The Emerald City (part 6)

Posted on Fri Oct 11, 2019 @ 10:38am by Civilian Jason Haines & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant Alanna Wells & Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin & Lieutenant Commander River Morgan & Ensign Jessica Mayhew & Ensign Tizo Criteser & Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca

1,038 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Elsewhere
Timeline: MD 8, 2200 Hrs

Previously in The Emerald City (part 5)

"That will not be necessary," Denegal said, working at the terminal Alanna had accessed to set the overload and timer. "Once the cable is unplugged from me, I will only have approximately a minute's worth of power to sustain me."


And now, the continuation

"There'll be no burning any sentient beings alive while I'm here to prevent it!" River said with a dark seriousness to her tone. "If Denegal needs to die, I can disconnect him humanely and allow him to retain his dignity, plus a small chance to redeem himself, if Alanna's plan is viable," she added.

"I agree with River," Brianthe said. "Give the man his dignity. I think he's earned that." She couldn't imagine being stuck in a place like this for three hundred years.

Yolanthe shrugged. "Either way, I'll stay." She opened her mouth to say something more, thought better of it, and said instead, "These are things no one should have to do alone."

Denegal looked at them all and said, "Your actions are far too generous for one such as I. I do not deserve your efforts."

"We disagree," Brianthe said. "You are not responsible for what you did while under the control of the Borg."

Annora silently watched the exchange. Her first instinct was to punish Denegal for his actions, but there was a very strong argument to make for him not being responsible for much of his actions. The others had more information, and she trusted their decision.

River nodded silently.

Down the corridor, Alanna heard Jessica and slowed. "I don't want any of those creeps in the town coming up here and using what's left of the technology. I'm not much of a fighter, but I can push a button." She smiled at Jessica. "You're welcome to join me."

“If this place is going to blow, will that be enough time? The town is too close, too,” Jessica said. “But I agree. We need the technology destroyed.”

"One button won't take long. We can all get out straight after and get clear, can't we?" River asked, probably rhetorically.

Alanna found a place near the entrance where she could push the button and waited for the others to leave. She made sure there was plenty of time for Denegal to die peacefully. Then she pushed the button and walked out.

With the button pushed, Alanna and Jessica left the remnants of the cube. The time gave them a chance to get a safe distance when there was a high-pitched whine that constantly grew louder. At the five minute mark there was an intense pyrotechnic display that shook the ground. Some of the cube fell in and smoke started to billow out of the remains. As it did, the guards that the group had captured faded away.

Alanna looked at the others. "What do you make of that?"

"I wanted to stay with Denegal until he lost consciousness, so he wouldn't be alone at the end, but it seems like he knew more than he told us when he insisted we leave instantly. I guess the whole cube was being maintained by the same power source that he was, and he'd had the sense when he was younger to set it up so it wouldn't leave anything behind, kind of a belated, misguided Prime Directive sort of thing? A self-destruct that would obliterate everything once he was dead?" River said, watching the pyrotechnics and conjecturing. "I suppose, in a way, we can't criticise him too much, as we've probably interfered ourselves, in a way. Not that we had much of a choice." She fell silent and withdrew into her own internal turmoil again. This had not been a good experience for the doctor, and she just wanted to get back and… But there was no escape from one's past.

"No. He came here as a Borg. Part of the Collective. But over the years, I believe he lost that, and regained his humanity," Alanna said. "But he couldn't forgive himself for what he did as a Borg. I feel sorry for him. I hope he finds the peace I think he deserves."

"I think it was the only humane thing to do." She hugged River. "Thank you."

River accepted the hug gratefully. She really wasn't feeling at her most comfortable right now, but she did know that what they had done for Denegal was the right decision in the circumstances and at the current time. She wished she had been able to be equally certain of some past decisions, but that hadn't been possible back then.

As they descended the path back to the town, they saw no buildings, no farmland, or any sign of habitation. There was nothing but dead ground, and occasionally some rotting wood.

Alanna got a gnawing feeling that this was not the only change they would encounter. "No. It can't be."

Yolanthe turned briefly cyan and then dirty yellow. "Where did everybody go?"

"We did just blow up the prophet. Maybe we scared everyone off?" Even as he spoke, Tizo wasn't very reassured by his own answer.

Alanna shook her head. "Denegal said that time was fluctuating. I think it's more likely that the temporal fluctuations had a ripple effect, and the village was affected." She stopped as another idea came to her. "We need to get back to the village. I don't know how far the ripple effect spread." She had a sinking feeling they'd find the same thing in the village.

"Oh, dear," Brianthe said. "Do you really think so?"

Alanna nodded and started walking back to the forest.

Jessica hurried after, dried mud flaking from her hair and clothes.

“So now we’re worse off than we were before,” Jessica said. “No shelter, no food, no allies, and no closer to a way home.”

To be continued...

Lieutenant JG Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer

Ensign Brianthe Oaxaca
Botanist

Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner
The Box of Delights

Lieutenant Commander River Morgan
Acting Chief Medical Officer

Denegal "The Prophet"
APB Lieutenant JG Jason Haines

Ensign Tizo Criteser
Security Officer

Lieutenant Annora Tessaro
Chief of Security

Ensign Jessica Mayhew

 

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