Star Trek Enterprise - Fate Ch. 08

Danaë sat down in the captain's chair and watched the view screen. All she could see were the stars flying by. For a moment self-doubt began to creep inside and a terrible fear that she was wrong plagued her. Never had she had so much on the line. Still only seeing endless space before them a new concern crept into her thoughts. What if they were too late? What if Captain Archer was already dead by the time they arrived? No, no, he was alive, she had to hold on to that. Imagining all the 'what ifs' was nothing more than standing in quick sand. She had to block them from her mind.

Growing up, her Father never seemed to falter. Always confident, yet even as a child she'd known it to be only a façade. There were times when he was afraid and unsure of what to do, but a captain cannot allow the crew to see it. She had to put on her own mask of confidence. Whatever happened she could not be the first to blink. For a moment she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. Looking back up at the view screen she noticed they were approaching what seemed to be a planet. Its spherical shape was striped in blues, whites, reds and oranges.

"Magnify." She ordered. The screen changed giving her a very clear view. "Gas giant."

"It's a class six gas giant. The Suliban warp trail continues into it." T'Pol advised. These immense celestial bodies were categorized as planets, yet there was no real surface to them. Made up of a mixture of gases such as hydrogen and helium with a liquid compound center, these giants rotate quickly and are extremely cold. The warp trails continued into the dense gases which, no doubt, made an excellent place to hide.

"Lt. Reed, polarize the hull plating, then load the torpedoes and have the weapons on stand-by. I want to be ready just in case they see through our ruse. Ensign Sato make sure that they know we have our white flag in the air and seeking to talk terms. I don't want them to think that we are any threat."

The Enterprise reduced its speed and slowly moved through the first layer of gases. Everything was smooth as they passed though the surface layer. The next layers were not so kind as the ship was shook violently.

"I'm getting slight warp field distortions." Lt. Reed informed her. From her research, Danaë remembered the same thing happened when the ship last encounter the Suliban and ordered the lowering of the beacons.

"Modify the view screen and run a full sweep of the ships perimeter." Her command was quickly followed and as she expected there were Suliban cell ships all around them. "Hoshi, are you still signaling our surrender?"

"Yes."

"Good. That's probably why they haven't fired yet." Emerging like a ghost through the gases appeared the Helix. It was hard to tell what its true size was. The core of the station was covered in individual cell ships like a hive covered in bees. "Sensor Readings?" Danaë asked going over to the console and looking over Hoshi's shoulder.

"Our bio-scans are showing 2900 Suliban and 1 human lifeform."

"That's the one we're looking for." Danaë commented.

"We're being hailed." Hoshi informed her.

"On screen." Not wanting to give herself away just yet, she stayed behind the Ensign and watched the self-assured face of Silik appear. His narrow yellow eyes showed his disdain for the human ship and its crew. Danaë gave a quick signal to T'Pol who quickly input the authorization code then proceeded to call up the Helix computer systems.

"This was a noble, but an incredibly foolish act, sub-commander. We have you out numbered and our weapons are far more powerful than anything on your vessel." Instead of T'Pol, to his surprise Danaë stepped into view. "You are not the captain." Silik sneered. "Where is the Vulcan woman?"

"She is here and has graciously allowed me the opportunity to discuss terms with you." Her words had the desired effect as she saw his yellow eyes betray his interest.

"Terms? What exactly are you offering?"

"I offer myself in exchange for Captain Archer." She said. Off to the side she noticed T'Pol nod, signaling that they had successfully accessed the Suliban systems. She looked over at Hoshi and gave a very slight nod, where upon she began to furiously press buttons on her console. "I will have myself beamed aboard your ship without struggle or argument, but you must return the captain."

"You offer very little. He is a far greater prize than you." His arrogance was almost nauseating, yet Danaë was still glad to see it. So long as he was self-assured of his superiority he had no idea what was happening. "I have learned all about you just as I did Archer. It was impossible not to, they are so inextricably linked. I'm a bit surprised to see the child of Picard so quick to submit. I took the liberty of studying him as well. I didn't want to risk his interference."

"Wise decision, but from what I understand he would not have been in any condition to stop you. Don't be fooled though, There was a time when he could play the action hero and save the day. My father didn't like to lose. I suppose it's a family trait." Hoshi was still altering the codes and Danaë knew she had to stall for a little more time. "The thing he was best known for was his use of words and diplomacy. He tried to teach me the art, but I never had his eloquence. One thing he did make me understand and appreciate, was their power. How words can shatter a heart or mend one. The right words can make the difference between war and peace." Hoshi turned to Danaë and nodded signaling that the clearance codes had been successfully altered.

"If you are hoping to somehow play on my sympathies, it will not work." His voice dripped with conceit. To his surprise Danaë smiled.

"You're right it won't, but it did hold your attention long enough to distract you and yours while we took control of your ship. Sub-commandeer reduce their power to basic life support and minimal communications. I want disabled not dead." Light and systems on board the Suliban ships began fluttering and then shut down leaving them with only emergency lighting and the functions that would keep them alive. Silik began issuing commands, ordering his men to raise their shields and fire their weapons, but none of it worked. "You would have been better off making me miss my transport and leaving me in my own time. Mayweather have the cell chips fall back and give us a safe pathway for our departure once we retrieve the captain."

"Yes, Ma'am." He said smiling. Silik looked as though he might choke on his rage as the ships did indeed move and open a path for the Enterprise.

"Bring our systems back up! I want them blown out of the stars!" He yelled, then shoved one of his men out of the way and desperately try to bring back his controls himself.

"We're locked out. There is nothing we can do." One of his subordinates said. Though she was enjoying the chaos happening on board the Helix as well as the other ships, Danaë remained stoic. Seating herself in the captain's chair she turned and pressed the comm button.

"Commander Tucker have you got a lock on the captain?"

"Yes, Ma'am." He answered, happily.

"Get him out of there. Let me know the second you have him on board." It was a nervous few seconds of waiting. He wasn't dead, but that did not mean that he had not been badly harmed.

"We have the captain." Commander Tucker announced with great relief.

"You realize that the second you are out of range our systems will return and we will pursue you." Silik hissed angrily.

"I've already anticipated that. That's why I took the liberty of reprogramming all of your coding systems. You'll need to discover those before your ship will listen to your commands. Mr. Mayweather, get us out of here, Warp-5 . . . Engage."

She watched the monitor as they flew by the cell ships then rose out of the gas giant. Hoshi gave a smile to Danaë as did Lt. Reed. Like a ghost from somewhere distant she could almost hear her father whisper in her ear, well done, child. Danaë turned to T'Pol and bowed her head respectfully.

"Thank-you sub-commander for your indulgence. I return your ship to you." To her surprise T'Pol nodded back and though her face remained emotionless there was still look of appreciation in her eyes.

"Well done." T'Pol answered. Danaë smiled and left the bridge as the sub-commander took her place in the captain's chair.

She was glad and relieved that everything had worked and now all she wanted to do was go to her quarters and relax. Stepping into the G-deck corridor she suddenly heard Trip call her over the comm system and order her to sickbay. Danaë did an immediate about face and went up to E-deck.

"The captain wants to see you." Commander Tucker said as she stepped from the lift. "The doc's checking him out. They roughed him up pretty good." She furrowed her brow at the thought then went to sick bay.

Commander Tucker had been correct, the Suliban had taken out some of their frustration on Captain Archer. Their interrogation had only just begun when the Enterprise had arrived, but it had still left its mark. Danaë couldn't help wincing at the cuts and bruises on his face and chiding herself for not getting there sooner. With irrepressible optimism Dr. Phlox cheerfully assured her that it was nothing serious and he would be perfectly normal in a day or two.

"Thank you." Captain Archer said, "Trip told me everything. That's one hell of a plan you came up with."

"I do have my talents, but honestly it wasn't all that much. Certainly nothing to thank me for." She said, clearly uncomfortable. She had witnessed Starfleet officers risk life and limb quite often and to her they were heroes. In her mind this was simply doing what was right and nothing more.

"Yes it was." Archer insisted. "Everyone on this ship thanks you. What you did was amazing. I wish I could've seen Silik's face."

"It really wasn't anything impressive, it was a poker game and I stacked the deck, that's all." Not only had she stacked the deck, but her method of obtaining the information had been a breach of trust in itself.

"Yes it was and you are going to stand here and let me thank you. That's an order."

"Captain . . . if you really feel that you must thank me . . . let it be for yourself alone. Your crew owes me nothing. Don't misunderstand, they have my every respect and admiration, but the truth is . . . my thoughts were entirely of you." She started to leave only to stop as she heard the captain call out. She turned back to see him walking towards her.

"I will have to file a report with Admiral Forrest. In that report I intend to recommend that you be offered an enlistment opportunity and be allowed to remain on board. In my opinion you have shown yourself to have equally as much knowledge and ability as any crewman on this ship. Besides, you never know when I might need someone with a talent for manipulating technology." She tried to suppress her smile at his description of her skills. "If he agrees, Will you accept?" To the captain's surprise she started laughing. "Not exactly the answer I was expecting."

"You couldn't have known, but just before all of this started I was speaking to my Aunt Lotte and one of the last things she said to me was that I should try joining Starfleet again." She continued laughing for a moment. "I told her that if President Archer himself asked me . . . then I would. I had no way of knowing . . ." Danaë continued, getting her laughter under control. "I suppose I should keep my word, but if it's all the same to you I would like an opportunity to think about it."

"Of course." He assured her.

Danaë continued to quietly chuckle to herself as she took the lift down to G-deck and returned to the guest quarters. It had been a long day, but everything had returned to normal, at least as close to it as she would ever know again. She was intrigued by Captain Archer's offer of joining the crew of the NX-01. Still, she was so unsure of the future and which way she should go. For once in her life she longed to ask her father what he thought. Suddenly she remembered the box he had asked her aunt to give her.

Taking it from the drawer beneath the bed she sat down and opened it. A smile spread across her face as her eyes fell upon a bottle of Chateau Picard. Her father used say that one should never drink it all at once and never alone. This would need to be saved for a special occasion. Hoping to get a better look at the label she moved some of the packing material and found a small box with a note attached to the lid. Opening the note she found a short and concise message. View these in sequential order, it read. She opened the box and found a series of data disks. Her curiosity was piqued. What information could he have sent her? Taking the small box from the larger one she accidentally took some of the packing material with it. Brushing it away something caught her eye. Carefully nestled next to the wine bottle was a green box that suddenly made her catch her breath.

She recognized that box all too well. For a moment she was afraid to touch it. It was a procession that her father had prized above almost everything else. Her hand shook as she gently ran her fingers along the rough green case. At first she was afraid to open it expecting to hear her father tell her 'no', but after a moment she carefully lifted it out of the box and held it in her hands. She knew exactly what was inside. As tears began to fill her eyes she reverently opened the case and looked upon her father's Ressikan flute. It was such a simple, but beautiful piece. Carefully she ran her fingers along the six small holes then gently touched the soft silky white tassel that hung from the narrow cord wrapped around the instrument.

Although he acquired the flute after her arrival, she still could not remember a time without it. She asked him about it once and he told her that it was a reminder of some very happy memories. Once, when her father was deep in reading, Danaë decided to try and play it. The sound was anything but music and it instantly offended her father's highly acute hearing. Carefully she set the flute on the table then picked up the first data disk and slipped it into her PADD. The image of her father, Jean-Luc Picard appeared. He had grown a white beard since she last saw him, but there was no mistaking his face.

"Danaë, if you are watching this, then I know I will never see you again. I don't want to leave things between us the way they are. I only wish we could have had the opportunity to speak face to face. Don't grieve, child, I know what happened to you and I know the future that you will help build and that my grandson's will continue. I am deeply proud of you, I always was. I realize now that I should have shown that to you more often.

"I never felt more inadequate in any role than that of a parent. I know that I made a lot of mistakes and I can't undo them. You came along at a time when I had assumed that the possibility of a family of my own had long passed. Then suddenly, to my astonishment, there you were. I remember you were wearing a pink frock with a rose barrette in your hair clutching your doll. You looked so much like your mother. You were the little ghost reminding me . . ." Here he stopped for a moment and pushed back whatever emotion Solenne's memory brought. "I learned quickly though that you were not her. I know my duties as captain took me away a lot but I always noticed you and I know you better than you think. When you look out and see the stars flying by you wonder what secrets they hold. It's not enough for you to see an automaton move, you want to know how it works. To touch the gears and know all of its inner workings. I'll always remember watching you light up with wonder as you led me around the holographic NX-01. You were determined to figure it out. You learned every control, and display. It was obvious that you belonged on that ship. Your mother would have been proud of you.

"I have never spoken to you about your mother and I know you have a lot of questions. Once you asked me why we didn't stay together. I blame myself for that. The Enterprise-D was the flagship of the fleet and being given command was an exceptional opportunity and one that I took very seriously. Unfortunately, in the process there were things I let slip away and she was one of them. I want you to know that I loved her and if there was ever a time when I considered sharing my life with someone, it was during those years with Solenne. Our lives are full of joys and regrets. Solenne was one of the great joys of my life and although I have had my share of relationships, when I close my eyes I still see her. I will always regret our parting. How different things might have been if I . . ." Once again he grew silent but quickly collected himself and moved on. "You asked me once how she died and the truth is she was murdered by a former colleague out of revenge. I am grateful that I was able to be there at the time of her passing. All of her personal logs, images and records are on the other data disks, including all the details taken from the investigation into her death. You're her daughter and they should go to you.

"You should also find a very special item in there that I hope you will take great care of. It is a Ressikan flute. I acquired that flute after a very profound experience. At the time I was still uncertain as to whether you should stay on board or if I should send you to live with your aunt and uncle in La Barre. We encountered a probe that emitted a nucleonic beam that linked itself to me. Within my own mind I found myself on the planet Kataan, in a community called Ressik. I lived 35 years in that community, married, and had children and even a grandchild. All through those years I played that flute. When it was almost time for me to pass on I awoke to find myself back on the Enterprise. All of it had happened in only about 25 minutes. It seemed that Kataan and all its inhabitants had died away a thousand years ago. They had left the probe in hopes of finding someone they could share all their lives and experiences with and not be forgotten. When the probe was opened, that flute was inside.

"For a short time I grieved for that family and that experience changed me in many ways. I could no longer imagine a life without family and I was grateful that I didn't have to. I still had a family and I could not bear the idea of you not being there. I wanted to watch you grow up and see the woman that you would become. In my wildest of dreams I could not have imagined all that you would do. Shortly after that incident with the probe I made the decision to raise you myself. As I recall, we spent the next day together on the holodeck at the shore."

"The beach at Seychelles." Danaë whispered to herself in realization. She remembered it well, but had never known the significance. "You helped me build a sandcastle, collect seashells and we played in the water. I remember."

"I want you to keep that flute so that when your journey becomes arduous, you will be able to see it and remember that I am with you. We can transcend time so long as each of us remembers the other. I don't know what forces have conspired to keep us apart, but I am still with you and I will always love you, child. I know that you love me too. I've always known that. I feel honored to have been your father and I know you are in good hands. Your captain is a man of excellent character, one of the best. I also know your character and it remains to be seen as to whether or not he can handle you. I hope that when you speak of me to my grandsons your memories will be warm."

"Yes, Pa-pa." Tears flowed freely as she tried to assure the image before her.

"God speed you on your great adventure. You have a universe to discover, first contacts to be made and a Federation to build. Destiny is calling you to your hero's welcome. Never be afraid of it." Never in all her life had she seen him look so delighted when it came to her. His smile was warm and his eyes sparkled in pride. "Picard out." With that the message was over. Danaë's heart was filled with so much happiness and so much regret. She wondered how he knew what had happened to her, but was grateful that he did.