Dark Territory: Pandora's Jar

[DarKush]

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USS Monarch
Sickbay

“What the hell is going on?” The wheezed question drew Leza’s attention. Zammit blew through his nostrils.

“Note to self, lock door next time,” the Bzzit Khaht muttered out of the side of his mouth. His gaze was still riveted to his screen. Walker was breathing hard, his face as crimson as an Azati Prime sunrise. An insensate Lt. Nash was slumped over the man’s shoulder. Astar left her seat to help the captain ease the man to the floor.

Walker glared at her, “How could you do this Leza?” The Trill gasped, taken aback by the vehemence in the man’s voice.

“It wasn’t her fault, I shot Mr. Nash, just like I did Petrov,” Zammit replied, his focus still on his terminal.

“I see,” Walker said, standing up slowly. He unlatched the phaser holstered on his hip, and aimed it at the oblivious medic. “You’re the one I’m going to have to stop.”

“Captain, wait,” Astar stepped in front of him. “You don’t understand what’s going on.”

“Explain to me,” Walker said, the weapon’s emitter cone now aimed at her.

“How about you explain your relationship with Commander Petrov?” Zammit shot back, “and how it has left us all endangered.”

The charge buckled Walker’s knees slightly, and his gun arm wavered. “I’m sorry sir,” Astar said, before catching the captain off guard with a solid uppercut. “But the doctor can’t be interrupted right now.” The man fell like an oak freshly severed from its roots. Leza secured the phaser first before turning her attention to him. Propped up on one elbow, Walker rubbed his chin with his free hand.

“Guess I deserved that,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, you did,” Astar replied, reaching out a hand to him. “But I’m still sorry, all the same.” He took her hand and she planted her feet while he pulled himself up.

“The dead man’s switch virus that Petrov placed in the mainframe has been corralled,” the medic crowed, swiveling around in the seat. He sighed heavily. “I’ve also isolated the virus she used to take command of the ship’s systems. Control is back in your hands captain.” Leza was sure that the man’s triumphant smile was swallowed by the darkness that blanketed the room seconds later.

“What now?” Walker’s question followed an unfamiliar expletive.

“Zammit?” Astar called out. “I thought you had a handle on this.”

“I…I did too,” the doctor replied, the customary swagger gone from his voice. “Petrov might’ve been smarter than I gave her credit for.”

“You think?” Both Walker and Astar riposted.
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IRW Blackwing
Command Deck

“What happened?” Commander Livana pinned Centurion Sergius with a hawkish stare. He glanced down at his console again, blinking in surprise.

“The Federation starship has encountered a ship wide power outage,” he replied, glancing at the screen. The darkened vessel glinted dimly in starlight. “I don’t know what happened.”

“We should strike now,” Major Piso replied, standing ever present, it seemed, at Livana’s side. Sergius made sure his facial expression and tone were neutral before responding:

“And it could be a trap. Perhaps they know we are here and are trying to get us to drop our cloak.”

“Do you really think they would take such a risk? That they would expose themselves in such a fashion?” Piso scoffed. “No the gods have shown us favor and we must take advantage.”

“I agree,” Livana replied, sitting back in her chair. She crossed her legs, her gaze reflective, as she gathered her thoughts, “with the major. Sergius, charge weapons and deactivate the cloak.”
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Dark Realm

Ivan Cherenkov stalked through the deserted halls, foreboding hanging over him like a cloud. His eyes darted from side to side, a ball of tension forming in his chest. He cradled his compression rifle, the setting on kill. There was a part of Ivan that almost wanted to see one of the shadow creatures. He wanted to test out his rifle on them, he wanted to see if he could kill them.

There was a part of the Russian that was silently daring the shadows to emerge. As if in answer to his thoughts, he heard a rustling behind him. With almost lightning fast reflexes he turned around and got off two shots. They punched through a thin black film that had formed behind him and hung from the walls like a spider web. The film resolved into a human shape. Ivan fired several more shots, each passing through without any noticeable effect.

Shit, he thought, grabbing a photon grenade from the bandolier strapped across his chest. He hated destroying a corridor. How am I going to explain this to the captain? Ivan wondered, as he held the grenade aloft, his finger on the activation node.

The shadow now took a very feminine, very familiar shape. It held up one hand as it continued its transformation. “Don’t Ivan,” it said, the words chilling him. The creature sounded like Aquiel. He knew it was a trick, that the alien was buying time, but he still couldn’t complete the throw. He stood, frozen as the alien roughly took on Aquiel’s appearance, though it looked like the woman had been dipped in a well of black ink. “Ivan, I need your help,” she pleaded.

“You think I’m that stupid?” Cherenkov replied.

“Ivan there’s no time for this,” the thing with Aquiel’s face replied. “I’m inside this thing. But it’s hard to maintain my focus, it’s hard to retain my individuality. While I’m still able I need you to listen and do exactly as I say.”

“And if I don’t?” Ivan challenged.

“Then everything is lost…everything is lost.”
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[DarKush]

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IRW Cuirass
Command Deck

Captain Glover shuffled forward to get a better look. He took up position beside the still standing Crixus. The captain held back his gorge as he asked, “Mr. N’Saba, what happened to you?” The Alshain’s black fur appeared covered in a shiny, tar like substance, as if it were coming out of his pores. Most disturbing was that his artificial eyes had been removed, and black pus leaked from them. “What happened to your eyes?”

“They were no longer necessary,” the Alshain’s voice had a detached quality; gone was the customary haughtiness. Terrence never thought he could miss that snide voice, but he did now. “I see everything now, and you will too, once you embrace Unity.”

“Unity?” Glover glanced at Crixus and the other Remans. Then he glanced at Basri and Baird, both had came running to the bridge his request. They all looked equally perplexed. “What are you talking about?”

“You will understand all shortly,” N’Saba promised.

“Not good enough Mr. N’Saba,” Terrence stated, his voice hardening. “I want some answers and I want them now.”

“Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded and we will show you,” Lt. Donar stepped into view, black worms wiggling across his pallid skin. A pained expression covered his strong face.

“Are you well Mr. Donar? Are you suffering from a virus?” Glover asked. He wished that he was back aboard Baltimore. He could order a quick medical scan.

“We have never been better,” N’Saba assured them.

“Doesn’t look that way to me,” Basri muttered, and Terrence nodded in agreement.

“If you lower your shields, we can send a medical team over to assist you,” the captain offered.

“Captain Glover that is not necessary,” N’Saba said. “Lower your shields now or we will lower them by force.”

“That isn’t my decision to make,” the captain glanced at his counterpart. Crixus’s eyes radiated defiance.

“Remans don’t surrender,” he declared.

“We understand,” N’Saba and Donar said in unison.

“Aegis is charging weapons,” the Reman at the tactical station replied.

“Evasive maneuvers,” Crixus ordered as he retook his command seat.

“Aegis firing,” the officer replied, seconds later. Glover screamed inside as he watched bolts of energy from his own ship bear down upon them. They boomed like thunder across the bridge of the Cuirass. Terminals sparked, the lights dimmed even further, and Glover heard muted grunts of pain around the bridge.

“Shield strength down 45 percent,” the female Reman at the aft sensor console replied.

“But that was only the first volley,” Baird observed.

“Let’s make sure there isn’t a second,” Glover remarked. “Chieftain Crixus,” he began but the Reman leader ignored him. He was busy issuing rapid-fire commands to his crew, so quickly that Glover’s subdermal universal translator couldn’t decipher them. The ship lurched right, almost throwing the captain to the deck. From the screen, Glover saw that the Cuirass had just averted another salvo.

“Fire, full spread,” Crixus ordered. Glover was impressed by the man’s steeliness. Even if the order distressed him. The Reman had just ordered an attack on his ship. He didn’t know what to do as a deadly fan of energy spread from the warbird’s weapon arrays. The green wave washed over the Aegis’s hull, with little effect. He sensed the confusion and disappointment from the Cuirass crew.

“That ship is equipped with regenerative shielding and ablative armor,” Glover remarked, “It’s going to take a lot more pounding than that to break through.”

“Then give us the advantage we need,” Crixus declared. Glover twisted in the wind, unable to speak.

“Captain,” the Reman leader pressed as the ship took another hit. Terrence had never been so indecisive before, and he hated it. He just couldn’t hand over tactical information about the Aegis to the Remans. He felt it went against his duty as a Starfleet officer, even if his life was in danger. But at the same time, if he could find a way to disable the ship…they might be able to figure out what happened to the crew and save them. But how could he be sure he could trust the Remans to do just that? That if he disabled Aegis that the Remans wouldn’t take the ship for themselves and perhaps uses it against their Romulan oppressors, potentially sparking a war, or to force the Federation to grant them asylum? He glanced at Baird and then Basri. Baird shrugged and Basri raised her eyebrows. He was disgusted that he had allowed his subordinates to see his doubt.

“Captain Glover,” Crixus began again, “I need an answer.”

“I…can’t,” he decided, thoughts of Jasmine flashing through his mind. “I can’t betray my duty to the Fleet,” he added, lowering his head.

“I see,” Crixus replied, his voice as cold as space. “Continue evasive maneuvers. We can’t take too many more hits like the last one.”

“Chieftain,” the Reman at tactical console began, “we have limited propulsion and minimal shielding. We won’t be able to outrun or evade the Starfleet vessel. I recommend we shift all of our power to our shielding.”

“No Mekrek,” Crixus shook his head. “Divert that power to a containment field around the polaric ion generator and bring it online.”

“At once,” the Reman tac officer said.

“What?” Terrence balked. “You can’t do that. That weapon could destroy the Aegis.”

Unfazed Crixus remarked, “You haven’t given me much choice Captain,” the Reman sniffed, “Besides, you saw the condition of those two on the viewer. Consider it a mercy.”

“I won’t let you do it,” Glover stepped toward the Reman leader. Crixus remained placid, though a jolt of tension ran through the rest of the bridge crew. Terrence could feel both Basri and Baird drawing closer to him.

“Captain Glover,” Crixus said with surprising calm, “my first priority is to my crew. I will not allow my ship to be destroyed, or for it to be boarded and murdered or infected by whatever disease has gripped that ship. Would you not do the same thing if our positions were reversed?”

Glover stopped, unable to dismiss the question. “I…I,” he just couldn’t bring himself to admit the truth. “There has to be some other way.”

“Aegis is coming about,” the female Reman sensor officer interrupted their exchange, “and recharging weapons.” Glover’s former ship fired again, and Terrence felt the portside nacelle disintegrating before the sensor officer gravely informed them. They crippled us, but didn’t take us out…again, he realized, finally grasping the pattern.

“There is…no other way,” Crixus said, with a note of regret in his voice. “If I can avoid destroying the vessel, I will, but the safety of my crew comes first, even at the cost of asylum.”

“I just can’t sit here and do nothing,” Glover demanded. “Beam me over there, let me talk sense into them.”

“I’m not going to drop my shields in the middle of a battle for such a foolhardy scheme,” Crixus said.

“I can penetrate Aegis’s shielding,” Glover said. “If you agree to help me take another chance at negotiation, I will provide it to you.”

“And what is the catch?” Crixus asked.

“That you not use it until you are certain that negotiations have failed completely,” Glover said. Crixus rubbed his chin, carefully gathering his thoughts as the ship trembled again from another barrage from the Aegis. The Reman was nonchalant as an energy surge erupted from the aft consoles singeing some and severely burning others.

“It would be suicide,” Crixus regarded.

“I know the capabilities of that ship,” Glover remarked. “If they had wanted to destroy us, they would’ve done so already. They want something else, and if we can keep them talking we might find out what it is.”

Crixus nodded after a few moments. “If you wish…” He motioned and the communications officer contacted the Aegis.

“Aegis is answering the hail,” the man replied.

“We don’t wish to destroy you,” N’Saba said, “but we will.” Glover held up his hands.

“I propose a ceasefire, and a chance to negotiate,” he offered.

“There is nothing to negotiate,” N’Saba remarked. “You will embrace Unity. All will be One.”

“That sounds intriguing,” Glover replied, “but I would like to know more about this…Unity. I propose beaming over to your vessel, unarmed, so that we can discuss this further.”

“We accept,” N’Saba said so quickly that Glover blinked in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting the Alshain to accede so quickly. There is definitely something aboard that they want, something they are afraid might be damaged if the battle continues. And he had a good inkling of what they might be.

“Fine,” Glover replied. “I trust that we can both power down our weapons and then lower our shields simultaneously.”

“Agreed.”

“Standby,” the captain said, temporarily disconnecting the link. He turned back to Crixus. “As we say on Earth, piece of cake.”

“What is cake?” Crixus grumbled before he waved away the captain’s attempt to answer. Instead the Reman swiveled his chair aft, “Xioma, Mekrek, accompany the captain,” he told the sensor and tactical officer.

“Wait a second,” Baird stepped forward, with Basri close behind him, “that’s our job.”

“No,” Glover replied. “I need you both here, Basri I want you to work with Lt. Doriss and help the Remans secure the containment field around the polaric ion generator. It might be our last resort, emphasis on last,” Glover glanced at Crixus. “And Mr. Baird, I want you at the tactical console. I’ll be imparting the Aegis shielding sequence to you.”

“That is not what we agreed to,” Crixus shot out of his seat, his tranquility gone. “The Romulans said humans couldn’t be trusted, and for once I should’ve listened to them.”

“Mr. Baird can relay the information to you as well as I can,” Glover replied, “And he’s under orders to comply if you negotiations fail. Understood Mr. Baird?”

“Absolutely sir,” Baird said, trying to muster a semblance of acceptance for the captain’s directive. Glover leaned forward and whispered the sequence in his ear. The bearish man nodded.

“All right,” Glover said, satisfied. He glanced at both Xioma and Mekrek. The two Remans came to flank him. “Now, Chieftain, inform Aegis that we are ready to beam over.”
********************************************************************

 

[DarKush]

********************************************************************
Dark Realm

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Lt. Commander Cherenkov muttered to himself as he headed toward Main Engineering.

You’ve got to trust me, the words flowered in his mind and tugged at his heart. He glanced up and watched the undulating black sheet moving across the ceiling above him. He shook his head for the umpteenth time. The Russian couldn’t believe that he trusted that thing and that he was actually starting to believe it contained Aquiel’s consciousness.

But the things it had revealed to him about some of the things they had done in the war, things not in the official records, no one else but her could’ve known.

And it didn’t seem like these creatures would provide him the means to kill themselves which is exactly what Aquiel had done. He regretted that the crew would also die if he was able to reach the main reactor. But it was the only way to prevent these creatures, “The Dark” as Aquiel had called them from invading the galaxy. She had told him they were in the process of acquiring a power source that would free them from the negative energy caging them inside this subspace manifold.

He was still wrapping his head around the idea that dark matter beings could exist. He had never been much interested in science, but he knew enough to know that such life forms were highly improbable. Yet they did exist, and they wanted to expand into the Alpha Quadrant, reconfigure it for their own purposes, and enslave all sentient life in the process. Ivan knew he wasn’t going to let that happen. His life and that of his crew were small prices to pay in the larger scheme of things.

If he kept telling himself that eventually he might believe it when he reached Main Engineering. He didn’t care much if he died, though it tore at his heart to cut down so many that he had come to view as colleagues, friends, and with Aquiel, something even more.

Ivan! The words split through his brain, drowning out his thoughts. Behind you! He turned a second too late. A mass of flesh, with grabbing hands, and tearing fingers, smashed into him and drove him against the corridor’s wall. Despite the pale skin, he recognized at least one of the faces.

“Captain Rahul?” He asked, fighting against his attackers while pushing back against his shock. “My God!” Where the captain’s skin was stark white, it was bruised and discolored by writhing pools of blackness. His face had been misshapen by the black tendrils, as had the rest of the people trying to stop him from his mission.

There were too many of them to fight off and he knew if they got him to the ground it would all be over. Dark, wiggling obsidian worms came out of their mouths like putrid tongues, seeking him, seeking a new home. He stopped fighting and grabbed a grenade from his bandolier. “I’m sorry,” he muttered to Aquiel. I failed you, he thought, unable to muster the courage to speak the words.

“No, you didn’t,” she replied. Seconds later Rahul and the others fell away and the facsimile of Aquiel stood before him. Her features tried to smile, “Come on, we have to go.” She reached out to him and as he grabbed her hand, her body stiffened and her head shot back. She pushed him away a fraction before a black blade punctured her body.

Ivan watched in horror as Aquiel’s features dissolved and her constructed frame merged into the black blade.

“Enough of these games,” Genip snapped, standing where Aquiel had once stood. She aimed the blade at him.

“I agree,” Ivan remarked, snatching the grenade from his bandolier and tossing it at her.
********************************************************************
USS Monarch
Sickbay

The Romulan’s voice reverberated throughout the room, booming in the silence. “Prepare to be boarded.”

“At least the comm system is working,” Zammit remarked. Commander Astar flashed her wrist lamp at the man and the Bzzit Khaht recoiled. “Well, it’s a start at least.”

“Dr. Zammit, continue trying to undo whatever Sofia’s last surprise for us was,” Walker said, his face a mask of determination. He tapped his communicator, and it sparked to life. “I’m heading to the bridge now, do your best to stall them off until I arrive.”

“But sir,” It was Liyange, and Astar could hear uncustomary strain in the woman’s voice. “We don’t have any power; we’re locked out of everything but communications.”

“Do your best,” was all Walker could muster. He glared at Astar. “Leza, I want you to go to Sofia’s quarters. Maybe there is something there that can help Zammit.”

“But sir, I think it would be best for me to accompany you to the bridge,” the Trill replied, gently but firmly.

Just as firmly, but with no hint of tenderness, Walker replied, “That’s an order Commander and be quick about it! We don’t have much time.”
********************************************************************

USS Aegis
Auxiliary Bridge
Secondary Hull

Captain Glover caught his breath as soon as he resolved on the auxiliary bridge. There was an almost overpowering stench of decay though he saw no evidence of death. Members of his crew covered in black slime, their bodies bent and twisted by things pulsing just inside their flesh. Whatever had them was consuming them.

It was too late to worry about infection so he plowed ahead. “Lt. Commander N’Saba,” he addressed his former Science Officer. The Alshain occupied the command chair. Lt. Donar stood beside him. The sightless Alshain turned toward him and Glover did his best not to look disgusted by his appearance.

“Captain Glover,” the corners of his mouth inched into a smile, “Finally we will see eye to eye.”
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[CeJay]

Looks like all the story-lines are approaching their climactic conclusions. I can't wait to see what will happen to Terrence. I just can't see a good way for him to get out of this mess, unless Ivan and Aquiel can come to his rescue. Or perhaps he has another ace up his sleeve.

And things appear to look up for Monarch, Astar and Walker. That is if they can pull off one more miracle and somehow elude the Romulans.

Tense stuff all over the place here.

 

[BrotherBenny]

I like the way you're handling my characters, and I have to wait until you're finished before I can continue writing my series.

As for the story itself, it appears as though things are coming together. For good or ill, we'll see.

 

[DarKush]

Thanks guys,

CeJay:

Yeah, Glover's in quite a pickle this time. He just seems to be a magnet for trouble. Hopefully I can bring all the story lines together satisfactorily and set the stage for the 2377 stories I'm thinking about.

Brother Benny:

I'm glad my take on the Pytheas characters continues to meet your approval. I apologize about holding you up. I don't want to do that. Just PM if you have some questions I can answer to not hold you up anymore. The story is coming to a conclusion, but I'm still working out how to end it and the aftermath.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Brother Benny:

I'm glad my take on the Pytheas characters continues to meet your approval. I apologize about holding you up. I don't want to do that. Just PM if you have some questions I can answer to not hold you up anymore. The story is coming to a conclusion, but I'm still working out how to end it and the aftermath.

Astar is doing some soul-searching in 1x08 after a major decision, and she visits a few people from her past. I need to see how you wrap this one up before I can write the relevant chapters.

 

[DarKush]

I want to thank the members of United Trek for their advice as I continue to fine-tune this story. For you guys and other readers, I might do a little changing regarding the nature of the main adversary, Unity, and I will let you know if there are significant changes. I'm still making up my mind.

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USS Monarch
Main Bridge

Lt. Commander Arjuna Liyange felt in the dark in more ways than one. She didn’t know what the hell was happening onboard her ship, and both Captain Walker and Commander Astar had been hell bent about keeping her out of the loop. First there were those malfunctions that destroyed the Griffin that Walker had forbade her from investigating and now there was this blackout that shut down the ship’s systems seconds before the Romulans showed up and asked them to surrender.

After fighting a war against a power led by shape-shifters, it didn’t take much convincing to realize that there was a saboteur aboard, but Arjuna just didn’t have any clue who it could be. Truthfully, Walker, Astar, and Petrov were all acting peculiar lately, especially the captain. He had never been so tight-lipped or given such abrupt changes in orders.

Arjuna had chalked it up to it being something very high-level and clandestine. With the Romulans involved, her fears were starting to be confirmed. She just hoped that not all of her fears were true.

“Starfleet vessel,” the haughty Romulan’s voice echoed over the ship’s intercom system. “I am running out of patience.”

“Keep your girdle on,” Ensign Tim French, the Beta-shift helmsmen, muttered, his voice amplified in the silence of the dead bridge.

“What was that?” The Romulan asked. Liyange aimed her wrist lamp at him, but when he glanced at her and shrugged, blowing an unruly sandy lock away from his face as if he hadn’t a care in the world, Arjuna couldn’t be mad at the man. In fact she found herself admiring the young officer’s poise. She wondered how long his nonchalance would last in a Romulan prison, in a dilithium mine, or before a firing squad.

“Nothing,” Liyange spoke up. “Someone spoke out of turn. Nothing more.”

“I look forward to speaking to each and every member of your crew,” the Romulan said.

“I speak for my crew,” Liyange replied.

“I could beam my soldiers aboard at any time,” the Romulan boasted. “You have no shields, no weapons. Or I could just scuttle you from space.”

“Let’s be honest shall we? If you wanted to destroy us, you would’ve done so,” the Operations Officer reasoned. “There’s something that you want from us, how about we talk about it?”

“I don’t negotiate with subordinates,” the Romulan sniffed. “Where is your captain?”

“I’m in transit to the bridge,” Walker’s voice sounded tinny and far away. “What do you want?”

“I want you to surrender your ship and crew, and I will help you restore minimal power to your vessel, and escort you back to Romulus, where you will have the choice to become a part of our great Empire.”

“And if we don’t wish to become Romulan citizens?”

“I just spelled it out for you,” the Romulan said, the saccharine in her voice almost made Arjuna puke. But she was fortified by the sharp response she anticipated from the captain. They had all faced similarly impossible odds almost daily during the war and Walker had seen them through with tough action and sharper retorts.

“Fine,” Walker sigh was audible, “We surrender.”
********************************************************************

 

[CeJay]

Even though one may make the argument to the contrary, I don't believe Walker is a pushover which means he's trying to buy time with a faux surrender. Something that violates all the rules in the book of space etiquette. The Romulans won't be happy.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Screw the Romulans

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Screw the Romulans

Obviously, a sentiment from the James T. Kirk school of diplomacy!

I can't stand prissy, arrogant Romulans.

"Keep your girdle on." Heh - that one made me laugh.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Screw the Romulans

Obviously, a sentiment from the James T. Kirk school of diplomacy!

I can't stand prissy, arrogant Romulans.

"Keep your girdle on." Heh - that one made me laugh.

The best way to deal with Romulans is with a brace of quantum torpedoes and a fully loaded phaser bank...especially arrogant Romulans.

 

[DarKush]

Unfortunately this story is starting to come to me in drips. Thanks for sticking with it. And thanks once again my UT colleagues for helping me out with this story.

********************************************************************
USS Aegis
Auxiliary Bridge
Secondary Hull

Glover moved quickly. He slammed his knee high and hard into N’Saba’s midsection. Grabbing the back of the doubled over man’s tunic, Terrence used all his strength to turn the Alshain into a battering ram, aimed in the charging Donar’s direction. He hit them both with full stuns from the phaser he had tucked in behind his back.

Ignoring the fire in his lungs and the oily black substance sticking to his fingers, Terrence lunged for the command chair. Thankfully the Remans knew by instinct what to do. They brandished their weapons and flanked Glover protectively. “No fatal blows,” he bellowed as he furiously tapped in a secret command sequence. The alabaster-skinned warriors did their best to comply, and the lumbering, pus covered members of his crew were actually making it easy for them. They seemed disoriented with N’Saba and Tai out of the way. And Glover was going to take full advantage. He used his phaser several times before finishing inputting the code.

In their arrogance, or their sickness, his renegade crew hadn’t changed the command codes. The auxiliary bridge’s lighting dimmed and then blinked back on. Glover tried wiping the black off his fingers, but it clung to them. He tapped his combadge. The blackness smudged his uniform. The captain held back his disgust. He had a mission to complete.

The delta-shaped metal squawked. “Chieftain, I have locked out the central computer. The Aegis is under my control.”

“Captain Glover,” Crixus replied, his voice gravelly as ever, “That is good…” The Reman leader’s voice cut off suddenly and Terrence winced as the high-pitched whine of several phaser blasts filled the comlink. Both Mekrek and Xioma turned to him suddenly, their gazes full of suspicion. Terrence couldn’t help but notice they were surrounded by a pile of bodies, all wearing Starfleet uniforms.

Despite that, the captain ignored them. “Chieftain?” He called, his fears starting to get the best of him. “Crixus?” There was no response.

“What happened?” The Remans asked in unison.

“I don’t know,” Glover answered truthfully. He started to feel the dark, squishy and squirming, between his fingers and running up his arms. Unable to be dignified about it, he glanced down, startled as he watched its steady movement upward. He began rubbing the black oily substance on his uniform, trying to get it off. The Remans took a step backward and raised their blades.

“What is going on?” Mekrek demanded.

“The Hell is I know,” Glover said, tearing at his uniform. “Help me get this off!”

“No,” Mekrek grabbed Xioma’s arm as the female took a step forward. “The human has become infected. We’ve got to get back to the Cuirass. We must find out what just happened.”

“I can save you the trip,” a cold voice boomed through the intercom. “Your Chieftain and bridge crew are all dead.” It was Baird.

Glover stopped struggling long enough to ask, “Mr. Baird? What the frinx are you talking about?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Baird replied. “But I thank you for making this much easier for me, and taking Aegis off the board. Unfortunately, the infection on board the ship might be even more of a threat than the Romulans or other known enemies. So I thank you again for providing me a chance to test out the polaric ion generator.”

“Baird,” Glover was nearly screaming now, his rage and his fear overcoming him. The black oil wasn’t just still covering its body, it had barbs digging into his flesh, and everywhere it touched him now, everywhere it seeped, he began to feel numb, and a distant voice…was becoming closer, its words starting to become clearer. A part of him wanted to listen, but he knew if he gave into that yearning, all was lost. “What is the meaning of this?” He demanded. The Reman duo looked just as confused and frustrated as he did.

He felt them in his mind before he saw his crewmates rising again, as one. “Run,” his voice barely above a whisper now as the voice became louder, as it began to break through his reserves. He staggered back, falling into the command chair. He had been so proud to assume command of the Aegis, but that felt like eons ago, and the chair now meant nothing to him. Not when creation itself was opening itself to him, its tendrils reaching out to embrace him. And he so desperately wanted, needed, to reach back.

“Run,” he said, again, mouthing the words over and over again. The Remans glanced around and saw the zombified crew beginning to stir. Glover held up one quivering finger. It felt like he was pushing against an ocean, a dark sea to even do that much.

“Escape…pod,” he entire body quivered with the effort. He was almost covered now, and the darkness was now inside him. It would only be a matter of time. “Go!” He pulled the words from his lips before the void claimed him.
********************************************************************

 

[CeJay]

Once again a painful lesson that if surround yourself with Terrence Glover your life expectancy takes a sharp dive. A lesson learned too late for the Remans.

For a moment there I thought Glover would actually save the day simply by punching a lot of people in the face. Turns out that that usually doesn't solve much.

Now it's going to be up to somebody else to come up with a plan. And it better be soon ...

 

[DarKush]

CeJay,

Don't count Glover out just yet.

********************************************************************
IRW Cuirass
Command Deck

“That was easier than I thought,” Lt. Dennis Baird replied, clapping his hands against his thighs. He surveyed the destruction wreaked on the bridge, the walls smeared with the Reman’s blue-black blood, and the obsidian puddles covered the bridge. Involuntarily he shivered, the pooling blood reminding him of the virus infecting the Aegis.

He glanced back at Lt. Basri. She was working diligently from an aft console. Within seconds, Lt. Doriss had been beamed to the bridge and the rest of the ship had been flooded with sleeping gas. Baird hoped that the gas wouldn’t prove fatal to the Baltimore survivors. They all had suffered enough loss for one day.

His growing sense of regret was leavened by the weapon now in their possession. The Tal Shiar thought it could pull one over on Section 31. That slimy bastard Koval thought that he could use the section as the muscle to break up the alliance between the Tal Arcani and the Alshains’ Secret Order. But that pointy-eared veruul underestimated the Directorate. And now the advantage he thought he had, had been checkmated.

Well, as soon as we can get this bucket flying again, Baird thought. “Pat, what’s the status of the ship’s propulsion system?”

Doriss ran a hand through her short, strawberry blond hair. “A whole better before Basri gassed everyone.” Basri paused to shoot her a look.

“Did you really want to deal with the Remans if they caught on to what we we’re doing?” The Security Officer asked.

Doriss shrugged before admitting, “I guess not.”

“I thought so,” Basri replied out of the side of her mouth. She was already staring at the console. Basri was an expert in the Romulan language, but Baird assessed without the need for asking her, that there were enough differences between Romulan and Reman script, to slow her down.

“So, we still have a way to go getting the engines running?” Baird asked.

“I didn’t say that,” Doriss remarked.

Baird sighed, “Then what are you saying?”

“About two hours, tops,” Dorris replied. She glanced at the screen. The darkened hull of the Aegis filled the viewer. “Of course I could shave off an hour if I could get my hands on some of that ship’s dilithium.”

“Lt. Basri, prepare to beam over the dilithium,” Baird ordered. “Whatever amount Lt. Doriss needs.”

The engineer frantically waved off Baird’s order. “Belay that. Transporting the crystals without proper containment could result in an explosion that could puncture our hull, or worse. No, I need to go over there and recover some of the crystals, properly store them, and ship them back over.”

“Not going to happen,” Baird said.

“And why is that?” Doriss stood her ground. Section 31 agents surprisingly weren’t much for standing on ceremony or following blindly orders…unless they came from the Directorate.

“Let me show you,” Basri replied. The main viewer’s image shifted to an interior shot of the Aegis. It panned over a dim, nearly pitch, bridge.

“Eerie,” Doriss muttered, running another hand through her hair. Baird suppressed a shiver. “What happened to the crew?” The engineer beat him to the quick.

“Good question,” he said, his disquiet growing. The Cuirass’s sensors had detected one escape pod launch minutes ago. Basri had scanned it, negated the possibility of living beings inside the pod, and had let it pass. Baird had chalked it up to some type of mechanical malfunction, perhaps brought on by the manner in which he returned to his former ship.

Now he wondered if he had made a mistake. He was usually more thorough, but perhaps the events of today had knocked him off his game. Though he had dealt death and been surrounded by it on more occasions than he could remember, Baird felt an intense remorse for the passing of the Baltimore.

On a practical level he had intended to use the ship to bring the polaric ion generator back to Federation space where Section 31’s engineers could strip it apart. But on a personal level, he had come to admire and respect a great many of the Baltimore’s crew. He had even begun to respect Captain Glover. It was a shame he had to consign the man to death. The section needed more take charge men like the dear departed captain. The Tactical Officer shook his head in regret. Some days the job could be rough, but he had to remind himself of the importance of his cause. The Dominion War had almost destroyed the Federation. During the rebuilding phase, another war with the Romulans could finish the Federation, and the section was committed to preventing that. At all costs.

“Well, what happened?” Doriss prodded Baird out of his dark reverie.

“Some type of disease has infected the Aegis crew,” Baird replied. “We can’t risk bringing it aboard. You’re just going to have to get this bucket’s engines running. But before you do, I want you to bring the polaric ion generator online. Atomizing the Aegis has become our new number one priority.”
********************************************************************

Dark Realm

Ivan’s voice faded as a shade enveloped Aquiel’s mind. She pulled back the veil and saw the unfolding of time, the loving embrace of primordial chaos itself. The darkness was whole. It was perfect, but then life emerged, riotous and destructive. The Haliian flinched as the genetic memories of the aliens became hers. Life, light was an affront to the perfect order, of the placid bliss of what had once been.

Eons passed as quick as eye blinks. New life sprang forth, beings that bore a very close resemblance to human beings. Progenitors, the name was whispered in her soul. The medic was rapt as she watched them rise from their planet of origin and spread to the stars, seeding worlds with carefully constructed genetic matrixes.

More eons passed and she saw the Progenitors taking measure of their creatures, all so different, yet so very much the same. And the Progenitors watched over their ‘children’, guiding them, helping them reach their potential, and preserving the best essence of them when they failed, when they descended into hatred and fear.

But not all of their children were grateful. Her view of the universe shifted to the unknown world of Sidia in the equally unknown Gluum Nebula, two destinations that probably had ceased to exist long before the Earth had been formed.

They admired strength and worshipped order, and they saw the Progenitors, whom they derisively called Preservers, for propping up weak species, as contributors to greater disharmony and disorder. These Sidians took up the cause to correct the errors of their parents by eliminating them. In time they came to be known across hundreds of worlds as the Eliminators.

Their genocidal campaign brought the Preservers back to known space and the heavens quaked as parent fought child, drawing all sentient species into the conflagration. The Preservers emerged victorious, but hollowed out and disillusioned. Unable to become their children they sealed the Eliminators and their followers in the space between, in a negative energy manifold.

The dark matter warped the Eliminators, it changed them, it brought them into the darkness, into the order and they achieved their destiny. They became nothing. They became Null.

And now our foolishness had freed them, Aquiel realized. The Battle of Pyxis Cluster had torn a hole into the space between and now they wished to spread darkness throughout the galaxy. But they no longer wished to merely cull the weak, they share their revelation with all life, they wanted to bring every living creature into the embrace of the unity they had forged with the dark matter of the universe.

And now she wanted to help them. “Leave me Ivan,” she wanted to yell. “I’m no longer on your side.” But no sound came out.
********************************************************************
Author's Note:

I wanted to especially thank Galen for supplying the name of the Null, which I decided to name this new villainous species. But I also wanted to thank Brother Benny for providing the Sidians, which I also decided to name this species, and TLR for providing Gluum, the name of the nebula they came from. I also wanted to thank CeJay for recommending that I stick with Unity, and to some extent I will because in some corners of the galaxy this race was called that I'm sure. Naming this species was truly a United Trek effort.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

DK - Excellent segment! I thoroughly enjoyed the "walk through time" that gave excellent back-ground.

I'm not sure if you intended it (though I suspect you did), but you have giving me some great ideas for my in-progress Grace McAfee story (and possibly my Jesse Yeager story, too.) Regardless, I thank you! Much to ponder . . . dark matter . . . the Null . . . Sidians . . . Oh my!

 

[DarKush]

TLR,

Thanks for the kind words. If that segment helped please use it. To be honest, I'm still not fully sold on the nature and goals of this adversary, and I think I might do some revisions when I post to United Trek.

I would like to know what you would like for me to keep to tie-into your series, and also if there were any things you would like me to set up in this story for yours? A cameo for example? If you have any thoughts please PM me or put it on the United Trek website. Thanks.

 

[CeJay]

OK then, I won't count Glover out just yet but I am very curious to find out how he's going to make a comeback.

And that was a very interesting origin tale for Unity (as pointed out my favorite name for the race so I'mma stick wit it)

Very concerned about Aquiel. Has she been turned?

 

[DarKush]

********************************************************************
USS Monarch
Chief Engineers’ Quarters

“What a twisted bitch,” Commander Astar muttered as she quickly rifled through the late Chief Engineer’s personal effects. Forgoing modesty, and goaded by the knowledge that either the computer virus or the Romulans at their doorstep could mean the death of her crew at any second, the Trill had ripped apart Petrov’s room. Drawers had been yanked out, and clothing and papers strewn across the room. She had found quite a few unusual things, like handcuffs and a riding crop, and even odder devices.

She had reined her in disgust over touching them after she had flipped through a couple pages of the dead woman’s leather bound journal, her pen light raking over the pages. It was filled with lurid details of her encounters with the captain and her guilt, with hints of the true treachery in the woman’s heart. For some reason she kept referring to the first night they made love. Obviously the woman had some type of twisted affection for Benjamin, in spite of all that she had done.

“Commander Astar, any progress?” Walker’s voice cut through the silence. The Trill activated her communications pin.

“No yet…”, she hated to admit.

“You know I just surrendered the ship to the Romulans,” he said, his tone matter-of-fact. “I really didn’t want to do that and I was hoping we could pull a rabbit out of our hat.”

“Well,” Astar paused, going over everything she had seen in Sofia’s room. There had to be a code, a failsafe somewhere. From the woman’s diary, the Trill could tell that Sofia had been torn, that she felt intense guilt about deceiving the captain and that she loved him in her own way. In her gut, Leza knew that Sofia really didn’t want to cause him harm. Finally the answer blossomed in her head.

“Astar…” Walker said, concerned.

“I think I got it sir,” Astar said. “I think I got the code.”

“Well, let’s have it,” he demanded.

“You’re not going to like it,” she said carefully.

“What else is new,” he grumbled. She sighed, shrugging her shoulders for no one, before she told him.
********************************************************************
Dark Realm

The darkness was so tempting, so comforting, so…empty. Dr. Rieta Cole could hear the beating heart of the universe. Though it wasn’t powerful enough to drown out the voices, nothing had ever drowned out the voices she had never been alone inside her own skull. Most humans, and other non-telepathic species had no clue how blessed it was to only hear one voice in your head.

The darkness washed over her, swaddled her, and held her close. She wanted to give into it, but she held back. She had made a promise to Aquiel. She had to see it through, though the pulse of creation was so alluring…

If she just closed her eyes for a few moments, just opened herself up further and listened to the universe’s song….

She saw with a thousand eyes and millions of thoughts, feelings, and experiences flowed through her. Unlike her deepest nightmares they didn’t overpower her; they didn’t wash away the fragile identity it had taken her years to develop.

She saw all that were linked in Unity, and through the gauzy haze she saw him. Terrence, pain lanced through her heart as she watched him struggling against his former crewmen, her colleagues. Fear inflamed her mind, and the darkness around her writhed in protest. She was so close to it now, her totality almost completely merged, Rieta knew its names, over the centuries there had been many. Sometimes the frightful named it for what offered them, Unity, oneness with the void which had birthed them.

But she realized one name fit them even better: Null. Zero. Nothingness. That was what they truly promised. And many had followed their siren song into oblivion. And if she didn’t do something to stop them this time, she knew many more, perhaps the entire quadrant would be consumed.

Rieta also knew she could hurt it now, that if she marshaled enough psionic energy she could break apart the organisms forming the obsidian mass, and she knew that the super organism was the sum of its parts. But she didn’t know if her fellow captives had enough ability to work together, to hone their telepathic and empathic abilities into a psychic dagger and aim it at the dark heart of the creature. Maintaining focus was becoming increasingly tougher, her strength was waning, and the mental strain was beginning to tear her apart at the seams. She wouldn’t be able to hold Genip and the others at bay much longer.

A part of Rieta also wondered why she should even make the attempt. Perhaps it was best to accept the balm they offered, to return to the sacred darkness that once birthed the universe. Already she could feel Aquiel weakening. Perhaps she should join her…The last vestige of herself turned back to Terrence. He was putting up a brave, if futile fight. Cole expected no less of him. He could be insufferable at times, but behind his gruff exterior, she knew the man was a fierce lover of life and he brought the tempest, the riotous, chaos of life with him wherever he went. Normally Rieta would shy away such a disruptive presence, but his energy, his passion was so acute, it had intrigued her in spite of herself.

And now that light, that life was about to be extinguished, and there was no way she could allow that to happen. Terrence wasn’t ready for the dark. Not yet.
She mustered her remaining strength and passed it through the void to him. If it was to be her final gift, she could think of no worthier recipient.
*******************************************************************
USS Aegis
Auxiliary Bridge
Secondary Hull

The darkness was familiar. It had lapped at the edges of his vision for years, it had been with him through every scrape, through every battle, it had been present in every fear, and Terrence Glover knew it well. And now it engulfed him, it wanted him to join it, and it wanted him to struggle no more.

Terrence had asked for this a month ago, when he had gazed down from the Cuffe’s bridge at the charred husk of Loval. He had killed thousands, he had murdered a world. No matter the reasons for his actions, he would never feel right about it, he knew it would continue to haunt him. Compounding that was all the deaths brought on by the war, and the loss of some many friends. Sitting on the burning bridge of the Cuffe over Cardassia Prime, only his will to live, something divorced from his conscience, had propelled him forward, had forced him to escape the inferno a part of him wanted to give into. A part of him had wanted to burn, to feel the agony he had inflicted on so many others.

But the thing inside him, the steel, the dragon, the whatever, that had driven him so relentlessly all his life would never surrender. He had found ways to cloak it around scaling the heights of Starfleet, around a prosaic career, but truly it was divorced from that. It was Glover’s attempt to tame the tiger inside him, but now it sensed he needed it more than ever, and it sprang forth. “No,” he spat, black spittle spewed from his lips. “You…won’t win.”

Yes, a spectral voice whispered to him. Fight it, Terrence, the voice was familiar. Supportive. Compassionate.

“Rieta,” he whispered. She was a galaxy away, but he felt her heartbeat, and he shared her heart. “You love me?” He asked, momentarily stunned.

Yes.

“Oh God,” he muttered. “I-I never…”

There is no time. This is…this is all I have…left. Left to give…take…

“No!” He shouted, hacking up black phlegm. “I won’t let them take you! I will find you!” He declared.

I…know…

He wiped the sludge from his eyes and stood up. The Remans had run but they hadn’t made it. Mekrek’s corpse lay beside the hatch to the escape pod. A trail of blood followed the body from a blinking release beside the hatch. Xioma, black drops falling from her lips, stood over him, a knife clutched in her hand. The other members of the crew had arisen. They all stood motionless as if waiting from instructions from on high. As he gazed at them with growing despair, the black oil tightened around his torso, squeezing him, forcing the air from his lungs.

Submit. A cold, inhuman, yet strangely feminine voice slithered into his brain.

“Never.”

Submit. It commanded, the vise tightening on his chest. The captain gasped in pain. Terrence grabbed the chair’s armrests for support.

SUBMIT! Terrence’s knees buckled and he felt another rib crack, but he remained standing. He shook his head in defiance, angry at himself that the pain had robbed him momentarily of speech. His eyes tearing, Glover eventually mumbled,

“No.”

We don’t…I don’t understand, a different, milder voice interjected. The pressure on Glover’s chest eased, though now his breaths were inflamed. There is so much pain in this galaxy, the voice continued. So much death. You are all covered by it, and there is such darkness in you. Give yourself over to it, and all your pain, all your doubts, all your regrets will cease. You will return to creation, you will become whole.

“What are you? And what did you do to Rieta or the others?”

We are balance, we are absolution, we bring Unity, was the response.

“Yeah, that clears up a lot.”

We are Null. We are nothingness. We are the primordial darkness from which all life sprung.

“Okay,” Terrence said slowly, while thinking of options. The Auxiliary Bridge had several more escape pods. If he could reach one, he might be able to make it to Cuirass and stop them from activating the polaric ion beam. The thought of the beam sent a shiver through the assemblage, as if jolting them from a slumber. Even his muscles twitched.

Bring it to us, the colder voice returned. Bring it to us now.

“No,” Glover declared. He sank to his knees as two more rips splintered. “If…if you kill me…”

We need an independent thinker, the milder voice remerged, more forcefully. Unity isn’t for everyone…at least not yet. If you truly listened to their hearts instead of devouring them, you would know that these sentients can be reasoned with.

They are microbes, germs.

They might say the same of our Unity, the mild one rejoined. Captain Glover, it said. I know what is in your heart. I will not offer to remove the darkness from your soul. I will offer you something you can’t deny. We will release Rieta Cole.

No, she is too powerful. We need her to spawn more Loci!

WE WILL RELEASE HER! The mild’s voice was suddenly not mild anymore. Yet its fury was not directed at Glover.

This is a mistake, now the cold one’s tone was less hostile.

We are Null. We are infallible…most of the time.

“What of my crew? All my crew?”

Do you promise to acquire this device for us?

“Yes,” Terrence said after a few moments thought. “Yes…I will do it.”

Many of them have found a serenity they never knew, the mild one said, his tone regretful. But we accept your terms.

Do not fail us, the cold warned.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Glover replied.
********************************************************************

 

[Galen4]

Thanks for the shout out, Darkush!
I'm happy you found my suggestions useful.
I'm very behind on this story, so I'm sorry about not offering feedback thus far. You do write complicated tales which one can't just speed through. (So I blame you, of course.)
But I will get up to speed at some point.
If you'll excuse the vague remark here, I'd like to at least say that what I have read so far is pretty damn good!