Path: newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!elnk-nf2-pas!newsfeed.earthlink.net!newshub.sdsu.edu!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!newsread.com!newsstand.newsread.com!POSTED.monger.newsread.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated Approved: ascem@earthlink.net Organization: Better Living Thru TrekSmut Sender: ascem@earthlink.net Message-ID: From: "djinn_fic" MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEML@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEML-owner@yahoogroups.com Subject: NEW: TOS Blood Vengeance 2/3 (PG-13) Saa/Valeris, Sela Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 801 Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 19:55:04 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.198.142.218 X-Complaints-To: Abuse Role , We Care X-Trace: monger.newsread.com 1104177304 209.198.142.218 (Mon, 27 Dec 2004 14:55:04 EST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 14:55:04 EST Xref: news.earthlink.net alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated:86355 X-Received-Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 11:55:25 PST (newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net) TITLE: Blood Vengeance AUTHOR: Djinn CONTACT: djinn@djinnslair.com http://www.djinnslair.com SERIES: TOS RATING: PG-13 CODES: Saa/Valeris, Sela PART: 2/3 SUMMARY: This is the last story in the Blood Ties trilogy. It letting them play. Thanks to Rabble Rouser and Trekki for the beta! Rise watched Sela as she sat curled on one of the couches and read a padd that Enckar had brought by after dinner. Rise knew what was on the padd--she'd read it first. And Saavik, who was sitting next to her, had read it next. Sela hadn't liked getting it last. Sela looked over at her. "This is an opportunity we can't pass up." "It's risky." Rise looked over at Saavik, who grinned at her. She always said that, and Saavik always grinned. "When did you become the careful one?" Sela got up and walked to the window. "The Dominion War won't be won here. But we can help. We can ruin the Ketracel-white coming out of this plant." She turned to them, smiling fiercely. "And they'll never know it was sabotage." Rise nodded. They probably never would. But probably didn't mean definitely wouldn't. The Dominion leadership on Tilyria might figure it out. And this time the Ketracel-white plant was in Rise's town. If this didn't come off the way they wanted, then it would be Rise and everyone she cared for who paid for it. Saavik stretched in what looked like a deliberate attempt to appear casual. "What kind of team?" "No more than five of us," Sela said before Rise could answer. "You, me, my two men, and Rise." "Rise doesn't go in." Saavik looked up at her. "Rise stays here." "Saavik, just because I haven't gone in, doesn't mean I can't." "No. You stay here. You plan, I do. It's worked so far." "Yes, and it's kept me far away from danger. Which you don't need to do. I'm as strong as you are." Rise smiled. "Well, okay, maybe not that strong. But as strong as she is." She nodded toward Sela. "No, you're not, little one." Sela's voice held a note of mockery, turning the endearment into an insult. "Don't argue, Rise. Just plan and let us do." Saavik turned to her, resolve clear on her face. If it was that important to her that she stay clear of the dirty work, Rise would stay clear--but they were going to talk about this later. Saavik got up. "I'm going to bed. Are you coming?" "In a minute." She smiled up at her lover, knew that Saavik didn't want to leave her alone with Sela. "Can you check on Jorase?" Saavik nodded, then walked to the back room. Rise heard low murmuring as Saavik no doubt commiserated with Jorase over Sela and the danger she presented. "Wanted to be alone with me?" "I don't trust you, Sela." "So you said." Sela held her hand out. "Come here." "No." Rise got up and walked to the other side of the room, as far as she could get from the other woman. Sela grinned in some strange kind of triumph. "Carrix will go with you. He'll be your fifth. I'm going to tell him to kill you and your men if he even thinks you mean to betray us." Sela's grin grew. "I'm flattered. I scare you that much?" "You don't scare me. You make me sick." Sela's smile died. "That's not what you said once upon a time. I think you make yourself sick. Look at the evil you were willing to do for me. Look at what you did to Spock. To your precious father. I'm surprised Saavik can stand to touch you after that. She loved him--was more his daughter than you ever were." Rise decided not to give her the power she thought she had. "You're right. Saavik was his child more than I wanted to be or could have been. And she is generous. Very generous, to have forgiven me for what I did." She smiled, let the love she felt for Saavik into the expression, so there would be no doubt. "She saved me, Sela. After you destroyed me, she put my life back together." Sela rolled her eyes. "But then, you only understand destruction. You couldn't possibly understand love." "Oh, I don't know about that. I love to hunt down your damn birds." Sela moved closer. "I love to fire my disruptor and watch them fall like leadstone from the sky. They scream when they fall. Did you know that?" "I don't believe you kill them." Sela shrugged. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm lying. Maybe I follow them and just watch them. Maybe I marvel at their beauty and remember when you promised me one of my own." She was close to Rise, too close. "Or maybe that's the lie. Which is it, Rise?" "I don't know. I don't care." "Rise." Saavik stood at the doorway. Her eyes were hard as she stared at Sela. "Let's go to bed." Sela backed off. "Goodnight, then. Don't worry about me." "We won't. You're going to bed too." Saavik gestured for Sela to precede them. "With you? Well, ladies, I don't think I'm interested in that, as lovely as you both are." Saavik pushed her up the stairs. "You're going to bed alone. In the guest room." She grinned. "Jorase reprogrammed your door during dinner. It'll be tough to get out without us knowing." Rise had wondered where Jorase had gone. Rise had thought she'd left the table because the tension at dinner was thick enough to cut with one of her beloved knives. She should have known better. Sela's did not look pleased. "Remind me to thank her for that." At their looks, she said, "What? I can't be polite?" Saavik pushed her into the guest room, closing the door behind her and setting the lock in a way Rise had never done before. Grinning, she turned to Rise. "That should hold her--for a night, anyway." Rise smiled. "Let's go to bed," Saavik held out her hand. As they settled into their bed, Rise said softly, "You don't need to coddle me. I survived a long time on my own. Without you looking after me." "I'm not interested in you just surviving. I'd like to see you thrive, Rise." She nestled in, kissing Rise's neck. "You don't think I'm thriving here?" Rise pushed her away so she could see her eyes. Saavik could lie with words, but her eyes always told the truth. But Saavik wasn't trying to lie tonight. "Before the war, maybe. Now? And with Sela here? I have enough to worry about with her on this mission without wondering what she might do to you." "I told her Carrix would kill her if she acted up." "Were you going to tell Carrix that?" Rise smiled. "I'll let you tell him. I know you'll enjoy it more than I would." She pulled Saavik down to her, kissing her fiercely. Saavik kissed her for a while, but her heart didn't seem to be in it. "What's wrong?" "I can't help but wonder...is this because she's here?" Looking down, she made a face. "It's stupid, isn't it? To be jealous of her?" "Yes. It is." Rise kissed her again. "If we never did this any other time, then I could understand your worry." She began to pull Saavik's tunic off. "But Sela wasn't here yesterday. Or the day before. Or the day before that." Pulling her down, Saavik grinned. "You have a point." Rise surrendered to her greater strength, letting Saavik pin her and kiss her until they were both breathless. She almost forgot that Sela was down the hall, probably planning something very bad for them. Saavik sighed. "We'll be all right. Just stay on our toes." Rise nodded. "I love you. You know that. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone." Saavik nodded. "I know." Cuddling in, she sighed. "Let's go to sleep. It's only going to be more mixed up tomorrow." "I know." "I love you too, Rise. More than anything." She stroked Rise's hair, the touch soothing. But it still took Rise forever to fall asleep. And when she dreamed, it was of burnt animals, a bird falling out of the sky to the sound of her screams, and through it all the sound of Sela laughing. ---------------------- Saavik hung back behind Sela. The other woman ignored her, moving purposefully down the hall, the lab coat some other faction of the underground had stolen moving as she walked. Despite her confidence, she wasn't moving like a Romulan, had somehow modified her walk to look more like the other Tilyrians in the hallway. She didn't turn to look at Saavik or Carrix as she rounded a corner, and Saavik realized Sela had memorized the map of the complex the same way she had. It surprised her--she was used to thinking of Sela as vicious and evil. She wasn't used to thinking of her as smart or capable. Or strategic. But she should have known better. Romulans were infamous for their plotting. Saavik had some of that tendency herself. Could remember how, as a child in Spock's household, she would plot revenge against the full Vulcans at school who seemed to delight in tormenting her. Spock had always lectured her on not showing the others how they had hurt her. She had only ever been interested in showing them how it felt. First hand. Carrix made a small sound, almost like a quick intake of air. A man passing by them made the same sound. There was no other indication that they'd just passed a member of the underground, possibly the very person who'd procured their lab coats. Or perhaps he was the one who had created the identity passes. Or perhaps he was not involved in this operation at all. It was not for them to know. They were only one of many arms of the underground, and they only had knowledge of their own role. Each cell operated that way. Only Rise and Enckar knew who had laid the groundwork for this operation. It was the other reason they never went on raids--it would put everything at risk if they were ever captured. Saavik looked over at Sela, wondering if she suspected how much power and knowledge Rise really had. She hoped not. Safer for her to think Rise was a low-level functionary. Safer for all of them. Sela had left her two Romulan companions back in the alley behind the plant. Even with the lab coats, they just hadn't blended in the way Saavik and Sela did. They had not appeared happy to wait, complained even as Sela handed them her thermos full of what passed for coffee on Tilyria. "Commander. We should come with you. It is not safe with just these two." A sharp look from Sela had been answer enough. Her men had nodded, stepping back into the shadows. Sela had been pure Romulan at that moment. And a second later, Saavik had watched her become Tilyrian, just by the set of her shoulders, the cant of her head, the way she'd held her hands. No one had looked twice at her as they'd joined the crowds heading into the plant for shift change. No one was looking twice at them now. Saavik had to admire the tentative way Sela nodded to one of the Jem'Hadar warriors as she passed him. As if she was scared, unsure--she was one hell of an actress, but then she'd probably had to be just to survive her childhood. Saavik knew what it was like to be a half-breed around people who didn't forgive weakness. Her own breaks in logic were probably nothing compared to displaying human weakness in a world full of Romulans. "It's just up ahead," Carrix said softly. "First door on the left." Fortunately, people were coming in and going out of the area so they could slip in unnoticed. This part of the plant wasn't heavily guarded, not like the power source, the comm center, or the armory the Jem'Hadar had erected in the building. And, while the Vorta had placed a heavy guard on the water supply and intake control rooms, there was little worry here, where the pipes ran through but had no outlets. Pipes that were already corroded and that could be given just a little boost so that they started leaking material into the water, material that would taint the Ketracel-white. The material would be trace amounts, it would set off no alarms. Not until the Dominion began to wonder why their Jem'Hadar were becoming more and more intractable despite the White being dispensed. Saavik smiled. Saw Sela echoing that smile as she turned to look at her. They found workstations, called up the programs some other member of the underground had set up for them. Programs that did nothing more than make them look busy. People came and went, mostly Tilyrians, although a few Jem'Hadar peeked in. This was not unexpected; they'd been warned that even the lightly guarded areas were subject to frequent inspections. Finally, the room was empty but for the three of them. "Ready?" Sela whispered. "Ready," Saavik replied, motioning for Carrix to watch the door. The task took no time. They scanned for the unsound areas, where proximity to residual radiation from the processing equipment the Dominion had installed in the room next door had caused the metal to weaken. Once they found them, they used the tools that Rise had given them to accelerate the corrosion, to start the metal leaking into the water. "Done?" Saavik looked over at Sela. The other woman nodded, then stashed the tool in her pocket. "Someone's coming," Carrix said, hurrying back to his station. A troop of Jem'Hadar marched by, their numbers easy to see even if their features were muddled by the frosted glass on the door. The column kept going, but two of the fighters stopped, easing open the door and looking around in another surprise inspection. Saavik kept her eyes glued to the monitor, praying that she'd left no evidence on the water pipe. She wanted to scream when Sela strolled over, handing her something to look at and asking her in a normal tone of voice if she had plans for the Kivelin holiday. The Jem'Hadar closed the door, then Saavik could hear the door to the room next to them opening. "You almost blew it," Sela said, glaring at her. "Don't you know the secret to this sort of thing is to act natural?" "What the hell is the Kivelin holiday?" "I made it up. Do you think a pair of Jem'Hadar soldiers would know that? A Vorta maybe..." Sela laughed at her expression. "Oh, lighten up, Saavik. This should be fun; you're making it very dull." Sela looked over at Carrix, as if hoping he might appreciate her wit. He was glaring at her too, but Saavik thought she saw a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "Let's get out of here." Sela walked to the door and strode out of the room and back down the hallway, pretty much the same way she'd walked in--as if she had every reason to be there, or to leave. There were a few other workers going out, and they joined their group, passing by Jem'Hadar guards who did not stop them even if they stared at each one of the workers. They turned a corner and Sela ducked into an alley. "I need to go get my men." She looked at Carrix. "You should leave us. You'll be safer alone." He looked over at Saavik, who nodded. The less often they were all seen together, the better. "Good hunting, my friend," she said. Carrix smiled, his teeth gleaming, then he walked away. "How Romulan of you." At Saavik's look, Sela said, "That goodbye. It didn't sound very Vulcan." Before Saavik could answer, Sela was gone, heading back up the alley to her men. Saavik waited, then heard the sound of weapon's fire. A moment later, Sela was back, looking annoyed. "What happened?" "I can't get to them. There's a Jem'Hadar patrol between us." She looked thoughtful for a moment, as if trying to figure out a way to get to her men, then she shrugged. "They'll make their way back to base. It's standard operating procedure. They're probably already heading back to Enckar's." "I heard shots." Sela nodded. "Apparently the Jem'Hadar don't like cats. Or else they're bored enough to shoot at anything." She reached toward Saavik, seemed to realize she had stiffened. "I just want the thermos." "Sela, we can't stay here." "Why not? In case you haven't noticed, the street outside is deserted except for Jem'Hadar patrols. Shift change is in an hour-- we should have waited for that." She grinned--a self-knowing expression. "You'd think I'd learn not to be so impatient; we were safer inside." Saavik refrained from commenting, but Sela laughed anyway. "You're so transparent, Saavik. No matter. We can disappear with all the rest of the workers when they come out--no one will notice us." She reached again for the work thermos, and Saavik pulled it off her shoulder before Sela could touch her. Pouring a cup out, Sela set it in front of Saavik, then sipped at the rest directly from the thermos. "In the meantime, we can catch up." Saavik didn't want to give her the satisfaction of drinking, but the coffee smelled good and she was very thirsty. She picked up the cup and sipped. "Why don't you tell me how you know so much about this place. And these people." Sela smiled--a look that was not pleasant. "It's my business to know." "I wonder." Saavik tensed as she heard footsteps approaching, but it was just a Tilyrian merchant making deliveries--he didn't even glance into the shadows where they were hiding. "Your arrival here was fortuitous. You: on the very planet Rise and I settled on." "The gods drop us as they will." "Oh, I think the gods had very little to do with it." Sela smiled slightly. "You can think whatever you like." She took a deep pull from the thermos, then put it down and said, "Why do you think I'm here, if not to help?" "Revenge." "Against whom?" Sela's eyes held hers relentlessly. "Against Rise? I hate to break it to you, Saavik, but I've had my revenge. She nearly died from my revenge, or so she tells me." "She did. You should be thankful she did not." Saavik wanted to throttle Sela, and Sela seemed to realize it--not that she appeared bothered by it. "Rise is a child in many ways, Saavik. She isn't a warrior like us." "I'm nothing like you." Sela smiled. "You don't think so? Take a good look in the mirror, my dearest." She ran her hand under her hair, over her ear points. "Half-Romulan, both of us. Rise is mostly human, despite how Vulcan she may have looked at one time." Sela smiled. "She doesn't look like any of those things anymore. I used to think of her as my little panther. Back when she was Sureya. Back when she was pretending to love me." Saavik let one eyebrow go up--a perfect rendition of Spock's expression. She knew Sela had seen it. Knew the woman would recognize it. And wasn't disappointed. Sela's smile died, her eyes went cold. "Rise never loved you." "Yes, I know. That's why I said pretending." Sela definitely sounded testy. "She does love me, on the other hand. Very much." "You just keep telling yourself that. I'm not sure Rise knows how to love. I mean...look at what she did to Spock." Saavik took a deep breath. This was dangerous ground only if she forgot that Rise had let Spock go. And that she'd let Saavik--her hostage--go too, to be with him when he died. She hadn't had to, but she'd let Saavik go. It was what Saavik had held onto during those moments that Rise's expression became unreadable, or when she'd installed yet another security upgrade that she'd forgotten to mention to Saavik. When Rise had let her go, it had been the beginning for them. Rise had no longer been the enemy, no longer been just a woman to be played, but someone that Saavik had been finally able to love. And Spock had never stopped loving Rise. Even if he'd never known his daughter very well. Even if she'd nearly gotten him and all his friends killed. She'd still been his child. Saavik wasn't sure that Rise understood how much Spock had regretted all that had passed between them. Not that it mattered now. Spock was dead. And Rise was with Saavik. A new woman. A sweet, kind, gentle woman. A sad woman-- with a few too many secrets. But her love. In large part because of the woman who sat next to Saavik smiling so innocently. "Drink your coffee," Sela said. "It's not coffee." "It's close enough." Sela leaned back. "My mother taught me to love coffee. Did you know your mother, Saavik?" Her smile was sly. "Don't go there." "Did you even know which of the Vulcan whores on Hellguard was your mother?" Saavik frowned. How had Sela known her mother was Vulcan? Sela smiled. "I did some research. Found out some interesting things about you, little cat." Saavik froze. Only Spock called her that. Spock and T'Mal so long ago. Not this woman. Not this damned Romulan bitch. "Did I hit a nerve?" Sela pushed the thermos away. "I find this bitter. Don't you? Not like human coffee. Tell me, Saavik. Do you like humans?" Unsure where Sela was going with the question, Saavik just shrugged. "I don't like them." "Your mother was one." Sela chuckled. "Yes, she was. I resemble her greatly. I hate that." She looked down, then back up; her eyes were hard and cold. "Did Rise ever tell you about my mother?" Saavik shook her head. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear about her now. Sela wasn't giving her a choice. "She tried to escape. Tried to take me away from my father. I yelled. I was only a child but I knew enough to yell...in Romulan." She picked up her cup, stared down into the dark brew as if it was some sort of black mirror. "He killed her for that. So...I killed her, really. I killed my own mother." She took a sip, her eyes slowly traveling up Saavik's body to finally stop when their eyes met. "I may have killed yours too. I spent some time on Hellguard, working with--that's a euphemism for torturing, by the way, just so we're clear--working with the prisoners. It's a common assignment for young Tal Shiar officers." Saavik did not react. Leaning forward, Sela smiled. "You're strong. I admire that." "You're a raving psychopath. And I loathe you." Sela laughed, the sound louder than Saavik expected, but not loud enough to carry out of their hiding place. Sela might be dangerous, but she wasn't reckless. "You're far more amusing than Rise. Although my Sureya was fun...while she lasted." Saavik decided to refrain from comment, sipping at her coffee and staring blandly out at the alley. Sela seemed about to say something, then let it go. They waited in silence until the work shift ended and they could disappear into the crowds and go home. ----------------- "Has there been any word on the latest Ketracel-white batches?" Saavik was pacing, making Rise antsy and a bit irritated, although she'd never admit that in front of Sela. "It'll be a while before those batches are shipped. We may not hear anything." Saavik sighed, turning away. Sela laughed softly, earning herself a glare from both of them. "She's not strategic, Rise. She's not about the big picture, or about waiting, are you, Saavik?" She smiled, got up and began to pace in time with Saavik, until Saavik got angry and went and sat down. "Saavik is all about the now. All about tactics." She smiled again, the ugly, sly grin Rise was getting very tired of. "Tell me, Saavik. How many times did you take the Kobayashi Maru test?" Saavik did not answer. Sela smiled. "Perhaps the better answer is, how many times did you fail it? And not just failed it, but failed it miserably?" "Everyone fails it, Sela," Rise said. "That's the whole point." "Kirk didn't." Sela laughed. "Admiral Kirk reprogrammed the scenario so it was possible to win." Saavik's mouth turned down in some long-remembered disapproval. "I know. Isn't that wonderful?" Sela's grin was a real one. "He should have been a Romulan. As one of our less illustrious generals can attest to--she spent a lot of years on the far reaches of the neutral zone making up for letting him steal our cloaking technology right out from under us." "Like you did when you let Picard steal Spock away right out from under you?" Sela smiled at Saavik like she was a very simple child. "I was Tal Shiar. We don't serve in the far reaches." "You do seem to be indestructible," Saavik said softly. Rise ignored them, going back to the resource convoys that were expected in the next week--she had work to do, and these two were going to sit here bickering all day. Suddenly, she felt hands on her hair in a brief caress, and smiled. Saavik always knew when she was annoyed with her. And she always knew how to make it right. She looked up at her, smiled again when Saavik laid her hand against her cheek. "That's so touching." Sela sounded anything but moved. She laughed softly. "I almost envy my men staying in Enckar's house. Maybe they have something to do." She got up in one sleek move and headed toward the kitchen. "I'll go help Jorase." There was much yelling from that room, then Sela came back out, holding a piece of meat still steaming from the oven. "She doesn't want any help." Popping the meat into her mouth, she sat back down and picked up a padd, seemingly losing herself in it. The door chimed softly, and Saavik hurried to get it. It was Enckar, who pushed past them. "What's wrong?" Rise said, rising from her chair. He looked at Sela. "Your men? Are they here?" She shook her head. "They aren't at your place?" "They never came back yesterday." He sat down next to Sela. "We would have heard something...if they'd been captured, especially with the news coming in that the war is over." "Over?" Sela asked, her eyebrow going up. Enckar grinned. "The Dominion has signed a cease fire. The news is jumbled but it appears that the Changelings were dying. The Jem'Hadar are pulling out, but they are in no mood to do it peacefully. You know what they say?" "Victory is life," Sela muttered. "Yes. So surrender--or anything short of victory--well, one must assume that's the opposite." Rise nodded. This was good news. Great news. They would be free. And maybe, somehow, they had helped the effort with their little underground? But it would be bad from here on out. Dangerous. "I want to go look for my men," Sela said rising. "They may still be in that alley." She looked over at Sela. "They may be dead." She actually sounded sad. "Maybe it wasn't cats the Jem'Hadar were shooting at?" Sela nodded. "Or maybe they were, but maybe cats weren't what they hit." She looked almost panicked, and Rise felt a frisson of sympathy for her. Sela was alone here--utterly alone if her men were dead. On the other hand, Sela was a wicked person who killed without remorse. Rise would do better to feel sorry for a crocodile. Enckar patted her hands. "We'll help you look." "No. This is my problem. A Romulan problem." Again she looked at Saavik. To Rise's surprise, Saavik nodded. "I'll help her look. No one will see us." Rise remembered Saavik's attack on her Romulan stronghold. Her state-of-the-art security measures had seen her coming, but had she been a Jem'Hadar soldier patrolling the streets of a planet he no longer owned--whose system might even now be being flushed by tainted drugs--then she might not notice two half-Romulan shadows moving by. "Be careful. The Jem'Hadar...we don't know if they're getting the White we sabotaged or not. They could be very, very unpredictable." "We'll be careful." Sela smiled at her, as if Rise had been talking to her. Saavik just rolled her eyes, leaning down to kiss Rise. It was a longer kiss than Rise expected. Passionate and sweet--and probably intended to irritate the hell out of Sela. Laughing, Rise pushed her away. "Take some weapons." Saavik's smile was feral. She so rarely got to carry weapons. For a moment, she looked a bit like Sela. "I want some too," Sela said. "No way." Saavik walked away from her. "I'm not going out into a possible firefight without a weapon." Sela followed her; Rise could hear her nagging Saavik all the way down to their secret storeroom in the basement. "They're quite the pair," Enckar said softly. She nodded, then looked over at him. "This is what we've been working for." "Yes." Neither of them seemed very happy. "You're worried they'll pull this planet down around us when they leave?" she asked. He nodded. "So am I." "We have to be ready, Rise. If their leaving is a violent one, we have to be ready to fight. We'll need an army, not just a resistance." She walked over to him, laying a hand on his shoulder, letting it stay there, warming him. "You've been our leader. I know you say that I'm indispensable to you, but you've done it. I've just helped you. The cells will follow you, and the people will follow them. We won't let them destroy Tilyria. We've worked too hard to let it come to that." She realized, to her shock, that she sounded very like her father. Enckar smiled up at him. "I want to be happy, Rise. We'll be free again. But I know it won't be easy." "Nothing worth having ever is." She smiled at him. "My aunt used to tell me that. Just before she went out on her next smuggling run." They both laughed, but it was an overly-emotional laugh, one fueled by hope and fear and the knowledge that someday the hated Dominion occupiers would be gone and Tilyria would be free again. Rise suddenly blinked back tears, but some escaped, running down her cheeks. He touched her face, gently wiping the tears away. "What is it?" "This is home." She took his hand, squeezed it tight. "I've never fought for anything--well, anything good--in my entire life. But I'm fighting here. Because I love it, I love this planet and I love these people. And it's home." "Yes, Rise. It's home." He stood up. "And home is going to need us. I'm going to call a meeting of the cell commanders." It was something they had never done. It was something it had never been safe to do. Until now. Peace. Freedom. Autonomy again. All within their grasp. Nodding, Rise said, "I'll be there." He smiled at her. "Tomorrow night. After last meal." Then he turned and walked out. Rise forced her emotion down, called on the Vulcan inside her-- called on Spock too. He'd been a diplomat; he would understand what was needed here. "Give me wisdom, father," she said softly. He didn't answer. But then, he never did. Neither did her mother or Shayla or Cameron. Gone, dead, all of them. She heard a sound, thought it was the keen of a Shiarawk, but it was just a Dominion transport flying high over the town. Hopefully the first of many transports. She put the padd down and grabbed a different one. It was time to make provisions for guarding the planet's treasures. She would not be surprised if the Dominion planned to take as much wealth as they could with them. It was what the Cardassians had done when they abandoned their occupation of Bajor. It was what all conquered conquerors did. Taking a deep breath, Rise began an inventory of the most vulnerable locations, already planning how to protect them. End part 2 of 3 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ASCEM messages are copied to a mailing list. Most recent messages can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEML. NewMessage: