Journey to the Center of the Unknown


Cale took a deep breath, enjoying the warmth of the Andali sun on his face, the faint smell of grass with a hint of blossom in his nose. Free time was a luxury they did have lately. With Command hesitant to send out ships with the current situation in mind, just as everyone lately, many were in space dock, their crews grounded for the time being. Of course there were the necessary patrols but the Republic fleet had grown in size significantly and there were more than enough ships to cover those few jobs that needed to be done. Guard duty. With so many things threatening the worlds of the Republic it was the only thing that couldn't be left in the hands of a few automated defenses and sensor posts. A couple of ships in pairs covered those strategic areas and systems that were particularly vulnerable in case of an incursion by a hostile faction. At the moment, Cale and Akima weren't bothered by such things. The weather was excellent and they weren't the only ones out to enjoy it and the nearby water. The lake was clear and a perfect place for a swim which seemed like a good idea to many people, humans and aliens alike, but not the couple and their little girl. Samantha loved to get outside. She sat on a play cloth, in the shade of an umbrella, playing with her toys and secretly exploring the soft green grass around it. Akima however kept a watchful eye on her daughter and in the meantime nipped from a cool drink brought to her by a waiter from one of the terraces nearby.

"Meeting starts within an hour," she helped remember her husband.

Cale merely grumbled. The comfortable warmth made him all sleepy and sucked the strength and will to get up out of his body. It was way too nice. Better skip this one. Akima didn't seem to agree though. She nudged him in a teasing way, though she didn't really want to get up either.

"What? Can't we just skip this one? D'you really think they've already found a couple of people willing to risk their lives?"

She frowned, a little agitated by his questions.

"Let's hope so, for the sake of everyone. And no, Captain expects us to attend."

At least that got his attention. Pulling down the 31st century version of the classic aviator style sunglasses with adjustable filter he looked aside.

"Korso's really thinking about going on that mission, isn't he?" Akima shrugged, smiling mysteriously. He wasn't sure if she did that just to tease him or because she was serious though. "I don't think so. Look to your left." She did and spotted Samantha, who looked back at her at the very same moment. She cackled and cried with laughter as she tossed a plush to the other end of the cloth. "Do you really wanna lose that?"

Akima sighed. The answer was simple of course.

"No."

"Then don't start again."

She placed her hands on his shoulders and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear.

"It's all right. But please Akima, don't make me do this. I love you and Samantha so much. I would kill myself if I would let anything happen to you."

His words kept echoing through her mind when she placed her head on his shoulder. He was worried. She could hear it in his voice. If she were honest to herself, she was too but she didn't want to admit to those feelings. Nothing was lost yet. As she looked around her, ignoring the colossal Heliopolis for a moment, at the happy faces of the people all around them and the beauty of New Earth in general she couldn't believe there was a chance that it could all end one day. All that she saw at that moment would simply cease to exist. Vanish with the rest of a dying universe.

"But we still gotta attend the meeting."

Groaning softly, he slowly stood up from the way too comfortable chair which his body didn't seem to like after almost sinking into an afternoon nap. Stretching his legs a little he walked toward his little daughter.

"Hey little Sam, what're you doing there?" Samantha laughed. She had lots of fun playing with her toys; so small and innocent. "I'm sorry to interrupt playtime girl, but mommy and daddy gotta go to the meeting."

Grabbing the little baby girl under her arms he lifted her in his and held her against his chest. In the meantime Akima stood up too, collected her daughter's toys and wrapped them into the play cloth. Samantha moaned a little. She didn't want playtime to be over yet. She was just having fun. But her father put her in the buggy and made sure she sat tight while her mother stuffed the play cloth and all her toys in the buggy's luggage compartment. Samantha still protested a little as they walked back to the city, and right she was. Her parents just didn't admit to the feeling.

The first thing they both noticed when they entered the Senate was that there were less people than usual attending the meeting. In nearly every section there were empty rows and none of them was completely filled up yet. That was odd, considering the Republic was pressing certain matters, particularly the one about the journey that had to be undertaken. It was only yesterday that Chris asked everyone to find people suitable and willing to accept the mission but maybe some of them had made the choice already. The longer they waited, the less time they had to find a way to stop the decay of space and save the universe. They were early though, so the group of attendants hopefully wasn't complete yet. Part of yesterday's agenda had to be discussed as well since the meeting ended so abruptly due to the supposed return of the Drej which was now a fact.

Korso and Brian were already there though. They took the seats behind them.

"What's up Cale?"

Korso seemed a little cheerful just like his First Officer.

"You're still considering going on that mission, aren't you?"

A faint smile played on his Captain's lips. He was up to something and Brian was involved too.

"I'm considering it. Cale, I'm not ordering you to come with me if I decide to go. We're gonna need ships and those ships are gonna need crews."

Cale leaned back and sighed, turning his head the other way.

"Forget it okay. Let's see what happens first." In the center of the Senate stood Chris, appearing ready to start. Most likely this meeting would be a short one as they only had to cover a few of yesterday's points and the main issue: Asking everyone if they had found people brave (or crazy) enough to volunteer for the journey into the dangerous depths of the unknown. Ready to begin or not, people still entered the Senate, taking their seats. Everyone seemed late for no particular reason. Usually it didn't take this long for the whole place to fill up. "Maybe they're afraid to tell everyone no one's willing to go," Cale thought, crossing his arms, wishing he was still sitting outside in that comfortable chair.

It took a while but after a few more minutes it was safe for Chris to start, which he did. Those who were late were too late and would have to rely on their colleagues for any information they missed.

"Thank you all for coming today. I hope you've had enough time for everything we've discussed yesterday."

Just like during the last meeting there was a certain tension in the air. The moment he said that, everyone seemed to collectively hold their breath. Every attendant knew he was mainly aiming for the 'finding a crew' part though the return of the Drej was an excellent way to cover that up a bit. However in contrast to what everyone thought, Chris decided to save that for later. Apparently he first wanted to get the last points of yesterday's agenda out of the way before moving to the most important issue of all. And while Chris talked about the usual things that went on in the Republic, Cale buried himself into his chair, which started to feel more comfortable by the minute and closed his eyes for a moment. Just a few minutes won't hurt anyone. It didn't take long before he received a rough nudge from the right.

"Cale!" Correction, it does hurt Akima's nerves apparently. He peeked through the slits created by his almost closed eyelids, noticing the stare Akima gave him and moved so that it wasn't too obvious he was napping. It was the sun that made him sleepy. Keeping his eyes open just enough to see what happened in front of him he vaguely listened to something about the quality of the air on some Republic world. He didn't understand why that would interest him in the least and wondered why Akima didn't just let him nap until the last topic. They came here for that right? They didn't come to hear about a race that didn't know how to stop polluting their environment till the point they were forced to leave their own world. After what felt like ages, he finally received another nudge. "Cale, wake up. C'mon," she hissed.

Shaking his head, he rubbed his eyes for a second, then tried to focus on the subject.

"Now that that's been resolved, I'd like to move over to the most important issue of all." Chris maintained silence for a little while. The tension was almost tangible but to prevent it from skyrocketing he picked up where he left off yesterday. "Yesterday, I asked every single one of you, including my own people to look within your ranks and maybe even outside to find people willing to accept the rather dangerous task I spoke off. To go to inter-dimensional space, the only place we haven't looked yet, to find a solution to that which is destroying our universe and many others. Before the start of this meeting, Admiral Langley over there came to me, to tell me he succeeded. It's not enough for a complete crew, but please give them an honorable welcome."

All heads spun in the direction of the double doors in the back of the Earth section as they opened wide. A couple of uniformed men walked in. Their faces were expressionless as they walked down the path between the rows to the center. A familiar face was among them too and Akima was surprised to see him.

"That's Captain Jericho. What's he doing among them? I thought he was married."

From the moment they entered people stood up to pay their respect for these brave men and a few women too. Everyone soon followed and when one person started applauding, again the rest followed. As Chris said, they weren't a complete crew but there were still nineteen men and women gathered in the center of the Senate, all human. As the applause slowly died away Michael Jericho took the word.

"Thank you. Thank you all. Yes, after some consideration, as you might understand, we have decided to take the risk. We're not many, we're not a complete crew, but we hope that when people see there're others willing to take that same risk for the sake of billions, they will do the same. I'm aware of the fact that we've had more time to consider, since we knew about the plans for this mission much earlier; you've been told only yesterday. Still I wanna ask you, since time is short, if there are people among you who have decided to join us. We already have one ship, the Odyssey. As we speak, she's being refitted with the latest tech, her database filled with everything we know. Who will join us on this mission?"

For a moment it was painfully silent after Jericho's final words echoed through the Senate before fading. People looked at each other, starting whispering but none of them actually stood up to join them.

"Doesn't look good," Cale whispered to his wife.

"C'mon, is no one willing to do this?" Akima muttered more to herself.

Much to everyone's surprise though, a member of the Federation section stood up and raised his voice. Of course it instantly drew everyone's attention.

"I would like to announce that Starfleet received word of the plan and is working on setting up a similar operation on our side of the portal. To increase chances of success we will send out our own separate taskforce with the same goal in mind. They will enter inter-dimensional space simultaneously with your taskforce."

Jericho nodded.

"Thank you , sir. We wish the Federation good luck on their mission. I'm sure we'll have contact before the initiation stage."

The Starfleet officer replied with a nod before sitting down.

"Still we need a crew as well. There's still time but the deadline's been set for the end of next week. That's when we'll leave. Is there anyone who already made up their mind?"

Again a long silence followed and slowly people starting talking to each other. But before anyone else could respond, the unexpected happened. Korso and Brian both stood up from their seats. I knew it. The words flashed through Cale- and Akima's minds though both of them felt different about it. Cale totally resisted to the idea, fearing that Korso would somehow drag him into this. He was mainly concerned about his daughter's well-being and wouldn't leave the girl here without her parents. Taking her with them was out of the question as well. They couldn't do that. No one knew what was out there in the space between universes. It could cause harm to her and to them as well. Akima had a different opinion. Of course she didn't really want to go. No one did. But still she felt the urge to do something. They'd done similar things before. And with the Drej back and with space itself deteriorating, Samantha wasn't really safe anywhere. If they did nothing, Earth would be gone within a year anyway.

"Korso, what're you doing?" Cale hissed.

His Captain turned his head so that he caught Cale's look from the corner of his eye.

"Stay outta this kid. I've made up my mind. I'm not blaming you for anything. It's my decision."

"Oh, so now we're back to the 'kid' thing eh?" Cale muttered under his breath.

Akima was still a little confused though. Korso she could understand. Except for his crew perhaps he had no one who cared for him.

"Brian, you're married!" Korso's trusted First Officer turned just enough to face her.

"Thanks for caring, Akima. I've talked to Alicia. It's all right. I promised her that when this is over I'm gonna resign. This will be my final mission."

With those final words the two men left their places and walked to the path to join the bold crew of the Odyssey. Some people applauded but apart from two others, a man and a woman they were the only ones to join those in the center. The surprising thing was, that all of them were human. So not a single alien was willing to do this? Not exactly.

"I will join you," a powerful voice, capable of easily getting all the attention echoed through the Senate.

Everyone turned their heads. To Cale and Akima however, that voice sounded familiar. A little too familiar perhaps. Today everyone seemed in the mood to throw surprises at them. The voice belonged to a tall female Akrennian, with dark brown skin, long upstanding ears and a long sharp horn on the tip of her snout. She grinned, baring razor-sharp glistening fangs. They knew her. She was the fierce and strong-willed mate of an old 'friend'. And where would she be without him? He stood up too. A whole lot of people in their section stood up.

"Ayko? Preed?"

The other Akrennians were obviously part of her crew.

"Me and my crew will join. Looks like your ship just became a taskforce. We have a ship too."

Ayko sure knew how to throw a surprise party. She and Preed always showed up at unexpected moments. They hadn't seen them in a while but they knew Ayko liked Earth. She told them herself several times. They never expected her to be here though, let alone here to join the Odyssey taskforce.

"Did you know they were here?"

Cale shook his head. Who would expect the Akrennians to risk their necks for anyone but themselves? The group of Akrennians didn't join the Odyssey crew though but remained standing. There wasn't that much room in the center anyways. They received applause too, a lot actually. The reaction of their rivals, the Mantrins, however wasn't entirely expected either. Ambassador Jy'sen rose to his feet, his height increasing drastically. Clearing his throat first he raised his powerful voice.

"If an Akrennian is brave enough to risk his life for a good cause, a Mantrin will never stay behind. You can expect a ship and crew from us very soon."

One by one small numbers of people from each section stood up. They either remained standing in their places or joined the crew in the center. Apparently the courage of a few fired up the courage of many. In the end -if the Mantrins kept word, which wouldn't be very honorable if they didn't so they sure would- they had almost enough crew for three ships, which was the minimum for a taskforce. With three ships they would stand a much bigger chance of success. They could support each other in case the unexpected happened. And where they were going, one should always expect the unexpected. Jericho raised his voice, using the sound amplifying equipment on Chris' lectern to make he sure he got the attention.

"Thank you. Thank you all very much. We still have room for more. We've gotta lot of things to prepare. For anyone interested, the Odyssey's still open for visitors. It might even change your mind. Thank you again. We'll be leaving now. We expect those who wish to join us to sign up officially within the next couple of days. Chancellor, the audience is yours."

With those final words the nineteen initial members of the Odyssey crew including Jericho left the Senate. Everyone returned to their seats. While Chris officially closed the meeting with words of good luck to the courageous men and women of all the different species that joined the mission, Cale and Akima turned to their former commanding officers. Korso flashed Akima a faint smile as he sat down, leaning over the back of his seat.

"You knew, right Akima?"

She scoffed.

"I had a hunch."

"Cale, I-"

"I'm not talking to you anymore."

"So I was right when I called you a kid."

Akima decided to come in between.

"Cale, the decision is his. It's not up to you."

"But what about the Valkyrie? What about the crew?"

Korso sighed. Brian smiled though.

"He's got a surprise for you."

"You know Cale. I've been her Captain for a long time now. She became my home after Earth. She saved my ass on countless occasions. She's been one hell of a ship with one hell of a crew. She even received an overhaul and reached legendary status. It's time for her Captain to be replaced as well."

Cale shrugged.

"Who? We don't have anyone with even half the experience you have. C'mon Korso, don't do this."

"You Cale. I want you to be her Captain. And with that lovely wife of yours behind the helm, or the other way around for a change if you both feel like it, I'm sure you'll grown to like having your own command. Good luck, Captain Tucker."

"Y-You're serious about this are you?"

The meeting was over. Every attendant stood up to leave including Korso as the massive hall slowly began to drain. Flattening the creases out of the navy blue uniform he shot a quick look at his wristcom's chrono.

"I'll arrange the transfer of command and both your promotions before the Odyssey leaves. Good luck to you and goodbye."

He and Brian turned toward the exit of the row and were about to leave but they were held back by their former crewmembers before they could.

"Oh no," Akima said mischievously. "You two are not gonna get away with this that easily. If you're really gonna do this we're gonna do it officially. We'll arrange something with the crew."

"You can count on that," Cale added.

Korso smiled, rubbing his bearded chin.

"All right. We'll be there."

"Wait, where're you going now?"

"Take a look aboard the Odyssey. I'm sure Michael will appreciate it."

"Care to join us for a drink first?"

Of course neither one of them could say no to that so The Lighthouse was their next destination. Surprisingly it wasn't as crowded as it used to be but enough for the people behind the bar to keep their hands full. The current background music was alien in origin and fairly audible as it was quieter than usual. Aiming for a free table close to one where two Solbrechtians a Vusstran and an Akrennian, all fairly large and muscular, played an unusual card game they didn't notice the small family of Akrennians sharing a table near the bar. There were quite a few uniformed Akrennians present in the establishment, all sharing drinks and chatting with each other, some rather loudly. In fact, they might have missed the family altogether if the woman hadn't raised her voice.

"Ragezsh! Hayzii! Get back here!"

Though she didn't have a single reason to like Preed or his race, Akima still tapped Cale on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Cale! That's Ayko and Preed."

"What? No I'm not in the mood. Remind me, have I ever been in the mood for Preed?"

She sighed derisively.

"Never mind."

"Ayko's okay I guess."

A little hesitant and not entirely willingly he followed his wife.

"Would you mind Korso?"

"No that's okay. Why don't you ask 'em to join us? It's perhaps the last time I'll ever see my favorite Akrennian in the whole universe. I'll get us some drinks. I know your favorites."

"Not funny, Joseph."

It wasn't funny at all. Joking about not coming back alive wasn't her idea of funny. Nevertheless Korso went to get the drinks while she was on her way for a chat. Ayko had her arms crossed and she grunted. Obviously her mood had just turned foul and there was a reason.

"Preed! Why do I get the idea that only one member of this team is trying to be a parent?"

Preed simply sat, having a peculiarly innocent look on his face as he stared up into her eyes which undoubtedly flickered dangerously.

"I'm sorry dear, but why spoil the fun? It's not that they're causing anyone harm."

The sudden sound of childish laughter was followed by that of breaking glass and an angry growl. Ayko snorted.

"Your argument has just been refuted."

"Hey Ayko. Preed."

She got the idea that she somehow startled the tall Akrennian woman because she turned around and still had a rather hostile look on her face for a second. It disappeared and made place for a sharp-toothed grin.

"Hey, haven't you guys in a while. How's it going?"

"Good. With you?"

She grunted, shooting her mate a deadly glance.

"Fine, but my mate is refusing to play an important part of his role as the father of his children."

"You got kids?" Cale asked in a slightly amazed way.

Ayko sighed.

"Don't mention it. They keep running off no matter where we go especially when it's someplace new. I-"

"Is this yours?" a loud and heavy voice spoke, whose owner demanded her attention judging by the tone.

Behind her stood a rather large Mantrin, a big wet spot on his red Imperial Guard uniform, an angry look on his beaked face and in both clawed hands a young Akrennian child hanging by the shirt. One was a boy, an almost exact copy of his father. A little on the lanky side already with gray skin, his left eye surrounded by a darker spot, yellowish eyes and a brown snout top with a small sharp horn on the tip. The other one, a girl had a slightly stronger build, more like her mother but her brown skin had a lighter tint and the overall color varied slightly on different places of her body. The top of her snout was lighter and her nasal horn slightly longer than her brother's just like her ears. Hanging by their shirts their bellies were exposed and their legs were dangling in the air but it was the look on their faces that made Ayko's anger reach the boiling point. Both were very young and on the verge of crying, their ears hanging in a horizontal position, the first tears welling up in their eyes.

"Put them down," she said slowly between clenched teeth.

"Mommy please, I'm scared."

"Please, don't let him hurt us. We're sorry."

"I asked if they were yours," the Mantrin said threateningly.

Ayko's eyes were narrowed to slits.

"Look pal, I'm gonna make this simple for you. Put them down or I'm gonna blow your head off. Did all of that get through?"

The Mantrin snorted, lowering the two children to the ground. The immediately hugged their mother's legs. He turned around with a lash of his muscular tail.

"You better keep them in tow."

"Or what? If you touch my children again I will shoot you on the spot." The Mantrin grunted and returned to his seat around a table with two more, shooting a deadly glance in their direction for the last time before getting back into the conversation with the others. Ayko scoffed. "Nobody touches my kids. Preeeeed! Why did you just sit there like a worthless bag of sand? You're their father. They a need a reason to look up to you so you need to stand up for them."

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd need my help. He was quite big. You handled it perfectly. You know my experiences with Mantrins aren't exactly part of my happiest memories."

"My my," Akima said, trying to make eye contact with the son and daughter of the guy she used to hate.

They had wiped off any tears quickly and stared back at her around their mother's body with rather cheeky looks on their faces.

"Who are you?" the boy asked.

His voice was like a child's but it already carried a touch of the oily accent of his father. It didn't come out in a very friendly way either.

"Ragezsh! These are friends of mine. Be a little polite!"

"Sorry."

"What's your name?" the girl asked a in a much friendlier way.

"I'm Akima. This is Cale."

"Is he your mate?"

"Yes he is." Akima smiled. Ayko's daughter smiled back. "Wow, you're doing an excellent job. Preed, you should really get involved more. Are you letting your mate do all the work?"

"Maybe that's exactly what we want," Cale muttered under his breath. "Be honest, who wants a second Preed?"

Akima shot him a look but the comment was already heard.

"You still don't like me, do you Cale?" Preed asked with a grin that reached from ear to ear.

"I hope you're going to set a good example for your son and daughter."

"Hmm, I'm inclined to agree," Ayko said. "Preed, from now on you're gonna play your part in raising your children."

"All right, all right. Before everyone here turns against me."

"You guys wanna sit with us? Korso and Brian are here too. They're gonna be on the mission as well."

Ayko shrugged.

"Why not. Preed?"

"If you guys insist."

He stood up and faked a sigh, though he didn't really seem like acting against his will. His son, Ragezsh left his mother's side and ran into his father's arms.

"I love you, dad."

Preed looked down at his son with an expression Akima had never seen on his face ever before. It was a fatherly smile, accompanied by happiness in his big yellow eyes. It was so unlike him. It somehow made Preed even more alien than ever. Her thoughts went back to the day she first met him and her days aboard the Valkyrie with just Korso and his alien crew as company. Of course she had Stith as her friend from day one, which was a good thing since Preed had taken a rather perverted interest in the both of them, but sometimes Korso had felt just as alien as his crew. Preed had been her biggest worry though. He had been a creep, rather scary and just his way of talking to her and everyone used to freak her out a little. What she saw right now couldn't be the same guy. He had changed and love from and for his children and his mate had played a big part in it. He gently rubbed between his son's ears with his long slender fingers. Then he lifted him off the ground and held him against his chest. Shortly after that Hayzii was lifted off the ground by her mother. Cale and Akima had trouble believing their eyes but it was true. The two Akrennians had become parents just like them.

"Strange isn't it?" Ayko said in an amused way when she noticed their stare.

With a smirk she walked over to the table Korso and Brian shared, followed by Preed and sat down. Akima looked at Cale and he looked back; then they both laughed. Cale flung an arm around her shoulder as they prepared to join the table where the two aliens had already started a conversation.

"I'm glad he turned out all right. Did you see the look on his face?"

"Never thought I'd ever see something like that."