UT:TFV – Part III – Infinities Unbound (Chapter 8 cont'd)
USS Europa
Main Engineering
Lar’ragos looked down from atop the catwalk, standing overhead above the new, exotic looking transwarp engine core. The next iteration of Sandhurst’s original design had been brought to life by Zeischt and Lieutenant Ashok. The former Starfleet officer now claimed to be in possession of his full ‘Amon faculties’, no longer hindered by Sandhurst’s human limitations, or so he’d seemed to imply.
The El Aurian had always envied Sandhurst and his ilk, those with the seemingly magical ability to create and innovate. As someone whose specialties leaned more towards destruction and entropy, a part of him yearned to be leave something behind more concrete than the loss and bitterness that had so often been his due as a soldier.
Now Zeischt was working closely with Ashok, completing the final tests on this supposedly more reliable transwarp drive. Lar’ragos mused that ironically, Ashok and his former captain meshed better now than ever they had as Starfleet colleagues. The Bolian no longer felt overshadowed by Zeischt, and his fragile ego didn’t imped their collaborative effort as it would have before.
The Amon warrior glanced upward, seeming to sense Pava’s presence, and gestured to him to remain there.
“Status of the transwarp matrix?” Lar’ragos queried a moment later as Zeischt stepped off the ‘lift platform that brought him to the upper level.
“Nearly ready for trials,” Zeischt replied. “As we’ve discussed, this transwarp configuration will work in tandem with your existing warp system, giving you the benefit of both.”
“You’re confident Ashok will be able to maintain the system in your absence?” Lar’ragos intended to avoid the confusion and frustration created by Zeischt’s last disappearance from the ship. He would be damned if the ship’s propulsion systems were entirely reliant upon the mercurial Amon.
Zeischt held up a padd that displayed scrolling blueprints. “I have instructed him at length and provided detailed schematics, as well as a fully interactive holodeck program that he can query.”
“Good to know.”
“I would discuss Ramirez with you,” Zeischt added, sounding uneasy. It was so unlike this new version of the man to exude any kind of discomfort that Lar’ragos raised an eyebrow at the statement.
“Ramirez isn’t the issue at hand,” Lar’ragos answered matter-of-factly. “She’s a side-show, a distraction. I’m sure you’ll agree we have larger matters to worry about.”
“And yet,” Zeischt pressed, “I am driven to ask if there’s been any word of her or her ship?”
Lar’ragos cocked his head, stepping closer to Zeischt, who now stood nearly twenty-five centimeters taller than Pava following his metaphysical Amon transformation. “The Baron forged Ramirez into a weapon of vengeance against Sandhurst. You yourself have assured me that Sandhurst is, for all intents and purposes, dead. What interest could you possibly have in her?”
“She… torments me, Pava. I can’t explain exactly why.”
“That’s Captain Lar’ragos to you,” Europa’s commander rejoined icily. “Sandhurst had the privilege of calling me by my given name. You do not.”
Zeischt was visibly taken aback by that, before he regained his placid bearing. “My apologies if I gave offense, Captain. That wasn’t my intent.”
“Apology accepted,” Lar’ragos allowed dryly. “Don’t concern yourself with Ms. Ramirez any longer, she’s not your problem. In the unlikely event that she shows up prior to our departure to the LMC, I will make it a point to release her from her torment.” He reached up a hand and touched a finger just below his cybernetic eye. “I owe her that, at least.”
“I feel... responsible,” Zeischt protested. “She’s done so much harm, killed so many in her campaign to hurt Sand-- the man I was.”
“Again, not your concern. Donald Sandhurst was the target, but he’s run away. Sold his soul to a species as malevolent as the Borg; infused himself with alien energies so that nothing and no one would ever be able to hurt him again.” Lar’ragos offered the merest hint of a smile as he turned and walked towards the corridor entrance. “I recognize the impulse, because I’ve run away before myself. But here I am, four-hundred years later, and I’m still me. I know my strengths, my weaknesses, and the crimes of which I’m guilty. Some days I hurt with every waking breath because of my past sins, but I’ve never run so far away that I turned myself into someone else entirely.”
“I’ve seen the future,” Zeischt blurted suddenly, stopping Lar’ragos in his tracks.
The El Aurian cast a look back over his shoulder. “What of it?”
“All is fire,” Zeischt murmured stoically. “The closer we get to beginning this crusade against the Skorrah, the harder it becomes to see the future clearly. Too many potentialities, too many decisions made in the moment that can affect the outcome. I know this, though, many will die. A great many.”
Lar’ragos gave a short, sardonic laugh in response. “Figured all that out on your own, did you?” He shook his head derisively as he stepped through the parting doors into the corridor beyond. “Fucking amateur.”
USS Europa
Deck 2 - Executive Officer’s Office
“Thank you for meeting with me, Commander.” Counselor Liu seated himself a chair across from the executive officer’s desk at her prompting.
“What can I do for you, Counselor?” Liu was up to her eyeballs in pre-mission preparations, but had taken the time to meet with Liu due to his position among the senior staff, and because as far as officers in general, and medical types in particular, Liu was low maintenance. Wu respected and appreciated that fact.
“Realizing that this is the worst possible time to ask this, sir, I find it necessary nonetheless to request a transfer.”
Liu’s eyes opened a fraction wider at that unexpected appeal. “A transfer where?” she asked guardedly.
“Valiant, sir,” Liu said, frowning in expectation of a sharp response.
Wu’s expression shifted from curious to dubious. “And is Captain T’Ser aware of your transfer request?”
“No, sir. I didn’t want to broach that subject with her until I’d cleared it with you and Captain Lar’ragos.”
Wu sat forward, placing her elbows atop her desk. “May I ask the reason for this request?”
“T’Ser and I are engaged, Commander. It was our intent to be married the next time Valiant and Europa were in the same sector together. This… unexpected detour to the Large Magellanic Cloud has upset those plans. Given T’Ser’s unfortunate history with her last fiance, I thought it best if I transfer to her command.”
A slow nod was Wu’s only response for the moment it took to formulate her reply. “Is there a particular reason to believe your personal situation trumps the seriousness of our upcoming mission, and the welfare of Europa’s crew?”
Liu blinked and cocked his head to one side. “Er… no, that wasn’t my consideration, sir. I thought we might swap counseling personnel with Valiant, if there was no objection from my counterpart there.”
“Counselor,” Wu began patiently, “you are intimately familiar with this crew, their psychological profiles, and you’ve gained the trust of everyone aboard from the captain on down. With the dangers we face and the potential of our becoming stranded in the LMC, you’re needed now more than ever.”
“I take your point, Commander,” Liu countered. “However, in a worst-case-scenario like that, the counselor in question would doubtless rise to the challenge, most especially if trapped in the LMC with the crew for a prolonged period.”
“Lieutenant,” Wu addressed him by rank rather than function. “Everyone aboard has loved ones, most of which are back in the Alpha Quadrant. Simply because your betrothed happens to be a member of the task force doesn’t give you any higher priority in securing a ‘safer’ berth for yourself. We both know Valiant isn’t one of the ships tasked for the upcoming strike on the Skorrah.”
Liu’s face colored in a sudden blush. “I’m not running away to safety for my own sake, if that’s what you’re implying, sir. I’m trying to spare the woman I love from losing another relationship on the cusp of marriage. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know if she could take going through that again. She’s also in no position to ask for my transfer, given the circumstances and her rank.”
“I understand your predicament, Counselor. Nevertheless, we need you, especially now.” Wu steepled her fingers together in front of her, leaning forward even further to convey sincerity. “And let me be perfectly candid, here, Lieutenant. Captain T’Ser knew the risks when the two of you became romantically involved. She’d already survived the worst-case scenario, and she made the conscious choice to roll the dice again.”
“But Commander, I--”
Wu held up a hand, and Liu fell silent, though obviously still smouldering.
“I need you here, Counselor. I’ve got our captain and what used to be Donald Sandhurst aboard the same ship, with all the bitterness and psychological baggage that entails. No other ship’s counselor, no matter how talented, has your in-depth understanding of both these men. Can you look me in the eye and tell me honestly that you think someone else shoehorned into your post at the last minute would be of any help to anyone where we’re going?”
Liu managed to hold her gaze for a full five seconds before looking away. “No. Sir.”
Wu sat back in her chair, giving Liu the physical and mental space he needed in that moment. “There’s more. There are things going on with the captain that I haven’t revealed to you yet. Things that concern me greatly. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that I can’t do this alone.”
Liu glanced out the viewport, eyes searching the void for a vessel he knew to be well beyond visual range.
“Dao,” Wu said softly, addressing him by his first name for the first time since they’d met. “Please.”
He reached up to rub his temples with the thumb and middle finger of one hand. “You’re right, of course, sir. I apologize.” Liu looked up at her, his eyes bright from tears that threatened to fall. “I’m a mental health professional, Commander, a supposed ‘expert’ in the workings of the humanoid conscious and subconscious minds."
Liu stood, turning his back to Wu and walking over to gaze out the viewport. "Despite all that, when I fell in love with T’Ser, I did so selfishly because it’s what I wanted. I never gave any thought to how it might affect her to lose someone else in uniform, not until it was far too late to turn back. Suddenly, I was in the position of potentially harming the person I love... devastating her beyond imagining, and the guilt of that is tearing me apart.”
“I’m sorry,” Wu offered, and she meant it. She stood and stepped out from behind the desk. "We're in real-time subspace transmission range of Valiant, Lieutenant. And I happen to know a captain who'd have no problem holding a wedding on the holodeck."
Chapter Eight
<cont'd>
<cont'd>
USS Europa
Main Engineering
Lar’ragos looked down from atop the catwalk, standing overhead above the new, exotic looking transwarp engine core. The next iteration of Sandhurst’s original design had been brought to life by Zeischt and Lieutenant Ashok. The former Starfleet officer now claimed to be in possession of his full ‘Amon faculties’, no longer hindered by Sandhurst’s human limitations, or so he’d seemed to imply.
The El Aurian had always envied Sandhurst and his ilk, those with the seemingly magical ability to create and innovate. As someone whose specialties leaned more towards destruction and entropy, a part of him yearned to be leave something behind more concrete than the loss and bitterness that had so often been his due as a soldier.
Now Zeischt was working closely with Ashok, completing the final tests on this supposedly more reliable transwarp drive. Lar’ragos mused that ironically, Ashok and his former captain meshed better now than ever they had as Starfleet colleagues. The Bolian no longer felt overshadowed by Zeischt, and his fragile ego didn’t imped their collaborative effort as it would have before.
The Amon warrior glanced upward, seeming to sense Pava’s presence, and gestured to him to remain there.
“Status of the transwarp matrix?” Lar’ragos queried a moment later as Zeischt stepped off the ‘lift platform that brought him to the upper level.
“Nearly ready for trials,” Zeischt replied. “As we’ve discussed, this transwarp configuration will work in tandem with your existing warp system, giving you the benefit of both.”
“You’re confident Ashok will be able to maintain the system in your absence?” Lar’ragos intended to avoid the confusion and frustration created by Zeischt’s last disappearance from the ship. He would be damned if the ship’s propulsion systems were entirely reliant upon the mercurial Amon.
Zeischt held up a padd that displayed scrolling blueprints. “I have instructed him at length and provided detailed schematics, as well as a fully interactive holodeck program that he can query.”
“Good to know.”
“I would discuss Ramirez with you,” Zeischt added, sounding uneasy. It was so unlike this new version of the man to exude any kind of discomfort that Lar’ragos raised an eyebrow at the statement.
“Ramirez isn’t the issue at hand,” Lar’ragos answered matter-of-factly. “She’s a side-show, a distraction. I’m sure you’ll agree we have larger matters to worry about.”
“And yet,” Zeischt pressed, “I am driven to ask if there’s been any word of her or her ship?”
Lar’ragos cocked his head, stepping closer to Zeischt, who now stood nearly twenty-five centimeters taller than Pava following his metaphysical Amon transformation. “The Baron forged Ramirez into a weapon of vengeance against Sandhurst. You yourself have assured me that Sandhurst is, for all intents and purposes, dead. What interest could you possibly have in her?”
“She… torments me, Pava. I can’t explain exactly why.”
“That’s Captain Lar’ragos to you,” Europa’s commander rejoined icily. “Sandhurst had the privilege of calling me by my given name. You do not.”
Zeischt was visibly taken aback by that, before he regained his placid bearing. “My apologies if I gave offense, Captain. That wasn’t my intent.”
“Apology accepted,” Lar’ragos allowed dryly. “Don’t concern yourself with Ms. Ramirez any longer, she’s not your problem. In the unlikely event that she shows up prior to our departure to the LMC, I will make it a point to release her from her torment.” He reached up a hand and touched a finger just below his cybernetic eye. “I owe her that, at least.”
“I feel... responsible,” Zeischt protested. “She’s done so much harm, killed so many in her campaign to hurt Sand-- the man I was.”
“Again, not your concern. Donald Sandhurst was the target, but he’s run away. Sold his soul to a species as malevolent as the Borg; infused himself with alien energies so that nothing and no one would ever be able to hurt him again.” Lar’ragos offered the merest hint of a smile as he turned and walked towards the corridor entrance. “I recognize the impulse, because I’ve run away before myself. But here I am, four-hundred years later, and I’m still me. I know my strengths, my weaknesses, and the crimes of which I’m guilty. Some days I hurt with every waking breath because of my past sins, but I’ve never run so far away that I turned myself into someone else entirely.”
“I’ve seen the future,” Zeischt blurted suddenly, stopping Lar’ragos in his tracks.
The El Aurian cast a look back over his shoulder. “What of it?”
“All is fire,” Zeischt murmured stoically. “The closer we get to beginning this crusade against the Skorrah, the harder it becomes to see the future clearly. Too many potentialities, too many decisions made in the moment that can affect the outcome. I know this, though, many will die. A great many.”
Lar’ragos gave a short, sardonic laugh in response. “Figured all that out on your own, did you?” He shook his head derisively as he stepped through the parting doors into the corridor beyond. “Fucking amateur.”
* * *
USS Europa
Deck 2 - Executive Officer’s Office
“Thank you for meeting with me, Commander.” Counselor Liu seated himself a chair across from the executive officer’s desk at her prompting.
“What can I do for you, Counselor?” Liu was up to her eyeballs in pre-mission preparations, but had taken the time to meet with Liu due to his position among the senior staff, and because as far as officers in general, and medical types in particular, Liu was low maintenance. Wu respected and appreciated that fact.
“Realizing that this is the worst possible time to ask this, sir, I find it necessary nonetheless to request a transfer.”
Liu’s eyes opened a fraction wider at that unexpected appeal. “A transfer where?” she asked guardedly.
“Valiant, sir,” Liu said, frowning in expectation of a sharp response.
Wu’s expression shifted from curious to dubious. “And is Captain T’Ser aware of your transfer request?”
“No, sir. I didn’t want to broach that subject with her until I’d cleared it with you and Captain Lar’ragos.”
Wu sat forward, placing her elbows atop her desk. “May I ask the reason for this request?”
“T’Ser and I are engaged, Commander. It was our intent to be married the next time Valiant and Europa were in the same sector together. This… unexpected detour to the Large Magellanic Cloud has upset those plans. Given T’Ser’s unfortunate history with her last fiance, I thought it best if I transfer to her command.”
A slow nod was Wu’s only response for the moment it took to formulate her reply. “Is there a particular reason to believe your personal situation trumps the seriousness of our upcoming mission, and the welfare of Europa’s crew?”
Liu blinked and cocked his head to one side. “Er… no, that wasn’t my consideration, sir. I thought we might swap counseling personnel with Valiant, if there was no objection from my counterpart there.”
“Counselor,” Wu began patiently, “you are intimately familiar with this crew, their psychological profiles, and you’ve gained the trust of everyone aboard from the captain on down. With the dangers we face and the potential of our becoming stranded in the LMC, you’re needed now more than ever.”
“I take your point, Commander,” Liu countered. “However, in a worst-case-scenario like that, the counselor in question would doubtless rise to the challenge, most especially if trapped in the LMC with the crew for a prolonged period.”
“Lieutenant,” Wu addressed him by rank rather than function. “Everyone aboard has loved ones, most of which are back in the Alpha Quadrant. Simply because your betrothed happens to be a member of the task force doesn’t give you any higher priority in securing a ‘safer’ berth for yourself. We both know Valiant isn’t one of the ships tasked for the upcoming strike on the Skorrah.”
Liu’s face colored in a sudden blush. “I’m not running away to safety for my own sake, if that’s what you’re implying, sir. I’m trying to spare the woman I love from losing another relationship on the cusp of marriage. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know if she could take going through that again. She’s also in no position to ask for my transfer, given the circumstances and her rank.”
“I understand your predicament, Counselor. Nevertheless, we need you, especially now.” Wu steepled her fingers together in front of her, leaning forward even further to convey sincerity. “And let me be perfectly candid, here, Lieutenant. Captain T’Ser knew the risks when the two of you became romantically involved. She’d already survived the worst-case scenario, and she made the conscious choice to roll the dice again.”
“But Commander, I--”
Wu held up a hand, and Liu fell silent, though obviously still smouldering.
“I need you here, Counselor. I’ve got our captain and what used to be Donald Sandhurst aboard the same ship, with all the bitterness and psychological baggage that entails. No other ship’s counselor, no matter how talented, has your in-depth understanding of both these men. Can you look me in the eye and tell me honestly that you think someone else shoehorned into your post at the last minute would be of any help to anyone where we’re going?”
Liu managed to hold her gaze for a full five seconds before looking away. “No. Sir.”
Wu sat back in her chair, giving Liu the physical and mental space he needed in that moment. “There’s more. There are things going on with the captain that I haven’t revealed to you yet. Things that concern me greatly. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that I can’t do this alone.”
Liu glanced out the viewport, eyes searching the void for a vessel he knew to be well beyond visual range.
“Dao,” Wu said softly, addressing him by his first name for the first time since they’d met. “Please.”
He reached up to rub his temples with the thumb and middle finger of one hand. “You’re right, of course, sir. I apologize.” Liu looked up at her, his eyes bright from tears that threatened to fall. “I’m a mental health professional, Commander, a supposed ‘expert’ in the workings of the humanoid conscious and subconscious minds."
Liu stood, turning his back to Wu and walking over to gaze out the viewport. "Despite all that, when I fell in love with T’Ser, I did so selfishly because it’s what I wanted. I never gave any thought to how it might affect her to lose someone else in uniform, not until it was far too late to turn back. Suddenly, I was in the position of potentially harming the person I love... devastating her beyond imagining, and the guilt of that is tearing me apart.”
“I’m sorry,” Wu offered, and she meant it. She stood and stepped out from behind the desk. "We're in real-time subspace transmission range of Valiant, Lieutenant. And I happen to know a captain who'd have no problem holding a wedding on the holodeck."
* * *
