ACT ONE

FADE IN:

3 VAUGHN

Unconscious and on the edge of death in his hospice bed, the sense of his six visitors sitting around him...

DAX (o.s.)
It must have been... seventy years
ago. The Khitomer Accords were
young and fragile, and nobody had
ever heard of the Dominion, the
Borg... or the Typhon Pact...

CUT TO:

4 INT. ENTERPRISE-B - CONFERENCE ROOM

DAX (v.o.)
(continuing)
...when I first met Elias Vaughn.

The door opens, revealing YOUNG VAUGHN - a fully alive man in his mid-30s, strong and vibrant but intense. Much as he looked in the brief alt-universe flashback from 10x21 “Into the Fire” (sc 55). He wears a TOS movie-era uniform with black trim and under-collar - Starfleet Intelligence.

HARRIMAN (o.s.)
Lieutenant Vaughn. Commander
T’Prynn. Please, take a seat.

Nodding acknowledgements, Vaughn enters the room, followed by the similarly uniformed Cmdr T’PRYNN, previously seen in 8x22 “Greater Good” and 10x10 “In Two Minds”. She is over 100 now, but still in the prime of life for a Vulcan woman.

Captain JOHN HARRIMAN stands welcoming the two Intelligence agents. He is mid-50s, a much more experienced and seasoned man than the green and untested newbie of ST: Generations.

CURZON DAX takes the measure of them all from across the room. The male Trill is also mid-50s, in a smart diplomat’s suit. A younger version of the man seen in 1x01 “Emissary”.

All four take seats around the conference table. Out of the conference room windows, the ship is clearly at WARP.

HARRIMAN
First, welcome aboard the Enterprise.
Agents, you may recognise Ambassador
Curzon Dax of the Federation
Diplomatic Corps by reputation...

Vaughn nods politely, T’Prynn cocks an eyebrow.

HARRIMAN
Ambassador, please meet Commander
T’Prynn and Lieutenant Elias Vaughn
of Starfleet Intelligence.

CURZON
A true pleasure, agents. Although
I would like to start by saying that
I am against your involvement in
this mission altogether.

T’PRYNN
Ambassador... this mission is only
taking place because of us. You
are involved in our mission, not
the other way around.

It’s already going badly. Harriman tries to keep the peace.

HARRIMAN
The Enterprise and its crew have
often served at the pleasure of
Intelligence, Ambassador.

CURZON
Yes, well. In my long experience,
intelligence and pleasure have
very little to do with each other.
Let’s get on with it, shall we,
since we’re here?

Harriman taps controls, and they all turn to look at the SCREEN - with an image of a Romulan officer, ADM VOKAR.

HARRIMAN
The Enterprise is en route to the
Sierra sector, along the Romulan
border, to rendezvous with Admiral
Aventeer Vokar and his ship.

T’PRYNN
Our records reveal the Admiral as
a staunch nationalist with a long
history of antagonism towards us.

HARRIMAN
In fact, I’d say he’s one of the
biggest threats to peace there is
right now. The biggest, maybe.

T’PRYNN
That is why he is our target.

CURZON
(w/ disgust)
“Target”. I’m a diplomat. I’m here
to make friends, not target people.
I negotiated the Khitomer Accords,
I can handle a few Romulans.

T’PRYNN
Your myriad charms may have swayed
the Klingons, Ambassador. They do
admire drunken debauchery, after all.

Vaughn’s stern mien struggles to hide a smirk.

T’PRYNN
(continuing)
But the Romulans will be quite a
different matter.

CURZON
I’ve met their ambassador a few
times. We get along fine.

T’PRYNN
A fact I do not deny - and one
that will be very useful.

Curzon purses - he doesn’t like being used this way. In order to shift the attention, he peers towards Vaughn...

CURZON
Doesn’t say much, does he?

Not taking the bait, Vaughn just smiles calmly back.

T’PRYNN
In fact this is Lieutenant Vaughn’s
first official mission as a fully
trained field agent. He has spent
much of the last decade analysing
data and writing reports.

CURZON
Reports?! Nothing you can learn
from a report that you can’t learn
better by looking your opposite
number right in the eye.
(to Vaughn directly)
So what’s your role on this mission
then, eh? Official note-taker?

Vaughn finally speaks - calm and dignified, but leaving no doubt that this is an intense man to be reckoned with.

VAUGHN
Whatever serves the greater good.

CURZON
Spoken like a true neophyte. The
galaxy is a lot more complex once
you step out from behind your
desk, my young Lieutenant friend.

HARRIMAN
(getting impatient)
Dax.
(beat)
You’re right, the galaxy is a
complicated place right now. The
Cardassians are annexing left and
right, the Tholians just tried to
invade Qo’noS, and your Khitomer
Accords are wobbly at best.
(beat)
I spent most of my life studying
and dealing with Romulans, ever
since my grandfather used to tell
me stories about fighting in the
Earth-Romulan war. And I promise
you they are just waiting for the
first sign of weakness -
(re screen)
- Vokar especially. He’d love to
top his career with a nice war. It
would be his crowning achievement.
We cannot allow that to happen.

T’PRYNN
Hence our presence here today.

As Curzon seethes in his seat...

DAX (v.o.)
I wasn’t happy about it. But they
had made a convincing case...

CUT TO:

5 INT. VANADWAN MONASTERY - HOSPICE ROOM - DAY

EZRI DAX, relating her tale around Vaughn’s bed...

DAX
(continuing)
So... I went along with it. Not that
I had much say in the matter.
Starfleet had made their plans,
Vaughn and T’Prynn were there to
carry them out, and I was just
along for the ride.

SISKO breaks in...

SISKO
Wait... I think I know where this
is heading. The Enterprise-B...
meeting a Romulan warbird in the
Sierra sector, seventy years ago,
so that would be... 2311?

Dax nods, confirming Sisko’s estimate. And now Bashir gets it too, realising with horror which story is being told...

BASHIR
The Tomed Incident.

SISKO
A Romulan terrorist attack on the
Starfleet border base at Algeron
Three, using an isolytic weapon,
destroying the entire planet and
costing thousands of lives...

6 FLASHFORWARD - ALGERON III

In orbit of the planet Algeron III, a massive EXPLOSION rocks the surface as the result of a devastating impact...

...and sets off a CHAIN REACTION across the entire planet, creating fault lines and volcanoes as the world is torn apart from the inside out...

7 FLASHBACK - 14x05 “INSECURITY”

Sisko stood at the window, gazing down at this shattered planet from the new Starbase now in orbit of it...

8 BACK TO SCENE

...Bashir finishes off the reference, haunted...

BASHIR
...and leading the Romulans to cut
themselves off from all contact
with the wider galaxy for more
than fifty years.

TENMEI
I had no idea my dad was involved
in the Tomed Incident.

KIRA
If it was that bad, he probably
didn’t like to talk about it.

DAX
It was that bad.

Off Dax, looking haunted but determined to keep going...

9 EXT. PALAIS DE LA CONCORDE - DAY

The centre of Federation government...

10 INT. PALAIS - CORRIDOR

The new black-clad security agent STINSON leads President BACCO and her recently promoted chief of staff Z4 BLUE (Nasat male) down the corridor...

Z4 BLUE
Well! That wasn’t so bad, was it?
I think it went rather well.

BACCO
(grumpy)
About time something did. But we
should never even have had to
make that argument to the Council.
(sigh)
I’m sorry, Z4. You’re right, I
should be glad they finally signed
off on a timescale for a new space
station in the Bajoran system.

Z4 BLUE
Finally, ma’am? With all respect,
it’s only been three weeks since
Deep Space Nine was destroyed.
The Council usually can’t clear their
collective throats in that amount
of time. As far as I’m concerned,
the meeting went very well.

BACCO
I already said you were right.

Z4 BLUE
I know, ma’am. But I like hearing
it anyway.

11 INT. PALAIS - PRESIDENT’S OFFICE - DAY

The trio emerge into Bacco’s office through the back door. Stinson holds them back until he can visually scan the area - it’s clear. But as they enter, an ALERT goes off on Z4’s padd. He quickly checks, tapping away with his pincers...

Z4 BLUE
Madam President... you have a visitor.

BACCO
Where? Here? In the Palais?

Z4 BLUE
Yes, ma’am - he’s waiting outside
your office right now. It’s Slask.

BACCO
Slask... from S’snagor?

Z4 BLUE
The very same.

BACCO
Do we know what he wants?

Z4 BLUE
He refuses to say. According to
Sivak, he’ll speak only to you.

Bacco considers this... something’s not right here.

BACCO
Z4, you and Agent Stinson go out
there first. Try and determine how
important it is. Not that I don’t
trust my old friend... just that I
am busy and I have to prioritise.

Bacco is clearly giving them the party line to present to her visitor - in fact she is very much worried about this.

Stinson nods economically and heads to the door. Z4 Blue TINKLES nervously and skitters after him. They both exit.

While she waits, Bacco sits behind her desk, tries to look as presidential as possible. What on Earth could be going on that her old friend is here to see her, now?

After a few more moments, the door opens and Z4 trundles in on all eights. Reaching the desk, he stretches up, his insectile antenna stiff with tension...

Z4 BLUE
It’s definitely Slask. He passed
every security verification and
checkpoint we have, or he’d have
never made it inside the building,
let alone to the fifteenth floor.

BACCO
Alright, then.
(taps desk)
Sivak, I’m told I have a visitor.
Please show him in.

SIVAK (comm)
At once, Madam President.

Another moment, and the door opens once again...

...and a gigantic GORN stands in the door. As the hulking reptilian bares his teeth and HISSES threateningly...

...Bacco tries her best not to react.

BLACK OUT

END OF ACT ONE