Profits
Mary threw her ball of energy and everyone was in motion before it even landed in the midst of the group of Starfleet officers who were shooting at targets in the hangar bay. A scream that didn't come form any flesh and blood throat erupted as Mary's energy flared. All four of them went down in heaps, the black tendril things that seeped around their bodies smoking and vanishing in Mary's raw power. Mary staggered, but kept her feet through sheer force of will. Jhinis and the armored human moved beside Mary as the others all fanned out. The Bolian led with his cannon while the Tholian covered him, but the spider-like alien's other hand held a tricorder that scanned the fallen Starfleet personnel. The Lethean and Amet'a moved with the group, weapons ready.
"Denali crew! Alliance incoming!" Amet'a shouted as the team moved forward.
"What the hell was that?" Came from a loud female voice in the hangar as two lines of red phaser fire swept out from the hangar, but away from the onrushing group. Those were not hand phasers! The sheer torrent of fire was daunting to say the least. None of it came towards the team, though.
The team moved into the hangar and took cover by a Federation runabout. A Yellowstone class ship if Mary wasn't mistaken, more modern than the more common Danube class. From the scorch marks on its hull, it had been used as cover by the defenders of the bay. Mary tensed as an orange skinned Ferengi popped up next to it, but the being wore Starfleet uniform and hefted a phaser cannon almost the same size as the Bolian's monster weapon.
"Look out!" The Starfleet officer snapped as white lines of phaser fire came from the other entrance. Amet'a grunted as a bolt hit her and she fired back with her disruptor as the rest of the team moved into cover. "Idiots simply cannot get the hint. Fine, I will talk to them in a language they can understand." Her voice became a shout. "Fire in the hole!"
"Eshade!" Came from nearby as a huge red glob of energy slammed out of the Starfleet Ferengi's weapon to explode in the distance. Screams from not human throats cut off with dreadful finality and there was sudden silence. Then a smaller explosion happened. Some kind of secondary blast?
"Idiots!" The Starfleet Ferengi snarled into the sudden utter silence. "I warned you morons. Madren isn't paying you enough to cross us!"
Mary leaned up against the battered runabout, taking in what she could of the scene. Apparently the Starfleet Ferengi had been taking cover here for a bit. Not always successfully from the scorch marks on her uniform. Mary gasped as she saw two Starfleet personnel lying beside the runabout. Neither was breathing and the phaser marks on their uniforms bespoke the cause of their deaths. She went to her knees beside the fallen and bowed her head.
"Why?" Mary begged as the lull continued. "Why all this? For me? I am not that important!"
"Get away from them." Came a flat tone from the Starfleet Ferengi as Mary bowed her head. "I said-"
"Do not aim at her!" Jhinis snapped as she moved to flank Mary. "She didn't do this! She wanted to be Starfleet and you lot decided she wasn't good enough. Not because of skill, or sense, but because of what she is. Not who, what. I see prejudice is just as common now as it was in the twentieth century on Earth." The scorn in her voice could have cut steel.
"Eshade!" The other Starfleet voice snapped. "Do not make this any worse!"
The Starfleet Ferengi started to retort, only to pause as Mary held up her hands over the fallen and bowed her head. Tears started to fall.
"The Whole will be as One." Mary intoned. "May you find whatever peace awaits you, Starfleet. I grieve for lives lost no matter who they belonged to. Friend and foe are united in death. I am the cause of this and I cannot stop it. I do not even know why it is happening. All I can do is go on. And-"
Something clattered across the floor to skitter next to the stunned looking Ferengi and Mary was in motion even as her mind screamed 'grenade'. She threw the Ferengi aside, slammed her flesh seeming form to the floor over top of the small explosive and activated her shield. She heard and felt Jhinis' scream. Then she knew no more.
"MARY!" Jhinis screamed aloud and in her mind as the faint 'crump' underneath the supine girl heralded the detonation of whatever the girl had protected them from. Mary's body flashed with energy but whatever the grenade did, it didn't touch them. Was her energy wavering? It was! She couldn't feel Mary's mind! "No!"
"What-? The-?" The Ferengi seemed at a loss for words, but the Alliance team as in motion.
The armored human was at Mary's side even as Jhinis tried to figure out what to do. The Tholian moved to her side, holstering his weapon and drawing a tricorder. The Bolian, Lethean and Amet'a all fired at the source of the grenade. Amet'a's disruptor and the Lethean's odd silent weapon were overshadowed as the Bolian cut loose with his cannon. Jhinis distantly heard screams, sort of saw one huge orange bolt plow a hole clean through a bulkhead, but most of her attention was on Mary. The Aenar reached for the hurt girl and paused. She had no idea what to do!
"Don't think." The armored human said urgently. "Act. You are her Herald. You can help her."
"I don't know what to do!" Jhinis snapped back.
"Whatever that grenade was, it was powerful. Her energy is out of phase. Yours is not. Help her!" The armored human took Jhinis hand and laid it on Mary. There was an odd resonance in Mary's energy. Jhinis could feel it. She let her own senses seep into Mary. She felt something arc from her into the unconscious girl. The armored human nodded. "That is it. Keep it up."
"What the hell is going on?" The Ferengi who had been so rude asked, clearly unsure about all these sudden changes. She did not aim her cannon at Mary. Probably since the armored human had a phaser in hand aimed at her.
"The girl known as Mary Owlna Pangolin does not wish to be evil." The armored human said quietly as Jhinis continued to do whatever she was doing It felt right, but she had no way to describe it. "She wanted to be a helper, an explorer. Someone who aids others as opposed to exploiting them. She is not a saint but she is not a bad person."
"Do you know her?" Jhinis asked slowly, still unsure about all of this.
"I cannot answer that." The armored human shook his/her head. "I can say that I mean you and her no harm, Herald Jhinis." He/she bowed his/her head. "Be strong and true to her. She will see you to the light."
Jhinis stared at the armored human and then screamed as a transporter grabbed her! She was being pulled away from Mary! She fought it. She had to stay with Mary. But then a thought intruded on hers.
She will be safe. That was from the armored human! And the mind touch was familiar! Female. Not Mary, but close! Be strong. She will come for you. Both of you.We will come for you! I swear it, Aunt Jhinis.
Aunt?
The transporter faded and Jhinis was on another ship, a very different, gaudy one. She was surrounded by Ferengi, one of whom was readying a stasis pod. Another was firing an odd weapon at her before she could even process her surroundings. It didn't hurt, but she was cold. So cold. They were freezing her! Jhinis' last sight was seeing Doctor Nuna's smirking face with a Ferengi in ornate clothes beside her.
Her last thought?
You are so screwed!
Denali hangar bay
"What the hell?" Amet'a snarled as the armored human scooped up Mary and ran towards a different shuttle in the distance. "Lieutenant? What the hell just happened?"
"I am not sure. Jhinis was transported away. That was not a Federation beam, Romulan or KDF." The armored being replied, not entirely truthfully. She couldn't talk about a lot of things, but she had to get Mary to the ship. "We need to go! Now!"
"The Ferengi have left, the two that were left intact of them." The Tholian ran by her side. "They took the Aenar. Was this their plan all along?"
"Probably." The armored woman said with a grunt as she ran to the shuttle. It was not a normal shuttle in use by any in the quadrant. It looked like a Federation class 10 shuttle, but it wasn't. Not even close. She paused as a scorched Andorian stepped into her way. "You should move." The armored human said mildly, aware that the rest of her team were close behind and all were ready to fight.
"The transport inhibitor was Ferengi." The Andorian said, looking at the unconscious girl. "They took the other who had an Iconian thing on her head. They want her, don't they?"
"Of course they do." Amet'a scoffed. "What Ferengi doesn't want to be stupid if they think they can profit from it?" She glared at the Starfleet one who looked unsure. "Latinum or violence, who cares as long as you get your profit! I have known her for less than an hour, but Mary has impressed me. She is not like us. Not lost to rage. Yet. They took her Herald. You know what she will do."
"I know what I would do if they took my friend. I would have shot her. And then... She could have died protecting me." Eshade said softly. "Any one of us, that grenade would have killed, armor or no. She didn't hesitate."
"We do not have time for this." The Lieutenant snapped, starting for the shuttle again. The Andorian made way for her, shaking her head in disbelief. "When she wakes up, Mary is going to be madder than hell. We need to get her to the doc. Now!" All of the Alliance team moved with her.
"You need an escort." The Andorian said flatly. "I have not been able to contact any of my command, so I am on my own and this…" She shook her head again. "This girl is special."
"More than anyone knows or can know." The armored human snapped, starting up the ramp. "Rikk, warm it up! We need to be gone in thirty seconds or less." Amet'a shook her head but did not argue.
"Eshade, number four." The Andorian started for one of the parked Peregrine fighters. The Ferengi ran for it and climbed in without a word. "They won't just let her, or you, go."
"Part of me hopes they shoot at us." Amet'a scoffed. "That would give the captain every cause to blow them out of the stars, but they probably took Jhinis to their ship as a hostage to barter or trade. So, just blasting it isn't going to make Mary happy. Add to that? We also need to be long gone before T'Ket gets here."
"T'ket?" The Andorian froze in mid-step, paling. She had fought in the war. "Coming here?"
"And no one knows why!" Amet'a was clearly out of patience. "We need to go. Now. Likely all the wackos will follow us. They are after her." She nodded to the unconscious girl.
"You need an escort." The Andorian repeated and then nodded. "We will cover you until you get to your ship."
"You will get in trouble." Amet'a said slowly. Starfleet did not like its officers going off the reservation.
"I am always in trouble. The Andorian said with a shrug as she started off for the fighter that was humming now. "Get lost. You will have cover."
The team made it through the hatch which shut after them with moments to spare. Then the hum within it increased in pitch. The armored human set Mary down on a bench that unfolded form one wall as the others found seats.
"Holy hell, Second Officer." Came the voice of the pilot. "I saw the fight, but obeyed orders. Is she okay?" He was less than two Earth years old but an incredible pilot.
"She is intact." Amet'a said as the Tholian started scanning Mary. "She will be very upset when she wakes up so we better get her to the doc before that. He can calm anyone down."
"He manages to keep the captain calm." The pilot agreed. "No sign of the witch?"
"Just the girl who was taken against her will. Kidnapping still seems the doctor's style." Amet'a said flatly. "Get us back as fast as you can, Rikk. The Denali is is still crippled. We may or may not have an escort, depending on if anyone calls them off." She looked at the armored form who shook her head. "What can you tell us?"
"Not much. They won't kill Jhinis. They can't and they know it. Hurt her? Yes. If they kill her, all hell lands on them and everyone around them." The armored woman opened her faceplate but no one relaxed when her face as exposed. She looked like Mary! Without a Meridian and older! In her thirties at the very least. Not Mary, but close, so very close. Definitely related. "Damn, this is hard, Second Officer. I knew it would be and I volunteered, but… It is hard. T'ket is the wild card in this. No one is sure what she will do. This though…." The face she turned to Mary held heartbreak. "This really hurts. Seeing her like this."
"Go." Amet'a said sternly. "We have this. Go on. Tell the others we will handle it."
"You know that Grandmother of all people won't take my word for that." The woman slapped her faceplate shut. "Sometimes I wish I had been named for someone else."
"Get lost before someone gets a good scan on you, Valdyr." Amet'a snapped and the armored human nodded. Then she wavered and vanished! Not a transporter. Something else entirely.
"That never ceases to creep me out. I didn't need to see her face!" Horil complained softly as he racked his cannon. "I know she won't betray us, but that is seriously creepy." He stood oddly by the wall. Ready? The Lethean likewise had racked his weapon and stood quiet.
Amet'a just looked at Horil and then closed her eyes as a flash came from the Tholian. The Bolian and Lethean were frozen in place as the Tholian examined both with his tricorder. Then he scanned Amet'a.
"Well?" Amet'a asked.
"The chronitons are fading. The memory of her face likewise." Ekk'tikk was worried, that was clear. "We cannot continue hiding Valdyr's visits, Second Officer. There are too many people who know now to keep this a secret. When it was you, me and Rikk, we could manage, but now? With Mary here? There are too many points of conflict. The probabilities grow convoluted." The Tholian moved back to where he had been when the flash had occurred. "If he does not know already, the captain must be told."
"He is stressed enough right now, but you are right." Amet'a sighed deeply. "I am betting that is why Krenn and Neesha showed up. To push this into the open. To push us into the open. I don't want to. Soldiers and politics do not mix well."
"Your House has hidden for too long, seen too much and done too much to ever be forgotten." The Tholian reassured her. "You do not stand alone, Second Officer."
"No, you don't!" Came from the pilot and Amet'a smiled as she moved to take the seat beside him. Not that he had a seat. "My mom would be the first to say it. You know we are with you."
"I know, Rikk." Amet'a shook her head as the hangar bay vanished and they were in space. Rikk didn't waste time on silliness in combat zones. He didn't understand a lot of things that others took for granted. Then again, he was Horta, so he didn't think like most other sentients in the galaxy that Amet'a had met. Odd that a being made of rock could fly so well, but he was the best pilot she had ever met, bar none. He didn't use a seat or controls. In some odd mineral way, he became part of the ship. "But having so many relying on me… I just wanted to fight. To be the best at what I did. I never planned on being made an officer or being the sole surviving officer when that crazy Catian boarded us, took the ship back from the Heralds at Sol."
"Your sputters on record are priceless." Horil snickered as she growled at him. He had recovered from whatever was done and now, he sat, face split by a smile. "Temper."
"The captain won't be happy." Amet'a sighed as their home base grew in the distance. "I never lied to him, but I never told him the whole truth."
"Who would have believed it?" The Lethean did not speak often. When he did, everyone took notice. "I certainly did not when she showed up the first time. But she had proven herself to all of us. You have acted with honor, Second Officer. Hold to that."
"I will." Amet'a promised. "But now, we have Krenn, my family and Ferengi all mixed up with several intelligence services and apparently rogue Romulans thrown into the mess. Add good old fashioned human style bigotry and this is not going to end well. Small wonder Valdyr is always so vague. A mess indeed."
"Don't forget T'ket." Horil said, for once utterly devoid of humor.
"Shut up, Horil." Amet'a snapped, patience gone. "Mission is done and if you so much as breathe wrong, I will put you in medical again. The doc has said he can fix you. Undo what the Iconians did to make you the way you are."
"But I like the way I am now!" Horil wasn't faking his fear. He had cause. They all did.
"Then shut up." Amet'a snarled.
"Make me, Second Officer Amet'a Kirk."
Her slap knocked him out of his chair and the fight was on!