Chapter title: In Another Life
Posted May 2012
Author's note: Thanks to everyone for reading! And to those who have waiting, thanks for your patience. In my first ten chapters, I've tried not to mess too much with the time frames of the original timeline, but it looks like I'll have to stray a little bit. Hope the story remains enjoyable.
Six months after the events of Chapter 10
John Evans sat in his comfortable fluffy chair in the Executive Office and rested his head on his two hands, whose elbows had been resting on the mahogany-like desk. He was actually a little bored. With several months to go before the re-election, he was about to get an update on his main challengers' advertising campaigns against him. No doubt they would assail him with multiple ridiculous accusations.
Two of his campaign aides entered the oval-shaped office for his daily 9:20 politics briefing.
"Mr. Evans, sir," said the aide who walked in first.
"Jack. Tammy. Please have a seat."
The two aides sat down in the two soft leather chairs that were facing Evans. Evans had gotten up from behind his desk and the three of them sat down around a glass coffee table.
"How are the campaign preparations going?" asked Evans.
"Very well, sir," said Jack Summers.
"Duncan is going to be crushed," said a smiling Tammy Stackhouse.
Myles Duncan, the former chief of the Evansworld military had recently retired from the army so that he could run for the governorship himself.
"We have a bit of a surprise candidate appear in the mix," said Summers, he pulled out his new sleek EvansPad and started to bring up a file on the touchscreen. "I've never heard of this person before. I'm having my team run background on him as we speak. The most recent polling data that arrived just this morning included a somewhat popular write-in candidate who jumped right into second place. He seems to have come out of nowhere."
"Really?" said an intrigued Evans. "Someone else from the military? Or a local council official?"
"I think neither," said Summers. "A gentleman named Val Shin. Have you heard of him?"
Tammy Stackhouse shook her head.
Evans smiled. He was amused.
"We don't have to worry about him," said Evans. "He's not even from this planet. Though, I kind of wonder why people started writing him in."
"It was a strong block of people," said Jack. "The headlines in this morning's newsfeeds read 'Chief Duncan not a slam dunk; Shin-pressive runner-up in the polls.' The two of them are only a few percentage points apart. Given sampling errors, it's almost a dead heat."
"Those news reporters really have to stop it with the corny headlines," said Stackhouse.
"This newcomer is proving to be quite popular with the younger demographic," said Summers.
It wouldn't matter. The Evansworld Constitution clearly stated that the governor had to be a natural born citizen of the planet.
"Let's not worry about Shin for now. How are my favorables?" asked Evans.
"Polling pretty strong," said Summers. "You're at 63 percent favorable, and only 15 percent unfavorable. Looks like about 20 percent had no opinion."
"And you perform well across the board," said Stackhouse. "In all key demographic groups, you are above 50 percent favorable."
"Music to my ears," said Evans.
The Evansworld governor elections didn't involve political parties. It was usually a three round process. During the first round, each of Evansworld's 23 city mayors or town superintendents were allowed to nominate candidates to run for the governorship. Surprisingly, they rarely nominated themselves. The citizens of the planet could then vote for one of the nominees. There could be as many as 23, but there were often 10 or less. In the second round, the candidate field was narrowed to the top five vote recipients from the first round. The third and final round was between the top two from the second round. Whenever there was an incumbent running for re-election, that person would automatically advance to the third round and the second round would determine the sole challenger. There were two weeks between each round.
Val Shin arrived at a military base about an hour's drive northeast of Charleston, Evansworld's capital. Most of the populated suburbs that surrounded Charleston were to the West, Northwest, South, and Southeast. A large lake was directly to the East, and more rural agrarian settlements were to the North. Evansworld's main military base also bordered the Great Lake, and was connected to the capital by a highway which hugged the coastline.
Val stepped out of his vehicle and headed toward the main hangar. Nathan Driver and two Evansworld military officers met him outside of the entrance.
"Welcome to alpha site," said Lieutenant Commander Andrew Harrison. Val had met him a few times before. Harrison was one of Commodore McKnight's top aides.
The main hangar was the home of a few dozen new Krowtonan space fighter prototypes. Squadron Leader Nicolas Locarno and his wingmen had been training a new crop of pilots from Evansworld's military. Since the entire planet's population was only roughly 250,000, the military was relatively small. They had an Army of about 3000 and a Navy with a little over 2300 members. There was no Air Force, and the planet's pilots were either from the Army's Air battalion or the Naval Flight Wing.
In addition to the planned fighter squadrons, John Evans and his advisors had also decided to start building a defensive weapons platform in orbit. It would take over a year to complete.
"How is the flight training going?" asked Val.
"Very well," said Harrison. "We have trained 30 pilots already. The next batch of 30 is a little over halfway through their training.
The four of them walked through the vast hangar and then exited through the other side. Here, Val caught his first glimpse of the reason he was asked to visit alpha site. In the field between the large hangars stood three robot-like machines. Each about 13 feet tall, Val could see that the torso of each machine had a place for a human being to sit in. The machine basically served as an extension of the human operator. The human's legs would reach the robot's knees, and the human's hands would reach the robot's elbows.
"The Evansworld Defense Forces didn't really have any use for these particular Krowtonan prototypes," said Harrison. "It seems that the Krowtonan Home Guard was hoping to recruit some of us humans from Evansworld into operations on some of the Krowtonan planets that were facing domestic instabilities. They are having some manpower shortages. However, we don't have anyone to spare. One of the Home Guard officials sent us these exo-suits anyway. Said they were surplus."
"I thought it might be useful to train some of our MARCOs with these suits," said Driver.
Val nodded. "Have any of your men tried them out?" Val asked.
"Not yet. We were saving that for your glorious arrival," joked Driver. "We've read through the manuals and tried some simulations. But it'll be a huge adjustment once we get in those things. It should be an interesting several weeks."
"Thought you were going to retire from the MARCO business," said Val.
"I thought about it," said Driver. "But I guess a MARCO is who I am. In another life, I probably would've rather been a musician, or a sailor."
Val had almost forgotten. At some point in both his and Driver's childhoods, they wanted to be submariners. A few months ago, Val made the decision to stay in the Delta quadrant. All of the MARCOs had decided to settle on Evansworld. Over half of them made a transition to civilian life, but remained what Driver called the MARCO reserves in the event they were ever needed again. The other half stayed in uniform and trained alongside the Evansworld military for the time being.
Val himself shuttled back and forth between Evansworld's capital and meeting with Admiral Burke and other members of the Krowtonan High Guard. Preparations for stronger defense networks were ramping up in the event of eventual Borg incursions. He also spent some limited time on Yammja to check in on how the government there was adapting to constitutional reforms. It was a bumpy road.
"You think we'll need these exosuits in the near future?" asked Staff Sergeant Driver. He had heard rumors that Krowtonan High Guard was ramping up for battle in the coming months. Battle with adversaries who were physically larger than the typical human or Krowtonan. Much larger.
"I'm hoping not. The Krowtonan higher up mucky-mucks are all in frantic diplomatic negotiations with a couple of the races they've newly encountered from the other side of the Nekrit Expanse. I don't think the Krowtonan Empire survives if a new warfront opens up."
Driver sighed. He had been hoping for some semblance of normalcy.
"The good news is, if it can be called that, it seems the Hirogen wolfpacks may be dealing with other adversaries at this time and will not be looking to engage the Krowtonan," said Val.
"So what's the bad news?"
"The Hirogen are battling an unknown species which are also quite powerful. None of the Krowtonan scouts or early recon ships have identified this mysterious alien race, but the rumors are that they are a substantial force."
"Borg?" asked Driver
"No. A different race. Biological. Larger. Rumors are that they are tripeds. Roughly 10 feet tall. Very muscular."
"I see."
Val watched the MARCOs' initial testing of the suits. Their movements weren't fluid. But in time, Val believed the MARCOs would get used to the suits. He just hoped that the suits would not be necessary.
After about an hour, the MARCOs exited the suits for some rest. Val thought they did a good job getting used to controlling the limbs of the robotic suits. They hadn't quite mastered walking yet.
"It was great seeing you again, Nathan," said Val. He rarely addressed the staff sergeant by his first name.
"Good to see you as well, skipper," said Driver. "Heading back to the capital?"
"Off-world," said Val.
"Crisis on Yammja?"
"Isn't there always?"
The two of them parted ways and Val hopped back into his military-loaned vehicle. He sped away back to the spaceport.
"We cannot keep going down this road," insisted the lead foreman of one of Yammja's largest factories. He had been the chosen representative to speak with the ministers of labor and industry at the Yammja Palace of Public Appeals. It was a new forum designed to give the citizenry a chance to voice their concerns to the ruling elites. While the appeals were tightly controlled, it was still viewed as a fair system.
Shi Lis and Shi Vock had been listening to testimony for the past two hours. This was not an easy policy matter.
New technological advances were proving to be a great boon for the productivity of almost all sectors of the Yammja economy. Artificial intelligence and newly dexterous robots meant that much of the planet's workforce was recently displaced from their jobs. Some of the regional governors had implemented executive orders to block many of the businesses in their jurisdictions from wholesale layoffs of their workers. There was pushback from the business owners themselves, who argued that they could not compete with other planets if they were to remain hamstrung by high labor costs.
At the end of the five hour session, the two ministers decided to adjourn and reconvene a week later. The Queen had also been in attendance, and was dismayed at the potential implications of this policy decision. For now, the regional governors' injunctions would stand. Business owners were blocked from replacing their workers with robots.
Queen Djeena retired to a lavish conference room, followed by several aides. Along with her were Shis Lis and Vock, the two ministers with authority over the policies in question. In addition, she also invited the minister of public welfare and the minister of public protection. As the lead foreman had testified to hours earlier, this issue threatened to spark massive protests and even riots if the business owners were allowed to carry out their plans.
"This day has been coming for a while. We all knew something like this would happen," said Shi Vock, the Minister of Industry. "Technological advances in other alien societies that we've encountered had suggested that physical labor would decrease in necessity."
"But this came too fast," insisted Shi Lis, the Minister of Labor. "We needed time to adjust to this. The innovations arrived in a near simultaneous fashion. Where are all of these people supposed to go? What are they supposed to do?"
Shi Jovar, the Minister of Social Welfare was very concerned. His government agency was not equipped to handle a potential massive influx of citizens onto the safety net programs the government only recently developed. In fact, it was already overburdened with the current aid requirements. Any additional influx would bankrupt the system.
Shi Zend, the Minister of Internal Security and Protective Services was also slightly concerned.
"We'd have to call up all of our auxiliaries," said Zend. "But I think we'd be able to manage. The question is, how long would our forces hold up? Sooner or later, I predict some of them would defect."
"Would they?" asked Djeena. She was disgusted at the possibility that any of her forces would betray her.
"Reluctantly, yes," replied Zend. "Perhaps not many, but some. These displaced workers have families. There will be a remarkable amount of sympathy for their plight. The longer it draws out, the more likely defections would occur."
The cabinet ministers sat silently as the Queen thought through the situation.
"There have been worker displacements in the past," said Shi Lis after a few minutes of silence. "We've been able to handle them when they are introduced into the economy slowly. A century and a half ago, the majority of our people were farmers. Now, less than 10% are. Creative destruction has always been a part of the system. Some jobs die off, but new ones come in. There's just a lag between those two. We need time to transition. We can't have such a simultaneous spike across all sectors."
"Majesty," said Shi Vock. "I do not wish to be overly pessimistic about this, but I do not think this new technological revolution will bear any resemblance to past innovations. There will not be any new jobs to replace the old ones. At least, nowhere near enough. And we will never be able to stop the tech. We might slow it down a little bit, but we will eventually reach a society where physical labor is obsolete. We should take this as an opportunity to create a roadmap for the future."
After about 30 more minutes of discussion, the Queen's top advisors called it a day. It was getting late, and it would be best if they rested up. Tomorrow might prove to be as complicated a day as the one that was about to end.
"The Hirogen Supreme Alpha appears to be eager to formalize a non-aggression pact," said Burke.
"That's a good sign," commented Val.
"Well, maybe," said a hesitant Burke. "Or maybe it's an indication of just how tough the other potential threats out there are."
Nevertheless, Burke would be satisfied for now. He was in relatively constant communication with the First Fleet Lord. He and the Emperor's Principal Minister for External Relations had been negotiating with the Supreme Alpha of the Hirogen for the past few weeks. Things looked promising and the Krowtonan were hoping to avoid conflicts between the two fleets.
"You're such a downer," said Val.
"How are things on Evansworld?" asked Burke.
"Okay, I think. I'm in transit right now to Yammja."
"Again? Just forget about that headache," said Burke. "I heard that Governor Evans might want to tap you for one of his high executive positions."
"Really?" asked a surprised Val. "I didn't hear about it. I doubt it though. It's not like the two of us are buddies."
"All right. If I hear any new news about the Hirogen or Governor Evans, I'll let you know. Burke out."
The screen blinked off and Val walked out of the gul's office and back onto Vetara's bridge.
On Yammja, Char Sardu, the leader of the Home Guard contingent, greeted Val. Although he had not performed very well during the rebel uprising, he was not demoted. His immediate superior in the Krowtonan Home Guard was an understanding and patient official. His force was cut in half, but Sardu and his small force of roughly 50 troops were left stationed on Yammja. Although the typical battalion was much larger than 50 or even 100, Sardu's battalion was now composed of three special crisis response units. The main specialty of two of those teams was explosives defusion while the third team specialized in hazardous materials containment. Val hoped that Sardu's men did not have occasion to exercise their unique talents.
"Jang Shin," said Sardu as he put his right fist to his heart, the typical Krowtonan salute. "I hope you are well."
"I am. How are you and your men?"
"We are well, thank you," said Sardu. He then gave a short briefing regarding the potential flare-up of chaos that might occur on Yammja. As with the rebellion, Sardu's men were not equipped or trained to assist in such situations.
"Shi Zend is hoping there won't be too much trouble," continued Sardu.
After meeting briefly with Sardu, Val left the Home Guard sub-station and headed to the Yammjan Hall of Justice. He had another brief meeting with Jarett Gronski and a couple of the Queen's Ministers. Val's life was becoming a blur of endless meetings.
Jack Summers sat with his assistant, Tammy, and awaited Governor Evans' arrival. The governor was running behind at least 20 minutes.
The two of them stood from their seats when Evans finally entered the room.
"Sorry to keep you waiting guys, how are things?"
"Not bad," said Summers.
"How are the challenger sweepstakes looking?"
"Myles Duncan still appears to be the presumptive challenger," said Summers.
"But this Shin person seems to have solid support in at least two regions, both outlying. Shin Hawaii and New Aspen. Hawaii is probably because of the quirk with his name. Not sure why Aspen. He has tied Duncan in two of the suburb regions, but that is overshadowed by Duncan's large lead in the ten districts of Capital City," said Stackhouse.
"Shin's lead in Aspen is especially surprising. He's polling at least 2 to 1. Newsfeed headline from the last poll in the local Aspen news was 'Shin-credible challenge to presumptive challenger Duncan.' They've got some type of fever going up there," said Summers.
Evans took it in stride. He knew what was happening.
"Shin likes to ski up there," said Evans.
"I thought you said he was rarely on planet?" asked Summers. Summers and Stackhouse were not completely aware of Shin's movements on Evansworld. They were always highly classified for planetary security reasons. Or, at least, that was the reason the information was blocked from the public. Summers would make it a point to ask Evans for a higher security clearance, if only on the topic of Val Shin.
"He is."
"But he's seemingly here enough to make an impression," said Stackhouse.
"I doubt he's even been to Hawaii two times. For them, it's more likely an ethnic thing. Shin is half Asian, on his father's side."
"Don't discount that," said Summers. "It's a powerful thing. Identity politics is one of those things that push people over the top in close races."
"But this isn't close, is it?" asked Evans. By now, he was starting to get annoyed. This race better not be close. He didn't hire these PR guys just to feed him information. They were supposed to be out there shaping public opinion in his favor.
"It's easy for you to criticize when you're not the one in charge. Provide me with solutions or shut up!"
"Just because I'm not in charge doesn't mean I can't point out the flaws in what you are doing. Or not doing. And just because I don't know the solution doesn't mean I can't point out that a solution is necessary. You are the leader, coming up with the solution is your responsibility. And if you can't do it alone, that's understandable. Get your advisers to help you and work this out as a team. Get your butts in gear and do something."
Djeena and Val had been arguing for several minutes now. Several very long and intense minutes. The cabinet ministers were in a little bit of paralysis and decided to not do anything and try to ride out the storm. The workers were getting more and more agitated. This wasn't going to end well if there wasn't a course correction.
"The advisers are in agreement," said Djeena. "There is nothing we can do. What would you have us do? Turn back time? Stop innovation in its tracks? Automation had been foreseen for many years. Decades even. There's no turning this back. The populace will have to learn to adjust."
"They'll learn to adjust while starving? While you elites are in your palaces, telling them to eat cake?"
Djeena was a little confused by the reference, but she was adamant. The ruling class on Yammja would stay course. This would all work itself out.
"I want to be clear here," said Val. "There will be no back-up. Nobody will be riding to the rescue. This comes straight from the Emperor and the Fleet Lords. You get a rebellion and they come to guillotine you, you're dealing with it alone. There are higher priority threats that the Krowtonan High Guard is dealing with right now. Burke is washing his hands of this whole fiasco. The diplomats have already secured new alliances with other planets. The minerals and resources that Yammja used to provide can be found elsewhere. If you guys become enough of a nuisance, Burke will just glass your entire planet and warp away."
"You promised you would protect me!" said Djeena.
"The best I can do now is evacuate you if this thing reaches a boiling point. It's all out of my hands now."
"What did you say about my captain?" asked Corporal Lorenzo Rodriguez.
He was in a bar in Capital City when he overhead someone insult Captain Shin.
A man slightly bigger than Rodriguez was now face to face with the young corporal.
"I called him a mutt. What of it?"
A bartender and a bouncer came over and separated the two of them.
"Guys, we don't want any trouble here," said the bartender.
Lucas van der Hoeven walked over to his friend Lorenzo and pulled him away from the situation.
"Zo, let's just get out of here," he suggested.
Even in Capital City, Val Shin's popularity was climbing for being the challenger to John Evans for the governorship. There was even talk of quickly amending the Evansworld Constitution to allow for an alien born human to qualify. Thus far, a strong majority of the council of mayors had opposed such an amendment.
As Val's popularity rose, so did opposition. Most of the opposition rested on the fact that he was alien born. For a small sliver of people, his race was a factor. Just as Val's heritage made him an attractive person to root for in the minds of some of Evansworld's citizens, it had the opposite effect on some. Even after a few centuries, the races of Evansworld were not always entirely cohesive.
"Welcome aboard the Vetara," said Val.
He had left Yammja a day ago and the Vetara was now flying in formation with the Solstice's battle group. Although the Vetara remained outside of the Krowtonan High Guard Fleet, it was an allied vessel and the second most advanced starship on the Krowtonan side, after the Solstice. A Hirogen delegation had wished to visit it, after having seen the Solstice several times.
The Hirogen High Alpha acknowledged Val, but did not speak.
The various species of the Delta Quadrant tended to call the Hirogen a word similar to "wolfpack." The Hirogen were hunters of alien species and typically hunted in packs. They did not typically make allies, but this was the first time in their history that they faced an enemy too formidable to fend off alone.
The Hirogen towered above the humans. They wore metallic suits of armor and even armored gloves.
"The Krowtonan call me Karr," said the High Alpha. Val surmised that the Hirogen themselves did not call this person Karr. But Val didn't want to be rude, and went with how Karr introduced himself.
The Hirogen were a mostly nomadic species but there were three areas of high concentration, which were called "clusters." Karr was the leader of one of these three clusters. The organization structure seemed to be hunting party, then pack, then cluster. The rank hierarchy was relatively simple. The Supreme Alpha sat at the top of the Hirogen. The entire race was sometimes called a super-cluster or a super-pack. There were three High Alphas, one for each cluster, and then Alphas that lead each pack. The Alphas typically had a lieutenant, known as a Beta. Some Alphas also had another senior hunter called a Gamma, sometimes known as a lone wolf, who acted as a forward scout to hunt for new prey. Young hunters in training were sometimes called Omegas. The rest of the Hirogen were called Hunters, and sometimes the other Delta Quadrant species called them wolves.
Karr seemed to be relatively satisfied by his tour of the Vetara. One of the last areas he would visit was engineering. There, he turned decidedly less satisfied.
"What is this?" asked Karr, seemingly a little agitated.
Val wasn't entirely sure what Karr was referring to.
After a few seconds, Karr could see that nobody understood what he meant. He pointed to Kejal, who was now standing near her captain.
"Her," said Karr. "I assume she's a her. I can't smell her."
Val was still a little bit confused. "How is that different from anyone else?" he asked.
Karr gave a quick laugh. "You, human, are one of the most pungent prey imaginable. Perhaps not you specifically, but as a race, I could smell you a ketric away."
A ketric was a Hirogen unit of distance.
"Why does this matter?" asked Burke.
"If I can't smell her, then she doesn't exist," said Karr. "We Hirogen have very acute senses. This must be some sort of mirage."
Val tried to explain.
"This is Kejal. She's a hologram."
"What's a hologram?" asked Karr.
It took several minutes for the Starfleet officers to explain to Karr the basic concept behind a hologram. Luckily, Ensign Gilmore was there to explain some of the more technical aspects.
"This is highly unusual," said Karr. "I do not trust this hologram." He said the word hologram in a somewhat condescending tone.
"And she is your second-in-command?" asked Karr. The question was directed at Val.
"I guess you would call her my Beta onboard the Vetara," said Val.
"I think you should pick another Beta," said Karr. "I do not like this."
"I'm not asking you to like this," said Val, defensively. "This is my ship, and it's my call. She's my beta."
Although Val wasn't great at reading a Hirogen's facial expressions, he knew full well that Karr was annoyed. But eventually, Karr walked away from engineering and the group continued the tour of the ship.
One month later.
"How is your captain faring, sergeant?" asked Queen Djeena.
"He's hanging in there," said Nathan Driver.
Djeena just arrived on Evansworld.
After finalizing a non-aggression pact with the Hirogen, Burke was notified that one of the Hirogen's hubs in their vast web of communications networks had been accessed by the U.S.S. Voyager. It appears that Voyager accessed the Hirogen network in order to send their holographic doctor across the galaxy to the U.S.S. Prometheus. There, he reported to Starfleet Command that Voyager had been whisked away to the Delta Quadrant and was slowly making its way back.
A few days after that incident, the Hirogen realized that the U.S.S. Solstice was a part of the same Starfleet that Voyager belonged to. The Hirogen decided to allow Admiral Burke to also contact Starfleet Command.
By the time Burke was able to make contact with the edge of the Alpha Quadrant, the Prometheus had already left. However, he was able to make contact with a small science vessel that was dispatched to the area to investigate the communications array. It was accompanied by two escorts. Voyager would soon be notified of the existence of the Solstice and her alliance with the Krowtonan.
More importantly, a lot had changed in the short time that Voyager and the Solstice were carried away to the Delta Quadrant. The Federation was now at war with an entity in the Gamma Quadrant which called itself the Dominion. Cardassia went through a brief war with the Klingons and then was forced to ally itself with the Dominion. The Obsidian Order collapsed after a failed joint attempt with the Tal Shiar to destroy the Dominion homeworld. The Maquis outlaws were completely wiped out.
On a personal front, Val was dealt with two significant blows. A former colleague and close friend of his, an Orion named Navaar, had perished in a Dominion attack on Federation outposts close to the Bajoran wormhole. Affecting him more, Val's younger brother Whitford had gone missing. The Ferenginar Reserve Bank had been implicated in bankrolling a mysterious Federation agency that was allegedly a junior partner to the Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order alliance which attempted to kill off the Founders. As revenge, the Dominion quickly dispatched all those involved. Whitford Shin was on a heavily armored transport returning to Federation space when it was attacked.
The last time Djeena and Val were face to face, they had an awful argument. Like her cousin, King Rufus, Djeena had called Val a hypocrite. The circumstances were different, but the general concept was the same. Rufus disliked how Val seemed to have unquestioned authority over his MARCOs, and yet would not allow him, a King no less, to hold unquestioned authority over units of the Krowtonan Home Guard. Djeena took issue with the fact that Val insisted that automated systems should not be allowed to perform the jobs of large portions of the Yammjan population, yet Val himself relied on an automated hologram as his chief engineer and even had an automated medic from time to time. Val tried to explain that he wasn't against advanced technology as a concept, but that steps would need to be taken to ensure that the rest of her subjects were taken care of. The two of them parted while furious at each other.
Driver escorted Djeena to the door of Val's quarters at Alpha site. Although they were the nicest V.I.P. quarters on base, fit for a general or admiral, they were still relatively modest.
"Will you allow me to enter without waking him?" asked Djeena.
Driver wasn't completely sure how to approach this situation. He typically did not allow such a security lapse, but he knew that Djeena and Val were close, despite their frequent arguments. He knew she wouldn't harm him. After a few seconds of thought, he nodded his assent. The lone MARCO trooper guarding the door stood at attention as Djeena walked into Val's quarters.
Val was still asleep. This being a VIP quarters, the bed was slightly bigger than the usual bunk at the military base. It wasn't quite Queen sized, but it was close. The room wasn't luxurious, but it wasn't Spartan either. Djeena sat down on the bed, sitting upright against the wall. Sitting next to Val, she played with his hair a little bit. Then she just sat there and rested. She remembered that when she was a young girl, her mother would sit with her in a similar way as Djeena slept. It made Djeena feel safe and protected. She wanted Val to feel the same way.
War.
War was brewing everywhere. The potential civil war on Yammja. The inter-quadrant war between the Alpha Quadrant powers and the Dominion. The potential inter-dimensional war that the Borg stoked with an alien species they labeled 8472.
During the past month, Val digested all possible kinds of intelligence reports. Djeena had stayed with him for a couple of days, but then had to return to Yammja to guide her cabinet's handling of the labor situation. They would try to ensure a stronger safety net for the displaced workers as their jobs became automated. The decision wasn't without detractors. Those who remained in the workforce objected to their unproductive brethren receiving handouts. Those whose jobs were eliminated decried having to downshift from the standard of living they were formerly accustomed to. It would take a lot of adjustment for everyone.
Val's attention was almost entirely caught between the war in the Alpha Quadrant, and the possible war in the Delta Quadrant. He often wondered whether he could have possibly made a difference in the Dominion War had he somehow stayed in the Alpha Quadrant. The likely answer was no. But he would always wonder.
Meanwhile, in the Delta Quadrant, Species 8472 seemed to be making incursions and destroying Borg ships at will. There had also been minor skirmishes between 8472 and the Hirogen, and now it was feared the Krowtonan would be the next targets. This on top of the uneasy truce that the Krowtonan had with the Hirogen and the Borg.
Two additional distractions were most unwelcome. The first was the infighting amongst Evansworld's political leaders. While a majority of them refused to allow Val Shin even a remote possibility of appearing on the ballot to become the challenger for the Governorship, an adamant minority demanded the change to the Constitution. Val had to convince the leaders of Shin Hawaii and Aspen, and some of the local businessmen of Capital City, that he had no intention of running for Governor of Evansworld, even if there were to be a Constitutional Amendment. If nominated, he would not run. If elected, he would not serve. While disappointed, Val's faction eventually acquiesced.
The second distraction came from the Alpha Quadrant. Starfleet's Judge Advocate General, Vice Admiral James Matthews, instructed Val to write up reports for all of the maquis members of Janeway's crew on Voyager. When Starfleet Command finally made contact with Janeway, she insisted that the maquis members of her crew be granted pardons. Starfleet JAG started that process, but required Val to sign off. Val refused, pointing out that he did not really know any of the fugitive's files. JAG then sent him all the relevant files. He got buried in paperwork.
"None approved?" asked Admiral Matthews, a few days after Val reviewed the files.
"That's correct, sir."
Matthews couldn't say that he wasn't expecting this. He already had several of his JAG prosecutors back in the Alpha Quadrant review the files, and the pardons were all denied. He didn't tell Val about that, and he had been hoping that perhaps Val, with his experience of having actually met the maquis members face to face, might come to a different conclusion.
Val heard the admiral sigh in defeat. The only silver lining Matthews saw was that Val approved of Tom Paris' reinstatement into Starfleet. A mere rubber stamp, but an important one. No doubt Starfleet Command would have overruled Val if the recommendation were otherwise, if only as a favor to Admiral Owen Paris.
"Perhaps you can have someone at JAG HQ or the JAG branch office responsible for the Bajor sector take a look. They may be more amenable. I must admit I have not had positive personal interactions with members of the maquis. I believe I've made impartial conclusions, but you never know," said Val.
"They've all previously rejected the pardon requests," said Matthews.
Val was slightly annoyed. He didn't like being used as a workaround.
"I've noticed you are wearing two rank pips on your collar," said Matthews, wanting to change the subject.
Val nodded. "Yes, sir." He had been wearing four before, but he now felt that it was possibly inappropriate. During Val's first vid-conference with the admiral, he could tell the admiral wasn't completely comfortable with Val wearing four rank pips.
"Do me a favor, put on a third pip," said the admiral.
"Sir?" asked Val.
"I know you heard what I just said. I've pushed you for Vice Captain. You're the top JAG officer of the Delta Quadrant, I figure you deserved a rank higher than Lieutenant."
"Sir…" said Val, a little surprised. "Thank you, sir."
The admiral waved the gratitude away. "Just don't let it get to your head okay?"
"Yes, sir."
The admiral scrolled through a matrix of Val's pardon decisions. Dozens and dozens of denials. But two were not.
"Can you further elaborate on why you recused yourself from deciding on a Karen DuPont?" he asked.
"We were friends from law school," said Val.
"A lawyer? She's a maquis outlaw?" wondered Matthews.
"It's a long story. She's not really a member. I guess you could say she was affiliated in a way."
"I'll have someone else review her file more thoroughly. And… Chakotay. That surprises me. No recommendation for either denial or approval."
"Right," said Val. "Janeway pushed very hard for him. I read her reports. She's genuine in her assessment. And I do recall that he almost sacrificed his own life in order to ram his maquis raider into the Kazon mothership, thus giving Voyager a chance to survive. It was an act worthy of pardon consideration."
"Then why isn't he pardoned?" asked the admiral.
"Because the charges against him are serious. Very serious."
"But you're not denying?"
"His file appears incomplete. He's accused of causing the deaths of multiple Starfleet personnel. There's no evidence in the file that he actually caused any such event."
"It says he commanded men who were directly responsible for attacks on the Federation. You know the law; this is the captain of the ship doctrine. He's responsible for his people," said the admiral.
"Right, but there's no evidence that he had control, influence, or even contact with the people involved. He's suspected by Starfleet Security as being the commander, but the file is heavily redacted. I couldn't access the information. I can't make a proper determination without that information. If the charges are warranted, I most certainly would not pardon him."
Admiral Matthews grew a little curious about the circumstances. There must have been ample evidence against Chakotay though. Starfleet would not have sent an Intrepid-class ship to chase him down if he were simply a trivial nuisance. Matthews made a note to follow up.
"Chakotay is still charged with treason. He abandoned his uniform and took up arms against the Federation. That's not a charge to take lightly. In short, if the captain of the ship charges didn't exist, then I might consider the pardon in light of the man's honorable actions in saving Voyager. Maybe. But I guess you can weigh his actions and decide for yourself. I won't make a recommendation one way or the other," said Val.
"Thank you for your candor, Counselor Shin," said Admiral Matthews. "Now, as I understand it, there are orders from Starfleet Command to free you of your JAG duties for the next few weeks. You and Burke are writing up a mission for an incursion into fluidic space?"
"Yes, Admiral Burke and the Krowtonan," Val was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.
"Admiral Burke," said Matthews, with a hint of anger. "I've got to say, counselor, it bothers me that you guys over there all promoted yourselves. Admiral Burke, Captain Riker, Captain Shin, Lieutenant Paris, Vice Captain Chakotay, Lieutenant Sito. I'm surprised Janeway hasn't promoted her tactical officer to Vulcan subcommander."
Val wasn't entirely sure how to respond, and just remained silent.
Matthews gave another sigh of exasperation.
"Well, Vice Captain Shin. I wish you safety on your scouting mission to the fluidic dimension. Matthews out."
Val's screen blinked off and Val thought about the Alpha Quadrant for a minute before turning back to the engineering reports of the power levels necessary to open a gateway to fluidic space.
After a month of careful planning, the mission was finalized. It gained approval from Starfleet Command. Burke would lead a small joint fleet into fluidic space and scout for the 8472 homeworld. The fleet would be a mix of Hirogen, Krowtonan and Starfleet. Peace negotiations were the goal. The Krowtonan and Starfleet now believed a massive misunderstanding occurred with regard to 8472. Previously, they believed that 8472 had intentions of wiping out all life in the Delta Quadrant and maybe even in the Alpha Quadrant. It was subsequently discovered that the Borg initiated the confrontation and 8472 may have no interest in striking the Federation or the Delta Quadrant. But there needed to be communication. Thus far, bioships from fluidic space would cross into our dimension, attack, and then cross back. There was no opportunity to engage in dialogue.
The fleet was being prepared. Before the mission, all of the officers and crew were given a week off. A little bit of relaxation would help them perform better when the time came. Val took a trip to Aspen one last time. He wouldn't ski. He just relaxed. Djeena joined him in the town. While Evansworld hadn't seen many aliens in their history, in the recent months, there were numerous Krowtonan who visited the planet. The people of Evansworld were getting used to it.
Val and Djeena walked through a quaint open air marketplace near the center of Aspen. Just a few blocks from the city hall. The two of them were not holding hands, but people could tell that they were most likely a couple.
Val stopped by one of the booths and picked up two small figures, about 3 inches tall. They were a boy and a girl, seemingly in hockey uniforms, with ice skates on. The uniform belonged to the Aspen Angels, the local hockey team.
"This one loves his trinkets," said Djeena to the woman behind the table of small figures.
"In their hearts, all men are young boys," said the woman.
"I'd bet he be even more excited if those were superheroes on ice skates," said Djeena.
The woman laughed.
"You know," said Val. "I'm standing right here."
Djeena reached into a small pouch to grab some coins, but the woman waved her off.
"Your money's no good here," said the woman. She plucked the two toys from Val's hand.
Val was a little confused, as was Djeena. The woman then put the two figures in a small plastic bag and handed it to Val.
"I know who you are," said the woman with a smile. "You know, I would have voted for you."
Val smiled. He wanted to pay, but the woman insisted. The only thing she settled for was to shoot an image of her with her preferred governor candidate.
Val and Djeena left the booth slightly amused. Val was a celebrity!
Kejal materialized in the gul's quarters onboard the Vetara. These were Val's quarters. She intended for them to stay that way.
Val and Djeena were laying in bed, and Kejal's appearance startled them for a second. The two of them had spent the entire day walking around Aspen and only arrived onboard the Vetara a few hours ago. Prior to entering his quarters, Val had spoken to Kejal in private about the Vetara's future. Val believed that Kejal should be the Vetara's new captain. The Obsidian Order was no more. As such, the alliance between the Obsidian Order and Section 31 no longer existed. What's more, Cardassia seems to now be at war with the Federation. It may be inappropriate for a human to command a Cardassian warship. Val offered to cede command to Kejal. Admiral Burke already lined up the Dauntless-class U.S.S. Resolute for Val to command in the event he needed a ship. The Resolute wasn't a true Starfleet vessel, but it mimicked one very well. And she needed a captain. Val asked Kejal to think about it overnight and they would talk about it next morning. Apparently, Kejal didn't want to wait.
"I believe it would be in both of our best interests for you to remain the captain of this ship," said Kejal, getting straight to the point.
"Okay," said Val. "And you believe Cardassian Central Command would have no issues with that?"
"The Vetara doesn't belong to Central Command. She is a ship of the Obsidian Order."
"Which no longer exists," said Val.
"True, but the Cardassian Detapa Council is above Central Command in hierarchy. There are rumors that remnants of the council are forming a rebellion against the Dominion allied Cardassian government. The rumors even include an alliance with the Federation. As such, I do not believe it is necessarily wrong for you to continue on as captain."
Val wanted to agree with Kejal, but before he could speak, she continued on.
"In addition," said Kejal. "I believe that the mission into fluidic space has implications for all alien races of the Alpha Quadrant. If 8472 are indeed under a false understanding that all the races of this dimension are at war with fluidic space, it is important to straighten out that misunderstanding."
Val waited a few moments to make sure that Kejal was done.
"I agree," said Val. "Now, if you'll leave my quarters, it's half past midnight."
He threw a pillow at Kejal. She smiled, and then her program de-materialized.
Loyalty. The humans had it in spades. It was one of the many things that piqued Q's curiosity. Burke commanded unquestioning loyalty from the Solstice crew. Riker, Sito, Gilmore. They would all follow him to certain death. Val Shin commanded the loyalty of his people as well. The Cardassian hologram Kejal's main reason for insisting on Val retaining captainship was that she felt Val was loyal to her and the biotech hologram Zet. Val had defended her in front of the Hirogen. Val had defended Zet to Janeway. Val earned her loyalty. Although the holograms were programmed to obey lawful orders, they understood the concept of loyalty.
People didn't always follow the strongest or the smartest. One would think survival instincts would lead soldiers to pick leaders who were the most capable. But soldiers fought on emotion and believed in naïve principles. There was something to be said for chemistry. For togetherness. Confidence. Attitude.
Despite himself, Q hoped these humans wouldn't perish in fluidic space. Although, a battle there would be quite fun to watch.
The next morning, Val was awakened by a chirp from his combadge. Sergeant Driver notified him that he had a hail from the Krowtonan High Guard.
"Burke?" asked Val, slurring his speech a little bit because he was still a half asleep.
"No, sir. It's Jang Font."
"Font?" wondered Val. She no longer had any involvement with the Vetara's current mission. He tapped a few buttons on the touchscreen of his EvansPadd and the video chat came through.
"Hi Val!" said a cheery Jang Font.
"Hey," said Val, still a little groggy.
"Sorry to wake you," said Font. Then, she got a little more serious. "I heard a rumor. Are you crossing the threshold?"
It took a second for Val to realize she was asking if he was on the mission to cross into fluidic space. He nodded.
"I've heard those monsters can be quite brutal" she said. She also typed in a frowny face emoticon which appeared in the text box under her image.
"That's okay. Hopefully we can work something out."
"Eternal optimist."
"Eh. I'm one when the situation calls for it. It's a survival skill."
"Stay safe Val!"
"No worries, I plan to live… if only to die another day."
Font waved goodbye, and then her image blinked off.
"You believe in alternate universes, right Val?" asked Djeena.
Val nodded. "I believe they're possible."
"Do you ever wonder whether we'd be together in a different universe?"
"Didn't we go over this kind of stuff the first night we stayed in the Evansworld Executive Mansion?"
The two of them had talked about their destiny, whether Val believed in such a thing. But they never talked about alternate universes.
Djeena rested her head on Val's shoulder, and Val held Djeena one last time before she was to be beamed back to the Phooson. The Vetara would soon join the rest of Burke's battle group while the Phooson returned to Yammja.
"In another life, I would make you stay," said Djeena. She wished she had the strength to force Val to stay on this side of the dimensional gateway. She wanted him to be safe.
Val stayed silent. He knew that Djeena was worried for him, but he also knew that the 8472 mission was extremely important. The two of them kissed and then Queen Djeena was beamed off the Vetara.
"Last chance to abort this whole adventure," said Nathan Driver. "You can go back to Aspen and ski. Or hang out with your princess girlfriend. I can lay in the sandy beaches, or prowl the open seas of Evansworld in a fishing boat. That would be a fun life."
Val and Driver were sharing breakfast together. Val invited Kejal to join, even though she didn't eat. The fleet would be jumping across the dimensional gateway later in the afternoon. Everyone was in good spirits. The latest reports from the Alpha Quadrant weren't as grim as expected. Starfleet was successfully repelling new Dominion attacks. Driver's cousins had evacuated to a safer planet. Val's brother was still missing, but thus far, no debris from the armed transport was found, and Starfleet had hopes that the transport simply landed at nearby planet and went into hiding. Whitford was a survivor, Val knew he'd make it through. Even Captain Thomas William Riker was in an upbeat mood. His "twin," the first officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E, was faring well and happy that Thomas found his niche over in the Delta Quadrant. Thomas had felt a little lost career-wise and identity-wise while in the Alpha Quadrant, but after getting marooned in the Delta Quadrant, Thomas found himself and now had a decent relationship with his twin.
For the 8472 mission, everything was ready to go. All the MARCOs had been recalled to the Vetara, along with a handful of the exo-suit mechs. Even though about half of the MARCOs had started to live out their lives as civilians down on Evansworld, they had stayed in the reserve force and were actually a little excited to have a new mission. Civilian life was a little bit boring.
After breakfast, the Vetara traveled for about an hour and rendezvoused with the rest of Burke's battle group. Val beamed over to the Solstice for one last captain's meeting before the ships crossed over. Four humans, three Krowtonan, two Hirogen. Before Val walked into the Solstice's conference room, Burke stopped him a minute.
"Hold still for a few seconds will you?" said Burke.
Burke pinned a fourth rank pip on Val's collar and then tapped Val on the side of his right shoulder.
"When we cross over, you're my second-in-command," said Burke. "You're a full captain. Starfleet will get over it."
Val sat in the command chair on the bridge of the Vetara. Driver and Kejal were both present, as were two MARCO troopers standing guard. The Solstice battle group was ready to launch.
"Gateway established," reported Kejal. "Ships are holding. Awaiting orders from the Solstice."
Burke wanted to confirm that the gateway remained stable before sending any ships through. After 30 seconds, he gave the order for the ships to cross over. Two at a time, the ships crossed the threshold into fluidic space.