Elizabeth Knauel and Rick Endres
Note: This story
contains graphic violence and sexual situations.
It is not intended for readers until the age of 17.
The giant ship moved slowly through the darkness of space. It was orbiting a small planet in solar system, one of ten circling the small K0 III sun.
Inside the ship a somber processional was walking down the corridor. The portholes, normally exposed, were shuttered tight. Six black-robed figures, hoods drawn over their heads, moved slowly, carrying tall candle holders with long dark tapers.
In their midst was another figure, also robed and hooded. His robe was dark blood red, setting him apart from the others. While his hood covered his head, it was drawn back to reveal a strong masculine face, pale and drawn with locks of raven black hair draped over the yoke of the robe. There was pain in his expression; pain and sadness and hate and anguish and anger all blended together. He sighed as he passed the shuttered ports, but continued, not wishing to delay this any more than was necessary.
Finally, they reached a large room. The courtroom. They paused at the entrance and the red-robed figure stared at the scene before him. On a dais were seven large chairs. In front of six of the seven chairs stood figures garbed in red-trimmed black robes, their cowls draped back over their shoulders. The space in front of the center chair was vacant, waiting for him, waiting for the senior judge of the tribunal.
He stood at the door, studying the six. Three were men, three were women. All looked the same as he: drawn, pale, sorrowful. The women had their dark hair arranged according to custom, loose and flowing in the front, and bound loosely in back. The men wore their dark hair shorter, save for a long lock on either side of their face covering their ears. He met their gazes, light brown eyes meeting green or hazel or light brown eyes.
Finally, they bowed to him slightly, and he bowed back even more slightly. He then walked into the room and took his place in front of the center chair. He let his cowl fall back on his shoulders, revealing his dark hair worn the same way as the other men on the dais.
The six black-robed figures acolytes, assistants, guards placed the long poles holding the giant tapers into wells in the floor creating an aisle to the dais. When the last one was securely in place, the six figures moved to stand behind the six chairs. Then the seven in front of the chairs sat down.
The man in the center looked at the three on his right side; they looked back at him and nodded. He looked at the three on his left and received nods from them.
Finally, the man in the center chair looked at the figure, another in black robes, standing by the door. "Bring in the condemned," he said, his deep resonating voice almost echoing in the large chamber.
The door slid open again. This time it admitted two more black-robed figures, guards with pikes, with a third figure, a female, wearing what had once been an elegant floor-length royal blue gown between them. The female stumbled and only the firm grip by her two guards kept her from falling to the floor. Her hands were bound in front of her, and her legs had shackles, making it difficult for her to walk. Unlike the other women, her hair was honey-colored, loose, unbound. Her green eyes were sharp, green, and full of anger.
The three made their way up the candle-lined aisle slowly, impeded by the female's unsteady gait. Finally, they stood below the dais, facing the man in the red robe. The two guards released their grasps on her arms, and the female sank to the floor inelegantly.
The judge in the center chair looked down at the figure, a myriad of emotions playing on his face. Finally, he closed his eyes, then opened them, his face now emotionless.
In the same tones, the judge commanded, "Arise, Akia. Arise and face your accusers."
The blonde head lifted from the floor. Blazing green eyes met the judge's brown eyes. Silently, she moved to her knees and slowly made her way to her feet, only to fall back to her knees. Again, she glared at the judge, her eyes now glowing a ruddy red.
The judge refused to respond to her silent challenge. She was thin, he noted. Much thinner than he remembered. He noted the gown hung loosely over her frame. Once it had accentuated her feminine form; now it emphasized her gauntness.
Steadying herself on her knees, she glared up at her guards. Her face drew back in a snarl, exposing her sharp teeth, a growl erupting from her throat. The two guards drew back from her bringing their pikes up defensively.
Akia turned her angry glare back to the judge. "Belan, how do you expect me to rise and face you and this court when I have been deprived of all nourishment for weeks? Look at me! I can barely stay on my knees, let alone stand."
Belan, the judge, nodded to the two guards. They lowered their pikes and moved toward her, helping the woman to stand, keeping a firm grip on her slender arms.
Belan's head nodded once, and a hologram appeared between the prisoner and judge. The planet that turned between them was green and blue, full of forests and meadows and mountains and oceans.
"Akia," Belan intoned, standing in front of his chair, "you have been accused of breaking the most sacred of our laws, of infecting innocents with the Curse that afflicts us who remain alive of the Ghanil. You have also been accused of enslaving innocents for your personal enjoyment, causing serious injury and even death to the indigent life of the planet we have been exploring. You have been tried and found guilty."
Akia snorted and tossed her head, momentarily unbalancing herself. When she regained her balance she snorted again. "Of course I was found guilty. Who would speak for me once you condemned me?"
"Your actions condemned you, Akia," Belan shook his head sadly. "You are a danger to all sentient life."
A harsh laugh erupted from Akia's throat. "I am no more dangerous than you. Any of you!" she added as her glare rested on the six judges flanking Belan.
"Enough!" Belan roared, red-rimmed brown eyes flashing back at the prisoner. "We know what we are. But we abide by the Rules which we formed for our people. You have refused to follow them!"
"Bah!" Akia retorted. "Those rules were created by you and them," she pulled free of the two guards and waved her bound hands at the seven on the dais. "Those rules have stopped us from taking our rightful place in the universe!"
"Silence!" Belan thundered. His eyes were fully red now, and his incisors seemed sharper than before. "You seek to enslave the universe. Those you don't enslave you kill. We want to live in harmony with the universe, not dominate it. We have only taken what is needed to survive, and even then it is with reluctance."
"Belan, you are a fool!" Akia spat back. "We were given the means to dominate the universe! Why else were we Changed when the plague came to our people when so many others were not? The Change saved us, and gave us the power to rule others."
"That plague," Belan's voice lowered in sorrow, his head bowed in grief, "was of our own making, a punishment for our pride, our arrogance, our greed in seeking immortality."
"Belan, we have the immortality we sought!" Akia screamed. "We have succeeded!"
"But at what price?" Belan responded in that same sad voice. "We are not the people we once were. Where is our art, our literature, our science, our culture? Gone, all gone. It is but a memory. We are wanderers, without a home, seeking a means to put an end to this accursed existence we now must lead."
"You're a fool, Belan!" Akia said disdainfully. "All of you are fools! We have the means to control the universe, turn it to our bidding, and you sit there and agonize over some minor inconveniences we have because of the Change. You should be reveling in the power we now wield. And you call it a curse. It is no curse! It's a blessing!"
Belan looked at her, shaking his head sadly. "Akia, you have gone mad. Insane from the effects of the Curse!" His voice filled with emotion. "You enslave those who catch your fancy and use them to sate your lusts and appetites. When they no longer please you, or when another comes along that catches your eye, you kill them as if they were nothing. Less than nothing! And you enjoy the killing as much as the enslaving! And worst of all, you inflict innocents with the very Curse that afflicts us!"
Akia attempted to take a step closer to Belan, but stopped when her balance again betrayed her. "Why shouldn't I?" she demanded. "I am strong! I take what I want, when I want it. And I want the power and the control I have because of the Change. And as for those innocents that you are so worried about, why they are grateful to me for Changing them. Grateful enough to give me more power!"
"And that is why we have found you guilty, Akia. And that is why we are condemning you to exile on this planet," Belan said heavily as his long arm swept forward and indicated the small hologram between them.
Akia turned her attention to the globe before her. Her eyes glittered with silent amusement and her tongue slide over her teeth, pausing at the sharp points of her incisors. "It is a pretty planet, Belan. Very pretty. Almost as pretty as the last planet we were on." She looked up at her judge, her tone neutral now. "I take it there are no higher life forms on this planet. Of course not. Otherwise, I would not be allowed to live out my existence there."
"There are only lower life forms," Belan admitted slowly, almost reluctantly. "Many of them are warm-blooded. A few are cold-blooded."
"Well, at least I won't starve," Akia smirked.
"Their existence will not matter to you Akia," Belan continued, his tones becoming more reluctant, more grave. He sat back down in his chair heavily, his eyes now light brown and full of anguish. "You are to be transported into the rock strata of the planet. There is a small cavern, completely enclosed. Not even you could escape from there."
Akia stared at Belan, disbelief and fear etched in her features. "What?" She stared at him for a long minute, then at turned her wide gaze on the six flanking him. "What do you have planned for me?" She searched their faces again, then turned her attention to the judge again. "Belan, no! You cannot do this to me! Not after what we have been to each other!" She lost her balance and sank to the floor, to her knees. Her hands raised beseechingly to the seven on the dais. "You dare to call me evil? How much more evil can one be to condemn another to be entombed in solid rock, as you are doing to me?"
Belan shook his head. "Akia, this is the only way that we can be sure that you will not escape to plague the rest of the galaxy."
Akia drew herself up haughtily. "I see."
"We had no choice, Akia," the judge lamented.
"You had a choice, Belan! You have a choice! You choose to stop me from fulfilling my destiny!" Akia shakily found her feet again. "Well, I also have a choice. I curse you, Belan. All of you!" Her fierce glare took in the entire tribunal. "You and your descendants!"
With her last word she tried to lunge from her guards and reach the dais and Belan. One of her guards caught her by an arm and pulled her back. She turned on him, hissing and snarling, her incisors exposed as she tried to lunge at him. He stepped back deftly and struck her with the back of his hand. Akia fell to the ground, stunned, a small trickle of blood appearing from the corner of her mouth.
The room became deathly quiet as everyone stared at her. And at the small amount of blood that appeared on the ground near her head. One of her guards stared down at her, mesmerized. Then he began to move on her, his tongue wetting his lips.
"Stop!" Belan's voice boomed from the silence. The guard stopped in his tracks and stared up at the dais and at the judge, now standing at the edge of the dais. "That is her way. It is not our way. It will never be our way!"
The guard looked down at groggy woman at his feet, at the small puddle of blood near her head, then up at the judge, then back down at Akia. Finally, he stepped back, his head bowed in submission.
Belan motioned to the guards, and they assisted the woman to her feet. She was much weaker now, but still her glare was full of defiance. Belan turned his look at the others on the tribunal. They stood and moved to stand by Belan's side, looking down at the condemned woman.
"The Supreme Court of the Ghanil has declared that Akia of the Ghanil has committed the foulest of all crimes against the Ghanil, and against the people of the third planet of the Star System 14972. By law she is condemned to eternity in exile, encased in the rock chamber of this planet." Belan's tone was once again devoid of emotion, his expression carefully neutral. "Alive forever, and forever separated from the ones she would enslave and infect and kill. The sentence is to be carried out forthwith."
Belan nodded to her guards. They half-dragged, half-carried her toward the hologram. It disappeared, and a dark pad raised up from beneath the floor. Two of the acolytes moved toward a small recess in a wall and exposed a control panel. As the two guards removed her chains, the others moved from behind the judges and stood around her, pikes aimed at her, ready for use if she should try and bolt for freedom.
Belan nodded again, his expression filled with grief as his gaze met hers. Akia glared back at him, hate filling her green eyes. Then she disappeared.
Belan sighed heavily, finding his way back to his seat. "It is done," he said at last.
The black-robed guards lowered the cowls on their robes and stared at the spot where Akia had last stood. "It is done," they all repeated. They stood at their posts, expectantly.
"Go," Belan waved his hand at the group. "This is over now. Go back to your families."
"Belan," one of the women started to walk toward him, her hand reaching for him comfortingly.
"Go, Sharana," Belan looked at her. "I will be fine." Then as he noted the grief in her eyes, he added, "I will join you and the family shortly."
"Very well, brother," she murmured softly.
The judges and all but three of the acolytes walked out of the room. Two of the acolytes stayed behind to extinguish the flames on the tapers. When that task was finished, they gathered the candles and the poles and began to leave the courtroom. The third acolyte studied the control panel in front of him.
Belan looked over at him, taking in the young man's expression. His face was full of anguish. He had never had to carry out a sentence before.
"Lyco," Belan stood up and walked toward the panel. "Signal the bridge. Tell the captain to leave orbit."
"Lord Belan," Lyco nodded briefly as his hands moved to blank the screen in front of him.
"No, don't." Belan put a gentle restraining hand over Lyco's. "Akia was right. It is a pretty planet. Let us enjoy the view as we depart this system."
"Yes, Lord Belan," Lyco moved his hand back and the two looked at the screen as the planet disappeared behind them.
"Is there any news from your brother, the scientist?" Belan asked when the planet was no more than a speck on their viewscreen some minutes later. "Does he have news of a cure?"
"No, Lord Belan. The cure still eludes us."
"And the substitute nutrients? What of those?"
"They have proven to be useless. We are not nourished by the nutrients at all. In fact, the craving becomes worse."
"I see," Belan sighed sadly. He tapped another button on the control panel. "Bridge, set course for the next system on the list. Best speed."
"Yes, Lord Belan," came the soft voice of the ship's captain.
"We won't get any closer to our goal by loitering and brooding about the past," he clasped Lyco's shoulder. "We must continue to search for the cure. And until then, we must care for our people's needs."
"Yes, Lord Belan," nodded Lyco.
"Go, Lyco."
"Lord Belan, I still have…."
"Go, Lyco. I still remember how to secure the panel and do whatever else has to be done. Go." Belan told him firmly. Then he smiled at the young man. "Be with your love."
"Thank you, Lord Belan," Lyco nodded and smiled at the senior judge, then darted out the door.
Belan let the smile slide from his face, and he punched up the hologram of the planet again. He looked at the hologram, his eyes now full of anguish. A tear made its way down his face, but he didn't seem to notice it.
His hand reached toward the planet, shaking minutely. "Akia, my love, my life, you know we are cursed already. And without a cure, we will remain so."
Captain's Log, Stardate 0432.6
We are on a routine survey mission, cataloging an area that is fairly well mapped. We are checking out new scanning equipment that Starfleet has been working on. I can't think of a better way to end a mission. Lieutenant Montgomery Scott is watching the new equipment closer than a mother watches her new-born child.
Personal note: This is my last mission on the Enterprise. I have to admit that while a part of me doesn't want to leave this ship, another part of me can hardly wait for the ship to sail into Earth orbit. I'll miss the ship and the crew, but not the missions. I'm ready for a change, to move on. When this mission is over, I will be moving on and up, spending my time behind a desk, sending others out on missions. And the Enterprise will have a new captain.
Captain Christopher Pike sat back in his chair and turned off his log. He looked around him, noting the crew that was on the bridge with him. Number One was calmly at the helm, moving her hands over the panel with practiced skill. José Tyler, his navigator, was tapping in commands on his panel in response to Number One's actions. They worked well together, he noted.
Lieutenant Spock was busy at the science station, working with the new equipment. Lieutenant Scott at the engineering station was working closely with the Vulcan to calibrate the equipment when needed.
Standing behind Pike was Philip Boyce, the ship's CMO. Boyce had a tendency to check on the bridge crew. Pike had joked that it was to fulfill a secret desire of the doctor's to be a bridge officer and be in the thick of the battle. Boyce had refuted that statement, commenting it was the only way he could even come close to fulfilling the required medical checkups on certain members of the bridge crew.
The only position not occupied at the present, was communications. Newly promoted Lieutenant J. M. Colt was on a break at the moment, having worked the Gamma shift as well as working the Alpha shift.
Leaning forward to take in the scene on the viewscreen, Pike sighed. "Not a bad way to end our tour, eh Joe? A milk run."
Tyler looked back at his captain, a dubious look on his face. "Sir, this place is empty of just about anything that might be interesting. No inhabited planets for light years. And after the action we've had and seen over the last five years, this assignment is, to be blunt, boring."
Pike leaned back in his command chair, a large grin on his face. "Yeah," he sighed, "it is, isn't it?"
Tyler shook his head and turned back to his panel momentarily, then spun around and looked at the dark-haired captain. "So, sir, are you ready to become Fleet Captain?"
Pike, still leaning back, looked at his navigator. The grin was slowly replaced by a reflective express. Then, "Yes. Yes I am. I'll miss you folks, of course," his voice lowered, and he leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand, letting his gaze fix on the starfield on the viewscreen. "And this." Then he stood up and walked around the circular bridge. "But I'm sure I'll find myself with plenty of challenges to keep me busy." He tried, but he found he couldn't quite keep the wistful note out of his voice.
He stopped behind Scott's chair, placing a hand on the chair's back and looking at the readouts on the monitors. "How's it going, Scotty?"
"Smooth, sair," Scotty replied. "Smooth as glass. Everythin' is workin' exactly as they said it would. We're scannin' every wee planet in the area that's already been mapped. An' we've found a few wee planetoids and moons that were nae on the maps. Ah think that Starfleet will be most pleased wi' the improvements t' the scanners."
"Good." Pike walked back to his chair.
Officers Quarters
Jeanne Marie Colt
The strawberry blonde walked out of the lavatory, pulling on a clean gold tunic. She shook her head and fluffed the bangs with her hand to straighten out her hair as she walked to a small table and the breakfast that was waiting for her.
She glanced briefly at the chronometer and noted that she still had twenty-five minutes before she had to return to the bridge. Normally she'd be on the bridge at this time, but since she'd worked both Gamma and Alpha shift, having traded with Myrsh Taylor so she could enjoy an evening with her current love, she was allowed an extra break.
As she sat down to her breakfast, she sighed deeply. Back to the bridge, to sit off of his right side. But he'd only notice her if she reported a communications for him. At least, he acknowledged her presence off duty since she'd transferred from support staff to ship's services and received her promotion to lieutenant. Spoke to her if they happened to both be in the rec room. Treated like a person, in fact.
But she wanted more than that. She wanted him.
It had taken her a long time to admit that to herself. She'd daydreamed about it ever since she'd been assigned as his yeoman. On Talos IV, when she and the first officer had been kidnapped to find a "mate" for the captain she'd found that her secret desires were all but completely exposed.
At least the Talosians had not totally embarrassed her in front of the two senior officers. She'd managed to do that all by herself afterwards when she'd asked him who he would have chosen.
And now no one could ask her about it, since, officially, Talos IV was a taboo subject. To mention the planet was enough to get one investigated by the J.A.G. And that could effectively sideline one's chances at career advancement.
She'd managed to crawl back into her dreams, keep them hidden as she'd studied for her officer's exams. And in the meantime, he'd found himself someone else. Someone who had looks and a body and a brain that made her look woefully inadequate. Colt had often believed that Ariel Cord had had many enhancements done to her body--no one could be that beautiful without them. It had made her feel better. A little better.
And then she'd met the lady on one their shore leaves on Chrysalis. And found herself liking the lady. Which made things even more difficult for her. If Ariel Cord knew that Jeanne Marie Colt had a severe crush on Christopher Pike, she pretended not to be aware of it.
As she cleared up her breakfast tray, she sighed deeply. She desperately wanted to be more than just a crewmember to Captain Pike. The problem was, she wasn't sure how to go about it; and then she had precious little time to implement any plan she came up with.
Still, she sighed as walked out of her quarters, come up with a plan she would before they reached Earth.
Come up with a plan and implement it.
In A Dark Place
The shaking of the surroundings disrupted the sleep cycle. There were only cycles in this place. Sleep cycle. Wake cycle. Neither cycle had a specific time. The sleep cycle came whenever boredom from being awake occurred, and the wake cycle came whenever the body was tired of sleeping.
Not that one could do anything during the wake cycle. Except remember the past. And feel the hate that was the only nourishment allowed in this natural prison cell.
The surroundings moved again, this time with more force, causing the rock to scrape the skin on a limb.
And then there was the small stream of light playing over the rocky surface. Visual perception was something that had been denied for so long. There was fear at first, fear of the light, then relief when it was discovered that the light was safe.
A third tremor cracked the wall allowing movement, something denied for just as long as vision had been denied.
The fourth tremor sent a shower of pebbles down to the floor of the cavern. The cavern was no longer safe. It was time to leave. Long past time.
Slowly, limbs long denied movement, began to move. Difficult at first, but with growing ease with each movement.
Now, a direction had to be chosen. The dim light showed a way. Up.
The ascent was not easy. Cloth fell off limbs, and the body. Sharp edges cut into flesh. Still, the light above continued to beckon, to welcome.
A figure moved across the path. A hand darted out, catching it, bringing it to lips that had not tasted anything for even longer than sight and movement had been denied. There was no taste as it was quickly swallowed. The throat, dry from misuse, had difficulty getting the creature's fluid down at first . But it did, finally. And a warmth spread from the stomach to the rest of the body.
The minute meal gave strength to the limbs. Not much, to be sure. But more than had been available.
Noise drew attention to a small crevice. Squeaking. Chittering. Eyes sought the source. Small creatures in a nest. Hands flashed and soon two of the animals were squeaking no more. Again the bodies were brought to lips and teeth and soon more warm fluid was trickling down a throat and into a stomach long denied.
This time, it was tasted as it touched the tongue. It tasted sweet. Not as sweet as remembered. But sweet none the less.
The nest now held only the drained bodies of the creatures. Eyes looked down at them, feeling only regret that there wasn't more to drain. But there was more available. Further up the way.
A long time, and many meals later, the scents changed. Now dirt, water and air could be smelled. And larger game too. A smile, small at first, grew as the scents tickled olfactory nerves, awakening old memories.
A flash of light interrupted the reverie and aroused the fear that had struck before. This time, the light was not safe. A strangled whimper escaped from vocal cords not used as a sanctuary was sought and found.
The ground was hard on the body as it settled down to wait until it was safe to continue again. Sleep time again. This time, the sleep cycle would be spent recumbent.
As the freed creature settled for rest, a stray thought entered.
Eyes closed, the mind began to stretch itself, hunting for another mind to touch. It took time, but time was one thing that there was plenty of.
Then a quiver shook the body, and a look of feral pleasure crossed the face and filled eyes now open. Sentient life. In space. And not too far from here. Far enough, to be sure, but, not too far.
Taking a deep breath, the emaciated, half-clad form closed its eyes and a message formed in the mind, then was sent to the sentients. When the message was sent, the form sank back on the dirt floor of the cavern, a pleased smile covering the thin face.
Soon. They would come soon. And she would be freed from this hell that she'd been condemned to. Soon.
Crew Quarters
Teri Mettens
Her long wavy auburn hair covered both of their faces as she giggled and kissed the shaggy blond man that was in the bed with her.
"And you thought we couldn't do it that way," he murmured into her lips.
"Okay, babe, you proved me wrong." She shifted her position and grabbed his still-damp body and pulled it close to her own. "I think that means I have to pay up."
"Yeah," he grinned. "You sure do, Teri."
Teri Mettens, a young lieutenant in security laughed, allowing her ample form to vibrate against her current lover. She loved sex almost as much as she loved working security. Sex in any variety and in any form. She loved it so much that she had bet her roommate and best friend, Beth Lange, that before the ship returned from the five-year mission, she would score with at least 100 men. Species was not important.
It hadn't been easy. Many had been married and took their marriage vows seriously. Some of the non-Humans had not been interested in adding a Human female to their notches. But, with the help of transfers and replacements she was near her goal. Chris Garrity, the man currently endeavoring to arouse her for another round of mutual pleasure was number 99.
"Come on baby," Garrity commanded, shaking his shaggy blond hair out of his blue eyes. "I'm ready for round two."
Mettens smiled, green eye full of mischief and lust. "Okay, babe. But," she added, almost seriously as she moved her body in the bed to a different position, "it's gonna have to be a quickie. Beth will coming back soon, and she made it clear that she needed privacy."
Garrity shrugged and stretched out on the bed, looking up into her face. "Fine by me."
Mettens carefully straddled his trunk and bent over him, letting her breasts brush against his chest. She started kissing his face, slowly, letting her tongue work its magic on him. She smiled as she felt his response to her touch. She paused for a brief moment, then continued down his body, smiling behind the auburn veil as she felt his desire building. This one might be quick, she thought to herself as she approached her goal, but it would definitely be good.
Her lips continued on their trek, and curved into a smile as she felt his muscles bunch. Mettens looked up at him from under her reddish bangs, smiling broadly as she saw him breathing shallowly, clenching and unclenching his fists. He was definitely ready.
Mettens moved again on the bed and straddled herself over his erect member. "Get ready, babe," she whispered throatily, teasing him again with her body.
Suddenly, she stiffened and gasped, falling to the bed along side of Garrity. "Gods, what was that?" she gasped, staring at Garrity.
"You heard it, too?" he stared at her.
"Yeah." Mettens nodded slowly. "I did. It's weird. I mean, I can hear it real clear, but not with my ears. And even though I can hear it clearly, I can't make out the words."
"Same here," he replied.
Mettens rolled to sit up in the bed, and hugged herself, rocking. "This is strange, Chris. Real strange. I've never experienced anything like it."
"Neither have I," he admitted.
"We have to tell someone," Mettens said suddenly as she sprang off the bed and grabbed her clothes from the pile that was at the foot of the bed. "Commander Grek. The first officer. The captain. Someone. It could be important."
"Yeah," she heard him say slowly as she pulled her red tunic over her head. "It is. But, uh, Teri, I've got this little problem…."
Mettens paused on her way to the door and looked back at the naked male in her bed. She grinned broadly as she saw his "problem" still erect and eager for action. "Sorry, babe," she walked back over to him, and kissed first it, then him. "But I'm just not in the mood any more. Not after that whatever-it-was that sounded in my head. Guess I'll have to give you a rain check." She shrugged and crossed the room to the door.
"Teri! What about when Beth comes back?"
Mettens paused in the open door and looked back at him. "Well, you might see if she's in the mood. Bye!" she waggled her fingers at him and walked out of the room.
Groaning, Garrity sank back in the bed and shook his head sadly. Teri Mettens, good-time girl of the ship, was reputed to have the stamina of several women. It took very little to arouse her, and once aroused it took a lot of sex to satisfy her.
Until now.
Slowly he relaxed and finally felt himself become flaccid. As he got up and got dressed, he decided that whatever it was that had interrupted his tryst had a lot to answer for.
Bridge
J. M. Colt's fingers were flying over the communications board. Pike looked over at her, frowning as he watched the action.
Colt paused momentarily and glanced over at Pike. "Sir, I have over a hundred calls from crew reporting a strange mental call."
"Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow.
"The crew are reporting that they have received a mental call of some kind," Colt repeated. "Some heard words, but they couldn't really make them out. Others just heard sounds."
"I see," Pike nodded. "Very well, log them and…."
Suddenly, a motion from the other side of the bridge caught his attention. Number One stiffened, then trance-like moved toward the viewscreen. Pike stared around the bridge, seeing that even Spock was staring at the screen, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.
"Yes," Number One murmured softly, still staring at the screen. "Of course, we will come."
Pike's frown deepened. "Number One? Spock?"
Spock seemed to shake himself, and composed himself. "Sir, I am definitely receiving some sort of mental impression. It appears to be a distress call, sir. However, I am at a loss to explain why, or how, we are getting a signal of this strength."
"Number One?" Pike turned to his first officer. She stood in front of the screen, eyes unblinking. Pike stood and approached her. "Number One?" he repeated. When she did not answer, he grabbed her shoulder roughly and spun her around to face him. "Number One!" he demanded sharply. "Report!"
Number One pulled away from his hold, and stood there, still in a trance, then she shook her head, and looked at Pike, her hand halfway to her head. "Yes, Captain," she nodded as she slowly made her way back to her station and sat down. "There is someone calling. A woman. She's in need of our help."
"Who?"
"I cannot say, sir," she answered. "I did not get a name. But," she looked up at him, "I know where the message is coming from."
"Where?" Pike asked.
Fully recovered, Number One tapped in commands into her console, and brought up the schematics of nearby star systems. She stood and walked to the viewscreen and pointed to a small K0 III star. "There, Captain. Alpha Indi."
From his station, Spock magnified the star system on the screen. "Alpha Indi. A K0 III class star system with ten planets. The fourth is a class-M planet, and suitable for sustaining humanoid life. However, as of the last survey, there were no reports of humanoid life on the planet, or in the sector."
Pike walked over to the viewscreen. "One hundred one light years from Earth. At least one class-M planet in the system." He walked back to his chair and sat down, noting as he did so that at least the communications console was no longer blinking brightly. "We seem to have a bit of a problem. Either we continue our mission and complete the survey, which will make Starfleet very happy, or we divert and go to this planet--"
"Alpha Indi Four," supplied Number One.
"--Alpha Indi Four," Pike continued as if he had never been interrupted, "and see if this distress call, which seems to only be in the minds of my crew, is based on fact."
Number One's back stiffened noticeably. "Sir, someone is on that planet, and is calling for help. There is someone there in need of our assistance."
"Number One, your impressions are duly noted."
"Sir," Number One continued insistently, "that woman, whoever she is, is alone on that planet. She has no one to help her. There could be indigenous life forms on that planet that could be dangerous to her. She has no way to defend herself."
"Sir," Spock added, almost reluctantly, "the fact that almost half of the crew received some sort of telepathic call from this person should be ample reason to investigate. If nothing more, we must find out if there is a new life form with which we have had no prior contact."
José Tyler leaned back in his chair, shaking his head in something akin to regret. "I think we just recently went through something similar to this, and with less than ideal results." His obvious reference to the Talosians was unnerving.
Number One looked at Pike, deep concern in her indigo blue eyes, something that Pike had rarely seen. "Sir, she has no means to get off the planet. She has no one to help her. Now, I know that telepathic evidence is not considered reliable, but we have gone off on less than this--"
Pike sighed and nodded at his first officer. "Okay, Number One. We'll see if we can help this female."
"Thank you sir," Number One looked gratefully at the captain then turned around to return to her duty.
"Mister Tyler set a course for Alpha Indi Four."
"Aye sir." Tyler began laying in the course, shaking his head.
"Time Warp: Factor Three."
Number One turned around suddenly and protested, "Sir, at that speed, it will take us a week to get there!"
Pike counted to ten silently, keeping his face neutral. His first officer rarely questioned his orders; and when she did, there was usually a good reason. But this time, there was something different.
"Number One, I cannot, and I will not, in all good conscience, risk this ship or this crew without more proof. All the calls from the crew about receiving that telepathic message for help notwithstanding."
Number One bowed her head, and turned back to her station. "Understood sir." She stared straight ahead.
She tapped a few buttons on the panel in front of her.
Captain's Log, Supplemental
Over two-thirds of my crew have 'heard' or 'felt' a telepathic call for help from the Alpha Indi system. While we have no other information, we cannot ignore this call, no matter how it was made, for help. I can only hope that whoever it is can hold on for the seven days it will take to get there.
Day Two
Officers Quarters
Executive Officer
Number One sat up suddenly from a deep sleep, her breath coming sharp and fast. Something or someone had aroused her from her sleep. She looked around her room. No one was there.
Of course not. It was 0430. Only Gamma shift was up at this time. And perhaps some of the younger crew members who were involved with each other.
Then she heard it again. The something that had aroused her. A telepathic call. She frowned and went over the list of telepaths on the ship. Not many, true, but all of them known to her. None of them would call out to her during her sleep period. Not without a good reason.
Then the same something invaded her mind. It wasn't from anyone on the ship, Number One realized. It was from the woman on the planet, still calling out for help.
Settling back in the bed, Number One closed her eyes and opened her mind, allowing the call to be unfiltered. She was still alive. For some reason that pleased Number One.
Number One took a deep breath and channeled her thoughts. The woman needed to know help was on the way. She sent out a message, simple and concise. And waited for a response.
Nothing.
Pressing her lips together firmly, Number One repeated the process and sent out the same short message.
Again, no response.
No indication that the woman had even heard her.
Number One continued the procedure until the dull ache behind her eyes became pounding. As powerful a telepath as Number One was, she could not reach the woman.
Number One rolled over in the bed and stared at the chronometer. She'd been trying to communicate with the exiled woman over an hour. It was almost time for her to get up, she realized.
The first officer slowly got out of bed and walked over to the small processor and ordered a cup of black coffee. It was too late to go back to sleep; she might as well get up and get some of her work done before she had to report to the bridge.
Alpha Indi IV
The woman stared up at the stars, sighing sadly. She had sent another message for help to the sentients she had found the previous day. So far, none had responded to her calls for help.
But, she looked up into the night sky, one was trying. She could feel the other's attempts and frustration. The blonde woman sighed and closed her eyes, resting. The other was weak or unskilled, or both. But the potential was there. Much potential. And with the proper tutoring….
Akia quieted her mental calls and deftly caught the furry, long-tailed octoped that tried to scurry past her in the shadows. She brought its body to her mouth and let her teeth sink slowly into its neck. The squirming soon stopped as its warm red blood trickled down her throat. When she was finished with the animal, she tossed the carcass aside and leaned back against her makeshift lounging chair, looking through the stars.
"It's too soon, I see," she said aloud, reveling in the sound of her own voice again. "But soon, we two will communicate mind to mind. I can feel it."
She paused, noting the golden glow off the mountain. Sighing, Akia slowly rose to her feet and retreated back into the cave that she now called home. It gave her all the protection she needed, but little else. Still, it was more comfortable than the cavern that had been her cell.
She stared out of the cave as the light grew brighter. "And when we do, we will forge a link that no one will ever break!"
Bridge
Number One sat on the bridge, waiting for Captain Pike to finish reading the reports. It was his ritual to read the reports before anything but his morning coffee. Only Red Alerts and a General Order One would even dare disturb the ritual. And what she had to report did not fit either category.
When he leaned back, coffee cup in hand, handing the compuclipboard back to Cloris Brown, one of his current yeoman, his eyes met those of Number One. Recognizing the look in his first officer's eyes, he sighed and said, "What?"
"Sir, I have had additional contact with the lifeform on Alpha Indi Four," she reported.
"Anything new?"
"No," she shook her head. "Nothing new."
"Very well." She saw him mentally dismiss the subject as unimportant. "Keep me posted."
Number One stopped from sighing deeply. It was clear he did not understand how powerful a telepath this lifeform was...or possibly he did not care. "Yes, sir."
Day Four
Officers Quarters
Executive Officer
Number One woke up, breathing slowly as her mind identified what had aroused her in the early hours of the morning. A small smile softened the sharp features of her face as she recognized the caller. Number One got up and walked to the small carafe that was always full of herbal tea. This was the third morning that she had received the call. But today, she would make contact. She had to.
The first contact with the woman had shown Number One that she was alone, in need of rescue, in fear of her life. The next two calls had only intensified the woman's need and fear. But tonight, this call was different. Number One would never be able to explain how she knew that within seconds of the contact, but she knew.
Taking the carafe and a cup of tea, Number One settled herself comfortably back on the bed and closed her eyes. Clearing her mind, she send her thoughts back to the woman on the planet, concentrating on sending her message of comfort, of hope.
Suddenly: You hear me!?
Number One nearly spilled her drink as the woman's thoughts seemed to engulf her. Personal contact.
Yes, we have heard you. Number One responded, trying to keep the elation from her thoughts. But we have not been able to answer you.
Until now. There was no denying the excitement in the woman's thought. Until now.
We are coming as fast as we can, Number One told her. It will take four more days
Four days! Anguish quickly replaced excitement. I don't know if I can last that long
Number One found herself receiving a bombardment of images: a woman, half-naked, in front of a tribunal, then on a transporter pad. A woman, still barely clothed, on a planet surface, struggling to stay alive as the wild animals sought to kill her. Of making primitive weapons, of recreating fire, of surviving terrible storms, heat, cold .
Please try! Number One urged. We are coming as quickly as we safely can. Number One hoped that the woman could not read her innermost thoughts, else she'd find out that they could come faster, if Captain Pike would order it . Please try!
I will…
Suddenly, the connection was terminated.
"No!" Number One sat up abruptly, surprised that she had spoken aloud.
She found herself trembling. She put the cup, still full of now-cold tea, down on the small bedside stand. She'd succeeded! She'd made contact with the woman on the planet. The woman was still alive!
Number One stood up and walked to the lavatory, her mind still reeling from the visions that the woman had sent her. She found her energy levels building. Adrenaline was sitting in her tissues, increasing her shaking. Not even a cold shower seemed to calm her.
Meditation and Tai Chi were the only means left to calm her. Two hours later, she felt more in control of herself. Another quick shower to wash away the sweat from her workout completed the calming ritual.
She glanced at the chronometer, sighing deeply. There was no time for a short nap before she had to report for duty. Placing the untouched cup of tea in the recycler, Number One called up a cup of coffee from the small food processor. It was the only answer, unfortunately. She had to be able to function on the bridge.
Alpha Indi IV
Akia sat back against the rock and laughed throatily. "I was right," she said aloud. "I knew you would answer me one day."
She paused and held up the squeaking creature she'd caught. It was a pity that this was her only means of nourishment. They kept her alive, barely. But they were becoming more difficult to catch. Its neck soon was between her teeth and its blood coursing down her throat. After she had supped, she licked her lips, not willing to waste one precious drop.
Akia looked around, frowning as she noted the rising of the sun. Time to withdraw again. She looked up at the stars before retreating to her cavern shelter. "We will continue to communicate, my friend," she murmured softly. "And we will meet. Soon."
Bridge
Number One sat expectantly at her station, watching the captain as he finished the reports and settled back in his chair. She was surprised when he addressed her.
"Anything new on the life form?"
"Y-yes sir." She silently cursed herself for the stammer. "She is continuing to call out to us."
"Good," he said shortly. "That means she's still alive."
"Yes," Number One nodded, turning to face her captain. "But she is fearful that she will not last much longer…."
"Keep me posted on anything substantial," he cut her off.
Number One bit her tongue, nodding her answer and turned back to watching the viewscreen.
Day Six
Officers Quarters
Executive Officer
Number One was sitting comfortably on the floor, her eyes closed, her breathing slow and shallow. To all appearances, she was meditating, not an unusual activity for her when she was not on duty. Although, perhaps a bit unusual for this time of the day.
Only she was not meditating. She was communicating with the stranded woman on the planet less than two days away. Each contact was becoming easier, placing less strain on Number One's abilities. Still, each interaction was abruptly ended, which gave Number One a wary feeling. Was there a creature that was threatening her, breaking her concentration, and the link? Or was she failing?
Number One stared at the blank wall frowning as she reflected on this latest conversation. Still full of urgency, need.
Number One closed her eyes and concentrated on re-establishing the bond with the woman on Alpha Indi IV. Hang on, my friend, she thought. Please, hang on. One more day. We'll be there in one more day.
The dark-haired woman slumped forward, exhausted as she felt the connection slip away. She sluggishly unfolded her body and stood, letting her glance touch on the chronometer. Another long night. Her eyes caught a glimpse of her appearance in the mirror as she moved to the food processor for a cup of tea.
Her eyes widened in shock. Puffy red-rimmed eyes in a pale face stared back at her. She rubbed her eyes wearily as she made her way to the shower and let the warm water relax her. Warm water to relax her, cool water on her face to reduce the puffiness of her eyes. To revive her.
The strain was beginning to tell on her. But it was necessary. After the third day, no one else had heard the woman's mental calls. Or admitted to hearing the calls.
Only her. She was the woman's only link with another sentient being. The only one to let the castaway know that someone in the universe cared for her.
So far, no one had seemed to notice her strain, or if they did, no one was saying anything. Not Captain Pike. Not Spock. Not even Doctor Boyce.
Number One let the turtleneck slide over her head. She took a final look at her appearance in the mirror. The eyes were less puffy, the red nearly gone. There was still signs of strain in the indigo blue, but if no one stared into them, no one would notice.
Alpha Indi IV
Akia stood under a tree staring out at the starfield, smiling as she spotted a speck of light streaking toward her. Her gaunt face softened as a smile etched itself on her lips, exposing sharp fangs.
"I heard you, my friend," Akia whispered aloud as well as mentally. "I heard you. One more day." She severed the mental link suddenly and laughed quietly. "One more day."
She leaned wearily against the tree, licking her lips hungrily. She hadn't been able to catch the scent of any of the creatures that had become her only means of sustenance this day. "One more day. I can survive one more day. Then I will be free of this hell that you sentenced me to, Belan. And I will seek you out, and make you and all the others pay for my exile." She let her eyes find the streak in the star field. "And then I will do what I was destined to do."
Day Eight
Alpha Indi IV
Captain's Log, Stardate 0439.4
We have just entered orbit around Alpha Indi IV. During our trek here, only one of the crew has continued to periodically 'hear' or 'feel' the urgent call for help that many of them felt eight days ago.
Since establishing orbit, we have been scanning the planet surface. So far, we have detected many life forms, but only lower life forms. If there ever was a female down there in trouble, she has either died during our approach to this system, or for some reason, our scanners are unable to read her life signs. I have called for a senior staff meeting.
Christopher Pike walked into the main briefing room on Deck Seven. He was thirty seconds late. He was always thirty seconds late. It was again another one of the 'rituals' to which he adhered. It gave time for everyone to be seated and to focus on the matter at hand. As the doors closed, he absently noted that Lieutenant Spock, Number One, Lieutenant Tyler, Doctor Boyce and Lieutenant Scott were seated, waiting for him expectantly.
"I've called this meeting to get your input on our next course of action," he began as he took the seat at the head of the table. "Lieutenant Spock, what do we know about this planet?"
"Alpha Indi Four is an unremarkable class M planet slated for colonization in the next few years. It has been surveyed somewhat extensively due to its proximity to Earth and Vulcan, however, there is little of interest. No valuable minerals, no transuranic elements present. The ecosystem is quite similar to that of Earth. The planet's most highly evolved life forms are roughly equivalent to a Terran lupine predator."
Tyler chuckled. "You mean a wolf."
Spock blinked. "Is that not what I said, Mister Tyler?"
Pike ignored the two's usual antagonism. "So, Number One, have you...'heard' from your friend?"
"I have continued to maintain contact, usually in the morning when my mind is clearest. She is down there, Captain. And she is still alive."
"Yet we cannot detect her with our instruments. Scotty?" prompted Pike.
"Och, I dinna ken how we could possibly nae detect her if she's there," argued the chief engineer.
"While these systems are new, they have proven themselves in the field, Captain, and it bothers me that we don't detect her. What if this is some sort of trap?" suggested Tyler.
Spock raised an eyebrow. "I find that a remarkably paranoid statement, Lieutenant."
"I've detected no animosity toward us in the mental images I've received from her, Captain. She was apparently marooned there by her former crewmates."
"What could she have done to have been left here?" wondered Tyler.
"Aye, it must've been somethin' truly terrible," agreed Scott.
"Unknown, Captain," Number One shook her head. "We are not able to communicate well enough for her to tell me." She added, "She bears us no ill will. I'm sure of that!"
The passion in his first officer's voice surprised Pike. He looked at the senior officers and came to his decision. "Because we must know if this woman is still alive or not, I am ordering a landing party to the planet surface to search for her. We will question her closely regarding the circumstances by which she came to be here, and take appropriate action at that time. Dismissed."
His decision made, he strolled from the briefing room, leaving his senior staff to make the necessary orders and arrangements. Leisurely, he went to his room and put on his field jacket, grabbed his cap and checked his laser pistol. Suddenly, it dawned on him what was so disturbing about Number One's comments. "So, she bears us no ill will. I wonder how she feels about those who left her behind?"
No answer coming from the walls, he made his way down the corridor to the transporter room.
Christopher Pike walked into the transporter room, noting that everyone else was waiting for him. Standing on the pads, waiting for him, were Number One and Lieutenant Spock and the three security officers assigned to them: Lieutenant Maleva Blasko, a small dark-haired and dark-eyed woman with a reputation for being able to take down even the taller, stronger men in Security, Ensign T'Pon, a dark-skinned Vulcan female, and Lieutenant Tom Fairbanks, a dark-skinned Human male with a friendly grin and easy-going nature that belied his quick reflexes. Two teams of security officers had preceded them to the surface, awaiting the senior officers.
Pike hopped on the transporter pad. "Energize," he ordered.
When the party rematerialized, they found themselves in a small meadow at the base of a mountain, surrounded by rocky outgrowths, making the ground uneven. Trees were growing, some at angles due to the rocks nearby. Shadows were long, cast by the trees and rocks, the evening sun sliding behind the mountain.
The ground trembled ever so slightly. "According to sensor readings, there has been recent seismic activity in this vicinity," Number One noted.
"So I gathered," Pike answered. "Possibly the reason that your friend called for help."
"Possibly," Number One agreed coolly. For some reason, his continued casual references to the woman rankled her. In fact, his behavior toward this entire event had served to strain his relationship with her.
"Would the seismic activity in any way give us difficulty scanning this woman?" Pike asked.
Spock shook his head, bringing his tricorder up. "Negative, sir," he answered.
Number One was also scanning the area with her tricorder, a frown on her face. "I cannot understand it," she mused. "She has been contacting us all along, but I cannot scan her anywhere."
"Are we even in the right spot?" Pike glared at her.
"Yes," Number One glared back at her superior. "This was the scene she showed me."
"Okay, where is she?"
"I cannot answer that." Number One kept her voice neutral, cool. "Perhaps she had to move between the first time she contacted us and now. There are no sentient life forms registering on any of the scanners. I am detecting several of the large lupine predators in the vicinity. Perhaps she is in hiding."
"Perhaps she's been killed," Pike suggested. "Wolves aren't the friendliest of creatures."
Number One felt herself tense at his suggestion. They'd communicated not twelve hours ago, and though weak and frail-sounding, the woman was still alive. But even though she had told him this; he hadn't seemed to be interested in her brief mental encounters with the woman. She could not prove to him the woman was still alive.
Suddenly, she stiffened as she felt the mental touch of the refugee. "Wait," she held up a hand as her eyes sought the horizon. "She's still alive, and she's near here."
Pike studied her with narrowed eyes. "You sure? It's not just wishful thinking?"
Number One whirled on him, barely keeping her anger in check. "No, sir," she said coldly. "It is not wishful thinking. She is alive. But weak. Very weak. We have to find her. Fast."
Pike looked into her indigo eyes, then nodded minutely. "Very well. Let's find her. Teams, fan out, and keep alert."
Amid various voices of "Aye sir" the teams broke off and went off in various directions.
*****
Lieutenant Teri Mettens and Lieutenant Ben Shapiro were crawling over rocks and uneven ground, moving slowly and carefully. She kept her eyes on the surroundings, hunting for something, anything. She took the lead, moving through the rocks, occasionally slipping, falling against Shapiro.
"You know, Teri," he stated as he helped her regain her balance yet again, "if I didn't know better, I'd swear you were doing this on purpose."
Laughing throatily, Mettens glanced at him provocatively. "If we weren't on duty, I probably would be," she admitted. "Especially after last night."
Shapiro chuckled, remembering their orgy in his room, as Mettens continued on, letting her hips sway suggestively in front of him, "Let's get off duty and back to the ship and I'll show you more of the same."
"That a threat or a promise?" Mettens challenged as she stood between two large boulders, readjusting her scanner.
"Both," Shapiro responded. "Move it, Mettens."
"All right, all right," Mettens pouted. "You're such a slave driver."
"You didn't complain last night," he said.
Before she could respond, she felt herself pushed from behind and her head collided with a nearby boulder. The auburn-haired female dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Shapiro, also shoved from behind, grabbed hold onto the hand in his back, surprised to feel cool bony flesh. He turned to face his attacker, and found himself facing a wild-haired, red-eyed creature.
A kick to its groin area loosened its hold on him, but only for a brief instant. He felt razor-sharp nails strike him, slashing his chest, his face. The blood in his eyes blinded him momentarily. Long enough.
Akia grabbed the Human again, and pulled his still-struggling body closer to hers, the scent of the flowing blood all but maddening her. Again the male struck out at her, the blow connecting with her body. Pain registered in a small corner of her brain. But hunger registered louder. Again her long nails raked over his body, scoring again, and releasing more blood.
She flung him against the rocks, stunning him. As he slid down the rock face to the ground, she pounced on him, burying her fangs in his throat. The blood bubbled into her mouth, and she drank hungrily.
Long moments later, she raised her head and stared down at the white face half buried in the dirt. Memories long since hidden away resurfaced. Memories tied to current plans.
She needed followers. Many followers.
She would start here.
Now.
She raised her body off of his, turning it over, and drew her sharp fingernail slowly along her breast, then moved until it was over his slack mouth. She pressed it to his lips, stroking his throat gently as her dark blood trickled into his mouth and down his throat.
"Drink," she murmured softly. "Drink deeply, my son."
He gagged and gagged, but the Curse had been passed on.
Teri Mettens groaned and tried to sit up. The world spun. Her head hurt.
She heard a voice, soft and low, almost crooning. Forcing herself to sit up, she looked toward the source of the noise. All she could see was a form. "Ben?" she called fearfully. "Benny?"
The form turned toward her.
Mettens blinked and looked at the form again. Blood was smeared over the face of the form, and dripped from fangs. Mettens' eyes widened and a scream erupted from her throat.
A hand automatically grabbed for a communicator and pistol on her utility belt. Both spots were empty. Panic filled the young female security guard as another scream tore itself from her mouth.
The form separated from the still frame on the ground, and seemed to float toward her. A third scream echoed through the rocks as she scrambled to her feet and ran. Ran for the beam-down site. Ran for safety.
She felt long thin nails grab at her shoulder. Mettens dipped down and continued on, hearing her tunic rip, feeling the cool night air on her back. Fear spurred her on.
Again the long, iron-strong talons caught her shoulders. This time, Mettens couldn't shake free of her pursuer. She found herself being turned to face the thing that had attacked Shapiro.
It was a nightmare come to life. Blood covered mouth and nose, and was smeared over the rest of its face. Powerful arms pulled the struggling female closer to the blood-smeared mouth. Mettens, strengthened by panic and fear, fought against the creature. She felt razor-sharp claws score over her body again and again, effectively beating her to the ground.
She heard a harsh chuckle as she felt herself, against her will being drawn closer and closer to the fetid-smelling mouth. A final scream was cut off as sharp fangs sank into her flesh. The slurping noise near her ear was the last noise she heard.
Akia drank greedily from her second victim, savoring the red thick liquid that was drawn from the neck into her mouth. The scream had died down; only a few moans were audible from the female beneath her, and even they were fading away.
She leaned back away from her latest source of nourishment. There was still one thing left to do. Again her fingernail scored a small laceration on her breast and again she forced the blood to drip into the open mouth, to trickle down the still throat of her victim.
"Drink, daughter. Drink deeply."
*****
Captain Pike was making a sweep of the area with Lieutenant Blasko not far behind him. As far as he was concerned, this whole escapade was a waste of time. Telepathy was still virtually an unproven ability. Vulcans could do it. So could Betazeds like his first officer. But it was not consistent. It could not be measured with accuracy. And as much as he trusted Number One, he still found it difficult to trust this talent, ability, whatever you wanted to call it of hers as much as he trusted her skill as his helmsman.
And to commence a search of the planet at nightfall…? But Number One had been insistent that they not wait till morning. That the woman on the planet could not wait till the morning. And to be truthful, he had to admit to himself, the sooner he proved it was all in Number One's head, the sooner he could command they leave with a clear conscious.
Still, this foray gave him a few more days to spend with his crew, his ship...while it still was his ship. No matter what he had said, or admitted, he was still going to miss the adventure. Being tied to a desk was hardly exciting. And internal politics was hardly honorable combat. And that was what he had to look forward to. Unless he hitched a ride on a ship periodically….
The screams echoed in the foothills behind him. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand upright.
"What the--" he began, grabbing his pistol. Blasko mirrored his action. "Let's go!" Pike darted toward the direction of the screams, Blasko running fast to keep up with him.
As he entered the moon-lit meadow where they'd beamed down, he found the other teams converging as well.
"Who's missing?" he demanded.
"Shapiro and Mettens," Ensign T'Pon supplied.
"They went off in that direction," Lieutenant Geiger added, pointing, ready to take the point, if that was required.
Pike pulled his communicator off his belt. "Pike to Enterprise."
Colt's voice sounded over the communicator. "Enterprise here."
"Have Sickbay standing by, and we'll need a doctor ready to beam down. We might have casualties."
"Understood," Colt's voice answered.
"Pike out." Putting the communicator back on his belt, he commanded the landing party, "Fan out. Be prepared for anything. And don't hesitate to shoot to kill."
Akia sat back, nearly sated for the first time in centuries. Her sharp hearing heard the sound of others in the distance. Their companions, no doubt.
And She was with them.
That made Akia smile with pleasure. Her friend was coming.
Her smile faded as she realized that the group was no longer trying to find her. They were trying to find these two, her new followers. They feared for their safety.
For a brief moment, panic flooded her mind, blinding her to what she should do next. Then she calmed herself, and thought of a plan. They would come across this female first, the male next. Blood covered her face, her hands, what remained of her clothes.
The smile returned as a plan began to form. She would have to hurry….
Pike led the landing party from the meadow to the foothills. As the group entered the rocky trail, he saw a pale, bloodied creature with strings and something else trailing from its body moving up the rocky path, away from a still form in the center of the path. It paused on the rock, staring at him, blazing red eyes fixing on his. Then its arms raised and leaped into the night.
Pike shot his laser at the form, seeing the beam hit the form. Other beams seemed to strike it as well, as the others also fired on it. It seemed to sneer at him, then disappear.
"Get that thing!" he commanded as he raced to the downed form. "Stay in pairs!" He pulled his communicator out as he stared down at the pale, bloodied form. "Pike to Enterprise!"
"Enterprise here," Colt's voice answered calmly.
"Get me a doctor down here, now!"
"Understood," Colt responded.
Six figures shimmered into existence near the tableau. Boyce with a nurse, Angela Carstairs and a med tech, Alonzo Styles, immediately moved to the fallen officer while the other three, security officers, received a briefing from Lieutenant Blasko and joined in the search.
Boyce scanned the woman briefly, issued orders to Carstairs and Styles then pulled his own communicator out and signaled the ship to beam up Styles with Mettens.
Akia stood by the still form of her first follower. She noted the black whirring machine by his body. Picking it up, she smashed it against the rocks. "We mustn't let anyone know what really happened," she crooned as she arranged herself near his stationary body. "They will know only what I wish them to."
She looked down at her own body. "Ah, not quite convincing, my son. Although, your sister did attempt to inflict serious harm. It was not her fault that it takes much more to harm me." Her sharp fingernails raked over her body. "I can do better."
She let her head rest on his broad shoulder and closed her eyes. His heartbeat was slowed, his breathing barely noticeable. Her lips curved briefly into a smile. "Soon," she promised, patting his chest. "But for now, as your sister does, you must rest."
The sound of running on the dirt path alerted her. She waited until the first running figure was visible, then she lifted a limp arm and cried out, weakly, "Help us! For pity's sake, help us!"
"Over here!" the dark-haired man in the lead yelled over his shoulder. "Bring the doc! We got another one down!"
Pike and Boyce with Blasko bringing up the rear entered the area. Several of the other security officers had already taken up defensive positions around the small area.
"Well, I'll be damned," Pike muttered under his breath. "There really is someone here."
"Did you ever doubt your first officer before?" Boyce questioned as he hurried past the man to the two, his medical scanner already playing over the two forms. "Carstairs," he turned to the nurse by his side, "take Shapiro to Sickbay. Same procedure as with Mettens."
The blonde nurse nodded and signaled the ship. The two disappeared into the sparkle of the transporter beam.
Boyce moved to the woman as Number One and Ensign Fairbanks entered the area.
"Glad you could join us, Number One," Pike commented as she walked up to him.
"We were further out," Number One responded coolly.
"True," Pike admitted grudgingly.
The woman, laying still on the ground, allowing the doctor to minister to her, moved at the sound of Number One's voice. Her eyes seemed to spring to life, and her hand lifted weakly. "You! It is you! I knew you would come! You promised!"
Pike frowned as Number One moved past him and knelt on the other side of the woman, grasping the outreached hand. "I do attempt to keep my promises," she said softly. "You're hurt."
"Not badly," the woman shook her head. "The brave young officers, they protected me. How are they?"
"Too soon to say," Boyce looked down at his medical scanner, a confused frown creasing his face.
"Who, or what, attacked you?" Pike asked.
The woman grasped Number One's hand tighter and shook her head. "I didn't see it. But I fear it is one of the predators in the area. The two officers, they found me and were taking me to the meadow. They said that was the meeting area. And then, suddenly…." Her voice faltered as her eyes squeezed shut in pain. Her head turned and rested on Number One's arm.
"It's all right," Number One's voice was surprisingly gentle. "You're safe now."
"We need to get her to the ship," Boyce said as he stood up stiffly. "I can't do anything more here."
Pike nodded and signaled the security teams. "Anyone find anything?"
"Negative, sir," was repeated several times over the communicator.
"Call it a night," he commanded. "Report back to the meadow and return to the ship. We'll continue this in the morning, when we have better lighting."
"What the hell's going on?" Boyce demanded as they walked back to the meadow, Number One helping the woman to her feet and assisting her to walk to the meadow.
"I wish to hell I knew," Pike answered. "One minute, we're looking for this woman that Number One claims is somewhere around here. The next minute there's a scream."
"What attacked them? Did you see it?"
Pike looked at Boyce, then shook his head slowly. "I saw something standing on the rocks, running from Lieutenant Mettens' body," he finally admitted.
"What?"
"I don't think you'd believe me, Phil."
"Try me," Boyce suggested firmly.
"It had wild red-rimmed eyes, and fangs the size of a Capellan Power Cat, and claws as big as a man's hand. And I swear I saw wings. Bat-like."
"No, Kyptin," Blasko spoke from behind the two men. "It vas no bat, Kyptin. It was vroucolac. Wampyr. Vampire."
Both men turned to face her. Boyce canted an eyebrow at her statement, but Pike snorted in derision. "Pull yourself together, Lieutenant," he commanded. "This isn't some holovid horror. This is an alien world, filled with alien dangers, and I will not allow one of my security officers to allow any sort of superstitious bullshit to influence their actions."
"Kyptin…" she began again.
"I said, pull yourself together, or you'll find yourself on Starbase duty for the rest of your life."
"Yes, sir," she mumbled, staring at the ground.
Pike looked around, noting that the security teams were assembled. Spock was the last to enter the meadow. In his hand was a object he couldn't identity. "What have you got, Spock?" Pike asked.
"Lieutenant Shapiro's tricorder. Though damaged, I believe I can obtain information from it which might let us know what occurred there."
"Let me know when you have something," Pike said as he signaled for the landing party to be beamed up.
Bridge
Captain's Log, Supplemental
We have found the one who has apparently been calling out telepathically. Unfortunately, the woman, who says her name is Akia from Ghanis, was attacked by some creature on the planet, as were two of my security officers. She survived; my crew members did not. We will be staying in orbit, not only to find the creature who attacked her and my crewmembers, but to survey the planet for Starfleet.
Pike turned to the Tellarite standing by his chair on the bridge. "Commander Grek, I want a dozen teams on the planet surface searching for that thing."
The chief security officer nodded and blinked. "Understood. I already have teams down on the planet."
"But I want the teams to be three people. Being in pairs didn't do Mettens or Shapiro any good," Pike added bitterly.
"Already done," Grek all but grunted derisively as he marched off the bridge.
Pike turned to his chief engineer. "Mister Scott," he began, "I want those scanners of yours going over the entire planet."
"Already on it, sair," the Scotsman responded. "An' I'm checking out the scanners as well. Ah dinna ken why we dinna scan the lassie ye found. But, before we leave this planet, we'll be able t' scan not only the lass, but the beastie that attacked the landing party, or I'll know the reason why."
"Good." Pike stood up and headed toward the turbolift. "I'll be in Sickbay. Carry on."
Sickbay
He found Boyce in his office, filling out papers on the two figures now occupying stasis cubes in the morgue. They'd been pronounced dead soon after the landing party had returned to the ship. Boyce had told him that they had died on the planet, but he'd hoped to revive the two on the ship. After half an hour, however, Boyce had admitted defeat and had pulled the sheets over their heads.
"How's your third patient?" Pike questioned softly, looking over at the third biobed in the room.
Akia was reclining on the bed, looking up into Number One's face, still grasping her hand tightly, as if letting go would cause the first officer to disappear, and maroon her back on the planet. She looked wan and frail, but she wasn't as pasty-looking as she had been under the moonlight on the planet below. Her tattered blue dress had been traded for a light blue smock, the logo of the United Federation of Planets on the left breast.
"Fine, I think," Boyce frowned.
"You think?" Pike let an eyebrow creep upward.
"I think," Boyce repeated as he walked out of the office and approached the biobed and began reading the scanners over the blonde head. Pike followed close behind.
"Bah! This is ridiculous!" Boyce grabbed his portable scanner and ran it over her body. The woman watched him intently, an amused glint in her green eyes. His expression said he didn't like the readings he was getting from it either. "Sickbay to Engineering!" he bellowed into a comm panel. "Get someone up here and I mean now, and check out all the medical scanners!"
"What's the problem, Doctor?" Number One looked at him, the concern for her new friend evident on her face.
"Nothing," Boyce shook his head. "New equipment that isn't working right. So," he went on, grabbing Akia's slender wrist, "until they get fixed, I'm going to have to do things the old-fashioned way."
After a few minutes, and after finding an old stethoscope from the bottom of his desk drawer, Boyce shook his head in exasperation. "Pulse: twelve beats per minute. Respirations: four per minute. Blood pressure: doesn't even register. Madam," he looked at her, "those readings are hardly compatible with life."
Akia laughed, a pleasant tinkling sound. "But I feel perfectly well. Especially now that I am no longer alone on that planet...." Her eyes moved from the two men back to Number One. "Perhaps these are normal for me?"
"Normal?" Boyce's eyebrows shot up. "Normal?!"
"I am, after all, Ghanil, Doctor Boyce," Akia reminded him gently, letting her free hand rest reassuringly on his arm.
"True," Boyce sighed. "True."
"So, may I leave this medical center?" Akia sat up, letting her legs dangle over the edge of the bed.
Boyce looked at her. "Don't feel dizzy, weak, strange in any way?"
"No," Akia smiled at him.
"Then," Boyce shrugged, "I don't see why you can't leave Sickbay. There's nothing I can do for you here. Just see me in the morning."
"Of course," Akia beamed at him.
As Number One assisted the Ghanil to the floor, she looked at both Boyce and Pike. "I'll see to her berthing assignment, sir."
"Carry on," Pike nodded.
As the two women walked out of the room, Pike turned to the doctor, "What killed my two crewmembers, Phil?"
"Well, the preliminary scans show an extremely low blood count," Boyce began. "As a guess, I'd say exsanguination. Loss of blood," he added at Pike's puzzled look. "Both had pretty large wounds on their neck. Might have been how the blood was lost or withdrawn. But…."
"But?" Pike looked at him.
"But, there wasn't that much blood under or around the bodies. So, if you don't want to believe Lieutenant Blasko's rather ridiculous explanation, where's the missing blood?"
Pike glared at him. "You have got to be joking, Phil. Perhaps your tricorder is malfunctioning. They're still pretty new, still being field-tested."
"I used several tricorders, and an older scanner devised by Sarah April herself, plus some old-fashioned tests," Boyce countered.
"Phil…." There was a no-nonsense tone in Pike's voice.
"And then, there's something else," Boyce went on. "This was how they looked on the surface." He brought up a holopicture of both the officers as they had appeared on the planet.
Pike grimaced as he saw the deep gashes on their young faces and torso under the gore and dirt.
"But this was how they looked just before I pronounced them."
The second set of pictures flashed on the monitor. Pike frowned, noting the gashes and cuts. Most of the dirt and gore were gone, having been cleaned by the medical staff. "So?"
"So, if you note, the cuts and lacerations are significantly smaller. Almost like they're healing."
"Maybe it was just the dirt and gore," Pike suggested.
"No, it wasn't," Boyce glared at Pike. "At any rate, I found some tissue under Mettens' and Shapiro's fingernails. Maybe I can give the teams a clue about what kind of creature that they're looking for."
Pike nodded, standing up to leave. "Let me know when you have something." His glance spotted some small tubes with dark liquid in it. "What's that?"
"Blood samples from Mettens and Shapiro. For tests," Boyce said.
"Pretty damned dark, isn't it?" Pike questioned.
"Yeah," Boyce agreed tiredly. "Too damned dark. I want to study it, see what caused it. Hopefully, I'll find some answers to give you. But I'm going to get a little rest first. Six hours of staring at it is long enough."
Officers Quarters
Executive Officer
Number One walked into her quarters and poured herself a cup of warm herbal tea. It had been a long day. But they had found her, found Akia.
Now there was a name to go with the mental touch. And a face.
She could tell that it had been some time since Akia had had anything coming close to the amenities of life. She touched each piece of furniture, each article of clothing that Number One had requisitioned for her, and had gone ecstatic when she found the sonic shower coupled with the hydroshower.
Leaving the woman to enjoy her first bath in who knew how long, Number One had gone to her own quarters. Sitting in front of her personal monitor, Number One leaned her chin on her hand. She knew so little about her new friend.
"Computer, access all references to Ghanis," she said abruptly.
"Working," the metallic computer voice responded. "Ghanis is believed to be the home of the Ghanil, an old race coming from Murasaki sector of the galaxy, forced by a planetary plague to abandon their homeworld and search the galaxy for a new home."
"Description of Ghanil."
"None available," the computer stated. "Believed to be humanoid."
Number One let a smile curve her lips. "Most definitely humanoid," she murmured as she took a sip of the warm tea. "Information on the homeworld.'
"Ghanis is not listed on any stellar map. The Ghanil are said to have touched on many planets in this sector, but did not stay long in any one place. However, every planet where the Ghanil have supposedly touched have a similar legend of undead creatures walking the night, searching for blood."
Number One felt her eyebrow raise ever so slightly. If she didn't know better, she'd swear someone was attempting to play a practical joke on her. First Maleva Blasko, now the computer spouting vampire tales. "Indeed. Are there records of the Ghanil coming to Earth?"
"Negative."
Number One sipped her tea as she leaned back in the chair. "Continue information on the Ghanil, including legends from the other planets.'
"It is believed that the Ghanil were seeking a means to prolong their life span and in the process, released a mutagenic plague that devastated their planet, destroying many of their inhabitants. Survivors were reported to have a condition, that, while not fatal, changed them.
"Changed them?" Number One frowned thoughtfully as she sipped her tea. "How?"
"Details vary, depending on the source."
"Of course," Number One grumbled. "Give me all the details."
"They are reported to have an aversion to sunlight, a fear of certain metals and an aversion of certain elements. It is also said that they are able to change shapes, able to hypnotize others, and have no reflection. It is also stated that they require blood to survive. Reports indicate that they hypnotize their victim, and drain the victim's blood directly from a vein. The neck vein is preferred; however, any large accessible vein is acceptable. They are reported to change their victims to be like themselves by forcing the victim to drink the Ghanil blood."
"I see," Number One shook her head and leaned back. "Computer, end data search and program."
Silence.
Number One stared at the dark monitor. "Nonsense. Utter nonsense." She got up and poured herself another drink. "Akia has a pulse, however slow it might be," she continued on. "And she has a reflection. She didn't seem to be afraid of any of the metals or elements in Sickbay, or in her room."
She frowned momentarily remembering how Akia had shrank from the porthole, then nodded as she recalled Akia's reason for wanting the window shaded. "Would you want to constantly view your former prisoner, my friend?" she had demanded. "Even the starfield reminds me of my isolation on the planet."
Finishing the tea, she glanced at the chronometer, then back at the work station. She had a mountain of reports to get to; and an early shift.
Guest Quarters
Akia
Akia twirled around her quarters, touching the furniture and lifting objects to examine them. She could tell the Ghanil influence in several items, and her smile deepened in secretive pleasure. If they only knew the true meaning of the symbols.
She stopped in front of her mirror and looked at her reflection with a critical eye. Her blonde hair once again had a healthy shine and bounce, instead of being listless and brittle. She'd found a barrette to gather and bind it in the back, letting the front locks drape over her shoulders. Now she looked like a proper Ghanil noblewoman.
She felt her hunger build again. While her two new followers had fed her well, they had not fed her enough. It would take several more such feedings to fully sate her. She'd been hungry for a long time.
She sighed as she stripped off the smock, readying herself for the hunt. This ship didn't have much prey on board, true, and she'd have to ration herself, but this ship could take her to other places full of prey. All she needed was followers and one to command the ship.
Akia looked at the small collection of clothes that her new friend had supplied her with. She settled on a long flowing blue-green shimmering pantsuit with a matching long vest that flowed around her body. Though not Ghanil in fashion, or suitable to her station, it would suffice until she was able to have proper clothing made.
Akia stepped to the door. Her senses revealed the two guards outside her quarters, placed there no doubt by the Enterprise captain. As if that could contain her, she scoffed. She came up behind the door, and listened through it.
"T'Pon, you were there!" the low excited female voice insisted. "You had to have seen something!"
"Ensign Sanchez, I told you what I saw," T'Pon responded calmly.
"Then why didn't we see something when we were on the planet?" Sanchez demanded.
"Perhaps because it was daytime and not nighttime," T'Pon said. "It could be a nocturnal predator."
"But we didn't find any tracks, trails, bodies, blood…. Nothing!" Sanchez's slender arms gesticulated wildly in the air, but surprisingly didn't hit anything or anyone.
"A successful hunter rarely leaves any trail," T'Pon pointed out. "If anyone could follow it, then one that could cause it serious harm could find it."
"But it doesn't make any sense!" Sanchez went on. "Look, you and everyone else arrived on the scene not that long after Mettens screamed. And you saw it jump over the rocks. Where did it go? Into thin air?"
"That is illogical," T'Pon stated firmly.
"Exactly," Sanchez nodded emphatically. "So, my wise, logical friend, where did it go?"
T'Pon tilted her head thoughtfully. "Unknown. Without more data, speculation is pointless."
In the shadows of the guest quarters, Akia listened to the two, letting her tongue slowly lick her lips and teeth, pausing over the sharp points of her canines. The guards were both young, and full of life. Perfect candidates.
Sanchez closed her eyes and exhaled slowly before speaking again. "Sometimes, you have to speculate, T'Pon. Because you won't always have all the facts presented to you."
"And you would have me..." T'Pon paused suddenly, stiffening, her eyes darting around the corridor, searching.
"I'd have you use your imagination, if you have any!" Sanchez all but shouted. Then she noted the strained expression on the young Vulcan's face. "What's wrong?"
"We must leave here." T'Pon grabbed Sanchez by the arm and propelled her down the corridor.
"What?" Sanchez frowned, dragging back.
"Leave!" T'Pon commanded forcefully, as she pushed Sanchez down the hall and whirled to meet the creature that was charging out of the guest quarters toward them.
Akia roared as she crashed into the Vulcan and into the wall. Sanchez squealed then raced down the corridor toward a comm panel. Akia, recovering before T'Pon, reached over and grabbed the small Latin female's ankle, tripping her, bringing her crashing to the deck. Both got up at the same time, but it was Akia who struck first, smashing the small Human against the wall. She slid to the deck, unconscious.
Akia turned to the Vulcan, now fully recovered and moving quickly toward the comm panel.
"Oh no," Akia snarled as she dove after her. "This is a private party. Invitation only. My invitation!"
She grabbed the Vulcan by the arm, spinning her around, away from the panel. A backhand smashed against T'Pon's surprised face, then returned, snapping the Vulcan's head back. Akia, still snarling, drove her fist into the comm panel. "No interruptions!"
The Vulcan, though still stunned, charged at the Ghanil, only to be met by Akia's powerful fist in her mid-section. Then the fist moved up and snapped T'Pon's head back against the wall.
T'Pon stared at the creature in front of her, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "You were on the planet surface," she breathed faintly.
"Your people rescued me from the planet surface. Don't you remember?" snorted Akia as she moved closer to the Vulcan, grabbing the Vulcan's jaw tightly, moving it to expose the Vulcan's neck.
"No," T'Pon struggled to free herself from the iron grip. "You are the one who attacked Lieutenant Mettens and Lieutenant Shapiro."
Akia swatted the hand away that was grasping for her neck, then pinning T'Pon's hands against her chest. "Yes, I was," Akia admitted, her lips touching T'Pon's neck. "And I will do to you what I did to them."
"No!" T'Pon protested.
"Yes! Now silence, my little one. You are going to enjoy this," Akia hissed as her fangs slid into T'Pon's neck.
Akia took a deep draught of the Vulcan's blood that bubbled at her lips, her eyes closed in blissful anticipation.
They suddenly snapped open, and she drew back, spitting the dark green liquid from her mouth. The Vulcan, still conscious and pinned against the wall, struggled to free herself, met Akia's eyes, a question in her dark eyes.
Akia's face contorted in rage and she continued to turn the Vulcan's neck, seeing awareness in her eyes as Akia continued to twist her head until there was a satisfying snap. She watched as the light disappeared from the dark eyes and the body fell limp against the wall.
Akia stared at the body at her feet, feeling a sense of gratification. Then she turned to the other female on the deck, slowly stirring.
"You, my little one, will wash the poisonous taste of that one's blood from my mouth," she said as she straddled Sanchez and pushed her head back to expose the girl's slender neck.
Akia felt the woman struggle briefly beneath her, smiling as her fangs slid through the skin, freeing the dark red blood to be drank. Akia drank, hearing the whimpers fade away, feeling the struggles become weaker.
Finally sated, Akia looked down at the pale face of the nearly-unconscious female beneath her. Her fingers opened the top of her pantsuit. Using her sharp nail, she drew a line on her breast, watching as her own blood welled along the scratch. Then, moving her body so that her breast was in the slack mouth, Akia forced her blood down Sanchez's throat. "Drink, daughter. Drink deeply."
Akia's eyes closed and a blissful expression crossed her face as the weak lips responded to the Ghanil's command. Finally, she removed her breast and stared down at the glazed eyes of Morisa Sanchez, smiling at her lovingly. Her hand stroked the soft face and neck gently. "Sleep, child. Soon we will hunt together. But for now, sleep."
Obediently the Human closed her eyes, her breath coming slow and shallow.
Standing, Akia took a deep breath, steadying herself. She felt dizzy, euphoric. Finally, she could say her hunger was sated. Now, she could truly attend to the matter at hand.
She stared to bend over to pick up her child when her gaze lit on the crumpled form of the dead Vulcan. Her lips curled as she remembered the acrid taste in her mouth and the burning in her belly. If she had her way, the body would stay there and rot. But, she knew that was impossible here on the ship. If they'd been on the planet...
She marched over to the body and dragged it to a nearby vent and stuffed the body in. Satisfied it was safe from detection for now, she returned to the slumbering form of her newest follower.
Akia's gaze softened as she studied the face of the woman on the floor. Bending, Akia picked her up with the tenderness of a mother with a child. Then she made her way to Morisa Sanchez's room.
Day Nine
Bridge
Captain's Log, Stardate 0441.2
We remain in orbit above Alpha Indi IV, trying to solve the mystery of our guest, Akia. I have scheduled a full debriefing of all department heads for tomorrow morning, and I have asked them to present all information available to me at that time. I have also asked my executive officer to personally interview Akia prior to the official debriefing.
Pike walked off of the turbolift, a cup of coffee in his hand. He nodded briefly at Lieutenant Blasko who was standing guard by the door of the lift then proceeded to his chair. He stopped before he sat down, his attention caught by Spock's intense expression as he worked at the Science Station.
"What are you doing, Spock?"
"I am attempting to analyze the recording made by this tricorder," Spock reported.
"What's the problem?" Pike walked over to the station, mild interest on his face.
"This is Lieutenant Shapiro's tricorder," Spock explained. "Severely damaged when the lieutenant was killed by the creature on the planet. However, I believe I may be able to retrieve most of the information recorded. It will, however, take time."
"I see," Pike nodded as he walked back to his chair. "Let me know when you have something."
"I have already been able to isolate something on the infrared recording," Spock reported.
"Really?" Pike turned around in his chair. "Let's see it."
Spock tapped a button and the stars on the view screen faded as the reds, greens, yellows and blues of the infrared recording were projected from his station.
"Prior to this, the standard recording was operational; after Lieutenant Shapiro was attacked from behind, it was damaged."
"Understood," Pike said, leaning back in the chair.
A form of green was on the ground while a fiery red form was seen to be struggling with something. What the form was struggling with was a mystery.
"Looks pretty," Pike finally said. "But I want to know what Shapiro was fighting."
"Unknown," Spock stated. "It does not register on the infrared scan. Nor on the ultraviolet portion of the scan."
"What could do that?"
"Again, unknown," Spock said. He could sense as well as see Pike's irritation at the lack of answers. "Most of the species of life forms that barely scan in infrared, such as the Flying Sandbats of Manark Four are generally metamorphs. But," he added, "they are rarely large enough to overwhelm one crewmember, let alone two."
"Well it seems we've found one," Pike said.
"Indeed. And it is deadly."
Pike frowned as he watched the scene, seeing the form's head tipped to one side and observed the warm fluid flow from the form into the nothingness that had bested him. Before he could comment, he saw the head repositioned yet again. "What the hell is going on?"
"I have been unable to ascertain the exact nature of what is being done to him, or what he was forced to do," admitted Spock. "Most unusual behavior."
"No," said a tight voice from the back of the bridge. "Not unusual."
Pike turned in his chair to look at the speaker, Lieutenant Blasko. She was white-faced, and her lips were trembling. "It is the vway of the wampyr. They drink the blood of the vwictim, then force the vwictim to drink their blood, to make them wampyr as well."
Pike felt his jaw tense. "This is the twenty-third century, Lieutenant," he snapped. "Not medieval Europe. Vampires are legends, myths, folklore."
Maleva Blasko glared back at the captain, her dark eyes smoldering in contained anger at the rebuff. "No, Kyptin, they are not!" She closed her eyes and suppressed a shudder. "They are real. They exist. I have seen the undead myself in Romania."
"That's enough! Dismissed." Pike snapped, turning his chair back to face the screen. Staring at the screen. He waited until he heard Blasko exit via the turbolift, then barked, "Any more?"
"Yes," Spock nodded.
The cooler green form in the background grew warmer and redder. A groggy voice whimpered, "Ben? Benny?"
The form became redder as a scream punctuated the tape, then several more. Again, there was a struggle of the red form with nothing. And again the siphoning of warm fluid from the body of Teri Mettens into the formless creature that had attacked her. A faint color was seen over Mettens' form, as though something had added warmth to the form.
A second murmuring voice could be heard, faintly, in the background.
Spock cut the tape at that point. "After this, the infrared was flooded with the presence of the landing party."
"Spock," Pike's voice was tense and brittle. "I saw a creature over Mettens. I shot it. It was as real as you and I."
"Sir," Spock's tone was carefully neutral, "we all saw it. Besides this tricorder, I have been checking the rest of the tricorders from the landing party. None seemed to have been recording at the time, or pointed in the proper direction. Not even mine," he admitted ruefully. "Perhaps these predators have some sort of mental shield. If so, they would represent a grave threat to any colony started here."
Pike nodded and turned back to a report that was handed to him by Boris Smithson, one of his yeoman. "Keep me apprised, Lieutenant."
Sickbay
Pike walked into Phil Boyce's office in time to hear him swear sharply.
"What's the problem, Phil?" Pike asked.
"This is the damnedest test I've ever tried to run," Boyce snorted.
"On what?"
"On some tissue I found under Mettens' fingernails." He tossed a compuclipboard at Pike. "That is the results of the tests I've run on the blood I collected from Mettens and Shapiro. Remember what you said about it?"
"It looked dark," Pike said. "And you told me it was too damned dark."
"I was right." Boyce headed for the lab.
Pike looked at the board, following the doctor. Handing it back to Boyce, he stated, "Now tell me what it says."
"All right," Boyce sighed deeply. "It's Human, of course. But, there's a mutation in the main heme structure. There's no oxygen in the heme. I haven't begun to figure out how, let alone why." Taking the board from Pike, he tossed it on counter. "And then there's this." He tapped the other set of tubes.
"What?" Pike prompted.
"Tissue from under Mettens' fingernails," Boyce said. "Mettens managed to get a few good licks in before it killed her." He walked back to the office, another compuclip in his hand and sat down at his desk. "It wasn't her own, or Shapiro's."
Pike stared at Boyce in shock, then sat down. The thought that one of his crew might attack another was virtually unthinkable!
"I had to rule it out, Chris. Especially with both of them with scratches all over their bodies. But I can tell you, whatever attacked them, it was real."
Pike snorted, "It's real. It just doesn't show up on any scanners."
"True." Boyce frowned deeply, leaning back in his chair. "But--" He lifted his eyes and stared at Pike. "I thought you said it was bat-like."
Pike pressed his lips tightly together. "I said it had red-rimmed eyes, fangs of a Capellan Power Cat and long claws with hands as big as my hand. And yes, I did see something resembling bat wings."
Boyce exhaled slowly, leaning forward to bring his arms to rest on the desk. "Well, whatever it was, it was humanoid."
"Anything else?"
"I tested it using every means available to us, starting with Carbon-14 dating and moving up to Aluminum-23 and finally to the most recent techniques in the Federation. And I come up with the same answer."
"What?" Pike demanded.
"It's been dead over two thousand years."
Alpha Indi IV
Commander Grek with Lieutenant Bekel, another Tellarite, and Lieutenant Commander Doreen Trask, a willowy blonde Human and Grek's second-in-command, were going back over the scene of Mettens' and Shapiro's deaths. Normally a crime scene was gone over immediately after the discovery of the crime, and continued on until all the evidence was uncovered. Because the planet was deserted, the scene had been left alone while the teams had tried to find the creature that had killed their comrades.
Other teams were still scouring the planet for the beast while Grek and his team were now combing the rocky path.
Bekel stood up and snorted loudly. "Now I see why she did not call for assistance." His finger pointed to debris between rocks. "Her communicator is worthless. That rock made a mess of it."
"It also made a mess of Teri's head," Trask growled as she moved over to the rocks.
Grek nodded, looking at the