As the Phoenix Feather fell Down

Chapter 7

THE SHUTTLE ROCKED WHEN it hit the planet's ground. It had not so much been a rough ride, they had just had to be careful with making sure not to be hit by any weapon's fire.

Once the away team had brought the shuttle through the dampening field, finding the base with both the field and tractor beam emitter had been easy. They had landed the shuttle a few hundred meters away from the base – far enough that they would not immediately be detected if there were any people at the building.

Fujita had gotten out of the shuttle and was inspecting their surroundings. The area around them was quite flat, it was a kind of grassland with a small tree every here and there. The building was about three hundred meter on the left of the shuttle, on top of a small hill.

The Admiral turned around to face her daughter. 'Are you detecting any life signs?'

Delia, who had her tricorder out and had been scanning the area, shook her head. 'Nothing, just some small wild life.'

Fujita smirked. 'That's the first good news in what feels like a very long time.' She turned back toward the base and tugged her uniform. 'Let's go.'

---

A few minutes later, the small party arrived at the base. At first sight, the building appeared to be Orion. However, after further inspection, Fujita decided that it was actually more of a mix of designs from several different Federation species. 'Definitely not Vulcan', she stated, but she got little response from her fellow officers.

The group halted, and Delia scanned the area. 'Coast's clear', she said.

Fujita stepped closer to the building, to something what seemed to be a door. She turned around to Anderson, who got her hint. He walked over to the door and tried to open it, using one of his special devices he always had on hand together with his AI that he called "Athena". 'It's locked', Anderson said after trying to open he door a few times.

Fujita took out her phaser and pointed it at the locking mechanism. 'Step back you both.'

With a loud hissing, a burst of light emitted from the weapon and the door exploded. The metal surrounding what had been the door steamed for a few seconds, but the air soon cleared and Fujita, Delia and Anderson could look inside.

The hallway behind the door was not lit, but the light that streamed in from outside made that they could see inside nonetheless. The corridor ran into the building for a few meters and the disappeared into the dark with a slight curve. The walls were made of a plain metallic compound that had a colour which was just lighter than iron and was slightly yellowish, like a mix between gold and silver.

'It's dericol metal', Delia said.

Anderson nodded. 'From Betazed.'

'The entire building seems to be a mix between the architectures of several different species', Fujita said while she carefully walked over to the entrance of the hallway, her phaser still held outstretched in front of her. 'Let's go.'

They followed the hallway into the base, and after about a hundred meters, they arrived at the first door. It was the only way to continue into the building, so Fujita again blew it up with her phaser.

The door revealed a relatively small room. The power was offline – as it had been in the corridor – but Fujita could make out a few objects that looked like control panels.

'I presume this is some kind of defensive room', Anderson, who had walked over to one of the panels, said. He brushed his hand over the panel, which stayed dark. It gave Fujita an eerie feeling. How could their ship be tractored into the planet's atmosphere from this base if there was not even any power?

Anderson must have been thinking the same thing, because he said, 'It would seem to me that these panels have some way to hide their power signature to prevent intruders from using them. I think the tractor beam is controlled from this room, so – with your permission, madam – I'll stay here to shut off the beam as soon as you and your daughter find a way to disable the dampening field.'

'Alright, Commander', Fujita nodded. 'We'll stay in contact. Be careful.' And with that, she and Delia continued down the room, where another door was located.

---

Delia grabbed Fujita's arm and pulled her back. 'You can't go in there.'

'Delia', Fujita responded, gently pulling her arm away from her daughter. She looked Delia in her eyes – her deep blue eyes that shone like crystals, that could light the entire world when she was happy but that looked down far too often. A feeling surged though the Admiral's body, and she could not immediately identify what it was. Nostalgia?

Suddenly a memory dashed through Fujita's mind. She had been sitting on her captain's chair on her first ship the USS Starlight¸ when her late husband James Kirk had walked in, holding the hand of three year old Delia. He had walked her over to Fujita, who had lifted her little daughter and had put her down in the chair where she herself had been sitting just a minute ago. Delia – who had always had a love for starships – was screaming with pleasure, and from that moment on, Fujita had known that her daughter would once become a captain.

Now here they stood, Captain Delia Thomas Diru-Kirk – third captain of the Frudael - and Admiral Fujita Diru – first captain of the Starlight. They had arrived at the door that led to the dampening field generator. There was only a this thin wall between them and saving the Starlight. This thin wall and a room filled with a deadly amount of radiation. There was no way for them to get rid of that radiation from outside of the room, but it was by far enough to kill whoever went into there.

Of course, Fujita wanted to go in herself. She was not about to let anyone get killed on her account. But Delia had held her back.

'You can't go in there', Delia repeated. 'Let me go.'

Fujita pulled back her hand again, and this time Delia let go. 'There is no other way.'

Delia's eyes were filled with fear, but she was trying to hide it. 'There is always another way, there is always a solution to every puzzle, a way out of-.'

'Delia, we can't waste time like this', Fujita interrupted her daughter, and she stepped closer to the door in front of them, after which she pulled out her phaser to shoot the lock. 'Go. Go to Anderson.'

'No!' Delia bellowed, taking the phaser from her mother's hand. 'No, Mum!'

Fujita turned around and looked at her daughter.

'I'm not gonna let you go in there and get killed! You have an entire ship to lead, people need you.'

Fujita drew a breath. 'So do you.'

Delia shook her head. 'I'm not a famous icon! I haven't saved the Federation countless times. I might be a captain, but I don't bring hope the way you do.' She took her mother's shoulders I her hands. 'I'm not needed the way you are.'

Fujita bit her lip and swallowed, still looking her daughter in the eyes. 'You have a son, Delia. I'm not about to let him grow up without his mother.' She brushed Delia's hands off her shoulders and turned back toward the door. 'I said go.'

But Delia stayed right where she was, her deep and strong blue eyes piercing into her mother's back. 'Mum, you know I'm right', she said, her voice calm and steady.

Fujita lowered her phaser but kept facing the door.

'You're an admiral, I'm a captain. You're a beacon of hope to so many people, an idol to so many young officers. You're presence alone has an effect on this world we live in. I know you don't like hearing it, but you are almost like a goddess to some people. Your death, how will people respond to that? Especially now with this new threat? We need you to find out what it is. We need you. Please, Mum.'

Fujita turned around, her eyes focused on the ground. Suddenly, she pulled Delia into her arms and hugged her tightly. Her voice was filled with emotion as she whispered, 'I love you', and she knew it terrified Delia, but the woman put her arms around her mother and graciously accepted the embrace. Then, without another word, Fujita was gone and she heard Delia blasting open the lock of the door with her own phaser.