19
The Bridge was packed with the Executive staff. Even Dr. Morgan, who was talking to the Empress. "And I must protest!" he complained to her.
"Oh?" she arched an eyebrow.
"Yes. It's your son. He shredded my Derellian bat with that knife of his."
"And you're actually complaining to me?"
"Well, it was a lot to clean up." Morgan pulled back. "I like a clean Sick Bay."
"Yes, well, you know that Jun has to practice and become skillful. Or would you prefer that he practiced on his sitter?"
"That would be even messier. But the bat, you see. It makes a certain enzyme. Very helpful for treating infections. I won't be able to get another one until we leave this wretched system."
"Can't you just put bandages on everything? Really, Morgan, you know that science bores me." The Empress said, "Ah, the gang's all here."
Doug got to his station, where MacKenzie was standing. "Dismissed," he said to Aidan.
"No. Keep him here. And you two, stay." Hoshi indicated Haddon and Delacroix. "I have good news. Or, rather, Commander Tucker does."
"Uh, yes." Tripp said, "We can get a shuttle bay open."
=/\=
"There," Baden said, "Almost like your mother in her prime." He stood back to admire his work. Jennifer was dressed in a floor-length copper gown with no sleeves and a huge slit going down the front, stopping just before her navel and then starting up again below her knees.
"I wish we had a mirror; you should see yourself. You look good," Treve said.
"Mirror," Jennifer said, "Treve."
"Yes?"
She touched his face. "Good."
Baden became angry. "Treve, you must control her. Nothing can go wrong today."
"Yes, yes, of course," Treve said, "Here, sit down," he said to Jennifer. "We'll leave soon."
"Soon," she said.
=/\=
"What are you doing?" demanded one of the doctors in front of Room 116.
Lili blanched. "Doing?" she parroted carefully.
"She must've gotten lost," Dr. Baden said, "Here, come back with me. Slowly, let's not reopen the arm wounds. You should not go running off like that." he scolded Lili.
"Running off," she said quietly.
"No. You should not be doing that. You need to rest. You are not well." he shepherded her back to her room, where Chawev, Polloria, Treve and the children were waiting.
"What happened?" Chawev asked, a little alarmed.
"Exploring, I think," Baden said, "The festival could not have come at a better time. We are losing the connection."
=/\=
"You sure about that?" Captain Archer asked Commander Tucker.
"Yeah, Cap'n." Tucker said via communicator. "I got a shuttle bay good to go. Can maneuver 'em both out, the way I see it."
"Thanks. Get up here. Archer out," Jonathan returned to the Bridge.
"Sir, take a look," Hoshi said, pointing to the screen.
"That's a lot of ships," Jonathan said.
"They all seem to be going to the second-largest planet," Travis stated.
"And look over there," Malcolm said, "Sodium vapor flares are increasing between the two smallest stars."
Hoshi listened in. "Wait, wait a second. I think repairs are working. I've got, wait, wait."
"Can you get a message out?" T'Pol asked.
"I, I think we can listen but not speak," Hoshi said.
"On screen," said Jonathan.
"Greetings, Calafans!" It was Chawev, who appeared to be alone on a huge podium. "Welcome to the Festival of Lo and Abic."
"Malcolm, assemble a strike team," Jonathan said, "Travis, you'll pilot." he clicked open a communicator. "Dr. Phlox, I have an assignment for you."
"Oh?" came Phlox's voice.
"Yes. You, Tripp and T'Pol are off to a hospital."
"Very well, sir."
=/\=
"Hayes, put together an assault team." Hoshi commanded.
"Delacroix, Haddon," he called. "And, uh, Mac."
"Sir, someone has to man the Tactical Station." MacKenzie pointed out.
"Mac, are you afraid?" Doug asked pointedly.
"Uh, no sir."
"Good. I'll get someone else up here," Doug thought for a second. "I need a pilot. Can I take Travis?"
"Yes, yes, of course." she took the Communications controls from Haddon. "Gimme those." She fiddled with them for a moment. "Hang on, I've got coordinates. Second-largest planet. A place called Point Abic."
Morgan stood up. He was a thin man who was mostly nose. "I'll be in Sick Bay. Unless you think for some reason I should run the Tactical Station." he sniffed haughtily.
"No. Empress, Cutler can do it," Doug said.
"Cutler?"
"Yes, Cutler can. She can bring Jun here and he can watch his first assault," Doug said.
"Good idea. Always thinking, aren't you, Hayes?" she smiled. "Now get down there and get my Second Engineer back."
=/\=
Jennifer fidgeted. The gown's fabric was itchy. She grabbed Treve's knee once and he looked at her in terror. "Don't do that." he whispered. They were in the fourth row and probably no one could see, but he couldn't be sure.
"Tre-eve." she smiled at him. "When will this be over?"
He got even more scared. So far as he knew, no one had said the word 'over' to her. The connection was fading and she was fully recovering. And could become very, very dangerous.
=/\=
Tripp and T'Pol piloted the shuttle while Phlox sat behind them. "I wonder if either of you have any ideas about something I found." Tripp said.
"Oh? You don't want to concentrate on this mission?" T'Pol inquired.
"Well, I think it's a little related." Tripp explained. "Plus we got a few minutes."
"Oh? I am as ready as I suppose I can be," Phlox said, "So, what is your question?"
"I found – I was looking in the Ensign's bed and also in the beds in storage. Even Hayes, Daniels and Cutler's old beds. And a lot of them had these, these metal discs in them. Just sewn up at the bottom of the mattress. I looked and I didn't have one, and Ensign Crossman and I didn't see one in her bed, either. So I think they weren't put there by the Calafans. But, strange."
"I fail to see how that's in any way related." T'Pol said.
"Actually, Commander, were any of the discs, were they coins?" Phlox asked.
"Yes." Tripp said, "One of them, I think it was an old Greek drachma from Earth. Kinda rubbed down, hard to really tell. That mean anything to you?"
"Absolutely," Phlox smiled. "It's an old Denobulan tradition. A coin is placed in a bed in order to induce profitable dreaming."
"Profitable? You mean like, to make money?" asked Tripp.
"No, profitable in the sense of, well, more like productive. Solving problems and all. Perhaps some of the Enterprise's beds were produced in a Denobulan factory."
"Maybe." T'Pol allowed. "And the relation is?"
"Well, I was thinkin'." Tripp said, "What if the coins are somehow magnifying what's happening to Ensign O'Day? I mean, no one else had wacky, vivid dreams, right? But she's sleeping on top of a, an amplifier of some sort. Don't know if Hayes is on his side, but if he is, that might be a reason why they were thrown together."
"Fascinating." T'Pol said, "There is the Main Hospital."
"We can't be certain it's the right one," Phlox pointed out.
"Let's give it a try." Tucker said.
=/\=
"And now my son, Treve, will tell the story of Lo and Abic." Chawev said. There was thunderous applause.
Treve got up. Lili had been sitting between him and Baden. "Now, you must be very quiet." Baden whispered to her.
"Quiet," she said.
20
"Once, when the universe was young, there was nothing and no one but Lo. But she was by herself, and lonely. So she broke off a piece of herself and that became Abic," Treve said, "They became lovers and their joy was heard throughout the young universe."
Lili was hot. It was stifling on Point Abic.
Treve continued. "But they did not know, that they lived at a crossroads, and that there were others. Night people."
Now Lili pricked her ears up.
"At night, Lo thought she was with Abic. And Abic, he thought he was with Lo. But Abic was with Ub. And Lo was with Fep. From dusk until dawn, Abic thought he was loving Lo, pleasing her, being one with her. But it was tricky Ub instead."
=/\=
"And it came time and Ub and Lo both became heavy with child. After they gave birth, it was clear that Abic and Fep were not the fathers they thought themselves to be. They made sure the next time, and Ub and Lo became pregnant again. Those four children were banished to the stars by their parents, and we see them today in our sky," Treve said.
=/\=
"Let us pray," Treve said. The entire audience became silent.
Lili was nodding off. It was just too hot.
=/\=
Doug was sitting in the back of the shuttle with Deb Haddon and Brian Delacroix. Travis and MacKenzie were piloting the shuttle.
Doug was beat. Double shifts were doing him in. He closed his eyes for just a moment.
=/\=
"You're back!" Lili called out.
"You couldn't hear me last time, when you were in the room with that, that sick woman," Doug said, taking her hand in his.
"Doug, I was awake then. Strange. Doug, I think the connection is unraveling."
"Yes, I think you're right. Where are you?"
"On the summit of a place called Point Abic. I'm supposed to point to a woman named Polloria when I get a cue."
"Hmm. Do you think this is the final connection?"
"Yes," Lili looked at him with shining eyes.
"Regrets?" he asked her.
"None from my time with you," she said, "I feel I should be telling you something strategic, but all I want to do is kiss you."
Doug only hesitated for a moment. "Lili, I love you." He then kissed her more forcefully than either of them expected.
=/\=
"Wake up, Old Man!" Deb shoved him in the shoulder, hard.
"Huh, wha?"
"Ha, Old Man, are you crying?" Delacroix asked mockingly.
"No, 'course not. Just allergic to something. Probably MacKenzie's aftershave. You're not supposed to bathe in it, Mac."
"Someone likes it that way." MacKenzie said.
"Almost there," Travis said.
=/\=
"Well, here it is. Room 116." Tripp said, pushing the door open.
"There is no indication of a human in the area." T'Pol said.
"That's definitely not the Ensign," Phlox said, "I, I wonder what we are supposed to be doing here." he clicked open a communicator and contacted Captain Archer.
"Well, interesting," Jonathan said.
"Captain, I don't believe it would be ethical for me to treat this woman. So, what should I do instead?"
"I think, Phlox," Jonathan said, "that instead you need to diagnose her. Archer out."
"Very well," Phlox said, "But I am beginning to feel this is like Fenna all over again."
"What's Fenna?" Tripp asked.
"Fenna is not a what. Fenna is a who. Or, at least, she was," Phlox explained. "Commander, kindly investigate what those tubes are for while I examine the, the patient."
T'Pol did as instructed and began tapping on her PADD.
=/\=
"Here, set down here," Doug commanded, indicating a small clearing.
"No, here," Travis said, bringing the shuttle down in a more forested area.
"Whatever," Doug muttered quietly under his breath.
=/\=
"And now we will contact the others." Chawev announced to the crowd. "Be with who you desire."
Lili could hear people whispering and murmuring around her, and they were mainly answering, "Be with who you desire."
Everyone but Lili closed their eyes. She could suddenly hear not one, not two, but thousands of voices. She looked around. No one's mouth was moving. Their eyes and lips were closed, yet she could hear them. Yimar's voice: "Grandfather, I miss you." Baden's: "Come to me, Miva. It has been too long." Chawev's: "It is time."
Then Lili noticed that Treve didn't have his eyes closed. Her eyes met his briefly and then he stared straight ahead, avoiding her gaze.
The murmuring became a louder buzz, and Lili noticed that Baden appeared to be aroused. A quick glance confirmed that a lot – although not all – of the men were in a similar condition. The buzzing became louder and lost all coherence until it was one long shriek of undefined noise. She covered her ears and could not block it out. It stopped suddenly. "Group sex?" she asked Treve quietly.
"Not exactly." he whispered. "Can't explain right now."
"And now, Calafans!" Chawev called out. "Yipran is back! And she is here to designate her successor!"
"You'll need to stand up now," Treve said to Lili, helping her up.
=/\=
Jennifer looked around the packed venue. "I choose, hmm, Treve!" she called out, giggling.
"You can't choose him. It has to be a woman!" Polloria was seething.
"Oh. Well," Jennifer spun around and pointed. "Her."
=/\=
It was slow going in the dense forest. Doug and Deb Haddon were in front, followed by MacKenzie and Travis. Brian Delacroix was bringing up the rear.
Large animals trotted all around them. "Looks like game to me." MacKenzie aimed his phase rifle.
"Focus, Mac. Our objective is the summit," Doug said.
"How do you know where to go, Old Man?" Deb asked.
"I just, I just know. C'mon."
There was the softest of clicks. The sound of a safety catch coming off. Doug had a split second to hit the ground.
=/\=
"Fenna is, was, well, there really isn't an equivalent human word for it. She was not my daughter and not my niece. She was my wife Feezal 's child but not mine, not biologically. But I cared about her, of course. She was family. She was very young and very, very foolish," Phlox began.
"Lots of young people are." Tripp pointed out.
"To be sure," Phlox agreed. "She met a man who was thoroughly inappropriate for her. And, and it did not turn out well at all."
"It is my understanding that Denobulans wed three persons, not one." T'Pol said.
"That's almost always the case. But in very, very rare instances, a one-to-one bond is formed. That would not have mattered so much, except that Zoph turned out to be violent," Dr. Phlox said, "Here, let's take this tube off the patient's leg for a moment while I get a reading. Zoph, well, he beat Fenna. He beat her so severely that she ended up precisely this way: in a persistent vegetative state. Feezal agonized over the decision for years. And Zoph didn't make it any easier for her, and blocked her at every turn. We finally ended up taking him to court for control over Fenna's medical future. We, fortunately, we won our case and Fenna was taken off life support machinery. She died peacefully – or as peacefully as is possibly, given the circumstances. But Zoph. I am not, I like to think I am not a vengeful person. But ..."
"But you can't help being angry that it's him who's alive and not her." Tripp said.
"Precisely," Phlox said, "Hand me the scanner, please."
=/\=
Lili stood and blinked a few times in the heat. "I, I don't understand. Why does there have to be only one High Priestess?" she asked. "Why can't every woman be a High Priestess?"
"Because it's not done that way!" Polloria was apoplectic.
"Wait, wait." Chawev said, "The, the government will debate this important question. We are, we are adjourned."
=/\=
"How very interesting. And disturbing," Phlox said.
"Yes." T'Pol added.
"Wanna clue me in?" Tripp asked.
"These tubes are delivering almost 100% pure potassium to the patient." T'Pol said.
"Well, isn't that a good thing? It's like food, isn't it?" Tripp asked.
"In smaller doses, yes. And I don't pretend to know Calafan physiology that well," Phlox said.
"But?" Tripp prompted.
"I would say, in my considered medical opinion, that the excessive amounts indicate a far different motivation. Do you concur?" he asked T'Pol.
"I do," she said.
"And ...?" asked Tripp.
Dr. Phlox said, "I believe this patient is being poisoned."
=/\=
"Father, what shall I do?" Yimar asked. Jennifer was still pointing at her.
"Uh, stand up. Let the people see you. Acknowledge them, and see if they will accept you."
"It's not supposed to be a child!" Polloria yelled.
Yimar got up and the crowd roared.
"What does that mean?" she asked, a little shakily.
=/\=
A shot was fired.
Doug knew not to get up, but he did have to lift his head in order to see what was going on. A hand shoved him down again for an instant, and another shot was fired.
He raised his weapon.
"Don't bother, Old Man. I took care of it." Haddon said, putting her weapon back.
It was Delacroix. She'd blown away most of his face. He was writhing on the ground, clearly incapable of recovery.
Doug looked at Delacroix. "Fifteen," he said, and prepared to fire.
"No. Allow me," Travis was grinning and, before Doug could stop him, he had dispatched Delacroix, by grinding his boot onto what was left of the injured man's neck.
Doug winced and looked away for a second.
"I get to move up, right?" Deb asked.
"Yeah," Doug said grimly. "That's the rule."
"Good!" she chirped.
"Hey, Haddon," Travis said, coming over, not even bothering to wipe off his bloodied boot. "I got a job for you." He licked his lips.
"Oh?" she asked.
"Yeah. Gotta have it right after. This won't take long," Travis said, reaching for her.
"We're on a mission, remember?" Doug bristled. "Have your fun later. The Empress will oblige, I'm sure."
"Since when are you so formal?" MacKenzie said, "I'm sure she'll do you, too, Old Man. That is, if you're capable."
"We don't have the time," Doug spat out. "Oh and when we're done, and we've got Crossman back, do me a favor? I figure you owe me, Travis, for letting you finish Delacroix off, like I know you like to do."
"Depends what it is," Travis said, annoyed that his fun had been spoiled, but recognizing that he did owe a small favor.
"Yeah." Haddon said.
"Let me stay out here on this rock. Tell the Empress you fragged me. That way, you can get a promotion, too, Mac. No muss, no fuss. You can even tell her I cried for mercy and anything else that gets you your jollies. But me? I'm stayin' here."
=/\=
Calafans were pouring down the hillsides. Malcolm and his team couldn't make any headway. "Let's rendezvous with the other shuttle." he suggested. "We're too outnumbered to do anything here."
21
There was a sound at the door. Tripp looked up. "Show time, I guess."
Four Calafans came in. "What are you doing to this patient?" asked one of them.
"I could ask the same of you," Phlox said, "Do you know that this patient is here because of a crime?"
=/\=
The ride back to the hospital was slow and torturous. Treve sat with Jennifer. She sat close to him, looked him up and down constantly.
"Get that beast back now." Polloria had commanded. Now she was silently angry.
"Polloria," Chawev began, "perhaps there is a way out of this. After all, Yimar is still a young girl. She will need guidance. Which she can get from you."
"I have been waiting for years for this. And this inferior just, just, I can't speak," Polloria said.
"Five years or so." Chawev said.
"Eight." Polloria corrected him.
"Eight?" he asked. "Where are you getting eight from?"
"Oh, don't be a fool," Baden said, "The foundation was laid before, oh, forget it."
"Foundation for what?" asked Jennifer.
"For today. For what you completely messed up," Polloria said.
"Wait, wait, what foundation?" Treve asked.
=/\=
It was a slow ride back. Treve sat with Lili. "Can you tell me now?" she asked quietly.
He nodded. "The meditation you saw, the group meditation. We do it every year. Actually, we do it every night, but as a group a few times per year. Today, for the festival, was one of those times. We, we make contact with the night people. Did you see those big dishes on the side of Point Abic?"
Lili nodded.
"Those are amplifiers. The night people, they can be seen any night, but it's when we all get together and are near the amplifiers that we get a truly clear picture."
"Who are you contacting?"
"Lovers, mostly. I don't have a lover, so I kind of bowed out. Of course a child like Yimar wants to talk to her grandmother or someone like that. And Chelben doesn't even know anyone; he is a bit too young to really be able to act as a conduit."
"Wait, did you say you have nighttime lovers?" Lili asked.
"Yes."
"Quiet over there! I have a headache!" Polloria snarled.
"Treve, I have one, too, a lover in the night," Lili said softly.
He was caught up short. "That's – that's not supposed to be possible among inf – uh, other species."
=/\=
"A crime?" asked one of the Calafan doctors.
"Yes." T'Pol said, showing him her PADD.
"There are tens of thousands of milligrams of potassium being pumped into this patient." The doctor read off. "No wonder she is comatose."
=/\=
"Captain, I have a reading," Jenny communicated to the Bridge.
"Go ahead," said Jonathan.
"Those dishes all dotting up and down that hillside? They're all, they're made from the same alloy as the disc Commander Tucker and I found in Lili's bed."
"Is it exact?" he asked.
"Almost," she said.
=/\=
Back at the hospital, Chawev, Treve and Polloria held Jennifer down while Baden held a weapon to her head. "There. That oughta keep you, beast," Baden said.
Polloria paced furiously. She took off a little jacket she'd been wearing and threw it on a chair. "Get those children out of here. There's been a change of plans."
Treve shepherded his little sister and brother out of the room.
"Tell me about the eight years, Polloria." Chawev insisted.
"Eight," Polloria said, counting them on her fingers. "Three to get things started and prime you. Five with Yipran in that bed downstairs."
"Primed?" asked Chawev.
"Listen," Jennifer said, "I may not know you people much at all, but I can recognize a scam when I see one. She came on to you, right? Shook her tail at you or whatever it took. You weren't doing so hot with your wife then and so you went along with it, and you ended up bonding, which really threw a wrench into things at home. You're doing her and you're keeping it from your wife, who's getting sick and nobody can explain it. Am I right?"
"More or less." Baden admitted.
"And you even make it look good by having another kid. But it goes haywire when your wife gets really sick. And you're incapable of just doing the deed and finishing her off, so the wife lingers. On and on and on – that's your five years, right? But those previous three or so? That was this one, and this one," Jennifer nodded first to Polloria, and then to Baden, "getting everything ready. Some kind of slow method, something no one would notice or detect. Your wife would probably just look tired. Which makes this one," she nodded again to Polloria, "even more attractive to you. After all, your wife is getting older looking, and your girl just looks hotter and is gonna do you even more, 'cause your wife can't any more. Right?"
Chawev looked ill. "You said Yipran would be able to live."
"It's your indecision that has created this situation, Chawev," Baden said, "An injection of tricoulamine would end everything and would possibly be considered merciful under the circumstances."
"You said there would be chaos." Chawev pointed out.
"I did," Baden said, "But this stringing it all along is not much better. It was your idea to pull in the alien and have it all tie to the festival. It is your responsibility that the alien wasn't as, as pliable as expected."
"What should we do?" Chawev moaned.
"This situation cannot be sustained," Polloria said, "But dispatching this one in public is not gonna happen; there's no time. It'll have to be done today. Then you'll bring Yimar in front of the people and we'll, we'll take her under our wing. Nurture and guide her and tell her what to do."
"Your regular life is over, Chawev," said Baden. "You'd best go along with this or we will speak with the government. You'll be removed as First Minister and your little ones taken from you."
"So, so we should, should get rid of this one now?" Chawev asked.
"Yes. And the person to do it is Treve," Polloria said.
=/\=
"There's too many of them!" Travis yelled.
"We're outnumbered. Fall back!" Doug answered.
"To where?" Haddon asked.
"There's a building back there. The Main Hospital," Doug said, "We'll go there."
"How do you know about that, Old Man?" asked MacKenzie.
"I just do. Now, quick march!" Doug commanded.
=/\=
"So we are in agreement?" Polloria asked Baden and Chawev.
"Yes. I will get my son back in here to do the deed. I am," he said to Lili, "I guess I am sorry you were caught in this. But, you see, you cannot be kept alive. You know too much about this. You are proof that this happened. The rest of it, I will fix somehow, get the government to reject your proposal of having virtually infinite priestesses."
"It doesn't have to be this way," Lili said.
"Yes, it does," Polloria said while Chawev left the room.
=/\=
Treve was left alone with Jennifer once he'd shown he would hold the weapon at her head. "I, I'm not a killer."
"I know," Jennifer said, "But I am."
=/\=
Malcolm clicked his communicator closed. "Room 116," he said, "Looks to be this way."
=/\=
"Treve, I don't think this is in your make up," Lili said.
"It's, it's not. But you can read between the lines here. This is going to unravel my family."
"What about your mother?"
"My mother? She has been effectively dead for half a decade. No matter what the reason is, she's just gone."
"Who's been treating her? Other than Baden?" Lili asked.
"N-no one." The light dawned. "Do you think another doctor could ...?"
"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Lili said, "Haven't he and Polloria been lying to you and your Dad all along? Why wouldn't your mother's prognosis be a lie as well?"
=/\=
"J-Jennifer," Treve said, "that is your name, yes?"
"Yes."
"I have an idea. Can you, do you think you can run?"
"Only without this heavy gown on. There's the hospital shift. I could run in that." She dropped her dress to the floor.
"I, huh, I'd best focus," Treve said, "Here, you can put this on, too." he gave her Polloria's jacket.
"A little large," Jennifer said, "Now what?"
"This wall is an outside wall," he said, "Once I'm done, you shoot straight through it. This is the second story. You can jump down, probably not injure yourself. And just get to the forest. You'd have to live there for, well, until further notice."
"What about you?"
"I said you do this after I'm done. So, this first." he pointed the weapon at his own head.
=/\=
A doctor looked over the patient. "This is, I could swear this is the High Priestess. Even though we saw her this morning. But, but, this woman, I think this is really her."
"An imposter?" asked another doctor.
"Yes," said the first, "perhaps to assure proper succession. That would be my guess."
"Then the First Minister is ...?" asked a third doctor.
There was a sound at the door.
=/\=
"What's taking so long in there?" Polloria demanded from outside the room.
"Just a, just a moment," Treve said.
"My ship is out there. They're looking for me," Lili said.
"Get on with it, Treve!" Polloria yelled.
=/\=
Jennifer got up and approached Treve. "Don't do that," she said, "Come with me."
"But, I am no good at such things," he said, "Blood sickens me. I can't hunt, and I'm barely in any shape to run."
"Doesn't matter," she said.
"Do you, do you care for me? Are you, is there a bonding?"
"I, I don't know yet," she said, "But I do know that something in here," she tapped her temple, "has changed. Maybe the way your doctors fixed me up, maybe it's more permanent than it's supposed to be."
"I'll only slow you down." he insisted.
"Then I'll speed you up," she said. Her hand on his, they pointed the weapon at the hospital wall and fired.
=/\=
"What was that?" MacKenzie asked.
"Sounded like weapons fire. Over there," Doug pointed with his phase rifle. "Fire over there."
"That's where we're going, isn't it, Old Man?" Haddon asked.
=/\=
"What's this?" asked the Calafan doctor.
"Lieutenant, good to see you," said Dr. Phlox. "Have you found the Ensign yet?"
"No, we were hoping she would be with you."
There was the sound of a weapon being discharged.
"Up one flight," Malcolm said, running toward it with Travis, Haddon and MacKenzie right behind him.
=/\=
The hospital wall was in flames. "You could go through there, go to freedom. I suspect we could give you asylum for saving me," Lili said.
"My, my sister and my brother. I don't think they're safe. I don't trust Polloria at all, and I scarcely trust Father with them now."
Polloria, Chawev and Baden burst into the room. "What's going on?" Polloria demanded.
"She gets to leave." Treve announced. "Either through there or the door. Doesn't matter much, although through there will help you to save face." He indicated the now-absent wall.
"You can't do anything right!" Polloria complained.
"Now, now." Chawev said.
Yimar came in with her brother. "We heard shouting," she said, "What's going on?"
"Your, your brother is, ..." Polloria began.
"Coming to his senses." Chawev said, "As am I."
"The people will be told. You will go to prison for sure, both of you." Baden threatened.
"Father?" asked Yimar. "For what?"
"For harming a lady downstairs, I'd guess," Malcolm said, coming in with his team.
Chawev snapped back. "What?"
"Yes," Phlox said, breathless, behind Malcolm and with the Calafan doctors trailing him closely. "For the potassium poisoning of a woman who has been identified to me as being the High Priestess of this system."
=/\=
The jump wasn't easy, but they both landed all right. Jennifer took Treve's hand. "Which way to water? We'll start with that."
"Uh, that way." he pointed. They started running. As Treve had said, he wasn't in much shape for running, and needed to rest after a while.
While they were sitting on a rock, Jennifer heard her name being called.
=/\=
"You all right?" Tripp asked Lili.
"Yes, I think so," she said, "Good to see the cavalry get here on time."
He clicked open a communicator. "Cap'n, we got her."
"What about Hayes?" asked Jonathan.
Lili shook her head.
"I don't, I don't think so." Tripp said.
"Return to the ship as soon as possible. Archer out."
"Will you release control of the ship?" T'Pol asked Chawev.
"It, the control can be released but there may be some small damage. Our, our method is to suppress memory. The, this woman's memory was, was suppressed, and so was your ship's. Your ship, essentially, forgot how to do some things. All to keep you here and let us do our work. We, our way is to study an individual and see how well that individual recovers from this kind of induced aphasia. Your systems should be similarly affected." he explained.
"And the rest of it?" Malcolm asked.
"That was extra," Treve said, "To, to try to jerry-rig our politics. It, it did not work as expected."
"Ready to go?" asked Tripp.
"I won't see him again, my nighttime man, will I?" Lili asked Treve.
"Let me think about that," he said, "And, Father, it may be best for you to think on that as well. If we can ever make amends to these people, perhaps that is what we need to understand."
=/\=
"Aidan?" Jennifer asked.
"Yes."
Jennifer blinked several times. She and Treve were holding hands. Both of them were dirty from running through the forest. "These are your people. You should go with them," Treve said.
"No," she said, and turned to walk away.
"The Empress won't like this," Travis warned.
"The Empress can go to hell for all I care," Jennifer said, "And you can quote me on that."
Haddon cocked her weapon and aimed it at Jennifer. Doug pushed her arm down. "No. Don't do that. We found her body in the forest. That's gonna be the story."
"Empress won't be happy," Travis repeated. "Delacroix down and no Crossman to boot."
"Yeah," Aidan said, "So someone's gotta take the fall for that. It's not gonna be me." He pointed his weapon at Doug's head. "You're coming back with us, Old Man."