And The Dominion Shall Lead

January 10, 2375 - 0600 hours

The Jem'Hadar officer stood over the Cardassian's unmoving body. The battle only lasted a few hours, more than what the Jem'Hadar soldier expected. First Tamakitan put his weapon away and looked around the room. It was a typical city structure designed for meetings. He walked towards two large doors and tried to open them, they were locked. He drew his weapon, a small energy pulse disrupter highly favored by the Jem'Hadar, and fired. The doors were vaporized instantly. First Tamakitan continued his way into the room, several Cardassian government officials were hiding behind tables hoping he wouldn't see them. As he walked further into the room, the Jem'Hadar stepped over a Cardassian seal, he didn't care about the seal or the people in the room. His orders were to find the head Cardassian. As First Tamakitan walked passed several Cardassian officials, they exited the building through the front opening. A man stood up and walked over to the Jem'Hadar, he eyed him up and down before speaking.

"Who are you?" The Cardassian officer asked the Jem'Hadar officer that had interrupted the proceedings. "Why have you entered here?"

"I am First Tamakitan of the Alpha Quadrant Guard." The Jem'Hadar stated proudly. "I have come to give you a message." He pressed a button on his body armor which opened a commchannel to his vessel in orbit of Cardassia. "The room is secure."

A few moments passed, the Cardassian officer stood his ground waiting for whatever was about to come. A Dominion transporter activated and beamed an individual inside the room, he was standing next to First Tamakitan. When the transporter cycle was complete, the man walked up to the Cardassian. "I am Weyoun and I hereby claim this world under Dominion rule." The Vorta paused letting the Cardassian take it all in. "You will no longer recognize any Cardassian government agency and will report directly to the Founders."

The Cardassian standing in front of Weyoun laughed out loud. "Do you know who I am?"

Weyoun nodded his head. "Yes, you are Gul Dukat." He clearly didn't care for Dukat and didn't see him as a threat.

Dukat was taken back a little, usually people were frightened when they found out it was Dukat they were talking to. "Aren't you afraid?"

Weyoun stared into Dukat's eyes and smiled. "Of a small child like yourself? Oh please, I've gone up against larger adversaries and won." He walked over to one of the Cardassian's hiding behind a table and looked down. "Why do you hide? Are you afraid of what the Dominion has to offer your world and people?" The man didn't answer, he was clearly afraid of Weyoun and of what he represented.

Weyoun walked back over to Dukat. "Tell your people not to be afraid, unless they cross us, they should be fine." There was a certain hint in his voice that Dukat couldn't stand or like. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to." The Vorta exited the room with First Tamakitan not too far behind.

Outside the capital building, several thousand Jem'Hadar forces began beaming down to the planet. Cardassian soil was contaminated with the greatest threat to the universe since the Borg. There was nothing the citizens could do, they were under rule of the Dominion and didn't have a choice. They would either follow through with Dominion demands or die fighting.

January 11, 2375 - 1300 hours

Captain Jean-Luc Picard stood by a window in his quarters aboard the Enterprise-E. He looked out at the stars wondering how long the war with the Dominion would last. Starfleet had already lost several vessels and officers to the war effort, the Dominion needed to be stopped. Was he the one that would make that happen? Picard was only one man with only one vessel at his command, but his crew were loyal to him. Could he ask them to give their lives for the Federation? Every officer knew the consequences when they joined Starfleet, death was an ordinary part of life aboard ship. Picard walked over to his desk and picked up a book that he had been reading the night before and set it back on a shelf. He walked over to his replicator "Tea. Earl Grey, Hot." A steaming cup of tea appeared in the slot which Picard picked up and started sipping.

"Computer to Captain Picard." The cold voice of the computer sang into Picard's commbadge.

Picard tapped his badge on his uniform top and replied "Yes?"

The computer played its message. "Starfleet Command reports Dominion forces have taken over Cardassia."

There were very few things that could make Picard nervous, the message he just heard was one of them. It was disturbing enough for Picard to almost drop his tea. Cardassian forces had always been greater than the Dominions'. Of course ever since the Dominion retook Terok Nor one month prior, Cardassia had began to suffer. The Dominion had acquired the Wormhole and managed to disable part of the Federation's mine field. Picard expected the Dominion to wait until the entire mine field was down before they would occupy Cardassia, his expectations were clearly misplaced. Picard acknowledged the computer and exited his quarters to meet with his senior staff.

In the conference lounge, Picard and his senior officers were sitting around the large oak table. Each had a look of stress on their faces, the Dominion had started to take over the Federation. Cardassia was only the first world among countless others that made the Federation complete. Picard had to keep his officers from thinking of what would happen to the Federation, they had a mission and he didn't want them to become emotionally attached at the news of Cardassia.

"Alright, listen up people. Starfleet has ordered us to patrol Sector 001." Picard said, achieving the attention of his trusted and valued officers. "They have reason to believe the Dominion will sneak through Vulcan space and make a direct attack on Earth."

Lieutenant Commander Data shook his head. "Captain. After analyzing Dominion tactics, I do not believe they will make a direct run for Earth. They will need to take over more Federation Territory before attempting such a futile maneuver." Data always had the ability to state the obvious, even when it wasn't needed.

Picard nodded his head. "Yes I know that commander, but these are our orders and we will stick by them." He stood up and walked over to a display case that held the gold models of the past ships named Enterprise, from the aircraft carrier to the current Sovereign-Class starship. He thought about his first command, the I.S.S. Stargazer. That ship had gone before her time, but Starfleet had ordered decommission to take place. Picard had tried to fight for her but his requests were unnoticed. He walked back to his chair and sat down remembering times past on the Stargazer. No one had even heard of the Dominion, the Bajoran Empire had made their presence known in the universe when they started the occupation of Cardassia. Picard's thoughts were returned to the room when he noticed his officers staring at him with concern. "Number one, set a course for Earth and engage at maximum warp." He paused before ordering his people to leave the room, they would make it out of this crisis, he was sure of it. "Dismissed." At Picard's order, his senior officers exited the room heading for their stations on the bridge. They left him alone to think things over in his head.

Starfleet Headquarters were gloomy the day after Cardassia had been taken over. The citizens of Earth weren't in their usual upbeat mood. An empire of the Federation had fallen and the ramifications from that fall would effect the Federation in many ways. The Dominion would soon head for other Federation worlds and conquer them one by one until they were in control of every speck of the entire Alpha Quadrant. Admiral Alynna Necheyev was walking with several other admirals to a meeting. The admirals didn't say anything to each other, they didn't need to. Each man and woman had the exact same thoughts, the Dominion would soon be in control of Earth and the Paradise that Federation citizens had enjoyed for over one hundred years would come to a close. A new chapter would open, one with the Dominion in charge. The admirals didn't want to see that happen, they would fight it until peace would once again find itself in the Federation.

Necheyev walked up to a door and after being subjected to a blood test entered a room. The other admirals followed her. The room was of typical conference room style, a large table with a glass top sat in the middle with chairs set around it. At the front of the room on the wall was the seal of the United Federation of Planets and the words Starfleet Command underneath it. The admirals sat down at their seats and waited for the meeting to begin. The doors at the front of the briefing room opened allowing three admirals to enter, they walked over to the front of the conference table and sat down.

Admiral Owen Paris looked around the room, like the rest of the admirals, he was frightened of what the Dominion had in store for Earth. "This meeting will come to order." Paris said as he struck a small rock on a plate. "As you know, Dominion forces have invaded Cardassia. It's only a matter of time before they invade the other planets in the Federation." Paris looked down to a PADD, "We have unconfirmed reports that our Embassy on Cardassia Prime has been destroyed. All Earth citizens have been executed and the Dominion promise to do the same for all other worlds in the Federation. So the question is, what to do. I'm open to any suggestions."

An admiral sitting at the end of the table stood up. "If I may?" Admiral Paris nodded his head in acknowledgment. "I was looking over different battle scenarios concerning the Dominion. The only conclusion I have would be to surrender."

Admiral Paris stared back to the admiral with disbelief. "That is not an option. Did you hear me earlier? Earth citizens have been executed on Cardassia by the Jem'Hadar. If we surrender, the same will happen to Earth. Every citizen will be executed, the Dominion clearly have an agenda against Earth. They don't like us."

The admiral stood up and protested. "No, we will survive if we join the Dominion. Don't you see?"

Admiral Paris stood up and walked to the end of the room, as he approached the officer he held out his hand. "This is not talk of any loyal Starfleet Officer. Your Agonizer please."

"No, please. You don't need to do that..." The admiral pleaded for his life, but Paris wasn't in a listening mood.

"Admiral Wes, I asked for your Agonizer." Admiral Paris reached to Admiral Wes's belt and took a small device. The Agonizer was one of the most painful ways of torture, although compared to the Agony Booth, it was harmless. He put the Agonizer a few inches away from Wes's chest and pressed a button. The admiral fell to the floor in pain, after ten minutes passed, Paris deactivated the device.

"Would you like to take back your suggestion admiral?" Paris asked with an evil grin on his face.

Admiral Wes shook his head. "No. I stand by my suggestion, I believe it is the best option for Earth."

Paris dropped the Agonizer to the floor and looked into Wes's eyes, his stare could pierce a level ten forcefield. "You leave me no choice admiral. You are stripped of your rank and duties. Guards. Take this man to the Agony Booth, set it to full and leave it running."

Two men wearing Security uniforms and Type II Phasers entered the room. They took former Admiral Wes by the arms and escorted him out of the briefing room.

Paris turned to the other admirals. "I believe a small recess is in order. Dismissed." The admirals exited the room leaving Paris all by himself. A few moments later, screaming could be heard. Paris lowered his head, Wes had been a friend of his, but Starfleet regulations had been clear. He would be negligent if he didn't follow those regulations to the letter. After two hours passed, the screaming stopped. A guard entered the room and walked up to Paris.

"Admiral, the process is complete. What would you like done with the body?" The guard asked.

Paris looked to the guard and with a coldness in his voice answered "Ask his family." He then exited the room.

January 20, 2375

High above what used to be the Cardassian military office was the flag of the Dominion moving slowly in the warm breeze. Several Jem'Hadar officers were patrolling the front of the building watching for trouble. The Jem'Hadar were designed by the Founders to be the best soldiers in the quadrant. When a challenge arose, they took it seriously and wouldn't stop fighting until they were victorious. They could be compared to Klingons except for one fact, the Jem'Hadar had no honor.

Inside the military complex, Weyoun was standing in front of Gul Dukat. They were reviewing several security matters occurring all over Cardassia.

"Do you honestly want me to believe that you had nothing to do with this Dukat?" Weyoun asked in a low tone.

Dukat nodded his head with a look of disbelief. "I had no idea security problems like this would arise." Dukat was lying through his Cardassian teeth, he ordered Cardassian military troops to damage power systems planet wide. Dukat didn't prefer living under Dominion rule and he was certain Cardassian citizens didn't enjoy it either. "I promise you I will find the persons responsible and they will be pun..."

Weyoun cut Dukat off in mid sentence with a smile. "I've already seen to their executions. You don't need to worry about it any longer." The Vorta let his smile go when a small comm unit beeped waiting for an answer. "Excuse me." Weyoun walked away from Dukat and went outside. He later returned with a Bajoran military officer.

Dukat had always hated the Bajorans, ever since they annexed Cardassia so many years ago. The Cardassians finally pushed Bajor away and asked for Federation assistance on a station they had named Terok Nor. The Federation only lasted a few years before Bajor and the Dominion reclaimed Terok Nor.

The Bajoran officer walked up to Dukat and smiled. "I suppose you know who I am?"

Dukat looked at the Bajoran officer, she was wearing a Bajoran Military uniform, it was orange. He recognized the rank on her collar as Major. Dukat studied her face, trying to remember who she was. After a moment, his memory came back to him and he knew who he was talking to. "Major Kira Nerys, the only butcher to survive my attack on Terok Nor."

Kira grinned from ear to ear. "I see you do remember me." She walked over to Weyoun and dismissed him. "Inform the Founders that the situation will be under control in an hour." Weyoun nodded and exited the room.

Dukat was confused. "Situation?" The only problem he knew about had already been taken care of, and that problem had cost several good Cardassian lives.

Major Kira looked at Dukat. "I know that you were in charge of the movement against the Dominion." She started to smile. "If you're going to do a job, you might as well do it right. First of all, when you disable the power systems, you need to remind your men to disengage the backups before you take the main grid off-line."

Dukat laughed out loud. "Let me get this straight, you find out what I did and then you tell me how to do the job correctly?"

Kira nodded "That's right. Is there a problem?"

"I'm not sure, I would start to assume that you are on my side." Dukat said to her, still confused.

Kira smiled. "No, I'm not on your side. The difference between you and me is that I see the Dominion as allies. You are just a world that we conquered. If you ever try a stunt like that again, I'll have you arrested and brought up before the Founders. I understand their methods of torture are a little harsh." Harsh was a nice word for what the Founders could do if anyone crossed them. "Now, on to other matters. Why haven't you demolished your treaty with the Federation yet?"

"I thought that when you conquered Cardassia, it automatically demolished the treaty." Dukat said.

Kira nodded "Yes, but we want you to openly demolish the treaty. The Dominion wants you on our side as loyal citizens, we can't afford any more terrorist plots against us. So what do you say?"

Dukat shook his head. "No, I will not join the Dominion willingly. You will have to force me."

Kira walked over to a Jem'Hadar officer, took his sidearm, walked back to Dukat and put the weapon to his head. "That can be easily arranged." Kira started pushing a few buttons and then informed Dukat of her actions. "This weapon is set to kill, if you refuse my proposal, I will fire."

Dukat stood his ground. "No. I will not do that, Cardassia is part of the Federation, I will not turn my back on them so easily."

Kira nodded to a guard who left the room. "I knew you were going to say something like that."

Five minutes later, the guard returned with Dukat's son. Kira walked over to the young boy and aimed her weapon at him. "Do you want to see your son die because you didn't follow the way of the Founders?"

Dukat looked to his son and lowered his head, looking for answers. "No, don't do it."

Kira pressed a few more buttons on the weapon. "It's too late Dukat, I have to make an example out of someone. Too bad it had to be your son." She pressed the fire button on the disrupter which made it discharge. Dukat's son fell down to the floor in pain and died a few moments later.

Dukat looked over to Kira, she had killed his son and he wouldn't forget that. Of course Dukat couldn't let her kill anymore innocent Cardassians, he decided to follow her demand. "Alright", Dukat said after letting out a long breath "contact the Federation Government and I'll talk to them."

On Earth, the president of the United Federation of Planets was in his office located in Paris France. He was reading the most current reports of Starfleet defenses. He hoped that he wouldn't have to declare Martial Law. The people of Earth had been frightened once before with the Borg and Martial Law just made matters worse. He was tapping his hand against his arm rest on his chair when Admiral Paris walked into his office.

"Admiral Paris, welcome." The president said, greeting the head of Starfleet Security. "I heard there was a problem earlier this morning."

Paris shook his head. "Nothing I couldn't handle. Mister president, why have you called me here?" The president usually didn't call people into his office, he was usually too busy for that.

"I would have talked to you over a commline, but I think you needed to see this for yourself." The president activated a panel in front of him and a commchannel opened. Gul Dukat was on the other end.

Dukat stared at them with an expressionless face. "I would like to officially request for the Cardassian Empire to be removed from the Quatal Accords."

Admiral Paris put a hand to his face, it was like Dukat had no hope for Cardassia. "Gul Dukat, we will get you out of this."

Dukat looked back to Paris "I was told that if I didn't make this communique, the Dominion would execute more Cardassian citizens." He looked over to his side, Major Kira walked into the viewing area of the comm unit.

"You heard him." Kira said. "As of now, the Cardassian Empire is officially under rule of the Dominion. Your treaty is dead, and soon you will be under Dominion rule also." She closed the comm channel, closing contact between Cardassia and the Federation for an unknown amount of time.

Paris looked to the president, "There is no hope for them is there sir?"

The president started forward at the comm unit on his desk. "We need the Cardassians back in the Federation."

Paris nodded his head. "It will take at least a week to get Dominion orbital defense systems around Cardassia. We might have a chance to retake the planet."

"They might not have orbital defense systems installed, but they would have to have warships patrolling the area." The president paused, "We would be out numbered."

Paris thought it over for a moment and came to a conclusion. "If memory serves, only twenty-one Jem'Hadar warships would have been dispatched to Cardassia. That's all they would need."

"What are you getting at admiral?"

Paris smiled. "Let me check with my security heads and I'll get back to you mister president." He exited the president's office.

January 25, 2375 - 0200 hours

When the Enterprise arrived at Sector 001 they found themselves behind enemy lines. The Dominion had already made their move against the Federation and won. Starfleet had been right, they chose to enter through Vulcan space and went straight for Earth. Earth didn't have sufficient time to raise their defense systems to full power. The Dominion had come swiftly like a swarm of ants going after an intruder in their lair. The Founders would be proud of their Jem'Hadar attack dogs, they efficiently took the planet quicker than it took to take Cardassia down. Earth wasn't prepared for any incursion to take place, even though several admirals came up with the thought of the Dominion taking over.

Captain Picard was pacing the bridge of his ship. The only thought that was in his mind was that of his family in France, he hoped they were being treated well, although he had a feeling the Jem'Hadar were executing every citizen on site. He walked over to his command chair and sat down, "I need suggestions people." No one said a word, there were no suggestions to be found.

Commander Data's panel beeped a warning. "Sir, three Jem'Hadar warships are advancing near our location." Data reported.

"Have they detected us?" Picard asked, hoping the answer was no.

Data checked his console "No sir, I would suggest we cloak."

"Activate cloaking device." Picard said while nodding his head. The Bridge lights went down to a minimal power setting and the red alert klaxon activated.

"Captain, we are receiving a general hail from Starfleet Command." Commander Worf reported.

Picard looked to the viewer "On screen."

At the captains command, the viewscreen came to life. On it was the president of the United Federation of Planets. "This is the president, I order all Starfleet vessels to stay away from Sector 001, the Dominion have taken control of Earth. Earth citizens are being executed as they are found, avoid Sector 001..." The commline started to break up when a Jem'Hadar officer broke through the doors and walked up to the president. All Picard could do was watch as the Jem'Hadar put his hand around the president's neck and began to twist, as the president's spine began to break, he said his last words. "Survive..." Soon, the president's head was lying on his desk with his body lying on the floor next to a chair. The Jem'Hadar broke the commlink which stopped all transmissions. Earth was quiet.

Picard tapped his combadge "Attention all hands, this is the captain." He paused, trying to let the anger in his voice die down. "Earth has been taken by the Dominion, family members are being executed as I speak. I'm ordering the Enterprise out of Dominion Territory to hopefully locate other Federation vessels. Picard out."

Picard turned to the helm officer. "Helm, take us to Starbase 398 and engage at full impulse until out of Sector 001 then punch it up to maximum warp." The ensign on duty nodded her head and soon the Enterprise was on the move out of hostile territory.

February 12, 2375 - 1400 hours

In the Dominion capital on Cardassia Prime, Major Kira was receiving word of Earth's situation from Weyoun. Kira smiled as she walked up to Dukat. "Dukat, I have excellent news. Earth has been purified." She looked back to Weyoun and smiled "The Dominion have won."

Dukat shook his head. "I wouldn't jump to conclusions Major. Earth has been through many hardships in its entire history, they will survive."

Kira laughed in Dukat's face. "Listen, there are no survivors on Earth. The only humans left are on Starfleet ships, which we will soon overtake."

Dukat couldn't believe his ears, "What? No one survived at all?" He stumbled back and sat down in a chair, "Everyone is dead?"

Kira stared at Dukat, thinking how pitiful he had become. "What's wrong Dukat? When Cardassia was in control of Bajor, you killed several thousand Bajoran civilians. You didn't care about the lives that were lost. I must admit, it was a great lesson. I only wish we would have used it when Bajor took over Cardassia the first time. And since we have taken over again, I've destroyed Earth to show you what will happen if you disobey the Dominion."

"Major, first of all. Bajor hasn't done anything, the Dominion have done all of the dirty work." Dukat corrected her. "All you have done was sit back and watch."

That did it, the string between Kira and Dukat had already been pulled as tight as it could go. Dukat's words to Kira had just broken that string. She pulled out a phaser from her belt and aimed it at Dukat. "I don't need you! Your life is expendable. Take back your words."

Dukat smiled, he had Kira exactly where he wanted her. "Or you'll do what, shoot me? I hardly think so. You need me, I'm the only one my people will listen to."

Kira wasn't listening to Dukat, "I don't need you."

Weyoun walked up to Kira and tried to talk her out of it. "Major, please. Can't we act civilized? He has a point, only his people will listen to him..."

Major Kira was too far gone to listen, she pulled the trigger on her phaser. Dukat's body incinerated right before her eyes. When he was gone, she laughed out in anger. All the rage that was in her left her body and she was calm once again. "Well, now that that's over with. What's on the schedule for today Weyoun?"

October 15, 2375 - 1500 hours

Captain Picard and three other Starfleet captains were sitting in a briefing room on Starbase 398. The Dominion had destroyed all of Starfleet's task force except three vessels, the Enterprise, Akira, and Sutherland. Starfleet hadn't seen such a loss of vessels since the Vulcan war of 2335. Each officer had sworn an oath of alligance to the Federation. Even though the Federation had officially gone under, they still felt like they owed Earth something. The Dominion needed to be stopped, they had to be stopped. There was no choice, it was either the remaining of the Federation or the Dominion. There would be no peace in the universe until one would be named the victor.

Picard looked to Captain Hobson of the Sutherland. "What have we heard from the Romulans?"

Hobson picked up a PADD and handed it to Picard, he couldn't read the information on it and was at a loss of words. "It's all right there, in my report."

Picard read over the report to himself and reported his findings to Captain Johnson of the Akira. "Romulus has fallen under Dominion rule as well. We can expect no help from them."

Johnson nodded his head. "Jean-Luc, we clearly cannot surrender to the Dominion. Why don't we try and find someplace else in the Universe, I'm sure it's big enough."

Picard shook his head in disbelief. "Where would we go to? Every major power in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants have been taken over by the Dominion. Systems are up and running the day before and they're gone, allowing the Dominion to take over easily." He paused, thinking of his family back on Earth. The Earth defense force had been ready for any attack, the systems just failed at the wrong moment. Picard had tried to come up with a possibility why it happened, but never reached an answer.

Captain Johnson looked to Hobson and then back to Picard. "We could go into the Delta Quadrant, there has to be a Federation outpost still intact."

Picard picked up another PADD on the desk and handed it to Johnson. "As you can see in this report, all Federation outposts in the Delta Quadrant have been destroyed by Jem'Hadar forces. This is the only Federation Starbase left, and it's being destroyed by over use."

Hobson looked out the window to the three ships that made up the entire fleet. "I don't understand how things crashed the way they did. I just don't understand it..."

Picard was about to say something to comfort Hobson when a bright flash entered the room. Picard hadn't seen that type of flash for over six years, he remembered an old adversary named Q who had the ability to appear and disappear at will where ever he wanted to. Picard stood up to greet his old nemesis when he realized it wasn't the Q he was used to. "Who are you?"

The being looked to Picard, "I'm a representative from the Q Continuum. You can either address me as Q, which I really am beginning to get tired of. Can you imagine being called the same name for over two hundred millennia? Believe me, it's not a pretty site. Just call me J R"

Picard looked to the Q who called himself J R. "What are you doing here?"

J R smiled and rubbed Picard's balding head. "I'm here to help you out captain. I know that you three are the only ones left that make up the Federation Fleet. I had a bet with another Q, that you would survive the war until my birthday came. Well, today's my birthday and you survived so I won the bet."

Picard was angry "You made a bet on whether we would survive or not? Trillions among trillions of people have been dying since this war started, and you made a bet on it!"

J R nodded his head. "Yes Jean-Luc, that's how things work. I was sent by the Continuum to purify this universe so more worthy species would be able to grow and dominate. I was given until this day in your time, but your war hasn't ended yet and you people are still alive."

"Yes we are. You don't know what its been like." Picard said back to J R.

"Well, don't worry captain. I'm here to give you two choices." J R said. "You can either be purified with the rest of this universe thus ending your existence or we can put you in another universe to continue living. It's your choice."

Picard looked to his colleges. On most occasions, they have always taken the easy way out. Picard wasn't accustomed to taking the easy way out, but if he didn't, his life would end. "Well, what do you think?"

"We should go for it." Captain Hobson said. "Any other place has to be better than this universe."

Picard turned to face Captain Johnson, "How do you feel about it?"

Johnson looked to Picard. "I would have to agree with Captain Hobson. If all he's going to do is purify this universe, I don't want to be around to witness it."

Captain Picard turned to face J R, "Alright. We've made the decision to leave this universe. Tell me, what will the other universe be like?"

J R smiled, "A lot nicer than this one. To put it mildly, this was one of the most corrupt universes ever. That's why we needed to purify it. The universe that I have in mind for you will be different. Most of your current rules and regulations will not be tolerated. Needless to say, you wont be able to execute your officers because they look at you funny."

Picard lowered his head, that was one of the authorities that he had always enjoyed. It was a clean and efficient way to ensure loyalty among his crew. But if he intended to survive, he would have to make a few adjustments like the other captains. "Understood. When do we go?"

J R nodded his head. "Right now if you'd like." He waved his hand and Picard, Hobson, Johnson, and their vessels vanished with a bright blinding white light. Almost immediately after they left, the universe started ripping itself apart. The universe screamed out in pain as if it were alive. Planets, stars, and celestial objects of every kind imaginable were being destroyed until all that was left was darkness.

In another universe at Starfleet Headquarters orbiting Earth, Captain Edward Jellico was looking over some sensor reports. He was currently monitoring footage from a battle exercise that had cost the destruction of the U.S.S. Enterprise, the U.S.S. Akira, and the U.S.S. Sutherland. Standing next to him was Fleet Admiral Alynna Necheyev.

"It is a sad day for the Federation today Edward. Three great captains and crews have been destroyed." Necheyev said to Jellico.

Edward Jellico nodded his head. "I don't understand how it happened admiral. I was monitoring everything, there was no warning that the Warp Cores on each vessel would become unstable at any moment. And then to have their ejection systems to go off-line... It just doesn't make any sense." He tapped his finger on the monitor "I'll inform the..." He was cut off when a bright light appeared for a moment and disappeared. As the light faded, Jellico looked out the window and saw three starships that hadn't been there a moment before.

"What the...?" Necheyev asked.

Jellico started making sensor scans of the vessels. "They're Federation starships, there's no doubt to that. Let's get some readings here. I.S.S. Enterprise, I.S.S. Akira, and I.S.S. Sutherland. What's going on here?"

Another bright light flooded the room and disappeared. J R, Captain Picard, Captain Hobson, and Captain Johnson appeared behind Jellico and Necheyev.

"I can explain that for you captain." J R began. "I've recently heard of your losses and have brought these captains and their vessels from a doomed universe."

Necheyev looked to J R, "Q! What are you doing?!"

J R cringed when Necheyev yelled at him. "I really don't like that name, please call me J R." He paused, waiting for an apology, Necheyev didn't offer him one. "Fine. Listen, you've lost three ships right?"

Necheyev nodded "Yes."

J R smiled. "And I just happened to have these three vessels and their crews with me. So why don't we make a compromise and I give you these people to serve in your fleet."

Necheyev shook her head. "No. Things don't work out that way Q... J R. We don't know who they are, sure they look like the commanding officers of the Enterprsie, Akira, and Sutherland. But they're... wait, did you say from another universe?"

J R nodded his head. "Yes, I'm afraid I was forced to purify their universe and I had no place to put them. Besides, I'm not taking them anywhere else. I've got to complete a job I started, so if you'll just excuse me." J R started to wave his hand and remembered something, "Oh, by the way. You might need to get them copies of your rules and regulations, or some ensign might end up not surviving the night." He waved his hand and was gone with the same bright flash of light.

Picard looked to Admiral Necheyev, he was given a clean slate to start over again. Maybe he could learn to be a friend to the admiral without having her guards pointing a phaser in his back. He looked behind her, looking for her guards but found no one. "Admiral, where are your personal guards?"

Necheyev looked at Picard with a strange look. "Excuse me? This is the Federation, we don't need personal guards captain." She paused, looking at Picard "I guess that guy was right, you really aren't from around here are you?"

Picard shook his head. "No, we've been through a war that lasted for a long time."

Necheyev looked to Picard, she had always hated wars but was curious to their enemy. "Who were you fighting?"

"The Dominion." Picard said with anger in his voice. "I assume you've heard of the Dominion?"

Necheyev shook her head. "No, who are they?"

Picard looked to Necheyev with disbelief, a universe where the Federation hadn't met up with the Dominion. It was like music to his ears. "Admiral, I think we need to talk."

So it ended. The war with the Dominion was finally over, the universe had been destroyed by the Q Continuum with their vision of purification. The best part of it all was that Picard and his crew were finally home to Earth, even though it was an Earth that he was a stranger to, it felt good to be back.

The End