Tales of the Dominion War Tales of the Dominion War is a short story anthology – centered around the Dominion War – edited by Keith R . A . DeCandido . Published by Pocket Books , it was first released in . Summary . Contents . " What Dreams May Come " . In the early days of the war , a planet named Illarh lying within Federation space , but unaligned with the organization , has been occupied by Dominion forces . The Illarhi are a peaceful and unadvanced species . The regiment consists of a small platoon of Jem ' Hadar soldiers and a Vorta named Sejeel . The main objective of this unit is to install a defense system and establish a beachhead before the Federation discovers the planet has been occupied . Sejeel , quartered in the home of a government official , is distracted by the trappings of luxury , including silk sheets , bed clothes , and filling breakfasts . His only concerns are to periodically check on the status of the defense grid being installed . Another amusement he is using is his servant , Draz . The Vorta are unable to dream ; the Illarhi are . Sejeel has Draz tell him about his dreams for entertainment . Today , however , Draz has had a troublesome dream . He feels he is more than what he is . Sejeel mocks him , saying that he has always been a lowly alien . The Vorta ' s arrogant dismissals fade as Draz continues with what he saw in the dream : that he is actually another person , from another world ; that someone has transmitted a message about the events on Illarh ; that the Federation knows about the Dominion presence ; that the Federation is already dealing with the matter . Horrified , Sejeel attempts to check on the Jem ' Hadar : Static is his answer , followed by the sound of battle outside . Draz suddenly activates a Starfleet - style combadge , which is answered by Captain Jean - Luc Picard . Mortified that he has been fooled and complacent , Sejeel is taken prisoner as Draz reveals his true identity : the Human Gilaad Ben Zoma , formerly first officer of the . " Night of the Vulture " . The Beta XII - A entity is gloating about the maelstrom around it . Deep Space 9 has fallen and reverted to Terok Nor . The entity is looking forward to a long , violent war that will provide it with much needed anger and hatred to feed off of . However , events in the Sol system may interrupt its feed . . . In orbit of Earth , Cardassian operative Zonek Karle , modified to appear Human , is awaiting a very important passenger for his ship , the " Solanco " . That passenger arrives : a Founder , with information important to the Dominion war effort . The information she has retrieved are the codes to bring down the mine grid at the Bajoran wormhole ; if the codes are successfully used , reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant could sweep in , and the Federation and the Klingon Empire wouldn ' t stand a chance . With the Founder aboard , as well as the Vorta Methras and a unit of Jem ' Hadar , the irritated Karle departs the system for Terok Nor , a five - day journey . Karle , a patriotic Cardassian opposed to his planet ' s alliance with the Dominion , is all the more irritated by the interference of the Founder . She is constantly calling for a faster route , but Karle insists he knows the way to go . She also gloats about the Obsidian Order ' s destruction in the Omarion Nebula , further taxing his nerves . Methras is no help to his mood either , too busy daydreaming of a conquered Earth and Betazed to offer any help . Matters are further taxed when the USS " Bellingham " apperars to perform a routine security check . After being partially satisfied all is well and distracted by events in another sector , the Andorian captain bids them off and leaves . At this point , the " Solanco " is nearing the dangerous Hunyadi Rift , a spatial anomaly powerful enough to destroy anything trapped in its reach . Karle , tired of the interference of the Changeling , guns the ship towards the rift . Scared and angry in equal measure , the Changeling attempts to strangle Karle . Just as she is about to do so , a disruptor pistol appears in Karle ' s hand . He shoots the Changeling in the head , killing her . Karle himself is then quickly vaporized by the Jem ' Hadar . Hovering above , the Beta XII - A entity continues to manipulate events for its feed . The ship ' s supply of ketracel - white vanishes , and Methras is unable to explain what has happened . The enraged Jem ' Hadar brutally murder the defenseless Methras , beating him to death with their weapons after the entity has disabled his termination implant . With no one else left to play with , the entity manipulates the Jem ' Hadar into thinking the others are hoarding a supply of white . They turn on each other , the small ship turning into a bloodbath . Again and again , the entity revives the soldiers , and again and again , they murder each other . The entity , having the best feast it has ever had , is too enamored with the brawl to realize that the ship is being pulled into the Rift . By the time the entity realizes its danger , it is too late to escape , and the " Solanco " is disintegrated , taking the entity and the Jem ' Hadar with it . In the final moments of its life , several thoughts flash through the entity ' s mind : distress that its feeding is over , pleading that it wants just another chance , and the final , galling thought that , by destroying the ship before its arrival at Terok Nor , it has single - handedly saved its most bitter enemies , the Federation and the Klingon Empire . " The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned " . On Betazed , Lwaxana Troi and Mr . Homn are preparing to receive guests ; Elaine and Nathan Gold , family of Captain David Gold of the USS " da Vinci " . The talk is light : Children , Betazed ' s architecture , Lwaxana ' s furnishings , and food . She briefly thinks of the Dominion War , but dismisses the threat . After all , Betazed is of no military importance , and they have a defensive system , although it is in disrepair and fifty years old . A refit had been planned , but Troi herself voted against it mere weeks before . Suddenly , the battle mantra of the Jem ' Hadar slams into Lwaxana ' s head : It could only be possible if there were thousands upon thousands near the planet ; they ' re coming . Telepathically , she feels the horrifying death of the commander of Betazed ' s defenses , the fear of all Betazoid s , and the deaths of thousands as the Jem ' Hadar open fire on the planet . Soon , the invaders target the capital city , including the Troi household . The Troi house collapses , killing the Golds and Mr . Homn . Lwaxana and her young son Barin are the only survivors , shielded by Mr . Homm . The two are dug up by a rescue party and bundled off to an underground bunker to wait out the attack . En route , Lwaxana sees the capital in flames and virtually leveled . There , after meeting fellow government officials , Lwaxana finds out the Tenth Fleet has been beaten back ; Betazed has fallen to the Dominion . Despite the loss of her friends , servant , home , possessions , and planet , Lwaxana resolves herself and her fellow survivors . She tells them to organize resistance , vowing to make occupying Betazed a living hell for the invaders . " Blood Sacrifice " . The Romulan Senate argues whether to ally with the Federation and Klingon Empire or joining the Dominion , but when the Emperor of Romulus is murdered , Vulcan Ambassador Spock and his reunification cell attempt to uncover the who and the why . " This story is set immediately before and during . " " Mirror Eyes " . Told entirely in the viewpoint of journal entries , an undercover Romulan Tal Shiar agent on Deep Space 9 struggles with her mission until she is forced to assist Starfleet medical forces , including Julian Bashir , Beverly Crusher , and the EMH of the " Enterprise " in eradicating a Dominion - engineered plague . Admiral Leonard McCoy also appears as Chief of Starfleet Medicine , and a 200 - year - old report from a Doctor Phlox proves valuable to the research effort . " This story is set in the three month period between and . " " Twilight ' s Wrath " . Centurion Shinzon and his company of Reman shock troops are given a secret mission : to retake and destroy a secret Tal Shiar research facility on a planet in the former Neutral Zone that has been recently occupied by the Dominion , before a Federation and Klingon task force retakes the planet and discovers the lab , which would be a severe " embarrassment " to the Romulan Empire . If he survives the mission , Shinzon is promised command of his own warbird . Knowing full well that the Romulan commander of their ship has orders to destroy the lab from orbit , whether or not Shinzon succeeds , Shinzon and his troops massacre the Romulan crew and commandeer the ship , before attacking . After landing on the planet , Shinzon surprises the enormous Jem ' Hadar garrison guarding the facility by having the warbird piloted into the planet ' s surface in a Kamikaze attack that wipes out half the garrison and creates an EMP that disables both sides ' energy weapons . Fighting in hand - to - hand combat into the facility , Shinzon finds an experimental Thalaron radiation generator ( which he uses to wipe out the remaining Jem ' Hadar and their Vorta overseer ) and the android B - 4 – both of which play crucial roles in . His mission accomplished , Shinzon returns to Romulan space to claim his reward . " Eleven Hours Out " . Captain Picard and Deanna Troi have returned to Earth to attend the latest Starfleet Academy graduation ceremony . Among the recent graduates is Picard ' s niece - by - marriage ( through his sister - in - law , Marie Picard ) Ensign Amarante Lebel . The ceremonies are interrupted by the Breen ' s attack on San Francisco ( as chronicled in ) . Picard rallies the cadets to help evacuate the building into an old bomb shelter built below San Francisco during the Cold War , and to assess their situation . Although there are only three Breen ships ( disguised as freighters ) , Earth is practically defenseless : a Breen agent has taken over its only orbital weapon platform , and Starbase 1 has been disabled , trapping the starship USS " Columbia " inside . Starfleet ' s communications have been disabled , and only civilian news feeds are getting out . Picking up one of these emergency broadcasts , the " Enterprise " speeds back to the Sol system , several hours away . Realizing that the weapons platform will vaporize any incoming ship as soon as it enters the system , Picard daringly boards the platform ( only one person can go , because of the concentration of transport inhibitor s aboard ) and disables the Breen agent . Entering the system , the " Enterprise " helps free the " Columbia " from the jammed starbase doors , and the two ships drive off the Breen invaders together . While visiting a funeral for some of the many casualties of the attack , Amarante confides to her uncle that she has given up her plans to serve on a starship and will stay on Earth to help coordinate the reconstruction of Starfleet Headquarters . Picard has become very impressed with his niece ' s abilities , and vice - versa , and the two say an affectionate goodbye before Picard and Troi are beamed up . " Safe Harbors " . When word reaches Admiral Leonard McCoy and Captain Montgomery Scott of the Breen attack on Earth , they must join with another battle - scarred Federation starship and a group of young officers to avoid Breen forces in an unfriendly area . " Field Expediency " . In this tale spotlighting the crew from the SCE vessel USS " da Vinci " , officers and Stevens come under heavy fire from Breen forces looking to pick them off one by one while they try to capture some new - found technology . " A Song Well Sung " . This story features Captain of the IKS " Gorkon " , who , armed with only one arm , a " bat ' leth " , and a Klingon disruptor must fight seven Jem ' Hadar soldiers on a hot desert on the planet Marcan V . " Stone Cold Truths " . A hundred and fifty years after the Dominion War , a now - retired Zak Kebron tells his son of an experience during the war , and teaches him and his teacher a valuable lesson about viewing conflict . " Requital " . Simultaneous with the events of the DS9 finale : , who has asked for , and received , permission to serve aboard the " Defiant " during the Battle of Cardassia , forms an unlikely alliance with Glinn Ekoor after the ceasefire , to assassinate the Female Changeling .