Code_Name_D
01-26-2007, 09:11 PM
Space,
The final frontier,
A land as vast as the Human imagination itself,
A place filled with new worlds, and new civilizations.
A dark void matched only by the shadows found in the Human heart.
Human tendency for evil is matched only by its capacity for good.
Space is but the final setting for ultimate struggle from within.
It is courage of the soul that shall endure the great star trek.
But it is the Human heart that shall be the guide to…
DESTINY
Act #8: Between the Rock and the Abyss
The goddess statue took a number of swings at her, but Jane was able to duck under them. But she was also running out of room. The statue suddenly turned to run toward Huro’K, forcing Jane to run after her.
“Jane! Look out, it’s a trap!” her ghost warned. But her warning was too late, Jane had walked right into it as the bronze goddess statue turned and delivered a punch right into her face plate, hitting her hard enough to slam her against the bulkhead behind her, and fall to the deck.
She let out a tortured gasp as her very breath was stolen from her and her skin seemed to be folded into numbing cold. But she was still alive, still conscious, still able to right.
Her companion, however, felt the impact as well; she cried out in pain and then crumpled to her hands and knees. As Jane looked up, she watched her companion rapidly fade away. Her companion had warned her that she may only be able to support her in a vacuum for moments. If she was to get out of this, she needed to act fast and decisively.
Leaping to her feet, Jane charged after the statue at a full sprint. But the statue had a longer stride and a head start, how was she going to catch up with that thing?
Huro’K had once last chance. He let out a defiant war cry as he raised his bat’leth over his head. He was just about to strike at the sphere when he saw movement to his left. Turning too late, he saw the goddess statue charging him.
And then suddenly something tackled the statue out of the way, causing her to miss her target and knocking Huro’K off to one side and sending the sphere rolling across the garden.
To his astonishment, he saw that somehow Jane managed to fly across the deck and tackle the statue against the far bulkhead. It was as impossible as it was glorious.
“Dee-dee! The integrity of your suit is compromised. You will die in eight minutes,” the computer of Huro’K’s environmental suit said.
“By the will of Kayless, we just may prevail yet,” Huro’K said as he ran after the sphere.
The statue saw him run across the garden and ran after him. But Jane caught up to her and tripped her up.
“Huro’K, I don’t know if you are listening, but things are getting a little dicey up here,” Jay said over the intercom. “If you are going to do something, it needs to be now.”
“Then now it shall be,” Huro’K said as he twirled his bet’leth in his hand as he ran up to the sphere.
The goddess statue saw this and knew she could not let him reach the sphere. It picked up a boulder and threw it at Huro’K. Fortunately, Huro’K’s helmet had rear view mirrors and he saw the rock hurled at him, and dove out of the way. But he was now off his feet, it would take him moments to return to his feet, time that he knew that he did not have.
Ghost was fading fast. She could feel her energy draining away at an alarming rate. But the rock gave her an idea.
“Jane! That’s it,” Ghost said. “Try to throw the statue through the bay windows!”
The goddess statue picked up a second boulder, but before she could throw it, Jane managed to take hold of her arm and freeze it in place. Jane was not completely flying, but somehow had the power to keep her position. She managed to reverse throw the statue and hurled it against the bay windows, but the windows, though damaged, were strong enough to catch the massive twelve-foot-tall bronze statue. Her move proved to be a bad gamble as the statue was now within striking distance of Huro’K. And she took advantage of Jane’s mistake and lunged for him.
“Dee-dee! The integrity of your suit is compromised. You will die in one minute.”
“Jane! Hurry!” Ghost said as she felt herself losing the battle.
I have one last shot, Jane realized. And she flew at the statue.
Huro’K sprinted across the dirt, seeing the danger, he stopped. The goddess statue’s lunge landed short. Huro’K then jumped onto her back, and jumped off to the other side. His bet’leth was already in motion, building the momentum he needed for his strike against the crystal sphere.
The goddess statue reached for him, but was pulled away at the very last second. Jane had taken her by the shins and pulled her around for a scissor throw against the bay windows. The windows silently shattered as they were blown into space, and the goddess statue with them.
With a mighty yell, Huro’K delivered his blow against the sphere, cracking it in half, and releasing the glow trapped inside in the form of a brilliant flash. “Dee-dee! You are out of air, die well,” the computer of Huro’K’s environmental suit said, even as he pulled at his own emergency beam-out ring.
Jane suddenly fell to the deck as she felt this rush of power suddenly disappear. She could now feel the vacuum around her tightening its grip. She fumbled around and managed to find the ring on the front of her environmental suit, and yanked it free. At that precise moment, she felt the wash of energy of the transporter beam taking hold. A moment later, she was gasping for air aboard the QuA’Tara’s transporter platform in the hallway.
Huro’K was on the platform next to her, still obviously struggling for air. He ripped open a Velcro bag on his suit to spill out a long hose. He grabbed it and plugged it into a receptacle built into the wall, resulting in an audible rush of life-giving air. He then stood up and let out with a triumphant roar and raised his bet’leth up high in victory.
<+++>
Jane sat down on one of the observation chairs on the bridge as she watched Jay work.
“I need minus two meters on the X axis,” she heard Huro’K say over the intercom.
“Minus two meters X, aye aye,” Jay responded.
Looking out the aft window of the bridge, she could see just how close the QuA’Tara was to the hangar bay of the Nixon. At one point, the two ships were so close together that Huro’K could step from one hangar bay to the other to pull his line. Setting up the transfer rope was both tricky and dangerous. But both had clearly done this before.
“All right, the transfer line is complete,” Huro’K said. “Haul away.”
“Activating winch,” Jay said.
Leaning closer to the window to get a better view, Jane still could not see a lot. Jay had cut the gravity to the hangar bay and positioned the QuA’Tara “above” the Nixon at a ninety degree angle. The result was a smooth transfer of about three tons of artifacts, all that they could safely haul.
“Transfer is complete,” Huro’K said over the intercom.
“Roger, the cargo is now secure and the cargo bay doors are closed. What is your air supply?” Jay asked.
“I have one hour remaining,” Huro’K said, “I will now go to the garden once more.”
“I copy that,” Jay said, “we will be ready.” With that, Jay sat down at the pilot's controls and moved the ship to another position in relation to the Nixon. Jane had to move to another window, but now had a better view of the ship.
“You know we are on a schedule,” Jay said. “But if you want to go back and search the ship one last time, I think we can wait just a tad longer before we leave. It’s highly unlikely that anyone outside saw the event.”
“Thanks, but I don’t think the extra time will help. I could spend the rest of my life on board and still not learn who I am,” Jane said.
“All the better then,” Jay said. “It’s probably just as well you get on with your life any way. No use dwelling about the past, especially with you not having one. If you like, you can go down to the mess and watch from there, if you want some time alone.”
“Why me, Jay?” Jane said. “Why am I the only one who survived? Why not the captain, or my mother, why not a young man about to be married, why…”
“Why was it you who survived?” Jay said.
“Did they just let me live because I was the girl on the ship, the innocent child everyone wanted to protect? What the hell is so god damned special about me that I should live?” Jane said.
“Now, I don’t know why you survived and no one else did,” Jay said. “But if Huro’K’s description of your courage and bravery down there is any measure of who you are, then perhaps your friends and family believed you were worth saving. But if a man lives many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many.”
“More Klingon wisdom?” Jane said.
“Actually, you will find that in the bible,” Jay said. “It means that you should never be ashamed of being alive. Out here in space, sometimes the only thing we have is each other. Your ship mates gave you a second chance, don’t ruin it with guilt.”
Jane turned to him and tried to come up with something to say, anything that would prove that he was wrong. But she couldn’t. Instead, she broke down into his chest and cried. All Jay could do was return the hug and be quiet.
She cried for a number of minutes before Jay finally stepped away and looked down onto her. “That’s a good cry,” he said. “Let us help you say goodbye to them. I made you something to send them. You will find it just outside the starboard air lock, put it inside and come back here.”
She nodded as she tried to pull away her tears. She left to go down two decks. There she saw Jay’s gift, consisting of a large wreath made of replicated white lilies with the words “Rest in Peace,” written in exotic calligraphy.
“You're not alone.”
Jane turned and saw her ghost standing just behind her. She still looked translucent, but she was still there.
“I can’t help but feel that I leave a family behind too,” Ghost said.
“Why?” Jane said. “Why did they die for me?”
“I think they did it because they loved you, because we loved you,” Ghost said. “Do you really need another reason?”
“No… Yes, I do need another reason,” Jane said. “Maybe its up to me to make their sacrifice worth something.”
“Maybe that is something both of us need to do,” Ghost said. “Trust me, you will get a chance. And I will be there with you.”
“Thanks,” Jane said as she pulled the last of her tears away. She then moved the wreath inside the air lock, and then stepped out so that she could close it.
“Goodbye, I promise you, your gift will not be wasted,” Jane said. With that, the air lock closed.
Huro’K pushed open the bulkhead doors, and once again stood in the garden of evil. It was no coincidence that everything here was dead, and that not a molecule of water could be found in the stream. The bodies were still hanging from the ceiling, entombed in their spiritual prison.
“This is Huro’K to the QuA’Tara,” he said into his radio. “I am here.”
“We copy that, my friend. The modifications have been made to the transporter. The QuA’Tara is standing by for your word.”
Huro’K looked around and regarded the evil around him for one final moment of respect.
“Energies,” he said.
A moment later, he could see the transporter pattern play on the walls and ceiling. As it passed, it erased the demonic Klingon symbols. The transporter also washed over the bodies, removing the symbols on their skin and cutting the ropes, letting them fall to the deck.
Huro’K then knelt down to the closest Klingon body that landed next to him. He rolled it over and looked into its eyes. They were empty and dehydrated, like looking into stones. He could see nothing. But his emotions welled up in him, burning and growing until he could no longer contain them. He stood up, and roared until his lungs burned from both the rage and release that he felt.
His roar was long and loud, and could clearly be heard aboard the bridge of the QuA’Tarra that Jane had returned to.
“What is he doing?” Jane asked.
“It’s a warning to the dead,” Jay said. “Beware, a Klingon warrior comes. QuA’Tara to Huro’K, are you okay?”
“I live,” he said back. “Thank you for the chance to set them free.”
“It’s the least we can do for them Huro’K. Now it’s our turn, if you would observe through a port window. The QuA’Tara shall now come to the ready. Bring weapons on line to render honors. Ready, and FIRE!”
As Huro’K looked out the bay window, he saw the QuA’ Tara do a slow fly by. Its phaser beam suddenly shot into space, seven very short bursts.
“FIRE!” Jay said again. And again the QuA’Tara fired seven short bursts into space. “FIRE!” followed by a third volley. He then pressed the play button, instructing the computer to transmit Taps on every frequency. He then looked over at Jane who was standing over her own console.
She saw one command on display, “Controlled decompression override, open outer door to starboard air lock.” She paused for a moment to look at Ghost who was standing next to her. Ghost offered a reassuring nod.
“And so we walk the river of blood,” she said. She then pressed the command.
The air lock door opened and the air inside blew out the wreath, sending it tumbling towards the Nixon.
“That song was most moving,” Huro’K said, “What does it mean.”
“It means good bye,” Jay said. “Good bye, and thank you. The QuA’Tara now stands down. Stand by to be beamed back aboard, Huro’K, it is time to go.”
“Agreed,” Huro’K said.
“Agreed,” Jane said as well.
The QuA’Tera lingered in the view of the Nixon for a few moments. It then turned, and disappeared as it jumped into warp.
Jane went down to the hall where she helped Huro’K take off his environmental suit. “You should rejoice in their sacrifice,” he said flatly.
“I know,” she said, “but that doesn’t make it easy to do.”
“No, I suppose it does not,” Huro’K said. He then placed his hand on her shoulder with a sturdy grip. “The river of blood is never an easy path to follow. None of us can escape its current. You dishonor them when you cry for what they gave you.”
“I won’t cry for very long,” Jane said. “Tomorrow is the future, and I have the rest of my life to honor what they did.” Huro’K was silent for a moment. He then burst out in a loud and infectious laugh.
“There may be Klingon blood in your veins yet,” Huro’K said. He then continued to laugh until Jane joined in. “Come, Klingons have a tradition to feast, drink, and be merry to honor those who have fallen in battle. And I shall teach you of the song of Hiron, that celebrates life.”
“I would like that,” Jane said.
Huro’K then began to sing out with all of his might as they made their way past the elevator to the mess deck.
But meanwhile, the ship was quiet. The engines hummed away, propelling the QuA’Tara to its next adventure that was to be found deep in the Romulan frontier. Rodents scurried around the hangar bay, sniffing out possible food sources that they could scavenge. Somehow, one made its way past the bio field that protected the recently re-pressurized hangar bay of the QuA’Tara. It went straight for the cargo net that contained any number of new things that might possibly be food.
In its search for food, it scrambled over a handsome looking Klingon clay statue, a cha’thuk. There, the rodent apparently discovered something on its face. It wasn’t food, but whatever it was seemed to warrant a closer look. A crack suddenly formed on the face of the cha’thuk, scaring away the rodent. Another crack formed, and then another, until the statue seemed to disintegrate into clay dust. But as the clay fell away, it left flesh behind.
The statue suddenly gasped for air and moved for the first time, throwing off his clay encapsulation. He quickly fell out of the net and onto the deck. But soon his gasps for air gave way to laughter.
“It worked,” he said as he rose to his feet to look around. “The spell worked. At long last, freedom is mine. And where I am free, the freedom of the mighty king of the Empire of Gre’thor shall surely follow,” he continued. He then drew his sword from its sheath and held it over his head, “Of this I swear with my life and soul, the deeds of Kayless the Sinister, shall finally be undone, and the many worlds he stole shall be returned to Fek’lhr, the rightful ruler of all!”
To be continued…
By Douglas E. Kulp, AKA Code Name D
Codename.doug@gmail.com
Edited by Dee
January 26, 2007
Act #1 can be read here!
http://www.progressiveindependent.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=101&topic_id=13227&mesg_id=13227
The final frontier,
A land as vast as the Human imagination itself,
A place filled with new worlds, and new civilizations.
A dark void matched only by the shadows found in the Human heart.
Human tendency for evil is matched only by its capacity for good.
Space is but the final setting for ultimate struggle from within.
It is courage of the soul that shall endure the great star trek.
But it is the Human heart that shall be the guide to…
DESTINY
Act #8: Between the Rock and the Abyss
The goddess statue took a number of swings at her, but Jane was able to duck under them. But she was also running out of room. The statue suddenly turned to run toward Huro’K, forcing Jane to run after her.
“Jane! Look out, it’s a trap!” her ghost warned. But her warning was too late, Jane had walked right into it as the bronze goddess statue turned and delivered a punch right into her face plate, hitting her hard enough to slam her against the bulkhead behind her, and fall to the deck.
She let out a tortured gasp as her very breath was stolen from her and her skin seemed to be folded into numbing cold. But she was still alive, still conscious, still able to right.
Her companion, however, felt the impact as well; she cried out in pain and then crumpled to her hands and knees. As Jane looked up, she watched her companion rapidly fade away. Her companion had warned her that she may only be able to support her in a vacuum for moments. If she was to get out of this, she needed to act fast and decisively.
Leaping to her feet, Jane charged after the statue at a full sprint. But the statue had a longer stride and a head start, how was she going to catch up with that thing?
Huro’K had once last chance. He let out a defiant war cry as he raised his bat’leth over his head. He was just about to strike at the sphere when he saw movement to his left. Turning too late, he saw the goddess statue charging him.
And then suddenly something tackled the statue out of the way, causing her to miss her target and knocking Huro’K off to one side and sending the sphere rolling across the garden.
To his astonishment, he saw that somehow Jane managed to fly across the deck and tackle the statue against the far bulkhead. It was as impossible as it was glorious.
“Dee-dee! The integrity of your suit is compromised. You will die in eight minutes,” the computer of Huro’K’s environmental suit said.
“By the will of Kayless, we just may prevail yet,” Huro’K said as he ran after the sphere.
The statue saw him run across the garden and ran after him. But Jane caught up to her and tripped her up.
“Huro’K, I don’t know if you are listening, but things are getting a little dicey up here,” Jay said over the intercom. “If you are going to do something, it needs to be now.”
“Then now it shall be,” Huro’K said as he twirled his bet’leth in his hand as he ran up to the sphere.
The goddess statue saw this and knew she could not let him reach the sphere. It picked up a boulder and threw it at Huro’K. Fortunately, Huro’K’s helmet had rear view mirrors and he saw the rock hurled at him, and dove out of the way. But he was now off his feet, it would take him moments to return to his feet, time that he knew that he did not have.
Ghost was fading fast. She could feel her energy draining away at an alarming rate. But the rock gave her an idea.
“Jane! That’s it,” Ghost said. “Try to throw the statue through the bay windows!”
The goddess statue picked up a second boulder, but before she could throw it, Jane managed to take hold of her arm and freeze it in place. Jane was not completely flying, but somehow had the power to keep her position. She managed to reverse throw the statue and hurled it against the bay windows, but the windows, though damaged, were strong enough to catch the massive twelve-foot-tall bronze statue. Her move proved to be a bad gamble as the statue was now within striking distance of Huro’K. And she took advantage of Jane’s mistake and lunged for him.
“Dee-dee! The integrity of your suit is compromised. You will die in one minute.”
“Jane! Hurry!” Ghost said as she felt herself losing the battle.
I have one last shot, Jane realized. And she flew at the statue.
Huro’K sprinted across the dirt, seeing the danger, he stopped. The goddess statue’s lunge landed short. Huro’K then jumped onto her back, and jumped off to the other side. His bet’leth was already in motion, building the momentum he needed for his strike against the crystal sphere.
The goddess statue reached for him, but was pulled away at the very last second. Jane had taken her by the shins and pulled her around for a scissor throw against the bay windows. The windows silently shattered as they were blown into space, and the goddess statue with them.
With a mighty yell, Huro’K delivered his blow against the sphere, cracking it in half, and releasing the glow trapped inside in the form of a brilliant flash. “Dee-dee! You are out of air, die well,” the computer of Huro’K’s environmental suit said, even as he pulled at his own emergency beam-out ring.
Jane suddenly fell to the deck as she felt this rush of power suddenly disappear. She could now feel the vacuum around her tightening its grip. She fumbled around and managed to find the ring on the front of her environmental suit, and yanked it free. At that precise moment, she felt the wash of energy of the transporter beam taking hold. A moment later, she was gasping for air aboard the QuA’Tara’s transporter platform in the hallway.
Huro’K was on the platform next to her, still obviously struggling for air. He ripped open a Velcro bag on his suit to spill out a long hose. He grabbed it and plugged it into a receptacle built into the wall, resulting in an audible rush of life-giving air. He then stood up and let out with a triumphant roar and raised his bet’leth up high in victory.
<+++>
Jane sat down on one of the observation chairs on the bridge as she watched Jay work.
“I need minus two meters on the X axis,” she heard Huro’K say over the intercom.
“Minus two meters X, aye aye,” Jay responded.
Looking out the aft window of the bridge, she could see just how close the QuA’Tara was to the hangar bay of the Nixon. At one point, the two ships were so close together that Huro’K could step from one hangar bay to the other to pull his line. Setting up the transfer rope was both tricky and dangerous. But both had clearly done this before.
“All right, the transfer line is complete,” Huro’K said. “Haul away.”
“Activating winch,” Jay said.
Leaning closer to the window to get a better view, Jane still could not see a lot. Jay had cut the gravity to the hangar bay and positioned the QuA’Tara “above” the Nixon at a ninety degree angle. The result was a smooth transfer of about three tons of artifacts, all that they could safely haul.
“Transfer is complete,” Huro’K said over the intercom.
“Roger, the cargo is now secure and the cargo bay doors are closed. What is your air supply?” Jay asked.
“I have one hour remaining,” Huro’K said, “I will now go to the garden once more.”
“I copy that,” Jay said, “we will be ready.” With that, Jay sat down at the pilot's controls and moved the ship to another position in relation to the Nixon. Jane had to move to another window, but now had a better view of the ship.
“You know we are on a schedule,” Jay said. “But if you want to go back and search the ship one last time, I think we can wait just a tad longer before we leave. It’s highly unlikely that anyone outside saw the event.”
“Thanks, but I don’t think the extra time will help. I could spend the rest of my life on board and still not learn who I am,” Jane said.
“All the better then,” Jay said. “It’s probably just as well you get on with your life any way. No use dwelling about the past, especially with you not having one. If you like, you can go down to the mess and watch from there, if you want some time alone.”
“Why me, Jay?” Jane said. “Why am I the only one who survived? Why not the captain, or my mother, why not a young man about to be married, why…”
“Why was it you who survived?” Jay said.
“Did they just let me live because I was the girl on the ship, the innocent child everyone wanted to protect? What the hell is so god damned special about me that I should live?” Jane said.
“Now, I don’t know why you survived and no one else did,” Jay said. “But if Huro’K’s description of your courage and bravery down there is any measure of who you are, then perhaps your friends and family believed you were worth saving. But if a man lives many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many.”
“More Klingon wisdom?” Jane said.
“Actually, you will find that in the bible,” Jay said. “It means that you should never be ashamed of being alive. Out here in space, sometimes the only thing we have is each other. Your ship mates gave you a second chance, don’t ruin it with guilt.”
Jane turned to him and tried to come up with something to say, anything that would prove that he was wrong. But she couldn’t. Instead, she broke down into his chest and cried. All Jay could do was return the hug and be quiet.
She cried for a number of minutes before Jay finally stepped away and looked down onto her. “That’s a good cry,” he said. “Let us help you say goodbye to them. I made you something to send them. You will find it just outside the starboard air lock, put it inside and come back here.”
She nodded as she tried to pull away her tears. She left to go down two decks. There she saw Jay’s gift, consisting of a large wreath made of replicated white lilies with the words “Rest in Peace,” written in exotic calligraphy.
“You're not alone.”
Jane turned and saw her ghost standing just behind her. She still looked translucent, but she was still there.
“I can’t help but feel that I leave a family behind too,” Ghost said.
“Why?” Jane said. “Why did they die for me?”
“I think they did it because they loved you, because we loved you,” Ghost said. “Do you really need another reason?”
“No… Yes, I do need another reason,” Jane said. “Maybe its up to me to make their sacrifice worth something.”
“Maybe that is something both of us need to do,” Ghost said. “Trust me, you will get a chance. And I will be there with you.”
“Thanks,” Jane said as she pulled the last of her tears away. She then moved the wreath inside the air lock, and then stepped out so that she could close it.
“Goodbye, I promise you, your gift will not be wasted,” Jane said. With that, the air lock closed.
Huro’K pushed open the bulkhead doors, and once again stood in the garden of evil. It was no coincidence that everything here was dead, and that not a molecule of water could be found in the stream. The bodies were still hanging from the ceiling, entombed in their spiritual prison.
“This is Huro’K to the QuA’Tara,” he said into his radio. “I am here.”
“We copy that, my friend. The modifications have been made to the transporter. The QuA’Tara is standing by for your word.”
Huro’K looked around and regarded the evil around him for one final moment of respect.
“Energies,” he said.
A moment later, he could see the transporter pattern play on the walls and ceiling. As it passed, it erased the demonic Klingon symbols. The transporter also washed over the bodies, removing the symbols on their skin and cutting the ropes, letting them fall to the deck.
Huro’K then knelt down to the closest Klingon body that landed next to him. He rolled it over and looked into its eyes. They were empty and dehydrated, like looking into stones. He could see nothing. But his emotions welled up in him, burning and growing until he could no longer contain them. He stood up, and roared until his lungs burned from both the rage and release that he felt.
His roar was long and loud, and could clearly be heard aboard the bridge of the QuA’Tarra that Jane had returned to.
“What is he doing?” Jane asked.
“It’s a warning to the dead,” Jay said. “Beware, a Klingon warrior comes. QuA’Tara to Huro’K, are you okay?”
“I live,” he said back. “Thank you for the chance to set them free.”
“It’s the least we can do for them Huro’K. Now it’s our turn, if you would observe through a port window. The QuA’Tara shall now come to the ready. Bring weapons on line to render honors. Ready, and FIRE!”
As Huro’K looked out the bay window, he saw the QuA’ Tara do a slow fly by. Its phaser beam suddenly shot into space, seven very short bursts.
“FIRE!” Jay said again. And again the QuA’Tara fired seven short bursts into space. “FIRE!” followed by a third volley. He then pressed the play button, instructing the computer to transmit Taps on every frequency. He then looked over at Jane who was standing over her own console.
She saw one command on display, “Controlled decompression override, open outer door to starboard air lock.” She paused for a moment to look at Ghost who was standing next to her. Ghost offered a reassuring nod.
“And so we walk the river of blood,” she said. She then pressed the command.
The air lock door opened and the air inside blew out the wreath, sending it tumbling towards the Nixon.
“That song was most moving,” Huro’K said, “What does it mean.”
“It means good bye,” Jay said. “Good bye, and thank you. The QuA’Tara now stands down. Stand by to be beamed back aboard, Huro’K, it is time to go.”
“Agreed,” Huro’K said.
“Agreed,” Jane said as well.
The QuA’Tera lingered in the view of the Nixon for a few moments. It then turned, and disappeared as it jumped into warp.
Jane went down to the hall where she helped Huro’K take off his environmental suit. “You should rejoice in their sacrifice,” he said flatly.
“I know,” she said, “but that doesn’t make it easy to do.”
“No, I suppose it does not,” Huro’K said. He then placed his hand on her shoulder with a sturdy grip. “The river of blood is never an easy path to follow. None of us can escape its current. You dishonor them when you cry for what they gave you.”
“I won’t cry for very long,” Jane said. “Tomorrow is the future, and I have the rest of my life to honor what they did.” Huro’K was silent for a moment. He then burst out in a loud and infectious laugh.
“There may be Klingon blood in your veins yet,” Huro’K said. He then continued to laugh until Jane joined in. “Come, Klingons have a tradition to feast, drink, and be merry to honor those who have fallen in battle. And I shall teach you of the song of Hiron, that celebrates life.”
“I would like that,” Jane said.
Huro’K then began to sing out with all of his might as they made their way past the elevator to the mess deck.
But meanwhile, the ship was quiet. The engines hummed away, propelling the QuA’Tara to its next adventure that was to be found deep in the Romulan frontier. Rodents scurried around the hangar bay, sniffing out possible food sources that they could scavenge. Somehow, one made its way past the bio field that protected the recently re-pressurized hangar bay of the QuA’Tara. It went straight for the cargo net that contained any number of new things that might possibly be food.
In its search for food, it scrambled over a handsome looking Klingon clay statue, a cha’thuk. There, the rodent apparently discovered something on its face. It wasn’t food, but whatever it was seemed to warrant a closer look. A crack suddenly formed on the face of the cha’thuk, scaring away the rodent. Another crack formed, and then another, until the statue seemed to disintegrate into clay dust. But as the clay fell away, it left flesh behind.
The statue suddenly gasped for air and moved for the first time, throwing off his clay encapsulation. He quickly fell out of the net and onto the deck. But soon his gasps for air gave way to laughter.
“It worked,” he said as he rose to his feet to look around. “The spell worked. At long last, freedom is mine. And where I am free, the freedom of the mighty king of the Empire of Gre’thor shall surely follow,” he continued. He then drew his sword from its sheath and held it over his head, “Of this I swear with my life and soul, the deeds of Kayless the Sinister, shall finally be undone, and the many worlds he stole shall be returned to Fek’lhr, the rightful ruler of all!”
To be continued…
By Douglas E. Kulp, AKA Code Name D
Codename.doug@gmail.com
Edited by Dee
January 26, 2007
Act #1 can be read here!
http://www.progressiveindependent.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=101&topic_id=13227&mesg_id=13227