"We stood neutral when the Klingons and the Federation were staring each other in the eye! We stood neutral when the Borg descended upon the Alpha Quadrant! We stand neutral even as the Dominion threatens all who do not submit to it! Now, our territory has been defiled, our ships attacked, by these upstarts, who have appeared out of nowhere! We shall mobilize, attack, and display our ability to the galaxy!"

Within the primary meeting chamber of the halls of government on the capital world of the Gorn Hegemony, calm discussion had turned to heated uproar upon the arrival of news that this new 'Tau Empire' that had literally sprung out of nothingness had destroyed a Gorn vessel inspecting territory that rightfully belonged to the Hegemony, apparently with little provocation. To violate Gorn space was one thing; to simply respond to the fact that they were trespassing with violence to those who pointed it out was another. The supreme Gorn monarch, having yet to show up, had not made any decisive announcement, but his words certainly did not indicate that he wished to sit down and exchange pleasantries with the Tau.

"My fleets are moving into formation as we speak! Our armies are being mustered!" declared Tsalnis, supreme commander of the Gorn military. "All we need is direction, to know whether we defend against any onslaught or push into their territory before they can muster!"

"The Federation is conducting talks with these 'Tau'." One of the spokespeople in the rows of seats n the humid chamber stood up. "An attack may risk jeopardizing any attempts of an alliance with them in the face of the Dominion!"

"You say we should back down like cowards?"

"No. I merely say that we set up our lines, so that they may appear as the aggressors."

"And if they think the same thing?" snapped Tsalnis. "What does our image in the eyes of others matter when we are discussing the sanctity of that which belongs to us? Should we have our ancestors mock us for being weak? If we move and sweep aside the fleets of these upstart vermin before they can respond, then we shall earn the respect of all, for putting down these warmongers before they could pose a threat to the entire quadrant!"

"Typical of you military types." Growled the spokesperson spitefully, snorting loudly—a Gorn sign of strong contempt. "You think with disruptors and torpedoes rather than with sense! You fail to consider the size of this new alien Empire—it is vital that we earn the sympathy and support of the Federation, so that they may aid us in bringing down these sub-beings!"

"The Federation? The Federation are preoccupied with fretting over the Dominion, lest you forget! Besides…"

"Enough!"

All fell silent as the supreme monarch of the Gorn entered, distinguished by his more prominent head frills and his dulled scales, flanked by armored bodyguards and imperial concubines. Many liked to think that the monarch's power had dulled in recent times, divided between the government and military, but his word was not be taken lightly, especially in times such as this. After all, he practically had the priesthood in his pocket, and Gorn were nothing if not pious.

"I agree with those who say that our first priority is assembling on our own borders." He growled. "To simply assault an empire larger than our own on such short notice is foolishness of the highest level! Furthermore, I concur that we require allies. I hereby declare that I shall travel to Earth as soon as possible, to make an official appeal to the Federation President himself!

"So, we are going to beg to the warm-blooded ones." Said Tsalnis angrily. He then immediately took a step back as cold eyes fell on him; commenting on the words of the monarch in such a manner would not do wonders for his career, to say the least. That much, they could all agree on.

"That is my decision." Continued the monarch. "Begin recruitment! Get the shipyards to work! We go to war!"

"Captain Sisko. I regret to bring grave news to you…"

Within his office aboard Deep Space Nine, Sisko tensed himself as the Tau representative prepared to speak. Had they uncovered the Defiant? If so, he could say goodbye to his career as a Starfleet officer…the respect of his family and colleagues…and possibly the future of the Federation…but if that was the case, wouldn't Por'Fiu here seem more heated?

"Yes?" breathed Sisko.

"I have been informed that our space was violated by a race called the 'Gorn', which attacked our vessels there with little provocation." Said Por'Fiu. Sisko raised an eyebrow. The Gorn. They weren't exactly very active in the intergalactic community, but lately, in the face of the Dominion, they had been approaching the Federation with friendlier than usual overtones. And now, if his intuition was correct, they had incurred the wrath of this Tau Empire—he thought something like this would happen. An Empire appearing out of nowhere wasn't going to have a guaranteed peaceful first contact with everyone in the Alpha Quadrant, after all.

"Therefore, unless there are mitigating circumstances, we would like your Federation to know that we hope that you will not interfere. I expect our leaders to take action to protect our territories against any possible incursion."

Sisko sat forward. On one hand, it was the duty of a Starfleet officer to keep the peace in the galaxy as much as possible. On the other, seeing this Tau Empire in full conflict with another foe would be a far more productive way of ascertaining their capabilities than subterfuge. Conferring with Picard and then the admiralty would top priority, though, he thought.

"I see." Said Sisko. "Well, I'm afraid I'll have to talk with my colleagues and my superiors over this."

"I understand." Said Pior'Fu. "Do not consider us warmongers, Captain Sisko. We only engage in conflict where it is necessary."

I hope, thought Sisko, as Pior'Fu got up and walked out of his office. Something wasn't right with these creatures, he felt that much. With that, he pressed his combadge.

"Picard? We need to talk…"

In a small system on the very frontier of the Tau Empire, a wing of triangular vessels hung in the cover of a large asteroid as they monitored waves of long, modular vessels assemble into formation, joined by wave after wave of transport vessels. An invasion force, obviously. But it did not appear to be directed at their space…yet.

On the command deck of the foremost vessel, Hasge'en of the Tholian Assembly observed the readouts, as his communications officer relayed the latest intelligence and chatter. As far as he could tell, the Gorn had done something to aggravate the people of this empire had had inexplicably appeared out of nowhere. Naturally, the Assembly did not desire any threats at all to Tholian power; it was his mission to verify the nature of things out here.

"Commander." Clicked one of his subordinates, as its segmented limbs moved across complex control panels, with panels that were incomprehensible to humanoid eyes relaying constant streams of data. "I recommend we leave now. We have acquired enough data for our needs."

"Very well." Nodded Hasge'en. "It is my belief that this race poses a threat to all the Alpha Quadrant…I will make a plea to the Assembly asking that we assist the Gorn in some way."

"They will not listen. I doubt the assembly will be wished to dragged into a war between other species in times like this."

"We shall see."