Part 22 (1/2)

The Oberth had been ordered to transport dignitaries from the far reaches of the Federation back to Earth to discuss the Dominion and the new danger they posed to the Alpha Quadrant. Even before they left the Academy, Reoh had heard that Starfleet Command was concerned that shape-s.h.i.+fters could have infiltrated the Federation High Command.

Then, hardly an hour ago, President Jaresh-Inyo made an announcement about the bomb blast that had disrupted a major conference between the Romulan and Federation governments at Antwerp on Earth. It was the worst crime to occur on Earth in a century-twenty-seven people were killed. President Jaresh-Inyo had declared a planetwide day of mourning, but Reoh could read more than grief in the eyes of the Starfleet admirals, including Admiral Leyton, standing to one side of the president in his office.

Reoh was knocked off his feet as the Cochrane was. .h.i.t by a phaser shock wave. His stomach clenched as body-memories of the battle at Verdian III came back in a vivid rush. He could almost feel the disrupter blasts, over and over again. Then the panic of the saucer separation. And the crash, when he had screamed like he had never done before, certain he was going to die- ”There you are!” Starsa exclaimed, leaning out of her quarters, eyes wide with fright. ”What's happening? Who's shooting at us?”

The deck jolted again. ”That feels like a phaser hit. The s.h.i.+elds are trying to absorb the shock.” Reoh pushed Starsa back inside her quarters, heading toward the couch. ”Better sit down and hang on.”

”Will the s.h.i.+elds hold?” she asked. ”Who is it?”

Reoh was already activating the screen to see outside the s.h.i.+p. ”It's Klingon. No, there's two of them.”

Starsa was gasping in shock. Reoh had never seen her so frightened before. She had always been the soul of courage, without a thought of failure or defeat.

The Cochrane was. .h.i.t again, and they were thrown back against the couch as the valiant s.h.i.+p maneuvered.

Starsa clutched his arm. ”Are we going to die?” she whispered.

”Eventually,” Reoh had to admit. ”Maybe not right now.”

It might have been callous, but it did make Starsa stop and think instead of sending her into hysterics. Reoh knew part of her problem was the unstable hormone fluctuations, but her emotional reaction was very real.

She hunched down in the couch, wrapping her arms around her legs, her ruddy hair spreading against the back cus.h.i.+on. ”I never thought about it before,” she admitted, her voice husky, as if everything inside of her was twisted tightly closed. ”Everyone is going to die. I'm going to die. You are.” She flinched as the s.h.i.+elds took another hit. ”I haven't seen my family in so long.”

Reoh took her hand, realizing how inevitable that fear was. ”I lost most of my family early. Maybe that's why I can't ever forget about death. I think it's why I failed as a Vedek. What is faith next to that? Nothing you can say or do can avert it.”

”So what do you do?” Starsa asked, hanging onto his hand for dear life.

”I try to do the same thing you always did. Just go on. In spite of everything.” He squeezed her hand. ”Only now, I hope you give us a break and don't tempt fate so much.”

She blew out her breath, shaking her head at the very thought of some of the things she had done in the recent months. It was only when she leaned her head against his shoulder that he realized how close they had gotten in the past weeks. He had always had a special, protective feeling for Starsa. Yet how easy it was to rea.s.sure her, how naturally he put an arm around her shoulders.

He didn't move until long after the jolting stopped and she fell asleep on his shoulder.

Starsa felt better the moment they beamed down to Hohonoran on Oppala.s.sa. Treatments began at once, and she was required to stay in the medical center while her hormone levels were adjusted and her transition into maturity could proceed at a more steady pace.

After a few days, she hacked into the medical computers and accessed her file. It was remarkably easy after the challenge of Starfleet computers. She read that her doctors were surprised by the onset of her p.u.b.erty, having believed she would be able to complete the course at the Academy and return to Oppala.s.sa before her transition. Starsa didn't care, even though she was young to mature for her kind. It seemed right to her-she'd been through a lot in the past four years. She should be an adult.

Starsa read everything in her file, then closed it back up like she'd never been there. She wasn't even tempted to mess with the medical computer, but she had to laugh at her log-skipping virus that had lasted for almost four years. Because of her illness, her practical joke hadn't even been discussed at the Academy. She wondered if it would fade into the past or be dealt with when she returned. Perhaps they figured it was bad enough punishment to have to repeat this semester's work during the summer.

She had hardly closed her tricorder when Reoh appeared. He smiled, then stepped over some animal trinkets on the floor. ”Oops, almost stepped on your frog.”

”Everyone keeps bringing them to me,” she explained, gathering up the small animal androids that her people loved to give as gifts. Mostly she was getting Earth animals, and everyone seemed so pleased they could offer her a ”remembrance of Starfleet.” She didn't have the heart to tell anyone that frogs and mice didn't exactly fill the hallways at the Academy. She held up a giant-sized tick before tossing it to him. ”Don't ask what that one is.”

Nev Reoh seemed uncomfortable. ”The Cochrane is returning through this system day after tomorrow. They called to let me know, in case I was ready to return. You're doing fine now, so I thought-”

”You're leaving without me?” she asked, forgetting about the trinkets that were milling around in the basket at the foot of her bed. ”You can't leave without me!”

”You want me to stay? But you have your family here-”

”It will only take a few more weeks of treatments,” she a.s.sured him. ”Maybe less. Can't we go back together? It's such a long trip... .”

Slowly, Reoh said, ”I would have to ask Admiral Brand for an extension of my leave.”

Starsa put the lid on her trinkets to keep their noise m.u.f.fled. ”It would save Starfleet from having to send two s.h.i.+ps for us.”

”That's true,” Reoh agreed, but he was busy looking at the tick, its legs methodically moving even though it was upside-down.

”And I think I can get you a private room,” she told him, watching him closely. ”I've felt bad about squeezing you in with everyone.”

”I don't mind sharing with your cousins,” Reoh denied. ”They're very nice boys.”

”And it doesn't rain here all the time,” she a.s.sured him. ”It should clear up in a few days. And I'll be able to go home while I finish the therapy. There's lots of things we can do then. Go to the simu-races, and the sky-dive. Or if you're feeling stuck in the city, there's a big parkland between Hohonoran and Swin, only an hour away. You feel like you're in Yosemite in Earth ... almost.”

”It's not that I'm bored,” Reoh tried to explain. ”But you've got everyone you need here with you-”

As if on cue, Starsa's sister and her spouse appeared in the doorway, calling out greetings. Starsa hugged her sister, but she was trying to see Reoh, who was strategically trying to slip away. ”Call the superintendent,” she urged him, over her sister's shoulder. ”Find out, okay? It would mean a lot to me.”

Reoh nodded uncertainly, holding up the tick before placing it on his empty chair. ”I'll do it right now.”

”Don't rush off,” her sister protested. ”I've been wanting to meet Starsa's caraposa. Sit down and join us.”

Starsa felt the heat rush to her face as Reoh stammered and excused himself, saying, ”I'm sorry. I have to send an important communique.”

Starsa mumbled good-bye, but she didn't know where to look. No wonder he wanted to get away! Why hadn't she realized what her family was doing? They had picked up on her feelings for Reoh and a.s.sumed that he returned her admiration simply because he was such a truly good and kind man. She was a fool! After so long at the Academy, she hadn't counted on the subliminal sensitivity the Oppala.s.sa had for one another, developed from being forced to live on top of one another for centuries. When she realized she loved Reoh, she took it for granted, so they did, too.

Her sister touched her hand. ”What's wrong, Starsa?”

”He might have to leave,” she told her, knowing it was useless to lie about her feelings.

”I hope not. You'd miss him terribly.”

Starsa nodded, unable to say a word. The question was-would Reoh miss her?

It took a few days, but Reoh finally received a message back from Admiral Brand's a.s.sistant, a.s.suring him that he could stay on Oppala.s.sa for an additional few weeks. Reoh got the distinct feeling that his request was the least of their worries.

He was watching Starsa's other sister, Maree, trying to get food into her two boys. They were nearly as big as Reoh, but acted like ten-year-olds, poking at each other instead of eating. Reoh sat in the only other chair in the room, trying to stay out of the way. He preferred this room to the bedroom because it had a window overlooking the living towers of Hohonoran, marching down the steep hillside.

”h.e.l.lo, everyone!” Starsa sang out, as she came through the door.

”Starsa!” the boys called out, scrambling up to hug her. She laughed and tipped her basket of trinkets over, letting the rodents and bugs crawl on the tiled floor.

”What are you doing home so soon?” her sister asked.

”They kicked me out. Mom stopped by and fetched me.” Starsa pointed upward. ”She took my stuff up to their rooms. I guess I sleep there, but I thought the boys would like the trinkets.”

She left them shouting over the intricate constructs, coming towards Reoh. ”Hi.”