Twentieth Hour
Commander
Helia (Stargate: Atlantis)
Commander Helia had been on Tria as the Asurans were about to
destroy it. She now found herself in an unfamiliar place. Was she
dead? She certainly hadn't Ascended! She looked around the dimly lit
grey corridor she had found herself in. It had the feel of a
starship, albeit not one that her people had built. She wondered who
built it, and then saw Earth-style numbers on the doors.
A man approached and asked her a question in English. He was carrying
some kind of energy weapon. “Take me to your leader,” she said.
He escorted her to a nearby elevator car. “Bridge,” he said.
“Captain Sisko, the new arrival is here,” Mark Watney said. Sisko
turned and saw the woman there. The last hour had been stressful.
Dukat was up to something, he knew it.
“Captain Benjamin Sisko. What is your name?”
“Helia,” she answered. “A Lantean,” she added.
Sisko didn't know what that refered to. “Computer, identify proper
noun 'Lantean'.”
“Lantean, the original inhabitants of the City-ship
Atlantis in the television series Stargate: Atlantis,”
the computer responded.
“Television series?” Helia asked.
“Yes,” Sisko answered. “Every hour a different person appears,
from a reality that at least one other person on the ship thinks is
fictional.”
“Quite unbelievable,” Helia said.
“Yours is fictional in mine. I don't know about the others,”
Sisko said.
“I have heard of a tv series called Stargate,” Watney joined in.
“I don't know if it was about Atlantis, though.”
While Sisko and Watney were explaining to Helia about the situation,
Dukat entered the Mess Hall. He quickly took in who was there, and
how to turn the situation to his advantage. He had already been
thinking about that over the past hour.
Although she was beginning to tire, Catwoman was alert. The Captain
had told her about this 'Cardassian', some kind of alien dictator,
and that he wasn't to be trusted. “What do you want?” she asked,
knowing that Weatherwax, at least would back her up.
“What has Sisko told you?” the Cardassian asked.
“That you took advantage of your homeworld's troubles to gain
power,” Catwoman answered.
The Cardassian laughed. “Is that what he told you?” He chuckled
again. “Oh, Benjamin! Always believing the worst of me. Yes, that
is what he believes. But it's not true! Cardassia needed me!
Central Command had failed to drive the Klingons away.”
'He sounds delusional,' Catwoman thought. Before she had arrived on
the Defiant, She had heard of the Klingons, but not the
Cardassians.
“What Sisko may have told you, the data in this ship's computers,
is wrong,” the Cardassian continued.
While Dukat was attempting to persuade those in the Mess Hall of his
view of Sisko, River became aware of him. “No!” she shouted.
“What's wrong?” the EMH asked.
“Something, evil. Recent arrival. Meglomania,” River said, her
hands on her temple. “Worse than Alliance.”
“And you're reading his mind?”
River's expression then gave the EMH no doubt.
While River was aware of Dukat, Dukat knew that there were telepaths
on the ship. Central Command trained its soldiers to resist
telepathic intrusions. River's scan was more intense, than most, but
he was able to resist it. He had earlier brushed off Granny's light
touch, and also Ashoka's Force-powered attempt. (Of course, he didn't
know that a Jedi, even one who survived Order 66, wouldn't force
themselves into anyone's mind, like a Sith wannabee would. Star
Wars wasn't among the Terran fiction that Sisko had left in his
office while the Station was under Dominion control)
“As I was saying, Ziyal wouldn't be dead if the Federation hadn't
launched an offensive to retake Terok Nor from it's rightful owners.
Damar wasn't at fault, it was entirely Sisko's.” He could see that
most of his audience wasn't paying attention. Maybe that Trump guy
would listen, if he could find him. He left the Mess Hall.
“The Cardassian lifesign has left the Mess Hall,” Watney said.
“Keep an eye on him,” Sisko ordered.
“I will,” Watney said. Sisko had earlier showed him how to work
the various stations on the Bridge (as well as Daria, Ashoka and
Catwoman).
“What are you doing?” Helia asked.
“The person we're tracking is someone I don't trust. He sold out
his own civilisation to one even more expansionist.”
“A traitor then?”
“Not only for his civilisation, but also all those around his,”
Sisko answered.
“Interesting.”
Trump turned a corner, and met a person who looked like some kind of
reptile. “Who are you?” he asked.
“My name is Skrain Dukat. I can help you.”
“How?” Trump asked.
“The Captain, isn't the one you want to be commanding this group of
people,” he said.
There was something off about the man, but Trump thought he could be
useful...
In Engineering, Ashoka made another connection. “Done,” she said.
“Can we go faster yet?” Greg asked.
“Not yet,” Ashoka answered.
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