by Peter David
“It didn’t fail us,” Soleta said with a slight edge in her voice. “I have no idea how they managed to penetrate it, but there was nothing wrong with the cloak. That much, I’m positive of.”
“She’s right,” Tobias said.
Calhoun turned toward Tobias with mild surprise on his face. “How do you know, Tania?”
“I just believe she’s right, Captain. The cloak was working fine. They just must have had some technical device that enabled them to penetrate it. Everything that one race comes up with, another race finds a way to undo it. I think that’s what happened here.”
Calhoun stared at her. She was doing her best to keep a straight face and determination in her voice. But there was something about what she was saying that didn’t sit right with him. The captain had a feeling that she knew more than she was telling.
He decided this was not the time to press her on it, though. There were other things he had to deal with.
Then Kebron suddenly looked up from his station. “We’re about to find out if the cloak is functioning, Captain. D’myurj ship approaching us and coming in fast.”
“Evasive maneuvers,” Calhoun said quickly. “Keep out of its way, and let’s see if it reacts to us.”
The Excalibur immediately glided out of the path of the oncoming ship. “Red alert, Captain?” asked Soleta.
“No. Keep it quiet. Let’s just wait and watch.”
Moments later the D’myurj battleship cruised into view. It seemed similar to the vessel that they had discovered floating in space, but this one was fully functional and armed to the teeth. Calhoun was sure that in a battle the Excalibur could handle it, but it was a fight he hoped to avoid if at all possible.
Everyone was quiet as the ship approached them. They waited for some kind of attack. Nothing. Both Kebron and Soleta were monitoring sensors to make certain there wasn’t even a hint of an assault.
The ship continued past them. Calhoun realized he was holding his breath, watching, waiting for any sign of aggression.
Nothing. The ship never so much as slowed, and moments later it was gone.
“I’ll be damned,” murmured Calhoun.
“See?” Soleta said, unable to keep a bit of smug triumph out of her voice. “I told you. The cloaking device is solid.”
“It is indeed,” said Calhoun. “Tobias, resume course. Take us to the homeworld.”
“Current ETA, seventeen minutes,” said Tobias, checking her instruments.
Calhoun nodded, satisfied. His suspicions of Tobias were forgotten. His only concern was getting to the homeworld and accomplishing what they had set out to do.
ii.
CALHOUN’S FIRST THOUGHT was that the D’myurj world was actually quite beautiful.
He hadn’t been sure what to expect. For some reason he had anticipated that it would be a brutal world, one that would have an unforgiving surface and perhaps a sky blasted black by perpetual storms. Something that would be in keeping with a race that he knew to be relentlessly hostile.
Instead it seemed pleasant. It reminded him of Earth. It appeared to be three-quarters water, and the land below them was lush and green.
It almost saddened Calhoun to think about destroying it.
Almost.
The satellites were in orbit around the world, just as they had been told. As the ship approached, Calhoun once more held his breath as he anticipated the satellites opening fire on them.
But it didn’t happen. As they drew closer, the satellites did not react to their approach. They just sat there, armed and ready, but unaware that they were about to be assaulted.
“Perfect,” murmured Calhoun. He noticed Soleta nod in approval. He didn’t blame her for taking pride in the quality of Romulan workmanship. “Keep us steady, Tania. Bring us inside the orbit of the satellites.”
“Aye, sir.”
The Excalibur glided forward and sailed past the ring of satellites. They still did not react.
Excellent.
“Mister Kebron,” Calhoun said with great calm, “destroy them.”
“Locked on. Phasers firing,” said Kebron.
The Excalibur cut loose on the satellites, blasting in all directions. As formidable as they might have been as offensive weapons, the satellites had no defensive capabilities. Obviously, it hadn’t seemed necessary. They were such formidable targeting devices that it had been assumed they would be able to destroy any enemy before it got within sufficient range to launch an assault. No one had allowed for the possibility of a close-up attack.
Several of the satellites were blown out of the sky immediately. Others swung around to try and open fire upon the unseen object that was assaulting them.
Tobias anticipated them. She kept the Excalibur constantly moving. It was a large vessel and not built for pinpoint maneuvers, but that did not stop the ship from dodging port and starboard, up and down, staying one step ahead of the blasts. They sustained a handful of hits, but they were glancing blows, inflicting no serious damage.
The ship continued to pound away upon the satellites, and within less than a minute, all of them had been blown to pieces.
“Sir,” called Tobias, “the ground guns are activated!”
“Hard to port,” said Calhoun.
The ship hurtled to the left as the guns fired upon Excalibur’s last position. The blasts were powerful but missed the ship completely. “Take the guns out,” Calhoun ordered.
Tobias did as ordered, targeting the guns and opening fire on them.
“They have a force field around them, Captain.”
“Can you penetrate it?”
“Yes, sir. Shouldn’t take too long.”
The Excalibur’s phasers hammered away, the ship continuing to shift position so that the return fire missed them clean. Seconds later, Tobias called out, “Shields down. Locked on. Guns targeted. Opening fire.”
Blasts continued to rip upward from the planet’s surface and then, a few moments after that, the firing ceased. “Planetary defense systems are down, Captain.”
“Good,” said Calhoun. “Begin scanning. See if you can find our people down there.”
“Scanning. Sir,” Tobias said abruptly, “D’myurj warship advancing. They’re looking for us.”
“Let them look. Do not fire upon them. Continue scanning, and stay out of their way.”
The D’myurj battle cruiser loomed large on their screen. Calhoun watched in grim satisfaction. He took pleasure in knowing that he could fire on the vessel with impunity and it would be powerless to return fire.
Suddenly blasts slammed the battle cruiser. The main viewscreen showed the Dayan ship diving toward the battle cruiser, weapons slamming the ship. Faced with an actual target, the cruiser tried to return fire but was helpless to do so. The Dayan ship crushed it as it hurtled forward, turning all its formidable might upon the D’myurj vessel.
The deal had been that they would wait until Calhoun signaled them. The fact that they had come in on their own did not sit well with the captain.
It was the first time that Calhoun had had the opportunity to see the Dayan in full combat mode, and it was genuinely terrifying. Their might was overwhelming. The earlier assessment that the Excalibur would be hard-pressed to combat them seemed accurate.
“Incoming transmission. It’s the Dayan,” called Tobias.
“Put them on.”
“Captain, are you clear?” came Nyos’s voice.
“Yes, we’re well out of range.”
“That’s good. Since we can’t see you, we can’t assume that you are out of the line of fire.”
“We’re clear.”
“Then stay back while we finish these bastards.”
Seconds later the D’myurj ship was on fire. Flames jetted in all directions and then quickly extinguished in the vacuum of space. The ship shook violently, and then it blew apart. Calhoun saw hundreds of bodies, both D’myurj and Brethren, floating in space, thrashing about helplessly.
That was not e
nough for the Dayan. As the crew of the Excalibur watched in horror, they proceeded to open fire on the floating bodies of the D’myurj and Brethren. It was as if they were skeet shooting, blowing them to bits while they were suffocating.
“Maybe they consider it merciful,” said Kebron in a low voice, but Calhoun didn’t think that any more likely than anyone else did.
“Or maybe,” Soleta said, framing all their thoughts, “they’re just sadistic.”
Before Calhoun could reply, Tobias suddenly called out, “They’re opening fire on the planet’s surface.”
The Dayan ship had turned its guns upon the cities below, and it was pounding away at them with an aggressiveness that was frightening to behold.
“Hail them! Now!” shouted Calhoun.
“They’re not responding, Captain!”
“Drop the cloak and bring us between them and the planet!”
Tobias blinked a moment in surprise upon hearing the order but did not hesitate. “Aye, sir!”
“Kebron, full shields!”
“Full shields, aye.”
The Excalibur angled around and flew directly into the path of the Dayan ship. The first few blasts that slammed into the Excalibur rattled it as the red alert siren screamed through the vessel. “Return fire!?” shouted Kebron.
“Not yet.”
The Dayan ship abruptly ceased firing, and Tobias announced that they were being hailed. Nyos appeared on the screen this time and looked extremely annoyed. “Captain, what do you think you are doing?”
“We had a deal.”
“The deal was that you destroy their defenses, and we then come in and annihilate them. We are enforcing our end of the deal.”
“No. The deal was that we have people down there. We told you that we required time to look for them. To pull them off before you start pummeling their world to bits. We didn’t come all this way to sit back so that you can kill victims of the D’myurj.”
“And if they are not there?”
“Then we will tell you as quickly as we can.”
Nyos seemed to be assessing him for a moment, and then he said, “We will give you one hour, Captain. One hour to find your people and remove them from the planet’s surface. At which point we will recommence our firing upon them. If you are in our way at that point, we will blow you to pieces. Is that understood?”
“Yes,” said Calhoun.
Nyos blinked out and Calhoun turned to Tobias. “Find them.”
“Searching.”
“Search faster.”
At that moment, his combadge beeped. “Calhoun here.”
“Captain, this is Doctor Lochley. The D’myurj has come to, and this time he’s remaining conscious. If you want to talk to him, now is the time.”
“On my way.” He rose from his chair and said, “Tania, keep on it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Time’s ticking down.”
Trying to keep her irritation in check, Tobias said, “I’m well aware of it, sir.”
ii.
CALHOUN ENTERED THE sickbay and saw that the D’myurj was indeed awake. That was a relief since he had been concerned that the D’myurj would have lapsed back into unconsciousness while he was on his way down. “I need to speak to your commander!” the D’myurj was saying. “Send him to me immediately!” Then he turned and stared at Calhoun. “Can you send me your commander?”
“I’m in command here. Captain Calhoun.”
He waited to see if speaking his name brought any reaction from the D’myurj, but the D’myurj simply stared at him and then said, “Hello, Captain Calhoun. I am Quentis. I was the historian on my ship.”
“Historian?” said Calhoun. “Why in the world would the D’myurj have historians?”
“Someone must be relied upon to provide a consistent tale of our exploits,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Then he cocked his head in confusion. “Your crew is human. You are all humans?”
“Most of us.”
“Why are humans in this universe? This is not your universe.”
“I’m very aware of that,” said Calhoun tightly. “I’m here because of your people. The D’myurj have kidnapped some humans, and I am here to retrieve them.”
“Yes, they did do that. But I am surprised that you have come all the way here just for a handful of people.”
“That’s part of the reason.”
“What other is there—?”
Calhoun leaned in toward the D’myurj and said, barely able to suppress his rage, “Because your people destroyed my people.”
Quentis’s eyes widened, and he whispered, “You are Xenexian.”
“Ah. You’ve heard of me.”
“Of course. Calhoun. I should have recognized the name. Your race was targeted for genocide.”
“It’s nice to know that you’re up on your history. You’re doing your job.” Calhoun was aware that his hands were trembling. He had to fight the urge to reach down, grab the D’myurj’s throat, and throttle him.
“You want to kill me, don’t you.”
It was not a question that Calhoun was expecting. But he saw no reason not to be honest. “Yes. I want to strangle you.”
“I do not blame you. Were I in your position, I would want to do the same thing. That decision was an appalling one. There are things that my race does that I find repellant. Unfortunately,” he said with a sigh, “it is not my place to interfere. Merely to keep myself apprised of what we do.”
“Is that a fact?” Calhoun imagined himself slamming his fist down into the D’myurj’s face. He imagined himself pummeling the creature’s head into oblivion while howling that what he was doing at that moment was simply a preparation for the punishment he was going to inflict on all of them.
But Calhoun had a feeling that Doctor Lochley wouldn’t take it very well if he beat one of her patients to death, so he restrained himself.
Unaware of what Calhoun was thinking, Quentis continued, “It is indeed. Unfortunately a historian does not get a vote in the way our race behaves. Anyway, that is not the problem that is before us at the moment. It is the Dayan, the race that attacked our vessel.”
“We know all about them,” said Calhoun. “The ship that destroyed yours is hovering to our starboard right now.”
“What?” Quentis was visibly startled. “Are you in combat with them?”
“No. We’re allied with them.”
“Allied? Why would you do that?”
“Because they’re determined to wipe out your race, and as far as I’m concerned, that is a perfectly valid idea.”
Quentis gasped in surprise. “Captain Calhoun, I am aware that you have deep hatred for my people. And it is understandable. But forming an alliance with the Dayan is absolutely the worst endeavor you could undertake. Clearly you have no idea who or what the Dayan are.”
“Why don’t you illuminate me?” said Calhoun.
Quentis took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Have you not wondered why my people have targeted yours? Why we have been so aggressive in trying to penetrate your worlds?”
“I was told by one of your people—he called himself the Visionary—that you are dedicated to guiding us. Something that we never asked for, by the way, and have no need of.”
Quentis tilted his head slightly. “That is correct, I suppose, up to a point. But it is not the only reason. You do not understand anything about our people.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“Yes. Yes, of course. You need to understand us in order to understand them.” He paused, seeming to try to find a way to express it all. “My people, for the most part, cannot survive in your universe. Our bodies cannot sustain themselves for extended periods of time. A few of your months, yes. But after that, our molecular structure cannot hold itself together.”
He was starting to get it. “That’s why you were stealing the bodies of people. You were transferring your consciousness into them . . .”
“So t
hat we could survive, yes.”
“And is that supposed to make me sympathetic to you? Am I supposed to feel badly because you need to destroy people’s lives so that you can impersonate them?”
“My race is trying to keep existing, Captain Calhoun! Are there things you would refrain from doing if you were fighting to prevent your race from . . . extinction.” His voice trailed off as he looked down, abashed. “I apologize. I was not thinking properly when I brought that up, what with your race being—”
“I know. Keep talking.”
Quentis nodded. “There are not many of my race left. Several million at the most. The reasoning was that if we wound up—as you put it—stealing the lives of several million of your race, what would that matter really when there are billions upon billions of creatures in your universe?”
“I think the several million that you would eradicate would have something to say about it. Why do you feel the need to come to our universe at all?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Because of the Dayan! We need to flee this universe because they intend to destroy us! Because that is what they do! That is all they do!”
“What do you mean, ‘All they do’? ”
“They have no homeworld,” said Quentis. “They are not interested in such things. They go from world to world, galaxy to galaxy, and they destroy all that they encounter. To use a term that you would understand: they are the racial equivalent of nihilists. They do no believe that any race has the right to exist. It is their goal to destroy not simply us, but every race out there.”
“They didn’t destroy us.”
“Of course they didn’t,” said Quentis. “They do not know your race. They will want you to lead them back to your universe so that they can then proceed to destroy your race as well.”
“That’s insane,” said Calhoun.
“It is their philosophy. It is what they live for. They are not interested in raiding the races they destroy for discovery or riches. They simply want to end life wherever they find it. I swear to you, Captain, if they ever managed to accomplish their goal . . . if they truly managed to do away with all life . . . they would destroy themselves as a conclusion to their endless, destructive quest.”