by Shards
"I still say it's a trap."
"You say everything's a trap," Troi said, a smile crinkling his rounded, avuncular face.
"And sometimes I'm right."
"I can vouch for her," Lavena said, not speaking directly to Riker but refuting him to the bridge in general. "Christine wouldn't betray us."
The other occupant of the bridge spoke up. "Trap or no," said Tuvok, "it is imperative that we take the risk. Even aside from our ethical obligation to protect the Irriol, we must prevent the Alliance from harnessing their psionic abilities as a weapon."
"So what if the way to do that is killing them all?" Riker shot back. "Are we here to spout platitudes or get the job done?"
"Your eagerness for bloodshed notwithstanding, Mr. Riker, it would be prohibitively difficult for the few of us to eradicate a planetary population. Our goal is to sabotage the Alliance research outpost and foment resistance among the Irriol. Remember, they would be as great an asset to us as they would be to the Alliance."
"You and the captain can worry about that," Riker told the Vulcan. "I'm here to kill Alliance scum. You want that place blown to hell, I'll take care of it. But if any of the locals go up with it, I won't shed a tear."
"That, Mr. Riker, is self-evident."
"Enough, you two," Troi said. "We shall do this my way. We protect the Irriol if at all possible...but if, and only if, it comes to that, we do what we must to keep the Alliance from exploiting their abilities. Understood?"
"Yes, Captain," Tuvok said. Riker just grunted, but inwardly he was seething. What kind of a leader did this man think he was, anyway? His idea of a command decision was to compromise right down the middle.
Oh, well. With any luck, the old fool would get himself killed, and Riker could take over the Deanna. Captain Troi had named the ship after some long-lost kid of his who'd died or been stolen or something; Riker could never be bothered to listen to the old man's sob stories about his tragic family history. But the captain nurtured and tended the ship as though it were his own child. As a result, Deanna was one of the most beautiful, swiftest, and smoothest-running ships in the rebel fleet. Riker had to give Troi credit for that, at least. But that wouldn't stop him from claiming this ship for his own when he got his chance. He deserved her-her speed, her power-more than the old man did. And once he could possess her, he could cut loose of this pitiful rebellion and be his own master, dependent on no one.
Riker kept this to himself, of course. Troi was not so circumspect, laying an affectionate hand on the bulkhead. "Once more unto the breach, my girl," he whispered, as though a hunk of duranium could hear him. "Ms. Lavena, do you have the vector Ms. Vale gave us?"
"Aye, sir. I'm reading a narrow gap in the sensor grid. I should just be able to squeeze her through it."
"I have no doubt you can, Aili. Take her in."
After penetrating the orbital grid, Deanna entered the atmosphere around the curve of the planet from the Alliance outpost and proceeded at low altitude, using a mountain range for cover from ground sensors. Upon landing, Captain Troi, Riker, Tuvok, and Lavena disembarked, leaving Olivia Bolaji and Gian Sortollo to mind the ship. Tuvok surveyed the landscape with interest as he exited the vessel. As a disciple of the late Emperor Spock, Tuvok valued scientific curiosity for its own sake as well as for its tactical benefits, though naturally the latter took primacy. And the empathically linked ecosystem of Lru-Irr was well worthy of study.
Tuvok opened his mind, taking care to do so passively, for preserving the secrecy of Vulcan telepathy was of the highest priority. But he detected little that he could be sure of, only a subliminal awareness that might be a mere projection of his own expectations. As he scanned for life signs, however, Tuvok noticed something. When their ship had landed, the local avians and fauna had fled the area, and now more distant animals seemed to be retreating as well. This could be simply because those animals saw or heard the flight of the avians, but the overall movements of the life signs seemed more coordinated than one would expect.
As the party gained distance from the ship, they began to see various small animals following the normal pattern for this world-the four limbs typical of most vertebrates, plus a pair of extra appendages flanking the mouth. The specific forms those buccal appendages took varied from species to species, though. Tuvok knew the Irriol had two thick probosces ending in grasping digits and were covered in rhomboidal keratinous plates. But in the avians he saw, the buccal appendages had evolved into short, somewhat beaklike pincers. A small, spiny ground mammal had short appendages ending in heavy claws for burrowing. And in the trees, he spotted an animal brachiating past using its long prehensile trunks and hind limbs, while its forelimbs hugged its babies to its chest.
While Riker dismissed these animals once he'd determined they were no threat, Captain Troi continued to observe them, suggesting that he, too, valued scientific curiosity. He seemed disappointed, though, and after a time said, "I'd expected to see more evidence of symbiotic behavior."
"The gestalt," Tuvok explained, "is not a full symbiosis but merely a subconscious awareness of large-scale patterns within the biosphere. According to the reports smuggled out by Ms. Vale, it is more an intuitive response to perceived conditions than a conscious cooperation. Superficially, it would not appear very different from the normal homeostatic processes of any planetary ecosystem."
"I see. We're looking on too small a scale to see it."
"Indeed." He showed Troi the scanner readout. "For example, our arrival has driven the animals of our landing zone into retreat. This has served to concentrate them more at the perimeter of the zone, and that, in turn, is drawing a number of predators. Holistically speaking, this could be seen as analogous to a body's immune response; the increase of predators surrounding a potential danger could serve as a defense mechanism to protect the larger biosphere."
Riker had his phaser out. "Are they about to attack?"
"No-merely present in increased numbers on the periphery."
"You heard Tuvok," Troi added. "They're not reacting to us but to the way their prey animals have moved in response to us. As long as we don't provoke a reaction by confronting them directly, we should be all right. Yes?"
"As 'all right' as one can be in the wilds of any planet." Troi nodded, taking Tuvok's point and remaining alert. Tuvok was impressed with the man's intelligence and wondered what he might have become in the free and democratic society that Spock had envisioned-and what the odds were that such a society could be created in what remained of the Terran's lifetime.
Soon they reached their rendezvous point, a crevice in a mountainside. The fistrium deposits made scanning difficult, so Tuvok listened carefully for predators or Alliance troops. His ears registered only one set of light footfalls, mere moments before an auburn-haired Terran, no doubt Christine Vale, emerged from cover. Her stealth was impressive.
But perhaps unwise, given what the captain called Riker's "itchy trigger finger." The large bearded man spun, swinging his weapon to bear. But Lavena was already rushing forward. Riker held his fire but did not lower the weapon. His fingers tensed on its grip as Lavena and Vale fell into each other's embrace and kissed passionately.
"Ohh, I've missed that," Vale said once they disengaged. "It's been too long, Aili. You don't know what it's like, having to pretend with that Bajoran scum." She shook her head. "He thinks he's so enlightened, the way he coddles and patronizes me, as if it makes up for all the humiliation-" She noticed the others and broke off. "I'm sorry," she said, turning to them. "I'm babbling, aren't I? It's just been so long since I've been able to talk openly about what I feel-"
"Quite all right, Ms. Vale," the captain said. He introduced himself and his team, then added, "But we must dispense with further pleasantries, since we have a lot of Irriol to save. Can you help us contact their leaders?"
"They don't have leaders in the usual sense," Vale told him. "It's more of a loose clan structure. But I can take you to the nearest village. At least," she
added with a grimace, "the nearest one that isn't being culled for research subjects right now."
As they proceeded, Lavena and Vale held hands and conversed softly. Tuvok was aware that Lavena had recruited Vale during her months on Bajor; as a member of a neutral species, the Selkie had been able to travel freely there, providing valuable intelligence to the resistance leaders on Terok Nor. However, as he told the captain sotto voce, "I was not aware that the relationship between Ms. Lavena and Ms. Vale was an intimate one."
Troi gave him a wry look. "I didn't think Vulcans had much interest in gossip."
Tuvok lifted a scathing brow. "We do not. But our trust in Ms. Vale is based upon Ms. Lavena's assessment. If her objectivity is in doubt-"
"I trust Aili's judgment," Troi said. But then he softened and gave a slight shrug. "But I still look out for her. I checked up on Ms. Vale before I approved this mission. Her story checks out. Dr. Jaza is well known for his resentment of Terrans, and he's been seen humiliating her in public." He shook his head. "I can only imagine what he's done to her in private. In fact, I prefer not to."
Tuvok frowned. Ian Troi was more agreeable than many in the resistance and was looked on by many as a father figure of sorts. But that also appeared to be his weakness. He had been involuntarily separated from his family over three decades ago, and that deprivation seemed to have created a yearning in him, an eagerness for surrogate familial bonds. He trusted too easily as a result. A case in point was his willingness to bring William Riker on this mission. Tuvok had worked with similar Terrans before and found them too driven by their own self-interest and bloodlust to be reliable. Riker in particular had a frustrated ambition for command that led him to see Troi as a rival. Tuvok was not convinced the man would protect the captain if it came to that. Which was why Tuvok considered it incumbent upon himself to stay close to Troi and see to his safety.
Tuvok realized he was reacting with excessive anxiety. While it was logical to be alert to possible threats, the emotional component of his response was distasteful. His control was no doubt weakened due to the erratic meditation schedule that life in the resistance enforced. He quashed the anxiety and focused again on logic.
Up ahead, Riker seemed to have managed his initial jealousy toward Vale and was speaking to the two women, making a lewd suggestion involving the three of them. Vale took offense and struck his cheek. Lavena, despite her initial curiosity at Riker's suggestion, spoke angrily in support of her friend. But Riker ignored her, grabbing Vale's wrist and shouting, "Nobody does that to me!" as she cried out in pain.
"Will! Stop that!" Troi was running forward before Tuvok could react. Just then, a signal from his scanner distracted him. They had just come around a large fistrium-laced outcropping, and on the other side-
"Ambush!" he cried. But it was too late. In moments, they were flanked by a pack of predators built somewhat like le-matya or Terran felinoids but with four long, tusklike claws on either side of the mouth. An additional predator jumped down from the outcropping, cutting off their retreat. But another was already charging Troi-perhaps recognizing the aged captain as the weakest member of the pack. It pounced before he could finish drawing his weapon, knocking him down. Tuvok was firing his own phaser before they hit the ground. But it was too late. Those razor-sharp tusk-claws had dug into Troi's neck, and the impact of the massive creature had shattered bone. The dead weight of the creature collapsing atop him in this high gravity finished the job.
Tuvok realized he had been a fool. The anxiety he had felt had been a perception of the empathic gestalt of this world, a legitimate warning of an approaching threat. On this world above all, he should have trusted his intuition.
But there was no logic in self-recrimination during a crisis. Riker and Lavena were already firing at the predators, clearing a path for their retreat. Tuvok joined them and Vale in making for the nearby trees, firing back at the pack hunters as they ran.
Then a screech came from the sky. Riker spotted a large avian swooping toward him and raised his arm to fire, but the beaklike pincers ripped his phaser from his hand, almost taking the hand with it. Tuvok shot down a second avian as it dove toward him, but a third ripped through Lavena's hood and tore her gill membranes. Luckily, that was not a serious injury in this phase of her life cycle.
Before they could reach the trees, their way was blocked as several large animals came forth. These were not unlike Terran elephants, their double trunks long and prehensile, but were lower and wider, their backs sporting bony shells with spiked fringes. They were clearly herbivores, and yet they acted aggressively against the rebel squad, grabbing at them with their trunks, seeming unconcerned about the charging felinoids.
"The animals are working together!" Tuvok called. "The Alliance has somehow amplified their empathic rapport!"
"Shut up and fight!" Riker barked. He had drawn his mek'leth now and was slashing at one of the herbivores, but it charged forward without regard for the damage to its probosces. Apparently, whatever the Alliance had done to these animals was subverting their survival instinct as well-or subsuming it to the needs of the whole.
Although the creature was badly injured in the process, it managed to knock the blade from Riker's hand and drove him into the clutches of another herbivore, which gripped him tightly in its trunks. Tuvok, attempting to fight off the felinoids and avians with his phaser, soon found himself in an herbivore's grip as well and deemed it wise to stop struggling, lest the powerful appendages crush him. Vale had also been captured...
Except that captured proved incorrect, for the herbivore that held her was in fact lifting her onto its back, out of harm's way. Lavena, oblivious to this detail, rushed toward her, crying her name-until she realized that Vale had a weapon pointed at her. "Drop it, Aili, if you don't want to be cat food. You know how they love fish."
Lavena was dumbstruck. "Christine, what are you doing?"
Riker scoffed. "She's betraying us, you dumb trout! I told you it was a trap!"
"Not just a trap," Vale said proudly, "but a test. A demonstration of what my master's brilliance has achieved on this world in mere weeks."
"But you hate him!" Lavena cried.
"I could never hate Jaza Najem," Vale responded. "He's given me everything. Let me rise above my pathetic birthright, become more than just another Terran savage. It's people like you, who'd set the Terrans free upon the galaxy again, that I hate." She smirked. "You were so easy. So eager for new experiences. I didn't even have to pretend I loved you, since all you cared about was the sex. That's what comes of working with Terrans, Aili. Their stupidity is contagious."
Her face contorted with fury, Lavena raised her weapon. Vale was quicker, her own face showing no expression as she fired and left the Selkie with no face at all.
"You traitor," Riker growled-although his gaze was locked on Vale and he showed no reaction to Lavena's death. "When I get out of this, I'll show you what happens to people who betray me. They die slow, and they die suffering. I'll enjoy showing you just what 'Terran savagery' means."
"And I'll enjoy watching the governor show you what happens to enemies of the Alliance. He's very creative with interrogations."
"Efforts to extract information through physical pain are ineffective on Vulcans," Tuvok pointed out.
"Maybe," Vale said. "But this one'll break. I know his type. Doesn't care about anyone but himself. He'll give up your whole rebellion if he thinks it'll save his skin."
At some unseen command, the herbivores turned and headed off with their prisoners-and passenger. Tuvok considered that Vale was probably correct about Riker and wondered if he would need to terminate the man to protect the cause. It would be a far smaller loss, he reflected, than the two the rebellion had just suffered. In his own private, Vulcan way, he allowed himself to grieve.
"Very good, all of you," the biped called Jaza said. "Just stay focused a little longer. Soon they'll be here and you can rest."
Orilly Malar barely heard his words. The cla
mor in her mind was too intense. The gestalt awareness that should be a comforting background presence had been amplified into a painful torrent as the outsiders' machines forced her to share the awareness of dozens of other beings. Worse, she felt their distress and confusion when she and her fellow Irriol compelled them to act in unnatural ways. She wished she could stop, but the outsiders would not let her. If she fought them, she might end up as her little sister Jerel had, eaten by that cheerful killer Ree and forced to watch as it happened.