NOTE:
All the
info on star trek and related were from various sources on the web and my own
personal collection of books. Quotes are not meant to infringe on any rights.
Many of the sites were found at About.com
Luna Sea
and jrockers of course are free citizens of the plant Sol III or should I say,
earth?
Chimera
Part 1
The
streets and gardens of Betazed were unnaturally quiet; not even the bugs
chirped it seemed, and all museums were locked down prematurely. The green blue
and red fire of the battle had been visible to the naked eye, lighting up the
otherwise blue daytime skies. The once clear blue azure sky was now a mottled
grey, a thick smog of clouds scattering across and blanking out the sun.
Gradually, even the fountain systems were shut down. The breeze picked
up as a distant storm called. The stagnant waters of the ponds rippled lightly,
and then gradually more and more violently till the mirroring surface, once
cupping an arc of the sky, was broken beyond recognition.
The planet Betazed was taken in 10 hours.
+
The Computer beeped, ‘Admiral Yoshiki, emergency message from Starfleet
Command.’
Yoshiki turned over in his bunk and groaned; he never seemed to sleep
anymore since the beginning of the Dominion War. He supposed that was the price
of being the power-behind-the-throne, so to speak; ‘Yes, go ahead; what is it
now?’
‘Yoshiki,’ hide’s voice; what the hell was the station’s counsellor
doing calling him at this hour of the night with a message from Starfleet
Command?? ‘It’s Betazed.’
A chill went through Yoshiki; Betazed was his home
planet, deep within Federation space – nothing could have possibly happened,
right? ‘What, hide?? What happened to Betazed?!’
‘… it’s been taken under Dominion rule. Yoshiki? Yoshiki?? Admiral??
HELLO!’
He sat on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes, counted to 5 and
opened them.
‘I’ll call you back later, Hide.’
+
He paced around the room, ‘Why don’t you just launch an offensive,
Yoshiki??’
Yoshiki stared mindlessly into empty space, ‘I hate to burst your
bubble, hide, but have you looked around recently? We sent over a hundred ships
and only fourteen return, with no improvements on the warfront. I don’t know
about you but I’m thinking it’s a bad investment. We have men and women dying
left and right, that’s a problem, Counsellor; it’s not like the Dominions are
short of manpower – as we’re here speaking, they’re probably off happily
cloning more Jem’Hadar warriors.’
The Argelian sighed and sat back down, ‘I wish I was home. I miss my
home planet, you know, I don’t know why I ever sighed up to the Academy and
entered Starfleet. It’s just one big head ache.’
Yoshiki smiled tiredly, ‘Actually, if the war hadn’t started, we’d be on
the U.S.S. Kurenai trotting around the galaxy making diplomacy calls. Don’t
complain – I know why you sighed up; you wanted to make people feel better –
it’s your genes.’ He shrugged, ‘Kind of hard to run from.’
‘And you don’t understand the meaning of private; it’s your Betazoid
genes.’
The Betazoid leaned on his table, ‘Betazoids are a race of powerful
telepaths, hide; I can’t help but …’ He smiled, ‘… know exactly what your thinking.’
Asshole … Hide was silent. Yoshiki … remember last time when we were fighting
the Borg?
He nodded.
Remember
how you said you could hear their thoughts like you can hear mine? When you concentrated,
you said you could sense what they were going to do and how.
He frowned, ‘Yes … I could … hide? Where is this
heading?’
hide frowned, ‘I don’t know yet …’
Personal log of Admiral Yoshiki:
hide's idea is crazy…imagine
it – creating a mind-link between every single crew member so there is a united
fighting unit at work in battle. The effectiveness of it would be … amazing.
We’d be like the Borg – there would be a collective consciousness. I’d like to
say we’ll do it, but we can’t. The idea of a central link up is scary enough;
the fact that the Queen mind may be unwilling to let them go at the end …
‘ - imagine the kind of power the Queen mind will feel – what if it’s
addictive?’ Yoshiki shook his head, ‘… hide, we can’t do it. It’s too risky!’
‘I wouldn’t worry about that – it’s not like your favourite operative
Serpent’s Tail ever has any scruples about someone in a coffin,’ hide sighed,
‘Look, we could use some of the telepathic…’
‘We need telepaths for this – the most powerful race of telepaths
in the Federation are the Betazoids and they’re on Betazed, hide, under Dominion
rule.’ He muttered, ‘I may be a Betazoid but Betazoids aren’t exactly common in
Starfleet; where are we going to collect such a large number of them
together??’
‘We could always snatch a few from Betazed; it’s possible and you know
it – a strike force could do that.’
‘Um … suppose so … but they have to be powerful and well-trained.
We’re talking Telepathic Worth here.’
‘Starfleet Command was just discussing the other day about removal of
the Houses of Betazed from the planet – and you know that the powers of the
noble blood are more prominent.’
‘Well, yes but …’ Yoshiki winced and rubbed his temples, ‘Even if we did
have enough Betazoids for this, how can they possibly control such a large
influx of mental power -?’
‘Vulcans.’
Yoshiki stopped his rant, ‘Excuse me??’
‘Vulcans – telepathically trained, logical and in control. What else do
you need?’
‘Well we can’t exactly have whole ships manned by Vulcans; hell,
they only reproduce every 7 years.’
‘Romulans.’
‘They’re on the other side of the war, hide; they have a non-agression
pact with the Dominions.’
hide sighed, ‘There is a deception in motion right now, to convince Senator
Vreenak that the Dominions are planning to attack the Empire. I’m counting on
it.’
Yoshiki stopped, ‘Tell me something, hide: when were you planning on
sharing all of this with me?’
hide smirk a little, ‘Maybe … tomorrow?’
+
Subject Search:
Romulan
…… Finding ……
A species cousin to the Vulcans, Romulans are usually
both larger and stronger than humans, with pale lightly green-tinged skin, and
pointed ears. The average height for a 30-year old male Romulan is 6'1",
while the average height for a 30-year old female Romulan is usually 5'9".
Romulans, as a people, are extremely intelligent. This is highly due to an
advanced cerebral cortex. Romulans also tend to be on the aggressive side. They
are, in fact, the exact opposite of their cousins, the Vulcans. Vulcans are
very logical, and reject aggression, as well as being smaller in stature than
Romulans. Long-standing enemies, not a lot is known of them.
Also see: Romulan Star Empire.
+
The Romulan Tal Shiar officer was rudely awoken. Scrambling up from his
bunk, J turned on his computer terminal with a wince. ‘What?’
‘Vice Chairman Vreenak is dead.’
+
Subject Search:
Tal Shiar
…… Finding ……
The Tal Shiar, an elite Romulan Imperial service, is a
secret, often brutal, sometimes extra-governmental agency which enforces
loyalty among the Romulan citizenry and military.
Tal Shiar agents carry broad discretionary powers and are able to overrule filed
military commanders with little fear of reprisal from the government.
Although some elements of Romulan society, including
the members of the military, feel that the Tal Shiar’s tactics are
unnecessarily brutal, such opinions are rarely spoken publicly for fear of
retribution which can come in many forms, including the “disappearance” of
family members.
+
Two weeks later:
‘Jestral tea.’ Yoshiki tapped the replicator. A light hum and his drink
assembled itself on the counter.
Taking a sip, he walked back to his table and sat down. The holo-pictures
had collected a bit of dust, and with a stray hand, he brushed them clean. He
sighed; these were holo-photos of his family back on Betazoid. He remembered
leaving for Sol III, or better known as earth, part of an ambassadorial team.
Then he was just absorbed into the politics of the Federation; never thought he
would end up as one of the people who actually ran the thing.
‘hide to Yoshiki.’
He tapped his badge, ‘What now?’
‘I thought you might like to know that the Romulan Star Empire just declared
war on the Dominion.’
‘So … it worked.‘
‘Our plan can be implemented; you don’t sound very happy.’
‘How can I?’ he muttered, ‘We lied so they would die in battle with us.’
‘It’s for the best … the Dominion wasn’t going to just let them go anyway
… as soon as they finished with us, they would have gone after the Romulans.’
Yoshiki gave a strained smiled, ‘So … who, what, when and how?’
+
enter password: … ********
///// connecting ////
accepted.
captain?
admiral
reporting: no
problems so far
good
we require the
younger members of the houses to be evacuated from betazed immediately
this is a direct
command from the federation council
understood
the evacuation is to
occur for starfleet requires the services of these betazoids in a project
it requires mental
stamina. it is suggested that telepathic worth be a main point when considering
candidates
understood
the houses will be
briefed
you have 2
standard weeks
i believe that
will be …
captain??
+
Ryutaro burst into the house, ‘They’re about to execute the Starfleet
Captain!!’ Grabbing the nearest person by the arm, he started crying. ‘They’re
gonna kill her!!! Someone get that Vorta!!! Those Jem’Hadars are going mad!
They’re rounding up the Starfleet people! That Vorta said no one was going to
die!’
Jun extracted Ryutaro’s clench on his sleeve and ran outside. People ran
past him in a panic. In the middle of the street, people were gathered together
shouting and jostling. The Starfleet personnel were all on their knees with
hands bound. The Jem’Hadar warriors were firing at the trees as warning. He
whipped around looking for his cousin; the half-Vulcan might be a statue but he
was calm and had more of a fighting chance than any Betazoid standing up to
these Jem’Hadars.
There was horrified screaming and he turned back to see a Jem’Hadar
press the butt of his energy rifle to a woman’s head. With a high-pitched
whirl, her entire frame snapped back and she went sprawling on the floor, minus
the upper half of her head. The young woman in an ambassadorial uniform
fainted. This was a nightmare; he felt physically ill, the effects of the
horror in death rolling over him in waves of mental and emotional onslaught.
Where the hell was he when you needed a Vulcan?
+
The Romulan Senator sighed and turned to look out the window, ‘As you
know, we have entered into the Dominion War. The Federation has already
contacted us regarding assistance with a project. We have already had the
Tal’Shiar send their Federation expert to investigate.’
‘We will be sending a fleet of 25 Warbirds and perhaps some of the other
models. You two have been chosen for command of this operation.’ He glanced at
the two commanders, ‘You know what to do if you find any treachery. Other than
that …’ He turned away and sighed, ‘Do as the Federation wants …’
+
Someone jerked him back and Jun found himself on his back behind the
garden wall, gagging slightly. His object of concern looked down on him with a blank
face as usual; he was so predictable. His cousin looked normal enough, slightly
upswept eyebrows and pale skin. The delicately pointed elfin-like ears were
hard to miss; it was always strange having a relative who was a different
species.
‘It was unwise of you to stand in the open. Stay here’ And he was up and
gone.
Jun nodded and peeped over the rocks. He walked calmly towards
Jem’Hadar; what the hell was he doing?? Had he gone mad?? Jun slapped his
forehead and winced; he remembered that Vulcans were taught hand-combat but he
forgot that Vulcans were insane.
+
Yoshiki beeped his comm. badge, ‘hide, I just lost contact with our
Captain.’
+
He kept his objective in sight. There were six Jem’Hadars.
Reptilian-like humanoids genetically engineered and cloned to be the warriors
of the Dominion – he couldn’t imagine a more abusive use of cloning technology.
Tightening his fist, he discretely went through the beginnings of hand-combat
positions taught to him on Vulcan.
‘What is the meaning of this?’
The Jem’Hadar glared at him. His sensitive ears could pick out the
slightest minute movements. Suddenly, there was a light tap against the trigger
of the energy rifle. Acting swiftly, he clenched his teeth; a rapid turn, the
momentum allowing him to preform a high-impact kick against the warrior’s face.
He spun too quickly; he’d forgotten the gravity differences between Vulcan and
Betazed. He changed position and landed on all fours. A quick tumble and he
swept his leg out to dislodge his opponents footing. A loud smack and the
Jem’Hadar was down.
Breathing heavily, he looked up slowly from his crouch. The other
Jem’Hadars had trained their weaponry on him; he had to now proceed with
extreme caution. The Jem’Hadar to his side edged a little closer; he could hear
the slight scraping of the boots against the brick tiling. The Jem’Hadars on
the other side were very still. He could feel their eyes on him. He took a deep
breath and calmed his heart; at least the attention was now on him and not the
Starfleet personnel.
‘Stop it! Stop it right now! What in the name of the Founders is going
on here??’ The Vorta Ayumi cried, ‘Explain yourselves, soldier!’
The Jem’Hadar closest to the Vorta bowed, ‘Starfleet found communicating
with off-world.’
The Vorta pursed her lips, ‘It is alright, soldier, let them go. The
Founders would be extremely displeased to know of this; they command order -’
Ayumi snapped up and glared at the Jem’Hadar, ‘ – NOT THIS CHAOS WHICH YOU HAVE
CREATED!’ She took a deep breath and visibly composed herself, ‘Do not cause
such disturbances in the future. You are to be charged one vial of Ketracel
White. Now leave!’
The Jem’Hadars undid the bindings on their prisoners and left. He
watched her with wariness. The Vorta was the controllers of the Jem’Hadars, the
diplomatic and administration servants of the Founders who were the rulers of
the Dominion. She turned suddenly and smiled.
‘I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I don’t believe we have been
introduced. I am Ayumi.’
He stood slowly, ‘Inoran.’
+
Yoshiki looked up.
////emergency call – code red////
verify and accept
captain?
no
commander #0297
captain is
deceased
i'm sorry
Yoshiki closed his eyes; another one.
what happened?
communications
found out by jem’hadar warriors
termination of all
starfleet personnel in area proceeded
saved by betazed
citizen
name inoran
He blinked in surprise; Inoran – his own nephew on
Betazed saved a group of Starfleet personnel? What had the child been learning all
these years on Vulcan? Wasn’t he still supposed to be on Vulcan?? He stored
away this interesting fact and concentrated on the operation.
do you know the
details for the operation?
yes
good
the timeframe
has been moved up
you have 1 week
max to prepare
we will arrive
to pick up candidates any time after
understood
conversation
terminated
////disconnecting////
////disconnected////
The screen returned to its normal layout. Yoshiki gave a long heavy
sigh.
+
Yoshiki closed
the communications channel, dimmed the lights, and sat back in his high
armchair, breathing out his weariness in a sigh. It had been a long day. He
took off his heavy ambassadorial robes; the meeting with Romulan authorities
had not gone well. As much as they tried to hide it, their anxiety and fear,
and anger at feeling such weakness was clear as day to him. And having to
soothe them, playing the delicate diplomatic dance of assurances and threats
while their insecurities and belligerence assaulted his already stressed
shields…It was taking a toll on him. Damn it, he did not want this job!
Soft low laughter; practiced hands massaging his shoulders. Yoshiki’s eyes flew
open, a momentary panic, a hastily formed mental spear poised to strike; a wave
of jumbled sensations and feelings before he recognized the calm presence
behind him.
He let out another sigh, and this time it was tinged with a little anger, at
the intruder, but mostly directed at himself, for his lack of control.
‘What are you doing here? How did you get pass the guards?’
The man laughed again, voice caressingly smooth. Yoshiki stirred uneasily. It
was not that he didn’t trust him; in fact a quick scan showed his goodwill, but
sometimes he just felt uncomfortable. Those damn pheromones again. One of these
days, someone just has to create an anti-pheromones spray, Yoshiki decided.
‘Relax,
Yoshiki. Your muscles are seizing up again. If you’re so tense how am I going
to exercise my healing hands? Relax, and lean back.’
The strong fingers expertly kneaded his shoulders, and Yoshiki was tempted to
just lean back, listen to the hypnotic voice and forget all his worries.
Instead he felt a tiny weak tendril of thought, clumsy and awkward, attempting
to test his defences. He mentally scratched at it.
‘Still trying? You’re never going to scan a full Betazoid, Serpent’s Tail.’
The voice
chuckled. ‘I can always try. No names then?’
Yoshiki
gave a mental shrug. ‘We are in orbit around Romulus, in case you’ve forgotten.
We may be cloaked but you never know about these things.’
‘Well,
never mind that. What reason will the pointy-ears have for peeping in on a nice
guy and his masseuse? Unless of course they’re into that kind of -’
Yoshiki swivelled around and faced him. ‘That’s not what you’re here for! I can
always get a massage somewhere else. Now can you tell me why you are here two
days early? And how did you get through? This security system is top of the
line.’
Serpent’s
Tail smiled, a flash of white in the darkness. ‘It’s still Federation standard.
And come to think of it, I know that you know that I know every little weakness
in the system.’
Yoshiki narrowed his eyes, looking up at the slender silhouette leaning over
his armchair. The bastard was teasing him. ‘Well, I’m glad you’re on our side.’
Serpent’s Tail grinned boyishly, and it transformed his face. Even his posture
changed; he lost none of his feline grace but did away with a good deal of
dangerous readiness. ‘I’m glad too, Yoshiki! Else I’d never have this
opportunity to meet all these wonderful races, experience all these strange and
fabulous cultures in the Federation!’ he said brightly.
Yoshiki winced. ‘Please, not now. Save that for the tourists.’
‘Whatever
you say, Yo-chan.’ He replied, amused.
‘Anyway, other than that little interesting entertainment I just provided, I
have something for you.’ Serpent’s Tail tossed something in the air, which
glinted before Yoshiki caught it in the palm of his hand. It was a data chip,
make and manufacture of Romulan origin.
‘What’s inside?’ Yoshiki asked, examining the chip. It was old, perhaps made
half a century ago. He would have to find a suitable viewer in order to access
the data.
The dark figure shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I’m your hands and eyes and ears. But
it was important enough that a high-ranking Romulan commander would order
self-destruct before giving it up. I got it three days ago.’ He said
significantly.
Three days ago?
+
The doctor gently clipped a
piece of J’s blonde hair and placed it inside a tube. It was left on the
medical desk along with the green blood sample.
+
Serpent’s Tail frowned, ‘You
look surprised. What happened three days ago?’
‘We found a Vulcan in Romulan
space.’ Yoshiki toyed the chip with his fingers. ‘Tall, blonde Vulcan … you
know, one of those rare breeds … doesn’t even know how to speak standard. Only
Vulcan and Romulan. Says they were born aboard one of the destroyed bases so no
records. Not just any Vulcan, but a hybrid …’
‘Romulan?’
‘Nope … human.’
+
J waited patiently as the
doctor did another test.
‘This is just standard
procedure, J.’ The Terran doctor stopped, and chuckled, ‘I can’t believe a
Vulcan has a name like that.’ She looked up and gave him a cheeky grin, ‘I bet
your human dad gave you that name and your mother freaked. Anyway … there. All
finished now. Here’s the information for your stay.’
She handed him a data pad and
looked around for the nurse, ‘Would you like Ensign to escort you there?’
He controlled his smile
carefully, ‘Thank you, but that isn’t necessary.’
As soon as she got over the
shock of his smile, she changed to being pleasantly surprised. Actually, more
liked overwhelmed. He said his goodbyes and left. The door closed with a swish
and he sighed heavily, tension leaving his shoulders. The tighter security
defences in place since the beginning of the Dominion war was admirable -
countless scans and medicals eliminated all suspects. He had gotten this far …
+
Dexterous fingers paused, ‘Do
you want me to look into it for you?’
Yoshiki sighed, ‘No time.
I’ve got something bigger and better.’
Bending down, Yoshiki grabbed
an air sealed bag from under the table and threw it on his desk. It was a
standard Starfleet uniform, Lieutenant Commander, junior rank.
The shadow behind Yoshiki
grinned, ‘For me? I’m touched. What is this? Field promotion?’
‘I’m glad you like it. Yes,
it’s a late 18th birthday present. Get over it, okay. Ever heard of
chief engineer Commander Shinya Yamada of the Lunar colonies?’
‘Not familiar,’ Serpent’s Tail
paused in thought, ‘But I have seen his name mentioned in one of your logs.’
‘YOU read my logs???’
Nonchalant shrug, and the
agent grinned, ‘I read everything. You can have no secrets from me.’
‘At least you can’t read my
mind.’ Yoshiki glowered at him, resisting the urge to throw a rock when
Serpent’s Tail gave a short laugh, insufferably smug with himself, and resumed
the massage. ‘I’ll get you later. For now I want you -.’
‘Kidnap him and bring him
here pronto?’ An extra painful squeeze and one part of Yoshiki’s shoulder
became putty.
‘No! I mean, yes! I mean, no!
Not like that. Try not to alarm him, and it would be useful that he stays
alive, so please, be just a little … gentler this time.’
‘I am a professional,
Yo-chan, don’t tell how to do my job. And just when am I not gentle?’ The
movement on his shoulders slowed and became soothing.
‘You’re impossible.’ He
muttered.
‘That’s why I can do the
impossible. I’ll be contacting you in a week. By the way, care to tell me why
you need him?’
‘You’ll be briefed. And take
the uniform!’ Yoshiki grabbed it and threw it behind him. ‘And since you’re
going to the Lunar colonies, get me some Terran coffee beans while you’re at
it.’
Silence.
Yoshiki twisted around, ‘Did
you hear -?’
No one was there.
He swore; Serpent’s Tail
hadn’t stayed to receive the isolinear rods of info he was supposed to get.
Impulsive young fool. He opened his filing cabinet and frowned when he realised
the data holders were gone. There was a white slip of old-fashioned paper in
their stead. Yoshiki shook his head; another one of his best agent’s little
eccentric presents. He picked it up:
One cup of Café Latte coming up!
Love, Serpent’s Tail.
+
J leant against the railing
and stared down, thinking how he was going to proceed. Just in case they
decided to do a full genetic analysis, the results wouldn’t be in for another
standard Terran fortnight, so he had some time. And if Starfleet medical
technology has improved dramatically since last time he checked, and they figure
out his Romulan DNA, he could always plead insubordination towards the Empire.
The Federation was soft and would not harm him.
Standing straight, he rubbed
his arm. The skin tissue sample hurt just a little. He stared blankly at the
crowd below, once more deep in thought. He knew that the Ambassador on board
had already contacted the Romulan Government with their plans, so it was only a
matter of time before the Romulan Fleet would arrive.
Hopefully, he could maintain
his Vulcan/Human hybrid cover until then - after that, he would be safe because
the station would be too caught up in preparations for the offence to bother
checking on him. Vulcans were famous for being the stoic type so it wouldn’t
even be odd if he spoke little or none at all. All he had to do was hang around
Starfleet, and open his eyes and ears.
+
The central comm. screen of
the Lunar colony went online:
‘Attention. Commander Shinya
Yamada to Transporter room 5. Immediate.’
+
The U.S.S. Marieb entered
orbit around the Lunar colony.
+
Shinya pulled himself from
the maintenance tubes and promptly stormed down the gangway in a huff. He was
in the middle of an important and delicate repair to the sensor systems
monitoring the darker side of this crater-infested rock when he got beeped. He
tapped his comb badge irritated and called for Takeo, his acting 2nd-in-command.
‘Yamada to Ishikawa! Report,
what the hell is going on now??’ Shinya paused at the turbolift doors.
Takeo’s voice came through
the piece of metal pinned to his uniform, ‘Sir! I’ll be with you in a second.
I’m in section 12 and awaiting a turbolift.’
The doors opened and Takeo
smiled, ‘Come on, sir.’
The doors closed and Shinya
unrolled his sleeves, ‘Care to tell me what is the emergency?’
‘Well, currently the last prototypes
you came up with – the energy-saving battery cells for phasers and tricorders –
is here.’ Takeo quickly tapped in a few codes on his datapad and showed Shinya
the stats, ‘As you can see, they’ll be in storage here at the base before
further distribution. The U.S.S. Stradivarius will be picking up 40 crates next
week.’
Shinya nodded absently, and
quickly scanned the stats. He’d been developing new ways of saving fuel since
before the beginning of the Dominion war. Just as well; he couldn’t have finished
his blueprints in time for production if he’d started later. His little
inventions could be life saving in crucial battles. He came to the bottom of
the screen and frowned.
‘Takeo,’ Shinya pointed at
the last sentence in the shipment report, ‘What’s that?’
‘What?’ Takeo frowned and
peered at the screen in suspicion before his face brightened, ‘Oh! That’s your
new 2nd-in-command, Lieutenant Commander Sugizo, sir.’
‘He’s inside an air-sealed
crate among the battery cell crates?? What species is he?!’
Takeo grinned, ‘Um … no sir,
he’s being beamed to Transporter room 5. That’s what the announcement was
about.’
He blinked, ‘So ... he’s not
like some kind of non-humanoid, octopus-armed, methane-inhaling race in need of
extra assistance like … ah, say an environment suit?’
Takeo chuckled, ‘That’s a
good one, sir.’ Shinya gave him the polite version of a dirty and Takeo was
mildly berated. ‘Um, sorry sir.’
Shinya sighed in annoyance,
‘If you didn’t have to bother me, then why the huge fuss?’
‘He’s a Deltan, sir.’
+
Subject Search:
Deltan
… Finding …
Deltans are a humanoid species
native to the planet Delta Triciatu V, the fifth of eight planets in a white
dwarf system. The Deltans themselves are closely related to the human norm. In
appearance, they have only a small range of pigmentation, which tends to have a
pale blue tinge. They have very little hair, with little to no facial or body
hair. The primary differences are neurochemical, including a complex pheromone
system which causes many problems in contact with other humanoids, because they
uncontrollably release an erotic attraction pheromone. At great intensities,
such as during intercourse, exposure can be damaging or even fatal to other
humanoids …
CLICK TO NEXT
+
Sugizo checked his appearance
in the ingenious piece of plastic now the Federation-standard mirror. Uniform –
check. Comm. badge – check. Phaser – check. Rank pin – check. Spiffy shoes; he
smirked at the other redhead in the room – check. He was prepared. This was
going to be quick and painless – go in, detain subject, get out. He set himself
a one week maximum.
+
‘So?? So???’ Shinya asked for
the 10th time in the last minute, ‘Why can’t you greet him? It’s not
everyday I climb and crawl a mile just to perform sensor maintenance!’
Takeo starred at him; did he
really just sprout another head? What was the problem if he wanted to send
Takeo to greet this new officer than himself? Deltan?? The connection wasn’t
there. Shinya had a headache from the intense concentration required to operate
the mini-lasers and events weren’t registering too well. He took a deep breath
and willed it away; he was getting old.
Shinya sighed in exasperation
and threw his hands up, ‘Explain this to me slowly, Lieutenant. I promise you
that I’m a very patient man.’
Takeo looked a bit pensive,
before tapping his comm. badge, ‘You’ll see, sir. Control, 2 to beam to
Transporter room 5.’
+
He materialized with his back
to them. The 1st thing Shinya noticed was his long hair. Very
distinctly coloured, long hair. Crimson-streaked hair. Luxurious, in obvious
good condition. He was surprised by that. Not too much beauty like that – it
was functional hair cuts for most Starfleet personnel; they woke up, ran their
hands through their hair and were out of there. That was before Sugizo turned
around. That was the 2nd thing he noticed; the …
… everything.
‘Commander Shinya Yamada?’
The redhead smiled, ‘I’m Lieutenant Commander Sugizo.’
That’s when it hit him.
Deltan 2nd-in-command? Deltans were the most sexual race in the Federation.
Takeo gave him a look that said spelled a little bit of fear, but a great deal
of interest – let’s not go into what kind of interest. Shinya bit his tongue to
stop his compulsive laughter at Takeo’s reaction. Sugizo was still waiting so
Shinya smiled back, and prayed it wasn’t sending a wrong message; intercultural
relations were always so sticky.
‘Welcome to the Lunar colony,
Lieutenant.’ Shinya replied, ‘I am Commander Yamada and this is Lieutenant
Takeo Ishikawa.’
Sugizo grinned and stepped
forwards; Takeo instinctively stepped back but not before Sugizo touched his
arm. ‘Pleased to meet you, Lieutenant.’
Takeo was practically
recoiling from Sugizo’s close proximity but the Deltan obviously felt quite
normal standing face to face with him. Shinya thought they were going to kiss
the way that Sugizo just went up to him like that and winced, prepared for the
worst in interstellar misunderstanding. Perhaps Deltans kissed but humans
certainly did not upon first greeting. Takeo was blushing heavily – even his
ears were red. He thought that Takeo was going to break down in tears then hug
Sugizo’s knees when he stuttered out an excuse and fled the room.
He hoped to hell that this
Sugizo had taken his Oath of race-specific Celibacy or someone was going to go
into cardiac arrest.
+
The sexual attractiveness of Deltans
generally makes for bad psychological effects on members of a mixed crew ship.
Hence, few Deltans serve on mixed crew vessels in Star Fleet, and those that do
are required to take an Oath of Race-Specified Celebacy. This is meant to
prevent any unfortunate incidents.
+
Sugizo nodded with polite
interest as his commander prattled on about where the docking bays were, how
they were running some new Dominion anti-measures, the repairs needed for
sensors in sections 6 and 78. All standard stuff. He gave a big smile and
cheered within when it sent his commander into a temporary stupor. Pheromones –
gotta love them. He tossed his hair a little and smirked secretly when most
personnel in the vicinity looked his way; the best way to be invisible was to
be more than visible.
He looked around some more,
checking out the exits, the position of sensors and lighting. He’d gone through
the blueprint aboard the Marieb but it was always good practice to assimilate
one’s surrounds according to previous facilitated information. He realised that
Commander Shinya had stopped and turned back to look at the Terran with
interest.
Commander was stuttering for
words. Sugizo waited; humans, as he had come to understand, were limited to
mostly verbal communication and so he should be pleasant and understanding when
they were at a lost to express themselves. Sexual and physical communication
was considered a privilege given to a group of significant people. Why the hell
that happened, he didn’t know; unless of course one was ‘married’ – he
understood that concept well enough; Deltan marital relations were the same as
Terran ones.
After a few fruitless
questions about his personal history, Sugizo pursed his lips together and
decided to help Shinya along. He concentrated a little and tapped lightly into
the commander’s mind. He almost started laughing when he realised what was
disturbing him. Sugizo cleared his throat and Shinya looked up suddenly.
“Ah … sir,” Sugizo offered a
wide smile, “You’ll be happy to know that I’ve taken my Oath of Celibacy
already. I am fully informed on aspects of Terran sexual practices.”
Shinya was incredibly
relieved Sugizo offered. “That’s … ah good to know.” Yeah, it was good that his
little bright Deltan offered the information but the ‘informed on aspects’
still worried him.
Sugizo smiled brightly. He
had cute fangs, Shinya thought; of course, Deltans were truly a race of wildly
and strangely beautiful, if at times completely hairless, human beings. It had
surprised Shinya that Sugizo had long hair – the last Deltan he had seen was
bald. Part of him was very glad Deltans didn’t enrol for Starfleet, preferring
their beautiful and mostly idyllic home planet. Sugizo had probably born into a
very loving and stable family; Shinya had read the reports on Deltan physiology
back in the Academy – and if he remembered it well, it takes a number of
years to impregnate a Deltan woman. How tiring, he mused dryly.
Sugizo grinned. ‘So, sir,
care to show me where everything is? I would love to see the command deck and
the main engineering sections.’
Shinya smiled, ‘Um … sure,
but I need to finish those repairs so maybe some other time.’
‘Oh I’m sorry! I almost
forgot! I’ll help you, commander.’ Sugizo frowned, ‘I even brought the latest
model of a micro-laser with me; don’t know if it’ll help but it might …’
‘It’s okay, Lieutenant. Come
on, I’ll show you to your quarters.’ Shinya held his hands up in a placating
manner; he had a mild feeling this was another one of those cultural hurdles.
‘Why don’t we just continue on and you’ll tell me how you feel being posted
here on the Lunar colony?’
‘Sure.’ Sugizo laughed,
‘That’s easy though! I love human society and Terrans! They’re so cute and
adorable when they get so nervous and worried about everything!"
Geez, I wonder why, Shinya
thought dryly. He was surprised at how painfully cheerful Sugizo sounded even
through the Universal Translator. And the whole idea that there was even a word
in the Deltan language for ‘cute’. Of course, let’s not forget Sugizo probably
knows how to say orgasm in ten different ways, each with meanings and
connotations completely different from the other. Shinya winced – oh so evil
thoughts.
His future 2nd-in-command
giggled.
+
Shinya flexed his hand,
marveling anew at the masterwork of engineering it was. Of course, being an
engineer himself, he was constantly fascinated at the construct of flesh and
bone and sinew which moved at his will. It had been a little hard at first to
form the correct mental impulses, but years of practice had made the hand his
own.
The chief engineer sighed. He
didn’t always have a prosthetic hand. Just a few short years ago; he’d been
100% organic. Then the battle at Wolf 359 had changed all of that. The battle
with the Borg Collective had been tough, and many had died. He supposed he
should be counted lucky to only have lost his hand.
He lifted up a tool and
finished attaching a component to the toy he was working on in his spare time;
there had been a lot of that lately. He wasn’t complaining; overseeing the
Lunar colonies wasn’t difficult, and it gave him a lot of time to do his
research in biomechanical engineering. If anything, he was glad to be far away
from this latest war; he had enough experiences at Wolf 359 to last him a
lifetime, even if hot-blooded youngsters like Takeo occasionally complained at
the boredom. He snorted; Takeo might be complaining now, but he’ll be regretting
it when the Dominion comes knocking.
It was the same, day in day
out. Shinya smiled. He liked the routine. It gave him time to create his toys.
It was predictable but that was what he needed. The last thing he needed now in
his life is to get involved in some high-excitement and run around the galaxy
saving the damn thing – bloody useless in his opinion, you just end up with a
desk job anyway. Actually, things at the base had been pretty interesting
lately, all due to the work of one person – a certain you know who.
Shinya smirked; he base had
been buzzing with news for days about him. Basically, Sugizo had set off
imaginations everywhere. His greeting to Takeo was like the favourite topic at
the mess hall for a day. His hyperactive behaviour and quite bohemian
personality had been entertaining to say the least. Speaking of which …
He looked up. It was
uncharacteristically quiet. Usually there’d be some little snickering and
commentary going on in the background.
At first he thought he was alone in the control room, but no, his
second-in-command was hunched over a terminal typing away furiously with a look
of intense concentration on his face.
Shinya smiled. At least
Sugizo wasn’t talking. The last three days since his arrival had been filled
with ceaseless chatter about how wonderful everything was, how new and strange
and fantastic. Just when he thought Sugizo had exhausted every adjective in the
book, the Deltan would surprise him. He had made some friends, but scared off
twice as many with his bubbling enthusiasm. Not to mention the combination of
his exotic background and overfriendliness – let’s just say he could be more
than a little intimidating. Ah well, Shinya thought ruefully. Most of the
people on the base were young and unattached, that’s why.
//Access denied//
‘Sugizo?’
No answer.
‘Er…Sugi?’ He had insisted on
that shortened version of his name. Said something about familiar names
facilitating communication, since he was bound by his Oath of Celibacy against
communication of a more intimate, Deltan kind. Shinya didn’t know what had been
redder, his face or his second-in-command’s flaming hair. Apparently such
exchange extended across species and gender. Or maybe it was just him.
‘Hmm?’ Still typing away, as
he frowned at the screen.
‘What are you doing?’ Just a
little idle conversation then. He had to get to know his second-in-command
better after all. Shinya grinned at his last thought – it sounded insane even
to him. Maybe it really was getting a little boring on the base?
Tap tap tap. ‘Oh….some
mathematics.’ Sugizo paused, ‘A game I found in the computer. Really
interesting.’ he said, distractedly brushing some hair out of his eyes, which
were still pinpointing the screen with it’s intense gaze.
//Federal Command File# 278A//
‘Can I see?’
‘Um, yeah, ok.’ Sugizo
mumbled, still typing. ‘Hang on …’
//Authorization required//
‘Blast it! This game isn’t
fair!’ he glared at the screen.
Shinya almost laughed. This was
a far cry from the seductively dangerous creature he knew. If anything, Sugizo
seemed almost…geeky.
//Base Commander’s Log #3098.23//
//User: Yamada Shinya//
He peered over the molten
river of red hair. The screen was black, and filled with odd graphs and
mathematical symbols, data readouts and schematics, and bits and pieces of
unfamiliar-looking program code. It was incomprehensible. He was an engineer,
not a computer technician.
‘Hey I’ve never seen this
game before. What are you supposed to do?’
//Access denied//
//Authorization required//
‘Er…I just found it,
somewhere. One of those old archives.’ Sugizo typed something again, and the
screen changed. A wave of colourful fractal-like shapes took over the display.
//Override//
‘Complex functions. Um,
embedded geometry. Riemann spaces and concentrations of infinite curvature
within n-dimensional geodesic confines…’ Sugizo nattered on, frowning, chewing
on his lip, and occasionally muttering some alien phrase under his breath,
incomprehensible to the Universal Translator.
‘Uh-huh.’ Shinya said without
really understanding. This mathematical wizardry was beyond him; he was more
interested in the mechanical and realistic aspects.
//Request confirmed//
//Record deleted//
‘There, you see!’ Sugizo
pointed and snorted indignantly. ‘That’s an illegal mapping. They’re not
playing by the rules!’ He hit a key angrily.
//Session terminated by user//
//Thank you and have a good day, Commander Yamada//
The screen blanked out, replaced
by the normal display. Sugizo sat back with a weary sigh. ‘I swear, I’m going
to beat that game one day!’ he said determinedly.
‘Well, you’ve been posted
here for a year. There’s lots of time for you to win.’ Shinya pointed out,
amused. Well, everyone had their hobbies. He grinned - it might be better if
Sugizo expanded his endless energies on a game rather than frazzle the entire
base with his hyperactive behaviour. Let’s not go into where that hyperactivity
went – Shinya winced; the rumours he’d been hearing were quite
suggestive.
‘Yeah, I guess so.’ Sugizo
yawned, and stretched languorously. ‘Uhmm…I’m tired.’ He slid down onto the
floor, curled up into a little ball, and promptly fell asleep.
Shinya blinked. ‘Sugi?’
A light snore answered him.
‘Lieutenant??’
There was no answer. He
crossed over to the figure half-covered by red hair. Shinya frowned, standing
over the prone lieutenant commander. He didn’t know much about Deltan
physiology, but he didn’t think they just collapsed into somnolence like that.
He started to get worried. What if something had gone wrong?
Shinya bent over. ‘Hey, Sugi,
are you all right? Can you hear me?’ He brushed aside some red hair, and leaned
in to inspect Sugizo’s face.
He was just about to call the
medical bay when Sugizo’s eyes opened, devoid of their usual slightly cheeky
and vivacious expression. A slight stinging sensation at the side of Shinya’s
neck, and he fell to the ground, his good intentions forgotten.
The last thing he saw was
Sugizo’s cold gaze – wonder why I never really noticed what colour his eyes
are…maybe it’s the hair – before darkness closed over him.
+
Takeo entered the control
room.
‘Hey Commander Shinya!’ he called
excitedly. ‘Look what I’ve done! This fuel crystal…’ his voice trailed off.
There was no one in the room.
He looked around again just
to make sure. He had been quite sure that both commanding officers had been in
here, but perhaps he was wrong. Their data pads were here, and all computers
were operational. It looked fine, as if they were out for a few minutes. Takeo
frowned; Commander’s coffee was still steaming hot so they couldn’t have gone
for too long.
Still, something didn’t feel
quite right.
+
An underground tunnel. The
older section of the base was filled with tunnels crisscrossing like rabbit
warrens, back then when colonization of the satellite had just began and humans
who needed shelter from the airless atmosphere could not afford to be too fussy
about the lack of aesthetic sensibility.
Serpent’s Tail silently
congratulated them for it. The tunnels were spare and utilitarian and exactly
what he needed; good design kept them standing centuries after their
construction. His boots thumped hollowly along the metal surface, as he
sprinted effortlessly along. Despite the absolute darkness of the tunnels he
knew exactly where he was going. He was well-prepared for this mission, of
course. Wasn’t he always?
He was a little unused to the
low gravity though; the inertia dampers were only partially operational here,
and the extra burden slung over his shoulder added a turning moment that
detracted from the efficiency of his stride. No matter, he would soon reach his
destination.
He whistled noiselessly, long
blood-streaked hair flying out behind him as he ran across the light-dead
underside of the moon.
+
The half-assembled toy on top
of the workbench.
Takeo stared. Shinya would
never leave his little projects; either he would finish them or he’d pack them
away. A bit embarrassing, Shinya had said once, for a grown man to be seen
playing with toys.
Added to the sudden
appearance and disappearance of a strange Deltan, and things suddenly started
to fall into place.
Where was the quickest exit
off-base without encountering people?
The old tunnels.
Takeo ran.
+
The timed display came on
after he left.
The central screen lit up,
and the communiqué from Federation Command appeared.
Priority
message for Commander Yamada and Lieutenant Commander Sugizo of Lunar Base.
Urgent recall for active duty.
Report immediately to location listed below.
Location
coordinates locked under personal code of Commander Shinya Yamada.
Repeat, top priority. Report immediately.
+
He
strapped in his charge, making sure the restraints were secure but not
uncomfortably tight. A slight tweaking of the flight plan and it would be a few
hours more to Romulus.
+
Takeo ran, the green light
from the open flare casting an eerie phosphorescence on the metal walls. The
pounding of his feet was starting to travel up his frame, giving him a
headache. He was starting to sweat a little and the flare was beginning to fad.
He was starting to doubt the
sanity of running off into the tunnels like this. What if something really
urgent had happened and Shinya had gone off to see to it? There was no reason
for him to be overly worried.
But his gut instinct told him
otherwise.
+
The second timed display came
on.
Message from Commander Shinya Yamada to all personnel of Lunar Base.
Lieutenant
Commander Sugizo and I have been called up by Central Command. We will be
absent indefinitely until further notice. I have requisitioned shuttlecraft
Ariane. All duties are to be carried out as per normal. Lieutenant Takeo
Ishikawa has been installed as Acting Commander.
+
Serpent’s Tail smiled.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said to the
comatose figure. ‘I think your junior engineering officer; you know, the one
who was so scared of me? Well, he should be able to take care of everything.
It’ll all be in good hands.’
+
Takeo extinguished the flare.
Ahead, there was light. He didn’t even know that these tunnels were functional,
much less leading to anywhere. Somehow his hunches had led him to the third
shuttlecraft bay.
A low purring filled the air,
and he could see light indicators flashing in the darkness. The hatch was
closing. Takeo sprinted across the deck with his phaser drawn, scrabbled up the
ledge and slid in just as the lid slammed down and airlock covers clamped over
the hatch.
+
‘Speak of the devil,’
Serpent’s Tail muttered. ‘ I hate uninvited guests.’
+
He slid a little further
before the opposite wall absorbed his momentum.
‘Ouch,’ he muttered, rubbing
his head where it made contact with the wall. He picked himself up and was
about to explore the shuttlecraft when he felt a sharp twinge at the base of
his skull.
+
Serpent’s Tail looked down at
the prostrate figure.
He sniffed disapprovingly. ‘What
are youngsters coming to these days? All action and no thought. Hmph! You just
caused me a great deal of trouble, young man! I might be an imposter but I’m
still your superior officer!’ He glared, ‘You were supposed to take care of
everything, and be good. Now I have to hack into the Lunar computers and get
someone else to take your part …’
Serpent’s Tail sighed, a
little exasperated. ‘Useless … never mind.’
He picked up the body easily,
and strapped it in too.
‘Well, you can keep each
other company.’
A low rumbling, and the
shuttlecraft took off. Serpent’s Tail sat at the command chair, peering down at
the pockmarked lunar surface. Something was nagging at him. He had forgotten
something. What was it?
He tapped his finger against
his chin thoughtfully, and looked at his charges. No, not them. Navigation and
fuel? Not that either; he was too good at this to forget such a crucial thing
like that. What was it? He glanced up at the aqua coloured planet to his
starboard side.
He smiled.
‘Ahh…Terran coffee beans.’
Never mind. Yoshiki would
forgive the occasional slip. In his opinion, coffee tasted disgusting anyway.
~
to be continued
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