Star Trek: Celestial
"The Beginning of the End"
Smoke filled the bridge as the crew climbed back to their stations as quickly as possible.
"Damage report!" Commander Jeremiah Fergusson demanded from the crew. "Where is the Professor?"
"I'm right here, commander," a voice came from the upper level of the bridge. "Now, someone give me a damage report!"
"Shields are gone, weapons off-line and systems failing all over the ship." The voice cried out from across the room and was scratched by acrid smoke. "Life support at seventy-nine percent."
"Sir, they're coming around for another pass!" Another voice erupted through the smoke.
"Brace for impact!" The ship shook violently as more phaser blasts collided with the USS Gateway. Professor Franklin Eichhorn almost lost his footing for the second time. "Send out a distress call to any ship around high priority."
"Aye, si." The ship rocked again as more blasts collided with the science vessel. The communications officer, Lt. Commander James Royle, flew violently out of his and smacked into the steel railing that was attached to the upper level. Commander Ferguson sprinted over and completed the distress call. He walked back to the middle of the bridge to meet Professor Eichhorn who was doing the same.
"Well, Jeremy, we are on a dying ship with a lot of our crew dead. Plus, the Cherokee decided to go rebellious and attack us. Any suggestions?"
"Pray." Just after those words were spoken, red columns of light consumed both Jeremiah and Franklin. Within seconds, they were gone, and the firing stopped.
James Royle slowly came to, a good ten minutes or so later, and glanced about the smoky bridge. He felt the warmth of his blood trickle down his head. He immediately noticed that the Professor and the Commander was gone. He rose from the ground and walked over to the communications station. The distress call had been sent and he needed to keep the ship, and crew alive until someone showed up to rescue them.
"Lieutenant Jackson," Royle said, "Squirrel, you over there?"
"Yeah, I'm here, Royle." The voice sounded wounded but alive. Royle squinted through the smoke to try and locate Jackson. Surprisingly, he was back at his station, engineering.
"Contact the engineering room and find out what the damage is and how much time we have left."
"Aye, sir." Jackson started punching keys on his console and then spoke into his comm. badge. "Engineering, this is the bridge, what is the damage report, and how much time do we have?"
The response crackled and popped through the on-board communication system. "Really bad, Professor. Life-support is down to seventy percent, but we think we can fix that. Just about every other system is off-line, including alarms."
"The professor is no longer on the ship, neither is Commander Ferguson." Royle took over talking to engineering. "This is Lt. Commander James Royle, now commanding the Gateway. Get life-support back to 100 percent, then get impulse back and warp systems back on-line. Bridge out. Squirrel, see if there is any ship in the sector who would come and aid us."
"Scanning," Jackson's fingers danced across the console, searching for anyone who would help them. "There's no one out there. Not even an out post. Wait! I'm picking up something. It's small, maybe a scout ship."
"Can you get anymore from it?"
"No, sir. The scanners have been damaged enough that I can't identify it or tell from who."
"It's ok, try to give me a visual."
"Visuals are off-line, sir." Ensign Shikta, a Vulcan, spoke up from the science and engineering station. Royle didn't even know that there was anyone else alive on the bridge. "The only way to see it is for it to cross in front of us."
"Sir, we just lost scanners." Jackson spoke up and moved to another part of the bridge to begin work on that.
"Well, let's hope that it's not hostile. But if it is." Royle moved to the weapons command and began to try and bring the power back to the Phasers.
*****
The acrid smell of smoke spread across the jungle grounds. Karatek Curranstien readied his 21st century automatic weapon. He slowly followed the path that lay before him and kept his weapon ready. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant fury ape-like beast leapt out of the brush to Karatek's left side. He fired into the creature's chest and killed it.
"Wonderful," Karatek said aloud, examining the beast. "A Wantepp."
The Wantepp was a primitive race that dwelled within the jungles of South America, Earth. Apparently, some biological weapon created by New Russia was dropped off and never exploded. The sides of the bomb were ripped enough that normal lowland gorillas came into contact with the biochemical inside. It mutated them into territorial killing machines. Five years after they were discover, they evolved into a new race and were sent to a planet bursting with life. A Federation expedition recently traveled there to see how they were doing, and they found a striving civilization. The creatures had evolved into beings that really resembled humans. They still had fur all over their bodies with chest, upper abdomen, head, neck, hands and feet bare. Their fur was red and hair was long and black, and their ears were long and pointed. They had found the usefulness of clothing and we doing fantastic. However, at this point in time, Karatek had to deal with their beastly past.
"I wonder if Sam knew this is what the program really is." He slowly continued down the path until he heard voices coming from up ahead. They were human voices. Karatek's slow walk turned into a dead sprint. He rounded the last bend to find the humans. They were in primitive bar cages and were crying for help. Karatek rushed for the closest cage. As he was trying to break open the door, a Wantepp came up behind the Captain and ripped him from the cage. Karatek landed violently on the ground and the Wantepp lifted a log above his head to smash Karatek's skull in.
"Bridge to Captain," The undeniable voice of Samuel Eubank echoed through the jungle.
"Computer, freeze program." Everything in the jungle stopped and froze. "Yes, commander, what is it?"
"Sir, we have arrived at the last known location of the Gateway."
"Yes, and?"
"There's nothing here, sir."
"I'm on my way." Minutes later, Karatek was on the bridge in full uniform. "Any idea of what happened?"
"Well, there is some debris, but besides that, nothing. The debris is rock and ice, not a ship."
"Well, Frank wouldn't have let his ship and his crew die quickly. Scan all neighboring planets, see if the ship crashed." Working quickly, commander Eubank took over scan controls and scanned the closest planets. "Well?"
"Nothing on the planets, sir, but between Yarma and its second moon, I'm detecting two small ships."
"Set a course. Engage."
*****
"Engineering, do we have power to communications yet?" James Royle was working furiously at weapons and shield control. Blood still trickled down his head, but not as bad as before. His long blonde hair was slightly stained by his own plasma, as well as his uniform.
"Communications back on-line," a voice crackled through the on board communications link. "We are now working on the weapons systems." Impulse, scans, visuals and life-support systems were also brought up to 100%.
"Jackson, what happened to that ship we detected?"
"Scanning now," Jackson's hands flew over the control pad and he soon came up with an answer. "It has stopped. I'm identifying it as the Talarian vessel J'staa. They are scanning us as well and are powering up shields and weapons."
"And we don't have either. Do you think they intend on attacking us?"
"Possibly, but I really don't know." Jackson looked back at Royle and then at his screen again. "They're on the move, something bigger is coming into scanning view. It the Celestial!"
*****
Captain Karatek sat respectfully in his command chair.
"Hail the Talarian vessel and tell them to stand down."
"Aye, sir." An ensign was commanding the communications and Karatek hopped the new recruit did it right. For some reason, Starfleet always liked to give him the newest recruits, and not so good ones at that. All the best of the best went to Captains like Scott Conner or Jean Luc Picard. But he did a top of the line ship.
"Sir," Commander Eubank leaned over the scans system, "The Talarian ship is still powered up, but is moving away from the Gateway."
"Good. Tell the Gateway I want to speak with Professor Eichhorn as soon as possible. The same for Commander Ferguson."
"Sir," the ensign as the comm. spoke up, "both Professor Eichhorn and Commander Ferguson are gone. They don't know what happened."
"Who's in charge?"
"One Lt. Commander James Royle."
"Tell them we will beam them aboard and tend to their medical needs."
After a brief pause, they ensign replied, "They're ready to beam over, sir. Twelve humans, one Vulcanoid."
"Energize. Sam, you have the bridge."
Moments later, Karatek was escorting the thirteen Starfleet survivors to sickbay.
"Tell me, Royle, what did this ship look like?"
"Well, sir, I'm sure you know of the USS Cherokee." Karatek nodded as the 14 reached sickbay, and the other twelve walked in single file. "This ship resembled it perfectly. It first fired a photon torpedo that eliminated what shields we had. Then, it circled us, firing phaser blasts left and right. One blast hit and I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, Professor Eichhorn and Commander Ferguson were both gone. I assumed control and we put the ship back together to the point that we didn't die."
"The Cherokee is not supposed to be any where near here. It should be escorting some Klingons back to Klingon space and should not be back for quite some time."
"Another thing was that the men on the ship started to disobey Professor Eichhorn and tried to commit mutiny on the ship. We tried to put them in the brig, but the guard turned as well. We had to start defending ourselves and, unfortunately, kill our own crew. During all this, the Cherokee just sat there until we had everyone under control, then they opened fire. They hailed us, but it wasn't Captain Conner, it was some alien speech that I couldn't quite understand. And you know the rest."
"Number one," Karatek spoke into his comm. badge. He didn't wait for an answer. "Download the last received transmission of the Gateway. Prior to ours."
"Aye, sir." The reply came back.
"Royle, you get your head fixed and I want to talk to each and every one of your survivors. Understood?"
"Yes, captain. I understand." Karatek turned and proceeded towards the bridge. Royle turned to his right and entered the Celestial's sickbay.
*****
A deep scratchy voice emitted form the communications station aboard the Celestial. Within it, the alien words "Zeereth Kara chumpa!" The words repeated over and over.
"What do you make of it?" Karatek asked entering the bridge via turbo lift.
"The language is known as 'Jackyl.' It is only spoken out in the Delta Quadrant. Only one race is known to speak it. Ironically known as the Jackyl." Commander Eubank slowly turned to his captain as he explained the language origin. "Little is known about the species. What we do know is that just about every single person who has encountered them, has died. Our lucky thirteen are the only ones who have survived."
"Don't jump to conclusions, Sam. We still don't know for sure that the Jackyl are behind this attack. Send an away team to the other ship. Go with them. I will contact Captain Chris Austin. He has encountered the Jackyl before. I hope he can help."
"Right, sir." Sam walked toward the turbo lift while telling a security team to meet him in transporter room two.
*****
"Ah, Captain Karatek," Captain Chris Austin's face showed little excitement about seeing the Romulan Starfleet officer. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, Captain, you can. I understand that you have encountered an alien face known as the Jackyl. We have reason to believe that they maybe on their way towards Earth. We think we have found them. If you could give us any information about them, it would be very appreciated." Karatek was straightforward. He left no room for apologies about his father. That subject did not bother him at this point. But what did bother him was that it could be possible the Romulans might be behind all of it. The sword Dragonheart was rumored to lay dormant somewhere in the Delta Quadrant. If Riven Curranstien could get a hold of the ancient sword, he spent so many centuries trapped by Elfish spell in, he could rule the Romulan Empire, and even the Universe.
"The Jackyl," Captain Austin sat and thought about the race. "Well, for one they are very brutal. Their weapons are very powerful. If you run into one, I suggest running the other way. Of course, if they haven't been instructed to take prisoners, you'll die anyway. I have the readouts of their weapons right here. I'm transferring them to you now. That should be all of it that you will need. And, one more time, why do you suddenly want to know about the Jackyl?" Karatek explained their situation. "Well, like me, you'll have to fight them without Starfleet permission. I suggest that you scan all survivors for any kind of parasite or abnormal cells. The Jackyl are a smaller biological version of the Borg. Less in number, but just as deadly. If you wish, I can the Washington there to join you in about two days."
"That will not be necessary, Captain. Thank you. Karatek out." The screen went dead. Karatek tapped his comm. badge. "Mr. Sho-Hin, get all thirteen survivors scanned for any abnormality in their systems. Captain out."
*****
Ensign Shikta sat on the medical table, almost motionless as the nurses scanned his crewmates. When a nurse approached him he became uneasy.
"Ok, ready to get scanned, Ensign?" The young human woman asked. Shikta slowly nodded. Quickly, he reached out with both hands and snapped her neck. Other nurses noticed what was happening and rushed to restrain the Vulcan. Phaser blasts shot out and they were dead before they could reach Shikta.
"Why did you do that?" Chief Engineer Mark O'Reilly stepped towards Shikta. "We could have used them and their medical knowledge."
Shikta lowered his blaster pistol that resembled a Romulan blaster pistol, and hopped off the table he was sitting on.
"C'mon, tell us why you decided to kill them! They scanned us and found nothing. Korsair ZerXow told us."
"Korreta! Silence!" Shikta stood proudly, or the body of Shikta did so. "This is your Korsair! I have decided to join you on this one. The Cherokee's crew almost killed all our people, as did the Gateway's crew. This ship is bigger and has more people that will fight more efficiently than the other two. We all know the minimum amount of troops to lose on this mission is five. We cannot afford to lose any more. Now, you five start your transformations, the rest of you follow me. Let's go exploring."
*****
"Sir," Mike Coal turned to his Captain, "I am getting a response from sickbay. The survivors are Jackyl, and they have killed all medical personnel. They're exploring the ship in human form."
"Who sent the message?" Karatek raised an eyebrow in thought. "All medical personnel are dead."
"Apparently, Mr. Royle was unaffected."
"I wonder why. where is he now?"
"Making his way to the bridge, sir."
"Captain!" Another Ensign at scans spoke up. "I'm picking up five distinct biological creatures in sickbay. They're half-human, half-Jackyl. I think some of the crew are mutating."
"This won't end well." Karatek whispered to himself as he walked briskly to his ready room. "Sho-Hin, you have the bridge."
*****
A small light flickered on Captain Chris Austin's desk screen. Austin paid no attention to it until a loud beep startled him. He pressed a button on his control pad and Karatek's image flashed on the screen.
"Yes, Captain? What is it now?"
"The Jackyl have infested our sickbay and are spreading throughout the ship. Contact Starfleet and tell them our position and what is happening. We will attempt to restrain them until other ships come to assist us. Get scientists to come up with a reverse to their biological weapons. What ever you do, do no."
The screen went blank.
"Captain! KARATEK!" Austin stared at the flat screen. Snapping out of it, he punched some buttons on his console and started recording his message. "This is Captain Christopher Austin of the USS Washington. I am speaking on behalf of the USS Celestial. They are on the border of the Cardassian and Federation space. They believe the biological race known as the Jackyl, a Delta Quadrant race that relies heavily on biological weaponry, are infiltrating the Alpha Quadrant. Captain Karatek asks that our scientists work on a reversal to their biological weapons. They will attempt to restrain the creatures aboard their ship until other vessels arrive to assist them. We are on our way to assist the Celestial in any way we can. Please get scientists working on it as quickly as possible." Austin punched some other buttons and sent the message. He tapped his comm. badge and spoke, "Bridge, this is the Captain. Set a course for the Cardassian border, maximum warp. Once there, locate the Celestial and hail them."
*****
"Don't kill them," Shikta yelled out, with the features of the Jackyl race beginning to show. The extremely long pointy ears, along with the bald head, long neck, bone extensions above each eye and the venom pouches within the neck that could be seen through the thin layer of skin on the front of the neck. "Fire the gas at them!"
The corridor of Deck 17 was turned into a battleground. Two security teams were all that stood between the Jackyl and a direct route to the bridge.
*****
"This has to be the worst away mission I have ever been on." Ensign Leonard T. Michaels complained.
"As I understand," Sam Eubank spoke up, "this is only your second away mission, total."
"Yes, it is, sir. But my previous one was on Risa. So, this ship is nothing compared to that."
"Alright team, search the ship for any life form that shows up as Jackyl." 12 of the 13-person security team split up into teams of two. The last person, Ensign Michaels, went with Commander Eubank to stay on the bridge. The entire ship was in disorder. The circular bridge with Captain's, or in this case Professor's, chair in the center. The once white walls were now black from smoke and red from blood. Bodies were everywhere. Throughout the ship, it was the same, bodies, blood, and smoke. Very few Jackyl bodies were found. Those that were found were discovered mostly in the corridors.
"Sir," Commander Eubank's comm. badge beeped to life, "We just found something very strange in Engineering. I think you better have a look at it."
"On my way."
*****
"Captain," The turbo lift doors slid open and James Royle ran onto the bridge, "Sir, the Jackyl."
"We know they're on board and are heading for the bridge. We are taking every security precaution to keep the bridge from being infected. Mr. Tuj is already down there dealing with the Jackyl, personally." Karatek spoke coolly, almost with no emotion. He turned his gaze back to the security station as he reviewed more reports on what was going on down there.
"No, Captain!" Royle brought Karatek's attention back to himself. "The Jackyl aren't going to the bridge!"
"What?" A confused look took over Karatek's face. "They're not heading for the bridge?"
"No, sir. They're doing the exact same thing here as they did on the Gateway. First, they take sickbay, and then move to engineering. From there, they head to the bridge, killing everyone in their path. Sir, we must warn Engineering."
"Bridge to Engineering!" Karatek tapped his comm. badge. "Be aware! The Jackyl are heading your way! Repeat, the Jackyl are heading towards you!"
"Sir!" The crackled voice of an Ensign responded. "They're already here!"
The comm. went dead.
Royle looked at Karatek with a frightened look, "They are coming."
*****
A green cloud of smoke emitted from a Jackyl's open mouth. A poisonous gas flowed out of his venom pouches within his neck. Maximus Tuj was pinned to the ground as the gas began to take its effects.
First, his eyes rolled up as dark circles formed around them. Veins all over his body began to expand, making them visible to the naked eye. The Jackyl that pinned him to the ground moved, but Maximus did not. The Jackyl took the rest of Engineering with the greatest of ease.
"Excellent work, men," Korsair ZerXow spoke to his crew in engineering. The features of Shikta no longer showed on his face. "By pass the communication systems and tell our men on the Gateway to get ready to send over the package."
"Yes, sir." One of the Jackyl turned and went to work on one of the consoles.
*****
"What is it?" Commander Eubank asked moving toward where the warp core used to be. "Do we know?"
"Read outs suggest it is a sword." One of the other officers spoke up. "Very old, it seems to have been made back many millennia ago. I'm identifying it now. Sir. you won't believe this."
"Tell me, what is it? What is this sword called?"
"The Dragonheart!"
Sam blinked in amazement. "Do you mean to tell me that this is the ancient sword Ambassador Riven was 'trapped' in all those years ago?"
"Apparently it is."
"Why is it in place of the warp drive, and why does the Gateway even have it?"
"I don't know, sir."
*****
"The message has been sent, sir." The Jackyl at the console proceeded back to formation with his comrades.
"Excellent," ZerXow watched the warp core, expecting it to disappear and be replaced by the mighty sword they were hired to bring to the Alpha Quadrant. "Why is it not working? It worked on the last two Federation ships! What makes this one different?"
The Jackyl ship traveled from the Delta Quadrant clear to the Alpha Quadrant with unbelievable speed on its own. When they arrived, the ship was almost out of power, they had not yet received their payment and they needed it badly. Apparently, in the Klingon space they arrived, they found the first Federation ship: The Cherokee. They took it over with slight ease, and soon were on their way. After finding another Federation ship, the Gateway, they seized control of that and left the Cherokee adrift. With each ship change, the power behind the ships was their package, the sword Dragonheart.
"We are already behind schedule!" ZerXow spoke in an aggravated voice. "Somebody find out what's wrong! I want to know what the problem is!"
All the Jackyl in Engineering sped off in all directions all over Engineering. ZerXow wanted an answer and he wasn't going to wait long to get one.
*****
"Captain, we have a report from the away team."
"Patch it through." Karatek waited to hear what it was that Sam had sent to him.
"Captain, we have discovered something very unusual over here." Commander Eubank's voice came through very clearly. "Apparently, there is no warp drive on this ship. The warp core is gone and in its place is the sword Dragonheart. We don't know how or why the members of the Gateway have it, sir."
"The crew of the Gateway didn't put it there, sir." James Royle spoke up. "The Jackyl did. They needed a safe way to transport the sword, so when they got a hold of our ship, they transported our warp core to the Cherokee and replaced it with the sword. That's the best reason I can come up with."
"Do you want us to remove the sword, Captain?"
Karatek sat in his chair and thought it all over. To think that the legendary sword Dragonheart had finally been found and is being taken somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant. But to whom? Those words echoed in Karatek's mind for sometime.
"Sir, what do you suggest that we do?"
"Well," Karatek finally spoke, "we need to find out exactly where these Jackyl are taking the sword. How do we do that I have no idea."
"Captain!" A voice from one of the ensigns sprung Karatek from his train of thought. "The Jackyl are on the move! They're heading for the bridge!"
"Seal off the bridge, get our away team back here, now!"
*****
"Korsair!" A Jackyl sprinted up to his commanding officer to report his findings. "Sir, apparently there is an away team on the Gateway and our men there can't get close to the sword."
"Well, then," ZerXow spoke very calmly at this point. "I guess now, we'll have to take this ship and tow the Gateway to our employer. You five stay here, the rest of you come with me to the bridge."
All but the five Jackyl ordered to stay started the move towards the bridge.
*****
Down on the surface of the Planet Yarma, a cloaked figure with a hood covering his face, stood before a large round table. Another figure walked up behind the cloaked person. His red fur showed all over his arms, legs, sides, and lower abdomen. His tail flipped back and forth.
"Yes, my son?" The cloaked figure said.
"Master, the Jackyl are infiltrating the Celestial with ease. It won't be long before the sword is in your grasp once more." The Wantepp's deep voice echoed in the cavern they stood in. It was as big as an arena and lit very well.
"Korigan," the cloaked man turned around, still hiding his face. "You have been well trained. Shuzen would be proud that I carry on his teachings. However, you must not underestimate Karatek. Your brother has also been trained by me. He is more powerful than you like to think."
"Do not worry, master, once you have that sword, you will be unstoppable. I will follow you loyally to the end."
"I know you will, Korigan. Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen."
*****
"Sir, we have the away team on board."
"Shut off all transporter systems. I don't want them getting off the ship." Karatek paced back and forth on his bridge, trying to figure out what to do.
"I'm picking up another ship in the sector. Sir, it's the Washington!"
"Its about time they got here. Hail them." The forward view screen flickered to life to show the image of Captain Chris Austin. "Captain, its good to see you."
"The same to you, Captain. We will start beaming over your crew immediately."
"NO!" Karatek stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Captain Austin. "You must do nothing of the kind. We're not sure exactly who has been infected by the Jackyl. So, if you don't know how to fix them, don't beam them over."
"We just received word that Starfleet has come up with a cure and are sending to you now." Austin punched a few buttons and transferred the information to the Celestial.
"Thank you, Captain. We are most grateful. I suggest getting the Gateway cleaned up first. Hail us when you have more information. Karatek out. Number One, Is the Dragonheart aboard?" Sam Eubank was amazed that without turning around and looking Karatek knew Sam had joined them on the bridge.
"Just a minute, sir." Sam turned to this console and thoroughly scanned the ship. "Sir, the sword is no longer there!"
"What?"
*****
A blue column of light shown down from the ceiling and the Dragonheart sword appeared on the perfectly round table.
"At last," the black-cloaked figure said slowly walking towards the sword. "The Dragonheart is mine once more."
The man removed his hood to reveal himself to be Riven Curranstien.
"Master," Korigan, the Wantepp, stepped out of the shadows. "Is this the sword of power? I can feel its power emanating from here."
"Yes, Korigan. This sword is more powerful than you realize. And, finally, it is mine once more." Riven reached out and gripped the handle. He lifted the sword and held it high. "Now, to repay the Jackyl for bringing it to me!" Riven spoke elfish words of old loud and crisp. The Dragonheart glowed red and the cavern was lit. A bolt shot out of the tip of the sword and went through the ceiling, through the sky, and collided with the Celestial.
*****
"Sir, there's something coming for the Celestial! It's being emitted from the planet's surface."
"What exactly is it?" The ship shook hard and glowed red as the ray from the Dragonheart hit the ship. The Jackyl were running through the corridors as the beam hit. A glow covered everything in seconds. The skin and features of the Jackyl began to melt away, revealing who they were underneath. After all the creatures were gone, the same happened to the Gateway and the Cherokee reappeared with full crew a board. "What was that?"
"I. don't know, sir."
"Hail the Gateway and Cherokee." Karatek spoke this after he quickly discovered all the Gateway crew was gone.
"Channel open, sir."
"This is the USS Celestial, do either one of you need assistance?" The crew waited for a response.
"Captain, Karatek. This is Professor Eichhorn. What just happened?"
"All will be explained to the best of my knowledge, Frank. Come on aboard."
*****
"Captain, I'm picking up a small craft leaving the surface of the planet."
"Who's on it?" Karatek replied standing in front of his chair. He just returned to the bridge after explaining to Captain Conner, Professor Eichhorn, and Commander Ferguson what had happened. They just left back to their respective ships. Both ships were on their way back to Earth.
"Two life forms, one Romulan.one Wantepp. They're carrying a shipment of some kind. Small, steel. it's the Dragonheart!"
"Oh, no!" Karatek's eyes widened. "That means the Jackyl were bringing the sword to Riven! Inform Starfleet we are going after Riven!"
"Yes, sir." After a few moments passed, "Sir, Starfleet has denied us approval."
"Screw Starfleet! We're going after that sword!"
(Continued in "Star Trek: Celestial - A Question of Faith")
Smoke filled the bridge as the crew climbed back to their stations as quickly as possible.
"Damage report!" Commander Jeremiah Fergusson demanded from the crew. "Where is the Professor?"
"I'm right here, commander," a voice came from the upper level of the bridge. "Now, someone give me a damage report!"
"Shields are gone, weapons off-line and systems failing all over the ship." The voice cried out from across the room and was scratched by acrid smoke. "Life support at seventy-nine percent."
"Sir, they're coming around for another pass!" Another voice erupted through the smoke.
"Brace for impact!" The ship shook violently as more phaser blasts collided with the USS Gateway. Professor Franklin Eichhorn almost lost his footing for the second time. "Send out a distress call to any ship around high priority."
"Aye, si." The ship rocked again as more blasts collided with the science vessel. The communications officer, Lt. Commander James Royle, flew violently out of his and smacked into the steel railing that was attached to the upper level. Commander Ferguson sprinted over and completed the distress call. He walked back to the middle of the bridge to meet Professor Eichhorn who was doing the same.
"Well, Jeremy, we are on a dying ship with a lot of our crew dead. Plus, the Cherokee decided to go rebellious and attack us. Any suggestions?"
"Pray." Just after those words were spoken, red columns of light consumed both Jeremiah and Franklin. Within seconds, they were gone, and the firing stopped.
James Royle slowly came to, a good ten minutes or so later, and glanced about the smoky bridge. He felt the warmth of his blood trickle down his head. He immediately noticed that the Professor and the Commander was gone. He rose from the ground and walked over to the communications station. The distress call had been sent and he needed to keep the ship, and crew alive until someone showed up to rescue them.
"Lieutenant Jackson," Royle said, "Squirrel, you over there?"
"Yeah, I'm here, Royle." The voice sounded wounded but alive. Royle squinted through the smoke to try and locate Jackson. Surprisingly, he was back at his station, engineering.
"Contact the engineering room and find out what the damage is and how much time we have left."
"Aye, sir." Jackson started punching keys on his console and then spoke into his comm. badge. "Engineering, this is the bridge, what is the damage report, and how much time do we have?"
The response crackled and popped through the on-board communication system. "Really bad, Professor. Life-support is down to seventy percent, but we think we can fix that. Just about every other system is off-line, including alarms."
"The professor is no longer on the ship, neither is Commander Ferguson." Royle took over talking to engineering. "This is Lt. Commander James Royle, now commanding the Gateway. Get life-support back to 100 percent, then get impulse back and warp systems back on-line. Bridge out. Squirrel, see if there is any ship in the sector who would come and aid us."
"Scanning," Jackson's fingers danced across the console, searching for anyone who would help them. "There's no one out there. Not even an out post. Wait! I'm picking up something. It's small, maybe a scout ship."
"Can you get anymore from it?"
"No, sir. The scanners have been damaged enough that I can't identify it or tell from who."
"It's ok, try to give me a visual."
"Visuals are off-line, sir." Ensign Shikta, a Vulcan, spoke up from the science and engineering station. Royle didn't even know that there was anyone else alive on the bridge. "The only way to see it is for it to cross in front of us."
"Sir, we just lost scanners." Jackson spoke up and moved to another part of the bridge to begin work on that.
"Well, let's hope that it's not hostile. But if it is." Royle moved to the weapons command and began to try and bring the power back to the Phasers.
*****
The acrid smell of smoke spread across the jungle grounds. Karatek Curranstien readied his 21st century automatic weapon. He slowly followed the path that lay before him and kept his weapon ready. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant fury ape-like beast leapt out of the brush to Karatek's left side. He fired into the creature's chest and killed it.
"Wonderful," Karatek said aloud, examining the beast. "A Wantepp."
The Wantepp was a primitive race that dwelled within the jungles of South America, Earth. Apparently, some biological weapon created by New Russia was dropped off and never exploded. The sides of the bomb were ripped enough that normal lowland gorillas came into contact with the biochemical inside. It mutated them into territorial killing machines. Five years after they were discover, they evolved into a new race and were sent to a planet bursting with life. A Federation expedition recently traveled there to see how they were doing, and they found a striving civilization. The creatures had evolved into beings that really resembled humans. They still had fur all over their bodies with chest, upper abdomen, head, neck, hands and feet bare. Their fur was red and hair was long and black, and their ears were long and pointed. They had found the usefulness of clothing and we doing fantastic. However, at this point in time, Karatek had to deal with their beastly past.
"I wonder if Sam knew this is what the program really is." He slowly continued down the path until he heard voices coming from up ahead. They were human voices. Karatek's slow walk turned into a dead sprint. He rounded the last bend to find the humans. They were in primitive bar cages and were crying for help. Karatek rushed for the closest cage. As he was trying to break open the door, a Wantepp came up behind the Captain and ripped him from the cage. Karatek landed violently on the ground and the Wantepp lifted a log above his head to smash Karatek's skull in.
"Bridge to Captain," The undeniable voice of Samuel Eubank echoed through the jungle.
"Computer, freeze program." Everything in the jungle stopped and froze. "Yes, commander, what is it?"
"Sir, we have arrived at the last known location of the Gateway."
"Yes, and?"
"There's nothing here, sir."
"I'm on my way." Minutes later, Karatek was on the bridge in full uniform. "Any idea of what happened?"
"Well, there is some debris, but besides that, nothing. The debris is rock and ice, not a ship."
"Well, Frank wouldn't have let his ship and his crew die quickly. Scan all neighboring planets, see if the ship crashed." Working quickly, commander Eubank took over scan controls and scanned the closest planets. "Well?"
"Nothing on the planets, sir, but between Yarma and its second moon, I'm detecting two small ships."
"Set a course. Engage."
*****
"Engineering, do we have power to communications yet?" James Royle was working furiously at weapons and shield control. Blood still trickled down his head, but not as bad as before. His long blonde hair was slightly stained by his own plasma, as well as his uniform.
"Communications back on-line," a voice crackled through the on board communications link. "We are now working on the weapons systems." Impulse, scans, visuals and life-support systems were also brought up to 100%.
"Jackson, what happened to that ship we detected?"
"Scanning now," Jackson's hands flew over the control pad and he soon came up with an answer. "It has stopped. I'm identifying it as the Talarian vessel J'staa. They are scanning us as well and are powering up shields and weapons."
"And we don't have either. Do you think they intend on attacking us?"
"Possibly, but I really don't know." Jackson looked back at Royle and then at his screen again. "They're on the move, something bigger is coming into scanning view. It the Celestial!"
*****
Captain Karatek sat respectfully in his command chair.
"Hail the Talarian vessel and tell them to stand down."
"Aye, sir." An ensign was commanding the communications and Karatek hopped the new recruit did it right. For some reason, Starfleet always liked to give him the newest recruits, and not so good ones at that. All the best of the best went to Captains like Scott Conner or Jean Luc Picard. But he did a top of the line ship.
"Sir," Commander Eubank leaned over the scans system, "The Talarian ship is still powered up, but is moving away from the Gateway."
"Good. Tell the Gateway I want to speak with Professor Eichhorn as soon as possible. The same for Commander Ferguson."
"Sir," the ensign as the comm. spoke up, "both Professor Eichhorn and Commander Ferguson are gone. They don't know what happened."
"Who's in charge?"
"One Lt. Commander James Royle."
"Tell them we will beam them aboard and tend to their medical needs."
After a brief pause, they ensign replied, "They're ready to beam over, sir. Twelve humans, one Vulcanoid."
"Energize. Sam, you have the bridge."
Moments later, Karatek was escorting the thirteen Starfleet survivors to sickbay.
"Tell me, Royle, what did this ship look like?"
"Well, sir, I'm sure you know of the USS Cherokee." Karatek nodded as the 14 reached sickbay, and the other twelve walked in single file. "This ship resembled it perfectly. It first fired a photon torpedo that eliminated what shields we had. Then, it circled us, firing phaser blasts left and right. One blast hit and I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, Professor Eichhorn and Commander Ferguson were both gone. I assumed control and we put the ship back together to the point that we didn't die."
"The Cherokee is not supposed to be any where near here. It should be escorting some Klingons back to Klingon space and should not be back for quite some time."
"Another thing was that the men on the ship started to disobey Professor Eichhorn and tried to commit mutiny on the ship. We tried to put them in the brig, but the guard turned as well. We had to start defending ourselves and, unfortunately, kill our own crew. During all this, the Cherokee just sat there until we had everyone under control, then they opened fire. They hailed us, but it wasn't Captain Conner, it was some alien speech that I couldn't quite understand. And you know the rest."
"Number one," Karatek spoke into his comm. badge. He didn't wait for an answer. "Download the last received transmission of the Gateway. Prior to ours."
"Aye, sir." The reply came back.
"Royle, you get your head fixed and I want to talk to each and every one of your survivors. Understood?"
"Yes, captain. I understand." Karatek turned and proceeded towards the bridge. Royle turned to his right and entered the Celestial's sickbay.
*****
A deep scratchy voice emitted form the communications station aboard the Celestial. Within it, the alien words "Zeereth Kara chumpa!" The words repeated over and over.
"What do you make of it?" Karatek asked entering the bridge via turbo lift.
"The language is known as 'Jackyl.' It is only spoken out in the Delta Quadrant. Only one race is known to speak it. Ironically known as the Jackyl." Commander Eubank slowly turned to his captain as he explained the language origin. "Little is known about the species. What we do know is that just about every single person who has encountered them, has died. Our lucky thirteen are the only ones who have survived."
"Don't jump to conclusions, Sam. We still don't know for sure that the Jackyl are behind this attack. Send an away team to the other ship. Go with them. I will contact Captain Chris Austin. He has encountered the Jackyl before. I hope he can help."
"Right, sir." Sam walked toward the turbo lift while telling a security team to meet him in transporter room two.
*****
"Ah, Captain Karatek," Captain Chris Austin's face showed little excitement about seeing the Romulan Starfleet officer. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, Captain, you can. I understand that you have encountered an alien face known as the Jackyl. We have reason to believe that they maybe on their way towards Earth. We think we have found them. If you could give us any information about them, it would be very appreciated." Karatek was straightforward. He left no room for apologies about his father. That subject did not bother him at this point. But what did bother him was that it could be possible the Romulans might be behind all of it. The sword Dragonheart was rumored to lay dormant somewhere in the Delta Quadrant. If Riven Curranstien could get a hold of the ancient sword, he spent so many centuries trapped by Elfish spell in, he could rule the Romulan Empire, and even the Universe.
"The Jackyl," Captain Austin sat and thought about the race. "Well, for one they are very brutal. Their weapons are very powerful. If you run into one, I suggest running the other way. Of course, if they haven't been instructed to take prisoners, you'll die anyway. I have the readouts of their weapons right here. I'm transferring them to you now. That should be all of it that you will need. And, one more time, why do you suddenly want to know about the Jackyl?" Karatek explained their situation. "Well, like me, you'll have to fight them without Starfleet permission. I suggest that you scan all survivors for any kind of parasite or abnormal cells. The Jackyl are a smaller biological version of the Borg. Less in number, but just as deadly. If you wish, I can the Washington there to join you in about two days."
"That will not be necessary, Captain. Thank you. Karatek out." The screen went dead. Karatek tapped his comm. badge. "Mr. Sho-Hin, get all thirteen survivors scanned for any abnormality in their systems. Captain out."
*****
Ensign Shikta sat on the medical table, almost motionless as the nurses scanned his crewmates. When a nurse approached him he became uneasy.
"Ok, ready to get scanned, Ensign?" The young human woman asked. Shikta slowly nodded. Quickly, he reached out with both hands and snapped her neck. Other nurses noticed what was happening and rushed to restrain the Vulcan. Phaser blasts shot out and they were dead before they could reach Shikta.
"Why did you do that?" Chief Engineer Mark O'Reilly stepped towards Shikta. "We could have used them and their medical knowledge."
Shikta lowered his blaster pistol that resembled a Romulan blaster pistol, and hopped off the table he was sitting on.
"C'mon, tell us why you decided to kill them! They scanned us and found nothing. Korsair ZerXow told us."
"Korreta! Silence!" Shikta stood proudly, or the body of Shikta did so. "This is your Korsair! I have decided to join you on this one. The Cherokee's crew almost killed all our people, as did the Gateway's crew. This ship is bigger and has more people that will fight more efficiently than the other two. We all know the minimum amount of troops to lose on this mission is five. We cannot afford to lose any more. Now, you five start your transformations, the rest of you follow me. Let's go exploring."
*****
"Sir," Mike Coal turned to his Captain, "I am getting a response from sickbay. The survivors are Jackyl, and they have killed all medical personnel. They're exploring the ship in human form."
"Who sent the message?" Karatek raised an eyebrow in thought. "All medical personnel are dead."
"Apparently, Mr. Royle was unaffected."
"I wonder why. where is he now?"
"Making his way to the bridge, sir."
"Captain!" Another Ensign at scans spoke up. "I'm picking up five distinct biological creatures in sickbay. They're half-human, half-Jackyl. I think some of the crew are mutating."
"This won't end well." Karatek whispered to himself as he walked briskly to his ready room. "Sho-Hin, you have the bridge."
*****
A small light flickered on Captain Chris Austin's desk screen. Austin paid no attention to it until a loud beep startled him. He pressed a button on his control pad and Karatek's image flashed on the screen.
"Yes, Captain? What is it now?"
"The Jackyl have infested our sickbay and are spreading throughout the ship. Contact Starfleet and tell them our position and what is happening. We will attempt to restrain them until other ships come to assist us. Get scientists to come up with a reverse to their biological weapons. What ever you do, do no."
The screen went blank.
"Captain! KARATEK!" Austin stared at the flat screen. Snapping out of it, he punched some buttons on his console and started recording his message. "This is Captain Christopher Austin of the USS Washington. I am speaking on behalf of the USS Celestial. They are on the border of the Cardassian and Federation space. They believe the biological race known as the Jackyl, a Delta Quadrant race that relies heavily on biological weaponry, are infiltrating the Alpha Quadrant. Captain Karatek asks that our scientists work on a reversal to their biological weapons. They will attempt to restrain the creatures aboard their ship until other vessels arrive to assist them. We are on our way to assist the Celestial in any way we can. Please get scientists working on it as quickly as possible." Austin punched some other buttons and sent the message. He tapped his comm. badge and spoke, "Bridge, this is the Captain. Set a course for the Cardassian border, maximum warp. Once there, locate the Celestial and hail them."
*****
"Don't kill them," Shikta yelled out, with the features of the Jackyl race beginning to show. The extremely long pointy ears, along with the bald head, long neck, bone extensions above each eye and the venom pouches within the neck that could be seen through the thin layer of skin on the front of the neck. "Fire the gas at them!"
The corridor of Deck 17 was turned into a battleground. Two security teams were all that stood between the Jackyl and a direct route to the bridge.
*****
"This has to be the worst away mission I have ever been on." Ensign Leonard T. Michaels complained.
"As I understand," Sam Eubank spoke up, "this is only your second away mission, total."
"Yes, it is, sir. But my previous one was on Risa. So, this ship is nothing compared to that."
"Alright team, search the ship for any life form that shows up as Jackyl." 12 of the 13-person security team split up into teams of two. The last person, Ensign Michaels, went with Commander Eubank to stay on the bridge. The entire ship was in disorder. The circular bridge with Captain's, or in this case Professor's, chair in the center. The once white walls were now black from smoke and red from blood. Bodies were everywhere. Throughout the ship, it was the same, bodies, blood, and smoke. Very few Jackyl bodies were found. Those that were found were discovered mostly in the corridors.
"Sir," Commander Eubank's comm. badge beeped to life, "We just found something very strange in Engineering. I think you better have a look at it."
"On my way."
*****
"Captain," The turbo lift doors slid open and James Royle ran onto the bridge, "Sir, the Jackyl."
"We know they're on board and are heading for the bridge. We are taking every security precaution to keep the bridge from being infected. Mr. Tuj is already down there dealing with the Jackyl, personally." Karatek spoke coolly, almost with no emotion. He turned his gaze back to the security station as he reviewed more reports on what was going on down there.
"No, Captain!" Royle brought Karatek's attention back to himself. "The Jackyl aren't going to the bridge!"
"What?" A confused look took over Karatek's face. "They're not heading for the bridge?"
"No, sir. They're doing the exact same thing here as they did on the Gateway. First, they take sickbay, and then move to engineering. From there, they head to the bridge, killing everyone in their path. Sir, we must warn Engineering."
"Bridge to Engineering!" Karatek tapped his comm. badge. "Be aware! The Jackyl are heading your way! Repeat, the Jackyl are heading towards you!"
"Sir!" The crackled voice of an Ensign responded. "They're already here!"
The comm. went dead.
Royle looked at Karatek with a frightened look, "They are coming."
*****
A green cloud of smoke emitted from a Jackyl's open mouth. A poisonous gas flowed out of his venom pouches within his neck. Maximus Tuj was pinned to the ground as the gas began to take its effects.
First, his eyes rolled up as dark circles formed around them. Veins all over his body began to expand, making them visible to the naked eye. The Jackyl that pinned him to the ground moved, but Maximus did not. The Jackyl took the rest of Engineering with the greatest of ease.
"Excellent work, men," Korsair ZerXow spoke to his crew in engineering. The features of Shikta no longer showed on his face. "By pass the communication systems and tell our men on the Gateway to get ready to send over the package."
"Yes, sir." One of the Jackyl turned and went to work on one of the consoles.
*****
"What is it?" Commander Eubank asked moving toward where the warp core used to be. "Do we know?"
"Read outs suggest it is a sword." One of the other officers spoke up. "Very old, it seems to have been made back many millennia ago. I'm identifying it now. Sir. you won't believe this."
"Tell me, what is it? What is this sword called?"
"The Dragonheart!"
Sam blinked in amazement. "Do you mean to tell me that this is the ancient sword Ambassador Riven was 'trapped' in all those years ago?"
"Apparently it is."
"Why is it in place of the warp drive, and why does the Gateway even have it?"
"I don't know, sir."
*****
"The message has been sent, sir." The Jackyl at the console proceeded back to formation with his comrades.
"Excellent," ZerXow watched the warp core, expecting it to disappear and be replaced by the mighty sword they were hired to bring to the Alpha Quadrant. "Why is it not working? It worked on the last two Federation ships! What makes this one different?"
The Jackyl ship traveled from the Delta Quadrant clear to the Alpha Quadrant with unbelievable speed on its own. When they arrived, the ship was almost out of power, they had not yet received their payment and they needed it badly. Apparently, in the Klingon space they arrived, they found the first Federation ship: The Cherokee. They took it over with slight ease, and soon were on their way. After finding another Federation ship, the Gateway, they seized control of that and left the Cherokee adrift. With each ship change, the power behind the ships was their package, the sword Dragonheart.
"We are already behind schedule!" ZerXow spoke in an aggravated voice. "Somebody find out what's wrong! I want to know what the problem is!"
All the Jackyl in Engineering sped off in all directions all over Engineering. ZerXow wanted an answer and he wasn't going to wait long to get one.
*****
"Captain, we have a report from the away team."
"Patch it through." Karatek waited to hear what it was that Sam had sent to him.
"Captain, we have discovered something very unusual over here." Commander Eubank's voice came through very clearly. "Apparently, there is no warp drive on this ship. The warp core is gone and in its place is the sword Dragonheart. We don't know how or why the members of the Gateway have it, sir."
"The crew of the Gateway didn't put it there, sir." James Royle spoke up. "The Jackyl did. They needed a safe way to transport the sword, so when they got a hold of our ship, they transported our warp core to the Cherokee and replaced it with the sword. That's the best reason I can come up with."
"Do you want us to remove the sword, Captain?"
Karatek sat in his chair and thought it all over. To think that the legendary sword Dragonheart had finally been found and is being taken somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant. But to whom? Those words echoed in Karatek's mind for sometime.
"Sir, what do you suggest that we do?"
"Well," Karatek finally spoke, "we need to find out exactly where these Jackyl are taking the sword. How do we do that I have no idea."
"Captain!" A voice from one of the ensigns sprung Karatek from his train of thought. "The Jackyl are on the move! They're heading for the bridge!"
"Seal off the bridge, get our away team back here, now!"
*****
"Korsair!" A Jackyl sprinted up to his commanding officer to report his findings. "Sir, apparently there is an away team on the Gateway and our men there can't get close to the sword."
"Well, then," ZerXow spoke very calmly at this point. "I guess now, we'll have to take this ship and tow the Gateway to our employer. You five stay here, the rest of you come with me to the bridge."
All but the five Jackyl ordered to stay started the move towards the bridge.
*****
Down on the surface of the Planet Yarma, a cloaked figure with a hood covering his face, stood before a large round table. Another figure walked up behind the cloaked person. His red fur showed all over his arms, legs, sides, and lower abdomen. His tail flipped back and forth.
"Yes, my son?" The cloaked figure said.
"Master, the Jackyl are infiltrating the Celestial with ease. It won't be long before the sword is in your grasp once more." The Wantepp's deep voice echoed in the cavern they stood in. It was as big as an arena and lit very well.
"Korigan," the cloaked man turned around, still hiding his face. "You have been well trained. Shuzen would be proud that I carry on his teachings. However, you must not underestimate Karatek. Your brother has also been trained by me. He is more powerful than you like to think."
"Do not worry, master, once you have that sword, you will be unstoppable. I will follow you loyally to the end."
"I know you will, Korigan. Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen."
*****
"Sir, we have the away team on board."
"Shut off all transporter systems. I don't want them getting off the ship." Karatek paced back and forth on his bridge, trying to figure out what to do.
"I'm picking up another ship in the sector. Sir, it's the Washington!"
"Its about time they got here. Hail them." The forward view screen flickered to life to show the image of Captain Chris Austin. "Captain, its good to see you."
"The same to you, Captain. We will start beaming over your crew immediately."
"NO!" Karatek stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Captain Austin. "You must do nothing of the kind. We're not sure exactly who has been infected by the Jackyl. So, if you don't know how to fix them, don't beam them over."
"We just received word that Starfleet has come up with a cure and are sending to you now." Austin punched a few buttons and transferred the information to the Celestial.
"Thank you, Captain. We are most grateful. I suggest getting the Gateway cleaned up first. Hail us when you have more information. Karatek out. Number One, Is the Dragonheart aboard?" Sam Eubank was amazed that without turning around and looking Karatek knew Sam had joined them on the bridge.
"Just a minute, sir." Sam turned to this console and thoroughly scanned the ship. "Sir, the sword is no longer there!"
"What?"
*****
A blue column of light shown down from the ceiling and the Dragonheart sword appeared on the perfectly round table.
"At last," the black-cloaked figure said slowly walking towards the sword. "The Dragonheart is mine once more."
The man removed his hood to reveal himself to be Riven Curranstien.
"Master," Korigan, the Wantepp, stepped out of the shadows. "Is this the sword of power? I can feel its power emanating from here."
"Yes, Korigan. This sword is more powerful than you realize. And, finally, it is mine once more." Riven reached out and gripped the handle. He lifted the sword and held it high. "Now, to repay the Jackyl for bringing it to me!" Riven spoke elfish words of old loud and crisp. The Dragonheart glowed red and the cavern was lit. A bolt shot out of the tip of the sword and went through the ceiling, through the sky, and collided with the Celestial.
*****
"Sir, there's something coming for the Celestial! It's being emitted from the planet's surface."
"What exactly is it?" The ship shook hard and glowed red as the ray from the Dragonheart hit the ship. The Jackyl were running through the corridors as the beam hit. A glow covered everything in seconds. The skin and features of the Jackyl began to melt away, revealing who they were underneath. After all the creatures were gone, the same happened to the Gateway and the Cherokee reappeared with full crew a board. "What was that?"
"I. don't know, sir."
"Hail the Gateway and Cherokee." Karatek spoke this after he quickly discovered all the Gateway crew was gone.
"Channel open, sir."
"This is the USS Celestial, do either one of you need assistance?" The crew waited for a response.
"Captain, Karatek. This is Professor Eichhorn. What just happened?"
"All will be explained to the best of my knowledge, Frank. Come on aboard."
*****
"Captain, I'm picking up a small craft leaving the surface of the planet."
"Who's on it?" Karatek replied standing in front of his chair. He just returned to the bridge after explaining to Captain Conner, Professor Eichhorn, and Commander Ferguson what had happened. They just left back to their respective ships. Both ships were on their way back to Earth.
"Two life forms, one Romulan.one Wantepp. They're carrying a shipment of some kind. Small, steel. it's the Dragonheart!"
"Oh, no!" Karatek's eyes widened. "That means the Jackyl were bringing the sword to Riven! Inform Starfleet we are going after Riven!"
"Yes, sir." After a few moments passed, "Sir, Starfleet has denied us approval."
"Screw Starfleet! We're going after that sword!"
(Continued in "Star Trek: Celestial - A Question of Faith")