STAR TREK:
ANACRONISMS
By Tigris
Euphrates,
and Sapph
Blackstone
This is a crossover story is based on the Star Trek universe created by Gene Roddenberry and the Gargoyles universe created by Greg Wiseman and Michael Reeves. All vessels and characters that have appeared in Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager and related movies are registered trademarks of Paramount Pictures. Gargoyles and related characters are registered trademarks of Buena Vista Pictures and Walt Disney Studios. The stories and characters not described above are original creations of T'Layna MacMathain, Tigris Euphrates, Sapph Blackstone and Poison Thorns Productions. Copyright (c) 2000 All rights reserved.
Chapter Two
The Guardians of Stone
San Francisco is one of the few cities on earth where you can
still get a feel of what earth was like long before the human race gained the
reach of the stars. Some even say that Zefrem Cochrane had friends in the city
and he spent a lot of his life there before the third world war. The streets
are narrow and lined with rows of tall houses built right up next to one
another, some of them over four hundred fifty years old. Its streets are filled
with trolleys and cable cars - like some living museum to the history of public
transit. On its horizon are the great glass buildings of the Starfleet Academy.
The sunlight glinted from those massive structures in beams, filling the city
with rainbows.
Aria watched with a distant frown. As she watched her home loom
larger and larger before her eyes, her heart was troubled. There was a rush of
air as the shuttle's pilot landed her just outside of Starfleet Academy, and
the passengers, mostly students, some professors, and any number of civilians
began to disembark. Gathering her satchel over her shoulder, she followed suit,
stepping into the sunlight. She tossed her raven colored hair with blue
highlights in the breeze.
"Aria!" A familiar voice shouted. She looked up to see a
young man in a red uniform running to her. Aria smiled for a moment - relived a
little, but the feeling was short lived when the memory of what she had learned
flooded back over her.
"Hi Jack." She tried to muster a smile, but only
succeeded in about half of what she wanted.
The young man, while having before been all smiles, read the look
in her eyes, and his smile faded. "What's wrong?" he inquired.
"Oh nothing..." She started to say, but added; "I
just learned something that will screw up my thesis."
"Wait a minute! You never even told what your thesis
was!" he protested, smiling again. They turned, walking toward the
academy.
"Twentieth century earth - that it was the pivotal point in
history that changed the destiny of the human race." She explained.
"What did you find?"
"I'll show you later. Let's not talk about it in the
open."
He stopped, and gave her a long look. "You're serious."
"Oh now, don't dramatize Jack. This is just a minor setback.
I'll have everything ready for term."
"I always knew you would." The young man said, wrapping
his arms around her shoulders and drawing her close, wanting to touch her light
creamy chestnut colored skin. Aria, however, became uncomfortable and pushed
him away.
"I've got to go..." she complained, turning and hurrying
away into the evening's setting sun.
Jack stood back, dumbfounded.
, , ,
The chronometer on the wall read "02:00", as Aria
realized she was getting absolutely no sleep. There was a red light on the comm
panel that was blinking, indicating that Jack had left her a message - several
perhaps. She simply couldn't think about Jack right now. There was something
eating at her that was so shocking she couldn't sleep a wink.
She turned back to the PADD by her bed that held her thesis paper.
She went back to it again.
"Just before the outbreak of the Third World War, what was
once bitterly referred to as the 'Second Eugenics War,' a world-renowned
chemical biologist by the name of Anton Sevarius helped the government of
Mordred - what was once the urban cultural center of Saudi Arabia before
Colonel Thomas Green's coup - design several races of warriors superior to the
average human in many aspects. These biological constructs consisted of the
ultra-durable mutate hordes, the dog packs, the Nessan wave-riders, and even
the fearsome vat-grown cybernetic Wyverns. The mutates, genetic mixtures of
human, various jungle cat strains, vampire bat and electric eel DNA, were the
ultimate terror-soldier; as smart as any man, loyal to Green's new world order,
fast, able to fly, and stronger than the average human.
"The dog packs were a different matter. To make them,
Sevarius and his subordinates took the typical canine and infused it with a
human's genetic structure, thus making a beast with a canine's strength and
vicious brutality, while giving it the ability to wield weapons like
vibro-blades, edged weapons, and even simple firearms. Clustered in packs of
five or more dogs, depending on the situation, they were controlled by a single
human leader. Used efficiently, the dog-packs were renowned for their
patrolling and anti-rebellion abilities, making it near impossible for
resistance cells to form.
"The Nessan wave-riders were the sea-borne destroyers of
Green's armada. Quick lightly armored, difficult to hit, and loaded for all
manners of bear, these submergible creatures received their slang names from
the ancient legend of Loch Ness of Scotland. Equipped with numerous torpedo
launchers, rail-gun technology, a crew of ten, and it's own natural attributes,
these destroyers ripped through the fleets of the Alliance.
"The genetically-created, cybernetically altered Wyverns of
Green's personal armies were, by far, the most frightening of any of Sevarius'
creations, however. Nearly half the size of a Defiant-class starship and with
natural armor tougher than titanium, alone these creatures were formidable as
airborne assault platforms. However, when armed with energy lances and blades
larger than the typical Andorian and sharper than a Klingon bat'leth, they
would be nigh invulnerable. To make these flying lizards even more dangerous,
they were cybernetically enhanced with adrenal stimulants, bionic implants and
a virtual arsenal of weaponry. Their weaponry consisted of hand-to-hand
weapons; rail guns built into their bone structures, claws half the size of a
human laced with titanium, lasers built into their arms, machineguns. They also
carried a nearly limitless amount of ammunition.
"Thankfully, all of these genetic monstrosities were
expensive to produce, and Green still had to rely heavily on the typical human
armed forces. However, these monsters have become synonymous reminders of a
past the human race has tried so hard to forget.
"While the Eastern Coalition was undoubtedly the most abusive
and territorial of the two sides, the World Alliance was hardly morally
perfect. There are documented cases inside various members of the World
Alliance of apparently vat-grown creatures comparable in size, ferocity,
appearance, and fighting skill to the mutates of the Coalition. But, where the
mutates were cold, merciless murderers heedless of all life, the genetic
constructs of the Alliance fought with honor, trading their lives for the
humans they protected whenever it was required. The Japanese ascribed them to
the demi-god guardians of old Shintoism, the British and Americans to angels
sent from Heaven. However, there is significantly less evidence that these
'angels' existed, than there is that Sevarius' constructs existed.
"In fact, it has been rumored that Sevarius created the
Alliance's angelic defenders, for twice the price that he created the
Coalition's Wyverns. It is further rumored that Sevarius' unscrupulous nature
led him to design genetic terrors such as viruses, more creatures of legend and
the like for private interests, such as self-serving corporate entities and the
exceedingly wealthy.
"However, both the Coalition and Alliance discovered
Sevarius' treachery and had him terminated by government assassins in
relatively short order. However, the repercussions of his work up to that point
were well-seen; for the first time since the Romans, Britain was invaded. The
United States was wiped off the face of the map by the Wyvern Corps in it's
entirety. The Wyvern Corps was obliterated in and of itself in the States'
last-ditch attempt to defend itself, by detonating fifty-plus thermonuclear
devices at the same time all across the landscape. The countries of the former
USSR fell to Green's war machine, as did northern Africa, all the way down to
Uganda, Rwanda and Zaire. It was shortly after these events that the Alliance
simply gave up and bathed as much of the Coalition's holdings as was possible
in nuclear fire. The Coalition, shortly before it was obliterated, launched
it's own nuclear cache at the Alliance's holdings, as will be investigated
further into this thesis.
"In summation, because of events set in motion by Sevarius'
creations, six-hundred million people were swallowed in nuclear fire."
She put down the PADD for a moment, thinking, and then continued.
"If not for this one man's lust for money, the entire
confrontation might not have occurred, and humanity might never have really
awoken to what it was doing to itself for centuries to come. A background check
on this individual reveals very little, but when reviewing some of the news
broadcasts of the period, one discovers...."
...and this was where she had ended it. Once more she turned the
bedside monitor towards her, and watched the video reel once again.
"This is Travis Marshall reporting to you live from Times
Square which appears to have been besieged by... MONSTERS! This shocking
footage was shot only moments ago!"
Engrossed, she watched as a shaky amateur photographer caught -
for a split second - the strangest sight she had ever seen: a series of large
animals with bat-like wings making a beeline out of sight.
She had ordered the computer to replay it several times. However,
she stopped now - and turned to the LCARS system. "Computer, how many
mentions are there of these creatures in known records for that period of time?"
"Specify time parameters. There is a steady trickle of
reports throughout known history until a few years after the initial formation
of the Earth Star Alliance."
She stared at the ceiling, holding her arms behind her head.
"Speculation - why did the reports stop? People still claim to see the
Loch Ness Monster or alligators in the sewers to this very day."
"Unknown."
"That is so strange." She muttered to herself, staring
up at the ceiling. Outside her window in the dark she could see the moon,
sparkling with the light of millions its millions of inhabitants.
, , ,
Cadet Jack Canmore looked around a little before entering the
holodeck. It was dark. There was a little moon overhead - to which he was
grateful for as the door closed and vanished behind him. As he looked around,
he realized he could hear Aria's voice.
"Can you enhance the image any more?"
"Insufficient visual information." The computer
complained in a monotone way.
"Okay... let's assume this thing is as tall as me, that's a
good place to start."
Jack walked toward the sound. The floor was black, but in the
moonlight he could make out a shape ahead of him. It was like a shadow given
form, but he could not determine it's shape.
"Hi Jack." Aria's voice said.
"What did you learn in Paris?"
"Not much." She said, appearing in the moonlight in
front of him from what appeared to be fog. Jack rubbed his arms - it was cold
in here. "It's what I didn't learn that bothers me the most."
"Why?"
"Anton Sevarius. I went through every historical record, text
and video I could find at Federation Headquarters, and do you know how much I
found? Dick. He is a name without a past."
Jack was catching her drift. "You'd think a figure like that
from our history would be more researched."
"That is why he made the perfect term paper, but there is
nothing - NOTHING." She emphasized, waving her hands about.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, nodding to the
holodeck.
"I may not have learned anything about Dr. Sevarius, but I
found news broadcasts from reputable news organizations claiming large
demon-like creatures were living in big cities - even helping people."
"That's ludicrous nonsense."
"Is it? Similar reports go all the way back to the beginning
of recorded time. There are mentions from New York, San Francisco,
Philadelphia, Paris, London, the list goes on and on. Mass hysteria about the
same thing?"
"But that doesn't happen today." Jack retorted.
"That's what is so weird. It all stopped suddenly sometime
around the formation of the Earth Star Alliance, after all these thousands of
years!"
Jack smiled at her, looking down at the ghostly form that the
computer had generated before them. "Looks mean. I'd sure hate to meet one
without a phaser."
"They may not be all bad."
"How can you say that? Look at that..."
The young woman looked down at a PADD, and started quoting
numbers. "145 people saved from a hotel fire in 2003 in front of a crowd
of at least fifty witnesses. A banquet hall full of some 500 people was rescued
from a hostage situation when a hostile organization threatened a group that
supported these creatures. There is a story of a small city in Japan where the
law enforcement was composed of the creatures, and had a nil crime rate in a
country which had an enormous crime wave during the years before Japan was sunk
into the sea until modern times. They even tell stories of them protecting
police officers, capturing criminals..."
Jack was laughing. "All right Aria, but how are you going to
prove it?"
"I can't." She said. "Without some solid
evidence."
Jack approached her and kissed her forehead once before leaving.
He was smiling, but she could tell he didn't believe her. She turned back to
the computer-generated apparition. "Shut it off, computer." All at
once the familiar lines of the holodeck grin were seen, and Aria sighed in the
sense of familiarity it gave her.
"Computer - what is the most recent dated sighting of these
things?"
"The last sighting of the creatures known as Gargoyles
occurred outside New Sacramento, California heading towards the mountains."
Aria raised and eyebrow. "Which mountains?"
, , ,
With a pair of regulation hiking boots and a small satchel of
things on her belt, she hiked up a poorly my trail, following a set of readings
on her tricorder. In this century earth was practically paradise - there
weren't many places here you had to worry about being hurt, but this was
badlands country. She was a little afraid. What student in their right mind
would go this far for their thesis? She was willing to bet that very few of the
other Starfleet officers went through this much to graduate. Aria stopped and
wondered what on earth pushed her inside to become such on over achiever -
probably just stubborn. Cursing herself for being out of her mind, her
tricorder registered a cave opening along the path she was walking. Amazing,
isn't it? This whole land at one time was bathed in nuclear fire, and now it's
peaceful and covered with green.
She approached the cave and without a moment's hesitation let
herself in. With a handlamp, she searched the walls. Her intuition was
screaming there was something here. There HAD to be. She desperately wanted
some answers.
Her tricorder was spitting out an analysis of the cave, which
consisted of mostly igneous rock - molten magma that had poured out of the San
Andreas Fault when the old Sacramento was laid waste with nuclear bombardment.
People avoided this area for that reason, although the radioactivity had long
since been neutralized - it wasn't exactly picnic ground. The tricorder was
also registering signs of recent habitation - THAT puzzled her. She began
following these traces. Several hundred meters below her was an underground
river and a large network of caves. There were residual radioactivity traces in
here, but well below the danger level. There was one firm life sign in here,
but it was too vague to attempt...
The ground gave out beneath her. Dust filled the air, and suddenly
Aria was flying through space...
, , ,
Water was being poured on her face when she dizzily found herself
propped up against one wall. Every possible muscle and bone in her body ached.
She was dizzy and it was too dark for her to see anything. The only part of her
body that did not hurt was her ears - they worked quite well, all things
considered. She could hear something... or someone... moving around in the cave.
She felt the person moving her leg, wrapping cloth around it - whoever it was,
they were trying to help her.
"Who are you?" she inquired in a shaky voice.
"You're awake - good." A deep masculine voice replied.
"It was getting just a little lonely down here."
"Why?" Aria asked, incredulously. "Are you all
alone down here?"
"Yes, until you found your way down here."
"Why are you here?"
"I've been basically sealed in here. My grandparents parents
sealed us in here, but the radioactivity made them all sterile, and so we've
been slowly dying out."
Aria groaned, trying in vain to find a more comfortable position
to rest. "I got .to get back to the academy - to sickbay."
"Not while I'm about - you're too bruised up to move and have
a broken leg. Coming here was very, very stupid, Cadet."
She snorted. "So I hit a cave-in, big deal. I'll still find
what I was looking for if that means coming by later."
The other seemed caught off guard by this, and paused for a moment
before saying, "What exactly were you looking for?"
"I'm doing some research on some unexplained phenomena of
twenty first century. I want to get to the heart of the matter -it'll look
great on my final paper."
The other sighed. "Well, I guess you found something."
All at once her arrogant demeanor vanished. "What... what do
you mean?" She felt around for her handlamp, and found that it had been
returned to the small satchel at her side.
She turned it on. Her eyes widened. She screamed in terror.
Before her was the most terrifying apparition she had ever seen.
It had horns, fangs, claws, and bat-like wings and tail. It's every joint had a
barb on it. It took several minutes before she controlled her fear enough to
begin to arrest the desire to scream. She had her light trained on his face,
and he was shielding his eyes with one paw. She covered her mouth with her hand
to suppress the desire to scream any longer, as she drank in his features.
Beyond his terrifying exterior he appeared strangely... human. The longer she
looked at him, the more human he became. His skin was tinted slightly blue, but
otherwise he seemed light medium built man of about her age with sharp elven
features and with ears longer and more pointed than a Vulcan. He wore a pair of
leather breeches, which were well worn but well washed also. There was a thick
belt around his waist with a small cloth satchel on it.
She stumbled a little on her broken leg. Suddenly, the other
reached out in concern. "Here, you shouldn't be trying to walk on
that." He carefully helped her back down against the wall.
Aria groaned a little. "You're one of those creatures from
the news report in 1998."
"News report?"
"May, 1998 - creatures attacked the police tower and an old
cathedral in downtown Manhattan. I read the reports."
"I am... related to those involved. That was five generations
ago. Only they did not attack, the humans attacked us."
Aria stopped. Reaching into her satchel, she pressed a button on
her tricorder.
"Why did they attack you?"
For the next hour and a half, she interviewed her... unusual witness.
Part of what he told her was personal experience, and part of it was family
history. Eventually, the two were sitting side by side talking like old school
buddies.
"After the humans and the aliens created their great
alliance, we became afraid of being annihilated without any offspring to carry
on our species, and went into hiding. They all died slowly, and then I was
alone. I've been alone for many years now. My kind dies with me." Finally,
the creature sighed deeply and looked at her leg. He was changing the subject.
"I don't know how long I can keep you here."
"Well, I intend to catch the evening shuttle back to the
bay."
He looked at her. "It's the middle of the night now."
"Oh." she sighed. "I guess I'll have to use a
transporter credit."
"These walls are many meters thick, and even I can't dig out
the pile of rubble which I pulled you out of."
"You've never seen a transporter beam have you?" she
laughed.
He did not laugh, but fingered something hanging on a leather
strip around his neck. "You can take me out of here?"
She pressed her comm badge. "San Francisco control, medical
emergency! Transport two immediately to San Francisco general!" She then
reached out her hand and grabbed his paw as the world began to swirl and turn
blue. She whispered to him in a buddy-buddy way. "...That way I don't have
to use a transporter credit."
Out of the swirls came a shriek, and Aria realized that one of the
nurses could see her companion. When the materialization sequence ended about
two seconds later, she put up a hand. "It's okay! He's my friend!"
They were in a transporter room attached to the hospital emergency
wing. Aria was offered a stretcher, but declined, choosing instead to lean on
her winged compatriot. In the bright hospital light, Aria wondered at his distinctly
light blue shaded leathery skin. He was wincing at the bright light.
The nurse who had screamed relaxed. "Now I've seen just about
everything."
"What happened, Cadet?" the duty nurse inquired.
"Took a fall mountain climbing." It was a half-truth,
but her friend said nothing. "Luckily he found me. I think my leg is
broken."
The doctor took a device and began to clean and seal the abrasions
in her skin. "What's your names?" Aria was laid on a table in the
center of the office.
"Cadet Aria Maza, sir." She replied automatically.
"Doing some field research for my thesis." The duty nurse turned to
the other.
"My kind have no names." He replied sternly.
The nurse nodded, understanding. "What's your thesis,
Cadet?"
She smiled conspiratorially at the creature. "Him."
The nurse nodded again. "Good topic. I'd like to read it when
you're finished."
"No problem."
"What planet are you from, sir?" The duty officer
inquired.
He looked at the nurse inquiringly for a moment. "Here."
He winked at Aria.
"I've never heard of anything like your people. It's my job
to be trained in many race's medicine."
"I'm not surprised. There aren't many of us." He replied
automatically. "We have a problem with infertility."
"Mind if the nurses take a look? We might have a few things
for infertility here in San Francisco that your people might not have."
Aria suggested.
"Yeah, not a problem." The duty nurse nodded. "When
I've got the cadet all patched up. Do you know what caused it?"
He shifted uncomfortably for a moment. "Radiation exposure."
She smiled. "Yep, we can help with that."
"If I may, you humans are very different from the ones my
mother told me about." He said conversationally, as the doctor was
scanning Aria's leg.
"Hairline fracture of the femur." She reported, changing
laser tools.
"Humans have changed a lot since Vulcans first landed
here." Aria said. "Humans have learned to get along better with one
another, and in harmony with hundreds of other alien races."
One of the other nurses - the one that had screamed - noted; "Once
you hear a reassuring voice, it's easier to adapt to someone new."
He nodded.
"Good as new." The duty nurse smiled. "Be a little
generous about putting weight on that leg for a few days and be a little more
careful next time."
"Yes sir." Aria nodded.
The nurse turned to the blue colored male next to her. "Be so
good as to let her lean on you for a while, alright?"
He nodded again. "My pleasure."
The nurse leaned over her patient once more, and looked at Aria,
and licked her lips, indicating at the creature with her eyes. Aria blinked
once or twice, and giggled like a little girl.
The doctor motioned for him to sit on an adjacent bed against the
wall. He seemed nervous, but relaxed as the doctor punched away at her
tricorder. She looked at it, puzzled for several minutes.
"What is it?" Aria asked, standing by the bed, sparing
her leg.
"His DNA, internal organs, even reproductive system... very
similar to humans. A few introns have been activated, but your DNA profile
could almost pass for a human male." She paused. Aria and her friend's
eyes met. The nurse continued. "Yep, you've been irradiated, but it's not
life threatening. Nurse, Hydronolin, 350 cc's. Looks like you were pretty young
when this happened."
"I was the youngest it affected. I was the last one
conceived."
The doctor touched the spray to his shoulder. "Not if I can
help it." She said, determinably. "I'm going to give you a month's
supply of this, and I want you to use one of these every night before you go to
bed."
"What is it?"
"Hydronolin blocks radioactive residue in your cells and
rebuilds your genetic code. You'll be able to impregnate any of your own kind
with a few weeks, but I'm keeping you on it for a month to be safe. I want to
see you again after that for a checkup. I'd suggest staying away from..."
she glanced momentarily at Aria, but tried to hide it. However, he followed the
glance. "Interspecies relationships for a few years yet. If you do decide
to pursue a relationship of that kind, I suggest you consider artificial
insemination. Many I take a genetic sample for my own records?"
He looked Aria, his cheeks flushing a little bit violet colored.
"Ummm... perhaps later."
The nurse nodded, and assembled his prescription.
"That's it?" he asked, incredulous.
"Well," the nurse smiled. "I can't provide the
female - that's your job. Other than that, you're done here."
Aria laughed. The creature blushed even more. "Lay off a bit,
sir - I don't think he's had even a friend in... a long time." She winked
at him.
, , ,
Once outside the hospital, he was looking up at the moon in awe.
"Kinda trashy, eh? I mean, last I heard twelve million people
live up there."
"I was born in those caves, I've never seen the moon
before."
"But you know what a moon is." She deduced.
"Oh yes, my clan taught me science, language - anything they
could get their paws on."
"What are your people called?"
"Gargoyles."
"Inaccurate." Aria stated flatly.
"What?"
"A Gargoyle is a rainspout, the more appropriate term in
Gothic architecture would be a 'grotesque'. But... if that's the name your
people choose, I won't argue. Would you mind if I gave YOU a name?"
"Why?" he asked, puzzled.
"It's a gift." She explained.
He nodded his approval. "What name? My kind normally do not
use names."
"I got to have something. What name do you want?" she
asked, baffled. For the life of her, she could not think of a single name for a
Gargoyle.
"I know nothing about names." He protested. "Names
are a human tradition."
Aria was silent, unable to think of a reply. They walked through
the city streets under the moonlight. The streetlights lit the streets in a
pleasant glow.
Finally, she changed the subject. "How long have Gargoyles
lived on earth?"
"We were created in the beginning to protect the humans. I
was taught that as a hatchling. That was... ten thousand years ago."
She nodded. "Wow. The doctor said you're almost human."
"We too are Terrans, but as brothers we have not learned to
get along well through our histories. That is why my people fled during the coming
of the aliens."
Aria paused in mid-step. "I've always wondered why only one
race evolved from humanity... If what you say is true, revealing you to the
world could change the course of human history..."
He nodded. "We have tried over and over to make friends with
you humans, but have successively failed."
"Then how can you trust me?" she asked, baffled.
"What other choice have I? I am the last of my kind. Sevarius
saw to that four hundred years ago. Without me, my people die. I pray the
Goddess placed you in my lap with wisdom."
Aria was stunned. Her jaw fell slightly, as she looked slightly up
into his eyes. In the streetlights, she could see his eyes... they were a deep
green. The Gargoyle touched her chin with one talon, gently brushing away a
lock of her hair.
"Why did that doctor smile at me so?" he inquired.
She found herself laughing a little. "Once she adjusted to
seeing you, found you attractive. I can't say I blame her."
They resumed walking. "Do not humans find us
terrifying?"
"Some do." She shrugged. "Then we get used to you,
and you start seeing the beauty."
The Gargoyle nodded. "Humanity has definitely matured
then."
It was Aria's turn to blush. "I can't speak for all
humanity..."
Her comment was cut off, and she felt the Gargoyle paused, tugging
gently on her sleeve as he did. She stopped and turned to him. She looked at
him with a curious look on her features. Slowly, he reached down and kissed
her.
Aria was stunned, closed her eyes, hardly daring to move. His lips
were so... warm.
He broke after a moment, and smiled.
"Ah... Adam." She barely breathed.
"What?"
"I'll name you Adam." She explained, a little dizzy.
He smiled at this. "I have adjusted to you too, Aria."
"Uh..." she stammered, startled. "Thanks... I
think."
"Will you help me?" he asked, softly, taking her hands
in his paws.
She took a long breath. "I've never denied anyone who asked
me for help."
"Will you help me?" he asked again, slower.
"I just said I would."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." She smiled, turning to lead him down the streets.
Her dorm was in a well-kept flat on the outskirts of San Francisco
in a three-level house on a block of homes built together like vertical
pancakes. "Who is it?" a voice inquired.
"It's Aria."
The door clicked, and she opened it. "That was the computer.
It's okay, everyone else is in bed. My family were able to get me this flat
before moving to New Tokyo, and so everyone else kinda looks to me as the one
in charge of this place."
"Your parents are wealthy?"
"Money doesn't exist anymore, Adam." She explained.
"The land belongs to the city of San Francisco, and the building belongs
to the Historical District Housing Commission. It's a kinda bureaucratic
system, but it sure got rid of poverty. The Federation has plenty of assets to
pay for most everything it needs, is democratic in its structure, and exists to
serve the people. My parents are just better at dealing with the paperwork than
others."
He nodded. "Then who owns me?"
"No one. You're a sentient being. Starfleet is based here in
San Francisco because it's the seat of the idea of rights for all sentient
beings. The concept was based here about a hundred years ago when the Klingon
Empire was on its knees. There are busts on United Nations Plaza of such people
like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosalyne Montgomery, Spock of Vulcan, and
Chancellor Gorkon of Q'onos. They were immortalized because of their roles in
establishing the idea that all sentient, reasoning beings deserve respect and
justice regardless of ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, or world of
origin (respectively)."
"I knew of Dr. King, but once again I am amazed at the
progress humans have made."
"Anyhow, I have most of the passwords for this place. I can
lock the door to my room and people won't bother you - You did mention you
slept days. (I have class tomorrow at 07:00). No one will disturb you."
Touching the key to turn on the light as they entered her room.
"Good. I am very... vulnerable by day. I thank you for the
forethought," he paused for a moment, looking at her. She closed the door
and locked it. "Are you sure you would help me?"
"Look Adam, there on the table."
There was a medal sitting there in a transparent aluminum case,
with her name on the bottom - 'Aria Maza - honorable mention in Sentient
Rights'.
"I won that from the Federation council on Sentient Rights
for starting my own campaign to collect personal items and volunteers to help
out the Bajorans when the Cardassians withdrew from Bajor. I even spent two
years there as a volunteer myself. We rebuilt cities, and gave medical help to
small beaten children..." she paused, sniffling. Adam noted tears welling
up in her eyes. It took a few moments for her to collect herself. "The
Galaxy still needs heroes, Adam."
"You are a protector - like myself."
She smiled. "Yes. I would give my life for others."
The Gargoyle noted her serious tone, and considered her for a long
moment. He touched her eye to brush away a stray tear that had escaped her
attention. She looked directly at him.
"I wish I were like you." She added.
"But... why?" he asked, puzzled.
"I saw the way you picked me up, and the videos from the
1990s, your kind are very strong. You have wings, claws, and fangs... If I were
a Gargoyle I'd live to protect and defend people that aren't fortunate to live
on a paradise like Earth. It's the least I can do to give back to life which
was so kind to me in the first place."
Sighing heavily, he reached into the small satchel on his belt,
and withdrew a small object.
"What's that?"
"You gave me two gifts, a name and your oath of help giving
life to my kind, it is all I can do in return."
Gently, he placed the object around her neck. It glimmered
brightly, seemingly casting a soft green glow. It tingled against her skin.
"Know this, Cadet Aria Maza, and see that you never forget
this one thing if you hear nothing else I have said. Gargoyles live to protect
- any Gargoyle who does not is corrupt. It is our purpose, our nature."
She nodded. "I will."
This time, it was her that initiated the kiss.
, , ,
She was awoken by the sound of someone ringing her at the door.
"Aria? You awake?"
She moaned. "Yeah?"
"We missed you in class today. Having trouble with your
thesis?"
She blinked. "No, I was in class yesterday."
"I know, I'm talking about today sweetheart. Did you sleep
in?"
She sighed, and sat up. Her whole body felt strange. Managing to
pry her eyelids open, she caught a look at chronometer - it was 20:35 hours the
late afternoon. She turned to look out the window - the sun was just setting in
the west out in the Pacific Ocean. "SHIT! I sure did!" she replied.
Her roommate laughed. "The computer said you brought someone
home last night. A man?"
She closed her eyes, and replied in an annoyed tone. "What
business is it of yours?"
"Sorry." The voice giggled. "We're having dinner soon,
if you feel up to it. I also heard you'd injured yourself last night, so I told
the administrators you were staying home for a day to recuperate. They said you
were stressed after getting back from Paris, and to make sure you
relaxed."
She smiled. "Thanks - you're a real friend Melissa."
"Don't mention it - what are friends for?" The line shut
off.
Well, that was enough lounging around, she'd decided. She didn't
know why she'd slept for so long, but was certain she'd have to see the nurse
at SF General about this weird feeling she was having. He skin felt tingly
somehow, she was having trouble feeling one of her finger, and was having
strange sensations up and down her back. Maybe it was that fall she took
yesterday...or the sex. Yeah, she decided - it was probably the sex. Adam
wasn't half bad... for a former virgin - he was slow and gentle...
Without bothering to turn on the light, she stumbled gracelessly
to her feet, nearly tripping over herself several times, finally making it to
the sink. She pressed the water button on, began to splash water over her face
a few times, and then turned the water off again. She began to walk towards the
shower, but found herself getting so dizzy she had to close her eyes and lean
against the wall for support. She pressed herself into the shower out of pure
habit, and start the cycle. She peeled away her torn clothing as the gentle hum
of the sonic energy filled her body. The nurse had untied the bandages from her
hurt leg the night before, so she felt the need to lean down and caress her
thigh, her lower leg, her fetlocks...
Her brain suddenly halted dead in its tracks. Her eyes shot open.
Since WHEN did she have fetlocks?
She looked down at her whole body. For the second time in
twenty-four hours, she screamed.
"ARIA!!! ARIA!!! ARIA!!! WHAT'S WRONG?!!! WHAT'S GOING ON?!!!
ARIA!!! ARIA!!!" her concerned roommates began to ring at her door.
There was a hiss as the manual override was released, and the
cadets who shared the building with her strained to pull the door open on her
own. The girl who made it inside first, rushed through the room, searching.
When she found Aria in the shower, she too screamed.
Melissa, hearing the two girls making such ear-piercing noise, ran
in after them. There, laying atop a heap of torn clothes, was... Aria... wasn't
it?
"Oh my God..." she muttered.
She was deep lavender from head to toe, with the same dark black
hair and blue highlights. Small two horns jutted from either side of her brow,
her ears long and pointed. Her elbows and knees also sported barbed joints.
Melissa leaned past the other girl for a closer look. Her eyes were still baby
blue, and had those soft eye ridges and Native American features, but she had
slanted eyes and bat-like wings with a black velvety lining on the back and
three little fingers at their tips. She a long gecko-like tail, her hands were
only four fingered, and sharply pointed like talons, same with her toes, except
instead of a big toe, she had sharp fetlocks attached to the back of her ankle.
She looked frightening, but Aria's face and voice were still there.
In addition, for the second time in twenty-four hours, Aria
reappeared in the transporter room at SF general with a blanket thrown over
her. Melissa was holding her down was covered in sets of three parallel cuts,
most of which were bleeding. The triage nurse from the night before was rushed
in and recognized her. The necklace was ripped off, and tossed aside as she was
placed under and examining unit and sedated - it no longer shimmered, by was
nothing more than a piece of black glass.
"Her genetic code itself has been slightly altered. No sign
of contaminant... foreign organism... nothing!" the nurse was saying.
"I might be able to reverse it if..."
, , ,
The hospital room was shrouded by darkness. It was a click at the
window the roused Aria from her tears. A shadow stood before her, the moonlight
providing a backlight.
"Thank God I found you." It was Adam's voice.
"Adam!" she cried softly. "What's happened to
me?"
He gently approached her bed, shushed her and placed a paw in
hers. "It's all right. I'm here now."
"The doctors tried everything, but they can't reverse it -
let alone explain it! Did you do something?"
He sighed. "I may have, and seeing this has happened,
therefore I feel a little responsible. I gave you a necklace, remember?"
she nodded. "It was a gift-giving stone. It's designed to grant you your
greatest desire when you put it on. I had saved it for an emergency, but when I
last used that stone nothing happened. I had wished for companionship in my
loneliness one night when I was very desperate and depressed. I was crushed
when it did not work right away, but then you came, and I figured that I needed
to give it to you."
She nodded. "I wanted it more than anything last night. What
kind of technology is that?"
"It's magic."
Her jaw opened slightly.
"My family taught me magic as a hatchling, but unfortunately
I cannot undo this, magic itself prevents me from doing so. Magic is like a
living being, it has a will to survive. You gave it the design, it created the
pattern, and now it will prevent anything - science or sorcery - from breaking
that pattern." He sighed in explanation.
"I cut Melissa thirty nine times because I would hold onto
her too tight as she tried to help me... because my finger are so...
sharp." She said in a wallowing, self-loathing tone.
"I'm so sorry." He apologized.
Aria was silent for a moment, looking at her four fingered paws,
feeling the movement of them. "It's not your fault, you were trying your
best to make a friend and weren't thinking. I understand. I was trying so hard
to find out what was going on for my thesis I didn't even think about the
dangers that might be involved. At least I'm still alive, I'm not permanently
disabled or have to use prosthetic limbs." She sighed, looking up at Adam.
"It's my fault too. Besides, life just happens this way sometimes. I'll
adapt."
He leaned forward and kissed her. "You truly are a
remarkable... woman."
She snorted. "This isn't a fairy tale, Adam, I've got to find
a way to tell my parents, my professors at Starfleet Academy, my friends...
They're not going to like magic as an answer."
"Then I will claim responsibility for this."
"That won't be necessary, Adam, but I would appreciate your
help."
He nodded in affirmation. "So be it, but we must leave here
before dawn."
"Why?"
"At dawn, you will see. I suspect you have seen it once
already but have not known it."
"What are you talking about?" she asked incredulously.
The male Gargoyle climbed up on a table, to the window he had
somehow manually opened. "I know this is asking for a lot after what has
happened, but please trust me. I may save your life if you listen to me."
"Okay, if it's that serious, but this room is seventeen
stories up."
"This I know." Without flinching, Adam walked out onto
the stone ledge astride her window.
Cautiously, Aria swung her legs out of the bed, wrapping a
hospital gown around her, but underneath her new wings, tying the two top ends
together around her. On the ledge, Adam flared his bat-like wings, and began to
explain.
"First you must learn to glide. This is a skill they do not
teach you at the academy."
She was very intensely interested now.
"First of all, a Gargoyle cannot fly - we glide. There is not
enough strength in our wings to fight the air currents, therefore you must use
them."
"Like an old sailing ship." She nodded.
Adam nodded. "Second, your entire body is an instrument for
feeling the movement of the air currents."
"I don't have a coat. San Francisco is a cold city, after
all."
"Are you cold?"
"Not right now."
"Nor will you. Your body is different, and can withstand
great extremes of temperature. Thirdly, you must be careful before you attempt
to land. Your chest is now separated by one large bone, which the wing muscles
attach to. It is called your keel bone. Your heart is among these muscles, and
if you break your keel bone, your risk tearing your heart open."
"Now you tell me all the drawbacks." She sighed.
Adam paused. "There are many more drawbacks, but it is a life
that can be rewarding - if you are strong enough of will."
"Do I have any choice now?" she asked.
"Yes, you have one alternative. You can give up."
"I don't accept that."
"Then I will jump first and you follow. If you stay behind
and go back into the hospital, then you will have given up."
Adam leapt, sunk below her line of sight, and then spun up again
on an unseen current of air. "Your turn."
She leapt... and fell like a stone. She screamed in terror.
"Look up at me!" he told her.
She did, craning her neck. The rest of her invariably followed,
and she found herself leveling off. Adam joined her. "You have passed your
two gliding lessons. The second was a level glide, the first was having the
courage to jump in the first place."
"I never used to scream so much as I have in the last few
days. My throat is getting hoarse."
"You've had much reason to be afraid. I cannot blame you. I
too am learning here - I learned to glide in caves and ravines, this is much
different."
"The flat is that way."
"Turn your head and your body will follow. You have natural
instincts to do the rest. Trust yourself."
Aria's eyes were wide. "I'm flying. I'm not using a single
thruster, levitator, or shuttle. I'm gliding on my wings..." Adam smiled a
little, listening to her talk to herself. "This is so weird..."
"You get used to the weirdness."
She gave him a look. "How would you know?"
"Here is the flat."
It took several circles around the flat before she gathered the
courage.
"It's like diving into water. Do it feet first, your body
will do the rest."
She took a deep breath, and flared her wings, placing her feet in
front of her. The ground came rushing upon her, and suddenly her body
registered the impact, but was startled to discover she was still on her feet.
Like a spring, the muscles in her legs had taken all the energy from the
landing. Aria was elated but stunned. "I DID IT!" she exclaimed.
"Shhhh... your friends are asleep. Yes, you did it perfectly.
Your body already knows how, all you needed was to trust those instincts."
Aria smiled largely, and opened the window by her room. There were
some plants on the roof that Aria kept, and the sliding window was nice for
getting on to the roof. Adam closed the window behind them, finding Aria at the
mirror. She had closed the door just in time so that he could not watch,
removed the hospital gown, and looked at her new form in the mirror.
Adam took off the panel by the door and began to fiddle with it.
With his immense strength, he took a large piece of duranium running track for
the door air's glide system, and bent it backward. When a light appeared on the
panel that read "ERROR: Mechanism jammed", he smiled in satisfaction.
He then did the same at the window. When finished, he smiled at his work.
Aria ran her tongue around the sharp fangs on the top and bottom
of her jaw, felt the stiff cartilage of the long Vulcan ears. She touched the
large membranes of skin that had carried her atop the wind from the hospital to
her flat. She moved her tail from side to side and even touched it's tip to her
waist, watching it move like a snake slithering through the air. She wiggled
the three toes that she walked with on each of her changed feet, and
contemplated how her paws felt like her pinkie finger was somehow attached to
her ring finger to create one.
Adam waited on the bed, trying to hide his anxiety level.
Aria slid her paws through several different changes of clothes in
her closet. Nothing looked promising. Dressing for wings and a tail was a
difficult proposition. Sighing, she looked down at the hospital gown she had
shed. A thought crossed her mind. 'That gown had been too large and cumbersome.
I can't wear that if I'm going to have to glide again,' she found herself
reasoning. 'I can't wear my uniform, obviously, so why not make a compromise?'
"Computer?" Aria inquired. "Do I have credit for a
new uniform to replace the one that was lost?"
"Affirmative."
"That was fast. Okay, a few changes - first I need something
adjusted for these... changes. My sizes are going to be different." She
was thinking aloud now. "I need something that won't interfere with my
body's ability to feel the air currents and designed for best airflow. Can you
create something like that?"
The computer made a few sounds, and then in the replicator by the
sink appeared two articles. She picked them up. The first was a Starfleet style
halter-top like she would wear on warm days to play tennis at the academy where
uniforms were required at all times. The other was a pair of tight fitting
pants that ended just above her barbed knees. Smiling, she pulled the on
happily. "Perfect, computer."
Adam was a little startled (to say the least) when Aria reappeared
out of the other half of the room dressed in what appeared to be a Starfleet
uniform cut for a Gargoyle. He was nodded in approval. "Impressive. Not
too difficult to get hold of, I hope?"
"The replicators can bring me just about anything I need
instantly. That's another way in which poverty in this world was eliminated.
There's more than enough energy collected from the sun every day to feed the
people of earth many times over."
"I am again amazed." He nodded approvingly. "Most
impressive."
Aria went to the bench next to her bed with her LCARS monitor and
the PADD containing her thesis. Her Comm badge was sitting there too, and she
placed it on the left breast of her top. "There, I feel like a Starfleet
Cadet again."
Adam did not comment on this and quickly changed the subject.
"Feeling tired yet?"
"No, actually, and I usually sleep nights."
"You too are now nocturnal as I am. Listen carefully, for
time is short." She nodded, biting her lip. "During the daylight we
are vulnerable. You and I will sleep upon the rising of the sun, and awaken
with the setting of the sun. Gargoyles were created to protect humans from
creatures of the night, so we sleep by day. We were supposed to be protected by
the humans during daylight, but it never worked out that way. You must always
be prepared for the day, someplace safe from..."
He never finished speaking, or Aria never heard the rest. Aria
suddenly felt a pleasant, warm sensation flooding throughout her body. She
flared her wings, and in one fleeting instant she realized why they were called
Gargoyles. Then her world went dark, as her consciousness left her.
She had turned to stone.
, , ,
Aria felt the urge to scream again, but this time it was not the
scream of fear and terror, but one of joy and exultation. Suddenly awake again,
she stretched her wings and arms, and from her lips came a cry like a panther.
She was a little startled by this last part, touching her mouth for a moment in
surprise.
Taking stock, of herself, she noted it was now sunset - the
chronometer read 20:34. 'Now where the hell did the day go?' she thought to
herself. She also discovered she was covered in dust. She took stock of
herself. Yep, she was still a Gargoyle. However, she discovered little bits of
rock on the floor around where she stood. She crouched down and studied a
piece.
Then it all came back to her. SHE had turned to stone. She had
felt her body changing to stone - it had felt warm and pleasant - like
sleeping. She felt warm and refreshed. Her new clothes were still intact and
appeared unchanged - a bit dusty perhaps, but that was quickly remedied.
"Now you understand." Came Adam's voice.
She barely glanced at her Gargoyle companion. "I guess. A
Gargoyle is vulnerable during their in-force sleep cycle. At least I don't have
to worry about getting a good night's sleep anymore. Well, day sleep..."
"Don't think too hard about it." Adam smiled. "You
must always be careful to find a safe place during..."
He was unable to finish his words of wisdom, as the door was
suddenly blown inward. Aria shouted, grabbed Adam, and dived to side. As the
smoke cleared, Federation troops began to fill her bedroom. Aria was on her
feet faster than Adam this time, but found there was little to do but not make
any threatening moves.
"What's the meaning of this?" Aria asked, trying to seem
as non-threatening as she could in this alien body.
"We're in Admiral, they're both here."
"Take them down, corporal."
Aria did not like where this was going. She suddenly realized that
the Federation was no longer on her side, and the idea was the most frightening
thing she had ever felt.
, , ,
This time she found herself in a prison. There were duranium walls
and a force field. Adam was already awake and pacing the room. When she made
signs of stirring, Adam was there to help her up.
"What happened?"
"They stunned us and then I awoke here."
Aria walked to the field. There was one guard in a dark room and
someone sitting behind a desk. The only light was the bright one on the ceiling
in their cell. "Don't I have the right to find out the charges I'm being
held on?" she asked them.
"The force field isn't there to keep you in, but to protect
you from the rest of the world. It was so much easier when your kind was hidden
for us to protect you from annihilation, but now that you've chosen to
re-expose yourself to the world we had to take steps. Gargoyles are too
precious a resource to loose."
"Protecting us? From who?" Aria replied.
"Come now, Cadet. You should know the answer to that. I read
the thesis you were working on." The officer said, holding up a PADD. He
stood, and walked around the room beyond the cell, scrolling through whatever
data was on it. "You found every instance of Gargoyles back to the start
of recorded time, and documented them. You spent at least three pages on the
Angels of the allied forced during the final conflicts before the nuclear
holocaust. You have a copy of all the news reports, statistics of lives they
saved protecting humans... Let me ask you something." He looked up at
them. "What progress did Gargoyles make?"
Adam's brow furrowed. "None. They never accepted us. We died
alongside their people, and it was us who were forced into hiding when the
Vulcans came - not humans." Adam was becoming angry now.
"Exactly. Ironic - the protectors being protected by those
they once protected?"
"This isn't protection." Aria cut in. "This is
imprisonment. All sentient beings have the right to..."
"To survive. If you can't survive, none of the rest matters.
Besides, the Federation Council has already decided on this one - you are
simply going to be relocated elsewhere."
"I'D RATHER DIE THAN LIVE A PRISONER!" Aria suddenly
shouted at the officer.
"The matter is closed." He said conclusively, returning
to his seat.
In frustration, Aria punched the wall with her fist, leaving a
dent. Her jailer's console began to complain with an alarm. The energy cells
the generated the imprisoning force field flickered slightly in brightness.
Gratified with these results, she bunched her fists together and smacked the
wall there again. The energy cells flickered more this time. There was a small
crackling sound somewhere in the cell. Adam was keenly interested in this. Aria
was totally enraged, as though something had snapped inside her. Her eyes
changed color to a red, which shone throughout the cell. She hit it again. The
main EPS power tap was under that wall that powered the cell's force field -
she'd learned that in the academy. She hit it again and again, like a thing
gone wild. The two men outside knew the power tap was in there too, and that if
she kept this up their cell would be compromised. They both took phaser rifles,
and took up a stance outside the cell. Unabated, she continued to use her
intense strength to bend the thick duranium plating inward. The cell lights
flickered and went out. Adam crouched like an animal ready to spring, his eyes
also shone - only his were white. Somewhere in the back of Aria's mind she
noted it in a cold, scientific way, wondering if this were a sexually dimorphic
phenotype of Gargoyles. However, the rest of her was too far-gone to think
about it, she was angry and it controlled her.
Suddenly the cells that generated the field began to give off a
shower of sparks, the skin of subspace energy which had trapped them vanished,
and some of the cells overheated and exploded in a shower of glass and sparks.
The Gargoyles were as one, using their wings to deflect the showers of white -
hot sparks, they sprung. The room was dark to the two federation men, and never
saw them coming, but their eyes were different. Aria raced forward, and spun
herself by the two humans, and felt her tail snap the two men off their feet.
Each one took a rifle from them. It was Aria who stopped and set it to a higher
power level, opened a panel in the back of jailer's console, and opened fire.
The controls exploded in a fireball as the two escaped out the door that Adam
had just manually opened.
"Where are we?" was the first voice of sentience out of
their lips, and the words belonged to Adam.
"I recognize this place." Aria contributed. "It's
Starfleet." She paused, and touched a panel on the wall, which lit up at
her touch. "Show me the way to a transporter room." She commanded it.
A series of lights appeared, pointing the direction. From a doorway someone
stepped out with a phaser, but was pounded to the ground by two very angry
balls of pure adrenaline before he could fire off a shot. Aria had not
specified which transporter room, so the computer pointed to the first one in
it's map of the building. The floors were marble, and aside from computer
consoles, were hung with pictures and knickknacks from history. The transporter
room was a cargo bay. The door was again locked on them. This time it was Aria
who peeled the console off the wall, pulled the manual release and tore the
locking bar out by sheer strength.
Adam watched her with a moment's fascination. She felt the whole
world was against her - she was running from desperation. Adam knew how she
felt. Together, both Gargoyles pulled the doors manually open. Phaser fire
erupted from within. Someone had known they would try the transporter room.
Aria was unabated. They ducked for cover behind metal boxes of things, on
either side of the aisle, Aria poked her head up for a split second, and saw
the position of the lights. She used her phaser to shoot them out. Light was
the human's key weakness in here, and they used it. Plunged into the darkness
of night, the two creatures swung around the outer perimeter of the cargo bay,
and took them from the sides - quickly separating each man from his weapon. Two
of them even ran in terror.
Without stopping to take their weapons, Aria handled the controls
while Adam stood guard.
"What are you doing."
"Computers were always my strongpoint. I can't get into the
transporter directly, but I can setup a complex algorithm to confuse the
computer." Aria then moved to the back of the controller, pulled out the
panel and dropped it on the floor. Several isolinear chips later, and the pads
on the transporter came online. "Ten seconds!" she shouted, and both
Gargoyles leapt up onto the pads.
In the doorway to the cargo bay, their unarmed jailer appeared, covered
with burns, chasing them. "Cadet! What are you doing?!!!" he shouted.
As the blue swirls arouse around her and Adam, she shouted in
reply. "Everything about the Federation was a lie!!!"
...and within two point five seconds the transport cycle completed.
"Status, Admiral Falcone."
"They're gone. It'll take some time to determine exactly
where - God only knows what she planted in the computer." The security man
said, looking at the confused display on the transporter controller. "This
cadet of yours got an A for repeated semesters in computer science and
technology."
"No need, I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough. That's
why I only wanted the standard two guards on their cell. Proceed with the next
stage of the plan."
"That may be a little hard at this stage - we're not exactly
her heroes anymore."
"Oh, she'll go along with us. She'll have to."
, , ,
Aria was cursing to herself. Her things were scattered around the
room - they had left no stone unturned. "I am not their enemy! Human or
Gargoyle, I'm a sentient being - I have rights!" She tore her commbadge
from her left breast, threw it on the floor, and stomped on it. It sparked once
and died.
"Agreed." Adam sighed. "But this Starfleet of yours
is determined to deny us those rights."
"Bastards! I grew up in the Federation - I have never been so
betrayed!"
"Perhaps this is not the time, Aria - but doesn't this whole
situation seem a little bit... odd to you?"
She looked at him. "Explain."
"Why only two guards? For two full grown Gargoyles? They MUST
have known how dangerous an adult Gargoyle can be." He suggested.
Aria sat down on her ruined bed. "I never stopped to think
about it."
"I know you are angry, and I understand that. However, I
can't help but point out how... tidy it all is."
"We were set up all along." She whispered, stunned.
"I was so angry. I was an animal."
"Yes, you were angry. An angry Gargoyle can be a dangerous
thing. Your instincts kicked in. With a little training you'll make a great
Gargoyle warrior."
A strangely sad look crossed the lavender girl's features. She
reached down and picked up the crushed remains of her comm badge.
"Starfleet was my dream. I worked for it all my life. I wanted to fly a
starship someday."
A tear found it's way out of her eye, trickling down her cheek.
Adam took her shoulder in his arms. "You will always fly, but I know it's
not a starship. This is all my fault." He turned her face to his.
"You have not exactly inherited a great lineage. We have tried to get
humanity to accept us for thousands of years. You could be locked up for study,
imprisoned, hunted, gawked at... that's not the kind of life I want for
you."
"What are we going to do?" she asked, more tears
starting to roll from her eyes now.
For some reason, despite the lavender color Aria's skin had
turned, no matter which part of the galaxy you visit, a woman's lips are always
the red of roses. Their lips touched gently, and stayed there for a long minute
until Aria had stopped blinking tears.
"I have an idea." Aria smiled, and evil grin suddenly
brightening her features. "I want to get the word out about us."
, , ,
If you've never been to the academy, there are a lot of small
classes and lots of different professors, that way most of the students and
teachers are on a first-name basis with their teachers. There are less than
twenty students in each particular hour.
Likewise, Cadet Aria Maza was on a first name basis with most of
her professors. Some of the students had already taken their seats when the
door slid open and Aria walked in. She was still dressed in halter top and
short, but she had another PADD under her arm. All chatter in the room suddenly
stopped.
No one said anything, but there were definitely a few stares.
Melissa's jaw had slackened as she saw Aria walk in. "What are you doing
at night classes?"
"I've suddenly had to adopt a nocturnal sleeping
pattern."
"Cadet Maza?" the female professor asked, startled.
"Yessir." Aria replied.
"When I heard your voice, I recognized you. Looks like you've
been to hell! I'd heard from Ms. Bluestone here that you'd been to the
hospital. Sounds like you had one rough weekend." She said in a sociable
tone.
"I wouldn't say I've been to hell, but I imagine I look it,
sir." She smiled.
"No, really you don't look that bad. They couldn't reverse
this... mutation?"
"No sir, it's not something they can explain. It hasn't
hampered my ability to do anything, though... except wrought havoc with all my
perfectly defined makeup shades." Aria was laughing.
"How is your thesis coming in the days you've been gone from
my day class, Cadet?"
"I have changed my topic, sir - I've sort of run into
it."
The professor smiled, tossing her red hair. "I look forward
to reading it. How is it you're back in class?"
"Are we Starfleet or not, sir? No disrespect sir, but if I
came to class with no legs or arms shouldn't make any difference, I'm still a
sentient being deserving of your respect. A tail and wings shouldn't make a
difference."
"Agreed, Cadet - I'll defend you on that. Which world is this
race from?" she asked, referring to Aria's current body.
"Sir, that was the reason for the change in my thesis. These
beings evolved on Earth. I found they had fought in the last Eugenics War and
discovered they were in hiding. I interviewed one of their descendants."
The professor looked at her with a stony expression. "Please
tell me you are joking..."
"No sir, they were Anton Sevarius's model for some of his
super-warriors in the First Eugenics War. They saved the lives of RAF pilots in
the Second World War. They fought alongside the Scots against the Vikings. I
was told that the primary advisor to the great Scottish king Macbeth was one.
They're almost as old as humanity itself, but despite their outward strength,
they have a multitude of vulnerabilities and have barely clung to life for the
last thousand or so years. Humans used to hunt down and kill them in their
sleep."
"You have evidence to back up this testimony?"
"Plenty, sir. I have a... personal interest in the
topic."
"Nice threads, Aria." One of her male classmates put in.
"Gargoyles are not very affected by temperature for some reason.
They also rely on their skin's ability to feel air currents when they
glide." She quickly summarized.
"You can really fly?" Melissa asked in a giddy tone.
Aria nodded, grinning. "I flew home from General."
The teacher at this point called the class to order and was ready
to give her history lecture.
However, the instructor did not get far before they were
interrupted by more of the Federation's shock troopers barraging in the door to
the room. Aria inwardly groaned, but true to her word, the instructor defended
her.
"May I help you, gentlemen?" she asked in a militaristic
tone.
"They're here for me." Aria admitted.
"Why?" Melissa asked, shocked. "What did she do
wrong?"
"They want me because I'm different. They want to lock me up
for the rest of my life." Aria put in.
"Is that true?" the teacher asked the troopers, who did
not reply.
"The Federation Council voted on it in closed session, they
want me in jail for the rest of my life. They say it's for my own
protection." Aria looked at the floor, anger filling her again. She
clenched her fist, and her eyes glowed.
"That's wrong!" Melissa exploded. Her, the classmates
and the instructor interposed themselves between the troopers and Aria. The
room was tense, and she was very afraid the troopers would open fire on the
unarmed cadets. The instructor, while a very large woman, was not a match for
them. If there was a fight, it would be bloody.
The troopers were stunned at the reaction and lowered their
weapons and shields.
"Sir, we have a problem." One of the troopers reported
in.
"Withdraw."
The shock troopers withdrew, but there were two admirals that came
into the room in their place. Aria recognized one of them as the jailer from
earlier that night. The troopers were right behind them.
"Move aside, all of you, or you risk, being vaporized on the
spot." One of them threatened.
"What -- ?!!!" the instructor was shocked.
"You would kill unarmed cadets to imprison an innocent alien?
What kind of Starfleet values are these?" Melissa asked in total
bewilderment.
"Melissa..." Aria's paw appeared on the girl's shoulder.
"Do it."
"But Aria it's not right..."
Aria pressed her way forward, as her shocked companions fell
aside.
"You're forgetting one thing." Aria explained. "I
now have the blood of a Gargoyle, and so I have to protect the ones I care
about." She stared the admirals in the eyes. "It's who I am, or have
become - however you choose to look at it."
Aria interposed herself between her class and the two admirals,
who were holding phase-compression rifles at her. "Fine - you win."
She told them. "Do whatever you have to with me, but don't hurt them. I
surrender."
"ARIA!!!" Melissa screamed in fright at her.
"Don't!"
"If I keep fighting like this, someone is going to die, and I
don't want that on my conscience. My life is to protect the ones I care about.
I understand that now." Aria said, a sudden call filling her eyes, her
mind suddenly filled with a sense of purpose she'd never felt before.
The admirals lifted their weapons to her. Aria did not oppose
them, arms down by her sides.
The weapons discharged, and Aria felt it hit her. Strangely...
nothing happened. Aria didn't feel any pain, any dizziness... nothing...
The admirals smiled.
"Congratulations, Ensign. You passed."
, , ,
One of the Admirals, the one called Falcone, handed Aria a
commbadge and a rank pip.
"PASSED?" Aria nearly shouted, breaking her calm.
"This was all a TEST?" Her jaw fell, as Admirals Falcone pinned the
pip on her collar.
"We had to know if you would follow the Gargoyle traditions
that were imprinted in your makeup. Besides, after all your years working with
charity groups, you never became the object of prejudice or warfare - there
were always people on your side." He explained.
"Your psychological profile showed your greatest fear was
being in a situation where the whole world was against you. For a few moments
you faced that fear head-on, and succeeded in overcoming it." The other
admiral explained.
Aria was speechless. "You knew I was going to be transformed
into a Gargoyle?"
"No we didn't, but we suspected something might happen when
you found the other Gargoyle."
"How is it you knew about him...?" Aria asked in
bafflement.
"I told them." Came Adam's voice.
Aria's jaw fell when Adam entered the classroom in similar
Starfleet regalia to what she wore, only with a slightly higher rank than she.
His top was cut a little more for a male's chest, but cut much the same as hers
to expose the skin to the air as the Gargoyle glides.
"Adam...!"
"I told them to come get you from your apartment after you
awoke from being changed to make sure you didn't harm yourself."
"We told Adam we had to know if you too would be a protector,
and you demonstrated you were willing to do so to the point of laying down your
life." The other admiral stated.
"They found my family in those caves long before you found
me, and they covered up our existence until a way could be found to repopulate
the species. When you changed, that changed everything. They couldn't hide me
anymore, because now they had a known Cadet who was also a Gargoyle." Adam
explained.
Admiral Falcone took one of her paws in his hand. "Aria Maza,
do you swear as a Starfleet Officer to uphold the standards and culture of the
Gargoyle race you have joined, so long as you live?"
Adam looked at the two expectantly.
Aria looked at Adam and the admiral for a moment, silently cursing
the wish she had made that had gotten her into this. "I swear."
Then Melissa was at Aria's side - Aria felt her hand touch her
wing. Melissa seemed pale as a ghost from what had almost happened. Aria threw
her arms around her friend, and for some reason the two found themselves
laughing.
Aria paused while putting her various knickknacks into the small
case of things she was taking with her. The dorm was being left to Melissa who
still had a year in the academy. She stopped and considered the award from the
Sentient Rights Council for a long moment. She had suddenly become a key figure
and an activist without really wanting to. She thought about everything that
had happened since she had discovered Adam, and gently placed the transparent
aluminum case in among her things.
Adam was just landing on the roof outside her window when she
finished. The Lieutenant j/g. of the clan of Goliath (that was his real name)
had taken the name "Adam" legally in her honor. They had a special
relationship now, and the two of them were shipping out together.
"All ready?" he asked.
"All set." She replied.
"What did your parents say?" he inquired.
"The admirals had already filled them in out of an old favor.
They were still a little surprised when they saw me, but everything went great.
My mother said I had always been a rebel without a cause when I was younger,
and that I'd make a great Gargoyle."
"A news bulletin was released about us this morning. We're
going to have to hurry if we want to avoid the press."
Aria laughed. "The more things change, the more they stay the
same."
They spread their wings, and dove off into the night.


