TFE Fleet plot: "Hide and Seek" Prelude

[RAdm Amy DaSilva]

The First Era SIM Group Presents

"Hide and Seek"
Story by Suzanna

Star Trek and related names are registered trademarks of Paramount
Pictures, Inc. This original work of fiction is written strictly for
non-profit and is solely for the entertainment of its author and
readers.

Copyright 2004, by The First Era
http://www.firstera.net

Prelude: The First Strike

[Text within these [ ] brackets indicate alien language translated into
English]


////////// Far away in deep space ///////////

The three black ships were barely visible to the naked eye as they
streaked through space. Yet if someone were able to see them, they would
admire the sleek lines. After the unexplainable loss of the single scout
ship, the new policy was to never send out less than two ships into this
region of space. The orders were clear as well, their survival depended
on it. After all they had consumed all the natural resources on their
own planet; the Paladan boarded their huge city sized ships in search of
other planets that could sustain them.

"i Htyil.kes'till," [Engage stealth mode]. Jjilu ordered from the
command throne in the centre of the bridge. The male war master on the
throne was more reptilian than humanoid. A bipedal, with purple scales
covering a large part of his body, partially hidden by the black leather
uniform, his deep orange eyes were contrasted by a surprising mane of
long blond hair.

"mtem hUi" [Aye, Sir].

They were still far from their designated coordinates, but Jjilu was not
going to take any chances. Not after that garbled message that had been
received three olki ago, followed by the short emergency beacon signal
that indicated that the ship had been destroyed. The message had been
too garbled to understand it fully, but it alluded to survivors on one
of there prepared worlds. There could be no survivors. Their own
existence was based on surprise attacks on the worlds that they needed
to survive. Any survivors were a potential threat. They could warn other
worlds and try to stop them. It was a lesson that had been learned many
generations ago on and the hard way. There were two colony ships on
their way too, six months behind them, waiting for final confirmation of
the right co-ordinates to set course for.

////// zGillibian home world /////////

"Swoyzllt aOhgEkkms," [Grandlord aOhgEkkms] the Elder bowed once. [Thank
you for coming so quickly.]

[I serve the zGillibians, Elder. How may I be of service?] aOhgEkkms
bowed in return greeting, the message had been marked urgent, and it was
not often she was asked to come here.

[Our early warning system has received a recording that we would like
you to look at.]

Swoyzllt aOhgEkkms watched on the screen as the recording played back.
Her eyes widening when she saw the outline of the three ships on it, and
fear gripped her as her eyes recognised the ships before they
disappeared into nowhere. Now she understood why she had been asked to
come here. She was one of the few that had seen one of the scout ships
in this generation of zGillibians. In fact, the zGilibhuoplptz had
returned home eventually after they had destroyed the scout ship, a long
trip that had included several precautious detours, stops, and in full
stealth mode. They had returned home, as much heroes as villains.

[Where was this recorded, and what is their course?]

[It appears that they have sent three ships to check up our world. They
will be here in two months at current speed].

aOhgEkkms closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. Would they
ever be safe? She had asked that question once before. Would they ever
be safe if they continued in the old ways of hiding? Ever since their
encounter and that devastating attack five otwkus ago, their world had
been decimated. A few hundred had survived against al odds and over the
last forty generations managed to escape detection, managed to stay
hidden, managed to survive and grow and prosper again. Their whole
survival then and now, and their entire existence depended on stealth,
on staying hidden, and their existence was geared around it. For every
few generations, the attackers had returned, to make sure there was no
on alive; and that there was no record of what they had done; or for
anyone to see the blood that was on their hands.... Until that faithful
run in with the Earth ship.

Over the otwkus all effort and scientific research and focus had been
geared at stealth, at avoiding detection. All they wanted to do was
live. And stay alive. The accidental 'attack' by the Earth ship had
opened her eyes. Her actions then, after the incident, had gone against
all laws and customs of her own people. If it hadn't been for the fact
that the majority of her crew had been badly injured, they would have
killed her over these violations, violations that brought a risk to
their home and existence. Yet, what choice had she had? Her healer had
been killed; all major systems had been off line. The crew had been too
injured to fix it, and the self-destruct system off line, so there was
no way to destroy any evidence. She had taken the chance to trust these
strange pink skinned aliens and surmised that allowing the aliens on the
ship had been the fastest way to get things fixed and give them a chance
at survival.

Their healer had helped treat the injured and an engineering detachment
had healed the ship. Captain Hawke had shown to be trustworthy, and had
done his best to make right the accidental damage he had caused. Not to
mention that with great risk to himself and his ship he had defended
zGilibhuoplptz when the Scout ship had found them. There was still the
question in her mind, as well as in the minds some of the more sceptical
elders, if the zGilibhuoplptz would have been found if it had not been
for the accident.

What had been so important though was that for the first time, due to
the circumstances, zGillibians had not run. They had not hidden. They
stood up and fought for survival. They stood tall. They fought and won.
And the destroyers of their world had been given a bloody nose. Even if
it was with help... aOhgEkkms and her crew had seen that it was possible
to stand up, to not hide forever. That knowledge had changed her
perspective, even when the Elders were still scared. Even more scared
because her crew had seen it as well. The elders, she knew, were steeped
in tradition. In a rut. As she had been, until she had encountered these
bold pink skinned aliens. She, and her crew, had gained strength from
them.

Yet how strong was she now? When fear gripped her heart. When all she
wanted to do was run and hide. Like the Elders. At the same time, she
had seen something in their eyes when they had asked her to come here
and view the recording, besides the fear she knew was consuming them. It
was Hope.

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[RAdm Amy DaSilva]

The First Era SIM Group Presents

"Hide and Seek"
Story by Suzanna

Star Trek and related names are registered trademarks of Paramount
Pictures, Inc. This original work of fiction is written strictly for
non-profit and is solely for the entertainment of its author and
readers.

Copyright 2004, by The First Era
http://www.firstera.net

Prelude: The First Strike (Continued)

[Text within these [ ] brackets indicate alien language translated into
English]

////// zGillibian home world /////////

The Council chamber was silent and in shock. The Elder had just shown
them the recording and Grandlord aOhgEkkms was present. An unusual
occurrence, normally only the twelve Elders were allowed in this private
Council Chamber. This was no ordinary meeting though; it was more about
hearing the death sentence for the zGillibians. In the past, only a
single scout ship would have returned to the home world to check up on
it. Now, there were three on its way.

[If the scout ship had not been destroyed, they would never have sent
three ships!] A greying male said after he got to his feet.

[If we had not destroyed the scout ship, they would already have known
that some of us survived here. Now, there is a good chance that they
don't know that yet, and only sent three ships because they lost the
one, and they do not want to run the risk of losing another one. We
never did detect a full message being sent.] aOhgEkkms replied.

[But you cannot be sure of that... they may know. They are coming here
now, with three ships. We can not hide from three ships, not with their
technology! Nor defend ourselves.]

[We have time to prepare. And we should consider a full evacuation.]

[Leave our planet? And put other worlds at risk? How can we leave our
sacred grounds? This is our world. We survived the first decimation, and
some survived. The same will happen now.]

[We went from two billion down to two thousand, now we are back up to
two million. If they come back, there may not be enough of zGillibians
left to restart our population.]

Pprolsiokk, the Senior Elder and leader of the Chamber of Elders
listened silently as the arguments between the eleven Elders continued.
He wanted to hear all the arguments, all the concerns before making a
decision.

Eventually, the discussion died down, and Pprolsiokk stood. He adjusted
the long robes of office and turned to the Grandlord. [Swoyzllt
aOhgEkkms, you have met the Scout ship, you met them in battle.
Something none of us have, I was a mere child when the previous check on
our Home world was made, few remember them, none have met them. Except
you. Yet you have been silent so far. I wish to hear your
recommendation] He bowed once and then sat down again.

aOhgEkkms nodded and stood. She felt very out of place. The Chamber of
Elders was the top level of the zGillibian Government; she was just one
of the ship Captains that ensured there were enough supplies for their
people to survive. In the two years since her return from that faithful
mission, she had been thrust more and more into leadership positions,
and she didn't know if she able to do what everyone seemed to expect of
her. The one thing that no one had mentioned here, showed how much stuck
in the old ways of thinking everyone was. Their customs, laws, rituals
and traditions were all geared to hiding, to running. What she was about
to suggest was doing something no one of the surviving zGillibian
population, except the crew of the zGilibhuoplptz, had done.

[Elders... my suggestion is different. As you have correctly pointed
out, we can not hide from three ships, the way we used to against one
ship.] She paused to consider how to phrase what she was going to say.
She had learned to think more strategically in the last two years, and
be more open to new ideas, yet the Elders were still steeped in
tradition. Which meant organising the best way to hide.

[My suggestion consists of three items, each an important part of the
whole. First of all, as suggested by you, we should evacuate as many
people as possible. We should also leave enough people on the planet for
them to think that this is all there is, leaving them with less reasons
to look elsewhere for us.]

There were approving nods for this suggestion, which was also the reason
she had made it as a first one. She took a deep breath, and then looked
straight at the Elders in the Chamber when she continued [My next
suggestion is to contact the Earthling. Captain Hawke, and ask their
assistance. It was with his help that we survived, and stood up against
them. Successfully.]

The room erupted into gasps and cries of shock and even outrage. After a
few moments, Pprolsiokk merely stood and raised both hands. Soon the
eleven Elders quietened down again. [What is the third item, Grandlord?]
He asked.

[With the Earthlings help, stand up against these ships, against those
that decimated our world before. Not hide, but defend our home world
against those bastards, make a clear visible stand.]

Once again, the room erupted in a similar fashion as before, cries of
protest; that it was against their laws and custom. That it would never
work.

aOhgEkkms shook her head and raised her hand, when the room fell quiet
again, she spoke. [Elders... before our world was attacked, forty
generations ago, we were a proud people. We had courage. We used to
explore. Our current laws and traditions only came into effect after the
decimation. They served us well during this time, but we as people have
evolved, our old strength and courage is still within us, even if we
seem to have forgotten about it.] She paused again, making eye contact
with each of them [having seen them, having faced one of those scout
ships in battle... I know we can survive this.... but not by hiding].

/////////// Later - On board the zGilibhuoplptz //////////

[All systems are ready; all crew on board, Grandlord.] Sklydemargf
reported.

aOhgEkkms stood in the centre of the bridge and nodded to her First who
had given her the report. [Break orbit and set course for the Terran
system. Engage full stealth mode.] She ordered and walked towards her
office. [You have Command,] she added before the doors closed behind
her.

She stopped as soon as she was alone and closed her eyes. If she had
thought before that the mantel of responsibility had been heavy, that
had been a walk in the park compared to how she felt now. After long
discussions, the Chamber of Elders had taken on her suggestions, it had
followed more discussions about how to contact the Earthling without
being detected or traced. She took a deep breath and moved to sit behind
her desk. The ancient text described a single ship in the sky that
unleashed the decimation of their world. The zGillibian level of
technology had been less in those days, yet, just like their own species
had evolved, so had the aggressors. Now there were three ships heading
their way, and no one was sure if they were of the same class and
capability as the one referred to in the text.

aOhgEkkms assumed that they were the same as the one she had encountered
two years ago. They looked the same on the recording. Her orders were
clear, without attracting attention or being traceable, speak directly
with Captain Hawke, and ask for assistance. No one else, get as much
information from the Earthling and if possible support in the way of
ships as well. Despite all the research in stealth technology and
hiding, they knew so little about the aggressors. She could only hope
that she could convince the Earthling.

"Swoyzllt," [Grandlord], it was the voice of her First on the comm
system. [We have left orbit and stealth mode has been engaged. ETA to
the Terran system, six days].

///////// Three days later /////////

In the darkness, a small light started blinking on a console. It was a
proximity detector, set for specific sensor readings. Like zGillibian
ones. They thought their stealth technology was the best, and it was the
best. Still, the Paladan knew exactly what to scan for; they had
decimated the world after all. Another console woke up, as did the first
of the three stasis pods. Half an hour later, the sleeping figure with
the purple scales, orange eyes and mane of blond hair stirred.

This small ship had three Paladans in stasis, having been dormant for
nearly a century. Waiting for the right signs, when the ship would wake
them up, and they would finish the job. Preparing the zGillibian home
world for the arrival of the city sized ships.

Wearily, Cilaens pushed the top of the stasis chamber open and stepped
out. She moved her hair through her mane and then made her way to the
bridge of the small ship to check the readings. In the last century, she
been awoken twice before, both times it had been a false alarm. Cilaens
tapped on the console to activate it and double check the sensor
readings.

[No false alarm this time.] She mumbled to herself and went to wake her
two companions. It would take several hours before the ship was ready to
move, which gave the zGillibians a one day lead, but they had a trail to
follow, and would catch up with them in less then two days....

To Be Continued....

///////////////////////////////////

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