And The Stars Called Angels

By: Thought

A/N: I hate words that require spelling. And…um, merry Christmas!!!!!

XXX

Chapter Three

"Andromeda, is it?"

Rommie glanced up from the panel she was reconfiguring. The balding captain, Picard, she reminded herself, was standing near her, watching as her fingers danced across the buttons and touchscreens. She had managed to find a part of the ship that was not yet infested by Maggog, and was working to get internal defenses back up and running. Her scans showed that the Maru seemed unharmed, and if they could all get there in one piece, they would probably have a good chance of getting away alive. It made her sick, thinking of abandoning Andromeda, but the logical part of her mind, and the part that cared deeply about all of the crew were determined that getting away on the Maru was the best and only course of action open to them.

"Captain?" she smiled politely.

"What are you doing?"

She turned back to her work. "Trying to get Internal Defenses back online."

"Does your Captain Hunt truly believe that we can defeat all of these Maggog?"

She glared at the panel, but managed to restrain herself from snapping at him. "I don't know. However, I have every faith in him, and I trust him to get us out of this conflict in one piece."

"I see." Picard didn't say anything for a few minutes, and she completed her task. Rising to her feet, she stood facing him.

"With all due respect, Captain," she said coldly, "Shouldn't you be helping fight off the Maggog, instead of standing here questioning Captain Hunt's abilities?"

He stared calmly at her. "I am not questioning his abilities, I assure you. I merely wish to have all the facts."

"Well, I don't see how any of the questions you've asked assist you in that. If you would like a recounting of his military history, I would be happy to give you one on our way back to the fight."

He shook his head minutely. "Tell me. Are you this distrustful of everyone you meet?"

"Yes, most of the time," she answered shortly.

"Interesting. And how much control does Captain Valentine have over the crew?"

She blinked. "Um…"

"More than Captain Hunt?"

"Well, no, not really, I mean, she's bound to have—"

"Who do you have more faith in?"

"Captain Hunt!"

"And will Captain Valentine follow Captain Hunt's orders without question?"

"No, that is, I don't know. It's a very long, complicated and convoluted story that I really don't have time to tell you right now."

He nodded. "So. In a situation where a quick and decisive decision needs to be made, who would make it? And whose orders would be obeyed more readily?"

She glared at him. "I don't think I'm the best person to be asking these questions of."

"Oh, on the contrary, I think you are the best person. Being an android, you have no biases, and can answer truthfully, and without the added complexities of emotional attachments."

Her eyes flashed. "Are you racist to Ais, Captain?"

"Not at all. As a matter of fact, I am quite good friends, and captain of, an android, myself."

"Yes. Mr. Data. I met him during the initial fight. From what I can tell, Captain, your treatment of Ais is rather disgusting. What kind of a name is Data, anyway? That, alone, sets him apart from other people. And is it true that he had to go to court to get rights? The Charter Of Rights included Ais a very, very long time ago. As soon as the developed sentience."

Picard took a deep breath. "Mr. Data is the only of his kind."

Her eyes widened. "You mean, he's the only AI in your Federation?"

"He is."

Slowly, things began to fall into place for Rommie. "And let me guess, he's got no emotions, does he?"

Picard shook his head. "No, he does not. From what you've been saying, may I assume that you do? And that AIs, as you call them, are much more common?"

She nodded, feeling some of her anger with the man fall away. "It was about four hundred years ago that all Commonwealth High Guard ships were fitted with Ais, and avatars were becoming popular just before the Fall." As she spoke she drew her forcelance, and began walking briskly toward the door. Picard followed, the weapon, which all the new arrivals carried, held loosely in his left hand.

"And all of these Ais were sentient?"

"Mmhm."

"And…you are an avatar?"

"Yes. Our engineer, Seamus Harper, constructed my body not long after he and the others came onboard."

"And what is this Fall you speak of?" asked Picard. "You seem to have a very small and…diverse crew for such a large warship."

"The fall of the Commonwealth took place about 300 years ago, when the then united Nietzscheans decided that we were to weak, and started a war. It left the known worlds in turmoil, with no structure of government. The Nietzscheans broke apart into small prides, and chaos ruled. Captain Hunt and I were trapped on the Event Horizon of a black hole during the initial conflict, and three hundred years later, a Nightsider hired Captain Valentine and her crew to pull us out. After getting rid of him, Dylan offered to allow the crew of the Maru to stay onboard as his crew. Ever since then, we've been working to restore the Commonwealth."

"And how long ago was that?" asked Picard.

"A little over a year ago," she responded.

"It seems a very commendable and noble mission," remarked Picard.

"It is," she agreed.

"And your Captain Hunt also seems an admeralable man."

She didn't get a chance to respond, as at that moment, there was the sound of laser fire, and they turned a corner to see Andromeda trying to take out a swarm of Maggog.

XXX

"What do you mean the doors are jammed?!" demanded Beka Valentine, staring at the holographic woman in front of her in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Beka," said the woman in a detached manner, "A blast from my internal defenses that was meant for a Maggog hit the doors, and melted them shut. There's nothing I can do until I can get a bot down there, and that might take a while."

"Don't you have failsafes against this sort of thing?!" demanded Valentine angrily.

The woman shrugged. "It's hardly a normal situation," she reminded the irate captain.

Riker watched in interest from where he was perched on one of the counters. The purple girl, Trance, was watching Beka and the hologram, her eyes wide and her tale flicking from side to side in what he could only interpret as nervousness.

Deanna returned from where she had been bandaging a wound on her arm, leaping over Maggog bodies to stand near Valentine. It bothered him, the way that the betazoid moved instinctively towards the other woman. In any other situation, he knew, she would be at his side in an instant.

Trance looked at him, a little smile playing at the corners of her lips. He lifted his eyebrows, not feeling in the mood for smiles and cheer. Valentine had started in on the hologram again, and Deanna was watching in something that might have been amusement.

"You're jealous," the girl told him, as if sharing a deep secret.

"What?! Of who?" he blinked rapidly, his train of thought derailed by the seeming non sequitur.

"Of Beka. You're jealous that your friend didn't come over here, aren't you?"

Riker stared at her. "No. What gave you that idea?" he felt uneasy. People were not supposed to be able to read him that well.

"It's ok, you know," the girl laughed. "Beka and Tyr are meant for each other. But…Deanna and Rommie…if Rhade doesn't come soon, Rommie may get distracted. And we need all of you to defeat the darkness, both within and without. The Maggog are the only the beginning."

Riker backed away from her. "Look, um, I think maybe I'm going to go see how Captain Valentine and Counselor Troi are doing." And with that, he turned and fled to the other side of the room. Valentine smiled flirtatiously at him as he arrived, and Deanna moved to stand beside him. Which, he noted, put her between himself and Valentine.

"Like I was saying," the hologram continued speaking, "Captain Hunt and Mr. Worf made it to a communications station, and have sent a distress call. How soon it will be answered is impossible to say at this time, however we are in a fairly populated area, so my estimates are that assistance will arrive within no more than six hours."

"That's good. Hell, that's just great, but what are we supposed to do until then?!" demanded Valentine, her hair shifting to a bright red.

"Attempt to fight them off?" the hologram shrugged.

"Wonderful," Valentine muttered. Suddenly, there was the sound of ripping metal, and a grate high above them fell, hitting the floor with a clatter. A familiar head popped out of the hole in the ceiling, and Riker grinned.

"Commander. Counselor. Captain. Miss Gemini. Would you like some assistance getting out?" asked Data.

XXX

A/N2: Um…there. It took me a whole lot of months, but it lives. Now, what to write next?

Oh, and if my characterization of the Star Trek people seems a little off, it's because I don't watch it anymore. It scares me. It's too perfect, but fanfic still interests me, so…yeah….