6

Sylvia materialized in the command pod of the small craft just as the single alien was dematerializing. For just a brief moment, Sylvia saw the alien--not really enough to get a good look, but enough to know he/she/it or whatever was considerably different.

"Stewert to Nightwing...I'm in the command pod of the small craft. I've located the piloting controls and...found the engine throttle. Powering it down now." Sylvia pulled the control back and heard the sound diminish. After cutting off the engines, she looked around and found what she hoped was the communication unit. "I think I've found the transmitter...deactivating it."

/* "Can you slow the forward velocity?" */

"I'll try--can't make heads or tails out of the language." Sylvia figured that if the designers of the craft were the least bit sane, they would have kept the braking thruster controls near the throttle. After a little experimentation, Sylvia found the proper control and the craft began slowing.

/* "Nightwing to Stewert, we show your forward velocity is slowing. We will attempt to slow your speed down quicker using the towing beams--beginning to maneuver into position." */

Sylvia knew that in order for Nightwing to slow the craft down, she would have to get behind, rotate horizontally 180 degrees, lock on with the towing beams, and then apply forward thrust while pointing in the opposite direction.

While she waited, Sylvia looked around a bit. From a technology standpoint, the craft definitely wasn't new, nor was it particularly interesting. It looked rather outdated to her. And she was amazed it made it as far as it did.

Sylvia felt a slight lurch as the towing beams locked on.

/* "Nightwing to Stewert, we're locked on and applying thrust. Hang on." */

"Rodger that, Nightwing."

Sylvia sat down in the pilot's chair--it was a little snug for her in the armored, powered exoskeleton she wore. With the seat turned towards the rear, she felt herself gradually being pushed into it with increasing force, though it wasn't to the point of being uncomfortable.

"This thing might not be able to take the stress if the captain used any more thrust," Sylvia thought out loud to herself. Checking her hand scanner's readout, she added, "Damn, it's thirty-four C in here--I hope it's due to the engines overheating and not the temp these folks feel comfortable in."

Once the craft's velocity was slowed sufficiently, Sylvia cut off the braking thrusters and let _Nightwing_bring the craft to a halt. She got up and started looking around, recording everything she saw. Her hand scanner found no other living thing inside the craft, but she did get a reading of some organic matter just outside the main hatch.

"Stewert to Nightwing, I'm picking up something organic on the outside near the hatch. Can you get a visual on it?"

/* "MacCloud here, Miss Stewert. Just a moment, scanning..." */ Almost a minute later Zach added, /* "It appears to be...a hand_, if I'm not mistaken._" */

Sylvia's expression quickly changed to one of disbelief.

"Seriously?"

/* "It's...definitely a hand. It'll have to be removed and bagged before we attach the docking tube." */

"If it's stuck out there with no body attached to it, I'd say it has already been 'removed'...from its owner," Sylvia shot back with sarcasm.

/* "I'd say that would be obvious, but it needs to be removed from the hull before attaching. It looks like there used to be a boarding ladder out there. Might as well cut the rest of it away." */

"But you want me to save the 'hand'..."

/* "Correct." */

"Okay, you say so. I don't have a bag for body parts on me, so...tape a biohazard bag inside the docking tube and then extend it most of the way. I'll tag and bag the hand, cut away the remains of the boarding ladder, and make sure the tube seals good."

/* "Copy that. Canberra is heading that way." */

"Hey, how is our 'guest' doing?"

There was a pause.

/* "The chief's having a time calming her down. Poor gal was hysterical when she arrived. As soon as the Se'nika comes alongside, Frer-Sha'an will teleport over to help." */

"Was she hurt?"

/* "I don't believe so. Læree'ahn has had some success in calming her down, but she's like a bird in a cage with a cat." */

Sylvia winced at the analogy, wondering what could have driven the alien to such hysterics.

Felix arrived at the port side airlock and after affixing the specimen bag to the inside, he extended the docking tube to within approximately one meter of the craft's hull. Sylvia energized her grav-boots and entered the airlock. When the cycle was complete, she unlocked and opened the outer door. Sure enough, there was what appeared to be a hand stuck to what was left of a handrail. Sylvia scanned it and noted that it looked like it had been exposed to high heat. She saw the bag so she disengaged her boots and gave the micro-thrusters a short burst, propelling her into the docking tube. After retrieving the bag, she returned to the craft's open airlock and carefully collected the hand. A few minutes later, she had what remained of the boarding ladder cut away so that the docking tube could make a good seal.

"I've established a positive seal on the craft," she called to the ship when the operation was complete.

/* "Rodger that. Close it up and come on back." */

Sylvia closed the outer airlock door on the alien craft and then returned to Nightwing.

"Ey, is that what I think it is, ey?" Felix asked as he sanitized the gloves of Sylvia's armored suit.

"Yep, one very alien hand, extra crispy and freeze dried."

"I'm sure Chief Sorrel is going to have fun with that, ey."

"Just make sure Sonya doesn't get her paws on it," Sylvia said with mild sarcasm.

Felix filled Sylvia in on how it was going with the alien female on the way to Sickbay. She stopped in the passageway for a moment, pulling her ears back.

"Jeez, she's been screaming like that since she's been on board?" Sylvia asked.

"It was worse, ey," Felix replied.

Sylvia gave him a "you gotta be kidding me" look.

"Every time she sees somebody new, it gets worse, ey."

As soon as the double doors to Sickbay opened, the screaming intensified.

"Nobody is going to hurt you," Mindy was insisting as gently as she could, even though she knew the alien female would not be able to understand her.

Felix and Sylvia walked into Sickbay--when the alien female saw Sylvia still in her powered armor, and Felix carrying the hand in the bag, she wailed even louder. The doors started to shut, but there was a soft *bamf* in the passageway and the doors reversed. The alien female struggled loose from Mindy and Ivor's grip and bolted to the door. Sylvia, still in her powered armored suit, started moving to catch her, but the alien female only made it a few steps from the bio bed to the door when she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, unable to move.

"I take it this is your new patient," Frer-Sha'an's gentle, husky voice was heard in everyone's head.

"Sha'an, thank goodness you're here!" Mindy exclaimed in relief.

The alien female appeared to be frozen in mid stride, eyes wild with fear. Sha'an slowly walked up to the alien and lightly touched her cheek.

"There is no need to be afraid, child. None here will harm you. You are safe."

Sha'an gently ran her hand through the alien's bright, magenta colored hair.

"Be still. Sleep."

If Frer-Sha'an had not been holding the alien with her telekinetic ability, she would have collapsed on the spot.

"She will rest for now and give everyone some peace. I sense that she is, as you say, 'skittish', and is terribly afraid of something."

"Do you think you can find out what she's so terrified of?" Mindy asked.

"Certainly. While she sleeps, we should examine her for illnesses or injuries," Sha'an replied.

"I've got some partial scans of her--at least she doesn't seem to have any broken bones or open wounds," Mindy said.

"That is a start."

Frer-Sha'an, using her telekinetic ability, lifted the alien female and placed her on the bio bed closest to Mindy. Sensing Mindy's thoughts, she added, "Restraints will not be necessary--she will sleep until I wake her."

Mindy nodded her head once and activated the medical scanner. While the scan was being performed, Sylvia held up the specimen bag.

"Hey Doc, here's the hand that we found."

"Where is the rest of the body?" Sha'an asked.

"Don't know--this was stuck on the outside of the craft. The fingers were locked around what was a handrail for a boarding ladder. I guess the owner didn't survive when our guest here took off," Sylvia said.

"Canberra, take it back to the lab and put it in the cooler for now--we'll analyze it later," Mindy instructed.

"Ey, sure, Chief."

"If you don't need me to hang around, I'm going to change and head back up to the bridge," Sylvia said, looking from Mindy to Sha'an and back to Mindy again.

"Go ahead, Miss Stewert, I think things are under control now," Mindy said. "You can go too, McElroy."

Sylvia gave a nod of her head, asked Ivor if he would mind helping with her suit, and then headed out with him, pausing for a moment in the open doorway to look back at the alien female again. Shaking her head in wonder, Sylvia continued on her way with Ivor.

* * * * *

Plel-Whu'an scanned the alien ship with her mind, looking for the one who was commanding it. When she found the one she wanted, she waited until Tres-Sal'an disabled the ship's engines. The rudimentary shields went down when the engines went offline, making it slightly easier for Sal'an to do what she needed. When she appeared on the equivalent of a bridge on the alien ship, she quickly grabbed hold of the ship's captain, dropped a stun device, and teleported back to the Se'nika's holding cell. Letting go of her captive and removing a weapon from him, she just as quickly teleported the short distance outside of the cell and activated the force field while the alien was still confused. His confusion didn't last long--he reached for his holster, discovered his weapon missing, and then looked at Plel-Whu'an. Yelling loudly, he rushed the opening of the cell--and was promptly flung to the rear of it. Whu'an snorted and shook her head.

"Apparently you are not familiar with advanced force fields." She carefully placed her hand, with fingers spread, near the field. It began to crackle and glow as her hand got near. Whu'an sent a mental image to the alien that she hoped he understood--there was no escape. The alien ship captain nevertheless threw himself at the force field and was flung back again. This time, however, he rolled onto his back, shaking his hands from the shock of hitting the force field.

"You were warned," she sent, along with the previous mental image.

The alien ship captain said something that, although Whu'an didn't understand the words, she _did_understand the feeling behind them. It wasn't nice. Whu'an looked down at the captive for a moment with a blank face, and then bared her fangs and hissed at him, sending what she thought of his response. He backed away into a corner, suddenly afraid for the first time in a long while.

"Madam Commander, I have returned with the prisoner--the alien ship's own commander. I believe I have convinced him to behave for the time being."

"Excellent, Plel-Whu'an. Shen-Lir'an will assist with the interrogation."

"Understood."

Whu'an thought to herself, "Now we shall find out why you want the occupant of the small vessel."

* * * * *

/* "Lieutenant Cha'rhu'ez, Ensign Donnelson--report to the bridge." */

"What did we do now?" Diwenzi asked rhetorically at the summons.

"C'mon, Diz, we'd better get up there," John said, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "James tends to get creative if he has to wait on somebody."

Diwenzi's look of uncertainty almost made John laugh.

"Hey, guys, the LT and I need to go see what the captain wants. Go ahead and finish the diagnostics and then button up that engine panel, okay?" James said to the maintenance bots.

"WeeOoo."

John gave a thumbs up to the bot that responded, and then he and Diwenzi headed out of the hanger bay.

The whole way forward and up, Diwenzi chattered about whatever popped into her head at the moment. While that in and of itself was nothing unusual, John could tell from experience that she was nervous.

"Relax, Diz! Jeez, maybe James has a mission for us or something.

"Ya think?" she asked hopefully.

"Look, Diz, James is a pretty decent guy--as long as you're trying, he'll cut ya some slack. He may be a captain now, but he has always been a hands-on type, and he's not above jumping in and helping out. So, just relax, already. We've been sitting around staring at the bulkheads, and I'm sure he knows that it's driving us nuts."

Diwenzi started to look hopeful by the time they reached the bridge.

"Permission to enter the bridge?" Diwenzi called out when the door opened.

Zach looked up from his console and waved them in.

"Skipper's got something for you," Zach said, jabbing a thumb towards the forward end of the bridge.

Diwenzi and John slipped between Zach and Sylvia and came to attention.

"Cha'rhu'ez and Donnelson reporting as ordered, sir," she said.

James cast a smiling glance at Tanya, who ever so slightly shook her head in amusement.

"Lieutenant, Ensign...unless I'm jumping your tails about something insanely stupid you've done, at ease! Remember, this is a long-range scout ship out in the boonies--you're not impressing anyone."

"Y-Yes, sir," Diwenzi acknowledged.

Tanya looked at John with a "what are you waiting for?" expression, causing him to nudge Diwenzi. James touched a control on his console, looked at a readout, and then slid his seat back.

"Right now, we're docked with the small alien craft while its former occupant is being checked out in Sickbay. The Se'nika has knocked the other ship out of commission for the time being, and they're having a little 'chat' with its captain, trying to find out why they were chasing our guest. The crew of that ship is apparently not the same species as the one we have in our Sickbay, and I've been told she's quite terrified of her pursuers. Frer-Sha'an thinks our guest was part of a group that was attacked on a planet in the system head of us. Since we're kind of occupied at the moment, how would you two like to do a little recon mission, and see if you can find out what was going on?"

"Ai-a, getting some flight time is good...", Diwenzi replied, her face brightening.

"Get suited up. Moira's having your bird prepped, Redhill and McElroy are getting your ordinance ready to load, and as soon as you get your walkaround and pre-flight done, we'll send you on your way," James explained.

"I'll transfer your flightpath to you before you launch," Tanya added. "You'll be following their engine trails back to where they left. We don't know the full story yet, so keep sharp. This is a First Contact situation, so don't fire unless there's no choice. Understand, da?"

"Aye, ma'am," Diwenzi acknowledged.

"Get to it--you're hitting space in forty-five minutes. Dismissed," James ordered.

"Aye, aye, sir!" Diwenzi and John both said in unison, and then they turned to leave.

Once off the bridge, Diwenzi asked, "Ai-a, did you know he was going to send us out?"

"Why else would he call us up to the bridge? If James just wanted to chat, he'd come find us; if something was going on that he didn't want to discuss in front of others, he'd have called us into his office."

"Oh...I suppose you have a point there."

"You want to fly, right?"

"Yeah."

"James just gave you an excuse to get some flight time in, didn't he?"

"Yeah."

"So, what's to worry about?"

Diwenzi thought a second, and then she smiled.

"C'mon, skunk-butt, we got a need, the need for speed!"

"Diz?"

"Yeah?"

"You been watching old Terran movies again?"

"Maybe...why?"

"Just remember what the commander said."

"Yah, yah...wait until some dneffer[1]takes a pot shot at us, then we smoke 'em!"

"Diz...?"

"Yeah?"

"Bite me."

"Ooo, really?"

"Oh, jeez...will you get your mind out of the swamp water for once?"

"You want some of this and you know it, skunk-butt," Diwenzi said slyly, swishing her short tail.

"In your dreams, Diz."

In the flight prep room, Diwenzi and John stripped down to their skivvies and pulled out their pressure suits. Despite John's refusal to get physical with his pilot, he did sneak a look as Diwenzi started to put her suit on. She was facing away from him, working her feet into the suit's legs.

"I hate to admit it, but she does have a nice figure. Dang it, I gotta think of something else!"

A short while later, John helped Diwenzi getting the suit's tail piece around hers, making sure it was properly sealed. She, in turn, helped him to get his fluffy tail packed into his own suit's tail piece, and then double checked the seal. They put on their air packs, put on and sealed their gloves, and then put on their helmets.

"Check me over, Runway," she said, slipping into her role of pilot.

John made a physical check of all of the seals, straps, and connections, tapped her helmet twice and gave a thumbs up. She repeated the procedure on his suit, tapping his helmet twice and giving a thumbs up.

They entered the hanger bay and headed for their bird. Sonya and Ivor were just finishing up loading the full load of ordinance the Peregrine normally carried for an intercept mission. Two heavier multi-warhead penetrator missiles were already in their recesses against the against the sides of the fighter/interceptor.

"That's the last of it, L.T.," Sonya announced as the pair walked up.

"Just in time," Diwenzi said with a grin.

"So, what does the captain have you two heading off to do?" Sonya asked.

Ivor looked up from the ordinance cart, curious to learn why they had to arm the F/I-417.

"We're going to recon the planet those two craft came from. Something must have been going on there, so we're going to check it out," Diwenzi replied.

"But why the full combat load?" Sonya asked.

"Just in case someone doesn't like us snooping around and decides to get ugly about it," John said.

"Well, if you have to, kick butt and...meh, don't bother about taking names, just kick butt," Sonya said with a laugh.

"Plan on it," Diwenzi fired back with a wicked grin.

Diwenzi opened up the side hatch and poked her head in; John paused by Sonya a moment and said quietly, "Don't encourage her--her people already think she's nuts."

"And what about you," she asked slyly.

"Ever hear of 'white-knuckle therapy'?"

John took a step back, turned, and went over to begin the walkaround.

* * * * *

"C'mon, McElroy, let's get this stuff secured and head back up to Fire Control."

"Aye, mum."

While they were putting the ordinance cart away, Sonya asked, "Hey, just curious, farm boy...what do you think of the L.T.?"

"Miss Cha'rhu'ez?"

"Yeah."

"She's kind o' crakin', ah suppose. Talks yer lug aff, though."

"Yeah. Hey, you know, the skipper's cousin ain't bad..."

"Lilly?"

Sonya gave Ivor an exasperated look.

"No, him! We all know Lilly's a hottie--jeez, McElroy, who do you think I meant?"

"Er, na telling."

Sonya stopped and put her hands on her hips. She was about to fire off a snarky comment, but then she closed her mouth, looked thoughtful for a moment, and then got a wry grin on her face.

Patting Ivor on the back, she said with a chuckle, "You're getting to know me a little too good, farm boy. So, got any plans, tonight...that might include me?"

Ivor looked up and saw the hopeful look in Sonya's eyes.

"Er, dinnae we hae some maintenance tae dae somewhere?"

Sonya looked questioningly at Ivor for a moment, and then thinking about it, she began to smile.

"You know, it probably wouldn't hurt to check out the torpedo launcher equipment spaces."

"Ah will git th' gibble box..."

"I'll get some rags..."

* * * * *

"Bridge, this is Razor One-Two-Seven--course data received, thrusters at standby; we're ready to launch,"

/* "Razor One-Two-Seven, roger that. Opening hanger bay doors." */

Diwenzi and John heard the alarm sound that signaled the opening of the hanger bay door. There was a brief flicker as the force field that held the air in came on, followed by flashing sequential lights that showed the direction the doors were moving.

"Visor check!" Diwenzi called out.

"Down and locked. Positive seal," John affirmed.

"Pilot's visor is down and locked with positive seal. Disengaging APU[2]. Handling bots are clear."

John looked out both sides of his canopy and made visual contact on the location of the bots.

"Confirmed, handling bots are clear."

When the hanger bay doors were fully retracted, Sylvia's calm voice came through the comm.

/* "Razor One-Two-Seven, you are clear to launch." */

"Copy that, Bridge. Activating thrusters."

The Peregrine lifted smoothly off the deck and Diwenzi eased her through the open hanger bay doors. There was a slight crackle as they passed through the force field; when they were clear, Diwenzi called back.

"Nightwing, this is Razor One-Two-Seven--we have cleared the hanger. Telemetry on, proceeding on projected course. See you on the flip-side."

/* "Razor One-Two-Seven, roger that. Good hunting. Out." */

Before Diwenzi accelerated to max cruising speed, she got a good look at the Pliq raider ship.

"Hey Runway, take a look at that," she said, pointing to the other alien vessel.

John trained the camera on it, zooming in on it to get a good look, especially at the aft end.

"Damn...that was just a low power shot?" he asked in disbelief.

"Ai-a. I'd think taking on a Mûr Tua'ansa ship would count as one of those insanely stupid things the captain mentioned."

"Uh...yeah. Probably one that you wouldn't live to regret."

"I'll put that on my 'not to do' list."

It took nearly an hour for the F/A-417 to reach the planet, traveling at 0.7 c. When they were eighteen minutes out, John started picking up the signatures of two other ships of the kind the Se'nika had disabled. One was in orbit around the planet, and the other was on the ground.

"Hey, Diz...getting a reading on two more ships. One's in orbit. I'm kicking in the counter-measures to make it harder for them to see us."

"Go for it. When we get closer, I'll try to sneak up on them so you can get a good scan."

"Okay. Hopefully they won't get frisky. If that one in orbit is just like the other one, the excuse for shields they have shouldn't be much of a problem in case we need to slap them around a little."

"Ha! And you told me to remember what the commander said!" Diwenzi said with a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah." John looked out at the wings. "We've gone dark[3]. Keep the planet between us as much as possible until we get close, and then come up behind him."

"Got it."

Diwenzi cautiously came around behind the alien ship, utilizing as low power approach as possible.

"No active signals coming from that ship," John announced.

"Good, maybe we can cruise by close and get a good scan."

"Ready when you are," John said.

"I'm lining up for a close pass on their port side."

"Go for it, Diz."

Diwenzi eased the Peregrine by the alien ship, enabling John to make a detailed scan. No sooner than they cleared the bow of it, an indicator lit up and a tone sounded.

"Diz...they're scanning actively," John said in an even voice.

"Have they seen us?"

"I don't think so," John replied. "We may have tripped a motion sensor or...maybe it's just a routine area scan. Maintain present course for now--be ready to punch it just in case they start looking hard in our direction."

"Let's hope they don't."

"Yeah."

Diwenzi and John continued to cautiously drift along, avoiding to use even the thrusters lest they somehow gave away their position. When they crossed behind the planet, Diwenzi and John relaxed a bit, and then John started going over the sensor data.

"Ai-a, find anything interesting?"

"Nah, just like that one ship that had followed the small vessel--fifteen people onboard, all the same species," John replied.

Diwenzi thought on that and said, "Maybe that ship in orbit is running sensor picket."

"Could be," John agreed. "We should contact Nightwing, send what we got, and see what James wants us to do next."

"Ai-a."

Diwenzi called the ship, explained what they had found so far, and then John sent the data collected from the close scan.

/* "Razor One-Two-Seven, how long do you estimate before the ground below Tango-Two crosses the terminator?" */

"Did you get that, skunk-butt?"

"Yep, wait one...approximately 43 minutes, Diz," John said, checking his instruments.

Diwenzi relayed the number.

/* "Roger that, Razor One-Two-Seven. Recon the surface below Tango-Two after it crosses the terminator--find out what's going on down there, and then report back." */ James ordered.

"Understood, Nightwing. Razor One-Two-Seven, out."

Diwenzi took the Peregrine down, entering the planet's atmosphere while still out of sight of the alien ship in orbit and anyone that might be on the ground beneath it. Once they were flying at subsonic speeds, she approached slow enough so that John could get a thorough scan ahead of them.

"Hey, Diz...got something coming up. Looks like the third ship on the surface...and a small structure...maybe a shelter of some kind. I have anthropoid life signs--count thirty-nine individuals total."

"Can you tell yet if they're different species?" Diwenzi asked.

"We need to get a little closer..."

"We're fifty-two klicks out..."

"Sensors starting to differentiate--need five more klicks, Diz."

"Coming up on forty-seven klicks...mark!"

"Resolving data...fifteen are like those upstairs, twenty-four are like the one we rescued. Getting a visual on enhanced...recording."

"What are they doing down there?" When John didn't answer, Diwenzi demanded, "Ai-a skunk-butt, what the frak are they doing?"

"Get us up, Diz--gotta get this back to James," John replied, trying to keep from growling.

"Huh?"

"Haul ass, dammit!"

"Hey, don't you..."

"Now, Diz...chew my tail later!"

Diwenzi slammed the throttle forward and yanked back on the stick, sending them up at a near vertical climb...and straight towards the orbiting ship.

"Take out their engines, Diz--make sure those bastards don't go anywhere until Nightwing gets here!"

"Ai-a, I can't do that! The XO said not unless they fire first!"

"Then take a look at this!" John said angrily, sending a playback of the video recording to the pilot's auxiliary monitor.

"Che'nah a'rûn!" Diwenzi hissed in her native language.

The Peregrine closed rapidly on the alien ship. It had seen the fighter/interceptor streak up through the atmosphere, blazing a trail as it accelerated at full speed. By the time the raider ship got its rudimentary shields up, the Peregrine was upon it, hammering away at its engines with the pulse cannons. As they flew by, John saw that the exhaust bells and pumps were completely slagged beyond repair--that ship would not be going anywhere. As soon as they were well out of range of the ship's weapons, John transmitted what he had recorded to Nightwing.

* * * * *

"Sir? Razor One-Two-Seven just transmitted their sensor data to us," Sylvia announced.

"Show it," James ordered.

"Aye, sir...on main viewer."

Everyone on the bridge saw the atrocity that the Peregrine's sensors had recorded. Twenty-four individuals bound together and being brutalized, a pile of bodies, a small ship like the one the Se'nika had disabled was on the ground nearby, one more in high orbit. They understood what the ships were now and what they were apparently after. James didn't need to hear the outrage expressed that he knew the others felt, for he felt it, too--this sort of thing was very much against what everyone stood for.

"Syl, give Rha'an a copy of this--she needs to see it."

Quietly, she said, "Aye, sir."

* * * * *

Back in Sickbay, Frer-Sha'an and Mindy had finally made progress with the alien female that had rescued.

"Wake now, child," Sha'an sent to the area in the alien's brain that controlled sleep.

Her eyes fluttered open and when she saw Sha'an and Mindy, she sharply inhaled through the breathing slits in her neck, as if about to scream.

"Calmly, child--you are among friends here; no one will hurt you," Sha'an reassured.

The initial reaction of fear on the alien's face gave way to confusion. Strange words came to her that she knew were not of her own people, yet, somehow, she knew them. The faces looking at her were strange and unlike any other she had seen before, but as if she were suddenly in a waking dream, the faces seemed...familiar.

Trying the strange language, she asked, "W-who are y-you?"

The two strange--yet not--females smiled at each other and then the shorter one with the big ears and covered with the strange fur spoke.

"My name is Mindy Sorrel, and this is Frer-Sha'an. You can understand me now?"

"Y-yes, but...how?"

"My doing," Sha'an sent.

"You speak, but your mouth does not move. What is this?" the alien female asked, getting nervous.

"_My people communicate mind-to-mind--it is more efficient..._however, we can communicate verbally if necessary," Sha'an replied gently.

"I...should not know these words. How do I know them?"

"While you were asleep, I taught you the predominate language of Mindy's world in the same manner as we learned it from them," Sha'an explained.

"Y-you did something in my head? You wish to control me?!"

"Oh, no, sweetie, no...we're not like that, we mean you no harm--we just want to help. You sent a distress signal and we came to help. You're safe now. We can take you back home, if you wish," Mindy said, trying to calm the alien female. "What's your name, so we know what to call you?"

"My name? You do not already know it?"

"No, I wouldn't ask if I did," Mindy replied.

The alien female thought for a moment, relaxing a little, and then said, "Elí...Elí Uchengi, that is my name."

Mindy held her hand out and said, "Nice to meet you, Elí." When Elí looked quizzically at gesture, Mindy said, "This is how we meet someone formally for the first time on my world," and then she gave a quick explanation of the handshake.

Elí slowly raised her hand and Mindy grasped it. It was the first time Elí had willfully touched another who was not of her people. Mindy smiled...and so did Elí.

Turning to Frer-Sha'an, Elí asked, "Do you come from the same place as Mindy?"

"No, my world is some distance away, and we are a much older people than those of her world."

"D-Do you control them?" Elí asked cautiously.

"No, we are friends. This ship was one of several that came to the rescue of my own ship and crew when we were in need. When they took us to our home, they were welcomed as friends. They live according to their ways and we live according to ours, though we have found common ground between us and we co-exist peacefully, along with many others."

"But...you are so...different," Elí pointed out.

"If you want to see 'different', how about we show you around?" Mindy offered, lightly touching Elí on her shoulder.

"Okay," Elí agreed.

She slid off of the bio-bed and started to take a step, but then Elí stopped and looked up at Frer-Sha'an.

"How does your kind greet people?"

Sha'an smiled softly and sent, "We hold our hands like this...," holding her hands out with palms up. "If the person we are extending our greeting to wishes to accept in good faith, they place their hands on top of ours."

Elí looked at Sha'an's hands, noticing how different they were from hers. Tentatively, she raised her arms, and then lightly placed her hands on Sha'an's.

"Like this?" Elí asked.

"Yes."

Elí smiled and said, "Your ways are very strange to me."

"So, how do _your_people greet one another?" Mindy asked.

Elí, who was only slightly taller than Mindy, hesitated.

"I...I cannot show you."

Mindy and Sha'an exchanged surprised glances.

"Oh, are you not allowed to?" Mindy asked, wondering if Elí's people had a cultural taboo against using their way of greeting for those not of their kind.

"It...it is not possible. I am sorry..." Elí said, shrinking back a little and looking as if she was about to be punished.

"Oh, well, that's okay, Elí," Mindy said apologetically. "Um, shall we go meet the rest of the crew?"

"Okay," Elí agreed meekly.

"All right, let's go see who isn't busy at the moment," Mindy said, smiling and gesturing towards the door.

She decided to take Elí to the crew's mess, which was up on deck one. As they walked towards the nearest lift, Mindy asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what are your people called, Elí?"

"We are Fansq."

"Ah. Is your homeworld near here?"

"Yes."

"I see."

Mindy noticed that Elí seemed reluctant to say much and she shared that privately with Sha'an.

"I wonder why Elí isn't saying much."

"Perhaps you may need to change your questions so that they require an explanation instead of a simple answer," Sha'an suggested.

"Um, why was that ship chasing you?"

Elí came to a halt and seemed to draw away as if she were suddenly afraid.

"They were angry that I tried to hide. They are Pliq, they found us and came to take us away."

"Why would they want to do that?" Mindy asked carefully.

"It is what they do. They find females and take them away. They not good people. I know those who have had family taken by the Pliq. Those...they killed our teachers and the males among us learners. We thought this place was safe and we came to study."

Elí fell silent and acted as if she may have said too much.

"That's horrible!" Mindy exclaimed. "Did you have anything to fight back with?"

Elí looked almost in shock when Mindy asked that question.

"Fansq do not fight--we want no trouble with others. Always some want to control us, make us do what they want, but then we find new place to hide and others leave us alone until they find us."

"Don't your people have friends that come to help when you need it?"

"Friends?" Elí asked, not quite sure what Mindy meant.

"The people of my world are friends with those of many other worlds. We all help each other when there is trouble. We trade resources and things that we make for other things. Why, we have people on this ship that are from different worlds," Mindy explained.

"I have been to Mindy's homeworld, Elí--it is an interesting place. There are many kinds of people that are native to her world, and then there are those who choose to study or work there, or even to visit just for the enjoyment of it," Sha'an sent.

Elí thought for a moment and then said, "We have no one who will help us. We find a new place, but eventually others come and find us. When they see that we do not fight, they...do bad things. Will...you do bad things to us?"

"No, sweetie, we won't hurt you or your people. If you want us to go away and not come back after we take you home, we will, no questions asked," Mindy said, dismayed by what Elí had asked.

"But you have caught me..." Elí started to say, but Mindy interrupted her.

"No, we _saved_you...the small vessel you were in, the engines were overheating and your energy source was running low. That other ship _would_have caught you if we hadn't responded to your distress call. We sent someone to go back to where you were and see what was going on. We should be hearing back from them any time now. If your people need help, we'll go help them too."

"Why?" Elí asked, mystified. "You do not know us, and we have done nothing for you."

"You called for help--we heard and we came. It is the way of people from our worlds to respond to calls for help, and to render aid to those who need it. We neither ask for nor expect anything in return," Sha'an replied.

"All of my life I have been told that others will always try to either control us or harm us," Elí said, not certain yet what to believe.

"I'll be straight with you, Elí, we have had to fight others on occasion, but only after they attacked us first. This ship is a military ship--it has weapons, and we are trained to fight if necessary, but we try not to. Our primary mission is to explore, just to see what's 'out there'," Mindy said, waving her hand to indicate space in general.

"It is the same for my own ship. We, too, are explorers. If we find people we have not met before, we may make contact with them if they appear to be reasonable people," Sha'an added.

"If they are not, what then?" Elí asked.

"Then we make note of their location and avoid them, though we will keep a watch on them in case they should prove to be hostile."

"But what if they try to hurt you?" Elí pressed.

"Then we will stop them from doing so."

"There were some bad people who came towards our known space not long ago. Ships were disappearing and small outposts were destroyed. Our people sent two ships to see what was going on, but they went missing. This ship, along with four others like it, went looking for those we lost. We found them, and that was when we met Frer-Sha'an and the crew of her ship. We probably would have met eventually, but it was good that we found them when we did," Mindy said.

"Indeed, we had been taken by surprise by those who were doing the, as you say, 'bad things'. They used a device to make us unable to use our minds, and we were taken prisoner. We owe our lives to those on this ship and the others who came with them. We once thought as you, Elí--who were these people and why did they want to help us, asking for nothing in return. They took us and our ship home, where they were welcomed by our people and now we have become friends and work together, even though there is considerable distance between our parts of this galaxy," Sha'an explained.

Elí thought about what she had learned as they continued on their way to the crew's mess.

* * * * *

Rhuw-Rha'an did not like the news James had given her. Plel-Whu'an and Shen-Lir'an had extracted basic info from the alien ship's equivalent of a captain being held in their containment cell and found that they called themselves the Pliq. Rha'an went to see the captive herself.

"Captain James Daugherty has shared what their fighter craft found at the world their guest was on. These people have captured an unarmed group, killed several of their members and dumped their bodies in a pile, and hold several young females. The visual feed showed the brutality these were inflicting on the captives. Our healer was able to teach the young female that was rescued the Terr'ahn language so she could be gently questioned. There were two other ships like the one we disabled--one in high orbit and the other on the world's surface. The pilot of the fighter craft disabled the orbiting ship's engines--it will be going nowhere. We will go to that world and save those who still survive of the female's people." Rha'an paused for a moment and then sent to her two crew members, "They were students who were studying the plant life of the world. The cohorts of this one killed the instructors and the male students and enslaved the young females."

Whu'an pulled her lips back in a quiet hiss and her hand went to her weapon.

"I remember what it was like to be held captive by crude brutes."

Shen-Lir'an said nothing, but Rha'an knew the normally pleasant and kind Communicator was seething inside.

"What do you wish to be done with this one, Madam Commander?" Whu'an asked coldly.

"Continue to hold him for now. After we determine the extent of their treachery on the world's surface, I will decide what to do with it then."

Whu'an, sensing her superior's loathing, nodded her head once in acknowledgement.

Rha'an stepped up to the forcefield and stared hard at the captive. At first Yegna Milju, for that was his name, sneered back at the tall, statuesque commanding officer of the Se'nika, but then his eyes widened and his hands went to his head. He staggered backward and sat down hard on the bench seat in the cell, holding his head as his face contorted in fear and pain. He did not stay seated for long, however, as Rha'an--using her telekinetic ability--yanked him off the bench and held him at eye level close enough to the forcefield that it began reacting to his proximity. She held him thus for several long seconds, staring coldly into his eyes before dropping him. Rha'an turned her back on the cell and walked away, heading back to her place overlooking the command pit.

* * * * *

Mindy and Frer-Sha'an went around the ship introducing Elí to the crew and the science team. She had a bit of difficulty understanding how Felix and Læree'ahn had chosen of their own volition to be joined, despite being so different from each other. Elí explained that among her own people, occasionally individuals or small groups have been captured and forced to serve others until their masters grew tired of them and either sold them off to others or simply killed them for sport. Elí was perplexed by the crew's reaction that was a mixture of sadness and anger. Of course, the Fansq simply wished to live their lives according to their own peaceful customs, but the long history of predation upon them by stronger races as they moved from one previously uninhabited system to another in search of a home where they could be free, had left them fearful of strangers and little to hope for.

Miss Ja'f'darwe, upon hearing the history of the Fansq, said, "Elí, I know that there are a number of uninhabited worlds within the Sol Federation of Worlds--I'm sure one of those would be suitable for your people to live upon in peace. My uncle--my father's brother--is a highly respected ambassador. I will send a message to him and ask if he would be willing to plead the case of your people before the Federation Council. They will listen to him. If the council approves, your people will have a home to call their own where they may live as they choose if that is their wish."

Elí was shocked by the offer.

"This...'council' you speak of, they would not seek to control us?"

"How a particular world runs itself is its business, so long as they don't go around hurting others or taking what doesn't belong to them. We do have rules which we all agree to live by, though, just as any civilization has. I'm sure your own people have rules that they follow."

Elí thought about what Miss Ja'f'darwe said but was having trouble comprehending why anyone would be so generous to her people when so many others they have met have only sought to hurt or take.

"I...do not know what to say to such an offer."

"Well, when we get you safely home again, you can pass it on to your leaders, and we will give them the means to contact us to let us know what they decide. Fair enough?"

"I...think so," Elí agreed hesitantly.

Miss Ja'f'darwe gently patted Elí's hand and said, "Then I will get a message off to my uncle, telling him about your peoples' situation, and I will let you know what he says when I get his reply."

* * * * *

The lander that Elí had used to escape her would-be captors in was sealed up and disengaged from the docking tube. James used Nightwing's towing beams to grapple the craft in preparation for making the jump to the nearby system where the survivors of Elí's student group were. The disabled Pliq vessel was fitted with a tracking beacon so that it could be quickly located again.

Shortly after dropping back to normal space, the Pliq raider ship in high orbit was located with Diwenzi and John holding it in range of their Peregrine's weapons. James left the small vessel where the Se'nika could keep watch over it and the other Pliq raider ship, moved _Nightwing_to a low orbit above the encampment on the ground, and then had Diwenzi head back to the planet's surface. Rhuw-Rha'an had a recon probe launched which Zhir-Chi'an guided so that it would fly along with the Peregrine and feed data from its more advanced sensors.

"Sir, Razor One-Two-Seven reports they're ready to make their run," Sylvia announced.

"Tell them to proceed...and reiterate that they're only to fire if someone shoots at them first," James said firmly.

"Aye, sir," Sylvia acknowledged.

"Bridge to MT Room--we're in position. Begin transporting those raiders a safe distance away. Bridge out."

Elí stood behind the safety panel in the MT room with Mindy, Frer-Sha'an, Felix, Ivor, and Læree'ahn. On their way there, Mindy gave Elí a quick explanation of the MT, or "matter-teleporter".

"This is what you used to catch me," Elí said quietly, looking nervously towards the transport chamber. "And now you are going to catch the rest of us."

"Elí, we are not, as you say, 'catching' anyone. We are simply going to relocate the Pliq to a safe distance where they cannot interfere, and then we are going to get your people to safety and heal any hurts they may have. Do you understand this?" Sha'an asked.

Meekly, Elí replied, "Yes."

Sha'an put her hand on Elí's shoulder and sent, "After we have relocated the Pliq, we would like to take you with us so that we may tend to your people. Are you willing to do so?"

Elí looked up and asked, "You are not afraid that I will run away?"

"You have been a free person all along, Elí--your life is your own to do with as you see fit. Remember that."

Elí looked down at the deck, considering what she had just been told, but then the call from the bridge came through.

"I have a lock on the first six...transporting now," Sonya announced, initiating the transport cycle. "Get ready to hold 'em!"

Frer-Sha'an, Ivor, and Felix, stood ready as the first batch of Pliq began to materialize on the pads, yelling in frightened surprise. When the cycle was complete, Sha'an held them in place using her telekinetic ability. Although they could not move their bodies, the Pliq were certainly able to see and hear. Ivor held a stunner on them while Felix collected any obvious weapons he could quickly find.

"They're clear," Felix announced, backing away.

"Initiating transport..." Sonya said, touching the appropriate controls on the console. When the containment beams enveloped the Pliq, Sha'an released her telekinetic hold. The last thing they saw before everything dissolved into white fire, was a Fansq female standing in a defiant posture among strange aliens.

* * * * *

The first time Elí had gone through a transport cycle, it had caught her off guard while she was in a panicked state. This time, however, she knew what was coming and she very nearly screamed. However, she managed to hold her composure by concentrating on the surviving students. When the cycle was complete, Elí ran to them, shouting in her native language that she had found help. The twenty-four remaining students, all female, were bound hand and foot, and secured to a long cable tether strung between two stout trees. With Elí explaining as they went from one to the next, the landing party worked quickly to remove their gags and bindings. Mindy and Frer-Sha'an provided water and medical attention, while Ivor took up an overwatch position on a nearby boulder keeping an eye out for any hostiles they might have missed.

"Sha'an...this one has a cracked jaw," Mindy said, passing her hand-held medical scanner over a girl Elí said was called Meyleh.

Frer-Sha'an finished healing the skin abrasions and minor cuts on the student she had been attending and joined Mindy. On the outside, Sha'an saw the swelling and bruising that told of a blow that had been struck to the face of Meyleh by one of the Pliq.

"Poor little one, you did not deserve such," Sha'an commented. "Elí, please tell her that I will heal her hurts."

Elí did as instructed and did her best to comfort Meyleh. When Sha'an began to heal the girl's wounds, Elí watched in awe as Meyleh's face returned to its former appearance without being touched. The swelling and bruising disappeared before her eyes, and the proper color returned to Meyleh's cheek.

"How do you do that?" Elí asked softly.

"Some among my people have the gift of Iwi suläha_, or 'The Healing Mind', in our language. Those who have the strongest ability in_ Iwi suläha_, the level three healers, can regrow lost body parts, and regenerate damaged organs and nerves_."

Elí had never heard of anyone who could do such a thing.

"Can those healers restore life?"

Sha'an looked at Elí for a moment and then turned her attention back to Meyleh.

"No, we cannot. Once an individual's Path has ended, they are in the hands of the All-Mother and beyond our reach," Sha'an sent with a measure of sadness.

Elí, being quite observant, began putting together what she had noticed while talking with Frer-Sha'an. There were three levels of healers; when asked if the strongest healers could restore life, Frer-Sha'an had said, "no, we cannot"; and then there was the curious ornament that connected to her ear with the three beads.

"Are you one of the strongest?" Elí asked softly.

Frer-Sha'an glanced at Elí and smiled slightly.

"Yes. All healers assigned to Chel-Sar class exploration ships are."

As Elí watched Frer-Sha'an, Mindy, and the others gently attend to the needs of her people, she began to think differently of those who had answered her call for help.

Elí continued helping as she could while the remaining students were tended to. They were fearful, of course, considering what they had been through, and they had questions which Elí did her best to interpret. There was one question that she herself had been mulling over since she learned that the crews of the two strange ships were so far away from their homes. On the ship that she now knew was named Nightwing, Elí had been asked to show the one named Moira where her home was among the local stars on a wonderfully strange map that had appeared in three dimensions around her. What had surprised her even more was the fact that Moira was not a flesh and blood person, but instead was a strange type of entity that lived in a computing machine and also had a mobile remote form that looked and acted just like a type of Terran called a "human". (That there were so many different species of beings who came from the same world was mind boggling to her.) When Elí had a chance, she went over to Moira's mobile form to ask her question.

"Excuse me, um, Moira?"

"Elí, what may I do for you?" she asked politely.

"I...have a question."

"What do you wish to know?"

"Your people are so far from their homes...may I know why? Surely this is too far away to just look at what is here. Do you intend to bring more people here?"

"That was _two_questions, though I believe I understand why you wish to know. I will begin with your second question since that is easiest to answer."

Elí looked as if she had been reprimanded for a wrongdoing, so Moira smiled slightly and gestured towards some nearby rocks.

"Perhaps we should sit--the answer to the first question may take some explaining."

Taking a seat on the rocks, Moira began answering Elí's questions.

"To answer your second question first, no, we have no intention of settling this part of the galaxy. Now, for your first question...why we are here. It started before my ship body was completed..."

Elí listened carefully, feeling as if she was hearing a lesson by a teacher with great patience, and amazed because it was as if the ship itself was speaking to her through this machine that seemed too much like a living being. The other students, seeing their classmate Elí sit and listen in rapt attention to the alien woman (for they did not know yet that it was a ship's A.I. entity speaking through its android avatar), gathered around to sit and listen. Elí began interpreting what Moira was telling her so that they would know the story, too.

Mindy lightly touched Frer-Sha'an's arm and said quietly, "Look..."

Sha'an shifted her gaze in the direction Mindy indicated and saw the young alien females gathered around Moira, listening intently.

"They feel more at ease with Moira than they do with anyone else," Sha'an commented.

"Maybe she doesn't look quite as different to them as the rest of us," Mindy suggested.

Sha'an thought for a moment, and then nodded her head once.

"That is a possibility, Mindy. Moira's machine form has a similar reddish hair color."

* * * * *

Sylvia transported down to the surface in her lightweight powered combat armor, which gave her more agility and finesse than the heavy battle armor suit that made her the equivalent of an armored fighting vehicle. She joined Ivor at his post and quickly scanned the area with her suit's compliment of sensors.

"Those Pliq apparently still haven't figured out where they are," Sylvia said with a quiet snort.

"Aye, it kin tak' thaim a while," Ivor agreed.

Sylvia smiled lovingly at Ivor.

"I'm going to check out their ship--Sonya swears she got 'em all out with the MT, so I'm going to take a peek to see what they have. Miss Eriksson didn't seem too impressed when she saw the sensor data Mr. Donnelson collected from the ship in orbit."

"Whit's th' captain aff tae dae aboot th' ither twa ships?"

"He's thinking of leaving this one intact and dragging the other two into close orbit so they can use their escape pods to land. After they make their way to this one, they can leave. We'll be sure they see us take out the two disabled ships, first, though."

"'n' whit aboot thae brassic lassies?"

"Elí showed Moira where her world is located--it's not very far, so we're going to gather up their things and take them home."

"Whit aboot th' deid ones?"

"We'll bag 'em and take them home, too."

Ivor understood the look in Sylvia's eyes that said, "We're not leaving anyone behind."

* * * * *

Tagging and bagging the dead was the second to last thing Mindy ever wanted to do--she had seen enough death during the R'Hinsa Campaign to last her several lifetimes. The _very_last thing she wanted to do was having to tell someone that their loved one was dead because she couldn't save them. The task weighed heavily on Frer-Sha'an as well, especially given her abilities, for the deaths of Elí's teachers and the male students were utterly senseless. If they had died fighting back, that would have at least meant something, but anyone who would kill those who could not or would not fight had no honor in her mind. For a Mûr Tua'ansa, personal honor was very important.

"He was a handsome young male," Sha'an sent privately to Elí and Mindy, brushing the wavy hair away from the face of one of the dead students.

"His name was Línal," Elí said softly, handing a label to Mindy. "He was kind and generous and went out of his way to help others." Elí heard a strange sound and looked to see Mindy wipe her eyes with her hands. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, this is wrong!" Mindy exclaimed in tearful anger, waving her hand to indicate the dead. "There was no reason for them to do this! It...it's...a waste! He didn't deserve to die...none of them did!"

"I agree. Those responsible for this atrocity are without honor," Sha'an added.

Elí considered what Mindy and Frer-Sha'an had said and remembered how they had reacted. Little by little, her thoughts were changing.

"Could these strangers be that different from the others our people have encountered?"

* * * * *

"I'm entering the Pliq ship..."

Sylvia cautiously stepped into the open airlock after clamping a block to the edge that would prevent the door from closing and locking. With weapon at the ready, Sylvia continued inside after setting a second block on the inner door. She filed away in her mind the fact that the two doors could be open at the same time. "So much for safety protocols," she thought briefly before going further in.

The scanners in Sylvia's combat armor were generating a map of the interior of the ship as she moved along and displaying it through her Head's Up Display.

"Still no signs of life," she said quietly.

/* "Rodger that, Syl. Be careful in there." */ James replied on the comm circuit.

"Always, sir."

Sylvia smiled briefly, and then her face went back to the calmly serious expression the situation called for. Although the risk should be minimal, it was times like this that she wished her old teammates were with her. Continuing on, Sylvia eventually made her way to the Engineering section.

"Looks like they're using some sort fusion reaction drive. I don't think this tub can go much faster than zero-point-five, maybe point-six if they're pushing it. Doesn't look like any FTL drive I've seen. Everything appears to be in a low stand-by mode--I think they were planning on being here a while longer. Heading forward."

Sylvia left the drive section and worked her way forward towards what functioned as the bridge. Along the way she saw holding cells...old-fashioned types with triangular patterned metal grids covering a metal mesh. Definitely no forcefield technology present. Eventually she arrived at the bridge. Sylvia shook her head at the layout of the consoles--they definitely were not the sleek, logical layout of her own ship or the elegant organic design of the Se'nika's Command Pit. The mechanical knobs, switches, and buttons were obviously made for large hands.

/* "How's it look, Syl?" */ James asked.

"Like something out of one of those cheesy early twentieth century low budget sci-fi movies," she replied sarcastically.

/* "That good, eh?" */

Sylvia heard snickering in the background audio.

"Wait until you see the video. I'm heading back out to plant the tracker."

/* "Understood. Inform when you're ready to transport." */

"Aye, sir."

Sylvia returned to the airlock and removed the clamps as she left, making sure the doors were still in the same position as she found them. Once outside, she headed to the aft end of the ship and with a short burst of the micro-thrusters in her boots, she jumped to the top of the ship and attached the tracking device to a tail fin where it wouldn't likely be seen from the ground. Once that was done, Sylvia headed back to the camp.

* * * * *

"That's the last of them," Mindy said into her comm set with sad satisfaction after the last of the deceased Fansq were transported aboard.

/* "We have 'em, Chief. Standby, we'll let ya know when to have everyone ready to come up," */ Sonya replied.

Mindy raised the mic on her comm set to put it into mute mode.

"Canberra, we'll be transporting the survivors shortly."

"Aye, Chief, I'll let the others know, ey."

Mindy smiled slightly and nodded her head in acknowledgement. The grim task of identifying the bodies and putting them into body bags, and then positioning them for transport up to the ship, had taken its toll on everyone, especially on Elí and Mindy.

Once the survivors learned that it was time to go, they gathered up the belongings they had in preparation for departure. The personal effects went first, and then the first batch of the survivors, including Elí, so that she could interpret once they were aboard Nightwing. Last to go were Mindy, Frer-Sha'an, Felix, Læree'ahn, Ivor, and Moira's android avatar.

When the transport effect began, Mindy thought, "You're such a pretty world...I'm sorry evil came and did this on your soil."

* * * * *

The crew of _Nightwing_made every effort to make the students feel safe, welcome, and comfortable for their trip back home.

The Pliq ship that had chased Elí was brought back, placed alongside the ship already in orbit around the uninhabited world, and its captain returned via Nightwing's MT--exactly what kind of shape he was in _mentally_after he was returned, might have been a subject for debate. The communications systems of both vessels apparently still worked, according to Lilly who had been monitoring their signals to and from the planet's surface.

Moira's android avatar stayed with the Fansq students who were given space in a berthing compartment that was meant for use by a detachment of Fleet Special Warfare operators during covert missions. With help from Elí and the other students, Moira quickly learned the Fansq spoken and written language, adding it to her extensive library of languages. Moira shared the language with Shen-Lir'an, who compared it with the one she thought was an earlier version once used near the edge of the Mûr Tua'ansa Star Empire. Between Shen-Lir'an, Sylvia, and Moira, it was determined to likely be the antecedent of the current Fansq language.

The trip to the nearby system with the world the Fansq were currently living on, took a little over three days to cover the distance of 3.4 light years. Detecting little in the way of local traffic, the two ships dropped to normal space outside of the system, though at a forty-five-degree angle to the plane of ecliptic, heading straight towards the Fansq world. James had Elí come to the bridge so that she could be there when Sylvia attempted to make contact using the translator. Elí told about the small orbital station, which Zach found using the sensors. Lilly confirmed the specific frequency being used between the station and the ground, and then listened for any relevant comm chatter through the translator while Sylvia hailed the station.

"Fansq orbital station, this is the Sol Federation ship, Nightwing--please respond." Sylvia waited about thirty seconds for a reply, but there was only silence. She tried again--still no response.

Elí listened to the actual outgoing translated message using a pair of headphones and said, "They should be able to understand your message."

Sylvia called again, this time adding, "We received a distress call from one of your people who was part of a student group studying a planet in a nearby system. Her group was attacked by Pliq raiders, though we were able to rescue the surviving students. We have brought them back to their home, along with the remains of those who did not survive. We request permission to briefly land on your world so that the students may be reunited with their families. Please respond."

It took nearly two minutes before there was a response.

/* "Please, we want no trouble!" */

Sylvia arched an eyebrow and said calmly, "We mean you no harm, we are simply bringing your people back home along with a small craft they were using, and then we will be on our way."

/* "We do not believe you...you are trying to trick us!" */

"May I try?"

Sylvia, Zach, James, and Tanya all turned and looked at Elí.

"Please?"

"Let her try, Syl," James said.

Sylvia touched some controls on her comm board and said, "Go ahead and talk normally." She touched one more control pad and then nodded to Elí.

In her native language, Elí said, "This is Elí Uchengi, I am an advanced learner from Fojina-Eliq. My study group was attacked by Pliq--they killed our teachers and the male learners, and they caught the rest of us. I slipped away to get help. These strangers came and stopped the Pliq, and then they helped us. They want nothing from us, only to bring all of us home. They are nice people. Please, they do not deceive--they speak true."

There was a pause of nearly a minute.

/* "Repeat your name." */

"I am Elí Uchengi of Fojina-Eliq."

Another pause.

/* "If these others speak true as you say, ask them to connect to the station so that we may see for ourselves." */

Elí looked to James and repeated the station's request in Terran Standard English.

"Tell them we would be happy to," James said.

Elí told the station that they would be there shortly.

Those on the station stared through the viewports as Nightwing and the Chel-Sar Se'nika pulled alongside with the lander in tow. The adaptive seal on Nightwing's boarding tube made a positive lock on the station's docking port.

"You're _almost_home, Elí," James said with a hopeful smile while they waited for the airlock to cycle.

She looked up with her horizontal slit pupil golden-brown eyes and smiled shyly.

When the inner door of Nightwing's airlock opened, it revealed an older male who was clearly nervous, and looked as if he would rather be anywhere other than having to face unknown aliens for the first time.

"Welcome aboard, Nightwing, sir. I am Captain James Daugherty, the Commanding Officer and pilot of this ship. Whom do I have the honor of meeting?"

Elí interpreted what James said, which caused the official to look at her strangely.

"I am Second Assistant Ril Eswra," he replied.

When Elí finished interpreting, James bowed slightly and then introduced Tanya, Mindy, Frer-Sha'an, and Moira.

"If you will follow me, please, I will take you to see your people," James prompted.

Along the way to the berthing compartment, Ril Eswra asked Elí how she came to know the strangers' words.

"The tall one, with the markings, she taught me using her peoples' way while I was sleeping. They have mind skills." When she saw the expression on his face, she quickly added, "No, they do not control me, and no, they have not harmed any of us. Those who were hurt by the Pliq, the tall one and the furry one healed them. I saw it with my own eyes!"

"How much do you know of these...people?"

"I have learned that they come from very far away, and that they are looking for something that was taken from one of their worlds. I know that they are kind and helpful, and that they let people live their own way. A family member of one of them is a high ranking official--an offer was made to find our people a world we can call our own and not be afraid."

Ril Eswra was skeptical...until he met the surviving learners and heard their stories.

* * * * *

The Pliq raiders on the planet's surface eventually made their way back to their ship, only to find that their captives were nowhere to be found. Angry over their misfortune, they called to the other two ships and found that they were both in orbit, and both were disabled. The third ship fired up its engines and joined its two companions in orbit. While they were arguing about what to do, space itself seemed to open up and a blazing rainbow-colored streak of light shot forth.

They had no idea what was about to pounce on them.

---

[1] Dneffer - Veswan term meaning "dumbass".

[2] APU - Auxiliary Power Unit.

[3] John is referring to the coating's ability on the F/A-417's skin that utilizes nano-tech to change color to a flat black.