Star Trek: Outwardly Mobile

Episode 18: Deep Space Ten

(Stardate 48202)

By

Jay P. Hailey

and

The Star Trek Players

 

2250:

Fayanna May watched D'Brin sink to the deck. He was sweating and his skin had an ugly gray undertone. The ship's doctor had found out what was killing them, but that seemed to make it a little worse, because he didn't know how to cure it.

The merchant ship Star Fury was doomed. Fayanna had called the ship her home all of her life. Now she had to abandon it and hope that she could find her way back someday.

McKee was the scruffy, blond haired engineering prodigy that kept the old ship running. He handed Fayanna the next vial of drugs. Taking it she loaded it into the hypo spray. It was just a precaution. Fayanna didn't like spending the time on it, but she had been a spacer for too long to neglect basic precautions.

In front of her, the coffin like tube of a life pod stood open. When Fayanna had given herself the proper doses of drugs to prepare herself for cold sleep, she would lie down in the tube and be fired away from the Star Fury. Distances in space were so vast that the chances of a rescue ship bumping into you within the few days that a small tube could keep you alive made it almost suicidal to get into one.

This tube, like nearly all life pods, was equipped to smother its passenger with life supporting foam and keep him in suspended animation for years, if necessary, until help arrived. By itself the life pod could keep a human alive in cold sleep for a year. With the additional drugs and preparation that period could be extended indefinitely.

McKee bent down to check D'Brin. He looked up at Fayanna. "He couldn't handle the drugs with that damned parasite in him." McKee was bitter, as well he might be. That meant that he was going to die, too.

Fayanna blinked back tears. It was tough to keep moving after watching the parasites kill her whole crew. She wanted to sit down and howl in anguish and pain. She didn't. There were other people depending on her.

The Star Fury had come out to the distant frontier where sane people didn't go without a good reason. A colony ship from Terra had been lost out this way a few years ago. When a colony-ship got lost usually that was the end of it, but not this time. They had been found and given aid by a friendly race of aliens. Now they had only one problem to deal with. Most of the colonists had been rendered sterile in the accident that had brought them to this distant place.

Fayanna had taken the contract to carry fertilized embryos to the colony world. Most merchant captains called her mad.

"The contract doesn't pay that well!" They said. "Let one of the big new Starfleet cruisers handle it. The Enterprise could get there in a third of the time. Besides she's well armed enough to survive the trip."

They didn't know that money and humanity were only part of what drove Fayanna. She wanted to go out into deep space where no one else had gone yet. There was a race of aliens who had taken a lost and hopeless group of humans and had given them a home. What else might be out on the frontier? Fayanna knew that she was going to be the one to find out.

-*-

"Well," Fayanna thought bitterly "I sure found out." First the old ship's navigational computer had quit, and then while making the emergency repair, the crew had been struck by an unknown disease. One by one, the crew of the free trader Star Fury had succumbed to a painful wasting disease. The ship's doctor had discovered the nature of the disease only a day or so before it killed him.

"Parasites" He said. He was showing the crew the scan he had taken. "If we had a big lab and a big staff I might be able to find something that would help. As it is..." He let it trail off.

"Could we call for help?" Larei asked. She was a young apprentice from some colony somewhere. She had been so happy when Fayanna had accepted her application.

"I can almost guarantee that it would not arrive in time." D'Brin said. He knew the heading and speed of the Star Fury without any computers or sensors. It was just a mystical sense that he had.

"Even if it did, they would have a hard time finding us." McKee said. "I had to use parts from the Star Fury's transponder to fix the Nav-Comp. They would have to mount a search for us."

The doctor shook his head. "That would take too long."

"Can we enter hibernation and wait for rescue?" Fayanna asked.

"Not all of us." The doctor replied. "The poisons that the parasite is producing would simply fill us up after we went into cold sleep. I don't see any way for rescuers to save us after that."

"You said 'Not all of us', Doctor, who isn't affected?" Johnson, the big cargo handler asked.

"The Captain." Doctor Grey Owl switched the display to a different scan. It showed the parasites withering and dying. "For some reason, the Captain's immune system can wipe these little guys right out."

"Can we make a vaccine from my blood?" Fayanna asked. Could her blood save her crew?

"No." Grey Owl sadly shook his head. "Again, if I had a laboratory to work with, then I could tell which factors in your blood are actually keeping you free of the parasite. As it is now, there is no way to tell and honestly, we stand as much chance of doing harm as doing good."

"Fifty-fifty odds sure sound better than a certain death, Doc." McKee said.

"I agree." Grey Owl said. "If I could figure out some way to give us fifty-fifty odds I would do it. The problem is that blood transfers don't work like that. You have to know precisely what you're doing, or the result is worse than the disease. That's nearly ninety percent certain. In the remainder of the cases it might actually help the parasites to grow."

A bleak silence fell over the wardroom.

"I won't just sit here and die!" Larei screamed. She could not face her own impending death. She fled the room.

"It's awfully convenient that it's the Captain that's immune." Johnson said dangerously.

Fayanna just stared at him. She couldn't bring herself to believe that one of her crew could be saying this to her.

"I think it's time for you to come clean, Captain." Johnson stood to his full six and half foot height. "Or I won't be responsible for my actions."

D'Brin slid gracefully in front of the big human. "I think that your emotions have taken control of your tongue, my friend." He said mildly.

Johnson backhanded him across the table. "How do you know that she hasn't sold us out to aliens. A cargo of damned embryos and a crew too dead to resist. Would the Klingons like to have free human breeding stock? Maybe it's the Orions, huh?" Johnson was screaming now, his face red and the muscles cording like steel cables under his skin.

Fayanna found herself backing out of her chair. Emotionally she didn't really want to fight. Johnson's paranoid fantasies were ludicrous, but she was just as responsible for dragging her crew, her family all the way out here away from help. Fayanna's instincts put her knife in her hands and prepared to make Johnson pay for his licks.

D'Brin rose effortlessly to his feet and slid towards the big human but Fayanna knew that he was going to be too late. Johnson was going to get first strike.

Then a beam of colored light struck Johnson. He looked surprised and stood there for a moment. Fayanna froze. D'Brin stopped and carefully watched the event. Another beam struck Johnson with an irritating whine. Johnson grunted and crumpled to the floor.

D'Brin, Grey Owl and Fayanna looked at McKee, who was holding a strangely twisted PPG hand weapon.

"Cool" McKee said eyeing his weird weapon.

"What in the galaxy is that?" D'Brin said, with a mild tone of annoyance.

"I boosted the specs from a secure Starfleet database a while ago. It's called a 'phaser'. Neat, huh?" McKee claimed. "He's harmlessly stunned, although I think the Starfleet guys overestimated the power of the stun setting."

D'Brin slid over and used his knife to slit Johnson's throat.

"Hey!" Grey Owl yelled as they all jumped back. Fayanna wondered if McKee could shoot D'Brin with his "phaser" before D'Brin slaughtered them all.

D'Brin stood up "It is not as though he was going to live, anyway." He looked at McKee "There is a time for subduing one's enemies, and then there is a time for eliminating them."

Fayanna had to admit that the strange alien man's logic was hard to argue with.

D'Brin continued "Since we are already dead, it then becomes our duty to see that the survivors get a chance at life. That means the embryos and the Captain."

McKee and Grey Owl looked at Fayanna and silently agreed.

"I won't leave without you." Fayanna said, but in time it became clear that she had no choice.

-*-

Fayanna pulled her self back into the present and noted the time. The drugs had plenty of time to saturate her system and that meant it was time to go. Fayanna noticed that McKee hadn't taken the rest of his treatment. She guessed that he had given up on ejecting with her.

"McKee, aren't you coming?" She asked quietly.

Taking a deep breath, McKee admitted. "Naw. Besides, Someone's gotta activate the shutdown and make sure that the squirts," He gestured towards the hold "make it through okay."

"Good luck, McKee." Fayanna said "I'll be back." She got into the tube and pulled the cover down. She dogged the cover and soon the tube was air tight and ready for space. Looking through the port in front of her, she saw McKee watching. She gave him a thumbs up signal and he gave the Star Fury the order to load. The life pod slid forward into the small missile tube.

In the dark Fayanna had a few seconds to watch the induction rings warm up and then a voice came over the comm-channel. Star Fury to Life Pod One, are you go for launch?" McKee loved that technoid lingo.

"Life Pod One to Star Fury, launch." Fayanna was kicked free of the Star Fury.

For a few moments, she only saw stars and space as the life pod lifted away from the asteroid. This asteroid was the closest piece of real estate to set the ship down on when it was finally discovered that the Nav-Comp was bad. Now it was going to be a tomb.

Soon the thrust of the little life pod's motor quit. Fayanna maneuvered it around to see the Star Fury. She watched the ship disappear as the life pod sped away. As it faded from sight a cloud of vapor enveloped the Star Fury.

"Oh, McKee." Fayanna moaned as realized what had happened. After setting the Star Fury and the embryos to await rescue, McKee had opened the airlocks. He had killed himself quickly in the vacuum rather than let the parasites kill him.

"I hope they suffered." Fayanna said as she thought of the parasites dying along with McKee and the rest of her crew.

Fayanna grew drowsy as she waited, and was almost ready to nod off when she noticed that the pod was flooded with foam. She held her breath as the flooding completed. Fayanna held her breath for a long time before she realized that something was wrong. She was not passing out. She was drowning in the foam! Fayanna held her breath for as long as she could. In the end she even tried to open the pod, but it was locked in the vacuum Fayanna struggled until she descended into the blackness. "It was all for nothing!" was her last coherent, bitter thought. As she lost consciousness her natural instincts took over and she drew a deep breath of foam into her lungs. A few breaths later the foam had replaced every bit of air in her lungs. Then it did its job, lowering her metabolism, and transferring nutrients and oxygen to her at the much reduced rate required by her body.

Floating serenely, Fayanna awaited rescue.

2370:

"And so, in conclusion, we believe that our presentation makes clear the potential for advancement and peace in the Galaxy. We hope that our great friends in the United Federation of Planets will see the advantages of joining the Bendarri Empire."

The creature speaking reared back on her haunches and gazed at Li'ira with large brown eyes. "That concludes our presentation." She said. "Does the Federation wish to add anything?"

"Only that we highly value our relationship with our friends in the Bendarri Empire and that your presentation will be sent to the highest levels of our government." Li'ira said. "If you are done and the meeting is over, then I suggest that we adjourn."

"I agree." The Bendarri said.

With that, Li'ira shut off her recorder and stretched.

The Bendarri leaned forward and arched her back with a stretch. "Shall we eat lunch now, my friend?"

Li'ira grinned. "You know a new restaurant has moved into the promenade. I would like to try it out."

"That sounds interesting." The Bendarri drew herself up to her full height and moved to the door, ducking as she passed through. Li'ira gathered up her research material and followed.

Federation Deep Space Station Ten was brand new and smelled that way to Li'ira. It had been towed out to the frontier and activated just a few weeks before Li'ira's assignment as its commander. After nearly two hundred years of being considered a deep dark hinterland where sane people didn't go, the Bendarri sector was now becoming more active. When the advanced warp drives that tripled the speeds of most Starfleet ships became widely used, the Federation decided that it was time to establish a permanent outpost in the area.

Li'ira didn't know it at the time but she was the first outpost commander of Orion descent in the history of Starfleet. Li'ira was just trying to make it through each day as smoothly.

The Bendarri were a bright spot for her. They looked like bears, mixed with otters and a little Vulcan sehlat thrown in for flavor. They were a very congenial race. They loved to interact socially with other races.

"Tell me honestly, Commander, just between you and me, do you think the Federation will join the Bendarri Empire?" Captain Benhai said.

Li'ira thought about her words carefully. The question was rude in the strictest diplomatic sense, but the Bendarri had little tact as a general thing. They more than made up for it with their willingness to accept the truth and be friendly about it.

On the other hand, Li'ira balanced her standing orders to improve Federation relationships with all parties in the sector.

"Let me answer with another question. Do you think that the Bendarri Empire will ever join the Federation?"

"Well," Benhai snuffled, wriggling her nose "No. We have too great an affection for the Empire to ever really let it go. Is it that way with your Federation?"

"Yes." Li'ira answered firmly, "However, I think in the end, we might meet somewhere in the middle."

Benhai thought about it. "Even if it takes one hundred years, I want to see what it looks like."

They entered the newest shop to open its doors on Deep Space Ten. It was called "Mama-San's". Li'ira found the smells emanating from the kitchen quite lovely. The proprietor, a small, golden skinned Human, with many wrinkles on her skin, white hair and laughing, oval, brown eyes, met them.

"What kind of person are you?" Benhai leaned far down to sniff Mama-San. The old woman's eyes widened for a moment, but then she caught on. The Bendarri were blunt and friendly.

"I am a Human, from Terra." Mama-San said, sketching a little bow.

"Are you full blooded Human? None of our Humans is colored like you." Benhai said. She was referring to a colony of Humans who had settled in the Bendarri Empire one hundred and fifty years ago.

"Yes. I am from a land called Korea." Mama-San said. She slowly reached out and touched the Bendarri.

"Your Terra has all sorts of different colors and appearances on it. You must have had a lot of fun getting to know each other." Benhai said. She was picturing fairs and circuses of multicolored humans all getting along. This was the way the Bendarri would have done it.

"You might say that." Mama-San's tone was dry. "You have the loveliest fur." She was petting the side of Benhai's head softly enjoying the texture.

"Thank you." Benhai said.

Mama-San led them to a table that was next to the outer hull. It had an excellent view. The promenade of Deep Space Ten extended into the conical transparent super-structure that rose from the top side of the central section. The outer hull was made from thick transparent aluminum, reinforced heavily with force fields. This allowed every deck a floor to ceiling picture window on what was happening on the outside of the station.

Out of the window at Mama-San's Li'ira could see Docking Arm 2, one of the three spokes that radiated out from the central hub of the station.

The main hub had several decks and held all the living quarters, life support machinery, offices and labs of the station. It also held the main power system, the operations center and sickbay.

Each arm was a long tube mostly filled with cargo bays, labs for more dangerous experiments, and work shops. At the ends of the arms there were elliptical sections with their own transparent super-structures. The ends held docking rings and repair facilities for starships.

Even newly opened, there was traffic at the station. Li'ira knew that as the station became more widely known that the traffic and the efforts to keep up with it would increase.

Mama-San's cooking was an artifact of the Federation. It was a combination of Korean and Bajoran cooking. Mama-San's husband had been a Bajoran refugee before his death. He and his wife had owned and operated restaurants for a great deal of their time together.

To Li'ira the spicy concoctions smelled good and tasted wonderful. They were a little strong for a full time diet, but once a week or so, they would make a nice change. Benhai liked the cooking, although some of the animal flesh had to be removed from dishes before she could really enjoy them. Mama-San questioned Benhai in detail, even bring out samples of her ingredients to test whether the Bendarri found them attractive. In this way Mama-San was able to design a special menu for the Bendarri.

While they were eating, the Bendarri battle cruiser that Benhai commanded swung into view. It was a squat, square-ish shape, with graceful curves at the edges. It was smaller than a comparative Federation starship. It was more maneuverable in combat and could take more damage while continuing to fight. It was not as fast in warp as a Federation starship and didn't have as much range.

The Bendarri were having a cold war with another nearby race, the As'Taan. Their starships were designed around the defense of the Bendarri Empire first and the exploration of space a distant second.

Looking at her ship Benhai sighed. "She's an excellent ship for what she is."

"What do you mean?" Li'ira asked.

"The Kemali is a battle cruiser. This is her main design focus. I have an excellent crew. I would gauge my ship and crew the equal of any other in battle. This is not all there is to life. I envy you."

"Really, Why?" Li'ira wondered why the captain of a starship would envy her.

"When you were on the Harrier, you traveled in unknown spaces and saw things that no Federation person or Bendarri has seen before."

"Yes, well that was an accident." Li'ira reminded her. Li'ira had been shielded from most of the public response to the voyage of the Harrier. She hadn't realized until later that, for a moment, the Harrier was the ship of the hour right up there with the Enterprise.

"Yes, but a fortuitous one! I have spent most of my career patrolling the borders between the As'Taan and the Bendarri, keeping the peace. But, soon..."

"What? What happens soon?" Li'ira asked.

"Well, I shouldn't really say, but I suppose it's okay. The Bendarri Empire is starting an exploration initiative. Our newer ships take some of your excellent Federation ideas and run with them. We will soon be exploring deep space."

"Well, congratulations. Are you in line for one of these newer ships?" Li'ira was genuinely pleased at the thought of the Bendarri exploring this area of space more thoroughly. Starfleet was spread very thin in this sector. The idea of the Bendarri Empire taking areas away from the Federation was not a concern. Space is simply too big.

Benhai looked glum "I am far down the list. There are many of us in the Bendarri Space Service who feel this way. Including those with more seniority and closer ties to the throne."

"I have a good feeling about this. I'm sure that eventually you will be in command of a deep space explorer." Li'ira said.

"That's funny. I have the same feeling about you." Benhai said.

Eventually lunch was finished and the crew on leave from the Kemali was recalled. The Bendarri ship slipped smoothly across the border and back onto patrol.

-*-

"Commander, we're picking up a distress beacon." Lt. Commander Baker said.

"Where is it?" Li'ira asked

"Its approximately four light years away from our present location on the border with the Bendarri." Said the Operations Officer Tandala MacBier.

"Can you identify the distress beacon?"

"Not really, Commander. It's using a real space channel. The signal has a data channel but it's too badly corrupted by the distance."

Remembering that the signal was traveling only at the speed of light, Li'ira asked "Do you think it's still out there?"

Tandala grinned "I only know of one way to be certain."

Li'ira nodded "Quite right. Mr. Baker select a crew and take a runabout out to investigate the signal."

"Aye, Commander" Baker said. He was a large, athletic looking Human male with brown, curly hair and large brown eyes. He was on the Starfleet fast track before a rare case of transporter sickness sidelined him. Using a transporter caused him distress similar to a bad case of motion sickness. Despite his physical handicap, he was an excellent officer. Li'ira was glad to have him.

His first pick was Tandala MacBier. She was a short, wiry, brown woman with odd scars and tattoos on her face and a face that Li'ira could only describe as "Gnomish." Despite the obvious conclusion, this woman was from Terra. An out of the way tribal region called "The Australian Outback." After knowing Tandala for a while, Li'ira was used to her unusual appearance and unusual methods of operating. Li'ira made it a practice not to interfere too closely with what Tandala was doing but to allow it to get done.

Baker's second pick was Crystara Acnapma, the Science Officer of Deep Space Ten. She was an Efrosian. The Efrosians are mysterious people. They live on an icy world, shrouded in perpetual fog. They have a complex, arcane society and religion, which few outsiders ever really come to understand. Some Efrosians occasionally leave their world and travel the stars as scientists or healers. Crystara was among the very few to ever become a career Starfleet officer. She had a cool and slightly distant personality, as well as an almost encyclopedic understanding of the sciences, especially the biological sciences.

Baker's third pick was Deep Space Ten's Chief of Security Garan Draxil. He was an Acamerian. A rebel faction of the Acamerians had left the planet to become pirates and raiders. The Federation and the Acamerians had agreed to a blanket amnesty to settle the issue. This allowed the "Gatherer" pirates to come home. Some, like Garan, had not been able to tolerate the quiet life for too long. Garan had joined Starfleet to use his skills in violence and mayhem in the service of a worthy cause. He had the clan identification tattoos on his face, and he always carried a phaser slung on his hip. His uniform rarely complied with regulations. Nevertheless, he knew his way around a fight and that's what made him valuable.

Taking the runabout USS Narnia, they set off to track the beacon.

-*-

The trip out to the source of the beacon took four days. Runabouts were too small to take advantage of the newer technology in Starfleet warp drives. So the Narnia could manage one light year a day.

On the way out, Tandala would take a few moments during her work and sing little snatches of song. While not on duty she shared raunchy spaceport drinking songs with her captive audience.

"What's that you're singing?" Garan Draxil asked. "I don't recognize the tune or the lyrics."

"It's just a little thing I do." Tandala said warily.

"No, really it sounded nice. I don't mean anything by it." Draxil held up his hands.

"I am singing this place so it will be more real." Tandala said.

"What?"

"I am a shaman among my people. It is my job to go to the new places and sing them. Once I do this it is safe for the rest of my people to follow me."

"What does singing at them do?" Draxil was confused.

"A place isn't really real until a witness goes there and brings back a song about it. Until a shaman sings a place, it's chaotic and dangerous."

"Oh. And this is the Terran religion?" Draxil asked dubiously.

"No. It's just for a few of us. The members of my tribe believe this way."

Draxil rolled his eyes. "Okay. Terra sounds a little too complicated for me."

"It sounds almost like science." Crystara said.

"Really?" Tandala was confused by the comparison. Her usual experience was to be criticized for her primitive superstitions.

"A starship might go out to a place. This place remains unknown and chaotic until someone explores it and survives to bring back the data. If the song is an account of what one of your tribesmen might expect then it can be considered a type of data."

"Gee, thanks." Tandala didn't like to think of her songs as a type of data.

"Don't be upset. I like how they sound, too."

From then on Tandala wasn't quite as self conscious about her singing.

-*-

Near the end of the second day, the signal became clear enough for Tandala to read. It was a life pod from the free trader SS Star Fury.

-*-

It took Li'ira a few moments to key in the name of the Star Fury. She sent the information out to the Narnia as she read:

"SS Star Fury. Independent registry, number IFC-909. Missing - 2249. All hands presumed lost.

Flight plan summary: Leave Starbase Thirty-Five Sept. 2248. Arrive in Bendarri Empire on or about June 2250.

Summary of investigation: No evidence was recovered. Last seen at Maynard's Planet Dec. 2249. Captain May indicated that she would press straight through from there to Bendarri Space.

Eyewitness accounts indicate that the Star Fury had unusual and non-standard equipment modifications. The Bendarri indicate no contact or results from search.

Speculation: The Star Fury may have suffered a major malfunction and been lost. nonstandard equipment or maintenance could have resulted in below minimum life expectancy on vital equipment.

Note: If this vessel or any part of it is seen report immediately to Starfleet Command for follow up investigation.

-*-

Two days later, the Narnia made sensor contact with the life pod. After noting its course and speed, Crystara scanned for survivors.

"I scan one life form. It is a human in hibernation." Acnapma said.

"That's not possible." Baker was stunned. That mean that the person inside the life pod had been alive for nearly one hundred and fifty years.

"It's there, therefore it's possible." Crystara said. "However, the life signs are weak. I estimate that the person inside the life pod is failing."

"How long do we have to rescue him?" Baker asked

"I do not have enough data for a concrete answer. I would guess no more than five to ten years."

"Oh. In that case, let's take the life pod aboard and return it to the medical facilities at Deep Space Ten. Doctor Smith can take better care of the person inside it there than we can here." Baker said.

"Let's make sure that there are no booby traps in it first." Tandala advised.

Baker turned to Acnapma. "Lieutenant, will you please scan the pod?"

Crystara shrugged and scanned again, looking for evidence of traps or dangers.

"The life pod registers one slow release power cell. It is possible to turn these into mildly powerful explosives, but they are useless as power cells afterwards. Since the life pod is functional, the power cell must be operating.

"There are hints of organic material on the outer hull of the pod, possibly the result of the environment from which the pod was launched. Scans indicate that the pod has suffered long term deep space exposure. Nothing is now alive on the pod's outer hull. Analysis indicates that none of the elements on the surface are poisonous.

"Baring hostile intent on the part of the inhabitant, the life pod seems to pose no danger."

"Even so," Baker said "let's not take any chances."

Tandala used the small tractor beam to secure the life pod to the outer hull of the Narnia. Then they began the trip back to Deep Space Ten.

-*-

In one of the big, new cargo bays of Deep Space Ten, an isolation field had been set up. After thoroughly decontaminating the outer hull of the life pod, it had been set on a frame in the cargo bay and attached to station's power supply. With fresh power its systems stabilized.

Taucia Smith, the young Chief Medical Officer of the station, attached probes and readouts to the proper inputs in the life pod. The story of the person inside was an interesting series of medical facts to Taucia. She wouldn't allow the emotional impact to affect her until later.

The subject was a human female in her early thirties when she went into hibernation. Her tissues showed advanced wasting and she was suffering from severe malnutrition. Without the pod, Taucia guessed the woman's weight at somewhere near ninety or ninety-five pounds. This would complicate reviving the woman drastically. Her body had been damaged by all the time in the support foam. If the process of revival was too quick or shocking then the survivor's body simply wouldn't be able to adapt. She would go into shock and die.

Taucia planned the revival process diligently. She had access to the most recent records of the survivor. She had to submit a medical examination report to be licensed as a starship captain. Her most recent report was 2245.

Taucia and her crew opened the pod like it was surgery. She had to get help from the Chief Engineer of the Station, Birdie. Together they cut away sections of the old life pod, while substituting Taucia's own support equipment. Slowly, they raised the subject's metabolism and temperature, keeping a delicate balance the whole way.

It took eight hours to turn Fayanna May from a frozen historical artifact to an invalid patient in the makeshift isolation bay of Deep Space Ten.

-*-

"Report, please, Doctor." Li'ira said. Taucia Smith was flopped on a couch in the commander's office.

"You have a nicer view than I do." Taucia said. Li'ira's office was near the top of the central conical super-structure. This gave her a large picture window on the exterior of the station.

Taucia's office was buried in the core of the station near Sickbay, the

Operations Center and other vital systems.

"Noted. Please continue the report." Li'ira said mildly. Taucia was little

punchy from the complex operation of reviving Fayanna May.

"The subject was wasted and emaciated from spending way, way too long in suspended animation. I looked it up. It seems like Captain May has set the record for the longest duration in one of those things.

"Anyway, along with the tissue damage and metabolic effects, there might be some brain damage and some memory loss. I won't know until the subject regains consciousness. I am keeping her unconscious until I can stabilize her metabolism a little more. She is on intravenous feeding now, and her body is absorbing the nutrients as fast as it can.

"After that we can look forward to a long bout of physical therapy as well as possible cultural maladjustment and emotional problems, etc.

"One other thing. I found spores of Regulan bloodworms in her blood stream. They were all dead, but I decontaminated her blood just to be safe. She was naturally immune to them because of a previous case of Vegan cloriomenengitis.

Routine stuff.

"To summarize my official report: She'll be fine and it's nothing we can't handle. Wasn't she lucky to have such a good doctor handy?"

"Yes, I suppose that you could say that." Li'ira said. "Thank you for your report."

"You're welcome." Taucia said. Then she rolled over on the couch and went to sleep.

-*-

Fayanna woke up gently. It was a slow process. She didn't remember clearly where she was, but that didn't seem to matter at first. As her consciousness returned fully, She remembered where she had been. Her eyes snapped open and she tried to rise, only to find that she couldn't. The effort left her gasping.

A gentle hand touched her shoulder. "It's okay, you're safe."

Fayanna looked at the source of the voice. It was a younger woman with short brown hair and large almond shaped brown eyes. She was wearing a black coverall with blue shoulders. There was a little arrow head badge and a couple of dots on the collar of the lavender shirt she wore under the coverall.

Fayanna could tell right away that this girl was the perky, happy go lucky type that annoyed her. However, the woman seemed to sincerely want to help, so Fayanna decided to play along.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"You're at the Federation Space Station Deep Space Ten."

"Is that like a Starbase?" Fayanna had never heard of a Deep Space Station before as an official title.

"Kind of, only smaller."

"And who are you?"

"I'm Doctor Smith, the Chief Medical Officer."

Fayanna looked again at the young woman. A second look placed her age at about twenty-five, but she was still too young to be the chief medical officer of anything. "Well, Thank you, Doctor but I have business that I must finish..." Fayanna tried to throw back the covers and get out of the bed. The blankets seemed to weigh tons. Then Fayanna saw her hands. They were thin, emaciated sticks. She had never seen her own skeleton so clearly through her skin.

Dr Smith gently took her hand. "Captain May, you've been injured. It's going to take some time and some work from both of us to get you back on your feet again. Do you understand?"

"How long was I adrift?"

Taucia looked at her measuringly. "Do you want know right now, when you can't really do anything about it? Or would you rather concentrate on getting well first?"

"Tell me."

Smith said gently "It's twenty-three seventy. You were lost for one hundred and twenty three years."

"Oh. Was that all?" Fayanna's head spun. She was very tired.

"You should probably sleep now. I'll answer more questions for you tomorrow."

-*-

One week later Li'ira received a message from Starfleet Command. It was coded urgent. Li'ira went to her office and decoded the message.

"You are ordered to investigate the loss of the SS Star Fury using every means at hand. If any debris, wreckage, cargo or equipment are still in existence, you are to recover them and forward them discretely to Starfleet Command.

Signed 48202.1 Necheyev, Admiral Starfleet Command."

-*-

Li'ira visited Fayanna in the sickbay. Fayanna couldn't believe her eyes. A Green Orion woman? Her one encounter with a Green Orion stood out in Fayanna's mind. Li'ira didn't seem like the snarling animalistic creature that Fayanna had met one hundred and thirty years ago.

"Captain May? How are you today?"

"Weak. But I'm getting better." Fayanna said.

Li'ira looked at Dr. Smith, who nodded her assent. Fayanna's assessment was essentially correct.

"Good. I need to ask you some questions. Do you feel well enough to answer?"

Fayanna took a deep breath. It was work. Everything was. The hardest thing was thinking about what had happened to her ship and her crew.

"Go ahead." Fayanna said quietly "I'll do my best."

"Tell me what happened to your ship."

Fayanna told the story. "We were on a cargo run to the Bendarri Empire. We lost our navigational computer. Our navigator was good but no one is that good. Eventually we had to find a place to set down. Almost as soon as we made the emergency repair, we were struck by some sort of parasites.

"The crew started to die. I knew that we wouldn't make it to the nearest Federation planet. I didn't know where any Bendarri planets were."

"Finally we decided that there was no hope for the crew, but that I might be found in time to rescue the Human embryos that were our cargo. I ejected in the life pod but I guess it was too long."

"How were the embryos preserved?" Taucia asked.

"In a liquid nitrogen bath. There were some other chemicals involved, some sort of preservatives or something, but I don't remember what."

"Could any of the embryos have survived?" Li'ira asked.

"Perhaps. I couldn't really say without more information." Taucia said.

"Captain May, I'll be sending my Engineer and a Pilot in to talk with you. I may try to recover the Star Fury and its cargo."

"I want to go with you." Fayanna said.

"No." Li'ira said

"That would not be wise." Taucia said.

"God damn it! That's my ship, they're my crew!" Fayanna rolled back in the bed with dark spots dancing in front of her eyes.

Li'ira said "If there are lives at stake, then I can't wait for you to complete your recovery."

"God damn it..." Fayanna cursed feebly.

"Commander, I think you should leave now. We can finish this discussion tomorrow." Taucia started to hustle Li'ira out of the sickbay.

"Okay." Fayanna said. "Send your crew. I'll tell them."

-*-

Tandala and the Chief Engineer were briefing Li'ira. The Chief Engineer's name was Birdie. Birdie was a relatively old man. He had worked on every type of starship in common use in the Federation and a few uncommon ones besides. At an easy going middle age of sixty years old, he was near the age when most Starfleet officers retired and sought their second careers. Birdie would have none of that. Designing, understanding and improving starships was his first love. In his heart of hearts, Birdie knew that he never wanted to do anything else with his life.

This job was exciting to him.

"The Star Fury started out as a class J ore carrier." He reported. "She was modified into a Free Trader in about 2230. Almost nothing except the basic space frame was standard or original."

He chortled happily. "I could've talked with Captain May about her for hours. They lived in her and continuously rebuilt her."

"Can you get her in motion?" Li'ira asked.

This gave Birdie pause. "I don't know. I'm going to say no. There was a lot of safety and back up equipment that they simply did not have. The old girl probably doesn't have any anti-matter or main reactor left. The anti-matter would have slowly escaped through the main reactor. It would have systematically degraded the power system. If there is any hope it'll be in the auxiliary power system, and the impulse drives."

"That won't get the Star Fury very far."

"We can tow her with a runabout. It won't be fast but I can do it."

"Uh-oh." Tandala said.

"What?" Li'ira said.

"Look at where the Star Fury is." Tandala called up a display on the briefing room's screen. It was a map of the local stellar area. It showed the location of the Star Fury. The asteroid where she had set down was just inside As'Taan territory.

The Bendarri Empire was a sprawling amoeba shape to the top of the rectangular screen. The Federation was a generalized area towards the bottom. An orange sphere rested in intimate contact near the middle of the Bendarri amoebae.

Deep Space Ten was at the edge of Federation Territory, near the bottom edge of the border between the Bendarri and the As'Taan.

The As'Taan were as unfriendly as the Bendarri were friendly. They jealously guarded their sphere and angrily denied anyone permission to enter. Worse they seemed to have a deep hatred of the Bendarri and continuously probed for weaknesses in the Bendarri defenses.

The As'Taan viewed the increasing Federation presence in the sector as a threat, especially considering the friendly relationship between the Bendarri and the Federation. A bad enough incident might threaten the As'Taan enough to start a war.

"Thank you for the information. I'll let you know what the next step is, soon. Dismissed."

-*-

Li'ira walked around the interior of Deep Space Ten, thinking furiously. There was a definite element of danger to her current situation. She was under orders by Admiral Necheyev. Li'ira knew that Necheyev had ties to Starfleet Intelligence. Could the Star Fury be a pawn in some sort of espionage activity? How could it matter one hundred and twenty years after the fact?

Could she find out without starting a war with the As'Taan? If that was the only question, then Li'ira would happily let Admiral Necheyev stew. Necheyev might try to discipline Li'ira for failing to follow orders. Li'ira wouldn't mind watching Necheyev try to justify her orders to a board of review.

The additional factor, the one the really put the whole matter in doubt was the embryos in the Star Fury's cargo. Were they children? Were they just tissue samples? Was there the possibility of them having survived?

Li'ira found herself facing questions that she had never really considered before. She continued to walk and think furiously.

-*-

"Lt. Acnapma, Please set up a simulation. I want to know if preserved embryos from 2249 could have survived in a cargo hold until now. I have the information you'll need, here."

"I have been running just such a simulation, Commander." Tandala had told Crystara of the situation.

"What are the results?"

"Inconclusive. In some simulations we have a 65% viability rate, in others there are no viable embryos left. There are too many factors that we can't model accurately."

"Thank you." Li'ira said and turned to leave.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't give you better information, Commander."

"That's all right."

-*-

Li'ira called the next briefing several hours later.

"Lieutenant Commander Baker will stay in command here. I will pick a crew and take two runabouts to retrieve the Star Fury. This is a volunteer mission. We might get shot at by the As'Taan. I have decided to attempt the recovery based on the possibility of viable embryos in the cargo hold of the ship."

"Are they worth a possible war?" Baker asked.

"If it was any of us, we would really want to be rescued."

"That is not a logical argument. It is a sentimental one." Crystara pointed out.

"That is correct. There is not enough hard information to guide me in making this decision, and so I have to fall back on other resources."

"Sentiment as an alternative to facts?" Crystara was bland.

"Call it instinct. I strongly feel that there is more going on here than meets the eye." Li'ira told them.

-*-

The runabouts Narnia and Oz moved towards the sight where the Star Fury was supposed to be. The crew of Deep Space Ten had replaced the Narnia's main cargo section with a heavy cargo tractor beam. Birdie and Tandala flew that one.

Crystara, Li'ira and Garan Draxil flew in the Oz along with the equipment they might need to recover the Star Fury or her cargo.

Draxil was talking with Crystara. "So, what Efros like?"

"It's cold." Crystara said.

"I suppose the temperatures in here must seem kind of warm to you."

"No. I'm used to it."

Garan thought for a few moments. "Do you have a boy friend?"

"No."

"How do your people handle that sort of thing? I mean, social relationships and like that."

Crystara looked at Draxil. It was obvious what he was aiming for. She was not interested, but how to best let him know? "I am not allowed to tell you."

"You're not? Why not?"

In the other seat, Li'ira watched the interplay. Her face was mild and her body language passive, but she enjoyed the interaction between members of her crew.

"It is a religious dictate. None but a true believer may be told of our rituals." Crystara said, honestly. The Efrosian religion was devout and obscure.

"Oh. How would I go about becoming a convert?" Garan was searching for any sort of opening.

"I am not allowed to tell you."

"Oh. Huh?"

Crystara looked at Draxil mildly.

"Well, ah, would you like to have dinner with me when we return to the station?"

"No."

"Oh."

-*-

The two runabouts silently slipped into the edge of As'Taan space. They located the asteroid on which the Star Fury had been grounded. The old cargo ship was right where they expected.

It was cold and dark. The only signal on their sensors was a weak regenerative power cell. From more than a few thousand kilometers away, they would have missed it.

They took up station nearby the asteroid. Birdie, Tandala and Li'ira beamed aboard the Star Fury in vacc-suits. They saw the results of one hundred and twenty-three years of vacuum exposure. There were seats, panels and fittings on the bridge of the Star Fury. The metal pieces of the fittings and the silicon faces of the buttons and the screens were in good shape. The cloth covers and stuffing in the chairs had become freeze-dried. It was flaky and dried out, crumbling to dust at the lightest touch.

On the mid-deck they found the bodies of two crewmen, mummified in the vacuum and cold. They also found the launch tube from which Captain May was launched.

Moving aft, they discovered the wardroom. Here a large body rested, with a large stain of freeze-dried blood. The blood crumbled to dust and floated in the wardroom as they entered. The light gravity slowly and gently pulled the dust to the ground. The Star Fury had long since stopped generating artificial gravity. The only force holding objects to the deck was the light gravity of the asteroid on which she rested.

Still further aft, they found the sickbay. One figure was slumped over a desk. Three others were on beds in the sick bay, covered with sheets. They appeared macabre in the spots of light generated by the Starfleet crew's hand beacons.

The sick bay was across a narrow hallway from the crew's quarters. At the end of the short, narrow corridor was a thick heavy duty hatch.

Undogging the hatch and moving through, they found the cargo bay. It was mostly empty. In one section it held consumables that the Star Fury's crew would have needed to survive for their months in space. Another section held basic tools. Basic tools were always in need at a colony until it was large enough to have a manufacturing base.

In another portion of the cargo bay, they discovered the embryos. The embryos were held in a large frame with small tubes strung along it. Small status lights still showed green, creating a ghostly glow. A quick check showed that about six in ten tubes were still functional.

Birdie had the Oz beam down a portable power source. He connected it to the support system for the embryos. Now the lights glowed more brightly. The machinery that preserved them had more energy to work with.

After securing the embryos in the hold of the Star Fury, they continued aft to the Engine Room.

The engine room was slightly radioactive. It was also ruined. Birdie moved surely to the auxiliary power systems and checked them with his tricorder and his practiced eyes.

"I'm sorry, Commander." He reported "There's nothing to do here. This old girl needs a ship yard if she's ever going to fly again."

"Very good, Engineer. We'll secure the Star Fury to be towed."

-*-

It took a certain amount of work to secure the Star Fury. Crystara beamed aboard and made certain that there were no living spores of the Regulan blood worms to infect them. Then she sprayed a clear plastic polymer over the corpses of the crew. They would be preserved in these cocoons until they could be returned to Deep Space Ten. Then Dr. Smith would investigate their deaths, and they could be buried according to their final wishes.

Birdie carefully connected another portable power source to the Star Fury's computer. With power, the computer came back to life. With the access codes given by Fayanna May, the computer downloaded all of its logs and sensor recordings to the Federation runabouts overhead.

Afterwards, Birdie disconnected the power supply and the Star Fury's computer died again. Birdie took the power source and connected it to the internal force fields of the Star Fury. With even a small amount of power, the internal force fields would reinforce the hull enough to keep the Star Fury in one piece during the tractor beaming process.

-*-

"Hey, Tandala, take a look at these." Garan said. He lead her over to the weapons locker in the Star Fury's ward room.

She looked. "They had guns. So?"

"These are PPG's. I knew some people who would pay serious money for those." Garan sounded wistful.

"Why? Phasers and disruptors are cheap." Tandala could not see what use ancient plasma weapons were.

"Not to use. These guys were collectors."

"You knew collectors?" Tandala knew of Garan's disreputable past.

"A business man is only as good as his customers, okay?" The Acamerian ex-

pirate sounded miffed.

"That sounds almost Ferengi."

"It was. We had a Ferengi business manager, for a while."

"Really? What happened." Tandala asked.

"He double crossed us. So we killed him and ate him." Garan grinned with an exaggerated leer. Tandala didn't know how seriously to take the comment.

"Lieutenants MacBier and Draxil, may I remind you that you are on an open comm-channel?" Li'ira spoke over the suit communicators from another area.

"Uh, sorry, Commander." Garan said, and the two quickly returned to work.

-*-

The Narnia eventually settled over the Star Fury. When the positions were exactly right, Birdie activated the big tractor beam and docked the Narnia and the Star Fury together.

"It looks like they're mating." Garan said. Crystara remained cool, but Li'ira rolled her eyes. Garan seemed to have a one track mind.

"I wonder how many work pods are in a litter?" He continued.

Crystara snorted but quickly regained her calm.

-*-

After clearing the Asteroid, the Narnia and the Oz set course out of the system. Once clear of the gravitational interference caused by the star around which the asteroid orbited, Birdie carefully adjusted the warp drive of the Narnia. It would be forming a warp bubble around a mass much greater than it was really designed for. Birdie could persuade it to do so but it was a delicate procedure.

The two runabouts slowly entered warp, heading back for the Federation.

-*-

"Commander! I have a warp signature." The As'Taan sensor operator said.

"Identify location and type." His Commander said.

"They are within As'Taan space. One warp signature is diffuse and low powered. It looks like a freighter. The other matches the profile of a Federation runabout class starship!"

"That must have been the contact that was reported to us. Set course to intercept."

"Aye sir. Setting course."

"How soon until we intercept the intruders?" The Commander asked.

"Two days, sir."

"Will they still be inside our space?"

"Just barely sir."

The Commander grinned ferally. "Good."

-*-

The best speed the Narnia could make while towing the Star Fury was warp four. This was about one light year every three days. They were about two thirds of a light year inside As'Taan space. They had that far to go before they were safe.

-*-

Lt. Commander Baker was in Ops when a crewman reported. "Commander. I have sensor contact with the Narnia and the Oz. The Narnia is shining like beacon out there. I think the As'Taan cruiser has seen them."

"Watch it for a while and be sure, crewman." Baker said. He sat back in the chair at his station, and waited.

Half an hour later, the crewman reported. "Commander Baker, The As'Taan ship has set course to intercept our ships."

Baker took a deep breath. "Will the As'Taan catch them inside As'Taan territory?"

"It's hard to say, Sir. It's possible."

"Send our ships a message to that effect."

"Aye, sir."

Baker said "Where's the nearest Federation starship?"

"The USS Endeavor is engaged in combat in the Phoenix Sector. The USS London is on a deep space probe. They are both about one week away, sir."

Looking at the map of the Bendarri sector, Baker could see that no help from the Federation could possibly arrive in time. He refused to believe that there were no alternatives. The only one he could see raised unpleasant possibilities. Baker took a deep breath and made his decision.

"Call the Bendarri." He said

-*-

"Birdie, can you make the Narnia go any faster?" Li'ira asked from the Oz.

"What?" Birdie was surprised by the question "Why?"

"The As'Taan are onto us.

"Uh, that's bad. Commander, the Narnia's engines are running flat out now. If I try to speed us up any more, we could blow the whole works."

"Do your best." Li'ira said.

Birdie turned to his adjustments, and carefully tweaked the Narnia's engines.

She accelerated to warp factor 4.2.

-*-

Two days later the As'Taan patrol cruiser closed on the Federation ships.

"We have sensor contact, Commander." The As'Taan weapons sensor officer said.

"Adjust course and continue to intercept." The Commander said.

-*-

"Commander, we're being scanned." Tandala said.

"Identify." Li'ira said.

"It's an As'Taan sensor configuration, but I can't make out their exact location. They're jamming us."

"How long until we reach Federation space?"

"Two hours."

Li'ira cursed "Damn."

"Dump the Star Fury. The Oz and the Narnia could make it back out before the As'Taan caught us." Garan recommended.

"No. Not yet." Li'ira said.

Garan Draxil rolled his eyes and sighed but held on. It went against every instinct that he had to hold on to a derelict ship when the enemy approached. Starfleet evidently had a different way of dealing with this situation. Garan hoped that it would work.

The As'Taan ship was racing them to the border. At warp speeds it was going to take a while to play out. There was no doubt about the result.

-*-

"Commander, I have a report on the intruders." The sensor officer said.

"Give your report." The As'Taan commander replied.

"The intruders appear to be two Federation runabout class ships. One is towing a derelict trader."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, Commander."

"What are they doing? That makes no sense." The Commander was perplexed. Why would the Federation violate As'Taan territory for a wreck? It must be important somehow.

"I can not say Commander, but I have received data from an automated monitoring station along that border. The two Federation ships did not have the derelict with them when they entered our space."

"Then they have stolen the wreck from our territory." The commander's expression grew sour. If the wreck was in As'Taan territory then it naturally belonged to the As'Taan. The Federation ships were stealing it from its rightful owners, the As'Taan.

-*-

"Commander, We're being hailed." Tandala said.

"Time to the border?" Li'ira asked.

"Forty minutes, roughly." Tandala answered

"Let them wait for a few minutes." Li'ira decided. She was trying to buy time. Every minute that the confrontation was delayed took them that much closer to the border.

Tandala activated the runabout's recorder marker and downloaded the logs and sensor readings to it. When the runabout was damaged or destroyed, the recorder marker would automatically eject. Later, a Federation search effort might find the recorder marker and know what had happened to them. Tandala also downloaded recordings of the songs she had recently sung of the area. They weren't as good as direct contact, but they were better than nothing.

The communications system beeped irritably again.

"On audio." Li'ira said.

"Federation ships. You are engaged in an act of piracy. Shut down your weapons and engines. Surrender immediately or you will be fired upon."

Li'ira carefully timed the wait. A minute later the message repeated.

"What is the range to the As'Taan ship?" She asked.

Garan checked his panel carefully. "They will be within weapons range in three minutes and fifteen seconds."

"Hail them in three minutes and five seconds." Li'ira said. Then she called the other runabout. "Narnia, did you copy all that?"

Birdie replied "Oh yeah, Commander."

"The second the As'Taan ships fires in earnest, you drop the Star Fury and run for the border." She ordered him.

"Aye, Sir." Birdie said.

Li'ira turned to Draxil. "If they are about to start shooting, we will make a single attack run. We want to cover for the Narnia disengaging from the Star Fury. When the Narnia is clear then we run."

Garan looked at Li'ira. He knew that she was severely over estimating the power of the runabout Oz. "Are you sure, Commander?"

"If we just cut and run, then Birdie and Crystara are sitting ducks."

"Oh, man, oh man. And she wouldn't even go out with me!" Garan started to set up the tactical programs. He was going to have to invent the best evasive maneuvers of his whole life to get out this situation alive.

-*-

Three minutes later, Li'ira answered the hail.

"This is Commander Li'ira of the United Federation of Planets. We are on a rescue mission in answer to a distress call. We are not hostile and mean no harm."

The As'Taan Commander appeared on the screen. He looked Bendarri-like. Something like a weasel crossed with a bear. His muzzle was shorter than a Bendarri's. "You are invaders, engaged in an act of piracy. Surrender or be destroyed."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I am merely trying to rescue distressed travelers from the Federation."

"You lie. Our sensors reveal no life forms present on the derelict you tow. You have abandoned this derelict in As'Taan space. Therefore, it is As'Taan property."

"The life forms in question are preserved embryos that will mature into humans. We really don't want any trouble. Isn't there a more peaceful way to resolve this?" Li'ira wheedled. She was trying to get the As'Taan to debate with her, rather than opening fire.

"If you wanted peace then you should have stayed out of As'Taan space." The As'Taan commander had the Federation ships in a helpless position and he knew it. He enjoyed it, too. Both the ships would surrender and he could take valuable Federation prisoners, or they would abandon their derelict. At that point the As'Taan commander knew that he could injure or kill some of the Federation crew, while taking their prize away from them. In general it looked like a good day for him.

"The Federation won't take this lightly. Do you really want to risk an incident over a few embryos and an old hulk?" Li'ira challenged.

"I might ask the same question of you. Why risk an incident over these things? Our attitude towards intrusions is not a mystery to you."

"We understand your desire to be left alone in your space. We apologize for any misunderstandings this might have caused. As for why we risked the incident, well that's a long story." Li'ira went on to tell the As'Taan commander about the loss of the Star Fury in detail. She did not tell him about the orders from Admiral Necheyev or her own questions about the role of the Star Fury, but otherwise she simply told him the truth. It took quite a while.

At the end of the story, the As'Taan Commander said. "All this was very interesting. The fact that this was not claimed as As'Taan space one hundred and twenty years ago is irrelevant. You are in As'Taan space now. As for the debate on whether the embryos constitute life forms or simply the potential for life forms, the answer is that they are neither. They are As'Taan property, as is the hulk of the Star Fury. So are you for violating our space. If you had wanted to keep these things then you would not have let them violate our territory. I tell you once again to power down and surrender or I will destroy you."

"I am afraid that I must refuse." Li'ira said. She gave Garan the signal to prepare his attack run. The Security Chief gulped but keyed in the proper instructions.

"Fire." The As'Taan commander said.

The runabouts and the As'Taan patrol cruiser were moving at warp speed through space, usually battles are nearly impossible under those conditions. To really engage in battle the two combatants must be working at impulse speeds. Otherwise the strange space warping effects of the warp drives will make phasers useless, and photon torpedoes have only the rarest chance to hit their targets.

To disengage from the Star Fury, the Narnia would have to go to impulse drive and separate from the ship at sub-light speeds. During this time, the Narnia would be vulnerable to the As'Taan weapons. So Li'ira and Garan planned to keep the battle moving at warp speed for as long as possible while the As'Taan fired at them. Then, once the Narnia was forced to go sub-light, the Oz would move into impulse drive too. When the As'Taan patrol cruiser came out of warp to destroy the Narnia, the Oz would attack, hoping to distract the As'Taan cruiser long enough for the two runabouts to get back into warp and escape.

At Li'ira's signal the two runabouts started varying their warp factors by a small yet random amount. This changed their speeds by enough to make them hard to second guess and hit. The difference between warp 3.7 one second and warp 4.1 the next was enough to send the runabout thousands of kilometers in unexpected directions.

At the Commander's order, the As'Taan ship started to fling photon torpedoes at the fleeing runabouts. They were not able to hit but they were able to shake the two smaller Federation ships up.

As the Narnia shuddered, Li'ira said "Tell Birdie to bias his random numbers towards higher warp speeds. Then place the Oz between the As'Taan ship and the Narnia."

The two ships executed the maneuver and the Narnia began to pull slightly away. The As'Taan ship could over take the Narnia easily but not until it had dealt with the Oz.

"Concentrate fire on the trailing runabout." The Commander of the As'Taan ship said.

Inside the Oz, the ride got bumpier.

"They've targeted us!" Tandala said.

"No shit?" Garan shouted back.

"Arm photon torpedoes and return fire!" Li'ira ordered.

"Oh, Gods!" Garan said as he did so. The small photon torpedoes carried by the Oz would do no more than annoy the larger As'Taan vessel.

The Oz fired and her small torpedoes struck the As'Taan vessel. They exploded brightly but uselessly against the As'Taan's shields. In response, the As'Taan vessel closed to nearly point blank range and fired torpedoes with every tube that would bear.

Birdie saw the exchange shaping up and was preparing to go sublight. He felt that he could drop the Star Fury and join in the battle in time to help.

Crystara interrupted him. "Before you make any irrevocable decisions, look at this."

Birdie looked at his sensor screen. "I'll be dipped." He said.

-*-

The first salvo had about crippled the Oz. She was losing power and would soon be forced to go sublight.

"Engines at 54%, shields are down. Weapons systems off line." Tandala said. "This is the end."

Garan set up to drop to sublight speed and begin his desperate evasive maneuvers. Then he checked his hand phaser and his knife. "How did I let you talk me into this?" He asked Li'ira.

She was checking her own personal phaser. "Good Luck." She said.

The Narnia's engines failed and she lost warp speed.

-*-

The Narnia came out of warp, the As'Taan patrol cruiser came out of warp right on top of her, ready to open fire. The Kemali came out of warp right on top of the As'Taan battle cruiser. The Bendarri ship peppered the As'Taan ship with lightly powered phaser blasts. If the blasts had been fully powered the As'Taan ship would have been devastated.

Garan Draxil whooped and shouted in glee. Li'ira ordered him to pilot the Narnia to a safer distance from the Bendarri and the As'Taan ships.

Benhai hailed the As'Taan commander. "This is the Bendarri ship Kemali. Perhaps you'd like to arrange a peaceful solution to this dilemma?"

The reports of the attack and the damage that might otherwise have been done had just finished rolling in to the As'Taan commander. He looked at the Kemali and then at the Federation ships and knew that this time he was on the losing side. "Well done Captain," He pulled out his weapon and killed his sensor officer for not seeing the Bendarri cruiser. "Next time, perhaps the results will not make you so happy."

"We will see about that, next time."

"We are happy to peacefully point out your no doubt inadvertent navigational error. The Federation border is approximately one drengheck behind you."

"Please accept our sincere apologies for the misunderstanding."

"My government will be lodging a protest, Captain. This violation of As'Taan space will not go unpunished." With that the As'Taan Commander shut off communications, and quietly escorted the Oz, Narnia, Star Fury and the Kemali to the Federation side of the border.

-*-

"That was an interesting game you were playing, Commander." Benhai said to Li'ira. They were walking through the corridors of the Kemali. Benhai was proudly showing off her ship, while she ferried the Starfleet officers to Deep Space Ten.

"Yes, it was." Li'ira allowed.

"What were you really doing there?" Benhai was not even trying to be circumspect. "It was dangerous and put both of our crews at risk."

"The Star Fury was lost one hundred and twenty years ago on a trip to the Bendarri Empire. She was carrying a load of preserved human embryos." Li'ira explained.

"Ah, the Humana Colony. This still does not explain what you were doing there."

"Well, we did discover that maybe four hundred out of a thousand embryos had survived."

"This is good news and an excellent reason to penetrate the As'Taan border and risk a war. I will go ahead and believe that this is the reason, until you feel that you can trust me with the real reason."

Li'ira felt her face flush a deeper green. "Really I don't know. I have received mysterious orders. The Star Fury seems somehow related to Starfleet Intelligence. But I don't know how and I don't know what it could mean after one hundred and twenty years."

"Ah. A riddle is added to the mix. It makes much better sense now." Benhai said.

"Really? Do you know something about the Star Fury?" Li'ira asked.

"No. However, I know about you. I understand now that you were after the answers to your riddle. Next time don't wait until it is almost too late to ask for help."

-*-

The Kemali left the damaged runabout and the antique freighter at Deep Space Ten. The runabout would take a while to repair.

Li'ira ordered Birdie work on searching the Star Fury. There was something about the ship that was of interest to Starfleet Intelligence and Li'ira wanted to know what it was.

The As'Taan lodged a formal protest and Li'ira's Commanding Officer put a reprimand on her record.

-*-

The bodies of the crew of the Star Fury were removed. Taucia Smith did the post-mortem reports. Then the bodies were sealed into torpedo tubes.

Fayanna May was taken down to the cargo bay. Working hard, she stood on her own two feet and delivered the eulogy. Li'ira, Jonathan Baker, Tandala MacBier, Birdie, Taucia Smith and Crystara Acnapma were there to pay their respects to the deceased. Crystara carried a small incense burner that filled the room with a soft, perfumed smoke. When asked she refused to divulge the nature of the ritual. Garan Draxil refused to go to the funeral. Instead he was setting up a wake, where he would get drunk in the memory of the crew of Star Fury.

"These people were my family." May began. "We came out here not for greed or for some mystical human destiny in space. We came out here because it was possible for us to make our own way here. It was a simple matter of personal freedom that life on the Star Fury allowed."

"These people did not die tragically. I do not mourn their deaths. They died doing what they wanted to do. I mourn for myself who has to go on without them."

Fayanna gripped the bulkhead next to the controls to keep her balance.

"Attention!" Baker called the Starfleet crewmen to order.

"I commit their bodies to space. It is the freedom that they wanted and worked for all of their lives." Fayanna said.

"James B. McKee. My Chief Engineer." Taking a deep breath, she pressed a button on the control. McKee's coffin was put into a launch tube with a mechanical thunk. A soft whooshing meant that Deep Space Ten had ejected the tube on a pre-arranged course.

"D'Brin. Planet unknown. My Navigator and right hand man." Thunk. Whoosh.

"Doctor Gabriel Grey Owl." Thunk. Whoosh.

"Edwin Johnson, my supercargo." Thunk. Whoosh.

"Louie Chan, assistant engineer." Thunk. Whoosh.

"Michelle Garon, Steward." Thunk. Whoosh.

"Larei Peterson, Apprentice Spaceman." Fayanna's voice broke. Thunk, Whoosh.

"Aturas, please take them to you, and watch over them." Fayanna May prayed quietly.

-*-

Birdie tore into the Star Fury himself. He checked over every system carefully and found nothing as it should not be. There was nothing to suggest why the Star Fury was of interest to Starfleet Intelligence. After a month, Fayanna May was walking regularly under own power. Her recovery was continuing rapidly. Birdie's progress was negligible.

Li'ira reported the recovery of the Star Fury back to Starfleet Command through channels. Her own commanding officer would acknowledge the report and then send it to Starfleet Command where the Chief of Operations would route the message to Admiral Necheyev. Li'ira hoped that this would make the issue public enough to make it unattractive to the Intelligence service.

Admiral Necheyev sent orders back making the Star Fury a classified issue. That meant that Li'ira had to set the Star Fury up so that only authorized personnel were allowed aboard. She also had to control all equipment that came off the free trader.

This put a big crimp in deal that Tandala and Garan were making for Fayanna. The plasma weapons that were simple ship's equipment to Fayanna were very valuable to collectors. Many of the basic fittings of the Star Fury that Fayanna considered ordinary were sought after by collectors and museums.

By declaring the issue classified, Admiral Necheyev had killed all transactions. Li'ira had mixed feelings about it. She didn't like to think of Captain May being left destitute.

On the other hand Starfleet Intelligence was interested in the Star Fury or something on her. With the restriction in place, the secret that they were after could not get away from Li'ira.

Birdie came in one day and said "I don't know if this it, Commander." He put a weirdly altered PPG on Li'ira's desk.

Li'ira picked it up gingerly "What is it?"

"It's a remarkable little piece of work. That's a PPG modified into a primitive phaser."

"Really? In 2249?"

"Yes. It's not great. I would have preferred to leave it a PPG. It's more reliable that way. But that McKee could do it at all is interesting."

"What do you mean?" Li'ira was perplexed. The make shift phaser was an interesting artifact, but not too unusual. The hand phaser was introduced in 2252. It was widespread in Starfleet by 2255. By 2265 civilians were beginning to be able to buy them.

"Because McKee was able to invent several crucial steps that had been left out of the information he had. All it means was that he was very talented. Not too many other people ever reproduced the work independently." Birdie said

"Could this be what the Intelligence people were after?" Li'ira asked.

"I don't know. It doesn't seem to be worth the effort, does it?"

"No. Keep looking."

Birdie left Li'ira's office and returned to his examination of the Star Fury.

-*-

"You are ordered and required to prepare the Star Fury for transfer to the USS Achenar, Due to arrive at Deep Space Ten on or about Stardate 48334.2.

Upon the arrival of the USS Achenar you will transfer the following:

A> The SS Star Fury

B> All equipment removed from the Star Fury

C> All pieces of the Star Fury

D> All cargo carried by the Star Fury

E> All recordings and records made of the Star Fury

F> The survivor, Captain Fayanna May

The specified materials will be transferred to the USS Achenar under the custody of Captain Collins, commanding.

Signed Stardate: 48315.1 Admiral Necheyev Starfleet Command.

Li'ira read the orders and sighed. She only had a week until the Achenar was

due. She keyed the intercom "Li'ira to Birdie."

"Birdie here."

"We have a week until a starship arrives to take custody of the Star Fury."

"Okay, what do you want me to do?"

"Find out what they are after before the ship arrives."

"Aye, sir."

Li'ira then sat back and thought. There was one other way to slow down

Necheyev. Li'ira called Ops. "Open a channel to the Bendarri, please."

-*-

"This is becoming a habit." Benhai said. She was in Li'ira's office, relaxing.

Li'ira grinned ruefully. "I know. I hope that this won't be too much trouble."

"Not at all." Benhai softly snuffled. "Shall we begin?"

"Okay." Li'ira pressed a few buttons on her desk, setting it to record.

"As the representative of the Bendarri Government, I request that you transfer the embryos in the Star Fury's cargo to my custody." Benhai spoke formally.

"I regret to say that I must refuse."

"Why? They are our embryos. We have records of payment. The Star Fury herself was under contract to our government. There is no reason for Starfleet to block the transfer."

"I can not say why. The whole issue has been declared classified by Admiral Necheyev of Starfleet Command." Li'ira said.

"Then I must protest to your Admiral Necheyev and Starfleet Command."

"I will convey your objections. Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience."

"Such things are sometimes necessary even between such close friends as the Bendarri Empire and the Federation. I'm certain that it will be worked out." Benhai's optimism was unshakable. "One further matter."

"What's that?" Li'ira asked. This wasn't part of their pre planned exchange.

"We request that Fayanna May, of the Star Fury be transferred to my custody."

"Hmmm." Said Li'ira. Where was this going? "That might be difficult."

"Why? Is Captain May under arrest?"

"No. But she is in a delicate medical condition." Li'ira fumbled. The classified nature of the event, and the orders to turn over Captain May implied that she might be, but Li'ira had no formal charges. Li'ira was also genuinely worried about Fayanna May's condition.

"Our healers are well versed in human physiology. Remember that we have Human citizens of the Empire. Our knowledge has recently been enhanced by the exchange of medical databases with the Federation." Benhai gently reminded. Li'ira and Benhai had informally exchanged medical and science databases during the first official Bendarri visit to Deep Space Ten.

Li'ira thought it over. "If Captain May freely wishes to go, then I have no right to deny it."

"Good."

"Is that all you wish to discuss?" Li'ira asked.

"That will do for now." Benhai said.

Li'ira turned off the log and sat back.

"I'm sorry to surprise you like that, my friend." Benhai said.

Li'ira grinned "No, it was brilliant!"

-*-

The Kemali stood off Deep Space Ten for the next week. Taucia Smith worked with the Bendarri healer to transfer Fayanna May to the Bendarri ship and to insure that her treatments continued. May was gaining new strength daily.

After five days, Birdie called Li'ira to the engineering lab he was using for his investigation.

"I got it." He said. He looked tired. Li'ira knew that he had been pushing himself.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Watch."

Birdie turned on the display and Li'ira saw a blank anonymous area of deep space. Two starships drew together. Li'ira recognized the layout of a free trader, but not the specific type of ship. According to the readings she saw, the other ship was a primitive deep space scout of some sort. It was not a Federation built ship. It looked oddly familiar somehow.

The two ships docked and began to transfer cargo. After a long time, the transfer was complete, and the two ships drew apart and began to move away.

Birdie said "That was an As'Taan starship. Agents of Starfleet Intelligence were using the Free Trader. They transferred weapons to the As'Taan ship."

"Why in the world would they want to do that?" Li'ira was mystified.

"That was in 2247, about one hundred and twenty-six years ago." Birdie said.

"That was before the As'Taan were really a presence in the area... Do you think that Starfleet Intelligence gave them a technology boost?" Li'ira speculated.

"I don't know. This was in the burned out circuits in the Nav-Comp of the Star Fury."

"Really? What was it doing there?"

"I don't know. I suspect that the crew never knew that it was there. It was buried and encrypted in the navigational data update."

"It was?" Li'ira's voice was dangerously low. The Federation kept comprehensive navigational charts of the explored area of the galaxy. Every time a starship, either civilian or Starfleet docked with the Starbase then the Starbase would absorb information from the ship and return updated navigational charts. The data from the ships was integrated and used to update later charts. With free traders often plying little known or obscure areas, the Federation could use their readings to get better maps. Since they gave the charts away for free, nobody much minded. Everyone benefited. If Starfleet Intelligence was using this to transmit hidden messages, then it was a severe breach of trust from Starfleet. It made unknowing civilians targets to any foreign power that discovered the fact.

"How did you discover this?" Li'ira asked.

"I had to reconstruct the circuits and then decode the data in them. Since it was one hundred and twenty three years ago, the circuits and the data encryption were not very complex, by today's standards."

"Could they be doing this to modern ships?" Li'ira asked.

"They might. If they took enough pains to keep it secret then we might not be able to find it." Birdie was almost as disturbed as Li'ira.

Li'ira said "Log all of this and transfer it to my office as soon as you are done."

A couple of hours later, Li'ira documented every incident of the event with the Star Fury. She included all sensor readings and orders received from Admiral Necheyev. She included a complete record of the Star Fury, what was found on the ship as well as Birdie's discovery. She included Captain May's account of the end of the Star Fury as well as records of the post mortems of the crew.

Then when all the data was gathered, Li'ira made it a part of her commander's log. She sent copies to her own Commanding Officer, Admiral Benton of Starbase Thirty-Five and to Admiral Louvios, the chief of he Starfleet Justice Department. Then she took a copy on an isolinear chip and put it away in her quarters.

-*-

The starship USS Achenar arrived at Deep Space Ten. Captain Collins beamed aboard and took immediate charge of the Star Fury incident. Collins was a tall, handsome, blond haired blue eyed man with an athletic frame and deep dimples.

He quickly declassified and released the Star Fury and the embryos to the custody of the Bendarri. He took the remains of the Nav-Comp and the Identity Beacon of the Star Fury and destroyed them by disintegration with a phaser. No evidence remained.

Afterwards he used the prefix code override to erase the logs of the Deep Space Ten where they related to the Star Fury. He gave the crew of Deep Space Ten scripts with which they re-recorded their logs. They mentioned none of the more mysterious points about the Star Fury.

In a briefing, Captain Collins said to the command crew of Deep Space Ten "The matter of the Star Fury is officially closed. Say nothing more about it than you mentioned in your current logs. If you violate these orders then you will be prosecuted under section 710.4 of the Starfleet code of Uniform Justice, relating to secrecy and matters of Federation security. Acknowledge and comply with your orders."

"Aye, aye, Sir." The crew said. They really had no choice.

-*-

"You stepped on some pretty big toes, Commander." Collins said. He was in Li'ira's office. He had taken her there to get a full report on what had happened and why.

"Putting intelligence data in unknowing civilian ships was painting a target on them for outside intelligence agencies, Sir."

"Maybe it was. Maybe it was even an immoral act, but that's not your call to make."

"So, who makes the call, Captain? You?"

"No. Our command authority at Starfleet Command makes the call and we must abide by it."

"Even when they are wrong?"

"Again, that's not our call to make. By sending this to Admiral Louvios and Admiral Benton you have opened quite a can of worms."

"Isn't that the Admiral's call to make?" Li'ira asked.

"There are those of us who believe that Starfleet and the Federation represent the best hope for peace in our galaxy."

"I could get behind that." Li'ira said.

"Then why did you open this situation up like that?" Collins asked.

"Because it wasn't right. A Federation without principles would be meaningless." Li'ira spoke with her heart.

"Don't be so naive. That Pollyanna crap might get you good grades at the Academy but this is the real world. Things are tougher out here than that." Collins was upset. "Is a principle worth someone's life? How many operations will be compromised because of the data you let loose?"

"I can't believe that the Justice Department would leak any data that might compromise someone." Li'ira said.

"They wouldn't intentionally but how do you know there isn't an under cover agent in the Justice Department? I'm told that the Obsidian Order is quite good at planting moles."

"What's worse, being naive or paranoid?" Li'ira asked.

"I guess you've made your choice, haven't you, Commander?"

"Yes, Captain, I have."

"We'll remember this. You'll be hearing from us again." Collins said.

"Yes, Sir." Lira said.

-*-

Birdie came to Li'ira's office to report. She had ordered him to hack into the main computer and access the prefix codes of Deep Space Ten.

"Did you get it?" Li'ira asked Birdie.

"Yes, Sir." Birdie replied.

"Can you reprogram it?"

"It'll take some doing, but no one will use the prefix codes against us again."

"Thank you." Li'ira said. She couldn't help but wonder, what had she chosen? Paranoia or optimism?

-*-

Fayanna May looked at the bridge of her new ship. She wasn't used to it, yet. Eventually she knew, it might come to seem like home. Her new crew were Bendarri and humans and even one or two others from the Bendarri Empire. Her new ship the Star Fury II was a newly built Bendarri Free Trader. The Bendarri had financed the new ship, under very favorable terms.

Fayanna and her new crew were venturing into space unknown to either Bendarri or the Humana Colony that was within their borders. They would trade there and gather data like a scout. Then they would bring their knowledge home. The money they could keep but the real mission was one of exploration. They were going where no Bendarri had gone before.

A strange new region called the United Federation of Planets.

"And maybe," Fayanna thought to herself "A little beyond."

-End-

Federation Geographic: The Bendarri Empire

By Jay P. Hailey and Kitty Howard

The Bendarri Empire:

An interstellar empire allied with the United Federation of Planets.

Location:

The Bendarri Empire is located at the very edge of Federation territory. It's closest neighbors are The Klingon Empire 85 LY distant, and the Cardassian Union 60 LY away.

The Bendarri Empire encompasses a globe about 200 LY across, with over 200 inhabited worlds.

People:

Population 90% Bendarri, 5% Human, 5% other races.

Languages:

The official language is Bendarri. The Human inhabitants speak others, including English.

Government:

Constitutional monarchy. The Government is small, designed only to perform the functions absolutely necessary. Trusted officers and nobles handle some functions on an ad hoc basis.

Economy:

The Bendarri are a self-sufficient economy, with active trade between inhabited planets. The Bendarri Empire is beginning to seek new trading opportunities inside the UFP.

The Bendarri Empire has trade relations with the UFP colony worlds closest to it. The relationship is currently lucrative and fairly happy.

The Bendarri are currently building free trader style ships and are willing to finance small owners and crews in a Bendarri built trade ship. The Bendarri insist on a complete and accurate account of where the ships goes to trade and all easily gathered facts about the places and people the sponsored crews trade with.

The standard Bendarri monetary unit is the Bendarri Monetary Unit or BMU. Federation Credits were also commonly used. These two currencies are going out of style in favor of the Ferengi "Gold Pressed Latinum" style of currency.

The Ferengi Currency has the advantage of being hard to trace, hard to counterfeit, and holds a stable value.

The Race:

The Bendarri themselves are between 6 and 8 feet tall. They weigh between 300 and 500 lbs. To a Terran they resemble a bear crossed with an otter, with a hint of Vulcan sehlat thrown in. They have an upright stance which appears slightly stooped over. They have a fur coat which covers almost all of their bodies. The have a long narrow face with a slightly squished looking muzzle. They have large brown eyes and long sharp claws on their hands.

The females are bigger on the average than the males, and tend to be the dominant members of Bendarri society. The Bendarri have enacted sexual equality and practice full male equality and male participation in society.

As a race the Bendarri are generally enthusiastic, energetic and friendly. They are very social. Although they are not mean, they have a racial lack of tact. They are gregarious, curious and have little or no privacy taboo.

When first contacted they asked, among other things, to watch an entire cycle of nutrition and elimination with full scientific sensors. They also asked to be allowed to watch an entire reproductive cycle. As a group, with full sensors.

The Culture:

The Bendarri culture prizes individuals and individual freedoms. They have had a matriarchal society since they evolved into their current form. Their current government is a formalized version of this ancient arrangement.

Because they all have fur coats, Bendarri dress typically includes sashes or vests with badges of rank displayed.

The Bendarri are perfectly willing to defend themselves and their territory. They have had a long running rivalry with the As'Taan.

Military:

Due to the ongoing conflict with the As'Taan, the Bendarri have experienced ground forces and a tough Space Navy. Bendarri battle cruisers are numerous and roughly the equal of anything in the UFP. They are optimized more for battle and so have less science capability and range than a comparable Federation ship, but are more maneuverable and robust in battle.

History:

The Bendarri evolved into their current form about one million years ago. Their history is filled with accomplishments and wars and heroism. They developed star flight some time in the 2070's on Earth.

As soon as they developed star flight they began to contact other races and set up an interstellar community. Attempts to set up some sort of alliance or federation failed and the Bendarri social structure began to dominate.

Then, the Bendarri contacted the As'Taan. The As'Taan and the Bendarri are related species, yet the As'Taan have a different outlook. The As'Taan are jealous of their space and xenophobic. A conflict broke out immediately and has never been resolved.

Over time the conflict has developed a set of unwritten rules and assumptions which limit the amount of death and destruction caused by the conflict. The conflict is in deadly earnest and isolated incidents continue to occur.

The Bendarri Empire was discovered by the UFP one hundred and fifty years ago. It was discovered by a lost starship, which was given aid and repairs, and sent back into the Federation.

In that time the Bendarri Empire was well outside of Federation space and contact, while friendly, was limited by distance.

One colony ship from Earth found it's way into the Bendarri Empire. There was some tension on the part of the Earth over the treatment of the colonists. The colonists elected to join the Bendarri Empire and their descendants are happy and productive members of the Bendarri Empire.

In recent times, Federation expansion into the area as well as Bendarri expansion have brought the two powers into closer contact.

Both sides began immediate diplomatic missions, and the general tone of the relationship has been very friendly. Many treaties and agreements have made the UFP and the Bendarri Empire very close indeed.

The only point of contention is the idea of who will join whom. The Bendarri have been lobbying tirelessly to convince the United Federation of Planets to join the Bendarri Empire.

The Bendarri do not wish to turn their nation into a piece of anything else and resist the idea of joining the Federation.

Until the problem can be resolved the Bendarri Empire has resolved itself to be happy with their loyal allies, the United Federation of Planets.

Appearance:

The Bendarri appeared in Kitty's Star Trek games of 1994.

Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this story for me.