"May Be A Price To Pay"
written by
Michael Gray
Smiling, Zaylie Burton brushed back her blond hair with a wave of her hand.
“Can I ask you a favor?”
She glanced at the dark-haired Gulshan Dandapani. Few men had ever asked her for a favor after sex.
“Sure,” she said, wondering what might be on his mind.
“Can we not mention this to Ozzy?”
Zaylie fell back onto her pillow, rolling her eyes. Having Oswald Farber come up in conversation at any time was irritating enough, but now?
“What the hell is this about?” she insisted, doing her best not to make eye contact with Gulshan.
“I don't think he'd react well to finding out you and I... well, he'd be pissed.”
“I'm usually worried about a guy bragging to their friends about 'conquering me' or similar male stupidity, so I'm more than a little surprised by this.”
Gulshan sat up in bed. “I'm sorry, I know this is strange, but he'd be hurt.”
“Hurt?”
Gulshan rolled toward her. “The last two years, Ozzy has come up with a new plan every couple of weeks to get you into bed.”
She rolled her eyes. “I've heard.”
“Well, every time it fails, he gets discouraged, then the next day, he's cooked up another one.”
“Let's get this straight,” Zaylie said, turning to him. “I'm not his, I'm not yours, I'm not some conquest, or prize. I'm a human being.”
He ran his hand over her bare shoulder. “I know that, and I'm pretty sure on some level he knows that too.”
“Then how about you both act like it?”
“I thought I was,” he said with a frown.
Zaylie's irritation waned. “Sorry, I didn't mean to take it out on you. Oswald's the one with the problem.”
“More than you know,” Gulshan said with a sigh. “I've been his roommate for four years, and you're not the first girl he's gotten fixated on.” He rested back on his pillow. “There have been girls who've nearly thrown themselves at him, but he's only ever interested in a girl who tells him no.”
“He's probably unable to believe any girl would refuse him.”
“It's worse than that I think. I believe he's got a serious mental problem.”
Zaylie laughed. “Yeah, testosterone poisoning.”
Gulshan didn't join her joviality. “It's got something to do with his self-image.”
“If it were that, the counselors here at the Academy would have caught it his first year.”
“The fact they didn't is what worries me.”
“In two days, we graduate,” Zaylie said, looking at him. “After that, you probably won't see him again for quite a while.”
Gulshan turned to her. “And what about us?”
“What about us?”
“We've been friends for two years, and well... now that we've...” He took a long breath. “Is this headed somewhere?”
“You and me?”
He nodded.
Zaylie grinned. “You're just a conquest, a notch on my belt.”
His eyes narrowed. “Very funny, girl.”
“I thought it was,” Zaylie said with a chuckle. She rolled out of bed. “You mind if I get the shower first?”
“We could take a shower together.”
“Then it would take ten times as long.”
“So.”
She shook her head. “I have a meeting with Admiral Olanski in two hours. I don't think it would be a good idea if I were late.”
“What are you meeting with her for?”
“Don't know. I never heard of a cadet going to see the Chief of Starfleet Personnel.”
“Me either.”
“Besides, I've already got my orders.”
“You're lucky. The Langtry is a plum assignment.”
Zaylie smiled. “I know. I can't wait to get my hands on its helm controls.” She headed for the bathroom.
“Hey...”
She stopped and turned back to him.
“I was just curious,” Gulshan said. “Was I the first time for you?”
She shook her head with a grin. “No.”
“Second?”
Zaylie sighed. “Why does a guy always want to know if he's the first?”
“Millions of years of evolution.”
“Keep evolving then.” She entered the bathroom.
***
Zaylie checked her cadet uniform a last time. She didn't want to look anything but the model of perfection when she met the admiral.
“Cadet Burton?”
In characteristic fashion, Zaylie shot up to stand at full attention, a smile on her face.
“Yes, sir,” she replied. “Cadet Zaylie Burton, reporting as ordered.”
“At ease, Cadet,” the frowning commander stated. The gold braid on his shoulder left no doubt that he was a member of Admiral Olanski's staff.
Zaylie took a long breath, and assumed a parade rest stance. “Aye, sir.”
He took a moment to look her over, then pulled a PADD from the desk behind him. “Glad to see you're on time.”
“Always, sir.”
He let a grin cross his grim features for just a moment as he began reading from the PADD.
“Might as well get to business.”
Zaylie's eyes narrowed. “I thought I was to meet with the admiral, sir.”
“Hardly necessary,” he said. “But as the change in your orders came from this office, we felt it only proper that you hear it from us rather than through the Academy.”
“Change?”
Suddenly, the door to the admiral's inner sanctum closed with a slam.
Zaylie turned and saw a familiar looking man storming toward her and the commander.
“Get the hell out of my way!” the approaching human storm shouted.
Zaylie and the commander both parted, allowing him passage.
After a series of other doors slammed closed behind him, Zaylie finally put a name with the narcissism.
“Hoffman,” she murmured.
The commander gave her a stern look. “You won't speak of what you just saw, Cadet. Is that clear?”
“What? Oh, yes, quite clear.”
The commander sat on the edge of the desk. “As I was saying, there has been a change in your orders. The Langtry's shield system is going to be overhauled, and won't leave dock for an additional three months.”
For all those times Zaylie had described something like a punch to the gut, none of them matched what she felt now. She had studied every aspect of the Langtry to obsession.
This couldn't be happening.
“But, sir, I'll wait. I...” her better nature caught up with her passion, giving her the moment needed to keep from embarrassing herself. “I would very much like to remain assigned to the Langtry.”
“Unfortunately, Starfleet's needs are elsewhere.” He handed the PADD to her. “The Oceana class has been given a reprieve. As their crews were scattered to the four winds several months ago, we need to replenish those losses with whoever is available. And given that you had served as a midshipman aboard her, the Chamberlain is where you're now assigned.”
Zaylie fought every impulse to scream.
“Sir, with all due...”
“Arguing it with me won't do anything but waste time, Cadet. These orders are final.”
Zaylie gave him a short nod. “Yes, sir.”
“As a command pilot, you will take the runabout Ceylon to rendezvous with the USS Virginia, which will take you on the first leg of your journey to the Delta Ophiuchus Shipyard. Three other ensigns will be going with you.” He stood to his full height. “Take good care of them.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Don't look so glum, Cadet Burton. Think of it as your first command.”
“I'll try to do that, Commander.”
***
“God damn it!”
Zaylie had made sure no one else was in the restroom before she cut loose with her feelings.
She kicked the door to a stall.
“Stupid... shit-headed... Starfleet...”
Each word was emphasized with its own dedicated kick to the stall door.
After that last kick she realized she wasn't alone.
Zaylie turned to the door.
A middle-aged woman, with hair much like her own stood, transfixed on the young cadet at the now dented stall door.
Based on the dampness of her cheeks, Zaylie figured the new arrival was in a similar emotional state to her own.
“Uh... sorry,” Zaylie said.
“Does it work?” the woman asked.
Zaylie smiled. “Not really.”
The woman wearing civilian clothes walked over to the the stall. “May I?”
Zaylie backed up.
The woman pulled her leg up, and in a flash, her boot hit the stall door.
“Better?” Zaylie asked.
“Not really, but better that than the source of my frustrations.” She turned to Zaylie and smiled. “So who you angry at?”
“Starfleet as a whole, but mostly at that bitch Admiral Olanski,” Zaylie said. “And you?”
The woman laughed. “Strangely enough, the same bitch.”
Zaylie smiled wide. “Maybe we should do this to her office door instead.”
“You're a cadet, right?”
Zaylie nodded.
“Probably wouldn't do much for your career, would it?”
“You're right,” Zaylie said with a frown. “But you...”
The woman seemed lost in thought for several seconds. “Wouldn't do much for mine either.”
“You're not in uniform, so...”
“I'm off duty right now.”
“That's good,” Zaylie said with a sigh. “I hate having to come to attention every time anyone from ensign to admiral happens by.”
“Don't worry, you'll have people snapping to attention to you soon enough,” the woman said, leaning against the now wrecked stall door. “So why are you so mad at Olanski?”
Zaylie rested against a sink. “I had this really great first assignment. It was aboard a new class of vessel, and...” She shook her head. “She changed my orders.”
“Oh.”
“I'm a command pilot, and I would have been one of the first people to steer this ship.”
The woman stood away from the stall door. “How would feel about a drink? On me.”
“I could really use one right now,” Zaylie said with a smile. “I'm Zaylie.”
The woman offered her hand. “Patricia... Olanski.”
It took only half a second for the synapses in Zaylie Burton's brain to make the connections and tell her she was in a far worse place than she had ever been.
“Admiral?” she got out barely above a whisper due to lack of breath.
Olanski smiled. “Tonight, I'm Patricia and you're Zaylie.”
“Yes ma'am.”
“And none of that ma'am shit either.”
Olanski stopped at the door. “You coming?”
Zaylie managed a nod.
***
An hour later, neither woman was much for titles or decorum.
“And that's when I turned to my CO, a very dashing young captain, and told him what he could do with his damn orders.”
Zaylie laughed. “And what did he do?”
“What do you think? I spent the next week confined to quarters.” Olanski smiled as she finished off the gold liquid in her glass. “But afterward, the captain said his respect for me tripled when I refused to follow that order. He told me he'd had a chance to review the logs and decided I was right after all. Said I should never back down when I knew I was right.” She turned to Burton. “And you remember that. Just because someone has three, four rank pins, or bars attached to those pins, doesn't mean they've been to the mountain and come back with some revelation of absolute truth.”
“I'll keep that in mind,” Zaylie said, grinning and taking another drink of her tequila.
“Oh, and don't have sex with your commanding officer,” Olanski said. “It never works out.”
“From what I hear, that won't be a problem. The Chamberlain's CO is married.”
Olanski cast a disbelieving glance at her.
“Okay,” Zaylie said, chuckling. “A ring never stopped a man from seeking sex from elsewhere.”
“That a girl.” Olanski stopped a moment. “I've met a few who didn't need a ring to stop them. But you'll find that, at least of those who wear the uniform, they're the extraordinary ones.”
She turned to Zaylie. “So, you want me to look into those orders for you?”
Zaylie took a long look at the drink in her hand, knowing that a part of her would look back on this decision as the worst mistake of her life.
But, it was the right thing to do.
“No,” she said. “I want to get through Starfleet on my own terms without special treatment.”
Olanski smiled, but at the same time her eyes looked as if she could cry. “You can't imagine how good it is to finally hear someone say that.”
Zaylie watched this woman who, despite being an admiral, was very much growing on her. “You okay?”
“How about we order some more drinks before I unload all my problems on you?” Olanski said, forcing a smile.
“When's the last time you had someone you could share a problem with?”
Olanski stared off into space. “A very long time.”
Zaylie waved the waitress over. “Then I'd say you're about due.”
“But I shouldn't take up your whole evening.”
“I graduate in two days,” Zaylie said with a grin. “I'm just starting the celebration a little early.”
Olanski held her glass up. “I'll drink to that.” But then she frowned. “As soon as I have something in my glass again.”
***
The graduation ceremony was like thousands of others. Music played, people gave speeches that no one remembered even half of, and then the time came when each person's name was called to receive a piece of paper representing four years of difficult and sometimes seemingly pointless work.
But for some reason, ever since her evening with Olanski, which had turned into a morning before they went their separate ways, she'd not seen this event as an end, but a beginning.
The Chamberlain wasn't even on the list of assignments she drooled for, but, after hearing some of Patricia's stories, Zaylie realized it wasn't the assignment that made the officer, but the choices they made on that assignment.
As much as she tried, Zaylie just couldn't get into the ceremony.
But like all other such occasions, the party afterward was an entirely different matter.
***
“Why the long faces?” Zaylie asked as she approached the table where her three closest friends were seated. The large hall was filled with their entire graduating class and then some.
“We're all screwed,” Oswald Farber said, nursing the drink in his hand.
Kaylie sat down next to Gulshan. He gave her a quick smile, but did nothing else to give away their secret.
Moani Amina, a stunning young woman of mixed human ancestry had the most sour look of all. “They changed our assignments.”
“Well, I for one am happier than I've been in months,” Gulshan said with the widest of smiles.
“Shut up!” Farber hurled at him. “If you say one more thing about that ship, I'll staple your feet to its deck once we get there.”
“The three of you are going to the same ship?” Zaylie asked, disheartened that they'd be together and she'd be on her own.
“You remember the ship we served on as midshipmen a couple of years back?”
It suddenly hit Zaylie. She laughed.
“What's so damn funny?” Moani asked.
“The Chamberlain, right?”
“Yeah, so don't rub it in, okay?” Farber said, taking a long drink. “The whole damn class came this close to being mothballed. The chances we'll see anything even mildly exciting is less than zero.”
“Oh, I don't know,” Zaylie said, starting into her own drink.
“When we were last on that thing, they were building starbases,” Farber said. “Not at all the kind of action I signed up for.”
Gulshan turned to Zaylie. “The only down side is we're hitching a ride on various ships to get to Delta Ophiuchus. It'll likely take us a month or more.”
“It'll be fun,” Zaylie said.
“I bet the pilot they're giving us is one of these burned out, near the end of their career idiots who'll regale us with over-embellished war stories the whole way,” Farber said.
Zaylie laughed.
“Burton, this isn't the time to be laughing,” Moani said. “How about a little sympathy?”
“Okay,” she said. “I'll try to be as depressed as you two are.”
Gulshan smiled at her as a band at the other end of the hall started playing music. “Or you could be as happy as I am.”
Zaylie turned to him. “Only if you ask me to dance with you.”
“Dance with me?”
“Sure.”
Zaylie stood, but a familiar face caught her eye.
“Ensign Burton!”
They all turned to see a woman in a full dress admiral's uniform step up to Zaylie.
Moani, Gulshan, and Farber all bolted out of their chairs to stand at attention.
Zaylie embraced Admiral Olanski.
“Are these your friends?” Olanski asked.
“Yes,” Zaylie said, about to introduce everyone.
But Olanksi had focused on Farber. “Is he the one you told me about?”
Farber squirmed in his uniform.
“Ensign Oswald Farber, Admiral,” he blurted out.
Zaylie grinned. “How could you tell?”
Olanski turned back to Zaylie. “He's got the look.”
“Look?” Farber asked, confusion drowning his face.
Olanski smiled at Zaylie. “Have fun tonight.”
After Olanski had moved on to another table, Zaylie looked to Gulshan. “You were saying something about a dance?”
Gulshan offered his hand.
“I need another drink,” Moani said, walking away.
“You be okay here by yourself for a while?” Zaylie asked Farber.
His eyes narrowed. “What's this about a look I have?”
“Lighten up, Oswald.”
“No... I'm serious. When an admiral says something like that, I get concerned.”
Zaylie placed her hand gently on his cheek. “Don't be.”
As Zaylie turned to follow Gulshan to the dance floor she could hear one last question from Farber.
“Will somebody tell me what the hell is going on around here?!”
***
Three days later, the four young ensigns were aboard the runabout Ceylon, making a respectable warp three toward the first ship assigned to ferry them on to the Chamberlain.
The Sovereign class USS Virgina already had a proud history for its seven years, part of which had been required reading at the Academy.
However, there were rumors of a not so proud chapter in that history spreading across Starfleet the last few months. Some sort of incident during the Dominion War which evidently the Cardassians were still raising holy hell about, but which the Federation was doing its best to keep quiet.
Given the reputation of the Virgina's commanding officer, Commodore Stuart Dameron, Zaylie suspected it was just another case of the Cardassians trying to pull even the most minor of victories out of a war where they had lost so much.
Zaylie had heard only whispers about the incident, none providing more than a few details. Apparently the Cardassians were blaming Dameron for the destruction of the Nifthel system. But most laughed at the notion on the basis that causing a star to explode was far beyond the otherwise extensive capabilities of a Sovereign class starship.
The conventional wisdom floating around Starfleet these days was the Cardassians had destroyed the seven planets and forty million Cardassian inhabitants of the system with a secret weapon program which had literally blown up in their own faces.
“Runabout Ceylon, standby,” came a voice, crackling over the comm speaker. “We are activating tractor beam. You will be brought into shuttlebay one.”
“Ceylon acknowledges,” Zaylie replied.
“Now there's a ship,” Farber stated from his position next to Zaylie's pilot's seat. “What I wouldn't give to be assigned here.”
“I understand it's invitation only,” Moani said. “The fact we're being allowed aboard for the next ten days is a minor miracle.”
“Eh...” Dulshan frowned. “The Chamberlain could blast this thing out of the stars with a single shot.”
“That is if it ever makes it out of drydock again,” Farber said with a grin. “My bet is we'll get another assignment the moment we arrive. The Chamberlain will never fly again.”
“I'll take that bet,” Gulshan said. “And not for the chicken shit stakes you usually offer.”
“Name your stakes,” Farber said, turning to Zaylie. “This will be the safest bet I ever make.”
“The loser cooks a full meal for the four of us,” Gulshan said. “And no replicator.”
“Done,” Farber said with a grin. “I'm partial to Lobster Newburg.”
“Good, once we're aboard the Chamberlain, you can find some for yourself while you're thinking about the Tandoori Chicken you'll be preparing.”
Zaylie and Moani frowned together.
“Boys and their bets,” Moani said. “How about let Zaylie and I decide what the dish will be?”
Farber laughed. “You're just here as witnesses.”
“I'm witnessing something alright,” Zaylie said as she returned her gaze to the controls.
***
Once the Ceylon was safely secured in the Virginia's shuttlebay, the ensigns were led to a reception area where the baytech had advised them to wait.
The four of them stood in the bland room of four walls and a single chair for five minutes without a word.
“We've just gone to warp,” Gulshan said.
“How the hell could you know that?” Farber asked.
“The lights dimmed slightly,” Gulshan replied. “Most starships have a dip in their power systems the moment they go to warp.”
“I've never noticed that before.”
“You don't notice a lot of things.”
“Hey,” Moani interrupted. “What's with you two?”
“He's been the jackass for the last week, ask him,” Farber said.
Gulshan exhaled and turned away.
Zaylie cast a glance his way, but he didn't raise his head until all four of them heard the door open.
Instinctively they all stood to attention, the lingering effect of Academy drills and being at the bottom of Starfleet's hierarchy for the last four years.
Zaylie could feel her eyes widen as the officer stood before them.
The tall Cardassian looked them over, stopping finally at her with his gaze. She didn't like what his eyes seemed to communicate.
Must be something else, she thought. He is wearing a Starfleet commander's uniform.
Still, she couldn't quite shake the feeling he was mentally undressing her.
“I am Commander Zuld, executive officer aboard the Virginia,” he said. “While here, you will do as you're told when you are told. Whatever leniencies you were accorded at the Academy have come to an end.”
“Uh, sir...” Farber hesitantly offered.
Zuld only smiled at the interruption.
“We're only here to be transported to our new assignment. And while I wouldn't at all mind being a part of your crew on this fine ship, our orders have not officially attached us to this...”
“Ensign...” A wider smile. “I am correct, aren't I? You are an ensign. I want to be sure because perhaps I'm too far out of the proverbial loop to know what that single rank pin on your collar means.”
Farber's posture noticeably slumped. “Yes, sir. Ensign Farber, sir.”
“Good!” Zuld said. “Now that we have evidence to indicate I know what the hell I'm talking about, and that I am your superior officer, do me the favor, the kindness, the goodwill to shut your mouth until you are given permission to speak. Otherwise you will likely spend the next year in our brig.”
“But...”
Zuld's eyes narrowed.
That was all Farber needed. “Yes, sir.”
The smile returned. “Commodore Dameron has requested you join him for dinner at eighteen hundred.” Zuld stepped up to Farber. “I suggest that you not be late.”
He turned about sharply and left the room.
Dulshan slapped Farber in the gut. “Great first impression... idiot!”
“You know it is possible he didn't know who we were.”
Zaylie, Dulshan, and Moani rolled their eyes in unison.
***
They had each been seated in the captain's mess, a large room at the back of deck three with a huge panoramic window, by a quiet lieutenant who then left the room. The two other seats, one at the head of the table, the other opposite, had place settings, but empty chairs.
“I told you we were early,” Farber grumbled.
“I suggest you keep that mouth full of food at all times,” Zaylie warned. “Otherwise you'll never get the chance to prepare Gulshan's meal.”
“Now just a damn minute, are you...”
“Ozzy,” Gulshan broke in. “For once in your life, please listen to reason. We're guests here. But any incident aboard this vessel will follow us for the rest of our careers.”
Farber folded his arms and rested his elbows on the table. “Fine.”
The door opened. Zuld entered the room took a position next to the table. “Commodore on deck.”
The four ensigns rose from their chairs in a snap.
A man with gray hair and beard strutted into the room with a smile.
“As you were,” his warm, but gruff sounding voice ordered.
He took his seat at the head of the table and watched as everyone else followed suit.
“I am Commodore Dameron, your host,” he said, taking hold of his glass full of red wine. “A toast to the Academy class of 2380.”
The others held their glasses in the air.
“May you find yourselves and your destiny out here among the stars,” Dameron finished.
Each took a sip of their wine.
Zaylie set her glass down as a group of three white clad men entered carrying a variety of steaming dishes.
A combination of joyous aromas filled the room. Zaylie couldn't help the reaction of longing it all brought to her. The last time food had caused this kind of response in her was years ago in her grandmother's kitchen in Iowa.
Somehow she suspected this was not a standard offering aboard starships. She and her friends were being treated to an extraordinary feast.
Dameron explained each dish as it was served, detailing the ingredients and how it was prepared with the precision of an engineer. He seemed to relish having this audience of young minds, casting a glance at one of them at just the right moment to emphasize some particular point. Even the wine they were served had a story behind it, and Dameron provided a stirring rendition with the emotional climax one would expect from a great work of literature.
After several seconds of relative quiet, Dameron began a new round of storytelling, “I would imagine that the four of you were rather surprised to find a Cardassian greeting you this afternoon, let alone finding out he was our executive officer here aboard the Virigina.”
The four ensigns looked at each other briefly, then took turns glancing at Zuld whose only reaction was a grin.
“A little, sir,” Zaylie finally offered. “I was aware a few Cardassians had joined Starfleet, but not that any had reached the rank of full commander.”
“Yes...” Dameron let hang in the air a moment. “Starfleet does have a way of keeping you ignorant within the bubble.”
“Bubble, sir?” Farber asked with the smallest morsel of courage.
“The Academy my lad,” Dameron added with a smile.
Zuld chuckled at the opposite end of the table, but quickly returned to his food.
“Mr. Zuld came to Starfleet in the most round-about of ways,” Dameron continued. “In 2353, I was a dashing young commander, just having been assigned as executive officer aboard the USS Tull, a small, but feisty vessel, winning many an encounter with enemy ships which far smarter men claimed she never could.” He paused to allow a smile to flower upon his face, then fade. “But with all such streaks of beating the odds, the Tull's came to an end at the hands of a fleet of five Cardassian warships.”
He took a long drink of his wine. “Thereafter, many of us who had made it to the escape pods, found ourselves taken to a Cardassian prison where torture, deprivation, and hopelessness were the only offerings on our menu.
“For reasons I can only guess at, my captors placed me in a ten by ten cell with a Cardassian. It so happened this poor chap had had the bad forture to run afoul of his superiors two years earlier, and his reward had been to rot in the facility I now found myself condemned to.”
Dameron glanced at Zuld. The two nodded in unison.
“Despite having spent the previous three years fighting Cardassians, and having watched them slaughter so many of my shipmates,” Dameron said. “I instantly knew this man as if we were brothers.” He stopped to smile. “He possessed those qualities you can only find in someone tested by strife and hardship. He had faced the worst that lesser men could muster and survived it.”
Zuld gave a nod in response.
“While we were both cautious of one another at first, we soon realized we had far more in common than whatever differences might separate us,” Dameron continued. “Foremost, our need to escape from the hell we presently found ourselves.”
“Obviously you did,” Farber said to the frowns of everyone else at the table.
“But how?” Zaylie asked. “It is my understanding that Cardassian prisons are literal fortresses.”
Dameron smiled warmly at that invitation to continue. “They are indeed that and worse. Yet escaping the prison itself was mere simplicity when compared with the daunting task of leaving the planet.”
“Didn't the Cardassians hunt you down?” Moani asked, her eyes wide.
Dameron turned to her, his eyes narrowing, but a smile on his lips. “Of course, my dear. After Zuld's knowledge of their security systems allowed us to escape incarceration, our combined tactical expertise keep our captors languishing in utter frustration for three months as we evaded them in the jungle of that far flung world.”
“How could you hide for that long?” Dulshan asked. “Didn't they use sensors to locate you?”
“A man of means knows how to confound mere technology,” Dameron said, taking a sip of his wine. “More importantly, unless one knows how to use it to proper effect, even the best technology is useless. And one factor weighed heavily in our favor...” He let that hang a moment. “The Cardassians are savages.”
Zaylie couldn't help but glance toward Zuld, but the Virginia's first officer didn't react in the slightest. She decided not to make an issue of it.
But Farber couldn't help himself.
“That's quite a thing to say when your exec is a Cardassian.”
“The bond between the Commodore and myself is beyond anything you can imagine,” Zuld said. “When you spend months fighting for survival, you learn who a man is.”
“Quite right,” Dameron said. “Zuld has gone beyond his upbringing, beyond his culture to become more than he thought possible.” He smiled. “But then that's what Starfleet asks of each of us, isn't it?”
Zaylie bored in on Farber, mouthing the words Shut up!
Farber shook his head with a frown.
***
“You can't seriously tell me you bought all those tall tales they were shoveling.”
Zaylie didn't bother to turn to Farber. But she was glad they were the only ones in the turbolift because there were things she needed to say.
“Those two men are heroes,” she said. “By any measure you wish to use.”
“Heroic blowhards is more like it,” Farber replied. “I bet if you got to the truth of their captivity, we'd find it was a small outpost with five guards.”
That brought her to go nose to nose with him.
“You and I stand on the shoulders of men like Dameron. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have the opportunities we've been given.”
Farber nodded. “Yeah, and all they require is that we don't ask too many questions. Did you catch that jab about the Cardassians?”
“It's not that unusual to have hard feelings toward a people you've faced in battle. I think he deserves to be given some allowance for that.”
“He commands a starship, Zaylie. He's supposed to be better than that.”
She shook her head as the turbolift door opened. “Is that the best you can do?”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You're always trying to build yourself up by tearing others down, Ozzy. It's one of the ugliest parts of who you are.”
She stepped out onto the deck, leaving Farber in the turbolift.
“I'll give what you have to say some weight when you've actually accomplished something real with your life... other than just boasting about who you think you are.”
The turbolift doors closed behind her.
***
The next morning, Zaylie found herself standing in the main shuttlebay at 0930, a result of a comm message from Commander Zuld, waiting for her when she awoke in her quarters aboard the Virginia. She still had no idea what it was about, but when Farber, Dulshan, and Moani joined her, Zaylie figured it was more than an inspection of their runabout the Ceylon.
They weren't officially assigned to the Virginia, and they were due to meet up with the next ship in their travels nine days from now. While the Commodore and Mr. Zuld could order them to a variety of duties, it wasn't normal from what she understood about situations like this.
Finally Zuld arrived on deck.
“Good morning, ensigns,” he said with a syrupy smugness as the four of them formed up in a line.
“Good morning, sir,” they all chimed in.
Commodore Dameron walked up next to Zuld. “We have been asked by the colonists on Echota Four to help them with a problem they are having with some ghastly animal species on their planet.” He stopped to smile. “As I feel this is exactly the kind of mission students at the Academy are poorly prepared for, I felt it appropriate that you accompany us. You will be surveying the area of the colony, doing your best to find out all you can about these dangerous animals, and to come up with a solution to protect the colonists from future attacks.”
“Attacks, sir?” Moani asked. “Have there been deaths?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Seven have died thus far.”
“Sir,” Moani began. “I would like to work with the colonists if I could as I am a counselor.”
He nodded. “Even counselors need training in how to deal with situations like this, my dear.”
“But...”
Zuld jumped in. “Get aboard the shuttlecraft, ensigns.”
Dameron smiled as they boarded.
Once inside, Farber sat next to Zaylie.
“I don't like this at all,” he said.
“What's not to like?” she asked with a grin. “We're going on an actual mission.”
“But I thought before colonists settled on a world there were surveys to make sure there weren't dangerous indigenous life forms.”
“Sometimes things get overlooked,” Dulshan said, grabbing a tricorder off an equipment rack. “I'm happy just to be out of my quarters and doing something useful.”
***
Echota Four was a lush green world filled with life. While the colony proper was free of most vegetation aside from a few small bushes, all around its perimeter trees, shrubs, and vines of every size and color stood as guardians to whatever secrets were hidden in their depths. The bright sunlight above played on the foilage, giving it a glow that seemed nearly heavenly.
The clearing contained enough buildings to make a small town. A few colonists were busy about their daily tasks.
“He can't be serious,” Farber said.
They had left the shuttle and began scanning the edge of the great forest surrounding the colony.
“About what?” Dulshan asked.
“If we go out into that we'll only get ourselves killed.”
Zaylie grinned. “But I thought you were the fearless adventurer.”
“Adventure's one thing, going into that labyrinth of trees and who knows what else is nothing but suicide.”
“Ozzy, how about a little less complaining, and more work?” Zaylie said.
“I don't like this,” Farber said. “We shouldn't even be down here.”
“Ensigns!” Zuld called out to them.
Zaylie turned to see him waving them over to where the Commodore stood talking to a stout middle aged man.
“This is the administrator, Mr. Henry,” Dameron said.
Henry shifted his weight every five seconds or so. “Hello... uh, they're the ones who'll be handling this?”
“The finest Starfleet has to offer,” Dameron said with a smile.
Henry looked about for a few moments, then seemed to slump in resignation. “Okay, let's see...”
Zaylie rolled her eyes. She could just imagine where Farber's mind was going with this man's lack of coherence. She suspected he'd have any number of scenerios of impending death to regale them with ten minutes from now.
“It started about three months ago,” Henry began. “These creatures would come out of the forest, attack our guard patrols. At first they just harassed them. But a couple of weeks into it, we lost our first man. He had a wife and two kids... terrible loss.”
“Please continue, sir,” Dameron insisted.
“Anyway, ever since then they come in packs. Sometimes they just make a lot of noise in the middle of the night, other times they attack one of us.”
“If this has been going on for three months, why didn't you call Starfleet before now?” Dulshan asked.
“Look kid, we thought we could handle it, okay?” Henry snapped.
“Quite admirable, Mr. Henry,” Dameron told him. “What can you tell us about these creatures?”
“They stand about... oh, about as tall as you, maybe a little taller. They're orange, maybe reddish orange.”
“Have you personally seen one, Mr. Henry?” Dameron asked.
“Well, no. I've been lucky.”
“Could we see the reports of those who have seen them?”
“Reports?” Henry asked with a nervous laugh. “We didn't think that was necessary.”
Dameron frowned. “Ensign Amina, it appears you will get the opportunity to consult with the colonists after all. Please take the reports of those who have come into contact with these creatures.”
Moani nodded with a smile. “Yes, sir.”
“Now wait a minute,” Henry said, moving to block Moani's path to the colony buildings behind him. “I can tell you anything you need to know.”
“Obviously not, or I wouldn't see the need to send this lovely lady off to question your town,” Dameron said. He turned to Moani. “About your business, Ensign.”
She moved past Henry.
“Captain...” Henry began.
“Commodore,” Zuld corrected.
“Whatever,” Henry said, almost spitting. “You have no right to come in here and disrupt the operation of this colony.”
“When you called us in to solve your problem, you gave me that right, Mr. Henry,” Dameron said. “And if you take a look at the charter you signed with the Federation, I now have broad powers to exercise in dealing with this problem.” He leaned toward the now very nervous man. “Pray I don't exercise them to their full extent.”
Henry backed up a step. “Okay... okay. We'll not cause any trouble.”
After that, the little man scurried back to his town.
“They're hiding something,” Farber blurted out.
“Most certainly,” Dameron replied. “But then most people do have something to hide. Continue with your scans. Find me one of these creatures.”
Farber was about to say something, but Zaylie kicked his ankle, relieving him of the dressing down he was likely to hear from the commodore.
“We'll get right on it, sir,” she said.
“Colonists,” Zuld said to Dameron with more than a touch of disdain in his voice.
“Those who can't... colonize,” Dameron said with a laugh.
As the two officers walked back toward the shuttle, Zaylie began to wonder if Farber wasn't at least a little right about Dameron.
***
“There is obviously something out there, sir,” Farber said as the four ensigns sat in the shuttle with Dameron and Zuld. “We found five groups moving at the far edge of our sensor range.”
“How could they know to stay that far out?” Zuld asked.
“The colonists' tricorders are older models,” Dulshan stated. “It could be that after repeated encounters, these creatures have figured out a safe scouting distance.”
“Interesting,” Dameron said.
Dulshan looked at Zaylie. She knew he was urging her to mention what they'd talked about not ten minutes earlier.
Better now than later, she thought.
“Commodore?”
“Yes, Ensign.”
Zaylie took a long breath. “Sir, based on our observations, it is extremely likely that these creatures are intelligent.”
Zuld laughed.
“Ensign,” Dameron began. “You are aware that a planet is surveyed before colonization begins. And that if any intelligent species is found inhabiting a planet, then colonization is not allowed.”
“I know that's how it's supposed to work,” Zaylie said. “But maybe there's a reason this particular species was missed.”
“Or your conclusions are all wrong,” Zuld said.
“It would appear our only recourse is to capture one of these creatures and find out,” Dameron said.
Zaylie, Moani, Dulshan, and Farber all looked at each other a moment.
He's testing us, Zaylie thought. Has to be.
“Commodore, if they are intelligent, then the Prime Directive forbids us to come in contact with them,” she said. Then came the point she feared she'd be forced to make. “In fact, we should evacuate the colonists immediately until we know one way or the other.”
Zuld laughed for almost ten seconds.
Dameron joined him.
“I am not moving ten thousand colonists on the basis of a few tricorder scans,” the commodore finally got past his laughter.
“But sir, Starfleet regulations require that we...” Farber started.
“Are you interpreting regulations for a senior officer... Ensign?” Zuld asked, his laughter replaced by a fierce gaze.
“I...” Farber choked on whatever words he intended to continue with.
But Zaylie wasn't to be deterred. If this were a test, she intended to face it. If not...
If not, they were in deeper trouble than she or the others could probably handle.
“Sir, the regulations are clear,” she said. “When faced with a possible intelligent lifeform, we are required to remove all personnel, both civilian and Starfleet to avoid contact with the species in question. The only exception is in cases where minimal contact is required to protect the species from more extended exposure.”
Dameron clasped his hands in front of him. “And how exactly do suggest we remove ten thousand colonists, Ms. Burton?”
She activated a PADD she'd had nearby. “There is an island off the southern continent which is desert terrain. Scans have confirmed there is no life there. The colonists can be taken there until we have the ships available to evacuate.”
Zuld shook his head. “The animals already know the colonists are here. Removing them won't change anything.”
“It will avoid further contact,” Dulshan said.
“Until I have conclusive proof we're dealing with an intelligent species, the colonists remain where they are,” Dameron said.
“But sir!” Zaylie blurted out.
“You four will return to the ship,” Dameron said, standing. “I will go speak to Mr. Henry.”
“Sir, we can't do this,” Moani said. “My conversations with the colonists tell me they're hiding the truth about what's going on here.”
“Based on what?” Dameron asked.
“Intuition, sir.”
Zuld stood and turned to Zaylie. “Ensign, you will pilot the shuttle, taking yourself and the other three back to the ship. That is an order.”
Dameron was already out the door of the shuttle.
“We will have to report this,” Farber said, finally speaking up.
Zuld came eye to eye with him. “Of course you will. However, you should be aware that all reports aboard the Virginia have to pass over my desk.”
“You're going to...”
“Belay that accusation, Ensign,” Zuld interrupted. “Or else you'll spend time in sickbay.”
Zaylie didn't like where this was headed. And worse, it seemed Farber had chosen the exact wrong time to grow a pair.
Farber held his ground with Zuld. “Is that a threat, sir?”
Zuld smiled. “A promise.”
“The Commodore can't protect you against a court-martial, commander.”
“You'd be surprised what he can do... little boy.”
Moani tugged at Farber's sleave. “We've been ordered to go, Ozzy. Let's get moving.”
“Not only does she have looks, but brains as well,” Zuld said, leaving the shuttle.
***
“Are you out of your damn mind?!” Moani shouted as the shuttlecraft left the atmosphere.
“They're both insane!” Farber shouted. “We have to stop them!”
“You're the insane one,” Dulshan said. “That Cardassian is dangerous.”
“He wasn't going to do anything while you three were there,” Farber said, leaning back in his seat. “The question is, now what?”
“We have to get evidence that the creatures are intelligent,” Zaylie said.
“And how exactly do we do that?” Moani asked.
“Were you able to find any information from the colonists about what the creatures look like?”
“Yeah, there was a scan one of them had, but it was a data scan, nothing which would answer the question of intelligence one way or the other.”
Zaylie nodded. “Maybe it'll be enough.”
“Enough for what?” Dulshan asked.
“To lead us in the right direction when we go back down there.”
Farber shook his head. “They ordered us to the ship. If we go back, they'll throw us in the brig.”
“Where'd all that courage go, Ozzy?” Zaylie asked.
“Right now we can go over their heads to Starfleet,” Farber said. “How about we contact that admiral you met?”
“Without proof, it's our word against theirs,” Dulshan said.
“Exactly,” Zaylie replied. “We need to go back.”
Farber folded his arms across his chest, but remained silent.
But Dulshan wasn't finished. “Zaylie, we're four ensigns. We take on someone like Dameron we better have a rock solid case.”
“That's why we have to go back.”
“And if they catch us before we find what we need then we're charged with insubordination,” Moani said.
Zaylie rolled her eyes. “I can't believe the three of you! We can't let those beings down there be overrun by the colonists!”
“Assuming they are indeed intelligent,” Dulshan replied.
“We're in over our heads,” Moani said. “This isn't the kind of thing we can fix.”
Zaylie turned back to the shuttle's controls, more disappointed than angry at her friends.
***
Zaylie, Dulshan, Moani, and Farber sat at a table in one of the larger lounges aboard the Virginia, eating their evening meal in silence.
Finally, Zaylie had to say something.
“Part of being in Starfleet is making a difference,” she said.
Moani shook her head. “Zaylie, just drop it.”
“No, I won't,” she said. “Why did you spend four years training to wear that uniform? What happened to the three people who I thought had a moral center to them?”
“Reality out here is different than back at the Academy,” Farber said. “I always thought we'd be going toe to toe with the Romulans, or the Borg, not one of the most decorated commanding officers in the fleet.”
“Weren't you the one who told me Dameron should be better than that?”
Farber squirmed in his seat a moment. “Well, yeah, but...”
“Oh, so it's one thing to criticize some off hand remark the man makes, but to take him on when it really matters, well, that's asking too much,” Zaylie said.
“I'm not looking to end my Starfleet career before it begins,” Farber said. “Haven't you ever heard the one about choosing your battles?”
“That won't help those beings down on that planet.”
“We can file a report once we get to our next rendezvous,” Moani said. “Another captain could talk to Dameron.”
“I can't believe this!” Zaylie nearly shouted.
“And I can't believe you're out to play the hero this much,” Dulshan said. “Going after a commodore yourself is one thing, dragging us into it after we've worked so hard to get here is another.”
Zaylie leaned forward. “Tell me, just what did you work so hard for? When is it you intend to stand up for what that uniform represents?”
Dulshan only shook his head.
Zaylie couldn't take it anymore. She got up from the table.
“Where are you going?” Moani asked.
“To get a drink.”
She walked over to the bar at the far end of the lounge. Behind it stood an Andorian whose eyes followed Zaylie's every move.
“Can I get you something?” he asked.
“Whiskey.”
He gave a nod and turned to a collection of bottles, taking one from its place, he poured her a glass.
“Not getting along all that well with your friends?” he asked as he set the glass in front of her.
“Something like that,” she said, taking a cautious sip. “That's real!”
“No synthetic swill on this ship. Commodore's orders.”
She smiled and took another sample of the whiskey into her mouth.
“Burton?!” a male voice called out behind her.
She spun about to see a smiling young man wearing the rank of lieutenant. He ran up to her.
“My god, it is you!”
They embraced.
Zaylie had almost fallen in love with Carl Hughey her sophomore year at the Academy. He'd been two years ahead of her, and he seemed to have the whole galaxy in the palm of his hand. But then he graduated and that was it for the relationship.
Carl pulled back a moment, smiling. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Layover on my way to the Chamberlain,” she said, returning the smile.
“You got stuck on that monster?” he asked, motioning for a drink from the Andorian bartender.
“It won't be that bad,” she said, returning to her own drink. “I'm looking forward to driving the big girl across space.”
“Good luck with that,” he snorted. “The Oceana class is a disaster. My bet is they'll mothball them in two years.”
She turned to face him. “It's been...”
He laughed. “I know.”
“How long you been on the Virginia?” she asked.
His smile faded and he downed his drink. “A lifetime.”
Zaylie took another drink. She wanted to be cautious. She'd already made too many assumptions about this ship and its commanding officer.
“That bad?” she asked.
Carl cast a quick glance at the bartender, then forced a smile. “It's been good. Really good. Just a lot of hard work. This ship isn't run like a cruise liner.”
Zaylie nodded and finished her drink. “So, where does a girl go to have a good time aboard this ship?”
Carl, turned. His eyes narrowed as he grinned. “That's more adventurous than I remember you.”
“I grew up.”
***
Ten minutes later, Zaylie was in Carl's quarters. He began pulling at her uniform before the doors fully closed behind them.
But as soon as she heard the doors seal, Zaylie gently pushed him back. “Carl, please.”
“But I thought...”
“I saw how you reacted to my question,” she said. “I figured we needed some privacy... but just to talk.”
“Not even a little tumble? Just for old times sake?”
She looked down. “It took a lot for me to get over you.” Her eyes raised to meet his. “But I did.”
He nodded. “I guess you did grow up.”
Kaylie found a chair and sat in it. “So what the hell's going on aboard this ship?”
Carl shook his head. “Look, I know... no. We were close once, but I can't take the chance.”
“Chance of what?”
“That Zuld's sent you.”
Zaylie chuckled. “Considering what I've been through today, I'm the one who should be worried.”
Carl's eyes brightened a bit. “How so?”
Zaylie spent the next five minutes describing what had happened the previous evening and on the planet earlier in the day. Throughout her narrative, Carl nodded and frowned.
“Can't say I'm too surprised,” he said, leaning against a desk. “You have to understand that Dameron and Zuld are closer than just about any other two officers I've seen.”
“The commodore told us about how they escaped a Cardassian prison.”
“What you don't know is how Dameron rammed getting Zuld a commission down Starfleet's throat,” Carl told her. “He's got extremely powerful friends in and out of Starfleet.”
Zaylie took a long breath. “I need your help.”
“To do what?”
“I need to get back down to the planet and find out everything I can about the indigenous species the colonists have been fighting.”
Carl laughed.
“What?”
“You're crazy,” he said.
“Because I want to do the right thing?”
“Because you want to go against Dameron's orders,” he said, shaking his head. “You don't want to fight him, Zaylie. You'll ruin your career... or worse.”
“I can't let the colonists continue to violate the Prime Directive,” she said.
Carl kneeled down in front of her, taking her hands in his. “Look, I...” He stopped to smile. “You mean a lot to me, even though the way things ended between us might not indicate that.”
She couldn't help but smile. “Thank you,” she said. “I've wanted to hear that for the last two years.”
“But you can't fight Dameron. It just isn't done.”
“If he's wrong, then...”
“It doesn't matter!”
She put her hand on his cheek. “It's all that does matter, Carl.”
He stood and exhaled. “You just don't understand.”
She joined him. “Then make me understand. Tell me what's been going on here.”
Carl stepped away, seeming to mull her request over in his mind.
Zaylie felt this was her best chance to put a stop to what was happening on the planet below them. But she hesitated. Carl was very much afraid of something, and the last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt.
“Look, if you don't want to talk about it...” she began.
He turned to her. “I want to talk about it more than anything.”
She smiled. “You can trust me, Carl. You know that.”
He took a breath. “I'm not going to get into a lot of detail, otherwise you'd be forced to do something about it, and I don't know if I'm ready for that yet.”
“Okay,” she said.
Carl sat down on his bed. “Ever since I came aboard this ship, discipline has been harsh, more than anything I've ever heard of on a Starfleet vessel. But at first I thought, okay, so they believe in a strict chain of command, and an even stricter sense of decorum. I figured it might actually be a good thing.”
“But it wasn't.”
“No,” he said, lost in thought a moment. “They've broken some great officers here. Crushed their lives and their initiative. Dameron wants obedience over anything else. He's got some crazy ideas about humanity's place in the galaxy, like we're the ultimate expression of intelligence in history, and that we have an ultimate destiny... to rule.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, not wanting to believe any officer in Starfleet could have attitudes like that. “Could it be you've misinterpreted what he's said?”
“He's been quite clear on more than one occasion,” Carl replied. “I've heard him boast about destroying the Nifthel system.”
Zaylie closed her eyes a moment. “Then it's true?”
“I wasn't there, but he sure talks about it enough,” Carl said.
“Are there others aboard who realize...”
“Some of us talk once in a while.”
“Then you should do something about it.”
Carl shook his head. “Don't you think someone's tried?”
“Go above his head.”
“Nothing gets off this ship without Zuld giving it his okay,” Carl said. “He's the chief enforcer on this ship, and nothing happens that he doesn't authorize.”
Zaylie smiled. “He can't watch everything.”
“No,” Carl said. “Too many people aboard this ship agree with those two maniacs.”
“And the rest of you?”
“A starship commander is given a lot of latitude. We do what we have to to keep our careers viable.”
“You can't go along with what he's doing down on that planet,” Zaylie said. “The Prime Directive isn't a matter of ship protocol.”
Carl laughed. “Do you think this is the first time he's stomped on the guts of the Prime Directive?”
“Then turn him in!”
“Dameron's a god as far as the admiralty is concerned,” Carl replied. “He's too smart to allow anyone to have the evidence needed to bring him down.”
Zaylie thought a moment. “Maybe that's the problem.”
“What?”
“You've been thinking of bringing him down, rather than stopping him from any particular act.”
Carl frowned. “You have to bring him down. If you don't he'll come after you with a vengeance you wouldn't believe.”
“Then just help me get back down to the planet,” Zaylie said. “I won't implicate you.”
“Zuld will figure it out,” Carl said.
“Not if we're careful.” Zaylie watched her former lover pace about the room. “One way or another, I'm doing this. If I have your help, I'll have a better chance of succeeding.”
He looked at her and smiled. “You know you're crazy.”
“Maybe,” she said with a grin.
“And I'm crazier for going along with this.”
Zaylie walked up to him, her face only inches from his. “So where do we go from here?”
***
Zaylie followed Carl down to shuttlebay two, taking a roundabout way he said would be best to lose anyone who might be following them. On several occasions, he would stop, certain they were indeed being pursued, but when he checked, no one was there.
“So why are we in this shuttlebay?” Zaylie asked.
Carl looked about again for anyone following. “This one doesn't get as much traffic, it's where maintenance is done more than anything else, and it's where couples come sometimes to, uh... well...”
“Why not just go to one another's quarters?”
He smiled. “If you want a relationship to be a secret, you have to go somewhere like this.”
“But why...”
“On a ship like this, there are hundreds of reasons,” he said.
“And since he brought you here, he can always deny he had anything else in mind,” said an all too familiar voice.
Both Zaylie and Carl spun about to find three figures joining them in the shuttlebay.
Farber, Dulshan, and Moani stopped at the entrance, each wearing a smile.
“Who the hell...”
“They're with me,” Zaylie said. “I think.”
“Always,” Dulshan said.
Moani gave her a nod.
Zaylie turned to Farber. “Well?”
He walked up to her. “I don't know if this is the right course, but I know you're right.”
“That'll do,” she said.
“What's the next step?” Dulshan asked.
“We go down to the surface, find out all we can about the beings down there, then confront the commodore with the evidence we have.”
“What about your friend?” Moani asked. “He coming with us?”
Carl was about to speak when Zaylie jumped in.
“No. He got us this far,” she said. “I don't want him risking himself anymore than he has.”
“I might as well go,” Carl said. “This will already get me in the Brig.”
Farber grinned. “No, you were just bringing a beautiful woman down here to...” His grin expanded into a full smile. “And then she and her friends turned on you.”
“How am I going to sell that?” Carl asked.
“Like this.”
Farber landed a solid punch to Carl's jaw, sending him flying against a wall, then to the deck unconscious.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Zaylie demanded.
“Saving his skin,” Farber said. “With the bruise that'll cause, no one will doubt his story.”
As the other three made their way to a nearby shuttlecraft, Zaylie knelt down next to Carl.
“Take care of yourself,” she said, then kissed him gently on the forehead.
***
A Type-6 shuttlecraft lumbered through the atmosphere of Echota Four, carrying four young ensigns toward an uncertain fate.
The most uncertain part of it in Zaylie's mind was where to start.
“It's the most obvious course of action,” Dulshan said.
“And the most likely to get us killed,” Farber added.
“But it puts us in the very position we're arguing against with the colonists,” Zaylie said. “If we're not careful and keep our distance, we'll be violating the Prime Directive.”
“The fastest way to get to the truth of this it to survey the largest collection of that species down there we can find,” Dulshan said.
“He's right,” Moani chimed in. “We have to move quickly. We have no idea what Mr. Henry or Dameron have in mind.”
They all turned to Zaylie.
“Seems like we're agreed,” she said.
“Now just a minute...” Farber began.
“You have a better idea?” she asked him.
“No.”
“Then we're going in.”
***
Zaylie held her phaser close while Dulshan and Moani scanned the area with their tricorders. Farber brought the last of their equipment from the shuttle.
“Tell me one thing,” Farber said.
“If you're asking what the plan is...”
“No,” he said with a frown.
“Then what?”
“Why him, and not me?”
“Him?”
“The guy back on the ship... Hughey.”
Zaylie shook her head. “The fact you'd ask that is your answer.”
Dulshan and Moani joined them before Farber could respond.
“The village is up ahead,” Dulshan said.
“Village?” Zaylie asked. “You mean that collection of life forms is organized?”
“Come and see.”
They walked for ten minutes to the top of a hill, overlooking a small valley.
The sun had just begun to rise over the trees on the other side of valley. Shafts of light turned the green foliage a bright blue.
And in the center of the valley stood ten structures of wood, organized in a circle. At their center was a larger structure. This one had a tall spire on its roof.
“They are intelligent!” Zaylie nearly cried out.
“Not only that,” Moani said. “But I suspect that center building serves either a religious or political purpose.”
“How in the hell did the colonists miss this?” Farber asked.
“Good question,” Dulshan said. “I've been over the surveys of this planet, and there's nothing like this mentioned.”
“How long ago were the surveys done?” Zaylie asked as they all continued to observe the village below.
“Fifty years ago. About six months prior to the colonists arriving.”
Zaylie looked at the trees and vines surrounding them.
“Is there something about the plant life here that blocks scans?” she asked. “Why didn't we see this from the Virginia?”
Dulshan did a quick scan of a nearby tree. “It doesn't read like I'd expect. It's possible that it could cause an error with long range scans, but I can't be certain without a lot of testing.”
“Well, we have what we came for,” Zaylie said. “Let's finish up our sensor sweeps of the area and get back to the ship.”
“Then what?” Farber asked.
“We present it to Dameron and Mr. Henry.”
As she started to get up, several tall figures exploded out of the trees above. The four ensigns were forced to the ground.
It took Zaylie several seconds to realize what had happened. But the orange face looking down at her, holding a sharply pointed spear at her head, told her everything she needed.
She raised her hands. “We're not here to hurt you,” she said as calmly as she could.
The figure towering above her narrowed its large black eyes. But it hesitated.
The orange skinned creature turned to its fellows and shouted a high pitched snarl.
“What do we do now?!” Farber cried to Zaylie's right.
“Don't make any sudden moves,” Zaylie counseled. “Follow what ever instructions they seem to give.”
“I don't like that plan,” Farber said.
“Dulshan, activate the universal translator on your tricorder the first chance you get,” Zaylie said.
“I did that just before we were attacked,” Dulshan replied. “I thought we might get an opportunity to record them speaking.”
The creature motioned to Zaylie to stand.
She complied, and could finally see that the others were okay at least for the moment.
Their captors lead them down into the valley.
***
Nearly an hour later, they were brought into the center of the village. About two dozen females and children came out of the wooden structures to watch.
Several bands of males entered the village from different directions.
“I think we interrupted their morning hunt,” Moani said.
“I think we are the morning hunt,” Farber grumbled.
“Let's not get overly pessimistic just yet,” Zaylie said.
More of the village's inhabitants came out to see them. The six to seven foot tall creatures all had the same orange skin and black eyes. But some had a feather-like plumage down the center of their backs along what Zaylie assumed was their spine.
Aside from that, they fit the basic humanoid pattern. Their lack of clothing confirmed this down to primary sexual characteristics.
Moani grinned. “Well, they certainly out class human males in one department.”
“Very funny,” Farber said, frowning.
Zaylie chuckled. “Feeling inadequate?”
One of their guards walked up to Zaylie. He tilted his head to his left for a moment, then laughed.
Zaylie smiled and pointed to herself. “Zaylie.”
He laughed louder. “Zaaa... lye.”
She joined his laughter. “Zaylie.”
“Zaylie,” he repeated.
“Definite interest in language,” Dulshan said.
The male guards turned to him, but frowned.
“Sorry,” he said.
Zaylie caught the guard's attention again. “Zaylie,” she said pointing to herself again. Then she pointed to him.
The guard pointed to himself. “Gansagi.”
“Gansagi,” she repeated, then laughed.
He joined her laughter, then pointed to her. “Zaylie.”
“This is better than having spears pointed at us,” Moani whispered.
“Gansagi!” a deep voice shouted from behind them.
The entire crowd spun about.
The tallest of the creatures they had yet seen hurried up to the one named Gansagi, who bowed before the newcomer.
“The chief?” Moani asked
“Dolnasul,” Gonsagi said.
The new one turned to Zaylie and stared at her.
“Zaylie,” Gansagi said.
The new arrival pointed at himself. “Dolnasul.”
Zaylie bowed in similar fashion to what she'd witnessed from Gansagi.
When she rose, Dolnasul smiled.
He spoke again, but this time, the tricorder Dulshan carried translated:
“I am Dolnasul, Prime One of my people.”
Zaylie nodded, hoping the tricorder would be able to translate for her as well.
“I am Zaylie, we... we come from far away, but mean you no harm.”
Dolnasul smiled at first, but then his expression hardened. “But you are like those who have burned the great forest mother.”
“Burned?” she asked.
Dolnasul pointed toward the direction of the sunrise. “The set a great fire. We fought them, and sent them away. But we fear they will return.”
“The colonists,” Dulshan said. “Why would the set fire to the forest?”
“We'll have to ask them,” Zaylie said. She turned back to Dolnasul. “We know of them and are here to stop them from harming the great forest mother... and you.”
Dolnasul's eyes narrowed. He turned to Gonsagi, and they whispered between them for several seconds.
Then Dolnasul returned to Zaylie. “The Ustanali fear the fire makers. We cannot find another hunting ground this late in the season. We asked them to stop, but they did not listen. Many hunters died.”
Zaylie closed her eyes and took a breath. She had to say just the right thing, and hope the universal translator provided the right feeling behind her words.
“The fire makers have done a great wrong to your people,” she said. “I will make them stop.”
Farber leaned toward her. “Exactly how do you plan on doing that?”
Zaylie looked at Farber and smiled. “I'm thinking of something on the bold side. You interested?”
Farber laughed. “Hell of a time to ask.”
The Ustanali village laughed with him.
***
Dameron marched up to Zuld who stood just outside Mr. Henry's office. The warm sunlight felt good on his face, but he didn't have the time or inclination to enjoy such incidental pleasures this morning.
“Have you found that shuttle yet?”
Zuld frowned. “It landed some ten kilometers from our location four hours ago.”
“Whoever was aboard had better have a good explanation for this,” Dameron said. “I want to leave orbit in five hours, and I don't want this delaying us.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have the weapons Mr. Henry requested been brought down?”
Zuld smiled. “Two hundred phaser rifles and their power packs.”
“With that, even these idiots should be able to control the savages they're being pestered by,” Dameron said with a laugh. “See to it there's no mention of it in the log.”
“Of course,” Zuld replied. “But sir, the Virginia could certainly solve the problem with a few photon torpedoes.”
“No... If we solve the problem for the colonists, they'll never have the opportunity to tame this land, and by doing so, become more than they are. We owe them that much.” Dameron looked up at the sun overhead. “Each man has to learn to stand on his own, or else he's not a man.”
Suddenly, the sun was blocked, casting both Dameron and Zuld into shadow.
“Our missing shuttle,” Zuld said.
The craft cruised past and landed some thirty feet away from them.
Dameron frowned. “I'll give them points for style. But I want the pilot of that ship confined to quarters for two weeks.”
“It will be done, sir,” Zuld said.
“I'll have no joyriding on my watch,” Dameron said with a snort.
Mr. Henry left the building that housed his office and joined Dameron and Zuld.
“What the hell is this all about?” he asked.
“We were just about to find out,” Dameron replied.
The shuttle's door opened. Farber and Dulshan stepped onto the lush field of grass.
“Those two?!” Dameron nearly shouted. “Have them arrested!”
But before Zuld could move to follow that order, a deep howling burst forth from the surrounding forest.
“It's them!” Mr. Henry cried, backing up toward his building. “The monsters!”
The foliage parted in a dozen places.
Ustanali hunters emerged from the openings in the forest. At the head of one group was the tallest of the creatures, along with two human women wearing Starfleet uniforms.
“Get the weapons!” Mr. Henry shouted. “Sound the alarm! Sound the alarm!”
“Calm yourself!” Dameron demanded. “They're not here to attack, you fool.” He stepped forward in the direction of the now approaching Ensigns Burton and Amina.
While he didn't know exactly what this was about, Dameron was certain about one thing... four ensigns would be in his brig before nightfall.
***
Zaylie noticed Dameron coming their way.
“He doesn't look very happy,” Moani Amina said.
“He'll be even less so when this is over,” Zaylie replied.
“Well Ensign Burton,” Dameron said, coming to a stop some ten feet away from them. “Do you care to explain yourself?”
But before she could speak, Dolnasul stepped forward.
“You are Prime One of the fire makers?” he asked the commodore.
Dameron forced a smile. “You've certainly proved they have some form of intelligence, Ensign.” His smile faded. “Send them back into their forest.”
But Dolnasul wasn't finished. “You must not burn the forest mother again!”
“Tell this savage that we are the gods of this world now.”
That was enough for Zaylie.
“Commodore Dameron,” she began, walking toward him. “You now have evidence the indigenous beings on this planet, the Ustanali, are intelligent. As such, the Prime Directive comes into play. Under Starfleet regulations, we must evacuate the colonists.”
“Are you insane, Ensign?!” he said with a laugh. “I am not about to uproot ten thousand people who have spent the last fifty years building a life on this world. And they will continue to do so.”
“No sir, they will not,” Zaylie said, knowing she was into the thick of it now. “You have no choice but to evacuate them... immediately.”
“Don't you dare think you can bark orders at me, child!” His face twisted into a barely controlled rage. “You and your friends will report back to the Virginia and leave the big questions to the adults.”
At this point, Zuld and a very nervous Mr. Henry joined Dameron.
“Commodore...”
Zuld interrupted Zaylie. “Ensign! You are confined to quarters until we arrive at your next departure point. You and the other three will get in that shuttle and await a security team which will escort you back to the ship.”
“No sir, I will not.” Zaylie could feel her legs begin to shake. My god, what have I gotten myself into?
“I don't believe I heard you right, Ensign,” Zuld said with a wide, but nasty grin. “You have your orders.”
“My oath as an officer supersedes your orders, Commander,” Zaylie said. “And if you and Commodore Dameron do not immediately begin the evacuation of the colonists per Starfleet orders, I will be forced to place you both under arrest, and relieve you from duty.”
Zuld howled with laughter. “You are insane, girl!”
“We are not leaving,” Mr. Henry said, having regained a minimum of courage.
“Yes, sir, I am afraid you are,” she said. “And I believe you and the other colonists have known about the Ustanali for some time, haven't you?”
“Wha... we, no...”
“Is that why you began burning their forest down?”
Mr. Henry took a step back. “We did that to begin construction on a second city. We didn't know they lived in that valley.”
Zaylie smiled. “How did you know they live in a valley?”
“I...” Mr. Henry nearly stumbled as he headed back to his office building.
“Regardless of what the colonists have done here, you are going to be sent to the brig, Ensign,” Dameron said. “Yours may be the shortest career in Starfleet history.”
“You can certainly have your security team come down here and arrest me, Commodore,” Zaylie said. “But given the report I sent via subspace fifteen minutes ago from the shuttle's transmitter, you're going to have to explain to both Starfleet and the Federation Council why you arrested an Ensign who was defending the Prime Directive and the people of this world.”
“The colonists are now the people of this world! Those creatures you're defending will never amount to anything!”
“They will have that opportunity when the colonists leave,” Zaylie said. “What they do with it is their business.”
“Enough of this!” Zuld shouted. He pulled a phaser and pointed it squarely at Dolnasul. “Have them drop their spears, or I will vaporize their leader!”
Every Ustanali hunter readied their spear in Zuld's direction.
Zaylie pulled her own phaser, but hers was pointed at Zuld's head. “And you will be the next to fall, Commander.”
“Are you really prepared to die for these savages, Ensign?” Dameron asked.
Zaylie took a long breath. She knew Moani hadn't counted on all of this, and suspected that she, Farber, and Dulshan were probably pissing themselves. But she couldn't back down now.
“Yes, Commodore... I am prepared to die for them, but more importantly for what the Prime Directive stands for.”
Dameron stood silent.
“You might stop me today, Commodore, but another ship will be here within the week. And one thing you can be certain of is you'll have far more to answer for than I will,” Zaylie said.
Dameron took a long breath. “You are standing in the way of the progress of humanity, Ensign. One day you will come to realize that.”
“If progress means the Ustanali lose their world and everything which makes them unique, then yes, I am proudly standing in its way.”
Dameron frowned. “Mr. Zuld, begin evacuating the colonists.”
Zuld spun about. “But Commodore, we can't let this child...”
“She may indeed be a child, Zuld. And a rather spoiled one at that. But while she wears that uniform, she's also a Starfleet officer. And though I disagree with her reasons with every part of my being, she has indeed earned the right to wear it this day.”
Zuld turned about and headed toward Mr. Henry's office.
Dameron walked up close to Zaylie. “You may have won this battle, child. But there are far more of me than there are of you. You have only delayed the taming of this planet. We will be back.”
He turned smartly and walked off.
Zaylie felt she could breath again. She turned to the gathered Ustanali.
“They are leaving!” she shouted. “Your forest will burn no more!”
Zaylie, Moani, Farber, and Dulshan enjoyed the next three hours as the Ustanali celebrated their victory over the fire makers.
***
The next two days were quieter than the previous twenty four hours had been. Dameron's second officer had assigned Zaylie to oversee the evacuation of the colonists. Somehow she suspected it was intended to be a punishment, but Zaylie saw it as an added bonus to the victory of the Ustanali.
The only sad part of the situation was that she couldn't see her new friends again. Her demands that the Prime Directive be followed required her to cease all contact with them. But it was probably for the best. Eventually they'd get around to asking all the wrong questions, and Zaylie hated the idea of lying to them. The truth was something they would have to find on their own when they took their first steps to the stars.
Another person she didn't dare speak to was Carl Hughey. Farber's punch had evidently satisfied the Virginia's command staff. She'd heard Carl had been awarded a citation for his attempt at stopping Zaylie and her three friends.
With the colonists safely on an island in the southern hemisphere of the planet, away from the Ustanali, Zaylie finally felt she could relax, that is until the comm unit in her quarters chimed, and a voice informed her the commodore wanted her in his ready room in ten minutes.
Well, I knew he couldn't just let me walk away from this, she thought. He's probably found a way to take my commission away after all.
But Zaylie did her best to appear confident on her way to the upper deck of the starship Virginia.
As the doors of the ready room closed, Dameron stood from his desk.
“I assume you're still basking in the glow of having outwitted me.”
“No, sir... I don't see that as what happened here.”
He laughed. “Don't worry, I don't begrudge you your moment. You deserve to be proud. I allowed myself to be maneuvered into a no-win situation.” His face turned hard. “But you shouldn't think I will allow it to happen the next time we meet.”
Zaylie remained silent.
“You've made an enemy of the worst kind, young lady. One way or the other, I will get my pound of flesh, and far more.”
Zaylie shook her head. “You know, when I came aboard this ship, I was in awe of you. I had read about you in several of my classes, thinking, that's the kind of officer I should be. But now I see you're nothing but a thug in a uniform. I didn't have enough to bring you down... this time. But you remember that when you do go after your pound of flesh. I'll be waiting, watching your every move. And just like two days ago, you'll make another mistake, one which will show all of Starfleet exactly who and what you are... a monster.”
“I do so like a challenge,” Dameron said with a laugh. “And I will give you this, you certainly don't shrink away from a fight. You may yet make it as an officer... that is until this debt of yours comes due.” He stepped up right to her face. “And trust me, I will collect.”
Zaylie shook her head as he turned to his desk. He came back with a PADD.
“Here are your departure clearances. You are your friends may take your runabout and leave in the next thirty minutes.”
She took the PADD. “If that's all, sir, I'll be going.”
“One last thing,” Dameron began.
“Sir?”
A scowl came over his face. “Get the hell off my ship.”
With that, Zaylie spun about, and headed for the door.
“With pleasure, Commodore.”
***
Zaylie entered the main shuttlebay to find Farber, Moani, and Dulshan standing ten feet from their runabout, the Ceylon. Blocking their path, stood Commander Zuld.
Zaylie handed Zuld the PADD. “Commander, here is our authorization to leave.”
Zuld took it and smiled. The next moment he tossed the device across the deck.
“Sorry, but I didn't get a chance to read it.”
“Those orders are signed by Commodore Dameron,” she said.
Zuld stepped up to within inches of Zaylie.
“I could kill you right now, and no one on this ship would stop me,” Zuld whispered through clenched teeth. “Or perhaps I could enjoy myself before killing you.” He stared at her breasts.
“I'd stop you,” came a voice from behind Zuld.
The Cardassian grinned and turned his head toward Farber. “You don't have it in you, little man.”
Farber held his ground. “Try me... big man.”
Zuld spun about to stand nose to nose with Farber.
“Don't think I'll ever forget this,” Zuld said. “You're dead, Farber.”
“Guys like you just don't get it. Intimidation only works for so long. Then people see you for what you are,” Farber said, his voice shaky. “Nothing but a bully.”
Zuld laughed as he left the shuttlebay.
“Let's get the hell out of here,” Zaylie said.
***
An hour later, the Virginia was long gone, having jumped to warp speed minutes after the Ceylon was clear of the Sovereign class starship.
Zaylie sat at the controls as before, piloting their craft on its way to their next rendezvous.
Dulshan and Moani were in the back of the runabout, having drawn kitchen duty, and were busy preparing their dinner.
Farber sat in the chair next to Zaylie.
“You doing okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” She smiled. “Thank you for standing up to him.”
“That's what friends are for.” Farber said with nod. “But can you do me a favor?”
“Depends on what it is,” she said, trying her best to be playful.
“Can you try not to get into a fight with the command staff of the next ship we meet up with?”
“What fun would that be?” Zaylie asked, smiling.
* * *
Dark Horizon Story and Characters Copyright ©2009 Michael Gray