Star Trek: Into the Void - Season One

Star Trek: Into the Void
Episode One - “Haunted”
By Jack D. Elmlinger


Prologue

The planet Malthea II hung like a jewel against the darkness of space. It was a bright and shiny world that was resplendent in white, green, and blue colors. A small vessel orbited miles above the atmosphere. The USS Aora, a Nova-class science vessel was ten orbits into her mapping mission and sailing with ease across the face of the planet.

The Bridge of the Aora was a hive of activity while science officers manned most of the Bridge stations, chattering among themselves.

The Tactical Officer, a Tellarite woman, busied herself on another scan of the surrounding space. Although the Aora was a science vessel, it was still only a few short years since the end of the Dominion War and old habits died hard, especially for tactical officers. The First Officer’s position was the only place that was unoccupied since the Captain had given his First Officer some well-deserved time off-shift.

Captain Stephen Miller was young for his rank, only thirty-four years old but he ran a tight ship. Although he was a scientist, he found these routine mapping missions to be quite tedious. Although Malthea II was close to the edge of Federation space, he wanted to plunge out into the unknown.

“Mister Sallek, anything interesting?,” he asked his Science Officer.

Lieutenant Commander Sallek turned away from his station. “Negative. The planet is as we expected it, sir. Can I ask why it is that you expect me to find something different?” Despite being over seventy years old, Sallek’s Vulcan nature still found Humans still difficult to work with sometimes.

“I guess I was just hoping for a surprise or two on this mission,” Miller said, smiling. “It has been thirty years since any vessel spent more than a few hours here. Maybe the away team will find something?”

“I doubt that, sir. The colony has never reported any discoveries.”

“It’s a big planet, Commander,” said the Captain in response. “Besides, you know what they say about this part of space…” He let that sentence hang in the air, knowing that his comments would annoy Sallek ever so slightly.

Sallek raised an eyebrow and almost smiled. “The fact that there is a slight statistic in the number of ships that have gotten into difficulties in this region of space is no reason to believe in myths and legends,” he said with some authority.

Miller refused to give in. He was beginning to enjoy the discussion and it certainly cut through the monotony. “Aren’t you even curious about why this region has a reputation? It’s not just ships being damaged. It’s ships that are vanishing into thin air.”

“That statement is an impossibility. Ships do not simply ‘vanish into thin air’.”

“Ship decloaking from stern!,” called out the Tactical Officer.

“Shields up!,” Miller said, snapping him back from his playful frame of mind. “Yellow Alert!”

“Shields up.”

“Identify that ship,” Miller ordered.

“Unknown, sir. The configuration is fairly generic for a large freighter but I’m getting some conflicting readings. The cloaking device has the resonance frequency of a Klingon model but their warp signature seems to be… Talarian?”

Miller relaxed, just a little. “Pakleds. Hail them.”

On the main viewscreen, the triangular shape of the approaching vessel was replaced by a bulky humanoid. His face wore a worryingly benign smile.

“I’m Captain Stephen Miller of the Federation starship Aora. Can we assist you?”

“I am Glablok, Captain of the ship Loyo. We are Pakleds. We look for things,” he said, speaking in a childish manner that reminded Miller of his nephews when they had just been a few years old.

“Yes,” Miller said. He had never encountered Pakleds before but he knew from Starfleet memorandums that they were mainly harmless as long as precautions were taken. “You look for things that make you go.”

Glablok seemed confused by his words. He turned his head and looked over his left shoulder before doing the same over his right shoulder. “We can already go?”

“Of course,” Miller said, smiling now. “Then you look for things to make you stronger?” He couldn’t help letting a small note of sarcasm enter into his question.

“We are already strong!,” Glablok spat back at him.

At that moment, the viewscreen reverted back to a view of the Loyo. Miller looked in shock as a sphere of bright yellow energy was firing from the bow of the Pakled ship.

“They’re firing!,” shouted the Tactical Officer.

It took seconds for the energy sphere to traverse the distance between the two vessels. Miller had only enough time to shout out,” Brace for impact!” Then the sphere struck.

Strangely, there was no shockwave.

“What hit us?,” asked Miller.

“Unknown,” reported the Tellarite,” but it’s drained our shields. They’re at twelve percent.”

“Return fire,” he said but he was too late as two more energy spheres flew towards the Aora.

“Shields are down,” the Tellarite woman said as the first sphere struck,” and weapons are offline.” As the second sphere struck, the lights on the Bridge darkened for a second before the emergency lighting came online.

“Warp core is offline,” Sallek said. “We have power drains on all systems.”

“Can you stop it?,” Miller asked, moving towards his station.

“Not until I determine what the spheres are and that may prove to be difficult. I am unsure how long our computers and sensors will continue to function.”

“Captain, I have multiple transporter signals on Decks Two and Three,” said the Tactical Officer.

Miller moved to one side of the Bridge and opened a hidden locker. He grabbed two phasers and tossed one to Sallek before returning to his chair. He tapped his combadge and said,” Miller to all hands. Stand by to repel boarders.”

A moment later and another energy sphere struck the Aora. The Bridge was plunged into total darkness once more. The only sound that could be heard was the whine of incoming transporter beams…


Chapter One

Deep Space Five was located on the far edge of Federation territory near both the Romulan Star Empire and the newly-rebuilt Federation colony on Ivor Prime. Unlike the bizarre artistic Cardassian architecture of Deep Space Nine, Deep Space Five was built for functionality only. The central structure was a tall cylinder that tapered to a rounded point at both the top and the bottom. Radiating out from the structure were long arms that served as docking ports for ships. Several ships, both Federation Starfleet and Civilian, were currently docked there.

At the very top of the central structure was an observation lounge used for conferences. It was a large, round room and capable of seating over fifty people, the walls and the ceiling were made out of transparent aluminum that provided a wonderful view of the space around the station. It was a truly stunning sight but neither of the occupants were paying much attention to it at the moment.

Sitting on one side of the conference table was Admiral James Gavin who was engrossed in a PADD. On the other side of the table was Commander Isabel Cardonez and her eyes were focused on the back of the PADD. She hadn’t felt this nervous since her days at Starfleet Academy. She was an attractive woman in her late thirties, even though he looked like she was younger. Her skin was a light bronze in color and her hair was jet-black, hanging in a bob. As she was known to do when she was nervous, she pushed it back over her ears which were pointed. They were the only external sign of her heritage.

Gavin laid the PADD down on the tabletop and smiled at Cardonez. “You’ve had a solid career to date, wouldn’t you say, Commander?,” he asked her. Gavin was a rotund man in his mid-seventies with mottled pale skin and shaven white hair. He had commanded a starship for over twenty years before reluctantly accepting a promotion. Since then, he was well-known as one of the more maverick of Starfleet Admirals.

Cardonez tried to choose her words carefully. “I don’t feel like I’ve had a particularly memorable career, sir. I can think of a dozen officers off the top of my head who have had more ‘solid’ careers than me. I just do my job and I do it well. I can’t even see myself making Admiral.”

“Hah!,” Gavin said, picking up the PADD again. “Your record says nothing of modesty, Commander. You were the Security Chief aboard the USS Galaxy for over five years and you gained numerous commendations, including the Medal of Honor on Solus Prime.” At the mention of Solus Prime, Cardonez reached her right hand across to her left arm, giving it a squeeze. If Gavin noticed this involuntary action at all, he made no reference to it.

“For the last four years, you’ve commanded the Osprey through several engagements during the war including the defense of Pacifica,” Gavin said, looking up the information on the PADD. “Believe me, Commander. Very few officers have an award created especially for them. The Osprey held off superior Dominion forces for several hours until you were relieved. You saved millions.”

“And all that it cost me was half of my crew,” she said. “I would happily trade my Pacifica Cross to have them back.”

“I understand. I’ve lost a hell of a lot of good men and women under my command.” He paused before asking,” So, what have you and the Osprey been doing since the war?”

“Maintaining security. We were patrolling along the Neutral Zone when we were diverted here.”

“Not much fun for a soldier, is it? Patrols, supply runs, and the like.”

“It’s my job, sir. It’s nice to have some peace and quiet again.”

“Bullshit! We don’t let promising officers waste away on mundane tasks if we can help it. Why haven’t you requested a transfer? You could have been the First Officer of any number of ships when the war ended.”

“Honestly?,” she replied to which he nodded in the affirmative. “I’ve gotten used to being in charge. I don’t want to play second fiddle to anyone again.”

Gavin chuckled. “Excellent answer. It’s hard to give up the chair once you’ve sat in it, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, in that case, there’s only one thing for it.” Gavin reached across the table and placed something in front of her.

Isabel Cardonez felt her heart pounding. It was strange how a small round pip could have that effect on someone. She tentatively reached for it, convinced that the Admiral would snatch it back at any moment. Of course, he didn’t.

“Isabel Cardonez, it is with great pleasure that I hereby promote you to the rank of Captain.” He stood from his seat and extended his hand towards her.

Cardonez pinned the fourth pip to her maroon collar before standing and shaking the Admiral’s hand. “Thank you, sir.”

“Well, as I said, we don’t like to waste good officers. Especially since we have so few of them left.” He returned to his seat and Cardonez followed suit. “Now that wasn’t the only reason why I asked you here. I have a new mission for you, Captain Cardonez. A mission and a new ship.”

“A new ship?,” she queried him.

“Yes. The Osprey is good for what she was built for as an escort vessel. For your next assignment, you’ll need something with a bit more firepower. What do you know about Sector Two-Nine-Zero-Zero-Four?”

“Quite a bit,” Cardonez replied. “I was born there.”

“Yes, on Taliron Four. What else do you know about that region of space?”

“It’s sparsely populated and it’s never been fully explored. Unofficially, it’s referred to as the ‘Starships’ Graveyard’. Many ships that have traversed it have experienced difficulties. The area is notorious for ion storms and related phenomena. In addition, several vessels have completely disappeared.”

“Including the USS Ranger, a hundred years ago.”

“Yes. Although, that was before the sector was properly charted,” Cardonez said, raising an eyebrow and smiling. “Don’t tell me that you believe in the myth?”

Gavin laughed. “No, I don’t believe that there’s a giant monster that eats starships living inside a nebula in Sector Two-Nine-Zero-Zero-Four.”

“Good. I was beginning to worry that my extra pip was going to turn out to be made of cheese for a minute there.”

Gavin composed himself. “Irrespective of whether it’s ion storms, pirate activity or giant space monsters, the truth is that this sector is unlucky. You’re here because that unluckiness is increasing.”

“What do you mean?”

Gavin threw his PADD across the table and she picked it up. A list of information was displayed by date and she looked through it as he spoke. “In the last few years, incidents have increased in volume. In the last two months alone, two Bolian freighters were destroyed under mysterious circumstances and a Federation supply vessel on course to Malthea II was hijacked with his cargo stolen and its crew slaughtered.”

“My God,” Cardonez said, shocked at the list of vessels and the descriptions of their fates.

“Exactly, and the situation has gotten worse. A week ago, the USS Aora vanished while in orbit over Malthea II.” Gavin stood up and walked over to a window. Staring out at the stars, he continued,” The war hit us hard. The fleet had only just gotten back to its pre-war levels. Starfleet’s exploration policy has been on hold for far too long. I intend to put it back on track and the incident with the Aora will aid me with that. I’ve used the incident to get a starship reassigned, specifically to explore Sector Two-Nine-Zero-Zero-Four. I want you to command it.``

Cardonez stood up and walked over to stand a few meters behind the Admiral. “So my mission is?”

Gavin turned towards her. “Your mission is to search for the Aora. However, you have a mandate to explore that sector as you see fit and even to push out into the unknown if you deem it to be necessary.”

“Sir, with all due respect, you need an explorer. I’m a soldier. Nothing more.”

Gavin clasped his hands behind his back. “I disagree. Both of your parents were explorers and it’s in your genes. Besides, the Aora was commanded by a scientist and she’s nowhere to be found. If there’s a new power rising up in that area of the Galaxy, I want a commanding officer with combat experience on the front lines. Besides, you’ll have a good backup. I’ve assigned a top First Officer to you.”

“Who is it?”

“First things first,” Gavin said, turning back towards the window. “Don’t you want to see your new command?” He pointed down towards one of the docking pylons.

Cardonez moved to his side and followed his gesture. The only ship that was in view was a New Orleans-class frigate. She felt her insides flip while she gazed at it. The New Orleans-class was reminiscent of the Galaxy-class ships. Certainly the saucer section and the main hull were almost smaller versions of that ship class. Rather than curved struts to the warp nacelles through, the New Orleans-class had straighter struts that swept back at an angle. The ship was around three hundred meters long.

Cardonez almost didn’t hear Gavin as she was so engrossed in the beauty of her new ship. “USS Testudo, New Orleans-class, registry number NCC-63590. She was commissioned in 2360 and she’s a damned fine ship.” His words were filled with pride and Cardonez knew why.

“Your last command, right?”

“Yes, from 2365 to 2370. Right before they kicked me upstairs. You’ll be her fourth Commanding Officer. Treat her well, Captain.”

“What about the crew?,” she asked him, tearing her eyes away from the ship to face the Admiral.

“Ah, yes,” Gavin said. He picked up the PADD again and accessed a different set of information. “Your First Officer is Commander Yashiro Masafumi. He’s spent the last few years as the First Officer of the USS Maelstrom. He has a lot of experience in exploration and he’s a top scientist. I think that the two of you will complement each other well. I’ve also recruited several officers that you’ve requested for the Osprey in the last several months.”

“I knew it! No wonder all of my staff requests seemed to vanish into a black hole!”

“Lieutenant Commander Adam Huntington will be your Tactical Officer and he’s a good officer with a lot of invaluable experience. You’ll also have Lieutenant Kehen at the helm. I know that you’ve been chasing her since she graduated from the Academy. Congratulations! You’ve caught her.”

“What about a Chief Medical Officer? I’d like to take Doctor Parker with me if it’s possible.”

“I’m sorry but no. You have Doctor Hollem Azahn who was assigned to the Enterprise. He has a personal recommendation from Doctor Beverly Crusher herself.”

“And a Chief Engineer? There’s no mention of one and there’s only a hundred and seventy names here!”

“Correct,” said the Admiral. “You can choose your own Chief Engineer and nine others to transfer over from the Osprey.”

“Fine. I know who I’ll take with me. When do we leave?”

“Get ready to depart in twelve hours. I’m sorry that it’s not much lead time but every minute counts if you’re going to have any hope of locating the Aora’s crew alive.”

“Understood, sir. I’ll get right on it.” Cardonez turned to leave.

“One last question?”

“Sir?”

“Did you really enjoy the peace and quiet of the last two years?,” he asked her, smiling.

“Honestly, sir. I gave some serious consideration towards launching a torpedo or two at Starbase Two-One-Seven, a few days ago. Just to relieve the monotony.” Captain Isabel Cardonez smiled and left the room, leaving Admiral Gavin laughing in her wake.

 

Chapter Two

Lieutenant Elizabeth Tennyson had barely enough time to digest the news before she was expected aboard the Testudo to take her place as Chief Engineer. Sparing a few minutes to throw some belongings into a duffel bag and say a quick goodbye to some of her friends, she came straight here. So eager that she came to Main Engineering, her case in her hand before finding her quarters.

The warp core seemed to be huge in comparison to the Osprey’s and she couldn’t believe that there were so many people working around it.

Liz Tennyson was twenty-eight years old. She was tall, just under six feet, and she wore her shoulder-length strawberry-blonde hair in a ponytail. She had pale blue eyes that she thought bulged out a little too much. Although almost everyone had assured her that they were actually one of her most attractive features. After years of effort, she was actually comfortable with her height and she didn’t hunch down anymore to try and compensate.

After a minute of standing there, gazing at the pulsing warp core, a middle-aged man walked up to her. He wore the pips of a full Lieutenant. “Can I help you?,” he asked her curtly.

“I hope so,” she said, tearing her gaze away from the core. “I’m Lieutenant Liz Tennyson, the new Chief Engineer.” She smiled and extended her hand towards him.

“Hmm,” said the mystery man. “I’m Lieutenant Bill Reeves, Acting Chief Engineer.” He shook her hand, firmly.

Uh, oh, she thought, he probably thought that he’d get my job. “I’m pleased to meet you,” she replied.

“Not as pleased as I am. Now I’m not responsible for this beast anymore,” he said, thrusting a thumb at the warp core. “We can’t stabilize her and until we do, we’re limited to Warp Four. Would you care to take a look?” He didn’t wait for any answer before striding off towards the main engineering console.

“Ah, well, there’s no rest for the wicked!,” she muttered before she rolled up her uniform sleeves, picked up her case, and followed him.

* * * *

Doctor Hollem Azahn was furiously pacing around Sickbay with a PADD in his hand, trying to determine what was missing from the medical supplies aboard. He checked through the inventory five times and he knew that something was missing but he couldn’t figure out what it was and it was driving him nuts. His uniform jacket had been tossed aside several minutes ago and his blue undershirt was open at the neck. He was a tall, gangly Bajoran who was thirty years old. His dark hair was short but tousled.

He was the only person in Sickbay at the moment. With no patients and a Chief Medical Officer on the warpath, every other member of the medical staff had beaten a hasty retreat. Hollem was about to scroll back to the top of his list when the doors to Sickbay opened and a young officer in a gold uniform stepped inside.

Hollem stopped dead in his tracks and pointed a finger at the now very startled young officer. “Ah, ha!,” he cried out. “Pylium!” He smiled, pleased at himself for figuring it out.

“Uh, no. Lieutenant Valian Kandro, actually,” he replied. “I just transferred over from the Osprey.”

“Yes, you’re Lieutenant Kandro, a Betazoid and you require Pylium.” Hollem dashed over to where his uniform jacket lay and pulled it on, leaving it open as he tapped his combadge. “This is Doctor Hollem Azahm to Deep Space Five Medical Bay.”

“MedBay here, Nurse Derran speaking. How can we help you?”

“I need approximately twelve milliliters of Pylium, ASAP.”

“Stand by, please.”

Given some time to pause, Hollem pulled a chair up and said,” Please sit down, Lieutenant. Sometimes I forget my manners.”

He took the seat. Valian Kandro was around the same age as the Doctor but a lot neater. He was a few inches shorter and his hair was blonde, clipped close to his scalp. His eyes were wide and near-black, the telltale sign that all Betazoids possessed.

“So you’ve read my file already?”

“Yes,” Hollem said, grabbing another seat before sitting backwards on it so he could rest his arms on the back of the chair. “Fascinating. If you don’t mind my saying that?”

“Not really. It’s not an uncommon condition among my people.”

“I know,” Hollem said, eagerly,” but I’ve met very few Betazoids. I hear that it affects one in a hundred thousand. Is that correct?”

Kandro relaxed a little now that the Doctor seemed to be calming down. “Near enough. It’s actually one in a hundred and twenty thousand.”

“And when you suffer an attack, the areas of your brain that are associated with telepathy simply shut down?”

“Simply put, yes. I lose the ability to send and receive telepathic messages. I also can’t read the emotions of others. Plus I get the worst headache that you can imagine.”

“That’s where the Pylium comes in?”

“Yeah, but all that it does is control the headaches. There’s no cure for Silena.”

“Silence of thought,” the Doctor muttered, translating the Betazoid name for the condition.

“It sounds poetic, doesn’t it?,” Kandro asked him, bitterly. “Instead, it’s a living nightmare for a telepathic species.”

“How often are your attacks?,” asked Hollem.

“The last year or so, they’ve been coming every few days. They last up to three hours now. The older that I get, the more frequent the attacks come and the longer that they last. If the condition follows the natural pattern, I’ll lose all of my telepathic abilities before I’m –” Kandro was cut off as the Doctor’s communicator chirped.

“Hollem here.”

“Doctor Hollem, this is Nurse Derran. We have twelve milliliters of Pylium on its way to you. It’ll be delivered shortly.”

“Thank you, Nurse Derran.”

“You’re welcome. Deep Space Five out.”

Hollem smiled. “You know, this would be easier to acquire if we could replicate the stuff. We can’t even use the transporters because it’s so delicate.”

“Just as long as I have some. The headaches aren’t life-threatening but they’re so painful that they preclude me from actually doing my job.”

Hollem nodded. “You were talking about the natural pattern of the condition?”

“Ah, yes. If it follows the standard, I’ll lose all of my telepathic abilities by the age of forty, give or take a year or so, either way,” Kandro said, becoming slightly uncomfortable at the take that their conversation was taking.

“When was your last attack?”

“Yesterday. It was quite mild, actually. Look, I appreciate that you have to ask all of these questions as my Doctor, but it’s not something that I like to think about too often.” Kandro forced a smile onto his face.

“Of course.” Hollem seemed to be at a loss for a moment before thinking of a way to change the subject. “Okay. So, welcome aboard.” He extended his hand towards him and Kandro shook it. “I’ve only been aboard for a few days myself but it seems like a good ship.”

“Is there a bar?”

“Yes. ‘The Backyard’. It’s on Deck Four, aft. Maybe we could continue our conversation later?,” the Bajoran asked him. “I haven’t had a chance to mingle with the crew yet. As for the rest of the medical staff…” He gestured around the empty Sickbay. “... I seem to scare them.”

Kandro smiled back at him. “Well, I did bring a few friends with me from the Osprey but one more isn’t going to hurt. Anyways, I’d better dash. I’m expected on the Bridge.” He stood up and moved towards the door.”

“Uh, Lieutenant?”

“What?”

“Why did you come in here?,” Hollem asked with a puzzled grin on his face.

“Oh, yeah. I just wanted to tell you that Doctor Parker is sending over twenty-five milliliters of Pylium over as soon as he has it safely packaged up. I also have about five doses ready to go as well.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that before I ordered more?,” the Doctor asked, his grin growing even wider and more puzzled.

Kandro smirked at him. “Trust me, Doctor, if you had my head, you’d want to have as much Pylium on board as possible.” With that said, he left, leaving Doctor Hollem Azahm speechless.

* * * *

The turbolift doors opened and Captain Isabel Cardonez stepped out onto her Bridge for the first time.

“Captain on the Bridge,” came a clipped English-sounding voice.

Cardonez walked over to the Tactical station. The Bridge of the Testudo was quite similar in layout to a Galaxy-class Bridge. Smaller, of course, but the positions were pretty much the same. Lieutenant Commander Adam Huntington sat at the apex of the horseshoe that divided the front and the back of the Bridge.

“Lieutenant Commander, it’s nice to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand. She was slightly in awe of him. Huntington seemed to exude confidence and he managed to seem both laid back and ready for action at the same time. Approaching the age of fifty, his dark hair was slicked back and there was a hint of gray showing on the sides.

“Nice to meet you too, ma’am.” Even his voice was soothing and commanding at the same time. How had this man never made Captain?, she wondered to herself.

“Okay, my first general order. Any crewmember calling me ma’am will be thrown out of the nearest airlock. It’s sir or Captain only from now on,” she said, smiling.

Huntington’s face didn’t show a flicker of emotion. “Very well, sir. Is there any preference as to which airlock that I throw people out of?,” he asked in all seriousness.

“Oh, I don’t know. Surprise me,” Cardonez said, hoping that he was in on the joke.

Her Security Chief seemed to consider this for a moment. “You know, I feel that Airlock Delta-Seven on Deck Eleven is perfect. The victim would have a nice view of the port warp nacelle before they died.” A sly smile flickered at the edge of Huntington’s mouth.

“Commander, I think you and I are going to get along famously,” Cardonez said. “Where’s Commander Masafumi?”

“He’s in your Ready Room, sir.”

“Thanks.”

The Captain took a step down to the lower level of the Bridge. She was planning to greet a few more members of the crew when her eyes were drawn to the ship’s dedication plaque that adorned the wall just to the right of the turbolift that she had just exited. The gold plague featured the same information that the Admiral had imparted earlier. In addition, she learned that the Testudo had been constructed at the Utopia Planitia Shipyards in Mars orbit. It was the quotation at the bottom of the plaque that made her pause. It was at that moment that the enormity of her command sank in and she knew what she had to live up to.

The quote was simple and yet, it spoke volumes.

‘Risk is our business.’ - Captain James T. Kirk

“Nice plaque, isn’t it, Captain?,” a voice from behind her asked.

Cardonez turned around to face a smiling officer in a red command uniform. Although she had never met a Yulani before, she instantly recognized her. “Lieutenant Kehen,” she said.

“Yes, sir,” she beamed back at her.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Kehen was approximately thirty-two years old. She was shorter than the Captain and her skin was a blue-green hue. Her eyes were pale and bright as was her smile. As with all Yulani, her hair was white and hung down to her waist. Intermingled with her hair, the Captain saw two appendages. They were apparently useless vestiges of the species that the Yulani had evolved from. They had raised veins of a dark-green color running down from her collar, one on either side of her neck and up past her small round ears before disappearing along them.

“You know I’ve never met a real-life legend before,” Cardonez said, offering another handshake and wondering if she would have to see the Doctor soon to have her wrist examined. “You.”

Kehen blushed. At least, Cardonez thought that she blushed. Her color seemed to shift, becoming greener. “I’m moderately famous on one planet, Captain. Most of the Federation doesn’t even know that I exist,” she said, avoiding the Captain’s eyes. She was trying to be modest but she heard the note of pride in her voice.

“You do yourself an injustice. You experience something that’s almost unique in this century. The true ‘risk’ of exploration,” she said, gesturing towards the dedication plaque. “I have to go meet my First Officer now. Sometime soon, we need to sit down and have a chat. I want to hear all about it.”

“Well, I have told the story a million and one times but one more time probably isn’t going to hurt.” She grinned and Cardonez didn’t think that she had ever met such a warm humanoid in many years. It was quite refreshing.

Leaving Kehen and desperately avoiding the gaze of the other crew members on the Bridge, she moved over to the door to her Ready Room. Pressing the keypad and after the door chimes rang, she was greeted by a curt “Come!” and the doors swept open with a whoosh. Walking inside, he found Commander Masafumi sitting behind her desk, working at the computer terminal. As soon as he realized it was her, he sprung up to his feet.

“Captain, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that you were aboard yet.”

“That’s okay, Commander. At ease.”

Masafumi relaxed a little. “I wanted to do some work in relative peace and quiet. Your Ready Room seemed to be the logical choice.” He moved around the desk to face her, holding his hand out towards her. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Commander, I’ve shaken about thirty hands since I came aboard. If I shake one more hand, I fear that my hand will drop off. I’m pleased to meet you too.”

The Commander dropped his hand to his side. “The ship is nearly ready to depart, Captain,” he said, very professionally. Very uptight, Cardonez thought. “We’re waiting on a few deliveries and one more crew transfer. A Crewman Dru’sk?”

“That sounds like Dru’sk.” She smiled. “I’ve always thought that Klingons were punctual until I met him.”

Masafumi simply nodded his head. “Indeed.”

“Commander,” Cardonez asked,” can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“I’ve just noticed that you’re wearing Science Blue. I thought it was Starfleet regulations for a First Officer to wear red?”

“I have a dispensation from Starfleet Command. Even after the last few years, I still consider myself a scientist first and foremost,” he said with a slight trace of a smile creasing the corners of his mouth. “I can see by your furrowed brow that you’re slightly worried by that statement. Please don’t be. In my two years as First Officer of the Maelstrom, I never let my scientific curiosity get in the way of my duties as Second-in-Command. In fact, I think it’ll be good for the ship. You’re a fine officer but your experience in dealing with the unknown is somewhat limited. No offense intended.”

“None taken.”

Masafumi continued. “As I was saying, I feel that my experience as an explorer will prove invaluable.”

“I’m sure that it will. I do have more experience in combat, however. It must have been somewhat unsettling to have missed the war so completely?”

“As a matter of fact, no, it wasn’t. I didn’t join Starfleet to fight a war. I joined Starfleet because it was the best place for me to continue my research. It was by mere chance that the Maelstrom left for uncharted space, a month before the onset of hostilities. Be under no illusions though, Captain, that I have seen my share of action. I was at Wolf 359 and the Battle of the Typhon Sector in ‘73. I’ve seen far too many people die.”

Cardonez let out a sigh. “My apologies, Commander. That was a bit below the belt.”

“No more than my own comments, Captain. I suspect that we’re both going to have to adjust. Captain Hardison was very much like myself, a scientist through and through.”

“Yes, my previous XO was very much like me. Only not as competent, of course.” She smiled at her joke.

“Of course.”

Cardonez extended her hand. “You know,” she said,” one more handshake probably won’t damage my wrist too much.”

 

Chapter Three

Captain’s Log, Stardate 54402.2;


We’re ready to depart for Malthea II. Lieutenant Tennyson had managed to stabilize the warp core to the extent that we’ll be able to sustain a speed of Warp Eight. Given the circumstances, I don’t have time to wait for her to improve on that so we’ll be leaving Deep Space Five now.


“Lieutenant Kandro, disengage docking clamps,” said Cardonez.

“Docking clamps disengaged,” Kandro said from the Ops position. “We are free to navigate.”

“Lieutenant Kehen, thrusters at maximum. Nudge us away.”

Ever so slowly, the Testudo moved away from the umbilical cord that had connected her to Deep Space Five. When she reached a distance of a few hundred meters, she veered away and headed for open space.

“We’re clear, Captain,” reported Kehen.

“Excellent. Full impulse. Lay in a course for Malthea II and prepare to engage at Warp Eight.”

“Aye, sir.”

The aft view of Deep Space Five faded into a small dot as the ship powerway away from the station.

“Course laid in.”

Cardonez stood from her command chair. “Let’s get to it. Andale!”

The Testudo didn’t seem to move for a second. Then, suddenly, the ship seemed to perceptibly stretch forward as if the saucer section seemed to be trying to escape from the rest of the ship. Much like an elastic rubber band, the aft end of the ship snapped forward and the Testudo shot off at high warp, vanishing into a flash of light.

* * * *

The Backyard was quite full when Lieutenant Kehen entered the room. Most of the crew had been on the ship for several days before it docked at Deep Space Five. The only exception was the crew members from the Osprey. Still, everyone in the room seemed to know each other. On the other hand, she had been dropped off by the Concordia, a day before either ship had arrived. Undaunted, she found her way to the bar and ordered a synthehol. With her drink in hand, she searched for a familiar face.

“Kehen! Lieutenant Kehen!,” cried out a voice. Pushing two crewmen aside, Kehen found Lieutenant Kandro sitting at a table with two others. Seeing an empty seat, she grabbed it.

“Hi,” she said to everyone.

“Hi. You looked a little lost,” Kandro told her. “This is Doctor Hollem and Lieutenant Liz Tennyson.” He laughed, adding,” You’ll probably end up seeing a lot more of them!”

“So, a Yulani,” Tennyson said. “There’s not many of you in Starfleet.”

“Well, just me at the moment. Yulan had only been a part of the Federation for seven years and I think the war put a lot of people off from joining up. Apparently, there are three Yulani due to start at the Academy next year.”

“How long ago did you make your flight?,” asked Kandro.

“Twelve years ago. I can’t believe it’s gone by so fast.”

“Flight?,” asked Hollem. “What flight?”

“Doctor,” Tennyson said,” you’re sitting at a table with the Yulani equivalent of Zefram Cochrane.”

“Well, more like Cochrane’s co-pilot. I flew the first Yulani warp ship but there were eight of us aboard and it wasn’t my design.”

“Wow! So if we have met you, thirteen years ago…”

“I would have screamed,” Kehen said, smiling. “I had no idea that there were extraterrestrials out there.”

“To us aliens!,” said the Chief Engineer.

“To us aliens!,” echoed the other three officers.

“So, why do they call this place ‘The Backyard’?,” asked Kehen.

“Simple,” Hollen said, jerking a finger towards the large picture windows behind them. Outside, Kehen marveled at the stars racing off into the distance. The light generated by the twin warp nacelles cast luminous flickering shadows across the hull of the main saucer section. “Our backyard.”

“It’s beautiful,” she said, awestruck.

“It is that,” said Kandro.

“So, Valian,” Hollem asked,” can you read the thoughts and emotions of everyone in this room?”

“Well, not really their thoughts. Not without a lot of concentration. Their emotions, though.”

“Doesn’t it get confusing?,” asked Kehen.

“No, not really. It’s the equivalent of you standing in the middle of a noisy room. Eventually, if you’re forced to stay in that room for long enough, you learn to filter it all out. All that I usually get is a low chatter at the back of my mind. It’s actually quite comforting.”

“So, read us then?,” the Doctor asked, noticing a maudlin tone entering the Betazoid’s tone.

“I don’t think that’s wise,” he said, shaking his head.

“Oh, go on,” the Bajoran said. “To tell you the truth, I don’t believe that Betazoids are half as powerful as you make them out to be.”

“Go on,” Kehen said. “Tell me what I’m feeling.”

“Okay, then,” Kandro said, taking a sip of his drink.

“Valian, you don’t have to…,” said Tennyson.

“It’s okay, Liz. These people want a demonstration. It’s not like it takes a lot of effort.” He looked at Kehen. “You’re feeling lonely. You haven’t seen another member of your kind in months.” She seemed to visibly shrink away after that was said. He turned towards Hollem Azahm and added,” You’re attracted to me but you aren’t sure how to play it. I sense that you’re still mourning someone else.”

Hollem’s face turned ashen. “I think I’m convinced,” the Bajoran said, quietly.

Valian Kandro wasn’t through yet. He turned towards Tennyson. “And you, Liz, as usual, you’re doubting your abilities.”

“Enough!,” Hollem said, raising his voice. Chatter across the bar ceased for a moment and a few people gleaned their way. “Enough,” he repeated himself, only quietly this time. The chatter picked up again.

“...tell them?,” said Liz.

“What?,” said Kandro. “That an attack started ten minutes ago and I can’t read a damned thing?”

“Then, how?,” asked Hollem.

“I know people. I felt your attraction to me earlier today. I also know from reading your Starfleet records that you were married but he died. As for Liz, I know her better than she knows herself.”

“And me?,” asked Kehen.

“A hunch. There are no others of your species aboard, and you have no friends yet. It seemed plausible.”

“Well,” she said, rising to her feet,” thanks for the lesson. I’m getting a bit tired so I think I’ll turn in.” And with that, she strode out of the room.

“Yeah, me too,” said the Doctor. “I’ll see you both at the briefing tomorrow.”

“Nice going, Valian!,” Tennyson said when they were alone.

“I’m sorry, Liz. How did you know?”

“Come on! How long have we known each other? I saw you wince a while back and I know what that means. I also saw you looking over at that young ensign before it happened so I can guess what’s coming next.”

Kandro followed her gaze to a pretty blonde-haired woman in her mid-twenties, wearing a Science Officer’s uniform. He shrugged, saying with a sly grin,” What can I say? She finds me quite attractive. Who am I to disappoint?”

Tennyson stood up from her seat. “I hate it when you get like this,” she said before nodding her head at the ensign. “Knock yourself out,” she continued in a tired voice before she left.

Valian Kandro paused for a moment, gazing into his drink. Finally, he stood up and moved towards the exit. He got half way there before he paused for a moment. With a renewed sense of vigor, he veered off towards the young ensign.

* * * *

The next day, the Senior Staff were seated around the ovoid conference table. The Conference Lounge was located on the port upper side of the saucer section and stars streaked past the window as the ship continued its flight at high warp.

“Okay,” Captain Cardonez said,” this is our first senior staff meeting and I’d just like to say that I’m extremely proud to be serving with all of you. I’ve been through all of your records and I know that all of you have exceeded the expectations of all of your previous commanding officers. I know this about Lieutenant Kandro and Tennyson. As for the rest of you, I’m trusting that my fellow Captains weren’t wrong about you. From what little that I’ve seen so far, they weren’t.

“Our first order of business is the status of the ship and its systems. Lieutenant Tennyson, what’s the status of the warp drive?”

“It’s still not running how I’d like it. We’re up to eighty-eight percent efficiency at the moment so we should be able to increase speed to Warp Eight-Point-Five. I’m hopeful that, with a few more days of work, we’ll be able to improve upon that. Apart from that, everything is shipshape. The Testudo was overhauled recently and most of her vital systems have been upgraded.”

“Excellent,” Cardonez said. “Commander Huntington, tactical status?”

Adam Huntington leaned forward with his arms resting lightly on the table. “Top-notch. I’ve run several security drills and efficiency is improving.. As the Lieutenant said, the ship was recently overhauled. We have new phaser banks with improved range and capacity. We also have a full complement of quantum torpedoes. The shields and their generators have been upgraded and we also have ablative hull armor. With all due respect, I think someone loaded this ship for bear.”

“Yes,” Cardonez said,'' we'll get onto that in a minute.” She turned her head to look at Hollem Azahm. “Doctor, what’s the status of the Medical Department?”

“Fine. The only injury that I’ve had to treat so far was Crewman Mannai who fell and broke his thumb. Aside from that, it’s been very quiet in Sickbay. My staff is ready and able to deal with whatever gets thrown at us.”

“Thank you. Finally, Mister Masafumi, what’s the status of the Sciences Department?”

Commander Masafumi paused for a moment. When he spoke, he did so in a quiet and measured tone. “Excellent. Most of the ship’s laboratories have been upgraded and we have a lot of talented people aboard.” He paused before continuing,” There’s one concern that I have, however. Our Astrometrics Lab has been experiencing a lot of problems. Power failures and such. We haven;t been able to get repairs done since Lieutenant Tennyson has moved several members of my staff to work on the engine problems.”

“We won’t need the Science staff much lon…” Tennyson was cut off by her Captain.

“I gave the order to use members of your staff, Commander.”

“Oh,” said Masafumi. “Well, if the Lieutenant says that they’ll be back soon, then that’s fine.”

“Excellent,” Cardonez said. “Now onto our next topic of discussion. As Mister Huntington so eloquently put it, the USS Testudo has been loaded for bear. All of you know why we’re here. To find the Aora. What some of you might not be aware of is the history of Sector Two-Nine-Zero-Zero-Four. Mister Kandro?”

“Thank you, Captain,” Lieutenant Landro said, standing and moving over to the wall panel at the end of the room. He activated it and a schematic of the sector appeared before them. “Comparatively speaking, Sector Two-Nine-Zero-Zero-Four is pretty standard. It encompasses approximately twenty-seven square lightyears. Within it are nine star systems. Only three of them are inhabited… as far as we know.

“The first ship to explore this sector was the Constitution-class starship USS Ranger, almost a hundred years ago. On Stardate 7905.7, the Ranger made a routine subspace transmission to Starfleet Command. It was the last time that anyone heard from her. Of course, it took Starfleet several weeks before they even realized that the Ranger was missing. At which point, several ships were mobilized to search for her, including the Soyuz, the Reliant, and the Atlantis. After a fruitless search, Starfleet officially listed the Ranger as missing and presumed destroyed before recalling its ships. However, the USS Atlantis was hit by a particularly violent ion storm and destroyed before she could leave the sector.

“At this point, Starfleet pretty much ignored the sector. Partly, it was a tactical decision. These ships were needed elsewhere but partly, it was superstition. They had lost two vessels and almost five hundred people in the space of a few weeks.”

“They didn’t want bad luck striking a third time,” said Huntington.

“Exactly,” agreed Kandro. “The area remained unexplored until 2309 when a group of colonists elected to settle down on Malthea II. Based on scrappy information from the Ranger and reports from the Soyuz, Malthea II appeared to be ripe for colonization. Three ships carrying around two hundred colonists set off and about a week away from Malthea II, the ships were caught in an ion storm. One of them, the SS London was badly banged up. It was still able to limp along at Warp Two and the Captain convinced the other two ships to go on ahead of them. Three days later, the other two ships stopped getting signals from the third.”

“Let me guess,” Hollem asked him. “No trace was ever found of her again?”

“You’ve got it,” replied the Betazoid. “The other two ships continued on and deposited their passengers. Then they backtracked along their course and they couldn’t find any trace of the London. There were seventy-five people aboard.

“For the next few decades, there were no major incidents. Starfleet still pretty much ignored the region but a few ships passed through it, plus the regular supply ships to Malthea II. Occasionally, a ship would experience engine trouble or it would be damaged by a storm but nothing excessive. Then in 2337, a Romulan scout ship was covertly exploring the sector and it was damaged by an ion storm, being formed to crash land on Taliron Four. there were three survivors.”

Kandro paused for a moment and looked towards his Captain. She showed no outward emotion but he sensed that there was something behind her demeanor.

“Of course, no one knew of this at the time. However, on Stardate 17245.5, the USS Gearing was dispatched by Starfleet Command to finally map the sector accurately. This ship was merely four days into its mission when several unknown vessels ambushed it. The ship was badly damaged and the crew abandoned ship in the escape pods. Ten crew members made it to the planet Taliron Four.

“The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-C, was the first ship on the scene to search for survivors, given the wreckage of the ship and several destroyed escape pods were found, they didn’t expect to find any survivors. They searched the system but Taliron Four was experiencing severe climatic activity at the time and they failed to locate either the Gearing survivors or the Romulans. Again, strangely enough, Starfleet decided to keep their distance from Sector Two-Nine-Zero-Zero-Four. It was eleven years later that the USS Wellington conducted a mapping mission of the entire sector. In the course of this mission, they found the survivors on Taliron Four, including an eight-year old girl who would grow up to become the Captain of this very ship.”

Everyone’s gaze turned towards Cardonez.

“Please continue, Lieutenant,” she said with a tight smile on her lips.

“Yes, sir. After the Wellington, Starfleet forgot about the sector again. The Wellington had conducted a fairly intensive search and they found nothing of value.”

“Ahem,” Commander Masafumi said, interrupting him by clearing his throat. “In fact, after examining the Wellington’s reports, their exploration was a pretty cursory one. I would expect that they missed quite a bit.” He suddenly realized that he had interrupted Kandro and added,” I’m sorry. Please continue, Lieutenant.”

“Uh, yes. As I was saying… The Wellington was the last Starfleet ship to really spend any great length of time in this sector.” Kandro paused. “That is, until the Aora.”

“Do we have any information about other disappearances in the area?,” asked Kehen.

“Only the most mysterious of all. In 2373, at the height of our conflict with the Klingon Empire, the IKS Atargh embarked on a surveillance mission. Their course led them through Sector Two-Nine-Zero-Zero-Four.”

“Let me guess,” Tennyson cut in, smiling,” the ship vanished?”

“Not this time,” confirmed Kandro. “The ship was found drifting by a Vulcan freighter on Stardate 49801.4. She was intact in every way. In fact, the warp core was still online. However, the crew was missing.”

“Escape pods?,” asked Cardonez.

“All in place.”

“So someone beamed them off?,” asked Hollem.

Kandro shook his head. “The Atargh was a heavy cruiser with a crew in excess of five hundred. She was traveling in enemy territory and if it wasn’t a time of war, it was hardly a time of peace between the Empire and the Federation. At the very least, she would have been at a near constant state of battle readiness.”

“Agreed,” said Cardonez. “The notion that some enemy vessel overpowered her and beamed her crew away to who knows where without signs of a struggle is hardly logical.”

“So where did they go?,” Masafumi asked incredulously.

“The Marie Celeste,” Huntington said quietly.

“The what?,” asked Kandro.

“Almost a thousand years ago, on Earth, an abandoned sailing ship was found drifting on the ocean. Her name was the Marie Celeste and she was deserted. Her lifeboats were in place. There was no sign of a struggle and there was no damage to the ship. The men who boarded her even found meals set out on the table. The Captain’s Log was only a few days out of date and it indicated no danger. No one ever discovered what happened to that ship’s crew.” The Tactical Officer’s voice was calm, yet full of portents as he recounted the story to the Senior Staff.

“Myths and folktales,” Masafumi said. “What we have here is like the old Bermuda Triangle. An area of space where ships vanish. Well, let me tell you that you could look at a dozen other sectors and I would expect that you will find, at least, three or four of them with similar records. The only difference is that Sector 29004 has been dressed up with ghost stories.” He snorted and exclaimed,” There are any number of explanations.”

“Such as?,” asked Kandro.

“The Sector has unusually high levels of ionic storm activity and it’s still largely uncharted. It also appears to attract pirate activity.”

“And the Atargh?”

“Who knows? Maybe they transferred to another Klingon ship? Misinformation in times of war is as old as the hills,” the Commander said defensively. “What a better way to keep the Federation out of this sector than to perpetuate a myth?”

“No offense, Commander,” said Tennyson,” but that seems to me like a stretch.”

“There is one additional point that none of you are probably aware of,” Huntington brought up.

“And that is, Commander?,” asked Masafumi.

“At the end of the war, I was serving aboard the Yorktown. We stayed in orbit around Cardassia Prime for several weeks and I was part of a debriefing group for Cardassian officers. That’s when I made the acquaintance of one Glinn Darlek.”

“So?,” Masafumi asked him, visibly frustrated by the turn that the conversation had taken. Cardonez leaned back in her chair with her arms folded, watching her crew interact for the first time.

“So,” Adam said, gesturing towards the wall monitor,” take another look at that map. Sector 29004 is less than twenty lightyears from the edge of Breen space. And yet, there has never been a reported Breen incursion.”

“That’s a good point,” Kandro said,” given that the Breen record over the years. It makes no sense for them to have ignored that region. Especially with Starfleet's lack of interest in it.”

“The Breen set out to conquer that region of space over one hundred and fifty years ago,” Huntington said. “Glinn Darlek had been a liaison officer aboard a Breen ship. He had gotten quite friendly with one of them who explained a bit about his planet’s past to him.”

“And?,” Cardonez asked, curiously.

“He told him about one of the greatest of Breen tragedies. In the year 2212, five Breen warships that were carrying over a thousand warriors set out to conquer several star systems. One ship, badly damaged, returned. The few survivors aboard spoke of monsters in huge ships that were almost invincible. Apparently they possessed some of the Breen and made them turn against their brothers, sowing destruction from within their own ranks. Comrades fought comrades. They had no way of fighting them and one by one, they died or they were possessed. Only fifty of them escaped. From that point on, no Breen ship ever entered Sector 29004 again.”

The Conference Lounge was suddenly very quiet while they all took in what Huntington had said. Even Masafumi seemed taken by what he had heard.

“I think we need a bigger ship,” Liz Tennyson said, nervously. It was what the group needed and a few frail laughs ensued.

Cardonez leaned forward. “Irrespective of myths, legends, ghosts or whatever, I know that this ship is in the best condition since its launch and I have a highly experienced crew who had fought in the trenches and explored the furthest reaches of known space.” She stood up, her voice even as she spoke. “All of you have experienced strange things before and all of you have seen combat against implacable enemies. You know that today’s unknown species is tomorrow’s fellow crewman. A hundred years ago, the Klingons were our enemies. Now they’re our allies. Hundreds of years ago, a Klingon on Earth would have seemed like a monster. It’s an old cliche that today’s magic is tomorrow’s science.

“There’s a mystery in this sector. Yes, it’s scary, but it’s also exciting. We can shape history. Only the best crews get to do that.”

Again, the room was silent. Cardonez wondered if her little speech had motivated any of them. It was no good if she knew that they were a good crew. They had to believe it too. She sat back down in her chair and asked,” Lieutenant, tell us about the colony on Malthea II?”

Kandro changed the picture on the monitor screen. Now it showed a small grouping of prefabricated shelters nestled within a forest of tall willowy red trees. “The colony on Malthea II currently has a population of around six hundred people. Most of them are descended from the original colonists but there has been a slight influx of outsiders in the last ten years. The colony is predominantly agricultural but there is a small aeremite mining operation as well. They all live in one place, a town called Malinket on the southern continent. As for the planet, it’s a pretty standard Class-M planet that’s heavily forested and largely unexplored.”

“Thank you, Mister Kandro,” Cardonez told him. “We arrived at Malthea II in several days. I would like to ensure that we’re in tiptop condition. Liz, get the warp drive up to speed. Then focus your efforts on the Astrometrics Lab. Mister Huntington, keep up the tactical simulations. Doctor, I hope that we won’t have too much need for your services.”

“As do I,” said Hollem.

“Okay, people. It’s business as usual until we reach the Aora’s last known position. Dismissed.”

 

Chapter Four

Captain’s Log, Stardate 54413.7;

We’re a few hours away from Malthea II. Maybe it’s my imagination but the crew seems to be a lot quieter since we crossed the sector border. Even I felt a shiver down my spine. I hope it’s not an omen of what’s to come.


Cardonez stopped recording as the door chimes rang and Commander Masafumi walked in. “Commander, how is the repair work on the Astrometrics Lab?”

“Excellent. We’ve isolated the problems and a solution is close at hand.”

“Good. I’ve decided that I’ll lead the away team to visit the colony. I’d like you up here, coordinating the search of the surrounding space.”

“As you wish, Captain. Can I ask if there’s any other reason?”

“None at all, Commander,” she said. “I have every confidence in your abilities. I simply want to make the initial investigation down on the planet.”

“Good,” said Masafumi, sounding cynical. “I suspect I should be flattered that you chose to consult me.”

“Commander, I’m sorry about the mix-up with the Astrometrics Lab. Again, I intended no slight. None of us are infallible.”

“No, sir. Is that all?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

When Masafumi had left the Ready Room, she tapped at her computer.

Personal Log. I had another run in with Commander Masafumi. Did I get so used to Commander Jarret anticipating my moods that I can’t adapt to a new First Officer? Masafumi seems like a good man. I need him to give me a break though and I’m not sure if he will.

She tapped her combadge. “Captain Cardonez to Lieutenant Kehen. Please report to my Ready Room.” Now wasn’t the time for doubts. Her ship was entering the unknown and she didn’t want to go in without some insurance.

* * * *

Valian Kandro awoke suddenly. It wasn’t the first time that an attack hit him while he was sleeping. It just took some time to get used to it. The pain was intense and he could barely see straight as he tumbled out of bed and staggered across the room to the washbasin in his bathroom.

“Valian, are you okay?,” asked Ensign Linda Grady sleepily from beneath the sheets.

“Yes,” he snapped, grabbing a hypospray from the side of the basin. He injected himself in the neck with practiced ease. He stood there for a few seconds, leaning over the sink while the pain gradually subsided.

“There’s no need to be rude,” Grady said, slipping out of bed and putting on a robe.

“Actually, there was.”

“Are you okay?,” she asked him, slipping her arms around him.

He shrugged her off. “I’m fine. Look, Linda, I don’t think that there’s a lot of a future in us. Maybe you should go.” His voice was calm and emotionless.

“What?! That’s it?,” she screamed at him. “A few days and goodbye?!”

“Something like that,” he said. “I’m sorry if I gave you any impression that we had a future together.”

Ensign Grady pulled her uniform on and she sat down to slip her boots on. “Do you do this a lot?,” she asked him, bitterly.

“It depends on how I’m feeling.”

“Well, damn you to Hell!,” she shouted, storming out of the room. Kandro continued to stare at the empty basin. After a few minutes, he went back to bed.

* * * *

Captain’s Log, supplemental;

We’ve arrived in orbit of Malthea II. So far, there’s no sign of the Aora but there’s no sign of wreckage either. The Testudo will conduct a sweep of the surrounding space and the planetary surface. Meanwhile, I’m beaming down to talk with the colonists.


Four bright columns of blue eyes coalesced into four Starfleet officers who materialized on the planet’s surface. Captain Cardonez, Lieutenant Commander Huntington, Lieutenant Kandro and Lieutenant Junior Grade Jeff Mason took stock of their surroundings for a moment.

The town seemed to exist within a small valley. Forests of willowy red trees crept upwards from every angle. The sky was clear of a very pale blue that was almost white. There was a chill in the air and the air itself was thinner than any of them were used to. They appeared to be in a town square. People, mainly Humans, Cardonez noted, milled past them and took very little notice of them. The buildings around them seemed to be mostly preconstructed. They seemed to be quite old and weather-beaten.

“I would imagine that this is the original colony, Captain,” said Huntington. “If you look down the main street, you can see where the old prefabs end and the newer indigenous buildings start.”

Cardonez followed his gaze and saw that he was right. There were maybe ten or fifteen of the older modules. After that came newer-looking buildings. A couple of the buildings seemed to be metallic but predominantly, they seemed to be constructed from burnished red wood. They were also far more individualistic than the original modules. Some of them were built with a single story, and some of them reached as high as three stories.

“Nice place,” said Mason, a handsome dark-skinned Human Security Officer.

“The air smells so clear here,” said Cardonez.

“It reminds me of my home near Minsk,” said Huntington.

“You’re quiet, Valian,” the Captain said. “Don’t you find the atmosphere invigorating?”

“Not remotely. Oh, yes, the buildings are nice and the air is clear. But look at the people.”

Cardonez looked around. “They seem to be normal enough,” she remarked.

“They seem okay but there’s something underneath it all.”

“What?,” asked Cardonez.

Before Kandro could answer her, a tall Human walked up to them. “Captain Cardonez, I’m Administrator Blake.” He seemed to be quite agitated as he held his hand out towards her.

“Greetings. Please let me introduce my colleagues. This is Lieutenant Commander Huntington, Lieutenant Kandro and Lieutenant Mason.”

“Hello,” Blake said. He stood at well over six feet tall and his skin was a dark brown. He had a full beard and short dark hair. He appeared to be around forty years old and he wore a faded blue suit. “If you would accompany me, I’ll take you to my office.” Without another word, he walked off towards the nearest of the prefabricated buildings. Once inside the building, he led them to his large office.

Cardonez was surprised to find three Starfleet officers waiting inside for them. They stood from their chairs and immediately snapped to attention. All three of them were Human males. They wore blue Science uniforms that had seen better days. One of them was a Lieutenant Junior Grade and the other two men were Ensigns.

“Captain, I’m Lieutenant Lee, formerly of the USS Aora,” the leader, a young Asian man, said.

“Captain Cardonez of the Testudo. I wasn’t aware that there were any survivors?”

“Myself, Hargrove and Taylor were down here on the planet’s surface when we lost contact with the Aora. We waited but we eventually decided to hike back here. We arrived here and Mister Blake was kind enough to send a subspace message.”

“Yes, Captain, and now that you’ve arrived to rescue these young men, I trust that you can leave me to get on with my business,” said the administrator.

“Well, I was hoping that you could answer a few questions about the disappearance of the Aora.”

“Like what?,” Blake asked, his voice rising. “We have very few sensors down here and only one subspace communicator. Our ancestors came to this planet to build a simpler life. As you can imagine, we have no idea what happened to the Aora.”

“It might seem unimportant to you but has anything out of the ordinary happened in the last few weeks?,” asked Commander Huntington. “Unusual visitors? Strangers…?”

“The only ships that have visited us in the last three months have been the Aora and yourselves. We have a supply ship every four months and that’s it. It drops supplies off and takes a consignment of aeremite back with it. Very occasionally, we get a new colonist or two attracted by our non-technological stance but that’s it.”

“No offense, Mister Blake, but you seem to be a little angry,” probed the Tactical Officer. “Are you sure that there isn’t something that you’re keeping from us?”

Blake took a deep breath and composed himself. When he spoke again, he sounded calmer. “I’m sorry if I seem flustered. I’m in charge of over five hundred people here. I have a harvest to organize and a wedding to perform tomorrow. So I’m a little pressed for time. I assure you, once more, that I knew nothing about the disappearance of the Aora until Lieutenant Lee and his friends arrived.”

Huntington looked like he was going to ask another question but the Captain preempted him.

“Thank you, Mister Blake. Would you mind if we took a stroll around your town before we returned to our ship?”

“Feel free.”

Once outside the building, the group found a quiet corner off of the main square where the four Testudo officers had beamed down.

“Captain, why did we leave?,” asked Huntington. “The man is plainly hiding something.”

“Yes, but interrogating him didn’t seem to be doing any good. All that we were doing was putting him on guard,” she told him before she turned towards Kandro. “Well?”

“I think that we’re all agreed that he’s hiding something,” said the Operations Officer. “You don’t have to be a telepath to realize that. It’s what he isn’t feeling that’s the most telling.”

“And what’s that?,” asked Mason.

“Fear.”

“Explain,” ordered a perplexed Captain.

Kandro paused for a moment, trying to put into words what he had detected. “Even since we beamed down, I’ve gotten flashes of emotion from the colonists around us. For the most part, it’s the usual blend of happy, sad, angry, and miserable. Nothing new there. Underneath that though, there’s an undercurrent of fear. These people are frightened on some level.”

“Of us?,” asked Adam.

“No, it’s not something tangible.” Again, Kandro paused in his report. It was so difficult to explain himself sometimes to non-telepaths. Eventually, he continued,” Okay, remember the war? Remember how it felt? There were times where we feared for our lives.”

It was a statement but Cardonez felt compelled to answer it. “Most days, actually,” she said, remembering with a shudder what it had been like to experience death at any moment. Never knowing when a Jem’Hadar or Breen attack would get the better of you.

“Exactly,” Kandro said,” but after a while, it faded into the background. If it hadn’t, we wouldn’t have been able to function. With these people, it’s the same. They’re afraid but they’ve pushed it to the back of their minds. It’s like they’ve been afraid for a very long time.”

“And it’s become second nature to them,” concluded Cardonez. “And you’re saying that Blake doesn’t feel this?”

“No. I mean, don’t get me wrong. He’s scared… but of us.”

“Sir, the Lieutenant’s right,” said Lee. “When we came stumbling out of the forest, someone actually took a shot at us with an antique plasma percussion rifle before they realized who we were.”

“Perhaps they mistook you for some wild animal?,” suggested Mason.

“That was their explanation but there’s never been any indications of any dangerous life on this planet. We reviewed all of the prior surveys before they came. There are a few species of small mammals and reptiles. Some insects but that’s all.”

“Anything else?,” asked Huntington.

“Yes. These people have some sort of a curfew in place. As soon as the sun goes down, they pretty much shut up shop for the day. It’s not official. It’s just that most people return to their homes,” said Lee. “We asked about it but we were mainly fobbed off with excuses of working hard all day and needing lots of rest.”

“Lieutenant Lee, when you came out of the forest, what direction did you come from?,” asked the Tactical Officer as an idea started to form in his head.

“East,” replied Lee.

“Captain, if you’ll excuse me?” Huntington jogged over towards an elderly woman who was walking nearby.

“Excuse me?,” he asked politely.

“Yes?,” the woman said, pausing in mid-stride.

“I was wondering if you could help me. We were wondering where the mining facilities were. Are they to the east?” He pointed off in an easterly direction.

“No, she replied to his question, just a little bit too quickly and with a little too much trepidation in her voice. “They’re half a kilometer due south from the main town.”

“Excellent,” Huntington said. “Thank you very much.” After that, he left her and returned to the group. As he drew close, he pulled out his tricorder and scanned in each direction. “As I suspected, Captain. There’s activity all around the town, stretching several kilometers into the surrounding forest. Except for due east. There’s not a soul in that direction.”

“And the old woman?,” asked Kandro.

“She was terrified when I asked her if the mines were located east of here. Whatever is going on, it looks like the direction that trouble comes from.”

“Hmmm… Well, gentlemen, I think that we’ve got more questions than answers at the moment. Let’s see if we can clear up things a bit.” Cardonez tapped her combadge. “Cardonez to Testudo. Seven to beam up.”

As the away team stepped off of the transporter pad, Cardonez called out to their Security escort. “Mister Mason, show our guests to their quarters and have Doctor Hollem check them out.” She turned towards Kandro and Huntington. “Gentlemen, you’re with me.”

* * * *

Minutes later as they swept onto the Bridge out of the turbolift, they found Commander Masafumi standing at the forward Science station. Two stations were located diagonally to the side of the helm station.

“Anything?,” he asked.

“Just more mysteries,” Cardonez said. “Anything on the scans?”

“No, but we’ve scanned only fifteen percent of the surface.”

“We may be able to narrow that down. Scan to the immediate east of the colony.”

“Aye, sir,” he said. “How far?”

“Five kilometers.”

A few moments passed by as the Commander focused the ship’s sensors on the small area of the planetary surface. “Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.”

“Expand the range to fifty kilometers.”

“Still nothing,” said Masafumi.

“It looks like I was mistaken,” said Commander Huntington.

“Wait,” the Commander said,” I’ve got something fifty-two-point-eight kilometers due east.”

“What is it?,” Cardonez asked him.

“A signal,” he replied. “It’s very faint.”

“Can you identify it?,” asked Lieutenant Kandro.

“Possibly,” Masafumi said, manipulating the controls of the forward Science station with practiced ease. “It’s very weak but it looks…” He paused for a moment before continuing on with an air of dread. “It looks like it's Borg? No, wait… belay that…”

“Commander, don’t scare us like that,” Cardonez said. She had never faced the Borg before and she hoped that she would never have to.

“I’m sorry, Captain,” her First Officer said. “It’s similar but it’s not identical. For one thing, it’s almost random or chaotic. Borg signals are usually logical and well-ordered.”

“Then what’s generating it?”

“Unknown. Breen signals are similar to Borg. So are some Ferengi signatures. One thing is for sure, it’s not naturally occurring. There’s something artificial down there that’s generating it.”

Cardonez paused for a moment. “Can you get me any more information from up here?”

“No, we need to go down there,” Masafumi said, turning to face her. “Permission to lead an Away Team, sir?”

She liked the enthusiasm that he was showing. It was in stark contrast to the dour officer that she had to deal with over the last few days. She smiled and said,” Request granted. Keep it small though, and take along a couple of Security Officers.”

“Aye, sir,” he said before tapping his combadge. “Ensign Grady, meet me in Transporter Room Two.” He cocked an eyebrow towards Huntington who tapped his own combadge.

“Huntington to Lieutenant Mason and Crewman Dru’sk, report to Transporter Room Two, armed and ready to accompany an Away Team.”

Masafumi almost ran to the turbolift with the Tactical Officer following behind him.

“Amazing,” whispered Cardonez.

“Captain?,” Kandro asked her, quizzingly.

“Nothing,” she answered, smiling.

 

Chapter Five

Although it was still daylight, the tall trees of the forest managed to block out everything but a few shafts of light. The Away Team followed Commander Masafumi and his tricorder towards the weak signal. He was excited for the first time in weeks and what had seemed like a dull assignment aboard the Testudo might yield some academic fruit yet. At least, the Captain had let him lead the mission when he had asked her, he had been terrified that she would want to lead the mission herself.

He wasn’t sure if keeping him out of the loop was intentional or that she didn’t care much. Either she was incompetent or a control freak. Neither idea appealed to him.

Maybe I’m just not used to the military mind, anymore, he told himself.

“It’s not far.”

Ensign Grady followed him and Lieutenant Mason followed behind her. Bringing up the rear was the giant figure of Crewman Dru’sk, a hulking young Klingon who had wound up in Starfleet and he hadn’t said two words to anyone since they had beamed down from the ship. He kept sniffing the air with a disturbing regularity. He did so now and Masafumi decided to ask him about it.

“Crewman, is there something wrong?”

“There’s no animal life here.”

Masafumi realized that he was right. They hadn’t seen or heard a single animal call since they beamed down. Any further discussion was moot as he broke through a group of trees into a giant clearing and found himself standing face-to-face with potential immortality.

Rising up towards the sun was a Pyramid that was the length of several hundred meters.

“Oh, my God!,” exclaimed Grady.

“Wow!,” shouted Moore.

Dru’sk just grunted.

“This is fantastic,” the Commander said. “Look at it! It’s been here for centuries!”

It was impossible to make out what the pyramid was made from. It was thickly covered with vine and other vegetation as the trees of the forest tried to cover it up. As the away team walked in a circle around it, they discovered that it was three-sided.

“An ancient civilization?,” Mason asked no one in particular.

“Well, let’s not jump to conclusions yet but it does seem likely.” In his head, Masafumi was already composing his acceptance speech for whatever new award or trophy that this discovery might win for him. Approaching from the side, he clambered up a few meters. He reached up in between two vines and felt what he thought was the pyramid’s surface. “It feels like metal.”

Mason was pointing his tricorder at the ground. “Commander,” he said with a worried tone,” I don’t think this is a pyramid.”

Masafumi turned around, uncomfortably, as he almost lost his grip on the vines. “What on Earth are you talking about, Lieutenant?,” he asked him, frustrated at any notion that this wasn’t what it appeared to be.

“I mean, sir, that I don’t think it’s a pyramid. Judging by these readings, it’s the corner of a cube.”

“A cube?” It took a moment for that information to sink in.

Then Gray screamed suddenly. He looked down, having no idea where the Borg had come from but one had her. Grasping her tightly, assimilation tubules flowed out of a drone’s right hands and stabbed her through the neck. Masafumi lost his footing, tumbling down the face of the Cube and landing hard on his back. As he felt, his tricorder and his phaser tumbled away from him. He looked up as another Borg drone seemed to melt out of the wall, pushing down through the vines as if they were mere curtains.

“No!,” he cried out, frantically grabbing for a phaser that wasn’t there.

The drone drew closer to him and he froze up in terror. It appeared to be Human but its face was pale-white like death. Metallic veins pulsated across its cheek and where its left eye would be located, there was only a gaping hole. Its expression showed nothing. It’s only goal was to assimilate him and to steal his individuality, making him a member of the Collective

The Borg reached down…

… and Commander Masafumi frantically tried to crawl backwards away from the drone. He knew that it was a futile gesture. He did it anyway with desperation overtaking any sense of logic that he might have. A sudden flare lanced out perilously close to his face and the drone was thrown backwards against the wall of the Cube/Pyramid. He quickly leaped to his feet and turned to see where his salvation had come from.

With his phaser in hand, Crewman Dru’sk was rushing towards him. The Commander scanned the ground, locating his tricorder and phaser.

“Commander, are you all right?,” the Klingon asked him.

“Yes, thank you.”

As he spoke, he saw him turn around as if he had been alerted by some kind of Klingon sixth sense. A Borg drone was bearing down on him. Both mean fired, almost simultaneously, lifting the drone off of its feet.

“Grady and Mason?,” Masafumi gasped frantically, looking around them. “Where are they?!”

“I don’t know but more of them are coming.” Dru’sk gestured towards the wall of the Cube. There were a dozen drones that were pushing their way out through the vines.

“Oh, my…” The Commander’s comment was incomplete as both men turned around to discover four more drones were approaching them from the forest.

It was Dru’sk who decided their next course of action. He tapped his combadge with his left hands while he shot at one of the advancing drones with his phaser in his right hands. “Dru’sk to Testudo! Requesting emergency beam-out! Lock onto the away team’s combadges and beam us up!”

A few seconds later, they materialized aboard the Testudo on the transporter platform. Mason was with them, curled up in a heap on the floor. Masafumi quickly knelt by the Security officer as the Transporter Chief called for the medics. Turning him over onto his back, the First Officer recoiled with shock.

Mason was conscious, but barely.

Already his skin was beginning to turn mottley and he saw what looked like tiny worms crawling underneath his skin. One of them suddenly burst out through the skin underneath his left eye and opened out like a metallic flower.

That was when he began to scream.

* * * *

Still shaken by his experience on the planet,

Yashiro Masafumi made his way onto the Bridge. As he walked out of the turbolift, Captain Cardonez sprang out of her command chair.

“Commander, sit down,” she said, noting the pained expression on his face.

“Thank you, Captain.” He flopped down into the seat at the First Officer’s position and she turned to face him. She didn’t want to shatter his brittle facade because she needed his expertise.

“Commander, what happened?”

“It was stupid. I was so stupid! I saw the Borg signal and I ignored it.” The Captain thought that she had seen tears welling up in his eyes.

“You make a scientific judgment,” she said, trying to soothe his nerves. She wished that they were in her Ready Room instead of on the Bridge. “You said it yourself. It was too random and too chaotic to be the Borg. Correct?”

Her question seemed to revitalize him. “I don’t understand it,” he said, shaking his head. “The Borg are all about order and perfection. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Cardonez leaned in close. “Yashiro,” she said, whispering,” I need you to make it make sense. Right now, the Borg are our best lead in finding the Aora, and we have a missing crew member. I don’t know about you, but I want her back.” She paused for a second before she added,” You said it yourself. I’m the soldier and you’re the scientist. I can fight them and out maneuver them, but I need to understand what’s going on. I need you.” Her voice was quiet but firm, her gaze never wavering away from his.

Masafumi seemed to be pulling himself back together. “Yes, sir,” he said. “I’ll get right on it.” He began to stand from his seat when the voice of Commander Huntington cut across the Bridge.

“There’s a ship decloaking astern of us,” he said before the Pakled ship appeared on the main viewscreen.

“Shields up!,” Cardonez shouted. “Red Alert!”

“Shields are up,” Huntington replied with practiced efficiency. “Phaser banks and torpedo launchers are online.”

“Can you identify the ship?”

“Checking… It appears to be a mixture of technologies. Klingon, Talarian, Cardassian, Federation and… and Borg!”

“Curiouser and curiouser,” said Cardonez.

“They’re hailing us.”

“On screen.”

The face of the Pakled leader appeared on the viewscreen, replacing the image of the alien vessel. “I am Glablok of the Loyo. This is Pakled territory,” he said in a disinterested tone. “Withdraw now.”

Cardonez stood from her seat. “This is Captain Isabel Cardonez of the Federation starship Testudo. You are in violation of Federation territory and I believe that you might have information about a Federation starship that was lost here, several days ago,” she said, speaking with a commanding tone. “Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded.”

“No,” Glablok said. “Pakleds are strong. Stronger than you. Leave now or we’ll destroy you. You have two minutes!” He cut them off, disappearing from the viewer.

Cardonez froze for a moment. Something didn’t seem right to her. Glablok was acting just too cocky for her tastes. He knew something that she didn’t. “Mister Huntington, scan for other ships.”

“I’ve got one,” the Tactical Officer reported. “It’s decloaking thirty thousand kilometers off of our port bow. It’s another Pakled vessel and they’re arming weapons.”

“Lock phasers on them and fire a warning shot across their bow.”

“Firing!”

The Testudo’s main phaser array spat fire at the second Pakled vessel. Their response was swift and violent. The second ship released a volley of three photon torpedoes that struck the ship’s shields with some force.

“We’re hit,” Huntington reported as the ship shuddered underneath the impact. “Shields are down to sixty percent!”

“Return fire,” Cardonez ordered. “Concentrate on their weapons and engines if you can.”

“And if I can’t?,” the Tactical Officer asked her.

“Then it’s too bad for the Pakleds,” she said coldly. “Ensign Padova, get us out of orbit. We need room to maneuver.”

“Aye, sir,” said Ensign Miguel Padova who was currently manning the helm console.

Phaser fire flew out of the second Pakled ship when the Testudo smoothly maneuvered out of orbit.

“We’ve hit them. Their shields are down to fifty percent.”

“Continue firing,” ordered the Captain. “What’s the Loyo doing?”

“It’s just sitting there,” Valian Kandro reported from Ops. “There’s no weapons fire from it at all.”

“Okay, let’s ignore him until they become a threat.” Another spread of torpedoes bracketed the ship.

“Shields are now at thirty-eight percent,” reported Adam. “Judging by the yield, those are Federation torpedoes that they’re throwing at us.”

“To hell with this,” Cardonez said with her anger flaring up. “Lock onto them with a spread of quantum torpedoes and fire.”

“Aye, sir. Torpedoes away!”

“Four quantum torpedoes fired away from the neck of the Testudo, splitting away from each other. They quickly impacted against the shields of the Pakled ship.

“The Pakled shields are down. “They’ve taken extensive damage.”

“Hail the Loyo.”

Glablok appeared on the viewscreen with a calm smile lighting up his face.

“Captain Glablow, we’ve rendered your sister ship immoble. I reiterate my earlier order. Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded. We have superior firepower and – “

“No, you don’t.”

“Don’t have what?,” Cardonez asked, angrily.

“Have superior firepower.” The main viewer went dark again.

“What does he mean?,” asked Masafumi.

“The Loyo is firing,” said Huntington.

“Evasive maneuvers, Mister Padova! Tactical, fire phasers at the Loyo!,” Cardonez barked, sitting down in her command chair again. The Testudo shifted her position but the energy bolt still struck them. Phaser fire shot out at the Loyo, lighting up against her shields.

“No damage,” Adam said. “No, wait… The shields are being drained. They’re down to twenty percent.”

“That’s impossible,” Masafumi said, moving towards the Science station. “Damage to them?

“Minimal. Their shields are more superior than their other ship.”

“A damned stalking horse,” muttered Kandro.

“Continue firing phasers and torpedoes. Mister Masafumi, what hit us?”

Her First Officer had no opportunity to answer her question before chance delivered another energy bolt towards them. “Shields are down,” reported Huntington.

“Mister Padova, evasive pattern alpha! Engage at full warp and get us out of here!,” Cardonez said, her voice filling the Bridge. “Damage to the Loyo?”

“We’re denting their shields. They’re down to twenty percent. One more torpedo spread should do it,” the Tactical Officer reported but in the time that it took him to stab at the firing stud on his console, another bolt struck the ship. Nothing happened.

“Weapons are offline,” he added after the Bridge lights dimmed.

Kandro spoke up next. “Power losses are being reported from all systems, Captain. Life-support is down and we’ve lost engine power.”

“It’s a Borg weapon!,” Masafumi shouted from the science station. “It’s designed to drain power from ships, making them easy for assimilation.”

“Can we defend against it?,” asked the Betazoid Operations Officer.

“Not yet. I need time to study it.”

“Time is something that we don’t seem to have, Commander,” Cardonez said before another bolt struck Testudo and the Bridge was plunged into darkness.

All was quiet for a moment. “No power, sir.”

“Mister Kandro,” Isabel’s voice said from the darkness,” you know how much I normally love your sense of humor?”

“Yes, but…?”

“Stow it until we live through this.”

“You’re joking!,” Masafumi yelled at her. “We’re dead in the water and we’re about to be blown apart! It’s even worse than that! And you’re joking!”

“Commander Masafumi,” his Captain said, quietly but with some menace in her voice,” I never go into a situation without a backup plan. Watch and learn.”

* * * *

The Danube-class runabout USS Ivishak hung above the northern pole of Malthea II while being shielded from everything but the most intensive scans by the pole’s magnetic field. Aboard the small vessel, Lieutenant Kehen watched with rapt interest while the Testudo had dispatched the second Pakled vessel. Now she watched in horror while the other vessels seemed to have gained the upper hand over their ship.

Beside her, Ensign Naddek, a young Vulcan man, manned the weapons console. “Their shields appear to be gone and they seem to be losing power. The unidentified ship is firing phasers.”

“Okay,” the Yulani said,” let’s go.”

“Lieutenant, that would be ill-advised. Our orders are to remain here until we are called for – “

“I don’t think that the ship can call us, Ensign. It’s my decision so we’re going in.” With no further debate, she powered up the Ivishak’s impulse engines and pointed her straight towards the enemy vessel at top speed. “Arm torpedoes.”

“Torpedoes are armed,” Naddek reported, whose usual role was as the relief Bridge Operations Officer. “Do I fire them individually?” The Vulcan held onto his console for dear life as she proceeded to exceed every safety specification on the books with her reckless maneuvering.

“Negative,” Kehen said. “Fire a full spread on my command.”

The Pakled ship noticed the runabout, seconds before it fired upon them.

* * * *

Aboard the Testudo, an explosion rocked the Bridge.

“That sounds like phaser fire,” said Kandro.

“How long will the ablative armor last?,” asked Masafumi.

“Long enough, I hope,” Cardonez said as the ship shuddered again.

* * * *

The Pakled ship tried to fire on the Ivishak but it was too small and Kehen’s piloting was too erratic. Twin bolts of energy swept past both sides of the ship.

“Okay, Ensign,” the Lieutenant screamed,” fire!”

Four quantum torpedoes dropped away from the sides of the runabout. They ignited immediately and targeted the Loyo. As they ignited, Kehen twisted the runabout off its course and went to warp.

“What are you doing?,” Naddek asked her.

“Standby on the phasers,” Kehen said while she swerved the Ivishak back towards the Loyo and dropped out of warp behind them. “This is what the Humans call ‘flying by the seat of your pants’!”

Through one of the forward windows, she watched two quantum torpedoes smash into the Pakled shields. A third torpedo impacted against the keel of the ship in a huge explosion. Kehen was both disappointed and relieved when the final torpedoes missed by several hundred kilometers. She wanted to save the Testudo but killing didn’t come as easy to her.

“Three strikes,” Naddek said in a clinical tone,” is acceptable when performing a ‘fire and forget’ launch. Their shields are down. There is minor damage to their hull and weapons system.”

Ready phasers and target their engines.”

The Vulcan Ensign never got the opportunity to carry out her order. The Loyo turned on its axis and warped away from Malthea II. “I presume that their actions here are complete.”

“What about the other ship?”

“Dead in space, Lieutenant, and on minimal life-support. I do not believe them to be a threat.”

Kehen let out a sigh.

* * * *

In Main Engineering, the ship’s power was finally starting to return. Several portable power generators made sure that their vital systems were coming back online.

“Okay, people,” Bill Reeves said,” let’s get this warp core back online.”

“Forget that,” Tennyson told him. “I want to concentrate on the Tactical systems first. We’re in the middle of a firefight and the Captain is going to need the shields and weapons first.”

“But with the warp drive, we can escape.”

“Trust me,” Tennyson said, smiling,” Captain Cardonez never runs.”

* * * *

On the Bridge, it took a couple of minutes before everyone realized that the battle was over. It was only when the emergency lights flickered online into life that the consoles started to operate again.

“We have power,” Lieutenant Kandro said with a straight face.

“What did I tell you, Mister Kandro?”

“To stow the humor until we were safe, Captain,” he replied with a smile before returning to his station. “I assumed that we were safe now.”

“The Borg weapons seemed to have dissipated, sir,” Masafumi reported. “It must be a short-term drain.”

“Sensors indicate that the Loyo isn’t in the vicinity,” Huntington said. “However, we’re being hailed.”

“On screen.”

The beaming face of Kehen appeared on the viewscreen. “Permission to come aboard, Captain?,” she asked with her smile growing wilder.

“Permission granted, Lieutenant, and well done.” Cardonez couldn’t help noticing that Ensign Naddek sat in the background, looking very disturbed. She looked over at Masafumi who appeared to be dumbfounded.

“I told you that I never went in without a backup plan,” she said, dryly.

 

Chapter Six

Several hours passed by since the encounter with the Pakled vessels. The Testudo had returned to full power when Captain Cardonez and Commander Masafumi entered Sickbay. The noise was terrible while Lieutenant Mason lay immobile on a biobed. He was screaming in agony.

“Doctor, why hasn’t he been sedated?,” asked the Commander.

Doctor Hollen put a PADD down and walked over to them from his office. Both officers noticed the tired, pained expression of frustration on his face. “It doesn’t work, Commander. Every time that we inject him with a hypospray to sedate him, the Borg nanoprobes react and destabilize the effects of the drugs. I’m at a loss so far. If it wasn’t for the force field that was restraining him, he would tear Sickbay apart.”

“What happened when he lost power?,” asked Cardonez.

“He got out,” the Bajoran said. “It took all of us to hold him down until we could tie him down. It’s hardly twenty-fourth century medicine but it’s effective.”

“Why is he screaming?,” Masafumi asked as the three of them moved across the room. “He doesn’t look any worse than he was when we reached the ship.”

“The simple answer?,” asked the Doctor. “He isn’t. The nanoprobes are defective. That’s why he’s in such pain. They’re trying to assimilate him but something is wrong about them. My experience with Borg technology is limited. Doctor Crusher has more experience with this kind of medicine and I can’t contact the Enterprise at the moment.” He had a defeated look on his face.

“Doctor, did you know that Doctor Crusher sent a personal recommendation for you along with your records from the Enterprise?,” the Captain asked him. When Hollem looked puzzled, she continued,” She said that you were one of the best doctors that she had the opportunity to work with in recent years. She said that your abilities to leap beyond logic was your finest quality. Find a way to treat Lieutenant Mason. When we get her back, find a way to treat Ensign Grady.”

“I can’t even keep him quiet enough to work on him,” Hollem said, exasperated.

Cardonez looked at him and stared. “What else have you tried besides drugs?”

“Nothing! What else is there…”

Already, she could visualize the neurons in his brain firing as ideas came to him. He strode away from the Captain and the Commander, barking orders at his staff.

“Nurse Henderson, find me a Vulcan and get them in here. Doctor Zalen, get me a phaser. If it comes down to it, we’ll stun him.”

“I think we should leave him to it,” Cardonez said before she and Masafumi left Sickbay.

Outside in the corridor, he asked her,” Did Doctor Crusher really send a recommendation?”

“Commander, I’m shocked that you think I would make that up.”

“My apologies, Captain. It just seemed very convenient. That’s all.”

“Oh, trust me, there’s a recommendation,” she said as they approached the turbolift at the end of the corridor. “I might even get around to reading it after this mission. Now, let’s go and visit our guests, shall we?”

Together, both officers entered the turbolift.

* * * *

“Okay, let’s try this again, shall we?,” Lieutenant Commander Adam Huntington aske, his voice sounding calm and even. Behind the facade, however, the British officer was desperately trying to keep his cool. He felt like he was asking the same thing for the hundredth time. “Where is the USS Aora and her crew?”

The Pakled, who couldn’t even tell him his name, sat in his seat, staring blankly at him with the same empty grin on his face that all Pakleds seemed to have. “I don’t know,” he repeated for what seemed to be like the hundredth time.

They were in a windowless room. It was a small meeting room with only a table, six chairs, and a replicator. It was the sort of room that section leaders used to have discreet chats with members of their staff. Now Huntington was using it for an interview room. Aside from the Pakled and Huntington, the only other occupant in the room was Crewman Dru’sk. The hulking Klingon looked bored while he stood by the door. There was hope that he might scare the Pakled into talking but it seemed as if that idea had been wrong.

The Tactical Officer was about to try a different tack when the door slid open, permitting Cardonez and Masafumi to enter the room. “Any information yet?,” the Commander asked him.

“No, sir. They’re all playing dumb.”

Cardonez walked up to the table. “Where’s the Aora?,” she asked, calmly.

The Pakled didn’t answer her.

She tried to solicit an answer again but there was no response. “If you give us the information, the Federation will deal leniently with you.”

“New Zealand,” the Pakled said, calmly.

“What?”

“New Zealand. I want my rehabilitation colony to be in New Zealand.” His smile widened. “I hear it’s nice.”

Isabel moved with Huntington and Masafumi over to the far side of the room where they huddled together, conspiratorially. “Sometimes, it’s no help in being part of an enlightened organization,” she told them. “What can we scare him with? A nice holiday in New Zealand?”

The Commander was about to reply when a hideous roar erupted behind them. Collectively, the three Starfleet officers turned around in surprise. Before them, Dru’sk leaned over into the face of the Pakled prisoner, screaming at him with a guttural, animalistic growl that sent a shiver down Cardonez’s spine. It was a sound that she had heard once on Solus Prime.

“You p’tahk!,” the Klingon shouted. “Tell the Captain what she wants to know or I’ll rip your spine out and use it to comb my hair!” He ripped the table from its floor mounting and hurled it against a wall.. It broke with a huge clash.

“Mister Dru’sk, what the hell are you doing?!”

“Getting information.” Without a table between them anymore, he advanced on a nearly-catatonic Pakled who managed to crawl over into a corner and fold himself up into a fetal ball. He was whimpering in his native tongue as the Klingon stood over him. “Tell us what we want to know!”

“That’s enough!,” Cardonez said, using her strength to drag him back. He turned around and for a split second, she thought that he was going to strike her. His eyes burned with a bloodlust but she stood her ground, matching his stare with one of her own.

“You’re dismissed, Crewman,” she commanded.

Dru’sk paused and without another word, he left the room.

“Captain,” Masafumi asked her,” are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she answered him, curtly.

“Touchy fellow,” said Adam.

“Aren’t we all?,” she spat back as she walked over to the Pakled. She picked him up and sat him back down on the chair that he had knocked over in his attempt to escape from Dru’sk. “Okay, I’m going to ask you one more time. If you don’t answer me this time, I’m going to bring Crewman Dru’sk back in and leave you with him.” Her eyes were cold and empty.

“I-I-I-I… I’ll tell you anything!,” the Pakled stuttered. “Anything!”

“I thought that you might.”

* * * *

The Senior Staff was assembled together in the Conference Lounge, an hour later.

“Okay, people. From what we’ve learned in the last few hours, I think that it’s fair to say that we have a working hypothesis about what’s been happening on Malthea II,” Captain Cardonez said, sitting in her chair with folded arms. She was still angry with Dru’sk for his behavior and her own for using it to her advantage. “It appears that there’s a Borg settlement down on the planetary surface, Commander?”

Masafumi leaned forward in his seat. “From the tricorder readings that I took when we were down there, the vegetation over the visible elements of the Cube are well over a hundred years old.” He paused in his report to let that information sink in with the others. “It seems to be relatively certain that the Borg had contact with the Alpha Quadrant, over a century ago. If we take this information in conjunction with the Breen myth that Commander Huntington related to us, then the story becomes clearer. Some time in 2212, a Borg Cube came into the vicinity of Malthea II. Either they were on a scouting mission or their ship had become damaged and they were lost. Whatever the reason, they encountered a small fleet of Breen warships.”

Valian Kandro exclaimed, speaking up. “Of course! The Breen talked about being possessed when they were really being assimilated.”

“Exactly,” Masafumi said, continuing with his report. “It appears that the Breen put up a better fight than they thought they did. Or else the Cube suffered from some kind of accident soon afterwards. Whatever the reason that the Cube was forced to crashland on Malthea II, it appears that most of the ship was either destroyed or buried, only leaving one section of it visible on the surface. Judging by the fact that the Borg didn’t send a ship to rescue them, I would lean towards the idea of a lost ship. One that was already damaged and that it would hold with the Breen managing to inflict damage upon them.

“Perhaps, even in an ion storm,” Tennyson postulated,” they can be extremely violent in this region.”

“Perhaps,” said Masafumi.

“So why haven’t they tried to escape or to contact the Collective?,” Kehen asked.

“I think that Doctor Hollem can answer that question.”

“Thank you, Captain,” said the Bajoran doctor. “From my analysis of the nanoprobes infecting Lieutenant Mason, I would say that the Borg were ‘damaged’ somehow during the crash. I’m certain that they lost their link to the Collective, but it might have gone deeper than that. Of the nanoprobes that I examined in Sickbay, over eighty percent of them were dead and useless. Defective, for better want of a term. Those that are functioning seem to be confused. That’s why they can’t seem to fully assimilate Mister Mason. I would compare it to infertility. An infertile man can still produce sperm but only very few viable ones. This is the same.”

“They can still assimilate people?,” asked Huntington.

“Oh, yes, but with a vastly reduced success rate. At least, I’d say thirty-five percent of victims would end up like Mason or worse,” said the Doctor. “Extrapolating from the condition of the nanoprobes, I would say that the Borg on that planet are probably brain-damaged in some way. Or their Collective is.”

“That might explain why they haven’t taken over the colony or tried to escape from the planet,” Masafumi said. “I suspect that they’re tied to their ship in some way. Perhaps their Collective can’t exist too far away from it?”

“Which brings us to the Pakleds,” Cardonez said, gesturing towards Huntington.

The Tactical Officer began his report. “Several years ago, a group of Pakleds, led by Glablok, were approached by a Human and informed of the Borg colony on Malthea II. Given their mindset, one can only assume that they leaped at the chance to gain Borg technology. Strictly speaking, the two races are similar in their outlooks. Why develop technology when you can steal someone else’s? They arrived on Malthea II and tried to steal the technology that they wanted.”

“That sounds like it was a mistake,” Kehen pointed out.

“It was,” said Huntington. “They attempted to infiltrate the Cube and lost ten men in the process. Their next attempt involved diplomacy and that had a similar result. Glablok sent three of his men into the Cube to negotiate with the Borg. Suffice it to say, they’re probably still alive but only as drones. At this point, Glablow approached the Borg himself.”

“How did he avoid being assimilated?,” asked Tennyson.

“We don’t know that,” Cardonez said. “The Pakled that we interviewed was fuzzy on that subject.”

Huntington continued with his porting of the briefing. “However he managed it, Glablok made a deal with the Borg. he would supply them with beings to assimilate into their Collective in exchange for advanced technology.”

“As Doctor Hollem indicated, the Borg down on the planetary surface are acting irrationally and they agreed to the bargain. That was several years ago. Glablok and his crew have been supplying them with victims ever since.”

“The increased pirate activity?,” Kandro asked.

“Yes,” said the Tactical Officer. “Down there, the Borg are inferior to the Collective that we know today but their technology is still somewhat more advanced than our own in certain areas. Several days ago, the Pakleds overwhelmed the Eclipse.” His voice took on a mournful tone. “Those crew members who survived the assault have already been given over to the Borg.”

Everyone was quiet. They imagined the ultimate terror that all Starfleet officers had faced since First Contact had occurred with the Borg over ten years ago. Assimilation.

“Who’s this Human who first told them about the Borg?,” Kehen asked.

“That would be our Mister Blake,” answered Huntington.

“Presumably, the Borg had been attacking the colony?,” said Kandro.

“Not an attack as such,” added Huntington,” but they have carried off members of the colony on occasion. They’re usually people who have ventured out into the woods on the southside of the colony. As Mister Masafumi said, it seemed that they don’t stray too far from their ship.”

“Why is Blake helping them?,” Tennyson wondered.

“That’s a question that we’re going to ask him,” said Cardonez. “After this meeting, I’m taking an away team down to take Blake into custody.” She saw that Masafumi was beginning to speak but she cut him off before he could say a word. “Commander Masafumi, I want you to begin planning for an expedition to go inside that Cube. You’ll lead the mission. Liaison with Lieutenant Tennyson on coming up with an effective defense.” She paused for a moment and her First Officer stayed quiet. “Doctor, what’s Mason’s status?”

“Better,” the Bajoran physician told her. “I had one of the ship’s Vulcans use a nerve pinch on him and it knocked him right out. I’ve got him on near constant transfusions and in this way, we’re clearing the dead nanoprobes out of his system.”

“And the functioning nanoprobes?,” asked Huntington.

“Not so easily but I do have an idea. I’ve been trying to modify a few of the nanoprobes, reprogramming them to destroy the active nanoprobes still in his system. It’s hypothetical but I’m hopeful that the process could work.”

“So,” asked Masafumi,” if we rescue Ensign Grady and the crew of the Aora, could you remove the Borg elements?”

When it came to answering this question, the Doctor looked downward. “No,” he said quietly. “The nanoprobes are so distorted that if they do manage to fuse with the host body, the chances are that they’ll be permanent. With so much physical and mental damage will have been done to the body that I don’t think they’ll be able to function without the implants.”

“And Ensign Grady?,” Kandro asked quietly.

“Maybe. If we reach her in time. Captain, we have to go in now. We can’t afford to wait any longer.”

“I agree, sir,” the Betazoid Operations Officer agreed with the Chief Medical Officer. “I would like to accompany the away team as well.”

Cardonez sighed. “I won’t sacrifice any more members of this crew on a foolhardy mission to save one person. If the Commander cannot come up with a viable defense,” she said, bluntly,” then I won’t sanction a mission.”

“But, Captain…,” Kandro began.

“But nothing, Lieutenant. I wrote a lot of letters to the family members of my dead crew during the war. It’s not something that I like to do, and it’s not something that I ever want to do again. If I have to write another one, let it be better if it’s one and not ten or fifteen. Do I make myself understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. If you want to help, I suggest that you team up with Commander Masafumi and Lieutenant Tennyson in coming up with a viable defense.”

“Aye, sir,” Kandro said with a softer tone this time.

“Excellent,” Cardonez said. “Now, if there are no further questions…”

“Just one. What happened to the Aora?”

“Apparently, the Pakleds were planning to sell her,” the Tactical Officer said, providing an answer to the question. “The Pakled that we interrogated didn’t know who.”

“First things first. We apprehend Blake and endeavor to save Ensign Grady. Then we’ll go looking for the Loyo.” Isabel paused for a moment. “Commander Huntington, meet me in Transporter Room Two in ten minutes with a Security detachment. Doctor, keep me up to date on Mason’s progress. The rest of you work on getting Ensign Grady back. Dismissed.”

One by one, the members of the Senior Staff walked out of the room. Cardonez remained seated as Masafumi and Kehen both remained behind.

“Yes, Lieutenant?”

“Permission to join your away team?,” the Yulani asked her.

“Any particular reason?”

“It’s just that I’ve never been to Malthea II,” she said and for the first time in several hours, Isabel felt a smile appear on her lips.

“Permission granted. I’ll see you in Transporter Room Two in ten minutes as well.”

“Thank you,” Kehen said with a grin on her face. She turned around and left the Observation Lounge.

“Commander?”

“I would like to request that you place Lieutenant Kandro in command of the mission,” he said simply.

Cardonez let out a deep breath. “Why?”

“I feel like I’ve already made one error in connection with the Borg. I would prefer not to make another. Especially when lives are at stake.”

Cardonez sat in her seat, thoughtfully for a moment. When she replied, it was with a measured voice. “Tough.”

Masafumi was taken aback by her response. “Captain, if it makes it any easier, then I should tell you that I’ve already sent a subspace message to Starfleet Command, requesting a transfer.”

“I know,” she said, a tight smile on her lips.

For the second time in their conversation, he was surprised. “How?”

“It’s my ship. Besides, I suspected that you would.”

“I think it would be better for both of us.”

Cardonez sighed again. “Yashiro,” she said and for the third time, Masafumi was surprised,” where will you go? You want another science vessel and I appreciate that but you can do so much more good here. This isn’t quite unexplored territory but it’s pretty damned close. At least, give us a chance. Give me a chance.”

“I’m sorry, Captain, but I don’t feel like I belong here.”

“Very well. This matter changes nothing however. I still want you to lead the mission,” said Cardonez, her voice reverting to a more businesslike tone.

“Captain, I feel like that would be a mistake.”

“Fine, but it’s my mistake. You’re still a member of my crew and I have assigned you to a mission. You will carry it out.”

“Yes, sir,” Masafumi barked, turning around and leaving.

 

Chapter Seven

It was night on Malthea II as the away team made their way to Administrator Blake’s office. Besides Captain Cardonez, Lieutenant Commander Huntington, and Lieutenant Kehen, the team included Ensigns Miller and Croft who were two fairly generic-looking Security officers. The building that housed the Administrator's office was shadowed in darkness and they soon discovered that the door was unlocked.

“They must not get a lot of crime on this planet,” Huntington whispered dryly as they stepped inside.

Using palm lights, they reached Blake’s office. There was no sign of the Administrator himself.

“Okay, see if you can find anything incriminating. Papers, PADDs… anything that doesn’t fit in,” Adam said, closing the blinds and turning on the light switch. The office was small and their search was methodical.

“Nothing,” Cardonez said. “Nothing at all. There’s no indication of his dealings with the Pakleds. Nothing about the Borg.”

“I’d disagree. This office tells me one thing.”

“Which is?,” Kehen asked the Tactical Officer.

“It tells me that he’s gone and he isn’t coming back. We were in this office today and I noted several things. Personal knicknacks, if you will,” he elaborated to the young woman. “He had a picture frame with a picture of him and another man in it on his desk. Several old-style leather-bound books were on the desk, and there was a small surrealist painting on the wall. All of them are missing and I suspect that he’s long gone.”

“What about this?,” Kehen asked, ducking down and picking up a bracelet from underneath the desk. She held it out to Huntington who took it from her.

Turning it over in his hands, he seemed to be deep in thought. It was a simple bracelet that seemed to be made out of some kind of coppery metal. Huntington unclipped the bracelet’s catch and looked inside. “‘To Alex. All of my love, Kerris.’”

“So he forgot a bracelet,” said Cardonez.

“I don’t think so. It doesn’t fit in with what we know of the man. He was methodical in removing anything that was personal to him from this room. I can’t see him forgetting this. It’s almost like he discarded it because it wasn’t any use to him anymore.”

“It was obviously a very personal item, given the inscription,” said Kehen.

“I think it was designed to look like a personal item to stop anyone from suspecting that it was anything more.” Huntington pulled out his tricorder and scanned the bracelet. “And it’s something more.”

* * * *

Aboard the Testudo, Commander Masafumi, Tennyson and Kandro stood around a console in Engineering.

“Okay,” the Chief Engineer said,” first things first. We need to modify whatever phasers that the away team takes down with them to a modulating frequency. It should provide them with more shorts before the Borg adapt.”

“That’s if they adapt,” said Kandro. “Given what the Doctor said, how can we even know if they can still adapt?”

“I suppose we don’t,” said Masafumi,” but we should stay on the side of caution and modify the phasers anyway.”

“Good idea.”

“There must be another way to protect ourselves from the Borg?,” asked the telepath. “Maybe some kind of armor? Or maybe a personal force field?”

“I think that you’re clutching at straws, Lieutenant. Whatever we use has to be able to adapt. Personal force fields might do but armor wouldn’t.”

“What we need is something that adapts as fast as Borg technology does,” Tennyson said, frustratingly. “What the hell adapts as fast as Borg technology?”

Masafumi thought about her question for a second. “Only other Borg technology.”

“What do you mean?,” asked Kandro.

“Doctor Hollem’s reprogrammed nanoprobes,” the Commander said. “If he can reconfigure a Borg nanoprobe to seek out and destroy other Borg nanoprobes, then why wait until the body is infected?”

“You mean, inoculate ourselves with Borg nanoprobes?,” the Chief Engineer asked him, incredulously. “You can’t be serious.”

“It could work. The only problem would be if the regular nanoprobes adapted faster.”

“Well, hopefully, it would only be a last resort. We can fight our way past them.”

“I think I have something better,” Adam Huntington said as he, Captain Cardonez, and Lieutenant Kehen walked up behind them. “Tell me what this is?” He handed the bracelet to Tennyson.

She gave it a quick glance before she proceeded to scan it. “There appears to be some circuitry built into the metal. I think it’s some kind of short-range transmitter. It’s very short-range, judging by these readings. It appears to be giving out a simple signal that appears to be Borg in nature.” The engineer looked quizzically at the Tactical Officer. “What is it?”

“When we first visited Mister Blake, Mister Kandro suggested that he felt some kind of subconscious level of fear from the colonists. Well, all of the colonists except for him. We now know that they were afraid of the Borg. Mister Blake had no such fear. Why?”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that it’s something to do with the bracelet,” said Kandro.

“And you would be correct. I believe that it gives out a signal that tells Borg drones to leave its wearer alone. It’s Borg camouflage if you will.”

“If we wore this, the Borg would ignore us?” This question came from Masafumi.

“I like that idea a lot better than inoculating myself with nanoprobes,” Tennyson pointed out.

* * * *

In Sickbay, Hollem Azahn had a decision to make. The nanoprobes had been programmed, but would they work?

“I’m still against it,” said Doctor Marcinowski. Being born of Polish extraction, Arnold Marcinowski was a year or two younger than Hollem but his prematurely bald head made him appear to be older. “We don’t know if they’ll work. It could make him worse.”

“I don’t see how it could make him worse. Every second that those nanoprobes are in him, they become a part of him. If we don’t try it soon, we’ll never be able to pull him back. Look, I appreciate your concern and, if you want, I’ll note your objections in my log.”

Marcinowski shook his head. “I don’t want that. At the end of the day, you’re the Boss. If you feel that it’s right, then let’s do it.”

“Okay,” Hollen said, picking up a hypospray. He walked over to where Lieutenant Mason lay on a biobed. “Prophets, please forgive me if this doesn’t work,” he whispered as he placed the hypospray against the man’s neck and injected a batch of Federation nanoprobes into his body.

Both men moved over to the monitors. On the screen, they watched as the new nanoprobes spread throughout Mason’s body. At first, it appeared that they were ignoring the old nanoprobes.

“Well, it was worth a try,” Marcinowski said.

“Give it a minute.”

They waited.

After several minutes, a cluster of new nanoprobes suddenly attached themselves to a group of the originals. A moment later, an alarm started beeping on the medical console alongside Mason’s bed. Both Doctors quickly walked over.

“His temperature is up several degrees,” Marcinowski said,” and his heart rate is going through the roof!”

“I’m showing that fifty percent of the original nanoprobes have been deactivated,” Hollem said. “The rate is slowing down. They must be adapting.”

“Temperature is continuing to rise and his heart rate is reaching critical levels. Should I give him a shot of inaprovaline?”

“No. The nanoprobes will probably negate it,” the Bajoran answered him. “Look, our nanoprobes are adapting too. Only ten percent of the original nanoprobes are remaining. It’s working!”

“He won’t last much longer,” Malcinowski said as Mason’s heart threatened to explode. “Now?,” he queried while grabbing a hypospray.

“Just a minute longer.” Hollem was tracking the number of active Borg nanoprobes slowly dropping down to zero. “Okay, now. Three cc’s.”

Marcinowski administered the drug. Within seconds, the lieutenant’s heart rate dropped to a safer level. “His heart rate is only slightly above normal and his temperature is dropping. What about the nanoprobes?”

“They’re all dead except ours. I’m sending a signal for ours to deactivate.” Hollem looked up and added,” It worked.”

“Don’t sound so surprised. It was a good idea,” Marcinowski said, smiling. “What do we do with him now?”

“Give him another transfusion until we’ve gotten every single nanoprobe out of his system. Then give him a course of inaprovaline to help his body recover.” He paused and added,” Take over for me, will you? I need some sleep.”

With a tired yawn, a happy Doctor left Sickbay.

* * * *

Lieutenant Kehen sat alone in her quarters. The lights were deactivated and she sat, staring out into space. She never tired of it and she hoped that she never would. It still surprised her how used to all of this that most other Starfleet officers seemed to be. In a way, she felt sorry for them but she understood. Space travel was commonplace for them. How different her upbringing on Yulan had been.

In the background, gentle music played, helping her to relax. She had nearly dozed off when her door chimes rang. She stood up and straightened out her uniform.

“Come in.”

The doors slid open with a whoosh and Lieutenant Valian Kandro stepped inside. “I hope that I’m not disturbing you?,” he asked, meekly.

“That’s okay. It wasn’t like I was busy or anything. I was just relaxing and watching the stars.”

“Interesting music.”

“Yulani funeral music,” Kehen said, laughing,” if you can believe it or not!”

“It’s very upbeat,” Kandro said with surprise.

“Well, my people don’t mourn in the same way that most species do. We celebrate a person’s life,” she said. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“I wanted to apologize to you. I just tried to find the Doc but it seems that he’s locked himself in his quarters and he isn’t answering the door.”

“I guess he had a busy day. I heard that Lieutenant Mason is on the mend. I guess that means that you’ll be off to try and rescue Ensign Grady?”

“As soon as Liz replicates copies of the bracelet. Look, I was way out of line, the other night in the bar.”

“That’s okay,” Kehen told him. “Doctor Hollem explained to me about the attacks. I guess it must be difficult to deal with them.”

“It’s still not an excuse. Besides, I can tell that it’s not okay.”

I guess you probably can,” she said, quietly.

“Look, I’m going on the mission and given that there’s a chance, however slight, that I won’t come back, I wanted you to know that I was sorry. I also wanted to ask if you wanted to go for another drink with Liz, me, and the Doctor after I get back.”

“I don’t think so. I’ll have a drink with Liz and Doctor Hollem but it takes more than a half-baked apology when you think that you might die to win me over. This is real life and there isn’t some kind of magical reset button that makes everything all right. My people believe in doing, not saying. I’m not saying that we’ll never be friends, but not today.”

“Fair enough,” Kandro said. “I guess I’ll see you on the Bridge.” He turned around to leave and as the doors slid open, Kehen shouted after him.

“Kandro, remember that if you don’t come back at all, I’ll never forgive you. So you had better come back!”

The Betazoid turned around and smiled. “Anything for a pretty girl,” he quipped before leaving. Kehen paused for a moment before she returned to her stargazing.

 

Chapter Eight

Captain’s Log, Stardate 54416.2;


Lieutenant Tennyson has managed to copy the bracelet. In addition to that, Doctor Hollem had shown exceptional ingenuity in ridding Lieutenant Mason of the Borg influence. Commander Masafumi is about to lead an expedition inside the Borg Cube. However, in spite of the protection afforded by the replicated bracelets, I’m uneasy.


In Transporter Room Two, Yashiro Masafumi and his away team stood, waiting for the word to go ahead with their mission.

“I still think that you should take more people,” said Captain Cardonez.

The First Officer shook his head. “I think that three of us is enough. I don’t want to have to worry about more people. Besides, I doubt there’ll be a lot of room to maneuver around in there. You did assign me this mission, Captain. Having second thoughts?”

“Not in the very least, Commander. Just remember that the deeper that you go, the harder that it’ll be to keep a transporter lock on you.”

“Understood.” The Commander slipped a black band over his arm. It was the Tennyson equivalent of Blake’s bracelet. “Let’s go,” he said to Kandro and Huntington. Together, the three men moved onto the transporter platform. They all carried phasers and the Tactical Officer had extra firepower, hefting a phaser rifle over his shoulder.

“Good luck,” Isabel said as they dematerialized in three pillars of blue energy and disappeared. She turned towards the Transporter Chief and ordered. “Keep a firm lock on them.”

“Yes, sir,” said Chief Leong, a petite Chinese woman in her early thirties. She had been with Cardonez aboard the Osprey.

Cardonez left the Transporter Room and quite literally ran into the immobile Dru’sk who had obviously been waiting outside. “Crewman,” she asked,” were you looking for me?”

He nodded. “Yes,” he said, pausing for a moment to take several deep breaths. “I wish to apologize for my earlier behavior,” he said, gravely. “I stepped beyond my bounds. I await my punishment.”

“You were way out of line.”

“Sometimes, I forget that I am no longer in the Empire.”

Cardonez sighed. “We’ve had this conversation before. You said that you didn’t fit in the Klingon Empire, although you never alluded as to why. Starfleet accepted you with open arms. While being a Klingon explains your actions, it doesn’t excuse them. There’ll be no formal reprimand, this time. Mainly due to your actions on the planet’s surface. However, I have to warn you that there can’t be any more incidents like today. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed, Crewman,” she said before walking around him and heading for the Bridge.

 

* * * *

Down on the planet, the Away Team had beamed down, a few hundred meters from the Cube. They moved slowly as if they were wearing gravity boots. Masafumi left the way with Kandro close behind him. Commander Huntington brought up the rear.

“You don’t like the Captain much, do you?,” the Betazoid asked, all of a sudden.

“Quiet,” Masafumi said, softly.

“This is the Borg. They’ll know we’re here soon,” the Operations Officer said in a lowered tone. “What do you have against Cardonez?”

Masafumi kept walking. “Do you really want to know?”

“That's kind of the reason why I asked.”

“I don’t believe she’s a good officer. Oh, yes, she’s engaged in battle and won medals but what has she discovered? Starfleet used to be about more than war and death. Do you know the Captain of the Maelstrom, Emmett Tattersall? He was forty-five when he was promoted to Captain. What’s Cardonez? Thirty-seven? The only reason that she made Captain is because so many others died and she’s a war hero. I believe that people should be judged on more than that.”

“Okay, let me tell you two things. First of all, she is a hero. I was aboard the Osprey when we defended Pacifica. With half of the crew dead and internal bleeding, she manned the helm. We tried to get her off of the Bridge but she wouldn’t go. Even after we were relieved, she made sure that everyone else got medical attention first. This woman survived having her arm lopped off by a bat’leth and she still disabled the Klingon attacking her.

“I don’t discount her bravery. What’s your second point?”

“Do you know that during the war and the months since that war, the Osprey never left Federation territory? Despite this fact, every time that we passed near a planet that we’ve never visited before, the Captain insisted that we check it out? Do you know that we even discovered a primitive but sentient species on the planet Adran? Do you know how many science vessels ignored Adran before it was so obviously lifeless?”

Masafumi shook his head. “No.”

“Three. Do you know what Cardonez said? ‘No planet can be that dull’. The woman’s an explorer through and through. You can tell her that and she’ll laugh in your face but it’s true. I felt her emotions when we discovered life on Adran. She damn near cried. So, before you judge her by her record, why not give her a chance?”

Before Masafumi could respond, they broke through into the clearing.

“Big, isn’t she?,” asked Huntington with a smile. “I don’t mean to interrupt your stimulating conversation, but maybe we could get back to the job at hand?”

“You were awfully quiet. No opinion.”

“Not yet,” he told the Commander while he visually scanned their immediate surroundings with his phaser rifle following his gaze,” but then, I don’t make snap judgments. She’s young but she doesn’t have the arrogance that a lot of young Commanding Officers, especially the female ones, have. She seems to be open to suggestions from her crew. Then again, I’ve only seen her in action for a few days. Let’s just say that I lean towards liking her but I haven’t fallen the whole way yet. Now that’s out of the way, why don’t we go visit the neighbors?” He gestured towards the Cube with the barrel of his phaser rifle.

The three Starfleet officers made their way across the clearing to the Cube. “How do we get it?,” asked Kandro.

Masafumi reached between two of the thick vines and felt the body of the Cube. He pulled out a tricorder from his belt and began scanning the area. “There’s a hollow section here,” he said, moving a couple of meters to his left. “It looks like a possible way in. Commander?”

Huntington aimed his phaser rifle and he was about to open fire when there was the sound of escaping air. A light shined from his target. Suddenly a Borg drone exited from between several vines. The Tactical Officer shouldered his rifle, holding his fire. The drone, who looked like she had once been a Tellarite, came towards them. He remembered that the Aora’s Tactical Officer had been a Tellarite with a shudder.

“Shoot it,” Kandro said, seething with disgust.

“No!,” shouted Masafumi, fingering the back around his arm. “We have to see if the bracelets work.”

The drone moved closer to Kandro and stood toe-to-toe with him. She cocked her head and then she moved over to Masafumi and did the same thing. Finally, she moved over to Huntington.

“She’s confused. Obviously, they’re only used to one person sending out this signal.”

The Borg drone turned around and re-entered the Cube. The entrance didn’t close.

“Well, there’s our way in,” the Betazoid said.

The three men looked at each other, none of them making a move towards the hole in the wall. Finally Masafumi tapped his combadge. “Masafumi to Testudo. Captain, we’re about to enter the Cube.”

* * * *

On the Bridge, Isabel Cardonez sat in her command chair with concern etched on her face. “Acknowledged,” she said before tapping her combadge. “Cardonez to Leong. Keep a lock on the Away Team. They’re entering the Cube now. The moment that you lose their signal, let me know.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I should have gone with them,” she said to Doctor Hollem who was sitting in Masafumi’s seat. “Liz, are there any indications about how deep they can do while maintaining contact with the ship?”

As the engineering console at the back of the Bridge, Liz Tennyson turned in her seat. “No, sir. If we stick to the procedure that we agreed to and they call in every five minutes, then we’ll soon know.”

Cardonez still felt worried.

* * * *

Yashiro Masafumi was the first member of the Away Team to look inside the hole left open in the side of the Cube. His palm light meekly illuminated a slanting corridor that led down at a steep angle.

“It’s a good idea that we have the boots.”

Activating the gravity boots, he stepped into the entrance. After a moment to adjust his footing, he started to walk downwards, using one hand to steady himself. After a moment, he was followed by his companions.

It was tricky, moving down the slope but the gravity boots helped. The shaft was big enough that they only had to crouch down a little. Faint green light shined upwards from below them. Masafumi used his tricorder but he found no tracee of Grady’s combadge. He also scanned for her DNA pattern that had been taken from her last transporter record. The chances were that it would have been altered by assimilation but there were the only clues that they had to go on.

After descending thirty meters, they came to another opening. The Commander looked down and two meters below them was a horizontal floor. “Deactivate your boots and drop down after me,” he said, switching off his boots and dropped down into a dimly-illuminated corridor. He moved away from the opening as Kandro and Huntington followed him.

“Well, getting back up might be tricky,” Kandro said, darkly. “Which way do we go?”

“That way,” Masafumi said, pointing off down the corridor and towards an approaching drone,” and past it.” He set off with his tricorder still not detecting any sign of Grady.

The drone ignored them as they squeezed past it. Walking several meters past it, they found a wider opening into a small chamber. Around them, the walls were rows of regeneration alcoves. Most of them were empty but drones occupied three of them. None of them were Grady.

“Interesting,” the First Officer said. “These drones are very old. Judging from the genetic material, I would say that one is over seventy years old.” He gestured towards a drone that had once been a Human male.

“I guess they don’t get many willing recruits,” said Huntington. “They have to make them last.”

“Do we follow this corridor?” This question came from Lieutenant Kandro who was pointing off towards another opening on the opposite side of the wall.

“Yes,” he said, tapping his combadge,” but first… Masafumi to Testudo. Do you still read us?”

“Affirmative,” came the voice of Captain Cardonez.

“There’s still no sign of Ensign Grady. The armbands seem to be working. Masafumi out.”

The three men continued into the next corridor. After only a few meters of walking, the corridor began to slant sideways dangerously. Activating their gravity boots once more, they descended down further into the near darkness.

* * * *

“Transporter Room to Bridge,” said Chief Leong over the Bridge intercom. “I’ve lost the lock on the Away Team.”

“Damn it,” Cardonez said. “Kehen, drop our orbit by a thousand meters. Let’s see if we can shorten the range.”

“Aye, sir,” the pilot said and the Testudo slowly moved closer to Malthea II.

“We’re brushing the atmosphere,” Tennyson reported. “Shields are holding.”

“Cardonez to Away Team. Do you read me?”

“I read you,” came the faint response from Yashiro Masafumi.

“We lost you a moment ago. I’ve dropped us to the edge of the atmosphere but we can’t hold here. Your signal is very faint. I don’t think we can reach much further.”

“Your signal is faint too, Captain. We’ll try to penetrate a little further. No resistance so far. Masafumi out.”

“Well,” the Captain said,” now we wait.”

* * * *

The corridor finally opened out into a large chamber. It was about ten meters to the bottom so the Away Team kept their boots activated, walking along the ceiling and down a slick black wall. As they reached the floor, they found it covered in a thin layer of liquid that sloshed around the floor. The chamber seemed to be huge and although light filtered in from above them, most of it was in darkness.

“There are sporadic lifesigns all around us,” Valian Kandro said, shining his palm light through the darkness. He made out nebulous forms that were huddled near the floor in the distance.

Masafumi checked his tricorder as well. “I’m detecting weak Borg signatures. There’s still no sign of Grady.”

It was Huntington who took the lead and walked over towards whatever was lying in the darkness. As he swept his rifle’s light over one of the forms, it tried to shy away from him. Reaching down, he grasped what appeared, at first glance, to be a blanket covering the figure. It was only as he touched it that he recognized it as a Starfleet uniform jacket. Lifting it away, the Tactical Officer caught a glimpse of hell before it was snatched back from him. A face, probably Human, was covered in scars and twisted metal veins. Its eyes were healed over and its mouth was held open in a silent scream by more metal.

“Sweet mercy!,” Huntington said, recoiling in horror.

“I think this is where they leave their victims who can’t be assimilated,” said Masafumi.

“So Mason could have ended up here?,” asked Kandro.

“Probably,” he answered, examining his tricorder,” but unless her DNA profile had been completely changed, Grady isn’t here.”

“Damn!,” the Betazoid Operations Officer shouted as a hand reached out and grasped his ankle. The figure tried to use his leg to drag themselves upright. Kandro managed to pull away but suddenly figures started to move all around them.

“Guys,” he said.

“It appears that the bands don’t work on the partially-assimilated,” Masafumi said as lumbering beings approached them from all directions.

Huntington didn’t hesitate. He pulled up his phaser rifle and began firing into the sea of bodies.

“What are you doing?!”

“You said it, Commander. The bands don’t work on them. Remember the Doctor’s words. There’s no way that any of these people can be saved. I’m doing them a favor.”

Kandro began using his own phaser at this point. “There’s too many of them,” he said as a twisted parody of a Human woman grabbed him from behind and began clawing at his arm where the band was. He twisted away from her grip and as he did, she grabbed the band and tore it away from his arm. As she fell away, the telepath noted that the other partially-assimilated figures that had been heading towards him veered off towards her.

“It’s the bands!,” he screamed, tearing the armband off of Huntington’s arm and throwing it over the heads of a group of approaching partially-assimilated drones. He was relieved when the group turned around.

Masafumi found three of the creatures bearing down on him and pulled his own armband off, throwing it away.

Silently, the drones turned away from the Starfleet officers. “That was close,” Kandro said, smiling.

Huntington turned towards him with an icy glare in his eyes. “Not as close as it’s going to be, now that the Borg will be after us.”

“I think that our next order of business is to try and reach the surface,” said Masafumi. “Unless…” He tapped his combadge and called out,” Masafumi to Testudo, come in.”

There was no response.

The three men looked upward. “It’s a long way back,” said Kandro.

* * * *

“Still no communication from the away team,” said Leong over the intercom.

“Lix, how low can we get and maintain orbit?”

“Another few thousand meters, but remember that the New Orleans-class ships aren’t designed for atmospheric flight. There’s a distinct possibility that we might not be able to regain orbit.”

“Understood,” said Cardonez. “How long can we maintain our current position?”

“Another twenty minutes, sir,” said Chief Engineer Tennyson.

“Very well. We’ll hold position for now and hope that everything is under control down there.”

* * * *

Beneath the planetary surface, the three officers discovered that the hole that they had entered the chamber through had been covered. Adam Huntington tried to cut through it with a phaser but it was to no avail. Returning to the chamber floor again, each of them began intensive scans with their tricorders.

“Okay, this chamber is thirty meters in diameter and roughly circular,” said Commander Masafumi. “I’m detecting several doors but they appear to be sealed.”

“There are twelve lifesigns remaining here with us,” reported Kandro.

Huntington tapped his combadge. “Huntington to Testudo. Do you copy?”

“It’s useless,” the Betazoid said. “We’re too far down.”

* * * *

Several minutes passed on the Bridge of the Testudo.

“Lieutenant Kehen, maneuver us closer to the planet.”

Kehen turned to look at her Captain. She met her eyes and quickly turned around again. Seconds later, the Testudo began moving closer to the planet. Soon, the ship began to shudder and quake as it began to drop through the atmosphere.

“Hull temperature is increasing!,” warned Tennyson. “Shields are under a lot of stress. I’m not sure how long they’ll last!”

“Keep going,” said Cardonez.

* * * *

The Borg chamber soon became filled with light. Several doors into the chamber opened, sending shafts of light flooding inside. The Borg drones screamed in agony and they soon scuttled into any patch of darkness.

“I have a reading on Grady!,” Masafumi said, excitedly.

“One of many,” Huntington confirmed when the silhouettes of Borg drones appeared in each doorway. He raised his phaser rifle and fired, downing one of the drones. More of them appeared, walking through the doors and towards the hapless trio of Starfleet officers.

Behind them, they got off a small barrage of phaser fire. Then, suddenly, Kandro’s phaser fire hit a near-invisible shield around a drone. “They’ve adapted to our weapons,” the Operations Officer called out to his companions.

The Tactical Officer upended his phaser rifle and swung it with all of his might like a cricket bat. He nearly decapitated a drone with it. Another drone behind it grasped the rifle butt and tore it from his grip. He was soon engulfed in drones. Kandro tried to run but a drone appeared in his path. He ran straight into it like it was a brick wall and he tumbled down to the ground.

Masafumi managed to try his combadge one more time without any success. A powerful set of arms grasped his shoulders and forced him to his knees. If he could have checked his tricorder for a moment, he wouldn’t have been as shocked when a drone that had once been Linda Grady reached down to him, assimilation tubules snaking out from her arm and into his neck. He felt a stab of pain as they pierced his skin. Then a warm feeling that spread out from the point of impact. His vision faded in and out and he faintly heard the screams of his companions.

As suddenly as it had begun, the assimilation was over. His vision cleared and he was okay. The hands on his shoulders released him, assuming that he would soon become either a drone or a permanent denizen of this chamber. He used this momentary freedom to rip open his jacket and extract a hypospray that had been jammed into his waistband. His first target was the drone formerly known as Grady. He jammed the hypo against her neck and hit the injector button. As she staggered back, she spun around and did the same to the Borg that had held him down.

Now with a further degree of freedom, he crawled over to where Huntington already seemed to be half Borg. he pumped another dose into the Tactical Officer before he looked around for Kandro who lay, a few meters away. Borg drones were beginning to converge on him. Masafumi checked the ground and found his only hope, a phaser. Knowing that it was useless at its normal setting, he set it on setting sixteen and fired at the ground directly ahead of the approaching group of Borg. The floor vaporized in an explosion of steam and floor fragments. The Borg found a hole where there had once been a solid floor and three drones tumbled into the hole before they realized what had happened. They started to go around but that gave the Commander the time and opportunity that he needed to reach Kandro who was screaming in agony. He injected the last dose into him before tossing the useless hypospray away.

Then a voice seemed to appear out of the either. “studo… o… ou… read. I repe… Star… Testudo. Do you read?”

“Captain, I read you! We need an emergency beam-out, now!,” the Commander said, scrambling over to Grady and attaching a spare combadge to her. “Lock onto our combadges! Four to beam up! Now!”

Silence followed.

* * * *

“Captain, shields are down! Hull temperature is exceeding safety specifications! We either go up or down but we can’t stay here!,” Tennyson shouted above the klaxon of the Red Alert alarm.

“Leong, do you have a lock?,” asked Cardonez.

“A weak one, Captain. Do you want me to risk it?”

“Wait,” said the Captain. “Kehen, take us down another five hundred meters, and then pull up to a higher orbit. Maximum speed.”

“Aye, Captain,” she answered as the Testudo plummeted further. She screamed as the Ops console next to her exploded, tossing Ensign Andraska to one side.

“Five hundred meters!,” she shouted. “Beginning ascent!”

“Leong, now!,” shouted Cardonez.

* * * *

Yashiro Masafumi knew that it was over. Already, the Borg were coming closer and his phaser was almost drained.

“One last act,” he muttered, preparing to set the weapon to overload. Fortunately, the transporter beam engulfed him before he could do it.

* * * *

Kehen somehow managed to keep the Testudo heading for orbit, despite the explosions rocking the Bridge. After a few tense moments, the ship was free.

“Standard orbit, Miss Kehen.”

Doctor Hollem was already tending to Andraska. “Minor burns,” he said as he helped the Denobulan to his feet and led him off of the Bridge. “I need to get him to Sickbay.”

“Damage Control parties are checking in, Captain,” Tennyson said from the back of the Bridge. “There’s no permanent damage. It shouldn’t take too long to fix what’s broken.”

“Good,” Isabel said, her hand posed over the communications button on her chair’s arm before she pressed it. “Chief Leong, did we get them?”

“Aye, Captain. The Away Team and Ensign Grady are aboard.”

Cardonez let out a sigh and sank back against her chair.


Epilogue

Captain’s Log, Stardate 54427.4;


Following my report to Starfleet Command, a Federation science team has arrived aboard the USS Berlin. The science team will be beginning an in-depth study of the Borg microcosm. Doctor Hollem has cleared all officers who were infected by Borg nanoprobes to resume their duties. However, I’ve ordered all of them to spend another few days recovering from the mental scars. The ship’s counselor has spoken to all of them and they will continue to monitor their progress.


Isabel Cardonez stood alone in the Conference Lounge, watching the Excelsior-class USS Berlin in orbit around Malthea II. A cup of coffee sat on the conference table behind her. She didn’t turn when the doors opened, noticing Kehen reflected in the window.

“Lieutenant,” she said, finally turning to face her Helm Officer,” have you come to do a little stargazing?”

“No, sir,” she said, a serious look on her face. “I wanted to apologize. I hesitated when you ordered me to drop the ship closer to the planet.”

“Yes, you did. So what?” Cardonez noticed her expression changing to one of confusion. “Fear is a healthy emotion, Zia.” She smiled and asked,” You don’t mind if I call you Zia, do you?”

“No, sir,” Kehen said, smiling back.

“What I ordered could have been a suicidal maneuver. To be honest, I would be worried if you hadn’t hesitated. I don’t want a crew of zombies. You did well, Lieutenant. Keep it up.”

“Thank you, Captain,” the Yulani said. “I should go. I’m due on the Bridge.” She turned around to leave, just as the door slid open again and Commander Masafumi came in.

“Hello, Lieutenant.”

“Hi.” She swept past him and out of the room.

“How come I always seem to be in the queue behind that woman when I want to see you?,” he asked with a slight smile.

“Bad luck, I guess,” Isabel said, smiling back. “Thank you for coming to see me, Commander. I wanted to let you know that I had a word with Commander T’Vaira. If you’re interested, she says that she could find a place for you with the science team.”

“That would be interesting. To study the Borg in such controlled circumstances is a once-in-a-lifetime offer.”

“I thought you might be interested.”

“Oh, I am. However, I’m afraid that I have another offer that intrigues me more.”

“Really?,” Cardonez asked, an eyebrow raised curiously.

“Yes. Apparently, the USS Testudo has a need of a First Officer. I’d be interested. Unless you’ve already replaced me, that is?”

“Not many things surprise me, Commander. Congratulations, you just did. May I ask why?”

“Something that Mister Kandro alluded to before we entered the Cube. I think that scientific arrogance is a given. On the Maelstrom, the command crew were all on the same page and we were probably all as arrogant as each other. I’ve begun to wonder how many opportunities that we missed out on because we were too arrogant to look beyond our own experiences.”

“If you stay, I can’t see that we’ll be on the same page too often.”

“I don’t see it as a bad thing,” Masafumi said. “Captain Hardison would have never let me lead that mission. He would have protected me from it.”

“Which is exactly the opposite of what you needed,” Cardonez said. “You needed to get back on the horse.”

“Yes. I realize that now. If I had allowed Kandro to lead the mission, I would have been reinforcing the notion in my own mind that I wasn’t up to the job. I needed to rescue Ensign Grady for me as much as for her.”

“Exactly. There is one thing that I wanted to ask you about. What possessed you to have Doctor Hollem inoculate you with friendly nanoprobes before the mission?”

Masafumi smiled. “The same thing that prompted me to take a hypospray full of nanoprobes with me.”

“Which was?”

“Someone once told me not to go into a hostile situation without a backup plan.” His smile widened now.”

“It’s nice to see that my words of wisdom are rubbing off.”

“Don’t get used to it. I’m pretty sure that it won’t be a regular occurrence.”

“Commander, would you care to join me on the Bridge? I think it’s time that we got on with exploring this sector.”

Together, the two senior officers left the Conference Lounge.

* * * *

Lieutenant Valian Kandro sat quietly with Ensign Linda Grady in the Backyard. Both of them were wishing that they had something stronger than synthehol in front of them.

“Thanks,” Linda said, suddenly.

“You’re welcome. I think it was the least that I could do.”

“You’ve got that right,” she said bitterly.

“What was it like?,” he asked.

“Scary. I wasn’t me and yet, I was. It was like I had no privacy. Everything that was me was laid bare and there was no hiding. And the voices in my head…” She trailed off.

“Tell me about the voices?,” probed Kandro, a strange look on his face.

The End.

 

You do tend to drop an entire story in one go... I'm up through the third installment and enjoying the ghost ship story angle. For a moment you had me a bit worried with the prologue as my new series is about a young captain who is more scientist than hardened warrior and will be focused more on exploration, so I'm relieved your POV shifted from the Aora to the Testudo.

Quite a well-written little encounter with the mighty Pakleds. Favorite line so far:

I'll come back for more later - Thanks!! rbs

 

Yeah, I do tend to post my works in their entirety. I feel that if I did it, piecemeal, I would leave myself open to criticism and eventually, I might not finish it. At least, that's my process.

Thank you for commenting, RBS.

 

I know I've read the encounter with the colony and the borg before, but the rest of the story seems very new to me. Either that or I have the fanfic version of heavy deja-vous.

Sweet critter design with the Yulani and I'm very much enjoying the complicated relationships, particularly Cardonez / Masafumi. I'm down to the beginning of Chapter 8. I still have the last long segment to go - probably get to that tomorrow.

Thanks!! rbs

 

Star Trek: Into the Void
Episode Two - ‘Renegade’
By Jack D. Elmlinger


Prologue
Captain’s Log, Stardate 54435.7;

With no fresh leads to follow in locating the USS Aora, I have ordered a minor course diversion in order to fulfill a very personal mission.


“Orbit has been established around Taliron Four, Captain,” reported Lieutenant Kehen from the Helm.

“Thank you, Miss Kehen,” Captain Isabel Cardonez said, rising from her command chair.

“I’m still uneasy about you beaming down there alone,” said Commander Yashiro Masafumi.

She turned and smiled at her First Officer, noticing the beard that he had recently grown. It seemed to make him look even more stoic than before. “Commander, trust me. There’s nothing harmful down there. I’ll be fine,” she said, hoping to convince him that it was safe.

“Regulations do state that a lone away mission is to be avoided,” the Commander said, pushing the issue.

Cardonez took a deep breath and considered arguing with him further. Instead, she conceded to him. “Okay, I’ll take one person with me. No more.” She was thinking that it would be easier to save her arguments with Masafumi for more important issues than this.

“That should fulfill the safety regulations, Captain,” he said in a satisfied voice.

“Good. Are you coming then?,” she asked, noting the smugness drained out of his face.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. If you’re so adamant that I’m accompanied, then you can come with me,” she said, slightly annoyed at the fact that she enjoyed getting one over on him far too much.

“Two senior officers shouldn’t beam down alone, Captain. That’s …”

“Against regulations?,” Cardonez asked, finishing his sentence.

Masafumi knew when he was beaten and he decided to take the minor victory that Cardonez wouldn’t be beaming down alone. He stood from his seat and said,” I’ll come.”

“Excellent. Mister Huntington, you have the Bridge,” the Captain said as she and Commander Masafumi entered the turbolift.

* * * *

Both Starfleet officers materialized on the surface of Taliron Four. Almost immediately, they both shielded their eyes from the harsh glare of the sun that was high in the pale blue sky. The area that they had beamed down into had a small clearing amongst jagged-looking rocks. The ground was covered in dark sand and a warm breeze blew across their boots. Even in desolation, there was life. A small stream meandered a few meters away from them and Masafumi noticed several different species of plant life that were reaching up from within the cracks in the rocks.

“This is where you grew up?,” he asked, his tone sounding almost disbelieving.

“Until I was eight years old,” Cardonez said, quietly. Her gaze seemed to linger over different aspects of the area. A slight smile formed on her lips when she remembered the good times.

“Your shelters?”

“They’re long gone. We had to rebuild them two or three times a year. This area is subject to regular storm activity.”

Hefting the small bag that she carried over her shoulder, Cardonez moved towards a clump of vegetation that was growing out of some nearby rocks. Masafumi followed her. The vegetation seemed to be some kind of bush and she noticed that there were pinkish berries hanging from their stubby branches.

“What are they?”

“Eliberry bushes,” she said, picking off one of the berries from a branch and popping it into her mouth.

“Captain! They could be dangerous!”

“Oh, please. I ate eliberries for the first eight years of my life. Damn, I’ve forgotten how good they are.” She grasped several more and ate them. “Want one?” She held a berry out to Masafumi.

Feeling slightly ridiculous, the Commander scanned the berry with his tricorder. Cardonez stifled a giggle.

“It seems to be mostly harmless,” he said, taking the berry and eating it. “Hmm, a bit sweet but not too bad.”

Meanwhile, Isabel removed a small container from her bag and she was filling it with berries.

“Is this why we came here? For berries?”

“Not just berries,” Cardonez said, jumping up and proceeding to kneel down by the stream. She took out another container and filled it with stream water.

“Captain, I may ask Doctor Hollem to have a look at you when we get back. You seem to be acting very irrationally.”

Cardonez waved a hand dismissively in his direction. “Whatever,” she mumbled. Standing up, she set off again in a different direction. Again, Masafumi followed after her.

Clambering over some rocks, they found themselves in another, much smaller clearing. The ground was covered in sand, but the wind in this area seemed to drop. The higher level of the rocks around it sheltered it from the elements. In the sand were four metal poles that were pitted and rusted but still standing. On each pole, the Commander noticed that there was some scratched lettering.

Cardonez walked slowly over to one of the poles in particular. She fell to her knees before it. Masafumi heard the sound of sobbing as she began to cry. He turned and walked back to the first clearing, leaving his Captain to her grief. As he reached the stream, his combadge chirped and he tapped it.

“Masafumi here.”

“Commander,” came the voice of Adam Huntington,” we just tried to contact the Captain but she isn’t answering. Is everything all right?”

“Yes, everything is in order. The Captain is indisposed at the moment,” Masafumi said, not wanting to alert the ship to Cardonez’s whereabouts. “Is anything wrong up there?”

“We’ve just received a priority transmission from the USS Montreal. They’re responding to an accident on the Kaigantu mining colony.”

“Do they need our assistance?”

“Not on Kaigantu. However, the diversion does mean that they’ll be unable to carry out their original mission. They’re requesting that we carry it out for them as the nearest vessel.”

“Did they indicate what their mission was?”

There was a perceptible pause that wasn’t lost on Masafumi before Huntington continued,” They were on their way to visit the Renegade, sir.”

Masafumi’s face became pale. He also paused for a moment before he responded. “We’ll return to the ship momentarily. Inform the Montreal that we would be honored to carry out that assignment. Masafumi out.” After that was said, he began to walk back to where he had left the Captain.


Chapter One
Ten minutes had passed since the Away Team had been contacted. Now the Captain and the First Officer walked onto the Bridge.

“Captain on the Bridge,” intoned Huntington, standing up from the command chair.

“Thank you, Commander,” Cardonez said, taking her seat. “Hail the Montreal.”

Masafumi took the seat next to her, impressed with how quickly she had regained her composure once he had advised her of the situation. On the main viewscreen, the face of a white-haired, middle-aged Efrosian appeared.

“Captain Cardonez, I’m sorry to pull you away from your away mission,” he said. His body language seemed to indicate that he wasn’t very sorry at all.

“That’s okay, Captain Sah-Verran. It wasn’t an important mission. What’s the situation on Kaigantu?”

“We have thirty miners dead and another seventy are wounded. The plant’s plasma reactor exploded and it’s still on fire. I anticipate that we’ll be needed here, at least, for several more days.”

“Have you informed Starfleet about the transfer of mission orders?”

“I got authorization before I contacted you,” Sah-Verran said, curtly.

“Okay, then transfer them over to us and we’ll be on our way.”

“We’ll transmit them now. Good luck,” the Efrosian captain said with even less feeling. Sah-Verran disappeared and the bright planet of Taliron Four took his place on the viewscreen.

“What a nice man,” said Kehen.

“Lieutenant, I’m beginning to think that you’ve been spending too much time with Mister Kandro,” the Captain said, good-naturedly.

“Hey, I didn’t say a word. He did seem to be glad to be rid of his mission though.” Lieutenant Valian Kandro paused a moment before swinging his chair around to face the Captain. “Why was he so glad to palm his mission off on us?”

“How much do you know about the Renegade?,” asked Commander Masafumi.

“Not a lot. Just rumors, mostly. I get the impression it’s not something that Starfleet talks about much, is it?”

“It isn’t,” said Cardonez. “Mister Huntington, do we have our orders?”

“Yes, Captain. It’s a secure transmission for Captain’s Eyes only.”

“Very well,” she said, standing from her chair. “I’ll take it in my Ready Room. Convene a meeting of the Senior Staff for one hour, Commander.”

“Aye, sir. Do we remain in orbit for the moment?”

“Yes,” was the Captain’s answer while she walked towards her Ready Room. As the door opened in front of her, she looked over her shoulder. “After all, I don’t know where we’re going yet.” She smiled before walking inside, the door sliding shut behind her.

* * * *

Isabel Cardonez walked around the Conference Lounge as, one by one, her officers filtered inside. She was glad that she had the back wall decorated. Originally, the wall had been simply painted a beige color. Now four pictures were hung there in sequence. The first was a painting of a Galapagos turtle swimming with its head above water. The second painting was a representation of Testudo, a large asteroid in Earth’s Solar System. The third picture was of the first USS Testudo, a Daedalus-class starship that had operated in the late Twenty-Second Century. The final painting was of the current USS Testudo under construction in orbit around Mars.

“Do you like them?,” asked a nervous Kehen.

“Yes. Good job, Lieutenant,” Cardonez said, seeing that everyone was here now, she sat down in her seat. “Okay, everyone, I’ve reviewed the mission orders and I have, at least, a vague idea of where we’re going. Lieutenant Kehen, this PADD contains navigational information about our destination.” She hands a PADD over to the Yulani pilot. “It’s a read-only file and it’s for your eyes only. Let me be entirely clear on this point. Once you’ve read the contents and know our destination, you are to delete it. You’re not to discuss this information on the PADD with anyone, including me. Now, if you feel that you cannot comply with these instructions, let me know now and I can reassign the helm duties for the duration of this mission.”

Kehen’s bluish-green skin went pale. “No, sir. I have no problem with following those instructions.” She held the PADD like it was made out of eggshells.

“Very well. Now as Mister Kandro stated so eloquently earlier, Starfleet doesn’t like to talk about the USS Renegade. The chances are that what you know are mostly rumors and myths. Most command-level officers know the story that I’m about to relate to you. It is classified and you’re not to discuss the full nature of our mission with the rest of the crew. Is anyone uncomfortable with these restrictions?”

A chorus of ‘No, sir’ echoes from her officers.

“Good.” She paused for a moment before she continued. “All right, then. It began on Stardate 44182.5, over ten years ago. The USS Renegade was on an exploratory mission to the planet Cithea in the Tevus system. Prior to this date, only automated probes had surveyed the planet. What the Renegade’s crew discovered was that it had once been a heavily-populated world with a level of technology that was roughly equivalent to Earth’s Middle Ages.”

“You said ‘had once been a populated world’,” said Tennyson.

“What the Renegade discovered was a dead planet. They estimated that all life had been extinguished, approximately three hundred years ago. Repeated scans of the surface didn’t indicate any logical reason for the death of the entire planet’s ecosystem. There was no indication of climate change or a meteor impact. Nor were any signs of biological agents or radiation discovered. It was a mystery that the Renegade’s Captain was determined to solve. To that end, he sent an away team down to the surface. They found nothing that the ship’s scanners hadn’t already discovered. There was no explanation. The planet checked out fine. There was no logical reason for the absence of plant and animal life. It was a fifteen-minute mission but when they beamed back aboard, they carried a lethal pathogen with them.”

“But how?,” asked the Chief Engineer. “The scans said that there was no harmful bacteria and surely the biofilters would have screened out anything harmful.” Cardonez understood her concern. She was an engineer through and through. The idea that technology could fail was an accepted fact but it wasn’t one that she liked to dwell on.

“When I received the data, it included a file for our Chief Medical Officer. As soon as I got it, I briefed Doctor Hollem. Doctor, are you prepared?”

“Yes, Captain,” Hollem Azahn said, standing and walking over to activate the computer panel at the far end of the room. A picture of an organism appeared on the viewscreen. “Ladies and gentlemen, I present Cithean Fatalis,” the Bajoran said,” and judging from what I’ve read in the last thirty minutes, this little devil is possibly one of the deadliest organisms in the known universe.”

“It’s just a bug though,” asked Kandro.

“Oh, it’s far more than a bug,” the Doctor said. “For starters, it’s a natural survivor. It has been dormant for three hundred years on Cithea and yet it managed to infect the away team in minutes. Now, this level of dormancy isn’t unusual. Anthrax formed highly-resistant spores and it was able to survive for years in dry conditions. This same is true of smallpox, orthopox, and Cardassian Aremia Plague. What makes it deadlier is its incubation period which seems to be anywhere between three minutes to two hours of infection.”

“That’s quick,” noted Masafumi.

“Very quick. The away team was infected and the first of them showed signs of the disease within ten minutes of their return. Unfortunately, Cithean Fatalis is an airborne virus and inhalation of even the tiniest amount equals infection. Given that the away team inadvertently spread it over several decks of their ship, the air circulation handled the rest. By the time that the first symptoms appeared, I believe that two-thirds of the crew were already infected.”

Kehen muttered something. Cardonez didn’t speak Yulani but she assumed that it was either a deity or a curse. Given the circumstances, it could have been both.

“The crew tried to institute quarantine procedures but by then, it was too late. Within half an hour of the away team returning to the ship, the entire crew was infected. Within two hours was when the first deaths occurred.”

“How does it kill you?,” asked Kandro, half-heartedly. It was curiosity overcoming fear of the unknown.

“In simple terms, it dehydrates you very, very quickly. It takes mere minutes or hours to dehydrate you to a point that would normally take several days without water. Your body literally has no fluids in it. Your tongue swells. Your skin cracks, and you weep blood from every orifice. Your throat constricts, making breathing difficult, if not impossible. Eventually, you – “

“I think we get the picture, Doctor,” Cardonez said, noticing that several faces around the table were getting paler and paler.

“I’m sorry, Captain,” he said, smiling. “I get carried away sometimes. In conclusion, Cithean Fatalis killed the majority of the crew within ten hours.”

“Dear Lord in Heaven,” said Huntington. “How did it get past all of the biofilters and scanners?”

“In its inactive state, it mimics other organisms. Most of which are harmless. Scanners and biofilters just see nothing dangerous. It’s only when the organism has incubated inside of a live host that it mutates into something deadly.”

“It almost sounds like it was manufactured to be a bioweapon,” said Masafumi.

“Yes,” answered Hollem. “However, that wouldn’t explain how a society with the level of technology that the Citheans had reached could develop it. The general belief is that it was naturally occurring.”

“What’s its kill rate?,” asked Kandro.

Hollem looked at Cardonez. She took the hint and said,” Its kill ratio is approximately ninety-five-point four percent.”

“So some of the Renegade’s crew survived?”

“Out of a crew complement of two hundred and four, there were eight survivors.”

“The way that I had heard it, the crew was all dead,” said Kandro.

“That’s a common misconception,” said Cardonez.

“So,” asked Kehen,” what happened?”

“Firstly, Captain Stidek and the other seven hadn’t contracted the disease,” Hollem said. “If it incubates, you’re dead. However, in four-point-six cases, it never incubates and remains dormant. No one knows why. They were carriers and they would remain so. There was no way to destroy the virus without killing them.”

“As a group, they did make a series of decisions,” Cardonez spoke up. “Decisions I hope that any of us would have the courage to make in a similar situation. First of all, Captain Stidek enacted General Order Twenty-Four on the planet. They scorched the surface, using every photon torpedo that they had. Then even burned out every phaser array on the ship.”

“He realized how dangerous Cithean Fatalis was?,” asked Lieutenant Commander Huntington.

“Yes. Luckily, a member of the medical staff survived and Stidek was originally a science officer. They determined very early on how dangerous Cithean Fatalis was. When a Federation team finally approached Cithea months later, they finished the job. A thousand years of Cithean history was wiped out in the space of a year.”

“Barbarians,” muttered Masafumi.

“They had no choice,” said Cardonez. “Any political power or individual could have gathered a sample and threatened the entire quadrant with it.”

“I suppose you’re right. Denying a world its very existence doesn’t sit easily with me.”

“Nor would anyone here or aboard the Renegade. However, given the circumstances, I would have done the same.”

“So what did the Renegade’s crew do next?,” asked Tennyson, wanting to defuse a potential argument between the First Officer and the Captain.

“They realized that they could never go home. They managed to hotwire most of the ship’s systems for a time so that the eight of them could operate her. Then they set sail for… Well, I don’t even know where. All I do know is that they found an uninhabited planet. At that point, they separated the saucer section and crash-landed on the surface. They left the main drive section in orbit on auto-destruct.”

“They marooned themselves?,” asked Kehen.

“They knew how dangerous the pathogen that they were carrying was. Before they crashed, they sent a coded message to Starfleet, informing them of the situation and of their location. Very few people read that communique and very few people know the location of the Renegade.”

“They survived the crash then?,” asked Tennyson.

“All eight of them. They’ve been down there ever since.”

“Marooned,” Kandro said. “Surely there was some other way?”

“No, there wasn’t. All of them agreed that they weren’t going near any populated worlds. The only other option that they discussed was suicide.”

“Typhoid Mary,” Huntington said, out of the blue.

“Huh?,” asked Hollem.

“On Earth, in the Nineteenth Century, a woman named Mary became a carrier for Typhoid. In desperation, the authorities exiled her to an island where she eventually died.”

“Do you sit up at night, reading about these things?,” the Betazoid Operations Officer asked him. “You do seem to have a penchant for the macabre.”

Huntington gave him a lop-sided smile. “I’m sorry that my interest in history tends to center around the grim.”

“The difference between these people and Typhoid Mary is that they exiled themselves,” said Cardonez.

“Imagine what it must have been like to make those kind of decisions in those circumstances,” Tennyson said. “With almost two hundred of your shipmates dead… It makes me shudder just to think about it.”

“I might just be being stupid here, but if the disease only killed ninety-five percent of people…,” Kehen began.

“Ninety-five-point-four.”

“Sorry! Ninety-five-point-four! Then how come there was no life on Cithea?”

“Because it doesn’t just kill people,” Hollem told her. “It kills plants and animals too. The effect on a closed ecosystem is catastrophic. Whatever survivors there would have been were faced with probable starvation as crops failed and animals became scarce. Back that up with the dangers that are inherent in millions of corpses scattered around, spreading a multitude of other diseases and I would be amazed if the species lasted a year after the epidemic.”

“Well, that’s the background, please. I hope you now understand why the precautions are in place. Only Lieutenant Kehen will have any idea where we’re going. Commander Huntington, you’re to ensure that any attempt to determine our location using the ship’s computer is flagged. If a crew member replicates so much as a sextant, I want to know about it.”

“Yes, sir,” Huntington answered with a smile. “If I may ask, what exactly is our mission?”

“Ah, yes,” Cardonez said. “Since the Renegade crash-landed, Starfleet has sent a starship out to its location every six months for several reasons. The first is purely humanitarian. Those people are Starfleet officers. Starfleet doesn’t like to forget its own, especially those who have made such a sacrifice. So they get visitors, mail from family and friends, new holodeck programs, and anything to keep their spirits up. Secondly, it’s a security measure. During the war, the visits were increased to three months. Some Admiral got paranoid that the Dominion would get their hands on Cithea Fatalis and use it against us. Finally, it provides a – “

“Deathwatch,” Masafumi interrupted, solemnly.

“Well, I wasn’t going to put it quite like that but essentially yes. Of the original eight survivors, there are five left. Eventually when a ship visits, there will be none. On that day, Starfleet’s orders are specific. The Renegade is to be completely destroyed and Cithea Fatalis with it.”

 

I just get finished with Episode 1 and you drop Ep 2... Really nice gripping ground mission. I'll get into your newest entry in a day or two.

Thanks!! rbs

 

I must maintain some element of mystery, Mister Scott. This is when someone would do an evil laugh. That person isn't me.

 

Ooohhh - nice bone-chilling horror for the 2nd episode. Very much liking the critter design on Cithea Fatalis and a mystery to boot. Way too deadly a pathogen to be naturally occurring... excellent story premise. Also an interesting visit by Cardonez to her childhood home - hoping to hear more about that.

Thanks!! rbs

 

I should post more soon.

 

Chapter Two

Isabel Cardonez sat in her quarters, relaxing. Her uniform jacket lay on the floor and music wafted through the air. On the table beside her chair lay a PADD and a glass filled with a pink liquid. She had already decided that she would beam down to the Renegade, despite Commander Masafumi’s protests. She felt that she could do no less.

The chimes to her quarters rang and she said,” Come.”

Yashiro Masafumi gingerly entered, seemingly unwilling to violate her personal space.

“Hi, Commander,” she offered. “How can I help you?”

“I was just on my way to my quarters but I thought that I would inform you personally. Lieutenant Kehen has estimated that it will take thirty hours to reach the Renegade.”

“Excellent. Is she still mad because I won’t let her beam down?”

“I believe so,” he said, smiling. “However, she understands. Even with the precautions, it makes no sense to send down the only person who knows our location.”

“Good.”

There was a perceptible lull in which neither of them seemed to know what to say next. Eventually, Masafumi fell back on small talk. “So… the Beatles?”

“Yes,” she said. “‘A Hard Day’s Night’. Do you like the Beatles?”

“Not really.” Another lull.

This time, it was her turn to try and break the ice. She picked up her glass. “Eliberry juice,” she declared. “Greatest drink in the Galaxy, even if I say do myself. Want one?”

“No, thank you.” Another uncomfortable silence ensued again.

“Damn it, Commander,” Cardonez said impatiently,” what’s wrong?!”

Masafumi drew himself up. “It is a difficult subject to broach. I was uncomfortable on the surface of Taliron Four. I’m not used to seeing my Captain weep.”

She sighed. “That’s why I wanted to go down there alone, Commander. I haven’t been near my mother’s grave since the Wyoming rescued us.”

“I suppose I feel guilty for encroaching on your grief.”

“That’s okay. You didn’t. I appreciate you giving me some privacy though. Thank you.”

Masafumi looked at a small portrait hung on a wall. “Your mother?,” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Her name was Tessel. That’s the only picture that I have of her. My father painted it while we were on the Wyoming. He said that he had the picture in his mind for four years after she died. He painted it as soon as he could get the supplies aboard the Wyoming.” Cardonez smiled sadly.

The woman in the portrait was beautiful, perhaps in her early forties. Her face was weather-beaten and yet defiant. Her hair was long and unkempt but the artist had made it seem alive like it was being blown by the wind. Her features were obviously Romulan but the tattered remains of a Romulan uniform allayed any doubt. Masafumi could see little similarity between her and her daughter, except for the eyes that shined with an inner passion.

“Your father is a talented artist?,” he asked.

“Was. That was the last picture that he ever painted. He said he didn’t think that anything else could inspire him that much ever again.”

Masafumi thought that he saw tears glistening in her eyes. “Your mother was a handsome woman.”

Cardonez laughed at his formal tone, relishing the release. “Thank you.”

“Is that why you’re beaming down?,” he asked suddenly. “Because of your family?”

“Maybe. Let’s just say that I have some inkling what it must be like for a Starfleet officer to be marooned. It was okay for me because I didn’t know anything outside of Taliron Four but it was difficult for my father. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be trapped like that. I love the stars too much now.”

Masafumi nodded. “Well, I should be going. Good night, Captain.”

“Good night, Yashiro,” Cardonez said as he departed. The music changed to ‘Paperback Writer’ and she took a long drink of Eliberry Juice.

* * * *

Hollem Azahm was busy packing a small case in Sickbay.

“And you can’t tell me how long you’ll be gone?,” asked Doctor Marcinowski.

“No. I’m sorry, Arnold, but it’s classified. If for some reason that I don’t return from this mission, Commander Masafumi will fill you in as the Acting Chief Medical Officer.”

“It’s dangerous, then?”

“I can’t answer that. All I can say is that the risk is light.” He smiled. “Now, where did I put those EMH upgrade files?”

“Here,” Marcinowski said, passing the Bajoran an isolinear chip. “I’m curious as to who uses a Mark-One EMH anymore?”

“Arnold, keep asking these questions and I’ll probably have to get Commander Huntington to throw you in the Brig,” Hollem told him.

Marcinowski laughed before he saw the seriousness in Hollem’s face. “You’re serious?”

“Yes, I am. This is a highly classified mission. If you continue to try and get me to open up, I’ll have to treat it as a security matter.” His smile grew larger. “It’s that serious, Arnold.”

“Okay, sir. I understand. Is there any way that I can help in a way that I don’t know that I’m helping?”

Hollem laughed.

* * * *

Captain Cardonez was on the Bridge again with Masafumi by her side. “Status, Lieutenant?,” she asked.

“We’re approaching the coordinates, sir,” Kehen reported.

“Very well. Drop us out of warp.” As the Testudo dropped back into normal space, Cardonez stood up from her chair. “Attention! For the next twenty-four hours, the Bridge is off-limits to everyone but the Senior Staff. Clear the Bridge. Mister Huntington, inform Lieutenant Tennyson and Doctor Hollem that I need them up here now.”

There was some mumbling as the non-essential personnel exited the Bridge. Soon only Masafumi, Cardonez, Kehen, Huntington, and Kandro were left.

“Do we have anything yet?,” asked Cardonez.

“Possibly. I’m scanning the immediate area,” the Betazoid Operations Officer said. “I have a small planetoid, seventy thousand kilometers away. Nothing else.”

“On screen. “Kehen, take us into orbit.”

“Aye, sir,” Kehen said as the view of the main viewer changed to a small, dark, irregular asteroid.

As the ship moved into orbit, the turbolift doors opened, disgorging Tennyson and Hollem.

“Is that it?,” the Chief Engineer asked as she and the Doctor moved to stand beside Huntington at the Tactical console.

Cardonez looked at Kandro. “Well, Valian?”

“It’s an asteroid, roughly twelve kilometers across. There’s no atmosphere to speak of. There’s a high nickel content but other than that, it’s unremarkable. I have located a metallic object on the surface. It appears to be the Renegade’s saucer section.”

“On screen,” said the Captain.

The viewscreen changed to show a closer view of the asteroid’s surface. The upper portion of a New Orleans-class saucer section was clearly visible. “It looks like it took a beating,” Kehn said. The surface of the saucer was covered in small pits and gouges. Most of the windows appeared to be smashed.

“I’m showing seventy percent hull integrity. Several areas, especially the top two decks are open to space. Lower deck windows have either been covered over or they’ve had force fields put in place,” Kandro reported. “I’m detecting several generators and power in most of the ship.”

“What about the beam down coordinates?,” asked Masafumi.

“I’ve got them. It’s a small dome, roughly forty meters away from the side of the ship. There appears to be an enclosed tunnel connecting them. The dome is split in two with a dividing wall that appears to be triple-layered in transparent aluminum.”

“Let’s hope that we beam down to the correct side,” Huntington said, mirthlessly.

“Well, then,” Hollem said,” I guess we should get down there?”

“Yes. Commander, she’s all yours,” Cardonez said as she, Hollem, and Huntington headed for the turbolift.

“Okay, then,” Masafumi said,” I suggest that we take twelve-hour shifts. I’ll man the first one. Lieutenant Tennyson, would you care to join me?”

“I’d love to,” Tennyson said, tapping Kandro on the shoulder. “Have fun, lazing around, Valian.” As the two officers left the Bridge, she took over the Ops position and Masafumi took over the Captain’s chair.

* * * *

Upon entering the Transporter Room, Captain Cardonez handed a PADD to Chief Leong. “Chief, I can’t give you the details but this is a highly-classified mission. You’re to beam us down to these exact coordinates. Once we’re down there, we;ll be gone for exactly twenty-four hours. When we call for a beam up, we’ll use a codeword.” She paused for a moment to consider her options. “The codeword is ‘Tessel’. If we don’t use that code, you’re not to beam us aboard. You will inform Commander Masafumi and he’ll know what to do.”

“Aye, sir,” said the Transporter Chief.

“In addition, you’re not to beam anything up or down to any other location on the planetoid, other than those coordinates. Be under no illusions, Chief, that it could prove fatal for the entire crew.”

Leong nodded her compliance.

All three officers proceeded to the transporter pads. Each of them wore a bag on their shoulders.

“Energize,” said Cardonez.

* * * *

Moments passed by in an instant and the three Starfleet officers materialized inside a cold-white chamber. The area was clearly a dome that rose up several meters above the tops of their heads. As Lieutenant Kandro had said, the dome was split in half. A giant transparent partition divided it off and on the other side was a mirror image of the area that they were in. White walls, a replicator, several chairs and simple beds were included. There was a door in the far wall that Isabel knew from her briefing led to sonic showers and a bathroom. The air was breathable but sterile.

The whole area had the air of a place that hadn’t been used much.

“So this is Starfleet’s idea of visiting hours?,” asked Doctor Hollem.

“We’re lucky,” Cardonez told him. “Two years ago, it was something half its size.”

“So do we just wait?”

“The dome alerts the crew to visitors. We might as well make ourselves comfortable,” she added, pulling up a chair.

“How safe is this?” Huntington tapped on the partition.

“As safe as it can be. It’s triple-layered.” She pointed at the dividing wall. “If it’s breached, three force-fields drop into place immediately. Plus air curtains in the ceiling and in the floor keep the air from the other side from getting in.”

“Pretty safe then,” the Doctor said, though he didn’t look so sure.

Huntington took the Captain’s idea literally and lay down on one of the beds. “Wake me when they get here.”

Ten minutes passed by and in this time, Isabel and Adam maintained their laid-back relaxing. However, Hollem paced up and down in front of the window. “Where the heck are they?,” he asked.

“They’ll be here. Relax, Doctor. These people don’t see anyone for six months at a time. When a starship visits, it’s usually without any warning. They might all be asleep, eating, or on the holodeck. They’ll be here.”

As she spoke, Hollem saw a red light flash above a door in the other chamber. “I think they’re here,” he said.

The three officers from the Testudo stood up and watched as the airlock opened and two people came through the doorway. They couldn’t have looked any more different. One of them was a Vulcan who had been originally tall but now he walked with a slight stoop. Cardonez knew that Captain Stidek was well over a hundred-and-sixty years old when he had crashed here. The previous ten years appeared to have taken their toll, and yet, he was a picture of efficiency. His hair was short and his uniform looked like he had replicated it that morning. She was amazed to see that it was one of the current uniforms, rather than the style that had been in circulation when the Renegade had gone down.

His companion wasn’t wearing a uniform. He was Human and a lot younger than Stidek, perhaps thirty-five years old. His red hair was long and scraggly, along with his beard. He wore baggy gray trousers and an old-fashioned Hawaiian shirt.

The Vulcan walked up to the partition. Raising his right hand, he made the Vulcan salute. As he spoke, his words echoed through the speakers on their side. “I am Stidek, Captain of the USS Renegade. Live long and prosper.”

 

Chapter Three

Captain Cardonez instinctively raised her own hand in a similar gesture. “I am Captain Isabel Cardonez of the USS Testudo. Peace and long life.” She lowered her hand. “We have letters and supplies for you.”

“Do any of you have the EMH updates?,” the other Renegade crewman butted in.

“I do. Doctor Hollem Azahn. And you are?”

“Wolf, Robert Wolf,” he replied.

“Ah, Ensign Wolf,” said Huntington.

“No, just plain old Robert, Commander. Since Starfleet keeps refusing my requests for a reassignment away from this rust bucket, I assume that I’m no longer on the active list.” Wolf smiled brightly.

Hollem was amazed that he could be so cheery. His voice had the intonations of a person who came from what used to be the southern United States of America. He had known someone aboard a previous ship who had hailed from a place called ‘Georgia’. Wolf sounded like him and the Bajoran found it to be rather charming.

“Very well, Robert,” the Tactical Officer said. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Huntington.” As usual, he pronounced Lieutenant as Lef-tenant. Hollem wondered if he would ever understand how so many accents could derive from just one small planet.

“Pleased to meet ya,” said Wolf.

“Captain,” Cardonez said,” we were told to expect five of you. Where are the others?”

“There are four of us now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Do not be. It is the logical order of things. Lieutenant Duvall was sixty-four years old. Even the Emergency Medical Hologram could not prevent the degradation of his pulmonary system. He died three weeks ago.”

“What about Crewman Patel and Lieutenant Andrews?,” asked Cardonez.

“They rarely come out anymore,” said the Vulcan.

“Come out from where?,” quizzed Huntington.

“The holodeck,” answered Wolf. “They pretty much shut themselves in Holodeck Two, about four years ago. They used to pop out every few days and actually interact with the rest of us. However after Karl died last year, they’ve spent more time there. In fact, I think it’s been a month since I saw them last.”

“And they’re in good health?,” asked Hollem.

“Yes,” said Stidek. “The ship’s sensors constantly monitor our lifesigns.”

Separated by three layers of glass and a terrifying disease, the five Starfleet officers remained silent for a moment. It was Cardonez who finally broke the silence. “So,” she asked,” what do we do now?”

“We talk,” Stidek said, his Vulcan stoicism dropping just slightly.

* * * *

An hour passed by and Stidek had disappeared inside to try and winkle the other two crew members out of the holodeck. Huntington and Cardonez were conferring over coffee from the replicator. That left Hollem and Wolf sitting on either side of the transparent wall, talking.

“You do all of the engineering?,” asked the Bajoran.

“Yup,” Wolf said, smiling. “After all, I was the old gold shirt to survive and someone had to do it.”

“It must be a huge job.”

“Nahh… It took three years of hard work but it pretty much runs itself now. The trickiest thing that I’ve had to do was install the holo-emitters in Sickbay, three years ago, so we could get an EMH rigged up. Before that, the only medical aid that we had was Diane.”

“Diane?”

“Diane Andrews. She was the Chief Nurse aboard.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure.”

“How old are you?”

Wolf laughed. “Didn’t you read my file, Doc? I’ll be thirty-three in November.”

Hollem looked embarrassed. I did have files on all of you but I’m afraid I forgot to read them. The data on Cithean Fatalis was so fascinating that…” He trailed off before saying,” I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything.”

“That’s okay.”

Noticing the beginning of an awkward silence, Hollem changed tack. “Thirty-three. So you were really young when this happened?” He realized that he wasn’t really changing the subject and stuttered. “I’m sorry. I can talk about something else. Honest.”

“That’s okay, Doc. You’re one the more honest visitors that we’ve had. Usually they talk about everything but our situation. Hell, being on the Renegade for the last ten years is a big part of my life. I don’t want to ignore it.” Noticing that his voice was rising, he quieted down. “In answer to your question, yes, I was very young. Fresh out of the Academy and I thought that the Renegade was a plumb assignment. Captain Stidek was highly regarded as one of the best Captains around at the time. Would you believe that the Cithea mission was my first mission?” He laughed. “Talk about dumb luck! Anyways, at least, I got to stand on the surface of Cithea and see the ruins of one of their castles. I’m the only person left in the Galaxy to do that. Everyone else on that away mission died after we came back.”

Hollem noted the pride in his voice. “It’s a pretty unique achievement. Especially considering what happened to Cithea.”

“Yeah, Doc, it is.” He smiled again.

“So why did you resign your commission?”

Wolf let out a belly laugh. “Are you kidding me? Ten years of faithful service and they can’t even be bothered to promote me? Even the worst Ensigns usually get promoted to Lieutenant J.G.. Even if they don’t go any further.”

Hollem found himself laughing too. “With all things considered, I have to admit that you’re quite well-adjusted.”

Wolf stopped laughing. “Are you a shrink? You certainly talk like one.”

“No, no, I wasn’t trying to analyze you. I’m just amazed by how well-adjusted you are.”

Wolf stared at him for a moment. His face became a mask of anger. Then he smiled a huge beaming grin. “Gotcha!,” he laughed. “Sorry, Doc. Winding people up is something that I so rarely get to do anymore. The Captain isn’t that easy and with Andrews and Patel locked in the holodeck, the last person that I could have a laugh with was Karl. Unfortunately, the selfish bastard hung himself last year.” Wolf was fighting back tears now. “Sorry,” he managed to say. “Karl was my best friend. I don’t think that any of us realized how isolated he felt.”

“So, Andrews and Patel,” asked the Doctor. “What exactly are they doing in the holodeck?” He was trying to steer him away from what was obviously a painful subject.

“Would you believe that they have a garret in Twentieth Century Paris?”

Hollem smiled. “What about you? Never considered locking yourself away in the holodeck?”

“Nah. I mean, I do, but not that often. I’ve never been able to totally lose myself in the illusion. I suppose that’s the problem with being an engineer.”

“So what do you do with your time?”

“Read. I must have read most of the literature stored in the ship’s data banks by now. I also write. I’ve had a couple of articles published. Under an assumed name, of course. I do use the holodeck but mainly as a swimming pool. Once a year, I have a week’s holiday on Risa too.” He beamed and said,” You know, Doc. We keep talking about me and I have to put up with me all year round. It would be nice to know a little bit about you?”

“There’s not much to tell. My name’s Hollem Azahm and I’m Bajoran.” He smiled and rubbed his ridged nose. “If you hadn’t already guessed!”

“Would you mind if I called you Azahn?”

“Not at all. People usually assume that Azahn is my given name though.”

“Like I said, I read a lot. I’ve always wanted to visit Bajor. I hear that it’s very beautiful, now that the Cardassians are gone.”

“I wouldn’t know,” said Hollem. “I’ve never set foot on Bajor.”

“Really? Where were you born then?”

“A refugee camp on Shilzai. My parents had escaped from Bajor, a few years previously.”

“That must have been tough, growing up. When did you decide on Starfleet?”

“When I was about nine. The Federation usually ignored us but this one time, a Captain actually beamed down supplies and a team of medics to help us. I never knew that such people existed. They were all so professional and talented. After that, I began hanging around with the only Doctor at the camp. At first, he ignored me as a nuisance but slowly, he came to see that my interest was genuine. By the time that I was accepted to Starfleet Academy, I was working full time as his nurse.”

“And you got to be a student for eight years.” Wolf smiled. “I always thought that doctor had it a bit too easy in that respect.”

“Believe me, Starfleet Medical Academy is anything but easy.”

“So, then what? Graduation and a cushy posting somewhere?”

“Actually,” Hollem said,” I graduated just in time for the war.”

“Wow, I’m sorry. I guess we missed the war out here. Of course, we got more regular visits but none of the officers seemed to be particularly cheery.”

“I can understand why. It got pretty bloody at times.”

The roles were reversed now. “Do you lose many friends?”

“Too many,” the Bajoran said, simply,” including my best friend of all.”

“I’m sorry,” said Wolf.

“Don’t be. It was sudden. I never worried about Belan. He had a nice safe assignment at Starfleet Headquarters. It should have been the safest place for him. When the Breen attacked…” Hollem took a moment to compose himself. “When the Breen attacked, he was killed. Five years of marriage gone in one afternoon.”

“I’m sorry,” Wolf said before he smiled. “I keep repeating myself. I’m sorry.”

Hollem smiled back. “Very funny.”

“So what’s the Testudo like? What’s the Captain like?”

“The Testudo is a ship like any other, I suppose. As for the Captain, she seems to be quite unique. Primarily a security officer, the Testudo is only her second command. Yet, she seems to have an almost telepathic ability to deal with almost anyone.” He laughed. “Except for our First Officer. She hasn’t figured him out yet. What’s Stidek like?”

“Like a father in a twisted unemotional kind of way. He kept us all together. When it happened, he showed us the way. I think we thought we were lucky and we could just go home. I think we were close to mutiny on our way here. It’s hard to explain but I guess he just… we all drew strength from him. You know that he has six children on Vulcan? Six! I have no one. I was orphaned when I was two. Starfleet was the only family that I had. For the last ten years, the crew on this ship are the only family that I’ve had. In a way, I’m glad that he’s a Vulcan. He’ll probably outlive me.”

“Do you spend much time together?”

“Not that much, but we do bump into each other every few days. Then once a week, we have dinner. Sometimes more but never less. That’s Vulcan efficiency for you.” Wolf smiled. “Hey, there’s another benefit for you. I get to eat at the Captain’s table all the time.”

Hollem suddenly noticed Captain Stidek entering the dome behind Wolf. “Ensign Wolf, I require that you attend to Holodeck Two. Crewman Andrews and Lieutenant Patel are complaining that the waiter in their favorite restaurant is speaking Klingon, instead of French again.”

Wolf smiled. Leaning forward, he said,” Azahn, this won’t take long.”

“How do you know?,” Hollem asked him.

“Because I programmed it in,” he said triumphantly. “I like to throw in reminders that it isn’t real, just to give them some sense of reality. Say if I’m going back into the ship anyways, I can take those EMH updates.”

“Sure.” Slipping the isolinear chip out of his bag, Hollem placed it into a small hollow box that was fitted to the partition. A single control pad was fixed to the side. Upon activation, a small one-way transporter beamed the chip across the partition to a similar box on the other side.

“Thanks. Don’t go away. I’ll be back in an hour or two,” Wolf said, dipping and taking the chip. And with that, he was gone.

“I am sorry to interrupt your conversation,” said Stidek. “I wonder if I could trouble you for a favor?”

“Sure.”

“I would like a second opinion of the Emergency Medical Hologram’s diagnosis.” Stidek held up a tricorder and said,” I can transmit the data to yours through the partition.”

“Sure,” Hollem answered again.

* * * *

An hour and a half later, both Doctor Hollem and Lieutenant Commander Huntington were sleeping and Wolf hadn’t returned yet from his repair mission. Isabel Cardonez and Stidek were talking.

“I did wonder if you were Vulcan or, at least part-Vulcan when I first saw you. When you said your name, it confused me. In most Vulcan/Human offspring, a Vulcan name is usual.”

“I’m sorry that I’m not a fellow Vulcan.”

“Ah, but you are a fellow Captain. I so rarely get to see anyone of my own rank, let alone my own species.”

“But surely your family…?”

“My family has never visited. I would have deemed it illogical if they had. I can no longer play an active role in their lives. Nor are they in mine. What about your family?”

“My mother died when I was very small and my father is the Captain of a Starship.”

“Is he proud of you?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t spoken since I got my promotion.”

“Your mother was a Romulan?,” Stidek asked.

“Yes. He was a junior science officer aboard a scout ship that crashed on Taliron Four. That’s where my father met her and that’s where I was born.”

“It is regrettable that she did not get to see you grow to become the person that you are now. I am sure that she would be very proud.”

“It’s something that I’ve mulled over a few hundred times while I was growing up. What would have happened if she had lived? Would she have returned to the Romulan Empire or made a life with my father in the Federation? Sometimes, I’m glad for her and for us, she didn’t survive. I don’t think that she would have felt comfortable living anywhere other than Taliron Four. She really did love it there. As she put it to me once, just before she died,” Where else in the Galaxy could a Human and a Romulan fall in love?’ I think she was probably right. I think that there are some who would never let her forget her heritage.”

“And you? Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?”

“Not so much anymore. They did though. A few years after we were rescued, my father decided that it would be a good idea to relocate to Vulcan. He had some nutty idea about helping me rediscover my roots.” Cardonez laughed. “We were there for four months before he requested a reassignment.”

“Vulcans can be notoriously intolerant of those born of mixed races,” Stidek said. In others, it would have come across as an indictment. From him, it was just a statement of fact. “Especially Vulcan children.”

“Tell me about it,” said Cardonez. “After that, things settled down. There have been a few who questioned my loyalty. For the most part, I just shrug it off. It hasn’t hindered my career.”

“Do you experience any desire to see Romulus?”

“None at all. I’ve had several homes, Captain. Taliron Four, Venezuela, Vulcan, and Starfleet Academy. Finally though, I think that I know where I belong.”

“And where is there?”

“In the Captain’s chair,” she said simply.

Stidek almost smiled. “It seems that you are where you want to be. Never underestimate how lucky you are, Captain. You have your own ship and your family. Do not underestimate how quickly it can be taken away from you, Captain.”

“Don’t worry, Captain, I won’t. The war taught me that.”

Stidek cocked his head to one side. “Then why have you not contacted your father since you gained a promotion?”

“I…” Cardonez paused and said,” I suppose I was expecting him to contact me.”

“Hmm,” said the Vulcan. “Starfeet is a very large organization, Captain. I would suggest that it is likely that he does not know.”

“That’s a very good point,” said Cardonez. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

Now Stidek smiled. “Do not mind me, Captain. I find that during the last ten years, I have had to act as Ship’s Counselor on far too many occasions.”

“And there was me thinking that I was here to cheer you up.”

“That is not necessary. I am Vulcan. Vulcans do not need cheering up.”

“Of course,” said Cardonez. “So what can I do for you?”

“Talk to me. Robert is the only person that I talk with and as much as I enjoy our debates, it does get to be a little repetitive. Tell me about the Federation. About the war and peace. Most of all…” The Vulcan paused and Cardonez saw a flicker of something in his eyes. “Tell me about Vulcan.”

 

Chapter Four

“So there I was with a broken ankle and I’m sitting in my neighbor’s backyard, a snarling great targ, just a meter away from me, trying to pull the spike that held its leash in the ground,” said Wolf

“So what did you do?,” Hollem asked. He, Huntington, and Captain Cardonez sat in rapt attention as Wolf recounted a childhood story.

“Well, my brother had already shimmed back over the fence. I only had me to rely on so I crawled back towards the fence on my back. All the time, the targ was getting closer to pulling the spike out of the ground. I reached the fence easily enough but I couldn’t even stand, let alone climb out. I must have sat there, panic-stricken for a minute or two before it came to me. If I couldn’t go over the fence, I would go through it. I dug out my penknife and I managed to pry the bottom of one of the fence slats off. Then I used one of the broken branches to pry the slat further off.

“Luckily, I was a very skinny eight-year-old. I was halfway through when the targ finally pulled the spike out and began charging towards me. I never knew that I could move so fast! I pulled myself all the way through, scratched myself to hell but I made it. The slat snapped back right into the face of the targ. I couldn’t keep what had happened a secret from my parents though. The broken ankle saw to that. I got grounded for three weeks and when my ankle was better, I had to go and do chores for my neighbor. The stupid thing is that for the next few years, that targ actually grew to like me!”

“And you didn’t even get to eat any of the apples that you’d been stealing?,” asked Huntington.

“No, but I did decide on a career in Engineering. Before then, I hadn’t thought much about pivots and levers but it saved me from a mauling. I began to wonder what else engineering could do.” Wolf paused for a moment, a smile still evident on his face. “So that’s my story. It looks like you’re the only one left, Commander. What first prompted you into Starfleet?”

Huntington looked uneasy for a moment. “Well, it wasn’t one event or another but I suppose I would blame my father. When I was growing up, he forced me to read all of his favorite authors. Luckily, they were the kind of works that a young man would find interesting. Sherlock Holmes, Dixon Hill, the novels of Agatha Christie, Sklar, and a dozen others. I grew up surrounded by mysteries. So when I decided on Starfleet, I thought that Security would be interesting. I think if I lived in the past, I probably would have been a police officer. I’m sorry if it’s not as interesting as anyone else’s.” Cardonez swore that he was almost blushing.

“I’m going to get a drink. Captain, could I see you for a moment?,” asked Hollem.

“Sure,” she said. Together, they walked over to the replicator.

“Kremek juice,” the Bajoran said and a glass of pale green liquid appeared in the slot before him.

“Coffee, white, extra sugar,” Isabel said. “So,” she continued before taking a sip of her hot beverage,” what did you want to talk to me about?”

Hollem looked over at the others who were still sitting by the partition. Lowering his voice to just above a whisper, he replied,” Captain Stidek asked me to double-check a diagnosis of the EMH’s.”

“And?”

“And I concurred completely with the EMH’s findings.”

“Which were?” Cardonez was getting slightly annoyed at the Doctor dancing around the subject, wishing that he would just get to the point.

“Captain Stidek is dying.”

Cardonez was shocked. Stidek was old but he didn’t seem that old for a Vulcan. “Are you sure?,” she asked, immediately regretting her question. Of course, he was sure. He wouldn’t have told her otherwise.

If Hollem’s professionalism was hurt, it didn’t show. “Yes, I’m sure. I rechecked the data three times. I get the same result every time.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Old age,” he said simply. “He’s a hundred and seventy-three. Time is taking its toll on him.”

“Don’t most Vulcans live two hundred years, at least?”

“Most of them but not all of them. Stidek tells me that his father lives to one hundred and seventy. His grandfather only made it to a hundred and sixty-two. The men in his family have notoriously short lifespans compared to other Vulcans. he ‘s had a long life, considering his heritage.”

“How long does he have?”

Hollem took a deep breath. “He’s already experiencing problems. Heart palpitations, anemia, arthritis, and blurred vision. Given the data that the EMH provided, I would say anywhere between six and eighteen months. He will grow steadily feebler and he will probably be bedridden sometime before the end. There’s nothing that we can do. It’s inevitable.”

“Well, I suppose I’ll have to inform Starfleet,” said Cardonez.

“That’s it?,” he asked incredulously.

She shook her head. “I don’t know what else to say, Doctor. There’s nothing that we can do. Even if he wasn’t cut off from us behind that glass. You want me to say that I’m sorry, fine. I’m sorry. That man is one hell of an officer.”

“It’s not him that I’m worried about. It’s Robert.”

“Ensign Wolf?”

“Yes. I’ve checked the rest of the survivors’ medical stats. Robert is in excellent health. Potentially, he could live another forty or fifty years.”

“Oh,” Cardonez said quietly,” I see.”

“He could be alone for half a century in this tomb.”

“Yes, he could. They all knew that it was a life sentence when they crashed here. They all accepted that, Doctor. And he won’t be alone. He’ll have Patel and Andrews with him. Maybe the Captain’s death will snap them out of it.”

“And maybe it won’t. In fact, given that they’ve spent more time in the holodeck since the last death, I think that they’ll probably lock themselves in permanently. Robert won’t go in there with them. He knows it’s not real. That’s his curse.”

“What do you suggest we do, Doctor? Take him with us? Take him to Earth? He’s here for a reason. You’re a doctor. You know that better than most.”

“We could keep him dematerialized in the transport buffer until we could get him to a secure base somewhere. We could beam him into a sealed shuttle…”

“Don’t you think that Starfleet might have considered those ideas and a dozen others? It’s too dangerous. Robert, Stidek, and all of the others made their choice, ten years ago. They can never leave. All that we can do as Starfleet officers is try and remind them that the sacrifice that they’ve made is worth it but doing our duty as well as we can. Now, come on, Doctor. We haven’t much time left. Let’s make sure that we don’t waste it.”

Cardonez returned to the group. After a moment of silent thought, Hollem followed her.

* * * *

In orbit of the planetoid, Valian Kandro was slowly but surely getting on Kehen’s nerves. He had hardly stopped talking. Mostly about pretty irrelevant things. Finally snapping, she turned her head and asked,” Lieutenant Kandro, you’ve managed to talk about almost everything during this shift and yet you haven’t mentioned the mission. Why is that?”

“There’s nothing to say about it,” he said. “I feel sorry for those people but there isn’t a lot that I can say or do that would make a difference.”

“Oh, really? I was prepared to beam down there and remind them that they aren’t forgotten…”

“Of course, they’re forgotten!,” Kandro suddenly said. “Starfleet forgot about them a long time ago. Oh, they send a ship out every six months but that’s just to check if they’re dead yet.”

“You don’t really believe that. Or are you just in self-pity mode today?”

“What the hell do you mean by that?,” he demanded, angrily.

“Simple. Those people down there are isolated, alone, and one by one, they’re getting more isolated and more alone. Remind you of anyone?”

Kandro smiled. “You seem to think that you know me very well, don’t you, Lieutenant? Well, I’ve got news for you. I volunteered to go down there. The Captain refused.”

Kehen’s face paled. She was speechless.

“Want to know why I wanted to go? Because I felt guilty. You’re right about one thing. I do feel empathy for those people and it does remind me of my own telepathic mortality, but at least, guilt is a better reason to go than curiosity,” he said, on the attack now.

“What do you mean?,” she asked, defensively.

“I mean, you’re the wide-eyed explorer, always asking the Captain if you can go on this away mission or that away mission. You didn’t want to go down to the Renegade because of its crew. It’s just somewhere else that you’ve never been.”

Kehen was stung by his words because, at least, on a certain level, she knew that he was right. “Well, it looks like I’m not the only one who thinks she knows better than they do.” She tried to sound defiant but it didn’t work.

“Look,” the Betazoid said, apologetically,” it’s been a long shift and it’s nearly over. There’s only half an hour left and once you take us back to recognizable space, we can get off-duty and get some sleep.”

“You’re right.”

The Bridge became silent for the first time in hours. Neither officer looked at each other, each of them mentally counting down the minutes until they were relieved.

* * * *

In the dome, it was almost time to leave.

Captain Cardonez, Lieutenant Commander Huntington, and Doctor Hollem stood in a group, facing Stidek and Wolf, separated mere centimeters by the partition. “On the behalf of the crew of the Renegade, I thank you for sparing a morsel of your valuable time to remind us that we are not quite alone in the universe,” the Vulcan said, raising his hand in the classic Vulcan gesture once more. “Live long and prosper.”

Cardonez felt like a hypocrite but she raised her own hand. “On the behalf of the crew of the USS Testudo, thank you for reminding us that sometimes we have to be willing to sacrifice much for the greater good. Peace and long life.”

Without another word, Stidek turned around and walked back to his ship.

“Captain, permission to stay for a moment?,” Hollem asked.

Cardonez turned around and he was surprised to see a tear in her eye. “Of course, Doctor.” She turned back towards the partition. “Goodbye, Mister Wolf,” she said, tapping her combadge. “Cardonez to Testudo.”

“Testudo here,” said the disembodied voice of Chief Leong.

“The codeword is Tessel. Beam myself and Commander Huntington up. Give the Doctor five minutes, then beam him aboard as well.”

A moment later, Hollem watched as the Captain and Huntington dematerialized in the transporter effect.

“Just the two of us now, Doc.” Wolf smiled.

“Yes, I have to go in a moment. I just wondered… would you let me know the assumed name that you use? I’d very much like to read your articles.”

“Well, I’m not surprised. But what the hell? I’ve enjoyed this visit more than any other for the last five years. It’s Foxley. Hubert Foxley.”

“Thank you. I wish we could stay longer,” Hollem told him. “I feel like there’s a lot about you that I don’t know.”

“You too, Doctor, but what do I know? I can’t help liking you. You’re an honest, and noble man and I’d like to count you as a friend.”

Hollem felt tears of his own welling up in his eyelids. “As would I, Robert. Maybe I could try and persuade Starfleet to allow the Testudo to return. Would you like that?”

Before Wolf could replay, the Bajoran doctor disappeared in the flash of the transporter beam’s energy.

“Yes, Azahn. Yes, I would,” Wolf said, forlornly. After a moment, he turned around and followed his Captain.

* * * *

A few minutes had passed since the return of the Away Team and most of the senior staff was assembled on the Bridge. Except for Lieutenant Tennyson and Doctor Hollem who had returned to their own areas of the ship. Isabel Cardonez felt that there was something in the air between Lieutenants Kandro and Kehen as she sat down in her command chair but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Commander, a present,” she said, handing a PADD to Commander Masafumi. “From a barbarian,” she added with a smile.

Masafumi read the title of the article that the PADD contained. “The inhabitants of the planet Cithea. A historical study by Stidek of Vulcan.” He looked at his commanding officer with a puzzled look on his face.

“Before he enacted General Order Twenty-Four, Captain Stidek beamed a host of artifacts and writings aboard from around the planet. He also made sure that the Renegade conducted a full sensor sweep of the planet. He’s been pulling that information together for the last ten years. That’s the rough draft. A thousand years of history are gone and he tried to save some of it. He’s probably made incorrect assumptions about certain things but, at least, the inhabitants of Cithea aren’t forgotten.”

“Captain, I don’t know what to stay. Thank you seems inadequate.”

“It’ll do for now, Commander. Miss Kehen, have you computed a course back to Sector 29004?”

“Almost, sir,” the Yulani reported.”

* * * *

Chief Leong was surprised when Doctor Hollem returned to Transporter Room Two, just a few moments after leaving. “Doctor, did you forget something?,” she asked him.

“Yes,” he said, raising his arm. Leong spotted the phaser too late to even utter a sound before the stun beam struck her.

Hollem knelt down beside her and checked to make sure that she wasn’t permanently harmed. Then, he reached over and punched a sequence into the transporter console before he stopped onto the transporter platform, vanishing.