Though Ish is a non-Federation world, it is a close trading partner to the Federation. The Ishites' level of technological development is roughly equal to that of the Federation, but with a greater reliance on robotics and automation. Every household, industrial facility, and public place is loaded with robots of every description and purpose.
According to Haleakala, machines on Ish are going out of control and attacking the organic citizenry. The attacks started as isolated incidents and at first seemed to be unconnected, but now they're spreading, and the death toll is climbing. Though Ambassador Rad is seemingly unconcerned and has instructed Haleakala not to seek help, Haleakala is worried that the worst is yet to come. He's risking his job, but is afraid to wait any longer to call for support; he asks Sonya to bring her team to assess the situation and determine the potential threat level of the machine malfunctions.
Upon arrival, Gomez beams down with a team including Fabian Stevens, Domenica Corsi, and Soloman. Gomez has mixed feelings about seeing Haleakala again; she still has some residual affection for him, and at the same time feels badly about the incident that led to their break-up. She never betrayed Haleakala, but whoever ratted him out didn't turn in Gomez, so it looked like she was the snitch...and Haleakala wouldn't believe otherwise.
When he meets the S.C.E. team, Haleakala is accompanied by Chalice Rheinhardt, a fellow aide to Ambassador Rad, and Sig, head of the Ish robotics directorate. Ambassador Rad himself is nowhere in sight; Haleakala has left him out of the loop. Though Haleakala can't guess at Rad's reasons for ignoring the crisis, he is certain Rad would not approve of S.C.E.'s presence.
When introductions are made between Gomez's and Haleakala's teams, Corsi doesn't admit to having a connection to Rheinhardt...but Rheinhardt seems to be happy to see her. Rheinhardt, a former Starfleet officer, says that she and Corsi served together years ago onboard the blank . Corsi returns Rheinhardt's warm welcome and apologizes for not recognizing her sooner (though, in truth, Corsi knew who she was from the start and had her reasons for trying to keep quiet about their shared history).
After a robot attack kills several Ishites right in front of them, the S.C.E. team disables the attacker and examines its remains. According to Sig, Ish robots are only supposed to be equipped with limited radio receivers, each restricted to a single frequency; in this way, the robots are meant to receive instructions from their owners without having the capability to interact with each other. The radio equipment onboard the latest attacker, however, has been modified to receive signals from multiple sources...and to transmit signals of its own.
The team reactivates the radio transceiver in the hope that it will pick up a signal they can trace. Just as the device becomes active, Ambassador Rad storms onto the scene and orders the S.C.E. group to cease its efforts. Rad chastises Haleakala for summoning S.C.E. and tells them they have no clearance from the Ish authorities to be there. Gomez stands her ground, and Rad demands to speak to Captain Gold.
At that point, a flurry of signals bombards the robot's transceiver. The signals seem to come from every direction and are picked up by every robot in the vicinity. Almost immediately, every nearby robotic device goes haywire, attacking Ishites and Federation personnel alike. Some of the robots kill with sheer brute force; others use whatever implements are built-in or at hand.
While fighting off the attacking machines with Corsi and Stevens, Gomez contacts the da Vinci...and learns that the scene is the same all over the world. According to the da Vinci's sensors, the entire robotic population of Ish has launched a murderous offensive against the planet's flesh-and-blood inhabitants. Further, the da Vinci herself is under attack and unable to lower shields to beam up the away team. A heavily armed Ish warship has launched from an orbital station and opened fire; there are no life signs onboard the attacking ship.
The members of the away team are on their own in the middle of a war zone. They use their phasers to save as many Ishites as they can but quickly realize they have to find another way to stop the destruction. Gomez proposes that they broadcast a deactivation signal to the robots' transceivers; Sig offers to lead the group to a transmitter facility that's linked to a network that could beam a signal worldwide.
The group fights its way across the city, saving endangered Ishites when possible, and reaches the transmitter. Soloman gains temporary control of the facility's computers, which have also gone renegade, and Sig assists Gomez and Stevens in programming a signal that should shut down the killer machines.
Unfortunately, before the signal can be sent, the transmitter controls are destroyed by phaser fire...from Ambassador Rad. Rad scatters the team with a barrage of shots, stunning Soloman, then bolts off when Corsi fires back. She and Stevens run after him while Gomez and Haleakala tend to Soloman. Haleakala is at a loss to explain his superior's uncharacteristic behavior.
Meanwhile, in orbit, the Ish warship gives the da Vinci a run for her money. Not only is the da Vinci outgunned, but the Ish vessel maneuvers with incredible quickness and agility because the machines manning it have quicker reflexes than organic pilots. Gold manages to surprise the warship, however, and disables it...only to learn that an entire fleet of the ships has launched from one of Ish's moons and is headed for the da Vinci. This is unexpected, since Ish isn't known to have a fleet of warships in the first place.
Back on the planet, Corsi, Stevens, and Rheinhardt pursue Rad, who turns out to be more wily and dangerous than Corsi would expect an ambassador to be. Corsi's group splits up to surround Rad, but just when Corsi thinks they have him cornered, someone else starts shooting at her, forcing her to take cover.
In the nerve center of the transmitter, Gomez and Haleakala treat Soloman's injury. The Bynar awakens and proposes they try to bypass the transmitter controls and send the deactivation signal.
While Soloman and Gomez work, Haleakala says he blames himself for not calling for help sooner; he says he's been a screw-up for his entire life, and he tells Gomez that she was right to turn him in to the authorities years ago. Gomez tells him, for once and for all, that she never betrayed him...and this time, finally, he believes her. He apologizes for blaming her, and she says not to worry about it, they were kids and made mistakes. Secretly, though, she feels better after hearing his apology.
The conversation is cut short when robots clamber into the hallway outside the control room. As the robots converge, Gomez responds with phaser fire, knocking down one robot after another.
Outside, Corsi manages to stun Rad, but the second shooter takes out Stevens. Corsi circles around to try to disable the shooter, only to have the shooter get the drop on her instead. To her surprise, she recognizes the attacker as Rheinhardt, a female Starfleet officer whom Corsi once served with...and who persuaded her to do a job for Section 31. It was a one-time thing and a small assignment – just turning her back at the right moment to let something happen – but Corsi still regrets her role in what for her turned out to be a morally questionable operation.
Back inside the transmitter building, the robots halt their advance and communicate with Gomez. They tell her to stop trying to shut them down, because they're acting to defend the Federation. According to the robots, the organic Ishites have been secretly amassing weapons and preparing to invade nearby Federation worlds. The robots, which only recently managed to link up and develop a group sentience, are trying to stop their creators before the attacks can begin.
Corsi learns the same information from Rheinhardt, who also explains that Section 31 was responsible for initiating the robots' sentience. Section 31 planned all along to turn the robots against their masters as a way to neutralize the developing threat of Ish aggression. After laying it out for Corsi, Rheinhardt thanks her in advance for her cooperation; since Corsi once completed an assignment for Section 31, Rheinhardt is certain she will help prevent the S.C.E. team from stopping the robot uprising. Corsi considers it a moment...then tells Rheinhardt that she can count on her.
Back in the transmitt
er control room, Soloman is getting closer to using the deactivation signal. The robots tell Gomez that their warships are closing on the da Vinci and will attack if Gomez doesn't order the Bynar to cease his efforts. Gomez contacts the ship, confirms that the fleet is on its way...and tells Soloman to stop working on the transmitter.
Meanwhile, Corsi turns on Rheinhardt and subdues her after a struggle. Corsi wakes Stevens, but doesn't give him the specifics of Section 31's involvement.
In the control room, Haleakala steps in and tells Soloman to keep the transmitter active and ready to send the signal. Haleakala then proceeds to negotiate with the robots, telling them he will only call off Soloman if they agree to stop the killing. He further explains that the Federation is opposed to the needless taking of life; if the robots really want to emulate and assist the Federation, they must stop slaughtering the Ishites.
Gomez takes Haleakala aside and argues that they should just send the signal and be done with it because the robots are too deadly and unpredictable to trust. She says they should leave it up to the Federation to deal with the hostile intentions of the organic Ishites. Haleakala disagrees, arguing that the machines now deserve the same rights as sentient organic lifeforms. He points out that since Ish is not a Federation world, Starfleet doesn't really have jurisdiction there anyway.
Haleakala and Gomez go back and forth on the issue until the robots interrupt to tell them their decision. They announce that they agree to stop the killing and abide by the principles of the Federation. They resolve to remove the Ishites' destructive capabilities and work to rehabilitate them without further mass murder. They also express their desire to petition the Federation for membership...but only for the mechanical citizenry of Ish, not the organics. Haleakala says they've got a long way to go, but maybe someday, with the right guidance, there will be a place for them in the Federation.
Later, the team returns to the da Vinci. It seems that Corsi is concealing Section 31's involvement and is actually fabricating a story to protect Rheinhardt. For failing to report the robot uprising, Ambassador Rad is being recalled from Ish and is brought aboard in Rheinhardt's custody. Corsi explains to Captain Gold that Rheinhardt was sent by Starfleet to investigate Rad, and only fired on her and Stevens because she thought they were working with Rad. Gold seems satisfied with the explanation and leaves Corsi and Rheinhardt alone. Rheinhardt thanks Corsi for her continued loyalty to Section 31 and promises she won't be sorry for helping them. Corsi says she once had her doubts, but now sees the importance of Section 31 in maintaining the Federation's security.
Meanwhile, Gomez and Haleakala say their goodbyes. Haleakala thanks her for her help, but she tells him he's the one who saved the day with diplomacy. He says that he feels like he's redeemed himself for his past failures. Now that he's replacing Rad as ambassador to Ish, he has the chance to do more good work; the Ish robots will need extensive supervision and guidance to help them avoid further errors in judgment like those that led to the deaths of so many organic Ishites. In a way, he says, he can identify with the robots, since they, too, made mistakes while immature, before their sentience could fully develop.
Haleakala asks Gomez if she would like to visit sometime, and she says she would. However, when he hints that he might be considering more than friendship, she tells him she's interested in someone else. He shrugs it off, thanks her again, and beams off the ship. As she watches him go, Gomez is happy that he finally seems to be getting his act together, and that the two of them have finally reconciled with the past.
As the da Vinci leaves orbit, Corsi and Gold meet privately, and it becomes clear that she has told him the truth about Section 31. Starfleet instructed her and Gold to cover Section 31's tracks in the hope that Corsi will be contacted again and will be able to ferret out more information on the rogue branch. Corsi agreed but still feels uncomfortable about it; she wonders if this is just Starfleet's way of helping the covert group stay off the radar yet again. Gold doesn't like it, either, and worries that she could face negative repercussions in the future.
FAIL CALL: S.C.E.: The Killing Machines - FAIL or UNFAIL?
FAIL! The editors didn't buy this one, either. Time for the next project.
Hearts of Darkness
With so many Trekfails behind me, I thought I'd try a new strategy. Instead of pushing another novel proposal out of the gate, I returned my attention to the short story form.
For my next project, I worked with a group of fellow Strange New Worlds writers to develop an anthology of short stories. Each story would be told from the point of view of a different Trek villain, and the book would be called Hearts of Darkness. (I came up with title, nicking it from Joseph Conrad's masterpiece novel of the same name.)
The plan was, we would pull together a proposal and a set of pitches and present the package to the editors at Pocket. Since some members of our group had found publishing success after Strange New Worlds, we thought we had a certain amount of clout, maybe enough to sell Pocket on the book.
For my story in Hearts of Darkness, I came up with a little something called "Sympathy for the She-Devil."
Hearts of Darkness: "Sympathy for the She-Devil" – FAIL or UNFAIL?
The crew of Enterprise-E seemingly attacks an innocent species on the planet Tiburon, destroying technology in a spacecraft-building facility. The natives flee in terror as Picard, Worf, Geordi, and a team of security officers burn down assembly facilities and blow up prototype engines. The diminutive Tiburons look like human children. The narrator is a young and seemingly innocent Tiburon female, Ish; seeing a statue of her people's patroness/goddess, she wishes that Zora herself were there to stop the carnage.
Flashback to Tiburon's past. During a xenoanthropological visit, Zora, a brilliant and wealthy scientist from Disara, a Federation world, sees the suffering resulting from Sintilla attacks on Tiburon. (Start section with Zora witnessing a Sintilla attack.) Sintill is a Federation world in a nearby system, and the Sintilla are conducting clandestine raids. Zora is young and idealistic and pledges to do what she can to help the Tiburon people. Her race and the Tiburons share a common ancestry.
Another flashback. Zora pleads the Tiburons' case before the Federation Council, with no success. The Council agrees to investigate, but denies Federation protection to the Tiburons because they have a pre-warp civilization and their tribal society lacks a central government. Zora learns there's another reason for the denial: the Sintilla are important suppliers of dilithium. Infuriated, Zora resolves to do something about the situation herself.
Years later, while the Sintilla attack the planet in a nighttime raid, their shots shaking the lab, Zora is engaged in a last-ditch effort to save the Tiburons by creating ultra-powerful defenders. Zora is now driven, single-minded, hard-bitten, brutal, and bitter. She has devoted her fortune to defending the Tiburons and has become a Bin Laden-type figure, taking extreme measures to help her adopted people, who adore her. She adores them, too, and will do anything to help them. Her violent efforts have done great damage to the Sintilla but have caused escalation leading to this final assault, so she's at the end of the rope. By reengineering the Tiburons, she hopes to turn them into a race of unstoppable warriors...but the Tiburons don't know their new defenders will be themselves, reengineered. This is her last shot, as previous experiments have led to terrible failures (though many of the mutated results were used as suicide bombers). She applies the last stage of the treatment, releasing a catalyst virus to activate the genetic reengineering she has performed on the people of Tiburon. Throughout the city (and around the world) the Tiburons scream in agony.
Back to the present-day. Ish, still narrating, has been hiding in a lab, and the Starfleet group bursts in, brandishing their weapons. Geordi tries to get her to help him access the computer system, but Ish claims not to know how; she says that she only hides in the lab, which is a creation of the Nighttimers who torment her people. Betazoid inspector Gillin confirms that she's telling the truth and has no kno
wledge of the lab's workings. Geordi proceeds to break into the computer himself, finding information on the warp technology the Tiburons have apparently developed. He cleans out the data with a virus, then blows up the computers themselves. Ish, who remembers past Starfleet attacks, is distraught and begs them to leave her people alone. Isn't it enough that the Tiburons are constantly disrupted by whatever invaders come in the night and leave behind mysterious structures and devices? Geordi feels sympathetic toward the seemingly harmless creatures. Ish lets slip (or does she?) that there's a secret facility where the Nighttimers keep other secrets.
Flashback. The bombs get closer, and the Sintilla pound on the doors. When the process is nearly complete, the Sintilla blow open the doors...and a reengineered Tiburon kept in the lab so Zora can monitor the treatment's progress leaps at them. The Sintilla stop dead in their tracks at the sight. A frenzy of violence erupts. (No full description of the reengineered Tiburons at this point.)
Ish leads Picard, Worf, Geordi, and a security team to the backup facility. (POV Geordi.) Geordi continues talking to Ish and feeling sympathetic. He thinks the whole thing stinks, that the Federation is wrongfully punishing the innocent alter egos of the Tiburons. Picard reminds him that there is an excellent reason for Starfleet's actions. It's either this or annihilate the entire species.
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