The Star Eagle Adventures IV: All The Sinners, Saints

[CeJay]

“You have managed to get yourself into quite a precarious situation, Taz.”

She really didn’t need to be told that and she fought against giving the Deltan an annoyed glare to stress that point. She had contacted him over a secure sub-space line to give him an update on the situation on Tiaita and to let him know of Nigel Bane’s ultimatum. She really hadn’t wanted to because she had a pretty good idea what Altee would want her to do about this situation. Part of her however held out a fool’s hope that another and less drastic way would present itself to deal with this new problem.

“Schwarzkopf is out,” she said. “As far as Eagle is concerned, Owens will not be taking anymore orders from him. He’s finished here. There is no way he will be able to recover from this.”

The Deltan looked thoughtful for a moment. “Perhaps. But for the moment he still wields some influence. This isn’t over yet. Schwarzkopf may be misguided but he’s smart.”

Star was beginning to believe that Altee was much more paranoid than he appeared. Or perhaps he really despised his nemesis a lot more than he had ever been willing to admit. This entire mission appeared to be more about Altee’s personal vendetta than about what was good for Tiaita and the Federation.

“I can try to convince the captain to have him confined to quarters for the remainder of this mission.”

He shook his head. “I don’t believe you have enough pull with Owens yet to make that happen. For now keep an eye on the good admiral. But you clearly have some more pressing concerns to worry about. We cannot afford for your friend to follow through on his threat, it would compromise our entire operation.”

“There isn’t much of an operation left. Without Schwarzkopf’s support the government will crumble and the New Light will strike a significant victory.”

Altee focused on her with an intent stare. “There is too much speculation and uncertainty in that assessment. That’s why I need you to remain exactly where you are. Unless of course you would prefer to return to your previous accommodations. I hear Jaros II is enchanting this time of the year.”

She knew that it wasn’t a threat per se. If Bane was going to talk, Star was finished.

“You know what you have to do.”

“Now wait a minute, that is not what I do.”

The Deltan chuckled. “No?” And then he stopped abruptly, a dead serious expression on his face. “Don’t kid yourself. This is exactly what you do. You’ve done it before. Many times.”

He was right. At least partially.

“That was different.”

“What is different, Taz, is that you have started to let your personal feelings interfere with your work. Maybe that time at Jaros has softened you up, maybe you’re getting soft. Whatever it is, get over it. This needs to be done.”

“And how do you suppose I take care of this? You don’t think something like that will raise a few eyebrows around here? You don’t want to compromise my position? Well, after I do what you are suggesting everybody will know exactly who’s to blame. With or without proof.”

“I refuse to believe that you have lost your imagination. You find a way, you always do. You’re like a Denobulan wildcat. You’ve got twelve lives. Now get this done and report back to me once you have resolved this issue.”

The screen blinked out.

“Maybe I’ve already used up all my lives,” she said to nobody at all.

She glanced at the hypo spray sitting on the desk next to the computer. She so much wanted to take a shot. Just one. It had been nearly two days since she had last taken an injection. She had hardly slept in that time and her body was screaming for another one.

But she knew she had to remain clear-headed if was to do what had been asked of her.

Altee had remained right about one thing. She had let her personal feelings cloud her judgment. The darndest thing about it was, she liked to have those kind of feelings. And she was beginning to think that they weren’t necessarily a bad thing either. That instead of having a negative effect on what she did they were actually putting things into perspective.

But it was also an undeniable fact that something had to give if her mission was not to end in failure. Something needed to be done. And she couldn’t do it alone.

Star activated the computer again to send a quick message. Then she prepared herself for what had to happen next.




Meet me on the Samaritan in one hour. We need to have a serious conversation with my good friend.

Lif Culsten sat in his darkened quarters and read the intercepted message again.

He now understood that he had made a critical mistake.

Galven had warned him from the outset of this mission that more was happening here than first met the eye. That more players were involved and greater things at stake than a peace treaty with an isolated planet.

He had first suspected Bluefin and her crew which had seemed to make sense at the time, especially with the unexplained presence of Lieutenant T’Ser as part of the away team.

But it was Tazla Star, their new and surprisingly convenient acting first officer, who was playing a double game. It had been her all along.

Proving that was going to be a lot more difficult however.

He had kept his eyes on her ever since she had come aboard but the Trill commander had been very careful, fully realizing that nobody on Eagle really trusted her.

She had left no trails behind. She had taken so many steps as not to cast any additional suspicions on her that her carefulness in itself was suspicious. Only spies tended to be that vigilant.

But now she had slipped up. The last message she had sent from her computer had not been scrambled. He had not been able to determine who the recipient was but she knew where Star would be within the next hour.

And he was dead set on being there too, exposing her for what she truly was.

He stood from his chair, removed a tiny, pocket-sized phaser which he slipped into a hidden pocket in his uniform and then left his quarters.

 

[mirandafave]

Things are beginning to crumble for Star I feel but Lif had better be careful not to be too cocky in thinking he has outsmarted her. The Denobulan Cat may feel she has used up her twelve lives, but she still has claws.

Great stuff going on all over the place.

 

[Mistral]

This looks like its coming to a head. I look forward to the blow-up.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Looks like Star is facing her own Kobayashi Maru scenario. I have a bit more sympathy for her now than at the beginning of this story, but I still don't trust her to do the right thing.

I love this story!

 

[CeJay]

TWELVE: THE REVELATION​

Pain had become such a constant companion over the last few days that T’Ser had almost gotten used to the feeling.

Almost.

Her head was still pounding but that was nothing compared to what her broken leg felt like.

After the attack on the settlement Deite’s people had picked her and thrown her roughly into the back of a cargo transport with little considerations for her injuries. The vehicle had accelerated sharply and not stopped again for a very long time.

In fact she couldn’t recall how long they had been travelling. She had passed out a number of times during the journey. After what she guessed had been a few hours, they had picked her up again and moved her into another vehicle. Somebody had given her some desperately needed water which she had gulped down so quickly, she’d almost thrown up right away.

Otherwise they had mostly left her alone. She had lost consciousness again shortly after being moved and she thought she could remember feeling almost weightless for a short while.

It all seemed like a bad dream now.

It had all been very real.

She had awoken in what looked like a large storage room. They had placed her on a makeshift cot and to her surprise somebody had braced her broken leg. It wasn’t quite the kind of medical attention she had come to expect as a Border Service officer. The brace consisted out of two pieces of wood tied around her leg, but it was by far better than nothing at all.

There was a skylight in the room, too high for her to have any hopes to reach it, especially in her condition. It did afford her a view of the night sky however. And the stars told her that she was nowhere near where she had woken up that morning.

She had travelled hundreds, if not thousands of miles, most likely by air.

And then there was the noise.

First she attributed it to her splitting headache but she soon managed to distinguish what was inside her head and what was not.

She heard the hum and roar of loud engines on a near regular basis. Jet engines she thought but couldn’t be entirely sure. Such archaic technology was not her field of expertise.

The cabinets and shelves in the room were filled with junk but nothing that appeared as if it could have been of any use to her.

The only door creaked open to allow a man to enter.

She recognized him as Deite’s main henchmen. She found the look in his small, darty eyes to be disturbing.

She turned away from him, starring at the ceiling instead. “If you’ve come to get information from me, you are wasting your time. There is nothing else you can do to me you haven’t already tried.”

He stepped closer. “Are you sure?”

Something in his tone she really didn’t appreciate. He didn’t sound so much threatening as slimy. It caused a cold shiver to run up her spine. She had intended not to dignify him by saying one more word or even give him another look for that matter but now she suddenly feared of what disgusting acts this man would be capable of if she didn’t keep her eyes on him.

“You must know that there is no place on this planet your people can hide from us. The government found your last hide-out which means they will find this one as well. And if they can find it, my people won’t be far behind.”

Teldro stepped closer and T’Ser noticed that his eyes were roaming her body.

“You and Deite will pay for what you’ve done,” she said sharply, trying to force him to look her into the eyes instead.

He did. “You cannot stop destiny. No matter how advanced your people are and how many spaceships you have, you will not be able to stand in the way of prophecy.”

“Prophecy?” she said. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about what was foretold thousands of phases ago. I’m talking about divine decree. The return of the Anointed One,” he said. “Of course I wouldn’t expect an alien like you to understand.”

“I thought you were rebelling against the theocratic dogma of the government,” she said. “I thought all this Tia and Ait distinction was the reason you are at war in the first place. Maybe you should try to get your cause straight before waging your war.”

“You arrogance would be amusing if it weren’t for the gravity of your utter ignorance. But you will understand soon enough. Unfortunately for you, your enlightenment will also serve as your doom. But enlightened you will be. Yes, enlightened,” he said and laughed as if he had made a terrific joke.

T’Ser didn’t feel like laughing.

Deite stepped in, followed by two young men T’Ser figured to be more henchmen. One of them was carrying a large metallic box, the other, surprisingly, a tablet with food and water.

“Teldro, how’s the prisoner?” she asked sharply.

“Alive,” he replied without ever taking her eyes of the Vulcan. “For now.”

She nodded. “Good. Now leave us.”

Teldro gave her a surprised look, maybe it was disappointment.

“Now.”

He relented and slipped out of the room.

Once he had left, Deite and her escort approached the cot on which T’Ser lay.

“So you are seeing yourself as some sort of religious figurehead now?” said the Vulcan. “The Anointed One? Tell me, at what point during your torture session did you experience this spiritual awakening exactly? I am genuinely curious.”

“I see Teldro still takes too much enjoyment from hearing his own voice. But I have to admit that some of the things he talks about are beginning to make some sense to me,” she said as she instructed one of the men to place the tablet with the food onto a stand next to the cot. “I admit, this prophecy sounds rather ostentatious but who can deny that we live in a time in which great symbolic deeds are called for? Did you know that much of what was written in those ancient texts has actually come to pass over the last phases? It’s fascinating really.”

But T’Ser was not paying her any attention. As far as she was concerned they were the rantings of a sadistic madwoman who had found yet another justification for her depraved actions.

T’Ser was much more interested in the food and drink that had been placed next to her. She was famished and her strength was failing her.

“Go ahead, eat,” she said.

T’Ser looked up at her suspiciously then she caught a glimpse of the second man who was still holding the large box with content unknown. “Is that your new plan? Feed me so that I have enough strength for another round of beatings?”

“If you’d prefer to starve yourself that is your business.”

“Is that part of your new outlook as the Anointed One?”

Deite uttered a short laugh. “You can make fun of it all you like. But I never said that I was the One, merely that the concept has prompted a certain interest.”

T’Ser reached for the bred and ate. She didn’t care that it made her look weaker in front of her captor. She already felt and looked weak enough, no point in putting up a show. “What’s in the box,” she asked. “Let me guess, your halo.”

Deite laughed again and indicated for the second man to start doing whatever it was he had brought him for.

He placed the box on the floor and opened it. T’Ser froze when she saw the large knife he produced.

The man approached her but before she could even try to move away he had already made use of the weapon.

Cutting away the straps holding her makeshift brace.

What happened next utterly astonished T’Ser.

He removed the brace and began to apply a dark and cool gel to her leg. She wanted to protests, the idea of this stranger’s hand touching her body disgusting her at first. But it turned out the gel had some impressive medicinal effects. Within moments the pain in her leg was almost entirely gone.

“If your bones are anything like ours it will take some time for it to heal. You won’t be able to properly use your leg for some time,” the man explained before he went to work to apply another cast, this one much more professionally.

T’Ser glanced up at Deite with little gratitude in her eyes. “If you think that this gesture is going to make me more likely to assist you –“

“Oh, you are going to assist me,” Deite said, cutting the Vulcan off in mid-sentence. “You won’t have much choice or say in the matter. You are going to assist me if you want to or not.”

“Your threats mean nothing to me.”

“That was not a threat. It’s a fact,” she said and turned around to leave the room.

T’Ser was left alone and entirely mystified as to what kind of new scheme Deite was trying to put in motion. All she knew for a certain was that it would involve a lot of pain and suffering and death. Possibly even her own.

 

[mirandafave]

Crikey, it must be getting near the crunch time when we start hearing of the prophecies again.

T’Ser was left alone and entirely mystified as to what kind of new scheme Deite was trying to put in motion. All she knew for a certain was that it would involve a lot of pain and suffering and death. Possibly even her own.

And like T'Ser, I too am puzzled by what Deite has planned and whatever ominous consequences they hold for her.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

To me, Deite's more restrained approach to T'Ser - the food, the pain-killing gel are in some ways more disturbing than the torture. As a Border Service officer, T'Ser understands there might be a time she's forced to lay down her life. But I have no doubt it galls her to be used as a pawn.

Deite seems extremely confident - in herself and whatever scheme she's hatched. Perhaps her overconfidence will be her downfall.

 

[Dnoth]

I agree. Getting medical treatment after your torture (I imagine) would almost be more disturbing than the initial torture. I hate mind games. They're fun to write and read about, though.

 

[DavidFalkayn]

A very well done part. Deite is not doing this for T'Ser's well being--as pointed out, there's going to be lots of pain and suffering to come...

 

[Mistral]

And death, don't forget death. Deite is up to something, that's for sure.

 

[CeJay]

Even though most of Bluefin’s primary systems had been restored since the unorthodox core shutdown hours earlier, some were still down. The internal sensors had been low on the list of priorities and the fact that they were not yet one-hundred percent up and running allowed Nigel Bane to slip away from the ship without anybody taking notice.

He materialized in one of the cargo holds of the Samaritan.

It was darker than he had expected, the light levels had been reduced significantly, casting long and awkward shadows across the bay which was packed with high rows of cargo containers.

Tazla Star stood behind the transporter console.

The Australian took a step off the platform but froze when he made out another figure in the room. He stood aside, nearly hidden within the shadows and watching him carefully. It was Jarod Singleton.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had made a horrible mistake by coming here. And without letting anyone know where he’d gone. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had walked right into a trap. His first instinct was to try and make a run for it, do whatever was necessary to get away from this place.

He ultimately decided against it. Instead he remained where he was and looked at Star. “What’s going on?”

The eyes glancing back at him looked darker and emptier than he had ever seen them before. Those were not the same eyes he had looked into longingly when they had shared a bed together. These eyes belonged to somebody else, somebody capable of dark and sinister things.

The Trill stepped around the console and he noticed that she kept one of her hands hidden from him even as she stepped closer.

It took some effort not to flinch.

“Taz, please, I don’t want it to be like this.”

“Maybe you should have thought about that before putting me into this position,” she said with an unmistakable edge in her voice. “Whatever is going to happen here is because you have led us to this point.”

“Me?” he shot back, matching her intensity now. “You are the one who is asking me to choose between the wellbeing of a close friend and your trust. You can’t possibly blame me for this. In fact I have stayed quiet for much longer than I think is conscionable. I did this because I wanted to believe you. I wanted to believe that everybody else was wrong about you.”

“Then you haven’t shared this with anybody? What you know?” asked Singleton.

Bane threw him a dark look. “I guess that would really fly into your face, if I did, eh mate? Threaten your whole little operation on this planet. What a shame that would be.”

“You shouldn’t take this lightly,” he said.

“Oh, I’m not,” said Bane. “Believe me, I’m really not. My friend is down there and they’re doing God knows what to her while you two know exactly who is responsible for this. And you’re not doing a bloody damned thing about it. They may end up killing her,” he said and looked back at Star. “But I guess that’s just one more acceptable sacrifice for the mission, right? Well, it is not acceptable to me. I refuse to be any part of this.”

“Then walk away, Nigel,” she said. “Just walk away.”

But he didn’t move. “I can’t do that. I won’t just give up on her.”

“Then you’re not leaving me with a choice.”

Star revealed her hidden hand and for a moment Nigel was sure that she was holding a phaser.

But it was just a padd. “You want to blackmail me? Well, I can play that game.”

Bane had no idea what she walking about.

“Tell me Nigel, does the name Horace Greeley ring any bells with you?”

He tried to remain stoic, to pretend that it had no meaning to him whatsoever. Nothing beyond the obvious. Another border cutter not unlike Bluefin. One on which his older brother served as first officer but nothing more unusual than that. To an outside observer perhaps all that was true. But Nigel Bane knew that there was something very wrong about that ship. And he knew immediately that Star knew that he knew.

“Lieutenant Commander Ian Bane,” said Star as she looked over the data on the padd. “A fine Border Service officer, spotless record, a number of recommendations from his superior officers including his current one, Captain Helena de Souza.” She looked up. “So how’s ‘Jack’ these days? Is he doing alright?”

Nigel Bane wrecked his brain as he considered his options. The best one for now, he decided, was to keep his mouth shut.

“Here’s another interesting fact which appears to have been omitted from the official files,” she said as she stepped closer. “Did you know that more than half of the senior officers of the Horace Greeley have big fat accounts at banking houses outside the Federation? Did you know that known business partners of the Orion Syndicate tend to be their biggest donors?”

He watched her intently as she moved closer still.

“I guess you would know all that, wouldn’t you?” she said. “Seeing that you were stupid enough to discuss this with him over subspace communiqués.”

Bane’s façade slipped.

“They’re not as secure as you think, Nigel. But you won’t have to worry about it, I’ve cleaned up your mess. Nobody will ever need to know about your brother. It could be our little secret. What do you say?”

Not a word, it turned out.

“Think about your career, Nigel. What do you think will happen if Border Command learns of this? What if Akinola finds out? Imagine his disappointment when he learns that one of his most promising officers is covering for the syndicate. The very same notorious criminals you battle on a daily basis. And then there is your brother, of course. He’ll lose his commission. And then prison, most likely. Are you really willing to taint the family name? The Bane’s will be finished.”

He watched the Trill carefully for any sign that perhaps she was only bluffing but he could find only iron-clad determination in those piercing green eyes. She’d go to any length to protect her mission.

“I suppose so. But you know what? I’m not like you. I didn’t come here because I meant to blackmail you into doing anything. I came here because I care for my friends and I don’t want anything bad to happen to them. I guess I’d hoped that after all you’ve told me, about the way you used to be and how hard you tried to put all that behind you, I hoped that after all that, you would understand why I had to do what I did. But you haven’t really changed, Taz, have you?”

“Is that your decision?” she asked.

“Go ahead, tell everybody everything about me, about my family. This is not about me or you. If the price of getting T’Ser back is that I lose my career then so be it. I believe in something more than myself.”

“And you think I’m doing this for myself? You think I like going through your dirty laundry?” she shot back angrily. “You’ve been down to Tiaita, you’ve seen what it’s like with your own two eyes. I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

“By sacrificing those who had nothing to do with this.”

“I don’t like it anymore than you do. But I cannot help these people if you compromise my position, can’t you see that?”

“What I see,” said Bane, “is a lot of people talking about the sacrifices that need to be made in order for the greater good. But you know what? It’s not a sacrifice if you put others in the line of fire first. That’s cowardice.”

Singleton stepped out of the shadows. “We don’t have time for this,” he said.

Bane looked his way. “So now what’s going to happen?” he asked. “I’m not going to back down and it appears neither are you. Does this mean you are going to write me off as yet another unavoidable sacrifice? What’s your backup plan? Are you going to pull a phaser and disintegrate me?” He glanced back towards Star. “Are you?”

“I told you it was mistake to bring him into this from the beginning,” Jarod Singleton fumed.

“I’ll take care of this,” said Star.

“Then do it now,” he said. “Right now. Or I will do it for you.”

“You are forgetting that I am still in charge of this operation,” she said.

“Really, it appears to me as if you’ve lost control.”

A figure jumped out of the shadows and threw himself at Singleton, sending them both flying into a row of barrels nearby.

It all happened so fast, Star had no time to react or to make out the person who had attacked Singleton. She thought she saw a blur of silver hair.

Nigel Bane in the meantime had come to realize that his life had come in serious danger. He wanted to believe that Tazla Star would not resort to drastic actions in order to ensure his silence but the truth was he no longer recognized her.

And then there was Singleton. His implications had been painfully obvious and Bane doubted he had much, if any, scruple about ensuring the success of his mission.

So when a chance presented itself and Star was distracted for just one moment, he struck.

Star had noticed the danger from the corner of her eye and smoothly avoided the incoming blow, ducking out of the way before it could connect.

Fast as lightening she shot back up, reached for Bane’s arm and twisted it behind his back. He screamed out in pain as he was harshly pushed head first into a large cargo container.



Lif Culsten found his opponent to be a lot stronger than he had anticipated. He had thrown himself at the man, confident that by using the element of surprise and his momentum he would be able to knock him out quickly.

The truth was he had panicked. Instead of using his phaser to stun him from a distance he had rushed him the moment it had looked as if he was going to take an aggressive action.

They had both landed on the floor, knocking over half a dozen barrels in the process. Singleton had been caught by surprise but had managed to quickly roll away from his attacker after the rough landing and before Culsten could follow through.

The Krellonian fumbled for his small phaser hidden away in his uniform but by the time he had it out, Singleton had stepped up and slapped it out of his hand, sending it flying across the room.

Culsten managed to block Singleton’s first blow but was quick to realize that his hand-to-hand combat skills paled in comparison to his opponent’s. He never even saw the seconds blow which connected across his jaw and split his lip, drawing dark red blood.

He stumbled backwards from the blow and was left wide open for Singleton’s follow up attack.



[continued]

 

[CeJay]

Bane wasn’t faring much better. Star still stood close behind him, holding his arm tightly against his back. She was so close he could feel her breath on his neck and smell her fragrance.

For a second it brought back memories of the last time they had been this close to each other. Back then it had been for entirely different reasons.

This time one of them was going to end up dead.

Once he realized this he didn’t hold back.

He jammed the elbow of his free arm backwards and driving it deep into her sensitive abdomen.

It turned out it was her weakest spot.

She let go of his arm as she doubled over in pain.

Bane spun around and caught a glimpse of the other struggle that was playing out in the shadows. He could see that the silver-haired man who had provided the distraction was quickly losing his own fight against Singleton.

Star recovered faster than he had anticipated.

He looked at her as she slowly squared her shoulders again and then slowly stepped closer.

“Taz, wait, there must be another way.”

She didn’t stop. Instead she walked right up to him until she stood less than an inch from him.

For a moment it looked as if she was going to try and kiss him.

She headbutted him instead.

Dazed, Bane stumbled backwards and fell against the container behind him.

Star wasn’t done.

She stepped up to him again and grabbed him by his collar with her right hand. He tried to fend her off but was still too weak to get her to disengage.

The Trill hit his face harshly with an open palm of her left hand and then let go of his uniform to let him sag to the floor.

But Bane was not out.

He kicked her feet out from underneath her and with a surprised yelp she went down.

The Australian was on her in an instant.

They rolled onto the floor as each one of the tried to get the upper hand.

Bane landed a few good hits, at one point he was sure he had managed to dislocate her jaw but no matter how hard he tried, Star was simply faster and stronger.

Ultimately he found himself with her right hand around his throat. She squeezed and he couldn’t believe how strong her grip was. It felt as if a vise had taken hold of his neck. He desperately tried to free himself when she began to cut off his air but her arm simply wouldn’t budge. Her lower arm felt like solid duranium.

Star let go just before he thought he’d pass out and then flipped him over and brought her arm around his neck from behind. He heard a metallic click and realized that a razor-sharp blade had sprung out from her cuff and was now pushing against his throat.

He breathed with difficulty now. “Is this how it ends then?”

“Shut up.”

He began to laugh through bloodied teeth.

“What the hell do you find so amusing?” she said, her own breathing heavily labored.

“Me.”

“What?”

“I’ve been such a complete and utter fool I can’t help but laugh about it now. They were all right about you and I continued to defend you all this time, like a bloody idiot. I kept telling them that you weren’t a killer, that you had changed. Pretty funny, don’t you think?”

“I’m not a killer,” she said but now sounded as if she was trying to convince herself. Truth be told this was not the firsts time she had put a blade on somebody’s throat. This was not the first time she had killed somebody in such a fashion. She recalled the last time it had come to that. She had been sent out to bring back a rouge agent. But he had been much more to her then just another job. She had choked back then and it had cost her dearly.

“Forgive me for being a skeptic but I think given the circumstances you understand,” he said carefully, more and more aware that the blade had come so close that it could have separated his head if he did as much as breathe the wrong way.

“Are you alright?” said Singleton from across the room.

Star glanced behind her to see that he had beaten his opponent who she recognized for the first time as Lif Culsten, Eagle’s helmsman. He was sitting slumped over against the wall, he was bleeding from his mouth and nose and appeared barely conscious.

Singleton held an unconventional looking weapon in his hand, pointed at the young man’s head. She knew that it would be able to make him disappear without leaving a single trace behind.

“Star,” he said again when she didn’t respond.

“Yeah, I’m ok.”

“Good. Because I’ve had enough. This ends now.”

Tazla Star’s stomach felt as if her symbiont was trying to force itself out of her body. The wave a pain and nausea was stronger than anything she had previously experienced and she winced in pain.

The blade against Bane’s throat wavered.

Bane didn’t hesitate. He reached out for her, placing one hand around her wrist and the other on her upper arm and pulled at her with all the strength he had left.

Using the rest of his body he managed to flip her clean over himself and she landed on her back a couple of feet away.

Right next to the small phaser which had been slapped out of Culsten’s hands earlier.

They both tried to go for it at the same time but Star had it in her hand first.

She brought it up swiftly and Bane froze, looking first at the phaser pointed at him and then straight into her eyes. He knew from the determined look edged onto her face that she was going to fire. He also knew that at this distance the discharge was most likely going to be fatal.

“What are you waiting for, killer?” he asked when she didn’t fire immediately. “It’ll make it all so much easier with me out of the picture, wouldn’t it?”

“I told you to shut up.”

And then she raised her arm and fired.

Bane wasn’t proud of it but when he saw the flash of light he closed his eyes.

He had never been shot by a phaser before and he was surprised how little pain it involved. He was even more surprised that he never lost consciousness.

He opened his eyes again and looked at Star with a quizzical expression. Then he noticed that the phaser had been raised to fire over his head.

He turned around to see that Jarod Singleton was lying on the floor, unconscious.

Bane tried to stand but was felt so weak in his knees he immediately changed his mind and instead sat down on the floor, leaning against the container with which his head had been forcefully acquainted with earlier.

Then he watched quietly as Star stood and slowly walked over to him only to let herself slide down to sit next to him.

Both were breathing hard, trying to recover from the intense struggle. Bane spat out a wallop of blood that had accumulated in his mouth.

“All I ever wanted was to be a starship captain,” she said finally.

He watched her intently but she refused to make eye contact, keeping her gaze focused directly ahead instead.

“I still remember when I got my first starship model. My grandfather gave it to me when I was eight years old. It was the USS Enterprise. Kirk’s original. After a short while I’d learned everything there was to know about the great captains of the 22nd century and their larger than life adventures.

Kirk, Wesley, McAfee. Those were my childhood heroes. I idolized those people and I wanted nothing more than to be just like them. I made it my mission in life to someday sit in that center seat, to have a ship of my own.

How is that for irony? I wanted to be somebody people would look up to, a role model for those who served under me. I wanted to make a real difference out there. It might sound corny now but I genuinely wanted to do my part to make this a better universe. To go where no man had gone before.

And now look at me. I’ve let my ambitions control my life. I’ve been so focused on chasing my own dream, so determined to get ahead in life that somewhere along the way I lost sight of why I was doing what I did in the first place. I have become the exact opposite of what I set out to become.”

She looked at him.

“What’s really funny, Nigel, is not how easy you think I fooled you but how I managed to fool myself for so many years.”

For a moment neither one of them spoke.

To Nigel Bane Star didn’t look like a ruthless killer anymore. He didn’t even see the lover she had shortly been. Instead he saw her as the little eight year old girl, playing with her Enterprise model and dreaming of the stars.

“You can still do the right thing, Taz. You might not get away clean this time but you can still do the right thing.”

She bit her lower lip. “Nothing like a good fight to come to terms with your own moral shortcomings, huh?”

He uttered a laugh which was cut short by a sharp pain shooting through his ribcage.

She noticed and looked truly concerned. “Are you going to be alright?”

He nodded. “I’ll live.”

“I’m sorry. I really am, Nigel. I never intended for it get this far. I never meant to hurt you.”

“You make it sound like you kicked my arse. I had you there for a minute.”

“Sure you did.”

“And what’s with that arm of yours?”

She raised her forearm and looked at it for a moment. “A little memento of my own overconfidence,” she said.

Bane looked puzzled but she didn’t appear as if she wanted to elaborate. Instead she stood up and held out her right hand to effortlessly pull him back onto his feet.

“So what happens now?”

She looked towards the opposite wall were Culsten was starting to come around. “Go check on our interloper. He just may have saved both our lives today.”

Bane nodded and crossed the room while Star headed straight for the nearest computer console.

“Are you alright, Lieutenant?” Bane asked as he approached Culsten who tried to pick himself up from the floor.

He took the offered hand and Bane pulled him up, for the first time realizing that this young officer–who couldn’t have been a year older than himself–was of a species he had never encountered before. “Lieutenant Nigel Bane, USS Bluefin,” he said, introducing himself.

“Culsten, Lif Culsten. Eagle. What … happened?”

Bane gave him a little smile. “Apparently you saved the day,” he said. “Albeit in a rather unconventional fashion. What were you doing here anyway?”

Culsten checked on Singleton to make sure he was out before he spotted Star working on a computer console. “Her,” he said and moved towards the Trill. “I followed her. She’s the traitor.”

He was stopped by Bane who gently put a hand on his shoulder.

Culsten gave him a surprised looked. “So, you are in on this as well?”

“No. Yes. Well, in a way.”

“You better explain yourself.”

Star turned to face the two junior officers. “He’s got nothing to explain. You were right, Lieutenant. I am not who I pretended to be. At least not entirely. And I owe you both an apology for what happened here. It’s probably not going to be enough and I understand if you want to turn me in but first give me a chance to try and make things right again.”

“How?” asked Culsten, beating Bane to asking the exact same thing.

“I know how to contact the New Light, the people who have captured your crewmembers. I am running a program right now which should allow us to speak to them directly. It’s not a straight forward process, it needs to be routed through a number of satellites and substations but I’m sure it’ll work.”

Both approached Star, Culsten being a lot more cautious as he stepped closer, clearly not yet trusting the Trill further than he could throw her.

They didn’t have to wait long for results.

A man appeared on small screen on the console, the image was distorted and laced with interference but Nigel Bane recognized him nevertheless. It was one of the leaders of the rebel faction he had met when they had travelled to the surface.

He in turn immediately recognized the Starfleet commander. “Star,” he said, the audio cracking noticeably. “I was wondering when you’d contact me.”

“Things have been a bit … complicated, Balik,” she said with an apologetic smile. “I’m glad to see you are unharmed.”

He nodded but he was noticeably nervous. He glanced over his shoulders a couple of times as if to make sure he was alone.

“I take it you can guess why I’m calling.”

“First of all let me assure you that the attack on Al Tre Nek and the taking of your people wasn’t my idea. There has been some significant changes in the leadership of the movement, I’m sad to say.”

“I figured something like that.”

“Ashley Wenera is with me and I promise you no harm will come to her.”

Culsten stepped forward. “Let me speak to her.”

Balik considered the alien face for a moment. “She is quite busy at the moment, I’m afraid. She’s been throwing herself into work since we got here. She’s in surgery right now.”

“How convenient,” the young officer shot back and looked at the others. “There is no way for us to know if she is alright.”

“I trust Balik, he is one of the most honorable persons I’ve ever met,” said Star.

“Oh you trust him, do you? Well I don’t trust either one of you so that means nothing to me.”

“You don’t have to worry about the doctor,” Balik tried to reassure again. “My fight is not with the Federation and she is no longer our prisoner. She is here off her own free will.”

But Culsten still looked skeptical.

“What about T’Ser?” Bane wanted to know.

“I’m afraid Deite got to her before I could,” he said, his facial expressions turning much more discouraging.

“Do you know where she is?” said Star.

He shook his head. “No, we’re still working on trying to locate her. But she has managed to get me a message. It contained a number of rather harsh accusations I’d rather not repeat,” he said and looked over his shoulder again before continuing. “She also included a message for you in case you’d contact me. Apparently she was expecting you did. Deite is apparently willing to return your officer to you but she has made certain demands.”

Nigel Bane leaned in closer. “What kind of demands?”

 

[mirandafave]

Wow, I almost can't believe that either Nigel or Lif are willing to give Star a chance to prove herself. That said if she can make good on her contacts she might have a chance of redeeming the situation somewhat. But it still remains a very sticky situation and still likely to get a lot of people hurt.

Oh and nice shout out to the Lexington and Excalibur. Quite a world of UT out there now. Nice to weave the tie ins.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Excellent action segments, CeJay! For a few moments, I was actually afraid that Bane might buy the farm (then I realized, wait, that can't happen! ). Still, it's a credit to your great writing that I was pulled right into the story and on the edge of my seat.

So it seems that Star, Culsten and Bane have at least reached a truce for the moment. Trust . . . that may be a different matter.

Great stuff - and thanks for the shout-out to Captain McAfee!

 

[DavidFalkayn]

A very well done--and tense action sequence--I really was worried for a bit that Bane might not make it through--Taz can be quite ruthless. I also liked the shoutouts to McAfee and Wesley--Taz invoking their names shows in many ways just how far she's fallen. While I wouldn't describe her as a tragic hero, she's not really a villain either--to me, she's more antihero than anything else. It'll be interesting seeing whether she goes out with a whimper--or a bang.

 

[Dnoth]

Very nice fight sequence. I don't know what I'd do with Star if I were them. Trusting her probably wouldn't be at the top of the list.

 

[CeJay]

Cradling a heavy assault rifle, hiding in the bushes near a Tiaitan military facility, Ashley Jane Wenera wasn’t entirely sure how it had all come to this.

She had come to this planet to assist in the fight against wide-spread diseases and famine and somehow along the way she had become part of an age old resistance movement involved in an epic struggle to achieve liberty and equality for an entire segment of the population.

She had wanted to deny that she had taken any sides in this clandestine civil war. She had argued that she had been nothing more than a victim, abducted by armed thugs at gun point and forced to treat their injured or be killed.

But one look at the alien weapon in her hands dispelled any such illusions. She was heavily involved and the worst part of all of this was that she had demanded to be here. How was she going to explain this to Captain Owens, she wondered. How was she going to tell him that she had turned against all rules and regulations she was supposed to follow as a Starfleet officer and instead had taken up arms in a purely internal conflict?

She was doing this to save T’Ser from Deite’s clutches, she kept telling herself even while she knew that this wasn’t entirely true.

She was doing this to appease her own conscience. There couldn’t be any denying that simple fact.

T’Ser had been brutalized by Deite. And then, without a second thought, the Vulcan had sacrificed herself, knowing full well that she would fall into the sadistic women’s hands once more, in order to allow Wenera to escape.

But instead of doing everything in her power to ensure T’Ser would be liberated she had gone and fallen for her own captor, consummating her new found feelings while the Vulcan was being subjugated to treatments she didn’t even dare imagine.

Ashley Wenera was ashamed of herself.

It was what had compelled her to be here in the dead of the night, watching from relative safety as Balik and his men infiltrated the government installation in order to retrieve some device which would allow him to contact Deite.

To be truthful, she hadn’t quite understood the technicalities. Deite possessed a sophisticated government-made communications device which allowed her to contact nearly anyone on Tiaita at anytime and anywhere. But Balik had no such instrument and without it could not contact her. The only solution had been for them to try and steal one.

And over his protests, Wenera had demanded to be part of the team retrieving the device. It was the least she could do.

Balik however had refused to allow her to enter the facility. Instead she had been relegated to covering the entrance and ensure that no government soldiers would be able to escape the facility to call for reinforcements.

It had sounded like an easy enough job, especially after Balik had made it clear that he didn’t expect for anyone to get out. Wenera hadn’t given this much thought at the time but now that she stood there, with the heavy rifle in her hands, doubts began forming in her mind.

We take no prisoners, he had told her.

And Wenera had been too distracted while attempting to learn how to operate the unfamiliar weapon to argue the point.

For thirty minutes she had been standing watch and had silently prayed that none of the soldiers would emerge from the exit she was covering. She had already killed a man since coming to this world and even though it had been in defense of the young child Vekte, the empty look in his eyes just moments before he died still haunted her every time she closed her own.

She had no doubt that she would need a lengthy session with Trenira, Eagle’s resident counselor, once she returned to the ship. If she ever did, that was.

She had no desire of adding another victim to her already troubled conscience.

That had been the first thirty minutes. The time Balik had said they would require for the infiltration. That time that had run out ten minutes ago.

Now she had begun praying anyone at all would emerge from the exit.

The waiting and the uncertainty were beginning to drive her crazy.

She had wanted to go and investigate herself but her feet wouldn’t obey her commands.

And then she spotted movement.

Somebody was approaching the entry she was watching.

It was a black-clad government-soldier.

She didn’t wear a helmet or carried a rifle and from the slightly differently cut uniform Wenera guessed that she wasn’t a mere foot soldier. Possibly an officer.

Something had apparently alarmed her and with one hand on her holstered gun he slowly approached the door.

Wenera didn’t know what to do.

The soldier reached the door and began to open it.

“Stay where you are.”

Wenera surprised herself by the firm tone in her voice.

The solider spun around to notice Wenera approaching her from the nearby bushes she had been hiding in.

“Drop your weapon,” she said, gesturing to the still holstered gun.

But the woman didn’t move. Instead she watched as Wenera stepped closer and into the light. Her eyes noticeably opened wider when she realized that she wasn’t just facing another Ait rebel. She also noticed that Wenera wasn’t quite able to keep her hands from shaking.

“You’re not going to shoot me.”

“Drop it, I said.”

“Your one of the two abducted aliens, aren’t you?” the woman said. Her hand still resting on her sidearm, making no apparent move to disarm herself. “You are the doctor, I recognize your face from the images your people provided.”

That made Wenera hesitate.

“Why would you get involved with these terrorists?” she asked with what sounded like genuine confusion. “We’ve been trying to locate you so that you can be returned to your own.”

The woman took a careful step forward which in turn forced Wenera to take one backwards. She couldn’t quite help it, her legs were still having a mind of their own.

“I tell you what. Why don’t you lower your rifle and I promise you I’ll make sure you get back to your spaceship unharmed. Alright?”

The doctor shook her head slightly. “You’re lying.”

“Why would I be lying?” she said. “We are your friends. We asked you to come here to help us. Now, let me help you. Are there any of the New Light terrorists around?”

Wenera swallowed and when the woman took another step she raised her rifle forcing the soldier to stop.

“Please be careful with that. You could hurt me by accident.”

“Remove your weapon or you will leave me no other choice,” said Wenera with all the firmness her voice could muster. It wasn’t quite as much as before. Truth was, her head was beginning to spin. This woman was nothing like the soldier who had tried to kill Vekte. She had an almost warm and inviting quality as if she truly meant what she was saying. As if she wanted to help. But that just couldn’t be the case, could it?

The door to the building opened and the woman whipped around in a flash, ignoring Wenera entirely and bringing up her gun.

It happened so fast, the doctor had no time to react.

She heard Balik’s voice from somewhere inside the now open door but it was too dark to make out anything beyond the frame. “Shoot her!”

And it would have been that easy. All she had to do was pull the trigger of her rifle which was still pointed at the solider. With her back turned towards Wenera she would not have been able to even defend herself. All she needed to do was to pull that trigger.

“Shoot her, now!”

Her finger found the trigger but then withdrew again. She couldn’t do it.
“Just put down your weapon,” Wenera said and began to circle around the government officer until she stood only a couple of meters next to her. “Nobody needs to get hurt here. Just lower your weapon and I promise you, you will not be harmed.”

The woman shot the doctor a quick glance. “You don’t honestly believe that, do you? These Ait are animals.”

“No,” she said shaking her head. “No, they’re not. We can find another way to –“

The woman’s head jerked backwards so suddenly it caught Wenera completely by surprise. It took her a moment to register what had happened.

She couldn’t believe it, not even after the solider was lying on her back in the dirt with two bullet holes in her cranium. Wenera had never heard the silent gunshots which must have originated from somewhere within the open door.

Balik stepped outside, quickly inspected the kill and then holstered the silenced gun. The rest of the team followed quickly thereafter, none of them paying much attention to dead solider.

“Why … why did you do that for?”

“Because you didn’t,” he said after he was sufficiently sure that the woman was sufficiently dead. “I told you, we don’t take prisoners.”

“Why the hell not?” she nearly shouted. “You didn’t have to kill her, damn it. We could have disarmed her or … or … I don’t know. There was not need to execute her like that.”

Balik stepped up to her and pushed down her rifle which was still shaking in her hands. “Listen to me. There is no other way to deal with Tia troops. It’s either them or us. They will not surrender and they will not stop, ever. That,” he said and pointed at the corpse, “is the only way to make them understand that we will not stop either. That we will fight down to the very last man if we have to.”

“That is insane.”

But Balik was in no mood for an argument, not now. “Come on, we have injured that require your attention. And we can’t stay here,” he said and walked away.

When he realized that Wenera had no intention of following he turned around once more and stepped up close to her. “We have what we came for. We have done what you’ve asked for. You didn’t really think that we could do this without getting our hands dirty, did you? This isn’t a game, Ashley, this is a war and the sooner you start realizing this the better.”

But Wenera refused to look at him.

She wouldn’t for a very long time.

 

[mirandafave]

Wenera's plight and her morals are stretched by her circumstances. I liked that she held firm to those principles and that she didn't shoot. I also liked how she worried as to how her Captain would react to it all and how she might explain it to him. A guilty conscience on her part but intriguing that the captain inspires this quiet loyalty in his people.
This story continues to hook me in and prompt the question as to hoiw this will all end up. Keep up the hard work CeJay.

 

[Dnoth]

Yeah, it'll be interesting what, if anything, Starfleet will be forced to do to the doctor in the form of punishment.

 

[DavidFalkayn]

Wenera is in a box with no immediate way out. The repercussions from this adventure are going to be with the crews of both Eagle and Bluefin for a long time.