As predicted, they arrived at Sherman's Planet ten hours later. Bastila, now wearing the proper uniform of a Starfleet officer she had found in the ship's supply, swivelled the command chair around and sat down.
"Carth, standard orbit. Vao? Open a channel to..."
"We're being hailed," the Andorian interrupted. "Sir."
Bastila raised her eyebrows. "Very well. On the main viewer."
The viewscreen switched from a picture of the planet rotating under them to a balding man with a sour face. "Ah, Captain Shan. It is good to see you again. But tell me, weren't you commanding a Starship last time we spoke?"
Bastila fought down the urge to wince at the comment. "It is a long story, Master Dorak. We need supplies and harbour."
"Yes, yes. Everybody comes for supplies, has a question, or wants something else. Nobody ever just says 'Good day'." He glanced sideways, possibly at a different screen, and nodded. "You can land at the enclave, docking bay one."
His face disappeared, and was replaced by the planet. Mission couldn't resist to say "Nice fella. Should eat fewer lemons, though."
Bastila sighed. "Carth, did you manage to look up the landing procedures for this class of ship?"
Carth gulped. "I skimmed it."
"It will have to do. Take us down."
"Aye, Captain."
Diotima whispered to him, "Did you really skim the regulations?"
"Part of it."
She shot the captain behind her a quick glance and concentrated on her controls again. "You really make my day."
Although Carth guessed his way through, he managed to land the spaceship in the middle of the docking bay. Bastila looked up from a captain's manual for Starfleet Spaceship-Class vessels. "Good work, Carth. Uh... 'secure all stations, power down the engines,' and..." She squinted and muttered to herself. "What does that say?"
Diotima looked back at Bastila and saw her rolling her eyes at the manual, which was a real book that the former captain had apparently used to scribble notes in. Bastila gave up on the book and stowed it in a document holder that had been crudely bolted onto the side of the captain's chair. "I'll go talk to the council," she said, standing up. "Diotima, I'd like you to write up that damage report while I'm gone, and fill me in when I get back."
She left the bridge, and Diotima checked the ship's status with her controls. "Did anybody notice she's wearing a dress with lieutenant's stripes?"
A short while later Diotima was sitting in the conference room, finishing up the damage report on an electronic clipboard. A knock was heard at the open doorway, and Bastila entered. "Captain?" Diotima said, looking up from her work.
"Don't these doors work?" Bastila said, jutting her thumb back at the open entrance. "The council wants to speak to you," she continued. "Is that our damage report?"
"Yep," Diotima sighed as she pushed the clipboard away. "Got a few burned-out relays, nothing major. Davik's men didn't maintain the ship too well; most of the inoperable systems – like the doors to this room – weren't a result of any damage we took, but from simple neglect on Davik's part. T3 and Mission are already on it." She looked up, and saw Bastila's distant expression. "Something wrong?"
The captain quickly shook her head. "No, you just reminded me of somebody…someone I knew years ago in ESP training."
"And here I thought I'm unique. You said the council wants to talk to me?"
Bastila nodded. "Indeed."
"Alright, then I guess we'd better not keep them waiting," Diotima said, standing. "You want the damage report now?"
Bastila looked at the clipboard, and shook her head. "I'll read over it later; it doesn't sound too major. The council is waiting."
"Fine by me."
The council of Sherman's Planet consisted of four people - an Andorian who introduced himself as Zhar, an older, balding Vulcan named Vrook, a waist-high alien with gold skin called Vandar, and Master Dorak, whom Diotima had seen earlier on the viewscreen.
Diotima looked at them suspiciously. "Okay, I fell for your little trap, Bastila. Now what?"
The captain winced slightly. "This is no trap. They just want to talk. And you might call me, you know, captain?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I forgot."
Zhar got her attention again. "We've discussed your case, and came to the conclusion that..."
"Hang on, what case?"
"We've been contemplating whether or not to teach you the techniques to make good use of your ESP..."
"What ESP?" Diotima couldn't help but grow confused and annoyed at the same time. Did those old men have to be so vague?
Bastila cleared her throat. "When we met on Taris, I could sense that you have a rather high ESP potential. And I'm not talking about the usual ESP things, like slight precognition. I mean the higher levels. Telekinesis, controlled perception, empathy, telepathy."
Diotima remembered an article she read some time ago. "Does that mean I could shoot lightning out of my hands?"
"You could, but we believe that's a sign of corruption. Gary Mitchell did it, and he was one of the worst."
Dorak harrumphed, and Vrook tilted his head back. "We won't do anything unless we can be sure your rating is high enough."
"High enough?" Bastila exclaimed. "Everybody here can sense it. And I already mentioned the events on Taris."
"Sounds like dumb luck to me," Dorak nagged.
Vandar, who had been silent up to this point, commanded quietly, "Go back to your ship for the night. We'll summon you tomorrow, when we have reached an agreement."
Bastila nodded and bowed to him, and led Diotima out of the chamber to the hallways outside.
"Well, not much happened in there," Diotima said to Bastila after a pause. "Or at least, nothing that I could understand. This stuff about ESP..."
"It's frightening, I know," Bastila cut in quietly. "But after Starfleet discovered the effects of the Great Barrier –" She cut herself off when she saw Diotima's confused expression.
"I'm sorry," said Bastila, "This has been kept secret for some time. A few years ago, one of our Starfleet ships, the USS Enterprise, was following the path of an older spaceship from a hundred years earlier called the SS Valiant. It briefly went outside the boundaries of our galaxy, encountering an energy field that...affected some of the crew. Namely, Gary Mitchell and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, who already had higher-than-normal ESP levels even before the incident."
"Ah yes, I remember you mentioning a Gary Mitchell earlier," said Diotima. "They were affected with ESP, right?"
"Yes, extraordinary levels of it," Bastila continued. "Mitchell reached an almost godlike state. Both he and Dr. Dehner eventually, erm, 'perished,' but Starfleet couldn't ignore the implications of powers like that."
"Humans with powers like that would be formidable allies," Diotima mused.
"Or terrible enemies," Bastila added. "Either way, Mitchell provided an impressive example of just what a full-powered ESP user could really do. Starfleet wanted to train a select number of ESP-gifted individuals, like myself, so that we would be able to hone and extend our powers past the levels we were born with."
"But hopefully not as high as Mitchell."
"Certainly not," agreed Bastila. "Mitchell's emotions compromised his self-control and inflated his ego to heights as great as his powers. That's why the Starfleet ESPer Program included many Vulcans to train us in the ways of self-control, as well."
Diotima shuddered involuntarily. "I'd hate to see an ESPer who had fallen to...the 'dark side,' as it were."
Bastila nodded as they ascended the ramp at the end of the corridor. They stepped outside the underground complex, as the cool evening breeze wafted over them from the fields of wheat planted near the installation. The setting sun peaked over the horizon, shining rays of red light up into the darkening sky. Diotima and Bastila continued walking in silence, both thinking about what they had discussed.
After a few moments, Diotima spoke up. "So all this about ESP... you said you think I have this power, too?"
Bastila nodded. "That's why I think you should be trained. As a gifted ESPer, you could make incredible contributions to the Federation."
"Captain, is it true that Revan and Malak were ESP users, too?"
"Yes. They even trained here. Why do you ask?"
"I guess it's because I don't want to become the next Mitchell...or the next Revan. Carth mentioned them during the flight, and doesn't seem to like them."
The taller woman motioned her friend to a bench. "What exactly did he tell you?"
"Not much. Just that Revan and Malak were Starship captains during the last few skirmishes with the Klingons. And when the Organians forced the peace treaty on us, they went rogue and went outside the Federation to hunt down Klingon warships."
Bastila nodded again. "That's most of it. It became known that Revan and Malak joined forces with the Romulans."
"What? Why would they do that?"
"Maybe because the Romulans are still willing, and able, to fight the Klingons, especially after their own peace treaty with the Klingons fell through. I honestly don't know."
Diotima nodded, and looked up in Bastila's grey-blue eyes. "Carth also spoke of Revan in past tense. Is…is he dead?"
Bastila sighed. "She. And sadly, yes. About a year ago, the Endar Spire found a small armada of Romulan ships on our side of the Neutral Zone. Revan signalled us to come aboard. So I, accompanied by my science officer, navigator, and a security detail met her on the bridge. I'd known her for years. But on that ship... I barely recognized her."
Bastila's eyes shimmered with held back tears, and gazed into deep space. "She had abandoned her Starfleet uniform. She had even abandoned her heritage. Instead, I saw her in a Romulan uniform, with raised eyebrows and pointed ears. I don't think I ever was more shocked than then. And just when I wanted to ask her why..."
She shook her head sadly. "Malak fired at Revan's flagship at point-blank-range, targeting the bridge. We don't know why he attacked her. A big piece of shrapnel from the attack hit her in the chest right before my eyes. My first officer reacted quickly enough, and had us beamed back before a second volley hit the battle cruiser. Ten seconds later, we sped away at Warp 9, and let the Romulans fire at each other. I never heard of them again, until..."
Diotima nodded again. "Until last week, over Taris. Malak destroyed your ship. Killed your crew. I don't know about you, but I'd go nuts."
The captain shuddered. "That's... human, I guess. But Vrook's Vulcan guidance during my ESP training taught me how to meditate, and to control my emotions."
"I have a strong feeling Dorak skipped those classes!"
Bastila snorted with laughter, something that sounded much nicer to Diotima's ears than her usual by-the-book attitude. "Enough of this. We should get back to the ship and keep Carth and Ordo away from each other."
"Good idea. But I think I have a better one."
The captain raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Her subordinate pointed at the lieutenant's stripes on Bastila's sleeves. "I guess they didn't have a female captain's uniform on the Hawk. How about we go to the supply centre and get you a fresh uniform, hm?"
That night, Diotima tossed more in her sleep than usual. She dreamt of a dark place, an ancient place made of crumbling stone. Inside the ruins, two people stood before a closed door. One was a tall, bald man in a captain's uniform, and a woman, also in uniform, but her head was always in the shadows.
And there was another thing, something like...
With a last toss, Diotima managed to fall out of her bed in the Hawk's starboard dorm. Startled from her sleep, Bastila rushed over to where she had fallen. Mission yawned sleepily and glared somewhat at them. "You practising for the circus?"
Bastila shot her a shut-up glance and vanished into the bathroom. Diotima on the other hand looked shaken, her face paler than Bastila's usual tint. To add to her problems, she felt. She felt her awareness reach outward and feel everything around her – it was as if she was opening her eyes for the first time. She felt the Andorian standing next to her, she felt Bastila's presence in the bathroom. She was also aware of the men shuffling in their dorm on the other side of the ship.
Mission watched the human carefully, with a worried expression on her blue face. "Dio? Are you alright?"
"No. I'm not alright. I feel wrong and right at the same time." She was still sitting on the floor, with her arms wrapped around her. "I'm scared, Mission. I have no idea what's happening to me."
Bastila chose that moment to leave the bathroom, wearing her new uniform, again the wrap-around variant. "We should... Diotima, what's wrong?"
"I don't know. What's happening to me?"
The captain kneeled down next to the other woman and gently laid her hand on her shoulder. "I think it's the ESP. It laid dormant your whole life, but maybe the fact that you've been near so many ESP users recently woke it."
Diotima felt awful and was in a bad mood because of it. "That's got to be the most useless thing I ever heard," she snapped.
Bastila sighed and smiled comfortingly. "I know. You're becoming aware of your surroundings. You're frightened. You want to know what's going on."
"And what's your advice, 'Doctor Shan'?"
"We have to get you trained. The feelings will become natural, that much I can promise you."
"I guess anything is better than this uncertainty. Or this hopelessness."
The captain nodded and stood up. "I'll go speak to the council. It might take a while, I'm sorry. The best thing you can do is try to relax."
Diotima watched her go and sighed. "I'm starting to hate it when she's right."
A hot shower and a handful of painkillers for her growing headache later, Diotima entered the council chamber. Vandar saw her first and waved her to approach. "Bastila told us that something strange happened. She said you and her shared a vision. About Revan and Malak in the ruins."
"A vision? You mean that dream? Wait a second," she turned to her captain. "How do you know we shared that?"
"I felt your presence," came the clipped reply.
Diotima thought it was strange that Bastila sounded so rude all of the sudden, but decided to speak to her about it later.
Zhar mentioned that the ruins in her dream were known, and were in fact located on Sherman's Planet, but that nobody ever entered. Vandar seemed fixated on the fact that Diotima and Bastila were bonded and kept talking about it.
"I'm confused," Diotima said in exasperation. "What does 'bonded' mean?"
"You two are bonded, your destiny is one!"
The commander looked at her captain with an expression that asked for a translation into plain English.
"Apparently, the stressful events on Taris established a psychic link between us. That's the reason why we shared the vision. It's the council's belief that we should search the ruins here for any evidence about what Revan and Malak were doing there."
"Okay, I'll call for a Landing Party. Ordo will be happy to know he might get to kill something."
Vandar shook his head. "No. We'll have to train you first."
Diotima vividly remembered her morning episode, and shuddered. "Very well. I guess you guys know what's best."
Zhar nodded. "We have to start immediately with your training. Bastila will guide you through it."
Dorak harrumphed again. "I just hope you're up to it!"
Over the course of the next weeks, Diotima went through training course after training course, which stopped only for meditation three times a day. Although it was quite challenging, the different techniques were relatively easy to learn for her – almost like remembering something that was learned decades ago.
The only thing she didn't like about it was that she wasn't allowed to see her crewmates. All she was able to do was use Bastila for information, since the two of them were always sparring partners. Although sword combat was part of the standard Starfleet training, Diotima didn't think it was necessary for an ESP user to know it. But her instructors had dismissed her concerns with vague talk about physical training being helpful for mental conditioning (or something like that), so she conceded and went along with their instruction. She found she enjoyed sparring more than the other training – it gave her something to do with her body instead of fooling around with her mind.
"So, got anything new for me today?" Diotima asked one day while circling Bastila during a sparring session.
"Well, I have been thinking about our non-enlisted personnel. Ordo was in the service at one point, but left after the first Klingon war." She ducked under one of Diotima's attacks and the shorter woman shoved her hand in her direction. But instead of touching Bastila, she caused a psychic shove that was barely blocked.
"That I already know. Any updates?"
"Yes. I talked with Command and they agreed to let me re-enlist him."
"Ah, the dreaded reserve-activation-clause. I bet he wasn't happy."
Bastila nodded and also tried to shove Diotima with her psychic powers, which was blocked. "Indeed. He fumed for about two hours before stomping to the supply centre to get a new uniform. I think he's still brooding about it – I'm sure to hear about it later."
Diotima signalled the captain for a pause and grabbed her water bottle. "A shame I missed that. But I'm a bit concerned about the cadets. Did they hear his ramblings?"
The captain wiped sweat from her brow and sat on the bench. "Let's just say T3 almost had to revive Vao due to lack of oxygen caused by her laughing the entire time."
Diotima sighed heavily. "I never thought I'd miss them that much. I've only been here for six weeks. What did you do after Mission was finished laughing?"
"Sent her and T3 to the supply centre. Ensigns shouldn't wear cadet uniforms. We also needed mission patches for everybody."
"What patches? And since when are the kids ensigns?"
"The Ebon Hawk has, like every other ship, her own mission patch. And after retrieving the ship from the hands of those criminals and re-registering it with Starfleet, I was awarded by being named her captain. As for the 'kids' being ensigns, I took the liberty to give them a field promotion."
Diotima finished her bottle and frowned. "Shouldn't you have asked me for my opinion before you did that?"
"You weren't available. So I asked Carth for his opinion."
"Hm-hm. Well, I wouldn't have objected. But I was available. I was here."
"Technically that makes you unavailable, by the book. And I wanted the field promotion to have a strong backup. A commander not assigned to the ship and participating in specialized combat training unfortunately does not count."
"What do you mean, 'not assigned to the ship'?"
Bastila sighed and walked back to the centre of the training court. "The escape from Taris was an emergency situation. You, Carth and I were still assigned to the Endar Spire. Ordo was a mercenary, Vao and T3 were cadets. Four weeks ago, we were assigned to the Hawk, except for you."
Diotima started to circle her captain again. "Starfleet bureaucracy, eh?"
"Indeed."
The commander rolled her eyes and attacked again.
A few days later, Zhar told Diotima that her training was almost finished.
"There is only a minor test you'd have to do, a practical test."
"What is it about?"
"There is a meditation grove south from here. It was in use since the academy has been established. But two months ago, a dark taint appeared. We want you to remove that taint."
She thought about it for a few moments. "If memory serves, the plains to the south are swarming with aggressive sehlats imported from Vulcan. It will be problematic reaching that grove."
"Your crewmates are still here. You can get their help if you want."
The commander nodded and excused herself. Quickly she jogged back to the Ebon Hawk and boarded the ramp. "Mission, Ordo, T3! Front and centre on the double!"
T3 and Mission appeared instantly. "Dio!" Mission exclaimed, while T3 beeped excitedly. "It feels like AGES since we last saw you!"
Canderous didn't seem pleased and tugged on his collar, while Mission and T3 practically beamed at her. "What's wrong, Ordo?"
"These newer 'black-collar' uniforms. They just don't feel right. And this patch..."
"Can it. I'll let you kill something, that better?"
Canderous simply harrumphed.
"I'll take that as a yes. Get the Puma, we're going on a trip."
Mission chose that time to chime in. "What, you mean the Warthog?"
Minutes later, the Puma flew out of the enclave, its signature accordion music blaring out of the speakers with Mission at the controls.
Diotima, sitting in the back, nudged Canderous, who was sitting up front in the passenger seat. "How does somebody turn off this music?"
Canderous, who already had a sour expression on his face from the music, simply grimaced. As Diotima watched, he grabbed his phaser rifle, dialled it down to a low setting, pointed it at the radio, and fired.
"Yikes!" Mission screamed as the radio exploded in a shower of sparks. "What in blazes was that for?"
Canderous simply grinned and glanced back at Diotima. "That's how you turn it off."
"I see," Diotima replied, chuckling.
"That wasn't very nice, Canderous!" Mission admonished him. She floored the accelerator, causing the vehicle to ramp high in the air over a hill. Canderous held tightly on the handle, eyes wide with surprise. Seconds later, the Puma landed again, scattered a small pack of sehlats, and continued with its unnecessarily dangerous flight.
"Damnit Mission, don't do that!" Canderous yelled.
"Sorry, Canderous. Maybe you should scream next time," Mission said with a smug smile, satisfied with getting back at the old soldier.
"I don't know why I let you drive in the first place, little girl," Canderous growled in reply as he adjusted his grip on the phaser rifle he brought along.
That prompted Diotima to ask, "Ordo, do you always take a phaser rifle on landing parties?"
"Only when we're on a peace mission," he said with a sly grin.
Mission squinted. "Speaking of peace missions, we're there."
The Puma glided to a halt and settled to the ground as the antigravs shut off. The Starfleet officers climbed out. "Alright. You three stay here, I'll go alone."
"Why are you going alone?"
"Because it's my test. But I have a feeling I'm going to need backup."
Canderous folded his arms. "And how are we supposed to know?"
"You got binoculars in your glove compartment, don't you?"
"Well yes, but..."
"Then use them."
Diotima walked up to the grove, marked by lonely pillars. Behind one of the pillars, Diotima was surprised to see a lone figure, sitting by herself meditating. She was Caitian, and wore only shorts and a tank top. And she was looking directly into Diotima's eyes. The human swallowed.
"Um, hello. Have you seen a dark taint around here somewhere?"
The Caitian jumped to her feet, boosting her to her full height, which was a head taller than Diotima. Feline muscles rippled under her fur-covered skin. "I am your downfall!" she screamed.
With that, the feline woman attacked with her claws, an action that Diotima quickly sidestepped. She rammed her elbow into the taller woman's back and turned to deliver a right hook to the face. But the cat grabbed her arms and flung her into a pillar. Diotima blinked repeatedly to clear her sight. She didn't like what she was seeing. Her opponent was standing over her with a nasty blade in her claws, ready to strike. Remembering her recent training, she shoved her hand forward, and generated a psychic wave to hurl the Caitian into another pillar. Before the humanoid was able to get back up, Diotima pointed her phaser at her. "Don't try anything."
"You – you are stronger than me. Stronger than me in my darkness."
"What are you talking about? Who are you?"
"I am Juhani, and this is my grove. My sacred place of darkness that you invaded."
Diotima put her phaser away and kneeled before the slightly dazed cat. "Why is everybody talking about darkness? Looks pretty light to me."
Juhani sighed and sat up. "What do you want from me?"
"The council told me to remove the dark taint from the grove here."
"So you're here to kill me?"
Diotima shook her head. "No. Just removing you from this grove. We're going back to the enclave."
Juhani opened her mouth to object, but at that moment Diotima's field tricorder beeped warningly. "What the...? Klingons?"
"They've been on Sherman's Planet since the K7 incident. But there are aggressive groups among them who'd gladly attack two women sitting in the grass."
A disruptor shot hitting a nearby pillar answered the question about the Klingons' intentions. Diotima fired blindly at the direction the shot came from, and pressed a button on her communicator, until a red light started flashing. "That's why Landing Parties are always more than one person."
"There are at least twelve Klingons out there. And you have our only weapon."
"What about your fancy knife?"
"It broke when you threw me against the stone."
"Sorry. But we don't have to beat them, just hold them down." Diotima replied while firing.
"What good is that going to do for us?" The moment she said that, her sensible ears picked up something. "Do you hear that? Sounds like..."
"Like I said, Landing Parties are always more than one."
"Care to explain?"
Diotima just held up a finger, signalling her to wait for a cue. And the cue came in form of the Puma, jumping over the hills and into the Klingon party. Canderous leaned out of his seat and shot a nearby Klingon. "Take that, you Commie bastard!"
T3, operating the automated weapon, bleeped something encouraging that Canderous took as a compliment.
"Thank you, T3." He shot another Klingon that was aiming at Mission. "Now blast them."
"Be-deep!" replied T3 as he triggered the archaic machinegun, which spat lead bullets at the enemy forces. "Boop! Dwuuuu beep!"
Mission looked back at him, confused. "What do you mean with that?"
"Beep!"
"Alright, I'm driving, I'm driving!" With that, she slammed her foot on the acceleration pedal and drove through the Klingons. Seconds later, the last Klingon was crushed under the Puma's chassis and Mission turned off the ignition. "That was fun. Can we do that again?"
Canderous snorted. "Doesn't seem like there are anymore Klingons we could play with."
Diotima walked up to them, Juhani close behind her. "Perfect timing, Ordo. Although I'm a bit surprised that you didn't come when Juhani here threw me into a pillar."
Canderous shrugged. "That was hand-to-hand combat, and I knew that you're the better combatant."
Mission, who only now realized Juhani was standing there, squealed. "You found a cat! Oh, I always wanted one. Can I keep her?"
Juhani hissed furiously. "I am NO cat!"
Diotima rolled her eyes and shoved the Caitian into the seat behind Canderous. "Stop it. We have to get back to the enclave."
Mission turned on the ignition and looked back at her. "Shall I stop by the store to get some cat food?"
"Just... drive."
Master Zhar looked mildly surprised when the Puma stopped in the enclave's main court. "You didn't kill her?"
Diotima climbed out of the jeep and let Mission drive it back into the ship. "Why should I? She's not evil. Just a bit... confused."
Juhani looked to be very interested in the floor, and tested its density with her foot claws. Zhar nodded. "Very well. Juhani, go to the council chambers. They are waiting for you. Diotima..."
The Caitian slowly walked away, leaving Diotima with the Andorian master. "Yes?"
"You mastered your trial, and redeemed a member of our order..."
"She was one of your guys? What happened?"
"I think it is better she explains it to you. Either way, you have proven that you're a worthy member of the order. And I'd like to be the first to welcome you."
"I'm honoured."
Bastila left the council chamber and walked up to Zhar. "Master, the council needs your vote."
"Gladly, Bastila. I guess you have things to discuss on your own."
Diotima watched him go, and looked up into Bastila's grey-blue eyes. "Do we have anything to discuss?"
Bastila shrugged and held out a mission patch. "That depends on whether you still want to be my first officer or not."
"Oh. I totally forgot about that."
The captain replied bitterly, "Of course. Why would somebody remember their assignment to a lowly Spaceship, when they have been on a Starship?"
"No, I was just wrapped up in... This isn't about me, isn't it? You're still agitated because you lost the Spire."
"Wouldn't you be? I worked very hard to accomplish that. I've been only the second female Starship captain, after Revan. And I got captaincy at a younger age than her. First Five-Year-Mission, and at the end of the first year, the ship gets blown up, most of the crew is dead, and I'm captain of a vessel not much larger than a deep-space shuttle."
Diotima let it sink in, and accepted the badge. "I guess I'd be disappointed too. If I may give you a piece of advice, not as your first officer, but as a friend... Make the best of it. Sure, it's not a Starship, but it's an excellent vessel in its own. The fastest I've ever seen a Starship go on its own power without breaking apart was Warp 9. We can go Warp 11. And from what I saw of the weapons on that ship when I first inspected it, it's got some great defences. Think of it as today's version of a... torpedo boat. Fast, powerful, and agile."
Bastila thought about it for a moment, and sighed. "You're right. But still, the loss weighs me down a bit."
"You wouldn't be human if it didn't. Now, it's midday. What do you say we get something to eat? My treat."
"That... would be nice. Thank you."
The two women wandered through hallways, until Bastila finally asked, "You really see me as a friend?"
Startled, Diotima stopped. "What?"
"You said, you'd give me advice as a friend."
"Oh. Didn't think you'd notice. But yes, I see everybody as a friend who assists me during a shoot-out. And... it just feels right."
"I don't have many friends. I've always been too busy."
"Don't watch, but I have a feeling that you'll be gaining a few more friends soon."
Bastila looked at her confused, but the shorter woman just smiled and carried on.
They were just starting with the dessert, when a young apprentice entered the room and handed them a memo. "Captain, Commander, the council wants to see you."
Because the captain had just taken a big fork full of cake, and was still chewing, Diotima answered for her. "Of course. We will be there immediately."
The apprentice walked away, and the commander picked up her own fork. "But first, we finish the cake. It's way too delicious."
"Probably contains way too many calories."
"You know, as important it is for me to keep my figure, this is one of the few cases where I just don't care."
When they finally entered the council chamber, Vrook was looking at a timepiece. "It seems to me you are late."
Both women looked guiltily at each other, and Diotima muttered, "Maybe we shouldn't have ordered second desserts."
She was silent enough to go unnoticed by Dorak's human ears, but Vrook's pointed ears picked it up easily. "I might point out that too many dishes with such high sugar content are not beneficial for your physical health."
But it's good for the psychological well-being, Diotima thought immediately. Vandar caught their attention. "We were discussing the vision you two shared, about those ruins."
He nodded to Zhar, who continued, "We've known those ruins for a long time, but thought they're a simple burial place, so we didn't disturb them. It seems Revan and Malak didn't care about it and broke into them."
Diotima shifted her gaze into deep space. "And they found something. Something that made them allies to the Romulans."
Vrook nodded slightly and raised his right eyebrow. "Indeed. It has been decided that you two go and investigate the ruins. Maybe you will find what Revan and Malak found."
Bastila, somehow eager to please the council, bowed formally. "Of course, Master. We will start our investigation immediately. Come, Dio!"
The older woman watched her leaving, somewhat confused. Since when does she call me Dio?
Before they left the enclave together with Carth, Bastila swapped her green wrap-around tunic with the sturdier gold tunic. When Diotima asked her about it, the captain grimaced. "I take pride in being well informed about other Starship captains. Remember the Enterprise I mentioned earlier? Her captain has a habit of ripping his shirts when he's leading a landing party. I ripped my favourite tunic on Taris, and that's not something I want to do again."
"Is it because it's your favourite, or because there's no undershirt with the green variant?"
Bastila blushed slightly, and snapped, "That's none of your business, Commander!"
Carth couldn't help but chuckle at the bickering. He stopped immediately, when both women stared at him. "Is there something funny, Carth? We'd both like to laugh with you."
"Oh, um... I was just thinking about a light bulb joke."
"Really? Which one?"
The two women were still staring at him, making him nervous. "Um, how many Klingons do you need to change a light bulb?"
"Let me guess – two. One changes it, the other one kills him and takes the glory."
"Oh, you know it already then."
"It's as old as the knowledge of Klingons. Now hurry up, we only have a few hours before the sun sets."
As they all walked faster, Carth asked, "Why didn't we take the Puma?"
"I told T3 to either repair or remove the radio. Either way, I want that music gone!"
The ruins looked similar to the meditation grove, except that the pillars surrounded a round hill with a stone door. Diotima kneeled in front of the lock. "How does that open? Bastila, do you think your hairpin trick will work here?"
When she asked that, her hand accidently touched the lock, resulting in an opening door. "...or I could just lean against it until it opens. What just happened?"
Bastila put her hairpin back and felt with her higher senses. "My best guess is that there's a mechanism in the lock that reacts to your touch combined with the bioelectrical flow of ESP."
Carth checked that his phaser was charged, and looked curiously at her. "That's a pretty specific guess. Where did you learn that?"
"ESP training." She replied shortly and walked through the door into the dimly lit chamber. The air was musty and damp, with the only light coming from their flashlight torches.
They opened another door at the end of a short corridor, and entered the room beyond. In the centre of the room was a small waist-high robot, its body consisting of a small obelisk shaped like an arrowhead, with four insect-like legs supporting it. It seemed to be made out of green marble, which glowed with a slight luminescence, and was covered in golden runes.
"What's this? This looks familiar...but I can't place it," Carth said as he approached the obelisk-bot. He reached out as if to touch it, but quickly drew his hand back when the robot began speaking in a strange language. Everyone froze and looked at each other, puzzled. Not getting any verbal reaction, the obelisk-bot switched to a different language that sounded like a series of grunts.
Diotima scratched her head. "Did anyone bring a universal translator?"
Bastila noticed, "It seems that the robot is attempting to communicate with us. It already used two languages. Who knows, maybe it understands us."
Diotima snorted. "Yeah, sure. Hey, Robot. Use a language we understand! That's totally not going to work."
The obelisk-bot surprised everybody by responding, "I can reproduce the languages of every preserved culture."
The women froze, while Carth snapped his fingers. "'Preserve'...that's it! Now I remember. This looks like a smaller version of a Preserver obelisk that I've seen in the library records. The Enterprise found one just like this, but bigger, and it didn't have legs."
"The Preservers?" Bastila exclaimed. "You really think so?"
"Remind me who they are," Diotima chimed in.
"An ancient and highly-advanced space faring race," Bastila said, instantly becoming the historian. "They were the greatest anthropologists ever known; they studied and preserved cultures across the entire galaxy. Perhaps this entire installation was constructed by the Preservers countless millennia ago!" Diotima didn't know it was possible for Bastila to get this excited, as the captain turned to address the mechanical obelisk. "Robot, what is your function?"
The green obelisk-bot simply sat there, silent. "It... it appears it only reacts to your commands," Bastila said, disappointed.
Diotima raised an eyebrow. "Curious. But alright, I'll try to talk to it."
After an hour of discussion with the obelisk-bot, Diotima learned that the Preservers did indeed build the place, as a storage facility for a star map – one that apparently contained the location of something called a Star Forge. To reach the map, they had to pass two tests, located behind two doors on either side of the obelisk. Those tests were guarded by obelisk-bots similar to the first, but they sported nasty looking weapons and an energy shield. With Carth having a second phaser again, and both women carrying the regulation Phaser II, both structures were destroyed quickly. But when Diotima saw the console displaying the first "test"...
"Oh, you got to be kidding me!"
Carth walked up next to her. "What's wrong?"
She stepped aside and pointed at the display. "Name the three main life giving planet forms. Aquatic, woodland, grass, volcanic, sterile, and desert. They even wrote them down in the matching order!"
Bastila looked on the display and frowned. "I've known almost brain-dead people, but even they could do this." With that, she pressed the matching buttons, and the display went green.
The second test asked for the other three planet types, resulting in Diotima face palming herself.
Solving this "problem" opened the last door, where the star map lay behind. The map chamber was huge, and the centre of the room held another obelisk, except it was at least two stories tall and unlike the robots, it did not have legs. It had three sides that folded down when Diotima went near it. At the base, where the sides met, floated an orb about the size of a bowling ball. It thrummed as it activated, projecting a huge holographic map of the entire galaxy.
Bastila's mouth hung slightly open. "Incredible! They travelled through the whole galaxy, and mapped every square parsec of it! This is a fantastic find that could be of untold value to Federation science!"
"Yeah," Diotima commented, still staring in amazement at the large star map. "This must be what Revan and Malak found – and apparently it gave them the location of that Star Forge."
"They must have been looking for it," mused Bastila. "That has to be the real reason they went rogue. Tricorder!"
Diotima reacted at once and recorded the map, while Carth noticed something.
"This planet here," said Carth, pointing at the hologram, "Isn't this is the one where the Enterprise found that other Preserver obelisk? The one with the Native American culture preserved on it."
The captain squinted. "You mean the highlighted one? Yes, it looks like it."
Diotima finished the recording and pointed at another part of the map. "Here are some other highlighted planets, but they're in another colour. Sherman's Planet, Cait, Nimbus III, Argo, Korriban. And here are other coordinates. But they're incomplete."
Carth studied them more closely. "Hm, they're the same colour as the five planets. Maybe we'll find more clues on them?"
Bastila nodded absently. "Do you think that's the work of the Preservers?"
The other woman looked at her. "Maybe. The map projector is made of the same material as the obelisk."
"We have to tell the council. They'll know what to do."
"Shouldn't we tell Starfleet Command?" Carth asked.
"No," Bastila replied quickly. "In this case, we're dispatched to assist the council and the council only in any manner. Meaning we're reporting to them, and they'll inform the rest of Starfleet at their discretion. But if that's really a map, a puzzle, leading to Malak's base of operations, then Starfleet can send a strike force to take him out. We have to find out first."
"I guess we better get going then." Diotima pointed out and the three officers left the building.
Having never made any hasty decisions, the council told them to come back the following day after Diotima, Bastila, and Carth reported their findings. Diotima knew that this might be their last day on the planet, so she took a walk over the exterior grounds of the enclave. She was lost in thought, when a clawed hand touched her shoulder.
"Excuse me..."
"Huh, what?" Diotima said, spinning around. She calmed when she saw who it was. "Oh, Juhani. What can I do for you?"
The Caitian woman smiled slightly. "You already did enough. I have to thank you."
"You're welcome. What did I do?"
"You... you gave me a second chance. I've even been able to talk to my old master. I thought I had struck her down prior to my flight to the grove. But it was only a test. A test I... failed."
Diotima smiled warmly. "I'm glad she's alright. And I believe you'll use this second chance wisely."
"I will. Thank you... I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name."
"It's Diotima. Have a restful night."
Just as Diotima thought, the council sent them on a mission to find the other Star Maps. They also told them to take off as soon as possible. What Diotima had no idea about was that Juhani was to accompany them. Bastila and Diotima looked at each other and bowed slightly to the council.
Outside the chambers, the older woman spoke, "I didn't even know Juhani is in Starfleet."
"Me neither. But she'll be a valuable addition to the crew."
Bastila shook her head. "I have a feeling Mission will just use this opportunity to tease her."
On the ship, Diotima readied the last bunk in the women's dorm, and emptied the drawer. When Juhani arrived, she only had a small duffel with her personal belongings and the blue uniform dress on her body. The first thing the commander noticed was that she wore no boots. "Uh, did supply forget to order boots for feline species?"
"Ugh, boots," Juhani replied with a shudder. "Honestly, I don't understand how you can enclose your paws, uh, feet, in those things."
The human nodded understanding. "That's because most humans prefer the extra protection for their feet, and boots also keep the warmth in the body."
Juhani looked sceptical, but nodded. "If you say so. Sir."
Not being used to Juhani being an officer, Diotima raised her brows when she was called "sir", and glanced at the Caitian's rank stripes on her sleeves. "Well Lieutenant, let me show you your bunk. Ebon Hawk is a tiny ship, so there are no individual quarters, but two dorms. Men are in the port side, women starboard."
When they reached the empty space under the bridge, Juhani noticed the hover jeep standing there. "Wait, that's your car? Does that mean those...strange people are with you?"
As if to answer her, Mission exited the sickbay. "Oh, the Kitty!"
"That's Lieutenant Kitty! And I still prefer Juhani, Ensign. I am no cat."
"Oh. Well... I'm Mission, or Ensign Vao, if you insist on protocol."
Juhani nodded and they continued to the empty bunk in the starboard dorm. She looked around and was more impressed than disappointed. "When you said dorm, I thought there would be bunks on the walls, a footlocker for each inhabitant, and nothing more. But with those divider screens and walls, and the desks, it looks very nice."
"It's one of Starfleet's better designs, that's true. Especially because normally there are no high-ranking officers aboard. According to the manual, the commanding officer is lieutenant commander or lieutenant. But this is no standard situation, so we got a captain, a commander, a lieutenant commander, two lieutenants and two ensigns. And three of us are ESPers."
Juhani set her duffel on the bunk and began unpacking it. "So what's our mission? Saving the seven dwarfs?"
Diotima blinked. "The seven dwarfs? Don't tell me Grimm's fairy tales are required reading material at the Academy!"
"No. But since most Starfleet members are still humans, I read your 'fairy tales', as it gives me an inside view on your culture. It's very interesting."
"I never read them. To answer your question, though, our mission is to find four Star Maps on four different planets. In the end, we hope to find Malak's stronghold, a space station called the Star Forge."
The Caitian looked up. "We're doing all that with a tiny Spaceship? There's no big fleet backing us up?"
"Well, if we indeed find the Star Forge, we'll call in a Starfleet strike force. But yes, for most of the mission, we're off the record and on our own."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Have you ever used the library computer? We're short on officers with science training."
Juhani nodded. "Yes. I studied sciences."
"Excellent. This might not be a big science vessel, but we still need someone to man the sensors. Take off is at 1100." With that, she left the cat-like woman to her duffel.
When Juhani seated herself at the library computer, Mission strolled over. "So, you're our new science officer."
"I wouldn't say science officer. More like hobby scientist, or sensor operator. Just be glad I can use this equipment."
"Oh, I am. That's one less duty I have to take over."
"You are rated on this equipment?"
"No. But there's a tutorial program integrated, voiced by a very nice lady."
The Caitian blinked slowly and twitched with her ears. "That I didn't know. Thank you."
The Andorian looked over her shoulder to see Bastila discussing the course with Diotima, and turned back. "What I said this morning, about you being a cat..."
"Don't sweat it, Mission. I am well aware that my species looks similar to Earth's cat."
"Yes, but it still offended you. I don't like offending people, I want us to be friends."
"I doubt that you have trouble finding friends. But you appear fairly young for an ensign."
Mission sighed. "Yeah. Technically, I am still a cadet in the second semester. Got a field promotion after we escaped Taris."
"Let's talk off duty. The captain appears to be pleased with the course Commander Mulgrew calculated. Better get to your station."
The young woman winked cheekily. "Aye, Lieutenant."
Bastila watched her crossing the bridge, relieved that both of them got along without obvious problems. "T3, you won't go down to the engine room?"
He beeped steadily twice, a signal Bastila had learned meant "no", and she seated herself. "In that case, engage all systems."
Another solid beep - this time a cheerful affirmative.
"Manoeuvring thrusters, hover the ship."
Carth pressed the buttons and nodded. "Hovering the ship."
"Retract landing gear."
Diotima did as ordered. "Landing gear retracted."
"Aft thrusters." Bastila took a breath. Take off with a Spaceship was a different procedure than launching a Starship from spacedock, but the feeling of anticipation was the same. "Take off."
With more grace than Diotima's hasty retreat from Taris, the Ebon Hawk slowly lifted itself from the surface, and glided towards the stars.
"Reaching maximum height for thrusters."
"Impulse power. Ahead one third."
Propelled by its powerful sub-light engines, the Spaceship shot out of the atmosphere. Bastila's fingers glided over the leather-covered armrests of her chair. "Set course for Cait. Warp factor 7."
"Course laid in. Warp 7."
Hearing the name of her home planet, Juhani stiffened. "Cait?"
"Yes, Lieutenant. I'm afraid that due to our busy schedule, you won't be able to visit your family," Bastila told her.
Juhani stared at the shielded sensor monitor. "I wouldn't be too sure about that...Sir."
Bastila was about to say something, but came to the conclusion that personal affairs were not a suitable topic for bridge duty. "Very well. Warp speed."
