A Good Lighter - Part Five

Posted on Sun Apr 30th, 2023 @ 10:58pm by Grand General Paul "Caveman" Antilles

Mission: Mission 120: All Along the Watchtowers - Part Two
Location: Various Locations - Antilles family home - Earth, SOL
Timeline: 0640Hrs - January 4th, 2394

Grand General Paul Antilles heard the howling wind outside, while he set his glass back down onto the tabletop before him. "We had no idea who they were at first. All we heard were rumours, stories and whispers of a nameless fear in the Gamma Quadrant." he paused. "The stories soon became real. The nameless fear was soon given form. That of the Jem'Hadar." Paul commented. "It only took a couple of years for the entire galaxy to destabilize." he paused a moment as he took a sip of his water.

"Oh, the Federation had learned many bitter lessons from the losses we'd suffered at the Battle in the Wolf System, and the defeat we had suffered at the hands of the Borg collective." Paul paused. "We were designing and building many new classes of ships... But what we didn't know was that we didn't have enough. Once the true scale of the Dominion threat was revealed, thanks to the efforts of Captain Sisko, as well as the crew from Deep Space Nine. Starfleet began a massive military buildup. The biggest it had ever attempted." he paused as he exhaled and then inhaled. "Well. Let's just say that the Dominion at first was considered the greatest threat to Galactic peace since the Tomed incident." he paused. As time went by, that assessment was later reevaluated several times. Including by Andrea and myself."

Paul smiled. "Oh, she wanted to pick a fight with a Jem'Hadar. See what they could do." he paused. "About a year after first contact with the Dominion... The Alpha Quadrant was already falling apart. Friends were becoming foes. The Dominion initiated two major manipulations around this time. The first was to deal with the Cardassians and the Romulans. As both states had highly secret and effective police organizations. The Tal'Shiar and the Obsidian Order... Both were lured into the Gamma Quadrant and exterminated while they tried to glass the Founder's homeworld." he paused. "Glassing is not something you guys need to be thinking about." he then slowly smiled. "When Andrea and I heard, it was the middle of the night. Neither of us got any sleep that night as we both knew that war was coming." he breathed out and then back in again.

"What we didn't know was where and when." he then finished his drink. "Then less than three months later. The Klingons started their invasion of the Cardassian Union. I'll admit that I was only too happy to see the Cardassians get utterly crushed." he paused. "Not relizing that this was exactly what the Dominion wanted." he paused. "Meanwhile, relations between us and the Klingons fell apart. In one go, we went from being trusted allies to uncertain neighbours. Thats when Andrea and I knew who our foe would be. We then prepared for the war to come." he sighed. "Little did we know what this battle would cost us." he paused a moment.

"Then a year later Gowron started a war of aggression against us. He let his fleets loose against us after he let Dominion agents whisper sweet nothings into his ears. Like the empty-headed imbecile that he was, he went after his greatest ally. He called us traitors. But he started fighting us. Captain Sisko took a little while but he came to the rescue by halting the Klingon's advance in one smooth motion." he paused. "Captain Sisko ended the war when the Dominion finaly made its move later that year... But it was already too late. Andrea was already dead by that point." he paused a moment. "She had died at the hands of a Klingon marine. She died as she lived... Protecting others."

"Thats... so sad," Patricia answered softly.

"It was war, honey. Thats what war does." Paul regarded his teenage daughter with a gentle smile. "It's best if I don't tell you the other part of that tale. What I did." He breathed out and then back in again. "He should have killed me. I was the greater threat... Andrea was an engineer. Her guys fixed what my guys broke."

"What did you do, dad?" Michael asked gently.

"Are you sure, you want to hear this?" Paul asked gently. "It's not something I like to think about... "

"Tell us, dad. regardless if it's good or bad. At least it's said." Patricia answered.

"Okay. Well, let's just say that I was not taking prisoners. The Klingons wanted to die a glorious death. We fought to the last man. I was able to return to the bridge. There I had four photon torpedoes beamed to each of the four Klingon ships. I then destroyed them all. We then cleaned out their boarding parties and tossed their bodies out of the airlocks. I was able to get back to Starbase with what was left of my ship and my crew. Starfleet said I did a great thing. I was not sure... But war, makes its own demands."