One could have heard a pin drop in the room.
Hayes' words had the audience in stunned silence.
He gazed about the small crowd before him, a little unsure of what to do next. He blinked slowly for a moment, then shook his head to clear it.
The captain glanced back at Matthias, who shrugged, and made a go on gesture.
"Does...anyone...have...any questions?" he asked slowly.
Glimmer had a puzzled expression on her face. She put her hands together, then spoke in her best formal voice, "Captain, if you don't mind me saying so…"
"What exactly are you taking?" Catra demanded, sitting straight up, "What kind of story is this? You come from outer space, okay, let's say I buy that. Then you tell us stuff about...about other planets, and that you're the First Ones, and only four years have actually passed in the last thousand years, or something? Seriously, have you had your head stuck in a factory chimney for a month?"
"Catra-!" Adora started.
"Shut up, Adora!" The other girl snapped.
"You shut it!" Glimmer snapped back.
"Make me!"
"Uh...Captain Hayes?" Bow spoke up politely, "I think what we all mean is...what are you talking about?"
"Time dilation has been thought of for decades, but there's barely any theory on the subject!" Entrapta commented, but then looked thoughtful, "Though I suppose if you're the First Ones…and you do know about other planets..."
Hayes groaned, "Do you people know about time travel? Being able to travel back to the past, or to the future, like you move with a vehicle?"
The still-arguing faces turned back toward him.
Catra furrowed her brow, and grinned a little, "...Duh?"
"Catra, don't be rude!" Adora hissed.
"Don't tell her what to do!" Scorpia growled.
"All of you, pipe down!" Hayes said loudly, his voice carrying and making everyone feel more attentive.
The side chatter stopped immediately.
"Thank you…" he muttered, "So that's good, we're all familiar with time travel? Okay, so, here's what one might consider a form of time travel. My metaphor of the well- we're the rescuers in that context. For the rescuers, it's only been a few minutes, but for the person inside the well, it feels much longer. Now, you're the person inside in that metaphor. While us getting to you has taken a short time relatively speaking, for you the elapsed time is much longer. For us, four years. For you, a thousand years. Time has been sped up inside the bubble, to the point it seems the outside world is standing still. Or moving very, very slowly."
With a little more explanation, the group eventually came to a relative understanding of time dilation.
"So if what you say is true, how did it happen?" Adora asked.
Hayes nodded, satisfied they were getting back on track.
"Four years ago, the Federation was engaged in open warfare with an empire known as the Dominion. We were losing, badly, and territory was falling rapidly despite our best efforts. A lot of the campaigns at this point in the war were holding actions and forced withdrawals. Etheria was a small colony, on the opposite side of our territory from the enemy. That reason gave it heavier ground-based defenses than usual, since ground fortifications are a lot cheaper than starships. It was home to a scientific research outpost, with some experimental tech. One day, perimeter sensors picked up a fleet we couldn't identify on its way. The garrison officer panicked, fearing it was a Dominion fleet. She activated an experimental defense system being tested on the planet. It was a time dilation field designed to conceal the planet in a subspace bubble. It would speed up time inside the bubble, while time outside passed at a slower rate."
"Excuse me...What's subspace?" Scorpia asked, raising her claw.
"It's a hypothetical region of the universe that's distinctive from, yet co-existent with normal space," Entrapta replied, "I've studied papers on the subject, but no one has been able to actually find evidence of it."
"Thank you…uh...um...I'm sorry, I don't know your name," Hayes said, wincing.
"I'm Entrapta. Are you saying subspace is real?"
"Essentially, yes, though I do not have the time or knowledge to explain it in full."
"So what's the point of speeding up the time in the bubble?" Adora asked, "Wouldn't...wait, I don't think I get it. How would that help defend the planet?"
"The idea was that it would speed up time only for the people inside the bubble. Say you and an enemy soldier turned a corner at the same time. Normally, you'd have only a split second to react, but what this field does would increase that amount of time for you to react by speeding up time, but only for you. You could eat a sandwich then still have time to shoot them without risk. Metaphors aside, this would allow us days or weeks of reaction time to an entire fleet."
Adora noticed Catra's ears twitching out of the corner of her eye. That same twitch she saw first during munitions class when they were eight. And every other time she saw unsupervised munitions.
I do not want to deal with that again. It took us forever to find the pin for that grenade...
"Unfortunately, the defense system wasn't finished, and was activated unnecessarily. The fleet wasn't Dominion. It was another alien race. The Gercid. They've got some interesting toys that make them a minor threat, and a bad attitude to match. We only recently encountered them, and they're way more primitive than we are. About a decade ago, one of our explorer ships, the USS Enterprise-D, had a run-in with them. They had to beat feet quickly when they realized they didn't want us around."
Matthias took over, "During the war, the Gercid saw the Federation losing to the Dominion, and figured they'd be next on the list. So they wanted some of our tech to give themselves a leg up so that when the Dominion finally came for them they could stop them. But they never thought to ask us. They planned to raid what appeared to be a lightly defended colony to grab databases, tech, and slaves to show them how to work it all. Unfortunately, that was Etheria, with the subspace bubble. While their ships are inferior to ours, there were an awful lot of them, and we had only a handful of our own in the system at the time. There was a miscommunication, and the garrison commander assumed they were Dominion. Despite the protests of the local commodore, she activated the system to hide the planet. It wasn't ready. We didn't even really know if it should have been used."
Hayes put his hands behind his back, and walked to the windows, looking out at the planet below.
"Nothing on this scale, with this much damage, was supposed to happen. This is the biggest disaster in colony history since Tarsus IV. We thought decades, at worst, had passed inside the bubble. It's a huge humanitarian crisis."
He looked back at them, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry this happened. I lost friends to this blasted experiment."
Hayes gestured to Matthias, who brought up an image of Etheria in its 2374 configuration. The feed pulled out, a ring appearing from its sides. It was rotating around a large white sphere.
They took a moment to realize it was the sun.
Several other rings with planets attached appeared, either larger or smaller than Etheria's rings. Some were closer to the sun, while others were further out. The planets were of varying sizes as well.
"It's a solar system!" Glimmer said, "My aunt showed us models! Adora, Bow, you remember!"
"It has those planets like the ones my dads showed," Bow added, "It looks familiar…"
"That's because it's our solar system!" Entrapta exclaimed, "I've seen old models, but never anything with this detail!"
A variety of blue arrows and cubes were spread out across the map. Most of the cubes tended to be orbiting the planets, while some were seemingly in deep space. The arrows were oriented trying to intercept a large number of red arrows.
Matthias narrated, "Their fleet first jumped into the system. The colony had extreme electronic emission control protocols active, for both sensors and communications, so they communicated with the ships in the area through unconventional free-space optical communications, and utilized passive sensors."
The red arrows, the Gercid, moved in toward the sun, and Etheria. Some of the blue arrows, Starfleet ships, scrambled to intercept, while others moved away as quickly as they could.
Hayes glanced at the group, noting Entrapta had her hand raised. "That means we let as few electronic signals get out as possible. Our communications were through laser-links that can't be intercepted in the same way radio can."
"What do you mean 'passive sensors'?" Entrapta asked.
"What does he mean 'sensors'?" Glimmer asked.
Hayes hesitated, but luckily Matthias stepped in.
"We use electronic devices that can see beyond the visible light spectrum like you and I can see. They are able to 'see' over vast distances, with much greater detail and accuracy than our eyes can. We call them 'sensors'. However, this makes stealth and surprise difficult if both sides have them, because both of us can detect when the enemy is using those sensors, and can find them. It's like a bunch of people running around in a dark warehouse with a gun and a flashlight, and trying not to get shot by someone else. You could turn on a flashlight to see where everyone is, but then they know where you are. Normally, it isn't a problem, but this was a...shall we say, unique situation."
"Thank you, commander," Hayes nodded, "They were unable to get a positive ID on the ships due in part to these precautions, and communications between Etheria's command center and the first ship to make contact with the enemy were destroyed before they could report."
A Starfleet vessel approached the Gercid fleet on the display, exchanging fire with them in a flurry of little flashes.
"By the time one of our ships was able to identify the Gercid for what they were, it was too late. The bubble activated, and the planet has been lost, up until a few weeks ago. A task force has been stationed here, rotating out every few months, waiting for it to come back."
"They were supposed to wait a certain amount of time, then deactivate the bubble once the enemy was gone. We didn't understand why they didn't turn it off. We defeated what was left of the Gercid fleet, and as time went on, the Dominion War ended in 2375. We believed only decades had passed, at worst…"
Or so we were told… Hayes thought as he exchanged a quick glance with Matthias.
"Our task force was supposed to wait here until the planet returned, and offer any and all relief supplies. Unfortunately, with how long it's been, that plan has been FUBAR'd six ways to Sunday. Our job now is to talk to all of you, negotiate with your governments, stop the war, and figure out what to do next."
"So what happened to the...Gercid ships?" Glimmer asked, suspicion still in her voice, "Where are they? What do they look like?"
Hayes gestured to Matthias. The gorn pulled up a profile of a tall grey-skinned being, with pointed ears and a short tuft of hair on his head.
"This is one of the Gercid."
Gasps, and then murmurs ran through the audience. Catra's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. Her tail went completely limp.
Scorpia scratched her head, blinking rapidly, "I knew...they came from...somewhere else, but this…?"
Entrapta furrowed her brow, and started scribbling something down.
Catra slapped her arm, "Did you know about this?!"
"Sort of! I've been busy! Keeping all of you alive has been taking up much of my time outside of keeping our projects running!"
Mermista was wide-eyed, but still tried to keep her face neutral, "whoa."
Perfuma and Bow both had their jaws hanging, one could almost hear them creaking.
Glimmer's surprised expression drew into a scowl, and her hands curled.
Frosta was...impassive.
"Hordak is an...an alien?" Adora choked.
Hayes nodded, "Lord Hordak, or Grand Admiral Hordak of the Gercid Imperial Navy, AKA 'The Horde', was leading the attack on Etheria before the planet disappeared. He led the Gercid 2nd Fleet."
Matthias pulled up an image from high in the sky above the Fright Zone. Specifically, the center of it, a small city in the middle of the desert. Well, it had been a small city. It had been heavily industrialized, with factories belching smoke and trucks moving too and fro with supplies. Grids of green stood out against the tan of the sand, agriculture in an arid environment.
A white outline was drawn around a long rectangular building, one of the biggest in the area.
More aerial photos appeared of similar buildings, from different parts of Horde territory.
Hayes pointed at the rectangular buildings, "each one of those covers one of the Gercid ships that have fallen into Horde hands. Or rather, back into their hands. Our sensor data is sketchy, but it seems a bunch of his ships managed to make it into orbit, and their engines…"
He hesitated, and grimaced.
Without waiting for a cue, Matthias pulled up a different image, of a vehicle similar to the Belleau Wood in basic silhouette. It rested on a gridded plane. A bubble had been formed around it. In front of it, the grid seemed to shrink, while behind it the grid stretched.
The Gorn spoke, "The distances between stars are immense, and require special means of travel in order to reach them within a reasonable timeframe. The Gercid and the Federation, along with many other nations, utilize what is known as a warp drive. It's too complex to get into the details right now, but suffice it to say it makes the distance between the ship and the target smaller by warping space, hence warp drive."
Hayes nodded, "They used their warp drives to get in close to the planet. The subspace bubble system warped space in a different way from the warp drives, and it didn't react well to their engines still powered up and warping space. To us, it's been four years. To you, it's been a thousand. To them...well, it depends. We're still trying to figure out what happened when Etheria disappeared. From what we've been able to piece together, time sped up for them, but not as much as the planet's surface. We have found several impact sites that are hundreds of years old in some cases, and decades in others. They've been slowly entering your timeframe. Hordak's party, or what was left of them, showed up about 20-30 years ago, judging by radio intercepts."
The screen switched back to an even higher view of the whole continent, displaying holdings of the Horde, Rebellion, and other parties with greater detail than even Bright Moon's strategic map. It highlighted several points, above which symbols appeared. Some were spinning images of Gercid ships, while others looked like ruins.
"Admiral Hordak's forces are intent on defeating the Rebellion, but have been after their own wrecks and any Federation facilities they can find. We believe the admiral is attempting to gather any soldiers that might have survived the crashes, along with supplies, technology, and ship parts. He is using the people under his control as a virtual slave force to do his bidding and gain control of the planet. We've speculated that he is attempting to repair one or more of his ships to escape with as much technology as he can, and perhaps a few slaves for his empire. Another possibility, he may be trying to build the planet up to a certain point that it can hold off the Federation. It is also likely not one or the other, but rather he began with the first, but the power he held had him transition to the second. Or vice versa."
Catra felt a low growl in her throat at the words of this man, her hands balling into fists. It couldn't be true. Sure, the Horde had some rough spots, but they weren't all bad, right? It was better than the alternative! Hordak…
He'd sent them to die.
Didn't matter.
He valued Entrapta.
Didn't matter, did it?
The world didn't care about her feelings. All that mattered was doing her job.
"Well, it's not a ship, actually," Entrapta spoke up, "It's actually a-"
Catra slammed her fist against the table, making the other two jump, "Not now, Entrapta!"
"What?" Hayes asked, looking over, "He's not building a ship? Then how's he planning to escape?"
"He's not planning to escape," Catra snarled, "Entrapta, don't say a word!"
As if that freak could even figure out how to get out of an empty room...
Glimmer shot to her feet, and stalked over to the Horde officer's table. She violently brought her hands down, making all three jump this time.
"We tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen! None of you would! Now look! The First Ones are back, and we're right! We were right all along, and what he says confirms it! We were right! Look at who you're serving!"
Catra jumped to her feet, "Stop talking, sparkles! Or else!"
Glimmer glared the short distance up at her, a humorless smug smile on her face, "Or else what, you'll call your boss? Oh, wait, he's won't care! He's using you! He doesn't care about any of you!"
"I said shut up, sparks!" Catra snapped, her claws out.
"Glimmer...!" Bow and Adora cautioned at the same time, stepping up to try and stop them.
Catra glared at Adora, stepping between her and Glimmer, "oh, don't you dare, Adora! I want to hear what the runt has to say!"
"Says the cat who is shorter than anyone in here except me?!" Glimmer said with a hint of a sneer.
Catra rounded back on her, and settled into a warning combat stance, "Yeah, so I can call you a runt, runt!"
"Uh, Catra…?" Scorpia asked warningly, gesturing toward the guards and stepping forward herself.
Catra stepped away from her in turn, her eyes still fixed on Glimmer, "Back off, Scorpia! You don't want to get hurt!"
"Oh, it'll just be you hurting!" Glimmer snarled.
With a cloud of sparkles left behind, she disappeared.
Catra was abruptly hit in the back with a fist, and she whirled about, only to find another cloud of sparkles.
Glimmer popped behind her and hit her again.
When she appeared a third time, Catra was ready. She tackled Glimmer before she could hit her, and instinctively the princess tried to teleport out of Catra's grip.
Something messed her up this time somehow, she couldn't quite place it. Something about this foe was different.
Glimmer and Catra both disappeared, then reappeared by the kitchen area of the mess hall, with both of them sprawling once the sparkles had settled. It was a relatively small area, with an elevated kitchen counter separating some of it from the rest of the room, and walls isolating the cooking area.
The respite was only brief, Catra got to her feet and dove at Glimmer, leaning against the counter. She ducked away, picked up a frying pan from a rack on the wall, and took a swing at Catra.
The force captain dodged it, and managed to swat the weapon out of the other girl's hand. She tackled Glimmer and raised a hand with extended claws.
Glimmer teleported out from under her and appeared near the closest table, then grabbed a chair by the legs.
A Starfleet security guard chose that moment to try interfering, and managed to yank the chair out of Glimmer's grip.
The weight of the chair made it difficult to respond when she kicked him in the stomach.
Catra took the opportunity to steal the officer's phaser when he collapsed, raising it to fire at Glimmer.
"Oh no!" Glimmer gasped out, and popped out again just in time to avoid the phaser blast, allowing it to scorch the wall.
Catra immediately ducked and swept her legs behind her, knocking Glimmer off her feet.
"Can't be too predictable, your worship!" Catra snarled, and kicked her. She raised her leg for another hit, only for Glimmer to teleport again, this time to her side.
She took a swing, and missed. Once again, Catra tackled her, and once again the unusual effect hit them. Both teleported across the room to near Matthias' wall mounted display.
Neither were in a fit state anymore. Glimmer leaned against the wall and slid down to the ground, panting heavily, while Catra fell to her knees and coughed heavily.
Despite their exhaustion, both struggled to their feet, and Catra raised the phaser she held with a death grip.
Suddenly someone gripped Glimmer around the shoulders, and two others grabbed Catra by the arms.
One of the Starfleet security guard was trying to restrain Catra, while Commander Matthias pried the phaser out of her hands.
Glimmer kicked and struggled, hitting whoever was holding her in the legs.
"Ow! Glimmer, quit moving!" Bow said, his voice wavering as he continued trying to hold his friend.
"Bow, what are you doing?!" She demanded, her struggles briefly subsiding upon recognizing him, "let me go!"
"Not until you calm down!" He said loudly, dragging her back.
Catra was being held against the wall by the Starfleet personnel, struggling, snarling, and spewing curses at them, Glimmer, and anyone else within eyesight.
"Force Captain, please settle down!" Matthias requested, holding Catra's arm behind her, "this isn't helping anyone!"
"She started it, lizard!" Catra barked, "I'm just giving her what she wanted!"
Where's Scorpia? Catra wondered in the back of her mind, Why isn't she helping?
They pulled her off the wall to face the room at large. Several tables had been thrown about, a few chairs were smashed, and a spread of ice projectiles were embedded in the wall.
Frosta was being held by Perfuma and Mermista, but was settling down rapidly.
Entrapta and three security guards were completing the task of restraining Scorpia, who was nursing her eye and her tail.
She glared daggers at Adora, who herself was holding her right arm with a slash mark across it, under a tear in her uniform sleeve. She also had several bruises on her face.
Another security guard took over for Matthias, pulling Catra off the wall and toward her fellow Horde officer.
Captain Hayes stood where he had started, his hand rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Bow released Glimmer, his voice squeaking, "Captain, I am so sorry about this-!"
"It's fine, it's fine," Hayes said, struggling to avoid gritting his teeth, "it's clear we're not going to get anywhere else today."
He looked at all of their guests, "it seems it's time for proper guest quarters. We kept you in the cargo bay because we weren't sure how long it would take for you to adjust to what we told you. Commander Matthias?"
"Sir?"
"The VIP quarters on Deck 4 are ready, aren't they?"
When Matthias answered in the affirmative, Hayes pointed at the Starfleet medic who'd been standing in the room since they entered, and had largely avoided the carnage, "Doc, check them over, get Princess Adora and Force Captain Scorpia in particular."
"Oh, it's no trouble, I'm fine!" Scorpia said with her usual cheer. Her eyes betrayed a hint of suspicion though. Perhaps it was the new doctor that was the problem.
Beside her Catra had been standing, having recovered her stoic stance. She suddenly made an odd face, and put a hand to her mouth.
"Oh, Catra, are you okay?" Scorpia asked.
Catra held her stomach with one hand and leaned against Scorpia with the other.
"yup, fine…" she groaned, "give me a minute…"
Adora furrowed her brow, but then a sympathetic yet annoyed expression took over, "Oh no…"
"Adora, shut up." Catra grunted.
"Really? Now?" The other girl said, ignoring her words, "Okay, deep breaths…"
"Adora, shut up!"
Scorpia took Catra by the shoulders, looking between the two, "what's going on? Are you alright?"
"She's fine, she just-" Adora stopped and winced, "uh, hold on, Scorpia, I wouldn't stand there if-"
"Adora shut the-!"
Catra suddenly doubled over and left a nasty stain on the floor. And all over Scorpia's boots.
The taller girl didn't seem to care, she held Catra's hair out of the way, and rubbed her back.
"Yeah, hairball, happens every once in a while…" Adora explained.
"I said...shut up-!" Catra moaned, a low cat-like yowling sound accompanying her words before she puked again.
"No, that's no hairball. That's teleport spell travel sickness." Glimmer said, studying the scene with a focused expression as though she were watching a sport.
"I never did that!" Adora exclaimed, "is that how most people react?!"
"Eh, maybe you've got a stronger stomach," Glimmer said, smirking at Catra, who glared at her out of the corner of her eye.
Bow stood beside them, and it was his turn to bury his face in his hands, "guys, can we not turn this into a spectator sport?!"
"Thank you!" Scorpia called out.
Hayes shook his head, and looked at the medic again, "...doc, make sure the force captain is okay. Someone call maintenance, and then when we're all done, escort them to deck 4. Tomorrow, we'll get back to it."
When the guests were finally gone, Matthias dismissed those guards who did not go with them.
He noticed Hayes standing in front of the icicles in the wall, shaking his head. The captain glanced around at vents along the ceiling and floor. His eyes caught the puke stain on the carpet, and he just groaned.
Matthias walked over following his gaze.
"Ah, engineering's gonna be pissed…" the XO commented quietly.
"Engineering is going to be pissed?!" Hayes demanded, "I'm pissed! She put god damn icicles through the bulkhead! Poor Devil Dog…"
"Your ship is a carrier, sir. She can take it."
"That's not the point!" Hayes huffed, "Man I don't even know what that girl did to life support…"
"Probably nothing sir. She took some moisture out of the air. It's just a little less humid now. Give it a minute." Matthias grinned a little, "It feels rather nice, actually. What's the problem?"
"Yeah, yeah, remind me how your people's arctic expeditions went?"
"How did yours? Captain Franklin and all his men?"
"Smartass," Hayes scratched his nose, then looked at his hand with a growl of frustration, "And great. My nose is bleeding on top of things."
He glanced around as he pulled a handkerchief out of a sleeve pocket, "Some wet navy carriers used to have bars on them. Heck, I think some Naval Patrol ships still have them. How come we don't get any?"
"The regs are still caught up in committee, like they were the last time you asked."
"I know, I know, only vessels over a certain size…Picard gets everything...Then do you know where my good scotch is?"
Matthias blushed, or at least did the Gorn equivalent, "We're still looking for it after I...uh..."
Hayes smirked, "Absconded with it and hid it? I swear you took it off the ship! It's nowhere to be found!"
"I'm sure it'll turn up soon, sir. I'm not that subtle. Even when intoxicated."
"Subtle enough to hide my freaking scotch…!"
Hayes huffed, and looked at the vomit stains, "get Reed or someone to sample that stuff. It's not invasive on any of the kids, so we can actually test it."
"Sir, do we really want to risk a lawsuit, or a diplomatic incident?"
"Damn... I'll think about it after I've gotten some sleep. And tomorrow, we're getting Emerson to help. I don't care if he's just the shipboard counselor, he's all we got."
Hayes took a deep breath, and leaned against a nearby table. "Woof…"
"Archer, are you alright?"
"I'm really tired." He dabbed at more blood that dripped onto his uniform.
Matthias rolled his eyes, "Computer, when was Captain Hayes last in his quarters?"
His combadge replied politely, "0900 yesterday."
"Alright, c'mon, you're going to bed," the Gorn said, pulling Hayes to his feet, "That's half the trouble here."
"Freaking teenagers puking all over my ship…"
Matthias chuckled softly, "Don't worry sir, we'll take care of it. We can't have you collapsing in front of everyone, it's bad for morale."
XXXXX
The Etherians were brought to another turbolift, and to another deck. They were split up again, this time by faction. The Horde people went one way, the rebels in the other direction.
A human officer, one of those with the red turtlenecks, was waiting for the group at an intersection. Around the right corner was a small portion of hallway with a dead end, only four or five doors to either side.
The woman smiled cheerfully, "Greetings, Etherians! I'm Lieutenant JG Alis Llewellyn, your...uh..." She scratched her head for a second, "I'm sorry...liaison! I'm a liaison! Yes, I'm here to provide whatever you need for your stay on our little carrier. Just say the word, and I'm there." Llewellyn winced, upon seeing the gears turning in the teenager's heads, "please, no sarcastic or witty remarks. I've been up for the last twenty hours."
The group just stood there for a moment. This officer was a bit twitchy.
Mermista blew a lock of hair out of her face, and grunted, "Been there."
"Uh...thank you, lieutenant Jay-Gee…" Glimmer began awkwardly.
Llewellyn laughed, "oh, sorry! It's just 'Lieutenant Llewellyn'. 'J.G.' is 'junior grade'. Call me lieutenant, or Llewellyn, or... whatever. Shall I show you your quarters?"
She led the way into one of the darkened VIP suites.
"Lights," she called out, and turned around as she walked, lifting both arms with the lights.
The stateroom was small, but not too cramped. It was massive by sea-going ship standards, with tables, couches, a few chairs, all the comforts of home. A row of windows were along the opposite side of the room.
"These are our best VIP quarters. We've got a room for each of you, if a bit cramped, in this suite and the ones in this part of the ship. This section of the ship has been reserved for you folks specifically, so you don't need to worry about the crew bothering you."
"Where are the...the Horde people?" Adora asked.
Llewellyn pointed at the wall, "they're on the other side of the ship. We kept you guys separate for your own safety, considering...well, you know."
"That was very considerate of you." Bow said politely.
"Thank you, though I'm not going to take credit for it," Llewellyn replied, "in advance, I apologise if we can't make everything to your liking. The Belleau Wood has lots of facilities for VIPs, but can't do everything. She's a carrier first, not a cruise liner."
Frosta stepped away from the group, her hands crossed behind her back and her coat tucked under her arm. She walked to the window.
Below them, Etheria had turned, and so had they. The stars glowed far brighter without the sun to interfere. The large dark shape of the planet below was outlined by the sunlight slowly disappearing over the horizon.
"It is satisfactory for what it is," she said.
"Better than the cargo bay…" Glimmer muttered.
"The bathrooms have full baths, and sonic showers. They operate on voice command normally, but there's some auxiliary manual controls." Llewellyn walked over to a nearby door, making it open automatically and gesturing inside.
Adora stuck her head inside and glanced around, "Did you say a 'sonic' shower? What is that?"
Llewellyn winced, "Sorry, slang. They're actually hydrosonic showers, sonic is just easier to say. They use high pressure steam jets and acoustic generators to create a film of water over the body, which is then vibrated for the cleaning function. It reduces water usage immensely, and is very relaxing."
"Whatever it is," Adora said slowly, "it's a shower? A real honest to goodness shower?"
"Well, it's not a conventional one, obviously…"
"I don't care. Whatever it is I'll take it!"
Llewellyn ducked her head and hid a smile as Adora bolted inside the bathroom and shut the door (after a try or two with the buttons). She knew what it was like to be greeted with a shower after not having one for days.
The others finally moved from the entryway, and started looking around.
Mermista immediately took a seat in one of the armchairs, her leg up on one side with her arms crossed.
Glimmer had her arms folded and walked around, looking at things but generally seemed disinterested.
Perfuma stepped over to a small alcove set into the wall. It was about thirty centimeters in height, with a glowing white panel on the bottom of it and a series of glowing blue shapes set against the back. A control panel and display was mounted to the wall beside it, under a label that read "FOOD SERVICE".
"Excuse me, uh... lieutenant? How do we get food?" She asked, "Do we send for someone with this?"
Llewellyn smiled again, "No need. We've got something just as good!"
She walked over to stand next to Perfuma. "This is one of the greatest inventions the federation has ever produced. It's called a replicator."
She pushed a button, and a large menu appeared on the display.
"It's a matter-energy converter. It takes raw materials, such as wheat, meat, rice, or what have you, converts it into energy, and then changes it back into whatever form you asked for. It can't make all the materials on its own, but it can do a lot."
"Okay...what does that mean?" Perfuma asked, grinning sheepishly.
"It means whatever you want, you can ask for. For instance…Coffee, two sugars."
The machine beeped and let out a high pitched humming sound. A shimmering glowing shape appeared on the glowing white panel.
All the Etherians in the room immediately backed up, settling into combat posture. Bow pulled a desktop lamp out of its socket and raised it as a club. The bathroom door slid open and, half dressed, Adora stuck her head out, fists raised, a suspicious look on her face.
Llewellyn put up her hands, "it's alright! It's harmless!"
As she spoke the glow faded, and in its place was a silver mug with the Starfleet insignia on the side.
She picked it up, "See? Just coffee!" The lieutenant went to take a sip, but then immediately spat it right back in, "wait why did I order coffee? That'll keep me awake."
She put the cup back, "Computer, switch this to decaf!"
The replicator shimmered again, and Llewellyn drank from the cup again.
"See? It can create whatever food you want! It can also create other things, like tools, clothing, toys, uh...other examples I can't think of now. You have full access to the food system, and some of the others, there's a manual with all the options and stuff on the coffee table over there. Be very careful though, don't stick your hand in it or anything."
She managed to get them calmed down (Adora returning to the bathroom), and introduced them to more of the ship's amenities such as laundry machines, the sinks with unlimited clean water, the laptops, PADDs, and the ship's database.
A thought struck Glimmer abruptly, and she approached Llewellyn.
"Lieutenant, not to tell you how to do your job, but are you aware of Entrapta's love of tinkering? Your replicators seem to be pretty important, and...well, I'm sure you don't want her making a weapon or something."
Llewellyn kept up her diplomatic smile, "don't worry, your highness. We got reports on all of you. We've given her a laptop to take apart, and told her she could only mess around with that. I didn't expect the verbal warning to work, hence why my compatriot settling them into their quarters gave her said laptop. Should keep her busy for a while."
"You've certainly done your homework…" Glimmer commented, with something in her voice the Starfleet officer couldn't identify.
After another period of orienting to the stateroom, the group was properly settled, and Lieutenant Llewellyn asked, "was there anything else you needed? Otherwise, I'll leave you to it. Just talk to the guards outside if you need anything."
"Thanks, lieutenant," Bow said, "we appreciate it."
Llewellyn left the suite, still lit by mostly star light.
Bow watched the door close, then found the locking mechanism. He turned around and found the rest of the group as he expected; all gathered in a rough circle in the living room area.
Adora returned from the bathroom, looking refreshed, dressed in her old clothes. "So, what does everyone think?" Adora asked quietly.
Perfuma had a salad in her lap. She was the one who'd gotten the hang of the replicator the fastest, delighting in the way it could be asked to make the most exotic of foodstuffs.
"Well, they seem pretty First Ones-ee…" she said, swallowing.
"How do we know they're not faking it somehow?" Frosta asked, "for all their power, they seem like normal people."
"There's only one thing I can think of that can shoot beams of light like their guns, and that's She-ra," Adora said, "And maybe a few pieces of First Ones tech."
She reflected on the holograms they'd seen in Alwyn. Just normal people sending messages home, not gods.
"Yeah, but like we said, they could have stolen or salvaged the stuff." Glimmer pointed out, "they might seem like the First Ones, but they could just as easily be good fakes. They seemed shocked even by what little we can do up here."
"Didn't you just try to hit Catra with a frying pan yelling that they were the First Ones?"
"I was mad! Blame her!"
"Okay, so we're not sure they're the First Ones," Bow said, trying to avoid any trouble, "how can we be sure they are?"
Adora folded her arms, "I know some stuff Light Hope told me. I might be able to use that to check."
"Has anyone, I don't know, thought about what they actually want with us?" Mermista asked, "just saying, they're going to a lot of effort and not exactly explaining things."
"Well…" Adora started, but then frowned, "I...that's a good point. They never really explained that, did they?"
Her frown deepened, "...you all remember the weird... holodeck I was in? The dream state, and Swift Wind had to help find me? Um…"
"What?" Perfuma asked nervously.
Bow's eyes widened, "You're wondering if we're still in that one."
Adora screwed up her face, "You...could...say that…"
"Worried we're not real?" Mermista asked, her face completely deadpan.
Adora grimaced, "the one I was stuck in...it was able to replicate people from when I was young. People I probably don't remember well. So if was that accurate based on really poor memories, and you guys are way more recent…"
"Adora, that was months ago!" Glimmer said.
"We could've stumbled into one in the desert! Does anyone remember them picking us up?"
"Okay, let's assume we're all real," Bow said slowly, "We'll test if they're the First Ones tomorrow, but we need to figure out what they want with us."
Adora grimaced, then leaned back in her chair.
"Well, according to them, we're lost colonists." Perfuma mumbled.
"How did they lose a colony?" Frosta asked.
"It matches up with what Light Hope told me," Adora said.
Bow nodded, "They want to restore the colony, I'm guessing. They want to stop the war, and help us."
"Yeah, but do we really want that?" Glimmer asked, "it's our home! How do we know this federation isn't just the Horde from Outer Space? We should have a say in what happens!"
"That may be why they want us," Perfuma pointed out, "how many of us are influential where we live?"
"They grabbed people from both sides. Seems like something they might do if they were trying to stop everything." Mermista added.
"But why didn't they grab Hordak or my mom?" Glimmer asked, "wouldn't that have helped end the war? Whose side would they support, anyway, or would they just make us stop fighting and let the Horde keep all the land and resources they've taken?"
"They could just as easily keep us fighting, secretly supporting both sides as a means to keep us under control, or so that we'll annihilate each other and they can just move in," Frosta suggested, "They could be the First Ones, that's very possible. But how do we know that they are the same First Ones who supposedly colonized the planet?"
"How do we know they were telling the truth about the...what was it, time dilation?" Glimmer asked.
"That, and the colonization are actually the most likely to be true, out of everything we know." Adora said, "Light Hope did say Mara trapped us... somewhere, and we all saw the sky. Their technology hasn't changed much from what we've seen around Etheria."
"What does that matter? There are a lot of things that can stay the same for years." Perfuma inquired politely.
Adora shook her head, "technology doesn't work that way. Even when it looks the same, even a year can make a difference. We're always modifying and improving things. The tanks we used in the Horde might look identical to those we used ten years ago, but that's only the body. The insides have been continuously updated and modified. And then there's Entrapta's teletanks from the attack on Bright Moon…"
She paused for a moment, clearing her throat and reaching for a pitcher of water on the coffee table left by the lieutenant. Adora drank straight from the pitcher, making everyone try to hide their bemusement.
Glimmer smiled a little, but tilted her head, noticing the way Adora leaned forward and rubbed her back with a wince.
As if not noticing the others, Adora took a breath and kept talking, "the Horde, even with all our - their resources, we're - they're dwarfed by these people. I knew a few engineers who'd kill for so much of this kind of refined metal in one place. I don't even know what this stuff is!"
She stomped her foot against the deck for emphasis, "Seems like they'd advance pretty quickly. After a thousand years, we should have been ants compared to them. But their tech looks just like all the old facilities we've been in. So the time dilation might be true."
"But we still don't know for certain they're the First Ones," Glimmer pointed out, "Things might not have changed because these people are salvaging the old junk like Entrapta was."
"Whether they're the First Ones or whoever, shouldn't we figure out what they want? With the colony and stuff?" Mermista asked, "sure, focus on the mystery. That's cool. I'm sure they'll just wait for us to figure it out."
"I don't know if we'll be able to figure anything out now just by guessing," Bow said, shrugging, "maybe we should turn in for the night, sleep on everything, and listen to what Captain Hayes says tomorrow."
"He seems nice." Perfuma commented.
"Don't you say that about everyone?" Mermista asked.
"We're guests, aren't we? It's only polite."
"The lizard seemed very polite." Said Frosta, "the captain didn't seem quite as experienced."
"Commander Matthias is a Gorn," Adora corrected, then frowned, "I don't know what I think of Hayes. Not after what he and that...Andorian did to Catra."
"What was with that, anyway? She's so weird...any idea why she freaked out?"
Adora's didn't answer, and looked off to the side rubbing her chin.
Sensing something was wrong, Bow stepped in, "how about we figure things out in the morning? We're all tired, and we need rest. I can take the first watch."
"No, thanks Bow, I'll do it. You did it the other night anyway." Adora said.
Glimmer raised an eyebrow, but then wobbled a little on her feet and nodded, "Whoa...yeah…"
Bow put a hand on her shoulder, "You okay? That fight took a lot out of you, didn't it?"
"Could it be a proximity thing?" Adora asked, "You haven't had a recharge in a while, but could it be because you aren't on Etheria anymore?"
Glimmer shrugged, "haven't had any trouble before with distance. If it worked in the Fright Zone, it works anywhere."
She wobbled again, "...I'm gonna go find a bed to pass out on."
The others followed suit, grouping together in each suite for security.
When the last of them had disappeared, Adora jumped up from her seat and walked to the door.
It opened with a hiss. Adora stuck her head out, and looked up and down the hall. She spotted the guards sitting around a table at one end.
"Excuse me," she called out, walking over, "guards?"
A human 2nd class petty officer in a gold turtleneck got to her feet, putting her cards down, "yes ma'am? Is there a problem?"
"Oh, no problem really, I just want you to deliver a message to Ca- to... Force Captain Catra."
The guard nodded, "I think I can do that. So long as it doesn't require screaming abuse in someone's face."
Adora looked shocked, "who would ask that?!"
"Tellarite ambassadors have odd habits, ma'am."
"Ah, okay…" she shook her head, "just tell Catra one thing."
"Alright, shoot. Or tell me, or whatever."
"Tell her that whatever she does, she shouldn't use the showers. Tell her that exactly, and tell her it was from me, specifically."
The guard raised an eyebrow, "that's it? Nothing else?"
Adora smiled, "nope, that was it!"
"Okay…"
Adora retreated back into her quarters, leaving the petty officer to shrug and turn around.
One of the other of the guards shot to her feet, "Uh...you sure you want to pass that message on?"
"Yes I am, Crewman. What's the problem?"
A third guard looked up from his cards, "Oh, she's paranoid!"
"No I'm not! Petty Officer Ellis, you heard how weird that was! What if it's a...memetic hazard, or a cognitohazard? Some kind of sleeper agent trigger word?!"
"I told you to stop talking to the Starbase jarheads, Crewman," Ellis said, "those guys are trying to give you nightmares."
The security officer rounded the corner and followed the winding corridor across the ship. After a few turns, it led to a mirror image of the Princess Alliance hallway.
Another security team was at the corner of this hallway as well. The 2nd class petty officer there noticed her approach.
He nodded at her, "Ellis."
"Lee. One of the kids wanted me to deliver a message to a friend of hers over here."
The man nodded, "Certainly. Would you really call them friends, though?"
"Ah, they're kids. You know how they can be. Probably some weird little spat. It's so adorable."
"You'd be surprised. Don't underestimate them, Ellis, kids are scarier than you think. Especially these ones."
"Yeah, yeah, 'have kids and you'll understand'...how old are yours again?"
Lee facepalmed, "Ellis, one of those kids is almost two and a half meters tall, the caitian broke one officer's wrist, and the sword girl gave me a concussion."
"So you got beat up by a kid. My condolences."
"Don't say I didn't warn you, Ellis. Now kindly do what princess Adora asked you to do."
Ellis smirked at him, "Fine."
She walked over to the door, and pushed the doorbell button.
After a moment, the door hissed.
CPO Ellis found herself looking Force Captain Scorpia in the chest. She had to look up to see her face.
She also felt her jaw drop slightly.
"Yes?" Scorpia asked, leaning against the doorframe and looking down at her with a stern expression.
For a moment, the noncom felt like a bug under a magnifying glass.
"I…"
"Hey, Scorpia," Lee said, walking up to stand beside his crewmate, "Sorry to bother you again, Chief Ellis here had a message to deliver."
Scorpia looked at the man, and immediately her demeanor changed. She seemed slightly shorter as her expression brightened, "Oh, it's you Chief Lee! Yeah, sure, message? Okay!"
Lee leaned on Ellis' shoulder, "Well, chief?"
"I...I…" Ellis shook her head, "Sorry to bother you...Princess Adora told me to tell Force Captain Catra, uh…"
She scratched her head, then shook it again, "She told me to tell the force captain...whatever she does, not to use the showers, and she also said to tell her that it was from her specifically."
Scorpia furrowed her brow, "Did she say anything about what that meant?"
"No, she said to only say that."
Shrugging, the scorpion woman said, "Alright, I'll tell her. Anything else, chiefs?"
"No, that was it. Wasn't it, Ellis?"
Ellis shook her head rapidly.
"Alright, good night then!"
"See ya, have a good one!" Lee gave a little wave as the door shut, and elbowed Ellis.
"I told you, 2.5 meters-"
"I thought you were kidding!"
"Like you said; cute aren't they? And it's not quite two point five..."
Ellis glared at him, "I know where you sleep, you asshole."
"It's a small ship. Also, watch your language, there are kiddies about!"
"With all due respect," one of Lee's team spoke up, "they're from a Leibowitz-type world. They probably swear better than we do."
"I'm gonna schedule you to clean the dolphin tanks, Crewman. With your toothbrush…"
Inside the Horde party's suite, Scorpia scratched her head, puzzled for a moment at the odd message.
"Was that one of the guards?" Catra asked, emerging from her room eating a sandwich.
"Yeah…" Scorpia scratched her head again, looking back at the door, "she had a message for you from Adora. Said to tell you whatever you do, don't use the showers. Do you know what-"
Without a word, Catra shoved her sandwich into Scorpia's claws and entered the bathroom, locking it behind her.
The other force captain was suddenly concerned. What did the message mean?
She put her ear to the door, and could just make out some indistinct mumbling, from Catra's voice and the electronic lady voice.
There was an abrupt sound of water jets blasting, and a very loud shriek.
"Catra?! Catra, are you okay?!" Scorpia demanded, hammering the door.
It squawked almost angrily at her, indicating it was locked, and did so several more times when she pushed the button nearby to tell her it was still locked.
She was prepared to break it down, until Catra yelled, "Scorpia I'm fine stay outta here!"
"You yelled, do you need any help-?"
"Thank you Scorpia, I'm fine!"
Scorpia stepped back, an eyebrow raised. "Well, at least she said thank you…"
She sat in a chair twiddling her claws and hearing the sound of water from the door. There were some other indistinct sounds, but at one point she swore she could hear music.
Finally, after an hour or so, Catra emerged, dressed in a clean uniform with a towel wrapped around her. Her eyelids were half closed, and she shuffled as she walked.
Scorpia looked up, and tilted her head, "Catra, are you alright?"
Catra nodded slowly, and walked to one of the chairs. She leaned back, and sighed. Almost purred.
Scorpia resisted the urge to make an aww sound, and stepped over, "...are you okay?"
She furrowed her brow and touched Catra's hair. It was all clean, neat, and straight which it hadn't been in days at least. "Did you wash your hair?"
"Yeah…" Catra said drowsily, closing her eyes, "I cleaned my uniform too. No more...um..stuff, that might grow in it."
She slumped even lower.
"Catra, are you sure okay?"
"Yeah... I'm fine. Best. Shower. Ever…" her jaw went limp, she fell back a little further, and started to snore.
Scorpia smiled happily, and went to find a blanket to pull over her. And a pillow to avoid those neck cramps she kept getting.
"Well, this explains why you've been so grouchy, you sleep anywhere! Man, what kind of tweaks do you live with…?"
Entrapta observed the scene with some amusement, then went back to her work tearing apart the computer as if nothing had happened.
These isolinear chips are fascinating! And most of these people's technology runs off of them! Electromagnetics, very few moving parts, if any...what other kinds of inventions do they have?
Most of what the Horde had, even if it was better than the Rebellion's, was still a hodgepodge of material. There was no simplicity, no uniformity, only chaos of ten different eras of both electronic and mechanical computer systems.
These Starfleet people were completely different. Standardization was king here. It wasn't like the train gauge problems that plagued both the Rebellion and the Horde in the war, these people's technology was unified and symmetrical for the most part.
Their equipment was a hodgepodge only in the sense of what you would find from a ship that hasn't visited a yard in a while. Nothing was salvage, no parts recovered from factories that no longer existed and would never build again. If a part broke down, they just had to file a requisition form. It was as uniform as one could make it, the imperfection of a well-oiled machine everything running off the same standards.
Not like Hordak's prosthetics.
She already had a sketch out for a basic setup using electromagnetics instead of hydraulic pistons, mostly as a thought experiment. Likely the Federation had far more advanced technology. Perhaps even androids.
She wondered what kind of care they should/could give Hordak. Prosthetics or replacement limbs?
On the one hand, why argue with success? Organic limbs worked fairly well, and if they could replace them, why not?
But on the other, machinery was able to go beyond the limits of biology. Humans could see beyond the visual spectrum with certain technological aids, so why stick with the reliable-yet-limited?
Now the question remained...if they were really the First Ones, wouldn't they know about the portals?
XXXXX
Captain Hayes and Commander Matthias made their way from the mess hall to a turbolift, and took it up several decks. Exiting out near his quarters, Hayes keyed the door and walked in, letting Matthias inside.
The room was dark, lit only by the stars and the planet outside.
Matthias hovered near the door, unsure of whether to go or not.
Hayes pulled the handkerchief away from his nose, blew it, and tossed the bloody rag in a hamper. He trudged to a small fridge beside the replicator, and pulled it open. He drew a bottle out of the fridge, and opened it.
After a long draw, Hayes walked over to his couch and sat down heavily with a sigh.
Matthias moved nearby, turning on a small lamp on a coffee table, "you alright, Archer?"
Hayes sighed again, and looked up at Matthias, "honestly, Seetar? I don't know."
"Want me to stay? I got a few minutes."
Hayes gestured to an armchair nearby, and Matthias took it.
He noticed the amount of books, PADDs, and other miscellaneous items on the table. His friend's quarters were a bit of a mess.
Matthias also noted in particular a photograph propped up on top of a few books. It looked like it had been taken off the wall at some point and Hayes had neglected to put it back.
Pointing at it, Matthias said, "that's you and Colonel Sheri, right?"
The captain leaned over and picked up the small framed picture.
He looked at it for a long time, then turned it around and passed it to the Gorn. Matthias took it in both hands.
"I know this must be hard for you."
The captain nodded, taking another drink. "Not as bad as it is on Max...Captain Sheri, excuse me. You may have heard how quiet she's been. God, it must be like losing her all over again."
The Gorn nodded. Captain Maxine Sheri commanded one of the other ships in their task force.
"I can relate. Can't imagine losing one of my siblings, let alone my only sister."
Matthias looked at the picture again, "How'd you and the colonel meet? You may have told me the story, but I don't remember all the details."
Hayes smiled a little, "I enlisted back in the early 2360s. We got assigned to the same platoon when I was a corporal. She was squad leader, but not for long. Blasted Cardies…"
"I heard it was tough on the ground. Starfleet had it bad, but the marines…"
Hayes nodded, "We lost a lot of officers. Do you remember that tactical nuclear strike on Marva IV? I was there. Our battalion got dropped in to help the army, and the Cardies popped that firecracker off during the first night. The colonel, sergeant then, was the only senior officer in our platoon to survive- they'd been in a meeting and were out in the open. She got burned, but was back later as lieutenant. We took that photo in the Cardie LZ, after kicking them out."
In the photo were a dozen or so Federation Marines, standing in the middle of a ruined command post in full gear. Their uniforms were a single grey color, with white, black, and brown colors for a camouflage effect. They were sets of impressive powered armor, protecting the entire body and providing a full suite of defense against vacuum, phasers, water, bullets, explosions, or gas. Their helmets were like that of the soldiers of the early 21st century, with the addition of attached visors with Heads-Up Displays, and face guards, and the ability to be pressurized.
The suits weren't hulking, but in fact were relatively slim and agile looking.
They weren't mecha, but were powered armor. One could have almost mistaken them for just heavily loaded infantry if they squinted. They were armed with a single rifle, sidearms, along with some other equipment. A loadout not dissimilar to those of the infantry that had preceded them. They still carried equipment in webbing, pouches, and belts, still carried grenades and extra magazines and supplies shoved everywhere. Yet unlike their ancestors, they still had advantages. Their armor might not have been the flashiest, they couldn't leap tall buildings or project force over a kilometer, but it did the work those more expensive armors couldn't. They provided a simple and minimal cost way to protect the grunt in the modern battlefield, while still increasing their offensive capabilities. They still enhanced the user's speed, and endurance, enable them to carry many times the equipment of previous generations of soldiers, weapons that would normally take a crew to operate, and kept them from getting their heads melted, defending against environments and attacks alike.
These Hoplite suits were the mainstay of the Federation Marine Corps. Anyone could recognize them, even if they were more boring than the Marine Raider's Marauder suits or the Federation Army Airborne Jaguar suits.
A much younger Sergeant Hayes struggled in a headlock from a tall dark-haired woman, who also held two more marines, one male and one female on her other side in an equally intense headlock. A fourth Marine, a Vulcan, stood nearby, giving a sidelong glance to the display. A handful of other Marines stood around, posing in various ways and looking as happy as Hayes' friends.
The dark-haired woman, a lieutenant, had burns across the left side of her face, but was grinning from ear to ear as she hugged her subordinates.
"2nd Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, 13th Federation Marine Regiment" was written in one corner of the photo.
Matthias chuckled, an alien hissing laugh, "she seems nice."
"She really cared about everyone under her command, really friendly. That's Sergeant Marc Logan and Sergeant Denise Lucille she's strangling, the other squad leaders. The charming gentleman giving us the side eye is Platoon Sergeant T'Kan."
Hayes described it without even looking at the photo since he handed it over.
"Damned beancounters. Beancounters, bureaucrats, and appeasers. They handed that place right over to the bastards. After all we bled for it. The Maquis had the right idea, I just wish Starfleet had figured it out too..."
"You two keep in touch when you left for Starfleet?" Matthias asked.
"Heck yeah. Wasn't illegal to fraternize anymore. Kept in touch with a bunch of the old crew."
"Did you talk to her before the incident?" The Gorn asked in a low voice.
Hayes drained the last of his drink, "Spotty. When the war started, you know how comms got. She and T'Kan stayed together, but it was usually the two of them just meeting one of us. She told us she got a new assignment and wouldn't be able to get in contact with us, even less than we already were getting."
"Did you have any idea about...?"
"No," Hayes snapped, then coughed, "no, we didn't have any clue. None of us did. She didn't even tell Max, her own sister!"
He stood up and went to a window. He looked down on the planet below.
"The colonel, after the Cardassian War ended...she went through some tough times. That sunburn from the nuke was light compared to what else happened to her."
Matthias nodded, "I saw the photos. Any idea what made her do it?"
"She was always protective of everyone under her command. Considering how many she lost fighting the Doms, I'm betting she judged it to be her best choice."
Hayes put his bottle back in the fridge instead of the replicator. It was an old habit from dealing with battlefield conditions and minimal energy consumption allowed.
"I'll get some sleep, Seetar. Thanks for... listening, I guess."
Matthias nodded, and stood up, "anything you want me to do?"
"Negative. Make sure you don't burn the ship down."
"There's no oxygen in deep space, sir."
Hayes snorted, "Is this why we get along? Our shit taste in jokes?"
"I'm just stating the facts, captain." Matthias' lips drew into a grin that never failed to look like a leer.
"Get outta here…"
"Yes sir. Good night, sir."
Matthias exited the room, leaving his captain in the dark quarters.
Hayes picked up the photograph again, sitting down with it.
After a moment, he retrieved his laptop from the coffee table.
He opened his personal email, navigating from the week's new messages to an old folder.
Dozens of messages from over the years lay within, but he clicked on one of the most recent one in the folder. Dated four years ago.
A video call message was inside. Pressing play, a soft smile appeared on his face and he leaned forward.
"Hey Archer. Guess who?"
The woman's voice was weary, but had a burst of energy brought back by the promise of even a message to a friend. It was also somewhat hoarse, and it's pitch occasionally drifted around. She grinned happily on the screen. She was dressed in a grey uniform, with white, black, and brown colors for a camouflage effect.
"So, my old platoon leader got himself a promotion, did he? Commander, sounds fancy. And command of a starship, nice work! USS Evans, right? 'Only' a Sabre-class my foot, those things pack a punch from what I hear!"
Hayes smiled a little, and replied to the recording, "well, didn't want to disappoint you, ma'am."
"Guess you're too good for us ground-pounders, now are you? All cozy in your carpeted living room of a bridge!"
"That was only the Galaxy-class!" Hayes grumbled good naturedly, as if she could hear him.
The woman chuckled as if she'd heard him, "well, can't spend this whole time harping at ya, we got limited bandwidth out here. It's like the 21st century! My legs are fine, by the way, I know you and the rest have been worried about me again. I got them blown off by a Houdini, I got them replaced, what's the big deal?"
She laughed again, "it's not like I got my hand bitten off. Again. Anyway, I called to tell you and the other folks; T'Kan and I have been reassigned, comms are going to be spotty. Don't worry, we're not back out in the field, but I can't say where we're going."
She laughed a third time, but there was something to her voice.
Looking Hayes, or the camera at least, in the eye, she coughed, and asked, "How are you doing, really? I want to know. I hear the war's not going any better for you fellas than us. Maybe worse, depending on your point of view. Max told me about the Battle of D.S. Six. If the Jem'Hadar are as bad up there as they are down here…" she shuddered, "Jesus, it's almost as bad as the Borg. The only saving grace is these guys actually have rules of war, and we can talk to them. Otherwise…"
She trailed off, and sighed, "It's worse than the news says it is. I don't compare them to the Borg lightly. Other than them, this is the biggest threat we've faced since...the Romulan War? Maybe the Cardies if I'm being generous? We've been pushed off dozens of planets, we've taken heavy losses each time. The battalion's been reduced by almost 30% and we're extremely lucky. I can barely stand the losses. Those things don't sleep, all they eat is that Ketracel White, they cloak…We can kill them, sure, but it's so damned frustrating. We either hold our ground, and get pulled back, or we do a forced withdrawal protecting refugees and pull back. We bleed them, but they keep killing us. We can't win like this, not with the ships we've got. Pound for pound, Marines can beat them on the ground, but there's not enough of us, we can't be everywhere at once, and we can't be anywhere with our ships being blown out from under us! And then Starfleet sends their damned 'ground forces'," the woman made air quotes with her hands, "to help us, and they're just a burden. You wouldn't believe how many we've lost to shrapnel alone. Their helmets are paperweights. I thought there were only a quarter million of these morons! How can I run into them that often?! Archer, do your old auntie Mara a favor and complain. Your naval infantry that tried to take our place sucks."
She took a deep breath, pausing for a minute, and shook her head, "Sorry to dump all this on you, kid. It's been...a tough time. You know as well as I do how things are going to go once the Cardies take down the minefield at the wormhole. This war is going to hell, and if something doesn't change soon, if we don't stop them, the Federation will be a memory."
Sheri brightened up a little, "It hasn't been all bad, though, I suppose..."
Captain Hayes smiled softly, as the colonel on the screen recounted a story or two of her time on the front, and then in the hospital.
"...I don't know what that nurse was thinking when she saw my chart. She asked about each of them, was real nice about it, but I swear to god every doctor in that place found a reason to pass by. you'd think they'd never seen this many scars!"
Hayes snorted. The colonel's scars were always visible.
After an all-too-short time, the chirp of a combadge sounded from the message, "Ah, sorry Archer, I gotta go. I'll talk to you as soon as I can. Heck, talk to me when you get the chance! Take care of yourself out there."
She smiled one last time, and saluted, "Dismissed, commander. See you starside."
Hayes' smile changed in tone, as he somberly returned the salute. Even if he was in Starfleet now, he still remembered how to deliver a snappy one.
The message ended, a play button appearing in the center.
The captain leaned forward onto his knees, hanging his head.
"See you starside, Mara. See you starside."