End of Line...

[Dominus]

Memory Alpha --

Dominus stood on the bridge of his flagship as he slowly approached the long revered as the ultimate repository of knowledge in the old Federation. He only needed a portion of it's archives for his needs, the rest was worthless to him. He stroked his dark beard as he watched the feed from the cloaked spy drones. A quarter million archivists would perish today with a million other support staff... it would be quite a shocking loss, since he made no chatter about striking Memory Alpha.

"Ophelia... since you did so well with Monastery..." Dominus said as he gestured to her. "Do you want to give the order to commence the strike?"

"I would be honored father, but I think you should." Ophelia bowed slightly. "After all, I am not getting mother mad at me for destroying another world." she laughed and put her hands on her hips. "Besides, the universe needs to fear you."

"You are absolutely right my daughter." Dominus said as he touched the command input on the console in front of him. "All forces, commence assault, take the cores we need... destroy the rest. Leave nothing unmolested."

It was an attack from nowhere, suddenly his flagship appeared, lancing out with phaser blasts, torpedoes and a number of planet killing plasma blasts. The assault was sudden, brutal and targeted. The cores they wished to keep they beamed onto the ship, the rest... were destroyed with transported in high explosives that were detonated with phaser blasts increasing their destructive yield. Archivists who had called Memory Alpha home now called it their final resting place, for all of a few moments before the ground itself was pulverized. The planet killing weapons cracked it to it's very core, which Dominus' flagship extracted. Ten minutes later there was nothing left but debris after he detonated its nearest star that caused the entire system to be wiped out in a violent explosion of energy.

- - Later

Dominus' face appeared on screens across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. He had direct access to nearly every communication network thanks to the cores he stole.

"Sentient beings... I am your God now. As it is written... the end times are upon you. Your history is being wiped away. Memory Alpha is no more. What I did to that planet I can do anywhere. Live in fear." Dominus said as he leaned into the camera. "You cannot stop me, we are legion."

[Bellatrix]

"Legion?" Bellatrix asked with an amused expression on her face. She was lounging sideways across a seat with her crossed legs dangling over the right arm reast. In her hand was a nail file which she absently used to shape and clean her nails.

"It sounds demonic," she quipped as she extended her left hand, fingers splayed and a critical gaze. She turned her head to look at Dominus with a mocking pout, "Oh honey, we aren't demons. This is natural selection and we are the fittest."

[Dominus]

"Indeed we are." Dominus said as he walked over to her and ran his finger across her leg. "But I have no problem being the 'demon' if it means they fear us and treat us as their superior beings. In the history of humanity few have stood up to their demons. Oh they talk a good game, they may put up a fight, but at their core... they know they have no way to fight us. The only difference is how they die. On their feet or on their knees. Swift or slow. Soon it will be us sitting atop the bones of our enemies and those that remain will realize the only way to see another day is to acquiesce to us." he gestured with his hand. "After all, it's happened in other realities, only a matter of time in this one and in others." giving her forehead a kiss. "And to think all it took, was realizing that I needed a version of you to make it happen. With my counterpart off the board, that only leaves your mirror. But I suspect it's less mirror and simply the other side of your coin."

[Bellatrix]

She shrugged, "You sensed that too? Either way she's been disconcertingly quiet. Though, she's most certainly advising. Getting to her would be difficult. What are you thinking? With Ophelia and Ian I have little need for Lady Thade. We could send her in. If she kills Sandoval she's off the board. If Sandoval kills her, Thade's no longer my problem."

[Dominus]

"Good apprentices are so hard to find aren't they?" Dominus mused as he watched her. "The children are rather effective. Ophelia seems far stronger in the Iljuna in her new body than she was previously. Far more in tune with things and far more capable of disrupting the Jase'dasis connection to it. Ian is turning into a very capable commander, even if he's lost a limb or two. Nothing we do not have the capability to fix easily enough. Perhaps he should take a mate. Ophelia seems to be content cloning herself, creating better versions of herself, the next body she wants to use is going to be capable of surviving in space." he gestured with his hand. "Could be a useful augmentation, but she's been crafting everything from scratch to do that, different bone structure, organ redundancies, different lungs and even skin will be different, it's a lofty project, but she wants to be able to go anywhere without a suit. Be a true superior, evolved being."

Dominus looked at the console in front of him. "Starships are already noticing the loss of Memory Alpha. That's what they get for relying on their network. Soon, we will be able to wipe out all our enemies once and for all and then... watch who emerges from the ashes. Far too many being in this universe taking up far too many resources." he chuckled lightly. "Even the Q will be powerless. That's what I'm after... the full mastery of the universe including the power the Q tap into."

[Bellatrix]

"Don't get too full of yourself. You are still very much mortal, and you best not forget it. As far as the kids, we do have a problem child. What do we do with Órlaith? I say she's a liability that we can't afford to have. Ian has been very proactive of her, but, he's probably the only one other than you or I that could take her. She's become very adept with a kliden. She'd never let Ophelia close enough to kill her."

[Dominus]

"I have been considering that... it seems that despite our influences she is not quite the true believer her siblings are. A pity... but not the first time I have had to terminate one of my children." Dominus said and chuckled. "A pity that Jackson is no longer alive, he could have literally changed her mind. Perhaps we let one of our enemies handle her... send her on a mission, just herself and maybe one of those Clone troopers you commissioned, she succeeds, then she gets another mission until she fails."

[Bellatrix]

"I don't know," she replied reluctantly. "Far too many variables. What if she's captured? She knows a lot about our operations, though I'm not sure what harm would come of that. Your command ship is mobile, and she's never been to Kolbran. All she knows is that it's in the Badlands. Still, there's likely an angle that I'm not seeing here that I haven't had time to noodle out yet. I'll take care of it. Sometimes when you need something done it's best you do it yourself, and this way we needn't worry about unexpected outcomes."

[Dominus]

"And I like keeping all my plans fluid... no one really knows when or if I'll do anything." Dominus replied. "I will leave her in your capable hands. After all since you have become my consort... I have learned to trust the judgements and ideas of others. Although 'others' is still primarily you. Of all the women I have been with, you're the only one that actually surpasses my own ruthlessness. Plus... my own... physical needs have been well met, the concubines and slaves were too much of a liability anyway... and we are so close to achieving the endgame."

[Órlaith]

Bellitrix thumbed the comm button, "Ian will you escort your little sister up here."

"Uh... of course mother. Right away." Ian's voice responded over the intercom.

Órlaith was sitting in her dark quarters meditating with only the hum of the ship's systems for sound. Her eyes shot open as she sensed Ian's approach.

"Enter," she said before Ian could chime the door.

Her brother entered with a solemn expression, "Mother wants to see you."

Órlaith stood smoothly with the grace of a cat. "Does she?"

Ian nodded, "Yes. Let's go."

She stepped out of her quarters giving them one last look before turning down the corridor walking proudly with Ian taking up the rear.

"You don't have to do this," she said eventually. There was no pleading in her voice. It was just a simple statement of fact.

"Yeah, I do," Ian replied. His voice was filled with regret.

"I know brother," Órlaith said with a tinge of sadness. "I knew this day would come, I just didn't know what I would do."

"Nothing you can do," Ian replied.

"Oh?" She asked curiously.

Ian shrugged, "It seems to me neither of us have a choice. Fate has set us upon this course, and there's little either of us can do about it."

"I don't believe that, and you shouldn't either. There's always a choice. Even when the noose in around your neck and the hangman's hand is on the lever. You still have choices."

"And neither of them includes removing the rope."

"Perhaps," she said. "Come with me. Get away from this totally f'd up environment. This isn't normal Ian. We aren't living normal lives. We are nothing more than pawns in the schemes of our parents."

"I cannot do that Órlaith. For one I enjoy doing mother's bidding... well, for the most part."

Órlaith stopped suddenly. Her brother had made his choice, now it was time for her to make hers.

Gripping her kliden she ignited it and spun on her right heel. She had been expecting Ian to react. To draw his own kliden, but inexplicably he stood there motionless, a confused look on his face as her blade cut an unplanned swath across it destroying his handsome face.

She sprinted the opposite direction down the corridor. There would be time to mourn later. And at night she would awaken in cold sweats seeing her brother's face for the last time.

She scrambled into the shuttle bay and pressed a small device of her own construction against the computer terminal. Entering commands the device beeped and suddenly the whole ship went dark as main computer tore itself apart.

Running to a shuttle she slapped the control pad and scrambled inside. Her hands were shaking with adrenaline as she worked the commands on the unfamiliar helm controls. After a moment she was crashing through the shuttle bay doors and the small Ajem'dasis shuttle banked and jumped to warp.

Once safely away she started to broadcast a distress signal to the Alliance. "Salene or Clint. I'm in trouble. I need help," she spoke in to the microphone. He voice was shaking not with fear, but guilt and sadness.