On The Way To Paktar ...

[Ambassador Moose 0]

Stardate 10105.29

 

Jaqo Ren had not wanted to leave Paktar. He had wanted to go to college. But his parents had limited financial resources and the Paktar Defense Force had an excellent tuition reimbursement program. It was an offer he could not refuse.

 

Still, Jaqo assumed that he would spend a few years monitoring equipment at a weather control station. Or at most, serve a shift or two on board a communications relay. Intergalectic travel was not what he had signed up for.

 

Aliens made Jaqo nervous. Not that he was prejudiced, mind you. He was just underexposed. Of course he had studied Romulans in school like everyone else. Paktar was very close to Romulan space, and there was plenty of evidence that they had come early and often in recorded history. But that had been a long time ago. Why they had stopped coming was still one of the great mysteries. And even though Paktarans could now travel to other solar systems, Jaqo was not inclined to visit Romulus and ask where they'd been.

 

Jaqo had never actually seen an alien before the advent of the Coalition. Suddenly, they were everywhere. Aliens appeared in the newscasts with local politicians. Aliens were sighted at the theatre and popular sporting events. Aliens started attending their universities, and more importantly, working with their military. This was still too new for Jaqo, and frankly he needed more time to adjust.

 

"Quiet, there it is," Jaqo croaked out in a harsh whisper as his hand gripped tighter around the handle of his phaser.

 

"I don't see anything," said Tor Duva at full voice.

 

"Shhh..." Jaqo was insistant and very irritated with his friend and partner. They had been assigned guard duty in Cargo Bay Gamma, where the Federation Ambassador's ship had been berthed. Tor did not seem to be taking their duties seriously.

 

"You've been seeing shadows ever since we came on shift," Tor said loudly. "Now put that thing back before you accidentally shoot someone." Jaqo took his work too seriously, thought Tor.

 

"I'm telling you, something's there," said Jaqo as he stubbornly kept his weapon at the ready. "I think I saw it move inside the craft." His stomach fluttered as he gazed at the Creme Brulee with a mixture of awe and terror. It was the sleekest and most exciting ship Jaqo had ever seen. Paktaran vessels were designed for function rather than form, while Coalition ships were large and featureless in an attempt to intimidate others while at the same time concealing their technology. Jaqo had never seen a ship designed so asthetically. Yet no matter how stylish and beautiful he perceived the Federation ship to be, it was still very, very alien.

 

"Well, ok, if you insist," said Tor with a smirk. "I'll call for backup while you notify the Prime."

 

Jaqo turned white. "Varden?" he sputtered. "You want me to notify the Benai Prime?"

 

"You heard his orders same as I did. Personally notify him of anything unusual concerning the Federations. I think an intruder on their ship qualifies."

 

Nervousness quickly turned to fear. Of all the aliens he had met, Jaqo was most terrified by the three Benai. Although they were not in command of the ship, they clearly controlled it. And Gowen Varden was the worst of the three. He had eyes that pierced your soul, and a voice that drained your muscles of their ability to move. What if Jaqo was wrong? What if he dragged the Benai Prime away from whatever it was he did when he wasn't stalking prey or frightening small children, and it turned out to be nothing. What if it made the Benai angry?

 

But what if it wasn't nothing? What if the Federation was up to something and he failed to stop it? This was not a chance he could afford to take, no matter how silly he appeared.

 

"Now what are you doing?" asked Tor impatiently. Jaqo had retreated behind a pile of storage canisters. He had set down his phaser in exchange for a large, pneumatic lift which he struggled to drag towards the Creme Brulee.

 

"I have to know for certain," he said mustering a bravery he did not feel. "I'm going to look in the window." Ignoring the sickness in his stomach and the weakness in his knees, he climbed onto the platform and activated the controlls. The lift groaned and jerked suddenly as it came to life. This startled Jaqo and he could not stiffle a surprised scream. Tor laughed.

 

Embarassed and determined, he made the lift climb slowly upward towards the cockpit viewport. It will be ok, he told himself. There's nothing really there. The lift seemed climb slower the closer it got to its target, and after what felt like an eternity, it stopped at full extension slightly below the bottom lip of cockpit. Jaqo stood on tiptoes and cautiously peeked into the alien ship.

 

For the second time, Jaqo screamed. The monster in the Ambassador's shuttle was grotesque, with a squat, hairy body and five apendages. It spotted Jaqo through the viewport and grew aggitated. It opened its mouth wide revealing sharp yellow teeth and a long, blood red tounge that oozed some slimy liquid. Its jaw flailed, and although no sound escaped through the transparent aluminum, Jaqo could feel its gutteral bellow deep inside of him. He stepped back as a reflex and quickly fainted.

 

Inside the Creme Brulee, David's puppy, Shadow, was undaunted. He continued to bark, desperately trying to summon help for his young master who lay near death on the shuttle floor.

 

Amb Moose

On the way to Paktar