2412—Stardate 89142.1
General Seven of Nine of the Fenris Rangers stood at the viewport of her new office aboard Aegis Station, which hung in quiet orbit over the planet Fenris. Below her stretched the expanse of a small fleet, not the sleek dreadnoughts of Starfleet or the disciplined phalanxes of the Romulan Free State, but a ragged collection of retrofitted raider-class vessels. Each one had been salvaged, refitted, and repurposed by the Rangers into ships of aid, support, and defense. These were vessels born of necessity and operated by hope.
They were called many things, vigilantes by some, heroes by others, and nuisance by more than a few. Yet for nearly twenty-five years, this loosely organized force had been the only line of defense for the scattered settlements and fragile space lanes that threaded through the remains of what had once been the Romulan Neutral Zone. With the collapse of the Romulan Star Empire and the Federation’s steady withdrawal, this region had been left to drift into lawlessness, with only the Rangers to lend stability to the region.
Seven had been here before. She had found purpose among the Rangers once, hunting slavers, raiders, and syndicates who preyed on the weak. Then Starfleet called her back.
Her actions in the Ghullion Prime crisis, helping to save the Synth population from Romulan annihilation, had caught the attention of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and he had urged her to return. Admiral Kathryn Janeway followed, her encouragement no less insistent or no less persuasive. Seven had never truly been able to say no to either of them, even when she pretended she could. So, she finally donned to the uniform. In time, she rose to command the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-G, and for seven years she and her crew carried on that hallowed legacy, seeking out new life, and new civilizations.
She had believed it was the right decision. Yet, underneath that belief, she quietly doubted whether rejoining Starfleet was her way of running away. Running from the memory of Icheb, from the betrayal of Bjayzl, and from the frontier where people still suffered without aid.
Then Raffi died.
Not in battle or sacrifice. In a stupid, senseless accident. No epic cause or noble end. Just one more casualty in a universe that didn’t care how much you'd already lost.
Seven resigned her commission shortly after. Without Raffi, there was no anchor. No gravity. She wandered, trying to find her new place. She drifted from system to system until she found herself, once again, in Fenris space. The Rangers welcomed her without question. They recognized the years of experience, and the wisdom earned and they could desperately use someone of her knowledge and experience. She was offered the highest rank in their structure, General, shared with only three others. The Rangers had grown in her absence and had bases on multiple worlds that had requested their help or assistance and their presence had given the locals a sense of safety and security and they grew beyond the “vigilante” label that they picked up in the early days of the organization.
The buzzer to her office door sounded, interrupting her thoughts.
“Come in,” she said.
The door slid open, and in stepped a familiar figure: Elnor. The first full-blooded Romulan in Starfleet and an old friend. And now, it seemed, a Ranger.
“Elnor!” she said, smiling with genuine warmth as she embraced him. She glanced at his uniform. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I’m with the Rangers now,” he replied, as if it were obvious. “I heard you had returned, and I came to welcome you. Was the uniform not indication enough?”
Seven smiled again, faintly. Same old Elnor. His way of "Absolute Candor" had a way of cutting through pretense, jarring, but often exactly what the moment needed.
“No, I mean what happened with Starfleet? Last I knew, you were rising fast.”
“This sector is my home,” he said simply. “I thought I could protect it from within Starfleet. But all I did was watch them abandon it again and again. I said nothing. I did nothing. I could no longer tolerate that behavior from myself. It was not absolute candor.”
His tone softened. “I heard. About Raffi. I’m… very sorry, Seven.”
“Thank you,” she said, quietly. A pause stretched between them. “She didn’t die for anything noble. It wasn’t a cause or a mission. Just one of those stupid, random things that sucks. Nothing anyone could do about it.”
She turned to face him. “Except… move on.”
“She was kind to me,” Elnor said. “Not always gentle, but kind.” His voice faltered. “I never told her that I loved her like a mother. I think she knew.”
“She did,” Seven said. “And you just did. So… maybe that’s enough.”
Elnor nodded, then added, “I joined Starfleet because I thought I could do more good from inside it. But there’s no room in that structure for lost causes and I was raised to serve them. Starfleet was not a lost cause, but this place is."
Seven nodded, the weight of his words settling over her like a memory. Wasn’t he sixteen just a few weeks ago?
“Then I guess you came to the right place.”
They stood together in comfortable silence for a moment.
“You seem… different,” Elnor said at last.
“I feel the same,” Seven replied. “Just tired of waiting for someone else to do the hard thing.”
“Then let’s do it together.”
Before the moment could settle, her comm activated.
“Seven here,” she said.
“General,” came the voice on the other end. “We’re receiving a distress signal from Thalorin V.”
Seven’s expression sharpened. Thalorin V, a fertile world near the former Neutral Zone, home to a small self-sufficient colony of agrarian settlers, population 240, who had deliberately turned away from outside authority, particularly the Federation. The Rangers were aware of them and checked in on them from time to time but largely left them alone at their own request. For them to be calling for help...
“What are the details?” Seven asked.
"They report that a Starfleet and Romulan vessel are facing off in orbit."
She and Elnor exchanged a glance. No words were needed.
Well, things haven’t slowed down in these parts in the slightest, Seven thought, Why should my first day back be any different?
“Prepare a flotilla of response vessels,” she said. “I’ll be taking command of the mission.”
She turned to Elnor with a wry smile. “Elnor, you’re with me.”
Elnor smiled in return, “Yes, General.”
*
“They were talking right over us,” said Cassia Malan, speaking on behalf of the colonists of Thalorin V. “It’s like we’re not even here.”
“Run me through everything that happened.” replied Seven from her small office aboard the Fenris command raider, Revenant.
Cassia Malan had once been a proud citizen of the Federation and believer in its ideals until the day that Federation diplomats acquiesced to a minor alteration in a treaty between the Federation and the Gorn Hegemony had placed their system a half a light year inside Gorn space, forcing her family to hastily abandon their home of generations. Then came word of a similar situation transpiring on the Cardassian border and Malan came to the conclusion that the Federation’s ideals only meant anything when it was convenient to the Federation. Most of the residents of the small community had stories with similar sentiments and they had journeyed here together to govern themselves without Federation oversight, neglect, or paternalism.
“When we detected a Federation starship in orbit, we didn’t know what to make of it,” began Cassia, “When we contacted them, they seemed surprised that we were here. We were then told, not asked, but told,” Cassia’s voice began to raise, “That the Federation was establishing a dilithium mining operation on the other side of the planet.”
Dilithium? thought Seven, That’s not on any of the survey records.
Cassia continued, “When we told them that they weren’t welcome here, they condescendingly told us that we would “never even know that they were there. Before we could object further, a freaking Romulan ship showed up in orbit!”
“And they wanted…?” asked Seven.
“Oh, they said that they had an ancestral claim to the planet because some of the Romulan fleet landed here for repairs for a few weeks during the exodus from Vulcan to Romulus,” Cassia said with undisguised disdain in her voice.
They’re claiming ancestral rights on a planet that they made a pit stop on two millennia ago just after dilithium was discovered on the world, thought Seven. How convenient.
“That was when the Federation ship cut us off saying that they would ‘protect’ us from the Romulans,” Cassia finished with a sigh of exasperation.
“And that’s when you called us,” Seven said.
“And that’s when we called you,” agreed Cassia.
Seven considered her options and said with determination, “Cassia, we will do everything in power to get these intruders off your doorstep.”
“Thank you, General,” said Cassia, “But please be careful. I don’t want you to come to any harm over us.”
“We’ll do our best,” Seven said, “and I want you keep your ears on everything that happens up there. Yours is the voice that nobody is listening to. Seven out.”
As the viewscreen in Seven’s tiny office went blank, Elnor’s voice came over the comm, “General, we’re arriving in the Thalorin system.”
“Acknowledged,” Seven replied, “On my way.”
When Seven arrived on the bridge, her Bajoran comms officer, Meghi Ashtai, reported, “We are coming within sensor range of the Federation and Romulan ships. Both vessels are running hot with phasers locked on each other.”
Seven nodded in acknowledgement and studied the data as it came to her PADD and her face fell. Oh. Of course it would be that ship. That captain.
“The Starfleet vessel is hailing us,” said Meghi.
Let’s get this over with, thought Seven. “Open a channel”.
The viewscreen came to life and the intense face of a Starship captain appeared on the onscreen, “Fenris flotilla, this is Captain Chakotay of the Federation Starship Voyager and I order you to withdr…” Chakotay’s voice trailed off when he recognized the face on his screen.
“Hello, Chakotay,” Seven said, “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
*
Apart from the grey hair and the Van Dyke beard, which Seven was sure must have seemed like a good idea at the time, Chakotay appeared unchanged. “Seven? What are you doing here?” Chakotay said when he finally found his voice.
“Why do people aways ask that question when the answer is obvious?” Elnor asked.
“What?” asked Meghi, overhearing his comment.
“Never mind,” said Elnor.
“So, I see that we are finally worth talking to, rather than at,” Seven said and continued, “The Fenris Rangers are here in response to a distress signal from the people of Thalorin V.” Seven said evenly, making sure Chakotay knew who she was there representing.
“I see,” said Chakotay with equal even precision, “but you can tell… your people to stand down. We can handle the Romulans from here.”
Seven took a deep breath. “You misunderstand, Captain Chakotay, the people of this world don’t want either you or the Romulans here. They called us because of you just as much as because of them.”
“They sent out a distress signal because…” started with disbelief and then switched gears. “Seven…” tried to continue.
“General Seven.” Seven corrected Chakotay.
“General Seven,” Chakotay continued without missing a beat. “I realize that there was some resistance from the settlement about our setting up a mining operating, but it will be on another continent and will use the most unobtrusive transporter mining equipment that Starfleet has to offer. No harm will come to this world or its people. Surely, you can’t believe otherwise?”
“It doesn’t matter what I believe, this isn’t Starfleet’s world to exploit.”
“Exploi—” Chakotay began incredulously. “General, this is a world without a native population in unclaimed space and the Federation has a mineralogical mining claim on record. Starfleet wasn’t aware of the colony. Your friends on the surface will not be affected in any way shape or form by the operation.”
“Fenris has been aware of the colony for a decade.” Seven responded. We have ships and communication logs to back it up. Their claim predates yours, which makes the Dilithium theirs, and they are asking you, through us, to leave.”
“That Dilithium will help a lot of people, General,” Chakotay said, “and we can’t risk it falling into Romulan hands.”
And there it is, Seven thought. “Nevertheless, the Fenris Rangers will not allow this mining operation to proceed.”
“Fenris have no official authority out here.” Chakotay said, his tone intensifying. “You're a rogue organization without a governmental body or structure.”
“What you just described sounds an awful lot like the Maquis to me.” Seven responded.
Chakotay looked as if he had been slapped, “Seven, that’s hardly fair, this is for the greater good.” Chakotay said, slightly unconvincingly, as if he were finally acknowledging something to himself.
“General Seven,” said Meghi interrupted from Comms, we are being hailed by the Romulan vessel.”
“Split screen,” replied Seven.
The screen was suddenly split between Chakotay and a female Romulan Commander. “This is Commander T’Vere of the Romulan Free State, and I demand to know what’s going on.”
“Ah, Commander T’Vere,” Seven began, “I’m happy that you’ve joined us. As I’ve just explained to Captain Chakotay here, I have been authorized by the rightful occupants of this world to invite you to leave the system.”
T’Vere snorted. “Rightful occupants?” T’Vere continued, “I beg to differ, the Romulan people have an anscestra—"
“Oh, bullshit!” said Seven, raising her voice. “A few Romulans having a stop-over on a long road trip does not constitute ‘ancestral rights. You’re here for the Dilithium and we all know it and your using this nonsense to try and do a runaround on Starfleet.”
“You dare mock our history?” T’Vere said. Many stories have been told of this place.”
“Great tales of cleaning manifolds and doing battle with ruptured coolant valves, no doubt.”
And then she addressed Chakotay, “And you! Have you been in the system for so long that you forgot why you once left that system behind?” Remembering Elnor’s words from earlier, even asked, “How can you tolerate this from yourself?”
Addressing both of the Captains on her screen, “Let’s me be blunt, both of you abandoned this region. You left its people to fend for themselves against pirates, marauders, and slavers. No one here has forgotten that. And now, the moment there’s something of value on the table, you show up as if none of that ever happened? You’re not welcome here. Neither of you. And this is you are being asked to leave.”
Chakotay seemed thoughtful while T’Vere fumed. “And who is to make us?” T’Vere finally asked darkly, “You?”
“If need be,” Seven replied coldly.
T’Vere laughed. “The impudence! Even if your vessels were any match for ours, you haven’t the authority to make such demands to me or anyone else!”
There’s that word again, thought Seven bitterly.
“Fine.” Seven said, developing a desperate strategy, “We do now. I claim this planet is under the protection of the..” Seven hesitated slightly, “Fenris Nation, by executive decree of that governing body’s Chancellor, who just happens to be me.”
“Seven, you can’t be serious.” Chakotay said, “It doesn’t work like that.”
“It does now,” Seven said, “Either withdraw, or go to war with the Fenris Nation.”
“And who, exactly is a member of this… Fenris Nation?” T’Vere said with disbelief.
“Governor Malan,” have you been listening to this? Cassia Malan didn’t have an official title among the colonists, but Chakotay and T’Vere didn’t know that and this needed to sound good.
“Uh, yes...?” Cassia replied over the comm, unsure as to where this was going.
“Hey, I’m starting a new nation.” Seven said conversationally, as if this were an everyday thing. You want to join? If you do, we’ll leave you alone and keep Starfleet and the Romulans off your back.”
“Um, sure?” Cassia said, playing along, “If you can promise that, then we will happily join your new, uh, nation.”
“There you go!” Seven said, “Our first signatory. Four hundred and forty citizens. And I can guarantee that once word of this gets out, every world with a Fenris base will sign up as well.” In fact, she could not guarantee that, but it sounded good and she was winging it. “Leave this sovereign space or be met with military action.”
“You’re bluffing.” T’Vere said.
“Try me,” Seven responded.
“Seven,” Chakotay said with a hint of a painful memory of grief and loss in his voice that only one who had known Chakotay and his story as well she had would detect, “The Maquis were all killed.”
Seven sighed. “Yup. Down in a blaze of glory fighting for what they believed in.” She looked Chakotay in the eye, “And you would have stood right there with them if could have. Why would you expect any less of me?”
“This is absurd!” T’Vere exclaimed. “Enough of this. All ships lock phasers and prepare to destroy the Fenris ‘fleet’.
“All ships,” Seven commanded to her fleet, “prepare to open fire.” Elnor was stoic and locked phasers as ordered while Meghi looked distraught but carried out her orders.
“No.”
The word was spoken with a quiet authority, but all present responded.
“No.” Chakotay repeated and after a brief pause said, “Commander T’Vere, I am hereby notifying you that under my authority as a Starfleet Captain, I am officially opening formal Federation relations with the Fenris Nation. Chancellor Seven, would you care for Starfleet’s assistance? Under your command of course.”
T’Vere was beside herself. “What? You can’t be—” composing herself she finally said, “you can’t be taking that ‘declaration’ seriously.”
“Seems as though I am,” replied Chakotay cooly. “Now, I suggest that you do what the Chancellor says. I remind you that we already have our phasers locked.”
T’Vere snarled and sputtered incoherently for a moment. “We’ll see how long this arrangement lasts”, and she then gestured to one of her officers offscreen and the Romulan vessel cloaked and retreated.
The was a moment as the weight of what just happened sunk in.
Elnor suddenly exclaimed with realization, “You two used to sleep together and left each other with unresolved matters which is making this discussion even more difficult for you both.”
Seven smirked, “Yes, Elnor.”
The casual comment stunned Chakotay and there was stifled snort of laughter form offscreen on Voyager. Chakotay looked to side with a stern glare. “Sorry, Captain,” came a young male voice.
But the moment broke the tension and he said to Seven with a smile, “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into with this.”
“Not a clue,” Seven said, “But I’ll make it work. I have to.”
“I know that you will, Seven.” Chakotay said warmly. “You accomplish everything that ever set out to do. It’s one of the things that I… admired about you.”
“Thank you, Chakotay,” Seven said with a warm smile.
“Only you could bring a sovereign state into existence through sheer willpower," Chakotay said, "And I’ll smooth this out with President Janeway.” Chakotay assured Seven.
“I know you will,” Seven replied. It’s nice to have friends in high places, she thought to herself.
“Until next time… Chancellor.” Chakotay said.
“Until then.” Seven said and closed the channel.
Seven took a deep breath and noticed Elnor and Meghi staring at her with undisguised awe.
“Hell of a first day, wouldn’t you say?”
*
The events of the next two weeks occurred in a rapid-fire manner. Word of Seven’s dramatic showdown with Starfleet and the Romulans spread like wildfire throughout the region and quickly grew to legendary status. As Seven had hoped, most of the worlds that had a Fenris presence agreed to join the new nation, and those that didn’t agreed to allow the pre-established Fenris base to serve as an official Embassy. Beyond that, several worlds reached out asking for membership. Most surprisingly was a collation of former smugglers and pirates under the leadership of Tellarite Mags Quarn who had hoped to transition to legitimate business.
Other worlds just wanted to be left alone and politely declined the offer to join the new coalition and the Nation respected their choice. Freecloud opted to remain a free port, open to all. Others resisted the idea. Some worlds even reached out to the Federation, petitioning membership and the newly established Fenris Nation guaranteed safe passage for Starfleet vessels travelling to those worlds. Several worlds became strongholds for pirate activity and began actively raiding space lanes and both civilian and Fenris vessels. Most disturbingly, was word of someone working behind the scenes and consolidating the pirates into a unified force. Intelligence reports only named this individual “The Shroud”.
The constitution wasn’t elegant, but it was enough. Hastily written, fiercely debated, and signed by worlds that had been forgotten for too long. They called it the Fenris Compact for Mutual Protection and Trade. And by unanimous vote, they made Seven of Nine their Chancellor—ready or not.
President Janeway had informed Seven that the Federation Diplomatic Corps was extremely skeptical that the nascent Fenris Nation would last out the year, but that they were dispatching one of their best to establish a Federation embassy and initiate formal relations.
Wonderful… Seven thought to herself upon hearing the news.
“Incoming transmission,” Elnor announced. “Federation diplomatic frequency.”
“That didn’t take long,” Seven said.
Elnor replied with a wry tone, “The only time the Federation bureaucracy moves quickly is when they think they’ve lost control.”
The screen came to life, revealing an elegant Vulcan woman, composed and poised, dressed in diplomatic robes cut a little sharper than tradition dictated.
“I am T’Nari of Vulcan,” she said with an elegant accent. “Federation liaison to the emerging Fenris Nation. I request permission to come aboard and initiate formal contact.”
Their eyes met, and for a moment, there was a flicker. A pause, short but charged.
“Do they always send their best-dressed skeptics first?” Seven asked, dryly.
The Vulcan woman raised an eyebrow. “Starfleet found my credentials... suitable,” T’Nari replied, cool and nonplussed.
The silence lingered, not uncomfortable, but deliberate. Recognition of something mutual.
“I’ll meet you in the shuttle bay,” Seven said.
“Logical,” T’Nari replied. The transmission ended.
“You’re intrigued,” Elnor said, arching an eyebrow.
Was it that obvious, Seven thought to herself, but merely waved Elnor off with a dismissive, “Pfft. She’s Vulcan.”
“That’s not a denial,” Elnor called after her.
“You’re right. It wasn’t,” Seven replied, and smiled just a little as she made her way to the shuttle bay.
General Seven of Nine of the Fenris Rangers stood at the viewport of her new office aboard Aegis Station, which hung in quiet orbit over the planet Fenris. Below her stretched the expanse of a small fleet, not the sleek dreadnoughts of Starfleet or the disciplined phalanxes of the Romulan Free State, but a ragged collection of retrofitted raider-class vessels. Each one had been salvaged, refitted, and repurposed by the Rangers into ships of aid, support, and defense. These were vessels born of necessity and operated by hope.
They were called many things, vigilantes by some, heroes by others, and nuisance by more than a few. Yet for nearly twenty-five years, this loosely organized force had been the only line of defense for the scattered settlements and fragile space lanes that threaded through the remains of what had once been the Romulan Neutral Zone. With the collapse of the Romulan Star Empire and the Federation’s steady withdrawal, this region had been left to drift into lawlessness, with only the Rangers to lend stability to the region.
Seven had been here before. She had found purpose among the Rangers once, hunting slavers, raiders, and syndicates who preyed on the weak. Then Starfleet called her back.
Her actions in the Ghullion Prime crisis, helping to save the Synth population from Romulan annihilation, had caught the attention of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and he had urged her to return. Admiral Kathryn Janeway followed, her encouragement no less insistent or no less persuasive. Seven had never truly been able to say no to either of them, even when she pretended she could. So, she finally donned to the uniform. In time, she rose to command the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-G, and for seven years she and her crew carried on that hallowed legacy, seeking out new life, and new civilizations.
She had believed it was the right decision. Yet, underneath that belief, she quietly doubted whether rejoining Starfleet was her way of running away. Running from the memory of Icheb, from the betrayal of Bjayzl, and from the frontier where people still suffered without aid.
Then Raffi died.
Not in battle or sacrifice. In a stupid, senseless accident. No epic cause or noble end. Just one more casualty in a universe that didn’t care how much you'd already lost.
Seven resigned her commission shortly after. Without Raffi, there was no anchor. No gravity. She wandered, trying to find her new place. She drifted from system to system until she found herself, once again, in Fenris space. The Rangers welcomed her without question. They recognized the years of experience, and the wisdom earned and they could desperately use someone of her knowledge and experience. She was offered the highest rank in their structure, General, shared with only three others. The Rangers had grown in her absence and had bases on multiple worlds that had requested their help or assistance and their presence had given the locals a sense of safety and security and they grew beyond the “vigilante” label that they picked up in the early days of the organization.
The buzzer to her office door sounded, interrupting her thoughts.
“Come in,” she said.
The door slid open, and in stepped a familiar figure: Elnor. The first full-blooded Romulan in Starfleet and an old friend. And now, it seemed, a Ranger.
“Elnor!” she said, smiling with genuine warmth as she embraced him. She glanced at his uniform. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I’m with the Rangers now,” he replied, as if it were obvious. “I heard you had returned, and I came to welcome you. Was the uniform not indication enough?”
Seven smiled again, faintly. Same old Elnor. His way of "Absolute Candor" had a way of cutting through pretense, jarring, but often exactly what the moment needed.
“No, I mean what happened with Starfleet? Last I knew, you were rising fast.”
“This sector is my home,” he said simply. “I thought I could protect it from within Starfleet. But all I did was watch them abandon it again and again. I said nothing. I did nothing. I could no longer tolerate that behavior from myself. It was not absolute candor.”
His tone softened. “I heard. About Raffi. I’m… very sorry, Seven.”
“Thank you,” she said, quietly. A pause stretched between them. “She didn’t die for anything noble. It wasn’t a cause or a mission. Just one of those stupid, random things that sucks. Nothing anyone could do about it.”
She turned to face him. “Except… move on.”
“She was kind to me,” Elnor said. “Not always gentle, but kind.” His voice faltered. “I never told her that I loved her like a mother. I think she knew.”
“She did,” Seven said. “And you just did. So… maybe that’s enough.”
Elnor nodded, then added, “I joined Starfleet because I thought I could do more good from inside it. But there’s no room in that structure for lost causes and I was raised to serve them. Starfleet was not a lost cause, but this place is."
Seven nodded, the weight of his words settling over her like a memory. Wasn’t he sixteen just a few weeks ago?
“Then I guess you came to the right place.”
They stood together in comfortable silence for a moment.
“You seem… different,” Elnor said at last.
“I feel the same,” Seven replied. “Just tired of waiting for someone else to do the hard thing.”
“Then let’s do it together.”
Before the moment could settle, her comm activated.
“Seven here,” she said.
“General,” came the voice on the other end. “We’re receiving a distress signal from Thalorin V.”
Seven’s expression sharpened. Thalorin V, a fertile world near the former Neutral Zone, home to a small self-sufficient colony of agrarian settlers, population 240, who had deliberately turned away from outside authority, particularly the Federation. The Rangers were aware of them and checked in on them from time to time but largely left them alone at their own request. For them to be calling for help...
“What are the details?” Seven asked.
"They report that a Starfleet and Romulan vessel are facing off in orbit."
She and Elnor exchanged a glance. No words were needed.
Well, things haven’t slowed down in these parts in the slightest, Seven thought, Why should my first day back be any different?
“Prepare a flotilla of response vessels,” she said. “I’ll be taking command of the mission.”
She turned to Elnor with a wry smile. “Elnor, you’re with me.”
Elnor smiled in return, “Yes, General.”
*
“They were talking right over us,” said Cassia Malan, speaking on behalf of the colonists of Thalorin V. “It’s like we’re not even here.”
“Run me through everything that happened.” replied Seven from her small office aboard the Fenris command raider, Revenant.
Cassia Malan had once been a proud citizen of the Federation and believer in its ideals until the day that Federation diplomats acquiesced to a minor alteration in a treaty between the Federation and the Gorn Hegemony had placed their system a half a light year inside Gorn space, forcing her family to hastily abandon their home of generations. Then came word of a similar situation transpiring on the Cardassian border and Malan came to the conclusion that the Federation’s ideals only meant anything when it was convenient to the Federation. Most of the residents of the small community had stories with similar sentiments and they had journeyed here together to govern themselves without Federation oversight, neglect, or paternalism.
“When we detected a Federation starship in orbit, we didn’t know what to make of it,” began Cassia, “When we contacted them, they seemed surprised that we were here. We were then told, not asked, but told,” Cassia’s voice began to raise, “That the Federation was establishing a dilithium mining operation on the other side of the planet.”
Dilithium? thought Seven, That’s not on any of the survey records.
Cassia continued, “When we told them that they weren’t welcome here, they condescendingly told us that we would “never even know that they were there. Before we could object further, a freaking Romulan ship showed up in orbit!”
“And they wanted…?” asked Seven.
“Oh, they said that they had an ancestral claim to the planet because some of the Romulan fleet landed here for repairs for a few weeks during the exodus from Vulcan to Romulus,” Cassia said with undisguised disdain in her voice.
They’re claiming ancestral rights on a planet that they made a pit stop on two millennia ago just after dilithium was discovered on the world, thought Seven. How convenient.
“That was when the Federation ship cut us off saying that they would ‘protect’ us from the Romulans,” Cassia finished with a sigh of exasperation.
“And that’s when you called us,” Seven said.
“And that’s when we called you,” agreed Cassia.
Seven considered her options and said with determination, “Cassia, we will do everything in power to get these intruders off your doorstep.”
“Thank you, General,” said Cassia, “But please be careful. I don’t want you to come to any harm over us.”
“We’ll do our best,” Seven said, “and I want you keep your ears on everything that happens up there. Yours is the voice that nobody is listening to. Seven out.”
As the viewscreen in Seven’s tiny office went blank, Elnor’s voice came over the comm, “General, we’re arriving in the Thalorin system.”
“Acknowledged,” Seven replied, “On my way.”
When Seven arrived on the bridge, her Bajoran comms officer, Meghi Ashtai, reported, “We are coming within sensor range of the Federation and Romulan ships. Both vessels are running hot with phasers locked on each other.”
Seven nodded in acknowledgement and studied the data as it came to her PADD and her face fell. Oh. Of course it would be that ship. That captain.
“The Starfleet vessel is hailing us,” said Meghi.
Let’s get this over with, thought Seven. “Open a channel”.
The viewscreen came to life and the intense face of a Starship captain appeared on the onscreen, “Fenris flotilla, this is Captain Chakotay of the Federation Starship Voyager and I order you to withdr…” Chakotay’s voice trailed off when he recognized the face on his screen.
“Hello, Chakotay,” Seven said, “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
*
Apart from the grey hair and the Van Dyke beard, which Seven was sure must have seemed like a good idea at the time, Chakotay appeared unchanged. “Seven? What are you doing here?” Chakotay said when he finally found his voice.
“Why do people aways ask that question when the answer is obvious?” Elnor asked.
“What?” asked Meghi, overhearing his comment.
“Never mind,” said Elnor.
“So, I see that we are finally worth talking to, rather than at,” Seven said and continued, “The Fenris Rangers are here in response to a distress signal from the people of Thalorin V.” Seven said evenly, making sure Chakotay knew who she was there representing.
“I see,” said Chakotay with equal even precision, “but you can tell… your people to stand down. We can handle the Romulans from here.”
Seven took a deep breath. “You misunderstand, Captain Chakotay, the people of this world don’t want either you or the Romulans here. They called us because of you just as much as because of them.”
“They sent out a distress signal because…” started with disbelief and then switched gears. “Seven…” tried to continue.
“General Seven.” Seven corrected Chakotay.
“General Seven,” Chakotay continued without missing a beat. “I realize that there was some resistance from the settlement about our setting up a mining operating, but it will be on another continent and will use the most unobtrusive transporter mining equipment that Starfleet has to offer. No harm will come to this world or its people. Surely, you can’t believe otherwise?”
“It doesn’t matter what I believe, this isn’t Starfleet’s world to exploit.”
“Exploi—” Chakotay began incredulously. “General, this is a world without a native population in unclaimed space and the Federation has a mineralogical mining claim on record. Starfleet wasn’t aware of the colony. Your friends on the surface will not be affected in any way shape or form by the operation.”
“Fenris has been aware of the colony for a decade.” Seven responded. We have ships and communication logs to back it up. Their claim predates yours, which makes the Dilithium theirs, and they are asking you, through us, to leave.”
“That Dilithium will help a lot of people, General,” Chakotay said, “and we can’t risk it falling into Romulan hands.”
And there it is, Seven thought. “Nevertheless, the Fenris Rangers will not allow this mining operation to proceed.”
“Fenris have no official authority out here.” Chakotay said, his tone intensifying. “You're a rogue organization without a governmental body or structure.”
“What you just described sounds an awful lot like the Maquis to me.” Seven responded.
Chakotay looked as if he had been slapped, “Seven, that’s hardly fair, this is for the greater good.” Chakotay said, slightly unconvincingly, as if he were finally acknowledging something to himself.
“General Seven,” said Meghi interrupted from Comms, we are being hailed by the Romulan vessel.”
“Split screen,” replied Seven.
The screen was suddenly split between Chakotay and a female Romulan Commander. “This is Commander T’Vere of the Romulan Free State, and I demand to know what’s going on.”
“Ah, Commander T’Vere,” Seven began, “I’m happy that you’ve joined us. As I’ve just explained to Captain Chakotay here, I have been authorized by the rightful occupants of this world to invite you to leave the system.”
T’Vere snorted. “Rightful occupants?” T’Vere continued, “I beg to differ, the Romulan people have an anscestra—"
“Oh, bullshit!” said Seven, raising her voice. “A few Romulans having a stop-over on a long road trip does not constitute ‘ancestral rights. You’re here for the Dilithium and we all know it and your using this nonsense to try and do a runaround on Starfleet.”
“You dare mock our history?” T’Vere said. Many stories have been told of this place.”
“Great tales of cleaning manifolds and doing battle with ruptured coolant valves, no doubt.”
And then she addressed Chakotay, “And you! Have you been in the system for so long that you forgot why you once left that system behind?” Remembering Elnor’s words from earlier, even asked, “How can you tolerate this from yourself?”
Addressing both of the Captains on her screen, “Let’s me be blunt, both of you abandoned this region. You left its people to fend for themselves against pirates, marauders, and slavers. No one here has forgotten that. And now, the moment there’s something of value on the table, you show up as if none of that ever happened? You’re not welcome here. Neither of you. And this is you are being asked to leave.”
Chakotay seemed thoughtful while T’Vere fumed. “And who is to make us?” T’Vere finally asked darkly, “You?”
“If need be,” Seven replied coldly.
T’Vere laughed. “The impudence! Even if your vessels were any match for ours, you haven’t the authority to make such demands to me or anyone else!”
There’s that word again, thought Seven bitterly.
“Fine.” Seven said, developing a desperate strategy, “We do now. I claim this planet is under the protection of the..” Seven hesitated slightly, “Fenris Nation, by executive decree of that governing body’s Chancellor, who just happens to be me.”
“Seven, you can’t be serious.” Chakotay said, “It doesn’t work like that.”
“It does now,” Seven said, “Either withdraw, or go to war with the Fenris Nation.”
“And who, exactly is a member of this… Fenris Nation?” T’Vere said with disbelief.
“Governor Malan,” have you been listening to this? Cassia Malan didn’t have an official title among the colonists, but Chakotay and T’Vere didn’t know that and this needed to sound good.
“Uh, yes...?” Cassia replied over the comm, unsure as to where this was going.
“Hey, I’m starting a new nation.” Seven said conversationally, as if this were an everyday thing. You want to join? If you do, we’ll leave you alone and keep Starfleet and the Romulans off your back.”
“Um, sure?” Cassia said, playing along, “If you can promise that, then we will happily join your new, uh, nation.”
“There you go!” Seven said, “Our first signatory. Four hundred and forty citizens. And I can guarantee that once word of this gets out, every world with a Fenris base will sign up as well.” In fact, she could not guarantee that, but it sounded good and she was winging it. “Leave this sovereign space or be met with military action.”
“You’re bluffing.” T’Vere said.
“Try me,” Seven responded.
“Seven,” Chakotay said with a hint of a painful memory of grief and loss in his voice that only one who had known Chakotay and his story as well she had would detect, “The Maquis were all killed.”
Seven sighed. “Yup. Down in a blaze of glory fighting for what they believed in.” She looked Chakotay in the eye, “And you would have stood right there with them if could have. Why would you expect any less of me?”
“This is absurd!” T’Vere exclaimed. “Enough of this. All ships lock phasers and prepare to destroy the Fenris ‘fleet’.
“All ships,” Seven commanded to her fleet, “prepare to open fire.” Elnor was stoic and locked phasers as ordered while Meghi looked distraught but carried out her orders.
“No.”
The word was spoken with a quiet authority, but all present responded.
“No.” Chakotay repeated and after a brief pause said, “Commander T’Vere, I am hereby notifying you that under my authority as a Starfleet Captain, I am officially opening formal Federation relations with the Fenris Nation. Chancellor Seven, would you care for Starfleet’s assistance? Under your command of course.”
T’Vere was beside herself. “What? You can’t be—” composing herself she finally said, “you can’t be taking that ‘declaration’ seriously.”
“Seems as though I am,” replied Chakotay cooly. “Now, I suggest that you do what the Chancellor says. I remind you that we already have our phasers locked.”
T’Vere snarled and sputtered incoherently for a moment. “We’ll see how long this arrangement lasts”, and she then gestured to one of her officers offscreen and the Romulan vessel cloaked and retreated.
The was a moment as the weight of what just happened sunk in.
Elnor suddenly exclaimed with realization, “You two used to sleep together and left each other with unresolved matters which is making this discussion even more difficult for you both.”
Seven smirked, “Yes, Elnor.”
The casual comment stunned Chakotay and there was stifled snort of laughter form offscreen on Voyager. Chakotay looked to side with a stern glare. “Sorry, Captain,” came a young male voice.
But the moment broke the tension and he said to Seven with a smile, “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into with this.”
“Not a clue,” Seven said, “But I’ll make it work. I have to.”
“I know that you will, Seven.” Chakotay said warmly. “You accomplish everything that ever set out to do. It’s one of the things that I… admired about you.”
“Thank you, Chakotay,” Seven said with a warm smile.
“Only you could bring a sovereign state into existence through sheer willpower," Chakotay said, "And I’ll smooth this out with President Janeway.” Chakotay assured Seven.
“I know you will,” Seven replied. It’s nice to have friends in high places, she thought to herself.
“Until next time… Chancellor.” Chakotay said.
“Until then.” Seven said and closed the channel.
Seven took a deep breath and noticed Elnor and Meghi staring at her with undisguised awe.
“Hell of a first day, wouldn’t you say?”
*
The events of the next two weeks occurred in a rapid-fire manner. Word of Seven’s dramatic showdown with Starfleet and the Romulans spread like wildfire throughout the region and quickly grew to legendary status. As Seven had hoped, most of the worlds that had a Fenris presence agreed to join the new nation, and those that didn’t agreed to allow the pre-established Fenris base to serve as an official Embassy. Beyond that, several worlds reached out asking for membership. Most surprisingly was a collation of former smugglers and pirates under the leadership of Tellarite Mags Quarn who had hoped to transition to legitimate business.
Other worlds just wanted to be left alone and politely declined the offer to join the new coalition and the Nation respected their choice. Freecloud opted to remain a free port, open to all. Others resisted the idea. Some worlds even reached out to the Federation, petitioning membership and the newly established Fenris Nation guaranteed safe passage for Starfleet vessels travelling to those worlds. Several worlds became strongholds for pirate activity and began actively raiding space lanes and both civilian and Fenris vessels. Most disturbingly, was word of someone working behind the scenes and consolidating the pirates into a unified force. Intelligence reports only named this individual “The Shroud”.
The constitution wasn’t elegant, but it was enough. Hastily written, fiercely debated, and signed by worlds that had been forgotten for too long. They called it the Fenris Compact for Mutual Protection and Trade. And by unanimous vote, they made Seven of Nine their Chancellor—ready or not.
President Janeway had informed Seven that the Federation Diplomatic Corps was extremely skeptical that the nascent Fenris Nation would last out the year, but that they were dispatching one of their best to establish a Federation embassy and initiate formal relations.
Wonderful… Seven thought to herself upon hearing the news.
“Incoming transmission,” Elnor announced. “Federation diplomatic frequency.”
“That didn’t take long,” Seven said.
Elnor replied with a wry tone, “The only time the Federation bureaucracy moves quickly is when they think they’ve lost control.”
The screen came to life, revealing an elegant Vulcan woman, composed and poised, dressed in diplomatic robes cut a little sharper than tradition dictated.
“I am T’Nari of Vulcan,” she said with an elegant accent. “Federation liaison to the emerging Fenris Nation. I request permission to come aboard and initiate formal contact.”
Their eyes met, and for a moment, there was a flicker. A pause, short but charged.
“Do they always send their best-dressed skeptics first?” Seven asked, dryly.
The Vulcan woman raised an eyebrow. “Starfleet found my credentials... suitable,” T’Nari replied, cool and nonplussed.
The silence lingered, not uncomfortable, but deliberate. Recognition of something mutual.
“I’ll meet you in the shuttle bay,” Seven said.
“Logical,” T’Nari replied. The transmission ended.
“You’re intrigued,” Elnor said, arching an eyebrow.
Was it that obvious, Seven thought to herself, but merely waved Elnor off with a dismissive, “Pfft. She’s Vulcan.”
“That’s not a denial,” Elnor called after her.
“You’re right. It wasn’t,” Seven replied, and smiled just a little as she made her way to the shuttle bay.
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