Chapter Text
The Harvester
An observer in the Milky Way galaxy who’d skim the edges of its closest neighbour Andromeda with a mapping sensor, would eventually come across two solar systems that lay side by side. In the more sparsely populated of the two, she would have to increase the strength of her sensor in order to detect the dim, dying star at its centre. This system was the home of a small yellowish planet called SHE-BE. However, once the observer would turn her focus on the neighbouring system, she would have to dim her sensor again as the star at its centre was 1000s of times bigger and hotter. One planet circling this much brighter star, was ochre coloured, barren D-JMA. A large area populated with colossal, black, concrete-like cubes, hundreds of meters in dimension, wound itself around the equator of the planet like a belt. The constructs were so tall that they were visible from space.
As a new day dawned over D-JMA, its bright sun illuminating the pathways that weaved through the monotone landscape of cubes, those sterile highways would begin to come to life as the industrious labourers of the ancient Strah-leus race started their shifts. Like a busy swarm of Terran bees, the harvesters would emerge from a handful of smaller cubes on the edge and float along the highways to eventually disperse to their places of work, some within the tallest cubes overground, and some, disappearing underground at certain designated spots.
This enormous industrial estate had been built for a sole purpose. The cubes were massive storage devices that harboured the energy from D-JMA’s bright star. And the harvesters had one sole purpose: maintaining this colossal power station and facilitating its undisrupted operation at all times.
The Strah-leus were light-beings and photons their only source of ‘nourishment’. The massive cubes where their ‘granaries’. They relied on a steady provision of colossal amounts of energy, to nourish and sustain their species. But the sun of their home planet SHE-BE, in the neighbouring solar system, was nearing the end of its life and had done so for thousands of years, threatening them with inevitable extinction. Consequently, their daily energy needs had to be supplemented from a source off-planet in a different solar system with a younger and brighter star than their own. 22300 years ago a group of engineers had set off from SHE-BE to build an energy harvesting station on D-JMA that would guarantee a regular supply of energy to meet the need of its people beyond the death of their star. The energy harvested was compressed into crystals and transported back to SHE-BE in shuttlecrafts in regular intervals.
The powerful energy field aura that surrounded each Strah-leus being was integral to their existence, comparable to the function of blood in a human body. On the extremely rare occasion that a Strah-leus had encountered a different life form, they would be forced to dim their auras as not to damage or exterminate the other being. Nearly all of such encounters had been short-lived, as many species weren’t able to survive in the presence of a Strah-leus beyond minutes, even if their opposite had dimmed their aura. As a consequence, very early on in their existence several billion years ago, the Strah-leus agreed on a set of just two fundamental rules that their species would be governed by. The first one dictated that in order to not harm other life forms, they were forbidden from seeking out alien life and consequently space travel was prohibited, with the exception for the purpose of energy harvesting on other planets.
The second commandment that the light-beings had to adhere to, was to prioritise the survival of their race at all times and in everything they do. For an outsider from a different world, having just two laws to adhere to, would appear to be severely insufficient considering they were supposed to guide the existence of a whole species. While the Strah-leus themselves were the first to concur that they were a rather simplistic, inward-looking race, they’d also insist that this was the only way their kind would survive until the end of times.
The Strah-leus’ ingenuity hadn’t stopped with converting the surface of D-JMA into a gigantic energy pantry. They were well aware that the time would come that D-JMA’s sun would also start to dim, just like the star of their home planet, and the massive storage devises above ground would one day become insufficient to provide their species with enough nourishment. The Strah-leus had to come up with a plan B, a plan that eventually would make them independent of any star, or any other energy source for that matter. So, they had started to build the Egnaro, a clockwork like construct beneath D-JMA’s surface. Underground, they had discovered a unique physical reality that made possible a construct that for eons had evaded the greatest thinkers and scientists on Earth, on Vulcan, or any Federation planet and beyond: A perpetual motion machine. A device that was able to create energy indefinitely without using energy.
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The harvesters didn’t mind monotony. On the contrary, they strived on it because monotony, living each day exactly like the previous and the one that would follow, meant that they could never be distracted from fulfilling the purpose all Strah-leus had to adhere to: To prioritise the survival of their species at all times. Day after day, back home on SHE-BE, their v -chas, what other intelligent life forms might refer to as ‘communities’ or ‘friends and families’, relied on the harvesters to oversee their energy industry’s operational functionalities on D-JMA. Consequently, if there was something the harvesters weren’t fond of in the slightest, it was to diverge from their monotone working rituals. Disruption was most unwelcome.
If his kind would have shared the human notion of luck, today would have been the day when Ro-n-do would have certainly deemed himself to be most unlucky. Not long after his working day as shift supervisor in the Egnaro, where he was responsible for the smooth execution of operations at all times, had started, disruptors had infiltrated the industrial estate. To make matters worse, their electronic devices were interfering with the mechanics of the gigantic clockwork and threatened to halt operations. Unfortunately, it fell to
Ro-n-do to deal with this rarest of emergencies.
Other life forms were extremely uncommon in the solar system D-JMA was located in. The only occasion when the Strah-leus had to deal with unwelcome disruptors before, was when a flock of Sparfinches (a kind of space seagull that migrated between planetoids containing H2O) had been diverted off-course during a solar storm and found themselves stranded on D-JMA. Panicked, the confused bird-like creatures had dug themselves underground to escape the scorching sunlight on the planet’s surface and nestled themselves inside some cavities between the Egnaro’s cogwheels. During his training to become an energy harvester, Ro-n-do was fortunate to be taught by experienced chief harvester Mo-n-iht, who had been shift manager at the time and who, with some effort and skill in order not to burn the gulls and damage their feathers, managed to remove the hapless creatures. During communication with the gulls, Mo-n-iht was able to establish that the reason for their visit had been solely accidental, and they hadn’t meant to disrupt the energy production operations. It was decided that Mo-n-iht would transport the flock to the nearest planet containing water with one of the Strah-leus’ energy transport shuttles. Before he left them on their new home planet, he implored the birds to never return, a request the Sparfinches were more than happy to honour after their scary adventure on D-JMA. As a consequence of his skilful handling of the unprecedented situation, Mo-n-iht was promoted to the energy station’s highest managerial position.
This rarest of incidents happened 1150 years ago, when Ro-n-do was only an infant, and he never envisaged that he would have to deal with intruders himself one day. But here he was and as shift manager it was his responsibility to bring this most unwelcome situation to a satisfying conclusion. Just like Mo-n-iht had handled the incident with the Starfinches, the orders Ro-n-do received from his teacher and boss now, followed the same pattern of actions that had to be taken: First, he was instructed to establish the reason of the disruptors’ visit in order to prevent the likelihood of a similar incident occurring again. Then, the intruders would have to agree to never return and cause danger to the Strah-leus’ operations again, before they finally would be removed off-planet. Throughout this process, the uninvited guests were not to be damaged as the Strah-leus’ law forbid them to harm other life forms. Mo-n-iht deemed the sole Vulcan amongst the intruders to be the most suitable communicator. Ro-n-do was ordered to seek the Vulcan’s cooperation as he was guaranteed to comply in the most effective and least disruptive manner, unlike his Human companions.
So, Ro-n-do’s instructions were clear. However, when he came to collect the remaining three disruptors from the staircase between two cogwheels (after he had taken the other two disruptors to the harvesters’ resting area) to his great displeasure, he found the Vulcan in the most unfavourable condition – he was dying.
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In order to hopefully restore the Vulcan’s energy levels, Ro-n-do chose a warmer environment than the cold conditions inside the Egnaro, and delivered the three men to the harvesters’ resting area. This is where the workers lingered during their long breaks between shifts, a quiet and still place far removed from the complex apparatus that was the Egnaro. In this quiet area the harvesters would soak up their nourishment of pure light and energy, that at regular intervals would be feed into the room via the white walls that would glow up and serve as a radiator-like feeding device.
For the purpose of hosting the disruptors, Ro-n-do had disabled the feeding rota for the time being as it would have burned them to a crisp immediately. He anticipated that soon the Vulcan would be restored to health, through a combination of a warmer environment and the care he would now receive from the intruder that had helped the Human with the head-injury. Ro-n-do would check on the Vulcan later and hopefully find him recovered. Then, the reasons for this most unwelcome interference could be ascertained.
Ro-n-do had agreed with Mo-n-iht that it was the Vulcan they could most rely on to bring this situation to a satisfiable conclusion for all involved.
The Strah-leus owed their limited knowledge about Vulcans and Humans to an incident that had occurred in their recent past. For better or worse, this event had brought both races to the Strah-leus’ attention and provided them with unique insights.
Unlike the Starfinch encounter, this incident hadn’t affected their harvesting operations, but it had still caused some interference with day to day operations. Around 150 years ago, out of nowhere, an alien spaceship had appeared within the wider vicinity of D-JMA. It had hovered in space for a short period of time before suddenly disappearing again, never to be seen again. The Strah-leus never deemed it worthwhile to trouble themselves with ascertaining the reasons for this unprecedented occurrence, as it had happened at a safe distance to the planet and didn’t pose any direct threat to their operations.
However, the spaceship’s communication system interfered with the controls in the harvesting station and the Strah-leus involuntarily eavesdropped on its transmissions. They learned that the person commanding the craft was a humanoid referring to himself as Captain Amir Azar. He was in charge of transporting goods for a congregation called ‘Starfleet’ in a neighbouring galaxy. For reasons unknown, his ship got lost on a mission between two Starfleet bases, delivering goods from a planet called Earth to another named Vulcan. As the Strah-leus’ laws forbid them space exploration and seeking out other life forms, they noted with some interest that Azar and his two crew members appeared to be from a world where interest in other life forms and their planets, and even travel between those, was actively pursued. The cargo contained bio-material that the Humans referred to as ‘fruit and vegetables’ that appeared to be the bipeds’ energy source. The Strah-leus deemed it sensible that in order to determine if the spaceship posed any danger to their operations, to gather all the information they could about its origins and purpose. Consequently, all of Azar’s subsequent transmissions were recorded.
Confronted with being lost in a different galaxy with no means to ever return to their own, the Strah-leus bore witness to the deterioration of the Humans’ mental state. Extreme emotions drove the two crewmembers to end their own existence, with only the captain remaining. Azar transmitted desperate pleas for help into the ether. When they remained unanswered, he was tormented by the choice if he should follow his crew into non-existence or stay alive and be consumed by the emotion he referred to as ‘despair’. Just before the spacecraft disappeared again, the Strah-leus received one final transmission. Azar explained that he had studied archive logs of lost spacecraft incidents, with a focus on those involving Vulcans, as he deemed their race to be the most rational and therefore best equipped in dealing with seemingly desperate situations. He studied the Vulcan way of dealing with high-stake conflicts because unlike his Human self, they were undisturbed by emotions. In those desperate moments, Azar clung on to the belief that following Vulcan principles of rationality was his only hope for survival. He decided therefore that it was logical to assume, that as he had ended up in this galaxy somehow, it was also possible that somehow he’d return to his own. Hence, the only rational conclusion he could arise at, was to remain alive and not give in to his urge to end himself. Shortly after the Strah-leus had received this transmission, the craft disappeared.
The light-beings recognised a kinship between Vulcan logic and the two rational laws that guided their own existence. The incident led them to conclude that Humans were irrational and prone to impulsive behaviours, whereas Vulcans were guided by logic and controlled. Therefore, regarding the group of intruders, the Vulcan could be relied on to be truthful and act with clarity. The Humans could not.
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After a little while, Ro-n-do returned to the resting area to check on the Vulcan’s status, confident to find him recovered. It was easy for him to assess the intruder’s energy levels as, through the eons, the Strah-leus had developed a skill to measure temperature and radiation levels of all objects. But when Ro-n-do returned, he was not at all content with what he found.
The Vulcan’s energy levels hadn’t increased. On the contrary, his temperature was now even lower compared to when he had picked him up on the staircase. The harvester feared that the Vulcan had now reached the threshold that if he were to cross it, he would not be able to return. Hence, Ro-n-do concluded that in order for the creature to be saved, his energy levels had to be restored more significantly than he had originally deemed necessary. But by how much and how quickly those levels had to be elevated, he was not to know, as like the rest of his species, he did not possess the knowledge of Vulcan physiology. Killing this most rational of intruders with an incorrect action would jeopardise a satisfactory resolution of this unfortunate incident. The uncertainty made Ro-n-do not act at all.
He lingered in the doorway for a moment as he pondered how to proceed. But he didn’t get a chance to muse for long. As it was now evident that the man the other disruptors referred to as McCoy had not been able to help the Vulcan, Ro-n-do later mused at the end of this longest of days, that he should have anticipated the typical human response that followed. Despite the harvester’s limited knowledge of facial expressions, as McCoy approached him, he correctly identified the look on the man’s face as an emotion Humans call anger.
McCoy came to a halt opposite, pleading for assistance to help the Vulcan he referred to as ‘friend’. Ro-n-do could not be sure of the word’s exact meaning. Strah-leus did communicate with one another but they did so sparsely and with limited vocabulary, and only when it was necessary and served their overall purpose.
McCoy pleaded with him in an impressive manner that must have costed the Human a significant amount of energy. Ro-n-do marvelled at such determined preoccupation with the irrational purpose of expressing displeasure. The Strah-leus didn’t know disagreement, or differences in motivations and purposes, because of the set of laws that had governed their existence since the beginning of time. Their most imperative principle, to always prioritise the survival of their race, did not allow for even a hint of diverging opinions or motivations.
And yet, as he was confronted with the furious Human in front of him, Ro-n-do experienced a sensation he had never and could never have felt before. His energy levels started to fluctuate, reflected in pulsations in his aura, as he marvelled at the sensation. While all Strah-leus were bound to one another by their commitment to guarantee their species’ survival, a fundamental tie other life forms might refer to as duty or loyalty, he had not deemed it possible to recognise, and even share, those qualities with any alien species, least of all irrational Humans. But McCoy seemed to be in service of his compatriots, just like Ro-n-do was in service to his v-chas.
Recognizing such kinship in nature was a most peculiar sensation. Elated, Ro-n-do felt his aura pulsate all around him. While he had been reluctant to act out of concern of killing the Vulcan, his new-found insights encouraged the harvester and he ordered himself to overcome his trepidation. This was another unknown concept for a species that adhered to strict, monotone behaviour patterns day by day - Ro-n-do decided that he had to take his chances.
Ro-n-do concentrated on the energy he had currently stored within himself. He heated up his aura significantly until the room was glowing at a temperature he deemed appropriate for the intruders to survive in, based on the knowledge the Strah-leus had obtained from the observation of the human spacecraft.
He left the glowing room and vowed to return soon to see if the Vulcan’s body temperature had finally been restored to a healthy level after spending some time in a much hotter environment. The harvester felt the same sensation he had only ever experienced at the end of a successful shift within the Egnaro: he was pleased with himself.
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Chekov took a deep breath and ordered himself not to let his emotions overpower him. Being reunited with Mr Scott and Lieutenant Brown had made him feel truly happy again for the first time since he had arrived on the Enterprise, which now felt like an eternity ago. Finding their CEO and hi assistant alive, had filled Pavel with hope that maybe this unfortunate situation he was partially responsible for, would reach a happy conclusion after all. But seeing the devastation on Dr McCoy’s face as he finally looked up from Mr Spock’s motionless body, made all those hopes evaporate in an instant. With their FO gone, what chance would they now have to ever return to the ship. As the doctor seemed to shrink, head bowed, eyes closed, while Mr Scott helplessly kept squeezing his shoulders, his face also grimacing in pain, Pavel realised that the two men weren’t just grieving their First Officer. They were grieving a friend.
Scotty knew that nothing could be done and that it would fall to him now to do everything in his power to get those men back to the ship. The order of command naturally put him in charge now, but the CEO didn’t have to remind himself of that. Rank was the last thing on Scotty’s mind. Having lost Spock was a blow that he wasn’t sure that any of the men present would ever be able to compensate for. If they’d ever make it back to the ship alive, they’d have to serve under a captain who not only would share their grief, but who would be defined by it for the remainder of his career, of that Scotty was certain. He owed it to Captain Kirk to bring back the surviving men who Spock had given his life for in his attempt of rescuing them. But the utterly despondent look on Leonard’s face frightened him. The doctor looked like he was withdrawing into himself. For a man known for his unabashed display of emotions, especially during situations that necessitated the most focus, Lenny just seemed to disappear in front of his eyes like a snail into its shell. Scotty feared that he wouldn’t be able to count on his friend to help them get out of this alive and back to the Enterprise. And neither could he rely on the two youngest crewmembers that had found themselves stuck with them in this desperate situation. Scotty sighed heavily as he glanced over to Brown and Chekov whose faces reflected the emotion he fought so hard of supressing: hopelessness.
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This wasn’t his time. He had been unable to transfer his katra, his knowledge and essence of spirit. He had undertaken a mind melt with a concussed Lieutenant Brown to order him to regain consciousness and assist Mr Scott in finding Dr McCoy and Mr Chekov so that they could find a way back to the Enterprise together. He knew that he would fall into a coma imminently and that this was the last action he could take before the freezing cold would fully immobilise him. But even if he had wanted to, the katra could not be transferred to Brown - it would kill the young, unprepared and injured man.
Spock was not prepared to part with his katra. All his instincts told him that this wasn’t the moment to do so, nor was Delroy the person that was destined to receive his essence. For there was only one person he’d trust, he’d honour with carrying his katra. And this person was out of reach, possibly in another galaxy even. Therefore, he was certain that his time hadn’t come.
And yet, he had reached the furthest depth in murky darkness just above the bottom of the sea where all journeys eventually end. It was so incredibly dark, cold and lonely here. While his body slowly but surely was closing down all its functions, Spock, with the last remaining strength he had to control his flesh and mind, remained floating just above the bottom, commanding himself not to hit the ground: He wouldn’t let death welcome him. He had sucken to a depth he had never reached before and he wouldn’t want to ever return to until, irrevocably, his time would eventually come one day. And Spock knew at the depth of his soul, that when the day came, his katra would be preserved to be stored on Mount Seleya until the end of times.
This isn’t my time. Spock was convinced of this. He still needed time to fulfil the vows he had made, the duties he had to fulfil, the goals he had to achieve and share the gift of his presence with those that he valued most. So he clang on, uncertain for how much longer he could command his body to not fully shut down. His soul was desperate to return to the surface yet his body was frozen, trapped so close to the bottom of the sea of death. He was not ready to cross the final frontier.
Warmth. It was all he required to return to the surface. All he needed was a buoy that would lift him back towards the faint light so far above him, which hit the surface that separated life from death, and which he could see in the distance.
And then his prophecy that this wasn’t his moment to depart forever, that had kept him in reach of the living, was fulfilled when suddenly he could feel some warmth again, engulfing his body and mind.
Spock started to slowly, but steadily, float upwards, faster and faster, as the warmth around him turned into heat, restoring his bodily and intellectual functions, towards a white glowing light. Life.