“Thank you. Thank you both. I’ll be in my quarters if anyone needs me. Try not to need me for about six hours.”
Garcia left the two standing in the holodeck as he made a quick departure. If he hurried, he might make it to his quarters before any of the other party goers sought him out to give him more private complements. He had no such luck. Tomoko caught him in the corridor. “Could you sign these, please?”
“Sure,” Garcia said, accepting the PADD from her. He noticed she was looking at him oddly.
“You do seem very much happier than you have been,” Tomoko said.
“I have less on my plate to stress about,” Garcia said. “And, over all, it’s been a good day.”
“Happy birthday,” Tomoko said.
“It was, thank you,” Garcia said.
“Since you had such a good time, perhaps you would rescind the directive to not hold your birthday party,” Tomoko said.
“Let’s not push our happiness, quotient, eh?” Garcia said, handing her the PADD back. “Anything else?”
“Not unless you want to come to my quarters with me for a night cap?” Tomoko offered, completely unashamed by her directness. She had hinted around several times, but decided direct would work better.
“You flirt more shamelessly than I do,” Garcia said.
Tomoko only beamed at him.
“Not tonight, but thank you,” Garcia said.
“What else is a Captain’s Yeoman good for?” Tomoko asked.
Garcia opened his mouth to respond and then decided it was best to close his mouth with no comment delivered. He nodded. She laughed at his discomfort, touched his arm, and then went about her business. Garcia shook his head and proceeded on. Tatiana met him at the lift. She hesitated.
“It’s alright,” Garcia said.
Tatiana joined him in the lift. The doors closed. She stared at the doors as she said, “It was incredibly selfish of me.”
“It was,” Garcia said.
Tatiana broke down into tears. Garcia stopped the lift and embraced her.
“It wasn’t a condemnation. I do incredibly selfish things all the time,” Garcia said. “In fact, there are quite a few people who think I’m only capable of selfish acts.”
“I love you so much,” Tatiana said. “I can’t stand it.”
Garcia kissed her. The kiss didn’t last and ended up with them just holding each other for a moment, and then Tatiana separated herself from him, straightened her uniform, and then she had the lift resume its pace towards the destination.
“Thank you, Tam,” Tatiana said.
Garcia couldn’t think of a response to her gratitude. “Anytime” sounded too quaint and “you’re welcome” too cold. Instead of a verbal response, he touched her, placing a hand on the back her neck, brushing her hair aside to do so. The door opened and she departed quickly. Garcia rubbed his forehead. Maybe this was why there were so many rules governing relationships. People were a mess at the best of times. And here he was juggling relationships trying to keep everyone happy, which was an impossibility. Philosophically he knew everyone was responsible for their own happiness, but he still felt as if he should do something to make everything better. Then again, the stereotypical masculine response to any crisis was to act, to fix something. And in this particular situation “something” wasn’t necessarily broke. Maybe he just needed to let Tatiana find her own way.
Garcia arrived at his quarters and found Rivan waiting for him. He offered her a smile. “So, where’s your side kick?”
“Ori?” Rivan asked, chuckling. “I took her to my quarters where she went right to sleep.”
“Probably all the carbs and sugars she ate,” Garcia said, going to the replicator. He ordered up his standard oral hygiene rinse and tooth brush, already doctored with tooth paste, a side dish of floss of a predetermined length, and a laser razor. “And the dancing.”
“Probably,” Rivan agreed, moving closer to Garcia while she scrutinized him as he proceeded with one of his nightly rituals. Since she had joined the Garcia commune, Garcia had repaired several of her teeth and taught her the best oral hygiene practices, which were centuries old, tried and true. Though modern dentistry could fix any problem, there was still no substitute to solid maintenance, discipline and consistency. He put all the used materials back into the replicator to be recycled, spit the mouth rinse in the sink, washed the sink, and dried his hands and wiped his mouth on a towel. Shaving was as simple as running the laser over his face. She made no secret that she was fascinated by his grooming rituals, as her father had died when she was young and she had missed out on watching rituals. She leaned against the wall and didn’t speak again until he had finished. “Tam, would you be willing to do something for me?”
Garcia found the question a bit odd, but answered, “Well, sure. Anything,” he said, recycling the laser razor in the replicator. He applied some lotion to his face.
Rivan pursed her lips and looked at the floor. Garcia touched her chin and lifted gently until her eyes met his.
“You know I hate it when women don’t maintain eye contact. What is it?” Garcia asked.
“Would you massage my feet?” Rivan asked.
Garcia laughed out loud. Rivan didn’t cry but the expression on her face suggested she was pained. Garcia drew her suddenly to him, realizing his social faux pas had hurt her. “Oh, I’m sorry, Rivan. I wasn’t laughing at you,” Garcia assured her, sweeping her off her feet and carrying her to the bed. He set her down gently. “I just thought you were going to ask something serious of me, the way you started out with a question.”
“Well,” Rivan began, watching curiously as Garcia went to the replicator.
“Lotion,” Garcia ordered. “A base, with peppermint, lavender, and chamomile, standard skin nutrient, vitamin E, and moisturizer, inside an applicator.” He collected the applicator and returned to the bed. “Well what?”
“Well, it’s just, you’ve never really initiated touch with me that it didn’t lead to intimacy, and though I’m not trying to discourage it going that direction, I’m just kind of tired and wanted…” Rivan started but didn’t finish.
“Shh, it is okay, Rivan,” Garcia said, sitting at the foot of the bed. He made himself comfortable and took Rivan’s feet into his lap. “Contrary to popular belief, I can engage in touch without it leading to sex. I am a license masseuse, among other things.”
Garcia closed his eyes, put his hands together in a ‘namaste’ hand gesture, and raised the temperature of his hands by merely thinking, relaxing, allowing more blood to flow towards his hands. He dispensed some lotion into his hands, warmed it, and then proceeded to massage her feet, stroking from toe to heel with his thumbs, using tiny circular motion to help stimulate blood circulation that would allow her own body to warm her foot. The goal was to bring it up to the same temperature as his hands. From that step he rolled easily into ankle rotation, toe pull and squeeze, toe slides, and then back to stroking. He noticed Rivan was about to drift off to sleep.
“Rivan,” Garcia said gently. She opened her eyes. “It’s best if you stay awake.”
“Why?” Rivan asked, her voice sounded sleepy. “It feels so nice.”
“Because when you sleep the brain disconnected from the body’s muscles and the muscles go completely relaxed,” Garcia said. “To reap the full benefits of the massage, it is necessary for the mind to stay engaged to the body so that the muscles are properly destressed, the nerves appropriately stimulated, and so the mind can acknowledge the comfort and cause the brain to release the proper amount of endorphins.”
“I never knew it was so complicated,” Rivan said. “No one ever cared if I feel asleep during a massage before. Oh, that’s nice. And I like the smell of peppermint. Is that the ingredient that is causing my feet to tingle?”
“One of the ingredients,” Garcia said. “If you want to fall asleep, you can. We can always do another session.”
Rivan smiled at that. “You would be willing?”
“Please, Rivan. You’re my friend, you’re my lover, you’re the mother of my child to be, you’re helping me with Ori and Karsat’s kids… There is proven medical benefit to doing this for you, for the unborn baby, and even for me,” Garcia said. “I think I can do this much for you.”
“But you’re the Captain,” Rivan said. “You have so much to do and think on. It just doesn’t seem right.”
“All the more reason why I should do this more often for you,” Garcia said. “Like I said, it’s good for me, too. It generates oxytocin, a hormone that helps people bond. It relaxes me, it relaxes you, and it just fosters good health in general. You wouldn’t want to rob me of a chance to do a good deed and improve my health at the same time, now would you?”
Rivan shook her head.
“Anything else on your mind?” Garcia asked.
“It’s just that I’ve missed you,” Rivan said. “I know things were pretty hectic there for a little bit, but I was worried for you, and I was being selfish, wanting more of your time than you had to spare. I’m glad you found Tama Orleans. She’s really beautiful.”
“She is,” Garcia said.
“You think our child will be equally beautiful?” Rivan asked.
“I think between your health, beauty and smarts and my smarts, we’ll have a healthy, handsome, intelligent baby,” Garcia assured her.
“I’m thinking Alena if she’s a girl,” Rivan said. “Or Larisa. If it’s a boy, I would like Sidney. Or Timothy. Those are good Earth names, right?”
“They’re very good names,” Garcia said.
There was a moment of silence, where Rivan was motionless, but also trying not to fall asleep. “I’ve been meaning to ask you if you’ve seen my bracelet. I thought I left it on this nightstand, but I haven’t seen it in days,” Rivan said.
“Sorry, I haven’t seen it,” Garcia said.
“If it falls on the floor, would the automatic cleaner pick it up?” Rivan said.
“Yeah,” Garcia said. “We’ll look for it tomorrow.”
There was another ten minutes of silence that Rivan nearly fell asleep, jerking her head back each time it started to fall to one side. Garcia repositioned himself on the bed and Rivan thought perhaps he was through, but he took her hand and massaged her hand and arm. After ten minutes on that arm, he moved to her other side and massaged the right arm and hand as well. Then he returned to her feet and massaged her calves and her thighs.
“Roll over on your side,” Garcia instructed.
Rivan rolled over and he proceeded to massage the back of her legs and thighs and then moved to her back and neck. After she fell asleep, he continued to massage her back lightly for a few more minutes, wondering if it was just a short nap and she would snap right out of it. When she didn’t wake and she gave signs that she was going only deeper into a solid sleep cycle, he eased up, so as the sudden cessation of physical touch wouldn’t wake her. He put a pillow between her legs for added comfort, and then brought the blanket up to cover her. He lay beside her, staring at the ceiling. He matched his breathing to hers, observing every quality of her he could identify, from look to smell, to feel. He wondered where Samuel Clemmons was and he did a search with his implant and found that it was in Persis’ quarters, curled up beside Tama Orleans. He directed the computer to turn off the lights via his implant and then he fell asleep beside Rivan. CHAPTER THIRTYONE
Losira beamed into Garcia’s quarters and found him asleep next to Rivan. She turned on the lights and went to his side, shaking him.
“Captain, you have to get up,” Losira said.
Garcia opened and his eyes and sat up. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Brock is calling for you,” Losira said. “Sherman’s Planet is under attack.”
Garcia hopped up, retrieved his Orbs from the cabinet, and was activating them even as he was heading out his door. Losira followed. The Manifestation Orbs floated up and away from Garcia and suddenly Duana and Ilona was at his side. “Losira, I want Path Finder ready to jump, I’ll be there in a moment. Also, contact Captain Glor and Captain Gowr, have them jump to Sherman’s Planet.”
Garcia came around the corner the same time Kitara, Undine, and Trini did, both heading for the Gate. They each were accompanied by a Losira agent of their own, but since four wasn’t necessary, three of them vanished in favor of Garcia’s Losira agent. They entered the holodeck and found the Gateway already opened. Tatiana went to attention.
“All of Path Finder’s crew is on board,” Tatiana said. “We’re ready to jump at your command.”
Garcia led the way through the Gate. As soon as they crossed over, Garcia called up to the Bridge: “Helm, take us there,” he ordered. The Gate closed behind them
McKnight answered. “Sir, transwarp jump in four, three, two,” McKnight counted down.
Garcia felt the uneasiness of his stomach and knew that they were on their way. Of course, by the time he had noticed he was sick, it usually meant that they had arrived, in which case, he only had to wait a moment for his stomach to settle. He ignored it, as he always did. Trini and Tatiana were not so lucky. Losira provided them air sickness bags and warm towels, delivered to her hands via the site to site replicator. Garcia touched Tatiana’s back, reassuringly. Kitara appeared to be managing her symptoms. As soon as his two friends had recovered, Garcia turned to his computer’s avatar.
“Losira, beam us to the Bridge,” Garcia ordered. And then they were on the Bridge.
Kitara went straight way to her station to assess the situation. “Sherman’s Planet is currently being bombarded from orbit,” she said. “I count fifteen, no… Seventeen Cardassian warships.”
“Red Alert, battle stations,” Garcia ordered. “Shields up, take us in.”
“Captain,” Trini called. “Glor and Gowr have arrived. They’re sending telemetry, and signify they’ll coordinate with you.”
“Kitara, advised them through Losira,” Garcia said, assigning two of his personal monitors to provide him with the telemetry of the two ships. “Trini, hail the Cardassians.”
Garcia glanced at the main viewer and then focused on his own personal tactical display. He ‘boxed’ some information, using his fingers on the monitor, and shifted the box to another monitor, rotating and magnifying.
“Captain,” Kitara said. “The Cardassian fleet’s formation has changed. They’re heading for us.”
“No response to the hail,” Trini said.
“Losira, activate AP defense, and I want holographic orbiting projectiles around us,” Garcia ordered. “Kitara, arm photon torpedoes and fire at will. Trini, contact Star Fleet and inform them of our situation. We’re going to need assistance.”
The Cardassian ships were rallying around a large ship; one that was not visible to the scanners, but was clearly there on the main viewer. Garcia noticed it first. He came full out of his chair, familiar with the ship and design.
“Shields to full, now,” Garcia said.
“What is it?” Kitara asked, having never seen such a ship.
“It’s a Kelvan scout ship,” Garcia said. “Ignore the Cardassians. Focus all fire power on the Kelvan ship.”
“Torpedoes are away,” Kitara announced. The torpedoes aim was true, but they disappeared before coming into contact with the Kelvan vessel.
“They beamed the torpedoes away?” McKnight asked.
“That, or changed them into something mute,” Garcia said.
“Firing phasers,” Kitara announced.
“They won’t have any effect,” Garcia said.
“Why haven’t they returned fired?” Tuer said.
“They’re probably trying to beam through our shields or incapacitate us using their Kelvan technology,” Garcia said, thankful that the upgrades to his shields were functioning as expected. “I’ll need access to the Kelvan computer to verify.”
“Absolutely not,” Kitara said.
“The only way to battle the Kelvan is with Kelvan technology,” Garcia protested.
A beam of energy issued forth from the Kelvan scout ship and caused half of the Path Finder’s shields to fluoresce as it worked overtime to dissipate the energy.
“I guess their normal tactics aren’t working,” Tuer said.
“Shields are holding,” Undine announced.
“Thank god for Gray upgrades,” Trini said.
“Put some Cardassian ships between us and the Kelvan,” Garcia ordered. “And start taking some of them out.”
The Path Finder rocked as it rushed away from the Kelvan ship and pushed back through the Cardassian Armada. Its shields became saturated with energy as the enemy lobbed volley after volley of torpedoes and unleashed a storm of phasers.
“The shields are still holding,” Undine said. “However, at the current energy saturation rate we will have to withdraw, or we won’t be able to see through our own shields.”
“We’re not withdrawing. Kitara, find me the Cardassian flag ship,” Garcia said.
“On it,” Kitara said.
“A ship has broken off their attack and is heading back towards the planet,” Sendak said. “They’re a firing a torpedo. Captain, it’s an antimatter bomb!”
“Can we intercept?” Garcia demanded.
“Negative,” Kitara said.
Garcia ripped the Velcro off his chair’s handgrips so that he could access the Kelvin technology. Nothing happened.
“No,” Kitara said.
“There is still time!” Garcia demanded.
“No,” Undine and Kitara both said.
“Damn it!” Garcia raged, standing. He pointed at the ship that had launched the bomb. “Take that ship out of the game, now!”
McKnight accelerated towards the Cardassian bomber. Another brilliant flash planet side marked another missing city, vaporized. The Path Finder rocked as the Cardassian Armada concentrated their entire fire power on them. The shields were glowing so intensely that the viewer was whiting out.
“Target acquisition failing, unable to get a lock,” Kitara said.
“Best shot,” Garcia said. “Fire!”
The torpedo departed the Path Finder, only to disintegrate the moment it passed through the shields. Garcia turned to his telemetry feeds from the Pa Nun and Tempest only to find they had faded from the screen, too much interference.
“Torpedoes are ineffective,” Sendak said. “They’re detonating as soon as they pass through the shields. Too much radiation.”
“Phasers!” Garcia said.
“Tam, we need to pull back,” Kitara said. “Before we’re completely blinded.”
“Losira, open the Gateway between us and Gowr’s ship,” Garcia ordered. “Trini contact Gowr and tell him to feed us telemetry so we can steer. Advise him to steer us directly into the closest Cardassian ship.”
“That’s suicide!” Kitara said.
“Our shields will hold and with as much radiation as they’re bleeding off, it will burn a hole through their shields and ship before we even make contact,” Garcia said. “I just want a glancing blow.”
“We’re completely blinded,” Kitara said, the sensor completely offline. “Wait, I’ve got telemetry from Gowr. Their shields are holding, but they’ll soon reach their limits and will be blind as well. I have a target closing on us, firing weapons at us.”
“McKnight?” Garcia said.
“Changing course to ram it,” McKnight said.
The Path Finder shuddered as it shields made contact with the Cardassian ship’s shields, but they pushed through it. The Cardassian’s shields failed. The Path Finder’s shield’s came brushed the underside of the Cardassian ship, leaving a huge, molten scar as if a giant arc welder had torched the hull. In some places the shields pushed through the ship entirely. A rush of atmosphere escaped, scattering bits of molten metal like rain drops, as well as debris from the ship
“Shields down ten percent,” Undine announced.
“Ram another one,” Garcia ordered.
“Captain,” Trini said. “The Tempest will be completely blind in twenty seconds.”
“Tell them to fall back until some of the energy has dissipated, we’ll switch the Gate to the Pa Nun,” Garcia said.
The Path Finder rocked as once again it pushed through the shields of another Cardassian warship, and all along its hull where the Path Finder’s shields came into contact with it, the ship ruptured and vented atmosphere. It was a much cleaner line than the previous hit, and the Path Finder came within several meters of actually colliding. As Cardassian ship changed directions to get away, it came into contact with one of the four Path Finder engine nacelles. Though the inertia dampeners compensated, people were shifted off their feet and out of their chairs.
“Losira, damage report,” Garcia said, pointing to the screen beside him he had dedicated to just that. Losira nodded, giving him a detail report of her own analysis. Department heads were adding their own messages to the list.
“Gowr is hailing us,” Trini said. “The Cardassians are retreating.”
“Put us in orbit,” Garcia directed. “I want us between them and Sherman’s planet.”
“I believe I have identified the Cardassian flag ship,” Kitara said. “Captain Glor is requesting to pursue.”
Garcia turned to one of his tactical screens near his chair and agreed with Kitara’s analysis. The Kelvan ship loomed in the distance no longer engaging in battle. The Cardassians were definitely retreating, grouped in such a way as to protect a certain ship from being destroyed.
“They just want to lure us away from the planet so they can continue their bombing runs,” Garcia said. “I want Glor and Gowr in orbit with us, equal distance. Not another bomb is getting through.”
“Aye,” Kitara said. “We’re going to need another ship to perfect a planetary defense.”
“Contact the T’Pau,” Garcia said. “Have her transwarp jump to our coordinates and take up an orbital position in our chain. How many of them did we take out?”
“Five,” Kitara said. “But all their ships but two sustained damage. No damage to the Kelvan ship, or to the Pan Nun and Tempest.”
“Five? That’s all?” Garcia demanded.
“They’re regrouping just outside of our firing range,” Kitara said, ignoring the question. The new shields worked wonders, but after a certain saturation point of energy they made offense totally impractical. Even the holographic orbiting projectiles had proven useless as a weapon because the shields had bloomed past their radius and the radiation was disrupting the holographic projector’s output.
“We sustained damage to our number four warp nacelle when we rammed the last ship,” Undine said. “Transwarp is offline and so are the transporters, due to feed back that caused an overload in the main transmitter array,” Undine said.
“Captain,” Trini said. “We’re being hailed from the planet. It’s Gul Tormin.”
Garcia was not happy to hear the name again. He stood up.
“Put him on,” Garcia said.
“Sherman’s Planet has been appropriated by the Cardassian government in order to protect itself from the Maquis,” Gul Tormin said. “You will leave this space immediately, or risk war between the Cardassian government and the Federation.”
“We’re not leaving,” Garcia said.
“Captain,” Trini said. “I have Star Fleet.”
Using hand gestures, Garcia communicated to Trini that he wanted her to switch channels, dropping Gul Tormin in favor of Star Fleet. He was disappointed when Admiral Pressman came on.
“Captain Garcia,” Admiral Pressman said. “I want you and your people to fall back, leave Sherman’s system.”
“Are you telling me to abandon these people and allow the Cardassians to continue blasting them from orbit?” Garcia asked.
“The orbiting bombardment will stop as soon as the population is subdued,” Admiral Pressman said.
“Sir, with all due respect, that population of Sherman’s planet has a Klingon cultural influence, and nearly half its citizens are Klingon,” Garcia reminded him. “They won’t surrender.”
“It’s not our problem,” Admiral Pressman said. “Sherman’s planet does not fall under the domain of the Federation.”
“That’s nonsense and you know it,” Garcia said.
“You have your orders,” Admiral Pressman said. “Star Fleet out.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” McKnight said.
“We’re not leaving, are we?” Trini asked.
“No, we’re not leaving,” Garcia said. “Contact the Klingon Empire, maybe they will help us.”
“They will not,” Kitara said. “Ever since Sherman’s planet declared independence, the Klingon government has refused to have anything to do with it.”
“Raise them anyway,” Garcia said, nodding to Trini.
“Sir, I have Brock on channel six,” Trini said.
“Put him on,” Garcia said.
“Garcia! You got to help us!” Brock said.
“What’s your situation?” Garcia asked.
“They have troops on the ground,” Brock said. “Alba City is occupied.”
“Club Bliss?” Garcia asked.
“We’re still outside the occupied zone, and they’re expanding, street by street. There are lots of wounded, and,” Brock grabbed the bar and screamed as the floor rumbled. “They’re firing mortars again!”
“Relax, Brock. Club Bliss has shields,” Garcia said, and then turned to Kitara. “Number One, assemble your best teams. We’re going down through the Gate.”
“You need to stay here,” Kitara said. “I will lead a team and fortify Club Bliss. Perhaps we can contact the local militia and contain the Cardassians at Alba.”
“Go,” Garcia said. He turned to Trini. “Trini, try and contact the local militia and have them fall back to Club Bliss. We’ll make that the rallying point.”
“Aye,” Trini said. She looked up. “Incoming message from the Klingon Empire.”
“On screen,” Garcia said.
Admiral Sheaar appeared. “We cannot send reinforcements at this time,” he said. “You will hold your position there until help arrives or you have eliminated the Cardassian threat.”
“How long until you can send us reinforcements?” Garcia asked.
“You will hold,” Admiral Sheaar said. And then he terminated the call.
Garcia sat down. The tactical screen on his right revealed that Simone’s ship, the T’Pau had arrived and was taking up position in orbit. It would be almost impossible for the Cardassians to get another bomb or ship through their defense, but it also effectively locked them in orbit.
“Gul Tormin wants to speak with you,” Trini said.
“On screen,” Garcia said.
Gul Tormin appeared and smiled. “You have not left orbit,” Gul Tormin said. “I do not intend to leave until you’re off the planet,” Garcia said.
“We have the right to self defense,” Gul Tormin said. “Your Federation supports that right and has given us latitude to protect ourselves. They have ordered you to leave this system at once.”
“And the Klingons have ordered me to hold. Besides, I know of no treaty between your government and the Federation that condones the use of antimatter bombs on an innocent population,” Garcia said.
“Innocent! The Maquis recently attacked our planet and this place is a hotbed for black market weapons and mercenaries!” Gul Tormin said. “But I’m sure you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you. Bottom line is, I have two hundred thousand warriors planet side and we’re not retreating. If you do not leave, I will be forced to kill the Local government staff and authorities. And if you still remain after that, I will start killing the citizens.”
Garcia stood up and approached the screen. “I guarantee you this,” Garcia said. “You kill any more people, not a single one of you will leave this planet alive.”
Garcia cut him off.
Undine looked at Garcia. “He must be lying about the number of troops. There is no way they brought that many warriors in this fleet.”
“The Kelvan obviously helped them,” Garcia said, tapping his wrist where his bracelet would have normally been. Utilizing the Kelvan technology, the Kelvan on the scout ship could easily reduce two hundred thousand Cardassian soldiers to their essential elements, minus the water, and stack the polyhedron in the cargo holds of each of the ship, and still have room for more. The troops could be reanimated at location