Chapter 5 - Heart Of Darkness

Two guards walked Jack toward the end of the corridor, his hands and feet in chains. Once there, one of his captors touched a control on the wall. The door ahead slid open, revealing a plain room with dark blue walls. Only a desk and two chairs broke the emptiness.

"Please come in," Chalush said from behind the desk.

The guards remained behind in the corridor while Jack hobbled toward the chair opposite his host.

"Would you care for something?"

"You mean beside my freedom?"

Chalush poured a clear liquid into two glasses. "If it were within my power, I would gladly grant such a request."

Jack did his best to take the glass offered him, but found the chains he wore made using his hands difficult.

While Jack took a cautious sip, Chalush sat, watching in silence.

The water felt good on Jack's throat. "Is it possible for my crewmates in the holding cell to be shown the same courtesy?"

"They are being provided with food and water as we speak."

"Thank you," Jack offered. He sat back to relax. While this was not the most comfortable chair, it sure beat the hell out of the ground he'd sat and slept upon the last two days.

"I know you have reasons for what you'll do tomorrow, which I disagree with," Jack said. "But in your heart you know this is wrong."

"Knowing something and being able to do something about it are two different things."

"I've had that truth made very clear to me recently." His failure to stop the Vedala and Volmvas haunted Jack still. If only...

"The governor was pleased to hear we had recaptured you," Chalush said, snapping Jack back to the here and now. "He seems quite intent on seeing you."

"Don't you mean, seeing me executed?"

Chalush hesitated a moment. "Yes, I did get that impression from him, though he did not elaborate as to why. I was hoping you might be able to explain."

"I suspect it might have something to do with how before being captured by your forces my people were in the midst of a battle against the G'voda."

Chalush leaned forward. "You would dare to battle them?"

"My people would dare to battle anyone who would take our culture, our freedom, or our lives from us." Jack could see the excitement threatening to erupt from the being across the desk from him. "There are some things worth risking death for."

"It is not my death I fear, but that of all my people." Chalush leaned back in his chair. "I must protect them for as long as I can."

"When I left Nybiros, the G'voda were on the verge of total defeat. Now is the time to stand up for your people."

"The day I can no longer fulfill my duties, my people will make that choice for themselves." He turned his gaze from Jack. "I will leave no heir. When I die, the G'voda will have no further hold on my people. Anarchy will fill all the worlds of the Empire. Perhaps in that madness my people will push the G'voda from our territory."

Jack could see the sadness in Chalush's eyes. "You can make that happen now."

"All I would do is get them annihilated." He looked at Jack again. "I am sorry that my duty requires me to have you put to death. You must believe that."

"I believe you, but I can't forgive you if that's what you're looking for."

"But I bear you no malice. I only do what duty to my people requires of me."

"I'd prefer it if you were killing me out of malice. To do it out of duty alone robs both of us of our individuality," Jack said. "But in the end, I think the far greater harm is being done to you. I only have to die once." He stood. "You die every time you follow an order the G'voda give you."

***

Ten minutes later, Jack was back in the holding cell with Melissa, Falco, and Mei-Wan.

"Well?" Falco asked after the guards had left.

"I don't know," Jack said, checking his chains on the off chance the guards had failed to secure him properly. "I'm convinced he doesn't want to have us executed."

"That's a good thing," Melissa said.

"However unless he's willing to risk retaliation from the G'voda, it's going to be hard to get him to stand up to this governor."

"Did you tell him the G'voda were defeated at Nybiros?" Mei-Wan asked.

"Telling him and proving it to him are two different things."

"Let me get this straight," Falco said. "He's the one who has to give the order, right?"

Jack could see the hint of a smile on Falco's face. It didn't take him long to figure out what he was thinking. He had to admit he had pondered the same possibility himself. "If you're suggesting we kill Chalush..."

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting."

Jack thought a moment. "No. If the G'voda are defeated, the Fashod will need him to rebuild their society."

"We're talking about dying here, McCall!" Falco shouted. "I say the hell with their society!"

"He does have a point," Melissa said.

"One I readily concede." Jack knew what he was about to say wouldn't sit well with them, but it had to be said. "But in my opinion, any hope we have of getting out of this situation alive will depend on Chalush."

Falco was about to continue with his tirade, but Jack cut him off.

"I know that seems foolish, considering where we find ourselves, but I believe he has it within him to make the right choice even if he doesn't believe it himself."

"Faith in a being we barely know isn't much to hang a hope on," Falco retorted.

"In this case, it's all we have."

***

The next day, Jack, Melissa, Mei-Wan, and Falco were led down the landing ramp of the small transport ship. Immediately Jack noticed the moisture in the air he took into his lungs. He guessed the air pressure on this world was more than that of Earth, but not dangerously so.

A series of wind gusts made crossing the landing field difficult, and the chains they each wore didn't help that chore either.

A large orange sun hung in the sky, slowing sinking toward the horizon, partially obscured by clouds. In the distance, hundreds of towers reached skyward.

"Nice planet," Falco said with a frown.

At the head of their party, Chalush pointed the guards in the direction of a land vehicle. Soon afterward, they were all aboard and heading toward the collection of towers Jack assumed was a city.

Mei-Wan, Melissa, and Falco were seated in the back of the vehicle with the guards, while Jack sat across from Chalush toward the front.

"You are being escorted to the governor. He will pronounce sentence upon you, then we shall take you outside the palace for public execution."

Jack laughed.

"Do you find that humorous?" Chalush asked.

"I was just thinking of the other inhabitants of the Kel-j'na Region and how terrified they are of you Fashod."

"Cultivating such fear is something the Fashod found necessary."

Jack shook his head. "Fear is never necessary when good will and mutual trust are present."

"My people are highly empathic," Chalush said. "That ability made us avoid war and at the same time caused others to mistrust us."

"You used your ability to understand the feelings of others to control them."

"In some cases, yes... but we don't just understand what another feels, we share in it. To fight and kill, to cause pain in another brings pain to us." He looked away at the tall mountains surrounding the city they approached. "We avoid inflicting pain whenever and however we can."

"I imagine that would have made your history somewhat less bloody than my own world's."

"On occasion, but it also made us willing to endure hardships, suffering, and even dictators that we might otherwise have fought against." He turned to Jack. "It was also the cause of our eventual fall to the G'voda."

"How so?"

"Because we had convinced this region of space that we were to be respected and even feared, the G'voda saw us as a threat to their safety. They attacked us, fearing we would attack them. Now, my world, my people... It is said that on the day they came, the cries of a billion touched the souls of all who still lived." He turned to Jack. "Can you imagine what it is like to feel the agony of a billion beings? It is the fear of that, not death, not our own destruction, which keeps us imprisoned by the G'voda."

"But you could lead your people to overthrow them," Jack said. "Believe me when I say the G'voda can no longer threaten you as they once did."

Chalush regarded him a moment. "But you did not receive a reply to the signal you sent shortly after escaping, did you? So you don't know if your people won the battle or not."

Jack reluctantly nodded. "I'm sure a reply is on its way, but no, I have no assurance they won."

"Then my answer is the same. I must serve the interests of my people."

Jack decided to turn his attention to the city they were just now entering.

"Your people have accomplished much," Jack said. "This city is magnificent."

Chalush closed his eyes. "It is but a shadow of its former self. Even I have only seen recordings of the glory that it once was." He finally looked out at the nearby buildings topped with sharp golden spires. "I have heard that to see these towers with their green metal against the bright blue sky would leave speechless even the most verbose of orators. To attempt any words to describe them was to diminish them." He appeared near tears. "But the abuse of wind and rain over the centuries has done far more of that than words ever could."

"I doubt the buildings were great of themselves," Jack told him. "Such things speak more of the people who build and live in them."

"Is this another attempt to convince me to turn against the G'voda?"

"No. My hope is months or years from now you'll understand I was right, and you'll lead your people to reclaim the magic in their hearts that once made this a great city."

"How can mere words accomplish anything when we face annihilation for the slightest disobedience?"

"No one has a right to set themselves up as an authority over another people. When enough of your people learn that, you will see words transformed into a belief that drives action. And with that first taste of freedom, there will be no going back to the existence of servitude you now suffer under."

Chalush hesitated as though he'd entertained a wish and against all hope believed for a moment it was actually possible. But that moment was all too brief.

"Reality is you will be dead soon."

"But my dreams can live on."

As they entered the heart of the city, several of its citizens wandered the fog filled streets, looking more like corpses than members of the living. Their clothing for the most part was tattered and colorless, mere rags pieced together for their functionality than any futile attempt at style.

The emptiness in their eyes told Jack all he needed to know about the Fashod--- their souls had been beaten. They no longer had any dreams.

The vehicle came to a stop in front of a massive structure at the center of the city. Hundreds of steps stood between their place on the street and the entrance to the ornately decorated building.

Chalush motioned the guards to take them up the steps.

***

On the way inside, Chalush told Jack this had been the Imperial Palace before the G'voda had arrived. Now it was merely the governor's residence.

In both cases it was the center of power in Fashod territory.

In the centuries between those two functions, much of the ornate décor of the palace had fallen into disrepair. Jack could see the corrosion on what he assumed was inlaid gold on several walls as they were led through the labyrinth of wide hallways with ceilings twice as high as the average Fashod.

Two massive doors parted and allowed them entry to an oppressively cavernous room. Only here did the ornate artwork still shine as it probably had five centuries before. Yet even then, there were small flaws that Jack suspected would not have been allowed when the Fashod Emperor had held court here.

Unfortunately for Jack McCall and his crewmates, no Fashod sat on the throne at the far end of this hall.

But Jack had to admit he was surprised by the appearance of the figure that was there. Instead of the polished metal shine of a G'voda machine, this one was just as worn and beaten as the city it presided over. Even its glowing red eyes seemed dimmer than they should have been.

"Governor Parvus," Chalush said as he approached the raised dais. "Here are the prisoners you requested."

The G'voda leaned forward almost imperceptibly. "Captain Jack McCall," its electronic voice stated. "I had suspected you might be the one who tried to violate Fashod space."

"Do I know you?"

"We have never met, but Zachary's reports were quite detailed."

Evidently more so than Jack had thought if one of the G'voda could recognize him on sight.

However, at this moment someone else appeared to consume the governor's attention.

"Mei-Wan," Parvus murmured. "But you were transferred to one of our..."

"The process doesn't transfer minds," Mei-Wan said. "Cilda helped me escape."

Every Fashod in the room became agitated by the mention of that name.

"Cilda?" Chalush asked, forgetting for a moment who ruled his world. "She lives?"

Jack hadn't wanted news of Cilda to come out like this. He doubted he could explain Cilda's fate without causing them far more pain than they already lived under.

"More a reflection of her, than the empress you revere," Jack said. "But her spirit of dedication to your people continues." He turned to Chalush. "I can have her brought here if you'd like."

"You can do nothing I do not allow, Captain!" Parvus interrupted, silencing the chattering in the hall. "Cilda is irrelevant to the future of this world and its people. The G'voda rule Fashod space. That is the nature of reality for these people. It does them no good to indulge in fantasies that an era long gone will someday return."

"Or maybe you're afraid of what'll happen to your sorry metal ass if they do indulge them," Falco said with a smirk.

"I fear nothing, Commander Falco." Parvus stood. "But you have much to fear." He walked to within a foot of Mei-Wan, his glowing eyes peering down at her. "How you returned to your organic body is not my concern. But you should have remained in the new body we gave you."

"I'm surprised your friends on Nybiros didn't mention my escape." Mei-Wan smiled. "But I suppose you are the last to know about a lot of things."

"I know that your people are jamming communications between myself and Nybiros, but I will break through it soon enough."

"You don't have to jam what isn't there," Melissa said. "The G'voda were defeated by Starfleet."

"You don't have the technology..."

"Starfleet and the Vedala," Jack stated.

Parvus walked up to Jack. "Then ask those traitors to come to your rescue now." He paused. "Please, do show me the power that defeated the G'voda."

Jack remained silent. He had no idea what the final outcome had been at Nybiros, but he was pleased to know Parvus had been unable to contact his cohorts. That at least gave him some hope.

"On the off chance that you have won some sort of victory at Nybiros, I will begin converting the entire Fashod population to G'voda bodies starting tomorrow morning. Your presence here will allow me to convince them that the Federation plans an invasion, one which they must defend against."

Jack watched Chalush for some reaction, but found none. How could he let that be done to his people?

Parvus walked back to the throne and sat down. "If you came here thinking you'd set the Fashod free, you were quite mistaken, Captain. Freedom is not something they crave."

"All beings wish to live free."

"True freedom is a horror too terrifying for most beings to contemplate. Few give it a second glance when confronted with the full reality of it," Parvus said. "The Fashod don't want the freedom you bring. They want someone to protect them and give them purpose."

"They'll do much better when they make their own purpose," Jack stated.

"Are you aware some of the Fashod worship me?"

Again Jack looked to Chalush, but again, nothing.

"I have been the governor here for five hundred years," Parvus told them. "I am the one constant in their lives. These people need me. I do not oppress them. I give them meaning. I give them comfort."

Jack didn't believe that for a moment.

"Even when I executed twenty thousand of them for a short-lived rebellion a century ago, their need for me only grew," Parvus continued. "The more brutal my rule, the more their need for me grows." The machine leaned forward. "What does that tell you about the Fashod? About all the descendants of your Ancient Progenitors?"

Before Jack could dispute what the G'voda had said, Parvus answered his own question.

"It points to the innate weakness in all of you. But what is to be expected from beings who were designed to be nothing more than obstacles to justice? In a way, I do not blame you for what you are."

"Lucky us," Melissa said under her breath.

Whether Parvus heard it or not, he didn't react. "Like all obstructions you must be pushed aside. The G'voda are on the threshold of great things, Captain. You and your kind can either get out of the way, or we shall exterminate you all." He turned his gaze to Chalush. "I have seen and heard all that is necessary. Take them to the holding cell and announce to the city their execution at sunrise."

Chalush gave the briefest of nods.

"And I want the streets filled this time," Parvus added. "The people must know that outsiders can never bring them anything but hollow illusions."

***

Chalush and five guards led them through several dark passages, down what Jack guessed was more than a hundred feet below the surface.

As they approached what appeared to be their cell, Chalush faltered, nearly collapsing to the floor. Jack moved instinctively to prevent that from happening.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

If it had not been for Chalush quickly raising his hand to stay the guards, Jack would not even been able to voice such a question. It wasn't until almost an hour later he'd understood how close he had come to being killed in that moment. He hadn't even considered the guards might misinterpret his actions as an attack against Chalush.

"Just a moment of fatigue, Jack McCall," Chalush said as Jack helped him to his feet again. "But why concern yourself with my well being? If I were to die, Parvus could not execute you until my people decided upon a new heir to the imperial throne."

Jack grinned as the door was opened to their cell. "I suppose the logical choice would have been to let you fall."

"But when has logic alone ever charted the best course?" Melissa asked with smile, moving close to Jack.

Chalush closed his eyes a moment, then turned to Jack and Melissa. "I daresay there is some truth in your words."

He motioned them all inside the cell where the guards secured their chains to several locations on the walls, making an escape less than unlikely. Chalush himself checked the chains, stopping last at those holding Jack's hands.

"What you said about my people and freedom meant much to me, Captain." He smiled, clasping Jack's hand. "When a people have been oppressed as long as we, there is little we dream of other than freedom. But dreaming of a thing and having the means to accomplish it are never the same, I think you'd agree."

Jack's eyes widened. "I certainly do."

Chalush and the guards left the dark room.

"You should have let him fall!" Falco said. "If he can't give the order, we won't be executed!"

"But then he couldn't have given me this." Jack opened his hand, revealing a small rectangular object.

A grin came to Melissa's face. "I assume that's the same device he used to lock our chains."

"Okay," Falco said, his previous rage gone. "Maybe helping him was the right thing to do."

Mei-Wan pulled at the metal clasps on her wrists. "How about getting started on these things?"

***

"Find them!"

Chalush gave a short nod. "We have already begun searching the palace."

Parvus bolted up from the throne. "How did they escape in the first place?!"

"We are still investigating."

The glow of the governor's eyes intensified. "Have their guards executed. I shall not tolerate such incompetence."

Chalush turned to leave.

"Perhaps I should make an example of them by having their families executed as well."

Chalush stopped. He wanted to scream at the machine which ruled their world, but he knew it would only worsen an already terrible situation.

However, it did please him to see Parvus so agitated. He only hoped Jack McCall and his friends found a way off this world.

***

"You know it might help if we found some weapons," Falco said.

Jack frowned as he peered around a corner in the silent hallway. "Unless you know where they store them, the only way I can see to get a weapon is to confront some guards which isn't high on my list of things to do."

Melissa pointed to a door across from them. "Didn't we come through there when they brought us in?"

The others turned to look.

"How can you tell?" Mei-Wan asked. "One door looks pretty much like all the others."

"Then that one is as good a choice as any to try," Jack said making his way across the wide corridor.

Several minutes later they came to a set of five large doors.

"This is the way we came in," Mei-Wan stated.

"But why aren't there any guards here?" Falco asked.

Jack pulled one of the doors just far enough so he could look outside. He frowned. "Because there's a huge crowd out there in the street."

"Now what?" Melissa asked.

Jack hesitated less than a second. "We go into the street."

"We'll stand out like a turd on a birthday cake!" Falco complained.

"No other choice," Jack said, sliding out the door.

Mei-Wan and Melissa followed.

"With choices like these, I think we might have been better back in our cell." Falco brought up the rear.

To Jack's surprise, the crowd didn't appear to pay much attention to their exit from the palace. Though he did have to admit the hundred yard distance between the doors of the palace and the street below might have had something to do with it. He doubted their luck would hold once they were closer.

But he was counting on that.

They only had to make it into the crowd. After that, some chaos would make movement just as difficult for their pursuers.

However, soon Jack understood why the crowd remained so quiet.

Fifty Fashod guards streamed out of the assembled civilians, then up the steps.

"Bad idea," Melissa said, stepping back.

Jack turned to watch another set of guards come down the steps of the palace toward them.

"I think we have a problem," Mei-Wan said.

In a matter of seconds the guards had the four of them surrounded.

"You know McCall, your escape plans really stink," Falco said.

The sea of guards parted and Chalush walked toward the captives. "I am sorry, Jack McCall." He motioned to the guards. "Take them back to their cell."

"No!"

Everyone turned to watch a lone metal figure march down the steps.

"Execute them now!" Parvus ordered.

"But the crowd..." Chalush began.

"Is sufficient for my needs." The G'voda stood five sets of steps above everyone else. "Finish this."

Melissa moved to stand at Jack's side.

He held her tight in his arms. His mind tried to find a way out of this, but all he could focus on was Melissa. She was all that mattered to him.

His love for her made Jack's next decision for him.

Jack leaped at the nearest guard, wrestling the Fashod's weapon from him. In the twinkling of an eye, Jack took aim. He knew he'd only get one shot off and that it wouldn't do much damage, but it would make the last thing he did an act of defiance.

He was determined not to go quietly.

Jack fired.

His target staggered, but only a moment.

What surprised Jack was the guards didn't retaliate.

Parvus's metal skin showed little evidence of the energy blast that had just struck it. "I'm not as weak as an organic lifeform, McCall," he laughed. "Kill them."

Jack almost turned his weapon on Chalush, but he couldn't. He had faith in Chalush despite knowing his first concern was the welfare of his people. For the rest of his life Jack McCall would never understand why he had that faith in a being he'd only just met.

Jack fired again at Parvus.

Chalush looked down but a moment, then held his hand out to the nearest guard. "Your weapon."

The subordinate complied and handed the gun to Chalush.

"Kill McCall!" Parvus demanded.

"Execute the governor," Chalush said calmly, taking aim at the machine.

"Are you insane?!" Parvus screamed. "Don't you know what will happen to this planet? Your people will be annihilated!"

"I will not do evil to prevent the evil you threaten us with," Chalush said. "Perhaps we will all die, but in whatever moments we have left to us we shall live free."

Jack smiled as the guards turned their weapons on the G'voda and fired.

Thirty seconds later, Parvus's metal body shattered into a thousand pieces.

Jack, Melissa, Mei-Wan, and Falco stood silent as did everyone else on the steps and in the street.

But in the next moment that silence broke under the thunderous cheers of the thousands of Fashod below.

Chalush and the guards walked down the steps to join the celebration.

Falco strolled up to Jack. "Great escape plan."

Mei-Wan turned to the rest of her crewmates. "Since our execution appears to have been cancelled, now what do we do?"

"I suppose we ought to ask someone here if we can contact Starfleet," Jack said.

Melissa threw her arms around him. "That can wait a little while, can't it?"

Jack smiled wide as she kissed him.

***

The silent dread the Fashod had lived with for five centuries lay shattered on the steps of an imperial palace that once again belonged to them. The walking death they'd endured was finally over, and their hearts sang joyfully for the freedom they'd hardly dared dream of. The celebrations on Fashod continued into the next morning, proclaiming a brand new day for a world which had known only darkness for so very long.

That new day was a full one for Jack, Melissa, Falco, and Mei-Wan. Not only were they showered with amazing gifts, the finest clothes, and given the best accommodations the capital city had to offer, but in a special ceremony that had not taken place since the G'voda occupation, Jack was awarded the status of "Protector of the Empire."

He resisted the notion at first, but not wanting to offend their new friends, finally accepted.

At the close of the ceremony, Chalush, now adorned in the regal robes of his forebearers, turned to the assembled crowd on the steps of the palace.

"My friends, today we stand here because one man believed in a dream for us, a dream we did not dare to make our own. But he acted when we sat idle, that we might see a glimpse of a future where none of us lived the life of a slave any longer. Jack McCall is more than a Protector of the Fashod Empire, he is its friend, and we shall cherish him always as one who voiced the cries of our heart when we had lost our own voice.

"Whatever may come, wherever our destiny may take us, we shall never forget that Jack McCall taught us to believe... taught me to believe, that some dreams are worth fighting for, and worth dying for."

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