Disclaimer: This is fanfiction. Anything you recognize is not mine. All characters and events in this story are entirely fictional.
-=oOo=-
"Captain's log. We are cloaked over a world that is having its own version of the cold war, except it is a cold war that looks like it is going to become hot soon. There are no good governments here. It is, sadly, another Earth. China, Russia, and America are at odds. Each ones public philosophy seems more a method of keeping the population in check than truth, and each one has far too many nuclear weapons ready to fly. The Alliance has granted permission to try to influence its development, even though they are pre FTL. Basically, the prime directive is about letting people find their own way. This is realizing that if we let them find their own way they may not survive. They have far more nuclear weapons than our Earth did when World War III happened," finished Riker.
He left his ready room and moved into the bridge.
"Are we ready?" he asked as they came in.
"We are in position above Sweden," said Lafiel.
"Drop the cloak. Open hailing frequencies."
It took then nearly fifteen minutes before they got a response. Sobaash reported it.
"It seems to be a small university sending."
"On screen."
"It is audio only."
"Okay."
"Um, can you hear me?" asked what sounded like a young woman.
"We can. Hopefully the automatic translation is working. I confess I don't know Swedish. I'm Captain William T. Riker and this is the Alliance ship Falcon."
"I'm Elsa. Um, why are you here?"
"I wish I could say it was for the food, but in truth we have seen the state of your world and are concerned."
"Then why us? We aren't with the crazies."
Riker laughed. "You are quite right. Your country is, as near as we can tell, doing it right. In fact we calculated the top three to be you, Norway, and Canada."
"Fat lot of good it will do if they let fly with the madness," she said bitterly.
"We have four more attempted contacts," said Sobaash softly.
"Oh, don't let me keep you. I'm just a student at a little community college."
"Actually, if your willing we would like you to be involved, that is, if you don't mind."
"Really. Is there any chance of getting off this rock before nuclear Armageddon?"
"If it comes to that, we will do what we can, but we hope it won't come to that."
"Sobaash, can you get her information, so we can contact her again, that is, if she doesn't mind?"
"No, I don't mind."
"Of course."
"I guess switch me to whichever is closest to being the leader."
"I am Magdalena Reinfeldt. I am the Prime Minister of Sweden. May I ask who you are?"
"Captain Willian T. RIker, though you can just call me Will if you want."
"Well, if you wish then you may call me Lena. Some of my friends use that, and I do hope we can become that."
"I as well."
"Now, please pardon me for saying the question of the day, but we are all wondering what you want?"
"To try to stop the war that seems imminent."
Lena blinked. "And your talking to me because?"
"Because I want to draw attention to the people that are doing things right. I was really hoping you would convene a meeting, to start with between say yourself, Norway, and Canada. We can expand on that, before meeting those with the others."
"We have been meeting. One more will not fix much."
"Ah, but that was before you had us on your side. I am prepared to defend all the countries on this planet that agree not to start a war and disarm and remove their nuclear weapons. We can also help remove the nuclear weapons."
"I hope your telling the truth."
"We are. I do have one other request."
"Yes?"
"We first spoke to a young woman named Elsa. My friend has the information to contact her. Can she be made a part of these discussions, or at least can you look into it?"
"I can look into it."
"Thanks."
"Missile launch detected. Russian launch," said Jadzia.
"I have it," said Celeste as her eyes glowed with power that she was pulling from the ship. It continued to shoot straight up for a short time before it vanished.
"Tell whoever sent that to stand down," said Riker.
"Message is sent," said Samson.
"Is it too late?" asked Lena.
"We will do what we have to do to minimize it, if it is. Hopefully it is not," said Riker.,
"I will begin my work then. There is no point in working under any other assumption than we will succeed. Send me Elsa's information."
The screen went dark before Samson added, "We now have the president of Russia demanding communication."
"On screen."
"We demand you land immediately and turn over your craft to Russia. Failure to do so and we will destroy it."
"You're welcome to try, but if you launch, the first thing I'm going to do is target where you are and vaporize it."
"Your bluffing."
Riker smiled. The connection was cut.
"Any changes?"
"They appear to be standing down. Threatening him appears to have been an effective gambit," said L'Nea.
"Most weak leaders are eager for everyone else to die for their glory, but when push comes to shove, they will not put themselves on the line, but you never know. Repeat the lies often enough and even the liar might believe if," said Riker.
"We now have the Chinese President online," said Sobaash.
"On screen."
"I am President Hu Zemin. I welcome you to our world. Is there anything you require?"
"Captain Wiliam T. Riker of the Alliance ship Falcon. We are fine right now. We are trying to first work with the countries not poised to use nuclear weapons. Once we get that going we will bring the other groups, including yours in. I have already pledged to defend all nations that agree not to start a war and to disarm and remove nuclear weapons. We can help with that."
"We would agree to talk, but it is very unlikely we will agree to disarm."
"Talking is sufficient to start with."
"Are the Russians going to launch?" he asked.
"They threatened if we did not land our ship there. I told him I'd begin by vaporizing him, if he launched. He suddenly seems to have lost interest. We are monitoring the situation."
Hu nodded. "Would it be possible to speak with you in person?"
"Yes, but not just yet. We are working through Sweden, Canada, and Norway. The leader of Sweden should be beginning to set that up."
"Why, if I might ask?"
"They seemed to be the places with the best quality of life."
"Is not our quality of life good?"
"You seem to be doing fairly well. Our main concerns is what was an imminent likelihood of launch, that you are nominally allied with a country that has caused a lot of problems, indirectly helping them quite a bit. There are other concerns, but those are the primary ones," said Riker.
"Then you are allied with the Americans?"
"No. Sadly they have also made many mistakes that have lead to this. If we are picking a side it is with everyone that is not aiming nuclear weapons."
Hu nodded. "What about technology?"
"We aren't giving out weapons tech. Some other smaller things that are helpful are possible. They would be given to all of course."
He nodded. "Is there no way I can convince you to at least have a representative of China with you?"
"Sorry. Once we get stuff organized, we might consider that kind of thing, though there would be no greater representation from nuclear armed countries than not. The representatives should represent this world, not one nation."
"I see. Should you require anything, let me know."
"Of course. Thank you for the offer."
"Goodbye."
The connection dropped.
"Well, he was at least polite," noted Jadzia.
"Still part of the problem, but he didn't start his conversation with a nuclear missile, so there is that," added Riker.
"The missile is on the way towards the primary. We let it go when it no longer needed us to move it," said Piper.
"I hate to ask it, but make sure you know how to repeat that with minimal effort, including dropping them closer if need be. The ship can move them further, if we have time," said Riker.
"We know," said Celeste.
"The American one is demanding we speak to him now," said Lafiel in annoyance.
"Joy. Put him on."
"Just who the hell do you think you are? Coming here out of no where and trying to have your way. I demand you cease and desist immediately or there will be consequences!"
"No," said Riker tiredly.
"What did you just say?"
"No," repeated Riker.
"Destroy them. I want them dead," he raged.
"If you attack us, we will kill you, and I mean you. We will actually actively try to not kill others, but we will make very sure you die," said Riker.
"Since your order constitutes an act of war, which has not been approved by congress, I must regrettably refuse it," said a man near him.
"What? I made you. You're fired."
"As you wish, but thankfully the military has not been replaced by your stooges. No one is going to follow an illegal order."
"Get him the hell out of here and get me someone who will obey. I have immunity. I can do whatever I damn well please. Now, I'm going to the bunker."
Piper smiled as he flipped upside down and went splat on the ground.
"You did that?" said the now fired chairman of the joint chiefs.
"We did. Do try to rein him in. Our patience is not limitless." Riker signaled for them to cut the connection then turned to Piper and Celeste. "Whichever of you did that, good move. It got the point across that we could reach him, without more aggressive measures."
"Piper got that one. I was thinking about it. My plan was to transport him into that long rectangular pool," said Celeste.
"Her's worked, probably better, but save yours. You never know."
Celeste smiled and nodded.
-=oOo=-
Elsa could hardly believe she was in the United Nations and expected to give a speech. She was a veterinary student for goodness sake.
Suddenly a young woman about her age who had the most striking red hair and vivid green eyes came up to her, and was somehow allowed to wear the shield and spear she had mounted on her back.
"Elsa is it?" she asked softly.
"Yes. Who are you?" she asked curiously.
"I'm Pyrrha Nikos. I thought perhaps you could use a friend."
Elsa blinked. "Um okay."
"I'm from a world called Remnant. I tagged along after they saved my world."
"They do this for a living?" she asked, surprised.
"They do indeed."
"Oh. I don't know what to say, not just to you, but to them."
Pyrrha glanced over, seeing Jinto and Lafiel. They saw her and walked over.
"Allow me to introduce Jinto Linn and Lafiel Abriel. Jinto is a noble from a world and dimension far from here. Lafiel is the granddaughter to an Empress that rules nearly half a galaxy. The other side Jinto's people rule. They would likely be at war now if not for this group," said Pyrhha.
"It is an honor to meet you both. I'm Elsa Danvers."
"We are pleased to meet you Elsa," said Jinto.
"How can we help?" asked Lafiel.
"That depends on if Elsa wants our help. She is not sure what to say. I was thinking that you two might be able to help her a bit during the speech," said Pyrrha.
"It's not as if they can pass me notes," said Elsa dryly.
Pyrrha focused on her. She suddenly heard in her mind, "I wasn't sure you would believe without proof."
"You're telepathic," she whispered.
All three nodded.
"And you can give me advise during the speech?"
"We can do more than that, but only if you wish it," offered Lafiel.
"What?"
"We can sort of lightly merge our thoughts with yours. I'd probably lead unofficially, but I'd be deferring to you," offered Jinto quietly.
"And I won't make a big fool of myself?" she whispered.
"Well, if you do, we will do it together," said Jinto softly.
"Jinto, we will do no such thing," chided Lafiel.
Jinto smiled. Pyrrha smiled in amusement.
"Sure."
-=oOo=-
Elsa walked up to the podium. It was hard to be nervous when she had them with her. She looked out at the audience. So many thought she had no right to be here; thought her opinion did not matter. They did not understand. Perhaps they would afterward. She, or rather they, hoped so.
"I have always cared for animals. Helping them is the purpose I've chosen in life. My family never had much money, but they scrapped together what they had to help me get through college. Lately of course we have all wondered if any of it mattered; if all our hard work, if all our dreams would be blown away in a ball of nuclear fire, caused not by nations, but by politicians and leaders that were not doing their job." She emphasized the last words as she looked out across her audience; as they looked out across their audience.
"It is not a matter of philosophy. A democracy has the virtue of guaranteeing bad leaders don't remain, if you can keep it a democracy. It doesn't elect good ones. People do that, or they don't, as seems the case in certain parts of the world of late. Often there are reasons, such as the propaganda used. This does not excuse the people who voted them in. They failed. This is part of what I wanted to express. People of the world can't just blame leaders, when they haven't done their duty as citizens to find the truth and to elect good men and women to lead the way forward. Thankfully, I'm from a nation that has not failed, yet I see so many others and I see how easy the path to failure is. It scares me."
She again looked around meeting their eyes. They heard her, or perhaps them. It didn't matter.
"Obviously those countries that are not a democracy, at least not really, I do not excuse their people either. A leader ultimately governs through the consent of the governed. If no one obeyed that leadership would be over. Might millions die? Yes, but we are at a moment when nearly eight billion people could die. That does not mean that democracy itself is a magic cure all. People, democracy or not, must be the final check on their government, regardless of the details. So many people had to look away, or acquiesce to get the situation we are in today. There were so many times we could have turned from this nature trail right to hell, only to just keep walking; to just keep waiting for someone else to do it. Eight billion people in this world. Most of them just want to live, and nothing was done before this to halt this madness."
She completely forgot they were separate people as she continued.
"The leaders of the countries ready to press the button, elected or otherwise, you have the greatest duty of all. When you have the ability to destroy the world, you have the responsibility to find a way not to do it; to find a way for everyone else to continue to live and prosper. You do not represent just your nation when you threaten Armageddon to get your way. You threaten all. So many believe the ends justify the means, that one more lie will see the promised land. You are fools. Lies are not a solid foundation for anything. Yes, you can burn the very world order for power. You can rile up hate and division and get people to follow you, but after the fire, what is left, but a burned out carcass of what we once were? We are better than this. Aren't we? Aren't we better than this? I pray we are."
She got down. She was totally surprised when applause broke out. She turned back, smiled, and quietly left the room. Jinto, Lafiel, and Pyrrha met her in a side room.
She hugged, Jinto and Lafiel even as they slowly receded from her mind.
-=oOo=-
She woke up in a bed starring at the most handsome face she had ever seen.
"Easy there. They asked me to check you over. That was a bit much for a first telepathic merge. How do you feel?"
"Headache."
"I know. I've given you what I can. I know it doesn't help to say you will be fine, but I need you to just relax and not think. I'm Julian."
"Elsa, and how would you expect me to not think?"
"Do you have any television programs you like?"
"Animals. I like learning about animals."
"I think I have an idea. I'll get someone to stay with you and you can view all the animals you want, just try not to think too much."
"Um, alright."
He tapped his com badge. "Neela, do you think I can borrow some of your time to watch a patient?"
"Of course. I'll be right there."
-=oOo=-
They stood before the double doors to a room.
"Where is this?"
"It's a holosuite, or I suppose they call it a holodeck here. You wanted to see animals. This room can create them for you," said Neela.
"Can I see some from your world?"
"If you wish. The Cardassians so ruined my world, but we are fixing it. Come, I'll program it for the jungle of Bajor."
Elsa was hooked as soon as they walked in.
-=oOo=-
She spent all her time in here, other than when Neela nagged her to eat or sleep. She was surprised when the man she recognized as Captain Riker by voice came in and asked if she wanted to attend the meeting of world leaders.
"I want to go to these places," she said without thinking.
"Perhaps later. How about now?" asked Riker.
"Forgive me, I got lost in my own thoughts. I'm not dressed, and I need to shave and oh god, I've totally forgotten to take care of myself. I can't see let anyone like this."
"I'm reasonably certain Neela can be persuaded to give you a hand, and the meeting isn't for two hours."
Neela rolled her eyes to Riker's left, but nodded.
"So you will come?" asked RIker.
"I will."
"Stop by the doctor's before you go. He has been tempting to hunt you down for followup scans, but Neela reported you seemed fine."
"Oh, alright."
-=oOo=-
Riker met the rest of his staff right afterward.
"She has no idea of the storm she began," said Riker.
"Yes, we probably tried a bit too hard," said Jinto softly.
"No, they needed the inducement. I'm just not sure if you should offer to help again or not," said Riker.
"We can at least offer. She can make her own decision," said Lafiel.
"Agreed. You two, go to sick bay. Hopefully you will find them there. Make sure the doctor says she is fully recovered, otherwise, don't offer."
They nodded and then got up and left.
"What else do we have?"
-=oOo=-
They walked in when Julian said, "I pronounce you fully medically recovered. There is a genetic anomaly that I'd like to fix, but that will take more time. It is no threat to you now, but in ten years it might be, so don't lose contact unless your sure you don't want it fixed."
"What is it?" she asked softly.
Julian turned to Lafiel and Jinto.
"We can leave," offered Jinto.
"They can stay. Everyone can stay," said Elsa.
"The term on your planet is Huntington's disease. Again, I can fix it, but it requires, ideally a Starbase medical facility. Doing it here has a slightly higher chance of problems. I can do it, and the risk isn't that high. Doing it there has essentially none."
"You can fix Huntington's?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Can you help my mother?"
"Probably, but we can't help everyone on the planet. Don't worry about it. I'll approach the Captain. As long as we keep it quiet, he won't care."
"Please, I'll do whatever you wish if you help her."
"I'm not asking for you to do anything. You don't need to do anything for my help. Just ask is all," said Julian.
"There is an issue we have to discuss I'm afraid," said Jinto.
"What?" she asked in surprise.
"Your kind of a world leader now," said Neela softly.
"What?" she exclaimed loudly.
"You don't need to do anything. We meant that," said Lafiel.
"Oh, my god. I said that, to all those people. I'll never have a normal life."
"We are quite sorry about that. If you want, we will fess up and take all the blame," said Jinto.
"Huh? Why? I mean what I said, even if it wasn't only me. I'm not letting you just take the blame."
"You do know we will leave and they can't harm us, correct?" asked Lafiel.
"Sure, I guess, but I was finally brave. I don't want to lose that," said Elsa.
"Again the choice here is yours," said Julian.
"Can you help me again?" she asked hopefully.
"If you truly wish it, we will," said Lafiel.
"Will I have a giant headache afterward again?"
"Maybe a small one. Your mind does adapt. The second and subsequent times cause fewer and soon no problems," said Julian.
"I don't suppose there is a chance I might learn to do it?" she asked jokingly.
"That is another reason to consider not doing this. The more you take part in telepathy, the more you refine what ability you have. At some point you might have to be taught to actively shield, and all the rest," said Julian.
"You think I'm going to turn down super powers?" she exclaimed.
Jinto laughed. The others smiled.
"They are not really super powers," said Lafiel.
"Says you. Hey, can I talk to animals?"
"They aren't going to have conversations. They generally haven't developed enough minds, but some communication might be possible," offered Julian.
"Really?"
Celeste walked in. "You wanted my expert opinion such as it is Julian?"
"I did."
"You called her without even me noticing it? That is so cool," said Elsa.
"Elsa was wondering about telepathic communication with animals," offered Julian.
Celeste eye's widened. "I honestly don't know. Perhaps we can find out. My mom's universe is probably where they would know for sure. They have developed things more than most."
"Do they have cool animals too?"
"It's the same universe as Jinto and mine, and I'm sure there are many different types of animals," said Lafiel.
"Says the person who grimaces every time she is asked to walk on a planet," teased Jinto.
"Not every time. Besides, you still can't take a proper power takeoff in a craft."
"Don't need to. We have inertia dampeners."
"That's cheating," insisted Lafiel.
"I'll tell you what. I'll gladly spend as much time in insanely risky rockets with you, if you will walk with me more on planets."
"Deal," replied Lafiel very quickly.
"You love each other so very much," said Elsa with a touch of jealously.
"Yes, we do," admitted Jinto. Lafiel blushed.
"We should get you ready," said Neela.
"Oh, right."
-=oOo=-
Elsa walked warily into the larger conference room on Falcon. Even with Lafiel and Jinto in the back of her mind and on her sides knowing she was going into a room with world leaders was intimidating.
Lafiel opened the door. She was smiling, but she knew from the light merge they shared that this was Lafiel ready and willing to commit violence, if necessary, to have her way. There was a determination there that was intimidating, and an admiration of that determination from Jinto.
There sitting at the table was the leaders of Sweden, China, the United States. Wait. That wasn't the leader of the United States. Wasn't that their Vice President? What happened there?
"They did an emergency impeachment that actually worked. First time in history apparently," thought the part that was Jinto.
"Huh. Pity the Russian one didn't also go," she thought back privately.
"Yes, a pity," Lafiel thought.
The President of China stood. "It is good to meet you Ms. Danvers."
She blinked, not buying this cordiality for a moment, but on reflex she smiled and said, "It is an honor to meet you sir."
"The ship translates as necessary, so it is as if everyone is speaking their native tongue here," said Riker.
She nodded thoughtfully. She sat down first, with Lafiel and Jinto to either side. The Chinese president sat down as well.
"Now that we are here we are going to discuss the current situation. I'll begin. Your weapons which began as deterrence have grown without any kind of limit such that they and your postures threaten your planet. My suggestion is we agree to remove all of your nuclear ordinance that are currently built, plus any weapons graded fissile material. We would do it such that things stay roughly in parity," said Riker.
"How long would that take?" asked the Chinese President.
"Approximately a month, give or take. We don't actually need your help to do it."
"Some would say you want the weapons for yourself," said the Russian president.
"Nope, we have far better weapons, that don't make a planet uninhabitable."
"We would like such weapons," said the Russian president.
"That will not happen."
"The Russian government will surrender nothing."
"I don't actually need your permission, though if you did do an all out launch there is a chance you would manage to kill some people. Not us of course, but some. We would prefer to do this peacefully."
"And do you intend to carry out the threat of killing anyone who orders a launch?" asked Hu.
"Yes I do. I'm not fond of the idea, but if you order what could kill billions, I'll do my duty."
"You give us no choice, but you will not be here forever," said Hu.
"Nope, but we can monitor this world with remote space probes easily enough. I'm not saying forcing you not to kill each other is a great solution, and I'd prefer you give me a better one, but we will do it if need be."
"Can you prove you can do what you say?" asked the Russian president.
Riker shrugged. "Does anyone want to volunteer to go first?"
No one answered that offer. Riker tapped his com badge. "Sobaash we need a demonstration of some kind. I assume you have been looking."
"We were thinking of moving the containers on one of those ships to its destination ahead of time. We would have to figure out an example where they can be stacked and such, perhaps on another ship that has unloaded."
"I'll authorize that with one of our ships, if no one is hurt," said the Chinese President.
"I'll work on it and get back to you when we have the details figured out," said Sobaash.
"Does anyone want food, while we wait? I doubt it will take him long, but there are people to talk to," said Riker.
"I'm curious what Elsa has to say about all this," said the new American president.
"Why is it so complicated? They have brought you a way back from all the madness, or at least the first step. Is there a reason not to take it? Does it really advance your interests to turn the world into a smoking ruin?" asked Elsa.
"It does not," agreed the Chinese President.
"Of course it doesn't," added the American.
"Russia must be able to defend itself."
"It went well beyond that some time ago. The decision everyone made to go heavily into nuclear and Solar to mitigate the worst of the climate crisis was correct, but to build so many nuclear weapons? Why?"
"I believe I have the details taken care of, but your government wants you to come down personally to authorize it. I believe they do not trust signals from us," said Sobaash.
"Can you send me there. I will not be long." He stood up.
"Beaming now."
A few minutes later he returned.
"Can you send us the view from the arriving location?" asked Riker.
Above the table the destination ship formed in miniature. They could see like Legos the small blocks placed once after another.
"I have a message from the Chinese government. I didn't understand it, but I'm passing it along. He said the Dragon Rises," said Sobaash.
"It's related to the Chinese calendar isn't it? It has been quite some time since I studied that," said Riker.
"You study Chinese culture?" asked Hu in surprise.
"Just a bit. One of my goals when I pursued a command path was to study history, so as to learn the mistakes not to repeat."
Hu nodded thoughtfully. "That is a tremendous savings moving all that."
"Not really. We are expending a ridiculous amount of energy to do it. We can do it, because we have such supplies, but it is hardly efficient," said Riker.
Lafiel snorted. "We regularly create food out of nothing. Energy is hardly a problem."
"True," agreed Riker.
"It would seem you can remove our missiles if you choose to do so," conceded the American president.
"I would like to see our world work for the betterment of our people," said Magdalena, who spoke for the first time for Sweden and the rest of the world.
"I agree," said Elsa.
"Elsa has the option of at least one trip with us, well her and her family. In time, for those we trust, others might go," offered Riker.
"I am glad for you Elsa," said Magdalena.
"You should see some of the crazy animals that exist in space. I really want a Barque Cat from Lafiel's universe, though they are very picky and very smart. They are traditional on many of their space ships. They have even saved the lives of people before. Come to think of it, why don't you have any?"
"I don't think any have volunteered to come aboard, and there is the fact that Ekuryua dislikes cats," said Riker.
"I miss my families cats. We have an area set aside for them at our Lakfakalle," said Lafiel softly.
"Could we see that?" asked the American president.
"Sure. If your wondering if we can go there, the answer is no, not while so many nuclear missiles are poised to launch, but we can show it. Computer give us a visualization of Lakfakalle."
It appeared above the table.
Lafiel smiled. "She is as lovely as ever. It is often called the city of the eight gates. We moved eight Sord's there to provide fast ways to any part of our Empire. A lot of Abh died in that process, but that was so long ago, and almost irrelevant with today's technology, yet we are still proud of it. Computer show the Empress?"
"She is quite beautiful, though I had expected you all to have democratic governments," said Hu softly.
"Most are. In truth one day the Abh Empire may fold itself into the Federated Sentient planets. We are the larger organization, but we are trying to solve what so far has been a mostly unsolvable problem," said Lafiel.
"And what problem is that?" asked Hu.
"Oh, there is another group that was as big as ours, though I think they are smaller now. Either way, they are called the United Mankind. They lie a lot. They make us out to be immoral heathens, which is absurd, but it almost stoked a war, before the Alliance stopped it." She reached out and took Jinto's hand.
"I'm from one of the United Mankind planets. Meeting Lafiel was the most important event in my life. I certainly have no regrets," said Jinto who squeezed Lafiel's hand gently.
"Can you reproduce?" asked the American.
"You mean naturally? We can. Some do choose to do that. Most prefer to use the gestation cradles. They make it easier to insure a healthy child. It's actually one of the reasons some think us unnatural. To us it is as it has always been. Mankind originally made us using such a thing. It works well. Why should we change?"
"It's unnatural."
"No more than going through some of the elaborate methods that seem more like torture you use to keep young children alive. We make sure the problems do not occur in the first place," defended Lafiel.
Hu nodded.
"I agree, as much as it pains me to say it, with the American," said the Russian.
"Then don't do it. We certainly aren't going to force you. None of us have any interest in that," said Lafiel dismissively.
"Perhaps they want to save you," said the American.
"Believe me, they do not want to save us. My mother's ship was nearly destroyed in a surprise attack by them. I was on it at the time and was sent to deliver the ships log to the Empress as well as to save Jinto who was not a part of the Star Forces. They did not want to save us. They wanted us dead. You can't tell your people that the Abh are unholy demons that must be destroyed for close to a century and expect polite treatment," said Lafiel crisply.
"So, even beyond the stars, the song as old as time, keeps sadly playing," said Magdalena.
"That it does. We do what we can, but it happens too often. Sometimes the prejudice seems to come first. Sometimes people use the prejudice for power. One can change into the other. It varies," said Riker.
"What do we get if we agree?" asked the American.
"For now, we will help those who agree with designs for better solar panels and batteries. If your interested, the energy to weight ratio of our battery designs can run long distance aircraft," said Riker.
"A notable change. Are they expensive to make?" asked Hu.
"Probably to begin to make, due to the changes in factories, but after, I don't think so. I'm not an engineer, though we do have them," said Riker.
"Elsa, I'm curious where you will go on your journey," added the American.
"You can tell them if you wish," said Riker.
"My mom and I have Huntingtons. It's a genetic disease. It isn't active in me yet. They offered to fix it, but it is tricky even for them so better to go elsewhere. They can't apparently fix it for everyone."
"We may have more effective treatments than you have as well, that we can give you. I don't know," said Riker.
"One of the reasons I still think the Abh way is best is we verify everything before the egg is fertilized," said Lafiel.
"Would anyone like to hear a story about when I met Lafiel?" asked Jinto.
"Jinto, not again," said Lafiel tiredly.
"Oh come on, people like that story."
"I'd like to hear," said the American.
"Abh often times race a child by themselves, not always, and having a pair raise a child is the most common, but a single parent raising a child is not uncommon either."
"It isn't uncommon in America either, though a lot of the times it seems to not end as well."
Jinto nodded. "The Abh are different. The most honored request you can ever give to another is to request their genetics to create a child. That implies you have considered all the details, can take care of the child, either with the one you asked, or by yourself, or with another. Lafiel's father did not tell Lafiel who the other half of her genetic inheritance came from. To the Abh this is known as a birth secret and it is supposed to build character."
"That sounds horrible," said the American.
"They don't really enforce it. If the child asked enough they generally tell them, but a family friend decided to tease little six year old Lafiel and told her the other half of her genetic legacy was the family cat."
"They didn't?" asked the American.
"Lafiel was six. She apparently kept checking her face to see if she would break out in fur."
Lafiel rolled her eyes.
"And then her father told her the truth. He told her of her mother Plakia that he vary much was in love with. That made Lafiel the most common type of birth for the Abh. She is a child of Love, is how they phrase it."
"Why the ears?" asked the American.
"My ears are fine," said Lafiel crisply.
"The ears are a trait of the ruling family. All other Abh have regular ears. Personally, I quite like them," said Jinto.
"Jinto, will you never stop telling this story?" asked Lafiel hopefully.
Jinto smiled.
"And the hair?" asked the Russian.
"They people that created us to be their slaves in space thought to brand us so we could not pass as them. We actually quite like the color and are very proud of who we are," said Lafiel.
"Would it be possible to get the plans you mentioned and some time to consider things?" asked Hu.
"Not both. How about one?" asked RIker.
"So better solar panels or better batteries then?"
Riker nodded.
"Batteries."
"We will get them delivered, though Sweden and the others will get them first. They can distribute them to you."
"Gee thanks," said Magdalena dryly.
"What will you do if none of us agree?" asked the Russian.
Riker smiled, but did not reply.
"You are planning something," said Hu.
"This ship could be helping others, so yes, we aren't going to stay here forever on a trigger notice to keep you from killing yourselves, so yes, there is a plan B. I suggest you take plan A," said Riker.
"I will consider it, if the other two are disarmed simultaneously, and the other nuclear nations of the world. There must be none left," said Hu.
"That goes without saying," said Riker.
"And what keeps us from our bloody wars when we don't have nuclear weapons," said the Russian.
"Have you considered therapy?" asked Lafiel with a smile.
Riker snorted, but recovered quickly. "Quite simply, we are going to be monitoring. If you launch a war of aggression we will end it. While preventing you from actually destroying your world, more or less, is the minimal goal, preventing pointless death is still an important goal. Perhaps I should give Lafiel a ship and have her do it for about six months."
Lafiel's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."
"Oh, I think you would do a quite good job," teased Riker.
"Sorry," said Lafiel.
Riker smiled. "We will setup an automated system. We can be back quite quickly if we need to, and then we would address the root causes."
"You mean kill," said Hu.
"Give me a better option if you want it. We actually prefer not to interfere with developing societies, but if I have to choose between killing a small number and a big number to save everyone else, and the small number gave the order, well, I don't see how we can do anything other than that."
"What did you do in such a situation before you decided to interfere?" asked the American.
"We let them die. Many disagreed, yet the policy also meant you had the absolute authority to develop on your own. Even now interfering in a society that has not mastered faster than light travel is severely discouraged. Given how likely you were to start World War III that really did destroy the world, or close to it, we decided to at least try."
"What about sending our people to the stars?" asked Hu.
"We are willing to help some things, but first we need to see some serious forward progress. For now, we would like to see a lot more truth in politics and a complete absence of trying to kill each other."
"So you are not demanding everyone be friends," said Magdalena, as if to clarify.
"You can't force that, but simply honesty is the first step in a lot of things," said Riker.
"Are there other planets where people can live and such?" asked Hu.
"Sure, and right now the only people we would think about helping to get to such are the ones not trying to kill each other. I suppose technically that includes a lot outside of nations like Sweden, but, well finite resources and all that," said Will.
"Wait, Sweden, Norway, and Canada could start a settlement on another world?" asked Magdalena.
"There are a great many habitable worlds, and even more so that could be made habitable. One of our crew's mother comes from a world called Altair, which is likely habitable," said Lafiel.
"How would we go about doing that?" asked Magdalena.
"We have a shorter range craft, that still can easily reach Altair. If you want to assemble a very small team, such as one person from each of the three countries, we could send you there," said Riker.
"And we don't get to go, if we don't agree," said the American.
"One of the first things a new colony needs is people that get along. There is a lot to do. Solve your issues here and we will talk."
-=oOo=-
Hu considered the latest intel. The combined Canada, Norway, and Sweden group had a settlement of ten thousand on Altair. Ten thousand in under a month. It would have been higher, but there was so much equipment that had to be moved and maintained. These Alliance were tossing out designs that this Earth could build for efficient battery operated tools, but were partly manufacturing what they needed themselves on Altair, including, apparently substantially more efficient solar panels and all the rest
It didn't entirely surprise them. While he had no idea how teleportation could be an efficient means to move such masses, it was clear it was. It was equally clear that was the limiting factor, hence building all they could. They were going to lose a massive advantage in the territory in this new world if they didn't do something. He didn't like it, but they agreed to the official removal of nuclear weapons from China, but only proportional to everyone else's. They would not reach zero before anyone else did.
Two weeks later they got offered to help with the settlement. The Alliance didn't want each new settlement on Altair to divide into factions, so was insisting settlement be proportional between the groups coming. They also insisted everyone learn a common language. They didn't particularly care which, since they had universal translators, but those were less feasible planet wide. Agreement could not be reached, so they picked the Abh language and brought in several hundred Abh, most of which were everyday humans to help teach it, and to help in general. He supposed it was better than one of the other languages winning. His language experts told him it was a very well designed language. He didn't, however, like it, but he didn't have a choice. At least his people were getting added to those going.
-=oOo=-
It was nearly two weeks later when they executed their default plan. It seems they had been preparing for it the whole time. There was no announcement. The didn't find out about it till nearly a week after that. The three engineers that came into his office were deeply contrite.
"Are you telling me they removed the fissile material from our warheads without anyone noticing?"
"It's a little worse than that sir. We have done a variety of non destructive scans on one of the missiles. They have removed key parts from them in a lot of key points. If we try to launch, they will disintegrate and likely explode before they leave the launch tube. They have to be completely disassembled and rebuilt."
"So they are worthless? Worse than worthless, given that we have to recycle them?"
The lead engineer nodded. "The non nuclear explosive is still there, not that it helps."
"Do any of the other nations know?" he asked.
"Our intel has not discovered that they know."
"For now all this is a state secret. Do not reveal it, nor pursue further work that might."
They nodded.
"Dismissed."
Orders were already in place to replace any nuclear assets that failed or went missing with non nuclear counterparts, and he knew industry was struggling to build those weapons as it was, so seeing as he couldn't do anything additional about this current issue, he turned to his next task of the day, which was to review world events.
He reviewed the summary page that was presented to him. Point one was one he had read before. The aliens, were doing a concert of all things. He tuned to a web page which was showing it. You could view it with subtitles, or an automatic translation, which obviously was not the same as the original vocals.
"Good morning people of the world," shouted a pink haired woman. Pink hair? Really?
"We are broadcasting world wide. We have duplicated this concert via holography in ninety seven venues all over the world with a total of over ten million people in direct attendance and at least a billion more watching remotely via one means or another."
The audience cheered. Hu raised an eyebrow from behind his desk.
"Now on to briefly two more serious subjects. First, we have finished removing all the weapons grade fissile material. It has been transported into your sun, so it is just gone. For now at least, the threat of nuclear war is over."
The audience screamed enthusiastically. He thought he could feel the building shake. Come to think of it, there was a concert not that far from where he was, wasn't there?
"Now onto another matter. The Alliance is fortunate to have quite a few telepaths now. Most of them are here now for this event. We are going to try to do something on a scale we have seldom attempted before and bring everyone who is physically at or near these concerts as one, at least mentally, though only lightly. You, of course don't have to participate, but if you do, we will sense it, and if we are able, invite you along for the ride. We think you will enjoy it. Such participation is also the first step to learning a small amount in such a skill yourself, though it will likely take quite a bit more than just today. I'll give you a few minutes to think about it. You don't have to leave if you don't want to. Just don't want to."
He pressed a button. "I want to be at that concert nearby. I'm going to the roof now. Get my pilot up there."
"Of course sir."
He had barely taken off, and was listening to the concert on his phone when he felt it.
"This is a song called once more with feeling. The version we are using is from a television show called Buffy. We begin there," said the pink haired young woman.
What can't we face if we are together?
What is in this place that we can't weather?
Apocalypse. We've all been there.
The same old trips. Why should we care?
What can't we do if we get in it?
We'll work it through within a minute.
We have to try. We'll pay the price.
It's do or die.
What can't we face if we are together?
What is in this place that we can't weather?
There is nothing we can't face, except for Bunnies.
Lacus paused for the audience's reaction. Confusion and amusement.
"We are releasing a copy of the television series that came from after this. It's a bit corny. We just thought we would point out that, while that television series is in our distant past, we are all still people. We all have hopes and dreams."
"Now that everyone is with us who wishes to be, it is time for the next song. I present to you Scarborough Fair."
He was surprised to find that he was one of them, that he could dimly feel people all over the world singing this ancient song. There was also a secret they were waiting to reveal. He could sense that as well.
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsely sage rosemary and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there.
He once was a true love of mine.
"I now present to you The Voice, by Celtic Woman."
I hear your voice on the wind
And I here you call out my name
Listen my child, you say to me
I am the voice of your history
Be not afraid, come follow me
Answer my call and I'll set you free
I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice, I will remain
I am the voice in the fields when the summer's gone
The dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow
Ne'er do I sleep throughout all the cold winter long
I am the force that in springtime will grow
I am the voice of the past that will always be
Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields
I am the voice of the future
Bring me your peace
Bring me your peace and my wounds, they will heal
I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice
You are the voice of your own future.
-=oOo=-
The details were released the next morning. Those that attended or at least watched the concert would be given priority for moving to the new world. It would take quite some time for all those who were interested to be able to go. The focus would initially be on those with skills that would help to build a new world.
Hu wondered how they tracked everyone who watched. He assumed there were some uncertainty there. They likely didn't care and had other means to filter, if they needed to. The overall point was their approval rating was more or less stellar, while everyone else's was not. Add in that they have mind powers that can apparently be taught, and he didn't see their popularity fading.
It was an interesting strategy. They were making it politically infeasible to go against them. He could see it would be harder to just hate groups that they sort of met on that day. He didn't hate them in the first place, but his goal was China first. He considered the reports he had on the new batteries. He had considered allowing some of the shortcuts some of his people had recommended, but in the end had decided against it. Someone was going to build them as planned, and no doubt the reliability would be higher. He wanted China to be the one place where you bought these, and so far, it ironically seemed he had succeeded. Oh there were several other places such as Germany also producing them to the same quality, if not better, but China was produced the vast bulk of them.
How could he use this? It was clear what they valued. Cooperation and all the rest. He was less concerned with cooperating outside of China, but if it improved things for China, well why not? He would forge an alliance of manufacturers around the world to share tips and improve quality, and to make sure each others products could be recycled and used interchangeably. It would hurt them in the short term, but his goal was to get China as a major source of items used in these new worlds, even if he had to share the profits. The main thing was to make the best of the situation. There was more than one way to make sure they won in the end.
He turned to the intelligence reports on Russia and the United States. They were apparently working overtime to refine new plutonium. He snorted, and moved onto the next item on the list.
-=oOo=-
Lafiel beamed down to inside his office. He saw her materialize.
"Hello," she said.
"I normally appreciate people making an appointment," he said without rancor.
"I did begin it, but it was a frustrating process."
"I will give you a phone number."
"Thank you."
"Why are you here?"
"Of the three major powers you are the only one not trying to rebuild what we removed, and you mostly seem to be at least assuming we are not stupid, which isn't what we hoped for, but it is something."
He nodded.
"I'm not here for any particular reason. You may, however, contact me, and I will try to answer questions, if I deem them those that should be answered. Sometimes I may not answer because I do not know, and sometimes I may not answer because I do not know if I should, and must ask."
"There are no other restrictions?"
"I am of course assuming common courtesy, that neither of us will attempt to waste the others time."
He nodded. "Is it possible to see worlds outside of this one, or even to go to the new ones?"
"Yes. Coordinate what you want with others on this world, and obviously not just China. Reasonable requests may be approved, though you should keep the number probably to less than one hundred, and most will be confined to quarters. No weapons would be permitted."
He nodded. "Where would you go?"
"What do you seek to learn?" she asked.
He thought about it for awhile and then said, "The mistakes I have not yet made, so that I can avoid them."
"You do not consider the lack of true freedom to be a mistake?" she asked.
"It seems to lead to anarchy."
"It is more complex than that. A team can do so much more than the individual, when they work as a team. So often people do not do this. They split into factions, often based on lies. When money is involved often times that becomes the only thing optimized upon as the expense of all else. Government is supposed to take the long view, but those in charge, however, often do not do so. Unlimited freedom to do anything without consequences is clearly a very bad idea. There must be rules, to protect everyone else's freedom and to insure the common good. Most seem to think these things are absolute, but they are not. The social contract formed between those who govern and those governed is both ways. You have your scale farther to one side. Many would disagree and I do to an extent as well, but that is not your primary issue."
"And that is?"
"Pure government control of everything does not, of course, work well. There is no incentive to improve, or at least there is not a strong enough one, and vast efficiencies are left on the table. Basing things around wealth like so many do, does work, but it to tends to runs into limits, since the system self optimizes near term, or tends to, often at the expense of the long term. The solution is for people to actually care about the quality of their work. You have to invest in your people, so they know you have their back. You have to deliberately sacrifice short term for long term. As sentient beings we can do this. It is in fact a frequently cited characteristic of sentience. You did so when you chose to make the batteries correctly. You chose not to focus on the short term profits, but the long term potential of leading in that area, and potentially not putting yourself in a worse position for other things."
"You have been what, spying?"
"Not extensively, but sure, some. You are of course doing the same."
"I'm curiously why you have thought about such things?"
"I'm the granddaughter of twenty seventh Empress of the Abh Empire. Jinto and I are very likely to rule one day, unless of course we fold into the Federated Sentient Planets before then. Regardless, I take my duty to prepare for that day very seriously."
"I'd like to meet your Empress," he added.
"Make the request. Include others. Technically Captain Riker could go directly to her, though such a request would normally come through me in this case. If I agreed, I would forward the request with my thoughts and we would accept whichever decision she made."
"You are loyal to her first, over this other group?"
"Not to the extent of revealing secrets I've been ordered to keep, but if she gave the order to recall me, then Jinto and I would return without hesitation. While I have some rank in the Alliance, to the best of my knowledge, I'm still Wing Flyer Abriel in the Star Forces."
"You serve in your armed forces?"
Lafiel blinked. "Of course. How could you expect to command such forces if you are unwilling to serve in them? I hope that if the time comes to take the throne without it, my people will see my service with the Alliance as what it partly is, preparation for that duty."
"What did you do before this mission?"
"We helped a group from another Earth with a very strange drive system get back home. They were deemed a possible security threat, since they had committed mutiny earlier in their voyage and were locked in quarters on the way back, while we towed their ship. They couldn't stay in their ship because the radiation they would be exposed to would be dangerous, and, well, we weren't entirely sure their ship would remain in one piece, but it did. The mission was completed uneventfully. We likely made no friends, but it is what it is."
"They got home at least. What about before that, if I might ask?"
"One of our crew mates ended up on a world far away in a different dimension. She volunteered for it. I'm skipping all the details, but suffice to say we had to search for months to find her. We helped save that world from, well, odd creatures that were created by an immortal being. It was actually quite simple once we finally found her, but that tied up a lot of multiple ships for months to do it. Any creature that is hard to kill for humans, tends to be somewhat easy for the weapons systems in our ships."
"And the crew mate?"
"Oh she got quite a lot stronger and her work was pivotal. Sure we technically did more work one we got there, but she was the hero of the incident. You may have seen the one she saved. She is a very pretty red haired young woman named Pyrrha."
He nodded. "And prior to that?"
"Let's see there was a mission similar to this one, though we didn't introduce ourselves then. We did help them turn things around. We aren't sure it will last, but we do what we can. Prior to that we actually helped save a world of magic, which still sounds crazy to me, well not so much a world as the magical United Kingdom. No, it doesn't exist here. I can show you one trick we helped perfect then, if you want, but I think I'll pass on digging more into history."
"What kind of trick?"
"Do you have a bottle of wine? A decent vintage is recommended, though I'm not the best with this trick, so nothing irreplaceable."
"I'll have one brought." He picked up the phone and did so. A few minutes later a dusty bottle was brought in and sat down. Ice and glasses were also brought in. He dismissed the servant.
Lafiel got up, and asked, "May I?"
"Of course."
She picked up the bottle, careful not to shake it and sat with it in her lap. "I'm not going to explain this, since, well, you haven't really earned that explanation, but your welcome to watch."
He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Her hands glowed warmly as she focused on the bottle, which itself glowed warmly for several minutes. "The others really are stronger than Jinto and I, yet we do improve. Pardon, but I'm not familiar with the device you use to open these."
"I'll do it."
She handed it to him. He used the corkscrew tool to remove the plug and carefully poured a glass.
"Do not pour me any. I mean, I wouldn't mind a taste, but I can't drink it. It won't kill me, but it is more or less a weak poison to me. It has nothing to do with the wine, before or after. Abh biology is just a little different. Another can beam down, if you wish someone to taste it."
"I hardly think you intend to kill me." He carefully sipped it, then drank a bit more.
"How did you do that?"
"Sorry, we had to earn that answer. Can't give it out too easily. Enjoy the wine. The thing I did might make it a little healthier, but it is still obviously wine."
He stopped, wrote down a phone number and gave it to her.
"Thanks. I'll figure out how to setup the reverse sometime soon." She tapped her com badge and then requested beam up. She vanished.
-=oOo=-
Hu looked across at the people that were here. They had all been beamed into what was apparently a cargo bay, though a relatively empty one. He noted that the Russian and American president's were not here, though their most likely opponents were. If that didn't make a statement, he wasn't sure what did. Magdalena was here as well, as was the woman named Elsa who had made first contact plus dozens of others he did not know. There were his three advisors he had brought. He saw little point in bringing security, only to have them stuck in a room.
A young woman with blue skin walked in. That was curious. Was she even of age? He decided to remain silent and see how things went.
"My name is L'Nea. There was some debate with bringing anyone to the bridge or not. Much of this group originates with a group called the United Federation of Planets. The default bridge rule there is for no non bridge officers on the bridge. Since we aren't doing anything that requires my help, I decided to come down and help out. I know that Lafiel has been fielding a lot of questions, so I figured I'd be someone that could, but not necessarily will answer more technical questions."
"Pardon, are you like Lafiel or?" Hu asked.
"That is a fair question, but no, I'm an Iconian. I might be the last Iconian. We are a very old race that walked the stars and dimensions long before you first built huts. I'm tagging along with them, because they are a fun group, and because I search for some remnant of my people."
"Do we need to strap in or something?" asked the American politician.
"Shouldn't provided we avoid combat. I can make some seating and such though. I can also issue you quarters, which already has it. Does anyone have a preference? There are a few too many here for our larger meeting room, though if I issued half of you quarters, then that would be the approach I'd prefer."
They soon agreed and she lead them into the hallway and then led them to room after room which had doors open, letting people pick what they wished before leading the others to the main meeting room.
"Would it be possible to see outside?" asked Hu.
"That is simple enough. Computer, show us using the far wall of what is in front of the ship."
The wall seemed to change and suddenly you were looking out into the green and white blur that was the dimensional sea.
"The green and white is technically an interaction with our shielding. I assure you the dimensional sea is quite lethal to those not prepared."
"And yet this ship travels in it quite easily," said Hu.
"The people involved impressed the right people and got access to the tech from a race that used it. I've tweaked ours a bit here and there. We were walkers in this sea long before the others. That is why I hope to find some more of us."
"How did the others?" He trailed off, uncertain if the question was app;appropriate.
"It is a fair question. Never underestimate the power of arrogance to bring down the proud. My race made mistakes, did not produce enough children, did not leave our world often. The others wanted us gone. Did we deserve it? No, but that doesn't change the fact. Saying we should have done these things does not make the rest of us any less dead. Remember that. There was no fledgling Alliance back then to save us."
"How old are you?" asked another.
"I decline to answer."
Someone laughed.
"Has the Empress agreed to see me?" asked Hu.
"Yes. The other two, she hasn't made a decision on. Lafiel was, however, impressed enough with your logic to recommended you."
"Where are we going first?"
"Given our bad luck, well I installed a system to look for trouble. Given we have been at your world for awhile, there is a good chance we will get diverted before we hit Lakfakalle."
"Well we are jinxed for sure now," said the American.
L'Nea looked around as if waiting for the other shoe to fall. "Statistically speaking such superstitions are not credible."
Suddenly they heard from L'Nea's com link, "L'Nea we could probably use you on the bridge, or you can take a look there. It seems the sensors have found something interesting."
She sighed. "I'll take a look here first."
"Understood."
L'Nea said, "Computer, give me a virtual interface to my station."
It appeared before her in the air and she started working with it, her fingers flew over the virtual keys as she manipulated the data. Her eyes widened as she continued to dig into it.
She tapped her com badge again.
"Bridge, this is odd. Some universe is apparently playing with dimensional travel in an odd way. Either way, it seems like there was a drive failure during inter-dimensional flight, well sort of during inter-dimensional. Again weird. We'd better go get them out before they die. Can someone swap in for me?"
"I'll come down. Sobaash can take command," said Riker.
She dismissed her virtual console before turning back to them. "I'm going to the bridge. The others are good, but I'd rather be there."
She left without further prompting leaving them to look at what seemed a hole in the far wall.
-=oOo=-
L'Nea took her station on the bridge.
"We are ten minutes from the location you forwarded," said Sobaash.
She sat down, and picked up where she left off. "It is still too early to read much. The craft is small. I'm guessing six or less meters."
"He is dying, or is that she," said Celeste.
"We are at our maximum speed," said Lafiel.
"Don't even think about teleporting in this environment," said L'Nea.
"Will we be able to beam them onboard, or will we have to bring their craft onboard?" asked Sobaash.
"My preference is not to bring a dubious dimensional drive inside our own containment field, particularly a damaged dubious dimensional drive. That could end very badly. It seems I may have to recommend the occupants be teleported, but from just outside of our shielding, not from the entire distance," said L'Nea.
"The transporter is out then?" asked Sobaash.
"It would not work in this environment," said Jadzia.
"L'Nea, do you want to take command here? This is out of my technical depth," said Sobaash.
"Not necessary. I'll tell people if I need something done. It should only be for a moment, if that. I'll explain as soon as I can."
"Understood."
