Alternate Conclusions
By H.W.
Chapter 6
"We need one more chair," Seven pointed out when they entered the conference room.
Martok indicated to the guards that they had to stay outside the room while he followed Torres and Seven in, chuckling slightly when Toby slipped in before him. He really liked the animal; especially since they seemed to have reached some kind of agreement and Toby had stopped looking at him like fresh dinner.
"I have one more adviser joining me in a moment," Seven continued to explain as she sat down in the chair Kira indicated.
"That's fine," Kira assured, "if you don't mind us adding a person as well. Admiral Ross happens to be on the base; I have a feeling that he would like to be present."
Martok opened a channel and requested some information before saying, "There is an Admiral Ross under guard in his quarters in sector three. He seems to be ranting about wanting to see the person in charge."
"Well then, he is about to get his wish," Seven said amused. "Have him brought here, nicely. In the meantime,"
Seven activated her com. link and told Kastra that she could beam over. Once the young Betazoid arrived, Seven introduced her, "This is my Betazoid adviser, Kastra Troi."
"Troi?" Ezri asked. "Any relation to Deanna Troi?"
"Deanna is my sister. Do you know her?" Kastra wondered.
"Dax knows her," Ezri corrected. "Jadzia Dax and Deanna met several times."
"You are Dax?" Torres asked before snorting, "Figures. No matter what universe we are in; it's still a damn small place."
"You know Dax?" Ezri asked.
"We, know Jadzia Dax," Torres corrected.
"Intendant Jadzia Dax is a very good friend of ours," Seven added. "She and Intendant Deanna Troi are actually also very close friends; they travel together all the time. You might also find it interesting that in our universe you, as Ezri Tigan, are the Trill representative in my government and that you are my Minister of Emotional Wellbeing."
"Which means?" Ezri wondered.
"The main task of the Minister of Emotional Wellbeing is to make sure that everyone in the Phoenix Alliance has access to a professional counselor at any time they might need one," Seven explained. "This to help them cope with any emotional distress their jobs might cause them. Of course, they are also there to help if the person has private problems. In other words, every single counselor in the Phoenix Alliance falls under your command. There are only two layers of command above you; the Sub-Intendants and me."
"And I am able to handle that?" Ezri asked, cringing.
"Until now you are actually exceeding my expectations. Granted, you only have the job for two weeks, but still."
"And Jadzia is a friend of yours?" Ezri persisted.
"Not just 'a' friend; she is a very good friend of mine. She and Deanna were at my birthday party. Jadzia gave me a bat'leth she had bought while she still was Curzon Dax." Seven had decided to add that little fact because she had a feeling that Ezri, because of Dax, would realize the importance of this gift, if it also existed in this universe of course.
"A bat'leth?" Ezri wondered. "Did it happen to be the one with the battle scenes engraved in it?"
"It is," Seven agreed. "The one with the battle scenes on one side, and the pair of lovers on the other side."
"You showed me that bat'leth," Bashir stated.
"I did," Ezri agreed before looking back at Seven, "I still have it in my possession here. You really do know Dax."
Ezri looked at Kira and then at Sisko before explaining, "No matter who the host is, I as Dax, would never just give a bat'leth to someone without a reason."
"Before she was doubting that you really did know Dax; she is no longer doubtful now," Kastra said. "And because of that she is less worried about the situation. That trust seems to be important for all around this table."
Seven gave Kastra a small smile before looking back at the others around the table. "Now you know why I have a Betazoid adviser; it makes things a lot easier at times."
Then she looked back at Ezri. "When I took that bat'leth, I promised Jadzia Dax that unless she did something that would prevent it, she would have a friend for life in me, and I still stand by that statement. I basically told the same to Deanna. She gave me this for my birthday, by the way."
When saying 'this' Seven had brought her hand to her neck to touch the pendant she still wore there.
"That's the same mark as on that ship out there," Kira noted, while at the same time wondering just how expensive the pendant had to be.
"This is the mark of my Mistress. I wear it, and I will always continue to wear it, to show everyone who owns me."
More conversation was interrupted by the doors opening and two Klingons bringing in Admiral Ross. "Are you in charge here?" Ross demanded as he looked at Torres; the obvious choice since all the forces were Klingons.
"Kahless, you can be glad that we aren't in my universe; otherwise you would be dead right about... now," Torres said calmly, but the look in her eyes made it clear that she was fully sincere.
Ross was about to speak up again when he saw Sisko sitting at the table. "Ben? What, how... when did you get back?"
"Only minutes before these people showed up," Sisko answered. "The Prophets informed me that my presence was needed here, and sent me back."
"As for who is in charge here," Seven spoke up, "I am actually the one in charge. It just so happens that the Phoenix Alliance has a very good working relationship with the Klingon Faction and that the Klingons provide us with all the support we need, including ships and troops. But please, Admiral Ross, let me make some introductions first."
Seven gestured with a hand to her right. "To my far right we have General Martok, he is head of the Klingon Security Department. Since you probably do not know what that means, let me simply say that it is the kind of position of which even Admirals fear his visits. I know that there is a Martok in this universe as well, but let me assure you, though they are the same person, they are not the same character wise. Beside him is Kastra Troi, my Betazoid Adviser."
Then she indicated her left side. "And to my left you find B'Elanna Torres. She is the Klingon Intendant, as well as my Political Adviser. Again, since you probably do not know what an Intendant is; in our universe, she is the second most powerful person you can find in the known Alpha and Beta quadrant. On power level so high that your Federation President would call her and politely ask if she maybe has time for a meeting, and he would never in his wildest dreams dare to demand a meeting. I, myself, go by the official name of Intendant Annika Phoenix, but, for anything but official occasions, I prefer the name Seven."
"So if the second most powerful person is your adviser, does that mean that you are the absolute most powerful person?" Ross wondered since the blonde had said she was in charge.
"Far from it, I assure you," Seven said amused. "The most powerful person is the Klingon Chancellor. The reason why at the moment Intendant Torres is my adviser can be found in the fact that we are many things to each other. If she has official business as the Klingon Intendant then I am her Adviser, and if I have official business as the Phoenix Alliance Intendant then she graciously offers me her help by being my Political Adviser."
"Alright, then would you care to explain why you occupied this base, and just why you are here?" Ross asked, coming to the point.
"The occupation of this base was a security measure," Martok spoke up. "Intendant Phoenix just told you who she and Intendant Torres are, do you really think that we would come to this base on anyone's conditions but our own? I don't think so."
"Besides that," Seven added, "it was also to prove to you that we don't need your help, even though we are here to ask it. We are here to ask for your help; not beg for it, and if you decline then we will still survive without that help."
"You have a strange way of asking for help," Kira spoke up.
"I would call it an effective way," Seven defended. "We know that you had dealings with people from alternate universes before. We merely wanted to make it very clear that we are not simply the next group of rebels fighting a lost cause."
"And just what kind of help are you asking for? And just what has all of this to do with Voyager; a Federation ship?" Sisko wondered.
"This actually has a lot to do with Voyager," Seven assured. "As I pointed out before; I myself am from this universe. I joined Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. I could tell you all about that, but it would be a waste of time since all of this information should be in files somewhere; Voyager did send several messages to the Federation, just like the Federation sent some back."
"I'll have a look in the Voyager file later on," Ross assured.
"Very well," Seven agreed. "Let me add the part that you do not yet know. A little over one year ago Voyager found a wormhole that led to the Alpha Quadrant. Voyager went through it, only to discover that while it did indeed go to the Alpha quadrant, it went to an Alpha Quadrant in an Alternate Universe. They have been there ever since, since it is impossible to use the wormhole to go back to the other Universe. As you can see, we finally found a way to get back to the universe Voyager came from. However, during that year events happened and now most have chosen to stay with me in the Alternate Universe and take positions in my government."
"Which brings the question; how can you have a government, and something to govern?" Ross asked.
"To answer that, let me give you a short history lesson," Seven said. "From my research I know that both universes evolved relatively the same way until three hundred years ago. At that time Human made first contact with the Vulcans. There things changed. In this Universe the Vulcans basically prevented Humans from exploring space for one hundred years. In the other Universe that did not happen and Humans immediately started to explore space."
"Good for them," Ross said.
"Bad for them," Seven corrected. "Because Humans did not take the time to study other species, and also didn't take time to get acquainted with the fact that every species has its own uniqueness, Humans started to oppress themselves on others. They started to form what was soon called the Sol Empire. Most species realized that they could not stop the Sol Empire from occupying them by force so most species just bowed to the will of the Sol Empire. Six species did not. They decided to resist, no matter what it would cost. Unfortunately these six species were located far apart so they could not put up one united front. Over time the Trill, Betazoid, Romulan, Klingon, Cardassian, and finally the Bajorans fell. Because they had resisted, the Sol Empire decided to turn these species in to slaves. As such, the Sol Empire existed for 150 years."
Seven stopped for a few seconds and looked at the others in turn, giving them time to let the information she just gave them sink in.
Finally she continued. "Then came the day of the uprising. The Sol Empire had become complacent, having more and more important jobs done by slaves because they were sure that they could control the slaves. They concentrated more and more on guarding and managing the slaves. The Sol Empire spread itself too thin and too far. They had a huge territory, but hardly any willing support. Other species had dealings with them, but it was mostly out of fear of being otherwise turned into slaves as well. So when the slave species started to revolt, the Sol Empire suddenly found that they had hardly any help and that other species suddenly sat back and did nothing; did not help the Sol Empire, nor tried to stop the slave species."
Seven paused once more and looked around the table. "The Sol Empire fell and the power was taken by the six species that once were the slaves. As a punishment for what they did, the Humans were turned in to slaves themselves. Five other species were condemned to the same fate because they actively help the Sol Empire in the last battle, or in case of the Vulcans did not stop the Sol Empire from expanding, back when they still could have stopped them. Since then, 150 years ago, the Humans, Vulcans, Tellarites, Denobulans, Ktarians, and Gorn have lived as slaves."
Seven could clearly see the people that were of the twelve species mentioned weren’t sure what they liked even less. The fact that they had been slaves, or the fact that they had been slavers.
"This slavery only ended one month ago when the Phoenix Alliance was created," Seven continued. "The Phoenix Alliance covers eight sectors of space and includes the Homeworlds of all the former slave species, as well as nine other Homeworlds, including Risa and Orion. My task, as Phoenix Intendant, is to make sure that the now former slave species become an integrated part of the whole of the Coalition."
Seven focused her attention back onto Ross. "To answer your question as to how I can be in control of the Phoenix Alliance, believe me, it was not my choice; which is exactly why I was chosen. When Voyager was stranded in the other Universe, we were all captured and I became the Body Slave of my Mistress."
When Seven stated that part, all eyes around the table went to Torres who merely shrugged. "I like a challenge, so when my Pet threatened to break my neck if I didn't help a friend of hers it intrigued me in to taking a body slave for the first time in my life."
Torres decided that explaining that this friend was Voyager's B'Elanna would only make things even more complex, especially since that info wasn't needed for this explanation.
"Suffice it to say that we found things in each other that neither of us were expecting," Seven said, taking back the conversation. "Most importantly; we found each other. My mistress is now also my fiancée. I saw you all looking at my Mistress a moment ago, please let me point out to you that it was actually her idea to end slavery. A plan she was working on long before I came into her life. So do not think that she did this merely to please me."
"Alright, I think you just lost me," Kira spoke up. "You insist that your... fiancée wanted to free slaves, but she still took you as a Body Slave?"
"She did," Seven agreed. "However, this is not the contradiction that it sounds like. It is simply that my Mistress believes in realism. There were at that point ninety billion slaves, and literally billions of people that own slaves. If my Mistress were to not have slaves out of some misguided sense of idealism, those slaves would only be owned by someone else instead. To take myself as an example; there were no free Humans and helping an escaped slave was against the law."
"Even for someone that has just been introduced to us as pretty much being the law?" Kira asked.
"Yes, even for a person like that," Seven assured. "After all, Intendants can make rules, but where would we be if they also broke them? Why bother making rules then? So a big part of their power is in the fact that everyone, I repeat, everyone, abides by the rules, or else."
Well, the statement wasn't entirely true, but Seven figured that it did simplify things since in essence it was. She simply didn't feel like spending hours explaining fine details like why the Intendants stuck to the rules, except for occasional hobbies involving smugglers, but didn't break rules to get family members out of trouble, while still...
"So," Seven continued, "If my Mistress had not kept me as her slave, she would have either been forced to sell me, or give me away. In an environment like that you are basically forced to use slaves just like others do. If you do not use slaves, you can never afford to have a more than a small family business. And if you happen to come in to the possession of a slave that has the looks that are the most favored in the entire Coalition, and even more by your own personal tastes, you would be a fool to not take her as a Body Slave. Why would you not? The next owner most certainly will."
Seven looked at Torres and gave her a wonderful smile. "But from the first minute there was something between us. In fact, my Mistress thinks that this 'something' is the very reason why she took a Body Slave for the first time in her life. I felt something for her as well. I love her, and even as a slave I was as loyal to her as one could be."
Then she looked at others around the table again. "Amongst other reasons, it is this loyalty that resulted in my now being the Phoenix Intendant. The Chancellor realized that if slavery was ended, the person that was put in control over these species had to be someone that could be fully trusted with that power. Someone that would not try to get back at the former owners, nor use the position to only better themselves. Since I was trusted not to do either of these things, the choice fell on me."
"Let me add," Torres spoke up, "that there were a lot of reasons why the choice fell on Seven, and it has nothing to do with the fact that we are lovers. The choice for Seven was made because of those different reasons. The trust we had, and have, in her is only the reason why we decided that we could continue with a plan that was going to change the Coalition for ever, but not the only reason why we thought she could be an Intendant."
"And this brings you here, why?" Sisko asked. "You talked about wanting help. Help with what, and just as important why would we?"
"There are several fields where we would appreciate some help with," Seven said. "First, let me explain that even though I myself sometimes did not agree with Starfleet protocols and ideals, I do think that overall the Starfleet ideals would be a good base to build the Phoenix Alliance on."
Seven could see a clear reaction from everyone around the table at that statement. Obviously they had not been expecting that right after the talk about Intendants, slaves, and former slaves. "Because of that, I would appreciate help with setting up the rules, sub-rules, conditions, duties, and rights. Granted as Intendant, I and my government, will be making the laws, and there are also already a lot of laws in affect on the planets like Risa and Orion. But I would appreciate Starfleet's help in combining all those rules in to one solid system."
"You say Starfleet, don't you mean the Federation?" Ross asked.
"I do not," Seven said firmly. "I do mean Starfleet. The Federation is a democracy where its leaders are elected for a certain time period. Starfleet is a place where people prove that they are worthy of a job, get that job and keep it until either they are promoted, or leave Starfleet; in whatever way. In the Coalition, it is more a combination of both. Yes, on lower levels there are elections, but the highest election is for Planetary Governor, or an equivalent. Higher than that and positions are appointed."
Seven hesitated for a moment. "Well, there is one slight exception to that. The Bajoran Intendant is elected by the people... yet not. The Bajoran Intendant is 'officially' elected by the Bajorans, but even there everyone in the Coalition knows that this is just a show; that in reality it are the Klingons who decide who the next Intendant is going to be."
"then why vote at all? Kira asked. "Why not stay home instead? Unless it's mandatory."
"It is not," Seven assured. "People still vote for several reasons. For one thing, voting is not anonymous. While they are not punished for voting on 'the other person', their vote is registered and later in life who you voted for ten years ago might mean whether or not you get that job you are applying for. Not as much by a government that holds a grudge, but more by a company owner that is a loyal follower, or hater, of a current Intendant."
She thought of a different example before continuing, "Political support conventions are also places there a lot of young Bajorans meet and start relationships, be it political, business, or, if they are lucky, romantic. Another reason to vote is to simply show your support. Or even if you know that your vote does not make a difference, you might still vote to show your disapproval. So that later in life you can honestly say, 'well, I did not vote for that person'. There are clear and good reasons for voting, just that deciding the actual outcome is ironically not one of those reasons. It is the Klingon Chancellor that appoints the Intendants on suggestion of the Klingon Intendant, and on its turn the governmental structure under the Bajoran Intendant is appointed by the Intendant. You see, the Starfleet system fits a lot more than the Federation system."
Ross nodded his agreement to that part.
"However," Seven continued. "I do realize that it is not possible to only use the Starfleet system because despite all you still have to deal with planets and planet specific laws; something the Federation is known for. The Federation is known for standing as one whole, yet still having clear personalities for every planet. What is allowed on one planet might be illegal on another. The Federation is very capable of mixing these personal demands with the overall Federation laws. What I am planning to do is use the Starfleet system as a base; a clear structure, and then have everything that is not covered by this system filled up with the Federation system."
"Keeping in mind the overall Coalition laws," Torres added.
"Indeed," Seven agreed. "That is the structure I am planning to use. First there are the Coalition laws, then the direct Phoenix Alliance laws, based on the Starfleet principle, and then the rest is covered by the Federation system which makes sure that all planets still have their own specific laws and customs."
"As you said," Ezri spoke up, "the Federation is a democracy. In the end, the planetary governments have a final say about what happens on their planet. They can also decide to step out of the Federation. From what you just said I get the distinct feeling that in your Coalition they can't do either."
"You are correct," Seven agreed.
"If I may," Torres said, looking at Seven. After getting a nod to go ahead, Torres turned to Ezri. "You say that the planets have the final say on what happens on their planet, and Seven just agreed that this isn't the case with us. I would like to add a 'kinda' to that. Let's be honest with each other, alright? Take your Trill Homeworld. You say that the planetary governments have the final say, alright, tell me, just when was the last time that the Federation wanted something done on Trill and the Trill government told them no?"
"There are actually discussions on a regular basis," Ezri began.
"Discussions," Torres interrupted. "But that's not what I asked, is it? Forget about moving wording on contracts or laws around. Down to the point, just when was the last time that Trill nixed a Federation plan for Trill?"
"I can't think of one," Ezri was forced to admit.
"And that's Dax talking, isn't it?" Torres persisted. After Ezri had given an affirming nod, Torres continued. "As Seven just said; the Trill were the first to fall when trying to resist the Sol Empire. It is actually the major fact as to why the Trill got a faction when the time came to divide the Sol Empire. They were the first to stand up to the Sol Empire, and had to suffer the direct retributions for that. We didn't forget that. That, and the fact that the Trill slaves helped in the rebellion against the Sol Empire. We Klingons thought that the Trill deserved a reward for taking a stand against the Sol Empire when all species before the Trill had cowered for the Sol Empire."
"You rewarded their Honor," Ezri clarified, knowing the Klingons enough to know that standing up and saying no had probably been more important to the Klingons than any potential involvement in later action."
"We did," Torres agreed. "But in this universe here the Humans first learned about other species, they learned about the Trill. What they learned is that if you are helpful to the Trill and treat them with respect and kindness, the Trill will do the same to you. I bet you, the Humans made contact with the Trill and helpfully supplied the Trill with the Warp technology that the Vulcans didn't want to share with species they considered 'not ready'. I also bet you that the Humans helped the Trill with the colonization of uninhabited moons and planets in the territory around the Trill solar system, am I right?"
"It were Human spaceships that brought the Trill to the first planet we colonized," Ezri agreed.
"And ever since then Trill have had this good relationship with the Federation, right?" Torres pressed on. "So good that it's not worth risking the good relationship over something the Trill rather wouldn't have on their planet. Better just do it and keep the good relationship. Politics 101; give people just enough to keep them happy and they will do almost anything for you so that you can continue to keep them happy. Be honest for a moment. At this time you would accept things from the Federation that you would never accept from any other party simply because they have always been such food friends. And friends, well, sometimes you do things for friends that you really don't want to do."
Torres looked at Ezri for a moment, then over to Admiral Ross, but neither of them disagreed with the statement. "As for a planet stepping out of the Federation; can they really? Again, let's take your Trill as an example. If it's anything like our trill it's a good, healthy and intricate part of the whole; Coalition in our universe, Federation in this universe. But just what would happen if they really did decide to step out of the Federation? Let's assume that the Federation would actually allow it and not occupy the planet 'for its own good.' Just how long would Trill survive? How much toll would the Federation start to charge Trill ships that are crossing Federation space in order to get to their colonies?"
Again a pause, and again no outraged denial. Torres smirked, but decided to move on before the silence became uncomfortable. "Well, suddenly there would be no more access to Federation technology. The Federation would sit back while more and more undesirable individuals would go to Trill to make it their safe haven away from the Federation. And that's without the Federation doing the undercover thing of sponsoring the people that want to join the Federation again."
She snorted. "Hell, you would have a civil war within five years. At which time, of course, the Federation would then step in and help secure the situation. Oh, look at that, the people that wanted to join the Federation are suddenly in the government. Hmm, I wonder how that happened. Let's face it, there isn't a single Federation planet that can truly step out of the Federation and survive it. It's the same with us, we just skip the crap. If some Planetary government would suddenly declare that they are stepping out of the Coalition there would be troops and warships going to that planet even before they finished making the announcement. That planetary government would be gone and replaced with a new one in as short a time as it would take to get those troops and ships there."
She spread her hands a little as if pointing out the obvious. "People know this, so we don't get nonsense like that. Does that mean that the Planets are cowering in fear? No, they know that as long as they live by the rules they can have a secure and fearless existence. Part of my job as Intendant is to approve certain deals, deals between planets, deals between factions, and I can assure you that those deals are fair and pretty much the same as what I expect them to be over here."
"That is until you show up with that ship out there and scare the crap out of them," Sisko pointed out.
"Not at all," Torres disagreed. "People know, when I show up, it's because I'm taking care of a specific problem. For instance, the Bajoran Intendant..." Torres looked at Kira while saying, "... Intendant Kira Nerys was assassinated a year ago."
Then she looked back at Sisko. "I, as the Klingon Intendant, was sent by the Chancellor to take care of that problem. You can probably guess that we don't take assassinations of Intendants too kindly. The repercussions for such an act can be quite... severe. However, when I was at Bajor, the people there didn't stop their life. They still went to work, they still went out and had parties, they still had plays at the State Theater. They knew that there was a problem on Bajor, but unlike with your Federation, they also knew that by the time I left, the problem would have been dealt with. When I show up somewhere, it really isn't every single person that starts to shake in fear; the only people that start shaking in fear are the people that have something to be fearful about."
Well, Torres knew that it was more than that, but she decided to not go into that since her statement sure sounded good.
"Either way, this is not of importance right now," Seven continued. "The Coalition is what it is and no matter how long we talk over the differences here the Coalition will not change because of it. If you want, I can later on send over a file that contains the Coalition Laws so that you can have a look at them and let it aid in your decision to offer help."
"Yes, talking about help," Ross prompted.
Seven dipped her head a little. "I, as the Phoenix Intendant, am in the rather unique position where I am the final authority over billions of workers, yet at the same time cannot have them work for me. To make sure that the Coalition would not collapse from everyone suddenly having to do without their slaves, the slaves were turned in to what is called 'long contracts'. These are contract forms in which a person signs on for a job for the duration of ten years. The only exception to this are the people in the Physical Service Industry. Their contracts last for one year."
"Physical Service?" Kira asked confused. "You just said that the workers had to serve contracts lasting ten years."
"Physical Service Industry is the nice name we have given to the sex industry," Torres said bluntly. "We just told you that six species were turned into slaves, do you really think they were only used to mine and clean? Hell, Seven just told you that she started out as my Body Slave. It is normal for people that can afford them to have slaves for sex; sex slaves. Or as some kind of personal servant that's also used for sex besides doing other things; Body slave. You really think those people that owned those slaves will be happy to go without sex now that slavery is over? Hell no; they still want to get laid whenever they want."
"There are a lot of these people?" Ross asked.
"It is a number measured in millions for the Body Servants, and a number measured in the billions if you count all sex servants throughout the entire Coalition," Seven stated frankly.
"But you are going to bring an end to this?" Ross stated.
"Not at all," Seven disagreed. "However, I am going to turn it in to an industry that people work in because they want to, not because they have to."
"You don't really think," Kira started, only to be interrupted by Seven.
"You could say that I am going to bring the Risa mentality to a Coalition scale." Seven looked around the table before asking in a challenging tone, "Go ahead, anyone at this table tell me that they have never been to Risa and have never had sex with a Risan while being there."
Seven waited for a few seconds to let the silence around the table go on just long enough for all to notice it. "As we said before, the Coalition is roughly the same size as your known space area in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants; Federation space, the Klingon Empire, Romulan Empire, Cardassian Union, Breen territory, Gorn territory, and Tholian territory. Risa is known for its open approach to sex, but you know as well as I that there are a far bigger number of people providing 'services' outside that territory."
"It is a solution almost as old as time itself," Torres added. "If you do not have money to survive, you sell yourself, offer sex for money, so that you can survive. All that we are doing is taking the industry out of the shame and shady area and make it an official occupation where people earn decent wages and are protected by laws."
"And have to hand over a huge part of those wages to your government, I'm sure," Nog noted, speaking up for the first time.
"To the contrary," Seven disagreed. "When the rules for the Physical Service Industry were set up, it was declared that the Physical Service industry would be the only industry that does not have to pay any taxes. Besides that, housing, feeding, and clothing for the Physical Servant has to be up to a certain minimum standard and is also paid by the employer. In other words; if Physical Servants do not waste their credits..."
Seven interrupted herself and explained quickly, "Credits are the monetary unit used in the Coalition."
Then she explained further. "If they do not use the credits they earn on luxury items, they can literally save every single credit they make with the job. Either way, this too is something that will not change. It too is something you will have to take into account when making your decision. Later I will also send you a copy of the Service Industry laws so that you can study them. For now, to come back to the fact of the help. While I do have the authority to nullify any contract from any individual I need, I cannot go and take millions of workers away from the places they are working at simply because I myself need workers."
"Is that what you want? Millions of workers?" Kira asked in disbelief.
"No, what I want is expertise," Seven corrected. "I have already found the workforce. Over the time that slavery exists some slaves managed to escape. They settled on five barren planets on the edge of Coalition space; planets that are hardly capable of sustaining life. There they now live from day to day. Overall this is a potential workforce of twenty million."
Seven saw some of the people around the table looking at each other and voiced what they were probably thinking. "Not huge on a Coalition scale, I know. But still, it would certainly be a big enough force to start the growth process. Before I arrived here I got a message that one of the most famous leaders of those escaped slaves has agreed to join my Government as one of the three Sub-Intendants I will have. I have good hope that she will be able to convince the majority of escaped slaves to come and work for the Phoenix Alliance so that they too can become Citizens of the Phoenix Alliance."
Seven was slightly surprised when none of them asked about the connection between becoming Citizens and being workers, so she wisely decided to move on before anyone asked and she had to explain that part as well. "No, a workforce I will have. However, since these are escaped slaves they are not highly educated. Slaves were normally only trained in one thing; the thing they were going to do the rest of their life. While I can have them train each other; have the former Engineering slave train the former Gardening slave, this would once again take away from my workforce since they would be training each other instead of working."
"So you want from us?" Ross prompted.
"What I would greatly appreciate from Starfleet, or the Federation, is a group of trained personnel that can train the people in their jobs, and function as supervisors," Seven explained. "That way the supervising in the Phoenix Alliance would immediately be done with the Starfleet mentality and people that are going to be supervisors themselves one day would learn and use that mentality when their turn comes. Besides these people we would also appreciate access to Federation technology. Not necessarily the equipment since that would cost you materials and time, but mainly the blueprints so that we can build the items ourselves; builds that would be supervised by those people you would be lending us."
"You are asking for a lot from us, but what do we get in return?" Ross asked.
"You mean besides the fact that you would be helping those six species create a life for themselves?" Seven countered. "You do realize that there might very well be a former slave somewhere called William Ross that right now is worrying if he will get enough food today?"
Ross didn't reply, so Seven continued. "It is interesting. When a new planet joins the Federation the Federation always spends a lot of effort to bring that planet up to Federation standards. You send thousands of people there to help. You spend tons of resources. And here we are asking for a little technological help in bring in six planets up to standard, amongst which are Sol III and Vulcan, and you ask what is in it for you? I really thought that you would jump at the change to better the life of so many people, especially since we are not asking for an unreasonable amount of help. A couple of thousand of people, and blueprints; that is all we are here to ask. Not much on a Federation scale, yet in return you say 'what do we get in return'."
Ross took a breath to speak but before he could, Seven continued. She wasn't looking for reasons or explanations, she merely wanted to remind the people around the table that she was indeed asking for far less than the Federation always gave away for free in an effort to bring planets up to a Federation standard. "But to answer your question, what you would get in return is technology. The Phoenix Alliance is by far the smallest faction in my universe, and this will never change. To compensate for that, I plan on quality instead of quantity. One of the things that will eventually set the Phoenix Alliance apart from the other factions is the high level of technology. In the beginning this will be done by introducing Starfleet and Federation technology. But once that has been established we will push on."
"In what way?" Kira asked.
"In using what you now fear," Seven replied. "I have a vast technological knowledge from the Borg, and over time this knowledge will be used to enhance the technological level in the Phoenix Alliance even more. Of course, since Starfleet and the Federation have been so helpful to us at that point, we will grand them full access to that Borg technology at the same time we will incorporate it into our society."
Seven saw more than one person sit up straight at the mentioning of Borg technology. "Besides that I will also create a Ministry of Science and Technology who will actively continue to research and develop new and existing technologies. In other words, in about twenty years the Phoenix Alliance will be vastly advanced in technology compared to the Federation, unless of course we were to share that technology with you as a way to thank you for the help Starfleet and the Federation gave us in the beginning."
"Borg technology?" Ross asked.
"Transwarp, autonomous repair, adaptive shields, and nanoprobes to name just a few," Seven pointed out.
"The Federation, which is in the end in command of Starfleet, will never agree to help unless they are assured that you would keep the promises you make about trying to use Starfleet and Federation ideals," Ross pointed out.
Seven didn't react to the fact that Ross had suddenly dropped his line of questioning about getting something in return. Clearly he thought that sharing in Borg technology covered the 'getting something' angle.
Torres on the other hand wasn't as diplomatic; she snorted and looked at Martok, who shook his head a little in an agreeing way.
"I realize that," Seven agreed. "I also realize that I have to cover the future as well as the now; I have to make sure that when there is a new Intendant after me, this Intendant also is exposed to the Starfleet ideals. As I said before, there will be three Sub-Intendants in my government; second in command only to me."
She paused for a moment before explaining, "Phoenix Alliance laws will state that at all times one of the Sub-Intendants has to be a Vulcan. This is one of the agreements I made to get the Romulan support for my faction. Besides that, I also think, as the difference between our universes shows, that a Vulcan influence is not a bad thing. Had the Humans in my universe listened to the Vulcans, as they did here, the Sol Empire would never have existed. In that same light I am willing to make it a law that a second Sub-Intendant has to be from this Universe's Starfleet. However, there will be conditions tied to that. You have to agree that you cannot ensure a better Starfleet influence than having one of the policy setters for the Phoenix Alliance be a Starfleet representative."
"What conditions?" Sisko asked.
"First there is the obvious," Seven started. "Having a law that states that one of the sub-Intendants must be a Vulcan is not much or a risk. It is the Vulcan nature that I want in a sub-Intendant. So even if their believes change overall, their nature of logic and rationality will not. This cannot be said about Starfleet. Even you must agree that you cannot guarantee that the Starfleet from two hundred years from now will be the same as the one from now. It is actually almost a certainty that it will not. Therefore the will certain conditions clearly set out that if Starfleet changes in certain ways that they will lose the right of having a Sub-Intendant be supplied by Starfleet. But to set you at ease, those conditions will be negotiated with Starfleet if we come to an agreement."
Ross nodded his head in agreement to that, so Seven continued. Another condition is that Starfleet can set up a list of candidates, but that the Intendant will be the one that selects the person that will be the Sub-Intendant. If Starfleet decides to be smart and only suggest one suitable candidate with a group that is not suited, I will decline all candidates time and again until they do suggest a suitable list of individuals. Future Intendants will have that same right."
"That already goes a long way to cover what you just said about the future," Kira pointed out. "If at some point you don't like Starfleet anymore, you simply refuse all their candidates all the time."
"True," Seven agreed. "However, that would still leave the problem that there would be no third Sub-Intendant while this is going on because candidates are being refused. Therefore there has to also be a point where the laws allow for an ending of the cooperation with Starfleet. Not as much because of you, but because of us and that Intendant behavior has to be regulated by law."
"After all, we can always get rid of you by no longer letting you into our universe," Torres pointed out with a grin. "But we need to have laws in place that cover what conditions allow for the third Sub-Intendant to no longer be from Starfleet so that the Intendant doesn't break the laws just by trying to function."
"Indeed," Seven agreed. "Lastly, I want it to be very clear, this individual might be a Starfleet representative, but as soon as they take the position of Sub-Intendant they are working for me. I will not tolerate a split loyalty. I will not tolerate Starfleet telling the Sub-Intendant which decisions to take, nor that this Sub-Intendant first has to ask for advice of the Federation with every decision they make. You might want to keep this in mind and suggest people that are capable of making decisions for themselves and that are also able to see the bigger picture and make the decisions in a way to serve that bigger picture and not just the event."
"I think we could live with that," Ross said. "On the condition that while this person isn't under our command, they still act as liaison. Just as you will have to be able to trust this person, so will we have to trust the go-between that tells us what is happening in your Universe, and,"
"And," Torres interrupted, "tells you exactly what new technologies the Phoenix Alliance is working on, right?"
"Keep the lines of communication clear in both directions," Ross corrected smoothly, but still basically saying 'yes'. "I must admit that you have a rather interesting proposition, but a lot of things have to get discussed in more detail, which will probably open up questions that haven't been asked yet."
"I realize that," Seven said. "However, the main proposal is on the table. When I go back to my Mistress' ship I will send over those files I promised, then you can have a look at them and contact the people you need to contact. I suggest that we meet again tomorrow at this time at which you can give me a basic 'yes' or 'no'. We can talk some more then if the answer is a possible 'yes'. We can use the next two days to come to an agreement. Please believe me when I say that I do not want to rush Starfleet or the Federation in to a decision. However, I am on a rather busy schedule; I literally have a society to build."
"I doubt that the Federation will make a choice on such in short timeframe," Ross pointed out.
"A basic choice," Seven corrected. "The people you need to contact will make the 'yes' or 'no' choice within minutes. Then they will think about it a little longer in the next couple of days and contact you to tell you what you need to bring up in the talks we will have. After that there will only be details which can still be addressed when I am back in my own Universe. Those details will no longer make or break the deal; it is merely defining the lines of the deal."
Ross thought about it for a moment before giving a short nod. "Alright, you'll have your basic answer."
"Thank you," Seven said. She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "There is one more thing. It has nothing to do with whether the Federation decides to help us, but with giving closure to people that have gone above and beyond the call of duty, and who have risked their lives numerous times for Starfleet."
"Go on," Ross said intrigued.
"It is the Voyager crew," Seven explained. "There are quite some unresolved issues. There are the former Maquis members. I do realize that the few Maquis that survived the Cardassian attacks were pardoned. However, there are a rather prominent number of them on Voyager, where they have been an imperative part of the crew for eight years now. Besides that, there have been field promotions, some people joined the crew, and an eight year old Human/Ktarian has been granted the position of Crewman and is now the Captain's Assistant. I would appreciate it greatly if any and all changes and promotions were made official and permanent. Besides that, I would also appreciate it if you were to give all these people an Honorable Discharge from Starfleet. I have a data crystal here."
When Seven said 'here' she reached into a small hidden pocket and took out the said crystal. She put it on the table in front of her. "On it, you find the files of all of the crew. You will find that I suggested names of people to receive one, or several, of the following medals. the Christopher Pike Medal of Valor, the Starfleet Medal of Honor, the Starfleet Decoration of Gallantry, the Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry, the Cochrane Medal of Excellence, the Prentares Ribbon of Commendation, and the Extended Tour Ribbon."
She paused for a moment to let the list of rather famous Starfleet medals sink in. "Since you are Starfleet it is up to you if you follow my suggestions; however, I would be greatly appreciative if you did. As Phoenix Alliance Intendant I could think up any decoration or medal I want. However, these would not mean much because they would not be rewards for services they provided to me since they were on Voyager then and providing these services for Starfleet. In fact, if I were to give them honors now for the work they delivered as the Voyager crew, it would only leave behind a hollow feeling. I believe that these recognitions for the Voyager crew should come from Starfleet, where these time-honored decorations would have a world of meaning for the crew. As I said; closure of their Starfleet life."
"The Extended Tour Ribbon won't be a problem," Ross assured. "After all, none of them signed up for an eight year tour of duty. Hell the Maquis never signed up at all. They were faced with the choice of joining the crew, or staying behind; not much of a choice. The others though... The Pike Medal is given out only rarely, same goes for the Cochrane Medal."
"You will find in those files that these people deserve those honors, and more," Seven assured. "Also, if you do decide to follow some, or all, of my suggestions, I would appreciate it that you would make it very clear that these are Starfleet decisions, and that they are based on the Captain's files. The Voyager crew knows that I am here to negotiate with you, I do not want them to think that I bought those honors for them."
"That part I can already assure you," Ross said immediately, understanding Seven's reasoning only too well. "As for who we would award what to... Tell you what, I'll talk it over with Captain Janeway and will give my recommendations to Starfleet headquarters after that."
"I am afraid that this will not be possible," Seven stated. "Captain Janeway died in the Line of Duty one year ago. Since that time my counterpart of the other Universe, Annika Hansen, has been the Acting Captain of Voyager; chosen to fill that position by the Senior Crew. That is one of the promotions I would like you to make permanent. I would like it if she would get an official position as Starfleet Captain, and then get that Honorable Discharge. Annika Hansen has agreed to become my Admiral Supreme; the Supreme Commander of all Armed Forces in the Phoenix Alliance, under my command, of course."
Ross nodded his head a little. One of the news an Admiral never wanted to hear was that a Starfleet Captain had died; especially not someone you knew personally. Not that he had known Janeway that well. More the kind of acquaintance you spoke to for quite some time to catch up, if you ever happen to run in to them; but still.
"As far as I know, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok was on that ship as well," He finally said.
"He is," Seven agreed. "Commander Tuvok is still the Tactical Officer and Chief of Security on Voyager."
"Alright, could I talk to him then? No offence to you, but I would really like to talk to someone I know before making any permanent decisions. While I don't know Tuvok extremely well, I do know his record and have met him several times. In fact, I was there when he gave his report on Janeway's first command as a Captain, so I know that he states the facts as they are and gives his honest opinion on them."
"I am sure that this can be arranged within minutes after we finish this conversation," Seven stated confidently. "Actually, this does bring up one more point. Of the Voyager crew there are 23 that would first like to travel to certain places in the Federation and take care of some things before making a final decision on whether they will stay in the Universe I now call home. Tuvok is one of those people; he wants to visit his wife and family on Vulcan before making any decisions. I hope that this will not be a problem, nor that it will be a problem for the others to do the same?"
"That I can assure you," Ross said confidently, "that won't be a problem at all. Having said that, if Tuvok wants to go to Vulcan first he can never be back in time before you leave again."
"I am well aware of that," Seven assured. "This will not be a problem however. The portal we created is in the same place here as it is in our Universe; relatively close to Bajor. I will leave you a communication device behind which will enable you to contact me in the other Universe, and me to contact you. When, if, those people want to come back, you can contact me and I will take care of having the portal opened and having transport waiting for them."
"Alright," Ross agreed, "in that case, if you don't mind, I would like to end this now and have a little talk with Tuvok. Ben, Kira, Dax, and Julian, I would like it if you would stay and were present during that talk. For the rest of you, I'm sure I don't have to point out the classified nature of what you just heard."
Once he got the affirming nods that he was looking for, Ross looked back at Seven. "Unless you have something else to add, should we say, until tomorrow?"
"Very well," Seven agreed.
"Oh, one more thing," Ross said, "I would like it if you take those Klingons with you; all of them. And don't bring them back here tomorrow."
"If we come back, the guards come back," Martok merely stated. "You have too many unscreened individuals on this base."
"We could simplify it and you could beam over to my ship; to the Phoenix Alliance Embassy on my ship to be precise," Torres suggested. "After all, we have already proven that we could destroy this base, or kill or kidnap anyone we'd like if we wanted to. If we haven't done so yet, there also is little chance of us suddenly doing it tomorrow if you are on the ship."
"I'll contact you tomorrow to let you know if we will have further talks, and if we do, we can see then where we will have those talks," Ross suggested.
He first wanted to have a good talk with Tuvok before deciding on whether or not he would beam over to the Klingon ship.
~~~~~~~{}~~~~~~~
Seven looked at the group of people that were ready to beam over to DS9. This was the first group; the 23 people that would move on to other places in Federation space. Later that day the others would start to beam over. Those were the rest of the Voyager crew, the ones that would only visit DS9 as shore-leave.
Seven closed her eyes for a moment. It was interesting, while she was on Voyager she only had the contact needed with some of these people to do the job. Now, now she found herself wishing that every single one of them would come back.
She sighed before starting to speak to them. "There will be some Federation representatives waiting for you on DS9. There will also be a short debriefing for all of you, but I was promised that they would restrict it to bare necessities and that it would last no longer than four hours. After that there will be a gathering for the entire Voyager crew in conference room 3 on DS9. Starfleet wants to say a few words and after that your status in Starfleet will be updated."
Seven gave them a small smile before adding, "There have been rooms reserved for you on the station in case the farewell party lasts too long."
Then she became serious again. "Some of you have told me that they probably will come back, and some have told me that there is only a small chance that they will come back. For those that I will see for the last time now, let me say, as Seven of Nine, that though I never showed it, I appreciate working with every single one of you. I wish you only the best in your future, and might you find the Federation not to be what you expected, please know that all of you are welcome to come back to the other Universe at all times. For the ones that believe that they might be back, please take all the time you need to take care of any loose ends. Whatever your decision is, to all of you, let me simply say; be well."
Once Seven had finished talking some people came closer and waited for their turn to say a more personal goodbye to Seven, or to assure her once more that they would be back soon. It wasn't long before it was the turn of the Wildmans.
"Samantha," Seven said before looking at Naomi and adding, "Naomi Wildman." Looking back at Samantha, Seven continued, "I am glad that you two are of the group that will come back, I would otherwise miss my weekly Kadis-kot game." With this last Seven had looked at Naomi who was beaming back at her.
It had thrilled the girl to no end when she had discovered that Seven still would like to play the game with her now that Voyager was only a beaming away, even though Naomi knew only too well that Seven was a very busy person these days. A very busy and extremely important person.
"As I told you when you were still on Voyager," Samantha said, "When we started to communicate with the Federation back then, Gres and I realized that really, our marriage was over. Even if we could meet up on that day, we had gone on with our lives. That was even without guessing how long it could still take us to get back. He admitted to me then that part of his moving on was getting involved again. I contacted him when we arrived here and he told me that he and his girlfriend are still living together, and would like to get married. So we all decided to combine it all. We go there so that Gres and I can get a divorce, he invited me to the wedding, which I will indeed attend, and not in the least, Naomi here can finally meet her father in person."
Naomi shrugged. "I told mom that I don't really see the use. He might be my biological father, but I have never known him, and also aren't that anxious to get to know him. Mom thinks that it might be more important to him to meet his child than it is to me to meet my father."
"Either way," Samantha said, "That really is the only loose end I have here. Well, that and meeting my dad and brother. After that we'll be back though. Even though I'm a Xenobiologist, after having traveled for eight years I have had my fill of meeting species I can only study for a couple of days. I want something new in my life."
"Like taking the position Neelix offered you as Vice-Minister of Culture?" Seven asked.
"Right," Samantha agreed. "I mean, I know that a more obvious choice would be to go work for the Ministry of Sociology, but like I said; I want something new. In the Ministry of Culture I'll still be dealing with people, still have to study societies and species, but it's because of a different angle. I like that. It's a new thing, in which I can use my old knowledge."
"I am sure that you will excel in the position," Seven assured.
"Besides," Samantha added, "Even if it wasn't for me, I still would come back because of Naomi here. Her promotion is too good to pass up."
"Promotion?" Seven asked confused.
"You mean you don't know?" Samantha was amazed to find out that Seven knew nothing of the new position Naomi would get. She had been sure that the suggestion had come from Seven. Now it seemed that she owed Annika an apology, even if only in her own mind.
"The Captain has asked me if I would keep my position as her Assistant when she takes her new function," Naomi said excited.
"Admiral Supreme's Assistant. Congratulations Naomi Wildman," Seven said, now certainly understanding why the Wildmans would be back. That definitely was a position that was worth having. In fact, it was a position worth having until the day Naomi would retire from working.
Seven looked back at Samantha before assuring, "I did not know this. I only appoint the people that work for me, they in turn appoint the people that work for them. The reason why I know that you would go work for Neelix was because he contacted me first to ask if I did not need you for another position."
Seven gave Samantha a small smile before adding, "I told him that even though he was taking away a valued candidate for one of the positions I have to fill under the Minister level, I certainly could not fault him for wanting such a skilled person as you to work for him."
Looking back at Naomi, Seven added, "I hope that your new position will not keep you from attending our weekly Kadis-kot game."
"Nope," Naomi assured. "I told the Captain that we had our game once a week, and, well, she really is you, you know? She even has your humor. She told me that; far be it from her to keep her Assistant from performing such an important task."
"You have no idea how right she is," Torres spoke up. "Keeping Intendants happy and entertained is a very important task; never underestimate it, kid."
Naomi looked at Torres, knowing the woman a little now since she was always present when Naomi met Seven. Seeing the grin, Naomi grinned back and nodded her head.
"In that case," Naomi said, still grinning, "Seeing that you are an Intendant as well, is that the reason why you invited me to play chess with you the last time, after Seven and I were done playing Kadis-kot?"
"No, that's simply because I can at least still beat you at the damn game," Torres replied, none, not even Seven, knowing exactly if, and how, true that statement was.
"Then I guess it is up to me to teach her the game a little better," Seven offered.
"Don't you fucking dare," Torres said with a growl.
"I think it's time for us to leave now, Samantha said amused. "She is starting to use foul language with a kid around."
"Oh, mom," Naomi said. "That's nothing; you should hear her at the moment she actually loses the game of chess to Seven."
~~~~~~~{}~~~~~~~