Ah, the month of August, the twilight of summer. Away from our summer activities to the grindstone of school.
This grindstone will impede my progress on this story, I'm sure, so I would like to get as much of this story done as quickly as possible.
As a last note, please review, if you feel like it. Now, I've written a bunch of words down here, and I have gathered them into a group which I like to call
Chapter 10
The engine room was chaos. There was always chaos in the engine room. Many settings of the ship had to be at precise values. If one of these settings were off, the ship would be useless, or worse.
Geordi La Forge was relieved that the Enterprise was still an intact floating piece of metal. Power had been redirected to more important areas, of course, ensuring that everyone could breathe and that the ship didn't randomly explode.
And yet, once again, he felt inadequate about his job. In the span of the last few "days," as measured by the cycle of the planet, the Enterprise had lost her warp engines, transporters, and a couple of important systems.
And more importantly, the Enterprise lost her captain.
All Geordi heard on the communicator that moment was phaser fire. The captain must have been desperate if he needed to violate the Prime Directive to defend himself.
And Data, Data, captured by the hostile force that had threatened them.
And that was all Geordi knew. The communications of the Enterprise had gone silent; Geordi didn't know if the crew on the planet was alive or dead.
"Cheif," interrupted one of the engineers, "Status update."
She handed Geordi a pad which listed the state of the Enterprise's workings. Geordi breathed out heavily.
"Still not improving," he murmured.
He then handed back the infernal pad. "I'm blind," he then stated.
The young engineer's face turned to confusion. "The visor is not working?" she asked.
"No," Geordi answered, "I've usually known what to do. I have had the Captain be my guiding light. Now, the Enterprise has been reduced to her worse state possible, and yet, I don't know our next course of action."
She listened to Geordi's answer. Geordi watched through the visor of his. She was in a contemplative state.
After a few seconds, she responded, "I'm kind of new to this crew. I've heard a lot about your travels. Isn't there always a situation like this? Where everything you were taught, everything you've learned just doesn't work?"
"Not yet," Geordi answered, "But I'm waiting on a solution that seems to be evasive right now."
"Well then, that's what we need to do! I've heard of Captain Picard. He knows how to make the best of the impossible situations. I think he can get back up here with the dilithium were waiting for."
"The chances of that are slim now."
"When chances of your only solution seem hopeless, there's only one thing to do."
"What?" Geordi got an uneasy feeling of what the young woman was about to suggest.
"Pray."
Geordi sighed. Nothing else could be done. Did humanity, like him, become blind to what was around them? In their quest for enlightenment, did they lose sight of their higher beings?
He would find out. Geordi knelt on the ground and clasped his hands together, holding them out in front of him. Reaching out for anything that might work.
"On our hands is the most successful empire in history, it's time we expanded it."
The man's eyes lit up as he said this. A million thoughts could be traced through them as he considered the possibilities.
The other was also thinking of the possibilities, though not in the same light as the first man. His solemn look gave it away.
Picard had watched the events from before unfold. Apparently these two were close childhood friends. Then one who proposed the idea of an empire was "Sozin." "Roku" was the name of the man who was opening his mouth, apparently to shoot down the idea.
"No!" he shouted. His hand cut the air as swiftly as he cut the idea.
"Roku," the man said, is voice laced with pleading, "You haven't even stopped to consider the possibilities!"
The possibilities. Picard had seen the possibilities in the history of his race. An empire, under the name of "spreading their prosperity," only bringing suffering and tyranny to their subjects. It was a destiny the newly formed Federation had desperately sought to avoid.
"There are no possibilities, this is the last I want to here about this."
Picard could see where this was going. The man named Roku would not hear the last of his ambitious friend. This was the birthplace of the guards in the city of Ba Sing Se. This was the reason for their little counter invasion force. This was the birthplace of the war that had tormented this planet.
How long?
Picard saw it grow. He saw the first colonies. He saw the man "Roku" use unthinkable power to stop Sozin. But in the end, the mercy he showed him would be his downfall.
Roku was now fighting a volcano to prevent it from destroying the civilians living under it. Water, Earth, Fire, Air. The four classical elements. Avatar.
As Picard saw Sozin leave Roku to die at the base of the volcano, he wondered. He had seen these two begin as very close friends, and then drift apart as they took separate paths. Power is a ruthless thing.
The vision cut to a dark hall. Only a few lines of light shined through the stone ceiling. Three maids were crowded around a cradle.
In one of the maid's arms lay a smiling baby boy.
Picard turned, he felt another presence inside the room.
The man named Roku was there, as was another person. He was nothing more than a boy, Picard guessed, really young. He was completely bald, bald enough to show a blue arrow streaking down the center of his head. He wore orange and yellow clothes, light as gusts of air.
He was the boy in his dreams that he saw through.
It was hard to recognize him, since he had hair in his dreams and he wore a completely different set of clothes, but something told Picard that the boy who stood next to Roku was the one.
His grey eyes met Picard's blue.
The scene around them dissolved completely. They were standing on air. The ground around them was clouds, yellow-orange clouds.
"You!" the boy began, "You're the one in my dreams!"
Picard paused, this boy had dreams of him as well? Considering the circumstances, they were probably of the same nature, seeing things from the other's perspective.
"I can say the same thing as well," Picard answered.
...
Aang remembered the first dream that broke routine with the ones from another world. Roku came to him on his dragon and requested that Aang and his friends land on the island. Roku also revealed to him that he would get a chance to meet with the stranger he kept dreaming about.
Apparently, from the stranger's speech, he also had been having dreams about him. They shared a spiritual connection of some kind. Whatever it was, Aang would find out.
"So," Aang continued, "Who are you? Where are you from? I have a million questions to ask you! Have you come to defeat the Fire Nation?"
"Sorry," the man responded, "You're going a bit too fast, but let's start with introductions, I am Jean-Luc Picard."
The man who called himself "Jean-Luc Picard" paused when he saw Aang giggling. "I'm sorry?" Aang heard between his laughter, "did I say anything wrong?"
"No," Aang forced out. He had to calm his laughter, as the Avatar, he did not want to give a bad impression to an off-worlder.
Aang continued when his laughter died down. "It's clear you're an off-worlder when you have such a funny name," he stated.
"Well," the man answered, "It's a French name."
French? Well, it must be an off-worlder term. The definition of French was not what concerned Aang most.
"Have you come to help us?"
Aang could feel his heart become heavy as the man put on a solemn face, and began shaking his head. Aang was confused, clearly, their ideals of freedom were similar to his own. Why then, would these people, with clearly superior technology, refuse to fight the Fire Nation?
"I'm sorry," the man began.
"Don't be!" Aang shouted, "Why! Just Why! You realize how much this world is suffering! You can help us fight them!"
"I can't" he continued, "You see, the people I work for, we have a Prime Directive, not to interfere with primitive, no offense, species, or their natural development."
"Well, our 'natural development' might lead us to destruction! Do you want that?"
Aang saw the man's face grow even more solemn. Even though he had stated his opinion, the conflict was clearly there.
"You're the one they call the 'Avatar', aren't you? Isn't saving this world your job?"
"I'm only a person!" Aang continued shouting, "Even though I can control all four elements, connect to the spirit world, and be the living incarnation of the planet, I'm also human! I need your help!"
The man looked up after Aang's rant. He opened his mouth, "In my people's history, there were empires very much like the Fire Nation. I understand why you're angry. But do you know why we are even here?"
Aang wiped a few tears from his face as the man finished his most recent statement. He locked eyes with the man as he spoke.
"We accidentally traveled here, and that has left our ship useless. Because of that, I have five other members of my crew trapped here. We are only traveling to the Fire Nation so we can get our only form of transportation back to our ship so we can fix it."
The explanation did not satisfy Aang. The man seeing this continued, "You see, we have our own problems that we have to worry about."
"Don't you see we have problems too? Can't you at least lend a helping hand?"
"Even if we didn't have problems, what should you expect us to do? Judge that the Fire Nation is evil, and defeat them? Taking one side in this war is illogical. We are only going against them because they have something of ours."
Aang breathed in, and out. His breath was heavier than the air he bended. He could not believe the apparent heartless attitude the man took. How could someone not get involved in a war like this? How could someone not try to stop the rampaging force of the Fire Nation?
"If you had a broken leg, and you saw someone in trouble, and no one was around to help him, what would you do?"
Picard was taken aback by the question. So childish a question, the situation he was in was more complex than the one the Avatar was presenting it as.
The clouds of the background started swirling. The Avatar started blurring out. Picard could sense that the dream was about to end. But a new journey was about to begin.
It started with the opening of grey eyes
His friends surrounded him, all wondering what Roku had said to Aang. Anyone is capable of great good and great evil.
Even the starship captain Jean-Luc Picard.
...
Picard had his remaining crew members gather in an abandoned cabin. With five people occupying the room, it was a tight fit.
It was also far away from the other crew members. There was little chance that someone would come stumbling in on them.
"So," Riker began, "I think we all want to know Captain, why have you brought us here?"
"Number one," Picard responded, "We need to decide our next course of action."
"Next course?" Deanna asked, "Don't we know what we're going to do? Use the invasion to infiltrate the capital and retrieve our shuttle as well as Commander Data?"
"I'm talking about after that," Picard said, "What do we do with these people? We've seen the state of the world, should we help them right it?"
Picard received mixed reactions, with Riker and Deanna shaking their heads, Worf remained still, but his eyes widened, and Wesley raised his eyebrows and leaned in closer to Picard.
Riker was the first, again, to add his imput, "You know that's crazy, isn't it, we can't just... you know what sure, let's do it."
"Well," Deanna began, "We know that, in accordance with the Prime Directive, this makes all the stuff we did look completely tame."
"Don't you see?" Worf asked, in response to Deanna, "Nearly everything we have done has flown in some face of a Directive, or a regulation. Every path we have taken has led up to this, in a position to help a down-trodden populace regain their freedom and their world. The universe we've known is not acting like we've imagined it should act. I'd say, it was predetermined that we should help these people."
Riker raised his eyes, "Sure quite a speech there Worf."
Riker looked around. Klingons, even though they were a space-faring race, they had held on to many of their ancient beliefs that some modern Federation science and philosophy had contradicted.
The universe is so vast and all-encompassing.
"You know," Riker continued, "We've all seen crazy things in our times on the Enterprise. We've also done a lot of crazy things. I'd say, why let the streak stop?"
Picard smiled, and addressed everyone else, "I hope you all are in accordance with my ever so stubborn First Officer."
Slowly, everyone in the room nodded their heads.
"In this ancient TV series," Wesley began, "Someone said a quote that is very appropriate for this time, if you can't do something smart, do something right."
"And we will be doing something right," Picard continued, "We are the outsiders looking in, looking into all this suffering and war. We've all seen a small taste in the city of Ba Sing Se, the tyranny, the regulation. It is our unspoken duty, to set these people free."
Silence followed Picard's declaration. However, the captain could tell that everyone was on the same page as he was
"So," Riker inquired, "Now that we all agree we're going to play liberator, how are we going to do it? I'd say our success as this role depends on the success of our original plan, getting the shuttle. Because all we have is five people and a couple of phasers."
"Yes," Picard answered, "If we can get these dilithium crystals to the Enterprise, we can use the ship to maybe force a surrender. I'm not willing to use 24th century starship-grade phasers on the populace."
"Right now," Worf interrupted, "Getting the shuttle is first priority. Commander Data, we cannot leave him behind. He has to be our second priority before we even think of taking off, provided that we find the shuttle."
"It's still a risky business," Deanna stated, "This fire nation has the most advanced technology of this world. From what I have heard from the crew, their city is well-defended, with numerous soldiers and defensive emplacements. Even with phasers and an invasion force, it will be tough to get in their capital."
"We have another advantage," Picard said, "The people's legend, the Avatar. He is this boy who is capable of mastering the four elemental arts of this planet."
"Oh great," Riker groaned, "Relying on native hocus-pocus"
"It's true number one," Picard assured, "I have seen him in the visions I have been having lately, and I've communicated with him."
Picard continued, "Worf is right, there are greater forces at work here, and I have a feeling this boy is one of them. With his help, we can get the shuttle, so in return, we can stop this destructive conflict."
The primitive metal ramp fell forward to reveal the port ahead of him. The city was old-fashioned, at best. It appeared to be based off of the ancient human empire known as the Japenese. Or the Chinese. Data felt that those two cultures shared remarkable similarities.
"Welcome," his captor sneered with glee, "To the Fire Nation Capitol."
Data was pressed forward. The port could not be the capital. His studies of ancient human empires led him to conclude that most would have liked to make their capitals glamorous and awe-inspiring. Maybe it was because he was an android that he did not find the port all that awe-inspiring.
Then he saw it, the mountain behind the port. Data could spot a few red spires protruding from the top of it. It became clearer to him as the captain led him to a path that apparently led to the top of the mountain.
This "Fire Nation Capital" was inside a volcano, and he, Data, was going in it.
...
They reached the top rather quickly. Data wondered if his senses of time-perception were malfunctioning.
Was it fear? Does that make time flow quickly? No, it was impossible, his emotion chip was off.
But Data could feel a little tingling in his chest. It became more intense as their group met another.
In the center was apparently a young girl. Yet, she carried herself in a way that suggested confidence.
"Welcome," she said, "To home, now let me pick that little mind of yours to make this easier than you think it should be."
Oh yeah, thank you for over 1000 hits. Keep spamming that mouse on my story to make me feel better ;)