2373: Siana Thrax

(Cardassia Prime – Thrax Family Farm, outside Lakarian City, Kitchen – 2373.31.07, 0803)

Siana had finished breakfast and packed her things for school. As it was every morning, the kitchen was chaos. Siana was the youngest of the nine Thrax children. Born in 2356 to Seska and Crell Thrax, she was seventeen now. She was also the only one still in school. All of the older Thrax children – five boys and three girls – all worked on the fields with Seska. Crell did the books and maintenance. Finally, there was her uncle May'Kor.

May'Kor was Crell's brother and the first officer of a Groumall-class freighter called the Rysta. Because of his job, he was away most of the time. But he had a room in the house that he used when he was here. And it was always great to have him around. He had taught Siana to hunt when she was fifteen. Siana was about to leave, when there was a knock at the door. ~Who's that ?~ Seska opened the door. From where she was standing, Siana could see that there were three people in military uniforms standing outside the farm.

"Seska Thrax, by order of the Cardassian Central Command, all adults over eighteen in Quadrant 7-A.." This area of farmland included the Thrax farm and eighteen others, each home to large families. "…are to be drafted for military service."

"You can't do this ! The Central Command is no longer in charge ! The Detapa Council…"

"Has been dissolved," The man who was doing the talking appeared to be a Gul. "In case you missed the news, Cardassia has joined the Dominion."

The news of Cardassia joining the Dominion had shocked everybody in the Thrax household when it had hit two days ago. Crell had called May'Kor right away to check up on him. Fortunately, the Rysta had been on the far side of the Union when the new alliance had gone to war against the Klingons and Maquis. The Gul gestured for all of them to leave the farmhouse. While it was unsaid, everybody knew that if they didn't go outside themselves, the soldiers would drag them out. So they all followed the order.

There were soldiers waiting outside the fence. There were nine of them, guarding twenty plus draftees. Clearly, the Thrax home had not been their first stop. Oddly enough, there was also a man in a suit. The Gul and the two soldiers lined the Thrax family up. Then the man in the suit took out a tricorder and began scanning them one by one. When he got to Siana, he shook his head.

"Seventeen, she's too young." He turned to the Gul. "We can always draft her later, should it be necessary."

"What about the parents ?"

"They are too old, sir." Siana realized that man in the suit was the unit's doctor. "And my records indicate that the father has served previously. He suffered injuries that made him unsuitable for further service."

"Very well," He turned to the soldiers. "Take the rest. If they resist, shoot the parents."

The soldiers nodded and removed Siana, Crell and Seska from the line. Then they forced the others to join the draftees in the road. Siana could do nothing but watch them go.

(Cardassia Prime – Thrax Family Farm, Siana's Room – 2373.01.08, 0737)

Yesterday had been the worst day in Siana's life. She had lost everybody except her parents. She had gone to school. But she couldn't remember anything about the lessons. The whole day was a blur. Well, except for those horrible five minutes. She had gone to bed the moment dinner had been over, hoping that the whole thing had just been a nightmare. That she would wake up and all her siblings would be here, safe and sound. But when she opened her eyes, all she heard was silence.

~They're gone, they're really gone.~ Then the door opened and uncle May'Kor came in. He didn't say anything, but simply wrapped his arms around her. And finally, all the tears and agony she had been holding in came out. She had no idea how long they were like that, but it felt like forever. Then he broke the silence.

"A shower and breakfast will help," He said. "Then we'll talk."

"What about school ?"

"I'll take care of it," She gave her a warm smile. "You don't become first officer without learning how to yell about the right people."

"I'm so glad you're here."

He kissed her on the forehead, then left. She took a deep breath and went to pick her clothes for today.

(Cardassia Prime – Thrax Family Farm, Kitchen – 2373.01.08, 0835)

Uncle May'Kor had been right. She felt a lot better having showered and eaten. ~He's good this uncle thing.~ She had always thought that he would make a good dad as well. While she had been eating, Crell and May'Kor had been talking about what to do next. Siana had expected them to be yelling after what had happened. The two of them disagreed about politics a lot. But instead, they were calm and collected. ~If the Dominion makes the two of them agree, they must be bad news.~ May'Kor entered the kitchen and sat down, while Crell talked to Seska. When Crell was done, Seska simply nodded in agreement. They joined Siana and May'Kor at the kitchen table.

"Siana," Crell began. "We and uncle May'Kor had been talking and…" He sighed. "…the truth is that Cardassia Prime isn't safe for you anymore."

"Daddy, what are you saying ?"

"You heard what that doctor said. You're too young for military service now, but next year…"

"…They will come for you, Siana." May'Kor finished the sentence. "I'm not trying to scare you, Sy." He was the only one who called her that. "But I made some calls to people I trust. And these Dominion people, they are bad. It's only a matter of time before war erupts. You need to leave Cardassian space."

"And where…" It clicked in her head. "The Federation ? Are you serious ?"

"Starfleet is a volunteer organization. The Federation doesn't draft its citizens, you'll be safe."

Siana was about to object, but the look on her parent's faces made it clear that they were worried about losing their last child. Even if her siblings made it back, they would be different. ~Scared by war.~ And they didn't want that to happen to her. So they were sending her away to keep her out the fighting.

"How will get me there ?"

"Rysta is going on a run towards one of the solar systems near the border next week. I'll smuggle you aboard and launch you across the border in one of her escape pods." May'Kor paused. "I won't lie. If they catch us, we will both get executed. But in the long-term, this is the best chance you have."

Part of Siana still doubted. But she knew that her parents were simply trying to protect her. So she nodded agreement and considered the matter closed.

(Cardassia Prime – Lakarian City Spaceport, Storage Bay 15 - 2373.08.08, 0402)

Siana had said goodbye to her parents in the middle of the night. The Rysta was launching at 0500, so May'Kor had to smuggle her onboard now. So here they were, tiptoeing through the spaceport. The influence of the Dominion was already visible here. Lakarian City's Spaceport had always been understaffed. Especially in the security department. But now, there were Jem'Hadar soldiers reinforcing the security staff. Fortunately, May'Kor had already made fake identification papers for her before they arrived.

So, she had been able get inside without getting caught. But now came the hard part. Actually getting onboard the Rysta. May'Kor had modified a crate with all sorts of equipment. Once inside, she would be invisible to the ship's internal sensors, while an air scrubber would allow her to breathe. There was food and water in the box. There was even a bucket for….well, relief….and a supply of toilet paper. It wouldn't be very comfortable, but she would be able to hide for a couple of days.

She climbed into the crate. ~Here goes…~ Her uncle gave her a smile and then put the lid in place. A couple of minutes later, she could feel the crate moving. As she was loaded onto the Rysta, she pondered prayer. But then she remembered that she, like the rest of the Thrax family, didn't believe in gods. ~Might want to reconsider that.~ Then the crate came to a stop. But the lid remained solidly in place. Now it was a waiting game.

(CDS Rysta – Cargo Bay 3 – 2373.14.08, 0607)

It had been a little over six days since the Rysta had left Cardassia Prime. And she was now as close to the Federation as she was ever going to get. So the time had come for Siana to leave the crate and get into the escape pod. But as soon as the left the crate and stretched, a male voice made her jump.

"So, this is the niece you brag about so much."

Siana turned to see a Gul standing in the doorway. He was armed with a disruptor pistol.

"Sir, I can…"

"No need," The gul put away his disruptor. "I have children myself. My wife wrote me a rather angry letter about the draft. And if it gets under my wife's skin…" He smiled. "Come on, let's get you across the border."

"Thank you, sir."

The Gul didn't say anything, but simply led them into the corridor. It wasn't very far to the nearest escape pod. Siana took a deep breath and climbed into the pod. It was designed to hold four people. ~At least its not so cramped as the crate.~ And it came with a proper toilet. She closed the hatch and heard it lock. There was a jolt as the escape pod launched. This was followed by the escape pod rattling as it fell out of the Rysta's warp field.

Once the rattling stopped, she looked around for the controls. They were located in a small alcove across from the toilet. Siana climbed in and activated them. ~Flight controls.~ The display showed a map with her current location indicated by a red dot. ~Here we go.~ She plotted a course for the Federation and fired the thrusters. She had truly left Cardassia behind now.

(Escape Pod Two – Main Room – 2373.05.09, 1218)

The escape pod was moving as fast as it could. Because they didn't have a cooling system, the thrusters could only be fired in bursts. Siana had fired as much bursts as she could. But on day five, she had run out of fuel. Still, it felt like she was crawling across a vast desert of stars. She had enough food and water for another three weeks. But she would run out of air in three days.

"Well, I guess there's worse way to…"

Then her escape pod jolted. ~Is that a tractor beam ?~ She got her answer as the escape pod was put down on a deck. Of course, there was the question of who owned the ship that deck was a part of. If it was a Cardassian or Dominion ship, she would be in major trouble. And she didn't want to think about how Starfleet would treat her if it was one of their ships. ~Only one way to find out, Sy.~ Siana made her way to the hatch and pressed the buttons to open it. A loud hiss was followed by a series of clicks and then the hatch slid aside. At first, the lights were very bright as she climbed out. But then her eyes adjusted and she saw that she was in a Federation cargo bay.

"Hello ? Anybody here ?" She said as she climbed down to the floor.

Three people entered the cargo bay. They were in civilian clothes. Two of them were blue with antenna on their head and one was pink. This was the first time that Siana had met somebody who wasn't Cardassian. So she felt a knot of worry grow in her stomach. The pink one was carrying a small metallic cylinder with a light on top. The light was blinking red at first, but the pink one pressed some buttons and it turned solid green.

"Hello, I am Captain Henry O'Neill. This is Doctor A'Baris…" He pointed to one of the two blue ones, this one appeared to be female. "…And this is Chief Engineer Emoll." The other blue one was male. "You're aboard the SS Oregon. She's a civilian freighter and we're on our way to Earth's solar system."

"Earth ? Is that a Federation planet ?"

"Yes, it's the capital. Now, Doctor A'Baris needs to make sure you're healthy. So I need you to go with him to our sickbay."

"Yes, G…I mean, Captain."

She followed A'Baris out the cargo bay.

(SS Oregon – Sickbay – 2373.05.09, 1235)

Siana sat on one of the beds in Sickbay. Doctor A'Baris had examined her and found that she was healthy. In the meantime, she had told the doctor about how her siblings had been taken away and how uncle May'Kor had smuggled her into Federation space. In return, A'Baris had told her about Andorians, her own species, Humans and the Federation. She was reading a PADD about Earth and its solar system when Captain O'Neill came in.

"How's our latest arrival doing, doctor ?"

"Her name is Siana Thrax. And all her bits and pieces are in working order." A'Baris said. "Everything else falls under doctor-patient confidentially, skipper."

"Thank you, doctor." He sat down on one of the other beds and took out a recorder. "So, Siana, how did you end up in Federation space ?"

"May I ?" She put down the PADD and O'Neill handed her the recorder. "My name is Siana Thrax and I'm Cardassian…" She recapped the same things she had told Doctor A'Baris. Then she handed the recorder back to Captain O'Neill, who turned it off. "Thank you for saving me from that escape pod, Captain. So, what happens next ?"

"Well, I think it's time we introduce you to Federation food. Then we'll see about getting you a guest cabin."

"I was thinking more long-term, sir."

"You don't have to call me sir. And we'll drop you off on Earth."

"From what I've read so far, Earth is…well, really big." She picked up the PADD. "So, where exactly on Earth ?"

"We can beam you down wherever you want. So you have some thinking to do." O'Neill jumped off the bed. "I have to go back to the bridge. But the Mess Hall is open at all times. And Doctor A'Baris can help you find that cabin."

"Thank you, Captain."

O'Neill left and Siana went back to reading. She had some research to do before they reached Earth.

(Earth – Mojave Desert - 2373.25.10, 0630)

Siana had arrived on Earth several days after being picked up by the Oregon. She had gone down to a town called Cape Town. She had wandered Earth for a while, before travelling to Luna and then Mars. From there, she had gone to Titan and Pluto. After a couple of stops in the asteroid belt, she was now back on Earth. She had arrived at Los Angeles, before travelling to Las Vegas. After two days in Vegas, she was now on her way to Phoenix, Arizona.

Unfortunately, she was running low on supplies. She had thought that the Federation didn't use money, but the truth was they did. They were called Federation credits. Siana had been putting her cooking skill to good use earning them. As for her current destination, she was chasing a rumor. She had heard whispers about a town of refugees called Nothing. Siana had spent her last credits on a tent in case the town didn't exist. But then she spotted a building on the horizon. As she got closer, she saw more structures and realized that the town was a lot bigger then the rumors claimed.

~Shouldn't be hard to find a place to sleep here.~ Her plan was to stay today, get a good night of sleep and then leave. As she walked into the town, she spotted a tavern called The Old Tent. ~Sounds like a good place to start.~ She entered the tavern and looked around. The people sitting at the tables were a mix of species and ages. A young Human stood behind the bar. ~He's cute.~ One of the customers called him William. Then somebody turned to her. It was a Human male with short, red hair and blue eyes.

"Hello, welcome to The Old Tent," The man began. "I'm Francis Morris. But everybody calls me Frank."

"I'm Siana Thrax. Shouldn't you be surprised to see a Cardassian on Earth ?"

"No, we have people from all over the place. Here in Nothing, the only politics we care about are the local elections." He smiled at her. "And everybody is welcome. So pick your poison."

"Yeah, I'm not really doing that good in the credits department."

"Nobody is. You'll fit right in. Now, what do you want ?"

"I'm in the mood for some milk and two tuna sandwiches."

"Coming right up."

Frank left to get her order, while Siana looked around to find herself a seat. Fortunately, she found an empty stool at the bar. The bad news was that the cute barkeep wasn't there anymore. As she looked around the bar, an odd-looking animal came skittering across the bar. It had a collar with a name tag that translated as 'Ashes'. She petted the animal. It was dry and scaly. Then Frank came back with her breakfast. As she bit into the first sandwich, her tastebuds and instincts told her that she might up staying a lot longer than planned.

Next: 2374: Yenna Chor'dan