Star Trek: Cayuga
15 - ‘Nail in the Horseshoe’
By Jack Elmlinger
“... analyses conducted by the Starships Cayuga, Starsong, Warrior, and Atlantis seem to confirm the date of origin that Huang gave you.” The man had introduced himself but she hadn’t bothered to remember it. The only thing that distinguished from anyone else was his nondescript civilian gray suit on a space station full of Starfleet officers. “I wish to remind you, Commander, that the future represented by Mister Huang is only one of an infinite number of possibilities and not an assured series of events.”
Davi zh’Tali sat sprawled out in her chair, staring at the featureless wall behind him. Her uniform jacket was unzipped, exposing her rumpled maroon shirt.
“I expect that you understand that anything you learned from Mister Huang is considered top secret under Starfleet’s temporal protection policies. Do you need anything else from me?”
zh’Tali’s gaze flickered to the man’s face and then towards the door.
He shrugged and keyed the door open. A Starfleet officer stood waiting on the other side of the door. “Good luck,” the Temporal Affairs man muttered as he passed by.
The Starfleet officer placed a stack of PADDS on the table and leaned over, offering her hand. “Commander zh’Tali, I’m -- “
“Captain Gabriel Hunter, commanding officer of the starship Interceptor.” zh’Tali’s eyes suddenly focused on him, startling the captain into pulling his hand back.
“Yes… well,” Hunter said, sitting down,” I was afraid that you wouldn’t remember me.”
“I remember everyone involved with my duties.” The zhen roused herself, correcting her posture and visibly gathering her demeanor. “The last time that I heard, you and Interceptor acted as the public face of Project Damocles.”
“The whole Borg Defense Initiative, really,” the captain corrected her distractedly, shuttling through the PADDs in search of a particular one.
zh’Tali smirked at him, a hint of sadism glinting in her eyes. “Yes, I imagine that you have had your work cut out for you since the Ishtar debacle. But then, you had a new Centaur class starship to break in after that.”
Hunter looked up at her, sharply. “It isn’t polite to speak ill of the dead, zh’Siaak.”
“zh’Tali and I warned Shelby at the inception of Damocles that it was a foolish venture.”
Hunter pressed on, moving away from the argument that was trying to gain new life. “We’ve collected both the Borg drone and the assimilated officer accidentally transported back from the installation. Do you have anything to add to the official report?”
“They were Borg and I killed them. The away team was evacuated and our last sensor readings indicated that the Cube was in the process of assimilating the space station. Given that it never fired at us, I assumed that they completed their task.”
“Retreating was wise. There’s no way that your ship could have survived a battle against a Cube.”
“I wasn’t in command at the time,” zh’Tali said coldly.
“Fifty ships from the Seventh Fleet under Admiral Falconer searched the area. There was no trace of the Cube or the installation.”
zh’Tali snorted at this statement with contempt. “That’s hardly surprising. They’re the Borg.”
Hunter passed a PADD to her across the table. “Also, we analyzed the Cayuga’s sensor readings and matched the particular matter to that found in the drive manifolds of the shuttlecraft Garibaldi and of the starship Atlantis. We believe that the Cube you encountered was the same vessel that abducted the cultists from the Briner Nebula.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After eight weeks of staring at the walls of the shuttlecraft Ivanova, Captain Jeanne Pozach found the tight corridors of Starbase Three-Nine-Five to be a welcome change. Hearing that her ship had encountered the Borg and that a member of her crew had been assimilated was far less than welcome.
“You’re sure that it was the Borg?,” Pasko demanded to know.
“No, Sean,” Aimee Maguire said dryly as she ran her fingers over the bandage that covered her forehead,” it was some other group of cybernetic aliens that flies around in giant cube-shaped ships.” She glanced over at the captain and caught her concerned expression. “I’m all right, really,” she lied to her. “It’s just… the Borg, Jeanne. There were Borg. Ntannu had only just gotten out of Sickbay and his leg’s still shattered. And Fuller…”
“Assimilated. I know.”
Down the corridor, a door slid open and Commander zh’Tali stepped out. She blinked, her only sigh of surprise, and said,” Captain, Lieutenant, welcome back.”
“Commander,” Pozach said, cooly,” I would like to speak with you.” zh’Tali inclined her chin and fell into step with her. “Am I to understand that you’re responsible for Mbanu and Riker being in Sickbay?”
zh’Tali hesitated before she answered with a,” Yes, sir.”
“Any particular reason?,” Pozach asked her, pointedly not looking at her.
“Lieutenant Commander Riker removed me from the field of combat prematurely. I was… distraught.”
Behind her, Maguire held a finger up to her temple and spiralled it. “Distraught? More like engaged. You hit poor Mbanu with the drone that she accidentally beamed aboard.”
The Andorian ignored her.
“I don’t care if you were distraught, enraged, or apathetic, Commander,” the Captain snapped at her. “You’re confined to quarters until I think of something better -- “ She walked straight into Vasily Keitsev.
For a moment, the five of them stood silent with each of them staring at each other in shock.
Keitsev squawked and bolted down the corridor.
“Get him!,” Pasko shouted, launching after him. zh’Tali quickly outpaced him immediately. Keitsev swerved around a corner, shoving a crew member out of the way and the First Officer vaulted over the obstacle. The former operations officer’s last thought before she collided with him was that he should have never come back to the Cayuga.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Harsh buzzing in his ears dragged Keitsev back to consciousness. “Where…?,” he gasped before his head exploded in pain.
“Sorry about the head,” he heard someone say. “You really should watch out for those bulkheads.”
“Pasko,” he hissed as he struggled to sit up before he took stock of the three men standing behind the energy barrier. “I’m on the Cayuga.”
“When Station Security learned that you were one of ours, they were delighted to let us take custody of you,” Lieutenant Ntannu explained, leaning heavily on a cane. “What are you doing back here, Keitsev?”
“Taking in the sights,” Keitsev said, squinting against the overhead lights.
Pasko stepped up to the force field. “Now, Vasily, you’ve already been charged with the murder of Allison Cheney and the assault on Aimee, in addition to whatever else you did during the Buckingham incident.” He leaned forward, his brown hair levitating towards the force field. “You’re going to the stockades on Jaros II and the only time that you’ll see the stars is at night.
“But, maybe you don’t have to watch the century go by behind bars,” the pilot continued glibly before anger flashed across his face. “Why were you here on Starbase Three-Nine-Five? What’s its significance?”
“Well, it was built before Starbase Three-Nine-Six, and after Starbase Three-Nine-Four. I think that’s pretty fantastic.”
“Lieutenant,” Ensign Leung said gravely,” we believe that you are working with the Maquis.”
Keitsev was about to open his mouth to respond, but the sound of the Brig doors opening interrupted him. Lieutenant Ntannu and Leung straightened up and Pasko stepped back uncomfortably.
“Clear the room,” Commander zh’Tali ordered them.
“I almost feel bad for you,” Pasko told the traitor as he followed Ntannu and Leung out the door.
“Hello, Mister Keitsev,” the Andorian said. “You and I are going to have a conversation.”
Keitsev smirked at her. “You’re going to ask me what I was doing, over and over again, until I break?”
A faint smile crossed her lips. “No.”
She reached out and deactivated the force field that separated her from Keitsev. “Eight months ago, you asked me to teach you about war.” She stepped across the threshold and he backed up against the wall. “In interrogation, did you know that the Romulans use a device colloquially known as a ‘brain sifter’? They’re unfortunately lethal.” She began to pace the length of the cell. “Also, there are the Jem’hadar who are specifically bred as interrogators who are… quite efficient.” She stopped in front of the prisoner and peered down over him.
“You can’t do this to me. I have rights.”
zh’Tali smiled outright at him. “You’ve got rights. Lots of rights. But right now, there’s you, me, and a question. What were you doing on Starbase Three-Five-Nine?”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
15 - ‘Nail in the Horseshoe’
By Jack Elmlinger
“... analyses conducted by the Starships Cayuga, Starsong, Warrior, and Atlantis seem to confirm the date of origin that Huang gave you.” The man had introduced himself but she hadn’t bothered to remember it. The only thing that distinguished from anyone else was his nondescript civilian gray suit on a space station full of Starfleet officers. “I wish to remind you, Commander, that the future represented by Mister Huang is only one of an infinite number of possibilities and not an assured series of events.”
Davi zh’Tali sat sprawled out in her chair, staring at the featureless wall behind him. Her uniform jacket was unzipped, exposing her rumpled maroon shirt.
“I expect that you understand that anything you learned from Mister Huang is considered top secret under Starfleet’s temporal protection policies. Do you need anything else from me?”
zh’Tali’s gaze flickered to the man’s face and then towards the door.
He shrugged and keyed the door open. A Starfleet officer stood waiting on the other side of the door. “Good luck,” the Temporal Affairs man muttered as he passed by.
The Starfleet officer placed a stack of PADDS on the table and leaned over, offering her hand. “Commander zh’Tali, I’m -- “
“Captain Gabriel Hunter, commanding officer of the starship Interceptor.” zh’Tali’s eyes suddenly focused on him, startling the captain into pulling his hand back.
“Yes… well,” Hunter said, sitting down,” I was afraid that you wouldn’t remember me.”
“I remember everyone involved with my duties.” The zhen roused herself, correcting her posture and visibly gathering her demeanor. “The last time that I heard, you and Interceptor acted as the public face of Project Damocles.”
“The whole Borg Defense Initiative, really,” the captain corrected her distractedly, shuttling through the PADDs in search of a particular one.
zh’Tali smirked at him, a hint of sadism glinting in her eyes. “Yes, I imagine that you have had your work cut out for you since the Ishtar debacle. But then, you had a new Centaur class starship to break in after that.”
Hunter looked up at her, sharply. “It isn’t polite to speak ill of the dead, zh’Siaak.”
“zh’Tali and I warned Shelby at the inception of Damocles that it was a foolish venture.”
Hunter pressed on, moving away from the argument that was trying to gain new life. “We’ve collected both the Borg drone and the assimilated officer accidentally transported back from the installation. Do you have anything to add to the official report?”
“They were Borg and I killed them. The away team was evacuated and our last sensor readings indicated that the Cube was in the process of assimilating the space station. Given that it never fired at us, I assumed that they completed their task.”
“Retreating was wise. There’s no way that your ship could have survived a battle against a Cube.”
“I wasn’t in command at the time,” zh’Tali said coldly.
“Fifty ships from the Seventh Fleet under Admiral Falconer searched the area. There was no trace of the Cube or the installation.”
zh’Tali snorted at this statement with contempt. “That’s hardly surprising. They’re the Borg.”
Hunter passed a PADD to her across the table. “Also, we analyzed the Cayuga’s sensor readings and matched the particular matter to that found in the drive manifolds of the shuttlecraft Garibaldi and of the starship Atlantis. We believe that the Cube you encountered was the same vessel that abducted the cultists from the Briner Nebula.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After eight weeks of staring at the walls of the shuttlecraft Ivanova, Captain Jeanne Pozach found the tight corridors of Starbase Three-Nine-Five to be a welcome change. Hearing that her ship had encountered the Borg and that a member of her crew had been assimilated was far less than welcome.
“You’re sure that it was the Borg?,” Pasko demanded to know.
“No, Sean,” Aimee Maguire said dryly as she ran her fingers over the bandage that covered her forehead,” it was some other group of cybernetic aliens that flies around in giant cube-shaped ships.” She glanced over at the captain and caught her concerned expression. “I’m all right, really,” she lied to her. “It’s just… the Borg, Jeanne. There were Borg. Ntannu had only just gotten out of Sickbay and his leg’s still shattered. And Fuller…”
“Assimilated. I know.”
Down the corridor, a door slid open and Commander zh’Tali stepped out. She blinked, her only sigh of surprise, and said,” Captain, Lieutenant, welcome back.”
“Commander,” Pozach said, cooly,” I would like to speak with you.” zh’Tali inclined her chin and fell into step with her. “Am I to understand that you’re responsible for Mbanu and Riker being in Sickbay?”
zh’Tali hesitated before she answered with a,” Yes, sir.”
“Any particular reason?,” Pozach asked her, pointedly not looking at her.
“Lieutenant Commander Riker removed me from the field of combat prematurely. I was… distraught.”
Behind her, Maguire held a finger up to her temple and spiralled it. “Distraught? More like engaged. You hit poor Mbanu with the drone that she accidentally beamed aboard.”
The Andorian ignored her.
“I don’t care if you were distraught, enraged, or apathetic, Commander,” the Captain snapped at her. “You’re confined to quarters until I think of something better -- “ She walked straight into Vasily Keitsev.
For a moment, the five of them stood silent with each of them staring at each other in shock.
Keitsev squawked and bolted down the corridor.
“Get him!,” Pasko shouted, launching after him. zh’Tali quickly outpaced him immediately. Keitsev swerved around a corner, shoving a crew member out of the way and the First Officer vaulted over the obstacle. The former operations officer’s last thought before she collided with him was that he should have never come back to the Cayuga.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Harsh buzzing in his ears dragged Keitsev back to consciousness. “Where…?,” he gasped before his head exploded in pain.
“Sorry about the head,” he heard someone say. “You really should watch out for those bulkheads.”
“Pasko,” he hissed as he struggled to sit up before he took stock of the three men standing behind the energy barrier. “I’m on the Cayuga.”
“When Station Security learned that you were one of ours, they were delighted to let us take custody of you,” Lieutenant Ntannu explained, leaning heavily on a cane. “What are you doing back here, Keitsev?”
“Taking in the sights,” Keitsev said, squinting against the overhead lights.
Pasko stepped up to the force field. “Now, Vasily, you’ve already been charged with the murder of Allison Cheney and the assault on Aimee, in addition to whatever else you did during the Buckingham incident.” He leaned forward, his brown hair levitating towards the force field. “You’re going to the stockades on Jaros II and the only time that you’ll see the stars is at night.
“But, maybe you don’t have to watch the century go by behind bars,” the pilot continued glibly before anger flashed across his face. “Why were you here on Starbase Three-Nine-Five? What’s its significance?”
“Well, it was built before Starbase Three-Nine-Six, and after Starbase Three-Nine-Four. I think that’s pretty fantastic.”
“Lieutenant,” Ensign Leung said gravely,” we believe that you are working with the Maquis.”
Keitsev was about to open his mouth to respond, but the sound of the Brig doors opening interrupted him. Lieutenant Ntannu and Leung straightened up and Pasko stepped back uncomfortably.
“Clear the room,” Commander zh’Tali ordered them.
“I almost feel bad for you,” Pasko told the traitor as he followed Ntannu and Leung out the door.
“Hello, Mister Keitsev,” the Andorian said. “You and I are going to have a conversation.”
Keitsev smirked at her. “You’re going to ask me what I was doing, over and over again, until I break?”
A faint smile crossed her lips. “No.”
She reached out and deactivated the force field that separated her from Keitsev. “Eight months ago, you asked me to teach you about war.” She stepped across the threshold and he backed up against the wall. “In interrogation, did you know that the Romulans use a device colloquially known as a ‘brain sifter’? They’re unfortunately lethal.” She began to pace the length of the cell. “Also, there are the Jem’hadar who are specifically bred as interrogators who are… quite efficient.” She stopped in front of the prisoner and peered down over him.
“You can’t do this to me. I have rights.”
zh’Tali smiled outright at him. “You’ve got rights. Lots of rights. But right now, there’s you, me, and a question. What were you doing on Starbase Three-Five-Nine?”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
