Chapter Twenty Seven

'Doone, tell me your man has them?' Tarya had desperately been trying to contact him whilst she was being dragged back through the streets. It was very hard to pinpoint his mind amidst the chaos they were in. She was used to the minds in the south and it was far easier to filter through the noise, though ordinarily, they'd only really speak when in close proximity. It was much harder in the north. Fortunately, the folk there were unaware of their own abilities and most were too hindered by the garnering. Malcus had said quite a few things to her since they'd left but she hadn't heard a single word; her mind was far too busy.

'Tarya!' She locked her mind on the sound of his voice, never before had it been so welcome. 'Are you okay?'

'Yes, I've been sold to Malcus, I need you to try and send me your location every time you move. I don't intend staying with him for long. Who has the others..? Doone, Doone!'

"You haven't listened to a single word I've said, have you?" Malcus yanked her around and smashed his fist into her face. By the time she'd landed on the floor he dragged her back up to his face. "You belong to me now. You will share everything, and I mean everything about the south. You will serve the counted like you have never served anyone before."

"Yay," was all she could reply, refusing to be cowed.


'Tarya, Tarya!' "Dammit I've lost contact. When will the others be here?" Doone asked Damyus as he returned to the room, but before he could answer they burst through the door. Seldor had managed to bring Deanna and Beverly back to their loved ones. They threw themselves into the Captain and Commanders arms, Doone, Seldor and Damyus allowed them some privacy. Neither woman had been more grateful to be in their arms. It all felt so surreal.

"Are you two okay?" Asked Picard as both Captain and friend.

"We are okay, a little humiliated, but okay, would you not agree Beverly?"

"Yes. Whilst it wouldn't have been my first choice to spend a Friday evening as the subject of a bidding war, it could have been a lot worse."

"Have you managed to contact the Enterprise, the sooner we get out of here the better, but we need to get Tarya back too. We can't leave her to this fate," added Deanna.

"She is a member of my crew. We will not leave without her, though this web is getting more and more tangled with every second." They quietly rested in one another's company for a few minutes, grateful they were all safe and well.

"I am curious though," added Riker cheekily. "How much are you worth?" Deanna lashed out at his shoulder, harder than she'd expected too.

"Nine hundred and fifty coins apparently. No idea if that's a lot or not though."

"Oh believe me, it is a lot; that amount of coin could keep the resistance fed for the best part of half a year, and there are quite a lot of us." They turned as Seldor and the others re-entered the room. The revelation humbled them all.

"I'm sorry," was all Picard could offer.

"Yes, well, it's done now and if we can't fight for what is right, there's little point to our existence, though it does put us in an awkward position. I now have the elite of the north expecting these two to wind up in a nighthouse somewhere. You'd better make your escape look impressive to divert their attention, realise it wasn't anything I could have avoided."

"Understood," acknowledged Picard. "We will also look to reimburse you somehow, provide you with something that will be worth your while. Whatever happens, I genuinely wish your cause the best. I've never known such an oppressed people." Riker raised his eyebrows in surprise at his Captain's comment. It was unlike him to be this heartedly opinionated on another world's business when in its midst. Seldor responded with an appreciative and respective nod.


"Admiral, I've managed to adapt one of the phaser arrays. We've no means of testing it, but we should be able to fire a beam of equanime from it. We literally would be testing on the job though," reported Geordi.

"Well-done Lieutenant." She responded with more warmth than she'd shown before, whilst all the while staring at the Captain's Lionfish in his ready room. He shuffled awkwardly for a moment.

"Permission to speak freely Admiral?" She couldn't help but admire his gall.

"Permission granted."

"I appreciate this mission has turned into a complete disaster, but it genuinely was no fault of our own. This substance is beyond anything we've ever encountered. It has literally been the hindrance to this mission at every turn. Whilst on their world it appears they can use it for a vast amount of things, it is also useful beyond. You've seen how we can already move inter-dimensionally; it's opened a whole new universe of possibilities for us…"

"Lieutenant, I get it. I'm coming across as completely heartless, I have too. Diplomatically this is a nightmare, but I appreciate the scope of the ramifications. It's why I'm here…"

"There is nobody on this ship that doesn't stand for what Starfleet upholds, the Captain and Commander Riker least of all. If I'm being completely frank, I'd appreciate if you would work with us and help motivate the crew, rather than cause us to walk on eggshells. I know my team, both the officers and staff. When we are emboldened we can do almost anything…"

"Understood Commander… " She softened a bit and let out a sigh. "Let's just get our crew back." She added as a peace offering. They exchanged a small determined look before he left.


Tarya had regained her composure after the hard blow to her face. Malcus held her in his arms, taking in her scent. She kicked out, sending him hurtling through the air. He was taken aback, but not enough to completely disarm him.

"Spirited indeed," he smirked as he twisted the chain to the extent her arms became interlocked. "A few more twists and they will break, " he added as he held his face close and gazed into her eyes with a desiring want. She began to wonder if this was just foreplay to him. To his surprise she propelled her body and spun herself around until her arms were unlocked. He looked at her with what could only be considered admiration, until his face fell as the metal encasing her wrists melted away. In a panic he attempted to grab her arms, but she was more than experienced enough to mirror his movement, grab his neck and slam him into the floor. The sound of his nose breaking was worryingly satisfying. With a further lunge she swiftly snapped his neck.

Tarya sat next to her captives body, unsure whether to be grateful or despair that he couldn't heal himself in the slightest… that was it though, what's done was done. She obtained her sword from her necklace and sent a flow of equanime through it before adeptly using it to slice though his neck, both removing and cauterising it at the same time. With her sword in one hand, and his head in another, she vanished from view.


"Picard to Enterprise, do you copy?" Jean-Luc had surfaced again to try and make contact.

"Enterprise here Captain." He eyes widened.

"Admiral?"

"Indeed Captain, what is the latest?"

"We are going to try and return to the beach."

"Are you now… Geordi has managed to integrate equanime into one of your phaser arrays. We can't test its capabilities, but inform us when you arrive and we can assess our options."

"Understood, Picard out."


Within moments of them returning to their tedious, underground common-room. A puff of black smoke emerged in their midst. The form of Tarya emerged holding the vanquished head of a once 'mighty' man. She fell forwards into Doone's arms where she remained disorientated for a few moments. Seldor removed the head from her hand, prising his hair from her fingers.

"Wow that takes it out of you", she said as Doone helped her stand. "It has been millennia since I've done that. Thank you Lyden for reminding me of its existence." Doone placed his hands on her shoulders to help steady her.

"This is Malcus!" Damyus exclaimed in confusion.

"It was Malcus," she begged to differ, sounding quite drunk.

"You've killed him!" Damyus declared as he walked closer.

"I did! Yes, I guess I did… do you mind?" Seldor and Damyus looked to one another, considering her question. They both shrugged.

"No, I guess not, I suppose it improves our odds in this fight," he eventually offered.

"Tarya are you okay?" Doone asked again, whilst trying to steady her and wiping the blood that had pooled around her neck from a once deep laceration under her eye that was well on its way to healing.

"Oh I'm fine; you should see the other guy… Oh wait," she said, whilst looking for the head, wondering where it had vanished too.

"Umm, here, it's here," said Damyus whilst waving the head around, trying to help her confusion but she merely collapsed into Doone's arms.