Chapter Text

Nine: Face-To-Face

Creegan wasn’t a coward.

Quite the contrary. He was known for making use of his blaster on more than a few occasions even when the odds had not been stacked in his favor.

He possessed a calculative mind and once he arrived at the conclusion that a substantial profit was to be made by quick action he would usually not hesitate to use force.

When the first signs of violence had emerged at the tavern, he had decided that taking sides held no benefit for him.

He couldn’t deny that he had been interested in a deal with the strangers but helping them would not have been worth it. After all, he had business ties of some sort or other with most of the patrons who frequented that establishment. Ties he did not want to endanger by defending people he hardly knew. So instead of getting caught in the crossfire, he had made for a quick exit.

There had been something unusual about the strangers and even though it seemed unlikely that he would see them again, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something about them was not quite right.

On Eteron, of course, most were not who they claimed to be. Many were escaped criminals and convicts who had come here to start a new life. Others had simply shed their previous identities for whatever reason and planned on getting rich fast by trading illegal goods across the Romulan or Klingon border.

His mind was still preoccupied with his would-be business partners when he entered a rundown apartment building at the outer edge of the city. Like most others, it was not much more than a sleek four-sided tower that had been constructed in a hurry a few decades ago and saw just enough maintenance to keep it from collapsing on itself.

Creegan walked off the elevator on the eighteenth floor, greeted a few of his neighbors who knew as little about him as he knew about them, turned a corner, and then froze.

His first instinct upon seeing a person close to the door of his apartment was to draw his weapon. As he did so, he slowly took a few steps back and toward the corner. The person in the dark cloak was looking in the opposite direction and had not spotted him yet.

There were several gangsters and ruffians out there he had crossed over the years. He cursed himself for not having been more careful. But before he had reached the safety of the corner he stopped again, realizing that the figure was distinctly female and that he had seen that cloak before.

She turned and Creegan’s suspicions were affirmed when he caught a few glances at the face hidden under the deep hood.

He holstered his weapon and slowly approached her. But not before making sure that they were alone in the corridor. “DeMara, right?”

The woman nodded. “I’m sorry for startling you but I had to see you again,” she said in that kind of voice that could make somebody believe that she had known him all his life and not just a couple of hours.

“Who’s startled?” he said, trying to maintain his cool. “How did you know where I live?”

“I followed you,” she said. It was a lie but even if Creegan realized it, at that moment he didn’t much care.

“Where’re your friends?”

“They’re not my friends. They’re more… business associates. And our business has ended. That’s why I have come to you.”

Creegan studied the woman from top to bottom. Her simple robe did not give away much of what was underneath. It was her lips that fascinated him the most. And he watched them carefully as she spoke. He didn’t understand why so little of her could fascinate him so much. He had to see more.

And as if she could read his mind, DeMara threw back the hood. “I require your help.”

But Creegan didn’t hear. He stood as if petrified while he glanced at the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes upon. Her physical appearance alone was mesmerizing but her beauty was not just skin deep, it seemed to radiate from every pore of her skin.

“You’re...” Creegan tried to speak but the words would not come over his lips as he continued to stare at her. “What exactly are you?’ he said after a moment.

She smiled and his pulse began to race faster.

“I’m Tenarian.”

Creegan nodded slowly. He had heard of Tenarians before but he had never encountered one. In fact, he had believed them to be nothing more than a myth.

DeMara Deen turned when she heard footsteps approach. “Perhaps we could continue this conversation in your apartment.”

“Yes,” was all he managed to say before he moved to the entrance and turned back around to make sure she was still there. She gave him another reassuring smile and he quickly entered a code into the door panel.

The heavy door slid open with a loud hissing sound and Creegan stepped aside to let Deen enter first. As soon as she was inside, he quickly checked the corridor one more time before following her and locking the door behind him.

Creegan’s apartment was a simple one-bedroom design and it perfectly mirrored his lifestyle. Sparsely decorated, containing nothing of value or interest that could not be packed into a bag quickly for a hasty departure. It contained only the most necessary furniture and it was dirty. Creegan didn’t believe in housekeeping; glasses, bottles, and a few clothes littered the entirety of his small, dark dwelling.

Deen seemed completely undisturbed by the messy surroundings.

Creegan, however, felt a sudden sense of shame of having her exposed to his dirty quarters, clearly an environment entirely unbecoming of a woman of such grace and beauty.

He quickly began to pick up the pieces of clothing that were scattered on the floor. “I’m sorry for the mess. I had to let my maid go.”

Deen smirked to herself as she watched Creegan pick up every last bit of his wardrobe only to dump it unceremoniously into the adjacent bedroom.

He awkwardly turned back to face her. “I usually do not conduct my business here.”

Something in the way he said that led her to believe that by business he meant more than just deals involving trade negotiations.

“There is a great place… well, a decent place, around the corner we could go to.”

Deen took a small step toward Creegan. “This will do,” she said with a smile.

The nodded. “Can I offer you something? A drink?” he turned to look for a bottle before she could answer. He inspected a few glasses that lay on the floor. “I’m sure I have a clean one here somewhere.”

“I’m not particularly thirsty.”

Creegan stopped and looked at her. His face seemed to mirror a small amount of disappointment. Then his eyes opened wide and for a second she was worried that she might have made a big mistake in coming here.

He took a quick step closer to her, causing Deen to take one back. But he wasn’t focusing on her. Instead, he passed her by and reached for a bottle containing a brown liquid that sat on a shelf by the far wall. He opened the bottle and was about to gulp it when he noticed Deen’s eyes watching him intently.

“Uhm, do you mind?”

DeMara smiled, amused.

A sigh of relief seemed to come over his face and he quickly proceeded to take a large gulp from the clearly alcoholic beverage. When he put the bottle down again, he appeared to be much more composed, his eyes mirroring a focus that hadn’t been there before.

“Boy, when I assumed that you had a beautiful face, I didn’t realize how much of an understatement that would be.”

The Tenarian woman didn’t blush easily but this time she didn’t even make an effort to hide it.

“Now,” he said and pointed at a seat that he hastily cleared for her. He continued once she had sat down. “What brings a woman like you to Eteron? And more importantly into my most humble residence?”

“You already know why I’m here.”

He nodded slowly. “The Romulan base. I guess I might have hoped that you had another reason for showing up at my doorstep,” he said and grinned. “But then I guess somebody like you would never…” he stopped himself as he realized how embarrassing he was beginning to sound.

She seemed to be paying no attention to his image concerns. “You do know where it is, don’t you?”

Creegan’s face hardened slightly. He was alone with the woman of his dreams. Or at least the woman he would have dreamed about if he could have been able to imagine her.

She was a sight to behold in every respect. And yet he now realized that for all her beauty and her charms, she was here for nothing more than a business transaction. He chose to turn his back on her. A choice that turned out to be more difficult than he had anticipated.

“Perhaps,” he said. “Why do you need to find it?”

“I have a personal reason that I’d rather not reveal,” she said sweetly. “It is very important to me to find it. My previous associates failed me but I was hoping that perhaps you could help me.”

“I might be able to take you there,” he said. He couldn’t believe his own words. That had not been part of his plan. Actually, he didn’t have a plan but even if he did, his thoughtless proposal would not have been part of it.

He turned back around, longing to see her purple eyes and golden hair again. He found her standing. She had taken off her robe to reveal a white and blue suit she wore underneath. It was a seamless outfit and it clung to her body, accentuating her feminine form. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard a small voice of caution, warning him not to be manipulated by this siren. He chose to ignore it.

“I could take you there.”

She stepped closer and noticed the small pearls of sweat forming on his forehead and even the increased beating of his heart inside his chest. She put both her hands on his chest and they slowly began to move upward across his muscular body. Her purple eyes began to gleam as they made contact with his.

Creegan swallowed. He couldn’t explain what was happening to him. He had been no stranger to dealings with the opposite sex, both in business and in pleasure, sometimes at the same time. On a few occasions competing female smugglers had tried to sway his mind by using their sensuality and sometimes it had resulted in profitable endeavors. But this didn’t even come close to any of those encounters. He was completely under her spell and he didn’t mind at all.

Her hands had reached his face and gently touched the stubble on his chin and cheeks. Her hands were warm and soft. She smiled at him as she reached around his neck.

“What are you doing?” he said, his voice threatening to crack. He was lost in her sparkling eyes that seemed to lure him with promises of an experience he couldn’t possibly regret and certainly would never forget.

She didn’t reply. Instead, her lips made contact with his. He found no strength whatsoever to resist and they kissed.

Creegan became slightly dizzy but it wasn’t discomforting in the least. He seemed to lose all perception of time and when the kiss was over, all he wanted to do was to feel it again. But as he moved in, she moved away. He looked at her like she had taken away the very air he needed to breathe.

       “Where is the base?”

       “Shakanara System. Third planet,” he said without even thinking.

       She smiled again and moved back in to give him another kiss. She broke it and she pushed her head close to his ear. “I’m sorry,” she said.

       “Don’t be.”

       She took a few steps back to get some distance from him and considered him for a moment. Her smile gone.

       He looked back with a startled expression. And then he understood. Anger was beginning to dwell inside of him. “You used me.”

       “I’m sorry,” she said again. “It was necessary.” She picked up her cloak and began to slip back into it.

       “I’m a damned fool,” he said and turned away, his fists balling in anger.

       “Don’t say that,” she said now mostly concealed again. “For what it’s worth, I do like you.”

       Creegan laughed. “Oh, yes?” he turned back around.

       She nodded slowly. “But I have to go now.”

       His hand moved to his hip and onto the handle of his weapon. “You think you can come in here, put me under your siren spell and trick me into giving you information and then just walk out? How stupid do you think I am?”

       She took a step closer again and he unholstered his weapon. “I don’t think you are stupid at all. But I know you’re not going to shoot me.”

       He held his blaster close to his hip but it was unmistakably pointed at her now. “Are you willing to bet your life on that, sister?”

       She seemed undeterred by his gesture of force. She ignored the weapon completely and locked eyes with him. “Believe it or not, I think you’re a good man. I think that you made a few bad decisions here or there and that you wear a mask to survive the life you live now. But I don’t think it is who you really are. I don’t think it’s who you want to be.”

       Creegan sneered. “You don’t know the first thing about me.”

       She reached out and against his better judgment, Creegan let her touch him once again. Her palm pressed against his chest. For a moment it seemed as though she could see right through him and into his very soul.

       “Perhaps not,” she finally said and looked up at him. “Perhaps you will shoot me in the back while I walk out. I suppose I can only hope that you’ll make the right decision for both our sakes.”

       She retracted her hand and turned to the door leading back outside. She hesitated for a moment.

       Creegan pointed his weapon at her back and took a deep breath. He wasn’t proud of it but he had shot people in the back before. He had done this knowing for certain that they would not have hesitated to do the same to him. Why he was hesitating now, he wasn’t sure.

       Then the door opened and DeMara Deen was gone.

       Slowly Creegan holstered his weapon. He had been seduced and tricked but the feeling was not as miserable as he had expected it to be. Somehow, he felt relieved. A smile came over his face. And all he could think of was that kiss. Her words had been inconsequential, of course. She had spoken them in a desperate attempt to keep him from cutting her down. But then why did they suddenly ring so true?

       He came to the conclusion that he could not have her walk out of his life that easily. She was too precious. He stormed out of his quarters but didn’t get very far. Before he had even crossed the threshold, he was greeted by the muzzle of a phaser rifle, pointed straight at his head.

       He recognized the wielder immediately. It was DeMara’s Bajoran associate from the tavern.

       He ignored her and the weapon and instead looked around for the woman who had just left his apartment. She was nowhere to be seen. The only people in the corridor were the Bajoran, the Caitian, and another young woman, all armed with rifles, all pointed right at him.

       “Where is she?” he said, seemingly oblivious to the danger.

       “She’s gone,” Nora Laas said.

       Creegan let out a heavy sigh.

       The Bajoran did not miss the apparent serenity of his demeanor even while being threatened to have his head blown off. She could only imagine what DeMara Deen must have done to him.

       “You are a very lucky man.”

       Nora gestured her companions to move out which they promptly did.

       She looked at him a little while longer and when she was determined that he no longer posed a threat she lowered her rifle and quickly followed her people.

       “I know,” he sighed as he watched them disappear around the corner.

Nora caught up with her outside the building.

       “What happened to the signal? Did the communicator malfunction?”

       She had put the hood back up again and aimed a wry little smile at her. “There are other ways to disarm a man besides using force,” she said.

       The Bajoran security officer gave her a puzzled expression.

       She ignored it. Instead, she presented the combadge she had been hiding inside her robe. She tapped it slightly. “Deen to Owens. I have the information. We are ready to beam back onboard.”

       While Deen and the rest of the away team dematerialized she wondered if she’d had any positive effect on Creegan whatsoever.

She had not enjoyed lying to him but she had been honest with him once she had acquired what she had come for. She hoped that there was a small chance that he would take her words to heart. She was certain that the chances were anything but marginal.

* * *

The Agamemnon’s secondary shuttle bay was not a vast facility but it was large enough to comfortably hold the four medium-sized shuttle crafts that had been lined up on the flight deck.

This was no standard way of storing the small vessels on any Starfleet ship and So’Dan assumed that they had been readied for a routine inspection. The technicians and engineers were curiously nowhere in sight. Eagle’s tactical officer had a sneaking suspicion as to why that was.

       He drew his weapon and cautiously approached the nearest vessel.

       It would have been prudent to have informed the ship’s security team of his presence on Agamemnon. Not to mention his own superior officer.

In fact, regulations demanded that he did. But he had decided against doing so. His Starfleet training and sense of duty taking a back seat to his personal need for satisfaction on this occasion.

 It wasn’t just revenge.

He didn’t know K’tera’s condition even though judging by the look in her eyes when she had been shot, he feared the worst.

 He had forced himself to ban thoughts of the woman he was in love with out of his mind to focus on catching Nakaar before he got away.

It was more than revenge. He had to prove something. He had to show that he was not about to be outsmarted by his own kind. He was not going to let Nakaar, or whatever his name was, get back to Romulus so he could demonstrate that Starfleet’s tamed Romulan was as weak and susceptible as they perceived the rest of the Federation to be.

       So far, he had been one step ahead of him. He had put the dots together and found him out, clearly long before he had intended to conclude his mission. Now So’Dan was certain he had figured out his exit strategy as well.

       It was what young Culsten had said that had put him on this path. The helmsman had apparently followed the Romulan spy all across the ship to seemingly unrelated destinations.

But So’Dan was certain that he had been working on a way to swiftly escape Eagle if the occasion called for it. Even though he had not accessed any vital systems directly–that would have aroused too much suspicion–he had instead made discreet modifications to several of Eagle’s subsystems. This way he had been able to beam off the ship undetected even once the ship had been put on high alert.

       That his destination would be Agamemnon, So’Dan had surmised after Culsten had found out that he had made a few trips to the other ship since Eaglehad arrived at Farga, no doubt to prepare for a quick escape and sabotage systems the way he had done on Eagle. His cover as a Vulcan delegate with an interest in starships had allowed him virtually unlimited access to both vessels.

       From Agamemnon, he obviously had intended to steal a shuttlecraft and disappear before anybody had even figured out that he was no longer on Eagle. He had to admit, it had been a cunning plan. But So’Dan was going to make dead certain it would fail.

       He reached one of the shuttles and quickly determined that only one of the four ships was likely prepared for departure, while the other three were decoys, perhaps even sabotaged.

       He didn’t get the chance to find the right shuttle when he was distracted by the large hangar bay door starting to open, dispensing any last shreds of doubt that his theory had been wrong.

       He spun around to find the windows to the control room on the upper deck from where the doors were usually operated and brought his phaser to bear. But there was nobody there. The room looked empty from where he stood.

       “Nakaar!” he yelled, his voice reverberating from the high, walls of the shuttle bay.

       “To be honest, you didn’t make much of an impression on me when we first met.”

       The familiar voice was coming from behind him. He instantly whipped around. Besides the neatly lined up shuttles, he found the bay still empty.

       “A half-Romulan. A bastard child. With inferior human blood mixing with Romulan. What good could you possibly be?”

       Nakaar’s voice was coming from somewhere between those shuttles but he couldn’t be sure which ones. He slowly approached the hatch of the first vessel, his weapon at the ready.

       “Turns out, you surprised me. Twice.”

       He pushed his back against the outer hull of the shuttle and then quickly shot around toward the open hatch.

Empty.

       “I admit I misjudged you, So’Dan. You should consider coming back with me. A man of your talents could go far in the Star Empire.”

       So’Dan checked the space in between the parked shuttles. Still no sign of the spy.

       “And work alongside cowards the likes of you? I think I’m going to pass.”.

       There was a moment of silence. So’Dan stopped, trying to hone his hearing, trying to locate footsteps or breathing.

       “I know it doesn’t mean much but I had genuine feelings for her as well. I regret that it had come to this but I had no choice.”

       “You’re wrong. It means absolutely nothing.”

       He had no luck. He could not locate Nakaar simply by following his voice, the echo was too distracting.

       “I can hear that passion in your voice. You might want to deny it but you’re still Romulan. And I know you secretly long to be with your own people again. It is not too late, So’Dan.”

       “For a spy, it is amazing how badly informed you are,” he said as he checked the empty cockpit of the third shuttle. He had perhaps answered a little bit too rapidly. A sense of insecurity washed over him that he desperately tried to suppress.

The truth was that he had never really felt comfortable living on Earth being surrounded by humans. He had spent most of his childhood on a Romulan colony, being raised as a Romulan. Even though it had sometimes been a cruel experience, due to his underdeveloped Romulan features that had often caused other children to torment him, it had been all he had known for a long time.

       “Why don’t you behave like a real Romulan and come out and fight me?” he yelled, trying to drown out the thoughts that had invaded his mind.

       Nakaar’s laugh echoed throughout the bay. “You mistake Romulan cunningness for thoughtless Klingon belligerence.”

       And then he heard something drop to the floor behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he realized that whatever the small device was, it was flashing. His instincts took over and he jumped forward and away from it.

       A heartbeat later it exploded and within seconds an impenetrable white fog began to cloud his vision.

He landed harshly on the hard floor. Ignoring the pain as best he could, he flipped onto his back, set his weapon to a wide beam setting, and fired in the only direction he figured would make any sense. At the roofs of the parked shuttles.

He couldn’t see where he was firing but a loud clatter confirmed that he had been right. He didn’t hear the satisfactory thud of a body falling, however, and he instantly assumed he hadn’t hit Nakaar directly.

       Moments later two feet landed on the floor. From the sound of it, he knew that it had been a controlled jump. He swiveled around to bring his weapon to bear in the direction he thought he had landed. But it was too late.

       A dark shadow emerged from the white fog in front of him. Nakaar jumped him and pulled him to the ground, his phaser dropping out of his hand.

       A well-placed blow against his windpipe left him gasping for air.

       “I will take you with me to Romulus. What a prize you’ll be,” Nakaar said as he pinned him to the floor.

       So’Dan started feeling lightheaded, as his air supply was being cut off and for a moment, he thought it was over.

Then his outstretched hand made contact with a familiar shape nearby. It was his phaser. Unfortunately, the grip of the weapon was just out of reach and he could only hold on to the emitter cone.

       Nakaar increased the pressure on his neck, determined to strangle him to death.

       There was no time left. Any move could be his last. With all his remaining strength he clenched the weapon at an awkward angle and brought it down hard against Nakaar’s skull.

       He heard a satisfactory thud and moan from the other man.

       The pressure disappeared almost instantly.

       As his vision slowly returned, he could see that the force of the impact had pushed Nakaar off of him. He reached out for the dazed man who had landed on the floor. But Nakaar was already getting back to his feet, freeing himself easily from So’Dan’s attempt to hold onto him.

       He was still mostly preoccupied with getting air back into his lungs, fighting for every breath, he watched helplessly as Nakaar stumbled toward one of the shuttles.

Green blood was pouring out of a gashing wound on his head. He had seemingly decided that he was in no condition to continue to fight and that his best bet was to make a run for it.

       So’Dan was probably in worse shape. His vision still not fully restored and breathing remaining painful, he managed to get onto his feet nevertheless. He found his phaser again and ignored the pain as he picked it up.

       He lifted his arm and fired. The unsteady shot went wide and missed Nakaar completely.

       When he took aim again, the spy had already stepped inside the vessel and the outer hatch was beginning to close. The shuttlecraft took off quickly and moved toward the open hangar door.

       So’Dan began to slowly follow the shuttle as though he could somehow chase it down and stop it by sheer will alone. He fired his weapon again but the beam intensity had no hopes of causing damage to the hull of the small starship other than leaving a scorch mark.

       Before he could adjust the phaser to a higher power setting, the shuttle accelerated, slipped through the force field and into open space.

So’Dan walked as far as the force field separating the ship’s atmosphere and the vacuum of outer space allowed.

A small smile crept onto his lips when he saw the flash of the shuttle’s warp engines powering up and it disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

As the Nebuchadrezzar zipped through space at warp four, closing in on its destination, Michael, Nora Laas, and DeMara had assembled in the front of the vessel.

DeMara had opened up a star chart of the Shakanara system on one of the monitors and all three were now studying it intently.

It featured a small central star and four planets. A medium-sized asteroid belt sat at the outer edge of the system.

She pointed at the asteroids. “According to previous surveys, these asteroids are extremely rich in both kelbonite and tricyanate, making it almost impossible to accurately scan the system with long-range sensors. If I wanted to hide a secret base, this is the system I’d choose. Not sure why I didn’t think of this sooner.”

“Isn’t tricyanate toxic?” said Nora.

DeMara shook her head. “Not if we don’t stay too close to the asteroids for long.”

Michael turned back to the controls. “In that case, you better prepare some anti-radiation shots.”

Nora looked at him in surprise. “Captain?”

“I intend to drop us out of warp right next to the asteroid field.”

DeMara nodded. “A tricky maneuver but it just might hide our approach.”

“That’s what I was thinking.”

“We’re closing on Shakanara. Thirty seconds,” DeMara said while keeping her eyes fixed on the read-outs. “You better be spot on with your calculations.”

Nora leaned forward. “Just out of curiosity, what happens if the calculations are off?”

She glanced at the monitor that still showed the chart. “You see those asteroids?”

Nora nodded.

“We’ll end up inside one of them.”

The security officer looked like she was sorry she’d asked. She leaned back in her chair, bracing herself for the upcoming brush with death that was so completely out of her hands.

Seconds later she felt the familiar sensation of the inertia dampers adjusting to a significant change in speed and then, all of a sudden, the small runabout was surrounded by asteroid fragments twice its size. And just like that the dreaded event was over.

Nora let out a small sigh of relief. “Nice job, sir.”

He turned around in his chair, a large grin plastered on his face. “Thanks. And to think I’ve never even tried this before.”

Nora’s eyes opened wider.

“Michael.”

He turned back around to see what she had found. She directed his attention to another monitor. The picture was not perfectly clear, the static was no doubt caused by the surrounding radiation, but it was just good enough to make out a yellow planet and a distinctly shaped satellite in its orbit.

Michael looked up to see the same yellow planet through the window of the runabout. It was much smaller, of course, as they were still thousands of kilometers away. From this distance, he could not spot the satellite but he knew that it was there. They had come to the right place.

“Now what do we do?” said DeMara.

“If we approach directly, they would undoubtedly see us coming and prepare a warm reception,” said the Bajoran.

“There might be another way,” said DeMara and went to work at her console. “I’m detecting a small freighter that will enter the system in about forty-four minutes.”

“No doubt supplying the Romulans,” Nora said.

DeMara nodded. “If they maintain their present trajectory, they should drop out of warp fairly close to this asteroid belt. We should be able to find their blind spot and ride into the system on their tail undetected.”

“A Trojan Horse. I like it.”

“A what horse?” said Nora dumbfounded.

“Never mind,” said Michael. “Why don’t you get those shots ready? We might need them if we have to wait here for another forty minutes.”

Nora Laas nodded and headed for the back compartments to prepare all the while wondering how a horse could possibly help them stay hidden from the Romulans.

* * *

The plan seemed to work flawlessly.

The freighter was a good ten times the size of the runabout, thanks to the four massive cargo pods it was hauling, giving them more than enough nooks and crannies to hide in.

       Just as projected the ship passed by the asteroid belt fairly closely and Michael had little trouble slipping out just at the right moment, using a swift burst from the thrusters, to snuck Nebuchadrezzar in between the freighter’s large engine module and one of the outer cargo modules.

“I’m shutting down all non-essential systems and matching our shield frequency to that of the freighter,” said DeMara as her fingers danced over her console. “Unless anyone gets a close visual or runs a high-resolution scan, nobody’s going to notice us.”

The lights inside the cockpit went dark, leaving illumination to the computer panels and the red glow of the freighter’s engine block just a few dozen meters to starboard.

“So far so good,” she said. “I do not believe we’ve been detected.”

“We might have fooled the freighter’s crew but the Romulans are going to be more vigilant.” Micahel’s eyes were focused on Shakanara III, the yellow planet they were approaching.

DeMara looked at her read-outs. “I’m getting more information about the planet. I can’t risk an active scan but from what I can gather, there seems to be an installation on the western continent of the planet. And we might be in for even more luck.”

Michael glanced at her. “How is that?”

“Look at this,” she said and showed him a computer representation of the planet on her screen. A projected line displayed their current trajectory.

Michael realized that the western continent was currently on the opposite side of the planet. The freighter would have to enter orbit at the far side of the planet and then travel around Shakanara III to get into a geosynchronous position.

“We should be able to disengage from the freighter here,” she said and pointed at a spot on the planet that seemed to be more white than yellow. “Its proximity to the magnetic pole will render us nearly invisible.”

“Kind of makes you want to tell them that we’re coming. Who needs a cloaking device when you have such a resourceful science officer?”

She smiled sweetly.

The freighter entered Shakanara III’s atmosphere exactly fourteen minutes later. At the pre-arranged location, the runabout dropped away from the larger vessel utilizing minimal thrusters.

 They quietly descended toward the planet’s surface. Only once the Nebuchadrezzar had entered the atmosphere did Michael increase velocity again to quickly drop them underneath the Romulans’ sensors.

DeMara did not believe that the Romulans would expect a vessel approaching from the surface of an uninhabited planet and by keeping Nebuchadrezzar as close to ground as possible it was unlikely they’d be picked up by any kind of early warning system.

 They could not use the impulse engines, however, as their power signature would have raised red flags. Instead, they had to rely on the runabout’s thrusters that provided only low super-sonic speeds while traveling at such a low altitude.

Shakanara’s surface was completely unimpressive. A mostly barren wasteland with irregular patches of vegetation and large lakes filled with yellowish water. The runabout was moving too fast to make out any details but Michael was certain they were not missing anything.

It took them three hours to travel halfway around the globe to the other side of the planet and because of the inherent noise created by any vessel traveling at those speeds, they were forced to slow their approach significantly to avoid detection.

They had entered the atmosphere during daylight but had long since crossed the terminator by the time the runabout finally sat down in a narrow and rocky valley.

“We should be about eight kilometers west from the installation. I’ve seen no evidence of any sensor posts so far,” said DeMara.

Michael stood from the pilot chair after powering down the engines. “Laas, prepare your people and get ready for a hike on foot.”

“Understood,” replied her voice through the intercom.

“The temperature outside is a lovely sixteen degrees centigrade and the relative humidity is fifty-five percent,” said DeMara and turned in her chair to face the captain. “Perfect weather for a stroll.”

Michael walked to the weapons locker and removed a phaser. “This isn’t shore leave, Dee. Arm yourself and be ready to confront the enemy,” he said as he checked the weapon’s power settings.

She frowned and stood up. She had no false illusions of why they had come here. To stop a possibly deadly experiment, of course, to hopefully capture a known criminal but first and foremost they had come to this place so that Michael Owens could confront a demon from his past and perhaps avenge his brother’s murder.

He had not spoken much about their ultimate goal since they had departed Eagle but she had not been able to ignore the gleam in her friend’s eyes. He had tried to mask it for the most part but now that he was so close to his goal, it was as clear as crystal. His mind focused on one task and one task alone.

“Any plans on what to do when we get there?”

He ignored the question and holstered his weapon. He took another one and tossed it to her.

She caught the phaser easily. “Michael?”

He headed for the airlock. “I’m making that up as we go along.”

* * *

DeMara had remained right about the weather.

It was comfortable and that helped the away team to traverse the eight-kilometer distance swiftly. The two bright moons in the sky shined just brightly enough to guide their way and keep them somewhat hidden in case they’d encounter any patrols.

For the first seven kilometers, however, there was no sign whatsoever of any kind of habitation. They moved through canyons and valleys, past lakes, and traversed large stretches of open land.

Besides knee-high grasses, bushes, and occasional trees, they encountered no forms of life. And they had no opportunity to look either. Michael kept a solid pace, seemingly more determined to reach their destination with every step he took.

Ensign T’Nerr, now dressed like all six members of the away team in a black full-body suit, registered the presence of some rudimentary detection systems about one kilometer from their destination.

Michael found that the Caitian was a very skilled technician and he had little difficulty bypassing the detection grid. Within a few minutes, they were back on track toward the base, moving much slower and more carefully now.

“I’m detecting several life signs,” said DeMara who had kept a constant eye on her tricorder. The device had been set to run low-powered, passive scans of their environment. The signal was unlikely to be detected and would give the away team the most basic information about what they were most likely to run into.

“How far?” said Nora.

“Four hundred meters,” she said and looked up to find a mountain peak blocking their path. “Right behind that range.”

Michael kept his eyes fixed on the way ahead. “Can you identify the life signs?”

She shook her head. “Not in passive mode, no.”

Michael was about to speak up again when a loud rumbling noise from behind the mountain cut him off. A bright light flashed and blinded them for a moment and when they could see again, they all spotted the powerful blue beam that shot far into the sky and disappeared into the clouds above. The beam remained steady and pulsated with regularity.

“The dark anti-matter accelerator,” said DeMara.

“Are we too late?” asked Nora once the shock of the sudden appearance had passed.

DeMara looked at her tricorder and then at the sky. “I don’t think so. Frobisher’s experiment required very particular atmospheric conditions and there is no evidence of that here.”

Michael had noticed that too. Something was missing on this planet that had been such a crucial factor six years earlier.

There was no storm. He recalled the many briefings and reports that had stressed that the experiment would be useless without the carefully anticipated atmospheric disturbances that would produce the optimal conditions to allow the creation of the wormhole. Disturbances and conditions so rare that they had only ever been expected to happen once in their lifetime and on a planet half a galaxy away.

“Is it possible that Frobisher could have found a way to make his experiment work without the atmospheric conditions on Periphocles V?” he said.

“It seems highly unlikely. Without those precise conditions, it would be impossible to create the required singularity and without the singularity, there’d be no way to transport anything to a distant destination.”

Michael considered that for a moment. Then he drew his sidearm. “I’m not interested in the details of the experiment. We are here to find Frobisher, stop him from doing whatever it is he’s trying to accomplish here, and bring him in for the crimes he has committed.”

With that he set in motion again, walking purposefully toward the mountain range ahead and the source of the pulsating light beam hidden beyond.

Nora and her team quickly joined him with DeMara bringing up the rear.

A few minutes later they had climbed a low embankment that gave them a good view of what was happening in the valley below.

What Michael and the others found was not very different from the installation that had been built on Periphocles V.

The centerpiece was the large, bowl-shaped dark anti-matter accelerator, or as his brother had nicknamed it Big Betty. The blue beam shot out from emitters mounted at the top of the machine. There were several other devices and machines surrounding the central platform on which Big Betty had been constructed.

 The actual base itself was about six hundred meters away from the site of the experiment. It consisted of four or five large and unimpressive buildings. The metallic structures had seemingly no features or special markings and no windows. The only noteworthy structure was a large, flat array at the center of the installation, presumably a sensor used to spy on nearby Starfleet outposts and border activities.

Michael had produced a pair of binoculars and scanned the site below. Big Betty had come online only moments ago, meaning that whoever had activated it had to be close by.

He counted about ten Romulan guards all spread throughout the large testing site. A few civilian scientists and assistants were also present but they were being kept secluded from the accelerator itself.

“What do you see?” DeMara asked.

He passed her the binoculars so she could have a look.

“There’s the dark anti-matter accelerator. It looks just like the one on Periphocles V,” she said.

“I’ve got eleven armed guards patrolling the perimeter,” said Nora who had her own binoculars and observed the installation below with curious interest. “They seem to follow preset patrol routes. Romulans are nothing if not predictable,” she added with a smile.

“Oh no.”

Michael aimed a sharp look at DeMara but she refused to make eye contact with him. Instead, she continued to spy through the binoculars. She was trying to hide it now but something had clearly startled her.

He directed his glance back to the site below.

He couldn’t make out much with the naked eye but he could see that a figure had stepped onto the central platform. He immediately reached for the binoculars DeMara was still using and took them away from her to look at the figure.

She offered no resistance.

When he recognized him, he almost immediately broke out in a cold sweat, forming on his forehead and down his back.

 Somehow, he had always known that he would someday find that man and he had mentally prepared himself for this moment.

 But now that he finally had confirmation, he realized that he hadn’t prepared nearly enough. His hands began to tremble slightly and for a moment he had difficulties keeping the binoculars steady. He pushed a button on the small device to zoom onto his face.

There was no denying it. He was looking at Doctor Westren Jarett Frobisher.

A man he hadn’t laid eyes upon in six years. The man who had killed his only brother. He had aged quite significantly; his hairline had receded and was now almost completely white.

He appeared peaceful as he studied a padd that he held in his hands. He did not look like a man who had been on the run for half a decade. There seemed to be a strange sense of tranquility about him. Michael remembered that Frobisher had not looked this serene six years ago when he had been at the cusp of making history.

He felt a sudden repulsion come over him and put down his binoculars. He took a deep breath of air.

“Are you all right?” said DeMara. Her concern was mirrored both in her voice and in her facial expressions. She too had prepared for this moment.

He nodded slowly. “I thought I’d know exactly what I’d feel the moment I find him. When I’d finally have proof that he was not dead after all.”

“And?”

“I was wrong,” he said. His voice felt empty, his eyes drained of life. “I feel nothing.”

She didn’t quite know what to make of it. She had not expected that. She had been prepared for a sudden blood lust, rage, or even debilitating desolation. But she had no plans for nothing.

“Sir, how do you wish to proceed?” said Nora after a few moments of silence had passed.

Michael studied the installation without the binoculars. “We’ll go in, get Frobisher, and get out.”

She offered a sharp nod. “I recommend we act now. There are only a small number of guards and the civilians are nowhere close to the target. We have a good chance to extract him undetected.”

“What’s your plan?” DeMara asked her.

“I think I know the guards’ routes. If we approach from the west, we’ll only need to worry about three or maybe four of them. If we time it right, we’ll be in and out before anyone is the wiser.”

“Let’s stop wasting time then,” said Michael and began to crawl down the embankment.

“Sir,” said Nora and followed the captain. “I recommend you stay behind and let us handle the extraction.”

“Not a chance in hell. I want him to see my face when we take him.”

Nora sighed. She had by now surmised that Owens’ personal stake in this mission was quite significant. And while nobody had shared any details with her, she realized that Frobisher had done something terrible to the captain in the past, and that required needed personal satisfaction. She didn’t like the thought of exposing him to such a perilous situation but she knew that if the roles were reversed, very little could have stopped her to get her due.

* * *

Laas had been surprised by how easy it had been to enter the testing site.

The Romulans had not been expecting any kind of ground attack or infiltration. The reason for the lax security was probably not because of carelessness but more likely to keep a low profile.

 It seemed unlikely that this installation would be discovered by Starfleet, considering its relatively isolated location, but even if it did, keeping a low level of visibility would make it easier to pass off the base as a civilian installation.

The outpost staff had likely been trained in several scenarios that would allow them to hide the true nature of this facility.

Laas sneaked passed a small control complex and waited in the shadows. As she knelt by the edge of the building, she felt an all too familiar tingling sensation in her stomach.

She hated the feeling.

It brought back memories of her time as a resistance fighter on her home world.

She had spent countless hours sneaking through towns and bases, just like she did now, to get the drop on her enemies.

The fight against the Cardassian occupiers had been a seemingly never-ending guerilla war. Sneaking and waiting had been its hallmarks. Later when she had joined Starfleet and then the Marines she had been exposed to a much more open form of combat.

At first, she had thought that fighting was her calling since it was what she excelled in. And for a time, she had. She was good at it because she had never known anything else. But the truth was, she despised violence. Unfortunately, she knew that it was the only thing that was guaranteed to work. It was a necessity and she would continue using it as long as it would help protect the things and the people she believed in.

She heard the footsteps approach and just like that the sensation that had disturbed her was gone. It always did that. She focused on the task at hand.

The Romulan soldier didn’t notice her hidden in the shadows and walked right past her. He seemed attentive enough but he wasn’t expecting trouble. It was going to cost him.

Within a heartbeat, she was behind him. One hand covered his mouth while the crook of her elbow quickly slipped across his throat. The much taller man lost consciousness before he even knew what had happened.

Laas dragged his limp body into the shadows. Once she was satisfied that the guard was deposited out of view, she tapped her combadge twice.

Michael stepped onto the platform in an almost casual manner. He clenched his phaser tightly as he approached the unsuspecting Frobisher from behind. The man seemed too involved in reading the padd to notice him closing in.

       Michael watched Frobisher’s back for a few seconds. Bracing himself for a confrontation that he’d had six years to prepare for.

       “Time flies.”

       Frobisher whipped around. Shock mirrored on his face as he stared at the black-clad man. And then a sudden flash of recognition made clear that he had not forgotten the man who had stopped and beaten him to a bloody pulp all that time ago.

His eyes opened wide and his mouth gaped. He had not expected this encounter. Not here.

       The two men simply looked at each other, nobody spoke.

       Then Frobisher turned his head as he spotted another figure approaching. She too held a phaser and he recognized her immediately. She had one of those faces impossible to forget.

       He turned back. His surprise gone and instead a small, crooked smile on his face. “Michael Owens.”

       Michael wasn’t sure what exactly was causing the scientist’s amusement. It was irritating and not what he had expected.

DeMara had warned him that the doctor had shown some signs of mental instability even six years ago and to be very careful when approaching him.

       “Doctor Westren Frobisher, I’m placing you under arrest for reckless endangerment and murder. You can come quietly or we can blast you off your feet. It’s your choice,” he said and emphasized his phaser. “You can venture a guess as to which one I’d prefer.”

       Frobisher looked at the weapon and then at him. “I did not think you would find me. I’ve been very careful, you see. I had a lot of time to be careful.”

       Michael was not interested in a conversation, not while surrounded by a regiment of Romulan soldiers.

       “Of course, it doesn’t matter anymore,” he said and glanced back at his padd. “Soon, nothing will matter anymore.”

       Michael didn’t understand. The man had seemingly lost his mind. Being on the run for six years could do that to a person. Especially somebody who had been unstable from the start. He felt a new emotion overcome him. Pity. He fought it. He did not want that feeling clouding his judgment or distracting him from the gratification he would undoubtedly soon experience for bringing Frobisher finally to justice.

       The accelerator that stood only a few feet to his left began to power up. The bright blue beam began to intensify and pulsate at a faster rate. It startled him but he didn’t dare take his eyes off Frobisher.

       “Doctor, what do you hope to achieve here?” DeMara said, her curiosity momentarily getting the better of her. “You can’t possibly hope to recreate the experiment on Periphocles V.”

       Frobisher shot her a glance but he didn’t reply. That irritating smile still on his lips.

       “This’s enough,” Michael said. “We go, now.”

       “I never had a chance to tell you this,” Frobisher said, speaking in a slow and even voice. “But your brother was a good man and a fine scientist. It was a shame that he perished the way he did.”

       You bastard.

All feelings of pity and indecisiveness were gone in an instant as resolve cemented itself once more. Michael took a few steps toward Frobisher who didn’t even blink. Not even when he pushed his phaser hard into his stomach.

       “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just blast you to pieces right here?”

       Frobisher met his fiery eyes. “I don’t know. Why don’t you?”

       A soft hand touched his shoulder. “Michael, don’t. It’s just what he wants. Let’s take him and get out of here.”

Laas was watching the spectacle on the platform from a good fifty meters away.

She cursed herself that she had let the captain go to take Frobisher without her. She had known that it had been a bad idea from the start but there had been no arguing with him.

He hadn’t said much but it had been obvious from the look in his eyes. What she had feared was coming true now. He was getting far too personal and was now within striking distance from the doctor, threatening to shoot him on the spot.

       Damn it then, just do it already so we can get out of here.

       It wasn’t a noble thought but she was sure Frobisher deserved it.

DeMara stepped in to intervene. Something was terribly wrong with that picture. She felt that queasiness in her stomach again. And then she suddenly knew what it was.

Frobisher was running the show. He was playing with Owens. Neither DeMara nor the captain could see that the scientist was entering something into his padd, hidden behind his back.

       She had to do something.

She gave up her position and headed for the platform only to stop short after a few steps. From the corner of her eye, she could see a figure emerging from the shadows.

       A Romulan guard.

       Impossible. Both Carlos and T’Nerr had already signaled her. Their targets had been neutralized.

They must have overlooked another guard on the perimeter.

       The Romulan quietly brought his rifle to bear on Owens.

       Laas reached for her phaser but the guard was partially hidden behind a few containers. No way to get a clean shot.

       And then a sudden blast struck the guard and he collapsed. It had come from a high angle.

She turned around and could just spot McIntyre’s tiny figure far up the slope. She seemed to be raising her arm to indicate her position.

Laas nodded thankfully at her intervention and also at remembering to choose Skyler McIntyre, Eagle’s best marksman, to add to the away team.

       She didn’t have much time to appreciate the young woman’s quick thinking. She whipped back around toward the platform, something was happening.

       A few meters away from the large accelerator, connected to the main platform was another smaller dais with a large emitter hovering above it. The emitter had activated, creating a bright pillar of hard white light that beamed down onto the platform below.

The sound of the sniper shot had been subdued but had remained loud enough that it had startled both Michael and DeMara. As the captain turned to look at what had happened, Frobisher made his move.

       He grabbed the padd with both hands and brought it down hard against Michael’s phaser, which went flying out of his grip.

Before he could even register the pain shooting through his hand the doctor pushed the now-broken device right into his midsection.

       He stumbled backward and into DeMara who still stood right behind him.

       Frobisher turned instantly and ran for the smaller platform.

       Michael ignored the pain when he saw the doctor running. There was no way in hell he was going to allow him to escape. Not after coming this far and being so close.

He would chase him to the ends of the galaxy before giving him up. And perhaps not even then.

He was back on his feet in an instant, not even taking the time to check on DeMara, and sprinted after the fleeing scientist.

       Frobisher reached the platform. He hesitated for just a moment and turned to see Owens approaching him fast. He took a single step forward and vanished into the light.

       Moments later Michael followed.

       DeMara hadn’t been injured but she had become momentarily disorientated when Michael had fallen toward her.

 She reached for the weapon she had dropped and quickly brought it to bear only to find her line of fire blocked by the captain. She scrambled after him and at first, didn’t even realize where they were headed. And then Michael disappeared right in front of her eyes.

Her mind raced and yet it remained slower than her feet that carried her right after him and into a bright light of uncertainty.

* * *

Laas gasped in horror when she saw Owens and then Deen disappear inside the beam.

Deen had told her earlier that Frobisher’s machine was supposed to be some sort of new and revolutionary transporter system but she had surmised from what both Deen and Owens had said since they had landed on this world that it wasn’t supposed to work here.

They had been mistaken.

       Laas charged toward the small platform and the still pulsating beam. It didn’t matter where the transporter led, her mission was to protect the captain and she would go wherever he went.

       She spotted Carlos who had stepped out of his hiding spot to check on the fallen Romulan guard. “José, stay here and provide cover as long as you can and then retreat to the ship,” she said and continued for the platform.

       “Lieutenant?”

       She turned her head to look up the slope when she heard McIntyre’s voice. She had instructed her people to keep radio silence and the fact that she was breaking it now meant something bad was happening.

       “The other guards are closing on your position. You’ll have a whole lot of company in about a minute.”

       Damn, she thought. They must have heard the sniper blast.

       “Do I engage?”

       “Negative,” she said. She had almost reached the platform now. “You’ll only give away your location.”

       Just a few more meters.

       “Hold your position for now. If necessary, cover our exfil. Nora out.”

       And then it was gone.

       She stormed onto the platform but the bright white beam had vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. She stood right at the center of the dais where the others had disappeared but nothing happened. She looked up at the emitters above her but they showed no signs of activity.

       “José, get over to that console. See if you can reactivate this device.”

       Nora’s deputy didn’t hesitate and immediately made his way to a computer station that was attached to the accelerator. For a moment she thought he had figured it out but then his facial expression visibly dropped.

       He looked up at her. “It requires some sort of code. I can’t get access to it.”

       She sighed. She was out of options. She had no time to have Carlos or T’Nerr try to hack into the computer. The guards were going to reach them any second and once they got there and found the Starfleet officers, the whole base was going to be put on high alert.

       She left the platform to approach Carlos. “Can you tell where they went?”

       He shook his head. “To be honest I can’t make heads or tails out of any of this. It’s unlike any transporter I’ve ever seen.”

       “All right, we need to regroup. She tapped her combadge three times, the signal for T’Nerr to retreat and for McIntyre to cover them. Then without any more hesitation, Nora and Carlos quickly withdrew from the site.

       They had made it halfway back to the slope when McIntyre called in again.

       “Sir, a single Romulan has just appeared by the accelerator. Looks like he beamed in from somewhere. He’s … stand by.”

       “What is it?”

       “Sir, he has just reactivated the device.”

       Laas stopped in her tracks almost causing Carlos to slam into her.

       She looked back at the testing site which lay about fifty meters behind her now. She could not spot the man who had activated the accelerator or any of the guards.

Nora Laas knew she had to make a decision and she had to make it fast.