A/N: Candy’s back and, this time, she talks about how she not only retrieved an Orb of the Prophets, but had to take it back to Mirror Bajor where she found herself facing Mirror Leeta, voiced by Chase Masterson.  I normally post recaps on Tuesday, but I was sick yesterday.  So, I had to make up for it.  Also, see if you can catch the subtle reference to another Deep Space Nine character.

Fleet Admiral’s Log Stardate 96012.75

This is Candy Marino speaking and I just got the Orb of Possibilities back from Gul Kardek.  Commander Sarish Minna contacted me and stated the obvious about how the True Way was following me.  Then she told me that I had to return the orb to the temple in Hathon. Sarish told me that she notified Vedek Krim and that she’s waiting for me in the temple.

I have to admit, I’m nervous about going to Bajor.  I don’t know if you know this but, when I was seventeen, I gave up my daughter for adoption.  Last I heard about her, a couple of Bajoran farmers took her in. I’ve been wondering if I should look her up; maybe even meet her.  Oh well, I’ll worry about that later.

Well, I didn’t get to beam down to Bajor immediately due to the True Way ambushing my ship.  Elisa managed to pick up their warp signatures before they hailed us. Apparently, it was Gul Mutak of the Kriger, the adjutant general to Gul Kardok.  He said that I was carrying property that belonged to the True Way, meaning the orb that they stole, and then told me to lower my shields and prepare to be boarded.  I quickly pointed out how stupid it was for him to be making demands in orbit of Bajor. Elisa told me that the man cut off communications and is powering up weapons, so they didn’t get to hear my retort.  Then she asked me what my orders were, which was to hail Deep Space 9. I contacted Saresh and told her that the Winchester got ambushed by the True Way and in orbit of Bajor no less. You can imagine that she was pissed, but she managed to cool herself long enough to tell me that she’ll borrow the Defiant and be there momentarily.  I told her not to worry, because we’ll hold them off.

It wasn’t long until the Defiant showed up anyway and, together, we kicked their asses!  After destroying the first two ships, Saresh contacted me to see if I was still in one piece and got a bit excited about teaching the next batch of True Way invaders a lesson.  She’s getting a little bloodthirsty for Cardassians but, if it helps her show these extremist nuts who’s boss, I really don’t care. Together, we defeated the next two True Way invaders and showed them why you don’t try to ambush people near the planet you used to rule as overlords.  Sarish contacted me to tell me that was the last of them, but she’ll remain in orbit while I return the Orb, just in case.

After that detour, I immediately beamed down to Hathon.  Elisa contacted me to tell me that Vedek Krin is waiting for me at the temple.  I’ll admit that I did a little sightseeing before I went to see her. I have to say, Bajor is a beautiful planet!  

Even if it does drive my allergies mad. No wonder the Cardassians took it over for so long. I also stopped by Colonel Kubus’s office to look up Rose, my daughter.  It was easy because there was only one Rose in all of Bajor. Turns out the farmers who adopted Rose are Termas Inarn and Lara. Yep, Lara as in Superman’s biological mom.  Rose also has a sister named Fiora. I only hope that they’re treating her well.

I finally went to the temple and stopped to read some of the Bajoran transcripts.  Hey, that orb isn’t going anywhere, I have time. One of the books had a possession story that gave me a serious Supernatural vibe.  I also found books about Sisko, a book about cooking for fasts (which seems like a great way to torture yourself) and even a book worshipping the Pah Wraiths.  I’m not big on Bajoran religion, but aren’t the Pah Wraiths to the Prophets as Satan is to God? Why would the temple have a book like that in their archives? My guess is, whoever this Anjohl Tennan is, he must’ve paid a fat load of latinum to get his book featured here.

Anyway, I finally talked to Vedek Krim and told her that I need to return the Orb to the temple.  

She was all smiles about it, claiming that The Prophets are smiling upon us and that what was lost is now returned.  Krim told me that I’ve done a great service for the Bajoran people and that they are most grateful. I told her that she can’t really speak on behalf of the entire Bajoran people anymore than I can speak on behalf of the entire human race. Krim didn’t respond to that and only told me to place the Orb upon the altar, but she did sound a bit annoyed. Oh well, what do I care?

I went to the altar and placed the Orb of Possibilities where it belonged only to find out that it didn’t belong.  Well, not in this temple anyway… or this world… or this universe. Yeah, I probably need to explain that. The Wormhole Aliens talked to me in the form of people I already knew which, I have to say, was actually pretty cool.  At least, it would be, if I ever wanted an orb experience in the first place. Anyway, they talked to me in these riddles about how the service rendered is not the service desired. Then they told me that, when we gaze in the mirror, we see our faces as others do, but reversed.  I may be brilliant at deductive reasoning, but I suck at riddles big time. After all this, they sent me back to Bajor to try to figure out what they meant.

Honestly, if I had known that I would be talking to the WAs, I would’ve sent someone else in my place, someone who would actually want an orb experience.  As pretty and mystical as those orbs looks, I’ve never wanted to use one and I’ve definitely never wanted to talk to the WAs. I make my own destiny and I don’t need a group of mystical aliens to tell me what that is.

After that, I went to Vedek Krim who told me that she would be honored to know what the Prophets shared with me, if I’m willing.  Krim claimed that sometimes their visions can be very confusing, but she has some experience interpreting them. I told her what they told me, that they suggested that it’s not their orb and I have to return it somewhere else.  Krim got confused about that, since it’s an Orb of the Prophets, so it has to belong on Bajor. Then she asked me if I’m familiar with the so-called Mirror Universe. Do I know anything about the MU? Only that it’s where Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura got stranded in after a transporter accident!  Then Kira visited it with Bashir and found out that the Terrans got enslaved by the Alliance thanks to Captain Kirk’s meddling! After that, they abducted Sisko a couple of times to force him to help out, first by having him pose as his MU counterpart who died and then by having him lead the Defiant!  Then Kira’s counterpart came to our universe with their Bareil to steal an orb! Before I could bring up the time Quark and Rom had to go to exchange a cloaking device for their Nagus, Krim told me rather politely that she sees that I’m familiar with it. She said that she wasn’t as familiar as I was and then told me that, if I want to learn more, I can read the book on that table over there by a Vedek Eeth describing his experiences and said that it could guide me.  I’m so ecstatic; I have to exercise serious self-control not to bounce around the whole temple!

I went to pick up the book and read about how fascinated Vedek Eeth was by the Mirror Universe, not that I can blame him.  

Then he talked about petitioning the Vedek Assembly for permission to go there. Unfortunately, for him, the Vedek Assembly denied his request because the Federation quarantined access to the MU and, at the time, Bajor was still seeking membership.  So, Eeth just renounced his seat on the Vedek Assembly and went to find the MU on his own, like a badass! As for how he managed this, turned out this former Vedek has an Engineer friend who owes him a favor. Well, he managed to find his way and, guess what he discovered, the Terran Empire’s back.  They took over Terok Nor, which we call Deep Space Nine in our universe, and dominated the Bajorans again. Talk about one-step forward and two steps back. The Terrans finally get their independence from the Alliance and they conquer them all over again. Guess conquest is just a never-ending cycle in the MU.  Plus, being on the path to peace is what got them enslaved in the first place, so maybe that’s not too hard to believe. The Bajorans are now doing the work that they made the Terrans do, mining and ore processing. Eeth talked about how he needed to cross over with a spaceship and he got a message from the MU that offered to help. After that, our universe never heard from him again. This sounds like one of those horror holo-programs where the guy goes missing and it turns out to be the work of a monster that hides in the shadows.

After that, I got a message from Sarish.  So, I told her what I found out, that the orb’s from the MU and we can pass through the anomaly we found earlier.  She told me to be careful, because the MU is known to be more treacherous than our universe. Then she said that I’ll be cut off from any support here.  I told her that we’ll be fine. After all, it’s not the first time my crew found themselves in a life or death situation and came out on top. Elisa contacted me and asked if I was ready to beam up.  I told her to beam me up and take me to the badlands.

I got contacted by Sarish the minute I arrived.  She asked me what our status was and I told her that we’ve entered the Badlands and are heading to the anomaly.  Sarish told me to keep the comm lines open as long as possible. She sounds like my mom when I first started learning to drive a hover car.  Then Sarish started talking about how we have limited intelligence on the MU but, from what we know, it appeared that the Terran Rebellion spread from Terok Nor, eventually forming a new empire.  So, she’s basically telling me what I already know, but that’s not going to stop me from being excited to find out more. Sarish told me that the Terran Empire reoccupied Bajor and that she believes that this Captain Leeta is the administrator of the Bajor sector.  Leeta, I can swear that I heard that name before but I can’t remember from where. Hey, my brain stores a ton of information and, occasionally, I have to delete some. Though I might be able to restore some files from the trash folder.

Later on, I got contacted by Gul Haneri of the Torhne, who called herself the Chief Tactical Advisor to Gul Kardek of the True Way.  She said the usual about how I’m not welcome here and to lower my shields and prepare to be boarded. Yeah, I’ll get right on that, sarcastically speaking.  Instead, I went to red alert. So, I had to battle them and I focused on the two weaker ships before attacking Torhne. While I was fighting, Sarish told me that she believes Gul Kardek used the orb from the MU to somehow create the anomaly that leads back to them.  Then Sarish talked about how he must have formed an alliance with the Terran Empire and warned me to stay on my guard, since they’re probably expecting me. Considering that the Alliance from the MU who enslaved the Terrans is made up of Klingons, Cardassians and Bajorans, I find it surprising that they’d team up with the Cardassians from our universe so quickly.  Anyway, after taking care of Torhne’s lackeys, I destroyed her ship and Chris contacted me. He told me that he believes that we can activate the portal by bombarding it with tachyon radiation. I told him to make the necessary modifications to the deflector dish, because I really want to see the MU. Then I did what Chris suggested and entered the portal.

As soon as I found myself in the MU, Captain Leeta herself greeted me.  Now I remember her, she’s that Bajoran woman Gul Kardek contacted. I have to say, she’s either aged well or she’s got great access to a plastic surgeon.  She went on about how it’s a pleasure to have visitors from my universe and how she didn’t believe Gul Kardek when he said that we’d be here, but she couldn’t afford to take the chance.  Then told me to surrender now and she’ll guarantee the safety of my crew. You can bet that, after all the studying I did on her universe, I know better than to take her up on her word. So, I refused to surrender and asked her if she thinks I’m a complete moron.  Leeta seemed a little set back but settled for cliché villainous taunting as she said that we could have had so much fun together and now she has to destroy me. Yeah, well she can try. I focused on destroying the ships from the Terran Empire and, after destroying one of them, Leeta gleefully talked about the fun she was having and how she was growing rather bored before I showed up.  Well, I’m not here to entertain her. After destroying Leeta’s pathetic attempt at an ambush, she apologized for the state of her troops. She talked about how they’d grown rather complacent and how she’ll have to provide a demonstration. Apparently, she sucks at demonstrations, because I had no trouble kicking her ass. Then Leeta talked about how Gul Kardek warned her not to underestimate me and she won’t make the same mistake next time, if there is a next time.  After Leeta left, Elisa contacted me and said that we can warp to Bajor, which I immediately did.

Finally, I made it to the Mirror Bajor!  

Yes, I’m still excited about being in the MU, despite getting attacked by an evil bimbo. Elisa was quick to remind me that this isn’t a tourist expedition by telling me that Bajor was re-conquered by the Terrans and that we need to be on our guard, but I was only half-way paying attention.  She was kind of right because, the minute we stepped out of the transporter room, we got ambushed by the True Way. They didn’t put up much of a fight, even with me coughing and sneezing like crazy, but Elisa got worried that they followed us through the portal.  I told her that, more likely, they were Gul Kardek’s troops just waiting for us to arrive.

Remember how I talked about Bajor’s beauty, with its plants and trees everywhere and how it drove my allergies nuts?  Well, in the MU, the Terrans went a bit more exotic disco club and less nature holo-documentary. Let me tell you, this club only caters to one type of preference, because all they have are silhouettes of naked women and not one hologram of a man who’s at least scantily clad.  

It’s also raining like mad and that’s not exactly good for my allergies either. Thankfully, Chris injected me with medicine after the battle so my allergies don’t wear me down. The Bajorans also look far more bitter and hateful as opposed to serene and peaceful.

It wasn’t long until we ran into the bimbo again.  She talked about how Gul Kardek was right, we are formidable but perfectly predictable.  I’d be angry about her calling me predictable, if I wasn’t sneezing up a storm. Chris’s medicine hadn’t fully kicked in yet, but I’m feeling better than I was a few minutes ago.  Leeta ordered her Terran forces to attack and said that she wanted us alive. Thankfully, that gave us an advantage even with my huge disadvantage. Sometimes, Leeta’s forces managed to get the drop on me, but we kicked their asses.  We would’ve taken Leeta down with them, but she spent the whole battle hiding behind a force field and beamed up afterwards. Okay, so maybe she’s not a complete bimbo, but I don’t think that kind of planning takes much brainpower.

We continued to the temple and passed by the fountain right in front of it where, in our universe, there’s a large tree.  In the MU, it’s a giant dancing holographic stripper and guess what gender that is. I didn’t have much time to dwell on it, as my team got ambushed by another group of Terrans.  This time, Leeta was nowhere to be found, but we did see Gul Kardek again. He said that we’ve interfered with his plans for the last time and attacked us. Thankfully, my medicine fully kicked in and I could actually fight to the fullest of my potential with my crew.  Also, is it just me or is Gul Kardek’s posture a little too perfect for a humanoid? Anyway, Gul Kardek actually managed to put up a fight. I can’t count how many times me and my crew had to make use of the medical generator. I also had to use the second setting on my weapon, something I don’t often do.  

Vedek Krim, or her MU counterpart, showed up in the middle of the fight and tried to stop it, saying that fighting is not permitted here.  Yeah, Vedek, that’s really going to stop Kardek from trying to kill us. What happened next was a bit of a shock, because Kardek’s arm turned to liquid and stretched out Mr. Fantastic style to strangle the Vedek!  That’s right, Kardek’s a changeling! Well, it explains why his posture’s so perfect. Then he told the Vedek that this is not her affair. After that interruption, we attacked Kardek with him using his changeling powers.  Though I don’t get why he waited to use those powers in the first place. It wasn’t long until Kardek went full on changeling, but we managed to defeat him.

I even made sure to lock Kardek up in a special box so he won’t cause any more trouble.

After the battle, I healed Vedek Krim, who thanked me and admitted that she was surprised to see a changeling here.  

Not surprising considering that, in the accounts I read, the only changeling they knew was Mirror Odo and our Bashir killed him.  Then the Vedek asked me what the purpose for our visit was. I told her that we’re here to return their orb. She was rather surprised, due to the fact that they lost the orb decades ago during the First Occupation of Bajor. Then Vedek Krim decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, except she put it in a more religious way. She told me to go place it on the altar, which I planned on doing in the first place.

Before going to the temple, I picked up a PADD Gul Kardek left behind and found a note he sent to a man named Gul Pulat.  

Kardek talked about how he ran into some complications, meaning us, and how we stole the Orb of Possibilities. He assumed that we returned it to the Bajorans by now.  Then he talked about how grateful he was that the anomaly’s still stable and retreated to the MU to take shelter with his Terran allies. Kardek told Pulat that he needed him to meet with a Dumat’Zukan at a facility in the Devos system in his place. Kardek was even kind enough to send Pulat the coordinates.  Dumat’Zukan, that’s a Jem’Hadar name if I ever heard one.

We went to the temple and I made a minor detour to the library and, let me tell you, most of the books read the same as the books in our universe, the only exceptions are the book about Sisko’s life and the book about the other universe written by Eeth played out differently.  Not surprising since Mirror Sisko’s no emissary and their Eeth would have a different experience. There’s still a book written by an Anjohl Tennan worshipping the Pah Wraiths. Even in the MU, the Bajorans still consider the Pah Wraiths the bad guys. Can’t say I blame them. Even their name doesn’t sound nice.  Then again, my name’s Candy and I’m not a blonde space trash bimbo stripping on Risa. So, in all reality, what difference does a name even make? The away team didn’t like my little detour, but I told them that the orb’s not going anywhere.

I went back to the altar and placed the orb there, again.  This time, they thanked me for restoring the balance and took the time to warn me about an ambush waiting for me in space.  Fortunately, they were kind enough to send me and my ship back to our regular universe.

Elisa contacted me and asked what happened.  All she remembers is that I opened the orb case, everything went white and she and the rest of my away team appeared on the Winchester in orbit of Bajor, back in our own universe.  I told her that the Mirror Prophets returned us, assuming that they were different Prophets from our universe. No, I’m not converting to Bajoran religion, I’m just feeling too lazy to call them Wormhole Aliens right now.  I told her that I have to talk to Vedek Krim and then I’ll beam up.

Anyway, I went to see the Vedek and she told me that she didn’t see me enter the temple. I told her that the Mirror Prophets returned me here. She told me that she didn’t know much about the Mirror Prophets but, if they’re anything like our Prophets, then this is a great honor.  They were so similar, I’m still wondering if I even talked to their counterparts at all, or if they even have counterparts. Then Krim said that it’s very rare for the Prophets to interfere directly with our lives.  I’ll admit, I wish they stayed out of mine. Then she asked if my mission was a success. I sarcastically replied that it was a huge failure and the Prophets sent me here out of pity. She ignored my comment and said that I have the gratitude of two Bajors and closed with “May the Prophets continue to smile upon you.”  

It gave me flashbacks of my grandpa trying to force the Catholic religion on me. Thankfully, my mom wouldn’t let him. Still, can you imagine the look on my grandpa’s face if I ever told him that I actually consulted with “false Gods?” Maybe I’ll break it to him next time I visit Earth.

I know I told Elisa I’d beam up after talking to Vedek Krim, but I didn’t say that I’d beam up right away.  I took a walk outside, fully able to enjoy the beauty now that I took Chris’s medicine. My mind started wondering about more than just the Wormhole Aliens. Maybe I had an MU counterpart over there I haven’t met, one who’s more Moriarty to my Sherlock Holmes or Joker to my Batman. Maybe my MU counterpart is like Leeta, a bimbo high on power.  Maybe, and here’s the worst thought, my MU counterpart is stripping on Risa, not taking part in the Terran Empire whatsoever. What choices did she make? Did she ever meet Joey and, if she did, was he the one who seduced and abducted her?  Maybe she was the evil seductress manipulating him to her own ends. What about Chris? Was he still the Watson to my Holmes or the Alfred to my Batman? Will I ever know?

While I was contemplating, I got a communication from Sarish who talked about how surprised she was to hear that Gul Kardek’s a changeling.  She said that an alliance between the True Way and the Alpha Dominion could prove dangerous for the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Sarish did look on the bright side, by saying that she’s happy the orb’s been returned to the MU and I’ve returned to our universe.  Fortunately, Sarish doesn’t get distracted by small details and focused on the big picture, which was stopping the alliance before they could do any further damage. Then Sarish told me that they’ll analyze the PADD I found to see if they find this ketracel-white factory.

After Sarish hung up, I remembered the data I found on Rose and her new adopted family.  Maybe I should just stop by and introduce myself. Rose might be happy to meet her bio-mom and her family might welcome me into their home.  I could be their Fonzie or their Uncle Jesse, visiting their home and being Rose and Fiora’s cool older sister figure at the most. Then again, Rose might realize that I abandoned her and hate me for it.  Her family might not even let me talk to her and who could blame them? If some stranger showed up at your house claiming to be your kid’s biological mom, how would you react? Maybe I could just visit the Terma Farm and watch Rose from a safe distance, just to see how she’s doing.  I mean that in a non-creepy way. What are the odds that she’ll spot me? Then again, there’s a good chance that those odds might not be in my favor and I doubt that I can book a nearby hotel on short notice. I beamed back up and ordered my crew to leave orbit. Elisa asked me what took so long and I only told her that I was gathering my thoughts, even if I didn’t say what my thoughts were about.  I know, I can fangirl about going to the MU but I can’t bring myself to meet my own daughter. What kind of coward am I?

A/N: So, what did you think of Candy and her trip to the Mirror Universe?  Feel free to request a Captain’s Log or team up with one of my characters for a Star Trek Online mission that I haven’t already done.  You can request or team up with me to do a Star Trek Online mission I’ve already written if it’s from the point of view of another character.  For example, feel free to request for me to recap this mission with a different character.  You can also Role-Play in the comments with your own Star Trek created character, if you wish.