***
Written By
Michael Gray
***
Please Note-
The material presented in this installment
falls generally within the PG-13 category.
***
My special thanks to Andreas Bodensohn
for his insights and very helpful suggestions.
***
***
Chapter 1 - Turning And Turning
Setacvas bolted awake from a fitful sleep. The nightmare was always the same. He was back in that abyss. But there had been one day when it hadn't been a nightmare. He'd lived it.
The moment after the explosion on Folam, Setacvas had found himself once again imprisoned on Cajma. He had cried out, but there'd been no one to hear him.
Just as before.
Then just as suddenly, two months later, he was free again, back in the body of Jeremiah McCall--- back to enjoying all the sensations of being alive.
But it wasn't the same. The smell of decay oozed out of every pore. He might have two, maybe three years left before the energies of his mind burned out this shell of frail human flesh.
And Jeremiah knew this as well.
After Jeremiah's brief reemergence on Folam, Setacvas grew interested in the thoughts of the man who's body he possessed. They had conversed often and in a way few others could understand. There were no secrets between them. Each knew the other as he did himself.
They talked and they argued.
He grabbed a robe and folded it around himself, fighting off the stiffness in his legs and the gnawing pain that accompanied every step he took. He stopped to inhale and then, as every morning, he made his way to the balcony.
Since the disaster on Folam Six where a small contingent of Starfleet officers had thwarted his plans to alter the timeline, Setacvas had taken great care in observing the changes in the admiral's body. There were wrinkles, aches and pains, and Jeremiah McCall's jet-black hair was now a cadaverous gray. It all had the feeling of decay, a feeling Setacvas did not like at all.
But Setacvas could not leave Jeremiah McCall. Or rather, would not. He was far too addicted to the experience of residing within a physical body after having spent so much time as a non-corporeal entity.
The metal deck of the balcony sent a chill through his feet that made it seem twenty degrees colder than it actually was. Setacvas did his best to ignore it as he stared into the heavens above.
The clouds over Nybiros hung in the sky like stubby, dull gray stalactites of some deep underground cavern. They were visible only because of the reflected cold light from the city below.
From his perch atop the tallest building in the G'voda metropolis, Setacvas looked out at the rings of lights, stretching to the horizon in every direction in concentric circles like infinite ripples in a gigantic pond. Despite the activity he knew was taking place far below, it gave him a sense of tranquility that he had rarely known since the disaster which had destroyed his people and their way of life.
Before that terrible event, he had lived many days like this one--- days filled with hope, love, and joy. If only he could live for this day, not the past, nor the future. Just this day.
But his enemies had taught him some dreams had no hope of coming to be.
The usually docile winds of Nybiros suddenly blasted through the capitol city with a ferocity that at first frightened Setacvas. He took a breath to calm himself and became aware of a voice. But this wasn't an audible voice. Standing six thousand feet above the main level of the city he was quite alone. Yet he was never truly alone.
Jeremiah was always there.
You have no reason to be afraid.
Setacvas did his best to ignore the human's supposition.
You must listen to me, Setacvas, Jeremiah insisted. The future of both our kind depends on you hearing me out.
"My kind only has a future if yours does not," Setacvas finally said.
You fight a battle that ended billions of years ago. Your enemy is gone. Make peace with those who are here now.
"My enemy is everywhere, its stench fills thousands upon thousands of systems, and the Vedala..."
The Vedala can be reasoned with. They have evolved beyond the simple servants of your enemy.
"They were never simple." Setacvas watched the city as small maintenance craft flitted about repairing whatever small flaws their scans found in the buildings which stretched up into the sky. "The Vedala knew all our secrets, all our plans. They betrayed us. They nearly destroyed us."
Remember when Mei-Wan was here? Your scans revealed she had been in contact with the Vedala. It follows Jack would know them as well. Let me speak to him. I can...
"As you did before?" Setacvas had not forgotten Jeremiah's momentary reemergence and what it had cost him.
I saved my son. I make no apologies for that.
"Just as I make none for the choices I make."
There are always other choices, Setacvas. You know my mind. You can see the truth of what I say.
"I see only what you believe--- foolish optimism."
Because I hope for a better world for my people as well as yours? Jeremiah paused but a twinkling to consider his next thought. War only occurs when hope is forsaken.
"War happens when one fights for his existence, Jeremiah. We are the last of our kind."
A second later, the air just off the balcony exploded with a rushing wind that nearly knocked Setacvas back into his room. Regaining his footing, he saw a mass of pulsating energy now hovering not five feet away.
"We are dying!" shouted a voice from the glowing maelstrom.
Setacvas had expected this visit. His fellow Volmvas had gone too long without feeding. "I know. But you must wait."
"We can wait no longer! We must have a world to feed upon!"
"You can sustain yourselves in other ways."
The bright beings moved nearer to him. "Perhaps we should go where we know an abundance of life exists. The Federation..."
"No!" Setacvas shouted, surprising himself with the force of his reaction. "The Vedala would surely attack if you went to Andor, Earth, or Vulcan. The Federation must be avoided."
"Then find us a world! You made us what we now are! You chose this for us!"
Setacvas stared again at the G'voda city. He had grown to hate this world of their servants, but wondered if that feeling belonged more to the original inhabitant of the body he occupied.
His mind returned to his fellow Volmvas just a few short feet away. He had to do something for them. "I will have a world for you in twenty-four hours."
"If you do not, we will strike where we will." A moment later, the mass of energy sailed away into the starry night sky.
Setacvas had to let them feed somewhere, but the moment they did so, the Vedala would be able to find them. He had learned from their interrogation of Mei-Wan that the Vedala now possessed near unlimited power. He had to avoid their attention at all costs.
A thought crossed his mind and he smiled. "But if it isn't a world with a large population…" he whispered.
No, not a primitive world, a voice in his mind said.
"Jeremiah..."
Choose a world which has the technology to evacuate. Give them a chance to save part of their culture and their people.
Setacvas considered the words from the voice in his mind. "Yes, that would be better than destroying an entire planet. Then the Vedala would have no reason to interfere."
You know this is wrong.
"But it is necessary."
You can lie to yourself, but not to me, Setacvas. I can see what you can't. None of this was ever necessary and most especially, not now.
"Our enemy sought to exterminate us!" Setacvas's words echoed into the night sky.
I don't deny the threats to you and your kind, but what you call 'necessity' I see as a 'choice' made from the ignorance of other possibilities.
Setacvas turned away from the metallic vista. Indeed there was a possibility he hadn't considered before. "A world where Starfleet has a presence?"
A world where Starfleet can evacuate a large percentage of the population, Jeremiah responded.
"But..." Setacvas stopped and opened his mind to Jeremiah. "Show me." A full minute later, he was on his way to a control room on Nybiros.
***
The harsh tone bleating from the comm panel stirred Melissa Vargas from the pleasant dream she'd been having. She took a long breath, and sat up to shut off the irritating noise.
She rolled over and found Jack still sleeping as soundly as ever in the nest of their bed. Melissa was glad the man she loved had the opportunity to dream again after so many months of turmoil.
Melissa ran her fingers gently through his hair, noticing several strands of gray among the usual darkness. She fought back the momentary regret about time passing and decided instead to think of it as a sign of the changes they had experienced--- changes she was quite happy with.
His eyelids drifted open and Jack beheld the beautiful woman he shared his bed and his life with. "Something wrong?"
She smiled. "No, nothing at all. You were dreaming."
Jack rubbed the slumber out of his eyes. "People tend to do that when they sleep."
Each morning that he woke to find her at his side seemed better than the day before. There was something about the way she looked at him, as if her gaze wrapped him in a blanket, keeping him warm with the strength of her love.
Whatever it was, it had taken hold of his heart and formed an indestructible bond between them. And now, with his marriage to Mei-Wan no longer hanging over them, he finally felt free to let the love burning in his heart for Melissa consume him.
"What were you dreaming about?" she asked, intruding on his thoughts.
He hesitated, uncertain whether he should tell her. "I keep having this dream about my mother and a garden." He rolled over in the bed toward Melissa. "Only it isn't my mother. She turns into a very old woman with completely black eyes."
Melissa's smile became a frown. "Have you talked about this with Akala?"
"Do you go see a counselor about every dream you have?"
"No, but I'm not the captain."
"You ever have any recurring dreams?" Jack asked with a grin.
Melissa shrugged. "Not too often, but a couple months ago I kept having one about the Carter Winston, the ship I was assigned to before I requested the Chamberlain."
As she smiled again, Jack could see in her face the dream of a future neither of them had yet given voice to.
"There is the one where I spend the rest of my life with you."
"Is that some sort of proposal?" He tried to look serious, but he was unable to prevent the grin that insisted on emerging.
"Oh no. According to human custom, I believe that's your job. Of course, we wouldn't have to go with a traditional arrangement."
"Oh really?" Jack gave her a curious glance as he ran his hand slowly over her bare shoulder. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
"We could try a bondgroup."
"A what?"
"Haven't you heard of Andorian bondgroups?" she asked with a barely suppressed smile.
"I know their marriages involve four people."
"Exactly." Melissa leaned up on one arm and faced him. "After the collective consciousness movement of the twenty-third century fell apart..."
Jack shook his head. "If this has anything to do with that madness, you can forget it. That was a disaster."
"I know," she continued, undeterred. "As I was saying, after that ended, some of the remnants of the movement started looking at Andorian social structures and decided to give it a try with humans."
"But humans don't have four sexes like Andorians."
"In the strictest sense, that's true, but humans do have four..." She paused as if waiting to see if he'd catch on. "There are heterosexual males and females, and homosexual males and females, right?"
Wondering where this was headed, Jack's brow tightened. "Okay."
"Well, someone decided to see if a bondgroup made up of those four might work."
"Somehow I don't see how people could get past their orientations enough to make it viable."
"You're right. It didn't work."
"Then why are we discussing this?" he asked, knowing he was letting her bait him. This was a game they often played when there was a subject to be avoided.
Melissa continued with renewed glee. "Once it was discovered that arrangement didn't work, those who advocated human bondgroups realized the focus on orientation had been a mistake. What was needed were people of whatever orientation who'd be willing to subjugate their proclivities to the bondgroup. They found that if the four people involved were able to fall in love with three others at the same time, equally, then it could work."
Jack chuckled. "Yeah, and if I had a pair of nacelles on my back I could fly around at warp speed."
"There's a huge enclave of people living like that in... I think it's Montana." She grinned. "There are all kinds of benefits socially, for raising children, and..."
"No thank you. I'll stick with the traditional two person arrangement."
Melissa's eyes peered into his. "So, is that some sort of proposal?"
Jack laughed, realizing he'd lost the game this time. "You are a stubborn and manipulative woman, Vargas."
She rested her head on his chest. "I know what I want."
Jack ran his fingers slowly through her blonde hair. "I just need more time, Melissa."
"But someday?"
He caught the combination of childlike hope and old age cynicism in her voice. He didn't want to crush her dreams, but he wasn't about to rush into a new marriage before the ink was dry on the dissolution of the previous one.
"You know how I feel about you," he said.
"I know how you felt about me before."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She raised her head and stared at Jack. "You're different, more sure of yourself, except when it comes to us."
He brushed away several stray strands of blonde hair from her face. "A few months ago all I was worried about was getting a herd of cattle to market, now I've got a thousand decisions thrust at me, all demanding my attention."
"And here I am asking you to make one more?"
Jack drew her closer. "Of all the choices I face, the one I most want to get right is the one about our future."
Melissa put her arms around him. "No one's forcing you to command a starship."
"I know," Jack said with a nod. "Someday I may decide my life lies somewhere other than that chair on the bridge."
"But?"
"Mei was right--- this is where and when I belong. Someone went to a lot of trouble to send me five hundred years into the past. I don't know what their reasons were, but I do know they weren't my reasons. I've spent too much of my life letting other people make my choices for me." A warm smile came to his face. "Back on that cattle ranch, I learned making my own choices was the only thing that made this life truly mine."
"And us?"
"It would be so easy to marry you right now because I know how happy it would make you, but that's not the right reason to get married."
"What about love?" Melissa leaned away from him. "Isn't that enough?"
"If it was, I'd probably still be married to Mei."
Melissa placed her hand in the center of his chest. "Okay, I'll wait for you to sort all this out."
"Thank you."
"But I won't wait forever."
He heard the resoluteness in her voice. "I wouldn't expect you to. That's not the kind of woman I'd want to spend my life with."
Melissa rolled back onto her side of the bed. "Tell me one thing, are you at all tempted to go back to the life you'd had?"
"You mean in 1874?"
"Yeah."
"For better or worse, this is where I belong and this is where I'll stay."
A smile crept across her Vulcan features. "I think we've progressed beyond marriage proposals to something that sounds like a wedding vow."
Jack leaned over to kiss her. "You don't give up, do you?"
Melissa slid her arms around Jack as their lips touched. "Like I said, I know what I want."
A chime from the intercom system stalled their building passion.
"You know, I think I'm beginning to understand what you dislike so much about commanding a starship," Melissa said with a frown as she drew the bed sheet around herself.
Jack fought off a grin as he answered the electronic summons. "McCall here."
The voice of Lak Negev, the Chamberlain's executive officer came over the intercom. "Captain, Starfleet Command is reporting an attack in the Ivax system. From the description, it matches what we observed last year in the Ninaz and Parsandra systems."
"The beings from Hel'yra?" Melissa asked.
It seemed their respite from the troubles of the Universe was over. "What was the population of the Ivax system?"
"Around fifty thousand," Negev hesitated for a moment. "But Starfleet managed to get almost everyone out before the attack occurred."
That surprised Jack. "I'd love to hear how they managed to pull off that minor miracle."
"So would I, but the report we have is short on details. We have been ordered to rendezvous with Admiral Grant aboard the Venture in the Nasuv system. We will receive further orders after we arrive."
"Understood," Jack replied. "Go to warp immediately after we emerge on the Kel-j'na side of the wormhole."
"Aye, sir." The intercom switched off.
"How can we stand a chance against that kind of enemy?" Melissa asked in a hollow voice.
"Enemy..." Jack murmured, uncertain why that particular word didn't seem to fit the entities he feared they'd once again confront. Then he remembered the events on Folam, events which brought him face to face with his father.
"What was that?" she asked.
He looked at her with a growing smile. "Perhaps we've been looking at these beings from the wrong perspective all along."
"They destroy entire worlds, what other perspective is there?" Melissa asked with a confused look.
"Every sentient creature has reasons for what it does." He took a breath and slowly exhaled. "But we haven't taken the time to find out what those are in the case of the Volmvas."
Her eyes widened with realization. "You want to have a dialogue with incorporeal energy beings? How do we do that?"
"I wish I knew, but..." Noticing her frown, he stopped. "Sorry." His smile returned. "Don't pay me any mind. It's just the simplistic musings of an old cattle rancher."
A grin crept across her face. "Despite what you want people to think, I don't believe you've ever been simple."
"It always worked for me in the past." He laughed.
"You're not in the past any longer," she said as their lips touched.
