[Although this story is perfectly fine in itself, for context of some of the interactions or introductions to some of the characters, it might be fun to read
this story too]
A Mirror In Her Prime
"Well, you all know what to do, ladies and gentlemen. Attack Pattern Zandor Alpha." Admiral Zandor, commanding the U.S.S. Leviathan, sat down in her chair. The Leviathan, a T6 Odyssey Tactical Cruiser, the Admiral's flagship, sturdy and powerful, there was not a whole lot that could do serious damage to this ship, yet somehow, Zandor always found adversaries that were more than a match for her. Not this time though. A Hirogen Hunter Heavy Escort was about to attack the Leviathan. Absolutely nothing to worry about.
The Hirogen ship made its first attack run. Aside from the fact that it was using rather powerful phaser cannons, nothing unexpected happened. The Hirogen ship shot a couple heavy bursts of cannon fire and some torpedoes at the Leviathan before shooting right past it, all the while being shot at with all 7 antiproton beams and the cutting beam from the Leviathan. Then it turned around and shot at the Leviathan again. This time however, the Hirogen ship used it's full attack power.
"Report!" ordered Admiral Zandor in her usual British accent while she stood up. She was thrown out of her chair by an explosion behind her. Commander Dragovic, her first officer, responded. His deep voice summed up the damage:
"Shields are down to 60 percent, engines are damaged, warp drive still works, but we can't go faster than warp six, weapon banks two and six are down, as is the cutting beam, casualties on almost all decks, but no deaths." Slightly shocked by the damage this one Hirogen ship had caused so out of the blue, Zandor ordered medic and engineering teams in place.
"The Hirogen ship is coming about for another attack run!" Jhemyl warned. Zandor ordered:
"Evasive manouvres. Jhemyl, fire at will. All hands, brace for impact!"
This time the attack was so devastating that the Leviathan became utterly inoperable. Shields were down, power to weapons was completely gone and the port nacelle was obliterated, completely removing the ability to go to warp.
"Ah, damn. Haven't had that rough a back massage since that Jem'Hadar beauty clinic on DS9." Blackmore, the engineering bridge officer, stood up and helped the Admiral on her feet again.
"Erica, that was a martial arts contest. That you lost." Tirih sarcastically remarked while she was getting reports from all over the ship (Dragovic was unconscious but fine). As the painfull memories returned to Blackmore, Zandor pondered the situation they were in. Eventually she came to the conclusion that there was no other choice.
"Tirih, send a message to Allied Command. Explain our situation and request reinforcements." Tirih did as ordered. The very moment she had sent the message though, the Hirogen ship sent a file to the Leviathan.
Fugitive Dossier #20160902"Is that,-"
"Me? Yes, it seems so, but the file mentions the Terran Empire. So this must be from the Mirror Universe." Zandor cut Jhemyl off. "It seems she wants to speak to me in my ready room. Get the away team up here. If I'm still in there in five minutes and you haven't heard anything from me, order them in." Without waiting for any kind of acknowledgement, Zandor walked into her ready room.
Mirror Zandor sat in Admiral Zandor's chair, behind her desk.
"Really? A ponytail? Great, my other me is boring." Mirror Zandor stood up and walked to the Admiral.
"What do you want? You don't belong here." Admiral Zandor said sternly.
"Calm down. We get to that. Let me first look at you. Me, you, whatever." Mirror Zandor walked a circle around Admiral Zandor, taking in every similarity and difference. "Interesting, isn't it. The only differences between us are what we can choose. Our hairstyles, our clothing, the scars we might have." The Admiral looked at her Mirror. She was right, it was interesting. The Mirror stood in front the Admiral now, and they looked each other in the eye. Even their eye colour was the same.
Before the Admiral knew what was happening, the Mirror kissed her full on the mouth and put a hand between the Admiral's legs. The Admiral pushed the Mirror away, hit her in the face and stumbled a bit back before she blurted out:
"What the hell?"
As she said that, her away team, those on the Leviathan that are usually the best equipped to handle any situation, stormed the ready room. A Caitian tactical officer, a Kobali engineer, a Kelvin Android and a female Cardassian, all armed with Tr-116B's, aimed at both Zandors.
"Are you alright, Admiral?" The Cardassian asked.
"I am fine, Gilora. S'Tarr, Andy and Netteya, stand outside please. Gilora, keep an eye on our Mirror friend here." By the time they all left, the Mirror was sitting comfy on the couch. The Admiral sat in a chair opposite the couch, with a glass table between them. Gilora stood at the Admiral's left side. "Why did you kiss me?" Gilora looked somewhat surprised from the Admiral to the Mirror. The Mirror looked Gilora right in her eyes, grinning like a schoolgirl who had just fallen in love for the first time:
"I wondered what it would be like, kissing myself." As she turned her head towards the Admiral, she continued. "Now I can't help wonder one more thing though. Would having sex with you count as mas,-"
"Why are you here?" The Admiral cut the Mirror off. The Mirror looked somewhat disappointed, but confessed.
"We accidentally got stranded here. We were being pursued by several Terran ships. They closed in on us and the only way for us to escape was to disappear. So we did. Into your universe. They managed to take a couple of shots at us though, before the singularity we came through closed. We survived, but they did enough damage that we can't go back anymore. Now, me and the crew have been talking. There isn't really anything for any of us back there. You saw my file. We're outlaws, rogues, fugitives. Hell, had we lived 800 years ago, we would have been pirates, fighting buccaneers and the British navy alongside the Black Pearl and the Aquila, partying on Tortuga and plundering Port Royale." The Mirror sighed. She was showing her real self now and looked exhausted. After a bit she continued. "We're tired, Admiral. We want out. We want a place to call home, instead of of being cramped up into a tiny ass ship."
The Admiral had been listening attentively. It was interesting, hearing herself asking for... What was her Mirror asking for actually? A place to settle down, some faraway planet to colonise? Granted, it is an attractive idea, but there was a problem. She could never settle down and a mirror is only a mirror in appearance. But the Mirror wasn't done yet.
"Of course, we don't expect that this will just be given to us. We're willing to work for it, some way or another. Me and Gilora - yes, I have a Gilora too - have been part of the Terran military for quite some time, as have others. Some of my crew have also been part of resistance movements against the Terran Empire. We know they are invading your universe and we're willing to give you intel, a lot of intel for this. And as you have experienced yourself, we have a lot of skills. We are willing to lend your Federation those skills. Whether you send us into battle against the Terran Empire or if you want a discreet bounty hunter, we can help you with that. Just say the word." The Admiral responded:
"Lets get a few things out in the open first. I don't trust you. For all I know, you're send here to lull me into a false sense of security and you intend to lay a trap for me or some other Federation ship or hell, a whole fleet. But I do have a duty. My duty is to help those that are in need of help. So I will put you in the care of Starfleet Intelligence. I will however, also keep a strict eye on you. Know that wherever I am or whatever I'm doing, I know exactly where you are. At even only the slightest indication you're about to turn on us, I will personally hunt you down and that time I will disable your ship. Because we both know that with the power you put into your weapons out there, you did as much damage to your own ship as you did to mine." The Mirror agreed and the three of them walked onto the bridge.
Later that day, Admiral Zandor and Gilora were at the U.S.S. Bak'rikan, a Cardassian Galor in Zandor's fleet and one of the ships that responded to the distress call. Zandor's first officer, Dragovic, was overseeing the return of the Leviathan to the nearest Starbase for reparations, along with a skeleton crew. The rest of the crew was also on the Bak'rikan, whereas the members of the Mirror's gang were confined to quarters on the U.S.S. Hyperion, a fleet assault cruiser also in Zandor's fleet. Zandor and Gilora were eating dinner in their quarters. As this was usually one of the few moments she allowed herself to speak her mind and show her emotions, Gilora couldn't help but to say:
"It was kind of sexy though."
"Hmmph?" was all what Zandor managed to get out with her mouth full of cauliflower.
"The both of you, with your British accents." Gilora smiled deviously at Zandor. It wasn't often she managed to surprise Zandor in such a way she didn't know what to say...
