Second Place Winner Stardate 20306.22

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Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - By Ens Kinziri Jal

© 2003 by Federation Space and the author pen named Kinziri Jal

Streaming white light through the viewing port was hardly a captivating sight. The view had not changed in several hours as the Federation Runabout Pegasus sped towards the area of space known as the Badlands.

As the little craft travelled onwards Kinziri Jal stared out at those streaming stars as they headed into the unknown. Ironic really, she thought. There was so much unknown in her life at that moment. Unknown where she would be posted after the destruction of the USS Yoritomo, unknown if she had a family to go back to once the invading Borg had been forced out of the Sol System.

The core planets of the system had been protected by massive planetary shields designed specifically to defend against the Borg. These shields had kept the invaders at bay while the Federation Fleets had scattered across the galaxy. When those ships returned bringing allies, a mass battle had ensued.

The main battle had now been fought, and many ships had been lost and many men and women had died fighting to regain their homelands. Reports were still coming in of pockets of Borg still fighting with the combined forces of the Federation, Klingon Empire, Mirak and others.

The fate of one of those Federation ships, the USS Odysseus, was uncertain. During that battle reports told that the ship vanished. No debris, no escape pods, no distress signal. Whether all those men and women on board her were alive or dead was unknown … Which was why Jal and the Pegasus were heading for the mysterious expanse of the Badlands.

“How long until e.t.a. Kyrien?” Commander Willis’ deep voice resounded in the previously silent cabin, bringing Jal out of her trance.

Lieutenant Kyrien, from the planet Andoria, pressed a couple of symbols on the control desk before replying.

“One hour and forty seven minutes Commander.”

Willis seemed satisfied with this answer, it had been cramped in the small cabin for his crew of five. Quite what they were to do if they did find survivors of the Odysseus he did not know. That would be something to deal with if, he prayed, when, they found any.

“Right, everyone knows the procedure. Once we drop out of warp we do a sensor sweep of the last recorded co-ordinates of the ship. Ensign Jal, that’s your department. Kyrien will back you. Marines Jackson and Kroll prepare weapons and remember the procedure for encountering Borg. Until then, everyone get an hour’s sleep and a meal. I shall monitor the last stage of the journey.”

Everyone listened to the Commanders orders then moved off to the crew bunks at the rear of the cabin. The atmosphere was tense, each one of them alone with their thoughts. None managed to sleep that hour.




The Runabout shuddered and the engines hum lowered in tone as the Pegasus dropped out of warp.

Kinziri sat at her console once more and her fingers flitted across the controls.

“Sir, initial sensor sweeps show no signs of Borg vessels.”

“Okay, that’s reassuring. How about Federation vessels?” Commander Willis enquired.

A couple of moments was all it took for the sensor sweep to be recalibrated and set to Federation signals.

“Nothing so far Sir. There may be some interference from the background inherent to this sector. It will take me a few minutes to sift them out.”

“Very well, do so Ensign. And let me know when you get the results”

Jal nodded and set to work.


The Badlands were notorious for unusual phenomena. Plasma storms ravaged the entire region.

Tracking a lost starship in this region usually takes years of skill and experience, and an entire department of staff. The Federation Runabout Pegasus only had Ensign Kinziri Jal, fairly fresh from the Academy and with only one assignment under her belt. She did however, have the combined knowledge and experiences of three previous lifetimes from the hosts of the Jal symbiont.

If only one of them had been a tactical or science officer before…gymnastic skills are not much help here. She mused.

“No debris in this sector Sir. I’m searching for warp signatures now.”

Willis didn’t respond, just let the science officer carry out her task.

The ship rocked and juddered. Willis glanced over to Lieutenant Kyrien at the flight controls. The Andorian showed irritation, his antennae swivelled forward and his brow knotted in concentration as he manipulated the controls.

“Pockets of plasma storms just come out of nowhere. It is difficult to keep a steady course.” He muttered in explanation.

“They’re interfering with sensors too” Jal added.

“Just get us through and keep up the sweep” Willis affirmed.

The little ship shook some more and a shower of solid matter battered the hull.

“Just a little meteor shower Sir, nothing we can’t handle” said Jal. “I am getting some traces of radiation on the meteors that isn’t normal. Could be warp signatures but I can’t tell while the ship is being thrown around like this. I could beam a fragment inside a shield for detailed inspection though…?” she left the sentence unfinished and awaited reply from the Commander.

A look of frustration flashed across the Commanders face before he nodded and motioned with his hand “Make it so.” He replied and kept his gaze on the screen in front of him. The expression and gesture reminded Jal of another Star Fleet Captain whom Rentara Jal had met briefly back in the days leading up to the Dominion War.

It took her mere moments to set up the containment shield and lock the transporter onto one of the meteors, one about the size of a fist. The rock shimmered into existence inside the shield and rotated there slowly. Kinziri began her analysis.

The lifetimes of knowledge from her previous hosts were unnecessary now, this was her field. Kinziri’s fingers deftly tapped out a rhythm on the console. Her eyes took in every piece of data flowing across the screen.

“The radiation is definitely from a starship warp drive Sir.” Her fingers continued their staccato rhythm. “Confirmed Federation standard wavelengths. I’m now plotting the meteor shower’s path to get a prediction of where it has been.”

Willis had turned to face the ensign and watched as she performed the analysis. He was impressed by the speed in which she carried out the task. The screen flashed from one set of figures and charts to another then another with such speed he wondered how she could take it all in. She reminded him of an android almost. Was this something to do with her symbiotic manner? Maybe she was just good at her job he decided.

“Sir, if you look at the monitor here I have plotted the route the shower has taken. I have already scanned this area for debris and found nothing, but if the meteors picked up the radiation along this route then a ship must have been that way too.”

Willis took a moment to ponder this information. There was no way of telling if this signature had been made by the Odysseus. Then again, she was the only ship that had been reported in this part of the sector so chances were …

“Good work ensign. Relay the co-ordinates to conn and we shall see what we can find. Kyrien when you get the data lay in course.”

“Aye Sir” nodded the Andorian.

Hours passed. More radiation had been detected infused in the particles of space dust. The route that Jal had predicted had taken them so far, then veered off in another direction, the data was just coming in…

Willis sat tensed in the command seat and drummed his fingers on the armrests. “Jal, report.”

“Sir it looks as if the Star Fleet vessel was heading for the Rolor Nebula.”

“Why would they go there? Asked Kyrien. “The plasma storms out here are bad enough, why intentionally head into a nebula?”

“Maybe it was to get some shelter from pursuing Borg.” Willis murmured. “Jal, do you detect any Borg signatures in this area?”

“Not with the limited information coming through the plasma storms Sir, I would have to launch a probe to get more data.” The ensign replied.

Willis shook his head. No time for this, he thought. He looked at the starchart with the predicted route the vessel they were tracking may have taken displayed. It made little sense to him.

“Ensign. From the information available, tell me what you think happened. Which way did they go and why?”

It was Kinziri’s turn to look irritated. Science is a precise discipline, there it no room for what you think might have happened. She did not answer the Commander immediately, instead instructing the computer to perform models and summarise options.

“It is likely as you say that the nebula would be a good refuge from enemy ships. There is a high probability in this case that the ship would try to go straight through the nebula to go to one of these two systems. There they could conduct repairs and seek shelter from the colonies.” She said finally.

Willis looked again at the chart. The systems Jal indicated were the Bajoran colonies of Dreon and Free Haven, in opposite directions from each other through the nebula. Which one did they head for though? Damn scientists, can’t she just tell me which she thinks is most likely? Shaking his head, and finally shrugging, Willis decided to go with a hunch.

“Lieutenant. Lay in course for the Dreon System. Ensign keep an eye on the sensors for that warp signature or debris as we go.”

The two officers nodded their acknowledgement and got to work.



Kinziri enjoyed the tasks that she had been given. The tasks were not exactly hard, but the fact that she had to carry them out with the limited resources of a Runabout added a little to the challenge. Besides, it kept her mind off worrying about what might have happened to her sister.

The Rolor Nebula was inhospitable as it was unpredictable. Billowing clouds of purple and blue gasses surrounded them. Flashes of light flickered as charged electrons caused lightening bolts to shoot out alarmingly. Luckily, Kinziri had written her thesis on just such phenomena during her training in Star Fleet Academy. Tending the controls on her panel and passing co-ordinates over to Lieutenant Kyrien at the helm, she guided the Runabout through the plasma storms that buffeted the little vessel.

It seemed that the Federation Starship USS Odysseus had indeed used the age old tactic of hiding in an interstellar dust cloud in hopes that the Borg vessels would be unable to follow. It seemed to have worked as always, but the ship had taken damage before escaping. All through the nebula Odysseus had been venting plasma as she fled her pursuers. The inherent plasma storms had made it difficult for Kinziri to spot this to begin with, but as the ship travelled on the damage grew worse and the venting had grown exponentially.

“Ensign. How much further could the Odysseus have travelled with this rate of plasma loss?”

Jal entered some commands into the computer then replied. “It is possible that they may have reached the edge of the nebula Sir.”

“Okay, we keep going. Report when you have anything new.”

Willis stood and stretched his legs. The tension in his shoulders had brought back the age old ache. He wanted to pace the bridge but this little Runabout had barely enough room for the five aboard to move let alone pace. He walked over to the crew compartment at the rear of the ship. The two marines were checking the phase pistols and rifles, as they had done throughout the journey. There really was nothing to be gained by the drill but Willis could see that there was little else that the two could do.

Time passed slowly, every second seemingly dragged out endlessly. Eventually Lieutenant Kyrien turned from the console and spoke to the Commander.

“Sir we will reach the edge of the Nebula in five minutes.”

At last. Thought Willis. “Okay people be ready for whatever we find out here.” This statement seemed stupid once he had said it. Of course they would be ready, but who knew what they would find once they left the Nebula?

The scene on the viewscreen showed the myriad of colours of the gaseous nebula dissipate and reveal the blackness of ‘normal’ space, and a scene of devastation …

The crew stared at the screen, mesmerised.

Pieces of twisted metal floated around, some in recognisable forms. Here part of a nacelle, there a section of hull plating …

“Kyrien enlarge on that section there.” Breathed Willis.

The viewer changed to show the plating up close, writing now clear to read. USS Odysseus DC-0159.

The sight shook everyone, but Kinziri almost cried out loud when she read those words.

The Odysseus was destroyed, its debris scattered all over the area. The old tactic of hiding in a Nebula had worked for the duration of the time inside it, but the Borg had been waiting for her when she emerged at the other side. The crippled vessel must have been easy prey.

The crew’s stunned silence was broken by the sound of a thud from the rear crew compartment. Kroll had shot out of his seat and was waving his d’k tagh menacingly.

“Rraaaagh!” roared the marine Kroll, his Klingon blood near boiling with his rage. “Borg pa’tach! It was a trap! They slaughtered everyone on the ship, this is not an honourable way to fight a war!”

Commander Willis shot him a look that told them that this was not the time nor the place to react like that. His fellow marine, Jackson pulled him back into his seat.

“Ensign Jal are there any life signs, escape pods, anything?”

Kinziri came out of her daze and took a deep breath. She would be no use to them if she went to pieces now. This was what she had come for, to use her skills to find the crew of this ship. Her hands worked the controls as she regained her composure. Her heart lept as the sensor readings came back.

“Sir there are signs that escape pods were launched. Some are adrift and empty but sensors show that some headed over to that planet over there. .. An estimate of at least thirty pods.”

Willis sat forward in his chair, as if being nearer to the screen would make things clearer. “What planet is that ensign? I don’t remember seeing it named on the chart.”

“It isn’t named on the chart Sir. It is unidentified. No Star Fleet vessels have explored this area and no reports from other sources are available.” Jal replied.

“Lieutenant Kyrien take us nearer to the planet. Jal, is the planet hospitable?”

Kinziri again worked the sensor controls gathering as much information as she could on this blue-green planet before them.

“Class O planet. There is less than 20% land cover, atmosphere nitrogen, oxygen, trace elements. Scans showing aquatic vegetation, animal life and … humanoid life signs!” Jal reported.

“Sir there’s a vessel approaching…” Lieutenant Kyrien interrupted.

Suddenly warning lights flared and an alarm sounded.

“We’re being hailed Sir. I can’t get clear readings because of the interference.”

“Onscreen.” Willis ordered.

The viewscreen flickered then showed a face that shook every one of the crew. It was not so much the face itself, or the words spoken, but what it meant to encounter the enemy.

“We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.”

Commander Willis regained his senses, as his training and years in command had taught him to do.

“Shields up, evasive action” he ordered.

The crew snapped into action and quickly the Runabout had turned away from the debris field. Too slow however, as a shot from the Borg ship rocked them hard.

“Shields to 72%”

Willis took the seat beside Kyrien and took directed return fire himself.

One Runabout is no match for a Borg wedge ship, even one that may be damaged, he thought, better get the hell out of here.

Just as he thought this the ship was hit by another blast.

“Shields to 24%”

Another blast, this one causing consoles to explode and fire to break out. Quickly the two marines reached for fire suppression units and extinguished the flames.

Another of those and we’ll be toast, thought Willis.

“Sir, I’ve been looking at the sensors of the surrounding area”

Willis glared at the science ensign.

“This is no time for stargazing ensign! Find a way out of this for us!” he snapped.

Kinziri took a breath. “Actually Sir that is just what I was looking for. We have two more Borg ships on an intercept course. If we stay here we are dead. I suggest we head to the planet.”

We have no choice do we? He thought grimly.

“Kyrien take us down to the planet. Find us some land there for Gods sake”

Another blast shook the Runabout and she spiralled down to the watery grave awaiting her…


She awoke.

To hear the sound of her children calling her.

“Mommy, mommy wake up! Look, Daddy came home and he brought us Lontar crystals!”

Opening her eyes she saw the faces, beaming smiles, as they ran around sprinkling the dust like crystals around their heads. The air sparkled and shimmered, the children laughed and giggled. She saw her husband walk over to the bed, bend down, smiling, kissing her on her cheek.

“Brinya my love, I’ve brought gifts for you too.”

Soft cool material brushed against her face. Another dress? He brought another dress? Still, at least he’s home.

“Hmm thank you honey” *yawn* “oh sorry, why am I so sleepy?”

Darkness overcame her senses and she drifted into deep sleep.

Light streamed through the window.

“Wake up! You’re late! The tournament starts in one hour and you have a forty minute journey to get there!”

“Okay okay, I’m moving.” He mumbled sleepily and stumbled over to the washroom and straight into the sonic shower.

Six minutes later he was standing in the kitchen drinking a tall glass of fruit juice.

“Tirol you take this Rhynfal fruit with you to the stadium and eat it before the first round won’t you?” his wife asked.

He laughed heartily. “Gretre my sweet, I’m not even competing anymore! I’m just another judge these days.”

“I know that, but the greatest champion athlete on Trillius Prime still needs to keep healthy, even now he is a judge on the panel of the Planetary Games. Now give me a kiss and be on your way.”

Tirol smiled and took a step towards his wife but suddenly he had no strength in his legs and fell to the floor. Gretre was by his side in an instant.

“Tirol! What’s wrong?” she cradled his head in her hands.

“I … I don’t … know. All of a sudden I’m just so … sleepy …”

Darkness overcame his senses and he drifted into deep sleep.

It was the smell first. Sharp, hard. The smell of smoke and burning plastics, and maybe, yes definitely, burning flesh and hair.

The sound was a close second. Loud, roaring. The sounds of wrenching bulkhead and crackling flame.

Now where am I?

Forcing eyelids open and looking around didn’t help much. The scene was chaotic. Smoke billowed around making it difficult to tell which way was up. The fact that a wall seemed to be ‘up’ was not a good sign. Memories were returning which might give some clue. Yes, the starship was badly damaged, memory backing up senses.

But which starship? And, more importantly, who am I?

Footsteps nearby brought the senses back online. Boot steps to me more accurate, and they thundered closer.

“There you are! Rentara my friend you are alive! Ha ha! We showed those Cardassian pahtk a lesson in humility!” The Klingon came into view as he bent over and reached down. His face showed his joy at the outcome of the battle but that changed when he looked down at the battered body of his friend.

“My friend. You have taken quite a beating, more than the Toh’argh herself and she is one tough ship. Rentara, my friend, you are dying. Stovokor beckons you. Go. Rest now, and drink in the halls of the warriors to a great victory on this day!”

He’s right. I’m dying. Again. How careless of me! At least I’ve had a good few years to run with. Lively enough too. So many battles … Wolf 359, the Dominion War, now this so called First General War. All things considering, I lasted longer than I thought I would. Seen many worlds, many peoples, so my peace treaties didn’t last long but is that my deepest regret from all these years? No, no it has to be that I’m dying here, on this Klingon ship. Dying as a Warrior. I wanted to die as a lover! In the arms of some dabo girl on Risa!

“Well,” he croaked, “it seems that today is a good day to die after all……”

Sleep overcame his senses and he drifted into darkness…

She woke to the sound of waves crashing on a nearby reef and some form of avifauna mewling in the skies above her.

Light flooded in, she lifted her arm to shield her retinas from burning, then bent double and retched. Once she had gained control of her coughing and spluttering she forced her aching limbs to push herself upright. Shaking her head she tried to make sense of what was real and what had been memories or dreams of past lives all swimming together.

She was on a beach, a sandy beach. Waves lapped at the shoreline as far as her legs. Her eyes watered due to the salt, her lungs and stomach ached as did seemingly every muscle in her body. Apart from that, she felt fine. No broken bones anyway, although her uniform had seen better days. It was ripped and burned. She reached up to tap her communicator badge but it was gone.

With effort she managed to stand. Looking along the beach she saw an assortment of wreckage from the Runabout and, yes … bodies. She forced legs to carry her to a run until she reached the first of the crew lying prone in the sand.

Commander Willis.

Checking his pulse, Kinziri sighed with relief when she found he was alive at least. Looking desperately around the beach she saw some more wreckage of the Runabout further up and against a low cliff. Two more bodies were between her and the wreck.

Making sure that the Commander was as comfortable as possible, Kinziri stood and walked shakily over to the other crewmen. First she found Marine Kroll, he had a nasty burn on his shoulder and another on his leg, but apart from that he was just unconscious like Willis. Moving closer to the remains of their ship she found Lieutenant Kyrien. He was lying on his side facing away from her. As she leant over and turned him on his back she gasped. Most of his face and chest was blackened and charred, his eyes open and staring.

Kinziri staggered back a couple of paces away from her dead colleague.

Get a grip of yourself girl, you’ve seen dead bodies before. Move and find some first aid kit for the others or they will die too. She chided herself into motion again.

Just then she heard something, a rock sliding down the cliff above the Runabout. Her nerves were taught and she darted inside the wreckage in search of a medikit or phaser, or both.

Turning a corner around a twisted bulkhead Kinziri walked straight into someone standing there. Someone tall and rather solid, she rebounded off them and fell back against the wall. The figure turned round and looked down at her.

A Borg!

Terror held her rigid where she had fallen. All she could do was stare at that emotionless face with its mechanical implants and the red beam of light that came from an implant over one eye.

A groan from her right made her look round. Marine Jackson was on the floor beside a fallen panel. She saw that he had a phaser in his hand and he was struggling to aim it high enough to hit their silent enemy. Another noise, this time from her left. Another Borg entered the wrecked room, she was trapped!

As she sat there her hand caught the edge of a piece of fallen twisted metal and she flinched. This gave her an idea however. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jackson finally lift his phaser high enough. He fired. The Borg in front of her was hit square in the side of the head … and knocked him on his back.

Taking her chance, she swung the metal bar she was gripping into the second Borg. Rather ineptly she managed to hit him but to little effect.

“You hit like a Ferengi girl!” Jackson gasped.

Kinziri grimaced and swung the bar back at her enemy, this time using it like a stake to drive into the heart of this undead monster. The Borg fell back clutching at the bar and convulsing as it died.

Kinziri stared at the dead Borg Drone. It was the first life she had taken. Not the first for Jal of course, but the first for Kinziri.

Jackson had clambered out of the wreckage he was under now and grabbed another bar and likewise drove it into the chest of the Borg he had just shot.

He stepped over to the Trill ensign and gripped her arm.

“Come on. Get what you need and lets get to the others.” He said firmly.

Kinziri shook her head and got to her feet with his help. Looking around the compartment she managed to find a med box and Jackson found two phase pistols and phase rifles. Just as they were preparing to leave their ship they heard another noise.

Jackson readied a rifle and nodded to the ensign to follow his lead. He shot out of the Runabout and Kinziri heard him fire straight away. She followed gripping the phase pistol he had pushed into her hand and the valuable med box. As soon as she stepped out of the ship something grabbed her by the throat.

Flailing her arms around desperately, she was lifted off the ground. Her assailant was even more terrifying than the Borg inside the ship, for this one was human!

Jackson was likewise fighting off a figure in a Star Fleet uniform. It had taken the rifle from him and was also trying to strangle the marine.

As the world began to blur Kinziri remembered that the thing in her right hand was a phaser! Desperately she brought it up in front of her and fired. The hands around her throat still gripped fast. She fired again, this time the hands opened and her attacker fell, dropping her to the ground.

Jackson likewise disabled the one who had attacked him and the two of them looked at the fallen bodies. Both were human, both wore Star Fleet uniform.

“What the hell did they attack us for?” asked Jackson rubbing his throat.

Kinziri had no answer for him. She did notice something though.

“Look at this on the forehead. Does that one have one too?”

A fleshy protuberance covered the mans forehead. Jackson walked over to see.

“Yeah that one has it too. And come to mention it, so did those Borg. Why? What is it? “

“I don’t know” she replied quietly.

“Well whatever it is, I know it’s freaky. I know that we have to regroup too so get moving and bring that med kit over to Kroll there.”

A few minutes later Ensign Jal and Marine Jackson had carried the unconscious form of Kroll over to the equally unconscious Commander Willis. Kinziri had found a medical tricorder in the medkit and had discovered that little was wrong with them. She applied a hypo spray containing a stimulant to their necks and they had slowly returned to consciousness.

Commander Willis gently touched the wicked gash on his right temple but winced only slightly.

“Nice work for a Science officer Ensign. Did you ever consider a career in Star Fleet Medical?”

Kinziri switched the dermal regenerator off and gave the Commander a wry smile. “I look terrible in red surgical gowns” she replied.

The light-hearted comment after such tension made them all grin.

The moment was shattered however when they all heard a rock fall from the cliff nearby. Turning to face the cliff they saw that they were not alone, ten figures stood on the clifftop, and more stepped up all the time.

“Jackson, Kroll …” Willis began, but the Marines were already raising their phaser rifles defensively.

Figures were now down on the beach head and were approaching the four Star Fleet officers.

“Commander what are your orders?” asked Kroll.

“Hold your ground for now. Lets see what their intentions are.”

The closer they came the more detail could be made out. The sight was horrifying and disturbing. The people approaching appeared to be a mix of Borg Drones and Star Fleet officers, and some strange looking humanoids.

“Commander?”

The marines were bracing their weapons to their shoulders and waited nervously for the order to fire.

Non of the figures were armed, but as they came nearer still their faces could be seen clearly, twisted deranged, almost gleeful smiles but staring eyes…

Suddenly they charged forward, arms outstretched and a blood curdling howl coming from their lips.

“Fire!” Willis ordered.

The two marines fired accurately and their shots struck their targets, yet the fallen rose again and continued to rush towards the Star Fleet position.

“Increase power.” Willis shouted.

So many were rushing now all four of them were forced to fire to defend themselves. Firing at full power seemed to be the only way to stop the attackers. The howling turning to a final shriek as the phaser blast knocked them down.

Very quickly the attackers were upon them and hand to hand fighting was the only option. Kroll was dispatching all comers with his Bat’leth but the Klingon was finding them his equal in strength which was unbelievable in humans.

Jackson fell first, two attackers, one Borg one Star Fleet gripped him by the throat and forced him to the ground. Within seconds he was dead.

Commander Willis was next to fall, Kinziri tried to reach him but there was a Borg standing between them. She didn’t feel fear now, just a desperate urge to survive. She used every move in her experience both as a Star Fleet Officer and as a Joined Trill, Jal bringing memories of first host Tirol the gymnast. Where she couldn’t use strength she side-stepped out of the way of the attack.

When she was beginning to think that the end was near something extraordinary happened. The attacker lurching toward her suddenly fell dead with a piece of wood sticking out of his head.

Kinziri whirled round to see where the bolt had come from. She gasped when she saw where the help was coming from…

A dozen or so humanoid forms were emerging from the sea, each carrying primitive weaponry like crossbows, harpoons and simple bows and arrows. They had the desired effect however. Each arrow or bolt fired hit a target square in the head, killing instantly.

Kroll was bellowing as his battle rage fuelled him on. He knocked down one attacker after another until there were only half a dozen left.

Kinziri fought to his side and they worked together to complete the task of repelling the enemy. More arrows zipped through the air around them and one by one the attackers went down. As he raised his blood soaked bat’leth once more to take out the last attacker when suddenly Ensign Jal lept between them and forced the attacking woman to the ground.

“Don’t kill her, don’t kill her!” she pleaded.

The Klingon stopped in his tracks and looked at the Trill bewildered.

“She …. She’s my, my sister!” Kinziri finished.

The woman she had floored regarded them with an animal glare, then backing away, scrambled to her feet and ran back towards the cliff.

Kinziri cried out after her sister and started as if to follow her but Kroll held her back.

“We are too few to take the battle to the enemy Ensign, and we may have something new to worry about here”

They looked around. Their would be rescuers were surrounding them now, and were giving their weapons a lot of attention.

One of them gently put their hand on Kinziri’s shoulder and indicated that she and her fellow officer should accompany them.

But where to? The sea?


Their journey had been remarkable, but their destination was beyond anything Jal had encountered in any lifetime travelling around the galaxy.

Kinziri sat in the quarters she had been shown to. From there she could see over a huge chamber filled with lights and plants and flowers. People walked around a market place, children ran and played amongst the stalls. This could have been happening anywhere she supposed. But it wasn’t. It was deep in the ocean and in a complex of caverns that must go on for hundreds of miles. Geothermic heating kept the caverns at a tropical warmth and channelled natural gases fuelled lighting and appliances, many plants bore fruit here. It was a paradise below the sea.

As for the people, well they were even more remarkable. Initial communication problems meant that Kinziri had been forced to make first contact with hand gestures and body language.

When they had gently led her into the ocean she tried to express her concern that she couldn’t breath underwater, but they gave her a small device that clipped over her nose with a pipe which went into the mouth. Kinziri was impressed by this device and how it enabled her to breath while she was led deeper into the sea.

All through the journey her mind kept replaying the moment when she had seen her sister back on the beach. What had happened to her? Why was she behaving like that? Had she gone insane with the trauma of battle? Why was she attacking with all those others? It was all too much, she had to focus on what was happening to her right now…

Always the scientist, Kinziri had been fascinated by these people that had rescued them, and had learned quite a bit about them just from those first few minutes upon meeting them. The people were aquatic, more amphibious than aquatic actually. They breathed air and were bipedal so could walk on land. They stood tall and slim, their skin was quite scaly with a green-blue tinge, their feet while the same shape as human feet were slightly larger with long toes that had webbing between them. Their fingers were similar. When they took to the sea Kinziri noticed that they had a clear filament which covered the eyes, and that they had several small slits along each side of their necks …gills…. They truly were amazing.

Descending into the sea, it seemed that they were to travel some distance, further than these fish people or ickthyo sapiens could swim by themselves despite their skill.

To Kinziri’s fascination a shoal of aquatic mammals similar to Terran dolphins swam to meet them. It was indicated that she should take hold of their dorsal fins on their backs and allow them to do all the work. After travelling some distance in this manner she saw that they were heading toward a rock face. There seemed to be dozens of silvery shapes all along the rock face which as they approached, she learned were bubbles of air.

Movement behind her disturbed her from her thoughts. One of the females (what Kinziri had come to think of as Mermaids after the Terran myths) entered through the curtain of shells beaded together. She was nervous and approached the Trill cautiously, peering at her, blinking frequently her head cocked on one side.

Without wanting to appear rude, Kinziri looked back down at the table in front of her. She had been adapting the Universal Translator chip in the medical tricorder she had managed to hang on to. She had almost completed her modifications, with one last tweak it was done.

“Hello” she said, “Can you understand me?”

The female jumped back startled.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just want to talk with you, to thank you for helping me.”

The words must have been understood as the ‘mermaid’ woman stepped forward again and held out a bundle of clothing. Kinziri looked at the one piece suit in the same style as the one this woman was wearing. It was practical for the aquatic lifestyle they lived she supposed. Not quite a Star Fleet uniform, then again the uniform she wore was in tatters. It might be sensible to take the change of clothing for both practical reasons and for the sake of decency.

She thanked the woman and smiled.

“D..d…do you understand?” the mermaid asked.

“Yes I do. I have a device here that allows us to communicate” Kinziri pointed to her modified com badge.

The woman peered at the badge with a look of wonder on her face before seeming to remember what she had entered the room for.

“The Queen will speak with you. When you are ready I will take you to her. Your … companion will be there also, he … does not … trust?”

Queen? Wow, I make first contact, meet royalty and wear a bathing suit. This would be seriously frowned upon back at the Academy. I bet Kroll is tearing the place up too, I know I need to keep my head together … but what about Kendri?

“I’ll speak to him when I’m changed, he’s a pussycat really.” She told the mermaid woman.

“Pussycat?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with him. Thank you.”


Kinziri and Kroll entered the chamber accompanied by two of their hosts on each side of them. Guards were posted at regular places around the corridors and chamber, all were armed with wicked looking swords. Ceremonial hopefully.

Kroll had insisted on wearing his battered Star Fleet uniform and had given Kinziri a disapproving look when he saw that she was now wearing the garb of their hosts.

At least this is cooler than the uniform. She thought. The geothermal heating in these chambers made the place quite humid, something she hated.

They were led through a small gathering of the people Kinziri still thought of as ‘mermaids’ all seemed to be of similar stature and build, the group made up of men and women of equal number.

Reaching the head of the chamber, they were before a single woman sitting on a raised chair set on a raised dais. She had an ethereal beauty, her hair flowing down to her waist, her shimmering green-blue skin catching the light. She regarded the two Star Fleet officers with a calm serenity.

As they stood before the Queen of these people, Kinziri saw all around them bow in honour of their monarch.

Remembering some of Rentara Jal’s diplomatic skills she made a slight bow also, giving Kroll a nudge to do likewise, which he ignored.

“Welcome to Myhhrandil strangers.” The Queen said in a smooth purr of a voice.

“All of our people greet you and offer you any assistance you require.” She continued.

Kinziri made a second slight bow and smiled at the Queen.

“On behalf of the United Federation of Planets, I thank you, your majesty.” She replied.

“Is this where you are both from? You both appear to be of different species yes?”

Kinziri glanced at the Klingon standing silently beside her.

“That is correct. We are from separate worlds which are part of an interstellar alliance of planetary governments and colonies, united for mutual benefit. I take it that you have never encountered any of our kind before?”

“Only those who fell from the skies recently. Those unfortunates on the surface who I understand attacked you, these were some of the first off worlders to visit us in many years.” The Queen explained.

Kinziri had a sudden vision of her sisters face all twisted by insane rage once again. She forced the image away.

“They were behaving … strangely.” She tried to find the words to describe the attack on the beach. She struggled but managed to tell the story of how they had all got to this strange watery planet, of the Borg invasion of the Sol System, of the crew of the Runabout Pegasus searching for the lost star ship Odysseus, of the Borg forcing them to crash-land on the planet. The Queen had seemed very interested in the Borg and asked many questions about them, their hive mind linking them all together she found particularly fascinating.

“I will tell you something now Kinziri Jal” she began, “stories from our forbearers tell of times long past and of how the people of this planet developed technology and even space travel. Oh yes, you might assume from our city here and from our use of natural materials and what you might consider ‘primitive’ weaponry. Our species looked very much like yourself and lived on the surface. We changed, we evolved into what we have become. Our people have chosen to live this way, we learned from our forbearers how technology brought down the very fabric of civilisation.”

“I see that this is what is happening to your cultures also. Your technology only brings you war and bloodshed as was true of Myhhrandil. War among our peoples. Buildings on the islands sent ships into space but also sent rockets out to destroy those of a different mind. Our forbearers suffered and sought to teach us, their children a better way to live.”

Kroll grunted as the Queen continued to speak, finally interrupting; “If you have turned into such peaceful people then why do you have weapons at all?” he challenged.

The Myhhrandil Queen smiled slightly and nodded.

“This is so Klingon Kroll. We do have weapons, these are used to hunt and fish, but we also have to protect ourselves when we surface from the Graatuude that would steal our minds.”

Kinziri’s heart raced. “Was that the thing that was on their heads up there?”

“That is the Graatuude indeed Kinziri Jal. Those people were unfortunate and could not escape the creature. Now they are but the living dead.”

No!

“Then I shall return to the surface and deliver them to final rest!” declared Kroll.

Kinziri shot the Klingon a glare. Nobody was doing that to her sister. She felt her anger rise but knew she had to keep her head right now. Closing her eyes and taking a breath, she composed her thoughts.

“Are you unwell?” asked the Queen.

“No your majesty. Well not physically. Tell me more about this creature, the Graatuude. What is it? A parasite? Can it be detached from the host people up there?”

“The Graatuude is testimony to the troubled past of my people Kinziri Jal. It is what you say, a parasite, but it is not natural to this world. It was created, created by hateful men for war.”

“The creature is a weapon!”

“This is correct Klingon Kroll. The Graatuude was created as a weapon of war to destroy an enemy from within. It is a parasite which attaches to the mind and controls its actions, aggression and conflict are the result.”

“A creature must have more purpose than this.” Kinziri added thoughtfully. “They must reproduce, maybe by causing the host to come into contact with others of their kind.”

The Queen shook her head.

“You are thinking of a natural animal, of changes through evolution. The Graatuude is not natural it was made, it has no purpose but to possess and destroy.”

“You mean it was engineered genetically for war?” Kinziri asked incredulously.

The Queen considered this for a moment, perhaps unfamiliar with the term Kinziri had used.

“This is so.” She replied finally.

“Is there anyway to detach the creature from the host?”

“None we have learned. The only release we have found for the possessed is death, by shutting down the brain. That is why we have such weapons Klingon Kroll, our warriors have very good aim and shoot directly at the head.”

Kroll regarded the warriors standing around the chamber as if summing up their prowess in battle.

There has to be a way to remove the creature. Kinziri thought. I have to get Kendri back!

“Tell me. Is there some assistance we can give you?” The Queen enquired.

Kroll replied first.

“I have also modified my com badge. I have re-configured it to emit a subspace signal and have sent a distress signal to Star Fleet. I believe a vessel will find us.”

Kinziri looked at the Klingon in surprise. So the warrior has hidden talents. She thought.

“I must find a way to remove the parasite from those people up on the surface.” She told the Queen.

“You would be wasting your time and efforts in my opinion, but of course I shall offer any assistance of my people to aid you.” The Queen told her solemnly.


Returning to the surface in the same manner as they had arrived Jal and Kroll had time to prepare themselves for what lay ahead.

Kroll had acquired one of the Myhhrandil swords and had spent several hours training with it. He had grudgingly admitted his respect for the weapon and for those that had created it.

Kinziri had spent her time deep in thought. She had to think of some way to remove the parasite known as the Graatuude from the Star Fleet officers who were on the surface of the planet, most particularly, from her sister, Kendri.

She had thought about all the similar species in the rather limited database in the medical tricorder. Somehow she had to find a way to detach the creature without harming the host.

How do they communicate with each other too? That attack was co-ordinated so they must have some link. They certainly didn’t speak verbally to send orders… Maybe some sort of telepathy? Perhaps that was why the Myhhrandil Queen had been so interested in the Borg and their hive mind?

Searching the database and running some theories as models helped her surmise that there must be some sort of frequency that the parasite uses to communicate with each other. Now she had a working theory that just might do the trick…


Emerging from the sea, the two Star Fleet officers, accompanied by several Myhhrandil warriors headed for where they had left their wrecked Runabout.

They found that the bodies of their dead crewmates had gone, dragged away by those possessed by the Graatuude. Tracks led from the beach up around the low cliffs and across the island. The Myhhrandil were reluctant to follow the tracks. They knew that there were ruined buildings a few hours walk away and that the tracks were heading in that direction. It seemed that they were unwilling to travel so far from their ocean home. They were a little ungainly walking on solid ground she noted. Elegant swimmers but their long webbed feet were unsuited to land travel of such distance.

They did not turn back however, standing firm by the promise of aid given by their monarch.

The hike into the interior of the island was tense and the party kept looking for some ambush or trap of some kind.

Eventually they reached the derelict buildings that their companions had told of. They crept close and heard shuffling from inside.

“This is not the place for battle.” Kroll hissed. “We need to bring them to a place of our choosing, where we have the tactical advantage.”

“I don’t think these things are too advanced in their tactics Kroll” Kinziri whispered. “Last time their attack was just to rush us and overwhelm us by numbers.”

“Nevertheless I have seen the place we shall fight them. That valley over there. We bring them into there and we can control the battle from all sides.”

“Very well, you’re the Marine here, I’ll follow your lead. Just get them all within range of my tricorder and I’ll be happy” she told him.

Kroll gave hand signals to the Myhhrandil and took Jal along the valley he had chosen. He then crept over to the building again, then suddenly charged in bellowing some Klingon war cry. Moments later he returned with several of the possessed hot on his heels.

He put on a good turn of speed considering his heavy build but soon he was caught by those chasing him. He drew the Myhhrandil sword and held off all comers.

Just when the odds seemed impossible, a whole horde of howling and baying possessed humanoids of all races, including several Borg, all clambered to get a hold of him, Kinziri stood up on the ridge above.

Here goes, she thought and hoped for the best as she pressed a sequence of buttons on the tricorder.

Modifying the device to emit a sonic resonance wave was an easy task, but would it work? Seemingly not, as the attackers kept on coming. She modified the frequency a little, then a little more…

Suddenly all those attackers in the valley stopped what they were doing and held their hands over their ears. Staggering out from under the weight of his foes, Kroll took the opportunity to slice at all the Borg around him.

Yes! It works! They’re all falling! Kinziri felt a rush of emotions as her theory held out. She ran down the bank over to the now writhing mish-mash of people. She saw that the fleshy parasite that covered their foreheads was peeling off and steam was emitting from them.

“Kendri!” She ran over to her fallen sister. The parasite had fallen off her and she lay there shivering her eyes reddened and staring wildly around.

It was over. The possessed were freed from the Graatuude creature. Kroll went about and put the Borg out of their misery while the Myhhrandil came down and did what they could for the rest of the former hosts.


Two days after the encounter in the valley, Federation Starship Wellington arrived and shuttled the survivors back from the surface.

Kinziri and Kroll had one more meeting with the Queen of the Myhhrandil and thanked her for all her and her peoples help.

“I hope one day our peoples will meet again Kinziri Jal and Klingon Kroll. It has been … interesting.” She had said to them smiling and extending a hand to each. Kinziri, remembering more of Rentara’s skills in diplomacy took the hand gently yet firmly and bowed.

“Farewell your majesty, and once more, thank you.”

Kinziri now wore a fresh Star Fleet Uniform and stood to attention as Kroll tapped his repaired com badge. “Two to beam up”.


It was a great view. A view she had seen more times in her life than she could count. Her life. As Kinziri. Before she was Kinziri Jal. This was the house she had grown up in here on Trill and she felt as relaxed here as she had ever done. It was still a beautiful view.

The sun was just peeking over the crest of the mountains in the near distance, its rays beaming down onto the shimmering purple surface of the waters. The air was filled with the scents of the flowers blooming on the shrubs outside the house and a myriad of insects buzzed around them even at this early hour of the day.

A door closed behind her and she turned to face back into the room. Her mother had entered and was just bending over to place a small tray onto a table in the middle of the room. She sat down on one of the recliners and waited for her daughter to join her.

Kinziri took one more look at the view and sighed. It all seemed so far away from all the troubles of invasion by Borg and the explosions and destruction of the Star Fleet vessel she had been posted to, the USS Yoritomo.

Where to now? She wondered. In part, she already knew the answer to the question, it was contained in the PADD that lay on the table too.

Turning again she walked over to a second recliner and sat opposite her mother.

Edrial looked tired. Older too. Kinziri had seen her mother only recently, albeit on a communication screen. Yet this morning she seemed older than Kinziri had ever noticed before.

“How is she?” she asked her mother.

Edrial smiled slightly and took a sip of the fruit tea she had prepared for them both.

“Your sister will be fine. Given a week or two. And a lot of rest, and fruit tea.”

They both smiled. Edrial’s fruit tea was famous, she grew all of the fruit herself in the gardens around the house. When they were small, Kinziri and Kendri had played in those orchards for hours and hours.

That was a long time ago. Before, well before fate intervened in their lives. Before their father had died, before Kendri had joined Star Fleet, and before Kinziri had finally undergone the Joining with the Symbiont Jal.

“Seriously mother. How is she? Has she said anything about …?”

Edrial took another sip of her tea and appeared to consider the question before answering.

“Your sister has had a lot to deal with, and she has never been very good at that. Everything builds up in her, and whatever that thing was on Myhhrandil that took over her mind, well that was almost the end of her. I don’t just mean that she might have been killed by that Klingon you mentioned. No, her mind was nearly broken. Right now, she is a little lost and needs to find her way back home.”

“Home.” Kinziri sighed. “If only we had both stayed at home, none of this would have happened.”

Edrial gave a short laugh. “As if that would ever have happened! Your father and I could never keep the pair of you at home even when you both lived here. You were always off in the countryside having adventures. Now you are both grown and your adventures take you a little further afield. I just have to accept that. And so do you. There’s nothing to gain by feeling guilty for what has happened out there in space. Just learn from it.”

“What was that phrase you kept saying? The one from your Terran studies. Ah yes. Adaptation is the key to survival. You will adapt and you will survive, it is nature. And well you know it.”

Kinziri looked down at her feet. She felt humbled by her mother’s wisdom. No matter how many lifetimes of memories and experiences were now a part of her from the Symbiont insider her, nobody came close to the wisdom of ones parents.

Changing the subject, she indicated the padd on the table between them.

“Have you seen this then?”

The padd had arrived in the middle of the night but neither of them had slept much.

“Yes I have.” Edrial replied levelly. “So you’re going to a science ship. Newly commissioned at that. Your dream from as long ago as I can remember. I am so proud of you. I know that your father would be too.” She turned to look at the portrait of her late husband Tomral, as she mentioned him.

Kinziri’s memories of her father were often of how strict he had been with her. Always making her study harder and harder while giving her lectures about how it was an honour that Kinziri was compatible to be Joined to a Symbiont. He had driven her all the way through the training with the Symbiosis Commission. Now she was living the life he had wanted for her, and she loved it. Suddenly she felt very proud of her parents, both of them, for having the vision and the wisdom to guide her through life.

Finally she spoke. “You know mother. I’m proud too, of you and father, and all that you gave me, and to Kendri. One day I hope Kendri will understand that we may be different but we are still family. I miss her you know?”

Edrial nodded “One day she will come to terms with it all and she will come to you.”

Kinziri stood and walked over to the open window and stood looking out.

“I hope so mother, I hope so.”

She stared out at that beautiful view and lost track of time, wondering about where the future would take her. Exploring the galaxy on a voyage of discovery. It was her dream.