From : Mike Nugent Sent : Sunday, August 15, 2004 8:35 PM To : daltonator@hotmail.com Subject : Jedi In the Dominion Chapter 1 Location: Outer Rim- Ekim system, ten years before A New Hope. The sky was lit up, two starships were duelling. One was piloted by Kaldor Thann, a somewhat new Jedi Knight, low on experience, promoted to Jedi Knight mainly because of the few left after the purge began. The other piloted by several representatives of the Sator, a guild of bounty hunters. They were renowned throughout the underworlds of the galaxy, the only people to even compare to the Jedi Order in how much fear they inspired among low lifes. It was most likely they were hired by the Emperor, part of his campaign of purging the galaxy of all who could oppose him. Between his newly recruited Stormtroopers, basically a cheap version of a Clonetroop, the Jedi who fell to the Dark Side and his new Imperial Starfleet. Not to mention Anakin Skywalker, now Darth Vader, the Emperors right hand man and known throughout the Empire as a ruthlessly loyal subject of the Emperor. The Jedi were dying fast. The Jedi Council building had been demolished, making any Jedi organised resistance much harder. COMPNOR agents monitored the Holonets. "R3, prepare to jump to hyperspace, we won't last here much longer." The astromech droid bleeped in compliance. After a few seconds the calculations were done. Now it was just a matter of escaping the Sator. The battle was a stalemate, his Jedi starfighter had no weapons capable of breaching their shields, and his ship coupled with his Jedi reflexes and precognition kept him out of the line of fire of their modified transport. The starfighter turned away from the battle, accelerating as fast as it could to get out of weapons range before the Sator's ship came about. It was too late; they turned before Kaldor could get away, a single turbolaser shot streaked toward him. "R3, JUMP TO HYPERSPACE!" Kaldor screamed, his emotions getting the better of him. The familiar internal engine noise meant they were about to escape. It was in vain, the bolt hitting them as they jumped to hyperspace; the internal displays went haywire in the cockpit. There was some sort of spatial disturbance he was unable to identify, it looked like a hyperspace tunnel, but somehow not. After a few seconds of confusion and utter bizarrity, he emerged from whatever it was he was in. Kaldor looked around, he didn't recognise any of the stars around him, R3 was also clearly confused. The ship shuddered, it seemed the Sators had followed him through. Still firing. "R3, are we still capable of hyperspace?" He bleeped in the affirmative. "Excellent, get us out of here, just pick a star and go." Another set of bleeps. It seemed as though the Sator ship was damaged, it was leaking something. Whatever it was the weapons were deemingly not functioning anymore. The ship entered hyperspace, the tunnel looked more familiar this time. The starfighter emerged from hyperspace. There was a small fleet of ships in front of him, looking like beetles, a design he was unfamiliar with. The comlink became active. "Unidentified vessel. You have entered Dominion territory. Please identify yourself." "I am Jedi Knight Kaldor Thann. Who are you?" "I am Konama, a Vorta representative. What is your business here?" "I am a refugee from the Empire, I seek asylum." There was a pause; he could feel the confusion fear and suspicion on the Dominion ship. "Very well, lower your shields and we will tractor you into a secure docking bay. We can discuss your problem and bid for asylum." Chapter 2 Location: Dominion Battlecruiser Docking Bay Kaldor gazed arund the docking bay. The interior was very utilitarian, nothing unnecessary was there, like a military transport form the early days of the Clone Wars when the Jedi were valuable people in the Old Republic, and not enemies. Two large men with scaly skin and whan looked like small horns all over them entered the room. After them came a small man with a combination of arrogance and curiosity about him. Kaldor sensed it was the man he spoke with over the commlink. He was glad he locked the starfighter. "I am the Vorta Konama. Mr Thann was it?" Konama was clearly trying to be diplomatic. But the human appearance of Thann was clearly confusing. No known humans had ships like this. "Yes" He replied, trying to keep his senses about him, ready should these large scaly men start shooting. "Do not be alarmed by my guards, these are Jem' Hadar, soldiers of the Dominion. And might I say excellent ones at that." Kaldor nodded in greeting. The guards did nothing. "Do you require medical assistance?" "No, I'm fine. Just a little shaken up." "Very well. I'll take you to my quarters; it's the only place on the ship that has seating. Plus we can speak in privacy, with the exception of the guards of course." "That sounds reasonable." It didn't seem like a good idea as he could sense thousands of soldiers like these two on the ship. The two left the room; Kaldor was a little shocked to find a dozen soldiers surrounding the docking bay. Clearly they didn't trust him as much as their Vorta indicated. The Vorta's quarters were sparse, but had what looked like a decent bed and some chairs with a table. The predominant colours were brown and grey. No windows, Kaldor estimated he was somewhere near the centre of the ship. A change of pace from the galaxy he was used to, where commanders had quarters with magnificent views. This made sense though. Why have a commander of a ship on the outside, especially because this appeared to be a small ship. "Would you care for something to eat?" The Vorta asked smoothly, standing next to some sort of alcove in the wall. "Yes, what do you have?" "Not much I'm afraid, mostly things like rations, though we do have some soups in here. We rarely have non-core species on this ship." "One of your soups will do fine." "Very good." Konama pushed a few times on some display above the hole in the wall. As if by some magic, the food appeared in a small aura of light. Kaldor couldn't hide his amazement at what he had just seen. Konama recognised this. "It's a food replicator." He said, "Derived from transporter technology." "Transporter?" Kaldor again showing much curiosity. "You've never heard of a transporter? How do you move large amounts of personnel to the ground?" Konama now showed confusion. This stranger from a far away place, who had, according to preliminary scans, a rather advanced ship, an engine that defied desription, and odd weapons systems. "We use all manner of landing craft." Konama seemed amazed. No-one used landing ships any more. He placed the soup on the table in front of Kaldor amd took a seat. He started to eat it hungrily; he'd not eaten in days. His field rations had run out, and couldn't risk going to colonies because of the price on his head. It was enough to make the most honest man call COMPNOR and be set up for life. "Well the transporter, in effect, breaks your body down to a subatomic level, sends it to where you need to be and reassembles you in seconds." Kaldors shock was evident. "Quite painless I assure you." Konama tried to hold in a chuckle. "If it's all the same I'll use my starfighter." Now Kaldor chuckled. "May I ask where this ship is headed?" "We're heading to intercept a small group of Starfleet ships. Have you heard of them?" "Can't say I have, unless you mean the Imperial Starfleet." "Imperial? Can't say I've heard of them. Are they who pursued you through that wormhole?" "No, that was a group of bounty hunters, hired by the Empire. They're apparently the best in the galaxy. Their ship is probably back where I appeared in this galaxy. If you check the database on my Astro droid you'll be able to locate that star system." "Astro droid?" "Yes, he's basically a navigator, holds the maps for the whole galaxy in him. Plus designations and other notes." "The whole galaxy? What is the range on your ship?" Konama's curiosity was not subtle. "One hundred and fifty thousand light years, not terribly fast." "Pardon? Is my translator malfunctioning? Did you say one hundred and fifty thousand light years?" "Yes, like I said, not very effective, only a Class-One hyperdrive." Kaldor was confused at the wonder displayed on the Vorta's face. "Would you consider an exchange of technology?" Konama asked, seizing the opportunity with minimal subtlety. "Possibly, what do you have?" He asked quizically. "Genetic manipulation technology, polaron beam weapons, advanced industrial production methods, things you could take home." These technologies would be nothing compared to what could be gained by their speeds. "I may not go home, there's nothing for me except death or capture and torture." He replied glumly. "Is there work available somewhere here for a person like me?" "Aside from your ship, what do you have to offer?" "My force abilities." "Force?" "Kind of an energy field created by living things. Some persons are born with sensitivity to it. With some training it allows us to manipulate the things around us, sometimes even the people." "Would you favour me with an example?" Konama asked skeptically. "Ok." Kaldor waved his hand, the bowl of soup, now emptied, lifted from the table. Konama was amazed and showed a little fear. "Very impressive. I think we could find a job for you here, what would you like to do?" "I'm akin to a peacemaker, a diplomat. I did odd jobs for the Republic. If any worlds caused a fuss we went and dealt with it. Sometimes with violence, sometimes with negotiations." "We definitely have a job here for you. With our diplomatic corps, you could handle negotiations and such. Many people around do not appreciate the stability and order the Dominion brings to them." Konama said, trying to sweeten his voice and sound like a victim. "Sounds like where I'm from, in the days of the Republic, we offered stability and protection. We too were attacked from thw outside, forcing us to reorganise our internal structure. It fell into the hands of a despotic madman. He brought his order; worlds that stepped out of line were destroyed. And he wiped out the Jedi, making them appear to be enemies of the state, time was there were thousands of us, now there are but a dozen." "Rest assured we don't do that, we're a lot more peaceful than that." "Where are you heading now?" "We're intercepting a Federation allied fleet, recently they mined a wormhole that allows us contact with the rest of the Dominion. We're now an isolated outpost, only with the assistance of the Cardassians, we have been able to subsist. Thankfully some time ago, after a long and brutal war, they offered us haven. In return we used our military to push out the invaders. A race of barbarians who believed we were evil and dishonourable. The mining of the wormhole was the last straw, we had to take their nearby station, a Cardassian one at that. Now we're working to take down the minefield, to get economic aid. Federation engineer are tricky, now the Federation has allied with the Klingons. We need good people now more than ever." Konama finished his speech. Allowing a second for it to sink into Kaldor. "I'm well trained in diplomacy, I could try to talk with them." The idea had clearly not been thought through. "We're past negotiation right now. The only way to stop is if we neutralise some of their central planets." The term neutralise was unsettling to him, the Jedi were to be 'neutralised' by the Emperor. "Are you a human?" Konama quickly and opportunistically asked. "Pardon?" Kaldor was clearly taken aback by the question. "Humans. A very prolific species in the area, leaders of the Federation. You look remarkably like one. They have a habit of showing up where they don't belong, a truly chaotic species. They are very self serving. Like us, they share the ideals of unity with other species, co-existance and such. But most of their ships are populated with humans, they push their corrupt ideals onto every species they can find." A low-pitched beeping noise filled the room. "You are required on the bridge, the fleet commander wishes to discuss strategies." "I'll be there momentarily. Konama out. Mr Thann, you may stay here while I conduct this." He handed him a PADD. "This contains biographical information on the Federation, it's allies and some other things. See what you can make of it." "Thankyou." With that, the Vorta turned and started for the bridge. Kaldor took a moment to reflect on the happenings, this Konama's motives were clearly different from what he'd been trying to convey. Chapter 3 Location - Dominion Battlecruiser Bridge The attitude on the bridge was one of calm, Jem' Hadar were always calm. Bred for battle, no emotions, and no feelings. Just a state of permanent clarity, for they were living for the Founders and enacting their will. Konama strolled onto the bridge; pleased at the new ally he had procured. His First approached him; "What of this 'Jedi'?" "That is of no concern, rest assured though, I locked the door. How went the examination of his ship?" "We couldn't examine anything." "Why not?" "It seems he locked it down, we couldn't open it, and it seems to be invulnerable to scanning equipment." "Very well, when we get back to Mirak Nor we can have real scientists and engineers examine it." Konama said, sounding disppointed in the apparent lack of Jem' Hadar engineering ingenuity. One of the Jem' Hadar passed Konama his headset. He grabbed it wordlessly. A small beep meant the headset was now active. "This is fleet commander Ghoren, form up. Attack formation 32." "Very well." Konama heard the other Vorta agree as well. "Konama, you will be on my right flank, Leevok, you take the left." "Also, the ship we encountered..." "What of it?" The fleet commander sounded impatient "The pilot is a very unique individual, has the ability to manipulate things around him, apparently he can manipulate people as well." "There's no time for that, time to engage the Federation in forty-five seconds." The Federation fleet streaked out of warp, there were a few seconds between the arrival and the fleet forming up. As usual, the Federation formed a moving wall. The Dominion strategy was to have three attack wings, two flanking a lead one which was twice the size of others. The plan was to have the lead group break the Federation's formation, not hard because most of it's commanders were inexperienced. Once the formation was broken the Jem' Hadar and Cardassian ships would move in and attack the small groups that were left. On the Starfleet lead ship USS Ming, the science officer, Lt. Nugent looked confused. "Captain, I have something here you might find interesting." The captain strode over; it was nice not to have yet another weapons conversation. "What is it Lieutenant?" "I'm picking up a strange lifesign on one of the Dominion lead ships." He pointed to a spot on his display. "From what I can see, it's a human?" "Human? There?" "He's in the middle of the ship, might be a brig." "Any chance of beaming him out?" "We'll have to do some decent damage to the ship, and even then it will be something. Send a message to other ships near the area-" "Sir, they've flooded the area with antileptons, we can't communicate with anyone." The urgency in the Lieutenant's voice was evident. "Damn it!" The captain was obviously frustrated. "Can we go after it ourselves?" "Captain this is an Excelsior class ship, it would take three or four of us to even have a chance." The Lieutenant sounded hopeful. "I have an idea." "Well come on, we have maybe a minute before we engage them." "If we could tag the ship, with maybe a tachyon beam or something, it would incite other ships to scan them, and they'd find this human." "Good thinking Mr. Nugent. Get right on it." "Very well." A beam came out of the ship, invisible to the human eye. It's effect on the Dominion ship was not. The shields lit up, creating what was effectively just a light show. It was now tagged for all sensors to see. The Jem' Hadar at the tactical station spoke up. "The Federation ships are scanning us. It would appear that tachyon beam has us tagged." "They've probably seen the human on board. Prepare to engage..." Chapter 4 Konama's lead ship was coming under heavy fire, ordinarily it would be considered a good sign; that their enemies were ignoring the Jem' Hadar fighters. Clearly Starfleet knew who was on board, and they wanted him. "Pilot, pull to the back of the formation, if they want to come after us it's their own suicide mission." "Aye sir." The ship lurched when it turned; it appeared the inertial dampeners were damaged. Another gruff Jem' Hadar voice sounded form the back of the bridge. "Our prisoner is loose, he's broken through the door." "How is this possible?" "It seems to be a localised energy distortion." "A Federation boarding party has transported aboard, they're heading straight for your quarters." "Send any spare troops to secure the area. If need be, kill the Jedi." The emotion was gone from his voice. He was now like the unemotional Vorta he was programmed to be. Calmly ordering deaths and destruction with no thought to remorse. The Starfleet team came across the now roaming Jedi, some ten metres away. His lightsabre was drawn. It shone a bright blue. "What is that!?" The Starfleet team leader asked in utter shock. "This is my lightsabre. The weapon of a Jedi Knight." "Right. We're here to rescue you. Come with us." "Why?" "Becasue the Jem' Hadar wil be here soon." "Yes, they will." "Are you insane!? We have to go now, Jem' Hadar will be here any second!" The Starfleet team leader was clearly angry. "I'm perfectly sane" Kaldor answered calmly. Kaldor raised his arm, waving it near the Starfleet team; a bulkhead fell down behind them. "You're not going anywhere." Kaldor was still the epitome of calm in a crisis. "Open fire!" A volley of Starfleet pulse phaser fire shot at him. Kaldor waved his lightsabre around, deflecting some of the shots back at the away team, the rest into the walls. The Starfleet crew stood there, shocked and frightened. Looking down at their fallen comrades, killed by their own phaser fire. "Ensign Grant to USS Ming, we need immediate beam out." No reply. "Ensign Grant to anyone who can hear me, we need immediate transport." No reply again. "Sounds like no-one is there to help." Kaldor said mockingly. Kaldor threw his lightsabre at the remaining three man away team with lightning speed, cutting two of them in half, except one who had the reflexes to hide behind a bulkhead. There was a brief pause. This last one felt a pressure on his throat, as if there were a hand there. He looked down and could see nothing. He fell to the ground; the last thing he saw was Kaldor's satisfied, subdued smile. The Jem' Hadar team stormed the hall with weapons drawn, in time to see Kaldor's lightsabre flying back to his hand and be turned off. The first looked shocked. "What happened here?" "I think it was a Federation away team, I've dealt with them." He indicated down to the bodies, a sign of true carnage. Something only a truly trained individual could do. Even Jem' Hadar were not this brutal very often, their weapons left burn marks and occasional bleeding. The only body in one piece was a Bolian up the back, whose hands were on his throat. His face that of frozen terror. The smell of burnt flesh was sinking in to the room. Kaldor waved his hand at the First. "You will take me to the Vorta." There was a pause. Kaldor hoped it would work. "I shall take you to the Vorta." "Very good." He linked his hands in his Jedi robes, and left with the First to the bridge, while the remaing soldiers examined the scene. Konama was shocked to see Kaldor on the bridge. Escorted by the First. "What is he doing here?" Konama demanded of the First. "He has proven himself in combat. Examine your security monitor, corridor 134." Konama complied, his face shocked by the sight. "You did that?" "Yes. I did." His face again was full of pride at his actions. Only then did the reality of his actions hit him, he realised how he had abused his power. It was very unsettling. It would require serious meditation to overcome and deal with this. Chapter 5 En route to the bridge, the reality of Kaldor's actions started to sink in. The dead faces, their screams and the images of the bodies haunted him. He'd killed clonetroops, but you could never see their faces. It was like breaking equipment. They didn't show fear, scream or cry out. His thought was interrupted by the swish of the bridge door opening. Konama had a satisfied grin on his face, seemingly unsurprised by this new visitor on the bridge. "Mr. Thann! Welcome to the bridge." "Thankyou." Kaldor's face was expressionless. How could this Vorta have known about his coming to the bridge? "I bring good news, we have beaten back the Federation, you apparently proved quite a distraction, with all the attention that was paid to this ship, the rest of the fleet was able to vanquish the Federation with little difficulty." "Very good. Are we pursuing them?" His aggression and pride were building again. "Yes we are, we will have caught up to them within the hour. Might I ask what happened outside my quarters?" "A Federation team tried to capture me. I... objected." "I understand you kill them quite brutally, with some sword of bladed weapon?" "Yes, my lightsabre." Kaldor drew his lightsabre to show them, before the blade was fully extended, half the Jem' Hadar on the bridge had their weapons on him. No one showed signs of intimidation. "Everyone, please lower your weapons. We're all friends here." Everyone eyed the Jedi; he slowly retracted his lightsabre. The guns were lowered. There was a tense feeling on the bridge. "You were saying...?" "It's the weapon of a Jedi Knight, better than any of these clumsy blasters of yours." "Blasters?" "Yes, the weapons everyone here seems to have." He indicated to the guards on the bridge. "Oh, right. They're called disruptors here." "May I return to some quarters?" Kaldor sounded impatient. "There are none available, all I can do is a storage bay," Konama tried to sound accomodating, not to anger or make his guest uncomfortable. This man might help vanquish the Federation. "I'll take that, I just need a place to rest." The storage bay was cluttered, mostly with Ketracel White and repair materials. Kaldor found a comfortable place to sit and meditate, it was quiet, and had minimal lighting. He sat down, and started to relax his mind. Almost immediately the images of the dead again started to reappear, but this time they were accompanied by a small twinge of pride and satisfaction. Kaldor's thoughts were violently conflicted. Even in the usually calm face of Jedi meditation, he had a worried and strained look on his face. He couldn't purge his dark feelings, they felt good, and at the same time wrong. Like when a small child disobeys an elder for the thrill of it. This wasn't right. Not the path. Not the way. But was it so wrong to enjoy fighting? Jedi were exceptional at it. Why not enjoy it? The thought of taking a fighter and engaging an enemy was appealing. With his Jedi reflexes he could show these people what he was capable of. He would only be earning the trust of his new hosts, a thing to be encouraged. He would he helping them deal with an enemy. The faster he ended it the fewer casualties there would be. He'd be doing a valuable service. Perhaps he could get his own ship. His fighter was not going to cut it, it was more for transport, not fighting. He could be one of the greatest fighters this galaxy had seen. Kaldor felt a new power in him. Chapter 6 A month later: "You know the old saying. Fortune favours the bold." Captain Sisko's fleet faced off against the Dominion. His pride forced him to try to take back his space station, to finish what he started when he left his baseball for Gul Dukat to find. Among the 1000+ Dominion ships was a small group controlled by Kaldor. He maintained a mental link with the commanders of these ships. Their actions were now coordinated better than anyone could hope. Mainly because the blank Jem' Hadar minds were easily malleable and could be bent to his will. Kaldor had studied the Federation's tactics to date. They were fond of using a few skilled commanders whenever they could. One of these commanders was at this battle. Captain Benjamin Lafayette Sisko. Adjutant to Admiral Ross. Captain of the Defiant. Emissary to the Prophets. Extensive experience dealing with the Dominion and the Cardassians. One child. The Dominion had a complete file on him. His nature indicated he would lead the attack, co-ordinate around himself in order to be the hero of the story. Unfortunately, Kaldor was nowhere near the hallowed USS Defiant. Sisko would go right through the centre. This was his style, most probably influenced by that Klingon officer of his. So far, Sisko had been attempting rather clever attacks. Sending Starfleet tactical fighters up against the Cardassian ships. Hoping to anger them and make them leave formation. It was working too. They had left formation. A few uneventful moments later, the Federation ships charged the Dominion lines. A small Sabre class ship came his way. It was acting in support of a nearby Galaxy cruiser, a funny name for a ship that in fact did not cross the galaxy. Kaldor's battle group went after the escort, as two large Cardassian ships were engaging the Galaxy ship. The battle group of 3 ships closed in on the Sabre without firing, as they might not be noticed without fire. And Kaldor sensed the crew was more focussed on the Cardassian ships ahead. Kaldor?s battle group fired on the Sabre. All 3 were aiming for the main engine core. Within a few moments, the Sabre was a flaming wreck. The remnants of its hull flew into the Galaxy's shields. The Federation's wedge driving through the Dominion lines was somewhat effective. The only problem was that they did not have the numbers for an effective wedge. The Dominion commanders had sent several groups around the rear of the Federation fleet, as a way to cut off any escape. Sisko was still pushing forward, his formidable little ship was nearing the end of the lines. After that, a clear line to Terok Nor. This was Kaldor's chance, he ordered his group to head straight for the Defiant. The path there was tricky; one of Kaldor's battle group was severely damaged. Its weapons were now offline and its engine was critical. The Defiant was in range; Kaldor gave his first verbal order. "Fire at will." His calm voice seemed very out of place given the circumstances. The 2 working ships fired at the Defiant, rocking its insides. The Defiant turned to attack the group. In an odd turn, they went straight for Kaldor's ship. A wide-eyed, concerned look crossed Kaldor's face. He raised his arms to his sides, spreading them wide. He then moved his arms to his front, pressing his hands together. He then lowered his head and closed his eyes. At that moment, just outside; the 2 remaining ships came out from flanking Kaldor. They made a large pincer movement, both ramming the Defiant from either side. The ship had both of its inbuilt nacelles destroyed. Inside the Defiant, systems were failing quickly. They had lost weapons, propulsion and their power was failing. Kaldor saw escape pods fly out of the stricken ship. Kaldor's attack ship; now the only one left fired at the engine core, detonating it. The explosion destroyed many of the escape pods. The bridge rocked from weapons fire. "What was that?" Kaldor screamed. "Klingon weapon fire. There's a whole fleet of them." The Jem' Hadar third manning Ops sounded oddly worried. "Let's get out of here. Back to Terok Nor. Full speed." Kaldor's voice rang with the sound of defeat. Chapter 7 On Starbase 375's Infirmary, Dr Bashir woke to see Worf standing over him. "Doctor, you have awoken." Worf?s penchant for stating the obvious was not lost on anyone in the room. "Yes, I know. I am a doctor." Bashir responded glumly. "What happened?" Bashir shook his head in frustration. "The Defiant was destroyed. You were the only survivor we recovered." "... What? Did you say destroyed?" "Yes, by the Dominion." "So? Captain Sisko? Miles? Garak?" "They are in Sto-Vo-Kor. With the possible exception of Mr Garak." Worf was still as blunt as always. Bashir paused for a moment to control his emotions. He propped himself up with audible groan. "Was it that new commander we've been hearing about?" Julian tried to keep his mind on business. "We think so. His ship was seen near the Defiant just as it was destroyed. Starfleet Intelligence is looking into it." "And? The Dominion?" "Their reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant arrived a few hours ago. All Dominion forces are falling back to Cardassian territory. It appears they're preparing for a final assault. Starfleet forces are doing the same thing." "Right, I think I'll lie down for a while." Bashir fell back onto his biobed in defeat. Bashir knew this spelled defeat for the Federation. Soon the Federation would be overrun by too many Jem' Hadar. This was even bad for the Cardassians, as any sovereignty they would have had would now be gone. Jem' Hadar would now replace Cardassians at all security posts. Vorta at all administration posts. They would be prisoners in their own worlds. The Federation had maybe 2 months. Chapter 8 The Dominion fleet was the largest Kaldor had ever seen. Nearly 3000 ships had come from the Dominion's far off home. Kaldor was in his meditative Jedi sleep. It was much more restful than regular sleep. The battle had taken a lot out of him, especially forcing his 2 attack ships to ram the Defiant. Perhaps this new fleet and recent performance meant he could get a bigger ship and a bigger group. Pity, the Vorta were immune to the Jedi mind trick. Just hours earlier, the station had been the site of a failed uprising. Apparently the Bajoran liaison took it upon her to oppose the entirely legitimate actions of the Dominion. They met a swift death, like all terrorists should. Something was still nagging Kaldor in the back of his mind; that his actions were not of the Jedi. He felt he had fallen to the Dark Side. He'd turned his back on the millennia old Jedi traditions laid before him when he was a youngling. Again, thoughts of the Dark side made him feel powerful. Like no one could stand in the way of him bringing salvation to this chaotic galaxy. How could he bring this salvation though? The Dominion seemed the logical choice. The Founders shared his desire for order. And they were one of the few who could deliver. The new ships would overshadow him though. Who needed a good commander when you could just win through numbers? If anyone could help, it would be Weyoun and the Founder. Only they could grant him the power he deserved. * * * Kaldor made his way to the Ward Room. The work of co-ordinating the fleet was moved on to subordinates, Weyoun would now be standing around with the Founder making battle plans. Terok Nor's non-descript hallways made this difficult. Kaldor finally found the room. He strolled in very confidently. Dukat and Damar were there too. There was something off-putting about Damar, like he didn't want to be there at all. "Weyoun?" Kaldor said bluntly, he virtually ignored the Founder and the Cardassians. "Uh, yes Mr Thann. We were pleased to hear of your action during the Federation attack." Weyoun's eager to please nature was ever present. "You saw it?" In a rare occurrence, Kaldor's surprise was visible. "Yes, we observed the whole battle. Including the destruction of the Defiant." Weyoun sounded very impressed, or he was faking. "Then you saw the destruction of my battle group?" Kaldor decided not to acknowledge the Defiant comment. Best just to go straight to business. "Yes we did, rather unfortunate. We have discussed giving you another one." Surprised looks crossed Dukat and Damar's faces. Weyoun gave a subtle sneer in their direction. Kaldor laughed internally. "Will I be receiving a larger group?" "Yes you will. Fifteen attack ships and one Jem' Hadar Battlecruiser." Dukat and Damar seemed even more surprised than before. This was unheard of. Evidently the Dominion was investing a lot in him. "Excellent. When will it be combat ready?' A wicked grin started to show on Kaldor's face. "Tomorrow. You'll be involved in a surprise strike on Vulcan. The successful occupation of Vulcan will be invaluable to our war effort." "Excellent. Is there anything required of me?" A smile crossed Weyoun's face. "Not at all, go rest up for tomorrow. You will need your energy. Be on your ship at 0800. It will be at Docking Pylon 2. It will be a 3-day journey. The Vulcans will give you a good fight." "Excellent." With that, Kaldor bowed respectfully and returned to his quarters.