Away

It was far too quiet as the Aenar and her human looking mistress moved through the corridors of the starship Denali. A starship was never supposed to be silent. Quiet, yes. Especially a Federation ship with all of the safety regulations pertaining to auditory hazards. Starfleet took the health of its personnel very seriously. Far more seriously than many non-Starfleet could ever imagine. There were literally regulations about how loud an officer could play music in his or her own stateroom. But this was different.

Normally, there was the background hum of power through conduits, the buzz of distant conversation no matter how quiet people tried to keep it, the clangs and bumps of people working. A starship was an incredibly complex piece of machinery. Even with Federation technology, things wore out or broke and had to be repaired or replaced. The various ships Mary had been on had never been silent like this. She had been on several ships on her way to Earth and none of them had felt like this.

When she had come aboard this one, the Denali crew hadn't been happy to see her, but they had been professional. Calm, cool and ready to act if she stepped out of line. She hadn't blamed them. Indeed, she had halfway expected to spend the whole trip in a cell. Instead, they had given her passenger accommodations and she had been comfortable until the ship had been attacked. While she had been led to her quarters, it hadn't been even close to this quiet. Not even close when she had gone to sleep to await her arrival to her destiny. It certainly hadn't felt bad, if a trifle wary. Now? The halls felt like a tomb.

"This isn't right. Where is everyone?" Jhinis muttered just above a whisper. Whispers carried far more than most would think.

"Most of the crew are likely in survival shelters after the beating the ship took." Mary replied the same way. They could talk mind to mind, but both preferred to do it aloud. It was a minor thing, but they both preferred the way they had always been. They would learn their new limits in time. "Those who didn't head to the escape pods, anyway. I am astonished the ship held together, honestly." Jhinis looked at her and Mary scowled. "I don't know who attacked the ship, but the weapons were plasma based and the nacelles took a pounding. The warp core had to be shut down to prevent a breach." Jhinis grimaced at that and Mary nodded. "I fell back on my training, forgot I was just a passenger. I um… I guess I am in trouble for that."

"Oh, they probably won't quibble about that since whoever or whatever opened the hangar doors more than likely saved the ship." Jhinis grinned at Mary's expression. They both knew what had happened. "A few other things…?" She fingered the now cooled arc of metal that hovered over her forehead. "They might."

"I did sort of short out the force field on the cell." Mary said with a wince. "'Escaping from lawful custody' at the very least."

"That only proves that they never could have held you." Jhinis reassured her. "You could have left anytime. You promised to obey, you did. Whatever else you may have done will be argued by people with a higher pay grade than me." She paused and then smirked. "Do I get paid?"

"You will likely get half of whatever I do." Mary said without humor and Jhinis eyed her for a moment before nodding and continuing.

The Aenar's 'reward' might be getting tossed out an airlock or any number of other means that Starfleet had found to stop Iconian battle constructs. Properly modulated phasers were only the tip of the iceberg, a basic means of dealing with Iconian assaults. Constructs were powerful, but not invincible. Crush them in localized gravity wells, drain their power, blow all their limbs off, expose them to high power electromagnetic pulses… The list went on and on. Trying those on Mary would only make her mad, since she wasn't a Herald. She was far more powerful as that AI remnant had found out. Someone had once said 'Shooting an Iconian with a disruptor is like hitting a starship with a stick' and it was true. Iconians were functionally immortal as long as they had power. She was not an Iconian, but she was no slouch. Even Iconians could die as had been proved in the war. M'Tara had died in battle. Hundreds of starships with all their crews had also perished in that battle. Mary felt a pang of grief, but shunted it aside before it could reach Jhinis' mind. The Aenar had enough problems.

We need to get to a shuttle bay or hangar bay. Jhinis sent to Mary as they passed yet another silent cross corridor. Mary paused. Something was wrong. Jhinis took another step and paused as well when she realized Mary had stopped. I know that other ships responded to the distress call, so- "WHOA!"

Jhinis gasped that aloud as Mary tackled her and slid them both into the meager cover of a holodeck external hatch. Just in time. A flurry of red lines swept over where they had just been. Phasers! Probably not set to 'stun' either. Excited voices came from ahead, but were muffled by the weapon discharges. If they were talking, they were not AI controlled. Security. But firing without even ordering them to surrender?

"Friendly fire!" Jhinis screamed that as the beams sought her and Mary. "What the hell are you idiots doing?"

Instead of a response, the beams sought her voice and Jhinis gasped again as Mary pushed her down and focused as she had learned to do when the thaleron weapon had been transported into her dorm room. The beams, four of them, hit her shield and flared against it. The pain from the feedback was indescribable. They were not set to 'stun'. She could not bite back a sob as the phasers continued to tear into her protection.

"Mary!" Jhinis snarled and a tiny phaser appeared in her own hand! She was aiming back at the origination of the beams and had clicked her own weapon to maximum when Mary pushed her hand down.

"No, Jhinis. Set for 'stun'." Mary said through her pain. "We are not them. They are afraid. Can you blame them?" She managed a small smile as Jhinis stared at her, but reset her weapon. Before she could fire, all four lines of phaser fire cut off to a different weapon noise. Neither of the girls moved and Mary's shield solidified. "Those were not phasers, were they?"

"Not sure." Jhinis admitted. "This is actually the first time people have shot at me." She shook her head a little. "Is this… I feel light. Is this normal?"

"There is no 'normal' around people like us, Jhinis." Mary said sadly as she rose to a crouch, ready to flee or extend her shield again. "I have been shot at a few times, so you are probably getting some of my calm. Some of those sounded like disruptors, but not all of them."

"You are angry." Jhinis retorted as she stood ready to fire.

"Of course I am, but unthinking rage won't help matters here." Mary replied. "The fact that they violated Starfleet regulations in not calling on us to surrender before firing is making me fairly angry. The fact that they would have killed both of us when we are not hostile, also in violation, is also making me angry. I guess silly things like organization wide rules don't apply to people like me, but it still makes me angry."

"You have a right to that."

Both girls froze at the amused female voice that came to them from ahead. What stepped into view was not a Starfleet officer. The Klingon warrior was not wearing traditional Klingon attire. She wore a uniform that was downright odd. Clearly armored, but… The black boots and black pants tucked into those with silver arcs on the sides were fairly straightforward. It was the uniform jacket that she wore that had both girls freezing. It was white, with black piping, gold trim and a red patch on the shoulder. The pistol she carried was clearly a Klingon design, but she wasn't aiming it at the girls. Mary's eyes widened and then she nodded as she rose fully.

"Alliance." Mary breathed and the unknown nodded. "Uh… No offense, but how can I be sure?"

"We don't like spies." Came from the Klingon and grinned as more than one voice behind her made gagging noises.

"Don't gross her out, Second Officer!" Both girls stilled further as a Bolian male stepped into view behind the Klingon. The blue skinned being wore a similar uniform, but his shoulder patch was gold. The weapon he hefted was almost a long as he was tall and the cylindrical barrel was likely bigger than some tank cannon! He carried it easily though. The Klingon made a rude gesture at the Bolian who snickered. "Now, now, Amet'a, don't give the girls ideas." Was he leering at the Klingon? Mary felt her cheeks flush.

"Later, Horil." The Klingon snorted as she focused on the stunned girls. "You are Mary. We are here to get you to Iconia. Who is this?" She asked, not 'quite' aiming at Jhinis who was not 'quite' aiming at her.

"This is Jhinis." Mary took a step forward, pushing past Jhinis who tried to grab her but Mary evaded her grip easily. "Something happened. Neither of us are sure what. I… I did something to her and she is… Well, you see." She finished bit lamely as the odd pair in front of her eyed Jhinis and her Meridian. Mary sighed. "I don't know if I can trust you or not, honestly. I have been assaulted by people I thought I could trust. Whoever just fired at us would have killed us without blinking."

"That is the usual means of dealing with Iconian Heralds." The Bolian said mildly. "They do not talk and they do not surrender." His hands and aim did not move. He was covering them with that monster weapon. Smart Bolian if unnerving,

"The ones everyone has seen were not designed for that, no." Mary agreed slowly and then she sighed. "I will bet you will pick me up and carry me if I don't come with you, right?" She asked the Klingon who looked impatient. The warrior eyed her and then smiled.

"Physically? Not a chance. I would use a tractor beam and float pad." The one called Amet'a said with a grin that Mary slowly shared. "I was briefed, girl."

"Good." Mary relaxed, just a little. "Jhinis, weapon down." Jhinis frowned, but then nodded and lowered her phaser. "I um… Second Officer, is it? Have you encountered any weirdness? Specifically computer weirdness?"

"Yes, I am Amet'a, Second Officer of the K'Valk's Honor. As for data intrusions? Enough to put us all on edge." Amet'a said as she moved forward. She eyed Jhinis and then scrutinized Mary. "You?"

"Twice. It seems to be some kind of AI. A very unfriendly one. It keeps saying I am to be 'deleted'." Mary said with a nod as she stepped forward, eyeing the Klingon right back. It had been made very clear to her in the Academy that if she showed weakness, any Klingon would walk right over her. "I argue with it."

"Good girl." The Klingon clearly liked what she saw because she turned to Jhinis who frowned. The Klingon shook her head. "Keep your thoughts to yourself, Aenar. You won't like what lives in my head."

"Very few of us do." The Bolian muttered and she made another rude gesture at him! "Do yourselves a favor, girls. Don't ask." He wasn't aiming at them now, but his weapon muzzle wasn't far from that either.

"I know more than I should about such. I worked for almost three months at the Orion mining colony on Jessup VI." Mary nodded and both of Alliance stared at her. She shrugged. "Passage to Earth wasn't cheap."

"And you had to hide who and what you were until you got there." The Bolian said with a hint of appreciation. Mary nodded and the Bolian whistled. "I want to hear about that."

"Stories later." Amet'a was all business. "We need to go. Keep your weapon handy, Aenar but don't point it at me."

"Jhinis, in this we are allies. Trust may or may not happen, but for now? We will work together." Mary kept her voice mild as the Aenar bristled again, but then relaxed. Both Alliance eyed her again and Mary sighed. "She seems to think I am in command. I disagree. I just graduated for goodness sake's and never got to swear an oath."

"I am with you." Jhinis snapped as she moved to stand by Mary, her glare at the Klingon bouncing off like low caliber projectiles off a high power deflector shield.

"Jhinis…" Mary growled as the Klingon looked amused, but the Bolian looked worried.

"Amet'a, we better go. Technically, we are not supposed to be here at all. We never got through to any of the Denali's command staff." The Bolian said to Mary as he moved to flank her and the Klingon started off, disruptor at the ready. "Most of their people have been happy to see us."

"Hard to blame them." Mary replied as she followed the Klingon and Jhinis brought up the rear. "The ship took a hell of a pounding. Armor or no, that much plasma could have torn the ship apart if they hadn't had damage control well trained."

"And how do you know that?" Came a synthesized voice as a human in Federation style combat armor stepped into view followed by a Lethean and… Was that a Tholian? All wore the same uniform! Well, the Tholian's environmental suit was emblazoned with the same colors as the others. The human's armor likewise. The Lethean wore the same attire as the Bolian and Klingon, but with a red patch on his shoulder. The Tholian had spoken! It spoke again and its voice held suspicion. "You were in detention. How do you know that?" It held no weapon, instead, it was aiming a tricorder at her and Mary held up a hand as Jhinis tensed.

"They have a right to be suspicious, Jhinis. If you know anything about what I am, Alliance, you know not to ask such things where anyone can hear." Mary said very quietly and everyone in the area tensed and then nodded. Even the Tholian bent a little, bowing to her? Unthinkable. "I do not think I am your enemy. This ship has been compromised. The AI or whatever it is in here is decidedly hostile and has taken over one Starfleet officer that I saw. Probably more."

"Grah!" The Klingon snarled. "What is it with idiots and AI? Why do all of the petaq' have to make the exact same mistakes?"

"Laziness? They want life to be simple and easy." Mary shrugged as everyone looked at her again. "It isn't. Life is chaotic. Life is… Well… Life." She said a little lamely. "I don't know of any race where people intentionally work to do things the hardest way all the time?" She pitched her words to the Klingon who looked as if she wanted to spit, but then nodded.

"No." Amet'a allowed as they moved carefully, each team member covering the others. They had clearly done this before. Mary and Jhinis were in the middle of the group and moved with the Bolian who kept his weapon huge muzzle pointed down the hall. "Our challenges define us, but, you are right. Even my people do not like challenges in everything. That said… AI research always goes wrong. Always."

"So many people are fumbling in the dark, limited in understanding of why things happen." Mary allowed. "I know a lot of people who are drawn by the unexplained. They like solving things. That said, some things should be left alone." She shuddered.

"No argument here." Jhinis agreed as she kept her gaze on one sector of the corridor they were traversing. "What is the plan, Second Officer?"

"The Denali has a transport inhibitor up or we would have been here a lot sooner." Amet'a growled. "It took some fast talking but we managed to land a shuttle in the port-side fighter bay. The fighter crews were securing the area while we pressed in. We have seen engineering teams at work on some of the battle damage, but none have approached us." The Bolian scoffed and she mock snarled at him. "Not now, Horil!"

"You cannot really blame a bunch of unarmed techs for not wanting to charge us." The Bolian smirked at her expression. "Can you?"

"Later!" Amet'a snapped, the bark of command in her tone and the Bolian stiffened. He nodded and went back to scanning the surroundings. "We get to our shuttle, get back to our ship and get the hell out of here. I am sure a Federation repair and rescue team is heading this way."

"Unless the Denali was meant as a sacrifice or test." Mary said suddenly and everyone stopped in mid-stride. "Don't tell me the Federation would not sacrifice even a ship this size with all of her crew if they thought the need great enough. I know they would."

"Yes, they would." Amet'a said slowly, eyeing Jhinis. No, eyeing Jhinis' attire! "I have seen such garments before on people who did such things." She said slowly. "Differently colored."

"Yes, I worked for them. No more. I am with Mary!" Jhinis snapped, nodding to Mary. "They took my brother, hurt him to get me to do what they want. Maybe this is all a plot or trick? If so, they didn't tell me anything either. I wouldn't put it past the doc." She warned Mary who nodded.

"She is an evil bitch." Mary all but spat that out and all of the away team stared at her. "What? I am not allowed to curse now? She is an evil bitch."

"Um…" The Bolian shook his head. "You and the Captain are going to get along like a house on fire, girl." All of the away team, even the Tholian, looked amused at that. Although how Mary could tell it was amused, she had no idea.

"Let's just get out of here." Mary pleaded. "If I leave, the AI and all the others who want me dead will likely follow?" She all but begged.

"True." Amet'a agreed. "Turbo-lifts are down. We go the 'scenic route' as the captain puts it. I hope you like crawling."

"Joy."