MU History:Story Part 3
From MU
MU Written History Part 3
PART III (recorded contemporaneously by the typist of Shadi Erc and Suzanne Taylor)
Dakota Dallas was in the lounge that evening when the comm went off with a scrambled message. “Bloody hell, never any senior staff about when it might be useful.” He crossed to the console and activated the screen.
“Recorded message received,” the computer said in its metallic voice.
“Well play it already.” Dallas retrieved his beer and turned back to the screen, nearly dropping his glass as the image of Adekka Aksala appeared, her face flushed with fever, eyes glassy. She ran her hand through her hair, ruffling the straight dark locks. “Hey everyone, got some news. Czevn, who managed to find some time to meet with her charming Ferengi nurse is...well, Czevn’s expecting.”
An increasingly rare grin flitted across her features. “Can you imagine? I was wondering why she’d stopping drinking. It’s good to see that she’s taking her pregnancy seriously. It’s rather reassuring, you know, to see that I’m really the only one who does stupid stuff while pregnant.”
Adekka frowned, brows furrowed, then shook her head. “Apparently the vaccine for this Kuyper virus doesn’t last the 13 years they promised me when I had mine. I seem to have picked it up.” She sighed. “Didn’t take long for the doctor to conclude I had the plague. Blazes, I hate being sick.”
Dallas watched without moving, his thoughts awhirl, his heart in ribbons. If only she was here...I could help her... He set his glass down, not taking his eyes from the screen.
Adekka looked at the camera with a wan smile. “I’m sick, Czevy’s pregnant and we’re stuck on a blasted backward Russian planet controlled by Imperials. If this is someone’s idea of a joke, I’m not laughing.”
Her attention went off-camera for a moment and she frowned and stepped out of view. Her image flickered out and Dallas reached for the screen, her disappearance a physical pain. “Dekka...” he whispered, not caring who saw him. I’ll find her, I swear it.
The image reappeared, making him gasp, this time a pale-faced Dekka whose hands shook as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “We’ve been betrayed.”
She stepped away from the camera which followed her movements. “The Imperials are in town...and they’re looking for the Lavisov place.” She walked over to the wall, pulled out a pair of blaster pistols and checked their charges. “I’ve got to stop them before they get to Czevn’s, so she can get her family out.” She smiled in a display of bravery. “Wish me luck...and take care. Aksala out.” The transmission ended abruptly.
Dallas stared for a few moments, unable to move.
“Perhaps if you initiated a trace of the transmission, it would assist you in locating the sender,” came a cool voice from behind him.
He turned to see T’Pen, Boring’s Vulcan student, poised gracefully by the science station in a gray Maquis jumpsuit, one delicate dark eyebrow raised as she examined him like a specimen. “Rightio,” he said and turned back to the comm station to run a trace. But it was no use. The scrambling worked both ways, and he knew why. Adekka didn’t want them to be able to find who she was transmitting to, either. He sighed and shook his head. “Not this time.”
T’Pen came to stand beside him. “Curious.” Her slender fingers flew over the console, attempting to re-establish contact.
“It was a bloody recording anyway. It could have been from days ago.”
The Vulcan nodded, her dark hair cropped short around her face. “May I play the message again to see if there are any clues?”
“Again?” He wondered if he could take a second viewing. Finally he agreed. “Sure, why not.”
T’Pen stood, focused on every nuance of Adekka’s body, her voice, her surroundings as the message was repeated. When it was done, she raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “You are correct. There is no way to determine where she is or how long ago this message may have been sent.” She looked coolly at him. “She is alive, Mr. Dallas. As a human, that may be some comfort to you.”
He nodded, staring down into his glass. “She was. At least she was.”
Running in the dark was not an easy task, Adekka found, one made far more difficult when trying to avoid blaster fire from Imperial stormtroopers. But Adekka had done it often enough in the recent weeks that it was becoming a simple, if redundant task.
Left! Two three four--right! six, seven left! Nine ten eleven twelve right!
She kept a count of 27, a high enough number for the troopers to fail to recognize the pattern, low enough for her to memorize. It gave her mind something to do while she ran, kept her from thinking about the fear. Fear just slowed her down. It was better to remember the pattern, sort of like when she danced back home, in younger, more carefree days.
Forget the audience...remember the steps...Left! nineteen, twenty...
Something hot grazed her leg. She ignored it, would worry about that later. Got to get to Czevn before they do. Have to get them out...Must protect the baby...twenty-five, right!
The house was just around the corner. Adekka willed her legs to move faster, her lungs to pump harder so her voice would carry. “Czevn! Code Nine! Code Nine!” She ducked down along the side of the porch as the door flew open, kicked off its hinges by a high heeled boot. Four blurs raced outside, disappearing into the forest. Czevn jumped off the porch, rolled, came up firing past Adekka.
“Run!” she screamed, accent lost in the adrenaline.
Adekka dug in her heels, coming to a halt beside her. She pulled on her arm. “Come on, Czevn! We can’t win this!”
The other woman paid her no heed, snapping off shots like her trigger finger was aflame. Adekka, expecting that, was already kneeling beside her, analyzing the paths of the Imperial blaster bolts and taking aim. Have to pick off the closest ones...they can’t get her, not her and the baby...Two three four Fire! Six seven eight nine Fire!
Something slammed into her shoulder and she twisted, blasting a trooper’s helmet to bits she she jumped to her feet and started to drag Czevn to the treeline. her arm protested - so did Czevn - but Adekka ignored both and resumed her dance with the enemy...Increase the pattern, add two steps here, turn early here... “Run, Czevn!” Thirteen, fourteen Fire! Left! Run!
“Adekka, your arm...”
“Run!” she hissed, diving behind a tree. “Go, Czevy, please!”
Czevn hesitated then tore the heels off her soft-soled shoes and raced blindly into the woods. She’ll catch up. She runs fast - the temporal emitter will open her vortex-thingie and she’ll be on the Inferno before I’m even up the ramp! She’ll be fine....
Adekka settled into a crouch and stopped firing. She knew Imperial standard procedures will - she’d watched them operate often enough. And right on cue, the troopers’ barrage of lasers sputtered to a halt. Adekka held perfectly still, waiting. They’re listening to Czevn’s footsteps. One set, not two. They know I’m still here.
The forest came alive with the clacking and cracking as the armored ground-pounders marched closer. Adekka held her breath, counted to three and jumped to her left, tackling a trooper. He fired but the shot was a reflex and went wide of its target. Adekka brought her blaster to his throat, squeezed the trigger and was running before steam had even begun to raise.
One, two, three--the temporal emitter! She mutters an oath to beat herself over the head later and tossed aside her blaster, pulling the T.E. from her pocker. Stars bless Alex and Wil’am Erc. She looked ahead, calculated and punched in the code. A vortex opened in front of her and she dove into it just as a blaster bolt knocked the temporal emitter from her grasp.
“Cutting it a leetle close, yes?” Czevn stood over her in the galley of the Inferno, fists on her hips.
Adekka spared her a glance and climbed to her feet. “Is--“
”Everyting is goot to go. The sheep awaits your next command.” Czevn watched her friend stumble into the cockpit and collapse into the pilot’s seat. “You are all right?
“Sure. You? Did everyone get out? Are they below?”
Czevn considered the benefits of honesty. “You bet,” she lied. She has enough on her mind. “What shoot I do?”
Adekka’s hands flew over the controls. The older woman, observing, noted the burnt flesh on her left hand, the blood seeping from the right elbow. But she kept quiet as Adekka spoke. “Man the guns until I say otherwise. Then go make a recording to send to MU.” She looked up, pain evident in her eyes. “Tell them we’re not going to make it home for dinner.”
Czevn nodded and strapped in behind the weapons control system. Now which one...Oh. the ‘ON’ switch will do eet. She glanced at Adekka, then began firing at everything in white armor. Once they were airborne, she moved farther back for the holoprojection system, out of her pilot’s earshot.
She began recording, wondering for a moment whether they would recognize her without her wig, her purple contacts, her makeup...Oh vell. No time for frills. “Hey dhere effryone. Ees I, Czevy,” she began half-heartedly. “Deh Sink Sleeper, she ees flying deh sheep at deh moment, so I..talk now.” She shrugged. “Anyvay...Eemperials blew up my house. Kaboomer, beek time. No Mas llamas! My house ees gone! Oh. Ant deh Sink Sleeper got shot. Don’t vorry, dah’links! She ees goot pilot vhen she ees seek ant vounded and unter pressure!” She put a smile on her face she hoped was encouraging.
Someone in the background howled. Czevn rolled her eyes. “My mother she ees sat ‘bout deh house. It was no su’prise. She--“ She broke off suddenly, seeing what Aksala saw through the front view. Her gray eyes wide she turned back to the camera. “Great Gods Below... Adekka ees--“ She hit the button, cutting the message short, and rushed forward to see if she could help.
The Lusankya orbitted the planet, all sensors alert for outgoing ships. Ysanne Isard stood on the bridge, watching the viewport through mismatched eyes.
“We have a ship in sector nine, sir,” A young lieutenant announced.
Isard glanced at the commander of her Super Star Destroyer, a middle-aged man with a bald spot and a waistband which expanded with every promotion. Isard made a note to have him killed as she waited for him to do something.
“Activate tractor beams five and six. Bring her in gently, boys,” he orders, folding his hands over his belly.
Isard turned away, disgusted. “Identify the incoming vessel, lieutenant.”
“Aye, ma’am.” The young man raced to comply, not wasting time to look at her before replying.
“Freighter class, heavily modified. It’s broadcasting as the Intrepid, ma’am.”
Isard narrowed her eyes. “Run another scan.”
“Aye ma’am. Freighter class, heavily modified...now ‘casting as the Delectable.” The lieutenant’s baby blue eyes were surprised as he turned to her.
A cold smile touched the lips of the Director of Imperial Intelligence. “It’s the Inferno.” She looked back at him. “The tractors?”
Another man called out, “She’s putting up a good struggle, ma’am, but we have her. She’ll be in docking bay 32 in approximately...seven seconds. “
”Excellent.” Isard allowed the smile to fully blossom and headed for the turbolift. I expected more of a fight from you, Aksala...but don’t worry. You’ll have the opportunity to pay for disappointing me. She went to meet the ship.
Czevn reached for Adekka in desperation as the pilot’s consciousness faded. “Dekk?”
Adekka forced her eyes open, fever and pain adding a disturbing glass to her gaze. “They got us, Czevy. They tractored us in.”
Czevn took a step back and frowned. “Vhat do ve do?”
Adekka tried taking a deep breath, choked on it and coughed. “You’re pregnant; I’m sick. Cooperation is the order of the day.”
The Aissuran’s jaw dropped. “No fightink? Just...’here you go, dah’links, shoot me before I do somesink heroic’?”
“Mmmhmm.” She nodded, exhaustion taking her concentration. Outside the ship, something clanked against the hull. “Lower the ramp, Czevy.”
“Least tell me you haff goot plan, yah?”
Adekka forced a smile. “Of course I have a plan.”
“Goot enough.” Czevn tapped in the passcode and the Inferno’s ramp lowered to the floor of the docking bay. A squad of stormtroopers entered to secure the area and Czevn raised her hands above her head, nodding toward Adekka. “She ees seeck.”
The troopers froze as Ysanne Isard marched past them. She paused, giving Czevn a cursory glance, and continued into the galley. “Sick, Aksala?”
“Yeah.” Adekka pulled herself off the chair. “Your odor offends me.”
Isard chuckled. “Oh how I have missed that wit. I hear you recently paid a visit to Kessel.”
“Oh, is that what that was? I knew I shouldn’t have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.”
The Director smirked. “Make jokes while you still can, Aksala. Believe me, it will be some time before you have time for humor again.”
Adekka gave a negligent shrug, concealing a wince at her injured arm, and moved past her, pausing to collect Czevn. “C’mon Czevy, let’s get this over with. You know the drill. Blondes to the left, brunettes to the right. Single file, folks. No talking out of turn...” She descended the ramp, then walked as steadily as she could to the nearest guard.
Czevn followed suit, turning a sly grin on her captor. “Goot evenink, soldier. Vhen do you get off duty?”
Adekka laughed as they cuffed her. As long as I’m handling out blessings...stars bless the humor of one Miss Czevn Lavisov.
“You know, you look fameeliar. Haff ve met?”
Adekka clamped her mouth shut, trying hard to contain another laugh.
“Hey...Do you realize you are vearink deh same outfeet? You shop at same store or vhat?”
From behind her, Isard whispered, “Where’d you find her? Accidentally hold up an asylum?”
“Ees dhees sheep full of you guys? Yah? Vell, vell. Dhere ees a God after all!”
Adekka risked a glance toward Czevn, whose guards were trying to ignore her as much as Adekka was trying not to laugh. “You know, Iceheart, some people have this ability to make friends. Ever heard of it?”
The tall woman shoved her forward. “Next time, travel alone. I can take only so much of your friends.”
“Hey you! Yah, you in deh vhite. Vhen ees goot time for you? I haff no plans in deh near future...” Adekka laughed finally and Isard fired a stun bolt at her. Czevn cocked a brow. “Somesink I said?”
Dr. Eugene Boring got a cup of tea and sat at his desk, soft music playing. “A quiet evening, time to look over and close out some of these files.” He smiled, glancing around. Finally. His rank secure, a full staff of physicians on hand, and a grudging respect from the other Maquis...life could be perfect.
At precisely that moment, Estrella beamed into his office, disruptor drawn and pointed directly at him.
He looked at her and smirked. “An appointment would be nice.”
Estrella looked at him, her eyes like dark polished stones. “I would like to trust you,” she said. She lowered the tip of the weapon slightly and pointed it away.
“Oh yes, that gun exudes trust and warm fuzzies.” Boring figured the woman was heavily engaged in post-partum emotional mood swings, and was probably dangerous, but he couldn’t help the sarcasm. He just couldn’t.
“And the cold destruction of my home by the Maquis demonstrates it as well.” Her eyes flashed as she walked by him, checking out the door to his left to make sure they were alone.
He nodded. “Couldn’t be helped.”
She growled and turned back to him. “Who is Winston? Is he Maquis?”
“Winston? Nick Winston?” Boring looked at her, surprised. Now there’s a name better left in the past. “He’s a brilliant scientist and geneticist...a little cracked though. But he’s not Maquis.”
The dark petite woman cursed and rubbed her forehead. “But I need him.”
As she spoke, Boring noticed a child with piercing gray eyes come to the doorway his mother had just left, fixing his gaze on the doctor. I know those eyes....but it can’t be. He fumbled for a scanner on his desk and rose to his feet, crossing to read the child. “Fascinating...this must be yours, somehow, but I’m not sure how? May I take some samples?”
Estrella saw his interest shift from herself and spun to see her son there. “Aidan! I told you to stay on the ship.” She stepped between her son and the Maquis doctor. Aidan with an eerily calm smile, walked out from behind his mother and approached Boring, circling him with an intense stare. “May not,” he said. Boring watched the child, mesmerized. This is the lizard’s child...look at the blended DNA...reptilian cell walls, mammalian traits....and adapting with every second that passes.. “Phenomenal.”
Estrella looked sharply at her son, so very aware she had no real control over him. “Winston?” she asked again.
Boring couldn’t take his eyes off the child. “He left with the lizard, actually. He’d be the only one who knew what happened to Winston. And you saw what happened to the lizard.” He returned to his desk, filing the surveillance films and what scans he managed to obtain for future study, unsure what would happen next.
Estrella frowned and watched him. Unseen to the adults, a small lizard fell from the ceiling and concealed itself in the boy’s shirt. Aidan seemed to attain an inner glow and a Mona Lisa smile crossed his face. He waited till the thing was comfortable and then walked over to look out the window wall.
“What do you want Winston for, anyway?” Boring said, resettling himself in his chair.
She took the tube out of her inner jacket pocket. “Aidan wants his father.”
The Ferengi squinted at the tube. “In there?”
“His genetic material, he said. And Winston can bring him back.”
Boring nodded and opened his latest journal dismissively. “Well, I wish you luck.”
Bristling, she reached for her weapon again. “I need help, not luck.” She leaned closer, speaking enticingly. “Come on, Doctor, I know you want to study the children. I can give you the opportunity to do that.”
He shook his head. “I have enough hopeless causes here.”
Aidan walked slowly over to Boring and laid a childish hand on his shoulder. “You will accompany us back to the base,” he said.
Boring chuckled. “Boy, I’m impervious to telepathy and mind control. Don’t waste your time.”
“Then we’ll proceed the old-fashioned way,” Estrella said and stunned him. Boring muttered something impolite and slumped to the table.
“Need Winston,” the boy said.
Estrella nodded. “I know, my son. But this will be a first step. The doctor is more knowledgeable than he lets on.” She quickly tapped in a code and the three of them beamed away.
Boring’s absence was not discovered until a random check by T’Pen the following day. She announced the news to Suzanne Taylor.
“Kidnapped? Who would want--I mean why would someone take Boring?” Suzanne asked, taken aback. Madison Winder, who happened to be present, leaned back comfortably and snickered.
“Maybe they needed an aspirin.”
Taylor shot her a look. T’Pen continued, unperturbed by the interplay. “It would seem Estrella was the culprit.”
Taylor rolled her eyes. “Estrella? Why her?”
T’Pen showed her the holos which Boring had stored. “This is the last entry from Sickbay Delta last night.”
“Perhaps she needed a doctor...the birth of the babies was an eventful one...” She watched as the child entered the pictures and raised an eyebrow. “Who’s that?”
“DNA analysis would show it was Estrella’s child, born last week, now the approximate size of a human child of eight years.” T’Pen watched closely. “Fascinating.”
“How is that possible?”
“Unknown.”
“I think we’d better find out, then.” Suzanne studied the holo, frowning at the implications. Were both children like that? How long till they were fully grown? And what traits would they have of Bell’s? She thought back to the lizard’s legacy and the attacks on herself and Piper by the girl’s companion. And what happened to those two...? She suddenly had a panicked thought about all the lizards assembling and attacking as one. It could be devastating.
“Permission to assemble a rescue party, ma’am?” T’Pen was looking at her curiously. Winder grinned. “Oh, yes. A shortage of doctors here might be...critical.” Her eyes glittered with an unspoken threat.
Taylor weighed the alternatives and dismissed Winder as harmless. If she’d really wanted to do anything, she would have already. But Boring was the CMO and a ranking Maquis officer. She had to do something. She glanced at T’Pen. “Once I see a plan.”
“Ma’am?”
“You said it yourself. We’re dealing with unknowns. I want to make sure my officers make it back safely – all of them. Get your team together and meet with me. Then we’ll decide.”
T’Pen nodded and left the room, feeling what might have been resentment in a human. Does she believe I am incapable of such a mission? the Vulcan wondered. I am fully trained to handle such operations. Perhaps she has not had an opportunity to review my career file. She considered that option and decided it must be the case. That is most inefficient on her part.
The science officer raised an eyebrow and continued to her quarters to review the staff listings for the most likely team members. I shall have to query Dr. Boring about this, to see if there is some explanation which might give me insight.
Back in the lounge, Taylor avoided Winder’s perennial smirk and went to investigate the current situation in the station’s logs. A white-haired gentleman in a dark suit entered quietly and took a seat at the bar. Taylor glanced up and gave him a nod and then went back to her work. Quatre Winner-Barton came in, a ball of energy and crossed to the bar, getting some green tea and turning with his back to the bar to look at the room. Winder smirked and got up, her eyes twinkling at Quatre as she left. The older man looked at Quatre with a cold smile. “You’re Trowa Barton’s partner, are you not?”
Quatre looked hard at him. “I am. And who are you?”
The man shook his head. “No one. Just curious.” He glanced up as Alex and Taryn Erc came in, Taryn obviously in some discomfort.
Quatre glared at the man, suspicious. “You leave Trowa alone. Or you’ll regret it.”
The stranger just smiled. “I have no designs on Mr. Barton. I just do my homework.”
“I’m fine, Alex, I’m fine,” Taryn was saying. She pushed away his concerned hands and then nearly fell into a chair.
“Taryn!” Alex moved quickly beside her. “Tell me what’s the matter!”
Quatre allowed his gaze to leave the stranger and move to the Ercs, something in his trained eye picking up nuances of Taryn’s actions. “Good for you, mister..ah...?”
“You can call me John Smith.”
A few other things he could call Smith crossed Quatre’s mind, but he was more concerned with Taryn. “Alex? Do you need help?”
Alex muttered and fussed with his wife. “This must be what Mom paged me about the other day. You’d better tell me, Taryn.”
The woman laid her head back in the chair, pale, her face damp with perspiration. “I can’t tell you, love...it’s too perilous...he’ll come after you too--“ Her eyes fluttered and she lost consciousness.
“Taryn.” Alex’s voice was calm but he was obviously distressed.
Smith took a few steps forward. “Do you need the assistance of a doctor?”
Alex glared at him. “We have a doctor, thank you.”
“But I’d like to help.” He extended a black gloved hand to Alex, who shook his head and tried to call Shadi.
Taylor by this time had noticed the edge in people’s voices and was giving the situation a watchful eye. T’Pen entered with a PADD which she crossed to set in front of Taylor. “My selections,” she said softly and respectfully. Taylor nodded, watching the stranger and wondering why he was so insistent on becoming involved.
“The man said no.” Quatre stepped forward, between Smith and Alex. Smith shoved him aside.
“Do not interfere,” he said sharply, ice-cold eyes piercing Quatre.
Alexis Castleton came in at just that point and hurried to her comrade’s assistance. “Hey! Back off, buddy!” she snapped at Smith.
T’Pen raised an eyebrow and moved toward the argument.
Smith tried to turn his focus back on the Ercs. “I can help you,” he said, extending his hand again.
Alex looked closely and saw Smith’s outline shimmer slightly. A holo-cloak! he thought. A dark frown crossed his face and he wondered if this was the threat Taryn had referred to. “I’ve got to get her out of here.” He lifted his wife gently into his arms.
“The safe-house,” Quatre said. “Take her there, and I’ll join you when I can.” Smith was irritating him with his persistence, and he didn’t like the looks he was giving the Ercs, not at all.
Alex nodded, watching behind Smith as the Vulcan approached. Smith was oblivious, all his attention on Alex.
“Don’t discount what I can do for you....son.” The last word was near-whispered, but Alex heard it, and the chill of the realization spread through him. His words were bitter and angry.
“I want nothing you can give me, Winston. Burn in hell.” He nodded to Quatre and opened a vortex, stepping through with Taryn.
Suzanne heard the name and alerted security. When it rains...
Winston? T’Pen recalled the discussion between Estrella and Dr. Boring, when she was inquiring about the geneticist. Perhaps she would find this one worth an exchange, she thought, and stepped even closer.
Alex’s reaction had provoked both Quatre and Alexis, who were engaged in a physical struggle with the man to keep him from following Alex into the vortex. Quatre pulled out a PPG and held it to Smith’s head.
“Scan him, Lexie.”
Alexis made an attempt to scan the man which was blocked by a very strong mental wall.
“Impressive,” she said lightly to the man.
Smith went to bolt and was felled instantly by T’Pen’s neck pinch. As he was rendered unconscious, his image changed, the holo-cloak vanished and Nick Winston appeared before them. Before anyone could move, T’Pen beamed Winston to a holding cell, using the latest mechanism she had developed for security, incorporating an isolinear tag in the prisoner as he was reassembled.
Security arrived as they were all pulling themselves back together. The team leader looked at Taylor, who shrugged. “Check Mr. Winston into the brig,” she said. He nodded and left with his uniformed companion.
“Who was that?” Quatre stared at Taylor, trying to piece together the scene which had just happened.
“Old enemy of Shadi Erc’s,” Taylor said, not seeing a need to give the whole tawdry explanation. Though it would serve her right...that woman and her history.
“Ah.” He nodded to Alexis. “Do you want to come to the safe-house with me?”
Alexis nodded and they both left the lounge at a quick pace.
Taylor and the Vulcan exchanged glances. “Nice work,” Suzanne said.
“Perhaps this could be advantageous in negotiations with Estrella,” T’Pen said, a hint of speculation in her voice.
Taylor reached for the PADD, forgotten in the commotion, and read over the proposal. T’Pen had chosen Piper Donovan, Shadi Erc and herself to make the attempt, and her step by step analysis of the dangers involved and possible precautions were as thorough as anything Taylor could have expected. She still didn’t like it.
The comm beeped with a agitated call from the brig. “Ma’am, Winston is gone!”
“What? How could that happen?” A look from Taylor sent T’Pen for her science console and she raised a forcefield around the entire holding area.
“He just...He had some sort of handheld device and it ...” the officer’s voice filled with consternation “...it just opened a hole in the space in the rear of the cell. He just...walked out before we could even get a weapon on him.”
T’Pen coolly confirmed. “Winston has escaped.”
“Wonderful. Just wonderful.” She rubbed her forehead. “Where did he go?”
“A scan of the area reveals transdimensional particular residue. I would theorize he has developed some technology similar to the vortexes of Alex Erc.” She turned to Taylor. “He could be lightyears from here.”
Suzanne nodded. “I want a team devoted to tracking him down. Next time he steps foot here, I want to know before he leaves a footprint.”
“Acknowledged.” T’Pen entered some commands into her console, then gathered some PADDs and left the room silently.
Taylor sat back in her chair, stress exhausting her already this afternoon. It was time to set into motion the strike team idea she’d been contemplating for several weeks. There had to be someone to send on these dangerous missions, someone with better training than the general practice of late, forming a posse with whoever happened to be around. Without knowing who would declare war next or demand ransom for an abducted Maquis or... send lizards after them. She pursed her lips and tried not to shiver.
Her mind went on, plugging pieces into place. Two teams, an experienced commander and lieutenant in each... members to be recruited from the Maquis officers as necessary. But who had the experience? She thought about it a moment and reluctantly acknowledged that her best trained officers had come from the United Empire of Planets and StarFleet. Shadi had been an Admiral Colonel under Komtok, Alex had had both StarFleet and UEP training. A fresh breath of air would be Elissa Taru, a Major in the Bajoran resistance, who would have learned many skills which would keep her alive. Piper didn’t have the training, but she was one of the fiercest the Maquis had..seemingly afraid of nothing... Dallas would be another choice, but he’s not won my complete confidence yet... Squall and Nagisa are needed here for now...If Boring survives, he’s got a place where he must stay... She sighed and settled on those four, her reservations about Shadi’s emotional status making her place the doctor as Alex’s lieutenant. Piper would lead Beta Squad, with Elissa as her second in command...
Suzanne nodded, satisfied. Getting the training in place and the news out.. That would be her next priority.
It was too quiet.
Chase Austin entered her quarters and found it quiet enough to hear a pin drop. That was not a good sign.
Ever since she’d agreed to take in Ri’si and Roj’qem, K’Taron and Julian’s orphaned children, her life had been turned upside down. The two were energy packed and intellectually stimulated by just about anything. Their genetics had translated into two born engineers, who could take apart and reassemble most everything - and had. Chase frowned at the memory of finding her phasor in pieces on the living room floor one day.
At first, the slight, delicately built dark-haired girl and rowdier boy with the more obvious Klingon features had experienced a difficult transition into Maquis life. Having lived most of their five years of life onboard ship, the expansiveness of the base’s open spaces disturbed them, and Chase was forever finding them crawling under tables or into corners to feel safe. The loss of their mother, Shadi’s adopted sister K’Taron, a year earlier had barely healed before their father was lost only a month before as a result of a confrontation with MU’s Kairal N’Tori during the war with SFU. They’d all been reluctant to tell Ri and Roj about their father’s death, once they’d won the children back from SFU’s Admiral Damark., not knowing how they’d cope. But ongoing therapy with Orista Otomanim had allowed them to get beyond their past and move into the future. But where were they now...? That was the important question.
Chase moved quietly into the main room of her quarters. Still nothing. She glanced into her room, the door open as she’d left it that morning when she’d gone to secure her ship, but saw no one. Behind her, she could see the small galley facilities were empty as well, and nothing out on the counter to evidence the children had been into anything.
That left the children’s rooms. With a sigh, Chase looked into Ri’Si’s room and saw her bed, perfectly made, her toys arranged in exact lines on the shelves and not a piece of clothing on the floor. Well, that was par for the course. Ri was a compulsive organizer, and Orista explained to Chase that the child was in some way trying to make order and sense come from a world which had been scattered and destroyed.
Next door, Roj’s room on the other hand, looked as though a solar storm had passed through it, with dirty clothes and clean tossed in all directions and projects in half-completed phases stacked everywhere. Orista had said... Chase smiled. Orista had said he was a boy. That seemed to sum it up.
Nothing even under the piled bedclothes. Chase absently tucked her hair up into a knot and put her hands on her hips, a tiny thread of fear running through her nerves.. “Ri? Roj? Come on out now!” There was a muffled thump in the closet, followed by the sounds of a scuffle. Chase reached for the door sensor and it slid open, a huge ball of blanket rolling out onto the floor, untangling to reveal the two children and Dakota Dallas, pink-cheeked and laughing.
“Dakota!” Chase stared down at him and saw the children’s glee as the adult got blamed. “What are you doing?”
“Well, ma’am, you’re always telling me I could come down and spend some time with these hooligans.” He ruffled Roj’s hair, and the boy pulled away, baring his quite Klingon teeth. “I had the afternoon off and I rescued them from class.” He looked up, sheepish. “Promised ‘em ice cream, I did.”
Ri looked at Chase suddenly, quite aware the treat could be lost if Chase was angry. “Please?”
Dakota winked at the girl. “No worries, miss. Ice cream, it’s a necessity of life. Even your Aunt Chase can’t deprive you.” His eyes swiveled up to connect with Chase’s, a hint of pleading in them. Chase finally relented, keeping a stern face on. “All right. But clean up this mess first.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Dallas saluted, and Ri’Si giggled, adding a faint salute of her own. Roj just growled and started hauling the blankets back to the bed. Chase hid a smile and went back out to the main room, checking for messages and wondering what to do about feeding the kids. Not that they’re going to want dinner after ice cream, anyway, a small practical voice in her head noted.
Dakota came out of the bedroom, Ri’Si on his shoulders and a grinning Roj’Qem following close behind. “Join us, ma’am?”
“I’ve really got some things to do--“ she began but the children began to beg her. She smiled.
“For a little while. Then you two need to come back and get your homework done.” They groaned but she looked sternly at them until they agreed. “You think they have strawberry?” she asked as they headed out into the Rec Wing.
Estrella prowled up and down in front of the cell they’d placed Eugene Boring in, waiting for him to wake up. The children were asleep in the ship, had been for hours, but she couldn’t sleep. She had to know...had to find out what was happening to Aidan. And how far it would go.
She wasn’t easily frightened. To the contrary, she was usually the one who frightened others, having a reputation for being ruthless and aggressive which was well-earned. But the look she saw in her son’s eyes from time to time...it was chilling. Even to her. Whether she managed to re-animate Markail at this point wasn’t relevant now. If his genes were in fact in that tube and could be cloned or regenerated, that would be true in a week or six months. But what would Aidan be then?
The DF mercenary also had some concerns for Duncan. He seemed healthy, though his brother ruled the roost. He was just a baby, a normal, human baby. He had needs and took time away from Aidan, which was resentfully noted by the big brother. Sometimes she worried about what Aidan might do...but he’d never hurt Duncan.
Would he?
She scowled and continued to stare at the Ferengi, feeling like a caged animal. Would he never wake up?
Almost as if in response to her thought, Boring opened his eyes and pushed himself to a sitting position. He looked around and then smirked. “DragonFleet hospitality lives up to its reputation.”
Estrella growled. “Save your weak jokes for the Maquis scum. I’d house you in better style, but your friends obliterated the base, or had you forgotten?”
Boring took a deep breath and ignored the question. “What do you intend to do with me now? I hope you don’t think to ransom me. Taylor won’t find me of that much value, I’m sure.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I told you what I wanted. I meant what I said.” He thought back, picking something unidentifiable from his jacket. “You offered me a chance to study your children. And then you wanted me to produce Nick Winston.” He snorted. “Why anyone would want that sick bastard is beyond me.” As she started to speak, he waved a soft hand. “No, no, I know, you want your lover back to raise the family with a white picket fence and all that. Happily ever after.”
Estrella nearly burst with frustration. She slammed a nearby chair into the security console. “You Ferengi are so...so...DENSE!”
Boring got to his feet and approached the forcefield, observing her. “This seems to go beyond the normal postpartum depression,” he observed. “Have you seen anyone about your stress?”
“You want to see stress?” she hissed, coming right up to the transparency separating them.
“I could give you a personal demonstration.” She stared into his eyes.
He looked back, unruffled. “I have no doubt.”
She let out a shriek, annoyed beyond her control limits, and turned away, returning to her pacing.
“Where are they now? You do still have both of them, don’t you?”
Estrella stopped, not looking back. “Of course I still have...both.” She turned swiftly and approached the cell again. “Why wouldn’t I?” Tell me I’m wrong, she thought. Please...
The doctor shrugged. “You never struck me as the type who would have the patience to care for an infant.” He looked up, suddenly intrigued by a thought. “Or are they both mutants?” “ No,” she said softly. “Duncan is very much an infant.”
“Fascinating.” Boring put his hands behind his back and rocked thoughtfully on the balls of his feet.
That didn’t answer my question. “Doctor.” She tried to think of a diplomatic way to say what she was thinking, unused as she was to diplomacy. It wasn’t possible to gain compliance by intimidation from someone who was not in the least threatened. She frowned. “You have helped me, by taking charge of the delivery of my sons, for which I am in your debt. I would not harm you under these circumstances.” She waited to see the effect of her words. He only nodded, waiting.
“I want to know about Aidan. I know he is not....normal. He is magnificent.” She couldn’t help a thrill of pride thinking of how strong he was becoming...yet... “I wish you to tell me about him. I will give you access to him, to them both, so you may study them...for your own education and mine. It could be the work of a lifetime...”
She trailed off, seeing his eyes fix on something over her shoulder. She turned slowly, noting her disruptor across the room on a table, to see Aidan standing in the doorway. She glanced back to Boring and then smiled at her son.
“Aidan, I thought you were sleeping.”
The boy nodded solemnly, his eyes the color of hematite. “You come to give what is not yours.” The harshness of the childish voice struck her like a fighting pole. “Aidan, I’m just concerned about--“
”NOT YOURS.” The boy made no move to come into the room, but was now blocking the doorway.
“That’s your child, all right.” Boring snickered and returned to the bench in the cell to sit down and wait out the standoff.
Estrella crossed toward the boy, hoping to soothe his boiling resentment. He pulled away from her and went over to stare at the Ferengi. “Bring father back,” he demanded.
“I’ll bring a paddle,” Boring countered, amusement in his eyes.
“Doctor!” Estrella scolded.
“What? The boy obviously needs some discipline. I have two words for you. Military. School.”
Aidan’s thin lips curved in a smile without warmth. “Not need.”
“That’s what you think.”
The mother paced, watching the two, their eyes locked, combat obviously engaged. Her mind strayed to Duncan, asleep in their quarters.
“Not need him,” Aidan said, never moving, but obviously talking to her. “He take too much time from you.”
“Aidan, I--he’s your brother! He’s a baby...”
“He weak, human.” The boy backed away toward the door. “Not need him.” “ Aidan, don’t.” She approached him with hands open, like she would a wild targ, to show she intended no harm. But he bolted, slamming the door behind him.
“Let me out!” Boring said. “I can help you!”
She looked at him suspiciously, then went over to the cell. Reaching for the release, she stopped and looked again. “Can I trust you?”
“Can you trust him?” Boring crossed his arms in disgust.
Nearly spitting in frustration she released the door and went to the nearest console to try to locate Aidan. “I can’t find him...”
“Heat sensors.” Boring looked on from the side, not tall enough to see over her shoulder. She nodded and changed over to heat sensing, finding Duncan quickly enough, but the moving target that was Aidan appeared then faded away. His last point of registry was at the door to their quarters. “He’s after the baby.”
“That would seem to follow.” The doctor didn’t go on to share his observation that the boy had displayed yet another of his adaptive skills, being able to use his reptilian cells to reduce his body temperature to that of the room so he could hide from the scanners.... what possibilities will there be for this child? He shoved her toward the door. “Go on. Get the baby.” She looked back for a second and then hurried out the door.
Boring took advantage of his solitude to send out a distress signal.”Can’t hurt.” He shrugged and went in search of a replicator, thinking a sandwich would hit the spot.
Meanwhile, Aidan had entered the family’s hastily assembled quarters in a rage. Not need this baby...need mother. Get strong! He plowed through boxes and bags, tossing things aside, and located the sleeping Duncan. Grabbing him roughly, he tossed him onto his shoulder, ignoring the baby’s terrified cries, and headed out of the quarters out onto the hangar field. Leave him here to die... Estrella, panicked, disbelieving, scoured the room, hung with graying cloth in lieu of paint or decor, and concluded the children were gone. Hearing a child’s cry from what seemed like far away, she followed it, and at the door to the outside, spied the boys, Aidan standing over the baby with a murderous gleam in his eye.
An oddly assembled rescue party had finally been called at the Maquis base. T’Pen, Boring’s protégé, had finally received permission from Suzanne Taylor to proceed to DF space, though the Maquis leader obviously disapproved of the action.
“I fail to understand why she finds this mission a waste of time,” T’Pen commented to Piper Donovan as they gathered their gear. “Dr. Boring is an excellent physician, and is also Chief medical officer. His loss would be a devastating one for the Maquis.”
Piper raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m not sure it’s that simple, T’Pen. The doctor and my mother aren’t always on the same page.”
“I am unacquainted with Administrator Taylor’s reading speed, but I am aware that Dr. Boring reads 500 words per minute.” The Vulcan cocked her head. “What book are they reading?”
Dr. Shadi Erc joined them, having received a page from T’Pen. “What’s up?”
Piper nearly choked trying to cover her laughter and T’Pen looked at her curiously, then turned to the doctor. “We are going to rescue Dr. Boring.”
“Fantastic!” Shadi said. “I’m in. When?”
“Now.”
“Oh.” Shadi was surprised, but nodded. “Let me grab a few things.” She stopped off as they passed the sickbay and got a medkit and several herbal restoratives particularly suited for Ferengis. Just in case... She rejoined them in the lounge as Piper was stocking up on coffee. “Everyone taking their own ships?”
“We have been authorized to take one only.” T’pen’s smooth alto voice was disapproving.
Piper turned to them. “Which ship?”
Shadi considered. “I guess the Karma’s Revenge has the most time logged in DF space. And most recent.”
The other women nodded. “Let’s go,” Donovan said and led the way to the hangar.
Shadi slid automatically into the co-pilot’s seat, turning back to T’Pen, hoping she hadn’t offended. “Unless you’d rather,” she said. Piper kicked the ship into prelaunch, ready to taxi before the others had settled in.
“I shall take tactical,” the Vulcan said with a slight bow.
“Sounds good to me.” Piper nodded. “We’re outta here.”
They climbed swiftly, using the time in Maquis space to check their instruments and weaponry. “What do you think?” Piper asked Shadi quietly.
“Come in low, try to avoid the weapons.” She nodded. “Keep our fingers crossed.”
“Sounds good.” Donovan glanced back over her shoulder. “Any problems, T’Pen?”
“The equipment is functioning within normal parameters.”
Piper nodded and turned back to the forward view. Nothing...
Shadi saw a red light beeping on the comm board. “What is that?”
“Incoming coded message,” the pilot replied, perplexed. “From the Badlands.”
T’Pen rose silently and came to stand behind them. “Erc sold me information that Estrella was in fact hiding in the Badlands.”
The doctor chuckled, unable to help herself. “You bought information from my husband?”
“I do not find the acquisition of useful information amusing, Dr. Erc.”
“Answer it!” Piper snapped.
“Okay okay...” Shadi activated the comm. “Karma’s Revenge responding to unknown signal. Identify.” There was some static, then whiny noise, then static again. T’pen leaned in to make adjustments and the signal cleared.
"Shadi? Is that you?”
“Eugene?” She looked at the others in amazement. “Are you all right?”
“Oh, yes, just basking in the glow of warmth and domesticity.” There was an odd sound which could have been a Ferengi laugh. “You wouldn’t be coming to rescue me, would you?”
“We would, actually.” How in the hell had Eugene escaped Estrella long enough to carry on a conversation?
“Well, just follow the signal in. Got my bags all packed.”
“Understood. Revenge out.”
“Fascinating.” T’pen retook her seat, and Piper adjusted course away from DF and into the cloudy, treacherous space of the Badlands. “Five minutes to target,” she said.
“I shall make arrangements to beam the doctor from the surface,” T’Pen said.
“All right.”
Shadi was still puzzled, but prepared to receive Boring, though it didn’t sound like he was in need of medical attention. This will be an interesting story to hear...
Wasting no time, Estrella ran across the tarmac toward her sons, calling Aidan’s name, hoping to distract him. Her weapon was drawn, she didn’t want to shoot him but I would and she begged him to get away from the baby.
Instead, the boy bared his teeth and leaned down, intent on doing his brother harm. Estrella took a shot at him and missed, then threw the disruptor down and tackled him, pulling him aside.
He fought her like a wild animal, teeth and claws and wiry strength as she tried to hold his arms to his side. She rolled away with him out of reach of Duncan, who was bawling like a frightened lamb. Aidan was too strong for her, at least in her postpartum state of readiness, and he battered her until she was nearly unconscious. The last thing which tugged at her mind was the realization that Duncan had stopped crying...
Aidan looked down at his mother, looked back at his brother and took off running for the shadows of the nearby woods.
Boring was beamed aboard the Revenge with as little fanfare as he’d left the Maquis base in the first place. He did, however, have a bulging sack full of mysterious tubes and wires he withheld comment about, despite curious looks from both the Vulcan and Shadi Erc. He leaned close to Piper Donovan and asked her to scan the immediate area for lifeforms.
“Two...I think...or three. I can’t tell if that’s a shadow or not.” Piper pointed to the sensor disk. “That’s a grown woman.”
Boring nodded. “Take the infant.”
Shadi, surprised, said, “Estrella’s?”
Eugene took a deep breath and shook his head. “Some poor child. I think they brought him there as food for the monster.”
“Target acquired,” T’Pen said. “Shall I beam it aboard?”
He gave the order and a squalling baby materialized on the transporter pad. Shadi immediately hurried over to it and lifted it into her arms.
“He’s terrified.” She frowned and looked with warmth into the child’s violet eyes.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Boring said. “Now let’s get out of here. Warp..ah... as much as you got.”
Donovan chuckled. “Aye, sir. Fasten your seatbelts.” As the others hurriedly settled into their seats, she slipped away from the base and headed back to Maquis space.
Boring watched Shadi cuddling and comforting the child and smiled to himself. That couldn’t have worked out better if I’d planned it, he thought, knowing he had all along.
“Doctor, what of Estrella and the mutant boy?” T’Pen asked, leaning forward to hear the response.
“What of them? She’ll have her hands full. But then we all know boys will be boys.” He sat back and relaxed, taking a philosophical view.
“You intend to leave them alive?” Donovan asked.
“They were when I saw them last,” he said. And that’s all he could say.
It wasn’t until they returned to the base that Eugene Boring received the news of his beloved wife Lana’s death. Shadi had followed him to Sickbay Delta and sympathized as best she could.
“I need you to take over as temporary CMO,” he said, holding his emotion to a minimum. I’m a doctor. I deal with life and death every day.
“Of course,” she said. “What happened?”
“Apparently she had a heart attack when she heard I’d been taken.” He sighed. “She was not always a strong woman.”
“I’m sorry, Eugene.” She hugged him, which he tolerated, then he began dictating a string of orders she tried to remember as best she could. When he stopped, he just stared out the window.
“Anything else I can do? Help you with arrangements?”
He shook his head. “No. I’ll go do all that, soon as I’ve let Taylor know I’ll be gone a few days.” He turned to give her a sharp look. “Take good care of that baby.”
“I will. He looks undernourished, so I’ll keep him here a few days, then take him home. After I tell Erc.”
Boring nodded. “He’ll be supportive.” He nodded dismissively and Shadi took the hint, leaving the office quietly to install the baby in the nursery. Boring puttered around a few minutes, stalling, then took the holo of Lana from his desktop and put it in the drawer. They were good times, he thought, then flipped out the light and made his exit.
Joulay Banning entered the Maquis lounge on light feet, dressed in sleek black leather, blonde hair curling around her face. Her baby blue eyes seemed to take up half her twenty-something face, their intensity varying from cornflower to sapphire as she focused on different occupants, particularly the men.
The first to notice her was MU Security’s Squall Leonheart, who was leaning against the wall at the far side of the room, observing silently as he did, for the most part, his gunblade ready at hand if needed. He watched her prowl through to the bar, a girlish smile available for all she encountered. That woman is up to something, he thought. He watched her a little more closely. Suzanne Taylor, working at her console behind the car, looked up at the quiet buzz that followed Banning’s passing, and their eyes met. Something in Taylor’s gaze must have convinced the younger woman she was in charge here, and she came over and extended her hand.
“Joulay Banning,” she said, hint of an accent in her voice.
Suzanne noted the clipped vowels but couldn’t pinpoint the origin. “Suzanne Taylor, Administrator of Maquis Universal. Here on business?”
Joulay nodded. “Looking for some supplies,” she said vaguely.
“We’re a little short. But I’m sure you’ll find someone with a line on what you need.”
“I’m sure,” the blonde said with a smile. Her head turned to where Jason McGann had just entered.
“I guarantee I’ll find just what I need.”
Taylor nodded absently. “Welcome, then. Excuse me while I rearrange schedules.” She gave the woman a smile and returned to her review of the medical staff and Shadi’s reinstallation as CMO for the week. She sighed, thinking about Eugene Boring and his wife. She’d met the woman a few times, and she was pleasant, far more pleasant than most of the Ferengi Suzanne had met here. Lana dressed conservatively, always carrying some baked goods for the lounge. Boring’s family life was one of the most stable here...or had been. It was a shame.
Seeing McGann, she waved him over. “I need your legal opinion on--“
”Stop right there,” he said. “I’m not legal counsel for the Maquis any more.” Jason’s usual smirk was missing, and his face looked pale and drawn.
Suzanne raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve just returned from Earth. I was informed that since I had been declared legally dead, that my license to practice law was revoked.”
“Great.” Suzanne frowned. “Can’t you just snap yourself a new license?”
He shook his head. “I won’t do that. Call me silly, but it’s a matter of moral principle. I take the law seriously and wouldn’t feel right having the title without earning it.”
Suzanne looked at the man, thinking of a lot of other things to call him. “Fine,” she snapped. “Keep me updated.”
He nodded and looked around the room.
Banning was watching the conversation, eyes dancing. “You look pretty healthy for a dead man.”
Jason looked at the woman and returned her smile. “Why thank you.” He looked her over. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Jason McGann.”
“Yes, former shyster and current dead person. I heard.”
He laughed, mostly at himself. “It does sound awkward. Would you like a drink?”
“White wine, please.” She stretched a little, the light revealing shadows on her black leather suit. She noticed that he noticed and smiled.
“Here you go.” He handed her a crystal glass and asked her to join him at his table. The girl is perky, light-hearted, pretty and best of all, no strings...he thought, unlike his ex-wife, who still tugged at his heart when he saw her unhappy here. Just what I need.
Joulay accepted his offer, seeing an intelligent and attractive man who obviously had a power base and the keys to many figurative doors. As they sat down, there was a momentary bright light and then there were two glasses on the table, hers and a highball glass of scotch that she would swear hadn’t been there a few seconds before. She stared at it curiously, then caught his amused eye on her, and pretended she hadn’t noticed.
He took the glass and had a long drink from it. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She smiled. “Joulay Banning.”
“You’re new in the Maquis?”
Joulay shook her head. “No, I’m not in the Maquis at all. I’m...passing through.”
“Mercenary?” At her surprised look, he added dryly, “So many of the passers-through are.”
“No, not really. I travel a lot.” She picked up her glass, admiring the etching. “Just here looking for supplies.” The lie had sufficed for Taylor, and it wouldn’t hurt now.
“Oh?” Jason looked at her more closely, thinking she was too young and vulnerable-looking to be adrift among the stars. “You’re here with your crew?”
She shook her head. “It’s a two-man ship, but I fly it alone.” She deftly turned the subject, glancing over toward Taylor. “She looks familiar. Has she been here long?”
“Suzanne?” He shrugged. “Since the inception of this base...several years now. Seems like an eternity sometimes.”
He nodded to Dakota Dallas and Piper Donovan as they entered, rehashing Boring’s trip the night before. Dallas was still fuming he’d been left out of the game. “It’s not like I don’t bloody owe Estrella for her lack of hospitality,” he groused.
Piper just laughed softly and greeted her mother, then got him a chilled ale and herself some strong coffee. “Something tells me what goes around comes around,” she said. “I think she got a little payback, intentional or not.” She described the last scan she’d taken as they left DF space, with the woman who had to be Estrella obviously down and injured, and the shadow Boring had described as the “monster” disappearing into the woods.
“You didn’t stop to help her?” he asked, surprised.
Piper shook her head. “Boring wanted out of there. I expect she’ll be fine.” At least Piper hoped so. Dying alone was no way to go.
Dallas grunted. “Bad pennies always turn up, mind you.”
Joulay slouched down into her seat and crossed her legs seductively, noting Leonheart’s eyes on her. He looked away and she smirked. “So what are you going to do, now that you’re unemployed?” she asked McGann.
“Take the exam again, I suppose. But it’s been three hundred years since the last time. I think I’ll actually have to study.” His voice held disappointment.
“Maybe you should take some time off. Travel. Explore the galaxy.” She smiled, a little intrigued by her own interest in the man. It had been awhile since someone had really appealed to her, and not been just a means to an end.
Jason chuckled, thinking the girl had no idea what he had known and seen in his life or could be at the snap of his fingers. “That sounds like fun. Do you have someplace in mind?”
His last comment has just sunk in to her consciousness, and she wondered if his tongue had slipped. Three hundred years? The fact only intensified her curiosity. “Nowhere particular. I was waiting to conclude my business here, then I have no planned destination.” She smiled invitingly.
Svetlana slunk in, a vision in deep blue satin, nearly black. She joined Piper and Dallas, drinking straight from the tequila bottle.
“Lana, luv, I wouldn’t do that,” Dakota said, concerned.
“Eet weel not hurt me. I am inveesible!” she cried dramatically.
Piper frowned. “Invisible?” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Da! yes! Svetlana ees inveesible now--like dressed een armor. No vone can touch my heart.” She put the back of her hand to her forehead and posed.
Taylor looked up and rolled her eyes. “InVINCible.”
Svetlana pouted. “Zo I don’t speak Eengleesh like expert. Sue me.”
Dallas pinched Lana’s cheek softly. “You’re still adorable.”
“I haff a song to seeng.” Svetlana climbed up on the bar, teetering in her high spike heels, sure to be far enough from Taylor to be out of reach. She started her canned music and began a heart-breaking rendition of “My Man.”
Joulay smiled. “Talent shows, too. What an interesting place this is...do you dance, Jason McGann? Or is that activity reserved for the living?”
He wondered how long it has been since he’d been asked to dance (remembering the most significant one) by a pretty woman, and he smiled. “I’d love to.” He got to his feet and reached out a hand to her.
She moved lightly into his arms and they danced together, the others in the room fading from notice. Piper elbowed Dallas and he turned to gawk.
“Well what do you know? The bloody Q has something else to occupy him besides torturing poor humans.” And a nice thing it was, his observing eyes added, wondering who the young woman was. Svetlana, audience tightly in the palm of her hand, belted out the chorus as Taylor left, barely keeping her hands from over her ears and Erc and Shadi came in for some evening news. Shadi waved at Lana and then her eyes fell on Jason and an unknown woman, smiling and talking as if they were the only ones in the universe. The sight made her catch her breath, but she quickly hid her reaction as Erc was right behind her. They’d only worked out their differences recently, and she didn’t want him to lose his temper again. Eugene’s anger management counseling was working, but Shadi wasn’t brave enough to test it just yet.
She continued to the counter and got herself some coffee and Erc some beetle tea, and joined him.
Her husband, of course, hadn’t missed a thing. “So, Jason’s got a sweet young thing,” he quipped. “Turned you in on a younger model, now, didn’t he?” He cackled under his breath and Shadi gave him a look.
“Ouch!” Dallas said, having overheard. “The Doc’ll kill him.”
But Shadi just took her chair and tried not to watch, remembering as she did, the first night she had Jason had met, back in the days of the Empire... the dance they had shared surrounded in starlight... “What?” she said, Erc’s persistent question finally grabbing her attention.
“You said you had a surprise for me. And I didn’t think this was it.” Lana finished and they gave her a round of applause. In heaven, Svetlana came down off the bar and allowed them to congratulate her and buy her several drinks. Jason and Joulay walked out slowly, arm in arm, to the horticultural section built by Charles Damark in his days courting Suzanne Taylor. Shadi watched, trying to remember to breathe.
“I want to foster a baby Eugene brought me,” she said at last, after a sip of coffee hot enough to burn the image from her mind. “I want us to,” she amended.
“What baby?” Erc frowned. “Where did Eugene get a baby?” He shook his head at the thought of his old friend, having sent a dozen appropriate rememberances to Boring’s Ferengi home earlier in the day, to honor the passing of his wife. Lana had been a good woman, a good Ferengi woman, a clean, happy, obedient, naked... He glanced at Shadi thoughtfully. But I wouldn’t change what I have. Shadi shrugged. “He brought the boy with him last night from Dragonfleet. He said Estrella had captured it as food for her mutant child.” She shuddered. “I wouldn’t even have believed that of Estrella.”
“Hey, I’ve done my part there, I killed her once. Not my fault Mr. Lovelorn had to bring her back.”
“Only to abandon her. How sad.” A sigh escaped Shadi’s lips.
“Come on, muffin, cheer up,” he said, giving her a kiss. “I’m glad to have any babies in the house, you know that. Amanda and Zanna will be thrilled. Where is he?”
“In the nursery, sickbay. He was undernourished...half-starved more like it.” Shadi shook her head.
“Tragic.”
“Show me.” He took her hand and they went out to welcome their family’s newest member.
Piper stirred her coffee. “So, Lana, what’s got you so emotional---“ at a look from Svetlana she changed her word immediately -- “invincible tonight?”
“Ees Peyton. He does not vant to marry me.”
Dallas spit out the mouthful of ale he’d just taken. “Marry?”
“That’s too bad,” Piper said, trying to cover and handing Dallas a napkin. “Did he say why?”
Svetlana blinked her eyes, obviously feeling her alcohol. “He say I am too beautiful for chust vone man. Dat he cannot handle me.”
“Bloody idiot--ow!,” Dakota said under his breath, cut short by Piper’s short kick to his shin.
“It’s better he’s honest with you, Lana,” Piper went on smoothly.
“Ah, but I luff heem!” The songstress burst into tears and put her head on the counter.
Squall’s face went even more expressionless and he crossed behind them, heading for the door. “Peyton Place,” he said and walked out.
Piper patted Lana on the shoulder. “Come on, now, you shouldn’t let this get to you! Where’s the Lana we know, the devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky....” She trailed off as the sound of a snore came from Svetlana’s buried face. “Sleeping Beauty.” She nodded, eyes sparkling at Dallas.
Dallas looked at her suspiciously. “You didn’t have to assault me.”
Piper laughed. “Should we take her to a room?”
“I don’t know where she stays. Last I saw she was living on the Earnhardt.”
“Well, let’s leave her here to sleep it off. No one else is here...it’ll be quiet. I wanted to ask you about my comm decoder. Been on the fritz.”
“Rightio. Let’s give it a peep then.” He slid off his stool, making sure Lana was propped up and followed Piper out.
Several minutes later, Taylor reentered from her office, several PADDs in hand and looked around, a little shocked. Some noise caught her attention, a low, grumbling/whistling sound that took her a moment to identify, then she saw Svetlana passed out and snoring. She sighed. My people... I am the Patron Saint of fools and drunks, Majesty of the lost and the faint of heart, the Queen...of Nothing. The thought disheartened her and she got the information she needed and retreated to her office, the only safe haven left.
(note SFU refugee arrival)
Samuel Marks and the USS Endeavour.. Arabella, Jacob and Rose Kingsley..and Dr. Daniel Livingston.
