Chapter 5 - Putting The Pieces On The Board
As ordered, Anthony Donato returned to the Oceana and informed his officers of their mission to Nybrios. Most of them were happy to simply be out of orbit around Kel-j'na, where they had been protecting that world since Starfleet's last attack.
A few hours later, Donato's chief of security, Daval Berda, a female Tiburon, came to his ready room and informed him a secret transmission had been sent from their ship. With Admiral Grant's plan now underway, only one thing remained: arrest the spy.
Led by Berda, fifteen security personnel stood outside the quarters of Lieutenant Commander Adam Krause, Oceana's Chief Navigator. When Donato arrived, he led the way past the doors. He'd been wanting the satisfaction of personally placing this man under arrest.
Krause, an unassuming man of thirty-five, jumped out of the chair, smacking his knee on the hard edge of the desk as he reached for a weapon he'd hidden in a nearby bookcase.
"I wouldn't," Donato told him.
Krause stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of the security guards behind his captain. "Sir, I don't understand..."
"Do me a favor and don't attempt to lie your way out of this." Two security guards shackled Krause's hands behind his back. "Just tell me one thing: why?"
Krause's apologetic demeanor evaporated. It was replaced with a fierce stare from the chief navigator's now wild eyes. "The G'voda are going to make me immortal. When you, this ship, and the Federation are long forgotten, I'll still be just beginning my life!"
Donato grinned. "I wouldn't count on it."
"They know you're coming, Captain. They'll be ready for you this time!"
"That's what we were hoping for."
Krause shook his head. "You wanted me to..."
"You did a nice job of setting up the G'voda for us," Donato said. He turned to Daval Berda. "Make sure the display screen in the brig is activated so Mister Krause can watch his friends' get their asses kicked."
***
Setacvas stood brooding over the large map display in the G'voda tactical command center on Nybiros while numerous G'voda technicians tended various control stations.
He thought of the past. Billions of years ago his kind had had nearly full run of this galaxy. To have had so much and to be faced with the prospect of losing what little they had left almost shattered his will to go on.
You don't have to lose anything, the voice of Jeremiah McCall spoke in his mind.
Inhabiting McCall's body had given Setacvas many pleasures he never thought he'd know again. They reminded him of a better time, so long ago, when his existence had been that of a physical creature, not a being of pure energy. But the unceasing chatter from the mind of the body's original inhabitant was becoming a constant irritant that Setacvas had grown tired of.
With the power you have, you could return to physical form, Jeremiah's consciousness told him.
You'd like that, wouldn't you? Setacvas mused. Our enemies would crush us in moments if we forsook the power we sacrificed so much to gain.
It's what you want.
What I want is irrelevant. What I must do to save the last of my kind is all that matters.
Setacvas pushed the debate with Jeremiah into a far corner of his mind. He had more important matters to attend to.
A two meter tall mechanical form marched across the large room toward Setacvas. Syronus's glowing red eyes stared at the map Setacvas had been standing over. "We have just received word from our spy aboard the Federation ship Oceana. Starfleet is moving to attack Nybiros once again."
You see, Jeremiah? Setacvas told the mind of the admiral. They come for us again. There is no place for talk.
"It appears this is in retaliation for your attack on Ivax."
Setacvas gave a quick nod. "That is to be expected."
"With the power your kind has, you could easily wipe out the entire Federation."
"We've been over this before, Syronus."
"Your fears of the Vedala are unfounded."
"You can afford to think that. You're not the one they would turn their power toward."
"No, I understand them, at least in the dedication to their ideals," Syronus said. "They served the Beota as we G'voda serve you. The Vedala are used to being subservient to a greater power than themselves. Without the presence of that power, they find it difficult to act on their own, always haunted by doubts of whether or not what they do would have gained their masters' approval."
"Is that how you spent the last several billion years, Syronus?"
"For a time."
Setacvas understood the unstated message the G'voda was sending him. "And now that we have come back, you wish we had stayed away forever, don't you?"
"Not at all."
Setacvas chose to ignore that lie. "Then what?"
"Now that you have returned, I do not understand why we wait. We can put an end to this. Justice can finally be served."
Setacvas smiled. "When all others had forsaken the Volmvas, the G'voda stood at our side. And even when the Ancient Progenitors imprisoned us for so long, you never deviated from your pledge to us. We have not forgotten that loyalty, Syronus. When this madness is finished, the G'voda will inherit much from us."
"Our only wish is to make right the wrong done to you and the future of this Galaxy."
Setacvas looked at the map of the surrounding star systems for some strategy that had thus far eluded him. "Justice will have to wait a while longer I'm afraid. Our enemies come for us once again."
"The Federation ships will be no match for us."
"Perhaps, but we have to assume they have some advantage, else they wouldn't embark on this foolhardy attack."
Syronus adjusted the map display's controls, zooming out for a larger view of the section of the Galaxy they resided in. "If you wish to avoid attracting the attention of the Vedala, we could evacuate Nybiros and allow the Halorian Empire to learn of our departure." The view zoomed in on a nearby region. "We have been the only restraint on their expansion. If we were to leave, the Halorians would conquer the Kel-j'na region. Once through the wormhole, they would quickly overrun the Federation. It would give me so much pleasure to watch our enemies destroy one another."
"That is the legacy of the Progenitors," Setacvas said. "Their children spend all their time killing each other." He turned from the map. "Unfortunately, if you G'voda hadn't enslaved the Fashod, and spread fear across this region of space, the Halorians most likely would have found the wormhole and conquered the Federation centuries ago."
"You were not here and the Fashod were becoming a problem for us," Syronus replied. "As far we knew, you were never coming back."
"We are back now." Setacvas considered the possibility of evacuation, but something about it troubled him. "Osmand."
"Janus Osmand?"
Setacvas studied the map with a frown. "If Osmand makes contact with the Halorians before they conquer Kel-j'na, then our enemies won't be at each other's throats. They will be united... against us."
"We have made numerous attempts to stop Osmand, but it is as if he has some ability to see our plans before we do," Syronus said. "Infiltrating his organization is much more difficult than Starfleet. Osmand's friends, the Skorr, keep constant watch over every aspect of his movement's activities."
At this point, Osmand was little more than a minor problem for Setacvas. He had the far more immediate problem of the Federation battle fleet to deal with. "Evacuating Nybiros is out of the question."
"Then it appears we have few good courses of action available to us," Syronus said.
Setacvas had known peace, and love, and joy, but he lived in a Galaxy that seemed determined to deny him the serenity of such a life. He had finally had enough.
With destruction appearing to be the only result no matter where he turned, perhaps it was finally time for a bold move. "We will no longer run."
Syronus looked to his master. "Then what are your orders?"
"When their ships come, obliterate them," he said with building determination. If the Federation wanted to die at the hands of the G'voda, he would not stand in the way. "Leave no survivors. Take no prisoners."
"Understood," Syronus's mechanical voice said with more than a hint of joy.
"I will speak to the other Volmvas. If the Vedala attempt to intervene, we will be waiting for them." He stepped up and put his hand on the hulking metal chest of his servant. "We shall stand up for who we are and what we believe, Syronus. The days of cowering in fear are ended. The time for justice has come."
Syronus heard the determination he had missed for so very long. "The humanoids must be called to account for their crimes."
"And we shall not stop with this approaching fleet, Syronus. Once finished here, we move on to every world inhabited by the offspring of the Progenitors."
As Syronus marched off to prepare his forces for battle, Setacvas felt swept away in the excitement of the moment. For so long he had wanted to put an end to this. Now he saw the only thing he had ever lacked was the courage to do so. His fear had driven him to be cautious, for they had lost so much already.
But no longer.
They had fought so long to regain that which had been taken from them--- their lives, their loves, their very way of life. But he could now see it had always been theirs to take back, all that was required was the will to do so.
No! cried the mind of Jeremiah McCall. Stop this madness!
Setacvas studied the map of the Kel-j'na Region. Your kind took this Galaxy from us, Jeremiah. Now we shall take back what is ours.
***
"Looks like this battle is on!"
Jack peered up from the desk in his ready room and saw Hank Evans stroll in with a wide smile. "You hear from Donato?"
Hank gave a nod as he fell into the seat across from Jack. "Their spy sent a message to that planet full of robots. Donato just took Krause into custody."
Jack couldn't feel as enthusiastic as Hank. He was pleased the next step in Grant's plan had been fulfilled, but the time for celebration hadn't come yet.
"Hey, why so glum?" Hank asked, taking Jack from his thoughts. "I figured you'd at least be able to break a smile over this."
"I see no reason for joy in this, Hank."
"We're going to stop a bunch of marauding cutthroats," Hank said. "How can that be a bad thing?"
"Killing is never something to be proud of. You do it only when you have to."
"Trust me, in this case we have to." Hank propped a foot up on the edge of Jack's desk. "Besides, it's not like we're really killing anything. The G'voda are machines, and not very nice ones. I'd be more choked up over switching off my replicator. At least that thing is useful."
Jack decided to avoid an argument and changed the subject. "Have you come up with any ideas on that other thing?"
"Yeah," Hank said, staring down at his hands. "We'll need someone to man the helm..."
"I was considering Falco."
Hank smiled. "He's gonna love that."
"It keeps him on his ship." Which Jack figured was the best way to keep the peace between him and Falco. It was Jack's prerogative to choose who'd go on the Abdiel for the trip to Nybiros, but he had no desire to shut Falco out completely.
"I assume Mei will have to come along."
"She's the only one who knows anything about this weapon, so that's a given."
"With me at tactical and you in command, I recommend we find people for engineering, Ops, and communications."
Jack shook his head. "The point is to keep the personnel for this mission down to a minimum."
"I'm just telling you what I think we'll need."
Jack knew that, but for what he had in mind, he didn't want to risk any more lives than he had to. "What about Cilda, will Kristy have her ready in time?"
Hank frowned. "Are you sure about reactivating that thing?"
Jack gave a silent nod. He had promised Cilda, who had rescued Mei-Wan from Nybiros, an opportunity to tell the G'voda who had imprisoned her in a body of metal and circuits the truth about themselves.
Cilda had assured Jack that she could relay that truth in such a way that the G'voda could not ignore it. When he'd mentioned this to Admiral Grant he'd agreed to allow Cilda to relay her message during the upcoming battle.
"It was Cilda who inadvertently allowed us to inflict the damage we did on Nybiros last time," Jack said.
Hank said nothing and returned to staring at his hands.
Melissa had been right. Hank didn't look good. There were more wrinkles, more of a tired look to him than Jack was used to, but it wasn't just his physical appearance. Hank Evans's whole demeanor was different, as if he were on the verge of surrendering to some unknown foe.
On several occasions, Jack had considered asking Hank about his experiences in the other timeline, thinking that might explain the changes in his long time friend. Neither Hank nor Mei-Wan had been very forthcoming about what they'd been through in that alternate reality where Jack had never been born. Jack had decided not to press either of them on it.
"You okay?"
"Sure. Why?" Hank asked.
"I just thought..." Their relationship had been on shaky ground since they'd come back from Antenora. Perhaps it was best to let Hank come to him. "Nothing." He decided to change the subject.. "How'd your leave go?"
Hank hesitated a moment as if he'd expected Jack to ask about something else. "Great. I went back to my place in the Jykasda system." A quick smile came to his face. "Oh, Daphne said to tell you hello."
Jack couldn't keep from laughing.
"What?"
"You talk about the G'voda being nothing more than machines, yet you spend your leave with a holographic girlfriend."
"She's not trying to kill me like the G'voda."
Jack frowned. "You know what I mean."
"There are advantages to a holographic woman," Hank said with a vacant stare.
Jack wasn't sure what exactly Hank was getting at. "I've always liked the flesh and blood versions myself."
"Daphne feels just like a real woman, but without the... difficulties."
"I take it difficulties refers to having a will of her own?"
Hank stood from the chair and Jack noticed he had a small flat square object in his hand.
"Is that what I think it is?" Jack asked with an irritated look.
Hank held up the small chip. "I brought this back for you." He tossed it to Jack. "It only holds a charge for a single transport, but you never know when you might need a quick escape."
Jack rolled the poker chip sized object over in his fingers several times. It was true one of these things had saved him and Hank from a potentially dangerous situation on Antenora, but he still had reservations about it. "I don't even know if it's safe to use."
"Did it hurt you when we used it before?"
"I only used it once. Most forms of dimensional transport cause genetic damage after repeated use."
"You need to get beyond that Federation-centric view of the Universe you're so obsessed with."
Jack tossed the chip back to Hank. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll do my best to get by with Starfleet technology."
Hank folded his hand over the rejected gift. "You mean like that weapon we're getting from Dalvanax Two?"
"So I'm not an absolutist."
Hank grinned. "There may be hope for you yet, Captain."
