Kirina

Holodeck Short Stories
45
Chapter 42: Parasite

March 2414

Kirina watched with awe and horror as the pink creature crawled into the Ferengi’s mouth. She could barely believe her eyes as it took control of his body and began speaking with the Klingon Captain as if they were old acquaintances. Worse still, by the way they were talking, it was clear that she was next.

“We’ll have to do something about that wound,” the Klingon said, “It’ll be a few days before another is available, and she won’t survive that long.”


A pair of microfilaments and the protoplaser’s isolinear interface, that she managed to swipe when she was allowed the use of a medkid, were all the tools she needed. She stopped the bleeding first, of course, but her wound remained otherwise untended. Her real concern was finding a way to resist the parasite.

She’d seen it in action. Based on its size and method of entry, she knew the brainstem could be the only target. No strength of will and no medication would be enough to fight it. There were very few things in the universe, she assumed, that would be capable doing what she needed to do. As luck would have it, she had one of those things.

She carefully removed a small hypospray vial from a hidden pocket inside her shirt. It was nothing less than a small miracle that it hadn’t broken while she was unconscious. She slid the filaments into the vial, and connected the interface. A visible shift in the liquid occurred. Nanites, clinging to the filaments.


“It’s time,” the controlled Ferengi called out as he entered the room carrying a small box. His timing was impeccable. Kirina quickly lowered her hand from her neck, just barely managing to slide her makeshift injector into a corner where it wouldn’t be noticed.

The effect was immediate. The Romulan’s head was pounding, and she barely noticed as the Ferengi opened his box and released the parasite. Her vision was blurred and green-shifted; distant voices was all she heard. She couldn’t move.

She felt the parasite crawl up her arm, but she couldn’t stop it. She felt it touch her lips, but she couldn’t fight it. She felt the wretched thing as it entered her mouth, and she felt the pain as it burrowed its way to her spinal cord. She wasn’t afraid of it. She’d made her preparations, crude as they were.

In the next few moments, the parasite would be killed. The only question remaining in Kirina’s mind was whether or not her body would survive the battle.

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Chapter 43: Control

March 2414

91175.3

“What’s wrong? What took so long?” The Ferengi asked with concern.
Something’s wrong. It didn’t work. Why didn’t it work?
Kirina climbed out of the targ cage and stood to her full height. She felt her mouth moving, and she felt the words in her throat, but they weren’t hers, “She was surprisingly resistant. But they all succumb in the end.”
It should have worked. IT SHOULD HAVE WORKED!
“Come,” the Ferengi responded. We have much to do."


91241

Kirina leaned up against the wall. Her movements were still not her own, but she could feel the parasite’s weakness. There were moments where it almost felt like she could just…


The headache was getting worse.
You feel that too, don’t you, kllhe.
Kirina could hear the faint sound of distant voices, indistinguishable and unintelligible, but there. For weeks now, always there, a constant droning.
Just… have to keep going, a little longer…
The creature within her regained its composure. Kirina felt herself push up off the wall, and continue down the Risian hallway.


91279

Kirina walked down the corridor of the Klingon ship. At the parasite’s direction, a raid was conducted on a Klingon convoy. She was on her way to fabricate evidence pointing to a Federation attack. To destabilize the alliance. To pave the way for an Iconian invasion.
// SYSTEM ONLINE // DIAGNOSTIC: RUNNING … COMPLETE // FOREIGN OBJECT DETECTED. //
It’s working? It’s working!
// LOCALIZING … COMPLETE //
// INTERNAL COUNTERMEASURES: ACTIVE //
Kirina stopped in her tracks, and doubled over as if in pain. But all she felt was some tingling. An odd sort of numbness.
Come … on…
It was the parasite, that was in pain. It was weak; it was losing the battle. And that was when it finally happened.
// THREAT: UNKNOWN // SPECIES: UNKNOWN // ASSIMILATION PROTOCOL: ACTIVE
Kirina blinked. She blinked again, to make sure it was her doing. She tried to look around. Her vision was blurry, and her movements were sluggish, but they were hers. She’d broken through. She was winning.
It worked! Elements, I’m winning!
// DIAGNOSTIC: RUNNING … COMPLETE // SYSTEMS NOMINAL
Standby mode.
“Standby mode.” Her voice cracked, and she stood for a moment in amazement that she was able to speak. She had control of her body again.
// SYSTEM: STANDBY //

The distant voices were still there. That was to be expected. Kirina knew she could work through that. What she didn’t expect was the flash. An image, suddenly, in her mind. Not just an image, but part of a plan; a thought.

The parasite’s thought.

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47
Chapter 44: Qo'noS

May 2414

91336

Kirina looked up from her work and, for a moment, watched the Klingon fleet floating among the wreckage of Federation transports. She had to hurry. The Captain would find her absence suspicious before too long.

The Captains of the House of Kiltarak, controlling a fleet of 14 KDF warships, had been carrying out attacks on allied supply lines for weeks now. When they destroyed Federation convoys, they made sure to leave evidence of their work; when they hit Klingon convoys, they left evidence pointing to a Starfleet attack; and when the Romulans investigated their destroyed ships, evidence would be found pointing to both Starfleet and the KDF. The Iconian War had only just begun, but through their bluegill agents, the Iconians were trying to destabilize the Alpha Quadrant Alliance and shatter their resistance. And it was working.

Kirina had several chances to sneak away during her tenure pretending to be infected, but she knew she had a rare opportunity. She could hear the parasite’s thoughts. She knew what they were planning. When Kirina finished her work in the ship’s engine room she left a note, tied under a ribbon, on the frame of the warp reactor. A gift of proof. Next stop, shuttle bay.

Her shuttle cloaked before exiting the bay. She flew to a safe distance as the fleet moved into formation and turned away. Thirteen ships jumped to warp in unison. The one that remained was rocked by a series of internal explosions. Kirina smiled to herself as the Bird of Prey shuddered and drifted. Starfleet would be here soon, and this would be all the evidence they’d need to determine the truth behind the attacks.


91346

Risa is such a deceptively beautiful planet. The natives and their Federation guests tend to be so trusting, so open, so welcoming. When a Ferengi sets up a souvenir shop, nobody suspects it’s secretly the headquarters of the sector’s largest slave ring. It was the perfect cover. The Iconian servitor within the Ferengi already had all the infrastructure he needed to transport people and parasites throughout the quadrant.

Risian mornings weren’t very busy, and there only a few customers browsing the shop. Kirina nodded to the Ferengi tending the register as she entered and headed for the storeroom. It was too soon for him to have heard about their “mysteriously lost” Bird of Prey. Within the storeroom, a pair of Nausicaans slept on cots on opposite sides of the room. Between them were six slave cages - all occupied. This always gave Kirina pause. But her parasite wouldn’t balk at the sight of it, or try to help them, and so she couldn’t either. At least, not directly. Not yet.

She moved to the desk at the back of the room. It didn’t take her long to find the PADD with what she was looking for: Qo’noS System orbital defense battle plans. It wasn’t the only copy, of course, but if she hurried, she thought, she might be able to get there in time to warn someone.

Kirina quickly made her way out of the storeroom, and out towards the store’s exit. As she stepped out into the warm Risian sun, she was immediately forced to duck behind a pillar. Two all-too-familiar faces walked right past her, headed for the store. It worked, she thought. This’ll be over soon, she told herself. As the Starfleet and Republic Officers entered the shop – following the trail she’d left for them – she knew at least, if nothing else, the slaves would be rescued.


91353

The small shuttle dropped out of warp in orbit of Qo’noS, to a hail of fire. After taking a few stay hits, the small craft managed to swerve out of the kill zone. Alliance ships were trading fire with Herald dreadnoughts, and it was impossible to tell which side was winning.

I’m too late.

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Chapter 45: The Devil You Know

May 2414

A severed head fell to the floor, rolling the last half-meter to General Wrot’Ka’s feet and, for a moment, the bridge of the IKS Lukara was completely silent.

In the aftermath of the Iconian assault on Qo’noS, several high-ranking Alliance officers had gathered on the General’s flagship to report and to plan. The redheaded Romulan’s presence was unexpected. Besides simply looking laughably out of place, those that knew who she was had believed her to be dead. While most present were to shocked to speak, the General clapped his hands together once. His security officers snapped out of the surprise and rushed to grab Kirina by the arms. The General next ordered the Federation and Republic officers out of the room. Before submitting to security’s effort to drag her away, Kirina lunged her leg forward to land a solid kick on the severed head. The force of the impact caused the head to shift and, as planned, a small sliver of pink dropped from it to the floor.

The silence gave way to hushed chatter, as the order to clear the room was ignored by pretty much everyone. Wrot’Ka knelt down to pick up the pink object, and when he rose again, he held up the remains of a bluegill - a neural parasite, an Iconian servitor.

“I hope this is an explanation,” the General growled offhandedly, “because short of that, it has done you little to add but moments to your life.”

“They destroyed our home,” Kirina said, very quietly to the General. “Yours nearly joined it today. Would you like the heads of those responsible?”

The General focused in on Kirina, his interest now piqued. “Speak,” he barked.

Kirina kicked her foot out again to tap the head on the ground, “General Darj, from the House of Kiltarak.” She stared back at Wrot’Ka with a sense of determination. She knew him. She’d spent months on his base, seen him in action. She understood him. She was disgusted by him, but she understood him. She knew what she needed to say to gain his cooperation. “He was an Iconian puppet, undermining all of your Empire’s efforts. By eliminating him, you are now a hero.” She continues, her voice lowered to just above a whisper, “If you kill me, you’ll never find the ones he was working with. The choice is yours, General.”

Wrot’Ka rolled his head to the side, allowing his neck to crack several times. After a moment’s contemplation, he responded with a raised voice, “Then say with you came to! Do not tease me!”


Kirina’s tale was a long one, but Wrot’Ka sat for over an hour and listened to every word. She held things back, and she stayed vague at times, but her message was clear and the General understood the danger - and the value of the information Kirina could provide.


“Then you wish to see this through to the end?” he asked when she finally concluded, “To see a great enemy defeated?”

Kirina indicated the dead parasite, still in the General’s hand, “I’ve taken the first step.”

Wrot’Ka took a deep breath and looked off to the side. Kirina knew this was the moment of truth, but she was confident that she’d made her case. “Very well,” he said as he finally returned his attention to her. To his officers, “Confine her to quarters! There will be much to discuss.”

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Chapter 46: Aurelia & Ahnar

June 2414

// DATA RETRIEVAL: IN PROGRESS … //
“General Mek’tor, Son of Darj.”

“Head of the house,” an Orion said as Kirina spoke the name.

“Colonel … Kogwar.”

“Captains?”

// SEARCHING … //
“Mok. Morath. K’tan. B’Luka. K’jarg. B’Kara. Kazak. M’Rel. K’nar.”
// COMPLETE //

“Ships?”

// SEARCHING … //
“IKS Lechraj, IKS Chang, IKS Jonka, IKS Hakkari, IKS Gr’oth, IKS Gal’tagh, IKS Ch’dan, IKS Norgh, IKS Doj, IKS Aktuh, IKS Mok’tar.”
// COMPLETE //

Kirina inhaled sharply after finishing the whole list in one breath. The eerie flat affect that she took on while speaking gave way to her a dour expression. The Ferasan behind her with the recording device nodded, and the Orion across the table stood. “Your friend’s information checks out. Time to go.”

Kirina wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed. Part of her wanted to see her task through to the very end. Another part just wanted to go home. And still, there was a part of her that never really believed she’d get out of this situation alive. If the Iconians didn’t get her, the Klingons wouldn’t ever let her go, she assumed.

But Aurelia wasn’t one to accept defeat so easily. She never was. Aurelia was determined to get Kirina out of Klingon hands, and so she struck a deal. She had followed up on Kirina’s info. She did what she did best. She dug up what she needed to, and she brought it to Wrot’Ka. It was the best of both worlds, really. Aurelia’s terms would still allow Wrot’Ka to finish hunting down the threat to the Empire and the alliance, and it would allow him to save face while doing it. But most importantly, it meant that Kirina could finally go home.

// INERTIAL FORCES DETECTED … COMPENSATING //
The Klingon shuttle jolted slightly as the docking connector clamped on to the Romulan shuttle. Kirina didn’t feel it. The Ferasan stepped forward and opened the hatch.

// ATMOSPHERIC CHANGE DETECTED //
Faces. Romulans, waiting on the other side. Friends. Hope. Kirina moved through the hatch, as if she expected to wake up at any moment. She smiled for the briefest of moments before she became overwhelmed by the blatant reminder that her own personal nightmare wasn’t over.

// DATA RETRIEVAL: IN PROGRESS … //
Images flashed through Kirina’s mind. So many, so quickly, that she could barely process them. But process them, she did. In 0.37 seconds, she watched all of her own memories involving every person in the shuttle. The Mandukar boy. The Senator. Her only real friend. And Ahnar.

Sweet, innocent Ahnar, who had so dutifully showed up when his sister called; a shuttle and a long ride to Republic space, all those years ago; the way he looked at Kirina, and the way he spoke to her, and the way she never even noticed.

At least, not at the time.
// COMPLETE //

“Kirina, I…”

Ahnar started to speak as Kirina approached him, but he didn’t get the chance to finish his thought. Kirina didn’t stop at a polite distance. She stepped right up and kissed him.
// TACHYCARDIA DETECTED … COMPENSATING //

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Chapter 47: Deterioration

June 2414

// INPUT FAILURE //

“NO!” Kirina shouted, not that anyone could hear. She threw her tricorder across her quarters, “WH-”

// INPUT FAILURE //
// INITIATING SECONDARY PROTOCOLS … //
// ERROR: ASSIMILATION INCOMPLETE //
// ADDITIONAL NANOPROBES REQUIRED //
// REGENERATION CYCLE: ACTIVE //

Kirina dropped to her knees and grabbed her head with both hands. She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes.



// REGENERATION CYCLE: COMPLETE //
// INPUT FAILURE //
// INITIATING SECONDARY PROTOCOLS … //
// ERROR: ASSIMILATION INCOMPLETE //
// BEGINNING TISSUE CONVERSION //

"Wh… " Kirina grunted as she rolled onto her back. The pain was more dull now. “Computer… time?”

The time is zero five thirty six.

“Five hours…” She opened her eyes, and then shook her head, trying to dispel the blur of her vision. She slowly sat up, and scooted herself over towards her previously discarded tricorder.

// COMPLETE //
// INPUT FAILURE //

Kirina began to move more quickly. The implant was expanding. The nanoprobes weren’t designed to function without a connection to the collective. Kirina’s makeshift safeguards had long since broken down; the bluegill had been dead for weeks now. Without the parasite’s ‘help’, her body was unable to keep the Borg technology at bay. She was being assimilated, from the inside out. The pain returned.

“Standby mode!”

// INPUT FAILURE //
// INITIATING SECONDARY PROTOCOLS … //
// ERROR: ASSIMILATION INCOMPLETE //
// BEGINNING TISSUE CONVERSION //

Kirina fell to the ground again. She knew what commands needed to be entered, but the pathways were degraded. The implant had expanded to the point where it wasn’t willing to accept manual instructions. Instructions had to come through the interlink node. If there was someone else…

// TISSUE CONVERSION INCOMPLETE //
// INPUT FAILURE //

…she could modify a node to transmit a stabilizing command. She closed her eyes again as she accepted her fate. The sentient brain was just too complicated. It would take too long to do a proper procedure, and she was in no condition to do it safely. Her own life wasn’t worth subjecting another person to her horrors. Not again. This is the end, she thought.


Just then, she felt something soft brush against her face. By the time she opened her eyes, she felt the pressure on her shoulder, and then the weight on her chest. She opened her eyes and looked downwards, only to have her vision filled by a mass of white fur.

meeeoow

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Chapter 48: Perspective
Hours had passed since she left home. The urge to explore is universal, and she felt it often. She'd never ventured quite this far before, and the region she found herself in was very different from any she'd previously visited.

She was walking through a great field, and all was quiet. Large wooden pillars stood in rows, supporting some sort of platforms high above. The ground was soft, here. Like grass without the blades, a deep blue in color.

She walked over to one of the pillars, and looked up towards the platform above. She couldn’t see what awaited her at the top, but she had a feeling. She had to know what was up there. It was what she was meant to do. So she began to climb.

It was easy, at first. The lower platform was only slightly higher than she could have reached without climbing. But once atop it, she faced a bigger challenge. The platforms were not connected. There was nothing to climb. No way across the gap. She considered giving up, and making her way back down.

But the urge returned. She simply needed to know what was up there. Nothing else mattered. She could make the jump, she thought. She must have jumped greater distances in the past. This was no different. Her goal was so close, all she had to do was…

… jump.

She opened her eyes as she landed softly atop the highest platform. She made it. And it was well worth the risk. The view seemed to go on forever. To her left, she saw a great flame, burning endlessly below a floating city. To her right, a majestic golden palace. Just a few steps ahead, there was more of the soft blue ground, and all around her, beautiful translucent cylinders. It was everything she’d imagined and more. It was wondrous.

She approached one of the cylinders, ever curious, and reached out to touch it. It was smooth, and cold to the touch; and to her surprise, it was remarkably unsteady. The lightest touch threatened to tip the whole thing. From as close as she was, she was able to see an opening in the top. If she could only get it on its side, she could look inside, she thought. And so she pushed.

As expected, the object fell. And then it began to roll. She tried to stop it, but it was too fast. It rolled on and on, beyond the blue ground and out onto the wood. And there, it only gained speed. It rolled to the edge of the platform, and disappeared over the side.

No sooner did she hear the crashing of the cylinder on the ground than did the giant arrive. A hideous, mostly-hairless creature, dozens of times taller than she. It had four extremities, but only two reached the ground.

She’d encountered others of its kind before, but none ever as ugly as this one. “You are small and soft, but not for eating,” it said, as it reached down and lifted her by her midsection, “You should not be here.”


June 2414

Kilometers away, a woman woke with a start. She was quiet as a mouse, but her sudden movement was enough to rouse her bed’s other occupant.

“Kirina, what’s wrong?”

She spoke softly as she slid out of the bed and began dressing to leave, “Nothing’s wrong, Ahnar, go back to sleep.”

The man’s worry was only partially mitigated by her reply, “Where could you be going, at this hour? … Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m always okay. I’ll be back soon.”

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Chapter 49: Rock Bottom

July 2414

Why is she still looking at me?

Kirina often spoke to herself, inside her own head, but since establishing her makeshift feline collective she was doing it constantly. If only to drown out the creatures’ stray thoughts. Outwardly, she seemed distant, distracted, and others were starting to notice. Aurelia and Ahnar were worried, but this would be too strange to explain. The Betazoid Counselor could tell that something had changed as well, though she herself was too introverted to discuss it unsolicited. And then there was Divan. Divan Mandukar.

Where did she even come from? Kirina thought. She knew the story: some sort of transporter incident had duplicated Davin Mandukar, resulting in an anatomically female version, now going by ‘Divan’. This explanation never sat right with Kirina, however. There was more to it. … and why is she staring at me?

Another few moments passed, until it dawned on Kirina that she must look rather odd, sitting alone, silently, on the floor by the fire. Mumbling to herself. As she looked down, she realized that her hands had been idly toying with a frayed edge of the rug. Oh, she thought again, I guess it’s because I’m acting weird again. She smiled, a bit awkwardly at Divan, before standing and quickly heading for the exit.

“Input failure.”

Kirina stopped in her tracks, and looked around. Had she heard that aloud?

Some officers were playing poker nearby, while a few others conversed near the fireplace. Divan was with them, and for a brief moment, the two made eye contact. Kirina shook it off, though. Too far away. They were all too far away to have been the source of the voice.

// INPUT FAILURE //

There it was again. Clearer now, but only for her to hear. The notification droned out the feline background noise. The link was failing. This wasn’t the first time, so Kirina knew what to do.

I need to find more cats.

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Chapter 50: Revelations

July 2414

The movements of the fish in the large tank occupying one wall seemed to hold her interest more than the people in the room, on this particular evening. The small lounge cleared out quickly, following some commotion that Kirina managed to mostly ignore. It wasn’t until she drew her attention away from the glow of the tank that she noticed one other occupant remaining nearby.

“I can help you, you know,” the other figure said.

It was Divan. Kirina raised both eyebrows, unsure of what she was referring to. She glanced towards the fishtank for a final moment before fully turning to face the other Romulan woman. “Excuse me?” she replied, uncertainly.

“You’re having trouble controlling the other voices, aren’t you.” She knew. Kirina was quiet for a long moment, as she considered what Divan may or may not have found out about. “I can help you,” the woman repeated in the silence.

Kirina decided that the best course of action was retreat. This was too dangerous. She shook her head and stepped towards the exit, muttering, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Divan stepped directly into Kirina’s path, causing her to stop short with widened eyes. Divan held out her hand, revealing a bracelet of sorts. It was a band of matte metallic silver, intertwined and haphazardly connected to a darker black-green cord. “Put it on,” Divan commanded, in a tone Kirina hadn’t heard from her before. And yet, there was something unnervingly familiar about it. Something oddly compelling. Despite her better judgement, despite everything inside her screaming to run away and not look back, Kirina held out her own hand, and allowed the bracelet to be placed around her wrist.


All of a sudden, the room felt cold.

The edge of Kirina’s vision blackened.

The usual idle hum of the station, the sound of people in the nearby hallway, the bubbles of the fishtank, the previously-droning voices of her makeshift collective; all of it was gone in an instant.

Kirina’s ears buzzed with deafening silence. When she spoke, the sound of her own voice was muffled and distant. “Who are you?” she asked.


In the moment of the other woman’s response, her voice was not that of Divan, but one that was unforgettable. The words echoed inside Kirina’s mind, as if it were the only sound in the entire universe.

“You know who I am,” said D’Kera Mandukar.

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Chapter 51: New Beginnings

July 2414

Kirina didn’t know what to feel.

D’Kera Mandukar was here, and posing as a Republic Commander. It didn’t make any sense. But then, it didn’t matter.

Kirina burst into her quarters, and threw herself into the nearest corner, curling up to hide from the galaxy. She could barely process all the information she’d just been given. The voices were gone. Her nanites had gone dormant. She was safe and clear-minded for the first time in months.

But safe was the farthest from what she felt, after hearing what D’Kera had proposed. She felt sick, the things she was contemplating.


Could it really be done?

What about the cost?

Could I live with myself, working with HER?


Could I live with myself if I didn’t try?

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Chapter 52: Direction

August 2414

“I can’t do this.”

Kirina’s words hung in the air for a moment, while she unclipped a small datapad from her belt. “Not alone,” she clarified, handing the device over to D’Kera Mandukar, who sat unconcerned in the next seat over. “We’ll need specialists in each of these fields, and at least six starships.”

“Then you’ll have them,” D’Kera replied confidently. She had little reason not to be confident. She had a promise that few Romulans could refuse, and she was well on her way to having the means to achieve it.

“I’ll also need a full lab, with no time constraints.”

“I know just the place. But we’ll need some help getting there.”

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Chapter 53: Subterfuge

August 2414

“Ahnar, dear, I need a favor.”

Kirina’s tone was light and friendly, as she called from the other room. She had a chemistry set out and was hard at work packaging a number of mixtures into experiment containers. Ahnar responded in the affirmative, though Kirina was far too concentrated to parse his actual words. It didn’t matter though. The poor thing was so smitten, she never had to question whether he’d do as she asked.

“I need the results of this experiment, but I haven’t been able to book a science lab. Could you take it down to yours today and let it run under the sensor for me?” She poured in the final mixture and sealed the final container. She noted the time on her PADD, then stood and strode into the room where Ahnar was working.

She draped her arms around him. “It’s for the University,” she explained, a practiced lie that he never saw coming, “It’s self-contained and on a timer. You won’t have to do a thing.”

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Chapter 54: Betrayal

August 2414

“Oh! I almost forgot,” Kirina spoke as she lingered in the man’s doorway. “I have a surprise for you. Get your shuttle and meet me outside the station, after work.” She smiled, and didn’t give the confused man a chance to reply, “Coordinates are on your desk, see you there!”

“Kir-” was all he had time to say before she gave a little wave and moved out into the hallway, allowing the door to close behind her.



Hours later, everything was ready. Kirina reached the promenade level, and checked the time. She was too early, so she moved to the nearest wall and waited, out of the way. Only a few moments passed before the station was rocked by an explosion, followed quickly by three more. Kirina was ready, and didn’t stumble, even when the lights went out.

The power outage didn’t last long at all, though it was clear that it was the backup systems that had kicked in to relight the room.

Time to go, Kirina thought, as she headed towards the auxiliary control room.



Kirina materialized aboard the Vauthilai, and walked quickly to the bridge. As she stepped off the turbolift, she was surprised to be met with the sight of Starfleet Captain Buchanan and Aev, bloody and held by the ship’s security. Only meters away, Divan - D’Kera had just finished monologuing over the comm.

“Ah, good,” D’Kera said, “Now we can go.” The ship’s crew moved at the words, and the ship briefly shuddered under Federation weaponsfire, though by all indications D’Kera’s fleet had them vastly outmatched and outmaneuvered.

Kirina walked over towards D’Kera, her voice lowering. She indicated a nearby console, “Ahnar’s out there on a shuttle, waiting to be picked up. I can enter the coordinates.”

“That won’t be necessary,” D’Kera responded, her meaning abundantly clear, before the unexpected arrival of a Republic task force necessitated her attention return to the battle.

Kirina knew she wasn’t going to be able to overturn this decision, even less so while the ship was under fire. Even as the prisoners were unexpectedly transported off the bridge, all Kirina could do was stand there, stammering for no one to hear, “…I told him … he was supposed to come with us. I … told him to wait.”

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Chapter 55: Interlude

September 2414

Kirina was sad most of the time, now.

D’Kera’s great plan required a great many things that could not be achieved working within the confines of the Federation and the Republic. They had to relocate. They had to go somewhere with the proper facilities – somewhere they could plan, and stage, and gather allies. They had to take with them, those things that couldn’t be acquired elsewhere. That much made sense.

Sabotaging the station was necessary. She accepted that, and she worked it all out. She was so careful not to hurt anyone in the process. The timing was perfect, down to the second. At precisely the correct moment, Ahnar was exactly where he was supposed to be. Sitting in his shuttle, waiting to be taken aboard. But D’Kera was of a different mind.

So they left him there, to be captured by Starfleet, and to take the blame for the theft and the sabotage.

And to make matters worse, Kirina thought to herself, if he’s not here when the time comes, there’s no going back.

It had been years since Kirina set foot on the planet of her birth. Even after she played a part in saving it from an Elachi invasion, Kirina had never returned.

It wasn’t a homecoming she was able to enjoy.

Time to get back to work.

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Chapter 56: Planning

September 2414

But how?

“How?” was the question that everyone wanted answered. D’Kera Mandukar had managed to gather an impressive number of followers from all three Romulan factions, in such a short amount of time, using nothing but her own charisma and the promise of one thing: the restoration of the Romulus System.

Some assumed she was speaking figuratively: the promise of a new united faction. They were wrong. D’Kera’s plan called for nothing short of the total prevention of the Hobus disaster that spelled the end of the Star Empire. D’Kera made grand promises and spoke of a brighter, more correct future. D’Kera spoke of a timeline in which the Undine infiltrations of the Federation and the Klingon Empire were thwarted in their infancy; of a timeline in which the Iconians were defeated at every turn; a timeline where the galaxy contained 20 billion souls more, lives saved by our intervention. But when the time came to explain how all of this could possibly be achieved, when it was time for science and specifics, rather then rhetoric and promises, the one everyone looked to was Kirina.

And the fact of the matter was, Kirina didn’t know yet. Sure, she had a general idea, taken from D’Kera herself, but implementation would require far more than an idea.

Time travel is a very real thing. Easy, even, if you know what you’re doing. The trouble is in anticipating the effects of your actions. Blindly altering the timeline is a recipe for disaster. No – every variable needs to be accounted for. To achieve the intended goals, the fleet would need to be deposited in exactly the right moment, at the right position in space, with the right people, the right equipment, and the right plan.

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Chapter 57: Step-By-Step

October 2414

Step 1: Travel Plans

A carefully performed slingshot around a meticulously selected star? Crude but effective, if slightly inaccurate. Pulsed Tachyons? Too unstable. Chroniton flux reaction? Too small a scale for a whole fleet.

Controlled chronometric particle emission: the only known method by which to accurately place an entire fleet of ships at exactly the right place at exactly the right moment. Unfortunately, only one species has been known to posses the technology to do that safely.

Getting our hands on Borg transwarp coils won’t be easy.


Step 2: Save The World

When the Hobus Star went supernova it ruptured subspace, allowing the destructive effects to travel far beyond the usual limits of such an event. It was eventually contained by a red matter singularity, but not before Romulus was devastated.

Accelerating the delivery of the red matter device could work, absorbing the supernova’s energy sooner, thereby preventing it from reaching Romulus. But that would require relying on a number of factors, including the interference of Ambassador Spock. Not a good idea.

Altering subspace to prevent the supernova from expanding beyond its own system might work, but there would be no way to be sure until that moment. Far too risky.

Destroying the star ourselves, but in a controlled manner – now that has promise


Step 3: Kill D’Kera, Save the Galaxy

Simply preventing the destruction of Romulus is not enough. The true challenge will be to acquire a position of sufficient power to influence the course of galactic events. Revealing Undine infiltrators will do no good, unless the source is believed and able to provide proof.

D’Kera, herself, was the key. At the time of Hobus, D’Kera Mandukar was a well-respected Commander in the Star Navy. D’Kera would need to take her own place. She would eliminate her past-self and resume her life, from that moment, in order to direct events as required. With her knowledge, and the support brought with her from the future, she would have little trouble installing herself in a position of immense power.

Even beyond all the deaths on Romulus and Remus, and the lives saved in the Federation/Klingon war, the Star Empire would have nearly twenty years to prepare itself - and the galaxy - for the return of the Iconians.

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Chapter 58: Breakthrough

October 2414

“Protomatter!”

“What about it?”

“That’s the answer! That’s how we do it. We build an implosion device.”

“On a scale to have an impact on the Hobus Star? You’d need a weapon of mass destruction. It’s not possible.”

“It IS possible. Some Federation scientists did it a century ago. For terraforming, can you believe that? Look, it’s right here in the database…”

…

“Incredible. Thank The Elements for the Federation, I guess. Let’s get this to Doctor t’Nalah.”

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Chapter 59: Genesis

November 2414

“In position.”

“Drop cloak.” The small Romulan warbird shimmered into existence above a barren-looking world. Kirina stood to the right of the command chair, watching the crew wait with anticipation. This, their first full-scale test, was the result of weeks of hard work. They’d poured through old databases, mined nebulae, made some incredible technological and scientific breakthroughs, all in secret until now.

“Fire.” A single projectile streaked out from the warbird, dropping from orbit and disappearing below the planet’s thin atmosphere. A moment passed. “Status?”

“Scanning.” A small flash of light on the surface made the officer’s report unnecessary. The device had impacted the ground. Before long, the light began to grow in size and intensity. It barely took a few moments to spread across the surface, and only a minute or two later, the wave of energy had engulfed the planet.

As the light faded, alterations to the surface became visible from orbit. Barren, lifeless brown and gray was replaced by lush and fertile blues and greens. Some of the warbird’s crew cheered, but most just stared in awe. A few muttered prayers to the Elements.

Kirina simply moved to sit in the center chair. “Reactive the cloak.”

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Chapter 60: Doza

December 2414

“Make sure the beacon reaches the proper depth. If they reach it too soon, we won’t have time to extract the transwarp coils.”

Twenty-six hundred lives to save three billion. It seemed like decades had passed since Kirina made that decision, to save a single world from the Tal Shiar. The stakes were so much higher this time: eighty thousand lives to save trillions.

Doza IV was a Federation fringe colony. It sat virtually alone at the edge of an unexplored sector. Its population of eighty thousand had only recently colonized, and barely explored beyond their settlement. The colony was modern in every sense of the word. They had the very latest in Federation technology. But they were strategically insignificant; poorly defended, because none of the major powers would have anything to gain by attacking. It was the perfect bait.

“Beacon active.”
“Excellent. Now we wait.”



When the Borg came to Doza, there was no stopping them. They detected something unique below the planet’s surface, and they simply had to have it. The Federation responded more quickly than expected, but they were no match for a full planetary assimilation group. They managed to save a few, but not enough to make any difference. Within the first few hours, the Borg began landing assimilators. The colony never stood a chance.

“It’s time. Signal Mandukar’s fleet, then begin scanning for the coils on the surface. I’ll beam down once the orbital forces are occupied.”
“The fleet is in transit. Away team standing by.”

The plan was not without its flaws. The Federation arrived sooner than was convenient, and more ships were lost than anticipated. For a moment, it seemed as though the the plan might have failed, but somehow, D’Kera managed to convince a group of Republic ships to defect mid-battle, and that really turned the tide.

The ground team fared far better, though. All fifteen coils were recovered successfully, with minimal losses. Even some of the peripheral components were obtained without too much trouble. It was time to go, so Kirina and her team were beamed aboard Mandukar’s flagship. Unfortunately, there was too great a risk that the Borg would be able to follow, or figure out what they planed to use the stolen technology for. They had entered a critical stage, and any potential disruption could be devastating. It was simple enough to stay one step ahead of the Federation, but the Borg are a whole different story.



“Fire,” D’Kera said, just as Kirina was stepping onto the bridge.

Torpedoes streaked out towards the planet on the viewscreen. The Federation fleet tried to intercept them, but it was too late. As Mandukar’s fleet rapidly moved to depart for their next destination, the Genesis Wave swept across the surface of Doza IV.

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Chapter 61: A Moment In Time

December 2414

All was quiet aboard the Vauthilai. The battle of Doza was hours in the past, and several more would pass before the newly acquired components could be installed into the custom-built temporal drive. Kirina sat, still and silent, in the ship’s dimly-lit medical bay. A few meters away, a man in a ruined Starfleet Captain’s uniform laid unconscious and restrained on a biobed. For the first time in months she had something truly interesting to work on, but for some reason she couldn’t find the energy to get out of her chair.



The man on the table slowly began to stir.

The sedative can’t have worn off that quickly, Kirina thought, but she’d lost track of time. How long had she been sitting there? With the newfound urgency of the Captain’s slowly gaining consciousness, she hauled herself out of her chair and walked over to the biobed.

The man, who looked outwardly indistinguishable from a Human, had striking white hair, and looked to be in remarkably good health, considering he’d just survived the destruction of an entire planet. But that was just it: he wasn’t Human at all. In fact, he was nothing that Kirina had ever seen before. He was something new. Her initial scans revealed that he had an absolutely incredible capacity for self-healing. This could have been Kirina’s biggest scientific breakthrough since the control implants. If the abilities held by this man could be duplicated, it could improve billions of lives, all over the galaxy. It could revolutionize modern medicine.


But then, why was it so difficult to concentrate?


Kirina prepared another dose of sedative and lackadaisically put the man under again. I just need to sleep, she thought, as she returned to the nearby desk. Just for a little while. After all, they were on track to return to the past - to change history. There would be plenty of time for experimentation later. She raised the hypo to her own neck and injected the remaining sedative.

I’ll just close my eyes for a moment.

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