“Beginnings, part I”
Stardate
72009.3; January 04, 2395
Episode 01
Written by Chris
Adamek
Prologue
Beyond the farthest stars, in
a time when no one knew of the Federation, when Romulans and Vulcans
stood united under one flag, when the Klingons were only a myth, the most epic
war in the history of the galaxy raged on.
In a time when Cardassia and Bajor were too far apart to know each other,
and Founders still roamed the stars, two powerful races battled for dominance
over the vast reaches of space. Two
towering giants in a sea of infant races, they were the first to emerge into
space, the first to develop vast stellar empires, and the first to meet a
violent, bloody end…
The Iconians boasted powerful fleets of
destroyers and advanced interdimensional
technologies. They would seek out their
nemeses and plunder them to the ground in a sea of fire. No one would dare to stand in their way…
But the Elorg dared. Their cunning intellect and swarms of massive
warships, in addition to fear of the Iconian’s
increasingly powerful technologies, allowed them to fight the Iconians on an
even battlefield. But when push came to
shove, the Iconians always seemed to have the upper hand.
The Iconians would vanquish entire Elorg populations with interdimensional technology, eradicate entire Elorg fleet
and raid civilian colonies. But the
Elorg fought back, and in their greatest act of treachery, mounted a force of
countless thousands of vessels. The
force shattered Iconian defense perimeter and wreaked havoc on the Iconian
homeworld. Iconia
was dead…
With their home destroyed at the hands of their greatest enemy
grew angry. The demons of air and darkness showed no mercy, spared no lives,
and vowed to eradicate every last Elorg colony.
And they did. With their
most advanced destroyers, the Iconians used their interdimensional
technology to vanquish the entire Elorg population into the deepest, darkest
regions of a massive subspace pocket, forever condemned to a desolate existence
without contact with any alien races…
But nothing lasts forever…
The Alteran Expanse was devoid of any interest to the
Federation. After the Romulan War, the
Federation willingly relinquished vast amounts of it to the Romulan
Empire. It did not contain any useful
gasses or strategic value, nor was it of any particular beauty. It was simply a massive, haunting nebula
inhabiting over half of the Kilka Sector.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
While relations with the Romulans have eased, and the Federation
once more controls the Expanse, the Kilka Sector offers little even in the way
of tourism. The Gildebron
System is nothing but an arid desert.
The Breat System houses ancient mining
colonies and pacifist races. Only the
Ka’Tula System, located at the edge of the Kilka Sector, is of any interest.
But as the Federation celebrates the dawn of a New Year, all that
is about to change…
Deep within the haunting violet expanse, for the first time in
centuries, a disturbance brought excitement to the nearby molecules. They danced about happily as great tendrils
of white energy reached out of subspace and pushed the expanse aside. As the dark omen expanded, the molecules were
thrust away, and then called back as the swirling nether expanded…
As they danced around the growing vortex, the tiny molecules had
no way of knowing they were christening the gates of hell…