Fallen Heroes

"Fallen Heroes" is a "" novel written by Dafydd ab Hugh and published in 1994.

Plot

On Federation space station Deep Space Nine, the Ferengi barkeeper Quark purchases a sealed Cardassian strongbox from a Lonat trader recently returned from the Gamma Quadrant. Security chief Odo intervenes and attempts to confiscate an unknown and potentially dangerous device inside the strongbox. Panicking, Quark accidentally activates the device, which causes Quark and Odo to jump ahead three days into the future.

Arriving in the future, the pair discover that Quark's bar and the Promenade area have been wrecked. The station's lighting is dim and the air is stale. The bodies of residents and shopkeepers litter the decks. Odo immediately begins an investigation while Quark keeps on the lookout for survivors. Odo deduces that an unknown alien force beamed aboard the station in the interval between Quark's activation of the unknown device and the pair's appearance three days later. During that time, the invaders attacked the station, overran it, and then left, leaving no survivors.

Three days in the past (shortly after Quark activated the alien device), a strange alien ship arrives through the wormhole. The aliens quickly make contact with the station commander, Benjamin Sisko. An armored figure appears on screen, demanding DS9 release their prisoner, 'the other one like us'. Sisko informs the aliens that they are not holding any prisoner, to which the alien responds 'prepare to be boarded'. The alien ship immediately attacks the station. Sisko orders red alert and fires back, only to discover that phasers do not harm the enemy ship. In fact, the ship's armor reflects the phasers back at the station! The enemy ship jams the station's external communications, so reinforcements cannot arrive, then beams a strike team to the Promenade. The strike team is entirely encased in black armor. Station security teams attack them, but their phaser beams are also reflected by the alien's armor. Instead of using energy weapons, the aliens use rapid-fire (gunpowder) rifles. The aliens begin interrogations, asking for the location of the prisoner, then execute all the survivors.

In the future, Odo and Quark begin to explore the desolate station. They make their way first to the school, then Operations, and then the habitat ring. In the habitat ring, they find the aftermath of a horrendous battle. Station residents had banded together into a makeshift militia to fight the invaders, but to no avail. Odo discovers Chief O'Brien's body in the rubble. O'Brien had arrived at the battle site while delivering makeshift phaser grenades to the militia. He is killed when he activates a grenade, but forgets to reset the timer, which explodes in his hands.

Afterwards, the pair finds the body of Lieutenant Dax in a corridor. Dax is lying against the wall, with a serene look on her face. She has managed to kill an invader by hitting it in the back with a phaser grenade. The invaders appear to be a reptilian humanoids. Odo indicates that the Cardassians had once encountered this race and called them the 'Bekkir', who are known as extreme xenophobes. Odo deduces that the Bekkir were called to the station believing that one of their own had been captured. Quark's activation of the device was the signal that lured the aliens to attack DS9.

Continuing the exploration, they discover Major Kira's body on a runabout launch pad. Kira had managed to capture a Bekkir weapon and turn it on them. Kira managed to kill a dozen Bekkir soldiers as she attempted to lead a group of Bajoran children to a runabout, so they could escape the station. However, the runabout is hit by fire from the enemy ship and turns around, crashing into the station and killing Kira.

Entering the infirmary, they discover the body of Dr. Bashir. The find a video record of Bashir's last moments as he is interrogated by the Bekkir. Based on the recording, Odo and Quark deduce that it is possible to reverse the Bekkir devices' effect, jump back in time three days, and possibly thwart the attack. However, they need to find an intact Bekkir body armor to find a key that reverses the time travel. They are disrupted however, by the appearance of Jake Sisko and Molly O'Brien. Jake and Molly are the only survivors of the Bekkir attack. Odo presses Jake for information, but Jake is reluctant to discuss how Commander Sisko died and how the Bekkir were eventually driven off.

Jake finally reveals the truth, Commander Sisko went into the fusion reactor well of DS9. He lured the remaining Bekkir into the reactor well with him, then causes a disruption of the reactor forcefield, which releases a massive EMP burst. The burst dirupts the neural systems of both the Bekkir, as well as any station survivors that the Bekkir may have missed. Only Jake and Molly survive the EMP pulse by hiding in a shielded area. In order to reverse the time travel and avert the devastating attack, Odo must climb into the reactor well (now contaminated and filled with superheated gas) and recover a Bekkir key. Odo manages to recover the key, which Quark uses to activate the Bekkir device and jump back in time. Quark rushes to Ops, where the Bekkir ship once again emerges from the wormhole (for the first time). The Bekkir demand the prisoner and Quark explains that he activated the device, not a Bekkir prisoner. The device is returned and the Bekkir leave through the wormhole, preventing the attack. Life on DS9 goes on as normal, with the station personnel unaware of what might have happened.