The Lion's Den

"My lord, I am pleased to inform you that the Son of the Empire has returned. Two more vessels have joined her on her way back. One human vessel and also one from that new Federation."

Zahn snorted. His son Kero wouldn't hesitate to invite the entire Earth to Sogowa. He probably meant it as a sign of good faith but he heard some disturbing rumors of citizens of the Empire opposed to this whole alliance thing. Zahn sincerely hoped that it wouldn't prove to be of any danger to possible visitors from both the Earth and the Federation vessels. The private com. center in the Imperial palace was practically only used by him. It was mainly used to maintain contact with all the executive powers within the Empire like the Imperial Guard and in some cases the Elite Assault Force.

"Thank you Admiral" he replied.

"I expect my son to return home after the debriefing."

"Of course my lord. In fact we were planning to let Prince Rajah assist him on his next mission."

"Is it that worse?" Zahn grunted.

If the Imperial Guard was about to make an appeal to the EAF it must be a matter of utmost concern.

"I'm afraid so, my lord. Imperial Intelligence has learned that the Machine Dominion has succeeded in conquering the Xirosa system."

"That is Akrennian territory" Zahn replied.

"That is correct my lord. The Akrennians couldn't believe what they saw. They described it as a moving wall of deadly metal. Literally thousands and thousands of ships. The Akrennian fleet had to retreat before they could suffer too many losses. In addition, several other species have also suffered attacks on their border outposts and outlying colonies."

Zahn let out a frustrated growl. The Akrennian Military Alliance might not be the most efficient military organization but they could not be defeated so easily. The fact that the Machines had started a full scale offensive against the Akrennian Empire would indicate that they had build up a sufficient number of forces to start a war against the rest of the quadrant. They had to be stopped and they had to be stopped now.

"The humans have already been attacked. Have they shared any useful information or battle tactics with us?" Zahn asked.

"As a matter of fact they did my lord. Those Federation people have provided us with an entire database with everything they've learned about this colliding universes phenomenon. But not just that, if you are looking for some delicious Earth recipes, well, we've got those too."

Zahn flattened an ear.

"Okay" he replied, stretching out the word.

"If there is nothing else?"

"Have a nice evening my lord. Sleep well. Xilrai out."

The transmission ended and the large viewscreen showing the Orketh Admiral's face now displayed the logo of the Imperial Guard with 'end transmission' underneath. Zahn blew out his breath with a deep sigh. Ruling an Empire was a huge responsibility and during wartime this responsibility would almost double in size. The Emperor was just standing there for a moment, staring at his own reflection in the large viewscreen. There were times that he almost wished that he could just throw it away for a while and just be an ordinary Mantrin. No obligations, no meetings and no worries that things might go wrong if he wasn't there to do something about it.

Eventually he left the room and went back to the throne hall where he joined his lovable and caring wife The'lah. The sweet female Goureg with the strong personality he loved so much was standing on the large balcony overlooking the city. It was still light but it probably wouldn't take long for the sun to disappear beneath the horizon. It was proving to be a cool and cloudy evening and judging by those clouds the night would probably bring a refreshing rain over the land. He flung an arm around her shoulder and showed his affection by licking her cheek. She looked back at him with those beautiful friendly blue eyes typical for Gouregs and returned the favor.

"Our son Kero is coming home again" Zahn said a bit happily.

"I knew he would be successful" The'lah replied with her warm voice.

"You were right when you told me that I needed to have a little more confidence in him" he admitted.

"I know I'm a bit insufferable sometimes."

The'lah smiled and cuddled him firmly. She was slightly smaller than him but still strong and muscular like all Mantrins.

"That's why I love you, you stubborn little boy."

Zahn smirked although he knew it was true. But he had promised himself to be a little more indulgent towards both his sons because a good father should listen to what they had to say just like a good ruler listens to his advisors. In either case it wouldn't hurt.

The Imperial High Command was essentially the top of the Mantrin military organization known as the Imperial Guard. Their command center was a huge space facility orbiting Sogowa III. In one of the large strategic centers, the highest ranking officers of the Son of the Empire, Valkyrie and Highlander had been engaged in a heated discussion. Although he rather liked Prince Kero and knew the Mantrins wouldn't do anything to harm him, Jason Pierce still didn't feel entirely comfortable with these huge creatures yelling at each other. His Number One probably felt the same because she too hadn't said much.

"The largest concentration of enemy forces is holding up here" Admiral Xilrai explained by pointing at a large display integrated into the wall.

"Aridanis?" Kero replied flattening an ear.

"Why haven't we detected them earlier if they are holding up there?"

"The ship we sent to investigate never came back. You don't have to be brilliant to assume that they must be building up their forces in that system" the Orketh Admiral replied rather cranky.

Another Admiral of the Goureg race cleared it up a bit more.

"Next to sending a ship to investigate, we have been triangulating their interlink signals. The source of these signals is coming from Aridanis IV. We have reason to believe that their AI must be located at this planet."

"And, you are planning to attack it" Korso added because he knew what the Mantrins were probably up to judging by the direction the discussion was heading.

"We are going to launch a full scale assault, obliterate everything!" Xilrai suddenly exclaimed.

Although the Orketh's were not the largest of Mantrins, they were still the size of the average human male and far stronger. He looked very dangerous when he was standing like this, angrily whipping his large muscular tail and his triangular eyes flickering with anger.

"This time we're going on the offensive! We will strike at the very heart of our enemy! After we have destroyed everything, a team of EAF soldiers will go down and make sure that there will be nothing left of the AI. Kero! We were planning to carry a few teams of EAF soldiers aboard your ship. Your brother Rajah will assist you on your mission. You will report at the training grounds by tomorrow morning. Questions?"

"No sir!" Kero replied firmly.

"But sir" Rilas said.

"Isn't Aridanis IV the same planet where the Empire wanted to establish another colony?"

Aridanis IV was a developing class M world with no intelligent life of its own or at least not yet. Since it was a beautiful flourishing world it was perfect for a settlement. At least, if it hadn't already been taken by the Machines.

"That is correct Commander. They have taken it from us and now we are taking it back! They have no right to take and destroy what is rightfully ours! The attack will begin tomorrow."

Jason could no longer restrain himself. According to the Admiral the Mantrins were about to make the biggest mistake they could make. And it was going to cost thousands and thousands of unnecessary lives. The armada of vessels holding up in that system was probably big enough to take on the whole quadrant. Pierce addressed him with as much tact as possible.

"Yes human?" Xilrai bit back in his anger about the Machines.

"I mean, yes Captain?" he said again with a, for his species, much gentler voice.

"With all due respect Admiral, I don't think that sending an assault fleet is the best course of action."

Xilrai snorted and glared down his muzzle for a few seconds, staring back at Jason like if the Federation Captain were a complete fool. The other Admiral however didn't have as much patience as Xilrai.

"The Empire will not yield!" the Goureg Admiral growled slamming his massive fist on the table leaving a large dent in the metal.

He only missed the large tactical display in the middle by a few inches. Otherwise his blow would have caused an explosion of glass in the room with possible injuries as a result.

"We will not stand watch and let those Machines violate our territory!" he barked.

"We will commence our attack tomorrow and annihilate them all!"

"Now wait a sec!" Xilrai interrupted, quieting the Goureg.

The smaller Mantrin crossed his arms.

"What exactly are you proposing?" he asked not being able to understand.

Was this human planning on negotiating peace with this mechanical entity? He seriously hoped he wasn't. Jason was a bit frightened by the sudden outburst of the other Mantrin but quickly regained his courage and explained what he came up with.

"If you launch an all out attack on that system, the chances are that we'll get everyone killed without even denting the actual artificial entity. We don't know how many ships they have or how strong their defenses are. Since the AI is holding up in the Aridanis system it is their most heavily defended position."

"Again, what are you proposing?" Xilrai repeated tapping with his huge foot on the metal floor.

"Send in a small team to destroy the AI. If we can get an elite team of heavily armed commandos on the surface of that planet we can infiltrate the place where it is hiding and destroy it without having to fight the entire armada defending the system. We can make use of cloaking technology to get a team down undetected."

"Right" Xilrai slowly replied.

"Secondly we need to have more recon. We can't launch any operation without more intel about what's going on in there."

"I'll dispatch two warships to reconnoiter the area, you'll have your intel by tomorrow" Xilrai replied immediately.

He made a quick gesture with his head to one of his officers who immediately disappeared to execute his superior's orders.

"Thank you Admiral" Jason replied.

Suddenly Xilrai gave him a sharp-toothed grin.

"I think I kinda like you human, you are one person that's thinking straight."

Jason thanked him again. Now that he had gained the Mantrin's trust he needed to overthink the final stage of his plan.

"Destroying the AI is probably difficult. Who knows what kind of defenses, booby traps and fail-safe and backup mechanisms that things has?"

"We're probably gonna need a lot of explosives" Stith replied with a big grin.

"But there is no way getting that much explosives in there" Commander Kenneth turned the plan down.

"If we can infect that thing with some kind of quantum virus" Kero mumbled.

That thing was in essence a big computer. If they could get a virus inside it would destroy the entire thing from the inside out.

"What did you say?" Xilrai asked.

Kero looked up. The Admiral had heard his remark and indeed spoken to him.

"Well sir, I was thinking. It's just a big computer, right? If we can prepare some kind of quantum-based virus and infect it. Well it should be terminated forever. By the way, a data module is far smaller than a whole bunch of explosives. We can accomplish the same goal with a whole less effort."

The smile that had appeared on Xilrai's face could only mean one thing. He was satisfied or at least for a part. He would be totally satisfied if it also worked but it would do for now.

"Excellent Captain. With minds like yours in our middle we cannot be defeated. Victory will be ours!"

He suddenly went serious.

"Your orders still stand Captain. Your own brother will escort you to the training grounds of the Elite Assault Force by tomorrow morning. With the technologies in their research center they will be able to synthesize that virus in half the time we can. Only the highest ranking officers are allowed to come with you since the things you're gonna see there are top secret. That also applies to you Captains."

Xilrai nodded towards Pierce, Winter, Korso and Brian.

"They have to make an exception since we cannot execute this plan of yours on our own. I'll send the intel you requested to the EAF's base of operations. May Kirliya assist us in achieving victory!" Xilrai closed the matter.

"Good evening."

They all stood up as the Admirals left the room.

"Well, better back to the ship and take some rest" Jason suggested.

"You too Number One. You'll need to have wits about you tomorrow."

Kero flicked an ear.

"If you all want, you can also spend the night on Sogowa?" he offered.

"I can understand if you're growing tired of sleeping on a ship. Besides, if you do, you won't have to hurry next morning."

"Thanks for the offer but I don't wanna bother the Emperor or his wife" Korso replied.

"Me neither" Jason added.

"Nonsense, the palace has lots of guestrooms. It might be a bit too large for your customs but I guess that's not such a big deal" Kero insisted.

Eventually both Captains agreed and their First Officers agreed to go with them. Besides you don't get to meet the Emperor everyday.

"If we use my ships transporters we don't have to go by shuttles" Jason suggested.

"Sure, let me get my stuff first" Kero replied.

"Do we still have time for sightseeing?" Jason joked.

"I hoped to see more of you culture one day. Besides it's very inappropriate to beam into the palace right away."

"All right, all right, but not too long" Kero laughed.

Before heading over to Jason's ship for the beam-over, Korso decided to put the Valkyrie down on the spaceport anyway. Keeping the ship in orbit with only so few crewmen aboard was absolutely unnecessary and with the solid ground under their feet, the crew would probably sleep better. Brian even offered to stay with the ship but Korso needed him next morning so he still asked his First Officer to come along.

"All right sir" Commander Kenneth gave in with a sigh.

"But I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of sleeping in the palace of the Mantrin Emperor."

"Well, Prince Kero invited us remember?" Korso replied.

"You're probably right sir" Brian said.

After both Republican officers got what they needed to spend the night elsewhere they contacted Pierce to beam them out.

"We'll keep an eye on her Korso, don't worry" Akima assured him.

Korso knew that his ship would be in good hands if the female pilot would take care of it. Akima was just too attached to this ship, possibly just as much as he was and maybe even more.

"Thanks Akima" he replied.

"I'll contact you in the morning. Let me know at any time if there's something that needs my personal attention."

"I will sir" Akima replied and saluted.

"Sleep well."

Korso wished her the same just before the Highlander's transporter system locked on to him and Brian and beamed them out after which they were transported back to the surface of the planet almost instantly.

Three Mantrins and four humans materialized on a small square somewhere in the magnificent city of Ta'keth not very far from the Imperial palace. It was getting dark already and the only light was now coming from artificial sources like the street lamps and houses and Sogowa's two moons She'loh and Dimra as Kero explained. Curious as he was, Jason eagerly started to take a closer look at everything his eyes caught, fascinated by the Mantrins' use of decoration and architecture. Making first contact with new species is one thing but getting a chance to study their culture on their homeworld in more detail was absolutely amazing. Mantrin architecture was primarily aimed at having enough space to move around. Therefore the buildings were kept low, with large door openings and windows and lots of large open space to move around. The streets of the city were wide and narrow alleys were practically non-existent. Inhabitants of the city walked down the streets, heading home to see their families or just for a little walk. Since humans were an uncommon sight, every Mantrin that walked by almost immediately noticed the little companionship flattening an ear about the different uniforms the humans were wearing.

"Your city is beautiful" Jason complemented.

"I'm glad you like it" Kero replied.

"Everyone's UT working?" he asked in his own language.

Everyone confirmed that their universal translator was working at optimal efficiency.

"You have some place where we can get ourselves a drink?" Korso asked craving for an ice cold beer.

"Somehow, I don't think that is such a good idea" Rilas replied.

Kero agreed. Not every Mantrin in this city liked outsiders and getting into a fight with a member of his species would probably get the humans killed. But before they could respond a small Mantrin boy, Goureg race, probably not much older than two years curiously approached them and held still in front of Chrysta. The young Mantrin flattened one of his ears and carefully observed the human woman with two cute bright blue eyes. Because of his very young age, he was a tad smaller then Chrysta but would soon be a lot bigger.

"Are you a human?" he asked with the sweetest child-like voice while hiding his claws behind his back.

His tail was slowly whipping from one side to the other. Chrysta slightly sunk through her knees so she was at equal height with the Mantrin boy.

"That's right" she replied very friendly and with a sweet smile.

"How are you able to walk?" the young Mantrin asked pointing at her for a Mantrin tiny legs.

"Your legs are so tiny and you don't even have a tail. How are you able to keep balance?"

"We are just born that way" Chrysta explained.

"My species is entirely different from yours."

Jason joined Chrysta, fascinated to see a youngling from the Mantrin species.

"Isn't he cute?" Chrysta asked her Captain.

Before Jason could respond the young Mantrin objected.

"No I'm not" he replied.

"When I'm older I'm gonna be just as big and strong as my daddy is" he said proudly.

"I wanna be a warrior just like him."

Chrysta was completely taken by surprise. This young Mantrin was still even a child and he was already thinking about fighting a war just like his father. He was confidently staring at her and Jason like he was willing to prove himself right here and now. Unfortunately for him, his mother, judging by the gruff female voice, called him back home.

"I'm coming momma" he yelled back with a child-like voice.

A large female Goureg stepped in the light spread by the lamps surrounding the square. She was huge, heavily muscled and probably not very good-humored judging by the expression on her face.

"Are you bothering other people again?" she asked on a harsh tone tapping with her massive foot on the ground.

"Not at all ma'am" Chrysta replied offering the boy some protection.

The female snorted and grumbled at seeing the humans. But when her eyes caught Kero, Rilas and Stith wearing their red Imperial uniforms she didn't know what to say.

"Prince Kero" she whispered falling on one knee.

"I'm so sorry for my son. He shouldn't have bothered you."

Kero let out a sigh in his mind.

"Why do they always have to do that?" he asked himself stepping up towards the female Goureg.

He helped her to get up.

"There is no need for you to do that" he said friendly.

"Thank you, your Eminence" she replied.

"As for your son, a little harmless curiosity is nothing to be ashamed of" Kero said stroking the boy's head.

The young Mantrin softly purred under his touch, excited that he met the Prince of the Empire in person.

"Have a nice evening" Kero wished the Goureg Mantrinesse.

"You too, your Eminence" she replied dragging her son back home with her on his arm.

Kero shook his head. He was never able to walk through the streets of the city without someone bowing in front of him or calling him 'your Eminence'. Being a Prince has its advantages but sometimes he wished he was just a normal person, like that little boy. He turned around to face the rest of the group.

"Shall we head home?" he suggested already heading on the way for the palace.

It was now practically dark and they wouldn't be able to see much of the city with this light.

It wasn't a long walk to the palace gates and it wouldn't take the average Mantrin more than twenty minutes to reach the outer gates from here. However since the humans took three steps while Kero took only one it would probably take slightly longer. Curiosity was probably a natural-born quality of those Starfleet people because Jason and Chrysta slowly wandered off each time they noticed another great cultural hotspot or different style of architecture. He decided not to suppress their enthusiasm and let them go which eventually turned out to be a mistake on his part. A few minutes later he had lost track of Jason. The Starfleet Captain was nowhere to be seen and even Commander Winter didn't know where her Captain could be.

"How can that be? He was standing next me when we were admiring that sculpture a few minutes ago" Chrysta said worried about her Captain.

The group halted and actively looked around to see if they could catch a glimpse of the Starfleet Captain. The dimly lit street and the pale light of Sogowa's two moons wasn't enough to distinguish the human against the darkness of the night.

"That was absolutely beautiful" Jason thought while turning away from the decorated fountain.

The watershow created by this thing was absolutely spectacular to watch and the sculptures of Mantrin warriors in full combat gear in the middle of it looked extremely detailed. The artist who had created this had probably made the fountain his life's work. He really should take an entire tour through this city after the war. It would surely be worth the effort. These creatures really had a fascinating culture and he would love to see more but the others would probably be looking for him by now so he headed back as quick as he could through a maze of smaller streets and alleys crisscrossing the city.

"This way or that way?" he thought.

Just when he realized he had taken the wrong direction to a dead alley and wanted to turn around and head back he ran into some unpleasant company. A small group of three Mantrins with their arms crossed blocked his way. Each one of them was heavily muscled and didn't look very friendly.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the middle one and largest of the three said on a teasing tone.

"It's a human" a smaller female replied.

"Just look at that puny sight" the other male said.

"Such tiny legs" the largest of the three said.

"Small, weak, it's almost pathetic."

Jason now noticed in what little light available that he was a Sogowan. The girl was an Orketh and the other smaller male was also Sogowan. But the strangest thing was that these three were probably still kids with the larger Sogowan the leader of the group. He was probably already in his teenage years because he was bigger than him but still young for a Mantrin.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to anger you" Jason said not wanting to offend the Mantrins.

He knew that if they get angry they would be easily able to kill him. The oldest one let out a laugh that sounded more like a bark.

"Do you hear that? The human doesn't want to anger us."

The others laughed with him but suddenly the larger Sogowan went serious. The laughing immediately faded away.

"What are you doing on our planet human?" he asked.

He could also just have asked how Jason dared to set foot on this world. His dirty look and hostile way of pronouncing the words were enough to ensure Jason that he wasn't welcome in the eyes of these Mantrins.

"I assure you that I'm handling in the best interest of both our people" Jason replied.

"My father doesn't like humans" the big Mantrin muttered without paying attention to Jason's words.

"Me neither" he added giving Jason another filthy look.

Jason now knew for sure that his curiosity got him into trouble once again. These Mantrins weren't planning on letting him go so easily. The problem was that he was standing in a dead alley so the only way out was past the three bully's. Suddenly his communicator beeped.

"Jason where are you? We should get underway."

"I'm near the…"

But before he could tell them he was in trouble and explain the situation the Sogowan picked the combadge from his uniform and studied the little device.

"Some kind of communication device" he muttered.

"Please, that is a very delicate piece of equipment, would you…"

An evil grin appeared on the Mantrin's face when a cracking sound came from his massive right hand that was now balled into a fist. He just kept showing his evil sharp-toothed grin while sprinkling out the tiny little pieces of the Starfleet combadge in front of Jason's eyes. The two others laughed and Jason felt genuine fear arise in his chest. The last time he had felt this way was back at Starfleet Academy. He was still a young Cadet and on a late night he and his mates ran into a small group of Nausicans on the way back to the compound. They had behaved almost exactly the same way but then he had at least been on his own homeworld.

"What da ya think? Shall we teach this human how to show a little respect to us?" he encouraged the others while cracking his knuckles.

When the others agreed they started to close in on him.

"No please, I just wanna…"

"What?!" the larger Sogowan bit back.

He viciously slammed his massive fist in Jason's stomach. Being beaten up was one thing but by a Mantrin? Jason almost collapsed to the ground with the first blow but managed to keep himself standing. He retched in pain clamping his stomach. The strength of these Mantrins was incredible and he knew he would never be able to win this fight. He tried to defend himself but they were just too strong. There was practically nothing he could do when they started to beat him up. The thought of using his phaser crossed his mind and the urge became stronger with each crippling blow but that was just a wrong thing to do. In essence, these Mantrins were still just children and he was not going to use a phaser to shoot children. Almost each time another fist hit him he could hear the breaking of bones. They broke several of his ribs, his left shoulder, his left wrist and several other bones. The punches were among the most powerful of all species but the Mantrin's vicious claws caused major wounds wherever they hit his skin. Especially the girl relied on her claws and it didn't take long before the blood trickled down his face from numerous wounds. They ripped his uniform and the intense burning feeling as her fiery slashes ripped his skin and cut his flesh made him scream in pain. The little fight he and his fellow Cadets had with the Nausicans was nothing compared to this. At least then they had been able to fight back. This just wasn't a fight because he couldn't do anything against this cowardly attack. Eventually he collapsed to the ground without a single drop of strength in his battered body left and coughed up blood. The only thing he still had left was his pain. Even now he was lying on the paved road they kept hitting him.

"I'm gonna die, if they don't stop" he thought.

He had never felt so much pain in his entire life. They had probably broken more than half of the bones in his body and he was losing a lot of blood from the wounds their claws caused.

"No, this is not how it's going to end. This is not how Captain Jason Pierce is going to lose his life" he thought unable to move.

When they finally stopped trying to kill him, the last thing he heard was Kero's voice just before he lost consciousness.

"Stop it! Right now!" the Prince roared in anger.

Even with the limited amount of light available, his Mantrin eyes were well able to distinguish the three teenage Mantrins beating up a human figure in the darkness of an alley.

"And who are you if I may…" the bigger Sogowan wanted to ask.

They had finally stopped beating up the Starfleet Captain who was lying motionless on the paved road and directed their attention to the newcomers. Kero glanced at Jason with a look of concern on his face. He was well aware of his species incredible strength compared to others and judging by his state, Captain Pierce was in desperate need of medical attention. Blood was already starting to form a small puddle under his head from the numerous cuts and deeper wounds his attackers had caused with their claws. He walked up to Jason as fast as his large legs could carry him to take pity on the wounded man. The large Sogowan boy immediately broke of his sentence when he recognized Kero and fell on one knee. He was barely able to speak another word.

"P…P…Prince K…Kero" he stuttered.

The other followed their leader and did as he did but weren't able to say anything. Kero's crew as well as Korso, Brian and Chrysta entered the alley and prevented the teenagers from leaving. Chrysta ran as fast as she could to her Captain in fear for his life. Kero lifted the Starfleet Captain from the ground and carried him in his large strong arms. Blood from the wounds on several places of his body and face stained his uniform shirt but he didn't care. Beating up the children could get him into serious trouble so he started to talk.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing right now" he said trying to control the anger he felt coming up in his chest.

He glared down his muzzle at the three children. The oldest of the three tried to explain.

"I…I…didn't know that he was with you your Eminence" he brought out with a helplessly shaking voice.

"What in Kirliya's name has gotten into you guys?" he asked his voice shaking with anger and thumping with his tail on the ground.

All three were silent now, not being able to find a valid reason to commit such an act of cowardness. Kero shook his head.

"Three Mantrins against one human. I can hardly call that an even fight. And you wanna call yourselves warriors one day?! You should be deeply ashamed of yourselves!" he barked.

Chrysta jumped up at his sudden outburst. Yelling was a strong point of these creatures and Kero surely knew how to raise his voice. Suddenly the oldest of the three sobbed and started to cry. The one who had presented himself as the leader of the small group started to cry like a young child. His shoulders started to shake uncontrollably and he just let the tears roll over his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry" he said not being able to come up with something better.

"We are way past sorry now" Kero replied remaining relentless.

"You have just committed a serious crime. Do you three know that you are endangering the Empire?!" he yelled.

"Do you know this could be considered an act of war by some species?"

Chrysta who had come to assist her Captain in any way possible checked up on Jason lying in the Prince's arms.

"Kero, his pulse is very weak. We have to do something quick."

The human woman looked at him in fear for her CO's life and Kero realized that he had deal with the situation quickly.

"Rilas, could you please take care of these children?"

"Of course sir" Rilas replied.

The Sogowan Commander signaled the children that they could get up and escorted them back to their homes.

"Your parents will hear more of this incident" Kero called after the children when his First Officer brought them back home.

Kero took firm steps on their way to the palace with Jason in his strong arms. Stith who was walking next to her Captain could clearly see the anger on his face. Jason was still unconscious from the pain and blood loss. Stith was really feeling sorry for the Starfleet Captain. On the holodeck he had expressed his admiration for her beautiful homeworld and the city of Ta'keth and that he wanted to see it with his own eyes one day. Now that he finally got to see it, he got beaten up by the citizens of the very same city. Luckily it wasn't far to the palace anymore and the physician would be able to take excellent care of his injuries. With the gates already in sight, Stith hoped that he would make a quick recovery.

The older Orketh doctor was still up late when a mixed group of humans and Mantrins including Prince Kero himself who was carrying the victim entered his infirmary.

"That must have been one hell of a fight" he thought by himself unaware that it had just been caused by children of his species.

"Lay him down on the bed" he ordered grabbing all kinds of equipment together to provide the necessary treatment.

Kero carefully placed the severely injured and still unconscious human Captain on one of the biobeds.

"Look what they've done to you" he muttered under his breath.

"You are such a kind person."

The Starfleet Captain had dried up blood all over his face and in his brown hair. The remains of his Starfleet uniform covered his broken body. Kero looked at the Federation officer with a sad expression on his face. The man had even considered him a friend. From now on he would probably look at him in a different way. He looked at his claws, realizing that the blood of an innocent person and a friend of him stuck to his hands. He quickly wiped them off on his already dirty uniform. He stepped back and let the doctor perform his work to help the injured human.

"I don't have much experience with humans" he explained while performing a scan of the Captain's body.

"But you should be able to assist me where needed."

The Orketh doctor started to treat Jason, healing his wounds and constantly repositioning the bone regenerator to repair all the internal damage. Because of amount of bones the three Mantrins had broken he eventually got a second bone regenerator to speed up the healing process. The others assisting the doctor silently followed his instructions and only spoke when necessary. Eventually Rilas returned and told Kero that the children would be taken care of.

"I have never seen parents this angry" he told his Captain.

"It had probably something to do with their children being taken home by an Imperial officer but still. I actually feared from the oldest boy's life when his mother came outside. By Kirliya, that Mantrinesse was angry. And the father of that girl smacked her in the face when I stood on the doorstep with her. He assured me that she would be punished severely."

Kero nodded indicating that he was satisfied with Rilas' solution. All of this activity in the middle of the night couldn't get unnoticed and eventually the Emperor himself entered the infirmary. Kero's mother The'lah followed her husband because she also wanted to know why they headed straight for the infirmary instead of the throne hall.

"What happened?" Zahn asked flattening an ear.

But when he noticed the wounded human on the biobed he was shocked. Korso nudged Chrysta and fell on one knee after which she and Brian did the same. Zahn noticed and poured them a friendly smile, so did The'lah.

"Please, a friend of my son is a friend of mine. You are more than welcome in my house and you don't have to bow."

"Thank you, your Eminence" Korso replied getting up.

Zahn glanced at the Starfleet Captain with a look of concern on his face.

"I was afraid this was going to happen" he said scratching his ear.

"Father" Kero said approaching him.

"Kero, my son. What happened out there?" Zahn asked when he saw Kero's blood-stained uniform.

"They were just children father" Kero explained.

"They just beat him up. Because he's human or something."

Zahn shook his head.

"I've heard some rumors that some of us are opposed to the alliance but I never thought that they would take things so literally."

He paused.

"The young people nowadays are adopting their parents' opinions and take them too literally and then eventually things like this happen."

The doctor was almost finished treating Jason's external injuries and cleaning him up a bit when the human man regained consciousness. Jason groaned in pain and coughed violently.

"Shhh, easy, easy" the Mantrin doctor replied.

"You've lost a lot of blood and broken a lot of bones. Please remain still while I'll look up something to give you for the pain."

The doctor grabbed a hypospray and filled the device with the correct human dosage of a mild sedative after which he injected Jason with the drug.

"Thanks" Jason whispered when the drug began to subdue the pain.

A moment later he looked into the bright blue eyes of the Emperor himself.

"Your Eminence, the Emperor" he whispered.

"I wished we could have met under different circumstances."

Zahn smiled faintly.

"Spare your strength. Jason is your name isn't it? Kero told me about you. You actually helped the humans to rebuild their homeworld."

Jason smiled back.

"I merely provided them with the necessary technology, they did it all by themselves."

He coughed again and closed his eyes against the sudden burst of pain.

"Forgive me."

"There is no need for you to apologize" Zahn replied placing his large clawed hand on the man's shoulder.

"I should. I had no idea that members of my own species could be so violent against people like you. I assure you that they will be dealt with accordingly. I can only hope that this incident won't damage the relationship between our two people."

The Emperor looked sincere and Jason was not going to endanger the alliance with these creatures. They were valuable allies and they needed the Mantrins on their side if they were going to oppose the Machines.

"Don't worry your Eminence, we will remain allies, no matter what happens."

He felt another stab of pain and curled up on the bed.

"You should rest" Zahn said softly.

"Rest assured. You are in good hands now. No one in this palace is going to hurt you."

"Thank you sir" Jason replied.

Another large Mantrinesse, probably Zahn's wife, he thought joined them at the bed.

"I'm The'lah" she said with her warm voice and friendly twinkling blue eyes.

"Ma'am" Jason replied with a very slight nod.

"Don't worry young man, our doctor will have you back on your feet in no time" she said.

Jason gave her another thankful look. He was barely able to keep his eyes open when he was caught into a wave of sudden tiredness.

"Go to sleep" The'lah whispered.

She dragged her husband with her leaving him alone. Her friendly face was replaced by Chrysta's. She was worried about him and was probably near crying.

"I'm so sorry sir, I should have been with you" she said with a trembling lower lip.

"I doubt there is much you could have done" he whispered with his eyes half closed.

Korso grabbed her by her shoulders.

"He needs rest" he said.

"See if I can make a recovery overnight" Jason said with a faint laugh.

"Now you can see for yourself Joseph. I'm not some superhuman. I'm an ordinary human being just like you."

Jason yawned weakly and turned around on his other side.

"I think I'm going to sleep. I'll see guys tomorrow."

The doctor worked Korso and Chrysta out with a gentle push.

"Out, out, out" he said.

"My patient needs rest. I'm not making promises that he'll be fit for duty by tomorrow but it'll be even more compromised if you keep tiring him like this. Come on."

The doctor took a warm blanket out of one of the closets and placed it over the Starfleet Captain who had already gone to sleep. The Mantrin physician closed the white curtains surrounding the bed and dimmed the lights. The only light around Jason's bed was coming from the blue beam of the bone regenerator and some of the monitoring equipment connected to his vital functions. Chrysta left sickbay but not without one last look over her shoulder at her recovering Captain.

"Rest assured Captain, you are in good hands" she whispered.

Something warm and wet itched on her right cheek. When she wiped it off she noticed that the remains of a tear gleamed on the back of her hand.

"Look at me" she thought when she followed the others.

Kero was probably taking them to guest rooms to spend the night.

"I'm so worried about him that I let my feelings get in the way of more important things."

She knew that this had nothing to do with love. After all Jason was a married man but she wouldn't forgive herself if something happened to him because of her. Suddenly Korso flung an arm around her shoulder.

"I know what you're thinking" he said.

"It's not your fault."

"That would probably be true but I should have stayed with him at all times during an away mission. I failed to attend to my duties as First Officer."

Korso held still and so did the others when they noticed what was happening.

"Don't talk like that, you have been through a lot with him. You can't just give up after something went wrong."

Another tear rolled down her cheek but was wiped off by Stith suddenly standing next to her who started to cheer her up in a typical Mantrin way.

"What is this?" she asked on a rather harsh tone while wiping the tear off between her clawed fingers.

"What do you mean?" Chrysta asked sadly.

Stith sunk through her knees until she was at equal height with the human woman.

"Listen to me" Stith said.

"Life isn't easy. My life hasn't been easy. You can't just give up when things get rough. You are blaming yourself for things that aren't you fault!"

The Mantrin had spoken to her at a harsh tone but she knew Stith meant it right.

"In life things go wrong and it depends on your own mental strength how you're able to deal with those things. You are an officer aboard a starship so you have to be strong because a lot of other people depend on you. Come on, wipe off those tears and show me what you're made of!"

Chrysta did as she said and screwed up her courage.

"You're right, I'm behaving like a child!" she said with a firm voice.

"That's more like it" Stith replied crossing her arms.

Her voice softened and she shortly embraced the human woman.

"It's okay to cry sometimes but only when it's necessary. C'mon let's get some rest."

Chrysta followed Kero to a guest room where she took off her clothes and freshed herself up a bit. After that she climbed into the bed that was actually far too large for a human. With Stith's encouraging words in the back of her mind she closed her eyes and aided by the soft and warm bed actually made for a species far larger then hers she fell into a deep satisfied sleep.