CH. 23: Eyes in the Dark

The Ot'Hessan explorer ship bore no name. Naming ships was a human tradition, and one that the Ot'Hessan did not really understand. Some members of their race were fascinated by the Federation, and it was true that the People did owe a great debt to them, but that did not change the fact that they were alien. Occasionally, incomprehensibly alien.

The commander of the proudly unnamed vessel considered this as they drew close to the station they had been sent to assess. It orbited an airless rock in an otherwise empty system. As far as they had been able to determine, no one claimed the system, so they weren't expecting anyone to object to their presence or their salvage efforts. Still, caution was called for, given the number of unanswered questions about the place. One that had the commander flummoxed was 'why was the station there?' There was nothing in the system that seemed to warrant its presence. Hopefully, the answers would be found by delving into the station's computer systems.

The station's design was unusual, but somewhat sensible. There was a central section that consisted of a cylinder about 1,200 meters long. Connected to the cylinder by struts were four rings. As they drew closer, and got a better view of the details, the commander saw that his guess had been right.

The rings were intended to rotate, which suggested that the builders of the station did not have artificial gravity. Whether the builders were technologically primitive or if the station was very old and had since been adapted with modern tech would need to be determined. An older station might have been abandoned as the upkeep was no longer cost-effective. They would know soon enough, he reasoned, so he stopped speculating and set about the task of getting survey crews aboard. The visible damage was confined to a rupture of the central cylinder. It looked like an internal explosion had damaged the station's hub. The reason for the explosion would have to be determined to make certain it couldn't happen again. It was just one more thing to add to the, already extensive, checklist.

He sent a pulse of curiosity about the station to his bridge crew, a polite way of asking for their reports. The information came back quickly. Sensors indicated breathable atmosphere in the rings, but not in the hub. Despite the gaping hole in the hub, the station was essentially sound, according to their structural engineer. More detailed analysis would have to wait till they had had a chance to survey the damage from inside.

The commander, who had balked at the recent practice of taking the names of alien flora, gave orders to bring the ship in close for a better look. He wanted more thorough scans before attempting to send boarders. Respective size of ship and station would make docking awkward, so he decided to send shuttles. All attempts at communication had already failed, but they might be able to access some of the systems remotely. It had already been determined that no one was living on the station, but the attempts at communication indicated that any automated systems the station had were nonfunctional.

After a few moments of scanning for emissions of any sort, and failing to find anything responsive to their technology, the commander called a halt and arranged to dispatch a shuttle with a small group of engineers outfitted to work in vacuum. They needed to determine the nature of the damage before proceeding.

OOOOOOOOOO

Marigold maneuvered his vacuum shell into the breach and activated the scanners. The shells were basically small ships comparable to the EVA rigs that Federation personnel used, based on what he'd seen at Skyhome. Small, single-person vehicles that offered more function than the old-style space suits he'd seen in their history files.

There was no gravity in the station hub, so the antigravity systems used on a planetary surface, were not necessary. The small maneuvering jets were sufficient to get around the interior. Each shell had a battery with enough of a charge to last about three hours. It should, he reasoned, be more than enough.

The shell's scanners were not as sophisticated as the devices the Federation aliens called a tricorder, but they sufficed. No radiation had been detected from the ship, but protocol and common sense insisted that a closer look was needed. Things could be missed, and there were some things that were not obvious until you were literally on top of them. Fortunately, nothing unusual was indicated. Residual background radiation from the station's reactor was well within safe limits. The rest of his crew followed at his projected sense of satisfaction.

The four-member group spread out and began to evaluate the damage. Marigold was the most senior of the group, having been involved in ship building for the People for nearly two decades. His team, all personally selected, were all very competent and knew to be careful around unfamiliar systems. None of them had taken names, but that was a fairly new fad picked up from the Federation aliens.

Many were surprised that he had taken a name, and truth to tell, he wasn't sure himself why he had. It had just struck his fancy to do so and the image of the flower he had seen was quite pretty. He had never even seen one of the aliens in person, and while his position might bring him into contact with them at some point, it was by no means certain. Setting aside his musings, Marigold gave orders to his team as they spread out. There was a lot of work to do before the station could even be considered as a refuge for the newly named Ot'Hessan.

OOOOOOOOOO

The station's core was a mess. Whatever had torn open the hull had damaged the reactor that powered it. Fortunately, the reactor had gone into automatic shutdown rather than explode, scattering the station all over the system. From what they could determine, the rest of the station was essentially undamaged. Bulkheads had even closed, preventing a loss of atmosphere from other sections. The rest of the station was pressurized.

The reactor would take time to repair, assuming it could be repaired. Marigold had considered the options carefully and laid them out clearly before making his own recommendation. The technology was unfamiliar, but the principles were well-understood. He recommended simply replacing the station's computer system, reactor, and virtually all of the other systems, with their own tech. It would take a long time, but would make things easier on them in the long run, as some of the systems simply weren't compatible with their own. Even with a complete overhaul and replacement, there would be trouble with incompatible systems to overcome. He did, however, have all the notes on the Federation upgrades to Skyhome to work with.

The commander put off making a decision on that until more was known about the station's overall condition and the reason it was in that condition. As soon as it had been declared structurally sound, teams had been dispatched to search the station and learn what they could. Reports were still coming in, and some of them were alarming.

OOOOOOOOOO

Although the rings no longer rotated, the station did have gravity, suggesting that gravity plating had been installed at some point after its initial construction. Crocus and Aster were glad of this, as they moved side-by-side down the corridor of the upper ring where their investigation had begun. Their teams spread out behind them, checking rooms and scanning for radiation, harmful biologicals and a number of other things. Sealed rooms were checked to see if they were pressurized before being opened. There were a lot of questions about why the station had been abandoned, and it would take time to eliminate all of the possibilities. No one wanted to risk unfortunate accidents. They believed they had accounted for all of the damage, but they couldn't be sure. Rounding a corner in a corridor, the section seemed devoted to station operations, they found the first body. It lay on the deck in the middle of the corridor, and there were no immediate signs pointing to a cause of death. Exercising caution, they alerted medical and steered clear of the body, continuing their search. They soon found others.

OOOOOOOOOO

The doctors projected certainty. There was no sign of any illness, viral or bacterial. Instead, the bodies seemed to have been poisoned. An analysis of the atmosphere had shown that there were no dangerous contaminants, so, how they had been poisoned wasn't clear, but all of them showed the same type of damage to their nervous systems. Whatever had been used had, essentially, turned them off.

That explained why many had been found at their stations and seemed to have been caught completely unawares by whatever had happened. That meant that, apparently, their deaths had come without any warning. The alien facial expressions, especially so long after death, were impossible to read. It was anyone's guess whether the expressions would have indicated surprise or alarm.

Adding to the mystery, the bodies were of four different species. Information obtained from the Federation allowed the commander to identify two of those species as Romulan and Klingon.

This seemed odd to him, so he pulled up the files on the history of the quadrant that the Federation had provided. It took a little searching through the cultural and historical databases, but he found the information that confirmed his recollection. Klingons and Romulans did not get along. The war between them that had lasted over a decade tended to suggest that at any rate. It was not impossible that these individuals were working together, but it did raise questions.

The investigation continued, and in the upper tiers of the second ring, primarily private quarters, they made an unsettling discovery. One set of quarters, they discovered, had been locked from the outside. Upon opening what they had determined to be standard family living quarters, they found several dead aliens. Just as with the others, there were no immediately visible signs of a cause of death. As per protocol, they resealed the quarters and called for a medical team. It was the first of five such discoveries.

OOOOOOOOOO

The commander had ordered the computer specialists assigned to the mission to retrieve any station logs, as well as any files that might shed light on what had happened to the people aboard the station. Unfortunately, between the alien technology, language, and the various security measures to prevent unauthorized access, he had been informed that it might take a while.

While that was under way, investigations in other areas were bearing fruit. All other groups had reported progress. No sign of dangerous contaminants or diseases had been found by the medical group. What had killed the crew of the station was still a mystery, but they were certain that there was no threat to the Ot'Hessan aboard.

The engineers had confirmed that what remained of the station's systems were stable and usable. Marigold, the chief engineer, was recommending that the alien control and power systems be gutted and replaced with Ot'Hessan technology, as it would save them trouble in the long-run. Commander agreed that was true, if they determined that the station could be made useable. It had the potential to be a waypoint for their migration for years to come.

He decided to hold off on that until the rest of the information was evaluated. If the station proved unsuitable for other reasons, it would be a waste of time and resources. He turned his attention to the other reports.

Another group of engineers and scientists had managed to access the stations long-range sensors. The sensor logs were still beyond their reach at the moment, but the sensors themselves were fully operational. There were three systems within range of the sensors that had worlds that might be habitable. Two were definitely class M and within the habitable zone. The third was at the edge of the habitable zone, but was still worth a look, despite the fact it would be rather cold.

A scout-ship had been docked aboard the explorer for just such opportunities, and the pilot was given instructions and dispatched. While the Federation had offered aid in relocating to a world within their borders, the Council was not going to miss an opportunity to find a world of their own, or at least waypoints where they could keep large numbers of their people while the migration was carried out. The pilot, who had never taken a name, left immediately. He had been one of the first to return from his scouting mission, having found nothing. He hoped fervently to have some good news to report when he returned from checking those three systems.

The work proceeded apace for several days until the computer specialists provided access and a translation of the station's logs. There was a lot to go through, the commander reflected as he looked at the list of categories and all of the entries under each.

The station commander had kept a log. The station's chief engineer had kept a log. Each member of the station's staff kept a log. And on further study of what had been provided, he discovered that there were official and personal logs for each. That almost doubled the number he'd have to go through.

He started with the basic information about the station, what there was of it. Apparently, the station had been built as an observation post by a species that the computer just translated as People. What they were observing wasn't made clear, but there were some alarming gaps in the information available. The reason wasn't clear, and the computer science team could offer no clues. What information was available had been translated.

Unclear what to make of that, the commander started with the last of the official log entries of each of the station's key personnel.

OOOOOOOOOO

Station Master's log:

Thirteenth day of fifth moon, 84523

0800

Dajka Meem recording

The relief shuttle is overdue. They contacted us saying they were delayed by engine trouble at their last stop. The delay puts us behind schedule, and the shipmaster seemed nervous when he sent the message. The upgrade to the docking bay is on schedule, and the first shipment should be ready to deploy three days after the arrival of the relief shuttle.

OOOOOOOOOO

The other entries that day were just as mundane. The security chief's report indicated no problems either current or expected. There had been no security breaches, no violence (which seemed odd given the presence of Klingons and Romulans on board), and no mention of preparations for upcoming arrivals other than the relief shuttle that the station master had mentioned. It was all mundane. He also noted that there was no mention of prisoners. That led to more questions about the people in the locked rooms.

The logs from medical were the same. No mention of illnesses or injuries. No unexplained deaths were mentioned, and the infirmary hadn't even had any patients that day. The personal logs were equally mundane. There was no indication of any extant or potential problems.

On a hunch, he asked the engineers to learn the exact date and time of the explosion. Had the log entries stopped before the explosion? If so, how long? If not, why was there no mention of an explosion that had depressurized the station's hub in the official or the personal logs?

He gave orders that the locked rooms where the corpses were found be examined closely. Perhaps, something was hidden there. If they were being held prisoner in secret, perhaps they had tried to find a way to keep records or leave a message. It was worth a look anyway, the commander reasoned. He disliked mysteries, and solving them was usually a chore, especially when they led to more mysteries.

The engineering team got back to him quickly with the news that the date of the explosion matched up with the date of the last log entries, occurring shortly after the morning entries had been made. That seemed to verify that the explosion had come without advanced warning and there was no time unaccounted for in the logs.

The teams searching the locked quarters took longer to find anything, but when they did, one mystery was partially solved and a new and unwelcomed threat was uncovered.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Stardate…uncertain. Commander Kelan of the Klingon IKS Jev'lw recording. I and several of my officers have been captured by an unidentified race. They seem to use parasitic creatures to control those they've captured. Our captors are unaware of this recording device, and I must be cautious to prevent its discovery.

"When we first came across the station, we had thought it a stroke of luck. The place looked primitive, an easy win and addition to the Empire's domain. We scanned the station while cloaked and determined that it had weapons, but nothing we couldn't handle. We uncloaked and transported troops on board before raising our shields and broadcasting a demand that the station surrender.

"The station had complied. No resistance. No posturing. It felt like a trap. It was.

"The Jev'lw is returning to Imperial space carrying a crew under the control of the parasite things. I know my first officer and head of security are compromised. I'm not sure about the rest of the crew."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Commander Kelan, recording. Stardate uncertain. I've just watched another of my crew succumb to the parasites. Lt. Barq managed to bite the first one they'd attempted to implant in him in half. That and his insults on the poor quality of the cuisine made us laugh, but it made our captors angry. They beat him unconscious before putting another of the fat bugs in his mouth."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Commander Kelan, recording. Stardate uncertain. There are only five of us left. It suggests that there are only a limited number of these parasites to go around. I'm not certain how to use this information yet, but it means we have a little time to plan an escape."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Commander Kelan, recording. Stardate uncertain. Our escape failed and one of my crew was killed. They did not discover my recorder, but the precautions they've taken may now make escape impossible. We will not surrender."

OOOOOOOOOO

That was the last entry. The Ot'Hessan commander passed the information onto medical for review. If there were parasitic creatures on board, or even likely to come here in the future, the place was untenable as a way station. The reference to 'fat bugs' suggested that such creatures would be unable to control the People, but that didn't mean there weren't other options. Too little was known.

Out of curiosity, he ran the name Jev'lw through the translator, as it was not being rendered in the translation of the logs. Bloodstorm. He gave an internal wince. Klingons seemed a most… colorful species.

Moving on. He ordered sensors on the ship and on the station to do a full sweep of surrounding space, as well as the planet below. None of what commander Kelan had spoken of in his hidden log was even hinted at in the station's logs. It suggested that the takeover had been covert.

There had been the reference to the nervous transport captain, but that could have been unrelated. They needed more information. He reviewed the logs again while the scans were underway.

Kelan's logs gave no hint at a plan that would lead to the explosion that had crippled the station and led, somehow, to the deaths of all aboard. Could the Klingon ship have returned and attacked? If so, they hadn't used their primary weapons to do it. Could it be an enemy unknown to either the parasites or the Klingons? No way of knowing, the commander realized. It could even have been an accident. It was just over an hour later when his study and speculations were interrupted by the news that a wrecked ship had been found on the planet's surface.

Review of the records showed it to be a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. The commander realized that this must be the IKS Jev'lw. Question was, what was it doing there?

The commander's log indicated that the ship had headed back to Klingon space. So, what was it doing on the surface? Knowing there was only one way to find out, he dispatched an engineering team to examine the wreck.

OOOOOOOOOO

Marigold led the crew to examine the ship, personally. The delay in his work on the station was irritating, but the commander had decided there was information aboard the crashed ship that would determine whether or not they would proceed with salvage efforts at all.

He brought his vacuum shell down by the downed alien ship. He'd never seen tech quite like it, and was eager to examine the ship. That would have to wait, though. They had a very clear objective for the moment. The commander wanted the ship's logs.

Gaining entry was not that hard. The ship was badly damaged, having several rents in the hull large enough to permit entry. and without main power, whatever defenses it might normally have had, were inoperative. Securing the logs was another matter entirely. Providing power to the system wasn't difficult. Bypassing the security measures, finding the logs, both official and personal, and then bypassing password restrictions and other system specific security measures in a damaged and entirely alien system that used an unfamiliar language, took some time.

The universal translator the Federation races used had never quite been able to handle the Ot'Hessan's written language. It had even proved incompatible with the translator designed for them and then adapted to their own technology. Normally, this wasn't a problem and they just did without.

The computer specialists they brought along for the retrieval of the data, however, were regretting the lack of such technology. Their first hurdle was to instruct the computer to render the output of all systems in Federation standard. That gave them a familiar language to work with, for the most part. Due to a lack of certain codes and system specific knowledge, they were balked repeatedly, having to find creative solutions.

They weren't entirely successful. There were damaged sections that couldn't be accessed, and there were lockouts they couldn't get through without erasing the data they sought. They hit upon the idea of downloading everything, including what they couldn't access, into the ship's disaster recorder and removing it. That, Marigold thought, would likely be sent to the Federation, and from there to the Klingon empire.

They returned to the ship with what they had. The commander was given all of the logs they had been able to retrieve and reliably translate. It wasn't always clear which was personal and which was official, so they were all simply organized by chronological order.

After setting the engineering team back to work studying the station and its technology, he settled in with the logs.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Personal log of Terqa of the house of Rakno, chief engineer. We left the alien station three days ago after a humiliating defeat that cost us our commanding officer and several good warriors. At the first officer's order, we are returning to Klingon space rather than seek vengeance.

"Such things are never easy, but warriors must follow orders or there will be chaos. I have heard grumbling, but there have been no outright complaints. Minor repairs required after the battle have been completed."

OOOOOOOOOO

Entries falling into a range of two days of the time stamp of that entry were all of a similar nature. The Klingons were unhappy, but not suspicious, let alone mutinous. Neither the first officer nor the security chief had kept a personal log after the incident on the station. Given what the commander already knew, that was significant. The official logs contained no apparent irregularities, but it was possible he was missing something that another Klingon would pick up on. Cultural differences were a struggle at the best of times for the Ot'Hessan. The Federation creatures were endlessly confusing.

He moved on through the logs by date stamp. There were logs from engineers about repairs and maintenance, logs from the medical officer regarding treatment of injuries, and personal logs of various crew members. Most contained no more useful information, but the chief engineer's logs were different. He was growing suspicious.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Personal log of Terqa of the house of Rakno, chief engineer. I think something is wrong with Mertek. My brother, Mertek, our chief of security, has forgotten certain things. He could not remember the name of our targ from when we were children. That makes no sense. They were inseparable. At dinner, last night, I brought up other things from our childhood. He made mistakes. Though he tried to cover it, I can tell his memory is faulty. Is it Mertek? Did something happen to him on that station? I need to speak to the ship's doctor."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Personal log of Terqa of the house of Rakno, chief engineer. I have spoken to our doctor who says he can order a physical examination, and he will do so. I told him what I had learned and what I suspected. Some memories were intact. That might indicate that he was being controlled. The doctor is not dismissive of my claims, but he seems dubious."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Duty log of Makel of House Sukar, ship's surgeon of the IKS Jev'lw. I examined the chief of security at the request of the ship's commander. I found no evidence of impairment beyond what was to be expected of old injuries. He is fit for duty and has been released to return to his post."

OOOOOOOOOO

The Ot'Hessan commander paused and then reread the entry. The ship's doctor had acted at the request of the chief engineer, not the ship's new commander. It was an official log entry rather than a personal log. After a moment's thought, he checked and discovered that no personal log entries had been retrieved for the ship's doctor. Did that mean that the doctor was compromised? Or simply that they had not been found? Either was possible. He kept looking.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Personal log of Terqa of the house of Rakno, chief engineer. The ship's doctor claims that he found nothing. I do not know if I believe him. He has suggested that I am looking for enemies where there are none. I will continue to watch."

OOOOOOOOO

"Personal log of Terqa of the house of Rakno, chief engineer. Events have moved faster than I could have anticipated. I was attacked in my private quarters by two of the warriors and my brother. They attempted to implant an alien creature in me. I have never seen the like before, and I was forced to kill all three. Were it not for my habit of secreting weapons about my quarters and sleeping with a disruptor under my blanket; I would now be controlled. They were…very difficult to deal with. I believe the creature's presence enhances their strength and toughness somehow.

"The only outward sign of the creature's presence is a small protuberance on the back of the neck. I suspect the doctor is also being controlled. He could not have missed something I found so easily. I do not know how many others. I must act quickly."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Personal log of Terqa of the house of Rakno, chief engineer. I led a group of warriors I was able to confirm were unaffected to take the ship from the controlled. They were not easy to convince, but I showed them the creature and a scan I had done of the bodies, clearly showing the things attached to the brain stem. With their help, I gathered others and managed to take the ship. It turned out that there were only a handful, but too many uncontrolled fought bravely for the new commander.

"It is a tragedy for us all, but it had to be done. Those things cannot be allowed to reach the Klingon empire.

"I am now in command, and I've ordered us to set course back to the station."

OOOOOOOOOO

The Ot'Hessan commander paused to pass on relevant pieces of information to the appropriate teams. Then, he considered what had been learned and how much was left. There weren't many logs left for him to review, and it was likely that not all of them held useful information. He dove into them.

The first was that of a warrior that had been forced to kill a close friend that had been taken over by the parasites. The entry was full of anger and vows of vengeance. A similar log from the ship's tactical officer served to verify the chief engineer's version of events.

The ship's doctor had been killed, and a surviving field medic had taken up the position as best she could. Her first and last log entry spoke of trying to treat injuries to the best of her ability. There was also a notation about placing what remained of the parasitic creatures in stasis for later study.

On hearing that, he arranged for another expedition to the Jev'lw to investigate. Medical was excited at the possibility of acquiring samples for study, and the commander had to caution them that these were the remains of a dangerous and hostile species.

Apparently, the warbird had then set course for the station and gotten ready for battle. The crew were angry and determined. There was no mention as yet of a strategy for rescuing their crewmates. It was possible such hadn't been recorded for security reasons. He still had a few logs to go through, though.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Commander's log, IKS Jev'lw. Terqa of the house of Rakno, chief engineer, currently in command, recording. We are now within sensor range of the alien station and are under cloak. Using previous scans of the station, we've determined the best point at which to plant the explosive. If calculations are accurate, it will depressurize the station hub and damage the reactor. This should take the station's shields, weapons, and main power offline. Our warriors stand ready to transport aboard to take the command center in the first ring."

OOOOOOOOOO

Well, that explains the station's condition. The commander allowed. It didn't explain how everyone aboard had been poisoned, though. There was only one log remaining.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Treachery!" The voice was unfamiliar. Shouting and the sounds of fire and a distant explosion could be heard. "We must have missed one, somehow. The station has been damaged as planned, but our engines are shattered! The ship is caught in the planet's gravity well, and we have no way to free ourselves." The recording was distorted for a few seconds before the voice returned.

"Emergency systems offline. Can't eject the disaster recorder or activate the distress beacon. We can only hope we did enough damage to the baktag!"

The recording was distorted for several more seconds. "Long live the empire!" The log entry ended.

OOOOOOOOOO

The head of the medical team lead the group retrieving the specimens from the downed ship. Strict quarantine protocols were being observed per the commander's orders. She and her team had been given a set of schematics for the ship and the location of the medical bay.

Navigating the wrecked ship was tricky in their vacuum shells. The small vehicles were easy enough to maneuver in most of the corridors, being more than wide enough, but some of them were damaged. Twice, they had to reroute to adjacent corridors, and when they did reach the medical bay, the door was jammed shut and had to be cut away.

The process took time, as the medical bay was intended as a secure area during times the ship came under attack, but after almost half-an-hour, the door fell in, and they were able to enter.

The head of the team quickly scanned the room for active energy fields and out of long practice, life-forms. Nothing living was found, but in a cabinet to one side, an energy reading showed strong and steady. The cabinet was reinforced, clearly meant as secure storage.

Bypassing the lock and simply cutting away the door, she ran a scanner over the covered tray inside. The stasis technology was not too different from their own. After confirming the contents, she used a telekinetic grip to draw it out and place it in a larger stasis container of their own making without activating it.

She sent a quick pulse of curiosity to her team, and got a series of negatives back. There was nothing else they needed in the medical bay. They had confirmed that no additional information was available about the creatures, and the medical tech they saw samples of was surprisingly primitive.

Making note of it, but deciding it was a minor mystery for later, the team returned to the shuttle and then to the ship with the samples. She was eager to get started.

OOOOOOOOOO

The medical team spent almost two days testing the creatures in every way they could think of and inventing several new ones. In the end, they had only a partial answer.

The biology, physiology, and genetics of the creatures was unlike anything they'd seen before. They were definitely parasites, and seemed to have some ability that allowed them to communicate over long distances. That was not something they could learn more about by examining corpses, though.

They did find the source of the poison that had killed the people on the station. It was apparently a byproduct of the creatures' deaths. When one of the specimens was removed from stasis, it almost immediately dissolved. The residue was of a series of undifferentiated proteins and other substances that could easily be absorbed into the host's body. That would mean that it always took the host with it when they died, leaving no trace.

After a moment's thought, she realized there was a problem with that. If the poison was released and was, as circumstances indicated, immediately fatal, there would be no time for the body to absorb the parasite's remains.

Does that mean that it can die and dissolve without poisoning the host? There was too little information. They knew nothing about the biology of the species they had found on the station. It was possible that a Klingon doctor would find abnormalities that they were missing.

It took a little time and ingenuity to determine how to keep the specimens from degrading immediately upon removal from stasis. Those proved far more informative than the first, but raised just as many questions.

OOOOOOOOOO

The commander reviewed the reports from the various teams. The reports of his engineering and computer science teams led to the conclusion that the station could be adapted to their needs, but it would take personnel and resources he wasn't sure wouldn't be better utilized elsewhere.

The report of the medical team was another matter. It seemed likely that the most important answers about the station and the fate of the IKS Jev'lw would likely have to come from the Klingons, likely with the Federation as go-betweens.

The scout ship had returned with the news that all three systems seemed to be part of the same interstellar civilization. Ships of the same design had been noted in orbit around all three planets. No further information was available, as the pilot had followed proper protocol and withdrawn after taking discreet long-range scans.

The proximity of the civilization probably wasn't a coincidence, but it would have to be left to others to determine the nature of the relationship. They were not authorized to make contact and were ill-suited for the task regardless.

All-in-all, the mission had been a waste with regard to their stated goals. The station was, currently, unusable, and his report would indicate that. There were too many unanswered questions.

He would recommend that the data and samples they had collected be turned over to the Federation for further study. It seemed likely that these parasites had designs upon the Klingon empire and possibly the Federation. What part the unidentified civilization played in this had yet to be determined.

OOOOOOOOOO

Jean Luc Picard opened the encrypted files he'd been sent by the Ot'Hessan council. He found the security precautions that had been used unusual, given the source, but held off on making guesses as to what it might mean.

When he read the initial missive, he grew concerned. When he saw the images and reviewed the log entries from the IKS Jev'lw, he grew alarmed. Having those creatures take control of the Klingon Empire would be a disaster.

Carefully reviewing the rest of the information and the offer to turn over the biological samples, currently at SkyHome, he sat back and considered. He would need to pass the information, classified and secured as best his position as captain allowed, on to Starfleet Command immediately.

He knew that the news and all of the collected data would be passed on to their allies, but he was also aware that the Federation had been less than candid about the threat when the conspiracy had been uncovered. Now, it seemed, the empire might be under threat from an enemy the Federation had remained silent about. He preferred not to think about how the Klingons would react to the news.