Path: inforamp.net!news.nstn.ca!news.dal.ca!torn!utnut!cs.utexas.edu!usc!chi-news.cic.net!nntp.coast.net!howland.reston.ans.net!plug.news.pipex.net!pipex!tube.news.pipex.net!pipex!dish.news.pipex.net!pipex!tank.news.pipex.net!pipex!iol!imci2!news.internetMCI.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!news-feed.iguide.com!uunet!in2.uu.net!ulowell.uml.edu!news.cs.umb.edu!oitnews.harvard.edu!irs.joslin.harvard.edu!weed From: Mathew Weed Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: New! Defender: (Also The Vortex' Defender) Part I Date: Sun, 25 Feb 1996 14:08:21 -0500 Organization: Harvard University Office of Information Technology Lines: 683 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: irs.joslin.harvard.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Status: N This work is the sole property of Cris Francis , and Matthew Weed. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: The Next Generation are copyright Paramount Pictures, and all characters and situations found in those series are taken into this work with the utmost respect to that corporation's legal rights. The _Fall of the Federation_ series is intended to be a four-volume series looking at the factors that might well, in spite of the best intentions, bring the Federation to a collapse. Cris Francis' Vortex series is not a part of the universe, and so some of the characters found in that series, both "killed", and "living", have been drawn into this work. The appearance of any "dead" characters is a result of creative license, and not of Ms. Francis' decision to resusitate them for her work. Characters and situations characteristic of the Vortex of Power series are copyright Chris Frances , 1995-96. Characters and situations characteristic of the _Fall of the Federation_, series, are copyright 1992-96, Matthew Weed and Marc Hernandez, . This work, _Defender_ (also, The Vortex' Defender), is copyright Matthew Weed and Chris Francis, 1995-96. Many who keep up with DS9 will realize that the last few weeks' episodes have shot some rather major holes in this story, and in Chris' entire timeline. As her husband Mike said, "Hmmm. If *I* wanted to cut your story line off at the knees, this would definitely be one way to do it.". I must agree. And on with the story Defender: (also: The Vortex' Defender) Part I By: Matthew Weed and Chris Francis mweed@warren.med.harvard.edu archer77@ix.netcom.com ********************** [Romulan Special Intelligence Report: Subject Matter: New heavy vessels of the Federation's Star Fleet] {Report filed per the request of the Imperial Naval Central Command for data on Star Fleet's current activities} (intercepted by Star Fleet Command, approximately star date 51358.6, original filing date unknown.) From the report text "...along with their new heavy star ships, apparently named in the tradition of one of Earth's great pre-iron age mercantile and military powers, the "Mycenae" class ships are a formidable advance in Federation military thinking. The vessels have notably heavier fire power than the Nebula class ships which they are now beginning to supplant throughout the Federation. The ships carry a new form of phased energy array which has greatly advanced fire power and frequency range than the collimators found on the Galaxy and Nebula class vessels with which we have become familiar. Their double shielding makes them three or four times harder to destroy than the Nebula class ships, and their photon torpedo capacity is some what superior as well, resulting from the long range torpedoes that these ships carry, in combination with the Federation's standard missile weapons. The ships are, it is believed, equipped with a cloaking system purchased from the Klingon Empire in violation of the treaty of Algeron, which the Federation claims has been broken by our newest classes of warbird. When combined with their new weapons, and toughened double shielding, these ships are far superior to anything in the Romulan arsenal, and as their numbers increase, will pose a threat to our continued expansion. The fact that the ships are held by Star Fleet's newly established defense command, whose primary responsibilities are anti-Borg and anti-Dominion defense, may suggest something of the Federation's plans for the ships, however as our own history shows, weapons built for one purpose can be used for others, and we shall have to increase our vigilance concerning Federation activity over the foreseeable future, as a combined result of this new class(s?), of vessel, combined with the growing threat of Founder influence in Star Fleet. Three final points should be made. Firstly, their captain McGinnis has been missing of late, which suggests that he may be receiving a new command. Secondly, we have sketchy data concerning a newer, more powerful, variant of the "Mycenae" Dreadnought of which only one or two examples have been planned. It is possible, considering his early involvement with the first project, that if the second project exists that McGinnis will receive command of one of these ships as a result of his high status resulting from the defeat of a Borg assault and successful return from another dimension some three earth years ago. The final point to be made is that an expedition to unexplored space near Bajor is to be made, with two or three scouting craft to be supported by a "heavy vessel whose class and type are as yet undecided". I believe that a mission to test our metal against the Federation in an area where any attack can be credibly blamed on either the Cardassians or the Dominion may prove helpful in diverting the Federation's attention from our own new construction program." Captain's personal log: stardate 51963.7: William McGinnis, commanding USS Inflexible recording We are just about to commission this new ship, the most powerful starship ever built by the Federation. In our first mission, we are to support three science vessels in an effort to map and do preliminary system charting on an unexplored sector near Bajor. This ship, to be honest, is not built for that kind of mission, as her structure is too big and too unmaneuverable for the kind of high-speed operations that may be required should one of the undefended science ships get into serious trouble. Our maximum sustainable warp factor is a full half less than the light dreadnoughts that I'm familiar with, and our firepower has, in my opinion, not been sufficiently increased to justify the program's expense in any case. Of course, I've told Starfleet Command this, and although those in defense command agree with me, Admiral Stephenson in Science command thinks that this is the perfect ship for a military support role. For this reason, my people are now coming aboard in order to get this ship under way for a mission that I believe very few of us believe in, even though we are all looking forward to the chance to do a bit of exploring and simple scientific work for a while. Hopefully all will be quiet, and we won't have any surprises along the way. I must now go to organize our final phaser sweeps for concealed "Founders", in order to remove the opportunity for at least one such surprise. "I want the ship swept with internal weapons fire for a duration of thirty seconds at the settings that Star Fleet said will affect the "Founders" to ensure that our mission won't be any more difficult then I think it will be," said Captain William McGinnis, new commander of the Federation defender Inflexible. "Sir, we can sweep the ship as soon as all crew are either off, or in their assigned positions for the structural sweep," said Commander Robert Sanchez, ship's weapons officer. "How long?" "I'd say maybe fifteen minutes. All of us have been tested, as you know, and have been under continual observation by both electronic and visual means since testing. We will have to run the operation from the bridge, and will have to sweep it with our phaser rifles, since the defense systems would take us out once engaged. It shouldn't be too much of a problem. The only thing that frustrates me is that we can't sweep the outside of the ship. As you know, Excalibur reported one of the damned changelings on its outer hull disguised as a hull plate." "I've dealt with that. Mycenae will sweep us with her auxiliary phasers before her final decommissioning, and the scout will take care of the parts of the hull that they can't reach with the bigger ship's phasers." "I'm glad of that, sir. I'll have to shut the defense system off for the outer hull sweep, since it is built to automatically bring the ship's main shields up at the first sign of phased energy or disrupter attack. I suggest that we do the internal sweep first, and then take care of the outer sweep immediately after that." "First officer?" McGinnis said, turning to the slender Vulcan woman sitting to his right. "I Believe that Mr. Sanchez' proposal is quite satisfactory to your requirements, however, we shall have to be careful to ensure that the computers are not disrupted by the particle wash of the external phaser sweep," said T'sommahr who had been McGinnis' science officer aboard Mycenae. Why she had chosen to stay with him aboard Inflexible was not totally clear to anyone, even considering the fact that the ship's upcoming mission was a three month patrol in support of a major scientific expedition to unexplored space not terribly far from the Bajoran home system. This ship was even less capable of doing true scientific work than Mycenae had been, and although McGinnis--and therefore Inflexible's command crew--was in command of the mission, there were certainly better ways for a scientist to make a reputation than sitting aboard the most powerful warship--with its utterly limited scientific capabilities--in the Federation's arsenal, protecting other scientists while they did the actual exploratory work. However, McGinnis knew, this was not the time to question the logic of his first officer, who had proven to be an exemplary diplomat and ... prevaricator during their first--and interestingly enough last--mission aboard Mycenae. "Very well, we'll do it that way. Mr. Sanchez, when will the rest of the crew be ready for transfer aboard?" "All staff should be cleared for boarding in about two hours, and then we'll be able to secure the ship. Tactical command will be ready for launch immediately on your command after the last crew transfers." "Very well, let's get to the testing so that we can get this mission under way." Fortunately for McGinnis' state of mind, the sweep of the ship proved that the new tighter security measures that Star Fleet had been implementing over the last three years had proven sufficient to protect the ship from the "Founders". With the sweep, and the crew transfers now complete, McGinnis could move to the next phase of the mission: departure from Polaris Construction's huge docking bay. "All departments, final preparations and status check for departure?" "Engineering reports that we're ready to go, all hull connections have been severed; the warp and impulse engines are on line; computer systems; transporters, shuttles, and the scout are set; all life support and other crew support facilities are optimal; and all other systems show green," said Commander Robert MacLeod, who had been one of McGinnis' closest friends ever since their time on Vulcan working at the Vulcan Academy of Sciences. "Medical reports that all crew are healthy, save ensigns Chavez and Thrane who were involved in a barroom brawl dockside. Both are expected to recover fully. All medical stores are in place, and the medical monitor system is functional per Star Fleet regulations." said Dr. James Peterson, whom McGinnis had been assigned once Elizabeth Roberts' departure for long-term psychological leave had been finalized. "Tactical board shows all systems on stand-by, photon torpedoes are loaded, and the helium warheads for the scout are aboard her. The scout's weapons are tied into the main computer's control grid. The main shields are on stand by, and the auxiliaries are ready at a moment's notice. Tactical scanners are on line, and internal scans show green. The internal defense systems are, as we have just seen, optimal, with force fields fully available. All security weapons are logged in place, and the ship's main armory shows secure." came Sanchez' report. "The scientific facilities aboard are fully prepared for the upcoming mission. The ship's main sensory systems are functional, and the strategic weapons linkage to tactical is in place. All departmental status reports required by the First Officer's post are in, and all show the vessel fully prepared for launch," was T'sommahr's quiet comment from the first officer/science station. "Operations station shows that all systems are green from this board, communications systems are clear both internally and externally, link to Galaxynet is open, and telemetry is clearing the vessel to Star Fleet." reported Lieutenant Janet Anders from her station, which had fallen to her once Tharl--Mycenae's Operations Officer--had made it clear that he was unable to perform many of the duties of a living being, not to mention an officer in Star Fleet, after their return from dimensional transit nearly two and a half years ago. "The helm is ready to bring the ship out, all navigational programming is stable, and all helm/navigation to engineering links are fully functional," stated Lieutenant Thale who had come as a replacement for now-lieutenant Schultz, who was Sanchez' second-in-command, and charged with the ship's main offensive and defensive systems control from the tactical command center located near the ship's main dorsal connection's fusion point with the main hull. "Very well, ... Helm, stand by to engage the fulcrum thrusters." "Aye Sir, fulcrum drive is ready to start, impulse engines standing by for engage command on our departure from dock." "Good, engage fulcrum drive immediately. Ops, as soon as we've gotten clear of the star's tachyonic disturbances, send to Star Fleet, ... we are under way, USS Inflexible NCC 3756 is now commissioned, and requesting final confirmation for our orders to Federation outpost Deep Space Nine." "Aye, sir." Meanwhile, the ship's mighty new thrust units were pushing it slowly toward the construction dock's exit and outer space. The units were connected to the ship's wings and the tremendous pylons that held the wing structure, the warp drive nacelles, and the engineering section together. These units were built to give the kind of aerial propulsion that the ship's regular thrusters, not fully calibratible for in-atmosphere propulsion could not. As the construction dock was fully pressurized, these units were far more appropriate for the ship's departure plan than its regular thrusters. * * * "Third! you have command until I return from Engineering," said Commander Takaera to her second officer before exiting the bridge of the new Romulan startallon class warbird Predator. The second officer in question, a youngish sub-commander named Arwein rose from her tactical station and moved to the raised command dais at the center of the ship's unusually large and comfortable bridge. She watched her senior leave the bridge and then turned her attention to the main view screen's depiction of the alien space through which Predator was moving at a steady warp three. The questions that had been dogging her for days returned to her mind as her body automatically performed the functions required of any Romulan bridge officer left in temporary command. Probably the most important of these was "Why am I here?" After all, she had been the commander of a highly successful attack squadron in the skirmishes against the Klingons which were growing more and more frequent as hostilities between the two races grew from minor toward open war. Her ships had been small, but as the Klingons didn't have anything bigger in the area, her superior tactical skill and better-engineered weapons had proven themselves a deadly combination for the Klingons to face, at least as far as her authority and ships' engines could carry her. She had never been a line officer, rising through the military from the rank of sub centurion--as did all well-borne individuals--to her current rank in in the squadrons active in border actions against the Klingons, Thollians and occasionally, The Federation. Of these, The Federation was the most difficult enemy, both as a result of its enormous resources, and the fact that they refused to use tactical craft in any form, making attack squadron operations difficult when it was reasonably certain that an Alaska or Nebula class vessel would come in response to a raid with its overwhelming superiority in firepower and shield capacity to chase her small ships back across the neutral zone. The other powers' tactics were much more like those of the Romulan Empire, making her battles easier, and attacks more difficult to plan. However, in spite of all of her success, she knew herself to be unready for duty aboard one of the Empire's most powerful warships. This aside, she was here, charged with learning and using this ship's capabilities in order to destroy, or capture, one of the Federation's new heavy war vessels. A ship which it was believed, was nearly a match for even this new craft, with all of its added maneuverability and more efficient weapons. For one of the older D'deridex class ships, the "Mycenae" dreadnoughts would pose a nearly insuperable problem, with their greater maneuverability, and superior destructive potential. Her reality, however, was that both her ship and her likely enemy carried hundreds of times more destructive potential than she was used to working with, and had to be fought under totally different rules than she had become used to. Therefore, the question returned: "Why am I here?" The only answer that she had come up with--unsatisfactory though it was--, was that her involvement against the Federation, and particularly ships on which it was believed that William McGinnis, their likely opponent, had served, gave her some special knowledge that the high command thought would prove useful. In her opinion, in this as in so many other things, the High Command didn't know what they were doing. It had been pushing its luck against the enormously powerful enemy which controlled nearly half of their border, and even a race as weak and directionless as the Humans would only wait so long to respond in a most unfortunate way for her people. In fact, the way she saw it, the rise of commanders like McGinnis and Edward Jellico, as well as the construction of new, and very powerful, ships could be construed as the beginnings of just that response. * * * Gowron paced, glowering at his newly added bodyguards As if he, Gowron son of Elwon, needed nannies! "Where is she!" he demanded angrily. "I am here, my brother." Elise McKenna, Gowron's half-human half-sister, appeared in the doorway. She wore her uniform. Knowing how it would improve his mood, she knelt before Gowron and bowed her head. "Make known to me your bidding, lord." He wanted to kick her, when she did that. How was he supposed to hate her, when she knew so well how to please him? Still; the sight of her before him, on her knees, never failed to cheer him. He dismissed the guards. "Get up." "I apologize for the delay." she said, once they were alone. He raised his hand to strike her, but turned away instead. Elise raised her smiling face; somehow at once beatific and demonic. "You should not push yourself so. It makes you very cranky. So tell me; why have you summoned me?" "How is your daughter?" "Fuck you, my brother. What do you want?" He turned to face her, leering. "Care to rephrase that?" "Which part?" Elise stood. "Look; did you call me in here just to play? If I'd known, I'd have worn my good knife." "Tempting as it sounds, no; I actually have a reason. I need your presence aboard a new Federation ship, as an observer. You will proceed to Deep Space Nine, where you will be contacted." "Observer?" Elise scoffed. "You will understand, once you see what it is you are to observe." "You know how I hate dealing with those guys." "Yes." he admitted, smiling. Elise smiled back. "Very well. As you wish, my lord." she bowed deeply. "I shall depart at once." Gowron's smile disappeared, as he watched her leave. He really, really hated it, when she did that. * * * "Sir, we're now clear of stellar interference, Starfleet Command has been notified of our commissioning, and I am awaiting clearance to DS9." "Good, ... helm, stretch our muscles a bit, give me a warp eight patrol course around the system at a range of three trillion kilometers from the star. You're welcome to set whatever pattern you like." "Understood," replied Thale who put the ship on to a spiral course that would allow the ship to remain outside stellar interference, but near enough to her base to allow her to return if necessary. Several hours later, McGinnis was awakened from his first lengthy period of sleep in nearly three days by the chime of the communicator which lay on his bedside table. "McGinnis here," he said into the com unit after sitting up in bed, and pulling on his tunic. "Sir, this is Lt. Anders, we have Starfleet's confirmation of our orders, we are now cleared to transit to DS9 for rendezvous with science vessels Lewis, Einstein and Watson. All three ships should be there by the time we arrive. However, I've also received an order to do everything possible to arrive at our rendezvous with the greatest possible alacrity." "I see," said McGinnis, more than a bit surprised at this news. "Did they give us any reason for the change in schedule?" "No, sir. They just said that we are to arrive as quickly as possible, and that we are to spend as little time as possible on the station," she replied, as surprised by the change in their orders as was her captain. Unfortunately, there was nothing that McGinnis could do, and as the chief of Exploratory Headquarters was responsible for their mission he was not going to check with her, as doing so might prove hazardous to his career's up-to-now, robust health. "Very well, ... helm?" "Yes, Henderson here, sir." "Ensign, set course for DS9 warp factor nine, with greater speed if Engineering thinks it possible." "Aye Sir," replied the young human who stood third shift on the helm. "Lt. Anders, you'll retain command until I come up for Alpha shift." "Understood, sir." she said before McGinnis cut the connection and returned to his well-deserved nap. * * * Still sore from administering disciplinary action on a few wayward troops, Elise McKenna stepped through the airlock and into DS9. "Good to see you again, M'Kenna." Commander Sisko offered his hand, using the Klingon pronunciation of her name. "Good to be seen." she grinned back and shook his hand. "Can you enlighten me as to what this little soiree is all about?" Sisko smiled back. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait until Captain McGinnis arrives. It's his party." "McGinnis? Never heard of him. Is he good?" "M'Kenna, this is Starfleet. We only employ the best." He held his deadpan for a moment more, then they both laughed. "OK," Elise finally calmed down. "Where can I bunk my boys? A few of them are ready to take a nice nap." "Odo will be here in a moment. He'll show you where. Uh... M'Kenna,..." "I know, I know. I won't let them get into too much trouble. I plan to sit on em, if necessary." Sisko smiled with relief. "I'm glad we understand each other..." "As much as anyone can understand a Klingon." a deep gravelly voice said from behind them. "Odo, you old dog." Elise smiled softly and turned to face the constable. "How's everything hangin?" "The very picture of decorum and tact as always, I see." Odo teased. "If you and your people will follow me?" She leaned in to Sisko. "One day I'm gonna get that guy to crack a smile." she said, sotto voce. "I wouldn't count on it." Sisko answered in kind. *** Doctor Julian Bashir was intently studying Cardassian blood replication. He was about to reach for another sample, when suddenly his arms were pinned and there was a knife at his throat. The doctor sighed and rolled his eyes. "Stop playing around, Elise; I'm very busy today." "Damn!" Elise swore, and put away her knife. "How'd ya know it was me?" "Who else would it be? Besides; we were all warned-...er...ADVISED of your arrival." "Very funny." She pulled up a chair. "What time will you be through?" "I'm not sure. What's eating you? You're even more hyper than usual." "Ah." she waved it off. "I just hate stumbling in the dark. No one will tell me why I'm here, or what I'm supposed to be doing." Elise sighed. "It's quite a strain." "Quit fishing, Elise." he said, pulling up the sample he'd been reaching for. "I haven't been briefed." "Can't blame a girl for tryin'." she shrugged. "Look, doc; since I'm here..." "Don't tell me you threw your shoulder out again!" "Comes with the job." "Elise, you are their captain. You're not supposed to roll around on the floor with them." "It's called disciplinary action. Besides;" she grinned wickedly. "I kinda like it." Julian sighed and pushed away from his desk. "That, I find easy to believe." * * * Captain's log, Stardate 51988.6: William McGinnis, in command of USS Inflexible reporting: We are now three hours out of Federation administered station Deep Space Nine, and all is proceeding normally. I am reasonably satisfied with the ship's operations, and expect that our rendezvous with the three science vessels for which we will be responsible will occur on our new schedule. The Federation/Cardassian border seems quiet, and as a result, I am hoping to leave the Bajoran home system as quickly as possible; as the Cardassians will doubtless view the presence of this vessel as somewhat provocative. However, the crew needs leave while it can be found, and as I suspect that we'll be rather lacking in leave facilities for the next three months, I intend to stay at the station for at least 24 hours, so that everyone can unwind in Quark's fabled bar. While the crew takes leave, I will be trying to find out why we have been ordered to move to the rendezvous with all possible speed. The fact that there is no obvious reason for the order is somewhat concerning. McGinnis smiled to himself as he shut off the log recorder, thinking of what the Ferengi would pay him for an endorsement of the kind that he had just received. Although he had never been in the place himself, he knew from the reports of friends who had been there, that it could be as wild as any bar on Rhisa or in the Rigel sector. He'd had his fair share of brawls in these places, all instigated by his friends of course, and had been looking forward to a few hours ... entertainment watching Quark's patrons. Hopefully Starfleet's strange silence on the matter of the ship's orders could be explained quickly enough to allow him some time there. "Helm, report ship's course and speed," he said, more out of habit than any need to know. Thale was a very competent helmsman, and with the ship's computers to help him, a flea could probably handle things, even under high warp conditions. "Sir, we're still traveling at warp nine, and are two hours from deceleration into the neighborhood of DS9," came the Andorian's quiet response. "Good, you have the bridge for an hour or so, I'll be down on the mess deck if you need me." "Aye Sir," replied the young lieutenant. McGinnis liked to be among his crew as he felt that it was good to interact with them, in order to give them the feeling that the captain was available to them if they felt the need to have him around. His crew had become quite used to this, and many in Starfleet said that this characteristic was one of the things that gave the comparatively young captain the ability to command the great loyalty that most of his shipmates had shown him from his lieutenancy on. Therefore, when he arrived on the ship's main rec deck, few crew members took notice beyond a brief salute. He moved to the replicator bank and ordered his favorite "large" meal, which included a steak, mixed vegetables, and a healthy portion of "oven-fresh" bread. The only thing fresh about the bread, of course, was the fact that it had been free molecular matter only ten seconds ago, but as it reminded him of home, McGinnis was willing to ignore the irony of his current menu entry. After the machine had filled his order, he turned to see Robert MacLeod, chief engineer and one of his closest friends waving to him. After a moment of indecision as to how best to get to the engineer, who was sitting at a table on the far side of the eating area, he moved through the tangle of chairs and tables, being thankful that he could see where he was going. He got to MacLeod's table without difficulty and sat down. MacLeod's concerned expression doubtless mirrored his own, although McGinnis could not be sure if the reason for their long faces was similar or not. "Well, Robert, what's bothering you?" "William, I suspect that its the same thing that has you looking like you've been given The Gordian knot to solve." "You mean our sudden haste to get to DS9?" McGinnis replied before taking a bite out of his food. "Exactly. The other thing that worries me, from a departmental standpoint, is the fact that the ship's engines haven't had a lot of work at high warp yet. I wish that we'd had a bit more time to run the engines at this level of power before we had to push them beyond warp eight." "I know, but without a stated reason for our change in schedule, I have to assume that Sisko needs some kind of help, and this ship is by far the most powerful Federation unit in the area." "Probably so, but it would be nice if they'd tell us what we're supposed to expect when we get there." "Yes, but considering how Admiral Stephenson feels about me, I'm not totally surprised that we're not being informed. She's not a military commander, and unless the situation is truly critical, we're a lot less likely to get info' out of her then we would be if Admiral Jellico were in command of this mission." "I know, its really too bad that you two haven't been able to patch up your differences...." said MacLeod before McGinnis' expression could warn him that he was stepping on territory that was still sensitive, even though the problems that beset McGinnis' relationship with the Admiral in question were nearly fifteen years old. McGinnis saw that MacLeod was not going to finish the thought, and waved off the tension that had arisen. "Don't worry about it, I'm not particularly worried about what we're going to find, since if it were a problem, we would have been notified. Its too bad that she hasn't been able to handle things better, but knowing her, I'm not really surprised." "Whatever you say," said MacLeod. "I think that the engines will take warp 9.5 the rest of the way, if you want to push it," he said, changing the subject as quickly as possible. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep the science ships--I mean the Admiral--waiting," said McGinnis. "You're sure that the systems will handle the speed?" "Yes, even though I'd like more testing time, I think that with direct supervision, that I'll be able to keep things running fine for the time we'll need to get to the station." "In that case, I'll head up to the bridge to give the order, which should give you time to get down to engineering to get things ready." "Right," said MacLeod as he began to take his tray toward the molecular disintegrator that returned unused mass to the ship's stores. ************************ If you want parts of this story, plese mail either Matt or Cris and we'll get them to you. If you want more information or the files for the Fall of the Federation, or Vortex of Power Series, please see ftp.gdw.com /pub/startrek/story/tng for Fall of the Federation stuff, and /pub/startrek/story/DS9 (any file including the word Vortex) for Vortex of Power stories. You are also invited to contact Matt or Chris directly. and archer77@ix.netcom.com for VOP. R "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all of those other forms that have been tried from time to time." Winston Churchill as quoted on the CBS evening news for Feb 19, 1996 Matthew Weed (617) 432-9023 mweed@count51.med.harvard.edu A.M.Harvard University