak ship, there would not be time enough to destroy them all. Even with the help of all species of the galaxy, there would not be enough time... Far away from the Federation the Borg have the same problem. They still are not able to assimilate or destroy a Slymak ship. The Borg know they still have time as they observe the Slymak galaxy killers slowly approach the center of the galaxy. They do not need information from another species to realise what this is about. The Borg are already building a new tranwarp hub. there will be connections to two different galaxies. Cubes have already been sent to those galaxies at transwarp speed, to scout an assimilate what is need for a smooth transition to another galaxy. Colonel Bier of the planet Orange informs Admiral Arthur in command of Deep Space 2 about the plans of the Borg. Scout ships of the Orange army have discovered these plans. But those scouts cannot longer stay and have to join one of the last groups of ships evacuating the planet Orange. The government of the planet Orange has made the decision based on their experience with the Slymak. They are not taking any chances with the Slymak. "Admiral Arthur, it is time for me to go. My superiors have called me to join the last evacuation group of our planet. But I have had permission to get a few of those stargates and take them with us. So we will see each other again in the future. Maybe you will find a way to stop the Slymak. You still have some time and you are already bringing some of your people into safety." "Thanks to you Colonel Bier. I am not sure anymore that I can convince our Federation Council of the urgency of this threat. All I can do is take precautions for my people and who will listen to me. That is my responsibility and my only priority." "Admiral I have to go now. My ship has arrived. Good luck." "You to Colonel. Thanks for everything." "You are welcome Admiral. Good-bye." The Orange battleship transports colonel Bier aboard. The Orange navigator opens a transwarp conduit. A moment later the ship is gone. Admiral Arthur sits down behind his desk and he whispers... "See you around Colonel Bier. I am sure we will meet again some day." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 250 Two days after Colonel Bier has left to another galaxy, testing the super stargate has succesfully ended. There are now 24 Federation starships in orbit of the icy planet below Deep Space 2. Admiral Arthur has decided to have the huge space station go through the gate at the very last minute. First to go through is the USS Hammerhead. Under command of Lieutenant Commander Nadine. She insisted... "Deep Space 2. This is USS Hammerhead. All systems go. Activate the supergate." "USS Hammerhead. This is Deep Space 2. We are activating the supergate." In high orbit of the planet is a huge ring. The inner part starts turning. It stops and starts turning again. When it stops turning for the ninth time a huge water like substance comes out of the gate. "USS Hammerhead, we have a connection. You have a go." "Acknowledged Deep Space 2. We will proceed. Helm one quarter impulse." "One quarter imulse, aye sir. Reaching the gate in 4, 3, 2, 1,..." The USS Hammerhead moves into the gate. A moment later it is gone. After another ten seconds there is contact again. "Deep Space 2. This is USS Hammerhead. We have arrived safely in the Messier 2 Galaxy. The engineers on this side have done a great job. The super stargate on this side works perfectly." "That is good news USS Hammerhead. Get to work." Indeed the work is not done yet. Currently in the Messier 2 Galaxy exploring is the main objective. This galaxy is new and it is absolutely necessary to establish good relations with the neighbours. The super stargate in the Messier 2 Galaxy is in high orbit of a planet given the name Outpost Messier 2. Engineers are already building an entire city with the help of the engineering droids. They are also building a small relay station in orbit. One by one the Federation ships come trhough the gate and start on their exploration journeys. The last ship coming through the gate is the USS Carry, a cargo ship with a special cargo... Life animals and plants... Admiral Arthur still on Deep Space 2 in the Milky Way Galaxy contacts the last ships which are still approaching Deep Space 2. The USS Striker and USS Ajax receive the message. Message from admiral Arthur Commanding Officer Deep Space 2 To USS Striker USS Ajax All the ships present have gone trhough the super gate and have arrived on the other side safely. Carry on with your regular duties and missions. There is still time. End of Message The supergate has closed. But on the surface of the planet at Stargate Command the gate is activated. Lieutenant Thomas looks at the screen before him. "Incoming wormhole. Code verified. It is Messier 99. It is a message only. They say the supergate in the Messier 99 Galaxy is ready for testing..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 251 Three days have passed since the first 24 ships have used the super stargate to travel to the Messier 2 Galaxy. All ships have already filed reports on inhabitable planets, but no intelligent life forms have been detected so far. The good news is that there is no sign of the Slymak or any galaxy killers. "Anything else I should know lieutenant?" "No Admiral. Deep Space 2 itself is ready to move through the gate as soon as you give the order. May I remind you sir that it takes our station 8 seconds to move into the super stargate. Gate command is ready to destroy the super stargate if they have to." "Excellent Lieutenant. How many droids are still on Deep Space 2?" "Around six thousand sir. There are around two thousand sent to the messier 2 Galaxy and Messier 99 Galaxy. Relay stations are ready as are the satellites around six planets in total. We receive regular reports from thses satellites. The building of the first starbases have begun. But I am informed there has not yet been found an intelligent life form." "If there is no intelligent life in those galaxies, that is not a bad thing. It will provide peace. You know Lieutenant. there is one thing we still have to be careful. If our kind doesn't meet any other intelligent life forms in those galaxies for centuries, our kind could get sloppy. So... Time for battledrill 46." "Aye sir. Nice..." "Red alert! All hands to battlestations! We are under attack!" While the crew of Deep Space 2 conducts battledrills, far away from Deep Space 2, the USS Hammerhead is entering the system designated as 2-PM-66. There are no indications of any species with space travel capabilities. But there is something strange in this system. "Commander Nadine. I think you should see this. We have to execute multiple course corrections every three seconds. It is as if gravity forces are playing with us. We have plotted these gravity forces into a computer simulation. Look." On the display there is clearly a pattern of graitational forces at work. But when the officers on the bridge of the USS Hammerhead take a closer look they see that this patern looks like three planets orbiting the star. each of those planets have two moons. there is only one thing though. The USS Hammerhead's sensors do not detect any planets or moons. Some officers even get to a window, but do not see any planets or moons. "Commander. It could be these planets and moons are cloaked." "Yes Lieutenant. That is a possibility. Now the question remains. Do we disturbe this star system or do we leave it alone?" "Commander do you think we can make these planets visable?" "We are already seeing them Lieutenant, here on this display. We can use a tachyon pulse or a probe as well." "A species that can cloak their planets must be advanced. I think we better try to be friends Commander." "You are absolutely right Lieutenant. Maybe we should just talk to them. Open all channels." "Channels open Commander." "This is Commander Nadine representing the United Federation of Planets. We are explorers and we come in peace. We like to get to know you better..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 252 The crew of the USS Hammerhead has found cloaked planets in the 2-PM-66 system. After several attempts to contact any intelligent life forms on those planets, Commander Nadine decides to send out a polite warning. "Attention all life forms in this system who can hear us. We would like to make peaceful contact with you, but we have not been able to do so as there is no answer. We have the technology to make your planets visible to us, so please answer our calls. If you do not we will have no choice but to use that technology." Commander Nadine waits for another five minutes, but there is still no answer. Then she feels she has no choice... "Lieutenant, tachyon burst, full spread. Let's see what is out here." "Aye Commander. Tachyon burst initiated. First data is coming in. We have three planets, the first has two moons, the second no moons and the third has two moons. The third planet, the farest from the star clearly has structures of a civilisation. Read outs indicate they use antimatter as an energy source. Sensors also indicate several ports, which seem to be space ports." "Can we see any ships in those spaceports Lieutenant?" "Indeed Commander. We are analysing them now. One moment please. Those ships have warp capability, warp three..." "So they have ships which have warp speed. Interesting. Do you find any cloaking device or generator?" "Yes Commander. We have found them. Wait a minute. It seems they have reset their cloaking frequency. The planets and moons are cloaking again. They are gone Commander. Shall I initiate another tachyon burst?" "Negative Lieutenant. It seems these people want to be left alone in peace. I think we should leave them in peace. Open a channel. We are going to say good-bye." "Channel open Commander." "Attention all planets in this system. It is clear that you do not want any interference. We will respect your wishes. We will leave you in peace. We wish you all the best." The channel is closed. The USS Hammerhead Sets a course at half impulse speed out of the 2-PM-66 system. The Commander has ordered a lower speed to give the species in this system a chance to make contact after all. Nothing happens. "Helm, increase speed to full impules. As soon as we are out of the system speed it up to warp seven to the next system on our list. That is system G-345-P. Engage." "Increasing speed to full impulse. We are out of the system, setting course to G-345-P, warp seven. ETA is six days." Not so far away from the USS Hammerhead the building of a new starbase is proceeding according plan. It will be the first Federation starbase in the Messier 2 Galaxy. The starbase is being built in orbit of the planet F-9 close to the Super stargate. At this time Federation diplomats have arrived through the regular stargate on the planet. They must prepare to establish diplomatic relations with other species in the Messier 2 Galaxy. Every day the threat of the Slymak Galaxy Killers becomes more real. Although the Federation Council still does not see the threat, Admiral Arthur has already been able to sent 41 ships through the super Stargate to the Messier 2 and Messier 99 Galaxies... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 253 While the evacuation to the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies continues, the Federation Council is still bickering about some small claims of some of the members, agricultural progression on some planets and a border dispute. Apparently the Federation Council still does not see the Slymak as the ultimate threat. Even when the Klingons send reports of their fleets being defeated by only one Slymak ship, nothing happens. "The Federation does not interfere with Klingon internal events..." But then the inevitable happens. A Federation outpost close to Ferengi territory reports that a Slymak ship has attacked without any warning. A few moments later all communication with the outpost is terminated. Some members of the Federation Council start asking questions, but they are asking the wrong questions... "Why was there a Federation outpost at the Ferengi border?" "Why did the Ferengi attack our outpost?" "Slimook? What are Slimook?" "Did the Ferengi hire mercenaries of the Slimak to attack one of our outposts? That is an act of war!" And so the Federation Council doesn't seem to see the facts. The last meeting almost ended in chaos until the Federation President ordered a small fleet to investigate what happened at the Ferengi border... On the other side of the Federation, aboard Deep Space 2, Admiral Arthur has read the reports. He can only shake his head. He turns to his viewer and looks at his XO Jan, who is eploring the Messier 99 Galaxy. "So far so good Admiral. This seems to be a peacefull region of the Messier 99 Galaxy. We only have found one other species which has faster than light capability, but they are very friendly. We have exchanged some cultural objects and music. There is not much more I can tell, except the Starbase is almost ready and the gate room on the planet here is ready. We have installed a stargate and are ready to send out teams for exploration. The stargate system has detected 17 planets with a stargate in our region, so we will be buzy the next coming month. I will send an update on the list of starships which have arrived in the Messier 99 Galaxy so far." "Thanks XO. keep me posted. Arthur out." The Admiral turns his seat around, stands up slowly and walks to the door. While the door opens he can only think about what Colonel Bier has told him a few weeks ago. He had to keep in mind that these Slymak were going to destroy this galaxy and everything in it. At this time the Federation and Starfleet did not have a plan on how to stop the Slymak Galaxy Killers. The only way to prevent annihilation at this point is total evacuation. But until now only 91 Starfleet have traveled to Deep Space 2 and have gon through the super gate to the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies, chosen by the Deep Space 2 droids as most... efficient for the continuation of life as we know it... But there are at least three alternatives. But those galaxies will only be explored if the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies were not as expected. And there is still time to evacuate, explore new galaxies and build. the first Slymak Galaxy Killer will arrive and deliver it's destruction in about 25 years... In the Messier 2 Galaxy the USS Hammerhead has arrived at planet 2-PM-66. "Helm, standard orbit." "Standard orbit. Aye Commander." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 254 While the USS Ajax leads the exploration of the Messier 99 Galaxy, the USS Hammerhead aerrives at 2-PM-66, a habitable planet in the Messier 2 Galaxy. Scanning of the planet begins... "Commander, there are some first scan results from the biology and geology departments. There is enough flora to sustain humanoid life for the next thousands of years, but no humanoid life has been found yet. Geology reports indicate there are very little movements at surface level. There are some deeper in the planet but those have no influence on the planet itself. There is little more to report Commander. I have already sent a report to the Messier 2 starbase." "Is the starbase already operational?" "Not officially Commander, but 60 percent is already up and running. That is enough to handle communications and supplies." "OK Lieutenant. Thank you. Keep me posted. I will be on the holodeck with the XO to run simulations for landing parties." "Understood Commander. I will report to you if there is any change on the planet. Sensor sweeps will continue for at least 4 hours." "You know where to find me Lieutenant." Commander Nadine leaves the bridge. On her way to the holodeck she almost bumps into the head of the biology department. "Lieutenant, any news?" "Not yet Commander, but..." "Yes Lieutenant..." "I guess this is again one of those occasions I would say it is to good to be true..." "Let's keep our eyes open then Lieutenant. If there is anything to report, let me know, even if it is only one little toxic plant." "You can count on me Commander." "Excellent. Now I have to go. The XO is waiting on the holodeck. We are going to run some simmulations." Aboard Deep Space 2 the reports from the Messier 2 Galaxy and planet 2-PM-66 are interesting enough for some officers to take a closer look. Maybe they just do it because there is no other news. The entire crew of the huge space station has lost the feeling of defeat as there is probably nothing they can do against the Slymak galaxy killers. Now the feeling of getting ready for a new beginning takes the upper hand. There seem to be more preparations to evacuate the Galaxy to other galaxies than attempts to stop the Slymak. More than 200 Federation ships went through the super stargate and have spread out in the Messier 99 and Messier 2 galaxies... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 255 The security Droids aboard the Deep Space 2 space station have located 9 Slymak galaxy killers. The threat has become very real. A few hours ago one of those galaxy killers was traveling through Romulan space. The Romulan Tal Shiar has already been informed by their Federation operatives about the Slymak threat and the Slymak galaxy killers. 94 Romulan ships attacked the Slymak galaxy killer, but they did not make one scratch on the Slymak ship, while the entire Romulan fleet was destroyed. The result of this last catastrophical battle with a Slymak ship has lead to the Romulan preparation to evacuate the entire Romulan Star Empire from the curren galaxy. But now also the Klingons, Cardassians and some Ferengi are worried and are also making plans to evacuate their people out of this galaxy. Although 25 years seems a long time, every day counts. Ships have to be build, new propulsion systems have to be developped and most of all, people have to be convinced to leave their home, where they have lived for all their lives for many generations... But it seems the Fedeation is doing nothing. The Federation Council has not sent one ship to investigate Slymak ships. There isn't even one attempt to start with a possible evacuation of the Federation people. After the Klingon and Romulan ambassadors have assured the Federation that their increasing production of more ships, will only be used for the evacuation of their people, The Federation Council doesn't even speak of it anymore, to the surprise of the Klingons and Romulans... Even they do not understand why the Federation isn't doing anything about the Slymak threat. There is one man in the Federation who has taken initiative to evacuate his people out of the galaxy. Admiral Arthur looks at the latest reports. 231 Federation ships have traveled through the super stargate to the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies. The first starbases in the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies are as good as fully operational. Arthur is still trying to convince other captains to join the evacuation. Even if they do not believe in the Slymak threat, they could join up for the exploration of new galaxies. But not all of them want to join... In the Messier 2 Galaxy The USS Hammerhead is on of the ships exploring the galaxy. In orbit of the planet 2-PM-66, Commander Nadine is waiting for her department heads to report. The news is good. "Commander away teams 1,2 and 3 are ready to be transported to the planet. They are waiting for your order." "Excellent Lieutenant. They all have permission to transport to the planet. Let them report every ten minutes." "Understood Commander. The away teams have arrived on the planet. The all report in they have arrived safely. They are deploying their equipment." "Lieutenant, report any progress on the planet. I will be in my ready room." "I will keep you posted Commander." Commander Nadine enters her ready room and sits down behind her impressive desk. Her right hand moves towards her terminal. There is a call from the bridge. "Commander, I think you should see this." Commander Nadine jumps to her feet, runs towards the door and enters the bridge. On the main viewer is Lieutenant Gurt, in command of away team 1, pointing towards a few trees closeby. Gurt doesn't say anything. He doesn't have to. In the tree is a small device that looks like a camera or other sensor. In the Messier 99 Galaxy, the USS Ajax proceeds to the next planetary system. The success of the exploration in the Messier 2 Galaxy, where already 16 inhabitable planets have been mapped, leads to more effort in the Messier 99. It is of course no competition, but the exploration of the Messier 99 Galaxy only lead to 4 inhabitable planets... The good news is that Starbase Messier 99 is fully operational. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 256 In the Messier 2 Galaxy The USS Hammerhead is in orbit of the planet 2-PM-66, where Lieutenant Gurt of Away Team 1 has not only discovered sensors in the trees, but also a power signature that points to a power plant under the surface. All scans are now concentrated on that power source. All away teams are called back to the ship. Commander Nadine doesn't take any chances. Is this a species that doesn't want to be discovered? Could this be a threat? Are the inhabitants of the planet 2-PM-66 hiding from even a bigger threat? Those are all good questions. But there are no imediate answers. Communication channels are opened. "Attention inhabitants of this planet. I am Commander Nadine in command of the starship Hammerhead in orbit of your planet. I represent the United Federation of Planets. We are explorers and come in peace to establish peaceful relations with other species." But there is no answer. Other and older frequencies are used. And then suddenly there is an answer. "I am Minister Gjandos of the planet Zodrania. We are only simple people and we do not often have the honor to receive outsiders. Forgive us for being cautious. The last visit of outsiders lead to a full scale conflict." "Minister Gjandos of Zodrania. We do not mean your people any harm. If you want us to leave, we will. We have a policy of not interfering. But we would appreciate contact with other species, because we want to learn more." "Thank you Commander. A small group of us will come to the surface to meet a small group of your people. We believe this way we can learn more from each other. What do you think?" "Excellent Minister. It will be an honor." Aboard Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur is looking at the latest reports. The security Droids aboard the Deep Space 2 space station have located 19 Slymak galaxy killers... More and more captains realise this is a real threat to the entire galaxy. Most of them consult with the entire crew to make a decision to join the evacuation or not. Most of the ships on their way to the super stargate at the space station Deep Space 2 have already picked up the families of the crewmembers. It is a sign that these ships are not planning to return... 319 Federation ships have traveled through the super stargate to the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies. The first starbases in the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies are fully operational. Locations for a second starbase are now looked into. In the Messier 99 Galaxy very only a small number of inhabited planets are discovered. Those which have been discovered only have primitive life forms. A seventeenth planet has been discovered. It can be used for colonisation, but there is still a lot of terraforming work. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 257 In the Messier 2 Galaxy on 2-PM-66 a small team of the USS Hammerhead meets with a small team of the Zodrania under leadership of Minister Gjandos. Now it is up to the diplomats to establish some kind of relations with the Zodrania. Commander Nadine and the rest of the crew of the USS Hammerhead just have to wait... But also aboard Deep Space 2 the diplomatic effort on 2-PM-66 is followed by several officers, including the duty officer. It is the first time since the start of the evacuation, a new species willing to talk has been discovered. 451 Federation ships have joined the evacuation to the to the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies, using the super stargate. Still the Federation Council is discussing other matters, wich are considered much more important than the destruction of the galaxy by the Slymak. Captains who have joined he evacuation are not talking about evacuation. They only speak about it among themselves. When contacted by the Admirality, they speak of exploration and huge oportunities in other galaxies. While the first starbases in the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies are fully operational, second and third starbases are being built. Everything is running smoothly according plan. There are still some issues... Commander Louis reports. "Admiral, these are the latest Slymak numbers. We have now detected 41 Slymak galaxy killers. We still have no idea how to stop or destroy even one of them. Have youu heard something from the Federation Council?" "Nope. The mining permits on H-23 and K-44 for the next 50 years seem to be more important. They don't seem to realise in 50 years there will be nothing left of H-23 or K-44 or this galaxy..." Admiral Arthur hits his desk with his flat hand, which results in a violent noise. "Well... We will have to do our best to save as many as we can." Chief Engineer Louis returns to his office, leaving the Admiral shaking his head again. BUt the question remains... How will the Federation Council be convinced to take action and call for a evacuation of the Federation and this entire galaxy? "Admiral. There is a small Klingon fleet approaching Deep Space 2. We have tried to contact them, but they are still to far away. They will be in our communication range in about 2 minutes." "Thank you Lieutenant. I will come to operations." Eactly 2 minutes later a Klingon Dahar Master appears on the main viewer. He seems very serious. "Attention Deep Space 2. I am Klingon Dahar Master K'Ovandar. I realise you are very busy so I will come right to the point. I am sent by the Klingon High Council to ask you if any Klingons can use your super stargate to evacuate Klingons to a safe galaxy. Please remember we are certainly not cowards, but the Klingon species will be completely whiped out if we do not start evacuating. We have tried to destroy a few of those Slymak ships, but we failed and lost many ships and warriors. The Klingon High Council thinks this is an enemy we cannot defeat. We do not call this evacuation, but regrouping..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 258 "Admiral. 526 Federation ships have joined the evacuation to the Messier 2 and Messier 99 Galaxies. The number is still rising. With all these extra personnel more starbased are build. The diplomats in Messier 2 on the planet 2-PM-66 make good progress in there talks with minister Gjandos and his aids. In Messier 99 not much new is discovered." "Lieutenant, that is all very interesting, but we have a Klingon Dahar Master at our doorstep with a small fleet. Maybe we should answer him first." "Dahar Master K'Ovandar, may I invite you to come aboard Deep Space 2. It will be easier to explain options." "Thank you Admiral. I will accept your invitation." Dahar Master K'Ovandar transports aboard Deep Space 2. He is alone and unarmed. Admiral Arthur welcomes the Dahar Master with all honors. As both leave the transporterroom they are escorted by a security detail. In the conference room K'Ovandar comes directly to the point. "Admiral, we would like to use your supergate. It does not matter to which galaxy we go as long as there are no Slymak." The Starfleet Admiral thinks for a second. "Dahar Master, we have a good base already in the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies. I suggest you go go the Messier 99 Galaxy. It is a calm galaxy. We have not found many inhabited systems. There is plenty of room." The meeting is interupted by one of the officers. "Admiral I know you are in an important meeting, but this is the latest updates on the Slymak Galaxy Killers. There are now 59 detected." "Understood Commander. Keep me posted." Admiral Arthur turns to Dahar Master K'Ovandar. "As you can see Dahar Master, we take the Slymak very seriously. We stil have time to evacuate the Federation, but there are a lot of people here and we cannot move them in a few days. That is why we have already started." "I understand completely Admiral. I could only hope we would have technology like you do. It is not the Klingon way to ask for help. but it seems we do not have much choice." Now it is Dahar Master K'Ovandar who is interupted. One of his officers contacts him. "Dahar Master. I apollogize for the interuption, but you wanted to know whether Dahar Master Ton had survived the battle. He and his crew have survived. Their ship, the Boraka, will be here in an hour." "Very well Captain. We will wait for him. Admiral Arthur. I suggest we wait until Dahar Master Ton is here. We both were sent out here on orders of the Klingon High Council. We didn't know whether Ton would make it through. Last I heard he was engaging a Slymak ship. Ton didn't win." "If he had won, your officer would have said something about a glorious win..." "Indeed. I hope Ton didn't lose to many ships." An hour later Dahar Master Ton arrives at Deep Space 2. His fleet lost 8 ships of 15. Maybe it was a good day to die, but the battle had not been a glorious one... In the transporterroom Dahar Master Ton is welcomed by the Admiral himself and Dahar Master K'Ovandar. K'Ovandar does not show any emotions. "Ton. You made it. Excellent. This is Admiral Arthur. He has been very kind. He is offering to help us." "Thanks K'Ov. It was a good day to die, but there are still more important things. Admiral Arthur, Thank you." But Admiral Arthur doesn't know what to say. In front of him stands a human in a Klingon uniform... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 259 The first diplomatic talks with the leaders of 2-PM-66 in the Messier 2 Galaxy has resulted in a treaty of cooperation. It is the first treaty between the Federation and a species in the Messier 2 Galaxy. The USS Hammerhead leaves a small delegation on 2-PM-66 and leaves for the next system on the list. Aboard Deep Space 2 two Klingon Dahar Masters are standing next to each other waiting for Admiral Arthur to say something. Dahar Master K'Ovandar notices that Admiral Arthur is more than a bit surprised to see a human Dahar Master of the Klingon Empire. He explains. "Dahar Master Ton is indeed a human. He has been found when he was small on a deserted planet. The freighter he was on with his parents was almost completely destroyed. Little Ton was addopted by a few older Klingons in their comunity. So he grew up in the Klingon House of Torok. He has done better than most Klingons. He is a formidable warrior. He is a Dahar Master... And he earned it." Admiral Arthur invites the Klingon Dahar Masters to the conference room where he explains everything about the galaxies where they can live free of the Slymak threat. Admiral Arthur confirms he will keep the super stargate operational until the last moment. This way there will be time enough to evacuate the entire Klingon population if necessary. Talks with the Klingons end with the Admiral wishing the Klingons good luck. Only a few minutes after the Klingons have left Deep Space 2, the two Klingon ships travel through the super stargate. Now that even the Klingons realise that the Slymak are a threat to the entire Galaxy, Admiral Arthur decides to do another attempt to convince the Federation Council, Starfleet Command, and Starfleet Captains. From Admiral Arthur, CO Deep Space 2 Begin Message Recently we have been confronted by a species called Slymak. The Slymak have entered our galaxy with only one purpose. They will destroy all life in this galaxy with huge ships called Galaxy Killers. These Slymak Galaxy Killers are traveling to the center of the galaxy where they will send out a shockwave to destroy all life in this galaxy. One of these Slymak Galaxy Killers is enough to do this. Currently there are more than a hundred of these Galaxy Killers on their way to the center of the galaxy from all directions. There is no way to stop them. We don't think even the Borg cannot stop them. As soon as all life has been exterminated they will start taking all resources of the galaxy. At this time many Slymak scout ships are mapping this galaxy. We have engaged these scout ships, but we lost all battles. Even a Klingon fleet of more than 50 ships tried to destroy a Slymak scoutship, but was destroyed in less than two minutes without even making a scratch on the Slymak ship. Some very advanced species we have been in contact with have advised us to evacuate the galaxy. To do this we have built a gateway portal, a super stargate, we are already using for evacuation of the galaxy to mainly Galaxy Messier 2, where we can start a new life. You are free to join us. Please note, the Federation Council doesn't see the Slymak as a threat, but they are wrong. We have seen the Slymak threat with our own eyes. Even the Klingons are now using our super stargate te start evacuating the Klingon Empire to another galaxy. We even had contact with the Romulans, Cardassians and Ferengi. The Slymak threat is real. Although it will take the Slymak Galaxy Killers 25 years to reach the center of our galaxy, they will and they will destroy this galaxy... End of message The message has success. 741 Federation ships have joined the evacuation to the Messier 2 and Messier 99 Galaxies. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 260 More and more Starfleet Captains are responding to Admiral Arthur's message about the Slymak threat. Most of those Captains travel with their ship to Deep Space 2. There they travel through the supergate to either the Messier 2 or Messier 99 galaxy. Almost 800 ships have traveled through. "Admiral, there is another ship going through. It is the USS Newton sir. The USS Newton has met one of the Slymak scoutships. They barely escaped. They didn't have any casualties, but when the captain reported the incident and asked for help from the Federation Council, the incident was minimalized. Apparently Admiral, the federation Council doesn't really seem to care. I think there is something wrong there. Maybe we should send someone to check out the Federation Council. Maybe these Slymak are more than just a bunch galaxy killers." "That doesn't make much sense Commander. Why would a species that can destroy a galaxy, mingle in the leadership of that galaxy. The Federation Council isn't even the leadership of the Galaxy. If anyone is the big boss in this galaxy... It is the... Borg...?" "You are right Admiral. There is no logic in the Slymak doing something with the Federation Council. If the members of the Federation Council would experience a confrontation with the Slymak themselves, I mean personally, maybe that will change." "Excellent idea Commander. We could kidnap them and throw them into a Slymak nest. Honestly, I think that by the time the Federation Council will realise the Slymak are a threat to the entire Galaxy, it will be to late. We have now already seen hundreds of Federation ships picking up the families of their crews and travel to the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies. I knwo the first Slymak Galaxy Killers will arrive at their destinations in about 25 years, but I think it is best we take precautions now. And you know our droids are trying to figure out something to eliminate the Slymak. But the Slymak are really millennia ahead of us." So there is not an answer yet. The Admiral and Commander realise this all too well. But although the actual evacuation of the galaxy has started without the Federation Council realizing it, the Deep Space 2 Droids and officers are trying everything to counter the Slymak, but their knowledge is limited. They just have to try... Far away in the Messier 2 Galaxy the USS Hammerhead, Commander Nadine in command travels to the next planetary system on the list. These seems to be the times again for Starfleet to explore. Hundreds of Starfleet vessels are exploring the two galaxies. The Messier 99 Galaxy seems to be empty. Only a few systems have planets. Resources are not low, but using them needs a efficient calculation. In the Messier 2 Galaxy two fully operational starbases, M1 and M2, and a communication relay network connects already 47 star systems. Satellites have been deployed around 56 planets. Only 8 planets are inhabited, among which 2-PM-66, where a diplomatic delegation is posted. Admiral Arthur is pleased the new discovered galaxies are peacefull. There is also some strange news. "Admiral. We have just received a report from the Klingons in the Delta Quadrant. Apparently the entire Borg Collective is evacuating our galaxy. The Borg had some dealings with the Slymak, but they were heavily defeated. It seems the Borg have no answer to the Slymak either. Our Klingon spies have calculated the course of the Borg. The Borg Collective is on course to the Messier 54 Galaxy according those calculations. The Borg have transwarp drive. They should arrive in the Messier 54 Galaxy in about thirty or fourty days. There is no federation precence in the Messier 54 Galaxy. So we hope we will not see the Borg again soon." The borg are runnning from the Slymak... The Borg running from something... These Slymak are a real threat to the Galaxy... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 261 Duty Officer Lieutenant Caroline steps into the office of Admiral Arthur who looks up at her. "Anything new Lieutenant?" "This is incredible Admiral. A group of Admirals has gone to Earth to speak with the Federation Council about the Slymak. They must have read reports from the captains in their fleets." "That is an indication the Federation Council has not paid attention or there is none of these councilmembers who has an idea what happens out here in space." "There is more sir. Nobody in the Federation Council had an answer for the Admirals, but there was someone who did answer: the Klingon Ambassador." "The Klingon Ambassador?" "Yes sir. We have a recording of what happened. Let me show you sir." On his viewer Admiral Arthur looks at the recordings of the Fedeation Council in session... There are already thirteen admirals at the door of the Federation Council room. The guards at the door don't know what to do. The admirals take their chance and burst into the Council room, where the Federation Council members are discussing the possibility of building a new powerplant on Betazed. At the same time the Klingon ambassador steps in as well. His roaring voice makes everyone be silent. "What is the Federation doing about the Slymak threat? You are here talking and talking and talking, but nothing happens. The Klingon Empire has already sent scouts to other galaxies thanks to your Admiral Arthur's initiative. These Slymak seem to be invincible. We have lost to many warriors already by ending fleets to single Slymak ships. Our warriors did not have a chance. They were whiped out in a matter of seconds... Most of the Klingon scientists are trying to set up a defense against these Slymak. But here in the Federation Council room I see nothing. Our scouts report that even the Borg are leaving this galaxy! Wake up!" It is silent when the Klingon Ambassador has roared his last word. The Admirals who have just bursted into the room are silent as well. Most of their questions seem to be answered by a Klingon... While Admiral Arthur watches the recording he can only shake his head. Suddenly is extremely happy he helped the Klingons to travel through the superstargate. There were only two ships, commanded by two Dahar Masters, K'Ovandar and Ton. It looked like a symbolic event. Arthur was now sure more Klingons would ask passage, maybe the entire Klingon Empire... "Admiral, the last thing in our daily report is that 812 ships have now traveled through the super stargate to the Messier 2 and Messier 99 galaxies. Lieutenant Thomas and his marines are ready to start exploring the Messier 66 Galaxy. They have already explored a few planets there using the regular stargate. They want to investigate whether the Messier 66 Galaxy is also suitable for a evacuation target. Currently we have no spuer stargate in the Messier 66 Galaxy, so evacuating our people can only go through the regular stargate. We have calculated that if we move 200 people and 800 droids we will be able to build a super stargate in three months. But that can only be done if there are sufficient resources in the Messier 66 Galaxy itself." "Which we can obtain peacefully..." "Of course sir." "Otherwise we would be as bad as the Slymak... Is there anything else Lieutenant?" "That was it Admiral." "Thanks you. Get some sleep." The young Lieutenant turns around. She leaves the Admiral's office. Far away in the Messier 2 Galaxy the USS Hammerhead, Commander Nadine in command travels to the next planetary system on the list: GG-LA-44. The trip will take 13 days but the sensor logs look promissing. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 262 Apparently a threat can speed up projects. While in the Messier 2 and Messier 99 Galaxies already several starbases have been build and more than 200 star systems have been mapped, even in Messier Galaxy 66 a super stargate is build already. Admiral Arthur has given up to convince the Federation Council of the real threat of the species called the Slymak. "Now there is a secured region in the Messier 2 Galaxy we will start with the evacuation of people of the Federation itself, civilians. Any planet, facility or people who have no starships can contact us. We will pick them up and they can start a new life in the Messier 2 Galaxy." Deep Space 2 Communications sends out a message to all planets, colonies and facilities in the region. It results in more than 80 percent of the people in the region want to evacuate. The other part wants to get back to their families to consult with them first. It is expected they will evacuate as well. Several species called the Scaton, Zolo, Hunanan and Musks who do not have the capability to travel to another galaxy in a short time, have decided to leave the Galaxy to the Messier 2 Galaxy. They have already asked Admiral Arthur to use the super stargate. And they received permission. Some time later a huge fleet arrives at Deep Space 2. The Scaton, Zolo, Hunanan and Musks ships are preparing to travel through the super stargate. "Deep Space 2, we are very grateful we can use your gate to another galaxy. It would take us about a thousand years to travel to another galaxy. Thank you." "You are most welcome. Please proceed going through the gate every two minutes. Please note the gate will shut down every 28 minutes. That is how long we can maintain the active wormhole." "Understood Deep Space 2. With your permission we will start with the first ship." "The gate is activated. Your first ship can go through." The first ship going through is a ship of the Scaton, followed by other Scaton ships... ---------------------------------------------- In the Messier 2 Galaxy the USS Hammerhead, Commander Nadine in command, is only a week away from the new destination, a planet designated as GG-LA-44. New sensor sweeps gives the planet GG-LA-44 a very good chance to be colonized. But it is still to early to come to a final conclusion. The exploration of the Messier 2 Galaxy is a success. More and more habitable planets are found almost every week. Most of them are not inhabited by intelligent life forms and therefore excellent suitable for colonization. ---------------------------------------------- In the Messier 99 Galaxy the situation seems to be very different. Although only a small part of the Galaxy has been explored by Federation ships, not many planets are suitable for colonization. Most star systems have planets which are gas planets, scorched planets or even worse. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 263 The super stargate in the Messier 66 galaxy is now also ready. The first starships and cargo ships are going through. The first order of business is build a starbase. Only two ships have orders to esplore and map the region. In case of trouble, these two ships are the first and last line of defence. But within an our six ships of the Deep Space 2 fleet will be at location to assist. The evacuation of civilians of the Federation to the Messier 2 Galaxy has begun. Together with these first civilians species like the Scaton, Zolo, Hunanan and Musks travel with them. "Admiral, it is not certain whether the Messier 99 Galaxy will be suitable to receive civilions. The Messier 99 Galaxy does not have a lot of inhabitable systems, at least not in the region of the starbases." "We still have time. If necessary we can evacuate people to the Messier 99 Galaxy and then later evacuate them to another galaxy." "Sir, some species do not want to leave their home planet. That could be a problem." "It is not easy to leave your home, especially if the Federation Council does not consider the Slymak threat as a real threat. They don't seem to realise this galaxy will be gone in 25 years. We will not force anyone to leave their home. We will send out invitations. People who want to make use of our facilities will be helped." "Understood sir. Those were the latest reports sir. I will keep you posted." "Thank you Lieutenant. Dismissed." While the Lieutenant turns around and leaves the office, Admiral Arthur has a look at the regular Federation reports. The 88th fleet and the 44th fleet have made contact with a Slymak ship. Admiral Hendriks, in command of Starbase 100 had help from a few very extreme adavanced species Kirie, Trsterts and Yu. The 100th fleet has engaged a Slymak ship and was able to destroy it with the help of the Kirie, Trsterts and Yu. Those Kirie are a fascinating species. They look like Earth sea horses, are about 2 meters tall and the most interesting is that they can live in space. Aparently they get their energy from stars. They are thousands of years old... Admiral Arthur wonders if these Kirie can survive the destruction blast of a Slymak Galaxy Killer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was gate team 2387 under command of Lieutenant-Commander Alan which discovered the Messier 66 Galaxy. The team traveled through the regular stargate in stargate command to a planet designated as P-66-01. At first the planet seemed a large desert. There was nothing that indicated that there was once life on the planet. But there was a stargate so there had to be life once upon a time. The air and gravity of the planet were perfect to provide for life forms, but there were none. Even in the large seas and lakes there was no fish no life at all, not even bacteria. The planet P-66-01 was perfect to host life, but there was no life. When the first structures were found, it was clear that there had been life. The exploration of the system did not reveal more. So the systems in the region were explored. The next systems also had some inhabitable planets, but strange enough these planets looked the same as P-66-01. A completely lifeless planet but very suitable for terraforming. Atmosphere already available, regular gravity, no dangers... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 264 "Admiral, This are the latest reports from Messier Galaxies 2, 99 and 66. For 66 I can be short. Exploration has only begun. There is only one thing. There seem to be more than enough planets to colonize, but although these planets are inhabitable, there is no life, not a single microbe. It also looks like all those inhabitable planets look the same. There the same kind of rock, the same kind of water and air." "The same?" "The same composition of rock, water, air. But that is all there is..." "How many planets have been explored and how many look the same?" "Eight planets and they all are the same Admiral." "I will have the Science Division make this a priority. We cannot colonize planets if we are not sure whether there is some kind of danger. What about this planet P-66-01 which was first discovered in the Messier 66 Galaxy? Wait. I have the report here. So this planet is the same too. No life at all, no seed, no spores, no bacteria..." "We are all more than curious sir." "We should Lieutenant. That is what we do. We explore and try to figure out the unknown. So how are the galaxies 2 and 99?" "Everything is going on scedule. The number of inhabitable planets in the Messier 99 galaxy is small, but the quality of those planets is more than good. The evacuation to the messier 2 Galaxy is going well. Up to now 47 species have used our super gate. Most of those evacuated their entire planet or species. Most of those species already found a planet in the Messier 2 Galaxy. That is it for now sir." "Very well Lieutenant. Dismissed." The Admiral conitues his work, mostly reading reports. He actually wished he was out there, exploring, meeting new species... As the dull routine continues, there is suddenly some better news. "Admiral. These are the first reports from the Science Division about the planets in the Messier 66 Galaxy...." -------------------------------------------------------- Aboard the USS Dublin exploring the Messier 99 Galaxy the crew still is in good spirit. The ship is in unexplored space and only one day away from a starsystem that looks promlissing. It is with the entry of the system the next day the crewmembers of the USS Dublin who are not on duty have posted themselves at the windows to watch for themsemlves the beauty of not one but two planets which are looking like paradise. These planets are rather close together. Then it is discovered one is the moon of the other. "Captain. This is remarkable. The planet as well as the moon have an atmosphere, there is plant life and animal life on both, and at first sight flora and fauna are the same. And there... Wait a second... Sir, there is a space ship launched from the planet. It has set course to the moon. Sir, whoever is living there, they have developed space travel... Even warp travel sir. The ship has speeded up to warp two. It has already arrived at the moon. It is landing sir. The entire trip from the planet to the moon took about two seconds sir..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 265 While the crew of the USS Dublin in the Messier 99 Galaxy has found a planet and moon inhabited by a species which has warp capability, the USS Alan Shepard in the Messier 66 Galaxy discovered the 34th planet with an atmosphere and inhabitable, but without any life... The better news from the Messier 66 Galaxy is not good at all. The first starbase in the Messier 66 Galaxy is now operational. Commander of this Alpha-66 Starbase is commander Caroline. She has a new plan. She wants to know everything about this Galaxy and why these planets do not have any life of any form. She asks the ships Captains to search what is missing on the planets. If there is something missing that could be the cause of the vanishing of all life, it could also be better for possible colonisation. The crews of the ships in the Messier 66 Galaxy start working extra. All of these crews want to be the first to discover what is already called the secret of the Messier 66 Galaxy. Admiral Arthur is reading the latest reports about the migration to other galaxies. He also is fascinated by the secret of the Messier 66 Galaxy. But he has no clue what has happened. His concentration fades away when he has a visitor... Colonel Bier of the planet Orange. "Colonel Bier. This is a surprise. I thought you had left this galaxy with your people." "A small squadron of us have permission to stay to help out as much as we can with evacuation of this galaxy. There is not a lot we can do, but we have destroyed six Slymak ships so that is something. Of course it will not have any influence on the Slymak themselves because they already have thousands of ships in this galaxy and every minute a new Slymak ship arrives in this galaxy. I have been in the Messier 66 Galaxy. I have mapped 600 planets. I will give you the map. All of these planets look exactly the same, without any life at al, but still inhabitable. Some of our scientists have set up a theory." "You got my attention Colonel." "This theory says that all planets have been hit by some kind of wave that erases all life." "A Slymak Galaxy Killer?" "That is a possibility. But we are not sure. What we did find is that certain minirals are not found in the Messier 66 Galaxy, at least on the 600 planets we have visited. Maybe we or one of your teams could try to let some plants grow on one of the planets. If they don't survive, I advice against colonisation. We know that the Slymak Galaxy Killers destroy all life in the galaxy, but we don't know what happens after the Slymak are gone. It is not certain they leave. That is why our scientists are not sure what happened in the Messier 66 galaxy." "I understand. I will give the order." At planet P-66-01 the crew of the USS Nugget transports ten plants to the surface. They need to have some patience now. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 266 On planet P-66-01 in the Messier 66 Galaxy are growing the first few days like on any other planet suitable for life. This is not the only test at this time. 17 planets have Federation ships in orbit which conduct the same kind of test. Some Captains are even thinking about transporting animals to these planets, but scientists think this is to early. Why these planets do not have any forms of life is still a conundrum, but with the list received from Colonel Bier of the planet Orange it is clear some minerals are not found on these planets as well. On Deep Space 2 Colonel Bier has another surprise for Admiral Arthur. "There is another thing Admiral. And this is good news actually. Our time control division has seen that some species have traveled back in time to stop the invasion of the Slymak in this galaxy. These species, Kirie, Trsterts and Yu are accompanied by a Federation crew of the USS Walang. We haven't seen any results yet, but if they succeed, there might not be a Slymak invasion." "So what is the bad news Colonel?" "As you know Admiral, there is always a danger conducting time travel. If there are any changes made, we should have seen it by now. But our time control division has not detected any changes in the timeline we are in." "Colonel, how would they know if something changes? All changes in the past will change the future. We don't know any better than what we know now." "Our time control division would know. It is a special department which is shielded from time itself. That is how we detected that you in the future will travel back to yourself to intervene in more than a few occasions. Yes, we have seen that." "What about... going to the future, get some serious technology and whipe out these Slymak..." "Admiral... Please... Traveling to the future is even more dangerous than traveling to the past. You don't even know where you will end up. You could be destroyed upon arrival. At least you know something about the past through history." While the conversation between Admiral Arthur and Colonel Bier about time travel continues other Admirals have their own plans. The Commanding Officer of Starbase 44 has opened talks with the Klingons to work together during this Slymak crisis. The crew of the USS Mexico, a ship of the 88th fleet, has discovered the Slymak ships apparently need the energy of a star to refuel and the Commanding Officer of Starbase 88 comes with a plan to stop that. If all Slymak ships can be put without energy, they might stop... The the latest reports from the Messier Galaxies 2 and 99 are positive and promissing. The discovered indigenous warp capable species are all very friendly And there are planets enough to organise a complete evacuation from the species of the Federation. There is only one problem. In the Federation the Slymak threat is underestimated or even ignored completely by many... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 267 In the Messier Galaxies 2 and 99 exploring goes as planned. The only difference between Messier Galaxy 2 and Messier Galaxy 99 is the number of star systems. Messier Galaxy 99 has much less to offer. Big plans are made in Messier Galaxy 66. The lifeless planets are now tested by planets and trees from all over the Federation. Some crewmembers even gave up their own plants to participate. If the test with the plants and trees is successful, away teams will start build colonies on the planets. Admiral Arthur at Deep Space 2 is kept up to date every six hours. "Admiral, we have found no evidence of anything that would harm life. Our plants all over the Messier Galaxy 66 are still alive and doing well. We don't see any danger here, not after almost three weeks. Therefore I ask your permission to send away teams to start colonisation process Alpha 3." Admiral Arthur looked at his viewer on his desk. It was clear he had to think about this. Away teams had already landed on planets in Messier Galaxy 66. Those who participated in these away teams did not show any signs of sickness or anything else that could be defined as dangerous. Everyone was in good health. Still Admiral Arthur had some serious doubts. What had happened in Messier Galaxy 66? There was no explanation. But they had to move forward... "Captain Bill, you have permission to proceed with colonisation process Alpha 3." "Thank you Admiral. We will proceed and give you hourly updates. We have been looking for answers, but we have not found any. Maybe with staying here and exploring more systems, we will find those answers. We have already sent deep space probes. We are expanding the mapping, but everywhere we look it looks the same. I will report in an hour." "Acknowledged Captain. Arthur out." While the Admiral returns to his duties, in Messier Galaxy 66 all kinds of machinery is transported to 19 planets. The building has began. The away teams sent to the planets are only volunteers. On all planets there is enough breathable air, moderate temperatures and water. One of the away teams is on planet P-66-102. The base is as good as ready. The only thing needed is the shield generator. It is just for safety reasons. It is young Ensign May who connects the last peace to the generators. The shield is activated. Now it is time to rest. Not far from the Starfleet away team on P-66-102 sits what looks like a man on a high mountain. His clothing reveals he is not a Starfleet officer. He is not even a Federation citizen. He has nothing to do with the colonisation of Messier Galaxy 66. It is clear he looks at the Federation away team, their small base and the ship in orbit which is a huge light shining in the dark sky. He stands up and starts his long way down... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 268 In the Messier Galaxy 66 on planet P-66-102 the Starfleet personnel in the small base is ready to go to sleep, except for a security team which monitors the sensor output. There was no indication of any life before the building of the base. The security officers are at ease until... "Sir sir! There is movement sir! It looks like someone is walking there sir. It seems to be a person." "Distance?" "Two thousand meter and closing. Everyone of our team is in this base sir. Maybe it is a crewmember who has been transported here from our ship sir." "They would have told us. Contact our ship just to be sure." "Aye sir." Far far away aboard Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur enters station operations. He joins Lieutenant Thomas at a tactical station. Lieutenant Thomas is preparing his next mission to the Messier Galaxy 66. "Anything new Lieutenant from Messier Galaxy 66?" "There are some theories Admiral, but nothing solid. But I had a call from P-66-102. They have detected a person who is not from their base nor from their ship. This humanoid perseon seems to have been on the planet before our ship arrived. They are keeping us posted about that." "I am very curious Lieutenant who or what this is about. Keep me posted." "I will sir." The Admiral returns to his office. Sometimes he regrets that being in an office doesn't take him anywhere anymore. He would have liked to explore one of those galacies himself... On planet P-66-102 in the Messier Galaxy 66, the humanoid has stopped about a hundred meters away from the Federation base. Security officers are ready for anythning. But the base commander, Lieutenant Commander Neto has an idea. A few moments later P-66-102 base commander, Lieutenant Commander Neto walks out of the door on his way to the humanoid who is still standing there. Neto is smart enough to stay in the shield of the base. As he thinks he is close enough to the humanoid he addresses him. "Hello there I am base..." "Base commander, Lieutenant Commander Neto. I am Goer. I am investigating this galaxy and why there is no life here. I have been following your activities for some time. I know you are from another galaxy. I have decided to help you. Do you need assistance?" In the Messier Galaxies 2 and 99 exploring goes as planned. As more resources arrive in the new galaxies, already 6 starbases are build and 2 are halfway ready... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 269 The humanoid called Goer has approached Federation base commander Lieutenant Commander Neto to offer his help. At first there are lots of questions for the newcomer. Where is he from? What is he doing on this planet P-66-102 in the Messier Galaxy 66? And many more questions which are answered by Goer without hesitation. "I am Goer. I am an explorer from a planet called Grexte. I am not from this galaxy. I have traveled through the ring gate system to this galaxy." Lieutenant Commander Neto understands. It is the easiest way to travel through the universe. "We call that system the stargate system. It is built by a species called Ancients." "I did not know who built these rings. We only use them to travel to other planets. We have space ships, but traveling through the rings does not cost energy. I must admit that we step into the dark sometimes, even after sending several probes. i have been traveling through this galaxy and visited more than a hundred planets. I am sure most of these planets were inhabited. Now there is no life on any of these planets. I have not seen them all, but I do not think further research will reveal a planet where there is life." Lieutenant Commander Neto remembers the federation has received a list of planets Colonel Bier of the planet Orange has given. It is a list of htousands of planets. There is no life on any of them. Apparently this Goer from the planet Grexte knows more about this galaxy. "There is no doubt about what caused this disaster in this galaxy. It has been a device that created some kind of shockwave which killed alll life on all planets in this galaxy..." It is now that Lieutenant Commander Neto realises the terrifying reality. "Mister Goer. Have you ever heard about a species called the Slymak?" "No. That name does not mean anything to me. Who are these Slymak?" There is only one way to continue this first contact. Lieutenant Commander Neto has to give Goer the information he can share. "The slymak are the reason why we have come her. We have to evacuate our galaxy because these Slymak are invading our galaxy. They have ships we call galaxy killers. They travel to the center of the galaxy and explode in shuch a way that a shockwave is created which destroys all life in the galaxy." It is silent for a moment. Goer is clearly upset. "Thank you for sharing this information. It could explain the situation here in this galaxy. Maybe these Slymak you told me about have invaded this galaxy and this is the result..." Again it is silent. Lieutenant Commander Neto has no choice. He has to report this to Deep Space 2. The more he thinks about the possibility, the more he is convinced that what he has seen in this galaxy is the result of a Slymak invasion... Aboard Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur reeds the message from planet P-66-102 in the Messier Galaxy 66. This could be a galaxy where the Slymak have invaded and left again. He has to see this for himself. Slowly he gets up. "Computer, one to transport to spacedock." Only a few moments later a gateship leaves spacedock. A few moments after that, Admiral Arthur arrives in the Messier Galaxy 66. In the Messier Galaxies 2 and 99 Commanders receive the same message from Messier Galaxy 66. Ship's Captains are informed... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 270 While in Messier Galaxy 2 and 99 all exploration missions proceed without incidents, Admiral Arthur feels the need for a personal view on things in Messier Galaxy 66 and especially planet P-66-102... "Admiral. Welcome to P-66-102, where there is well... not much to see. Except that we have now found the most likely cause of this extinction of life. This is Mister Goer. He did more exploring in this galaxy." "Mister Goer. Thank you for helping us. I am Admiral Arthur. I am in command of this entire Federation exploration project of what we call the Messier Galaxy 66." "Admiral Arthur. It is nice to meet you. Although we meet in the worst circumstances." I agree Mister Goer. I cannot be worst than this. That is why I came out here myself. We are also looking for a way to defeat these Slymak in our galaxy. Some of our teams have managed to break into Slymak ships and make connections with other Slymak ships to shut them down. The only thing is that we need to shut them down all at the same time. And we are talking about thousands and thousands of ships. If only one is out of the loop, it can restart maybe the entire Slymak feet." "What will you do if your plan does not work Admiral?" "To be honest Mister Goer, it is the only plan we have at this time, except for total evacuation to other galaxies." "I do not want to sound to pessimistic, but if we look at the situation in this galaxy, evacuation could be the only thing you can do. I am sure that there were a lot of intelligent or even advanced species living in this... How do you call it? Messier Galaxy 66. Apparently they did not know how to stop these Slymak and it lead to the destruction of all life in their galaxy. If you would excuse me. I have to report this to my government. Maybe one day these Slymak come to our galaxy. We need a plan to deal with them. "Please send our greetings to your government. We will inform you how our dealings with the Slymak go." "Thank you Admiral. Our people of Grexte will like that very much. We can only hope we will never have to deal with a threat like that. But we are a people of caution. We want to be prepared." "I think it is wise to be prepared. We were not prepared for a threat like the Slymak. Now we are in trouble. We have really good people like those of the our 88th and 44th fleet, but the question is: will they succeed? We still have time to evacuate if necessary." "When our species is in real danger we are willing to do anything to safe it. I will report to my government now. Will you excuse me." Goer leaves and walks to the stargate where he makes a connection with his government. A few moments later Goer returns. "Admiral. I have been recalled to my home planet Grexte. My government wants a full report. I can only say good-bye and good luck. Maybe we meet again some day. He really would like to know whether the plants and animals which are set out here survive." "We will share all information with you and your people Mister Goer. I will gave you some communication devices and instructions to contact us. We will make regular contact with you and your people." "Thank you Admiral. If we have any idea to help you beat the Slymak we will inform you immediately." "Thank you Mister Goer. I hope we will not need any help, but we are at the point we can use any help." Mister Goer is escorted with an honour guard to the stargate. A few moments later Goer waves, steps through the gate and the gate is deactivated. Goer has left P-66-102... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 271 The complete whipe out of all life in Messier 66 Galaxy by the Slymak, a galaxy currently explored by the Federation, has shocked even Admiral Arthur who has now seen the situation in the Messier 66 Galaxy 66 personally. That is the result of a Slymak Galaxy Killer... 25 years before the first Slymak galaxy killer will reach the center of the galaxy seems a long time, but for a lot of species it will be to late... A few of the Starfleet Admirals who refuses to give up the fight against the Slymak is Admiral Steichen aboard Starbase 44, in comamnd of the 44th Fleet and Admiral Geert Van Nieuwenhove aboard Starbase 88, in comamnd of the 88th Fleet. Their teams have gained access to a Slymak computer which they have used to gain access to more Slymak ships, which are now under control of the 44th Fleet and 88th Fleet. Admiral Arthur has decided this could be a turning point in the war against the Slymak and he even sees a possibility to win. "We will use these Slymak ships, move them to where we still have control over them to reach more Slymak ships which we cannot control directly. We will continue this operation and expand the area of influence. Who knows, maybe we can even control them all eventually." With caution the Federation teams take control of more Slymak ships and as the number of Slymak ships under control of the teams of the 44th Fleet, 88th fleet and the Deep Space 2 Special Forces increases it becomes more and more clear there is a huge number of Slymak ships in the galaxy already. But then the most unexpected thibg happens... A new report comes in from Deep Space 2 SF-6. "Admiral. This is SF-6. By connecting to another Slymak ship, we have also found a connection to the Borg Collective. Apparently the Borg have the same plan to take over Slymak ships trhough the Slymak network like we do. What are your orders Admiral?" Admiral Arthur has not much time to think about this. If his special Forces Teams have discoverd the Borg, the Borg must have detected the activity of the Special Forces Teams. Just as Admiral Arthur is ready to give his new orders, something very strange happens. "Deep space 2, this is SF-6. You are not going to believe this but it is very true. The Borg Collective has just contacted us to make a deal in beating these Slymak..." Extremely far away in Messier Galaxy 2 and 99 all exploration missions still proceed without any abnormal events. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 272 In the Messier Galaxy 2 and 99 all exploration missions still proceed without any abnormal events. The USS Vertigo, Commodore Jeffrey Slater in command, has picked up the family of the crewmembers and is currently the last Federation ship on its way to Messier 2 Galaxy through the super stargate. On board is Commander Matz, the first Klingon Starfleet Officer who enters a new galaxy. For Commodore Slater it was clear the Messier 66 Galaxy was not an option, knowing the Slymak had destroyed all life there and although it is possible to start from scratch in the Messier 66 Galaxy, it is much easier to build a new life in the Messier 2 Galaxy. Still not giving up are more than a few Starfleet teams who use computers of captured Slymak ships to infiltrate the Slymak and take over other Slymak ships. But in their effort they encounter the Borg, who apparently have the same plan. To everyone's surprise the Borg are willing to make a deal with the Federation. Both will now exchange information about their mutual enemy the Slymak. Admiral Arthur hears about this deal between the Federation and the Borg, but it all happens behind the back of the Federation Council. Even Admiral Arthur has not tried again to convince the Federation Council that the Slymak threat is real and that the Slymak will destroy the galaxy to gain resources. The information coming from the Borg Collective is very useful. The Borg has informed the Federation teams that on the other side of the Smymak portals millions of Slymak ships are waiting to enter the galaxy. If taking over the Slymak ships, using the Slymak computers doesn't work, things are really looking bad for the Federation, but also for all other species in the galaxy. There are even a large amount of species that do not even know anything about the Slymak threat... Aboard Deep Space 2 the crew als prepares to evacuate to another galaxy. Most have decided to stay until the last minute. But when that last minute comes they will leave start the engines of the huge space station and move it through the super stargate. Closing the door behind them. The super stargate will be destroyed and nobody will be able to use it anymore. But the time isn't there yet... or is it? A new report from the D-6 team is very disturbing. "Deep Space 2, this is D-6. The Slymak have discovered our plan to take over their ships. One by one the Slymak are taking their ships back, and they are moving fast. In a few minutes we will lose all control..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 273 The Slymak have countered a Federation plan to take over Slymak ships using dta warfare. Even the borg had the same plan, but this plan clearly failed. The Slymak are getting control back. Not only that. Once the Slymak have control back of their ships, they start an attempt to take over Federation, Klingon and even Borg ships... Aboard Deep Space 2, Admiral Arthur calls his senior officers for a staff meeting. He has to explain to them that there is a new plan needed to beat the Slymak. "So as you can see, our pla, to use Slymak computers to take over their ships worked in the beginning, but the Slymak got on to us and they took their ships back. All teams have cut off their connections. We have no idea what the Borg have decided to do. By cutting off the connections with the Slymak, the connections with the Borg were also cut. That is about it. A new plan is always welcome. So I want to hear from you as soon as you have a plan. Even if it is the most ridiculous idea ever. This is about the survival of this galaxy. Many species will be destroyed if the Slymak get what they want. These species wil not even know what destroyed them. So it is up to us." The Deep Space 2 senior officers leave conference room 2 and get back to work. Without waiting Lieutenant Thomas enters the conference room. "Admiral. I have the latest reports on trafic through our super stargate to the Messier Galaxy 2, the Messier Galaxy 99 and the Messier Galaxy 66. The last 24 hours 17 Federation ships have passed through. 8 of them went to the Messier Galaxy 2 and 9 of them went to the Messier Galaxy 99. We have a request from the Huldoraton from the Huldor star system for passage through the gate to the Messier Galaxy 66. Their ships and technology are less advanced, but they don't have a problem to start all over on planets where there is no life. They say it makes them feel safe. No possible enemies..." "They have a point Lieutenant. There is no enemy in the Messier Galaxy 66. If they can get their flora and fauna to thrive, they will have a very good, long and peaceful life. Let the Huldoraton go to Messier Galaxy 66. They can always move if it doesn't work out. Anything else Lieutenant?" "Progress reports of our explorations in Messier Galaxy 2 and Messier Galaxy 99. There seems to be nothing more than routine reports. Ah, there is one more thing sir. As you know the Borg Collective had the same plan as we had to take over Slymak ships by using the own communication channels. We made contact with the Borg that way as well. That way we found out that a large part of the Borg Collective has evacuated to the Messier Galaxy 54 in case the Slymak can execute their plan and destroy all life in the galaxy. Even the Borg Collective is now seeking out in the new Messier Galaxy 54 for civilizations with a useful technological distinctiveness. Maybe the Borg will find technology to defeat the Slymak. Anyway, the Messier Galaxy 54 is very far away from us, so I guess that is a good thing." "I have learned one thing about the Borg. Never underestimate them." Just at that moment a message comes in from one of the teams which were taking over Slymak ships. "Admiral, this is Lieutenant Commander Lever. I am sorry to contact you directly, but this is really urgent. We had contact with the Borg as you know during the take over of Slymak ships. We also got data that the Borg have assimilated several Federation facilities without us knowing about it. Even on Mars..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 274 Starfleet Command has been informed that the Borg Collective has infiltrated and assimilated several Federation facilities close to Earth, including a Mars outpost. Deep Space 2 is to far from Earth to intervene, but Admiral Arthur let's his ships search the sector and the neighboring sectors for any Borg activity. But there is none. Some Starfleet Command Admirals decide to keep an eye on the Borg in Federation space but do nothing to see what the Borg are up to. But other Admirals don't hesitate at all. The commander of Starbase 88, Starbase 500, Starbase 112, and a few more send out their fleets and eliminates all Borg presence in Federation space. The entire operation takes less than three days. Yellow alert is canceled on Deep Space 2. Everything returns to what can be expected when the galaxy is in great danger. But there still is no answer to the Slymak threat. It is expected the first Slymak Galaxy Killer Ships will reach the center of the Galaxy in 25 year before they can release their destructive weapon against all life in the Galaxy. And although there is still time to come up with a plan, it seems nobody comes up with a serious plan. Aboard deep Space 2 engineers are working on a piece of wreckage of a Slymak ship. If they can find out how the Slymak shielding works, they could create a weapon that can penetrate that Slymak shield. Deep Space 2 tactical officers have taken some droids to try to simulate the life destroying wave the Slylmak Galaxy Killer Ships can create. But there is still little progress. Droid 6 has a meeting with Admiral Arthur. "Admiral. If the Slymak destroy all life in the Galaxy, we, the droids of Deep Space 2 will remain. We are not alive." That is an interesting thought Droid 6. If time has run out, we will evacuate to another galaxy. Do you have a plan to stay here? What will you do?" "We can organize a resistance, but it is not certain we can do much. There is not enough of us to defend this galaxy. But I have mentioned this, because there must be species in Messier Galaxy 66 that have left some kind of artificial intelligence. As Messier Galaxy 66 has been hit by a Slymak Galaxy Killer ship,finding some form of artificial intelligence could give us an idea of what exactly happened and maybe how to counter it." "Interesting idea Droid 6. Assemble a group of droids, take a ship and investigate Messier Galaxy 66 and search for any artificial intelligence." "Understood Admiral. We will keep you posted of our progress." "Excellent." Just as Droid 6 leaves the Admiral's office, a young lieutenant comes in. "Admiral. I have the latest reports on traffic through our super stargate to the Messier Galaxy 2, the Messier Galaxy 99 and the Messier Galaxy 66. The last 24 hours another 12 Federation ships have passed through. Progress reports of our explorations in Messier Galaxy 2 and Messier Galaxy 99 except for a report from the USS vertigo. Commodore Jeffrey Slater's ship has entered orbit of a planet called T-94 III. The planet only has plant life and looks fabulous for colonization. But These plants seem to be conscious. Some of them can even move around. They can use the stargate on the planet and visit other planets. Commodore Slater has decided to leave this planet alone and set up a warning system for those who who approach the planet T-94 III. The plant life on T-94 III has thanked him and his crew." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 275 Droid 6 has taken a team from the Deep Space 2 droids and has started a new mission. Find artificial intelligence in Messier Galaxy 66. If A Slymak Galaxy Killer can destroy all life, it is possible there is still artificial life in Messier Galaxy 66. While aboard Deep Space 2 more and new plans to eliminate the Slymak are presented, the Federation Council still doesn't talk about the Slymak nor the threat the Slymak represents. Apparently Starfleet Command is aware of the threat, but nobody can convince the Federation leadership that the entire galaxy is in great danger. The Admiralty of Starfleet Command has a meeting to talk about the situation. Admirals try to convince other Admirals of what to do about the Slymak threat. "... And therefore we cannot do that. We need much more ships...." "We can build ships, more ships, much more ships. If our information is correct, we still have about 25 years, make it 20 to be sure." "And how many ships do we need? Do we have the technology to destroy Slymak ships?" "We have to develop new technology." "And how will we test this new technology? And how will we destroy Slymak ships at the other side of the Galaxy? How can we get there?" "What about this commander of Deep Space 2? What is his name again?" "Admiral Arthur. What about him?" "He seems to have build some kind of gateway so big that even starships can travel through it to another galaxy." "And what is your point exactly?" "Maybe we should evacuate..." "Never! We will not give up that easily. We have time. We will build and research. We will fight until the last ... "Are you serious. These Slymak are a hundred times more advanced than the Borg. It will take centuries before we have technology that can beat the Slymak." "We are completely outnumbered. Even if we would be able to develop new and advanced technology in time we would not have enough manpower to use it everywhere in the galaxy." "We have tried to use Slymak computers against them, but they found out rather fast and their losses were insignificant. These Slymak are not to be underestimated." Far away on the remote space station Deep Space 2, the latest reports of the Messier Galaxies 2, 99 and 66 are spread among the officers. There is not much new to report. Droid 6 and his team have not yet found any traces of artificial intelligence. But the exploration has just started... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 276 The USS Vertigo is on its way to the Plonta Star System in the Messier 2 Galaxy. There are three planets in that system. In command is Commodore Jeffrey Slater. "Commodore to the bridge. We have arrived at the Plonta Star System. I think you should see this for yourself." The planets of the Plonta Star System look great for colonization, but one of them has humanoid inhabitants... Plonta II. Teams are sent to the planets in the Plonta Star System. Commander Matz is in command of one of the teams going to Plonta II. When Commander Matz and her team land on Plonta II they have already detected primitive humanoids living in a tribe like society in a huge jungle. The jungle has large open spaces where small villages have been built. The humanoids seem to form one large tribe. While exploration in the Messier Galaxies 2 and 99 look like a normal exploration, in the Messier Galaxy 66 things are totally different. That galaxy... has no life... A new report from Droid 6 traveling with a team in Messier Galaxy 66 makes everyone in deep Space 2 Operations stop with what they are doing. "Deep Space 2, this is Droid 6 reporting from Messier Galaxy 66. We have traveled 20 thousand light years and have arrived at a star system designated as P-66-A22A. We have been stopped by a species of artificial intelligence who call themselves Drakarb. They are the last survivors in this system. They have searches the neighboring systems, but there is no life there. The Drakarb have been living here for thousands of years. They have been witness of the destruction of life. We will send you the data. The Drakarb are very friendly, although they have rather advanced defensive and offensive capabilities. We are exchanging information at the moment. It will take some time because we have no compatible portal or gateway. We will report if we have something new. And then it is absolutely silent in Deep Space 2 operations. Images of P-66-A22A appear on the main viewer. These are images of the system before the destruction. It is clear that biological life forms were living together with artificial life forms. Thousands of years ago, maybe even millions of years ago without warning some kind of wave hits the system. All life forms fall apart in some kind of dust. The only survivors are the artificial Drakarb. The Drakarb have no choice then to stand by and watch while the next 50 years Slymak ships visit the system and mine for all kind of minerals. Strangely the Slymak do not hurt the Drakarb. It is as if the Drakarb are not there for the Slymak. After 50 years the Slymak do not return and have not returned since. The Drakarb have no choice that send out a few scout ships in space to investigate their neighborhood. But everywhere they go, all life is destroyed. Eventually the Drakarb rebuild the planets in their systems. After thousands of years they have multiplied and three planets of the P-66-A22A are populated again. The Drakarb have also been scouting in the Messier Galaxy 66 using the stargates, but they didn't find any biological life forms in the entire Messier Galaxy 66. The Drakarb had thousands of years to search. They did find primitive and more advanced artificial intelligent life forms, but not as sophisticated as the Drakarb themselves. None of them were able to travel through space... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 277 While on Deep Space 2 everyone is still silent because of the images they just had to see, a new report from Droid 6 from P-66-A22A in the Messier Galaxy 66 is coming in. "Attention Deep Space 2. This is Droid 6 calling from P-66-A22A. The Drakarb here have more information on how to beat the Slymak. They have successfully done it, without the Slymak knowing it. It is something extremely complicated. It will take six years and six months to implement all the various tactics. It is a long time for biological life forms, but enough to stop the Slymak. At least there is a chance of 79.4586 percent that this will succeed." "Understood Droid 6. Please send all the data and our tactical droids here on Deep Space 2 can use it if there is no other plan to elimintate the Slymak threat." "Roger that Deep Space 2. Sending the data now..." "Receiving the data. Please give our thanks to the Drakarb. Their help is really appreciated." "You can tell them yourself sir." On the viewer next to Droid 6 is a humanoid robot. He does not look very advanced like Droid 6, but still it is clear he is made by an advanced species. "No need to thank us. We will do anything to help you with the Slymak. We have seen what they have done. Please understand we do not do this as revenge. We are not programmed with complex emotions. But we want to prevent others to become victim of the Slymak who destroyed all live in our galaxy. This must never happen again." In the Messier 2 Galaxy on Plonta II, Commander Matz has found alien technology close to one of the settlements of the primitive humanoids. Commodore Jeffrey Slater doesn't take any chances. "It is to dangerous to transport the alien technology aboard the USS Vertigo, so Commander Matz, you and the two scientists of your team have to examine the alien technology yourselves." That is clear enough for Commander Matz. "The alien device we found on Plonta II is a communication device. Our scientists here believe there could be another alien presence on Plonta II besides of the primitive tribes. Or at least an advanced species have been here." "Understood. Commander Matz you have permission to activate the alien device unless you see any kind of danger." "We will be most careful Commodore. I will keep you posted." "You'd better Commander. Slater out." Aboard Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur finally has found some time to read the latest reports on the exploration in the Messier Galaxies 2 and 99... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 278 Admiral Arthur has read most reports from Messier Galaxies 2, 99 and 66. He is very thankful for the help and plans given by the Drakarb, the only life form, artificial life form, that has survived the Slymak galaxy killer in Messier Galaxy 66. Although the Admiral's plan is really to evacuate the galaxy, he has ordered the Security droids aboard Deep Space 2 to start the preparations to execute the Drakarb plan. It is a plan-B which will indeed take several years to develop. Within the Federation several teams and ships have discovered the home planet of the Flom. The Flom are the manufacturers of the Slymak robots. But the Flom have said there is nothing wrong with their products. The Flom have built Slymak robots for thousands of years and they are still building them. But never did they built robots which are violent and certainly not robots which are able to destroy galaxies. It is all more than a bit strange. "Admiral The Flom seem to be innocent. But if the Flom didn't build these destructive Slymak, who did? Or how did they become like this?" "All good questions Lieutenant. I am sure our teams will find out. But I haven't called you for that. There is someting you must do for me. But remember this is still something that has to be... between us. Only Droid 6 and Droid 9 know about this. You will need some droids of those divisions to assist you. Don't underestimate this mission Lieutenant. It is crucial you succeed. Is that clear?" "Yes Admiral. It will be done." "I don't expect less. Dismissed Lieutenant. And good luck." "Admiral, I'll be back." The Lieutenant turns around and leaves the Admiral's office. He joins the Droids assigned to him in spacedock. A few minutes later the USS Faraday leaves Deep Space 2 spacedock... Far from the space station Deep Space 2... Commander Matz on the planet Plonta II in the Messier Galaxy 2, has no choice than to activate an alien communication device if she wants to know where this all leads. The alien communication device is activated. Only a second later the stargate on Plonta II is activated and starts turning. Commander Matz sends a team to the stargate to check it out. But there is nothing to report. The Stargate on Plonta II is open and a clicking is heard on the alien device. A voice is heard, asking who is calling. "Yes... Who are you?" This is Commander Matz on Plonta II. We have found a communication device. I guess it is yours." "Plonta II. That is strange. We have not been there for a while. We could not trade with the local population. They are to primitive. You are not from the local population of Plonta II are you?" "No we are not. We are from the Federation. Is there a possibility we could meet?" "I am just a civil clerk. I will ask my superiors. We will contact you again when we have decided. Thank you for contacting us." The stargate closes and the connection has ended... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 279 In Messier Galaxy 2 on a planet called Plonta II, Commander Matz is waiting to hear from a species that probably left a communication device on Plonta II during their earlier visits. The waiting doesn't take long. After only ten minutes the stargate is activated. A moment later a woman who seems to be very important steps through the gate escorted by four men in uniform. The meeting that follows is very friendly. "I am Dame Lether. Who of you is your leader?" Commander Matz steps forward. "I am commander Matz. I represent the United Federation of Planets. We are not from this galaxy. We are travelers to seek out new worlds and new species. On this planet, Plonta II, I have the senior rank. If you wish I can call my superior. He is in a space ship in orbit of the planet." "Thank you Commander Matz, but that will not be necessary. I am not the highest in rank of our people. I only do initial talks as they say. I am... expandable..." Dame Lether smiles. "Our species is called The Poids. Our level of development is much higher than the level of the people of Plonta II. We cannot trade with them because they do not understand our technology. We leave such people alone so they can evolve themselves. Now I had a question. You found a communication device? Can I see it?" Commander Matz shows the communication device. Dame Lether nods. "I thought so. This is one of ours. On of our scouts must have lost it here when he was scouting this planet. That must be many years ago. It surprises me it still works. The power pack should have been depleted by now." "You are right. The power pack was empty. We recharged it Dame Lether. And then after much consideration, we used it. We didn't really know what would happen." Dame Lether returns the device to Commander Matz. "Please keep it. I am sure my superiors will want to have a talk with yours one day. But for now, I would like to invite you to visit our planet." "Thank you for your invitation Dame Lether. I gladly accept. I will take only a few others with me. When do you expect us to come?" "I will need a day to report to my superiors. I will contact you." "I am looking forward to visit your planet. But you are right I also have to report to my superior. I am looking forward to meeting you again." Dame Lether says good-bye, opens the stargate and leaves through it. The stargate closes. Commander Matz contacts Commodore Slater in orbit aboard the USS Vertigo. Aboard space station Deep Space 2, Admiral Arthur puts his padd down on his desk. The latest reports from Messier Galaxies 2, 99 and 66 look promising. 16 Federation starships have traveled through the supergate, leaving their home galaxy behind. The Federation Council still doesn't see the Slymak threat as extremely serious. The Admiral thinks for a minute and then suddenly he jumps to his feet. He has an idea... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 280 On planet Plonta II in the Messier 2 Galaxy Commander Matz has contact with Commodore Slater aboard the USS Vertigo. "They call themselves The Poids and the representative I spoke to is Dame Lether. She was rather friendly, but at the same time professional." "Professional?" "Yes Commodore. She does this as a job. I have not really the impression she has emotions about meeting a new species." "Let's give her the benefit of the doubt. We should not hold it against her Commander. Even if these Poids are a war like conquering species, we will know soon enough. We will keep all the security codes in place." "Aye sir. I still recommend to send two diplomats as well when we visit their world." "All right. I will send Doctor Glass and Doctor Kunak. I also want you to take an engineer and a science officer, but unarmed. And you will accompany the team as well... unarmed. I know you a little longer. So do you understand me Commander... Unarmed." "I understand sir. It will not be a problem." "Good. Report to me when you leave for the Poids world." "Acknowledged sir." "Commodore Slater out." The Commodore mentioned his rank to show the Commander who is running this show. Commander Matz calls engineer Lieutenant Kolder and scientist Lieutenant Trok. Both of them are well known they are rather good in man-to-man combat. Commander Matz doesn't take an chances. Ten minutes later Doctor Glass and Doctor Kunak are arriving at the stargate on Plonta II. The team is ready. Aboard the huge Deep Space 2, Admiral Arthur starts a new plan in case the encounter with the Flom, builders of the Slymak robots, fails. The Admiral sends out a message again. From Admiral Arthur, CO Deep Space 2 Begin Message Recently we have been confronted by a species called Slymak. The Slymak have entered our galaxy with only one purpose. They will destroy all life in this galaxy with huge ships called Galaxy Killers. These Slymak Galaxy Killers are travelling to the centre of the galaxy where they will send out a shock-wave to destroy all life in this galaxy. One of these Slymak Galaxy Killers is enough to do this. Currently there are hundreds of these Galaxy Killers on their way to the centre of the galaxy from all directions. We have plans to stop the Slymak, but it is all theory. Plans we executed failed. So currently there is no way to stop them. We don't think even the Borg cannot stop them or it will take them 20 years and a lot of casualties. We cannot take any chances. As soon as all life in this galaxy has been exterminated by the Slymak they will start taking all resources of the galaxy. At this time many Slymak scout ships are mapping this galaxy. We have engaged these scout ships. We did not lose all battles, but we are no match for them. Even a Klingon fleet of more than 50 ships tried to destroy a Slymak scoutship, but was destroyed in less than two minutes without even making a scratch on the Slymak ship. Some very advanced species we have been in contact with have advised us to evacuate the galaxy. To do this we have built a gateway portal, a super stargate, like an Iconian gateway, we are already using for evacuation of the galaxy to mainly Galaxy Messier 2 and Galaxy Messier 99, where we can start a new life. You are free to join us. Please note, the Federation Council still doesn't see the Slymak as a threat, but they are wrong. We have seen the Slymak threat with our own eyes. Even the Klingons are now using our super stargate to start evacuating the Klingon Empire to another galaxy. We even had contact with the Romulans, Cardassians and Ferengi. The Slymak threat is real. Although it will take the Slymak Galaxy Killers 25 years to reach the centre of our galaxy, they will and they will destroy this galaxy... If anyone of you has a plan to stop this Slymak threat, I am always interested. Even if it is very far fetched... End of message The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 281 On planet Plonta II in the Messier 2 Galaxy Commander Matz, engineer Lieutenant Kolder, scientist Lieutenant Trok, Doctor Glass and Doctor Kunak step through the stargate to meet the poids. The Federation team arrives in the Poids capital city which seems to be a very advanced city. Vehicles are flying in rows through the air. A smaller vehicle is waiting at the gate. About a hundred people of the Poids are looking. Usually they do not assemble by the gate, but the arrival of a new species is even for the Poids a happy event. The Federation team is greeted by Dame Lether and two adjuncts. At the cityhall the group enters the great hall where the leader of the poids is waiting with his advisers... ------------------------- Far away aboard Deep Space 2, Admiral Arthur is happy to see more Federation Captains and their crews have decided to make the crossing to the Messier 2 Galaxy, Messier 99 galaxy and even one ship has just made it to the Messier 66 Galaxy to investigate the possibilities of terraforming a complete destroyed planet. It is not new for the Federation to explore, but this is a new kind of exploration. Although the Federation Council still doesn't see the Slymak as a threat more high ranking Federation citizens and officers join the evacuation and travel through the huge stargate build at Deep Space 2. If the Slympak threat cannot be stopped, even the huge space station Deep Space 2 will travel through the gate. From the ships and teams who are visiting the Flom, traveling back in time to prevent the Flom, builders of the Slymak to make them aggressive. Unknown to these Federation teams there is a Replicator spy with them reporting to a certain Horkan. Horkan is a hunter and he has friends... Thousands of Replicator friends... His fleet of thousands of ships starts to move. An hour later 31 Slymak ships are completely destroyed. The real war of the Galaxy has begun... But the word gets around and it doesn't take long before the word reaches Deep Space 2 that an unknown force is hunting Slymak ships and crushes them like they are tiny bugs. It seems everyone in the Galaxy makes plans on their own. But there is no cooperation between most of the species. Most species don't even realise anything about the Slymak threat. Admiral Arthur sits in his office. He is silent, listening to Droid 005 for the latest on the evacuation and the new plan which is in place. That new plan takes at least years to complete, but it is the only plan the Admiral has at this time... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 282 In the Messier 2 Galaxy Commander Matz, engineer Lieutenant Kolder, scientist Lieutenant Trok, Doctor Glass and Doctor Kunak have met the Poids on their home planet. Because Plonta II is not officially a Federation planet, diplomatic relations with the Poids can only begin on the Poids home planet which is easily reached by the stargate on Plonta II. There still are some Poids who remember trading with traders on Plonta II, but those traders themselves where not original inhabitants of Plonta II. They came by ship from a planet a few light years away. Without any notice these traders have not returned. The Poids then decided not to return to Plonta II. But they left several communication devices on the planet close to the stargate. Talks between the Federation officers and the Poids are going very well. The Poids are very friendly. That is probably because they have no shortage of anything. There is plenty of food, their technology provides a nice level of comfort and their space exploration is going very well. Although the level of technology of the Federation is much higher, the Poids are happy with their own development. The Poids are also very peaceful. They did not have a war on their planet... ever... "You have not been attacked by outsiders?" "No. We have of course defensive systems. We are very well capable to defend ourselves, but we have never been attacked by any species. Most species we trade with have not shown any signs of violence." The Federation team has to admit that there have been many wars where they come from and at the moment a species called Slymak is a threat for the entire galaxy. They explain about the Slymak Galaxy Killers that can wipe out all life in the entire galaxy. It doesn't seem to worry the Poids. After some searching in the Poids historical database, the word Slymak is found. "About a million cycles ago a trader from a species called the Flom was on a nearby planet and tried to sell robotic systems. These systems were perfect to help in the homes of people like cleaning and transportation. But this Flom did not sell anything and he left after fourteen cycles. Nobody from the Flom were ever seen again. That was about a million cycles ago. That is all we can find here in the archives. If the makers of these Slymak robots already have been here in the past, they could easily come back. And if they are such a threat as you say they are, maybe we should prepare for these Slymak as well." "We will give you all the information we have so far. We have some plans to resist the Slymak robots in our territory, but we cannot be everywhere in our galaxy. That is why part of us are already evacuating our galaxy..." While Admiral Arthur is working on his new plan to counter the Slymak robots, he also reads the latest reports from the Messier 99 Galaxy, Messier 66 Galaxy and the Messier 2 Galaxy. He is very surprised that the Poids have met a Flom who was trying to sell Slymak robots a million years ago. But before he can read further he is called to Deep Space 2 Operations. "Admiral, this is Ops. You better see this sir. There is a temporal ripple caused about a million years ago by the Borg. We do not have the details yet, but it looks like the Borg are the cause of the Slymak threat by making changes in the past..." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 283 Admiral Arthur is very interested in the progress the team of Commander Matz is making with the Poids. Apparently the Poids met the Flom, producers of the Slymak robots about a million years ago. So there could be a Slymak presence in Messier 2 Galaxy already for a very long time. Scanning an entire galaxy will not be easy. But the Admiral has foreseen this and he has taken precautions. A very small team lead by a young Lieutenant accompanied by a company of droids has already executed the main plan of "Operation Clean-up". The Lieutenant makes his last report. "Admiral. We have completed "Operation Clean-Up. There is no Slymak nor Flom in Messier 2 Galaxy. The Messier 2 Galaxy is clear. We will now travel to the Messier 99 Galaxy to continue our work. I have received the official report of Droid 9 in the Messier 66 Galaxy. That galaxy is clear as well. And then it is up to the next one. i will inform you when the scouting has been done." "Lieutenant, have you met the Team Droid 19 yet? They are looking for you." "Yes Admiral. I have met with the Droid 19 and his team. They are on watch all the time. This is going by the numbers Admiral. But we are also prepared for anything that can go wrong. We have it all covered and we are ready to improvise." "Excellent work Lieutenant. Keep me posted." "I will sir." Aboard the USS Guardian in the Messier 2 Galaxy, Lieutenant Thomas sets a new course. A moment later the USS Guardian jumps through the huge gateway and ends up in Messier 99 Galaxy for the second part of "Operation Clean-up". Admiral Arthur has a new problem. The Borg have changed the time by going back to the Flom home world in the past and destroy all the Flom, just to prevent the creation of a Slymak army of destruction. But the Borg failed somehow... The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 284 Every morning starts with a cup of coffee for most Starfleet personnel, but not for Admiral Arthur. When he gets out of his bed he is awake and ready to face the worst events. In these crisis times of the Slymak threat and the destruction of the entire galaxy, the Admiral has not yet played all his cards. The idea came from another Admiral, the commanding officer of Starbase 44, Admiral Steichen. She is determined to do everything she can to stop the Slymak threat. Aparently she even has made contact with a species which calls itself the Replicators. These Replaicators are artificial intelligence cratures which come in all forms and shapes. They even look like humans and Federation technology cannot distinguish the difference with biological humans. "Admiral." "Yes Captain." "He, she, it, has arrived." "Let him in Captain." "I think it is a she sir." "Good to know. Thanks Captain." A moment later a female enters the Deep Space 2 conference room, escorted by two security droids. The officers look up. Everyone stays seated. The Admiral points to a chair. The female sits down. "I am Admiral Arthur. I am the one who had contact with Horkan. I would like to talk about our efforts to eliminate the Slymak and... not get in eachother's way." "Right to the point. I like that. I am called Herta. I am an artificial life form which we call Replicators. We want to thank you for your efforts to eliminate the Slymak and get them out of the galaxy. Horkan also believes we should coordinate. If I could talk to your chief droid, I am sure we will have a plan in a few minutes. You only have to give the chief droid some restrictions or demands." "We can do that Herta. Droid 001 will be our liaison. Please feel free to speak to him." "We have already completed our initial talks. We only need a few minutes to work out the details. Droid 001 is a nice peace of technology, but I am very happy you call him a him and not an it. Thank you for that." Droid 001 turns to the Admiral. "Admiral. We have a plan. It will take only three months to eliminate the entire Slymak presence in our galaxy. We need an extra fourteen regiments of droids. I have already reassigned them. We are ready to go, awaiting your permission." "OK Droid 001 you have a go. Go go go." The replicator Herta stays aboard Deep Space 2. She stays in contact with Horkan but also with the new Replicators on board Starbase 44. Is this the start of turning the tables against the Slymak? Aboard deep Space 2 the reports are coming in from the Messier 2 Galaxy, Messier 99 Galaxy and Messier 66 Galaxy but suddenly those do not seem as important as when the evacuation started to these galaxies. An entire regiment of Deep Space 2 Droids has already started destroying Smymak ships. Two more regiments are getting ready and eight more are being moved. But five more are needed. they are dispatched only twenty minutes later. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 285 While the reports are coming in from the Messier 2 Galaxy, Messier 99 Galaxy and Messier 66 Galaxy the evacuation to these galaxies has become not so urgent any more because an artificial species called the Replicators and hordes of droids from Deep Space 2 have joined up in the battle against the robotic Slymak. Entire sectors are taken back during this huge wave of destruction. And the wave apparently has just begone. Aboard the USS Cleveland on its way to the gateway at Deep Space 2, Captain Brown sits in the centre seat. The ship is at least a full week away from the Deep Space 2 super gateway. His crew is reunited with their family and without exception they agreed to join their Captain who planned to evacuate to the Messier 2 Galaxy. The entire crew is just happy the stress of the Slymak threat will be over soon. But suddenly there is something unexpected. "Red alert! Battle stations." Captain Brown enters the bridge leaving the door of his ready room open. "Report Lieutenant." "It is a Slymak ship sir, on its way to intercept us. No, make that two Slymak ships. It is like they are hunting us. They will be on top of us in one hour." "Helm, what is our current speed?" "We are at maximum sir. There are a handful of systems we can shut down, but it will give us only four or five minutes." "Shut them down and open a channel to Deep Space 2." "Sir, Deep Space 2 is trying to make contact with us sir." "On screen." "USS Cleveland, this is Lieutenant Commander Marianne at Deep Space 2. You have two Slymak ships on your six. Please set a course heading 256 mark 12." "Roger that Commander, changing course now." The USS Cleveland has changed course but the Slymak ships are still in pursuit. The following 30 minutes Captain Brown has to come up with a battle plan. But half an hour later the USS Cleveland could be in even more trouble, or not? "Captain, a ship is decloaking on our route. The Slymak ships are 4 minutes behind us, the decloaked ship is of unknown design and 2 minutes in front of us. Deep Space 2 is still six days away." "Helm, I think we have to make some room. Set a new course passing that unknown ship by five thousand kilometres." "Captain, that would most likely bring us into their firing range." "Lieutenant, I don't think we have to fear them." A minute later The USS Cleveland flies by the unknown ship. It does not fire on the USS Cleveland. A minute later the unknown ship destroys the two Slymak ships with only a few shots. The unknown ship cloaks. "The ship is gone sir. We cannot trace it. We cannot even thank them, whoever they were." "Lieutenant, it seems the momentum is turning in our favour. Contact Deep Space 2 and report this. And thank them. I have a feeling they know more about this." Seven days later the USS Cleveland arrives at the super gate. For the crew it looks like an Iconian gateway. Only an hour later the USS Cleveland arrives in the Messier 2 Galaxy. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 286 On patrol the USS Baltimore, under command of Captain Raven, there is no longer the fear for the Slymak. This sector has been declared clear of Slymak, thanks to an artificial species who call themselves Replicators. Their leader is a Hirogen called Horkan. It is clear this Hirogen and his friends have started the big hunt on Slymak. These Hirogen must have the time of their life, doing exactly what they have been dreaming of. The biggest hunt ever. But also the droids of Deep Space 2 have been very busy. They have already cleared twenty sectors. But aboard the USS Baltimore tension is rising again. The ship approaches the sector border. The next sector has not yet been cleared. But Captain Raven does not seem to be disturbed. by the idea that his ship and crew might encounter Slymak ships. "Helm, steady as she goes." "Aye sir. Proceeding at warp five, Our ETA is sixteen hours." "Number One, any word from the colony?" "Not for six hours sir. But currently the colony is on the night side of the planet. We don't expect to hear from them for at least two hours." "Very well. Any ships on long range sensors?" "That is a negative sir. There is nothing." "That is the way we like it Number One. You have the bridge. Report anything unusual. I will be in my ready room." "Understood sir." Captain Raven stands up and walks into his ready room where he reads the last of the reports on the exploration of the Messier 2 Galaxy, Messier 99 Galaxy and Messier 66 Galaxy. Raven had some doubt to evacuate from his home galaxy. But just at the moment he wanted to consult his officers whether to evacuate or not, the good news came in of the species who can blow the Slymak out of space without any problems at all. So Captain Raven decided to at least postpone his talks about a possible evacuation to another galaxy. Now the crew of the USS Baltimore, on its way to the Lamar Colony, was thankful for the unexpected help of these Replicators. Captain Raven took a sip of his orange juice. It had been a long day, but he still felt fit. And he would need that in an emergency. "Yellow alert! Captain to the bridge!" It took Captain Raven only a few sconds to get on the bridge. "Yes Number One?" "Sir we are picking up five Slymak ships. These Slymak ships are much bigger than the usual Slymak ships." "These must be their cruisers or battleships." "That is a possibility sir. We have already reported this to the nearest starbase. That is Deep Space 2. They say that these bigger ships have been detected in other sectors as well. So we are not the first to see them. Sir, to be honest, I don't think we can do anything against five of those Slymak ships. But I think they haven't seen us yet. They are not changing course or anything." "That is good. Keep our distance, but keep them in sensor range. I don't like surprises." "Aye sir. Wait a minute. There is something happening sir." "What is it Number One?" "There is another ship. It is not in our database. It is attacking the Slymak ships sir." "If we offer our assistance, I am afraid we are not going to..." "I don't think they need our assistance sir. That ship just destroyed those Slymak ships in less than twenty seconds. The ship has cloaked or something. It appeared out of nowhere and it disappeared into nowhere. Sir I hate it when somebody has to clean up a mess for us, but in this case the help was really welcome." "Absolutely Number One. I totally agree. Let's proceed to the colony. Helm resume course. Execute." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 287 Already many reports are coming in from the Messier 2 Galaxy, Messier 99 Galaxy and Messier 66 Galaxy. Admiral Arthur is not only pleased the war against the Slymak is turning and the Slymak are driven back. But the question remains whether this artificial species called the Replicators and hordes of droids from Deep Space 2 will be able to defeat the robotic Slymak once and for all. It is enough for the Slymak to have only one Slymak Galaxy Killer break through and destroy the entire galaxy. Among all these reports is a very promising report from the USS Vertigo, under command of Commodore Jeffrey Slater. The USS Vertigo has made several successful first contacts in the Messier 2 Galaxy. Now the ship is on its way to GH-2365. Aboard the USS Vertigo Commodore Slater has called his senior staff to the conference room for the daily 14.00 hours briefing. The Commodore has just written an evaluation report about his Chief of Security Commander Matz and her success in the first contact missions. "Please sit down. I have news from Deep Space 2. The war against the Slymak is going our way, but we are not there yet. We have received a lot of help from an artificial life form who call themselves Replicators. But make no mistake. This could take more than a few years. That is why we are here, exploring a brand new galaxy. Now. How are the upgrades going? Matz, what do you think about the new weapons?" Commander Matz, half Klingon, has been aligning the targetting sensors for three days. They work perfectly now. "I am very pleased sir, really very pleased. We have 17 percent more..." Commander Matz is interrupted by Ensign Loper on the bridge. "I am sorry to interrupt Commodore. But there is something you should see for yourself sir. We have detected a ship of unknown design. But there is something not right here. "We are on our way Ensign." When the Commodore and the entire senior staff enter the bridge the young Ensign continues her report. "We have the ship on main viewer. We cannot detect any life signs. We are not sure there is someone aboard. I was about to contact the ship, but I need your permission for that." "Ensign, you are the duty officer at this time, you can make the call." "Thank you sir." Ensign Loper orders to open a channel and calls the unidentified ship on all frequencies. There is no reply. "Commodore, a ship that size should at least have a crew of thirty. Maybe our sensors cannot detect their life signs. Maybe it is a totally new form of life, not like the Federation has ever encountered." "Good point Ensign. Maybe we will know more when we get closer. Ensign. You did a good job. I am going to take over now." Commodore Slater gives a compliment to all the young officers on the bridge. But then the senior staff takes over. Commander Matz at tactical has a first report. "Commodore, sensors still do not detect any life signs. The ship seems to be empty. I would like to get aboard that ship and have a look." As the USS Vertigo comes closer, all attempts to contact the unknown ship fail. Two hours after the initial attempt to contact the unknown ship, a team lead by Commander Matz transports aboard the unknown ship. Only twenty minutes later Commander Matz reports to the USS Vertigo. "Vertigo this is the starship Gdonsk. Yes that is the ship's name. There is nobody aboard. We even think there has not been anybody aboard. The Gdonsk is a brand new ship and has only one log entry in the computer saying the Gdonsk was delivered at the shipyard to put in use. Apparently the ship got here somehow before a crew could be appointed. Maybe we will find out more when we arrive at GH-2365. The ship can not only fly, but has weapons and several defensive systems superior to ours. I suggest we take this ship with us." "That sounds good to me. On our way to GH-2365 we can continue to study this ship. Maybe we can find out where it is from and return it to the owners. Commander Matz. You are in command of the Gdonsk. You and your team will find out everything there is to know about that ship." The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 288 The USS Vertigo is travelling in the Messier 2 Galaxy to GH-2365 side by side with the Gdonsk. Commander Matz and her crew on the Gdonsk have already mastered most of the Gdonsk systems. But there is still a huge mystery of why this brand new ship without a crew has appeared on a location a serious distance from any inhabitable planet. While on the USS Vertigo the duty roster has changed from three shifts to four shifts on the Gdonsk only two shifts keep the ship running. Most systems on the Gdonsk have been automated and only a small crew is necessary to do all the maintenance. "Commander, I think you should see this. We have managed to get into the navigational computer. I think we have found why the ship has been at drift at this strange location. The Gdonsk has a subspace drive. The first activation of the subspace drive brought the ship where we found it. I think that with the production of this ship some kind of ceremony or festivity has been planned and that the ship had to appear out of nowhere. Some kind of commercial event." "Lieutenant, I cannot imagine that someone typed in the wrong coordinates of a location far away from where this ships should appear. Engineers are smarter than that. This is not a coincidence and not an accident. This is a deliberate act." "That is indeed a possibility Commander. This could be sabotage. But why not blow up the ship then? If it has been done on purpose, maybe it was to save the ship. Maybe they are on their way to retrieve it." "I think that is unlikely Lieutenant If this species has knowledge of a subspace drive, it would have already been salvaged. Why take the chance someone else finds it and takes it. We did." "Yes Commander. This is still strange. Maybe someone wanted to save a legacy? We haven't seen the entire ship. Maybe it has more surprises." "You gave me an idea Lieutenant. We are going to search the entire ship, including every little room, visually and with tricorders. Maybe someone left a note." "The entire ship Commander? That will take some time." "If we want to solve this puzzle, we have no choice." "I will organize the search Commander. If there is something here, left by the builders, we will find it." Far away from the USS Vertigo aboard the huge space station Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur looks at the latest reports about the Slymak. The Deep Space 2 Droids and Horkan's Replicators are clearly winning. But will there be enough time to stop them all? The Admiral receives a calculation. Some of the Slymak Portals are already destroyed. About thirty percent of the Slymak fleet, including Galaxy Killers. So they can be destroyed. But there is another problem. Long range sensor relay stations have detected a Borg ship on a direct course to Deep Space 2. It is on its way from the Delta Quadrant. A few weeks before the Borg offered technology to destroy Slymak ships. That was weird. Now a Borg ship is approaching. But before the Borg ship is within sensor range of Deep Space 2 itself, it disappears. "Admiral. The Borg ship on its way to Deep Space 2 has been destroyed by Horkan's Replicators. The Borg didn't have a chance." More reports are coming in from the Messier 2 Galaxy, Messier 99 Galaxy and Messier 66 Galaxy. Most of them are very positive. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 289 At Deep Space 2 yellow alert is cancelled. The Borg ship approaching the station at the border of the delta Quadrant, has been destroyed long before it was in a possible scanning range. Today, April 4 2410, a celebration is put together for First Contact Day. The celebration of course is the next day, April 5, but preparations or on their way. Especially for the children there are lots of educational activities. In his office Admiral Arthur has a meeting with his XO, General Jan. It has been some time they have seen each other. The Deep Space 2 XO is also in command of the USS Ajax, which has returned from an exploration mission in the Messier 99 Galaxy. "...and therefore we think that these Wetterden are a candidate for membership of the Federation. They are peaceful, hard working people on their way to explore the entire Messier 99 Galaxy. There will not be much in their way as there are not many inhabited planets. And those planets which have a population... well they are not really advanced to say it gently. Messier 99 Galaxy seems to be a young galaxy, if you get my point." "We have now explored one fourth of the Messier 99 Galaxy and it seems indeed a very peaceful and primitive galaxy. Of the more than a hundred civilizations we have discovered, there are only sixteen species with faster than light capabilities. And those are spread out far from each other. What do you think?" "I am very interested in the research in the Messier 66 Galaxy, where life was completely wiped out by the Slymak. It is just a military thing. You know." "Good idea. When do you leave?" "We are ready, but there are six ships waiting to use the gateway to go to the Messier 99 Galaxy and the Messier 2 Galaxy. As soon as they have gone through the gate we will be going too. That should be within an hour." "Very well General. I hope you have a successful search. I am very interested in what has happened there." "If there is something there, we will find it. But it probably is going to take some time. We will be back in six months either way." The General salutes to the Admiral and with a smile on his face he leaves the office. In the Messier 2 Galaxy close to GH-2365 the USS Vertigo and the Gdonsk are flying side by side. Commander Matz and her team are still searching the Gdonsk for clues of where this ship came from, but until now the search has not been successful. The advanced technology on board the Gdonsk has been tested except for one major thing: the subspace engine. Not exactly a Spore Drive like on some Federation ships or a Tal-Seto Faster Than Light Jump Drive like on the USS Ajax, but still much faster than a transwarp drive. There is only one last thing. Commander Matz needs permission from Commodore Jeffrey Slater, in command of this mission. "All right Commander. You have a go. We will stay on this exact spot. So we will expect you back in about an hour." "Acknowledged sir. We will see you back in an hour." Without a countdown the Gdonsk engages the subspace drive and disappears. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 290 In the Messier 2 Galaxy close to GH-2365 the USS Vertigo is monitoring the subspace engine test of the Gdonsk, Commander Matz in command. As soon as the Gdonsk disappears, the crew of the USS Vertigo returns to the daily routine. "Commodore Slater, sir, it is going to be one hour before the Gdonsk will come out of subspace." "Indeed. Call me in about 50 minutes. And we can see whether we see this ship coming. If it comes out of Subspace earlier, let me know." "Aye sir." Commodore Jeffrey Slater returns to his ready room. He has a short talk with Admiral Arthur at Deep Space 2. "Admiral. We are currently testing the subspace engine of the Gdonsk, the ship we have found here in the Messier 2 Galaxy. We hope we will get more information about this ship at the planet GH-2365 where we are heading. I will keep you posted as usual." "I really appreciate that Jeff. Thanks. Arthur out." On the bridge of the USS Vertigo several science and engineering teams are looking at their consoles to try to find a sign of the Gdonsk, which is moving somewhere in the region using the subspace engine. This test is not only a test for the subspace engine of the Gdonsk, but also a test to detect a ship with a subspace engine. In the next thirty minutes fifteen probes are launched. But without result. The Gdonsk is somewhere, but totally undetectable. While Commodore Slater is trying to think about the consequences of the Federation having a subspace ship, he also realises that it will be a risk as subspace engines can rupture space. And then there is the little issue of finding this ship without a crew. Commodore Slater is called to the bridge. something is happening. On the Gdonsk, Commander Matz is very pleased with the ship. All systems are working in subspace. The subspace engine doesn't even have a small problem. While the Gdonsk is speeding up, sensors of the ship still work perfectly. Exactly an hour later Commander Matz has returned to the USS Vertigo and comes out of subspace. "Gdonsk to Vertigo. You should see us now at your port side." "Affirmative Gdonsk. We have not detected you during your subspace trip, but now we do." "The test went perfectly. Aside of the lower speed of the subspace drive in comparison with a transwarp drive, all systems were operating within normal parameters. The ship did not even shake. Bottom line is that this subspace engine works perfectly." Commodore Slater is very pleased and sends a report to Admiral Arthur at Deep Space 2. After this test the two ships resume their course to GH-2365. Admiral Arthur at Deep Space 2 has received the complete report on the subspace engine used by the Gdonsk. It seems a very interesting concept, but it is rather slow. Other faster than light engines are more interesting. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 291 Horkan's Replicators and the Deep Space 2 Droids are dealing with the last Slymak ships and the last Slymak portals which lead into the galaxy. Estimations of the closing of all Slymak portals and the destruction of all Slymak ships will take just a week. The Galaxy will be free of the Slymak threat for ever. In his office on Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur is following the Slymak situation step by step. In between he has other information to read. He is very interested in the mission of the USS Vertigo, Commodore Jeffrey Slater in command, on a deep space mission. The USS Vertigo crew has found a deserted ship of unknown origin with a subspace drive. The ship's name is Gdonsk and Commander Matz has received command of the ship. Aboard the USS Vertigo during a staff meeting on the USS Vertigo on its way to GH-2365. Commander Matz has transported from the Gdonsk to attend the meeting. and there is something new thanks to Admiral Arthur. Commodore Slater explains. "We have received schematics for a tranwarp drive for the USS Vertigo. The new transwarp drive does not work for the Gdonsk, but the Gdonsk can use the subspace drive instead. The transwarp drive has been tested and approved. Thanks to this new technology we will arrive at GH-2365 within 48 hours." Admiral Arthur is extremely curious to what the USS Vertigo will find at GH-2365 a star system the farthest away from the Federation. It is the great unknown. But An Admiral can not be distracted. Estimations of the closing of all Slymak portals and the destruction of all Slymak ships will take just a week. The Galaxy will be free of the Slymak threat for ever. Even for the Hirogen hunters the hunt for Slymak is almost over. Two Slymak ships are destroyed. One of the last Slymak Portals is closed. The galaxy is almost safe from the Slymak threat. It is a hunt that will be remembered for many generations. A week later the hunt is finally over. The last Slymak ships are destroyed. It is the end of a species that has no actual purpose, but to gather all resources in a galaxy. They can go their way until someone stops them. And that is exactly what has happened. It is Horkan himself who contacts Admiral Arthur, in command of Deep Space 2 and thanks him for the support and the troops. "Admiral. I must confess we could have done this without you and your troops, but we considered this hunt as a competition between your troops and ours. It is not important who has won this, but this hunt was great fun. Maybe we can do this some other time. That would be fun." "Any time Horkan. You know where to find us. We will be ready for any challenge." "Thank you Admiral. We are looking forward to our next contest." The channel is closed. Behind his console Horkan has a huge grin on his face, making a new plan already. Aboard Deep Space 2 Admiral Arthur enters starbase operations. He only has a few words for his officers. "The job is done." While his officers are cheering, The Admiral smiles, turns around and gets back to his office. His personal log is going to be a long one. The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 292 Message from Admiral Arthur Commanding Officer Deep Space 2 To all Starfleet Commanding Officers stationed and serving in Federation sectors 45879-49561 Begin Message Good news. The Slymak threat is over. This is confirmed. All Slymak ships and facilities have been destroyed. The Galaxy is safe again. This is the work of a huge Hirogen Hunting group under command of Horkan and their artificial intelligence combine with the artificial intelligence of Deep Space 2. It is my pleasure and honor to call on you to resume your regular duties. Please feel free to explore, invent, improve, discover as Starfleet should. Make first contacts, explore new worlds and travel to extraordinary phenomena. The Super Gateway in orbit of our planet made with Iconian technology which makes travel to other galaxies possible, will stay in operation. If you want to use it just give us a call. Last but not least I am also able to report that we have produced and tested a new kind of transwarp drive. These tests were very successful and we have already deployed several ships which made some serious speed. Please note this new transwarp drive is not like the Tal-Seto FTL drive. So our new transwarp drive does not need jump points. Which is a large improvement. If any of you need the scematics of this new transwarp drive, please contact our Chief Engineer who will be happy to help you with the scematics and any questions you may have. Admiral Arthur CO Deep Space 2 End of Message