Star Trek: The Nara-Maru Files
Akagi-Maru Incident
Explaining everything that she had experienced in the alternate timeline had been more then difficult for Asami as the secrets she had held onto had flowed out before the two most important people in her life sat before her. After hearing of the full story, Kaila had broken into an uncontrollable tears and left the room as Teela paced backwards and forwards in the room as it shook with her temper at the thought that her own wife had held back so much, for so long. Curled up almost in a ball by the door, Asami rocked back and forwards as she knew that she had destroyed her life by letting go of this secret itself.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" Teela yelled. "I knew, I knew that you where holding something back… but this?"
"I made a promise…" She said as she looked up. "Honey, I made a promise. You have no… idea of the life that they had, the life that I saw… can you forgive me?" She said as she stood quickly.
"NO!" Teela yelled. "What, what part of you thought that… I mean. I knew that you where holding something back, but this? Iolia at war with the Federation?… it's… unthinkable!" She said with shock.
"… And I have done everything, EVERYTHING within my power too prevent that. Yes, I've built up our forces, but you have no idea how bad things had gotten…" She wept openly.
"I thought… we're partners Asami, PARTNERS! And now you drop a bomb like this? Can I trust you anymore?"
"Teela, the past twenty-five years have been… amazing for me. The wife I love, the daughter that we have both raised, I have done everything and anything… to make up for it…"
"Wait a minute… who else knew Asami? Who else knew?"
"It's more complicated then that. Please… believe me when I tell you, I had no choice?" Asami begged.
"How can I believe you now? How can I believe anything you say anymore?" Teela said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You can, Ohh you can Teela! I am still the same person as I was on hour ago, the person that you made love to this morning and the last twenty five years…" Asami said as she sat slowly in a chair at her side. "… And the woman who fell in love with you, those many years ago"
"I always knew there something different about you, why you… didn't age at the same rate, why is that? WHY?"
"I-I-I don't know. When we, when we went to the doctor to create Kaila… he noticed something about me, I had a small amount of Iolian D.N.A in my system which had rewritten my own, I've been having regular check-ups since then. He, he doesn't know why… but her original D.N.A has slowed my own aging…"
"Does that make you…" Teela said with a strange look in her eye.
"Yes, in some small way I am part Iolian. Teela, I have done everything that I was asked. You have no idea of the burden that I was given, you have no idea what I saw…" Asami said as her tears dripped onto the floor beneath her.
"Then show me"
"I can't, don't you understand? I can't! it changed me in ways that I can't allow you to change. I know things that never happened. The burden of fifty years of mixed up memories, two lifetimes. The blood of trillions of souls are on my hands. Please, if you still love me as I love you, and you did before I told you, don't make me live it again… as I have every day for the last twenty five years?"
"The Nightmares?" Teela said with shock.
"Every night for twenty five years. But I did receive one gift, that I think was not meant for me or you, but Kaila… her own memories, her knowledge and experiences"
"Then show her Asami, she has a right to know… assuming that those memories where meant for her… you know that, or you wouldn't be asking for my permission" Teela said with an almost anger in her voice.
"I know, but I know more then I say Teela. I felt your love for me, and it was so overpowering… but, I also felt your grief at what happened to me, you shared that with your brother and he shared with me. I saw what you did Teela… I saw you kill many people in the most horrific way with the power that you found within you, the pleasure that you felt and the pain that it caused you later, a pain that carried on in Kaila…"
"So, what are you saying Sam? After all of this time, what are you saying?" Teela said with shock.
"I-I don't want these memories anymore… I don't want the knowledge of the countless lives that I destroyed. It was my fault, you where right twenty-five years ago. Starfleet has many procedures in dealing with that kind of a shockwave I was to be sent back early and should've had enough time to react differently, but I guess… the timing was off and I had no time to act…"
Slowly Asami stood and walked around the room as she stood tall seemingly for the first time in years as she turned towards her wife and spoke.
"Look at me, I am a temporal paradox. The… other version of me, the version before the accident was destroyed upon my arrival, for a brief moment, I felt myself and her in the same place. I felt her pain as my own presence destroyed her…"
"So… who or what are you?" Teela replied with deep shock.
"I don't know. Am I her or am I someone else? I don't know. To me Teela, I am Asami Hirayama with… memories of a time that never happened. Ever since I came back, I have made it my life's work to stop the horror that I saw. If I share those memories with Kaila and you, it will change you both in ways that I can not imagine and possibly not even allow. For the last twenty years you have struggled to control your TK abilities and have successfully managed that and you have even helped Kaila with her own abilities. If you see what I know, all of that will change as those negative emotions could take over… and put an end to everything you have fought so hard for"
"Sam, should that not be my choice? Show me Sam, show me what you know… and then we will both face this together as partners"
From the rear of the room, a voice called out seemingly slicing the atmosphere with a sharpened knife as Kaila walked towards her mother, her face was as dark with anger as she stepped at her side.
"Yes mother, show me… show me everything"
"Kaila? How, how long have you been stood there?" Asami said with shock and fear in her voice.
"Long enough to hear everything that you said. Is this why you had me… created, in memory of HER?" Kaila growled as the room began to shake with her anger.
"No sweetheart, no-no… We wanted you, don't you understand? We wanted you, someone to share all of this with. Since you where old enough, we've been training you to one-day take over from the both of us…" Teela said quickly.
"But you made me in HER image… even gave me her name!" Kaila yelled as she looked at Asami.
Holding her hands gently in hers, Asami held back her tears as she spoke with a calming voice.
"Not… entirely true. When we had you… cloned from us, we had no gender preference, in fact… we had no idea what gender you would've been until you where released from the cloning tank, your name… Kaila… was given to you in honour of the woman who meant so much to me during my childhood, my maternal grandmother, your middle name is in honour of my mother…"
"And had you been male, you where to be named after my brother and father. Your mother has trained you as she was taught by her family as have also I" Teela replied slowly. "Sam, was this timeline… really that horrific?"
"From what I saw and read, more so. The Romulans controlled everything, after the destruction of their homeworld by a Supernova, the remnants of their fleet discovered a forgotten Dominion shipyard and the begun to rebuild their fleet and clone thousands of their greatest surviving warriors, they decimated the Klingon Empire and destroyed the growing Cardassian Union, the Cardassians where extinct. Afterwards, putting aside old rivalries they signed a deadly Alliance with the Dominion itself before destroying Bajor and capturing Deep Space Nine which they handed over to the Dominion as apart of their Alliance. It had been projected that within two years, the Dominion-Romulan Alliance would control everything. The Federation had collapsed, this planet destroyed by their new super weapon many of the Iolians had scattered, but some… took up residence on an ocean world"
"Then show us, show us both" Teela said with a deep shock in her voice.
"As you wish. But I need time to prepare for this. The memories of what I saw of what I caused, still haunt me even today… I rather not relive them again however, tomorrow morning I will share with you both what I know… and the memories of what I was given. Kaila, just remember one thing… those memories where of a life that we all never lived, none of us did. You have two parents who love you very much and we've raised you as best as we could. You have a home, a family and have never wanted for anything"
"I know that mother, and I understand. But what you have to understand… Sam…" Kaila said with a large smile on her face. "… Is that we are both here for you and we will all face what ever happens afterwards together, as a family"
As the night passed onwards slowly, Kaila had eventually retired to bed before Asami had left the main living area of their luxurious home, high in the Iolian mountain range close to the capital city for what had become her own private sanctuary, a large room on the one of the upper floors of the house which had been designed in the style of a traditional Japanese home. Primarily used for her family's martial arts style which had been handed down through the centuries, it had become one of the few places on the entire planet itself where she could meditate peacefully and without the interruptions of her daily life.
Almost afraid to enter a deep meditational state because of the memories she kept, Asami closed her eyes and focused on the first memory that came into her mind in an attempt to calm herself before she most once again open the vault deep inside her mind, the area which contained the dark and deadly memories that she was given on this seemingly exact date, twenty five years into her past.
Decades Earlier…
Picking up her passenger from the Rempak Anchorage, Asami had finally delivered the Iolian woman she had come to know over the past four weeks, to her homeworld. Both sat on the bridge of the Nara-Maru, Asami looked on in awe at the vast city before her, a city which had been seemingly carved from some form of crystal in order to build the incredible metropolis of the Capital city itself which continued on as far as the eye could see in all but one direction as the city had been dwarfed by a large mountain range.
"Oh my GOD!" Asami said with awe. "It's… beautiful. Why in the name of all things holy… would you want to leave this place?"
"After awhile, it all looks like any other place to me. Mind if I take the helm? I have a storage facility not too far away"
"Of course. Would you mind if I took some sensor readings? I have… never seen anything like this before, I doubt that neither has the Federation"
"Be my guest… have you taken into consideration my offer?" Teela said as she took the helm.
"I have, it's an interesting offer. I've never worked with anyone before… on this job I mean. Give me a few more days to look into things?"
"Of course. There, do you see it? That large old building, that is my… hanger bay. I am sending the activation codes for the roof to retract. Ohh, one thing… my people have had very contacts with the outside world as I have. As you would say, follow my lead"
Slowly the roof had retracted and the small vessel slipped gracefully inside the large structure as the landing struts activated and slowly the vessel touched down onto the hard crystalline ground. Boarding what appeared to be an old land vehicle, they made their way through the capital city of the planet as Asami marvelled at her surroundings as finally, they arrived at a large and lavish home on the outskirts of the city. Slowly walking up the large ramp before the building, a figure appeared as Teela stopped Asami and spoke quietly.
"Now, that is the Regent of our world… he is not used to Off-Landers. When he looks at you, smile gracefully and follow my lead once more. He can be a little… I think the word is quirky"
"You've been reading my database again, I see that you've picked up a few things. Lead the way…" She said as the Regent stopped before them and bowed with respect.
"It has been a long time. I was beginning to think that you had gotten lost" Spoke the Regent. "It was requested that due to your guest, I vocalise my words rather then simply… transmit them"
"There has been some… problems Regent" Teela bowed slightly as Asami followed her gesture.
"As it was. You must be… Asami Hirayama, the one who came to her aide?"
"Yes, Regent" Asami said as she nervously bowed twice.
"Relax Miss Hirayama, we are all… friends here. I assume that you will be joining us for the celebrations today?"
"If I… am allowed to, I would be honoured"
"I see that you have Military training Miss Hirayama. I too am of the military… I believe the response would be, At Ease. You can relax around myself as you have around my sister here"
"SISTER?" Asami said with shock as she looked at Teela.
"Yes. I didn't want to say anything earlier… I knew that you would react differently around me as others do once they discover who I really am…"
"I do understand, I really do… My mother is a Starfleet Admiral and my late-father was an Engineer, who became an instructor at Starfleet Academy. And please sir, call me Asami or Sam?"
"As you wish, Asami, shall we go inside? My family is waiting to meet the saviour of my sister" He replied with a gracious bow.
"Of course, after you Regent" Asami replied with a bow.
The day had passed quickly as Asami had been more then welcomed into the Royal Court as an honoured guest by all. Dancing and singing along with those from the Royal Court, she had felt more at home then anywhere she had ever been as she laughed and danced along with the family she had recently met. Although her telepathic abilities had not been announced throughout the room, it became instantly known to her that the others had not known of her abilities as thoughts began to creep into her mind from everyone around her. 'What Species is she?', 'She's beautiful' and what shocked her the most was the thoughts of one woman, the Wife of the regent. 'Her eyes are amazing, almost hypnotic…' until the end of the night when she was about to retire to the quarters given to her by the Regent for the duration of her stay, standing by a set of large stairs, she offered a toast to the family vocally before finishing with a sentence that made the entire room uneasy before they broke out into laughter. 'I am… Half Human and Half Betazoid, and thank you… Minister for the compliment, I am not as attractive as anyone in here… and thank you, Madam, the shape of my eyes are a family trait of my mother and the colour from my father!'
Although deep in her ritual meditation, her mind began to wander as the busy room faded into a burnt out husk of it's former glory as explosions echoed from all directions along with the screams of thousands of Iolians as she looked around in shock and she once again begun to relieve the moment of the Royal Court's destruction through the eyes of the regent himself and her daughter, two years younger, ran towards her yelling.
"Marty, we've gotta get outta here now! This place is falling apart… four hundred Romulan ships are orbiting our world and launching asteroids at us. The Orbital defences have been destroyed along with the home fleet. We must evacuate… now"
"Not again…." Asami wept as pain ripped through her mind.
"Shall I sound the evacuation?"
Playing out once again before her, as it had every night, she became nothing but an observer through the eyes of another as the Regent was pulled away by his young niece as large pieces of the ceiling fell around them and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a figure seemed to appear before her as she let go of the image of her daughter and stand with shock at who she say before her.
"Teela?"
"Sam… I don't have much time, you are in great danger. I have entered your mind… you are stuck in this… memory of the past, your mind is failing. You need to wake up…"
"What? What are you talking about?" She said as she seemingly appeared beside the Regent as herself.
"This… memory is taking over you somehow, I found you two days ago in the outside world. I've been struggling to reach you since then. Please, stop this and come back to us before your mind is lost forever"
As the memories played out before her, it seemed as if she had become a part of the memories themselves as her daughter ran towards her and grabbed her hand as Asami looked at her in shock.
"Mother! We don't have much time, we have to get to the evacuation ship right away"
Teela's image faded from her sight as she looked at Kaila and nodded quickly as she ran alongside her towards the only remaining ship left functional, the Nara-Maru.
Teela's eyes opened instantly as she looked around the room in shock while tears ran down her face as she spoke to the doctors at her wife's bedside as she spoke.
"The memories… have broken through, we have to do something now!"
"YOU'RE the damned Doctor… do something!" She yelled as she held her daughter and wept uncontrollably.