Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 09 Feb 2004 05:11:59 GMT In: alt.startrek.creative From: sisko2374@aol.com (Sisko2374) NEW DS9 "Third Way Out" B, Ez, Mirror O'B, [PG] 1 of 3 by Sisko2374@aol.com (J. S. Miles) SERIES: DS9 TITLE: "Third Way Out" CHARACTERS: Julian Bashir, Ezri Dax, "Mirror" O'Brien AUTHOR: Sisko2374@aol.com (J. S. Miles) SUMMARY: Sometime after the Dominion War, Starfleet dispatches a covert Prologue: "The world is nearly all parceled out, and what there is left of it is being divided up, conquered and colonized . To think of these stars that you see overhead at night, these vast worlds which we can never reach. I would annex the planets if I could; I often think of that. It makes me sad to see them so clear and yet so far." — Cecil Rhodes, founder and colonizer of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) "We have 50 per cent of the world's wealth but only 6.3 per cent of its population. In this situation, our real job in the coming period is to maintain this position of disparity. To do so, we have to dispense with all sentimentality ... we should cease thinking about human rights, the raising of living standards and democratization." — George Kennan, U.S. strategic planner, 1948 "We have heard that half a million [Iraqi] children have died [as a result of U.N. imposed sanctions] is the price worth it?" "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price — we think the price is worth it."— U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright, 60 Minutes interview, CBS Television, May 12, 1996 "The three grand imperatives of imperial geostrategy are to prevent collusion and maintain security dependence among the vassals, to keep tributaries pliant and protected, and to keep the barbarians from coming together." — Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. National Security Advisor, 1997 "Terror must be maintained or the Empire is doomed. It is the logic of history." ---- I.S.S. Enterprise First Officer Spock, 2267 Two weeks out from the wormhole the Defiant continued on course toward Earth, at high warp, under cloak. Julian Bashir eyed the slow passage of the stars across the bridge view screen. He had decided that the stars in this universe seemed somehow colder and more remote than their doubles back in the universe that he called home. Yawning, he reached for the cup of raktajino on the command chair armrest. It was the ‘night shift' and he had the conn. Ezri, the commanding officer of the expedition, wasn't due to relieve him for another three hours. "Bleak, isn't it?" Bashir immediately recognized the voice behind him. For a fraction of a second he thought it was Miles. But Miles was a universe away, back on Earth, teaching cadets at Star Fleet academy. Julian swivelled the chair about 180 degrees. It was ‘Smiley', Miles O'Brien's counterpart in this ‘Mirror' universe. "Do you make it a habit to creep up behind people unannounced?" Smiley smirked. "I thought I was ‘announcing' myself, with a question. Which, by the way you haven't answered." Bashir swivelled part way back toward the front of the bridge. "Its just a view screen. Digitized holo- reproductions of the universe." "Yes, my universe," Smiley emphasized, resting his right foot on the bottom support ring of the command chair. "You don't like it here, do you? I mean having to be here." Julian swivelled back to face him. "I can think of more pleasant places to be right now." Smiley leaned forward, resting his right arm on his bent knee. "But why do they want you to go to Earth, of all places? There's nothing there." Julian cleared his throat. Why was Smiley ‘interrogating' him? And why now, when they were only a few hours from mission objective? Julian decided to assume the posture and tone of what that other Miles was probably doing right now, back on the ‘real' Earth: patiently lecturing. "You heard the mission briefing the same as the rest of us, Miles. After Admiral Leyton's attempted coup d'etat a few years ago and our barely triumphing over the Dominion, Starfleet wants to conduct comparative historical research on the parallels and divergences of our two universes in order to gain better insight into how we can ensure the future survival of the Federation. Given the complete defeat that the Terran Empire suffered at the hands of the Alliance in your universe, and the widespread destruction of historical records and documents by the victors, an archaeological expedition to your Earth is the only way to ensure the accuracy of any purely documentary research..." Smiley held up a hand. "Yes, I'm aware of all that, Doctor. What I was asking was what you think is going on. I mean we offered to loan you our Defiant for the mission, but Starfleet turned us down." Julian smiled wryly. "I think they believed that giving you a cloaking device in exchange was too big of a violation of the Prime Directive." "Oh, come on Doctor!" Smiley pulled his foot off the command chair support ring and stood up. "The past hundred some odd years of our history, the defeat of the Terran Empire and the occupation of Earth, are all due to your intervention. If your Captain Kirk hadn't planted the idea of a revolution in Spock's mind..." "You and I probably wouldn't even be having this conversation." Bashir replied. "And I think it was precisely the recognition of the catastrophic results of previous violations of the Prime Directive that caused Starfleet Command to deny your request for a cloaking device." Smiley pointed a finger at Bashir. "You can't hide behind rules and regulations forever. You owe us." Then he turned and walked toward the turbo lift. Julian pondered for a moment. Just what "you" might Smiley have been referring to? Himself? Starfleet Command? The Federation? Or perhaps Bashir's whole universe? At 0700 Ezri walked through the turbo-lift doors to relieve Julian. "Morning Julian." Stifling a yawn, he managed a smile and whispered, "Do you think it would be a breach of protocol if the ship's Doctor kissed the ship's commanding officer on the bridge?" "Not if she kissed him first." Her fingers slipping under Julian's chin, she brushed her lips against his. "You've got to get us on the same shift, Captain," Julian half-teased as he rose from the chair. "This night shift is bad for my morale." "I don't know, showing favoritism won't look good on my first command proficiency test. But I'll see what I can do." Ezri slid into the command chair. "Maybe on the return trip home. Anything to report?" Julian handed her a status padd. "We're on schedule, an hour from mission objective. An Alliance battle cruiser warped into the Alpha Centauri system about half an hour ago, assuming a standard orbit around Alpha III. Probably a routine patrol, but we're keeping a close watch on it. Other than that...well, I did have a rather strange conversation with Smiley about three hours ago." "Smiley?" Ezri laid the padd on the chair's arm rest. "He came to the bridge? What did he want?" "Apparently he was trying to find out what I thought was ‘really' going on with the expedition. I don't think he believes that we're just on an archaeological dig." Julian paused. "He also said ‘You owe us'." Ezri squinted. "What did he mean by that?" Julian folded his arms. "I don't know. He did express some disgruntlement that Starfleet didn't turn over the cloaking device to the Terran resistance." Ezri nodded "He is the only rebel on the ship but I'll have Walters put an extra security watch around the cloak anyway. Going to breakfast?" Julian shrugged. "Just a scone or two and some tea I think. Thought I'd stay up for the final mission briefing, maybe accompany the team down. That is, if you don't need me up here." Ezri shook her head. "I have no objection. Briefing will be in the ward room at 0730." "Fine," Julian smiled. "I'll see you later." "Damn!" Hot Tarkalean tea splashed Julian's hand as his mug slipped out of his fingers and bounced across the floor of the ward room. Stooping to retrieve it, he mused at how attentive Miles used to be at fine tuning the temperature settings on the replicator , so unlike the Defiant's current brusque engineer. The automated cleaner in the ward room's floor was quickly absorbing the spilled tea. "If you're coming on my expedition Doctor, I hope you handle artifacts better than you do tea cups." "Oh, good morning Doctor Jordan!" Julian rose to his feet, a sheepish grin on his face. "As long as the artifacts aren't too hot, I'll have no problem holding on to them, I assure you." The expedition's chief archeologist, a blonde middle aged woman, smiled and nodded, sliding past him to the replicator. "Tea, Gunpowder Grey, hot." As the archaeologist carefully withdrew her beverage, Julian reordered and sat down, his plate of previously ordered scones before him. "Care for one Doctor? You really should have some carbohydrates in the morning you know." "No thanks, but you can call me Cynthia." She settled in across from him. "Formalities make me feel like I'm in a seminar." "Or in conference. I know exactly what you mean. Julian is fine by me." "Well then, Julian, why do you want to join the expedition? You've actually had more direct experience with this universe than I or any of the expedition's historians. What we'll be doing isn't nearly as exciting as your first crossover. Archaeology is really just a lot of mostly fruitless, tedious work." She cocked her head slightly to one side as she sipped her tea, holding her cup in both hands. He swallowed a bit of scone. "The time I spent in the Mirror Universe a few years back was short in duration and not very pleasant. But I found myself fascinated with the duplication of people and places....and the radical divergence of personalities, philosophies and politics. Since then, I've made it a bit of a hobby, reading up on whatever I could find. I even read your PhD. history thesis, ‘Macro Cross Comparative Quantum History Divergence and Re-convergence in Late 20th and early 21st Century Earths: the Historical Record.'. Quite fascinating. In particular I liked how you narrowed down the divergences in the two parallel histories to their essentials, then showed how the separate consequences of those same divergences actually wound up keeping the broad course of history of the two universes roughly parallel, even down to the micro level, with some of the same personalities playing the same key pivotal roles in both universes simultaneously, even while the two Earth's global politics and economics diverged radically." She smiled. "I'm flattered. But we didn't have much to go on at the time I wrote that. Over a century without contact, until you and Colonel Kira accidentally crossed over in the Bajoran wormhole. If it hadn't been for the conscientiousness of Lieutenant Uhura taking a few moments to download some 6000 years of Mirror universe history texts and images from the I.S.S. Enterprise computer during the first crossover, we would have had nothing to work with at all. Unfortunately, even that was splotchy. The ion storm that made Kirk's transporter interchange possible also scrambled large chunks of the data. So that's why we're here... partially." Julian thought of his conversation with Smiley earlier on the bridge. "Partially? What are we looking for? Beyond artifactual confirmation or dis-confirmation of existing historical thesis that is? Or is all this going to be in the briefing?" Cynthia put down her cup, folding her hands on the table. "It's the problem of that missing data from the first crossover a century ago. We're looking for... a book. One that was never written in our universe, although the author existed there as well. There are only scant references made to it in the first crossover data. But we believe it had a pivotal influence in shaping the whole political strategy of conquest of what eventually evolved into the Terran Empire." Julian felt a sudden sense of intrigue, not unlike the feelings he used to have in his conversations with Garak. "A book? What was the title? Who was the author? Why was it so influential?" Cynthia assumed a conspiratorial tone similar to a hero in one of those detective novels that Miles had got Odo hooked on. "The book was written in 1997 by someone who was a former National Security Chief in the old North American republic in both universes. We've only seen references to the title, date of publication and a few sparse quotations here and there." Bashir sipped on his Tarkalean tea, his brow furrowed in contemplation. "1997? That was the year after the end of the Eugenics Wars in our universe and the exile of Khan and the other super-Napoleons aboard the Botany Bay. 1997 of course witnessed the neo-Trotskyist led Russian revolution that reconstituted the old Soviet Union as a continental super-power, perhaps the key turning point of the post Eugenics War world. But you're implying that the most significant event in 1997 in the Mirror universe was the publication of .... this book? That certainly wasn't in your doctoral thesis. And you still haven't told me the title." "Sorry. The title is ‘The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives'. Judging from the few known historical references, the book was pivotal in its influence upon pre-Empire Commanders in Chiefs. The author was able to promulgate a new strategy of world conquest because he built upon already existing trends and tendencies in political-economy as well as military, foreign and domestic policy. These trends were present in our history as well but were thwarted by the Eurasian revolutions in 1996 that ended the Eugenics Wars." Bashir shook his head. "The Grand Chessboard. Sounds like some memoir my friend Garak would write." "The Cardassian spy?" Bashir put down his cup. "Well, not at the moment. He's gainfully employed elsewhere, helping to rebuild Cardassia from the ruins. Too bad he's not here. He'd probably give us all new insights into the history of the Mirror universe as well as humanity for that matter, just from intuitive inferences." Jordan looked somewhat skeptical. "Maybe we can bring him along on the next trip." At that moment the ward room doors whooshed open, the expedition team filing in for the briefing. Julian noted Smiley among them and nodded in his direction. The Terran rebel returned Bashir's recognition curtly, without smiling. As the team settled in, Cynthia rose to begin. "This is Starfleet's first Comparative Quantum History archaeological expedition to the Mirror universe Earth. We will be on the planet for three weeks investigating sites at major cities which hosted significant historical events in the planet's late 20th and early 21st century, events that were major quantum historical divergence points with our universe." Despite the caffeine stimulation provided by the tea, Julian found himself suppressing a yawn. Too many scones and not enough sleep. Jordan continued. "Environmental suits will be required since this Earth is no longer a class M planet capable of sustaining humanoid life. This is partly due to the environmental catastrophes that the imperial government was itself responsible for over a period of some 300 years, but mainly to the final assault on the planet by the Alliance forces nearly eighty years ago. The oceans are completely dead and the phytoplankton is extinct as are all fauna and vegetation. Needless to say, this means that oxygen production has ceased world wide. Most of the remaining oxygen has bonded with carbon and various toxic elements in the atmosphere." Julian's eyelids drooped. "This presents a special hazard for any artifacts we uncover, particularly any paper based documents. Exposure to the atmosphere could be catastrophic. This means anything you find must be immediately sealed, placed in a stasis field and relocated to the shuttle. We will be minimizing transporter usage to the Defiant so as to avoid possible detection by any Alliance ships that may be nearby. "Captain Miles O'Brien of the Terran Resistance Forces has informed us that the Alliance patrols routinely visit Earth every three weeks. We precisely timed the expedition for this three week window of opportunity. Of course that doesn't preclude any unscheduled visitations, so the Defiant will be keeping careful watch on all Alliance ships that come within 5 light years. In the event one is sighted on course for Earth, the expedition will be immediately aborted. Any questions?" Alvarez, the Defiant's Chief Engineer and one of the shuttle pilots for the expedition, raised his hand. "Just how many cities will we be visiting and which ones?" Julian's head tilted forward onto his chest. He began a low snore. Cynthia glanced in his direction, choosing to ignore it. "We will be visiting all of the major cities and sites involved in the quantum history differentiation of the 1990's; New York, Washington D.C., Kabul, London, Baghdad, Berlin, Islamabad, New Dehli, Moscow, Peking, Paris..." Fast asleep, Julian heard the word ‘Paris'. Paris was lovely in the spring. A tour of Earth beginning in the City of Light was just the romantic vacation he and Ezri needed: coffee and croissants at a little sidewalk bistro and an elegant hotel room overlooking the Arc de Triomphe. Perfect. In his dream, he and Ezri were holding hands strolling down the Champs de Elysees, the street glistening from a recent spring shower, a smell of flowers and ozone in the air. Somewhere behind him he heard pursuing footsteps and someone yelling "You owe us!" He turned. It was Smiley. And following Smiley was a black-greenish cloud that devoured the Parisian landscape and sky. "Come on!" Julian urged Ezri as they began running. But as fast as they ran, Smiley and the cloud of death kept gaining on them. There was no escape. "You owe us!" The Chaffe II came in low from the East approaching New York just above the lifeless slate grey Atlantic. Bashir felt slightly nauseous as the shuttle skimmed the rising whitecaps. "Alvarez, why do you have to fly so low?" The engineer shrugged and smiled. "Sorry, sir. Force of habit from First Contact pilot training at the academy. They tell you to stay low to avoid primitive EM ground detection systems on alien worlds." Julian nodded. "Well there's nothing like that here. The place has been deserted for the past eighty years or so. If we're detected it will be by Alliance ships out in space and the Defiant should pick them up first. So bring it up a little bit would you? I'd like to keep my scones down this morning." Jordan came forward and leaned against the top of Bashir's chair, peering out the forward view shield. "Look, the Statue of Liberty," she pointed ahead as if conducting a bus tour. Smiley appeared behind Alvarez's seat. "Have you ever been to Earth before, Miles?" Julian asked. "No, this is my first ‘vacation' from fighting the Alliance. Besides, it doesn't mean anything to me. It's just a graveyard." Bashir stared at the corroded statue as the shuttle slowed. The arm thrusting skyward ended in a jagged tear. There was no hand carrying a torch. How eerily appropriate for this world, Julian mused. He glanced at Smiley. If the rebel did have any feelings for the home planet of humanity, he was carefully hiding them. As they approached Manhattan Julian noticed something odd about the skyline. It wasn't really the New York that he knew. Four hundred some odd years of diverging history had forged a different skyline. Buildings were there that shouldn't be. While others that should have been there weren't. The shuttle came up the Hudson River past Battery Park, then turned and followed West Street to the landing site. Emerging from the shuttle behind the others, he surveyed a scene of widespread decay. Low grey clouds formed a ceiling pierced only by the tallest buildings. It was as if they were inside a vast ancient cathedral, the buildings mere support pillars. Rubble was strewn across the streets, punctuated by craters, detritus of the final Alliance assault. Cynthia's voice broke the somber silence on the comm system. "This is the site of one of the major quantum divergence points in the Mirror universe; the destruction of the old World Trade Center in 2001 C.E. After this attack, we first see the public discussion on the merits of empire and the legitimation of torture, which later became a standard instrument of rule. We also see the extensive erosion of sentient rights, specifically the beginning of the elimination of trial by jury, suspects being held incommunicado without their families' or lawyer's knowledge, and most importantly, summary execution without trial. The political roots of the Terran Empire began here." Smiley walked over to Julian. "Lovely day isn't it?" The archaeologist's voice turned slightly icy at the interruption. "Did you have something to add or point out Captain O'Brien?" Smiley turned in her direction. "Not really. Just that nearly 300 years later this was also the city from where the Alliance began rounding up Terran survivors for off-world slave labor. So I guess this place is doubly important for me ...and all the other Terrans. Our holocaust begins here. Maybe we can put up a memorial someday ...if we manage to acquire the technological edge to beat the Alliance and take back Earth." Jordan's response was worthy of a Federation diplomat. "Thank you Captain O'Brien for pointing out the dual historical significance of this site for you and all Terrans. I'm sure that the Federation would be glad to render you assistance for terra forming the planet so as to render it humanly habitable once more....after your final victory." Without missing a beat she resumed the orientation. "We will briefly visit the World Trade Center memorial, then divide up into teams of twos using tri-corders to scan for artifacts. In particular we want to keep an eye out for any underground facilities where Terrans might have managed to store books, documents or art before the final Alliance assault. While the Alliance extensively looted and destroyed libraries, museums and government offices, they might have overlooked personal habitations. It's a big planet after all. Questions?" Inside the underground memorial Julian stared past the corroded plaque of hundreds of names and up through the hole in the ceiling. Acid rain dripped into the room. He could make out part of the glass and steel structure that had replaced the slightly more ancient twin towers. Back home the old World Trade Center was still standing. For the past hundred years or so it had been the headquarters of the Earth Port Authority. It was a busy place: the extension of "credits" allowing other planets to "purchase" Earth goods, free assistance to impoverished and disaster stricken worlds, the screening of off world imports, all of Earth's transactions with the rest of the Federation and the known galaxy were processed through the historic old complex. But here, it didn't even exist. Except as a forgotten memorial from an ancient war his world had never known. Despite the warmth of his environmental suit, Bashir felt a chill creeping up his spine. "Hey Julian." Bashir jumped slightly at the sound of Smiley's voice in his communicator. The rebel was standing right behind him and slightly to his side. "Oh, are we on a mutual first name basis now, Miles? Does this mean that we're ‘friends' once more?" Julian allowed just a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Maybe. I was just thinking that you and I ought to team up together, to check out the ruins." "Why?" The Terran replied with one of those hauntingly familiar grins of the "real" Miles, jokingly insincere. "Well that way you can keep a close eye on me, make sure I don't get into any trouble. And maybe working close to a real Terran will bring you luck. After all, archaeology is mostly luck." Bashir raised his eyebrows but nodded. "Really? I wasn't aware of that. All right, let's talk to Professor Jordan and see what sector of the city she assigns us after we get out of here." O'Brien leaned forward conspiratorially, nudging Julian's arm, simultaneously activating a private comm channel between them. "Why stand around for another briefing? Let's walk down West Street, see what the old tri-corders pick up. I've got a hunch." "A hunch? That's not very scientific." "I'm not a scientist, I'm a leprechaun," Miles quipped, putting on his most charming Irish airs. "And I have a feeling that right now we're very near the pot o'gold, even if there is no rainbow." Intrigued at the possibility that Smiley knew more about the expedition than he was supposed to, Bashir followed the Terran up the staircase, out of the memorial and into the street. END Part 1 of 3 of "Third Way Out" -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! 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