Title: Star Trek-Infinity: Keep Your Friends Close [PG] (MISC)

Author: Charles Rando (trando@worldnet.att.net)

Series: MISC

Rating: [PG]

Part: NEW 2/2

Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters in The Next Generation and Deep
Space Nine, and Peter David owns the Selelvian race (see his book, Strike
Zone). I'd like to think that the characters I've invented and the story are
mine. :-)

Summary: The Infinity finds itself right in the middle of an interstellar
war! But could there be more going on behind the scenes than meets the eye?

CHAPTER FIVE

"Sir, I've just detected movement from the fleet!" Remley suddenly
exclaimed. "They're heading 147.3... right into Cardassian space."

"Cardassian space?" Rando repeated. He looked towards his first officer. For
some reason, he hadn't anticipated this course of action. "Could the
Romulans be invading the Cardassian empire?"

"There's never been any real animosity between them, sir," Witherell
replied. He looked over at Lieutenant V'gel, who nodded her agreement.

"Mr. Remley, contact Commander Tomalak," Rando ordered. "I want an
explanation for this."

Remley nodded, and a few seconds later, Tomalak's stern expression appeared
back on the viewscreen. "What is it, Captain Rando? My hands are quite full
at the moment, as you humans say."

Rando nodded. "We're aware of your current situation, Commander," he said.
"We were hoping you could tell us why your fleet is entering Cardassian
space."

Tomalak sighed in frustration. "I cannot," he admitted. "They refuse to
answer my hails. I cannot contact them, and I cannot get them to stop."

"Am I to understand that their movements are not sanctioned by the Romulan
empire?" Rando asked.

"Of course not! Such action like that could plunge the Romulan empire into
war!"

"Into another war," Rando reminded him. "Perhaps we should order a
cease-fire until we determine exactly what is going on?"

Tomalak glared from across the viewer, and then his eyes softened. "Very
well," he acquiesced. "A cease-fire."

"I will attempt to get word from Starfleet Command about the course of your
fleet," Rando said. "As soon as I have news, I will contact you."

"I will do the same," Tomalak replied.

"Agreed," Rando said. "Infinity out."

******************************************************

The news struck the Alpha Quadrant with such a force that within a few hours
of its beginning, everyone knew about it.

The instant Commander Sisko at space station Deep Space Nine had finished
informing Starfleet Command of the event, every single captain in Starfleet
was contacted. Those starships closest to the Bajoran sector were to make
best possible speed there, just in case of retaliation.

After all, it wasn't every day that a joint Cardassian and Romulan fleet
declared war on the Dominion.

*****************************************************

"Commander Tomalak. We have news on your fleet. Apparently, their desire was
not to start a war with the Cardassians."

Tomalak looked intrigued. Obviously, Rando had discovered something else
that the Romulan hadn't yet. "Then why would a fleet that large enter their
territory?"

"It was a stepping stone," Rando replied. "Your fleet joined up with a
Cardassian fleet, and now both have passed through the Bajoran wormhole."

Tomalak blustered for a few seconds, still in the mind-set that Rando was
accusing the Romulans of something. "But there would be no reason for such a
fleet...." And then it hit him. "They're invading the Gamma Quadrant, aren't
they?"

"That's what Commander Sisko at Deep Space Nine believes," Rando replied.

"I swear to you, I knew nothing of this," the Romulan Commander blurted out.
"I have been in constant contact with my government for the last two hours
and they had no idea this was happening!"

"Who knew what isn't important right now," Rando told him. "Now, it seems
our potential war has expanded to galaxy-wide. If the Cardassian/Romulan
fleet is unsuccessful...."

"The Dominion may try to retaliate against the Alpha Quadrant," Tomalak
finished.

"Which is why I believe we now have something other than a cease-fire to
discuss, Commander. If the Dominion attacks, they might not go after just
Romulus and Cardassia."

Tomalak studied him. "What are you proposing?"

"First of all, I'm proposing that we talk... face to face. As a show of good
faith."

There was a brief pause before Tomalak replied. "I agree. I will beam to
your ship."

Rando nodded. "We'll be waiting, Commander."

CHAPTER FIVE

"Captain Rando, may I present to you Commander Tomalak," Lieutenant Remley
announced as he led the Romulan into the conference room.

"A pleasure to meet you in person," Rando replied. "I wish it were under
different circumstances."

"As do I," Tomalak agreed curtly.

"I apologize for not meeting you when you first arrived," Rando went on,
"but I just received word from Starfleet Command. A fleet of starships is
headed towards the Bajoran sector in case the Dominion retaliates." He
paused, taking the time to pace around the room. "Our past encounters
indicate that we won't be a match for them. Their technology is too
unknown... they destroyed a Galaxy-class starship in a matter of minutes. In
short, Commander, Starfleet... the Alpha Quadrant, is not going to win this
battle alone."

"What are you proposing?" Tomalak asked again.

Rando stopped pacing to look at the Romulan. "I am proposing an alliance."
He watched as Tomalak's heavy eyebrow lifted in surprise. "Come now,
Commander, that isn't such an outrageous idea, is it?"

Tomalak actually seemed amused. "It does, considering that we are in the
middle of a war ourselves."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Rando told him. "If the
Dominion comes through the wormhole, the first battle will be fought in the
Bajoran system. If we mass a large enough fleet there, we might be able to
hold it back."

"The war would not be necessary if Starfleet was willing to close the
wormhole," Tomalak pointed out.

Rando nodded. He had heard about the Romulan attempt to destroy the Bajoran
wormhole a month ago. "That still remains an option, albeit a final one. In
the meantime, Starfleet is offering a military alliance with the Romulan
empire. They've asked me to broach the subject with you... probably because
of our burgeoning friendship."

Tomalak ignored his joke. "I will contact my government about your offer,"
he said. "However, I cannot guarantee that they will be receptive.
Especially not after you attempted to start a war with us."

Rando shook his head. "We weren't looking to start a war, Tomalak. Any
incursion by our shuttlecraft into the Neutral Zone was purely accidental."

There was a brief pause before Tomalak replied, "I believe you, Captain. I
am just not sure that those in power will."

"Do they really have a choice?" Rando asked him.

Tomalak didn't answer.

"Contact me again when you have word. Lieutenant Remley will escort you back
to the transporter room."

The Romulan Commander nodded and allowed Remley to guide him out of the
conference room. Rando stayed behind, the possible future implications
weighing heavily on him. Either way, there was a strong chance that the
Federation would be going to war.

******************************************************

"Come in!" Captain Rando called again. He had retreated back into his ready
room after Commander Tomalak had left the ship in hopes of catching up on
some of the work he wanted to get accomplished today. Unfortunately, as time
wore on, that seemed more and more impossible. And now someone else needed
his attention?

He looked up as Counselor Kassal entered the room. Well, at least he could
check one thing off his "to-do" list.

"Sonja," he greeted her with a smile. "I've been meaning to check up on you,
but I just haven't gotten the chance yet."

Kassal flashed him a smile in return. "Why do you think I'm here?"

Rando laughed at her question, and then asked, "How are things, Sonja?"

The Counselor shook her head. "The crew is very tense right now. I've never
felt so much anxiety before in my life! It's quite overwhelming at times!"

"We could lighten your workload, if you want, Sonja," Rando told her with
concern. "Lieutenant Giragosian could take some of your appointments like
she did before."

Kassal shook her head again. "I'll be fine, Charlie," she replied. "I just
have to learn to get through this myself. Honestly, I haven't seen you this
concerned since we were at the Academy."

Rando raised his hands in mock protest. "Counselor, let me state for the
record that I'm am not attempting to mother you!" He paused and then added,
"And I don't think that attempting to get you healthy again a week before
your acting debut in the Academy musical constitutes mothering either."

"I couldn't even look at orange juice for a whole week!" Kassal shot back
jokingly.

Rando chuckled and took the opportunity to sit back in his chair and
actually relax for the first time today. "I don't know what it is about you,
Sonja, but you do have a way of making everything seem a lot brighter."

Kassal smiled back. "Why do you think I'm here?" she asked.

Captain Rando's reprieve was cut short by the comm. system. "Remley to
Captain! I'm picking up something on the scanners!"

Rando and Kassal exchanged a brief glance before Rando replied, "On my way,
Lieutenant." The two officers walked quickly back onto the bridge.

"Captain! Another ship is coming out of warp!" Lieutenant Remley announced.
"Sensors indicate... it's Breen!"

"Breen?" Rando repeated. "What are they doing here?"

"They're hailing us, sir, for starters," Remley replied.

"On screen."

The image of the Breen ship vanished... and was replaced by an image of
Commander Neddek and Ensign Maiser on the bridge of the Breen ship.
"Captain. It is... good to see you again."

"Commander Neddek," Rando said with surprise. "You'll have to excuse me,
Commander, but we were told you were dead."

"Our shuttle was attacked by a Romulan Warbird, but we were rescued by the
Breen. Apparently, they detected Ensign Maiser's lifesigns and beamed us
aboard their vessel. Ensign Maiser convinced them to return us to the ship."

"Very kind of them, Commander. Give them my sincere thanks. But there are
larger issues to deal with here. When you were attacked by the Romulan
vessel, were you inside the Neutral Zone?"

"That has been a matter of discussion here as well, Captain. Our instruments
on the shuttle indicated that we were light-years away from the Neutral
Zone. Ensign Maiser, however, tells me that the Breen insist we were well
within its bounds."

Rando nodded. "That's what the Romulans say too. They say that they
attempted to contact you, and when you didn't respond, they attacked."

Neddek shook his head. "We received no hails while we were on the shuttle,"
he said, looking towards Maiser for confirmation. The Breen ensign nodded.
"I kept detailed computer logs of our actions onboard the shuttle, Captain.
They will indicate the veracity of what I am saying. And if the Romulans
have any doubts about whether or not I tampered with the records, you may
inform them that the Breen have held onto my logs as... salvage throughout
this journey. It may be necessary to trade something for the information."

Rando smiled. "We won't have to trade anything for you, will we, Commander?"

Neddek looked at Maiser who shook his head. "Apparently not, Captain. We
must just remember what the Breen did today, and they ask that perhaps
someday, we might return the favor."

"Easily done," Rando replied. "Talk to the Breen about a trade for your
computer logs. I'll contact our Romulan friends with the latest news."

"Too late, sir," Remley announced. "Commander Tomalak is hailing us."

"Commander," Rando greeted the Romulan as his image appeared on the screen
next to Neddek's.

"I have heard your conversation," Tomalak told him. "We accept your
engineer's logs as true." Rando blinked at this... the Romulans hadn't even
seen the logs yet. "Our government has decided to forget this
misunderstanding. There will be no war between the Federation and the
Romulan Star Empire today."

"That's good to hear," Rando replied.

"I have learned that the Romulan fleet currently attacking the Dominion is
comprised of members of the Tal Shiar, which operates outside the Romulan
government. In effect, it is the Tal Shiar who have declared war on the
Dominion today... not the Romulan empire. The Romulan Council has therefore
decided to remain neutral at this time."

"But you're not going to attempt to stop the Tal Shiar?" Rando asked.

For the first time that day, Tomalak actually smiled. "There is nothing we
can do now, Captain. The Tal Shiar is out of communications range, and our
previous attempts to stop them failed. Besides, as I noted before, this is
not our war."

"I just hope the Dominion sees that," Rando pointed out, bringing a brief
look of concern to Tomalak's face. It vanished quickly under the guise of
Romulan superiority.

"I am sure they will believe that the Romulan government did not intend to
start a war with them. Just as we believed you. Now, I believe I have
overstayed my visit in your lovely Federation. Until next we meet, Captain."

"Until next we meet," Rando replied. Tomalak's image flashed off the
viewscreen.

"He truly believes that the Romulan Empire will not be involved in the next
war," Kassal told Rando. "I could see it in his eyes... relief."

"And I'm sure you can see it in my eyes as well, Counselor," Rando said,
sitting back down in his command chair. "Now, let's get our crew back
together and get out of here!"

CHAPTER SIX

"I've been looking over your engineering logs, Commander," Captain Rando
announced as the Romulan entered his ready room. "They appear to be in
order."

"Thank you, Captain," Neddek replied, "however, that does not explain how
the shuttle ended up inside the Neutral Zone."

"No, it doesn't," Rando agreed. "Only the shuttle's logs deny that you were
there. The Romulans, the Breen, even the shuttle debris we located inside
the Neutral Zone seem to state otherwise. I want to know how this could have
happened."

"I have given great thought to that, Captain, and I am sorry to say that I
do not have a sufficient answer."

"What about the work you were doing with the bio-neural packs?" Rando asked.
"Could they have altered the course of the shuttle?"

Neddek shook his head. "We did not begin our modifications until the shuttle
had arrived at our pre-destined coordinates and stopped there. And the
shuttle did not move after that."

"A wormhole? A spatial anomaly?"

"Possible," Neddek replied, "but as I previously stated, I can make no
sufficient conclusion. I have checked all logs concerning the Columbus with
little success. Even Lieutenant D'vis' examination of the shuttle is in
proper order. The level one diagnostic that Ensign Maiser and I ran
uncovered no inconsistencies."

"Then how are we supposed to explain this?" Rando asked.

"I honestly do not know, sir," Neddek told him. "And I am ready to testify
to that effect."

"Let's not go through all that again," Rando said. "It would seem that the
only possible way of classifying this incident would be as an accident."

Neddek nodded. "That would be my opinion as well." He paused slightly. "Is
that all, sir?"

"I suppose it'll have to be, Commander." He regarded the engineer. "In a
rush?"

"I have a meeting with Commander Witherell in a matter of minutes," Neddek
explained. "I wish to bring Ensign Maiser to his attention."

"Really?" Rando asked, raising an eyebrow. "Hopefully nothing serious."

"On the contrary," Neddek replied. "I wish to give the Commander my
recommendation for Maiser's promotion to Lieutenant. He has been an
invaluable asset to the engineering team, and to me, ever since he joined
this crew. It would be illogical not to reward his hard work."

Rando grinned at this. "I would agree, Commander. Now hurry up before you
miss your meeting."

"Aye sir," Neddek responded. The Romulan turned and left the room.

******************************************************

In the end, the joint Romulan/Cardassian fleet was not successful in
destroying the Dominion. Their main target, the Founder's homeworld, turned
out to be nothing more than a decoy as all the changelings living on it had
already evacuated. Dominion ships tore through the joint fleet, and the only
starship to make it out in one piece was a tiny, overpowered Federation
warship.

******************************************************

"Congratulations, Maiser," Lieutenant D'vis said. He shook the Breen's
gloved hand from across the mess hall table. "It was years before I was
promoted to Lieutenant junior grade. Of course, a promotion to full
Lieutenant is a bit more difficult."

"Well, at least he isn't stuck with just one pip any more," Lieutenant
Rebecca Bayreuther commented. "I don't see how anyone could get anything
done with just one pip."

"It would seem that you are well on your way up the chain of command," D'vis
replied.

Someone cleared a throat at the other end of the table. Lieutenants Maiser,
Bayreuther, and D'vis turned to see Ensign Jeff Libby glaring at them.

"Oh Jeff, I'm sure you'll make Lieutenant someday too!" Bayreuther told him.

Ensign Libby's only reply was a short, "Grumble growl."