“The Underspace, it is to be used for war.”

The words fell heavy over the bridge of the Polaris, and the Admiral’s mind went straight to the obvious target. Had they just given the keys to the Klingons for an invasion of Romulan space? If it snowballed, Starfleet would not be able to sit idle on the sidelines, and generations of peace between the Klingon Empire and the Federation would crumble. “General, I warn you, we have obligations to the Romulan Republic.” And even if they eyed the more coreward factions of the former Romulan Empire, it might still eventually draw in the Federation.

“The Romulans? Who said anything about the Romulans, Miss Reyes? This isn’t about them. Not today, at least.”

That wasn’t particularly reassuring, but if this wasn’t about the Federation, and it wasn’t about the Romulans, then she was at a loss. “Then who’s it about, General?”

“The Cardassians.”

Wait… what? While Admiral Reyes knew the Cardassians could rub anyone the wrong way, the Union was separated from the Empire by the full width of Federation space – or at least it had until two weeks ago when the Underspace rendered borders all but worthless. What had the Cardassians done to provoke the Klingons?

“Is your intelligence really so lacking that you’re not aware? Do you really not know? The Cardassians are moving to destroy the Underspace, and we cannot allow them to do that.”

Now it was clear. General Golroth had discovered the same thing as Captain Lewis, and he was moving to protect it. Why? Probably, she knew, so the Empire could use the Underspace for its own ambitions. It was a scary thought, one that went right to the root of her concerns about the Underspace’s implications. They were between a rock and a hard place. Would it be better to support the Cardassians in their efforts to control or collapse the Underspace? Or would it be better to be seen by the Klingons as an ally in the future of the Underspace?

“Just care for your colony, Miss Reyes, and let us do what we need to do.”

The question, as she saw it, was the probability that the Cardassians would succeed. If it was the Federation, or a unified pre-supernova Romulan Empire, that had set out to collapse the Underspace, she’d have set the odds of success as fairly high. At least eventually. But the Cardassians? No, she didn’t see it. Especially not after the War. They were a shell of their former self. And, as much as she didn’t appreciate being held at gunpoint, she’d rather be on the side of the victor here so she could have an opportunity to influence the outcome. “But General, what if I want to help?” 

Across the link, the surprise was evident on General Golroth’s face. Her own Executive Officer, standing beside her, also seemed shocked. What was it the Admiral had just said? Hadn’t she just been talking about wanting to collapse the Underspace? Wasn’t that what Dr. Lockwood and the others were working on?

“You see, I am in your debt for saving Vespara Prime, but more than that, on the matter of the Underspace, our interests are aligned,” Admiral Reyes explained before glancing over at the officer at the communications station and nodding. “On a side channel, I am having my staff send you a copy of the orders we just received from Command. We see the potential of the Underspace, and Command has ordered that we take steps to protect and preserve it.”

“Even if that means fighting the Cardassians?”

“This is not a resource that belongs to any one of our great peoples,” Admiral Reyes replied with a feigned reverence, one meant to provoke his preconceptions of the Starfleet. “It is something to be shared, something that could usher in a new era of peace and prosperity. Is that not something worth fighting for?”

“What do you propose?”

Admiral Reyes could see the skepticism in his eyes. “You need us, General,” she lobbied firmly. “You see, we also just became aware of the Cardassian plan, and I have an asset embedded with them already. We can use the intelligence passed along from that asset to move against the Cardassian platforms, and the Diligent will even assist with your operation.”

“I must say that I am a bit surprised, Admiral.”

“Now you know how I felt when you and your colleagues arrived here to help us save our people.”

“What do you ask in return?”

“Only that we disable, not destroy, any ships that oppose us,” Admiral Reyes insisted. “The platforms appear to be unmanned from our scans, so they’re fair game, but we must minimize the loss of life.” Her appeal wasn’t because of a bleeding heart – she’d truthfully never moved beyond her feelings forged during the Dominion War – but in this case, her insistence was borne of a recognition that in the aftermath, it would be easier for everyone to move on if less blood was spilled.

“What if I don’t agree?”

“Well then, instead of sending the majority of your forces through, you’ll have to hold a bunch back to babysit us,” Admiral Reyes replied in an almost threatening tone. “And the whole time, you’ll have to worry I’ll place a call to Starfleet and tell them you’re holding us hostage here.”

“But if we agree?”

“Then you get my intel and my assistance, and Starfleet doesn’t try to stop you.”

“While I don’t understand your desire to preserve Cardassian life, I can agree to your terms. Just don’t cross us, or you will not live to regret it.”

She didn’t even entertain that with a reply.

“If the intelligence we have of their plan is accurate, time is of the essence. Tell your men to get ready. Expect departure within the hour.”

And then the General hung up without another word.

As Admiral Reyes looked around the bridge, she could see confusion on the faces of many, and both Captain Devreux and Dr. Brooks looked ready to make their objections heard. “My Ready Room, now. Both of you.” It would be better to have this argument in private.

Once the door shut behind them, it was her Executive Officer that took the first shot. “Allison, you can’t be serious,” Captain Devreux lamented. “Are you actually proposing that we team up with the Klingons to go after the Cardassians?”

“I’ve done plenty of double crosses in my days,” Dr. Brooks added. “But I’m afraid I have to agree with Gérard here.” He was less worried about the Cardassians than his colleague, for he knew what would come with the passage of time, but this seemed counter to the very task she’d assigned to the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Technology Activity. “I thought you wanted us to find a way of collapsing the Underspace? As much as I have no love for them, it is the Cardassians, not the Klingons, who would seem the apt ally here.”

“Your objective is to contrive such a mechanism, yes, but the choice, should we choose to make it, must be ours, our ours alone,” Admiral Reyes replied firmly. She wanted to be in control of that decision, not to leave it to the whims of Central Command or the Detapa Council. “The Cardassians cannot be the masters of our fate. What if, instead of destroying the Underspace, they use their capabilities to control access to it? Would that not also be a possible use of their platforms?”

“Yes, that would be possible,” Dr. Brooks nodded. “In fact, it would probably be far easier to apply local influence over an aperture by way of manipulating the tetryon field, rather than accomplishing something more systemic.” It would not be unlike what the Klingons had done in stabilizing the aperture that had materialized in the corona of the Vesparan star.

“Would you really want the Cardassians to control means of access to the Underspace?” Admiral Reyes posited. “No, I think that, until we know better, we work with the Klingons.” And what else could they do? Engage in a firefight with the Klingons here over Vespara to stop them?

Captain Devreux didn’t like this line of reasoning. One moment, Admiral Reyes had been talking about how they might reverse the expansion of the Underspace against Starfleet’s wishes, and now, she was talking about partnering with the Klingons to engage the Cardassians. Was it the stress? Or exhaustion even? The Cardassians wouldn’t go quietly on this. “There’ll be blood on your hands, Allison, if we go forward with this.”

“There already is, Gérard,” Admiral Reyes replied. Her mind was made up. “But in going with the Klingons, we can at least have a say in their tactics. That will prevent some blood from being spilled.”

“I’m not sure the history books will see it that way, Allison,” Captain Devreux warned.

“I try not to worry too much about those,” Admiral Reyes shrugged. There were far bigger problems in the galaxy than how the historians saw it. “Gérard, send a flash to Captain Lewis with our plan. Ideally, we want him to lure the Cardassians away from that platform, and to get on with marking additional targets, before we attack it. And then call Captain Vox and bring him up to speed on his mission.”

“Oh yeah, Dorian is going to love this,” Captain Devreux chuckled. “We’ve followed you this far, I guess, so why not go all the way?” 

As he made his way out of the Ready Room, Captain Devreux had to admit to himself that didn’t fully disagree with her. But it was dangerous to play both sides against each other. This might all blow up horribly in their faces.

Once Captain Devreux had left, Admiral Reyes turned back to Dr. Brooks. “Tell me, Tom. Does any of this actually matter? Does the Underspace become a part of the galactic fabric when all is said and done?” He would have not missed something of such galactic proportions during his travels, and there was something about the way he’d latched onto the Underspace from the start of this mission that made her wonder what he knew.

“You know I won’t answer that, ma’am,” Dr. Brooks reminded her. “To answer that would be to risk changing the outcome.” And the outcome, he knew, was what was best for the Federation.

It was worth a try, the Admiral thought to herself, as she watched him go.