Chapter 4

[Indra by Thievery Cooperation]

Jamaal brushed her fingertips over the rough green cover of her copy of the Lemas. It contained a vast collection of religious teachings along with folklore passed down through the generations. It contained The Old Testament, which prophesized that a small, orphaned child would be found under the rubble of a great war between the two nations. The child, Amirin (or Amirah), it was named, would lead their nation out of hirishan, the period of blindness. Many believed that it was Jamaal's destiny to fulfill this prophecy. Though she held herself against the teachings of Lemnan, she saw prophecy as perverted divination and chose not to believe.

She lifted her gaze from the text to scrutinize herself in a full mirror. She believed her race to be so beautiful but here she stood, her appearance a stark contrast to the others around her. Her complexion was much fairer than the common phenotype for skin in her species. She did not resemble any others in the variety of her species. Her blue eyes were a tribute to these differences. And more often than not, differences were held in contempt. How did anyone accept her as she was? Turning away in anger, she tried to ignore her insecurities. Why should her appearance matter? She was a member of the Imperial College and a High Priest of Lemnan; she had earner her title nearly six years ago. The Empire was vast… the rich culture which surrounded her civilization, surrounded her as well, it changed her. And though she was not born here, Lemnan was as much home to her as it was to those around her.

She remembered nothing of Idham when she was a child. She was taken from the chaos when she was only an infant and raised as a member of Lemnan under the watchful eye of the High Priest at the time. Her father nurtured her into a leader, trained in the arts of history, religion, diplomacy and combat; she was born into her role. She received the rank of High Priestess at only twenty years of age. Then, as she did now, she stood with her head held high, even in the face of imminent desolation. She loved her home and nothing could change that. The desert to the south was where she would die.

"Priestess," a voice patched through her comm system. "We have received a request to meet with an Idhaman emissary in a nonaligned location."

"I'm on my way to the office now." She snatched a tablet off of island countertop on the way out of her house. Out in the streets, a crowd of unique people congregated on the block. A guard met her and flanked her side as she paced through the crowd. The smells of food and a mixture of music met her senses as she made her way through the masses of people. Street vendors were selling a variety of foods, artesian crafts and many other effects out in the monotonous alleyways. One woman shouted at her with a small child squirming in her arms.

"Priestess, priestess! Amirah! Can you see?" The woman's desperate cries dissolved into weeping as she sunk to her knees, soaking the hem of Jamaal's shirt. The name 'Amirah' directly translated to 'savior' in her language, it was given to her as a pseudonym that mirrored the old stories told by the elders to their young children. The title was her vanity, and it was the secret to her triumphs.

The Idhaman emissary was requesting to meet on behalf of some interesting readings they found near an exoplanet in the solar system. Jamaal read through most of the reports and set the padd onto the table, too irritated to continue.

"Tell them to send our regards and to continue scanning the area for any other disturbances. I'm afraid were too busy to meet with them as we're dealing with our own little exploit from last night. Eames, have they tried communicating with the foreign trespasser?"

The middle aged man looked up from his work, his dark grey eyes glittering with vigilance. "He has said that there is some kind of misunderstanding but the fact that he already speaks our language fluently makes me believe that there is no misunderstanding and that his presence is hostile."

"I would like to speak with him, please have him transferred here." Eames nodded. "Thank you. Keep up that attitude, it's why you're here in the first place."

"No pep talks please, Jim." At his words she smiled.

Later that evening, Lore was sent to a holding facility in the capital of Lemnan. He paced back and forth in his cell, stressing. What if they sent for the Federation? Lore was a fugitive and he had been ever since his run-in with the Enterprise. The force field was lowered and a slender woman, probably about a meter and a half tall, stalked into the room as though she owned it.

"Hello." She began, eyeing him wearily. Lore did not respond, only glaring at her.

"My name is Jamaal." He shrugged, lifting his cuffed wrists.

"And?"

"Generally that is an invitation for you to give your name."

"And if I refuse?" She did not answer and he sighed. "You may call me Lore."

"Lore…. would you like to explain to me what you were trying to do with my ship?"

"Your ship? Oh yes," He smirked. The one he had stolen. "That ship."

"Yes." Her eyes narrowed.

"I was trying to escape." Wouldn't it have been nice if I had gotten away... He voiced a question which had been troubling him ever since his capture. "Tell me, how did you find me… out in the desert?"

She took a seat next to his cot, spine rigid. A white tank shirt hung loosely around her frame and was tucked neatly into a pair of khaki-colored jockey pants. "We locked on to your positronic signature."

"Positronic…? How did you know to scan for that?" He frantically searched her face, looking for anything that would give away her thoughts; but her eyes were veiled and Lore could not judge her character.

"Procedure. There are Idhaman scientists who have experience in those matters." She paused and changed the subject, relaying back to her previous stature. "That was a nice touch using our vortex technology to protect yourself from the atmosphere. We thought you would surely burn up that kind of environment."

"I have been known to be the crafty type, when it so pleases me."

She snorted. "…When it so pleases you." Like you had a choice… She sobered."And where are you from, Lore?"

"I have already answered these questions, I'm from the Federation."

"Very well." She flipped through the file folder she had in her lap. It was true; she did already know these facts.

"Well, we will contact the Federation and let them know that you are here."

"Do not." Lore went to stand and reached out to her, but the cuffs restrained his arm to the table. "Please." He added hastily, returning to his seat.

"Ahh. And why not?" Lore sighed. He was getting the feeling she knew more about him than she let on.

"I'm not on the best terms… with them."

"So you're a fugitive?" She raised her eyebrows and nodded, intentionally over-generalizing the situation.

"…Yes, I guess."

"What are you doing here?" That information was not in her folder.

"Exploring."

"'Exploring.'"

"Yes. This kind of opportunity doesn't present itself very often. The opportunity to explore and… to make new friends." He smiled an openly false grin. She was not amused.

"Lore, this… opportunity… you called it, it's invading our way of life. We have no wish to interact with outsiders. Not the federation… nor enemies of the federation. You will depart for the Terran System and you will not return. Speak nothing of us. We do not wish for the whole of the Federation to know of our existence."

"Jamaal… you're already on the map. They know where you are. They know what you're capable of." Jamaal sighed, gritting her teeth. And with his words she stormed out of his cell, motioning with a flick of her wrist for the guards to replace the field in her absence.

Commander Ilyn stood waiting outside the cell with one dark eyebrow raised in skepticism. Jamaal nodded for her to walk at her side.

"Another 'explorer'." Jamaal hissed the word with disgust.

The Commander spoke hesitantly "I suspect they wish to gain our trust because of the dilithium supply…. The same motivation of the last scouts we encountered. Priestess, we cannot hide our existence for very much longer. More are destined to return…" Jamaal only shook her head.

"We will continue to practice the old ways. Contact Idham, we may have to set up some kind of perimeter around our system. I'm growing tired of our little visitors."

"And though I am not ordinary…. I am a citizen." Oh god you guys. I think I am in love with Miranda Tate. Jamaal did make her appearance in my imagination long before I saw the new Batman but wow… these two. ( "It's the slow knife… that cuts deepest." Chillschillschillschills)

[ Author's Note: Jamaal is twenty six years of age in their time measurements but the years on Lemnan are longer so she's probably closer to 30. Also, I'm sorry if the dynamics of this area are unclear. Most scenes will take place on the planet (Lemnan) which has two 'factions' Idham and Lemnan (planet named accordingly). The star system also has several other planets, including two which are class-M and one which is class-G. Not to mention several gas giants and the exoplanets as well.]