Epilogue
Zia Kehen made it halfway across the chamber before she first noticed the effects of the ultrasonics. It affected her in a different way to the other members of the away team. There was no sense of fear, just an annoying pain that was located at the base of her neck. Suddenly, a gray shape seemed to float past her but she controlled her emotions. Without the influence of the ultrasonics, she ignored what she knew to be an illusion and carried on. Where Commander Masafumi and Lieutenant Tennyson had walked slowly and with trepidation, the Yulani strode forward quickly, eager to reach the other side.
****
Behind her, Masafumi stood in the doorway and watched while she disappeared into the shadows.
“You know that she’ll be okay,” Liz told him from the other side of the doorway.
“Of course,” he said, glad that Hollem was off ministering to sick prisoners.
Tennyson laughed. “She has no idea, you know.”
“About what?,” he asked her, just a little too quickly.
“That you like her in that way. You really should tell her.”
“Everyone wants to run my love life for me,” Yashiro said, turning to face her. “No offense, Lieutenant, but it isn’t your concern.”
Tennyson held up her hands. “Hey, I’m just giving you some friendly advice. I wasn’t trying to get in your face, Commander.”
“I apologize if I snapped,” Masafumi said, turning his gaze back towards the darkness.
****
The pain at the base of her neck was becoming close to intolerable but Kehen had made it to the far wall. Looking back, she could see nothing beyond shadows and darkness. Ahead of her, she saw a doorway that was similar to the one that she had left, minutes before. Walking up to it, she pushed and she wasn’t surprised to find it open. Gingerly, she stepped inside, expecting to find armed guards ready to pounce on her at any minute. Instead, she found an empty room and off to one side was a bank of controls.
As she walked over to the controls, she realized that the pain was subsiding. Obviously, she was away from the influence of the ultrasonic generators. The control console was lit up like a Christmas tree, a concept that Kehen had no knowledge of before she joined Starfleet and attended the Academy. There were over a dozen buttons and levers, plus several instrument panels that she couldn’t make heads or tails out of. Undaunted, she hit buttons randomly until she saw a particular reading that consisted of a red bar that began to lower, gradually and slowly turning yellow.
“Selvie!,” came a voice from behind her.
****
When the lights slowly began to dip, Commander Masafumi instantly knew the reason. “She’s done it! Doctor, Lieutenant, we’re leaving!,” he shouted and seconds later, the other two Starfleet officers were at his side.
“Just because the lights are fading doesn’t mean that the ultrasonics are offline,” Tennyson said. Around them, panic accompanied the dimming lights and most of the prisoners were running towards the courtyard.
“I know. There’s only one way to know for sure.” The Commander darted out from the doorway, anticipating the palpitations that he had experienced earlier. After two meters, he stopped and he felt fine. “Come on! Let’s go!”
****
“Selvie, how did you get past the spirits?,” the hulking guard standing before her asked with his short sword in his hand. He moved forward, his sword darting before him.
“I’ve always had a high tolerance for spirits,” Kehen quipped before she ducked away from his sudden lunge. His sword sparkled when it deflected off of the console.
The Yulani was backed now into a corner of the mall room.
“Stay there, Selvie,” the guard said when he moved over to the console and began to manipulate the controls. Suddenly, the power indicator began to rise up into the red zone again.
“Don’t!,” she cried out and started forward before he brandished his sword at her and she shrunk back.
“Quiet! I don’t know how you made it this far but anyone else who tries will be in for a surprise.” He grinned as the reading rose right back up to the top.
Suddenly, an arm looped around his throat. “The surprise, I fear, is yours,” Masafumi said, locking the guard in the sleeper hold and dragging the hapless guard, his sword fallen out of reach, to the floor.
Kehen reached forward and picked up the weapon. “Commander!,” she cried out. “I thought you would be caught by the ultrasonics.”
“Another few seconds and we would have,” Doctor Hollem said from behind Masafumi. Lieutenant Tennyson was standing beside him. “We just started to feel its effect when we reached the door.”
“Where do we find the Domni?,” Masafumi asked as he loosened his grip, just a little, to allow the guard to speak. He stayed silent and the Commander tightened his grip once more, causing the guard to choke. “Tell me!”
The guard’s eyes were almost popping out of his skull but he began to gesture with his hand and Masafumi loosened his grip again. “Top of the building. Through the Quevon at the end of the corridor.”
“Thank you,” the First Officer said before he pulled tight until the guard lost consciousness.
“Quevon?,” asked Hollem.
“I assume we’ll find out what it is if we follow that corridor,” Tennyson said, indicating the only other exit from the room.
A quick jog down the corridor led the away team to an open lift. “A Quevon, I presume,” Yashiro said before he stepped inside with the others close behind. “No controls,” he added before the lift began to rise automatically.
“Just like the train,” said Hollem.
They passed by ten floors but the lift refused to stop and Masafumi was beginning to get a bad feeling. When it finally did stop, there were four guards waiting for them. With the sword taken away from Lieutenant Kehen, they were ushered into a room alone. The guards remained outside.
The room was large and giant windows showed a panoramic view of the city around them. It was a myriad of buildings. Some of them were like the ones that they had encountered in the village and some of the buildings were totally different.
“Wow,” said Zia.
At the center of the room stood a spherical object. It was five meters wide and it was just as tall, glowing a dull orange.
“Domni, I presume?,” asked Masafumi.
“I am the Domni,” came a voice and the sphere grew brighter when the voice spoke. “You Selvie are persistent. No one has ever left the Ulka alive before.”
“I don’t suppose it’s worth reiterating that we aren’t Selvie,” said Masafumi.
“No,” replied the Domni. “The Chobreq are a merciful race. We would have let you live in the Ulka, but obviously, you are more dangerous than you appear. I am truly sorry.”
“What for?,” asked Tennyson. A moment later and she understood when a high-pitched whistle emanated from all around them. Screaming, the four Starfleet officers fell to the floor, their hands clamped to their ears as blood seeped out between them.
Then, sudden;y, a giant roar and a flash of light overwhelmed the whistling, followed by a deathly silence. Slowly, Masafumi rose to his feet. Every pane of glass in the room had been shattered and the Domni was dark with the top of the sphere missing. Turning around, slowly, he saw the explanation.
A Type-Nine shuttlecraft hovered outside the building. As he looked closer, he saw Lieutenant Commander Adam Huntington sitting in the pilot’s seat. Upon seeing him, the Security Chief gave him a mock salute.
A moment later, there was the whine of a transporter effect when Captain Cardonez materialized next to him.
“Commander, are you all right?”
Masafumi nodded weakly. “Just about, I think. We might need some medical attention though.” He reached down and helped Hollem to his feet. Kehen was already helping Tennyson, allowing the other woman to lean against her.
“We traced the train tracks to here and we managed to track down your lifesigns. It looked like you were in trouble so we decided on the bull in a china shop approach.”
“It probably saved our lives,” said the Bajoran.
“It’s a shame about the Domni,” Masafumi said before he heard something. It was a low whimpering coming from the Domni.
He raised an eyebrow and Cardonez asked,” What’s the Domni, Commander?”
Masafumi walked over to the ruined sphere and looked inside. “Not what we thought that it was,” he answered cryptically.
Cardonez followed him and looked down into the hollow sphere. A frail, old man sat inside, cowering amongst a plethora of instrument panels.
“So the Domni is merely one of the Chobreq,” said Masafumi. “There’s no need to be afraid. We don’t mean you any harm.”
The Domni looked up with fear in his eyes but also something else; sadness. “The Selvie are too strong,” he said. “The Domni cannot protect his people anymore.”
Masafumi sighed. “Domni, I know that the Chobreq were once a powerful and advanced race and that the Selvie took that away from you. However, we’re not the Selviem and I can prove it. If you lower the cloaking shield that hides the surface, we will leave you and never return if you wish.”
“If we wish?,” asked the Domni.
“It’s up to you. We represent the United Federation of Planets, an organization that spans thousands of worlds and hundreds of different species. We believe in space and if you want us to, we will leave you alone but we would also be willing to help you.”
“We do not need help.”
“Don’t you?,” he asked. “We found you, despite your shielding. Others will eventually and they might not be as friendly as we are. Six of us have wreaked havoc on your world and we came in friendship! Imagine a hundred like us, only eager to ravage your world. If you let us, the Federation can help you defend yourselves properly and give you the ability to make use of the different environments that you have. We could help to ensure that the Chobreq are truly protected.”
For a long moment, the Domni merely looked up at Masafumi. When he finally spoke, there was an air of finality in his voice. “I will deactivate the shroud but only long enough for you to leave this place. The Chobreq are still a proud people, no matter what the Selvie did to us. Leave us in peace but do not return.” He reached out and activated a control on his console.
Within seconds, Cardonez’s combadge chirped. “Cardonez here.”
“Captain, you’re alive!,” came Lieutenant Ramblin’s voice which was filled with relief mixed with surprise.
“Yes, Lieutenant, we are. Wait a moment.” She tapped her combadge. “Cardonez to shuttlecraft. Adam, there’s no time to explain but head for orbit. We’ll beam directly to the Testudo.”
“Understood,” came the Security Chief’s reply.
Meanwhile, the Captain had resumed communications with the ship. “Louise, lock onto us, five to beam up, directly to the Bridge. Now.”
Masafumi nodded at the Domni. “If you ever change your mind, it would be an honor to learn more about your culture. As a friend, rather than a prisoner.”
The Domni opened his mouth to reply but Masafumi was gone before he could speak.
****
As they materialized on the Bridge, the away team looked at the planet. It was so different now with conurbations and clear signs of vegetation and water. As they watched, the view suddenly changed. All signs of life were gone and once more, Pollera Four - Circadia - appeared to be nothing more than a lifeless ball of dust.
“Captain, what the hell just happened?,” asked Lieutenant Ramblin.
“Just some people who value their privacy, Lieutenant,” said Commander Masafumi.
“Captain, we should probably get to Sickbay,” said Hollem. “Who knows how much damage has been done to our ears.”
Cardonez nodded. “Go. You’re all off-duty for the next forty-eight hours, irrespective of what the medics turn up.”
The group nodded and headed for the turbolift.
“Captain, Commander Huntington is requesting permission to come aboard,” said Ramblin.
“Permission granted,” the Captain said with a smile that faded somewhat when she looked down. “Lieutenant, why is there a boot print on the side of your console?”
****
As the four away team members exited the turbolift and began the walk to Sickbay, Commander Masafumi saw that the doctor and the chief engineer seemed to be purposefully lagging behind. Some people will never give up, he told himself.
“I still don’t understand,” said Kehen. “How come we were diverted, four hundred kilometers away when we beamed down?”
“Who knows? Perhaps the shield was designed to divert visitors to the nearest habitation,” hypothesized Masafumi. “Lieutenant?”
“What is it, Commander?,” she replied with a smile.
He paused. It wasn’t the right time yet. He would say something but there was plenty of time to do it. “Nothing, Lieutenant. Nothing important.”
The End.
Zia Kehen made it halfway across the chamber before she first noticed the effects of the ultrasonics. It affected her in a different way to the other members of the away team. There was no sense of fear, just an annoying pain that was located at the base of her neck. Suddenly, a gray shape seemed to float past her but she controlled her emotions. Without the influence of the ultrasonics, she ignored what she knew to be an illusion and carried on. Where Commander Masafumi and Lieutenant Tennyson had walked slowly and with trepidation, the Yulani strode forward quickly, eager to reach the other side.
****
Behind her, Masafumi stood in the doorway and watched while she disappeared into the shadows.
“You know that she’ll be okay,” Liz told him from the other side of the doorway.
“Of course,” he said, glad that Hollem was off ministering to sick prisoners.
Tennyson laughed. “She has no idea, you know.”
“About what?,” he asked her, just a little too quickly.
“That you like her in that way. You really should tell her.”
“Everyone wants to run my love life for me,” Yashiro said, turning to face her. “No offense, Lieutenant, but it isn’t your concern.”
Tennyson held up her hands. “Hey, I’m just giving you some friendly advice. I wasn’t trying to get in your face, Commander.”
“I apologize if I snapped,” Masafumi said, turning his gaze back towards the darkness.
****
The pain at the base of her neck was becoming close to intolerable but Kehen had made it to the far wall. Looking back, she could see nothing beyond shadows and darkness. Ahead of her, she saw a doorway that was similar to the one that she had left, minutes before. Walking up to it, she pushed and she wasn’t surprised to find it open. Gingerly, she stepped inside, expecting to find armed guards ready to pounce on her at any minute. Instead, she found an empty room and off to one side was a bank of controls.
As she walked over to the controls, she realized that the pain was subsiding. Obviously, she was away from the influence of the ultrasonic generators. The control console was lit up like a Christmas tree, a concept that Kehen had no knowledge of before she joined Starfleet and attended the Academy. There were over a dozen buttons and levers, plus several instrument panels that she couldn’t make heads or tails out of. Undaunted, she hit buttons randomly until she saw a particular reading that consisted of a red bar that began to lower, gradually and slowly turning yellow.
“Selvie!,” came a voice from behind her.
****
When the lights slowly began to dip, Commander Masafumi instantly knew the reason. “She’s done it! Doctor, Lieutenant, we’re leaving!,” he shouted and seconds later, the other two Starfleet officers were at his side.
“Just because the lights are fading doesn’t mean that the ultrasonics are offline,” Tennyson said. Around them, panic accompanied the dimming lights and most of the prisoners were running towards the courtyard.
“I know. There’s only one way to know for sure.” The Commander darted out from the doorway, anticipating the palpitations that he had experienced earlier. After two meters, he stopped and he felt fine. “Come on! Let’s go!”
****
“Selvie, how did you get past the spirits?,” the hulking guard standing before her asked with his short sword in his hand. He moved forward, his sword darting before him.
“I’ve always had a high tolerance for spirits,” Kehen quipped before she ducked away from his sudden lunge. His sword sparkled when it deflected off of the console.
The Yulani was backed now into a corner of the mall room.
“Stay there, Selvie,” the guard said when he moved over to the console and began to manipulate the controls. Suddenly, the power indicator began to rise up into the red zone again.
“Don’t!,” she cried out and started forward before he brandished his sword at her and she shrunk back.
“Quiet! I don’t know how you made it this far but anyone else who tries will be in for a surprise.” He grinned as the reading rose right back up to the top.
Suddenly, an arm looped around his throat. “The surprise, I fear, is yours,” Masafumi said, locking the guard in the sleeper hold and dragging the hapless guard, his sword fallen out of reach, to the floor.
Kehen reached forward and picked up the weapon. “Commander!,” she cried out. “I thought you would be caught by the ultrasonics.”
“Another few seconds and we would have,” Doctor Hollem said from behind Masafumi. Lieutenant Tennyson was standing beside him. “We just started to feel its effect when we reached the door.”
“Where do we find the Domni?,” Masafumi asked as he loosened his grip, just a little, to allow the guard to speak. He stayed silent and the Commander tightened his grip once more, causing the guard to choke. “Tell me!”
The guard’s eyes were almost popping out of his skull but he began to gesture with his hand and Masafumi loosened his grip again. “Top of the building. Through the Quevon at the end of the corridor.”
“Thank you,” the First Officer said before he pulled tight until the guard lost consciousness.
“Quevon?,” asked Hollem.
“I assume we’ll find out what it is if we follow that corridor,” Tennyson said, indicating the only other exit from the room.
A quick jog down the corridor led the away team to an open lift. “A Quevon, I presume,” Yashiro said before he stepped inside with the others close behind. “No controls,” he added before the lift began to rise automatically.
“Just like the train,” said Hollem.
They passed by ten floors but the lift refused to stop and Masafumi was beginning to get a bad feeling. When it finally did stop, there were four guards waiting for them. With the sword taken away from Lieutenant Kehen, they were ushered into a room alone. The guards remained outside.
The room was large and giant windows showed a panoramic view of the city around them. It was a myriad of buildings. Some of them were like the ones that they had encountered in the village and some of the buildings were totally different.
“Wow,” said Zia.
At the center of the room stood a spherical object. It was five meters wide and it was just as tall, glowing a dull orange.
“Domni, I presume?,” asked Masafumi.
“I am the Domni,” came a voice and the sphere grew brighter when the voice spoke. “You Selvie are persistent. No one has ever left the Ulka alive before.”
“I don’t suppose it’s worth reiterating that we aren’t Selvie,” said Masafumi.
“No,” replied the Domni. “The Chobreq are a merciful race. We would have let you live in the Ulka, but obviously, you are more dangerous than you appear. I am truly sorry.”
“What for?,” asked Tennyson. A moment later and she understood when a high-pitched whistle emanated from all around them. Screaming, the four Starfleet officers fell to the floor, their hands clamped to their ears as blood seeped out between them.
Then, sudden;y, a giant roar and a flash of light overwhelmed the whistling, followed by a deathly silence. Slowly, Masafumi rose to his feet. Every pane of glass in the room had been shattered and the Domni was dark with the top of the sphere missing. Turning around, slowly, he saw the explanation.
A Type-Nine shuttlecraft hovered outside the building. As he looked closer, he saw Lieutenant Commander Adam Huntington sitting in the pilot’s seat. Upon seeing him, the Security Chief gave him a mock salute.
A moment later, there was the whine of a transporter effect when Captain Cardonez materialized next to him.
“Commander, are you all right?”
Masafumi nodded weakly. “Just about, I think. We might need some medical attention though.” He reached down and helped Hollem to his feet. Kehen was already helping Tennyson, allowing the other woman to lean against her.
“We traced the train tracks to here and we managed to track down your lifesigns. It looked like you were in trouble so we decided on the bull in a china shop approach.”
“It probably saved our lives,” said the Bajoran.
“It’s a shame about the Domni,” Masafumi said before he heard something. It was a low whimpering coming from the Domni.
He raised an eyebrow and Cardonez asked,” What’s the Domni, Commander?”
Masafumi walked over to the ruined sphere and looked inside. “Not what we thought that it was,” he answered cryptically.
Cardonez followed him and looked down into the hollow sphere. A frail, old man sat inside, cowering amongst a plethora of instrument panels.
“So the Domni is merely one of the Chobreq,” said Masafumi. “There’s no need to be afraid. We don’t mean you any harm.”
The Domni looked up with fear in his eyes but also something else; sadness. “The Selvie are too strong,” he said. “The Domni cannot protect his people anymore.”
Masafumi sighed. “Domni, I know that the Chobreq were once a powerful and advanced race and that the Selvie took that away from you. However, we’re not the Selviem and I can prove it. If you lower the cloaking shield that hides the surface, we will leave you and never return if you wish.”
“If we wish?,” asked the Domni.
“It’s up to you. We represent the United Federation of Planets, an organization that spans thousands of worlds and hundreds of different species. We believe in space and if you want us to, we will leave you alone but we would also be willing to help you.”
“We do not need help.”
“Don’t you?,” he asked. “We found you, despite your shielding. Others will eventually and they might not be as friendly as we are. Six of us have wreaked havoc on your world and we came in friendship! Imagine a hundred like us, only eager to ravage your world. If you let us, the Federation can help you defend yourselves properly and give you the ability to make use of the different environments that you have. We could help to ensure that the Chobreq are truly protected.”
For a long moment, the Domni merely looked up at Masafumi. When he finally spoke, there was an air of finality in his voice. “I will deactivate the shroud but only long enough for you to leave this place. The Chobreq are still a proud people, no matter what the Selvie did to us. Leave us in peace but do not return.” He reached out and activated a control on his console.
Within seconds, Cardonez’s combadge chirped. “Cardonez here.”
“Captain, you’re alive!,” came Lieutenant Ramblin’s voice which was filled with relief mixed with surprise.
“Yes, Lieutenant, we are. Wait a moment.” She tapped her combadge. “Cardonez to shuttlecraft. Adam, there’s no time to explain but head for orbit. We’ll beam directly to the Testudo.”
“Understood,” came the Security Chief’s reply.
Meanwhile, the Captain had resumed communications with the ship. “Louise, lock onto us, five to beam up, directly to the Bridge. Now.”
Masafumi nodded at the Domni. “If you ever change your mind, it would be an honor to learn more about your culture. As a friend, rather than a prisoner.”
The Domni opened his mouth to reply but Masafumi was gone before he could speak.
****
As they materialized on the Bridge, the away team looked at the planet. It was so different now with conurbations and clear signs of vegetation and water. As they watched, the view suddenly changed. All signs of life were gone and once more, Pollera Four - Circadia - appeared to be nothing more than a lifeless ball of dust.
“Captain, what the hell just happened?,” asked Lieutenant Ramblin.
“Just some people who value their privacy, Lieutenant,” said Commander Masafumi.
“Captain, we should probably get to Sickbay,” said Hollem. “Who knows how much damage has been done to our ears.”
Cardonez nodded. “Go. You’re all off-duty for the next forty-eight hours, irrespective of what the medics turn up.”
The group nodded and headed for the turbolift.
“Captain, Commander Huntington is requesting permission to come aboard,” said Ramblin.
“Permission granted,” the Captain said with a smile that faded somewhat when she looked down. “Lieutenant, why is there a boot print on the side of your console?”
****
As the four away team members exited the turbolift and began the walk to Sickbay, Commander Masafumi saw that the doctor and the chief engineer seemed to be purposefully lagging behind. Some people will never give up, he told himself.
“I still don’t understand,” said Kehen. “How come we were diverted, four hundred kilometers away when we beamed down?”
“Who knows? Perhaps the shield was designed to divert visitors to the nearest habitation,” hypothesized Masafumi. “Lieutenant?”
“What is it, Commander?,” she replied with a smile.
He paused. It wasn’t the right time yet. He would say something but there was plenty of time to do it. “Nothing, Lieutenant. Nothing important.”
The End.
