ST: Independence - "Nadir"

[Nerys Ghemor]

Man, that gave me the shivers. I have read about Obsidian Order agents, but you capture in a more visceral way than the show did, that there is no difference between one of them, and a Section 31 agent. God, I hope they're able to find a way to do the right thing without playing into Section 31's hands--and to get their children back. I KNEW that was a stupid risk.

 

[intrinsical]

This reminds me of how Sloan used to make Bashir solve moral dilemmas. Section 31 sure have a soft spot for doctors!

 

[CeJay]

There is something inherently despicable about Section 31 and you show us here exactly why that is.

I hope our team of daring doctors can find a way to accomplish their mission without having to play part in nefarious schemes.

 

[Gibraltar]

And just when I thought it was impossible to hate Section 31 any more than I already do!

That was an eye-opening conversation, with the section's raison d’être laid out so clearly... and yet, he has a point in regard to their oaths as healers. They may well be forced to play into Section 31's black-gloved hands, and not just because their children are being held hostage.

Chilling and thought-provoking stuff. Very nicely done!

 

[mirandafave]

wow and dang are the two words that come to mind.

Great stuff.

 

[DarKush]

Very good chapter. Once again you bring out the ruthlessnes of S31 well, and now the kids are hostages, a very good incentive for the doctors to press on, despite their reservations.

 

[Dnoth]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

I have part writer's block; part lack of time/motivation. I'll try to work on it this week.

Again, thanks for your continued interest.

 

[Dnoth]

Ok, here we go, the next installment.

Thanks everybody!

CHAPTER 19

Supplemental
USS Chaka, Conference Room
Porrima Sector

Unlike many other contemporary ships, the Saber class conference lounge lacked large, sweeping portals giving magnificent views of the expanse of space. However, embedded in the forward bulkhead was a large display. It currently showed the Andorian freighter, Tarah. It still had a sphere of debris around its port nacelle where it had battle damage.

Lieutenant Ra-Goran, the ship’s temporary first officer, had just given his final report on the raid.

Commander Anchal Sidhani rounded the oval-shaped table in the center of the room. “Let me get this straight - they didn’t get any sensor readings on the attacker, nothing was stolen, and there is no sign of where the attacker went?”

The Efrosian’s long, white hair bobbed, “That’s correct, sir.”

Her frustration came out, “So someone came out of nowhere, shot them, and disappeared again.”

“I wish I had more to give you sir. I went over their sensor logs myself. There is nothing to indicate who the attacker was, what they were after, or where they went. I’m sorry.”

She leaned back on the table, “And what about the analysis of the damage itself?”

He hesitated for just a moment, “There were unusually high concentrations of weapon’s grade plasma in the surrounding space.”

“That’s not unusual for species in this area to us plasma weapons.” She added silently, So why do you have that look on your face?

“It’s highly refined warp plasma. It was more pure than anything any raider might have. It bet it’s more pure than what’s on this ship.”

She gazed down. Then, back up, “Why would warp plasma be in weapons’ residue?”

Ra-Goran’s eyes seemed heavy. “I can’t be sure…”

“But…” she prompted.

“But, phase cannons, like those mounted on Defiant class starships, shunt warp plasma into the energy bolts to make them more powerful.”

She almost seemed offended by the revelation, “What are you implying, Lieutenant?”

He stiffened up, “I’m not implying anything, sir.”

Anchal knew that of course. Ra was a professional. She immediately regretted her tone. He is not the type to jump to conclusions. He simply followed the evidence. She went back around the table and sat down. “I’d hate to think pulse phaser technology has fallen into the wrong hands.” After a second, she added, “Is there any way to confirm it was pulse phasers?”

“As I said, I can’t be sure. The concentration of warp plasma could be due to some malfunction in the attacker’s ship. The high grade of the plasma could be due to the raider stealing it from someone else.”

She nodded slightly, “Thank you, Lieutenant. I’ll send our findings on to Command.” She leaned back, “Is there anything else we can do here?”

“Not much, sir. The wounded have been treated and released. Engineering teams have repaired essential systems and the freighter captain is ready to get underway.”

Sidhani commented, “I don’t like loose ends. I just wish we had an identification on the attacker – or at least a warp trail to follow.”

The Efrosian could offer little to ease her mind. Finally he said, “Course, Captain?”

The Indian woman grinned ever so slightly, “Let’s see how our doctor friends are doing.”

“Yes sir.”

Supplemental
Runabout Banda
H’Kan System

Jane pounded her fist on the empty cot her son was lying in a few minutes before, “No!” She howled between her tears.

Zo’Kama stood in the open doorway. Her eyes were cast down, unable to comfort Wenera or herself.

Amongst the sobs, the Latina doctor admitted, “I would’ve done it anyway. I would have done it anyway. They didn’t have to take him!”

“I’m sorry,” said the Arkonian evenly. “I was foolish…and selfish. I should have never pursued this, let alone ask you to help me. It’s my fault. I’m so sorry.”

The human snuffled and looked up with red eyes; not just because she had been crying, but because they were filled with hate. “They did this, not you.” She wiped her face and began to catch her breath. “Can we find them?”

“Let’s try,” suggested Zo’Kama.

Both officers took up positions in the cockpit. They were suddenly intently focused on the task at hand. Grief and given way to determination.

Jane was still in the process of fighting back tears, but reported, “I’m scanning the area with every sensor we’ve got.” She smacked at the console, “Nothing.”

“I’m not sure how the Independence was able to detect the other stealth ship,” offered Zo’Kama. “We are limited by the sensor suite on the runabout.”

“I’m going to try an antiproton beam,” said Wenera, “the Dominion used it to detect cloaked ships early in the war.”

“From what Commander Windslow said at the staff meeting, Section 31 doesn’t employ traditional cloaking devices. The use a…” she searched her memory for the exact phrase, “an interphasic cloak. It pushes them slightly out of our reality, making them invisible.”

Without taking her eyes off her controls, Wenera remembered, “That 31 agent seemed to think whatever Windslow was doing, he was getting close to penetrating their cloak. Do you remember what he was planning to do?”

The reptilian grimaced, “I’m sorry, I don’t.”

The human sighed, “I’m not getting anything out of these sensors.”

Zo’Kama surmised, “They’re probably monitoring us right now.”

There was a long, deep silence between them. Each contemplated their situation and the situation of their children. Would they hurt them? Will they kill us all once we’re done? How many people will die if we don’t act? Will we be helping a dictator cement their power? I have to protect my child. Is that selfish? I don’t want them to win.

Zo’Kama came to a dark conclusion, “We have to do as they demand.”

“What?” came from Jane. “They just kidnapped our…”

“I know,” she interrupted. “The best chance of getting our children back is to comply. The best chance of saving the lives of the Vuke is to comply.”

In her heart, Wenera knew it was their best option, but her mind wasn’t ready to accept it yet. “Isn’t there someway of getting the vaccine to the Vuke rebels…”

“Not without that hidden ship knowing about it.”

“We might still be able to find the ship and beam our kids back, with…”

“Then what? I doubt we could outrun or outgun them.”

The Central American woman leaned back with a frustrated grunt. She ran her fingers through her black hair.

A few seconds later, Zo’Kama said quietly, “I’m setting a course for the Vuke carrier the Independence encountered before. They are isolated and appear to be drifting about 1.3 A.U.’s from our location.”

She looked over and anticipated an objection. Jane didn’t acknowledge her. It seemed she had reluctantly reined in her mind.

Solemnly, the Arkonian tapped the control, “Engaging impulse engines.”

 

[Dnoth]

Ok, considering it's been nearly a year since I last posted to this story, I think a brief summary of events and characters is in order:

If you are a new-comer to the series, I hope you can just jump in, but I highly recommend reading previous stories. They are serialized and there is an on-going Section 31 story arch (as much as I say I want to get away from 31, I always end up back with them - a crutch? - possibly ).

Let me give you a quick status report. ...Or "Previously on Star Trek: Independence..."

The Independence, a Steamrunner class ship, was recently involved in a battle with one of Section 31's 'shadow fleet' ships - a refitted Soveriegn class. 31 was after someone who had taken refuge aboard. The chief engineer, Windslow, was on the verge of penitrating the phase-cloak technology they were using. While the battle was won, the Indy is currently at drydock for extensive repairs and her crew are being split up.

Here are the main characters:

- CO: Captain Sintina Aurelia(Human Latino female): on leave pending a physiological evaluation, heading toward Maquis/League of Sovereign Colonies Space.

- XO: Lieutenant Commander Karim bin Nadal (Human Persian male): MIA, presumed KIA.

- CMO: Commander Zo’Kama Do’matar (Arkonian female): Main character for the rest of this story - is trying to give a species known as the Vuke a vaccine for their plague, which seems to be engineered and as was just learned, Section 31 wants her to succeed but she must give it to the establishment forces not the resistance.

- Tactical Officer: Lieutenant Jonin Faltyne (Andorian male): Not mentioned for the rest of this story.

- Lieutenant Commander Ethan Windslow (Human Euro-American male): In charge of repairing the Independence at Starbase 17.

-Lieutenant Junior Grade Tang Zian (Human Asian male): Has been reassigned to the USS Kitzingen. Heading toward the Federation boarder.

-Lieutenant Junior Grade Kimula sh’Somachanar (Andorian shen): Assigned to Project Pathfinder. On her way to Earth.

"Guest Characters" to know for the remainder of the story:

-Lt. Cmr. Ashley Jane Wenera (Human Latin American female): Former CMO on the USS Eagle, agreed to help Zo'Kama develop and deliver the vaccine to the Vuke.

-Commander Anchal Sidhani (Human female; Indian ethnicity): XO of the Meharry. The doctors stole one of her runabouts for the 'mission.' Sidhani is giving chase in a Saber class ship on loan from the Starbase.

Hopefully, that will be enough to jog memories or at least be enough to enjoy what's left of this story, which isn't much.

I am terriably sorry to my readers. If you want to pick up where you left off, great. If not, I totally understand. At any rate, I feel the need to finish this story before moving on. Thank you all. The next installment will be forthcoming...minutes, not months.

 

[Dnoth]

CHAPTER 20

Supplemental
Runabout Banda
H’Kan System

Barely a word had passed between the Latin doctor, Ashley Wenera, and her reptilian counterpart.

Though the pair seemed stoic, under the surface both were overflowing with anger, guilt, and a deep sense of injustice. All they wanted was to help the Vuke. Their intentions were noble. Now, they were caught in mechanizations of hidden agendas and covert operations.

Zo’Kama had risked her career to get to this point. It was a sacrifice she would gladly make, but it had gone beyond that. She couldn’t help but think how stupid it was to take her daughter along. How criminally inconsiderate it was to recruit Wenera and her son to assist.

Recruit was too strong a word. Jane, as she liked to be known, knew what she was getting into – no scratch that.

Neither one of them knew they were being manipulated and observed by Section 31 every step of the way.

And now, those shadowy resholits had taken their children as insurance. The Arkonian looked over to her co-pilot, sympathizing with her pain, her anger, and her frustration knowing there was little they could do about.

Zo’Kala began to realize the Vuke carrier was visible in the distance. It quickly grew in size and detail. Though it was as large as an Excelsior class ship, its design was extremely antiqued by Federation standards. The gunmetal grey vessel was basically rectangular with various arrays and weapons platforms on every axis. Bulky ion engines propelled it.

The former Independence doctor asked, “How do you want to proceed?”

Wenera’s voice had immense focus in it, “As quickly as possible. I think we should just get within transporter range, beam the vaccine over with any equipment they’ll need to reproduce it and get out of here. Once that stealth Section 31 ship out there confirms we gave them the vaccine…” She let the sentence fad, not wanting to speak the rest.

“…then they’ll return our children and we can go back to Starbase 17,” Zo’Kama finished in her mind. “Hopefully,” she darkly added. “Alright,” she said aloud, “I’ll prep the equipment and beam the items over.” She left the pilot’s seat and moved to the transporter controls.

“They’ve detected us,” reported Jane. She engaged the shields and began evasive maneuvers. “They’ve launched missiles.”

The reptilian Starfleet officer didn’t seem terribly concerned as she loaded the transporter dais, “Our shields should protect us. The Independence was under sustained attack before they were worried about shield failure.”

The inertial dampeners strained to adjust for the sudden movement of the runabout.

“Two problems with that,” retorted Wenera with an unusual mix of sarcasm and gravity, “a starship has much stronger shields than a runabout…” she input a new set of commands, “and when I say missiles, I mean fourteen missiles.”

“Can you avoid them?”

Her dark hair bobbed as she glanced at the tactical display. “I’m trying. I’m a doctor, not a combat pilot.”

Zo’Kama reassumed one of the forward stations. “I’ll try to target them with phasers.” She consulted her own monitor. A mass of red dots, indicating the threats, were now about 150 kilometers away and closing fast. Their relative position shifted wildly as the runabout attempted to evade them. Unfortunately, it seemed the missiles had an efficient tracking system. Each time the computer established a lock, the runabout altered heading and it was lost. “Can you hold it steady for a second?”

Wenera eased off the controls and glanced at her readout: seventy-two kilometers.

A lock on tone filled the cabin a moment later. The Arkonian hit the initiator, “Firing.”

Out the window, a lance of red phased energy sliced into the distance and two, no three explosions lit up the surrounding space for a moment.

“Eleven targets. Fifty kilometers,” came from former Eagle CMO. She offered, “Can you adjust the phasers to a wide beam and get them all?”

She looked over for a moment and admitted, “I don’t know how.”

With that, Jane resumed her maneuvers.

“Twenty,” said Zo’Kama as she managed to hit two more. “Ten kilometers.”

Wenera realized at least four of the missiles had them dead to rights. No amount of course changes would make a difference. The shields might hold.

“Brace for impact!”

It seemed as if the whole craft would tear apart at the seams as it jolted. The doctors could feel the first missile discharge its immense energy mere meters outside the cabin, one after another slammed against the small ship’s shields. There was nothing they could do but hope the next one wouldn’t overwhelm their only defense and annihilate them.

The shaking settled down. Smoke began to fill the air from the burnt out EPS conduits. Multiple klaxons told them how very precarious their situation was.

“Shields holding,” sighed Zo’Kama. Her tone quickly turned somber, “…at eight percent.”

Wenera absorbed the information without expression. She consulted her instruments, “The other four overshot us.” A second later, she said despondently, “Oh no.” She turned to see her partner, whose scales had turned pale, “They’re turning around and reacquiring us.”

Zo’Kama felt like she was repeating some bad dream as she reported, “Thirty kilometers out.” She didn’t have time to have a specific thought about Zo’Kala, her daughter, but simply a feeling of love, gratitude, and pride.

An even-toned, “Ten,” came from Wenera who was no doubt experiencing similar emotions regarding her toddler son.

“Incoming fire!”

“I know.”

“No,” elaborated Zo’Kama, “pulse phasers just destroyed the remaining missiles.”

“Can you locate from where?”

She manipulated the controls, “I’m not sure.”

Jane leaned back at bit, “Well, it would’ve been nice if those bastards would’ve done that a few minutes ago,” referring to the hidden 31 ship monitoring them.

 

[Gibraltar]

I suppose late help is always better than no help at all... but damn, these two are being played like pawns in a 3D chess game. Here's hoping this is one good deed that goes unpunished in the end...

Glad to see you've picked this tale right back up with the same fervor, D'noth!

 

[Dnoth]

Thank you, Gibraltar. It's good to be writing again.

**********

CHAPTER 21

Supplemental
Runabout Banda
H’Kan System

Wenera looked over to Zo’Kama after allowing her heart to slow down a bit, “Let’s get this over with.”

The Arkonian nodded and continued preparing the supplies for transport.

The human answered the unasked question, “I’m not detecting any more missiles.”

“It may take them some time to reload their launchers,” her partner offered.

“Let’s hope so. How much time do you need?”

“Just a few moments.”

Jane found herself staring at the distant Vuke vessel on her monitor. “I hope you put it to good use.”

“Energizing,” reported Zo’Kama as the pile of equipment disappeared from the transporter pad.

There was a brief moment of silence as the two absorbed a little bit of what has happened over the last few days. Both wondered if they’d done the right thing; both taking stock of their mistakes.

The tan-scaled doctor finally spoke, “It’s done.”

Wenera acknowledged, “I’m setting a course out of the system, full impulse. Can they pursue?”

“No,” responded Zo’Kama flatly, “They can’t travel that fast.”

“Good, one less thing to worry about.”

The minutes seemed to drag by as they made their way to the star system’s Kuiper belt. It would be necessary to transit the debris of rock and ice at sub-light speeds, before going to warp. The trip would take less than an hour, but it was an eternity of not knowing when or if they would see their children again.

“I’m not leaving this system until we have our children back,” Jane declared.

“Agreed.” A second later, she added, “If they don’t return our children by the time we reach the Kuiper belt,…” She was about to make a threat, but then realized to her horror, there was no threat she could make good on if Section 31 decided not to return them.

The trip to the belt was torturously slow and dismally uneventful.

Two hours later, the tension Wenera experienced felt like a ton of bricks on her chest. But there was nothing to say, nothing to do. No leads to follow. No where to go, nothing but rage and the hope of seeing her son again. She began to weep quietly.

Zo’Kama placed her hand on Jane’s shoulder. She was going to say something, but everything she thought of, seemed hollow or naïve. She decided silence was best for the moment.

Suddenly the door to one of the aft bunk alcoves opened. A dreary-eyed Zo’Kala exited and casually said, “How long have I been asleep?”

“Zo’Kala!” Her go’chama shot up and embraced her.

Jane darted past them and into the alcove and there, sleeping soundly, was her little boy. She nearly collapsed on top of him and hugged him tightly. His eyes opened and he looked at her as if to say, ‘What’s that for?’ She ran her fingers through is thick, dark hair and kissed him profusely. She continued to weep for sometime.

Supplemental
Vuke Carrier Three
H’Kan System

Vuke ships were normally kept humid. Normally Alpha Kudal, the lead healer of the fleet, found it rather nice, like her home march. Now, the stench of decaying bodies sullied the air.

She mostly stayed in the command center now. After all, she was the most senior still alive on the doomed ship. Her crew strength was down to six percent. After spotting the Federation of Planet’s craft, she attacked it as best she could. With such a minimal crew, however, there was no way to continue the attack.

Part of her had wanted the Federations to destroy them. Only a month ago, she even worked with one of those Federations in an attempt to cure the plague.

It turned out to be a ruse, however. Their superior ship attacked them. Their healer claimed ignorance, but she would not be fooled again.

Kudal’s breathing was labored, she would die within weeks. This ship was a tomb.

She became startled when she saw a blue light near her. It disappeared quickly, but there was now a pile of containers where the light was. It had the signs of the Federations all over them. She wondered if it was a bomb.

Curiosity, it seemed, became more powerful than fear in the face of death. She began to examine the crates. It held medical equipment. She had used some of these devices before when working with that … Zo-K-Ma creature.

She picked up a padd that had detailed instructions and explanations in her language. Slowly, she began to realize what she was reading.

Kudal’s feathers shifted as she franticly opened another, smaller container. She took a small vile of clear liquid out of it and held it gently.

“It may be too late for me,” she said to no one, “but our race is saved.” She grasped the vile next to her scaled chest.

“Prepare to send a message to the homeworld,” she snapped to the only other person in the room. “Queen Johem and her dynasty will honor our memories forever.”

Stardate: 54306.1 (3 Sep 2377)
Runabout Banda
Enroute to Starbase 17

The stars seemed to speed passed the runabout.

Wenera sat at the co-pilot’s seat. Coby was on her lap, curled in her arms.

Zo’Kama was manning the pilot’s seat, but her chair was facing aft to talk to her daughter. Since the craft was running on autopilot, it wasn’t an issue.

“So you have no memory of leaving the ship?” the Arkonian asked her offspring.

The younger reptilian jerked her head to the left, indicating ‘no.’ “I never would have known had you not told me.”

“I’m not about to defend what they did,” started Jane, “but at least they kept their word.”

Zo’Kama’s eyes were focused on some nonspecific point on the bulkhead. “Only because we cooperated. Only because our goals and theirs were the same. I hate to think…”

The proximity klaxon sounded.

She turned the chair forward again. Her voice almost sounded amused, “It’s the Chaka.”

“The Saber class ship from before?” questioned Zo’Kala. Her mother confirmed with a few ticks to the right.

Wenera sighed, “I guess it was hoping too much for Commander Sidhani to forget about us.”

“We did give her our word,” Zo’Kama reminded her.

“So we did,” she rejoined. “It’s time to face the music.”

The adolescent asked, “What do you think Starfleet will do to you?”

“I’m not sure,” answered her birth-mother, “but we will accept and endure it.” She tapped on the console. “All stop. I’m signaling our surrender.”

 

[Gibraltar]

Indeed it is time to face the music.

Court-martial in D-minor, anyone?

 

[Dnoth]

EPILOUGE

Stardate: 54310.3 (4 Sep 2377)
Starbase 17, Medical Section 3, CMO’s Office
Porrima System

Admiral Homchu glared at the two doctors as they entered. Both Commander Zo’Kama and Leiutenant Commander Wenera were careful to stand at perfect attention and formally report.

“Sit down,” the middle-aged Bolian woman ordered. After they did so, she leaned forward in her chair and rested her arms on her desk, “Well, you two have ruined my whole week.” She made eye contact with each of them as she rehashed the charges. “Unauthorized use of Starfleet equipment, filing an inaccurate flight plan, disobeying direct orders from a superior officer, unlawful detention of a fellow officer, assault of an officer, resisting arrest, child endangerment.” The blue-skinned admiral leaned back again, allowing the magnitude of the situation to set in.

The doctors knew better than to say something in their defense.

She stood up and continued, “Unbelievably, Commander Sidhara was close to not pressing charges against you.” Homchu supplemented, “I convinced her to file them.” She rounded her desk, “Don’t get me wrong, I like you two. Despite your willfulness, I know you are both good officers. But you simply can’t do things like this in today’s Starfleet and get away with it!”

Wenera and Zo’Kama remained stoic.

“Now, I feel some of these charges go beyond an Article 15 and require a courts-martial.” She paused for a moment as if to gather her strength to say, “However, the base commander has decided to exercise his authority in this matter and supercede my judgment. He talked Commander Sidhara out of filing charges and he’s restricted Captain M'Bira or me from filing them in her stead.”

The two shared a glance at each other, though it was one more of confusion than relief.

“So,” she went on, “per his orders, both of you will be restricted to quarters when not on duty for 30 days,” she rolled her eyes, “or until you receive new assignments, which ever comes first. Your flight privileges will also be revoked.”

They were dumbstruck. It was the proverbial slap on the wrist. Zo’Kama had at least expected a reduction in rank. Jane imagined far worse than that.

Admiral Homchu ordered, “Attention.” They immediately stood. The Bolian leaned toward them to ram home the point, “I don’t know who have up in the ranks looking after you two, but you should thank the gods you do. You both could have lost your commissions over this. Now, I have no doubt both of you will be cut new orders within the week; but until then, you had best do nothing to annoy me. Dismissed.”

The commanders smartly exited the room without delay.

Once the pair had left the Admiral’s antechamber and they were safely in the corridor, Zo’Kama asked, “What just happened?”

“We were let off the hook,” she rejoined, but she was no less befuddled.

“Do you think Section 31 intervened on our behalf?” offered the Arkonian.

“I hope not,” was Jane’s quick response, “I’d hate to be grateful for anything they’ve done for me.”

They began walking, each lost in their own thoughts.

“When I begin to think about how we were manipulated, my thoughts go to the Vuke. Section 31 is manipulating the entire Vuke culture. They’re solidifying a tyrant because it’s more advantageous to Federation interests.”

“I know,” commented Wenera, “Something’s changed in the Federation. I don’t like it.”

Zo’Kama huffed, “I just had a terrifying thought: What if nothing has changed except Section 31 has become too overconfident and more sloppy?”

Jane took a few steps and considered it. “In an odd way, I hope you’re right. Pride comes before a fall, Zo’Kama.”

She ticked her head to the right to affirm.

“And I’ll tell you one thing,” Wenera said, “Whether they eased our punishment or not, we have a lot of unfinished business with Section 31.”

They took a few more steps in silence.

Wenera repeated with resolve, “A lot of unfinished business.”

Stardate: Unknown
Location: Unknown

It was a small cell no more than two square meters. It was well lit. The walls, the deck, the door, even the bench which contained the head, were all a pleasant tan color.

At least he remembered thinking it was pleasant when he first got here. Not that he knew where exactly ‘here’ was. He wasn’t sure how long he had been here, either. He could have been in stasis for months, for all he knew. Time was irrelevant anyway. Something had to change for time to matter. Nothing had changed here since he arrived. Except, maybe his beard, he guessed it was at least a week’s worth of growth.

He sat curled up on the bench, still in his soiled, red-trimmed, commander’s uniform. He could no longer sense how offensive he probably smelled.

There were no demands, no interrogations, no voices on an intercom. There was nothing indicating other people were anywhere around him. Once a day, a bowl of rice mixed with a green paste and a cup of water materialized in his cell. It was beamed out again a minute or two later. At least, he assumed he was being feed once a day.

He had supposed the food was transported automatically and there was no one outside. His mind remembered from no where his ancient history class from school. The word ‘dungeon’ can be traced to a French word, meaning “the forgotten place,” or “to forget.” Maybe he had truly been forgotten.

The lights were always on. There was no time. It didn’t matter. Something has to change for time to matter. Nothing changed here. There was no hum of a warp core, nor footfalls outside. No noise from a ventilation system. Nothing but the tan walls.

Karim bin Nadal decided to call out like he sometimes did, “Get it over with! Do something! Anything!” Despite himself, he began to sob again. He pleaded under his breath, “Do something. God, do something.”

THE END

 

[mirandafave]

Good to see the story back and bonus of seeing it to its completion. Yuck for poor Wenera and Zo'Kama to be used by S31 so ruthlessly. However, their choices were limited and family members taken or not, S31 would have found a way somehow to get them to do their dirty work for them. How very sad.

It is also very troubling the lengths and schemes of S31 to prepare the way for future Federation strengths by the whole scale manipulation of the Vuke. There's playing politics and then there is playing it to this degree.

However, it is perhaps quite telling that last exchange between Wenera and Zo'Kama:

What if nothing has changed except Section 31 has become too overconfident and more sloppy?”

Jane took a few steps and considered it. “In an odd way, I hope you’re right. Pride comes before a fall, Zo’Kama.”

There certainly is a lot of unfinished business with S31 for these two and the others of the Indy. And the question remains as to what the future holds for our wayward captain and her scattered crew.

Nadel still lives! Ok, I expected that he was alive still. And I rather expected his fate might just be something worse than death. It seems he is being kept caged like an animal but by whom and for what purposes. I have a horrible feeling it might be S31 and that their intention is to use Nadel and maybe even break him to come over to their side. Lots of story left to tell once the credits roll as always with a great Indy story. I look forward to any future tales dnoth. Well done and welcome back.

 

[CeJay]

What a finish and better late than never, right?

Now the big question is, who's got Nadal and how is he getting out of this? I'm holding out for some sort of rescue mission.

And let's hope Wenera and Zo'Kama have learned their lesson. Don't bring your kids to work.

Great story. Now I'm looking forward to more Indy. There are still plenty of stories to be told.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Very nice wrap to an excellent story, Dnoth! Yeah, I have to wonder as to who interceded on behalf of Zo'kama and Wenera. Section 31? Maybe, but I dunno . . .

Glad to see bin Nadal is still alive but obviously not doing well. Where is he and how did he get there? (Well, he's in a jail cell, obviously, but the questions still stand).

Like CeJay, I hope you have a rescue mission planned. Of course, most everyone thinks he's KIA, so . . .

Now you've done it! You have to write a sequel! Please?

Great job.

 

[Dnoth]

A heart-felt 'thank you' to everyone who read and commented. ...and kept with this story for the last two years.

Yes, my muse appears to be back and the next installment, "Lucid Dawn," will be up soon.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Great end!

I'm looking forward to seeing someone destroy Section 31.

 

[DarKush]

Intriguing ending, and it is very good to see that you are back Dnoth!