The shuttle pods landed without inconvenience. The captain and his subordinate, Malcolm Reed, were the first to exit the vessel. When the officers stepped outside, they immediately noticed they were in the middle of a rocky wasteland. Captain Archer squinted his eyes to get a better view of his surroundings. Fog appeared to be creeping over rocks in the distance. It clogged his vision to a certain extent, making it nearly impossible to see anything past a few hundred feet in the horizontal direction.
The ambassador and his guards were next to step out of the shuttle pod. Soval's nose immediately began flare as he let in and out a long series of breaths. Captain Archer eyed the older, Vulcan man. "Something the matter, Ambassador?" Soval was quiet before he spoke. "I smell death." The remains of a rotting corpse filled his nose. The ambassador turned from side to another to take in his dystopian like surrounding before, slowly, looking up. His face fell before he pointed above him. "There!" His voice was barely audible.
Strom and Sara were exiting the vehicle when they saw their colleagues looking upward with absolute horror. Sara moved and caught a glimpse of what they were starring at her. Her mouth fell open. The bodies of three hominoids were hung from a cliff. Sara immediately looked away from the demonic sight. No matter how hard she tried, however, she could not remove the image from her mind. Two men and one woman – nude, beaten, and possibly raped – had been murdered. Her stomach twisted and turned, and she felt the spontaneous urge to vomit.
The wind roared, causing a chill to go down her spine. Soval turned around and grasped Sara by the arm. This caused her to revert back to consciousness. Just then, the shuttle pod from the other Enterprise arrived. The vessel landed, and then shook – something that would have concerned most viewers had they not been consumed with the previous sight.
T'Hona and Sovalson stepped out of the pod, and Lorian and Karen quickly followed. The group moved to meet their associates, but Soval stepped forward. T'Hona greeted her father with a smile but frowned when she saw his distressed face. "What's the matter, Samek?" Soval starred intensely at his daughter and then slightly glanced behind her to take in the gruesome sight. T'Hona began to turn her head.
"Don't!" He cried, a slight amount of emotion slipping into his voice. T'Hona looked shaken. "What?" Soval shook his head. He raised his hands above him as a sign of peace. "Don't look behind you!" While T'Hona at first obeyed her father's command, Karen didn't. She turned around and let out a deep, piercing scream. Lorian and Sovalson paled. Eventually, even T'Hona was forced to turn around. "Oh, my God." She fell to her knees. Strom came forward. "Do you know these people?" Lorian was spellbound. He could hardly bring myself to speak. "Yes, they are members of my crew."
…
The group's journey was temporarily postponed. After minutes of remaining flabbergasted, Lorian had climbed to the top of the small but rugged cliff and helped cut down the bodies. T'Hona, Sara, and Hoshi laid down emergency medical mats from the pods as the men caught and carried the remains.
After having them carried to the shuttle pods, Strom and Sara briefly examined the corpses. There was not enough time to perform a thorough autopsy. Nevertheless, there was clearly no denying that these deaths had been brought on by strangulation.
T'Hana and Karen were filled with tears. She watched as Lorain attempted to console them. Sara could not help but wonder what relation these men and woman bared to that of her family. It was odd; she could have known these people in another life. These could have been her friend's children. But here, in this current place in the universe, she felt rather unsure.
She watched Sovalson as he twisted and turned with his scanner. While his emotions were thoroughly contained on the surface, signs of concealed anger lurked in the very presence of his form. He was running his hands in hair. Sara could see sweat dripping off his forehead and the blood of the deceased on his hands. "Sovalson," She called to the man and walked quickly to him. "What are you doing?"
He paid her little attention. "Sovalson," She raised her voice, placing her hand on his shoulder to obtain his attention. He flashed his head upward with discreet anger. " I am scanning for Andorian bio signs." He chided with disgust. His arms were extended outward as he shook his head. The possibility that the man may do something reckless or impulsive crossed Sara's mind before Sovalson ceased his abhorrent behavior with a sigh." This is all my fault."
Sara narrowed her eyes. "Don't say that." She cried, grasping her son even harder. "You couldn't have predicted this, especially no more than anyone else on either Enterprise." Sovalson shook his head. "There are matters at stake, here, that you do not understand."
Sara rolled her eyes. " I may not be very old – especially like your father. However, I am wise enough to acknowledge that while things in the world may gradually change, in essence, a sense of continuity always remains." Sovalson looked down towards his scanner. " A very profound statement mother, but we are not dealing with matters regarding the world, as you make call it. We are dealing with something greater, the perils of the universe."
She then grasped the bottom of Sovalson's face. " I was speaking in theoretical context. Grief is a universal feeling." He gave his mother a side-glance. " I am half Vulcan. And I do not allow the presence of grief to consume me, unlike my human peers."
Sara shook her head. "What you say is false! You are human as well." She took a breath and then whispered. "You came from my womb. I made you. I created you." She stressed, "and I brought you into this world." Sovalson raised an eyebrow. "You have done nothing of the sort. While you are my mother biologically, you have yet to undergo the full process behind motherhood. Besides." He then ran his hands through his hair. " I am nearly twice your current age. If anyone should be giving advice, it should be … "
"It should be I." Ambassador Soval spat. Sovalson and Sara jerked around to confronted with their father and futuristic spouse. " When do you plan to proceed forward my son? If we stay here, we leave ourselves open to vulnerability and potential exposure." Sovalson didn't say anything at first for he was consumed with the prior discussion involving his mother.
Soval closed his eyes and motioned for his heir to follow him. He and Sovalson moved away from the group to a considerable distance, leaving Sara to reflect upon her thoughts. When they were at last out of hearing's way, Soval spoke. " The men and the woman, what relation do they bare to you?"
"The elder man was my school teacher, and the younger one was a school mate."
"And what of the woman?" Soval inquired.
Sovalson was silent for a long moment. "She was my friend, my childhood playmate to be exact."
Soval nodded his head in clarification. "I grieve with thee."
" I thank thee." The younger man said rather bluntly. There was another long silence before Soval spoke again. "We must leave this area. As I stated previously before, the place is unfortunately easily exposed to invaders. " His son nodded his head. "Besides," Soval stepped forward to whisper into his son's ear. " I would hardly regard this environment as suitable for your mother or your sister." His voice possessed great disappointment. Sovalson involuntarily nodded his head.
"Neither for my daughter nor my mate." Sovalson placed his hands across his chest. He was in full compliance with his father. The ambassador nodded his head. "Perhaps we should return to the group and proceed in our rescue mission." His son bit his bottom lip. "Agreed."
…
The group had too come to a diplomatic agreement. They couldn't afford to stay in the same area – especially after what had previously happened. Sovalson presented the schematics. Their remaining crew – if they were even still alive – would be nearly a mile up north. After an immense heated debate among varying crew members, predominately Soval and Captain Archer, the group had agreed to proceed forward.
And so a long trek began. It was a rough, rocky terrain. Jagged shards of stone stuck out of the ground. Fog corrupted the crew's vision in every direction.
Sara licked her lips. The presence of a sour-salty substance could be found dormant on them. She attempted to maintain a concise train of thought. Unfortunately, the environment was creating a fair amount of inner turmoil. She felt ill. Her head was throbbing, and her stomach was queasy.
The young doctor took a deep breath. She needed to sit down, only for a moment. She told herself, and then she would be fine. Sara stumbled and, inadvertently, lost her footing. She closed her eyes and momentarily expected to feel adverse pain, but, to her surprise, a large set of arms caught her. Sara was quiet. Warmth surrounded her body. And when she brought herself to open her eyes, she looked up to find the very Vulcan Ambassador.
Sara attempted to stand up. " I am sorry." She said apologetically as she brushed off her clothes. "I don't know what came over me." Soval raised an eyebrow. "It is very fortunate that I was there to catch you." He said bluntly. Sara blushed and gave out an awkward chuckle. " You always seem to be there when I need you most." She then thought back to the romantic evening they both spent together at the lake. How she had fallen off the stool, and he had saved her from her own stupidity.
"Yes, you are notorious for loosing your footing." He whispered in her ear. Sara rolled her eyes. "I almost suspect you preform such feats to gain my attention." She rolled her eyes. "Hardly." The young woman then attempted to stand up straight, right before falling backwards into Soval's arms again. Accidentally, his nose grazed the back of her neck, causing Sara to involuntarily shiver. While the strange occurrence took place over a matter of seconds, the inner turmoil that fulfilled her made it feel like hours. Unlike Soval's normal, respectable self, he lingered in her personal space longer than appropriate. Sara's hearing was not as superior as a Vulcan's, but she could fully hear the slight sniffing from behind her.
A sense of newfound curiosity and allure filled her. Her left hand grabbed his arm out of instinct, which was not entirely her own. It was almost primal. Sara would have stayed in this position had Jonathan not turned around. "Is everyone ok?" Her cousin said with some alarm. Her heart jolted with adrenaline, and she promptly shook her head. "Yes, Jonathan. Just missed a few steps." Her cousin narrowed his eyes and merrily nodded his head. Sara pushed herself off Soval for she didn't need his pity.
The group stumbled up a gradual increase, carefully trying not to loose their footing after Sara's incident. Malcolm and the Vulcan security guards walked ahead of their superiors, attempting to clear the way. And so the journey continued, up the long range and over the mountain. The group continued to trod quickly and carefully.
After a half hour, only remnants of the sun could be seen. A cursing chill replaced the warm, humid environment. Fear became to lurk. Every random sound, every unknown motion, caused a trigger in the group. It was only once they made it to the peak that Malcolm and his guards saw the hints of camping sight.
The security officer motioned for his peers behind him to be quiet. Gradually, the captain approached from behind. Sovalson followed and waved his scanner. "There are twenty Klingons. " He said quietly. Captain Archer squinted his eyes. "And at least two Andorians." He motioned to a woman and her child in the distance. Sovalson looked over and narrowed his eyes. "The woman and child remain unharmed." He then looked over to the captain. "Kill the Klingons." Sovalson ordered.
Captain Archer now looked concern. "That goes against Star Fleet protocol." Sovalson gave him a grimace. "We are not Star Fleet, Captain." Jonathan shook his head. "But we are."
Soval stood behind them, surveying the situation. "In order to avoid major conflict, it would be logical to take the Andorian female and her child hostage to use them as a bargaining chip with Shran. Clearly they bear some social relation to him."
"No," Sovalson spat at his father, louder than necessary. Malcolm's eyes widened. "Get down." He hissed and pulled Sovalson by his robes to the floor. The Klingon soldiers in the distance had turned around to the strange sound.
"You Nirak." Soval insulted his son. Just when they were about to get up, blaster firing could be heard in the distance. There was a long silence. No one moved a muscle. Then, a loud set laughs filled the air. Hoshi crawled to the front, along with Sara. She listened to their vernacular.
She then looked at her captain. "They think it was an animal." Sara was out of breath. "What are we going to do?" Sovalson pulled out his blaster. "What do you think?" No one said a word after that.
...
Hey, sorry I have been late. I have had a lot of things to do. I hope you enjoy. It is important that every story has an antagonist, and, sometimes, it is not who we first suspect. But then again, human (aliens as well) are all very complex. Please remember to review. I am interested to now what you think of this development. Please expect an update soon.