Never before had sailing her small boat on the Pacific ocean made Reya feel so tense. She simply sat at the bow and stared sadly at the stern, where Natalie stood, watching the wind toss the waves below. The mood between them was far from happy. They were both terrified.

This time, their trip out onto the ocean wasn’t for pleasure. The two were hiding – and at Sharon’s urgent suggestion, they left land quickly for their own safety…for Natalie’s safety…while their friend did some reconnaissance.

Between the two of them, Sharon was the weaker – which worried Reya – but she also knew that Sharon was very adept at gathering information while keeping a low profile…or in short, spying. It was how she safely kept tabs on nearly every being living on Earth who wasn’t native to the planet, and chronicled each.

“I feel like we’ve been out here forever,” Natalie said, almost in a humorous manner. Reya had to smile in spite of her own mood. Natalie was like that – always the one to use humor to break a melancholy mood. It was one of her Terran-like traits.

“It’s only for a couple of hours. Sharon will call when she thinks it’s safe–”

As if to punctuate Reya’s words, the phone rang, causing her to jump suddenly. She almost dropped her cell phone into the water as she answered it. “Yes?”

Natalie watched her mom’s face change quickly from hopeful to sadness. She nodded slowly as she talked on the phone, each time bowing her head further so her long hair would hide her reaction from Natalie.

“What?” Natalie asked, as soon as her mom put the phone down.

Reya sighed. “Sharon found a Messenger. It turns out that the Arions do know about you, and they want to–”

“They want to capture me, right? Or kill me?” Natalie stood up and walked across the length of the boat, kneeling beside her mom. Reya was shaking with fear…terrified that she would lose Natalie. “Mom, I won’t let that happen. I promise.”

“How?” Reya placed her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes slowly. “How will you stop them? Natalie, you’re only barely stronger than a Terran, and just as Earth-bound–”

“Not anymore.”

Reya watched in amazement as Natalie slowly rose from the deck of the boat, until her feet were a yard above the deck. She even did a quick mid-air somersault, and laughed about it as well. “How…when…?”

“I don’t know. It happened after I left school.” Natalie dropped back to the deck gently, trying her best not to jar the boat too much. “I was running…faster than cars on the street. I leapt to avoid something and…”

“…And you went airborne.” Reya nodded. “It was the stress. It forced you to use abilities you’ve never had to before.”

“That’s nothing, mom. Watch this!”

Natalie rose from the deck of the small boat once again, this time more slowly, and to a much higher level. The wind whipped through her dark hair as she twisted around and headed out over the waves of the ocean. The wind seemed to follow her as she went, tossing her hair and clothing as she passed a few yards above the water.

Reya gasped as she watched Natalie’s flight go from simple beauty to utter amazement. A wake formed in the water below her, as if she was dragging an invisible boat along the water with her. Reya could feel a breeze moving away from Natalie as she made a small circle, the wake below her tossing the boat mercilessly atop waves generated by forces usually only available in nature.

That’s when it occurred to her – her daughter was able to project energy outward much more efficiently now. Natalie not only could will herself fly…but she herself could become a force of nature if she so desired. All of a sudden, Natalie’s limited power reserve seemed like a trivial effect of nature.

Once Natalie returned gently to the boat, she smiled as she watched her mom breathing quickly, looking up at her daughter with surprise. “I know, I know. It’s a little weird, isn’t it?”

“No, absolutely not.” Reya shook her head as she stood quickly to hug her daughter. “It’s wonderful. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Natalie smiled. “I learned something cool. I can control all of it with my mind. The size of the wake, the air around me…”

“Oh my God.” Reya sat down again quickly and ran her hands through her hair. “That’s what they meant.”

“That’s what who meant?” Natalie sat down next to Reya, looking a little worried.

“The creators of the Velorian race. Our bodies were given to us as gifts…but our minds are ours to develop. But all through school, we’re taught that there is a tradeoff. I never understood what that meant…until now.”

“So…What I’m missing physically is more than made up for?”

Reya nodded. “You’re the next step, Natalie. You use the energy you tap much more efficiently than I can, which is why you don’t need as much.”

“So…” Natalie sat down on a bench along the port side of the boat. “…Maybe I could visit where you grew up one day? Meet my grandpa for the first time, ever?”

“I really don’t know, now.” Reya sighed and looked behind her at the setting sun. She glanced at her cell phone again, wishing Sharon would call already. “Anything’s possible, I guess. I just woudn’t want to risk it until we’re sure.”

“Mom, I’m just a teenager.” Natalie smiled and leaned back against the edge of the boat. “I have plenty of time.”

Reya smiled. “I sure hope so, Natalie.”

Natalie’s smile disappeared as she saw fear cross her mom’s eyes. She slid over next to Reya, and hugged her as best as she could. “Everything will be okay, mom. I promise.”
—
“I can’t promise anything, Reya.” Sharon’s voice sounded a little panicked as she spoke to her friend over the phone.

She had just given Reya some very bad news – that the Arion she was shadowing had managed to attract the attention of the Los Angeles Police and FBI, and were currently holding an evacuated hotel downtown hostage.

But that’s not what frightened Sharon. Normally, an Arion would simply plow its way through the police barricade and continue on its way. This one was cunning, and very methodical. She had a plan – she wasn’t killing just for sport.

“Reya, if the cops go in, they’ll be killed. You have to help.”

At the other end of the phone line, Reya held her cell phone with two shaking hands, looking up at Natalie. She spoke half into the phone, and half to Natalie. “But…what about Natalie? What if I don’t make it through this alive? You know I’m out of practice.”

Natalie frowned and walked away from Reya, toward the other end of the boat. She sat down and folded her arms, staring across at her mother, making no secret of the anger she was trying to express.

Reya eyed her daughter feeling worried as she clung to the small cell phone with both hands, only half-listening to Sharon. The last words she remembered Sharon say were, ‘You wanted your daughter to grow up in a place like this…now you have to fight for it.’

“Natalie?”

“Mom–” Natalie’s first word sounded like an accusation as she stood and gave Reya a frustrated sigh. “Sharon’s right. You have to protect Earth before you protect me. It’s your destiny.”

“No.” Reya shook her head. “You mean everything to me, Natalie. If you were hurt–”

“Then why am I here?” Natalie picked up a soft drink can she had left nearby, hurtling it out over the ocean, watching it sail through the air until it disappeared from view. “Why did you bring me into this world, only to watch everything you’ve ever wanted be destroyed?”

“If I’m the cause of this world’s destruction–” Natalie sat back down, curling into a ball as she turned away from her mom to do her best to hide the tears she was trying hard to hold back. “–I don’t want to live anymore.”

Reya stood, her mouth hanging open, as she watched her daughter rocking gently at the opposite end of the boat. As Natalie’s words echoed in her mind, she began to feel numb all over. Where could she have gone wrong? But then it was clear to her…she hadn’t gone wrong. She taught Natalie to stand up for herself and fight for her beliefs. The thought of her mom violating those beliefs, considering running and hiding, seemed wrong to Natalie.

And she was right.
—
Reya hovered high above the Five Star Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, as of yet unnoticed by the police and SWAT team surrounding the building on the streets below. She took a deep breath – and immediately felt a little constricted.

For the first time in years, she wore a form-fitting silvery outfit made of metallic fabric – it was the same one she had arrived on Earth wearing over sixteen years ago…and she was surprised that it still fit. Having lived a mostly civilian life on Earth, it never occurred to her to wear the outfit…until now.

She watched the hotel from above as the wind blew through her hair. It seemed so…normal. From the outside, it was hard to tell that a creature capable of reducing the building to rubble in mere seconds was within. For all it seemed, it could have simply been a single human being with a gun keeping police at bay.

But when she spotted Sharon standing on the curb across the street, she realized that it was no false alarm. Inside that hotel was destruction incarnate…and Reya was the only one who could stop her.

She descended to the roof slowly, trying as best as she could to land without a sound, racing to the stairway door quickly as she heard a police helicopter approach. It was best, at this point, to remain undetected to prevent the officers from deciding unwisely to race into the building to rescue her.

It was a stroke of luck, however, that the helicopter happened to fly overhead. It appeared to be circling a suite at one corner of the hotel – which saved Reya the trouble of having to search for the room where the Arion hid.

Her hands began shaking now as she tiptoed down the carpeted hallway, trying her best not to alert the woman she was stalking of her presence. She had to move silently, her soulless silvery boots making soft impressions in the plush red carpet with each step. She considered flying, but she realized that it would cause wind to rush down the narrow hall, alerting the Arion for sure.

She stopped suddenly and stared at a blue painted door, noting light oozing from beneath it, shivering from head to toe as she reached back her fist to punch through the gold chrome door lock. She stared at the white wall next to the door for a moment, noting the small torch lamp hanging alongside the door. Reya’s memory rushed back to her police training – never, ever rush through a door. A perpetrator would always be expecting that.

Reya smiled as she pondered that thought, and stared at the wall. Luckily, she had one trick up her sleeve that wasn’t in any police handbook.

A quick leap sent her to the room next door, a slight bit of pressure against its door admitting her to the room with little more than a muffled ‘crunch’. She raced in, and looked around – empty, lucky for her. She walked backwards between the twin beds, aiming herself directly at the television set on the opposite wall.

Confidence finally began to dominate her thoughts, and adrenaline gave her the strength she needed, emotionally, and physically, to break through her fears and do what needed to be done. She raised her arms in front of her, and launched herself at the television…and in an instant, she crashed through into the next room.

Reya only caught a glimpse of a dark-haired blue-eyed woman in blue jeans and a white sweater before the room became entirely filled with a cloud of plaster dust. She tried to reach for the last place she saw the woman…but no one was there any longer.

It didn’t take Reya long to find her, though…in a manner of seconds, she found herself in a headlock, her face forced down to the surface of the bed. She heard a female voice speak a language she didn’t understand, and felt paralyzed…it was some kind of immobilizing hold used by a seasoned warrior. At that moment, Reya knew she was in serious trouble.
—
“Where is she? Where’s mom?”

Sharon didn’t even bother to turn around as she heard Natalie behind her. She simply pointed up at the top floor of the hotel, toward a room on one corner…and almost on cue, glass from one of the windows rained down to the street below, causing police to run for cover.

But that was when Sharon realized something was amiss. “Natalie, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to stay out of sight!”

Natalie scoffed. “I’m supposed to stay home while mom’s being killed by some alien? I don’t think so.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad. Maybe Reya’s winning.” Sharon frowned and looked up at the hotel room, and shivered at the sudden silence. A real fight should be doing a lot more damage. She looked at Natalie, unwittingly revealing the fear she felt in her eyes. “Or…maybe not.”

“I’m going up there.” Natalie stepped toward the street, but found herself stopped quickly by Sharon. “I have to help her, Sharon.”

Sharon shook her head slowly. “You have no idea what you’re up against, Natalie. Your mom is a lot stronger than you are…a LOT. If she’s losing to this alien, you don’t have a chance.”

“But maybe the two of us together–”

“No!” Sharon gripped Natalie’s shoulder even tighter. Her eyes seemed desperate to try and convince Natalie. “You’ll die…she’ll kill you almost instantly, Natalie. I promised Reya I’d look after you…I can’t let you go into certain death.”

Natalie took a deep breath, her eyes never wavering as she stared at Sharon. She grabbed Sharon’s hand, seeming almost like she was going to peel it off of her shoulder…but instead, she held it in her own smaller hands tightly. “Sharon…we both know what we have to do.”

Sharon closed her eyes and turned away. Natalie was right…and she knew it. She was simply trying to deny what seemed to be destiny. When her eyes reopened, Natalie was still staring at her, waiting…demanding an answer as if she already knew what it would be. Sharon sighed…she knew as well. Her hand tightened around Natalie’s as she looked up at the hotel room above.

“Let’s go.”
—
“Are you sure this is the place?”

A blonde woman dressed in head to toe in a silvery form-fitting costume, complete with a cape and boots, turned to face a man who was suspended from one of her arms, as she held him airborne by his belt. They hovered in the clouds several hundred stories above the Five Star Hotel…but the blonde woman was unaware of the reason why there were so many police around the building – it was merely convenient that she could snatch one of the officers and raise him high above.

He nodded quickly…and that was all she needed to drop quickly – faster than the fastest elevator on Earth – and deposit him on the roof of the hotel, before rebounding quickly back to the clouds.

She had only arrived on Earth a few minutes ago, her mission simple. She had been pulled from duty as Protector of a quiet nearby planet, sent by the Velorian Council to retrieve the Protector assigned to Earth, Reya’ann, and her rumored daughter.

The only information she had was that Reya’ann lived in Los Angeles, and she was a police officer. It was simply luck that police officers happened to gather at the one place where she had managed to track an Arion using local news reports as a guide. It was simple enough to guess, given the level of destruction and death noted by the reports.

And her luck didn’t run out there. She watched from above as a tall blonde woman and a dark haired teen entered through the front door of the hotel. A minute or two later, chunks of the hotel flew from the upper corner room – a battle was in progress, most likely between the planet’s protector and the Arion.

She turned upside down quickly, and aimed herself at the roof above the corner room like a missile, accelerating purposely to try and enter and hit the Arion before she had a chance to even make a move to protect herself.

As plaster, concrete and steel rained down around the seasoned Protector, she inverted her flight quickly and aimed herself directly at a pair of blue eyes shining at her from behind black hair and clouds of dust. She slammed into the Arion, embedding her into a concrete dividing wall.

She turned her attention to a blonde woman in the room, who was lying motionless on the floor, surrounded by shattered glass and wood. The woman was unconscious – and the Protector had arrived just in time to prevent her death.

But then came her first unlucky moment. Just as the Arion freed herself, the blonde and the teen from downstairs entered the room. She recognized the blonde as Shara’lynn, a Scribe – no match for an Arion warrior. Reya’ann was still unconscious – which meant that the Scribe and the teen were extremely vulnerable. There was only one Protector now between them and death.

And almost as if she were able to sense the Protector’s thoughts, the Arion immediately homed in on the weakest of the four people in the room – the dark haired teen. The Protector moved quickly to try and intercept…but not quick enough.

Then came a surprise. She watched as the Arion charged the teen…but seemed to freeze in mid-stride before she managed to reach her. The teen stared at her intently, one hand in front of her as if she were conducting some kind of force. The Arion seemed angry as she tried to fight something, and cursed in her native language…yet she couldn’t budge.

That’s when the Protector realized…the teen was Reya’ann’s daughter. And just as the Velorian Council’s genetic computers predicted, her power was indeed focused by her mind more than her body. She was very efficient in focusing energy from across the Rift.

“Scribe Shara’lynn, I am Protector Kara’shar, sent by Council. I demand to know what is going on.”

Sharon shook her head as she circled around Natalie and the Arion, still trapped in suspended animation. Natalie didn’t acknowledge either Sharon or Kara’shar, she seemed to be in deep concentration. “I’m as confused as you are.”

The Protector stared for a few seconds, watching the Arion struggle. She did her best not to laugh – she most likely never had to deal with anything like this during Arion warrior training. “Who is she?”

“Her name is Natalie. And I’m sorry, but I won’t tell you anything else about her. I’m bound by a promise.”

Kara’shar stared at Natalie for a few seconds before finally barking an order. “Release the Arion, Natalie.”

“No.” Natalie barely acknowledged the Protector as she remained completely motionless, her eyes remaining fixed on the Arion she held in mid-air a few feet in front of her.

“She can’t,” Sharon volunteered, “If she releases the Arion she’ll die…unless someone’s holding the Arion back.”

“No–” Natalie tried to shake her head slowly without breaking her concentration. “Mom…Get mom out of here.”

Without another word, Sharon nodded and raced over to where Reya was still lying on the floor, unconscious. She had very little energy stored within her – she felt heavy as Sharon lifted her and carried her into the hallway, over her shoulder like a firefighter.

She ran straight down the hall, and kicked in the door of a room as far from ground zero as possible, almost throwing Reya onto the bed. There wasn’t time to be gentle – she had to return to the Arion’s room quickly, and snatch Natalie out of there before whatever power she was using to hold the Arion gave out.

But when Sharon returned, she found something else instead – the Arion had already been released…but she wasn’t attacking Natalie or the Kara’shar. She was calmly sitting on the floor, looking from the Protector to Natalie, and then to Sharon.

The Arion seemed rather childlike and lost sitting there. It was as if she were a runaway just trying to find her way home, rather than one of the most violent and destructive killing machines in the universe.

“Natalie, what’s going on…?” Sharon looked at Kara’shar, hoping for an explanation.

“The power of irony,” Natalie replied, as she turned to face Sharon. “She’s my age. And get this…her name is Terra.”

Sharon looked down at the Arion, who stared back up with determined eyes. “Why did you release her?”

“Because she asked nicely.” Natalie smiled, and almost laughed, as she grabbed Sharon’s arm and pulled her closer. “Come here…Don’t worry, she promised to stop fighting.”

“And you trust her…?” Sharon’s voice trailed off as she leaned closer to the Arion, looking up at Sharon with a hint of fear and contempt in her eyes. “Terra…why are you here?”

“I was…sent to…” The young Arion stopped in mid-sentence, finally giving up trying to make her point in broken English. Instead, she pointed at Natalie. “Her. My people want–”

“–To kill her?” Sharon attempted to finish the sentence for Terra, noting that the Arion seemed to bow her head as she nodded. She looked at the rather fancy, yet torn suit that Terra wore. It was most likely stolen from the first store which the Arion encountered immediately after arriving on Earth.

Natalie smiled and folded her arms. “Fat chance of that happening. She’s one of their elite warriors, and even she couldn’t come near me.”

“I failed.” Terra kept her head bowed as she spoke softly and stared at the floor. “My people will…kill–”

Sharon and Natalie looked at each other almost simultaneously. It would be just like the Arions to kill one of their best-bred warriors because she failed to complete one objective. Sharon watched as Natalie stepped closer to the Arion, and sat on the floor in front of her. She tried to stop Natalie – but was immediately waved away by the teen.

“You didn’t fail.” Natalie spoke softly as she sat only a foot from Terra. “You learned. And you don’t have to die, Terra. You can stay here.”

“Natalie!” Sharon shared a frightened look with Kara’shar. The idea of an Arion warrior living on Earth was terrifying. Natalie obviously had no idea what she was getting into. “We can’t, Natalie. We simply can’t–”

“Yes, we can!” Natalie’s voice was forceful, angry, as she turned her head to look at Sharon with her determined blue eyes. “She has as much right to be here as you do, Sharon. We don’t belong here, either. If there’s one thing mom has always taught me about this place…it’s a haven.”

“This, Sharon–” Natalie pointed at Terra and rose to her feet quickly, facing Sharon. “–Is your huddled mass yearning to be free. What’s she going to do…go home and face death? Or maybe you’re prepared to go against everything you believe in and kill her?”

With those last two words, Natalie briefly cast a threatening glance in Kara’shar’s direction, almost daring her to move a muscle and take that challenge. But not even the seasoned Protector could break her conditioning to do just what her title implied – protect, not murder.

“So–” Sharon looked at Kara’shar, and then at the Arion and Natalie. “What do we do?”
—
Reya awoke with a blinding headache, opening her eyes to a room spinning out of control. She sat up quickly, blinking a few times to try and stabilize herself before slowly rising and balancing herself on her feet. Once she began moving, slowly, she began to feel a little bit better – except for the pounding headache. Having such quick healing ability was a big bonus to being born Velorian.

She stepped out into the hallway, and began to home in on distant voices she heard echoing down the hallway. She recognized two of them – Sharon, and her own daughter Natalie. But there was another female voice, and another speaking in broken English. Either one of the other two could be the Arion.

A twinge of fear burned down her spine as that last thought crossed her mind. An Arion, in the same room with Natalie. That couldn’t be a good thing. Natalie could be–

She shook her head to dismiss that thought, and mustered all of her strength to race down the hallway toward the voices. She couldn’t move at her top speed yet – her muscles and bones were much too sore, and she felt her energy level waning quickly.

But as she rounded one last corner and headed into the corner hotel room blindly, she found exactly the opposite of what she expected.

A teen with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a torn, expensive dark blue suit, sat cross-legged on the floor in the center of the room – Reya recognized her as the Arion who had attacked her earlier. Natalie stood above her, looking angry…but not at the Arion. Sharon stood in front of Natalie, looking at Reya as she entered. And there was another tall, well-tanned blonde with blue eyes in the room – a Protector sent by Velor, no doubt.

Reya took a step back toward the hallway as the Protector moved toward her. She instinctively knew that the Velorian had been sent by Council to retrieve her and Natalie. It was something she knew would happen for a while…it was only a matter of time.

“Hold it right there, Kara’shar,” Natalie threatened the Protector. This time, however, Natalie wasn’t fast enough to stop her before she snatched Reya by the throat, lifting her several inches off of the ground.

Natalie wrapped her arm around the Protector’s neck from behind, and tried, in vain, to force her to release her mom. She tried biting into Kara’shar’s shoulder…but the Velorian’s skin was too tough even for her teeth. “Let her go, or I’ll kill you!”

Sharon almost laughed at Natalie’s threat as she tried to intervene – but the seasoned Protector was stronger than both Reya and Sharon put together. Sharon found herself easily shoved across the room into an opposite wall. Natalie was then tossed across the room like a stuffed toy, bouncing off of the far edge of the bed and knocking over the nightstand.

“You hurt my friend.”

Sharon froze as she watched Terra slowly rise to her feet and approach Kara’shar. The Arion gripped the Protector’s left arm and began twisting. Sharon could hear tendons and muscles stretching to their limit, some tearing…and then the Arion drew back a fist, aimed directly at Kara’shar’s face.

“No! Stop!”

Terra froze and turned to look at Natalie, who had just risen from the corner she had collapsed into seconds earlier. She was still unharmed.

“Enough. No more killing.”

“You must be reasonable. It is my job to bring Reya and Natalie back with me.” Kara’shar winced as Terra responded to her by twisting her arm even further.

“Look who’s talking about reasonable?” Natalie vaulted over the bed and stood in front of Kara’shar, who showed pain on her face. Her eyes met Terra’s, and she nodded, signalling Terra to loosen her grip on the Protector. “Did you think about how you’d get me to Velor? Fact is, I’d never survive the trip.”

Kara’shar looked lost for a moment as her eyes tried to verify the truth of Natalie’s words with Sharon, who responded by nodding slowly. Her confidence suddenly seemed lost as she sighed deeply frowned at Reya, who stood at the opposite end of the room. “What am I to do? I…I can’t just ignore–”

“Yes, you can,” Sharon volunteered. “I’m a Scribe, a first-hand witness to everything that goes on around me. Let me tell you…Velor’s information about Reya and Natalie is seriously outdated.”

For the first time since she arrived, Kara’shar laughed. Natalie smiled, too – she seemed amused that a seasoned protector, someone who she pictured as a walking destructive force, would even have a sense of humor. She looked at Terra, who still appeared sad as she still held onto the Protector’s arm, yet only barely. She seemed to be losing concentration, as if her mind was elsewhere.

“Sharon, do you think we can set Terra up someplace so she can get used to living here?”

Both Sharon and Kara’shar seemed upset by Natalie’s suggestion. They both simply froze for a moment before turning to look at each other. The mere thought of an Arion living on such a fragile planet went against everything they had ever been taught. Reya, on the other hand, simple smiled in a self-satisfied way. Her daughter had indeed learned from this planet’s peaceful nature.

Perhaps Natalie was right, Sharon thought. Unfortunately, in the Arion quest for better breeding of warriors, they let some intelligence slip through – enough so their young missionary, sent to destroy and maim, seemed more like a homesick and lonely kid than an angry and destructive cyborg.

And Sharon, for one, wondered just what Natalie did to cause the Arion to stop fighting. “Natalie, what did you say to Terra to get her to stop?”

Natalie smiled as she gently took Terra’s arm in her hand, and led her out toward the hallway. She shrugged as Sharon followed. “I just asked her if she wanted to go home.”
—
Getting an Arion warrior past a police line was never easier. Since none of the cops had gotten close enough to her to identify her, their description came out of legend more than reality. They were seeking a six-foot, 150-pound dark haired thirty-something woman in a blue suit.

So, of course, they did nothing when a police officer they all knew, Reya Prince, walked right through the police line in civilian clothing – supplied by Sharon – with her daughter, and a fairly small dark-haired teenager, now wearing blue jeans and a tee-shirt ‘borrowed’ from the hotel’s first-floor gift shop. Following them was a woman the officers also knew well enough as Reya’s best friend Sharon.

For effect, Reya grabbed a blanket from a nearby rescue unit and tossed it over Terra’s shoulders. To anyone watching, Reya seemed like a hero, as she emerged from a building under siege by some virtually unknown person, with a rescued teenager under her wing. It worked all too well – as she headed through the crowd of police officers, some began cheering, and offering her handshakes.

Natalie kept one hand tightly on Terra’s left arm. She was becoming a little concerned, as the Arion teen seemed frightened by all of the attention. Natalie’s tight grip would give the Arion both a little warning, and a little reassurance.

Once they cleared the crowd and disappeared around a corner, the four formed a chain and headed for the skies. And just as she promised, they spotted Kara’shar bolting from the roof of the hotel, providing a much needed distraction. The cops would be watching that for a while.

By the time they reached Reya’s home, it was almost midnight. The streets were completely silent, enough so the sounds of their various types of sneakers contacting the sidewalk upon their landing echoed off of the neighboring houses and cars parked on the street.

Reya headed inside first, and for some unknown reason, Terra followed quickly. Sharon started to wonder if she had a fear of open space – it was possible, since Arions often raised the level of paranoia of their warriors to make them more dangerous.

“Natalie–” Sharon grabbed her shoulder to stop her before she entered the house. Natalie turned around, her smile disappearing when she realized that Sharon was about to ask her a very serious question. “You do know that she killed Allen, don’t you?”

“I know.” Natalie sighed deeply, looking down for a moment as she paused in thought. “But…revenge has to stop somewhere, you know? Or pretty soon…everyone ends up dead.”

Sharon stood on the front lawn of Reya’s home, dazed, as she watched Natalie head inside and turn on a lamp next to the door. ‘Revenge has to stop somewhere’. She bit her lip as memory of all of the journal entries she sent back to Velor flooded back to her. Death, destruction, hate, dominated most of them.

She remembered lovers, friends, people she cared deeply about dying – and then her tears, which soaked the paper she wrote on as she struggled to clear her thoughts enough to make a record of what had happened. It was only then that she fully appreciated the true role of a Velorian Scribe – to immortalize those who had died before their prime, those who had fought for a greater cause…and lost.

After all she had lost, it seemed ironic that Natalie, a teen who lived her life on such a peaceful planet, knew so much truth. Revenge was indeed an endless, violent cycle, a constant of the universe which would never stop…until everyone ended up dead.

In a moment of inspiration stronger than any she had in a long time, she slipped a small paper pad and a pen out of her pocket, tapping the end of the pen against her chin as she decided what to write. She had so much swimming through her mind…but after some thought, it seemed to boil down to only a few words:

‘There is hope after all.’

The late evening sun glinted off of the soft waves of the Pacific Ocean. Far off the coast of southern California, a small painted wooded fishing boat named Alexa bobbed back and forth gently, a stiff, cool wind blowing across its deck. It didn’t come any better, or more beautiful.

For most people, it simply wouldn’t be safe at that time of the evening to travel so far off the coast in such a small fishing boat. But Renee Prince was no ordinary person. In fact, the six foot tall tanned blonde hated resented having chosen that name for herself each time she heard it. The name itself, and the method she used to choose it, were a reminder of traditions of her birth place which she wanted to leave behind forever. She always liked the name Reya much better.

Unspoiled. Yes, that was the word to describe what she watched around her. She could be the master of all she surveyed if she chose – yet she found it so much more satisfying and intriguing simply to take part in it, to accept her small share of this place and enjoy it as much as she could.

And enjoy it she did. In fact, Alexa didn’t even have any kind of engine on board. It was strictly a sailing boat…and Renee planned to use the stiff winds which blew into the beaches of Los Angeles every evening with the tide to navigate back home.

It was time.

Renee stood quickly and gripped a three inch thick hemp rope with both hands. She pulled it quickly, effortlessly, hand over hand. A twenty foot high heavy canvas sail unfurled quickly, expanding to its full width as it touched the wind. Renee took a step backward as the small boat began to suddenly accelerate, picking up speed very quickly to match the velocity of the breeze itself.

The cool wind rushed through her hair, warm salt water splashed her skin as the small wooden boat crashed through the waves of the Pacific. She watched a few seagulls flying just above her, a smile creeping onto her face as she considered joining them for just a moment – but this trip on the boat, at least at the moment, was much more thrilling.

Her muscles ached a little as she held the rope tighter in her fingers. Rather then tie off the end of the rope, she held it in her hands…if only to feel the awesome power of the wind which pulled her small boat along the surface of the water. It was a struggle even for her, as powerful as she was, to hold back one of the planet’s most daunting and relentless forces with just the power of her own muscles.

Darkness began to descend over Renee as the sun finally sunk below the horizon – yet in her eyes, it was only a minor inconvenience. She could still clearly see the ocean, the coast, and all of the crisp colors around her. And the scents surrounding her…the tide was coming in, she was sure. The smell of the ocean was different during high tide. It smelled clearer, somehow more refreshing.

She could feel her senses enhancing in the encroaching darkness. The scent of sand reached her nose, along with a mixture of smells from the beach – various kinds of food and drink sold along the shore, suntan lotion, and…people?

Renee squinted toward the shore, wondering silently who would be out there after the private beach had been closed for at least an hour or two. Normally people on the beach wouldn’t affect her – but in this case, it hampered her carefully laid-out plans. She hadn’t bothered to park her car and boat trailer on the sand of the beach before she started her little cruise, planning to simply fold down the sail and drag her boat up to the parking lot above once the beach closed. But if people were there…she would have to either convince them to leave, or come up with a new plan.

She wrinkled her nose and frowned as a new smell flooded her senses – alcohol. These were kids on the beach, hoping to drink beer undetected in the darkness. Renee sighed deeply as she snatched her official-looking dark blue and yellow jacket, dark blue baseball cap emblazoned with the letters ‘MPD’. and . Sometimes she regretted taking a job with the Malibu Police Department. Even on her days off, she could never have a real vacation.
—
“I need a vacation, Sharon.”

Even as Renee Prince spoke to her best friend, Sharon, she leaned back in one of Sharon’s porch chairs, her ‘MPD’ baseball cap over her eyes. She was still wearing her dark blue uniform jacket – and the dark blue and yellow painted Mitsubishi Eclipse Limited issued to her by the Malibu police department was parked in front of Sharon’s home, it’s predominantly dark color hiding it in the darkness.

“A vacation?” Sharon smiled. “What would you do on a vacation?”

Renee, or Reya as Sharon was more fond of calling her, had just arrived in Los Angeles a few months ago from someplace distant, a place Sharon was all too familiar with.

The two women had one thing in common – though they both appeared human, they were much more then that. They were from a distant planet called Velor, bred as an advanced form of human for a single purpose…to protect the universe.

Starting at an early age, every young girl on Velor was trained in the art of war. They were trained how to use every part of their bodies as dangerous weapons – and a popular demonstration was when a long-haired instructor would carefully form her hair into a single braid, and literally use her own hair to shred solid metal, simply by whipping it around faster then the eye could see.

It was fun at the time, for young girls to learn how to destroy targets with their hair, or with beams of heat with their eyes. Little did they realize they were being trained for a war – a danger that was hard to imagine for a child growing up on Velor.

Little did they realize at such a young age…that years later, the war around their calm little planet would take the lives of many of their classmates. The population of Velor was dwindling, slowly dying out. Everyone knew it, yet the Velorian leadership would not sway in it’s mission to protect the universe from threats.

The biggest threat of all was from the people of Aria. While the Velorian people have always trained for war, they still had a culture of their own. Aria’s culture itself was war. Their planet was simply a factory, producing weapons, troops, and one generation after another of genetically altered warriors. While they didn’t necessarily see Velor as their only threat, they did recognize it as their greatest.

And so as another proud father watched his daughter of Velor, smartly clad in a form-fitting silvery metallic uniform, prepare for her first launch into cold, dark space, he felt the requisite pride…along with a healthy dose of fear. He had already lost his lifelong mate to the same fate. She left one cool morning, promising to return before her daughter’s birthday. He was notified of her death the next morning.

But his daughter made no such promise. She knew better…while her mom had vanished before she was even old enough to enter her training, she remembered. She gave her father a weak smile, knowing that a part of her would be with him always. As a heavy glass tube began to close around her, preparing for her first launch into space, her brave smile quickly crumbled as her feelings betrayed her. She watched her father crying, through the glass. He would be all alone.

Her hands clasped together tightly, her eyes closed as she could feel the tethers of gravity release her limbs. She began to cry silently, inwardly, praying…even begging to be sent back home. Suddenly, she couldn’t bear to leave her father by himself.

But as she opened her eyes again, a sudden calm washed over her. She was coasting through space, her metallic suit reflecting the orange-red glow of the Velorian Star. Her long blonde hair seemed glued to her skin as moisture permeated it, collected from the atmosphere of the planet, beads of water running all along her body as she travelled at unthinkable speeds through toward some unknown destination – some backwards, innocent planet known as Earth.

The stars seemed a blur around her as she stared straight ahead. The sadness at leaving her father, her home, behind tore at her heart as she blasted toward something bright in the distance – a star. A yellow star. It was only seconds before she could feel its power flowing through her veins, as if her own blood were lit aflame. It was exhilarating, even a little painful as wavelengths of pure energy not available from the Velorian Star began to penetrate her skin, and run through her body.

She looked down at her hands – they were glowing slightly from the sudden infusion of energy. The surplus simply leaked out through her skin, tracing an orange-red line through space behind her as she passed by the star. She remembered from her lessons – this star was known as Sol.

Seconds later – just as in the simulations – she flipped onto her back, and dove through the atmosphere of the third planet. On her back, she wore what appeared to be a metallic cape – it was a heat shield, designed to protect her clothing upon descent through a planetary atmosphere. It was designed to tolerate much more heat then her clothing, as well as provide resistance braking to slow her against the atmosphere itself.

She cringed as she felt a jolt, and the sudden shock of cold water touching her skin. Her descent hadn’t slowed as fast as she had hoped, and she had to aim toward a large body of water called the Pacific Ocean to break her fall. At the speed at which she was travelling, she would simply cause too much damage falling on land. The salt water quickly soothed her slightly burned skin as bubbles of steam surrounded her. She quickly regained her equilibrium and swam toward a bright light just above her.

“…And I saw the most beautiful thing in my life, Sharon. Lightning…I’d never seen it that close up before. I was so sure I was dead.”

Sharon laughed out loud. “You told me that whole story already, Reya. Just tell me what you’d do on a vacation.”

Renee gave Sharon a sly smile. Sharon was always the most impatient Velorian she had known. She guessed it was an Earth influence that she herself would learn in time. “Storm chasing, Sharon. Doesn’t that sound thrilling?”

“Eh.” Sharon waved one hand from side to side, silently offering Renee more tea. Renee declined. “I’ve had much more exciting things happen to me already. You just got here, Reya! Give it time, something scary will happen to you too.”

“Scary?” Renee shook her head. “The scariest thing that’s happened to me so far are those kids I kicked off the beach. They were drinking stuff I wouldn’t even touch. It’s practically jet fuel!”

Sharon choked on her tea at the mental image – kids sitting around a fuel truck from the airport, sipping the contents through a hose. “I’m sorry. It’s just funny, a mighty Protector fighting the dangers of alcohol abuse.”

“Hm.” Renee gave Sharon a mock frown. “I never liked that title. Not since I arrived here. I envy your job…at least you can legally go home once in a while. As far as Velor is concerned, this is my home until…until I’m reassigned.”

Sharon looked at Renee and froze as she took a sip of her homemade herbal tea. “You do know, Reya, one day you will be reassigned. Everyone is.”

“Hell, no!” Renee stood up and paced across Sharon’s covered porch, stopping to lean against one of it’s wooden support posts. “I love this place, Sharon. No…I’m in love with it. I don’t want to be sent to some war-torn cesspool just because this place is a little boring by Velorian standards.”

Sharon watched in silence as Renee retreated back to her chair and sat down quietly. She seemed to be saddened by discussion of the prospect of leaving Earth.

“I know that’s treason or something…but I can’t go. I’ve lost everything that was good in my life, Sharon. If I lose this place…I swear, I’ll go insane.”

Renee’s saddened eyes affected Sharon deeply. She remembered when she went through the same thing once…only she was weaker. She followed her duties and obligations – and regretted it ever since.

Sharon sighed deeply and slowly rose to her feet. Renee still sat in the chair, her eyes carried the fear and sadness that Sharon imagined she shared with her father on the day of her assignment. “Look, Reya…this is your destiny. You were brought up for this life–”

“Well…maybe I wasn’t ready”, Renee interrupted in a soft voice.

“You completed the rites, Reya. It’s a contract…you’ve accepted the task of serving Velor.” Sharon kneeled next to the chair Renee sat in and gently hugged her across the shoulders. She began to worry that maybe, just once, a Protector was released before she was ready. It was already unusual that she had been released from Velor at the age of 20 instead of 18, as was custom. “I understand how you feel. Do you know how many times I had to leave everything behind?”

Renee nodded softly as Sharon urged her to rise to her feet. “I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you to help me.”

Sharon smiled. “Then you’d learn just as I did…the hard way. Now go home and get some sleep, Reya. You had a long day.”
—
The highly tuned four-cylinder engine of Renee’s police car roared a metallic growl as she took a hard corner to the right. The tires protested noisily, the scent of overheated rubber reaching her nostrils through the cooled air blowing in through the vents in the dashboard. A hard turn to the left corrected a slight drift of the car’s rear as she rounded the corner. Luckily, the car was built for speed and handling, or she may have eaten the concrete wall next to the freeway entrance for lunch.

She had turned off the audible sirens several minutes ago, as the high-pitched sound they made ate away at her nerves. She figured that in the sparse traffic around her, people would just notice the red, yellow, and blue flashing lights on the roof of her car, as well as the strobes hidden within all of the car’s lights.

It made her nervous to chase the red Dodge onto the freeway. The car was stolen, and had run from her when she attempted to stop it for simply driving through a stop sign. Bringing a high speed chase onto the freeway raised the stakes – speeds would be higher, and more lives would be in danger.

Renee breathed a sigh of relief as the Dodge zipped off of the next exit. It meant that he was hoping to lose her in the maze of streets in Los Angeles. But she knew that he would probably end up getting lost himself, first. A quick glance at the small flat-paneled terminal suspended from the dashboard between the driver and passenger seats told her that backup was still a couple of minutes away.

Another hard right turn, this one much too close. Renee worked hard to prevent her police car from skidding into a truck waiting to turn left onto the street she just exited. The Dodge had no such concerns – it left a red streak along the side of the truck’s trailer. Renee shook her head and tapped a couple of buttons on the small terminal, alerting the dispatcher of the crash.

Just as quickly as the chase started, it came to an abrupt end. Renee locked the brakes of her car as she watched the Dodge enter a narrow street too quickly. The driver of the Dodge didn’t realize that he was going too fast to drive between the cars parked on both sides safely – and promptly wedged his car painfully between two parked cars with a loud crash.

As soon as Renee stopped her car, the driver of the Dodge, a tall, skinny man with dark hair and light complexion, was off and running.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Renee jumped out of her car and took off after the man. She hardly ever had to run in the course of her patrols. In fact, this was the first time in months – most of her duties consisted of writing traffic tickets, and making the occasional domestic violence or passing bad checks arrest.

The man turned around suddenly and reached for something behind his belt. Renee ducked briefly as she heard several loud ‘snap’ sounds, and felt something hot tear through the air close to her face. He turned to run again, the weapon still in his hand. She felt a sense of urgency as she looked ahead of him – he was headed into a crowded restaurant district. She had to catch him, before someone got hurt.

Renee froze suddenly, drawing her police-issue nine millimeter automatic from her belt holster, aiming it steadily at the man. As she looked at the back of his head over the end of the gun, she paused just before squeezing the trigger. It felt wrong to gun him down as he ran away…as if there was no challenge in it. Shooting a man from behind, never giving him the chance to see his assailant, just seemed an uncivilized way to stop him…something worthy of the Arions she remembered from Sharon’s tales.

“Aww, dammit!” Renee holstered her gun quickly and took off again. She had to make up some ground, the man had put quite a bit of distance between himself and her when she paused to aim at him. But unlike him, Renee was not the least bit tired or winded…and she had plenty more where that came from.

She didn’t even realize, as she raced down the street, her toes barely touching the sidewalk as she ran, that she was passing cars moving down the street at nearly fourty miles per hour. The wind rushing through her hair, Renee was focused on the man she was trying to stop before he reached the restaurants at the end of the street. She was gaining on him very quickly.

The man turned suddenly as she stiffened both of her knees, using the friction from her rubber-soled boots to slow her quickly. He raised the gun, firing off two more shots in her direction as she slammed into him at over thirty miles an hour, knocking him off his feet to tumble into the street, the gun sliding clear across the concrete to the other side of the street.

Renee grabbed the man’s arm and flipped him over in an instant, snapping her handcuffs over one of his arms, and then the other. She didn’t even realize that he was unconcious until she tried to lift him to his feet.

As the sound of sirens filled the air, everything around Renee seemed to go silent. People on foot and in cars stopped to stare…at her. She glanced around slowly to see what the attraction was. That’s when she realized that her boots seemed to be smoldering, thin grey smoke trickling from the soles – and there were two twenty-foot black streaks on the sidewalk, leading up to the point where she collided with the man.

But it was one more measurement Renee took with her eyes which shocked her, and no doubt anyone else who had witnessed it. She herself, a seemingly normal blonde woman wearing a police uniform, would weigh a lot less then the tall, skinny man even in her most ideal condition – yet when she collided with him, he was thrown by the impact, the air driven from his lungs, and sent tumbling into the street as if it was a subcompact car he encountered rather then a blonde female police officer. He probably didn’t even bother to get out of the way, guessing that she would take more damage then he would.

Renee’s mouth dropped open in surprise once again as she hovered over the man, looking down at his unconcious form. Something didn’t look right. She kneeled next to him, and began examining him – his vital signs seemed fine, though his blood pressure was a little bit low. But what scared her was the fact that his limbs wouldn’t react naturally to touch. It was as if he was…

“Oh my God. Oh, no–” Renee fumbled with the radio on her belt and began to turn pale as she realized what had happened. Her collision with the man had much more in common with a car-human collision then she had anticipated. His spine had either been damaged or broken from the impact. Her hands began shaking as she found the call button on her radio. “Five Mary Seventeen to dispatch. I need a medic, code three.”

“Seventeen, is an officer down?”

“Negative, a suspect with possible life-threatening internal injuries.” Renee swallowed hard, her voice wavering a little as she completed the radio call. “I repeat, code three.”

Her facade of calm finally shattered as other officers began to arrive on the scene. She fell to her knees and began crying quietly, shaking violently as the other officers told her in vain that she did a great job, about all of the lives she had saved by keeping this criminal out of the restaurant district. But all she saw was a man’s broken body lying in the street. She had never killed before…and she promised herself she never would.

There would be no paperwork, no reports. Nor would there be an investigation against Renee Prince. At the end of the day, she simply walked into her supervisor’s office and place her badge and gun on the desk.

“You’re quitting?” Renee’s supervisor’s question sounded more like an accusation then a query. But Captain Lindsey Corren’s eyes told Renee that she was sorry to see a fellow female police officer give up so easily.

“I’ll be back”, Renee reassured, with a halfhearted smile. “I just need some time to get away from all of this for a while.”

“I understand.” Lindsey smiled. “I did the same thing when I shot my first suspect. Take all the time you need, Renee. But don’t forget that we need you.”

“Thanks.”

A quick handshake between the two officers made for a dignified farewell for Renee Prince, as she turned and walked out of the door. Her peers watched her in silence as she left – most of them had been in the same situation, and had taken the same walk out that door, unsure of when or if they would be strong enough to return.

Unlike them, Renee already knew she would be back. For even as she rejected her Velorian heritage to live on Earth in peace, justice was in her blood. She could feel it.
—
Most people who believed themselves to be logical didn’t see a human-sized object fall through the atmosphere of Earth, and crash-land just outside Los Angeles. Or maybe those who did see made themselves believe that they hadn’t. After all, objects falling from the sky always had a logical explanation behind them – a human being falling from the sky simply wasn’t possible.

It wasn’t the falling man which suddenly brought a flood of calls to the Los Angeles Police Department. It was the fact that the object that had fallen was indeed a man – a naked one – who then proceeded to walk through the backyards of several suburban homes.

The impact he made with the ground had already destroyed one home, bringing an immediate flood of calls to the Los Angeles County 911 dispatcher. Fire engines were rolling immediately from the closest fire station. It was several minutes later when frightened residents again flooded 911, reporting a naked man running from the vicinity of the explosion. Police were dispatched in a leisurely manner – a naked man was no danger to the public.

But then the call escalated as one small child called 911. “He’s in my house”, the little girl said in a whisper.

The dispatcher, Kelly, began trembling slightly with fear, her heart beating quickly as she wished she could leap through the phone and help the little girl. “Who’s in your house?”

“A naked man. He’s digging in daddy’s old clothes.”

Kelly flushed suddenly as she waved for her supervisor and placed a clammy hand over the microphone on her headset. The supervisor nodded and signaled the police dispatcher. The call had just been escalated to a Code Three emergency, lights and sirens.

“Unit Seventeen, on scene. ETA on backup?” Officer Tom Parker was no rookie. He knew it was dangerous to enter a residence alone during a robbery in progress. He sat in the dark in his car, no lights, waiting for at least one more officer to arrive.

“Two minutes”, another officer replied.

Tom heard a high-pitched scream from inside the house. He jumped out of the car and drew his gun quickly, racing up to the door and flattening himself against the outside wall. His heart was beating quickly, reverting to his police training was the only thing keeping him from becoming a trembling mess.

“Police! I’m coming in!” Immediately after his warning, Tom clicked on his flashlight and aimed it alongside his gun, kicking the old wooden entrance door, hard. The doorway shattered, giving way for the door to swing open violently.

“Police! Come on out!” His voice trembled this time as he began shining his flashlight through the entrance room of the home, hoping that whoever was in the house wasn’t armed.

He walked around the corner into the hallway…and immediately felt nauseous. The telephone handset was lying on the floor, soaked in a pool of blood – and the little girl who had called 911 was face-first on the floor next to the phone. “Oh my God…Oh my God, no–”

Tom suddenly heard a noice next to him. He pointed the gun in its direction. “Police! Come on out, now! Put your hands behind–”

Someone rushed past him, quickly, nearly knocking him off his feet. His flashlight slipped from his hand and bounced off of the floor. Just as backup arrived, he caught the siloutette of a man racing toward the front door in the glare from the headlights outside. Purely on instict, he fired five shots at the man, the sound of each loud snap from his gun causing him to cringe. He figured that he missed – the man headed straight out of the door.

As Tom Raced after him, he heard two more officers outside ordering the man to lie down on the ground. Looking outside, Tom felt a little relieved. Three officers in two cars were on-scene, pointing flashlights and guns at the suspect, as he stood on the stairs, seemingly bewildered by all of the attention.

“I am Sey-len”, the tall, imposing man said slowly. He was wearing clothing, only it didn’t fit him well. It was obvious he had stolen it from inside the house. “You will stand aside, or I will destroy you all.”

In the bright lights, Tom could now see that each of his five shots did indeed hit the man who called himself ‘Sey-len’. There were five holes in the side and back of his shirt – yet he still stood. “Oh, great. He’s on PCP.”

Tom picked up his radio, intent on informing the other officers that the man was on some sort of drugs. But he had no idea he would be changing the call he was attempting to make on a moment’s notice.

He watched Sey-len walk straight over to the police car, smiling at the two closest officers. The two mistakenly relaxed for a moment, thinking he would surrender peacefully. They were surprised for only a moment before their gruesome deaths, as the tall Sey-len simply gripped the front of their car and flipped it over on top of them as if it were a hamburger on a grill. The third officer outside simply caught fire and melted somehow, as if someone had turned a powerful heat source on him. He screamed in terror for several minutes before finally losing conciousness.

Hands now shaking, Tom clicked the ‘talk’ button on his radio, and struggled to find his voice through the paralyzing fear he felt coursing through him. “Officers need assistance. All my backup is…dead! They’re all–”

He paused as Sey-len turned to face him. As Sey-len approached him, he fell to his knees, his thumb still pressing the button on his radio as if it would somehow save his life.

“As I walk through the valley of death…I shall not fear.” The 911 dispatcher, Kelly, began crying softly as she heard Tom’s wavering voice uttering his last prayers. She could do nothing to help him. “I shall not fear…I shall not fear. Please God, no—”

The 911 dispatch center suddenly grew silent. Kelly looked at her supervisor, her eyes red with tears. He said nothing as he silently signalled the police dispatcher again.

He paused for a moment as he looked at the 911 dispatchers in the center. They all knew Tom. He was a gentle soul, someone they all loved. They never expected to listen to him die over the air. He swallowed hard. “All available units…Code 99. Officers down. Approach with extreme caution.”
—
“Can I help you?”

A clerk in a small clothing store in Malibu Square watched a large man enter and pause, looking around slowly as if he were taking in the atmosphere. He wore older clothing which fit him badly. The clerk became suspicious as the man began pulling clothing off of the racks without even answering.

“Excuse me, sir–”

He retreated back behind the counter as the behemoth of a man gave him a terrifyingly chilling stare. As he frantically tapped the panic alarm below the desk, he turned pale, hoping the large, silent man would simply take what he needs and leave quietly.

But such would not be his fate. He began to back away slowly as the monster approached the desk, slowly. With shaking hands, he tapped the release button on the cash register, and opened the drawer, quickly, throwing the cash at the approaching behemoth in the hopes of getting him to take the money and leave.

“I am Sey-len. You fear me…that is good.”

The clerk smiled weakly, as he watched Sey-len extend a hand in what seemed like a courteous greeting. He reached out to meet the man’s huge hand, in the hopes of preventing his own injury or death.

Once again, the clerk would not be so lucky. As soon as his hand reached Sey-len’s palm, he felt what seemed like a sudden tug against his shoulder…only as he watched, Sey-len stood in front of the clerk, waving his own detached arm in front of him. He wanted to cry out for help, but he suddenly felt both weak from blood loss, and frozen from panic and shock.

The last thing he remembered as being clubbed by his own elbow…and then, nothing.
—
Renee sighed to herself as she watched four Malibu police cars race down the street shortly after she parked her car in Malibu Square, the same retail area where she remembered knocking down that suspect. She even remembered the exact spot that the man lay unconcious, even though cars were driving over it at the moment.

She wanted so badly to know where the police cars were headed in such a hurry – deep down, she was still a cop. She had to take a deep breath and calm herself, tell herself that she was on vacation, and that the other officers were more then capable of handling the situation on their own.

Sliding on a pair of sunglasses, Renee focused on a small coffee shop fairly close to where she had parked. Sharon had asked to meet her there to talk over lunch.

As soon as she stepped through the doors of the coffee shop, she spotted Sharon sitting next to the window. Sharon still had a little bit of warrior in her – she always sat, stood, or hung around where she could see everything and everybody who came her way. She was never content just to hide in the back corner in peace and quiet.

“Enjoying your vacation?”

Renee smiled at Sharon and sat down at the table, tossing her sunglasses in front of her. She looked at the various pastries and extra cup of coffee that Sharon ordered in anticipation of her arrival. “It’s very relaxing. But I’m also getting a little bored. How can you stand to do this every day?”

“I’m a writer, Reya.” Sharon smiled as she shoved her cup of coffee around in a circle. “Writers find entertainment within their own minds. And if that fails, we just watch TV or go out for a while.”

“I have to tell you the truth, Sharon. Those stories of yours scare me a little. You must have destroyed San Francisco a half dozen times already.”

Sharon laughed quietly, trying not to attract too much attention from other customers in the coffee shop. “They’re just stories. The Arions have no idea this place even exists yet. We just got here first.”

Renee sighed and leaned back in her chair. She suddenly seemed a little upset by Sharon’s implication – that eventually, the Arions would come to Earth…and destroy it. “I love Earth. It’s such a peaceful place, Sharon. Even as I grew up…as we grew up…back home, there was always an undercurrent of fear, and hatred. I want my children to grow up in a place like this…knowing what peace and tranquility truly are.”

“Children?” Sharon smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “You’re thinking about children? Do you have any idea how much trouble you’d get into if you tried to raise a family here?”

Another sigh from Renee as she produced a small steel scroll from her purse and slid it toward Sharon. “I’ve been called elsewhere, Sharon. But I’m not going. I want to stay here.”

Sharon slid her chair back suddenly, turning a little pale as she used an amazing amount of strength to uncurl the small scroll. It was almost as if she had to confirm that what Renee told her wasn’t a prank. “But you can’t…I mean…it’s a death sentence if you–”

“The messenger would have to find me first.” Renee sounded confident as she took the scroll back and stuffed it into her purse. “And even if he does, I’ll just turn him away. It’s funny, really…messengers are supposed to enforce these things, but they’re forbidden to fight a Protector.”

“No, no–” Sharon leaned closer to Renee. The deep serious look in her eyes caused Renee’s smile to vanish, and a chill to run down her spine. “They won’t send a messenger. They’ll send a recovery team…of experienced protectors.”

“But–” Renee bowed her head and paused, trying to curb the feelings of frustration and sadness she felt. She felt like crying. She didn’t want to be forced to leave this place. “Can’t I…appeal this or something?”

Renee bowed her head further as Sharon shook her head sadly. She could tell that Sharon was becoming involved, emotionally. To her, that was a bad sign – between the two friends, Sharon was always the strong one, telling Renee not to let things eat away at her.

After she left the Malibu police station the night before, she went directly to Sharon’s house. Sharon accepted her warmly, even though she already had company of her own. She listened quietly as Renee poured out her heart in her kitchen, handing her a box of tissues as she began to cry. To Renee, Sharon was a rock, someone stable and caring enough to trust with anything.

“You really can’t handle this, can you?” Sharon smiled softly and held Renee’s hands between her own as Renee responded by shaking her head slowly. “I’ll tell you what, Reya. I’ll do what I can for you. I can’t promise anything, but–”

“Thank you”, Renee whispered softly as she reached across the table to hug Sharon tightly. She knew that the odds were stacked decidedly against her – but just the thought that Sharon was on her side was enough to give her the courage to do what she had to.
—
Renee wiped away a few remaining tears as she waved at Sharon and headed back to her car. It was impractical for them to walk to their cars together, given that they had parked at opposite ends of the block. Even so, Renee made sure to wait until Sharon reached her car, waving at her as she climbed in and drove away slowly. Sharon waved back as she passed by.

She guessed it was part of her cop instinct that always caused her to make sure everyone else was safe before leaving herself. Maybe, as a trained police officer, she felt she could handle anything which may befall anyone she watched over. Or perhaps it was something genetic, from her breeding as a protector back on Velor. Whichever the case, she realized at that moment that she had been absolutely, positively wrong.

As soon as she turned and headed toward her car, she felt a strong hand grip her arm. She was literally lifted off of her feet and slammed into a brick wall in an alley hard enough to send a crack down the center of the building. Her head spinning, she looked up at a very large man…and immediately felt terror surge through her body. It was as if some nightmare of hers had suddenly come to life before her eyes. But somehow, she realized that the nightmare had just begun.

She turned and tried to run away – but his steel-like grip on her arm stopped her in her tracks. He grabbed her hair with his other hand, and pulled it, hard, sending a searing pain through her scalp. He then used his body to pin her flat against the wall. Once she realized that she had been immobilized, she began screaming as loud as her lungs would allow.

Renee felt a blow to her head. It felt like a large truck had slammed right into her. Another blow, and another pull of the hair. She tried to push him away, to kick and claw at him, hopefully causing him enough suffering that he would choose to leave and pick on someone else. Yet he still held her against the wall, his foul breath entering her lungs as he laughed at her attempts to fight him off.

She screamed louder as she felt her clothing being torn, like tissue paper. She used all of her strength to try and push him away desperately, as she turned her head away to avoid that foul breath. He seemed amused by her struggles. That scared her more then anything else.

Her eyes widened with terror as something changed – he gripped her neck tightly, and suddenly shifted position to pin only her torso to the brick wall. She tried to cry out – but with her air diminishing, she couldn’t make a sound.

Every muscle in her body burned, and cried out to her as the man suddenly overcame all of her possible defenses, and invaded her in a most personal way. She closed her eyes and began to cry quietly, imagining to herself that this was all a horrible dream, a nightmare from which she would wake at any second. Or possibly that this was the first level of hell.

If it was hell, it lasted beyond an eternity…she hoped, and prayed that sweet death would take her. And as she collapsed to the ground, she closed her eyes and curled into a ball. There would be no more fighting. There would be no more warmth. Only cold darkness. So it will be written…the end.

It was an awesome sight.

Sure, it was unusual for a starship Captain to stand on the promenade deck of a ship to watch it dock at a space station – but this was a space station like no other. Deep Space Nine was of Cardassian design, which was more like old Earth stations – ships docked in space rather then in a protected space dock, attached to the station only by a relatively small metal tube.

Samantha Ross watched through several feet of layered transparent aluminum and glass as her ship, Galaxis, slowly approached the hulking, intimidating form of Deep Space Nine. It chilled her as she watched the approach – the station resembled a giant saucer with spikes protecting its top and bottom. The spikes were docking tubes, but they seemed a little terrifying nonetheless. Knowing Cardassians, it was designed that way on purpose.

“Captain, we’ll be docking in a minute or so.”

She smiled through the window and tapped her communicator to reply to her navigational officer’s message. She knew that Susan envied her a little, yet she couldn’t leave her post. Susan was stuck watching the docking on the artificial projection of the viewscreen. “Thank you, Susan. I’ll be on the bridge shortly.”

Time seemed to pass quickly as the ship drifted toward one of the spikes. It was strictly on thrusters now, moving at speeds which old Earth used to measure slow-moving land based vehicles, in kilometers per hour.

She began to look down as the top portion of the ship passed above the docking tube, and the ship slowed abruptly as Susan, on the bridge, made an attempt at her first live docking maneuver, something she never had to do before at the usual Starfleet starbases. Sam guessed that it made Susan a little nervous – but Susan was an excellent pilot of starships, even one as small as Galaxis. She would handle it well.

As if to counter Sam’s confident thoughts about Susan, the ship jarred suddenly, causing her to lose her footing for a moment. She leaned her hands against the inner glass layer of the window to regain her balance. Sam then returned to her own feet and straightened out her uniform, tapping her communicator again – it was time to join the crew in the docking area and enter Deep Space Nine.

“Susan, Terel…I’ll meet you below in one minute.”

Sam headed toward the turbolift, taking one last glance behind her at the towering docking tube, and the darkness of space. She was far from home, about to enter a station at the true frontier of space. Things were done differently here…and she could only hope it would be for the better.
—
Sam, Susan, and Terel stepped off of a rather primitive cable-drawn elevator which brought them from Galaxis to a small airlock on Deep Space nine. Rather then the sliding doors they were accustomed to from Starfleet technology, the airlock door resembled a giant cog with small strands of arc-shaped thick glass embedded between its spokes. It was secure all right, but had little aesthetic value.

The door ‘rolled’ open to reveal a strange looking man with a security team following him closely. Sam guessed that he was the security chief. She felt a lump form in her throat – if security was meeting them, it most likely meant that the Captain of Deep Space nine had already talked to Starfleet, and she was under arrest.

But that feeling changed quickly. She watched as a tall dark-skinned man with a clean-shaven head and a goatee stepped between the security personnel, a warm smile on his face.

“Captain Samantha Ross?”

His voice was deep, but soft, almost sounding as if he were about to read her a novel. Unable to come up with any words, she nodded in response.

“I’m Captain Benjamin Sisko, Deep Space Nine. Welcome…I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

Sam finally smiled as Captain Sisko shook her hand warmly, vigorously, as if he knew her well somehow. “Am I a legend around these parts?”

Captain Sisko’s boisterous laugh filled the small airlock. “Of sorts, yes. There are many people interested in you. Starfleet, Captain Picard, myself…and a Romulan assassin.”

“Starfleet?” Sam looked around at the security people surrounding herself and her crew, making the airlock seem more crowded then it already is. They didn’t seem the least bit nervous – yet their presence made her nervous. “Am I…under arrest?”

“No, no.” Captain Sisko continued smiling as he glanced at his security chief. “This is Odo, chief of security. They are here for your protection.”

Sam leaned close to Captain Sisko as the security team turned and headed to the outside of the airlock. “What’s wrong with Odo? He looks a little…strange.”

“He’s a shape shifter.” After reaching around Sam to shake Susan and then Terel’s hand, Sisko quickly led the three down a long corridor. “I’m going to place you in quarters away from the airlocks. No sense in giving your enemies easy access to–”

“Wait, wait.” Samantha suddenly stopped, prompting Captain Sisko to turn around and give her a concerned look. “How did I get all of these enemies all of a sudden?”

A big smile formed on Captain Sisko’s face as he indicated for Sam and her crew to enter yet another ancient elevator on Deep Space Nine. It had been updated, but was still driven by a cable rather then compressed air or magnetic propulsion as most Federation turbolifts were.

“We’ll just have to solve that mystery together.”
—
Samantha stood at the window of her quarters, a small bag with her belongings lying on a table behind her. She was looking outside at the stars, and the near constant traffic of trade and supply ships travelling back and forth to Deep Space Nine. It was a big station – and knowing that not all of the station’s quarters were on exterior walls, it made her feel a little special to be able to take in such a view.

Deep Space Nine was a station like no other in the Federation. It was a crossroads, much like Dodge City in old western movies. Dozens of races, beings with different philosophies, from different corners of the galaxy – they all came here, to this station. They didn’t always get along – but the fact remained that the station was a beacon of hope, a refuge for peace. A place where, with so many conflicting customs, fairness had to preside over law.

It was that ‘fairness’ which Samantha depended on. She was on trial once again – the Captain and crew of Deep Space Nine would decide her fate, whether she would be turned over to the Federation. And this time–

She cringed silently and closed her eyes as all that she had done since she turned herself in at the Starbase flooded back to her. She escaped custody, attacked an officer, stole Federation property, and destroyed another Federation ship. By this time, the charges against her had surely been elevated to treason – probably the only offense left in the Federation with a penalty of death.

The sound of the door chime suddenly snapped Samantha back to reality. She headed to the door quickly, guessing that it was one of her crew members – but then froze when she realized it could also easily be someone planning to kidnap, assault, or even assassinate her. Anything was possible on such a large station. “Who is it?”

“Captain Ross, I’m Security Chief Odo.”

Samantha exhaled deeply, feeling a little more relieved. He wasn’t one of her crew, but at least he answered to Captain Sisko – and he seemed like a very reasonable man. “Come on in.”

The door to her quarters slid open, revealing the security chief. She could see his reflection in the window she faced, as he stood perfectly straight, looking directly at Samantha as he took exactly two steps into the room and allowed the door to close before speaking. He seemed too official to Sam…which made her worry.

“Someone wishes to see you, Captain Ross.” Odo bowed his head slightly as he spoke to her, his body language telling her that it was more of a request then an order. She wondered no more why he was appointed Security Chief – his demeanor and polite phrasing were calming in spite of his gruff-sounding voice and strange appearance.

Sam finally turned around to face Odo, crossing the room to stand in front of the Security Chief bravely. “Who wishes to see me, Odo?”

Odo smiled slightly, seemingly amused by Sam’s question, letting out a slight chuckle as he prepared himself to surprise her. “Your father.”
—
Samantha carefully kept her enthusiasm in check as she walked into what Odo called the ‘V.I.P.’ section of Deep Space Nine. It looked a lot like an elaborate 20th century hotel lobby, a large round room with a high ceiling and skylights which contained comfortable couches and tables. Along the wall were a few doors painted in eye-pleasing designs. By the spacing of the doors, Samantha could tell that whatever rooms were behind them were huge, for a space station.

“This used to be the Gul’s living quarters”, Odo explained. “It was not well known until we took over this station that Gul’s often lived in such lavish surroundings.”

“What are they used for now?”

Odo smiled again. “Visiting dignitaries, diplomats. And Admirals who are important to honored guests.”

Sam smiled as Odo escorted her to one of the entrances off of the room, and tapped the call button on the wall next to the door. “I’m uh…honored.”

“Yes?”

“It’s security chief Odo. Your daughter is here, Admiral.”

It took a almost a minute for Admiral Ross to reach his door – Samantha spent the time rocking on her heels nervously, her arms folded tightly as the door slid open. The last meeting she remembered having with him wasn’t on good terms. She had just turned herself in at Starbase One. Her dad met her at the door, upset because he didn’t get the chance to protect her.

It was the second time she stood up to him, after being upset about having to live in his shadow. The first time was just after she graduated the Academy. She asked for some independence…and he gave her command of a starship.

But now, she was returning to him as a failure. She had lost the greatest gift he had ever given her, and embarrassed him in front of his peers. His daughter, who he touted as a greater success then himself, had become a wanted criminal.

As Admiral Ross stepped through the doorway, she was prepared to have to argue with him, or at least explain herself. But she saw nothing except unconditional love in his eyes. The love a father has for his daughter. At that moment, she knew…no matter what happened, he would always stand behind her.

“Dad.”

“Sam.”

Samantha smiled a little as they stared at each other for a few more seconds. A realization was sinking in – that they understood each other so well, neither one had to explain what had happened to the other. They just…knew. Samantha stepped forward and hugged him tightly, the only kind of communication needed between them.

“You’re so much like your mother, Sam. I just can’t get over it.”

Sam laughed. “Dad, you say that every time we meet.”

“No, just every other time.” Admiral Ross glanced at Odo, to urge him to wait outside – but Odo, who studied human interaction for decades, had already anticipated it and turned to leave.

Samantha stared into her father’s eyes for a few seconds as she gathered her confidence. She had never asked him for anything since she joined the academy. She was determined to make it on her own. But now…she desperately needed his help. As she began to speak, injured pride tainted her voice with a little sadness. “What’s going to happen to me now, dad?”

Admiral Ross frowned and sat down on a plush chair next to the door of his quarters. “Samantha…I think you need to know something first. You need to know who your enemy is.”

“Yes?” Samantha grabbed another nearby chair, sitting across from her father. She sensed a seriousness in her voice which made her fear – but she knew she had to clear her mind and listen calmly.

“Samuel Cassius used to be my first officer. He was also my best friend. In fact, once you were born, I decided to name you after him, and appoint him as your godfather. He had a son, Christopher. You remember Chris, right?”

A smile formed on Samantha’s face as a name she hadn’t heard in years reached her ears. Since high school, she and Chris were thick as thieves – the right word too, considering how much trouble they both caused. They were soul mates, two people carved from the same mold.

The two even shared thoughts sometimes – which proved to be a problem when they considered dating for a time. They quickly clashed in a relationship, as they were suddenly unable to trust one another. That idea was quickly abandoned so they would remain friends.

But then, in their senior year in high school, tragety struck. Chris had always dreamed of joining Starfleet, of cruising among the stars in a ship, only returning home for special occasions. He was always an adventurer – and it was that nature which left him without the use of his legs. He tried surfing the rapids of Niagra Falls, as many his age did. Unfortunately, he was caught off-guard by a sudden surge in the water flow. He fell…and he was rescued. But by then, both of his legs had been shattered.

Samantha remembered crying when she found out. She tried to share Chris’ pain, to try and help soothe him. She tried talking to him about it. But his response was to push her away. He pushed nearly everyone away – and as he did, his father began to blame the world for what had happened. The Cassius family began to isolate itself.

That’s when Samantha decided to take Chris’ place. She walked into Starfleet headquarters one day, and used her blood relation to her father, a newly promoted Admiral, to sign up for the Academy. She would live Chris’ adventures, and allow him to live vicariously through her.

She thought that’s what he wanted…but he didn’t. When Chris heard of what Sam had done, he cursed at her, ordered her out of his house. She left crying…and since that day, the two never faced each other again.

“Yes, I remember Chris. But I don’t remember his dad.”

“That”, Sam’s father continued, “Is because you only met him briefly a couple of times. He was away from home as often as I was…but he didn’t retire until years after I did.”

“Wait a minute–” Samantha slid her chair closer to her dad’s, and leaned toward him. “You said that Admiral Cassius…had a son. Past tense. He died, didn’t he?”

A sad sigh and slow nod from her father told Samantha that she was correct. “After Chris died, his father became obsessed. He decided that you had something to do with Chris’ debilitating injury. He suggested that perhaps you egged Chris on in an effort to get into Starfleet Academy instead of him–”

“That’s crazy!” Sam stood and walked over to the large picture window at the other end of her father’s quarters. As she brushed her hair back out of nervous habit, she could see the reflection of her father approaching her in the window. “I would have loved to have Chris in the academy with me. We could have worked together–”

“–And possibly fallen in love, and decided to return home. That’s what Chris’ father feared most – that his son’s friendship with you would turn serious…and the career he dreamed about for his son would be ruined. So you see…Admiral Cassius has been fearing you for longer then you can imagine.”

“I never though that–” Samantha sighed and leaned her forehead against the inner glass surface of the window. Her eyes stared out into the darkness of space…yet she saw within herself rather then what was around her. She searched herself deeply, looking to see if maybe Admiral Cassius was right – but all she could see was Chris telling her of his dream to cruise the stars, and search for the unknown. Sam knew that she would be sad to see him go…but she always just knew that it was meant to be.

“What’ll happen to me know, dad?”

He took a deep breath and leaned against the edge of a heavy wooden table in the center of the room. “We’ll hold a trial here on the station in the morning, with Captain Sisko presiding over it. He’ll probably appoint me to the panel. Admiral Cassius will probably present evidence of what you’ve done in the past few days and ask for a summary judgement of law. And then–”

“I’m going to have to pay some penalty, aren’t I? I mean…I destroyed Federation property, stole a Starship and attacked another. And I did it all to save myself. I wasn’t even rescuing anyone, or saving the universe–”

Her father laughed, smiling as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “You really are new to this Captain thing, Samantha. A Captain’s first loyalty is to the ship, and it’s crew. Galaxis is safe, unharmed, and your crew is intact. Ben Sisko is a Captain at heart. If anyone understands why you did what you did, it’s him.”

“You always were an optimist, dad.” Samantha smiled and turned around, hugging him once again with one arm. “Come on, let’s go for a walk. It may be the last time we’ll be able to for a while.”

“What about the Romulan assassin rumored to be on the station?”

“Oh, that’s no rumor.” Sam laughed as she spoke. It brought a smile to her dad’s face. “I think he’s in Odo’s jail.”

“‘She’, Samantha.” Her dad opened the door for her, and followed her into the hallway. Odo still stood there, determined to follow the two and keep them safe. “The best Romulan assassins are women. They usually work to bond with their targets before they kill.”

“Wouldn’t it be funny if–” Sam suddenly turned pale and froze mid-sentence as she pictured her new First Officer, Susan Troy. She was friendly, fairly new…and she was Romulan. “Oh my God.”
—
Samantha was more nervous then she could ever remember as she tapped the ‘call’ button next to a friend’s quarters. She glanced behind her – Odo stood a few steps behind her, his hands clasped calmly behind his back. How he could remain so calm was beyond Sam’s comprehension…she was about to accuse her only close friend in Starfleet of being an assassin.

The door opened suddenly, and Susan Troy gave Sam a smile. Susan looked at Odo, for a moment, then back to Sam. Her smile vanished when she noticed the sad look in Sam’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you a Romulan assassin?” Samantha cringed at her own question. She had an uncanny talent for saying tactless things on impulse. While that kind of honesty is valued among friends, Sam knew she would never make a suitable diplomat. Her question prompted a lot of nervousness from Susan – which bothered her a lot. But what bothered her more was the answer Susan gave her.

“I…I used to be.” Susan eyed Odo suspiciously. “Why? I mean…I’ve been in my quarters since we arrived at the station–”

“I know you have”, Odo interrupted in his calm, but gruff voice. “We have an unknown Romulan assassin aboard hired to kill both your Captain and her father. Unfortunately…you fit the profile. I’d like to come in and ask you a few questions.”

Susan looked terrified as Odo placed his imposing form in the doorway. She looked to Samantha for help. Sam took her hand gently and walked through the doorway ahead of her.

“I’ll be right here, Susan. Just tell Odo everything you know, and it’ll all be fine.”

“But…I didn’t do anything! Yes, I was approached for a ‘job’ on Starbase One. But I turned it down.”

Sam and Odo looked at each other. They were both shocked. “Go on”, Sam urged.

“But then”, Susan continued. She began to fidget nervously. “They told me they would get someone else if I didn’t cooperate. I asked who the target was. It was…you, Sam.”

Odo chuckled, almost laughed as he began to understand what had happened. “So you let them think you would assassinate Captain Ross to protect her from a real assassin.”

Susan nodded, and smiled at Samantha. “Clever, huh?”

“I don’t buy it.” Odo frowned and folded his arms. “It’s too easy an explanation…just the kind a real Romulan assassin would use to cover her tracks.”

“Odo!” Sam gave him a quick glare before turning her attention back to Susan. “I trust you, Susan. I did choose you as my First Officer…and I’ll stand by anything you tell me as true.”

Susan smiled at Sam…but quickly switched to a frown as she noticed that Odo still eyed her suspiciously. Odo stood quickly and left the room as Sam gave him a disapproving look. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t honest with you. I should never have–”

“And how would I have reacted to the news?” Samantha sat down in a chair across from Susan. “I think everything worked out for the best.”

“I…I guess you’re right.” Susan swept back some of her hair and looked at the floor momentarily. “I feel terrible about this. You had a hundred percent faith in me, yet I kept secrets from you.”

“It could have been worse.” Sam smiled and rose to head to the door, turning to give Susan an amused smile. “You could have been trying to kill me. Come on, let’s get something to eat.”

The two laughed at Samantha’s dark joke, as they headed toward the door. As inappropriate as it would have sounded to a stranger, between friends it was an excellent tension breaker – as well as reassurance to Susan that they were still friends.

But the laughter came to an end as the two stepped out into the hallway. Waiting outside were Odo, and a security team of five very large men. Sam turned pale as she glanced at Susan, who has suddenly grown fearful.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Samantha’s voice was angry, and hurt as she confronted Odo with her question. It bordered on a demand. Odo, however, didn’t seem the least bit afraid, or even at all affected by Sam’s tone of voice.

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Odo answered in his best sympathetic, yet still gravelly voice. “I must take Susan Troy into custody. It’s my duty as–”

“Hell, no!” Samantha took a sudden step toward Odo, a little surprised that his security team flinched as she did. She couldn’t picture herself as a threat to them. “Who authorized this? Captain Sisko?”

Odo shook his head slowly. “Aboard this station, I have full authority to detain any person I deem necessary for the safety of–”

Sam stepped in front of Odo, her hands on her hips as she leaned toward him. “Denied. As a Starfleet Captain, I have that authority. Go pick on someone else.”

“Enough of this.” Odo took in a deep breath, and just with a simple nod, urged his five security men forward.

Sam angrily shoved the first of the five men who approached her. She was trembling a little bit, part from anger, and part from worrying that the large man would simply break her in half – but she knew she had to appear brave if they were to take her seriously as a Captain. “I want to talk to Captain Sisko, now!”

As the security man closest to her reached for Susan and missed, Sam quickly slipped his phaser out of his belt. She stepped back, keeping Susan behind her, and aimed the phaser at Odo. He didn’t seem the least bit affected by it.

“This won’t help your trial, Captain,” Odo droned in his best monotone. “Give me the phaser, and we’ll discuss this.”

“No more discussion! I’m taking my crew, and my dad, and leaving this place.” Samantha breathed quickly between sentences. Her eyes were tearing from the frustration she felt, as she began to fear that there was no escape from Admiral Cassius and his kangaroo court. No matter what she did, he would find and prosecute her…unless she managed to run away. She silently wondered for a moment if the Vulcans would grant her asylum – while they were Federation members, they also valued neutrality.

Odo raised his chin momentarily to point toward Samantha. “Turn around.”

“What?” Samantha squinted at Odo, giving him a look which questioned his sanity. “Do you take me for an idiot? I’m not falling for–”

Sam wheeled around quickly as she felt something poke her in the back. She gasped audibly at what she saw.

Susan held a phaser in her hand, pointed at the back of Samantha’s head. She was trembling, and tears were streaming from her eyes. Her face was twisted with a mixture of sadness and anger…but she didn’t fire. It was as if she were fighting some sort of inner battle.

“Susan–” Sam took a step back, freezing when Susan moved suddenly. “Give me the phaser, Susan…please.”

Samantha was surprised when Susan simply turned the phaser around and began holding it out toward Sam. Susan’s hands were shaking…she was still fighting something. She was using every ounce of her willpower to force herself to hand the phaser to Samantha…but Sam was cautious, reaching for it slowly.

“Take it…please–,” Susan whispered in a barely audible, wavering voice.

Sensing the urgency in Susan’s voice, Sam suddenly rushed forward, snatching the phaser from her fingers. She could swear that Susan had pointed the weapon at herself before giving it up to Sam’s grasp. Samantha quickly reached around Susan to support her just before she lost her footing…and began crying.

With Odo and his security force following Sam walked Susan back to her quarters, gently lying Susan on her bed. She paused to see Susan curl into a ball, sobbing, as she stepped outside into the hallway.

Odo seemed to anticipate Samantha’s next request as soon as the door slid shut as he quickly barked an order at two of his security people. “No one enters or leaves this room except myself and Captain Ross. Is that clear?”

As the two guards nodded, Samantha followed Odo down the hall slowly. “Shouldn’t we call sickbay?”

“No.” Odo shook his head. “Unless you want Starfleet asking questions. If you care about Susan, we’ll have to do this silently.”

Sam stepped in front of Odo and turned around, forcing him to stop walking. “What happened?”

He looked both ways along the hallway before opening his office door and inviting Sam in. He closed the door behind them. “She was a subconsciously programmed assassin, and even she didn’t know it. I was going to put her into a cell until the trigger time passed, to keep both you and her safe–”

“Wait…in a cell?” Sam folded her arms and frowned.

Odo nodded. “It’s like a drug. The assassin needs time for the effect to wear off, where she can’t hurt anyone. She’ll be fine once she gets some sleep. And Captain–”

“Yes?”

Giving her one of his strange, half smiles, Odo walked around to the other side of his desk and sat down, tapping his index fingers together. “You did an excellent job. You’re one of a rare breed…a Captain who genuinely cares for her crew.”

“Thank you.” Sam smiled at Odo and reached across the desk to shake his hand. “And Odo…I’m sorry I underestimated you.”

Odo chuckled. “If I were in your position, Captain, I probably would have done the same. Good luck at your hearing tomorrow. I look forward to seeing you there.”

Samantha laughed to herself as she left Odo’s office. As usual, it was difficult to tell if Odo’s last sentence was a friendly gesture, or a threat. Odds are…it was both.
—
Samantha dreaded seeing Admirals in full dress. The image itself didn’t upset her – rather it was what she associated it with that instilled fear in her. Since the time she was a small child, she dreaded seeing those uniforms. Whenever an Admiral came to the door of her childhood home, it meant her father was about to leave on an extended trip. The smell of starched fabric, the perfection of the seams, and the steel-like stiffness of the uniform – it all left a bad taste in her mouth.

Even during her time at the Academy, the only time she would see Admirals in full dress were during disciplinary hearings. Luckily, she was only directly involved in one…but she had been called to several to testify either on behalf or, or against, various members of her class.

It was always painful for her – while her own hearing resulted only in a reprimand on her record, she had watched others immediately discharged. She watched one young man walk down the halls of the Academy, his head bowed in shame and his eyes filled with unshed tears as two large security men escorted him to his quarters to gather his things.

He had stolen equipment from a lab to pursue his own hobbies in his quarters. After Samantha testified that she did see the equipment in his room, the Admirals unanimously agreed to order him dishonorably discharged, and that he was to be ejected from the Academy immediately and sent home.

Paul, his name was. Sam remembered him well. She was often assigned to work with him during classes and training. At one time, she almost dated him…but their personalities clashed almost immediately. They decided instead to remain simply friends for the good of their relationship and their training squad.

She didn’t want to testify against him – but the Admirals told her that she would have to, or the entire training squad would face disciplinary action. They all would have been expelled for the actions of the one. Sam suddenly felt the burden of all of her friends upon her…and broke down, telling the Admirals what they wanted to know. She still regretted doing so, as the image of Paul’s face, his shattered pride became forever etched in her memory.

As she sat in a large, impersonal conference room on Deep Space Nine that image haunted her. She sat in the open, in front of her a large steel table which those who would judge her would sit behind once they arrived. The rest of the room was empty – spectators and guests weren’t permitted for a hearing of this sort.

A shiver went through her as one other person finally entered the room – Captain Sisko. He entered the room and sat down in the center chair across the steel table from Samantha, leaning back as he clasped his hands together at the edge of the table. He looked so serious…but then, he gave her a warm, disarming smile.

“Nervous?”

Samantha nodded without making a sound, as if any noise she might make could count against her in the hearing. She was a stark contrast to the relaxed-looking Captain Sisko. She sat with her back perfectly straight, her hands in her lap, and her legs crossed below her knees. It was almost as if she were trying to melt into the background, refusing to even allow a wrinkle in her uniform give her away.

“Relax. This is not an inquisition. It’s just a hearing.”

Her only response to Sisko’s continued attempts to calm her was simply to smile nervously at him. She knew she wanted to say something, to ask for his help…or better still, to ask him to miraculously solve her problem. But she knew even that was beyond his ability. She figured would have to go through this essentially alone.

But as she watched Captain Sisko stare at her from across the table with his warm, friendly smile, she began searched deep within her and realized that of all of the people she could talk to, he probably would be the only one who would treat her with respect and caring. His smile, his relaxed pose and mannerisms were reassuring…which finally gave Sam the courage to speak. “Have you been through this too?”

“Samatha–” Captain Sisko tried to appear as informal as possible as he dropped his hands in his lap. “If I had returned to Earth for any extended period of time, I probably would have been tried for a list of infractions which would fill this station from wall to wall–”

“But…you didn’t face them,” Sam interrupted. “You’re still here.”

“Yes, I am, aren’t I?” Sisko gave her another warm, disarming smile, glancing through the glass of the rear door to the room momentarily as he saw someone approach. “It appears that you have more courage then I.”

Sam laughed a little, her nervous smile becoming a little more genuine. She knew it was just an attempt of his to calm her, to make her feel more comfortable. It worked, and she was grateful for that. Samantha even leaned back a little bit in her chair. “You have something planned, don’t you?”

Watching Captain Sisko suddenly lose his smile and lean forward, placing his hands back on the table, cued Samantha to the fact that the others were about to enter the room. She stiffened, sitting up straight again – but after her conversation with Sisko, she just couldn’t bring herself to feel as nervous as she did before…because now, she knew she had a friend in the room. She had someone to look out for her interests.

“Captain Ross…You know Captain Picard–” Captain Sisko indicated toward Picard as he entered the room confidently, sitting to Sisko’s left confidently, with a smile on his face. Sam started to feel a little better – the two seemed to be in such a good mood, it could only mean good things for her. Her confidence went even higher as she watched the next person enter the room – her father. “–And I assume you know Admiral Ross.”

Samantha was clearly smiling now as she leaned back a little in her chair once again. Three of the people in the room were on her side. When the next two entered the room, Admiral Cassius and Colonel Reece, she no longer feared them at all.

“We had a meeting with Starfleet.” Captain Picard began speaking immediately, his accented voice serious, yet his expression conveying that he brought good news. In her two meetings with him, Sam learned that was part of his mannerism. “They have agreed to drop all criminal charges against you.”

“What’s the catch?” Sam felt confident as she asked her question, believing that Picard would give her an honest and fair answer. She felt she had nothing to fear from him.

Picard smiled at Samantha’s question. He stood and straightened his uniform, preparing himself to speak as the senior officer presiding over the hearing. Normally, the highest-ranking officer would take that job, or failing that, the commanding officer. But being her father, Admiral Ross was disqualified – and she guessed that Captain Sisko had disqualified himself for some unknown reason. She made a note to to herself to ask about it later.

“Your incidents of insubordination will still be recorded on your record.” Picard walked around to the other side of the table slowly, leaning against it as he stood in front of Sam. “And you will cooperate with Captain Sisko in a continuing investigation you will be made aware of shortly.”

“And my ship?” Samantha’s smile disappeared at the sound of her own question. She looked at Picard, and then across the table at Captain Sisko. The question, in her mind, sounded more like she was begging – but it came out more like a demand.

Luckily, it seemed to amuse Captain Picard. He let out a chuckle. “It’s still your ship, Samantha. Try to keep it in one piece. Now if there are no more questions, I’d like to adjourn this hearing.”

Sam glanced around the room quickly. No one budged, or made a sound – but she did notice Admiral Cassius swallow hard once before Picard finally motioned toward Captain Sisko.

“Very well,” Picard said as he returned to the other side of the table, “Then this hearing is adjourned.”

As she watched Admiral Cassius stand and leave the room quickly, Samantha remained in her chair. Her heart was beating quickly – she couldn’t believe it was all over with. She was free. Her father smiled at her across the table, but he neither he nor Captain Sisko stood. As the door close again, and Picard returned to the table, Sam knew something else was going on – and that Colonel Reece was still in the room.

“Samantha…Colonel Reece is part of an internal investigations into Admiral Cassius’ activities.” Picard sat back down in his chair and slid it forward, leaning across the table toward Sam. “At this moment, Captain Sisko’s security officer, Odo, is taking Admiral Cassius into custody.”

“But we need to ask one favor of you, Samantha.” The sound of Captain Sisko’s deep voice filled the room, soothing Sam despite the edge of urgency it carried. “Admiral Cassius has assassins on this station. You, your father, and Susan are all targets. We will round them up in time, but we need the three of you off the station immediately…for your own safety.”

“We will inform you once the threat has been neutralized,” Captain Picard added. “Then, you will always be welcome as a guest on Deep Space Nine.”

“Thank you so much. All of you.” Samantha stood quickly and shook Colonel Reece’s hand first. “Thank you for stepping forward. I’ll always remember you.”

She leaned one arm across Admiral Ross’ shoulders, and gave him a light hug, ignoring the amused smiles from Picard and Sisko.

Her father smiled. “I know this has all been tough on you, Sam. But look at all of the people you’ve met…and all the places you’ve seen…all on your own. I’m very proud of you.”

“I know, dad. I know.”

—
Samantha felt a little sad as Galaxis slowly pulled away from Deep Space Nine. She felt like she was leaving nearly everyone she knew behind. Funny, since before she arrived, she barely knew them at all – and in fact, the idea of meeting them frightened her. It’s strange how heroes can seem so intimidating until you meet them in person.

But at least she knew that Susan, Terel, and her father were safe. The advantage to having a Starship of your own to command was control – as long as everyone she cared deeply about was aboard her ship, they were safe. Of course, it wouldn’t last, since Galaxis’ first stop was to drop off her father at home on Earth…as well as one other ‘guest’.

As it turned out, Susan Troy made an announcement shortly after boarding Galaxis – she told Samantha and Terel that she planned on returning to Earth and retiring from Starfleet. While she was rather young to be retiring, the emotional roller-coaster she went through trying to fight off the subconscious assassination instructions planted in her mind was enough to force her to take a look at her life.

“You’ll always be my closest friend,” Susan said, with tears in her eyes, “And I’ll miss you. I just think I need to take a job where I’m can’t possibly be dangerous to anyone.”

Sam laughed sadly at Susan’s little joke. She would be losing a friend and dedicated crew member as soon as they arrived at Earth. It was something she didn’t look forward to…but it was also something Sam anticipated. After all, at one point she herself contemplated giving up as well.

She sighed as she stood on the Promenade deck of Galaxis once again, watching Deep Space Nine grow smaller and farther away. It was in the past now, as Susan soon would be as well. The next time Galaxis left Earth, it would most likely have yet another brand-new crew. But Sam felt confident – she now knew, without a doubt, that she had what it would take to gain the respect of her new crew.

As Samantha watched Galaxis cruise into the cold, darkness of space, it reminded her of her future – dark, cold, unknown, confusing…but exciting to explore. From now on, with every journey she would begin anew, and enjoy what the Federation had given her along with her ship – independence.

A simple picture sitting on Samantha’s nightstand, brought her a sense of comfort, as well as a feeling of shame. It was a photo of her dad, in his Starfleet Admiral’s uniform. She loved him, but sometimes it seemed like he tried too hard to protect her.

She was on a large space station in orbit around Earth, sitting on her bed in full dress uniform, her hair tied up in a ponytail – not quite regulation, but close enough. She was waiting for ‘the call’ – any minute now, a board of Starfleet Admirals would finish discussing the preliminaries of her general court martial. They had already interviewed all witnesses the day before.

Samantha remembered the moment she stepped through the airlock on Starbase Six, her ship safely docked in it’s port. Her dad was there waiting for her, wearing a frown on his face. Sadness filled his eyes.

“You shouldn’t have come home. You should have waited”, he said, “Until I had things straightened out back home.”

“No.” Samantha shook her head slowly, defying her father’s wishes. She knew he was trying to protect her – but she was through being protected. She was a Captain now, a title which carried the responsibility of every one of her decisions. She would stand by them, and defend them herself. “I have to handle this myself, dad.”

He almost hugged her at that moment, before realizing that it was just the kind of thing that would upset her more. His daughter had grown up, and was fighting for her own independence. It was his responsibility as a father to let her fight for herself, no matter how afraid he was of her being hurt. Instead, he straightened his uniform, and extended a hand with a quick smile. “Good luck, Captain.”

Samantha remembered shaking her father’s hand and smiling in return, just as two Starfleet Security officers showed up to escort her, along with a single suitcase, to the quarters where she had spent the last two days sitting quietly and thinking. She had plenty of time to think, since she had been confined to those quarters since the moment she had arrived.

“Captain Ross?”

She sighed before walking over to the comm station on the wall next to the door. Samantha knew she could leave the comm station on auto-answer to avoid having to walk over to the panel, but she always thought of that as kind of a violation of her privacy. “Yes?”

“I’m Colonel Reece. I’ve been assigned to escort you to your hearing.”

“Yes…uh…sure.” Sam straightened out her uniform and tapped the door open button. The door slid open – for the first time in a full day, it wasn’t locked.

“Follow me, Captain Ross.”

Samantha followed Colonel Reece quickly as he led her toward the center of the station – that’s where the larger, more decorative conference rooms were, and where the hearings were being held. As she walked, she could feel eyes on her – the legend of what she had done spread through Starfleet like wildfire. They all knew her, some casting glances of contempt upon her as she passed. But she was focused on the task at hand – she couldn’t allow other people’s feelings to affect her performance during the hearing.

“This way, Captain Ross.” Colonel Reece opened the door to the conference room quickly, exposing Samantha to the harsh, bright fluorescent lighting of the room’s Titanium-steel decor. She cringed as she entered the room as the glare of it’s polished walls and table blinded her momentarily. Colonel Reece pulled out a painful-looking steel chair from under one side of the table, inviting Samantha to sit down. On the opposite side of the table were five serious-looking Admirals.

“Captain Ross, please sit.” The centermost grey-haired Admiral indicated toward the chair as he shuffled papers on the table in front of him. The tag on his uniform read ‘Adm S. Cassius’. “You are here today to face charges of…unauthorized use of classified Starfleet property, and replacing your crew with non-Starfleet personnel without authorization.”

“I…I believe I was justified–”

“Captain, we have regulations for a reason. We want our crews to be well-trained, prepared for any disaster.” Admiral Cassius leaned forward, as if to provide confidentiality, though it was plainly obvious that everyone in the room would hear him. “But more important is that we must maintain a Starfleet trained crew. One made up of people like us. Do you understand?”

“I’m not certain I do.” Samantha folded her arms and frowned. “You’re implying that Starfleet crews have to be human, aren’t you? Are you aware of how racist that sounds?”

“Watch your tongue, Captain!” Admiral Cassius stood suddenly, anger twisting his face. “This is a court martial, and I am your superior officer. You will address me with respect, obey me, and keep your petty opinions to yourself. Otherwise, you will rot in a Starfleet mining colony several light years from your home for the rest of your life.”

“I’m sorry, Admiral.” Samantha flashed a disarming smile and leaned forward a little. “Tell me…what are my chances here? Am I in serious trouble?”

Admiral Cassius sighed. “I’m afraid the law is clear here, Captain Ross. Like it or not, the law’s the law, and I’m sworn to uphold it. You’re looking at two to seven, unless you give up your position and face a dishonorable discharge. That is, if you can’t come up with some kind of extenuating circumstances.”

“I understand…I guess.” Sam bowed her head and sighed deeply, pausing for several seconds to think. She realized that she was trapped in a kangaroo court, and she had to escape. “Excuse me…do you mind if I use the restroom before we start?”

“I suppose so.” Admiral Cassius leaned back and tossed a folder full of papers aside. “Just make it quick. Colonel Reece, please keep an eye on her.”

“Yes, sir.”

Samantha walked out into the hallway quickly with Colonel Reece close behind. She headed straight for the women’s restroom, anticipating that Reece would wait outside – he did. Only as soon as she entered the restroom, she realized that the ventilation shaft was way too small for her to squeeze through, and the ceiling was solid rather then suspended.

She paced the room for a minute or so, trying to think of what she could do to slip past Colonel Reece. Then it came to her – she had the element of surprise! All she had to do was lure him into the restroom somehow.

It only took her a second to complete that idea – she took a deep breath, and screamed as loud as her lungs and voice would allow. Just as she predicted, Colonel Reece came running in, looking confused as he found her standing right in front of him with a smile on her face.

“What’s the meaning of–”

Colonel Reece didn’t even finish his sentence before Samantha slammed his head against a mirror above the sink, shattering it, and then shoved him head first into one of the restroom’s cubicles. She grabbed his phaser and slammed the door behind him to slow him down before quickly placing the phaser on her belt and racing out of the restroom. She kept running until she was somewhere on the station where there were no people whatsoever – the only problem was, she had no idea where that was.
—
“Reece? Where are you?” Admiral Cassius paced around the hallway outside the restrooms for several minutes before Colonel Reece managed to shake off his dizziness and confusion, and head out of the women’s restroom.

“Uh…right here sir. But Captain Ross has–”

“Escaped. You don’t have to tell me that, she’s been sighted all over the station.” Admiral Cassius rubbed his chin gently and squinted a moment, lost in thought, before turning to his security chief, who had just arrived. “I want security combing this station from end to end. Colonel, come with me, I have something important to tell you.”

“Yes, sir.” Colonel Reece nodded and followed Admiral Cassius back into the conference room – they were the only two people in the room, everyone else had left. As soon as he entered the room, the Admiral motioned for him to close the door. He complied quickly. “Combing the station, sir? I assume you mean to tell me why we’re treating Captain Ross like some kind of threat.”

Admiral Cassius frowned. “She is a threat, Colonel Reece. She appointed a Cardassian Gul as her security officer. Cardassian, for God’s sake! Imagine the kind of information she has access to…and yet she hasn’t shared any of it.”

“What if she doesn’t have any information?”

“She has information, all right.” Admiral Cassius let out a sigh as he sat down in one of the plush leather chairs in the conference room. “I’d be willing to bet on it. For some reason, she won’t tell us.”

Colonel Reece folded his arms and frowned. “Unfortunately, we just gave her good reason to fear telling us.”

“Wrong.” Admiral Cassius leaned forward. “Her next mission plan included a visit to Deep Space Nine, to deliver the C-711. I think she was also planning to…meet someone there. She’s deliberately keeping secrets.”

“Oh?” Colonel Reece raised an eyebrow. “You think she’s some kind of a traitor?”

“I’m sure of it.” Admiral Cassius removed a datapad from his pocket and slid it across the table. “So much so, that I am ordering you to locate her and keep a close eye on her. You will contact only me, giving me updates once every twelve hours.”

“Yes, sir.” Colonel Reece took the datapad and saluted quickly before leaving the conference room. As soon as he left and closed the door, Admiral Cassius leaned back and pressed an small button in the center of the table.

“It won’t be long now. We’ll find her…and when we do, Admiral Ross will be finished.”
—
“Who’s there?”

Samantha instinctively ducked behind a shipping container in what she thought was an empty cargo bay. Her hand was tightly wrapped around her phaser, as her heart sped up to the point where she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. As her mind began to slip slowly out of panic mode, she realized that she recognized the voice.

“Susan?” Sam poked her head over the top of the shipping container she hid behind – it was Susan Troy, all right. She recognized those pale green Romulan eyes anywhere. Only Sam was a little shocked that she had dyed her hair. “Blonde, Susan?”

Susan smiled and nodded. “I decided to experiment a little. I saw you run by the Watering Hole, so I followed you in here. What’s going on? Weren’t you on trial?”

“I’m so glad you’re here, Susan. Thinks have gone horribly wrong.” Sam stood up straight, and approached Susan carefully, eyeing the door the whole way. She lowered her voice, worried that someone outside might hear and come in. “It was more of a crucifixion then a trial. Someone has it in for me.”

“That sounds so…paranoid–” Susan laughed nervously, but suddenly turned serious as she noticed the fear in Samantha’s eyes. She lowered her voice as well, as she began to fear for her friend. “Sam…What’s going on?”

“I…I don’t really know.” Sam sighed loudly, her still lingering sense of panic causing her breath to waver. “I have to get off this station.”

“You know–” Susan smiled mischievously as a memory came back to her – on the way to the Watering Hole, she passed the dock. “–Galaxis is still here. And it’s not well guarded at the moment.”

Samantha shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. My picture’s all over the station, and the dock’s the most crowded area. Even the transporters are there. I can’t get near the ship without being caught.”

“Oh, I think you can.” Susan grabbed Sam’s wrist and suddenly pulled her toward the door. “It’s time for a real artist to go to work.”
—
“Turn this room upside down. I want anything we can use as evidence.”

Admiral Cassius clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing around the quarters Samantha Ross occupied only hours earlier as Security officers began tearing the entire place apart, even looking under the couch cushions and mattress.

She had left behind all of her luggage, clothing, and belongings, literally fleeing with just the clothing on her back. But the Admiral knew that would not be enough to cause her hardship. She had friends who would help her. That was the primary point of the detailed search of the station he had ordered – to find those friends and keep her away from them. The search of her quarters was to determine where she might head, or who she might contact.

He happened to walk past her nightstand in mid-thought, and found a picture in a frame, lying face down. Personal photos in quarters were against regulation, so it caught his attention immediately. He picked up the photo and looked at it quickly.

“How is Captain Ross related to Admiral Ross?”

“He’s her father, sir.” One of the Security officers spoke up immediately. “He sponsored her entry into the academy.”

“Hmm.” Admiral Cassius stared at the picture for a moment, rubbing his chin, before dropping it back on the table. “Send a security team to guard Admiral Ross, wherever he is. Let’s make sure his daughter can’t contact him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Admiral Cassius stood in Samantha’s former quarters for a few minutes, alone, as the room emptied of security personnel. He shook his head, wondering how a such a sweet young woman could become mixed up in something like this.

“Damned shame.” He shook his head slowly as he turned off the lights and closed the door behind him. “Truly, a damned shame.”
—
“Purple?” Samantha leaned forward to examine her hair more closely in Susan’s bathroom mirror. Susan stood behind her, smiling.

“I know. Isn’t it cool?” Susan brushed some of Samantha’s hair aside with her hand. “I’ve always wanted to dye my hair with funky colors.”

“But…purple?”

Susan nodded. “It’s one of a few colors that are against Starfleet regs. No one will recognize you, or even suspect.”

“Really?” Samantha smiled and turned to face Susan, following her as she headed out of the bathroom and into her quarters. “Then I should have no problem sneaking off of the station.”

Sam paused as she spotted Terel sitting in a deep chair in Susan’s quarters. He was smoking a cigar, something which was strictly forbidden aboard Starfleet vessels. “Terel…what are you doing?”

“If we’re going to break a few rules, Captain Ross…why not break a few more?” Terel sat up and turned to face Sam, his eyes widening as he got a good view of her. “Nice hair, Captain. I never thought you had it in you.”

Sam shook her head. “I’m in trouble now, Susan. Terel likes it.”

“May I suggest, Captain–”

“Don’t call me that, Terel”, Samantha interrupted, “Call me Samantha. If you walk around calling me ‘Captain’, it defeats the whole purpose of sneaking.”

“Point taken, Samantha.” Terel sat up, placing his cigar on the edge of a nearby glass table. “But I was going to suggest we formulate a plan. Purple hair or not, if we simply walk up to the dock as a group they’re bound to recognize us.”

Susan took advantage of Terel’s distraction, quickly throwing his cigar in the bathroom sink as he spoke. She ignored his exaggerated gasp. “Samantha’s the only one who has to sneak aboard, Terel. We aren’t restricted…yet.”

“Exactly.” Terel paused to point at Samantha. “Yet. Which is why we have to act quickly.”

Samantha sighed and sat down on the edge of the glass table. She didn’t like the idea of following Terel’s plan, especially because she outsmarted him so easily the last time he had one. “Okay…what do you suggest?”
—
“So why am I wearing this stupid baseball cap again?”

“Because it makes it harder to see your eyes”, Terel answered quickly, “And it makes you look–”

“Don’t say it!” Susan waved a finger at Terel, in mock anger, glaring at him as she spoke to Samantha. “He’s right, it does make your eyes harder to see.”

Samantha nodded silently, as if to dismiss the bickering between the two. She was nervous enough already – they were planning to sneak past armed Starfleet security officers. Samantha wasn’t defenseless, though the small phaser she carried on her belt beneath her untucked shirt would make things that much worse if she were caught.

The three shuffled along the deck above the docking station, looking down periodically to see a dozen security personnel just hanging around the gate. They knew she would be heading toward there.

Samantha turned to look at Terel and Susan, worry apparent in her eyes. “How are we going to get past them?”

“A distraction.” Susan pointed through the large reinforced glass window in front of them, toward a large passenger transport pulling up to the docking station slowly. “And here comes one now. There’ll be two or three dozen people crowding the docking station in a few minutes…and they all have to be scanned.”

The steel deck Samantha stood on jarred slightly as the massive transport ship gently bumped into its magnetic docking clamps, assuring an airtight connection. The ring of light around one airlock changed from red to green, seconds before the door slid open.

Just as Susan predicted, dozens of people began to stream into the docking area, packed in like sardines as they slowly began to line up at the narrow scanning checkpoints. It would take several minutes for the crowd to subside.

“Let’s go, quickly.” Susan tugged on Samantha’s shirt, and headed quickly down the stairway toward the docking station. She looked around as she went, noticing that Terel was missing.

Samantha was only seconds from the transport pad which would send her to Galaxis when all hell broke loose. She happened to glance at one of the Starfleet security officers for just a second – and just as she did, he somehow just knew she was looking at him. Their eyes met for only an instant, and the officer’s eyes widened with recognition.

“You! Stop!” The officer drew his phaser quickly and started shoving his way through the crowd, toward Samantha.

“Oh, nuts.” Susan hit a few buttons on the transporter system quickly, and practically dragged Samantha toward the transport pads. “Five second delay, we transport…the system locks. Go!”

“Five seconds?” Samantha’s eyes widened as the security officer stood in the doorway of the transport area, pointing a phaser at her. Samantha drew her phaser, taking advantage of the fact that the officer didn’t yet have a clear shot yet. “Too long–”

Phaser blasts and sparks began to fly across the transporter pad just as it began it’s telltale whine, charging to transport Samantha and Susan to Galaxis. Samantha fired toward the doorway in rapid succession, with the intention of preventing any of the security officers from accurately aiming at her.

It worked.

An instant later, Samantha and Susan appeared in the transporter room aboard Galaxis. Sam immediately raced over to the control panel and typed in her unlock command quickly. “Computer…raise shields.”

“In space dock?” Susan looked a little confused.

Sam nodded. “Otherwise, they’ll be able to transport aboard and take back the ship.”
—
“We can’t sir. She’s raised the shields.”

Admiral Cassius slammed his hand down on a console in the station’s command center. He had been called there as soon as a security alert was declared – and even before he had arrived, he knew why. “Keep the bay doors shut. Let’s get a few fighters scrambled, at least three–”

Colonel Reece cleared his throat loudly to interrupt. “We only have two available.”

“Fine, both of them.” Admiral Cassius stood next to the glass outside wall of the command center, looking down at the eerie glow coming from Galaxis in the dock below. She had her shields up, all right. “Launch the Excalibur with a full crew. She’s faster then Galaxis, Captain Ross won’t be able to outrun her…and since Captain Ross lacks a crew, she won’t be able to react as fast.”

With a quick salute, Colonel Reece raced down to the barracks to round up the crew of Excalibur.

Admiral Cassius tapped the glass inches from his face and smiled. “You’re just like your father, Captain Ross…He never made it, and neither will you.”
—
“It’s about time you two arrived.”

Samantha glared at Terel momentarily even as her fingers frantically typed commands at the engineering panel on the bridge of Galaxis. She tore the baseball cap from her head, throwing it to the floor in frustration – it was getting in the way. She glanced over at Susan, working quickly at several stations. “Terel, how about if you help instead of amusing yourself?”

“Everything’s online.” Susan turned to face Samantha as she headed over to her station at helm. She froze for a second as she looked at the viewscreen, turning her look of horror toward Samantha. “But the doors are still closed.”

“Just ram the doors.” Terel paused to look at Susan and Samantha as they both gave him angry looks. “You did say you wanted me to help…didn’t you? If you try to ram the doors, they’ll open them. They don’t want an explosion in space dock.”

Susan and Samantha looked at each other for a few seconds, before Samantha finally commented. “You know…that actually makes sense, Terel.”

Terel nodded and smiled. “I’m Cardassian. We’re known for devious tactics.”

Without a sound, Galaxis’ impulse engines slowly began to supply mobility. Thanks to Susan’s trained hand at the controls, the ship accelerated slowly, smoothly…rather then violently lurching into action. Samantha happened to look through the thick transparent aluminum skylight on the bridge – its inner liquid crystal layer charged to allow total translucency – to see the Excalibur nearby. It’s external lights were turning on in groups.

“We have company, guys.” Samantha looked at Susan just as she turned around and nodded. Terel headed straight for the weapons systems console.

The ship surged forward, toward the still-closed spacedock doors. Samantha started to feel a little nervous, they were dangerously close. She paced across the bridge twice before sitting down in the Captain’s chair, holding on tight to the armrests. She knew that they would either hit the doors…or be forced to take them out.

“Terel–”

“Yes, Captain?” Terel turned to face Samantha from his weapons console.

Samantha let out a deep sigh to try and calm herself. In her Starfleet career so far, she had only broken small rules. Little things, like her hair length, or insubordinate behavior. But now…she had stolen a ship, and was about to attack a Federation spacedock.

She closed her eyes before executing her next order. “Fire.”

Galaxis shook from the explosion of two photon torpedoes slamming into the reinforced titanium allow spacedock doors. They were designed to repel attacks, but not from within spacedock – or at such close range. The huge doors simply blew apart from the impact.

As Galaxis sailed through the now-open doors, Samantha could hear debris hitting the ship, every hit sounding across the metallic hull, but causing little damage. Low-power shields weren’t designed to stop such small objects, as they could cause little damage to the ship.

“Galaxis is in pursuit.” Susan spoke without looking up from her console. She suddenly took a hard right turn, barely dodging a phaser blast.

Sam gripped the armrests on her chair tighter, as she felt the sudden g-forces. “Cloak the ship. They can’t hit us if they can’t see us.”

“I’m on it.” Susan began tapping her console quickly. “It’ll only buy time, though. They’ll detect our heat signature…and when we go to warp, we’ll have to drop the cloak and they’ll follow.”

Another hard turn, this time to the left, and a curse from Susan told Samantha that it took Excalibur only seconds to track them by heat signature. This time, the turn was too late – the bridge heaved violently as a photon torpedo impacted the underside of the ship.

“Shields?”

“Sixty percent. We only had them partially powered.” Susan began tapping her panel furiously. “Boosting now…but that’ll cut our impulse power.”

“Terel–” Samantha paused, fidgeting with one of the small buttons on the armrest of her Captain’s chair. She didn’t want to fire on Excalibur – to do so would mean hurting innocent people. Once she did that, she would be seen as a rogue officer, and would have to work hard to prove she’s not. The finger she was using to poke at the small button stopped tapping as an idea came to her. She smiled at Terel briefly as he stared at her, waiting for her command.

“Susan, prepare us for maximum warp, and keep your finger over the button. Shut down impulse drive and shields.”

“Wh…What?” Susan typed the commands quickly, looking over her shoulder as she did to see what Susan was up to.

“Terel…signal our surrender, and keep a channel open.” Susan rose to her feet and straightened out her clothing, facing the screen to prepare herself to talk to the Captain of Excalibur with confidence.

Terel tapped his console a few times, smiling at Samantha the entire time. “I understand, Samantha. It’s the old hit and run, isn’t it?”

Samantha nodded, smiling briefly at Terel before turning her attention back to the viewscreen. Her face dropped momentarily, her confidence shaken for a moment as she realized who it was – Captain Jean-Luc Picard, of Enterprise.

“Captain Ross, I hear you’ve been causing a bit of trouble in this sector.” Captain Picard spoke with a smile, a disarming softness in his voice. Samantha couldn’t tell if he was dead serious, or if he just wanted to talk, to understand what she was doing.

With a nervous laugh, Samantha returned to her chair and sat down. “Captain Picard…I always hoped we’d meet one day. Just…under better circumstances.”

“I’ve spoken to the Captain of Excalibur”, Captain Picard continued in a soft voice as he returned to his chair as well, “We’ve come to an agreement. You will surrender command to me, and Galaxis will accompany Enterprise to Deep Space Nine.”

Samantha blinked twice quickly, her mouth hanging open briefly with surprise as Captain Picard’s words settled into her brain. Picard was taking her to Deep Space Nine? Did he know what was going on? She shook her head quickly to clear her thoughts. “Uh…sure. I can agree to that.”

“Very well, then. Oh, and Captain Ross?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll be expecting you and your crew at dinner aboard Enterprise.” Picard smiled and signaled to someone behind him with his left hand. “Picard out.”

As soon as the viewscreen switched back to a dark view of space, Samantha turned to see Terel grinning with amusement. “What?”

“You’re quite a popular dinner companion, Captain.”
—
The door pad outside Captain Picard’s office chirped softly as Samantha tapped the ‘page’ button. She took a deep breath and waited for him to acknowledge her verbally before entering. She was breaking custom by arriving on Enterprise nearly an hour before dinner – and even more so by meeting with it’s Captain privately, without being announced first. Samantha hoped he wouldn’t mind – and something told her that he was eager to speak to her.

“Come.”

Samantha entered the doorway as soon as that single word was spoken by Picard. She headed straight to his desk, where he sat pondering something on a small computer screen. “Captain Picard…I’m sorry for intruding, but–”

“Please, have a seat.” Captain Picard turned the computer screen away from him, leaning his elbow on the table to stare at Samantha as she sat down. “Interesting choice of hair color.”

“Oh, that.” Samantha laughed nervously. “It was Susan Troy’s idea. Part of our escape plan.”

Picard nodded and laughed. “I had the pleasure of talking to your father recently. Seems he’s in a bit of trouble on Deep Space Nine. He thinks someone has it in for him…and I think he’s right.”

“So…what happens next?”

Captain Picard leaned back in his chair, staring across his desk at Samantha for several seconds before finally saying something. “What do you think happens next?”

“I just want to be safe again.” Samantha sighed deeply, yet held a steady gaze across Picard’s desk. “And I want my dad to be safe.”

She leaned forward, her face becoming more determined as she stared even more intently at Picard. “I want Galaxis to be mine again.”

“A woman after my own heart.” Picard smiled and laughed, before leaning forward as well. “I will have uniforms issued for you and your crew. Once we arrive at Deep Space Nine, we’ll discuss your…situation with Captain Sisko.”

“Will he be willing to help me? And what if Starfleet already contacted him?”

Picard smiled again, seeming amused by Sam’s question. “Captain Sisko was chosen for his position because he thinks for himself…an asset on a station located so far from Earth–”

“–So he won’t believe I’m an enemy until he hears my side first…right?”

A nod from Picard prompted a smile from Samantha. He stood quickly and reached across the desk to shake her hand. “I’ll look forward to seeing you and your crew at dinner.”
—
“Admiral, we have Enterprise and Galaxis in range.”

Dusting himself off as he rose from the Captain’s chair aboard Excalibur, Admiral Cassius stared at the viewscreen for a few seconds. “Lock photon torpedoes on to Galaxis. We’ll disable it first–”

Colonel Reece leaned over the console behind Admiral Cassius. “What if Enterprise fights us?”

Admiral Cassius laughed. “They won’t. Picard is an expert in diplomacy…and while he’s busy negotiating, we’ll already have captured Captain Ross. The law’s on our side, Colonel.”

“Maybe so, sir…but that might not matter in a moment.”

Turning to face the screen, Admiral Cassius’ face became paralyzed by fear. Coming right toward his ship was Galaxis, being led by four photon torpedoes…and he hadn’t even raised the shields. “Oh, my God.”

The bridge of Excalibur lurched and jarred violently, fire and sparks erupting from nearly every panel as Admiral Cassius found himself thrown against the panel behind the Captain’s chair. He bellowed in pain as he heard his arm snap loudly upon impact. “Damage…report!”

Colonel Reece returned to his feet quickly, trying his best to see the engineering panel through the smoke which was quickly filling the bridge.

“Warp engines, offline. Weapons offline. Life support offline. And…oh, hell.”

“What is it, Colonel?” Admiral Cassius returned to his feet painfully, settling into his chair with a wince. “She’s sheared us nearly in half, sir. Right at the neck. The saucer half is on backup power and life support. And sir…the Enterprise is requesting our surrender.”

The Admiral narrowed his eyes and frowned. “Damn that Picard. I outrank him…I do not surrender to him. Open a frequency to–”

As the words began to leave his mouth, the bridge of Excalibur went dark. Numbing cold immediately began pooling across the floor as one by one, each of the electronic panels joined the darkness.

“Uh, sir…we just lost backup power.”

“Oh, hell.”

—
“They’re disabled, Captain.”

Samantha didn’t answer as she stood in front of the viewscreen in her new Captain’s uniform courtesy of Captain Picard. She watched a broken Excalibur floating along in space. It made her sad to see such a sight – she knew just how much pride a Starfleet Captain had in her ship. It was like having a helpless child in your care, dependent on you for everything. And just like a child, it responded better to soft coaxing then to tyranny.

“Captain?”

“Oh, sorry.” Samantha put on a smile and returned to her chair. “Let’s evacuate them, we don’t want them to freeze to death.

“I’ll bring us to transporter range.” Susan nodded and adjusted a few controls, moving Galaxis closer to the broken Excalibur. As soon as they entered transporter range, however, Susan’s face dropped. “Oh, no–”

“What is it, Susan?”

Almost in answer to Samantha’s question, a orange strip lit up along the ceiling of the bridge and began flashing. A loud, brief, alarm went off, followed by the computer announcing: ‘Intruder Alert’.

“They beamed over right after we lowered our shields.” Susan stood quickly as her panel went dark, followed by panels all over the bridge. “They’re in engineering. They’re re-routing controls. We can’t even call Enterprise for help.”

“Damn.” Samantha raced over to a small closet in the corner of the bridge, typing in a code quickly. As soon as the door opened, she tossed Terel and Susan some kind of silver reflective suits. “Put these on. They’re reflective fabric, it’ll protect us from phaser fire.”

By the time Samantha removed three phaser rifles from the closet, both Terel and Susan were already wearing the reflective clothing. Sam smiled, as she tossed them each a rifle. “Get behind something, and stay down. If they want us, they’ll have to come in through the door. As long as they can’t see us, we have the advantage…they’ll all be stunned unconscious before they know what hit them.”

The wait seemed agonizing as Samantha kneeled behind her Captain’s chair, phaser rifle aimed unsteadily at the door. She had been trained well for moments like these – yet her hands still shook, and her heart still was beating loudly.

She heard a loud creak as the door opened a sliver. She steadied herself, aiming the phaser rifle more carefully at the newly opened gap between the door and frame. Another loud creak, this time as the door was forcibly opened to its full width. Samantha almost pulled the trigger…but she was glad she hadn’t.

Standing in the doorway was Commander Data, from Enterprise. He was surveying the room, as if he knew someone was there. He paused as he caught Samantha’s slight movements as she hid low behind her chair.

“Captain Ross”, he said plainly, “Your ship is now secure.”

“Thank God.” Samantha rose slowly, followed by Terel and Susan, as they both removed their protective clothing. She glanced at the door again as she watched Picard’s first officer, Will Riker, enter the bridge.

“This ship’s much smaller then Enterprise.” He smiled and gave Samantha a quick salute. “Captain…we’re here to help. Any orders?”.

Samantha smiled. She knew she was far outclassed by crew members from the legendary Enterprise…but still, it felt good to be in command of her own ship again.

“Next stop…Deep Space Nine!”
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 3

“What the hell happened?”

Captain Samantha Ross wasn’t someone who often had to ask that question. At twenty-eight, she was a relatively new Captain, and one of the youngest in Starfleet history – but this was the second ship under her command. The first was destroyed in a battle a year after deployment.

But that was in the past. Now the Galaxis was her baby, the most compact and powerful ship the Federation had ever built. Though it’s designers would deny it, the ship was undoubtedly designed for combat, but easily fit into scientific and exploration missions as well. Either way, it had a lot of power. Sometimes too much. This was one of those times.

She slid out of her chair and walked forward toward the viewscreen slowly. The bridge was silent, even the comm station made no sound as Captain Ross stood only a short distance from the twelve foot high screen to stare at the orange-red planet looming large in front of her – a planet they tried to save by using low-power phasers to stabilize seismic activity. Twelve billion lives had come to an end just ten seconds ago. Ten seconds that Sam would give her life to get back.

“I asked a question.” Captain Ross turned to face her crew, her voice soft and patient, as she looked around the room at every one of her bridge crew. But even they could plainly see her tensed jaw and clenched fists, giving away the anger she felt. “I’d like an answer.”

“I think…um…we miscalculated.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Commander.” Captain Ross sounded angry as she headed toward the turbolift quickly, plowing her way across the bridge as if there was nothing between her and those twin sliding doors. “I’ll be in my quarters. Page me when you have an answer.”

Captain Ross didn’t even remember the trip to her quarters, she was on personal auto-pilot until the moment the doors closed behind her. She knew what her crew thought of her, and why they refused to take her seriously in spite of her best efforts. Her career was a product of legacy rather then effort – she’d been promoted to Captain because her father was an Admiral.

But they didn’t realize that she cared about what she did – and every time one of them ignored an order of hers, or laughed behind her back…it hurt her deeply. She couldn’t tell them, however – Starfleet Captains were supposed to be practically emotionless…especially female ones.

Sam stood in front of one of the tall windows to look outside, catching a reflection of herself in the glass. She wasn’t very tall, and her soft brown colored eyes and hair were more of a liability then anything – the way she looked made her seem meek, almost timid, rather then a commanding or imposing presence. She was known to wear her hair long, below her shoulders – a blatant violation of regulations – but no one even reprimanded her for it. She was privileged, to be sure, because of her father’s position – but she took her work seriously. She enjoyed saving lives, and helping people.

She stared at her reflection, gently twisting the rank insignia attached to her collar. Sam could still remember the day she signed on to Starfleet, as a fighter pilot – her eighteenth birthday. She wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps – since day one, she wanted to have command of a starship just like he once did. But now that she had it…she never felt more lost or lonely in her entire life.

A gentle chirp from the comm system next to the door alerted Sam that someone was outside her room, paging her. She knew very well who it was, even before she opened the door – her First Officer, Nathan Phillips. She rolled her eyes as she walked over to the door to hit the open button – Nathan, like most of her nearly all-male crew, would look for any excuse to visit her quarters.

“What is it, Nathan?”

“We’ve completed our investigation.” Without even asking, Nathan entered her quarters and began pacing around the room. She could tell that he looked her over on the way in…he always did – and then, as usual, he nearly reached for her before she shrugged away from him. “You might want to come to the bridge for this one.”

“Why’s that?” Sam folded her arms, her expression telling Nathan that she wasn’t the least bit amused by his informality or his attempts at physical contact. It was a little ‘game’ they played now and then – Nathan would try, Sam would quickly reject him.

“Because we didn’t cause the deaths.” Nathan paused and turned to face Sam. His expression was now serious as well. “There’s someone else out there.”
—
“Sensor report?”

Captain Ross was all business as she entered the bridge once again, her First Officer following her close behind. She stood just ahead of her chair as her First Officer sat down. She enjoyed her work most during the rare times when her bridge crew worked like a well-oiled machine.

“Shadows, Captain. We’re detecting shadows.” The only other female crew member on the Galaxis answered Captain Ross – Ensign Susan Troy. It wasn’t even her real name. She was Romulan, a defector from the Empire, who voluntarily changed her name to keep them from detecting and reclaiming her. “They’re on the other side of the planet.”

“How many?” Captain Ross turned to give her tall, blond weapons and security officer, Commander Gene Kelley, a look that meant a possible threat was imminent. She remembered her first meeting with him, when she asked about his name. He never gave her an answer.

Ensign Troy turned pale as she turned around to meet Captain Ross’ gaze. “At least six.”

Captain Ross swallowed hard. That meant there were six unknown ships on the other side of the planet. Against one – the Galaxis. And the nearest backup was hours away. Not that she could call them – one subspace transmission could cause those six ships to go on the attack.

“Red alert. Raise the shields, and cloak the ship.” Captain Ross sat down in the Captain’s chair as the lights on the bridge dimmed to a level barely above darkness. A ring of red lit up around the bridge near the ceiling. The dimming of lights around the ship was necessary to provide a reliable cloak – otherwise, the enemy would detect an strong energy signature in spite of the cloak.

“I hate to remind you again, but the cloaking device you stole is illegal.”

“Shut up, Nathan. How many times are you going to tell me what I already know?”

Nathan smiled at Captain Ross’ comment as she turned to look at Ensign Troy again. The Galaxis was designed to work with a light crew – which meant each of the bridge crew took on dual duties more often then not. Ensign Troy’s duty was both Sensors and Helm.

“Take us around, Ensign. Slowly.” Captain Ross stared at the helm for a few seconds as Ensign Troy set the coordinates. Sam remembered her days at the helm of a small spacecraft all her own – a fighter. She trained for the war with the Dominion, but luckily, she never saw a single battle. The first…and last…time she’d seen a battle was when she was forced to self-destruct the Oceana, her previous command ship. “Low orbit, so they don’t see our heat signature.”

Captain Ross’ heart began beating faster as she watched the ship slowly moving over the horizon toward the other side of the planet. The ships on the other side were cloaked as well, which made her very nervous – it would simply be a matter of who detects who first. The only advantage the Galaxis had was that it could fire while cloaked – but she was unaware if the other ships had the same capability.

She looked around the bridge quickly. The other officers were combat hardened, they had each been assigned to ships that participated in the Dominion war. They had seen combat first hand. Compared to them, their Captain was an amateur – and her worst fear was that her inexperience would get them all killed.

“Captain…neutrino emissions.”

“Damn.” Captain Ross fidgeted a little bit. Neutrino emissions meant that the other ships knew something was out there. They were looking to identify shadows of their own. “Take us into the atmosphere, and dive at high speed. With any luck, they’ll think we’re an asteroid and–”

“Engineering to bridge.”

“Go head.” Captain Ross fidgeted more now. Any time Lieutenant Steve Corbin called from Engineering during a crisis, it was always something bad. He was an expert in physics, an aging University professor who decided he wanted to try his hand at real physics in space.

“The shields are drawing way too much power now that we’re inside the atmosphere. We can’t run them and the cloak at the same time.”

“Fine. Drop the shields. Without the cloak, we’re dead.” Captain Ross sighed as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. It was more a sign of nervousness then relaxation. “It’ll just get a little hot in here, that’s all.”

“We have a reading, Captain.” Ensign Troy turned around quickly, a triumphant smile on her face. “Four Klingon warbirds, and two Cardassian battleships. All cloaked.”

“Let’s hover, Ensign. They’ll have difficulty scanning us through the atmosphere.” Captain Ross sighed nervously and looked at Nathan, wondering why he seemed so calm all the time. “Hail them. Ask for someone in command of their mission.”

“Here’s their answer, Captain.” Ensign Troy pointed at a bright dot on the screen, moving toward them quickly. It was a photon torpedo.

“Oh, hell. Shields, now!”

The photon torpedo collided with the ship with extreme violence, tossing every one of the bridge crew from their seats, and causing sparks to fly out of every panel on the bridge. Captain Ross checked the small panel next to her seat for an instant damage report – shields still holding, no damage other then scattered power outages…but they’d lost their cloak.

“We’re open to the world. No doubt they see us now.”

“Shut up, Nathan.” Captain Ross looked at the viewscreen – indeed, the six ships had seen them, and were moving to intercept quickly. “Bring everything we have online. Phasers, photon torpedoes…even the cannons.”

“The cannons?” Ensign Troy turned around quickly. “Those aren’t legal yet. They’re just on board for testing.”

“Neither is the C-711 in our shuttle bay, but we may use that too.” Captain Ross looked over at her First Officer to see him returning an angry look.

“You can’t use particle cannon. And the C-711 is for the eyes of the senior officers only, Sam. Are you trying to get busted?”

“No.” Captain Ross smiled. “I’m trying to be honest with my crew.”

Nathan stood up in front of Sam’s chair, and looked down at her. “Go ahead and hang yourself. I don’t want any part of it.”

Sam shrugged as she watched her First Officer storm off of the bridge toward the turbolift. She had better things to do at the moment then argue with him. “Hold your fire until they make the first move.”

“They’re hailing us, Captain.”

“On screen.” Captain Ross stood up and straightened her uniform as the image of a high-ranking Cardassian officer popped onto the screen. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Avenging the death of my son. According to the laws of Cardassia, that’s my right. If you try to interfere, you will meet their fate as well.”

Captain Ross narrowed her eyes and sat back down. “I don’t buy it. You’re up to something else. You don’t need to kill billions just to–”

“My, my. You’re a beautiful young Captain.” The Cardassian smiled as he spoke, though Captain Ross knew he meant it as a distraction tactic. “I am Gul Terel. We can discuss this further – in greater detail – if you agree to dinner aboard my destroyer. If not…I’ll simply destroy your ship without another thought. It would be a shame for beauty such as yours to come to such a violent end so quickly.”

Captain Ross looked around at her bridge crew as they stared at her. They were pleading with their eyes for her to say no, to fight. “I’ll go, on one condition–”

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t allow anyone to destroy your precious ship as long as you’re on mine. You have my word as a Cardassian.”

“Very well. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
—
“…And right now she’s on a Cardassian ship. Do you think she’s a traitor?”

“Could be.” Nathan paced a little in his quarters, keeping one eye on Gene as he rubbed his chin. “She’s been acting erratically since we stepped on board. She runs to her quarters when she’s upset, tells her officers to ‘shut up’. She breaks regulations like they were mere suggestions.”

“Maybe that’s just because she’s young.”

Nathan laughed. “Even the legendary James Kirk didn’t break as many rules in his whole career as Sam did this morning. Dammit, Gene, don’t you understand? She’s either going to get us all killed or court martialed. I won’t go down with her.”

“So what are you suggesting we do, Nathan?” Gene fidgeted nervously with his hands, as he already anticipated where Nathan was headed. “She’s…the Captain. We follow her.”

“Not if we relieve her of command.” Nathan smiled. “All we have to do is ask the doctor to declare her unfit.”

“No.” Gene shook his head slowly. “Bill Chase is a friend of Sam’s. He’ll never go for it…and once we suggest it, we’ll be placing our own necks on the block.”

“We have no choice then.” Nathan opened a small closet in his quarters, pulling out two high-powered phaser rifles. “We’ll have to take the ship by force. Anyone who opposes us–”

“No killing, please.” Gene shook his head again. “Let’s just use our heads here. It shouldn’t be that hard to convince everyone that Sam is over her head.”

“You’re right, Gene. You’re right. Everyone here thinks she’s a joke. It won’t take much.”
—
“You’re kidding, right?” Sam squinted at the dress Gul Terel held up in front of her. She estimated that it would only cover a small portion of herself – she much preferred her uniform, even though the temperature inside the Cardassian ship felt like a hot day in August back in her home city of Phoenix, on Earth. “I’m not wearing that.”

“Suit yourself.” Gul Terel smiled, tossing aside the dress casually. “You’ll just be too hot. I like the way you look in your uniform just as well.”

“I won’t be hot. I grew up in a desert.” Sam sat down in an uncomfortable steel chair in front of a huge table in the Gul’s private entertainment room. She was a little surprised that Cardassians gave their Gul’s such lavish quarters on their ships. He had four rooms all to himself – he never had to leave if he didn’t want to. “Let’s make this short, Terel. Why did you feel the need to kill twelve billion to avenge your son?”

“Wouldn’t you rather eat first before engaging in…unpleasant conversation?” Gul Terel signaled a servant standing nearby to place a few dishes of food on the table. The woman was Bajoran – no doubt, the Cardassian Empire still bred families of Bajoran slaves back home. “Let’s spend a nice, quiet evening together, filled with intellectual conversation.”

“No!” Sam stood up and threw her plate at Gul Terel, who easily dodged it. “I’m not one of your damned conquests, nor one of your female indentured servants! You’d better come up with a good reason for what you’ve done, or I will return to my ship and make it my business to destroy yours!”

Gul Terel smiled. “Tell me, Samantha. Do you start off all of your negotiations with empty threats?”

“That’s Captain Ross to you.” Sam leaned forward across the table. “And I never…make empty threats.”

“Trying to seem more dangerous then you are.” Terel laughed out loud and stood up. “You would make an excellent Cardassian, Captain Ross. Very well…I’ll tell you what happened. I meant to wipe out only a single clan on the planet. The mistake I made was hiring Klingons to do the job. They get a little…carried away.”

“Klingons?” Sam shook her head slowly. “You’re lying, Gul Terel. You’re talking in circles to distract me.”

“I have photographic records of the whole incident, Captain Ross.” Gul Terel removed a small transparent memory crystal from his shirt pocket and tossed it on the table in front of her. “You humans are so fond of primitive civilizations that mimic Earth’s evolutionary path. But you fail to see the danger in the path you have taken.”

Sam examined the crystal carefully before placing it in her hip pocket. “Danger? What danger?”

“All it took was a couple of sloppily executed explosions on the part of the Klingons…and the two largest continents of the planet annihilated each other with a hail of hydrogen and atom bombs. It was beautiful in it’s simplicity and effectiveness.”

“Twelve billion, Gul Terel. Twelve billion.” Sam sighed and stood up straight. “This is the old Cardassian Empire all over again, isn’t it? The one that enslaved Bajor, destroyed whole planets, societies–”

“Sick societies.” Gul Terel sat down and poured himself a drink. “Face the facts, Captain Ross. Bajoran society was a backwards, superstitious, self destructive. Now they’re one of the leading societies of your precious Federation, with their own space station. Tell me…who do you credit for that?”

“Don’t you try and justify your destructiveness to me.” Sam pointed a finger inches from Gul Terel’s face. He seemed amused by it. “Don’t you dare. And I’ll tell you what will happen. You either turn over the Captain responsible for setting off your…plan of simplicity…or I will destroy all of your ships.”

Gul Terel laughed. “More empty threats from an inexperienced Captain.”

“Inexperience, maybe.” Sam removed a small hand phaser from her left hip pocket, quickly grabbing Gul Terel around the neck and dragging him out of his seat. “But not stupid. I’m hereby arresting you for war crimes against the Federation, Gul Terel. I think with you in my ship’s brig, you’ll be hoping as much as I do that my plan works.”

Sam tapped the Starfleet emblem on her shirt quickly. “Two to beam up.”
—
“You in here, Nathan?”

Nathan stepped out of a dark corner of Cargo Bay Two, and nodded at Gene. He tossed one of the two phaser rifles he held to Gene quickly. “She’s back on board?”

Gene nodded. “And she’s broken the law. She took Gul Terel hostage and tossed him in the brig. Now we have the grounds we need to throw Samatha in there with him.”

Nathan armed his phaser rifle and nodded at Gene. “Let’s go.”

—
Captain Ross stepped onto the bridge of the Galaxis to find everyone staring at her. She paid them no mind, knowing how fast rumors spread on the ship – she figured they knew about the capture and imprisonment of Gul Terel.

“Captain–” Ensign Troy spoke up first, as she indicated toward the viewscreen with her chin. “They’re demanding the immediate return of Gul Terel. They’ve given us ten minutes before they open fire.”

“They won’t.” Captain Ross sat down in her chair and crossed her legs. “Cardassian command structures are rigid. They won’t risk killing him.”

Ensign Troy shook her head. “You don’t understand, Captain. The Klingon Captain Korg is the one who made the demand.”

“Klingon?” Captain Ross bit her lip as she stared at the viewscreen for a few seconds. “Of course. They’re protecting their secrets. But that means they…plan to kill Gul Terel themselves–”

“Orders, Captain?”

Captain Ross looked around the bridge, suddenly realizing that only she and the Ensign were present. “Susan, where is the rest of the bridge crew?”

Ensign Troy shrugged. “I don’t know. They all just sort of wandered off.”

Sam sighed and stood up to head back toward the turbolift, intent on finding out where everyone went. “Oh, well that is really professional–”

As soon as Sam stood up, she saw the turbolift doors open. Nathan, Gene, and a handful of security personnel stepped out. They were all armed, and had their weapons trained on Samantha.

“Nathan? What’s the meaning of this?”

Nathan stepped forward, keeping his phaser rifle aimed at Sam. “I’m relieving you of command…Captain.”

“You’re not just doing this because I keep rejecting you…are you?”

Gene and the security personnel looked at Nathan for a second as his face began turning red. Nathan responded by jamming the phaser rifle against Sam’s ribs, hard. “Just move it, Samantha. Don’t give us any trouble.”

Samantha never forgot the training she took long ago in her early days of Starfleet. She’d taken advanced hand-to-hand combat courses, invaluable to a shorter woman like herself. Once she felt the pain of the phaser rifle against her ribs, it only took a second for her to recall her training. A flat palm to Nathan’s chin knocked him off balance, allowing her enough time to plow quickly through Gene and his security personnel. She rolled into the turbolift just before the doors closed, among scattered phaser blasts bouncing off of the walls.

“Shuttle bay, freight speed. Voice authorize.” The trip to the shuttle bay only took seconds at the much higher freight speed. Sam had to stick close to the floor to avoid being tossed around by the g-forces at that speed, but she knew she had very little time before Nathan and Gene on the bridge found out how to stop the turbolift. Luckily, they weren’t fast enough.

As Sam ran from the turbolift, she knew it was only a matter of minutes before Gene’s security personnel arrived. She headed straight for the one vehicle she had her mind on since she left the bridge, the one thing she would always be familiar with since her days at the Academy – inside the cockpit of a fighter. Or more specifically…the C-711.

It only took ten seconds for Samatha to climb into the cockpit and fire up the C-711’s engines. She was on her way out of the shuttle bay just as security personnel filled the area. By then they were too late – Samantha was on her way into space.
—
“She’s taken command of the shuttle bay doors, we can’t shut them down. She’s on her way out.”

“Damn it.” Nathan slammed his fist down on the console of the Captain’s chair as he sat down to watch the C-711 moving away from the Galaxis. “Tractor beam. Lock on a tractor beam.”

“Can’t lock on.” Gene turned from his station at helm to face Nathan. He took over the station after Ensign Troy refused to help, and was confined to her quarters. “She’s cloaking. And we’re receiving some kind of signal from her–”

“Signal? Oh, no–” Nathan stood up and started looking around as panels all over the bridge began going dark, followed by the overhead lights. The red alert signal light began flashing next. He raced over to the turbolift doors – they were sealed. “Contact security. Tell them to get us out of here!”

Gene tapped the Starfleet emblem on his uniform. It chirped twice, signalling that it was out of operation. “The comm system is down, Nathan. I knew we should have changed the command codes first.”

“Damn.” Nathan stood up quickly, tearing a panel off the wall, and then blasting through to a vent using his phaser rifle. “Let’s get to Engineering. And when we do, we’re blasting Samantha out of space.”
—
Samantha laughed to herself and leaned back as she aimed the cloaked C-711 at the Klingon ships projected on her heads-up display. The amazing new computer system in the experimental fighter automatically combined sensor data to be able to detect cloaked ships, displaying them in a two dimensional projection along the framed glass top of the cockpit. She could see them clearly – and the best part was, they didn’t know it.

As long as they were cloaked, their shields were down. They were unprotected and now visible – but they could neither see her nor fire through the C-711’s powerful shields.

She smiled to herself as she whipped past one of the Birds of Prey, very close. Thanks to the signal-suppressing circuitry of the C-711, they didn’t even notice her as she passed. She swung around again, flipping open the small plastic door which armed the phasers and particle cannons. She looked down at the three buttons next to her thumb. Blue was for automatic targeting, red for phasers, yellow for particle cannons.

Sam tapped the blue button once, targeting one of the Birds of Prey. As it began turning around abruptly, she realized that the weapons targeting system probably still used Lidar to find and range it’s target – she had now been detected.

One tap of the red button blasted the first Klingon Bird to bits, as it’s unshielded hull absorbed the full force of a close-range phaser blast. That was enough to prompt the rest of the Klingon ships to decloak and raise shields.

But they couldn’t fight what they couldn’t see – they began firing blindly to try and hit whatever attacked the first Klingon ship. Samantha had no problem steering around the badly aimed phaser blasts and seemingly slow photon torpedoes as the steering control of the C-711 responded instantly to her commands.

The second Klingon Bird blew to bits after three consecutive quick phaser blasts. The first two to weaken it’s shields, the third to penetrate it’s hull. Sam felt amazed at the power that the small fighter had – it seemed to have no problem taking on the much larger Klingon ships. She guessed that after the last two wars, the Federation wanted to create a new generation of fighters, ones that didn’t depend on antiquated Starship technology.

Her finger floated over the yellow button as she headed right at the third Bird of Prey. By then, the remaining two Klingon ships had improved their targeting – the little C-711’s shields were taking a lot of fire. But they seemed to hold, even as she moved closer. A quick tap of the yellow button jarred the entire ship as the most powerful weapon in it’s arsenal – the particle cannon – send a flickering beam of white light which immediately tore right through the center of both remaining Birds of Prey. They had stupidly chosen to line up for a directed attack.

“Oh…Wow.” Samantha looked down at the yellow button again, hovering her thumb over the red button instead for her next firing. She made a mental note to be more careful with it next time as she approached one of the two Cardassian battleships.

Unlike the Klingon ships, the Cardassians had a much more powerful armament. Sam found herself evading a sudden volley of photon torpedoes and powerful phaser bursts as she approached them quickly. Her thumb moved quickly back to the yellow button.

That’s when she discovered yet another feature of the particle beam – that holding down the yellow button and using slight movements of the steering stick had the effect of turning the particle cannons without effecting its regular steering function. She could effectively use it to cut vertically across one of the two Cardassian battleships rather then just poking holes in it.

She veered off suddenly, content that the first Cardassian ship was severely damaged, swinging in close above it and using the yellow button again to tear through the hull of the other Cardassian ship behind it.

Samantha smiled as she circled around once more, seeing fragments of four Klingon Birds of Prey and two severely damaged Cardassian battleships. She had done just as she threatened – she had done the impossible.

Now it was time to do one more impossible task…take back her ship.
—
The Galaxis’ shuttle bay was deserted as she took the C-711 in for a landing. All of the lights were out, just as Samantha ordered the computer to do as she left. She set the computer for a lockdown, allowing it only to be disabled by the sound of her own voice. She smiled to herself, imagining the faces of Nathan and Gene as the found themselves prisoners on the bridge.

Sam stepped out of the C-711 into the cargo bay, walking over to the control center quickly. She snatched a phaser she’d hidden from underneath the table which held the control center – just in case.

“Computer…end lockdown, except on the bridge and Engineering. Voice authorize.” The computer beeped twice before turning all of the lights and control panels in the cargo bay on. “Computer, transport me to the bridge.”

In a quick flash of light, the advanced transporters of Galaxis sent Samantha to a spot just ahead of the viewscreen on the completely darkened bridge. She held her phaser at the ready, but saw nothing unusual there except for a missing wall panel. She approached slowly, peeking into the hole – Nathan and Gene must have used the duct to escape the bridge, but they were long gone.

“Computer, enable Bridge. Voice authorize.” With those words and a couple of more beeps, the lights and panels of the bridge suddenly came to life. Feeling a little insecure with a gaping hole in the wall, Sam quickly used her phaser to weld the duct back together and secure the missing wall panel.

By process of elimination, she figured out that Nathan and Gene must be in Engineering. If they left the bridge, they did so to try to take control of the ship from engineering. She knew if they were there, they would try to interfere with everything she tried to do from the bridge – and since Gene was head of security, the personnel of the ship would no doubt follow his orders without question. Sam knew she would have to take control of the ship, and isolate herself to survive.

“Computer, lock down Engineering.”

The computer only beeped once after that command, followed by a warning. “Two crew members detected in Engineering. First Officer Phillips and Security Officer Kelley.”

“Computer, follow my last order, voice authorize. Restrict the bridge to me only, only. Notify me if the two crewmen leave Engineering.”

The computer beeped twice again, and then paused before making another sound. “First Officer Phillips and Security Officer Kelley remain in Engineering. Engineering locked down.”

Samantha sat down at the helm and smiled. She wasn’t accustomed to flying such a big ship by herself, but she knew she would have to. The only one she could depend on was herself…or so she thought.

“Would you like some help, Captain?”

Samantha turned around quickly, phaser in hand, as she found the source of the voice. It was Ensign Susan Troy, the only person who had been remotely loyal to her Captain through all of this. It was ironic that she was Romulan, a race known for it’s tendencies toward back-stabbing.

“I could use a good pilot.” Samantha smiled as she vacated the helm station for her Captain’s chair. “And a new First Officer.”

“Me?” Susan shook her head. “But…I’m just an Ensign. I’m not qualified–”

“You are now. Consider yourself promoted.” Sam stood up and shook Susan’s hand. “And as your first act as First Officer…Help me find those two mutineers and lock them up.”

Susan smiled and nodded as Samantha pulled open a weapons locker on the bridge and removed two phaser rifles. “Sam…I was in on what they were planning. They asked me to join them, but I refused. I couldn’t tell you about it. I…I was afraid. I’m sorry.”

“I understand, Susan.” Samantha motioned for Susan to follow her as she headed into the turbolift. “You did what you had to do to survive. But you’re here now when I need you. I’m grateful for that.”

“Where are we headed?”

“The brig.” Sam smiled at Susan’s apparent confusion with her answer. “If the security personnel are against us, we’ll need numbers. I may have some unlikely help down there.”
—
“Gul Terel…I need your help.” Samantha stood in front of the jail cell which held Gul Terel. He sat on a small bench, staring at Samantha, seemingly amused by what she just said.

“And why should I help you? You destroyed my fleet, and imprisoned me. It’s not my problem that you can’t keep command of your own ship.”

Sam laughed. “So you know about that already.”

“How could I not?” Gul Terel stood up and walked over to the forcefield at the from of the cell. “I could feel the air of mutiny from the moment I set foot on board. Let me guess…you want me to help you get your ship back. Which is where I ask…what’s in it for me?”

“Freedom. Trust.” Sam removed a small phaser from her belt, tapping the control pad next to the cell to drop the forcefield. “After you help me, I’ll send you home…with a story to tell.”

Gul Terel stepped out of his cell slowly, gingerly taking the phaser from Samantha’s hands. He stood, frozen, for a second or two before deciding that she was sincere. “Why would you trust me? I could turn on you and destroy your ship.”

“I know you can be a man of honor when you wish.” Sam glanced at Susan and urged her and Gul Terel back toward the turbo lift. “And we outnumber you two to one.”

Gul Terel laughed as he followed the two women into the turbo lift. “Why Captain…I had no idea you were so clever.”
—
Samantha entered Engineering slowly, just ahead of Gul Terel and Susan. Her phaser rifle was armed and ready, the small light mounted on it turned on to stream light through the darkness. Though she tried not to seem nervous, she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking – she had never been in close combat before. Sure she had been trained…but it was far from the same thing.

She turned to look at Susan and Gul Terel. They were both pictures of confidence – both of them had been in face to face combat situations before. Sam couldn’t help but smile in spite of herself – she was in command, but had the least experience.

Sam kept smiling until she felt a searing heat tear across her shoulder, like someone had heated a knife blade and sliced into the upper part of her arm. She screamed out in pain, dropping her phaser rifle just before dropping to her knees. She had been hit by phaser fire, and it was set to ‘kill’. Her two companions fired twice each before a barrage of phaser blasts began flying past them.

“Computer! CO2 release!” Sam turned to her two companions quickly as she took a deep breath. They did as well, just as ice cold compressed carbon dioxide gas began spewing from nozzles all over the room. The phaser fire diminished quickly until seconds later, silence prevailed. “Computer…Raise oxygen level.”

Those few words from her were enough to make her feel a little dizzy, as her lungs took in a little carbon dioxide as well. More cool jets of gas began filling the room, this time pure oxygen to filter out the carbon dioxide. “Lights.”

As the room suddenly filled with light, Samantha leapt to her feet with renewed confidence, phaser rifle in hand. She began to feel the rush of adrenaline within her as she turned her head back and forth, just daring anyone or anything to move. Someone did – and with a blast of coherent light from the weapon in her hands, that person lay still on the ground.

Samantha turned around to look at her two companions – they didn’t seem the least bit affected by what happened. But Sam, on the other hand…she began shaking as she approached the man she shot, who now lay collapsed against a wall. As she kneeled down to examine him, she recognized him immediately. It was Nathan…and he was dead.

A wave of sadness hit Samantha – she squeezed her eyes shut quickly to fight the flood of tears in her eyes. She couldn’t believe that she…killed. One pull of the trigger, and someone she knew – someone she talked to every day – lay dead against a cold steel bulkhead.

“It couldn’t be helped, Captain.” Susan placed a hand on Samantha’s shoulder to try to comfort her.

Samantha shrugged away Susan’s hand, looking at the floor as tears finally broke free from her eyes. “I’m his Captain too, Susan. It’s my job to make sure he gets home safely. But now he’s dead. I…failed.”

“I wouldn’t say that, Captain.” Gul Terel stood behind Samantha, hands clasped behind him as he spoke. “Look at me. A few hours ago we were adversaries fighting over a planet. Now here I am, Federation technology in my hands, fighting by your side. I’d say that’s a pretty successful day.”

Samantha sighed. “At least you’ll make it home alive.”

“I can’t go home.” Gul Terel walked around to face Sam as he continued, his expression turning serious. “If I do, I’ll certainly have to answer for what has happened today. I’ll be executed by my fellow Cardassians. But right now I’m alive…and if you’ll give me a second chance–”

“Terel–” Samantha shook her head and looked down at Nathan’s still form again. She knew what Gul Terel was hinting at – to see if she can find a place for him in the Federation. As Sam watched Susan handcuff the unconscious Security Officer, Gene Kelley, an idea dawned on her – she may have taken away one life today…but she had the opportunity to give another man a new life.

Samantha looked up at Gul Terel, giving him a weak smile as she wiped away her remaining tears on her sleeve. “I could use a new Security Officer.”

Terel smiled and bowed slightly. “And I’d be honored to accept that offer.”

Sam reached out and shook Terel’s hand quickly as her smile became more natural. “Don’t even think about leading mutiny against me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Terel followed as Captain Ross headed toward the bridge, followed by her new First Officer. “You really would make an excellent Cardassian.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Captain Samantha Ross brought her baby, the Galaxis, back to spaceport without a scratch. But it’s crew would never be the same. Thanks to her dad the Admiral, her new crew was accepted – but it took more then a little arguing and wrangling to make it happen. For some reason, her Romulan First Officer and Cardassian Security Officer weren’t trusted by Starfleet…but Samantha trusted them more then anyone else.