Chapter 25

The Planet Droline V lay waste. There was no one left alive except the landing party and five Drolinians.

The aliens had gone along with their hostages and left the planet. As for their derelict space ship it was down on the planet despite what K'Rissel had said about it. It was not completely destroyed, but all that was left was scrap metal. It was completely unsalvageable except for the energy generator, which the creatures had used to transform the planet. They took it with them when they left, ready for the next world, which they would conquer and destroy.

There were fifty of the creatures in all and now they had complete control of the ships, Nova and Krackatowa.

Shomoko Wong sat on the floor cramped by the many people who were huddled together in the confined space in the recreation room. Over two hundred people were staying in there alone due to the crew from the Krackatowa who were beamed over earlier.

Strangely the transporters for both ships were now functioning superbly. It was as if they had never malfunctioned at all. It was realised that the aliens had full control over the devise as well as other equipment on the ship. As for now it was completely useless. The aliens would only activate the device for their own purposes. No one could access control over it. If they did they would meet their maker.

For the captain she could only describe the situation as being like sardines in a tin can, compact and squashed together.

The ship seemed to suddenly move as she could feel the vibration of Nova's engines pull and whine. It almost seemed as if they were straining. She wondered what the hell was going on up there on the bridge of her ship.

She knew that Nova was protesting and the aliens were struggling to get themselves to their destination as soon as possible. Wong wondered what speed they were travelling at and it worried her that the engines were overheating.

She could now completely understand what the engineers felt when they were mostly kept in the dark by their captain of what was going on up on the bridge and engineering crews were often forced to make their precious engines work overtime and usually over the protocol safely points, but Captain Wong's greatest fear was that these aliens could very well wipe out the entire United Federation of Planets and beyond. Assuming that they had already destroyed hundreds of other civilisations, which had been, yet to be discovered they were more or less indestructible.

People shoved and pushed their way around. There was anger and hysteria. Wong couldn't see the door and she guessed that people were also camped out in the corridors. She assumed that the bridge, the control centre of the ship and main engineering were still out of bounds. The aliens had seen to that.

The auxiliary control was also useless because it had been wiped of power.

In her hand she toyed with the semi functional communicator she had managed to grab from the emergency equipment cabinet on the wall just outside the left turbo lift doors on the main bridge.

Luckily the aliens hadn't suspected anything strange and since they were assumed to be blind Wong managed to salvage it just in case she could get the device to work. She flipped it open hoping at any time someone would pick up the signal from somewhere in space.

Sometimes radio waves or outside forces beyond the creatures control could jam the signal to their alien technology for a matter of seconds and would enable the ship's computer to temporarily regain minimal control around the ship.

On those rare occasions Wong would hastily try the communicator. So far nothing had worked. The alien's equipment, which the creatures bought with them, disabled all accoutrements run by the starship's main computer as well as portable equipment like phasers and tricorders.

Wong wondered if the Federation would send out a fleet of ships. She prayed desperately that none would arrive. It would be suicide and would provoke the Arkhictoura further. They could very well take over the entire fleet in a matter of hours if they gained control of more ships. If they took them all back to Earth it was pretty feasible that the problem could not be over run and the planet would be doomed just like Droline V.

Up until now the creatures had remained fairly submissive rarely killing anyone who stood in their way, but from now on more than half of both crews put together were dead or dying.

Someone came over and sat down beside the captain. It was Tavell from the Krackatowa. "Any luck with the communicator?" He said. Wong shook her head.

"I'm hoping that we will shortly arrive at a planet." She said in a sad voice. Wong knew what could happen if they did stop at a world. The inhabitancy would no doubt be in grave trouble, but it was the only way she could call for assistance. Or was it more out of desperation. She wondered. Would they ever free themselves from the aliens?

It had occurred to her hours ago that they were being kept here for food. She had also seen a few survivors from Droline V. Unfortunately their survival was short lived. Wong rubbed her face and slumped down.

"If the Arkhictourians signal from their devices is disturbed I may be able to contact someone." She gazed passively at the communicator in her hand. "Could you see anything?" She asked him.

"I managed to catch just a glimpse. There is a solar system approaching up ahead." Tavell squatted down beside her.

"Damn," she said slapping her knee. "If only we had an idea what it was." Tavell shrugged.

Someone turned.

"Captain, I would assume that the aliens would travel to the nearest planet from here."

"Anagossia!" She said.

"Yes," said the blond male engineer with a bright red freckled face.

"That's right. Good thinking Ensign. This may have been the turn of luck we have been waiting for." Wong managed to stand up with little difficulty. She observed the people. Her crew, Krackatowa, and the few people who remained from Droline V. She then smiled. "They have a rich supply of Quasimite which they wanted to sell to the Federation." She stared out towards the open doors.

"That's quite handy," said Tavell. "Didn't you just come from there?" Wong didn't have time to answer as yelling, hollering, and mortal screams of terror broke their conversation. An alien was coming in and terrorising people.

"SOMETHING BLOCKING EQUIPMENT IN THIS ROOM. STAND UP. ALL DIE IF NOT," said the creature's mechanical voice. It sensed Wong trying to conceal the communicator behind her back and slithered closer killing people in the process. "YOU?" It said pointing with it's dripping handless arm.

Wong backed off. "DOES NOT MATTER ANY MORE WE COME TO PLANET YOU CALL ANAGOSSIA. YOU REBEL AGAINST US YOU PERISH." It said with clearer English.

"You will be defeated in the end," Wong said bitterly. "We will stop at nothing. The Federation knows about you. We have the power to over throw you."

"NEVER," said the mechanical voice full of wrath.

"Kill me if you want, but it won't end here. I promise." She laughed. The creature seemed to rise five more feet in the air and towered over her. Wong threw the open communicator over to the nearest person standing near her. He caught it.

"Keep it open," she yelled at the Betazoid.

The creature did not see where the device landed so it lunged forward and slid towards where she was standing. It poised there in her way and it seemed like an eternity. Wong couldn't move.

She felt her mind being forced open by something. Terror filled her. There was nothing but agony. She clutched her head. The torture intensified until the point where she could no longer stand. People backed away and pushed each other in the frenzy of terror.

Wong finally collapsed screaming. PROOF WE SHOW. WE KILL WHEN WE FEEL. YOU ARE NOTHING. YOU SEEK PITIFUL THINGS. WE KNOW EVERYTHING, said the alien, but the voice seemed to emanate from inside her head.

It lunged forward menacingly.

"WE BORED WITH THIS FEMALE," the being said out loud.

"Why do you do this?" Yelled Tavell from near by. The creature kept going towards Wong. "What is your purpose?" He continued, but nothing he said made any difference.

"NOT," said the creature.

What is that prism you wear around yourself? Wong thought. She gazed at it and it flickered. "Parasite," she spat. She finally managed to move her arms towards the alien. She heard Tavell shout.

"No." She ignored him. Wong heaved at the box. Surprisingly it broke free easily in her hands. The creature squealed and fell backwards gurgling on the floor. "You are nothing more than a parasite. You have no shred of intelligence in you. Controlled by this?" She gazed out at the people and shook the box up in the air. It continued to glow with all the colours of the rainbow.

"NEVER WIN," said a disembodied voice. Wong looked around. The creature was slobbering everywhere. She realised it was no more than a giant slug. Strangely the voice was coming from the glowing box in her hand.

"You are nothing more than a machine!" Exclaimed Tavell with surprise.

"What the hell are you?" Said Wong.

"OUR EXISTENCE IS NON CONCERN TO YOU," the glowing box said.

"Tell me?"

"YOUR LAST AND FINAL QUESTION," muttered the box. It's English had clearly improved. "WE PERISHED MILLENNIA AGO, THE PLANET NO LONGER EXISTS IN YOUR TIME."

"Then the slugs?"

"HOSTS. WE USE THEM."

The things you are attached to are hosts?" Said Tavell disbelieving. "My god. Those things are nothing more than zombies." The door crashed open and several more aliens burst in. The box must have contacted them in a method that the humanoids did not fathom.

"We understand you perfectly now," said Wong. The thing on the floor slithered consuming anything in its path. "You and it are in a perfect union." The alien grabbed Wong. She dropped the box on the floor. The captain was simply in it's way. Wong tried to move back, but there was no room. She wanted to scream in terror, but nothing came out.

The alien cornered her, rose up to a height of about fifteen feet and sucked out the life force within her. She was dead in a matter of seconds. The alien moved away towards the dispersing crowd.

People were being crushed against the doorway in a bid to escape.

Tavell turned and realised it was his turn to help save the universe. He quickly grabbed the glowing transparent prism and rushed away literally pulling himself back into the crowd in the opposite direction of the slug. For now he was safe.

In his head there was a voice. YOU FIGHT US, BUT YOU WILL NEVER WIN. WE ARE STRONGER THAN YOUR PUNY SPECIES, it said almost sniggering. He gazed down at the box. He wanted to throw it down on the floor with all the force he could muster and break it open. He was disgusted with it. Instead he held it in his hand. It would be a valuable implement.

"I can feel it in my head it must communicate telepathically," said Tavell to the nearest person beside him, but a machine could not possibly speak to him in such a manor. It was impossible. He clutched the glowing box. Tavell stared as if mesmerised by the dazzling rainbow light and energy. He finally lost his cool and gripped the side of the container and pulled.

"STOP!!" Said the voice in alarming desperation.

"What are you?" He said. The box remained silent. "What ARE you?" He repeated with anger and determination. "Are you alive?"

"NO. WE DIED A LONG TIME AGO," it said.

"You are nothing more than a disembodied spirit," He realised, "holding onto a life that you should not have. You should have been DEAD years ago. Lets see how you like being tormented and murdered." He pulled the box. The voice screeched in desperation. "Then stop what you are doing," said the helmsman.

NEVER, replied many voices inside his head.

"Then I condemn you," he said in a loud clear voice. Tavell pulled the box again and nearly succeeded in pulling it apart. For a second he wondered whether his fingers would burn. Nothing happened.

"STOP," replied the single voice again out loud.

"Or what?" Said someone else standing beside him. Tavell recognised it to be one of his own crew. It was the engineer Singh and he was alive and well.

"WE ARE ORBITING THE CHOSEN PLANET," said another box strapped to a creature as it burst through the crowd leaving behind a trail of viscous fluid.

"TRANSPORT TO THE PLANET'S SURFACE," said the box in Tavell's hands. This being appeared to be the leader. "YOU WATCH US. WE WILL STOP AT NOTHING. YOU CAN NOT SAVE YOU PETTY LITTLE FRIENDS NOW," it raged.

"Why do you attach yourselves to the creatures?" Said the Indian engineer as he pushed himself through the crowd. His arm was bandaged up in a small sling.

"WE DOMINATE," said the voice ignoring Singh's question. "WE DEMAND THAT WE TAKE WHAT WE WANT," said the box.

* * *

The communications button was bleeping on and off. Taany guessed someone was trying to contact them.

"Droah sssomeone one isss cccontacting usss. " She smiled.

"Perhapsss it isss Ssstarfleet," he said. "Perhapsss they with to buy our mineral."

"Ssshall I talk with them?"

"Go ahead." He shrugged his broad shoulders while spreading out his large exquisite wings. Carefully Taany slid her delicate slim peach fingers over the dial and frowned.

"Ssstrange. It appearsss everyone is ssscccreaming." Droah floated and hovered in the air while leaning down and peered over her shoulder at the dial. She pulled the receiver out of her ear. "Lisssten." Taany gave him the ear receiver and he placed it to his ear. All he could hear was hysterical voices and screaming.

"Do you think they are in trouble?" She questioned.

Droah passed back the ear receiver. "We mussst help," he said. "They have granted to keep us sssafe from the Romulansss. We mussst return their hossspitality. Cccontact them."

Taany's fingers danced across her keyboard and then she flicked the red link button.

"Isss that Ssstarfleet?" She said with her musical voice. No one seemed to reply. Then an out of breath humanoid voice almost shouting into the receiver came through. Taany repeated her question. "Isss that Ssstarfleet?"

The Betazoid Communications officer of the Krackatowa sighed in partial relief as someone intercepted the communication trail. Tralli Antraia had been the person who caught Wong's communicator.

"No," he said. "We are under attack from giant molluscs they will soon plague the Federation like Zantorian dral worms. They travel planet-to-planet devouring all life there. They have taken control of two of our ships. They plan to invade your planet. Please help us. Help yourselves." For a moment the voice fazed.

"Who are you?" Asked Tanny.

"The Starship Nova," he said.

"Oh no." Her voice escalated. "Cccaptain Ssspock?"

"He was taken. You must help us. Beam up all the Quasimite you can find. These beings are killing us all. Be prepared. The aliens will soon wipe out your planet. Trallii Antraia out." The communication was brief and abrupt, but it's content sent a shiver down Tanny's spine. She gazed with horror at Droah.

"What did they sssay?" He muttered.

"They are dying. Cccreaturesss killing them. He didn't sssay why. They need Quasssimite."

"Quasssimite?" Said Droah a little stunned.

"The cccreaturesss are mollussscccsss. Quasssimite will stun them. He sssaid that they will cccome here too. Sssend out immediate urgent sssolicccitation to all planet wardensss and cccontact Ssstarfleet Cccommand pleassse."

"And the Quasssimite?" He nodded.

Trallii ran as best as he could through the crowds of people living and not so living. He ran for the transporter room. It was the only chance they had to beat the intruders. If the Anagossians were as good natured as they made out to be they would beam up a hundred tons of the Quasimite if they could.

The corridors of the ship were teeming just as the rest of the ship. Only life support and the lighting around the ship remained functional, but only at a level that was comfortable for the aliens. As expected the doors to the transporter room was open.

People in here were packed in like they were in the recreation deck. The Betazoid cleared his throat ready for a speech and waved his arms for silence.

"Off the transporter platform if you please everyone," he said. People responded and as best as they could they averted the circular transporter platform and squashed together in the surrounding space.

"I have made contact with the Anagossians," he said calmly. Someone cheered. Trallii raised his hands for quiet. "They have mines full of Quasimite. For those aboard ship from Droline who do not know what it is, Quasimite is a substance when mixed with liquid will make nerve relaxants.

"The aliens are mostly water and they are no more intelligent than slugs. They are being controlled by disembodied souls. The mineral will not kill them as they are so large, but it will render the creatures crippled and immobilised." Everyone cheered.

"Please don't get too excited. I cannot guarantee that they will help us. We can only pray..." said Trallii. "...And wait."

* * *

Tanny opened a link to Starfleet. Droah flew over to a well-padded chair and sat down near the screen. After a few seconds the image of a ruddy-faced young ensign was replaced by a rather more distinguished greying middle age human male.

"You wished to speak to me?" He said pleasantly.

"Yesss Admiral. We reccceived a cccall from an officccer aboard one of your ssstarssshipsss. The Nova."

"Yes I know. I received a garbled message from a Rextora freighter. They are in difficulty. I am sending out a fleet to intercept those blasted devils." The Anagossian leader sat bolt upright.

"You must not. The cccreaturesss have taken cccontrol of two ssshipsss already. The officccer I ssspoke to sssaid they will invade the Federation. You mussst not launccch any of your ssshipsss. It would be a death trap." The admiral nodded.

"I am glad you have contacted us."

"Sssir about the Quasssimite. You cccan have it all if it sssavesss livesss."

"You are most generous." He smiled. "I thank you along with the entire Federation of Planets." Tanny gazed at Droah and appeared to fidget. He gazed across at her. She appeared eager to make the necessary arrangements.

"I have to go now." Said the little angelic man still looking at Tanny. Before the admiral had anything else to say Droah ended the transmission with a touch of a button.

The planet Anagossia was a beautiful world. The elegant wing being Taany sat at her station in the communication's room in the grand building. To most people in the Federation this place on this planet would have been considered the central government command building.

"Taany. Cccontact the mine. Tell them to ssstandby ready to transssport a half a ton of Quasssimite to the Nova up in orbit above the planet. Tell them to keep back another load just in cccassse. Tell them to prepare for an attaccck from the aliensss. We will need asss muccch of the mineral as we cccan mine."

"Yesss sssir," she said.

Above in the Starship Nova the crew waited in desperation. Suddenly an almighty explosion rocked the ship to its side as if it was a toy. In a blaze that could have lit up the entire solar system Krackatowa exploded. It was assumed that the creatures no longer needed the ship and so they destroyed it.

Oh heavenly lords, thought Trallii gazing through the small porthole in the transporter room. His ship was destroyed, possibly with members of her crew. He could only pray that the aliens hadn't left anyone behind. Not that they had much hope for the future aboard this ship.

Trallii continued to look out of the small round window at his dying ship. Pieces of her spun and spat shards of glowing metal in all directions. A pang of sadness crept through him. He had given up hope on his captain and the landing party. He now assumed that they were all dead.

He sighed deeply and waited on the lower step of the transporter platform. The Betazoid had grave reservations about the Anagossians promise. He wondered where the slug creatures had originated from and if there were any others in the galaxy just waiting for a poor innocent ship to pass by before they could act, then wipe out whole planets.

As he began to believe that the Anagossians had completely ignored his desperate communication, something whined. He stared at the transporter platform then stood up and took a few steps backwards.

There was a bright luminescent light and a low barely audible hum, which gradually accelerated into a much louder resonance, which transcended into a high piercing sound. Twinkling sparkles of blue hews gradually transformed into a gigantic shimmering mass. He laughed out loud from glee. The Anagossians had helped them after all.

Gradually the mineral formed into sparkling red rubies of different pigments and shapes. Everyone cheered again.

"I'm going to need all the hands I can get," said Trallii. People seemed to come out of nowhere using their hands, clothing, anything that they could find to carry the mineral to where ever it was needed. It was scattered in every corridor and every room, on every deck. But the problems weren't resolved yet. Not by a long shot.