And the Gods Wept
by Saklani
DS9, TNG, VOY
rated G
Disclaimer: Paraborg owns the characters, but they would never do
with them what I will. I make no money from this, probably couldn't,
even if I wanted to. I just like having fun!
Archive- sure, just tell me
feedback- rmkent@ucdavis.edu
Author's Notes: This story came to me intact. I have never had that happen before. It's a little sentimental and paints an ideal portrait of the Federation. I love feedback, especially compliments!
However, I do want constructive criticism. Enjoy!
And the God's Wept
by Saklani
Corpses littered planets, starships, stations.
Jean-Luc Picard, Spock, Skrain Dukat.....
None were safe from death.
Jake Sisko, Tom Paris, Corat Damar.....
Not the Good.
Kathryn Janeway, Benjamin Sisko, Beverly Crusher.....
Nor the Evil.
Luther Sloan, Adami Winn, Weyoun.....
Enemies fell.
The Founders, The Borg, The Jem'Hadar.....
So did Allies.
The Klingons, The Romulans, The Federation.....
No one could stop it.
Julian Bashir, Deanna Troi, Odo.....
Nothing could be done.
Harry Kim, Elim Garak, Worf.....
It overran the universe.
William Riker, Neelix, Kira Nerys.....
Individuals fell.
Tuvok, Miles O'Brien, Martok.....
Then, planets.
Bajor, Cardassia, Earth.......
Entire species vanished.
Vulcans, Ferengi, Trill.....
Vanquished by the Maddening.
B'Elanna Torres, Quark, Seven.....
Rivers of blood flowed.
Jadzia Dax, Chakotay, Geordi LaForge.....
Oceans.
Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma.....
Until there was nobody left to bleed.
And the Gods wept.
**********
Tahemonya'ka spotted the structure purely by chance. It orbited a
dead planet, surrounded by countless other dead planets. The space
station was ancient, but scans indicated its structural integrity was
sound. Someone had built it well. There were also no detectable
traps, but she did pick up an indication of a still operable power
source. The perfect place to hide.
**********
Tahemonya'ka carefully followed her instruments' instructions on how
to provide minimum power to the station's systems. No sense using
full power and chance being discovered. It was rather unlikely
because few ships bothered to come near this vast expanse of lifeless
rocks. Still, in her universe, you couldn't be too careful.
**********
She walked down long, faintly illuminated corridors, often tracking
through piles of dust. Tahemonya'ka realized, disgustedly, that they
were the remains of the station's long deceased residents, but even
this revelation did not dampen her happiness at finding this haven.
Curious, she entered one of the doors and managed to light the rooms.
They were like a shrine to someone long dead. Strange articles
decorated the walls and shelves. She had never seen such things, not
anywhere. The inhabitants of her universe possessed few luxuries.
A picture drew her attention. Tahemonya'ka picked it up with one
tentacle and held it close to her single, puce eye. She studied the
strange creatures intently. They possessed two eyes, a mouth full of
white things, dark brown skin, a strange head-covering and odd limbs.
They were disgusting!
*Who are you?* she wondered, *What happened to you?*
**********
Tahemonya'ka's wonder grew as she continued to explore. There had
been many different species living here, apparently working and
playing together. Some of them even had families together! In her
universe, you didn't trust your own family, let alone other species!
Everyone was out for themselves, and they went to any length to get
what they wanted.
While the Gods wept.
**********
She finally found a suitable place to inhabit and diverted all power
to it. Her new home consisted of several rooms, a large computer
station and her choice of many beds. There were strange machines
scattered about, but no personal items. This had not been someone's
quarters.
Tahemonya'ka had felt odd about living in one of their homes. The
idea seemed wrong. Spooky, even. Hers were strange thoughts for
someone in this universe. Nobody bothered with inconsequential things
like fantasy, religion, superstition or fiction here.
She explored the rooms and found a small office. It was simply
furnished, only a table and chair occupied the space. A screen, in
the middle of the table, caught her attention. Fiddling around with
the controls, she caused the screen to light up. One of the
creatures appeared on it, gesturing and speaking at a
great rate.
It, for Tahemonya'ka had no way of determining gender, was a member
of the smooth skinned species. It did not have any bumps, ridges,
spots or other markings. The creature's skin was caramel, eyes a
striking hazel, and the
head-covering was brown. The noises it made were soothing, and she
felt herself relaxing.
Studying the screen, she realized the creature had made the recording
in this very room. It had been sitting in the oddly shaped chair,
which was obviously made for its body, recording its words on the
computer. The image captured
some of the organism's life and energy, and Tahemonya'ka wouldn't
have been surprised to see the being enter the room at any moment.
Still watching, she attempted to settle herself into the chair.
Squirming around, Tahemonya'ka finally found a comfortable position,
draping her seven tentacles off the chair's sides. She felt a great
sense of contentment settle
over her, although the recording of a long-dead, ugly creature was
her only companion in a vast, lonely universe.
**********
For perhaps the twentieth time, Tahemonya'ka played the last
recording from Deep Space Nine. Over her two Earth year occupation of
the station, she had learned to speak and understand Standard. She
watched all the station's logs and came to regard the former
residents as friends.
The first recordings were the best, full of hope and excitement.
Many wonderful things had happened, during the first years of Bajor's
freedom and Starfleet's occupation of the station. The war brought
sadness, but the overall tone was
still one of hope.
Then, the Maddening.
Tahemonya'ka watched as her friends sickened and died. She saw
Dr.Bashir's desperation and depression, as he lost patient after
patient. His descriptions of their deaths made her sick. The
Maddening ate away at a person's innards, and death was marked by
uncontrollable bleeding from every orifice.
And the disease had spread so fast. Nothing could stop it. Air
filters, force fields, sanitary cleansings, isolation rooms, all were
ineffective. Soon, everyone had contracted it.
Fewer and fewer logs were made towards the end. Those that were
available, Tahemonya'ka found painful to watch. Especially
Dr.Bashir's logs.
Despite his rapidly advancing infection, he worked endlessly to find
a cure. He dutifully updated the listing of the dead, which grew
longer every day. But, he refused to give up. While others lay down
to die, Julian kept working. In his last few logs, Dr. Bashir was so
wasted by the Maddening that he was unbearable to look at.
The station's final log was made by its last Commander, Jadzia Dax.
She looked horrible, a combination of disease and sorrow destroying
her beauty. As she spoke, her voice quavered, "Today, Dr. Julian
Bashir finally succumbed to the Maddening. With him, went the last of
my hope. I have lost everyone that I love. Worf, Benjamin, Julian,
Nerys, Miles, Jake, Quark- all of them are dead. Everywhere, whole
planets are going extinct. Soon, they will be nothing left of the
Federation or the Klingons or Romulans or most everyone else.
Knowing this, I have decided to make no further logs. What is the
point? The things I left unsaid to those I love, I cannot make up
for now. There is nothing left to say, except that we few who remain
will soon be dead. There is nothing left to do, but wonder why. Why
has this happened to us?"
With a final sob, Jadzia ended the recording. The screen went black.
And the Gods wept.
**********
Tahemonya'ka read everything she could find about the Maddening. All
the research, every case history, the logs of those who had it and
talked about the experience. Everything. Her insides were a tangle
of sorrow, determination
and rage. Rage at the Maddening, rage at the creatures who inhabited
her universe, rage at the unfairness of it all.
They had died, and the creatures of her universe had risen as a
result. The beliefs of so many of the extinct peoples- love,
compassion, honor, duty, sacrifice, peace- did not exist
here.Replacing them were hatred, greed, jealousy, distrust and war.
The Federation, who tried to make freedom possible for everybody, did
not exist in this 'new' universe. There was nobody to beat back the
oppressor's, defend the weak, protect the innocent, aid the needy or
expound the virtues of
harmony and kindness. This was a universe without pity, without
nobility, without remorse, without conscience.....
This was Hell.
But, perhaps, it did not need to be so. Tahemonya'ka determined to
accomplish what so many scientists had failed to do; she was going to
find a cure to the Maddening. Then, she could reverse this terrible
mistake.
It had to be a mistake. Not even blind fate would wipe out good
people and replace them with monsters. And that's what her universe
was populated with, monsters.
Here, murder was a mainstay of life. New wars erupted everyday,
every minute. Life was cheap because everyone hated everyone else.
Those who possessed feelings spent their lives in miserable, lonely
exile. Or died at the hands
of others.
While the Gods wept.
**********
Some ten thousand years in the past, a strange, unmanned ship
slung-shot around Bajor's sun and headed for Deep Space Nine. It
contained three things. Proof of the Maddening's deadly affects, in
the form of Deep Space Nine's
future logs. A history of the universe, if the Maddening was not
stopped. And a cure. Dr.Bashir, recently diagnosed with the
disease, tested the drug on himself.
It worked.
**********
Dr. Julian Bashir stood in front of the huge audience. His speech
was being broadcast everywhere, just as the cure for the Maddening
was arriving at the far corners of the universe. This was a moment
of galactic unity.
"Before I begin my talk about the Maddening, I wish to say a few
words about the woman who made our continued existence possible.
Tahemonya'ka was a lonely, tortured soul, living in an unkind and
unforgiving universe. Through her work and from her blood came the
cure that saved us all. The work and blood of a person who will
never exist.
"Tahemonya'ka gave up her life, indeed her universe, for us. She
wanted the principles of peace, love, compassion and all that is good
and noble to survive. In her universe, they were virtually unknown.
Fortunately for us, they
existed in her.
"I challenge all of you, as well as myself, to live up to her belief
in us. May we be worthy of her sacrifice."
The crowd stood and roared its approval. Everywhere, people stood,
applauded and cheered. The universe thundered with their noise.
And the Gods rejoiced.
THE END
