Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 19:28:01 -0800 In: alt.startrek.creative From: Christina fmlyhntr@sunset.net Title: Planetfall Author: Julie Evans Contact:season7_5@yahoo.com Series: VS7.5 story 39 Codes: others Rating: PG Part: 6/9 Date Posted: 2/9/04 "There is another issue, Captain," T'Pren said. "That of saving the Keaynnin as a species. Stann's offspring will all be half-siblings, yet they will have the natural desire to propagate their species. While close relatives are generally discouraged from reproducing in most cultures--including Keaynnin culture--to avoid inbreeding of genetically undesirable traits, genetic variations can be artificially introduced to diversify the gene pool. Since the Keaynnin reach sexual maturity in approximately twelve years, within a century they may be able to produce a sustainable population." Merves had seen few greater tragedies than what had happened to the Keaynnin. Even the worlds most devastated during the Dominion War were starting to rebuild and repopulate. To save a species that no longer existed except in a single living individual was nothing short of amazing. "You think it can actually be done? Revive an entire species?" "Were it a more typical humanoid species such as Vulcan or human, there would be no possibility at all. The Keaynnin's unique method of reproduction may well be their salvation. Though there are still several unknowns to confront, I believe it is not only possible, but probable that the Keaynnin will survive as a race." Merves was silent for a moment, contemplating. "The Vidiians have accepted a normal population growth rate for the colony. Since Distor Stann is now a member of the colony, he is entitled to such consideration also. But should this effort succeed, the Keaynnin may well outgrow the colony in a few decades." "It will likely be a temporary arrangement," T'Pren agreed. "Should Distor Stann and his offspring successfully produce a sustainable population, a suitable planet can be found to provide them a new home. If not in the Delta Quadrant, given the paucity of uninhabited planets, then in the Beta Quadrant, where the Keaynnin originated." It seemed appropriate to eventually resettle the Keaynnin near their original home. "I think the Vidiians will accept that reasoning." If not, Merves figured Kathryn Janeway could use her considerable charm to convince them. He picked up his coffee cup, which was already cold to the touch. "I'm extremely happy for Stann. This is very good news, and I'd like to sit here and consider all the ramifications, but first you'd better tell me the bad news." "The Romulans were not vaccinated against the New Earth virus." Merves almost dropped his coffee cup at T'Pren's bald statement. "What?!" "The Romulans were not--" "I heard you." Merves set his cup down and shook cold droplets of coffee off his hand. So much for reveling in the imminent resurrection of an all but extinct species. "You should have told me this immediately!" "You said you wanted the pleasant news first--" "Never mind. Just tell me how this happened." T'Pren didn't flinch at the captain's harsh tone. "When the Romulan observers were added to the passenger manifest at the last minute, Starfleet sent a directive to the colony's medical team ordering vaccination for the Romulans. Apparently the directive was not received, or it was overlooked by the medical team during the final preparations. Upon departure I verified the accuracy of passenger manifest and receipt of all medical records. I regret to say I did not search those records to verify if the Romulans had received the ordered vaccinations." "That wasn't your job, T'Pren," Merves said. "It was the responsibility of the colony doctors to verify and update the records with all required vaccinations." "Indeed. However I should have considered the propensity for error among non-Vulcans, and I neglected to do so." Merves wondered if that was the Vulcan antithesis of a left-handed compliment. "Placing blame is pointless at the moment," he said. "We need to get the Romulans vaccinated." "Unfortunately it is too late for that, Captain." For the second time in as many minutes Merves was dumbfounded. "What?" "They have already been bitten by the insect carriers," T'Pren explained. "I am in the process of altering the antidote Voyager's EMH produced during that ship's original visit here. I should have a version suitable for Romulan physiology in approximately thirty-nine minutes." Merves took that as a guarantee, give or take a few seconds either way. "Very well. As soon as the antidote is ready, meet me in the crew transporter room. We'll beam down to the colony to deliver the news to the Romulans, along with the antidote." That way they'd have the solution to the problem ready to deliver immediately, which might counteract the worst of the certain Romulan outcry. Or not. "Dismissed." As soon as Doctor T'Pren left his office, Merves contacted the bridge. "Commander Rees, contact Commander Ayala. Tell him to find the two Romulan observers and bring them to the embassy grounds in forty minutes. Then come to my ready room." Rees acknowledged, and Merves rested his head against his chair, frowning at the ceiling. It should be a simple matter to vaccinate the two Romulans, and Commander Prolak when he returned on Voyager, though he suspected the Romulans wouldn't see it that way. Hopefully their recent dependence on Starfleet's generosity in getting them here would abridge any sense of injury, and thus avoid a serious breach between the Federation and the Romulan Empire. As if that didn't happen once every few years anyway. The ready room door slid open and Bryna Rees stepped in. "Message received by Commander Ayala, sir," she said before he could ask. Merves nodded and motioned for Rees to sit. He found her a very capable first officer, often able to anticipate his requests before he even voiced them, probably because of her Betazoid ancestry. He also considered her a good friend, though he was sometimes uncomfortable with her ability to read his mood so readily. Not that it required Betazoid empathy to read his mood at the moment. True to form, Commander Rees' brow furrowed with concern as she settled herself in the chair T'Pren had recently vacated. "What is it, sir?" Merves briefed her on what T'Pren had just told him. ^*^*^*^*^ New Earth, late morning: Luis cocked his wrist the way Jim and his dad had shown him. With a quick flip of his arm he let the rock go and watched it sail out over the water. It hit the smooth surface at an angle and bounced, one, two, three...four...five times! Luis threw his arms in the air and whooped, then quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching. Five times! That was as good as his dad had done in the Lake Baikal program a couple of weeks ago. Jim had done better, seven times, though Sergei Gagarin had done the best. Eleven times! Luis picked up another rock, and frowned at it. His father had told him not to bother Jim right now, because Jim was dealing with some issues and needed to keep his focus. But Luis wasn't a kid, and he didn't need to be protected. Jim was moody sometimes, and he had a temper, and he liked to drink synthehol. Luis knew synthehol didn't have the same detrimental effect as real alcohol, but it had some effect, or some of the adults at the labor camp wouldn't have traded just about anything to the Cardassians for it, even a night with one of their children-- Luis pushed that memory away. He tried never to think about the camp, even though Counselor Novetti told him he shouldn't hold in those thoughts or feelings when they wanted to come out. It was all right when he was with her, or when he was alone and no one could see or hear him. But he didn't want his father and Kajee looking at him with that worried look in their eyes, like he was about to lose it or something. Anyway, Jim was different. Some of the camp prisoners had given up, helping the Cardassians keep order, even spying on their fellow prisoners in the camp, just to make it easier for themselves. Luis didn't think Jim would have done that, not for synthehol or anything. Luis cocked his wrist and tossed the rock toward the water. The angle was too steep this time, and it only bounced once in an ungraceful plop before sinking. He shrugged and sat down on the bank, staring at the green water for a minute before picking up his PADD. He had promised Kajee he'd be back by eleven hundred hours, so he had a little time to write the letter he'd promised. *Hey, JJ: *Thanks for your letter. It must be fun having two homes now. Utopia Planitia would be a cool place to live, with the all the ships and stuff. We were only there for a couple of days before we boarded Pioneer, but I liked it. Being on Pioneer was pretty cool too, even though it was really crowded. And after four months it was hard to find any place on the ship you hadn't been. So I'm glad to be on New Earth now. *I like it here. I feel...free, I guess. There's no war, at least not one we're involved in. Dad's told me stories from when he was on Voyager, so I know there are conflicts and stuff in the Delta Quadrant too. But at least I don't have to hear about the Dominion War all the time. It's so far away, it's almost like it didn't really happen, you know? *School is out right now, since it's summer here. Not that I mind school. There are quite a few kids my age. They're nice, though sometimes they seem younger than me. There are enough of us to make up a Class of '85, like a real secondary school. Dad asked me last night if I wanted to work in the biolab we're building here, for an internship. I did that on Pioneer as part of my classwork. I do like biology a lot, so I probably will. Then I can go out and catalogue all the new species on New Earth. *Oh, there are some really cool animals here! The little monkeys are friendly, though most of them live on the other side of the planet. The ones that are here chatter A LOT. Last night a Bolian who has a shelter a little south of ours was screaming at one of the monkeys because it wouldn't shut up! But they have a right to be here, cause they were here first. Really, it's their planet. *The animals I like the best are the octopi. That's what we call them, though they have ten arms, and six eyes that go all the way around their heads. I went down to the shore with Doctor Tanaka early this morning, and we talked to some that were sort of hanging on the rocks, half in and half out of the water. They watch you while you talk, and turn their heads, looking at you with each eye, like they see something different with each one! Their eyes look really smart too, like they understand everything you say. Maybe they do. *I'd love one for a pet, but they're wild animals, so we just study them. At home we're going to have a puppy, which is okay too. Really, it will be Raul's cause he's so crazy over dogs, but it is a cute puppy, all black and silky. Raul's naming him "Dobby." Yeah, pretty stupid, huh? *What can you expect from kids? Especially little brothers. They're pests, but I guess you know that. Caitlyn does sound pretty cute though. It must be fun pulling all that stuff out of her mouth (ha, ha). Lajen's a nice girl, though she's a lot older than Caitlyn. It would be interesting to have a baby around. Lajen wants a little sister bad, so maybe my dad and Kajee will have one someday. *Well, I don't want to just talk about myself. Did you hear from the Academy--* Luis shut off the recorder on his PADD and stared through the trees along the river. He was sure he'd heard some twigs breaking, like someone or something was moving nearby. He thought it might be one of the monkeys. Though they could be heard at night, he'd only seen a couple during the day, and from a distance. There was a sharp snap, and a much larger figure that broke through the trees. Luis stared at the Romulan centurion. Tornak, that was his name. Prolak was the commander, the friendly one who smiled too much. Subcommander Leral looked through people as if they weren't there. Centurion Tornak looked angry every time Luis had seen him, and not like the Klingons, who liked to look angry for the enjoyment of it. Right now though Tornak looked different, desperate or something, as he lunged toward the river a few meters away. He was sweating a lot. Luis remembered Vulcans only sweated under extreme conditions, or when they were ill. Maybe Romulans were different. Tornak splashed water from the shallow river over his face, then threw his head back and shook off the excess. His head abruptly stilled, as if something had caught his attention, then he swung around and looked at Luis. Luis felt a small shiver go down his spine. He'd heard a lot of stories about Romulans, though he knew most of them were exaggerated. At least his father had said so. Tornak's eyes looked dull, the way some of the Bajorans in the camp had looked when they were about to fall over from exhaustion, and no number of whip lashings would get them up again. "Are you...okay?" The last word died on Luis's lips. The Romulan turned and crashed back through the dense brush. Luis watched him disappear. Then he released a pent up breath, and reactivated his PADD. *Um, sorry, JJ. One of the Romulans here just went by. He startled me. They're definitely weird. Creepy even. They look like Vulcans, except in the eyes. Vulcan eyes are all calm and quiet. Romulan eyes are glittery and hard. Well, Commander Prolak's aren't, but he's even weirder, trying to be so friendly and all. Anyway, they're leaving soon. *I have to get home soon to help Kajee take some stuff to the main recycler, so I guess I should go. Write me back and let me know how things are going on Utopia Planitia (and in Ireland), and what's happening with the Academy. Tell Annie and Patrick "hello" for me, and your dad too. Oh, and hug Caitlyn for me. I hear that's good for babies. *Hasta luego, *Your friend, *Luis Ayala *P.S. I can skip a stone five times! Have you ever tried it? It's fun!* Luis grinned and shut off his PADD. He wondered if JJ had ever skipped a stone, or if he'd be giving it a try once he got this letter. He glanced at the river, contemplating whether to try his skill with a few more stones, then decided against it. He'd be late getting home if he didn't get going. Not that Kajee would be mad. She was pretty cool about everything, and not pushy at all. But he tried to keep his promises, like his dad did. Luis had wandered up the river a bit, so he moved along the bank before heading back through the trees. The common was just to the east, and he could hear the pounding and buzzing of the construction equipment and tools. He remembered that Angelo and his crew were finishing the infirmary today. Later they would add on the science labs, storage buildings, a meeting hall, and the school. The embassy fell in there somewhere too, though even mentioning the embassy made Angelo laugh for some reason. What Luis was really waiting for was his family's turn to build their house. He would get to help with that. It wouldn't be a big house, like Joe and Annie's in Ireland, but it would be big enough for him to have his own room-- Luis froze as something moved in front of him. He was nearly out of the trees, and near some of the shelters closest to the river. It was probably someone from there wandering by. He took a cautious step just as the person he didn't want to see appeared in front of him. Tornak looked even sweatier than before, and he was swaying against the tree like he was going to fall over. Luis started to back away. If the Romulan was ill, he figured he should go get help. Definitely get help. He took another step back, and Tornak's head whipped up. "You!" Tornak spat out the word. "You are following me!" "No! I was going home." Luis took yet another step back. "You look kind of sick--" Tornak swayed again, and hissed, "Liar!" "I'll, uh, I'll go find a doctor." Luis turned to run, but before he even got his legs moving a hand grabbed him from behind and jerked him around by the collar of his shirt. He was nearly as tall as Tornak but the Romulan was far bulkier, and stronger. "You will not betray me to them!" "No, I--" Luis winced as Tornak twisted his fist in the shirt collar. The Romulan abruptly released him, only to clap his hand around the back of Luis's neck. "Move!" Luis had no choice but to do so, since Tornak's hand was gripping his neck tightly. Tornak pushed him out of the trees, and away from the riverbank. Right in front of them were several shelters with boxes of shovels and other tools used by the archeological team scattered around. They'd be spending most of their time traveling to various sites in the area, but this would be their home base. Luis looked furtively for someone. He liked Kimanji Zaji, and had even talked to her and Captain Merves once--or at least listened to them discuss some site where the captain's father had worked. There was no movement at all. The archeologists were somewhere else. Tornak pushed Luis past, as if he didn't even notice the shelters. There were more shelters beyond those, some Bajoran families Luis recalled, but no one was there either, at least not outside. He could hear voices in the distance, and noise from the common, but they were all too far away to see him. Then he saw two people maybe fifty meters away, walking in his direction. He wanted to scream, but Tornak's grip was so tight-- Tornak jerked him forward, and as if he was reading Luis's mind, said, "Scream and I'll snap your neck." Luis didn't scream. TBC -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! 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