| abstract
| - Samuel Samanya was worried. Stepping off the transport that had brought him here, he looked round at the many faces there, most filled with unspeakable fear. The attack on Earth had taken its toll for sure. People were still enquiring about lost family members, others were tearfully reuniting with those who had somehow managed to survive. The death toll currently stood at six billion people - probably the most horrific attack ever known to have happened. The Human race's population had been halved in a few minutes of panic and delirium. The Federation woud need plenty of time to recover from this. There were so many events that could happen now. Either more of those ships would come, or another empire would try to take over the Federation, now that it had been shaken to its core. Samanya didn't like it one bit. The only thing that made him feel remotely secure was the fact that he had been assigned to a very powerful Independence class starship. It was en route right now, but apparently they had detoured, going into Tholian space, rumour had it. The Pioneer needed an operations officer and, according to Starfleet, he was just what they needed. Squeezing through the crowd as best he could, Samanya found a computer terminal. Activating its interface, he stated his name and clearance code, had a retinal scan taken and his fingerprints checked. Well, at least the level of security has been increased accordingly, he thought. Removing a data chip from his backpack - which contained all of the belongings he could take - he placed it into the terminal. Browsing over its contents, he made a note of where he was meant to be and when. Then something caught his eye. A small message, right at the bottom of the screen. Samanya had nearly missed it. It was a short message, containing the words: "Meet up with Tim Scrobbe, Sadler's Bar, third floor." Sadler's Bar he'd heard of. An increasingly more popular bar where many Starfleet officers tended to rest and relax with the locals. But Tim Scrobbe was a mystery. How would I even recognise him? Replacing the data chip in his rucksack, Samanya found his way to the escalator. On arrival at the third floor, he asked someone for directions to the bar. After being given the "you've-never-been-here-before-have-you" look from the gentleman, it was pointed out to him, near the far end of the veranda. Thanking the man, Samanya wriggled once more through the crowd, and entered the bar. As no other seats were available, he sat at the bar, and simply waited. What else was there to do? Fortunately, one of the bartenders had noticed him, drowning in his own solace. While drying a Pilsner glass with a teatowel, she approached Samanya, causing him to look up. Her smile told him that she was going to strike up a conversation one way or another, and she began to speak, her Irish accent attempting to cut through the high level of noise. "So, what'll it be?" Simple start, or so it should have been. Samanya's mind went blank for a moment, then he picked the first thing he could think of. Good thing he liked it. "Erm... a raktajino, please." "Coming right up," she said, placing the glass she had been cleaning on the table, and replacing it with another one, which was wider and deeper than the first. Placing it into the replicator behind her, she asked the computer for a standard raktajino, and then gave it to Samanya, who accepted it gratefully. "So what brings you here?" she enquired. "I've been assigned to the USS Pioneer," replied Samanya, adjusting the volume of his voice to contend with the rest of the chatter in the bar. "They're coming to pick up several crewmembers, including me." Taking a sip of his drink, Samanya allowed himself to breathe more easily, as he had been racing from one place to another since he had stepped off his shuttle. "I've been asked to meet someone here, so I guess that's all I'm up to." The bartender smiled, and replaced several strands of loose hair with her finger. "The Pioneer, eh? You'll probably be looking for whoever attacked Earth then." "Something like that. Did you lose anyone?" The bartender looked saddened for a moment, before Samanya interjected. "We can talk about something else if you like." "No, it's OK," came the reply. "I lost my younger sister, she nearly made it off the planet but the atmosphere had been ravaged more severely where she was." "I'm so sorry," said Samanya, almost wishing he hadn't brought up this topic of conversation. He turned to scan the crowd behind him, looking for whoever it was he was supposed to be meeting. As he turned back, he heard a masculine voice beside him. "You must be Ensign Samanya." The younger man nearly fell off his chair in shock. The person now sitting next to him had appeared without warning. He was a much older man, in his mid-50s perhaps, with a slightly receded hairline, green eyes, and a partially misaligned nose that could have gone easily into a Cubist painting. He was in civilian clothing, meaning that someone else must have placed the request to meet this man on his data chip. "And you must be Tim Scrobbe," said Samanya. "Well, now we've introduced each other quite literally... let's talk." Both men laughed, causing Samanya to relax a little. Scrobbe asked the bartender for a Vulcan mocha, single sweet, a "proper drink" in comparison to raktajino. Scrobbe noticed Samanya staring intently at his crooked nose, and according to the elder man, it had been from "one of those" bar fights several years ago. "Looking forward to your new assignment?" "I'd be lying if I said no, but at times like these I need to focus on the work I'll have to do. Especially as I've had a straight promotion from cadet to chief operations officer. I'm surprised there's no-one else available with more experience." "Well, according to my sources, Starfleet personnel have been spread pretty thin. They'd move more experienced people from place to place, but the president has ordered most ships to stay on active patrol in their assigned sectors." "What did I hear about the captain of the Pioneer being new?" "Technically, he is new, but he has been elevated pretty fast. His name is Mantree, he's one of the youngest captains. Caused quite a stir, actually. His first officer is twice his age and has a bucketload more experience." "Commander Lhaihtrha?" "Yes, that's him. Apparently the Romulans weren't too happy. We've been allies with them for over 200 years now, and not a single Romulan has captained a Federation vessel. Must be a rather interesting life, spending so long as a commander." Scrobbe stared into his drink, mulling over a few things in his mind. His next question caught Samanya off-guard. "You really don't remember me, do you?" Samanya's reaction was, understandably, one of confusion. Sitting before him was a man he had never met in his life, ever, or even known before today. "Why would I remember you?" "It's a long story, and one I can't really get into right now, but basically, you and I have worked together." Samanya's head was racing with so many questions he wanted to ask, but he knew he'd never get answers to many of them, if any at all. How could any of what this man was saying be true? "When was this?" Scrobbe ignored the question, and pulled a small container from his left trouser pocket. Inside it were small white capsules, around a hundred of them. Scrobbe placed the container on the table in front of them, and finished his drink. "Once you board the Pioneer, take one of these every twelve hours - without fail. You should be fine once you've used them all. Don't show them to anyone on the Pioneer, or anyone else in fact. It is imperative that you don't." Samanya thought he might be in a dream or something, as none of this was making sense." "What are the pills for?" Scrobbe looked directly at him as he stood up. "They're for the pain. Excuse me." And before Samanya could respond, Scrobbe promptly left the bar and became just another face in the crowd. Sighing, Samanya took the container, placed it into his rucksack, and wondered how much more confusing his life could become. Ella was screaming in sheer pain as the doctors tried to inject her with a sedative. Lomax heard her shouting from the floor above, and so he rushed down to see what was happening. Entering the small room that contained only a bed and some medical equipment, Lomax found himself pushed quite hard to the side of the room, nearly colliding with another onrushing doctor. "I can see them!" Ella was yelling, causing the doctors to think she was having another panic attack. Thinking back to his conversation, with her, Lomax became conscious of the fact he thought he knew what she was going on about. Trying to force his way through the crowd, he said, "I think I can help her! Let me try!" The room became hushed instantaneously, even Ella stopped screaming. The doctors looked at Lomax, as if he too had gone insane. "Just give me two minutes, that's all I ask," he said. One by one, the doctors filed out of the room, leaving Dan alone with Ella. As the door closed, Dan pulled up the chair that had been sitting on the other side of the bed, and sat on it. Ella observed him, hoping he didn’t have the sedative hidden somewhere on his person. Dan kept his voice low, confident that it would give Ella the calm she needed. "What did you see this time?" Ella wiped her hand down her face, removing several tears. "Do you really want to know?" "That’s why I'm here." Another short pause. Ella seemed a little hesitant to speak; she thought that no-one would take her seriously. "I saw... an unthinkable attack. Something I didn't expect to see. A planet was attacked." "These creatures you told me about last time." Ella nodded. "The same." "Can you describe them this time? Or were they still too blurry?" "They're unimaginable creatures. Suffice it to say, I'd prefer not to recount what I saw." Dan stretched out his hand, and placed it reassuringly on hers. "Please do tell me. I'd like to help." Ella shook her head. "No. It's... it's too terrifying to remember. I don't want to see that look again. I just want to be left alone." "What do you mean? Left alone here?" "No," said Ella. "I want the aliens to leave me alone." Dan was starting to lose the plot. "They're nowhere near you, Ella. How could they be with you?" Ella made eye contact with him. "They can see me. They're watching us all." Again, more confusion. Dan was beginning to get impatient. "How far away are they?" "They've already entered our galaxy. They're at the far reaches, beyond Klingon space. They're heading right for us." "So what are they doing here?" "They're here for us." "And what do they want with us?" "They’re going to kill us all." Enough was enough. Dan stood up, and promptly left the room. As he walked past the still waiting group of doctors, he didn't notice his brazen colleague, standing in the shadows opposite him.
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