“Fleet Formation, synchronistic technology that allows every ship in Starfleet to operate as one, an impenetrable armada, unity and defense…”

Walking down the promenade, Admiral Reyes could not help but scoff at Shelby’s words as they echoed across the PA. Unity and defense? Bullshit. The Fourth Fleet stood alone in the Deneb Sector against the Lost Fleet.

“…the ultimate safeguard in case of the unthinkable fleet-wide incapacitation…”

No, thought Admiral Reyes. Incompetence at the highest levels had already incapacitated the Fleet. And if it wasn’t incompetence, then it was something worse. Treason maybe? That’s why she’d brought the Serenity to Earth. It’s why they’d raided the Fleet News Network in Milan and blown up the black side in Healdsburg. And it’s why she’d come to Sol Station.

Although she and Dr. Hall wore no outward weapons, the admiral could feel the reassuring weight of the Type I phaser concealed against her ankle. She hoped she was just being overly cautious. The enemy couldn’t move against her here, right? This was the central promenade of Sol Station, a busy place even on a quiet day. Still, she couldn’t shake a nervous feeling that they might be walking into a trap. Their enemy had already shown they had no qualms operating right under the nose of Starfleet.

Up ahead, she spied an elderly Trill woman sitting alone at a table in front of a cafe. The admiral breathed a sigh of relief. It was Aria Edir, in the flesh. By some miracle, there she sat, having escaped whatever hell she’d been put through since her disappearance weeks ago.

“Allison, it’s so good to see you,” Aria Edir smiled as the pair approached. “I… it’s been a lot.” She gestured for them to sit. Admiral Reyes obliged, but Dr. Hall stayed standing. The counselor’s eyes darted around, scanning for threats, but nothing stood out. Just a regular mix of Starfleet officers and civilians milling about the promenade and sitting at tables enjoying fresh coffee and pastries.

“We’ll have time to talk about what you went through later,” Admiral Reyes said, cutting to the chase. “But right now, time is of the essence. What did you learn?”

“I learned you will never give up,” Aria Edir replied, and it was at that moment they realized something was wrong. The look on the retired Rear Admiral’s face was almost menacing, and suddenly, there was a flurry of movement all around them. “Unless you are in the brig.”

A dozen officers and civilians that had just been milling about the promenade were suddenly all moving towards them, drawing phasers concealed within their clothing and leveling them at the pair. 

Dr. Hall went for her phaser, but a pair of officers leapt at her and took her to the ground. Admiral Reyes didn’t even bother resisting. The numbers were too overwhelming. They’d been had.

“This system will protect our crews and our continued exploration of what still remains, our final frontier…”

In the cell block of the USS Serenity, one of the few places removed from the Fleet-wide address, Lieutenant Commander Eidran stood there looking at the old man in their brig. Or rather a Changeling that looked like the old man. That fact still stunned him.

“I have no idea what happened to the guards,” the old man pleaded, still trying to keep up the ruse. “I really don’t. My wife called me from Sol Station. She’s been missing for weeks. I couldn’t ignore that. I had to go find her… But I promise you that your guys were still alive when I left.”

“Don’t waste my time,” Lieutenant Commander Eidran replied as he shook his head. “My guys never would have let you out of their sights. They were your protective detail. They knew their duty. You killed them.”

“I would never! I’m the husband of a Rear Admi…”

“That’s a crock of shit,” Lieutenant Commander Eidran snapped back. He was done playing at this ruse. Time to confront it for what it was. “I know your kind. You came to my world when I was five, and you killed my people by the thousands. I thought we were done with you, with your sorry scourge, but then you came again, earlier this year, and you did it again. I have half a mind to end you right now.”

Suddenly, Mark Ellis’ hunched shoulders and slow movements were gone. The Changeling gave up all semblance of his facade, rushing towards the edge of the forcefield but stopping just short as it shimmered. “But you’re curious,” he snarled like a feral dog. He still looked like Mark Ellis, but he neither sounded, nor moved, like him any more. “You want to know what I’m doing here.”

“Yes, I do,” Lieutenant Commander Eidran replied. “And I assure you, it’s the only reason you’re still alive.” Now that the truth was before him, he suddenly felt a desire for retribution. For what they’d done to his homeworld in the seventies. And for how they’d killed his mentor just months ago. Suddenly, he started to understand Commander Lewis. “So tell me, why are you here?”

“To see to your end.”

“That’s going to be hard to do from our brig,” Lieutenant Commander Eidran chuckled, but it was short lived as a lightbulb flicked on in his head. What if this Changeling wasn’t the only one?

“Ah, you see it now, don’t you?” the Changeling smiled, enjoying the sight of that realization washing across his enemy’s face. “I am but a cog in the machine. We are everywhere.”

Those words sent a chill down Lieutenant Commander Eidran’s spine. Admiral Reyes and Commander Lewis had been right. There was more going on. He needed to get in touch with them. He tapped his combadge.

“Eidran to Reyes.”

No response.

“Eidran to Lewis.”

Still no response.

The Changeling just stood there smiling. Any minute now, it would all be over.