James T Kirk: The Next Generation
Universal Savior
At first Rebecca Sisko thought she was dreaming. But as she started to come out of a deep sleep, the strange sound she heard, which sounded like a low chant of some kind, became louder as reality invaded her mind. She decided to keep her eyes closed as she tried to figure out what had happened. But what ever had happened did so without her seeing it because the last thing she recalled was having two slices of cucumbers place over her eye lids.
She and Myran, Jim Kirk's wife, had been enjoying an early afternoon of pampering. Myran, who was Bajoran, and who was also pregnant with Kirk's child, had never enjoyed a beauty session. She had never had a manicure, or a pedicure, nor had she had neck and shoulder massage. These kinds of creature comforts had never been known to With the Bajoran culture ever so slowly allowing outside cultures in, the women of Bajor were now beginning to enjoy what all women craved (in this writer's opinion, having been married for many years) being pampered.
But Rebecca now became worried. She wasn't worried for herself. Being the daughter of Benjamin Sisko, she had been raised to make sure that those around her were safe as well. And, being that Myran was pregnant, Rebecca was worried more for the Bajoran woman's survival than her own. It was time to open her eyes and face the chanting voices.
Rebecca opened her eyes, and saw that she was inside the blankets of a comfortable bed, which was inside of a large room which was decorated with candles as well as various flower arrangements. For some unknown reason, her clothes had been removed. As best as she could tell, and hoped, she had not been violated in any way. So, she wondered to herself, where was she; and where was Myran?
Her first clue came when she opened her eyes slowly and saw five humanoid figures, in white robes, standing over another bed. Myran was on the bed, and her pregnant stomach was exposed. Because she was only just a month pregnant, Myran's tummy wasn't that much larger than usual. And then, quite unexpectedly, Rebecca watched as one of the humanoids rubbed some kind of oil on Myran's stomach. Rebecca was about to spring into action when suddenly she heard a strange rumbling sound near her bed. She looked down and saw what appeared to be a large living rug. Rebecca recalled her father telling her about Hortas. Apparently a family of the beasties had once been aboard DS9 (author's note; one of my favorite DS9 books from years ago.)
Suddenly the monster backed up, revealing a word that had just been etched into the ground. It was the word W E L C O M E.
It was then that one of the humanoids came over to Rebecca's bed.
"What is the meaning of this!" Rebecca demanded. "That woman over there is my friend and she is pregnant. If you do anything to her, I will kill you!"
And Rebecca meant it. She had inherited her father's compassion, but her mother's temper.
"My name is Labootu," the man said. His hair was very puffy, and full, and he wore strange ornamental makeup around his eyes. "I come from the world of Vaal, the world your people call Trianguli Gamma VI. My friends," Labootu said, as he motioned to the others, "come from other worlds."
"Alright," Rebecca said, as she clutched the blanked up around her neck, "what does this have to do with Myran or me?"
"Your friend, Myran, carries the child of our savior inside of her," Labootu said.
"The child of your savior," Rebecca repeated softly, and then she came to the strangest conclusion. "Your savior is Captain James T Kirk."
The moment Rebecca said the sacred name of James T Kirk, Labootu, and the others who were gathered around Myran's bed, all knelt down to their knees and then kissed the ground. Labootu then looked up a Rebecca.
"Yes," Labootu said, "James T Kirk is our God, and his child will be our child as well. We worship everything that is Jim Kirk. He saved our various worlds from their own shortsightedness, and for that, we owe him our lives."
"Your various worlds," Rebecca repeated Labootu again, "how many are you?"
Labootu and the others stood up again. Labootu spoke with great pride in his voice.
"Where we once numbered in the hundreds, we now number in the thousands." Labootu said with a warm smile. "When Jim Kirk was known to have been resurrected on Verdian III, our following, which had dwindled over the decades before then, saw resurgence. He perished on that world. But then, recently, when Jim Kirk was resurrected again, after much prophesying that it would happen; our fellowship was reinvigorated."
Rebecca looked at Labootu, and the others, and came to the worrisome conclusion that they believed everything Labootu had just said. They were an occult. Unfortunately, since her father was the Emissary of the Bajoran people, he had dealt with occults before, and had told Rebecca about them.
"What are you doing to her?" Rebecca asked, as she saw one of the other humanoids, who appeared to be a Native American from old Earth, spreading some sort of massage oil on Myran's exposed tummy.
"That woman's name is Ambathey," Labootu explained. "Her people were once taken from Earth, and placed on another world. Their new world would have been destroyed had Kirk not arrived there and saved them from an approaching asteroid."
"What is she putting on Myran?" Rebecca asked.
"Ambathey is a mid-wife," Labootu continued. "The ceremonial herbs and other natural ointments she is applying to Myran will keep the child inside safe from disease and evil spirits."
"Where are we?" Rebecca asked.
"We are still on Bajor," Labootu replied.
"You do realize that my father is Benjamin Sisko, and he will stop at nothing to find us," Rebecca said, with confidence in her voice.
"They will find you eventually," Labootu said, with a warm smile. "But not until after the La'bat is performed."
"What is the La'bat?" Rebecca asked.
Labootu places his hand on Rebecca's shoulder, as if he were a father figure to her.
"In order to ensure the safety of the Meh'tahq, the son of our savior, we will remove the child from its mother in a ceremony we call the La'bat," Labootu said, with reverie in his voice. "Then we will take the child to our retreat in the stars, and raise it until such time as they are ready to rule the universe."
"What about Myran?" Rebecca asked. "What will happen to her if you remove the child form her?"
Labootu shook his head, and his voice took on the tone of deep sorrow.
"The mother will have to sacrifice her life, in order to ensure the eternal soul of the Meh'tahq. A small price to pay, but it must be done."
Rebecca knew there was only one other question to ask. She didn't want to ask it, but she knew she had to.
"When is this La'bat ceremony going to take to take place?" Rebecca Sisko asked.
Labootu smiled, and then stood back up, after having knelt down at Rebecca's bedside. He looked at a time piece on the wall nearby, and then he looked over at Myran's exposed tummy.
"Soon," Labootu said, "very soon."
Rebecca felt a chill of cold fear race about her body….
Continued….
