Scroll 1 and 12, Life Journal of Sonturan.

Written Year 0, Pegasi Primary Calendar / 8217 BC, Terran (old) calendar

"In the Beginning, there was nothing. Two brothers—Olanab, the light, and Trassk, the darkness—in an effort to balance the Universe, created Pegasi, the world of the mortals.
What neither of them knew was exactly how brutal mortals could be. Trassk enjoyed watching them, but every death was like dagger in Olanab's heart. One night, when Trassk was asleep, Olanab used his power to create the Tanteque. He gave it life from his own. Seeing what his brother had done, incredible fury filled Trassk. With so much of his power gone, vested into his creation, Olanab had no chance against his brother. He was defeated and descended into the mortal world to live out the rest of his life….

…The Tanteque craved justice—gravely. From its lair, it let a roar of fury envelop the valley below and took off. Its large wings cast a shadow upon the village. Every soul below knew what had a happened, and the people prayed mercy for the soul that had awakened the Tanteque. Like a hawk, the golden bird circled the air hoping to locate its victim. It did not take long, and when it had found him, the Tanteque disappeared. Vanishing into thin air, the golden bird, invisible to the eyes of mortals, reached its target. Like the sea winds, invisible but deadly, it struck down its victim—the criminal, now captured in its claws, who had without conscience injured and robbed an innocent child—who had awakened the Tantaque with its crime. Now, he begged for his life. The Tanteque looked down at the man with its flaming red eyes. It brought the captured man to the Abyss, the place of eternal suffering. Disgust and contempt—that is what it felt. Its protégé, the innocent, and the righteous would be protected from men like the one now captured in the Abyss. Olanab's legacy, the Tanteque, the protector of the righteous, returned to it lair to sleep until called upon again. Remember, those who read these words…one wrongful action is all that it needs."

Planetary Database, United Federation of Planets.
Pegasi Prime:
Location: Videm sector, Alpha quadrant
Planetary Capital: Kendam, City of
Government: Republic
Global population: 12.14 billion
Economy: Stable (Pegasi Credit based)
Technology level: Pre-Warp capable (Impulse powered probes have been intercepted.)
Last survey: 2397

Further information:
The Pegasi homeworld is governed by a paramiltary dictatorship. Public executions and military brutality against civilians is an everyday occurrence. The planet has been trapped in a Civil-Cold-war between the Rebel controlled continent New Pegasi and the Government controlled True Pegasi for the last century. No first contact recommended at this time. The Prime Directive remains in effect.

Captain Jonathan Kamar, USS Infinity. 2397

Transcript of news recording.
Pegasi National News Service (2413, Terran (old) calendar)

Begin transcript.
Female news reporter: It is my pleasure to inform you that our glorious state troops have once again reclaimed control the Pegasi Satellite Network. According to undisclosed sources inside the government and military there was compelling evidence that the rebels were preparing an attack on the capital, risking the lives of millions of innocent Pegasi citizens in the process. President Tronameth could not let that happen. Unconfirmed government sources also claim that the rebels were planning taking Kendam City hostage with the orbital defense platforms. The assault was quick and precise, and no civilian lives were lost whatsoever. Fifty two rebels were killed during the hostilities. Two more were captured alive and are currently being held at an undisclosed location awaiting trial and execution. This is truly a good day for our nation. Evil has once again, been defeated.
End transcript.

2413, Terran (old) calendar
Starship Kir'Shara
1200 hours, ship time

"All hands! Attention!" Commander Malcolm Lyle shouted, standing next to the Operations console on the Bridge of the Kir'Shara. His words echoed through the ship-wide transmission. The 28 officers present straightened themselves and stood at attention, just as they were supposed to—as did everyone else aboard the small science vessel Kir'Shara.

"Your turn, Captain." Lyle said, turning towards Captain Mecren Prin, the Acting Captain and former XO of the Kir'Shara. He flashed her a weak smile for strength, and moved over.

The brunette Bajoran woman, the new commanding officer, took his place next to the console, and spoke. She looked up at her crew, barely able to keep her composure. "Sometimes fate deals us a strange ending…" She began, gathering strength in her own words as she went along.

"On a day of great victory—one we, by all accounts, should be celebrating—when the Core Defense fleet successfully repelled the Klingon sneak attack…we lost our most cherished friend, Captain, and daughter..." She locked eyes with the two Admirals who were present. "This is a day of grief, not celebration. We will not forget Sulhir Vaz…we will not let ourselves forget her ultimate sacrifice. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly, we are wasting away…yet inwardly we're being renewed, day by day…. For our light and momentarily troubles are achieving for us—still, an eternal glory…that outweighs them all… Now, we fix our eyes on not what is seen…but what is unseen… For what is seen, is temporary… But what is unseen…is eternal."

Although Sulhir had not been Bajoran, nor religious, Prin couldn't but silently add, "Walk with the Prophets, Sully…"

She looked at Lyle and met his gaze. Both knew what they had to do. "Fire!" Prin finally ordered, and as they had been trained, her officers complied.

The matte black torpedo casing carrying Captain Sulhir Vaz's earthly remains launched into empty space from the Kir'Shara's forward torpedo tube. The main viewer, controlled by Lieutenant Elaine Johansen, zoomed in on the casing and its registry, NX-93873 USS Kir'Shara, as it slowly drifted away from the Kir'Shara…the last resting place of a Starfleet officer.

"For the stars and to the stars…" The traditional Starfleet burial.

"Attention! Honorary barrage!" Came the finishing order as the torpedo drifted away from the ship, and away from sight. The phaser banks charged and the ship fired four deadly beams into empty space…

Six months later…

City of Kendam, Pegasi Prime
0312 am, local time

There was fire everywhere, and smoke… Suffocating smoke. She can barely breathe. The smell of burned circuitry and flesh stings in her eyes. She throws a final glance at the console in front of her, an alien console. Lights… Lights flashing everywhere. She looks at the scorched remains of a man. Whom, she did not know, only that he was a soldier. With an equally burned weapon strapped to his hip, he sat firmly in the pilot seat. The design of his uniform was barely visible, burned beyond recognition along with his body. The console in front of him was gone, exploded and shattered. She throws a glance out the window, where crimson light is appearing…

Tanteque jolted awake, dripping with sweat. Iro was sitting on an old wooden chair next to her bed. It creaked under his weight as he leaned closer. She looked confused at him for a moment before smiling.

"Sorry, did I wake you again?" she asked kindly, with a warm but ashamed smile.

He shook his head with a smirk. "No, you didn't." he said. "I was getting up in five hours anyway…. The nightmares again?"

She hesitated, a bit too confused to answer at first, as Iro moved over to a small desk next to her bed and retrieved a portable computer. "I need to get some work done. You don't mind, do you?"

As she shook her head, he lowered the brightness on the computers monitor. "This was my study before you stole it, you know." He smiled.

"Yes," she sighed and nodded. "The dreams keep coming back. Same one—with the burning cockpit. Both the dungeon and the burning cockpit. What do you think it means?"

Iro looked up from his computer. "I don't know," he shook his head. "I'm no psychologist. But if I had to guess, I'd say it's some sort of bleed-through from…whatever keeps you from remembering your past life."

He turned the computer towards her. The monitor flashed black for second before a scan of her brain appeared. "You were pretty bad shape when we found you. But according to the scans, there is no brain damage whatsoever. There is no valid medical reason why you shouldn't remember. Quite frankly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you."

"Aside from not remembering a single minute of my life before waking up in this very bed, eight months ago."

"Yes. That thing in your abdomen, organs I've never seen I my life, your lifesigns are off the scale and you have strange spots all over your body. But as I said, there is medically nothing wrong with you. Even those organs I can't identify work perfectly." He reconsidered the sentence. "As far as I can tell, that is." he added.

She said nothing.

"Listen, I know how you feel… – Well, actually I don't. It's merely a saying. But that's not the point. You've been living with these nightmares for the last eight months. I don't know why, and I don't know how to stop it, but one thing is certain."

"What?"

He smiled. "I'm going to need to buy earplugs."

For a second Tanteque felt sad, but then she cracked a wide smile. She shook her head. "That bad, eh?" she asked, managing to suppress the laugher.

"I'm afraid so." he said with a deep sigh. "You were more or less screaming. Almost like you were in pain. That's why I woke you. It was…scary."

"Everything was on fire, Iro. I was afraid that my clothes would catch fire too. And that man in the dream… I know him. I don't know why but in the dream I feel… I don't know. Regret, that I let it happen."

He leaned over and took her hand. The small gesture was more reassuring to Tanteque than Iro could have ever imagined. "Try to fall asleep again. I'll be right here if you need me. In the morning we'll go to the market. You need some fresh air."

"Healer's order's?" she asked playfully, but complied nonetheless. She turned towards the wall and closed her eyes.

USS Kir'Shara, Geosynchronous orbit over Bajor
Captain's Ready room, Main bridge, Deck

2615 hours, Bajoran time. 2246 hours, ship time

The doorbell chimed and Mecren Prin straightened out her uniform. "Come!" she said.

The doors parted, revealing Commander Malcolm Lyle, her first officer."You called for me, Captain?" he asked taking a seat after a nod from Prin.

The Bajoran Captain looked up from her padds. Sighing, she shook her head. "Tell me…am I doing the right thing? You may speak freely."

"Sir?" he inquired, rather stunned by the question.

"Taking over the ship, I mean. Am I really the one who should take her place?"

He stared at her, not responding.

"I don't know," she muttered, "It just doesn't feel right. But ever since the final orders came through I've been having this weird feeling. I know I've been doing it for a few weeks now, and I eyed for that big chair for so long. And now I finally get the Kir'Shara, for real… You know, I checked the logs. I was the last officer she ever recommended for promotion. May the Prophets know, this isn't what I had in mind. The humans have a saying, 'Over my dead body.' Truthfully… that's how I feel taking over. I doubt this is what she planned when she promoted me."

"Captain," Lyle smiled. "When has anything ever turned out like the way we planned? Do you know what I wanted to be when I was a child? A school teacher. And now look at me. How did I end up, thousands of lightyears from my homeworld, as a Starfleet officer?"

He paused, and the seriousness returned to his voice. "My people are not very religious. At least those who remain... But all the gods and deities aside, we believe that everything happens for a reason—however incomprehensible it may seem for the moment…and no matter how strange this may sound. But there was a reason she died. We may not be capable of understanding it…but it's there. And there is a reason you were selected to captain this vessel. You knew her better than any of us. You were her best friend, and if anyone can uphold the standards she set for this ship, it's you." He said. It wasn't just the normal, XO-CO pep-talk. He meant it.

She let a weak smile slip through. "Thanks, Malcolm. I needed that." She paused to gather her thoughts. "How's the resupply going anyway? We have a date with the friendly neighborhood watch in two days." She grimaced.

"Captain Erid and the Corano?" Lyle asked quizzically.

She nodded with a deep sigh. "Yup. The one and only. Christopher… I can't believe I ever married that man."

"Captain," Lyle cracked a wide smile. "We've all done our mistakes in our youth. But it's one mistake you don't have to live with."

"One mistake I don't have to live with?" she repeated his statement. "That's so… human of you Malcolm." she said, smirking.

He returned the smile. "Captain, when you live among humans for as long as I have, you pick things up."

Main market, City of Kendam, Pegasi Prime
1124 hours, Local time

"I have the medicine you ordered, Tanteque. And I have another shipment for the clinic next month," the seller said—an olive skinned, black haired man in his early thirties.
He really wouldn't give up. Truthfully, Tanteque found him quite attractive. But still…she found his futile attempts to annoying to give him a chance.

"So, after the market closes…any chance you'd like to share a meal with me?" he asked.
Usually she simply said a witty remark and left. But this time she was too distracted by looking at the small child who came running towards her to notice another attempt from Godan.

"Tanteque! Tanteque! Tanteque!" she shouted.
For a moment she wanted to ask the child what she meant by Tanteque, but the child was swept away by her mother before she could approach her. The child's innocent shouts impacted Tanteque like a speeding train. Like her namesake, the mythological bird, Tanteque had also appeared out of thin air. Injured, and without any knowledge of who she was or where she came from.

She moved over to the alleyway the child had emerged from. She pressed her body close to the red brick wall, hoping to get a view of the person who had come for her. It has to be, someone must know I'm missing…

She discreetly peeked around the corner. Four hooded humanoids, their faces hidden by the dark fabric stood and conversed behind a large rusted container. At this range, it was impossible to make out what they were saying, but they were most definitely not speaking Pegasi.

Here goes nothing, she mused. Reaching for the weapon she carried concealed under her jacket and approached the four men. Too carried away by their conversation, they didn't notice her until she was merely ten paces away. But by then it was too late. She had kept the weapon firmly by her side, not wanting to appear hostile—only carrying the weapon as a defensive measure.

A big mistake, but it was too late now. The four hooded men moved faster that she could have ever anticipated, and soon enough, she was staring down the barrels of four weapons identical to hers.

"Put the phaser down! Slowly! And step away from the weapon!" A female voice shouted. Apparently the hooded aliens weren't all male. But in their robes, they all appeared identical.

Tanteque complied. Holding the silver painted weapon with two fingers, she put it slowly on the slippery and wet concrete pavement. And just as instructed, she backed away.

"Good!" the same voice said. "Now go around the weapon in a wide arch and come closer so we can see you!"
Once again, Tanteque had no choice but to follow the woman's orders.
"You shouldn't be here!" she shouted to the hooded aliens. "It's too dangerous!"

One of the hooded figures rose from its crouching firing position. "Why would it be danger…" The man's last sentence in life was cut short by the rifles of two Pegasi Defence Force troops. As the remaining aliens ducked for cover, Tanteque reached for her weapon on the slippery pavement, grabbed it, rolled to the right, avoiding two rounds in the process and sent two deadly volleys towards the two red dressed government troops. The two men were dead before they fell. Their lifeless faces showing nothing but pure shock. Quickly, she took cover next to the aliens expecting more troops to appear and return fire. But the crackling noise of the PDF trooper's automatic weapons seized along with the breathing of the two men.

"That is why it's not safe!" Tanteque shouted to the remaining aliens. "They shoot to kill! No questions asked!"
One of the aliens tried desperately to find their fallen comrades pulse, but he had none. Seeing their futile attempts, Tanteque spoke up. "Their bullets are poisoned. Even if he survived his wounds the poison would have killed him. I've seen dozens of good men die because of that damned poison. It's no use. The best thing you can do is to gather his belongings."

Tanteque set her weapon to maximum. As the woman removed a few items from the body, Tanteque fired. The energy beam completely disintegrated the body, leaving nothing, but a pool of blue blood on the pavement.

"If you value your lives, you join me. Without me, you will not last an hour." Tanteque said, and without waiting for a response, started walking back towards the market. She made a quick stop near the two soldiers. She opened the eyes of the two dead men, crossed their arms on their chests and removed their helmets, putting them gently next to their bodies. She silently spoke something in the Pegasi tongue and rose, standing almost at attention.

To the three aliens the gesture seemed unnecessary; one could even go as far as strange. When asked, Tanteque simply said that after death, no affiliations and loyalties existed. All have the same right to have their souls claimed by Olanab. They may have been enemies in life, but in death, all are equals.

One of the aliens, the female, nodded. "A noble sentiment. Of what we know about this world, it is unusual."

Tanteque looked over her shoulder. Flashing a slightly annoyed glare. "Do not pass judgment of something you know nothing of. Not every Pegasi agrees with the President's way of life. Some wish to be free. Free of oppression, free to live their lives as they wish and free of prejudice and bigotry."

"I assume you're one of those Pegasi?" she asked catching up to Tanteque. She raised her right hand and made a V-shaped gesture. It didn't mean much to Tanteque, and she simply drew the conclusion that it was their greeting. "Live long and prosper. I am Commander T'Sara. First officer of the Starship Corano."

After a few failed attempts, she returned the gesture. "I am Healer Tanteque. May Olanab grant you a life of peace and welfare." She said. "Commander T'Sara. Do not let appearances fool you, I am no Pegasi."

Leaving the market, now flooded by red unformed soldiers and security personnel, behind them. They arrived at one of the vehicles belonging to the clinic. Tanteque gestured for them to take a seat inside, and so they did. Tanteque took her seat in the operator's cabin and looked worryingly around.

Another alien spoke up, this time a male. With an equally worried voice as Tanteque felt, he asked, "You do know how to operate this craft, do you?"

She looked at him through the mirror. His face was still hidden by the hood. "Of course. I have studied the handbook for weeks now. But the last time I operated something that flew, I ended up mortally wounded in the forest." She smiled in order to sound reassuring. It didn't seem to work. "With a complete amnesia, I might add."

Judging from the man's body language, he was very close to panicking. "Bloody great. The lass studied the handbook. You're not making it any better, you know." He said.

Tanteque was not about to start an argument. She was just as afraid of the ambulance as the man in the passenger compartment was. So she wisely kept quiet.

The class 2 fusion reactor powering the ambulance powered up, followed by the low humming of the anti gravity core. With a quick tap on the panel in front of her, the ambulance rose from the ground and accelerated away.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Tanteque said smiling towards her passengers. Then, deciding that it was futile, she turned serious. "But the worst is still ahead of us. We still have to get you three back home. Wherever that is…" she sighed.

"You don't happen to have any ideas?"

She was met with silence.

"Of course. Let the one with amnesia handle everything." For a strange reason, the notion of knowing that everything depended on her, seemed awfully familiar.

Meanwhile the ambulance kept flying towards the Clinic. Usually they would be there within seconds, but without accelerating to supersonic speeds, something that Tanteque had not yet mastered, they were stuck at the lower speed. Thankfully, that only meant a few minutes of travel time, and the panel in front of Tanteque signaled her to extend the landing gear. With a gentle touch, she instructed the computer to land. And a few seconds later, after the systems check, the ambulance landed.