Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to anything Star Trek. That credit goes to Paramount/CBS. I am only playing with the characters and their environment. I am not making any money off of this. I am doing this for plain old fun. Any of the ideas that seem to come from the TV show Dark Angel belong to 20th Century Fox. And any of the ideas that seem to come from the Resident Evil franchise belong to Capcom. No copyright infringement is meant. Thanks.
This chapter deals with Mac meeting the rest of the Enterprise crew and their interactions. Then the action will pick up again. I hope my explanation about how warp speed works is correct. It is how I understood it, so who knows. I am trying to be fair to all the wonderful Enterprise characters in my story too, even though I do favor Archer and Trip. Sorry about the cliffhanger ending, but I couldn't resist. There is a little romance in this chapter as well, nothing too outlandish, but it still probably rates a T or T+ rating. Please read and review.
Chapter 6
Phlox and Archer had decided to keep all of the discussions they had had about Mac, her abilities, and the effect the Captain seemed to have on her, from the Vorlorens for the time being. They would reveal only a little at a time, and only bits and pieces of Mac's true potential. The Captain needed some ace up his sleeve, some advantage in this situation, or the Vorlorens would dominate them. Archer was not about to let them have the upper hand on him. He wanted the Vorlorens to need him and his crew's expertise for as long as possible, because once they weren't needed, they'd be expendable.
The High Monarch's summer palace was stunning. It was made out of a white brick, much like granite from Earth. It was combined with rich marble. It reminded Reed of a medieval English castle with turrets, towers, a huge drawbridge complete with a moat, a strong looking defensive outer wall, and a massive throne room. There were over seventy different rooms, including a dining area, kitchen, something akin to a parlor, a music room, an extensive library, and an atrium, along with an indoor garden. The tapestries that hung on the walls, on stairways, from balconies, and from windows, were all gold and dark blue with a circle containing a plus sign inside it. Hoshi commented to her crewmates that on Earth, that was a symbol for the four directions: east, west, north, and south. It must have had some significance to the High Monarch.
The inside was decorated with more crystal ornamentations. The artwork seemed very impressionistic. The carvings in the wood were elegant and very refined. The medieval feel was disturbed, Trip thought, by the use of very modern electronic equipment. Computer terminals, large viewing screens, sonic showers, food replicators, automated doors and windows, a sophisticated ESP power grid, and more dominated the castle. Each level of the palace had several balconies revealing dazzling views of the forested hills and deep blue lake that surrounded the massive structure. On one of the middle levels, a balcony went all the way around the palace, allowing access to a panoramic view of the countryside.
The bedrooms were luxurious. Each had a king size, canopied bed, with lush velvety and silky curtains raining down the side of the canopies. They could be tied off for more openness, or hung loosely for more privacy. Each bedroom had its own color scheme, mixing two like-minded colors with the black and white of the marble mineral making up most of the building material. The bedrooms also had marble desks, dressers made out of some kind of polished dark wood that was almost black, enormous walk-in closets, soft, plush couches and chairs, and vanities with glossy mirrors. The rooms even had open fireplaces for extra warmth on cold mountain nights. They were more like a suite of rooms, than just one self-contained room. Every bedroom came with a set of beautifully crafted crystalline, double doors that led out on to a balcony, like the ones the group had seen as they came up to the palace.
The bathrooms were equally as nice. Each had a sonic shower that used special sound waves to gently remove dirt and grime from the body in the shower. They also had a gigantic whirlpool bath, which seemed to use good old-fashioned water to clean oneself with. The sinks were marble with golden fixtures. The tile was sparkling clean. The colors, like most of the bedrooms, were black and white from the marble, then mixed with some other color scheme.
The palace was truly fit for royalty, and the Enterprise crew, along with Mac, were quite overwhelmed by the sheer brilliance of it all. Even the chandeliers glistened with the beauty of the crystal they were made out of. This was definitely an improvement over the science complex, although the underground facility had its own kind of twisted beauty too.
Mac dropped her bag in the room she had chosen as her own. Its color scheme was burgundy and a light shade of forest green, mixed with the white and black of the marble. She usually went for straight black, but something about this place influenced her to pick something more upbeat and girly. The bed was adorned with silken pillows of all shapes and sizes. They followed the tranquil feel of the burgundy and light forest green color scheme, as did the canopy, curtains, and carpet. This was even fancier than one of Khan's palaces. Now where did a thought about that bastard come from? Mac suddenly had a flashback of a very intimate moment with the Eugenic tyrant. It rolled over her mind as if it were a wave, washing through her entire body like a tide of pleasure; she thought she had long since forgotten. She had to lean against a bedpost to keep standing. She couldn't help the moan that escaped her throat.
As suddenly as it had come, it was gone. Mac stood quietly, trying to redirect her thoughts and regain her composure. Using one of the techniques T'Pol had taught her, she struggled to gain control over her train of thought. She took deep, calming breaths and focused her attention on a large vase of flowers in front of her. Directing her thoughts toward the vase allowed her mind to stop focusing on Khan and the responses he could elicit from her.
That was a very strange experience. Why she would flashback to something like that now, and have it affect her so strongly, physically, mystified her. She didn't like that it came out of nowhere and so unconsciously. She hated Khan. He was her enemy. True she had played the role of his lover for a time, but she had tried to keep herself detached as she completed her mission. Her dark side, however, had enjoyed every minute of the time she spent in his arms.
"I see you picked a really colorful room," Jonathan's voice startled her. She had been so consumed by the sensory memory, that she had been completely unaware of his presence. That was bad. She usually had better focus than that and was much more attentive and alert. Something wasn't quite right with her. "I thought you would pick something to go along the same lines as the outfit you decided to wear," the Captain added to his previous statement.
Mac had picked out, from the myriad clothes the Vorlorens' personal assistants had laid out for her, a tight fitting black, leather tank top with a round, low neckline, and a pair of matching tight, black, leather pants that hung a little low on her hips. The leather top came down so that it barely covered her belly button. The pants began just below where the tank top stopped, leaving a sliver of skin showing. The pants had tiny, crisscrossed cutouts down the legs where an outside seam normally would have been. It gave her a tough, warrior look, but it was also a very sexy, feminine look. Archer couldn't quite help but glance at her lithe figure as often as possible.
The Captain noticed that Mac was a little out of sorts. "You okay?" he asked as he came to stand behind her. She was still holding on to the bedpost with her back to him, starring at the vase of dark mauve flowers.
"Uh, yeah," she managed to say, without her voice sounding too husky.
"You sure?" Archer was inches from her now, his worry evident.
Mac wanted nothing more than to turn around and relive the memory she had just had about Khan, with her Jonathan. It was funny how she kept thinking of him as hers. She fought with all her might to keep from facing him. When she didn't answer him, Archer placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Mac suddenly felt more relaxed, the passion was still there, but it was different, not as primal. "I, uh, um, I just got a little dizzy," she lied quickly. "It's passed now."
"No, it's something else," the Captain's voice had now grown throaty. He felt the same pull she did.
He allowed his arms to wrap around her waist, crossing them in front of her, and letting them settle gently against her stomach and hips. This allowed him to pull her closer to him. Mac leaned back into his chest and let him support her weight. Her arms came to rest over his. One of her hands traced up his arm to his elbow and back down again, very lightly, like a soft breeze. It was nice to feel skin against skin. Mac was glad he had changed out of his navy blue Starfleet uniform into some causal beige pants and a rusty, brown, short-sleeved shirt. The shirt had subtle horizontal strips running through it, making it almost appear ribbed. His arms were bare because of this change of clothing, and thus accessible to her touch.
Her head rested just the right way on his shoulder. Mac breathed his earthen smell in thoroughly. Archer tenderly brushed his lips across the top of her left temple. The movement caused her to snuggle further into him. He breathed in the smell of her hair, freshly cleaned from a shower she had taken. He then nuzzled the back of her neck, butterfly- like, with his nose and lips. Both were experiencing a contentment that neither one had ever known before. It was nice to hold and be held, to touch and be touched. A serene silence had overcome them. No movement they made was hurried or rushed.
Director Romdel watched it all from the outside of the double-doors to Mac's room, out on the balcony. He had come to have them meet some of the palace staff, but when he saw the Captain and the transgenic together, in their affectionate, backward embrace, he had hesitated, and stayed just out of sight. He could only see their profiles, but the amorous way they held each other was very plain to see. Romdel was transfixed. It was happening just like his mysterious benefactor from the future said it would. Archer and the super solider were attracted to each other and cared for one another deeply. All Romdel needed to do was make it possible for them to spend a lot of time together and nature would take its course. At least that's what the being from the future wanted to have happen.
Purposely in bad taste, Romdel threw open the double doors and loudly stomped into the room, just as the pair of humans' lips began to touch. "Ahhhh, Captain, Mac, there you are!" he all but shouted. Archer and Mac broke apart as if each other had been hit by lightning. Both of their cheeks were burning with a harsh redness. Romdel knew he had embarrassed them, and was delighted at the prospect. He had to have some fun with this assignment, didn't he?
"Director, we didn't realize you were out there," the Captain managed to say with a little dignity.
"I am sorry if I interrupted anything," Romdel lied, grinning like the Cheshire cat, "but I have been looking all over for you two. I need to introduce you to the High Monarch's palace caretakers. They will be the ones that will service all of your needs." Romdel let his grin turn suggestive as he spoke.
The Captain, still recovering from the spell Mac had put him under, failed to notice. "That sounds like a good idea. We should find the rest of my people and have them come along as well."
"That's what I have been trying to tell you, Captain," Romdel continued to smirk. "We're all waiting for you and Mac."
Archer grasped for words, "Oh, well, we're, um, we're sorry. We didn't realize we were keeping anyone waiting. We're ready to meet your associates now."
"They are not associates of mine, Captain," Romdel informed him haughtily. "They are servants of our Supreme Ruler."
The Captain didn't like the way Romdel put that statement. It was conceited and condescending. "After you then," Archer said a bit briskly.
Mac followed the two men out of her chosen bedroom and down the hall. Her embarrassment was still hot on her face. She couldn't believe that she had lost herself so completely with a man she just met. The beast within her roared its outrage at the premature separation. It liked Archer as much as Mac did. Mac often separated herself from her Chimera, even though they were one in the same person. It helped her to think of herself as two distinct entities, one, the angel, and the other, the demon. The fact that both sides of her personality felt the same way about Jonathan confused her. The two parts didn't often agree. Mac didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
After several more hallways and a few stairwells, Romdel and his two shadows ended up in the parlor. It had huge bay windows looking out on to the crystal clear lake. The furniture consisted of large posh couches in deep browns and blacks, a few single, high-backed, dark wooden chairs, some lavish loveseats, a few marble tables, and a large viewing screen on one wall. The floor was a dark hardwood with a variety of colorful and decorative rugs lain out on it. A couple of impressionist Vorloren paintings hung on another wall. They were full of passion and swirls of color.
The Captain noticed as he walked in that Trip, Hoshi, Phlox, T'Pol, Mayweather, and Reed where all assembled in the room. They were spread out around the area talking to various Vorlorens and each other. A group of MACOs also congregated throughout the room. He and Mac were the last ones to the gathering it seemed. Archer tried to push the incredible feelings for Mac to the back of his mind and put on his best look of indifference. The Captain didn't, however, miss the tensing in Reed when his tactical officer saw Mac come into the room. The Lieutenant still hadn't gotten over the fear she had instilled in him. She had almost ripped out his throat and she had killed some of his shipmates.
Before Romdel could begin his introductions Archer called Reed over to him. "Malcolm, come here a minute, would you?"
Mac recognized Reed's scent immediately. It was almost like gunpowder. She knew he was the one Jonathan had called his friend and the one he had talked her out of killing. The shame she felt at seeing him again knew no bounds. He must hate her. She couldn't blame him. She had intended to end his life. When Jonathan called the man over to him, Mac froze. She stayed at a distance from the Captain and his friend. She did not want to spook him, or herself. The beast inside her could smell the man's fear and it flexed its phantom claws in anticipation of drinking in that fear.
"Sir?" Reed asked warily, carefully eyeing Mac's position behind the Captain. Reed had not moved toward his captain at all.
Archer tried again. "I need to talk to you, Malcolm. Come over here, please," he said it more like an order than a request.
"About what, sir?" The Lieutenant took a few steps forward. The Captain noticed that Reed too had shed his uniform and was wearing a light blue sports jacket with matching pants, and a white dress shirt.
"I think you need to talk to Mac," the Captain didn't beat around the bush. "She isn't a threat to you anymore, and she feels horrible about what happened. It would do you both some good to talk about it and get passed it." Archer took a breath and then charged forward with what he had to say, before Reed could argue. "We talked about this at length Malcolm, and you agreed to at least try. She needs us more than ever right now. We will all have to work closely with her, especially you, as my Chief of Security."
Reed knew his Captain was right, but he looked at Mac standing perfectly still behind Archer and was unsure. Her head was down and she appeared to be as uncomfortable as Reed felt. Was she as redeemable as the Captain believed or was she some terrible monster they had released upon the galaxy? He had felt that monster's breath on his neck as it prepared to kill him. He had also seen the beauty the woman possessed. Hell, her knockout form was right in front of him. Finally, Reed decided he would make an effort, for his Captain. "The Captain explained to me what happened a few days ago, when you were revived. I am grateful that you listened to him." It was all he could bring himself to say. Mac picked up on his British accent right away.
She finally met his gaze. Her dark eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Nothing I can say can make it better, Malcolm," she said softly, calling him by his given name, the name Jonathan had used. "I am glad your Captain got through to me too." The tears slid down her cheeks, yet she made no crying noise.
Reed wasn't expecting the earnest sorrow. Most Augments he had met didn't care one way or another how many people they hurt, as long as they got what they wanted. Maybe the Captain's faith in this woman wasn't misplaced after all, but it would take more than mere tears to give the tactical officer reason to trust her completely. Reed would take the olive branch, for now, but he would watch her carefully. The monster within her would not hurt those he had pledged to protect again. "Let's start over shall we," he said, forcing his fear back, as he extended his hand.
"I'd like that," Mac said with relief and took his offered hand and shook it. Her beast was disappointed as the smell of fear faded. "I know it isn't easy for you make the offer, but I promise it won't be in vain. I swear I will not hurt you or any of your shipmates again." The demon inside her laughed at the statement at first, but Mac knew it would be a promise she would keep, no matter what. She cemented it in her soul, and she knew one instinct that her beast would understand almost as well as the human part of her did, the need to belong, to be part of a group. Being a loner was convenient and some times necessary, but not preferred. The beast craved to be part of a pack, just as much as the human craved to have friends.
She needed the Captain and his crew to adapt to this new reality she found herself in. She had to rely on them and they would need her help too. They were the only part of humanity she had knowledge of. Their alpha male had accepted her. She, as an alpha female, would be called upon to protect them. It was a natural law. The crew of the Enterprise would be under her protection, and thus her beast would not be able to hurt them, unless they hurt her. These people were her pack now. They had accepted her as their own, and she would never hurt her own, ever. Being part of a pack meant you looked out for one another. As the feral part of her nature realized this, it committed to the promise Mac had just made, just as strongly as the saintly part of her had committed.
The insight she was having into her primal self must have come from the Vulcan meditation that T'Pol was teaching her. Mac was learning to come to terms with her primitive instincts and overcome them by integrating them with her logical mind. Attempting to get her thoughts to control her emotions and not letting her emotions control her thoughts was proving to be difficult, but it was putting her in touch with her beast on a new level. Her fear of it was waning. The understanding of what truly motivated her beast was starting to emerge from the darkness. Mac hoped it would continue. There were aspects of her beast that could serve her well, that she hadn't been cognizant of before. She was also learning that trying too hard to cage her beast sometimes made the situation worse. She considered it necessary to discover how to let it out in the open, without totally losing control, if that was even a possibility.
Reed slowly let go of Mac's hand. She smiled, a simple honest smile at him, and he felt compelled to return it. At this point, Trip chose to introduce himself to the transgenic woman. "Hi there. I'm Commander Charles Tucker III, Chief Engineer of the Enterprise, at your service. My friends call me Trip." His southern accent made Mac laugh. She hadn't heard anything that familiar in a long time. "Did I say somethin' funny?" He asked confused.
Mac laughed again and then replied, "No, Trip. It's just nice to hear your accent. It reminds me of home. I knew many people from the South." She inhaled his scent as she spoke, identifying him. He smelled like the bayou - not the swampy smell - but the lush green, outdoorsy smell it had. As a part of her brain analyzed it, she thought it was more like being around a river when it is rushing downstream, or like the smell right after rain, fresh and invigorating. Trip was dressed in light gray slacks and a white shirt with grays strips that ran diagonally from his shoulders to meet in a "V" in the middle of his chest.
"Well," Trip laid the accent on extra thick for Mac's benefit, "I'm glad someone 'round here appreciates it."
The small group, including Reed, all joined in with laughter of their own. Hoshi in a simple, sleeveless, red dress that came up in a "V" to fasten around her neck, and Mayweather in black pants and a white button down shirt, made their way over to this jovial part of the room. T'Pol in a white version of her normal uniform and Phlox in an olive green tunic and pants were speaking with Romdel, letting him get on with some of his introductions. "Mac, I'm Ensign Hoshi Sato, the Communications Officer for Enterprise. It's nice to finally meet you, " Hoshi said to introduce herself.
Mayweather spoke up too. "Likewise. I'm Ensign Travis Mayweather. I man Enterprise's helm."
That got Mac's attention. "You pilot the spaceship?" she asked fascinated.
"It's a starship, and yes I do." Travis corrected her gently. "It really is the best job aboard the ship. Enterprise is the pride of Starfleet. The fastest ship Earth has. We can go up to Warp 5, but sometimes we have pushed her a little beyond that."
"Yeah, thanks to my fancy engineerin' skills," Trip interrupted.
Mac couldn't help but laugh again. It felt good. "Warp 5?" she asked. "I don't understand that measurement."
Oh no, thought Reed, Don't let Tucker get started on the engines. They'd be here all night. But Reed didn't speak up soon enough and Trip launched into his favorite subject, the warp engines. "Warp speed is the ability of a ship to travel through space by means of faster-than-light propulsion. A warp bubble is created and allows the ship to be propelled through space without any time dilation. Meaning, you're movin' and groovin' faster than light can travel, but time remains constant for you. You follow?"
Mac did follow, but she wondered where the massive amount of power needed to create a stable warp field could come from. "What powers it?"
Trip was delighted to explain. "A special warp core, or reactor is used. It utilizes matter and anti-matter to generate the energy sufficient enough to power the warp drive."
Mac had to stop him with another question. "Isn't that dangerous? I thought that matter and anti-matter caused a devastating explosion when allowed to react. They annihilate each other on contact. I can see how the reaction generates enormous amounts of energy, but how can you control it?"
"We use dilithium crystals to regulate the reaction of the matter and anti-matter," Trip told her, enthralled that he not only had an interested audience, but a smart one too. "The dilithium crystals are nonreactive to anti-matter when they are bombarded with high levels of radiation. They control how the matter and anti-matter mix. Deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, and antideuerium are usually used to create the reaction. They are put into a reaction assembly that is surrounded by a magnetic field. That prevents any anti-matter from escaping and causing unwanted reactions with other matter outside of the reactor. The energy generated by the reaction is then transferred into a highly energetic form of plasma.
"The plasma then journeys to a warp nacelle through magnetic conduits. Special warp coils that create the warp bubble, receive the highly energized plasma through injectors. When the bubble expands space behind the ship and contracts space in front of the ship, a warp barrier is formed between the two distortions. The bubble is accelerated, while the space inside the bubble isn't, so time passes inside the bubble normally, while the ship flies through space." That was Trip's big finish.
Mac couldn't believe it. It was so simple, yet so complex. She was amazed that humanity had progressed so far. "Wow," was all she could say.
"Yeah, it is pretty impressive if you ask me," Trip said, "But the real genius was the guy who invented Enterprise's Warp 5 engine."
"And who was that?" Mac asked.
"My father, Henry Archer," came the soft reply from the Captain. He had been enjoying standing back and letting his crew become acquainted with Mac. But when Trip mentioned the Warp 5 engine, he couldn't let the engineer be the one to tell Mac about his father.
Mac was astounded. "Your father?" So, that's how Jonathan became a starship captain. He was following his father's dream. She liked that idea.
"Yeah, he spent years designing and building it." The Captain's voice was suddenly sad. "It was a shame that he never got to see it in action."
"Why didn't he?" Mac asked, but she felt she already knew the answer.
"He died before Enterprise was launched," Archer said it simply, but Mac sensed something else in his words, a slight bitterness perhaps. "But he would be overjoyed to know that a second starship is now using his engine, a sister ship to Enterprise, the Columbia."
Mac slid her hand into Archer's, squeezing it gently. "I'll bet he'd be extremely proud of his son too." The Captain gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand back. They both stared at each other for a heartbeat and then refocused on the others around them.
"I would hope he'd be, but sometimes I don't think so." It was now Archer's turn to not want to meet Mac's gaze. Some of the things he had done or the choices he had made since he had become Captain ofthe Enterprise, he was not proud of. He knew his father would have profoundly disapproved of quite a number of his son's actions.
"Now why is that?" Mac bobbed around trying to get her Jonathan to look at her. She perceived that he had seen and been through a lot in his life, and not all of it was pleasant. He had some demons of his own. That was strangely comforting to Mac. He did not answer her. Instead he looked into her eyes and she saw his raw pain reflected in them. She got the impression it was a pain he hid from most people. The others had sunk into a hesitant silence. Romdel irreverently broke it.
"Finally, I get a chance to introduce you all to His Majesty's servants," he said, sounding very put out. Archer rolled his eyes and Mac hid a smile behind her hand. "There are four main head caretakers that you should all get to know. First, we have Orlin. He is the High Monarch's best chef." At the sound of his name, a little man with a round belly stepped forward and bowed. He was middle aged, with light brown hair that contained streaks of gray. His translucent skin seemed to glisten as he moved. Maybe it was the white of his chef's outfit that made his skin appear that way.
"Next we have, Aurlense, the High Monarch's best domestic engineer," Romdel said the last word with a sneer. The plump, translucent woman with red hair was no more than a housekeeper to Romdel, but she kept the High Monarchs personal household running in tiptop shape. She was dressed in a simple blue dress with a white apron.
"Then there is Manso, who is his Majesty's Chief Footman." Again, Romdel thought of this thin, tall, and balding man with a few whisps of white hair here and there, as just a butler. He wore a well-tailored, dark blue suit, with a short waistcoat. "And, lastly is Muriel, the Head Groundskeeper." A tall and lanky blonde woman curtsied at the sound of her name. She was a mere gardener, but the High Monarch liked what she could do to the flora and fauna of his kingdom. She had on what almost looked like a horse riding out fit, complete with knee high boots. "These four are in charge of the other various servants you will see from time to time. You are to check in with them and let them meet your needs. They will attend to whatever you desire while you are here."
"You forgot to mention me," a tall and broad middle-aged man said as he came through the door into the parlor room.
"You're late, Aster," Romdel said as he visually bristled.
The middle-aged man with military short, black hair, and dressed in a gray and black Vorloren military dress uniform was not deflected. "And so that merits a non-mention? Come now Milo, that is just plain rude of you."
Archer and Trip exchanged mutual amused looks. It appeared Romdel couldn't push everyone around. "I don't have time for your games, Aster," Romdel huffed.
"And I don't have time for yours, sir," Aster added the last word without any respect behind it. "I apologize for my tardiness ladies and gentlemen. I am Chief of Security, Aster Suran. I am in charge of palace security while you are our guests here. If you need to travel the grounds, need transportation from or to the palace, need to communicate with your vessel, or need to travel to and from your vessel, you must clear it through me. The deflector field around the palace and its grounds prevents transportation devices from getting a solid lock and it scrambles any communication signals. It also keeps out any unwanted vessels. I can have the field deactivated or recoded to accommodate your needs. It serves to protect the palace from attack."
Reed knew this was one Vorloren he needed to be affable with. He would either be a great help or a huge hindrance, depending upon how the Enterprise crew approached him. The Captain shared Reed's view of the alien. "We appreciate your thoroughness and will do our best to comply with your instructions."
"Thank you, Captain Archer," Aster said this time with respect in his voice. "My job is to keep you safe from harm, as well as the people who work here in the palace. As long as you work with me, we should have no problems."
Archer liked this man. He had a no nonsense attitude and seemed truly dedicated to his job, which could be good or bad for the Captain and his crew. "I couldn't agree more, Chief Suran."
Romdel was not pleased with the situation. Aster was excellent at his job and he ran a tight ship, but he was too much of an independent thinker for Romdel's taste. He bucked the system when he thought it was wrong. He and Archer were too much a like, and that worried Romdel. He would have to see if he could have the High Monarch replace Aster with someone more loyal to himself. He didn't want to be constantly at odds with the security chief. He needed someone he could control. Someone he could have his thumb on.
"Well, I'll let you mingle and enjoy the palace and the pleasures it provides," Romdel told them as he walked to the door. Then he added, speaking to Mac, "We would like to start with your examinations in a day or two. I will be contacting you when we are ready."
Mac still didn't like the idea of being under the microscope, but she had agreed to it. "Alright. I'll wait to hear from you."
"Thank you, my dear." Romdel bowed to her and was gone.
Aster looked the group over. They were the most fascinating species he had met yet: confident, but not overbearing, kind, but not gullible, powerful, but not arrogant. Maybe they really could help stop this useless war from continuing. They might be the ones the people of Vorlora had been searching for all this time. He would observe them closely and hopefully find out.
Now he decided to introduce them to the most beautiful sight on Quantima, the sunsets. "Captain, if you would like, you and your party can step out onto the balcony in a few minutes. The balcony on this level goes all the way around the palace. The sun will be setting and it is a spectacular sight. There are a few clouds out there, so the show should be very pleasing to the eye."
Archer thanked the security chief. He would take him up on the offer. It had been a long time since he and his crew had seen a real sunset. One didn't see many in blackness of space. T'Pol spoke, "I would like to view this sunset and then I will go relieve Major Rollins on board Enterprise." The Captain had left the commander of the MACOs in charge of the ship. T'Pol felt one or more of the senior staff should be up there in case of some emergency or problem, and the Captain's presence was required to be on the planet, around Mac, at all times. She didn't think it was wise to have them all down on the moon at one time like this either. They could spell each other off, so they could all enjoy the palace environment, just not all at the same time.
Hoshi engaged Mac in conversation again. The genetically engineered woman intrigued her. "So, what do you think of the future?" she asked as starting point.
"Honestly, I'm a little overwhelmed," Mac replied. "One hundred and fifty years is a lot to miss out on. I have some real catching up to do." Boy, did she ever.
Hoshi had been hoping Mac would mention something about that problem, because she had a solution for it. "Well, you're in luck," she said and continued quickly when Mac frowned in confusion at her. "Since you can't go up to Enterprise yet to delve through our historical databases, technical manuals, or the Vulcan database, I came up with a way to bring them to you. I'll have to get permission from Chief Suran, but I have rigged up a number of PADDs from Enterprise, with a communicator and the ship's com system. That way you can access the Enterprise's computer whenever you are in the mood to do some reading. You can download just about anything from Enterprise to the PADDs."
"What's a pad?" Mac asked.
"Not pad, PADD. It stands for Personal Access Display Device," Hoshi explained. She paused for a minute trying to think of a twenty-first century equivalent that Mac could relate to. Her brain came up with one. "It would be like an old style, wireless, laptop computer."
Mac didn't know what to say. Hoshi had anticipated her deepest desire, to learn more about Earth and this time era. "Thank you, Hoshi. I am incredibly grateful."
"Not a problem," Hoshi smiled at having done a good deed. "I just wanted to help out." Hoshi had another question. "Were you trained to learn different languages? I have to often learn the languages of many of the new species we meet, because the Universal Translator is still a pretty new technology, and it doesn't always work. I am trying to design a lingual matrix to overcome the problems, but it's slow going." Hoshi asked because she had read in some historical records that an Augment's superior intellect allowed them to learn vast amounts of information very quickly. She was curious to know what kind of enhancements Mac had been given in that area.
Mac smiled knowingly at the communications officer. Hoshi must have a love of languages, and obviously a good ear for them too. It was good to know that humanity was still producing geniuses naturally. "Before I was cryogenically frozen, I had mastered sixty-one different Earth languages, ranging from European languages like French, Italian, German, then on to languages like Chinese, Arabic, Swahili, Tongan, Haitian, Navajo, and so on, just to name a few. I learned many of the different dialects in each language as well."
Hoshi's mouth fell open at Mac's statement. She, herself, knew just over forty different languages from around the galaxy. She was a protégé when it came to learning and speaking languages. To have another person from Earth to share that talent with was exciting to say the least. "I have a special gift when it comes to figuring out how to speak and read new languages, but I know of very few people that can do what I do. How are you able to learn so many?"
"Probably much the same way you do, the only difference with me is I can do it with everything I need to learn, not just linguistic skills," Mac said, glad for Hoshi's interest. "I have a photographic memory. It records anything that my senses pick up and I can access most memories fairly easily when they are needed. I hear a language spoken for long enough, or if I study one long enough, it gets decoded, and then recorded, and I just go from there. I also have the ability to take in a lot of sensory input, sometimes from multiple sources at one time, and process through it, pull out what I need, imprint it, learn it, and then use it."
"You can do that with any topic or skill?" Hoshi asked flabbergasted.
Mac nodded, and then replied, "Yep."
"So, if you needed say, the skills to treat a wounded man on the battlefield, you could have them?" Hoshi pressed for more detail.
"I would need some reference point first," Mac explained. "Like reading a medical journal on the type of wound and its treatments, or a doctor or nurse to show me how to perform the proper procedure once, or even someone to verbally explain it once. Then I could learn and adapt myself to do it."
The Captain had been listening to the whole conversation. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He really needed to talk to Mac and find out what exactly went into her genetic makeup and what skills and abilities she really had. The science that created her seemed to be very different from that of the Eugenics Augments at every turn. She possessed some of the same capabilities those Augments had, but it seemed that she was able to go way beyond most of their capabilities. Archer made a mental note to himself to never let Doctor Arik Soong know of Mac's existence. The good doctor would have a field day trying to figure her out and duplicate her, to "improve humanity". Luckily, the brilliant, but criminally insane doctor was locked safely away in prison. "Let's step outside, so we don't miss the sunset," the Captain verbally prodded his people to move to the outdoors.
As the group began to migrate to the balcony, Hoshi continued to question Mac. "Do you think you could learn how to pilot a starship, or learn to run the engines?"
"I don't know," Mac said honestly. "I was designed in a time era before all of that, but I might, if I had enough information to draw from and enough time to study it all out."
"Let's worry about that later," Archer said as he gently grabbed Mac's hand and led her out onto the balcony and down around the corner. He didn't want to dwell on the implications of that conversation right now. The sun was setting in the west, similar to the way it did on Earth, and to see it set, one had to walk to the other side of the palace. The lake seemed to stretch around the palace as well. It was always in sight as they walked along the balcony's path. Smaller, rolling hills ran out to the western horizon. Massive mountains stood behind the hill line on the north and east. The trees were all different sizes and colors. Some were extremely tall and others were fairly short. Leaves on the trees appeared to be different shapes depending on the tree. Some were round, some diamond-shaped, others were oval, and some were needle-like. Those reminded Mac of pines trees back on Earth.
She and the Captain arrived on the western side of the palace just in time to see the sun starting to dip behind the small hills in the west. Aster had been correct when he had mentioned that a few clouds would be in the sky. A high band of wispy clouds filled the western section of the skyline. As the sun set, it cast its brilliance up into these clouds, causing them to appear to burn. The sky turned deep shades of orange, pink, and gold. It was as if a painter had accidentally spilled jars of paint across the sky. The myriads of pinks rippled out into the oranges, and bled into the gold. Mac looked behind her at the mountains to the east. The sunset cast a purple glow upon them.
The whole scene mesmerized her. It almost felt like she was home, on Earth. It was striking and very moving. As the sun continued to sink into the horizon, the colors became even more dazzling. The orange turned to red, the gold to amber, and the pink to chartreuse. Archer took in the splendid beauty and sighed. He felt transcended, more alive than he had in a long time. He glanced at Mac and did a double take. The amber light of the sun was reflecting in her eyes. They appeared as he has first seen them, when she was in her feral mode. They didn't glow, but they had an eerie inner light. The dark pupils were slightly dilated and the colored part of her eye was wolfen amber. He couldn't shake the inhuman look it gave her, but it wasn't fear he was feeling right now.
"That's incredible," Trip commented. "I thought Earth had pretty sunsets, but this place has them backed off the map."
"Vulcan has nothing like this either," T'Pol said in response to the awe she too felt. Vulcans did know how to appreciate beauty.
"I can see where they get the inspiration for their paintings," Reed added his two cents.
Hoshi had to agree. "Yeah. I don't think I have ever seen colors so bright and full of passion before."
Mayweather just kept staring, unable to speak. Phlox had his ridiculously huge smile on his face. "I must say this is something new for me as well," he said.
Mac noticed Archer staring at her. It was a very intense stare. She felt tingles move up her spine, one vertebra at a time. She could almost taste the desire in him. As she moved closer to him, she caught the scent of something very strange. It wasn't Vorloren. The Vorlorens had almost an ammonia smell to them. This smell was more like a sickly-sweet, burnt sugar smell. None of the humans or Vorlorens she had had contact with smelled like this. It instantly alerted her to danger. It didn't belong here.
Mac broke away from the Captain and followed the scent, trying to find where it became stronger. Archer and his crew stared at her in confusion. What was she doing, sniffing the air? The transgenic continued to follow the scent back around to the north side of the palace. Here the lake was farther back from the palace and forest lead right up to its walls. Down below were footpaths leading off in several directions into the woods. The smell was coming from down there. The breeze was bringing it right up to her. She accessed her others senses.
She allowed her eyes to unfocus themselves and then she dilated her pupils like a camera lens. Mac literally zoomed the distant surrounding forest, shoreline, and lake into focus as if it were right in front of her. The hawk DNA was at work. She also turned on the night vision her leopard DNA gave her. She scanned slowly through the trees. The genetically enhanced woman spotted strange small mammals, a few reptiles, and several weird looking insects, but nothing to account for the sickly-sweet, burnt sugar smell.
Mac continued to survey the land before her. Archer had come up next to her as she leaned against the balcony railing. "What is it Mac?" he asked very concerned. He watched her eyes as they focused very oddly.
"Shhhh!" she whispered harshly. She was tuning in her acute hearing to try and find the source of the smell. Mac made out the sounds of the small mammals burrowing through the underbrush, the rustle of the reptiles running through the brushes, and the clicking noises of the insects, but she heard nothing to go along with the smell. She was trying to hear a heartbeat. She even heard the rattle of the light breeze through the trees.
Then she saw it, a glimmer of movement in her peripheral vision. It seemed to come from deep in the forest. It was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. It was the source of the disturbing smell. Without thinking, Mac bounded up and over the balcony railing to go after her prey. The only problem was that she was now in for a thirty-five meter drop to the ground.
TBC
