Get your own Free Home Page A few hours later, Janeway, Chakotay and Tuvok met
them in the transporter room. Janewa was very nervous. Despite
Neelix's self-endorsed claims as an expert guide, he had been unable to
tell even her even the smallest bit about them. She was in truly
new territory, where even a native of the Delta Quadrant had never gone
before. This also meant that she was skating on thin ice. Janeway
never liked getting into a situation where she didn't know what she was
dealing with. Leve the heroics to James Kirk, but she liked to play
it safe. Janeway hid her fear and put on her most diplomatic smile.
She decided that she would just have to be more cautious.
"Welcome aboard 'Voyager', General Antilles. This is Commander
Chakotay, my first officer and Lieutenant Tuvok, my Chief of Security."
"Thank you, Captain Janeway. This is my first officer,
Major Mara Jade." Janeway recognized her as the woman who had been
seated next to him on the bridge of the 'Yavaris II'.
Janeway led them to the conference room, where the
rest of the senior staff, including Lieutenant Carey and Ensign Wildman
had gathered. Everyone took their seats and Janeway began introducing
each of the people sitting in the room to Wedge and Mara.
"You already know Chakotay and Tuvok," she said, indicating them
with her hand. "This is Lieutenant Tom Paris, my Chief Conn Officer."
Mara reached out with the Force and touched his mind.
*I still can't believe I kissed B'Elanna.
Gods, I'm a lucky man.*
"This is my Chief Engineer, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres."
*The one Paris kissed,* Mara thought to herself. She wondered what
B'Elanna was thinking. Gently, she reached out and touched her mind
as she had done Tom's.
*I can't believe I kissed Tom Paris! Of course,
it's not like I didn't enjoy it. Gods, what am I thinking?
This is Tom!* Mara hid a look of amusement. This was getting
better by the minute.
"This is Lieutenant Joe Carey, B'Elanna's second in command."
Mara read his thoughts.
*I miss my wife, I miss my kids. Why am I
here?* Mara felt sorry for him. She knew how it felt to be
alone.
"This is Ensign Samantha Wildman. She works in Stellar
Cartography." Mara touched her mind.
*Hey, the General's pretty cute.*
*Oh, no you don't,* Mara thought. Then she
got an idea. *He's not cute," Mara thought at Samantha, *he's hideous.
Yep, definitely hideous.*
*No, wait. He's not cute, he's hideous.
Yep, definitely hideous,* Samantha thought.
*You'd look better with Carey,* Mara thought at
her.
*I'd look better with Carey. Carey?!
Where the hell did that come from?* Samantha wondered.
"This is Neelix, our Morale officer, cook and Ambassador."
Mara took one look at him and absolutely *had* to know what he was thinking.
*I just can't wait to impress our new guests with
my culinary skills!*
*I hope his cooking's better than Lando's,* Mara
thought.
"This is Ensign Harry Kim, my Operations
officer." Mara read his thoughts.
*I'm so glad I found Kes. I'm so happy, I
still can't believe it.*
"This is Kes, she works in Sick Bay with the Doctor, and she
also works in the Airponics Bay." Mara reached out.
*I've been waiting for you to get to me, Major Jade,*
Kes thought at her.
*You have?*
*Yes, I have read your thoughts. I think you're
right about Carey and Wildman, by the way.*
*Are you a Jedi?* Mara asked. She wanted
to ask more, but Captain Janeway had begun to speak about 'Voyager', and
Mara wanted to get all the information she could. Janeway told Wedge
and Mara how they ended up in the Delta Quadrant, of their decision to
destroy the Caretaker's array, and went on to explain their confrontations
with the various species of they'd met on their journey: the Kazon, the
Vidiians, the Swarm, the Borg, the Nyrians and Species 8-4-7-2. Wedge
and Mara both listened with rapt interest.
"That's quite a story, Captain," Wedge said.
"Thank you," Janeway said. "Now I'd like you to tell me
a little about yourself, about this 'Empire' and the New Republic."
"Certainly, Captain," Wedge said. "The New Republic is
at war with the Galactic Empire, an interplanetary government that rules
by fear. The Republic used to be an organized rebellion against the
Empire when they had control of the galaxy. For a while, it seemed
as if the Empire would win; they had a full starfleet of modern Imperial-class
Star Destroyers, like the 'Kraken', while all we had were jerry-rigged,
modified, outdated starships. We were using ships and starfighters
that had been in service for over three decades. They also had enough
resources to build *two* Death Stars," he said with a barely suppressed
shudder.
"Death Stars?" Tuvok asked.
"Battle stations," Mara explained. "Extremely powerful
superweapons the size of a Class IV Moon, with enough firepower to destroy
a whole planet instantly. They also had enough turbolasers to challenge
the whole Rebel starfleet."
The senior staff looked at them with an expression
of absolute horror. The thought of such a weapon made their blood
chill.
"Don't worry," Mara said uneasily. "They were both destroyed.
But not before taking two planets with them."
"The tide really started to turn when the Mon Calamari, an aquatic
species the Empire enslaved, joined the Rebel Alliance. They built
huge shipyards in orbit above their planet of Calamari, where they constructed
our Star Cruisers," Wedge said, gesturing out the window to the 'Yavaris
II'. "Admiral Ackbar, who is now Supreme Commander of the New Republic
Starfleet, also worked closely with the Verpine to develop the B-wing heavy
assault starfighter."
"The real decisive victory was the Battle of Endor," Mara added.
"That was when the Alliance destroyed the second Death Star. The
Emperor was killed while the station was under attack, and the Rebels devastated
the Imperial fleet, destroying their flagship, the Super Star Destroyer
'Executor'." Mara looked a bit pale as she recounted these events.
It seemed there was something traumatic about the incident.
"How did the Empire come to be?" Janeway asked.
"First, let me give you a bit of background," Mara answered.
"Before the Empire or the New Republic was the Old Republic."
"*Old* Republic?" Tuvok inquired.
"Yes," Mara said, "a democratic interplanetary government ruled
by the Senate, the High Council, and the Chief of State. It lasted
roughly 25,000 years and maintained peace and justice throughout the galaxy,
by means of the Jedi Knights."
"Jedi?" Kes asked.
"The Jedi Knights were the mediators of justice and peace in
the Old Republic. Their weapon of choice was the lightsaber, although
Jedi Masters seldom had need for them. They drew incredible power
from the Force."
"What is a lightsaber?" BElanna asked.
"This," Mara said, unhooking her own from her belt. She
held it up and ignited it. The blue-white blade shot out from the
handle to a perfect length of one meter. Everyone stared in wonder
at the unusual weapon.
"The lightsaber is not as random or clumsy as a blaster," Mara
said. "It is an elegant weapon for a more civilized era. The
lightsaber also has more utility than a blaster because it can be used
as a survival tool. It can also deflect energy bolts." Mara
closed down her lightsaber and hooked it back onto her belt. "As
I was saying, Jedi Masters seldom used these weapons, because they could
defend themselves with the Force."
"The Force?" Tuvok interrupted again.
Mara tried not to look vexed. "The Force is
an energy field created by all living things. It binds the galaxy
together. The Jedi believed that the Force also controled the destinies
of each living thing. I still believe it."
"You said that the Jedi Knights could draw power from the Force,"
Tuvok said. "What type of power?"
"For one thing, they gained incredible psionic abilities, including
telepathy and telekinesis. Some Jedi Knights, and practically all
Jedi Masters, had premonitions and could see the future to a limited extent.
They also had healing abilities-"
"Excuse me," Janeway said," but what is the difference between
a Jedi Knight and a Jedi Master?"
"A Jedi Master is simply one who has mastered the ability to
use the Force, who has been recognized by the entire Jedi community as
a master," Mara said. "As I was saying, they also had healing abilities.
Dark Jedi had other abilities."
"Dark Jedi?" Kes asked.
"Jedi who have turned to the Dark Side of the Force," Mara explained.
"Evil Jedi. The Emperor was a Dark Jedi, as was his second-in-command,
Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. Both were masters of the Dark
Side, as was the Jedi Master Joruus C'Baoth, a cloned, mad Jedi.
The Dark Jedi had the ability to shoot lightning from their hands, to twist
and reform minds to their own liking, and to choke the life out of someone
without even touching them. Some had abilities beyond most human
comprehension."
"Were they more powerful?" Chakotay asked.
"No," Mara said, "but the Dark Side is more seductive.
Theoretically, a Dark Jedi is just as powerful as a good Jedi, but how
they get their power varies. A Dark Jedi derives his power through
hate instead of love, through fear instead of hope, through aggression
instead of peace. The Dark Side has very little power itself; it
is simply turning one's own weaknesses against them."
"How do you know all this?" Tuvok asked.
Mara looked suddenly pale, and her hand shook visibly.
"I was one," she confessed. "I used to draw from the Dark Side of
the Force, but just because one turns to the Dark Side doesn't mean they
can't turn back." Everyone just stared at her, they were obviously
uncomfortable.
Mara straightened and color began to return to her
face. "Anyway," she continued, "you wanted to know how the Empire
started. Well, about thirty years ago, the Clone Wars broke out when
the Old Republic and the Jedi Knights had to fight the products of their
cloning experiments. These wars were extremely bloody, and spelled
the beginning of the end for the Republic. In the higher levels of
the Old Republic Senate, corruption spread throughout the ruling bodies
of the government. This paved the way for Senator Palpatine to take
more power on himself. He brought us out of the Clone Wars alright.
Then he declared himself Emperor and established the New Order, the Empire.
He took over what was left of the Old Republic Starfleet and contracted
private manufacturers to build a new, more powerful fleet for him.
"With the help of his assistant," Mara went on, "Darth Vader,
he hunted down and destroyed the Jedi Knights, leaving only two Jedi Masters
left. The Empire enslaved worlds all over the galaxy. Almost
every company was nationalized. He was extremely prejudiced against
women and nonhumans. At the height of his power, the Emperor followed
the proposal of Grand Moff Tarkin and ordered the construction of the Death
Star. It was to be a symbol of his absolute power and unlimited resources.
"Fortunately for the galaxy," Wedge added, "a number of senators
from the Old Republic, including Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel
Iblis, sensed the changing political winds and made cells, pockets of resistance,
which evolved into the Rebel Alliance. Endor was our most decisive
victory. The Imperial Fleet broke apart into different factions.
A month later, Mon Mothma, the official leader of the Alliance, declared
the end of the Rebellion and the beginning of the New Republic."
"That is a very interesting story," Janeway said. "But
why are you still at war with the Empire if they lost?"
"They only lost control of the galaxy," Wedge said. "The
Empire is far from defeated, and the New Republic has fallen on hard times
these past eight years. Three years ago, Grand Admiral Thrawn, a
brilliant Imperial strategist, made a campaign that nearly toppled the
New Republic. He built up a huge fleet and an army of clone stormtroopers,
at the same time recruiting the mad Jedi Joruus C'Baoth as his ally.
The New Republic Council had some internal difficulties and was caught
completely off-guard. It took all we had to defeat him."
"Then," Mara said, "came the resurrected Emperor. The Empire
cloned him, and he united many of the Imperial factions, while planning
an assault on the Mon Calamari and a campaign to retake Coruscant, the
capital of both Republics and the Empire. Fortunately, the Jedi Master
Luke Skywalker put an end to it."
"Recently, Admiral Daala and Pellaeon killed the leaders of the
other Imperial factions, and joined the others under their command.
We also had a bit of trouble with the Hutt crime clans, trying to build
a copy of the original Death Star, but it was taken care of. Daala
and Pellaeon are our main problem now," Mara finished.
"What about the Borg and Species 8-4-7-2? Their territory
is very close to this sector, and both have proven to be aggressive and
hostile species," Janeway said.
"Borg and 8-4-7-2..." Wedge wondered aloud, his brow furrowing
in thought. "Oh, you must mean the species that come in the cubes
and bio-ships. We've met up with them, but we drive them away.
They're no match for us."
Shock registered on the faces of 'Voyager's' crew
seated around the conference table, with the exception of Tuvok, of course.
He merely raised an eyebrow in Vulcan fashion.
"They're no match for you?" B'Elanna asked, curiosity replacing
her shock. "What kind of weapons do you use?"
"The 'Yavaris II' is equipped with forty-eight turbolasers, twenty
ion cannons, six tractor beam projectors and three squadrons of twelve
starfighters each," Wedge supplied.
"That's great," B'Elanna said. "What are they?"
"A turbolaser is an extremely powerful form of laser cannon.
It's used on military starships over 100 meters in length. They require
multiperson crews and huge generators for power, but they easily slice
through the shields and hull of most starships," Wedge said. "Daala
used them against your ship." He looked at Mara indicating that she
should explain about the ion cannons.
"Ion cannons," Mara began, "are specialized versions of laser
cannons. They fire ionized particle waves-"
"That disable the shield and electronic systems of the target
starship," B'Elanna finished. "So that's what the energy beams
Daala was using were."
"It also explains why we didn't suffer any physical damage,"
Tom added.
"Exactly," Mara said. "Ion cannons are used to disable
a starship so it can be captured intact."
"I'm sure you're all familiar with tractor beams," Wedge said
with a grin.
"You could say that," Harry remarked, a grin tugging at the corners
of his mouth.
"The 'Yavaris II' carries three types of starfighters," Wedge
continued. "The A-wings are interceptor fighters that carry two laser
cannons and two concussion missile launchers with a magazine of three missiles
each."
"Concussion missiles?" Tom asked.
"Concussion missiles are physical weapons that can be carried
by any starship. They are short-range, but have higher destructive
capabilities than regular laser cannons and can go through energy shielding."
Wedge looked around before continuing. "B-wing fighters are heavy
assault fighters equipped with two laser cannons, three ion cannons and
two proton torpedo launchers, carrying a magazine of four missiles each.
They're not very fast or maneuverable, but they are heavily shielded and
pack more firepower than many Imperial patrol ships. The last type
of fighter we use are X-wing fighters. They are general purpose fighters
armed with four laser cannons and two proton torpedo launchers, carrying
a magazine of three missiles each. They are highly maneuverable and
very well shielded. They're able to take quite a beating without
a serious loss of performance. They are also equipped with an astromech
droid to calculate the jump to hyperspace."
"Hyperspace?" Janeway asked.
"Hyperdrive is a technology we use to travel between starsystems,"
Mara explained. "We use hyperdrive to jump into an alternate universe
known as hyperspace, where we can travel faster than light. But travel
through hyperspace can be dangerous; objects in our universe, or "real-space"
create mass shadows in hyperspace. Without precise calculations from
a navcomputer or an astromech droid, a ship traveling in hyperspace can
strike one of these mass shadows. A ship colliding with a mass shadow
is almost always destroyed."
"Excuse me," B'Elanna asked, "but is a 'droid' like an android
or what?"
"Yes," Wedge explained, "a droid is a type of android used for
many purposes. We have droids for almost any task you can think of
in the New Republic: astromech droids, protocol droids, repair droids,
med droids, media droids... the list goes on and on. Do you have
any droids in the Federation?"
"Only one in service," Janeway said, "back in the Alpha Quadrant.
Unfortunately, the Federation has not made many advances in robotics.
A civilian scientist, Dr. Noonien Soong, made two androids, and one had
to be deactivated and disassembled because he was too dangerous.
The other is now an officer in Starfleet, but recently, a Federation scientist
wanted to dismantle him for research. He refused, and the case raised
some serious questions about his civil rights. His name is Data."
Wedge nodded in understanding. "Reminds me
about the way things are in the New Republic right now. Droids are
discriminated against on practically every planet, and recently droids'
rights activists have started to make a stand. I guess nothing changes
no matter which side of the galaxy you're on."
Janeway put on her most diplomatic, respectful smile
and adressed Wedge. "General, I was wondering if you would like a
brief tour of 'Voyager' and then perhaps you and Major Jade would like
to join us for dinner."
Wedge turned to Mara for her opinion. Her
face registered agreement. "We would be honored, Captain, if you
would show us your ship," Wedge answered.
"Certainly, General," Janeway said. She led them out of
the conference room to the bridge.
*Maybe,* Janeway thought, *we've finally met up with a race that
won't shoot us on sight or befriend us only to use us for their own advantage.*
At least, that was what Janeway hoped.
Get your own Free Home Page