Dear readers, I am so sorry about the long delay in updating this story. I have had some twists and turns in real life, along with a bad habit of starting other stories. I will endeavor to continue this story and update regularly. Thank you for your patience!

Chapter 17

Geneva Spaceport, 2200 hours, Local Time

Fleet Captain Tynen entered the shuttlecraft through the Mist's hatch and shot a look of concern at Lt. Commander Rex, Lt. Rager then Ensign Droxanne. "Did he harm any of you?"

Salayna Rex shook her head and gave her captain a tiny smile. "Other than the rush of adrenaline and some bits of tree bark in my hair, we're fine. Honestly, sir, I was the only one he took a shot at. Fortunately, I was safely behind some fairly sturdy cover. Actually, captain, the most exciting thing that happened to us during our quest to help Droxanne with her dissertation is that we believe we've discovered the silo where this Earth's Zephram Cochrane attempted to develop warp drive in 2063 by Alliance Earth reckoning. After we'd taken down this man and secured him, we used our tricorders to find the spot. However, we didn't have enough time to go inside and investigate further before we had to return to retrieve you, sir."

"Wow...another Zephram Cochrane...that's remarkable!"

"Yes, sir. I think even V'Lar would agree that it's 'fascinating.'"

He smirked at his science officer's little joke. Then he asked, "Were you able to find any signs of the Phoenix or whatever the Earth Alliance Cochrane chose to call his warp ship?"

"Well, sir, we hope that a thorough investigation of the silo may answer that question for us."

He nodded to his science officer before he narrowed his eyes at the man his crew members had captured. "Now, who do we have here?"

Tynen saw a nondescript man seated in one of the passenger chairs. He was of medium height and medium build with medium brown hair. He could easily be lost in a crowd and, because of that, the captain suspected that his ordinary appearance provided him with an extraordinary cover, perfect for an operative of some kind of nefarious organization.

Rager shrugged and said, "After he recovered from being stunned, he hasn't had much to say other than a few comments about doing what he tried to do on behalf of the 'bright ones.'"

The captain simply said, "Interesting," in response to Lanei's comment as he continued to glare at the man.

Suddenly, the other man looked up and gazed Tynen square in the eye. "I am the instrument of the gods' will. Release me if you do not wish to incur their wrath, non-believer."

In response, a deadly predator's smile formed on the captain's lips. "Unfortunately for you, your 'gods' aren't in this shuttlecraft now. So, I believe this presents a wonderful opportunity for you and me to have a little…chat."

Defiant, the man speared Tynen with a spiteful glare. "Do your worse! I shall never betray the gods! I will not reveal anything to you, no matter how much you torture me—"

Tynen cut him off abruptly. "Actually, you're telling us quite a lot but not about the things that interest us. So…tell me why did you try to kill my people?"

"No words shall pass my lips that would reveal the gods' plans to you," the man swore.

Tynen continued to hold their captive's gaze and without a glimpse toward any of his crew members, he commanded, "Lanei, why don't you step outside and see if the Earth Force security detail has shown up to pick up our friend here. Salayna and Droxanne, please retrieve the security restraints from the storage compartment in the aft section of the shuttle. I'd like him secured before we hand him over to Earth Force."

#

After the helmsman exited the craft, the two science officers complied with their captain's orders and made their way toward the aft of the shuttle where the storage compartment was installed behind a marked panel. Then, just as Rex opened the panel, a loud crunching noise along with an agonized cry of pain nearly caused both women to jump right out of their skin.

They whirled to find their captive, his face pale and drenched by perspiration, on his knees trembling at Tynen's feet.

Now the man's eyes were filled with both desperation and fear. "No more! Please!" he wheezed. "I'll tell you anything. Whatever you want to know. Anything!"

"What had just occurred here?" a plainly perplexed Droxanne asked.

Captain Tynen simply gave them both a casual look that frankly scared the living daylights, as a human might have said, out of Rex. She'd heard a little about Tynen's past history with Section 31 from the Valkyrie's MACO commander. Now she suspected that her captain had allowed a bit of that to slip out and rear its ugly head at this moment in time.

Her suspicion was confirmed by the answer the captain provided to Droxanne.

"He changed his mind."

When Tynen returned his undivided attention to their captive, the man cringed and rattled off, "I'm…I'm supposed to watch, to discourage or frighten anyone away from the place the gods in their wisdom smote to protect humanity from forbidden knowledge."

"Really?" Rex asked. "So…let me get this straight…your 'gods' use quantum gravitic weapons to punish the wicked, do they?"

It was obvious to Salayna that whatever Tynen had done to the man had taken the wind out of his sails when he responded to her meekly, "The mysteries of the gods are beyond my meager comprehension. All that I know is that they do not want anyone to be exposed to the evil that permeates that place."

"Tell me your name," Tynen commanded.

He ducked his head momentarily before he responded. "Prescott. Prescott James."

"Mr. James, exactly who or what are these 'gods?'" Droxanne then asked.

"They are the Bright Ones, the ones who've brought light and order to many of the aliens and the humans in our galaxy."

"And just how do you know exactly what happens to be the will of these gods, Prescott?" Tynen asked.

The man hesitated momentarily before he answered the captain's question. "I know because the gods buried a piece of one of them inside of me!"

Rex's eyes shot wide open at his declaration. However, not even that had appeared to disturb Tynen in the least. "Rex," her captain ordered, "give our new friend a complete scan with the medical tricorder. Let's see if he's telling the truth." Then he shot a look at Droxanne and snapped, "Ensign, contact the ship. Tell Lt. Mazan I want a security detail of six MACOs in full combat gear led by her to escort an engineering team led by Janja to beam down to the silo's coordinates. Tell her to have Janja coordinate with Salayna about your investigation before they leave the ship."

"Aye, sir," Rex snapped in response on behalf of both her subordinate and herself before Droxanne and she turned to their tasks.

#

Earthdome, 2205, Local Time

"What?!"

Secretary of Defense Josephine Hannah winced at the volume of her president's shout before she repeated the news she'd just given the other woman. "It seems that one of our people ambushed some of the crew members from Captain Tynen's starship near what used to be Bozeman, Montana. The attacker used a PPG and fired at Tynen's Chief Science Officer while she was standing in the forest."

"The Valkyrie's science officer...isn't she the woman who's in charge of the installing the planetary defense shield?"

"That's right, Madame President."

A grim Elizabeth Levy snapped, "Ditch the formality, Jo. We need to talk plainly and we need to do it right damn now!"

"You've got it, Liz."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"No, thank goodness," Hannah breathed. "Tynen's people defended themselves with their personal energy weapons. Apparently, the Federation's 'phasers' can be set to stun people. Rex and her party managed to disable their assailant and transported him back here to Geneva in their shuttlecraft. Tynen is interrogating the bastard now and will turn him over to Earth Force security in a few minutes or so."

"That's good," Levy noted. "After our security force finishes interrogating him, I want him thrown in jail. I want that idiot prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, do you follow me?"

"I understand, Liz."

"Jo?"

"Yes?"

"Did Tynen say why Commander…Rex, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's her name."

Levy nodded. "Did he say why she and her party were in Montana in the first place? Did it have something to do with the planetary shield?"

"I don't believe so, Liz. According to Captain Tynen, his people were gathering information for one of his crew member's doctoral dissertation on the subject of interstellar propulsion."

"I see," Levy said simply. "Well, I'm certain I don't have to tell you how relieved I am that none of the visitors, particularly Commander Rex, were harmed in this instance. However, I'd like to keep it that way from now on. Do you think we need some sort of executive order that makes it clear to everyone that any attempt to commit an act of violence against either Federation or Klingon personnel will be considered an act of treason subject to the death penalty? And I'm not talking about the death of personality—I want it clear as crystal that if you commit the crime, the miscreant will be taking the final dirt nap."

"Well…I ran something like that by Tynen and he told me he didn't think it was necessary. He believes if we come up with an edict like that, it may cause our people to fear and resent our visitors."

Levy sighed heavily. "Actually, he has a good point there. They really are a level-headed society. Wish we'd had folks like that on Earth Force before we'd encountered the Minbari. If so, we probably wouldn't be in this mess right now."

"You'll get no argument from me on that, Liz."

The Earth Alliance President smiled at her friend for a moment before her mood turned serious again. "Nevertheless, I want us to keep on top of this, Jo. We should be thanking our lucky stars that this idiot didn't kill Commander Rex, or worse, a Klingon. If he had, we wouldn't have to worry about the Minbari anymore; the Klingons would simply crush us as a matter of 'honor' and finish the job the bone heads had started."

In response, Hannah's haunted look mirrored Levy's own as she nodded in complete agreement with her old friend.

#