Chapter Text

Detour

October 2372

This story takes place a few days after the events of Tempus Fugit

Why Commissioner Velgan had not returned to Vulcan on the Agamemnon with the rest of the diplomatic delegation was a mystery to Lieutenant Junior Grade Lif Culsten.

He also couldn’t quite explain why he had decided to stay on Eagle instead of joining his colleagues on the planet Farga. It all seemed to matter little now. The fact of the matter was that the commissioner needed to be shuttled to Starbase 157 after Eagle had received a distress signal from the nearby Romulan Neutral Zone and was duty-bound to investigate.

The stoic Vulcan had insisted that his business on the starbase was of paramount importance and could not be delayed under any circumstance. Captain Owens had reluctantly agreed to have Lif take him there on a shuttle while Eagle answered the call for help.

The trip to 157 would take a whole day at warp four and Lif was not looking forward to spending the twelve-hour journey with Velgan at his side.

Of course, these kinds of missions were nothing new to him, after all, he had started his career shuttling people from one place to another. It had not been the most glamorous assignment for a former flight leader of Starfleet Academy’s famous, sometimes infamous Nova Squadron. But the truth was that he liked piloting small craft, often much more so than heavy and sluggish cruisers like Eagle. Especially when he was flying alone, and when he could really push the little vessels to the limits of their capabilities by performing the kind of maneuvers that were every flight instructor’s worst nightmare.

He looked over at the co-pilot seat to catch a glimpse of the Vulcan commissioner. The man was not quite as tall as most other Vulcans and he didn’t seem to carry himself with the same weight that many of his race did. Everything else about him was perfectly Vulcan, however. Including his current state of mediation in which he had remained since they had left Eagle no four hours earlier. His eyes had been shut close ever since and he wondered if he would notice if he would attempt to make the boring trip slightly more exciting. He decided not to find out.

“How long have you served on the U.S.S. Eagle, Lieutenant?”

Lif turned to look at Velgan with surprise. It had been the first thing he had said since their departure. His eyes were still closed.

“I did not mean to startle you.”

“No, not at all,” Lif said with a smile. Oh, he had been startled, alright but there was no need to let him know that. “I just thought you were asleep.”

“Just because a person’s eyes are closed does not mean that he is not fully aware of what is happening around him. You would do good to remember that, Lieutenant.”

For a moment, Lif took offense by the lecture but then quickly dismissed the strict tone as a perfectly normal Vulcan mannerism. “I will.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“Just a little under a year, why do you ask?”

Velgan opened his eyes and sat slightly more erect in his chair. “I have noticed that many races are made more comfortable on long journeys when engaged in banal conversation.”

“I see.”

“However,” the Valgan continued. “You hold a certain interest to me. The Krellonian Star Alliance is not a member of the United Federation of Planets and therefore I have not met many representatives of your people.”

Lif nodded slowly. Velgan was certainly not the first who had shown an interest in his home. And while the KSA was a formidable empire—spread across a dozen solar systems—and a reliable trading partner to the Federation for nearly three decades, it was also a place of obscurity to most Federation citizens.

Krellonians had never shown a great interest in venturing out beyond their borders and strict laws made it difficult for others to enter. The Star Alliance claimed that the reason for their rigidity was due to their insistence to maintain neutrality among the many warring factions in the galaxy. Lif knew that there were other reasons why his people insisted on their isolationist ways and that, along with his adventurous spirit, was why he had decided early on in his life to turn his back to his home.

He felt uncomfortable opening up to others about the Star Alliance since he knew that it would be difficult to explain and even harder to understand.

Velgan seemed to sense his reluctance. “If you wish we may speak about something else.”

“Whatever you want to chat about is fine with me,” he said. Lif had always managed to come across as an unflappable and amiable kind of guy and he would not let the Vulcan change that.

“I understand that it was partly due to your efforts that the spy on Eagle was revealed. You showed great perception and might have helped to prevent a more serious security breach.”

Lif was caught by surprise a second time. Velgan had shifted the conversation from an uncomfortable subject to one even worse within mere seconds. It was true that he had played a part in finding out the undercover Romulan but his actions had come at a high price, namely the death of another Vulcan delegate. He was certain it could have been prevented if only he had informed his superiors sooner about his suspicions.

“Perhaps,” he said and tried to focus his attention on the instruments in front of him. They didn’t seem to offer much of a distraction at the moment, however.

“You do not agree with my assessment?”

“I just think I could’ve done more,” he said.

“It is not easy to see the whole picture when it is being painted one brush stroke at a time.”

Lif shot the man a quizzical expression on hearing this very un-Vulcan-like metaphor.

A sudden warning sound coming from his console forced his concentration back to the controls. Something was approaching the shuttle and it was coming in fast. “We seem to have attracted some company.” He activated the communications system. “Approaching vessel, please identify yourself and state your intentions.”

He received his answer but it wasn’t the one he had been expecting. A bright purple energy beam shot across the bow of the shuttle, blinding him for half a second.

“Whoa,” he cried out and banked the shuttle sharply to the side.

“It would appear their intentions are hostile,” Velgan said calmly.

“You think?” Lif shot back while his fingers raced over his console to get the shields up, power up the shuttle’s meager arsenal and at the same time evade the incoming fire.

Velgan looked down at the read-out of his console but didn’t move a single finger. “The attacking vessel appears tactically superior to this craft.”

Lif in the meantime threw the shuttle into hard angles and into every direction to stay clear of the deadly energy discharges that were being slung at them. “Great, anything more helpful you could report?” he said without considering how inappropriate his tone might have been while addressing a senior Federation official. There was no time for pleasantries while he was trying to save both their lives.

Velgan didn’t seem to be offended. “I cannot currently identify a plan of action that will benefit our situation.”

The shuttle shuddered as one of the energy beams had finally found its target. The two occupants were showered in a rain of sparks. “No offense but if you don’t have anything helpful to say I’d rather you …” he stopped himself when he caught a glance of the unknown ship firing at them. He had wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before. Now he knew. It was almost completely black, blending in perfectly with the void of space. Its design reminded him of a massive anchor or a double-bladed scythe.

 He didn’t have the opportunity, however, to study the ship’s design in more detail, whatever weapons they had, the shuttle’s shields could barely absorb them.

Another hit confirmed his theory. One console--lucky somewhere behind them—exploded and most of the ones around them died soon after. He still had helm control but he knew it wouldn’t last long. He needed to get the shuttle out of harm’s way.

“Are there any asteroid belts or nebulae in the vicinity?” he said.

“None,” the Vulcan replied without checking the sensors.

But Lif did notice something from the corner of his eyes. A planetary body and it was close. “What about that over there,” he said while gesturing his head at it.

The Vulcan turned to look. “Tripoli Hector III, L-Class planet, unpopulated.”

Under different circumstances, Lif might have wondered about Velgan’s intricate familiarity with this sector of space but at the moment every thought not dedicated to their survival was a luxury he couldn’t afford. “I’ll take it,” he said and pushed the failing impulse engines to their limits.

Their attacker followed closely but not close enough to prevent the shuttle from making a run for the gray and blue planet’s atmosphere.

“Hang on.”

Lif put the shuttle on its head and then drove it straight down toward the surface. He knew the entry trajectory was not going to be pretty; in fact, the shuttle’s hull would get so hot that he was certain it would never be space-worthy again but he didn’t care about any of that. This was their only chance to get away alive or at the very least buy them some time.

Both Velgan and Lif were forced to hold on tightly to their consoles so as not to be thrown out of their seats once the immense gravimetrical forces began tearing at the small ship.

Sweat pearls formed on his forehead and started dropping into his eyes as the temperature in the shuttle became close to unbearable. The relentless heat didn’t last long. The small craft cleared the troposphere and a landscape of craters and deep valleys opened up below them.

The impulse drive had become useless and Lif switched to thrusters to manage their high-speed descent. Without giving it another thought, he steered the ship straight into one of the narrower canyons carved into the planet’s surface and nearly tore off one of the shuttle’s nacelles in the process.

“I have considered your previous statement,” Velgan said, entirely unperturbed by the perils of navigating in between the narrow canyon walls.

“What?” Lif almost shouted without taking his eyes off the forward viewport.

 “I do not believe that you could have done more to apprehend the enemy agent under the circumstances.”

“Do you really think this is the right time to discuss this?” he said while he afforded himself a look out of the viewports to see if he could spot the pursuing vessel. He could not.

“I know that you blame yourself for K’tera’s death. You shouldn’t.”

Lif looked at Velgan which caused him to nearly miss a rock arch blocking their way dead ahead. He found the attitude controls just in time to avoid a quick and violent end to their escape.

“Listen,” he began but this time kept his eyes where they belonged. “If you want to get out of this alive, perhaps it would be a good idea to let me try and do my job.”

“You are a good pilot.”

“Thank you for noticing,” he said as he took the shuttle closer to the ground, trying to find a place for them to hide. It wasn’t the best plan but for now, it was the only one he had.

“But you could be more than that.”

Lif sighed at Velgan’s insistence to not let him try and focus on flying the shuttle. “Trust me, right now, all you need is a good pilot.”

“You should not be discouraged by what you erroneously perceive as failure. You must overcome it or forever be denied the pursuit of greater goals,” he continued.

Just then Lif noticed a niche in the gray rock large enough for the shuttle to slip through. He slowed down the craft and entered into the alcove to find more or less level ground and just enough space to land. The spot seemed ideal, if he powered down all the ship’s systems it would be near impossible for whoever was chasing them to find the shuttle.

The small ship landed with a soft thud and Lif quickly powered down. Then he turned to look at Velgan whose eyes were still trained forward. “Okay, what the hell is going on here?”

Velgan slowly turned to look at the upset pilot, raising an eyebrow in response.

“Don’t give me that. You damn well know that you almost got us killed out there. And for what? Pointless questions and observations.”

“I assure you, Mister Culsten, everything I said had a very specific purpose.”

“Oh yeah? And what would that be?”

Lif held his breath when he realized that something was changing about Velgan’s facial features. Too late did he realize that it wasn’t just his face, his entire body had begun to morph.

He was a changeling.

Lif jumped onto his feet to get to a weapons locker at the other side of the shuttle’s cockpit. He already knew it was too far away. He tore away the cover and reached inside to remove a phaser.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a female voice said sweetly.

Lif turned very slowly. The person sitting in the chair that Velgan had occupied just a few moments earlier was now somebody else entirely. The most obvious difference was that she was a woman. A blonde and very attractive woman, Culsten couldn’t help but notice. She had brown eyes, a small, unassuming nose, and fine facial features. Pretty and unsuspecting, a perfect cover for a powerful creature.

She smiled as if she enjoyed the obvious effect she had on the young man. The weapon she held was pointed at him, giving him very little to smile about.

 “You’re a changeling,” he almost spat.

Her smile disappeared. “Ever since those guys showed up, I’ve had to deal with this kind of prejudice,” she sighed. “You know, not all shapeshifters are part of the Dominion.”

“Then who are you and what do you want?”

“Believe it or not, I work for the same people you work for. Well, sort of.”

“You’re with Starfleet Intelligence.” It suddenly seemed to make sense, the questions, the strange remarks, his (her) familiarity with this part of space.

She nodded slowly.

Lif shook his head with disbelief. “Was there anybody in that delegation who wasn’t a spy?”

She smiled sweetly at him. “You might not realize this but I liked how you handled yourself dealing with the Romulan agent. I think you might be the right man for this line of work. With a little bit of guidance of course.”

As if on cue the raven-black starship that had forced them to this desolate planetoid appeared by the entrance of their hiding place. It hovered there a moment and Lif was sure that the imposing ship was about to charge up its high-powered blasters and obliterate them. Instead, it slipped noiselessly into the rock niche and set down closely to the not much smaller Starfleet shuttle.

Lif wondered how their attacker had found them.

His question was answered moments after he had formed the thought. The shapeshifter presented a small cylindrical object with a series of red and green lights attached to it and placed it on the console in front of her. He recognized it immediately. It was a transmitter.

“Is that how you recruit all your members?” he said, hardly even trying to contain his anger. “And then confronting them at gunpoint?”

She looked at her weapon that was still trained on him. She tugged it away. “Just a precaution.”

Lif was tempted to grab the phaser he had tried to reach for earlier. But he decided against it when he noticed the largest Nausciaan he had ever laid eyes upon climb out of the other ship and stare straight at him through the viewport of the shuttle. He did not look happy. But then of course he had never seen a happy Nausciaan. He couldn’t even imagine their tusk-lined mouths being able to form anything resembling a smile.

“That’s my associate,” she said with an easy smile and stood. “He is my other insurance policy.” She took a small step toward him.

“You stay right there,” Lif said and backed up half a step himself. “You know you could have gotten us both killed with this crazy stunt you pulled.”

She nodded slowly. “I had to know how good you were. I had to be sure you could deal with pressure.”

“And what if I hadn’t been up to it?”

“I guess we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” she said, seemingly without a care in the world.

Lif uttered a sarcastic laugh.

“What matters is that you did not disappoint me. We could use a man like you on Eagle, keeping his eyes and ears open and perhaps taking care of some business from time to time. What’d you say?” she said with her winning smile still plastered on her face. “You know you want to be a spy. It’s a world of fun, trust me.”

“Yes, I can see that,” he said dryly. The truth was that she wasn’t too far off the mark with her assertion. He did have a fondness for the spy business, or at least that’s what he had thought before he had tried it out. But in the end, it had led to an avoidable death. But he also couldn’t ignore the flipside. If he truly did work for Intelligence, perhaps he would be able to do a better job in the future. It was the kind of experience he was sure he could put to good use.

The female shapeshifter could tell that he was torn. “You would be able to stay on Eagle. I know you want your own command someday. Work for us and that just might happen a lot sooner than you think.”

His eyes sparkled for a second at the mention of his own command. He was a freshly minted junior lieutenant, it would take many years before he would have the experience and the rank to be offered a command. A little boost could only help. But there was something about this that just didn’t feel right. “My friends wouldn’t know about this, would they? And I would have to spy on them too, report them even.”

She nodded. “There are drawbacks to this line of work. But the benefits far outweigh the downsides,” she said like a master salesman.

He considered that for a second. He knew it would mean that he had to lie to his friends, perhaps even betray them. Betray his captain. He couldn’t do that. Not for the sake of his career, not for anything. “I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong man, lady.”

“The name is Galven,” she said and stepped past him. “And I’ll be in touch.”

He turned around. “You guys don’t take no for an answer, do you?”

She opened the exterior hatch of the shuttle. “I don’t believe in finality. Not in this business,“ she said and threw him a look over her shoulder. “And don’t worry about reporting this encounter. We’ve already taken care of that for you. The good commissioner has been successfully delivered, however, on your way back you were attacked by an unknown enemy and forced to this place to hide. A rescue ship is on its way as we speak.”

The hatch had fully extended and she stepped out of the shuttle.

He followed her to the top of the ramp. “And what if I decided to tell them about you? You’ll have me taken care of as well?”

Galven looked back and laughed. “You mistake us for the Tal Shiar. Our methods to ensure compliance are of a much more subtle nature. I suggest you do not find out about them. Until the next time, Lif Culsten,” she said and disappeared inside the black ship.

The Nausciaan remained, however, his eyes glued on him and Lif suddenly wasn’t so sure if their methods really were all that different from the infamous Romulan intelligence service. The giant of a man eventually turned and followed Galven.

Moments later the black ship took off and swiftly disappeared.

Lif returned to the cockpit and let himself fall into the pilot’s chair, exhaling deeply. The events of the last twenty minutes had been one unsuspected surprise after another and he needed some time to catch his breath. Everything seemed so strange and distant now, almost as if it had happened to somebody else. But there was no denying it; he had only narrowly avoided death. And for what exactly, he wondered. To prove himself without even knowing it. The idea made him angry.

And Galven had been surprisingly calm about the entire affair as if she had done the exact same thing a thousand times before. Perhaps she had. He was still surprised that she hadn’t been more insistent.

And then he thought he understood. She hadn’t asked him for anything. Not really. She had already made up her mind about him long before she had set foot onto the shuttle. He was to be an intelligence asset if he wanted to be or not. There never had been any choice to make.

He was not going to be used that easily, he decided, and he would make her know that in no uncertain terms as soon as their paths crossed again. He was under no illusions that they would.

Lif Culsten had plenty of time to ponder exactly how he would handle their next encounter. That rescue ship he had been promised did not arrive for another six hours.