Star Trek: Erin

Part 70: Decompression

     I was surprised. Once, long ago, I'd cowered in a tiny, hidden observation deck. After that, I'd assumed its discovery meant it got blocked off, but when I checked on a whim, voila, it was available. After all the recent stress, I decided a private celebration was in order.

     Synthehol was easy to get, and there's a little-used synth plan for a cheese platter that's actually halfway decent. The bad news: I misremembered how many people the deck could fit.

     With Nowak and Gabriel there, we ended up with Nowak wall-squatting and Gabriel practically sitting on my lap.

     I tossed Nowak a pillow I'd nabbed from the officer's mess. "Not the comfiest, but the view's damn good."

     "Indeed." He fluffed it distractedly. There was a little riiip sound. A flicker of surprise. Forgetting his strength compared to human-made things. I pretended not to notice. Today's view was spectacular. We were passing a golden nebula with a ruby-red heart and far more blue giants than usual. The Enterprise was doing scans, which meant plenty of waiting around. And more free time than usual.

     We enjoyed our snacks and some light banter. It was nice just to sit with them. After some time, I got down to business. "We talked to Kith."

     Tension immediately knotted along Gabriel's shoulders. She put down her cup, glanced quickly at Nowak. His unchanging expression confirmed something for her.

     I kept going. "Our job means we have to look into the security problems. Kith is involved with some sort of cult called the Gilden." I looked to Nowak.

     He caught her up on the terminology. "I put a team on learning more. There are rumours about the Gilden, but very little of substance. One source referred to it as a 'ship,' in which case we have to assume it is warp-capable."

     "I'm worried it isn't done with you," I added. Your mother seemed to think so.

     Gabriel took a long drink.

     I swallowed hard. "Do you...?"

     "Know anything? What is this, an interrogation?" Gabriel shifted so she wasn't touching me anymore. "I know as much as you do. Probably less, since you're looking into me."

     "We're asking as friends, Levi."

     Nowak gave a tiny nod.

     "I can handle this."

     "You do not have to do it alone though." Gabriel and I looked to Nowak. He was studying the nebula beyond the window. "If I have learned one thing from Starfleet, it is that issues can be more effectively solved alongside minds you trust."

     I watched as Gabriel visibly deflated. "Whatever happened to me on Starbase 14—to everyone there—I don't want..." Her voice became almost imperceptibly soft. "I don't want things to change."

     Change happens all the time. I want everything to change, all the time. Ascension is worth it. I stayed silent.

     Nowak spoke instead. "Change and evolution is natural. Look at the Vulcans. They decided the direction of their evolution. And humans are far more adaptive than the Vulcan people. If change comes for you, you decide its effect."

     There was a flicker of movement beyond the glass. Gold, so my brain didn't register it against the nebula for a split second, but Nowak's head tilt and Gabriel's glance confirmed it was something. The three of us immediately packed up our meal.

     Nowak started for the ladder. Unanimously, Gabriel and I decided to press our faces to the glass and see what it was.

     A ship. Not a spacecraft like anything in Starfleet, but of a make that looked almost nautical. Massive, golden sails bigger than the Enterprise reached far from its hull. It arrived at a right angle to us, but as it watched, it righted itself to be oriented in space as we were.

     Far more alarmingly, Gabriel took one look at the ship and gripped her face.

     Red alert began its wail.

     Nowak and I locked eyes. The Gilden?