Disclaimer: This is fanfiction. Anything you recognize is not mine. All characters and events in this story are entirely fictional.
-=oOo=-
Before they left that dimension they forwarded a request for backup. They had a feeling they were going to need it.
"Approaching planet Aineias," said Lafiel.
"Drop the cloak."
"Athena reports that they have found nothing yet," said Samson.
"Beam us to the roof," said Eclair.
"Remember your purpose is to find what has Q worried. Everything else can wait," said Riker.
"Understood," said Lumiere.
They vanished.
"Piper, Celeste, and anyone else who can help follow what is going on. I want to know if they are in danger or if the information we need is being spoken of elsewhere in that building, or anywhere, if we can."
"Then everyone with potential, save obviously Lafiel and Jinto, so they can act," said Celeste.
"Do it."
Celeste reached out and first welcomed Jadzia, but everyone else joined in one by one. It was a heady experience to be at the head of this much power as their combined mind launched itself at the building in question.
-=oOo=-
Eclair punched a whole in the roof of the building and then floor by floor till they dropped the three floors to reach the Chief's office.
"I knew you were too strong to so easily die. Welcome back Lumiere, Eclair," said Chief Eclipse.
Auditor Armbrust and Mercredi were also there.
"I am relieved that you survived Eclair, Lumiere," said Armbrust.
"Why are you here?" asked Eclipse.
"We assume the order to kill us is still active," said Lumiere.
"It is. I had no choice in that. I did what I could to give you a chance. I was worried it was not enough," said Eclipse.
"You are remarkably calm," said Eclair.
"I was dealing with a more serious matter when you came in. I ask if you intend to kill me, to get it over with. If you intend to help me, then listen. Otherwise please leave. I do not have time," said Eclipse crisply.
"Listen Eclair. They built a monster," said Armbrust.
"What?"
Eclipse stepped away from her desk. Lumiere stepped over and put her hand on her computer. Her power flowed through as lines of colored light left her hand to enter the computer..
"It's monstrous, able to convert a world in short order to livable, or to destroy one. Nearly impossible to stop. They put a warp system on it," said Lumiere.
"What? Everyone knows that there is an upper bound for safe warp operation," said Eclair.
"They ignored it. The reports here are conclusive. It's first several warps have caused serious damage to the fabric of subspace. This must be what we came to stop," said Lumiere.
Eclair turned to Armbrust. "Your coming with us. Your briefcase has a com setup right?":
"It does."
"Then come on. We will figure out the rest later. Eclipse. Coordinate with Armbrust," snapped Eclair.
"Next time use the door," said Eclipse as she sat back down.
Eclair moved over to Armbrust and Lumiere before tapping her com badge. "Three to beam up."
They vanished in transporter light.
-=oOo=-
They reappeared on the bridge of Falcon.
"Why is everyone like that?" asked Eclair as they saw the vacant looks.
Jinto said, "They are in a mental gestalt. They found similar information to what you did. Lumiere please upload what you have. We will be entering hyperspace just as soon as we update the others."
"I see." Lumiere sat at a station then linked with it briefly. All the screens flashed with the information she had collected.
"Coordinates are specific. Message is sent. Engaging hyperdrive," said Lafiel.
"I hope this is a very strong ship. The Duecalion really is a monster Eclair," said Armbrust.
"It is," she replied absently.
"Seventeen minutes to specified coordinates," said Lafiel.
"You can't warp directly?" asked Armbrust.
"We don't use that technology. It tends to be damaging," said Jinto absently.
"Where are we going?" asked Eclair.
"Earth," said Lumiere.
"Earth? Why? Why would the nobles take the Duecalion to Earth?" asked Eclair.
"They did not. Chevalier stole it, and now it seems Alv and Dvergr have possession. They appear to be going to wipe out Earth," said Armbrust.
"The heck?" asked Eclair.
"You've been out of the loop I see Eclair. Many events have happened, though the key one was that your adopted son decided to work hard to get revenge for how you were treated. I'm sorry to say he is likely dead now," said Armbrust.
"No. No. No. No." Power crackled around Eclair. Lumiere embraced her. "Calm down Eclair. You will break the ship."
"Oh Lumy. Why does everyone I love have to die? Everyone but you at least? Please never leave me."
"I won't Eclair. I promise. I won't."
They held each other as Eclair continued to shake.
Right on schedule they slipped from hyperspace to see it obliterating the Earth fleet and several ES member's ships, and then it just stopped.
"What happened?" asked Jinto.
Riker and the others became aware.
"We killed Alv. Divergr appears like she is going to stand down," said Riker.
"That thing has to be destroyed. There is absolutely no way we can allow the Earth to take it back. It has to be destroyed and we have to be sure they don't make another," said L'Nea.
"It's defensive systems are still active. If we attack it, we may just be wasting ordinance," said Jadzia.
"Ships are beginning to converge on it," said Samson.
"What about Dverger? Shouldn't we get her off there?" asked Armbrust.
"She agreed not to continue to fight us, but she did not agree to leave Alv," said Riker before adding, "Open hailing frequencies."
"Opened."
"Approaching ships. The ship you are approaching is a threat to this universe and will be destroyed. Back off or you will be as well." Riker motioned to cut the feed.
"And that accomplished nothing," said Samson.
"Had to be done. Aim to disable if you can, but no one is to land on that thing," said Riker.
Sobaash and Jinto began firing polaron beams even as Lafiel lined up shots for them.
"Athena is coming out of hyperspace," said Samson.
"Sending them a tactical update. Alliance tactical net is now online," said L'Nea.
Athena's bridge appeared on the left side of their screen.
"Momo and I are going to go over and try to disable the systems of that monster. I'd take some help," said Shion.
"Agreed. Eclair, Lumiere, L'Nea, Celeste, Piper, Ami, Pyrrha, Jadzia, go," said Riker.
"Thanks. We intend to try to just down the systems and then section the ship into pieces that are actually useful, then take those."
"Sounds like a plan. We will continue to dissuade them from bothering you. I assume your ship will do the same."
"Agreed."
-=oOo=-
Eclair, Lumiere, Ami, and Celeste approached Dvergr, who was still holding Alv's body.
Eclair knelt before her. "You don't need to die Dvergr."
"I wanted to stay with Alv. Did you really have to kill her?"
"She had to be stopped from turning this ship against Earth. They are not all guilty," said Eclair.
"A lot of them are."
"And we will deal with that, though maybe not today."
"What, you want me to stay for revenge?"
Eclair shook her head. "No. We want you to stay and help us make things better, really this time."
"It's impossible. The nobles."
"Are not a serious threat to us," said Ami.
"Impossible."
"It really isn't. It wouldn't necessarily be easy, but we could do it," said Celeste.
"Who are you?" asked Divergr.
"I'm Celeste Troi of the Alliance. I suppose Eclair and Lumiere are also part of our group, at least temporarily, or more, if they want."
"Will you at least help me bury Alv?"
"Sure, whatever you want," said Eclair.
"Then I will come."
"Hey, your ship is here right?" asked Eclair.
"It is."
"Can we take it? I'd like to get scans of it to use to make us a new one, not exactly like yours of course, but as a starting point," said Eclair.
"Alright."
-=oOo=-
Chief Eclipse presided over Alv's funeral. The Alliance held trials for everyone involved in the whole incident, including all the nobles who had abused their position. This was immediately met with violence, but they put it down quickly, and added to the charges. Dvergr was given the option to retire to another universe and took it. No one was quite sure where she went. Shion wasn't saying. She simply said she would be fine.
Chief Eclipse offered to step down, but the simple fact was that she was needed more than ever now. She offered to help Lumiere and Eclair build a new high speed cruiser. She was also working with others to transition away from their method of FTL. The Alliance gave the basic hyperdrive theory and design for a working, if basic hyperdrive. The hyperdrive had the benefit of not requiring any exotic materials that were under control by different nobles.
The nanomist factories on Ducalion were seized by the Alliance, and taken to Utopia Planetia, though the Galaxy Federation brought their own experts in to aid in copying them. It was a very useful technology that they both intended to master. As to Eclair and Lumiere, they were on their way back to the world they first freed from the nobles.
Falcon used all of her resources to help them as much as they could including Piper and Celeste moving supplies to and from the world, which was not prepared for what now would be their first true winter. They also spent months teaching those they could what telepathic tricks they could. Aditu and Romana, back from Lothlorien agreed to stay with them and teach more. Before long, it was time for leave taking once more.
"Are you sure you want us to leave you here?" asked Riker to Eclair and Lumiere.
"Yes. You all helped for months and it made a difference. A lot fewer died because you helped. There is more to do. We will stay and help keep things going," said Eclair.
"We will be fine.. Chief Eclipse gave us a new ship and Catherine and Cecily are going to join us once their sister is further along," said Lumiere.
"You do know that you can look us up if you need us, and I do not mean because Q asked us to. You have an Alliance dimensional com. Call if you need us," said Lafiel.
"Or if your bored and are looking for an excuse for a vacation. We never take enough of those," said Piper.
Eclair smiled. "We will."
Aditu said softly from their side, "You know I spent a couple years with Q awhile back. I learned a great deal. Perhaps if we get bored we can see if he wants to do it again."
Q appeared beside them.
"Why did you ask for them to help me?" asked Eclair.
"Hmm. Actually my intent was to help both of you. Both of you impressed me." Q snapped his fingers.
"What did you do? Something is different," said Lumiere.
"Oh, I just removed the locks buried in your nanotech. They now respond to you and you alone, though Eclair can allow Lumiere to influence hers if she wants, and you have to make an effort. Nothing will accidentally change."
"I don't get it. We stopped the D-command that almost killed us. I developed the vaccine. What is left?" asked Lumiere before her eyes widened.
Q nodded. "Take your time, and I mean that. You are clever enough to figure out how to age forward and back. The safest is just to age normally for a time."
"So I can be a more normal age, and Lumy doesn't have to be a kid anymore?" asked Eclair.
Q nodded. "That was just my gift to you both, as one immortal to another. Don't give up. Also don't play with people. I got into a bad habit of doing that for a few centuries."
Eclair and Lumiere immediately grabbed onto him and hugged him. He vanished.
Celeste walked over and hugged Aditu tightly. "You know your welcome back anytime."
"And I may take you up on that, but they need a teacher for longer than you can stay. They need to know that they can be strong too."
Celeste nodded and they requested beam out.
-=oOo=-
"I thought perhaps they would stay with us longer," said Ami after they returned to the ship.
"I'll miss her," said Ekuryua.
"We all will, but I think they have been doing our kind of missions, alone, for a very long time. Staying and helping a world, but really just staying likely appeals to them," said the captain.
"I'm actually dissapointed we never got a chance to make them a ship, not that the one they received is at all bad, but it was promising to be fun," said L'Nea.
"We could plan a replacement for Falcon. I don't see it as a priority, but I sure would love to get into a situation someday and have a plan B in reserve, even if we didn't end up using it," said Riker.
"With the engineering talent we have here, why not? We could also stop at different destinations and get help on the design," said Jadzia.
"I want a ship that goes faster," said Lafiel.
"You mean even faster combat?" asked L'Nea.
"Yes. Jumping in and out of warp speed works, but our conventional speed is still not that fast. That is where we took damage with the Cylons. Sure in hindsight we can find a strategy that would have avoided the damage, but in the roughly half second we had, I honestly am not sure we can improve enough to reliably do so. We will try, but simply being faster is likely far easier," said Lafiel.
"She has a good point. This ship was based around initially the reaction speed of Jem'Hadar. Lafiel and JInto are far faster. We have tweaked it a bit, and pretty much are out of what can be improved without a redesign," said Neela.
"Again it sounds good to me. Feel free to use any resources you need. The only absolute requirement is all your work must remain secure, and by secure I mean I want to be asked before your work is discussed with anyone outside this ship. That doesn't mean I will say no, but if we are actually trying for a step change, I want to be very careful with our work," said Riker.
"You mean you want to be able to contain the knowledge and if necessary turn around," said Sobaash.
"Put simply, yes. I doubt it will go that far, but how many times have we or another team seen the results were sufficient care wasn't taken?" asked Riker.
"Your right of course. We will take all necessary precautions and then some. We will likely start by setting up an offline design center where everything is stored," said Jadzia.
A beep sounded.
"What was that?" asked Ami.
"It's on my station. Some query I setup a long time ago turned up something. Give me a minute," said Samson.
He fiddled with his station and went through several menus. "Huh, it seems my sister is getting married and I've been told by my mom to um be there or else. The Alliance forwarded the message to Falcon."
"So it seems we are attending a wedding, that is if you don't mind?" asked Riker.
"Nope. It sounds like we are getting a little holiday after all. I'm all for it," said Samson.
"Agreed," said Sobaash.
The rest of the bridge crew also added their agreement.
-=oOo=-
Q appeared on Falcon after they returned from the wedding.
"So anyone want to help a rather attractive blond woman out?"
Jinto glanced at Lafiel who nodded. He said, "We will."
Q snapped his fingers.
"Those two do love away missions, though I'd have suggested they actually wait to get some details," said Riker.
"I'd have suggested only full humans on this one, but, I'm sure they, well fairly sure they will be fine. You don't need to search for them. If they can't make a difference in a few months, I'll tell you where they are. I did remove all of their tech from them and put them in clothing suitable to where they are going, plus gave them a little advice. Hopefully it is enough."
"How about sending Celeste and I as well, but well away from those two and in a secure location, at least initially," asked Ami.
"Hmm, that might be interesting. Of course if Ami is caught transforming it will cause all the wrong attention, so don't do it if you can avoid it."
Those two vanished, then Q vanished.
"Why don't we search for them anyway? We still want to try to find L'Nea's people, and we can use the remaining time to work on a ship design, right?" asked RIker.
"Agreed," replied Jadzia. The others added their support a moment later.
-=oOo=-
A graying man in a black leotard was standing in a large metal perch with a large glass front overlooking a dozen other people below him when Jinto and Lafiel appeared on the floor. Both were wearing Jeans, tennis shoes, and polo shirts. Lafiel was wearing a cream colored one, while Jinto's was dark gray.
The man pulled out a gun and covered them before going to a microphone and pressing a button. "Tell Madeline I want her, Michael, and Nikita up here right now."
Jinto was the first to wake. He looked around, then remembered Q's advice about being very cautious in whom they trusted. He started to move, when he heard, "Don't move."
He stopped moving. "Where am I?" he asked, without moving.
"Some place you should probably not be," he said calmly.
"I wish to check my friend, and at least to stop putting my weight on her."
"Do so slowly. I am armed and there is no chance I would miss at this range."
Jinto very slowly got up, and then felt gently for Lafiel's pulse. He then gently shook her.
"Jinto?" she asked softly.
"We are in a situation."
She turned and saw the man. "I see that. Do you have details?"
"I do not."
"Explain your ears."
"Genetic defect," lied Jinto.
"That seems very unlikely," said the man.
A late middle aged woman with brunette hair and elegant dress opened the door, followed by a younger blond woman and a black haired man. The man had his gun out.
"Who are these people?" asked the man calmly.
"A very good question. Why don't we introduce ourselves. I'm called Operations. This is Madaline, Nikita, and Michael. You are?"
"Jinto Linn."
"Lafiel Abriel."
Operations pressed the mic again. "Birkhoff run the names Jinto Linn and Lafiel Abriel. See what you can find."
"On it."
"We apologize for. I assume we are intruding," said Lafiel.
"Yes, you are. How did you get here?" asked the older woman.
"They appeared there. Nikita, go check the security cameras. Verify that I didn't somehow miss them entering," said Operations.
The blond turned around and quickly exited.
"I find that quite unlikely," said Madeline.
"While me seeing things is unlikely. People appearing out of nowhere seems equally unlikely. We will determine which it is," said Operations.
"Are the weapons still necessary? We are not here to hurt anyone," said Jinto.
"Neither one of you shows the kind of fear that civilians should have in such a situation. Why is that?" asked Madeline curiously.
"The reasons are obvious. We are clearly trained. We admit that," said Lafiel.
"What is your purpose for being here?" asked Operations.
"We are not from any group you would know. We do not mean anyone here any harm. We are actually here to help someone, though we don't know who," said Jinto.
"Your going to have to do better than that, if you don't want to be questioned very painfully," said Madeline.
"I have negative information on both of those names. We do have a priority one. We suspect a nuclear weapon is going to be smuggled into this country in the next week," said Birkhoff.
"We can help," said Lafiel.
"How?" asked Operations.
"We are good at finding things," said Jinto.
"You are not even good at being evasive," said Micheal.
Nikita returned. "I verified the camera footage from all angles. There was no one else entering here in the last two hours."
"Then it seems they did appear from nowhere. I would quite like to know how that was done," said Operations.
"We could test them. See if they are actually helpful. If they stop being helpful, we lock them up," suggested Madeline.
"If they can vanish, they might do so. I think I want them in front of me. Come on, let's get to the briefing," said Operations.
-=oOo=-
"What do you have Birkhoff?" asked Operations.
"A far right terrorist group seems to have smuggled a nuclear weapon out of Belarus. The estimated size would fit one of our deployment vans. We don't have exact details. We are not even sure if it is coming in air or sea, though we have verified it is no longer in Belarus."
"That's not much to go on. Do you have sensors that can sense such a small atomic decay?" asked Lafiel.
"If we had, we would be using them," said Operations.
"What is the most likely goal of these terrorists?" asked Jinto.
"Killing Americans is a possibility in general. They may not be picky. Americans would likely react irrationally for decades if a nuclear weapon was detonated. Some of our own far right party is making overtures to the leadership in those countries. It could be part of a plot to affect the upcoming elections, as part of a multi step plan to complete other goals. The simplest way to defeat us, is, after all, to make us their ally," said Madeline.
Lafiel sighed. "Stupid short term nonsense again, without a care for the long term impact."
"Yes, it is that," agreed Madeline.
"Are there any events that stand out?" asked Jinto.
"The FBI is already covering those. That doesn't mean we won't, but they came to those conclusions already," said Operations.
"One is a political convention coming up," said Birkhoff.
"Show us," commanded Lafiel.
Birkoff looked at Operations. He nodded.
"Here is the layout of the convention, the planned positioning of FBI operatives, and likely infiltration paths of the terrorists. As you can see, it is quite difficult to secure against something no bigger than a van," said Birkhoff.
"Surely you have the tech to scan vehicles as they come in. That is quite simple," said Lafiel.
"Yes, we do, and it is headed there," said Birkhoff.
"Do you build such tech yourself perhaps, or are involved with such a company?" asked Madeline.
"No. We are not engineers. We are pilots for the most part," said Lafiel.
"Well as a pilot how would you get such a weapon in here or someplace else?" asked Nikita.
"People determined to kill other people, particularly if they are inspired by some made up story could be willing to take one way trips," said Lafiel.
"Maybe. Are these people likely to expect active opposition to their plan, or do they believe they are too clever? Are we looking to fight clever, or simply determined and not clever?" asked Jinto.
"They have made several very elaborate plans which have worked very well. Complexity is certainly not something they avoid, though they also will use a simple plan if it works," said Madeline.
"Then I wouldn't necessarily assume they intend to use the device as it is. They may bring the fissile material in separately, or just use it for a poison. If their goal is to influence politics by terror, then that would certainly be lower risk and higher odds. Water supplies are a possible target," said Lafiel.
"Birkhoff. Go study the possibilities. Do it now," said Operations. Birkhoff left.
"The problem with such thinking is, while not wrong, it also opens too many possibilities to deal with in the time allotted," said Madeline.
"It's a long shot, but I don't see a better one than going there and investigating," said Jinto.
"You forget, you infiltrated a top secret facility. You leaving alive requires me to trust you," said Operations.
"I can watch them," offered Nikita.
"The boy can go. The girl stays here. She would be impossible to easily hide anyway," said Operations.
Lafiel nodded.
"I will be back for you Lafiel," said Jinto.
"I know."
"Kill him if he doesn't obey precisely," said Operations.
"I understand," said Michael.
-=oOo=-
Jinto was given a dark suit of clothes, but no weapons. They arrived outside the enclosed stadium a couple hours later.
"Why don't you and Jinto go in? I'll monitor from the van," said Michael.
"Understood," said Nikita.
-=oOo=-
Nikita walked beside Jinto. "You are my younger brother, here for checking out which college you are going to."
"What is my major?" asked Jinto.
"Pick one."
"How about pilot school. Are there any of those around here?"
"Several. Michael, get him a name for one."
"The Air Force Academy is less than twenty miles away," repeated Nikita, after Michael told her.
"Is that some kind of military?" asked Jinto.
Nikita blinked. "Yes, it is the part of the military that uses flying vehicles to fight, particularly jets."
"Pardon?" asked Jinto.
"Jets you know, burning kerosene in a jet engine to produce thrust."
"Ah. I understand now. Those should be quite fun to fly," said Jinto.
"Just who are you?" asked Nikita as they finished navigating the parking lot.
"I'm not your enemy." More softly he added, "I might even be an ally."
She looked at him oddly for a moment and they continued on.
Jinto turned suddenly to look at a group of chefs getting out of a catering truck. He slipped down beside another car where they couldn't see him. Nikita did the same.
"Why are you pausing?" asked Michael through the radio in her glasses.
"Jinto suddenly looked at a group of chefs getting out of a catering truck. I don't see anything off, but the truck is the right size," said Nikita.
"I see it. Approach and investigate."
"It would be nice if I had a weapon that I knew how to use," muttered Jinto.
She looked at him with a puzzled expression before leading the way, and avoiding any sight from the chefs. They kept out of sight. When they were within about a hundred feet Jinto said, "Saw something, I thought. I think that van is occupied."
"I saw nothing," said Nikita to Michael.
"Ask him what he saw?"
"Not sure. I think the van moved," he said softly.
"Did you get that?" asked Nikita softly.
"I did. I am analyzing the video. Stand by."
Two minutes passed until Michael said. "Confirmed. The van moved minutely, consistent with someone moving in the back. Stand by. I will join you. Secondary team detain the chefs."
Ten minutes later Michael made it to their side. They continued to approach slowly. Micheal carefully reached for the handle to the side of the van. He near silently pushed it in and then quickly pulled it back while Nikita covered him.
Silenced gunshots rang out, though ended up shooting above their heads. Nikita shot the man in the arm, with her own silenced weapon, before Michael yanked him out and put him in a choke hold knocking him out.
"My god. It's here," said Nikita.
Michael looked at it carefully. There was a timer ticking down.
"Operations. We have the bomb, but it is armed. Seventy two minutes remain," said Michael calmly.
"I don't suppose you know how to disarm a nuclear weapon," asked Nikita to Jinto.
"No. Lafiel is better with electronics, but neither of us have any specialized knowledge here," said Jinto.
Michael worked carefully under Birkhoff's direction and managed to separate the improvised timing device from the weapon.
-=oOo=-
After handing the now inert bomb off to a specialist team they returned to the section. They were all given an hour to eat and then they met again.
"Good job. I would however like to know how Jinto was able to see the movement of that truck. Birkhoff looked at the file and while the movement is barely detectable in frame by frame analysis, it is beyond what could be detected by any normal agent," said Operations.
"Maybe I was mistaken, and I just thought I did," offered Jinto.
"And can you explain why the operative's aim suddenly shifted?" asked Madeline who showed the video.
"No idea," lied Jinto.
"You are putting us in a difficult position. You may have saved millions of lives. I tend to discount this being an elaborate plan to infiltrate the section as it would be too stupid to be plausible, and anyone with the ability to just appear where they want, would likely prepare better before appearing in this facility," said Operations.
"I'm also curious how you seem oddly knowledgeable about a lot of topics, but miss things like not knowing the types of vehicles the air force has," said Nikita.
"Yes it would seem to be a plan far too crazy to be plausible. If we planned it would have helped so much," said Lafiel dryly.
Jinto looked around, and saw no one.
"Did you expect to find someone?" asked Madeline.
"In what way can I answer that that doesn't make you more suspicious?" asked Jinto.
"That wasn't it," said Madeline.
Jinto nodded and sighed.
"You should just kill them. Torturing them is wrong," said Lafiel.
"How do you know we are torturing them?" asked Madeline.
"They don't seem to have a problem with killing," noted Micheal.
"It isn't our first solution," said Jinto.
"But it is not something you would avoid if the occasion called for it, is it?" asked Operations.
"No," said Lafiel.
"I'm curious if they really can fly. That is a skill that not many posses," said Nikita.
"I have a flight sim rig in my rooms downstairs," offered Birkhoff.
"Let's see what they can do," said Operations.
-=oOo=-
"Primitive," was the first thing Lafiel said when she saw the multi monitor setup complete with chair and controls designed roughly to simulate those found in a jet.
"Okay this is a decent simulation of an F22 Raptor." They had blank looks. He added, "You have no idea what I'm talking about," said Birkhoff to Lafiel.
"I shall figure it out. Begin the simulation and instruct me in these controls," said Lafiel.
Birkhoff did so. Both she and Jinto listened attentively. She carefully followed Birkhoff's instructions as she took off.
Jinto looked at her meaningfully and Lafiel nodded. She began experimenting with the controls, attempting to learn the limits of the poorly simulated craft. On another computer Birkhoff made a few changes.
"There are several simulated enemies to your back right," said Jinto.
"This is a very crude device. I see them." She pulled the thrust levers all the way back, while executing what would be a high g banking turn and lined up the first one.
"Tap the left button once for guns. You won't be able to get a missile to hit at the speed you are banking," said Birkhoff.
Annoyed she switched to guns and let off a continuous stream for eleven seconds while the target continuously tried to evade. Another of the jets almost got a bead on her but she spun aggressively downward, then recovered, bringing a third into focus with the simulated guns. She then pressed once more and found the missiles. A slight shift brought the first back into focus. The on screen display changed to a red X as the target was perfectly centered. She pressed it. A missile released. She twisted sideways to have the gunfire of another miss her, turning instead to get a bead on another one and firing another missile. She dove and twisted and then destroyed one finally with guns, before finishing off the last with a missile.
"It is not a very good simulation. I have known children that would be bored with this," said Lafiel.
-=oOo=-
"What do you think?" asked Operations to Madeline later that day.
"I'd say she is a top pilot. It is hard to be for sure without a real flight, but Birkhoff's setup is not junk. There is close to a hundred thousand in equipment there. He is actually developing it in his spare time for potential Section One pilots," said Madeline.
"I tend to agree. Her situational awareness when flying the sim was second to none. I suspect she is better than the boy, but then he is likely capable as well. None of this makes sense. You do not put top pilots into a mission to infiltrate Section One, then have them help stop a nuclear threat."
"Or how they knew when the prisoners were being tortured. I had not been sure of the timing myself, until I looked it up and matched it to the time reported," said Madeline.
"Could they have heard? Is that the trick?" asked Operations.
"Maybe, though I doubt it. The soundproofing is very good on that room, and there is a lot of white noise sources such as computer fans all over that would mask it as far away as we were."
"What about their physical shape?" asked Operations.
"I had Nikita test them. They appear to have basic hand to hand combat and it seems to be practiced, but nothing special, certainly nothing compared to our operatives."
"It does indicate that it is an area they do not neglect. Was there anything else of note?" asked Operations.
"The girl seemed to tire more quickly. She tried to mask it, but you can only mask that so much."
"And her hair?"
"Is that color naturally. It is not dye."
"Have medical run scans."
"I already did. I was just about to open them."
"Proceed."
Madeline opened the records on her computer.
"This is preliminary, but her DNA appears to be not quite human. It's not alien or anything. The structure is recognizable. Perhaps someone has been tinkering. They also noted a slightly different neural structure. Finally she self reported that alcohol was a mild poison to her. It would not make her drunk, nor would it likely kill her, but it would make her sick."
"Surprising she volunteered that," said Operations.
"Why? We have far more lethal poisons if we wanted them dead. Reporting that alcohol is an allergy, more or less is interesting, but not that notable compared to the rest."
"And him?"
"Has no special allergies, nor is he allergic to alcohol. He looks pretty ordinary all in all. His lineage is hard to figure out, but the analysis we did on his DNA did not return anything surprising."
"Anything else?"
"The tests we did on the urine samples they reluctantly gave reveal no drugs of any kind, nor anything else of note."
"Opinion?"
"Don't kill them. There is a mystery here we have yet to solve. Don't kill them, and maybe have Nikita befriend them. I want answers more than I want them dead," said Madeline.
"They can't be trusted with sensitive tasks," said Operations.
"True, but right now they are weighing every word they speak to try to, well, honestly I think they are trying to avoid annoying us without saying much," said Madeline.
"And you think they would tell her more?"
"Maybe."
"Fine. Let her follow Nikita home. Maybe with a cap and some hair die. He can stay here," said Operations.
"Reason?"
"We already tried with Jinto. Maybe this variant will lead us to some information," said Operations.
Madeline nodded. "I have a theory."
"What is it?"
"I think they may be able to sense nearby people, and in the case of Jinto possibly affect them," said Madeline.
"Telepathy? That's fiction," said Operations.
"There has been some inconclusive research carried out. Not enough to establish it exists, but the results were not quite clean enough to fully assume random chance was the only thing involved," said Madeline.
"Do you think they can communicate like that? That could be quite useful," mused Operations.
"I do not know. We should be observant."
"Agreed."
-=oOo=-
"Why am I going home with you without Jinto?"
"I think you know the answer to that," said Nikita.
"They are using him as a hostage to guarantee my good behavior."
"Yea," said Nikita softly as she drove her car out of the parking lot.
"If Jinto is harmed, I will kill them," said Lafiel.
"Be careful where you say that. I don't think this ride is bugged, but they add the damn things more often than I have time to search for them," said Nikita.
"It was not a threat. It was a simple statement of fact."
"Still, be careful. They are very dangerous," said Nikita softly.
"Why do you serve them?"
"I don't have a choice. They caught me over a dead body with a knife in my hand. I was sentenced to death. Section one gave me another chance."
"I do not believe you killed someone in cold blood."
"Why is that?"
Lafiel smiled and declined to answer.
"I have killed a lot of people since joining the section," said Nikita.
"And how many lives were saved as a result of those actions?" asked Lafiel.
"Not enough," said Nikita softly.
"It never is."
"Do you have any food you wish to eat?" asked Nikita.
"I am not overly fond of meat. I will eat it, if necessary, but I do not wish to do so often. Can we create meals that avoid it?"
"Are you cooking?" asked Nikita.
"I don't know how."
"What?" asked a surprised Nikita.
"I do not know how to cook."
"That's surprising. Well, I think I have some vegetarian recipes. For now I think I have enough in the fridge for a salad, so hopefully that works for tonight."
"As I said, I will eat what is available if required."
"Buying whatever food you want is not a problem. We do not get a normal salary, but our expenses are paid for and we have considerable ability to buy what we want, other than freedom of course."
Lafiel turned to look at her curiously. Nikita glanced at her and almost missed stepping on the brake in time for the car ahead.
"Can you teach me to cook?" asked Lafiel.
"Want to cook something for your boyfriend?" asked Nikita somewhat jokingly.
Lafiel blinked. "Is that a strange request?"
"No, though you didn't strike me as a stay at home wife."
Lafiel blinked again. "Why would I stay at home?"
"You know to raise the children?" asked Nikita.
"I have a plan to somehow get my grandmother or possibly Beneej to help raise our children."
"Oh, who is Beneej?" asked Nikita curiously.
"She is an annoying woman, and a family friend."
"What does she do for a living?"
"Mostly cause trouble for Abriels," said Lafiel.
"I suppose I was a little too obvious in my fishing."
"Yes you were," said Lafiel dryly.
"So where did you meet Jinto?"
"More digging?" asked Lafiel.
"Yes, and I'm curious."
"I met Jinto when he was going to the Imperial Academy to learn. I was assigned to transport him to the ship that would take him there. I was quite surprised to see him chasing after a purse snatcher when I saw him. He threw a signed baseball at them, which missed, though I managed to fetch it and nail the offender, before recovering the bag."
"Did the lady thank you for saving her bag?"
"No."
"Why is that?"
Lafiel smiled and declined to answer.
"What did Jinto think of your driving skills?"
Lafiel blinked. "I did not drive. I do not know how to operate this vehicle, though it seems quite simple."
"Flew?"
"Yes."
"Want to learn?" asked Nikita.
"Sure."
"Let me head to a parking lot. You can drive around there with my supervision and then we will see," said Nikita.
Lafiel listened carefully as Nikita explained the basic operation. Within a few minutes she was driving around the parking lot.
"Okay assuming you agree to keep following directions carefully, you can get back on the road. We are already past the main highways."
Lafiel listened carefully as Nikita gave a driving lesson. They arrived at Nikita's apartment without issue. Lafiel wore a big floppy hat to hide her ears. After they got inside Nikita said, "You can take that off now if you want."
Lafiel pulled a strand of her now dark brown hair and looked at it with disgust.
"Don't like your hair died?"
"Not at all. My hair is a great color. Why would I want this?"
"Oh I agree, but it does help you blend in a bit better."
"People need to grow up," said Lafiel.
"Yes, they do, but we live in this world, not the one we wish to."
Lafiel's stomach rumbled.
"I'll get started on dinner," said Nikita.
-=oOo=-
Late that night Nikita tried to sleep when suddenly she heard, except she didn't, "Please remain calm."
She looked around with her eyes, trying to spot whatever it was that must have made noise, without moving.
"I am speaking to you in your mind. Please remain calm. I will stop if you want. To reply you simply need think of talking to me."
"Lafiel?" she thought.
"Yes. My mental voice is a little older than my physical. It is a minor thing."
"How are you doing this?" she thought, again looking around her room for anything out of the ordinary while otherwise mimicking her normal bedtime ritual.
"I was taught by telepaths. I don't have as much potential as many, but I have some. We believe you were the one we were sent to try to save."
"You can't save me. You can't escape the section," thought Nikita in detail.
"I won't explain how, but yes, we could save you now, though it would mean abandoning the Section."
"What do you know of the Section?"
"Nothing beyond what we have learned since appearing in that place. The methods they use are not acceptable and will have to be stopped, yet at the same time you are fulfilling a useful purpose. That work must still be done."
"You agree with what the section does?" thought Nikita.
"You misunderstand. We agree with saving lives. We disagree with how you are doing it. Do not report that we can send thoughts or we will have to leave and may be less able to help you."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Have I lied that you can tell?" asked Lafiel.
"Several times, if I'm counting right."
"Okay, about important things, not just because you have asked for information you should not have."
"I don't recall any no."
"Are you alive now?"
"Well yes. What kind of a questions is that?" asked Nikita.
"Jinto nudged the man's aim. He was almost too slow. That happened very quickly."
"Your admitting to being able to move stuff with your mind?" thought Nikita furiously.
"Yes. Place your hands above the necklace on your neck, in case there is a camera I have not found."
"Fine." She did so, and was surprised when her necklace lifted right up to touch her hands, then slipped back down.
"That's impossible," thought Nikita.
"Clearly it is not. Would you like to learn?"
"You can teach me?"
"Most can learn at least basic telepathy. I won't teach you unless you agree not to teach the others in Section One."
"Micheal."
"Not yet. I do not know if he can be trusted yet."
"Fine, for now, but if I get out, I want Michael to have a chance too."
"For now, can we focus on you. This is harder than it needs to be with you in your room."
"You could come here."
"Too hard to conceal. I do not trust your employers at all. We will do it the hard way."
"I suppose so."
With that she gained her first lesson in telepathy, and slept deeply for the rest of the night.
-=oOo=-
"And?" asked Operations of Madeline.
"You know we gave up surveillance on Nikita inside her house. She just ends of finding them and getting more angry. Outside we have no view inside, because of the blinds."
"Surely you have tracked them in public?"
"We have, but their outward appearances are basically perfect, which is itself slightly suspicious," said Madeline.
"And Jinto?"
"Is getting hand to hand training, and training in our weapons, as well as training in computer programming from Birkhoff."
"Are they certain he isn't lying about his level?"
"As certain as they can be. He appears to be making use of his time here to improve himself. He doesn't seem particularly worried about Lafiel, but I haven't seen any indication they are communicating beyond that, which I believe tends to support but not confirm my theory."
"You think they would be trying harder, if they were not."
"Oh they talk quite a great deal when Nikita is here, so it is possible I'm mistaken."
"But you doubt it."
Madaline nodded.
"And Nikita?"
"Has a five percent increase in her combat ratings by both instructors that have evaluated her, with the most notable increase in situational awareness."
"That is not much to go on."
"True. It is a consistent increase in an already fully trained operative. MIchael has had a plus three and a minus one session. Nikita were plus four and plus five. It is true it isn't statistically significant, but such an increase at this point in her career is odd."
"Get them on a mission where we might learn something," said Operations.
Madeline nodded.
-=oOo=-
"Good morning Nikita, Lafiel, Jinto. I would first like to congratulate Nikita and her team on a successful mission. The chemical weapons plant was completely destroyed," said Operations.
"Where about Micheal?" demanded Nikita.
"Our analysis indicates one chance in three that he is alive and one chance in ten of bringing him out. He will be missed," said Operations.
"That's it?" exclaimed Nikita.
"He is alive," said Lafiel.
"Wishful thinking is not a strategy," said Operations.
"I don't care about the odds. I'll go in," said Nikita.
"I wish I could send you, but I can't."
"Had you sent us in the first place, this situation would not have occurred," said Lafiel.
"Perhaps, and had you given me sufficient reason to trust you I might have done so," said Operations.
"Send us with NIkita. We will rescue him," said Lafiel.
Operations looked at Madeline who tilted her head slightly.
"We did help you prevent that fission detonation, and I know my own work on your intel has been useful. From what I can tell, Madeline is clearly better at the task, but her time is finite. I know my work has been useful," said Jinto.
"This is true," agreed Madeline.
"How about explaining how you got here?" asked Operations.
"We have no idea," lied Lafiel convincingly.
"Time is not on our side in this," said Jinto.
"You said before he was alive. Why did you say that?" asked Madeline to Lafiel.
She smiled. "Do you believe that I am wrong?"
"Not deflection. You are angry," said Madeline.
"Yes, she is," agreed Jinto.
"And I'm supposed to care?" asked Operations.
She turned to look at him. Her smile grew wider.
"I'll lead the team in," offered Madeline.
"Very well. Michael is to be rescued or, if necessary, killed. He is not to remain captive," said Operations.
"That will not be necessary," said Jinto softly.
Madeline and Operations looked at him curiously.
"See that it is not then," said Operations before stalking out.
-=oOo=-
They took a train car into the heart of Russia. They made small talk for the first hour before Madeline said softly, "You were contemplating killing Operations."
"What makes you think that?" asked Lafiel curiously.
"He went from annoyance to an obstacle to your goals."
"He is not an obstacle to our goals," said Lafiel. Jinto nodded in agreement.
Madeline also nodded. Nikita smiled a small smile before quickly composing her face to neutral.
"Pull your hat down. Your ears are visible," said Madeline.
Lafiel scowled, but did so. Jinto smiled again.
"We should get off at the next stop," said Jinto after a few more minutes passed.
"Why?" asked Madeline curiously.
"Arriving directly in the target zone is too predictable," said Lafiel.
"True, but time is not on our side," said Madeline.
"There is a bus station at the next town. Splitting our trip up should get us closer to where we need to go," said Nikita.
"That depends on Michael's exact location, which is not known," said Madeline.
"Call it a hunch. How often have I been wrong when it comes to Michael?" asked Nikita.
"Very well."
-=oOo=-
They got on a bus heading to the town where Micheal was lost. There was almost no one on the bus, except for two familiar people dressed in old worn clothing and carrying bags. Lafiel and Jinto passed them without notice and walked farther back where they sat with Madeline and Nikita.
"Strange for a bus like this to have so few in it," remarked Madeline softly.
"I wonder why," mused Jinto.
They remained quiet until it was nearly time to get off when a middle aged woman boarded. She walked on, stopped several seats up and took a seat. Madeline started to get up at their next stop, but Lafiel gently held her arm and just barely shook her head. Madeline changed her motion to rubbing her neck then remained seated.
The woman got off at the stop after, and so too did they, and so too did the other two on the bus. They all followed her at a staggered distance. Three blocks later she carefully entered a small home. The pair in front of them quietly followed her in, only to have a gun drawn on them.
"Please stop holding a gun on my friends," said Lafiel to Michael as they entered. Nikita also nodded. Michael put the gun away.
"It is good you are well Michael," said Madeline.
"I'm surprised you came all the way up here for me."
"Perhaps you could explain," said Madeline.
"It is quite simple. They are trying very hard to keep people from leaving. Arriving is no great difficulty," said Michael.
"That still leaves us stuck here, doesn't it?" asked Nikita.
"They will reduce their guard in time," said Michael.
"Please introduce us," said Madeline with a touch of irritation.
"Anna here is a local that was kind enough to help me. The other two are I believe friends of Jinto and Lafiel," said Michael.
"I'm Celeste. This is Ami," said the blond.
"I am pleased to meet you. I was not aware Jinto and Lafiel had other associates. I begin to suspect that was intentional," said Madeline.
"Oh it was," agreed Jinto.
"What do you plan to do?" asked Madeline.
"We intend to finish rescuing Michael, bring Anna to safety, and possibly see if we can help this country," said Jinto.
"It is unclear how to do that. This country is rife with corruption. It also has far too many nuclear weapons ready to fire. Whatever we do, has to be calibrated and careful," said Ami.
"You have no idea what you are doing," said Madeline.
"There has to be something meaningful that will matter, not just destroying something. Are there any other chemical weapons plants in the country? We could take another one out I guess. Useful, though does not seem right somehow," said Lafiel.
"There is a prison near the Artic Circle that has a great deal of political prisoners. Probably hundreds," said Michael.
Jinto said, "It would be a substantial task that mattered. Of course we couldn't return to the Section, but given how much Madeline already knows, that isn't feasible in any extent. They are far too likely to try to dissect us to get what they want."
"You can't be serious," said Madeline.
"I too think this sounds insane," said Anna.
"Don't worry, we will move you to safety first," said Celeste.
"Am I missing something?" asking Madeline.
"Many things. We simply don't care to inform you. You are no one we would willingly deal with if we could avoid it," said Lafiel.
"You are telepaths. It is the only thing that fits," said Madeline.
"True, but then we don't care if you know that now. Sadly, we have endangered Nikita's life. I do not believe you would leave her alone. Eventually someone would be killed or worse," said Celeste.
"They are coming up the road. Quickly grab all the clothing we can get that is warm. I will delay them," said Celeste.
"You should move Anna to safety first," said Michael.
Celeste turned to Anna. "Alright. We have a place somewhere. I'm not saying where because we don't trust Madeline, but it has plenty of food and is safe. Grab whatever you can hold in the next two minutes and I will move you to safety. I promise you will not be hurt."
"Do it," said Michael.
"Fine."
They quickly gathered together clothing and blankets. Anna also had her purse and a box that apparently contained something she found important.
"Apologize for the rush, but there is no point in endangering you. I suggest just staying where you end up, but even if you don't, you will be fine. It is a very nice country," said Celeste.
Anna looked confused when she suddenly vanished.
"Remarkable. You should bring us back to the Section," said Madeline.
"Simon says no," said Nikita in amusement.
"Ami, find me a staging area. We aren't ready to go to the prison yet."
"How about Greenland?"
Celeste held out her hand to Ami who took it briefly. "Got it." The lights dimmed to almost nothing as they vanished one at a time. The car also vanished and then Celeste.
-=oOo=-
They arrived in a breezy and cool open field overlooking the ocean off of Greenland.
"You okay Celeste?" asked Jinto.
Celeste staggered a few steps. "Fine. Just used to having more backup, and trying to save what I can for the big event."
Ami cupped her face gently as an infusion of power flowed to Celeste.
"Thanks. I hope you can recover that."
"I can. I recover more quickly still, and you had the greater need."
Madeline opened a case she had brought with her. Nikita pulled it from her. "We are not contacting the Section."
"They could easily pick us up from here."
"We will not be going back," said Michael.
"You have no choice," said Madeline.
Celeste smiled. "They are getting better at finding us."
"I felt it. I was sure we would have to run this op solo," said Jinto.
"Thankfully not," agreed Lafiel.
Celeste began to sing softly. Ami and Lafiel joined in right after.
What can't we face if we are together?
What's in this place we can't weather?
Apocalypse. We've all been there.
The same old tricks. Why should we care?"
What can we do, if we get in it?
We'll work it through within a minute.
We have to try. We'll pay the price.
What can't we face if we are together?
It's do or die.
What can't we face if we are together?
What's in this place we can't weather?
There is nothing we can't face
"Except for bunnies," added JInto wryly. Lafiel punched him lightly. He bent over and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
"I have missed that," she said softly.
"Me too, but I wasn't going to give these people anything at all that could make it easier for them," said Jinto.
"Nor I."
"The plan is to use the ship and make things simple. Madeline can remain here. We will inform Section One where she is," said Ami.
"Right before we release details of this outfit to the right people who will hopefully clean this mess up," said Jinto.,
"You will get us all killed," said Madeline.
"We will do what we can, but this cannot continue," said Lafiel.
"Wanna practice flying? I know your rusty what with the twenty four hour surveillance," said Celeste.
"Yes."
"I'm going to cheat, and because it will help me recover from that massive infusion I just gave Celeste," said Ami.
"I'd have used my reserve if I knew help was this near, but I certainly will never refuse a pick me up from any of you guys," said Celeste.
"Mercury Crystal Power Make Up!"
They all watched in amazement as Ami transformed.
"I am still jealous about that you know," said Celeste
"We could probably work out something for you if you really wanted it," said Ami.
"Jinto?" asked Lafiel.
"Actually, let me see if I can do anything with your hair," said Ami.
"Please," said Lafiel.
Ami held Lafiel's head as the die seemed to flow down her hair and onto the ground.
"Finally. I'd love you with any color hair, but I was really missing that," said Jinto.
"Me too." She held out her hand and they rose into the air. Ami rose after them.
"Can you all fly?" asked Nikita.
"No, it is kind of difficult, and I'm staying grounded to catch the others," said Celeste.
Lafiel began to sing again.
There's a point where it tips
There's a point where it breaks
There's a point where it bends
And a point we just can't take
Anymore
There's a line that we'll cross
And there's no return
There's a time and a place
No bridges left to burn
Anymore
We can't just wait
With lives at stake
Until they think we're ready
Our enemies are gathering
The storm is growing deadly
Now it's time to say goodbye
To the things we loved
And the innocence of youth
How the time seemed to fly
From our carefree lives
And the solitude and peace we always knew
"They are here," said Jinto softly.
"The prison should be emptied in a few more minutes," said Celeste.
"Sequence is complete, but I suggested one more thing," said Lafiel.
"What did you do?" asked Nikita curiously.
"That big statue they have with the woman holding the sword. They are going to modify it so its holding a pair of scales."
"Quite clever, if any of this is real," said Madeline.
"It is, but it is the end of our time here. We sometimes offer to take those with us if they are extraordinary, and skill wise, you clearly are, but we do have standards, and you have forgotten those so very long ago," said Lafiel.
"I do thank you for the combat training though. That was quite useful," said Jinto.
"And I learned to cook, so I can't complain," added Lafiel.
"We mostly saw the sights. You didn't need much of our help," said Celeste.
They all vanished save for Madeline who immediately raced for the discarded box with the communicator.
-=oOo=-
"What happened?" asked Operations to Madeline in her office. She had just returned from a four hour jet ride.
"What didn't? They said they were going to release details of the section."
George from oversight walked in.
"George, what are you doing here? We don't have a meeting till Tuesday."
"Someone released nearly all details of the Section to a couple lawmakers, but they were on our side, so the situation is contained," said George.
"That's impossible," said Operations.
"That is what I was trying to say just now," said Madeline.
"Jinto and Lafiel did this?" asked Operations.
"Likely whoever was on the ship that came and got them," said Madeline.
"Explain," demanded Operations.
"I think they are either a group that has far more power and abilities than any on this planet, or weren't from this planet," said Madeline.
"That's absurd."
There was a knock at the door. Madeline opened it. One of George's guards let Birkhoff in.
"You should turn on cable news," said Birkhoff.
Madeline did so.
"This just in. At a Colorado Rockies baseball game a dozen busses pulled up that were chartered by an unknown group. Wait, why are we covering this? The occupants of the busses are former political prisoners from a Russian prison camp. What?" exclaimed the anchor.
"I got a tip that it was coming. I still don't know where it came from," said Birkhoff.
"They did it," said Madeline.
"They did what?" snapped George.
"I was with Nikita, Lafiel, and Jinto in Russia to Rescue Michael. We were really their to extract Petrosian, but then I suppose only I knew that. The three conspired to change from the train to the bus, where a local Michael had befriended boarded. The local later got off. We followed, as did two others that were part of Lafiel's group. We went to her house, apparently to continue their plans to both get out, save the local, and apparently to strike a blow against Russia, as soon as they figured out what their target was going to be. They settled on the Arctic prison camp."
Operations raised his eyebrows. "Well they have style. That probably did more indirect harm to the current regime than all of our operations in the last year."
"Yes. One at least can move people with her mind. They are apparently telepaths as well, and I think they taught Nikita something and at least coordinated with Michael."
A thud was heard outside. Lafiel beamed inside with Eclair and Lumiere beside her. Lafiel was holding a phaser.
"Your back. Forget something?" asked Madeline.
"Actually yes. We got to thinking and it seemed we were leaving a potentially useful resource on the table and you taught us to frown on doing that," said Lafiel.
"What do you want?" asked Operations.
Lumiere sat a tricorder next to Madeline's computer. She then placed her hands lightly on the keyboard as sparkles of light emanated from them and traced to her computer. The screen soon became a blur of information. Operations pulled a gun.
Eclaire moved before anyone could see her, ripping the gun out of his hand. "Please be good guests. Don't disturb Lumiere when she is working."
Operations winced as he shook his hand.
"You didn't fail to release the information," said Madeline.
"No. We got the outcome we wanted. It allowed us to isolate some more of those involved. Some are going to be left here. The majority in fact. Lumiere is compiling the final list now."
"The sound," said George.
"Knockout gas. All levels all areas," said Eclair brightly.
"I'm afraid that the vast majority will have to be left. They fall below what TSAB considers redeemable or useful enough to bother with. Their main team and seventeen others I think, since we agreed to use their thresholds," said Lumiere.
"Sounds good. How long to finish the extraction?" asked Eclair.
"The hardware is quite crude, which limits the maximum rate I can extract information. I'm just going to go up and program an alternate method. I'd say it will take about an hour," said Lumiere who vanished in particles of light, though the data transfer to the tricorder continued.
"I take it you are releasing it all after all," said Madeline sadly.
Lumiere smiled. "Yes. The real question is whether those we choose want to come with us and help out where we tell you to."
"Of course we do," said Madeline.
"This is blackmail," said George.
"No, we didn't force you to commit horrible crimes," said Eclair.
"What are your terms?" asked Operations.
"You help Eclair ethically by helping to keep order on a planet she and Lumiere are helping. You do so by their rules. Eclair knows you are on strike two. I assure you she can easily kill you if she needs to. This is your last chance," said Lafiel.
Madeline clapped. "You learned well."
"Of course. Everyone can teach valuable lessons. We thought this one was too important not to take advantage of. Eclair gets capable people that can maintain order. You get one final chance. This world doesn't kill people that might yet make up for some of their sins."
"And the ones that don't meet your criteria?" asked Madeline.
"We aren't going to harm them."
"No, your just going to release all the details of Section One and let the system take care of it," said George dryly.
"We will do what we can to give them a fair trial. You can stay and get that if you want," offered Lafiel with a smile.
"What made you decide to abandon your cover and use the plan you did?" asked Madeline.
"Extracting Michael silently with you along and making it believable was feasible. More work, but doable. The problem is our plan to teach Nikita enough telepathy and have her teach Michael so they could eventually takeover was iffy at best. Also we thought Michael needed more supervision," said Lafiel.
"You think we would have discovered something before then, jeopardizing the plan," said Madeline.
"Ami ran a sim. Odds were about sixty eight percent chance in them failing given that they are not just fighting you, but the people who established all this," said Lafiel.
"So you abandoned the plan, and took more direct actions. Fair enough. Continuing with a bad plan would have dissapointed me," said Madeline.
The television showed the updated statue in Russia with the balance scale held by a woman rather than a sword.
"You know we could have worked together. You do good work. You hurt them in a way that may actually weaken those in charge effectively," said Operations.
"We never needed your help, and let me be clear of one thing. If I find out any of you are responsible for torture again I will kill you," said Lafiel.
"You won't have to. I'll end them first," said Eclair who back handed the wall and punched through it.
Madeline swallowed. "How much of what you showed us was real?" she asked.
"We largely told you the truth unless it would have been stupid to," said Lafiel.
"And all the time you were with Nikita you were teaching her, and since you were doing it silently, we never knew," said Madeline.
"She is a quite good actor. I think she taught me some," said Lafiel.
"What is with your hair and ears?" asked Operations.
"My people were created by humans, not your group of course. They gave us the blue hair to mark us and designed us to be adapted to space. We rebelled and now rule about half a galaxy, more or less," said Lafiel.
"So your a leader of this group then?"
"No, I'm chief pilot, though I pair with Jinto. I'm third in line to that throne, but that is pretty small to the scope we operate on."
"And your ears?" asked Madeline in amusement.
"Only Abriels have these ears. They are a sign of the royal family, not that an Abriel has to succeed, but the next most likely doesn't really want the job, and they always convince us to do it. The Spoor will not win though. The time of them out scheming the Abriel will end."
"You have interesting hobbies," said Eclair.
"Find someone you like annoying. It is great entertainment," said Lafiel.
"And when she annoys you back?" asked Eclair curiously.
"So far I'm ahead on points, and one needs a non serious hobby. Actually, if they annoy you, you could tell Beneej how they treated me. She may be inspired enough to open hell for them," said Lafiel with a smile.
"You don't mean hell is a real place?" asked Madeline.
"Oh no. Well I don't know, not really, but Abh did recreate it for those that truly annoyed us. You really don't want to go there, but if we do find out you have not mended your ways, then perhaps that will be your fate. Death would seem too simple, after all," said Lafiel.
Jadzia beamed down. "I just figured I'd let you know that we are using the transporters to read the rest of the physical media. Security is beaming up those that likely will be given at minimum life in prison. It's taking us a little while to track them all, but we are estimating two point one hours to complete the task. The real mess is going to be to process all the cases, but as we can't verify this chain of information, they must be given trials."
"Sounds good. We should probably get out of here," said Lafiel.
Jadzia picked up tricorder, closing it.
"Agreed." Jadzia turned to the others. "The ones that wish to come with us for the opportunity presented may gather in the main area."
"How do we know which ones were approved?" asked Madeline.
"It is quite simple, isn't it?" asked Operations.
"Yes, it is." Lafiel tapped her com badge. "Beam up landing party." They vanished.
"What did she mean?" asked George.
"She means, we will know if we are not on the list when they retrieve those that are, and the rest remain," said Madeline quietly.
Operations laughed. "We taught them too well. They are using our own tactics against us."
"This is not funny," said George.
"I don't know George, I find it funny as hell," said Operations.
-=oOo=-
Nikita was there in the empty metal room when George, Operations, Madeline, Walker, Birkoff and the rest finally beamed up.
"Why are my guards not here?"
"They were technically not guilty of anything requiring them to be here," said Nikita.
"All hands, this is the captain. We are heading to try to deal with an emergency situation. Stand by."
Nikita said, "Computer, can you project outside the ship?"
The far wall seemed to suddenly open to space as it suddenly changed to the glowing green and white of the dimensional sea.
"In case your wondering, you won't have access. My access is not that high either," said Nikita.
"Where are we going?" asked Walter.
"I don't know."
"Computer, are details of the current mission available to me?" asked Nikita.
"Affirmative."
"Please summarize."
"A dimension was found with a type of lesser energy ribbon heading for a parallel Earth. The Earth has prepared. This ship is being sent as backup to the ongoing operation."
"Energy Ribbon. Can you explain?" asked Nikita.
"The lesser energy ribbon, while still being capable of extinguishing all life on many planets, is not of sufficient intensity that it risks dimensional collapse. They are self eliminating, and this one is nearing the end of its effective life span."
"So Earth is not in a lot of danger?"
"Incorrect. Sufficient energy exists that should the defense fail all life in the Earth system will be extinguished."
"Oh boy. Well, hopefully they can handle it," said Nikita.
"This is crazy. We would have been better off where we were," said Operations.
"We are going to likely need food, drink, and a bathroom," said Madeline.
"I can take people out one at a time for bathroom breaks and bring food and drink in," said Nikita.
"Where is Michael?"
"Michael is with his family," said Nikita with annoyance.
-=oOo=-
An hour later with a few suggestions from Birkhoff they were viewing the actions out in front of their ship and a news report apparently being relayed from students of the Stellvia space station.
"The crew from Stellvia, including the students are now establishing our final defense line for Earth, even as the other colonies have established other defense lines. Reactors of such size and scope we had not dreamed of during the initial wave a hundred years ago, now stand ready to shield us from the true destructive force of the ribbon. The great mission continues, and together with our new friends the Alliance, we are determined not to fail."
From hyperspace eight more ships of different sizes and shapes including the Enterprise's predecessor flew out.
"Shield activation now."
"All hands, we are now at red alert. I repeat. Red Alert. We have our standard drives turned up to maximum. Inertial dampeners may not fully compensate, so hold onto something if you can."
They watched in horror as all throughout the defensive line the barriers failed, one after another. The Alliance ships were not idle, vaporizing massive asteroid after massive asteroid. they then started sending out torpedoes at the biggest ones while others of their ships stood in front of nearby allies and protected them from the explosions. A clock on the main broadcast estimated the time remaining at seventy four minutes.
"They could have wiped out every city on Earth with far less effort," said Operations softly.
Their shields got pounded with more and more debris that they had to take to keep their allies safe. Lafiel and Jinto dodged every one that didn't matter, while Sobaash and others directed polaron beams at what they could destroy. It was an exhausting slug fest. They worked through with only one of the local ships destroyed and only one died before they could beam them off.
"Alright people. The initial wave is done which was just meteors. The final wave is the energy ribbon itself. Hopefully our plan comes together, but if not, we will try to work with the Earth to create the cascade to shut this down ourselves, so everyone on shift who is not needed for repairs is to get some rest. I wouldn't normally order anyone to take a sedative, but if you need it to get rest, do it," said Riker.
-=oOo=-
They got some rest as well. Three hours later the final energy ribbon was in sight.
"How the hell are they supposed to stop that?" asked Walter.
An opening formed in space and out of it came dozens of ships. On their display was shown a massive bridge. "This is Admiral Lindy Harlaown of the Time Space Administration Bureau. It took longer than we wanted to recall all our ships but I am here with our fleet and the fleet of the Galaxy Federation. We also have all the remaining repair nodes and plenty of volunteers to operate them. The initial Alliance fleet can stand down, except for any telepaths you can spare. We have got this. Sandry Setup."
"Stand by Ready. Setup."
One light show later Lindy looked truly ready to lead an army, which she was.
"Falcon will fall back along with the Enterprise-D and shield their main space station and ships," said Riker.
They watched as countless spheres were laid out in space. They watched as time ticked down and they were absorbed by the ribbon. Soon it just began to collapse away from their work area, including far away from where they were working.
The student that was reporting earlier continued to speak. "I am confirming, but it looks like the Great Mission is over. Thanks to all our hard work and all these wonderful allies the Great Mission is over. The threat is over. We have a future again. I repeat the Great Mission is a resounding success."
"We never had a chance," said Madeline softly.
"No you did. Originally only Lafiel and Jinto volunteered. The entity that sent them thought I was interesting enough to save. I'm not sure I agree, but that is why they were sent. They had almost no warning and certainly didn't plan to appear where they did. They are far better at planning than that. Of course a couple of their friends immediately volunteered to help, but were clever enough to specify appearing in a safe spot," said Nikita.
"That explains their initial plan then. Obviously saving you is a non issue when you can do this," said Operations.
-=oOo=-
They watched over the next three days as various parties and ceremonies were held for whoever could stay, which wasn't many, but some did, including a number of the elves that had come to help. Operations and the others continued to be stuck in the cargo bay, but they did learn quite a bit by watching it on video.
Just as they were about to leave Madeline asked, "Are you coming with us Nikita?"
"No. Michael is. I do care for him, but he does love his wife and son, even if you forced him into it. I think I'm going to start over, join one of their parent groups, try to earn my keep and find something to do where I don't have to kill, or it is at least less often."
Admiral Harlaown, in civilian form beamed in near them.
"That is interesting timing," noted Madeline.
"Oh this room is monitored. I simply asked my device to look for a good time to make my offer," said Lindy before turning to Nikita and asking, "Did you mean what you said about not killing?"
"I'd greatly prefer not to anymore, but I don't know much else," said Nikita.
"We have a lot of people without magic that still need to learn self defense. We might even be able to teach you a few things, at least based on the impression I'm getting standing here."
"What do you mean?"
"You might be able to learn a bit of magic."
"Really? You mean I could fly like Ami and Celeste?"
"More like Ami, though I'm not certain of your potential. Want to find out?" asked Lindy.
"What do I have to do?" asked Nikita.
"Well give me permission. Bear in mind, if I actually try, it might slightly activate whatever potential you have."
"Alright."
"Sandry, Scan mode. Check her for potential," said Lindy.
A magical circle formed below Nikita and began to slowly rotate and then slide up her body before going back down.
"C rank or low B. That is actually quite useful, and you know what is really great about our magic?" asked Lindy.
"No?"
"We add by default a magical cantrip to avoid going lethal by default, and while the order rarely can come to remove that, it is not something we do lightly or often," said Lindy.
"But why me? I've worked for Section long enough, you can hardly consider me innocent."
"You were largely not corrupted by a system designed to corrupt you. You kept most of your ethics even when it could have gotten you killed. We also specialize in reforming former criminals, and you are hardly that," said Lindy.
"But I could fly?
"Yes, though it will take a lot of hard work."
"Alright. Can I say goodbye to Michael?"
"Of course. Contact your bridge when your ready."
"I'm curious of something. It seems awfully fortunate that Nikita just happens to have this ability," said Madeline.
Lindy said, "It is pretty rare, though you do see it more often in those who have remained alive when most do not. That kind of thing could of course indicate good fortune, but sometimes there is a touch of magic involved. Given how much Nikita has been through, I'd have estimated her odds based purely on her record at around one in ten to have some level of magic, though the odds of being as strong as she potentially is is probably one in five hundred."
"Then it was pure chance you came over?" asked Madeline skeptically.
"No. Ami and Celeste noticed the likely potential, and I looked over her record and created the trigger to look for a time to introduce myself."
"And they have what magic?" asked George.
"Yes, more Ami than Celeste, but both certainly have enough to notice this."
"You were testing us?" asked Madeline.
"Yes. I wanted Eclair and Lumiere to have a few more data points. Sometimes records aren't true, after all. Now, could someone please beam me back to my ship?" She vanished in sparkles of light.
Michael walked in the door.
"Still being monitored of course," said Operations.
Michael said, "I asked them about that and they pointed out this is a warship. Technically there is no absolute right to privacy here. Logs are made of everything. It's just that only senior leadership can, with appropriate approvals, look at any of it, and only for a good reason."
"Makes sense. With the power to destroy planets, more or less, oversight is required," said George.
"Yes, they just have real oversight, not what the Section had," said Michael dryly.
"Goodbye Michael," said Nikita. She then walked over and gave him a hug.
"I really do care for you," said Michael after they parted.
"I know, but you also care for your wife and child. Maybe try to make that work?" asked Nikita.
"I will. Be well Nikita."
"If anyone is listening, well I didn't really bring anything much, so I'm ready whenever," said Nikita.
Nothing happened.
"Um beam me over to Lindy's ship?" asked Nikita.
She vanished.
"For what it is worth, while this is being recorded, we honestly are not actively monitoring, except for key words," said Sobaash.
Eclair walked in. "We will be at our new home soon. It's a nice place, and doesn't have a lot of crime yet. Let me tell you about it."
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