Surefoot 53: Deep Six

Hrelle watched the back of the young man's head react to Sasha addressing him, but he kept looking ahead, his hands moving over his controls. "Aye, Ma'am."

Hrelle smirked, despite the depths of the crisis, seeing the two young people trying to interact in a professional manner, despite their shared intimate past. He supposed he should be more impressed than amused by it; until Sasha's mother he had tended to avoid getting into relationships, especially with crewmembers, and the potential for conflicts of interest and emotional entanglements.

The ship began shuddering as they skimmed through the upper atmosphere of the planet below. He opened a shipwide intercom, affecting his most calming, paternal voice. "Attention, All Hands: there's no need for alarm, we're just performing a few manoeuvres to shake off some unwanted attention. There may also be some minor power fluctuations. Just sit tight, and we'll be back on our way to join the rest of the Fleet before you know it. Captain Hrelle out."

"Beginning transporter sequencing," Sasha announced over the shuddering.

*

Dec 2 Fore -- Jhess Furore's Quarters:

The lights were down, but he had portable chemical lights strewn about, providing a warm glow like around a campfire, and he had calming scents mingling in the air and had the windows shuttered, but it did little to calm the anxieties of the children sitting in a circle on the floor, looking around. The human Counselor, a fetching young woman named Shirley, tried to engage them in a sing-a-long, but it was obvious she was more used to dealing with adults and adult problems. Meanwhile Misha, still annoyed at being handed over to Jhess, stood apart from the others, waiting near the door in case the Jem'Hadar decided to somehow attack.

Of them all, only Sreen, cradled in the high-tech soundproof carrier gifted by her grandmother, slept soundly, for which Jhess was immensely grateful.

Finally Shirley stopped singing. "Oh come on, kids! It's going to be okay! You don't have to be afraid! I promise!" She looked to Jhess. "Isn't that right?"

"No. It isn't."

Some of the children stopped their mewling to look at him in confusion.

And he continued. "No, it's not okay! You had to leave your ship, your families, you were bounced around in a shuttle, and then brought to this strange place! It's rotten!" The other youngsters now attended him. "It's not okay, and you have the right to be afraid! Afraid and angry! I feel the same way!"

He knelt down at the outside of the circle, his tail swishing behind him. "And when Caitians get angry... we roar! Even if there's nothing to roar at, we do it anyway! It makes us feel better! Watch!"

And then he titled back his head and roared up at the ceiling. He knew he had risked frightening them even more, but his experience told him that most cubs, no matter what race, responded better to honesty and solidarity than false assurances. He looked to Shirley. "Can you roar, Shirl? Let's hear it!"

She stared at him in mild disbelief, even as some of the children responded. "Go on, Shirley!" "Yeah, roar!" "Show us!"

Finally she complied, and Jhess laughed. "That's pretty good! But I bet these cubs can do better!" He beckoned to them. "Come on! Let's show Ensign Vinh how you roar!"

One child roared. And then another, and another. And it enveloped them all -- except for Misha. Jhess turned to him. "Misha! You have to roar, too!"

But the cub continued to stand there like the legend of the Kaetini Cat With No Name. "No! It's stinky little cub stuff! I grown up! I stand guard!"

"Fine. And I suppose because you're grown up, you won't want to have any ice cream or watch Power Cat?"

Misha scowled, visibly wanting to change his mind. But finally he shook his head and looked away.

Oh, you stubborn little scrapper, Jhess thought, smiling.

*

The lights on the Bridge dimmed, only slightly, with the momentary diversion of power and computer processing, even with the Surefoot's existing modifications letting them manage more transporter activity than other ships of its class.

Hrelle watched the shuttles detonate in the upper atmosphere of the ice giant, aware that the debris being transported into the area included the bodies of friends, colleagues, Starfleet personnel and civilians who ended up casualties of war today. Aware that now any funereal customs they or their next of kin might have held can now never be fulfilled.

He knew that his own people's customs were minimal: the body was recycled, returned to nature, through the land or the water, and if there were spirits within them, they lived on in the memories of those who survive them.

But that was just his people. Others differed, and they were entitled to their beliefs, and he was sorry for those who would not be able to exercise those beliefs, because of his actions.

"Transport complete," Sasha reported. "Everything is spread out."

"Firing quantum torpedo," C'Rash added. "Targeting main impact site."

Hrelle gripped the arms of his chair tighter. "Helm, tighten our energy signature! Keep it at one-quarter impulse! Where's Waterworld?"

From the Science Station, Kit turned to face Hrelle. "Dead ahead, Respected Sir."

Then he saw it, as they continued to coast along the edge of the ice giant: a tiny black marble, sparkling from the light of the distant sun, and growing larger as they approached. But then Hrelle frowned as he examined the moon's position in orbit. "How long will the oceans stay liquid, Kit?"

The reptoid rechecked his readings, making a sharp intake of breath in response. "Respected Captain, I-I fear we have not arrived at an optimum time. The moon's orbit is entering the waxing quarter stage, when it will soon disappear back behind the ice giant. The freezing cycle has already begun!"

Hrelle rose and drew up to him. "You mean we're too late?"

Kit's throat was flushing red now, and his fingers moved in a more agitate manner over the displays. "No, Respected Sir! Upon our arrival, we may have only two, maybe three hours, before the water freezes to the point of our being trapped... and crushed by the pressure-" He looked up at Hrelle, trembling now. "Please forgive me! I would not have recommended this course of action if I thought we would have so little time-"

But Hrelle rested a hand on the young officer's shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze. "Kit, if you hadn't recommended this course of action, we would have had no choice. A slim chance is better than none at all. We continue onward, submerge and hide as long as we can."

"Will it be enough?" C'Rash asked.

He shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll find out."

*

Deck 6 Fore:

Kami strode up to the young Security cadet standing outside the Morgue. "Ree-Taan? Why are you here?"

The tall Miradorn female grunted. "I ask myself that too, Counselor. Especially as it's empty."

Kami frowned. "Empty? What are you talking about? This and Cargo Bay 6 is filled to capacity."

"Not anymore. We're being tracked by Cardassians. The Captain's faking our crashing onto some stupid planet to fool them, and is using the bodies as part of the illusion. He said not to let anyone in or say anything until he can talk to everyone later."

She swallowed, nodding soberly, knowing such a decision wasn't one Esek would have arrived at quickly, or lightly. Not that this would ease the likely responses from the survivors. "Where is she?"

Ree-Taan nodded to the opposite door. "She stopped making noise a couple of minutes ago."

Kami nodded. "Thanks for calling me." She turned and entered a cramped room of stacks of framed tubes that looked too much like the Morgue (Esek really has to think about getting this moved farther away, she told herself), each tube displaying status monitors confirming the suspended animation of the occupants too critically injured to be treated onboard.

She picked up the familiar scent before she saw the young woman, sitting on the floor in a back row, her back against one of the units. Closer now, Kami discerned nuances in the scent: exhaustion, anxiety, grief, anger... and the bloodied knuckles added to the picture.

Kami had a flashback to years ago, the day she first met Esek, fresh from his years of slavery and just beginning to go through post-traumatic stress. "I like what you've done with the place, Irina. The décor. Very Minimalist."

Velkovsky didn't respond; her honey-blonde hair was untangled from its usual ponytail, and now hung down over her face, half-covering her pale, slim, Nordic face.

Kami drew closer. "No wait, this isn't your quarters. I'm confused; I thought you were supposed to be in your quarters, resting up."

She remained motionless. "I'm not leaving him alone. It's too cold in here."

Kami felt her fur rise as if in confirmation. "It is, isn't it? I know it normally isn't, but we're needing to conserve resources... which will be a waste if you end up in Sickbay with a chill-"

"He saved me," the human muttered. "Pushed me out of the way of the Jem'Hadar beam."

The Counselor took a place beside her, adjusting her tail and noting the cold seeping up through the floor despite the insulating properties of her uniform. "A heroic gesture."

"A stupid gesture!"

Kami nodded in agreement. "They're often one and the same. Believe me, I see enough of it from Esek. I've lost track of the number of times I've smacked him across the snout for risking his life to save someone." She shook her head. "I would scream at him and tell him I hate him. Then I'd hold him so tightly and tell him I love him. They were both equally true."

Velkovsky grunted, elbowing Neheru's stasis unit, as if it could wake him. "I hate him. Big gangly bastard, with those legs longer than my whole freaking body."

Kami chuckled, having witnessed the evolution in the relationship between the two officers since Neheru shed his threat tendrils, and with them his people's innate preoccupation with caution... which obviously included interracial relationships. She glanced behind them. "How did they manage to fit him into one of these things?"

Velkovsky made a sound. "They practically had to fold him up."

Kami wrapped an arm around the younger woman, hugging her tightly. "Go to bed, Irina. You can't do anything further for him; he doesn't even know we're here. And we're going to need you, to get him the help he needs. Okay?"

The human nodded.

Kami was about to nudge her up, when her pointed ears twitched at the sounds of the conversation outside. She tensed, and suggested, "Bed, Irina. Bed." Then she rose and stepped back outside, seeing Ree-Taan face to face with one of the evacuees, the one who was at the meeting: Commander Zirangi, from the Iberia, the one who had asked about arranging visits to the Morgue. The Miradorn cadet stood at least a head taller than the woman, but the woman showed no evidence of intimidation as she looked up and said, "I told you to stand aside, Crewman."

Ree-Taan was visibly attempting to cultivate the patience and professionalism that Kami had been assisting her and her twin with since their arrival on the ship, and replied with gritted teeth. "Ma'am, all the evacuees are supposed to remain in the Shuttlebay now. How did you get down here?"

"You should put better locks on your Jefferies Tube hatches. Now stand aside!"

Ree-Taan looked up at the appearance of Kami with visible relief. "Counselor!"

Zirangi turned, her challenging expression and posture directed towards the Caitian. "Counselor, your Captain assured us we could visit here! Why are we being kept locked up in your Shuttlebay?" She pointed behind her at the cadet. "And why do you need this big slab of beef to guard a morgue?"

Kami affected an air of calm composure, wanting to defuse the growing agitation from the woman. "I'm told we're in the midst of a security situation. Why don't we go to my office and talk-"

She reached out, but Zirangi grabbed her by the wrist. "I'm not going anywhere!"

Ree-Taan immediately drew closer, hand resting on the phaser on her belt, but Kami waved her back, gently but firmly extricating Zirangi's hold on her as she asked, "Who have you come to see?"

The woman swallowed, relaxing her own posture, a little, and there was a hint of the grief welled up tightly behind her sepia eyes. "My husband, Mjowe. He was one of our ship's doctors. He had been helping your own medical team in the Shuttlebay when the Jem'Hadar beamed in. He..." Then she steeled herself once more. "I want to see him again; I have a right to see his body!"

Kami regarded her. As soon as Ree-Taan had informed her of Esek's actions, she knew this sort of confrontation would be inevitable. She wished she had been better prepared for this by her husband... but then she knew him well enough to believe that he would never have taken this action unless he had little choice and even less time to implement it. "Cadet, step aside."

Ree-Taan bristled. "The Captain's orders-"

"I'll take responsibility. Step aside."

Ree-Taan looked between the two superior officers, before complying. Kami indicated the Morgue door. "Commander?"

Zirangi looked at her, clearly wary now, obviously seeing the expression on the Caitian's face, but accepted the invitation.

Now it was Kami's turn to steel herself for the inevitable, as she followed the human inside.

*

As they drew closer, Hrelle could see Waterworld sparkling here and there, and realised it was th growing amounts of ice on it reflecting the distant starlight. "How deep are the oceans?"

"Averaging at 2 kilometres, Respected Captain, though the kelbonite in the water inhibits effective scanning. Sir, the aerodynamic shape of our vessel will aid our submergence, but the impact will still be considerable above 5 kilometres per second."

"Acknowledged. You hear that, Giles?"

"Aye, Sir. I'll go easy on penetration."

"Not the first time he's promised that," Sasha murmured from the rear.

Hrelle glanced behind him, but Sasha offered a look of innocence in response, while beside her, C'Rash snickered openly.

As the moon dominated the viewscreen, there was a discernible deceleration, and T'Varik opened a shipwide channel. "All hands, be advised of turbulence, and unexpected manoeuvres."

Hrelle gripped the arms of his chair again, as Giles announced, "Five.. Four... Three... Two..."

The ship dove into the black water with a jolt, and Giles activated the forward lights, illuminating the medium into a swirl of particles, reminding Hrelle of the swarms of tiny spinnerfins that follow in the wake of the larger sleeks back home, the ones his father taught him to watch out for on their boat. "Could there be life here?"

"Unlikely," T'Varik responded. "The extreme temperature variations at such short intervals would preclude a stable environment for evolution."

They shifted sharply. Hrelle watched Giles' hands move over the controls. "Manoeuvring thrusters on Full. The currents are stronger than I expected."

"It is the result of the rapid temperature drops," Kit reported. "As well as the gravity shifts as the moon continues behind the ice giant. There may be slopes or crevices along the ocean floor where we can shelter from the currents."

"Good idea, Kit," Giles brought up several sensor screens overlaid on the viewscreen as he scanned the surroundings.

"So," C'Rash started. "How long do we wallow down here? When will we know when the Cardassians have left?"

Hrelle heard the debris, the ice chunks, make drumbeats on the hull, reminding him of passing through a comet's tail. There was also something... unnerving... about being deep underwater. The threat of death from exposure to space certainly equalled exposure to the depths of the ocean. He supposed it was something primal; space was empty, open. The oceans, even supposedly lifeless oceans like this one, hid things... "We stay as long as we can, which hopefully won't be that long. Cardassians run on a combination of arrogance, laziness and impatience. With luck, they'll arrive, draw the conclusions we want them to draw, never imagining that anyone in the Universe could outsmart them, and be eager to return to claim some glory elsewhere."

*

Neraxis rechecked the phaser rifle setting, before handing it to Travers, nodding to the area near the doorway. "Keep it trained on the Jem'Hadar."

She nodded, moving away. "Don't have to tell me twice."

Then she looked over at the other guards: Zir, Urad and the Miradorn twins, all armed, all tense, waiting.

In the first cell, Drurocc and the Cardassians were pressed at one side, watching the Jem'Hadar pacing on the other side. Growling. Occasionally they would bump into each other, and snarl, reminding Neraxis of a pack of Bolian rats trapped in some confined space. It was unnerving. "Jonas?"

Her husband was kneeling near an opened panel beside the adjacent cell. "As soon as Mr Yuluron arrives with the replacement exceiver junction-"

The Security Suite door opened... and Tori Emoto entered with the required part.

Jonas rose to face her, as did Neraxis and Kaldron, the temporary Chief Engineer drawing closer. "I asked Crewman Yuluron to bring this!"

"I know," the young woman replied... unable to not keep glancing over at the other cell, where Drurocc and the others stood, watching from behind the force field. "He was having problems with the warp manifold status display, he shouldn't have had to leave it to come here just to bring this."

Jonas took the part, lowering his voice. "But it didn't have to be you- you don't have to face them-"

She steeled herself. "Lieutenant -- Jonas -- thanks for your concern. But I can handle it." She looked at the prisoners defiantly. "I'm stronger than them." She looked back at him. "Anything else, Sir?"

He shook his head, offering her an appreciative nod. "When you get back to Engineering, run another diagnostic on the Structural Integrity Fields, I want to make sure the repairs we've been doing haven't diminished their effectiveness."

"Aye, Sir." She nodded at Urad and Zir and departed.

Still behind the force field, Drurocc crossed his arms and leaned against a wall, smirking. "Pretty little thing, isn't she?"

With a swiftness belying his size, Urad swung his massive fist up, striking the force field where Drurocc's head would have been, causing a loud feedback and making the Cardassian stagger back and fall over his fellow prisoners. He helped himself back up again, looking to Neraxis. "Are you going to let this brute act in this fashion?"

"I'll do better than that, Dickhead," the Bolian replied. "I'll deactivate the internal recorders and leave him alone with you for five minutes. If he wants."

Everyone looked to the Hroch, who continued to stare at the prisoners, ultimately announcing, "What I would do to them would not take five minutes. But such an act would be unworthy of me." He looked to Neraxis. "Thank you, but no."

She nodded, smirking. "Good. I was just kidding anyway..."

*

Deck 1 Fore -- Bridge:

It was eerie.

Hrelle sat, trying not to fidget, or ask for yet another status update after only two minutes since his last request. He listened to the voices of the various personnel around him, communicating with their respective departments in the rest of the ship. Everyone keeping busy.

Everyone else.

He couldn't help feeling this way. Even as a cub playing Hide and Seek back home on the Archipelago, he had no patience whatsoever.

A shudder ran through the vessel, making him sit up and cast aside his boredom. "Seismic activity?"

"No, Respected Captain," Kit responded. "It is the clash of rapidly-forming glaciers above us, as we continue around the giant."