Star Trek: Cayuga
02 - ‘Cry of Deities’
By Jack D. Elmlinger
Another planet…
… another disaster zone…
As Lieutenant Sean Pasko pulled the Cayuga into orbit, he could see black streaks left behind by orbital weapons fire. They were accompanied by mile-long furrows dug by warships that had fallen from space.
“It looks like the Cardassians put up a fight here,” he said. “A bunch of those downed ships are Jem’hadar.”
Captain Pozach stood from her chair to inspect the viewscreen. “Tell Doctor Moru to begin beaming down the supplies and the relief workers.”
“Got it,” he said, frowning at his board for a moment. “Captain, there’s another ship arriving in-system. It’s a Federation starship, Miranda class. It’s the USS Warrior, and they’re hailing us.”
Pozach returned to her chair and sat down. “Put them on.”
The screen changed views and a middle-aged Tellarite in Starfleet uniform appeared before them. His pig-like snout snorted at her before he grunted, almost angrily. “Captain Pozach, I’m glad that we finally found you. As you damned Humans say, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack! Come pick up your crap!
“Oh?,” the Cayuga’s captain asked, acting innocently enough to confuse her counterpart. “What’s that?”
“A new First Officer for your blasted ship.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Aimee Maguire liked to think that she was especially aware of her surroundings. Not psychically, though she had been tested as a child and shown to have any negligible ability. It was more that she was in Engineering, her one sacred place on the ship. So, when she heard a voice from directly behind her without any of the usual proceeding footsteps, she nearly gagged herself on the stylus in her mouth.
“You are Lieutenant Maguire, yes?”
With her stylus carefully in her hand, Maguire turned around. “Yeah, I mean, yes, that’s me.” She saw an Andorian facing her.
“I am Commander zh’Tali. I understand that this ship has no holodeck or athletic center?”
Maguire found her back pressed against the console that she had been working at and brushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear in an attempt to look casual. “Uh, yeah. Cayuga only had eleven decks so we don’t really have the room -- “
“Would it be possible for me to use a cargo bay for recreation?” I will supply my own equipment.”
Her hair was getting in the way again. “I think that Cargo Bay One is empty until we re-supply. I don’t see why you couldn’t use that.”
A smile came across the Andorian’s face. “Thank you very much,” she said, turning around, and walking out of Engineering.
Maguire deflated against the wall.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Don’t be ridiculous. Nobody can kill twenty-six Jem'hadar. Not even a Klingon could.” Maguire put her elbows on the table before checking herself. “I mean, maybe with a phaser rifle. But hand-to-hand?” She looked towards Moru in askance. “You tell’ em, Doc.”
The Bolian sighed. “Look, I’m a doctor, not a tactical specialist. Her records confirm what she said. She was in the 323rd and during individual actions, there were twenty-six instances where she and a Jem’hadar walked into a room and she was the only person to walk out.” His blue eyes flashed at this matter of instant memory recall. “Her performances during the war don’t matter, Aimee. She’s our First Officer now and our superior. She gets the same respect that we give Captain Pozach.”
Maguire looked as if she had something more to say on the subject but she thought better of it.
Sean Pasko shuffled a mug full of hot coffee between his hands. “It can’t be done. We did holodeck simulations on the Venture, in case we were ever boarded. I was only killed once, every three simulations or so. And I always ended up dead.” The pilot looked with uncertainty at his audience as if he was worried that they might think less of him for it. “They can turn frakking invisible!”
“And fortunately, they aren’t our problem these days,” Captain Pozach said from behind him. Pasko jolted from his seat and turned around to see her and Commander zh’Tali. She smiled at the table’s occupants and continued,” The unknown is and it’s calling out to us. Ensign Sayvok, pack your bags. You’ll be joining me on an away mission.”
The other officers gathered around the table looked surprised but the Vulcan simply rose from his seat and asked,” Duration?”
“Plan for four days. Lieutenant Hobbes found some sort of energy signature coming from a nebula. He wants to check it out and I don’t see why we shouldn’t oblige him. We’ll be taking one of the shuttlecraft.”
“You’ll need a pilot,” Pasko said, standing to follow Sayvok.
Pozach stopped him. “That’ll be my job. It’s been too long since I’ve been able to stretch my legs.”
“You’ll need an engineer, in case something breaks down,” Maguire began to say.
“That’s why Sayvok will be coming along.” Surprise and hurt appeared in quick succession on the Chief Engineer’s face but she controlled them. “We’ll leave in two hours when the Cayuga passes by the Briner Nebula on the way to Starbase Two-One-Nine. We’ll be picked up when the ship makes its return to Cardassian space.” She turned towards zh’Tali. “Commander, until then, the ship is yours.”
Maguire pushed off from the table. “Excuse me, I need to run a systems check.”
zh’Tali walked over, turned Maguire’s chair around and straddled it. “So,” she asked, running a hand through her short, spiked white hair,” what were you talking about?”
Distracted by watching Aimee stomp out of the room, Jeanne didn’t hear the uncomfortable responses from her officers. “Excuse me,” the captain echoes before following her. In the corridor, she caught the irate woman by the arm. “Aimee, wait.”
“Why aren’t you taking me on the away mission?,” Maguire demanded to know from her. “This could be a fun little trip. Sayvok wouldn’t mind and Hobbes wouldn’t say anything!”
Pozach decided that the cramped corridor was too close to the ship’s population for this sort of conversation. She pulled the impatiently-watching engineer into a nearby turbolift. “I can’t have you along on this mission, Aimee,” she said, when the doors closed behind them,” for exactly that reason.”
Aimee’s eyes were half-closed into thin slits but she nodded at her. She fitted her body against Jeanne’s and whispered,” I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right,” the captain replied, stroking her hair. She looked up towards the ceiling and said,” Deck Two.” The lift moved on.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The forward compartment of the shuttlecraft belonged to Pozach. She had the computer play some music when it became apparent that Hobbes and Sayvok weren’t going to be much company on this mission. The sound of guitars floated around her as she stared at the smear of nebula that lay ahead of them.
Sayvok entered the cockpit and padded over to her chair. She turned to face him with an attentive smile.
“This is an Earth style of music?”
Pozach nodded at his question. “It was popular during the late twentieth century. It was called ‘classic rock’.”
The Vulcan’s face grew thoughtful and one ear picked up. “Ah,” he said finally. “Beethoven.”
“Not quite…”
Sayvok shrugged off the awkwardness of their conversation. “Captain, may I ask you a series of questions that involve a personal nature?”
The Captain blinked back at him in surprise. “Here, sit down.”
He sat down next to her in the co-pilot's chair and he seemed to be gathering his thoughts. “I wish to understand the nature of your relationship with Lieutenant Maguire.”
“Friends,” Pozach replied, almost immediately.
This answer drew a raised eyebrow from him.
“Good friends,” she amended.
The eyebrow quivered.
“Well,” Pozach said, dipping her head,” she’s a brilliant engineer, a fine officer, and from what I hear from the ship’s theater troupe, an aspiring thespian.”
“I am confused. I have noticed that when you’re in each other’s company, you and Lieutenant Maguire engage in Human courtship behavior. You endeavor to gain and keep each other’s attention. Also I believe that Lieutenant Maguire is wearing cosmetics that would be more suited to a darker skin type such as your own than to hers. You are engaging in sexual congress, are you not?”
“Ah, congress… That’s… Does everyone know about this?”
Heedless in her remarks, Sayvok continued. “You are a female. Lieutenant Maguire is a female. Your relationship cannot result in reproduction.”
“Relationships aren’t always about the creation of offspring, Sayvok. They’re about finding comfort in another person and, if you’re lucky, giving it.”
Sayvok shook his head. “Highly illogical.”
“Relationships often are.”
“I see.”
Pozach returned her attention to the task of piloting the shuttle. She didn’t think that he saw it at all.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Containers were strewn across the floor of Cargo Bay One. A single container hung from the ceiling on a chain. Each of its sides were dented and scored. Davitorra ‘Davi’ zh’Tali moved easily around the hanging container and the others scattered on the ground, striking at marked portions of her targets.
“Far too easy,” the Andorian zhen said. At first, Pasko thought that she was talking to herself but her clear blue eyes pierced him. “However, it is the best training that this ship seems capable of providing.”
“Cayuga does have its downsides,” he agreed lamely.
Pasko only noticed her weapon when she placed it on one of the abused containers. It was an axe made from a material that was as black as the modified uniform that she was wearing. “Why are you here, Lieutenant?”
“You asked to be told when we reached Starbase Two-One-Nine. We’ve been given clearance by Station Operations and we’ll be docking within half an hour.” Pasko’s gaze kept darting to the ebony weapon. “Commander, this… that’s a-a…”
zh’Tali glanced down at it and said,” It’s a Jem’hadar weapon, a kar’takin.” She ignored the pilot’s wide eyes. “I will shower, change, and be on the Bridge in twenty minutes. Thank you for the notification.”
It was only after she swept past him that he realized that the containers should have been able to withstand the damage that and Human… or, in this case, any Andorian could mete out.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sayvok had been relieved to rest and Lieutenant Hobbes had taken his place in the cockpit. He sat in silence for a few minutes, staring at the controls.
Pozach snuck glances at him before she finally asked,” The crew knows? About me and Aimee?”
Hobbes turned to her in surprise. “Yes.”
“And there’s no objection?,” she pressed him.
“The crew trusts you not to show favoritism.”
“Oh,” Pozach said, digesting that information for a while. “Well, that’s kind of a relief. I know that it’s not entirely proper for a Captain to be dating one of her crew but -- “
“Console,” the science officer interrupted her.
“What?”
He pointed at her station. “Your console. It’s triggering an alarm.”
She leaned closer and grimaced. “Oh, that’s not good. Sayvok! Wake up!” Her fingers fluttered over the controls, attempting to alter the shuttle’s course to no avail.
“Yes, Captain?,” the Vulcan asked from behind her as he entered the cockpit.
“I think we’ve found an interesting property of this nebula. Our impulse engines have been damaged. We’re at sixty-percent of efficiency and dropping. I’m also having trouble with maneuvering. Can you clean out the engines?”
Sayvok studied a display of the damage and shook his head. “Not in this environment, Captain.”
Hobbes opened a new screen on his console. “We’re not too far from the original source of the transmission. Sensors are detecting an M-class planet at these coordinates. We should be able to land down there and make repairs.”
“I’m setting a course,” Pozach said. The ship began to shudder as the engines continued to break down. “Both of you - strap in. This is going to be a very bumpy ride.”
The shuttle hurled through the nebula, leaving a twisting stream of gaseous plasma trailing behind them. Ahead of them, a rough ball of black rock grew larger as they approached it.
“This is going to be fun,” the captain commented as the view seared orange with flames of re-entry. “Everybody, hang on.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“You know what the problem with our moneyless economy is?,” Aimee Maguire asked.
Sean Pasko was picking through a rack of designer tunics. They were all of different colors and sizes, cut in the latest fashion and made from Tholian silk.
“The problem is that you don’t shop in stores that participate with the Federation economy,” he said while he looked at the gaudy statue that she held up for his inspection. “That and you refuse to decorate your room with anything that can be replicated.”
Aimee paused in her examination of the statue to sniff disdainfully at him. “Anything that can be stored in a pattern buffer and created in a pattern buffer and created at a whim in a replicator doesn’t have any real value if it isn’t original. Besides, it’d be easier if Starfleet just paid up for our work.”
“I think that you’re missing out on the pont here,” Pasko said. None of the tunics appealed to him and he led Aimee away from her statue and out of the store. “In the Federation, everyone has a home. Everyone has enough to eat and they have all of the creature comforts that they ever need.”
“Because people like us work to provide for them.”
“Because we’re willing to maintain those rights for ourselves and others.”
“How am I supposed to get anything that isn’t replicated,” she asked, pouting,” if we don’t get any money?”
Sean threw up his hands, shaking his head. “Off your services as an engineer. Tell them that you’ll fix things. Just what do you want to buy anyways?”
“Oh, it’s just a thing.”
“Maybe a thing for Captain Pozach?,” he asked mildly.
Aimee shook her head. “No, it’s a thing for someone else.”
The trace of resentment in her voice took her back and he swerved away from the topic. “Want to get something to eat? I think I saw a replimat over there.”
“Great, the same food that we could’ve gotten back on the Cayuga,” she spat back at him.
Sighing, Sean said,” Fine! Look, a Trill bistro. I’m sure that they’ll have some real food.” They took seats on the patio and gave their orders to the waiter. The pilot watched as she examined the waiter until he was out of sight before asking,” What’s got you in such a mood, anyways?”
“Mm? Nothing.” Aimee smiled as the waiter came into view again. She leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially at Pasko. “I’ve always wondered about Trills. I mean… those spots … do you think that they go all the way down?”
“I can honestly say that it’s never occured to me before.”
Aimee pursed her lips. “Sean, my boy, we need to get out more.”
Wisely, he said nothing.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
If you didn’t look at the miles-long furrow that they had left in their wake, the shuttle’s landing might have not seemed so bad.
“Personally, I’m just happy that I landed the damn thing, right side up,” Pozach told her fellow officers. “Besides, the shields took most of the impact, you know… with the ground.”
Sayvok was examining the portside nacelle intently. “The damage could have been much worse. As it is, the erosion caused by the nebula is significant enough.”
“It can be repaired though, correct?,” Hobbes asked him.
“Yes, but I will require time.”
Pozach stood apart from both men, gazing at the gray forest that surrounded them. The trees seemed to grow directly from the rock without any intervening soil and their arm-thick roots stretched out downhill to the shore of a shallow lake.
“Captain?,” Sayvok asked her.
Pozach shook her head at him. “All right, here’s what we’re going to do. Sayvok, get to work on the shuttle. I want it ready to lift-off as fast as possible. Until then, Hobbes and I are going to scout around.” She removed two survival packs from the shuttle. “We won’t be long, Sayvok, but keep in contact.”
As they walked out into the trees, Hobbes examined a tree that stood no higher than two meters. For all of the life that it possessed, he could have sworn that the tree was made of the same rock on the ground. “I suspect that the lake is below its normal level,” the science officer told the captain. “The trees closer to the water seem to be healthier.”
They continued on for a few more hours in a circle around the shuttlecraft. The land crested downward, allowing them a view of the forest that they had crashed in. as far as they could see, the ground was covered in stone-like trees, their color distinguishable from the rocks. Overhead of them, the clouds closed ranks oppressively against the sun, allowing them only the occasional beam of light.
Hobbes stared up at the sky and whispered,” Let’s not get stranded here.”
“I think that’s a very good idea,” Pozach agreed with him. They began to descend down the slope. For a moment, the captain thought that she heard the scrabbling of feet against the hard rock above. “Did you… ?,” she asked him.
“Captain?”
Shaking her head, she continued,” Never mind. It must be nothing.”
The sound didn’t repeat itself but the chill down her spine remained.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
With a brusque sign-off from Station Operations, the Cayuga pulled away from Starbase Two-One-Nine and disappeared at warp speed. After assuring himself that his console didn’t reguire his immediate attention, Lieutenant Pasko twisted his chair around to face the command area.
“So,” he began voluntarily,” Commander, I’ve never heard How did you end up jumping from the Starfleet Marine Corps to Starship Commander?” His heart started to pound almost automatically as zh’Tali’s eyes fixed on him but the interruption of her gravelly voice allowed it to beat again.
“The Marines no longer needed the numbers that we maintained during the war. So many of the units augmented with Starfleet Security personnel were disbanded. We were given the option of taking early retirement or accepting positions elsewhere in Starfleet.”
Her voice was so even and so calm that Pasko decided to press on. Even Lieutenant Keitsev at the Ops console seemed to be impressed. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to switch back to Security rather than Command?”
zh’Tali was silent for a long, uncomfortable moment and then she said after a sigh,” It was decided that, given my personal history, it would probably be best for everyone involved that I didn’t take up another position that consistently involved direct combat.”
“You were assigned to the Cayuga as a punishment?,” Pasko blurted out.
“Lieutenant,” the Andorian woman said, coldly,” Starfleet doesn’t punish its heroes. It promotes them.”
Her tone ended the conversation and the pilot sighed as he turned back to his console. The Irishman spent the next two hours, watching it do absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. zh’Tali didn’t move an itch either.
Finally, Pasko reported,” Commander, we’re five munites out from the Lakkar system.” zh’Tali nodded and he slid the Cayuga out of warp and into orbit over Lakkar. Unlike the other planets that they had the opportunity to visit so far, Lakkar had been an established member of the Cardassian Union rather than just another colony. Its orbit was cluttered with shipyards, pleasure homes and several other ships.
“We’re being hailed by a Cardassian vessel,” Keitsev said, surprised.
zh’Tali stood up from the Captain’s chair. “Which one?”
“Um…” Keitsev swallowed a breath and the viewscreen shifted. “That one.”
Pasko looked up to see a nose-on view of a Galor class warship. The ships were inferior, in his opinion, to their Starfleet counterparts, but they still looked far larger and more powerful than the Cayuga. It was close enough, he realized, to see the other ship’s individual weapons banks.
“Put them on screen,” zh’Tali said, unperturbed by the Cardassian attempt to intimidate them.
The screen shimmered, changing views before displaying a Cardassian woman in a military uniform. “I am Gul Ocett,” she announced firmly with the pride of her species. “I command the Cardassian military in this star system. We stand ready to accept your donations.”
zh’Tali’s snowy eyebrows pulled together as she looked upon Ocett. “That’s rather gracious of you, Gul. However, I’m afraid that our orders are clear. We will transport our supplies down to the surface and aid in their distribution. If you wish to ‘accept’ them, then you may get in line down there.”
The Cardassian woman’s face darkened at her words and she hissed back at the Andorian. “Do you know who you are speaking to? Who are you to treat me with such disrespect, Andorian?”
“I am Davi zh’Tali, commanding the Federation starship Cayuga.” The Andorian commander cocked her head to one side and a faint smile grew on her face. “I would like to remind the Gul that the military exists to serve the public and, as such, it would be looked poorly upon if you requisitioned food for them… the public.”
Ocett returned the smile unpleasantly. “You will transport the supplies to us or we will destroy you.”
zh’Tali thought for a moment. Then she shrugged her shoulders, turned around and sat back down in the command chair.
“That is an option, Gul Ocett. You certainly have firepower on your side. But before you do, I would like you to consider two things.” She leaned forward in her seat as she continued. “First, there are dozens of Federation starships patrolling Cardassian space and it would not take one or several of them very long to realize that we were missing and to come here looking for us.
“From there, it would be only a matter of minutes before they worked out what had happened and you found yourself arrested or killed.” A wicked grin came across her face. “Secondly, how long do you think that you’ll live after the people learn that you’ve been keeping their food from them?”
Ocett stared at her, and then sneered back at zh’Tali. She cut the channel, showing only a picture of her warship pulling out of orbit.
“That’s what I thought,” zh’Tali said. “She values her own life too much to actually make that kind of gamble.” She stood up from her seat and Pasko thought he saw a tremor in her. “Mister Pasko, you have the Bridge. Begin beaming down the supplies. Alert me if Gul Ocett” - spat out the name - “decides to return.”
After her orders were given, she was gone from the Bridge.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Jeanne woke up to rain falling outside of the shuttlecraft.
Memories drifted past her mind’s eyes; fat raindrops splattering against her window at the Academy; water flying into the sky from the Antican cliffs, hail pounding down from above her room at home -
Jeanne swung her feet out from her bunk and shook out her hair. Her irritation evaporated as she saw Sayvok and Hobbes. Both of them sat tensely in the cockpit, slowly casting their tricorders across the deadened forest beyond them.
“What’s wrong?,” she asked, surprising both of them.
“Mister Hobbes thought that he observed motion outside the shuttle,” Sayvok explained. “We have been subsequently attempting to ascertain the validity of his observation.”
“But?”
“Whatever I saw, it’s defying our tricorders’ scans.” Hobbes altered the scan parameters of his tricorder, his face twisted into a grimace. “We can tell that there are things out there… sometimes… but we can’t figure out what they are.”
Pozach peeked out the shuttle window, squinting through the rain. “Could it be interference from the storm?”
Sayvok shook his head at her question. “It is unlikely, Captain. I have compensated for the atmospheric disturbances. Whatever is blocking out our scans is innate to the creatures themselves.”
Lightning flashed overhead and for a moment, the captain believed she saw a humanoid figure. Watching her. It vanished with the lightnight. Hobbes and Sayvok looked at each other over their tricorders. “The signals have disappeared.”
Pozach sat down in the pilot’s seat and gazed out the window. “Theories? What could they have been?”
“There is very little information, presently, to develop a hypothesis.”
“Could they…” Hobbed hesitated for a minute before he asked,” Could they be Jem’hadar? They can disrupt sensors like that?”
“No,” said Pozach.
“A division of them could be trapped here. They might not even know that the war is over --”
Sayvok interrupted him,” They are not Jem’hadar, Mister Hobbes. If they were, I doubt they would have let us see them before we were dead.”
The shuttle was quiet for a moment except for the pitter-patter of the rain.
“Right, so if they aren’t Jem’hadar,” the Cayuga’s captain said while the rain continued to rumble against the shuttle’s exterior,” figure out what they are.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Cargo Bay was filled with supplies so zh’Tali destroyed the furniture in her quarters instead. Couch stuffing covered the floor of the small cabin and the overturned table held her kar’takin. She stood in the middle of the room, not panting or sweating from the exertion, but rather shaking from the rage leaving her body.
Left forgotten on her mostly-unmolested bed, her combadge chirped for attention. The commander stared at it for a moment, its noise seemingly and strangely foreign to her. She walked over to it and tapped the combadge on the bed.
“zh’Tali here.”
Lieutenant Keitsev’s voice rose up from her sheets. “Commander, we’ve received a message from Lieutenant Maguire down on the surface. She says that it’s urgent that you beam down immediately. They have some sort of situation.”
“Fine. Inform the lieutenant that I am on my way now.” She stabbed her combadge to cut the connection and went in search of her uniform jacket. Once she had that on and the combadge affixed to it, she began to feel a bit more like herself.
From behind the transporter console, Petty Officer Mbanu pointed her over to the away kits. She took one and stepped onto the padd. Eight seconds later, she was somewhere else entirely. A throng of Cardassians pressed up against zh’Tali as soon as she was released from the transporter beam. The raw smell of their unwashed bodies staggered her.
“Commander! Commander!,” Maguire shouted, drawing the commander’s attention to a gaggle of Starfleet officers clustered around a particularly ugly statue of Gul Dukat. The Andorian suppressed her revulsion to the former Cardassian leader and pushed her way through the crowd to join them.
“Report, Maguire,” she said curtly, nodding to each of the officers in greeting.
It seemed that no matter where she went, the Chief Engineer’s blond hair irritated her. “We beamed down to start distributing the supplies and we were setting up the industrial replicators in the old government building over there” -- she motioned behind her --” and when we got back, there was a Cardassian on top of the supply containers, waving a disruptor at a hostage that he had dragged up with him. The crowd had formed and we couldn’t get close enough to talk him down.”
zh’Tali looked across the plaza at the supply containers. On top of them, the Cardassian was scaring his audience with his antics, but he also seemed to have captivated their attention. “What’s he saying?”
Uneasy looks passed between Maguire and the other members of the away team. “Something about the supplies. We really couldn’t hear him.”
“Of course,” she murmured to herself. She thought for a moment before ordering,” Stay here.”
The commander muscled her way through the crowd towards the containers, quickly reaching the limit of the crowd’s courage where no one would dare to stand any closer to the hostage-taker. It was a perfect view.
“... are a proud people, we Cardassians,” the man was yelling to the crowd. “And strong! We have withstood war against the galaxy, occupation by the Dominion. But this is too much!”
zh’Tali noted that he kept one hand firmly on his disruptor pistol while the other hand forced his hostage, a younger Cardassian male, to kneel before him.
“How are we to eat? To care for our wounded? The supplies that I now stand upon will be gone within the week! Not through our own use, but because they will have been stolen!”
zh’Tali took a calming breath and stepped forward into his line of sight. “My name is Davi zh’Tali and I command the ship that brought you those supplies. Perhaps, if you and I discussed the nature of your grievances, we would be able to resolve them without violence.”
The Cardassian looked down at her with scorn. “Why, thank you, Master, but I think that the Cardassian people have had enough of your help.” The crowd began to rumble in dangerous agreement with him. “We will track down these thieves who steal from our very mouths! And when we do, we’;; remind them why Cardassian justice is the most feared in the galaxy --”
“Cardassian ‘justice’ is mocked throughout the Galaxy because it is based on sham trails to appease the people, rather than make any attempt at finding the actual culprits. I suspect this, much like what you’re doing with this child here.” zh’Tali’s voice took on an edge of steel. “Release him. Now.”
“No!,” the hostage-taker howled at her, his eyes flaring at her upon demand. “We will serve as an example to his fellow conspirators that --”
Quickly before anyone had a chance to see her do it, zh’Tali pulled her phaser out of the holster on her belt and shot the Cardassian in the head, killing him instantly. His body fell backwards, landing behind the containers with a mild thump. The people in the crowd who could still see him pulled away from him in horrified disgust.
zh’Tali lowered her weapon arm and slid her phaser back into its holster. Demurely, the Andorian cleared her throat. “I give you my word that we will discover who has been misappropriating your supplies. In the meantime, please try to restrain yourselves. That is all.” The mob moved apart before her as she walked back over to Lieutenant Maguire.
“Continue distributing the supplies,” zh’Tali ordered her. “Contact the ship if you need security.”
Maguire sputtered at her cool calmness. “You killed him!”
Because she was confused that the fact was in dispute, the commander turned around to glance at the chief engineer. “Yes?,” she asked her.
“You - you can’t just kill him for demonstrating! I mean… he had a legitimate point!”
“Indeed, he had a legitimate point. Which is why I will request that Starfleet dispatch to investigate his claims as soon as possible,” she replied, evenly. “And as to killing him? Of course, I could. He was threatening the hostage and refusing to listen to reason.”
Maguire was standing dangerously close to her. Her face was almost against the commander’s. “Why didn’t you just stun him?”
zh’Tali took a calming breath and said,” Because.”
“Because isn’t an answer!,” Maguire nearly screamed back at her.
“The hell it isn’t!,” the commander bellowed back at her. Maguire stumbled back as if she was shoved, her eyes wide open. The Andorian pierced her with a look of frozen rage before she rapped her combadge. “Cayuga, get me out of here.”
Topaz energy took her back up to the ship and Maguire spat on the ground where she had been standing.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Vulcans were renowned for their excellent hearing. When Sayvok realized that someone was standing directly behind him, he was disconcerted. Not much, though as Vulcans weren’t prone to being disconcerted. He took a minute to study the man. He was a humanoid with tattered clothing and patchy hair. His eyes examined him carefully before he spoke.
“You’re Starfleet,” the man said, simply.
From those two words, Sayvok began to understand the man. He spoke Federation Standard; English which indicated that he was Human, and not just humanoid. He also recognized the Vulcan as a Starfleet officer and he wasn’t threatened by this.
“Peace and long life, I am Sayvok.” The Human nodded and he continued,” My fellow officers and I are here to investigate a series of subspace pulses that our vessel detected.”
“Ah, the beacon. We weren’t sure that it was detectable with Federation scanning equipment.” There was a faint clicking and Sayvok noticed that the man’s left hand had been replaced with a metal prosthetic.
Sayvok raised an eyebrow. “You mean to imply that there are others on this planet?”
The Human nodded serenely and gestured with his metal hand. “Yes, quite a few of us actually. Would you care to see the village that we keep?”
“I believe that would interest my Captain. Please wait here for a moment.”
Sayvok walked to the rear entranced of the shuttle. Inside the shuttle, Pozach and Hobbes were sitting, recalibrating their tricorders. “Captain, I have made contact with a native. He had invited us to join him and his people at his village.”
“And you sound so casual about it too.” Pozach leaned over the console to look outside. “He’s Human.”
“I noticed that as well.”
“Hobbes, stay with the shuttle. Sayvok and I will go meet with the locals.” Pozach stood up, frowning. “Do you think that these people are responsible for the signal that Hobbes picked up?,” she asked as she pulled her survival pack on and followed the Vulcan outside the shuttle.
“He claims to have ownership of a ‘beacon’. I presume that to be the device that we detected.”
“Welcome,” the man said as they came around the side of the shuttlecraft. “I am Lieutenant Commander Joshua Wayland of the starship Kyushu.” He smiled at both Cayuga officers. “It’s been awhile since we’ve seen any new faces.”
Pozach strode forward and took his hand, shaking it. “Jeanne Pozach of the USS Cayuga. Do you or your people need any sort of aid? Was your ship marooned here?”
Wayland’s smile deepened indulgently at this question. “So many questions, Captain. No, we don’t need any aid. Everyone is here of their own volition. Come… we don’t often have visitors and my wife would be delighted by the chance to entertain.”
He led them deep into the dead forest. Eventually, the trees thinned out along the way to reveal low, plain buildings. At their approach, more Humans filed out into the clearing. A woman rushed out of one building and drew Wayland into a fierce hug.
“Joshua, when you said that you were going to check on the meteorite, you never said that you would be bringing guests home.” She turned towards Pozach and Sayvok, surprising them with the obviously synthetic ear nestled against her skull. “I’m Kallinda. You’re just in time for the evening meal. Please… join us.”
They were led into the largest building and offered seats at the table that dominated the center of the main room. Food was brought out of an unseen kitchen and measured onto each plate. Pozach watched her hosts begin to eat and she followed suit when she didn’t notice any particular customs associated with the mealtime.
“The captain must be curious,” Joshua said from across the table. “I know that I would be.”
Pozach smiled at him. “It is something of a mystery since I don’t recall hearing about any ships lost in this region of Cardassian space. You don’t certainly seem to be in distress. Why are you here?”
“Religious reasons,” Kallinda explained to the Cayuga captain. “This planet has been our sanctuary for many years now. Our sect is one that enjoys contemplation in seclusion.”
“I understand and I apologize for our interruption. We picked up your beacon and well… we wanted to know more about it.”
“I am curious,” Sayvok spoke up. “Why does a religious sect that requires isolation build a beacon? A beacon’s purpose to make known a location or to communicate.”
Joshua smiled at his question. “But communicate with whom, Mister Sayvok? The beacon is perhaps the most significant part of our religion. It allows us to communicate with the Deities.”
Sayvok raised an eyebrow in curiosity “You speak with your gods?”
“Well, Joshua overstates the matter,” Kallinda said. “The beacon lets the Deities know that we are here and that we are ready to join them.”
“We hope, one day, that they’ll answer,” Joshua added to his wife’s statement.
Pozach nodded. “We all do.”
After the meal ended, Pozach and Sayvok took their leave of Wayland and his people.
“Please come back before you go,” he entreated to the Starfleet officers. “We’ve been out of touch with the Federation for so many years and we would appreciate the chance to catch up. Perhaps we could help repair your shuttle.”
“We’ll come back tomorrow,” Pozach promised them. “Good night to you all.”
The two Starfleet officers walked in silence towards the shuttle. “They seem to be like pleasant people,” the captain said after a bit. “It’s a shame that they feel that they need to ostracize themselves from the rest of society for their religion.” She kicked a stone idly. “Imagine it, using technology to talk to a god like gods are just things that you can just chat with. Isn’t modern religion a wonderful thing?”
“I must admit that I have some reservations,” Sayvok admitted to her. “Historically, those who have sought to isolate themselves and their beliefs from mainstream society have been somewhat … zealous.”
“Well, personally, I’m satisfied.” Pozach spun in her step. “We found the source of the beacon and a previously unknown colony. That covers exploring new worlds and seeking new people, don’t you think? Not bad for a day’s work.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Aimee? Are you all right?”
Aimee blinked at the shape framed by her doorway. Weakly, she gestured for her guest to enter. “Sam, you came.”
“You did ask me to,” Sam Dixon replied with some confusion. He bent his large frame to sit down awkwardly next to her and he pushed his shaggy blonde hair from his eyes. “And you seemed pretty upset. Hell, you seem upset now.” He stood up and crossed over the room to the replicator. “Let me get you something. Do you drink tea?”
Aimee nodded, drawing strength from his concern. “With milk, please.”
Sam sat down on the edge of the table across from Aimee, handing her the mug that the replicator had produced for her. “Want to tell me what’s wrong?”
Aimee clasped her hands around the mug. “It’s just… Commander zh’Tali, she…”
“I heard,” Sam said softly. “The whole ship has heard.”
Aimee stood, forgetting the mug in her hand. “I don’t understand how she could just kill him! There was no possible justification for that!” She collapsed back onto the couch as if her strings had been cut. “She scares me, Sam! And it scares me that there are people in Starfleet like her at all.”
“Hey, I understand. It’s a scary galaxy --” His voice faltered as Aimee folded himself onto his lap.
“Hold me,” she whispered in his ear.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Incredible. You mean that the Federation was at war for three years and we missed it completely?” Joshua shook his head. “Our sect believes in a state of harmony called Unity. If only… well, it’s trite to say,’ if only everyone believed in peace’.”
“Now Starfleet is bringing relief supplies to the Cardassian people,” Pozach continued. “It’s been busy since the Dominion made sure to cause as much damage as possible before they surrendered.” She shifted on her feet to watch Sayvok examine the beacon. It rose out of the ground, looking like a mismatch of parts placed at the center of the compound. Its pinnacle reached out for the low-hanging clouds. “But it’s good work. Helping people -- it’s what Starfleet is supposed to do.”
Joshua was also watching Sayvok but with an amused look on his face. “Your engineer seems to be quite taken with the beacon.”
“It is an interesting piece of equipment. Besides, with the worst of the damage to the shuttlecraft repaired, there’s not much else for him to do before we rendezvous with the Cayuga.”
“Well, if you’ll excuse me,” Wayland told her,” I need to prepare for evening services.”
Once he had left, Pozach wandered over to stand beside Sayvok. “Unraveling the secrets of the universe, Ensign?”
Sayvok’s attention was immersed in his tricorder. “Based on the specifications of the beacon, Captain, I am attempting to ascertain the location of the Deities.”
“Heaven?”
“The Delta Quadrant,” he answered, ignoring her comment.
Her smile faltered with this news. “I… I’m sorry?”
“The beacon’s signal is directed towards the Delta Quadrant.”
Pozach backed away from the beacon, eyeing it with suspicion. “Sayvok, I was under the impression that they were trying to talk to gods. Gods don’t live in the Delta Quadrant. They live in Heaven or Sto’Vo’Kor, or in ourselves. Not someplace… tangible.”
“That would be more of a cultural misconception on your part than on theirs, Captain.” Sayvok indicated the device with his tricorder. “The beacon is emitting signals to a location between fifty and sixty thousand light years distance, past the Galactic Core. It would seem that the people here believe that they are in communications with someone.”
“I don’t like this.”
Sayvok raised an eyebrow when he looked at her. “With respect, Captain, you had no difficulty enjoying the situation before.”
“That was before I realized that they were serious! In Earth’s past, most of the population worshipped a deity of some sort or another. A few of them thought that they were actually talking to them.” She looked at the Vulcan engineer. “Don’t Vulcans have gods?”
Stoic as he was, the Vulcan seemed to be affronted by her question. “That would be redundant. Religion explains the world to those who don’t understand it. For that, we have logic.”
“Maybe it’s time that we asked Joshua about some of the core tenets of his religion,” Pozach said, motioning for the Vulcan officer to follow her. “Come on.”
Kallinda approached them as they entered the main hall. “Captain, is there anything that I can get for you?”
The captain looked at her with a glare and said,” Actually, we were hoping to learn more about your religion. Do you think…?”
Kallinda smiled broadly and touched her metal ear. “We’re always willing to discuss our beliefs, Captain. It’s just rare that we find someone willing… I’ll get Joshua. Oh, he’ll be so pleased! You two stay here and make yourself comfortable.”
The captain and Sayvok sat on one side of the table. A group had begun to form around them, drawn by Pozach’s curiosity. They made her nervous.
“Jeanne?” Joshua strode into the hall, exuding excitement. “Kallinda said that you and Mister Sayvok wanted to hear…?”
The shiver down her spine that had dogged her since their arrival returned to her. She shoved it aside and forced a pleasant smile to her face. “Sayvok noticed that your beacon was directed towards a specific location. I admit that I hadn't believed that you were actually in communication with your Deities.”
“You mean you thought that the Deities didn’t exist,” Wayland said. “It’s all right. We’re used to it.” He sat down opposite of her. “That’s what people say about all faiths. Fortunately, our religion is different.”
“Many claim so,” added Sayvok.
Joshua smiled at the Vulcan. “True, but the Deities do exist. We have proof. Starfleet has proof.”
That statement got Pozach’s attention. “Starfleet has proof.”
“Oh, yes.” Joshua’s expression grew contemplative and he rose up to his feet. “You’ll have to forgive me but I tend to ramble when I get on the subject of religion.” Pozach folded her hands into her lap and waited for him to continue speaking.
“We don’t claim that the Deities created the universe. The Big Bang happened before they existed, though they are very old but sometime after the beginning, they did come into existence. When they gained consciousness, they took stock of the Galaxy around them, and it wasn’t all that it could be.
“So random, scattered, and inefficient. On a single planet, one could find great poverty beside great wealth. Is that right?” He paused for a breath then for a response. “So the Deities chose to act. They decided to bind the Galaxy together. To Unify it and so, that way, there would be no want and no war.”
“They sound like very noble beings,” Pozach said evenly.
“They are. Unfortunately, as I said, the Galaxy is full of inefficiency. There are many who fought the Deities because they didn’t agree with the concept of Unity. They were afraid of losing themselves in the whole.”
Another chill skittered down Pozach’s spine.
“And your gods killed everyone who opposed them, correct, Mister Wayland?” Sayvok’s tone was icy and the captain wondered if he chastised himself for this display of emotion.
“Only when necessary,” Joshua spoke frankly. “A good portion of the time, the people could be convinced to Unify.” He began to pace before them. “I admit that when I first heard of the Deities, I despised them. It seemed that they wanted to take away my way of life but my thinking was small.”
“Yes, they would take my life but they would replace it with so much more. Mine would be a life mingled with those in Unity!” He stopped and put his metal hand up to his face. “I’m ashamed to say that I fought them. I could claim that I was simply following orders but that wasn’t true. I wanted to hurt the Deities.”
The others made comforting sounds towards their leader. “We all make mistakes, Joshua,” Kallinda said, grasping his shoulder. “We come from a society that’s not ready for Unification.”
Joshua nodded, welcoming his wife’s comfort. “That’s true and I know that the Deities will realize that.” He looked back at Pozach. “We fought them with a fleet. I was aboard the Kyushu at the time. It seemed that they were unstoppable and they were. How could something as small as Starfleet possibly match the might of a ship created out of Unity.
“I realized then, crammed into an escape pod as the Kyushu was destroyed, the Deities’ true intentions.” He gestured at the others gathered around the table. “I began searching for people who had realized the truth as I had, We found more after the Deities’ more recent attempt to bring the Federation to Unity.”
Pozach’s mouth dried and she asked him,” When exactly was this last attempt?”
“Just as we found our haven here,” the sect leader said. “A little before what you’ve described as the beginning of the Dominion War, four years ago.”
The chill reached back up her spine and found her voice. “Four years ago… was the last invasion by the Borg.”
“Yes, Captain, it was.” Joshua leaned over the table towards her. “I saw the Deities -- the Borg -- in all of their glory with the destruction of the fleet at Wolf 359. How could anyone ignore their drive for perfection?”
“The only thing that the Borg strive for is - is to assimilate everything into their Collective.”
Joshua smiled. “Exactly.”
Pozach slumped back in her chair.
Heedless, he continued,” We know that the majority of the Federation wouldn’t accept our religion so we sought to find a place that could be our own. Where we could wait for the Deities to come and take us into Unity. The Cardassians never noticed this planet and we’ve been entirely without contact until you arrived.”
Sayvok said, looking at their host. “The beacon is a locator so that the Borg may find you more easily.”
“That’s correct,” Kallinda said. “In the eleven years since Joshua began bringing us together, we’ve gathered all of the information that we could from Starfleet. During the most recent encounter, the Deities constructed an interplexing beacon aboard the Enterprise to contact their counterpart. We were fortunate that we were able to recreate it.”
“That ‘encounter’ left several thousand people dead.”
Joshua nodded sadly at Sayvok. “It’s a sorrowful thing that they couldn’t see the Deities’ glory for themselves but it was their choice to fight them.”
Pozach stood up from her seat, more sharply than she had intended. She didn’t care. “Well, thank you very much for your time but I think that we should be going.”
“We’ve frightened you. I apologize. I had hoped that you would be able to accept our religion,” Joshua said, standing up as well before offering his hand to Pozach. “I hope that you go without any harsh feelings.”
Warily, she shook his hand. “Good luck with your… Unity.”
“Father?”
The small mechanical voice surprised Pozach. Startled, she turned around and before her stood a young girl who was no more than thirteen years old. She was utterly bald and her body was a mismatch of implants. In her neck was a cybernetic voice box and her right eye had been replaced with an optical scanner.
“Can I help calibrate the beacon tonight?,” she asked Wayland.
Pozach stared at the girl and her implants. “What… happened to her?”
Joshua circled around the table and put a loving arm around the girl. “Of all of us, Natalie is the closest to Unity. It’s our hope that, in making her closer to the form of the Deities, she will move closer to perfection.” The girl’s one living eye looked up at her father adoringly.
“You did this to her? You… you mutilated her body out of an obsession with your religion?”
“Captain, I’ll thank you not to take that tone in front of my daughter,” Joshua told her. “I’m very proud of Natalie as we all are. She’s my light, my perfect little girl.”
Those last words reached Jeanne’s ears and she staggered. She stared at the girl’s mangled body before she slugged Wayland in the jaw. Sayvok grabbed her and pulled her away before she could strike again. The captain struggled against his grip, landing several blows on the Vulcan officer. Undeterred by her, he carried her outside and away from the compound.
For several minutes after she had left, Joshua could still hear her screaming.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The shuttlecraft touched down on the shuttle deck and Pozach turned away from the controls. Sayvok watched her carefully but she ignored him. The aft door opened and she marched out with all of the dignity that she could muster. Standing on the deck, Davi zh’Tali waited for her at attention.
“Captain, I submit command of the Cayuga to you. Welcome home.”
Pozach waved her to at-ease. “Report, Commander. Anything of note?” She shouldered her bag and the Andorian fell into step with her as they left the shuttle bay.
“Yes, sir. We received our supplies from Starbase Two-One-Nine on schedule. During the drop-off in the Lakkar system, there was an incident where a Cardassian was killed. My report is in your ready room.”
They reached the turbolift at the end of the corridor and Pozach stepped inside. “Thank you, Commander. I’ll read it tomorrow.”
The doors slid shut and she let herself sag against the bulkhead for a moment before she ordered the lift to take her to her quarters. She summoned up a blank face when the lift reached Deck Two. Thankfully, the hallway was empty. She keyed open her door and stepped inside. Instantly she realized that someone else was in there but she didn;t care enough to turn and look.
“Jeanne?”
The voice of Aimee Maguire jolted her back to life and she dropped her bag. “Aimee,” she breathed. “Oh, Aimee, this has been such a bad week. I --”
“Jeanne.”
The voice spoke harder to stop her from speaking. Jeanne turned and found Aimee sitting on her bed in the next room, looking levelly at her. “I wanted to tell you this now before you heard it around the ship. I started seeing Sam Dixon from Security.”
Jeanne slumped down onto the floor next to her bag and stared dumbfounded at the other woman. “Aimee… what…?”
Aimee crouched down next to Jeanne. “I needed you, Jeanne, and you weren’t here. I’m not trying to sound selfish but being a good captain doesn’t make you a good girlfriend.” She stood up and walked over to the door. It slid obligingly before her and she said,” I’m sorry,” and she disappeared.
Jeanne sat on the floor for a while. It could have been a few minutes, or it could have been several hours. Eventually, she stood up, walked over to her bed, and fell down again.
She stayed there for a long time.
The End…
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