191: At the Stars

At The Stars
by -=/\=- Zanh Liis
80306.13

Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 80306.12

Three days have passed since we boarded and secured the USS Gauntlet. With TC Blane in her command chair, the enormous ship served as our escort all the way back home, and we made the trip without further incident.

We have returned to Utopia Planetia for repairs, and the USS Alchemy once again sits in her bay aboard the Serendipity, back where she belongs.

It will take a few weeks to complete repairs to both ships, and more importantly, to allow the crew to begin to recover from what turned out to be an unexpectedly brutal maiden voyage.

They're a resilient lot, my crew, and I've no doubt that they will be all right, given a little time.

How long it will take for their captain to recover. . .only time will tell.

Twenty-four hours have elapsed since TC Blane and I had our conference with Admiral Vox and, via subspace, Captain Do'Chal of Special Operations.

It's a conversation that it will take me a very long time to learn how to live with.

We were originally told that the purpose of our mission was to discover the truth of what was happening to Beta-626. In the end, we discovered the truth about so much more, and I was blindsided. I was reminded once again that the truth is often unkind and that alliances are a commodity- bartered in back rooms and darkness, even in these times of so-called peace.

. . .My senior staff has logged far too much time in Sickbay lately for my liking.

Lair Kellyn has been released but not to duty, and sent to quarters with strict orders to rest.

February Grace finally started to respond to treatment and continues to receive it even though she requested, and was allowed, to return to quarters as well. Something has changed in her, however, and only time will tell if she can regain what she's lost. Somehow, at this point I am more worried for Reece than for Grace if it is not recovered.

We very nearly lost O'Sullivan entirely.

The energy signature from the small, disruptor-type weapon of unknown origin that Dylon Spangler used on him did quite a number on his internal organs. Thankfully, due to the quick action and skill of our medical staff, his life was spared and they tell me he should be ready to return to duty in a few days.

Salvek's wounds, from our little episode on the Alchemy, were superficial. This time, we were lucky.

As far as Admiral Vox goes. . .I said goodbye to him this morning, as he finally transported from the Sera back to Command.

There remains so much unsaid between us- but neither one of us is quite ready for the conversation that will have to happen in order to clear the air once and for all. So for now, things between the two of us remain as they have been since the moment he admitted his role in risking my ships and crew.

Strained to the absolute limit.

We may not know for a long while exactly who was behind all that has happened. I keep thinking that Spangler had to have a lot of help somewhere within the Federation to have been able to commandeer a vessel as large as the Gauntlet.

One thing remains clear- the fact that someone very powerful within Starfleet has aspirations that far exceed the grasp of current Federation technology, and is willing to kill to further the cause.

I am afraid that the one hundred and twenty souls lost aboard Celestial may only be the beginning if Spangler is not apprehended quickly, and if those who are silently backing him are not forced into the light as well.

Now that I know the man exists, I will do all I can to learn about him. I have a feeling we may be dispatched to try to eliminate the threat of him again in the future- once and for all.

When that day arrives, I will be ready for it.

-=End Log=-

-=Holodeck Two: 0400 Hours=-

Laying on her back and sinking into the lush grass beneath her, Zanh Liis stared up and into the night sky.

She watched as the Perseids meteor shower put on a brilliant display, miles above her.

She'd been here for hours. She set the program to begin at twilight, her favorite time of day, and then watched the image of Earth's sun sink into the distance. It was consumed by brilliant, jeweled hues before everything became a wash of blues, purples, and finally, velvet black.

She had so much on her mind, and she hoped that perhaps a few hours of doing absolutely nothing- a pastime that she had never actually allowed herself to indulge in before what happened on Ferenginar and beyond- could help still the chaos.

Her mind spun from thought to thought, to all that had happened on the mission and all that had been lost.

The loss of life was devastating- though the realist in Zanh was grateful that the two hundred and fifty aboard the Executor, as well as Sera's own crew, had not added to the number of casualties. From the perspective of Starfleet, the outcome could have been a lot worse.

From Zanh's perspective, the outcome was barely tolerable.

Her crew had suffered- some suffered still. Physically, they were on their way to recovery.

The loss of the innocent trust that they had possessed before they had seen one Federation ship fire on another. . .was heartrending.

She tried to redirect her thoughts, to duties she would undertake later today- the granting of well earned promotions.

She hoped her mind would linger there at least for a few moments, but it refused to be still.

She finally closed her eyes for a moment, drew a deep breath, and then redirected her attention to the sky. On the streaks of light above.

On nothingness.

She had locked the deck when she entered. She did not wish to be disturbed. Yet, before the second chorus of At The Stars began to play on her musical list that she'd compiled just for this occasion, the computer interrupted and indicated someone was trying to get in.

^Permission to unlock holodeck doors is being requested.^

"By whom?"

^Commander Salvek.^

This was a surprise.

"Let him in."

A moment later, Liis saw her friend and first officer approaching, hands clasped behind his back, his slow and measured paces comfortingly familiar to her.

"I am sorry to disturb you, Captain," he hesitated. "Would you prefer that I leave?"

"That all depends what you want." Liis' lip curled up into the crooked grin which, being so familiar to Salvek, he also found somehow comforting, though he would never have admitted it.

"I have come to request your approval for the plans I have assembled. For the gathering you wish to hold." He handed her a PADD, and Zanh told the computer to freeze the program, The streaks of meteors sparkled amidst the stars of the Milky Way, hovering motionless in the atmosphere above them.

"Lovely." Salvek observed, looking up. That was quite a remarkable observation on his part, Zanh thought, and she patted the grass beside her indicating he should sit down. Salvek did so, folding his long legs beneath him.

"You're getting sentimental in your old age, Logic."

"Age has little to do with it," Salvek replied, offering her no further comment. Again, Zanh was surprised. He did not try to argue the fact that he was, in fact, becoming more sentimental as time went on. In the past, he would have vehemently denied it. "I have researched this annual Terran event you inquired about, this 'Mardi Gras'."

"Thank you." She scrolled through the information and nodded approvingly. "It looks like you've done your usual, thorough job. You can use this to create a program in time?"

"I have already done so."

"I should have known. That's Vulcan efficiency for you."

"Indeed." Salvek tilted his head to the side, and raised a hand with an open palm to indicate the still-suspended sky scene above. "May I?"

"Of course."

"Computer, resume." Salvek instructed. Liis set the PADD aside, and she lay back on the grass again, staring heavenward.

"Get comfy. No reason you shouldn't enjoy the full effect."

Salvek allowed himself to roll backwards, stretching out onto the grass beside Zanh. The two old friends stared up at the show in silence for a long time.

"What are you thinking?" Zanh asked him at last. Salvek was a man of action who, just like herself, had never in the past that she could remember ever allowed himself the luxury of spending a half an hour laying there doing nothing but watching a holographic meteor shower.

"I am thinking about Kellyn's decision."

"She hasn't changed her mind, then?"

"No. If anything, he recent experiences have only solidified her belief that this is the right course for her life at this point."

"So what is it?"

"What is what?"

"What is it that nags at you? It's certainly not the thought of Breaux as Chief Engineer," Zanh stated, knowing that Salvek knew as well as she did that Breaux was, if anything, over-qualified for the job by far.

"No, not at all. In addition to the skill with which he performs his engineering duties, Lt. Breaux has proven himself to be a man of great courage and character. He also saved my wife's life, and I consider myself personally in his debt."

"As do we all, Salvek." Zanh reached over and patting his hand gently as they continued laying side by side, looking up instead of at each other. "Out with it. What is really bothering you?"

"I wonder if we are not making a mistake, in keeping Arie here. In keeping Kellyn here, given all she has gone through physically."

It was a shocking admission for Liis to hear. She so rarely ever heard Salvek doubt any decision he had ever made about anything, that hearing the hint of fear in his voice gave her pause. She rolled onto her side, propped herself up on one elbow and looked at him, her genuine affection for the man reflected in her eyes.

"You prefer the alternative of leaving them where you can't watch over them yourself?"

"No."

"Well, then there you go." She rolled back over and resumed stargazing. "I think you may finally understand now what it's been like for me."

"Zanh Liis?"

"All the years that it was my only job to protect you, to be sure that you stayed alive to fulfill the place in history that you are destined for."

They rarely spoke of those years, because it made them both uncomfortable.

"At the end of the day all I could do, was the best I could do." She once again reached out for his hand, squeezing it once before letting it go.

"You do all that you can to protect Arie and Kellyn, and I admire that. All I ask is that you remember, you don't have to do it alone."

Salvek nodded. A moment later and without saying anything in reply, he rose and stood.

"I will see to the last of the detail parameters for your celebration program now, Zanh Liis."

"Thank you, Salvek." Playfully, she mimicked his tone. She tossed the PADD up to him, and he caught it out of the air.

He paused, tilting it gently to and fro a moment before speaking.

"No." He concluded. "Thank you."

"Hey, Logic, wait, before you go," Zanh looked up at him from her position on the ground beneath. "A little help? I think I'm stuck."

She realized that she was unaccustomed to lying in this position flat on the ground and, since she had missed several of her physical therapy appointments in the time during the mission, she also found her back had seized up and she was frozen in place.

Salvek dropped to one knee. She groaned, slowly rolling to her side once again. He waited patiently for her to reach out, and then he helped pull her to a standing position.

"The Perseids will have to go on without me for awhile, I guess. I've got business to attend to."

She paused one second more, really hating to see their moment of quiet come to an end as the pair slowly walked toward the exit arch. "We should come here again, sometime."

"Indeed."

Zanh beamed, grinning from ear to ear. "Computer, save program. Locate Avery Breaux."

-=/\=-Zanh Liis
Commanding Officer
Serendipity NCC-2012