Omake - Fairy Tales - simon_jester
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
[Set during the Grey October crisis, during Week 4]
USS Enterprise-B
Themis Straits
Stardate 23552.5
"Tisana... what's the matter? Why are you crying?" Dill chim Clunn reached up and patted her roommate- Ensign Bessle to the duty roster, but 'Tizzy' to her- on the shoulder.
"Commodore T'Lorel... she's dead."
"What?" Had her roommate lost her mind? That wasn't true! "What did you hear, I don't-"
"Nn- no... not like that... not really, not like you'd mean 'dead.' " Tizzy interrupted herself with a string of sobs. "It's... oh..." With long, slender arms she cast about- Dill realized what was going on and handed her a tissue to dry her face.
"Tizzy, are you feeling okay? The commodore's fine, we're all safe." Well, not really safe, not out here in the night of nights with half a dozen Cardassian cruisers sailing around and more on the way. But Enterprise had caught up with Fifth Fleet after the run from Celesipos, and slotted into formation early this afternoon, shipboard time.
"S- s- safe? Safe?" And the Amarki unfolded sharply, bouncing up in her bed. "Oh, we're safe all right, flying into the Pit of Snakes..." Tizzy gritted her teeth, and was silent for a moment. "Sorry, that was a reference. Nothing against the Seyek."
"But... you said the commodore was dead?"
"I'm a Ghastar islander."
Dill blinked, then took a deep breath. "Um... I'm really sorry but I'm from another planet and I don't know why that explains why you think Commodore T'Lorel is dead when I was literally just copying down her orders twenty minutes ago please help me out here."
"We... when someone we care for loses their honor, really loses it... It hurts too much, to care about someone, and think of them as being alive with disgrace of the first order on their name, the flame in their hearts dead. So the first thing we do is hold mourning. After that, it's bearable. There may be someone walking around, saying they're the person who mattered to you, but it's... different. Because the real them, the them from before, is gone now, and that makes it something the soul can stand, somehow. That's how it was with m- my- my..." She folded her hands around her face and started sobbing again.
"So you think... oh. Oh."
"How could she do something like this? Order us out of the pursuit?"
"Maybe we'll get orders to go in a different direction anyway."
"That doesn't change what she did! She... she was one of the captain's companions, once. I've read all the things she did. How could she ever just... give up and run away? Does she think it's 'logical?' Do the Vulcans just not have their own version of Kanessi* or Jalawes?** Are they so bad at honor that they ignore it even when it makes sense?"
Awkwardly, given that the Amarki overtopped her by fifty centimeters, Dill reached over and wrapped her roommate in a hug. "It's okay, Tizzy. We're your friends. We can talk about this. Tybek will be off duty now, and I think Pete will be free too!"
_______
*Founding mother of the Amarki version of deontological ethics.
**Founding father of the most popular Amarki version of rule utilitarianism.
USS Enterprise-B
Junior Officers' Wardroom
Pete Woodruff, fresh off a shift coordinating impulse drive maintenance, sat down with a sigh. Tisana smiled wanly and sat down beside him, with Dill and Tybek across the table. Pete looked over at the tall blue woman and slid a hand over toward hers, folded on the table. "So what's wrong, Tizzy?"
"I'm not going to lie. I think we're disgracing ourselves by pulling back from home space at a time like this. We could still help with the search!"
Dill frowned. "From what I heard in Communications, the Kadak-Tor changed direction days ago. Sarek's chasing her up into Federation space, and we're days behind them where we are. Even at Warp Ten..."
"Then stress the engines! This isn't the ordinary course of operations, people, don't you see that? That ship is a terrible danger, we don't know what could happen. The Kadak-Tor could have a drive malfunction, she could double back to throw the Sarek off the trail, they could lose her in an ion storm... there are so many ways we might be able to help, how can she be telling us to throw it all away, just so we can be a little bit safer?" Tisana spat that last word like a curse.
Pete scratched his head. "Tizzy? Can you give me a second, I'd like to ask some questions. I don't think I understand."
"...If you need to."
"I've been down in Main Engineering while you three have been talking about the tactics and reading everyone's mail, so... the Cardassian lead force is, what, five cruisers and two escorts, to our two escorts, and, um... call it one and a half cruisers, three and a half explorers, plus..." He looked at her and made a lopsided grin. "One of those is us."
The Amarki smiled for the first time since Dill had gotten off her shift. Tybek tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. Pete continued. "So we could probably handle them, but we don't want to, everybody figures that's what the commodore is thinking."
Dill nodded. "Nobody needs a war."
"But here's what I don't understand. We're not interested in attacking their fleet. The only way war would break out is if they attack us. The Cardassians want everyone to leave the Themis straits. Would they really ambush and attack us if we just... did that?"
Tisana shot a grateful look at Peter, beside her. "YES! I knew you'd really think about this. Maybe we can't catch up now, and maybe we can... but we have to try. We have ample cause to do it, the Cardassians would be fools to oppose us, they've no reason to try-"
Dill shook her head. "We can't give them an excuse to shoot at us. The bastards are probably hoping for one."
Pete looked bewildered. "An excuse to shoot at us for doing what they told us to? Are you saying they're crazy, or that they already decided to attack us anyway and are just looking for a reason to pick a fight, even at bad odds? Dill, I don't even-"
Dill spread her hands. "The thing is, there's complying, and then there's complying. Let's say I unsuspectingly find myself in a gang's territory. They point their weapons at me and demand I leave their territory. I could turn around and leave. I could also continue ahead right through the gang and leave on the other side. One is complying. The other is complying."
Tybek spoke. "The situation is analogous. Logic dictates affording a potential antagonist no opportunity for an admittedly illogical attack."
Pete looked suspicious. "I don't know. It seems awfully thin as a reason not to take the chance, if we can catch up with the Sarek. I need to do some thinking..."
Tybek nodded in agreement. "Very well. But in all seriousness, Ms. Bessle, one asks what there is to be done in such a scenario. The only prudent course of action is to minimize the risk of escalating conflict."
"Escalating conflict. I don't want a conflict, but neither do I want disgrace! You ask me what would I do, if a gang of bravos decided to 'order me to leave?' Why, I would put on my best smile, like this-" and Tisana's flexible features took on a ghastly look, one that could almost be approximated as a real smile in bad lighting. "And I would put my hand on my hilt, like this." She rose, fingers brushing the handle of her dagger as she rose to her feet. "And I would say, 'very well, gentlemen, I shall be leaving the way I intended, as a peaceful traveler through this place.' And should they presume to bar my exit, then they would be left battered, and bloody, and the lesser in number than when they awoke that day, to reflect on the lesson that a lady of Amarkia with weapons to hand is neither a prey animal nor a plaything. That is what I would do."
Tybek frowned. "Bloodthirsty. And risky."
"No, not... Aaagh, don't any of you understand? I don't want to kill anyone! I don't want a war! But it's shameful to just run like this, from a force that couldn't beat us if it wanted to and hasn't got a reason to try! The Federation needs us! And risk? You want to talk about risk? Gods! There's an invisible ship of over a million tons headed coreward towards a blue jewel of a world none of you have even seen, and we're not even trying to do anything about it! How can anyone with a soul think that compared to that, us running over this- this speedbump of a cruiser squadron is a risk!?"
Tybek shook his head. "Ms. Bessle, the Cardassian lead wave is no speedbump. Those are ships of force, individually sizable and with technology not to be despised. They can, and have, put an end to more than one opponent who underestimated them. Their intimate knowledge of our location opens us to ambush at no less than twelve possible sites along the cylindrical region through which-"
"Then we keep our eyes open! Do you really think they think we're stupid enough to walk into a trap? What happened the last time they tried to trap an explorer with two of their ships? Do you think they're about to try potting four of ours with seven?"
"The danger cannot rationally be denied, Ms. Bessle, and giving them the opportunity to make the attempt has the potential to bring about disastrous war with the Cardassian Union. The corresponding reward is nebulous and unlikely to materialize. It is high unlikely that our ships would be of material assistance, added to so many others."
"Tizzy-" Pete spoke haltingly. Something had changed in his face. "We can't do it. I mean, sure, we can get back to Federation space. But not with the fleet, not in time, not starting from here, not with them having that head-start. And Cardassians play for keeps. If Commodore T'Lorel thinks we're stuck waiting for them to pass, she must have a good reason. She's not in a position to take gambles." He shook his head. "This thing isn't over, but I'm afraid it's over for us. We rolled the dice, we got unlucky... we'll just have to learn a few lessons, and hope it works out in the end."
Tisana picked up her mug from the table. Her eyes were closed, and a shudder wracked her body as she stifled a sob. One of hundreds from Enterprise's crockery set, filled in her case with bubbling, faintly steaming fayalin tea. She tapped the ship's crest, enameled on the side. "Peter. You told me once, about what the name means to you. About being the best there is to offer. About why the Federation even bothers to have an Explorer Corps in the first place."
"Yeah, Tizzy, that's why we're out-"
"Yeah, Tizzy? Don't you dare call me that again. It was a lie, wasn't it? If you can say what- what you just said- everything you told me was a lie." The tears were starting to flow again. "'Enterprise' is really just another word to you after all, isn't it? All this ship's been and done isn't even a story to you, let alone a reality." She sidled the better part of a meter away from Peter's chair. "And to think I ever imagined the men of Earth might hold a glimmer of the flame in their hearts." Tisana let out a snort of harsh laughter. "I'm really starting to understand what it means, to be alone among aliens..." A shock rippled across her face, realization in her eyes. "Ah. Ah. Yes I understand now... now that I think about it." The Amarki's eyes narrowed with anger.
"Tybek, isn't it interesting what happened as soon as the Cardassian stealth cruiser, with her payload of torpedoes, changed course away from the core Federation worlds, away from Sol and Andor and Vulcan, and started heading for Amarkia? Our commander, T'Lorel, decides that it is no longer urgent to chase her. That logically, it's no longer worth taking a small risk of being hypothetically ambushed by a smaller force. We see that on the one hand, my world is the one most threatened now, and that on the other, the pursuit no longer seems so important. Doesn't that seem curious, that those two changes would be take place at the same time? Because I think that is a fascinating correlation, Vulcan."
Once, Dill had chosen to bait the rule-stickling tactical ensign with a sign, positioned so he'd see it upon exiting his cabin, reading "Ignore This Sign- Direct Order!" Tybek had stood there, quietly, for a full minute, pondering that sign before he slowly turned and went away. His reaction to Tisana's snarled accusations was of the same order. It was as if he were contemplating a square circle, or a burning ice cube. The dark-skinned Vulcan was silent, controlled but... logic-bombed. The idea didn't even compute in his brain.
Tybek was good at what he did, but weird, even by Vulcan standards.
Dill waved her arms wildly, bouncing up in her chair in an attempt to get into the Amarki's line of sight. "Whoa whoa whoa! Tisana, there are about three entire fleets in Federation space between here and Amarkia sector... Don't worry. I mean... you know how many ships there still are back there, in position to look for the Kadak-Tor. Let's see..." she started counting.
"Yes, Dill." Tisana bit each word off crisply. "I know precisely how many ships there are ready to find the Kadak-Tor before she reaches Amarkia. Or changes course to Tellar Prime. Or Earth. Or even Vulcan, if there's anything left on that ball of monks and rocks worth a torpedo. I know how many ships there are. There are seven less than there ought to be, and none of them is Enterprise. And if that doesn't bother any of you, then goodnight and be damned to you!"
Quivering with fury, vision watery and blurred, the sensor operator pivoted on her heel, long legs propelling her out of the room so fast she almost scraped the automatic doors as they opened to let her out of the wardroom.
FAIRY TALES, Part 1
USS Enterprise-B
Themis Straits
Stardate 23552.5
"Tisana... what's the matter? Why are you crying?" Dill chim Clunn reached up and patted her roommate- Ensign Bessle to the duty roster, but 'Tizzy' to her- on the shoulder.
"Commodore T'Lorel... she's dead."
"What?" Had her roommate lost her mind? That wasn't true! "What did you hear, I don't-"
"Nn- no... not like that... not really, not like you'd mean 'dead.' " Tizzy interrupted herself with a string of sobs. "It's... oh..." With long, slender arms she cast about- Dill realized what was going on and handed her a tissue to dry her face.
"Tizzy, are you feeling okay? The commodore's fine, we're all safe." Well, not really safe, not out here in the night of nights with half a dozen Cardassian cruisers sailing around and more on the way. But Enterprise had caught up with Fifth Fleet after the run from Celesipos, and slotted into formation early this afternoon, shipboard time.
"S- s- safe? Safe?" And the Amarki unfolded sharply, bouncing up in her bed. "Oh, we're safe all right, flying into the Pit of Snakes..." Tizzy gritted her teeth, and was silent for a moment. "Sorry, that was a reference. Nothing against the Seyek."
"But... you said the commodore was dead?"
"I'm a Ghastar islander."
Dill blinked, then took a deep breath. "Um... I'm really sorry but I'm from another planet and I don't know why that explains why you think Commodore T'Lorel is dead when I was literally just copying down her orders twenty minutes ago please help me out here."
"We... when someone we care for loses their honor, really loses it... It hurts too much, to care about someone, and think of them as being alive with disgrace of the first order on their name, the flame in their hearts dead. So the first thing we do is hold mourning. After that, it's bearable. There may be someone walking around, saying they're the person who mattered to you, but it's... different. Because the real them, the them from before, is gone now, and that makes it something the soul can stand, somehow. That's how it was with m- my- my..." She folded her hands around her face and started sobbing again.
"So you think... oh. Oh."
"How could she do something like this? Order us out of the pursuit?"
"Maybe we'll get orders to go in a different direction anyway."
"That doesn't change what she did! She... she was one of the captain's companions, once. I've read all the things she did. How could she ever just... give up and run away? Does she think it's 'logical?' Do the Vulcans just not have their own version of Kanessi* or Jalawes?** Are they so bad at honor that they ignore it even when it makes sense?"
Awkwardly, given that the Amarki overtopped her by fifty centimeters, Dill reached over and wrapped her roommate in a hug. "It's okay, Tizzy. We're your friends. We can talk about this. Tybek will be off duty now, and I think Pete will be free too!"
_______
*Founding mother of the Amarki version of deontological ethics.
**Founding father of the most popular Amarki version of rule utilitarianism.
USS Enterprise-B
Junior Officers' Wardroom
Pete Woodruff, fresh off a shift coordinating impulse drive maintenance, sat down with a sigh. Tisana smiled wanly and sat down beside him, with Dill and Tybek across the table. Pete looked over at the tall blue woman and slid a hand over toward hers, folded on the table. "So what's wrong, Tizzy?"
"I'm not going to lie. I think we're disgracing ourselves by pulling back from home space at a time like this. We could still help with the search!"
Dill frowned. "From what I heard in Communications, the Kadak-Tor changed direction days ago. Sarek's chasing her up into Federation space, and we're days behind them where we are. Even at Warp Ten..."
"Then stress the engines! This isn't the ordinary course of operations, people, don't you see that? That ship is a terrible danger, we don't know what could happen. The Kadak-Tor could have a drive malfunction, she could double back to throw the Sarek off the trail, they could lose her in an ion storm... there are so many ways we might be able to help, how can she be telling us to throw it all away, just so we can be a little bit safer?" Tisana spat that last word like a curse.
Pete scratched his head. "Tizzy? Can you give me a second, I'd like to ask some questions. I don't think I understand."
"...If you need to."
"I've been down in Main Engineering while you three have been talking about the tactics and reading everyone's mail, so... the Cardassian lead force is, what, five cruisers and two escorts, to our two escorts, and, um... call it one and a half cruisers, three and a half explorers, plus..." He looked at her and made a lopsided grin. "One of those is us."
The Amarki smiled for the first time since Dill had gotten off her shift. Tybek tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. Pete continued. "So we could probably handle them, but we don't want to, everybody figures that's what the commodore is thinking."
Dill nodded. "Nobody needs a war."
"But here's what I don't understand. We're not interested in attacking their fleet. The only way war would break out is if they attack us. The Cardassians want everyone to leave the Themis straits. Would they really ambush and attack us if we just... did that?"
Tisana shot a grateful look at Peter, beside her. "YES! I knew you'd really think about this. Maybe we can't catch up now, and maybe we can... but we have to try. We have ample cause to do it, the Cardassians would be fools to oppose us, they've no reason to try-"
Dill shook her head. "We can't give them an excuse to shoot at us. The bastards are probably hoping for one."
Pete looked bewildered. "An excuse to shoot at us for doing what they told us to? Are you saying they're crazy, or that they already decided to attack us anyway and are just looking for a reason to pick a fight, even at bad odds? Dill, I don't even-"
Dill spread her hands. "The thing is, there's complying, and then there's complying. Let's say I unsuspectingly find myself in a gang's territory. They point their weapons at me and demand I leave their territory. I could turn around and leave. I could also continue ahead right through the gang and leave on the other side. One is complying. The other is complying."
Tybek spoke. "The situation is analogous. Logic dictates affording a potential antagonist no opportunity for an admittedly illogical attack."
Pete looked suspicious. "I don't know. It seems awfully thin as a reason not to take the chance, if we can catch up with the Sarek. I need to do some thinking..."
Tybek nodded in agreement. "Very well. But in all seriousness, Ms. Bessle, one asks what there is to be done in such a scenario. The only prudent course of action is to minimize the risk of escalating conflict."
"Escalating conflict. I don't want a conflict, but neither do I want disgrace! You ask me what would I do, if a gang of bravos decided to 'order me to leave?' Why, I would put on my best smile, like this-" and Tisana's flexible features took on a ghastly look, one that could almost be approximated as a real smile in bad lighting. "And I would put my hand on my hilt, like this." She rose, fingers brushing the handle of her dagger as she rose to her feet. "And I would say, 'very well, gentlemen, I shall be leaving the way I intended, as a peaceful traveler through this place.' And should they presume to bar my exit, then they would be left battered, and bloody, and the lesser in number than when they awoke that day, to reflect on the lesson that a lady of Amarkia with weapons to hand is neither a prey animal nor a plaything. That is what I would do."
Tybek frowned. "Bloodthirsty. And risky."
"No, not... Aaagh, don't any of you understand? I don't want to kill anyone! I don't want a war! But it's shameful to just run like this, from a force that couldn't beat us if it wanted to and hasn't got a reason to try! The Federation needs us! And risk? You want to talk about risk? Gods! There's an invisible ship of over a million tons headed coreward towards a blue jewel of a world none of you have even seen, and we're not even trying to do anything about it! How can anyone with a soul think that compared to that, us running over this- this speedbump of a cruiser squadron is a risk!?"
Tybek shook his head. "Ms. Bessle, the Cardassian lead wave is no speedbump. Those are ships of force, individually sizable and with technology not to be despised. They can, and have, put an end to more than one opponent who underestimated them. Their intimate knowledge of our location opens us to ambush at no less than twelve possible sites along the cylindrical region through which-"
"Then we keep our eyes open! Do you really think they think we're stupid enough to walk into a trap? What happened the last time they tried to trap an explorer with two of their ships? Do you think they're about to try potting four of ours with seven?"
"The danger cannot rationally be denied, Ms. Bessle, and giving them the opportunity to make the attempt has the potential to bring about disastrous war with the Cardassian Union. The corresponding reward is nebulous and unlikely to materialize. It is high unlikely that our ships would be of material assistance, added to so many others."
"Tizzy-" Pete spoke haltingly. Something had changed in his face. "We can't do it. I mean, sure, we can get back to Federation space. But not with the fleet, not in time, not starting from here, not with them having that head-start. And Cardassians play for keeps. If Commodore T'Lorel thinks we're stuck waiting for them to pass, she must have a good reason. She's not in a position to take gambles." He shook his head. "This thing isn't over, but I'm afraid it's over for us. We rolled the dice, we got unlucky... we'll just have to learn a few lessons, and hope it works out in the end."
Tisana picked up her mug from the table. Her eyes were closed, and a shudder wracked her body as she stifled a sob. One of hundreds from Enterprise's crockery set, filled in her case with bubbling, faintly steaming fayalin tea. She tapped the ship's crest, enameled on the side. "Peter. You told me once, about what the name means to you. About being the best there is to offer. About why the Federation even bothers to have an Explorer Corps in the first place."
"Yeah, Tizzy, that's why we're out-"
"Yeah, Tizzy? Don't you dare call me that again. It was a lie, wasn't it? If you can say what- what you just said- everything you told me was a lie." The tears were starting to flow again. "'Enterprise' is really just another word to you after all, isn't it? All this ship's been and done isn't even a story to you, let alone a reality." She sidled the better part of a meter away from Peter's chair. "And to think I ever imagined the men of Earth might hold a glimmer of the flame in their hearts." Tisana let out a snort of harsh laughter. "I'm really starting to understand what it means, to be alone among aliens..." A shock rippled across her face, realization in her eyes. "Ah. Ah. Yes I understand now... now that I think about it." The Amarki's eyes narrowed with anger.
"Tybek, isn't it interesting what happened as soon as the Cardassian stealth cruiser, with her payload of torpedoes, changed course away from the core Federation worlds, away from Sol and Andor and Vulcan, and started heading for Amarkia? Our commander, T'Lorel, decides that it is no longer urgent to chase her. That logically, it's no longer worth taking a small risk of being hypothetically ambushed by a smaller force. We see that on the one hand, my world is the one most threatened now, and that on the other, the pursuit no longer seems so important. Doesn't that seem curious, that those two changes would be take place at the same time? Because I think that is a fascinating correlation, Vulcan."
Once, Dill had chosen to bait the rule-stickling tactical ensign with a sign, positioned so he'd see it upon exiting his cabin, reading "Ignore This Sign- Direct Order!" Tybek had stood there, quietly, for a full minute, pondering that sign before he slowly turned and went away. His reaction to Tisana's snarled accusations was of the same order. It was as if he were contemplating a square circle, or a burning ice cube. The dark-skinned Vulcan was silent, controlled but... logic-bombed. The idea didn't even compute in his brain.
Tybek was good at what he did, but weird, even by Vulcan standards.
Dill waved her arms wildly, bouncing up in her chair in an attempt to get into the Amarki's line of sight. "Whoa whoa whoa! Tisana, there are about three entire fleets in Federation space between here and Amarkia sector... Don't worry. I mean... you know how many ships there still are back there, in position to look for the Kadak-Tor. Let's see..." she started counting.
"Yes, Dill." Tisana bit each word off crisply. "I know precisely how many ships there are ready to find the Kadak-Tor before she reaches Amarkia. Or changes course to Tellar Prime. Or Earth. Or even Vulcan, if there's anything left on that ball of monks and rocks worth a torpedo. I know how many ships there are. There are seven less than there ought to be, and none of them is Enterprise. And if that doesn't bother any of you, then goodnight and be damned to you!"
Quivering with fury, vision watery and blurred, the sensor operator pivoted on her heel, long legs propelling her out of the room so fast she almost scraped the automatic doors as they opened to let her out of the wardroom.
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