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Star Trek Athena: Stream Of Angels - crobato
:: 06/19/01 ::
Chapter 5
Inside the Tacticus Shipyard, the USS Athena parked inside of the docking spaces, a buzzing hive of activity as technicians rush to study the structure and the stress damage imposed on the ship. She had disengaged the slipstream hull a while ago, and the slipstream hull parked in the space next to the Athena. The Athena had reattached her original four nacelle hull with armament.
She sat on a sofa restless, feet taping with a frantic rhythm, her hands roughing her own shortish blonde hair.
"There was nothing you can do, Athena," Garret said.
"Oh my god," she said, cupping her hands at her mouth. "Please...please..." She tried hard not to cry but the shaking of her body and her face was hard to control. Garret wondered about the kind of programming Athena had that allowed her to have deep emotions and to act emotionally.
"But he was in my sickbay. I could have saved his life..." she said.
"Don't blame yourself, Athena. Not even you or the best sickbays can do miracles or stave off the inevitable. Some things are not meant to be, some things are not meant to live," Garret said. But the words did not comfort her.
"I want to see him," she said.
She followed Garret into the shipyard's medical center, which had far more extensive support for extreme trauma cases. Ghia and T'pak stood there. "I am sorry, there was nothing we can do," Ghia said. "Recovery was impossible," T'pak said.
Athena sniffed. "I'm sure he would be thankful for trying your best."
"What was he anyway?" T'pak asked. "His physiology and life signs were almost human."
"That's right," Ghia said. "His physiology was so human, he would fit within human scanner patterns. Your self defense systems would not have activated."
Athena thought about it for a moment. "That's right. They boarded my ship and even made modifications to it."
"We found chronatrons as well as other subspace particles in his body," T'pak said.
"You mean? Is he from another time?" Athena asked.
"If he was from another time, he would either be from the far future or from the far past. There was so much interference that he may even be from another dimension, alternative universe or from another galaxy. Chronatron presence does not always guarantee that the subject comes from a different time in our universe-it can also mean a different time point in a different time line, or alternate universe just as well. We will know more precisely when we make an extended analysis of the data," T'pak said. "But his physiology...what did you say he was?"
Athena sniffed. "He was Shakpah. That's the name they call themselves. They're a slipstreaming civilization that ruled half of the Galaxy, according to them. They were at war with another slipstreaming race, the Gorkhans, who they said ruled the other half of the Galaxy."
"According to your report, Athena, they modified your ship?" Ghia asked.
"Yes," she affirmed.
"Captain," Ghia said. "We have found various strengthening modifications all over the main hull and the slip stream hull. In addition the slipstream coils have been reconfigured, and new frequencies have been programmed into the Athena's weapon systems. These people knew what they were doing. I would not have anticipated the stress points even with simulations. It's the kind of knowledge that comes from extensive experience in the slipstream. The reconfigured coils are even showing superior energy utilization over the previous coils. Her data banks also showed information about this Gorkhan race and their ships, their shield frequencies, weapons, layout and configuration that can also give us clues about bettering slipstream ship design. I would even go as far to say that Athena has brought home valuable slipstream technology that advanced our knowledge on this topic by years, if not a complete generation."
"We might have trouble deploying those technologies if it so happens the analysis would prove that the Shakpah was from the future. So you have been reading on that stuff?" Garret asked. "That stuff is still pretty confidential."
"You forgot that any Prometheus class staff member must have a security access clearance of Level 4 and above, including myself. Yes, I have access and qualification," Ghia said. "I must admit that I am very impressed with the way the Shakpah modified the Athena."
"I must add that Admiral Hurst is very interested to know precisely where these Shakpah and Gorkhans come from." T'pak said. "I must admit that this information is very important whether they will pose as a threat or a friend to the Federation even if they are from another dimensional universe or time line. If they were to enter our space using any means possible..."
"They were using subspace weapons," Athena said. "The effects of the weapons are what cause the rift that caught me and forced me to enter their universe. I think it's merely accidental."
"Nonetheless, I must submit a request to the Admiral for the simple reason that any race with slipstream technology is considered important for the Federation, either as a threat or a potential partner," T'pak said.
There was a heavy sound outside, the typical sound of a ship just docking into the shipyard. Out of curiosity, they all went out to see who it was except for Ka'nal and T'pak who remained busy analyzing some subatomic particle data.
The ship was only half the size of a medium sized starship such as the Steamrunners often seen being built and maintained in the yard, as well as patrolling around it. Its extreme triangular shaped hull told everyone this was no ordinary ship.
"It's the Dauntless class, the USS Mercury," Garret said. "I bet she's just finished with some of her trial runs."
"I want to meet that girl," Athena said.
"You mean that hologram copy of yours?" Garret said. "I almost fell off the floor when I first saw her," Garret laughed. "Apparently Hurst or the Section wanted another General Hologram for the USS Mercury to monitor, command or operate the ship in the absence of a crew. Doctor Shiner supplied the hologram based on your program but made some modifications."
"Well? What modifications?" Athena asked.
"Shiner admitted that because the USS Athena was a warship, she tweaked your attitude and aggression settings quite a bit," Garret said. "The side effect of that proved to-ahem-your bad attitude."
"Oh, you're making fun of me now?" Athena snapped back.
"Well, that's the truth," Garret said. "On Hurst's behalf, Shiner has been trying to study what made you a bit touchy, and it was as simple as having overlooked your aggression factors. But they can't turn back your dials though, Athena. To do that would also make you too much of a sensitive pacifist for a warship control hologram."
"Hmm, I thought Shiner simply just programmed me with permanent pre-menstrual syndrome," Athena said.
"But for Mercie here, your new hologram sister, she was programmed to have an explorer personality," Garret said. "Aggression settings returned normal, with increased curiosity about the world and interest on knowledge in general."
"Sounds like a geek to me," Athena said.
"Well, you got it nailed right on the target," Garret laughed. "Ha, ha. You have a witch running the USS Athena and a geek running the USS Mercury."
"I'm going to get you for calling me a witch!" Athena laughed with him.
"See, Athena," Garret pointed fingers at her. "It's good to see you laugh again."
She turned quiet again and sniffed. In a gesture that shocked Garret and everyone, she walked up to him and hugged him, her head burying on his chest. "Thank you, thank you," she said.
Garret smiled and hugged her protectively. "You'll be fine. We will be here for you."
Someone walked down the aisle towards them. She was exactly like the leggy blonde Athena was. But instead of the short scraggy blonde hair Athena had, she had two ponytails.
"Hi'yall!" Mercie greeted in a high pitch southern accented voice. "Oh, it's my dear sister!"
"I think I'm going to hurl," Athena said, gesturing by inserting a finger into her mouth.
"Stop that, Athena, and show some appreciation. Besides she saved you," Garret said.
"I know," Athena answered and put on a plastic smile. She faced Mercie and said, "Thank you for rescuing me."
"It was nuthin' really!" Mercie replied. "I'm always glad to be of help. When you're stuck in trouble again, please don't forget to call!"
"Yeah, right!" Athena replied, with a plastic grin on her face.
"So how was the trials?" Ghia asked.
"Fine, fine!" Mercie replied. "Just like the biological samples we placed on the Athena, the samples in my ship are turning out all right. We can begin tests with some real humans on board as soon as we receive approval from Admiral Hurst. It's been rather just confirming the obvious after our encounter with the Shakpah and Gorkhan fleets from another time or dimension."
Ka'nal suddenly interrupted all of them with a loud voice. "I think I broke a key part of the mystery. Please come on in."
"Captain, we have found out that the slipstream has unusual effects on the chronatrons. Once we're able to stabilize a phenomena behavior pattern from the slipstream, we are able to isolate and read the chronatrons with greater resolution and detail," T'Pak said.
"Go on, go on, cut the technology lecture and get to the point," Garret said.
"We have judged that Tharuk, the Shakpah Hegemony and the Gorkhan Union are not from an alternative dimension. They are from another time, but not from the future, either," T'Pak said. "They are from our distant past, maybe thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of Earth years."
"What?" Athena grasped. "You mean I was thrown back to the past?"
"Your external instruments and sensors were scrambled after you were thrown into the rift," T'Pak said.
"Your instruments still show some subspace damage. You cannot orient, nor can you calibrate your time and position relative to the Universe," Ka'nal said. "The star positions of the Galaxy were considerably different in the past. You would not be able to distinguish even familiar stars and constellation patterns. No wonder you would be lost."
"I experienced this disorientation when I entered the rift," Mercie said. "I would have been lost too, if I had not placed that subspace beacon near the rift."
"But I could have unknowingly affected the time line," Athena said with concern.
"I doubt that you would have, Athena," T'Pak said. "Both races are probably extinct by now."
"But if these races were in the past, how could they have developed such advanced technology?" Garret asked.
"We keep forgetting technology and civilization is not a constant path upward," T'Pak said. "Technology and civilization actually follow an up and down catastrophic path, like evolution. Civilizations rise, and they fall, often taking their technology down with it."
"You said they have subspace weapons right?" T'Pak asked Athena.
"Yes," Athena replied.
"Two great civilizations on a mutual path of destruction with weapons of mass destruction, much like what your planet Earth faced during this period it called the Cold War, and the nuclear war that followed several decades after," T'Pak said. "This story is not mutually exclusive to Earth. It has happened to a number of stellar civilizations before. But this is the first time I've heard it could happen in a scale that encompassed the entire galaxy. In this case, they wiped themselves both out."
"But if a gigantic war of this scale happened in the past, should it show in our histories, in our myths and legends?" Garret asked.
"Indeed it would," T'Pak said. "And it did. Many stellar races, including the ancient civilizations of Earth, have a common story as part of their most ancient Creation myths. These are stories of great war fought in the heavens, a great battle between Good and Evil, Black and White, the Light and the Darkness. They often speak of a war between the angels of Heaven and Hell-if you subscribe to the belief of such a place-an Eden or Inferno, a place of the underworld, Valhalla or Ragnarok, to the Klingons, Sto-Vo-Kor and Grethor..."
"Perhaps, this Heaven or Hell is the slipstream space or dimension," T'Pak said. "And this great war, may have been the war you have just seen, Athena."
"But this...my friend, Tharuk, and the Shakpah, they're almost human..." Athena said.
"Why is why they pass through your defensive internal sensors, Athena," T'Pak explained. "Ancient legends across many races in the Galaxy often spoke of descending from people from the stars, or from angels in heaven. There is evidence that long long time ago, there may be one predominant human race called the Progenitors, who seeded the Galaxy with a common proto-humanoid gene. Then the Progenitors themselves would have split into branches. Your friend Tharuk, and his race, the Shakpah, had everything in common with the humanoid races of the Federation and the Alpha Quadrant, including Earth's humans, Vulcans, Betazed, Andorians, Trill, Bajoran, and others. Yet he possessed none of which that makes us different. It was as if all that separated us, made us different and who we were, all that came later, and all that were not present in him. Your sensors would have thought of him and his kind like any race of humans or humanoids on Earth or the Federation."
"That is most fascinating," Garret admitted. "I wonder how do we pursue research on this subject."
"I want to give my friend a proper burial," Athena said with definite insistence. "I want to find the planet where we stayed. I want to bury his body where he was most happy."
"You didn't really tell us what happened between the two of you, did you, Athena?" Garret said.
"Without meaning any disrespect for you, that's none of your business, Captain. Call it personal affairs. Let's just say he saved me, helped me, and even fixed the ship up," Athena countered.
"And got you into a war that was totally none of your business," Ka'nal said.
"I really didn't have much of choice, Ka'nal. That was a total war. It appeared to me that way, that you didn't have any choice, that it was a war that you must take one side or the other. There was no in between, no grey, no middle ground. And no place to go," Athena explained.
"You did what you can do, Athena, I can understand that. No human, much less an intelligence in a bioneural system like you can fully understand and decide on the intricate morals versus the need to survive in such situations," Garret said. "But it's done. We're not here to mope around the past, but decide what to do next."
"I suggest we take up on what Athena just said," T'pak recommended. "Let us find that desert planet. If we can find any ruins or wrecks or space junk, even to just scan the planet for any subspace or subatomic particle emissions, it would be most valuable."
"I think it would be easy to convince the Admiral with a minor science mission to further investigation the situation and the anomaly," Garret said.
"What we should do is trace the drift of the star systems in relation to the galactic plane and center," Ka'nal said. "This is where the rift happened, and this is general direction of the slow drift of the background star systems. If we extrapolate the difference of velocity between the rift and the drifting star systems in the background, we can assume that between ten and thirty Earth year millennia ago, the following systems in this general area were closest to the rift then. Then all we have to do is find an M class planet that may have a desert on it."
"What else can you tell us about the system specifically, Athena?" Ka'nal asked.
"That it is a binary star system with a weak second sun," Athena said.
"That will make the task a lot easier," Ka'nal said. He ordered another computer report with a new parameter.
"There! The Rho Beta Phi system. It's got a binary system, one weak sun, an M class planet with a dry arid environment. Textbook Starfleet Academy search technique, eh? What do you think?" Ka'nal said.
"That seems to be our most likely destination," Garret said.
"I must say that the body of this alien is immeasurably important for scientific research," T'Pak said. "I would hesitate to give this up."
"No, I want my friend given a proper and decent burial," Athena said. "That's the best I can give him." She started to sniff again. "I don't want him to become a pickled corpse sample for medical students to stare by." She started to cry a bit.
"T'Pak, just scan the body for all the necessary information you need, keep a few cell samples and store it in a database, right?" Garret said. "Then let's bring the body for a proper and dignified burial. That's the right every soldier should have. One day, if the same thing happens to me, I only wish I would be afforded the same privilege."
* * *
The main sun brilliantly lit one side of the beige ochre globe, while the weaker sun cast a soft glow on the night side. The USS Athena settled on an orbit around the planet.
She stared at the globe, quietly, sadly. Not too long ago, at least in the way she remembered, an armada of angels rose from the planet to do battle in the heavens beyond. She was with them, willing to cast her fate with them and with her friend. There she remembered, ships by the hundreds, in the heavens of the slipstream, fighting another fleet just like they were. The legends speak of the battle between good and evil, light and darkness, black and white. But that was only the perception of one side. Black or white, good and evil, they were but viewpoints.
They have died long time ago, but before they faded, they seeded hundreds of worlds with intelligent life. They left their legacy while their own fates raced towards certain mass destruction. Why have all the most powerful races left themselves to become victims of their own fates? Legions of worlds, billions of people, all died vainly for the cause of singular domination. All the empires, all the great armadas, all the sacrificed, will all be forgotten. And all the lessons the fathers left, their children will never learn even after their ancestors faded to dust, leaving the cycle of violence untouched and unstopped, to perpetuate themselves once among the children, so that they will spill their blood among the stars once more.
The great Gorkhan and Shakpah, for all their might and expense, all forgotten, all gone to dust. So to what purpose was their glory now? All that was left was a desolate planet heavily cratered.
"Operations, report!" Garret ordered.
"I've been scanning the planet," T'Pak said. "It's been many thousands of years, but the planet seemed untouched for a long time. The residual background radiation on the planet's surface are consistent to those generated with slipstream engines. The fields from the slipstream coils left a permanent signature burn on the rock layers. There must have been so many of them that they would last this long."
"But that's not all," T'Pak said. "The planet's surface was heavily cratered. Analysis of the craters indicate that these are not meteor craters. No concentrations of iron. Only an explosion initiated with pure energy could have created these craters. Furthermore, the unusually high levels of tachyons, baryons and mesons may indicate that these isolithic beams and other subspace weapons created these craters. From extrapolating the angle of impact, the beams can only have been fired from space."
"In other words, in plain English, this planet was subjected from bombardment originating from space," Garret said. "An image of complete desolation, of mass destruction. We signed the Second Khitomer Accords with the Klingons to prevent exactly what we saw happened here."
"It clearly has the marks of a space battle," Ka'nal said. "My own readings indicate we shouldn't even be sending an away team here. Subatomic radiation levels are still too high."
"Too high for a human, but not a photonic being," Athena said. "It is best that you keep the ship in orbit. I can handle myself."
"The radiation can still affect a photonic entity," T'Pak said.
"I will take my chances," Athena said.
Minutes later, her figure materialized over the desert sands with Tharuk's body. She was sure of it. This was the planet. "We're back home, Tharuk," she said. "We're back where we started."
As she stood on the sands, she tried to remember, the hundreds of ships lined in rows that stretched from one horizon to another; the flicker and smell of the burning bonfires that lit the darkness on the ground like stars themselves. The sound of the flutes, the thumping of the drums, then the images, the silhouettes of men and women dancing around the fires in laughter and joy. There among the fires, they danced. Among the dunes, they danced. Under the light of night, they danced. They smiled, they played and they kissed. She smiled with the memories. This was not the time to cry, but to remember the one moment of joy, the one night of happiness, the best she ever had, the closest she ever was to being human. In one night she grew more as a person than she had in the rest of her brief life.
His body lay under a mound of sand. He was at peace now. His journey has ended. All that has remained of the great Shakpah now lay under this small mound of sand. It's all memories now.
Standing over the grave, she clicked her communicator on. "Beam me up," she said. "I'm ready to go home."
* * *
On another planet far away
No holodeck can ever beat swimming in pure sea water. She had fought wars, risked her life, and now she deserved a real break. To swim alone in a real sea, her body alone against the elements. Her lean, curvaceous figure, as sleek as a shark, cut through the water as she swam with deep, powerful strokes. She didn't care about the strange sea life beneath the waves-they all ran away at her presence. The sun was hot, burning, but the water was cool, refreshing.
She swam back towards the shore. On shallow waters, she broke the surface as she gained her footing on the silt beneath the water. As she stood, the water lapped her long legs right up her thighs, as she adjusted the top of her bikini that somehow came a bit loose as she swam. She shook her head, tossing the water out from her short scraggy dark hair, and pushed away her wet bangs from her face. As she lifted her face towards the sun, the center her forehead revealed two triangular shaped armored scales facing each other to form an X. Forehead armor had been a fearsome cosmetic adaptation by so many warrior species like the Klingons or even the Romulans. But she was neither. The two triangular shaped forehead armor revealed she was Khosk, a noble and robust hunter and warrior race that lived not far from the Cardassian borders, and whose worlds had battled the Union in several occasions in their history. Among the Khosk, her mother bore the name of the Domain of Khidan.
No, she was only half Khosk, the other half was human. Federation human. She wasn't really proud of that half.
Her sensitive eyes, with cat like slit pupils, caught a fishy movement in the water. She speared it with the talons from the back of her hand, raising a prized catch of a fish like creature. Satisfied with the prize, but not eager to eat it, she dumped its corpse back to the water.
She stared at the sky, her lithe figure silhouetted against the sun, the cool sea water beading against her smooth skin as they dripped in tiny streams back to the sea. There was a disturbance in the sky, like a mirage, a transparent distortion. Her eyes could catch the slightest movement and disturbances against a background, a Khosk hunter adaptation.
Oh man, she thought. How many times does she have to tell them? Do not disturb her while she takes a break. She's going to be angry.
Her toes bit the soft powdery sand as she reached for her clothes left on the shore. She grabbed her Starfleet communicator, and lambasted her crew. "I told you guys, I'm going to rip any peeping Tom's eyeballs out."
"Sorry Commander," the voice replied in flirty manner. "After all these months, the guys are desperate to see any woman's body even yours. Not implying any disrespect, but you're a great sight for sore eyes."
"I sympathize with your dilemma but please I'm not here for your viewing pleasure," she replied.
"Besides that, we need to get your attention, since you're not answering your communicator," the voice said.
"Okay what is it?" She asked.
"We have a communique from Section HQ," the voice replied. "It is saying that you must return for a new assignment. No hurry though."
"Is that what they want?" She asked while she dried herself with a towel.
"Apparently," the voice replied. "One more thing, our patrols reaffirm that the coast is clear."
"Okay then, de cloak and prepare to beam me up," she ordered as she picked up her clothes and slung them over her shoulder.
Three Jem'Hadar Strike Fighters appeared right out of thin air as she ordered. The lead fighter, a dark and menacing ship, cast its shadow as it hovered over her body standing at the sand, its strong drafts blowing through her hair and clothes. After months of infiltrating deep beneath Dominion territory, she wondered if finally the Section was finally giving her a break, some credit, some due they owed her bad. Her clothes slung over her shoulder, the dark haired girl disappeared in a column of sparkles.
<< Stream Of Angels: Chapter 4 <<
>> Stream Of Angels: Chapter Index >>
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