Invading the Alpha Quadrant must be like trying to clear a minefield, if the mines were capricious godlike aliens who might turn your entire civilization into Muppets.
Inside-Out Context (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine one-shot)
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Inside-Out Context
Thuktun F
You can complain now; I'm no longer a councilor
- Location
- United States
There were times where Damar wondered if the core of the Dominion's desire to conquer the galaxy was purely to make everyone attend their meetings. There was no matter too small, no development so insignificant, that did not warrant yet another droning meeting that would have even the most stolid of Vulcans fiddling with their datapens like bored schoolchildren. Perhaps the Founders would like the implications of that analogy.
They had certainly gotten their way with the Cardassians in that regard.
Within two minutes of his comm badge's reminder he was dressed and strolling towards the meeting room, located in the heart of the new headquarters constructed for their partners. Partners, not masters, Dukat always insisted.
He was sure one of his backwards ancestors would have likened the plain doors to the gates of some accursed afterlife in their primitive faith, reserved for the wicked or unfaithful. As it was, he took a moment to collect himself before the doors slid open and he stepped inside.
Legate Dukat was already sitting at the head of the table, a conspicuously inactive datapad before him. Standing nearby was Weyoun, arms folded behind as back with that ever-present air of some king's sacred pet that even generals could not touch. The Vorta's blue eyes were quickly on him, cold things masked by his warm smile.
"Ah, Adjutant Damar! I am glad to see you arrived on time."
He said nothing, merely casting his eyes at his superior officer.
"Come, sit," Dukat bade. "The sooner we can get through this, the better."
Damar finally moved, taking a seat at Dukat's right. Weyoun stayed standing, as he always did. Whether it was an affectation of the Vorta as a species (perhaps make was a more appropriate term) or of Weyoun himself, Damar did not know. All he knew was that the lack of decorum set his scales flat.
"We have received word from Deep Space Nine that Captain Sisko has ordered the construction of a minefield surrounding the wormhole." Weyoun began to pace, and Damar forced himself not to turn his neck as he walked behind them. "I shall be leaving for the station in two hours to demand its dismantlement, but while the Dominion hopes for peace, we fear that we shall be forced into war."
"We finally have our excuse then," Dukat said.
Damar barely hid his grin. He was sure his superior officer's bluntness offended the Vorta's sensibilities. Alas, he was also sure a being made for diplomacy would never show it.
"In the event that war does break out between the Dominion and the Federation, our Founders have ordered us to review Starfleet's astrogational charts, gathered so bravely by them."
"We've already been scouting out ideal sites for forward bases," Dukat said. "We have been attending meetings of this kind for months- what else is there to review?"
"This is not to determine which planets are to be first brought into the fold," Weyoun said. "This is determine which planets are to be avoided."
Damar finally spoke up. "Avoided? You mean the ones who signed the non-aggression pacts?"
"The ones who we shall skirt around, the way you might avoid a pit filled with carnivorous animals." Weyoun produced a datapad, tapping the screen, and Damar heard his own ping, as well as the Legate's.
A glance down showed a file labeled Tier Seven Alpha Quadrant Mircostates.
"You may not be aware, given the scope of your expansion prior to your accession into the Dominion, but the galaxy is littered with isolated systems ruled by civilizations with technology that vastly exceeds the powers who largely dominate the quadrants."
"Including the Dominion?" Dukat offered with false surprise.
"Yes, though it may be painful to admit, the Dominion has not yet achieved parity with these future subjects." Weyoun gestured to the datapads. "We have encountered examples in the Gamma Quadrant during our expansions- our first encounter eighteen hundred years ago resulted in a fleet of thirty vessels being transmuted into oversized toy replicas, crew included."
"You mean children's toys?" Damar asked, leaning back with a furrowed brow.
"For the young Dominion, the death toll was staggering," said Weyoun, shaking his head sadly. "The Vorta overseeing the fleet at the time is still on display at our Gamma Quadrant headquarters in a glass box, though the petroleum-based plastic has faded somewhat since then."
Damar briefly exchanged a dubious glance with his Legate.
"I'm sure you are overselling the concern," Dukat said.
"I assure you, we are not," Weyoun said. "The Alpha Quadrant appears to have a density of these single-system hyperpowers that defies our previous statistical estimations, particularly in the territory held by the Federation."
He tapped his pad again. "Look, for example, at this case. Seven years ago the Federation starship Enterprise encountered an individual who went by the pseudonym 'Kevin Uxbridge'. Uxbridge was in fact a wandering member of a species known as the Douwd, who are evidently an isolated hypercivilization, for when a small interstellar empire called the Husnock killed his mate during an assault on the colony he lived on, he disintegrated the entire species in a rage."
Damar repressed a shiver as he read the report. Rana IV was six day's travel from the current borders of the Cardassian Union. If the border skirmishes those decades ago had taken them there, if they had made the mistake of the Husnock...
"You are certainly describing these beings like they're gods," Dukat said, with a wry look.
Weyoun glowered. "They are merely hyperadvanced microstates, and nothing more."
"Certainly," said Dukat. "But we can't let our fears of these 'microstates' halt our advance into Federation space."
"Which is," Weyoun said with that far too warm smile, "the very purpose of this meeting. To review the location of these microstates, determine the extent of their spheres of influence, and properly plan our advance in accordance with the findings."
"Should war be a necessity, of course," he quickly added.
"It's as though the closer you get to the core of the Federation, the more these damned things turn up!" Dukat threw down his datapad, gesturing skyward with both hands. "Look at this- between 2280 and current day the Federation's space quite literally expanded by a factor of sixteen, but during that time frame they only encountered ten species or entities that meet 'godlike' standards."
"Meanwhile it seems the Federation starship Enterprise ran into more than a dozen by themselves within a five year time-frame," Damar said, leaning over his own pad. "The number gets even bigger when you go back."
"Which Enterprise?" Weyoun asked, neatly-trimmed brows scrunched.
"What?"
"There are six starships called Enterprise, eight if you count pre-Federation," Weyoun said, casually. "Which one are you talking about?"
"The first NCC-1701," Damar replied, irritated.
"Kirk's Enterprise, you mean," Dukat said.
"Ah," Weyoun said with a smile. "The Federation has a rather silly attachment to names, don't you think?"
Damar neglected to mention that he had served on the Karakesh, eighteenth of its name. Then again, Weyoun certainly seemed the type to know that.
"I have to say, many of these earlier records seem like fabrications, considering the sheer absurdity of them," Dukat said. "Do you expect me to believe that a Federation crew had to aid a clone of some pre-warp political figure in a death game against a duplicate of that Kahless figure the Klingons rant about?"
"You mean the clone of Kahless currently ruling the Empire?" Weyoun asked.
"No," Dukat said curtly.
"It doesn't sound more preposterous than the multiple encounters with the Q entity the Federation has recorded," Damar said. "If even half of these claims are true-"
"We believe the Q entity will not involve itself in this war," Weyoun interrupted, stopping his pacing. "Should the war come, of course. Furthermore, it has no territorial holdings in the galaxy, therefore we should not worry ourselves with a chance encounter, like we might with other microstates."
"By that logic, should we be worried at all?" Damar asked, glaring. "As long as we don't enter these systems we should be able to pursue the war like they don't exist."
"A species may react differently to a battlefleet passing a few lightyears away than they would a lone exploratory starship," the Vorta replied. "Take these 'Metrons' for example. The Enterprise-"
"Which Enterprise?" Dukat asked, with the innocence of a salt vampire.
Weyoun seemed unperturbed. "-the original Federation Enterprise was pursuing a Gorn ship when it was compelled to a stop by the Metrons, five light-years from the nearest system."
"That was the incident with the..." Damar checked his pad. "Duel in something they refer to as the early industrial American West?"
"No, that was the encounter with the Melkosians. The Metrons forced both captains to engage in a death match on a barren planet."
Dukat rolled his eyes. "It seems you can't throw a rock into Federation territory without hitting one of these things. We cannot let overcaution doom the war effort."
"Overcaution implies harmlessness," Weyoun retorted. "Even the Federation and Gorn Hegemony, now that they have made somewhat friendly relations with the Metrons, still maintain a twenty light-year bubble of space they leave alone. Judging by the Metrons'... views on conflict, we should increase our own safe radius to fifty light-years."
Dukat scoffed. "That would mean we would be forced near Gorn space if we wished to invade the Federation through the Delta Three corridor."
"I might take the Metrons over them," Damar said. "I've heard they can spray you with a blinding acid that infests you with their carnivorous young."
"That was merely a rumor," Weyoun said. "Our intelligence reports indicate otherwise. They also indicate that with a non-aggression pact in place, the Gorn Hegemony would allow us to pass near their space."
The Vorta looked back down at his pad. "Now then, onto the discussion of the Thasians..."
Damar had to reach into the very core of his military discipline to avoid a dismayed groan.
Weyoun's flight was due to leave in twenty minutes when the thought struck Damar rather suddenly. He looked up from his pad, suddenly less interested than before in the ongoing debate about the alien probe returning for more cetaceans.
"What of the beings the Bajorans worship?" he asked.
Weyoun looked at him with a patronizingly puzzled look. "Hmm?"
"The Federation reports indicate there are aliens inhabiting the wormhole," Damar continued. "The Bajorans call them Prophets."
"I am again reminded of the depths of Bajoran superstition," Dukat said, glaring his way. "Don't let it infect you as well."
"The 'Prophets' evidently have no interest in our affairs," Weyoun said. "They have allowed thousands of our ships to pass through the wormhole unmolested, just as they have allowed Alpha Quadrant incursions into our own space."
"Some gods they must be then, if they will allow us to conquer Bajor without even a word of protest."
"Might I remind you that the offer of a non-aggression treaty has not been formally rejected by the Bajoran government," Weyoun said.
"Yes, yes, of course," Dukat grumbled.
"That being said, it is the belief of the Dominion that the Prophets will not impact our strategic aims in the slightest." Weyoun glanced down at his watch. "And with that, I must depart to speak with Captain Sisko."
"I wish you luck," Dukat said, visibly refraining from laughing. "Personally, I am much more concerned with their Emissary than the Prophets themselves."
The Vorta swiftly walked out of the room, flanked by his Jem'Hadar guards, and Dukat followed in short order. As was expected of an Adjutant, Damar stayed to put the room back in order. Standing up, he allowed himself a long sigh before setting to work.
As he put a chair back in place, for what must've been the thousandth time this past month alone, a funny thought struck him.
Perhaps the only thing that would invoke the wrath of Bajor's little gods would be the threat of having to attend one of these damned meetings.
They had certainly gotten their way with the Cardassians in that regard.
Within two minutes of his comm badge's reminder he was dressed and strolling towards the meeting room, located in the heart of the new headquarters constructed for their partners. Partners, not masters, Dukat always insisted.
He was sure one of his backwards ancestors would have likened the plain doors to the gates of some accursed afterlife in their primitive faith, reserved for the wicked or unfaithful. As it was, he took a moment to collect himself before the doors slid open and he stepped inside.
Legate Dukat was already sitting at the head of the table, a conspicuously inactive datapad before him. Standing nearby was Weyoun, arms folded behind as back with that ever-present air of some king's sacred pet that even generals could not touch. The Vorta's blue eyes were quickly on him, cold things masked by his warm smile.
"Ah, Adjutant Damar! I am glad to see you arrived on time."
He said nothing, merely casting his eyes at his superior officer.
"Come, sit," Dukat bade. "The sooner we can get through this, the better."
Damar finally moved, taking a seat at Dukat's right. Weyoun stayed standing, as he always did. Whether it was an affectation of the Vorta as a species (perhaps make was a more appropriate term) or of Weyoun himself, Damar did not know. All he knew was that the lack of decorum set his scales flat.
"We have received word from Deep Space Nine that Captain Sisko has ordered the construction of a minefield surrounding the wormhole." Weyoun began to pace, and Damar forced himself not to turn his neck as he walked behind them. "I shall be leaving for the station in two hours to demand its dismantlement, but while the Dominion hopes for peace, we fear that we shall be forced into war."
"We finally have our excuse then," Dukat said.
Damar barely hid his grin. He was sure his superior officer's bluntness offended the Vorta's sensibilities. Alas, he was also sure a being made for diplomacy would never show it.
"In the event that war does break out between the Dominion and the Federation, our Founders have ordered us to review Starfleet's astrogational charts, gathered so bravely by them."
"We've already been scouting out ideal sites for forward bases," Dukat said. "We have been attending meetings of this kind for months- what else is there to review?"
"This is not to determine which planets are to be first brought into the fold," Weyoun said. "This is determine which planets are to be avoided."
Damar finally spoke up. "Avoided? You mean the ones who signed the non-aggression pacts?"
"The ones who we shall skirt around, the way you might avoid a pit filled with carnivorous animals." Weyoun produced a datapad, tapping the screen, and Damar heard his own ping, as well as the Legate's.
A glance down showed a file labeled Tier Seven Alpha Quadrant Mircostates.
"You may not be aware, given the scope of your expansion prior to your accession into the Dominion, but the galaxy is littered with isolated systems ruled by civilizations with technology that vastly exceeds the powers who largely dominate the quadrants."
"Including the Dominion?" Dukat offered with false surprise.
"Yes, though it may be painful to admit, the Dominion has not yet achieved parity with these future subjects." Weyoun gestured to the datapads. "We have encountered examples in the Gamma Quadrant during our expansions- our first encounter eighteen hundred years ago resulted in a fleet of thirty vessels being transmuted into oversized toy replicas, crew included."
"You mean children's toys?" Damar asked, leaning back with a furrowed brow.
"For the young Dominion, the death toll was staggering," said Weyoun, shaking his head sadly. "The Vorta overseeing the fleet at the time is still on display at our Gamma Quadrant headquarters in a glass box, though the petroleum-based plastic has faded somewhat since then."
Damar briefly exchanged a dubious glance with his Legate.
"I'm sure you are overselling the concern," Dukat said.
"I assure you, we are not," Weyoun said. "The Alpha Quadrant appears to have a density of these single-system hyperpowers that defies our previous statistical estimations, particularly in the territory held by the Federation."
He tapped his pad again. "Look, for example, at this case. Seven years ago the Federation starship Enterprise encountered an individual who went by the pseudonym 'Kevin Uxbridge'. Uxbridge was in fact a wandering member of a species known as the Douwd, who are evidently an isolated hypercivilization, for when a small interstellar empire called the Husnock killed his mate during an assault on the colony he lived on, he disintegrated the entire species in a rage."
Damar repressed a shiver as he read the report. Rana IV was six day's travel from the current borders of the Cardassian Union. If the border skirmishes those decades ago had taken them there, if they had made the mistake of the Husnock...
"You are certainly describing these beings like they're gods," Dukat said, with a wry look.
Weyoun glowered. "They are merely hyperadvanced microstates, and nothing more."
"Certainly," said Dukat. "But we can't let our fears of these 'microstates' halt our advance into Federation space."
"Which is," Weyoun said with that far too warm smile, "the very purpose of this meeting. To review the location of these microstates, determine the extent of their spheres of influence, and properly plan our advance in accordance with the findings."
"Should war be a necessity, of course," he quickly added.
O
"It's as though the closer you get to the core of the Federation, the more these damned things turn up!" Dukat threw down his datapad, gesturing skyward with both hands. "Look at this- between 2280 and current day the Federation's space quite literally expanded by a factor of sixteen, but during that time frame they only encountered ten species or entities that meet 'godlike' standards."
"Meanwhile it seems the Federation starship Enterprise ran into more than a dozen by themselves within a five year time-frame," Damar said, leaning over his own pad. "The number gets even bigger when you go back."
"Which Enterprise?" Weyoun asked, neatly-trimmed brows scrunched.
"What?"
"There are six starships called Enterprise, eight if you count pre-Federation," Weyoun said, casually. "Which one are you talking about?"
"The first NCC-1701," Damar replied, irritated.
"Kirk's Enterprise, you mean," Dukat said.
"Ah," Weyoun said with a smile. "The Federation has a rather silly attachment to names, don't you think?"
Damar neglected to mention that he had served on the Karakesh, eighteenth of its name. Then again, Weyoun certainly seemed the type to know that.
"I have to say, many of these earlier records seem like fabrications, considering the sheer absurdity of them," Dukat said. "Do you expect me to believe that a Federation crew had to aid a clone of some pre-warp political figure in a death game against a duplicate of that Kahless figure the Klingons rant about?"
"You mean the clone of Kahless currently ruling the Empire?" Weyoun asked.
"No," Dukat said curtly.
"It doesn't sound more preposterous than the multiple encounters with the Q entity the Federation has recorded," Damar said. "If even half of these claims are true-"
"We believe the Q entity will not involve itself in this war," Weyoun interrupted, stopping his pacing. "Should the war come, of course. Furthermore, it has no territorial holdings in the galaxy, therefore we should not worry ourselves with a chance encounter, like we might with other microstates."
"By that logic, should we be worried at all?" Damar asked, glaring. "As long as we don't enter these systems we should be able to pursue the war like they don't exist."
"A species may react differently to a battlefleet passing a few lightyears away than they would a lone exploratory starship," the Vorta replied. "Take these 'Metrons' for example. The Enterprise-"
"Which Enterprise?" Dukat asked, with the innocence of a salt vampire.
Weyoun seemed unperturbed. "-the original Federation Enterprise was pursuing a Gorn ship when it was compelled to a stop by the Metrons, five light-years from the nearest system."
"That was the incident with the..." Damar checked his pad. "Duel in something they refer to as the early industrial American West?"
"No, that was the encounter with the Melkosians. The Metrons forced both captains to engage in a death match on a barren planet."
Dukat rolled his eyes. "It seems you can't throw a rock into Federation territory without hitting one of these things. We cannot let overcaution doom the war effort."
"Overcaution implies harmlessness," Weyoun retorted. "Even the Federation and Gorn Hegemony, now that they have made somewhat friendly relations with the Metrons, still maintain a twenty light-year bubble of space they leave alone. Judging by the Metrons'... views on conflict, we should increase our own safe radius to fifty light-years."
Dukat scoffed. "That would mean we would be forced near Gorn space if we wished to invade the Federation through the Delta Three corridor."
"I might take the Metrons over them," Damar said. "I've heard they can spray you with a blinding acid that infests you with their carnivorous young."
"That was merely a rumor," Weyoun said. "Our intelligence reports indicate otherwise. They also indicate that with a non-aggression pact in place, the Gorn Hegemony would allow us to pass near their space."
The Vorta looked back down at his pad. "Now then, onto the discussion of the Thasians..."
Damar had to reach into the very core of his military discipline to avoid a dismayed groan.
O
Weyoun's flight was due to leave in twenty minutes when the thought struck Damar rather suddenly. He looked up from his pad, suddenly less interested than before in the ongoing debate about the alien probe returning for more cetaceans.
"What of the beings the Bajorans worship?" he asked.
Weyoun looked at him with a patronizingly puzzled look. "Hmm?"
"The Federation reports indicate there are aliens inhabiting the wormhole," Damar continued. "The Bajorans call them Prophets."
"I am again reminded of the depths of Bajoran superstition," Dukat said, glaring his way. "Don't let it infect you as well."
"The 'Prophets' evidently have no interest in our affairs," Weyoun said. "They have allowed thousands of our ships to pass through the wormhole unmolested, just as they have allowed Alpha Quadrant incursions into our own space."
"Some gods they must be then, if they will allow us to conquer Bajor without even a word of protest."
"Might I remind you that the offer of a non-aggression treaty has not been formally rejected by the Bajoran government," Weyoun said.
"Yes, yes, of course," Dukat grumbled.
"That being said, it is the belief of the Dominion that the Prophets will not impact our strategic aims in the slightest." Weyoun glanced down at his watch. "And with that, I must depart to speak with Captain Sisko."
"I wish you luck," Dukat said, visibly refraining from laughing. "Personally, I am much more concerned with their Emissary than the Prophets themselves."
The Vorta swiftly walked out of the room, flanked by his Jem'Hadar guards, and Dukat followed in short order. As was expected of an Adjutant, Damar stayed to put the room back in order. Standing up, he allowed himself a long sigh before setting to work.
As he put a chair back in place, for what must've been the thousandth time this past month alone, a funny thought struck him.
Perhaps the only thing that would invoke the wrath of Bajor's little gods would be the threat of having to attend one of these damned meetings.
Thuktun F
You can complain now; I'm no longer a councilor
- Location
- United States
Yeah I wanted to acknowledge some of the fridge logic regarding the absurd density of Clarketech civilizations in the Alpha Quadrant, while also demonstrating the dangerous savvy of the Dominion in that they wouldn't blunder into these situations like other invaders might've.